One Piece Fan Fiction / Teen Titans Fan Fiction ❯ The Ultimate Cruise ❯ Half-Hearted Betrayal - An Unholy Alliance is Born ( Chapter 12 )

DISCLAIMER: I do not own One Piece, Teen Titans, or any characters or elements contained within. I believe these can be credited to the geniuses Eiichiro Oda [author and artist of OP], Marv Wolfman and George Perez [respective author and artist of The New Teen Titans comic of the eighties], and Glen Murakami and his talented crew [the staff of the Teen Titans animated series, the Titans version which this story is based off.] Thanks for developing these wonderful characters I have the pleasure of using in this story!

 

Any original characters, however, belong to Pivitor. Remember it!

 

 

The Ultimate Cruise:

One Piece meets Teen Titans

 

Chapter 12: Half-Hearted Betrayal—An Unholy Alliance is Born

 

Starfire and Sanji stood side-by-side in the musty cavern, facing the two Iso-jin they thought were their friends. Though they had only known Tank and Swifty for a very short time, they hadn't seen any reason not to trust them. The soldiers had always been friendly and seemingly-honest; they'd even seemed to have a crush on Star.

 

Now the two friends stared stony-faced at the heroes. Neither soldier looked happy at the dissolution of their friendship; not even their resolute stances could hide the fact that they were pained.

 

“Why are you doing this, friends?” Starfire asked sorrowfully. “Why are we no longer friends?”

 

The two Iso-jin seemed to twitch in pain at the girl's question.

 

 

 

The old woman stood before the two soldiers, her face not showing a sign of regret over the decision she was forcing them to make.

 

“Why do wes have to hurt thems?” Tank asked, confused. “Theys haven't tried to hurt us, yous know.”

 

“They will not work with Slade.” Mother informed him matter-of-factly. “This goes against our better interests, and I'm much more worried about us Iso-jin then those kids.”

 

“But why are wes working with Slade?” Swifty interjected. “I thought he was wes enemy!”

 

Mother's face changed to one of pure rage. “Are you questioning an order, soldier?” Swifty jumped back and saluted. “Unless you want to return to the streets, I suggest you shut up and follow my commands!” She turned and walked towards the door, ready to inform Ivan of their final destination.

 

“Defeat those two in the cave and bring the girl back to me!”

 

 

 

“As wes said before Miss, wes just soldiers.” Tank averted his eyes, unable to meet Starfire's glare.

 

“Wes obligated to follow commands, whether wes want to or not.” Swifty continued. “And wes don't want to. That's why wes going to ask yous nicely: come with us peacefully.”

 

Starfire dropped to the ground, backing up slowly. She couldn't understand what was going on! Peacefully? What would happen otherwise? Just what were they commanded to do anyway?

 

Sanji, however, was not as naïve. He took one final drag of his cigarette before tossing it to the ground, stomping it flat with his mighty foot.

 

“Like hell we will.” Sanji growled. “We're not stupid; don't think we don't know what's going on. You've betrayed our trust! Well, even if you've decided to be mindless slaves to those Iso-jin bastards, don't think we're going to follow orders so easily!”

 

The ground beneath the cook's feet seemed to explode; rocks scattered from that spot as Sanji charged towards Tank, the larger threat of the two. “Don't think I'll let you lay a finger on Star-kun!”

 

The eyes of the two soldiers grew wide.

 

“What do wes do now?” Swifty asked. “I don't know if I can hurt thems!”

 

The sad expression on Tank's face finally disappeared as his eyebrows arched fiercely. “Who do wes owe more to mate? Thems…or her?”

 

 

 

Several thugs lay face-down on the cold streets, but just enough were left to give them trouble. As Swifty ducked beneath one of their grip, another punk managed to get Tank by his massive neck and slam him into the alley wall. The smaller soldier gasped at his friend's situation; just this small distraction was enough to let a thug assist him to the same fate as his friend.

 

“Any last words?” asked a thug, his dirty face close to Tank's. The large fighter grimaced at both his assailant's breath and malevolent expression; this guy meant business. Of course, so did Tank and Swifty. Instead of answering, he spat into the punk's face.

 

Swifty laughed at his friend's reaction. Following suit, he too let spit fly. The thug holding Tank still—apparently the leader of the gang—screamed in anger. Wiping the fluid away with his spare hand, he then pulled a knife from his pocket.

 

“That's it! You lost your chance for mercy!” cried the thug. He pulled his blade far behind his head, ready to end his opponent's life in this petty street-fight.

