Chapter 19: Down in Yon Forest
Footsteps, thundering through the snow from behind him. Branches snapping as his pursuer pushed them out of his way. Usopp didn't dare look back for a moment, so focused on the terrain ahead of him to ensure that he wouldn't make a single misstep as he ran for his life. The fact he wasn't screaming with terror as he ran was a testament to his sheer willpower. Without looking back at Chess, he had only the sounds to go off to know if he was still behind him or not.
An arrow being pulled out of a quiver, then the string of a bow being drawn back. He heard those sounds coming from behind him, still a distance away, and he threw his top half forwards just before an arrow whizzed overhead and embedded itself in a tree up ahead of him. Bending over like he was nearly made him lose balance and topple over, but with some frantic waving of his arms he was able to keep upright and maintain his speed.
The slingshot he had used to bring this whole thing crashing down on him was in his right hand, while his left was empty. It was difficult for him to reach up and unzip the thick green coat he was wearing, with how much his hands and the zipper both shook from fear and movement alike, but he got it done nonetheless to reach into one of the pockets found within which so many handy items had been hastily stored in before he left the Merry.
Chess nocked and drew back another arrow, and this time Usopp leaped to the side to take cover behind a thick tree. The shot never came, though, and so he took the chance to run in the direction he had jumped in. Coming out from behind the tree trunk, he could see he was now running in a perpendicular direction to Chess, whose eyes zeroed in on him the moment he stepped out from cover. The archer tried to aim his bow, but Usopp was faster.
"EXPLODING STAR!" He shouted. With expert aim, he fired a gunpowder pellet from his slingshot which struck the snowy ground just in front of the running Chess. The explosion wasn't especially strong, at least not enough to harm the archer or even knock him off his feet, but it did kick up a large cloud of snow before his very eyes, and the projectile made him skid to a stop to avoid running directly into it. Then, without hesitation, Usopp grabbed another projectile from his pockets. Unlike the previous one, this one shone with a metallic exterior.
Through the cloud of snow, he narrowed his eyes at where Chess' bowstring was. Pulling the ball bearing back in his slingshot, he let it loose just as the snow began to fall again. And just as Chess could see the sniper once again, the ball bearing punched right through the string of his bow and the hand with which he had pulled the string back with found itself without any resistance. He punched himself in the face with the arrow grasped between his fingers, luckily not held in a way that would have turned his self-harm decidedly more lethal.
There was enough distance between the two that Usopp was unable to hear the curses that Chess spat as he hastily tried to repair his bow, and that distance only grew as Usopp took off running through the snow again. He didn't look back, but did note the absence of the sound of Chess' pursuit. It didn't make him run any slower, of course, but he did breathe a sigh of relief. So relieved was he that he lowered his gaze.
When he raised it again, he was met with the sight of a furry white paw that would have been practically invisible against the snow and which was swinging right towards his face. Usopp let out a terrified scream and leaned back, playing an impromptu game of limbo as he continued running beneath the furred limb and then straightened himself up again once he came out on the other side. This time, he did look behind him, and saw that the limb belonged to what appeared to be an enormous white rabbit the size of a bear.
The lapahn, though he was unaware that they were called that, glared at him with a pair of predatory red eyes. Their gazes locked for a second, before his head snapped back around to look forwards and he managed to find it within himself to run even faster. The lapahn lowered itself onto all fours, and took off after him.
Its sudden arrival was hardly an isolated incident, however, as over where Chess was restringing his bow, a trio of lapahns arrived to approach him from all directions. A scowl found itself onto his face as he halted his actions, and instead reached back into his quiver to retrieve a pair of arrows for himself. He held them together in one hand, while he laid his bow down on the ground to free up his other hand and retrieve a match.
"Damn lapahns." He grumbled as he lit the match and set the arrowheads of both arrows alight, which he quickly split between both hands in order to hold them out like a pair of torches. The lapahns slowed their approach, showing some hesitance as a result of the flames, but they did not retreat. And looking out beyond them, into the snowy forest, Chess was able to make out more of their number which seemed to be approaching. His scowl only grew.
'It looks like you live another day, traitor.' He thought.
The heat from his lighter tickled Sanji's skin as he raised its meagre flame to the cigarette poking out between his lips. His other hand was cupped, shielding it from the elements, but once the cigarette was lit and he could take a long, satisfying drag, he lowered his hand and flicked the lighter closed to return it to his pocket. While Nami had elected to stay inside Dalton's home where it was warmer, he'd placed himself outside, with his gaze off in the direction of the village that the absent three had set out for.
As he stood out in the snow and smoked his cigarette, he thought back to an encounter which had taken place some time earlier that day, shortly after Kureha had come to pick up Spruce. A panicked man had come charging through the snow, running like his life depended on it, and nearly ploughed right through the door to Dalton's home before Sanji stopped him. His words were jumbled but he was able to get across that he was after Dalton, so Sanji pointed him in the right direction and the man ran off. Now, with that brief excitement having since passed, Sanji wondered what had worried the man so much.
Those thoughts were quickly interrupted, however, by the sound of thundering hooves approaching rapidly. Focusing in on the here and now, Sanji's eyes lit up at the sight of Vivi as she steered Dalton's sledge towards the house. She brought it to a gradual stop, just a few metres away from where Sanji was standing. The chef was quick to bounce across the snow to be at her side as she dismounted, with Bonbon hopping off behind her.
"The doctor, did she come by?" Was the first thing Vivi asked, the seriousness in her voice quickly calming Sanji down from his antics prematurely.
"She did." He nodded and glanced back at the empty sledge, "Did a man happen to run into you, looking for Dalton?"
"He did!" She said, "Right, I guess it makes sense he would have come here first."
"I was wondering what could have had him in such a state." He commented, "But seeing as Luffy's gone as well… it's that Wapol guy, isn't it? He came back."
"And now he's attacking a village somewhere else on the island." She said, "Dalton went off to stop him, then Luffy went after him to fight Wapol."
Sanji nodded as he took another long drag of his cigarette, turning his face away from Vivi before exhaling the smoke. He glanced back at the house, spotting Nami through the window sitting at a table and looking contemplative. And beautiful, of course, but that was a given.
"Why don't we go inside, where it's warmer, Vivi-dear?" Sanji suggested, "You can tell both of us about what's going on."
"Right." She said. He walked ahead of her and held the door open, feeling the rush of hot air from inside, and beckoned her and Bonbon both inside before entering himself and closing the door behind them. At their arrival, Vivi's in particular, Nami was quick to rise to her feet.
"Vivi!" She exclaimed, eyes seeming to light up at her appearance, but they just as quickly focused on the closed door behind her. Glancing from it to the window and the empty sledge outside, she didn't waste time before asking, "Where's Luffy? And Dalton, too?"
"They both went to go fight." Vivi said, "It's Wapol, he's back."
"That ex-king freak who we ran into before?" Nami said, "He found his way back here already? Guess that means Luffy gets his wish after all."
"But if he's back, that probably means that massive ship and all those soldiers are back as well." Sanji said.
"It'd be a problem if they ransacked the ship while it was mostly unattended." Vivi said, "I was wondering if we should go to check the others are alright?"
"As long as Mosshead's there, they'll be fine." Sanji said, "I'm more concerned about Spruce. If Wapol returns to his castle, he'll find him there with nobody else around but his Pokémon and the doctor."
For a moment, Vivi almost wanted to mirror Sanji's earlier sentiments about Zoro, but stopped herself.
'If he's recovering from his sickness, he'd probably be in an especially vulnerable position…'
"Bonsly…" Bonbon murmured, voicing the same sentiment as what her trainer was thinking.
"He should be safe if there are no ways up the mountain, right?" Was what she said instead.
"Actually, I think it's likely that there is some kind of hidden passage or ropeway up the mountain." Nami interjected, "As much as looks can be deceiving, the doctor's reindeer didn't give the impression of something that could actually fly."
"Not to mention that Wapol might have his own method of climbing it." Sanji added.
"What do you think we should do then?" Vivi said.
"Well…" Sanji said, "It wouldn't sit right with me to just sit back while I knew my captain was picking a fight, but I also can't leave you two lovely ladies unprotected while a dangerous group like that is on the island."
"Then I guess we'll all just have to go pay a visit to…" Nami trailed off and looked at Vivi, "Do you know where it was Luffy ran off to?"
"A village called Gyasta." She answered, "It would be… north of this village."
"Gyasta." Nami said, "I'm starting to think this crew is some kind of a trouble magnet. We can't go to one island without Luffy running into someone worth picking a fight with…"
The navigator let out a somewhat melodramatic sigh and headed for the door. Sanji was, of course, quick to get ahead of her and hold it open for her like a gentleman, as well as for Vivi who hurriedly followed Nami back out into the snow along with Bonbon. Shutting the two behind the three of them, Sanji joined them in climbing back into Dalton's sledge. Together, the group of three humans and two Pokémon set off for Gyasta.
"I see… so you want Chopper to come and join the crew as the doctor?"
With the fireplace burning brightly to warm the room they were in, Spruce sat up in bed and addressed Ria, who was sitting cross-legged at the foot of the bed, while Pex had perched himself on the frame as usual. His arms were crossed and his head was tilted as he mulled over her words, and she gave an affirmative nod to his question.
"Lu!"
"I dunno, that would be a pretty big step up from thinking he can't be friends with humans." Spruce said, "You don't send a Cherubi down to the beach for a swim. Besides, what about that doctor? It's not very polite of us to try and steal her assistant after she helped me out!"
"Riolu!" She retorted, "Rio Riolu Lu Riolu!"
"But I actually wanted to!" He said, "The stuff with Mercury was the only reason I couldn't leave."
"Ravia." Pex chimed in.
"I know we need one, that doesn't change things!" Spruce said, "Why are you even bringing this to me, anyway? I'm stuck in bed, and it's Luffy's decision anyway."
"Riolu." Ria said. Spruce raised a finger to object.
"That's…" He trailed off, "Okay, that's probably true. Either that or eating him, I guess…"
"Riolu… Lu?" Ria replied with a smirk. The reply Spruce went to give her was cut off by the sound of cackling coming from the doorway, and both trainer and Pokémon looked over to see Kureha leaning against the open door with her arms crossed.
"Kak Kak Kak…" She cackled, "Here I was, starting to doubt you were really a pirate, all the while you've been scheming to steal away my reindeer."
"I'm sorry." Spruce apologised, "This one here just got it in her head. I wouldn't want to try and take away someone you care about, at least not without asking you first."
"Don't apologise." She said, "Take him if you want him!"
"Ravia?" Pex blinked. Kureha stood up and closed the door behind her, before going over and grabbing a chair to sit herself across from Spruce's bedside. She leaned back and kicked one leg over the other, then turned her head to face him.
"But it won't be easy to convince him." She said, "There's a deep wound in his heart, one that not even a doctor can heal."
"I know, I felt it." Spruce said, "He said that reindeers and humans couldn't be friends. If it's alright for me to ask, who was it that left that wound?"
The question left Kureha silent for a couple of seconds. Turning away and letting out a deep breath, there was a heavy look in her eyes as she started to delve into an explanation.
