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BLERGH! I coughed up a huge mouthful of water, still half-dazed from the fall.
"GAH! Mermaids do exist!" Usopp screamed, pointing at something in the distance.
Wyper looked confused. "What's a mermaid?"
"Certainly not that!" I retorted, trying to get my bearings.
Chopper just flopped onto the deck. "I can't move."
I managed to climb up the stairs after Zoro to get a better look at what was happening around us.
"I'll explain later," Zoro said, not taking his eyes off the inferno. "Look at this. The island we were just on is nothing but a raging fire now."
Franky joined us, his voice grim. "They have orders not to kill Nico Robin. That's the only reason the bridge hasn't been completely blown apart."
"We need to get out of here as soon as possible," Usopp said, his voice trembling. "We're too weak to keep fighting much longer."
"Look there," I said, pointing to a small section of the bridge. "It's the only place with smoke but no fire."
"We'll protect this escape route," Zoro said, his hand on his katana. "And we'll wait for Steve and Luffy."
Nami came up to us, her face serious. "The ship's all set to go. We just have to wait for Steve and Luffy."
"It's gonna be hard to even get out of here with all these warships blocking the path," Sanji said, lighting a cigarette.
I tried to stay positive. "Hopefully we have some good luck."
Just then, a loudspeaker started blaring from one of the Marine ships. "The fifty pirates at the main gateā¦"
"Those are my guys," Franky interrupted, sounding proud. "No need to worry, they can't be killed."
"...Have been obliterated, death confirmed, survival is impossible. The number of survivors on the main island is zero."
My lips started to tremble uncontrollably. "Thisā¦ it'sā¦ not fairā¦ we came all this wayā¦"
"Come on! Straw Hat! Torturer!" Franky roared, his voice cutting through the noise. "Hurry up you two, your friends are waiting for you!"
Suddenly, one of the side walls where Luffy and Steve had been fighting exploded.
"Lucci is incredibly strong," Franky explained. "If those two hadn't been holding him back, we might all be dead already."
"They won't die, right?" Usopp asked, his voice full of hope.
"Of course not," Wyper replied confidently.
The warships started firing, and a barrage of cannonballs blew up half the bridge, completely isolating Luffy and Steve.
"The ships are circling them!" I yelled, my heart pounding in my chest.
"And these other ones are coming for Robin," Zoro added, his grip tightening on his sword.
"The smoke cleared, look!"
We could finally see them clearly. Steve and Luffy were still in one piece. Luffy was steaming for some reason and Steve was covered in blood, sweat, and dirt, but they were alive.
"We made it!" Franky yelled, a wide grin spreading across his face.
"We got Robin too!"
"You gotta beat that guy!"
"You deal with him, and we can all go back! Together!"
Luffy and Steve just smiled and shook their heads as the rest of us got ready to fight for our lives.
"This is going to be a battle of endurance," Zoro explained.
Marines from the warships near us hopped onto the edges of the bridge, preparing to attack.
A voice on the loudspeaker announced, "Only officers of the rank Captain or higher should engage the pirates."
"All these guys are gonna be as strong as Smoker," I pointed out, my mind racing.
"Where's Sanji?" Wyper yelled, looking around frantically.
"He was just here a second ago."
"Damn cook," Zoro muttered under his breath.
"CHARGE!"
"Here we go!" I yelled as men started jumping onto the bridge, ready to fight. Franky punched one guy so hard he broke into pieces.
"What the hell! They have Devil Fruit users!"
Zoro swung Yubashiri, but it suddenly rusted in his hand. He hadn't noticed someone sneaking up behind him, ready to strike.
"Zoro! Move!" I screamed, running forward and pushing him out of the way.
I was without my bladed jacket defense. I turned around just as a sword came down.
"AHHHHHH~!"
That was the loudest, most painful scream I had ever let out. The pain was like nothing I'd ever experienced before.
Wyper's POV
We all turned to see why Rose was screaming. That was the kind of scream you hear... when your entire right forearm has been cut off.
"OH MY GOD!"
"MY ARM! AHHHHH~!"
She sat there screaming, clutching what was left of her arm.
"Holy crap!"
"What the hell do we do?!"
I skated forward, desperate to help. "Chopper will have to fix it."
I just hoped he could move.
I scooped up Rose and held a Knock-out gas dial to her mouth. As I went to grab her severed arm, a Marine kicked it off the bridge.
"YOU MONSTER!"
"IMPACT!"
"STRONG RIGHT!"
"ONIGIRI!"
We blew that guy off the bridge just like he had done to her arm.
"Just make sure she survives!" Zoro yelled.
I hopped from Marine to Marine until I got back to the ship.
"CHOPPER!"
"Oh God!"
"What happened?!"
"I can't move!" Chopper yelled, struggling to his feet.
"Then tell me what to do!" I shouted back.
"Cut off the circulation, make a tourniquet! Rip your sleeve, that'll work for now!"
Come on, don't die, I thought as Chopper started directing me the best he could, crawling forward to help.
"Please don't die," he whimpered.
