Here's the next chapter, I hope you'll enjoy it.
FictionFan 369 - Haha! Thanks so much, I'm glad you liked it. Another version I could think of it:
Nami: I don't trust him.
Magpie: My abilities allow me to steal money from anyone.
[Nami falls to the ground and starts punching it] Why!? Why couldn't I have eaten that Devil Fruit!? It's not fair!
Magpie: Um…are you okay?"
Sanji: Bastard! You made Nami cry!
Magpie: She made herself cry!
Foxfire573 - Good question. Magpie can steal any Paramecia Devil fruit Power, but only for a short time (two minutes max) before it has to be rejected from his body otherwise he will die. However, the more he steals a particular power, the less time he can use it before it is rejected (15 seconds less than the last time) so if he steals a power four times than he can only use it for 60 seconds.
I like to think the way it rejects itself is like an antibody detecting a virus in the body and getting rid of it before Magpie could die. Since the Snatch Snatch Fruit is also a Paramecia type, the stolen power can disguise itself within the body longer than a Zoan or Logia type and can be applied to his body type. However, an antibody can learn a particular virus the more times the host catches it and, therefore, the more times Magpie steals a power, the faster his body rejects it. So, really, Magpie can only steal a particular power eight times maximum before he can't anymore. Magpie will have to plan and choose wisely whenever he steals a power otherwise it won't be as effective which is why characters who are physically strong (with their strong powers) have a greater advantage.
I will say this, however, a virus can remain dormant in a body without an antibody detecting it. Only when it spreads can the antibody track it down. Therefore, Magpie can steal a power and let it be dormant in his body for as long as he wants unless he uses it. Keep that in mind for future chapters.
I hope this explains it. I will add more details to it in future chapters. If you do have any questions then don't hesitate to ask. Thanks for reading.
FanSuperAnime - Me too, I'm so glad I got to write her in. Although, I still need to perfect her way of speaking and her dark humour, of course. Thanks so much for reading.
wellingtonlucas282- No problem, I hope you like this next chapter.
djinn - Yes, however in this chapter we will see cracks forming between the Baroque Works and Secret Empire collation. I hope you'll enjoy it.
Guest - Thank you so much, I hope you'll enjoy this chapter just as much.
phillyitalian - Haha! You're right. That was unintentional.
Ramen Sensei - R/S - Thank you so much. You're too kind. I hope you'll enjoy this chapter just as much.
JimmySG0 - I know what you mean. They are either OP, Grey Fics (some of them are okay, but I'm not a big fan of them) or have less than three chapters and haven't updated in about a decade. That's why I decided to write my own, really. Thanks for reading.
HyenaMan - Thanks so much. Crocodile is very devious so I don't doubt that he has some plans for him. I'm glad you noticed the thing about Nami's bo staff; it did just suddenly disappear from the manga so I thought I could explain its absence. I, unfortunately, have plans for him to have hair so sorry to disappoint.
Thanks so much, you're to kind. Can you tell me what your other favourite One Piece Oc stories. I would quite like to read them.
Thanks for reviewing :)
Chapter 5: Utopia
Nanohana
Over the bustling, port city of Nanohana, located several miles south from the capital on Arabasta's southern coast, Raven perched herself on a corner of the tallest towers and watched as the citizens go about their lives.
The bright sun beat down upon the starved population, there was a miserable stench in the air and the Black Feather assassin saw the desperation that the people of Arabasta was suffering. The droughts have devastated the country. No water means no arable ground. No arable ground means no plants. No plants mean no livestock can be kept or vegetables to be grown. What little food was left and what little drinkable water has made the people gaunt and famished as they fought over whatever they could.
The country was collapsing…but Raven did not care. She had a mission to complete.
She lifted her head up slightly as if she had awoken from a deep slumber and hummed thoughtfully.
"I understand now. In twenty three seconds, the king will arrive with his army…"
As she predicted, a platoon of the Royal Arabasta guards marched into the crowded market square with King Kobra Nefeteri leading them. He was a tall man in his mid-fifties with slightly tanned skin, long black hair and a long beard in his chin. His face was tired and wrinkled, a result of years of stress and tiredness, and had sharp intelligent eyes. He wore his royal green robes and a golden cloak over his shoulders, making himself stand out amongst his ragged and starving people.
"…however, he was not the real king, but an imposter. The real Nefertari is kept as hostage outside Alubarna, having been kidnapped fifty eight minutes ago. But his personal bodyguards won't discover his disappearance for another two minutes and thirty three seconds," she gazed down and saw the citizens gathering around the king and his army, "He will explain to them that he was the one who was to blame for the drought. Right about now," as if on cue, he heard the angry shouts and yells from the crowd all the way from up here, "He will order his soldiers to start destroying the city and attacking a young boy."
Once again, right on the dot, they did exactly what she said was going to happen. The soldiers started to destroy the market stalls, set buildings on fire and even attack some of the people. When one young boy ran up to confront him, Kobra kicked him in the face and sent him flying back; a cruel grin present on the man's face.
At the corner of hollow eye, she saw a young man ride in on a black horse and stop immediately before the king. He had short blond spiky hair, tanned skin, and black eyes. There was a scar across his left eyebrow and wore dusty red robes and a brown cloak and brown riding gloves. He dismounted his horse and stormed his way towards Kobra, only to be stopped by a couple of guards.
"Ah, just in time. Kouza of the revolutionaries have arrived," she hummed, "the ember that will finally set the kingdom alight," she stood up from her perch and turned away from what was going on, "No matter how many times I watch these events, watching in linear will never get boring. It is rather fun to see the cause and effect of major events. Like a history lesson, but now."
BOOM! CRASH!
Suddenly, out of nowhere, a giant galleon crashed into the port of Nanohana and skid into the city, tearing down buildings and smashing roads to pieces. The people yelled and cried as the scrambled away from the destruction before they were hit from the falling debris. It was pure panic and chaos; homes collapsed, towers toppled over, and the people screamed and ran for the lives. However, Raven didn't look around as the galleon hurtled towards the tower she was standing, nor did she react when the giant hull crashed into its side, making it crash to the ground into nothing but rubble and dust.
However, Raven no longer stood on the tower. She watched it fall over from the roof of another tower on the other side of the city, she got away from the destruction in barely a second. She sighed uncaringly and turned away from the aftermath of the crash, ignoring the terrified screams and pain filled yells at if they were a mere annoyance.
"Five minutes and forty eight seconds is all it took for a kingdom that was on the eve of destruction to be fully wrapped up in the bloodiest revolution in its history. It is funny in a way," she mused as she lazily walked across the edge of roof, "Crocodile's Operation Utopia is a success," she looked up at the clear blue sky and hummed lightly, "Magpie's death is steadily approaching. I must make preparations and notify Mr. Nest. O little brown field mouse, With eyes that delightfully glow, You see autumn's leafs a'falling…" she continued to sing her song as she began to descend the tower.
She needed to leave Nanohana as there was no more reason for her to be there. She did not care about the destruction of the crash, nor the agony that the people were going through at the hands of Baroque Works. She merely casted one final look as the crowd began to gather around Kouza; weapons brandished in their hands.
"The Arabasta you knew and loved is now dead!" Kouza called out to the roaring crowds from atop a pile of crates, "and the time to sweep away its rotting corpse as come! We will launch a full scale attack on the capital and bring the king to justice!" he proclaimed as the mob cried out in agreement,
They were thirsty, hungry and tired and wanted nothing more to bring the king to his knees for a crime he had never committed.
The revolution has begun.
Rainbase
Chopper, in his reindeer form, peered around the corner of a building and checked if they were any enemies down the alleyway. He first looked left and then right before he sighed in relief as he was nothing.
"What an awful day," he moaned, bowing his head and shaking it in despair.
He had left the others when he was looking for a toilet but, by the time he returned, they had disappeared. That's when he was chased by a few Billions down the alleyways of Rainbase for all this time: he had only shaken them off a few minutes ago.
"Guys where are you?" he muttered to himself as he took a step forwards, "I really need right no-oof!" he suddenly yelped as he accidentally bumped into somebody. He looked up at the darkly dressed person apologetically, "Sorry, didn't see you- AHH!" he yelled as saw Magpie's hollow eyes looming down at him.
He turned on his hooves and was about to scamper away when the assassin grabbed him by the scuff of his neck and hoisted him off the ground and placed his rapier by his neck.
"You jerk!" Chopper cried out, eyeing the blade nervously, "What did you to my friends!"
