I'm all alone on this island
And all I can do is just play around on my piano all day, making these stupid origami structures. It's a shame I haven't managed to find someone, someone out on the sea willing to join me here in this paradise.
I want to get rid of this curse, this cursed thing those wretched savages saw that I was useful for, yet cast me aside as soon as I wasn't willing to play their games.
I just want some company, that's all.
Being secluded, being an outcast, it's not fun. I'm too old for that kind of stuff.
It's hell being in heaven without someone to look at you and say "Hey, we're in heaven", y'know?
Nevermind, it's just my silly old senile rambling again...
xx
"If there's one thing we absolutely need, it's a shipwright." Zoro stated before taking a swig of booze. The Strawhat Pirates had departed from Alabasta earlier during the day, still raw from their goodbye to the princess Vivi.
"If there's one thing we need, it's Vivi," Sanji whined, his arms flopped over the railings with the rest of the crew.
"...are you all still on about that?" Zoro grimaced, rubbing his palm against his face in contempt.
"Yeah, we are, three swords-guy!" Luffy spat back
"Luffy, three swords isn't an insult," Sanji replied
"Well then he's a four-swords guy!"
"Luffy, you're hopeless" Sanji sighed
Usopp waved his arms in attempt to calm down the crew. "Zoro, there's no need to worry. I've got it covered! I've been fixing up on the Merry ever since we started this journey, I know her like the back of my hand!"
"If you know her so well then you should know she's in a condition that won't just be fixed by duct tape and nails," Zoro snapped.
"Um," Usopp tensed before Luffy interjected.
"I believe in Usopp!" he grinned "He should be able to handle it! He's kept us running since the beginning."
"Yeah!" Chopper gleamed in agreement "Didn't you say you, the mighty shipwright, built the Merry to be the most damn-near indestructible ship ever, anyway, Usopp?"
The Strawhats glared at Usopp, who proudly pumped his chest.
"You've got that right, Chopper! She isn't going anywhere with these super shipbuilding hands!"
"But we should get a second opinion, just to be safe," Nami commented while looking at her log pose "An island's coming up soon, maybe there's an expert there."
"Should we land?" Luffy asked
"You're the captain, Luffy!" Usopp snarled
"Oh, yeah!" Luffy said in realization "Well, is the place cool?"
"How should we know!" Sanji, Nami, and Usopp screeched in unison
"Either way, we're fresh out of supplies and our ship is in no condition to carry on," Zoro sternly said "So unless the place is some abandoned shithole, we've got to go."
"Well, the island should.."
"What the hell is this bridge doing here!?" Luffy cried out as he quickly flung himself over to his special seat to look at the structure. A long, wide emerald bridge blocked the Merry's path.
"It's obviously the entrance to the island, Luffy," Sanji replied with a slight tone of annoyance.
"Whatever it is, it's creepy." Usopp wailed. "This doesn't look safe at all!"
"Don't be a coward, Usopp," Luffy hissed, sticking out his tongue is disgust "How can you find something so weird creepy! I wanna see what's going on past that bridge."
"The real problem is we'll need some of us to stay back," Nami said looking over at the crew.
"I volunteer!" Usopp raised his hand
"No," Zoro glared at Usopp "You know most about the Merry, so it's important that you come,"
"Aw, c'mon! We still don't know if this is some abandoned dump or something!"
"Dump or not, you still need to come,"
"I'll stay behind as long as all of you promise not to get hurt," Chopper stiffly said
"And I guess I'm not really needed either, I'll stay behind," Sanji said, quickly changing his tone as he eyed the male crew members. "But you all better not let my beautiful Nami get hurt," he threatened.
Luffy eagerly made his way onto the bridge, briskly making his way across.
"Luffy, slow down!" Nami growled at the ambitious captain
"Yeah, what if this scary bridge turns into a monster and gobbles you up!" Usopp shrieked "Wait, what I am saying? I shouldn't think of such creepy things,"
Nami observed the bridge. The design was strangely ..minimalistic. It was a plain green bridge, no unique carvings or inscriptions.
As the crew made their way across the bridge, fortunately with no complications, the island became more clear in view.
"Hey look, there's building and stuff, there must be some people here!" Luffy grinned as his crew struggled to keep up with his pace.
