(A/N: Thank you Gabriela Rosa, OneWhoReadsTooMuch, and quiesteroo for your reviews. And to all those who favorite, followed, and added this story to their alerts. Your support for this story always means a lot. ^_^)
"I'm so glad you're back, Heartless-kun! I've missed you!" Toffee cooed out, nuzzling her cheek against her shadows-his eyes closed in content from the affection being placed upon him.
"There's something oddly disturbing about that..." Zoro found himself muttering out with a blank expression.
The living shadow had formed the moment Chopper and Eye-brows had arrived in tow with a massive crab, something that allowed all of them to escape from the marines and traverse much more quickly through the desert. And Toffee was acting like she had been reunited with a long-lost family member since they had boarded.
Or maybe in this case it was more like a pet?
Vivi giggled and smiled softly. "I don't know. I find the sight rather sweet." Running a hand through her parted light blue bangs, the relaxed princess didn't notice something slowly slinking around her waist. A startled cry left Vivi's lips as she was pulled right off the Moving Crab, brown eyes gazing down in horror to see a familiar large golden hook.
"Stop, Chopper!" Zoro shouted out. The swordsman's panicked tone caused the reindeer's eyes to grow large, and he quickly pulled on the reins, nearly causing Luffy to fall off when they came to an abrupt halt.
"It's him! Why you...!" Luffy growled out, eyes having dimmed from rage.
Stretching out his arms where he latched onto the hook, Luffy launched himself toward Vivi, switching places with her struggling form and tossing her back toward the others. Zoro managed to catch the screaming girl, lessening the harsh impact of Vivi's fall; his teeth clenching when seeing Luffy now being the one drug off.
"Luffy-san!" Vivi shrieked out, even more distressed than the others by the situation.
"You guys go on ahead! I can handle this myself!" Luffy shouted back, never breaking his eye contact with his nakama even when he crashed headfirst into the sand. "Make sure you deliver Vivi back to her home!"
"Should we do what he says...?" Toffee asked softly, feeling the clear tension emanating from the others. "Maybe it would be best if at least some of us stayed behind to help?" He would be dealing with not only Crocodile, but Miss All Sunday, too.
"No. Let's do what the idiot says," Zoro stated with a smirk despite the shadow that loomed over his features. "Go, Chopper! Keep going, to Alubarna!"
A teary-eyed Chopper shakily nodded, giving a sharp crack of the reins. "G-got it! We're off!"
Holding firmly onto Vivi-for she looked about ready to jump off-despite her own concern Nami stated sternly, "It's all right, Vivi! He'll be fine! I feel sorry for the other guys! After all, there isn't a single person that Luffy has gone after before, who has come out all right."
"Listen to me, Vivi," Zoro spoke up in his own rigid tone. "He will keep Crocodile under control. The moment that the rebel army started running, the time limit on this land was set. Once the royal army and the rebel army meet, this land, the Kingdom of Alabasta, will be gone. If you are the one and only hope for preventing that, then you have to survive, no matter what. No matter what might happen to any of us here, from now on!"
"B-but..."
"Vivi-chan, this is a fight that you started. You're the one who ran out of this land years ago, and challenged the unknown organization to battle." Sanji voiced, placing a gentle hand on Vivi's shoulder before walking past her. "Don't go thinking that you're fighting alone anymore."
Taking in everything that had been said, Vivi took in a breath of air where she stood up and shouted at the top of her lungs, "Luffy-san! We'll be waiting for you in Alubarna, okay?!"
"Yeah!" Luffy bellowed back, wearing a confident grin.
After putting some distance between Luffy, everyone had gotten comfortable while making sure not to face the direction where they knew their captain was currently engaged in battle. All except for one person, that was...
"Vivi, what's wrong?" Usopp questioned when noticing nervous beads of sweat trailing down her face.
"There's a sandstorm over toward Rainbase! It's him..."
The direction the storm is heading in... Wasn't Yuba toward the south Toffee pondered, holding back from showing the horror she felt rising up within her. Vivi was worried enough, and she didn't want to upset her further. Still, how evil could one man be? Hadn't that poor old man suffered enough? And... what if Luffy was caught in that sandstorm...?
"And at that precise moment, I turned and said...you bowlegged freak! And ever since then, all the crabs in the world have noticed how bowlegged they are!"
"Amazing! So that's why they walk sideways!"
When did Usopp start telling stories to Chopper Toffee wondered, slowly blinking her eyes at the two. Now that she noticed, it seemed they weren't the only ones trying to keep preoccupied.
