As the group walked in the direction of the village, Ellis basked in the slow sunset, the sky turning an angry red. There wasn't much talk between them as they caught up to the kids.
Red sky at night, sailor's delight, and all that.
Ellis was worried. It only just occurred to her that the butler, Klahadore, had probably been marinating the entire village throughout his time on the island.
By marinating, she means slowly building trust and reliability, with the intention of stabbing them in the back in the future. It's also used to make anyone that may discover his plan get turned against by everyone else.
It's something she's learned herself in a game she used to play with her brothers.
"Captain!" the kids called out, ecstatic, waving at Usopp.
They spotted him at the crest of the hill first, with his back to them as he looked down upon the village.
Usopp pulled his striped armband up and rubbed his face before turning around to face them, arm up in greeting.
"Hey! How's it going, guys?" He nonchalantly responded. Ellis furrowed her brows.
The kids shouted back in a jumble of words, oozing enthusiasm.
"Yo!" Luffy called out. Usopp's face immediately dropped in horror.
Stomping over to them, Usopp squawked, "Wait! You're alive again?!"
"Alive?" Luffy questioned. "Yeah, I just woke up!"
"He was sleeping the whole time!" The green-haired kid next to him added.
"Captain, we heard all about those pirates and their evil plan!" The purple kid on Luffy's other side interjected.
Ellis's face screwed up. Will he tell them? Or will he lie? She had a feeling she knew the answer.
"We'd better hurry and warn the people in the village so they have time to get away!" Onion said, throwing his hands in the air.
Usopp gave a haunted look. "Warn the people?" He uttered. He just looked at the kids, haunted look unfaltering. The kids just stared confused at the silence.
Then Usopp bowed his head, shoulders trembling. Then he threw his head back, cackling in a way that didn't suit him. A laugh reminiscent of when he confronted them when they first got to the island. "Well, obviously I'm lying like usual! That butler made me so mad with what he said," he cut himself off with more laughter, "I thought I'd get him back and say that he was a pirate!"
He continued to laugh, and the kids started to join him. However, the rest of the group didn't.
Nami frowned. Luffy tilted his head, unsure. Zoro moved from behind them. Ellis fidgeted with her bracelet.
"Oh, I get it!" Onion got out, "So you put the straw-hat-guy up to it, too!"
The kids started walking past Usopp, in the direction of the village, still laughing. Usopp's died out. He frowned, turning to face them, but put a smile back on his face.
"Hey, where are you going?"
"Honestly," the purple-haired kid stated, "you really disappointed me."
"Yeah," the green-haired kid sharply added, only turning to half face them.
"Even though that butler guy's a jerk, I thought you were better than lying to hurt someone, and I admired you for being such a kind-hearted person. And to think we respected you this entire time."
"I was wrong about him," the purple kid hummed as they all turned to keep walking to the village.
"So was I," the green kid added, disappointed. "Let's go home."
"Yeah, it's suppertime anyways." Onion said.
"Wonder what we're having." Their conversation faded as they got further away.
Only when they were specks in the distance, did anyone pipe up.
"Is that blood, seeping through your armband?" Ellis observed, alarmed.
Usopp wouldn't let them treat it until he led them somewhere more secluded. The red sky darkened as the sun finally sank below the horizon, and constellations peeked out as he specifically led them to the bottom of the cliffs where Luffy fell earlier.
If Ellis knew they would keep walking back and forth from this location several times in one day, she honestly wouldn't have left the spot. So much unnecessary movement. However, a serious atmosphere tinged the air, so she kept her complaints to herself.
Once Usopp was settled on a rock, Nami had Ellis pull out her first aid kid from her bag, and she started treating him as he whimpered. No one else talked.
Luffy just stared at him with that blank face of his. Zoro also stared, but he had a resting bitch face.
Nami finally wrapped Usopp's wound and backed off. "There. All done!"
Well, she wrapped the armband above the wound, but who's to say it isn't proper first aid? (Ellis, but they had bigger things to worry about at the moment).
"So," Luffy commented, "why did you lie to them?"
Usopp curled into himself. "Because, all I do is lie," He muttered. Then he sighed. "There's no way anybody was gonna believe what I had to say. Why should they?"
Zoro stepped closer. "Because what you were telling them was the honest truth!"
They all stood around Usopp, the only other sounds being the small waves crashing against the cliff and the crickets.
"They are coming, and they're gonna level the whole town," Nami quietly added.
