Chapter 100: Back-Up

Chapter 104:

Back-Up

A veritable hailstorm of fists and feet rained down on the goliath, speeding up his already-increasing downward momentum. Oars hit the ground where Moria was standing with an earth-shattering crash, a wave of compressed air destroying every tree in the vicinity. Luffy drew his sword before, as a last hurrah, separating both of the zombie's legs with a single flying slash. That deed done, the teen fell to the ground, the last of the shadows within him leaving to find their true owners and the sword he had so expertly wielded stabbing into the ground next to his face.

"That's it," Luffy grunted through heavy breaths. "We won."

Unfortunately, it seemed that Luffy spoke too soon, a sharp pillar of shadow stabbing through Oars' stomach before opening like some grotesque flower to reveal a bloody but very-much-alive and pissed Warlord.

"STRAAAAAAW HAAAAAAAT!"

Not having the energy to jerk in surprise, Luffy slowly turned a wide eye toward the steaming Warlord. "But..." he stammered. "But I..."

"You couldn't squish me that easy!" Moria yelled, the shadows around him growing into a mass of dark tentacles that wiggled around him, visualizing his anger. "You've ruined everything! Forget taking your shadow! Forget using your body! When I'm done with you, your body will be so far gone that the Marines won't be able to confirm it's you! Come forth, Loki's Wrath!" The shadow tentacles surged forward, their deadly points ready to pierce the worn-out teen.

There was nothing Luffy could do but stare at the deadly points Moria sent after him. The overwhelming power he had wielded just before was gone, spent throughout the short but titanic battle he'd held against Oars. Not only that, but Luffy was still forced to admit that he hadn't fully recovered after his fight with Lucci, at least, not enough for a battle with a Warlord. Now time seemed to slow as Moria's attack honed in on the immobile pirate. Luffy closed his eyes, sending a silent apology to his crew and wife.

"Dragon Twister!"

A whirlwind of green appeared between Luffy and the lethal attack, three swords throwing the shadows away from their intended path. Moria didn't react save for a slight deepening of his angry gaze as the failed attack returned to him. Luffy opened his eyes.

"Zoro," he croaked out.

"Don't worry, Captain," the swordsman grunted, never taking his eyes off the Warlord before them. "Everyone's accounted for and ready to go again accept for Merry. We'll take it from here."

"What... What happened to Merry?"

"Fall damage," Zoro answered. "It cracked her Heart, so she can't move for now. She'll be fine eventually."

"That's..." Luffy never finished, the reprise from fighting and the knowledge that his crew had his back allowing the rubber-man to slip into a much-needed slumber.

"That little brat fell asleep?" Moria growled. "I'll-"

"Your fight is with us," a new voice interrupted, an electrically-charged fist striking Moria's back. The Warlord jumped, a claw of shadow twisting around him to rip his attacker in half. Gin only grinned at him, his body fusing back together with the help of his Devil Fruit.

"10,000 Kilogram Press!" Moria jumped back once more, this time avoiding the crater that formed where he'd been standing. In the center was a blonde with an umbrella. "Kyahahaha! Hope you're ready, Moria, 'cause you're about to be in a world of hurt!"

"She's right, you know," another voice agreed. Moria spun, taking him his surroundings to find every member of the Straw Hat Pirates sans their captain and newest member armed and ready to fight. Behind them were the Rolling Pirates and the other members of the TBSA. And all of them were ready to fight him.

"You see," Coby continued, an underlying growl from his dinosauric vocal cords making his words reverberate, "while our captain might be the strongest of us individually, the rest of us aren't just skating by. Maybe you heard about it, but every one of us stormed Enies Lobby itself and fought our way back out. You might have outlasted Captain Luffy, but you can't take us all on."

"Is that so?" Moria replied, ropes of shadow growing from his feet and stretching out past the crowd, "Then I hope you have the strength of a thousand men, because I do! Come to me, shadows of Thriller Bark! Come and strengthen your master! Come and become my power! Shadows Asgard!"

Then, before the eyes of all in attendance, Moria began to grow, his body starting to bloat. The zombies around Thriller Bark fell one after the other, their stolen shadows abandoning the undead at the call of the Warlord.

"One hundred... two hundred... three hundred... four hundred..." Moria continued to grow with the number of shadows he absorbed, even Franky's shadow abandoning Oars' body and joining the rest within the shadow-man. Some of the Straw Hats tried to stop even some of the shadows, but to no avail. "Five hundred... six hundred... seven hundred... eight hundred..." The shadows began to slow, but still Moria grew. "Nine hundred... one thousand shadows!"

Moria dropped to all fours, but still he towered over his opponents. Unlike Luffy, Moria's skin didn't have any advanced elasticity, but still he grew until he stared down on the crowd from nearly a hundred feet. His neck bulged, the shadows within him stretching the skin and distorting his voice into a gravelly bass. His shoes were ripped apart from the inside as his feet swelled, revealing his sharpened nails. The buttons of Moria's shirt strained against newfound stress as the shirt barely grew with the shadow-man's torso.

"Holy shit," several of the men muttered.

"W-We can't beat him! Not like this!"

"He has the strength of a thousand people!"

"All we can do is run and hide!"

"You cowards!" Lola yelled. "Look at them! Look at the Straw Hats! They aren't moving, and neither will I!"

"She's right! We can't run now! We've got Moria backed into a corner!"

