(A/N: Okay, NOW it's the last chapter of Warship Island. XD Enjoy!)
Chapter 8: An Angry Showdown! Save The Millennial Dragons!
"Man, you're stubborn!" Luffy remarked to Eric, as the latter loomed over the group.
"Yeah," He grinned, "I very nearly drowned to death." He spread his arms out. "Just look at this beautiful radiance! Isn't it marvelous?! This is all Dragonite, the legendary elixir of immortality!"
"But breaking these fossilized Millennial Dragons won't produce anything usable!" Nami protested.
"Yes, so I hear. But there is more than enough live Dragonite here!" His focus stayed on the flying and grazing dragons behind them, including the newborn. "What do you say? A pointless fight would only be tiring. How about we make a deal to split the treasure?"
"No," Luffy replied bluntly.
"Do you not want eternal life?!"
"Not interested."
"Me neither," Venus chimed in.
"You lie!" Eric yelled desperately. "There's no one who's not afraid of dying! Three of us may have Devil Fruit powers, but a pirate's life is always only inches from death! There's no way you can't be afraid of dying!"
"I dunno," Zoro smirked, "He's the kind of guy who'd die smiling, doing what he does."
"Oh... fine then! You can sit there, and watch as I take my Dragonite and leave!"
"No!" Apis ran over.
"Stop right there, girl!" Eric launched a Sickle attack at her.
She was close to getting cut, but Usopp tackled her to the ground, so she was unharmed. "Apis!"
"U-Usopp!"
"Usopp!" Venus' eye widened.
"D-don't be reckless, Apis!"
"Even if it's reckless, I have to protect them! This is a very important place for the Millennial Dragons! I'm going to protect this place forever, and ever!" She cried. Luffy nodded in approval, and turned back to Eric.
"So you insist on defying me, huh." Everyone stayed silent. "In that case, you can all die! Sickle-Sickle... Whirlwind!"
Usopp held Apis to protect her, but Luffy jumped in, and took the brunt to the chest. After he was on his knees with cuts on his chest, they looked up. "Luffy!"
Zoro prepared to draw a sword, but the captain stood on his feet, a serious look in his eyes. "I'll deal with him."
"But, Luffy!" Nami tried to protest.
"I promised him!" Luffy insisted, and ran in for a battle, rotating his arm.
"I don't think so! Sickle-Sickle..."
"Gum-Gum..."
"Whirlwind!"
"Pistol!"
Luffy ended up with cuts all over, punching the rock, as Eric acrobatically jumped up on top to avoid harm. "Luffy!" Venus exclaimed.
"You can't hit me, rubber man!" Luffy brought his arm back to regular length. "Well? Are my wind slashes sharp enough for you?" He prepared to strike again. "Run or hide wherever you want; there's no escape! Now, how will you dodge this?"
"This guy's pretty tough," Zoro remarked.
"Is Luffy in trouble?!" Usopp expressed concern for the captain.
"Luffy..." Apis watched in worry.
"Sickle-Sickle... Wind Slash!" Luffy didn't move. "Rapid Fire!" Rock was broken, and thick slashes marred the ground.
"I'm not gonna run, or hide!" He boldly sprinted towards the line of fire.
"Fool! Go ahead, and get chopped up!"
Luffy bore through receiving even more cuts, and leaped up with a yell. The others felt the gust of wind, but were unharmed. "Gum-Gum...!" He grabbed Eric's shoulders.
"W-what?!" He panicked.
Luffy drew his head back, stretching his neck, and came right back. "... Bell!" He delivered a brutal headbutt, breaking his shades. "And... Bazooka!" He readied his arms, and rocketed him away into the sky. "I win!"
"Alright, Luffy!" Venus cheered.
Apis beamed brightly. "You did it!"
The Warship Island locals peeked over from a high ledge in shock and awe at the dragons. "What is this?!"
"Creatures like this really exist?!"
"I-it wasn't just a legend?!"
"Do you suppose this place'll sink again after a little while?" Nami guessed.
"Most likely," Venus replied.
"When it does, will the Millennial Dragons leave the island too?" Usopp wondered aloud.
