Chapter Text
“GYAAAH!! Hold on, Momo! This fella isn’t playing around!” Brook told the furry animal on his shoulder as he dodged the single torso’s awkward sword swings.
Momo hung onto the skeleton with all four of his limbs, grasping his shoulder, his form stiff from fear. The torso was still swinging his sword around, trying to get a hit on Brook. Upon seeing that enough was enough, Brook got his sword out and deflected the torso’s weapon that was coming at him with a swipe.
CLANG!
“Enough!” Brook exclaimed, “Just what are you? Are you a ghost? A zombie? Answer me!”
The torso did not answer, as it landed on the snow with its sword blade implanted in the ground, which it hung there as it was holding onto the hilt, and got out another sword from the second sheath that was on his hip. Now, the torso used the other blade to stab the snowy ground and used his swords to dash over to Brook and Momo!
“AAAAH!!” Brook screamed.
“REEEEEAK!!” Momo screeched as well.
“I agree, Little Guy! Abandon ship!” Brook exclaimed as he ran away from the torso, which, after ‘dashing’ to where it thought the walking skeleton was, it blindly tried to find it by slashing its swords around,
And Brook and Momo went off in a different direction, out in the distance as they freaked out...
Meanwhile, with Nami, Chopper, Katara, Suki, Sokka, Kin’emon, and the Kids
Kin’emon’s face was grimacing and wincing as they ran, making small, questionable grunts.
Sokka, upon hearing the grunts, looked down at the head and lifted him up as he ran, asking him, “Hey, you okay?”
“I am fine!” Kin’emon grunted, “It’s just my... erk ! It’s just my torso must have found somebody to fight!”
“Your torso?” Sokka blinked, “Fighting?”
“Yes! When my body was separated, my torso and legs were also sent to different parts of this island!” Kin’emon explained.
“Really? Wait, so...who or what would do that?” Sokka asked him.
“It was a ‘who’, and it was some sort of man with a strange, yet deadly power! I do not happen to know his name, but I tried fighting him, and this is how I came to be!” Kin’emon said with a look of shame on the last part.
“Wait,” Suki said, as she overheard, “So, there’s someone here that could do that?”
Katara, who also overheard as they ran, asked Nami, “Did what Kin’emon described be something like a Devil Fruit power?”
“Well, just know if someone can do something really bizarre and crazy or if they can transform into a beast or some other kind of mythical animal, then most likely it’s a Devil Fruit power,” Nami explained. “However, from what I gathered from the head there, that definitely sounds like a Devil Fruit power.”
“Oh well, that’s great,” Sokka says with a glower, “We just got to watch out for a guy who can cut people in half and let those parts of the body still be in working order! Don’t know how that works, but hey, I give up on all logic at this point in this world!”
“What do you mean, in this world?” Kin’emon asked Sokka in curiosity, “You sound as if you are not from this world we are in at all!”
“We’ll explain later once we catch a breather,” Sokka told him.
“Well, I do have to ask, but how did you kids get in here in the first place?” Chopper asked one of the children as they ran.
The curly blond-haired boy answered Chopper, “Well, I remembered playing outside, and then one of those men came up to me and told me that I was very sick. He even said he talked to my parents and wanted me to get checked up on with their permission! So he took me to this island!”
“Me too!” said one kid.
“Yeah, that’s what happened to me too!” said another.
“I didn’t feel sick, but the doctor told me I was!” said one child.
Nami, Katara, and Suki were all just shocked at these accounts.
“Wait...they just...took you?” Nami asked them.
Katara and Suki glanced at each other and thought the same thing as they concluded.
These kids were kidnapped!
“Whoa, wait a moment,” Sokka said, “Were your parents present when these doctors came to you?”
“Present?” said the short-haired girl in confusion.
“I mean, were your parents with you while the doctors were there, is what I’m asking?” Sokka elaborated.
“Um...no..." the girl said, now looking scared upon realizing that she and the other kids could be kidnapped.
“My goodness..." Suki said, horrified, “They were taken away from their parents!”
“...Whoa,” Sokka said, now also in shock at this bombshell. “That’s...That’s horrible! How can anyone do that?”
“Wait, so...they’re not really sick then?” Chopper asked.
“Chopper, don’t be naive!” Nami exclaimed at him in frustration.
“This...This is terrible!” Katara said, appalled, “What kind of monster would do this!?”
“I don’t know, but we definitely need to get these kids to safety!” Nami says as she runs.
“Oh! Look! Up ahead!” Chopper called out, seeing another closed metal door up ahead in the hall, “That could be a way out!”
“It could be!” Nami says, “But it also could be locked! And we don’t have Toph or Franky to force it open!”
“No worries! Leave it to me!” Chopper told her, and he, while in his Kung-Fu Point, jumped and cartwheeled over to the door and struck the hinges of the door with his hooves, destroying them. The door was now open as Chopper pushed the door to let everyone through!
“Haa-cha! Okay, kids, let’s keep going!” Chopper rallied the children.
“Wow, Chopper, you’ve gotten pretty strong!” Nami complimented, impressed as she neared the door and the reindeer. Sokka(and Kin’emon), Suki, and Katara also came up to the duo while the kids behind them somehow stopped from the sprint.
“Aww, stop it, you jerk!” Chopper said, his hoof rubbing the back of his head as he looked bashful.
Katara went inside the room first and noticed something as she walked on the floor.
“Wait...this is ice!” Katara said in surprise.
“Uh, yeah,” Suki spoke as she rubbed her arms together for warmth, “And it’s also cold. Like, really cold.”
Sokka went in the room as well and could feel the cool breeze as well, “Ah. Now that’s the kind of temperature that I’m used to.”