"I am taking you to them," Magpie darkly said as he began to walk towards Rain Dinners, "After you is Sanji. Then I'll finally complete my mission. Now stay quiet or I'll cut you into venison."
Chopper squeaked in fear as the assassin carried him away when suddenly a voice called out to them from behind them.
"Hey! Are you alright? I heard a yell," Magpie glanced over his shoulder and saw, to his annoyance, the Marine that was at the bar earlier. Tashigi pushed her glasses further up her nose and frowned at them, "Sir, are you okay?" she repeated.
Magpie swiftly holstered his rapier and turned his body towards her whilst still holding onto Chopper, "I'm fine. Just transporting my reindeer. Is that illegal?" he inquired.
Tashigi blinked in surprise, "N-no," she stuttered, casting a look at the scared-looking reindeer in his hand, "I wouldn't have thought so. I was just concerned that's all."
"You needn't worry. I'll shall take my leave," he said as he turned back and began walking away.
However, as his coat whipped around with him, Tashigi caught sight of something she wasn't expecting. Holstered to his hip was Sandai Kitetsu, the cursed blade. There was no doubt about, she had studied swords for almost her entire life; ever since she was little girl. And she knew exactly that it was in the possession of one man; the same man she had been chasing since Logue Town: Rononoa Zoro. Her eyes widened in surprise before they narrowed fiercely at the masked stranger; she subtly reached into her pocket and took out a small transponder snail.
"I need back up to my position," she whispered.
"Roger that," the snail replied before she pocketed it and ran up to catch up with Magpie.
"Hold on!" she called out to him. However, he ignored her and continued to drag the poor creature down the alleyway, "I said stop!" she ordered, but he did not stop. She gritted her teeth in anger, "In the name of the Marines, I order you to stop!"
Magpie, finally, stopped dead in his tracks. He looked over his shoulder and glared down at her with a menacing look. Tashigi tried not to flinch as she stared up at the black eyes of his mask.
"How may I help?" he asked, masking his anger with politeness.
She glanced at the sword at his hip before back at him, "I was wondering if…you have a foreign animal permit," she lied, "You can only bring foreign animals into the country under permit. May I see it?"
"There is no such permit," he growled in reply.
"Are you calling a Marine Officer a liar?" Tashigi questioned angrily.
Chopper yelped as he felt the assassin's hold on him tighten. He wanted to desperately warn her that he is dangerous, but he knew he would kill him faster than he can a single word out. All he could is offer a fearful look towards her, hoping that she would get his message.
Magpie sighed and reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a wad of Berries and offered it to her, "My apologies. You mean this permit. You can keep if for further inspection if you wish."
Tashigi glared at the bribe before she swiped it away, "What person do you take me for?" she snarled, "How dare you try to bribe a Marine Offic-oof!"
The wind was knocked out of her when Magpie delivered a sharp kick to her stomach, making her fly down the alleyway and land in a heap. She wheezed in pain, holding her stomach and gritting I her teeth in agony as she tried to get herself off the ground. Chopper's eyes widened in shock and concern, but the assassin pulled him away down the alley.
"I think I prefer the corrupt Marines. Easier to manage," he growled as he dragged the reindeer away.
However, he suddenly had to dodge to his left as a katana swung by his shoulder followed by its wielded, missing him by an inch. Tashigi spat in anger as she missed him, turned around and got into another fighting stance, her sword directly pointing at his heart. Chopper, seeing an opportunity, shrunk down to his normal size and slipped out of Magpie's grasp before he could do anything and swiftly ran down the opposite way. Magpie could have quickly chased after him, but he was forced to leap forwards as Tashigi attacked him again; he twisted his body in mid-air and landed on his feet, backing away out of the alley and into the main road with the officer quickly following.
He reached for his rapier, but he sensed several Marines charging down the street and quickly surrounding him, pointing their rifles straight at his head in case he made a move. Magpie looked to his left and then to his right and studied the Marines.
'Eight in total. Possibility of success: 95%,' he thought to himself as Tashigi got into a fighting stance.
"In the name of the Marines, you are under arrest for the crimes of suspicion behaviour, bribery, assaulting an officer and possible conspiring with the Straw Hat Pirates," she snarled, tightening her grip on the handle of her sword, "Drop all your weapons to the ground now!"
Magpie calmly looked around and tilted his head slightly, "I have no time for this."
"Hey!" one of the Marines yelled at him, "Officer Tashigi ordered you to drop your-"
It was fast. Faster than anyone of them were expecting.
They had barely reacted before two pistols appeared in Magpie's hand and twisted his body around, spun around and fired four rounds from each gun at the Marines.
BANG! BANG!
BANG! BANG!
BANG! BANG!
BANG! BANG!
Eight shots, eight dead Marines fallen on the ground with blood seeping from the throats. Tashigi's eyes widened in utter shock and her stance wavered slightly. He had killed them without a morsel of mercy and it frightened her. Magpie holsted his pistols before he took out his rapier and got into a fighting stance, challenging her to a one-on-one battle. The officer, shook of her shock, and gave war cry before she charged at him at breakneck speed and slashed at him with her blade. However, in the last second, Magpie simply moved out of the way of her cut and slashed his rapier against her shoulder. She cried out in pain as her shoulder was slit open; she clutched her open wound and glared back at the assassin with a look of searing anger.
"You're…you're not human," she spat, earning a look from him.
"You really should have taken the bribe," he replied as he brandished his rapier once more.
Meeting Room
"Currently the rebel forces are on their way to Alubarna," Crocodile drawled as he leered down at Vivi, his golden hook gleaming in the light, "It would take you them around eight hours to get there, so if you are planning on escaping then you should hurry."
Vivi and the rest of the crew growled angrily at him. Crocodile had taken his time to explain his plans for Operation Utopia and it sickened them to the stomach; he had turned the country against each other and the Warlord was enjoying every second of it.
"So if you intend on stopping the rebellion," Crocodile continued with a smirk, "Then you better leave right away. Lest you wish for tens of thousands to die in vain. Or…" he produced a key from his pocket and showed it to her, "You can stay behind and try to save your friends here," a trap door suddenly opened up and he dropped it into the floor below where bananwami monsters lived, "But you would have to retrieve it from the bananwami first. Your choice, Miss Wednesday."
The princess grimaced as she looked down at the trap door and saw one of the bananwami swallow the key with one snap of his jaws. She gasped in horror, earning a look of concern from her friends."
"What's wrong, Vivi?" Nami asked.
"One of the bananwami swallowed the key."
"What!?" Luffy cried out, "Go down there and make it cough it up!"
"I can't do that!" she yelled at him, "they're known for attacking Sea Kings! What makes you think I can do something!?"
"Alright! I'll do it!" Luffy declared before he attempted to squeeze himself through the bars…only to fall flat on his face in exhaustion, "Never mind…still can't break out!"
"I already told you that you can't!" Smoker snarled, rolling his eyes in annoyance.
"Well then," Crocodile spoke up again as Robin stood at his side, "It's time we excuse ourselves and go on ahead first. Oh, by the way, this room is set to self-destruct itself in one hour from now. It's served me well during my time as the leader of Baroque Works but I have no need for it. Water will soon flood through, laying this secret room at the bottom of Rainbase Lake for eternity."
Bubububub! Bububub!
Crocodile raised an eyebrow at the noise and turned to see Robin pull out a pocket transponder snail and clicked it or receive the call.
"Miss All Sunday speaking," she answered.
"Crocodile, it's Magpie," a dark, cold voice spoke through the snail, "I burrowed one of your transponder snails from one of your Billions. I've captured the last two of Monkey D. Luffy's crew and bringing them to you," he informed.
The Warlord smiled broadly, "Perfect," he said before he turned to the other prisoners, "Your friends are on their way down. I believe the reindeer is a Zoan type so he;ll go in the Seastone cage while the chef will go in the regular one."
"No," Usopp uttered in concern, "Not Sanji and Chopper."
"Damn it!" Luffy snarled as he punched the cage bars.
Robin hummed in reply before she spoke to the snail, "What are you waiting for? Bring them down, Magpie."
"I am unable to do that."
Crocodile and Robin glared down at the snail in annoyance.
"And why not?" she asked.
"One of your employees won't let me in. He says that animals are not allowed inside."
Crocodile swiped the snail out of her hand and glowered down at it, "Tell him that it is under my orders, then."
