""Kill them all!" roared Judge.
Up on the balcony, Reiju crouched down; with Bepo behind her, Drona, Shachi, and Penguin on the other side. Below, her three brothers leapt at the attackers, and the battle began.
She dropped back down, and calmed her racing pulse. She could hear the sounds of battle; Ichiji's laser fire, stone cracking, metal twisting. She wanted to leap down there and help, even if it meant facing her own brothers, and risking her father's conditioning. But they had made their plan, and each had their part to play.
Reiju turned, and leapt to the upper gallery, pausing as Bepo followed on. Drona and the others jumped to the opposite gallery, and watched as they scurried away. She braced herself, then dashed along the gallery, reaching the door at the other end. A quick shove broke it open, and she found herself in a narrow corridor; one of the countless service corridors that allowed the servants to move unseen around the palace.
She knew them all; and they would serve well today. Drona's team, if they followed the directions he had given, would soon reach the kitchens. She and Bepo would soon reach the servants' quarters. Between them, they would gather up the maids and get them to safety.
And once that was done, they would set to work on the snail cruisers.
"Please be okay Captain…" Bepo whimpered, as the sounds of fighting rumbled and reverberated through the stones around them.
"It'll be alright." Reiju gave him what she hoped was a reassuring grin.
The bear-mink nodded, and followed her down the corridor.
(X)
"Room!"
Law kept his focus on Judge as the man tried to scamper away. Ichiji thrust out his hands, bolts of red light bursting from them, forcing Law to dodge. He could see Niji and Yonji rising from the rubble, ready to fight.
He switched places with the dining table, Ichiji's lasers searing and slicing it. Izuku was upon him, hitting with a kick that might have cracked stone. But Ichiji was ready, grunting as he blocked with his forearm. Fire blazed in his eyes, but Izuku flicked his head aside and wrapped his tendrils around Ichiji's torso; barely avoiding the twin heat rays as they seared the air.
"SMASH!" he roared, kicking Ichiji in the side. The prince gasped as he flew back, smashing into the wall so hard that it cracked and shuddered.
Meanwhile, Yamato was menacing Judge. The tyrant staggered back, face overwhelmed with surprise and fury as a Transponder Snail flew out of his hands, then he snarled and raised brought out some kind of cylinder of sorts.
His spear!
"RAAAAGH!" Yamato snarled, leaping after him and swinging her club as the elongated spear was snapped in two as she followed through and struck. Judge coughed in pain as the club caught him in the chest, throwing him against the wall, the wall behind cracking.
"Stay on the brothers!" Law shouted, remembering Reiju's warning about the Princes using their Raid Suits. But too late, as blue and green light flashed from the rubble nearby.
Niji and Yonji leapt out, their regal clothes replaced with gleaming suits and black capes, soaring like meteors towards Yamato.
"Shambles!" Law ordered, swapping Yamato with Ichiji. The pair yelled in surprise as they smashed into their own brother; and the three crashed into the floor.
"Gah! Bro!" Yonji yelped, as Ichiji flailed and roared, hurling the two away. Izuku kicked, catching Niji with an air blast and sending him flying. Yamato swung her club hard, catching Yonji with her own air blast coming forth from her club swing.
Law smirked. He had chosen well when he pledged his sword with those two. They might just win this.
"Shambles!" He switched the flying brothers with chairs, and dumped them back on top of Ichiji. Ichiji yelled and blasted them away, leaping clear just as Izuku and Yamato dived in. Niji got an iron-tipped boot to the face, and Yonji a club to the shoulder; both slamming into the opposite wall. The whole chamber shook, dust falling from the high rafters.
"It's Trafalgar!" Judge coughed from his crater; blood leaking from his mouth as he pointed at Law. "Kill him and his lackeys' die with him!"
Law felt the brothers' eyes on him. He grinned like the devil as he raised his hands, and flicked two fingers towards himself.
Yes. Focus on him, fixate on him; let Reiju and the others do their part.
He could see the three brothers clearly now. They were in the Raid Suits, the machine-memory armor Reiju had warned them about; Ichiji in red, Niji in blue, Yonji in green. That was worrisome, but not half so worrisome as the brothers themselves. For all their snarling rage, there was not a mark on them. Not a dent or tear in their suits, nor a mark on their faces.
They hadn't been hurt. After all that.
Niji vanished, and Law tensed as he saw the blur in front of him. But then Yamato whooshed in front, club at the ready.
"Fucking freak!" Niji shrieked, swinging his body to kick her, his body crackling with blue lightning. But Yamato blocked, his armored foot clanging like a bell as it struck her club. Law yanked Yamato away with his power, and Izuku was there; punching Niji in the face. Niji hit the floor, bouncing away like a stone on a pond.
He heard a whistling sound, and looked up; just in time to see Yonji's gauntlet hissing through the air towards him. Law leapt away from it, then swapped himself with the rubble; drawing his sword as he appeared behind Yonji. He swung down hard, but Yonji spun away, rounding on him with a snarl. Law swapped himself again, this time with a massive portrait of Judge. He materialized just in time to see Yonji's lighting-fast kick strike the painting; tearing through it in half.
"What's wrong Trafalgar?! Afraid to get bloodied!" Yonji snarled as his prosthetic latched back to him. He jumped up, his fist reared back to punch.
His attack halted, as a black tendril latched onto his face, dragging the Vinsmoke directly into Izuku's foot. The impact sent Yonji spinning head over heels, straight into Ichiji. Law looked around, and saw Judge half-staggering, half-scampering out of his crater. He gritted his teeth, and strode towards the fleeing king. He would not leave without that bastard's head!
Judge saw him, and pulled something from his belt. It was an orange canister, from which erupted a strange, gray light.
He had his Raid Suit with him?!
He heard Yamato cry out. He turned, and saw Yonji's metal arm grabbing at her mask. Law grabbed at Yonji and Shambled him away, replacing him with strewn cutlery. But the mask went with him.