"Yeah," Usopp uttered, "but what am I supposed to do?" He furrowed his brows. "They'll think I'm lying if I try to warn them. Everyone in the village thinks that tomorrow is just going to be another normal day." He curled into himself as he suppressed his frustrated crying, taking a few moments to compose himself enough to keep talking.
He sat up straight, lifting his arm close to his chest as he tightens his fist. "They think I'm lying, and that's all they need to think! I'm gonna stop those pirates at the beach tomorrow, myself!" He bared his teeth as the rest of them watched his declaration. "This is all my fault for being such a liar! I don't care anymore," he gripped his arm wound and bowed his head, "if they drive me away with brooms, or shoot me in the arm!"
Jesus Christ, Ellis thought to herself.
Usopp continued, "This is my village," he trembled, voice shaky. "This is my home! And I love everyone in it." He lifted his head, sweat, snot, and tears dripping down his face. "I have to protect them."
Zoro rested his arm on his swords, earrings clinking as he readjusted his stance. "You're a hell of a good guy, sending your cronies away and going into battle alone."
"Just so you know, I have dibs on all the pirate treasure, you got it?" Nami included, lifting her hand up, forming the 'okay' symbol, face deadly serious.
"So you want a little help, or what?" Luffy grunted, arms crossed.
Ellis was wondering if she should be getting into a cool pose, too. She settled with leaning on one leg, hand on her hip. Usopp responded before she could come up with something to say, but at least the sentiment was there.
"You guys," his hand covered half his face, "you're gonna help me fight all these pirates? I don't get it?"
Luffy lifted one of his hands, flexing his fingers, as Zoro stood ominously behind him. "Well, you said there's a whole bunch of bad guys, right?"
"And you look scared out of your mind," Zoro added.
"For your information," Usopp shrieked as he jolted into standing, pointing a thumb at himself, "I have nerves of steel! I'm perfectly okay with tons of bad guys!" The hand he was pointing with clenched into a fist. "After all, you're looking at the legendary Captain Usopp, Brave Warrior of the High Seas!"
His knees were practically colliding with how hard they're trembling. He grunted as he tried to stop them. Then he started hitting them, "Damn it! Alright, fine, I'm scared! Why shouldn't I be?!" His legs still shook. "They're Captain Kuro's men! These guys mean business! I don't need pity!" He shrieked. "If you guys are sticking around 'cause you pity me, just leave! I don't need you laughing at me!"
Zoro glared. "We're not laughing at you, we're helping because you," Zoro paused, "are honorable."
Luffy bared his teeth. "You really think we'd risk our lives out of pity?"
…is that not what we're doing? Ellis thought, mentally sweatdropping as Usopp watched them in awe, tears building.
"Even if we did pity you," she finally chimed in, "it's better than to be left to die." She shifted her weight to her other leg. "Just accept our help. You don't have a choice."
"You guys…" Then Usopp sobbed.
…did she say something wrong? Ellis looked bewilderedly to Nami, who just gave her a smile and a thumbs up.
They waited for Usopp to collect himself as the waning crescent hung above the horizon.
"Alright," he finally said. "At daybreak, the pirates will be landing at this shore to begin their attack."
Ellis tilted her head. "Luffy said they mentioned landing at a northern shore."
"Yeah, this shore," Usopp reiterated.
"This is the only north shore?" Ellis clarified, checking at the stars. According to Polaris's location, a bit to the east compared to them, it pointed in the direction they beached their ships.
After pointing this out, Nami slapped herself and Usopp jolted in alarm. "Oh, shoot! I completely forgot!"
Their reactions startled her.
"How do you forget an entire beach!" Nami shrieked.
They bickered a bit before they were able to continue formulating a plan.
"Are there any other north beaches?!" Nami demanded to know.
"Just these two!" Usopp retorted, before calming down. "The only route into the village is a single slope on each beach." He began leading them from their position toward said slope. Luffy followed, Zoro behind him, and Nami behind Zoro. Ellis followed last.
She observed the cliffs as they headed up the slope, thinking.
"The rest of the shoreline is sheer cliff, so they have to come through here!" Once at the top, Usopp turned to face them and continued, "If we can fight them while they're funneled into that narrow pass, their numbers won't mean anything, and the village will be protected!"
"Alright, sounds pretty easy," Luffy commented.
"Talking about it is, but victory depends on our strength," Usopp wisely stated. "What is it you guys can do?"
"I cut," Zoro said.
"I stretch," Luffy said.
"I steal," Nami said.
"I… also steal," Ellis said.
"I hide," Usopp whimpered.
