Hey Guys! Crescent Rider here and I am back with another chapter!
But before you all begin, I'd like to let you all know that I'll be cross-posting this story on TheRisingDryad Account in A03. (For those who don't know, the accounts The Crescent Rider and TheRisingDryad are mine)
As for the title of today's chapter, it sounds corny. But I'm sticking to it as fits the theme of the Arc. I might even do the other Arcs as well. For my own entertainment, of course.
That is all and enjoy the chapter!
Minutes Later...
After they spotted an island in the distance, the three Buggy Pirates rowed the boat to port but saw a ship docked there. With the flag and sails doting Buggy's Jolly Roger, this was his ship but no one seemed to be present.
As Marie and Zoro step out of the boat, an explosion erupts from the distance and destroys an entire row of buildings.
"That was one heck of an explosion," Zoro remarked,
"What do you think that is?" Marie calmly asked to the three Buggy Pirates,
"It looked like it was one of the Captain's beloved Buggy Balls," The Buggy Pirate 2 presumed,
"Buggy Balls? What a weird name," Marie remarked then trailed the smoke to the cannon's direction, "Do you think we'll be able to find Luffy there?"
"Probably, but we'd expected to find Buggy there too," Zoro added, "Let's go,"
While Zoro runs ahead, Marie briefly turns to the three pirates, "You guys take care now, Bye!"
Marie soon chases after Zoro while the three Buggy Pirates watch her go and all three have tears in their eyes.
"She's like an angel," Buggy Pirate 1 clarified
"More like a goddess if you ask me," Buggy Pirate 2 added
"We're glad to be on the same boat as her," Buggy Pirate 3 finished,
Drinker's Pub
After the Buggy Ball destroyed a row of buildings, Buggy and his crew applauded while a particular Orange-haired Girl was baffled by what they'd wrought in this town.
"That was flashy. With these Buggy Balls and my Devil Fruit Powers, I should have no problem conquering the Grand Line," Buggy stated, "Right, Nami?"
"R-Right, yes, of course," Nami nervously admitted,
"Huh?!" Luffy exclaimed in his cage, and it soon caught Buggy's attention, "But it's my destiny to conquer the Grand Line, and then I'm going to become King of the Pirates,"
"Shut up, Idiot!" Nami yelled,
Buggy chuckles, then turns to Nami, "I see why you're sick of him, Nami,"
"Yeah, I know. he never takes things seriously and thinks that life is a big game," Nami anxiously rebuked, "He acts like a little kid,"
"I see, then how about I give you a Buggy Ball to blow him away your old boss," Buggy suggested, "It'll be a great opportunity to prove your loyalty to me, your new captain, Men!"
Nami gasps while Buggy's men roll the cannon towards Luffy's cage, "That's alright, Captain. We don't have to finish him off quite yet, let's go back to the welcoming party and have more fun,"
Buggy sadistically chuckled as he turned to Nami, "This is my idea of having more fun,"
He'd hand her a box of matches and Nami anxiously stared at the matches while Buggy's men chanted for her to fire the cannon. In her thoughts, not firing would lead to her death but firing Luffy would make her worse than these pirates.
Her hands shake with hesitancy, but Luffy catches on to this, "What's the matter, your hands are shaking,"
Nami would snap out of her trance as Luffy continued, "That's what happens when you take on pirates with half-ass resolve,"
"Resolve to do what?!" Nami questioned, "To kill someone like it nothing?! Is that a pirate's resolve,"
"No," Luffy wronged, "You've got to be risking your own life,"
Before Nami could decide what to do, a Buggy Pirate swipes the matches off of her hands and lit the cannon for her. At that moment, Nami acts by pulling out her convertible bo staff and striking the pirate without hesitation.
This surprised everyone, even Luffy, and then Buggy angrily questioned what she was doing, "Nami, what's the meaning of this outrage?!"
"I'm sorry!" Nami apologized while bowing her head,
"What's wrong?! Just shoot him already!" Buggy yelled,
"Huh, so... now you've decided to save me?" Luffy asked,
"Don't be so stupid!" Nami yelled, "I'm not doing this for you, you idiot! I just don't want to lower myself to the level of these inhumane pirates!"
