Chapter 1 - Atlas

It was a beautiful day in Shellstown. The clouds overhead were white and puffy set in a clear blue sky, the sea was gently lapping at the shore and most of the island were going about their daily lives in completely nonchalant normalcy.

The key word in that sentence is of course "most". The men of the local Marine base are having a decidedly unpeaceful day. Already tired from attempting to heave their tyrannical captain's massive monument to his ego upright, the tired marines now find themselves crushed between a rock and a hard place. On one side is their monstrous superior, Captain Axe-Hand Morgan, threatening their lives with his immense and infamous axe hand should they disobey. On the other side stand two men who the frightened Marines can only dub demons.

One looks boyish and friendly as he effortlessly dodges Morgan's massive axe and replies to every attempt to cleave him in two with a punch strong enough to knock the immense Captain reeling. Were they not seeing it with their own eyes, none present would ever believe the boy in the Strawhat had it in him to not only go toe-to-toe with the infamous Captain Morgan, but utterly wipe the floor with him. See it they did though, and even though their brains kept telling them there was no way it was real, that the boy couldn't have taken over a dozen rifle shots to the chest and bounced them back effortlessly, their eyes kept insisting that yes it was, and yes he did.

The other is a man rumored to be a demon, who the Marines have seen strung up and starving in their parade ground for over a week as a result of a bargain he'd made with Captain Morgan's spoiled son for a child's life. Now they knew as they looked into the eyes of the man wielding the three katana, his reputation had been earned by bathing in the blood of enemies far more fearsome than them. Those eyes were like windows into a scene straight from a murder mystery, full of blood and death for any who dared cross the demon Roronoa Zoro. None felt quite brave enough to try their luck, and many were too enraptured by the sight of their superior getting his well deserved pummeling to even begin to consider it. After all, what sort of officer ordered his own men to commit suicide for voicing concern over a strong enemy?

Then, just as the boy in the straw hat slammed Morgan into the ground and reared back to slam a finisher into his iron jaw, a voice rang out, "STOP IT!" Straw hat paid no heed and blasted Morgan across the yard with a punch that sent the massive man skidding and rolling through the dirt. Then Strawhat rose and turned his gaze onto the one who had yelled for him to stop. The marines followed his gaze and saw Captain Morgan's spoiled son Helmeppo pointing a pistol at Strawhat's small pink haired friend.

"ONE FALSE MOVE AND FOUR EYES GETS IT!" Helmeppo shouted once he had Strawhat's attention. It was then that the Marines noticed another figure behind the two weakest people in the yard advancing on them with a pistol of his own in hand as his silent stride carried him across the yard in a few steps. "IF YOU EVEN BLINK I'LL SHOOT!" Helmeppo yelled, completely heedless of the danger behind him. Just as the Marines started to cry out to warn Helmeppo, the figure in the broad hat with the gun raised a finger to his lips and shook his head.

Then the bespectacled boy Helmeppo was attempting to hold hostage shouted, "LUFFY! DON'T LET THEM WIN BECAUSE OF ME! LET HIM KILL ME!" The boy in the hat, Luffy, grinned, "You're a good guy Coby!"

Then the silent man spoke from a few feet behind Helmeppo in a carrying, bone chilling voice, "I quite agree." Helmeppo nearly leapt from his skin in terror as a gunshot rang out. Coby flinched and started looking and feeling for the wound he was certain was there, then he realized Helmeppo was dancing back clutching an empty hand, and then the mangled wreckage of his gun hit the ground. The silent gunman snorted, "Guns aren't for threats, they're for action. If you don't know how to use one then you haven't got any business holding one, and that was the sorriest hostage taking I've ever seen."

Then the marines, Helmeppo and Coby all jumped as Captain Morgan fell to the ground with an earthshaking WHUMP, bleeding from three sword wounds to the chest as Zoro landed behind his captain. Luffy looked over his shoulder with a grin, "Nice one Zoro!"