There was silence on the other side before Magpie spoke through it again.
"He doesn't believe me. He says that anybody can say it was you."
Crocodile snarled, "Kill him then. I don't care, just get them down here."
"I am not terminating someone in broad daylight in front of a crowd," Magpie said, "I believe it will be best if you come up here and sort it out. I don't want to waste anymore time on this."
The warlord gave a tired sigh and shook his head, "Very well. We are on our way," he said before he ended the call and gave the snail back to Robin, "I had planned to go through the casino anyway," he said before he turned to the prisoners with a smirk, "I could not think of a better alibi then for me to be seen looking after my own business," he chuckled as they glared fiercely at their enemy.
Outside Rain Dinners
Around the corner of the casino, away from Crocodile's goons patrolling the area, Sanji and Chopper kept themselves hidded. Sanji heard the transponder snail, that he had stolen from a Billion, click which signified that the call had ended. He gave a toothy smile before he turned around to look down at Chopper.
"You think I sounded convincing? I know I only met Magpie once, but I thought that as long as I spoke in a deep, monotone voice it will do," he asked.
"Sound good to me" Chopper chirped before he frowned in concerns, "Are you sure about the plan, Sanji? Will you be alright on your own?"
"If I get out of my depth then I'll get out of there," he reassured him as he lit another cigarette, "Don't worry about me. You just focusing on getting everybody out.
Streets Of Rainbase
Tashigi grunted in pain as she collapsed to the ground; her body was littered from head to two with cuts and abrasions and she was finding it hard to keep herself moving. Magpie stood over and cleaned his blade with a flick of his wrist before he pressed his foot down between her shoulder blades, keeping her pinned down to the ground.
"You have some skills, but you are not the best I fought."
Tashigi spat in annoyance, "Release me now. I still have the energy to fight."
"What makes you think I would want to continue. I have a mission to complete," he raised his rapier to the side of her throat, "Usually, we are ordered to not kill any Marine higher than a simple grunt, but, since you have got in my way, I have no choice but to terminate you now."
Tashigi gave a small gasp in fear. She tried to tighten her grip on the hilt of her sword, but she lacked any sort of strength in her muscles, 'Damn it. I can't move,' she thought in dread as she watched his thin blade be placed upon her throat, 'I can't do anything.'
Magpie prepared to slice her throat open…when suddenly…
He snarled in pain as something hot as fire hit his sword hand, forcing him to drop his rapier to the ground. His glove was suddenly let on fire and he had to slap it with his other hand to extinguish it; a round patch of skin where the projectile hit was burnt red. He snapped his head upwards toward the roofs of the nearby houses and saw a man perched on the edge with his right hand and index finger outstretched as if he was pretending that it was a pistol. He was muscular young, possibly in his early twenties, with fair skin, pointed features, long black hair and sharp eyes. He was shirtless, but wore a brown long brimmed hat with a pair of goggles perched on them, a red bead necklace and shorts; he also had a carrier bag slung over his shoulder. Magpie noticed that he had a tattoo on his arm of four letters: A C S E. But the 'S' was crossed out. Magpie knew who he was, he had seen enough of his wanted posters across the Grand Line and knew that he is part of the Whitebead Pirates, the strongest pirate crew in the world.
"Portages D. Ace," Magpie snarled up at him.
"It's ungentlemanly to attack a woman, you know," Ace said with a smirk, "Although I guess that doesn't mean anything to you assassins."
Magpie growled in annoyance, 'This is getting ridiculous. Ever since I was given this mission, I have drawn more and more attention. I need to escape at once,' he thought.
He drew his pistol and fired twice at Ace, directly at his eyes. The pirate allowed the bullets to hit him, but they passed through him harmlessly with only two small orange fires where his eyes should be. The fires formed back together into his eyes which now stared down the alley; he saw Tashigi unconscious on the ground, but no sign of Magpie.
Ace frowned at the sight, "You're not getting away that easily," he muttered.
Magpie raced down the alleyways and lanes of Rainbase; he was almost a black and white blur as he zigzagged left and right, trying to get away and back to Rain Dinners. He had yet to find Sanji and then he had to recapture Chopper before either of them could do anything to aid their fellow crew. They are smart and Magpie had a feeling that Crocodile was underestimating their power.
He turned sharply left, but had to dig his feet into the ground as he sensed something coming towards him. He narrowly dodged a jet of flames aimed at him by leaping high in the air and landing behind the person who had fired the flames before swiping his bare back with his rapier. His blade merely passed through Ace and did nothing to hurt him and only left a line of fire across his shoulder blades, cutting the top half of his tattoo which was a skull and crossbones with a white crescent moustache; a symbol of the Whitebeard Pirates.
"Nice reflexes," Ace chuckled as his back regenerated itself, "You're almost as skilled as somebody with Haki."
"I am far superior than a Haki-user," Magpie growled, "I have no business with you nor do you have any with me. What is your purpose, Fire Fist Ace?"
Ace's eyes narrowed dangerously at him, "Heard you were going after my little brother. I can't help but get a little pissed off when he told me about you so I took a detour from what I originally came here to do and find you. And here you are. A Black Feather Assassin right in front of me."
"Before you utter a word to your captain about me, I will be gone from this wretched country with my mission complete. I care little for your Logia type power; I will destroy you if you get in my path."
"Who said anything about getting in your path? Luffy can protect himself," he smirked at him and raised his hand and extended his index finger, "I just came here to check you out myself," he said as his finger lit up, "It's not everyday you run into a member of the Secret Empire."
Magpie crouched into a battle stance, "Your cockiness will be the death of you."
"Cockiness? I much prefer the term 'over confident'," he said before several bullets of fire flew from his finger tip.
Magpie swiftly dodged them; moving left and right down the alleyway with expert timing, allowing the bullets to fly by him. He leapt up high, pushed himself off the wall and sailed towards Ace with his rapier pointed directly at him.
Ace grinned and swiped his hand to hurl a jet of flames at him before he could get any closer. Magpie leapt back out of the way of the fire, pushed himself off the wall and landed behind him in a crouching position. He was forced to leap as Ace tried to punch him with a flaming fist. Magpie bobbed and weaved as Ace continued to unleash his flaming fist attacks; all his attempts at a counter attacking failing as his rapier would not just pass through his fire-like body. He was backed into a dead end with nowhere else to run to; Ace swung his leg up and kicked at his head, but Magpie rolled past him before it could land, causing the flaming foot to impact the wall and smashing it into pieces.
Ace chuckled as he dropped his leg and turned around to look at the assassin whose breathing was deep as if he was exhausted. The pirate raised an eyebrow at the sight.
"Not going to lie, I was hoping for a better fight," he said before he swung his fist forward…
…but it didn't turn into fire like last time.
"Huh?" Ace uttered in confusion, feeling his powers seeping away from his body. That was when he felt something heavy around his neck. He looked down and saw a round, stone necklace that was clasped around his neck over his own beaded necklace. He reached up and touched it with a finger and immediately identified it, "Seastone," he hummed, his eyebrows raised as if he was impressed, "Haven't seen that one before."
He doubled over in pain as Magpie rammed his fist into his stomach. The assassin then grabbed him by his throat and tossed him over his shoulder all the way down the alleyway and hitting the plaster wall of a nearby building. Ace barely had time to get up before Magpie sped towards him, jumped up and slammed both of his feet into his stomach, sending them crashing through the wall and inside the building.
The wall that had crashed through had led to a dark abandoned warehouse, held up by only rotten pillars and rafters of wood. It had been used to store grain and other grown products, but there wasn't any due to the collapse of agriculture. All there was left were empty old sacks and broken wooden planks that was scattered over the floor; all of it covered in a layer of sandy dust.
Now inside from the bright sun, Ace gritted his teeth in pain, but got onto his feet nonetheless and dodged to his right as Magpie swiped at him with his rapier. Going on the defensive now, Ace ducked and avoided every strike and swipe from the assassin's blade, becoming overwhelmed by the speed of his attacks.
Magpie attacked again, but Ace scooped up a wooden plank and parried it before swinging it around and smacking it against the assassin's head. Magpie hardly reacted to it, but it had stopped him for a split second, allowing Ace to deliver a right hook into his masked face. He was knocked back a few steps and the chipped piece of his mask loosened slightly.
He gasped when he saw the crack in his prison open slightly, making him grin in triumph.
'Woohoo!' he yelled.
Magpie snarled and pushed the chipped piece back into place.
