LW: And now we're at chapter 2 of the Punk Hazard arc, and things are going to keep getting messier before they start to make sense. That's just how this island is, sorry not sorry.
Rubber King and Mirror Master- New World Chaos : The Crazy, Headless, and the Children
Punk Hazard - Ice side
"So, what are we going to do about the head?" Alvida asks, as the assembled pirates give him odd looks.
"We could at least try to interrogate him, find out who captured us, as well as potentially what they're doing in this place" Victor suggests.
"Plus, if Special K is right and more pirates are here, especially a Supernova like Law, then something fishy is going on" Franky murmurs.
"Wait, 'more pirates', that's what you said" the severed head questions.
"Um, yeah, we're pirates too after all" Sanji admits with a shrug.
The head growls "I should have known, that savagery should have given the game away almost instantly. I assumed we were all victims of the monsters that call this frozen hellscape home, but alas, you may be just as bad" he sneers.
"Is killing him still on the table?" Valentina asks.
"Unlikely, if he can take this much damage we don't know what even could take him out" Nami argues.
"Wait, did you say frozen? I think there's been some kind of mistake, the island is a literal firestorm, even the sea is burning" Vivi asks, confused, but the head refuses to co-operate.
"It all makes sense now" Nami says with a snap of her fingers "The area Luffy and the others went to, where everything in sight is constantly burning, is only 1 side of the island. You can see where the temperatures change from the boat, if you look into the sky, specifically the change in cloud composition"
"It also means, this is where the distress signal came from" Kaya adds "The guy on the snail was crying about it being cold after all"
"So, they went to all this trouble of kidnapping us, and transporting us to the other side of an island that makes zero sense, for what?" Sanji wonders aloud.
"We'll find out when we get out of this room. Then, we'll find answers, but more importantly, Medusa, and Momonosuke" Nami states bluntly, which got the head's attention.
"You would rescue him, even though you're pirates?" he asks.
"Yes, because our crew is a family, we know what it's like to lose that, and we wouldn't inflict it upon anyone" Nami replies.
"In that case, I'll knock" Kaos sighs as he stands to his full height.
"I wouldn't recommend that, your blond friend was kicking that door for over 5 minutes and it wouldn't budge, just knocking is unlikely to do much better" the head argues.
"You mean an Arlong Park knock, don't you?" Kaya sighs, already moving to the opposite side of the cell.
"I was thinking more a Marineford Knock, but the same principle applies" Kaos grins wickedly, as a quake bubble forms around his right hand… and the rest of the Straw hats follow Kaya to the closest they could find to a safe zone.
As the researcher said, he knocked on the safe door, the difference being that as his fist impacted the plate metal, reality warped and contorted before with a loud crack the door practically shattered, pieces covering the corridor with shrapnel anywhere from the size of a ferret to a barrel in size.
"And, we're done" he grins, until Nami jumps up and smacks him in the back of the head.
"YOU MORON! You could have killed all of us! What if the facility had come crashing down on our heads?" Nami screams.
"Mirror Gate" he answers with a shrug "Besides we're all safe" he says, then pauses, his tail flicking across a mark on the wall, then back to his as his tongue flicks out to sample it "They on the other hand, are basically jam"
"That's the problem, you could have squished all of us flat if you'd missed!" Chopper argues fearfully.
While the doctor and navigator give Kaos an impromptu safety lesson, Vivi catches something out the corner of her eye, given the smear on the wall used to be a person, she had a feeling so was the clump of material she was looking at, though it was strange, appearing to be smoldering or even burning. Applying the slightest bit of pressure with her foot, the flesh quickly turned to ash, confirming her suspicions and fears.
"Kaos!" she calls "You wouldn't happen to have holy water, silver, or fire on hand, please?"
"I have 2 of those things, mostly fire, why?" Kaos asks, now curious.
"Because whatever is going on in this facility, there are vampires around, and those are the most likely ways to actually take them out… besides a Gura Gura quake punch it would appear" Vivi explains tensely
"VAMPIRES!"
"Yes, and while it's possible it was only one, better safe than sorry" Vivi sighs "For now, let's try find the kids and worry about the undead if and when we cross paths with them"
"Right, we should focus on getting to safety and locating our littlest crewmate" Nami agrees.
"One thing first" Alvida hums, then sets the head on Chopper's hat, which for some reason bonds to the headgear so he now sat upon it like he had always been part of it "There we go, now you can't get lost"
"The indignity!" the head cries bitterly, but is mostly ignored, though Shirahoshi couldn't quite contain her giggles as she takes up the rear of the procession.