"When Chopper was born, his parents abandoned him because of his blue nose. Even when he was little, he had to walk all on his own, far behind the rest of the herd."
"I see…" Spruce murmured. His gaze drifted across from the two Pokémon currently out of their Pokeballs, who both shared solemn looks at the new information, and then down to where Whiskers' Pokeball was fastened at his waist beneath the covers. He could almost picture the distraught look on his face.
"Then one day," Kureha continued, "he ate that Devil Fruit. The other reindeer mocked him, and treated him like a freak, before finally casting him out. Even though he couldn't fit in with other reindeer anymore, he still longed for companionship, so he decided to go live with humans in their village."
"And they didn't accept him either, did they?" Spruce guessed.
"They took it a step further than even the reindeer did." She said, "He didn't understand what he'd done wrong, or who to blame. All he wanted was friendship, but they called him a monster. He wasn't a reindeer anymore, but he wasn't human either. Chopper's been alone his whole life."
"I can't imagine…" Spruce said. His eyes seemed to drift away, staring off into the distance as recollections overtook him, but he was snapped back to reality by the feeling of Ria clamouring onto his lap and shoving herself against his chest. He blinked, then smiled and wrapped an arm around her.
"Do you really think you can heal his heart?" Kureha challenged. Glancing over at him, a smile poked at the corners of her mouth as she saw the show of affection for herself.
"To be honest, I don't know." Spruce admitted, "But I know someone who was treated similarly to him. Different from his family, abused and cast out because he couldn't fit in…"
"Is that so?" Kureha said, glancing down at Ria, and then over at where Pex was perched.
"Everyone heals differently, but I think that Chopper probably needs someone to reach out to him." Spruce said, "Someone to tell him that he's accepted and cared for the way that he is."
"There was someone, actually." Kureha said, "A man who Chopper cared for, long ago."
'Was.' Spruce thought. He squeezed Ria even tighter, who squeezed him back in turn.
"There used to be a quack named Dr. Hiriluk." She continued, "He gave Chopper his name and treated him like a son."
That seemed to be the end of what she had wanted to share, as after letting her words hang in the air for a moment, she rose from her seat. Spruce's eyes remained downcast, not noticing as she walked back over to the door, but just before she could place her hand on the knob, he called out to stop her.
"One more thing, doctor." He said.
"Hm?" She turned around to see that the melancholy in his eyes had faded, replaced now by a sharp gaze that seemed to pierce right through her.
"Earlier, when I called Chopper a Pokémon, you never asked me to explain what I meant by that." He said, "You just told me that he wasn't one."
"Oh, did I?" She said as a smirk gradually appeared on her face. Spruce's eyes narrowed, and both Ria and Pex were staring curiously at her.
"Doctor, you know, don't you?" He said, "What Pokémon are."
For a moment, the two stared at each other, with Spruce's accusation hanging in the air. Mischief glimmered in Kureha's eyes before she answered.
"Did you forget what I said, boy?" She replied, "You've got a lot to learn about the world! Kak Kak Kak!"
The cackling Kureha turned away from him and took her exit through the doorway, leaving Spruce and his Pokémon to sit and stew in everything that she had said.
There hadn't been any more resistance after Dalton fell. What few remaining soldiers he hadn't struck down, as well as the doctors of the Isshi-20, stood around the ruined village idly. None of them dared stand closer than three meters away from their former-commander's body, with looks of apprehension and shame mixed in amongst the population. The doctors of the Isshi-20, especially, seemed particularly weighed-down by such feelings.
Of course, there was no such feelings in the slightest residing in the hearts of Wapol, Mr. 2 or Kuromarimo. The trio lounged about in the snow, with Wapol sat atop Robson and Kuromarimo on the destroyed wall from Mr. 2 and Dalton's fight previously, while Mr. 2 did some light stretches nearby. Though none were the least bit ashamed of the state Dalton had been unceremoniously left in the middle of the street in, the two who better knew him seemed bored now in the aftermath of the fight. Wapol picked at his nose with his pinky finger, while Kuromarimo bounced his leg impatiently and glanced out towards the nearby forest every few seconds.
"Why is it taking Chess so long to finish off one measly little traitor?" He grumbled.
"Probably lapahns." Wapol said, "Nuisances they are."
"Shall I go lend my assistance, buddy?" Mr. 2 offered sweetly, only for Wapol to shake his head.
"No! You need to stick around, to be ready for if that damn Straw Hat shows his-"
From off in the distance, in the opposite direction as where Chess and Usopp had run off in, a yell burst out.
"GUM-GUM…!"
"-face." Wapol finished.
"Well, speak of the devil." Kuromarimo said.
Footsteps thundered through the snow, and branches rustled and snapped as someone approached rapidly from amongst the trees. The soldiers who had been standing idly all stood to attention in an instant, readying their weapons and aiming them in the direction of the oncoming foe, only for Kuromarimo to raise a hand beckoning them to lower them. It was an order that served to confuse a good deal of them, but with which they nonetheless obliged, instead allowing Mr. 2 to waltz on over into their enemy's path. His smile was eager, matched only by that of Wapol as he assumed the position of an eager spectator once again.
Clad in a red coat and his trademark hat, Luffy came charging out from the forest. As he ran as fast as he could throw the snow, one arm trailed behind him, stretching to an incredible length at such a speed that it was actually getting further away from them even as he dragged it behind him. Just as he came into their sight, though, so too did they come into his, and Mr. 2 saw the way that his gaze immediately singled out Wapol sitting on top of Robson. That was when he yelled out the next bit.
"PISTOL!"
The rubbery limb snapped forwards like an elastic band, sending the powerful fist attached at the end rocketing forwards past its owner and straight in the direction of Wapol's face. It shot through the air with such speed, akin to the namesake of the attack, that Mr. 2's eyes widened, but he was just as quick into action regardless. Leaping off the snowy ground, he twirled around in the air before kicking a leg out just as Luffy's fist passed by him. The tip of his foot struck part of the arm just below the wrist, knocking the attack a few degrees off-course, so that rather than Wapol's face, it connected with the exterior of the ruined house. Like punching drywall, it tore straight through the wall and managed to embed itself in the floor.
"HEY!" Kuromarimo yelled, as the redirected attack had been only a few feet off from connecting with his head. He shot up from where he was seated and scrambled over towards Wapol, while Luffy yanked his fist out of the hole in the floor and reached back to grab onto the hole in the wall which he hadn't made. Using it to anchor himself, he jumped up and let his arm shrink back to its original length, yanking him over to the house and closer to where Wapol was. He landed outside it and let go, so his arm could finish returning to normal, then he slammed his fist into an open palm.
"Mouth guy!" He called out, "Hair guy! And…"
He addressed each person of at least semi-importance by name, turning his gaze on them in turn, but then trailed off as he looked at Mr. 2. They could all see the cogs turning in his brain as he tried to recall any instance of having met someone with as unique an appearance as the ballet-dancing assassin.
"We haven't met yet." Mr. 2 told him.
"Swan guy!" Luffy decided, "I owe you guys a beating for last time!"
"You owe us a beating?!" Wapol gaped, "You filthy pirates are the ones who dared assault my royal personage the last time we met, with that grotesque serpent pet of yours! I'm going to cook each and every one of you filthy pirates until you're well done, then have you for dinner!"
"Shut up! Don't call Whiskers groceries!" Luffy said, "Now I'm gonna beat you up twice!"
"Oh really?" Kuromarimo interjected, "Think again, pirate! Dalton was the mightiest warrior on all of Drum Island, and even he couldn't stop us!"
As if to demonstrate his point, Kuromarimo gestured at where the former-commander's body laid in the crimson snow. Slowly, Luffy turned his head in the direction he was pointing in, and his eyes widened at the sight. His head whipped back around as he gave the three of them a once-over, which ended with a glare aimed at Mr. 2.
"You're the guy who did that, aren't you?" He accused.
"Why yes, that would be me." Mr. 2 said, taking a small bow, "And you should know that I'm not 'Swan guy', or even 'Swan gal'! I'm the one known as Mr. 2."
"2!" Luffy gasped. He furrowed his brow and hastily began counting on his fingers, before pointing an accusatory one at him, "You're like those other bad guys, the ones trying to destroy Vivi's country!"
"Destroy Vivi's country…?" Kuromarimo muttered, "Hold on, is he talking about…?"
"Don't be so cocky just because you got the better of Mr. 3!" Mr. 2 warned, "I've trained relentlessly, day after day, year after year, all to perfect my Okama Kenpo! A simple pirate like you could never, ever surpass me!"
"Yeah, that's right! You tell him, Mr. 2 Bon Clay!" Wapol cheered.
"I'm gonna beat you all up because I'm a pirate!" Luffy retorted, "Not like you bunch of fakers!"
"Please, don't remind me." Wapol groaned, "What an absolute torture, having to sail around under such a putrid flag! Do you know how unbecoming that was, for a king like myself?"
"A stupid king like you never deserved to fly that pirate flag in the first place!" Luffy said, "It's a flag about pride, and putting your life on the line for the sake of being free! A dumb coward like you could never get that!"
"That flag means nothing!" Wapol said, shooting to his feet and glaring at Luffy, "Listen closely, Straw Hat! People in this world are born differently! Some, like you pirates, are born as gutter trash whose only purpose in life is to serve at the behest of great kingly kings like myself! Because you are a pirate and I am a king, it means I am above you! That is why you're going to die here, for committing the unforgiveable crime of opposing me!"
"You tell him, your majesty!" Mr. 2 yelled with a pumped fist.
"You think you're better than me?" Luffy said.
"In every conceivable way!" Wapol spat.
"You're wrong." Luffy said. His gaze hardened as he fixed Wapol with a look more frigid than the snow they were standing in, and he brought his hands together to slowly crack his knuckles. Despite Wapol's demeanour, something deep inside of him trembled at the sound of each crack.
"I'm way tougher than you are." Luffy said, "GUM-GUM PISTOL!"
Then he was throwing a fist back and his arm was stretching. In an instant he was on his feet, darting through the snow straight towards where Wapol was now standing while his limb extended behind him. His trio of enemies were all startled by the suddenness of his movement, with Kuromarimo diving away from Luffy while Wapol was frozen in place, leaving Mr. 2 to be the one who dashed over to intercept.
Leaping through the air, he struck Luffy's wrist just as the attack snaped forwards, deflecting it away from Wapol's face yet again as he landed atop Robson in front of the king. Before Luffy's limb was even able to return, Mr. 2 jumped forwards, landing in the snow in front of him. Luffy came to a skidding stop to avoid bowling the both of them over, just in time for Mr. 2's fist to come shooting towards him.
"OH, DON'T MIND MY KNUCKLE!" He bellowed, which Luffy seemed to heed, as he allowed the fist to strike him directly in the face. It dug in, creating an imprint in his stretchy skin as it jerked his head back, only for his body to snap back into place and fling the attack right back into the attacker. Mr. 2 staggered back after accidentally punching himself in the face, wincing and rubbing his stinging cheek as he did so. As amusing as such a sight was, Luffy didn't let it delay him in following up. He pushed forwards and reared back as his fist, and Mr. 2 let out a yelp as he had to lunge out of the way of the oncoming punch which just radiated power, which was followed up by Luffy spinning himself around and thrusting a leg out to slam the sole of his foot into his opponent's chest.
