This is it. The moment everyone in this crew was waiting for. The Grand Line. The world's most dangerous sea. On the last island of this sea is where the ultimate treasure is, One Piece. It's said that those who recieves that treasure has the right to be called the Pirate King. Of course, our protagonist is not interested in this treasure. That's the captain's dream, like her simple-minded captain, Monkey D. Luffy. It's a wonder how he's a captain. Then again, he's not the only weird one, nor is he the only dreamer. This entire crew our main character is in is full of unusual people and dreamers. And she's one of them.
Right now, they're making their way down the Reverse Mountain. Experiencing it, she can tell how it got its name. Instead of going down, the water is going up the mountain, due to the strong currents. Though what goes up, must comes down. That said, the pirate ship, Going Merry, went down the mountain and straight to the world's most dangerous sea. Only time will tell how long it will take to sail across the world and achieve their dream. New sea, new adventures, new friends, and new enemies begins now.
*XION'S P.O.V*
'We're coming now, Grand Line,' I thought as the Going Merry went in the clouds. I was so excited to be in this ocean, since my memories might return to me if I experience something that's similiar to another in my past while I'm here. I wondered what kind of enemies we'll be up against, what type of friends we'll make and what kind of Dream Eaters were left here. I was so excited. That excitement didn't last long when I heard a weird noise.
"Did you hear something just now?" Zoro asked.
"Eh? What?" Nami asked.
"I just heard a strange noise!"
"It might be the wind. There's a lot of strange rock formations here that could've caused it."
When Nami put it that way, it might be possible. Then again, that noise sounded too deep to be a wind. My thought was proven when the said sound was heard again.
"I don't think it's the wind," I told Nami. "That noise sounded too deep."
"Nami-san! I see a mountain up ahead!" Sanji informed.
"A mountain? That can't be!" Nami protested.
"But I see it right there!"
"Who cares?!" Luffy asked in excitement. "LET'S GO!"
"After the Twin Capes, there should be nothing but the ocean!" Nami told us.
After Nami said that, I saw a big shadow up ahead of us. When the ship got out of the clouds, a huge whale- Wait. A HUGE WHALE IS IN FRONT OF THE SHIP!? Why the hell is there a whale here?! And a really big one at that!
"It's not a mountain!" Sanji corrected himself, as we all paniced.
"It's a black wall!" Luffy assumed.
"You're wrong!" Nami corrected. "It's a-"
"Then what is it?!" Sanji asked.
"IT'S A WHALE!" Usopp and I identified. As soon as we did, the whale wailed.
"No wait! That's an island whale! Those are the only kind of whales that can be that big and they only exist in the West Blue! What is this whale doing here?!" I added.
"Does that even matter right now?!" Nami asked me.
"W-w-w-w-what do we do?!" Usopp asked.
"Fight it?" our certain simple-minded male suggested.
"IDIOT! We can't fight something like that!" Nami and I scolded in unison.
"T-t-t-the current's taking us right at it!" Usopp informed what we didn't want to be informed. "What do we doooo?"
"Wait a minute!" Sanji spoke up. "We've gotten this close, but it still looks like a wall. Where are its eyes?" Is that really important right now?!
"I see. It may not have noticed us yet!" Nami said.
"At this rate, we'll hit it dead on," Zoro said. He then seem to have spotted something. "Oi! Look at the left! There's an opening over there!"
As soon as he said that, the guys, except Luffy, who went somewhere, went to the helm, which hasn't been fixed yet, and tried to turn left. I gave them support using my 'aeroga' spell. Unfortunately, no matter how hard we try, we're still going straight towards the whale!
When we heard a BOOM! sound, the ship slowed down and we all noticed that a cannon was fired... by Luffy.
"THE CANNON?!" we all screamed in unison.
As the ship hit the whale, the figure head, also known as Luffy's special seat, broke off and was about to crash into Nami. Seeing that she was in the most dangerous position, I pushed her out of the way. I found that there was no need to do so, for the seat landed several feet away from the spot that Nami was on.
"AAAHHH! MY SPECIAL SEAT!" I heard Luffy screamed.
