Duel The Off-Brand Chronicles #1: The Case When the Opponent is Much Stronger!

[Roogy]

The journey toward the light was a cautious one. What am I going to find when I get there? thought Weapon. However, it seemed fairly uneventful despite the tension in the air. He was a short distance away from the beam, when he observed the last of the townspeople walking toward it.

He stopped one of the townspeople by grabbing hold of their arms. "What is going on?" he asked.

"There is hope on the other side. Or hopelessness. Only one way to find out," replied the townsperson.

"What's up with you? Why would you enter a strange beam of light so willingly?"

"Foolish pirate thinks he can stop us. Well, you won't even discover who we are. But if you're so keen to play detective, then here's a clue. There is chalk on his face, but not on his back. The wall is his home, his activity slack."

"What does a blackboard have to do with any of this? And what's up with what you just said? Are you in a hypnotic trance?"

"Hear us, Acaremus Weapon. Your challenge is to stop us, but it will be a near-impossible task. If you want to learn something... step into the light. Oh, and the giant should follow you. You will find out why soon enough."

With this the townsperson brushed Weapon's hands away and walked into the light.

Weapon turned to the giant, and thought that now might be a good time to know the giant's name. In any case, he was uncertain of what to do next, and wanted to ask his former opponent.

"So, what do we do now?"

 

[Larsi]

Larsi was only absently paying attention to the conversation Weapon was having with the civilian. His focus was on the green beam. It seemed to be calling to him, and he wanted to step into the light. Deep down, under the shallow draw of the green pillar he screamed at himself, telling himself to stop being so stupid. Yet it was to no avail, as the giant found himself stepping ever closer to the strange phenomenon. Stepping into the beam, he felt a strange sensation as if he was being ripped from the very earth while still standing still. The air around him, if it even could be called air, trembled and twisted. The shock or maybe the end of the spell brought Larsi back to his senses. He turned and tried to leave the beam, and managed to step free. But it was too late.

What the... The scene that opened before him was entirely different from the desolate town that he had just been in. The ground beneath him was solid concrete, stretching far in any direction until it reached a wall made from the same surface. The wall stretched far up in the air, leaving a hole in the top where the sky was revealed. It was maybe 200 meters up in the air. It was hard to tell. Having seen enough he turned around to walk back through the light, only to realize there was no light. Just then, the townsperson Weapon had conversed with emerged from thin air, the spell seemingly having worn off on him too, the confidence before replaced with fear. Around him on the concrete surface the rest of the civilians stood or walked, fear and uncertainly obvious on most. Just then, a sound reverberated through the area. A voice spoken from a speaker, from where he couldn't tell.

Welcome contestants! It seems you are almost all here! Good!

 

[Roogy]

Weapon realised that the beam had transported him, the giant, and the townspeople to a large arena. The concrete wall that surrounded the place made it seem lifeless and foreboding. One of the few things that scared him was the idea of going colour-blind. Thankfully, the people had retained their colours - and he could find solace in the fact that the colourlessness of his surroundings was not from his perception. He looked around to get his bearings, and when he was satisfied, he assumed a defensive stance, unsure of what was to come.

"Alright, we have a full house today! Fuller than usual, even!" said a voice which seemed to resonate from the sky. Weapon figured that there must be speakers somewhere out of their sight. "On today's episode of 'Who Dies First?' we have gathered the contestants from a wholly uninspiring town - though it appears we have two very special guests!"

"Tonight's program will be the first to feature real, infamous pirate captains! On the left, Acaremus Weapon! On the right, Larsi!"

Well, at least I know his name now, thought Weapon. But what exactly do they want from us?

The question in his mind was answered almost immediately by the announcer's next words. "As usual, you know how this works, but our contestants are new to this! These people will fight amongst each other until one dies! They will then be returned from whence they came, and not remember a thing of the experience, or the existence of the dead person!"

Oh Hel no, thought Weapon. There is no way I'm letting this happen. I'm going to escape this place.

 

[Larsi]

Hearing the announcement, Larsi stopped and looked around, then down to his fellow pirate. He paid no heed to the other weaklings spread around them, they knew better than to approach the two of them. He opened his mouth, speaking only loud enough that Weapon could hear him. I don't feel like playing games. What do you say we break out of this?

