THE VILLAGE OF MOAPAPA
THE NEW WORLD 3:15 PM Dracula stood in the bell tower, watching the villagers busy about their day. He was surprised the place held as many humans as it did, more than enough it seemed to warrant a marine base to be placed nearby. So focused was Dracula on his musings about the village that he didn’t so much as glance behind him when the air itself seemed to crack and fracture like a crudely shattered mirror. The Master emerged from the fracture, a crooked smile from ear to ear on his face. “I hope you’ve come with nothing less than war time orders.” Dracula croaked, his disdain with Karpax for sending the Master to speak for him dropped into his tone. “You sound so disappointed Dracula. What is it you expected today that has you so much more dreary than usual?” Dracula didn’t make a sound, his cloak billowing in the light breeze. “The next artifact is somewhere in this village.” The Master continued. “And you people thought me some sort of dog? Ready to fetch what you require?” Dracula whispered, a hint of murderous lust in his words. “You’re still questioning your place in all of this? You, who have been privy to every step we need to take? You’ve lived too long to behave like this, Dracula.” The Master chided, amused by Dracula’s bubbling temper tantrum. “I want to be sure I’m not just another pawn in you people’s cosmic games. I want what was promised to me, nothing else will suffice.” “Which is why you were asked to meet me here. The creatures at your command are uniquely suited to pillage this land until nothing is left but what we came for.” The Master assured him, to which a smile slid into place on Dracula. The Master pulled a small device from the pocket of his waistcoat, a silver and black ring with Galifreyan engraved around it. “I’ve brought something to make the task a bit easier.” He held out his hand and the ring levitated above it for a breath of a moment before shooting past Dracula and out into the mid-day sky. It took only a few seconds for the device to work, and Dracula couldn’t help but marvel as the skies above Moapapa started to turn pitch black. The Master began to leave just as he arrived before pausing and turning back towards Dracula once more. “You know, this sort of thing just sounds like something I’d like to get my eyes on. Care if I stick around? Merely for spectator purposes of course.” “Time-lord enjoy the show. Besides, you know exactly what we are looking for. All the better with another set of eyes.” Dracula whispered before turning and releasing a low, sharp whistle. Several vampires appeared suddenly at their master’s side; Dracula’s hand chosen inner court guards. “How many did you manage to amass?” He whispered, and the guards squadron leader spoke proudly. “On such short notice, over three hundred my lord.” “Hmm, it will suffice. Go, do as you please.” Dracula instructed, and the guards sprang from the tower and down into a village, where a panic over the sudden change in the sky had begun to stir throughout. No more than two miles off the coast of the village, the thousand sunny prepared to arrive on Moapapa. Monkey D. Luffy sat in the crow's nest, a leg quarter of chicken in hand as he stared peculiarly at the dark skies in front of him. “Nami! Why did the sky change suddenly? Did you do something?” The captain shouted down to his trusted navigator, who was at the helm alongside Franky the cyborg. “It wasn’t me, Luffy. Usopp, what do you see?” Nami called over her shoulder to where Usopp was peering through his custom-made binoculars at Moapapa. He dropped them after a short glance, his feet trembling as he took a few steps back and fell on his rear. “There’s something….tttearing into those people. Some kind of creatures!” Usopp managed to stammer. “Dozens of them!” “I think those are vampires.” Brook said as he now gazed through the binoculars. “I almost can’t believe my eyes! Wait. I don’t have any eyes.” “Wahhh! I thought vampires were just a myth! I don’t want to be eaten!” Chopper fretted as he clutched the trembling Usopp. “Vampires? You think maybe the message from Bellamy was a trap, Luffy?” Sanji yelled up to the captain between puffs of his cigarette. “Who cares if it is? You scared of a few monsters garbage can cook?” A very confident Zoro said to Sanji from where he’d just awoken from his usual nap. “How about you step your piss drunk shitty swordplay ass over here and say that to my face?” Sanji roared back, to which Zoro leaped to his feet ready to return