"There they are!" one of the hazmat-wearing guys shouts as he comes across the Straw Hats, most likely due to going to investigate the bang.
"Shit, maybe I should have gone for a subtler approach" Kaos winces, then the men start shooting at them, which leads most of the crew to dive for cover, said cover being Franky and a Reflect Armoured Kaos, the expectations being the 2 logias, who surge forward as a deluge of their respective elements, slamming the men into the walls, knocking them out.
"Can we run faster maybe?" Shirahoshi of all people suggest, her question being an eager YES from Nami and Chopper, and a more relaxed one from Artemis, but it got the ball rolling, right until they reached the end of the corridor and opened the door to the next section.
What they found… was essentially a playroom, filled with kids of various sizes, some normal, some about half the size of Shirahoshi at her true height. All dressed in simple white hospital gowns, and now very scared at the new people bursting into their room.
Burning Lands
"So, all your friends have animal parts too, that's so cool!" Luffy gushes as he walks around the leopard centaur with a giddy grin on his face.
"Yeah, they'll get a kick out of your talking ones, come on I'll introduce you to them" he offers jovially.
"Oh, I know, first we can race to that burning tower over there to see who's extra legs are the best. Gives us something to tell the other guys about when we meet them" Luffy suggests, pointing to a specific tower due to everything being on fire around here.
"Sounds fun. One. Two. Three. RUN!" the centaur shouts, as both run full pelt for the tower.
"Are you sure this was a good idea to just let him play with the centaur thing?" Zoro asks with a sigh while Usopp contacts the Sunny via Baby Den Den Mushi.
"What do you mean everyone's gone? And the place is frozen now?"
"I mean someone infiltrated the ship, knocked us out, and when I came to, they were gone. Also, the ship had been moved, no longer were the seas ablaze, instead they're frozen solid, quite the bone-chilling experience and not a fun one to awaken to" Brook relays "Also, between my Arrow Notch Slash and Sunny controlling the cannons…. We don't actually have any of those weirdos who attacked us left to interrogate. Sorry"
"It's ok Brook, you reacted out of self-defence, and Sunny has the Overkill tendencies of, honestly more than half the crew" Robin hums amusingly "So it's understandable nobody is in a positon to question, even if it's a little inconvenient"
"I can tell you they're wearing gas masks and have what I presume to be air tanks on their backs" Brook adds, hoping that could be helpful.
"It does, as it means they most likely used some kind of toxic gas, or an aerosolized sedative to take out everyone at the same time before moving them" Robin theorizes.
"And they left you, because you looked dead, no offense" Ussop adds.
"No I get it, it helps me not feel ignored. Is there anything else?"
"Look for any buildings in range, they wouldn't have felt the need to move the Sunny otherwise. That's where they'll be" Robin suggests
"Oh, you are very good at this Robin, there is such a building, just a little inland, and it's massive. All I know is it's not a restaurant, which is a shame as I bet they'd trick more people to coming in if they tried to look inviting" Brook hums, mostly to himself.
Robin sighs " Be careful and try to keep a low profile, we'll meet up with you as soon as we can"
"You got it Missy. Over and out" Brook nods before the snail one more falls asleep.
"So, think these gas mask guys work for the government?" Zoro asks, joining in the conversation as he'd gotten bored or watching Luffy play with the leopard man.
"It's a fair guess given this place is supposedly a government island, but all we know for sure if they're human, which is easier to process than everything we've found on this side of the island" Ussop groans.
"It has been quite the experience, should we go tell Luffy he should stop playing with his friends and come inside because we need to go across the lake?" Robin teases.
"You really have become a Mom" Zoro chuckles, then as the trio move to check on theri captain they see him just finish beating up the leopard man, who'd just snapped and attacked him for now reason.
"That wasn't very nice, we were having a nice time until a second ago" Luffy pouts, not seeing the giraffe man sneak up behind him with a red hot sword.
"Deux Fleur: Cortadora De Malezas" Robin chants as her blooms snap the man's neck, the hybrid falling like a sack of bricks, the thud alerting Luffy to his prescience.
"Oh, hey look another one" he hums, unconcerned.
"So what happened, you and the catman were having a good time last I checked?" Zoro asks as they come down to check on them.
"I dunno, he got a Den Den Mushi call and afterward decided he didn't like me, so I knocked him out for trying to smash me" Luffy explains with a shrug.
