Materials: Elton John lyrics, a bag of Cheetos, some tea, my imagination, a rockin' sweet playlist of music, an Eiffel 65 CD, my ability to make shit up as I go

Time: roughly seven and a half to eight hours over two nights

Apologies Issued To: Eiichiro Oda, Sir Elton John, fans of certain NFL teams, William Shakespeare, New York City, Star Wars and other movies, suburbia, Aztecs, Tennshi-san (I stole an OC without permission), residents of the state of Montana, Chopper fangirls/fanboys, florists, the concept of keeping a plot, hurricanes and the sort-of abrupt ending

Notes: If you see errors in spelling/grammar towards the end, don't shell me out please. The site/server or whatever is acting up and I had to go roundabout to post this.


Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters

The rain beat down mercilessly on the streets of New York City. Supposedly they were experiencing a lower-class hurricane, but all the people felt was sharp, piercing rain. The storm that simply poured nearly a meter of flood water along Florida's eastern coast was considerably slower now, being the weather had yet to let up for a day and a half. Still, it had yet to deter citizens and tourists alike from taking to the streets. Although the sidewalks and roads were not packed, they still held a considerable number of people.

Monkey D. Luffy was just one of those people.

Fresh out of his senior high school for the day, the teen ran down the streets, grinning from ear to ear. He purposely splashed in the puddles and laughed when a passing vehicle splattered him with water. Giggling profusely, he clambered up to a shopfront and cheerily burst through the door.

And now I know

Spanish Harlem are not just pretty words to say

"What do you want now Luffy?" muttered Ace as he stared at his soaking wet brother. It was bad enough his kid brother could find him at a moment's notice, but the man was at least attempting to get through a study session without falling asleep. He heard a series of disapproving moans come from his friends Marco, Kai and Jozu as Luffy involuntarily created a puddle on the clean coffeehouse floor. The other patrons, most of whom were either busy doting over notebook computers or college students like himself, were all staring at the spectacle of a sopping wet teen in a decidedly fashion faux pas straw hat.

"Please can I borrow Merry? Please, please, please, pleeeease?" Luffy quickly requested. "I promise I won't run into any more lightposts!"

"Go away Luffy," Ace grumbled. "If I don't pass this law class, Grandpa's kickin' me out and you know how much I suck and need all the studying time I can get."

"Just let him take it," Kai sighed, brushing some hair away from her face. "Get the kid out of here."

"Yeah, considering most of the 'studying' you do is just flirting with Kai," Marco smirked. He and Jozu guffawed at the joke as Ace dug in his pocket and found a set of car keys.

"Anything happens and you're dead," he said as Luffy quickly took the keys and turned on his heel.

"Thanks Ace! I owe ya one!" the teen smiled before running out the door. The coffeehouse returned to normal functionality again with the puddle of rainwater still staring down Ace.

"Only my brother," he muttered. "Only my brother."

I thought I knew

But now I know that rose trees never grow in New York City

Roronoa Zoro did not just hate his part-time job. He absolutely loathed it. He had moved to New York with some friends from high school and to date was the only one out of the three to hold down a steady paycheck more than five weeks. The bums in his low-rent apartment probably were not even qualified to sell fully smothered kielbasa on the street corner for all he knew. That was why he was the one stuck in the dead-end job that was nowhere near a choice career and definitely far from the excitement and adventure he had dreamed of when he stubbornly made the move from small-town Montana to big and bustling New York City.

"I thought I told you to water these flowers!" his boss snapped, pointing sharply at the collection of potted plants that sat directly outside the door to the shop. The tall man glared with his piercing yellow eyes, something that his less-than-stellar employee was all too used to by now. Zoro scratched his neck just below his left ear, making his earrings clang together.

"I did," the green-haired clerk replied. "There's plenty of water outside, so I put them outside."

"You idiot farm boy! How many times do I have to tell you to use the watering can!?" Zoro's boss pulled one of the plants inside and poured some of the excess water from the ceramic pot into one adjacent to the door. He then forced Zoro to pull the rest in as he scolded the young man some more. "These are on special order for an off-Broadway production in a few weeks. Have you ever seen A Midsummer Night's Dream without rose bushes?"

"Uh, no. Sounds like it'd make a good porno title though."

"Why haven't I fired you yet?"