fire just as Robin stepped between the them. “We don’t have time for this you two. Besides Chopper, they won’t eat you. They’ll just drain you of all your blood till you’re a lifeless meat sack.” Nico Robin stated plainly, and Chopper’s eyes nearly popped out of his head from shock. “Don’t say things like that!” Usopp pleaded to Robin, who ignored him and turned her attention to Luffy, who had just joined the crew down on the deck. “What do you want to do, Luffy?” Robin asked. Brook handed him the binoculars and Luffy took a look at the village and saw what Usopp had seen, hordes of vampires terrorizing the people of Moapapa. “Bellamy wouldn’t try to trick us. Nami, do you still have the directions he gave you?” Luffy said before ripping a chunk from the leg quarter. “Yeah, I wrote them down. I should be able to find the place he told us about.” Nami assured him, and Luffy nodded confidently in response. “I need to make sure Bellamy is ok!” Luffy said through a stuffed mouth, but his determination was felt by his crew. They knew when their captain made up his mind, there wasn’t a chance of turning back, no matter what danger lay ahead. “Robin and I will take the mini-merry over to the far side of the village. Once we get a look at the Poneglyph, we’ll meet you back here!” Nami said as she pulled a copy of the directions from her top. “Usopp, you come with us.” Robin instructed the sniper before grabbing him by the back of the shirt and dragging him along with them. “Gah, why me? Shouldn’t you want to take Chopper?” Usopp pleaded. “Don’t sacrifice me…” Chopper said as he hung his head, but Usopp’s pleas to Robin went ignored. “We may need your shenanigans for a good distraction.” Robin stated bluntly. “We’ll need some cover if we’re going to get in the thick of those things.” Sanji suggested, and he flicked his cigarette overboard. “I’ll kick every vampire’s ass that looks in your direction Nami-sannnnnn.” The cook sang as his demeanor changed on the dime in an effort as always to woo any beautiful women within eye shot. “Yeah, Yeah.” Nami shoved Sanji aside and followed behind Robin and Usopp. A few moments later, the rest of the crew watched the trio depart in the mini-merry before turning their attention back to the daunting task at hand. “Franky, that cover.” Zoro said, and the cyborg flexed with excitement as he knew it was his time to step up to the plate. “Oh yeah. I’ve got just the SUPER thing to give us a grand entrance.” In the village, a father rushes his family through town, firing shots from his pistol erratically behind him in a desperate attempt to protect his wife and son from the group of vampires closing in on him. The middle-aged father turns, and keeps up the gunfire, motioning for his wife to continue on without him as he tries to cover their escape. His valor only makes his predators that thirstier, and a vampire lands with a nasty crunch on top of him, sending his pistol bumping across the ground. Before the vampire can rip the man’s head off, a sea of cannonballs flies through the village, exploding in bright doses of light that send the vampires scattering. The husband hurries to his feet and after his family, pausing to glance behind him and see just where the strange cannon fire has come from. “Isn’t that the strawhat pirates' flag?” A young woman yells, causing attention to turn towards the harbor as the group of Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, and Brook marched into the center of the village. From inside the bell tower, Dracula watched with curiosity as Luffy led his crew into the thick of what was a massacre before he’d arrived. A vampire didn’t hesitate to charge at the strawhats, but with Luffy’s observation haki, the monster might as well have been standing still. No sooner had it raised its foot towards the son of Dragon himself that Luffy bellowed with all his might. “GUM-GUM RED HAWK!” A fiery punched snapped forward and destroyed the vampire on impact, proving to his fellows that the new arrivals to the fray were no ordinary humans. “It’s Strawhat Luffy!” A villager fighting off a vampire yelled as he caught sight of the captain. “What’s a member of the worst generation doing here?” Dracula turned to the Master with an eyebrow raised. “Who or what is that creature?” The Master merely pointed to a wanted poster in the corner of the tower, which featured the always smiling visage of the carefree Monkey D. Luffy and his whopping bounty. Swarms of vampires converged towards the