Free Heart

Ch 69 - I am Waiting For Her Trust

"Boss! Boss! Boss!"

"What is that?! A continent?!"

"Emmy! TAME IT! Befriend it before it swallows up Luffy and the others!"

Emmy ignored the frantic cries of the scavengers, Nami, and Usopp. She wasn't even looking at the giant turtle that had suddenly surfaced in front of them. There were bits of wood and the long air supply hoses attached to both the Going Merry and the scavenger ships stuck out of the turtle's massive jaws.

Instead, the first mate's eyes were squeezed shut and she concentrated on her bonds. Maybe it was because the guys might still be submerged in seawater or maybe because they didn't escape and were trapped in the turtle's mouth; either way, Emmy could not feel a thing from the captain, swordsman, or cook and it was freaking her out.

Her fists clenched so tightly at her side that her hands were white. They only loosened when she found herself tilting forward involuntarily. She opened her eyes and stepped one foot forward instinctively to keep her balance while the entire ship continued to tip further and further to one side. "What? What is happening?!"

"We need to cut the hoses," Robin said calmly as she pointed at the taut hoses that was gradually getting pulled closer and closer to the turtle with every forceful chomp, "Otherwise, we'll be dragged into the depths of the ocean with the ship."

"Nooooo!" Chopper and Nami screeched.

"Robin! Emmy! Use your devil fruit powers. Do something!" Usopp cried.

"I can't. That thing is too big," Robin said.

"I could barely tame a bananagator and that turtle is a million times bigger than one," Emmy gulped as she wrung her hands. The panic rising within herself and her bonds were getting out of hand and she was finding it a little hard to breathe.

Suddenly, the skies darkened overhead as if a large blanket was dropped over the sun, stifling it's light.

"What?! What's going on now?!" Usopp wailed, "Why is it suddenly night?!"

Nami whipped out a watch from her pocket and she checked the time. "Can't be...It's not that late yet."

Usopp smacked his hands to his face, covering his ears, and he slammed his eyes shut. "I can't take anymore. Luffy! Zoro! Sanji!"

Thud!

"Little Pirate!" Robin gasped as Emmy fell on her knees with her hand on her chest. The archaeologist ran to her side and put an arm over her shoulder, "Are you okay? What's wrong?"

"I...I can't breathe...I..." Emmy wheezed out between short and shallow breaths, "I...I can't..."

"Ah! Emmy! What's happening to Emmy?!" Chopper exclaimed, which only sped up Emmy's breathing.

Splash! Thud!

"EH?!"

The panic in the air was smacked out of the air and replaced by sheer surprise when the captain randomly flew out of the water and back onto the deck wrapped in thick layers of fabric. His drenched straw hat rolled flimsily across the floor as his head and legs dangled out of his encaseming.

"Luffy!" Chopper, Nami, and Usopp shouted. Nami ran to the captain.

Emmy's lungs and throat released at once. She coughed and gasped for air while letting out a small relieved smile. "He's okay...They're okay..."

"Breathe...Just breathe, Little Pirate," Robin said as she gently rubbed circles on Emmy's back.

"Luffy! Are you dead? Wake up!" Nami demanded as she continuously slapped the rubber boy without any restraint.