13Hey guys! Forzarismo here with an all new story! I've had this story planned out since 2015, but have never really had the time to write it since I was so focused with School, Work, and The Rubbery Vengeance. This story takes place in the same universe as The Rubbery Vengeance and will include a lot of world building, so be prepared for that.
Nevertheless, I hope you all enjoy this story and make sure to tell me what you think!
Chapter 1: Origin: Arasval
"Sis… Don't worry… everything is going to be okay…" I wheeze out, trying my best to put up a strong front for my crying baby sister, cradling her with my right arm and trying to calm her down as best as I can. I mean, it would've been more convincing if not for the hole in my chest made via shotgun blast as well as my left arm is a couple of feet away from me, losing blood at an alarming rate.
To be honest, I'm utterly dumbfounded at the fact that I'm still awake at this point. My heart stopped beating roughly five minutes ago, at least I think so?
I look towards my right, seeing the dead man that did this to me. 'At least I made him and his associates unrecognizable.' I think to myself, looking at the three other dead bodies in the warehouse. I don't even remember what happened that much when I confronted them, to be honest, It was a mostly a blur, only remembering what happened after when I got shot through the heart.
From the looks of it, it appears that I caved in one of the guys' head with a crowbar, degloving his face in the process. The second person appears to be in a grinder not unlike the one in the second kingsman movie, though it seemed to have jammed when his body was halfway through the machine. The third seems to have had the most agonizing death, and that one wasn't even my fault. The fourth guy just missed me somehow from close range and hit his comrade in the pelvic area. It must've been one hell of a shot too, considering that the general area became a fine red mist and both of his legs aren't connected to his body anymore.
The last guy… the one that shot me… yeah, I don't want to remember what I did to him. That was too gruesome, even by my standards. Even so, I don't regret what I did. What they were doing in this warehouse filled to the brim with people taken from their friends and family, just what they were doing here is despicable, but to include my five-year-old sister in this!?
Yeah, there was no way I was going to leave any of them alive.
After killing the four human traffickers, I called the cops, telling them of my location and what I found. I may have left out the part where I killed them, but having my sister in safe hands is much more important to me.
'Eh… not my problem anymore…' I think to myself, trying my hardest to stay conscious. They thankfully had my sister in an unlocked cage, so I was able to get her out of there, though once I stumbled and fell, I couldn't muster the strength to get up once more, no matter how hard I tried.
This leads me back to what's happening now, my cold body slowly, but surely starting to refuse to move at my command, as I desperately attempt to clean up the blood oozing out of both the hole on my chest, but also what's left of what used to be my left arm.
Ugh… shotguns are no joke.
"Big Bro… will you be okay?" My sister asks me, her eyes filled so much hope that I couldn't even tell her no.
"Yes, yes I will be okay. Don't worry… Your big brother is strong." I lie, feeling my stomach churn at the fact that I didn't tell her truth.
At this point, I can feel my eyelids getting really heavy with sleep, and realize that my time is almost up. I hum a tune of a song that I always sing to my baby sis whenever she is in distress, for some reason having a calming effect on her whenever I sing it. I'm too tired to sing though, but thankfully she recognizes the tune of the song and it begins to calm her sobbing down.
I hum for what seems to be hours, and soon enough, I can hear my sister's breathing normalize, hinting to me that she is beginning to lose consciousness.
'Thank you Jesus, I didn't think I could keep up much longer.' I mentally say to myself, my body now shutting down completely, feeling my sense begging to leave me. Everything started becoming blurry, I can no longer taste the iron in my mouth, and I could no longer even feel the coldness. Every single one of my sense began leaving, and it is one of the most terrifying things I have ever experienced.
I have accepted death a long time ago, but now that I am going through the process of dying, I never felt so scared. What makes this even worse is, by what my religion goes by, I know that I am probably going to hell for all of the things I have done in my life. By no means am I really a bad person, it's just that apparently, you can't get into Heaven by just being a good person.
As my vision becomes ensnared by darkness, I can hear sirens coming ever closer towards my destination. If I could still move I would be smiling. My sister is going to be safe, and so are the other people trapped in the cages around us, hopefully with them being reunited with their families if they have them.
'God… When I go to Hell… please… be merciful to me.' I state inside my mind sorrowfully, feeling myself lose conscious for what is most definitely the last time, never again to see this world and all that I love and care for.
In Punk Hazard…
"Okay Commodore! Push!" A doctor says as calmly as he can, preparing himself for the third product of their experiment to come out. The woman lets out a pained cry as she pushes as hard as she can, gripping onto a titanium handle that is at this point nothing more than a mangled piece of metal. Soon enough, a high pitched cry is heard in the room, revealing a small baby boy, with a tuft of dark royal blue hair, crying out in the open, getting its first breaths of life. "Nurse! Get the paperwork ready. Subject UMX-02 is a success." The doctor states, cleaning up the baby from any fluids covering him, while the nurse leaves the room to get the proper paperwork for the government's new experiment.
The baby's mother extends her arm towards the baby, gesturing to the doctor to give her the baby. The doctor complies, handing over the baby to her. As soon she caresses the baby, he begins to calm down, smiling as he seems to recognize that the person carrying him is his mother. "I think I know what to call you." The baby's mother says softly, with baby only gurgling in response. He opens his eyes for the first time, his hawk-like golden eyes looking at his mother's soft brown eyes. 'Now I know what to name you considering you have your donor's eyes.' She thinks to herself with a chuckle.