The crack in his prison sealed up again, plunging him into darkness once more.
'Aww,' he sighed in disappointment.
He ducked under another swing from the wooden plank before he leapt ten feet backwards into the air and landed on one of the rafters, glaring down at Ace in annoyance. Ace laughed and tossed the plank over his shoulder.
"What's wrong? Feeling tired already?"
Magpie reached out his hand and gripped it tightly, "Do you always have to use humour to cover your lack of skills or are you proficient in anything else?" he questioned before he opened up his hand and allowed several metal objects to fall to the dusty ground.
Ace looked at the objects scattered on the floor and raised an eyebrow, "Huh, nails?" he asked, staring down at the long construction nails curiously.
Cccrrrrreeeeeeeeaaaaaakkkk!
Ace's eyes widened in realisation as he looked up in time to see one of the roof rafters collapse and collide against the main pillar that was holding the warehouse and snapping it like a dry twig. It set of a chain reaction, wooden rafters fell on themselves and pillar toppled over by the impact. Very soon the entire building would collapse on top of Ace, trapping him in a pile of rubble and dust.
Magpie had made his escape as soon as the first rafter fail and now stood on the roof of the building next door, looking down at the destruction he had caused. Feeling satisfied, he was about to turn around and seek out Chopper and Sanji again when he heard piles of the rubble shift from underneath it. He tilted his head as a hand broke through the surface; it grabbed onto what it could before it pulled the rest of his body up until Ace appeared. He was bruised and had suffered scratches in some places, but he was far from dead, much to Magpie's displeasure.
Ace crawled out underneath the debris and kneeled upon the wreckage with his head slightly bowed. He coughed, releasing a little dust from his lungs, and used his arm to wipe the soot in his eyes. He heard the firm click of a pistol's hammer being pulled back and looked up calmly and sternly at Magpie; the assassin having pointed a gun right at his forehead. However, he didn't fire yet, but cocked his head to the side questioningly.
"You trust your brother and yet you still fight me. Why?" he asked slowly.
What was left of his joking, mockery attitude had left Ace almost immediately. He glared up at him from underneath the brim of his hat defiantly as if he was challenging him in a non-combative way.
"I came here to deliver you a waning from Whitebeard himself," Ace told him seriously, "Pops is starting to get annoyed with you assassin bastards and so are the other Emperors. You have gone too far and now he wants to tear your entire Empire down brick by brick."
"Whitebeard and the rest of the Yonkos sully the prestige of the word Emperor," Magpie growled back, "Do you think our ruler is afraid of an old hag, a drunk warrior, a one-armed cripple," he tilted his head to the side in mockery, "or a senile old man?" he questioned, making Ace growl, "You can try…but your efforts will be in vain. The old ways are coming to end…and a new world order will be established in its ashes."
He was about to pull the trigger when suddenly….
BOOOMM!
He snapped his head around to the direction of the explosion; it had come from the centre of the city; exactly where Rain Dinners was.
"Damn it!" he shouted before he turned back to Ace…
…only to find that he had disappeared leaving only the broken Seastone necklace where he had been.
Magpie growled in anger and turned towards the direction of Rain Dinners and zoomed down the road. He can't allow the Straw Hats to escape again.
Meeting Room
A few minutes earlier
The bananwami laid unconscious across the meeting room floor, taking up the most space with its scaly body, but it no longer posed as a threat. It was about to eat Vivi and the rest of the Straw Hats when Chopper had managed to arrive in time and punched it in the gut using his muscular form, making it cough up the key and a weird ball made out of wax. They disregarded the wax ball at the moment and focused on getting out.
Vivi inserted the key into the seastone cage that kept Luffy and Smoker and unlocked it successfully. The door swung open and Luffy leapt out and jumped in the air in victory.
"Alright! Thanks Vivi!" he said gleefully.
Vivi giggled, "Don't thank me. Thank Chopper," she said looking down at the reindeer beside her, "He was the one who retrieved the key from the bananwami. Those rumble balls are really useful."
Chopper, hearing the compliment, began to do a gleeful dance, "Aw~ Stop it, you jerk~ I'm not happy or anything~" he giggled in joy as he waved his hooves in front of him.
Smoker climbed out of the cave and looked down at him, "Not bad for a tanuki," he muttered.
"I'M A REINDEER! YOU BASTARD!"
"Quick get us out of here!" Usopp urgently told them.
"We're running out of time," Nami agreed as Vivi rushed over to the cage to try and unlock it, "Chopper, where's Sanji?"
"He went off to distract Magpie," he informed them, much to their shock.
"No way! Without me!" Luffy moaned.
"He said that he's the final line of defence we need to overcome if we were to get out of here. Once we get out of the casino, we'll take the backstreets and head to the outskirts. He said he'll catch up in an hour or so," Chopper explained.
"Perverted cook always have the play the hero, huh?" Zoro muttered as he leaned back against the bars.
"Oh no," Vivi uttered from the cage door, catching everybody's attention, "Err…bad news guys."
"What's wrong?"
She lifted the key up to them, "It won't unlock this cage. Crocodile must have used a different one."
"Are you kidding me!" Nami cried.
"That cheater!" Usopp added.
Zoro sighed and pushed himself off the bars and pointed at his swords lying on the ground, "Don't worry. I've got this. Chopper pass me my swords."
"Right," the reindeer said as he delivered the swords through the bars happily.
Zoro grabbed his swords and got into a fighting stance, "I would have preferred all three of them, but I have to make do with this," he muttered as he took a deep breath, "Alright everybody stay back."
But before he could cut the bars, Luffy put his hands up and grinned, "Wait!" he ordered, "I've got a better idea."
Casino
A bodyguard on the top floor of Rain Dinners looked over the crowd gamblers as they played their games and sighed in boredom. That was the trouble with patrolling a casino owned by a Warlord; nobody dared to cause a fight or even get into an argument.
It was both the easiest and the most boring gig he's ever had.
The bodyguard leaned against a wall and yawned tiredly. He did see Crocodile and his assistant stepped outside not too long ago so he can risk having a standing nap until the return. He was just about to close his eyes when suddenly-
Bubububub!
He sighed in annoyance and took out his pocket transponder snail and stopped it from ringing.
"Hello?"
"We need back up!" his colleague yelled from the other end, "Crocodile's VIP guest! He's breaking out with his weapon and heading towards the casino!"
The bodyguard frowned in alarm, "Weapon? What weapon is he using?"
"A cage!"
"A…cage?" he uttered, not quite sure he heard him right.
"GUM GUM…"
He heard a muffled voice yell out and looked up in confusion. Where had it come from?
"…CAGE PUNCH!"
Suddenly, the wall he was leaning on exploded sending him and other large pieces of debris flying across the casino. The other patrons turned in sheer shock as a large hole appeared in the far wall and at the strange sight of Luffy carrying a giant metal cage over his head with his three of his crew mates inside or hanging off the edge of it for dear life. All of them, except for a grinning Luffy, looked as if they have just been through hell.
"Ha! This cage is much sturdier than it looks, huh?" Luffy chuckled while the others groaned.
"I'm going to die," Usopp moaned upside down in the corner of the cage, "I'm going to die in this thing."
Nami raised her head as she slowly and painfully detangled her own limbs from each other, "I want to go back to the banana alligator things," she whined.
"Luffy, I'm gonna kill you as soon as I get out!" Zoro yelled as he tried to pull his head out between the bars.
Vivi, along with Chopper, was clinging to the side of the cage, shaking like a leaf in horror, "Just f-focus on getting to Alubarna," she muttered to herself, her eyes white in fear, "This will all be o-o-over soon."
Chopper passed out as held onto the bars a few minutes ago; a small ghostly version of himself appearing from his open mouth.
Luffy just laughed and turned his head back to the gaping hole, "Hey Smokey! You coming or what!?"
Smoker sighed as he appeared behind him from the hole, "Just focus on getting out of here, Straw Hat. We still have enemies to get through," pointing to the several bodyguards running at them.
Luffy just grinned as the ran over before he tensed his muscles and stretched his arms to one side, "GUM GUM…"
"NO LUFFY! NO!" the crew yelled.
"…CAGE WHIP!" he bellowed before he swung the cage and his screaming crew mates, knocking all of the out in one go before pulling it back over to his head and began to run through the casino towards the door, "Alright, time to knock a new exit out of here!"
"DON'T!" they yelled at him desperately before the looked back at Smoker, "HELP UP PLEASE CAPTAIN SMOKER!"