He swung his arm, thr air cracking, sending a shockwave towards the tall walls. It crashed into it, but seemed to be absorbed, leaving no mark. Looking up, he saw clear air several hundred meters up. They probably thought tall indestructible walls were enough to hold him. Should have made a dome, the arrogant fools. Hop onto my back, I'll carry us out. I need you to defend us from attacks. I trust you can take care of that? He waited for Weapon to jump up, before placing his arms out to the sides, open palms facing down. Once his temporary ally would join him, he would release a series of continuous shockwaves, lifting them off the ground, then arcing around and pushing them upwards faster. Up and up they went, faster and faster, toward freedom.

Spoiler

-Shokkukābu: Hikō (ショックカーブ: 飛行 Shokkukābu: Hikō, literally meaning "Shock Curve; Flight") Holding his arms out to the side and palms facing open facing downwards, Larsi sends out a continuous stream of harmless shockwaves, strong enough to hold him airborne. However, using his extensive control of his devil fruit, he then curves the shockwaves, so that they come around and push him up from below, essentially allowing him to fly.
(100 mastery, 61 reaction speed, 61 stamina.)

 

[Roogy]

Weapon was surprised by the giant's words. I don't generally ride on people's backs, thought Weapon, but if it means I don't have to find my own way out of this place, then it's fine by me. Weapon jumped on the giant's back, awaiting the move that would carry both of them out of the arena.

"Watch closely, folks! Our special guests appear to have already formed some kind of tag-team! Just what will they do next? Only time will tell! Are they planning a daring escape? Or to decimate the competition? Just what kind of pirates have we captured for your amusement?"

Weapon was kind of annoyed that the announcer seemed to be so keen to do a play-by-play of their plan. Nevertheless, he ignored it as he waited on the giant's back for what would come next.

 

[Larsi]

Lifting off the ground, the odd couple soon found themself high in the air. Beneath them on the grounds, the other combatans stopped and looked up, watching the two of them shrinking in the distance, barely visible against the sun behind. The commentator's voice blared across the stadium, clearly caught off guard. They serm to be flying! That's no good, contestants aren't allowed to leave the ring until the fighting is over!

As if he had spoke a command, holes opened in the walls all around the two of them, thick barrels pointed at the two pirates. Then, in quick succession they fired a projectile each towards them.

Reaching out with his color of observation, Larsi got a better grasp of them all. He turned sideways to avoid one, ducked under a few others, rose above some more. Crashing into the wall after missing, each of the projectiles exploded, although of course it still didn't put a dent in the wall. Still, Larsi could tell from the shockwave that even he wouldn't come away unscathed from this. Out of the corner of his eye he saw some of the barrels firing again. Shaking his head, he spoke to Weapon. We're not gonna make it, I need you to take out these cannons!

 

[Roogy]

Weapon noticed the cannons in the walls. Oh, that's weird. Not as weird as Loki, but still. Weapon, while situated on Larsi's back, stood up and drew his swords. He held them outwards and swung them back and forth, sending an air slash toward the cannons. "Mythical Soul Forge: Golden Fleece!" He repeated this in seven other directions, each time ensuring that the slash flew towards the cannons.

The cannons blew up and Weapon sheathed his swords. He wiped a few stray beads of sweat off of his brow and sat back down. "Mission accomplished," he said. On the inside, he was screaming with delight. I've always wanted to say that, he thought.

Having done his task, he thought about what they might do when they get out. This place... is escape really as easy as going over the wall? I can't help but wonder that if we do manage to get out of this arena, we might be stepping out into something more dangerous.

He wasn't in a position to jump off of the giant given their momentum, but he figured that when they reach the top, he would see over the walls at around the same time as his newfound ally. It's in your hands, Larsi. Get us to the top.

Spoiler: Moves Used

Golden Fleece: The user holds both swords out and swings them in opposite directions. The friction this causes creates an air slash. (2 swords, 41 Mastery, 31 Strength) Rank: C

 

[Larsi]

Preoccupied with dodging the projectiles shot at the two of them, Larsi didn't notice that they were all gone until there were no more coming his way. For a moment he just hung there in the air, looking around, waiting for the next attack. But it never came. A smile spread across his face. Below he heard the voice of the announcer, but it was too distant for him to make out specific words, though the voice sounded frantic. Good. It should mean they were on the right track. Pushing on, they flew the last distance to the top of the silo like arena. Cresting the top was a strange sight.