"Well well… looks like ya ain't a monster.," hissed Yonji. "But a big horny bitch!" He crushed the Hanya mask, the pieces falling to the floor. Yamato snarled, and leapt at him; and Law saw Niji blasting off towards them.
Four more minutes. They had to win in four more minutes.
(X)
Izuku gritted his teeth.
Ichiji was strong. The red-haired prince was a prodigy of close-quarters combat, and he had completely mastered his power; firing red lasers from fingers, palms, and eyes. Even his skin felt more like metal than flesh. Everything Reiju had said and more.
Ichiji's fists glowed red, and Izuku felt the impact; even as his Black Whip held back the blows. Below, he could see Yamato's snarling face as she battled Yonji.
Her face was exposed. But no one seemed to have noticed, or cared.
"Seems she's not so monstrous," sneered Ichiji, pummeling him with blow after glowing blow. "I bet you're the same, behind whatever Devil Fruit power that is."
Izuku swerved and parried, then finally laid a blow on Ichiji. The prince grunted, then lashed out with his fist; knuckles topped with tiny red lights.
"Sparking Knuckle!"
Izuku ducked, then rolled away as Ichiji's fist hit the wall, cracking it right down to the floor, smoke and dust filling the air. Izuku leapt up, looking around for his foe.
His Danger Sense erupted, and he dodged; lasers hissing as they scorched the chamber floor.. He charged at Ichiji, fist reared back. Ichiji's sunglasses glowed, and a flare of his Danger Sense made Izuku leapt and twist, the eyebeams flashing past him; driving his knee into Ichiji's chest. The red prince was flung back, but then Yonji's arm came coiling through the air towards him, forcing Izuku to drop back.
He heard Judge shout out in surprise as Law shifted him again. And beyond the shattered door, he could hear alarms begin to wail. Their surprise was spent. The kingdom was now alert.
"Stay fucking still damn you!" Yonji snarled, his boots erupting and launching him into the air. He pulled back his mechanical arm, snatched a flying chunk of debris, and threw it at Izuku. The boy punched the air, air blasts smashing the crumbling stone to pieces. Yonji gaped, amazed; and was flung into the wall by a fusillade of Air Force Smashes.
But Izuku had no time to follow up. Ichiji was upon him, drawing back his arm to strike. Izuku glared at him through his shroud of Black Whip, and drew back his fist in kind.
"Detroit…!"
"Sparking!"
"SMASH!"
"FINGER!"
The punches collided; gale force winds bursting from the impact, making Ichiji's cape billow and Izuku's tendrils snap and coil. Izuku growled, and so did Ichiji.
The reaction between his Black Whip coated fist Ichiji's blazing red hand flung them back, crashing into opposite walls. Izuku leapt up, ready to attack again. His Danger Sense flared, and he dodged as eyebeams cut through the clouds of dust. But his Danger Sense was still active, still blaring like a siren in his head.
"Take this!" It was Niji, rearing back for a high-jump kick, leg crackling with blue lightning. "Volta Schneider!"
Izuky felt himself shift. Then he was across the room, just in time to see Judge get Niji's electrified foot right in his face. Judge screamed as he flew back, his whole body smoking.
"Gah, Dad!" Niji yelled . "TRAFALGAAAAR!" he roared, rounding on the black-haired man; who stood by the doorway, smirking like the devil.
"Now, Tact," Law ordered. Above them, the chandelier vanished; replaced by a chunk of debris the size of a car. It came down hard, crushing Ichiji and Niji to the floor with yells of pain.
Izuku looked around, and saw Yamato parry Yonji's hand with her club. Yonji attacked again, and again, his arm cable coiling and cracking like a whip. Yamato vanished, replaced by a chair, then appeared right behind him; slamming Takeru into his back. The green prince yelled as the blow flung him forward.
"My brothers can be killed by asphyxiation or drowning. Otherwise, there is only blunt force trauma." Reiju's words echoed in his hand.
"Albuquerque…!" Izuku reared, legs coiled for Fa Jin. He took off, arms prepped, even as Niji and Ichiji burst out of the rubble, glowing blue and red. Izuku spread his arms.
"LARIAT SMASH!"
The two brothers cried out as they were sent crashing into the wall, and into the chambers beyond.
Yet back they came, twin suns of red and blue, blazing through the very hole they had made. Niji roared like a berserker, lightning crackling and flashing around him. Ichiji snarled, eyes blazing red. Izuku threw himself at them, leg coiled back, just as Yamato was swapped in beside him, Takeru at the ready.
"Texas!"
"Sparking!"
"Raime!"
"Volta!"
The four attacks impacted, and the whole room groaned; walls and ceiling and floor crying out in protest. Windows and doors blew out, tapestries and banners caught fire; stone and marble cracked and shattered.
"SMASH!"
"FINGER!"
"HAKKE!"
"SCHNEIDER!"
And the room exploded.
(X)
This couldn't be happening.
Judge's mind was blank, his body nothing but pain, shock and fury, as he watched the battle. His sons, his ultimate creations, his pride; being man-handled by goddamn pirates!
The four combatants flew apart, The black monstrous one and the white-haired woman crashed to the floor and slid to the wall; smoking from his sons' impacts. Ichiji and Niji landed hard, and rose to their feet. Niji was shaking with rage; Ichiji was as coldly calm as ever.
"Motherfuckers!" Niji roared, his lightning surging. He leapt forward, and the black one leapt to meet him. They cashed, punching and kicking, blue and green lightning flashing and crackling at every impact.
Judge glanced around, looking for a way to escape. He had to get out of there and find his soldiers, get them back in here to help and eliminate this threat. Where were they? Why hadn't they come?
He activated his Hover Boots with a thought, and flew up the wall; heading for the balcony.
"Sons! To me!"
His command came true, and the three dropped their offensive and began flying towards the balcony. Time to regroup and counterattack!
"Shambles!"
