More of Saunter
Chapter 3: You Just Haven't Thought of it Yet
Word Count: 2,638
Nami had woken up to darkness. After recalling what had happened, she decided to do some ‘exploring’ of sorts. As it turned out, she was looked in a rather small room with nothing but the bed she was lying on in one corner and one window that looked out to a brick wall about five stories up over a tight alleyway. The window was locked, however, so not only could Nami not see any of the surrounding area, but her options of escape had decreased.
The young navigator was messing with the locks on the window when a small voice behind her made her stop.
“You…probably shouldn’t be doing that…”
She turned around to find herself faced with a small girl wrapped in a cloak carefully balancing a tray with soup, a sandwich, and some juice on it.
“Really? And why shouldn’t I?”
“If you escape, then my boss wouldn’t be very happy.”
“Well, maybe I don’t want your boss to be happy.”
The girl placed the tray of food down on the bed. “Please trust me on this; you want my boss happy.”
Nami felt a surge of pity for the girl, but quickly suppressed it while the girl continued, “Really, she just needs your help with something…she’ll come and talk to you soon…”
“Kidnapping isn’t the most socially acceptable way to ask for help.”
“No, but it’s one of the things she does best.” She turned to face the pirate. “Is there anything else you need?”
“The keys to the room would be nice.”
“…food-wise?”
Nami shook her head. The girl went to the door to leave, only to have it opened forcefully before her by another woman.
“Oh, there you are love,” she said to the girl. “What are you still doing up here?”
“I-I was just leaving…”
“Oh, well, don’t let me stop you then.” She stepped aside and the girl took the opportunity to hurry out of the room. Alone with Nami, she turned her attention to the Strawhat as she closed and lock the door behind her. “Cat-burglar Nami, I presume?”
“It’s really only polite to at least know the name of the people you kidnap.”
She sighed. “Lackeys aren’t known for their reliability. Sometimes you tell them to kidnap one person and they bring you someone completely different. But seriously, how are you?”
“You take me away from my friends and then ask about my well being?”
“Sorry about that. I just really needed to talk to you.” The woman made her way to the bed and moved the tray to sit down, patting the spot next to her to indicate that Nami should join her. The navigator chose to remain stubbornly standing.
“And you think the best way is to lock me up?”
“Sorry about that too; this is the only room available at the moment. I’ll work on getting you something better though. Do you want to eat something before we talk?” She said as offered her the food.
“What do you want with me?”
“Want to get straight to the point huh? That saves us some time then.” She put her elbows on her knees and her head in her hands as she looked the red-head right in the eyes. “There is a place I need to get to. Unfortunately, no one alive knows how to get there. As such, I decided to bring in someone who does.”
“Clearly you made the right choice. I am, after all, the best.” Nami allowed herself a smirk. “Where do you need to go? And what’s in it for me?”
The lady smiled. “You’ve been there before, or rather, you’ll be there eventually. It’s a small island not far from Raftel, but almost as difficult to get to. As for you, don’t think I’m assuming you to do this for free…”
Nami’s eyes immediately became beli signs. “How much are we talking here?”
“How much do you want?”
The beli signs brightened to unfathomable levels. She was already calculating just how much this woman was willing to fork over before she realized something was off.
“Wait, where’s Sanji?”
The woman blinked. “Well, I’m sure it’s three o’clock somewhere*…”
“No, my friend. He was with me when your men took me away.”
“They only brought you back.”
“Yes, but he would have followed them in order to get me back.”
“I highly doubt it. In case you haven’t noticed, we’ve taken you through time.”
“No…he’d chase me down no matter what.”
“Then I don’t know what happened to him, but I haven’t seen him.”
That’s when it hit her. As someone who used to go around manipulating people, Nami could easily tell when someone was trying to take advantage of her. Now the orange haired girl was not only worried about her friend, she was also in doubt of whether there was actually any money at all.
“Well, I’m a bit worried about him; he’s a bit of an idiot you see, so I’d really like a confirmation on his wellbeing before I negotiate further with you. You understand, right?”
The black haired women gained a dark expression, understanding perfectly Nami’s hidden meaning.
“You’ve hurt my friend. The answer’s no.”
“If that’s the way you want it, then I shall do my best to see what has happened to him.” She got up and made her way to the door. After pulling it open and stepping outside, she looked back over her shoulder and added, “Oh, and the room changing process might also be a little complicated, so it could take a while…you understand, right?” And with that she left Nami alone in the room.
She turned back to face the window, contemplating the hidden meaning behind the woman’s words.
“Tread carefully, you are at my mercy.”
***
“There’s nothing here.” Luffy said matter of factly.
“Of course not stupid, we’re still on the Nothing Isles.” Zoro responded.
“Why’d you bring us to exactly where we were before?” Luffy asked.
“Time doesn’t equal space, Luffy,” Usopp replied. “She can take us through time, but not through space.”
“…I don’t get it.”
“She can’t shrink down distances.” He tried again.
“…I don’t get it.”
“It’s like another direction. You know how you can go left and right, right? Well Luna can also go forward and backward. It’s like how you can’t go left and right at the same time.”
“Oh, so it’s a mystery. Thanks for explaining Usopp.” He grinned before doing a double take. “What?! Usopp?! How did you get here?!?”
“Franky pushed me!”
“Stupid, now how are we supposed to get the love-cook and the money witch back?” Zoro asked.
“It should be fine. Like I said one or more of you are probably going to die anyway, so Sanji and Nami can just take that person’s spot.” Luna replied.
“None of us are going to die,” Luffy said, “my friends are strong. We’ll deal with that when we deal with it.”
“If there’s nothing here,” Usopp noticed, “how are we supposed to leave this island to look for them?”
“The Sea Train should be stopping here soon.”
“The Sea Train doesn’t stop here.” Zoro stated.
“Correction: The Sea Train didn’t stop here. It does now.”
“Since when?”
“Since twenty years ago when someone realized that some people would like to go to a place where nothing happens.”
“You know, technically that means something is happening here.” Usopp pointed out.
“Yeah, but the Every Now And Then The Sea Train Comes Isles doesn’t have the same ring to it.”
“I don’t feel so good...” Usopp said before sitting down.
“Ack! It must be your I-Can’t-Travel-Through-Time sickness acting up!” Luffy said before joining his friend on the ground. “Where’s Chopper when you need him? I’ve caught it to.”
“Don’t worry, it’s just your time trying to pull you back. As soon as you adjust to this era, you’ll feel better.” Luna answered.
“How come you don’t feel sick?” Usopp asked.
“I travel through time all the time…I’m used to it.”
“What about Zoro?” Luffy asked, “Why isn’t he sick?”
“I don’t get sick,” was the man’s simple reply.
“You don’t feel light-headed or sick to your stomach at all?” Luna asked.
“That’s just the blood loss.”
“You haven’t lost any blood yet…” Usopp muttered.
“Does anyone know where we’re going anyway?” Zoro asked. “If they were taken through time, then they should have ended up here.”
“They probably got on the Sea Train.” Usopp suggested. “But after that, who knows where they went.”
“Water 7,” Luna said.
Usopp blinked. Luffy stood up and shouted “To Water 7!” before collapsing back to the ground. Zoro arched his eyebrow.
“You seem to know exactly where they went…”
“As a matter of fact, I do,” she looked the demon pirate hunter in the eye. “Zoro-san, you are about a hundred years ahead of everything you’ve ever known. On top of that, you are also looking for your friends who have been taken by people you don’t for reasons you can’t even begin to guess at. Is this really the best time to doubt the only guide/ride home you have?”
“I’ve found that it is always a good time to doubt a complete stranger with mysterious motives.”
She smirked at that. “That attitude might just keep you alive in this era. I’ll save you some time and effort by informing you, however, it is in my best interests to keep you alive and help you guys get your chef and navigator back, so rest assured, I’m not here to betray you. I really am just trying to help.”
“I’ll be the judge of that.”
“She said she’s going to help us, so she’s going to help us.” Luffy decided to add as he jumped to his feet. “It’s as simple as that.”
“Nothing is ever as simple as it is in that little world of yours, captain.”
“Something’s coming!” Usopp shouted as he stood up too.
The Sea Train, which hadn’t changed appearances at all since the Strawhats last saw it save for adding more carts, was heading towards the island at a break neck speed. The four of them hurried on over to the station platform and waited as the massive train came to a complete stop. A conductor in a neatly pressed grey uniform jumped off the train and without missing a beat asked the group, “Where to?”
Three pairs of eyes turned to look at Luffy, who simply said, “Water 7, of course.”
***
Sanji froze when he felt the hands on him. They were cold as ice, slowly creeping up until they reached the gag and untied it. He wasted no time in spitting it out and shouting, “Shithead! What the hell do you think you’re doing to me back there?! You better untie me right now or-” the rest of his threat was cut off by a pair of cold arms wrapping around his midsection.
“Sanji!” said a voice that Sanji knew but couldn’t recognize.
“W-who are you? Untie me damnit!”
“Right, sorry.” A few moments later his hands were untied and his legs were unchained. The voice had let him deal with the blindfold himself.
When he had removed it, the chef found himself staring at a small figure wearing a red cloak that admitted a kind of ghostly aura, yet Sanji was sure she wasn’t a ghost, at least not in the traditional sense. She was carrying a hammer, and was beaming at him as if she hadn’t been this happy in ages. As the blonde gripped the grass deck below him, he understood what he was staring at.
“Sunny!”
Sunny’s Klabautermann grinned even wider if that was possible and lunged to hug him again. Sanji allowed it, and squeezed back. He took this opportunity to look around the deck.
All in all, it wasn’t much different from the Thousand Sunny Sanji knew, except much older. The grass deck they were currently on was dead, the trees and swing missing, the slide was collapsed. He glanced upward to see that the crow’s nest was completely gone as was the sail, but the mast itself remained perfectly intact.
“Sunny…what happened?”
“I don’t know…you were just brought here,” she muttered into his chest.
“Not that. Where is everyone? Why are you here?”
She pulled back a bit to look at him. “I haven’t seen anyone in about a hundred years. I’m here because Franky left me here, so here is where I’ll stay.”
Sanji blinked as he took in the news. So…that rip from before…He silently cursed those bastards for what seemed like the millionth time. “So, that makes you this ‘Ghost Ship’ I’ve heard so much about?”