As the nurse comes back with the paperwork, The doctor begins filling it out, before stopping and turning to the tired woman. "Commodore Gunilla, what will be the codename you will be giving this child?" He questions.
"Arasval." She replies, too preoccupied with the child, who is smiling at her.
"Very well then. As of today, UMX-02's codename is Arasval."
Three Years Later…
This is hell…
If this is God's way of punishing me, then fine. But that doesn't necessarily mean I have to like it.
It's been roughly two years or so since I realized I have been reincarnated and in the One Piece world no less. They've been putting me and thousands of children through all sorts of tests to find the limits of our bodies.
Getting up from my bed in the middle of the night, I look into the sky, praying to get some sort of answer from him, only to be met with silence. I sigh, doing this at least once a week before heading back in my bed to go to sleep. I look at my bed, at the end of it there is a plaque reading:
Number: UMX-02
Codename: Arasval
Status: Alive
My bed isn't the only one like this, as the bunk beds of my fellow teammates also say their numbers, codenames, and status. One thing I don't appreciate them doing to us is that they tattoo our number on our necks, being labeled like cattle since our birth. There are two thousand five hundred bunk beds in this massive room, each and every one of them keeping a boy or girl warm during the night, and in the center of all the bunk beds is a small bed holding a small red-haired girl, the first success of the World Government's project. Her plaque reads:
Number: UMX-00
Codename: Helena
Status: Alive
I let out a small chuckle as I read my current best friend's plaque. Having played Fate Grand Order I can't help but notice that she looks like a child version of the Rider Servant Boudica with her red hair and greenish-blue eyes.
During my second year of life here, I've tried to communicate as best as I can with many of the children here who catch my interest.
God that came out wrong.
Anywho, since she is the oldest out of all of us by a year or so, I befriended her first and it turns out that she is one of the nicest people I have ever met, including those from my previous life. Then again, she is only three years old, so that can change at any moment. She keeps making me call her big sis and she always attempts to baby me, but that's fine with me. Having six younger siblings makes you many times more patient than a normal person would be, and having met Helena, I wish she was a sister of mine instead of any of my past sisters, except the youngest. Aside from being the oldest, she's also the most apologetic, always apologizing even when she isn't the one at fault. Though personally to me that just makes her even more endearing in my opinion.
Another child who I have taken to befriend is the dirty blond haired boy sleeping the top bunk next to mine. He's really reclusive and always seems to be thinking. Then there's also the fact that he is also the most mature out of all the kids I have talked to. We've had short conversations, but they tended to be ones that are more… enjoyable considering how big his vocabulary is. He's really strange, to be honest. Even more so considering that in every single test they make us do, his score is always equal to the entire group of kid's total average. At this point, his strangeness just amuses me. I just glance at his plaque for a moment before heading back in my bed to catch some well-needed sleep.
Number: UMX-04
Codename: Kosaku
Status: Alive
Three More Years later…
Fuck the World Government.
Fuck them for all the shit they put not only me through, but these children as well.
Once more than half of us turn five, the scientists here at Punk Hazard explained to us what our true purpose is. A test to see if they can grow the perfect marine soldiers to enforce the will of the World Government. Obviously, many of the children didn't like their explanation, especially considering the way these particular scientists worded it.
The scientists merely looked at us with passive faces, before looking at their notepads and calling up one of the children to the front. The child hesitantly walks up to the scientist before being led into one of the massive testing rooms that we use for training. If memory serves, this kid, Issei I believe his name is, got the lowest score in terms of overall performance on our last tests. They then command the child to stand in the middle of the room. Through a screen they show us his position, awaiting whichever test they have for him.
Only there was no test.
A scientist took out a remote, punching in some buttons on said remote before hitting the big blue button on it.
Purple light bursts out the kid's chest before engulfing the entire room in the biggest explosion I have ever seen in person. After the explosion happened, the remote spoke.
"UMX-1872: Terminated."
My eyes widen in both realization and utter horror. Dyna Stones. These fucking scientists implanted fucking bombs into all of us. I've always noticed that I had some slight discoloration on my chest, particularly where my heart is located at, but it never crossed my mind that they have the gall to implant bombs into each and every one of us, just to make sure we are kept in line.
I look around to see each of the children's face, many of them with varying expression, with most of their faces showing some degree of fear ranging to shock, crying, or fainting. Some of the children, however, look on with grim acceptance or defiance, but nonetheless, listen to what those damned scientists have to say. Surprisingly, Kosaku took this new info without care, looking at the scientists with disinterest. Helena on the other hand looks down in sadness.
Since then, the tests have become much more dangerous, in that those who fail the tests overall are taken away, never to be seen again. It's been like that for these past three years and it is scary to think of all the tests one has to do.
They have also begun taking four groups of five at a time with either Vice Admirals or Rear Admirals so as to give us battle experience and to experience what is out there in the world. Thankfully, they give us leeway as to choose who we want to be with, with them saying that choosing people we get along with gives better synergy.
A smart choice when I think about it.
Today I'm paired up with my good friends Kosaku and Helena, as well as two others who my group unanimously chose since I thought they'd be a great boon to keeping all of us alive. UMX-54, Codename: Donnie, and UMX-71, Codename: Bolo.