Then he and Niji were back in the center of the room; just like that. Over by the door, Law's smirk widened.
"LAAAAAAAW!" Niji roared, and Law flipped him the bird; complete with the most obnoxious grin Judge had ever seen.
"Tact."
Something big and heavy landed right on his head. Judge grunted as he was crushed to the floor, cape raised to protect him as debris rained down on him. Ichiji, Niji and Yonji raised their capes to protect themselves.
"KILL TRAFALGAR! I WANT HIM DEAD!" Judge shrieked. Never, not even in the old days, had he felt so humiliated. He had been mocked, tossed about, and even attacked in his own hall. If it wasn't for his Garuda Raid Suit, he would be bleeding to death by now.
He snarled, and pulled his spear from his pocket. With a touch of a button, it snapped out to its full length. He was going to have to get his hands dirty; and right now, he was just angry enough not to mind.
"That's my line, you bastard!" snapped Law; his smirk gone. Judge gnashed his teeth, and spun his spear; lightning crackling as it spun faster and faster. He blasted forward on his hover boots, spearpoint aimed for Law's belly.
"NARIKA!"
"TEXAS!"
"BURA!"
"SMASH!"
Two air blasts sent his sons flying. The slipstream caught Judge, throwing him off-course and out through the doorway; hitting the wall beyond.
"Aaaaaaghnnn…" He groaned, his head spinning as he tried to stand up. He could hear Queen and Caesar laughing at him, like they always used to. How they would laugh if they could see him now.
Except…he was out in the corridor.
He took off, his boots carrying him down the corridor; his bruised and bloodied face splitting into a manic grin. His sons were battered, but they were still fighting on; and he was safely out of there.
How strong were these pirates!?
No matter. He is out!
"Now then!" he declared aloud. "To rally my ar-!"
The wall in front of him burst open, and the black beast leapt out in front of him; eyes blazing green.
"-my?"
The monster roared, and kicked at him. Judge couldn't stop in time, his scream of surprise and fear turning to a bloody gurgle as the beast's foot caught him right on the jaw. He flew back, crashed to the floor and skidded down the corridor like a stone; smashing through furniture and ornaments before finally hitting a wall.
Judge lay there, gasping, trying to master himself. But his back was on fire, and his limbs would not obey him. All he could see was the demon crawling down the corridor towards him; a human shape wrapped in what looked like black tentacles, black flames billowing around it like a spider from nightmarish myth with the two glowing emerald hellpits for eyes.
"ICHIJI SAVE MEEE~!" Judge shrieked. The beast came on, faster and faster, the wall hangings catching fire as it passed.
And then the wall erupted again, and Ichiji burst through; his body haloed in crimson light, bright as the sun. The prince slammed right into the beast, an impact that should have crushed it to a pulp. But the monster reacted, grappling around Ichiji and out of his path. Ichiji spun round, and prince and monster did battle; red light against black fire, fist against fist, kick against kick as they exchanged blows, weaving and blocking and parrying their rapid fire strikes.
Judge watched, unable to tear his eyes away, as he tried to pull himself up. He just couldn't make sense of it. How could that thing fight his eldest, mightiest son? What gave it such power?
Was it his Devil Fruit?
Finally he was on his feet, leaning on his spear. He forced himself to look away, and down the next corridor. He still had to escape and rally his troops.
Except he couldn't. The corridor ahead of him was a pile of rubble. How could that have happened?
Unless..
"They had more… are Law's rats…scurrying in my castle!"
He conjured forth a second spear, and snarled as he saw his heir and the demon locked in battle.
He threw it, and the black beast ducked and lashed out with a hand, and Judge felt the air blast slam into him and his back ached as he crashed into the wall.
The beast got a fist to the face from Ichiji for the distraction, and then Ichiji got a punch to the gut as the prince remained the only thing protecting a stunned Judge from the monster's wrath.
(X)
Reiju flicked out her fingers, poison darts hissing from the tips. The Germa soldiers ahead of her crumpled as the darts struck, rifles clattering as they fell from nerveless hands.
As she stepped over the dying troopers, Bepo close behind, she heard a rumble from the dining hall.
"Sounds like the fighting's getting intense!" commented Bepo, as they hurried down the corridor.
"Law can keep his Room up for another two minutes or so…" Reiju mused aloud, keeping count in her head.
Up ahead was the main door to the servants quarters; flanked by two troopers. The pair saw them, and brought up their rifles as they saw Bepo.
"Pink Asp!" Reiju unleashed more darts, and the troopers crumbled as their comrades had before. She hurried to the door, Bepo close behind.
"Oh crap it's locked!" cried Bepo, as he examined the control panel. "We're gonna need a code or some keycard and-"
Reiju smashed the panel, grabbed the wires, and yanked them out. The door slid open.
"Or we can do that," Bepo surmised, before hanging his head. "Sorry for suggesting a dumb idea."
"It's alright." Reiju assured him with a smile. "You're doing great, Bepo." The bear mink's ears went up and down and he blushed as he grinned.
Reiju peered inside the door, half-expecting an attack. But all she could see was a load of beds, piled up in a makeshift barrier. Fearful eyes peered over and around it.
"Eponi! Cosette!" Reiju called out. "It's alright, we're here to save you!"
Around them, the palace rumbled. She could hear whispering behind the barrier, and then a tall, round woman in a black maid uniform stepped into view. She was aging now, but Reiju could still see the loyal, kind maid who had forever been at her mother's side.
And who had procured the drug that saved Sanji's humanity.
"P-Princess Reiju? You've returned to us!" Eponi wept with relief.
"What's going on?" asked Cosette, emerging to join Eponi. She was one of the newer maids, the chestnut-haired daughter of a noble who owed Judge money; condemned to toil in Germa as a servant until her father's debts were paid.
If they survived that long.
"And who's the bear… thing," asked Camilla Fantina, leaning out from behind a bookcase with a broom held like a quarterstaff. She was blonde-haired, bespectacled, with a freckled face and a lanky, mousy figure. That was fortunate for her, since her brothers had more discerning tastes.