If it was possible for a Klabautermann to blush, Sanji was sure that is what Sunny would be doing right now. “I don’t kill everyone…”
“But you kill some of them?” He took her silence as a yes. “Why?”
“Because they try to move me. Franky left me here, so here is where I’ll stay.” She repeated.
“If it’s really been a hundred years though…”
“No!” She stepped back. “It’s just…” she sighed and stared at the deck. “He’s the one who built me and sailed on me and fixed me and he decided to leave me here. It just seems wrong if I left.”
He smiled kindly at her. “I understand,” she looked up at him, “but, where exactly is here?”
“Outside Old Water 7.” She replied. “I guess it would be the equivalent of where the Franky House used to stand.”
“Do you know where the guys who brought me here went? They still have Nami-san…”
“Jasper and Horace? They often leave people here who their boss wants dead. I usually let them go though.” She shook her head thoughtfully. “Anyway, they probably went back to their boss’s place in Neo Water 7. If they have Nami, then she’ll be there too.”
“And that would be…”
“It’s…hard to explain. You remember what used to be the Galley-La docks?” Sanji nodded. “Well, Iceburg managed to turn that into a giant ship and when people began to migrate there to escape Aqua Laguna, it became the Neo Water 7.”
“So where is it?” She shrugged.
“It’s a ship, so it’s constantly moving around. The Sea Train can always get to it though.”
“So, if I just get on the Sea Train, it’ll drop me off at the Neo Water 7?” Sunny nodded. “Then what are we sitting around here for? Let’s go!” Sanji stood up only to collapse back down as his leg refused to support the rest of his body.
“Are you alright?” Sunny asked worriedly.
“My legs aren’t working…”
“They probably gave you some Bassia.”
He blinked. “Bassia?”
“It’s this weird drug that Vegapunk IV came up with. It tricks your brain into being unable to use your primary weapon for a period of time. It’ll wear off eventually.”
“But I need to get to Nami-san now! We can’t afford to waste any more time while they’re doing who knows what to her.”
“Just wait a bit…” Sanji ignored her and forced himself to stand up. His legs shakily supported him this time and he tentatively took a step forward.
“What good are you going to be if you can barely stand?” she tried again.
“Not sure,” the young chef replied, “But I need to get her back.” He jumped off the deck and landed on the boardwalk next to the ship. The sudden shock forced him to his knees. “You coming?” Sanji asked after he pulled himself together.
Sunny shook her head from the railing. “I…can’t go very far from the ship. Only about a few feet or so.”
“Then I’ll just have to bring Nami-san back here.” He turned and started walking towards the town.
“Please be careful…” Sunny whispered after him.
*Bad pun with Sanji's name: in Japanese, San-ji means "three o'clock."
Chapter 4: Greengrass and Hightides Forever
Word Count: 2,578
“Where do you think you’re going with those?” The conductor of the Sea Train asked with an air of importance that was clearly self-imposed.
“Hm? What d’ya mean?” Zoro asked.
“Those swords.” He waved vaguely at the three swords strapped to Zoro’s waist. “Where do you think you’re going with those?”
“On the train.” The swordsman rolled his eyes.
“Certainly not my train. No weapons allowed here.” Usopp carefully moved his bag behind his back.
“That’s stupid, I’m not going to hurt anyone.” He proceeded to walk onto the train but was stopped when the conductor got in his way.
“Right, like I’m going to believe that. You’re violating the World Government’s Single Sword Mandate as it is! I’m cutting you a huge break here by letting you leave them behind!”
“Single what now? Look I can’t just leave them behind, so let me on the train!” Zoro flicked Wado about an inch out of her sheath with a threatening look in his eye. The conductor visibly flinched but stood his ground.
“Time Out.” Luna shouted. The next thing Zoro knew his swords, Luffy’s hat were missing, and Luna was standing right in front of him.
“I really don’t know what you’re getting so worked up about, Conductor-san. My friends here don’t have any weapons on them.”
“What are you talking about? The green-guy has three…” his statement faltered off when he looked down at Zoro’s waist to find the swords missing.
“But…I could have sworn…”
“He’s clearly not carrying anything, so can we get on now please?”
“O-of course.” He stepped aside and let the four of them on.
“My swords better be on this train or I swear to god…” Zoro muttered under his breath.
“You should relax more. It’s better for your heart,” Luna replied as she led them into an empty car near the back of the train. She hit the overhead compartment as she took a seat near the middle. “I put your swords and Luffy’s hat in here. I recommend you don’t touch them until we’re ready to disembark.”
“You didn’t even notice your hat was missing?” Usopp asked Luffy as they took the seats across from Luna.
“No, Luna told me she was going to try something and that I should just trust her, so I did.”
“So, there a reason for stealing our stuff?” Zoro asked as he sat down next to Luna.
“Of course. Everything I do has a purpose.”
“Feel like telling us what that purpose is?”
“Only if you feel like listening…”
***
Sanji stumbled for about the umpteenth time and caught himself on a nearby wall. It was weird, to say the least, wandering through streets he had walked down only a few months before, that were full of bustling businesses and lively townsfolk, and now were only grim reminds of the former grandeur that the city possessed.
Old Water 7 was a depressing city; really nothing more than a reminder to anyone who lived in it that there were better things out there. Aqua Laguna had ripped it apart so many times that all that remained was the barest of building’s skeletons. Those who could not afford to move on to Neo Water 7 were forced to scrape together whatever food they could find and huddle in whatever meager shelter the remains of the buildings could provide. Needless to say, gang activity ruled the town.
Sanji, however, did not know nor care about any of this as he stumbled through the city, making his way to the Blue Station, mind solely focused on getting Nami back.
So when he stumbled down a dead end alleyway, he didn’t really hear the footsteps sneaking up behind him until he turned around to face them.
“Well lookie here! We got ourselves a bon-i-fied suit if I’d ever seen one.” The young man who Sanji assumed to be the leader tipped his ridiculously over-sized cowboy hat.
“I’m not really in the mood for kicking your asses right now. Can we schedule this for another day?” The pirate said as he leaned back against the wall.
“I dunno, what d’y’all reckon?” He looked over his shoulder at the twenty or so guys that backed him up. “Should we just let him just mosey on outta here after barge’n in on our turf all rude-like n’such?” The smirks and drawing of pistols were all the response he needed.
He lit a cigarette and glanced around the alley for anything he could use to escape. “I really don’t have time to play with you shitheads, so if you could just step aside…”
“Heh, like we’d a-let that happen. This here’d be belonging to the Cotton-Eye Gang; the largest in ye Old Water 7. I reckon you ain’t got a chance out of this one bucko. Name’s Joe, jus’ so ya know what ta call that there shadow that’s a-gonna pop up in yer dreams later.” He said drawing his own pistol.
Sanji rolled his eyes. “Big words coming from a bratty shithead. Well, if you’d excuse me gentlemen, I’ve got a lady to save.” With that he lunged towards a stack of crates to his right and managed to kick them down on the unsuspecting gang and bolted out of the alley. Maybe the drug’s left my system, he thought just as he tripped and face-planted only a few feet from the exit.
Joe and some of the others managed to recover from the crates and surrounded him. “That all ya got then?” He kicked Sanji over and crouched down to point his gun under the blonde’s chin. “Gotta say, I’m a tad diss-o-poin-ted.” He cocked the gun. “Any last words Mee-ster Suit?”
Sanji searched his mind for the wittiest phrase he could think of, but someone beat him to it.
“Gavotte Bond en Avant!”
***
“So spill.” Zoro said, leaning back against the seat. “What couldn’t you tell us before?”
Luna popped one of the complementary cherries into her mouth. “’Bout what now?”
The swordsman’s eyebrow twitched violently. “’Bout why you felt the need to steal our stuff!”
“Oh, yeah. Wanted to mention this before, but never got the chance.” She swallowed the cherry and sat up. “As you may have already figured out, quite some time has passed-”
“No shit, thanks for the explanation,” Zoro scowled.
“If you would like to know what’s going on, Zoro-san, it would be in your best interest to refrain from talking, please and thank you.” Zoro put his hands up in mock defeat and shut up.
“Anyway, as I was saying, quite some time has passed…about a hundred years or so if I were to guesstimate. More accurately, I suppose, it’s been about a hundred years since Monkey D. ‘Straw Hat’ Luffy was declared the Second Pirate King.”
“Wow really? When did that happen?” Usopp asked.
“About a hundred years ago, Usopp. Don’t you listen?” Luffy reprimanded his friend.
“Yeah…but…you’re one to tell me to listen.” He muttered.
“After the Second Pirate King’s alleged death and the supposed deaths of the rest of his crew, don’t even bother asking me for details because they are really vague, the World Government realized that it needed to take more severe actions to prevent yet another Pirate King from emerging.”
“Such as banning three swords and straw hats?” Zoro asked skeptically.
“Not at first…in the beginning it was just ruthless hunting down and treatment of pirates. Soon that branched out to children of pirates, even if they were ditched by their pirate parents and grew up among civilians.”
“Hee, you’d be dead Usopp, ‘cause your Dad’s a pirate.” Luffy said.
“You’d be dead too!” Usopp responded.
“My parents ain’t pirates.”
“Eventually it got to the point where you’d be tossed in jail if someone even suspected you to be connected to a pirate,” Luna continued, “It was pretty ridiculous.”
“So, Alabasta…” Zoro asked in his roundabout way.
She sighed. “Nothing could ever be conclusively proven in the case against Alabasta. People who did talk clearly didn’t know anything, and people who knew anything didn’t talk, so the World Government couldn’t official do anything to the country. It did lose a lot of influence and power because of the whole fiasco though, and has been slowly in an economic collapse that still continues to this day. The lack of compassion coming from the Royal Family isn’t helping matters much either.”
“Oi, don’t talk about Vivi like that!” Luffy stated. “She’s-”
“Probably the last good ruler that country had.” Luna finished. “She did her best with what she had. Yeah, her being friends with you probably screwed her country, but she’s not the one to blame here. At least I don’t think so; I’m not a historian. This type of thing is best left to people like your Nico Robin.”
“But people wouldn’t just sit there and let the World Government do all these things to innocent people.” Usopp said, getting back to the point.
“Says who?”