"You saved me, Xion. Thanks a lot," Nami thanked.
"Anything for a friend," I said, relieved that we didn't end up crashing into the island whale, who didn't seem to feel that cannonball.
A few seconds later, Zoro, Usopp and Sanji ran out of the helm and grabbed big oars. Big enough to row the ship, that it.
"RUN FOR IT! WHILE WE HAVE THE CHANCE!" Zoro ordered, as we, except Nami and Luffy, grab an oar and rowed like crazy.
"What's wrong with that whale?!" Usopp asked.
"Didn't it notice that it was hit by a cannon?! Is it stupid?!" Sanji asked.
"It might be due to the size!" I guessed.
"Who cares?! Just row!" Zoro ordered.
The island whale then wailed again. Being so close to it, I feel like I'm going to be deaf soon if I keep listening to it this close.
"Ahh! My ears!" Sanji complained.
"Just keep rowing!" I shouted. "We have to get away from it!"
When we were going to pass the whale's right eye, without it noticing us of course, a certain idiot had to punch it, in the eye! "WHAT DID YOU BREAK MY FAVORITE SEAT FOR?!" was the question he asked when he punched it.
"YOU IDIOOOOOT!" we all screamed, crying. A second or two later, as Luffy's arm was pulled back to him, the island whale's eye spotted us! URGH! Why Luffy?! Why did you have to punch it in the eye?!
"It sees us!" everyone, except our little idiot, paniced.
"How do you like that?!" he asked the whale. "I'll kick your ass!"
"JUST SHUT UP, DUMBASS!" Zoro, Usopp and I yelled, kicking him in the head.
"Just what are you thinking?! Are you trying to get us killed?! You just made it really angry!" I yelled, strangling the life out of this so-called captain of mine!
A second later, as I continue to strangle Luffy, the whale opened its mouth and sucked us in! Ship and all! Luffy somehow fell out of the ship and nearly fell in the sea. If it wasn't for his devil fruit power, he would've drowned. As for the rest of us, well what'd you expect in this situation? WE GOT EATEN! Just arrived in the Grand Line and the first thing we did, thanks to a certain someone, was get eaten! Is this really how our adventure is going to end?!
When we got to the stomach, or at least, I think it's the stomach, it looks more like we're outside. There's a sky and a small island. Either this is heaven, or we really didn't get eaten.
"What do you think?" Nami asked.
"'What do I think?', you say," Zoro repeated.
"It doesn't matter what you think, we clearly just got swallowed by a whale," Sanji said.
"You say that, but can you explain to us what we're seeing?" I asked our chef.
"Maybe it's a dream?" Usopp guessed.
"Yeah. Probably just a dream," Zoro agreed. Well, if he put it that way, I guess we are dreaming.
"So then that house on that island is..." Nami spoke.
"An illusion," the swordsman finished for her.
As he did that, something came out of the water. That something is a squid Sea King and an anglerfish Heartless.
"And those?" Nami asked. Wait, A SEA KING AND A HEARTLESS?!
"A GIANT SQUID AND ANGLERFISH!" our navigator and sniper shrieked, faced blue and practically crying, not to mention clinging onto me.
Before Sanji and Zoro could do anything to those fish, three harpoons pierced through them, therefore killing the squid and destroying the Heartless.
"Looks like someone's home," Zoro said.
"Better hope it's a person," Sanji added.
"No more. I wanna go home," Nami told us, crying.
"If Luffy was here, he'd know what to do," Usopp said.
"Speaking of Luffy, is he alright?" I asked them. When I asked that question, something was walking out of the house.
"Sh-shoot it! Shoot down that island!" Usopp ordered.
"No. Wait," Sanji calmly protested. "Someone's coming out."
The figure walked out of the shadows, revealing to be an old man with... flower petals on his head?
"It's a flower," the chef quickly identified. Getting a better look at the 'flower', he corrected himself. "My mistake. It's a human."
"What's up with this old man?" Usopp asked.
"That old man just killed a giant squid and that weird anglerfish," Nami said.
"Was he fishing or was he saving us?" I wondered.