"Okay, thanks, anyway," Luffy said,
Nami then went on to reveal that pirates were the cause of losing someone dear to her and Luffy seemingly understood before noticing that the Cannon's fuse at already been lit.
The moment he screams, Nami takes notice while Buggy gives out orders, "Oh, so you think pirates are inhumane filth? Get her men!"
Four of the Buggy Pirates went straight for her. As Nami tried to defend herself, these four pirates quickly disarmed her of her bo staff. What she does next is run up to the cannon and stop the lit fuse with her bare hands.
She'd scream as it burned her hands, but her actions would stop the cannon from firing. However, she finds herself defenseless as more of the Buggy Pirates charged at her from behind.
Fortunately, two people came along and one of them stopped the pirates dead in their tracks, "Hey, now. It's not nice to gang up on a poor girl,"
Luffy grins as he recognizes them, "Zoro! Marie!"
"Hey, Luffy!" Marie greeted, "How are you feeling?"
"I'm fine, just a little tied up," Luffy said,
Marie giggles while Zoro pushes the pirates away and rests one of his swords on his shoulder, "Are you hurt?"
"Huh?" Nami mouthed,
"I said are you hurt?" Zoro repeated,
"Um, no. I'm fine, I think," Nami responded,
As for Marie, she sets her sights on Nami's hands and notices some light burns from her palms, "You've burnt your hands,"
"Oh, this was after I stopped the cannon's fuse," Nami elaborated, "It's fine,"
"You'll need some ointment for it, otherwise, the skin might peel off," Marie explained, while Luffy and Zoro conversed about the previous situation and now,
'What's with this girl,' Nami thought, 'More importantly, the crew he mentioned earlier was her and the Pirate Hunter Zoro, what's going on here?'
"So, you're Zoro," Buggy recognized, "If you're here for my head, you've got quite the struggle before you,"
"No, not interested," Zoro rejected, "I came here for my friend,"
"But I'm interested, killing you would bolster my reputation," Buggy objected,
"If you think you try, you'll die," Zoro threatened,
"Oh, is that so?" Buggy sarcastically inclined as he whirled his daggers,
Zoro sighed, "I tried to warn you, but oh well,"
"Careful, Zoro. Remember, we don't know what kind of Devil Fruit he ate," Marie advised,
Though he gave no response, he understood and readied his swords as Buggy prepared for battle. Buggy's men cheered for their captain while Luffy, Nami, and Marie watched this battle.
Moments later, Buggy charged at him dead on, "Die flashily!"
Zoro was quick in delivering his attack and it resulted in Buggy being sliced into pieces. With that, Zoro sheathed his katanas and glanced at Buggy's decapitated state, "That wasn't much of a fight, now was it?"
"Oh, wow! He's weak, what a go, Zoro!" Luffy said,
'Something's not right...' Marie suspected as she stared at Buggy's body,
She then turned to her crew and noticed that they weren't shocked by how quickly their captain had fallen. Instead, they were all laughing and neither Luffy, Zoro, or Nami knew why.
Marie then turns to Buggy's Body and notices that there isn't any blood spilled after Zoro cuts him down. Then she soon realized the truth, especially when she saw Buggy's upper body float from the ground, "Zoro! He isn't dead!"
Zoro reacted to her shout, but it wasn't enough as Buggy pulled out a fast one by stabbing him in the abdomen with a dagger held by a disembodied hand. This soon brought Zoro to his knees, especially when Buggy pulled the dagger out, "Bara Bara no Mi! That's the name of the Devil Fruit that's given me my powers!"
"A fruit that makes him impervious to bladed weapons," Marie elaborated,
"That's right, little girl! I'm a chop-chop person who can't be cut!" Buggy praised before laughing,
"His limbs reattached!" Nami exclaimed, "And I always thought that the Devil Fruits was just a story that the pirates told!"
"Oh, they're real, Miss," Marie confirmed, "You just haven't seen them in person,"
"I didn't hit any vital organs, but that's a serious wound you have there," Buggy said, "So I'm guessing, I'm the winner!"
"Not if I have something to say about it!" Marie dashed towards him and attempted to land a spinning kick,
Buggy detaches his upper body to avoid her kick and plans on striking her down by launching one of his detached arms. But as Marie landed, she followed up with a sweeping kick and Zoro got out of her way.
