Queen of the Pirates

The Despicable Dr. Hogback

"Akari!" Robin instantly grabs my arm to keep me on the landing that isn't careening down.

I feel the air rush out of my lungs as I cling to the woman will rubble rains down around us.

Usopp's scream pierces the air. "We're falling!"

"Usopp!" Chopper calls out. "Sanji!"

There's nothing that anyone can do to save the boys that are plummeting down and away from us. The only saving grace is that Zoro and Franky are taking the bridge path that Usopp and Sanji will now find themselves on. All we can do is worry about our group.

"Thank...you..." I choke out as I try to calm my racing heart.

"No problem," Robin huffs, releasing my arm now that we know the ground beneath our feet isn't going to collapse.

"What...what happened!?" Luffy blurts out, flipping from his back to his stomach to look over the edge of the broken stairs.

"Was that...no, it can't be!" Chopper looks over to the bridge below. "But that surprised me! The stairs just disappeared!"

"All the zombies...along with Usopp and Sanji...everyone fell," I say, seeing only a giant cloud of dust below us blocking the view. "I heard a voice before everything was taken out, so whatever caused that must be huge."

"We'll worry about it later," Luffy stands up, brushing stone debris off him. "We don't have time to waste here."

The four of us take a moment to settle ourselves before we are running to our destination once more. No longer do we have to ascend stairs, but now we are making our way through the endless halls of the mansion.

"Usopp and Sanji fell down back there," Chopper, back in his Walk Point, speaks up. "Are you going to leave them?"

"Yeah, they'll be fine!" Luffy answers. "We have to get to Moria before he moves. I'm going to find that giant onion guy and beat him up! That's the quickest way to end all this!"

"Onion guy?" I question.

"That's the shape of his body, and it is possible that he stinks."

"That's the entrance to the dance hall where your shadow was taken!" Chopper shouts as a doorway comes into view. "There's a freezer farther in. That's the last place we saw Moria!"

"Perfect!" Luffy grunts, leading the way to bursts into the room.

The four of us come to a stop as we are faced with two individuals that I've never seen before. The one, a woman with a blonde bob, appears to be a zombie. She's wearing a little black dress, coral feather boa, and black boots. Then the man has black slick-backed hair, a round torso, thin arms and legs, a long pointy nose and ears, and fangs that make him appear to be a vampire. He's wearing a fishnet vest with a thick black tie; purple gloves, leather pants, and high-heeled boots. A white surgical mask is covering his chin, and small black, gold-rimmed glasses cover his eyes.

"Whoa, it's you!" the man exclaims. "I thought Perona got to you already!"

"Hogback!" Chopper spits out.

"Huh? What's this reindeer doing here?"

"So, that's Dr. Hogback..." Robin breathes out.

"I'm sorry, that man is a doctor?" I sneer.

"You're the guy who works with Moria!" Luffy starts winding his arm up for a powerful punch. "Should I beat him up too!?"