"We're still enemies! Save yourselves!" the Marine captain shouted after them.
Streets Of Rainbase
Magpie raced as fast as he could towards Rain Dinners.
His fight with Ace was a meaningless distraction and he berated himself to have fallen into the trap. He had to hone his focus on the problem at hand; the explosion from the casino sounded as if it was coming from inside it and he can only assume that Straw Hat has done something.
'This mission is becoming more complex by the second,' he thought to himself as he turned a corner and zoomed past two men walking down the opposite way, surprising them both as he almost knocked them over, "No more distractions. If I value my life and my loyalty to serving the Empire, then I must complete this mission," his eyes narrowed in determination, 'The next person to step in my path will be cut down immediately.'
He whipped around a corner and stopped in his tracks as he saw somebody unexpected standing a few meters down the road as if waiting for him. Sanji took a drag of his cigarette and blew the plume of smoke into the air casually before glaring at Magpie through his fringe. The assassin unsheathed his rapier almost immediately and crouched down in a battle pose.
"Hey dipshit. Long time, no see," he said, "Looks like you haven't learned your lesson from last time."
"Neither have you," Magpie growled, "I assume that you one that caused the explosion at Rain Dinners."
Sanji shrugged, "Maybe I was. Maybe I wasn't. Not like you're going to find out at time soon," he muttered as he shoved his hands into his pockets,
"Where is Monkey D. Luffy?" Magpie snarled.
"Ha! You just missed him. Now they're free from Crocodile, they now have to out of this damn place as fast as they can," he raised his curled eyebrow and shot him a look of determination, "That was about twenty minutes ago. Right now, they are crossing the desert a few miles away. You have no idea which direction they're going, they have a head start and even if you run now," he smirked challengingly, "You have to get through me before you can even think of running after them. So go ahead, make your move," he said as he raised his leg in preparation, "you have a lot of catching up to do."
They glared at each other challengingly; hollow black eyes stared at fierce determined eyes and vis versa.
Sanji needed to make sure that they get to Alubarna without interruptions and he was not going down without a fight.
Magpie knew that this was merely to distract him further; a quick, painless death is in order. One flick of his blade across his throat should keep him down.
Neither of them were backing down.
…
…
…
So, imagine they're surprise when Luffy, still carrying the cage over his head, came running of the alleyway between the two and stop right in front of them.
"COMING THROUGH!" Luffy yelled before he skidded to a stop and looked around, "Alright, where to next?"
The cigarette dropped from Sanji's mouth as his jaw fell in shock. Magpie regarded the appearance of his target with surprise before he cocked his head to the side.
This, clearly, wasn't the plan.
"Luffy!" Nami cried down from the cage, shaking her fist through the metal bars, "You're going the wrong way. We're nowhere near the edge of Rainbase."
"Trust you to make things more difficult," Zoro muttered.
"That's rich coming from you," Usopp snapped, "if it was you, you'll probably end up back on Drum Island."
"Guys!" Vivi whined as she clung to the side of the cage, "please don't argue. We really need to get to Alubarna before the rebel army does."
"Can we get rid of the cage first," Chopper wept next to Vivi, "I don't know how much I can stand of this."
Luffy hummed before he turned his head to the right and spotted a still shocked Sanji, "Oh hey, Sanji. Whatcha doing here?"
"Sanji?" Usopp said in confusion as the others peered over the side of the cage down at him, "Oh hey. I thought you were going to distract Magpie while we escape? Did you find him?"
The chef merely pointed for them to look on the other side.
"Huh?" they uttered as they turned and saw Magpie glaring back at them.
….
….
….
….
"AHHHHHH! MAGPIE!" they screamed collectively.
"It would appear I caught up with them," Magpie said at their frightened yells, "That wasn't too hard."
"Ahh! Luffy do something!" Nami cried out as she clung onto the metal bars.
"Yosh!" Luffy yelled as he lifted the cage up with his rubber arms, "GUM GUM…
"NO NOT AGAIN!" the crew in the cage yelled in terror.
"…CAGE PUNCH!" Luffy declared as she he launched the cage at Magpie…along with his screaming crew mates.
Magpie stepped to the side and allowed the cage to fly past him, followed by the cries of the pirates. Once his arm had extended to its full length, it stopped in mid-air before it snapped backwards, fling the cage and all of them flying into the and across the city.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHhhhhhhhhhhh!" they screamed before they disappeared into the distance.
Luffy hummed curiously at the sight before he felt himself being pulled by the momentum of the flying cage, sending him flying off his feet.
"WWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHhhhhhhhhhhh!" he yelled as he too disappeared into the distance.
Sanji blinked blankly as he saw them all fly away, not quite sure how to react to it. He shook his head and turned back to Magpie and pointed challengingly,
"Ignore that last part. Let's batt-"
Out of the sky, a rubber arm reached down and grabbed his leg, making him yelp in surprise. The hand then pulled his leg out from underneath, making him slam face first into the ground before yanking him introvert the city just like the others.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHhhhhhhhhhh!" he yelled before he too disappeared into the distance.
Magpie stared in the direction they flew away before he sighed and shook his head.
He wasn't angry anymore. He was just disappointed.
Outskirts of Rainbase
Just outside the city, what remained of the cage that had kept part of the Straw Hat crew imprisoned was now broken apart and scattered across the sandy ground. The crew were, like the cage, were also scattered and all in a lot of pain; Chopper was half buried upside down, Usopp had almost sunken in a nearby dune, Nami had landed face down in a pile of mud, Zoro was smashed against a nearby building, Vivi landed in a pile of hay and, somehow, Sanji had somehow got himself stuck on the leaves of a palm tree. The only person unscathed and standing proudly with his hands on his hips was Luffy who was grinning wildly.
"Ha! That was fun!" he cried out before his face lit up in realisation. He looked over to the swordsman who had just peeled himself off the wall, "Hey, Zoro. I just realised. Why didn't you use your swords to cut through the bars?"
"I WAS ABOUT TO, YOU IDIOT!" Zoro yelled at him.
"Huh? Really?" Luffy asked, nonplussed by his yelling, "You should have said something."
"YOU MORON!" Sanji, Nami, Zoro and Usopp screamed as they ignored their injuries and attacked their captain.
While the Straw Hats fought, Vivi made her way over to Chopper and pulled him out of the sand by his legs and turned him the right side up, "Guys, stop it!" she ordered the cloud of dust, caused by their fighting, "We need to get to Alubarna before the rebel army does and Magpie will be here any second."
The crew stopped their fighting almost immediately. Out of them, Nami stood up and scathed her chin thoughtfully.
"We still have no way of crossing the desert," she muttered, "It took us ages to get here and it will take us even longer to get to the capital without a mode of transport."
"On top of that, we've run out of supplies," Sanji added as he lit another cigarette, "Going now we'll be suicidal."
Just as they thought there was no hope for them, the sand near them burst upwards and a giant creature emerged from it. Surprised, they stepped back to see that it was a giant red crab; it had a brown, furry patch on the top of its shell and a wide toothy grin that spread from eye to eye. Riding upon its back was a camel that they met in the desert who they befriended; apparently Chopper met him before when they first landed and the it had offered to let Nami and Vivi ride on its back…it didn't allow the boys on his back though.
"Eyelash!" they all cried happily at the sight of the camel.
The, now named, Eyelash grinned down at them and made a few throaty grunts as if he was saying something.
"He knew we probably needed a ride," Chopper translated for the camel, "and so called one of his friends from nearby to help us out."
"Eyelash is friends with an Itinerant Crab?" Vivi uttered in surprise, "I can't believe it. They are rarely seen because they live underneath the sand."
"Looks delicious," Luffy hummed thoughtfully.
"I wonder how big of a pot I would need to boil it in," Sanji muttered as he took a drag from his cigarette.
Usopp looked up at the crab and frowned when he saw it chuckle and leer down at the Nami and Vivi, "Why is acting that way?"
"Eyelash says that he's a pervert," Chopper explained.
"Lot of perverted animals in the desert," Usopp hummed as he also saw Eyelash leer perversely at the two women.
"We're wasting time," Zoro called out to them, already climbing up the crab's leg, "get on and let's go."
The others followed suit and rested on the crab's furry shell and clung tightly as the crab scuttled quickly across the sand at impressive speeds. Vivi couldn't help but laugh despite the situation as she felt the wind whip her long hair as they picked up the pace.