“The Revolutionaries for one.”
“Dealt with already.”
“What do you mean-”
“They’ve been dealt with at this point. Besides people were willing to let the World Government go crazy if it meant that piracy would be dealt with once and for all. Never underestimate people’s need for safety.”
“So that’s what happened, isn’t it?” Zoro said solemnly. “Everyone just let the Word Government do what they said was necessary in order to bring about peace?”
“Basically. Things like registering all the Devil Fruit users and forcing them to work for the government and controlling which ships can leave the harbor were written off as ‘necessary’ while everyone who’s heard of the Legends of Old knows why you can only carry one sword and why it is illegal to possess a slingshot, but pistols are perfectly alright.”
“A ban on slingshots? That’s almost as ridiculous as a ban on straw hats!” Usopp exclaimed.
“To be fair, it’s not really a ban on straw hats. It’s more of a taboo.”
“It’s still crazy.” He settled back into his seat.
“Paranoid people do crazy things.”
“If all fruit users have to work for the government…” Luffy pondered, “And you’re a fruit user…”
“I wasn’t born in this era. For the record though, I am in the registry. They can’t catch me though. There’s I think three fruit users that are still outside government control. A lot of effort is being put forth into catching them too; it’s actually pretty funny.”
“And what’s this ‘Legends of Old’ thing you were talking about before?” Zoro asked.
“Why, you guys of course.”
The car fell into a humble silence at her words only to be broken a few minutes later when the train stopped by a voice.
“Now arriving at Neo Water 7’s Neon Blue Station. Neo Water 7’s Neon Blue Station.”
***
Nami was just about fed up with the stupid bars on the windows. No matter what she tried they wouldn’t even budge. At this point she was pretty sure nothing short of lightening would break them. Damn Usopp for taking away her Climatact…
The navigator’s musings were cut short by a small cough from behind her. She turned around to see the young girl carrying a new tray of the same food.
“Um…I brought food…”
Nami took the tray from her and sat down on the bed. “Thanks.” The girl nodded and made her way to the door. “You know,” Nami called after her, causing her to stop, “you seem like a nice kid. I don’t know why you’re working for a woman like that.”
“You don’t understand yet.” The girl started trembling. “You don’t know…”
The young pirate shook her head. “You know, when I was about your age I was forced to work for some pretty mean pirates.” The girl slowly turned to face her.
“Really?”
“Yup.” Nami patted the space next to her on the bed and the girl climbed up and sat next to her. She offered her half of her sandwich, which she politely declined. “They killed my mother too, but they forced me to make maps for them for ten years.”
“But…you got out.”
“Well, one day I met this kid named Monkey D. Luffy. He and his crazy friends defeated the pirates and ended up saving me.”
“And yet you decided to become a pirate anyway? Even after all of that?”
The orange-haired girl shrugged. “I guess it’s hard to imagine, but it’ll make sense when you meet Luffy.”
“I guess. It’s nice that you were saved by Luffy.”
“You know,” Nami smiled at the girl, “him and the rest of the crew are probably on their way here right now. We could save you too, if you want.”
She lowered her head dejectedly. “No, no one’s going to get me out of this.”
“I used to think that too you know.”
“This…is completely different. Your Luffy-san will have enough trouble getting you out of here alive. It will be easier on everyone if you just do what she says.” She jumped off the bed and went to the door. “I was told to tell you,” she said just before she left, “that we’ll be leaving soon, so you should get ready for that.” With that she closed and locked the door, leaving Nami once again by herself in a locked room.
***
The members of the Cotton-Eye Gang flew every which way, unconscious before they hit the ground. Sanji sat up and tried to get back on his feet, but the tip of a sword replace the pistol that was there moments before prevented him from such a task.
“Who exactly do you think you are?” the menacing voice behind the sword said. This new intruder’s upper body was mostly hidden in shadow, but the polished shoes and boney hand holding the shikomizue were more than enough for Sanji to figure out who it was.
He calmly took a drag from his cigarette. “Me? Blackleg Sanji: Chef of the Strawhat Pirates. Who exactly do you think you are, shitty skeleton, threatening your crewmates like that?”
The visible hand shook slightly as Brooke lowered his weapon and stepped out of the shadows. Even after a hundred years, he still looked exactly like how Sanji last saw him, afro and all.
“S-sanji-san…it really is you…” The chef saw tears start to form in his friend’s eye sockets before he dropped to his knees and pulled him into a fierce hug.
“What are you doing here…no, better yet, how can you possibly be here, Sanji-san?”
“Nami-san was taken…followed her…can’t breathe Brooke…”
“Ah, sorry.” He let Sanji go, who wasted no time in shakily getting back to his feet. Brooke followed suit. “If Nami-san is here too, then it must be that time…with Luna-san…and Zoro-san…”
“Luna-san? I’ve never met anyone by that name, and I’d think I’d remember someone as gorgeous as she sounds.” He leaned against the wall. “And what does Marimo have to do with any of this.”
The musician turned his head towards the ground. “I…honestly don’t recall…any of the specifics…”
Sanji was troubled by his friend’s hesitation. “Just spit it out. What happened?”
“Really…if I’d have known I would see you again like this…”
“You’re rambling, just say it already.”
“I guess…it won’t make…much of a difference anyway…it could though…”
“Brooke! What happened to Zoro?!”
Brooke jumped at the ferocity in his friend’s voice. “Zoro-san…never came back from his trip through time.”
Chapter 5: That Green Gentleman
Word Count: 3,040
Sanji stared at the skeleton. “What do you mean he never came back?”
“Just what I said, he never came back.”
“So…” he mentally chastised himself for even considering the option, “he died?”
“That’s what the rest of us assumed. You and Luffy-san and Nami-san never would talk about this little trip of yours.”
“Luffy’s here too? What exactly do you remember?”
“Not much…I already told you, you guy’s never talked about it.”
“But you must remember something, right?!”
Brooke was startled at the sudden change in tone of his friend’s voice. “I-I do…but…”
~~~
“What’s taking them so long?” Chopper asked worriedly.
“Chill dude, it’s only been like what, five minutes?” Franky said. “How long did she say they’d be?”
“About five minutes,” Robin answered, glancing at the spot where their friends disappeared.
Suddenly a metallic smell followed by a tearing sound erupted through the landscape. Nami and Sanji came stumbling out of a tear that appeared in the air followed shortly by Luffy and Luna bringing up the rear. As soon as she was through, Luna turned to face the tear and pulled up from the bottom like a zipper, sealing the portal.
“Wait, where’s Zoro?” Usopp asked. “Why did you seal that when Zoro hasn’t come back yet?”
That’s when they noticed that all of their returning friends wore the same downcast expression.
“Zoro…won’t be coming back.” Luffy said simply. Nothing more was said on the matter.
~~~
“So…he could have not died?”
Brooke shrugged. “Maybe. I used to hold on to that hope too, that someday I’d catch up to him and see him again. But the longer I can’t find him, the more hope I lose. This isn’t a pirate’s era anymore.”
“That idiot’s too stubborn to die anyway…” Sanji muttered.
“Of course he is.” The skeleton stood and offered the chef a hand, which he gratefully accepted as the musician pulled him to his feet.
“Bassia I assume?” Sanji nodded. Brooke slung the blonde’s arm over his shoulders and walked them out of the alleyway.
“Where are you taking us? The Blue Station is the other way!”
“Yes, we’re going to see Sunny.”
“I’ve already talked to her! We need to go get Nami-san back!”
“You can barely stand, Sanji-san. What do you expect to do against this new foe? Besides, she won’t be there by the time you get to Neo Water 7.”
“What do you mean?! Of course she will be.”
Brooke sadly shook his head. “If you’re going after who I think you’re going after, then she will certainly not be there by the time you get there, for you see, it’s about time that the base gets moved.”
“Who’s base?”
“Her base.”
“Who is she?”
“Oh, have you not met her yet?”
Sanji then had a vision of stark black hair, cold black eyes, and a painfully pointy heel in his gut. “Oh, you mean her. Why don’t you just use her name?”
“Do you know her name?” Brooke asked hopefully.
“Now that I think about it, no.”
He sighed. “I thought as much. No one does, not even the Government. She ‘helps’ them out though, so they don’t think much of it.”
“But how do you know she’s moving? Where is she going?”
“I doubt anyone but she actually knows where she’s going. As for the how, it’s what she always does. I’ve been looking for her for a while now, but every time I get to her new base, she’s already gone. I might have made it this time, but, well, I saved you instead.”
Sanji looked away awkwardly. “You didn’t have to do that…”
“It matters not; we have all the time in the world to finish our duel.”
At this point they had arrived back at the docks where the Thousand Sunny was anchored. Sanji disentangled himself from Brooke and started to attempt to climb onboard using the conveniently placed rope ladder. Brooke jumped aboard and reached down to help his friend the rest of the way up the ladder. When they both made it to the grassy deck, two splashes made them turn to find Sunny facing them with a bloody hammer.
“Sunny…what was that?” Sanji asked hesitantly.
“Just some looters. I took care of them though.” She grinned and ran forward to embrace Brooke. “Brooke! You haven’t stopped by in forever.”
“Sorry, Sunny-san. I’ve been busy.” He replied as they twirled around in a circle.
“So,” she said, stepping away from Brooke as she grinned at him and Sanji, “what can I do for you boys?”
“Sanji-san here needs to get that Bassia out of his system,” Brooke replied. “Food and rest would be nice for us both, and I guess it’s back to square one for us.”
“Kay. I managed to finally fix Mini Merry, so you can use that when you go out again.”
“Sunny, you’re a dear.” Sanji said as he walked over and placed his hand on the Klabautermann’s head. “I can stand now, so leave the food to me.”
She nodded and took his hand to guide him into the kitchen. His kitchen. Sanji was delighted to find that, other than a layer of dust coating every surface and a few missing items here and there, not much had changed.
“You took your knives with you,” Sunny stated, “and looters managed to walk away with a few items, but everything else should still be here. I can’t keep perishables on board, but there might be something in the cabinets.”
The cook nodded and started pilfering through the cabinets. He found enough ingredients to throw something together for him and Brooke and set to work.
Just as Sanji was putting the finishing touches on his culinary masterpiece, Brooke waltz in the kitchen carrying an eternal pose.
