Quick Recap: The fight w/Oz continued. Moria showed up and started manipulating Oz's shadow so he could stretch. So far all attacks have been useless, and Franky's unconscious.
~~~~~
Zolo glanced to the side, keeping a close eye on Franky's unconscious form. He was still dangerously close to Oz. Without a word, Zolo took off running towards Oz. "It's too dangerous to go near him, Zolo!!!" Chopper warned. Of course Zolo paid little attention.
"Hey!!" Nami suddenly spoke up, clutching her Clima-Tact. "Where did Luffy go to, anyway!?"
"Moria tricked him and he ran off somewhere... he'll be back," Usopp replied. Hopefully.
Nami scowled. "What the hell!? He really is an idiot!!" Something in Nami's eyes told you she was distressed about something, but you didn't really have time to ponder it. You'd worry about it once this crisis was over. "Hey, so the situation here is we have to take down Luffy's zombie first and then we have to defeat Moria as well? Otherwise we can't get our shadows back? Is that the situation we're in!?" Nami didn't like the sound of that. "It'll be dawn soon!!"
"The enemy's forcing our hand!" Usopp snapped. "There's nothing else for it!!"
Thankfully, before you had to intervene on the fight, Brook did it for you. "My apologies!!! Please, listen to what I have to say!!!"
Nami gasped, not having seen Brook there before. "Skeleton, you were with them too!?"
When Brook explained his plan, you honestly weren't sure what to think about it. It sounded a little far-fetched, but... Glancing back at Zolo, who was fighting Oz all by himself like an idiot, you didn't think you had much of a choice. "It can't hurt, I guess..." you responded rather unenthusiastically as you moved to the side.
"Are you serious!?" Usopp protested. "Brook, you saw what happened to Franky, right!?"
Robin was a little more supportive. "It shouldn't be a problem..."
Nami thought about it before shrugging. "Hey, don't blame me if anything goes wrong, okay!!? I'm only doing this because it's our last chance!! And you are pretty strong... Get ready!! Dark Cloud Tempo!!!" Nami used her Clima-Tact to create a small storm cloud in front of you. Although small, it crackled with lightning.
Brook took his place in the seat of the giant slingshot Franky had ridden before. He and Usopp pulled it as far back as it could go, tethered between two sturdy chunks of building. "I can't believe we're using Kuwagata again!!" Usopp muttered to himself.
As they stretched as far back as possible, you threw your tetsugin at Brook and wrapped it around him. Making sure you had a tight hold on it, you advised, "Whenever you're ready..."
"It would be far more painful to be unable to repay my debt!!!" Brook told Usopp as he was muttering about how stupid this idea was. "No matter what it takes!!!"
Usopp nodded. "Okay!! Good luck!!!" He let go of the slingshot and sent Brook flying.
"Here I go!!!"
You tightened your grip on your tetsugin. As Brook flew passed you, you tugged sharply on it. This whipped the wire clean off Brook's body. And because it'd been wrapped around him, it caused his body to start spinning.
Spinning around like a propeller, Brook flew through Nami's storm cloud. He cried out as the lightning electrocuted him. But, because he was already dead, it didn't really hurt him, and instead it added a major charge to his body as he kept going. "I'm getting such a shock you can see my bones!!!" Brook cried. "Although I was only bones to start with!!!" Well, you supposed he couldn't be hurt if he could still make those stupid skull-jokes. "Now, here I go!! Like an arrow of thunder!!! Thunder Bone Blade... Gavotte: Bond en Avant!!!!" Brook hit Oz, piercing through his shoulder like a human bullet and discharging his shock through the zombie's entire body.
"Wow!!!" Usopp exclaimed. "It went straight through him!!! You made a hole!!!"
Oz screamed and clutched his shoulder. "Guaahh!!! He went through my shoulder!!!"
Of course, Brook couldn't exactly stop in mid-air, and ended up slamming face-first into the mansion. He dangled there, half embedded in the stone. "... mission accomplished."
"Nice work there, Bones!!" Zolo said, seeing his opening. Sheathing the Wado, Zolo positioned his other two swords so that they pointed to the ground. "Two-Sword Style... Nigiri Tourou!!!!" Zolo slashed both swords straight up, slicing into Oz in two vertical lines.