The only natural thing in sight was the sky. Before him spread a forest of silos like the one they had just been in. That was the only way he could describe them. Hollow stone pillars rising from the hard earth below, each one about the same height as the rest. Did they all contain gladiators like themselves? Maybe something else entirely? He didn't feel like sticking around to find out. Only having been in the air for a couple seconds since cresting the top of their prison, Larsi let them slowly fall towards the ground below, breaking the fall continuously. I don't wanna be sitting ducks up there. We might be able to escape unseen on foot. He explained to Weapon, his eyes fixated on the surface below. Less than a minute later his feet touched the ground, hard rock spread evenly with a thin layer of sand on top stretched on in every direction. It truly felt lifeless, yet he had no doubt they weren't the only ones nearby. As if having read his mind, he heard voices off in the distance. It just couldn't be that easy, eh?

 

[Roogy]

Having landed on the ground, Weapon got off of Larsi's back so he could move around better. The voices in the distance grew louder.

"Hey, did you see the way Form-EL just recorded those housewives talking? I mean seriously, who would think that could make money?" said one voice.

"I hear you, Form-GD. Gladiators are a guaranteed money maker. It dates back to ancient Rome."

"It's so good to hear you supporting me on this, Form-DB. You know, the life of a monitor-bot is thankless work."

Weapon, knowing they could be passing by any minute, decided that hiding from the monitor-bots' field of vision would be the best course of action. If these 'monitor-bots' are living technology, then any attempt to fight them might alert those who created them.

"Alright, Larsi, I think we should go around the corner over there," said Weapon, pointing in the direction of the other side of the silo. "If we're going to escape this place, we need to draw as little attention to ourselves as possible. That means avoiding conflict for now."

Weapon was sure that though they would evade the monitor-bots, eventually they would run into some obstacle they would need to fight.

 

[Larsi]

Larsi leaned up against the wall as the robots approached, somehow trying to make himself smaller than he was. It was the first time in his life that he had wanted that. Looking at Weapon as he spoke, the giant only nodded, afraid his voice being too loud even in a whisper, not wanting to alert the bots. As his unlikely ally suggested, he moved forwards each step as light as he could, although he felt as if the ground still shook with his every massive step, though it might as well be his imagination. He considered taking off his boots, but decided against it, they would just be cumbersome to drag around.

Walking along the silo the giant looked out to the right. In the distance it seemed farther between each of the silos than where they were at. Then, as he walked a further, a blessing of a sight appeared from behind one of the distant silos. A huge door, placed on the side of a wall. Stopping in his tracks, he didn't want to be seen by anyone who might be guarding the door. From here it was barely visible, but he could see some movement. Raising his hand, he pointed at the door in the distance, speaking as quietly as possible, hoping the bots were far enough away. Might be an exit.

 

[Roogy]

Weapon was hopeful that the giant was right. The door could be an exit. It could also be an entrance, to something much more dangerous. Weapon tried not to not think about it though. And given that the door was in the distance, their first obstacle was getting to it.

"Attention all personnel!" said a loud, disembodied voice. "Subjects A-273-Q and A-274-Q have escaped their controlled environment. I repeat, subjects A-273-Q and A-274-Q have escaped their controlled environment."

Great, now they're looking for us, thought Weapon. Whispering to Larsi, he said, "We're going to have to make a run for the door. Since you are faster, I will once again get on your back, okay?"

He jumped up hoping to land on his unlikely ally's back, so that they could make a hasty get away.

 

[Larsi]

Larsi opened his mouth to object at the smaller man using him as a riding vessel without being offered first, and he might have voiced his objections, had it not been for the situation they were in, plus the fact that he was relatively used to this very thing from his crew. Shrugging it off, he moved on, running among the giant silos, making his way towards the door. A few minutes later he came out from behind one of the silos, only about fifty meters from the door. Realizing it was too late to stop, he simply kept going. Where he before had seen some small movement, a crowd now stood, guarding the door.