"Zoro, you're only wasting energy," Nami commented. The green haired male was lifting one of his swords like it was a dumbbell. He had even made Eye-brows sit on top of the hilt in order to increase the weight.
"Shut up,"
"Just let them be, Nami-san...They need something to do to occupy their minds," Sanji voiced after taking a drag from his cigarette. "They're unskilled...Especially the muscle head. He's feeling his weakness compared to the level of the Seven Warlords..."
Zoro slowly turned to gaze at Sanji with a dark expression. "What are you trying to say? Out with it..."
"All right, I'll tell you. You're afraid that Luffy might have lost."
"Who, me?! Scared, you say?! Why, you...! Fancy eyebrows!"
"That's it! Now I'm mad! You...moss head!"
It's like watching my sibling's fight...Maybe that's how Zoro and Sanji secretly see each other Toffee thought with a small smile. A sweat drop rolled down the side of her head when Nami clobbered the two men, who were sharing electrical glares, on top of their heads. And then papa would normally punch them like that. Of course, I've never seen a bump form into the shape of a heart before...
"It's okay, everybody! Luffy-san won't lose!" Vivi declared, peering around at everyone with a smile that was on the shakier side, hoping to ease everyone's anxiety. "He promised! We just have to wait for him in Alubarna!"
"You seem more worried than any of us, don't you?!" Usopp exclaimed in bewilderment.
Placing a small bonk upon a now whining Vivi's forehead, Nami lectured, "You should just worry about the rebellion,"
Rubbing at his still aching noggin, Sanji murmured apologetically, "Sorry about that, Vivi-chan..."
"If you have to cover for us, we're done for," Zoro voiced stubbornly, clearly ashamed of his actions himself. Glancing over at Toffee who was watching all of them with a faint smile, Zoro scowled at her, "Oi? Should you really be standing on something that's moving? You're likely to tumble off, and we don't have time to stop and go back for you."
"Don't worry. I've been standing all this time. So, what are the odds?" Just as she said this, the crab Nami had donned Scissors ended up trailing over something bumpy-this causing Toffee to stumble-and she would have ended up falling backwards if Usopp and Zoro hadn't both leaped to grab at her ankles.
"That was a close one!" Usopp breathed out, yet it sounded more like a tired sigh.
"Wh-whoops! I actually didn't expect that to happen..." Toffee nervously laughed out, sticking out her tongue while she gave a small rap to her head.
"With you, you should expect that to happen twenty-four seven!" Zoro vented. Turning to Heartless, he grumbled, "And why the hell didn't you try and grab her first, huh?!" When the shadow bonked himself on the head and stuck out his tongue in a similar manner Toffee had, multiple anger veins appeared on the swordsman's forehead.
"Don't get mad at them when you're the one who jinxed poor Toffee-chan in the first place," Sanji lectured, pointing his cigarette accusingly at Zoro.
"Sh-shut up!"
"WHAT?! WE CAN'T CROSS THE RIVER WITH THIS CRAB?!"
Getting closer to their destination, Vivi had just informed the group of some shocking news.
"Moving Crabs are creatures of the desert, so they don't take to water."
"But it's a crab! I mean, come on!" Usopp continued to complain. Pulling out a map, the sniper pointed at their current course. "It'll take all day to float across this huge river! And look! Once we cross the river, there's still kilometers of desert left to go! If the crab can't make it to the other side...then we have to run!"
"And we wouldn't make it in time if we had to do that..." Toffee whispered.
"Crap...And I can see the Sandora river up ahead..." Sanji muttered, chewing on his cigarette out of frustration.
"Do something, Scissors-kun~!" Nami pleaded, clasping her hands together and batting her lashes.
Chopper perked up when recalling something. "I know! Scissors loves dancing girls!"
Removing her cloak, Nami revealed the dark blue bustier she wore along with her long white skirt. Placing a hand on her hip, she then leaned a little toward the right. "Will this do?"
"So even crabs can be perverts..." Toffee expressed with a tired smile when Scissors had turned to look at Nami with a lustful gaze. And he wasn't the only one for Sanji and Eye-brows were ogling Nami's slightly more exposed form, too.
Scissors was moving faster than ever, yet Zoro couldn't help but huff out, "You've now messed up two animals with all this nonsense!"
"All right! Pervy power!" Chopper cheered, pumping his hoof into the air.