The attack came too swiftly for Mr. 2 to evade it again, but he was able to reposition his arms- though rather than trying to block it, he instead slapped a hand against his cheek in order to transform before Luffy's very eyes. Instead of striking the nimble man with a face caked in makeup, his kick instead impacted solidly against a thick, muscular abdomen, which may as well have been stone for how much resistance it provided against the attack.
"Woah!" Luffy exclaimed, lowering his leg as he jumped back from the sudden display of transformative abilities.
"Do you like it?!" Mr. 2 taunted, his voice now identical to the transformed Dalton's as he spoke, "This is the power of my Clone-Clone fruit, which allows me to take on the appearances of anybody I come into contact with! It's an ability that's perfect for stealth and trickery, but I appear to have found a use for it in combat, too!"
"That's right, Straw Hat!" Wapol jeered, "Thanks to his ultra-amazing ability, my friend here is now just as strong as the Zoan-using Dalton!"
"That guy?" Luffy said, glancing over at the fallen warrior in question, "Huh. I didn't realise he had a power like that."
"You might be strong, but even you can't hope to measure up against a Zoan Devil-!" Mr. 2 began, only to be cut off.
"GUM-GUM PISTOL!"
Luffy hurled his arm back, letting it stretch out several feet before yanking it forwards to nail Mr. 2 right in the chin with a vicious punch that sent him staggering back on his feet. It almost knocked him onto his back completely, and it was only thanks to his impeccable sense of balance he was able to regain his footing. Now, though, there was a flash of fear in his eyes.
"That… that hurt!" He gasped.
"What?!" Kuromarimo said, "But- but you should be as strong as Dalton! Are you saying this pirate brat is that strong?!"
"I told you I was tougher than you." Luffy deadpanned. He threw another elastic punch in Mr. 2's direction, aiming for his face once again, but he was able to jerk his head out of the way. Rather than letting his arm retract, however, Luffy instead let it keep stretching until it had found something to grab onto in the distance. Hopping up, he yanked himself forwards into Mr. 2, bringing his knee slamming into his jaw as he did. He continued past him, as the blow knocked his head to the side, and then let go.
While his momentum pulled him along through the air, Luffy twisted his torso around in order to look back at Mr. 2, who stumbled as a result of the strike. With a sharp kick against the air with both legs, the limbs stretched out and snagged Mr. 2 around the waist. They coiled together tightly, serving to anchor their owner in place, and yank him back the way he had come once his momentum had carried him as far as it would.
"GUM-GUM…"
As well as his legs, Luffy's neck stretched, distancing his head from the rest of his body until the momentum of his body, which had been what was stretching him in the first place, ran its course. For a brief instant he remained, limbs stretched out into the proportions of a rubber chicken, and then his rubbery body snapped back into place.
"BELL!"
Yanked along by his rubbery body, Luffy's head came shooting straight towards Mr. 2 like a projectile launched from a catapult. The legs coiled around the assassin's waist ensured he couldn't move his body out of the path of the attack, and there was less than a second which he had to act.
Having seen what Luffy was aiming to do before he had done it, Mr. 2's hand had already been in motion. The instant after his head began to move, he touched his fingers against his cheek and instantaneously transformed back into his own form. Limbs which had been coiled so tightly around him immediately fell to the ground limply, allowing him to jump up and out of the way of Luffy's enhanced headbutt. Instead of skin, Luffy's cranium struck the snow beneath their feet and was met with little resistance. He buried himself face-first all the way to the base of his neck, while Mr. 2 landed behind him and quickly hopped several feet away.
It took Luffy both hands planted firmly against the ground to shove himself back out of the snow with a desperate gasp for air, all while Mr. 2 reached up to once again remove the pair of swan slippers from his shoulders and equip them to his feet. Luffy shook the snow off himself vigorously and turned around to see his opponent posing dramatically with his weapons now equipped.
"OKAMA KENPO: PRIMA BALLERINA!"
"That looks stupid." Luffy told him without hesitation, which made Mr. 2 fall to his knees in absolute despair.
"SHUT UP!" Wapol bellowed, "HIS ULTIMATE TECHNIQUE LOOKS FORMIDABLE AND GRACEFUL AT THE SAME TIME!"
The words of encouragement were enough to counteract the effect of Luffy's insult, and Mr. 2 flew to his feet and struck the dramatic fighting pose once again.
"But first, let me tell you this." Mr. 2 said, "The one on your right is a male-"
"GUM-GUM…"
Such gendering of his slippers was unfortunately cut off as Luffy threw a fist back, letting it stretch several feet before hurling it straight towards Mr. 2's stomach.
"PISTOL!"
With a startled yelp, Mr. 2 hopped onto one foot and swung his body to the side so that Luffy's fist only met air. He stuck his other leg out as a counterweight, balancing precariously in the snow for a second before spinning himself around with his own wobbliness in order to leap up into the air with a graceful twirl and fire off a quick jab with the tip of his slipper aimed at Luffy's extended arm.
As he saw what Mr. 2 was doing, Luffy grabbed his arm with his free hand and, as it already began to retract to its original length, swing it out of the way of Mr. 2's attack like it were a length of rope. The beak of the swan, which extended from the force of Mr. 2's kick, still managed to graze the surface of the arm, ripping through the fabric of his coat sleeve and opening a shallow gash in the arm itself. Luffy grimaced as his arm returned to its normal length and he could spare a moment to examine the new wound.
"Surprised?" Mr. 2 taunted, "My swan slippers have limber necks and beaks of steel! With the power of my Okama Kenpo concentrated into a single point, its destructive capabilities are drastically increased. You can think of my kicks as the shots from a rifle."
"I don't need dumb slippers to hit like that!" Luffy said, "GUM-GUM… BULLET!"
He took off running across the snow, closing in on Mr. 2 in a second. As he ran, his arm stretched behind him, and he brought it rocketing forwards fist-first as he came within range of Mr. 2. The assassin was quick to tap a hand to his cheek and transform once again, taking on Dalton's transformed form and strafing to the side with such speed that Luffy's attack was left with an afterimage of him to strike. Similar afterimages appeared all around Luffy, as Mr. 2 pushed his copied body's speed to its limit and encircled the pirate.
It was a menacing sight, that was for certain, but Luffy didn't seem bothered in the slightest by it. His gaze focused in on the swan slippers which had stretched to accommodate Mr. 2's larger feet, and after a couple of seconds of Mr. 2's show of speed, he visibly relaxed and gave the assassin a smirk.
"I've figured it out." He announced. A moment later, Mr. 2- the real one, not an afterimage- came to a stop right behind Luffy. With a tap on the cheek, he returned to his normal form and struck.
"UN! DEUX!"
The first kick was aimed high, going straight for Luffy's vitals, and he quickly brought his leg back in order to deliver a follow-up attack, which was aimed towards his abdomen. Neither hit their target. Pivoting around on his feet, Luffy faced the first kick from the side as it pierced nothing but air, then he took a step back to let the second kick hit the same target. And before Mr. 2 could lower the offending limb again, he leaned in and drove his fist directly into the assassin's gut.
Droplets of blood flew from Mr. 2's open mouth, frozen in a visage of pain, as the attack sent him skidding back across the snow clutching the area where Luffy had struck. From where they were watching the fight, Wapol's face was knotted up with concern, while Kuromarimo squeezed his arms tightly, trying to hide his own nervousness.
"You might be able to make yourself tougher by transforming," Luffy said as he slowly walked towards Mr. 2, "but whenever you attack, you turn back into yourself. You're only used to fighting with your normal body, aren't you?"
"So… you figured it out after all…" Mr. 2 wheezed.
"Are you okay, buddy?!" Wapol called out, voice fraught with worry.
"I'm fine, buddy!" Mr. 2 reassured him, holding a placating palm out. He pulled the other hand away from his stomach and stood up straighter, clenching his jaw and narrowing his eyes with concentration, "But I think it may be time we gave that a try!"
It took Wapol a great deal of self-control to restrain himself and not cram into his mouth the fourth sketch of Straw Hat which he had been handed by his newfound friend. The duo of former-king and assassin stood across from each other on the deck of the Bliking, while Kuromarimo and Chess stood off to the side and listened in as Mr. 2 rattled off information about the pictured pirate. They had in their hands a stack of similar sketches, of all the other members of the Straw Hat crew that his unknown benefactor had been able to get information on.
"He's a Devil Fruit user, like you and me." He said, "He's proven himself to be a cut above the average pirate as well."
"A Devil Fruit?!" Chess exclaimed, "What's his ability?"
"It's a Paramecia, one that seems to let him stretch his body." Mr. 2 said.
"At least it's not a Zoan." Kuromarimo said.
"What a useless sounding ability." Wapol scoffed, before inhaling the sketch and swallowing it whole. Behind Mr. 2, a flamboyantly dressed flunky who was holding a pencil and sketchpad let out a groan.
"Any Devil Fruit ability can be deadly if used competently." Mr. 2 said, "And so far, Straw Hat's managed to overpower several other ability-users. It would be a bad idea to underestimate him and his crew."
"Does that mean you have a plan for dealing with him?" Kuromarimo asked.
"Well!" Mr. 2 said, "If, somehow, my incredible Okama Kenpo isn't enough to handle him, then there's always that one surefire way to handle anyone with a Devil Fruit ability."
Both Kuromarimo and Chess' eyes lit up. Wapol tilted his head.
"That's right." Chess nodded.
"There is that one way…" Kuromarimo added.
"I don't get it, what are we talking about?" Wapol said. His magistrate and minister both cringed in unison.
"The sea, your majesty." Chess said, "He's saying that Straw Hat can be drowned."
"Oh. Oh yeah, I knew that!"
"And in fact," Mr. 2 said as his eyes began to shine with malice, "I can think of a few interesting ways that our new friendship can make that happen."
"YOU BETCHA, BUDDY!" Wapol said. He pumped his fist and gave Mr. 2 a thumbs-up, before scrunching his eyes up in concentration, "MUNCH-MUNCH FACTORY!"
Before the very eyes of everyone involved, Wapol's body transformed in a similar way to how Dalton's had- except that instead of fur and muscle appearing on his body, it was instead plates of metal and a large cannon. He grew several magnitudes in both height and width in order to accommodate for the weapon that was now poking out from his abdomen, surrounded by a torso of metal. Oddly enough, there seemed to be a thin metal chain poking out of the cannon's barrel, with a single manacle attached to the end. Both were made of an alloy which none present, save for their creator, could identify.
"Woah!" Luffy gasped, "That's so cool!"
"Don't insult him!" Mr. 2 barked, "Using his Munch-Munch power to transform looks awe- wait, that's what you said."
"Huh?" Luffy blinked.
