Chapter 17: The Cave-In
Roy and the others saw the treasure being unearthed before their captors did. The moment the first metal strongbox was hauled out of the dirt, a collective glint appeared in every Spade Pirate's eye. It was as if they could see the golden glow radiating from within.
"Do we go now?" Mouse whispered, practically vibrating with greed.
"Wait," Roy and Joseph said in perfect, wary unison.
"Hey, where's the captain?" Jin asked, turning his head and finding the space beside him empty.
Everyone spun around. Ace, who had been right there a second ago, had vanished.
"Down there!" Slott pointed into the massive pit. A figure wreathed in flames was plummeting down the spiral path, leaving a trail of startled shouts and singed pirates in his wake. It was Ace, of course. Roy had to mentally revise his image of the polite, brotherly Ace; this was the unhinged, treasure-crazed behavior of someone who had spent too much time with Luffy.
"Too late! The captain's made his move! Let's go support him!" Taft yelled, uncoiling the rope from his shoulder. With a practiced flick, he lassoed a part of the railing and rappelled down. The rest of the crew, caught up in the momentum, followed suit, swarming down the ropes like ants.
Only Roy and Joseph remained at the top, watching the chaos unfold.
Roy moved to follow, but Joseph placed a firm hand on his arm. "Wait," he said, his doctor's eyes scanning the scene below with clinical calm. "Something's off."
Below, Ace was in his element. Fists of fire sent pirates flying. But the real surprise was the miners. The moment Ace caused a distraction, they shed their submissive act, pulling out hidden weapons and turning on their captors with a vengeance. The entire mining operation descended into a full-scale brawl.
"Those miners were planning this all along," Joseph observed.
Roy nodded. "They were just waiting for the treasure to be exposed. They're all pirates, and they're not weak. They were biding their time."
"Someone's coming," Roy said softly, his Observation Haki prickling.
Joseph didn't question him. In their short time together, he'd found Roy to be unexpectedly reliable. The two of them were kindred spirits of calm in a crew of chaos.
Right on cue, the main force of the Jaeger Pirates arrived. At their head was Pendulum, the butterfly-man. He flew to the center of the cavern's ceiling, his wings beating rhythmically. A shimmering, rainbow-colored powder began to drift down like a deadly snow.
"Oh no, it's the Hypno-Dust!" one of the rebelling miner-pirates screamed.
Ace looked up, finally getting a clear look at his captor. His face scrunched up in confusion. "Hey! Miss Butterfly! What are you doing?" he shouted, cupping his hands around his mouth.
Up on the ledge, Roy and Joseph simultaneously facepalmed. He wasn't paying attention during the briefing at all, they thought in perfect, exasperated harmony.
"Captain! He's a man! Use your fire! Roy said fire can counter him!" Taft yelled, dodging a sword swing to get closer to Ace.
"What?!" Ace's jaw dropped. He stared at the fluttering man with an expression of pure, unadulterated betrayal, reminiscent of Luffy's shock upon meeting the samurai Raizo.
The betrayal turned to fury. Ace's right fist clenched, and a sun-hot sphere of flame roared to life. Taft, seeing the building inferno, wisely scrambled away.
"FIRE FIST!"
Ace unleashed his rage. The fist of fire didn't just shoot forward; it expanded, growing to the size of a giant's fist, roaring toward the hovering butterfly-man with unstoppable force.
Pendulum's eyes widened in terror. The speed and scale of the attack left him no time to dodge or weave an illusion.
BOOM!
The colossal fireball consumed him, then slammed into the cavern roof with the force of a meteor strike.
"I have a bad feeling about this," Joseph said, looking up at the point of impact.
"Me too," Roy agreed, his voice grim.
The flames dissipated, revealing a charred, blackened figure plummeting toward the ground. Pendulum's beautiful wings were ashes, his clothes were gone, and his skin was scorched. That he was still alive was a testament to his will, but he was out of the fight.
"DEPUTY CAPTAIN!" the Jaeger Pirates screamed in horror.
Joseph, leaning over the railing, cupped his hands and shouted with all his might. "CAPTAIN! EVERYONE! GET BACK UP HERE! THE CAVE IS GOING TO COLLAPSE!"
His warning cut through the din of battle. For a heartbeat, everything stopped. Then, a small pebble bounced off a miner's helmet.
Crack!
A sharp, sickening sound echoed through the chamber, much louder than any explosion. A web of fractures spread across the ceiling high above.
Then, the rain began. Not of water, but of rock.
"IT'S COMING DOWN!" The cry went up from both miners and pirates alike. Panic became the only universal language.
Ace, his treasure lust momentarily overridden by survival instinct, snatched up the two nearest metal strongboxes. "FORGET THE REST! RUN!" he bellowed.
Taft and the others, seeing their captain had the goods, didn't need telling twice. They turned and sprinted for the ropes, the world around them dissolving into a thunderous hail of stone and dust. The mountain, disturbed at its core after two centuries, was finally claiming its due.
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