Donnie and Bolo each are in the top one percent on the Skills tests as well as being in the top five percent overall when it comes to the Physical tests. Kosaku is the freaking standard of all the child soldiers created in this program, to the point that they after years of tests, if they ever want the average score for anything we do, they just take his score. With Helena, she is the number one in terms of overall performance, and therefore literally the best one out of all the child super soldiers.
Me on the other hand, Overall, I'm in the lower twenty-five percent in terms of overall performance, making me more of a hindrance compared to the others. The only thing I got going for me is that officially I am the smartest out of all them, though that is not surprising considering I am technically twenty-six years old instead of being six, as well as my high aptitude in the Martial Arts part of the Skills Test and Pain Tolerance in the Physical Test.
Everything else… Well, I'm pretty fucking horrible at. Speed, Strength, Agility, Stealth, and most of all endurance… My failure of these tests dropped my overall performance points, with only my Intelligence, Martial Arts, and Pain Tolerance keeping me from being at the bottom.
By no means is my body really that shitty, in fact, I can do a lot of things that not even my grown ass self could do back in my first life. It's just that even with all the genetic modifications done to our bodies, there are many kids who are just more physically superior to me. I'm just glad I am good enough in other aspects that they haven't decided I'm a lost cause.
If it weren't for that, They'd have sent me with the other lower grade children, usually in missions where our likelihood of death is incredibly high. In fact, as of last year, I have seen over a thousand children go to missions only to never return, a sure sign that they have died a most likely gruesome death, causing our numbers to dwindle down to roughly three thousand nine hundred or eight hundred, somewhere in that general area of numbers. And since the Dyna Stone Bombs implanted in our hearts pretty much makes sure that there isn't a body to bury, that also means no physical funerals either.
Anyhow, the five of us as well as the other fifteen child soldiers are under the command of none other than Vice Admiral Sakazuki right here in the New World, alongside two other admirals who I have never heard of in the story's canon who go by Hisoka and Zachariah.
Our current mission is to search for the Roger Pirates as they were last seen around Hand Island.
I'd be fucking stoked about getting a chance to see the Gol D. fucking Rogers if it weren't for the fact that Vice-Admiral Sakazuki is the one commanding my group and is also right in front of me and the other kids.
I can't even describe how fucking terrifying his gaze is, let alone his very presence, looking down at us as if we are nothing but a mere annoyance in his ship. 'Looks and acts like my dad times one thousand.' I think to myself, nervous as to what to expect from the terrifying Vice-Admiral.
He looks at all twenty of us, lined up on the deck of the ship, with marine soldiers just looking at us in anticipation, probably expecting Sakazuki to snap at us or something, and that is something I wouldn't be surprised by. He walks towards Helena, and I feel really afraid for her for being singled out by this fucker.
Hell if I got singled out, I would've pissed my pants.
"Who are you?" He questions her, his eyes entirely focused on her.
"H-Helena sir." She replies.
SLAP!
Helena is thrown down on the deck floor by the force of Sakazuki's slap. His expression now morphed into one that is almost exactly akin to my dads back then whenever he got in a drunken state of anger.
My eyes widen. Why the everlasting fuck did he just fucking slap her!? Helena answered his fucking question! I grit my teeth, wanting to do something, to speak out in her defense.
But I can't.
My body won't move, completely stiff in fear, denying me to will my body to move closer to Helena. I really want to help her, but I don't wanna die. Not this soon at least. I can feel my hands clenching really hard to the point that I can feel my nails almost piercing through my skin. 'I'm sorry, I want to help but I can't! I'm technically a grown ass man but I don't wanna cross him!' I mentally scream to myself as a way to keep me from doing anything rash.
"Don't make me ask again. Who. Are. You?" he leans down at her, only a couple inches away from her face, as he repeats his question at her, his veins in his neck bulging in what I could only discern as restrained rage.
"UMX-00 sir… A tool for the World Government." she states emotionlessly, getting up, her body and her face completely still as Sakazuki looks at her a couple seconds longer before he leans his body back up and walks away from us.
"You twenty need to understand some things before we head out to our mission," Sakazuki explains, looking at each and every single one of us, with his gaze on me a second longer than with the others before looking away. "First off, Do not speak unless you are spoken to. Each of your groups will assist the squadron you are with, and if I see any of you are caught disregarding orders, you will be met with a punishment of my own choosing. Understand?" He tells us all in a stern tone.
"Sir yes sir!" We all reply before Sakazuki dismisses us and leaves to do his own things.
I immediately head to Helena, who is now caressing her left cheek, trying her utmost hardest to not cry from the pain. He probably hit her harder than what it looked like, considering I've seen Helena get hit by an airborne boulder ten times her size to protect me, only for her to shrug it off like it is nothing and continue on without a problem.
"Let me help you Lena." I offer, calling her by her nickname while extending a hand in a peaceful manner, which she accepts, sniffing slightly as she is no doubt trying to keep herself from crying. "Wanna go to the kitchen and make a pumpkin pie? They're your favorite." I offer softly, trying to get her mind away from the magma Vice-Admiral.
Thankfully, she turns to me and gives me a small trembling smile and a hum in confirmation.
We head into the kitchen area, which is thankfully not off-limits to me as I proved to crew members in charge of the kitchen that I am a surprisingly capable cook, good enough to actually hold my own against their top chefs here in terms of food quality, though they do wonder who I learned from considering my age.