"And I guess that baby Millennial Dragon will fly off somewhere, too?" Apis frowned sadly, but smiled when Bokuden laid a comforting hand on her shoulder.
He then turned to the Straw Hats. "What do you say, everyone? Won't you have some of my special pork buns before you go?"
"Oh!" Nami panicked. "Thank you! But that's okay! We gotta get back to our journey right away! Right?!"
"We do?" Luffy asked obliviously. "I wanna eat some pork- Oww!" He was cut off by Nami punching his head.
"We'll just take the recipe," Sanji offered.
"I see," Bokuden smiled, "That's too bad. It'd only take three days to prepare them too."
"T-three days?" Venus' eyebrows raised in surprise.
"I could tell you about the royal family of Lost Island in the mean-"
"We've already heard about it!" Nami interrupted urgently.
"Alright!" Luffy cheered when they returned to the Merry. "Set sail for the Grand Line!" He sat on the railing, as they looked down at the locals. "Apis, want to come with us?"
"I've made friends with you all, and I would like to go with you, but I'm going to stay on this island," She kindly refused, "I'm gonna learn all sorts of customs from Grandpa Bokuden, and protect the dragons' nest, just like my ancestors did before me! I'm going to wait for the baby dragons to come back here someday!"
"But those baby dragons won't be back for another, uhh..." Usopp worriedly counted with his fingers, "A-another thousand years!"
"Hey, now! Don't be so cynical!" Sanji scolded.
"No, it's okay!" Apis assured. "I won't get to see the dragons all grown up, but I'm sure my kids' kids will get to! So I'm going to keep protecting this dragon nest forever, and ever!"
"That's crazy talk!" Usopp exclaimed.
"You guys kept doing crazy stuff too, y'know!"
Venus giggled at her retort, and turned to him. "She's got a point."
"We did?" Everyone's jaws dropped at Luffy's obliviousness, before they set sail. "See ya, Apis!" He gave her a thumbs-up.
"Apis! Never forget about Usopp-sama, the brave warrior of the sea!"
"Hope we see each other again!" Venus called out.
"Bye-bye!" Nami waved in farewell.
"Bye-bye!" Apis waved both arms. "Take care, everyone!"
"See ya, Apis!"
"Bye! So long!"
"Bye-bye!"
"Is Apis really gonna be okay all by herself?"
"I'm sure Apis will keep the nest safe!" Nami assured Usopp. "She may be little, but she's got twice the energy and motivation of a normal person! She'll be fine!"
"You're right, Nami-san," Sanji agreed.
"She'll be okay!" Luffy beamed.
"Yeah!" Zoro chimed in.
"Because she's our friend!" Luffy added.
"She sure is," Zoro agreed.
On the island, Apis and Bokuden continued to watch them sail further and further away. "Are you sure you didn't want to go with them, Apis?"
"I'd only get in the way if I went with them," She replied, "Besides, now I have something I want to do! I'm pretty reckless too, but until I met Luffy and the others, I don't think I would've felt like I could protect this island. I thought Lost Island was just a story, and that it didn't exist, but Luffy and the others took Grandpa Ryu on a search for it. Without even doubting in the slightest that it might not even exist!" She thought back to Luffy fighting the Marines, and protecting Ryu. "I get the feeling that they taught me that if you never give up on your dreams, and try your hardest, your wishes just may come true! Everyone worked so hard, and risked their lives for their friends, who had a heart-to-heart connection! And I'm one of their friends too! So I'm going to try my hardest too!"
She turned around upon hearing snoring, and her eyes widened. "He's asleep!" She frowned in irritation, before a seagull perched on her shoulder. "Say, will you help me with my dream?" It chirped. "Thanks! Let's try our best!"
"Oh, right! If you're going to protect Lost Island, you'll need to know about your ancestors!" To her chagrin, he was awake, and about to begin one of his stories. "First, there was the first king..."
"I-I've already had enough of that!"
"Hold on, Apis! Get back here!"
"Stop!"
"You need to know about these things!"
"No!"
"Apis!"
(A/N: Okay, so the way I'll do things is: Up next is Clockwork Island Adventure, and after that will be Reverse Mountain. That's why this chapter is shortened. You know the disclaimer.)