Chapter 37: Escape the Casino, Luffy's Fight

Chapter 31: Escape the Casino

So it seems the popular vote has been decided. It was close, but using both the polls and PMs from those who couldn't vote the normal way, we have our winner.

With a grand score of 13 to 9, the Sunny will ultimately be female. Thank you to everyone who took the time to vote. If you're upset at the results but didn't vote when you had the chance, then you have no right to complain.

Either way, the results won't manifest until I get to publishing chapters past Thriller Bark, which I am still in the process of writing. If anyone has any suggestions or anything they want to see in the future, leave a Review or drop a PM to let me know.

Chapter 37:

Escape the Casino, Luffy's Fight

"As I was saying, you can try to save your country and abandon your friends, or try to save them here and let the Rebels overrun the capital."

Crocodile turned and tossed the key over his shoulder. Vivi dove for it, but a trapdoor, the same one that had swallowed up Mr. 3 several days previously, opened, dropping the key into the mouth of a waiting bananadile.

"No!" the princess cried as the Warlord laughed.

"Hahaha! Goodbye, Ms. Wednesday." Crocodile chuckled as he left the room, Nico Robin carelessly tossing Coby's swords to one side and following him.

And then the glass cracked.

Vivi sat there staring into the trapdoor, the giant bananadile that had eaten the key staring back, for several long seconds. Sounds of glass beginning to break echoed through the underwater room, but Vivi heard nothing but the blood pounding through her ears. Luckily, she snapped out of it quickly thanks to the cries of her friends in the cage, Luffy's being the most dominate.

"Vivi! Let me out so I can kick Crocodile's sandy ass!"

"Come on," Usopp urged, shaking Coby through the bars. "Wake up, Coby."

"Wake up, you lazy ass!" Nami yelled, kicking a sleeping Zoro in the head.

"Is it morning yet?"

"Watch out, Vivi!" Luffy yelled. "The bananas are coming!" Through one of the holes in the floor crawled a bananadile large enough to eat the cage containing much of the Straw Hat crew in a single bite. The princess pulled out her weapons, but she knew they would be ineffective against something of the creature's size. It advanced on her, ready to snap her up as a treat.

But it was halted, held back by a triceratops.

"Go, Vivi," Coby ordered, his feet cracking the floor under him from the weight of his struggle with the larger reptile/possible-herb. "Get the others. I'll hold this overgrown lizard off. And throw my swords to me, would you?" The larger, semi-aquatic lizard stepped forward, causing Coby's feet to dig furrows into the concrete. Vivi sprinted up the stairs and into the casino, stopping only long enough to toss the pair of swords at the top back down.

"Alright, Fatty," she heard Coby taunt as she moved out of earshot. "Let's dance." The princess kept running, trying to ignore the yells and growls coming from the room behind her. She slowed down just before reaching the gambling area and threw up her hood so as to not attract unwanted attention. She'd barely stepped into the room when there was a tremor that shot through the building.

"The bridge collapsed!" a man cried as everyone regained their balance. Vivi kept quiet, walking through the now-louder casino, looking for a way out like the screaming patrons. She passed between three silent figures, two of whom were calmly playing slots.

"You know, beautiful," one of them muttered, "I didn't destroy the bridge to keep us in. I did it to keep them out."

"Kyahaha," the other gambler chuckled lowly. "I never knew Mr. 0 owned a casino. You'd think he'd let us number agents have a discount or something."

"Sanji," Vivi gasped. "Amy. Grace." The three spun around on their stools, smirks on two of the three faces. "Where's Tony? And Gin?"

"Gin helped me pull off that den-den call," Sanji answered. "He and Chopper are running around town playing decoy. We'll meet up with them later. Where are the others?"

"Come on," Vivi urged. "We have to get down there. Coby's fighting a bananadile."

"A what?" Sanji asked as she took off back the way she'd come from. The three followed, Grace not even acting lazy. They ran down the path Vivi had taken before coming out at the top of a set of now-destroyed stairs. Coby was in his Hybrid Mode, holding back a bananadile with his crossed swords. He was holding on well, but he was slowly weakening from the rising water level. The croc swung its head like an oversized bat, knocking Coby into the bars of the cage. For the second time, he slumped, not unconscious, but weakened.

"Coby," Grace fretted. "Big Sister, do something."

Amy huffed, but knew there was no time for arguing. Other bananadiles could be seen trying to force their way into the flooding room, so she opened her umbrella and lightened herself, floating up and over the large lizard. At the same time, the chef had jumped down into the water and attacked.