"Hey, this guy's got one too, and it's marked with a C.C. You know what that means?" Ussop asks as he retrieves the snail.
"Nope," Luffy admits with a grin.
"That these aren't just random magical creatures, they're part of some organization, this CC person or group being the head of it"
"That's lame" Luffy pouts as he crosses his arms.
"And even worse, the Sunny's been moved so we can't even turn back, the only option is to keep moving forward and meet up with Brook on the Frozen side of the island" the sniper relays seriously.
"This is quite concerning, I don't know if I want them to have a quick death, or for them to be held for some sinister purpose" Robin frowns.
"Not helping!" Ussop shouts
"So, what's the plan Luffy?" Zoro asks.
"Well, we were planning to cross the lake to the frozen side anyway, now we have a really good excuse to do so. Rescue mission time!" Luffy cheers
Frozen side - Cellblock
"So, they were able to penetrate my impenetrable door, most impressive" Caesar, once more in smoke form purrs as he surveys the damage alongside his men "This damage is most strange, the force needed to shatter that barrier is immeasurable, plus we had one of Doflamingo's special assets on guard duty so what could have happened to him?"
"We believe that him and anyone else in the vicinity of this phenomenon was killed instantly, leaving little more and a circular stain on the wall or floor" one of the gasmask men explain "As for the asset, there's a fine grey ash by the doorway, that could be all that remains of him"
"Shit" Ceaser hisses "We'll be in hot water with Miss Zorin if it's discovered we lost one that easily. These pirates are no ordinary test subjects, I presume you've not captured you're them yet?"
"No sir, but we are corralling them and directing them toward the biscuit room as we speak"
"That will do for now" Caesar hums to himself.
"Master! A Navy ship is approaching the North side of the island, they appear to be from G5. What should we do?" a gasmask man shouts as he approaches the group.
"Damn it. Get rid of them, and make it quick! Throw out some poison gas or something they'll get the hint soon enough" Ceaer dismisses irritably "But just don't kill them, that would cause us too much trouble later down the line"
"Yes sir" the man salutes before running off to do as asked.
The marine ship
"Vice Admiral, we're under attack!" Tashigi shouts as the gas billows out and floods the deck "Some kind of poison gas attack"
"Can't breathe" one marine wheezes before falling to the ground.
"Put on gas masks, we need to keep moving forward!" Tashigi orders, her scar giving her a demented grin which spurs the men to comply 'This is getting messy and we've not even reached the island yet' she grimaces.
"You know, Dr. Vegapunk used to test his chemical weapons on this island until it was destroyed 4 years ago" One of the marines notes.
"If the Straw hats are here, I don't see their ship" Another states, keeping his eyes on the horizon, now his gasmask was correctly applied "Besides, the island's a Hellhole even since the accident, nobody could survive out there"
"And yet, both them and we picked up that distress call, meaning SOMEONE was on the island, and now, so are the Straw Hats" the curvy captain replies.
"It's not making sense, there's too much gas" Smoker muses aloud.
"Sir?"
"2 years ago there was neither a sea of fire, nor a sea of ice, just a desolate wasteland of a deserted island. The toxic substances unleashed by the accident were also cleared out years ago, so why is there suddenly more toxic gas enveloping our ship? Something is very wrong with this picture, and I'm going to get answers, even if I have to break down the door to get it" the Vice Admiral scowls
Frozen Zone - Biscuit Room
"Well, this is, unexpected" Alvida hums, as there wasn't really much else that could be said when they find a room full of giant kids in some creepy hidden facility on a government island.
"Whoa, owwie!" Shirahoshi squeaks as she topples forward, distracting from the giant kids, but also drawing their attention to the princess, who once more had a snake tail and rapidly deflating butt, as seen from her skirt literally sliding off her.
"Your new power has really bad timing issues, you know that Shirahoshi" Nami sighs deeply.
"I'm sorry, I was just thinking they might be more receptive to someone more their size, but I couldn't do that as I was because, well….." she blushes.
"The whole no panties thing, yeah we don't need you flashing your mermaid parts to the room, else Sanji might turn to stone and Kaos will quite literally murder everyone in the room" Franky nods, getting a crack to the back of the head from Alvida's mace.
"So, it seems your transformations are affected by your thoughts and desires, or even your mood, interesting" Kaos grins "Also, do you want to grow back to normal, see if your theory is correct or not?"
