Event || In Your Worst Memory

[0301120113092025]

Characters: All Heroes of Light. Only those who signed-up can start a memory.
Where: Interdimensional Rift
When: May 27th - May 30th
Summary: The Heroes of Light relive some of their worst memories, with a twist. All characters participating in this will be physically missing from Crystallis for the duration of the event.
Warning: It depends on the memory.

Where you were or what you were doing— It does not really matter. Not any more. Everything around you freezes, nearly as if time itself stopped, as if the world was frozen in time. And before you have a chance to understand what is happening, you can hear a voice right behind you.

"Kali Shashidhwaja."

Should you turn around, you may see a child who seems to be the only one aside from you unaffected by what is happening. And as she stares right at you, it makes no doubt these strange words are aimed at you. But before you can reply to her, the world around you collapses. Reality twists and shatters... Or maybe you are the one who is collapsing and shattering away from reality as you know it. No matter what the answer is, it will only take a few seconds for you to find yourself sinking into a void, Crystallis vanishing into the distance. There is nothing but darkness as far as the eye can see.

And once again you feel different: all the powers from your Jobs are fading. Not only that, but you might find that your Crystal is gone and your clothes back to what they were before you woke up in Crystallis. It is silent, cold and before long it feels as though life itself is slipping out of you... And yet, slowly the world reforms around you. The darkness fades away and a new world appears, yet at the same time this is not a world.

This is a memory. The question is, is it yours or that of someone else?

Comments

Monkey D. Luffy - Passive

[gomu_ningen]

[The moment any one arrives into the desolate looking mountain-side, the smell of ember and sea water instantly hits the nostrils like a swift punch to the nose. The mixture makes for a rather odd fragrance, considering that the landscape looks as if there is no life among the black and grey rock-slide. In the distance, atop the mountain where they stand, stands what appears to be a bent out of shape paperclip. The size and structure don't give much information other than it being there is very out of place. The eye is drawn immediately to it, given how large and unsettling its appearance is.]

Your little reindeer friend will make for a good meal, being a Devil's Fruit user and all.

CHOPPER!

[Though the focus does not last for more than a few seconds before the awful din of explosions begins to ring through the air over the spread of rubble and dirt. In the distance, turned towards the lower end of the mountain-side, stands a very triangular man with a black suit over him. On his shoulder sits a tiny flower, seemingly glued there as a clash against the dark colors of his clothing. In his hands he holds a large bow, a single arrow threaded into the cord of the weapon as it is pulled back and aimed further down the landscape. His target: the familiar figure of the loudmouthed pirate who'd so brazenly made his intentions known to the heroes of light. Whereas his presence in the Observatory was a lively one, there seems to be very little life left in him as he's forced to his knees as a cloud of dust and earth begins to settle around him.

A lone arm reaches back, stretching behind Luffy as he once more has his powers in this world. To those who have never witnessed his curse, the boy's body is like rubber and can stretch to great lengths, for which he uses to put more power behind his attacks. Unfortunately for him, his fist isn't able to soar as he had hoped. The single arrow that had been notched into the bowstring is sent flying at Luffy's attack, connecting and embedding his hand into a large slab of rock behind him.]

As I said, there's nothing you can do to save your friends. Just now, the first of many has been devoured by the Lily Carnation. What will you do now?

YOU SON OF A-!!

[Pinned, Luffy desperately tries to send his other hand upward, only to meet the same fate by a newly placed arrow. His other hand is tagged and kept to the slab much like the first, the pirate's wailing of pain and discomfort drowns out the laughter of which the man in black so flagrantly cackles.]

And now the one with the long nose is leaving. What a worthless Captain you are.

USOPP!!

[Not having the use of his arms, the pirate sends forth a single kick in hopes of toppling the Baron while his hands struggle against the tacks that hold him in place. His screams are silenced as another arrow is sent forward, pinning his foot and continuing to crucify him to the rock]

All you can do is stay there and mourn, mourn and know what it is like to lose the friends and crew you care about so deeply. One of the women is going. Such a lovely picture of dark hair and mystery.

