Silmeria - Thanks for being patient everyone. Enjoy the chapter.
Disclaimer - I claim no rights to One Piece or Sentinel.
Chapter Eleven - The Sea's Betrayal - Part Two
Luffy's heart pounded against his chest and his legs burned as his sandals slapped against his feet, but he didn't stop. The Black Cat crew member was ahead of him from what seemed like a league, but Luffy couldn't stop. He couldn't afford to stop. Not with Kaya, Merry, and Usopp's faces flashing before his mind's eye. He didn't know them long at all, but that didn't mean he didn't care and it didn't mean he wanted them hurt. Despite being a Sentinel of Lies, Usopp's heart was in the right place and being sick didn't stop Kaya from being an indulgent brat and Merry's heart was in the right place with his protective nature over her. Syrup Village didn't deserve its fate and Luffy wanted to make sure that the quiet town didn't burn because a sick man's greed.
Luffy braced his knees as he slid in front of the crew member, swinging his Quarterstaff before bringing it down on the man's shoulder before directing it towards his stomach and sweeping the man's legs out from under him forcing the man to his back with a loud cry of pain. Before he could jump back up, Luffy lunged, placing the point of the Quarterstaff against the pirate's neck and staring down at him with merciless eyes.
"You won't get what your Captain wants." Luffy pressed the point further down and watching with a sense of glee as a flicker of fear crossed the man's eyes. "He'll never get what he wants and neither will you."
The man coughed, a smirk on his spit stained lips as he stared up the Quarterstaff and into Luffy's black eyes. "An Omega acting so high and mighty?" the pirate scoffed. "Do you honestly think that you'll survive out there? Without your Sentinel?"
Luffy titled his head to the side in curiosity. "Who do you think I am?" he began, pressing the tip of the Quarterstaff down into the man's throat causing the pirate to choke at the pressure. "Do you think that I'm some kind of errant weakling? That I can't take care of myself? That Guides can't take care of themselves?" Luffy pulled his weapon away before using it to smack the man in the head. "Let me rectify that notion. Get up."
The man stared at him, his eyes wide as Luffy stepped away and allowed him room to breathe and rise from the dirt ground. "What-what in the hell are you doing? Are you seriously letting me go?"
"Oh? No, don't be a dumb ass." Luffy slid into a defensive position, his staff dangling in his hand, ready to swing at a moment's notice. "We're going to see if you can handle a Guide since you think they're so weak. Well?" Luffy nudged his head, a dangerous smile dancing on his lips. "Let's see what you can do, eh?"
The crew-member got to his feet, and charged towards Luffy, the knife glinting dangerously in his hand. Luffy tutted, sliding out of the way and knocking the man off balance before jumping back a few paces and taking another swing, hitting the man in the back and watching with glee when the man cried out in pain. Luffy wasted no time in charging again, using his Quarterstaff as a balance and leaping and landing in front of the man and striking him again in the throat, stomach and sweeping off his legs.
"Fucking piece of shit." the man spit out, not getting another chance to rise again when Luffy's staff landed on his head, knocking him out cold. Luffy tutted again, looking down at the man with a smirk.
"Guides are weak, huh?" Luffy murmured, giving the crew member one last thump on the head for good measure. "I guess that answers that question, right?" he shot the unconscious man one last amused look before shooting off towards Kaya's manor, relieved to see that the village was empty and the people were hopefully safely hidden away. He was proud that they at least had the common sense to listen to reason. That, or the cannon fire scared them off.
The moment Luffy's feet hit the first stair leading up to the manor's door, he felt a dread coming down spine. He looked around, biting his lip and cast both ways a wary look before stepping up to the door, tensing when he realized that it was open a crack. He took a peak inside, his heart jumping in his throat when he noticed Merry face down on the ground.
Knowing that he was risking it, Luffy rushed inside, sliding to the ground near Merry's still body. He swallowed, and placed a hand near the man's pulse and sighing in relief when he felt a faint pulse, but was thrown off when he noticed that the ground was wet around his knees. He paled when he saw a pool of blood and quickly turned Merry over, moaning in distress when he noticed that the man was cut across the chest, his once pristine shirt in tatters and covered in blood.
"Merry?" Luffy tapped the man's cheek gently and more firmly when no response came. "C'mon Merry, open those annoying eyes."
"Ugh...not annoying." Merry murmured, his now black, glazed eyes opening and smiling when he realized it was Luffy. "Thank goodness that you're here. You have to go after them. Mistress Kaya..." Merry moaned, his eyes closed, opening when Luffy was quick to slap his cheek. "He's here. Up the stairs."
