Chapter 21: Battle of Dragons

Thankfully getting out of the mirage was ten times easier on the way out. We were fast enough that we didn't have to worry about getting hit by lightning. Thank Arceus, I never want to go through that again! We easily pass by the Marines that were waiting for us outside the barrier and speed ahead of them. But when it looks like smooth sailing, a giant Marine ship appears in front of us with a giant face on it.

"Whoa! It's a gargoyle!" Luffy exclaims excitedly.

I have to admit, that is one weird looking ship. Well, at least it's just one, maybe we can take it down easily. My words are counteracted as tons of other Marines ships appear on both sides of the big one. My ears droop and my jaw drops; how in the hell are we supposed to get past all those?!

"You've gotta be kidding me!" Sanji exclaims.

"Did they send every damn ship in the fleet after us?" Zoro demands. The ships completely surround us and link themselves together with chains, creating a wall around us. Great, just great.

"What do we do now?" Apis cries.

"We get onto the ships, fight off all the Marines and break the links." Usopp answers.

"Wow! Are you really gonna do that?" Apis asks.

Usopp hesitates. "Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, take them down!" he says. I roll my eyes and face the ships.

"That's not a bad idea." Zoro says, beginning to unsheathe his sword.

"Are you serious?" Apis asks.

"Don't worry, it'll work out." Nami reassures her. "Just promise you'll make this raid quick, alright?"

"With all my heart." Sanji answers.

"Pikachu!" I say with a nod before looking at Apis. 'Don't worry, we'll be fine. I promise.' Apis stares at me before smiling and nodding firmly.

We zoom towards the ships, cannons firing at us from all around. Luffy, Sanji, Zoro, and I all stand at the head of the Merry in case we need to attack. The waters get pretty rocky from all the cannonballs but Luffy's laughing like he's on a roller coaster. One cannonball gets pretty close but Luffy runs to take care of it. "Gum Gum...Balloon!" He inflates himself slightly and bounces the cannonball back to where it came. Oh hey! We hit one! One down, fifty to go!

Unfortunately, the big ship gets a giant cannon ready and aims it right at us. "Quick! I'll turn the ship around and you guys work the rear sail!" Nami yells.

The boys spring into action except Usopp, who's at the cannon. "You like shooting cannons?" He mutters. "Well I've got a shot for ya!" The ship turns and Usopp ignites the cannon. I watch as the cannonball goes right into the large cannon and an explosion comes from inside the machine.

Holy crap...he stopped it! He actually stopped it! I cheer on the railing and Usopp grins. "How'd that medicine go down for ya?!" he taunts. "That's what happens when you get served a helping of Usopp Payback!"

"Pika! Pikachu!"

Apis gives him a thumbs up and Nami approaches us. "This is our chance!" she says. "If we act now we can clear a path and get out of here!"

Luffy nods, "Leave it to me!" Luffy stretches his arm, creating a kind of bridge for Zoro, Sanji and I to run across. Once we're safely on the boat Luffy springs over and lands right on Zoro. I swear, the man must have a 'Luffy magnet' on him or something.

We go over to the rows of chains and Zoro looks at them. "Chains of steel, huh?"

"Can you cut them?" Luffy asks.

"There's nothing I can't cut." Zoro answers.

My ears twitch and Sanji and I turn just in time to see a bunch of Marines arrive on deck surrounding us. "This is overkill." Sanji sighs.

"I'll take the right side, and you take the left." Luffy says to Sanji. "Pika-chan; you get anyone we miss."

"Whatever." Sanji says.

I frown, "Pikaaaa?" 'Why do I get the stragglers?' The Marines charge and we spring into action. My tail becomes iron and I easily down any Marines that approach me. I zoom around, going for the feet and the legs since I'm so small. Zoro begins cutting the chains but a bunch more Marines board the ship we're on by running across the chains on the other side of the ship.

"Pika-chan!" I hear Luffy call me. I turn to him and he grins. "Gimme some lightning!" I grin and latch onto the back of his vest. "Gum Gum...Gatling!" I release my electricity and hundreds of lightning rubber fists punch the Marines out of the way.

After a while, Luffy manages to sling the rest of the Marines off the boat and Zoro only has one chain left to cut. Soon we'll be home free! We all freeze as a wind suddenly cuts through the air, dangerously close to the Merry. Everything seems to come to a halt as a lifeboat approaches Grandpa Ryu's raft where Apis is standing.

"It's him." Sanji mutters. It's Sicko! We watch as he reattaches Grandpa Ryu's raft to his lifeboat.

