Ameliorate ✦ One Piece

47

The screaming had been a good enough indicator of how bad the consequences of the whale moving so suddenly would be. However, it still made Akira's eyes widen in shock as the group ran out onto the deck to catch sight of Usopp dangling far beyond the edge of the ship, the only thing keeping him in the air and from drowning in the sea of stomach acid below being the rope tied around his waist.

"Usopp! Usopp!" Nami ran right for the edge first, the rest not far behind her as they assessed the situation, trying to quickly come up with some way to solve it. "Just stay calm!"

"I will not!" Usopp yelled back at her before simply continuing with his screaming, as if that would be of any use or help to him.

Not that Akira could fault him for it for long as the whale moved again, forcing their ship to violently sway to the side, tipping just slightly before it straightened again. But it was enough to make Usopp's rope slip further, bringing him lower and closer to the green liquid below.

"What the hell is this thing doing?" Akira questioned in disbelief. Sure, she'd never been inside of a whale before, but surely it couldn't be moving this much just because it was swimming around?

"We need something for him to grab onto!" Nami said after multiple failed attempts of reaching Usopp's rope with nothing but her bare hands. Her eyes wildly scanned the deck in search of something they could use, but it was Zoro who was the first to come up with a solution.

"Here!" He called out just in time for Akira to look over and notice him now moving around with his 'big sword' in hand, giving her the split second necessary to grab onto Sanji's shoulder and force him to duck along with her before the thing smashed him in the head.

"What the hell is that?" The cook asked in a confused voice as all three of them stepped back to make space for both Zoro and his contraption.

"Don't ask." Akira just shook her head, deciding now was perhaps not the best time to explain that genius plan in detail.

A plan so genius that as soon as the contraption of wood was extended over the edge of the ship and brought close enough for Usopp to latch on to, the rope holding it together unfurled and wood began to snap in half. And this time, Usopp's screams were joined by Zoro's own disappointed ones.

"Wow," Nami gasped out, the sarcasm in her voice more than obvious as they joined him back at the railing, all looking down to the items now dissolving into nothingness below them. "Can't believe that didn't' work."

"Just do something!" Usopp yelled at them impatiently. Not that they could really fault him for it as he continued to sway and swing from the rope, tipping up and down every time he moved.

"Just hold on!" Sanji tried to be slightly more reassuring than the rest of the group as he began to move, seeming to come up with an idea of his own as his determined steps carried him over to some of the crates stacked up right next to the railing.

"Nope, no, no, no," Akira shook her head as he began to climb them all the way until his feet were moving along the railing itself and back to the spot closest to Usopp. "Do not like this idea." Though, no one seemed to be listening to her whilst her own mind concocted up images of the whale moving around again and forcing their ship to lose control, sending Sanji flying without any rope or tether unlike Usopp.

"If I can just..." Sanji's voice strained as he stretched out, hand at least holding onto the ropes on the side of the ship as he tried to grasp Usopp's line. But even as he teetered on the very edge of the railing, his fingers still couldn't fully reach. They only managed to brush the rope once, when he stretched out too far and as a result one of his feet slipped off of the edge.