Chapter 19: Viva La Vida

Dymon D. Ciara

The sky was pure white. The air showed my breathing. I had a bad feeling in my spine.

"AHHH," I screamed. I was being pulled from a castle window by my legs. I held on for dear life. "Will somebody help me?!" My hook hand was close to breaking.

"I'm trying," yelled Luffy. He was shivering from the cold and nobody would lend him anything to wear. He wasn't helping much. He tried to punch King Wapol but he was too weak.

"How is he so strong," I yelled. "Aren't kings supposed to be lazy?!"

"He isn't usually this big either! It could be the effect of a drug," yelled Chopper. He was also attacking but was less effective than Luffy. "But I don't know any that would be this effective! Maybe Doctorine knows!"

"Nope," said Dr. Kureha. "I got no idea what caused this. Must be something made in the last fifty years. I don't have any recent medicine books."

I tried to think of what could cause this reaction. I came up with nothing. There was the stuff Sandra took but she didn't grow a hundred feet. It had to be something else.

The king pulled harder, my hook broke and I was pulled away from the window. The guy forced me into his mouth. I attempted to grab his lip to stay out but it was with my right hand. Needless to say, I failed. I heard Luffy scream my name as I went down the guy's throat.

It was dark but the stomach walls had light coming through, not enough to see. There was the constant smell of death. The stuff was moving.

"Hello," I said. It was a long shot, but if someone was there, they could help me.

"It's someone new," said a new voice. "What did you do to get swallowed?"

"I was squatting in the castle. How are you still alive?"

"I've been eating whatever Wapol swallows. I'm the only one here so it was easy. Everyone else was chewed up."

"Then why did I hear all that screaming earlier?"

"That's just gas escaping from Wapol's body," explained the stranger. "We did all we could to save him but he's just a walking corpse."

"Wait," I said. "Who are you and why are you working for this monster?"

"My name is Jenner. I'm one of Wapol's doctors. Or I should say his only doctor, as he has eaten all the others."

I felt around the stomach acids, there were at least a dozen people's worth of body parts. "Noted, how do we escape?"

"I don't know," said Jenner. "I'm just waiting for Wapol to fully die so I can crawl out his mouth." I was sure that wouldn't happen for a while.

"If you help me escape, I won't eat you." It was a lie, at the moment.

"My first idea is to destroy the stomach lining. This will lead to him melting from the inside out."

I punched the wall, it moved away when I touched it. I couldn't get a grip on it to tear it either. "It's too wet," I explained.

"I have another idea, but you may not like it."

"Trust me," I said. "It can't be worse than suffocating in a fat guy."

"We have to go through the Munch-Munch organ. It will combine us and force us out of the body."

"Explain," I said.

Jenner spent a few minutes explaining how Wapol ate the Munch-Munch Fruit and anything he eats can combine and get spit out. The combining is done with a special organ connected to his stomach and we just had to walk through. "It's the only option we have left if you can't rip through the stomach," he said. "I've tried everything else."

I immediately decided to go through with it. "But how will it affect us," I asked.

"That's usually decided by Wapol, but with his current condition, I think if I shout the specifications, it should work." He did explain why it would work, but I didn't care.

"Alright," I said. "My idea is I get your right hand and control of the body."

"Why do you think that's how it'll go down? Why not a small connection that be easily cut?"

"Because then it wouldn't be a hard decision. For one of us to have a normal life, the other guy has to lose his autonomy," I said, cracking my knuckles. "And you're not in the position to be making demands."

"Ok," said Jenner. "You'll be in charge." He led me to the organ. It took a long time to find it.

"I just need to yell out the order," he said. "One human body! The female human is dominant! Etcetera etcetera." I shouldn't have to mention that he said quite a bit more, I simply don't remember.

"What if it doesn't work," I asked.

"Do you care," he asked, fear evident in his voice. "You're dead either way. Now do it before I change my mind."

"Fair enough," I said as I picked up the doctor and walked into the organ.

After a long process that I would rather not explain, I emerged from the mouth of the king. I fell a long way and hit the floor. I got up quickly.

I checked myself over. I had a full surgeon's suit on. I was completely dry for some reason. I felt warm behind the mask and surgical gloves. Was this what that guy was wearing in the stomach?

"Yes it was," said Jenner, he sounded pretty gloomy. Wait, he shouldn't be around here. "I'm inside your mind."

"Great," I said. "Now shut up."

"Ciara," Luffy yelled as he hugged me. "I thought you died!"

"Hey," I said. "Getting swallowed whole wouldn't kill me." I was slightly surprised at how often it happened. I was up to three times in a month.

I looked at King Wapol. I gave my hand a stretch and put my fists up.

"You got your hand back," yelled Luffy.

"What," yelled Chopper. "How is that possible?!"

"I'll explain later," I said. I walked to the king while reeling back a punch, and sent it into his shin.

The king doubled over. I shattered his ankle. He made no sounds of pain or discomfort, but he couldn't stand.

It took me a little bit to realize it, but I was much stronger. Combined with that doctor guy must've mended all my broken bones, organs, and missing bits of my brain.

I felt amazing, but that's where a problem emerged. Feeling good should make me weaker.

I guess I have to explain my devil fruit power. Pain-Pain Fruit, more pain more power. This includes emotional pain. So no injuries combined with an elated sense of self should mean I'm as strong as a normal human. I was getting power from some other source. I didn't have time to find it, though.

I punched out Wapol's other ankle and he tipped over. I kicked his chest and sent him over the edge of the mountain. He was someone else's problem. I then thought about my predicament.

While I was thinking, Luffy wrapped his arms around me and started celebrating. I ignored this.

I was feeling happy, but I got stronger from sadness. Was someone else sad inside of me?

"I'm right here," said Jenner. "I gave up my autonomy so a greedy pirate could live and kill my only patient. I've never felt so depressed."

Wait a minute, did he have access to my memories? Stay away from those! There's my first kiss, my first time with a lady, and the secret of how I snuck into the Tower of Tears! That last one was most precious to me.

"Don't worry," said Jenner. "It's not like I can tell anybody about what I see. And if we're gonna be together, then we can't have secrets." Later on, we discussed the terms of him living in my head, and he simply said that if I could find the piece of my brain he's in, then I was more than welcome to scoop him out. In the meantime, he would do what wanted.

"How did you do that," asked Chopper. "You grew a hand and you're suddenly much stronger." He had the childlike wonder of someone who had just seen their first rainbow. I didn't feel like explaining anything, mostly because I didn't remember.

"That's a good question," I said. "I might tell you in a few days."

"What do you mean?"

TO BE CONTINUED...