R-ROBIN!!

[Luffy's head and unpinned leg fall to the ground with an echoing thud, the impact kicking up even more dirt and dust as he frantically tries to unpin himself from the rock.]

Oi, oi~! Better hurry! The one with green hair and the curly brows are going next! Such delicious food to feed my Lily! HA HA HA!

Z-.. ZORO! SANJI~!

[His other leg comes up, instantly shot through by the arrow so that he's hanging off of stretched limbs. A moment of pause as the Baron simply laughs at the sight of defeated youth. He takes a few steps forward, closing a few feet between them as he readies another arrow to his bow.]

If you stay like that, your orange haired friend will be plant food, too.

[Lifting his head, the eyes of the pirate become as dark as charcoal, lined with veins of red as his intensity is kicked well past the normal threshold. His head reels back as he screams in agony, his neck shooting out and stretching as if his head were a bullet, growing closer and closer to the large paperclip atop the mountain. Surprised, the Baron flinches, stumbling with his weapon as he forms two additional arrows out of thin-air. Laced on the bowstring, he shoots them simultaneously at the boy's elongated neck. The first two slice at him, cutting his skin as blood is spilled overhead. The third, however, marked for Luffy's head, makes no such reaction. From the distance the Baron can see that teeth have stopped the shot, breaking the wooden ammunition in two as Luffy cries out once more. His eyes come close enough to the Lily Carnation, seeing the outline of his cherish navigator fade and succumb to the plant which has now devoured her.

His neck retracts, crashing against the rock he's pinned to as his body falls lifeless. Like a marionette hung off a wall, the strings of his limbs keep him somewhat up as the Baron approaches him with even more laughter escaping his chest.

Luffy speaks with little energy left, whispering the one name for which brings him more pain than he can bear.]

.. Na.. Nami..

[The Baron clutches his hair, lifting the defeated pirate up to give him a better look.]

Your crew is dead. Just like in Aquares Ixen. What sort of Captain can you hope to be if you've got no crew to sail with? You're a nuisance. A loud-mouthed kid who can't amount to being a third rate sailor, much less a third rate pirate. You just end up hurting the people you care about, all so you can chase some silly wide-eyed dream. Guys like you? They make me sick. So what'll it be then? Would you rather sail out into the ocean, without a crew, living with the guilt of being the one who sent your friends to their deaths? Or would you rather I kill you here and now, make it quick and finish you off so you needn't go off into the night with the same loneliness I've been cursed with all these years?

[Before Luffy can respond, the world shifts to have him back at the first utterance of the Baron, as if a "reset" button had been pushed to bring him back to this exact moment. His consciousness remains, yet his body is unable to fight the course of these memories as they play out once again.]

Your little reindeer friend will make for a good meal, being a Devil's Fruit user and all.

WHA.. WHAT IS HAPPENING?! WHAT'S GOING ON?!

[theendiswherewestartfrom]

Jack was someplace else, but now he's here, a world even more grim than his own. He can't take his eyes from the structure in the distance for a long moment, trying to understand. What could have caused a place this desolate?

But his attention gets ripped away, he almost ducks from the first explosion. Shit. A war zone. And, sure enough, him without his weapons. No armor, he's back in his familiar coat, not even a gun at his side. Well, crap.

Jack pokes his head back out from behind a rock, and he sees the attack on- Luffy? What in the world is he doing? His eyes go tremendously wide at the sight of Luffy's powers, but even such a strange ability seems to be no good. He's got to help him! He's got-

Another explosion rocks the world around Jack. If he gets over there, he's got to keep himself low.

He tries to move, cover by cover, but it's far too late, by the time he gets there. The posturing villain is in full monologue mode, with Luffy pinned worse than even Jack would be able to free him from. He stands up, reveals himself-

And then it all starts over.

"What!?"

