Hiding the Truth (One Piece)

Chapter 43 - Winter Wonderland

Fuck this shit

The incessant pounding in my head was almost nauseating, the intensity of the pain leaving me weakly groaning on the cold metal ground I found myself, along with my crewmates, thrown across. From what I could tell, Chopper, Franky, Sanji, Nami and I were trapped in a plain white room, the sealed door providing no way out. The other four were still unconscious, and I guess my senses were still muddled from the knockout gas, because what seemed to be several cut body parts were placed in a pile on the opposite side of the room we were trapped in.

This was starting to get ridiculous, the amount of trouble we found ourselves in has long lost its novelty. We hadn't been in the New World for even a day, and half of the crew, including myself, were kidnapped to who knew where, with the rest of our crew probably clueless to what had happened to us. I couldn't even guess how long we were knocked out for, seeing as there were no windows in our makeshift prison. I stood from my position, but having to quickly hunch over to try and push down the wave of nausea. After a moment, when the sick feeling had passed, I walked over to Sanji, who was beginning to show signs of waking, his gruff moans and grunts increasing in volume as he shifted to sit up. 

"Hey Sanji. Come on, get up" I nudged his leg weakly with my foot, before turning to scrutinise the room, to see if there was anything of use for us to try and escape, and maybe for a better idea as to who had taken us. The blank room was quite secure, with no windows or vents and only one door which was bolted closed, leaving our options limited. However, knowing us, we would probably result to smashing right through the walls, with little regard in trying to make a quiet escape.

The others were slowly starting to gain consciousness, and after everyone had managed to deal with the side effects from the sleeping gas our kidnappers had used to knock us out. We managed to converse with the severed head we'd been trapped with, who claimed we were on a frozen wasteland.

"What are you saying? Last we checked, we were on a burning island. The fires were so intense, the surrounding waters were aflame" I stated, still wary of the body-less head, wondering if the person was senile with all his injuries. 

"No Lana, it might be true. I spotted a winter sky from the ship; it could be possible that this island is separated by two climates. That would mean that we're on the arctic side" Nami stated, fully convinced on her very doubtful theory. 

As the samurai, whom I assumed was who was being mentioned in the emergency Den-Den Mushi transmission, informed us that his body had been cut by an unknown swordsman, he asked for our assistance in piecing his body back together. Though his request for aid was quickly thrown aside when he'd found out we were pirates, explaining that he wanted nothing do do with us 'disgusting' pirates. He's conviction in refusing help considering the circumstances was bizarre, seeing as we were the only ones nearby who could help, but I wasn't willing to argue against his pride-filled vendetta. 

"Well we can't sit here like squatting ducks. I'll agree to help you, you ungrateful samurai, but if you give us any trouble, I'll throw you away. Franky, can you get us out of here?" Sanji begrudgingly grabbed the Samurai's severed head, before turning to Franky, who merely saluted him and proceeded to blow the metal door of its hinges, the bend metal clattering against the opposite wall.

"Why was I even expecting anything different?" Sarcasm dripping from my voice as we all ran away, and considering we had to choose to escape using the most conspicuous method possible, we were quickly swarmed by people donned in yellow quarantine suits, who were ordering us to surrender as they gave chase, shooting bullets at us from behind. 

With no particular direction in mind, we found ourselves trying to navigate the maze-like structure for an exit, until we found ourselves cornered at the end of a long corridor by our pursuers. Our only option was to go through the large door that lay ahead, its size looming at great heights that even our tallest crewmember, Franky, was dwarfed by its size. We all rushed in, slamming the door behind us, as we all panted for breath, the chase leaving us winded and exhausted.