Zoro grinned around the sword clenched in his teeth, "No sweat, Captain."

Silence reigned for a moment and then the previously silent gunman raised his pistol to push the brim of his hat up and reveal a young, whiskered face with a broad grin, "Captain huh? Are ye recruitin'? I might be of a mind to join." Luffy grinned and laughed, "Shishishi! Yep!"

The man holstered his gun and grinned at the Marines as Zoro shot them a glare and asked, "Anyone still want to capture us?" The Marines exchanged glances and then erupted into cheers. They were so busy cheering that they didn't even notice Zoro collapsing, or the gunman and Luffy running to heft him over their shoulders and carry him out with the bespectacled boy trailing quickly behind them.

Nobody made a move to stop the four young men who had just saved them as they left, but all cheered their success as they hurried to restrain their thankfully former superior.

==Later, A Restaurant in Shells Town==

Luffy excitedly leaned across the table as Zoro tore into the plate of food that was quickly brought out to them, "So, you wanna join my pirate crew?"

The man in the hat with the whiskers raised an eyebrow with a skeptical expression, "Pirate? As in the rape pillage and plunder type?"

Luffy looked decidedly offended, "What?! NO! I just want to be freer than anyone else! I don't need any of that other stuff!" Then a thoughtful look crossed his face, "What's that other stuff?" The man in the hat sat forward as Zoro stopped eating to look at his captain in disbelief.

The hatted man raised two fingers, "Pillage and Plunder, steal and smash people's things for no reason other than that you want to have them but don't want to pay for them." "WHAT?!" Luffy appeared outraged at the mere notion. The hatted man and Zoro both breathed small sighs of relief internally and then the hatted man raised the third finger, "And lastly rape, forcing women to have," he paused and snapped a gaze over to the little girl who was absolutely starry eyed over the four young men.

He leaned over and offered her his now empty glass, "Pardon me child, could I trouble you for a refill?" "Sure!" the little girl chirped before scurrying away to get him a refill. As soon as she was gone the hatted man turned back to Luffy, "And rape is forcing women to have sex when they don't want to."

Luffy tilted his head with a confused expression, "What's sex?" Three heads slammed into the table with a concerted WHAM!

The hatted man raised his head with a small grin, "My name's Trueno D. Atlas, I'd like to join your crew Captain." Luffy grinned, "Okay!" Atlas sat back and looked at Luffy, "Now that I think about it, I don't think I caught any of your names."

Luffy grinned, "I'm Monkey D. Luffy, the man who's gonna be King of the Pirates!" Atlas nodded, "Awesome. Three swords?" Zoro resumed eating with a grin as he declared around a mouthful of food, "Roronoa Zoro, gonna be the world's strongest swordsman." Atlas turned to Coby, "And you?" "M-my name's Coby…" he said with a quiet stammer, "I…I want to be a Marine."

Atlas blinked, "Aaand one of these things is not like the other. What odd circumstances lead to you being part of this merry band?" Coby gulped, "I…I was abducted by a pirate crew. Luffy saved me and I've been traveling with him for a few days now."

He was interrupted as the little girl returned with her mother and drinks and more food for all four of them. Atlas and Luffy immediately dug in with the gusto of starved wolves having abstained from eating until they were sure Zoro had gotten some.

Coby smiled weakly at their abysmal table manners and then dug in himself. When they were done, all four sat back happily stuffed. "That hit the spot!" Zoro declared before looking at Luffy and Atlas, "Kinda funny, you two seem even hungrier than me." Atlas shrugged, "Haven't eaten since yesterday." Luffy shrugged, "Two hours for me." Zoro, Coby and their gracious hosts all stared at the two gluttons.

"Guess it's cause o' my Devil Fruit…" Atlas mused as he scraped up what scraps he could off his plate. Everyone immediately turned to look at him, "You've got a Devil Fruit too?!" Luffy exclaimed excitedly, "Which one?!"