The moment Buggy's feet were swept from the ground, his upper body reacted and ended up falling into the ground hard.
"Captain Buggy!" Buggy's men exclaimed,
Marie would return to a fighting stance while Buggy reattached himself, stood up with daggers, and growled, "That was a lucky shot, little girl!"
"Luck had nothing to do with it," Marie stated,
'This girl's good,' Nami noted, then she gazed at the pirates, 'But it won't be long before these guys join in and kill all four of us!'
Before the two could engage in another clash, Luffy had a say in the matter, "Stabbing Zoro in the back was a cowardly move, You Big Nose!"
Luffy's insult soon caused veins to pop out of Buggy's forehead while his men dropped their jaws as if they had broken something that shouldn't be broken. Moments later, Buggy redirects his anger towards Luffy instead of Marie, "What's that... You said... Who's got a Big Nose!"
Buggy launched one of his arms with a dagger towards Luffy's cage and Marie just watched it happen. Zoro expressed concern, but Marie expressed nothing as Luffy is strong.
"Hey, Marie!" Luffy called out, "Don't kick his ass, because I'll be the one to do it!"
Marie closed her eyes and stood down, "If you insist,"
Luffy breaks the dagger with his teeth and Buggy started to laugh after he brought his detached arm back, "You kick my ass?! You've got a lot of nerve, kid. Now I'm afraid you're all going to die here. By my hand! So if you're going to do some ass-kicking, you better do it soon!"
In return, Luffy laughed back at him, "I refuse to die! Zoro, get up!"
"What?!" Zoro exclaimed,
"You better have a really good plan or else we're all dead!" Nami yelled, "What are you guys going to do!"
Marie glanced at Luffy and saw a smile on his face. There weren't any words said to them, but they got the message of what they're supposed to do, "I gotcha,"
"Understood," Marie agreed,
'Oh, This is going to be fun...' Fury remarked,
'Nothing makes sense anymore! This is why I hate pirates' Nami stated while comically tilting to the side,
"Hey, Buggy! You just said that you've eaten a Devil Fruit, right?" Marie reminded,
"I did and what makes you think it'll change the situation!" Buggy questioned while readying for another attack,
In return, Marie smirked before him and the pirates, "Then feast your eyes on these!"
Without warning, three pairs of arms emerged from her back and gripped themselves onto Marie's arms and shoulder. The sudden emergence of these arms caused Buggy, Nami, and the others to freak out especially when they witnessed three bodies surfacing.
As soon as they were out, their reactions followed as Fury and two new clones expressed themselves; A grin, a smirk with crossed arms, and a stern stare.
"Holy crap, there's four of her now!"
"And they all look the same as her!"
"Just what kind of Devil Fruit is that!"
Taking advantage of their shock, Fury dashed towards Buggy and started attacking him. However, she wouldn't land on him as her intentions were fixed on a more amusing outcome.
Meanwhile, Zoro runs for the cannon, goes underneath it and Marie assists him with her other clones.
"All together now!" Marie stated, then she and her two clones followed with, "HEAVE-HO!"
As soon as the cannon had been flipped over, Fury jumped away from Buggy and his goons and they all started screaming as the cannon was pointing at them.
"Excuse me, Miss. But do you have to have a match?" Marie asked directly to Nami, "Since this cannon's armed, it seems fitting if we return what's inside to them,"
Nami shrugged off her shock and pulled out the matchbox, "Right!"
"Wait! Just wait! That cannon is still loaded with a special Buggy Ball!" Buggy pleaded, "I don't want to go out like this! Not hitten by own bomb!"
With the fuse lit, Marie recalls her clones back into her body and covers her ears alongside Nami. Moments later, the cannon is fired and blasts Buggy's tent away.
Zoro then took this chance to run for Luffy's cage and lift it. Though Marie would express her concern about his condition, "Zoro, I think you should let me lift that cage. If you push yourself too far, you'll-"
"Shut up," Zoro demanded, "I need to concentrate if I'm going to get us out of this,"
The more he struggles to carry the cage, the more blood he loses from his wound. It drew a lot of concern on Marie's part, but Zoro was too stubborn to accept her as he focused on carrying Luffy's cage.
Nami would then appear and Zoro asked Luffy who she was. To which he replies that she's our new navigator.