"Right!" Shirahoshi nods, activating the gauntlet and growing back to her original 40ft tall, the kids were shocked, but now more curious than anything else "Hello" she waves as politely and friendly as she could.
"Um, hi" One of the larger children, a black hair girl responds nervously "Who are you people, I've never seen you before"
"We're just passing through, our ship is, currently unavailable" Vivi half lies, not that she needed to with a very helpful distraction, that being Franky!
"Is that, a robot?"
"It is!"
"Robots are so cool!"
"I wanna see!"
"These kids, really like robots it seems" Nami hums as all the kids of various sizes begin to crowd as well as poke and prod at their shipwright, who was at least a good sport about it and was surprisingly good with them, despite his usual antics.
Chopper on the other hand wasn't as pleased with his attention, as all the little girls started passing him around and cuddling him, despite his squirming. Also, they kept calling him a raccoon. Carue at least they could tell was a duck, even if she didn't like the roughhousing either.
"We probably should have expected as much, they are children after all, even if they're taller than most of us" Kaya hums "They're distracted by cute things and toys, which at their size even Franky counts as"
"It's annoying, but kind of cute" Nami nods, giggling despite herself, the kids exuding joy like a dense fog, you can't help but get caught up in it.
"THAT'S ENOUGH!" The head bellows, seems he was unaffected by their aura of happiness, what a buzzkill "DO ANY OF YOU KNOW A CHILD NAMED MOMONOSUKE? I MUST LOCATE HIM IMMEDIATELY!"
"Um you could try not screaming at them, very few people respond well to that" Shirahoshi suggests.
"I'm sorry, but are you missing a child? I didn't think so!" the head retorts, making the lamia tear up.
"Just because I didn't carry her doesn't mean I don't want to save Medusa!" she wails, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"Hey kids, wanna punt around a talking soccer ball for a while?" Valentina suggests, only for Vivi to grab her ear sharply, as while she was also mad at the head for making Shirahoshi cry, violence wasn't the answer…. This time.
"Great, now you made Mama Hoshi cry, and she's giant sized" Artemis grumbles, picking up the head, hoping he wouldn't cause any more issues while Kaos tried to help calm his betrothed.
The head sighs deeply "I'm, sorry. I'm not adjusting well to my current condition, nor the fact my son is lost somewhere in this facility, I didn't think about the fact I'm not the only parent missing their child"
"She'll be fine, the princess is just very emotional. She's only known the kid less than a week, but the fact it has already decided she's comfortable around her, is really doing wonders for Shirahoshi" Sanji says, joining in their conversation "Same with Kaos honestly, but he's just like his old man so I guess that makes sense"
"And what pray tell can that Yokai's parentage tell us?" The head asks.
"Well I don't know much about his mom besides her name, and that Robin chose to name the baby after her, but his Dad is Edward Newgate…"
"He's Whitebeard's SON!" The head screams.
"Huh, you know him too, probably shouldn't be too surprised, even Wano should know about the Yonko" Artemis chuckles "Only one by blood, which is another thing Pops has in common with Medusa"
"So, you're saying you're not his daughter, by blood, that the child isn't your sister?" The head asks curiously.
"Half-sister, Mom is my mom, and her mom, Mama Hoshi just got engaged to Mom and Pops a couple of days ago, while Mama Hancock and Sonia, they're still in Paradise" Artemis explains, watching the information settle in the disembodied head.
"So, do you think these fiends know they've kidnapped Whitebeard's Granddaughter, or did they just take her because she's a child?" he finally asks.
"Most likely the latter, given nobody besides us even KNOW she's Whitebeard's grandkid, and even then it's only because Kaos found out during the War" Sanji guesses, wishing he could smoke but he wouldn't do so, around all these kids.
"Guys, the neon yellow goon squad found us" Victor calls, seeing 3 Haxmat guys enter the biscuit room.
"One moment please" Kaos sighs "Make sure the kids don't look"
"Please, try not to traumatize them, they're clearly only children" Vivi begs.
"Hey look at me, I've got some SUPER new features to show you all" Frank shouts, drawing all attention to him, Shirahoshi attempting to assist using her large bulk as a barrier between the kids and the hazmat guys.
"Shoot him, shoot him now!" One of the men cry as all 3 point their rifles at the researcher, whose grin stretches his face as his purple eyes shine.
Fire Side, Lake Edge.
"Luffy, take a good, hard look at the lake in front of you, the one filled with fire and icebergs, then tell me you really want to cross it" Ussop states, trying to get his captain to see reason… and it clearly wasn't working.
