Note: I've been working on this for quite a while now. I actually ended up rewriting this chapter several times since I wasn't liking how it came out, but I finally ended here~
The timeline is post time skip in the manga, though the only relevance it holds to this story in particular is their ages and appearances.
I also explained a few things in the end note, so if you're confused about anything, just check with that~
Also, thanks to keirra for betaing this~
Dead Space
Log 01: Arrival
The end of one thing was merely the start of another.
That was a lesson she'd learned over the years - one that she kept at heart, for it was truer than anything she'd ever heard. Things moved in cycle, from start to finish and back to start and so on and so forth. That was simply how life worked. There were no exceptions to this; it was as concrete as a scientific law - for every thing, living or not, there would always be a starting point and an ending point.
And they'd just witnessed the cycle come to an end and start again.
The War of the Best was often seen as an ending to an era, though it was only a prelude. Change was coming, and things had been put into motion that could not be undone. The pieces were moving, yet their course and nature was unpredictable. The galaxy was preparing for something they could not foresee, though they knew something was coming. There was a danger looming on the horizon, that much was known, but the scale and exactly what remained beyond their comprehension.
Despite this, the worlds still continued on. Change was natural and no matter how hard one fought, it was impossible to stop. It was just another part of the cycle, of life - something inevitable, and easier once accepted. In a world of so many uncertainties, it was the one thing that could be counted on as constant.
But that didn't mean she wasn't wary of it.
Nami sat in the cockpit of the Thousand Sunny, studying the map displayed on the screen before her. The course was set and logged, marked off by a thin green line amidst the black squares of the grid. It was a simple enough trip, a straight line from the last planet they'd visited; if they kept their speed and course, they'd reach their next destination in a matter of hours.
She glanced nervously at the screen. Positioned just beside their line travel was a glowing blue dot. It served as indication of another planet within the region, and while most people would choose to ignore it in favor of their destination, she knew that if her adventurous captain caught sight of it he would stop at nothing to ensure they visited, and with such visits, there was only chaos to follow in the wake.
The thought caused her to sigh as she leaned back in the seat and turned her eyes to the ceiling. As much as she enjoyed her crewmates, there were times where she wished things would calm down enough for her to relax. She thought it would be nice if she could visit a planet without being chased off due to her captain's uncanny ability to find trouble, even when where none existed. It was tiring, to say the least.
She turned to the other instruments lining the panel before her, inspecting each and every one, taking note of the numbers displayed on their screens. After deeming them acceptable, she turned to flip off the log screen. Under normal circumstances, she would have left it open, but her captain was restless; he was itching to get to another planet. She wouldn't put it past him to go into the cockpit and start poking around for a sign, despite the amount of times she'd told him to stay out.
As if to prove her correct, Luffy poked his head around the door. "Nami! Is there another planet?"
"No, Luffy," she replied easily. She glanced down to make sure the screen was, in fact, off before moving away from it. "There's nothing between here and Sabaody."
Luffy whined, "but I want to go on an adventure!"
"I can't just make a planet appear out of thin air, Luffy," Nami chided.
She ushered him from the room and allowed the door to slip closed behind her. Luffy was still pouting, miffed that there wouldn't be any sort of adventure any time soon. Though it was a bit sarcastic in nature, she patted his back and pushed him forward.
"You'll get adventure soon enough. Sabaody's only a couple hours ahead of us. We'll be there before you know it."
He still wasn't pleased about the fact, but he relented anyway, allowing her to lead him to the ship's lawn deck. Most of the crew had woken up by then, and while a fair few of them had gathered on the deck, the others were still stumbling out of their quarters and into the kitchen. The delicious smells of breakfast settled in the air, making her stomach growl with anticipation.
"How's the course," Franky asked. He was seated on the ground with a bottle of cola next to him. Robin, who looked more asleep than awake, was using him as a chair, in some sense, as she was practically laying across his lap with her feet propped up on his forearm and a book in hand.
"Looks to be perfectly fine to me." Nami replied. She plopped down in her special lawn chair and stretched. "We should be arriving at the port in two hours, if nothing goes awry."
"That's super!" Franky laughed. Normally he would have done his signature pose, but with Robin's feet where they were, he simply settled for raising his cola in his other hand.
"It's been some time since we've been there," the older woman hummed. She glanced up from her book and turned to Nami. "I've been hearing some pretty bad rumors."
"Bad?" Usopp inquired. He'd just come from the kitchen with a tray of food in one hand and a set of glasses in the other. "How bad?"