"...because I'm the only one that shows up to work when he's supposed to, totally sober," Zoro remarked, chuckling at the memory of the other day-shift sleaze stumbling into work completely high-tripping the week before.

Just then the door opened, chiming the bell to signal customers. Luffy swaggered in, triumphant and light-hearted.

"Come on Zoro, let's go!" he smiled. "We gotta go right now if we're gonna make it!"

"What are we going to pick them up in, idiot?" Zoro sighed. Luffy held up the car keys he had gotten from Ace and grinned.

"I got Merry. Let's go!"

Zoro looked at his boss and raised a black eyebrow. He had asked for the afternoon off beforehand. His boss just rolled his eyes and walked away, sending a satisfied smirk across Zoro's face. Zoro quickly removed his black apron, placed it on the peg in the wall and bolted from the shop.

Until you've seen this trash can dream come true

You stand at the edge while people run you through

Nami grumbled sourly as she adjusted the collar on her coat. The recent rain was all fine and decent, yet the chill to the air it brought was not. She watched as a lone car passed the gazebo she was currently taking shelter in, not stopping or even showing signs of slowing down. The redhead leaned up against a pillar and vehemently sighed.

"I wish those two idiots would hurry it up," she thought openly. "We could have taken the subway and found them faster.

"Don't worry about it," replied the other occupant of the gazebo. Nami turned her head slightly and saw that he was seated on a bench and sketching in his plain notebook, paying no attention to the time or weather. He glanced over at her and flashed an amused smile. "They'll turn up."

"Usopp, ever since Luffy found that stupid hick-florist to tag around with, he's been showing up later and later. The two of them can waste half a tank of gas wandering around the city just trying to find us," Nami growled. "It's bad enough that stupid thing's such a clunker."

"At least Luffy has wheels," Usopp pointed out as he went back to his sketch. Nami rolled her eyes and nodded in silent agreement. She walked over to sit next to him, placing her worn leather art bag next to the bench. Leaning her head gently on his shoulder, Nami watched as Usopp penciled out a drawing of a young woman, one she had seen in photographs with him.

"You miss her, don't you?" Nami asked, the corners of her mouth turning in a faint smile of knowledge.

"Yeah," Usopp sighed. He began shading in the grassy lawn under her feet, his thoughts going back to lazy summers long ago in the Tennessee mountains with his parents, the smell of his mother's sweet berry pies and playing the days away with the neighbor's daughter. The teen frowned as he remembered his mother dying and the neighbor-girl moving away in almost the same week. In a way he was grateful, for he and his dad moved to the city, allowing him to meet Luffy and Nami in middle school, but nothing could replace the blonde now cooped up in some house just outside of Toledo.

Just then, an old van pulled up behind them. Bought from an old delivery company, it was rusted around the wheels and the exhaust made a rather rude sputter-bang noise upon being shifted into park, but Nami and Usopp both smiled gratefully when they realized it was there.

"I told you they'd show up!" Usopp laughed as he packed up his things. He and Nami both ran through the rain and piled into the opening door to land on the warm, soft rug on the floor of the vehicle.

"Nami, Usopp, why do you have to go to school so far away now?" Luffy whined as he closed the door. The straw hat-donning teen was drier now, only a little damp around the sneakers.

"How many times do I have to tell you that Usopp and I go to a special art school on scholarship now?" Nami muttered as she felt the van roll forwards. She hugged her knees and raised her eyebrow at her childhood classmate, trying to figure out if that month it was fifty-seven or fifty-eight.

"...at least once more," Zoro chuckled from the driver's seat. Nami took off her sandal and when Zoro came to a stop, she took careful aim at the back of his moss-green head.

"At least I don't have an apparent fascination with looking like some country-punk reject," she snarled. Zoro made a rather rude hand gesture and made a left turn.

"I know I gotta be on 22nd, but what street do I turn off at?" he asked. Nami hopped into the front passenger seat, groaning as she fastened her seatbelt.

"First off, this isn't 22nd, you idiot. Secondly, we don't even need to be anywhere near 22nd."

"Well, then that explains a lot."

"God, I hate you."