The explosion, Luffy's attack, the arrow, it has started exactly as it was before.

"Son of a bitch."

Okay. It's some kind of a time loop. You usually disrupt these things by messing up the moment it starts or ends, right? Jack is still standing behind the last outcropping of rock before he can get to Luffy, staring in confusion, but he's also looking for some kind of recognition. The other important question to ask is if Luffy notices what's happening?

[gomu_ningen]

There's a faint whisper, like the dragging of nails lightly across the back of his neck, the soft remnants of an other-worldy voice. It echoes in his head as the memory repeats, the pirate somewhat knowledgeable of the voice which belongs to the selfless man who had posted his bail.

Little changes begin to take place as the events repeat themselves, small details that only a perceptive eye will begin to take notice of. The clothing and condition of the pirate begins to turn to the sort of appearance that Jack had last seen him in. He is no longer dressed in the clothing of his world, but that of the Job Class he'd taken in Aquares Ixen. Slowly and surely these minor differences become more pronounced, the landscape and the Baron are the only constants aside from Luffy's predicament.

"The one with the rapier, he's being devoured while you sit and mourn. What will you do now?"

"RAMZA!!"

[zodiac_brave]

This was not the first memory Ramza had witnessed this day, but it was still shocking to see Luffy stretched out, being tortured by the man in the suit.

The blond did not bother trying to stay hidden or approach stealthily. He had failed to rescue Luffy once before; he'd not make the same mistake again, if it he did, it would not be for lack of trying.

He charged forward. "Unhand him!" he roared, hoping that he could be seen by those before him.

[gomu_ningen]

The response is met with no reaction. Not an inch is given, nor the slightest flinch or movement outside of what Ramza has already witnessed. Things transpire as they had already done before, repeating as if stuck to some invisible spool where the events are made to replay over and over again. Perhaps this realm was limbo, purgatory, and world in which the pirate would need to atone for the sins he had committed against the heroes. If not against them, perhaps against the people he felt that he had wronged?

The voice with which Ramza calls out with is heard in the deepest pool of Luffy's thoughts, the sort of minor awareness that left like a passing thought or the need to scratch and itch. He pays it no mind, not when his body is being tortured with arrows and laughter. Bit by bit as the memory unfolds, small changes begin to take affect around the appearance of the injured pirate. The words which the Baron uses shift and change, as if by choice the cruel villain has decided to substitute the victims of his maliciousness. Names become more familiar, the sort of utterances that Ramza has heard on a daily basis.

"The girl with the fiery red hair as been eaten. Such magical power is like a delicacy to Lily~ HA HA HA!"

"BLOOM! YOU BASTARD! I'LL KILL Y-?! GAHH-!!"

The arrow which is shot explodes on impact, remaining intact but charring the flesh which it connects with. Luffy is pinned again to the rock, brought to a more dangerous state as the wounds become worse as the memory plays on.

[zodiac_brave]

The Baron did nothing to hinder Ramza's advance, so he came closer. He found he could not grasp the arrows to free Luffy. Well, then, he would have to try something else. After a day filled with memories such as these, Ramza refused to let their tormentor prevail.

He still had his Ivalice powers, so Ramza leaned over Luffy and cast his healing chant, hoping some of his lifeforce would transfer to the pirate.

"He lies," he growled into Luffy's ear. "Bloom is well. Free yourself and see." If there was anyone Ramza knew who could use his own reckless power to get out of this trap, it was Luffy.

[gomu_ningen]

Luffy's ears would sooner hear the distant sound of despair than the chant in which his former comrade gives. The arrows keep him pinned, dangling like a puppet for the amusement of the one man audience standing on the other side of Ramza.

"Your friend, the man who calls your ninja "sister".. He's passed on as well. A loser. What little strength he'll give to Lily.."

The pirate's head reels back, his jaw dropping as he barks out the last his lungs can handle before the memory makes him repeat the events over again.