 

And then, in a crimson flash, the thug was flat on the ground. Tank was sprayed with blood as he fell from the punk's grip and back to his feet. In only a few more seconds the remaining gang members had also fallen. Swifty too was freed, and the two friends stared in awe at their savior.

 

Yes, all this destruction had come from just one figure—a boy, nonetheless. The young boy was clothed in a purple uniform, with scraggly brown hair that hid much of his face. He sheathed the red sword before looking back at the people he had saved; they caught sight of the boy's eyes—eyes that showed power.

 

“How—how did yous get so powerful?” Swifty asked as the boy turned and walked to the end of the alley. Instead of answering, he simply stopped as another figure stepped out beside him. This figure was an old lady, nearly the same height as the boy.

 

“I helped him achieve this power.” The woman told them. “We are searching for a Great Power, but even in a search for the greatest power we need power to find it. I saw your fight and was quite impressed.”

 

She pulled a box from her blouse, holding it before her. “Do you want to spend the rest of your lives fighting on the street, dealing with these weak scumbags? Or do you want real power?” The old woman opened the box, and inside sat two round, plump fruit. “I can offer you the power you desire.”

 

“Devil's Fruit!” Tank exclaimed.

 

“Exactly.” The lady smiled. “Come and join us in our quest! You'll have the power you've been fighting for all these years!”

 

Tank and Swifty looked between the Devil's Fruit and each other, a look of amazement in their eyes. They knew these cursed fruit's side effects, but when would they get another opportunity like this? Where else could they get this sort of power—certainly not on the streets!

 

Their decision was made, and they never looked back.

 

 

 

“Mother has a reason for everything!” Tank exclaimed. Sanji leapt into the air, spinning into a powerful kick. “She gave wes everything wes have! Who are wes to doubt her now, no matter how wes feel?!”

 

Gray plating seemed to erupt from Tank's body as his now reinforced fist slipped past Sanji's outstretched foot and into the cook's stomach. Blood filled the air as the pirate was hurled into the cavern wall.

 

“I guess there ain't no turning back now.” Swifty sighed, taking a stance.

 

“Sanji-kun!” Starfire cried as she dashed to her friend's side, catching him as he fell from the impression he had left on the rock wall. As he collapsed into her arms, the alien girl now looked towards her former friend. Tank now stood even taller, his entire body covered by rock-hard gray plates. His hands and feet were now hooves; his nose and mouth had stretched into a snout, and a horn had then sprouted from it.

 

Sanji pushed himself from his crush's arms and back onto his feet. His suit was ripped and stained with blood, but he completely ignored it. Starfire marveled at his tenacity.

 

“Zoan type Devil's Fruit!” he exclaimed. “You're animals, like Chopper!”

 

“Exactly.” Tank smiled. “I ate the Sai Sai Fruit, letting mes become a Rhinoceros!”

 

With a grunt, yellow fur sprouted across Swifty's body, merging with his blonde hair. Small round ears grew atop his head as the bottom of his face funneled into a snout. His hands shrank into paws, equipped with soft pads and sharp claws. Black spots speckled his fur, and a tail crept out of his pants.

 

“And I ate the Neko Neko Fruit: model Cheetah.” Swifty smiled. His grin revealed lethal fangs.

 

As the grim faced Sanji again took a stance, Starfire still just couldn't believe it. “I still do not understand! Why are you doing this?!”

 

“It doesn't matter, Star-kun.” Sanji said. “I doubt they even know. It seems the Iso-jin have betrayed us after all. We're just gonna have to do like Robin said: Go along with what happens.”

 

“Yes, you are right.” The Tamaranian's eyes started to glow green as a Starbolt came to life on each of her hands. Green energy crackled as she stared down their new enemies.

 

Deciding to get things going Swifty leapt into the air, baring his claws and making a dive for the two friends. Sanji dashed to the side and out of his path, but Starfire simply pointed towards him, unleashing her mighty blast of righteous fury. The cheetah-man was struck head on; the Starbolt eventually slammed him into the far wall, but as he dropped to the ground he wasted no time in pushing off and again dashing towards the alien girl.

 

Jumping backwards, Starfire screamed as she rapidly fired more and more of her trademark blasts. Dropping to all-fours, Swifty effortlessly dashed through the explosions and filled the gap between the two fighters in mere seconds.

 

“I did not realize Cheetahs had so much of the agility.” Star marveled. A ball of energy on her hand began rapidly expanding until it was nearly the size of her body. Just as Swifty got close enough to make contact, she slammed her Starbolt into the ground. The stone beneath them crumbled into ashes, but the cheetah had been expecting it.