Usopp just stared at the reindeer incredulously. "So, what has this solved? Chopper!" After saying this, Usopp's jaw dropped for the crab was running across the water, and he joyfully encouraged, "It's a miracle! Just stay on the water and run! You can make it! Keep going!"
"Um, I think we're starting to sink..." Toffee mentioned apprehensively after they slowly began to descend. She found it truthfully amazing the hearts in Scissors eyes never left even at the potential of drowning.
Gurgling out profanities, Usopp eventually came shooting out of the water, his eyes solid white from anger while he waved a fist threateningly. "GYAAAAAH! YOU WORTHLESS CRAB!"
"No time to whine about it. Keep moving forward," Zoro voiced nonchalantly, keeping Chopper elevated upon his shoulders to make sure the small reindeer didn't come in contact with the water.
Toffee had her arms wrapped around Sanji's neck for the cook had grabbed her the moment they touched the water. "Still, I'm not sure how many more close calls with water I can take..."
"Seriously! Aren't there any boats? How many kilos to the other shore?" Usopp questioned after wading up close to Vivi.
"About 50 kilos."
"Who can swim that?!" Usopp screeched out. And how the hell could Vivi remain so calm?!
Chopper turned, a smile lighting up his face when seeing that Scissors had made it safely back to shore, and he waved goodbye to the crustacean. "Thank you for everything, Scissors!"
"This is no time to be casually waving goodbye!" Usopp nagged. "We have bigger problems!"
It was almost as if Usopp had further damned them with his comment for a giant fish had risen up, staring at them with clear hunger in its bulbous dark eyes.
"It's a Sandoran catfish! They're only very rarely seen!" Vivi gasped out, fear clear within her eyes.
"You don't have to explain that!" Usopp exclaimed.
A shriek left Vivi's lips when the fish dove toward them, splashing the group with a good amount of water.
"Also, humans are their favorite food!"
"You might tell us that first!"
Her eyes having grown large, Toffee wondered if something even more deadly was attacking the catfish from underneath the water? It looked to be in a great deal of pain while the Sadoran catfishes body jostled about, and it wasn't long before the monster was out like a light. Yet her worried countenance quickly brightened when recognizing familiar figures leaping out of the sea.
"Kung Fu Dugongs!"
After overcoming their initial shock, the crew clambered aboard the catfish. The little manatee-like creatures then grabbed onto the fish's long whiskers where they pulled the humans toward the distant shore. Even if they only assisted because they believed everyone was pupils of Luffy like them, no one planned on complaining.
"Thank you!" Vivi expressed happily, waving goodbye to the martial art loving creatures along with Chopper.
"Things may have gone smoothly, but can we make it?" Zoro remarked.
"That's a tough one. Even riding on Eye-brows, I'm not sure there's enough time..." Vivi confessed, her voice cracking from worry.
"What's more, he could only carry, uh...two of us! And if Baroque Works is going to attack us, it will be from here on," Usopp brought up. "Isn't there any way for all of us to act together?"
No one seemed to know what to do, so Toffee was a bit surprised to feel her shadow patting at her leg. Wondering what had caught his attention, Toffee turned to see a large dust cloud in the distance. And whatever had stirred it up was heading toward them at a fast pace.
"Is it the enemy?"
"N-no! That's...! Carue!" Vivi cried out when she could make out his figure. There were other ducks with him, each waterfowl wearing a unique hat. Looks like even birds could have a sense of style. "And the Supersonic Duck Squadron! You've come to get us, haven't you?!"
"And there's one for each of us," Toffee said, approaching one of the ducks that wore a stitched hat with a red flower sticking out of it.
Sanji smirked and climbed aboard his own ride. "There's no point in hanging around here any longer, then. Let's get moving!"
A resounding cry of "Yeah!" and "Quack!" came from all those present-The Supersonic Duck Squadron dashing across the sand at a speed that could rival a horse or even a camel.
"Guys! Make sure you have your cloaks secure around your forms! We're getting close!" Sanji called out.
The group had come up with what they hoped to be a full proof plan that would allow Vivi to reach the rebellion while the enemies focused on them. And from the exploding baseballs that were being launched at the Straw Hats, it seemed Baroque Works was already making their move. All that was left now was to split up and hope the enemies would do the same to scout out their intended target.
With the odd number of their group, Toffee had offered to head off on her own, no matter how concerned or foolish her new friends believed her actions to be. She was never fully alone in the end... And if there was a point when she needed to tap into skills she had long since abandoned, she would rather none of the Straw Hats see her in that moment...