strawhats, causing Sanji to call back over his shoulder. “Chopper, you’re on deck!” A loud roar shakes the village as Chopper assumes his monster form and immediately begins swatting vampires like flies. Dracula’s lip curled as he watched the strawhats fight, and in a low whisper he knew only his inner guard could hear he gave a simple set of orders. “End this game, swiftly.” Three of the court guards surged into the air, blades in hand as they moved with deft speed to take out Chopper. “Mouton Gigot shoot!” Sanji yelled as he skywalked into the air and unleashed a flurry of kicks on two of the guards, sending them crashing through an empty home below. A slash went careening into the air cut through the last guard, splitting him in two. Both pieces fell in front of Zoro as he tied his haramkai on to his head and placed the hilt of his blade in his mouth. He turned his head slightly as his haki sensed another one of the vampire guards approaching from behind. Zoro managed to deflect each blow from the vampire’s heavy blade, and the two circled each other as they both laid out battle strategies. “Yeah, you won’t be as easy to cut up as all your friends.” “Does that frighten you?” The vampire guard asked, taking a defensive stance as its eyes surveyed Zoro. “I’m overdue for a test, so no.” As his crew took on the brunt of the vampire forces, Luffy raced through the town, knocking away any of the creatures that got in his path as he searched for Bellamy. Dracula watched the captain of the strawhats with growing intrigue when the Master got his attention. “Your army has spotted a group of humans entering a shrine on the northeast side of the village.” The time-lord informed him, and without another word Dracula leaped from the bell tower, transforming into a massive bat as he flew high above the chaos in the village. Inside the shrine, Nami led the way through the path that was already littered with bodies. Usopp clung to Robin as he stepped around the victims of Dracula’s horde, doing his best to keep his eyes off them. “How much farther Nami?” He asked for the seventh time. “We’ll be there soon. Quit complaining.” Nami snapped back. What she saw once she turned forward froze her in place, causing Usopp and Robin to bump into her. In front of the group was what was left Poneglyph that had clearly been broken in half. Nico Robin pushed past Nami and approached what was left of the slab. “Usopp quick, copy everything!” Robin instructed him, prompting Usopp to quickly dig into his bag for pen and sketching what was inscribed on the piece of the Poneglyph. “Do you think the marines have been made aware of the attack in the village?” She asked Nami, who was keeping a watchful eye on all their surroundings. “If they aren’t headed this way yet, they will be soon.” Nami answered. “It’d be nice if we could carry it out of here!” Nami said, her frustration being taken out with a glance at Usopp. “Don’t look at me! You should have brought Franky, or Sanji!” Usopp yelled back. The look on Nami’s face changed like the flip of a switch, and Usopp recognized the look of pitched dread hanging on the navigator's face. Standing in front of them was Dracula, who barely registered the human's presence as he stared at what they had discovered. He circled the Poneglyph, causing Usopp and Nami to scurry back. “They say these things tell history.” Dracula murmured before glancing back at Nico Robin. “That’s curious, I don’t smell any fear on you women. What have you seen in your history; I wonder?” Usopp’s fear kicked him into action, and he aimed his kabuto at Dracula. “I-I don’t know who you are. But we have the island surrounded! 200 ships with cannons longer than my nose!” Usopp bragged, But Dracula paid his threats no mind before turning back to the Poneglyph. He picked up the broken piece with ease, much to the shock of the three pirates. “As I overheard, you were having trouble figuring out how to transport this? I have no problem alleviating you of your problems.” Dracula answered as he took a step towards Robin, his curiosity about the women’s lack of fear compared to her companions one he wanted to explore. Dracula glanced at the piece of paper Usopp had used to copy what he could of the Poneglyph, and a terrible realization washed over him. “What do you want with that? You’re no pirate I’ve ever heard of, are you looking for the One Piece?” Nami demanded, her hands creeping towards her clima-tact. “There’s not a treasure nor trinket on this planet that