This fanfic is for Moonlit starry sky. She's wanted a Young Iceburg/Franky story for a long time.
Shark Bait was inspired by the lower right-side panel on Chapter 354, page 14. You'll see when you get there.
Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece; Oda-sensei does!
"And that…should do it…" said Iceburg through a mouthful of screws. He gave the screwdriver one final twist. "We're done, Mr. Tom!"
"Good job, Iceburg! We finally finished it! Tahahaha!" Tom mopped his face with a towel, looking immensely pleased. "It took us a long time, but it'll all be worth it! Let's just test this out in the afternoon. I want to make sure it works perfectly…"
Iceburg stood up and stretched out his cramped legs. The two of them had been kneeling over the Sea Train tracks for over two hours. Since the tracks had to be made to flow with the tide, they had to link together tiny metal tubes, then insert a rope through them for flexibility. After making two coils of metal-encased ropes, thin strips of iron had to be attached to both ropes, connecting them. The special tracks were one of the most important properties of the Sea Train, but it was very tedious work. The miniscule parts had to be connected one by one, and it had taken Tom's Workers almost a whole year just to finish one set of tracks connecting Water 7 with Enies Lobby. Iceburg was very glad that they were finally done. He knew that more tracks would need to be made to connect Water 7 to other islands, but finishing even one set of tracks was a real accomplishment: only then could they start testing out Rocketman.
"Let's go back to the house, lad. I heard that my lovely secretary is going to be making something good for lunch." The two of them walked over to their house on Scrap Island.
"Nmaa, when are we going to take out Rocketman?" asked Iceburg, excited to finally get started on working on the Sea Train itself.
"Hmm? Rocketman? Well, we'll start tomorrow, but I'll have to tweak the engine and brakes first. The speed's uncontrollable as of now, and the brakes are useless."
"You two are just in time," smiled Kokoro when they walked through the door. "I've got lunch all set up."
"Great, I'm starving!" Tom plopped himself into a chair, sniffing at the food appreciative. "It sure smells good!"
"So how was the work today?" asked Kokoro, setting down the platter she was holding.
"We finished the Sea Train tracks to Enies Lobby!" exclaimed Iceburg. "It took us forever, but we can finally start working on Rocketman!"
"Tahahaha!" laughed Tom. "Let's have a celebration tonight, Iceburg! Thank you for all your hard work!"
Iceburg grinned. "No problem!" As an aspiring shipwright, helping Mr. Tom build his Sea Train was beyond his wildest hopes. Mr. Tom was a genius; Iceburg thought of himself as extremely lucky to be one of his apprentices. Doing the work was already its own reward.
Kokoro laughed. "Ngagagaga! I'll be sure to cook something extra special tonight!"
"Nmaa, can we have water-water meat with pasta?"
"We'll see."
The dining room became quiet as the three dug in. Then the thought finally struck Iceburg. The room was quiet. It was never quiet, unless… "Hey, where's Franky?"
Right on cue, Franky came crashing through the dining room door, with Yokozuna bounding after him. "I'M BAAAAAACK!"
Tom and Kokoro didn't look the least bit surprised. Iceburg, however, was shocked. How could he not have noticed that Franky was missing the whole morning, when he usually spent half his time yelling at the idiot for messing around? As the other boy sat down, Iceburg could only stare, still trying to understand his lack of observation. "Where've you been, Franky?" asked Kokoro. "Your lunch was getting cold."
The thirteen-year-old dug into his plate. "I was working on my new Battle Franky," he said through a mouthful of carrots. Iceburg was mildly surprised that he could actually understand what Franky was saying.
"What number are you on now?" Tom was just as unperturbed by Franky's late arrival as his secretary was.
"Number 10!" he replied proudly, now plowing through his mashed potatoes. Yokozuna gave a croak in affirmation. "I'm on double digits now. Battle Franky 10 will be able to kill a Sea King for sure!"