“Me too!” Chopper said with a happy face as he felt the breeze on his fur when entering the room.
“Brrr!!” Nami shivered as she also entered, “Not me!”
Katara realized that the kids weren’t coming in and reassured them, “Come on, kids! It’s alright! We just have to keep going! It may be cold, but I know you can all do it!”
“Yeah!” Sokka said as he turned around to the kids, “And there’s a door up ahead, so it could lead us outside! If we feel cool air in here, then the outside most definitely is waiting for us on the other side of this door!”
The children all looked hesitant about continuing forward.
Seeing that they weren’t coming inside the room, Suki asked them in concern, “What is it? Is something wrong?”
One of the kids, the curly blond boy, said to them a little nervously, “T-This is the Frozen Room!”
“Huh?” Nami stopped and turned around, “The Frozen Room?”
“Frozen Room? Well, it is pretty cold in here..." Chopper said as he looked around.
The short black-haired girl looked afraid as she then said, “We went through here when we first came here!”
“Huh?” Sokka raised an eyebrow, “Then what’s the big deal? This is the way out, right?”
“Um...I think I know why the children do not want to enter here,” Kin’emon said to Sokka and them as he looked down at the ice floor.
“What? What do you mean?” Nami asked him.
“Wait..." Katara looked down at the ice floor...and all around the room...filled with ice...but that’s not all that was in the ice. Her eyes widened as she saw what was inside of the ice around them. “Uh...guys?”
“Hm?” Sokka looked down at the ice floor, as well as Suki.
Nami and Chopper looked around the area...and their eyes both went wide in shock and horror.
“...Wait..." Suki said, her eyes wide in horror, “Are..." she looked up around the area as well. “Are these..."
“...Oh...uh..." Sokka said as his eyes went wide in shock and he looked around the room.
In the ice...there were bodies , all of them big, large, and huge . All of them have been frozen in place, from left to right, to the ceiling , and to the floor . They all looked to have been wearing prison clothes, indicating what they were...
They were standing in some kind of frozen ice prison!
...Sokka was the first to say, “Holy shiiiii-ip! I-I said ship! I said ‘ship’, kids!”
Chopper and Nami, however, looked to be freaking out, ready to scream...and they did.
“AAAAAAHHH!!”
The two Straw Hats rushed over back to the kids in a flash and stayed there, as they shuddered and shivered, looking at the icy prison that these individuals were kept frozen in.
Suki looked at some of these bodies that were in the ice and could only ask anyone, “W-Who are these people!?”
“I don’t know,” said Katara, “But...they could be imprisoned by all this ice!”
Chopper, after calming down, looked down at one of the people in the ice and saw their prisoner garbs.”Hey, they do look like prisoners a bit!”
Katara frowned at the injustice of it all. “Then we should probably release them!”
“HUH!?” Sokka turned to his sister, “Whoa, Katara! We don’t even know who these people are! And besides, they could be dead for all we know!”
“Well, Aang was stuck in an iceberg, and he was alive?” Katara said to her brother.
“Well...true, but that could be Avatar-related mumbo jumbo!” Sokka reasoned.
“Actually..." Suki looked around the area full of ice-encased prisoners, “We can try to wake one of them up and see if they can help us with the guards that Toph, Sanji, and Franky are fighting.”
“Oh come on, Suki, not you too!” Sokka whined.
“I think that’s a great idea!” Katara said with a nod and a smile. “Hold on, I’ll try to break this ice!”
“Wait a minute!” Nami called out to them from the entrance, “Katara! They really could be dead! They may not even be alive!”
“Well, I have to try!” Katara called back, “If these are really prisoners, then they didn’t deserve this!”
“Katara, listen to Nami!” Sokka told her, “They’re from this world, so they could confirm if it’s true or not.”
“Actually...we don’t know for certain if they really could be dead. They could just be sleeping for all we know.” Chopper theorized.
“CHOPPER! That’s not helping!” Nami yelled out.
“Well, I for one, think it is honorable of you to try and save these prisoners from their fate, Lady Katara!” Kin’emon said, “And they could very well help us in the long run! Perhaps you and your friends have the hearts of warriors and helpers, even for women!”
“Hey, what about me!?” Sokka asked in offense.
“You are not a woman, so why would I say that to you?” Kin’emon asked him.
“...” Sokka just raised the head of Kin’emon with a comical frown and glared at him as he raised and reared his fist back, preparing to punch him, “Buddy, I am going to hammer you with my fist.”
Kin’emon blanched, “H-Hey! What about your conscience!?”
“It took a break,” Sokka seethed.
“Sokka, Honey,” Suki said as she held onto his reared-up arm, “Don’t beat up the dismembered head.”
“Guys, we’re wasting time!” Katara exclaimed, “The kids need to pass this area, so I need to get going with breaking all of this ice!”
“K-Katara! Wait!” Nami called out to her desperately, “What if these prisoners are bad pirates!?”
“Then I’ll freeze them again!” Katara said, a little exasperated. She then swung her hands downward, and apparently ‘pushed’ the ice down to break it.
CRR-CRRAAACKK!!
The ice below her formed cracks, multiple cracks that spread wide from where they were standing, the cracks spreading even to the icy walls. As Katara bent the ice, she got some out while pushing her hands up and letting the pieces of ice, both small and big fragments, shoot up in the air. She then bent the icy walls with one quick sweep of her right arm and left arm, cracking the walls as well. Gathering all the ice, she tried the same thing over, throwing her arms go up and letting the ice fling high up, hitting the ceiling as the icicles hanging there began to crack and fall off.
“U-Uh, Katara!?” Sokka said as he looked at the carnage his sister was making.
However, Katara was aware and used her bending, swiping her arms down to drag the pieces off the ceiling. She then raised her arms up and held the blocks and boulders of ice in place as she bent them.
