Hello, everyone. I do not own any original characters, settings, or plot. It all belongs to Eiichiro Oda. I also did not receive any revenue for writing this story. Enjoy Chapter 29!
The chaos was worse than before. Enemies were on all sides. There was no end to the fighting. The constant battle was wearing her down. And trying to attack with only her main dagger was more dangerous than she first thought. Magina almost wished that she was as versatile as Usopp. He used makeshift weapons all the time, even right then. She winced at the sound of his nails on a chalkboard.
"Maybe you should go to the envoy ship!" Zoro shouted over the din.
Magina clenched her jaw. "Do you really think that they're going to let me walk on through if I tell them that I'm tired?"
Zoro considered it and grinned. "I could always cut a pathway for you. Stay by me and I'll protect you."
Magina shook her head. "Stop distracting me, bushido! We all have to do what we can to survive this. You can't keep on protecting me!"
Desperation and just a touch of annoyed frustration fueled her next attacks. But even as she cleared the area surrounding her, more Marines sprang up to take the fallen warriors' places.
One soldier barreled straight at her. She dodged, right into the attack space of another Marine. Magina ducked the swing but that left her open. She waited for the strike, but the fighter fell. Zoro stood there instead.
He opened his mouth to say something, his eyes on her. Another Marine was about to attack his back. Magina tossed her dagger at the man. Moaning, the soldier crumpled to the ground. Zoro turned and yanked the dagger out. He pressed the dagger back into her hands.
"It occurred to me, that you don't exactly understand what I'm saying, siren. Yes, I will protect you. I'll protect the others too. Just like you protect us. Now, can you stay right by me so that I don't have to run to the other side of the battlefield? Nami, Robin, and Franky are sticking together. We should too."
Magina nodded slowly. "Fine. Let's get to Usopp then."
They cut through the enemies until they reached Usopp. Still, Magina noticed that the two men flanked her position. She was able to catch her breath due to the way they shielded her. Was the enemy still sending troops to the bridge? It looked like the Marines called her bluff. The soldiers weren't retreating at all. She swallowed. Did she have one last song in her?
"You both have your earplugs in?" she called.
Usopp nodded furiously but Zoro gave her a look.
"I thought you said you wouldn't be able to sing for this fight."
Magina grunted, hitting a Marine in the back of the head with all her might. The soldier slumped to the ground.
"We're running out of options. They have more people on those ships. If they get bored of waiting, they might send their other forces and overwhelm us."
There was a sudden explosion up above. Magina turned to look. A large figure flew out of the tower. She recognized that figure! It was the strongest fighter in CP9, and it looked like he was no longer moving. What she heard in Luffy's song was profound relief. Luffy won against that cat bastard! Seconds later, Luffy's shout confirmed everything.
"Robin, we're going back together!"
Usopp and Nami cheered.
"About time. He took so long I was starting to worry. You won't have to sing after all, siren," Zoro said.
Magina stopped herself from reacting. It didn't take long for him to notice.
"Cheer up, siren. Luffy won. This is our victory."
Magina shook her head. "Something is wrong. Luffy…he can't…"
"Ships, station yourself around the first tower. The pirate captain was mortally wounded. We will fire in ten seconds."
Usopp ran to the edge of the bridge to encourage Luffy again. The Marines surged around them; some even went after Usopp.
"Shit!" Zoro mumbled beside her.
"Force the rest of the pirates to the second prop," a commander intoned.
Another part of the bridge was destroyed. They were being gathered like fish in a net! Nami had a plan though.
"Nami wants us to get on the envoy ship. We can pick up Luffy if we're on…" she began.
A second explosion rocked the afternoon. The envoy ship burst into flames. Her heart sank to the pit of her stomach. Chopper was on board! She could suddenly hear the sultry song in her range again. Magina smiled. There he was!
"Everyone's mostly safe!" Sanji yelled lifting everyone from the ship to safety.
Magina was relieved. Not everything was lost, though they weren't out of the sea bluffs yet. Luffy couldn't move and the tower was going to be shot down soon. If she sang, she might buy her captain some time, enough time to figure out what they could do to escape.
Something niggled at the back range of her hearing. Something familiar, something safe. But Magina didn't have time to study the voice before there were other familiar calls.
"Straw Hat, you did it!"
"Franky-aniki, we're all safe. You don't have to worry about us."
Magina was glad that everyone was safe, but the familiar sound didn't dislodge easily. She fought her way to Usopp. He heard it too.
"Whose voice is that?"
Usopp wasn't asking anyone in particular. Magina was about to answer when Franky interrupted.
"It was the voices of my cute followers. Didn't you hear them on the Den-Den Mushi?"
Usopp cupped his ears and strained to listen.
"No, it wasn't them, it was somebody else!"
Franky was confused. Magina couldn't blame him for his reaction. She took out another soldier, wishing that they would just leave the battlefield so that she could listen more closely. Then, she heard it.
I'm down below! I've come! Look below!
Her nakama all heard it too in varying degrees. Magina heard the instant that everyone recognized that voice. Her eyes filled with tears. How was it possible? How was she able to come this far?
"What are you talking about, Usopp? And why are you crying, siren?" Zoro asked, attacking another Marine.
Usopp rounded on the swordsman. "There's one more! We have one more nakama and she came for us!"
Chopper was already bawling. The emotions of her nakama also overwhelmed her. That brave, reckless…it was unbelievable! Events were happening all at once. Dimly, she heard the orders being shouted.
"Firing at the first tower in three seconds!"
"Magina or Robin! Can one of you do something about Luffy?"
They both stepped up, but Robin held out her arm. "Let me do this, Magina."
She nodded and rushed over to Chopper. The Marines fighting them were in a state of confusion.
