"Destroy..."
"WHAT!?"
"WHAT IS THIS RED HEAD WOMAN STATING!?"
"THIS HAS BEEN THE PALACE FOR THE ROYAL FAMILY FOR OVER 4000 YEARS!"
Faythe crossed her arms, and stuck out her tongue, "Well guess what, you little bitches! It wasn't even my idea, but your Princess'!" Faythe pointed her thumb over her shoulder, to Vivi who stood firm as she kept an even look with the General.
"PRINCESS! PLEASE!"
"PLEASE DO NOT CONSIDER SUCH RIDICULIOUS IDEAS!"
"COMMANDER CHAKA, DO NOT MAKE THE WRONG DECISION!"
"THE KING MIGHT BE AWAY, BUT YOU CANNOT APPROVE OF SUCH RIDICULIOUS PLAN!"
The general didn't move his attention from the Princess, even when the royal kept shouting their disapproval with the fall of the Palace.
"Princess.." He muttered as if in deep thought. But it seemed as if he was remembering something as he gazed down at the girl, because a small smile formed on his face shortly after.
Multiple guards gasped in shock as they saw their General get on one knee and bow down to Vivi.
"We shall do as you say."
/;/~***~/;/
Standing outside on the Palace's defensive walls, General Chaka was throwing out orders to gather as much gun powder as they could.
Faythe was sitting on the defensive walls, gazing out onto the city as she listened to Vivi and Chaka speak near her.
"I'm at a loss, as to how to explain the current situation if his highness were here right now..." Chaka sighed.
"It's fine, we understand. You had no choice but to respond to the rebel threat..." Vivi stepped forward and placed her hand on the wall, "You've done a commendable job in quelling unrest for the past two years without Igaram..."
All Chaka could do was keep his head down.
"I'm sorry too, for leaving this country all of a sudden..." Vivi glanced at Faythe for a moment before continuing, "...But it's not over yet! Even if we manage to stop the rebels, as long as that man remains alive... This country will never see peace!" Vivi hung her head as she started stressing about the crew, "I... I just hope they're all alive and well..."
Faythe sighed and then bonked her upside her head, "Idiot!"
"Owwy...!" Vivi rubbed her forehead and glanced up at her friend who didn't even take her gaze from the city.
"You need to stop worrying about them, they'll beat 'em all up in no time. And then we can all stop the war and have a big banquet after this...!" Faythe then turned her head, leaned in her palm smirking. The wind fluttered her hair that contrasted with the princess'. Vivi couldn't help but be a little envious of the pretty red color that seemed to suit her greatly with her bright blue eyes. Vivi lips quirked up a bit as she brightened up a bit.
"I can't but worry.." Vivi shrugged with a light chuckle, "I mean have you met Usopp and Nami?"
"Oh true." Faythe snorted, as she rubbed the back of her neck.
"Princess Vivi." Chaka interrupted, gaining both the girl's attention, "In the two years since you've been gone, you've changed so much for the better. I would love to invite the rest of your pirate friends to a banquet as your friend stated, after this is all over. And learn what kind of people they are."
"Chaka..." Vivi muttered as she felt a little happy that he accepted them quickly.
"HA! Well let me tell you before hand, good sir!" Faythe busted out laughing, ruining he moment, "We don't know the word or definition of manners or normal. So be prepared."
"I expected such from a rowdy group of pirates." He couldn't help but chuckle along with her laughing.
"Yes, they are a very peculiar group." Vivi muffled a fit of giggles.
But while they were talking among themselves a royal guard burst through the doors, littered in wounds and lathered in blood. Faythe immediately hopped off the defensive walls and stepped in front of Vivi.
"COMMANDER CHAKA!" The wounded guard shouted between forced breaths.
"Hm!?" Chaka turned his head alert.
"H-HE'S IN THE PALACE!" The guard shouted out in terror.
But nothing could prepare Vivi or Faythe for who they were about to hear.
"My, my, how troublesome...."
Faythe's eyes swiftly turned to the direction of the voice without a second of hesitation. And boy was she pissed to see the man again.
"Your actions are quite unbecoming of a princess, Ms. Wednesday... This palace will soon be my home, you know...?" There sitting on top of the roof's balcony was the whole problem of this war, "Palaces are the wonderous places... Kuhahahaha! There's no better place to look down on the filthy rabble...!"
"CROCODILE!?" Vivi screamed in shock. Faythe only edged closer to the princess, holding up her winged arm protectively. Upon further listening to outside of the gates, and below the walls, they could hear army of guards trying to get through the gate as it was apparently blocked by something.
"Fufufu... Seems like there's quite a fuss just outside the door." Ms. All-Sunday stepped over a fallen guard as she chuckled to herself.
"Well that answers that fucken question." Faythe muttered to herself. Now all that left was the obvious one. Crocodile is here along with his partner. So where is Luffy!?
"FATHER!"
"YOUR HIGHNESS!"
Faythe was too busy glaring at Croco that she completely almost forgot about the man was nailed to the wall next to the blocked doors.
"That also answers where the king was.." Faythe sighed annoyed.
"Vivi..." The king raised his head weakly, mustering his strength to speak, "Forgive me... For squandering the chance to save this Kingdom, that you risked your life to get..."