And I thank the Lord there's people out there like you

I thank the Lord there's people out there like you

Sanji was not all that sure about what had possessed him to continue hanging around those losers. Maybe it was the fact that they, somehow and beyond all possible logic, knew some really good-looking women. Drop-dead gorgeous and much prettier than many of the skank-bags that ate at his foster father's diner most definitely. Then again, he was not too sure about why he had not moved out of his foster father's home yet. Sanji was out of the foster care system for sure and the old man treated him like crap. He virtually worked the diner's grill for next to nothing in pay and was probably the best thing to touch a spatula in that place since, well, ever. He took a deep, relaxing drag of his cigarette as he waited underneath the tarp covering the entrance to the Baratie. He was sick of the rain already. It depressed him more than those losers and their faded brown van... and that was a hard piece to beat.

He stared emotionlessly as he watched the rusty van pull up and he could see his companions for the trip open the back sliding door to the windowless cargo area. He put out his cigarette in annoyance. To his chagrin, it was not simply Nami in a miniskirt and tight white t-shirt beckoning him towards the vehicle. That just would have meant he had died and gone to heaven. No... it just had to be the youngest two idiots with his Nami sitting in the front seat arguing with the dunderhead. Splendid.

"Nami–i," he whined as he shut the door. "Why can't it be just the two of us back here? These two losers can help the Moss-Brains drive."

"You and the back of a shag-carpet van? No way," Nami replied, not even looking towards Sanji. She pointed at the corner Zoro was quickly approaching and the driver took the right sharply. Sanji was, due to the lack of things like seats, seatbelts, etc, in the back of the vehicle, flung into the door, Luffy and Usopp flying into him in uncomfortable positions.

"Bastard! You did that on purpose!" the blond man snapped once he shove the disorientated Usopp and Luffy off him. Zoro chuckled and purposely swerved sharply into another lane.

While Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters

Sons of bankers, sons of lawyers

Turn around and say good morning to the night

The young teen was giddy with excitement as he wolfed down his dinner of chocolate cereal drenched in milk. He quickly downed the remaining milk in the bowl and put the bowl in the kitchen sink. Gramps and Gran would have never let him get away with sugary cereal for dinner back home. Well, Gramps would... then Gran would have just thrown a fit, so it was not a very good idea to try. He ran over to the window of the high-rise and looked out, giggling at the amount of rain that was coming down.

"It almost looks like you've never seen rain before," said a voice. The boy looked and saw his elder cousin come out of her bedroom, throwing her raincoat on over her good clothes.

"Robin... why do you have to be such a bitch when you tease me?"

"Watch your language and as a matter of fact, I was only making an observation. Come on now Tony, or we are going to be late." Robin pointed towards the boy's own raincoat and watched as he took it and smiled sheepishly as he put it on.

"Can't you call me Chopper? That's what all the kids at school call me."

"No," Robin sighed, straightening Chopper's collar. She ruffled his unruly brown hair and chuckled. "I do not care what the kids back in Pittsburgh call you, because you are still my little cousin Tony. Would you rather me call you 'Anthony'?"

"No, but I still don't see why I have to go out with you on a date with your boyfriend," Chopper pouted.

"Business associate."

"He's so your boyfriend."

"You have gotten lip since you last came to visit," Robin noted as she grabbed her car keys on the way out the door. Chopper giggled in delight. Spending time with his cousin in the city was always fun, even if she did take him to the most boring places. Sometimes he would give anything to get away from Gramps and Gran. Not that he did not love them or anything like that, but they were both doctors and he could really feel the pressure at home. Robin was a historian though. She broke the family's medical-career mold and seemed a lot more laid back about his future. Chopper did want to become a doctor in the end, but the great thing about Robin was, she really did not care.

For unless they see the sky

But they can't and that is why

They know not if it's dark outside or light

"Why did you want to meet here again?" Franky asked as he sat down across the booth from Robin. The woman simply smiled at him and replied rationally.

"I just wanted to meet somewhere different."

Franky was sure that "different" could not even begin to describe the place. It was poorly-lit and stunk of cheap booze and had a fading stench of tobacco. The entrance was below the sidewalk, something that did not sit well with him at all. He was used to being able to at least look out a window. Then there was the fact that his pants itched him for some reason. If all unreasonable long-legged pants such as his just disappeared, he would have been the happiest man this side of the Mississippi. Poking his straw through his glass of cola, he gathered up the courage to speak up again.