Steve's POV
"We made it!" Franky yelled.
"We got Robin too!"
"You gotta beat that guy!"
"You deal with him and we can all go back! Together!"
Luffy and I nodded, letting them know we heard, and they went to handle the attack on the bridge.
"They're all alive just like you said," Lucci said, a cruel smile on his face. "Congratulations. But will they have that same look on their faces in a few more minutes?"
"Jet Bullet!" Luffy punched Lucci in the stomach, but it was weaker than before.
"Tempest Kick!" My legs felt like they were about to fall off, but I kicked forward as hard as I could.
Lucci took the blow like it was nothing. "You're losing your edge. You won't escape this place! Even if this island is gone, I'll pursue that woman to the ends of the earth!"
"So will I!" I yelled, spinning in the air. "Whip Blizzard!"
"Finger Pistol!" Lucci's finger drove into my shoulder, then into my thigh.
"Jet Stamp!" Luffy kicked forward, but Lucci appeared behind him.
"Six King Gun!" Lucci clenched both of his hands, and a powerful pulse shot out, running through Luffy's body.
"Luffy!"
Luffy silently fell to the ground. My legs wouldn't work.
"Now to finish you two off."
"LUFFY! STEVE! What are you doing, get up!"
"Usoppā¦" I saw him, just barely. My vision was fading.
He took off that silly mask of his.
"Don't misunderstand! I came to rescue Robin, not to see you two. Hey, you, big cat from CP9. I'll be your opponent."
"No, don't!" Luffy yelled.
"Stop trying to be the hero!" I added, struggling to move.
"I have no business with defeated men; I think I'll go kill the rest of them now," Lucci smirked.
"Come here, cat man! I'll blow you away!" Usopp taunted.
"Stop it, Usopp!"
"You'll get killed!"
"Shut up! What can half-dead guys like you do?!"
"We can finish him!"
"Then get up!" Usopp screamed. "That's not like you two! Even through all the smoke, we can still see the sky and the ocean! This place isn't hell, so stop acting like you're gonna die!"
"UGH!" I struggled, but I managed to stand, my legs burning with exhaustion. "He's right, you know."
"Yeah," Luffy said, getting to his feet. "This ain't hell."
"Win, and we can all go home together!" Usopp yelled.
"You got it!"
"You two can still move?" Lucci asked, surprised.
"I never said I gave up," I told him.
Lucci returned to his larger hybrid form. "I'll finish you both off. Don't worry about your friendsāonce I finish with you, I'll end all of them! Finger Pistol Spots!"
Lucci dashed forward, stabbing towards Luffy and me, then suddenly stopped and put his hands in front of him.
"We won't get hit by that," Luffy and I said, jumping away.
Lucci's tail wrapped around my waist and held me in place.
Crap!
"Ultimate Six King Gun!"
"AAGGGHHHH!"
"STEVE!"
It felt like my internal organs had exploded. I stumbled forward and coughed up a mouthful of blood.
"Bleh!"
I struggled, but I stayed on my feet.
"Why won't you just die?!" Lucci roared, astonished.
"Luffy. Everything goes into this next attack," I panted, blood dripping from my mouth.
Luffy started punching the air as fast as he could, and I started kicking as fast as I could.
"Iron Body!" Lucci braced himself.
"JET GATLING!"
"SHAVE TEMPEST: NEVER-ENDING STORM!"
"RAAHHHH!"
The attacks slammed into Lucci, and he was battered back and forth. The wall of the room caved in, and Lucci collapsed to the ground, defeated.
Luffy and I also collapsed, our bodies unable to stand anymore.
"It's overā¦" Luffy said, trying to catch his breath.
"WE'RE GOING BACK TOGETHER! ROBINNNN~!" I called out, my voice raw.
"Come on, let's go!" Usopp called from the other side. "Jump over here! Just get to this side, and I'll carry you the rest of the way!"
"I can't moveā¦" Luffy groaned.
"My body's frozen!" I yelled. "It just can'tā¦"
"Stop being stupid, you won! We have Robin back; all you have to do is get over here, and we can leave!"
The cannons on the warships lowered and pointed directly at the room we were in.
"Crap, we're gonna get killed!"
Everyone started yelling at us to stand up.
"We really screwed the bed this time," I mumbled. "All that work just to die now."
"Look down."
"Who the hell said that?" I asked.
"It said to look below?" Luffy said, equally confused.
"Jump!" Usopp yelled again. "Jump into the ocean!"
A bunch of hands sprouted up from below.
"Okay, we're moving!"
We hit the ledge and fell towards the water.
"Merry!"
I looked down and saw our ship, the Going Merry, was there waiting for us.
"You came."
We splashed down in the water, and a bunch of hands threw us onto the deck.
"Hurry up, we gotta go!"
I laid out on the deck, trying to catch my breath.
"Thanks for moving me, Robiā"
Robin slapped a hand over my mouth to stop me. She said nothing for a moment, her hands reaching up to cover her eyes before she took them down.
"Thank you, everyone," Robin said, her face still stained with tears.
"No problem," I smiled.