“So you found it alright?” Sunny asked.
“Yes. Thank you for looking after it.”
“Where are we going next?” Sanji asked, handing him his food. He took it and handed the pose to Sanji.
“Just a little place where we can gather information.”
“Brooke…this can’t be right. Eternal poses can’t lock on to ships.”
“It’s very difficult and time consuming, but it’s possible. How do you think people are supposed to find places like Neo Water 7 if they keep moving around?”
“If you say so…” He traced over the name on the eternal pose, trying to stop the flood of memories that came back by looking at the word.
Baratie.
***
Luffy jumped off the train as soon as it pulled into the station. After it came to a complete stop, Zoro, Usopp, and Luna followed suit. She tossed Luffy his hat and handed Wado to Zoro and Shuusui to Usopp, keeping Kitetsu to herself.
“Uh, what’re you doing?” Zoro asked. “Those are all mine.”
“Did you listen to a word I said on the train?” she replied while fastening the blade to her waist. “If you find that you are not strong enough to handle the no name pick-pockets that we will come across on our way through the city with only one sword, then by all means feel free to take them back.”
The swordsman mumbled something before nodding his head towards the sword she possessed. “That’s cursed, you know.”
She grinned devilishly. “Thanks for caring, Zoro-kun, but it’ll take more than some sword-curse to take me out.”
“C’mon! We gotta get going!” Luffy shouted as he ran out of the station.
“Urg, this thing is heavy…” Usopp complained. “Zoro, switch with me.”
“No. You’ll be fine.” He helped him tie the sword on his back and then turned and followed his captain. Luna and Usopp followed close behind.
“So, where do we go from here?” Luffy asked, turning expectantly to their guide.
“Um…” she looked at the streets as if expecting there to be some sign. “This way,” she decided, pointing down the dark street a little to the group’s left, “I think.”
“You think?” Usopp asked. “You’re supposed to be the one who knows where she’s going!”
“Shut it Nosey, it’s been a while.” She turned and walked down her selected street.
“N-nosey?! Wait a minute…” his protests were cut short as his friends followed Luna.
“You coming, Usopp?” Luffy asked. He sighed and followed.
After five dead ends and three wrong buildings, Luna finally stopped in front of a brick building with a large wooden door and a dome roof, just like every other building on this street, which she claimed to be where Nami and Sanji were.
“You sure it’s the right one this time?” Zoro asked.
“Yes, this time I’m positive.” She nodded confidently.
“Alright then.” Luffy said as he punched down the door…again.
“You could think of another way in,” Usopp complained, “considering what happened the last time…”
“Don’ts worry ya heads abouts that.” A voice said from inside the building. “Ya finally gots da right ones.”
“Indeed.” A second voice said. “I was starting to worry you would never be able to pick the right one, Psi-chan.”
Luffy wasted no time charging into the building with Zoro at his heels. Luna and Usopp casually followed them in. Once inside they were face to face with Jasper and Horace, who were standing in the middle of a large, circular room looking all too pleased with themselves.
“Where’re Sanji and Nami?” Luffy said, glaring at them.
“We are sorry to inform you that your ‘Sanji’ appears to have been misplaced.” Horace replied.
The pirate captain was not pleased with this response and expressed his displeasure by destroying the column he was standing next to. “Where is he?”
The minions gulped. “I-it don’ts matters much any mores. H-he’s deads by nows.” Jasper sputtered out.
Zoro tied his bandana on his head and unsheathed his sword before stepping forward to stand next to Luffy, grabbing the sword Luna had in the process. “Tell us where he is and we’ll be the judges of that.”
“We were instructed to keep you gentlemen and lady busy while our boss deals with some…other business matters.” Horace said as he pointed his cane as Zoro and took a fencing stance. “If you do manage to subdue us without beating us into unconsciousness, you may find us to be a bit more cooperative.”
“Is that a challenge?” Zoro asked as he took a fighting stance. Jasper brought out his kunai knives as Luffy cracked his knuckles. A few seconds of pre battle tension occurred before the brothers suddenly lunged at their opponents.
Usopp and Luna ducked behind a nearby column. “Okay, you two can take care of them!” Usopp shouted.
“Good luck!” Luna added, giving them a thumbs up.
Horace lunged at Zoro who easily dodged and retaliated with a downward slice of his one. Horace managed to jump out of the way and countered with a jab to Zoro’s torso which was easily blocked by the second katana. He jumped out of the way of another slice which the green haired man was about to follow up with if an explosion from the other side of the room hadn’t distracted him.
Luffy went flying through the air and hit (and destroyed) another wooden door. He jumped to his feet and glared down his opponent.
“That’s…like from Sky Island…”
“Not ‘likes’ from da skys; is froms da skys.” Jasper grinned before lunging forward to slice at Luffy’s arm and leg with his kunai only to be stopped by a fist to his face.
“Hissatsu Kayaku Boshi!” Zoro heard Usopp shout and turned around in time to see something blow up in his opponents face. The swordsmen internally cursed himself for letting his not-worry for Sanji’s wellbeing transfer to not-worry for Luffy and distract him from his fight. Both of them could easily take care of themselves and not-worrying like this was stupid and could easily get him killed.
“Nice shot Usopp.” Luna commented. “I guess you really can fight.”
“Of course I can fight! How else could I have managed to repel the ninja turtles that tried to overtake my village when I was only three years old? I remember it like it was yesterday…”
Usopp’s epic tale was cut short by Horace’s sudden appearance by his side. “You stay out of the way, please,” he said before lunging and hitting Usopp’s arm with his pimp cane. The liar stepped back, holding his injured arm while Luna delivered a karate chop to the spot between hi s neck and shoulder. The man fell backwards only to be caught between Zoro’s swords. “So this is where you crawled off to. Oi Luffy!” He shouted, not taking his eyes off of Horace. “You done over there?”
“Yeah.” He walked over to where the others were, dragging a beaten but still conscious Jasper behind him.
“I’ll ask you again,” Luffy said, slamming him into the column, “Where. Is. Sanji?”
Jasper ground his teeth at Luffy, refusing to respond. Zoro flipped his swords so that the blades were facing Horace’s neck.
“We’re tired of playing games!” He pulled back to slam him into the column again, this time causing it to crack and his victim to cough up blood. “What did you do with Sanji? Where are you keeping Nami?!”
“Now now, even Royalty needs to ask nicely you know.” Luffy and Zoro blinked only to find the brother’s missing. They turned around to find them standing by a black haired woman who just so happened to have Nami tied up by her side.
“Nami!” Luffy shouted before rushing forward.
“Time out.” a little girl the pirate captain failed to notice said. The next thing he knew, his arms were tied in a knot behind his back and he was being held at sword point by the woman.
Zoro glanced back and forth between his now empty hand and Luna still standing behind the column. “How did you…”
“Time travel is quite a tricky thing, you know.” She laughed and nodded her head towards her minions. “You two go ahead and take her to the new base. Don’t screw up this time.” They nodded in sync Horace slung Nami over his shoulder and they both started walking towards the front doorway. Nami started kicking at his face, shouting obscenities all the while.
Zoro rushed forward to block them, grabbing his last sword from Usopp’s back on his way. He was almost there when he heard shout “Time out.” He blinked and Luna appeared in front of him with a cut across her cheek and thigh, holding Wado while the woman was a few steps away with the girl, nursing a large gash on her left forearm. Horace, Jasper, Nami, and Usopp were nowhere to be found.
The woman smirked. “I wonder how long you can keep that up, child.”
“Long enough hag.” Luna replied. She turned and put Zoro’s sword in his mouth for him. The girl said “Time Out” once more and he noted that this time Luna said it too. When he blinked he found Luna dragging him to the ground as a bullet passed through the place where his head was moments before. The green-haired man looked around to find the girl hiding behind a column, the woman holding a gun and looking severely disappointed, and Luna jumping up and aiming a kick at her. As the two continued to fight, Zoro also noticed Luffy was standing unnaturally still in the center of the room.
“What the…”
“Time’s stopped.” Luna shouted over her fight. “Got you,” she ducked to dodge the pistol that was being whipped at her face, “out too. Do what,” she dodge rolled to the side and kicked out a foot that the woman easily back stepped to avoid, “you want.”
“Like what.”
“Whatever.” She gasped as a heel drove itself into her gut. Luna barely managed to dodge out of the way as the pistol came around to whip her again. Zoro made his way over to Luffy and attempted to untie his arms.
“Where’d the others go?”
“Don’t know.” She managed to back flip out of the way of a punch but it was clear that she was slowing down. “Got away.”
He had just managed to untie his captain’s arms when he heard the girl say, “Time in.” He blinked and the two women stopped fighting as Luffy started moving.
“Eh? Zoro? How’d you get all the way over here? Oi, you!” he shouted, pointing at the woman, “where’d you take Nami?”
“Away. I’d suggest you go after her, but I’m not going to let you out of here alive.” She turned to the little girl, “Sweetie, can you do that once more?”
The girl nodded and was about to speak again. “Usopp Pound!” Usopp jumped down from the second floor balcony, giant hammer at hand, and hit the girl on the head.
“Ow!” She hissed, turning to kick him in the leg.
“Time Out!” Luna shouted. She grabbed Luffy and Zoro’s arms and started dragging them outside, along the way managing to aim a kick at Usopp. When he was unfrozen, she motioned for him to follow. Once outside, the pirates broke free from her grasp right before she collapsed to her knees. Usopp quickly knelt down to help her up. When it was clear that she couldn’t stand, Zoro helped her on to Usopp’s back.
“Quick…get out of here.” She muttered.
“To where?” Zoro asked.
“Anywhere…we just…need to…get out now.” She panted.
After wandering around the frozen city, Usopp found a completely deserted alleyway for them. When she was sure the coast was clear, Luna muttered “Time in,” bringing the city back to life.
Zoro glance at the people moving outside of the alleyway. None of them had noticed the four of them appearing out of nowhere. Luna had slid off of Usopp’s back and was now sitting up against the wall. The sniper was currently checking to make sure she was alright, while Luffy was seated across from her, hat shadowing his eyes as he looked at the ground. Zoro put his hand on his captain’s shoulder.