When I asked that question, the old man was casually walking to somewhere, giving us a weird look. I was feeling uncomfortable with the look he's giving us. It wasn''t long until he stopped that look, as he just sat in a lounge chair with a newspaper in hand.
"SAY SOMETHING, ASSHOLE!" Sanji demanded. The second he demanded that, the old man just stared back at us.
"If it's a fight you want then come over here! We've got a cannon right here!" Usopp said from the galley. When did he get back there? When he said that, the old man's eyes widen and the atmosphere around us got very tense.
"Don't or someone will die," the old man warned us, as I had to deal with Nami and Usopp clinging onto me. Why do they want to cling onto me? I'll never know.
"Oh? And who will that be?" Sanji provoked.
"Me." Well, isn't that unexpected. Usual when someone says that, they meant the other person, not themselves.
"YOU?! Why you-!"
"Sanji, calm down," I spoke, as I got out of Nami and Usopp's grasps.
"Hey, old man. Tell me something. Where are we and who are you?" Zoro questioned. The atmosphere got tense again, as the old man's eyes widen once again.
"If you want to know someone's name, it's polite manner to give them your name first," he told our swordsman.
"Yeah. That's right. My mistake," Zoro agreed. He was going to introduce himself then, but the old man beat him to it.
"I am Crocus," he introduced. "I am the keeper of the Twin Cape's lighthouse. I am 71-years-old. Gemini. Blood Type AB."
"CAN I KILL HIM NOW?!" Zoro asked, preparing to unsheathe one of his swords.
"You want to know where you are?" Crocus asked. "You come into my one-man resort and then yell such rude things at me. Do you think you're in a rat's stomach?"
"Then we really were swallowed by that whale!" Usopp exclaimed in realization, as he and Nami finally released me.
"But this doesn't look like the inside of a whale," I said.
"Hole on!" Nami shouted. "What's going to happen to us?! I don't wanna be digested!" As soon as she said that, Crocus's eyes widen again and the atmosphere, once again, got tense. A lot of tense atmosphere we're getting here.
"STOP DOING THAT!" we all yelled at him.
"Can't appreciate a good running gag, can you?" he asked.
"THAT WAS A GAG?!"
"A-anyway, can you please tell us how we can get out of here?" I asked, sweat dropping a little.
"Well aren't you a polite one," Crocus stated, smiling a bit. "If you're looking for the exit, it's right over there," he added, pointing at a large metal double door off in a distance. Hang on. WHY IS THERE A DOUBLE DOOR HERE?!
"SO WE CAN LEAVE!?" my crewmates questioned in shock.
"Hang on a second," Nami spoke. "Why is there an exit in a whale's stomach? And why is it floating in mid-air?"
"Wait, look carefully," Usopp spoke up, looking at the sky. "The sky, the clouds, even the seagulls. It's all painting! It's all painting in the whale's stomach!"
"I like having fun," Crocus told us.
"JUST WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?!" Usopp and I asked, Zoro holding us back.
"Are you trying to get this whale sick?! Drinking paintings is not good for the stomach, you know!" I added. Crocus eyes widen again and... Well, you get the picture.
"That would be true, if I did paint the inside of his stomach," he said.
"Oh. Well, never mind, then."
"Now what?" Sanji asked.
"Nami. There's the exit. Let's just get out of here," Zoro suggested to our navigator.
"Alright," she agreed. The moment she agreed, the whole stomach started lurching.
"Now what?!" Usopp asked.
"Look!" I yelled, pointing at the island Crocus is on. "That's no island, that's a ship! See the bottom?!"
"You're right. Then this 'ocean' is made of stomach acid!"
"If we stay any longer, we'll be digested," Sanji said.
"OI! Started what?! Answer me!" Usopp demanded.
'...them back...' I heard a voice said.
"Did any of you guys say something just now?" I asked, recieving no's from my crewmates. "That's weird."
'This... -tain... keeping... away... them!' I heard the voice again. I looked around in confusion. I didn't know what the voice meant at all. I was so lost in thought at those words. 'LET ME THROUGH!' Now that was clear.
