Somewhere along the way we got seperated from Sanji and Usopp so now it was just me, Robin, Chopper, and Luffy. When we got to Morias room though—where Luffy and I were held in the cage—the only people who were there was Hogback and some zombies.
My eyes shifted over to the small dog since the one holding the two swords were obviously Zoro's zombie. An excited smirk sprawls itself across my lips as I take out my scythe.
"Which one should we take out first?" Zombie Zoro asked Zombie Sanji in which the old dog said Chopper should be the first to go.
Right when Zombie Sanji dashed at Chopper I jumped in and blocked the kick with my scythe, forcing him back.
"Who's this bastard?" The old dog looked at me with an irritated look as I turned to Chopper and Robin silently telling them that I had Zombie Sanji and to deal with Zombie Zoro.
They nodded gratefully and when I turned back to the zombie I had to quickly duck before it's kick took off my head. I let out a sound of relief as I jumped back to avoid a kick to the stomach. The style was clearly Sanji's which made it more and more exciting.
My disguise seemed like it was working becuase Zombie Sanji did not hold back. And for the first time ever after being on this crew, I've come to appreciate how truly strong Sanji is. His kicks had brute strength behind them, sending me a few feet back every time I blocked his attacks and if he did land a kick on me I had to flex so that the most he could do was bruise me and not break anything.
A new found respect for Sanji surfaced as I was genuinely impressed with not only how strong he was, but also his form, his movement, and the way he was attacking but also wasn't lacking in defense. Besides the little openings every now and then, his technique was perfect. He was agile and quick on his feet, ready to bounce back and attack one more, but also quick to block or dodge an attack.
After blocking and sending my own attacks every now and then, he finally managed to knock the scythe out of my hands which honestly was fine. From here on out it was a martial arts battle, strictly hand to hand combat—or rather hand to foot combat. I used all the skills I was taught by some of the best generals in Sinthaya while adding my own twist.
I won't lie, with him being more mobile and agile as me, it was hard to keep up, but my reactions were quick enough to not sustain as much damage as a normal person would.
"You're not half bad," Zombie Sanji jumped a few feet away from me as he looked at me while shaking his legs out, "What's your name bastard?"
I didn't answer him though since I didn't want to blow my cover, but I did chuckle under my breath as I found it amusing hearing that kinda talk from Sanji's persona. The dog penguin charged at me again, this time with more speed and strength behind his moves.
I had difficulty blocking and dodging consistently as his hits started to land more often. I grind my teeth as another kick is sent to my back and I have to stop myself from completely falling and injuring myself.
But I wasn't satisfied being completely on defense. In the small moment that he took a break, I immediately jumped at the opening. I sent a kick to his face and when he blocked it I faked kicking with my other leg before instantly rebounding on it and kicking with the same leg I used in the beginning. He got caught off guard and flew back, coughing a little.
He got ticked off and went to attack before he saw Robin about to purify Zombie Zoro. He clicked his tongue in annoyance as he looked at our archeologists, "You're a troublesome one."
I watched as Zombie Sanji switched his target, running towards Robin with a merciless look.
"No don't! She's a lady!" Chopper yelled out to Zombie Sanji in an attempt to stop her, but he clearly didn't care.
When I noticed his indifference I tried to run and stop him but my body froze, an overwhelming pain stinging in my knee as if my joint had froze and stopped moving ultimately locking up. "Damn..." I couldn't help, but mutter angrily under my breath as Sanji kicked Robin on the back making her fall over in shock and pain.
Zombie Zoro flipped Chopper over his shoulder before walking over to Robin and holding a sword to her neck while Zombie Sanji held a foot on Choppers chest.
With my injuries and locked joints, we were all on the floor immobilized. We listened to Hogback laugh manically as we lay on the ground in defeat.
"I'm afraid they no longer have any memories of your days as crewmates. Fresh zombies usually hold their shadows feelings for a little, but these zombies have already settled into their new bodies!" Hogback looked at us patronizingly as he laughed menacingly, "As for as zombies go, my orders are absolute!"
"I'm actually happy to see that you're rotten to the core, Hogback." Chopper seemed to grit his teeth, enraged at the lack of morals in the doctor he seemed to have respected a lot, "In all actuality, you have saved countless lives. I really did respect you as a doctor." He continued to add on about how he supported Hogbacks plan to create zombies since it would give the dead a second life and give their loved ones a second chance, but Chopper's previous speculations were shut down by Hogbacks lack of empathy.
"Fool!" The 'doctor' bellowed out a loud laugh mockingly as he shot Chopper a weird look, "Why would I go to such lengths for someone else?! I conducted operations for the money and the treatment that came from the world! But even then it got old! It became a pain!"
I grit my teeth at his response not only because of how he views other people in his mind, but also how he was practically spitting on Chopper's old feelings towards him and everything Chopper stood for. I tried to get up, wanting to kick his head in until it came out his ass, but my knee locked up again and I fell back to the ground with a pained muffle as Hogback continued his monologue.
"You can respect me if you want but your disappointment is uncalled for!" Hogback continues to explain to Chopper that as doctors he of all people should understand why he is the way he is and if he can't then that was on him.