“We’ll get them back.” He said to his swordsman. “We’ll find Sanji and we’ll track them down, and we’ll get them back.” Zoro could only nod in agreement
Word Count: 2,638
Nami had woken up to darkness. After recalling what had happened, she decided to do some ‘exploring’ of sorts. As it turned out, she was looked in a rather small room with nothing but the bed she was lying on in one corner and one window that looked out to a brick wall about five stories up over a tight alleyway. The window was locked, however, so not only could Nami not see any of the surrounding area, but her options of escape had decreased.
The young navigator was messing with the locks on the window when a small voice behind her made her stop.
“You…probably shouldn’t be doing that…”
She turned around to find herself faced with a small girl wrapped in a cloak carefully balancing a tray with soup, a sandwich, and some juice on it.
“Really? And why shouldn’t I?”
“If you escape, then my boss wouldn’t be very happy.”
“Well, maybe I don’t want your boss to be happy.”
The girl placed the tray of food down on the bed. “Please trust me on this; you want my boss happy.”
Nami felt a surge of pity for the girl, but quickly suppressed it while the girl continued, “Really, she just needs your help with something…she’ll come and talk to you soon…”
“Kidnapping isn’t the most socially acceptable way to ask for help.”
“No, but it’s one of the things she does best.” She turned to face the pirate. “Is there anything else you need?”
“The keys to the room would be nice.”
“…food-wise?”
Nami shook her head. The girl went to the door to leave, only to have it opened forcefully before her by another woman.
“Oh, there you are love,” she said to the girl. “What are you still doing up here?”
“I-I was just leaving…”
“Oh, well, don’t let me stop you then.” She stepped aside and the girl took the opportunity to hurry out of the room. Alone with Nami, she turned her attention to the Strawhat as she closed and lock the door behind her. “Cat-burglar Nami, I presume?”
“It’s really only polite to at least know the name of the people you kidnap.”
She sighed. “Lackeys aren’t known for their reliability. Sometimes you tell them to kidnap one person and they bring you someone completely different. But seriously, how are you?”
“You take me away from my friends and then ask about my well being?”
“Sorry about that. I just really needed to talk to you.” The woman made her way to the bed and moved the tray to sit down, patting the spot next to her to indicate that Nami should join her. The navigator chose to remain stubbornly standing.
“And you think the best way is to lock me up?”
“Sorry about that too; this is the only room available at the moment. I’ll work on getting you something better though. Do you want to eat something before we talk?” She said as offered her the food.
“What do you want with me?”
“Want to get straight to the point huh? That saves us some time then.” She put her elbows on her knees and her head in her hands as she looked the red-head right in the eyes. “There is a place I need to get to. Unfortunately, no one alive knows how to get there. As such, I decided to bring in someone who does.”
“Clearly you made the right choice. I am, after all, the best.” Nami allowed herself a smirk. “Where do you need to go? And what’s in it for me?”
The lady smiled. “You’ve been there before, or rather, you’ll be there eventually. It’s a small island not far from Raftel, but almost as difficult to get to. As for you, don’t think I’m assuming you to do this for free…”
Nami’s eyes immediately became beli signs. “How much are we talking here?”
“How much do you want?”
The beli signs brightened to unfathomable levels. She was already calculating just how much this woman was willing to fork over before she realized something was off.
“Wait, where’s Sanji?”
The woman blinked. “Well, I’m sure it’s three o’clock somewhere*…”
“No, my friend. He was with me when your men took me away.”
“They only brought you back.”
“Yes, but he would have followed them in order to get me back.”
“I highly doubt it. In case you haven’t noticed, we’ve taken you through time.”
“No…he’d chase me down no matter what.”
“Then I don’t know what happened to him, but I haven’t seen him.”
That’s when it hit her. As someone who used to go around manipulating people, Nami could easily tell when someone was trying to take advantage of her. Now the orange haired girl was not only worried about her friend, she was also in doubt of whether there was actually any money at all.
“Well, I’m a bit worried about him; he’s a bit of an idiot you see, so I’d really like a confirmation on his wellbeing before I negotiate further with you. You understand, right?”
The black haired women gained a dark expression, understanding perfectly Nami’s hidden meaning.
“You’ve hurt my friend. The answer’s no.”
“If that’s the way you want it, then I shall do my best to see what has happened to him.” She got up and made her way to the door. After pulling it open and stepping outside, she looked back over her shoulder and added, “Oh, and the room changing process might also be a little complicated, so it could take a while…you understand, right?” And with that she left Nami alone in the room.
She turned back to face the window, contemplating the hidden meaning behind the woman’s words.
“Tread carefully, you are at my mercy.”
***
“There’s nothing here.” Luffy said matter of factly.
“Of course not stupid, we’re still on the Nothing Isles.” Zoro responded.
“Why’d you bring us to exactly where we were before?” Luffy asked.
“Time doesn’t equal space, Luffy,” Usopp replied. “She can take us through time, but not through space.”
“…I don’t get it.”
“She can’t shrink down distances.” He tried again.
“…I don’t get it.”
“It’s like another direction. You know how you can go left and right, right? Well Luna can also go forward and backward. It’s like how you can’t go left and right at the same time.”
“Oh, so it’s a mystery. Thanks for explaining Usopp.” He grinned before doing a double take. “What?! Usopp?! How did you get here?!?”
“Franky pushed me!”
“Stupid, now how are we supposed to get the love-cook and the money witch back?” Zoro asked.
“It should be fine. Like I said one or more of you are probably going to die anyway, so Sanji and Nami can just take that person’s spot.” Luna replied.
“None of us are going to die,” Luffy said, “my friends are strong. We’ll deal with that when we deal with it.”
“If there’s nothing here,” Usopp noticed, “how are we supposed to leave this island to look for them?”
“The Sea Train should be stopping here soon.”
“The Sea Train doesn’t stop here.” Zoro stated.
“Correction: The Sea Train didn’t stop here. It does now.”
“Since when?”
“Since twenty years ago when someone realized that some people would like to go to a place where nothing happens.”
“You know, technically that means something is happening here.” Usopp pointed out.
“Yeah, but the Every Now And Then The Sea Train Comes Isles doesn’t have the same ring to it.”
“I don’t feel so good...” Usopp said before sitting down.
“Ack! It must be your I-Can’t-Travel-Through-Time sickness acting up!” Luffy said before joining his friend on the ground. “Where’s Chopper when you need him? I’ve caught it to.”
“Don’t worry, it’s just your time trying to pull you back. As soon as you adjust to this era, you’ll feel better.” Luna answered.
“How come you don’t feel sick?” Usopp asked.
“I travel through time all the time…I’m used to it.”
“What about Zoro?” Luffy asked, “Why isn’t he sick?”
“I don’t get sick,” was the man’s simple reply.
“You don’t feel light-headed or sick to your stomach at all?” Luna asked.
“That’s just the blood loss.”
“You haven’t lost any blood yet…” Usopp muttered.
“Does anyone know where we’re going anyway?” Zoro asked. “If they were taken through time, then they should have ended up here.”
“They probably got on the Sea Train.” Usopp suggested. “But after that, who knows where they went.”
“Water 7,” Luna said.
Usopp blinked. Luffy stood up and shouted “To Water 7!” before collapsing back to the ground. Zoro arched his eyebrow.
“You seem to know exactly where they went…”
“As a matter of fact, I do,” she looked the demon pirate hunter in the eye. “Zoro-san, you are about a hundred years ahead of everything you’ve ever known. On top of that, you are also looking for your friends who have been taken by people you don’t for reasons you can’t even begin to guess at. Is this really the best time to doubt the only guide/ride home you have?”
“I’ve found that it is always a good time to doubt a complete stranger with mysterious motives.”
She smirked at that. “That attitude might just keep you alive in this era. I’ll save you some time and effort by informing you, however, it is in my best interests to keep you alive and help you guys get your chef and navigator back, so rest assured, I’m not here to betray you. I really am just trying to help.”
“I’ll be the judge of that.”
“She said she’s going to help us, so she’s going to help us.” Luffy decided to add as he jumped to his feet. “It’s as simple as that.”
“Nothing is ever as simple as it is in that little world of yours, captain.”
“Something’s coming!” Usopp shouted as he stood up too.
The Sea Train, which hadn’t changed appearances at all since the Strawhats last saw it save for adding more carts, was heading towards the island at a break neck speed. The four of them hurried on over to the station platform and waited as the massive train came to a complete stop. A conductor in a neatly pressed grey uniform jumped off the train and without missing a beat asked the group, “Where to?”
Three pairs of eyes turned to look at Luffy, who simply said, “Water 7, of course.”
***
Sanji froze when he felt the hands on him. They were cold as ice, slowly creeping up until they reached the gag and untied it. He wasted no time in spitting it out and shouting, “Shithead! What the hell do you think you’re doing to me back there?! You better untie me right now or-” the rest of his threat was cut off by a pair of cold arms wrapping around his midsection.
“Sanji!” said a voice that Sanji knew but couldn’t recognize.
“W-who are you? Untie me damnit!”
“Right, sorry.” A few moments later his hands were untied and his legs were unchained. The voice had let him deal with the blindfold himself.
When he had removed it, the chef found himself staring at a small figure wearing a red cloak that admitted a kind of ghostly aura, yet Sanji was sure she wasn’t a ghost, at least not in the traditional sense. She was carrying a hammer, and was beaming at him as if she hadn’t been this happy in ages. As the blonde gripped the grass deck below him, he understood what he was staring at.
“Sunny!”
Sunny’s Klabautermann grinned even wider if that was possible and lunged to hug him again. Sanji allowed it, and squeezed back. He took this opportunity to look around the deck.
All in all, it wasn’t much different from the Thousand Sunny Sanji knew, except much older. The grass deck they were currently on was dead, the trees and swing missing, the slide was collapsed. He glanced upward to see that the crow’s nest was completely gone as was the sail, but the mast itself remained perfectly intact.
“Sunny…what happened?”
“I don’t know…you were just brought here,” she muttered into his chest.
“Not that. Where is everyone? Why are you here?”
She pulled back a bit to look at him. “I haven’t seen anyone in about a hundred years. I’m here because Franky left me here, so here is where I’ll stay.”
Sanji blinked as he took in the news. So…that rip from before…He silently cursed those bastards for what seemed like the millionth time. “So, that makes you this ‘Ghost Ship’ I’ve heard so much about?”