Oz stumbled back before glaring down at Zolo. "Why you...!!" But then he thought better of it. He looked behind him. "No... first, I've gotta finish off this skeleton!!!" Oz turned around and stretched one leg straight up. "Gum-Gum... Axe!!!" Oz smashed his foot into the building Brook had been stuck in.
"Brook!!!" Usopp shouted as the skeleton fell to the ground. He whipped out his Kabuto and fired four shots at Oz before he could finish off Brook. "Atlas Comet!!!"
Oz spun around and blocked the shots with his arm. "Not a chance!!!" He set his sights on Usopp. "You're going down neeeeeext!!!"
Nami ran off while shouting, "Go Usopp!!"
Usopp started to shake. "Ahh, he's after me!"
"Gum-Gum..." Oz stretched his arms back. "Bazooka!!!"
Usopp dove for cover. "I'm dead!!"
Actually, no. Oddly enough, this time Oz's arms didn't stretch. You were confused. How could he suddenly stop stretching? Even Oz looked confused. But that was before you noticed Robin standing in the stance indicating she was using her Devil Fruit. "Ochenta Fleur: Cuatro Mano Hold!!!"
You raised an eyebrow, understanding that Robin's attack translated as "80 Flower: Four Hands." But what was she using it on? Turning back to face Oz, your eyes widened when you saw that Robin was using her Devil Fruit on Moria himself. Similar to her Cien Fleur Wing, Robin sprouted 80 arms which combined to form four giant arms. Two of the giant arms pinned Moria's arms to his chair, while the other two had a choke hold on his neck.
Moria struggled, not looking happy at all. "What are they!? These hands!!! They're so annoying!!!"
Robin looked up at Moria with a dark expression. "Perhaps you would like to stop controlling that shadow for a while..."
Usopp cheered, "Whooa!! Nice one, Robin!!! Break him in half right there!!!" From that position, you could tell Robin could easily break Moria's neck. Usopp let out a tremendous sigh. "Thanks for that!! I thought I was gonna die!!!"
As if to show how easily she could make good on her threat, Robin pulled back on Moria's neck. The Warlord groaned and scowled at Robin. "So you think by doing this, you've got me out of the picture? Such irritating little people you are..." Moria's shadow stuck its head up. "Brick Bat!!!" Little pieces of the shadow broke off into balls before shifting into dozens of tiny bats which flew straight at Robin. The bats bit into Robin's arms and legs.
Robin winced but didn't lose her concentration on Moria. Instead, she held her arms up and sprouted arms from her elbows. "Veinte Fleur, Calendula!!" Her arms spun in a circle, creating a type of shield to knock the bats away. And while it worked to keep them from her upper body, it didn't stop them from biting her legs.
"Robin!!" both Sanji and Nami cried.
It didn't take long for the swarm of bats to overwhelm Robin and knock her to the ground. As the bats started to swoop in, you stepped in. Unloosening a long length of your tetsugin, you spun it around until it created a spiral. "Epsilon Blade!" With a thrust of your hand the tetsugin shot forward, spinning and slicing the bats into pieces. They fell behind Robin like blobs of ink.
As Robin pushed herself up, panting, the blobs of shadow started to melt back together, reforming Moria's shadow behind her. Robin frowned. "Moria's shadow!?" You knew you couldn't do any real damage to the shadow.
Moria laughed. "Let's make this a long-range ability battle then. It's a nice little technique you've got here... this strangling ability!"
Robin stood and turned her back on Moria's shadow. "I mustn't let the shadow distract me from what I have to do!! If I can just take out the main body, the shadow will die with it!!" Ignoring the almost complete shadow looming over her, Robin focused all her attention on Moria. "Cuatro Mano... Clutch!!!" Robin's arms snapped Moria's neck back so far even you could hear it crack.
"No way, Robin!!" Usopp gasped, not believing she'd just snapped the Warlord's neck.
Nami jumped up and cheered, "You did it!!"