"Erm- anyway." Mr. 2 coughed awkwardly, "GET READY, BUDDY! WE'RE GONNA FINISH OFF THIS PIRATE TOGETHER!"
"It doesn't matter if all three of you fight together, you still can't beat me!" Luffy said.
Mr. 2 went silent as he tapped his cheek and transformed back into Dalton. As soon as he had the limbs powerful enough to do it, he took off in a circle around Luffy again, creating a ring of afterimages that made it impossible to tell where he was at any one moment. For a brief second, the afterimages thinned out, and there was a jangling of metal which drew Luffy's attention to the fact that Mr. 2 had, in one quick dash, grabbed the end of the metal chain poking out from Wapol's cannon and carried it over as he continued to run around him.
With how fast he moved, even the jangles from the chain did little to give away his position at any one moment, instead becoming a chaotic mess of metal scraping and bouncing against itself that assaulted Luffy's ears from all directions. His brow furrowed and he craned his neck slightly, turning his ear out towards the sound. As the moments passed on by, and Mr. 2 continued his repetitive motions without letting up, Luffy slowly started to raise his fist. Then, as if some quota had been met, he went from slow to fast in an instant and hurled his arm back.
"Found you." He declared.
"Found you." Mr. 2 replied smugly. For a moment, he came to a stop right in front of Luffy- just for a moment, but long enough for the pirate to see him standing there- and in that moment Luffy threw his punch. And then Mr. 2 dashed straight forwards, and straight past Luffy with the metal chain still in his hands. Luffy faintly registered the sensation of cold metal pressing into his skin as Mr. 2 clamped the manacle around his wrist as it went by him, and without wasting a moment turned his head to yell to Wapol:
"NOW!"
BOOM!
A tremendous explosion bellowed out from the abdominal cannon, letting fly a cannonball to which the chain and manacle fastened around Luffy's which were attached to. It was not with the force of an ordinary cannon that the cannonball was fired, though. The power of Wapol's cannon dwarfed an ordinary one by several magnitudes, sending the ball rocketing through the air at a breakneck velocity. Luffy had less than a second after he was nearly deafened by the sound of the shot, before he was being yanked along by his shackled arm and torn away from the ground.
A surprised yell came from the pirate, but for his enemies the yell became a distant echo within seconds as they all watched the cannonball carry him along with it on its trajectory straight into the frigid ocean which surrounded the island. From where they stood, there was no way to know if or when Luffy was brought plummeting down into its icy depths, so they settled for watching him fly away until he was out of sight completely. And once he was, Wapol and Mr. 2 turned to look at each other. The latter tapped his face and returned to normal, and they shared a devilish smirk.
"Mission accomplished." Mr. 2 declared.
Both Ria and Pex had left. The former had been sent off by Spruce as he could tell she wanted to explore and stretch her legs some more, while the latter had gone in search of whatever the nearest source of food was. The trainer was left to lay in bed by himself, staring up at the roof above him with a contemplative look upon his face. At least until he heard the door creak open, and he sat up to watch as Chopper poked his head in and looked around, before stepping inside fully and shutting the door behind him.
"Hi Chopper, do you need something?" Spruce greeted, flashing the reindeer a warm and welcoming smile. The greeting may have been too much, though, as Chopper's entire body stiffened up. Spruce could see him physically stop himself from throwing the door open and running out, and after managing to relax slightly, he walked over to the bookshelf on the other side of the room and began rearranging the books, all without uttering a single word in return. That earned a furrowed brow from Spruce, who went back to staring at the roof, at least until Chopper finally decided to break his silence.
"Is it true?" He said, half-mumbling and still facing away from Spruce.
"Huh?" Spruce said.
"What Doctorine said." Chopper said, a little louder this time, "Are you really a pirate?"
"Oh, that? Yeah." Spruce nodded, "I think."
That was good enough for the reindeer, who whirled around with a sudden look of interest. He scooted a bit closer to Spruce's bedside.
"Really?" He said.
"Really." Spruce affirmed. Chopper scooted even closer.
"Do you have a pirate flag?"
"I think so?" Spruce answered, "That's the black one with the skull on it, right? There's a big one of those on the ship."
Chopper's eyes narrowed, "You don't sound like you know what you're talking about."
"You got me." Spruce chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly, "To tell you the truth, I'd never even heard of pirates until recently. When I saw our flag for the first time, I thought it was meant to be a giant smiley-face."
"It's a symbol of faith!" Chopper exclaimed, "The pirate skull and crossbones!"
"Faith? That makes sense." Spruce said, "Luffy said it was a symbol of pride, too."
"Luffy?" Chopper said.
"Oh, right, you haven't met him. Luffy's our captain. He's the one who told me what being a pirate is about." Spruce said, "You sound like you're interested in pirates."
"A-AS IF!" Chopper shouted, going from zero to a hundred in an instant and practically throwing himself into the bookshelf with how hard he recoiled from the very notion. Books tumbled to the floor beside him and he busied himself with tidying them back up, while Spruce just blinked at his antics.
"Oh. Okay then." He said, "It's alright if you are, though. I think pirates are pretty cool! The ones I'm with are really nice."
The pace at which Chopper was putting the books back on the shelves was glacial. He remained facing away from Spruce throughout, letting the trainer talk to the back of his head, which he bowed slightly at that last sentence. His hand froze as it placed one of the books back, and when he opened his mouth to speak, it was with the same half-mumble as before.
"Even to those pokey-mons of yours?"
"To my Pokémon?" Spruce said, "Of course, I wouldn't have stuck with them if they weren't. They've even caught a few of their own."
"Well…" Chopper hesitated, before lowering his hand and whirling around to face him again, "W-What are they, anyway?! Pokey-mons?!"
"That's a pretty tricky question." Spruce said. He leaned forward to rest his chin in the palm of his hand while he stared out at the snowy landscape of the mountain through the window, taking a few seconds to ponder before continuing, "It'd be like if I asked you to explain what animals are. Seems weird, because they're just such a natural part of the world, and it's hard to consider them from an outsider perspective."
"Do you… know what animals are?" Chopper said.
"Yeah, I'm not that ignorant." Spruce replied, "Just giving an example. But, uh… Pokémon. I guess Pokémon are kind of like animals? It's a pretty broad term, covers a lot of different creatures. The thing that makes them not animals is that they have special abilities, they're more intelligent-"
"Hey!"
"-and you can catch them with Pokeballs." Spruce finished.
"Pokeballs?"
"These things." Spruce said. He plucked Whiskers' Pokeball off his waistband and held it out for Chopper to see. The reindeer creeped over slowly, leaning forward until he was standing just a couple of feet away, and gazing at his own reflection in the ball's shiny crimson surface. Then a realisation struck him, and his head jerked up.
"Hold on! You're saying that those creatures actually go inside of those things?!"
"Yep!" Spruce grinned, "And Whiskers, the Pokemon in this one? He's so big he wouldn't even fit in this room!"
"WHAT?!" There was a faint sparkle in Chopper's eyes as he looked back down at the Pokeball, astonishment written all over his face.
"It's true, that's the reason I haven't been able to let him out while I've been here." Spruce said, "Though he's a Water-Type, so he wouldn't be able to run wild as much as the other two if I did."
"Mhm…" Chopper nodded along to what Spruce was saying, but he seemed more focused on staring at the Pokeball than actually listening to what was said.
"Actually, I remember my dad telling me about something, a while ago." Spruce said, "Before Pokeballs were invented, they weren't actually called Pokémon. Instead, people called them 'Magical Creatures', since they thought their abilities were magic. But once Pokeballs were invented, people started calling them Pocket Monsters! Since, you know, they could fit in their pockets. Then over the years, that turned into calling them Pokémon."
"Pocket Monsters…" Chopper muttered. With those two words, all the awe and joy in his eyes seemed to disappear in an instant, and he took a step back from the Pokeball. It was as if they had been a bitter pill he was forced to take, and he was soaking in the aftertaste.
Seeing his reaction, Spruce placed Whiskers' Pokeball back on his belt and looked out the window again.
"People can call lots of things monsters." He mused, "Sometimes it's things that scare them, sometimes it isn't. I think that most of the time, people will call something a monster not because they fear it, but because they don't understand it. People still didn't understand Pokémon, and their unique abilities, which is why they were called that."
"But they were scared…" Chopper whispered, "Without me even doing anything-!"
He cut himself off just as his voice began to rise in volume, turning his head sharply away and staring at the floor with a look of bitterness that was mixed with pain.
"A lot of people fear what they don't understand." Spruce continued, "Uh, guess that means they call monsters that because they do fear them… I might be losing this comparison."
Chopper remained silent.
"I guess what I'm trying to say is that being a monster isn't a bad thing?" He said, "Or it doesn't have to be. I don't think people have to be understood to be accepted."
"You don't know what you're talking about." Chopper spat. He turned himself away from Spruce and took a step towards the door.
"Maybe I don't, you might be right about that. But do you think that the people who were kind to you, did so because they understood you?" Spruce said, "Or did they only come to understand you afterwards?"
The question made Chopper freeze in place. He didn't say anything, so Spruce continued.
"My father told me something else. He told me that Pokémon and humans were destined to be friends, no matter what happened. I think that's because even though some people, even a lot of people, will be scared and cruel to what they don't understand, other people will be kind."
"Does that make it okay?" Chopper snapped, "For those people to treat me- treat something, like that?"
"No, it doesn't." Spruce said, "But those aren't the kinds of people worth having for friends anyway. And that's not the kind of person that I want to be."
Chopper turned around.
"Humans and Pokémon are different, and that's why we become so much stronger when we work together." Spruce said, "It's the same for people, and for you. If everyone was the same, we'd never be able to help each other, or learn from each other, grow and become better. Being able to walk on two legs, or talk, or have a blue nose? Those aren't bad things, those are some of the things that make you who you are. And, even if I don't really understand you yet, I think that who you are, Chopper, is someone I want to know."
Tears pricked at the corners of Chopper's eyes as he watched Spruce extend a hand towards him. The act seemed to freeze him in place again, while Spruce sat there in the bed with a warm smile and gentle eyes, not saying anything else, just waiting. Moments became seconds that drew on silently, and those tears began to trail down his furry cheeks. Then, in a flurry of movement, he turned around and bolted for the door as fast as he could. He threw it open and didn't bother closing it behind him as he fled the room.
Lef there on his own, Spruce slowly lowered his hand. He laid back down in bed and pulled the covers back over himself before turning to his favourite bedridden pastime: staring at the roof above his head and thinking.
'That was probably better than yelling at him, at least.' He thought to himself. Letting out a light hum, his eyes flashed blue- and then they widened, and in an instant he was throwing the covers off and leaping out of bed. Without even grabbing something extra to wear, he sprinted out through the open door as fast as he could and headed down the icy halls.
Chess looked none the worse for wear as he stood amongst a pile of fallen lapahns. The snow around them had long since been painted red, as had their white furry coats, several of which now sported a myriad of burns and scorch marks. In the hands of the Drum minister was his bow, which he had since repaired from the damage Usopp had done to it, and a pair of arrows were nocked and ready to be drawn and fired at a moment's notice. Though it seemed the moment had no intention of coming, as no more of the lapahns kin came before him to be shot down.