They numbered about thirty, regular men, but a quick scan with his color of observation revealed that no one was of significant strength. It was even obvious in the sluggishness that they moved. He had already crossed half the distance between where he emerged and them before the first one reacted. Before most of them had even realized something was going on, the giant made contact, crashing into the group.Most of the ones who felt the impact simply went flying, others were pushed to the ground. Regardless, they didn't rise, at least not immediately.

Ignoring the enemies, Larsi quickly reached the huge door behind them, latching onto the handles, pulling. Nothing. The door was locked. He could barely see the locking mechanism in the gap in the door, but he knew someone else would have an easier time opening the door. Turning to face the crowd, he realized only a few remained, the rest scattered by him or by fear.I need you to cut the door. It'll be quicker.

@Roogy

 

[Roogy]

Weapon realised that Larsi was correct and that he would need to cut the door in order to proceed. He jumped up in the air and drew his swords, preparing for his attack.

He held his swords in an arch shape above his head, ready to swing them. I can't say I've ever had to fight a door before, I don't even know how tough this particular one is, or how effective my attack may be. I just have to believe I can do this though, because this needs to work.

He swung his swords downward, sending a vertical slash through the door, just wide enough to cause the door to crumble, and the pieces to go flying backwards into the area beyond the door. "Mythical Soul Forge: Ragnarok!" he exclaimed, as he caught his first glimpse of what lie ahead. He struggle to believe or comprehend what he saw.

Are far as the eye could see, in all directions, this new area was filled with pods, about the same size as the silos, connected via thin light bridges and ladders. He noticed a robotic figure entering one of the pods, down two rows and to the left three columns. Shortly after it had entered, it disappeared in a flash of light. Weapon landed on the ground next to Larsi.

What was left of the door crumbled to the floor, and then fell over the edge into the abyss below, leaving nothing but the bridge leading to the pod directly in front of them. They could see it clearly now, at least Weapon could, he had to know if Larsi was also seeing it. "Do you see that in front of us? Those pods transport people. To where, I'm not sure, but this could be our way out."

"I'm gonna go ahead and scout things out." Weapon ran out to the first pod, and notice a weird-looking screen. It showed a map of a place he didn't recognise. On this map, a location was marked that he also didn't recognise. It was marked 'Malleable Crater'. He ran back to Larsi, knowing that it would not do much good to yell this new information. "Each of these pods leads to a different place. If we want to get back to that desert town, we need to find the one that leads back there."

"I suggest we split up and start searching these pods until we find the one that will return us to the town."

Though Weapon was unaware of the town's name, its name was Shackle Town. It was up to fate who would find the right pod, and who would cluelessly stumble into another adventure, or whether they would even split up at all...

Spoiler: Moves Used

Mythical Soul Forge:
Ragnarok: The user holds their swords to the sky in an arch-shape and concentrates. They then swing the swords towards the target, keeping the shape intact. A powerful air slash is sent out from the area where the swing occurred. (2 swords, 71 Mastery, 71 Strength) Rank: A

 

[Larsi]

Larsi watched the swordsman run off, about to look for pods that would return them, of any such things even existed. He was about to start off in his own direction, searching the pods, when he realized the flaw in the tactic. All the pods were only marked with a letter and number code, no name of destinations. He doubted the inside of them would display any such description either. Turning back around, he looked for Weapon, but the smaller man had disappeared. Cursing softly, the giant instead looked out across the village, searching for any building that stood out.

There! In the distance he could see a building, larger than any other, and square, with windows on all sides at about Larsi's face level. Starting forward, he moved at a fast pace, reaching the building in a few moments.

Inside he could see several people in uniform rushing back and forth, panicked looks on their faces. He heard sirens go off, and alarm lights starting to flash. To hell with it! He shoved his hand through the glass, reaching in and wrapping his enourmous fingers around the torso of a man who seemed preoccupied with shouting orders at others. Pulling him free as others screamed, Larsi stepped back from the building, ignoring the sounds from around him, as well as the door they had come through swinging open once more. Instead, he raised the man to his face, speaking calmly, though there was a cool taint to his voice. You will tell me how to return to Shackle Town.

The poor man lifted a shaking arm, pointing to his left. Larsi looked that way, back to the man, weighing his sincerity, before starting in that direction.

