The Fallen Angel And The Demon In Green

Chapter 14: Life's Short

"It seems we are alive," Robin non-chalantly says. Her reaction makes me laugh. We had been at the edge of disappearing from existence just minutes ago.

The first rays of sun had slashed through those who still didn't have their shadows, but fortunately, Moria was defeated just in time. I hadn't faltered when half my body had burned to nothing, for some reason completely trusting Luffy could save us, and my faith was rewarded.

After Chopper assured us Luffy was okay, all was euphoria. People around us cheered and celebrated their recovered freedom as I melted Usopp, Nami and Robin in a hug. I could see that the rest of the straw hats were enjoying the post-fight excitement too. Except for Chopper, who was tending to a passed out Luffy, Franky was swaying his hips in a victory dance, Sanji was smoking in the corner, smiling, and I could see Zoro out of the corner of my eye, with a cocky grin and his arms crossed, a dreamy vision that I didn't allow myself to appreciate for long.

Little did I know that the festive climate had quite a brief lifespan.

An enormous man came out of nowhere, his presence stifling all happiness in our hearts and giving way to panic. I'd recognized him the second he appeared: Bartholomew Kuma, the Warlord of the Sea. He'd been spotted many times prowling my neighbourhood in Sabaody. Seeing him again caused a shiver to go through my body.

The man stated his business rather clearly; the world government ordered him to kill all witnesses on Thriller Bark, including the Straw Hat Pirates. Shocked cries and whimpers greeted his words, but the man didn't seem phased by that. He limited himself to stand in front of us, his glasses shielding any emotion, if there was any. Giving a glance to my surroundings, I cursed under my breath. His timing was perfect; right now, we were all injured and tired from fighting Oars and Moria, it was obvious we didn't stand a chance.

Anyway, I'd been ready to die the minute my friends were in danger, and only determination flowed through my veins when I pounced towards the giant with my karambits ready. It was meant to surprise him, but somehow, he dodged my attack and sent me flying to the opposite wall, all in one swift motion. I stood back up, gritting my teeth, I guess there is a reason why he is a warlord. While Franky shot at the man, I saw an opportunity to catch him off guard, but again, he somehow managed to evade both attacks and incapacitate us. Just before I could get back to my feet, spitting blood, I heard Kuma pronounce the name of one of his attacks, the Ursus Shock.

After that, all went black.

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Something tugs at my shoulder.

Just five minutes more, please...

It is only when an unknown force violently shakes me by the shoulders that I fully come to my senses. The answers to where I am and why come rushing to me as I swiftly sit up, taking the corpulent woman of shiny red lips by surprise.

Unlike last time, there are no sweet dreams with the swordman, just a twinge of uneasiness in my guts. I can hear the woman who has woken me up, now bend over in front of me, saying...something, but it's too difficult to focus on her words right now. It must be bad though, she looks alarmed. But, whatever, I feel as if someone banged my head against a wall. Which, now that I remember, it's somewhat accurate.

The woman keeps talking (something about pink paws?) and I just rub my temples and stand up, staggering a bit. I can't shake the feeling that something horrible has happened.

Looking around, it clicks. The scenery is desolating; there is more rubble on the ground than there was before I passed out, clear marks of a fight, but there are no signs of the warlord anywhere, and there are several bodies on the ground. I recognize Nami and Usopp figures not so far from me, and the blood in my veins freeze.