Instead, there came a rumbling from far up high. A powerful rumbling, which only grew louder with every passing moment, and which made uncertainty flash across Chess' face. And though he could neither hear nor see it, there was a persistent thumping that joined the rumbling- preceding it, in fact- which came from a large number of lapahns all gathered together and jumping up and town with as much weight and power as they could.
As the rumbling grew louder, and Chess could hear in the distance the sound of tree trunks snapping like twigs, he looked up high towards where the sound was coming from, and finally did he see what it was that was coming his way:
An avalanche. An entire world of snow crashing down upon the forest from high up and crushing anything and everything which found itself in his past. The moment he realised what was happening, he turned around and ran back in the direction of Gyasta with the desperation of life and death to fuel him. As Chess ran, he found that he couldn't have cared any less about the man who had shot hot sauce in his eye earlier that day. All he could think about in that moment was running as fast as he possibly could, and praying that he might by some miracle manage to outrun the embodiment of Drum Island's wrath.
An arrow being pulled out of a quiver, then the string of a bow being drawn back. He heard those sounds coming from behind him, still a distance away, and he threw his top half forwards just before an arrow whizzed overhead and embedded itself in a tree up ahead of him. Bending over like he was nearly made him lose balance and topple over, but with some frantic waving of his arms he was able to keep upright and maintain his speed.
The slingshot he had used to bring this whole thing crashing down on him was in his right hand, while his left was empty. It was difficult for him to reach up and unzip the thick green coat he was wearing, with how much his hands and the zipper both shook from fear and movement alike, but he got it done nonetheless to reach into one of the pockets found within which so many handy items had been hastily stored in before he left the Merry.
Chess nocked and drew back another arrow, and this time Usopp leaped to the side to take cover behind a thick tree. The shot never came, though, and so he took the chance to run in the direction he had jumped in. Coming out from behind the tree trunk, he could see he was now running in a perpendicular direction to Chess, whose eyes zeroed in on him the moment he stepped out from cover. The archer tried to aim his bow, but Usopp was faster.
"EXPLODING STAR!" He shouted. With expert aim, he fired a gunpowder pellet from his slingshot which struck the snowy ground just in front of the running Chess. The explosion wasn't especially strong, at least not enough to harm the archer or even knock him off his feet, but it did kick up a large cloud of snow before his very eyes, and the projectile made him skid to a stop to avoid running directly into it. Then, without hesitation, Usopp grabbed another projectile from his pockets. Unlike the previous one, this one shone with a metallic exterior.
Through the cloud of snow, he narrowed his eyes at where Chess' bowstring was. Pulling the ball bearing back in his slingshot, he let it loose just as the snow began to fall again. And just as Chess could see the sniper once again, the ball bearing punched right through the string of his bow and the hand with which he had pulled the string back with found itself without any resistance. He punched himself in the face with the arrow grasped between his fingers, luckily not held in a way that would have turned his self-harm decidedly more lethal.
There was enough distance between the two that Usopp was unable to hear the curses that Chess spat as he hastily tried to repair his bow, and that distance only grew as Usopp took off running through the snow again. He didn't look back, but did note the absence of the sound of Chess' pursuit. It didn't make him run any slower, of course, but he did breathe a sigh of relief. So relieved was he that he lowered his gaze.
When he raised it again, he was met with the sight of a furry white paw that would have been practically invisible against the snow and which was swinging right towards his face. Usopp let out a terrified scream and leaned back, playing an impromptu game of limbo as he continued running beneath the furred limb and then straightened himself up again once he came out on the other side. This time, he did look behind him, and saw that the limb belonged to what appeared to be an enormous white rabbit the size of a bear.
The lapahn, though he was unaware that they were called that, glared at him with a pair of predatory red eyes. Their gazes locked for a second, before his head snapped back around to look forwards and he managed to find it within himself to run even faster. The lapahn lowered itself onto all fours, and took off after him.
Its sudden arrival was hardly an isolated incident, however, as over where Chess was restringing his bow, a trio of lapahns arrived to approach him from all directions. A scowl found itself onto his face as he halted his actions, and instead reached back into his quiver to retrieve a pair of arrows for himself. He held them together in one hand, while he laid his bow down on the ground to free up his other hand and retrieve a match.
"Damn lapahns." He grumbled as he lit the match and set the arrowheads of both arrows alight, which he quickly split between both hands in order to hold them out like a pair of torches. The lapahns slowed their approach, showing some hesitance as a result of the flames, but they did not retreat. And looking out beyond them, into the snowy forest, Chess was able to make out more of their number which seemed to be approaching. His scowl only grew.
'It looks like you live another day, traitor.' He thought.
-O-
As he stood out in the snow and smoked his cigarette, he thought back to an encounter which had taken place some time earlier that day, shortly after Kureha had come to pick up Spruce. A panicked man had come charging through the snow, running like his life depended on it, and nearly ploughed right through the door to Dalton's home before Sanji stopped him. His words were jumbled but he was able to get across that he was after Dalton, so Sanji pointed him in the right direction and the man ran off. Now, with that brief excitement having since passed, Sanji wondered what had worried the man so much.
Those thoughts were quickly interrupted, however, by the sound of thundering hooves approaching rapidly. Focusing in on the here and now, Sanji's eyes lit up at the sight of Vivi as she steered Dalton's sledge towards the house. She brought it to a gradual stop, just a few metres away from where Sanji was standing. The chef was quick to bounce across the snow to be at her side as she dismounted, with Bonbon hopping off behind her.
"The doctor, did she come by?" Was the first thing Vivi asked, the seriousness in her voice quickly calming Sanji down from his antics prematurely.
"She did." He nodded and glanced back at the empty sledge, "Did a man happen to run into you, looking for Dalton?"
"He did!" She said, "Right, I guess it makes sense he would have come here first."
"I was wondering what could have had him in such a state." He commented, "But seeing as Luffy's gone as well… it's that Wapol guy, isn't it? He came back."
"And now he's attacking a village somewhere else on the island." She said, "Dalton went off to stop him, then Luffy went after him to fight Wapol."
Sanji nodded as he took another long drag of his cigarette, turning his face away from Vivi before exhaling the smoke. He glanced back at the house, spotting Nami through the window sitting at a table and looking contemplative. And beautiful, of course, but that was a given.
"Why don't we go inside, where it's warmer, Vivi-dear?" Sanji suggested, "You can tell both of us about what's going on."
"Right." She said. He walked ahead of her and held the door open, feeling the rush of hot air from inside, and beckoned her and Bonbon both inside before entering himself and closing the door behind them. At their arrival, Vivi's in particular, Nami was quick to rise to her feet.
"Vivi!" She exclaimed, eyes seeming to light up at her appearance, but they just as quickly focused on the closed door behind her. Glancing from it to the window and the empty sledge outside, she didn't waste time before asking, "Where's Luffy? And Dalton, too?"
"They both went to go fight." Vivi said, "It's Wapol, he's back."
"That ex-king freak who we ran into before?" Nami said, "He found his way back here already? Guess that means Luffy gets his wish after all."
"But if he's back, that probably means that massive ship and all those soldiers are back as well." Sanji said.
"It'd be a problem if they ransacked the ship while it was mostly unattended." Vivi said, "I was wondering if we should go to check the others are alright?"
"As long as Mosshead's there, they'll be fine." Sanji said, "I'm more concerned about Spruce. If Wapol returns to his castle, he'll find him there with nobody else around but his Pokémon and the doctor."
For a moment, Vivi almost wanted to mirror Sanji's earlier sentiments about Zoro, but stopped herself.
'If he's recovering from his sickness, he'd probably be in an especially vulnerable position…'
"Bonsly…" Bonbon murmured, voicing the same sentiment as what her trainer was thinking.
"He should be safe if there are no ways up the mountain, right?" Was what she said instead.
"Actually, I think it's likely that there is some kind of hidden passage or ropeway up the mountain." Nami interjected, "As much as looks can be deceiving, the doctor's reindeer didn't give the impression of something that could actually fly."
"Not to mention that Wapol might have his own method of climbing it." Sanji added.
"What do you think we should do then?" Vivi said.
"Well…" Sanji said, "It wouldn't sit right with me to just sit back while I knew my captain was picking a fight, but I also can't leave you two lovely ladies unprotected while a dangerous group like that is on the island."
"Then I guess we'll all just have to go pay a visit to…" Nami trailed off and looked at Vivi, "Do you know where it was Luffy ran off to?"
"A village called Gyasta." She answered, "It would be… north of this village."
"Gyasta." Nami said, "I'm starting to think this crew is some kind of a trouble magnet. We can't go to one island without Luffy running into someone worth picking a fight with…"
The navigator let out a somewhat melodramatic sigh and headed for the door. Sanji was, of course, quick to get ahead of her and hold it open for her like a gentleman, as well as for Vivi who hurriedly followed Nami back out into the snow along with Bonbon. Shutting the two behind the three of them, Sanji joined them in climbing back into Dalton's sledge. Together, the group of three humans and two Pokémon set off for Gyasta.
-O-
"I see… so you want Chopper to come and join the crew as the doctor?"
With the fireplace burning brightly to warm the room they were in, Spruce sat up in bed and addressed Ria, who was sitting cross-legged at the foot of the bed, while Pex had perched himself on the frame as usual. His arms were crossed and his head was tilted as he mulled over her words, and she gave an affirmative nod to his question.
"Lu!"
"I dunno, that would be a pretty big step up from thinking he can't be friends with humans." Spruce said, "You don't send a Cherubi down to the beach for a swim. Besides, what about that doctor? It's not very polite of us to try and steal her assistant after she helped me out!"
"Riolu!" She retorted, "Rio Riolu Lu Riolu!"
"But I actually wanted to!" He said, "The stuff with Mercury was the only reason I couldn't leave."
"Ravia." Pex chimed in.
"I know we need one, that doesn't change things!" Spruce said, "Why are you even bringing this to me, anyway? I'm stuck in bed, and it's Luffy's decision anyway."
"Riolu." Ria said. Spruce raised a finger to object.
"That's…" He trailed off, "Okay, that's probably true. Either that or eating him, I guess…"
"Riolu… Lu?" Ria replied with a smirk. The reply Spruce went to give her was cut off by the sound of cackling coming from the doorway, and both trainer and Pokémon looked over to see Kureha leaning against the open door with her arms crossed.
"Kak Kak Kak…" She cackled, "Here I was, starting to doubt you were really a pirate, all the while you've been scheming to steal away my reindeer."
"I'm sorry." Spruce apologised, "This one here just got it in her head. I wouldn't want to try and take away someone you care about, at least not without asking you first."
"Don't apologise." She said, "Take him if you want him!"
"Ravia?" Pex blinked. Kureha stood up and closed the door behind her, before going over and grabbing a chair to sit herself across from Spruce's bedside. She leaned back and kicked one leg over the other, then turned her head to face him.
"But it won't be easy to convince him." She said, "There's a deep wound in his heart, one that not even a doctor can heal."