Seeing an opportunity when I and the others began this journey in the New World, I decided to teach Helena the very basics of cooking. Obviously, there were some mishaps in the process, and we can't waste food since we are faring through the God-Almighty New World, so helping as best as I can, by the end of the day she has learned how to make eggs in their scrambled, poached, and omelet forms somewhat decently.
I feel so damn incompetent now that I think about how long it took her to learn all three ways to cook the eggs. She's only seven years old and she is already a much better cook than me at that age. She is a damn fast learner and she soaks everything I told her like a sponge.
And after three weeks, yes you heard me right, three fucking weeks of constant training in the art of cooking, she has the cooking skills of a three-star chef, and can give many of the lower class cooks on this ship a run for their money. Since she has also proven to the others in the kitchen that she has what it takes, we both have been given tasks whenever we are not doing anything in particular on the ship to help in the kitchen, saying that the best teacher is experience, not that I don't believe them.
As Helena and I finish making the pumpkin pie, I notice outside the kitchen's door a small shadow dropping a crumpled piece of paper behind the trash bin. While Helena is distracted by the delicious smell of a cooling pumpkin pie, I head to the bin and quickly get the paper to see what he has written.
'Crow's nest. 12:30. We only have five minutes. Meet me there.' I read from the paper. Quickly shoving the paper down my mouth, I chew as fast as I can before swallowing so I can get back to Helena who is still entranced by the pumpkin pie's smell judging by the line of drool coming from her mouth. "Wait for it to cool Lena. It only needs a bit more." I remind her, shaking her from her slight trance as she realizes what she is doing.
"I know Aras, but I can't help it! You always make delicious food!" She says as she gives me one of her bright smiles, making me preen from her praise.
"Oh stop it Lena, you are pretty good at cooking yourself. I'm pretty sure in only a couple of years you will no doubt be even better than me at this." I tell her, making her blush slightly at my honest assessment of her skills. "Nevermind that, it's time to eat!" I tell her as I cut out a slice for Helena and then for myself, grabbing a big whop of hand-whipped whip cream and putting it on my pie before I dig in.
We sat in content silence, simply enjoying our freshly baked pie as we look out the window to see the rare sight of a calm New World sea.
"So," I call out to Helena, to which she looks at me with a mouth filled to the brim with pie. "You never did tell me what you wanted to do when you grow up." I tell her, who looks at me with a brighten look on her face.
I mean sure, With how our lifestyle is, it's very unlikely that her dream will ever come to fruition, but it's always good to hear out what their aspirations are.
"I want to rule my own kingdom! With me as it's queen!" She exclaims happily, twirling the fork around her hand as she continues, "I want the kingdom to be a place where everyone can be happy, and where nobody will fight with each other and can live in peace!" She finishes, making me smile at her dream. A foolish dream sure, but even with all this world can throw at you, this is the One Piece world after all, a place where the most determined achieve their dream in one way or another.
"What about you?" Helena asks me.
"What about me?" I ask back, playing dumb just for the sake of messing with her.
She pouts, looking at me with an incredibly cute glare. "You know what I'm talking about! What is your dream?" She presses on.
I chuckle, shaking my head slightly. "I don't have one." I respond honestly, to which her glare turns into an expression of surprise, but nevertheless, I press on, "All that matters to me is to survive. At the moment, I have no aspir-dreams to speak of aside from just trying to survive this place." I finish and see that she has a contemplative look on her face as if trying to figure out a solution for me not having a dream.
Judging by the shifting look she gives me, no doubt she already found her answer. "I got it! You will help me make my dream come true! And then, I'll definitely help you find your dream! That way, we don't have to be away from each other! You can be my king! Every queen needs a king and they are rich! So with our riches, I can help you find your true dream!" she exclaims, waving her fork around, expressing her happiness at the fact that she seems to have found a solution to my 'problem'.
I could only let out a chuckle at her proclamation. Hmm… That doesn't sound too bad if I am quite honest. Maybe there will be something I will try to aspire to obtain later in life, but for now, I will agree with her. "Sure thing Lena, that sounds like a good idea." I agree.
Later at Midnight…
'We only have a five-minute window, I have to make this as quick as I can.' I tell myself as I quickly go to the crow's nest, where lo and behold, UMX-04 is waiting for me.
"Arasval." He states, filing his nails nonchalantly as he looks at me.
"Yoshikage. What is it that you wanted to discuss with me?" I ask him, not bothering to act like a child in front of him. Especially considering that he is in the same boat as me both figuratively and literally.
Yoshikage Kira, or UMX-04: Kosaku as he is 'officially' known by everyone else, is the only person who knows of my true past, and me his own. It started when I caught him looking at an art book with deep interest, which contains the One Piece's equivalent to the Mona Lisa. I jokingly called him by his real name when I noticed that he kept staring the woman's hands, and then one thing led to another before he tried to kill me, only to stop when I told him that if he indeed kills me, Helena would try to kill him in retaliation, and/or the Marines will notice my absence and will most likely trail it back to him, especially after confirming that he no longer has his stand Killer Queen at his disposal.
Since then, we've grown a strange but mutual relationship with one another, with him reincarnating sometime after his adventures in Dead Man's Question and me reincarnating in my semi-successful attempt to rescue my baby sister.
"What are your thoughts on this?" Kira asks me, looking at me intently, twiddling his thumbs as he awaits my answer.
"You're gonna need to be more specific, considering we've got roughly four minutes left." I respond, looking at him with an arched brow.
"This mission. There are a lot of things about this that are rubbing me the wrong way. Don't you feel that way too?" He asks me, to which I nod my head.