But something wasn't right. `If he's dead, why is his shadow still moving?` you questioned. The shadow ought to disappear if Moria couldn't control it any longer.
"Hey, Robin!! Watch out for the shadow behind you!!!" Zolo warned as the shadow loomed closer.
The shadow started laughing. "Almost got me... but not quite." Your eyes widened when you realized that it wasn't Moria's shadow standing there. It was Moria himself. "Doppleman and I can switch locations at any time."
"Huh!? How did he get out here!?" Nami asked.
"He switched places with his shadow," you answered, looking back to see that Robin's arms were now wrapped around Moria's shadow.
Moria laughed some more. "The one who is sitting inside Oz for me right now is the shadow is was hanging around out here. This is Shadow Warrior. Holding me down is useless." The shadow mockingly waved its hand at you. "I win this round," Moria declared as he reached down and grabbed Robin's shadow. He picked it up, causing Robin to fall to the ground. You could only watch with disbelieving eyes as Moria held Robin's struggling shadow, still attached to her feet. Then Moria pulled out a large pair of sheers.
"ROBIN!" Sanji screamed.
Robin's eyes turned to panic just before Moria severed the link between her and her shadow. "He got her!!" Zolo growled. Robin's eyes rolled up as she passed out, falling helplessly to the ground.
Usopp shrieked. "Robiiin!!"
Moria held Robin's distressed shadow. "Now then, that's the third of you eliminated."
Sanji gritted his teeth so hard that he bit the end of his cigarette off. He spun around rapidly until all you could see was a small tornado. When he stopped, his legs were glowing from the heat. "Diable Jambe!!!" He ran at Moria, more than a little pissed. "Damn you to hell!!! Give Robin her shadow back!!!"
Ignoring him, Moria held the shadow up to his face and said, "Now then... I've got nothing to put you in, but I'll just keep you around..."
Sanji leapt and aimed for Moria's face. "Extra Hach--"
"Brick Bat." Where's Sanji feet hit him, Moria melted into blobs, switching places with his shadow again.
"Switching out with his shadow again!!!?" Sanji growled before the bats bit him. Sanji landed on his back and cursed as the bats flew off.
"But if he switched out then... that means he's going gong back inside Oz's stomach!!" Nami stated. Indeed, the Warlord had locked himself away in the safety of the zombie's cockpit.
Moria laughed. "And now we're back were we started!!! Sorry about that, Oz... I stole a bit of the action."
"Damn yooou, master!!" Oz cried in outrage. "I told you this is my fight!! I'll finish this woman off right now!!!" Oz jumped and stretched both his arms back. "Gum-Gum..."
"Oh, crap, now he can stretch again!!" Usopp screamed. "How are they gonna get out of this one!!!?"
Nami's hands flew to her face. "No way!! He's attacking Robin when she's unconscious!!"
"Bazooka!!!" Oz's arms aimed for Robin and Sanji.
"Sanji!! Robin!! Run for it!!!" Usopp shouted.
But Sanji stood his ground. He still had one leg powered up. And he fully intended to use it. "Diable Jambe!!! Frite Assortie!!!" Sanji kicked his leg out and sent three swirling bursts of burning hot energy at Oz's hands. It had enough force to cause Oz's hands to ricochet back, protecting both Sanji and Robin.
"Whooooa!!!" Usopp exclaimed. "He deflected it!!"
Sanji landed with his back to Oz. "This is our chance!" he panted. "Get Robin out of here!!"
"Leave it to me!!!" Usopp declared as he carried Robin to a safe spot near Franky and Brook.
"Hey, Sanjiiiiiii!! Zoloooooo!! Vaaaaaughn!!"
You nearly jumped at Chopper's voice and looked around frantically for the reindeer. You gasped when you found him in his Heavy Point standing on Oz's right shoulder. "Chopper! What're you doing!?" you called.
"I was searching for the cause of Oz's death 500 years ago!!" he called back down. "If a monster like this died before he reached old age, there's a very good chance there was an external cause!"
Oz twisted his massive head around. "Ahh! There you are!!"
But what Chopper had to say was too important to stop now. "Aim for this right arm!!" he told you. "This isn't Oz's original arm!!"
"What!?"