"Yup!" Luffy grins.
"The temperature differences should even out, meaning the water might actually be pleasant to swim in" Zoro wonders aloud, not helping matters for the sniper.
"Robin and I can't swim, so you guys will have to do the heavy lifting" Luffy laughs, while Robin had other things on her mind
"A shame we didn't know this lake was here, Shirahoshi might have been very helpful in this endeavor" she mutters, imagining her newest lover carrying the four of them across the lake, Luffy, Zoro and Ussop on her back, while Robin was nestled safe and secure between her immense bust.
"Are you two suggesting we carry you across?"
"Yes!" Luffy states bluntly "Devil fruit users!" he almost sings.
"That's some bullshit right there" the sniper grumbles to himself "Do you guys really think Zoro would agree to…. And he's already stretching" he sighs deeply "Yeah should have seen that coming. Plus, if we don't cross the lake we'll have to walk around the circumference and who knows how long that would take. Give me a moment please" he requests, rooting around in his satchel
Special Attack: Green Star Vangrass
Boaty Banana!
"Neat a boat, that's helpful" Luffy grins as he bounces into the newly formed vessel.
"I thought so, and we can use the grass as oars, much safer than risking burning or freezing our hands off" Ussop adds, plucking one of the giant grasses, then passing them to each of his crewmates.
"You're just full of surprises these days Ussop" Robin chuckles as she follows Luffy's lead, sliding into the banana boat, Zoro and Ussop following shortly after.
"Onward, I want snowcones!" Luffy commands, content to just sit on the head of the boat until he gets dragged down to help row.
"We'll get there faster if you help Luffy" Usopp argues, which Zoro and Robin agree with, meaning he reluctantly complies.
"This water is a lot choppier than I expected" Zoro hums.
"It's the temperature shift, it causes changes in air pressure and current along with it" Robin explains.
"And you wanted us to swim in it, we'd already be dead if we did that!" Ussop groans.
Biscuit room
Ping
Ping
Ping
"It's not working" One of the men grimaces as the pirate seems unaffected by their rifleshots "Switch to tranqs"
"We need to get the others too, this one's just a distraction" another shouts, proven technically correct when he's slammed into the wall by Kaos' tail, leaving a large crack and bloody smear in the wall as he slumps on the ground, the 3rd member fearfully running towards the other pirates, and in turn the kids.
"Let's see if this works how I think it does" Kaos hisses, flickering into the man's personal space then lifting him up by his head and slamming him into the door, then with a mutter of Ningendō, and a flash of his eyes, despite the heavy-duty hazmat suit, an offwhite smoke flowed out of the man and into the pirate, the gasmask at least doing the job of muffling the screams, though it was debatable as to whether he was dead before or as his skull split open from the researcher's now clenched and sparking fist "Shit!" he growls, then turns and pauses, Valentina staring at him, eyes blazing with a mix of fear, and awe. He's not sure if he likes it or not. (1)
"Damn pirates" the last remaining suit mutters as he approaches the group "Step aside kids, bad things could happen for associating with people like these criminals" he calls out, before getting a knife to the base of the skull.
"Says the guys who kidnapped and imprisoned us, bad things have already happened to all of us" Vivi scowls.
"Hey, Mr Robot, you came from outside the island right?" one of the giants ask.
"Sure did, on the best ship in the whole sea, the Thousand Sunny!" Franky grins, though keeps his eyes on the goon, as he was clearly up to something.
"Then please, save us! Take us with you!" the blond pleads, to the Straw Hat's surprise.
"Take you with us?" Nami parrots.
"Off the island, on the Sunny?" Vivi clarifies.
"Yes, exactly like that" the boy nods.
"I, could help, I suppose" Shirahoshi suggests, possibly because she acted similarly when she first met Luffy and Kaos, wanting to be free of the chains that bound her, the fears that kept her trapped in the Hard Shell Tower.
"This isn't a daycare, it's a prison" Chopper scowls, as the pieces start to come together.
"But we don't even know how to save ourselves, we can't just drag a bunch of kids around with us, who knows how dangerous the rest of this facility is" Franky argues, trying to be rational despite the situation. He wanted to help the kids… he just didn't know how.
"But, we can't just abandon them, not when it's clear we're their only chance in this place" Nami retorts, her voice softer than usual.
"This is going to be a long day" Sanji sighs deeply "Shirahoshi, has Psycho finished with the goons yet?"