"Oh hi. I'm Bepo! I'm Reiju's friend!" the bear-mink introduced himself, waving cheerfully. "And we've come to rescue ya!"
"R-Rescue?" Eponi gawked. The other maids looked at one-another with frightened, questioning eyes. They could scarcely believe it, and Reiju couldn't blame them.
"We don't have time to explain." Reiju looked into the older woman's eyes. "Stay close to us. And keep up. Germa will die tonight."
Another rumble, and Bepo's ears pricked up.
"Soldiers coming!" he squeaked, darting behind the door, pulling a pistol from his belt. Reiju stepped past him and out into the hallway. Sure enough, more troopers were hurrying towards them, guns raised. They saw her, and hesitated.
Easy.
Reiju's fingers flicked out, and her darts flew. The troopers crumpled, dying without ever knowing why their princess was betraying them.
"You…you killed them…" gasped a voice from the doorway. Reiju glanced, and saw that it was Mazela Callen; a normally feisty redhead with bruises on her arms. Unlike Fantina, she was very much to Niji's taste; and he tended to get rough.
"Get their weapons and all the ammo you can carry. We're leaving this place," she ordered.
"P-Princess what in the world is happening?!" Eponi asked, shaking. A loud crump echoed down the corridor, and the maids all jumped. Bepo perked up, his ears twitching as he listened.
"Oh! Shachi and Penguin and Gramps must be doing their thing!" he declared. "Come on Reiju, we gotta do ours too!"
Some of the maids looked askance at Bepo; no doubt wondering why he was talking to the princess like that. But Eponi nodded at them, and they set to work; gathering up the dropped rifles and pulling cartridges from belt pouches.
"Are we…really leaving this palace?" asked Cosette, her hands shaking as they gripped her rifle. "We're going to be free?"
"Our princess just said so, didn't she?" Eponi assured them firmly. Reiju saw them perk up at her words, and she was relieved. Eponi was both their leader and their mother in this cold hell of iron and stone. If they would trust anyone, they would trust her.
"Come on! Follow me! Don't fall behind!" she ordered. "Bepo! Take the rear behind the girls!"
"Aye aye Reiju!" Bepo beamed as he saluted, and brought up the rear as Reiju led the way down the corridor. Soon they would be free of this place; as it sank into the dark depths of Kaisafjord!
But for now, the dark depths of Germa. The corridor ended into a stairway, leading down to the lower levels. Down and down they went, until Reiju felt the air pressure change. They were in the undercroft; near sea level, or maybe under it.
There were more troopers, dashing down the corridor towards them. Some of the maids screamed, and hid behind Bepo. The troopers hesitated as they saw Reiju, just like their comrades above.
And they died like their comrades above; in a fusillade of Pink Asp darts.
"Let's go!" Reiju called out, and started off again. There were heavy doors set into the walls, with nameplates beside them; catching her eye as she passed.
WEAPONS RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
SECTION 4
This was indeed the undercroft; the deepest, safest, most secure part of the palace. The door was open, and looking inside she could see yet another long corridor; with open doorways leading away into labs and workshops. Here was where the Raid Suits and their canisters had been developed, and were maintained.
There was something else too. A sound, echoing from the other end of the corridor. Almost like…
"Bepo? Can you hear something?"
"I can." Bepo frowned, his ears twitching as he listened. "Sounds like the sea."
Reiju gestured for him to wait, then crept along the corridor, glancing through each doorway for any sign of danger; but each room was deserted. The sound grew ever louder, until she reached the end of the corridor.
Through the doorway was a gantry, running around the wall of a great rectangular chamber. At bottom, sea water lapped against the stone walls and a stone dock; at which sat a long dark shape. It was a shape she knew, but had never actually seen until now.
"UV-1," she breathed. Her father's latest weapon; a ship capable of traveling under the sea, and of sinking ships without showing itself.
Yet another rumble; muffled this time, but still audible. Reiju steadied herself, and dashed back the way she had come.
"Princess! We need to get to the console room!" pleaded Eponi as she arrived.
"No, come this way!" Reiju replied, smirking. "I have a way to keep you all safe."
(X)
Yamato snarled as her club meet Yonji's fist; the floor cracking under their feet. Her Observation Haki flared, and she dodged a kick from Niji with a sidestep; then stepped back and twirled to strike him with her club. But then Niji vanished, leaving Yonji in his place; her blow sending him flying into a pile of rubble.
Law's Shambles was useful, but it was taking some getting used to.
"You're fucking dead!" yelled Niji, rounding on Law. "Stealth!"
"Shambles!"
Yamato braced for the strike to come, Haki coating her arm. She blocked his kick, then switched with Law. Niji was indeed the fastest of the brothers, but compared to her father and the All-Stars, his legs might as well have been made of lead.
"I'm getting real sick of your tricks! Pirate scum!" Yonji roared as he grabbed a massive slab of stone and threw it at Law. Yamato leapt into its path and spun in mid-air, smashing the slab with one blow, then kicking Niji as he tried to blitz her. Niji skidded away over the floor, and Yamato leapt after him.
"Narikabura!" She swung, and the air blast threw Niji into the wall. "Law!"
"Shambles!"
Yonji appeared beside her, replacing a chunk of debris. Yamato caught him in the gut, sending him flying; but as he flew, he fired off his hand at Law, forcing him to duck.
"How much longer?" Yamato asked.
"Two minutes!" Law breathed. Yamato heard yelling and she turned, just in time to see grappling hooks on the balcony.
"Behind!" She swung her club, and the air blast destroyed the stone railing.
"You're all gonna die here…" Niji hissed, pushing aside the debris and standing up. Yonji retracted his prosthetic, his other hand dragging a column right behind him.
Reiju had been right. Niji was the fastest, Yonji the strongest, while Ichiji was stronger than Niji and faster than Yonji; a deadly combination, especially with his heat beams.