"I see," Usopp spoke, getting me out of my thoughts. "So then this old man's plan is..."
"Probably," Nami said. "He's planning on killing the whale from the inside."
"That's a horrible way to kill it."
"Now that we solved the mystery, let's get out of here," Zoro suggested. "Our ship's going to be dissolved if you just stand there complaining."
"Well, the whaling business doesn't bother me and I don't feel like saving this one," Sanji said.
Once he said that, I jumped off the ship and swam to the exit. I heard the whole crew calling for me to come back, but I kept swimming. I didn't understand why, but it's been my habit thanks to those six months of protecting people and animals in Tanoshi Island. When I got to the ladder somehow, with the waves being so strong, I saw Crocus diving into the stomach acid as well. Not wasting a single second of whatever I'm going to do, I quickly climb up the ladder. When I got to the top, Crocus got to the ladder as well and was climbing up. Before I could do anything else, I heard a voice. Two vioces actually.
"Okay? Ms. Wednesday?" a male voice asked. "'3-2-1, Baby' and we open the door."
"Roger, Mr. 9," a female voice, who I assume is Ms. Wednesday, agreed. "Whenever you're ready."
When I heard those names, I started to remember one of the organizations that tried to have me join them.
*FLASHBACK**GENERAL'S P.O.V*
Xion was doing some training with some of the kids in many villages in Tanoshi Island. The moment when they finished their training, a woman in western clothes and a purple cowgirl hat came by.
"Are you the demon of this island?" she asked.
"It depends," Xion replied. "I'm Xion. And you are?"
"Just call me Ms. All-Sunday."
"That's an unusual nickname. Why do you call yourself that? And are you a friend or a foe?"
"The main agents of the organization that I work for are to be addressed on the code names they were given like me. The code names are based on numbers, days and holidays. As for your other question, it depends, if you're willing to join-"
"If this organization has any type of connection to the Marines, I won't join you. Sorry."
"The organization I work for has no connection to the World Goverment," Ms. All-Sunday said. "I'll ask again. Are you interested in joining the Baroque Works?"
"It depends on what I get from it," Xion said.
"Our organization is planning on making an ideal nation."
"An ideal nation?"
"Yes. My boss and partner, Mr. 0, will give you further explanation. I can't say much about our objectives in public. So, will you join us?"
"Again, sorry. I'm not interested in your organization. Find someone else to be your puppet. I know a scheme when I see one. Besides, I already decided to leave this island by being a pirate. Of course, I'm not going to be the captain."
"Oh? But there are so many pirate crews out there. And you know how pirates are, don't you?"
"Not all of them are mean. I should know. I saw a crew who were really friendly. I wanted to join, but they didn't offer me a position," Xion told her.
"Oh? Then I suppose that I have to use force on you, don't I?" Ms. All-Sunday asked.
"It depends, if you can defeat me," the black-robed girl challenged.
After several seconds, Xion broke the silence by walking away. "By the way, if you want to ask me why I decided to join a pirate crew, I'd rather keep it a secret. You tell me very little about this Baroque Works, I tell you very little about myself. It's a fair trade. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm behind my scheduel."
*END OF FLASHBACK**XION'S P.O.V*
'Let me through!' That voice again?! Just what is going on here?!
"AAAAHHHH! I can't stop~!" a familiar male voice came.
"That voice. Don't tell me," I whispered in fear, for the position that I'm in that is.
"What is that voice, Mr. 9?" Ms. Wednesday asked.
"I don't know, Ms. Wednesday," Mr. 9 replied.
The scream got louder and I heard footsteps coming closer. I quickly open the door to see shock faces from two people and Luffy running at high speed towards us.
'Why did I open the door?' I asked myself, as the three of us got hit by Luffy and fell into the stomach acid.
"Oh no, Ms. Wednesday! Below us is a huge sea of digestive juices!" Mr. 9 informed.
"Hey, Xion! So you're alright!" Luffy exclaimed.
"We won't be for long, idiot!" I yelled at the said idiot.
"Oh! Everyone is okay!" he continued, ignoring me.
"Listen to me when I'm talking!"
"By the way, you better help me!" With that, we all landed in the stomach acid.