 

Somersaulting above the blast—and its resulting explosion—Swifty again got close enough to attack. This time, he was able to take advantage of the situation. As he swooped down to the stunned alien he twisted forward, wrapping his tail around the girl's neck. With his front feet he grabbed Star's arms, pushing her to the ground.

 

Starfire struggled to release herself from the soldier's grip, but with his tail cutting off her oxygen she simply couldn't think straight. Swifty leaned over her face, marveling at her beauty and regretting having to do this. He was in the perfect position to knock her out, or even to go further, but he couldn't bring himself to do it.

 

He'd just hold her here until she passed out. That'd be the easiest way to do it.

 

As she stared at the fur-covered face looming over hers, Starfire began to notice that it was fading out. She couldn't let herself lose and leave Sanji alone to fight these guys!

 

A beam of green energy exploded from Starfire's eyes, hitting Swifty dead-on in his face. The cheetah soared backwards before somersaulting and landing on his feet again. Steam poured from his face, but he paid it no mind as he again dashed forward.

 

“So that's how yous gonna play it, eh?” Swifty growled to himself. “Then I'll hafta play dirty too!”

 

Starbolts whizzed by left and right as he weaved between the attacks and eventually behind their creator as well. Sharp claws silently emerged from the crevices of his paws as Swifty prepared to attack.

 

“Cross-cut Slash!” he cried as he slashed the alien girl across the back with both paws. Starfire staggered forward—growing faint—as blood oozed from the criss-crossed scars now inscribed on her back.

 

Starfire's pupils nearly disappeared before she was finally able to pull herself back into consciousness. Still falling forward, she slammed her two glowing palms together; a field of green exploded around the two fighters and dug a crater in the cavern floor. Burnt wisps of fur fell from Swifty's body as he frantically scanned the battlefield for his opponent.

 

“You will be unable to reach me when I am in the air.” Starfire informed him. Swifty finally looked up to see his strange opponent floating high above him, nearly touching the cavern roof. With a scream she again fired off rapid-fire blasts, but with such a distance between her and the Iso-jin he was easily able to dodge the attacks. It seemed they had reached a stalemate.

 

Meanwhile, things weren't going much better for Sanji. A trail of small craters dotted the floor; winding up, Tank again slammed his massive, armored fist into the ground. The true target of the slow attack—Sanji—soared above the rhino, and now dove down for an attack.

 

“Concasse!” cried the chef as he somersaulted, planting his heel into the soldier's titanic forehead. However, while this attack had been excessive against the Marines, it seemed to have done nothing to Tank. Sanji flipped down the creature's back and out of his limited—but deadly—attack range.

 

“Yous should have stayed outta it.” Tank growled as he lowered himself onto all fours. “Wes only need the little miss—there's no reason for yous to fight.” He stomped his feet, kicking up dirt before charging forward.

 

As the Earth-trembling attack grew ever closer, Sanji remained calm and reserved. “Sorry, but me and Star-kun are a package deal!”

 

Tank's intimidating horn was only a foot away from the pirate as he lashed out, planting a kick into the rhino's chin. It was just enough to briefly stun the beast, allowing Sanji to dash beneath him. Tank reared up, stomping at the annoyance beneath him, but the chef only rolled about until he was directly under the beast's belly—and out of his line of fire.

 

“ANTI-MANNERS KICK COURSE!”

 

Tank's body was sent flailing into the ceiling; he tumbled through the air before landing on his back. Sanji stood where the soldier did only seconds before, his right foot held straight up, at 90 degrees. He slowly lowered his incredibly limber appendage before casually reaching into his pocket for a cigarette.

 

However, that endeavor was put to a halt by the creaking sound of Tank again rising onto his back feet. His reinforced stomach showed no signs of damage, despite the insane attack that had just been thrown into it. Sanji's eye widened in fear at the sight.

 

With an evil snicker Tank again charged, this time on his hind feet. This time he swiped with both of his stubby arms; Sanji, instead of being crushed between his vice-like grip, had already dashed ahead of them. Landing on one foot, the chef lashed his other into a nonstop flurry of deadly kicks. The sounds of impact echoed across the cave, but barely left a dent in the creature's stomach.

 

“Stop it! Yous tickle!” Tank laughed. Sanji growled, dismayed at the thought of his deadly red feet causing nothing but a tickle, but continued kicking until his opponent jumped into the air. “Sai Sai Slam!”

 

Now was the time for Sanji to run in fear as an entire enormous rhinoceros body fell straight towards him. Managing to outrun the body slam, only his leg was clipped. However, the force of the attack still sent the chef reeling, and the stones sent flying by the assault pelted the pirate mercilessly.