"You're going to fight!" The others, minus Ellis, exploded. Luffy put Usopp into a loose chokehold. Loose, as in not totally cutting off his air.
"Just making a funny," Usopp choked out. "Come on, calm down!"
Once things settled a bit more, Usopp led them over to an old wooden picnic table by the tree line, where they sat down.
"So… what's the plan?"
They all sat there in silence before Ellis sighed.
If no one else would speak up, she has to. "So, they'll arrive at one of two beaches," Ellis comments, "There are," then counts the people in the group, "five of us. We're going to have to split into two groups. Once the pirates show up at one of the beaches, the other group will show up as reinforcements."
"We're splitting up?" Usopp shrieked.
"Once the pirates show up at one of the beaches," Ellis interjected before he could keep freaking out, "the other group will show up as reinforcements," she emphasized. "The one group will have to hold off until the other shows up. It's not ideal, but it's what we've got. Any other objections?"
No one said anything. God, she hated being in the center of attention. She hated being responsible for the wellbeing of others, though considering she also hated dying, she'll make do with what she has. Lord knows what they would do without a plan.
"Great. Next order of business, then. Both beaches are pretty similar in terms of structure. The only real difference is that one is a sand beach, and the other is solid rock. I recommend me, Usopp, and Luffy take the sand beach." Ellis points to Zoro and Nami. "You two get the rock beach."
Nami and Zoro glanced at each other.
"If our group sees their ship approaching the beach, one of us will head to the other beach to get you guys." Ellis looks over to Nami and Zoro. "If the pirates go to your beach, one of you will run to us."
"That would be me, then," Nami comments.
"But what do we do once we're grouped up?" Usopp pipes up. "We should probably hold them in the path up the cliff, right?"
"Zoro will hold the cliff pass." Ellis points to Usopp, "You will snipe at the beach–or the pass, depending–from on the cliff. It's also your job to take care of any of their snipers." She points to Nami, "Nami and I will take down anyone that gets past Zoro, and to keep an eye out for Klahadore. If anyone targets Usopp, it's our job to take care of them." Ellis looks at all of them. "Any questions?"
Luffy raised his hand. "Yeah, what's my job?"
"I, uh, figured you'd just charge head-on and ignore the plan entirely," Ellis sweatdropped. "Just please don't go too far onto the beach, in case something happens to the rest of us."
Luffy gave her a wicked grin, eyes gleaming. "You're so cool! How'd you figure that out?"
Ellis thought back to the fights against the lion and the clown. "Just a guess."
"How did you even come up with this strategy?" Usopp asked. "It's such a random skill to have."
Ellis gave a lopsided, thinking of a way to explain it. "Me and my brothers used to play… war games when we were younger." She missed them.
She let herself reminisce for a moment before returning to the task at hand. "Battles tend not to go to plan, so just think of this as a guide, and trust your instincts if something feels off. Just do what you think is best."
"This'll be a piece of cake," Zoro smirked.
"Yeah…" Ellis dragged out. Hopefully that didn't just jinx them. "Anyway, Usopp, do you know of anything else that could turn the tide in our favor? Like traps." She's tired of doing all the talking.
He rested his hand on his chin, thinking. "Well, I have a few ideas…"
Usopp led the group around the edge of the village, leading them to his house. Ellis was behind them, but some familiar chattering from a window made her pause; the others didn't need her right now, and she had a loose end to tie up.
Or, rather, three.
Ellis hugged the wall of the house, easing into the shadows from the moon. She waited for a lull in the conversation before tapping the window three times.
"What was that?"
"Was it a ghost?"
"A cannibal ghost?!"
Ellis rolled her eyes, bemused. She heard them argue over who was going to check the window when she decided to give them some mercy and peek through.
They shrieked before clambering to open the window.
"What are you doing here?" Onion asked.
"Where's everyone else?" the green-haired kid asked.
"Usopp's not with you, is he?" the purple-haired kid grumbled.
"I'm here by myself," Ellis answered. "I have an important, top-secret mission for you guys. Do you think you're up for the task?" She leaned her arms on the windowsill.
"Yes!" The three exclaimed, causing her to shush them, glancing at the door to their room, making sure no one was coming to check on the noise.
Once she was sure it was clear, she continued, "I need you guys to keep Kaya busy. Klahadore may not be a pirate," Ellis lied, "but I'm worried for her safety. Can you keep her out of her house for me?"
"That's easy!" The green-haired kid quietly exclaimed.
"We could do that in our sleep!" the purple-haired kid quietly agreed.
"Can I ask why, though?" Onion asked, tilting his head.
