Reverse Mountain

The Patchwork Princess careened down the side of the mountain as the wind roared past it, chipping off the ice crystals that had formed on the ship at the high altitudes. Its crew had done all they can to make it this far, but there was no longer anything they could do but hold the course. Steering was impossible due to the rapids rushing them down the mountain, but that worked to their advantage since the river was a straight shot down the mountain. All six pirates stared down at their destination, the vast open sea of the Grand Line stretched out before them.

A large, blue fishman grit his teeth as he struggled to maintain some sort of control on the wheel of the ship, but it was all he could do to keep it steady. Better than crashing into the rocks, but one quick change in the current could run them into the jagged, rocky shores of Reverse Mountain. "Holding steady for now, but brace yourselves!" Brody Martin yelled out, but his words were drowned out by the wind.

Standing at the bow of the ship, inadvisably jumping up and down and cheering loudly at the sea before him was a shirtless tanned man with short red stubble for hair, except for the front hairline which was missing along with his eyebrows, "All right ye bloody bastards! Ye managed to kick me out once, but ye won't again! Michael Collins is here to stay, and anyone who says otherwise can kiss the business end of me Boomers!" Michael twirled the oversized blunderbuss pistols in and shot the air without a care in the world, despite their reputation for backfiring after repeated use.

The swordsman and chef Takashi Nakamura stood at the aft of the ship, unblinking even as the wind and rain swept into him. Even as the ship descended into the clouds and exited back out of them he didn't flinch or move from his spot, his black sleeveless gi and long, braided hair whipping in the wind. He stared silently at the ever-growing horizon, arms folded and multiple swords slung on his back.

"A little help here? Takashi? Anyone?" The Doc held on for dear life to his sledgehammer, having caught it on both sides of the ship cabin doorway to avoid being flung off the ship. His white doctor's coat, the trade of his profession, flapped wildly in the wind, a major problem since that's where Doc stored the majority of his medicines and syringes. His shaggy brown hair was even more disheveled than usual, the wind tousling it around. Only the two pronounced curls on his sideburns remained intact. "Damnit, I should've just strapped myself inside and gotten plastered. At least then I wouldn't remember any of this crap."

"Ah, but it's moments like these that the audience craves." A snicker came from the side as the first mate of the crew, Jude Carson, lay lounging on the railing, calmly munching an apple in this storm just to show that he could. Normally, Jude wouldn't dare set foot outside in this weather and ruin his fine, expensive clothing, especially since this was his last outfit. But the finery had already been ruined in a worthwhile 'confrontation' with a lovely Marine lieutenant shortly before. Once they reached calmer waters, Jude would either mend his current brown and gold suit and matching jacket, or find something equally fabulous to wear at the soonest opportunity. His rufflet and the comedy half-mask he wore somehow managed to stay intact, however. "The hero bravely stares at the oncoming storm with not a hint of fear or hesitation in his eye. The bumbling fool nearby struggles not to fall off the ship, accentuating the heroics of the protagonist in process. The rain on his chest, the wind in his hair…"

"How about my fist in your face?" the Doc growled back at the lazing actor as he struggled to get back to his feet. His attempt failed when the boards he tried to stand on immediately split apart, causing him to flail hanging from his hammer again. It wasn't the only instance as the cracking of wood could be heard throughout the ship. "Hey, we going to make it?" the Doc called out to a figure standing on the center of the deck.

Literally holding the ship together was the captain of this motley crew of pirates, Hammie. Although larger and more muscular than the rest of the crew, even the shark fishman Brody, he otherwise looked plain, wearing a bandanna over his blond hair, a black t-shirt over his massive chest, thick work gloves on his hands, and a tool belt around his waist. Currently he tugged furiously on several ropes that circled the entirety of the ship. The Patchwork Princess was not a sturdy ship by any means, having been cobbled together in the past week by villagers with no experience in shipbuilding whatsoever. It was a miracle it had survived this long, between the marine battle and the trek of Reverse Mountain. Now the ship was falling apart at the seams and the only thing holding it together was several lengths of rope coiled around the ship pulled tight by the strength of one man. "No problem!" he grunted, "She'll hold long enough." Another loud crack somewhere on the ship seemed to disagree with him. "Probably." Hammie briefly turned back to see that at some point the mast had completely broken off, its current whereabouts unknown. "Maybe?" Another series of loud cracks left a rift across the ship, which was now only two halves of a ship held together. "We're going to die," Hammie admitted to himself.

As he turned around, hope briefly made an appearance in the form of the end of the river leading into the ocean below. All they had to do was survive the impact. Once they were in calmer waters, he could see about possibly repairing or even just salvaging the ship. "Everyone brace yourselves!" Hammie repeated Brody's unheard instructions, but no one really needed them. Everyone grabbed ahold of the nearest sturdy part of the ship, a harder task than it sounded given the ship's current state.

Surprisingly, the ship didn't crash but glided smoothly from the river of Reverse Mountain to the ocean before it. As they left the storm back on Reverse Mountain, the sun shone clearly on the dawn of a new adventure. "We did it," Hammie dared to whisper, "We actually-"

Suddenly, the water before them erupted as a massive black shape thrust out of the water. There was no time to slow down or turn. There wasn't even enough time to jump off the ship. Each pirate only had a split second to process what just happened before the Patchwork Princess collided with the solid, blubbery black wall and exploded, wood and shrapnel being thrown in all directions along with its crew.

The whale only noted a brief itch on its belly. Where there once was a ship of six people, there was now only some floating driftwood. The whale paid the itch no mind as it submerged back underwater.

To be continued... ?

Author's Notes:

And here we are at the start of the second arc, currently labeled Tempest Tossed! I like that name, but I might change it later once certain plot-relevant.

I initially had some concerns about plot details contradicting unrevealed canon details, but have since decided, "Screw it, it's fanfiction." I'll try to keep this in tune with the canon as much as possible, but there's always the possibility that I'll be blown out of the water by the latest issue of One Piece.

For that reason, I'm introducing a new segment starting this arc to try and answer questions and maybe cover some details I don't find room for or forget in the chapter. Something like the SBS Corner, but I'm too lazy to do it myself so I've hired an intern. Take it away.

"Hi hi hi! It's me, Wendy Martin! That's Mrs. Wendy Martin now. /wink. Hey, how come I don't get any narration here?"

Because I already have to do these whole chapters. You can do it yourself.

"Fine... Anyway, I'm temping here behind the 4th Wall to help rebuild Jaggerjaw Island. According to Disciple, I'll be taking questions from readers via PM or review and answering them every chapter! I'll also be putting up profiles of characters, and which ones I post will be part of popular demand!"

But she's not allowed to post spoilers, so don't event think about it.

"Aw... what's the matter?"

Nothing!

"Is it because today's your birthday?"

What? No!

"Are you sure? I hear people get really depressed when they get older."

I'm not old, I'm 25! My birthday was awesome, I got Arkham Asylum!

"So now we know what to blame when you take too long between chapters."

Er...

"Speaking of which, I've been too busy setting up my cubicle, I haven't gotten to read today's chapter yet."

Oh dear...

"..."

Wendy...? Wendy? Oh god, Wendy please put down the knife.

"YOU GET THE NEXT CHAPTER UP AND MY BRODY BETTER BE SAFE AND SOUND!"

To be continued...?