"Who?" Luffy demanded, his jaw clenching as he waited for a response. "Merry? Whose up those stairs?"
"K-Klahadore."
Luffy's heart stopped at the name. That couldn't be right, could it? There was no way that Khaladore could have made it this far? The man was fast, but not that fast and with Zoro in the way, his arrival would have been delayed. If what Merry said true, then who the hell was Zoro fighting right now? Was Zoro dead?
No, Luffy shook his head, his eyes growing pained at the thought. There was no way that Zoro was dead! No way, not his Zoro.
"Trick." Merry murmured, causing Luffy to look down and curse, stripping his second shirt and pressing it against Merry's wound, letting out a soothing murmur when the man winced at the action. "It was a trick."
"What do you mean it was a trick? What are you talking about?"
"Khaladore has a mimic ability. He can clone himself and appear at two places at once. That's how he got here before you. Zoro's fighting a clone right now and it'll keep him distracted so that Khaladore can leave the island with Kaya's fortune."
"No." Luffy growled. "That asshole's not getting away with anything. I promise." The Guide pressed down on the wound again. "I'm sorry, Merry, but-"
"Go." Merry urged, his grip surprisingly strong as he shoved Luffy away and pointed towards the stairs weakly. "Help them."
Luffy swallowed, pulling away his bloodstained hands to grasp the Quarterstaff on his back. He faced many opponents on the sea and on the land, but they were weaklings compared Khaladore and Luffy didn't know-
Luffy shook his head, dispelling the thought. If he was thinking about defeat before the deed happened, then he might as well have not tried at all. He swallowed again, giving Merry one last look before racing up the stairs, stilling when he heard voices. Voices meant distraction.
He reached the top stair, taking a sharp left when he heard Kaya's strong voice coming from that direction. He slowed his jog to gait as the voices grew in volume, stopping when he reached last door on the right.
"Run away, Kaya! There's no use talking to him! Please, just leave!"
Luffy stilled, his heart stopping at the pain in Usopp's voice. He swallowed again and gripped the Quarterstaff tightly until he was sure it made imprints in his hand. Wait. Just once more.
"You're not Khaladore. Not the one that I know!" the cocking of a gun was heard, loud against the sudden silence. "Leave...j-just leave and never come back!"
Khaladore chuckled, sending a shiver down Luffy's spine as he peaked into the door, narrowing his eyes when he saw Usopp on the floor with his hand wrapped firmly around Kaya's booted ankle.
"Oh, you don't mean that, Lady Kaya?" Khaladore's voice came back, tentative and smooth-as it always had been. "Don't you remember all the good times we had together? The shopping trips? The parties? The boat rides?" Khaladore's booted feet came closer and the gun was taken out of the Alpha Guide's trembling hands. "I remember, but what I recall is the humiliation I suffered at the hands of a girl who couldn't take care of herself as a woman and as Guide!" the gun was dropped to the ground, clattering against Usopp's hands, but the Sentinel was too frightened to pick it up.
Luffy trembled, shaking at the words that escaped that vermin's mouth. All of the kindness that Kaya displayed only to be spat in the face? No, Luffy tightened his grip on his Quarterstaff and moved to enter the room when a hand wrapped his mouth, muffling his surprised scream. He turned his head to see Zoro pressed against him, covered in blood, but it was eyes that caused Luffy to shiver. Zoro's eyes were pitch black and his teeth was set in a snarl. Tentatively, he reached and jumped back when he felt that Zoro's shields were cracked. The man couldn't go into battle like this, but what choice did they have?
"Zoro?" Luffy mumbled underneath the man's hand, swallowing when the grip tightening. "You have to calm down-" Luffy jumped when a loud scream followed by gunshot filled the air, prompting both men to move and burst into the room, stopping at the sight. Khaladore was clutching his arm with blood soaking the black fabric, an enraged look on his face. Usopp was standing in front of Kaya, the gun shaking in his hand so bad that Luffy was afraid that it might drop and discharge in an unfortunate direction.
"Idiots." Khaladore took a step back, his face set in a snarl. "My crew couldn't stop you and now I have to deal with you." Khaladore sighed, as if this was a simple burden that he had to take care of and Luffy tensed against it. He moved forward, done with talking, when Zoro unsheathed his blades, his breath heavy against the quiet air.
