So here we have chapter three, a bit later than I wanted, but life happens and I got caught up with work. Sorry !
Blasting me back, my body flew across the marble floor like a rag doll. Hissing from the pain, I tried my best to clear my swimming vision. Yelling was going on as I try standing up from my half laying position. The cool wall next to me was my crutch as I stood. The world in front of me was slightly lopsided as I finally got to my feet fully. When my line of sight finally cleared I saw Law standing next to me. His eyes snapped from the floor to me, a look of some kind briefly crossed his face before he schooled his expression as he turned to look at his crew members. This site was slightly nostalgic as I took it in the captain checking up on his crew.
A slow clap made us both snap our heads in the direction of the used to be doors. I groaned as I saw an obnoxious blue boa hanging from the brunette's broad shoulders. My right arm shook as I used it balance myself on the wall. Turning to my left so my back pressed against the wall I glared at the annoying man in front of me. Getting my bearings, I knew I would need to deal with this fucker, it shouldn't be something hard to do. Well to me they were, on a normal day when I was practically blown up while trying to open a door. Today wasn't going the way I wanted it to, and I seriously needed a nap and some rum. The latter being used to put me in the sooner.
"Ah, Ana-chan came to visit me. I'm so happy this is your second visit this month!" Dark shades concealed his amber eyes I knew he had. Pearly white teeth were shown when he pulled back his disgusting lips. "Tell me, did you rethink my offer of inviting you into the Donquixote Family? You would make such a lovely addition to our humble family. Our Lord is already interested in you, and would love to meet you." My face deadpans and I know it, it was nearly a naturally reaction at this point when talking to him. They keep saying this to me and each and every time I give them the same fucking answer.
"If I said no, the first 300 times what would make me say yes this time? God damn it, Patty, it's time you let this island go. You don't need anything from the actual island, all you do is torment the people who live here and chase trade away. What is your purpose here?" I question him. I've always wanted to know since he came here four years ago. They came in, burned half the town down and tracked down a place for this ridiculous villa. As far as I could tell no one ever came to visit them from the port. And I would know, I slept on the cliff that jutted out to see when the nights were clear. I would have seen any ship come in at any point in time, the port was always in my sight.
"That's right, you are practically the personal defender of this island, aren't you? Chasing away harmful pirates, keeping the townsfolk in good spirits after my men raid them. Yes, you seem like a very valiant person." His grin turned into a sick smile. "Although I wonder how they would react to your bounty."
My eyes widened on their own before I could put up a calm façade. I haven't even checked what happened to that thing since I settled down on this island four years ago. The mention of a bounty was a shock back to the world I had tried to leave desperately behind. Even if my departure from it wasn't my own want at first. Narrowing my eyes at him I mumbled dance to myself and disappeared. Only to reappear above him, flying so we were facing the same direction I took his head in my left arm and flung him over my front. Sending him flying through the air and right into the gold wall behind his dumb looking chair. His body fell forward and made an imprint of the wall. Lifting two of my fingers up he rose with them, jetting them to the left he went soaring in that direction.
Crossing the distance between us I landed a kick right into his ribs, making him tumble backwards. But I was already on top of him, forcing my knee into his stomach. Using my weight to hold him down, a bad idea, and taking his skull in my hand. His eyes were wide, but I smirked at him, for a man I dealt with a lot he didn't know shit about my abilities. Raising his head off the ground I smashed it back down numerous times. His face wasn't bruised enough for my liking so I proceeded to shove my fist in his face a couple times for good measure. Satisfied with the damage I threw him into the nearest wall to us.
"I always heard that you were ruthless when you were fighting. At the age of 10 you killed two Marine Captains, and for the next 5 years you terrorized any marine who came near you. Tell me young Ana-chan what do you have against them?" He was on his hands and knees, trying to talk about my past to me. I wasn't sure what he thought talking was going to do, I wasn't one to pause ans peak while fighting. Taking long strides towards him, I felt my body being pulled back by an enormous hand. Skidding backward I looked up to see the giant hold the fist of a man who had stepped in front of Patty.
"That's Patty's right-hand man David the Giant Slayer. He's unnaturally strong." My voiced droned through the room to the Heart Pirate Captain, my only acknowledgement that he should jump in and help with this one. My eyes noticed orange moving as Bepo closed the distance between himself and David. Seemingly giving his captain a hand as I told them his name. I've seen that man throw houses into the ocean. About to take my steps toward the now raising enemy I stopped when I heard Law's voice say a command.