would empress me.” Dracula answered, his eyes on the chunk of Poneglyph in his clutch once again. “I seek a darkness that my people can rule. Unfortunately, although your companion is as interesting a sack of meat as I’ve ever seen in all my years. Clearly this of some importance to you and your group, and I tend to take problems off the board as soon as they sprout up.” Usopp’s observation haki alerted him to Dracula’s attack, but he was nowhere near fast enough to dodge the elbow that the monster smashed into his face, knocking him forcefully into the walls of the shrine. Usopp reacted instinctively, firing a miniaturized reject dial directly at the chest of Dracula. Much to Usopp’s surprise, Dracula picks the dial out of the air easily, without even dropping the massive chunk of Poneglyph. Dracula tossed the dial aside and dropped the piece of stone, ready to rip Usopp’s throat out. Before he could act, the massive leg of Robin due to the power of her devil fruit smashed Dracula into the ceiling of the shrine, pinning him there. “Nami, finish what he started! We’ll hold him off!” Robin instructed. She pulled Usopp to his feet and shoved black Kabuto into his arms. “We will?” Usopp asked before feeling inspired by the determination set on Robin’s face. “We will!” Usopp dug in his bag of seeds and readied his next attack. Dracula transformed into a great mist to slip out from beneath Robin’s attack and flew towards them, nothing but their murders coursing through his mind. Robin sent a storm of punches that sprouted from the walls around them at the vampire leader, who dodged around the flurry with blinding speed that even Usopp barely managed to keep up with. Dracula suddenly appeared directly in front of Robin, snatching her up by the throat and slamming her spine first on to the Poneglyph. “Robin!” Nami stuffed the paper away before pulling Robin off the stone. Usopp fired a group of seeds that sprouted into thick black trees that slammed into the vampire and begun to wrap around him. The trees branches were as hard as iron, and Dracula seethed as he watched the trio try to escape. Not too far from the sunny, the Master watched the battle between the inner court and the rest of the strawhats. Chopper had switched to his Kung-Fu point transformation, delivering nasty chops to the back of the heads of several vampires. To his left one of the court guards battled Sanji, the pair of them matching each other strike for strike as they tried to land a clean blow on the other. Franky prepared a massive set of lamps with a long wire running all the way from the sunny into the back of them. He turned to where the others were battling. Chopper joined Franky by the lamps and stared up at them. “What are those for? A NEW TRANSFORMATION?” Chopper guessed excitedly. “They’re for our escape. Think you can dig a trench around these?” Sanji narrowly avoided a slash from the vampire guards' blade, the blow instead taking what was left of his cigarette. The vampire took another swing, this time at Sanji’s torso that just managed to catch flesh. The guard had fallen into the famed cook’s trap however, and it was far too late to avoid it. Sanji caught the vampire with a hook stomp kick to the head that shattered the creature's skull. Another group of vampires surged towards Sanji, ready to avenge their fallen commander. Sanji didn’t move a muscle, preparing himself for the approaching onslaught by lighting up another cigarette. “Four-hundred-and-eighty-degree dragon twister!” Zoro grunted as he stepped in front of Sanji, unleashing a tornado of slashes that ripped apart the parade of vampires. Zoro turned back to see an infuriated Sanji storming up to him. “I didn’t need your help with those things, shrub head!” Sanji taunted between puffs of his cigarette. “Go do what you do best and get lost!” “We don’t have time for your constant preening, swirly brow pervert. Luffy still hasn’t found Bellamy!” Zoro yelled back, forcing Sanji to see his reasoning. “Robin and the others have been too long. We need to grab the Poneglyph and take off long before the marines start shooting up the place!” Sanji surmised, just as Franky, Chopper, and Brook joined them. “We’ve got the sunny prepped for an escape these things won’t like very much.” Brook said as Franky smiled proudly. “But look at this!” Brook handed Sanji a newspaper that had a picture of Bellamy underneath its headline. “Someone informed the marines Bellamy had retired to this village. They picked him up