"We can talk after we get out of here," Zoro said. "Chopper, what's the situation with Rose?"
"She'll live," he sniffled. "But I can't do anything more until we get back to town. There was nothing I could do about the arm, though."
"What happened?" I asked as we slid along the currents.
Zoro picked me up and dragged me over to the unconscious girl. She was asleep but looked peaceful despite not having her right arm from the elbow down.
I couldn't help but laugh. "Kinda like Dad now."
I looked up and saw the warships were firing on each other. I managed to at least sit up.
"Nami, get us out of here," I said.
"Don't worry, there's no sea Merry can't cross," she replied confidently.
A cannonball almost hit us, but Wyper and Sanji used Luffy as a slingshot and sent the shot back.
"Franky, do it!"
"Coup de Vent!" Franky blasted the water, and the ship flew into the air.
Usopp let off a smokescreen. Those two things combined with a little luck got us all out of there alive.
"Thanks for coming to get us, Merry," Luffy thanked the ship.
"What you guys did was pretty outrageous," Franky said. "Shooting that flag and all."
"All we did was go get back a friend who was taken away," I said, using the railing to help me stand.
"We didn't just get a friend," Luffy laughed. "We got your girlfriend!"
"Shut it, you little brat."
Luffy hopped off the figurehead and walked around the ship, coming up to me.
"Do it!" he yelled, pushing me forward.
I bumped into Robin but managed not to fall over. "Nice to see you."
"Yes, hello," she giggled, a small blush on her cheeks.
"Come on!" Luffy yelled impatiently.
He's such a pain sometimesā¦
Everyone else started egging us on, telling us to do it already.
"You know you want to, Little Brother," Rose said from her spot on the ground. "I didn't give up an arm so you two could stand there awkwardly."
I couldn't help but laugh. "Should we just give them what they want?" I asked Robin.
"They'll never leave us alone if we don't," she said, getting closer to my face. "Thank youā¦ thank you so much."
"You don't have to say anything," I smiled. "For you, I'd cross any sea."
"Stop taking so long!" Luffy yelled, pushing me again.
My head moved forward, and my lips connected with Robin's. We kissed for a few seconds before everyone started clapping and making it super uncomfortable.
"That was nice," she said, staring at me with a soft smile.
"I'll do what I promised," I told her. "Our first date will be in Water Seven."
"I look forward to it."
"Hey, a ship's coming!" Luffy yelled.
"Did they find us already?" Rose asked, sitting up.
"Will you stop moving around?!" Chopper yelled. "You're still not in the clear yet! If you open that up, you'll bleed out for sure!"
"I'll take a page from Zoro's book," she told the reindeer. "I'll say yes and then not do it anyway."
"I wish you'd take a page from his book and just sleep," Chopper grumbled.
"I heard that!"
"It's the Galley-La ship," Wyper announced.
"Ice pops!" Luffy waved.
The shipwrights and Iceberg seemed happy to see we were still alive. A sharp creaking noise started coming from the middle of the ship. I pulled Robin back just as the front and back halves split and Merry broke in two.
Crap, it was inevitable but still.
"As expectedā¦" Sanji grumbled.
"But!"
"We knew this, Luffy," I said, trying to calm him. "They told us Merry couldn't go on like this for much longer."
"Please, Ice pops, you have to fix Merry! She's our friend, she's been with us forever! Just now, she saved us!"
"Then why won't you let her sleep?" Iceberg asked, his voice gentle. "What I'm witnessing right now is a miracle. This ship has long since passed its limits. I've been a shipwright for many years, but I've never seen such an amazing ship before. She has lived an amazing life."
"It's time, Luffy," I told him.
"I understandā¦" he said, lowering his hat over his eyes.
We borrowed some lifeboats from Iceberg's ship and got ready to say our goodbyes. Luffy and I would be the ones to send Merry off; the others would watch from a distance.
"The bottom of the sea is a dark place," Luffy said, moving the torch closer and starting the fire. "So we're gonna see you off here, Merry. It's for the best Usopp isn't here; I don't know if he could take it."
The fire grew larger and larger and began to engulf our ship.
"Thank you, Merry, for carrying us all this way," I said as it started to snow.
I sat there, staring into the fire, remembering all the good times we had on that shipāall the times we spent with our friendā¦ Reverse Mountain, the Sky Island. Without Merry, I don't know how we would have gotten through those events.
"I'm Sorry."
"What?!"
"I wanted to carry you all just a little bit further. I wanted to go on more adventures with you."
"We're the ones who are sorry!" Luffy yelled. "I can't steer, I ran you into icebergs."
"And I ripped the sails!" I added. "And Zoro and Sanji are always breaking things."
I felt tears leak out of my eyes.
I don't want to say goodbye.
"Usopp tried to fix you, but he's no good at it," Luffy said. "We're sorry!"
"But I was happy," Merry's voice said. "Thank you for taking good care of me. I really was happyā¦"
"MERRY~!"
After that, she didn't say anything else. We watched her sink to the bottom. We got on board Iceberg's ship and sailed back to Water Seven.