"YOU CHICKEN SHIT! WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT RAMZA?! HE'S A THOUSAND TIMES BETTER THAN THE BEST YOU CAN COME UP WITH!! GIVE HIM BACK!! GIVE ME BACK MY NAKAMA!!"

His voice hangs on threads, the evident sound of vocal chords ripping as his throat is coated with the layer of pain from the strain to his shouts. He writhes, struggles and pulls at his limbs to the point where they stretch like pliable dough. Even in this state, even at the mercy of the Baron, Luffy doesn't bulk or shrug at defending the friends.

"Chicken shit? I'm not the one clinging to a sense of false hope while my friends pass on. You brought them to sea, only to be the reason for why they now serve as Lily's meal. First your ninja, than your Knight, and now your fairy.. How many more must die for your foolish dreams?"

[dragonflame]

The first memory Bloom happened to end up in and it had to be from a very close friend of hers. She could see the pain in his eyes as she listened to the words that the other said. It made her angry that someone would do something like that. To kill people. To hurt people and not care. Taking a small breath, she heard the last lines before the reset and that was sure enough something to cause her to come forward and speak up, hoping that her friend could hear her.

"Luffy?!"

[gomu_ningen]

[The events continue, replay over and over again like a broken record stuck to the needle. Bloom is privy to every instance, every moment where the Baron gloats and makes light of the situation he's brought the pirate to, every moment where tears and agony are covering Luffy's face.

As the memories repeat, small instances, should Bloom catch them, begin to change. Whereas one iteration of the memory had a reindeer and a gentleman named Zoro, the names are replaced by more familiar names, as if their understudies had come to relieve them of their work for the play that was unfolding.]

"It looks like the ninja has just passed on. What will you do now, boy?!

YUFFIE!!

[The members of his crew are replaced by those he knows in Aquares Ixen, the blood and injuries he suffers become far more grotesque as the Baron unleashes arrows that yield greater damage.]

[dragonflame]

[Bloom couldn't help but notice the changes, but she was still quick to move to step in front. Sure she figured she couldn't do anything, but it doesn't stop her from talking to try and get through.]

Luffy! Listen to me right now! This isn't real, Yuffie is fine, she isn't dead.

[She knew because she had seen her before, but while that had been a little while ago she still knew it. She just wanted to make sure that he understood that. She moved in slightly, leaning forwards, trying to see his face.]

You can get past this, I know you can.

[gomu_ningen]

[Threads of blood and spit come flinging from his lips as he cries out in a manner of which his voice has never before caused, the pain becoming far greater than just physical injuries or desperation. Luffy has yet to truly feel what "loss" is like, and his heart is barely able to comprehend just what it means to be at fault for the cause of another losing their life. His cries are dripping with despair, his face a morose fresco splashed with crimson and tracks where tears make their way down his face.

The words do very little to pull Luffy from the pit he is in, despite his head rattling with the familiar sound of Bloom's voice.]

Re: Monkey D. Luffy - Passive

[not_most_days]

[Mary has not been Kidd since the beginning of all of this. Her own memory tormented her as Mary and she's been slipping from image to image ever since. She watches the cycle play out and for a moment she buys into everything that she sees. It takes the mention of Aqures Ixen to make her question things, and the reset is what makes her step forward in defiance of the danger around her.

She pushes the scenery from her mind, as tempting as that sea air is. As distracting as the screams of anguish are. She's been trained to push past illusions like these on the off chance of ever being confronted by a Piece of Eden.

She looks to Luffy, hoping her gaze breaks past the visions before him.]

Is this how this truly happened? [Her tone isn't accusing. She's trying to reach her fellow pirate. To help him break free.] Tell me what you remember.