"Of course I do. We're chasing down the Roger Pirates for fucks sakes! No matter what way you put it, there's no way we're going to win, even with Zachariah's powers." I pause as I try to get a grip of myself. "To be quite honest, I'm afraid of dying again, and not just for myself if that's what you're asking." I pause, thinking about my closest friend. While she is miles ahead of me in terms of everything except intelligence, she relies on me just as much as I rely on her. While she protects me quite a lot on the battlefield, I provide her much needed support that every child needs. I don't know what she would do without me since she looks up to me quite a lot and seeks advice from me whenever she is unsure of something, even though she is physically a year older than me and many would expect on face value for the opposite to happen. "Anywho, I guess we can only hope for the best am I right?" I tell Kira, who looks at me with narrowed eyes.
"You best prepare just in case Arasval. Our profession is dangerous, especially since many consider us nothing more than meat shields for their convenience." Yoshikage adds, quite miffed at the fact that a lot of the soldiers here consider them nothing more than a waste of time and only serve to be their meat shields. After all, to them, they were grown in a lab, so what if they lose a couple of them? They can just grow some more.
"C'mon man, lighten up a bit. I mean you are right, but I don't think we will need to worry about dying if we face the Roger Pirates." I give my two cents, to which I can see Kira raise an eyebrow.
"What makes you so sure? We've seen the damage he is capable of doing through pictures, not to mention the marine soldiers who've encountered their crew having a look of pure terror whenever they recall their encounters with him and his crew." Kira questions me.
I pause to think. I mean he is right in that aspect. Many of the survivors who were traumatized kept mentioning massive whales and/or waves that capsized their ships the moment their ships started shooting at the Oro Jackson. From what I remember, it doesn't add up with what I know about the series, and that quite frankly concerns me. I've written on a notebook a good four years ago everything I can possibly remember from One Piece: from everything in canon to the movies to the specials and fillers and even some of the theories that can even be considered plausible. If my information turns out to be for nothing…
…Well I am completely and utterly royally fucked.
Nevertheless, I silently pray that it is all canonical and I'm not in a more fucked up version of One Piece. With my attention back on Kira, I simply shrug. "Call it a hunch. Besides… what's the worst that can happen?"
A couple days later…
'Dodge and weave! Dodge and weave! Dodge an- OH HELL NO!' I drop to the ground as a dismembered marine corpse flies over me at breakneck speeds, his ribcage grazing my temple as I drop to the floor.
It seems I have made a big error as to what to expect when we got here. I mean sure, Roger's crew was a given considering we were chasing after the magnificent bastard, but there was one HUGE detail which apparently got left out.
Kaido and his crew are here along with them.
From there, Admiral Zachariah uses his Time-Time Fruit powers on the three Marine Battleships, accelerating them through the use of time so that way we can reach the pirates much faster as well as not giving them enough time to prepare.
And from there it just went downhill.
The Roger Pirates are a force to be reckoned with, and now I can see what many of the traumatized marines were saying about massive whales.
They have Island Whales on their side. These whales absolutely eclipse every single ship in the vicinity many times over
Many of the Beast Pirates fought with a ferocity that I have never seen before, and though we had the advantage in numbers, they more than made up for it with their superior strength and abilities.
Admiral Zachariah is currently fighting Kaido, the sheer difference in size not making any difference whatsoever as the both of them seem to be on par with each other. Kick meet kick, punch meets punch. Their attacks are moving so fast that I can see and hear them break through the sound barrier many times over like it's nothing!
And It's only been two minutes!
Okay… As long as Admiral Zachariah has Kaido's attention, We should be safe for the most part and be able to support our fellow troops in need. I can see Helena dragging two heavily injured marines towards the medics on the ship along with some other kids, doing the best they can to make sure their allies don't die a needless death. Kosaku is using a rifle from one of the fallen marines and actually ends up killing one of the Beast Pirates with a well placed shot to the head. Bolo and Donnie are teaming up and are doing hit and runs against from the looks of it Shanks and Buggy. 'Okay, they aren't in any heavy danger, so that's good.' I think to myself as I release a sigh of relief, bringing in a soldier who lost one of his legs to the medics.
This goes on for about roughly ten minutes or so, and then there is a resounding explosion that permeates throughout the battlefield. Everything seems to halt as their attention is now towards a large man with even larger hands. His hands look like they've been ripped to shreds as a waterfall of blood escapes from the gaps of his clasped hands. He has a look of pure horror as he lets out a yell. "The kids have bombs in them!"
"Oh shit…" I mutter out as my eyes widen. Now they know, and will most likely use that to their advantage. While the Roger Pirates seem to have been at worst only knocking out the children, the Beast Pirates began specifically targeting us in hopes to set us off and kill the marines around us.
"UMX! I have a mission for you!" Zachariah shouts out as he redirects one of Kaido's punches with a high kick. "Distract him for a bit! I have a way to knock him down for good! Rear Admiral Strawberry and Stainless! Assist them as well!"
What?
…
…
…
Oh hell no…
I feel my heart drop in fear at what he means.
We're gonna die today, no doubt about it. I look at the kids around me, and they all have the same expression. 'God, please have mercy on us.' I silently pray as I blindly charge towards one of the most dangerous men in the world. A man so strong that he can no longer even be considered human. As I run towards him, my sudden sprint seems to have knocked the kids back into their senses as they begin to charge at one of the Four Emperors with silent resignation.