"You're tired?" Zoro began, smiling with blood on his teeth and his face. "You're tired of making people feel like crap? Killing your crew? Which one are you tired of, Kuro?"
Khaladore's lips twitched and the blades on his hands twitched as if they smelled the blood. "I'm tired of neither, Sentinel, but I guess I will be after I finish with you, hmm? Well? Why don't you show me what you can do? Zoned out and all?"
Luffy remembers his grandfather's stories about how during the days of old, it was never allowed for one to touch a Guide. Those that hurt them were punished with death and lighter cases had the offender stripped of the wealth, status and power. Those that hurt the ones with God's Gift were cast aside in the fullest extent of law. To Luffy, it was silly, but he understood how precious Guide's are-still are-and seeing Kaya, on her knees, tears trailing down her cheeks as she watched he and Zoro and finally, Usopp join the battle against Khaladore, Luffy understood the the Old Laws-understood their significance.
He never wanted to see a Guide cry again.
It felt similar to seeing a child or a babe cry, the pain in their eyes and aura as they were unable to do nothing to soothe the inflicted pain that were cast upon themselves. Luffy never understood the need to cheat, steal, lie and hurt others without justifiable cause, but people did and said things without reasons. Or, rather, moral reasons.
Luffy was used to feeling emotions-used to feeling them press against his mental shields, but as he pressed his Quarterstaff against Khaladore's stomach, knocking him back, he felt nothing but rage, greed, and malice.
"How long have you been here?" Luffy asked, stumbling to a stop, blood trickling from his forehead. "How long have you been planning this?" he braced his feet against the floor, his shoulders tensing when Khaladore brought up those claws, the metal gleaming against the sunlight. "Did you kill her parents too? Waited until it was the right time to knock off her too?"
"Please." Khaladore bored response came back and Luffy snarled, charging again, landing eight successful strikes against the man's shoulders, legs, stomach and neck, pleased with himself when the pirate was knocked further back by Zoro's blades. The next time the man rose it was a mere stumble, but the pirate was on Luffy before he knew what happened and he was on the ground, with the blades on his neck and Khaladore's disheveled figure on top of him, his breath smelling of blood.
"Get off." Luffy snarled, shifting his body weight but froze when one of the blades pressed against his skin, drawing a small amount of blood. He shivered as the droplet slid against his neck and choked when felt one of those blades against his trousers. The man wasn't, he couldn't possibly-
"I told you." Khaladore breathed. "I told-" the pirate didn't finish the sentence before he was rushed by Zoro again, the man roaring as he struck the pirate again and again, the strikes drawing blood and destroying the man's suit-which was always pressed to perfection-
"Zoro." Luffy rose up from the ground, watching as his friend literally ripped into the pirate, before he was pressed against the glass, his body a bloody mess. It wasn't possible that the man couldn't move again, not after that assault, but amazingly enough, Khaladore rose to his feet, his body shaking with suppressed laughter as he rose to his full height, his glasses gone, falling off his face during Zoro's rage.
"You think that this is going to stop me?" Khaladore stepped forward again, his stumbling worse from before. "You think those puny swords are going to stop me! Me! Captain Kuro of the Black Cat Pirates! You DON'T-" Khaladore stopped, his tirade halted before looking down and noticing that there was a hole in his chest, the area smoking. He could only look up, staring in amazement at Kaya who was staring at him with a tear-streaked face and shaking hands. Khaladore could only smile as he dropped to the ground, his body still. Finally still.
"Kaya." Usopp breathed, rising to his feet, and reached forward to grab the gun from the Alpha Guide's cold fingers. "Kaya-"
"Don't." Kaya breathed, staring at Luffy and Zoro, who remained unmoved at the dead body of the pirate. The pirate who had tricked and possibly killed Kaya's parents. "Just. Don't. Not right now." Kaya looked at them, her brown eyes assessing them. "Are you three alright?"
"Yeah." Zoro's voice responded, the tone stilted, still tense from the battle. "We're fine? Luffy?"
Luffy didn't respond, his eyes still on Khaladore's still body before nodding his head, relieved that it was over. That this man's plans were burned to ash. He rose to his feet, using his staff as a brace before turning on his heel and making his way towards Zoro who mildly grinned at his hobble, but Luffy found the situation less amusing than his friend. A trust was gone, a confidence was building and Luffy hurt everywhere, but he was okay. They were all going to be okay. Eventually.
"Yeah. I'll be okay. Come on, we have a lot to clean up."