"The 3 that showed up a minute ago, yes, but there are more on the way," Shirahoshi says with a frown "This is very bad indeed"
"We could just beat them all up until they stop coming" Alvida suggests "Then sneak the kids out passed the knocked out goons"
"That will be a lot harder to do without weapons" Kaya notes.
"Harder, not impossible, plus some of us have Devil fruits to counter that problem"
"Hence why I'm going to stand over here with the kids and the severed head, have fun guys!" Nami waves, getting a safe distance between herself and the action.
"Anyone else see that coming?" Kaya groans.
"Oh definitely" Victor chuckles, before unleashing a Nose Fancy Cannon on the assembled goons
"Whi-chaw! Prepare to be pummeled by Kung-Fu Point!" Chopper announces after drop-kicking a goon, unveiling a new transformation in the process.
"Check this out kiddos, this robot comes with accessories, like Weapons Left!" Franky bellows as he unloads his arm guns on the goons, to the cheers of the giant kids "And my all-time favourite, the Rocket Powered Fist… also known as Strong Right!"
"SABLES!" Vvii cries, trapping and shooting a whole gang of the Gasmask goons into the ceiling on a sand twister, before reabsorbing the sand into her body.
"You know, this has actually been kind of fun, why don't we have fights like this more often?" Alvida wonders aloud as she slides around the room punching and kicking anyone she runs into.
"Probably because we all have specialized weapons and styles, this bare-knuckle brawling just doesn't sit with everyone" Valentina suggests, dropping onto one of the guys, and causing him to crumple like an accordion.
"Ah good, so you didn't need me to give you a reason to fight these bastards" Kaos purrs as he tosses one of the goons hard enough against the wall to leave a crater "We should probably get moving before the entire facility is alerted to our prescience. Who wants to hold the line besides Nami, Kaya, and Chopper to ensure the others and the kid can escape this poke dotted prison cell?"
"You super believe I'm staying" Franky cheers.
"As much as I'd prefer to escort my dear Nami, it makes more sense that I stay here and protect her with my life" Sanji swoons.
"I'll be more use as a defender than an escort, count me in" Victor nods, joining the other 2.
"That's probably enough…"
"Oh no you don't, I'm staying here to kick ass, and you can't stop me!" Alvida argues, which just makes Kaos grin.
"Fine. NOW that's everyone we need to fight, everyone else get moving we'll catch up later" the researcher orders.
"You heard the man, with me everyone!" Chopper calls as he leads the procession out of the room, the others spread amongst the kids, with Shirahoshi's long serpentine form bringing up the rear.
With the marines
"There's nothing but ice as far as the eye can see" one G5 marine notes
"And there's not much point braving through this gas attack if we can't even go ashore" another argues.
"Don't care, we're doing this because something is very wrong with what I'm seeing, so keep searching for the port" Smoker growls, his gas mask fitted with 2 cigars in one of the ports.
"You got it boss" the marines salute, tiredly, before returning to work.
BWOOM
"Just great, the volcanos are erupting on top of everything else going on" One groans.
"This whole place gives me chills, like we're being watched and judged by Akainu and Aokiji, even now" another one shivers "Fucking creepy man"
Tuning out his idiot subordinates [As well as Tashigi's muttered murder fantasies], something catches Smoker's eye on the water surface "Stop here!" he orders, Tashigi figuring out the issue once she had somewhere to look.
"Load the cannons. Fire straight ahead!" she cries, and the men comply.
Bang
Bang
"I don't think that did anything" one of the marines comments, just before the entire ice shelf in front of them splitters and falls into the ocean, bouncing the vessel around but it remained steady, but more importantly…
"There was a river behind that ice! How's you figure that out Smoky?"
"By watching the currents, dumbass" The Vice admiral sighs deeply "It was gathering at the edge of the shelf, flowing outward with no visible source, meaning there had to be more than what could be seen"
"Such as the ice covering the above water section of the river, without actually blocking said waterway" Tashigi finishes, getting a nod from her superior "There's a problem though"
"We don't know if the ice covering formed naturally, or more accurately accidentally during the fight 2 years ago, or it was done more recently and purposefully but someone else" Smoker grimaces, leaning towards the latter given the recent gas attack, someone was here, and they didn't want visitors.
The fact more ice began to block their path, requiring them to keep firing their cannons as they went, as well as a few times where Tashigi had to actually slice through it with her swords, just made it more obvious in his mind.