"Did you have to bring the brat?" he asked, motioning towards Chopper. The teen muttered a few expletives in retaliation before Robin came back with a reply.

"A week with my cousin Tony is a full week, not leaving him alone in my apartment. Did you bring what you wanted me to examine?"

"It's not here. I got pictures though," Franky said, taking some photographs from his jacket pocket. Robin smiled smugly as she shuffled through them, examining each one in the low light of what was supposed to have at one point been a "family-orientated pool room". Yeah, right.

"Where did you find this?" Robin asked. Franky grinned.

"Off the coast of Baja California. Super, huh?" He pointed at one of the photographs and turned it so it faced Robin. "Paulie and Kiwi found this one on their dive. We thought we were looking for sunk ships, not Atlantis."

"Aztecs, Franky, Aztecs," Robin sighed. She could tell that what Franky and his team had come across was something worth investigating.

"Hey Robin, can I go play pool?" Chopper asked. He pointed over towards the only other patrons in the establishment and grinned. "Please?"

Robin looked over and saw the group seat by and currently occupying the pool table. They were all in their late teens, not too much older than her cousin, so that was a plus for Chopper. There was a token girl with them, her fiery hair seemingly matching the personality she was showing by verbally keeping her companions in line. One of the older men appeared to resemble a green-haired cowboy in his body language and the other was a blond trash-talked who swooned every time the girl scolded him. There were two boys that were probably not too much younger, though they mainly caused trouble by blowing bubbles in their soda and other petty and childish things such as that. Robin gave in and nodded, allowing Chopper to happily saunter over towards the pool table.

"You're cruel," Franky said as he watched Chopper cross the room. "They're gonna probably chew him up. City kids are different from suburb tykes."

"I think he can handle it," Robin said. She then picked up another photograph and examined it carefully. "Tell me again exactly where off the coast you found this..."

This Broadway's got

It's got a lot of songs to sing

If I knew the tunes I might join in

"This place is lame," Sanji groaned as he leaned up against the wall. He tapped his pool cue on the wall impatiently as Zoro calculated his shot. The barroom, which basically what it was, sat near completely empty. The rain, which had just started to recede when they came in, had kept out all but eight customers. Sanji watched as Zoro pocketed the wrong ball, forfeiting his turn.

"You just think it is lame because your boss lets you smoke," Usopp said as he took his turn at the table. He picked off three striped balls before placing the cue ball in a rather tough spot for Luffy to get out of. Luffy instead hit the eight ball in the side pocket and declared himself mightily victorious, not realizing that he had lost the game for both him and Zoro.

That was about when Sanji noticed the young teenaged boy from the other side of the barroom jovially stand up and walk over towards them. He seemed to be brimming with excitement as he crossed the room. The kid was scrawny with blue eyes that seemed to be something else. His scraggly hair was a soft brown and he wore a hot-pink t-shirt with a white X on it.

"Hi there!" the boy said once he was in an earshot. "My name's Chopper. Can I play with you guys?"

"I don't know, can you?" Sanji replied.

"Yeah kid," Zoro added. "Go back to your parents."

"That's my cousin and her business boyfriend," Chopper said. "I had to come along because I'm only visiting for a while and Robin doesn't want me alone."

"You're not from around here?" Nami asked, smiling kindly. She pulled out the seat next to her and let the boy sit.

"I normally live with my Gran and Gramps in Pittsburgh."

"I hate the Steelers. They're such dicks and those fans and their towels are dumbasses," Zoro scowled as he too sat down. There was no use in trying to face Sanji and Usopp in a rematch with a partner like Luffy. Chopper stared at Zoro, unsure about how to react.

"Don't worry about the Seaweed-Head over there," Sanji said as he leaned up against the wall. "Knowing him, he's probably a Cardinals or Lions fan... the retard."

"What does that make you? A Giant or a Jet?" Zoro snapped back. Sanji scowled and shrugged.

"I'm not that into football, bastards," Chopper said. Sanji and Zoro paid no heed though, as they were both in a glaring fight.

"I like you," Luffy smiled. "You seem like fun." He sat down next to Chopper and cocked his head slightly.

"Thanks," Chopper said, slightly confused. He had not really done anything yet, so he was curious as to what he had done that was so much "fun".