"Room." A slight blue ring formed under his right hand in front of his chest. Then the blue dome came out of it. I stayed put, outside of the blue field. I never even noticed that he had stepped in front of me off to the side. Looking over at him, he turned to glance at me. "Go and check out the port in the back, that's where most of his men are. I'll take care of him." Opening my mouth to protest, I saw the glint of madness in his eyes. Throwing my hands up in the air I turned and pulled along the one who wore the PENGUIN hat.
I knew what happened when you fucked with people who looked like that. The towns destroyed at hands like that was devastating on your mental health. Makes you go insane slightly while you try to reason why things had to happen in a certain order. My jaw tensed in place when I thought of the town possibly in flames and smelling of burnt flesh. I refused to let something like that happen here, these people took me in as one of their own and I would do anything to save them. I wasn't going to fail the people who believed in me once again.
"Don't worry about them." Snapping from my thoughts I looked to my left to see the man smiling at me. Worried? About who? I gave him an openly confused look and he laughed. Narrowing my eyes at him I contemplated knocking him out and leaving him for his captain. "Bepo and the Captain. They'll be able to handle them, they would never lose." The convinced look on his face almost made me puke.
After running around the soon be murder scene probably, we stepped into the bright like of the outside world. While the few men who had heard the noise and came to investigate were handled by the man with me, I recovered a bit more from my earlier trauma. He was surprisingly good with hand-to-hand combat even if he looked like a loser. After knocking the last poor soul out I barged my way through the gate at the end a of a very small trail from the villa itself.
We arrived at the port just in time to see men finishing up putting the crates on ships. They stopped and looked at us. One male snapped his fingers and ran out of sight, raising and eyebrow I saw him come running down towards us holding a man over his shoulder. Putting him down on the ground softly the man next to me, PENGUIN guy instantly got on the ground shaking him. Calling him Caleb and almost begging for a sign of life from him. Turning my gaze up to the man in front of us he looked nervously between me and the men. Oh, I get it. He thought we were coming here just for him. I tilted my head to the side and looked at the ships, then back to him. His face paled.
"Now, I should warn you to have people evacuate those ships before I decide to sink them right here and now. Just because I'm in a good mood." Turning on his heel and yelling at the other to abandon their ships and tasks the whole port went up in a frenzy. Some jumping overboard, others running down the docks past myself and the men on the ground. Looking at the ships, I didn't even board them as I walk along their hulls. Dragging a finger along them, I took in how large their cargo was. The crates were almost as tall as me and definitely big enough to fit some powerful things inside of them.
Then I felt the urge. The pulsing need for destruction of these ships. Sure, I should probably scout the ships and see what they had on them, but I think I'll run into fuckers like them again sometime soon. Making my way to the very end of the dock I looked at the large ships in front of me. Lifting a hand to hold my cheek I called out the command that would bring me the destruction I wanted. The once empty ships were now filled with flames. Hot and hungry for whatever they could reach. Greedily licking the mast, and decks of the ships, dominating everything in their ways. Closing my eyes, I let a smile slowly pass over my lips, leaning heavily into my hand. The overwhelming feeling of satisfaction rolled off my body in waves as I took in the magnificent heat coming from around me.
The heat reminded me of so many good times as I sailed the Grand Line before making this place my home. Times with a man who loved causing destruction as much as me. I could almost envision his always present smile, and warm body. I've always hated the cold, being from a summer island the heat always meant I was alive. You couldn't feel anything in the numbness the cold provided, sometimes I tolerated it, but the heat. Oh, the heat made me feel so alive, it made my skin itch in such a familiar way. My hands now almost burning with the need to set destruction in front of me. To hear the screams of my victims.
An anguished cry came from the end as Patty looked at me in horror. He was just a head, but for some reason it made it all the better. His body tied up next to the Captain who was showing him what I had done. Slowly walking down, the burning dock I took my time getting to them. I could feel the heat getting to me as I swaggered to him slowly with purpose. The sadistic smile came across my face as I watched his face grow pale with every step towards him. Once reaching them I got close to the idiot's face, his body squirming as I laughed. Letting it die down on its own as I got closer to him, the sheer look of desperation on his face was pleasure itself for me. Something deep down was satisfied with the horror that shined behind it all.