@Roogy

 

[Roogy]

Weapon was checking the screens next to each of the pod entrances. Wait a minute, I wonder if the giant knows about these screens... if not, all he has to go by are the codes on the top of the pods. Weapon noticed the giant take a direct approach to finding the way, through interrogation.

If I follow him, there's a high chance I could go back to the town we were in before. But I have a feeling my questions won't be answered if I go backwards. What should my next course of action be?

As if to answer his internal question, a strange robot, about half his size and balancing on a single wheel, made a gleeful humming sound. "Hum, you are the lucky ten thousandth customer. Follow me if you wish to claim your prize."

"Is this a good prize or a bad prize?" Weapon asked.

"Please hold all questions until the end of the tour. Keep your arms and legs inside the bus at all times."

"You are a strange creature and you make no sense. Why on Earth would I follow you?"

"I don't know, treasures or something? What do you like? We could go to a Candy Store, or the Apple Store... wait no, I'm not good at lying."

"Just tell me where you want to go!"

"It's a factory. You'll find something there that will help you in your quest."

"My quest?"

"You seek answers... what is all of this how do I get back to my crew can I stop this from happening to anyone else blah blah blah."

"You vex me, metal dwarf."

"The feeling's mutual, fleshy breath-box."

Weapon wondered if he was going to regret this later, but ultimately decided to follow the robot to the pod it was leading him to.

 

[Larsi]

Larsi walked down among the strange building, still carrying the whimpering man in his hand, looking around, reading the signs on the walls on his way. He had promised that the pod they were looking for was near the back of the area, an area usually deserted. Behind him, he heard the ruckus created by himself moments earlier, sirens going off, men calling to one another, but he paid them no heed, only trudged forward.

Raising his hand up before him, he eyed the smaller man in his grasp, speaking with a calm, but cold voice, as if the chaos behind was of no consequence to him, almost sounding bored. Where? Shivering, the man pointed to the right, down a passage among the buildings. Larsi's gaze lingered on the man for a few moments longer, weighing him, before looking down in the direction he pointed. Turning down the path, he looked to the left and right as he walked forwards. The- there. Left. Larsi paused, looking down at the man, who was feebly pointing at one of the left buildings that looked just like the rest of them.

Stepping up to the building, he looked at the small door, barely reaching above his knees. Shaking his head, he stepped up to the wall, grabbing the door with his free hand, tearing it free, dropping it on the ground. Twisting his hand around, he grabbed the wall above the doorway, ripping free a portion of the wall out. Stepping through, he looked around the room. In the middle of the circular structure was a round platform. That's- that's the portal.

Looking at the platform, Larsi stepped up onto the raised area, still holding the other man. Wait, aren't you going to let me go?

I'll let you go once I'm safely through. You'll be fine too, right. Smiling grimly, he reached out to pull down the lever he assumed was to engage the portal. Pausing for a moment, he thought about alerting Weapon, but surely if he investigated enough, he'd be able to find his way here too, all he would have to do is follow the chaos. With that, he pulled down the lever, a bright flash of green light engulfed the giant and the man, before fading away, revealing an empty room.

@Roogy

 

[Roogy]

Weapon stepped through the pod and was transported somewhere new. A blinding white light surrounded him, but slowly faded away to reveal his new location. He looked around to discover a field, covered in a blue hops-like plant. About a hundred metres away, massive distilleries and what seemed to be an entire town of factories loomed over the entire place.

"Where are we?" asked Weapon. He then realised that his bizarre companion had disappeared.

"Foul demon!" yelled a voice coming from the right. Weapon looked over to see an angry farmer shouting at him. "Get the fuck off my property!"

Weapon was not one to condone harsh language, but he understood that some people use it to convey their emotions. The farmer was clearly distressed by Weapon's sudden appearance and apparent intrusion upon his land. Weapon thought the best course of action would be to run head first into the mess of factories.

"Hey! Where are you going? Don't tell me your demonic form works for Van Driver!"

Weapon was surprised to hear that name. Had he stumbled across the production line of Crystalline, and other such high-end alcoholic drinks? If so, why did the strange metal creature send him here? Would he really find any clues here surrounding his mysterious circumstances?

To be continued in... The Off-Brand Chronicles #2!