"Well," Robin started, "apparently after the war, the Marine base was moved into the New World, resulting in Sabaody becoming even more lawless."
"How exactly is that bad?" Zoro cut in. He was sitting on the railing leading to the upper level deck, one foot tucked under him while the other dangled lazily over the edge. He tipped the bottle of sake in his hand and took a long swig before continuing. "That just means less Marines to deal with."
"They say a lot of the Supernovas from two years ago went back for whatever reasons, and on top of that, there's a few new rookies who've amassed quite a bounty there as well." Robin replied. She closed her book and turned so that she was sitting on Franky's calves. "Sabaody becoming more lawless might not have been such a good thing. It's become more like Jaya, in a sense, although unlike Jaya, the pirates and bandits attack the citizens regularly. The Celestial Dragons are the only things that keep order there, and they only come down for the auctions."
"So you're saying Sabaody's become a dangerous place?" Luffy asked. There was a hint of excitement in his voice, and Nami could only inwardly groan.
"Yes," the other woman confirmed. "Which means you'll have to be careful, though I don't know why I'm telling you this, you'll just do what you want in the end." The statement wasn't meant as reprimand, in fact she was chuckling as she spoke, knowing full well that he was inevitably going to cause problems. "You never know which hopeful rookie is going to try and take your head."
"Do we have to go to Sabaody?" Usopp groaned as he set a cup of tea and a plate in front of Robin.
"Don't be stupid, Usopp," Luffy cut in. "Of course we have to go to Sabaody."
Nami sighed. "As much as I hate to say it, Luffy's right. Sabaody is the only way we can enter the New World. It's impossible to navigate through the Red Line. We have to pass through the gates before we can get into the New World."
"Are they even going to let us through?" Franky asked. "I heard the Marine's run them."
"There are two gates," Nami shrugged. "The Marines use one to get back and forth between headquarters, and there is a second one that's run by a few people from Sector 24 who man the regular gates, though they demand toll."
"You mean we have to pay to get through?" Zoro grumbled. "Why can't we just go through for free?"
"The Marines originally ran all the gates," Robin took a sip of her tea, "but when the base was moved, the Marines made a condition; as long as the gatekeepers paid the Marines a certain amount of the tolls per year, they'd be allowed to keep the gates running. Otherwise, only Marine and merchant ships would be allowed to pass into the New World without daring the near suicidal trip through the Red Line."
"The problem is," Nami added, "that there's no way to tell what's on the other side. There could easily be a feet of Marines waiting to take out any unauthorized ships that pass through."
Zoro hummed and pulled his leg up so that he was sitting cross legged on the railing. "So basically it's a gamble?"
"In a way," Robin confirmed.
Luffy laughed, "sounds like fun!"
"Sounds like a trap!" Usopp cried. "Luffy, listen, it's too risky, and I think I've come down with a disease. The 'I-can't-go-to-Sabaody' disease. It's super deadly."
"Your cowardice knows no bounds," Zoro scoffed. "Scared or not, you know that once Luffy decides on something there's no changing his mind."
The captain laughed in response. "Come on, Usopp. It'll be fun."
"Or we'll all die painful deaths." Robin added, smiling sweetly at the thought.
Usopp gaped at her. "Don't say those kinds of things so casually!"
As their usual antics continued, Nami turned to her datapad in her lap. While Robin favored real books over the technological ones, Nami found it much easier to store and find things if everything was in a single place; a piece of plastic that could easily be folded and put into her pocket as if it were nothing more than a slip of paper. On top of that, she had access to everything in the news with nothing more than the press of a button. It truly made things more convenient.
She flipped through the pages absentmindedly, finding nothing but the news from yesterday, or the articles she'd come across shortly after waking up. Nothing of particular interest stood out, until she came across the bounty list. She skimmed over it, noting there were a few who's had increased until she reached the bottom.
Without preamble, she read the last few bounties aloud.
"Eustass Kidd: four hundred and seventy million, Jewelry Bonney: one hundred and fifty-five million, Basil Hawkins: three hundred and twenty million, Scratchmen Apoo: three hundred and fifty million, and Trafalgar Law: four hundred and forty million. Apparently, five of the Supernovas earned an increase in their bounties," Nami noted. "I'm not sure how old this list is, though. Some of these might have been updated months ago."
"As far as I know, Trafalgar's and Bonney's are recent." Robin stated. "Though what concerns me is the massive jump between Trafalgar's past bounty and his current one. If my math is correct, that's a two hundred and forty million beli difference. Which means, according to that list, there are two Supernovas who now possess bounties higher than Luffy's. Which is can either be a good thing, or a bad thing."