"Hmph. How ridiculous. To think mere children would ever try to attack me." Kaido comments, the veins on his forehead pulsating with anger. "IT MAKES ME FURIOUS!" Kaido roars out, backhanding many of the children near him with full force.
Those that got directly hit were sent to the skies, a trail of blood-red mist following right behind them before the dyna stone bombs implanted in them were set off, showering the battlefield with a soft purplish light that lasted for only a few seconds. I was able to partially dodge the hit because I ducked the moment I saw his right arm go for a backhand position, but at the cost of my left arm as he still hit me there, sending me spiraling in the air before landing on the ground with a sickening thud. As my mind struggles to get ahold of itself, I take a good look at my left arm. It just dangling there, broken and bending in seven different directions!
"AHHHHHHH! FUUUUUCK!" I scream out as I'm on the ground writhing in agony as I try to get up and get away from Kaido.
"And where in the hell do you think you're going huh!?" I hear Kaido's voice call me out specifically, the ground shaking as his thunderous footsteps get ever so closer to me. I turn around and get a good look at this huge bastard. His entire figure is just pulsating with power, and comparing myself to him is like comparing a sparkler to a Tsar Bomba!
And don't get me started with the look on his face, and the fist that is coming towards me at this very moment.
I pissed myself at that very moment. And if I'm quite honest, I'm not afraid to admit that.
Thankfully though, it seems like Stainless and Strawberry come for the rescue as they block the strike together with Haki-infused blades. As this is happening, Helena rushes over and picks me up, sprinting as she takes me to the medics as Kosaku provides cover fire with his rifle.
"Don't worry Aras! He won't hurt you again I swear!" Helena tries to assure me as she takes me to one of the field medics, who looks at me with worry.
"Ok set him down over there. We'll be with him shortly." the medic states as she points towards a large, slanted rock.
Helena curtly nods as she places me there. As she gently puts me down, careful not to move my left arm, she gives me a bright smile and a thumbs up. "We have everything under control. Believe in us Aras!" Helena tells me cheerfully, leaving without giving me a chance to respond.
It only took a minute or so before a medic came to my aid. "You are an incredibly lucky kid, did you know that?" He tells me.
"I don't feel so lucky." I retort, grabbing a piece of wood and putting it in my mouth. "I'm ready," I say, preparing myself for the pain as I try my hardest to ignore the continuous explosions and flashes of purple around me.
I try to stifle my scream as best as I can, thinking of anything else other than what is going on so as to ignore the pain as best as I can. I can hear the sickening and quite horrifying snap and cracks as the medic puts my arm back in its place. After what seems like forever, the medic begins to wrap my arm with splint and bandages before getting a piece of cloth and using it as a makeshift sling. My tear-filled eyes open and see that my arm looks much better than before.
"There you go. That should help for now. Get back out there and bring back any injured marines you find." The medic commands me as he heads back to where the other injured Marines are.
He doesn't make it to the other side as a ripped leg is thrown at his direction with enough momentum to pierce through his body and send him towards one of the battleship hulls, where he hangs motionlessly as the leg keeps him lodged in the seastone covered hull. I turn to look to see Kaido holding a mutilated marine soldier in his hand as both Stainless and Strawberry are knocked into the ground, bloody and unconscious.
But my attention is not on them. No, it's on Helena, who is petrified at the mere sight of Kaido towering over her. They both ignore the surrounding bodies around them, both marine and pirate as Kaido slowly begins to walk towards Helena mockingly, as if to show that she is only alive because he wills it. For every step Kaido takes forward, that's a step Helena takes backward, but due to the sheer difference in size, Kaido is closing the gap rather fast.
No.
Nonononono.
I will not stand here and watch my best friend die on me because I was too scared to do anything.
I sprinted towards her as fast as my legs possibly can, putting as much force as possible. I can feel my muscles cramping from the strain, but I ignore it, too focused on making sure Helena doesn't die.
She won't die! Not on my watch! I refuse to let that happen!
As Kaido raises his fist into the air, I double down and force my legs to run even faster. Ignoring the increased wetness around my calves as well as the sensation of my body ripping itself apart, once I am only an arm's length distance away from Helena, I grab her and throw her behind me with all the strength I can muster with my right arm.
Then, for some reason, everything began to move slowly. I could see Helena looking at me with utter shock as she is floating in the air. From the outer edge of my vision, I could see Kaido's fist turn into an open palm that is headed right at me. 'So this is it… This is how my life ends… heh…' I internally chuckle as I get a good look at my best friend for one last time.
"I'm sor-"
My world blackens in an instant.
With Helena…
It all happened so quickly! I couldn't even move fast enough! One minute the big man many call Kaido was ready to kill me with a single punch, then in an instant, I am suddenly thrown out of the way, and taking my place is Aras.
I can only look in shock at seeing my friend saving me from dying as he gives me a sad look.
"I'm sor-" he gets cut off as Kaido hit him so hard Aras flew off into the distance, his body split into two pieces, with them flying in two different directions.
"Nooooooo!" I cry out, my sight getting blurry as I see the smaller piece of Ara's flying pieces begin to give off the purple glow of death before exploding. The massive boom pushing Aras away into one of the small islands that has a big forest.
I look back at the horrible bastard that killed my best friend, and I can feel my tears coming out of my eyes as I get the angriest I have ever been.