this morning!” Sanji said as he balled up the newspaper and tossed it over his shoulder, where it bounced off Brook’s head and to the ground. “We need to get out of here, this could be a trap!” “No... whoever ratted out Bellamy couldn’t have known he and Luffy were friends, it isn’t exactly common knowledge.” Chopper said, which left the group puzzled as to who could have turned in the former pirate and why. Sanji glanced up just in time to see Zoro sprinting off into the village. “That idiot, as if he is going to do anything but wander three towns over. You guys make sure we’re set for departure. We’ll go back up the others!” Sanji caught up to Zoro just in time to yank him towards the correct direction and the two of them made their way to the shrine. Nami, Usopp and Robin exited the shrine. Usopp set Robin gently against a rock before stuffing paper with the Poneglyphs inscriptions into his bag. “Let’s get back to the mini-merry before that guy gets himself loose.” Nami tosses Robin’s other arm over her shoulder and the trio scurry back to the shore where their ride is waiting. They freeze in place when a terrifying roar is heard from deep within the shrine. Usopp draws his kabuto and turns towards the entrance, pulling on his recently upgraded sniper’s goggles. “Get Robin out of here. I’ll handle this thing.” Usopp said with the falsest tone of bravado any man could muster. His knees weakly shaking, he gave Nami a thumbs up anyway, signaling for her to leave. Nami hesitated, unwilling to leave Usopp on his lonesome to face such a terrible creature, but the man formerly known as “SogeKing” shoved the scrap of paper into Nami’s hands just as Dracula emerged from the shrine. Dracula stalked towards Usopp, who smiled just as vampire stepped on a pair of reject dials the pirate had placed near the exit. “Go Nami! If we don’t leave with what was on that Poneglyph, then this was all for nothing!” Usopp cried just as he turned to see Dracula standing directly in front of him. The vampire’s shape shifted into a massive black bear and he swatted Usopp across the face. The blow sent Usopp into a boulder that cracked due to the impact. Usopp could barely move, an incalculable number of bones broken from Dracula’s attack. “Nami...get out of here.” Nami quickly pulled her clima-tact from her waist and used the mirage tempo effect to make herself and Robin disappear. A nasty snarl curled on the lips of Dracula’s face as he once again turned into a massive bat and flew with blinding speed towards where the pair of pirates had disappeared. Nami and Robin were stunned when they had barely made it into the forest surrounding the shrine to see Dracula perched on a tree above them. “Clever parlor tricks won’t do you any justice. Not here, not tonight.” Dracula flew from his perch and returned to his usual form as he landed in front of them. He picked Nami up by the face, and snatched the paper given to her by Usopp from her grip. His hold on her got tighter and tighter, a sadistic grin on his face as he saw Nami squirm while trying to escape. He was enjoying himself far too much, but how often did humans such as these ones cross his path over the centuries? “GUM-GUM JET STAMP!” A haki armed kick slammed into the side of Dracula’s head, forcing him to drop Nami and sending the vampire crashing through the forest. Nami looked up to see her captain entering the fray. Luffy turned to Nami and helped both of his crewmates to their feet. “Are you guys ok?” Luffy asked, his eyes still on the direction where he’d sent Dracula. “We’ll be fine, did you find Bellamy?” Robin asked. Usopp limped gingerly towards the rest of the crew and was delighted to see Luffy had arrived. “I don’t think he’s here anymore. Did you find it, Robin?” Luffy asked back, his eyes darting around the forest now as his haki tried to sense where the creature had gone. “We copied everything that was on it, but we need to find the other half!” Usopp told the captain, who nodded. “Get back to the ship.” Luffy commanded his crew, clenching both his hands into fist and coating them with coat of arms haki. “Luffy, we need to get out of here together. The marines are probably already on their way here. What do you think they will do if they discover a Poneglyph was hidden in this village?” Robin tried to reason with the captain, but her logic fell on the deafest of ears. “This vampy guy shouldn’t have you hurt you all. Besides, he might know why Bellamy isn’t here, so I need to kick his ass!” Luffy