"How can that be a good thing?" Luffy asked, looking at Robin as if she were an idiot.
"Should things come down to it, there is a chance that what few Marines are present on Sabaody might focus more on those Eustass and Trafalgar, if they're there that is, considering the larger threat they pose, meaning as long as you remain under the radar, there is a possibility we could pass through Sabaody without much fanfare. On the other hand, there is no telling what might happen, should you pick a fight with them or vise versa."
Luffy blinked. "If they start a fight with me I'll just kick their asses."
Nami groaned, throwing her head back against the chair. As much as she wished for it, there was no other way around, that much had already been discussed. That left her with nothing more than to hope for the unlikely, which required Luffy miraculously keeping out of the spotlight, but she was no fool; she knew that was impossible as rushing into Marine HQ and coming out unscathed.
She'd learned the hard way to prepare for the worst when under Luffy's captainship, though that didn't mean she couldn't attempt to lessen the amount of problems he caused.
"Listen, Luffy," Nami said as she set the data pad on her lap. "If you cause problems, there might really be an entire fleet of Marines waiting for us on the other side of the gate. Granted, we may have escaped a fleet once, but there's no telling what technology they've developed over these two years. Escape is not guaranteed."
"I get it, I get it," the young captain grumbled.
She didn't doubt that he got it; she doubted he cared enough to listen to her, but there were times in the past when he'd surprised her - he may actually listen to her for once.
"I want to buy one of those hover boards!" He said then, his face lighting up in a childish way.
"Luffy," Usopp chided. "We told you last time we were there. The hover boards only work on Sabaody because the streets have magnets in them. It'd be useless anywhere else."
"You can buy one if you want," Nami cut in, "but you have to buy it with your own money."
"But you have all the money!" Luffy whined.
Nami smiled at that. "Then I guess you can't get a hover board."
He grumbled again, something that sounded close to "it's not fair" before hopping down from his perch on the side railing.
"Life's not fair," the redhead replied with a dismissive wave.
Luffy relented, well aware of the fact that while he may be captain, Nami had total control over the funds; if she said she wasn't going to give him any, there wasn't a force in heaven or hell that would sway her - and if he so much as thought about taking the money when she wasn't paying attention, she wouldn't hesitate to unleash her fury.
He'd just have to settle with no for an answer.
Just as he took a step towards the galley to see how far along breakfast was, the ship jerked violently.
"Luffy!" Chopper's voice barely carried over the loud explosion that followed. "It's the Marines!"
"Usopp! Get to the canon," Franky ordered. "The ship's still too damaged from our last fight to take them on right now."
"You're the shipwright! Why didn't you fix it already!"
"I can't fix the outside while we're in space! We need to get to Sabaody now! Just defend the ship until I can get the Coup de Burst ready!"
The ship jerked again, the right side dipping dangerously. Nami's hands latched into the railing behind her, and she struggled desperately to keep hold as the ship continued to turn on its side; he feet weren't touching the deck anymore.
"There's four ships total!" Robin confirmed. "Three on the left and one in the back!"
"Franky! Level the ship out and maneuver between the last one on the left and the one in the back! There should be a spacelane there that'll take us to Sector 21 of Sabaody!" Nami screamed over the turmoil.
"Why didn't you say so sooner!?" Usopp snapped.
"Because it's not exactly the safest route!" She struggled to wrap her arm around the railing as he fingers became slicked with sweat. "But we have no other option! It's either the spacelane or try to fend off four Marine ships with a damaged ship!"
"It's still too risky! The Coup de Burst is just a small acceleration! If we enter the spacelane we'll have to jump to lightspeed!" Franky snapped as the ship jerked to the other side. Once his feet were back on the deck, he started towards the helm.
"The Coup de Burst won't too much damage, but lightspeed might tear the hull apart!"
"It's a chance we'll have to take!" Nami reasoned. "Even with a Coup de Burst, there's still a chance of them catching up!"
"Even if the ship doesn't fall apart, without the proper coordinates, it's still too risky." Robin defended. It was unusual for her to counter Nami's decision. She almost always trusted the navigator's course of action.
"Nami's the navigator!" Luffy cut in. "If she says it's the best option, then it's the best option!"
"As much as I don't like the risks involved," Usopp paused to aim the cannon, "Luffy's right! Nami's judgment has never been wrong!"
That was the push they needed to relent. They were right; she'd never been wrong before, and as navigator it was her job to get them to their destination safely. She couldn't afford mistakes, and she made sure to do everything in her power to avoid them. She'd never led them astray before, so why would now be any different?