"I know, I felt it." Spruce said, "He said that reindeers and humans couldn't be friends. If it's alright for me to ask, who was it that left that wound?"
The question left Kureha silent for a couple of seconds. Turning away and letting out a deep breath, there was a heavy look in her eyes as she started to delve into an explanation.
"When Chopper was born, his parents abandoned him because of his blue nose. Even when he was little, he had to walk all on his own, far behind the rest of the herd."
"I see…" Spruce murmured. His gaze drifted across from the two Pokémon currently out of their Pokeballs, who both shared solemn looks at the new information, and then down to where Whiskers' Pokeball was fastened at his waist beneath the covers. He could almost picture the distraught look on his face.
"Then one day," Kureha continued, "he ate that Devil Fruit. The other reindeer mocked him, and treated him like a freak, before finally casting him out. Even though he couldn't fit in with other reindeer anymore, he still longed for companionship, so he decided to go live with humans in their village."
"And they didn't accept him either, did they?" Spruce guessed.
"They took it a step further than even the reindeer did." She said, "He didn't understand what he'd done wrong, or who to blame. All he wanted was friendship, but they called him a monster. He wasn't a reindeer anymore, but he wasn't human either. Chopper's been alone his whole life."
"I can't imagine…" Spruce said. His eyes seemed to drift away, staring off into the distance as recollections overtook him, but he was snapped back to reality by the feeling of Ria clamouring onto his lap and shoving herself against his chest. He blinked, then smiled and wrapped an arm around her.
"Do you really think you can heal his heart?" Kureha challenged. Glancing over at him, a smile poked at the corners of her mouth as she saw the show of affection for herself.
"To be honest, I don't know." Spruce admitted, "But I know someone who was treated similarly to him. Different from his family, abused and cast out because he couldn't fit in…"
"Is that so?" Kureha said, glancing down at Ria, and then over at where Pex was perched.
"Everyone heals differently, but I think that Chopper probably needs someone to reach out to him." Spruce said, "Someone to tell him that he's accepted and cared for the way that he is."
"There was someone, actually." Kureha said, "A man who Chopper cared for, long ago."
'Was.' Spruce thought. He squeezed Ria even tighter, who squeezed him back in turn.
"There used to be a quack named Dr. Hiriluk." She continued, "He gave Chopper his name and treated him like a son."
That seemed to be the end of what she had wanted to share, as after letting her words hang in the air for a moment, she rose from her seat. Spruce's eyes remained downcast, not noticing as she walked back over to the door, but just before she could place her hand on the knob, he called out to stop her.
"One more thing, doctor." He said.
"Hm?" She turned around to see that the melancholy in his eyes had faded, replaced now by a sharp gaze that seemed to pierce right through her.
"Earlier, when I called Chopper a Pokémon, you never asked me to explain what I meant by that." He said, "You just told me that he wasn't one."
"Oh, did I?" She said as a smirk gradually appeared on her face. Spruce's eyes narrowed, and both Ria and Pex were staring curiously at her.
"Doctor, you know, don't you?" He said, "What Pokémon are."
For a moment, the two stared at each other, with Spruce's accusation hanging in the air. Mischief glimmered in Kureha's eyes before she answered.
"Did you forget what I said, boy?" She replied, "You've got a lot to learn about the world! Kak Kak Kak!"
The cackling Kureha turned away from him and took her exit through the doorway, leaving Spruce and his Pokémon to sit and stew in everything that she had said.
-O-
Of course, there was no such feelings in the slightest residing in the hearts of Wapol, Mr. 2 or Kuromarimo. The trio lounged about in the snow, with Wapol sat atop Robson and Kuromarimo on the destroyed wall from Mr. 2 and Dalton's fight previously, while Mr. 2 did some light stretches nearby. Though none were the least bit ashamed of the state Dalton had been unceremoniously left in the middle of the street in, the two who better knew him seemed bored now in the aftermath of the fight. Wapol picked at his nose with his pinky finger, while Kuromarimo bounced his leg impatiently and glanced out towards the nearby forest every few seconds.
"Why is it taking Chess so long to finish off one measly little traitor?" He grumbled.
"Probably lapahns." Wapol said, "Nuisances they are."
"Shall I go lend my assistance, buddy?" Mr. 2 offered sweetly, only for Wapol to shake his head.
"No! You need to stick around, to be ready for if that damn Straw Hat shows his-"
From off in the distance, in the opposite direction as where Chess and Usopp had run off in, a yell burst out.
"GUM-GUM…!"
"-face." Wapol finished.
"Well, speak of the devil." Kuromarimo said.
Footsteps thundered through the snow, and branches rustled and snapped as someone approached rapidly from amongst the trees. The soldiers who had been standing idly all stood to attention in an instant, readying their weapons and aiming them in the direction of the oncoming foe, only for Kuromarimo to raise a hand beckoning them to lower them. It was an order that served to confuse a good deal of them, but with which they nonetheless obliged, instead allowing Mr. 2 to waltz on over into their enemy's path. His smile was eager, matched only by that of Wapol as he assumed the position of an eager spectator once again.
Clad in a red coat and his trademark hat, Luffy came charging out from the forest. As he ran as fast as he could throw the snow, one arm trailed behind him, stretching to an incredible length at such a speed that it was actually getting further away from them even as he dragged it behind him. Just as he came into their sight, though, so too did they come into his, and Mr. 2 saw the way that his gaze immediately singled out Wapol sitting on top of Robson. That was when he yelled out the next bit.
"PISTOL!"
The rubbery limb snapped forwards like an elastic band, sending the powerful fist attached at the end rocketing forwards past its owner and straight in the direction of Wapol's face. It shot through the air with such speed, akin to the namesake of the attack, that Mr. 2's eyes widened, but he was just as quick into action regardless. Leaping off the snowy ground, he twirled around in the air before kicking a leg out just as Luffy's fist passed by him. The tip of his foot struck part of the arm just below the wrist, knocking the attack a few degrees off-course, so that rather than Wapol's face, it connected with the exterior of the ruined house. Like punching drywall, it tore straight through the wall and managed to embed itself in the floor.
"HEY!" Kuromarimo yelled, as the redirected attack had been only a few feet off from connecting with his head. He shot up from where he was seated and scrambled over towards Wapol, while Luffy yanked his fist out of the hole in the floor and reached back to grab onto the hole in the wall which he hadn't made. Using it to anchor himself, he jumped up and let his arm shrink back to its original length, yanking him over to the house and closer to where Wapol was. He landed outside it and let go, so his arm could finish returning to normal, then he slammed his fist into an open palm.
"Mouth guy!" He called out, "Hair guy! And…"
He addressed each person of at least semi-importance by name, turning his gaze on them in turn, but then trailed off as he looked at Mr. 2. They could all see the cogs turning in his brain as he tried to recall any instance of having met someone with as unique an appearance as the ballet-dancing assassin.
"We haven't met yet." Mr. 2 told him.
"Swan guy!" Luffy decided, "I owe you guys a beating for last time!"
"You owe us a beating?!" Wapol gaped, "You filthy pirates are the ones who dared assault my royal personage the last time we met, with that grotesque serpent pet of yours! I'm going to cook each and every one of you filthy pirates until you're well done, then have you for dinner!"
"Shut up! Don't call Whiskers groceries!" Luffy said, "Now I'm gonna beat you up twice!"
"Oh really?" Kuromarimo interjected, "Think again, pirate! Dalton was the mightiest warrior on all of Drum Island, and even he couldn't stop us!"
As if to demonstrate his point, Kuromarimo gestured at where the former-commander's body laid in the crimson snow. Slowly, Luffy turned his head in the direction he was pointing in, and his eyes widened at the sight. His head whipped back around as he gave the three of them a once-over, which ended with a glare aimed at Mr. 2.
"You're the guy who did that, aren't you?" He accused.
"Why yes, that would be me." Mr. 2 said, taking a small bow, "And you should know that I'm not 'Swan guy', or even 'Swan gal'! I'm the one known as Mr. 2."
"2!" Luffy gasped. He furrowed his brow and hastily began counting on his fingers, before pointing an accusatory one at him, "You're like those other bad guys, the ones trying to destroy Vivi's country!"
"Destroy Vivi's country…?" Kuromarimo muttered, "Hold on, is he talking about…?"
"Don't be so cocky just because you got the better of Mr. 3!" Mr. 2 warned, "I've trained relentlessly, day after day, year after year, all to perfect my Okama Kenpo! A simple pirate like you could never, ever surpass me!"
"Yeah, that's right! You tell him, Mr. 2 Bon Clay!" Wapol cheered.
"I'm gonna beat you all up because I'm a pirate!" Luffy retorted, "Not like you bunch of fakers!"
"Please, don't remind me." Wapol groaned, "What an absolute torture, having to sail around under such a putrid flag! Do you know how unbecoming that was, for a king like myself?"
"A stupid king like you never deserved to fly that pirate flag in the first place!" Luffy said, "It's a flag about pride, and putting your life on the line for the sake of being free! A dumb coward like you could never get that!"
"That flag means nothing!" Wapol said, shooting to his feet and glaring at Luffy, "Listen closely, Straw Hat! People in this world are born differently! Some, like you pirates, are born as gutter trash whose only purpose in life is to serve at the behest of great kingly kings like myself! Because you are a pirate and I am a king, it means I am above you! That is why you're going to die here, for committing the unforgiveable crime of opposing me!"
"You tell him, your majesty!" Mr. 2 yelled with a pumped fist.
"You think you're better than me?" Luffy said.
"In every conceivable way!" Wapol spat.
"You're wrong." Luffy said. His gaze hardened as he fixed Wapol with a look more frigid than the snow they were standing in, and he brought his hands together to slowly crack his knuckles. Despite Wapol's demeanour, something deep inside of him trembled at the sound of each crack.
"I'm way tougher than you are." Luffy said, "GUM-GUM PISTOL!"
Then he was throwing a fist back and his arm was stretching. In an instant he was on his feet, darting through the snow straight towards where Wapol was now standing while his limb extended behind him. His trio of enemies were all startled by the suddenness of his movement, with Kuromarimo diving away from Luffy while Wapol was frozen in place, leaving Mr. 2 to be the one who dashed over to intercept.
Leaping through the air, he struck Luffy's wrist just as the attack snaped forwards, deflecting it away from Wapol's face yet again as he landed atop Robson in front of the king. Before Luffy's limb was even able to return, Mr. 2 jumped forwards, landing in the snow in front of him. Luffy came to a skidding stop to avoid bowling the both of them over, just in time for Mr. 2's fist to come shooting towards him.
"OH, DON'T MIND MY KNUCKLE!" He bellowed, which Luffy seemed to heed, as he allowed the fist to strike him directly in the face. It dug in, creating an imprint in his stretchy skin as it jerked his head back, only for his body to snap back into place and fling the attack right back into the attacker. Mr. 2 staggered back after accidentally punching himself in the face, wincing and rubbing his stinging cheek as he did so. As amusing as such a sight was, Luffy didn't let it delay him in following up. He pushed forwards and reared back as his fist, and Mr. 2 let out a yelp as he had to lunge out of the way of the oncoming punch which just radiated power, which was followed up by Luffy spinning himself around and thrusting a leg out to slam the sole of his foot into his opponent's chest.
