Warm Memories and Brotherly Bonds

Chapter 50: Vow of Brotherhood

"I don't know about you guys," Franky said, spitting out a mouthful of blood. "But this island wins my vote for the 'worst island ever'!"

"I'm with you there," Usopp moaned out as he let Chopper wrap a bandage around his arm. "I don't know how much more we can take here. I'm starting to feel like a sack of broken bones..."

"And that would be tragic in my case, Yohoho—OW!" he winced, rubbing his cracked skull.

"Can't say it's surprising since we've been fighting practically every foe we've ever faced all in one night," Robin offered, she glanced over at Zoro and Sanji as she added, "But I take it that you both fell much better after that little fight?"

"Much better in fact," Zoro confessed. And he meant it, it really did feel good to get out some of that pent-up frustration on one of the bastards who had made his captain's trip a living hell. "Now, if only Blackbeard will show up so that I can take him on...?"

Nami was sitting down, resting her chin on her knees as she sighed, "I'm just glad that that Magellan didn't poison us like he did with Luffy."

"Doesn't matter, I still would've kicked his ass," Franky growled, punching his hands together to make that clunking noise. "I hope to meet up with the real one someday so that I can break his face in!"

"Even after seeing what he could do?!" Brook asked, still shaking from the sight of that Venom Demon. That guy wasn't normal and he couldn't help but pray that they never had to face him again... even just the fake version of that man was enough to send shivers down his spine... which wasn't hard for him since that was all he had of his back.

"Payback for all the misery he's caused in his life," Sanji sighed, lighting up another cigarette. "Though it's not the same as fighting the real guy, I think that was a good warm-up."

"Warm-up? What do you mean warm-up?! You're making it sound like we might end up running into him again someday?!" Usopp cried out, paling at the thought.

"Think of how many people that we've seen again just tonight?" Robin offered, "People we never thought we see again? No one can ever know the future so there's always a chance that we might run into him for real someday?"

"I hope not!" Chopper cried out, but was already making plans to try and discover some kind of cure for that poison stuff of his just in case. He didn't ever want to see any of his crewmates go through something like that. When he saw Luffy writhing on the ground in so much pain like that, it broke his heart at the thought that there wasn't anything that he could do to help... and it wasn't just because it was all just a memory... the worst part was that he knew that even if he had been there, there wouldn't have been anything he could do to help him.

He had studied a lot in the last two years, reading and even re-reading every book he could find on medicines and antidotes. He made a vow to himself that he was going to be prepared for anything from here on out, he was never going to feel that helpless again! His hooves curled up tightly as he promised himself that he was never going to allow one of his precious crewmates to go through that kind of suffering alone ever again!

That fake Magellan certainly put up a fight for them all, though his body seemed to melt and drip with poison, they found out right away that it wasn't poisonous... though it did burn when it touched them... thankfully Chopper was able to take care of the burns very easily as Zoro and Sanji were able to use Haki to protect them from suffering any of those attacks. The battle was pretty much at a stand-off for some time before Magellan sank back into the gloom to get away from them.

No one was sorry to see him go as they rested and were all out of breath. After this night, all the injuries they took and old enemies that they were forced to fight again, it was really taking its toll on them physically and emotionally. They were worn out and thinking longingly of their beds back on board the Sunny, but they knew that the memories were reaching the final stretch... they had to be.