"I'm not so sure about that, who are you guys, anyway?" Nami questioned,
"Move, you're in the way!" Zoro said, lifting the cage onto his back and causing his wound to bleed out some more,
"I'm serious, Zoro! If you lose too much blood, you'll pass out for sure!" Marie exclaimed,
Zoro didn't respond or retort to her exclamation, instead, he carried the cage out of the area while Nami just watched him go, "I guess even a lowly pirate can rescue his friend,"
"But still, he shouldn't do something like that or he'll pass out," Marie said, "That reminds me, Miss Navigator. I haven't learned your name?"
Nami would stare at her, then reply, "I'll tell you after I'm done with something first. Just go with them and I'll find you after,"
"Okay," Marie proceeded to leave while Nami went on her way for now,
Somewhere in Town
Having a clear memory of the buildings and landmarks, Marie would find Luffy and Zoro together and rush towards them, "Luffy! Zoro!"
"Oh, hey Marie!" Luffy said, then pointed at a dog sitting near them, "Look at this dog here,"
Marie would turn to the dog and bend her knees down. She then placed her hand on the dog's head and gently caressed it a few times,
The dog cautiously looks at her but stops when it doesn't perceive her as a threat. Then Luffy decided to poke the dog on its face hard and it resorts to munching on his rubbery face.
Luffy would scream while Marie gasped with her hands on her mouth and Zoro watched speechlessly. Before long, Luffy frantically shakes inside of his cage, Zoro scolds him but goes pale as he falls to the ground, and Marie goes to the dog and tries to pull it without causing any harm to it, "Hey, please let go of my brother's face, Doggy! He didn't mean you no harm, I promise!"
When the dog glanced at her with its teeth still sinking into Luffy's face, it somehow complied as it released Luffy's face and Marie carried the dog into her arms.
"Damn dog," Luffy muttered as he fell flat in his cage,
"I don't feel good," Zoro murmured,
Marie sighs at this and puts the dog on the ground. Moments later, Nami arrives and Luffy notices her, "Oh, Hi Navigator!"
"Hello," Marie greeted,
"I guess you can have this," Nami said and tossed something on the floor, "You got me out of a pretty sticky situation,"
"Great, the key to the cage!" Luffy recognized, "Did you go and steal it for me? Thanks, Nami!"
"Nami?" Marie mouthed,
"That's my name," Nami said,
"Oh, I see. Either way, it's nice to meet you, and thank you for helping out my brother," Marie said,
"I only did it so we'd be even, and now I don't owe you anything," Nami stated, "So we're squared, okay?"
"Yeah, sure!" Luffy replied and went to get the key,
But the dog soon took the key and proceeded to swallow it. Nami and Marie shared a dumbfounded reaction, Zoro cringed at what he witnessed, and Luffy gritted his teeth before strangling the poor dog through the bars.
Marie would sigh and press three fingers against her forehead for her brother's frustration. Moments later, they heard a voice nearby, "Hey, stop that!"
Nami and Marie turn to the voice, and it is an old man wearing makeshift armor, "Stop picking on poor Chouchou! Leave him alone!"
"I'm really sorry, sir," Marie apologized, "My brother was just frustrated when the dog ate the key to his cage. Also, who might you be?"
"Why I'm the Mayor of this Town," The old man replied, then he noticed the wound on Zoro's abdomen, "My, my, that's quite an injury you have there. I take it that you had a run-into with Captain Buggy, We need to get you to a doctor,"
"No need, I can dress his wound my own," Marie said, "But by any chance, can you offer us a bed for him?"
"There's one at my place, I can take you there," The Mayor replied,
With his aid, he and Marie help Zoro into the Mayor's house and set him on a bed. The Mayor then brought his first aid kit to Marie and she started dressing his wound.
"Hey, you don't have to do this. Just leave me to sleep and I'll be fine after," Zoro said,
But Marie said nothing as she cleaned the blood from the inflicted wound with a clean rag and applied some disinfectant. Of course, Zoro would hiss from the pain, "Hey! Aren't you listening to me? I said I'll be fine! Just stop what you're doing and let me-"
Fury suddenly emerges from Marie's back and confronts the swordsman, "Shut up! Just shut up and let her finish, you idiot!"