The attack came too swiftly for Mr. 2 to evade it again, but he was able to reposition his arms- though rather than trying to block it, he instead slapped a hand against his cheek in order to transform before Luffy's very eyes. Instead of striking the nimble man with a face caked in makeup, his kick instead impacted solidly against a thick, muscular abdomen, which may as well have been stone for how much resistance it provided against the attack.
"Woah!" Luffy exclaimed, lowering his leg as he jumped back from the sudden display of transformative abilities.
"Do you like it?!" Mr. 2 taunted, his voice now identical to the transformed Dalton's as he spoke, "This is the power of my Clone-Clone fruit, which allows me to take on the appearances of anybody I come into contact with! It's an ability that's perfect for stealth and trickery, but I appear to have found a use for it in combat, too!"
"That's right, Straw Hat!" Wapol jeered, "Thanks to his ultra-amazing ability, my friend here is now just as strong as the Zoan-using Dalton!"
"That guy?" Luffy said, glancing over at the fallen warrior in question, "Huh. I didn't realise he had a power like that."
"You might be strong, but even you can't hope to measure up against a Zoan Devil-!" Mr. 2 began, only to be cut off.
"GUM-GUM PISTOL!"
Luffy hurled his arm back, letting it stretch out several feet before yanking it forwards to nail Mr. 2 right in the chin with a vicious punch that sent him staggering back on his feet. It almost knocked him onto his back completely, and it was only thanks to his impeccable sense of balance he was able to regain his footing. Now, though, there was a flash of fear in his eyes.
"That… that hurt!" He gasped.
"What?!" Kuromarimo said, "But- but you should be as strong as Dalton! Are you saying this pirate brat is that strong?!"
"I told you I was tougher than you." Luffy deadpanned. He threw another elastic punch in Mr. 2's direction, aiming for his face once again, but he was able to jerk his head out of the way. Rather than letting his arm retract, however, Luffy instead let it keep stretching until it had found something to grab onto in the distance. Hopping up, he yanked himself forwards into Mr. 2, bringing his knee slamming into his jaw as he did. He continued past him, as the blow knocked his head to the side, and then let go.
While his momentum pulled him along through the air, Luffy twisted his torso around in order to look back at Mr. 2, who stumbled as a result of the strike. With a sharp kick against the air with both legs, the limbs stretched out and snagged Mr. 2 around the waist. They coiled together tightly, serving to anchor their owner in place, and yank him back the way he had come once his momentum had carried him as far as it would.
"GUM-GUM…"
As well as his legs, Luffy's neck stretched, distancing his head from the rest of his body until the momentum of his body, which had been what was stretching him in the first place, ran its course. For a brief instant he remained, limbs stretched out into the proportions of a rubber chicken, and then his rubbery body snapped back into place.
"BELL!"
Yanked along by his rubbery body, Luffy's head came shooting straight towards Mr. 2 like a projectile launched from a catapult. The legs coiled around the assassin's waist ensured he couldn't move his body out of the path of the attack, and there was less than a second which he had to act.
Having seen what Luffy was aiming to do before he had done it, Mr. 2's hand had already been in motion. The instant after his head began to move, he touched his fingers against his cheek and instantaneously transformed back into his own form. Limbs which had been coiled so tightly around him immediately fell to the ground limply, allowing him to jump up and out of the way of Luffy's enhanced headbutt. Instead of skin, Luffy's cranium struck the snow beneath their feet and was met with little resistance. He buried himself face-first all the way to the base of his neck, while Mr. 2 landed behind him and quickly hopped several feet away.
It took Luffy both hands planted firmly against the ground to shove himself back out of the snow with a desperate gasp for air, all while Mr. 2 reached up to once again remove the pair of swan slippers from his shoulders and equip them to his feet. Luffy shook the snow off himself vigorously and turned around to see his opponent posing dramatically with his weapons now equipped.
"OKAMA KENPO: PRIMA BALLERINA!"
"That looks stupid." Luffy told him without hesitation, which made Mr. 2 fall to his knees in absolute despair.
"SHUT UP!" Wapol bellowed, "HIS ULTIMATE TECHNIQUE LOOKS FORMIDABLE AND GRACEFUL AT THE SAME TIME!"
The words of encouragement were enough to counteract the effect of Luffy's insult, and Mr. 2 flew to his feet and struck the dramatic fighting pose once again.
"But first, let me tell you this." Mr. 2 said, "The one on your right is a male-"
"GUM-GUM…"
Such gendering of his slippers was unfortunately cut off as Luffy threw a fist back, letting it stretch several feet before hurling it straight towards Mr. 2's stomach.
"PISTOL!"
With a startled yelp, Mr. 2 hopped onto one foot and swung his body to the side so that Luffy's fist only met air. He stuck his other leg out as a counterweight, balancing precariously in the snow for a second before spinning himself around with his own wobbliness in order to leap up into the air with a graceful twirl and fire off a quick jab with the tip of his slipper aimed at Luffy's extended arm.
As he saw what Mr. 2 was doing, Luffy grabbed his arm with his free hand and, as it already began to retract to its original length, swing it out of the way of Mr. 2's attack like it were a length of rope. The beak of the swan, which extended from the force of Mr. 2's kick, still managed to graze the surface of the arm, ripping through the fabric of his coat sleeve and opening a shallow gash in the arm itself. Luffy grimaced as his arm returned to its normal length and he could spare a moment to examine the new wound.
"Surprised?" Mr. 2 taunted, "My swan slippers have limber necks and beaks of steel! With the power of my Okama Kenpo concentrated into a single point, its destructive capabilities are drastically increased. You can think of my kicks as the shots from a rifle."
"I don't need dumb slippers to hit like that!" Luffy said, "GUM-GUM… BULLET!"
He took off running across the snow, closing in on Mr. 2 in a second. As he ran, his arm stretched behind him, and he brought it rocketing forwards fist-first as he came within range of Mr. 2. The assassin was quick to tap a hand to his cheek and transform once again, taking on Dalton's transformed form and strafing to the side with such speed that Luffy's attack was left with an afterimage of him to strike. Similar afterimages appeared all around Luffy, as Mr. 2 pushed his copied body's speed to its limit and encircled the pirate.
It was a menacing sight, that was for certain, but Luffy didn't seem bothered in the slightest by it. His gaze focused in on the swan slippers which had stretched to accommodate Mr. 2's larger feet, and after a couple of seconds of Mr. 2's show of speed, he visibly relaxed and gave the assassin a smirk.
"I've figured it out." He announced. A moment later, Mr. 2- the real one, not an afterimage- came to a stop right behind Luffy. With a tap on the cheek, he returned to his normal form and struck.
"UN! DEUX!"
The first kick was aimed high, going straight for Luffy's vitals, and he quickly brought his leg back in order to deliver a follow-up attack, which was aimed towards his abdomen. Neither hit their target. Pivoting around on his feet, Luffy faced the first kick from the side as it pierced nothing but air, then he took a step back to let the second kick hit the same target. And before Mr. 2 could lower the offending limb again, he leaned in and drove his fist directly into the assassin's gut.
Droplets of blood flew from Mr. 2's open mouth, frozen in a visage of pain, as the attack sent him skidding back across the snow clutching the area where Luffy had struck. From where they were watching the fight, Wapol's face was knotted up with concern, while Kuromarimo squeezed his arms tightly, trying to hide his own nervousness.
"You might be able to make yourself tougher by transforming," Luffy said as he slowly walked towards Mr. 2, "but whenever you attack, you turn back into yourself. You're only used to fighting with your normal body, aren't you?"
"So… you figured it out after all…" Mr. 2 wheezed.
"Are you okay, buddy?!" Wapol called out, voice fraught with worry.
"I'm fine, buddy!" Mr. 2 reassured him, holding a placating palm out. He pulled the other hand away from his stomach and stood up straighter, clenching his jaw and narrowing his eyes with concentration, "But I think it may be time we gave that a try!"
EARLIER…
It took Wapol a great deal of self-control to restrain himself and not cram into his mouth the fourth sketch of Straw Hat which he had been handed by his newfound friend. The duo of former-king and assassin stood across from each other on the deck of the Bliking, while Kuromarimo and Chess stood off to the side and listened in as Mr. 2 rattled off information about the pictured pirate. They had in their hands a stack of similar sketches, of all the other members of the Straw Hat crew that his unknown benefactor had been able to get information on.
"He's a Devil Fruit user, like you and me." He said, "He's proven himself to be a cut above the average pirate as well."
"A Devil Fruit?!" Chess exclaimed, "What's his ability?"
"It's a Paramecia, one that seems to let him stretch his body." Mr. 2 said.
"At least it's not a Zoan." Kuromarimo said.
"What a useless sounding ability." Wapol scoffed, before inhaling the sketch and swallowing it whole. Behind Mr. 2, a flamboyantly dressed flunky who was holding a pencil and sketchpad let out a groan.
"Any Devil Fruit ability can be deadly if used competently." Mr. 2 said, "And so far, Straw Hat's managed to overpower several other ability-users. It would be a bad idea to underestimate him and his crew."
"Does that mean you have a plan for dealing with him?" Kuromarimo asked.
"Well!" Mr. 2 said, "If, somehow, my incredible Okama Kenpo isn't enough to handle him, then there's always that one surefire way to handle anyone with a Devil Fruit ability."
Both Kuromarimo and Chess' eyes lit up. Wapol tilted his head.
"That's right." Chess nodded.
"There is that one way…" Kuromarimo added.
"I don't get it, what are we talking about?" Wapol said. His magistrate and minister both cringed in unison.
"The sea, your majesty." Chess said, "He's saying that Straw Hat can be drowned."
"Oh. Oh yeah, I knew that!"
"And in fact," Mr. 2 said as his eyes began to shine with malice, "I can think of a few interesting ways that our new friendship can make that happen."
THE PRESENT…
Before the very eyes of everyone involved, Wapol's body transformed in a similar way to how Dalton's had- except that instead of fur and muscle appearing on his body, it was instead plates of metal and a large cannon. He grew several magnitudes in both height and width in order to accommodate for the weapon that was now poking out from his abdomen, surrounded by a torso of metal. Oddly enough, there seemed to be a thin metal chain poking out of the cannon's barrel, with a single manacle attached to the end. Both were made of an alloy which none present, save for their creator, could identify.
"Woah!" Luffy gasped, "That's so cool!"
"Don't insult him!" Mr. 2 barked, "Using his Munch-Munch power to transform looks awe- wait, that's what you said."
"Huh?" Luffy blinked.
"Erm- anyway." Mr. 2 coughed awkwardly, "GET READY, BUDDY! WE'RE GONNA FINISH OFF THIS PIRATE TOGETHER!"
"It doesn't matter if all three of you fight together, you still can't beat me!" Luffy said.