The island was fully developed, to say the least. The ground appeared to be complete concrete, tall, thin towers lining the streets. There were hotels, and signs guiding the island, yet the place seemed absolutely deserted. A soft, eerily melody, which appeared to be a mixture of a harp and violin, played throughout the island, although there weren't any visible speakers. The island smelt fresh, however, and oddly well-kept for an island that appeared abandoned. Wherever they were, it had to have been occupied previously to be kept in such shape.
"This is giving me the creeps," Usopp whined, furiously shaking in fear.
"It's giving me bad vibes, too," Nami murmured
"There's gotta be some useful information there," Zoro said as he pointed towards an area named "VISITOR PALACE"
"A tourist area?" Nami remarked as the crew eased their way over to the building. Yet again, Nami noticed how simplistic the design of the island was. All of the buildings were painted plain colors, none of them having windows. or slanted roofs. Some buildings appeared to be just plain colored rectangles with a label.
Zoro placed his hand on the Visitor Palace, causing the melody to abruptly stop.
"It's locked," he said with annoyance " This place must just be closed for the day or something. Stupid as hell to leave it wide open with no security,"
"Um, I think we should probably be worrying about what potential demon spirit caused the already-frightening music to stop because I don't wanna die!" Usopp squealed.
A high-pitched, mechanical screech sounded across the island, as if nails gliding across a metal surface.
"Sorry about that. I'm no good at using technology." A deep, elderly male voice spoke, his voice trembling throughout the island. "Anyway, today's all you'se lucky day! You've landed on a very, very very special island, my dear visitors. It's a paradise! We've...well, I've got a wondrous concert stadium, the absolute most exquisite dining the Grand Line could offer ya, a lovely exhibition of the most intricate origami structures a man could ever see, I'm sorry it's a terrible obsession of mine, an a splendous hotel for you all to rest at! I've kept it all in tip-top shape for visitors like you! Also, maybe you can take a ride on.."
"Who are you, old voice box guy!? And why don't you have a body?" Luffy called out
"Luffy he obviously has a body. he's just using an intercom!" Usopp hissed back at him.
"Ahh, I'm so sorry, I got carried away! The name's Rocksmith!" the voice called back out "I'm at the concert stadium myself, but I don't expect you all to make your way over here, so I'll be coming soon, if you wait.."
"Old guy, the most important thing here is we need to know if you can direct us to any shipwrights," Zoro huffed
"Eh?" Rocksmith asked "You guys are in luck! I'm a shipwright myself."
"So can you look at the Merry?" Luffy gleamed
"And more importantly, how much are you charging us?" Nami narrowed her eyes in suspicion.
"We'll talk about all of that when I get there," Rocksmith replied "And I assure you, ma'am, my fee is very cheap."
"It better be!"
"Nami don't go threatening weirdos like that! He could kill us!"
"Not on my watch!"
Moments later, a ship made its way toward the shore of the island. The ship was massive, yet simplistic is design. It was cardboard colored, with one large sail across it. Rocksmith trudged his way off of the ship.
Rocksmith was an elderly man. His face was seamed with bags and wrinkles of all sorts, and crater-sized brown moles across his face, which resembled cockroaches. His head was completely bald, leaving only borderline-white faded baby blue sideburns and goatee. Despite his age, his physique was in top shape. He was lean and muscular in shape, wearing only tattered shorts and beach sandals. His body was slightly slumped.
"Hello, there!" he called out as he made his way towards the group. "Now you all get to see my ugly face, don't you?" he cackled, snorts sprinkling his laughter. "Since I've made my introduction, I'd like to know who you all are.."
"I'm Luffy, the man who's gonna be king of the pirates!" Luffy boasted.
"Oh.." Rocksmith's tone changed slightly, causing him to catch himself to switch immediately back to cheerfulness "So this is your crew?"
"Yeah, I'm Nami," Nami said, while pointing over to the rest of her comrades "And that's Zoro and Usopp, we've the rest of our comrades back on our ship, which is why it's important you see to it as soon as you can."
"Well, hmm.." Rocksmith rubbed his stubble is thought "How about this. I take you all out on the Cardinal here, and I'll take your friends back to the island. I can't see to your ship right away without telling you my pricing, and it's important they're all here."