Sokka and Suki, meanwhile, looked nervous as the ice that was falling down on them was hovering above them thanks to Katara’s bending.
“Um, Sokka, I think your sister is really intent on getting these prisoners out, so maybe we should just get out of the way?” Suki advised her boyfriend.
“I, um, I agree with your woman!” Kin’emon said with wide, anxious eyes.
“...Oh man,” Sokka said with dismay.
And so he(plus the carried Kin’emon) and Suki dashed their way over to where the kids and Nami and Chopper were.
“She’s really not going to let this go, is she?” Nami asked either Sokka or Suki.
“Nope. That’s my sister,” Sokka says with a hint of pride, yet with a hint of exasperation.
Katara then swirled the pieces of ice around her and above her, letting her arms swirl in a circular motion, the power of her enhanced bending breaking and tearing away the icy walls as she kept twirling the icy debris. While it was being bent, the ice was turning into a powder substance, almost like snow , but soon, the sheet of ice turned into water. As that was happening, the walls began to soon expose some of the prisoners' skin, starting with the arms, their chests, and then, their faces. Once their faces were exposed, it took a while for the body to register, but suddenly the prisoners gasped for air, indicating they were alive!
“Wha-What!?” the first prisoner said in shock.
Then, another, and another, and another prisoner, one by one, they were all freed! From the walls, above the ceiling, and on the floor! Katara gathered a huge amount of sheet ice, snow, and then water as she formed it into a giant amorphous bubble. Soon, the ice deteriorated, freeing some of the prisoners from their icy prisons.
Meanwhile, Sokka, Suki, Nami, Chopper, and the kids all looked up at the giant water bubble in awe and amazement.
“...Wow. So that’s your sister, huh?” Nami asked Sokka as she looked up at the bubble with wide eyes.
“Uh...y-yep,” Sokka nodded, his eyes also wide, “Just...don’t get on her bad side.”
“WHOOOAAA!!” Chopper exclaimed, looking astonished, “That’s so cool!!”
The kids were also looking up in amazement as they smiled at the display of bending power that Katara was doing.
Speaking of Katara, she went to the opposite side of the room, on a platform where the door was located, so that she could release the prisoners from the floor and the ceiling.
The prisoners from the right and left sides of the walls all staggered onto the misshapen ice floor that Katara had bent, each of them gaining their consciousness back.
“Ugh...what happened?” said one burly male prisoner.
“Where...Where are we?” said another strong-looking male prisoner.
One prisoner, a large one, who was staggering just a bit, looked up at the giant amorphous water bubble. His eyes went wide in shock, and he exclaimed, “Ho, shit!! What’s that!?”
“Hey! Language! There are kids here!” Chopper scolded them.
“Huh?” said the same prisoner as he turned to the group and the kids over at the entrance. “...What...What’s going on?”
“Hey! Wait, look over there!” said another prisoner, pointing at Katara.
Katara was still bending the ice around the room, and soon, the people from the ceiling and the floor began to break and deteriorate, letting the prisoners be freed as the ice was chipping away.
“Whoa...what’s that girl doing?” wondered one of the male prisoners, this one being another one of the larger ones.
“I don’t know...but...I think she freed us!” said one of the regular-sized prisoners.
Once the prisoners from the floor and the ceiling were gaining consciousness, they woke up, the ones on the ceiling gasping for air, and the ones in the floor struggling to get out, getting their arms freed by using their strength that’s coming back to them, and with the bending, weakening the ice.
“Wh-What!? Hey, what am I doing up here!?” said a large prisoner above the others on the ceiling.
“Ugh...what?” said a big prisoner who was waking up from his frozen prison.
With the giant amorphous water bubble in the air, Katara let the ones in the ceilings up there for now, and exclaimed as she moved her arms around to keep the bubble in place, “Everyone! I freed you all from your prisons! If you wish to escape this place, then you are all going to have to follow our lead!”
“Huh!?” said a large male prisoner, blinking at the waterbender, “Hey! Are you doing that!?”
“I am!” Katara answered, “You’re all kept here by some crazed person! They also kidnapped these kids! Who is the person keeping you all here!?”
“Uh...first of all, th-thank you for releasing us! We all owe you our lives!” said the burly-looking male prisoner, “R-Right, guys!?”
The prisoners, which consisted of males and a few females, all said their thanks.
“U-Uh, yeah! Thank you!”
“Yeah! Wow, that’s amazing!”
“I can’t believe I’m free from that block of ice! It’s all thanks to you!”
“Wow! You made that water bubble!?”
“Thank you so much!”
“How are you doing that!?”
“Hey, the girl that saved us is kind of cute.”
“Seriously, Jerry!?” said a giant man, “She helped us out, and you want to compliment her looks!?”
Katara heard that last line and just blushed, “Um, I’m taken! Look, who kept you all here!? Why did this person keep you all here even!?”
“We...We don’t know,” answered an average-sized male prisoner in confusion, “There was one person, maybe two of them...their names escaped me...ergh, why can’t I remember!?”
“Yeah, I don’t seem to remember either!”
“Me too! In fact...what’s my name?”
“Hey...I can’t remember my name either!”
“Who am I!?”
“Yeah...actually, I think I just called you Jerry for no reason!”
“Really!? Then, what’s my name then!?”
“They don’t remember who they are!?” Chopper wondered out loud.
“Wow...maybe it is an Avatar thing if Aang could remember who he is when he broke out of his ice,” Sokka said with a perplexed blink.
Feeling completely sorry for all these prisoners, Katara called out to them, “Don’t worry! We’ll help you all out!”