Mr. 2 went silent as he tapped his cheek and transformed back into Dalton. As soon as he had the limbs powerful enough to do it, he took off in a circle around Luffy again, creating a ring of afterimages that made it impossible to tell where he was at any one moment. For a brief second, the afterimages thinned out, and there was a jangling of metal which drew Luffy's attention to the fact that Mr. 2 had, in one quick dash, grabbed the end of the metal chain poking out from Wapol's cannon and carried it over as he continued to run around him.
With how fast he moved, even the jangles from the chain did little to give away his position at any one moment, instead becoming a chaotic mess of metal scraping and bouncing against itself that assaulted Luffy's ears from all directions. His brow furrowed and he craned his neck slightly, turning his ear out towards the sound. As the moments passed on by, and Mr. 2 continued his repetitive motions without letting up, Luffy slowly started to raise his fist. Then, as if some quota had been met, he went from slow to fast in an instant and hurled his arm back.
"Found you." He declared.
"Found you." Mr. 2 replied smugly. For a moment, he came to a stop right in front of Luffy- just for a moment, but long enough for the pirate to see him standing there- and in that moment Luffy threw his punch. And then Mr. 2 dashed straight forwards, and straight past Luffy with the metal chain still in his hands. Luffy faintly registered the sensation of cold metal pressing into his skin as Mr. 2 clamped the manacle around his wrist as it went by him, and without wasting a moment turned his head to yell to Wapol:
"NOW!"
BOOM!
A tremendous explosion bellowed out from the abdominal cannon, letting fly a cannonball to which the chain and manacle fastened around Luffy's which were attached to. It was not with the force of an ordinary cannon that the cannonball was fired, though. The power of Wapol's cannon dwarfed an ordinary one by several magnitudes, sending the ball rocketing through the air at a breakneck velocity. Luffy had less than a second after he was nearly deafened by the sound of the shot, before he was being yanked along by his shackled arm and torn away from the ground.
A surprised yell came from the pirate, but for his enemies the yell became a distant echo within seconds as they all watched the cannonball carry him along with it on its trajectory straight into the frigid ocean which surrounded the island. From where they stood, there was no way to know if or when Luffy was brought plummeting down into its icy depths, so they settled for watching him fly away until he was out of sight completely. And once he was, Wapol and Mr. 2 turned to look at each other. The latter tapped his face and returned to normal, and they shared a devilish smirk.
"Mission accomplished." Mr. 2 declared.
-O-
"Hi Chopper, do you need something?" Spruce greeted, flashing the reindeer a warm and welcoming smile. The greeting may have been too much, though, as Chopper's entire body stiffened up. Spruce could see him physically stop himself from throwing the door open and running out, and after managing to relax slightly, he walked over to the bookshelf on the other side of the room and began rearranging the books, all without uttering a single word in return. That earned a furrowed brow from Spruce, who went back to staring at the roof, at least until Chopper finally decided to break his silence.
"Is it true?" He said, half-mumbling and still facing away from Spruce.
"Huh?" Spruce said.
"What Doctorine said." Chopper said, a little louder this time, "Are you really a pirate?"
"Oh, that? Yeah." Spruce nodded, "I think."
That was good enough for the reindeer, who whirled around with a sudden look of interest. He scooted a bit closer to Spruce's bedside.
"Really?" He said.
"Really." Spruce affirmed. Chopper scooted even closer.
"Do you have a pirate flag?"
"I think so?" Spruce answered, "That's the black one with the skull on it, right? There's a big one of those on the ship."
Chopper's eyes narrowed, "You don't sound like you know what you're talking about."
"You got me." Spruce chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly, "To tell you the truth, I'd never even heard of pirates until recently. When I saw our flag for the first time, I thought it was meant to be a giant smiley-face."
"It's a symbol of faith!" Chopper exclaimed, "The pirate skull and crossbones!"
"Faith? That makes sense." Spruce said, "Luffy said it was a symbol of pride, too."
"Luffy?" Chopper said.
"Oh, right, you haven't met him. Luffy's our captain. He's the one who told me what being a pirate is about." Spruce said, "You sound like you're interested in pirates."
"A-AS IF!" Chopper shouted, going from zero to a hundred in an instant and practically throwing himself into the bookshelf with how hard he recoiled from the very notion. Books tumbled to the floor beside him and he busied himself with tidying them back up, while Spruce just blinked at his antics.
"Oh. Okay then." He said, "It's alright if you are, though. I think pirates are pretty cool! The ones I'm with are really nice."
The pace at which Chopper was putting the books back on the shelves was glacial. He remained facing away from Spruce throughout, letting the trainer talk to the back of his head, which he bowed slightly at that last sentence. His hand froze as it placed one of the books back, and when he opened his mouth to speak, it was with the same half-mumble as before.
"Even to those pokey-mons of yours?"
"To my Pokémon?" Spruce said, "Of course, I wouldn't have stuck with them if they weren't. They've even caught a few of their own."
"Well…" Chopper hesitated, before lowering his hand and whirling around to face him again, "W-What are they, anyway?! Pokey-mons?!"
"That's a pretty tricky question." Spruce said. He leaned forward to rest his chin in the palm of his hand while he stared out at the snowy landscape of the mountain through the window, taking a few seconds to ponder before continuing, "It'd be like if I asked you to explain what animals are. Seems weird, because they're just such a natural part of the world, and it's hard to consider them from an outsider perspective."
"Do you… know what animals are?" Chopper said.
"Yeah, I'm not that ignorant." Spruce replied, "Just giving an example. But, uh… Pokémon. I guess Pokémon are kind of like animals? It's a pretty broad term, covers a lot of different creatures. The thing that makes them not animals is that they have special abilities, they're more intelligent-"
"Hey!"
"-and you can catch them with Pokeballs." Spruce finished.
"Pokeballs?"
"These things." Spruce said. He plucked Whiskers' Pokeball off his waistband and held it out for Chopper to see. The reindeer creeped over slowly, leaning forward until he was standing just a couple of feet away, and gazing at his own reflection in the ball's shiny crimson surface. Then a realisation struck him, and his head jerked up.
"Hold on! You're saying that those creatures actually go inside of those things?!"
"Yep!" Spruce grinned, "And Whiskers, the Pokemon in this one? He's so big he wouldn't even fit in this room!"
"WHAT?!" There was a faint sparkle in Chopper's eyes as he looked back down at the Pokeball, astonishment written all over his face.
"It's true, that's the reason I haven't been able to let him out while I've been here." Spruce said, "Though he's a Water-Type, so he wouldn't be able to run wild as much as the other two if I did."
"Mhm…" Chopper nodded along to what Spruce was saying, but he seemed more focused on staring at the Pokeball than actually listening to what was said.
"Actually, I remember my dad telling me about something, a while ago." Spruce said, "Before Pokeballs were invented, they weren't actually called Pokémon. Instead, people called them 'Magical Creatures', since they thought their abilities were magic. But once Pokeballs were invented, people started calling them Pocket Monsters! Since, you know, they could fit in their pockets. Then over the years, that turned into calling them Pokémon."
"Pocket Monsters…" Chopper muttered. With those two words, all the awe and joy in his eyes seemed to disappear in an instant, and he took a step back from the Pokeball. It was as if they had been a bitter pill he was forced to take, and he was soaking in the aftertaste.
Seeing his reaction, Spruce placed Whiskers' Pokeball back on his belt and looked out the window again.
"People can call lots of things monsters." He mused, "Sometimes it's things that scare them, sometimes it isn't. I think that most of the time, people will call something a monster not because they fear it, but because they don't understand it. People still didn't understand Pokémon, and their unique abilities, which is why they were called that."
"But they were scared…" Chopper whispered, "Without me even doing anything-!"
He cut himself off just as his voice began to rise in volume, turning his head sharply away and staring at the floor with a look of bitterness that was mixed with pain.
"A lot of people fear what they don't understand." Spruce continued, "Uh, guess that means they call monsters that because they do fear them… I might be losing this comparison."
Chopper remained silent.
"I guess what I'm trying to say is that being a monster isn't a bad thing?" He said, "Or it doesn't have to be. I don't think people have to be understood to be accepted."
"You don't know what you're talking about." Chopper spat. He turned himself away from Spruce and took a step towards the door.
"Maybe I don't, you might be right about that. But do you think that the people who were kind to you, did so because they understood you?" Spruce said, "Or did they only come to understand you afterwards?"
The question made Chopper freeze in place. He didn't say anything, so Spruce continued.
"My father told me something else. He told me that Pokémon and humans were destined to be friends, no matter what happened. I think that's because even though some people, even a lot of people, will be scared and cruel to what they don't understand, other people will be kind."
"Does that make it okay?" Chopper snapped, "For those people to treat me- treat something, like that?"
"No, it doesn't." Spruce said, "But those aren't the kinds of people worth having for friends anyway. And that's not the kind of person that I want to be."
Chopper turned around.
"Humans and Pokémon are different, and that's why we become so much stronger when we work together." Spruce said, "It's the same for people, and for you. If everyone was the same, we'd never be able to help each other, or learn from each other, grow and become better. Being able to walk on two legs, or talk, or have a blue nose? Those aren't bad things, those are some of the things that make you who you are. And, even if I don't really understand you yet, I think that who you are, Chopper, is someone I want to know."
Tears pricked at the corners of Chopper's eyes as he watched Spruce extend a hand towards him. The act seemed to freeze him in place again, while Spruce sat there in the bed with a warm smile and gentle eyes, not saying anything else, just waiting. Moments became seconds that drew on silently, and those tears began to trail down his furry cheeks. Then, in a flurry of movement, he turned around and bolted for the door as fast as he could. He threw it open and didn't bother closing it behind him as he fled the room.
Lef there on his own, Spruce slowly lowered his hand. He laid back down in bed and pulled the covers back over himself before turning to his favourite bedridden pastime: staring at the roof above his head and thinking.
'That was probably better than yelling at him, at least.' He thought to himself. Letting out a light hum, his eyes flashed blue- and then they widened, and in an instant he was throwing the covers off and leaping out of bed. Without even grabbing something extra to wear, he sprinted out through the open door as fast as he could and headed down the icy halls.
-O-
Instead, there came a rumbling from far up high. A powerful rumbling, which only grew louder with every passing moment, and which made uncertainty flash across Chess' face. And though he could neither hear nor see it, there was a persistent thumping that joined the rumbling- preceding it, in fact- which came from a large number of lapahns all gathered together and jumping up and town with as much weight and power as they could.
As the rumbling grew louder, and Chess could hear in the distance the sound of tree trunks snapping like twigs, he looked up high towards where the sound was coming from, and finally did he see what it was that was coming his way:
An avalanche. An entire world of snow crashing down upon the forest from high up and crushing anything and everything which found itself in his past. The moment he realised what was happening, he turned around and ran back in the direction of Gyasta with the desperation of life and death to fuel him. As Chess ran, he found that he couldn't have cared any less about the man who had shot hot sauce in his eye earlier that day. All he could think about in that moment was running as fast as he possibly could, and praying that he might by some miracle manage to outrun the embodiment of Drum Island's wrath.