Iceburg finally found his voice, along with his exasperation and rage. So THAT was what Franky did with his entire morning? "Did you even think about doing some work today?"
Franky snorted. "What do you think I've been doing all morning, Bakaburg?"
"I meant working on the Sea Train! While you were fooling around with those stupid ships of yours, Mr. Tom and I had to finish the train tracks by ourselves! You didn't help at all!"
"Wait…what? You…you finished the tracks already?"
"Yeah, no thanks to you!" Iceburg couldn't believe it. Didn't Franky care at all about the Sea Train project that would save Mr. Tom's life?
"'Come on now, lad." Tom laid a warning hand on Iceburg's shoulder. "Franky can help us with the engines tomorrow." Iceburg folded his arms together and glared at the blue-haired boy, daring him to try and defend himself. "Anyways," continued Tom, "You deserve a break, Iceburg. I can test out the tracks by myself, so you should go and rest."
"No, I want to see how the tracks work out." Iceburg wasn't going to slack off so easily.
"That's fine, but we'll wrap it up early today. The testing shouldn't take too long..." Tom trailed off, deep in thought.
"Do…do you need my help, too, Mr. Tom?" asked Franky, his face twisted up in a guilty expression.
"No, Franky, it's okay. Iceburg and I can manage it by ourselves. You can go and wrap up your Battle Franky today. We'll need you tomorrow. We're working on Rocketman, and that'll take all three of us." Tom smiled warmly at the boy.
"Okay then." Looking cheerful once more, Franky jumped out of his chair and headed for the door. "C'mon, Yokozuna! I gotta go finish my Battle Franky 10 and bag a Sea King so I can help with the Sea Train tomorrow!" The giant frog gave a happy croak and hopped out after him.
Iceburg stomped over to the still-open door and slammed it shut, muttering under his breath.
"Idiot."
Tom laughed. "Tahahahaha! He'll grow out of it, Iceburg. Just you wait and see. He loves ship-building just as much as you do." Still chuckling, he turned back to the table and helped himself to seconds.
Battle Franky 10 was superior to its predecessors by far. Franky had upgraded his arsenal, adding two more cannons, a mini hand-held cannon for a close shot, and a harpoon attached to the rope so it could been retrieved and reused. A new crow's nest was installed on the deck for better visibility. He even made a bigger flag, a giant blue piece of cloth that said "BF 10" in bright orange. He felt ready for anything the sea was going to throw at him.
There was still the feeling of guilt nagging at him, though. He felt really bad for not helping with the Sea Train tracks. After all, this was for the good of the whole Water 7, not to mention that it might stop Mr. Tom's execution. He made up for it by promising to himself that he would do everything he could the next day to help with Rocketman. He was even excited about it. Making the train tracks was so boring, but Rocketman was an actual Sea Train. He would be able to see how Mr. Tom's technology worked. Feeling much better, Franky turned his attention back to the ocean. "All right!" he crowed. "I'm going to kill a Sea King for sure this time! Let's go, Yokozuna!" Jumping onto his warship, he set off in search of a test subject. Yokozuna swam besides the ship, croaking along happily.
When they were far enough out at sea, he clambered onto the crow's nest, scanning the ocean for Sea Kings. They weren't exactly hard to find, due to their huge sizes, but the really tricky part was finding a good target on a Sea King to hit. In the past, Franky just fired cannonballs at them, but it was never really effective. Sea Kings had really thick skins, so while cannonballs were painful, they enraged the Sea Kings more than actually injuring them. So Franky decided that this time, he would shoot the harpoon at both of the Sea King's eyes first. Although he preferred large and loud explosions to ordinary weapons, the harpoon would still be enough to blind a Sea King, making it an easier target.
Yokozuna suddenly gave a warning croak, pointing at a black shadow off in the distance. "I see it, too!" said Franky excitedly. The shadow was approaching fast, heading straight for the Battle Franky. "Time to test out my new battle plan!" He scrambled down from the crow's nest and ran to the harpoon, waiting for a closer shot and ready to shoot in a moment's notice.