"What's going on?"
"The pirates are planning something!"
Before the Marines could spring into action, the cry came from all eight pirates.
"Into the sea!"
"The sea!"
It was almost too good to be true! They dived into the atmosphere and landed in the water. Chopper was ripped from her arms. Kokoro-san. She was saving the Devil Fruit users. Zoro grabbed her hand and tugged her toward the surface.
Soon, they were all standing on that old familiar deck. It was like nothing changed. They were reunited on Merry once again. They were all home.
…
Zoro thought that he was going crazy at first. Franky and the old bat certainly didn't hear anything. They wouldn't believe that good old Merry spoke to them. It was hard to deny it when most of the crew was in tears. He understood why Usopp and Chopper were crying, but even Magina was emotional.
Tears streamed down her face while silent shuddering sobs wracked her body. Zoro frowned. Something was wrong only this wasn't the time for an emotional breakdown. They still needed to escape. He grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her gently.
"Calm down, Magina. We'll need your help to escape."
Magina hastily gulped down another sob. She nodded and dashed her tears away. She headed to help steer.
"Nami, watch the tides carefully. They're going to get interesting from here on out!" she called before ducking in the back.
"Thanks, Magina! Hey, guys, look alive! We're getting out of here!"
Zoro spared a quick glance to the room the siren entered before busying himself with the business of sailing. He sighed once in frustration. He never understood women.
"Thank you, everyone, for coming to save me," Robin stated before they could set to work.
His captain giggled. "No problem!"
Zoro grunted. "This isn't the best time for such ridiculousness," he said gruffly.
"Ridiculous—you shitty marimo! Don't call Robin-chan's sincere feelings ridiculous!" Sanji tried to intervene with a flying kick.
Zoro dodged and stopped in his tracks. All the warships cannons were pointed directly at them. A Den-Den Mushi broadcast the orders.
"Blast them out of the waters! Rather than letting Nico Robin escape, destroy them all!"
"That stupid Spanda was still alive?" Franky commented.
Every volley missed the ship. Water shot up all around them, showering the deck with sea water. Zoro saw the smirk on Love Cook's face.
"I wondered when it would happen."
Nami realized it a second before Zoro made the connection.
"Ah, so that's why Magina said to watch out for the currents! Sanji-kun, is this your doing?"
Sanji shrugged. "Well, I knew that when the gate was closed; the sea was turbulent here. Whirlpools might also give us problems, but it should cause disasters for those warships too."
Nami chuckled gleefully. "Alright, everyone! We're getting out of here! There is no sea that we can't sail when we're on Merry! Usopp, Franky! Trim the sails! Sanji-kun, help Magina steer!"
Activity exploded on the tiny vessel. They were going to escape. There was more shouting on the Marine ships. They were adjusting their aim again. Zoro looked at Sanji for just a second, cocking his head at the warships. If those cannonballs hit Merry, they wouldn't survive. It was a good thing that the solution was only an arm's length away.
"Woah, hey! Guys! What are you doing?" Luffy protested.
Zoro picked up his Captain's arms while Sanji picked Luffy up by his feet. They stretched the rubber pirate until they caught all the cannonballs and bounced them back.
Nami clapped happily. "Good job, you three! Keep protecting the ship at all costs! Magina and Chopper are going to steer us out of here!"
He put Luffy down and gave Nami a thumbs up sign. The Love Cook made the same signal on Luffy's other side. He was just as confident as Nami was. Merry would carry them to safety. It was their job to protect the little caravel. Sanji headed to one side of the boat and Zoro took the other side. He cut through cannonballs when they soared too close, though sometimes Nami shouted instructions.
"Zoro, grab that rope!"
All the while, the broadcast of the weakling leader of CP9 shouted over the speakers.
"Shoot them down! Why can't you hit them on that puny ship?! Kill them!"
"I believe that I can deal with that loudmouth," Robin stated calmly.
Zoro couldn't see what she did in the chaos, but he heard the resounding snap over the speakers.
"Well, that's one way to deal with an annoyance," he grunted, slicing another cannonball one second and tying down a rope the next.
They were close to the gate; freedom was in their sights only the gate was closing. If it closed completely, they would be stuck there with the warships.
"Franky! Usopp! It's your turn!" Nami shouted.
Franky stood at the stern of the ship. He got in position, his arms bulging.
"This might hurt the ship a little, but this is our ticket out of here. Coup de Vent!"
Pressurized air burst out. Merry lifted in the air, sailing through the closing gates.
"Smoke Screen!" Usopp shouted moments later.
The shot exploded in the air, covering the direction the ship flew and leaving the Marines in disarray. Zoro smiled. They sailed in the sky for a few minutes before landing in the sea. Chopper walked out from the back. He looked for Magina but it didn't look like she followed the doctor. Zoro went to the back. Magina cradled the goat head steering stick, teardrops streaming down her face.
"I'm not sure why you're crying, siren. This was our complete victory. We rescued Robin and even the bounty hunter. None of our allies died. What is there to be sad about?"
Magina stayed silent a moment longer. Her response sounded strangled.
"Even a complete victory isn't made without sacrifices."
Zoro noticed two things. One, Magina's gaze never left the goat head. And possibly the most serious thing of all: in this one instance, Magina didn't use a fishing idiom.
There it is, Chapter 29! I hope your last two months went well. I would say that mine went great, but that would mean that I'd have a talent in telling the future, lol. We're really close to end of Enies Lobby. Isn't that crazy! I'm still working ahead so that there is never a huge break (beyond every other month) for you guys. If I do somehow manage to finish it, then I'll go back to posting a chapter every month. Don't expect that anytime soon though! I have a lot more story planned!