~~~

~~~

He grabbed my wrists and pulled my arms behind me, then wrenched them higher until my shoulders were close to dislocating. A grunt escaped my mouth and a loud hiss followed. The course went with rapid speed. Before I could take a deep breath, my face was already smacked down the floor. It took everything to free my leg from the tremendous weight and make an opening with my heel that could dug deep into his abdomen. It made a slight difference in the position and I gladly grasped the won advantage. As I was ready to stand up and resume the battle position, he snatched a handful of knives and threw them directly at me. I hit the ground and rolled away, but he immediately jumped on top of me and grabbed my hair. He bounced my face against the earth again, turning it in such a way that I had a free view to Usopp's back. However, the male's fight was far more successful, and it continued without any complications...

"Surrender." The large hand pushed me deeper into the earthy floor, my mouth tasting the soil that mixed with the sharp scent of blood. Out of all the things I expected from this, the pain was definitely the most prominent.

I was glad I had tumbled down in a way I did. My hand was right under my thigh, not that far from the small pocket sewed on my jacket. I just had to distract him to surreptitiously reach for it.

"If you remove that paw of yours I'll gladly answer you."

"You think I'm a moron, girl?" The bald guy had a calm expression while his eyes roamed crazily and jabbed in my face, his light smile revealing the fangs. "You can't do anything more than that! You're without any weapons."

"I'm glad...Cough... We're on the same page. Why don't you let a weakling like me surrender with a bit of self-respect? As you've stated, I have no weapons to fight with." I barely rasped, my lungs tightening within the rapid breathing.

I tried not to move my arm too much. Carelessly displaying the only ace card I had under my sleeve would rapidly collapse my entire plan that I'd been building till now.

I desperately fought to get to another level.

If I were to leave this place before the time expires, I won't have to kiss my independence goodbye. And I'd have enough time to get to Luffy.

With my thumb and index finger, I clutched the small, metal object in a steady grip. Luckily, the tip of it didn't make contact with my skin, which was a good sign for me to continue. The only thing left for me to do was just to derive the plan into action.

My body curled into something fetal when his grip intensified around my skull. "S-shit!"

"I didn't hear you, girl. The clock is ticking. Say it or will I have to forcefully pull it out of you." He grinned, fanning his face in front of me. The enormous guy had been avoiding my close vicinity ever since the beginning he pinned me to the ground. And guessing by his increased confidence, he had left down his guard.

Now!

"Fuck of. I win." 

I delved into his flash with the needle and thrust it until his grunt turned into a scream. I crawled away with my busted leg and left the lethal weapon do the dirty work. Ten to twenty minutes after exposure, the body's muscles would begin to spasm, starting with the head and neck. The next are the spasms that'd spread to every muscle in the body. The convulsions progress, increasing in intensity and frequency until the backbone arches continually. Death should come after 2 hours.

There was a huge emphasis on should.

It was a good thing I listened to Law.

The man fell to his knees. His eyes, that were looking up at the red, dusty sky, shifted back and his mouth dropped open. The tendons in his neck strained into white ropes.

My throat kept clenching, but no matter what, I could not stop the warm feeling rising through my chest. Then I could taste it at the back of my mouth. The regret mixed with fear and anxiety.

He was dead.

Like in a video game, the body of the male dissolved into petite pixels until no trails of his existence remained behind him. I quickly turned to the enormous sign where the timer stopped fifteen seconds before the expiration. The numbers rapidly reached zero and immediately renewed.

1 hour. 60 minutes. 3600 seconds.

I exhaled the tension that gathered in my lungs. I got this... Just couple more rounds.

Very faintly, I could hear the sound of voices coming from nearby.

I started moving.

.

.

.

"Oi, Y/n, help me with this blasted guy! He's as persistent as a fly." The bluenette blocked another hit and ducked when two more followed.

"I got you covered, Franky! You take out that big shot over there." We made a quick back-to-back rotation and swapped opponents.