Lake
BWOOOOOOOOMMM
"Aw man, he had a horn too, that's unfair" Luffy whines, then notices that unlike the fire side, there were clearly more people on the ice side, though from this distance they were only silhouettes.
"That looks very bad" Usopp grimaces.
"Indeed, we could be in for a fight once we make land, if they even let us" Robin agrees, softly frowning.
"Prepare yourself, scoundrels, for Brownbeard is about kick your asses all the way to Hell! Hahahaha" the lead centaur bellows, revealing it to be a brown-haired, bushy-bearded alligator centaur.
"So, he's going to boot us back to the fire side?" Luffy asks.
"No, I think he means he's going to kill us" Zoro argues.
"Oh" Luffy nods "Makes sense"
"Since they're on this side, and the big guy is most likely the Boss from the distress signal, do you think these are the people he was trying to contact?" Robin wonders.
"If so, then maybe telling them that we were trying to help will get us some leniency….. Who am I kidding we're 7 shades of fucked aren't we?" Ussop groans.
"Probably" Robin agrees.
"I won't let you get any closer to my people, you're clearly trying to attack us since you brought that samurai with you!" Brownbeard bellows, meanwhile the other 3 straw hats look at Zoro.
"He's not a samurai he's a swordsman, he's not even all that good" Ussop tries to argue/save their asses "Sure he looks like a big meathead and he gets mad from time to time but he's not a murderhobo or anything"
"Did you really just call em a dumb meathead you slimy little prick?!" Zoro growls, causing Ussop to flail and panic, rocking the boat and making things very dangerous for everyone.
"They seem to be fighting amongst themselves Boss" one of the centaurs notes.
"A clever ploy to try to get us to drop our guard, but it won't work. Sink their vessel, don't let them get reach land!" Brownbeard orders, the cannons firing, taking out the Boaty Banana, with one shot.
Secret Facility.
"Alright kids, you with me? Lets go!" Chopper cheers as he charges at the head of the line, the kids giggling as they follow him with near equal enthusiasm.
"You've really gotten into this Chopper" Nami grins, glad she wasn't the only one eager to help these kids.
"Of course I am, this is a very important mission given directly to me, I will carry it out with all my might…. Plus I think Kung Fu point affects my adrenaline levels making me EXTRA PUMPED! I'm still fine-tuning the new forms" the reindeer admits before the group run into 3 of the hazmat guys which he proceeds to take out singlehanded with a spin kick and a few hoof slaps to the face, sending them crashing into the walls of the corridor.
"So, anyone have a plan to get out of here?" Vivi whispers "Because for now, we're just following you Nami, you're the navigator after all"
"That doesn't mean I know my way around everywhere" Nami hisses, before sighing "Fine, fine, I'll take point" she mutters, pinching the bridge of her nose "This way kiddos, we'll be out of here in no time, we've got a lot of experience getting out of sticky situations" she winks, the kids cheering and picking up the pace to match the Straw Hats.
Biscuit room
"The kids are gone, fire the poison gas canisters!" One of the hazmat goons below, which just gives the pirates a reason to target their support systems, as while Victor's explosions were as large and indiscriminate as always, Sanji and Alvida very clearly were aiming for the guys' faces/gasmasks, while Kaos had both activated his Reflect Armour, which if it could tank Magellan's Venom Demon it can handle a little poison gas, but was slicing through what he assumed to be air canisters on the back of their suits with his talons and sword.
"What, don't wanna smoke poison gas with the rest of us? Come on, there's probably plenty to go around" Sanji taunts as he kicks a mask off one of the guys before leaping backward out of the way of any counterattack. Then he see's what's under the headset "The fuck? What are these people, sheep?"
"We've finally found Merry's people! And they're bastards who experiment on little kids. Kaya being relatively well adjusted gets more impressive by the minute" Kaos laughs, more curious than anything else.
"Hr grk. What an impassioned spirit!" The head cries, drawing attention to himself.
"You ok down there dude?" Franky asks, curious and concerned.
"I'm fine, my torso is just in pitched combat with a skilled combatant, the first I've come across since this occurred to me" he explains.
"Yeah, that's definitely Law that did this to you, his fruit is a weird one" the researcher hums.
Outside
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
"The fuck is wrong with this island? How do you even exist? I'm so confused" Brook cries out as he repeatedly blocks the sword strikes of the both headless and legless samurai torso that was for some reason attacking him "I don't suppose you have the capabilities to communicate with me, can you? I'd much prefer to talk this out rather than keep fighting if I'm being honest. Actually quick question are you a ghost?" Brook asks, but as expected gets no answer besides more stabbings from the torso monster "If you are you need to obey the rules, such as no coming out during the day. Also, I've not even done anything to wrong you, so why are you attacking me, or my snowmen?"
