The Castle Part 8

The Castle Part 8

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"I don't want to be a pirate... I don't..."

I hugged the rail of the ship, dry heaving as it rocked slowly in the night time waves.

Another nightmare.

I'd slipped away from the bunks to the deck, my skin was cold and clammy.

The threat of death was a night constant companion in my life, and death itself was common.

I'd lost track of the number of times I'd seen a man or woman who'd been blasted to pieces by canon fire.

I'd taken lives myself...

But two weeks ago, I'd taken a life with my bare hands... I'd killed a man that had hurt my momma a long time ago... a retired marine that had probably been a good person... and I'd killed him with deceit and fury...

I was still grounded for that, no books, no experiments, no scientific equipment... just training and chores and pirate work.

I'd... I probably deserved worse...

A spray of a particularly big wave hit me in the face and I took a deep, shuddering breath as I clung to the rail. I hadn't thought, I hadn't considered, I'd just acted. He'd hurt my momma... that'd been enough reason.

I didn't want to be a pirate... but was I becoming one in spite of myself...?

-oOo-​

The saber in my hand raised slowly as I held the gazes of the two brothers, alternating between them.

I was putting on a good show of being calm and confident, but this was… problematic. I needed to break Bonney out, but I didn't have any good ways to do so through the steel chains… I glanced at her, and found her purple eyes were focused on the brothers…

The chains looked like iron, not seastone… she could change at any moment, 'Right, she can get out herself, I just need to give her the chance.'

Half turning, I lowered my sword and started to walk in a wide circle around the brothers. The two of them stiffened as I began to move, but merely readied themselves rather than acting…

Mm. Little strange, I was presenting them my left shoulder and they didn't have any way to know that I could make a bare hand double as a cutting edge… this was the first island in the Grand Line, so I'd be surprised if they were prepared for Ability users…

With a deliberate motion, I took the edge of my coat and pushed it back, revealing my revolver in its holster. There was the slightest creak from Attila's silver bow as he drew the string all the way back to his far shoulder. My hand drifted to rest on the handle of my gun, ready to draw if they were the first to move… Hooves clopped against the tile as Bleda turned just a bit to present less of his long horse half to me, his sword staying trained on me.

I finally stopped when the two Hun princes were between me and Bonney and the crew.

**Drawing my gun– / Arrow at my face–**

My gun was drawn in a flash even as I dodged to the side, avoiding the arrow that passed through where my face had been an instant before–

Attila's eyes and mine both widened.

Interference! He's got two colors of Haki?! Shiiiiiiit.

Armament Haki meant he could actually hurt me despite me turning into metal. And apparently he could use that more casually than I could given how his arrow had pierced concrete. But the Observation Haki was a problem. His attempts at reading my intentions would interfere with and muddle my own. But I didn't consider myself a master of Observation Haki casually.

Bleda thundered towards me, shield covering his human torso–

** Dodge right– / Attila moves to shoot– / Dodge and dodge again–**

I threw myself to the side and Attila launched himself off of Bleda's back to intercept, arrow loosing as he tried to cut me off, "Soru!" A burst of speed and I circled even further, barrel lining up with Attila's open side. I pulled the trigger.

"Centauroooo-!!!" Bleda had made a hair-pin turn as he thundered towards me, fully prepared to trample me and the thrones behind me into splinters. The bullet deformed as it slammed into a hastily thrown up bit of Armament on Attila's shoulder, still making the man grunt–

**Dodge right– dodge sword / Attila shoots– ; Dodge left– Get clipped by hooves– / Attila moves to shoot– ; Dodge through–**

I sheathed my sword, "Kami-e Kenpo–!"

"Chaaarge!" A mass of centaurian Hun nearly twenty feet tall thundered towards me, sword thrusting forward as my body loosened. The air-pressure of the blade pushed my body aside in a boneless motion before I snapped my body downwards and tumbled through the flailing hooves of Bleda's lower half–

"Wha–?!"

"–Shigan: Semi-Auto!" Even as my body flashed into steel, my right fist lashed upwards during the tumble to land three unaimed blows to Bleda's horse half.

One of his rear hooves clipped my steel shoulder, but still loose as a reed, I tumbled into a crouch as he passed by, looking up at the surprised Attila even as Bleda stumbled and tried to wheel back around. Attila's brown eyes were wide, an arrow already trained on me–

** He takes the shot– / Dodge– / Shot hits Bleda–**

–but he couldn't fire. I grinned as the steel left my body, my hand going back to my saber and he snarled, "You-! How-?!"

"Soru." Drawing my blade in a single motion, there was a resounding clang as the saber was deflected by bladed arms of his bow. Oh, such glorious bullshit, I hadn't even noticed!