One of the prisoners, an average-sized buff man, said to her, “Yes! W-We need to know who we are! M-Maybe even get out of this place! You freed us, right!? We are forever in your debt!”
“YEAH!!” shouted the rest of the prisoners.
“Your sister knows how to rally up followers,” Kin’emon said to Sokka, impressed by all of this with blinking eyes.
“...Rally up...?” Sokka then had an idea as he perked up, “Hey! They could help us against these guards that Toph, Franky, and Sanji are fighting!”
“What?” Suki turned to her boyfriend, “Are you sure about that, Hon?”
“I mean, maybe?” Sokka shrugged, “I feel like those three might need all the help they could get!”
“Um, while I think more help would be ideal, you don’t want to underestimate Sanji and Franky,” Nami told Sokka.
“Yeah, and what would Toph say if she heard you saying she needs help ?” Suki asked Sokka with a humorous raised eyebrow.
“...I mean, it was a good idea at the moment,” Sokka said with a mumble.
“Wait!” said one of the prisoners, “Who are your friends!? We’ll help them fight whoever they are fighting!”
“Yeah! Anything for the girl that freed us!”
“Yeah! I don’t even care if she is a witch, we owe our lives to her!”
“YEAH! Let’s go guys! To our saviors! Tell us where we need to go and we’ll help out!”
...Katara, Sokka, Suki, Kin’emon, Nami, and Chopper all blinked while the kids looked confused.
“...I mean, you got them all riled up, maybe we can let them help Toph, Sanji, and Franky,” Chopper suggested.
Katara then looked at the giant water bubble that she was bending, also having an idea.
“...I think we should go back and help Toph, Sanji, and Franky!” Katara proclaimed.
“HUH!?” Nami exclaimed in shock, “But...what about the kids!?”
“No worries! You, my brother, Suki, and Chopper will take the kids and go find an exit! I’ll lead the prisoners to the battle where they are!” Katara assured her as she used her arms to keep the bubble intact.
“But..." Nami turned to the kids, who all looked a little nervous about everything. Seeing that there was no other way to talk out of this, Nami turned to Katara and said to her, “Okay! Just be careful when fighting people with guns! I really think your friend and the guys have it all under control, but who knows what could happen?”
Smirking at that, Katara said to her, “Sure thing, Nami!”
Nodding to her, Nami turned to the kids, “Okay, kids! We’re going to keep going! Let’s go!”
“Okay!” the kids all said.
As Nami, Chopper, and the kids all went on ahead in the now de-iced room, Sokka(and Kin’emon) and Suki followed close behind, the former shouting out to her, “Be careful, okay, Katara!?”
“Yeah! Just come back to us unharmed!” Suki shouted back.
“Don’t worry! Toph and I, as well as Sanji and Franky, will!” Katara assured them with a nod.
Nodding back to her, Sokka and Suki(and Kin’emon) passed her as they went to the door up ahead with Nami and Chopper, and the kids.
Katara then diverted her attention to the prisoners below as she bent the water in the center of the room and proclaimed to them, “Alright! We’re going to help my friends! Once I free all of you, we’re going to go into the battlefield! Be prepared, and fight like your lives depend on it!”
“YEAH!! WE WILL!!” cheered the prisoners.
Toph, Sanji, and Franky
“GURAGH!” cried out a lab guard as he was hit by a fast-shooting metal ball in the stomach.
Toph was shooting more metal balls, or ‘bullets’, at the hazmat-suited guards, punching the metal objects directly at them.
Meanwhile, Sanji kept swinging his legs and feet around to beat up and kick the guards like they were sacks of sand, twisting around as he kicked them while standing on his hands, and then doing a back handspring to one bigger guard.
“OOF!” exclaimed the guard as he got hit by Sanji’s body spring to his stomach.
Franky used his Strong Right on the other guards, bowling them over. He got rid of the last row of guards by using his arm guns to shoot them as well.
When every one of their enemies was down, they took a bit of a breather.
Adjusting his tie, Sanji said, “Alright, that’s the last of them.”
Toph, using all of her metal bullet balls, stomped on the ground and felt the vibrations on the floor.
“...Actually, there’s more coming!” she announced, a little frustrated. “Right up ahead at this room’s entrance! A lot of them, probably around fifty or sixty of them!”
“For real?” Franky moaned, “You know what? I’m just gonna blow something above to barricade the entrance.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Sanji says as he lights a cigarette in his mouth.
“Do I need to shield my ears for this one?” Toph asked Franky.
“Well, it can get a little loud, so maybe you should cover your ears for a moment, Little Lady!” Franky told her.
“GET THEM!! USE YOUR GUNS!!” yelled out the guards who were about to enter the entrance to the Biscuits Room.
“I GOT A BIGGER GUN FOR YA!” Franky said as he gathered his hands a formed a circle with them, letting the energy form on his metal palms, “FRANKY RADICAL BE-”
“HOLD IT!!”
“Huh?” Franky uttered as his hands stopped glowing.
“Who’s there!?” Sanji called out.
Toph blinked.
Hey...where did that voice come from?
The guards, amazingly enough, stopped in their sprint.
Then, something was passing each of the offenders...a purple gaseous mist...the mist was trailing in front of the guards and was forming itself, the gas letting it swirl and materialize into a very tall individual, a little bit over ten feet tall.
The man looked to be of fair skin, with long, black colored hair, purple lips, and red eyes, while having two peculiar goat horns on top of his head. He was wearing what looked to be a black and yellow striped jumpsuit with a long and billowy white robe, almost like a lab coat, which says the words “GAS GAS” on each side of his open robe/coat. He also has purple gloves on, with the initials CC on them, and simple black shoes.
As soon as the purple mist formed the shape of this man, he materialized into his physical form, letting his feet touch the ground as he walked on the floor.
