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

CHAPTER XVI - The bear and the knight

In the village of Gherom, Heavy Metal pirates were doomed without their captain. They were crushed by the imposing Vice-Admiral, who even seemed to take pleasure in it. Chasing two of them down an alley, Myr saw General Adnanos, near the large iron gates. His behaviour was most suspicious : he looked from right to left with his big eye, then behind him, making sure he was not followed. Then, having done so, he fled into the forest, running at high speed. Myr took some time to observe the village : with his help, the pirates had been largely repelled, and the cyclops soldiers would have no trouble beating the few remaining enemies up. So he went after the general, determined to find out what he had in mind.
...
Zeem Slayer was a pretty tall guy, perhaps 7ft tall. Even under his thick iron armor, one could guess his protruding muscles, and his face, clear and serene, did not let any nervousness appear. He passed his gloved hand through his silver hair, pulled back, and smiled.
- So here stands the leader of the little soldiers ? 
- Second-in-command, actually. But you won't get to meet the Vice-Admiral. When he'll arrive, I will already have defeated you, pirate.
The other let out a little sneering laugh.
- You know that I am the most wanted man in East Blue, that I possess the powers of a devil fruit, and that the life of those cyclops is threatened, right ? Do you think that you stand a single chance against me, crybaby ?
Gaia, gagged, was chained in a corner of the room. This cave was the most spacious of the mines. The many torches made the iron ores shine. Zeem Slayer stepped forward, and put his hand on one of them.
- My men captured the few diggers who were still present when we arrived. Half a dozen, perhaps more... If the situation goes wrong, which I doubt, we still have this ace up our sleeve.
- My friends are far too strong and ingenious to be put in trouble by some bastards of your kind.
- Oh yes ? Are you talking about that scared, weak teddy bear or the little archer ? What a bitch she was ! Once I have taken this island and killed you, I may take her as my slave...
It was too much. Arthur had leapt, Excalibur in hand, ready to strike. But by the time he could do so, his enemy had disappeared. He turned around, looking for him, ready to defend himself, but the blow was so fast that he could not avoid it. Struck in the ribs, he crashed against the stone floor and let out a cry of pain. As he raised his head, he became aware of the strange orifices at the pirate's joints.
- This is the power of the Pulse-Pulse fruit, my boy. A Paramecia that makes me the fastest man on earth. All I need is a little push to finish this fight, look closely.
He crouched slightly, and the organs behind his calves propelled him forward at full speed. Sliding on the blades encrusted in his shoes, he landed another blow which the young soldier barely managed to deflect, and which slashed his arm. He fell again heavily and almost drop his weapon. The pirate stood up, proud of the effect produced by his power, and contemplated the cave.
- Look at all that iron... The best in the world, they say. It has no value in the hands of these prickly cyclops.
Gaia grumbled and struggled, but he slapped her and she collapsed.
- Silence, your Majesty. I remind you that it is thanks to you that we are here. If you hadn't had the imprudence to venture into the jungle, we wouldn't have captured you. You are the perfect hostage, princess, and with the help of our spy, I had no trouble caughting you at the right moment ...
He turned around to look at the cave and, satisfied, inhaled the smell of iron and rock.
- Please die quickly, my child, so I can start to extract this wonder. You're wasting my precious time.
Arthur stood up with his sword in his hand:
- This is just the beginning. 

...

Haru leapt nimbly, dodging the attacks of his opponents. Two other pirates had collapsed since Arthur's departure, and it was only a matter of time before the others did too.
Her fight against the henchmen had taken her a little further, in an adjacent room where the luminosity was almost nil. Fighting in such a room would be more complicated, but young Kuja knew she could rely on her haki to spot her opponents. This faculty that she had was not yet fully developed, it was still to be practiced, but it at least allowed her to feel the presence of her enemies, to guess their number and to bring them down. A concern suddenly seized her : she felt, in this new room, a higher number of individuals than before. New enemies ? No. In the darkness, she discerned their massive silhouettes : cyclops, probably diggers, prisoners. Already, the remaining pirates were rushing to encircle the hostages, ready to execute them if their enemy was to attack again. 
- Sorry, sweetheart, but you're going to have to give up ! cried one.
- Poor fools... Are you ready to kill innocent people for ores ? As rare as it is ? The power it will grant you will never be great enough to compensate for the immorality of your crimes.
Knowing that this debate was futile, that the pirates were resigned, she considered the best way to act. She drew three arrows to her bow while in the distance, a tremor occurred, followed by the resounding howl of a beast...
...
Jorge had been thrown against the rocks by the force of his enemy, and had not been able to hold back his cry. The enormous iron flail swirled again over Sir Bayard. The young soldier remained on the ground for a moment. A single blow had been enough to take him down, and his opponent, without giving him any rest, was already about to attack again. Without warning, the gigantic knight threw his iron flail, bristling with peaks, towards his opponent. In a split second Jorge gathered his remaining forces and leapt aside, but it was not enough : with a skilful movement of his wrist, Bayard sent his deadly weapon towards the young ursine warrior, who was struck in the flank. The iron peaks plunged into his flesh and made him scream again. He collapsed, breathless. His hairy cheek now rested on the cold rock, and he wondered why he was here. He lacked Arthur's courage, Zell's skill, Haru's ingenuity, or Jun's determination. The only thing he had was his beastly strength. Despite his fear, which made his paws tremble much more than the pain, he stood up to the enemy and howled once again. With a leap, he pounced on him, ready to crush his skull, but Bayard, cleverer than he seemed, sent him back to the ground with a single strike. Jorge collapsed again on the ground, and the strap of his leather bag tore, spilling all its contents on the floor : some fruits, a scarf, but above all the photograph of his parents.
He looked at them both for a few moments, and when he saw their smile, tears came to his eyes. He remembered their house in Kokoo, the wind of West Blue... He remembered when they used to play in the garden, when his father taught him to sail, where his mother taught him to read. He finally remembered the day they died. He had woken up, in the arms of his uncle, who was running, panicked. The house was on fire, he had been unconscious for a long time. He had screamed, shouted their names, he had wanted to go back, he had cried all the tears of his body, but his uncle had refused to let him return. "They're dead, son. It's over", he had said. He only had kept this photograph, these memories, and had never see them again.
That day, he had been helpless. Perhaps he could have helped them, if he had been able to use his powers. But he was unconscious. He had done nothing. 
As he was laying on the ground, on the verge of fainting, rehashing his memories, he heard the swirling of the flail. The very silent Sir Bayard was about to strike, again.
But this time, Jorge did not wait the last moment. He stood up on his hind legs, ready to defend himself. If he was killed today, he would be unable to protect his friends. He would be unable to save those he loved, as he had been unable to save his parents. "They will not be ashamed of me," he repeated, "They will be proud."
The fail flew in his direction, faster than ever. He gathered his strength, but did not dodge. 

- Bear Boxing: Heavy Jab !

The power of his punch was such that it shattered the flail, whose fragments flew all over the cave, like an iron rain. Sir Bayard, unarmed, could not suppress a howl of surprise and terror, revealing a high-pitched voice behind his intimidating iron mask. He tried to flee as fast as he could, but he was quickly caught by the beast who crushed his skull against the ground, screaming :
- THEY WILL NOT BE ASHAMED OF ME ! THEY WILL BE PROUD !