Free Heart

Ch. 25 - I am Sick of Krieg.

The poison mist was slowly carried off by the wind and pulled into the sea. Luffy and Emmy did not move a muscle until they heard the sounds of other people's masks being lifted. Both their eyes crinkled upwards with relief and happiness as they pulled back their hand, allowing each other's masks to fall. The siblings shared a grin.

"That was close," Luffy sighed.

"Ah," Emmy nodded, "But I wonder where the last mask came from..."

"GIN! Let go! Gin!"

Sanji's startled cry drew their attention and both Emmy and Luffy got to their feet. Gin's skin had turned purple and blood was pouring out of his eyes and nose as he continued to press a gas mask to Sanji's face. There was no mask on Gin's face or anywhere near his body.

"Gin!" Luffy shouted as he rushed to the pirate, "Where's your mask?!"

"Don't tell me...The mask Luffy gave me was from you!" Emmy gasped as Gin fell to his side.

She started to run towards him but Luffy held out a hand to stop her. "No! Emmy. You'll feel it if you get near! Stay right where you are!"

"Pwahahahaha!" Don Krieg laughed, "What an idiot. You're in pain right now just because you feel indebted to some fool who gave you food? Well, I guess idiots don't learn anything until they die."

Emmy clenched her fists to her side and she glared at the laughing pirate. "Why are you laughing?!" she cried, "He was your loyal subordinate to the very end. He even threw away his gas mask per your order!"

The vein on Don Krieg's forehead throbbed. "My order? He defied my orders! I have no need for a useless scum like him."

"S...Scum?!" Emmy gasped. Her spine straightened and she took one step closer towards the armored pirate. "Gin-san did nothing wrong! He did what you told him to do and yet you still laugh?! You're not fit to be a leader. You're not fit to give orders! You're not fit to call yourself a man!"

"Yes. Scum. He's useless to me now. There's no guarantee that he won't betray me again," Don Krieg stated. A sneer crossed his face. "But don't think I'm not sentimental. After all, it's out of love that I put him out of his misery. Don't you agree?"

Emmy was at a loss for words. She found herself no longer feeling any fear towards the man. He still made her skin crawl but in a different way. She was utterly and completely repulsed by him to the point that it drowned out the anxiety and fear she initially had.

From behind her, Sanji was frantically trying to save the dying pirate in his arms. "Oy! Patty! Carne! We have antidote for poison right? Bring it out!"

"It's for food poisoning!" Patty protested.

"Bring it out anyways!" Sanji barked.

"Idiot! If you want to save him," the old chef stated, "Just put the mask on him. It should have some detoxifying effect built into it. Bring him up to the second floor and let him breathe the air there. That's the only way to save him."

"Really?!" Sanji asked, his eyes widening in surprise for split second before glaring at his other two colleagues, "You heard him! Hurry up, Patty! Carne!"

"Luffy," Emmy said with her whole body still directed solely at Don Krieg.

Luffy came into view in the corner of her eye as he moved to her side. "Ah," he said, "What's up?"

"I'm sick of him. I want to go join the others and find Nami-san. Get rid of him, please."

Luffy grinned and began to wind up his arm. "Leave it to me."