Yamato glanced around for Izuku, but could see no sign of him. Then she saw the hole in the wall, the hole where Izuku and Ichiji had last hit.
No! This wasn't supposed to happen! They'd gotten separated!
"Once we're finished with you, that black beast bastard is going to get skinned" Yonji sneered. "After I pop his skull like fucking grape! And I'm gonna make you my punching bag, you horned whore!"
"First, Trafalgar dies, then the snowcrotch cunt!" Niji yelled. "Stealth!"
Yamato felt her Observation Haki tingle and she swung her club, catching Niji in the stomach. But the blue prince grabbed Takeru and hung on, grinning a murderous grin.
"Kilby Current!" Niji glowed blue, and Yamato screamed as lightning crackled up the club and flashed all over her body. She roared, and swung Niji down, cratering the floor and throwing the blue prince off. Niji landed hard, and coughed up blood.
"Emerald!" Yamato felt her Haki flare as Yonji's prosthetic came at her, fist clenched. "Blow!"
"Shambles!" Yamato was in the crater, skin still stinging and smoking, as Niji took his brother's blow. Niji flew back, screaming, through the wall and out into the night air.
"Shit Niji! Don't get in my way!" Yonji yelled after him.
"Raime!" Yamato snarled, gripping the hot Takeru, Haki coating her hands and the club. "HAKKE!"
Yonji's eyes widened as she leapt, but too late. Her club struck his arm, and she heard metal crunch; before his arm fell apart. The club followed through, hitting a screaming Yonji and sending him through the opposite wall, and the next one, and the next one, the sound echoing through the hole.
She panted, wincing as the battle-fire faded and the pain returned. She had been beaten, bruised, tenderized, burned, and even had bones broken. But she had never been struck by lightning.
"You alright?" Law asked, running to her side.
"I'll be fine… We need to get back to Izuku, and help him finish off Judge and Ichiji!"
"Right."
Then Law froze, and Yamato's Hak flared again. She grabbed Law round the waist and ran for the balcony.
"H-Hey! Where are we going!" he cried, as she carried him like a sack of potatoes. Yamato leapt over the balcony, and fell down into the courtyard below; cracking the stones as she landed. She looked back, just in time to see the central tower collapse in on itself; chunks of stone falling and shattering on the ground around her; sending up clouds of dust.
Again, it was as Reiju said. Germa was made to attack others, not to be attacked. They could dish it out, but they couldn't take it.
Yamato could hear gunfire, and shouting. She ran for cover, leaping behind a pillar to avoid the falling debris.
"Need time to rest?" she asked, as Law fell to his knees.
"Yeah… had one minute left on that Room back up there… Give me a minute…" He panted. "Guess no plan survives contact huh…"
"It happens." Yamato leaned around the column, and saw faint shapes in the dust cloud. "Niji is still a threat, but I can handle Yonji."
She heard an explosion, and another; and saw the brief red flicker of Ichiji's lasers; bursting out from another part of the castle. Her heart clenched.
'Izuku…'
No. She believed in him. She had to believe in him.
"Right. But those troopers'll be a problem," Law surmised. Yamato nodded.
"Take your time, and whenever you're ready." Law nodded, hand on his blade, and Yamato bolted out of cover; charging through the billowing dust. The shapes were indeed Germa troopers, advancing with rifles at the ready; but she was too fast for them. With a roar and a swing, she sent them flying. More came on, and she swung again.
"Narikabura!" The air blast blew the dust away, sending more soldiers flying. Blue flashed in the corner of her eye, and she snapped up her club; hitting Niji in the foot. For an instant, as he passed, she could see his bloodied, snarling face.
Another explosion, and more troopers were sent flying. They had been coming from one of the nearby snail-cruisers; and Yamato could see the smoke rising from two of the towers. Either Drona's team or Reiju and the maids had been hard at work.
Two down. Fourteen to go, and the kingdom would sink into the sea.
Niji came on again. She parried his blow and leapt back, dodging another blast of lightning. She charged at him, and the troopers hesitated.
They dared not fire on their prince.
(X)
Vinsmoke Judge was an opportunistic snake, he could give him that.
Izuku was sure of that now; seeing him cower and run while Ichiji did the fighting, and he would order his soldiers to fire upon his own son or try to get spear strikes in. He might have looked like a hero of old, with his mighty body and long, flowing hair; but there was nothing heroic about him. He was ranting and raving one moment, and would try to throw and attack but would get a kick to backhand for his trouble. His bravado crumbling leaving only anger and fury mixed with fear.
Izuku darted along the walls, shrouded in his black whip, round corners and down stairways; striking at the fleeing king whenever he could. But Ichiji was a stalwart guardian, countering every attack, shielding his unworthy sire.
It made his heart clench, and his stomach churn; even in the middle of a battle. Reiju said that her brothers had been born without empathy, without hearts; monsters, made so in their mother's womb. Yet there Ichiji was, protecting the real monster with undying loyalty.
Or was it just programming? Had he ever, at any moment in his life, really had a choice?
'Izuku, don't.' Bruce hissed, as Izuku threw a punch; sending Ichiji skidding along the floor. Izuku blasted towards Judge, and the king scrambled away from him; eyes wide with fear, blood and snot dribbling down his nose and mouth.
Danger Sense screamed, and Izuku narrowly dodged Ichiji's laser beams. He turned, just as Ichiji came at him; swinging around to kick. Izuku countered with his own kick; the impact sending gale-force winds down the corridor, making the walls shake. Izuku flipped around and kicked, just as Ichiji fired off his lasers. Laser met air blast, and the explosion blew them apart, skidding over the already scored and scorched floor.
"Why!?" Izuku shouted. He could hold it in no more. "Why do you fight so hard for him!? You don't have to!"
'Damnit Izuku, this isn't the time!' Bruce practically screamed, but Izuku ignored him. He had to try.