Atlas shot him a quick glance and grin, "It's not much yet, I've only just recently gotten it. It's called the Open-open fruit. So far all I can do is open doors and windows and things. I haven't really tried it on much, although I did open that fence earlier to get the drop on that blond guy." His brows furrowed, "Wonder what else I can do…"

He thought for a moment and then held his hands a little ways apart before frowning at the space between them. His hands shook slightly and then there was a sound like a small gun clap that startled everyone. Atlas grinned, "I can open the air."

Zoro frowned at him, "How do you open air?" Atlas grinned, "I opened a void where air couldn't be. If I'm right then the fact that I can do that means that I can "open" anything, including holes through stone, metal, fire, storms, heck I wonder if I can…" He raised a finger and made a little sliding motion in the air before blinking as a teeny little disturbance appeared. He stared and then grinned before sticking his finger into it. Zoro immediately jumped out of his chair and spun, drawing everyone's attention to the finger sticking out of midair that had just poked him in the back of the head.

Atlas pulled his finger back and grinned at it, "I can open freaking pooortaaals! Ke, tch, KYAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! THIS IS AWESOME!" Then he kicked his chair over backwards and rolled clean out of existence before reappearing across the room landing on his feet and setting his chair upright. He looked back at them with the look of a kid in a candy store, "This, is a dream come true."

Then he dropped through the floor and back into the room next to the table, landing firmly on his feet. He bowed to the little girl's mother, "Madam may I have something to drink in order to celebrate my good fortune?"

The woman blinked in surprise and then smiled, "Of course." Atlas snapped his fingers and then grinned as he reached through another invisible rent in the air to pull his chair back from across the room and sit down in it. Atlas steepled his fingers and grinned, "So Captain, am I cool enough to join?" Luffy grinned widely, "Absolutely! Welcome aboard!"

Zoro grinned, "So, what's next?" Luffy grinned back, "We're headed to the Grand Line." Atlas opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by Coby exclaiming, "ARE YOU INSANE?! THAT'S SUICIDE! THERE'S ONLY THREE OF YOU AND ALL THE STRONGEST PIRATES IN THE WORLD ARE THERE!"

Atlas closed his mouth and turned to Zoro and Luffy. Zoro shrugged, "Makes sense. If we're after the One Piece, then the Grand Line is where we need to go." Coby's head snapped around to look at him, "ZORO?! YOU AGREE WITH HIM?!"

Atlas shrugged, "Why wouldn't he? Even if we get in over our heads, I can open us a portal out of there in an instant." Coby opened his mouth to argue and then closed it back, "I guess that does make sense…" Luffy laughed, "See Coby? There's nothing to worry about!"

Coby mulled that over for a moment, "I'm still worried though! You're my first real friends, can't I be worried about you?" Luffy smiled, "We're going our separate ways now, but we'll always be friends Coby!" Coby's eyes widened and then he nodded with a big watery grin, "Right."

Just then the door opened to reveal a ranking Marine and over a dozen more in the street behind him. The occupants of the small restaurant turned to look at the Marine as he stepped in, "I am sorry to intrude. Excuse me if I am wrong, but you gentlemen are pirates, correct?"

"All except for shorty here," Atlas replied as he jerked a thumb at Coby, "I don't know why he's here." Then he turned to Coby and pointed at the Marines, "Shouldn't you be over there with them Mr. Marine?" Coby's breath caught as Atlas turned back to the Marines, "We found your chore boy. Seems his boat floated off without its paddles. Thought we'd bring him back to ya."

The Marines all looked at Coby, "Is that true son?" Coby wavered for a moment and then nodded, "Yessir! I, I'm not officially a marine yet, but I want to be! Please, I'll do anything, even if it's just chores!"

The Marine contemplated that for a moment and then one of the other Marines spoke up, "Sir, I don't think that's a good idea. Pirates have been known to plant spies in the Navy, what if he's a mole? We should perform a thorough background check on him."