"10,000 Kilogram Press!"

"Bad Manners Kick Course!"

The combination of both attacks, one coming from above and the other from below, compressed the insides of the gator/croc/herb/thing. It gagged, falling into sweet oblivion as the things that it had eaten made a reappearance, such things including a key and a large ball of an off-white color.

"Nami-swan!" Sanji gushed, turning into a noodle. "Are you proud of me? Are you willing to leave our stupid captain for me, yet?"

"Back off, Sanji," Luffy ordered. "Just hurry up and get us out of this cage."

"Whatever, Shitty Captain." He turned to the unknown object. "What is this?" Sanji wondered aloud, tapping the ball with his foot. Grace, however, stared at it with some form of abject fear. The sphere cracked like an egg, opening to reveal a dehydrated Mr. 3.

"Free!" The wax-man cried before kneeling down to drink his fill of water. Now hydrated, if a little loopy from the water of questionable purity, Mr. 3 starting ranting at the air, cursing Crocodile and explaining that he'd used the last of his strength to summon a protective ball of wax as soon as that bananadile had eaten him. After ranting for a good half-minute, he had finally calmed down enough to actually take in his surroundings. "What the? Ms. Goldenweek? Ms. Valentine? Straw Hats?"

"You must be Mr. 3, then," Sanji said, sauntering over to the male agent as Vivi and Grace scooped up the key. They moved to the cage, avoiding Mr. 3's gaze.

"Well... I," Mr. 3 didn't know what to make of this new, intimidating figure. It only got worse for him when Amy went to stand next to her fellow blond, a sadistic smirk on his face.

"We meet again, Mr. 3. Kyahaha."

"The key isn't working," Grace called from beside to cage.

"A fake," Vivi cried.

"Hey, Mr. 3," Amy smirked. "You're made of wax. Why don't you make us a key?"

"Wh-what's in it for me?" Mr. 3 stuttered, trying to sound brave. The sadistic blonde sauntered in to him to whisper in his ear.

"If you don't, I will literally crush you piece by piece, starting with your waxy balls." The man's face paled, becoming whiter than his wax. He bolted over to the cage and stuffed his finger into the keyhole, the appendage turning to wax and taking the necessary shape. There was a click and the door swung open.

"Yeah!" Luffy cheered as he and the other prisoners exited the cage. "Now it's time to go kick Crocodile's ass!"

"Am I done here?" Mr. 3 asked nervously as Luffy went to work beating up the other bananadiles that had entered with the help of Zoro.

"Nope," Sanji answered with a smirk, the last bananadile flying over his head the slam into the broken stairs. He handed a hand-written note, signed Mr. Prince, to the wax-man before kicking him into a wall, knocking him unconscious. Unfortunately, they'd wasted too much time. The windows cracked and caved, spewing water into the crumbling room.

"Zoro!" Luffy yelled just before the water engulfed him and everyone else. "Save Smokey!"

Sanji gasped as he broke the surface of the water, Amy and Luffy under his arms. He tossed his captain onto the sidewalk, heedless of the strange looks he was getting, before gingerly lying Amy down. Nami and Vivi came next, Usopp half drowned between them, not that he was a Devil Fruit user; he was just a wimp. After them was Zoro with Smoker draped over him.

"Why the Hell did you save him?" Sanji growled, pointing at the marine. "He's our enemy."

"Not now," Zoro growled back as the Devil Fruit users coughed water. "We're down two."

"Grace!" Amy gasped, bolting up into a sitting position. "Grace! Where are you?!"

"I'll get her," Sanji insisted, diving back into the lake. He swam down, a dark shape growing into his vision. Grace, who'd lost her hat, was struggling to get to the surface, Coby lying limp over her shoulder. Sanji scooped them both up and kicked upward with his stronger legs until all three reached the air. Amy surged forward, pulling her soaked sister into a hug as she coughed.

Coby's welcoming into consciousness was less pleasant. Zoro pulled him up and punched him in the gut, forcing the water out of his lungs. While crude, it was effective.

"Alright!" Luffy shouted, jumping up as his energy returned. "Now it's time to kick Crocodile's ass!"

"Roranoa!" Smoker growled, jabbing his jutte at the swordsman who caught it on the blade of Wado Ichimonji. "Why did you save me?"

"Don't look too far into it," Zoro replied, pushing the weapon away and sheathing his sword. "I was just following my captain's orders. That's all."