Zoro eyed the shipwright. "What're you planning?" he said "And I hope you aren't seriously expecting us to leave the Merry unguarded."
"Oh, I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking," Rocksmith smacked his head "I'll take you out on the Cardinal and have your friends steer you out to the ship docking area, your ship should be safe there, and it's way better for me to examine it there."
"Well, what're we waiting for? Let's go," Luffy called out as he rushed his way onto the Cardinal.
"Your captain is very ambitious" Rocksmith chuckled
"That's a very nice way to put it, I guess," Usopp sighed.
The crew boarded the Cardinal quickly, almost leaving Rocksmith behind. The ship had an odd lack of detail, as if it were made without it glided across the water fast and smoothly, partly due to Rocksmith's navigational skills.
"You said your ship docked at the gate, am I correct?" Rocksmith asked the group, who nodded their heads in agreement "Alright, we'll be there in no time."
The Merry became within view in minutes. Luffy eagerly waved his arms in excitement.
"Hey Sanji, Chopper! We ran across an old wrinkly shipwright and a abandoned resort!" Luffy yelled.
"What the hell are you talking about? What's going on?" Sanji called back out, unable to fully comprehend Luffy's high-pitched yelling.
"We'll tell you when we get on the Merry," Nami cupped her mouth and yelled out.
The Cardinal docked beside the Merry.
"Alright, Usopp and I should go on since I'll navigate and he can steer," Nami spoke, turning to Rocksmith as she did. "Old man, you brought a map with you, right?"
"Ah, yeah, I did!" He replied, "Just gimme a sec and I'll go get it!"
Rocksmith descend downstairs, as fast as a man of his age could, quickly retrieving the map and handing it to Nami. "So we'll meet back at the docking area, right?"
"Yup," he said "We'll see ya there."
"Alright," Nami said, switching her tone to a playful one "Don't let those two boneheads drive you off the edge, okay?"
"Ha! Don't worry, I don't think they will."
Zoro rolled his eye's at Nami's statement. "Whatever, witch."
Nami and Usopp boarded the Merry,a confused Sanji and Chopper surrounding them.
"What was Luffy talking about?" Chopper asked
"We found an old man who's a shipwright and willing to help fix the Merry, and apparently has been living on this weird island all by himself," Nami replied.
"Sounds suspicious," Sanji mumbled, causing Usopp to frantically nod his head in agreement.
"That's what I'm saying! We don't even know this guy yet we're letting him touch the Merry!" Usopp howled "If you ask me, this whole place is bad news."
"Bad news or not, we need to get to the docking station," Nami spread out the map entitled ORIGAMI ISLAND.
xx
Once the two ships reached the docking area, Rocksmith stared at the Merry.
"A fine ship indeed, such intricacy," Rocksmith smiled "You all made it so far without a shipwright?"
"Well, I kinda fill that position, although I'm not actually a shipwright," Usopp responded, rubbing his behind his head.
"So, what's the payment, anyway? Because we're not exactly rich y'know," Nami once again narrowing her eyes at the old shipwright.
"Oh, yeah, that," Rocksmith replied as if he'd almost forgotten "I don't want any money, I have plenty of that crap. All I want you to do this enjoy this island. I spent all of my life making and maintaining this beautiful place all by myself yet no one's ever stopped by. I don't want to die knowing no one's ever got the chance to enjoy this place,"
A loud thud sounded as the crew's mouths simultaneously dropped to the ground.
"You mean old man you.." Usopp said, quickly interrupt by Luffy.
"You did the all by yourself!?" Luffy gasped "That's awesome! We'll enjoy your place old man, as long as there's good food!"
'What part of world class dining don't you understand?" Rocksmith gleamed.
"But how long do you want us to stay?" Chopper asked the old man causing Zoro to glare at the old man.
"Only 3 days is all I ask, is that a good deal?" Rocksmith smiled
"Yeah it is, old man! It's a deal!" Luffy happily responded.
'Well, I'll take you to your lodging first, if you don't mind," Rocksmith said causing Nami to nod in agreement.