The exchange was quick, both of us turning and contorting as bladed bow and saber clashed, each of us trying to maneuver the other into a position such that we could shoot the other, reacting to momentary flashes of the others intent. But he needed both hands to fire an arrow, and I had a gun.

I raised my arm to fire from the hip–

** Attila tanks– Dodges– Sword at the back–**

'Ah, that's the plan.' A glance at Bonney–

My Captain had slipped her chains and grabbed one of the other crew members, in a single smooth motion she de-aged him nearly into a baby, pulling him free of the now-loose chains, and re-aging him back to his prime as she threw him to his feet. Three of the seven crew members were already back on their feet.

–and back as I pulled the trigger, raising my saber. The bullet slammed into a stomach coated in Armament Haki and I found the point of an arrow an inch away from my nose.

"Centaurooo–!"

"Tch-!" I lunged to the side as I braced the flat of the sword against my bicep, the motion just a fraction of a second too slow. The arrow nicking my ear before I could change into steel and Attila leaping away–

"Hammer!" Bleda's massive blade came rushing towards my right side as he kept the shield in front of his torso.

"Tekkai."

*CLANG!*

The tile buckled beneath my feet as the shock went through my system, the massive blade slamming into the sword I'd braced against my side and stopping dead against the steel infused with my intent.

And I didn't move an inch.

"Impossible-!"

Chambers: Three. Four. Five. Armament.

"Tekkai Kenpo!" Levering the saber against my bicep I knocked the mass of iron Bleda probably called a sword up over my head, half turning and extending my arm to bring my revolver to bear, "Armament: Ebony."

Three quick squeezes of the trigger, each slug of lead slamming into Bleda's still raised shield and forcing the centaur Hun to stumble back a step. The bullets hit with enough force to seriously dent the thick steel shield. Where was Attila-?

*Wham!*

'Ah. There he is.'

The mass of Hun went flying past my right shoulder, tumbling midair to land on his feet, skidding to a halt at the steps leading up to the throne(s), leaving the brothers standing side by side again. A little trickle of blood seeping out of Attila's split lip.

"Oi, Ironhide."

"Mm?" I grunted as Bonney came to stop beside me, one hand on her hip and wiping the trail of blood off the corner of her mouth with a thumb.

"Any idea why my Ability doesn't work on him?" She looked at the smear of red on her thumb in disdain before wiping it against her short shorts.

"Mm." I hummed thoughtfully as I rolled my right shoulder. Definitely had felt that even through my Tekkai. I wasn't reflexively turning myself into steel yet, though in this case I was unsure if I should or not. I was too tired to reliably use Soru with my greater weight, and against a Haki user that was a serious problem. Dodge, not tank. "Probably his Haki."

"Tch," she snorted in disdain, "You're showing me more of that later then."

"Y-You-!" Bleda was practically shaking with rage, his horse tail flaring about.

"Bleda." The word was tightly controlled as Attila drew four arrows from his quiver, nocking them against the string and letting them rest. He sounded no less angry, but a fair bit more focused.

"But-!" Bleda started to glance at his brother before stopping and looking back to us with a snarl. He whinnied before taking a deep breath, brown eyes glancing between the two of us.

'Hm, looks like the crew snuck up the stairs and out of here–'

A sneer slowly found its way onto Bleda's face as he leered at my Captain, who frowned back at him, "Heeehehehehehe… well I was wrong, it seems you'd make a good wife even now… though you certainly need discipline. Maybe you'll make a better brood mare than the Marine wench my brother intends to take."

Bonney growled, "Oh, you are so fucking dead."

"No," I turned my head slightly to look past the edge of my hood at Bonney. She'd taken up a position a half step behind me to my right… likely to let me take the brunt of any attack, "You should take the others and run."

"Oi!" She snapped at me, "I should be breaking his face in for that shit!"

"The goal here is to escape, not win." I countered, turning back to the brothers. 'Why aren't they attacking?'

"My goal is to kick this fuck's teeth in!" Said 'fuck' was grinning at us, sword and dented shield raised. It was rather infuriating to be honest, like us bickering was somehow a good thing…

"They're trying to wait us out." I pointed out as I realized it myself, "We're at the center of their castle. Guards are probably on their way now."

"We could handle anything they threw at us," Bonney fired back, making both brothers bristle at her confidence, but my Captain slid into a crouch.

"Yes. But can the rest of the crew?"

The pink haired woman grunted unhappily, though I stayed focused on the oversized brothers. Seriously, Attila was probably 12 foot tall and Bleda's head nearly 20 feet off the ground in this form…

"Can you handle them on your own?"