Atlas raised an eyebrow, "You mean like how he wound up traveling with us, or did you mean the way he's tried to stab me and Cap to death in our sleep repeatedly?" Everyone in the room froze. Atlas continued as he shot a glance at Coby, "The runt's tried to shoot us, stab us, roll us overboard, set me on fire and when he figured out he couldn't kill us himself, he led us here, to the stronghold of one of the strongest Marines around. This kid hates pirates. I've regretted pulling him out of the water and been wanting to kill him since we picked him up, but Cap insisted on getting him to his destination. Said it was bad luck or something to leave him…" he muttered darkly.

Luffy crossed his arms and nodded silently as Zoro scooted away from Coby ever so slightly with a wary look. The Marines were wavering and then Atlas sighed, rose and pulled his shirt up to reveal a massive and fairly fresh wound stretching across his stomach from his right hip to the center of his chest, "Does this convince you? The little bastard came within an inch of killing me the first night he was aboard! If it weren't for my powers and Luffy waking up when I hollered, he would have succeeded. He looks harmless, but he's a nightmare to any pirates unfortunate enough to pick him up. How many of Alvida's did you say you axed kid? Twenty or something in their sleep before they realized what you were up to?"

Coby was now looking very nervous as he nodded and shot a glance at the Marines. Atlas continued, "Apparently the only reason he didn't get Alvida is because her blubber protected her. Even if you don't take him, we do NOT want him on our ship to stab us in our sleep, or poison us, or whatever else that devious little mind of his can concoct over the course of a voyage. Now that I think about it…" Atlas's eyes narrowed dangerously and then he teleported behind Coby and caught him by the shoulders, "YOU LITTLE SHIT!" he roared as he lifted Coby off his feet and spun to throw him out the door into the Marines waiting outside.

The marine in charge stood back up from where he had ducked under Coby's flying form and pointed an incriminating finger at the three pirates, "THAT'S ENOUGH! HE IS CLEARLY NOT YOUR ALLY NOW PLEASE LEAVE! WE'LL NOT REPORT YOU TO MARINE HEADQUARTERS AS THANKS FOR SAVING OUR TOWN, BUT LEAVE NOW!"

Atlas growled, "That's for the Captain to decide." Luffy raised a hand with a small smile, "We'll leave." Zoro and Luffy rose from the table and the Marines backed away from the door. Luffy led the way out, his ears picking up the faintest breath of a whisper that he was sure reached Coby's ears as they passed by him, "Good luck kid." Zoro and Atlas flanked him as they strode past the Marines and headed down to the port, all three grinning as Coby leapt up and begged to be a Marine.

A few minutes later they reached the small sail boat Luffy and Coby had arrived in. "Well," Zoro declared with a grin, "It's a good time to be leaving. The whole town probably hates us now, that's how pirates should leave a town." Luffy laughed, "I guess that's true!" Atlas grinned over his shoulder, "Hey guys, we've got company." Luffy and Zoro turned and saw Coby run up.

"Come for one final shot at us?" Atlas called teasingly as he noted the marines coming down the slope behind the pink haired boy. Coby shook his head and then saluted, "THANK YOU! THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING! I'LL NEVER FORGET YOU GUYS!"

Zoro laughed lightly, "Well that's a new one, pirates being saluted by a marine!" Then the marine in charge called from next to Coby as he strode up, his over a dozen soldiers behind him, "TEEENSHUN!" Every Marine present saluted the three pirates. Atlas chuckled as he climbed into the small boat, "Now that's a send off!"

As they sailed away, the Marine in charge smiled down at Coby, "Those are some good friends you're got there sailor." Then before Coby could respond he spun, "MEN! WHAT WE JUST DID WAS A GROSS VIOLATION OF MARINE CODE! NO SUPPER FOR A WEEK!" "SIR YES SIR!"

Meanwhile Luffy laughed from the bow, "WE'RE ON OUR WAY TO THE GRAND LINE!"