Toph’s eyes widened as she now felt someone walking up to them.
Huh? Someone’s there?
“What? A Logia Devil Fruit Type?” Franky asked in surprise.
“Hey! Who are you!?” Sanji exclaimed at the mysterious man.
“My, my, you escaped your cell,” said the tall man with a grin, “Well, that just won’t do. Although I must ask, who destroyed the door? It almost looked like someone ripped it off! Quite primitive, if you ask me.”
Toph scowled at the man, saying that her way of escape was primitive. “That’s because it was ripped off, dummy! I used metalbending! And answer my friend’s question, who are you!?”
The man looked appalled at Toph’s attitude and sneered at her. “First of all, I advise you to watch your mouth, little girl! Secondly, if you all must know, I am Caesar. Caesar Clown. I am the head of this whole facility and...the savior of the people residing here.”
“Eh? So you’re the one who’s keeping those kids?” Franky asked him.
“Why yes, I am. By the way, where are they? I don’t see them anywhere,” Caesar asked, looking around the area.
Toph didn’t like how this Caesar was talking, so she answered, “We set them free! You were keeping them away from their parents!”
“What!?” Caesar exclaimed in bug-eyed shock, “NO! Where are they!? You-Y-You don’t understand! They need to be cured !”
Toph raised an eyebrow at that statement.
He...sounds like he’s serious, but...he’s also lying.
“You fools!” Caesar said to Toph and the two men, before turning to his own men, “My subordinates! Find the children! They mustn’t go outside!”
“Uh, right, Master!” said one of the hazmat-suit-wearing lackeys, “Come on, we've got to find those brats!”
Toph especially didn’t like how they were referring to the kids. “You know, people helping kids shouldn’t refer to them as brats! They would be a lot nicer to them!”
“Hm?” Sanji turned to Toph.
“Huh?” Franky also turned to the smaller girl.
Caesar turned to Toph with an aggravated scowl.
“What are you doing to them!?” Toph exclaimed to the taller man, “You don’t sound very concerned about them! I think there’s another ulterior motive behind you keeping those kids!”
“Hey! The Master is doing his job to help those brats! You will pay him the respect he deserves!” said one henchman.
“Buddy, so far, I don’t respect this jerk for even putting us in a cell!” Toph exclaimed.
Sanji smirked, “You heard the lady. Fess up. What are you doing to the kids?”
The taller man cast his glare at Sanji...and narrowed his eyes for a moment. “Wait...you look somewhat familiar.”
“Hm?” Sanji frowned, “I look familiar to you? I don’t even know you.”
“...Hmm...do you happen to know the surname Vins-” Caesar began to say, until-
CRA-BAAAAAM!!
The opposite end and its door to the Biscuits Room crash and burst open, revealing...big, large, and giant men! All of them filed into the Biscuits Room as a good number of them came in, probably around sixty of them.
But that’s not all...there was one last person, a young woman, who was trailing behind, and behind that woman was a long trail of floating water!
It was Katara!
As soon as she got into a clear space, she bent all of the water that she gathered from the frozen room and formed it back into a growing, giant amorphous water ball.
The prisoners cheered her on, while the others, Toph, Sanji, and Franky looked on (well, except for Toph) in surprise at this outcome.
Caesar and his henchmen, though, were all bug-eyed in shock, mouth agape at this development.
“YEAAAH!! GO MISS KATARA!!” shouted out a large male prisoner.
“YOU’RE SO AMAZING!!” cheered another big male prisoner.
“WOW! LOOK AT HER GO!!” yelled another large male prisoner.
“WHAT A GAL!! SHE’S OUR SAVIOR!! SHE SAVED US FROM OUR PRISONS!!” shouted out a huge male prisoner.
Katara blushed a little bit from all the praise, but kept her composure in check as she exclaimed to them while bending the water, “Alright! Up ahead is where my friends are! We should get there as soon as possible!”
Toph blinked. “Sugar Queen!?”
Turning to the blind girl, Katara smirked, “Hey Toph! I got reinforcements!”
Sanji also blinked at this. “Huh..." Smirking, he then said, “Well, thank you, Miss Katara.”
“Uh, yeah!” Franky said, “We probably need all the help we can get!”
Meanwhile, Caesar still looked on in shock at all the men that came barreling through, as well as the young woman who was controlling the giant water bubble above them!
“...What...What is this!?” he exclaimed.
“Master!?” said one of the hazmat-suit-wearing henchmen in astonishment, “Those...Those guys! Wh-Where did they come from!? They couldn’t have possibly been in the Frozen Room, could they!? And how is that girl controlling that huge ball of water!?”
Caesar couldn’t think of anything to say, but at that moment, something registered with him.
Wait a minute...that small girl said metalbending, whatever that means. And this girl here is controlling the water...they could be Devil Fruit users! But the question is, what kind of Devil Fruit powers do they have!?
“They...The small girl and that girl back there must be Devil Fruit users!” concluded Caesar, “One who can rip metal apart and one who can control water..." he grinned in a very intrigued way, “ Very interesting!”
Toph turned to Caesar and corrected him harshly, “Metalbending is a part of earthbending, genius! I bend the earth in the metal!”
...That girl is annoying. However, what she said is something I could later remember down the line. Caesar thought.
“Well, either way, your powers are no match for me! I ate the Gas Gas Fruit, and I am now a Gas Man!” Caesar proclaimed, “Guards! Retrieve the children! We must find them and cure them!”
Now that Toph can make out Caesar’s tone, she knows for a fact that he’s lying to his own men.
“You’re not going to cure them! What are you really going to do to them!?” she exclaimed back at him, aggravated by this man’s bold-faced lie.