turned back towards the crew. “Go!” Without another word Usopp, Nami, and Robin made their way towards the mini-merry. Luffy’s observation haki alerted him a split second too late of Dracula’s presence, and the vampire crashed into the pirate at full force while in his bear transformation. He rag dolled Luffy around the forest with ease before throwing him into the air. Dracula then took off after his prey, transforming back into a bat as he surged towards Luffy like a heat seeking missile. Luffy regained his composure just in time to see his opponent streaking towards him. The Strawhat captain furrowed his brow and blasted him with a massive dose of conqueror’s haki! The attack sent Dracula slamming forcefully back to the earth, leaving a small crater from where he landed as he reverted to his usual form. Luffy landed across from him just as the vampire pulled himself back to his feet. “Hey, what did you do with Bellamy?” The captain demanded. Dracula ignored Luffy, his eyes catching sight of the chunk of Poneglyph he’d left by the exit to the shrine. The Master appeared at that moment, kneeling next to the Poneglyph shard and giving a comical thumbs up to the vampire lord. Dracula let out a low growl, a warning to the master to take their prize and leave him to his battle. Zoro and Sanji arrived just in time to see The Master disappear into a sliver of time with the Poneglyph. “I’m talking to you! Where’s Bellamy?” Luffy ordered the vampire to answer, but instead with a wave of his hand, Dracula conjured a long broad sword and got into a stance as he prepared to continue the fight. “Alright, I’ll beat you up and make you tell me!” Dracula was in front of Luffy before he could react and smashed into his face with a nasty headbutt. Luffy responded immediately by stretching his head and neck back and snapping forward with a headbutt of his own. Dracula laughed as he slid back a few feet from the impact. The boy was surely about to die, but he had certainly earned the vampire’s respect. “GUM-GUM GATLING!” A flurry of punches come flying at Dracula, who turns to mist and slides between each blow whist once again closing the gap between himself and the captain of the strawhat pirates. He plunges the blade of his sword into the shoulder of Luffy, whose blood from the wound splashes warmly on to Dracula’s face. Luffy grits his teeth and grabs Dracula by the collar. “GUM-GUM GIANT RIFLE!” Luffy’s arm triples in size and slams into Dracula’s chest. The punch slams Dracula into the mountainside of the shrine and crashing to the ground. Luffy’s arm snaps back to normal size as he lands, huffing and puffing from the energy he has exhausted. “Luffy, we have to get out of here. The marines have Bellamy!” Sanji yelled as they reached their captain. “They’re going to be swarming all over this village pretty soon.” “What do you mean? He isn’t here?” Luffy asked, worried and confused. “Someone ratted him out, they picked him up this morning apparently.” Zoro answered, tossing the newspaper to Luffy. Back on the thousand sunny, Usopp and Franky plug in the massive lamps the cyborg had set up. Chopper and Brook watch a horde of vampires come running towards the harbor, much to Chopper’s terror. “Franky! They’re coming this way!” “You just go make sure Robin’s ok, leave the rest of these things to me.” Franky says with a thumbs up and a smile. He presses his nose and changes his wild blue hair once again before flipping a switch on his arm. The lamps near the village come to life and emit low level UV rays that burn the vampire hordes to a crisp. They begin to decay and wither, the smell of their flesh burning filling the air. “Franky, what are those things?” Usopp asked the cyborg, in awe of how easily the vampires were defeated. “Vegapunk had done tons of research on vampires. I just took what he had in his notes and gave them a frankified update in power!” Franky answered as he flexed proudly. “Guys, we have a bigger problem now!” Robin stated gravely as she limped out onto the deck. “Robin! You shouldn’t be on your feet right now. Your spine was bruised pretty badly.” Chopper warned her as he tried to guide her back to her bed. “What could be worse than an army of vampires?” Usopp pleaded at Robin’s feet. “Look!” Robin pointed in the distance, where a group of marine ships were heading towards the island village. TO BE CONTINUED? |
Travel the Every-VerseA title brought to you by the Architect's of the Every-Verse Archives
August 2019
Categories |