"I don't even know how he can attack with such precision when he doesn't even have eyes" Brook mutters to himself as he dives behind an ice mound "Wait… I don't have eyes either, never mind" he chuckles, then has to scramble away as the torso cuts through his barricade.
"Ok, now I'm just annoyed, I demand answers, and will beat it out of you if I have to" the skeleton declares, prepared to fight with his full might…. Right until the torso pulled out a second sword, and Brook realized just how outmatched he was in this fight, deciding the best option for his survival was to abandon the shore and just run for his 2nd life, further onto the island.
Main Lab
"You summoned me, Master?" One of the hazmat goons asks as he enters the room, nothing but a pinkish haze and a sleeping baby visible in the low light.
"Yes, did you manage to capture the intruders again?" Caesar asks with a low purr.
"Not yet, but I have news about G5 sir"
"Oh, them" Caesar grimaces audibly.
"I'm afraid the poison gas didn't deter them. They've been using their cannons to break through the Iceflows, slowly carving their way to the base as we speak. They'll reach the laboratory soon, Master" the goon reports.
"This is quite the vexing conundrum, why do they want to come ashore so badly, there's nothing here of value to them, they're all simple-minded grunts and meatheads" Caesar mutters to himself "Do they know something we don't? Tell me, who is their current commanding officer?!"
"Vice Admiral Smoker"
"Oh…. well fuck! That might be a bigger issue than expected, but one we should still be able to deal with, with minimal fallout. Conceal the ships we have moored out front, quickly before they're seen" Caesar orders.
"Who's going to deal with them sir?" The hazmat asks.
"Nobody is allowed to be on this island, which means you cannot let them see you under any circumstances"
"So… you'll deal with them?"
"No you simpleton, I can't afford to reveal myself to them!" Caesar cries.
"Then who do we send, there's nobody else who can go out and get rid of these intruders" the hazmat frets.
"You want me to handle it?" a new voice asks in a slow drawl.
A little later - Outside the facility
"So, this is Vegapunk's old facility?" Tashigi hums as the marines drop anchor and disembark the ship "I didn't think it would still be standing given the incident and the battle that took place 2 years ago"
"True, it shouldn't be, given everything that's happened on the island" Smoker nods, before removing his gas mask to the shock and worry of the rest of his squad, breathing evenly before expelling a plume of smoke "Just as I suspected"
"And what would that be Sir?" Tashigi asks as she follows suit, removing her mask, surprised that there was no gas here, where it should be thickest, especially if the structure right in front of them was Vegapunk's old lab before his transfer to Egghead Island 4 years ago.
"That the gas was a deterrent, a trick by whoever is on this island to make us leave, thinking the place was uninhabitable or at least not worth the effort to get closer" Smoker explains before beginning the trek toward the facility, Tashigi a couple steps behind, followed shortly by the rest of G5, until they reach the heavily fortified, steel doors of the laboratory itself, where Smoker proceeds to ring the doorbell, repeatedly "The place still has power, also suspicious" he mutters.
"Think someone might be living here?" one of the marines ask.
"And should we really be trying to piss them off this badly?" another adds.
"It's there fault for illegally squatting on a former Government island, therefore it's perfectly fine for us to come in and kick them out" a third argues, before some of them start kicking at the door, trying to get whoever's inside to come out.
The creak of metal and hiss of some kind of mechanism could be heard, just before the doors slowly open, seems someone was in there and actually able to answer them.
"So, what brings you to my vacation home, White Hunter Smoker?"
Shame the person who answered the door, was the Warlord Trafalgar Law, the "Surgeon of Death" himself. The man who earned his place at the table by presenting 100 still beating hearts taken from New World pirates, to the Marines as a gift, and an act of fealty.
"You wanna explain what you're doing here Law, this island is off limits, nobody should be here, not a pirate, or a government ally. There are rules even your Warlord status doesn't exclude you from" Smoker growls, not intimidated in the slightest.
"I see, that means you're not supposed to be here either" Law retorts with a smug grin.
TBC
LW: So, Law is here, Smoker&Tashigi are here, it really is a Straw Hat party isn't it at this point?
(1) He does, just not when it's coming from his crewmates, they shouldn't be afraid of him, his family should never feel that way because of him.