 

Sanji managed to again right himself, but now his suit and skin were torn open, blood dripping endlessly. As he contemplated his next move, he found himself dodging a green blast from above. The attack's true target—Swifty—dashed past the chef, giving him a great idea.

 

Leaping onto one foot, Sanji's other foot plowed into the cheetah's neck, sending him spinning.

 

“Star-kun!” he cried, “Wanna switch partners here?”

 

“Absolutely!” she responded. Green energy shimmered all around the Tamaranian; as she pointed out her target the massive Starbeam tore into Tank, exploding on contact and sending the Iso-jin staggering backwards.

 

Swifty, meanwhile, was astounded to see that his opponent had switched. “Cross-cut Slash!” he again announced as he swiped his paws at the chef; like usual, he replied by leaping far above the attack.

 

Sanji swung his leg straight towards the Iso-jin's face, but even while recovering from his own attack he could still launch another. Swifty sunk his glimmering fangs into the pirate's leg, causing him to scream out in pain. However, despite his pain Sanji still managed to use the situation to his advantage.

 

The cook slipped his other foot behind Swifty's neck, and pulling back with all his strength, lifted his opponent into the air. Spinning rapidly as they soared backwards, Sanji piledrove the soldier into the ground. Swifty lost his grip as the impact seared through his body, and Sanji was able to regain his footing. Swifty too, knowing he couldn't let Mother down, rose onto his hind legs.

 

“Mouton Shoot!” Sanji announced. He leapt into the air, spinning as one foot planted itself into the soldier's back. Swifty was knocked unconscious and sent soaring into the far wall.

 

Starfire's arms were nearly a blur as the lopped off Starbolt after Starbolt; each successive blast sent the rhino stumbling back further. Finally, the Tamaranian launched one final, Earth-shattering attack. Exploding on contact, the alien girl expected no sign of life from her opponent.

 

However, Tank exceeded her expectations. He came charging from within the veil of smoke her attack had created, ramming his head straight into the female warrior. Star was sent whirling backwards, straight into the arms of her friend. Sanji set her down, and the two figures started on in wonder at the beast they now faced.

 

“We need to take him down as quick as possible, Star-kun!” Sanji exclaimed. “Don't hold back!”

 

This time it was the two warriors charging forward. Sanji whirled another kick into Tank's knee, while Starfire followed with a blast towards his eye. The pirate leapt into the air, ready to follow up with a kick to the same spot. However, he was quickly swept out of the sky by a massive rhino hand; Tank hurled Sanji through the air and into the Teen Titan.

 

Sanji and Starfire were both knocked face down into the dirt below them, but they didn't say there long. A whirling kick from Tank sent both of them flying into the cavern wall. There the heroes slipped down the stony surface, leaving a trail of blood in their wake.

 

“He is not going to go down easily.” Starfire sighed, gasping for air.

 

“And unfortunately, time is one thing we don't have right now.” Sanji growled, wiping some blood from his forehead. “We need to take him down before he injures us even worse—but how?”

 

As it often does, this is where inspiration struck—when it was needed more than ever. Sanji grabbed his companion by the neck, quickly whispering instructions into her ear.

 

Starfire's eyes grew several times larger. “But friend—that is so dangerous! Do you think it will work?”

 

“It has to, Star-kun.”

 

Tank watched the two converse with a feeling of pity deep in his gut. He had caused such pain—but Mother deserved it! She had saved them, given them everything they had! Still, he couldn't help but feel regret over what he was about to do.

 

“Yous know yous can't win.” Tank growled. “Please, don't make mes hurt yous more. Come peacefully.”

 

Even Starfire just glared at him. “Please, enough of this. You cannot be our friend and our enemy both, so stop trying.”

 

With a roar Sanji ran forward, putting all his remaining strength into what most would consider a suicide charge. “Exactly! You've chosen your side, so don't try to make yourself feel better by showing pity!”

 

Tank took a step back in surprise. Was he really the bad guy in this situation? He was following orders, doing what he had to—they were making this happen because they wouldn't cooperate…weren't they?

 

Starbolts came to life at the end of the Tamaranian's hands, and with no hesitation she launched them forward. The entire force of her attacks soared straight into Sanji's back, shooting the chef into the air. The Starbolts' explosions bathed Sanji in green flames, as their force instantly shot him past the rhino's fist.

 

There was no way for Tank to counter now, even if he had wanted to.

 

“FLAMING MOUTON SHOOT!”