Except when the creature surfaced thirty feet away, Franky didn't shoot. "Aww…" He moaned when he saw it. "You're just a shark! You're way too small to challenge my super Battle Franky 10. I want a Sea King!" Disappointed at the false alarm, he turned to go back onto the crow's nest and search for a worthier opponent.
The shark, which was roughly the size of the Battle Franky, seemed to have understood what Franky had said and now felt deeply insulted. Did that puny human just call it small? With an roar, the shark charged at the warship, nearly turning it over.
"What the-?" Franky spun around in time see the shark tear a chunk of the ship away, causing a cannon into the ocean. "Hey, stop that! I needed that cannon to kill Sea Kings!" He ran towards the cannons, but stopped dead in his tracks when the shark took a large bite, destroying half the deck. "Stop chewing up my Battle Franky, you ugly!" Going over to the remaining cannons, he fired at the shark, but the shark ducked underneath the ship and came around the other side, unharmed. The cannon fire just made it madder. Did the human still think it was weaker than a Sea King? And did it just hear the word ugly? The shark was determined to tear the ship to pieces and prove to that ignorant and foolish human that it was just as powerful as a Sea King (although deep down, the shark knew that it was no match for a real Sea King and would probably just end up as food if it came in contact with one).
Franky dashed towards the harpoon, but was forced to jump back when the shark chomped off the piece of deck right where Franky had been standing, along with the harpoon. "Not my new weapon!" he groaned. Grabbing his hand-held cannon, Fanky aimed carefully, knowing he had only one chance. One shot into the shark's mouth, and the shark would die of an internal explosion. The opportunity came when the shark took another chunk out of the Battle Franky. Franky fired his cannon, but just at that same moment, the ship beneath him wobbled violently. The shot went wide, and the cannonball soared over the shark's head. Franky scrambled onto what was left of his ship. "I can't believe it! I didn't even see a Sea King yet, let alone kill one, and now my Battle Franky is getting torn to pieces by one measly shark!" Yokozuna splashed around him, trying to tackle the shark, but to no avail. The shark was simply too strong. Shooting what was left of his cannonballs at the monster, Franky gave a groan. "Iceburg is never going to let me hear the end of this!"
After lunch, Iceburg and Tom went back outside on Scrap Island to test out the buoyancy of the Sea Train tracks. Taking a segment of the tracks, they attached one end to the island and rolled the other end out into the ocean. Tom, being a Fishman, could swim in the ocean without any trouble, so he pulled the tracks straight in the ocean while Iceburg loaded a small boat with tools and rowed out to meet him.
"Okay, Iceburg, take out the buoys," said Tom.
Iceburg hooked two large buoys on the end of the tracks and watched them carefully. "Mr. Tom, I think it's working!" The tracks flowed beautifully with the waves, staying just under the surface of the water.
"I'm sure that it's perfect," laughed Tom, "but I want to run one final test to make sure it's safe. I'm worried that the tracks will sink if we put weight on it. You didn't bring the weights out, did you?"
"No, they're too heavy for the boat."
"I'll go back and get them. You stay here and check the tracks over, just to make sure that all the little iron pieces are in working condition."
"Sure, Mr. Tom." Iceburg watched Tom swim back to Scrap Island, then turned his attention to the tracks. He examined each link separately, looking for any cracks or dents. Working his way down the tracks, Iceburg was so absorbed in his work that he didn't notice that it was getting louder and louder with every passing second.
"Bakaburg!"
Franky's shout startled Iceburg, breaking his concentration and causing him to nearly fall into the water. Annoyed, he ignored him and continued to check the tracks. He was still mad at Franky for being irresponsible and lazy. The idiot already didn't do any work around the place. Why did he have to be so pesky and disturb others, too? And more importantly, why was he, Iceburg, stuck with such an exasperating idiot?