"Yeah, we'll get our clothes off the Merry and meet you there, okay? I have the map so don't worry about us getting lost," Nami spoke to the man, who shook his in understanding.
The crew swiftly got their things and made their way to the hotel, Luffy proudly grinning along the way.
"I knew this old man was a good guy when we first saw 'em," he stated, his arms forming a pretzel behind his back "If we listened to your cowardly advice, Usopp, we'd still be out looking for another island!"
"Yeah, yeah, I get it," Usopp spat.
The hotel was a plain, marble-white building, it's name inscribed in capital, gold letters THE PAPER THIN SUITE.
"Paper Thin Suite? The hell type of name is that?" Zoro commented, causing Nami to reply
"Well didn't he say he liked origami and stuff? He probably named it after that," Nami chuckled.
"An origami fetish, that's new," Sanji chimed in.
"C'mon in!" Rocksmith called out from inside, "Oh wait, I'm sorry, you're the guests,"
Rocksmith opened the doors. He was dressed in a full suitors uniform, a white uniform and cap with the words PAPER THIN plastered on his pocket protector.
"Welcome to the luxurious Paper Thin Suite of Origami Island, and I'll be checking you all in and showing you to your rooms, now come this way!"
The lobby of the Paper Thin Suite was yet again simplistic in design. It wasn't very astounding in look. The desk was a plain old wooden desk, and the floors were flat-out cement painted white.
"Please sign in," he gestured towards a thick binder resting on the lobby's sign-in desk.
The binder had pages, and pages of blank sign-in sheets. Each of the crew members signed their names.
"Please check in everyday you plan to stay here," Rocksmith said, "Now, let's make our way toward your rooms, if you don't mind,"
The crew made their way down the eery hallway.
"Say, you don't want to add something to this place?" Usopp commented, "It's just a plain white hallway, don't you think that'd turn off guest? It's creepy."
Rocksmith slightly twitched. "I'm a firm believer of minimalism, if you haven't noticed so far," he said gruffly.
"Usopp, that's rude," Nami hissed
"Ignore Usopp, he's a scaredy-cat," Luffy stuck his tongue out in a playful taunt.
"Now, this floor is Floor 1, if you can't tell already. These are where the private baths are. Public baths are up on the next floor," He pointed to the doors. There were 4 private bathrooms, each labeled as unisex.
"It's a shame I'll have no use for the public bathroom, since Vivi's no longer with us," Nami sighed.
"I'll join you, my beauty!" Sanji sang in joy, causing him to quickly be smashed by Nami's hot fist.
The pirates descended up the stairs, skipping past the floor containing the public baths, making their way towards the floor.
"Each floor contains 1 private room for one person, in total there's ten rooms," Rocksmith said, once again impressing the crew.
"The rooms must be big as hell if it takes us a floor," Zoro spoke, Rocksmith grinned, filling with pleasure at the Strawhats's constant amazement at the island.
"You're correct, come and see," Rocksmith motioned as he opened the door.
"Usopp gets the room on the highest floor!" Luffy teased, causing Usopp to growl back.
"No way in hell am I walking up all those stairs," Usopp growled
"I'll share your room if scared of sleeping alone, Usopp," Chopper chimed in, in attempt to comfort Usopp.
"The mighty sea warrior Usopp never gets scared!" Usopp roared, causing Chopper's eyes to sparkle in happiness.
The room was almost empty, with the exception of a bed and a desk with a large mirror. The room was plain white, everything inside of it, including the mattress sheets. The cew let out slight gasps.
'"Is there a problem?" Rocksmith ask with a face slowly contorting in worry.
"Yeah, it's scary!" Usopp trembled.
"It is odd.." Zoro and Sanji mumbled together, Nami's face frozen is worried agreement.
"What's with you guys?" Luffy yawned "Didn't this guy say he like animalism or whatever? He's just not creative, this room is fine!"
"I'm sorry if my artistic style disturbs you," Rocksmith frowned.
"No, no, it's fine," Nami shook her head, putting her ominous thoughts behind her.
"It's getting quite dark," Zoro spoke up "I think we should bathe and call it a night.
"Agreed," the crew all yawned in unison, with the exception of Luffy who huffed in disappointment.
"I'm starving, though," Luffy groaned, while rubbing his aching stomach.