"He's been fixed up really well by Hogback, but the joint shows definite signs of severe frostbite!!!" Now that you actually looked at it, that area of the zombie did look a little more damaged than the rest of him. A chunk of skin was missing on his chest just below the shoulder joint where you could see his ribs. "I can't be sure, but my guess would be that Oz froze to death 500 years ago!!! Even a monster like this was no match for the forces of nature! He died wandering a country of ice!!! And the reason is that 500 years ago, just like now, he wasn't wearing anything!!!"
"I don't wanna lose to an idiot like that!!!!" both Zolo and Sanji exclaimed.
You sweatdropped and murmured, "Talk about a lame way to go." But that also sounded like a very Luffy-like thing to do. In fact, hadn't Luffy done that once before?
"It's true that zombies don't feel pain," Chopper commented, "But they can still take damage! All the old wounds he's received are preserved in perfect state!! If we can just stop him from using this arm, his attack power will be halved!! So aim for this point--"
Oz was tired of listening to this. "What're you babbling on about, standing on my shoulder!!!? Little midget!!!" Oz punched himself in the shoulder, meaning to crush Chopper.
"Ahhh!!" Sanji gasped.
"Chopper!!!" Zolo called.
But when Oz pulled his fist back, Chopper was nowhere to be seen. So where did he go? "You're a zombie, so you wouldn't understand," you heard Chopper say, though you still couldn't see him. "But even that punch you gave yourself just now is injuring your body!!"
Oz frowned. "Huh!? In my hand..." Lifting his fist a little higher, you could just make out Chopper in his Brain Point safely hidden in the curl of Oz's pinky finger. The space was just the right size for him to hide in without getting hurt.
"I'm pretty small, so your fist is full of caves to crawl into!!" Chopper taunted before eating a Rumble Ball. "Jump Point!" Changing into his long-legged form, Chopper easily jumped up Oz's hand and jumped towards his face before changing again. "Arm Point!!" His legs shortened and his arms grew larger.
"Nice dodging!!" Sanji complimented while he took off sprinting. An easy jump, and the cook was able to sprint up the length of Oz's other arm. "I'll lend you a hand, Chopper!!"
"Sanji!! Go for it!!"
Sanji jumped and twisted his body until he was upside down. He stretched out one leg, allowing Chopper to land on it. "Armee de L'air..." But instead of aiming skyward like usual, Sanji was aiming Chopper at Oz's injured arm.
Chopper held one hoof out in front. "Kokutei... Roseo Shoot!!!!" Sanji kicked Chopper forward at the speed of a bullet. When Chopper hit Oz's bicep, it created a giant hoof print on it, and caused Oz to stumble back. But because he was already dead, he didn't feel the pain that probably would've accompanied that attack.
Oz looked down at his arm curiously. "Why you... attacking the same spot over and over!! If it doesn't work, it's not gonna work!!!"
Chopper snarled, "Oh, it'll start to work alright!! Pain is a signal to protect to the body. Not feeling it isn't something that makes you stronger!!" This you knew to be true. Pain, while an unpleasant sensation, was your body's way of telling you when you were pushing yourself too far. Bend your wrist back too far, and you'll start to feel pain, your body's way of telling you to stop before you damage yourself. Even thought you might push yourself to the point of mind-numbing pain, as a martial artist you knew better than to ignore any of your body's messages.
Oz, however, was not so smart. "Oh, just shut up!!" he growled as he slapped Chopper away before jumping into the air again.
"Hey!! Watch out, you two!" Zolo shouted. "You need to get out of there!!!" Oz was obviously after them next. But with Sanji and Chopper being in midair, it wasn't like they could exactly dodge.
"Gum-Gum..."
"Oh shit..." Sanji cursed.
"Oh no..."
"Gatling!!!" Oz sent a barrage of punches at Sanji and Chopper. There was no way they could dodge them. And the rest of you could do nothing but watch with wide eyes as your crewmates got pummeled into the ground.
"Dammit all!!!" Usopp cursed. "Another two...!! They're taking us out one by one...!!!"
Inside, Moria was laughing again. "Number four and number five... only four left!!!"
