Devil's Luck Pirates

-And he says that's not a Devil Fruit… – William comments under his breath as the giant mass of jet-black tentacles thrashes around the corridor. The cells on both sides are completely demolished with the unlucky prisoners inside them being either crushed by the debris or the tentacles themselves.

When Not Steve's pet assumed its monstrous form, a wave seemed to crash into William and the crew. It was for about a moment, but it was as if something coming from the octopus, or rather, Not Steve himself exerted a physical pressure on them.

William was the first to recompose himself somewhat. A vine of poison ivy sprouts from his right hand. He deftly shoots it towards Not Steve, whipping the hand holding the blue card making it fall to the ground silently. William makes a mental note to pick it up once this is all over.

Not Steve doesn't seem bothered by this. Even after little red bumps manifest on his hand as a result of the poison. He just seems even more elated.

-OH!? YOU WANNA PLAY AT TENTACLES WITH ME?! – A dark blur rushes towards William in an instant. He manages to avoid the tentacle by a hair, only to be ensnarled by another.

-William!! – Ragnar screams, reading his ax to cut his captain loose. Atom also lights up a small bomb with his cigarette and throws it at Not Steve. It explodes right in front of him and as the smoke clears, they see two tentacles protecting him. Meanwhile, Ragnar brings down his ax to the tentacle wrapped around William. Not Steve doesn't take it away, seemingly intending for this attack to land.

As the weapon makes contact with the appendage, its toughness combined with an inky substance covering it makes the blade slide off leaving barely any damage on it.

Right as Ragnar was about to try again, two tentacles surrounded him, trying to imprison him.

However, Ragnar's sheer strength was too much for them. He struggles with the dark beast for a second or two. It trying to pin both of Ragnar's arms to his body while he simply brute forces his way out of it. The barbarian tries to hit the monster's limbs, but they quickly retract back to the main body. Not Steve looks rather annoyed at this.

However, his mood quickly swings back up after setting eyes on the one he managed to catch.

-No matter. I've got the grand prize right here! – He declares, punctuating his sentence with the sound of William being slammed against the prison's walls. Not Steve seems to have complete mental control of his pet's actions.

The dust dissipates, revealing a still-conscious William. But not for long if this continues.

Pearl, watches in shock at this. William was flailed around and crushed at the same time. And tentacles repeatedly shoot toward Ragnar and Atom. Smacking against them, dealing considerable damage. William might have told her to stay put and protect her brother, but it would be for nothing if the rest of the crew were defeated by a weirdo and his freaky pet.

-Brother… – She kneels in front of Jasper, brushing aside a strand of hair from his eyes. He still seems dazed and confused – I need to help them. Otherwise, none of us is making it out of here. If things get out of control, just run. The rest of the prison is safe and Duros is waiting for us not far from here.

-Duros… – The prince lets out softly. The name seemingly helps him recover from his precarious state as the cloudiness of his pink eyes slowly dissipates.

The girl stands up. She removes her hood, uncovers her claws, and stretches her wings from inside her cloak. There is not much space to fly around, but that won't impede her wings from providing what she needs right now.

Speed.

Atom jumps back as he throws a bomb towards an incoming tentacle. The explosion makes it come to a halt, but he doesn't have time to do the same with the second one. He is about to resign to his fate, until a dash of pink rushes out of the open cell next to him, crashing into the dark limb. It slams into the stone wall, incapacitating the appendage momentarily.

-Thanks… – He utters amidst his heavy breathing. The girl doesn't look at him. Her bright pink eyes locked on William, who was just recovering from being bashed against the ground.

Pearl, using her wings as propulsion, jumps past Ragnar while he fends off against three tentacles at once, going straight towards her captain as the monster slowly brings it back up for another attack.

Not Steve only notices this new threat the moment it makes contact with the tentacle wrapped around William. Slashing it with both her claws with such force that the creature whimpers in pain. He uses the two limbs that were serving as a shield to make her retreat towards Ragnar.

-Don't worry William! We'll take you out of there! – Pearl shouts.

-I bet one of my explosions is enough to blow that thing to smithereens. – Atom adds. Aiming at William with his thumb.

-*COUGH COUGH* No! – William announces after coughing up some blood – Don't worry about me and just kill that bastard!

They're a bit impressed with their captain's resolve and determination despite the situation.