"Bah! The fool had it coming! He's only delaying the inevitable after all. Now be a good brat and stand still!" He yells out, walking towards me with a closed fist.
Before he can do anything to me, Admiral Zachariah suddenly appears right under Kaido, his fist hitting Kaido straight in the gut. And then I see that Kaido has multiple dents all over his body, each one turning a nasty purple color as he pukes blood all over the admiral. He stands there, uncaring of the blood landing all over him before pulling his fist out of Kaido, jumping into the air as he does so and kicks him on the back of the neck, causing the behemoth known as Kaido to begins to fall over towards the ground.
"Leave!" The Admiral yells, making me look at him with attention, noticing how tired he looks. "He knew you are the strongest out of all of them. Live for his sake!" He looks like he wanted to continue, but then Kaido suddenly stands up and punches Admiral Zachariah with a fist covered in haki.
"Who's next!" an angry Kaido screams out, looking around like a crazy animal.
Knowing I will be next, I run away from him as fast as I can. 'Aras… why? Why did you leave me?' I feel a lump grow in my throat as I try my hardest not to cry. I ignore what's happening around me as I run to the ship, passing by many of the marines only to be stopped by Kosaku.
"What's wrong?" He asks me, his face always having the same dull look.
At that, I start crying. I throw myself at him, hoping that he will tell me that everything will be okay.
Only it won't.
"Aras is dead, and it's all my fault!"
With Arasval…
Cold… It's so cold…
I could barely taste the iron in my mouth as blood flows out uncontrollably. My ears are ringing, my vision is blurry with one eye dangling from its socket, and then there is the big chunk of my body that is ripped off. My left arm is gone, along with most of the left side of my body, including my heart. The bomb was set off, I'm sure of it, yet my body is still intact.
Why? How?
Well, it's not like it matters anymore. I'm gonna die soon enough from blood loss. I crawl towards a tree, not wanting to die like some wounded animal in a crater. It took a while, after having to deal with trying to get out of a crater while trying ever so desperately to keep my opens when my eyelids feel oh so heavy, but I finally reached the tree and I feel my body start to relax unwillingly.
'No… not until I get comfortable…' I tell myself as I begin to shift my body around until my back is leaning on the side of the tree.
If I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die as comfortable as possible.
'It's been only six years, but in that time I have experienced what many in my world would kill to even see with their very own eyes. I'm fine with this…' I think to myself as I finally let my heavy eyelids close.
…
…
…
"Now this… it's supposed to…" I hear a voice in the distance. I open my good eye and can only see a tall figure wearing some kind of robe. I couldn't get a good look as he is rather far away and seems to be talking to himself.
"He… Destiny… No one has…" I hear him say. What the hell does destiny have to do with anything?
"No… It isn't his time… She should've died… He should be…" He continues on. I feel a spark of anger building up as he says that. I can only deduce by his words that he meant Helena should be the one here dying here instead of me.
Is that why he mentioned destiny a couple of seconds ago? Does he believe is something so utterly stupid?
Suddenly his face is right in front of me, forcing my mouth open and shoving something into my mouth.
The taste… Oh God, the taste… It so… so rancid! My tastes aren't even working that well and the flavor is so bad it makes vomit in comparison taste like five-star cuisine! Even so, I couldn't spit it out, considering that the man is forcing my mouth closed and even then I don't even have the strength to spit it out. Once I swallow it, the man lets go of me and looks at me with an unamused expression. "It seems the limit I have put on you before you were born backfired a bit. This should bring you up to speed." He casually states as he gets back up from a crouching position. "After all, I helped make what you ate." he finishes before he vanishes into thin air.
I immediately connect the dots to what he is saying.
Did I just eat an Artificial Devil Fruit!
Ohshitohshitohshitohshit! What does it do!? I hope to God it isn't a horrible ability like the Jacket-Jacket Fruit or something like that! Please let it be something that will-why am I glowing?
My entire left side of my body begins to be covered with a soft goldish-white glow that begins to spread out throughout my entire left side at a rapid pace. My eyes widen as I see the light shape itself into my left arm and the left side of my torso. Then the light disperses into many small glowing orbs that float softly into the sky before disappearing.
I look at my left arm. It looks completely normal. I get up to test it out to see if what I am seeing is not an illusion. I flex my arm, give it a couple thrusts and jabs, do some one-armed push-ups with them, and even punch a boulder.
Then it hits me. I am completely fine! I mean sure, my clothes are completely torn up, especially my shirt, but my body itself doesn't even have a scratch on it! I feel full of energy… I feel amazing! A glowing white feather passes by the corner of my eye, catching my attention. Before it even touches the ground, it turns into light and disperses. I just look with surprise as I notice that I have an extra set of appendages that I never realized I have. I look towards my and can see a massive white feathered wing flexing slowly as the wind passes through it. I look towards my left and can see an adjacent copy of my other wing.
Oh my Lord Jesus Christ, I have wings! And they look absolutely beautiful! They give off such an angelic feel if I'm quite honest.
Wait a minute…
Did it take me this long to just realize it!
I feel around the top area of my head and feel something hard floating atop my head. I slowly feel around it, and from the circular shape, I can only deduce I have a halo.