 

The pirate drove his foot into Tank's gut, shattering his rock-hard plating. The Iso-jin staggered backwards, the pupils in his eyes vanishing as they were replaced with luminescent green flames. Both Tank and Sanji fell backwards, completely bathed within the eerie glowing flames of Starfire's energy. The larger of the two hit the ground like a building being toppled; the force of the rhino's fall extinguished the fire surrounding the chef.

 

“Sanji-kun!” Starfire exclaimed, dashing to her companion's side. Despite being completely lit on fire only moments before, he had come through—strangely enough—with very little burns. “Sanji-kun, that was so stupid!”

 

The cook only laughed. “What sort of chef would I be if I was scared of fire?” he asked. “Besides, it worked, didn't it Star-kun? Now we just have to get back to the others.”

 

With that last sentence Sanji finally lost consciousness, collapsing into the Titan's arms. Starfire smiled as she started to carry her friend towards the exit.

 

“Yes, I must find Robin.” She then looked down at both Sanji's wounds and her own. “I hope Chopper has lots of the bandages prepared.”

 

And as the beautiful alien turned to leave, she was stopped by a furry foot landing on her temple. Starfire collapsed—unconscious—to the ground. Looming above her body stood Swifty, his fur caked in blood.

 

As his fur retreated into his body and he returned to his human appearance, Swifty took a look around. At his feet were two people who had—for whatever reason—trusted him. In the center of the room lay his best friend in the world, battered and still smoldering.

 

“Defeat those two in the cave and bring the girl back to me!”

 

“Even wes soldiers have free will.” Swifty muttered to himself as he hoisted Sanji over one shoulder and Starfire over the other. “Whatever Mother has in store better be damn good, cause I'm starting to wonder whether this loyalty is really worth it—even to ours savior.”

 

 

 

“…Balloon!” Luffy cried. The rubberman's body inflated to gigantic proportions, looming over the remaining Titans and Straw Hats. The rubber balloon also served as a barrier between these heroes and the rocks that were tumbling from the ceiling.

 

Finally the rumbling ceased as the last of Slade's explosives and their aftershocks ceased. Luffy let air release from his lips as his body shrunk back to its normal size. The others were still getting back onto their feet after the shock of the cave-ins had disoriented them all.

 

Nami brushed the dirt from her shoulder and walked towards the rubberman. “That's sure using your head Luffy!” she praised, patting her captain on the back. Luffy just grinned, flashing his teeth as his navigator stared in admiration—until it dawned on her. “Wow, Luffy used his head?!”

 

“I suppose—statistically—it would have to happen sometime.” Raven sighed.

 

“So what do we do now?” Chopper asked frantically. “We can't just keep going if Starfire and Sanji are down there!”

 

“Don't worry!” Luffy responded, winding his arm. “I'll break all those rocks and get down there real fast!”

 

“You idiot!” Nami cried, smacking Luffy over the head with her staff. “If you do that the whole cave might just collapse on us again!”

 

Cyborg chuckled. “It was good while it lasted.”

 

“She's right though.” Robin confirmed. “Terra, Raven, can you guys tunnel through to them?”

 

“You bet!” Terra exclaimed, her hands lighting up in a golden flash.

 

“No, we can't.” Raven insisted. “The cave-ins completely changed the lay-out of this cave. We could dig for hours before finding them—and since Star broke her communicator, we can't locate her.”

 

“Then what do we do?!” Robin growled, grabbing Raven by her cloak. “Just let them wander around lost, or worse, lay there hurt?”

 

The muscled arm of Zoro separated the two. “Quit it. If it was just that idiot cook I'd be worried, but Star's smart. She'll keep heading for the stone, and we should too.”

 

The others again started their march towards the source of the shining red beacon. With a sigh, Robin turned and followed, but he couldn't get his mind off Starfire. In his heart, he knew she was in grave danger.

 

When he saw Slade again, he was going to beat him senseless for every second he made him worry about Starfire.

 

 

 

“It's been far too long.” Slade complained, taking his hand off the wall and walking towards the exit.

 

“Fine, do as you wish.” Mother told him, keeping her cool. “But if you're patient for just a few more moments, what you desire will appear.”

 

As if on cue, a figure appeared in one of the tunnels leading to the cavern. Swifty, barely standing, walked through, dragging Sanji and Starfire with him. Once he had finally entered he fell to his knees.

 

“You were right after all.” Slade smiled. “It seems I was wrong to have doubted you.”

 

“So how about it then?” the old woman asked. “Do we have your help?”

 

Looking amused, Slade simply said, “Well, it looks as if I don't have much of a choice.”

 

And with that, a true troop of terror was born.

 

Next time: Anger Unleashed—A Need Only She Can Fulfill.