"Usopp! Take out the last one in the row of three to give us room!" Nami ordered.
He did as she instructed, carefully angling the canon towards the back thrusters on the Marine ship; if he hit it just right, he could cause the entire ship to blow. Not only would it remove the ship, the pieces from the blast may hit the other ships. It was unlikely, but it was an ideal scenario.
"Franky! As soon as that ship is out of the way, make the jump! We can't waist ti-"
The ship jerked again. She hit the deck hard, the force of the impact enough to shove the breath from her lungs. "Damn it."
"Usopp!" Luffy shouted over the chaos. "Take the ship out already!"
"I'm trying! It's hard to aim with all this rocking!"
"You're the sniper! You're supposed to be able to do that!"
"Now is not the time to be fighting with each other!" Nami screeched.
Usopp grit his teeth and aimed the canon. She was right; now was not the time for them to be arguing, not when their lives were at risk. The Marine ships were closing in and they were closing in fast; there was no time to be dallying. Despite the shaking of his hands, he forced aside his cowardice. They needed his help, in fact Nami's plan wouldn't work without him, and he wasn't about to let them down, not when they needed him most.
Again, the ship jerked, and the defining sound of metal grinding against metal cut through the chaos.
"Luffy!" It was Zoro's voice that barely carried over the noise, though he was heard.
"They're boarding the ship!"
"Usopp, hurry with that canon!"
"I'm trying!"
Within moments, there was a steady stream of Marines filing onto the deck. Bullets flew in every direction, though none of them hit their mark. Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji were hard pressed with the groups they were fighting, but even that wasn't enough. More kept coming, skirting past the three, and making their way further onto the deck. A small group of them started towards Usopp, but before they could reach him, Brook intervened. He took care of them easily, but seconds they were downed, a new group was right behind them, ready to strike.
In terms of strength, the crew was stronger, but strength wasn't helping them at this moment, not when there were just as many appearing as they had been defeated.
There was no choice left in the matter. As much as she would loved to have run and avoided things all together, it wasn't an option this time; just as the rest of her crew, she'd stand and fight.
Her Clima Tact, which she always kept secure at her waist, was pieced together in an instant. Using its powers inside the ship was risky and if at all possible, she'd have to refrain from using it as anything other than a staff, but it was still useful. One of the marines swung at her with a heavy rod, and she deflected the blow with ease before driving the end of the weapon into his stomach. He staggered backwards and hit the deck hard. There were two more on her then, both with guns. She turned sharply and slammed her Clima Tact down on his hand. The weapon fell to the ground, and before he could make a move to retrieve it, she planted a solid kick to his chest. It didn't possess the strength Sanji's kicks did, but it was enough to immobilize him as he slamming into the railing behind him.
The second swung the gun as if it were a club. With years of practice that had come from evading attacks, she stepped to the side. The Marine rushed past her, having missed his target completely. As soon as she was given a clear shot, she brought her Clima Tact down on his neck will all the strength she could muster. The strike landed solidly, and the Marine dropped, completely unconscious.
She'd failed to see the third one approaching from behind until it was too late. As a last ditch attempt, she brought her Clima Tact up to block the blow, but she was too slow. The end of the rod was just inches from her forehead. She closed her eyes and braced for the impact, but a low hum sounded dangerously close to her ears.
"Duck!"
She didn't hesitate. As soon as the words registered in her mind, she dropped to the deck, just in time to avoid the glowing blade that cut through the air where her neck would have been. The rod the Marine held had been split in half, and seconds later he dropped to the deck with a strangled scream, his hand falling a few feet away.
"That's the last of them!" Sanji called as he slammed his foot into another's face.
"Usopp! Is the canon ready yet?!"
"Yes!" The sniper replied. He flipped the top of the handle of the canon, revealing a white button, and without a moments hesitation, he pushed it down.
A beam jumped from the barrel of the canon and raced towards the ship with alarming speed. Usopp held his breath in a silent prayer that neither their ship or the Marine ship had moved; the shot he was aiming for took a great deal of precision - even an inch could be the difference between success and failure.
His worries for naught, however, as the shot struck true.
Everything after that seemed to happen in an instant.
The back of the ship exploded in a grand display of light, triggering several other reactions from various parts of the vessel. Another shot came from the front of the Sunny, most likely let loose by Franky, and sent it careening into the ship beside it. The impact cause the second ship to slam into the third, once again setting off a chain of explosions that overtook all three ships. It was a lucky shot, and had worked better than they could ever have hopped.