Seeing that this Caesar person was the one behind having these kids be kidnapped, Katara glared at the taller man and shouted at him, “Who are you!? Are you the one keeping these kids away from their parents!?”
“It looks like he is, Katara!” Franky confirmed, “And the guy said his name is Caesar!”
“Caesar, huh?” said one of the large male prisoners, “He could be the one that trapped us in the ice!”
“Yeah! His name sounds a little familiar!” shouted another large inmate.
“Then it’s settled! Let’s get that bastard!” yelled out another male prisoner.
“YEAH!! FOR MISS KATARA!!” all the inmates shouted out loud in a roar.
“ENOUGH OF THIS!” Caesar exclaimed in frustration, “Guards! Get rid of these hooligans! They’re obviously killers and ruthless thugs! As your Master, I want you to end their miserable lives, since they don’t believe in my life-saving ambitions!”
Toph gritted her teeth as she ‘glared’ at Caesar.
Oh, this turd is going down.
“Don’t you bad-mouth these ladies!” Sanji exclaimed as he got into a stance. “And I believe Little Tophie here is telling the truth! If you’re really helping them, then these kids wouldn’t be calling for help!”
“I’ll do whatever I want, you ingrates! MEN! ATTACK!!” Caesar ordered his henchmen.
“RIGHT!!” the henchmen hollered as they started to dash forward to the group.
Katara, though, sprints into action.
Rushing through the Biscuits Room with the water bubble trailing behind her like a river stream, Katara shouts out, “OUT OF THE WAY!”
Sanji and Franky blink at the command, but seeing that she was going to use the water behind her, they do as they are told. Toph does as she says as well, dashing to the side.
As she runs, Katara stops quickly where the guards are coming up to her. She pulls her arms back and swings them forward, throwing the water and letting it form and expand like a blanket on the men, covering them all up with water, as well as hitting Caesar(who looked on in wide-eyed shock). When the water hit Caesar and his men, Katara froze the water, letting the liquid freeze them all over.
All sixty or so men and Caesar were frozen by the huge amount of water that Katara carried...
Taking a deep breath, Katara stood straight and rolled her shoulders.
“Whew! What a workout,” Katara muttered.
“Whoa! That was SUPER!” Franky exclaimed in awe.
Toph came up to Katara and gave her a congratulatory punch to the arm. “Way to go, Sugar Queen!”
“Wow...Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned,” Sanji said with a smirk.
Even the prisoners were cheering.
“YEEEAAAAH!! YOU SHOW ‘EM, KATARA!!”
“WOW!! THAT WAS AMAZING!!”
“AW YEAH!! YOU’RE REALLY STRONG, MISS KATARA!!”
“WOW!! A SAVIOR AND A FIGHTER!! THAT’S AWESOME!!”
Katara blushed just a bit as she looked a little bashful. “Oh come on, guys, stop..." she said with a small smile.
“Hey, you took them all out with your waterbending! You were almost like Aokiji!”
“Who?” Toph asked Franky.
“Oh, uh, just a guy who used to work for the World Government here in our world,” Franky summarized. “He used to be an Admiral for the Marines. In fact...I think the reason why this island is like this is because of his fight with another Admiral named Akainu. They were fighting for the title of Fleet Admiral, so they dueled it out to determine who would win and become that title. It says Aokiji lost against Akainu and resigned.”
“Wait, so...the reasoning behind this island being like it is, is because two men were dueling against each other?” Katara asked in shock, eyes widened. “What the heck did they do?”
“Well, Aokiji and Akainu are known to have Devil Fruit Powers,” explained Sanji, “The former having Ice Ice Powers, while the latter has Magma Magma Powers. They basically have Logia Type Devil Fruits, which these Fruits can make people's bodies morph into anything that relates to elements.”
“Ice powers? Magma powers?” Toph reiterated as she absorbed all the information Sanji told them. Frowning, she said, “Oh, great. So what, are they invincible when they get these powers?”
“Well, not really,” Franky says, “If you use Haki, or whatever your version of Haki is, then you can hit them like normal people. Oh, and there’s the whole losing your ability to swim, which makes the person sink into the water like an anchor thing going on, so yeah, there’s that too.”
“Uh, okay,” Katara blinked, “Well...duly noted.”
“Uh, yeah,” Toph twisted her lips into a disdained frown, “Well, I hope I don’t face anyone with Dirt Dirt Powers. That would be...wild, yet creepy to me.”
“Hey, don’t worry, I don’t think we face anyone like that as of yet,” Sanji told her.
“Yipee,” droned Toph.
“But yeah, since that’s out of the way, what about these guys over here?” Franky asked them as he, Sanji, and Katara looked over to the prisoners who were freed. Toph, however, paused as she turned her head to their frozen enemies.
“I think we should bring them with us. They’re not that bad,” Katara said with a smile, “They’ve been imprisoned in ice by that Caesar guy, so I think it’s the right thing to do to let them join us.”
Sanji smirked at Katara, “Are you sure it’s because you don’t want to hear the praises they give you?”
Katara pouted, “Oh, come on, Sanji, I’m not that glory-hounded.”
“Uh, guys?” Toph said, her tone a little nervous.
The three turned over to Toph, Sanji picking up the tone she was carrying, “What is it, Tophie?”
“...I think...that Caesar guy’s heart is...still beating..." Toph’s eyes widened as she also felt something else, “Uh...guys, I think he’s trying to-”
CRA-PISH-CRACK!!
“AAUUGH!!” yelled out Caesar as he cracked and popped out of the ice. He went up and hovered above the others, letting his gas powers dissolve the ice around him and fly through the air. “YOU MISERABLE MAGGOTS!!”
“...Oh shit,” Toph says as she feels a little bit of dread when she can’t feel Caesar’s feet on the ground anymore.