"Should be–"

There was a distant boom and the castle shook, the brothers and I glanced in the direction of the sound–

"Jowls!"

A flash of pink, white, and brown–

*WHAM!*

"Guh-!"

Bleda's head snapped back as Bonney slammed into him foot first, his teeth buckling under the ball of her foot even as her thick heel sunk into his cheek. She straightened her leg explosively, launching herself off of him and sending several specks of white flying through the air, trailed by streamers of red–

'That sneaky bitch was expecting that!' I grinned as she landed beside me and immediately took off in a run.

"Arrow–!"

** Arrow at Bonney's back– / Intercepting it– / Adjusted aim–**

I stepped between Bonney and Attila, my blade swinging–

"–Gatling!"

The first arrow was knocked out of the air as my chest transformed into literal steel beneath my shirt, "Tekkai-!" The second arrow glanced off of my stomach with a clang–

"I'll leave them to you Ironhide!" Bonney bounded up the stairs faster than even I could have managed. My saber intercepted the next two arrows even as Bleda stumbled forward, clutching his face as blood flowed from his lips and shattered teeth, "Run when you hear the signal!"

"Right." And she was gone, bounding up the stairs at the balcony and out of the ballroom.

'What signal?!'

"You bastard!" Bleda roared as he charged, sword already swinging and holy shit he's actually fast–!

"Kami-e Kenpo!" I said hurriedly as the large centaur charged.

I limbo-ed beneath his sword swing before cartwheeling out of the way of an arrow. And again–

** Arrow to catch me mid-cartwheel–**

My saber plunged into the tile, arresting my tumble and letting the arrow pass through where I would've been. Locked as I was doing a handstand atop the sword, I had no time to pull the blade out of the tile as the fourth arrow was loosed at me, instead just launching myself upwards.

"Heeeehahahaha!" Bleda's laugh resembled a horse's whinny as he charged, "Fool! There's nowhere to go in the air!"

The massive sword started to come down, "Geppo."

Hurtling through the air, my feet slammed into Bleda's armored chest, the larger man recoiling as he tried to skid to a halt. The fingers of my right hand grabbed his throat as I brought the barrel of my gun up to his face, his head jerking downward to meet my gaze.

He'd hurt Bonney, and not my type or not, I was fond of her, and he'd hurt her.

His brother couldn't shoot me while I was against his chest, he was already halfway through his swing and couldn't bring either sword or shield to bear against his chest in time. The Huns could deal with having just Attila in charge–

Chamber: Six. Armament.

The barrel of my revolver came up, "Armament–"

** Arrow in my back–**

My eyebrows shot up in shock, 'What-?!'

Reflexively, I threw myself to the side but my body didn't respond to my demands fast enough, the arrow clipped my rib and I hissed in honest pain as it cut a wedge into my steel flesh–

Arms suddenly wrapped around me and crushed me against Bleda's armored chest, pinning my arms to my sides, "Got you!"

I grit my teeth, squirming, 'How'd he shoot?! He'd hit his brother-!' There was an arrow sticking out of Bleda's shoulder, embedded in the armor and flesh beneath… but it sure as hell didn't seem to be hurting too much because holy shit he was trying to actually crush me!

"Now we've got you, you piece of shit." Bleda grinned at me, several teeth snapped off and several others missing, new lines on his face and his hair salt and pepper now. Blood flowing out of the corners of his mouth as his arms tightened around my steel torso, slowly bending it out of shape, "And no matter how tough you are…" my metal ribs groaned in protest as he squeezed even harder. It was uncomfortable, but not truly painful, "My brother's arrows can kill you just fine."

**Arrow through the head–**

My eyes widened and I glanced over my shoulder, finding Attila taking aim even as Bleda lifted me higher so that my head was over his shoulder! Clean shot-! I snarled at Bleda, "Not–! Beaten–! Yet!"

"Arrow Pierces Mountain."

My body turning to steel as I reared my leg back– Only chance-! "Rankyaku!" I threw my head to the side as far as I could and my leg snapped forward–

*BOOM!*

There was a crack and rumble like a twenty pound cannon, the arrow causing a shockwave of such power that the air pressure alone shredding my hood–! The castle shook-! Fuck! My ears were ringing like a fucking gong–!

"JuuShigan!"

A blade of compressed air shot from my kick, clipping Bleda's foreleg and sending him stumbling, his grip loosening enough for me to push my arms apart– "Kami-e!" With a forceful exhale I let my body shrink and literally dropped out of his grip. I could barely hear my own words as echoes in my head! Fuck-! I stumbled as my feet hit the tile, the world spinning–

"Shishi Shigan!"