If it was possible for a Klabautermann to blush, Sanji was sure that is what Sunny would be doing right now. “I don’t kill everyone…”
“But you kill some of them?” He took her silence as a yes. “Why?”
“Because they try to move me. Franky left me here, so here is where I’ll stay.” She repeated.
“If it’s really been a hundred years though…”
“No!” She stepped back. “It’s just…” she sighed and stared at the deck. “He’s the one who built me and sailed on me and fixed me and he decided to leave me here. It just seems wrong if I left.”
He smiled kindly at her. “I understand,” she looked up at him, “but, where exactly is here?”
“Outside Old Water 7.” She replied. “I guess it would be the equivalent of where the Franky House used to stand.”
“Do you know where the guys who brought me here went? They still have Nami-san…”
“Jasper and Horace? They often leave people here who their boss wants dead. I usually let them go though.” She shook her head thoughtfully. “Anyway, they probably went back to their boss’s place in Neo Water 7. If they have Nami, then she’ll be there too.”
“And that would be…”
“It’s…hard to explain. You remember what used to be the Galley-La docks?” Sanji nodded. “Well, Iceburg managed to turn that into a giant ship and when people began to migrate there to escape Aqua Laguna, it became the Neo Water 7.”
“So where is it?” She shrugged.
“It’s a ship, so it’s constantly moving around. The Sea Train can always get to it though.”
“So, if I just get on the Sea Train, it’ll drop me off at the Neo Water 7?” Sunny nodded. “Then what are we sitting around here for? Let’s go!” Sanji stood up only to collapse back down as his leg refused to support the rest of his body.
“Are you alright?” Sunny asked worriedly.
“My legs aren’t working…”
“They probably gave you some Bassia.”
He blinked. “Bassia?”
“It’s this weird drug that Vegapunk IV came up with. It tricks your brain into being unable to use your primary weapon for a period of time. It’ll wear off eventually.”
“But I need to get to Nami-san now! We can’t afford to waste any more time while they’re doing who knows what to her.”
“Just wait a bit…” Sanji ignored her and forced himself to stand up. His legs shakily supported him this time and he tentatively took a step forward.
“What good are you going to be if you can barely stand?” she tried again.
“Not sure,” the young chef replied, “But I need to get her back.” He jumped off the deck and landed on the boardwalk next to the ship. The sudden shock forced him to his knees. “You coming?” Sanji asked after he pulled himself together.
Sunny shook her head from the railing. “I…can’t go very far from the ship. Only about a few feet or so.”
“Then I’ll just have to bring Nami-san back here.” He turned and started walking towards the town.
“Please be careful…” Sunny whispered after him.
*Bad pun with Sanji's name: in Japanese, San-ji means "three o'clock."
Chapter 4: Greengrass and Hightides Forever
Word Count: 2,578
“Where do you think you’re going with those?” The conductor of the Sea Train asked with an air of importance that was clearly self-imposed.
“Hm? What d’ya mean?” Zoro asked.
“Those swords.” He waved vaguely at the three swords strapped to Zoro’s waist. “Where do you think you’re going with those?”
“On the train.” The swordsman rolled his eyes.
“Certainly not my train. No weapons allowed here.” Usopp carefully moved his bag behind his back.
“That’s stupid, I’m not going to hurt anyone.” He proceeded to walk onto the train but was stopped when the conductor got in his way.
“Right, like I’m going to believe that. You’re violating the World Government’s Single Sword Mandate as it is! I’m cutting you a huge break here by letting you leave them behind!”
“Single what now? Look I can’t just leave them behind, so let me on the train!” Zoro flicked Wado about an inch out of her sheath with a threatening look in his eye. The conductor visibly flinched but stood his ground.
“Time Out.” Luna shouted. The next thing Zoro knew his swords, Luffy’s hat were missing, and Luna was standing right in front of him.
“I really don’t know what you’re getting so worked up about, Conductor-san. My friends here don’t have any weapons on them.”
“What are you talking about? The green-guy has three…” his statement faltered off when he looked down at Zoro’s waist to find the swords missing.
“But…I could have sworn…”
“He’s clearly not carrying anything, so can we get on now please?”
“O-of course.” He stepped aside and let the four of them on.
“My swords better be on this train or I swear to god…” Zoro muttered under his breath.
“You should relax more. It’s better for your heart,” Luna replied as she led them into an empty car near the back of the train. She hit the overhead compartment as she took a seat near the middle. “I put your swords and Luffy’s hat in here. I recommend you don’t touch them until we’re ready to disembark.”
“You didn’t even notice your hat was missing?” Usopp asked Luffy as they took the seats across from Luna.
“No, Luna told me she was going to try something and that I should just trust her, so I did.”
“So, there a reason for stealing our stuff?” Zoro asked as he sat down next to Luna.
“Of course. Everything I do has a purpose.”
“Feel like telling us what that purpose is?”
“Only if you feel like listening…”
***
Sanji stumbled for about the umpteenth time and caught himself on a nearby wall. It was weird, to say the least, wandering through streets he had walked down only a few months before, that were full of bustling businesses and lively townsfolk, and now were only grim reminds of the former grandeur that the city possessed.
Old Water 7 was a depressing city; really nothing more than a reminder to anyone who lived in it that there were better things out there. Aqua Laguna had ripped it apart so many times that all that remained was the barest of building’s skeletons. Those who could not afford to move on to Neo Water 7 were forced to scrape together whatever food they could find and huddle in whatever meager shelter the remains of the buildings could provide. Needless to say, gang activity ruled the town.
Sanji, however, did not know nor care about any of this as he stumbled through the city, making his way to the Blue Station, mind solely focused on getting Nami back.
So when he stumbled down a dead end alleyway, he didn’t really hear the footsteps sneaking up behind him until he turned around to face them.
“Well lookie here! We got ourselves a bon-i-fied suit if I’d ever seen one.” The young man who Sanji assumed to be the leader tipped his ridiculously over-sized cowboy hat.
“I’m not really in the mood for kicking your asses right now. Can we schedule this for another day?” The pirate said as he leaned back against the wall.
“I dunno, what d’y’all reckon?” He looked over his shoulder at the twenty or so guys that backed him up. “Should we just let him just mosey on outta here after barge’n in on our turf all rude-like n’such?” The smirks and drawing of pistols were all the response he needed.
He lit a cigarette and glanced around the alley for anything he could use to escape. “I really don’t have time to play with you shitheads, so if you could just step aside…”
“Heh, like we’d a-let that happen. This here’d be belonging to the Cotton-Eye Gang; the largest in ye Old Water 7. I reckon you ain’t got a chance out of this one bucko. Name’s Joe, jus’ so ya know what ta call that there shadow that’s a-gonna pop up in yer dreams later.” He said drawing his own pistol.
Sanji rolled his eyes. “Big words coming from a bratty shithead. Well, if you’d excuse me gentlemen, I’ve got a lady to save.” With that he lunged towards a stack of crates to his right and managed to kick them down on the unsuspecting gang and bolted out of the alley. Maybe the drug’s left my system, he thought just as he tripped and face-planted only a few feet from the exit.
Joe and some of the others managed to recover from the crates and surrounded him. “That all ya got then?” He kicked Sanji over and crouched down to point his gun under the blonde’s chin. “Gotta say, I’m a tad diss-o-poin-ted.” He cocked the gun. “Any last words Mee-ster Suit?”
Sanji searched his mind for the wittiest phrase he could think of, but someone beat him to it.
“Gavotte Bond en Avant!”
***
“So spill.” Zoro said, leaning back against the seat. “What couldn’t you tell us before?”
Luna popped one of the complementary cherries into her mouth. “’Bout what now?”
The swordsman’s eyebrow twitched violently. “’Bout why you felt the need to steal our stuff!”
“Oh, yeah. Wanted to mention this before, but never got the chance.” She swallowed the cherry and sat up. “As you may have already figured out, quite some time has passed-”
“No shit, thanks for the explanation,” Zoro scowled.
“If you would like to know what’s going on, Zoro-san, it would be in your best interest to refrain from talking, please and thank you.” Zoro put his hands up in mock defeat and shut up.
“Anyway, as I was saying, quite some time has passed…about a hundred years or so if I were to guesstimate. More accurately, I suppose, it’s been about a hundred years since Monkey D. ‘Straw Hat’ Luffy was declared the Second Pirate King.”
“Wow really? When did that happen?” Usopp asked.
“About a hundred years ago, Usopp. Don’t you listen?” Luffy reprimanded his friend.
“Yeah…but…you’re one to tell me to listen.” He muttered.
“After the Second Pirate King’s alleged death and the supposed deaths of the rest of his crew, don’t even bother asking me for details because they are really vague, the World Government realized that it needed to take more severe actions to prevent yet another Pirate King from emerging.”
“Such as banning three swords and straw hats?” Zoro asked skeptically.
“Not at first…in the beginning it was just ruthless hunting down and treatment of pirates. Soon that branched out to children of pirates, even if they were ditched by their pirate parents and grew up among civilians.”
“Hee, you’d be dead Usopp, ‘cause your Dad’s a pirate.” Luffy said.
“You’d be dead too!” Usopp responded.
“My parents ain’t pirates.”
“Eventually it got to the point where you’d be tossed in jail if someone even suspected you to be connected to a pirate,” Luna continued, “It was pretty ridiculous.”
“So, Alabasta…” Zoro asked in his roundabout way.
She sighed. “Nothing could ever be conclusively proven in the case against Alabasta. People who did talk clearly didn’t know anything, and people who knew anything didn’t talk, so the World Government couldn’t official do anything to the country. It did lose a lot of influence and power because of the whole fiasco though, and has been slowly in an economic collapse that still continues to this day. The lack of compassion coming from the Royal Family isn’t helping matters much either.”
“Oi, don’t talk about Vivi like that!” Luffy stated. “She’s-”
“Probably the last good ruler that country had.” Luna finished. “She did her best with what she had. Yeah, her being friends with you probably screwed her country, but she’s not the one to blame here. At least I don’t think so; I’m not a historian. This type of thing is best left to people like your Nico Robin.”
“But people wouldn’t just sit there and let the World Government do all these things to innocent people.” Usopp said, getting back to the point.
“Says who?”
“The Revolutionaries for one.”