"It's almost like a ghost town..." Toffee muttered while gazing around at buildings and various items scattered about in the chaos when the locals were most likely told to evacuate.
At least there would be no innocent casualties in this fight...Or so she told herself until she spotted splatters of blood. Ignoring the shaking of her body, Toffee moved to check on the stains to find that they were still fresh. Whomever had left them had dragged their body, trying to escape the person that had targeted them.
"You should head back to Vivi. I have a bad feeling about this..." Toffee expressed, placing her hand on the female ducks back.
The squadron member looked hesitant, but it gave the gray-haired woman a firm expression and took off in the direction they had come. Toffee, instead, took to following the blood trail, dreading what she might stumble upon. It wasn't like this was the first grisly scene she had ever walked upon, yet Toffee wasn't expecting to see a soldier who looked like he had been tortured. Strangely enough by common household utensils.
Hearing him cough, Toffee was amazed to find that the soldier was still alive, and she rushed up to him.
"Can you tell me who did this to you?"
"People...couldn't evacuate...Woman...strange power...G-get out...of...here..."
Lowering her head when the soldier died not too long after giving those few ominous words, Toffee gently closed his eyes before standing up; the saddened look she wore being replaced by a colder one.
"I know you're there. I can feel your bloodlust..."
"Oh ho ho ho ho! Aren't you a clever little minx~? And here I was hoping I could launch a surprise attack on you. But then again, we assassins always have a way at picking each other out from these other soft-hearted weaklings, don't we~?"
A quiet rage growing within her, Toffee moved to face off against the girlish voice; her icy demeanor fading as quickly as it had blossomed. She was more startled by the sight before her, enough that it caused her entire frame to turn crimson.
"Wh-what the heck are you wearing?!"
The blond-haired woman was in a skintight pink and black leotard that seemed to push up her ample chest. A slit was in the middle, exposing her toned stomach while a set of pink and white boots stopped right at her thighs. A purple half mask with black roses on the left side rested over her azure eyes while a matching purple whip was clutched tightly in her right hand.
Giving a flip to her pony-tail, the woman placed a hand against her mouth. "Oh ho ho ho ho! Do I perceive a touch of jealousy? I don't blame you, my dear. Not a single curve on that little body of yours...I suppose we all can't be blessed~!"
Somehow, I'm not too offended by that comment when it comes from a person who looks like a dominatrix Toffee thought, slumping where she stood. I find it more of blessing Sanji wasn't the one to end up facing off against her...
Regaining a bit of her composure, Toffee questioned, "What number of Baroque Works are you? And did you do something to the people here...?"
"There seems to be some misunderstanding. I'm not a member of Crocodile's little good-for-nothings. You may call me Jadis. I was hired here simply to dispose of you. Well, to be more precise, my beloved comrade and I were ordered to dispose of the East Blue's famous Shadow Strikers. Your brothers aren't very sneaky if they managed to catch Crocodile's attention. But then, what hope did they think they had trying to stop a Warlord of all people? That's why they're dead."
A bead of sweat trailed down the side of Toffee's head when she was surrounded.
"And as for your other question, the villagers are safe for the time being. They've just become my puppets. You see, I've eaten the Control-Control fruit which allows me to manipulate the minds of others. Those blank looks in their eyes mean they no longer have any say in their actions. They will serve me until I grow tired of their usefulness."
"That's a terrible Devil Fruit...How can you make innocent people fight your own battles?!"
"Why? Clearly you don't understand the amusement of a target being eliminated by their loved one," Jadis chuckled out with a smirk, licking her lips when Toffee started to rush toward her. She must have touched a nerve. "My little marionettes, bring me the girls head!"
Gritting her teeth when a woman tried to hit her with a hoe of all tools, Toffee ended up having to change targets when the villagers all started to come at her at once. There had to be a little over fifty people in all, and she had to refrain from causing damage to any of them.
Vivi would only suffer more if she learned anymore harm came to her people Toffee thought while placing a blow on a small boy that knocked him out cold. I have to free them all from this woman...
Jadis laughed while shaking her head. "What kind of assassin are you? Running and dodging when it would be far easier to just dispose of them,"
"I don't murder innocents!" Toffee growled out, putting enough power into her punch to knock a middle-aged man out. "I can't say the same about you, though!"
Jadis unleashed a surprised scream when feeling a sharp pain upon her back. Three long claw marks had been left there through the now slightly ruined fabric, and before any more damage could be placed upon her, the blue-eyed assassin vanished and appeared on another building's rooftop.