"BAKABURG!"
Iceburg was getting really ticked off. Damn that Moronky! The loud cannonfire and Yokozuna's croaking didn't help improve his mood, either. "Unlike you, Franky, I'm actually working! Go play with your stupid weapons and stop bugging me!" he shouted without looking up. He was almost done checking the tracks, and wanted to finish the little bit he had left in peace.
"ICEBURG! ICEBURG!"
Iceburg froze. Franky never called him by his actual name unless he was being serious. He whirled around just in time to see a gigantic (although not exactly up to Sea King proportions) shark take a bite out of what was left of the Battle Franky 10 about a hundred yards away. The mass of twisted iron and wood started to sink as the blue-haired boy jumped off and began to swim frantically for dear life.
Fear spiked through Iceburg as he watched the shark turn and head for Franky, opening its mouth and displaying its impressive teeth. Although he was an excellent swimmer, Franky would never be able to out-swim that monster. If someone didn't do something quick, Franky was going to end up as shark chow, and as much as Iceburg thought Franky was annoying, he cared about him way too much to let him get eaten. Oh no, you stupid shark, he snarled in his mind, you're not getting Franky so easily! He grabbed the oars and rowed as hard as he could towards his friend. "Swim for the boat!" he shouted.
Franky had other ideas. Reaching the Sea Train tracks, he scrambled onto them and started running. Iceburg stopped for a split second, shocked at how well the tracks served as solid ground. It seemed like Mr. Tom would have no need for his weight test. Franky was pounding along as fast as he could, and the tracks hadn't sunk an inch.
The shark growled. It couldn't reach its prey if they weren't on the same level. Swimming until he was level with Franky, the shark heaved its body out of the water and onto the tracks. Franky yelled and just managed to dodge the shark as it snapped its jaws at where he was a millisecond ago.
Iceburg finally reached the blue-haired boy. He guided the boat alongside the tracks, waiting with a racing pulse. "Get on already!" Franky scrambled into the boat, gasping for breath.
The shark gave another roar when it saw its prey trying to get away. Well, it wasn't going to make it easy for him. It slipped back into the water and streaked toward the rowboat.
"Don't just sit there!" shouted Iceburg, shoving a pair of oars at a stunned Franky. "Help me row!" But Iceburg knew that it was hopeless. Scrap Island was still too far away, and even with the two of them rowing with all their might, the shark was gaining on them every second. Stupid Franky! What did he do to agitate that monster? We'll never be able to get away in time…we're going to get eaten… What a stupid way to die…!
Just when the shark caught up to the rowboat and it seemed like they would be swallowed any second, Tom suddenly burst out of the ocean between the boat and the shark, holding a giant weight in each hand. He swung a weight and sent it crashing against the shark's skull. "Don't you dare touch my apprentices!" he roared.
The shark backed away in surprise. It recognized the newcomer as a Fishman, and while its head was stinging rather badly, it was too mad to care. Here was another person trying to mock it. Roaring madly, the shark charged at the Fishman, who simply leaped out of the water again and smacked the shark multiple times with those heavy weights.
Iceburg and Franky watched Tom beat up the shark with a terrible awe. The monster was no match for the angry Fishman, who whacked it mercilessly. Franky winced. "Ouch…look at the shark's expression…those weights must hurt a lot!"
After the whole terrifying ordeal, Iceburg couldn't find it in him to humor the younger boy. "What, are you actually feeling sorry for the monster that tried to eat us?"
"N-no…" But Franky silently reminded himself to never cross Mr. Tom, even though he knew that Mr. Tom would never hit him like that.
Meanwhile, the shark was scared senseless. It had been told never to tick off a Fishman, but it had never realized how terrifying an angry one could be. The shark had long given up hope on eating the boy, and it was all it could do to try and get away. It finally managed to dodge one of the Fishman's blows and shot away as fast as it could, nursing its bruised head and vowing to never come back within a mile of the island. Its pride wasn't worth the beating it received.