"Super!" Franky's voice sounded over the loudspeakers scattered about the ship, "alright! Jumping to lightspeed in ten, nine, eight..."
As the countdown continued, the ship turned into the direction Nami had indicated earlier. She instinctively wrapped her arm around the railing behind her. While traveling at lightspeed had no effect on them inside the ship, the initial jump was always a bit jerky.
"Four, three, two, one!"
She almost lost her grip as the ship darted forward, disappearing into the dark of space before the final Marine ship could attempt to take them out. After a few seconds, the ship steadied itself.
"Franky, don't stay at lightspeed for longer than a minute or we'll crash into the Red Line."
Usopp was not pleased with that statement.
"So what are we going to do with the Marines still on the ship?" Chopper asked. He nudged one with his foot, as if he were afraid it'd jump up at any moment.
The captain shrugged. "We'll leave them somewhere on Sabaody."
Nami heaved a sigh and bent down to pick up her chair which had fallen over during the initial attack. "The original route was supposed to put us at Sector 13 by two at Sabaody's time. Thanks to the unexpected short cut, we should be reaching Sector 21 just before noon, which gives us a bit more time to wander around before we have to meet at Shakky's at four."
"Yes! Extra time for the park!" Luffy yelled excitedly.
She ignored his outburst and continued. "You remember what happened last time. Please try not to make a commotion, especially since we can't make an immediate retreat with the ship damaged as it is." Her words were mostly directed towards Luffy, though at the same time they were directed towards the rest of the crew; all of them had a knack for attracting trouble (some more than others) - whether they wanted it or not.
Then she turned to Zoro and jabbed a finger into his chest. "And you are not to go anywhere alone."
He glowered at her, none too pleased with the statement. "I'm not a child, damn it!"
"Maybe not," she said, "but you get lost too easily. You'll never find your way to Sector 13 by yourself."
"The Sectors are numbered," he reminded her.
"And you still got lost last time!"
"Maybe you should buy a leash while we're here, Nami-san." Sanji cut in.
"And maybe I should buy a muzzle."
Before the two could start their customary fight, the ship jerked.
"And we're out of lightspeed!" Franky said. "We're super close to Sector 21. Starting the landing sequence!"
The ship began to descend, drawing closer to the small planet below. At their current position, they could see the layout of Sectors 21 and 22 perfectly. The streets were well organized in a way that should be easy to navigate with a map, as long as one could read the map, that is. As they neared the port, it became apparent that the streets were crowded, as they always were. Sabaody had always been a lively place as everyone looking to enter the New World gathered there; it was the only entrance that didn't run the risk of complete annihilation.
By the time the ship had safely landed in a hanger, Luffy was bouncing with excitement. The rest of the crew was in a similar state, though in some it wasn't as noticeable.
"Remember," Nami said as she shouldered her bag, "Grove 13, Shakky's, four o'clock. There'll be a three thousand beli charge for every minute you're not the-"
"Whoo! Let's go! Theme park!" The captain darted past her, not even bothering to listen to what she was saying. Chopper, Usopp, and Brook were right at his heels.
She heaved a sigh, but made no move to stop them. They were intent on doing whatever they wanted without a care about the repercussions, and it was so typical of them that she didn't dare try to change it; there was no point in wasting her breath on those who wouldn't listen.
One by one the crew began to trickle off the ship, all intent on enjoying the break they'd just been granted, and she was going to take advantage of it as well; the last two weeks had been trying to say the least. She shouldered her bag and followed after Robin, leaving Franky behind to start on the repairs.
Note: In this fic, the Red Line is a massive asteroid belt that spans across the entire galaxy, separating the North and East Quadrants as well as the West and South Quadrants (the Quadrants being the oceans in the manga).
Sabaody is also a collection of small dwarf planets that gathered due to the Red Line's gravitational pull. Due do this, instead of Groves, they are referred to as Sectors.
The Grand Line is just a massive mix space lanes that run perpendicular to the Red Line.
The Calm Belts work like the Bermuda Triangle in a way and are impossible to pass due to the fact that most technology tends to shut down upon entering. The Marines and a few other pirates have found alternatives to cross this stretch of space. It's also considered the Pirates Shipyard as those who become stranded out there usually end up dealing with the Scrappers that thrive out there.
The Log Pose is a digital wrist watch like object that displays the name and coordinates of the next planet as well as a small pointer in that direction, though once entering the New World, three options are given, through one 'needle' constantly stays the same.
All the swords work similar to lightsabers.
And yes I raised Bonneys bounty because reasons.