–I made an attempt at a Soru, sending myself tumbling off to the side away from the centaur and behind the pillars. Wouldn't keep me safe from Attila's arrows but just long enough to regain my balance-!

I rolled to my feet, arms coming up to guard my torso, "Tekkai-!"

Just in time to watch Bleda stumble forwards, his sword falling from his hand as he clutched his torso.

I stared. There was a mass of pink hair with red tips, he was lifting up a golden monk's staff and his skin was painted white beneath the standard guard's armor. The blunt base of the staff was aimed at the centaur's skull.

"Shigan Q!"

And then the gold staff plunged forward through Bleda's helmet and head. The large man collapsing like a puppet whose strings were cut, his lower half slowly 'melting' back into a pair of human legs.

"Tekkai Kenpo:" My eyes jumped over to find a large wolf-man in a freaking suit crouching atop the stairs as Attila stumbled backwards, "Don Poro!"

Blood dripping from his side, Attila still brought his bow up and loosed an arrow as the wolf-man lunged forward, but the arrow glanced off of his shoulder, drawing a simple line in his fur before the fist that was little more than a blur buried itself in Attila's gut.

And I do mean buried. Attila's armor buckled and blood sprayed as the fist sunk several inches into the Hun before it sent him hurtling across the room and through the wall beside the main doors of the ballroom.

'CP9… shit.'

A hand settled on my shoulder and had I stiffened, having a brief moment of panic at the realization that I had dropped my Tekkai in shock and possibly a small concussion from the shockwave of that arrow, "Chapapapa…"

Even though I could only hear the chuckle distantly, as if through water, I could recognize the distinctive sound. Slowly, I raised my hands over my head in surrender. I'd barely seen the wolf-man move, and while I couldn't remember his name, I knew for sure Poochie there was one of the strongest members of CP9. And Attila had gone through the concrete wall of the ballroom, and hot damn…

The hole that had to be caused by Attila's arrow was letting in sunlight.

The ballroom was at the center of the castle.

'How the fuck did that miss?!'

My breathing was equalizing slowly, though my hearing was still fucked as Poochie took a single bounding leap over. Going from one end of the ballroom to the other to stop in front of me. Fukuro's hand was still on my shoulder, and I was really hoping that my bounty as alive would keep them from trying to kill me. I'd fight if they tried to kill me, but I stood a better chance of just escaping if they brought me in–

"Oi, you're Florida aren't you?"

I nodded a bit, the tatters of my hood flapping against the side of my face, "Yeah… you're gonna have to speak up though, 'cause my hearing's shot right now."

The wolf man, who easily stood about ten feet tall even with his slumped over posture visibly sighed, scratching behind one of his canine ears… gotta say, he's a lot more intimidating in real life than he was on a page, "You're supposed to be dead."

"Almost was." I admitted, more than a bit nervous here.

"Ugghh, what a mess of a mission…"

"Yoi yoi yoiii…" I looked towards the sound, muffled by the ringing in my ears, finding the pink haired member of CP9 glancing out the hole Attila had made, "The soldiers are on their way yoi yoiii…"

Poochie sighed through his rather sharp teeth, grinding them for a moment before pointing a clawed finger in my face. I leaned back as he spoke, "Look, the way I see it, you made our job easier and we're on a timetable now. So long as you understand that we were never here, we won't kill you."

"And you're wanted Alive anyways, chapapapa." Poochie glared at Fukuro over my head.

*Zzzzzip*

There was another explosion that rocked the castle. Probably Bonney's work…

The wolf-man's glare returned to me and he pressed his clawed index finger on the underside of my chin, "Are we crystal clear?"

Pointedly, I looked up at the ceiling, flexing my insides into steel just in case, "Where's all this noise coming from in this empty room?"

"Good." The claw was pulled from my neck and the wolf smiled before looking to the two, "Let's get out of here."

My eyes closed as I sighed in relief–

*WHAM!!!*

'PAIN!!'

I went hurtling through the air, my face burying itself in the concrete of the wall–

I coughed. My jaw was dented… so fucking glad I'd turned my internals to steel because holy fuck, my everything.

A groan of pain escaped me as I dangled there, face buried in the concrete, my entire body aching, "Stupid fucking pirates…" with some effort, I raised a shaking hand and did my level best to flick them off, "Let's go, Soru!"

The half-presences behind me disappeared and I groaned in pain, transforming my entire body into steel. My joints groaned as I planted my hands on either side of my head, and with a grunt, pushed myself out of the wall, "Ugghh… fuck those guys…"

"In here!"

"Fuck."

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The Castle Part 8 End