"Looks like he's taking Grandpa Ryu and using Apis as a hostage." Zoro observes.

"Oh no he's not!" Luffy says and steps up but Zoro stops him. "If you try anything he might kill Apis and the others with that Wind Slash move." he says.

I glare as the raft begins to drift away from the Merry, with both Apis and Grandpa Ryu. No...I refuse to just sit here and let them take my friends away! Before anyone can stop me, I leap off the railing into the ocean and begin paddling as fast as I can towards the raft.

"Pika-chan!" Luffy exclaims.

"Stupid rodent, what did I just say?!" Zoro exclaims.

"Pika-chan! Get back here!" Sanji yells.

I ignore them and pick up speed, using my tail practically as a rudder. I swim past the Merry and eventually make it to the raft. I hoist myself up just as the Marines start firing at the raft. I'm guessing Sicko isn't a friend of these particular Marines.

"Stop it!" Apis yells. "Stop harassing Grandpa Ryu, he just wants to be left alone in peace!"

My eyes widen as Sicko picks Apis up by the back of her dress. That's it; I'm seeing red! "Pika!" I charge up and jump right onto Sicko's face making him drop Apis into the lifeboat. 'Leave her alone you bastard!'

"Pika-chan!" Apis exclaims. I latch onto Sicko, digging my paws into his skin and quickly launch an electric attack, covering him in burns and making his hair wilt greatly. I squeak when I feel long nails clutch my fur and yank me off and into the air slightly.

"Pesky rodent...you'll pay for that!" Sicko yells. I'm about to land just as he raises his nails.

"Pika-chan! Get out of there!" I barely hear Sanji yell before I gust of wind comes my way. I move as best as I can but something sharp penetrates my side and my front. I scream in pain as red flies through the air; is that blood?

"PIKA-CHAN!"

I'm pretty sure it's Apis who screamed my name because I find myself in her arms a few moments later. "Pika-chan! Pika-chan say something! Are you okay?!" Apis cries. I see her arm come away red as she pulls me close. "I've got to stop the bleeding...hold on Pika-chan!" My vision becomes blurry as I feel Apis pressing against my body, probably applying pressure.

The voices around me are running together but I hear Sicko once again. "Now to finish you!"

'No!'

I feel Apis' grip tighten around me and she closes her eyes, bracing herself. "No! Leave us alone!" I see a large shadow looming over us and I force my vision to clear. Grandpa Ryu is standing up! All by himself! Grandpa Ryu flicks his wings and knocks Sicko into the air. Good; I hope he falls into the ocean and drowns!

Apis looks up at him and a smile grows across her face, "Grandpa! You're standing up!" she exclaims happily. Grandpa Ryu spreads his wings fully and lets out a loud roar, making all the ships shake.

He then begins to flap his wings and I feel a smile tug at my face. 'C'mon Grandpa...you can do it!' Grandpa Ryu slowly lifts off the ground and hovers in the air.

"You're doing it Grandpa Ryu! You're flying!" Apis says with a wide smile. She looks down at me, "He's doing it Pika-chan; just hang in there, okay?"

'Okay…' I respond softly. But the minute I say that, the cannons start firing again, and smoke surrounds Grandpa Ryu. My hearing starts going again from all the loud noises and I hear Apis shouting for them to stop as well as the smashing of metal; I guess Luffy, Zoro and Sanji are trying to smash the cannons. I hear Apis yell for Grandpa Ryu to fly away and he does just that, but the cannons keep on hitting him!

My vision begins to blur just as the dragon falls into the sea with a large splash. I think I see Luffy jump over to him, but I'm not sure. I feel warm drops fall onto my fur and I look up to see Apis crying. She tightens her grip on me as she stares at Grandpa Ryu, tears streaming down her face. "GRANDPA!"

I slowly reach up and weakly grasp her dress, 'Apis...'

She looks down at me, "Pika-chan, try not to move too much okay?" She's trying to put on a brave face for me but I know better.

'It'll be okay...' I say softly.

"Apis! Pika-chan!" We look to see Usopp swimming over to the raft.

"Usopp!" Apis cries, running over to him. "Pika-chan's hurt really bad!"

Usopp looks at me in concern for a moment before taking out some rope, "Don't worry; we'll get back to the ship and get some medicine, but we have to hurry!" Usopp ties Apis to his back with the rope and jumps into the water. Apis holds me tightly as Usopp swims back to the Merry and Nami helps hoist him up on deck.