"Come on, everyone," Vivi insisted. "We have to get to Alubarna. It's this way, due east." She took off at a run, the others following, Sanji proclaiming that he'd do anything for her or her beauty. Coby shifted into his Dino Mode to carry Grace, the slowest member, and Amy had Sanji pull her near-weightless form by her umbrella. Nami had started following, but stopped when she noticed that Luffy was not with them.

"Luffy?" she questioned, looking back at the teen who had yet to move except to make eye contact with the marine. "Come on."

"You know," the rubber-man began, "you're not such a bad guy, Smokey. I like you. Shishishi." The smoke-man did not reply for several seconds.

"Go," he ordered, putting his jutte away. "This is the one time I'll let you off. Next time, though, I will catch you."

"See ya!" Luffy laughed as he and Nami took off.

The reunion with Chopper and Gin brought a surprise in the form of a giant, slightly-perverted Moving Crab. The crab, which was as big as a building and a childhood friend of Eyelash, had agreed to carry them to Alubarna as a favor for the camel they were traveling with. They boarded the crustacean that Nami named Scissors and took off to the east.

Unfortunately, not all of them would make the trip that way. Crocodile's golden hook came out of nowhere, pulling Vivi off the crab and back toward Rainbase. Luffy reacted immediately, reaching out and switching places with her.

"Luffy/Captain Luffy/Don Luffy!" the crew cried out as the rubber teen was pulled away.

"Don't worry about me!" he yelled back. "I'll catch up! Go! Zoro, you're in charge!" The teen looked away from the group as Scissors sped away through the dessert. He twisted through the air so that he landed on his feet while facing Crocodile and Nico Robin.

"I guess you could say the princess slipped through your fingers," the woman laughed quietly, heedless to the growling of her employer. She turned and began to walk off.

"And where do you think you're going?" the Warlord questioned lowly.

"To Alubarna," she replied with a wave. "Someone has to make sure those imbeciles do their jobs right. I expect to meet you there, Mr. 0."

"Insolent woman," Crocodile muttered as soon as she was out of earshot, believing Luffy could not hear him. "I'll do away with her soon enough."

"Gum-Gum Pistol!" Luffy's fist shot through the man's head, breaking it apart. The sand-man's face rematerialized with a scowl on his face.

"I have very little time for you, bo-" He was cut off, Luffy's knuckles making contact once more.

"What's that?" Luffy mocked. "I didn't hear you. My fist interrupted."

"You brat!" Crocodile raged. "Quicksand Hole!" Luffy's footing became very uneven as the sand underneath him gave way, sinking rapidly and trying to take him with it. The teen scurried up the side, slowly outrunning the deadly trap. He reached the lip, but he could not pull himself out; the sand was too loose to get a proper grip. With no other option, Luffy chose the unpredictable.

"Gum-Gum Bazooka!" he yelled, slamming his hands into the sand. The force pushed him into the air, away from the quicksand. "Gum-Gum Whip! Gum-Gum Battle Ax!" Luffy's first attack split the unmoving Warlord at the waist before he flipped in the air to bring his still-extended leg down, splitting the man into four parts. "Gum-Gum Gatling!" Finally, the pirate's rubbery arms lashed out, throwing hunks of sand from Crocodile's form until nothing remained. He landed.

"Sand Saber," Crocodile's voice announced from behind him. Luffy jumped, hoping to get over the attack, but his lower legs still ended up passing through the grains of sand. The attack sucked the water out of the parts it came in contact with, leaving Luffy to faceplant.

"Ah! What did you do to me?!" Luffy shouted, holding his shriveled legs.

"I removed the water from your system," Crocodile answered. In response to this explanation, Luffy took a big swig of water from the barrel he'd gotten from Toto in Yuuba. His rubber body moved the water to where it was needed most, rehydrating his legs.

"Yeah!" he yelled, jumping up. But he was too slow to stop Crocodile's next move.

Luffy was lifting into the air, a hook of gold stabbed through his stomach.

"You thought you could beat me?" Crocodile sneered. "Now you'll die like every other upstart that came to challenge me. Goodbye, Straw Hat." The Warlord broke into sand and drifted off into the wind, leaving the teen to fall into the quicksand where he slowly began sinking.

But Luffy noticed one inconsistency. Crocodile's arm, which was soaked with his blood, was still intact.

End of Chapter 37

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-SwordOfTheGods