Katara’s mouth dropped, her eyes widened as she saw the full extent of Caesar’s gas powers. Sanji and Franky kept their guard up when they saw the Gas Man emerge from his frozen spot.
“YOU THINK YOU CAN STOP ME WITH JUST MERE FROZEN WATER!?!? FOOL!! YOU ONLY MADE ME ANGRIER!!” Caesar shouted. From the very bottom of his hovering body, he burst through a gas substance all the way down onto the other frozen guards. The gas made all the frozen bodies crack, breaking the ice all around their bodies. Soon, the hazmat-suited guards began to fight back through their frozen state and began moving their arms and legs, breaking out of the ice.
“GRAUGH!” exclaimed one hazmat-suited man as he got out of his icy prison.
“YAUGH!” exclaimed another guard, breaking free.
“ERRRGH!” broke out another guard.
As each guard broke out of their icy stances, Caesar exclaimed to them, “Go, my followers! Teach these ingrates the true meaning of DEATH !”
All of the men hollered out and rushed forward to the four.
“As for you, you water witch! You will pay for your interference! ” Caesar hollered out in anger. He dove down, shooting toward Katara, the scowl present on his face as his gloved hand was reaching out to her.
Katara, ironically, froze on the spot, trying to move, but for some reason, the air was getting thin...she was losing oxygen. She stood there still, trying to breathe...
But then, as Caesar was almost close to Katara-
WHA-BAM!
...Sanji KICKED Caesar in the face!
“GURK!” Caesar exclaimed as he was hit in the side of his face by Sanji’s foot.
Then, Katara’s breath came back, gasping for air.
Caesar flew to the side from Sanji’s blow, and Sanji landed on the floor with his two feet.
“Are you okay, Katara-Dear!?” Sanji asked her in worry.
Coughing a bit, Katara said, “Y-Yeah, I’m..." she coughed, “I’m fine!”
“What happened!?” Toph asked her.
“I...I think he sucked the air out of me! Literally!” Katara said as she regained her composure.
“Whoa! You used your Haki on that guy, Sanji!” Franky exclaimed.
“Yeah. Whenever a lady is in trouble, I will not hesitate to kick their faces in,” Sanji reminded.
“MISS KATARA!!” hollered the freed prisoners in shock. They rushed over to where they were.
One of them, who was leading the group of inmates, shouted out to Katara and the three, “Don’t worry! We’re coming! This guy you’re facing looks hella strong, so we’re gonna join the fight!”
“Yeah!” said another huge inmate, “In fact, go! We’ll hold them off! Save the kids and bring them back to their parents!”
Katara looked at the approaching group in surprise. “What!? But, what about you guys!?”
“We’ll keep fighting! You freed us, Katara! You didn’t have to, but you did! We’re gonna repay our debt to you!” exclaimed a big inmate, his eyes looking like they were tearing up.
“Yeah! You’re our true savior! And if it’s our time to go, then we’re doing it by fighting for you!” exclaimed another large prisoner, who also looked like he was tearing up.
Eyes widened in shock, Katara pleaded to them, “No! You can’t!”
“Uh, Katara, I don’t think they’re going to take ‘no’ for an answer!” Franky told her.
“But..." Katara looked behind her and saw that one of the guards was coming in close. It was then, Sanji grabbed Katara’s wrist and pulled her away. “Ack! Sanji!”
“I’m sorry, Katara-Dear, but we need to get going and find Nami, Suki, and the gang, as well as the kids!” Sanji reminded her.
“But, they-”
“Katara! We got to go!” said...Toph.
“What!?” Katara turned to her friend in shock.
One of the guards aimed their guns at one of them, Katara, but then-
“OH NO YOU DON’T!!” shouted an inmate. He ran in front of the gunman and then-
BANG!
The inmate was shot...but not before he delivered a hard punch to the guard’s helmet-covered face!
“GRACK!” exclaimed the guard as the impact hit hard.
One inmate punched a guard in the stomach and swung his fist at another guard. However, one guard got his gun ready and shot him.
BANG!
Then, another inmate sneak attacked that guard by grabbing his neck and twisting it, killing him.
More inmates and guards were fighting each other, dodging the larger and bigger ones, while the prisoners tried to disarm the henchmen, some succeeding, but some weren’t lucky
Katara looked on at the violence and couldn’t help but feel...responsible...
“Katara!” Toph called out to her.
Katara, her wrist still in Sanji’s palm, turned her head to Toph.
The earthbender ‘looked’ at her with a frown, a frown that looked determined, almost as if she was telling her that she understood...
“Sugar Queen, they chose this! We do, though, need to get back to the others! I don’t think we can fight and face this Caesar on our own! We need to leave!” she rationalized.
Before Katara can object, though-
“GO, KATARA!” shouted an inmate.
Katara looked at whoever shouted at her in the crowds of fighting.
“LISTEN TO YOUR FRIEND!! GO TO YOUR FRIENDS!! WE’LL HOLD THEM OFF!! JUST GO!”
Then a different voice called out.
“GO KATARA! GO!”
Then another.
“DON’T WORRY ABOUT US!! LIKE YOUR FRIEND SAID, WE CHOSE THIS!!”
“YEAH!! YOU WORRY ABOUT YOURSELF AND YOUR FRIENDS!!”
“WE GOT THIS!!”
“THANK YOU KATARA!!”
...Katara’s eyes were tearing up, touched that these inmates had such devotion...
...She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, a tear falling down her face.
“...We need to go,” Katara finally said.
Sanji nodded. “Right.”
“Uh, guys, I think we do need to get out of here!” Franky said as Caesar was getting up from Sanji’s kick.
“Then let’s go!” Toph exclaimed.