"Tony," called Robin from the other side of the room. "Come on, we're leaving."

"Robin! Come on!" Chopper whined. "I'm trying to make some friends!" Luffy stood up and waved at Robin and Franky, both of whom were standing up now.

"Wanna ride?" he asked. "It's probably still raining."

"Sure little bro," Franky said, walking over towards the group. "How can I be so sure this is not a trap though?"

"Do you see the great Admiral running around screaming his head off?" Usopp asked with a grin. "Trust me, we're cool."

"What do you mean, 'we'?" Zoro asked. "It's Luffy's van."

"Yeah, but we'll be stranded here if we don't go, Dipshit," Sanji said as he headed over towards the door, smacking Zoro's head as he passed. The blond man went weak-kneed at the sight of Robin, holding the door open for her.

I'll go my way alone

Grow my own, my own seeds shall be sown in New York City

"Are you sure you know where you're going?" Franky asked as he rested his arms on the back of the bench seat of the van. Zoro was still driving, except this time, Sanji had been banished to the passenger side seat to assist him with driving around town.

"Of course I know where we're going," Zoro said. He turned right onto another street and then took a left. "This is easy."

"Dumbshit, I told you to take a left back there, not here," Sanji scoffed.

"Screw you," Zoro spat. Franky sat back down and gave Robin a worried stare.

"I don't think this was a such a super idea after all," he said. Robin just smiled calmly.

"Hush, you are missing the story," she said. Robin motioned over towards where her cousin sat next to Luffy, raptly listening to Usopp with wide eyes.

"I swear, that catfish must have been twenty feet long!" Usopp said, spreading out his arms for effect. Chopper gasped with excitement.

"What did you do?"

"I did what any other brave, sensible man would have done and wrestled it out of the water!" Usopp said. Nami just sighed.

"Your dad told me you ran out of the water screaming and that it was a foot-long bass."

"I was five, come on," Usopp whined. He gave Nami a disapproving look as the van came sputtering to a stop, lurching into place.

"Now what?!" Nami snapped.

"We're out of gas, I think," Zoro grumbled as he got out of the van. The sky was clear, the rain having finished passing over during the drive, leaving everything soaked to the core. Everyone else stepped from the van into the chilly night air and took a look around.

"Hey, isn't this Central Park?" Chopper asked, pointing to a group of trees that was nearby. Robin smiled and ruffled her cousin's hair.

"You're right," she said. "Why don't we take a walk?"

"This late at night?" Chopper asked, looking warily at the silent stretch before them. He recoiled slightly behind Robin, hiding his face in her coat.

"Oh, don't be such a baby!" Luffy giggled. He shoved Chopper in the shoulder and laughed as he ran off. "You're it!"

"Hey!" Chopper exclaimed, running off after him. The others simply stood there.

"Should we go fetch them?" Franky asked.

"Why not?" Sanji said, stubbing out his cigarette on the sidewalk. "Not like we've got nothin' else better to do."

Subway's no way for a good man to go down

Rich man can ride and the hobo he can drown

When the "rescue party" found their targets, they were covered from head to toe in mud. There had been a patch of lawn near the center of the park where people from the city had been digging and the dirt had not been replaced yet, creating a nice-sized mud puddle for Luffy to tackle Chopper into. The two were happily rolling around in the pit, not caring that the others were staring them down.

"Ahem..." Nami said to clear her throat. Luffy and Chopper look up from their mud clods to see theat Nami was beyond irritated. Luffy stood up quickly and smiled hopefully.

"Sorry Nami...?"

"Look at you two, you're a mess," the redhead scolded. "We barely know these people and we are not only lost, but now you got the kid all filthy!"

"He started it!" Chopper said, pointing at Luffy. The straw-hatted teen quickly made a dive and hugged Nami in apology, smearing mud all over the front of her.

"Idiot!" Nami huffed, trying to push Luffy away. Instead, he held on tightly, allowing himself to fall back into the mud, taking Nami with him.

"Hey, that's no way to treat a lady! Luffy, you should know better!" Sanji hissed. He went to kick Luffy, but lost his balance in the slippery mud. He fell on his back, splattering the others in mud.

"Bastard!" Zoro cursed, joining in on the mud fight. Usopp began to join in, simply because he felt like it and before long, everyone aside from Franky and Robin were engaged in a full-blown mud war.