'We will get to Alubarna in no time,' she thought with a grin, 'Father, everyone, don't worry you can count on me!'
However, she gasped when she felt something solid and cold wrap around her body, sending a chill running down her spine. She only had time to look down to see a large golden hook had grabbed her…before it pulled her off the crab and into the air.
She screamed in terror as she was dragged away, alerting the others to her capture. Luffy, thinking quickly, extended his arms and grabbed Vivi in one hand and the hook in the other and pulled himself up. He lifted her out of the hook's clutches and tossed her back to the crab and replaced himself in her place in one swift move. Now that he was the one being hurled back, his crew cried out to him in shock.
"LUFFY!" Vivi cried to him as she saw him being carried away.
"I'LL BE FINE!" he shouted back, clinging to his straw hat as flew away, "GO ON AHEAD! I'LL MEET YOU AT ALUBARNA!"
Zoro nodded in understanding and turned to Chopper who was steering the crab, "Chopper! Keep this crab going! Don't stop!"
"Roger!" Chopper chirped back.
"Wait! We have to go back for him!" Vivi shouted in panic, but Nami grabbed her shoulder.
"Don't worry about him, Vivi," she reassured her, "if anything we should feel sorry for Crocodile and Magpie. There hasn't been a single person to piss him off and get away with it."
Vivi frowned in worry and glanced over her shoulder back towards Rainbase as it disappeared from sight.
Luffy landed on the sand in a heap; he groaned, sat up and spat out a few piles of sand he accidentally ate before glaring up at three individuals standing over him. Crocodile, whose golden hook reattached itself to his arm, grimaced grimly down at him; Miss All Sunday looked down at him in slight intrigue while Magpie glared at him with his hollow eyes.
Miss All Sunday chuckled slightly, "Seems like the princess got away. Pity."
"We should have killed them when we had the chance, Crocodile," Magpie snapped at the Warlord, "Your dramatics has cost me."
Crocodile sneered at him, "You worry too much, Black Feather," he drawled, "the agents should be in place and prepared to carry out the next phase of the plan. Even if they do get to the capital, it's not as if they could do anything," he grinned manically, "events are already in play. The revolution has begun."
"Shut it!" Luffy snapped, glaring at the three, "Vivi might be weak, but she's always thinking of others and always trying to help everyone around her," his angry eyes turned the assassin, "She even felt sorry for you. Even after you tried to kill you!" he shouted, earning an annoyed tsk from the assassin.
"Naive pacifists are always deluded," Crocodile snarled, "They never understand how the real works."
Luffy stumbled onto his feet and pushed his hat down further over his head, "She'll continue to risk her life and fight as long as you're around. So, I'm gonna stop you here and now," he said as he cracked his knuckles.
Crocodile reared back his head and laughed, "AH AH AH! How absurd! You're just as hopeless too. I've tossed aside countless fools like you. Why'd die for the sake of friendship."
"Well," Luffy said with an excited grin, "I guess that's make you the stupid one."
Magpie saw anger flash across the Warlord's face for a second: his eyes become bloodshot and a vein pulsated and looked as if it was going to burst. He heard a light chuckle from beside him and glanced over at Robin who held a hand over mouth.
"Something you find funny, Nico Robin?" Crocodile growled, "Would you like to die as well?"
The mature woman seemed unbothered by his threat before turned and walked away, "Feel free to do as you wish. I'm going ahead to Alubarna. I'll meet you at the palace."
Before the Warlord could do anything, Robin wandered off back into the city.
"I never understand that woman," he grumbled under his breath.
"Crocodile," Magpie sharply said, as he stepped in front of him, "Our agreement is to keep him alive. Let me subdue him and take him. He'll be out of you way then."
"And our agreement entails that you kill the princess," he retorted as he took a drag of cigar, "and yet you have not succeeded."
"I would have done if it wasn't for your interference," Magpie growled.
"Well, then here's an opportunity to redeem yourself," Crocodile cruelly said as he pointed in the direction the crab had left, "Kill Vivi now and I will…slightly harm Straw Hat. After all, I don't think there's any way of stopping him now."
Magpie looked over his shoulder at Luffy and saw the same determined look in his eyes; the same look he had back when he fought him on the island. There was no way of stopping him from fighting.
He growled in irritation before he glared back at Crocodile, "I mean it, Crocodile. When I return he better be in one easily transportable piece. Otherwise, you can forget the alliance and my aid."
The Warlord smirked at him, "You worry too much. Go on and catch up to them, Black Feather."
Magpie gave him one final glare before he turned, got into a running stance; he took a deep breath and tensed his legs and shot off into the desert like a bullet, picking up speed as he went. After a few seconds he had disappeared into the horizon.
Crocodile smirked as he watched the assassin leave and chuckled to himself, 'You think you can threaten me, you little bastard. You've out lived your usefulness and I have no need for alliances,' he thought to himself before he looked back at Luffy, "Well, shall we begin Straw Hat?"
Somewhere in the Desert
Meanwhile, the rest of the crew continued to travel across the island towards the Sandora River where they would have to cross it before they could reach the capital. The sun was starting to fall over the horizon and the evening was slowly shifting into night, meaning that won't be able to reach it today.
Vivi sat cross legged as she looked over the Arabastan landscape; worries and concern weighing heavily on her mind. Not only was the rebel army quickly marching towards Alubarna but they had left behind their friend to deal with her enemy. Nami and the others did reassure that he would be fine, but she couldn't help but feel a little worried. She was snapped out of her depression by Nami's hand being placed on her shoulder, making her look up at her.
"Judging by the crab's speed and the distance we still need to cover, we would probably reach the capital by early morning at the most," she informed her gently, "Sorry it couldn't be sooner."
"It's not your fault," Vivi told her kindly, "at least we are heading in the right direction."
Nami frowned slightly, "You should probably get some sleep. Actually, I think we all do after the day we had. You can use our cloaks as bedding and the crab's fur is pretty soft."
"I'm not tired, thank you Nami. I don't think I can sleep with me knowing what's going on in my country. We just need to focus on getting there before the conflict start."
"How do you plan on stopping it?"
Vivi hesitated slightly, "I don't know," she admitted "But I'll find a way. I'll stand right in front of them if I have to," she declared firmly, earning a concerned look from her friend.
"Holy crap!" everybody turned around to see Usopp standing on the back of the crab and looking the opposite way they were going, "He's found us!"
"Who's found us?" Zoro questioned.
Usopp pointed behind them in panic, "It's Magpie! He's on our tail!" they all followed where he was pointing and saw, much to their horror, that he was right. In the distance, getting closer and closer, was Magpie sprinting towards them; his body become a blur at how fast he was running "This guy's insane! We must be travelling at a least 80 miles per hour and he looks like he's going to overtake us!"
Sanji growled and turned to the doctor, "Chopper, can you tell this crab to pick up the pace. We need to shake him off."
The reindeer communicated with the giant crab before turning back around, "It's no use. He says that this is his top speed," he informed before he heard the crab say something again, "Oh, but he says that can you encourage him to go faster with a sexy dance," he translated as the crab giggled perversely.
Sanji turned to Nami and Vivi and gave them a thumbs up; blood gushing from his nose, "Can we count on you two?"
"NO WAY IN HELL!" the two yelled back.
Magpie was quickly catching up to them, zigzagging past the dunes and rocks in mere seconds. Usopp got out his slingshot and loaded it with an Exploding Star pellet.
"Take this!" he shouted before he fired the pellet at the assassin. However, Magpie moved away before it could hit him, impacting the ground and making it exploded, "Damn! Take this!" he fired another pellet, but like the one before, was dodged like it was nothing, "And this! And this! And this! And this! And this!" he yelled as he fired a volley of attacks to ward him off.
The last Exploding Star landed at Magpie's feet, but he leapt high in to the air to avoid it and sailed towards them with his pistols drawn. He fired four rounds at Usopp, but, luckily, Zoro deflected them with his swords.
"Bastard!" Zoro shouted as he leapt up to meet him with both swords in his hands, "Two Sword Style: Take Nami!" he proclaimed, swiping his swords fast enough to create a sudden gush of wind that hurtled towards Magpie.
Somehow, Magpie avoided and flew towards Zoro; he raised his leg and kicked him hard in the face, knocking him back on to the crab's shell. Magpie landed on the shell as well, but it immediately ducked as Sanji aimed a kick at his head. The chef twisted his body around and aimed another kick, but Magpie raised his arm and blocked it; Sanji grunted as he tried to put all his effort into his leg to get through the block, but Magpie drew his rapier and swiped at his throat and made him fall back to avoid it.