Re: Monkey D. Luffy - Passive

[gomu_ningen]

[The voice of the other privateer has no impact upon the situation before her, no noticeable sign of interference that might sway the events as they continue to unfold. The building of layers begins again, the moment the Baron first pierces Luffy's hand, the insults and jabbering of humiliation, to the final crushing blow that has the pirate silently wishing for death. Numerous times they repeat, Luffy's reactions becoming less and less alert that the course he is on is set into a loop. With every passing turn of the memory, his injuries become far graver, bloodier, and those that he knew in his life before Aquares Ixen are replaced by members of the motley crew he had shortly held onto before his disruption at the Observatory.]

"Your friends are nothing more than husks by now. You couldn't save them there, and you cannot save them here. What good are you as a Captain if you cannot protect your friends?"

[Luffy offers no response to the Baron, outside of the hollow sound of blood pouring from his open wounds. He's beyond repair, and his physical wounds do not look any better.]

Re: Monkey D. Luffy - Passive

[not_most_days]

[Mary's grimace tightens as the memory repeats and continues to do so even as she tries to reach him. The other memories she's found herself in during this recent span have been hungry, eager to hold onto their prey, but this one seems to be much more malevolent about it than the others. The young pirate may not be what she'd consider a friend, but no one at all deserves to be broken down like this.

Her attempts to physically intercede, to try to stop the dream Baron, coincide with the transition of the people being tortured changing from his own crew to the Heroes that he has met in Crystallis. The vision nearly makes Mary forget her own place in this, not wanting to see those people come to harm any more than he does. However the strikes she attempts do nothing but pass through the man.

As she tires herself out she falls to a knee and turns to look back at Luffy. She eyes the arrows, wondering if they'll do the same if she tries to pull them out. Would she be able to get a grip on them?]

This can't be the truth of what happened. I've seen you. The others talk about you. You're better than this. Even if you can't protect someone you don't seem like the sort who would lay down and stop fighting. [She's well aware of his injuries, but if she's right then they're no more real than the man tormenting him.] Or do you mean to let their sacrifice go unanswered?

Re: Monkey D. Luffy - Passive

[gomu_ningen]

[There's nothing but silence as the final arrow pins Luffy to the rock, the hint of evidence that perhaps her words might be affecting his demeanor come from the way the pirate lifts his head. Eyes covered with the veil of blood look back and forth as they shake and shift to see where the remnants of an unfamiliar voice come from.

The Baron readies another arrow, now standing a yard or so away from the defeated Luffy who looks to be trapped between confusion and worry.]

What's the matter, kid? Shocked to finally see that you're nothing more than a guppy in this wide ocean? Fools like you should stay home and keep the house warm while men such as myself forge the path towards the unknown. You've caused the demise of many with your hopeless dream. What sort of promise is worth endangering the lives of those witless chumps, huh?

[scriptrix]

What...? What is this?

[As Levy appears in the world of Luffy's memory, the initial scene is confusing to her. She doesn't remember the events of Edolas, or even what it felt like to be transported from one world to another, so it takes her a moment or two to get her bearings. She's jolted to reality by the taunting voice of the Baron and Luffy's screams of anguish as he watches his crewmates disappear.]

Luffy!

[She's only met the young pirate once, but he certainly left an impression on her. He was an odd sort, but with the way he spoke about his friends, he could have been a member of Fairy Tail himself. Levy has seen her guildmates in trouble before, and fought to protect them, and Luffy seemed to be in the same sort of predicament now. So before she is even aware that this is a scene playing out in front of her, she automatically turns to the one thing all Fairy Tail members do in a situation like this.]

Solid Script: Storm!

[Though the attack will ultimately have no effect, Levy gestures all the same, conjuring the word 'STORM' briefly in the air before it whips itself into a whirling tornado of wind magic. She's hoping it will deflect the arrows or at least give Luffy some time to pry himself free.]

[gomu_ningen]

[The spell more or less acts more like a series of special effects to give spice to the already hot tempered scene, doing little more than create a display than impede any of the abuse that the Baron is unleashing upon the brazen pirate now, once again, pinned to the rock behind him. Every volley sent in his direction grows with intensity, having merely pieced his flesh and left him to the rock in the first passing of the memory. Now his injuries were becoming worse, more of the fluid within in veins painting the drab slab in a deep shade of red as his limbs are made to stay attached to the surface.