Marie would turn to Fury just as paused her treatment with Zoro, "I didn't ask for you to defend me,"
Fury would turn to her, and they gaze at one another. After a brief period of silence, Fury clicks her tongue and submerges into Marie's body.
"Well that thing's lively as ever," Zoro remarked,
"She is, but in a sense. I agree with her," Marie said as she treated Zoro a bit further,
"Agree with her on what?" Zoro questioned,
"About you being stubborn," Marie said, "Even though you've done it out of the captains' best intentions. You should at least depend on others a bit, you and I are a crew and it isn't wrong for either of us to look after one another from time to time,"
After wrapping the bandage around his wound, she'd stand up and wipe her forehead once, "Alright, I'm all done. The rest goes to you sleeping it in, I'll be outside checking on Luffy and the others,"
Marie would leave the house and stretch her arms up. Then she returns to where Luffy, Nami, Chouchou, and the Mayor are, "I'm back!"
She expected the four to be present in the area, instead, she was met with what appeared to be a large lion and its rider. The latter looked rather weird considering that his hair is shaped like a teddy bear and his fur vest is the same color as his hair.
Her call had caught their attention and the man smirked before her, "Well, if it isn't the little freak that Buggy spoke of,"
Marie looks around for the four, then looks back at the rider and bows to him, "It's nice to meet you, Sir. How are you today?"
"Oh, Why I'm fine today, thank you for asking! It's a nice day and all, So- HEY!" The rider modestly replied until the situation dawned on him, "Don't you dare try your little tricks on me, Little Freak! For I Beast Tamer Mohji, First Mate of the Buggy Pirates, have been sent to claim the heads of Roronoa Zoro and yours,"
"But I wasn't trying to trick you, Mohji-san. I'm just being modest," Marie said, then she noticed that the building behind them was destroyed,
But what caused her eyes to flinch was Chouchou's battered body and it caused Marie to frown as she confronted Mohji for it, "Did you do all this? To Chouchou?"
"Hmph, And what if I did?" Mohji smugly questioned,
Marie said no more, instead she buckled her knees down and muttered, "Jiga Fomu,"
The muscles of Marie's shin and calf began to contract and it even caused the ground below her feet to crack. Mohji got caught on this and before he knew it, Marie finished the line, "Ushigaeru!"
In that moment, Marie closes the distance between her and Mohji and clotheslines him from the lion's back into the next building. She soon landed on the lion, but it shook her off and Marie jumped from the lion to the area closest to Chouchou.
The lion soon confronts Marie with gnashing teeth. But before she can engage the lion, Luffy places his hand on her shoulder, "Let me take care of this one,"
As Luffy steps forward, Marie complies, "Of course, Luffy,"
The lion roars before charging towards their way. Luffy would coil his arms around and grab the lion by its jaws, "Gomu Gomu no...!"
He then jumps over the lion and brings it down, "Tsuchi!"
Mohji somehow recovers from Marie's attack and witnesses the lion's defeat, "Richie! W-What are you two?!"
"Well, I ate the Gomu Gomu no Mi," Luffy said,
"And I ate the Jiga Jiga no Mi," Marie followed,
"S-So then, you have Devil Fruit Powers like Buggy and Girl. But yours made you rubber," Mohji exclaimed,
As Luffy remains silent, Mohji profusely apologizes. But the former stated that there was no reason to apologize. For what he had done, Chouchou would never get back his treasure and Luffy is dead set on kicking his ass.
Marie would grab Luffy's fallen straw hat while the latter pulled Mohji in and punched him straight into the ground. Marie then turns to Chouchou, who stands by the destroyed pet shop and sits next to him, caressing its head after it loses its supposed treasure to Mohji and his lion.
Nami soon arrives and is presented with the destruction. She then proceeds to blame Luffy and label him much like the rest of the pirates she detests and even suggests that she'd kill him too. The one restraining her from doing so was the Mayor, as he tried to reason with her.
But he and Marie ignored her as he went to Chouchou with a box of dog food he recovered from the fight and placed it in front of him as he sat on the opposite side, "Sorry, but that's all we could save for you. That bastard lion ate all the rest of it,"
Marie pulled her hand away from Chouchou's head and smiled as her brother continued, "You've fought well, of course, I haven't seen you defend the store. But I can tell you gave it your all,"
With that, Chouchou grabbed the last box of dog food and hauled it with him. But he would turn to Luffy and bark once. He may not understand the dog, but he knows the message behind it, "Thanks, Good luck to you too, Doggy!"
