Flickering light dimmed with each passing moment. A dying torch upon the slimy ground as echoes of a fight pitch through the cave. Sparks from metals colliding explode with a pang.
"Do you realize what you've done?!" Captain Nezumi grunted as their weaponry clashed, "Those were Marines! My men! You will answer for your crimes against me! Don't think you'll get away with this. I am a Captain."
Ashe breaks away from their clash. Followed by the click of her tongue. "Captain? Don't make me laugh. This is the East Blue, weakest of them all. Captain here means nothing compared to the others."
Nezumi's teeth grit together, "Nothing? Me? Nothing?! How dare you, I am the strongest in this region." The Captain rushed her with a wide swing in rage. "You will show me the respect I deserve."
Stepping forward defensively, Ashe catches the cutlass with the edge of her dagger in a shower of sparks. "That's a lie. The strongest of each Blue is stationed at the port cities entering the Grand Line. They serve as a blockade for any upstart pirates trying to get through." Parrying Nezumi's blade, Ashe shoulder tackles him back into a cavern wall. "You are just a glorified grunt."
Rubbing at his chest, Captain Nezumi watches his opponent walk to his fallen lackey. Prying her blade free. "What would you know? You speak as if you're one of us." Watching her clean the blade, the gears in his head begin to click. "…You…You are a Marine…Who the hell are you?"
Watching him stand, Ashe shrugs. "I was, and you don't need to know."
His eyes widen, "Was…You're a deserter." Silence was all the confirmation he needed. "Traitorous dog. I admit, I may fill my own pockets, but I'd never break my oaths. To protect the citizens!"
Murderous intent was the only warning he received, barely parrying a stab at his heart in a stagger. "Oaths? Protecting the citizens?! Don't you dare spout such bullshit to me!" Ashe does not relent, charging forward in a flurry of steel in the flickering torch. "I know the truth of it all. The citizens are just a tool of convenience. Easily wiped off the planet to hide the sins of the World Government."
Captain Nezumi grunts in frustration, narrowing dodging a stab at his jugular. "So what? If it's for the sake of justice, then nothing is off the table." Pain erupted from his side, deafening the feral scream of rage. Though it hurt, Nezumi's lips grinned at knowing he made her snap.
Sheathing her right-handed blade, Ashe reaches for his lower back. "I will make you suf—" Debris and pebbles sprinkle from above. Snapping her gaze up in shock, a dark figure descends with a strike from above, cratering the cavern floors with a boom.
Ashe stumbled back from the blow. Avoiding most of the surprise attack, fresh blood dripped down her face onto the floor. A noticeable gash along the side of her head, a clean cut. 'That was close…too close.' Captain Nezumi was just as shocked.
She did not have a chance to fully recollect as the figure rushed her, a sharp and long weapon thrusted in her direction. Parrying the attack, Ashe twists around the larger figure. Half of her vision is beginning to blur in a shade of red as her wound leaks. Gritting her teeth, the figure's back hand slams into her side. The blow nearly caused her to retch from its surprising strength.
A moment to catch her breath and wipe away the blood, Ashe holds her side, letting the flickering light illuminate the new adversary.
"Mind if I…drop in?" The voice was masculine, but not deep. Tall and lean in physique, a hot pink beach shirt, khaki shorts, tall socks and sandals, with a fanny pack around his waist. His head was strange for a fishman, skinny and long with large, rounded eyes. He had a red mohawk and yellow star shaped sunglasses on his forehead. He resembled an Eel and the most notable feature, was the trident in his hand. "…Was that cool of me?"
Wiping the blood onto her pants, Ashe sneers, "Not very, who are you?"
His voice dropped, "Aw, man. I thought that would make me look cool…I'm Eelz, who are you?"
Captain Nezumi spoke up from the only pathway leading out, "Eelz? You're Arlong's lackey. Thank goodness you are here. Take care of her, will you? If she escapes and people find out about this, we'll be in serious trouble."
The fish man waved a webbed hand dismissively, "Oi, oi, I am no one's lackey. I am just visiting a friend of mine. I just owed Arlong a favor for the food."