-Look at you acting so tough! – Not Steve mockingly says – You're in no position to play it cool while being at death door! – The octopus prepares to finish the job, raising William to the ceiling, but stops right before bringing him down.

Not Steve looks over his shoulder confused. His pet's face was all contorted with pain.

-…That may be the case… – William comments with difficulty as vines slowly creep out of the gaps of the tentacle's grip. The poison finally started to affect it – But I'd never pass on the opportunity for a performance!

The pain from the poison, combined with the multiple vines pushing against it makes the tentacle loosen its grip on William enough for him to take out one of his arms. A branch of poison ivy shoots out of it, hitting Not Steve right in the face.

The boy recoils from the force of the slap. And as he recomposes himself, his face is now bright red, with blisters slowly forming along the mark the vine left on it. But despite the poison seeping into his skin, Not Steve's twisted grin still contorts his face. His eyes, now even darker than before, were filled with pure wrath.

-Yaki… – The boy's voice seething with anger – Kill these pests no matter the cost. Even if they cut every single limb of yours... JUST KILL THEM ALL!!!!!!!!!!

The octopus lets out a squirmy roar. Shooting its tentacles towards the crew.

Ragnar, Pearl, and Atom fend off against a barrage of attacks. All seven tentacles come from multiple angles. Slamming, bashing, pushing, and attempting to grapple them. The crew dodges and parries as many of them as they can. But they are moments away from being overwhelmed.

As the crew is slowly losing ground to the monster's tentacles, Jasper manages to find the strength to walk up to his cell's door. He takes a look at his saviors not knowing what to make of the situation. He remembers what his sister told him to do in case things got out of hand. But would it really matter? How far would he go if this thing decided to take his life too? And if it's not it that catches him, then it would be the Marines. And if not them, his father…

His eyes eventually fall on Pearl. He can barely keep track of her with all the jumping, dodging, and attacking she's doing. With all the fighting she is doing…

Fighting, yes. She is doing something he promised he would do for as long as he is alive. A promise he seemed to have forgotten after who knows how many years he spent behind bars.

A promise he finally remembered.

Amidst all this, William tries to attack Not Steve once more. Maybe even wrap his vines around him. But the octopus simply bashes him against the wall, making him unconscious. It then brings him closer to Not Steve, the latter taking out a small knife and cutting out a bit of skin from William's arm. He sniffs it, looking rather pleased while doing it.

-William! – Pearl screams upon witnessing that off-putting ritual. She dashes forward, dodging two tentacles that came straight at her, slashing them in the process. Another two came from above, but those were taken care of by Atom with two well-placed bombs.

As she gets closer to Not Steve, Pearl takes a deep breath, filling her lungs with fire. She is about to spew a curtain of fire over Not Steve. But the boy cheekily and effortlessly puts William between the two of them, forcing her to swallow her attack. Not a pleasant experience.

This left her open for three tentacles to take hold of her. One wraps around her torso, trapping her tail and wings, while the other two grapple her arms.

-Shit! – Atom grunted after seeing Pearl getting captured. He lights his next bomb wondering if he could hit one of the tentacles holding her without damaging her.

-I'm getting tired of this! – Ragnar fumed, interrupting Atom's thoughts. It doesn't seem like he's noticed Pearl being incapacitated.

Ragnar goes into his hybrid form, locking his only good eye unto Not Steve. He then rushes forward with his ax ready to split that nagging brat in half.

The creature tries to stop him with his remaining tentacles. But to no avail.

Two of them get cut off after a single, double-handed swing. The damage the limbs accumulated plus the extra strength Ragnar's Devil Fruit grants him rendered them nothing more than tender pieces of meat.

The creature writhes in pain. But it still remembers its master's orders. The octopus lets go of Pearl after deciding that this bear-man is the top priority now.

However, Pearl –noticing Ragnar's advance, is the one who takes hold of the two tentacles that were trapping her arms while wrapping her tail around the one previously wrapped around her torso.

The octopus begins to panic. It lets go of William, dropping his limp body to the ground to stop this beast at any cost. Not Steve, however, seems to be too distracted with his piece of skin to notice this.

The three remaining tentacles manage to wrap around Ragnar.

But it's not enough.

The man-bear easily overpowers the one that's been infested with poison and the remaining two are no match to his current strength. Ragnar resumes his sprint towards Not Steve.

The boy only notices the towering figure when it is in front of him. But that twisted grin never left his face. Even when Ragnar's ax came down upon him and cleaved his chest wide open.