'Is this a devil fruit or did I actually die?' I ask myself, now genuinely worried. I look around my surroundings and even in the crater to see if my body is in there, but no, it's not there. Okay, so devil fruit it is… I feel like I'm forgetting something here…
"Oh shit! I forgot! Helena!" I yell out to myself as I sprint towards the action, jumping over the crater my body made in the process. I get there faster than expected and could see that one of the Marine Battleships got sunk. I could see Admiral Zachariah and Kaido duking it out against one another, and it looks like the both of them are worse for wear.
Okay, now how to get over there? There is a huge body of water between me and where the others are and I can no longer swim. I can try Geppou, but I can only go so far with it before I my legs begin to falter due to the strain. So that leaves me with my only other option.
Flying.
"Well then, no better time than the present I guess." I say to myself, picturing in my mind how a bird flies. Hmm… from what I can remember, Falcons are supposed to be really fast, so maybe if I try to mimic how they fly it could work for me. I give myself a long runway, and then begin running as fast as I can and begin to flap my wings rapidly. "It's working! I can fly!" I yell out, as I begin to ascend into the sky, my speed ever so increasing continuously as I close the gap and head towards the Marine Battleships.
As I get closer, I begin to notice something odd. It's… strange… When I look at those near the battleships, I can feel their… emotions? No… This something different… with many of them, I can feel something that makes me feel sick and horrible. I look at Kosaku and that feeling is multiplied. Just looking at him makes me feel… disgusted. I turn my attention towards Helena, and that feeling is replaced with a feeling peace and tranquility. She just feels… so… so… pure. That's the only word I can describe the feeling when I look at her.
Okay, that was fucking creepy, moving on! I look towards the last place I saw Bolo and Donnie and see the both of them tied up, and it looks like Buggy is yelling at the both of them while shanks are palming his forehead. 'Shit, they're captured. Gotta rescue them.' I think to myself. A small part wanted me to leave them there, knowing that Roger and his crew won't do anything to harm them, but knowing how we are treated and such, there is probably someone in the marines with us that has the remote to set off the bombs in their hearts, so that way, nobody can reverse engineer the data out of the kids.
Speaking of bombs implanted in hearts, when I regenerated, did the bomb regenerate with me? Gonna ask Helena later, she probably saw the whole thing.
I stop flapping my wings for a bit and dive down towards Buggy and Shanks, who are now bickering against one another.
"They're kids Buggy! We can't just torture information out of them!" Shanks exclaims, pointing his cutlass in Buggy's face.
"But they're with the Marines! They at must know how they were able to get our-bwah!?" I interrupt Buggy with a body charge, knocking him onto the ground, while Shanks looks at me with utter surprise.
"Shit! Bye!"I say as I grab Donnie and Bolo and fly out of there as fast as I can. I can hear Shanks calling out to me to stop, and imma be honest, I was tempted to do so because… well… It is Shanks after all.
"Aras, what happened to you!?" Donnie questions me.
"Why do you have wings and a halo!? " Bolo chimes in.
The both slowly look at each other before suddenly shouting in my face "ARE WE DEAD!?"
I've had enough at this point. "Calm the fuck down! Devil fruit! Explain later!" I grit my teeth as I dodge some of the bullets the Beast Pirates are firing at me once they get a good look at me. Some of the bullets do hit me, and while the pain is nearly unbearable, the wounds close immediately after, pushing out the lodged bullets in the process and then I no longer feel the pain, as if the attack never happened in the first place. "Okay, we're almost there! Just a little more-!" From the corner of my eye, I can see a cannonball heading right towards me. I wouldn't be able to dodge it considering the two people I'm carrying as well as how close the cannonball actually is to me.
"Hang on!" I yell out as I use my wings to shield myself Donnie, and Bolo. The cannonball explodes upon impact, and the subsequential blast knocks the air out of me as I begin to plummet towards the ground.
"Gah! Aras flap your wings! Flap flap flap!" Bolo shrieks at me as we fall out of the sky.
"You try to take a cannonball to the back and keep flying!" I yell back, trying my hardest to slow down the descent.
"We're still going down fast Aras!" Donnie unhelpfully adds in as I flap my wings.
"Oh hell no, I'm not dealing with any more broken bones today!" I yell out as the ground is only roughly twenty feet from us. Then, as if by a miracle from God himself, my body suddenly stops only ten feet from the ground. 'What the?' I question myself as I notice that two more pairs of wings sprout out of my back, and the only reason I can tell aside from the strange feeling of wind passing through them is shadow my body is making. "Where the hell were these when I needed them!?" I shout out, looking at the sky for an answer.
"ARAS!" My attention turns towards Helena, who is looking at me with wide tear-filled eyes while Kira looks at me with surprise. I drop Bolo and Donnie, who yelp a "Hey!" as they hit the floor. I slowly descend towards the ground, giving Helena and Kira the biggest smile I can. "I'm back."
Helena tackles me and begins to sob uncontrollably. All I can do is just take it and rub her back, trying to soothe her as best as I can.
"Your back… Your back..." she whimpers out.
"Yeah… I'm back… I'm sorry for scaring you like that." I tell her, genuinely apologetic.
"No… I mean… your back..." she gets off of me and looks at me with reddened eyes.
"What about my back?" I ask, now genuinely confused.
"It's on fire." she responds.
Wait what?
Well, you guys enjoyed the first chapter!
Make sure to favorite, follow, and review! y'all know I always appreciate the support to all my fellow readers and writers out there. Tell me what you think! If there is anything that confuses you, just shoot me a PM and I'll definitely get to you soon. Thank you for your time and see ya later!
Forzarismo,
October 10, 2018