"Just make sure nothing happens to the Beri! Otherwise Arlong will have our heads. And you!" Finger pointing at Ashe with a scowl, "You better hope he kills you, else I'll make you suffer for this disrespect."
A flash of rage seers through Ashe's eyes, "You're not escaping from me." His cape fluttered into the dark tunnels. Fleeing like the cowardly rat that he is. Leaping forward in a dash, her sense of danger pings, forcing her to twist as a deadly trident pierces through the air.
"Oops, excuse me for…cutting in."
From a thrust to a downward slam, the pole pounds Ashe's body into the rocky cavern in a grunt of pain. Rolling to avoid the sparks of metal penetrating the terrain. "Um…Sorry, but you match the description of who I'm looking for."
Catching her breath and back against a spine of rock, "Are you sure? Maybe you got the wrong person." Ashe quickly begins to formulate a plan. She does not have much time before Captain Nezumi gets too far ahead. Thankfully, the dark caverns will delay his escape, but not by much.
Eelz hums and pulls a small notebook from his fanny pack and reading glasses. "You're right…That would be embarrassing if you're the wrong person…"
Mumbling to himself, Ashe clicks her tongue in thought. From what she can tell, he seems to be equal in speed or reaction is abnormally fast. All she needs to do is go through him to the tunnel. One blade in hand, other sheathed, pistol behind her back, Ashe pulls one of her vials into her hand.
"A woman…purple hair…backpack…" Eelz nods to himself, "Yea…you match the description, thank goodness. I thought it would take longer and I'd miss dinner."
"Maybe we can come to a bargain for you to let me go?"
Eelz readies his trident, "No, they'd take away my takoyaki for dinner. I have been looking forward to it for a while now."
"Shame. I'll just dispatch you first." Dashing forward, Eelz mimics her tactic for a collusion in the small room. Hand hidden behind her back, Ashe dodges under his first attack, swiping out with her own. His longer reach allowed him to lean safely away. Countering with a low sweep of his polearm, Ashe leapt over it, lashing out with a kick to his chest.
"I'm pretty strong, ya know." He easily tanked it, barely budging as he brought his weapon back in a large arc from above. With a small smirk, bringing her hidden hand forward, Ashe used a finger to allow a few droplets of red liquid to splash into the air. Already in forward momentum, Eelz's eyes widen for a moment at the mysterious liquid. Their weapons collided in a spray of sparks while Ashe looked away.
A bright red fireball erupted instantly. In a dark cavern with barely any light from a fading torch, it could be like that of a low-grade flash bomb.
"My eyes!"
The heat licked the side of her face, searing her lightly and burning the tips of her hair. Ashe expected it and was already racing out of the room. Placing the vial back into her belt while pulling the pistol from her back. 'I don't have much time. He could not have gotten far.'
Pushing through the shadowy cave, her memory made it a trivial matter. It was a straightforward place with few twists and turns. Entering the large area of the cave, the familiar stench assaults her nose, but she ignores it. Because toward the opposite end was Captain Nezumi entering into the light of day.
Holstering her blade, it reaches into the black hidden compartment. Pulling out a single bullet, darker than night. Loading her pistol, Ashe quickly takes aim, peering down the barrel with a single eye. "The pain you caused Nami and the villagers. I return it to you, with death."
A single shot echoes through the chamber, Captain Nezumi had no time to reach, the bullet clipping through his sleeve. "Argh! What the hell?" Holding his arm, a small amount of blood stains his white cloth, a cut. He jeers, "You're a terrible shot." Nezumi disappears into the light, quickly fleeing the cave.
Her lips twist into a murderous grin, madness flashing through her eyes. "Suffer." Ashe twists in a panic, a heavy object stabbing into her side, carrying her body a distance before stabbing into a rock formation. "Right…you're still here…" Thankfully, she wedged her slim body between the forks of the trident, yet one still pierced into her side.
"That wasn't very cool…You nearly burned my eyes out."
With a cough, Ashe pulls the bloodied trident from her body, throwing it to the ground and holding the gash. "That was the point…A human would have had their eyes burned."
Eelz whined, "You're mean."
Frowning, Ashe pointed to the bleeding stab wound. "Says the one who threw his trident and stabbed me?"
"Ah…You're right…I guess you got the…point." The fishman snickered while writing that down in his small notebook. "That was a cool one."
"You're…really annoying." He whined again in her direction, proclaiming that he's cool, but Ashe ignores it. That familiar stench is stronger than before. Ashe knows she's smelt it before but cannot quite figure it out.
Thoughts for later.
For now, she has a problem to deal with. Applying poison to her dagger, she reloads her pistol with a red bullet. Ashe frowns at the sight of Eelz taking a martial arts stance. Throwing caution to the wind, she goes on the offensive.
Lashing out in a flurry of swipes and thrusts, the lean fishman uses his superior reach to keep her at arm's length. Ashe on the other hand, used her smaller and more agile frame to coil and weave around his punches and chops. She could easily tell his blows were heavy with each narrow miss. The power behind the blows causes small bursts of wind.
Ashe had heard about it before, the Fisherman Karate that is taught to the fishman people. This would be the first time she'd experienced it firsthand. Side stepping a karate chop, ducking under a side kick, Ashe retaliates with a thrust.
Eelz leans back, "Woah there, your retorts are really…sharp. This is getting us nowhere."
He was right, at this rate, he would just out last her. She noticed Eelz was more of a puncher, rather than a kicker. Perhaps a change of tactics is in order.
Shifting to a defensive stance, their roles are reversed, Eelz is now on the offensive. A flurry of jabs and chops aimed for her head and slim body. Even she could tell he was getting annoyed at the lack of contact.
Finding a pattern in his attacks, Ashe shifts momentum forward to her toes. Thrashing upward at his extended hand, stabbing into his muscular forearm with a drip of poison down her blade. A smirk finally etching onto her bloodied face.
"Got you." Spoke Eelz, his hand twisting to latch onto her forearm, squeezing it in a vice grip. She tried to pull away, but he was unmoving, and her danger senses flared when a spark of yellow shimmered in his oversized eyes. "Electric Eel!"
Ashe's world lit up like a Christmas tree. She screamed as a high voltage surged through her body, causing her to stiffen and spasm in continuous pain. Unable to fully move her body, with gritted teeth, she forced a finger to twitch.
Gun fire, into a mid-sized explosion between them.
Feeling his grasp slacken, Ashe ripped herself away in a frantic. Tumbling back into a stagger, heavy breathes, and smoke expelling from her body in pain. Ashe groaned, unable to feel her limp arm to the side.
The nerves were damaged, and muscles twitched uncontrollably from the shock. She let her guard down and it cost an arm. Fishmen are known for having unique abilities to their species.
That much should have been obvious.
Hindsight in view, it is useless to keep that train of thought. With one hand, she sheathes her blade, an unusable arm. Trying to gauge her situation, her body was growing heavy, yet something caught her nose once more.
A familiar scent of rotten eggs.
Realization slams down in a twist of the body. Finding a crevice behind her in the bedding, their fight was making it grow larger, vapors distorting the air.
An idea.
Quickly taking the red vial from her belt once more, Ashe sets it next to the crevice, standing and trying to load her pistol with one arm.
A cough echoes through the cave, Eelz rubbing at his chest with a puff of smoke. "Ah, sorry, sorry. Did I…shock you?" His clothes were singed and burnt, only a few scorch marks on his body. Resilient. "Really cool how I survived that, huh?"
Pistol loaded with a red bullet, "Not cool and really irritating." Thankfully, her earlier shot hit him, even if it was a graze.
"You're so mean." A whine and tears.
Ashe spat to the side, "I'm just honest." She did not mind his talking, it allowed her to catch a breath.
The fishman seized his trident from the floor, "I'll show you just how cool I can be!"
"You really don't have to!" Ducking his blow, she steps forward, spinning into a back kick against his abdomen. A grunt of pain, at least it is something.
What she did not expect, was his bloodied hand to grab her ankle, and throw her to the other end of the chamber. Rolling to a standing position, new scraps and cuts littered her body.
Jerking her arm, feeling and mobility slowly returns. Eelz is out of position already, she will need to corral Eelz back into place. She has one shot and will need to make it as efficient as possible.
Removing the red bullet, it is replaced with a single blue. 'I only have one of these.' Rushing forward, the two collide at the center. Weaving through his fury of thrusts, a few cuts appeared with each narrow miss.
A snap kick caught his chin in a spittle of blood. Only for a webbed hand to grab her ankle. "Electric Eel—"
"Freeze Shot!" A pointblank shot to the chest, burning spread through his body in pain as numbness took over. Teeth chattering, ice and frost litter his lean muscles. Electric currents struggled to flow around the newly formed ice, slowed to a crawl.
Breaking free from his slackened grasp, Ashe retreated and narrowly avoided his attack. Yet her leg wobbled slightly, already knowing a bruise was forming at her ankle. Reloading her pistol with the red bullet.
"W-What did you-u do to m-m-me."
Now was her chance. Gritting through the pain, her boot slammed into his frostbitten chest. The once fabric shirt, shattering into glass. Once more, barely a grunt from him. Ashe will make it a priority to work on her physical strength after this.
"I made you cool, like you wanted."
The fishman frowned in anger, struggling to move as the ice grinded against one another. She caught him by surprise. Only because he was a fishman, the frozen temperatures did not outright kill him. "A-are you m-makin' fun of m-me?!"
Each kick forced Eelz to stumble in retreat, bruises slowly forming over time. Every attempt at a counterattack was dodged and met with a brutal snap kick to his chin. His strong jaw is beginning to ache. Ice was chipping away from his body, the energy from each blow warming his body.
Sweat and pain hidden behind her grin, Ashe mule kicked him into the cavern wall. "A little bit." He was getting faster in reaction, heat searing away the cold and ice. An empty vial shattering against the ground. Once containing a yellow liquid. Her skin turned a light shade of gray.
Her defensive elixir of iron. Temporarily increasing her sturdiness.
"That's not c-cool! You b-bully!" Spearing his trident across the room, Ashe is forced to dodge under it, his speed returning as the frozen affects melt away. Lashing out with both arms, he catches her small body into a crushing bear hug. "Electric Eel Max!"
Ashe bites back a scream, feeling her bones groan and crack in his crush. The strong odor returns in force. A substance she's experimented with abundantly, sulfur gas. Highly explosive and flammable. Yellow currents spark through Eelz furious eyes. She returns the gaze with her own psychotic smile. The pistol aimed down at the red vial between his legs.
"Let's burn. Flame Shot!"
Electricity paralyzes her body in adulterated pain. Only for the red vial to break from an explosive fire ball. Next was a catastrophic chain of events. A fire storm erupted around them, heating the air dangerously in a fraction of a second. Just to trigger the sulfur gas leaking from the crevice.
The result? An unimaginable explosion.
It all happened in less than a second, from being crushed by Eelz, to finding herself laying out on the beach. Consciousness slipping in and out. Her saving grace was having Eelz positioned between her and the sulfur. Meaning he took the brunt of the explosive energy.
With her fingers and toes twitching, having movement brought some relief to Ashe. Yet all she could do was rest her back on the grainy sands. It hurt to even breath; each wheeze burned as her inner organs screamed. The cool waves managed to bring some solace. Until the hair on the back of her nape stood on end, she was not alone.
A shadow loomed over her, kneeling beside Ashe. A webbed hand waves over her blurred vision. "Oi…you alright?" The fishman cups his chin in thought after not getting an answer. "Uh…that was dangerous. Thankfully, us fishmen are resistant to fire. But even Arlong would have died from that. You should be more careful."
Grogginess swirls in her head, trying to blink away the dizziness. As the figure slowly solidifies, Ashe recognizes the red mohawk and notices a bright orange sun tattoo on their chest. The figure looked out to the distance inland, a hand over his eyes. "Well…looks like there's no need to fight you anymore. I don't see Arlong's building. I guess he lost. He always was all talk. I gotta say though…That was really cool of you. I'd like to hang out more, but, uh…"
An arm hung limply at his side, a deep gash from where Ashe stabbed him with her poisoned dagger. "I can't exactly feel most of my body anymore and it is getting hard to move. I'd rather not stick around if that Pirate Hunter Zoro guy defeated Arlong and I'm paralyzed. No hard feelings, right? Next time, let's have some takoyaki together, my treat. See ya." Rising to his feet, Eelz casually waved before diving into the ocean before he was completely paralyzed.
The presence now gone, she closed her eyes and allowed unconsciousness to swallow her whole. How long was she out for? Who's to say, but a low noise began to rattle her awake. Fluttering weak eyes open, the sun was nearly blinding.
Her blurred reality refused to fade. Ashe noticed her skin returned to its usual shade; elixir effects worn off. Dull thumps echo as a strange low sound catches her attention. An unseen force was shaking her body. The source came from her shoulder.
Straining to turn her head, she finds someone beside her, yellow hair and grey-blue eyes. The concussion jumbled her thoughts, they looked familiar. That's when she noticed the loud ringing in her ears. A sharp pain electing a shout of pain into a stagger. "S-Sanji?"
"Oi, Ashe, are you alright? What happened?"
Losing strength, she slumped onto the beach. Only for Sanji to catch her in a cradle. "I got into a fight…Is he…?"
"Unless he's hiding, you're the only one here."
A hollow chuckle, "Guess I won then. Next is Arlong." Using his body as a wall, Ashe stood up. She noticed Sanji wore a loosely buttoned black and black stripped dress shirt and was ruffled up a bit.
Her pistol half buried into the sand, Ashe began to collect her equipment, albeit slowly. Sanji calmly lit a cigarette. "Don't worry about Arlong. Luffy already defeated him."
That caused her to pause, processing the information. "Luffy defeated Arlong?" Well, that is good news. Slowly, the jumbled memories begin to filter back in before Eelz left. Confirming that he was speaking true. With Arlong out of the picture, his crew will disperse, and the village should be liberated. "What about Nami?"
A puff of smoke, "Ask her yourself." He pointed along the beach with his cigarette.
"Ashe!"
A familiar shade of tangerine with a straw hat rushed down the sands. It took Ashe a moment to recalibrate her thoughts. "Ah…Nami…are you alright—" The woman leapt and caught Ashe in a hug. Nearly causing them to tumble.
"You're alright, thank god." Head spinning, Ashe caught sight of Sanji smiling with his cigarette. Nami squeezed her before pulling away, holding her by the biceps. "After Luffy defeated Arlong, Captain Nezumi appeared and bragged about you fighting a losing battle. After we sent him away, a loud explosion shook the island. That was half an hour ago."
Half an hour? Was she knocked out for that long? "Ah…sorry, I must have miscalculated how big the explosion would be. You're not hurt, are you?"
Fingernails dug into Ashe's biceps. Nami bit her bottom lip before glaring up angrily. "You're asking me that? I'm fine but look at you! What were you thinking?" But most importantly, "Why did you help me? You could have easily waited in the village till this was over."
Ashe shrugged, looking any where except at Nami. "I don't know…You called me your comrade. And it made me want to help you." Ashe wiped at her face with her fingers, staring at the dried blood. "I don't have any friends and it just felt right. That's all."
Nami scoffed, clenching a fist and smacking Ashe on the chest, earning a grunt of pain. "Dolt. I am surrounded by idiots." Yet Nami smiled. "Perhaps, I am the bigger idiot for making friends with you all."
Sanji turned with hearts in his eyes, "Ah! Nami-swan! I'm you're best friend though, right?"
Said woman frowned in friendly annoyance, slamming her palm against his kissy face. "I take that back; I am not the bigger idiot at all. It's the people I am surrounded by." A shout catches their attention. Only to find Luffy and Usopp walking in their direction. Zoro being dragged behind by Luffy.
A warm smile spread across Nami's lips, caressing the straw hat upon her head. "Yet, I wouldn't want to be surrounded by anyone else."
"Hey! You guys!" Shouted Luffy, "If you already found her, why didn't you say anything?" He grumbled with a hand on his stomach.
Usopp smacked him on the shoulder, "Oi! You're just hungry and wanting to eat!"
"Damn right! I'm hungry and I want to eat! Meat! Sanji, I want some meat!"
The cook chuckled, "Yea, yea, I'll cook you up a feast once we get back."
"Alright!"
Usopp paced around the beach, scanning the beach suspiciously, "So…uh…What were you doing over here?"
Ashe pointed to the cave, hidden along the beach. Explaining the sequence of events that happened within the dark depths. Omitting how she killed the Marine lackies, not finding that to be important to the story.
Nami grabbed Ashe by her collared vest. "You mean to tell me all my Beri is in there?!" A nod and confirmation, Nami felt weak, "Thank goodness. I thought it was all gone. I'll go get it." A katana handle blocked her path. "Zoro?"
The green hair swordsman grunted, "I'll get it. I doubt you'd be able to carry it anyway." Zoro entered the cave alone.
"Oi! If I find out you stole from my stash, I'll beat you myself! I know exactly how much I have in there, down to the penny!"
"While he's doing that, mind filling me in?" Ashe questioned the remaining straw pirates. Each filled her in about what happened back in Arlong park and how Luffy defeated Arlong. She suspected they were embellishing the entire story, especially Usopp, but it was entertaining enough.
Zoro reappeared with a massive treasure chest over his shoulder. Not straining in the least before setting it down onto the beach. Nami quickly opened it to confirm the Beri. A weight lifted from her shoulders, hugging the chest and already knowing what she wants to do with it.
"If that's everything, let's head back. I could use a drink." Zoro strode pass Ashe, not even sparing her a glance with a hand on his katana's handle. The Straw Hat Pirates agreed, Luffy taking it on himself to carry the treasure chest this time.
Wobbling in place, Ashe found herself unable to lift a leg. Her head was throbbing and swirling uncontrollably. "Sanji…" Hearing his name, her turned back to her, along with the rest. "You said…you would help me if I called for you…Right?"
"Yes! Mademoiselle, just say my name and I—"
"Catch me."
Before he could retort, Ashe's body lurched forward, collapsing to the ground. Sanji barely managed to catch her in time. "Hey! What's—" He noticed she was already unconscious. With a sigh of relief, Nami approached out of concern.
Nami removed Ashe's backpack, surprised and just how heavy it is with a grumble. Now free of the awkwardness, Sanji shifted the unconscious woman to carry her bridal style. Feeling just how light her body is.
"Let's get her to Dr. Nako. He will know what to do."
The travel back to Cocoyashi village was uneventful. Arlong Park was a demolished disaster. A few villagers were shuffling through the debris, salvaging what supplies they could for the village. Arlong Pirates had plenty of food stored up after all.
Genzo and Nojiko were the first to approach. Smiles on their faces before the sight of Ashe and shifting into worry. Nami and Sanji ease their worries and explain she's only unconscious.
Nami then drags Luffy away with her treasure of Beri. Only after a small argument about eating later and pulling on his stretched cheek. Genzo followed them with a chuckle.
Nojiko led the remaining members to Dr. Nako's building. Usopp waiting outside while Sanji carried Ashe before placing her on a bed at Nako's instructions. Zoro attempted to leave, but a vice grip on his ear, dragged him to another bed, curtesy of Nojiko. Diagnosing the two new patients, Nako prioritizes Zoro. He leaves Ashe to Nojiko as he barks out orders over his shoulder.
Sanji wanted to stay, but a glare and shooing motion from Nojiko made him leave. Rejoining with Usopp, he stretched his sore body before lighting a new cigarette. The sight of the villagers decorating and putting out tables made him curious.
Usopp answered him. "I heard some of them talking about a party for us for defeating the Arlong Pirates. Its only what the Great Captain Usopp deserves!" He cackled laughter.
Ignoring his shameless bolstering, Sanji approaches an elderly lady carrying ingredients delivered from Arlong Park. "Pardon me, Madam, but I hear a party is to be held here. I was wondering if you could show me to the kitchen. I would love to see what new recipes I may learn here."
The woman cracked a smile, "Well now, it's not every day a young man is interested in cooking. Follow me, I'll show you. But no help! I can't in good faith let our liberators work for their own party."
"As you wish, Madam." Peering over his shoulder at the clinic, Usopp disappeared off to do what he normally does. Something unsettled his stomach, a gut-feeling telling him to stay. Cigarette hanging from his lips, he ignores it, gazing at the sun over the harbor as it begins to set.
A familiar shout and demand breaking him from his trance to follow the lady. "Sanji! Meat! Meat!"