"You're not the only one with a Devil Fruit power, miss assassin," Toffee voiced, not flinching despite the livid expression that had taken over the normally lovely woman's face. "I know I said we'd never kill again...but seeing as her power doesn't connect her with those she's controlling, the situation has changed...Take her out, Neoshadow!"
"Don't get cocky, you little bitch!" Jadis screeched out, her whip seeming to have an extension on it for it was able to reach Neoshadow with the distance between them.
The shadows eyes had grown wide, having dodged the fast strike, but he was more surprised to see the assassin had left some damage on the building with that attack. Jadis was a lot stronger than she looked, and while he could handle the blows well enough, they'd really cause some serious damage to Toffee if she was hit or they decided to connect.
"Try not to hurt the villagers if you can help it, Neoshadow! Just incapacitate them!" Toffee called out, ignoring the pain to her arm from the cut she had obtained.
Gripping at her whip, Jadis grinned and cackled out, "Is your plan to knock everyone here out? Do you really think such an asinine idea will work?"
Ignoring Jadis' goading, Toffee leaped up onto one of the taller buildings, frowning when some of the men and women managed to follow her. Normally, it took a lot of training to jump and sprint around the way she did. Jadis' ability must have been able to amplify these peoples' physical abilities. This only seemed to be for a certain extent for she noticed one person's ankle looked twisted as he limped toward her.
I have to finish this quickly. Before any of them are pushed too far Toffee thought, dashing around and knocking out three people with fast chops to the back of their necks. Using Neoshadow's paralysis would be the fastest way...but I don't think it would be wise to show her my powers at this time. I could capture her along with the townspeople, but something tells me any physical blow I used wouldn't be enough to knock her out...
And that's not exclusively what bothers me...
Jadis looked absolutely entertained watching her 'puppets' get taken out of commission. Neoshadow and Toffee might be gradually dealing with the unwilling enemy, but this should still be a cause of concern for Jadis. Did she underestimate her opponents that much, or was there another reason for the killer's amusement?
When no longer having anyone to obstruct them from the true target, Toffee lunged at Jadis with her dagger posed to kill. Neoshadow had his claws pulled back to strike her as he followed his master's lead, the two bobbing and weaving to dodge the almost lazy strikes Jadis was trying to hit them with. Not able to stop herself in time, Toffee had sliced a teenage boy in his chest when he had jumped in front of Jadis.
"Wh-what...?" Toffee stuttered out, unable to believe what she was seeing. Not only had her attack connected, but Neoshadow's had as well, and the boy fell limply forward; his blood starting to pool around his form.
"Oh ho ho ho ho! Foolish little minx~ Did you honestly believe my ability would cease even with my little marionettes being unconscious? All I have to do is force them to wake up once again," She gave a malicious grin. "What was it you said about not harming innocents? He was so handsome and young...Such a senseless loss~"
I...killed him...?
Gasping for breath, Toffee's weapon fell to the ground and she dropped to her knees. She couldn't help but stare at the bloody and unmoving figure. In her mind, this boy wasn't the only one. There were countless bodies surrounding his in even more severe deceased states. People she had seen countless times in her nightmares...
"Are you actually trembling? How pathetic can you be?" Jadis snorted out. Dodging the strikes from the livid looking shadow, with his erratic attacks, she was able to place a kick on the creature. Her whip wrapped around his neck, and she sent the being of pure darkness crashing down into one of the shops.
Licking at the end of her whip, Jadis lashed at Toffee's cheek. Tears were in the quivering girl's eyes, but she made no acknowledgement to the stinging wound. Laughing and aiming more lightning flash strikes on the girl, tearing at parts of the fabric of her clothing and leaving some nasty marks, Toffee continued to not react to the pain she should have been experiencing and remained in her out of it state.
"Tch! It's simply no fun when you're not screaming in pain and begging me to stop..." Jadis complained, lifting up the petite woman's chin and staring into her misty, yet almost lifeless looking eyes. "But I'm not completely cruel. If there's anything left of your brothers', I'll bury you next to them."
Wrapping the whip tightly around Toffee's neck, she began to squeeze. So focused on watching the girls skin turn a sickly blue while the air was suffocated out of her, Jadis didn't notice the figure fast approaching until she felt the pain connect with her body. The blow had been powerful enough that Jadis ended up crashing more painfully through one of the building's than even Toffee's shadows had.
"Sorry to disappoint. But Toffee's dumbass brother's aren't that easy to kill."