“Dealt with already.”
“What do you mean-”
“They’ve been dealt with at this point. Besides people were willing to let the World Government go crazy if it meant that piracy would be dealt with once and for all. Never underestimate people’s need for safety.”
“So that’s what happened, isn’t it?” Zoro said solemnly. “Everyone just let the Word Government do what they said was necessary in order to bring about peace?”
“Basically. Things like registering all the Devil Fruit users and forcing them to work for the government and controlling which ships can leave the harbor were written off as ‘necessary’ while everyone who’s heard of the Legends of Old knows why you can only carry one sword and why it is illegal to possess a slingshot, but pistols are perfectly alright.”
“A ban on slingshots? That’s almost as ridiculous as a ban on straw hats!” Usopp exclaimed.
“To be fair, it’s not really a ban on straw hats. It’s more of a taboo.”
“It’s still crazy.” He settled back into his seat.
“Paranoid people do crazy things.”
“If all fruit users have to work for the government…” Luffy pondered, “And you’re a fruit user…”
“I wasn’t born in this era. For the record though, I am in the registry. They can’t catch me though. There’s I think three fruit users that are still outside government control. A lot of effort is being put forth into catching them too; it’s actually pretty funny.”
“And what’s this ‘Legends of Old’ thing you were talking about before?” Zoro asked.
“Why, you guys of course.”
The car fell into a humble silence at her words only to be broken a few minutes later when the train stopped by a voice.
“Now arriving at Neo Water 7’s Neon Blue Station. Neo Water 7’s Neon Blue Station.”
***
Nami was just about fed up with the stupid bars on the windows. No matter what she tried they wouldn’t even budge. At this point she was pretty sure nothing short of lightening would break them. Damn Usopp for taking away her Climatact…
The navigator’s musings were cut short by a small cough from behind her. She turned around to see the young girl carrying a new tray of the same food.
“Um…I brought food…”
Nami took the tray from her and sat down on the bed. “Thanks.” The girl nodded and made her way to the door. “You know,” Nami called after her, causing her to stop, “you seem like a nice kid. I don’t know why you’re working for a woman like that.”
“You don’t understand yet.” The girl started trembling. “You don’t know…”
The young pirate shook her head. “You know, when I was about your age I was forced to work for some pretty mean pirates.” The girl slowly turned to face her.
“Really?”
“Yup.” Nami patted the space next to her on the bed and the girl climbed up and sat next to her. She offered her half of her sandwich, which she politely declined. “They killed my mother too, but they forced me to make maps for them for ten years.”
“But…you got out.”
“Well, one day I met this kid named Monkey D. Luffy. He and his crazy friends defeated the pirates and ended up saving me.”
“And yet you decided to become a pirate anyway? Even after all of that?”
The orange-haired girl shrugged. “I guess it’s hard to imagine, but it’ll make sense when you meet Luffy.”
“I guess. It’s nice that you were saved by Luffy.”
“You know,” Nami smiled at the girl, “him and the rest of the crew are probably on their way here right now. We could save you too, if you want.”
She lowered her head dejectedly. “No, no one’s going to get me out of this.”
“I used to think that too you know.”
“This…is completely different. Your Luffy-san will have enough trouble getting you out of here alive. It will be easier on everyone if you just do what she says.” She jumped off the bed and went to the door. “I was told to tell you,” she said just before she left, “that we’ll be leaving soon, so you should get ready for that.” With that she closed and locked the door, leaving Nami once again by herself in a locked room.
***
The members of the Cotton-Eye Gang flew every which way, unconscious before they hit the ground. Sanji sat up and tried to get back on his feet, but the tip of a sword replace the pistol that was there moments before prevented him from such a task.
“Who exactly do you think you are?” the menacing voice behind the sword said. This new intruder’s upper body was mostly hidden in shadow, but the polished shoes and boney hand holding the shikomizue were more than enough for Sanji to figure out who it was.
He calmly took a drag from his cigarette. “Me? Blackleg Sanji: Chef of the Strawhat Pirates. Who exactly do you think you are, shitty skeleton, threatening your crewmates like that?”
The visible hand shook slightly as Brooke lowered his weapon and stepped out of the shadows. Even after a hundred years, he still looked exactly like how Sanji last saw him, afro and all.
“S-sanji-san…it really is you…” The chef saw tears start to form in his friend’s eye sockets before he dropped to his knees and pulled him into a fierce hug.
“What are you doing here…no, better yet, how can you possibly be here, Sanji-san?”
“Nami-san was taken…followed her…can’t breathe Brooke…”
“Ah, sorry.” He let Sanji go, who wasted no time in shakily getting back to his feet. Brooke followed suit. “If Nami-san is here too, then it must be that time…with Luna-san…and Zoro-san…”
“Luna-san? I’ve never met anyone by that name, and I’d think I’d remember someone as gorgeous as she sounds.” He leaned against the wall. “And what does Marimo have to do with any of this.”
The musician turned his head towards the ground. “I…honestly don’t recall…any of the specifics…”
Sanji was troubled by his friend’s hesitation. “Just spit it out. What happened?”
“Really…if I’d have known I would see you again like this…”
“You’re rambling, just say it already.”
“I guess…it won’t make…much of a difference anyway…it could though…”
“Brooke! What happened to Zoro?!”
Brooke jumped at the ferocity in his friend’s voice. “Zoro-san…never came back from his trip through time.”
Chapter 5: That Green Gentleman
Word Count: 3,040
Sanji stared at the skeleton. “What do you mean he never came back?”
“Just what I said, he never came back.”
“So…” he mentally chastised himself for even considering the option, “he died?”
“That’s what the rest of us assumed. You and Luffy-san and Nami-san never would talk about this little trip of yours.”
“Luffy’s here too? What exactly do you remember?”
“Not much…I already told you, you guy’s never talked about it.”
“But you must remember something, right?!”
Brooke was startled at the sudden change in tone of his friend’s voice. “I-I do…but…”
~~~
“What’s taking them so long?” Chopper asked worriedly.
“Chill dude, it’s only been like what, five minutes?” Franky said. “How long did she say they’d be?”
“About five minutes,” Robin answered, glancing at the spot where their friends disappeared.
Suddenly a metallic smell followed by a tearing sound erupted through the landscape. Nami and Sanji came stumbling out of a tear that appeared in the air followed shortly by Luffy and Luna bringing up the rear. As soon as she was through, Luna turned to face the tear and pulled up from the bottom like a zipper, sealing the portal.
“Wait, where’s Zoro?” Usopp asked. “Why did you seal that when Zoro hasn’t come back yet?”
That’s when they noticed that all of their returning friends wore the same downcast expression.
“Zoro…won’t be coming back.” Luffy said simply. Nothing more was said on the matter.
~~~
“So…he could have not died?”
Brooke shrugged. “Maybe. I used to hold on to that hope too, that someday I’d catch up to him and see him again. But the longer I can’t find him, the more hope I lose. This isn’t a pirate’s era anymore.”
“That idiot’s too stubborn to die anyway…” Sanji muttered.
“Of course he is.” The skeleton stood and offered the chef a hand, which he gratefully accepted as the musician pulled him to his feet.
“Bassia I assume?” Sanji nodded. Brooke slung the blonde’s arm over his shoulders and walked them out of the alleyway.
“Where are you taking us? The Blue Station is the other way!”
“Yes, we’re going to see Sunny.”
“I’ve already talked to her! We need to go get Nami-san back!”
“You can barely stand, Sanji-san. What do you expect to do against this new foe? Besides, she won’t be there by the time you get to Neo Water 7.”
“What do you mean?! Of course she will be.”
Brooke sadly shook his head. “If you’re going after who I think you’re going after, then she will certainly not be there by the time you get there, for you see, it’s about time that the base gets moved.”
“Who’s base?”
“Her base.”
“Who is she?”
“Oh, have you not met her yet?”
Sanji then had a vision of stark black hair, cold black eyes, and a painfully pointy heel in his gut. “Oh, you mean her. Why don’t you just use her name?”
“Do you know her name?” Brooke asked hopefully.
“Now that I think about it, no.”
He sighed. “I thought as much. No one does, not even the Government. She ‘helps’ them out though, so they don’t think much of it.”
“But how do you know she’s moving? Where is she going?”
“I doubt anyone but she actually knows where she’s going. As for the how, it’s what she always does. I’ve been looking for her for a while now, but every time I get to her new base, she’s already gone. I might have made it this time, but, well, I saved you instead.”
Sanji looked away awkwardly. “You didn’t have to do that…”
“It matters not; we have all the time in the world to finish our duel.”
At this point they had arrived back at the docks where the Thousand Sunny was anchored. Sanji disentangled himself from Brooke and started to attempt to climb onboard using the conveniently placed rope ladder. Brooke jumped aboard and reached down to help his friend the rest of the way up the ladder. When they both made it to the grassy deck, two splashes made them turn to find Sunny facing them with a bloody hammer.
“Sunny…what was that?” Sanji asked hesitantly.
“Just some looters. I took care of them though.” She grinned and ran forward to embrace Brooke. “Brooke! You haven’t stopped by in forever.”
“Sorry, Sunny-san. I’ve been busy.” He replied as they twirled around in a circle.
“So,” she said, stepping away from Brooke as she grinned at him and Sanji, “what can I do for you boys?”
“Sanji-san here needs to get that Bassia out of his system,” Brooke replied. “Food and rest would be nice for us both, and I guess it’s back to square one for us.”
“Kay. I managed to finally fix Mini Merry, so you can use that when you go out again.”
“Sunny, you’re a dear.” Sanji said as he walked over and placed his hand on the Klabautermann’s head. “I can stand now, so leave the food to me.”
She nodded and took his hand to guide him into the kitchen. His kitchen. Sanji was delighted to find that, other than a layer of dust coating every surface and a few missing items here and there, not much had changed.
“You took your knives with you,” Sunny stated, “and looters managed to walk away with a few items, but everything else should still be here. I can’t keep perishables on board, but there might be something in the cabinets.”
The cook nodded and started pilfering through the cabinets. He found enough ingredients to throw something together for him and Brooke and set to work.
Just as Sanji was putting the finishing touches on his culinary masterpiece, Brooke waltz in the kitchen carrying an eternal pose.
“So you found it alright?” Sunny asked.