Franky and Iceburg rowed back to shore, with Tom following behind. As the three of them finally reached land, Iceburg let out a sigh of relief. "I'm glad that's over."
Franky, on the other hand, was moaning the fate of his Battle Franky. "The shark completely destroyed it! Even my flag and harpoon's gone! I'll never be able to rebuild it!"
"Shut up!" said Iceburg, smacking him on the back of his head. "You still want to make more of those stupid battleships, even after all this? Wasn't almost getting eaten enough for you?"
"That's exactly what I'm talking about, Bakaburg! If I can build a Battle Franky that can kill a Sea King, I wouldn't have to worry about getting eaten by one! I'd just blast it away!"
Iceburg was just about to throw back a retort when Mr. Tom intervened. "That's enough, both of you. No one's hurt, so it turned out fine." Smiling, he gave a loud huff. "Whew! What a workout!" Iceburg and Franky stared at him incredulously. Tom saw their expression and laughed. "Surely you didn't think that a plain old shark could beat me! Tahahahaha!"
"Thanks for saving us, Mr. Tom," said Iceburg weakly. He was still in shock that his master could talk about defeating that monster like it he did it every day.
"Yeah, thanks," muttered Franky in a voice much smaller than usual. "And...uh...thanks, Iceburg…for…you know…"
Iceburg found that he couldn't stay mad at Franky, even though he very much wanted to. "Don't mention it," he sighed. "I guess you can't help it if a giant shark decides that you taste good…although I can't imagine why your super Battle Franky 10 couldn't even kill a shark…" he teased.
"Shut up! It took me by surprise, that's all! If I was ready, it would've been no match against me!"
Tom laughed. "Tahahahaha! I don't doubt that you could've done much better if you were prepared, Franky, but you should thinking about improving your ships to better deal with emergencies. Now, Iceburg, how about those tracks?"
Iceburg snapped his brain back to the task at hand. "It's in perfect condition, Mr. Tom."
"We won't have to check it too often; the metal's super resilient to rust. And after that fiasco, I'm sure that the tracks can withstand an enormous weight…" Tom casually heaved the two weights he was holding and set it on the tracks. "See?" he said, pointing to the weights as proof. The tracks worked perfectly; floating and flexible.
"Well," said Iceburg, suddenly feeling drained from the afternoon's excitement. "We're officially done with the Sea Train tracks."
"Yes," agreed Tom happily. "And Kokoro's whipping up something spectacular for dinner. When I went home to get the weights, she had just come back from buying water-water meat."
"SUPER!" yelled Franky. "We're having a feast for dinner, and then I can start planning my Battle Franky 11 tonight!"
"Hold it, Moronky," said Iceburg. "You're still helping with Rocketman tomorrow, got it?"
"I know that, Bakaburg!" muttered Franky. "I'm still allowed to think about my Battle Frankys, am I? Or are you stopping me from doing that, too?"
"No," laughed Tom. "You can go and draw up your blueprints tonight, Franky."
As the three of them walked back to the house, Iceburg wondered how much trouble that idiot Franky was going to get himself into next. He was surprised to find that he didn't care, because no matter what it was, Iceburg would be beside him to help.
I love Franky and Iceburg's backstory! They were so cute! -gushes over how adorable they were- Their past made me teary, though. The completion of the Sea Train was just too moving, and Mr. Tom's death was so sad.
On a more technical note, the part about how the Sea train tracks were made was completely made up by me. I checked the One Piece Wikia, but I couldn't find anything on the structure of the Sea Train. I hope that my explanation was at least plausible!
For all you young!Iceburg and young!Franky lovers out there, I found an amazing comic on diviantART called "Franky's First Cola" by justira. Here's the link (just remove the spaces):
http : / justira . deviantart . com / art / OP - COMIC - Franky - s - First - Cola - 32137186
Go check it out; it's definitely worth your time!
Please leave a review! It would make me very happy!