Nami takes me from Apis arms and rushes me inside to the galley where all our medical equipment is. I feel a damp cloth wipe down the gash I had received (which made a diagonal line from my front to my side) and hear Nami sigh in relief. "Good, the wound isn't as deep as I thought." She gives me some medicine to help numb the pain before tending to my injury. "You're one lucky mouse Pika-chan." she comments.

After a few moments I have bandages wrapped around my shoulder and around my middle. The medicine has already started to kick in and I already feel much better. "Pikachu." I say to Nami with a grateful smile. 'Thanks a lot.'

Nami smiles and picks me up, walking back out to the main deck where Usopp and Apis are watching. Apis' face seems to brighten upon seeing me awake and okay but the situation hasn't improved much. Luffy is still on Grandpa Ryu's back, talking to him while those Marines are preparing to fire at them.

Suddenly, everything starts shaking, from all around. Just then, Grandpa Ryu gets up and lets out a loud roar. Apis' eyes widen, "He's calling them…" she says.

"Calling who?" Usopp asks.

"The others…" Apis answers.

I look at her with wide eyes, 'Wait...does that mean what I think it means?'

Apis gives me a nod, "He's calling to the other Millennial Dragons, telling them that it's time."

I tilt my head, "Pika?"

"Time for what?" Nami asks, voicing my own question.

"Hey! What's that?!" Usopp yells pointing. We all turn and gasp. A whole flock of dragons are flying towards us! We watch in awe as they soar over us, their feathers flying in the wind.

"A whole army of dragons!" Nami exclaims.

I carefully climb out of Nami's arms to her shoulder to get a better look. "Pikachu!"

"Who knew Grandpa Ryu had so many friends!" Usopp exclaims. The dragons all fly around the Marines and they're so high up they can't get a good shot in. I watch as Grandpa Ryu lets out one final roar before collapsing back into the ocean.

I strain my hearing and see Luffy nod, "Sure, I'll tell her for you." Oh no…

Luffy quickly grabs onto one of the dragons and flies high into the sky. "GUM GUM…" he stretches his foot high into the sky, aiming right for the giant Marine ship. "BATTLE AXE!" His leg collides with the ship, completely smashing it to pieces. That's all it takes for the Marines to all turn tail and run.

Zoro and Sanji get back onboard the Merry and I climb onto the railing as Sanji approaches me. He picks me up carefully and looks me over, "Are you alright Pika-chan?" he asks sincerely.

"Pika." I say with a firm nod, giving Nami a smile that she returns.

I catch Sanji give her a genuinely grateful look before he suddenly gives the back of my head a small smack. "Scare me like that again and I'll boil you in a stew!" he snaps as I whine and hold my head.

I send him a small glare but it quickly melts into a smile. "Pika pi." 'Sorry about that.'

Sanji smiles back and gives me a good scratch behind the ears, understanding my apology. A few moments later, Luffy latches onto a dragon again and slings himself over to the Merry, and I swear the poor thing gasped in pain when he landed!

"Grandpa…"

My ears twitch at Apis' sad voice. I turn to see her on her knees staring at the spot where Grandpa Ryu once lay; he finally sank. He was gone.

"It's not fair…" she whimpers. "Now I can't keep my promise to you…"

Luffy steps up to her. "That's not true." he says. "Can't you hear the other dragons?" Apis gets up just as a giant wave of air rushes by, making the tremors increase even more. The water begins exploding around us as...rocks begin to emerge? Something green seems to be coming up from under the water.

"That's it!" Nami suddenly exclaims. "That's what it means!"

"What's what mean?" Sanji asks.

"The Dragon's Nest! It's really here!" Nami answers. Nami explains how the dragons are called Millennial Dragons because they migrate here once every one thousand years, because that's the only time when the Dragon's Nest resurfaces. That's why it's called Lost Island; because anyone who saw it back before it sunk again is long dead. "We're the next generation to bear witness to the rising of Lost Island and the Dragon's Nest!" Nami concludes.

Wow, that's actually pretty awesome! We're watching something that we'll never see again in our lifetime; what are the chances? We all watch in amazement as the island fully resurfaces.

After one thousand years...the Dragon's Nest is finally back.

I think we may need to rename the 'Monster Trio' to the 'Monster Quad' if Pika-chan keeps this fighting streak up XD

I swear, before Franky and Robin came along, Sanji and Nami were the designated 'parents' of the crew, only they discipline their children so hard *cough*Luffy*cough* that in real life they'd be arrested for child abuse XD