MARINES - A ONE PIECE story (ENGLISH) - Part I

CHAPTER XXXIX - Abyssal maze

Arthur was awakened by the gentle trickle of a stream. Lying on the ground, his face against the fine sand, he could hear his breath echoing. He seemed to be coming out of a very long sleep, his cheek numb and his eyelids heavy, as if perfectly relaxed.

Suddenly, he jumped on his two legs. Hector, the maelstrom, Helio... everything had returned to his mind at once. Rubbing his eyes with both hands, staggering like a drunk man, he took a moment to observe what was around him : the young soldier was in a huge cave, spacious and humid, where a stream of clear water was flowing. The ground was covered with a white sand as fine and soft as satin, which slipped between his fingers. But above all, he was absolutely alone. Friends, enemies, all seemed to have deserted him, and the only answer to his call was the sound of his own voice, echoing.

The only access to this cave, the only way in and out, was a long dark tunnel from which he did not remember coming. For a moment, scratching his head, he wondered how he had ended up here. In any case, he had no choice : he had to go through this tunnel to find the others.

...

Jorge was torn from his torpor by pain. A blow, of exceptional violence, hit him right in the stomach, so that he almost vomited his last meal, then he was seized by a formidable grip that threw him against the stone wall before he had time to react.

- Cancer, you should be more careful, whispered a soft female voice. You know that our god does not condone your excesses of violence.

The old man huffed, looking away with contempt. But he was no longer a man, for he had activated his hermit crab transformation. Holding Jorge against the wall with his huge claw, he replied to his young comrade :

- We all have our ways, Sagittarius. If this guy slips through our fingers, we'll be mocked by our crew.

The young woman let out a soft laugh as she ran her hand through her red hair.

- Don't worry, he's still tied up. Without the key of his cuffs, he won't go anywhere, and since we don't know where master Soles is...

- I hope he's alright. Leo must be with him, I saw them clinging to each other when the ship went down.

Sagittarius, perched on a rock, looked at her small pocket watch.

- Do you think it will take long ? Maybe we could go looking for the others, or the ship. The last time we were here, we'd already been separated, and our inability to make a decision had cost us considerable time...

- Yeah, Cancer answered evasively. In the panic, we didn't even get Virgo's maps, and since this maze is huge, we could get lost. I think we should wait for them to come back.

Jorge, still immobilized, did not despair : his friends would eventually find him and Daisy, and they would not leave without them. In his jacket, the young snake wriggled to avoid being spotted by the enemy, and Jorge shuddered : the smooth skin of the reptile slid over his skin and tickled him, so much that he had to repress a nascent giggle. Immediately, Cancer tightened his hold :

- You have fun, it seems.

- What a strange young man... Sagittarius muttered. Maybe he thinks he can escape from here.

She then took out several crossbow bolts, and with one hand amused herself by throwing them right next to Jorge's face.

- If I don't kill you, the master won't know what you've endured. Right, Cancer ?

...

Jun, with her shoulder, tried to gently wake Emmy. The two young women, tied to each other, had been stranded together after the wreck. Igana, still tied to them, had already regained consciousness.

- Jun ? whispered Emmy. Where are we, what's going on ?

Then she remembered the previous events, and tried to struggle, panicked. But the chain that held them was too strong, and the sea stone that made it up made the young woman's powers useless.

- Don't tire yourself out, Igana answered. These chains won't break.

- I don't understand, Emmy replied. Where are we ?!

- We are in a huge underwater cave, Jun explained. During the whole sinking, I managed to keep myself awake, so I saw everything. The Cosmos sank in a maelstrom, which dragged us to the bottom of the ocean. The ship ran aground upstream, and a strong current brought us all here. I think that's when we all got separated.

Then she pointed with her head to the current that flowed through the cave they were in.

- You see ? I think the others were carried away to other caves. They must all be connected somehow, and the Fountain of Youth must be somewhere down here.

- You're pretty strong for a young girl, Igana said coldly. How have you not been stunned by the shipwreck ?

Jun was silent for a while, then answered soberly, looking away :

- I'm good at free-diving, that's all.

Just as Igana was about to say something, she was violently hit in the face.

- Quiet, here ! We need to concentrate !

The young women had almost forgotten about it, but they were not alone in this cave. Soles and Leo, two members of the Zodiac, had been taken with them by the stream. As the ship began to sink, Soles had grabbed Jun's arm with a vengeful smile on his face that was saying, « I'll never let you go ».

The young man was sitting on a rock, inspecting a map.

- Shit, it's unreadable. The map Virgo gave me has completely leaked, the ink is drooling all over it, it doesn't represent anything!

Then, with an excited gesture, he threw the map into the sand.

- We have only two choices, Leo : we can leave to find my father, or the fountain, or we can stay here and wait for the others.

- We should leave, young master. Staying here won't do us any good, and with the Marine ship chasing us into the maelstrom, we may have our hands full.

Soles laughed.

- You want to go after those nosy little brats ? You may be right...

Jun, Emmy and Igana were tied together to a stone pillar. The young man looked at them for a moment, then squatted down in front of her.

- Of course, ladies, there's no way we're leaving you alone. If we move, you follow. So I'm going to untie you for a couple of minutes to get you off this pillar, but as soon as I do, Leo will tie you back up. If you try anything, I'll order him to slit your throat.

Gently, he ran his finger across Jun's neck.

- That pretty throat... It's a shame to have to threaten it, isn't it, Jun ? So behave yourself.

He looked for his keychain in his jacket for a moment, and when he took it out, Jun immediately spotted two silver keys : the one for the padlock that held her, Emmy and Igana captive, and the one for Jorge's handcuffs. His comrade had to be trapped somewhere in those caves, and without that key, it was impossible for him to defend himself. As Soles approached to untie them, she thought to all the things she could try to do to free herself and steal the keys from him, but all these possibilities had only one outcome : death.

Closing her eyes, she resigned herself to do nothing for the moment, and to spare the two women who were with her from this fatal fate.

But suddenly, an object shot through the air : it was a small stone, tiny even, but sharp enough to tear human skin. Soles did not see it immediately, but felt a sharp pain when the stone hit the phalanges of his right hand. The surprise made him drop his bunch of keys, and before he could even act, Haru's sole came to crush his face.