“Yes. Thank you for looking after it.”
“Where are we going next?” Sanji asked, handing him his food. He took it and handed the pose to Sanji.
“Just a little place where we can gather information.”
“Brooke…this can’t be right. Eternal poses can’t lock on to ships.”
“It’s very difficult and time consuming, but it’s possible. How do you think people are supposed to find places like Neo Water 7 if they keep moving around?”
“If you say so…” He traced over the name on the eternal pose, trying to stop the flood of memories that came back by looking at the word.
Baratie.
***
Luffy jumped off the train as soon as it pulled into the station. After it came to a complete stop, Zoro, Usopp, and Luna followed suit. She tossed Luffy his hat and handed Wado to Zoro and Shuusui to Usopp, keeping Kitetsu to herself.
“Uh, what’re you doing?” Zoro asked. “Those are all mine.”
“Did you listen to a word I said on the train?” she replied while fastening the blade to her waist. “If you find that you are not strong enough to handle the no name pick-pockets that we will come across on our way through the city with only one sword, then by all means feel free to take them back.”
The swordsman mumbled something before nodding his head towards the sword she possessed. “That’s cursed, you know.”
She grinned devilishly. “Thanks for caring, Zoro-kun, but it’ll take more than some sword-curse to take me out.”
“C’mon! We gotta get going!” Luffy shouted as he ran out of the station.
“Urg, this thing is heavy…” Usopp complained. “Zoro, switch with me.”
“No. You’ll be fine.” He helped him tie the sword on his back and then turned and followed his captain. Luna and Usopp followed close behind.
“So, where do we go from here?” Luffy asked, turning expectantly to their guide.
“Um…” she looked at the streets as if expecting there to be some sign. “This way,” she decided, pointing down the dark street a little to the group’s left, “I think.”
“You think?” Usopp asked. “You’re supposed to be the one who knows where she’s going!”
“Shut it Nosey, it’s been a while.” She turned and walked down her selected street.
“N-nosey?! Wait a minute…” his protests were cut short as his friends followed Luna.
“You coming, Usopp?” Luffy asked. He sighed and followed.
After five dead ends and three wrong buildings, Luna finally stopped in front of a brick building with a large wooden door and a dome roof, just like every other building on this street, which she claimed to be where Nami and Sanji were.
“You sure it’s the right one this time?” Zoro asked.
“Yes, this time I’m positive.” She nodded confidently.
“Alright then.” Luffy said as he punched down the door…again.
“You could think of another way in,” Usopp complained, “considering what happened the last time…”
“Don’ts worry ya heads abouts that.” A voice said from inside the building. “Ya finally gots da right ones.”
“Indeed.” A second voice said. “I was starting to worry you would never be able to pick the right one, Psi-chan.”
Luffy wasted no time charging into the building with Zoro at his heels. Luna and Usopp casually followed them in. Once inside they were face to face with Jasper and Horace, who were standing in the middle of a large, circular room looking all too pleased with themselves.
“Where’re Sanji and Nami?” Luffy said, glaring at them.
“We are sorry to inform you that your ‘Sanji’ appears to have been misplaced.” Horace replied.
The pirate captain was not pleased with this response and expressed his displeasure by destroying the column he was standing next to. “Where is he?”
The minions gulped. “I-it don’ts matters much any mores. H-he’s deads by nows.” Jasper sputtered out.
Zoro tied his bandana on his head and unsheathed his sword before stepping forward to stand next to Luffy, grabbing the sword Luna had in the process. “Tell us where he is and we’ll be the judges of that.”
“We were instructed to keep you gentlemen and lady busy while our boss deals with some…other business matters.” Horace said as he pointed his cane as Zoro and took a fencing stance. “If you do manage to subdue us without beating us into unconsciousness, you may find us to be a bit more cooperative.”
“Is that a challenge?” Zoro asked as he took a fighting stance. Jasper brought out his kunai knives as Luffy cracked his knuckles. A few seconds of pre battle tension occurred before the brothers suddenly lunged at their opponents.
Usopp and Luna ducked behind a nearby column. “Okay, you two can take care of them!” Usopp shouted.
“Good luck!” Luna added, giving them a thumbs up.
Horace lunged at Zoro who easily dodged and retaliated with a downward slice of his one. Horace managed to jump out of the way and countered with a jab to Zoro’s torso which was easily blocked by the second katana. He jumped out of the way of another slice which the green haired man was about to follow up with if an explosion from the other side of the room hadn’t distracted him.
Luffy went flying through the air and hit (and destroyed) another wooden door. He jumped to his feet and glared down his opponent.
“That’s…like from Sky Island…”
“Not ‘likes’ from da skys; is froms da skys.” Jasper grinned before lunging forward to slice at Luffy’s arm and leg with his kunai only to be stopped by a fist to his face.
“Hissatsu Kayaku Boshi!” Zoro heard Usopp shout and turned around in time to see something blow up in his opponents face. The swordsmen internally cursed himself for letting his not-worry for Sanji’s wellbeing transfer to not-worry for Luffy and distract him from his fight. Both of them could easily take care of themselves and not-worrying like this was stupid and could easily get him killed.
“Nice shot Usopp.” Luna commented. “I guess you really can fight.”
“Of course I can fight! How else could I have managed to repel the ninja turtles that tried to overtake my village when I was only three years old? I remember it like it was yesterday…”
Usopp’s epic tale was cut short by Horace’s sudden appearance by his side. “You stay out of the way, please,” he said before lunging and hitting Usopp’s arm with his pimp cane. The liar stepped back, holding his injured arm while Luna delivered a karate chop to the spot between hi s neck and shoulder. The man fell backwards only to be caught between Zoro’s swords. “So this is where you crawled off to. Oi Luffy!” He shouted, not taking his eyes off of Horace. “You done over there?”
“Yeah.” He walked over to where the others were, dragging a beaten but still conscious Jasper behind him.
“I’ll ask you again,” Luffy said, slamming him into the column, “Where. Is. Sanji?”
Jasper ground his teeth at Luffy, refusing to respond. Zoro flipped his swords so that the blades were facing Horace’s neck.
“We’re tired of playing games!” He pulled back to slam him into the column again, this time causing it to crack and his victim to cough up blood. “What did you do with Sanji? Where are you keeping Nami?!”
“Now now, even Royalty needs to ask nicely you know.” Luffy and Zoro blinked only to find the brother’s missing. They turned around to find them standing by a black haired woman who just so happened to have Nami tied up by her side.
“Nami!” Luffy shouted before rushing forward.
“Time out.” a little girl the pirate captain failed to notice said. The next thing he knew, his arms were tied in a knot behind his back and he was being held at sword point by the woman.
Zoro glanced back and forth between his now empty hand and Luna still standing behind the column. “How did you…”
“Time travel is quite a tricky thing, you know.” She laughed and nodded her head towards her minions. “You two go ahead and take her to the new base. Don’t screw up this time.” They nodded in sync Horace slung Nami over his shoulder and they both started walking towards the front doorway. Nami started kicking at his face, shouting obscenities all the while.
Zoro rushed forward to block them, grabbing his last sword from Usopp’s back on his way. He was almost there when he heard shout “Time out.” He blinked and Luna appeared in front of him with a cut across her cheek and thigh, holding Wado while the woman was a few steps away with the girl, nursing a large gash on her left forearm. Horace, Jasper, Nami, and Usopp were nowhere to be found.
The woman smirked. “I wonder how long you can keep that up, child.”
“Long enough hag.” Luna replied. She turned and put Zoro’s sword in his mouth for him. The girl said “Time Out” once more and he noted that this time Luna said it too. When he blinked he found Luna dragging him to the ground as a bullet passed through the place where his head was moments before. The green-haired man looked around to find the girl hiding behind a column, the woman holding a gun and looking severely disappointed, and Luna jumping up and aiming a kick at her. As the two continued to fight, Zoro also noticed Luffy was standing unnaturally still in the center of the room.
“What the…”
“Time’s stopped.” Luna shouted over her fight. “Got you,” she ducked to dodge the pistol that was being whipped at her face, “out too. Do what,” she dodge rolled to the side and kicked out a foot that the woman easily back stepped to avoid, “you want.”
“Like what.”
“Whatever.” She gasped as a heel drove itself into her gut. Luna barely managed to dodge out of the way as the pistol came around to whip her again. Zoro made his way over to Luffy and attempted to untie his arms.
“Where’d the others go?”
“Don’t know.” She managed to back flip out of the way of a punch but it was clear that she was slowing down. “Got away.”
He had just managed to untie his captain’s arms when he heard the girl say, “Time in.” He blinked and the two women stopped fighting as Luffy started moving.
“Eh? Zoro? How’d you get all the way over here? Oi, you!” he shouted, pointing at the woman, “where’d you take Nami?”
“Away. I’d suggest you go after her, but I’m not going to let you out of here alive.” She turned to the little girl, “Sweetie, can you do that once more?”
The girl nodded and was about to speak again. “Usopp Pound!” Usopp jumped down from the second floor balcony, giant hammer at hand, and hit the girl on the head.
“Ow!” She hissed, turning to kick him in the leg.
“Time Out!” Luna shouted. She grabbed Luffy and Zoro’s arms and started dragging them outside, along the way managing to aim a kick at Usopp. When he was unfrozen, she motioned for him to follow. Once outside, the pirates broke free from her grasp right before she collapsed to her knees. Usopp quickly knelt down to help her up. When it was clear that she couldn’t stand, Zoro helped her on to Usopp’s back.
“Quick…get out of here.” She muttered.
“To where?” Zoro asked.
“Anywhere…we just…need to…get out now.” She panted.
After wandering around the frozen city, Usopp found a completely deserted alleyway for them. When she was sure the coast was clear, Luna muttered “Time in,” bringing the city back to life.
Zoro glance at the people moving outside of the alleyway. None of them had noticed the four of them appearing out of nowhere. Luna had slid off of Usopp’s back and was now sitting up against the wall. The sniper was currently checking to make sure she was alright, while Luffy was seated across from her, hat shadowing his eyes as he looked at the ground. Zoro put his hand on his captain’s shoulder.
“We’ll get them back.” He said to his swordsman. “We’ll find Sanji and we’ll track them down, and we’ll get them back.” Zoro could only nod in agreement