Magpie saw Zoro charging at him with his two swords. Magpie spun his around and made a large boulder, which he stole from the ground, appear in hand and flung it towards him. No chance to dodge, Zoro was forced to cut it in half before it could it hit him; this only allowed enough of a distraction for Magpie to charge forwards a sock him right in the jaw, making him fly back to the edge of the crab's shell, almost falling off it.
He turned in time for Sanji to attack him again; he ducked under his first kick and moved as he followed it up with several lightning-fast kicks. Magpie ducked and rolled underneath the last kick so he was behind him and swiped upwards with his rapier, cutting part of his back open. Sanji shouted in pain and gripped his wound tightly, but Magpie spun around and heel kicked him in the side of the head, rendering him unconscious.
"Don't worry guys," Usopp cried as he brought out a wooden mallet from his bag, "I've got this. Usopp HAMMER!" he yelled as he charged at the assassin with his mallet raised.
Slap!
He was immediately knocked off his feet after Magpie merely slapped him with the back of his hand and landed in a heap with his nose slightly bent.
"N-never mind," he moaned before he fell unconscious.
Magpie stalked over to where Vivi was, pulled out his pistol and aimed it at her, but Nami and Chopper, in his muscular form, stepped in front of her.
"Stop right there!" she ordered as she pulled out a blue baton from her pocket.
"Yeah," Chopper chimed in, "To get to Vivi, you have to get through us."
Magpie tilted his head to the side, "Fine then. I've more than enough bullets."
Chopper gulped nervously, "Probably shouldn't have said that."
Before they could do anything, however, Vivi got around them and stepped in front of them with her hands raised in defence. She gave the pistol a nervous look before she focused on his horrifying mask.
"Magpie, this is the third time you pointed a gun at me and yet you have never succeeded in killing me," she told him, "Surely, you must know that this means something. Something inside of you is telling you to stop and I think you should listen to it."
"My actions are my own; I am not being manipulated by anything. You may have escaped death by my hands more than one time, but I will not allow you to get a way now," he snarled at her as he pulled back the hammer.
"So, you meant to throw your shot away this morning, huh?" Vivi shouted at him in fury, "was that your actions."
"I am done with your distractions," Magpie hissed as he tightened his grip on the trigger, "I will complete my mission now!"
He squeezed the trigger tightly.
Vivi closed her eyes and turned away.
Nami and Chopper yelled in fear of their friend's life.
But they were completely helpless to do anything as Magpie was about to fire the pistol at Vivi's head…
…when suddenly.
A shock ran down Magpie's spine, catching him off guard and to freeze up; his finger releasing the trigger before it could be pulled. He sensed something; something essential; something that he needed to deal with immediately. He turned his head around in the direction of Rainbase and focused on his senses, reaching out to them and demanding for them to tell him what was wrong. Realisation struck him like a thunderbolt.
'No,' he thought desperately, 'No it can't be.'
Vivi, not hearing the gun firing, opened her eyes and looked cautiously at the assassin as she wondered what had captured his attention, "What's wrong?" she demanded, "Why did you stop?"
"It's Luffy," he replied unintentionally, "he's dying."
"What!?" the Straw Hats cried out in sheer shock.
However, before they could inquire more, Magpie turned around, leapt off the crab and, as soon as his feet hit the ground, sprinted off towards Rainbase, leaving them alone and unharmed. However, what he said was by far more painful than a bullet wound.
"Luffy's dying?" Vivi gasped fearfully as she watched Magpie disappear into the horizon.
Outskirts of Rainbase
Magpie sped across the golden sands towards the place that he had left Luffy and Crocodile, his instincts telling him that he needed to go faster before it was too late. Finally, he arrived at the area, only to stop on the edge of a giant sand pit; it must have been ten meters wide and twice as deep and he was very sure that it wasn't there when he left.
He scoured the wet sand as bubbled and ebbed like water beneath, eating up rocks and anything that happened to fall into it. He focused his sights before spotting a part of a straw hat from within the pit that was quickly sinking deeper. He took a step back, took a deep breath before he leapt feet first into the sandpit, landing just next to where he saw the hat had before it was enveloped in the quicksand.
The fluid sand was boiling hot and breathing and moving was near impossible as he too began to sink. Despite it, he reached out and grabbed a solid object which felt like a human and clung to him tightly to his body. With Luffy secured, he began to kick with both of his legs upwards towards the surface. It was difficult for him, his legs past through the quicksand with little resistance and the added weight of another person was not helping. With air running out from his lungs, he began to kick faster and faster.
'20 miles per hour…40 miles per hour….80 miles per hour,' he thought to himself as his legs kicked harder and harder, only managing to shift only a little bit, '…160 miles per hour! 320 miles per hour!' he yelled in his head. He felt himself stop sinking in the quicksand, the speeds of his legs allowing him to wade. But it wasn't enough and time was running out, '400! 450! 500 MILES PER HOUR!'
Suddenly, Magpie shot up and burst out of the sandpit, holding onto Luffy as tightly as he could muster. He landed a few meters from its edge on both feet and laid the pirate down. Unbeknownst to him, the chip of his mask that was keeping the crack covered was lost in the quicksand, never to be seen again underneath the yellow sand. He almost collapsed as well in tiredness, but caught himself before he could.
'It's exhausting going at the speed,' he thought, 'But I have to focus. Have to make sure that he survives,' he inspected Luffy and snarled when he saw a puncture wound in his chest, 'It enters through the front and exits through the back. Judging by the shape of the wound, the weapon must have had a curve…like a hook,' he thought furiously before he reached for his neck, 'He's still breathing. It must not have hit anything vital. I must fix the wound immediately.'
He decided to take Luffy over to the nearest place with a medical kit they he could use; he didn't want to risk going to the doctor in case Crocodile's Billions are nearby. He was about to carry him away when a soft cough caught his attention. He glanced over his shoulder and saw Nico Robin standing beneath the branches of a palm tree. He gave her a suspicious look, but saw a medical kit in her hand; she smiled slightly and held up the kit.
"Thought you would need this," she simply said.
Magpie stared at her for a few seconds before he stole the kit from her hand and began to patch up his wound.
"I thought you were heading to Alubarna?" he questioned without looking around.
"I decided to hang around for a little while. It's not as if I need to go immediately," she said in her silky voice, "The country is going to descent into chaos tomorrow so I thought I appreciate the peace while it lasts."
He spat in annoyance, "You knew Crocodile would break his promise."
"Of course, I did. He's a pirate. That's what they do. You were foolish enough to trust him."
"Are you a fool as well for working for him?"
"I know what I'm doing."
"And now I know what I'm going to do," Magpie said as he finally patched up Luffy's wound, "Tell Crocodile that I'm he shove his alliance. I'm leaving with my target now. He has made himself an enemy of the Secret Empire and he will be terminated as soon as I report back to my superiors."
Robin raised an eyebrow, "And what of the princess. Don't you need to kill her?"
Magpie tilted his head and glared at her, "Her plan is futile. She'll be lucky if she survives."
Arabastan Desert
Luffy awoke to him being dragged on his back across the sand and opened his eyes to look up the clear night sky and the bright stars. He groaned in confusion before he noticed that both of his hands were shackled over his head by seastone cuffs; he looked up and saw the cuffs attached to a chain that was being pulled, along with himself, by Magpie. The assassin's was faced away from him with the chain he was hauling over his right shoulder, not saying a single word as he trekked past the sandy dunes.
Luffy blinked up at him before she looked down at the wound in his chest where Crocodile had speared him with his hook, only to find that it was completely patched up by bandages. He may not be the most intelligent person, but he knew that it was Magpie who healed him. He leaned his head back and grinned at him.
"Hey!" he called out only to be met with silence, "Hey!" he called out again, but was ignored once more, "Hey! Magpie! Magpie! Look at me!"
The assassin sighed and looked over his shoulder, "What?"
"Thanks for healing me," he said with a grin, "You're actually secretly nice, ain't ya?"
Magpie turned his head forwards, "My mission is to keep up alive and deliver you to the Empire. It was a necessity."
"Aww, this again," Luffy moaned childishly, "I need to get to Alubarna. Vivi needs me! And I need to kick Crocodile's ass!" he was once again met with silence, making him sigh in annoyance, "Why do you guys want me anyway? I didn't even know you existed a few days ago."