"Oh?" Ichiji feigned mild surprise, brushing dust from his suit. "So the beast can speak?"
"He made you his slaves!" pleaded Izuku, pointing at the cowering Judge. "Don't you want to be free!?"
"Free?" Ichiji looked at him as if he'd suggested the Moon was made of cheese.
He lashed out with a glowing fist, blasting a hole through the wall as Izuku dodged.
"Children exist because their parents created them," Ichiji went on. "Children are slaves to their parents, because their parents gave them life. That is the debt we owe them."
Izuku was stunned, his mind struggling to process it. There was no doubt behind his words, no hint of uncertainty. He knew no other way of thinking, as he knew no other life.
Then he remembered his mother, and All Might, and Pops.
And his lip curled.
"You're wrong!" he barked, as shock turned to fury. "Children aren't meant to be slaves to their parents! They are meant…to surpass them!"
He threw himself at Ichiji, grabbing his arm and judo-slamming him to the ground. Ichiji grunted, and the floor cratered under him. Izuku looked up, and saw Judge flying away down the corridor. With a shriek of anger, Izuku flew after him, grabbing him by the ankle. Judge eyes widened in surprise and terror, and threw up his arms to defend himself.
"SMASH!" With a punch to the gut, he sent Judge down; hitting the floor and cratering it. Judge writhed, gasping and gargling as his last meal bubbled out of his mouth.
He had condemned Brew Island and Swallow Island. He had taken women as hostages for their family's debts. He had turned his own children into emotionless killing machines; and broken the ones who didn't measure up. He had burned whole islands, destroyed countless lives.
Izuku reared back his fist, a part of him relishing this moment. This was justice, real justice, for all the victims of the House of Vinsmoke. This was…
Judge rolled sideways, driving his left fist and knee into Izuku. Izuku staggered back, taken by surprise. He recovered, but too late; for Judge had managed to get up and fly away again.
Idiot. He was an idiot! He'd postured like an amateur and fallen for a gutter fighter's trick!
'Forget about it!' ordered Banjo. 'Just get him!'
"Kill hiiim!" Judge yelled, the sound snapping Izuku back to reality. Up ahead, a heavy metal door was clunking open, and soldiers were dashing through; rifles at the ready. Judge elbowed his way through them, leaving them to do the fighting.
Coward.
Izuku's body glowed, and he blasted onward, knocking the soldiers aside with a mighty kick and a gust of wind. He saw Judge turn back in surprise and fear, and reared back his leg.
"Manchester Smash!"
A bright green blast of compressed air flashed down the corridor, and through the open door. But there was Ichiji again, glowing red as he met it head-on. He blew through the green blast, eyes blazing.
"Sparking Valkyrie!" Eyebeams hissed through the air, forcing Izuku to dodge. He threw out his Black Whips, crawling along the corridor like a giant, nightmarish spider, darting past Ichiji. Judge screamed in anger and aimed his spear. Izuku dodged the shot, felt an eyebeam sear his shoulder, and launched himself at Judge; his tentacles glowing with Fa Jin. He caught Judge in a tackle, driving his elbow into the king's stomach. Judge flew back as he screamed in pain, through another open door, and then another one, and into a room beyond. Izuku scuttled after him, eager to end this fight.
And then he paused, stunned by what he saw.
They were in an enormous chamber, the walls bright, the lights sterile. Lining the walls in long racks were tall tubes, each one taller than a grown man; with a number on its front. There were more of them surrounding a column in the center of the chamber, from from the foot of which ran enormous tubes, snaking out to the walls. Judge lay sprawled at the foot of the column Gasping and holding his abdomen as he writhed in agony, while men in trooper masks and white coats ran for their lives. Izuku paid them no mind. His eyes were on the tubes, and what stood within them.
Men. Muscular, healthy-looking men; standing immersed in some kind of blue liquid, their eyes covered by black goggles of some kind. They stood unmoving, apparently unaffected by the battle that had invaded their chamber.
'Clones…' Yoichi remarked. 'So this is where he makes them.'
Yes, these were the clone troopers of the Germa Kingdom. Men born and conditioned to fight, and die, at the command of the House of Vinsmoke. Men without a past, or a choice, or a future; save to serve that simpering coward's warmongering whims.
Some rose within him as he strode forward, Black Whip coiling and lashing like so many angry snakes. Judge was still on the ground, his gray coat scorched and blackened; yet otherwise intact. Was it a Raid Suit, like the ones his sons wore?
Probably. It was probably also the only reason he was still fighting.
"Aim for the Head." the Second urged.
'And make sure he doesn't get back up' Bruce added, face twisted with anger. 'Or need I remind you of Malice?'
Danger Sense screamed.
"Sparking Sun!"
He flung himself to the side, just as a massive bus-sized sphere of crimson plasma exploded like a new-born sun nearby. The chamber shook, the liquid in the tubes bubbling and roiling.
"Ichiji!" Judge shouted, then paused as his eyes were wide in sudden dread as Ichiji's hands no longer glowed red.
'He can't do anything' Nana said. 'If Ichiji fights, he trashes the chamber and loses his technology. If he doesn't fight, he's dead and he knows it.'
'But can Izuku go all-out either?' asked Yoichi. 'These are…those are people in those tanks!'
Ichiji came striding through the falling dust, hands glowing red.
"Father, we can always rebuild," he said, with a cold calm that made Izuku shiver.
'Izuku… kill the Clones. Make Judge panic,' Bruce urged.
'But-!' Yoichi cut in.
'No buts! This is do or die!' Burce barked back. "Remember what Reiju said! They don't question, and they don't regret! They're just robots with skin on them, made to serve and die! Killing them would be a kindness!'
Izuku remembered the Nomu, and the fate they had all suffered. Just like these clones.
"Get him out of here Ichiji!" Judge ordered. Izuku bolted to the side, avoiding a leg swipe and lashing out with a punch, meeting Ichiji's own fist with a crack like thunder. The chamber shook, and the tubes shuddered and cracked, fluid spilling out.
