The Puppet Master [One Piece]

Marineford Pt 1

~Echo's POV~

Strong gale winds threatened to throw everyone overboard as our ship was sent hurling backward off track as we were caught in a strange current. Everyone was struggling to hang on, save for Crocodile, Daz and Jinbe. I struggled to hang on to Crocodile's hook and keep myself from flying overboard.

"What's going on?!" I yelled over the raging winds.

And just as suddenly as it appeared the winds and the current died and those who had been unsteady lurched forward. Crocodile managed to keep me upright with little effort.

I relaxed again but was starting to worry, we'd been pushed back and it would take more time to make up the distance we lost. We had to hurry.

The ship creaked and I nearly lost my balance again as we were suddenly propelled forward at a great speed. "What the hell is happening?!" I squeaked as I clung to Crocodile's hook to keep myself from falling.

"I think it's the old man's power." Jinbe noted as the pirates began chanting for Buggy once more.

"How are they seriously accrediting this to him?" I groaned getting fed up with their nonsense. As I was about to shout something at the idiots and rain on their parade a dark shadow fell over the ship causing everyone to turn.

"Oh hell." I yelped as a massive tsunami lurched toward us. "Everybody hang on!"

Everyone began panicking and scrambling for something to hold onto as our ship was dragged up the massive tsunami. As soon as we reached the top of the tsunami and prepared ourselves for the inevitable fall as we were tossed into whatever the tsunami would crash into, we stopped and a chill swept over everyone.

"What happened?" Luffy sneezed.

I scrambled away from Crocodile and peered over the edge of the boat, "It froze."

"EH?!" Everyone panicked.

Crocodile leapt over the edge and walked to the edge of the ice, "Look down, you can see what's going on."

I scrambled after him with Jinbe and Ivankov. My gaze latched onto the scaffold in the center of the plaza. "ACE!" We were too high for anyone to hear us.

"Guys listen!" Luffy commanded loudly, "I got an idea to get us through this. We gotta hurry there's less than three hours before Ace's execution. We gotta get the ship to slide down the icy slope. First we gotta get the ship unstuck from the ice."

Just as Buggy and Mr. 3 began to argue about Luffy's plan the Den Den Mushi made an announcement that made my heart sink. They were going to execute Ace immediately.

"Let's move!" Luffy ordered and everyone followed him to the ice to carry out his plan.

I swayed as I had a vision of everyone falling from the sky as everyone took their positions, "Wait, maybe we should mov-!" Everyone attacked the ice as I called out to stop them and my heart dropped into the pit of my stomach. The ice shattered with all of their combined attacks and we all plummeted toward the bay. I let out an ear piercing scream as I felt myself hurtling toward the icy covered bay. "Luffy! This was a terrible idea!"

"We're all gonna die!" Luffy wailed. "Oh wait, I'm a rubber man I'll be fine."

"You only care about yourself!" Mr. 3 screamed.

Crocodile caught me with his hook arm so that I was sitting atop his arm and used his sand power to soften our landing while the majority of the others and the ship hit a patch of water amidst the ice.