"Father..." Vivi wanted to go straight towards the man and give him a hug after all these years, but knew better than make a step out of Faythe's range.
"LET GO OF HIS HIGHNESS, CROCODILE!" Chaka shouted furiously.
"Haha... It's just as the king himself so pathetically stated." Croco lighted his cigar up, chuckling in amusement at the scene before him. That ever disgusting smirk plastered on his face that Faythe wanted to smack right off, "But Ms. Wednesday... It wasn't just your life that you risked. You should thank those other pirate-friends of yours for helping you come this far."
Faythe could feel the feathers on her back start rising dangerously.
"WHERE'S LUFFY!? AND WHAT'RE YOU DOING HERE!?" Vivi screamed out the most wanted question.
"Oh, did I not mention he's dead already?"
Vivi's screaming fell on deaf ears, as Faythe could almost hear the world collapsing around her. She wondered back to the days on the Going-Merry. The days the crew would laugh at whatever stupid reason they conjured. She thought back to the day that changed her life. The smile that reminded her of her dearest friend that she had lost long ago. When she accepted his request of joining his crew, she thought that him and Yimo would have liked each other. She thought maybe they would have been good friends. The chains that bounded her had been shaken free as she followed him. She had met her lost brother, a cousin, and maybe future family that she'll meet someday. But now, she felt her skin crawl as feathers flared out. The feathers rising were agitated, covering her cheek.
"Chaka..." She breathed out raggedly.
"Y-yes..!" He answered automatically as he heard the tone she used.
"Take care of Vivi, it seems I'll have to follow through Luffy's promise to me.." Faythe growled out, her transformation manifesting quickly, as her anger spiked.
"W-WAIT FAYTHE!" Vivi had no time to think as she felt her body get grabbed by Chaka as a sudden gust of powerful wind sounded off when Faythe powered through towards Croco himself.
"CROCODILE!" She screeched dangerously, her eyes radiating predatory.
"Seems, I have angered a beast." Crocodile chuckled, raising his hook at her. he fired it off with his sand, but her body slammed to the right, dodging it. She charged forward, but his hook followed closely. She swiveled around opening her beak, and crushed down at the pointed hook. Her wings raised warningly. The golden hook fell out of her beak almost cracked into pieces.
"You..!" He seethed, reeling in his arm and hook. he charged forward in his sand form furiously as he tried to strike. Faythe followed his sand and dodged an attack aimed at her hind legs. She flapped her wing strongly towards his attack. The gust of wind blew the sand away from her.
"You will pay for my Captain's death!" She hollered in rage, talon's digging into the stone.
"Why do you follow such a weak, pirate. He'll never make it far in the Grandline with that level of thinking!" Crocodile barked out a laugh.
"My captain allowed me to join his crew so that I could achieve my dream, knowing full well, I couldn't achieve it alone!" Faythe yelled out.
"So what do you do!? Are you his pet or something!" Crocodile mused.
"I may not be as strong, as Zoro as his right hand man. Or be super fast like Sanji, his left hand. But I am his eyes. The eyes that help him see things that he cannot!"
She charged forward, breaking the ground from where she propelled from. Crocodile threw more sand at her but was just reflected like earlier from her wind attacks. She grabbed hold of his hook and swung him into the pillar next to the king. The pillar met impact and came collapsing down on him.
Faythe turned towards the king trying to unrestraint him from his torment, but multiple hands stretched around her legs. They lifted her up, unbalancing her. Faythe snapped down at the hands tried tearing them off her. But a sudden strike of pain shot through her side.
Her yellow strained eyes slowly looked down to see a sword of sand going through her.
"Kuhahaha, you think tossing me around will kill me that easily...!" Crocodile's voice could be heard behind her.
"Y-... Y-You..!" She couldn't even finish her sentence as she tried to hold back a sudden urge to cough up blood.
"FAYTHE!" Vivi cried out, trying to reach the girl that she traveled with. Tears were already trailing down her face.
"Hm? What were you going to say?" Crocodile questioned with a small smirk dancing on his lips.
The hands that were straped on her legs, crushed her into the ground. Trapped.
Faythe used her talons to try and claw her way out but she only left deep cuts in the stone pavement.
"Oh well, must be not important then." Crocodile shrugged and then used a sand spear to strike down on her left wing.
"AGHHHH!" Faythe screamed out in pain, the blood that she held back spurted out on the ground in front of her.
"STOP IT!" Vivi was clawing Chaka's arm, trying to run to Faythe's fallen form on the ground. Her beast form was slowly changing back into her normal human shape. But the wounds were in the same places. Instead of her left wing, it was her left arm. The burning sensation that edged her body as she laid there, bleeding out. She tried to regulate her breathing but it was becoming harder as time passed. The bubbling of blood clouded her throat frustratingly.
"So, before we were rudely interrupted by this pet, who was apparently grieving for it's owner, where were we? Oh? So before I replace you on your throne, Cobra, there is one question I must ask.... A question to which my ultimate objective is tied with..." Crocodile stepped forward, closely with the nailed up king.
"Where is Pluton?"
/;/~***~/;/
(Word Count: 1900)