"Tell this 'Doffy' that this is a taste of what I'm going to do to him should I ever cross his path. I'm sure he'll have all sorts of questions about whatever was in that cargo." My sweet smile came back as he suddenly realized I was going to leave him here alive. To face his boss, or whoever came for the now burnt ships of useless supplies. My small hands on his cheeks as he begged for death and all I did was continue to smile at him as he lost every single bit of dignity he ever obtained. Ignoring his pleas for redemption and pity I turned my gaze to the man holding his head. Tilting my head as I took in his expression, not one I was really expecting. Then again, he had a decapitated head in his hands, and it was very much alive.
A smirk graced his lips, and his eyes held a certain amount of mirth as he watched me. Turning an eyebrow up at his expression, I turned back to the bear I was worried about earlier. I had a few runs in with David and they always ended in with me having some nasty bruises. Walking up to Bepo who was currently apologizing for something. The man with the glasses was looking over the man that was held captive for whatever reason. I stopped my walking when I was face to face with the bear.
"You hold your own against that shit head, sweetheart?" I gave him a small smile as he gave me a recount of how he and his captain, had 'kicked his butt.' I nodded and oohed at the right times. Then Law crashed our party saying that we should leave before whoever was supposed to get the supplies came. Looking back at the burning ships I let a small chuckle pass my lips as we turned towards the villa.
All of us made our way through the villa, and just as we made our way out I couldn't help but look at it. Taking in the white marble walls and columns. This land used to belong to the townsfolk, and they had a mansion here for some hero that had left. That idiot Patty had it knocked down and this built kicking out the mayor who was staying in the mansion. I smiled a bit as I heard Bepo call my name, looking over my shoulder they all were waiting for me. Taking my attention back to the cold home that was on top of the hill I felt the urge building in me once again, and I just had to let it win. Turning my back to the building, I snapped my finger and called out one word.
"Devour."
The villa then erupted in a glory of flames. The heat felt pleasant behind me as I walk towards the men. A smile on my face as I left behind another piece of destruction with my mark on it. A laugh almost bubbled its way past my lips, but I suppressed it as Law regarded me with a concealed expression. Winking at him I continued downhill back to the town. A skip in my step and such a lightness in me, the easy-going steps carried me out of the view of the pirates for a moment. Like a heavy weight was lifted from my shoulders as I set those ships a flame. Looking down at my hands I felt my vision swim a bit, stopping and getting my grip back on reality I waited until the world was right again before trying to move from my spot overlooking the small town and the sea beyond it.
The voices in the back of my head told me different things than my subconscious. Words of destruction and chaos whispered to me like prayers. While the things I heard from my sane side told me to keep on the path I was going. If I gave in I wouldn't be any better than the people I was going after. I could go to an isolated island and lose control there, but here not yet. I had too much to do before I could let myself go. I needed to keep myself anchored to here somehow, but I wasn't really sure how to go about something like that. I needed something that in the end could bring me back from the edge, right before I lost myself. I had a voice of reason before I came here, and I knew we were all hoping that being on solid land for sometime would help me. However, I wasn't sure it was anymore. Most days were a haze moving from one day to the next small things here and there changing. Nothing was calling to me.
"Ana-chan!" Turning back around Bepo was running towards me with the PENGUIN hat guy. Both threw an arm around my shoulders and chatted lively about life on the sea. Rolling my eyes at them, but none the less listened to them. The man expressing his gratitude that I had found Bepo and Shachi when I did. He was his best friend and would have nearly died without the red head next to him. Grabbing one of my hands and shaking it profusely until the bear next to me yelled at him. Apologizing for yelling and for his crew mate for nearly taking my arm off, I smiled as the bear glared at him. Looping my arms between one of their own we made our way right into the middle of town laughing.
I had missed these small moments, and didn't even know it yet. Not every stop I ever made was worthwhile, but it could always be an adventure so long as you had the right people. Snapping back to reality for a second, I felt a pang of regret and longing as I turned my eyes to the sea. To the only place where one could be as free as possible.
Here it isss! I'll hopefully have the revamped chapter four in a few days. I've been working on it i promise!