"Good," Magpie sharply said, "and the reason for your presence is classified."
"Huh? Like the music?"
"You're thinking of classical. Classified means that it is only know by a small number of people. A secret."
"Does that mean you don't know either?"
Magpie remained silent.
"No way! You don't know why! Then what's the point of doing all of this!?"
"Knowing the purpose of a mission is not part of my mission," Magpie growled, "You have been an annoyance for too long. Once I have got rid of you and my mission is completed then I'll be free of your insanity-"
"And go back to being a slave?" Luffy questioned, the tone in his voice shifted slightly into something more serious. It was such as surprise, that Magpie stopped in his tracks, "Taking orders against your will and without giving you the opportunity to say no…that's sounds like being a slave."
The assassin's grasped tightened around the chain as he looked down at the ground, "So be it," he simply said.
"What!" Luffy exclaimed in shock, "No way! Nobody likes being a slave!"
"It's not a question of whether I like it or not. I am an assassin of the Secret Empire. This is what I was born to be and what I will be when I die. It is a fact. Nothing more, nothing less," he firmly told him before he began to drag him once more.
Luffy pouted immaturely, "That's lame. Your life sucks," he grumbled before he looked up at him and grinned, "You should want to be free. It's great! You can do what you want any time you want and nobody can boss you around. That's why I going to be King of the Pirates!" he declared proudly.
"King of the pirates," Magpie scoffed, "That's what you want to be?"
"I don't want to. I'm going to be it," he retorted, "And once me and my crew find the One Piece then we can all be free. Free to do what we want, be what we want, eat what we want…doesn't that sound cool."
"It's irrelevant what I think. Besides, I don't eat or drink."
Luffy's head snapped towards him in sheer horror, "You don't….eat!" he gasped, "But that's like one of the best things ever. Damn, your life really does suck…wait, does that mean you don't poop?"
"Who asks that to another person!" Magpie shouted at him over his shoulder, "What is your point?"
"I'm saying that freedom is cool and it's not good that somebody doesn't want it," he clarified, "It means everything to me and I want everybody I meet to have a chance of getting it. That's one of the reasons why I became a pirate," he told him.
Magpie remained silent and stared down at the ground in disinterest. Is freedom that good? Was it something that he wanted? He would be lying to say that he completely hated the idea; it was never something he really considered was an option. That thought was immediately crushed as soon as I emerged; he was not going to fall victim to this pirate's philosophy. He was a member of the Black Feathers, he was a pillar that upheld the entire Secret Empire.
"I don't desire freedom," Magpie coldly told him, "I only wish to complete my mission. That is all."
Luffy blinked up at him as he tried to process what he said. Eventually, he climbed onto his feet and jogged up beside Magpie and grinned up at him.
"Okay. Let's go."
Magpie stopped and looked down at him in confusion, "What are you doing?"
"I haven't thanked you yet for saving me back there. Since you don't want freedom, I thought I help you do the next best thing and complete your mission," he explained, much to Magpie's disbelief.
The assassin stared at him as if he had grown a second head before he growled, "You really think I would fall for that? There's no way you'll agree to complete my mission."
"Huh? Why not?"
"I stole your prized hat and your crew's precious items, forced you to come to a deserted island even when you needed to get Arabasta, injured your crew mates, attempted to kidnap you, stole your powers, form an alliance with your arch enemy, kidnap your crew again, chased and attacked you and contributed in the downfall of a royal family and a Warlord's sinister plot in taking control of a nation…and after all of that…you decided to thank me for saving your life once?"
…
…
…
"Yep," Luffy happily agreed.
…
…
…
"You're an idiot."
"Hey!" Luffy shouted in offence before he shrugged, "It's not like we're completely even or anything. I want you to do something for me and then you can kidnap me to your…wherever I'm going?"
"And that is?"
"Take me to Alubarna and help me take Crocodile down."
Magpie shook his head in utter disbelief, "Impossible."
"Oh come on! You can at least take me to the outskirts!"
"Not that!" Magpie snapped, "Crocodile cannot be defeated. He was far stronger than you when you fought him earlier. And you weren't even injured then," he sighed miserably, "there is no point. Crocodile has thought everything to the finest detail and won't let something easily slip by him. He's been planning Operation Utopia for years and won't be defeated easily."
"I didn't say it was going to be easy," Luffy retorted, "I'm fighting because I promised Vivi that I was going to save her country. Besides, I think I know a way of defeating him."
"I already have you chained up and ready to take you to my boat. You are defenceless, weak and I'm a mere few hours to completing my mission," Magpie growled, "After everything I have risked, after being threatened by my superiors of my own termination, after every single fault and unexpected mistake that has emerged like a curse; why the hell would I release you now!?" he roared
"Because hundreds of people will die," Luffy told him without a single second of hesitation, "Because Crocodile will win. Because Vivi's country will be destroyed. That's why."
Magpie, for the first time in ages, felt his heart feel heavy in his chest as soon as he said that. The young captain's face was solid in fierce determination, his eyes were sharp and focused as if nothing else mattered but what he pledged to Vivi not too long ago.
Magpie had killed hundreds of people before; most of them were far taller and more intimidating than the pirate in front of him. He has even managed to take down a giant all by himself. And yet, he held no emotion or feelings whenever he assassinated another living being; it was his duty, his raison d'être, his contribution to the glorious Secret Empire. However, this was nothing he had ever seen before. He wasn't afraid nor intimidated by Monkey D. Luffy, but he did feel something well up from within him. A mix feeling of compassion and compulsion that was so alien to him that he couldn't describe it in words.
With all his training, with all his experience, with everything he has been through over the years…for the very first time, Magpie had no idea what to do.
Luffy saw how silent he had become and fixed him with an intense glare, "Look. I know you may not care about the reason, but, either way, you'll get what you want. The only difference is that you get the chance to stop Crocodile from taking over and you'll get to save lives rather than taking them. So, if you help me, then I can help you. What do you think?" he asked seriously.
From within his prison, he listened to Luffy's every word through the crack in his prison. He may not know what exactly was going on, but he wanted to help in any way he could.
He truly believed in Luffy.
He lifted himself off the floor and pressed himself against the crack, trying to reach out to the world outside, 'Please…let me help. I don't want to kill anymore. Listen to him, prison. Please do this,' he pleaded with all his strength, 'Just do this once. Let's do something right.'
Outside, Magpie stared down at the captain, his hollow eyes staring blankly at his determined glare. His mind was blank and his body was numb; he felt as if something inside him was telling him to accept the offer despite how illogical it was for him.
He sighed and turned away and bowed his head in thought, "Alubarna is a long way from here," he said in reluctance, "If we go now…I can probably reach it by morning."
Luffy grinned and jumped in the air triumphantly, "Alright! Thanks Magpie! You're awesome!"
"As soon as Crocodile is defeated, you're coming with me," Magpie snapped at him, glaring at him furiously, "No begging, no deals, no way of getting out of it. You are my prisoner and you will not leave my sight for a single second. Do you understand?"
"Yep!" Luffy chuckled, "Don't worry. I always keep my promises."
Magpie used his power to steal the cuffs off his wrists. As soon as he was free, Luffy pumped his fists in the air and yelled in determination.
"Alright! Watch out Crocodile because we're going to kick your ass!" he declared proudly before he turned and sprinted as fast as he could, "LET'S GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
"Alubarna is the other way!" Magpie yelled after him.
Luffy skidded to a halt and looked back with a cheerful grin, "Haha! Whoops!"
"Moron," he muttered in annoyance.
And so, with Luffy temporarily free and Magpie joining the cause, the two will head to the capital of Arabasta. Will they get there before the rebel army? Will they stop Crocodile's evil plan? All will be revealed when the sun rises over the desert island once again.
And that's it for now.
Sorry for the late upload. This chapter had a lot of action scenes that I had to plan. I hope you enjoyed it.
However, not long until the live action version of One Piece is out. I admit, I was sceptical at first with it being a Netflix production (I mean look at Cowboy Bebop) but I am genuinely excited about it now after all the promos and the teaser trailers. Will it be 100% exactly like the manga or anime? No, of course not. It will offer something new, exciting and will, hopefully, encourage those who have never seen it before to read the manga…also it'll be rich of me to hate it considering I write fanfiction.
I can't wait for it. Although, I am still debating with myself on whether to get Netflix to watch it or just pirate it online.
Thanks for reading :)