Again it repeats, the Baron taunting Luffy with as much hatred and loneliness that a mortal heart can summon to their lips and actions, every arrow ensuring that Luffy feels the endless nights of solitude and dread. It's evidently working, seeing now that Luffy's eyes are drenched with tears, summoned by the adoration and precious feelings that he holds for the now digested members of his crew.

When the memory starts again, the names change. The former members of his crew are substituted, swapped out, renamed to reflect those that now fill his days with worry and adventure. Names belonging to the Heroes of Light are uttered by the Baron as if they are well known to the world in Luffy's memory.

"Your precious Moogle companion Pakku is no more. Such an interesting creature to be turned to plant food, don't you think?"

The pirate doesn't move, aside from the rise and fall of his chest undertaking the toll to the sum of his injuries. He's panting as if trapped in the vast wasteland of a desert, sweat covering his face as he's all but a lost cause to the Baron's whims. There is no hope left in his eyes, no sign of joy or resolve to the once diligent gaze of the man who had vowed to one day take the crown of "Pirate King".

[scriptrix]

Again...? What's going on?

[Levy's thinking out loud now, looking around as the scene resets and taking everything in. Luffy doesn't seem to be aware of the difference, but to an outside observer like her, it's easy to catch. Literally everything else is the same, so it's clear to her that something strange is happening.]

What kind of magic is this? There's got to be a way to counter it... think, Levy, think! Find the weakness...

[Focusing in on the Baron himself, Levy squints her eyes and concentrates, trying to discern the source of whatever it is that's locking Luffy into the repetition.]

[gomu_ningen]

[Her magical intellect will instantly conclude that the source of these visions is on a scale much larger than any other variety of magic she has yet faced. An outside source is causing the torment through which Luffy is constantly reliving, and yet the origin is tied to something closer to her, something merely a few feet away. A strong sense of the illusion is coming from Luffy, his aura a pitch dark blanket that covers any sense of light or hope that would normally be flooding off of him. It's a wonder that the young man is still even in one piece, considering the amount of darkness that his heart has already undertaken.

The Baron raises his bow, shooting two arrows now instead of the single arrow he was previously slinging at the boy. When the two notched fledglings hit Luffy, they instantly explode, maintaining themselves but burning the skin at which they pierce. Without a doctorate or any sort of knowledge in medicine, it is more than evident that Luffy himself, despite his luck and physique, will not last much longer under these circumstances.]

Monkey D. Luffy - Passive

[goddessofthesky]

[Zelda stares in horror at the scene. She knows that Luffy has strength and like those with strength he carries scars. She doesn't know his crew but she feels his pain as each one of them vanishes from sight. She's useless here, she only has her sword and her skills without the help of the crystal are sub-par. She is nothing without the goddesses powers which she can't even use here.]

Luffy...

[Her voice is soft, hurting as she watches her friend fight a fate that he can't undo. The man's words at the end of the dream hit her hand and she feels her heart sink. Tears fall down her cheeks as she shouts at him moving forward to free Luffy from his prison.]

You're wrong! Luffy is a great Captain. He will be the greatest Captain in the world and those in his crew at home and in Aqures Ixen will be there for him. They believe in him and you can't take that away from them. They share a bone closer than anything you might know. I've seen it. This isn't the end for any of them.

[She doesn't care what memory this is. She's here now and she'll help where she can. Luffy isn't going to lose.

Zelda draws her thin sword and steps forward even knowing that she doesn't have a chance to win against the man of his flower.]

Re: Monkey D. Luffy - Passive

[gomu_ningen]

[Neither the Baron nor the pinned-up pirate offer any sort of response to her words, her encouragement either drowned out by the din of the Baron's laughter or the strange, invisible veil which keeps Zelda from truly being able to interact with those in front of her.