Ellis pursed her lips. "Well, I need to check out the house for anything incriminating. I know he has plans tomorrow, so if both he and Kaya are out of the house, I can look freely."
"Oh, that makes sense," Onion said.
Ellis was really glad they believed her, considering she just pulled that story out of her ass.
"Great. Just keep in mind, you're also protecting her from Klahadore. Don't go into her house until you see him leave. Oh, and one more thing." She leaned in, and conspiratorially whispered, "No matter what, keep her away from the south shore. That's where Usopp and Luffy's crew are hiding out, and I don't want Kaya to run into them after everything that happened." Ellis moved back to her previous position. "So, do you accept your mission, Usopp Pirates?"
"Yeah! You can count on us!"
Ellis smirked, turning to walk away. Hopefully that'll keep them all away from the fight until everything is dealt with.
She really wasn't looking forward to tomorrow, but if she can keep those kids and Kaya away from the fight, she has one less thing to worry about.
As she walked away, yawning, she spotted the Café they were at earlier in the day. She had a feeling this would turn into the worst all-nighter of all time, and she knew exactly what would pick her up.
And what would get the others to not question her absence.
Ellis dug out her lockpicks and spend a few moments jiggling the doorknob with her tools. She felt bad, essentially robbing a small-island business, but between the villager's lives (and subsequent deaths) and petty theft, she chose the latter.
Once the lock clicked open, she quickly entered the building and shut the door.
Sometimes, on small islands such as these, the owners of businesses would live upstairs to their shop. In case that was the case here, Ellis was sure to step lightly and keep close to the ground.
The building had been quiet the entire time she was with those kids, anyway, so if anyone was there, she was sure they were asleep. You can never be too careful, however, and Ellis liked to err on the side of caution.
She slowly made her way behind the counter and carefully opened the cabinets underneath the counter. She made sure to keep the creaking to a minimum, and made sure her smallest finger cushioned the doors as she closed them to keep from making a racket.
Soon enough, Ellis had the already ground coffee (probably in preparation for the next morning), a pot of boiling water, a filter, and a coffee pot, as well as everything else she needed to make it.
As the hot water seeped through the grounds, Ellis found plenty of mugs for the group she was soon to reunite with.
The rest of the coffee making happened without incident.
She made sure to make two pots, putting milk, sugar, and the mugs in her bag. She left, wielding the pots in her hands, but not before making sure she left the place as she found it (minus her ill-gotten goods).
She even locked the door behind her.
By the time Ellis caught up to the others, they were coming back from Usopp's house, Zoro carrying a barrel of oil, and Nami and Usopp each rolling their own barrel. (whale? Or petroleum? Either way, ew). Right as she caught up, Luffy ran ahead, and out of sight through the trees.
"What were you up to?" Zoro asked before she could question that, eyeing her, seemingly unbothered at the heavy cargo.
"Tying up a loose end," she responded, holding up the pots of coffee. "I'll need this if I want to be awake the rest of the night."
"Oh thank goodness, you're an angel!" Nami cried.
They made their way over to the rocky beach, rolling the barrels, as Usopp told her what she missed.
They poured the barrels halfway down the cliff pass, and Usopp and Ellis made way for their beach. She was nice enough to leave one of the coffee pots and some mugs for them before going.
Ellis was hoping Luffy wasn't going to be MIA when the pirates arrived. The two sat at the edge of the cliff, slowly sipping coffee, watching the horizon. Clouds started glowing at sunlight before the sun started rising. They keep a lookout, in case they catch sight of the pirate ship.
It was nice and quiet.
Until Usopp starts to freak out that Luffy's not there yet and what is he going to do they're all gonna die!
"I'll have to hold them off in the pass while you snipe above me, and we'll just have to wait for the others to come to us," Ellis soothed, despite sharing the same worries. "Nami will have the sense to know something's up if no one comes to get them, and no pirates show up by them."
Then, as the sun started to rise, they saw a blip on the horizon.
"Do you have any other last minute tricks before we start?" Ellis asked.
Usopp pulls caltrops from his bag.
"Throw them in the sand and at the entrance to the pass," Ellis said. "They'll be in for a surprise."
And she was right. Her battle plan would have to be scrapped.
The duo moved to their positions as the ship slowly approached shore.
A/N:
Literally none of my favorite fics have updated since at LEAST before christmas, which really pushed me to work on this. That, and all the comments 3
Also, every time I thought of updating this story, the next shift at work was ALWAYS a nightmare. (whitebeard voice: "The author curse is real!1)
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed :)