LW: More set up, more problems, and even a little bit of fighting! Also the Noah is still a big problem for everyone involved.
Rubber King and Mirror Master - New World Chaos : Chaotic Countdown! Restless Passion!
"Ok, so while Luffy deals with Hody… how the Hell are we going to calm a rampaging giant mermaid?!" Usopp shouts, returning everyone's focus to the task at hand. Well almost.
Fsssssss
"She's right behind me isn't she?" the sniper sighs, prepared to be smashed by a feral princess.
"No, but it seems Kaos is also steaming, which is probably a bad sign" Nami corrects, which prompts Usopp to look behind him and yes the giant naga was steaming and hissing, before, right in front of all of them, he slumped forward and basically melted into silver goo, which splashed down and reformed into their researcher, currently holding himself up with Hebi in the form of a cane.
"That, looked nothing like when Chopper transformed out of his Mega form" Vivi notes from a short distance away.
"Understandable, our Devil fruits are vastly different: his is reptilian while mine is mammalian, mine is a standard while his is a mythical" Chopper explains "It's one of the reasons I needed to design an entirely new Rumble Ball for him to use rather than just give him one of my own"
"I also have an awakened Special-Paramecia doing whatever the hell it likes to my body, which is probably the most defining factor" Kaos adds with a half smile.
"I, think I have an idea, it's just not a technique that I'm fully proficient in" Robin admits, volunteering to be the main component in calming Shirahoshi "Though, low-level water techniques could both help cool her off and buy us time, as well as get her attention to make stopping her easier. Is that possible Jinbe?" she asks the whale shark Fishman.
"In theory, I can use some low-power Fishman Jututsu techniques to get her attention, plus the steam cloud will probably lessen the blows even more so" Jinbe hums and nods "We should probably get to it straight away, the princess is on a timer after all"
"But of course" Robin winks, before crossing her arms over her chest, preparing to use her Devil fruit.
Gigante Fleur
Robin's plan… was to bloom a giant version of herself, which given they just lost their giant fighter because Kaos's rumble ball ran out of time actually made a degree of sense. Side effects of this technique though, included….
"Holy titty mountains!" Alvida shouts while Sanji erupts in a plume of green flames at the newest marvel for his vision
… being a 30ft tall, giant naked woman, in the middle of an exposed battlefield.
"Do you have no shame woman!?"
"Nami, calm down! Just, I don't know, look anywhere else"
"Mom is using the most universally understood method of peace, the motherly bosom. We should all be fine" Artemis says to Medusa, grinning like a madwoman, while Kaos and Robin smirk and Medusa giggles as her big sis is being a dummy.
"Shirahoshi, it's time to stop, enough people are dead, you can calm down. What you're doing will kill you if you keep this up" Robin says through her bloom, attempting a gentle but firm tone, hoping to get through to the feral-looking mermaid princess.
It sort of did, in that the large eyes of the princess zero in on Robin's massive form, but a little lower than expected. With speeds unexpected for a fish out of water. Shirahoshi tackles the archiologist, pinning her to the ground, and wrapping her lips around the bare nipple of her left breast.
Slurp, slurp, slurp, slurp
"Ahhhhahh haaa~"
"Crap. Robin, are you hurt? Unbloom if the mermaid is mauling you!" Usopp shouts in panic as Robin drops to her knees.
"It might just be 2 years on an island of women compared to an island of bugs and food Uncle Usopp, but that's a cry of ecstasy, not pain" Artemis butts in "Understandable that nobody else seems to recognize it. Hold this please" she says, passing Medusa on to Jinbe of all people.
"Artemis behave, oh, oh she's a hungry little fishy" Robin pants heavily, as Kaos carries her over to the Sunny, a giggle escaping her lips moments later.
"Ok, that didn't turn out as we expected…. So plan B" Kaos claps, Hebi reforming from a cane to its Khopesh form.
"We had multiple versions of the plan?" Brook asks in confusion.
"Yes" Kaos nods, grabbing Artemis by the back of her shirt, to the angry yelp of the teen in question, "We go over there and haki the shit out of her, hoping it does something. Bye" the buzz of sonido was all that remained of the duo 5 seconds later.
"Your 1st mate is insane" Jinbe comments, getting a nod from Medusa, still in his arms, and an expression best described as "Ya think?" from the nearest Straw Hats.
"You need help over here?" Kaos asks as he and Artemis land on Robin's shoulder.
"One moment" she sighs, before shoving the amorous mermaid off her breast, the splashback getting Shirahoshi, as well as both of the spectators.
"Note to self, get an umbrella for future incidents" Kaos mutters, even if he's still grinning, meanwhile Artemis is licking the milk of her hands and arms.
"Shirahoshi, behave" Robin orders, blooming extra arms from her back as she moves to restrain the pinkette. The end result of which was that once her arms had been pinned, and ground blooms held her tail down, did she respond with a headbutt "Damn it" she hisses, her grip loosening, but she manages to keep her mostly in place "You really are a stubborn little thing aren't you princess?" Robin hums.
Shirahoshi growls, leaning back for another, but Robin follows, and their lips collide in a show of surprisingly deep passion, eyes bulge, before senses resume and the kiss gets heated, all teeth and tongue as the multiarmed giantess and the princess explore each other, Shirahoshi's hands once more making their way to Robin's expansive chest and squeezing the life out of them.
"Are you sure we're needed here?" Artemis asks, looking down to distract herself from the fact half the scene was her mother.
"Yes" Kaos answers, pinching his nose tightly "the princess is still running on base instincts and outputting a concerning level of steam, so we need to snap her out of her mindblock and get her back to normal. Now remember, don't use a crashing wave like Luffy did on the Fishmen, little, rhythmic pulses should get us what we want, ok?"
"Got it Pops!" Artemis nods before letting her haki flare alongside her father, each standing on one of Giant Robin's bare shoulders. Artemis' shimmers like oil in water, while Kaos' haki pulses with a solid amethyst purple, both washing over Robin as they cascade over their actual target: Shirahoshi. After a minute or so, the hardness in her eyes fades, the steam lessens and even the kissing gets softer and sweeter, a strand of saliva joins Robin and Shirahoshi, the princess now blushing a deep crimson as she stares into the older woman's eyes.
"I, that was, intense" she whimpers, her eyes fluttering tiredly "I don't feel so good" she groans, before keeling over, faceplanting into Robin's chest, her multiple arms keeping her from falling further and actually injuring herself.
"It worked, more or less" Kaos cheers, then groans tiredly "Well, I think I've officially over-exerted every aspect of my abilities today. I'm going to need a break"
"Should I call over Surume to look after Shirahoshi then Pops?" Artemis asks, sitting down to catch her breath after the haki barrage.
"It's fine sweetie, I can carry her" Robin assures her, lifting the semi-conscious mermaid into a bridal carry and starting to walk over, both the giant and normal Robin grinning triumphantly "Sleep Little One, you need it" she coos, before the giant disperces into flower petals, Kaos and Artemis landing on the deck of the Sunny.
Mindscape
A Resident of the Royal Palace would near instantly recognize the Hard Shell Tower which Shirahoshi was sitting on…. Or what remained of it, the walls having been shattered and torn down, exposing her to the black abyss of the deep ocean. And with it, came the beings that dwelled within those depths.
"We should slaughter them all!" a voice rasps, its owner floating through the gloom
"We can't do that, there are good people in ther…"Shirahoshi tries to defend, only for the other being to swim into the light, causing her to squeak and flutter back.
The entity was mostly covered in black and deep blue-green scales, a long shark-like body made up its lower body, with a slightly more human/mermaid-like body in the upper, including the obvious swell of a large bust, sans nipples. 4 long appendages ended in blade-like 'hands' though they were more akin to talons, and its head was odd, heavily scaled, and almost reptilian or draconic, with 6 sickly yellow eyes peered down at her, seeing every weakness and looking irritated by her prescience.
"INNOCENT! INNOCENT YOU SAY? They willingly follow a man who wants to bring your kingdom to ruin, who do everything to the humans that they hate the humans for doing to them, and least but not least…. KILLING YOUR MOTHER! There are no innocents in that crowd, only beasts to be culled and devoured, preferably with ketchup or sea-urchin sauce"
"But we can't! Even if we dealt with Hody and his men, if we just killed everyone as brutally as you want, the people would fear us, and that would cement his legacy of fear and hatred because we went that far to silence him" Shirahoshi argues, searching for her well of courage against the alternate.
The Leviathan chuckles lowly "There are times you seem like such a pushover princess, and yet, you can be right sometimes, even if sentimentality chains you to these waters, and these fair weather subjects your family attempts to appease" She turns her head out and downward "Not the legacy you were hoping for is she? Shahahahaha!"
From a depths, a Light shone lowly, and while she'd never felt small in her life, Shirahoshi truly felt minuscule as the entity the glow belonged to cast its gaze upon her.
CRACK
Both heads snap in the direction of the sound and even the light bounces in reaction. High above the 'air' itself appeared to be splintering, the cracks spreading in a lazy spiral, though more worryingly, a miasma was leaking out of it, the shimmery material ironically having the appearance of oil in water, coupled with the purple lightning sparking along the cracks, and yeah it was an ominous sight.
"NO! He can't do this, I was just about to take the helm and show the princess how to stand up to shitbags like Hody! This is OUR realm, you can't this butt in here like you own the place!" Levithan shrieks, clawed tendrils flailing angrily
"Kami ni soreijō no koto o kitai shite imasen ka?"
Both girls wince as the voice rumbles through their heads, Leviathan more so as she was feeling the effects of the fissure more acutely than Shirahoshi.
"It seems our time is up princess, but you won't be able to just let this lie, I WON'T be silenced forever" Leviathan cries, swiping at the smaller mermaid before she dissolves into seafoam.
"It would seem things are about to get interesting little one, I look forward to seeing you do me proud" the voice coos as the light bounces, dipping low enough to reveal a face. It would probably have been considered beautiful as most mermaids are, even a 200ft anglerfish, were it not for the pitch-black eyes and a mouth filled with razor-sharp teeth longer than most katanas "Sleep well little one, the Old One leads me to believe you won't be getting another anytime soon" a laugh like crashing waves echoes through the realm before fading to silence
Shirahoshi blinks, her eyes heavy, though her mind is clear now Levithan had retreated. With a pleasant feeling on her lips, she curls up, lulled to sleep with a strange but pleasant melody in her ears.
"§What would I give, if I could live under the water? What would I pay, to spend a day, exploring the depths?§"
As she drifted to true slumber, a stray thought was lost and buried, which probably would have been important to tell someone, her father most of all.
C̷̢͓̼̫̳̫̝͖̮̻̦̯̍̈́́̈́̆̕͝â̵̻̰̙̦̙̟͛̍̄̀l̶̖͓̈̊͆̅͐̇̎͆͂͒y̵͚̱̙͓̝͙̽̽͑̽̄̓̔̐͛̏͑̕͝ͅp̷̙̲͖͙̞͕̅̋s̸̯̣͔̘̦̣̫̍͆͊͑͐̾̌͒͐͌ͅo̷̩̜̼̜̍͆̾̆̐ ̴̢̛̺͍͓͓̟͈͕͙̯̑͊͆̋i̴̧̡̨̡̫̞̣͉̭̫̇̓͐̄ś̴̨̛̙̻̖͖̞̲̱̘̟̱͍̘̘͑̐̂̓͊̈́̊̓̏̀͑̚͘͜͠ ̵͇͙͇̉̌͌̾̋͒͑̈́͜͠á̴̛͕̯̮̖̻̞̭͔͔̟̇́̌͌́͒͒̅͌̿̌̈́̎̚̚ẁ̸̢̢̧̥̬̱͇̠͍̦͓̞̫̣̳͚͚͌̊̍͊̍́̆̇̏̎̂̌̏̅̆͘ä̴͎͍͕̱͇͇̥̻̪͍̬̪̜̫́̓͂̊͑̋̂̀̾̈́͜k̷̡̡̞̤͎̬̘̻̼͕͍̘̦͓͎̮͆̔̒͠e̵̫̖͉͍͙̰̱̻̭̍̀̄̊͌͘͝
Outside world - high above them
"Why won't you die?" Hody bellows as he throws another barrage of Shark Arrows down at Luffy, though the rubber boy is easily able to dodge by swinging around and through the massive links of the chain hanging from Noah, as Hody was less aiming, and more firing blindly behind him as he pulls himself up the chain, seeking Vander to tear him limb from limb. He couldn't let this punk distract him from his mission.
On ground level
"So, the Mermaid princess is okay, albeit passed out, the Noah's not going anywhere, Medusa has been rescued and Luffy's chasing Hody up a chain. Did I miss anything else?" Nami asks with a sigh.
"I'm stealing back my kid, but that's about the jist of things" Kaos nods, scooping Medusa up with his tail and cuddling her, to her joy and amusement "Also we do still need a plan for Noah, as even if we killed Vander, the thing will just drop straight down, which will still kill us" he adds.
"Yeah, can we hurry up on finding a solution to that, I'm not sure how long I can actually keep this up" Vivi groans, sweat dripping from her forehead as she pumps more sand into her support, the top section spreading like the branches of a tree to better hold up the ship, as opposed to Kaya's multiple sticky pillars which were her method of restraint and support.
"You won't need to, because your life ends no…"
Shing
"Did everyone else forget to guard the 2 giving ground support, or did they expect the Fishmen to leave them alone?" Zoro asks, cutting down a FightingFish Fishman before he could cave the princess' head in.
"Honestly, I didn't think they were stupid enough to attack the people keeping them alive" Usopp admits, getting a nod from Brook and Kaya, while Nami sighs, as she probably should have seen something like this coming.
"I'd rather die than be saved by a human! I still have my pride!" a merman bellows, aiming his trident at Kaya before taking a kick to the back of the head, hitting the ground in a bright green fireball.
"I don't like agreeing with Mosshead, but not having an honor guard for the ladies was bad form on your part. Clearly, I must stand as the unwavering knight to protect their bodies while they in turn keep the Ship from crushing the island" Sanji exposes, while patting down the small bursts of flame licking at his arms and legs.
"If that's the new plan I'm down with it, Luffy's got Hody and probably Decken covered up top, might as well clean up down here while he's gone" Franky agrees from the Franky Shogun Mech suit.
Noah
"Hm, what's taking so long, Noah should have dropped beyond the barrier and killed everyone by now" Hody grumbles as he looks down from his position on the bubble-coated deck of the ship, to see it was locked in place by methods unknown and unseen by the Fishman. Then, a shiver ran down his spine, as he turned and Hody had just reached the deck, and boarded the Noah "Ah, Hody Jones, like what I've done with the place? I would have used it to kill Shirahoshi, but…" he waves his mangled right hand "...I'm a bit short-handed in that regard. So how are things on the ground, Neptune dead yet?"
"He will be, soon enough. But this plan of yours, I felt it needed a few, adjustments" Hody hums as he approaches the Devil fruit user.
"Oh, do tell, I'm all ears. Bahohoho!" Vander laughs as he leans in eagerly.
"Actually, it would be better, if I just showed you"
Shing! Gurgle!
Vander gasps as Hody spears him through the gut, unknowingly, or perhaps intentionally reopening his stab wound, the neon green veins flaring angrily as he reaches out to hold himself up, hands frantically grasping at the air to locate Hody.
"If you die, there's nothing anyone can do, to stop the ship. Jahahahaha!" Hody cackles as he watches his former partner flail impotently, before being shoved away, the trident being pulled out as he steps back.
"You just fucked up big time Hody…. Because you let let me touch you, with MY BARE HAND! This is what I do to traitors on my ship!" he shrieks, throwing a handaxe which Hody dodges with little effort on his part.
"You know, I was worried when I first saw Noah's shadow overhead, but after a little thought, I realized this was the perfect way to deal with the dissenters. Sure Fishman Island will be destroyed, but we'd still have the Fishman District, and all the human-loving filth will be wiped off the map. Killing you just ensures nothing can stop Noah, not even those damn straw hats" Hody monologues, knowing his prey was on death's door, it was only a matter of time.
Back down below
"GUYS! WE HAVE A PROBLEM!" Usopp screams as Wadatsumi charges them, the giant having been given an energy steroid by Zeo.
"Surume, any chance of an assist?" Nami asks, the Kraken nods eagerly and surges forward to attack "Ok, we should be ok for a minute, he's already beaten that big lug before and that was underwater, where these guys are stronger" she assures herself mostly.
This confidence lasted for all of 10 seconds as Wadetsumi knocked him out cold with a single punch, due to the steroid coursing through his veins. He then began stomping over to the Straw Hats, though the 1st enemy in his path, was actually Jinbe. Hyped and doped up, he decided to just punch him to bits and be done with it.
"7000 Brick Roundhouse Kick" Jinbe declares as he not only blocks the kick, but leaves an indentation in Wadetsumi's finger from his kick.
"OWOWOWOOWOWOWOWOOW!" Wadetsumi cries as he bounces around shaking his hand and wildly flailing, even to the point of falling onto his back, informing the pirates that at least they still feel pain while under the influence.
"Keep your grubby mitts away from the ladies you bastard, try this on for size!" Sanji bellows as he launches a flying kick to the crown of the Blowfish Fishman's head, and surprisingly he felt that too.
"It seems you Straw Hats have a habit of getting involved in other people's fights. So at least consent to a team-up" Jinbe hums, at least trying to work with the pirates.
"Yeah yeah whatever, just don't get in my way and I'll make sure not to set you on fire" Sanji grunts, which was probably as good as he was going to get.
"Why did you kick me you meanie?" Wadetsumi cries
"Because you were in the way, what reason do I need to have to kick someone who's very obviously my enemy?" Sanji replies with an eye-roll, a small part of him thinking arguing with Luffy would be easier.
"That's not nice, even the Captain wouldn't hit me for no reason!" the Fishman bellows, stomping his feet like a child throwing a tantrum.
"Stupid brat, how about another kick to stop this whining" the cook shouts before shooting up with Skywalk, dodging the Fishman's punches with practiced ease then kicking him right in the cheek, sending him once more crashing to the ground
Elsewhere on the battlefield
"I hate to break it to you Noodle, but you're not going to beat me with that hook blade, our 1st mate has a better version of that sword" Zoro scoffs, batting away the anglerfish Fishman's repeated swings
"It's Nuru and you'll change your tune once you see the light" Nuru taunts as his headlight functions as an organic flashbang "Try dodging my attacks when you can't see a damn thing" he laughs before slashing right at him…. And missing.
"You only see with your eyes? What a joke of a swordsman you are" Zoro mutters with an eye-roll as he shreds Nuru's headlight with a spin slash "Get lost, I don't have time for amateur hour" he shouts as he sends the anglerfish flying, landing right in front of Hyouzou, who in a mix of drunkenness and the haze of the abundance of energy steroids he'd scoffed down, cut him down without even a thought. In fact, the now whitehaired octopus Fishman was cutting down his own men left, right, and centre in his overindulgent high of the Energy Steroids, his power comparable to Hody, by best guess given both of them overdosed to the point of the hair change.
His rampage was cut short, just before he reached the Sunny, by Zoro stopping his slashes cold. A one-eyed glare matched the giddy, drunken gaze, Hyouzou giggling at the new challenge. Of course the anger faded in moments as a feral grin split Zoro's face.
"Finally, someone actually worth fighting, this is going to be fun" the swordsman laughs, especially as he could tell the octopus was just as eager to fight him "I did call dibs on the swordsman, but I lost you earlier so at least we've been reunited"
"Hic, you that eager to die, human? Then who am I to stop you?" Hyouzou laughs, happy to fight someone actually strong enough to block his sword swings.
Sunny
"Hey Artemis, got another one of those storms in the tank?" Nami asks, getting a dead-eyed stare and the middle finger from the artist "That's a no then?"
"Nostromo drained about 70% of my core, so no I can't pull another one out of my ass Nami. At least not without outside assistance and neither Mama nor Pops would let me get close enough to the enemy to steal any of their black pills" the sorceress clarifies "I'm still going to steal some but to see if Chopper and I can make a safer version of the drug, even if the power output is a little lower"
"Of course you can't take those Artemis, it's clear that while not as immediate, these Energy Steroids are just like the Odium of Alabasta, and Hody, as well as all his minions who abused the drug, will pay a heavy price in the future" Robin agrees and elaborates.
"Hey Nami, you don't want to fight another invisible enemy do you?" Kaos asks, peering over the deck with halflidded eyes.
"After Thriller Bark, no, never again thanks. Why?" the navigator responds curiously.
"Because one is coming this way… and he just tripped over some rubble…. Never mind Brook has this covered" Kaos chuckles before shouting "Hey Brook, look down, your next opponent is right there by your foot!"
"Oh, is he very small? If he is I'd say let Chopper fight him" The skeleton calls back.
"Chopper's busy getting chased by a fish tunneler…. Which is really weird, don't ask. I mean you're standing on his face"
"Oh. Opps" Brook runs his hand through his afro in embarrassment as Zeo reappears, Brook's shoe in the centre of his face "Hello down there, I'm sorry I stepped on you, would you care to fight me?"
"What's the point in having a huge, kickass robot if everyone's too chicken shit to fight you in it?" Franky whines, before seeing someone who does look big and tough enough not to immediately run away from the Franky Shogun. So he charged forward and punched Ikaros right in the face "SUPER SMASH!"
MUNCHMUNCHMUNCHMUNCHMUNCHMUNCH
"Shit, shit shit" Chopper curses as Horn point burrows under the plaza, Daruma's death bite hot on his tail and with no sign of slowing down.
"You done down there Chopper, I could use some help up here" Usopp whines, sniping as many as he could, but it was clear he was going to run out of ammo before he ran out of targets.
"I bet I can take this one" Dosun mutters to himself, before raising his hammer over his head, not having learned from the last time he did that "I'll crush you into the ground Boomsun!" he bellows, just as his strike is blocked by another opposite blow.
"How about no? Usopp, keep Vivi's ass safe I got a shark to pound" Alvida shouts, pushing the Fishman back, her eyes flaring in anger.
"I'll do my best, keeping her and Kaya safe keeps us all alive after all" Usopp agrees, just as Chopper pops out of the ground "The tunnels all connected?"
"Yeah, it was a pain with the Fish on my tail half the time, but I got the lot, far as I could tell" the reindeer pants "It's all on your now"
"Of course it is, I'm that awesome after all" Usopp chuckles and winks, before preparing a final strike "Special Attack Green Star: Skull Bomb Grass!" he shouts as he fires the pellet, unleashing a raging firestorm under the feet of the Fishmen, and more importantly catching Daruma in it point blank as he was still IN the underground tunnel system "Too bad for you, this isn't mine and Chopper's 1st time fighting a tunneler, and we even managed to take you out just by ourselves, no need for Alvida or the V's" the sniper laughs, before high-fiving Chopper.
The celebration was probably a little premature, as Daruma, as well as the rest of Hody's officers, all took a dose of Energy Steroid, their eyes turning red as their muscles bulged to obscene levels. It seemed things were going to get worse before they get better.
"Fuuuuuuck!"
"What's wrong now?" Robin asks curiously, as Kaos stares up at the Noah.
"Vander, his control of the Noah, it's weakening, in fact I think it's starting to flicker and fade. What is going on up there?" Kaos wonders aloud, his face twisting into a grimace.
Yeah… a lot worse.
TBC
LW: So, given Noah is already on hold, Hody taking out Vander isn't that important at the moment, but it does mean they need to do SOMETHING or gravity will kill them all once Vivi, Kaya, Kaos, Val, and Victor finally tire.
All the bad guys are on drugs now, and the Straw hats are still going to fight them! Next time.