"How lucky we ran into each other, hehe. Even though you are a  sight for sore eyes, I still hope you won't get yourself killed...Please." There was a quick silence before he continued. "But judging your readiness, I guess your option for chemically incapacitating another human being deemed to be successful." He laughed and slapped a high five before sprinting towards the towering male in black.

Franky, despite his height, was agile enough and could easily avoid any contact that would have left a deep scar otherwise. While he did rely more on muscle power, he hadn't forgotten about simple tactics and planning.

"Yeah... We'll see about that." It had been a couple of what I thought hours, and there was no sign of the trio nor Zoro. After my last fight, I decided to occupy the north part of the territory and thus quickly caught up with Nami and Robin, both of them wielding something that resembled a weapon. The orangehead didn't detach herself from the blue rod, only clinging to it more for her dear life. Yet, it seemed she got used to it because her hits were precise and not hasty at all.

When we met at one of the entrances to the spread valley of void, we fell into a pit of laughter. However, the level of stress intensified until our smiles got replaced with spilled tears of terror and tiredness.

"If we ever get out alive, you'll need to discipline that boyfriend of yours! And thoroughly explain how the hell we ended up in this suicidal shit." I gladly complied to Nami's impossible request and with that, our mission resumed.

The conditions here were unsteady, drastically changing. If there weren't lightnings and wind, omitting our way, than there was sand and actual desert surrounding us. 

While Law did explain the rules of the live simulation, he had never actually warned us how realistic and painful the experience would be. The cuts and blood that lingered on my skin were permanent as well as the torn clothes and the upper cut on my forehead.

I wiped the metallic taste from my mouth and gazed at the opponent, refocusing on the obstacle that prominently stood in my way. He was shorter than his companion, but still looked intimidating nevertheless. At first I thought he would bring out a weapon of his own choice, but he unfortunately surprised me with fists, ready to throw a solid, most likely dire punch.

I wasn't sure at first if I understood it correctly, put the pose strangely resembled something I'd been used to. The thought lingered even when he launched himself from the spot and aimed solid, entering strikes towards my upper torso. I had no choice but to shield myself. The only thing I knew at the moment was that he definitely fell in the silent type category, and my hope for a possible distraction was consequently impossible to achieve. A good amount of time had been needed before I realized his 'choreography'. I dodged his attacks, while some of them scraped the sides of my body.

It was intense.

With every step back I made, he was already beside me and forcing me to be active and never take a breath to compose myself. Left, right, up... A side kick... And turn. Intentionally leaving an opening, I felt a sudden gush of pain jolting throughout my body. My stomach ached, but fortunately my speculation was proved correct. He used advanced martial arts.

"Y/n!"

"Don't come any closer, Franky ! He's mine." I coughed and sent him thumbs up. "I know what to do."

"Ok!" He threw a punch at the guy's jaw. "But if you reconsider, call me!"

Backing up to the giant rock, I waited for him to rush and hit me with his outmost force he possessed. I slid away in time before the impact could collide with my face and crunched down when his leg extended for a kick in the back. I grabbed it above my head in an enough tight grip. Furiously releasing the aggression, I yelled and pumped my muscles. He was heavy as hell, but this had to work.

I had to be useful to others.

It ached badly. The weight was pressing on my spine and only seconds parted me from the possible impact of his buff body, crushing me down.

My voice was shrill and deafening, however it did help boost my self-assurance. "DIE!"

A bone crushing sound appeared right after I tossed the man. I slouched down on my knees and panted frantically, my heart hammering so hard that it almost burst from the ribcage. Even my muscles didn't listen to my commands anymore, as I remained on the floor, confusingly glaring at the scenery in front of me.

The body dissolved. First gushing in blood then evaporating like water. Franky already finished off with the other man. The bluenette hesitated and wore a concerned, almost petrified expression, but when he saw only me and hints of blood decorating my attire, internally concluding that we both were out of danger, he grinned and dashed to my side.