"Take care, Chouchou!" Marie added while waving at it,
Chouchou barks several more times, takes the dog food, and leaves with what little remains of its beloved treasure.
"Sorry about earlier," Nami apologized, "I didn't mean to yell at you,"
"That's okay, You've been under a lot of stress lately" Luffy stands up and dusts his shorts off, "But hey, no need to apologize,"
"I'm pathetic! Chouchou and these young ones have fought so hard. Yet I, the Mayor, have done nothing but sit back and watch our town be obliterated by Buggy and his despicable crew!" The Mayor regretted,
"Calm down! It's not that bad!" Nami reasoned,
The Mayor then provides a summary of the town's history. He and his people have worked hard to build it from the ground up, then he clarifies that the town is his treasure and all its citizens and vows that he won't let Buggy terrorize this town anymore.
But then another explosion erupts and destroys another row of buildings.
"He'll destroy it all," The Mayor muttered,
"Wait, isn't that house supposed to be where... Oh no..." Marie muttered,
"Ah! Zoro was sleeping in there!" Luffy exclaimed,
"I'm sure he's dead now," The Mayor grimly remarked,
"Zoro! You in there! Are you still alive?!" Luffy called out,
"That's one helluva way to wake a guy up," Zoro complained and it caused to Luffy to laugh in relief, "I could've used a few more Zs..."
"How did you survive that blast?" Nami inquired,
"Training, I guess," Marie guessed,
"As if training will help!" Nami yelled,
The Mayor then refuses to let Buggy get away with all of this and once again vows that he'll protect his town and its inhabitants with his dying breath. Nami tries to hold him back as he stubbornly goes to take on Buggy, "Stop! You can't defeat Buggy!"
"Perhaps, but there are some fights that a man can't run from, isn't that right?" The Mayor firmly stated,
"That's right, old man!" Luffy replied with a grin,
"Shut up! Don't egg him on, Luffy! It's too dangerous for him to fight Buggy!" Nami
"I know it's dangerous!" The Mayor yelled, and stormed off after Nami released him, "I'm coming for you, Buggy the Clown!"
"The Mayor was... crying," Nami noted,
"He was? Huh, I didn't notice," Luffy said,
"Looks like the party is getting more excited," Zoro remarked,
"It certainly is," Marie added, while her brother chuckled,
"This is no time for laughter," Nami reminded,
"Don't worry, I started to grow fond of that old man," Luffy assured, "There's no way I'd let him die,"
"Well in that case," Zoro declared as he and Marie joined Luffy's side,
"You're going to go too? You're wounded!" Nami questioned,
"Yeah, so what?" Zoro questioned while wrapping his bandanna around his forehead, "The injury to my reputation is a lot worse than the injury to my gut,"
"Ah... They're as stubborn as they come," Marie added, "But that's what makes this more fun,"
"Well, if we wanna get to the Grand Line, we better go steal that chart back," Luffy declared, then he turned to Nami and stretched his hand to her, "So, Are you going to join our crew or what? Huh, come on,"
"I'll never sink so low as to become a pirate," Nami stated and slapped his hand away, "But I suppose we could team up, to achieve our common goal,"
With that, Luffy temporarily has Nami in the crew and the four of them go and confront Buggy once and for all.
That is it for this chapter, and the next chapter may conclude the Orange Town Arc. In addition, I'll be adding another OC among the Buggy Pirates and have that person fight Marie.
I won't tell you who it'll be, but I can tell you that they're the Second Mate of the Buggy Pirates.
As for what Marie's Ushigaeru (Bullfrog) does, it contracts the muscles in her legs and allows her to jump fast and strong in one direction.
Finally, the names of two unspecified Maries will be given in between after the Orange Town Arc and before Syrup Village.
That is all I have to say, and I'll see you all in the next chapter!
Marie's Jiga Fomu (Ego Forms):
Supaida (Spider)
Ushigaeru (Bullfrog) - New
Marie's Jiga Kuron (Ego Clones):
Ecstatic Marie
Purist Marie
Fury Marie
Two unspecified Maries