Then they all ran...away from the battle...they exited the Biscuits Room.
As soon as they exited the Biscuits Room, they closed the door, which Toph made sure they didn’t go through by sealing the door with metal scraps and bits that came out of the wall. They ran further down the corridors to find their friends.
Meanwhile, Caesar picked himself up and adjusted his face with his hand.
“Dah! That bastard...he used Haki..." He looked at the retreating four who left the room. “...I heard his name was Sanji...why does that name sound so familiar?”
Back to Nami, Chopper, Sokka, Suki, Kin’emon, and the Kids
They ran through the Frozen Room and went through another corridor. As soon as they reached the end of it, they were in an area where there were big double doors that looked like it led outside. The doors were cracked open just a bit, the cold air blowing through.
“Look! Some huge doors! That could be our way out!” Sokka called out.
“Let’s hope so!” Nami says, “Chopper! I think that’s your cue!”
“Right!” Chopper then somersaulted to the doors and kicked the left door to the side to slide it open.
WHAM!!
The door slid open a good bit, letting them see the outside!
“YAAAY!! WE’RE FREE!!” cheered the kids.
“Now we can see our mommies and daddies!” said the dark, short-haired girl.
“Thank you all so much!” cheered the curly blonde-haired boy.
Nami, Suki, and Sokka smiled, the former saying, “It’s no problem, kids! We just couldn’t-”
“WHAT THE HELL!?”
“HEY!! WHO ARE THEY!?”
“HUH!? IS THAT RACCOON!?”
“HEY, THAT GIRL IS IN A BIKINI TOP!”
“WHO ARE THOSE TWO!?”
“IS...IS THAT A SEVERED HEAD!?”
“WHOA! ...Those are big kids.”
Nami, Chopper, Sokka, and Suki stopped in their tracks, as well as the kids.
In front of them were all...men in Marine uniforms! All of them looked rugged and shady-looking, having their weapons out and ready to use.
Also outside was a man with silver combed-back hair with a scar that trailed on his right side of his face, and wearing a white coat with gold shoulder pads and black pants and boots. However, he was shirtless and carrying a weird weapon that looked like a marbled two-pointed fork, along with a sword on his hip. He also seemed to be smoking two cigars in his mouth.
The other was a female, her long hair all tied up in the back, as she was wearing a pink coat with gold shoulder pads as well, and wearing a buttoned shirt and capri jeans with brown shoes with a sword at her side. She was also wearing glasses on her face.
Lastly, there was a tall black-haired man with a goatee standing next to the open side of the doors, wearing a white dome leopard hat with a black coat on that has a unique golden Jolly Roger emblem and trim on the lower hem of his coat, with the same emblems on each of his coat arms. He was also wearing boots and had his sword next to him in his right hand.
The man with the black coat looked at the arrivals that came out here with a surprised look on his face.
The one with silver hair just looked at this with an arched eyebrow.
The female looked on in shock.
...Everyone was quiet...
...Until Sokka asked, “Uh, who are these guys?”
“Oh crap!” Nami exclaimed in horror, “It’s the Marines!”
“Ha-cha-WHAAAA!?!?” Chopper also exclaimed in horror.
“Huh?” Suki blinked, “The Marines? Like the ones back at that island?”
“Y-Yeah!” Chopper nodded, shaking, “But this time it looks like they have Smoker with them!”
“Smoker?” Sokka asked, a little puzzled by the name.
“The guy with two cigars in his mouth!” Nami said, pointing at the man named Smoker. She also looked to her right and saw the man in the black coat. “Wha-HEY! You’re that guy!”
Chopper looked to his right as well, “Huh?” Upon seeing him, his eyes bugged out, “AAH! Y-Yeah, it is! The guy from Sabaody!”
“Sa-bao-dy?” Sokka asked, reiterating the foreign word.
The man known as Smoker stared at Nami, Sokka, Suki, and Chopper, as well as the kids, and turned to the black coated man, “Well, so much for being alone, Law!”
“...” the man known as Law just stood there, frozen, his expression still in slight shock, but quickly regaining his composure.
“Huh? Wait, your name is Law?” Sokka asked the man next to them.
Suki looked at Law, Smoker, the woman, and the Marines who were in front of them.
“...Uh, Hon? I don’t think now’s the time to be asking anyone anything,” Suki said.
The man named Smoker then shouted out, “Those two up there! The orange-haired woman and the furry guy! They’re part of Straw Hats’ crew!”
“They are!” said the woman with wide eyes, “But...who are the other two!?”
One of the Marines said, “Hey, they could be hostages!”
“Huh?” uttered one sailor.
“Oh yeah! Maybe those bastard Straw Hats are torturing them or something!”
“Yeah! That pretty girl has probably been taken advantage of by those pirates!”
Suki blinked once more and blushed, “Are they talking about me?”
“Wait a minute!” Sokka exclaimed to stop the accusations. “We’re not hostages! We came willingly with these guys! They’re not that bad, come on!”
“Eh?” Smoker raised an eyebrow, “You came willingly with them?”
“Yeah! We’re trying to...uh...well, you know we...um...well, it’s a long story, but-” Sokka tried to explain, until-
“Sokka! Suki! Nam! Chopper!” called out the voice of...Katara!
“Sis!?” Sokka turned around to see that it was indeed his sister, Toph, Sanji, and Franky.
“Guys! You’re back!” Suki said with a smile of relief.
“Yeah!” Toph says, “And it looks like you found...the exit..." Toph stopped, as well as the others, who saw the group of Marines in front of them. “...What’s going on here?”
“...You got some explainin’ to do, Law,” Smoker said to the man.
“...Honestly, I’m just as shocked as you,” Law said finally in monotone.