I swam over to Luffy, who was drowning for obvious reasons. I then looked at Mr. 9 and Ms. Wednesday and saw that they were trying to swim up to the surface. Noticing some kind of heavy weapon in their hands, I swam over to them and grab ahold of those two as well. Once I was sure that they are in my arms, I summoned my Keyblade, Starlight, and used a powerful wind magic to bring us to the surface faster.
"AEROGA!" I yelled in the acid, as my weapon shot out a wind and got the four of us out of the acid and, somehow, onto the Going Merry. "Next time, I need to rethink about my bad habit," I breathed. "There are times when it is not needed."
"Xion! What were you thinking?! Jumping into stomach acid like that?!" Nami scolded me, giving me a knuckle sandwich.
"It's not my fault. I have this habit of helping people, including animals," I told her, rubbing my head.
"Well, I think it's a bad habit!"
"How do you think I feel after what just happened?!"
"In any case, who are those two?" Nami changed the subject.
'Out of the way!' Again with that voice? I already know it's not Voice or a Dream Eater, since they would usually beg to see the light. But this voice sounded desperate. Suddenly, the whale calmed down.
"The whale calmed down," Nami voiced out my thoughts.
"Looks that way," Zoro agreed. "Now then, our crewmate saved your asses. Now who are you?"
"Mr. 9, these guys are pirates," the girl with long blue hair tied into a ponytail whispered to the guy with a crown on his head.
"I can see that, Ms. Wednesday," Mr. 9 told his partner, whom Sanji is staring at with googly eyes. "But I think we can convince them, probably..."
"Are you two scoundrels still here?" came Crocus's voice from the doorway. "Don't make me repeat myself. As long as I'm alive, you won't lay a finger on Laboon."
"Laboon? This whale?" I wondered.
"Oh, he's back," Usopp spoke.
"Who's the old man?" Luffy asked.
"Heheheheheh. You may say that, but we cannot retreat," Ms. Wednesday giggled.
"Killing this whale is our mission," Mr. 9 said. "We won't let you interfere with our whaling anymore. We'll rip a hole in its stomach!"
"Like hell!" I yelled, getting everyone's attention. "You guys seem sleepy. Sleep." When I said that spell, Mr. 9 and Ms. Wednesday, and even Luffy, fell asleep.
"What did you do?" Zoro asked.
"Exactly what I did. I put them to sleep," I told the swordsman.
"But why?" Nami asked.
"Bad habit. It told me to protect the whale."
"Yeah right."
"But how do you know that it was talking about those two that you have to protect it from?" Sanji asked me.
"They said it themselves, didn't they? They said they were going to kill the whale and they won't let Crocus interfere with their mission," I replied. "That's more than enough proof that he's trying to protect Laboon from them."
"Laboon?"
"Isn't that what he called the whale?"
"You there! Girl!" Crocus called me. "Thanks for protecting Laboon. However, if I may ask, why did you?"
"Just a bad habit of mine," I answered. "Whenever I get this feeling that someone's going to get hurt, my body just instantly reacts. Like earlier when this whale was going on a rampage or just now when these two were going to hurt it from the inside."
"Earlier? What were you planning on doing when Laboon was hitting his head on the Red Line?"
"Put it to sleep, like how I did to these two."
"... You all look alright, why don't you dock near my ship?" Crocus invited. At that point, we all went to his island ship, with Crocus swimming to it.
"Hey! What's the deal with those guys? And what were you doing inside this whale?" Nami questioned, when we all got to his resort.
"Those two scoundrels are from a nearby island," Crocus answered. "All they want is the whale's meat. Laboon could feed their town for two or three years."
"Is Laboon this island whale's name?" I asked.
"That's right. Island whales are the largest species of whales in this world. How can I let him become food? There's a reason why he continues to bash his head against the Red Line. And why he faces Reverse Mountain and bellows."
"A reason?" Nami asked.
"Yeah. This whale, you see, has a heart of a person," Crocus explained. "And he's been earnestly waiting for a certain group of pirates for 50 years."
50 years, huh? That's an awfully long time.