"The rats backed into corners are usually the most dangerous," Sanji muttered, lighting a new cigarette. "Nami-Swan? How long would you say until our shitty captain is back on his feet?"

"I don't know," the navigator admitted. "He heals fast, but after a fight like that..."

"RAAAAGHHHH!" Moria roared, swinging one arm downward. Zoro and Robin jumped away from what would become the impact sight, Moria's giant fingers digging trenches in the already-destroyed ground.

"You might be super strong!" Franky yelled, "but we're even more super! Weapons Left!" The cyborg fired, the projectile exploding against the engorged Warlord's stomach. Moria screamed in a mix of pain and rage, a dozen or so shadows fleeing from his through his mouth before his teeth could shut.

"Did you see that?!" Coby called. "It looks like he can't control the shadows properly!"

"Silence, boy!" Moria ordered, a giant fist baring down in the Zoan who tried to jump away. A crewmate protected him, though, Amy jumping in and increasing her mass while Coby ducked beneath her.

"Dense Shield!" The air pressure blew the rosette away and splintered the ground, but Moria's middle finger's largest bone fractured from the impact. The Warlord reeled back, grasping his hand as another half-dozen shadows oozed out of his bruised flesh as it healed from the combined healing factors of over nine-hundred people.

"Our turn!" Zoro and Sanji declared, the former jumping to balance himself of the latter's leg.

"Mosshead Shoot!" the cook called, launching the green-haired swordsman upward toward the Warlord.

"Brick Bat: Shadow Box!" Moria's shadow shot toward Zoro who started spinning his swords in response, slicing each shadow bat in half and ruining the box.

"Three Sword Style Secret Technique: Three Thousand Worlds!" Zoro shot past Moria, long, deep cuts slashing through the Warlord's stomach. Moria staggered backward, coughing up blood and shadows as he tripped onto a giant chain. Grabbing that, he pulled himself up and accidentally turned the rudder.

Storm clouds rumbled above the assembled pirates, the Straw Hats turning to glance at their navigator. Of them, Nami's eyes locked with Gin's, giving him a small nod. Moria missed this, his fingers raking through the clouds in an attempt to disperse them.

"Hey, Moria!" Gin yelled, both tonfa pointed at the clouds. "I wouldn't worry about those clouds if I were you." Lightning arched down from the clouds, missing Moria altogether and connecting with the Logia's weapons. Gin's form all but faded, the new surge of energy making every atom in his body vibrate to the point where his form was fuzzy. Slowly, his tonfa dropped to aim at the oversized Warlord, light condensing between the golden orbs on the ends.

"Thunderbolt Tempo: Lightning Shot!" Gin and Nami declared in tandem, another bolt striking Gin and instantly being redirected into the attack he released at the same time. The electricity slammed into Moria like a sea-train, the pale man flailing as the energy was painfully discharged into the ground through his bare feet. The attack burned away his shirt and coat, leaving Moria with nothing but his pants.

The shadow-man jerked and roared as the electricity coarsed through him, far more shadows than before abandoning the man who called himself their master. Moria had shrunk by the end of the attack, a full fourth of his previous power gone. Gin was worse for wear, however, passing out from the about of energy he'd put into the attack.

Moria reeled, staggering in an attempt to keep his footing even as shadows fled from him in droves. Down on the ground, the shortest redhead grabbed the now-only undead's arm.

"Brook, show me your sword." The skeleton didn't answer, holding out his rapier-cane for the girl. Grace pulled out her pallet, quickly covering the blade with red paint. "I need you to get this on Moria's torso."

"Yohoho! Will do!"

"Hold him down!" Coby yelled, every Straw Hat sans Luffy and Gin dashing forward. Giant arms bloomed from Moria's back, two of them grabbing his arms and another wrapping around his neck. Brook and Zoro reached him first, the the latter hacking away at his legs while the former ran up his legs to leave a long, red smear across the Warlord's chest. Moria ripped an arm free and swatted at him, but the nimble swordsman jumped over his hand and ran back down, making an X. Amy caught up to Coby, jumping into his arms.

"Throw me!" the blonde ordered, a small symbol of red paint on her arm. Coby shrugged before beginning to spin, launching a less-than-one-kilogram Amy at the Warlord with all his Zoan strength.

"Yellow Meteor!" they called in tandem. Moria had just enough time to turn toward the sound before a 10,000- Kilogram Amy slammed into his sternum, right where the X crossed. Moria went down with gasp, toppling backwards into a crumbling tower. The brick and stone gave way underneath him, digging into his back as Moria finally hit the ground.

Shadows blasted from Moria's mouth like black lava from an erupting volcano, the Warlord's form shrinking. The pirates that hadn't gotten there to help deal the finishing blow surrounded him, ready to act if he made a move, however unlikely that was. Amy continued to sit on his stomach, cratering the ground as her weight continued to force the shadows from Moria's body.

Nami turned away from them, her eyes coming to rest on the downed form of her husband. Luffy was awake, though he couldn't move, a tired smile on his face. The clouds over Thriller Bark broke, a ray of sun falling on the pirate captain.

Nami rushed over, picking Luffy up and holding him tightly. The rest of Moria's victims both on Thriller Bark and throughout the world rejoiced as their shadows returned at long last.

Thriller Bark had fallen.

However, just when appeared that the war was over, a new enemy revealed themselves...

End of Chapter 104

Read and Review!

-SwordOfTheGods