"What are you laughing at?" Franky asked. Robin was giggling softly next to him, confusing the man.

"I never thought I would have seen the night coming to this," she said, a smile on her lips.

"Isn't this kind of silly though?"

"That is why it is so amusing," Robin said as she bent down and scooped some mud into her hand. She stood straight again and glanced sideways at Franky. "You were a kid once, right?"

"You've met Iceburg. Do you think that goodie-two-shoes and I threw mud at each other for fun?"

"Live a little," Robin shrugged, allowing the mud from her hand to slip onto the soft, wet lawn. She patted Franky on the arm, smearing mud on his jacket. Franky looked at her with his eyebrow raised, before taking one quick shove to send her into the mud puddle herself.

And I thank the Lord for the people I have found

I thank the Lord for the people I have found

It was an interesting scene when Officer Preston walked onto the scene. He was just minding his own business, walking around on his shift, when he saw an old van parked on the curb next to Central Park. Cars being parked there late at night was not uncommon, but it was usually the same four or five cars, not a junker brown van with a ram's head painted on the front hood.

"Hey Ted," Officer Preston said into his walkie-talkie. "I'm going to check around in Central Park. Looks like there's an unfamiliar vehicle here."

"Okay," came the static-glazed voice of his partner in a squad car. Officer Preston warily wandered into Central Park, hoping that the van was just nothing special.

Sure enough, right smack dab in the middle of his park, he came across an unusual sight. A full grown man and woman, along with six teenagers, were laughing and playing in a large mud puddle. Officer Preston knew that they had not technically damaged the grass, nor were they really breaking any serious laws, so he just turned around and began to walk away. It was one-thirty in the morning; too early to be arresting people for playing in the mud. If they were still there by the time shift changed and someone else came by, then they could be at least questioned.

"Ted, it's nothing," he said into his walkie-talkie. "Just some kids having a good time. I don't want to spoil the party." Just then the sprinklers turned on and he could hear the surprised yelps of the mud-throwers.

Yeah, someone else can take care of them later for sure. Now was for walking, enjoying the quiet night.

While Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters

Sons of bankers, sons of lawyers

Turn around and say good morning to the night

For unless they see the sky

But they can't and that is why

They know not if it's dark outside or light

Nojiko did not quite fully understand when her sister came trudging into the apartment so early in the morning, covered from head to toe in half-dry mud to boot. She just raised her eyebrow slightly as she looked up from her book.

"Belle-mere's gonna be pissed at you in the morning," she warned. Nami smiled broadly and placed her school bag down on the kitchen table.

"Let's just say that you probably wouldn't understand," the redhead smirked.

"Out with the guys again?"

"...plus some."

"Plus some?"

"Yeah."

"Get to sleep," Nojiko said, turning back to her book. Nami was so exhausted, she could not help but to comply.

And now I know

Spanish Harlem are not just pretty words to say

I thought I knew

But now I know that rose trees never grow in New York City

"I wonder if we'll ever see them again?" Chopper asked Robin as they drove down the highway. Robin smiled.

"Well, New York is a big city," she said. "We can always see Franky, but I do not know about the others."

"I had fun though," Chopper said, resting his head on the car window. "Thanks for having me over."

"You're welcome."

Subway's no way for a good man to go down

Rich man can ride and the hobo he can drown

And I thank the Lord for the people I have found

I thank the Lord for the people I have found

Franky walked into the beach house and quickly found where his coworkers were located. They were all crowded into the kitchen, waiting for him and having some lunch at the same time.

"Hey there Franky!" Zambai cheered, tossing Franky an apple. "Did you get that woman to look at those pictures?"

"Yeah, we've got some Aztec ruins on our hands," Franky laughed. He then walked up behind te only man not at least attempting to have a good time. The man was sketching on a map the plans for the next dive, silently acknowledging Franky with a nod, not even looking up from his work.

"Iceburg?"

"Yeah, Franky?"

"Why didn't we play in the mud as kids?"

"Why do you ask that?"

"Just wondering."

"The mud is filthy."

"Wanna go play right now?"

"No."

"Oh."

While Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters

Sons of bankers, sons of lawyers

Turn around and say good morning to the night

For unless they see the sky

But they can't and that is why

They know not if it's dark outside or light