"My life's work!" wailed Judge.
'Target the Clones! Finish them!' Bruce ordered. 'Yamato and the others need us! We need to move, or they'll die! All of them!'
"But…"
'It's time to decide, Izuku! Your morals or your life!? Your life and your friends lives!? Make your choice!'
Izuku dodged another kick, then his leg burned with pain as a laser strike cut right through it. Ichiji smirked, sunglasses glowing.
He had no choice. Bruce was right. He had no choice.
Besides, it wasn't as if his hands were clean. It wasn't as if he hadn't killed anyone.
"Tenko…"
'Izuku…' pleaded Nana, eyes full of pain and pity.
"I'm sorry, All Might," Izuku whispered, as he felt the gaze of all the vestiges.
He roared, and punched the air; sending an Air Force punch into the nearest tank. He punched again, and again, air blasts smashing open the tanks and spilling their contents; the clones flopping and twitching on the floor, blood mingling with spilled fluid. Fires broke out, and alarms wailed; sprinklers spraying water from the ceiling.
"Noooo!" Judge howled, as the chamber crumbled, and his creations died. Ichiji roared and threw himself at Izuku, forcing him to stop his attacks and dodge. He punched at Ichiji's kick, and wrapped his tentacles around him; readying to throw him to the floor.
But Ichiji growled, and in an instant he was moving; flying straight up at the ceiling. Izuku cried out, and tried to break away; but Ichiji grabbed his arms with a grip like steel. Izuku lashed out with his tentacles, grabbing onto anything he could; even a despondent and opened mouthed Judge. But nothing could stop their ascent.
Ichiji glowed red, and they crashed through the ceiling, and another and another. Izuku could feel his suit smoldering, his skin burning. Ichiji's whole body was glowing; his snarl a murderous grimace.
Then they were clear, out in the open air. Around them, Germa was on fire; its towers crumbling, smoke rising from countless fires. Izuku could hear explosions, and what might have been gunfire; but he couldn't see much for the smoke.
"Damn you!" Ichiji roared; all humor gone. "Sparking Figure!"
Izuku flung all his tentacles at Ichiji, and finally managed to force himself free. He descended, laser beams slicing through his tentacles and scorching his flesh; until finally he landed. Ichiji came down in front, and then charged again, fist raised to crush him. Izuku grabbed his hand, and then the other, and they faced off; their fingers interlocked, blazing green eye against red sunglasses.
"That's my army you killed, bastard!" Ichiji snarled. "And my kingdom you wrecked!"
"An army of slaves who had no choice!" Izuku hissed back, his muscles aching with the effort "What would your mother think!?"
"Who cares!?" Ichiji snapped, then tossed him back. Izuku staggered as he righted himself, stunned by the show of strength. "She died a weak broodmare, and she couldn't even do that right! It's her fault Sanji was weak!"
For all that the red prince's words shocked him, Izuku was mildly surprised. He actually sounded angry.
His eyes glowed behind his glasses. Izuku thrust out a tentacle and latched onto the ground, pulling himself away as the eyebeams seared the air and tore into a building behind him; blowing it apart.
"They won't soil our kingdom's honor with their weakness!" Ichiji barked. Behind him, Judge groaned as he tried to stand on his spear. "And we will have your heads on spikes when dawn comes! Sparking!" His hands came together, glowing a burning red. "Comet!"
He thrust them out, sending a glowing red ball straight at Izuku; smaller than the previous one, but much faster. Izuku dodged, his boduy glowing with One for All. He stamped the ground, so hard that it cracked open, stone and steel bursting out. He lashed out with punches, smashing everything he touched, sending a spray of shrapnel towards Ichiji.
Judge cried out as he cowered behind his son, then yelled in agony as a big chunk hit him; flying back into the piled debris. Ichiji dodged, and dodged again, cape raised to protect himself. Izuku grabbed a larger piece, as big as a man, and threw it into the smoke and dust. He waited, legs glowing with Fa Jin, until he saw Ichiji's eyebeams blow the chunk apart.
An opening!
Izuku blasted through the billowing dust, and grabbed the surprised Ichiji by the face. Ichiji coughed and struggled, but Izuku held on with all his strength.
He had no choice. Ichiji was not like Reiju. He wasn't like Todoroki, any more than Judge had anything in common with Endeavour. He had embraced what his father had made him to be. He chose to be a monster, with the power his father had given him.
"You've never earned this power! It's not!" Izuku snarled as he gripped, Ichiji howling in pain as his sunglasses grew red. "Yours!"
He threw Ichiji down, right onto the wide deck of a Snail Cruiser. The red prince landed, and the deck cracked open, plunging him down into the depths. He heard an explosion, and another, and another. The giant snail lurched, and smoke billowed from the hole and the tower.
Izuku drew back, as the Snail Cruiser began to sink; its deck warping and groaning as it sank below its neighbor. He looked around, and cursed as he saw Judge flying away again; deeper into the floating city; where the fighting was still raging.
Yamato…
Izuku jumped and ran after him, ducking and diving as windows blew out and towers fell. A group of Germa troopers blocked his path, and he knocked them aside with a flurry of Air Force smashes. He flew on, through the carnage and gunfire, eyes fixed on the distant, fleeing shape of Judge.
A cruiser's castle behind him erupted, and his Danger Sense went off. Izuku turned, and there was Ichiji; blasting out of the crumbling tower. His face was bloodied, his Raid Suit singed and tattered, his glasses glowing red hot; his face wearing a bloodthirsty grin.
"You sent your friends to destroy the ships!? Fine! I'll deal with them when I'm done with you! And Germa's flag will fly stronger than ever before!"
"No it won't!" bellowed Izuku. "I won't let you!"
He lashed out with a fist, and Ichiji did likewise; winds blowing where they met, and towers crumbling under the pressure.