The arrows come again, the events replaying as if heaven itself had turned back time to the exact moment where Luffy is first trapped in the crossfire. The explosion overhead rings aloud once more, the smoke clearing only after Luffy has made an attempt to run through it. Again, he's tormented with the knowledge of his weakness before the Baron, his inability to save what is most precious to him, and the despair that swells inside of him like an over-active tumor. It clouds his judgment, destroys his sense of willpower, and each time the moment where he's asked that vile question, the more defeated he appears. Every cry that passes his lips becomes more harsh, his voice and throat seemingly without repair as his body shows greater signs of fatigue with every show upon the stage of the mountainside.]

"Gyeheh heh!! Look at you! Some pirate you've turned out to be, eh? And you think you'll be able to find that no good Queen? Good luck trying to find some one who doesn't want to be found, let alone all by yourself. Just give up, kid. Let me end it for you. Here and now."

Monkey D. Luffy - Passive

[goddessofthesky]

You aren't by yourself!

[Zelda frantically looks around. She can't stop this. She can't stop anything. Luffy has to be here. She has to be able to reach him somehow.

She takes another step forward trying to push past the vale. She doesn't care if she gets hurt as long as he knows that he isn't alone. As long as he doesn't give up without fighting as hard as he can. She knows he's strong and he's stubborn but it's his heart that gives him true strength. She doesn't want to watch that goodness die.]

LUFFY!

[desertbloomed]

Ashelia finds herself on the mountainside very suddenly. She looks around, trying to gain her bearings, but the sound of the explosion doesn't help matters. She ducks, covering her head with her hands at the unexpected noise. After a moment she looks up, spotting the grisly scene as it nears its end - and then begins anew.

She makes her way over cautiously. Even after so long, she reaches into her mind for her buffing spells on instinct - and to her surprise, there they are. She reaches out a hand to cast on Luffy as well - he can clearly use the help - but nothing happens. I don't...

As much as she doesn't really like the young pirate, she doesn't like seeing him so defeated. He is still, after all one of the displaced Heroes. Unsure of how to proceed, and cluing into the fact that she apparently can't affect anything that's going on, Ashelia approaches Luffy directly.

"Remember yourself, Luffy - this is not you! Your will is stronger than this. You have endured far worse."

[gomu_ningen]

The words whisper into his ear like the passing breeze on a late Autumn day, just barely reaching his consciousness while so much else is occurring in front of him. The piercing arrows sting his extremities beyond simply being flesh wounds, his heart and pride taking far more damage in the process.

His eyes try their best to adjust to the haze brought on by fatigue and morose thinking, looking down the path paved before him where he and his loss lay bleeding on one end, the the Baron with all of his malice and sorrow stands at the other.

"-this is not you!"

His crew is gone, nothing more than a memory to the palette of wherever a mouth might exist on the monstrous plant. The reason for sailing is dashed, even knowing that the promise he had made needed to be fulfilled, yet what point was there to taking the journey if not with the company of those he loved and adored?

"Your will is stronger than this."

He's never heard the voice before, at least that he can't recall. It's an inviting tone, the sort of empowerment that felt as if it could encourage even the meekest of men to become towering giants of will and confidence.

"You've endured far worse."

The arrow imbedded in his left hand snaps, cracking in two as he pulls his hand away with a grunt that more than suggests it does not come without its share of pain.

"Stand down."

An arrow is conjured to replace the broken switch, fired forward and landing in Luffy's already wounded mitt before he has the chance to move it away from the rock. The pirate reels in further agony, crying out to deaf ears as the Baron pays no concern to the condition he brings the formally boisterous young man to.

[desertbloomed]

"Do not," Ashelia continued, though she winced and withdrew momentarily at the gruesome display. Her hand automatically goes to the hilt of her sword, despite the fact that she knows it would be useless to brandish. "Fight! Free yourself, Luffy - isn't giving up for Heroes? You aren't a Hero, are you? You're a pirate - act like one!"