"I-I did i-it. I actually... Did...It." I breathed. "I'm...useful."

"For a shrimp, you acted like a beast. What did they even feed you with while you were gone? Protein? Hocus pocus magic?... Drugs?"

"Nobody said anything about physics being forbidden." I exchanged glances with my paralyzed legs and the tall male. "Ahm, a bit of help? I...Can't stand up."

"Sure thing. Wow!" He threw me a couple of times in the air while still being careful with the bruises. "You are as light as a feather."

I sighed. "I don't know how to respond to that. Thanks?"

There was a terrible rumble from deep in the belly of the earth and cracks appeared from the ground beneath. Huge pieces of rock rolled down the hills and rose the dust high in the air.

"What the hell was that?!" I looked at the male. "I highly doubt it was an earthquake."

"Perhaps... There's another battle close by."

My eyes widened. "You don't think..."

"I don't think anything. We better hurry. Hold on tight. We'll have to find everyone."

.

.

.

The challenge was definitely hard, considering how little did we know about the high tech supplies Law actually had under his possession. It was difficult for me to concentrate primarily on my own fights, my mind slipping to others who might also be in a tight position.

Especially Luffy.

The first meeting with Eustass enflamed the rivaling sparks between them, as I noticed right from the bat what similarities bound them. I reckoned how rivalries like those could actually evolve in deadly arguments.

But I had to put all my trust into Eustass and hope for the best. Until I arrived, of course.

"Do you think the fight has already started?"

"I really hope not. I don't want to be the one who'll pay for their funeral. Aw! Hey Robin, you didn't have to do that!" Nami yelped and massaged the sore spot under her ribs.

The female shrugged and kept running. "There's no time for jokes."

"Who said I was joking- Ok, I'll stop!"

"What if we are late?" I asked Franky.

"Nonsense." He muttered, but judging by his furrowed eyebrows, he was unsure of himself.

"Next time, I'll just say no to anything they suggest." Usopp breathed, hoplessly struggling to keep up with us while he dragged the huge bag, full of supplies, on his back. "They are lucky I took pity on them."

It was hard to tell in the shade on Franky's face, but it resembled a more pale one. Now that they had the chance to lay their weapons down, the mental pressure to sustain a calm facade was even greater. And harder.

"Yeah, next time we'll crush them like bugs!" The male clashed both of his fists in his signature pose and grinned at the path in front of us. "You just wait!"

"My, are we suddenly feeling confident, Franky?" Robin laughed. "Weren't you all negative a second ago?"

"Hell no! If we think a bit carefully, aren't we best in this kind of situations? We even beat up that CP whatever guys!"

I considered his words, dwelling on each mentioned one and claiming the memories until a clear picture began shifting before my eyes.
I never really thought much about other shenanigans we had encountered, as we always got into lots of trouble no matter how much we tried to behave, strictly and according to the rules.

"Guys...Thanks." I said. "For everything. You are amazing."

"Well, I don't like to brag but-"

A loud snap on the head stopped the brunette in mid-sentence . And a bump that would stay for a long time. "Idiot, she meant all of us!" Nami shouted at Usopp and clicked her tongue.

"Who do you think we are, huh? We are supppperrrr strong! If we can just find Zoro... Damn, that would be amazing."

"He's probably wandering around, though..."I concluded.

"By this point, I truly wonder how are we still ALIVE!" Nami snapped back to her usual self and loudly cursed her blasted fate, mostly revolving around Luffy's irresponsible behavior. And Zoro s awful navigating ability. 
"I should have put a collar around him when I had a chance! Y/n, now it is too late!" She cried.

I found it remarkable for someone to multitask so many things without even batting an eye. I knew words were a waste of energy, so I just nodded and focused more on the running. It was mostly because I was aware that I didn't excel so much at track in school nor was I able to maintain a pace for a longer period of time without lacking oxygen whilst my insides burned.

"Fingers crossed for our safety..."

To be continued ...