'He's as strong as me.' Izuku realized as his blazing green eyes glared back at those dark sunglasses. 'At 50% no less.'
He could go no further. If he used 55%, he risked losing control; his body destroying itself. He hasn't used 55% in true lethal combat outside of his spars with Marco, and he never allowed him to maintain it.
Vinsmoke Ichiji was as strong as All Might. A match even for All for One at Kamino.
All the more the reason to stop this heartless monster.
(X)
As if this day couldn't get any worse.
"Fuck…" Yonji groaned as he rose, chunks of debris falling off him. He wiped his face, and saw blood on his glove.
A nice, normal evening, with a nice pleasant dinner; ruined in the blink of an eye by Trafalgar D Law, of all people!
Him, and those two cronies of his. No sign of the other Heart Pirates, just those two.
"They weren't monsters, just human-looking freaks," he said aloud. He glanced down at his right hand, and seethed as he saw the state of his Winch Gauntlet. It was twitching and sparking, its housing bent and twisted open. He could see exposed and fayed wiring, pistons twisted and catching as they tried to move.
"I need to get a replacement, pronto!" he exclaimed. He stood up, and stepped to the edge of the turret in which he had landed.
And his jaw fell, as he saw what had become of his home.
Twenty minutes ago, as he went in for dinner, Germa Kingdom had been pristine. A kingdom of grass, stone, and steel, mighty towers reaching to the sky, carried on the backs of tireless snails; proud banners fluttering in the wind.
Now it was a ruin. Half the Snail Cruisers were lost, smoldering as they sank alone into Kaisafjord's cold waters. Those that remained had their towers smashed, their guns silenced. Towers of smoke rose everywhere he looked; and not a single building was intact. But how? The bitch and the black beast alone couldn't have done this!
"Is it…the self-destruct?" he asked aloud. He couldn't think of any other way this could happen, that they could lose so many snails that quickly. But who could be doing that? Who could be dashing from snail to snail, rigging the self-destructs, then getting out in time to avoid being blown up themselves?
It has to be Law's crew. Has to be!
A blur drew his attention to Vinsmoke Castle. He could just make out Niji, still battling with thatt horned woman; a dance of white and blue. Niji was attacking with all his power, lightning crackling around him; but the woman fought on, heedless of the danger.
Tough broad, he'll give her that. Pity she had to be the enemy.
A blaze of red nearby. Yonji looked, and saw a flash of red, crimson beams flickering all around it; and a mass of dark green tentacles, like some kind of hideous sea monster.
He gritted his teeth, willing himself to focus even as anger boiled over within him. Germa was wrecked, but not totally destroyed; and his brothers were still fighting. That meant there was a battle still to fight, a mission to complete. He was going to have to act on his own, just like with that big campaign against the four kings.
First things first, that meant a new prosthetic. That meant a quick detour to R&D, assuming it hadn't been destroyed. Only one way to find out.
He took off on his hover boots, dropping down. He would crush Law's face in, add that bitch's head to his trophy rack, and then help Ichiji finish off that green devil. The repairs were gonna take a while, but…
A roar filled his ears, like a thunderstorm up close. He paused, looking around, wondering what it could be. It hadn't come from inside the kingdom…it sounded distant, but not too far.
Then came an explosion, no, a storm of explosions; like hundreds of shells going off all at once. The buildings nearby erupted, and Yonji had to throw up his arms, covering himself with his cape to escape the flying debris.
It had been a long time since he'd heard something like this. Back during that campaign, during the big battles; when the artillery was going all-out.
"What the-?"
He flew away from the kingdom, away from the smoke and the dust clouds, out over the bay to get a better view.
And then his stomach dropped as he saw them. A great line of ships, moving slowly from an approaching path to a flanking path; right in front of the kingdom. As the ships passed, their guns roared; pouring fire and death into Germa. Three Massive Grand Line battleships, followed by dozens of cruisers and frigates; moving with disciplined, practiced perfection.
Yonji had seen a line of battle before. But only one fleet he had ever seen, in all the world, could do it half so well.
The Marines. The Marines had come to Germa, and they had come to destroy.
Could the day get any worse!?
Big thanks to the team once more. Juubi-K , IKnowNothing , WildJoker000 as always.
Also big thanks to Snowprince for the comic comm here(non Spacebattles people, come onto Spacebattles)! Izuku's Black Beast form was hard to jot down, but for the sake of the fist clash we decided on this. If I hit up Exagono for another comm may do Law's badass entrance and showcase that better me thinks. Wanted to capture the appearance of the Demon from Princess Mononoke, so may go for that.
But yeah, not even ten minutes in and the plan has now gone belly up thanks to Judge not even talking to Heavensword. What lack of communication does to a mfer. But yeah, we're in the most intense fight of the fic thanks to Judge sucrrying away.
The chapter did have Judge sort of being ragdolled, but IKN told me that while dealing cathartic justice to him just as Spandam sufferedi n Enies Lobby is nice, heis NOT Spandam, and he has more dignity as a King and a fighter, even if a dirty one. And you saw his composure crumble more and more over the fight.
One Piece's Egghead arc has concluded and overall I liked it, but has its issues with well, the plot armor certain characters have(Kuma looks ready to die, and Bonney got so many broken power ups). And some stupidity on the part of the Navy+WG but alas.
As for MHA's ending? I know a lot of people are up in arms but for me?
I liked it. Izuku's in his element in helping hero students with his analytical mind. And no one left him high and dry, he said "it's hard for ALL OF US" as in, all other 19 members of Class 1-a to get together. Im sure he's gotten together with some one on one or osme sort. Plus the friendships he made along the way paid off in getting his IronMan suit. Sort of like a 'Its a Wonderful Life' sort of thing.
Do I wish Izuku married Ochako or Mei? Sure. But alas, at least that damn gRape goblin didn't marry Momo THANK GOD. I would have been fucking livid like with Negima's ending if that had occured.
Anywho, hope you all enjoyed this! See you all in the next one