Chopper looked at him with a disgusted look as he looked like he was questioning how someone with morales as fucked up like this could even exist, "I don't even consider you a doctor! The same goes for these zombies! All you've done is reanimate the dead they're not even alive! Don't take life so lightly!"
The plump man scoffed mockingly at Chopper's passionate and aggressive response, "They're moving right before you're eyes and you're telling me they're not alive? Dr.Chopper the dead have been given a second chance at life, isn't it a miracle?" He walks over to the blonde hair girl who's always next to him and sends her a kick, "Watch!" The girl goes flying, landing on the floor, though she didn't say a word. He walked over to her with a satisfied and sadistic smile, "Now start licking the floor, Cindry!"
Robin looked at the scene horrified while Chopper and I began to get angry. The girl, Cindry, replied with a shaky voice as she complied to her master's wishes and got on all floors before kicking the dirty floor like a dog.
Hogback turned back to us as he mentioned his room and how Cindry had been a famous actor when she was alive, "I had been in love with her for a while. I wasn't the only one. Her beauty charmed men all over the world. She was a truly wonderful woman. But that woman...rejected my proposal. She already had a fiancé." He explains that she died in an accident and that's when Moria approached him, joining the Warlord on the condition that he'll make Cindry one of his zombies.
I scoff at the ridiculous statement as I glare up at him, disgust laced in my voice, "And you would do that to the woman you love? That's not love that's obsession and lust!"
I hear a surprised grunt to the side of me and in the corner of my eye I see Zombie Sanji looking at me in slight shock for a reason that I couldn't care less about right now.
Hogback grit his teeth together before he looked at me and yelled angrily, "You shut up! What I have for Cindry is real and now she's as thrilled as I am! She gets to live in this world as a human again!"
"How could you call her a human?" Chopper spoke in almost disbelief as he looked about ready to kick Hogback out of the tower to plummet to his death, "When a humans heart isn't linked to her heart she's no longer a human. Using bodies that can't stick up for themselves...you're creating nothing but monsters! For every zombie you've created you're making somebody else miserable!"
"Don't try to lecture me, you stupid reindeer!" Hogback seemed to finally lose his temper as a vein popped on his forehead, pointing at us and yelling to Cindry again, "Finish those three off, Cindry! Rejoice Dr.Chopper! Since you admire me so much I'll make you into my assistant after you die."
When Cindry starts attacking Chopper with her plates, Chopper runs over and grabs her by the arm making her surprised. She kicks him in the stomach to make her release her before smashing the remaining plates on his head. He keeps himself up as he grabs her arms again telling her that she didn't have to listen to him and trying to get through to her.
"Do your eyes deceive you?! She's able to move after being dead! There's nothing else that she could ask for!" Hogback laughed manically at Chopper's failed attempt at getting into Cindry's head.
"Is moving really all that matters? Humans are freer than that!" For the first time, I see Chopper speak with so much passion that it brings a smile on my face despite the state we were in, "You're the only one who's treats them like they aren't humans!"
His words seemed to reach the zombies in the room as they all take a second to pause at his words. Chopper took advantage of this hesitation to yell at Robin to feed Cindry the salt.
"Damn it! Help her out!"
Upon Hogbacks orders, Zombie Sanji kicks Chopper away before Zombie Zoro sends slashes towards the three. Robin tries to hold Zoro down but he breaks through and sends a slash to her. Zombie Sanji gets irritated and attacks Zombie Zoro and they begin to fight. To ensure they keep fighting, Robin closes Hogback's mouth before he can give them any other orders.
Chopper looks at Zombie Zoro and Zombie Sanji in disbelief, "Even without their memories, those two are still like water and oil..."
A sweat dropped down my forehead as a weak smile crept on my lips, "What are we going to do with them..."
Suddenly, Robin deactivated her Devil fruit allowing Hogback to talk as she smiled at him, "Isn't this a tall tower? Why don't you order the two of us to jump out the window? "
Chopper looked at Robin with a confused look, but he stayed quite after she turned to us with a smile and a wink. A smirk creeped onto my lips as I realized what she was doing.
You have to love a smart woman.
"What's gotten into you?!" At this point, Hogback was so mad at how Zombie Zoro and Sanji were fighting that he didn't even take a second to think about his next act, "I'll say that as many times as you want! Jump! I order you two to jump out the window together!"
Chopper and Robin move away so that he's pointing at Zombie Zoro and Sanji making them stop fighting and start runnning to the wall. I was still a little away from them so while Hogback was yelling at them I pushed through the pain in my legs to stand up and hobble over to them.
"You tricked me!" Hogback stopped staring at the hole in the wall that Zombie Zoro and Sanji jumped through to look at us angrily.
Chopper cracks his knuckles with a ready expression, a deep frown on his face, "Luffy will purify all the zombies ones he defeats Moria. You're the one I want to throttle with, Hogback!"
In a desperate attempt, the 'doctor' turned to the female Zombie, "C-Cindry! Buy me some time! I'm gonna run for the hills!" But Cindry was silent and Hogback didn't hesitate to yell at her, "Where's my answer?! I'll give you another shadow if they take you out! Don't worry about dying!"
But when we looked at her, she was crying. Her face was blank and empty, but there were constant tears running down her cheeks, "I...cannot move."