"Ooh! What a good time to take you out to my restaurant ship, The Fold," Rocksmith smiled.
"Sounds like a plan, we'll eat then come back here," Nami agreed.
"Okay then! The Fold's chef serves some of the most delectable seafood you'll ever meet, just trust me!"
"And who is that?" Sanji asked.
"Me."
xx
The Fold looked literally identical to the Cardinal, the only difference being it's maroon color. The inside of the The Fold looked as if a poor attempt of a regal atmosphere was attempted, blatantly spray-painted gold chairs and tables lined the inside, wide windows giving a nice view of the island.
"I'll steer us out a bit and begin cooking, don't worry, I won't taking long to cook!"Rocksmith called out.
"Take as long as you wish, a chef shouldn't rush his food, we're not some spoiled brats," Sanji remarked. "In the meantime, do you have any candles and wine? I'd like to make this a special occasion for my lovely Nami!"
"Ignore him, Rocksmith!" Nami yelled "But some booze would be nice, if you don't mind,"
"Now you're talking!" Zoro roared in agreement "Bring lots of it, too. I'm no light stomach."
"Sure thing," Rocksmith replied, setting out large barrels of rum as he spoke. Nami and Zoro immediately assaulted the barrels.
"Hey, leave some for us!" Usopp screeched.
"First come first serve, Usopp," Zoro hissed.
Rocksmith began steering the Fold, for a few minutes, before returning to the dining deck to begin cooking.
"Look at the view! Isn't it absolutely breathtaking?" Rocksmith fawned, causing the Strawhats to look out the windows.
The "view" of the island was completely black, only thing visible being some emerald of the gate reflecting.
"If you can call that a view.." Usopp whispered, causing Nami to angrily nudge him with her elbows.
"Hey, you guys have got to learn how to appreciate minimalism!" Rocksmith let out a hearty laugh "The tacky light show you were might have been expecting, that's all a bunch of crap. We've got to learn how to appreciate a dark night, don't you think? I find that more beautiful than a bunch of eyesore lights. Besides, who can afford all of that electricity?"
"This guy is a weirdo..Ouch I apologize, my dear Nami!"
Later on, Rocksmith led out his prepared feast. A thin soup with a fat lump of fish place in the center of the bowl.
"Hm, I'm not familiar with this cuisine.." Sanji rubbed his stubbled has thought, taking a spoonful of the soup in hopes of finding out why the meal seemed to escape him. "This is cold.." he mumbled.
"It's supposed to be served that way, if you're wondering," Rocksmith added in
"With chunks of ice in it, too?"
"Did you swish the fish around it? The soup is rather bland if the fish doesn't soak in it for awhile, but I didn't wanna have you all wait any longer,"
"A chef shouldn't rush his food."
The Strawhat's rustily gulped down the eccentric meal in silence, their minds all focused on one thing; how the hell were they going to survive breakfast?
xx
In the morning, the Strawhats gathered in the lobby of the Paper Thin Suite.
"Where's Rocksmith at, I'm starving," Nami moaned
"Are really so willing to stuff down his nasty food again?" Usopp whined
"I didn't think it was so bad!" Chopper perked up
"Me either, it's not as yummy as Sanji's food, but it wasn't bad!" Luffy chimed in.
Zoro walked over to the lobby's desk. "Look, the old guy left us a note here. It says we need to meet him at the Origami Paradise Concert Stadium for a breakfast and show."
"Show?" Luffy cocked in head in confusion.
"I think he's going to play us a song. Remember when we first got here, that melody?" Nami said with a slight tone of doubt.
"Wait, he's a musician, too?" Luffy's eyes turning into golden sparkles as he lifted his head in curiousity "Every pirate crew needs a musician!"
"Luffy, I swear to God if you ask that weirdo to join our crew.." Usopp hissed
"Woo! Let's go see that weird-shipwright old fart give us yummy food and play a cool song!" Luffy sang out.
"Oh my goodness," Nami sighed while slapping her palm against her face.
The concert stadium was an pentagon shaped, white building with it's named glossed across it in red.
'There's a note on the building, too" Nami remarked as she peeled the note off of the building.
The bold, neat handwriting stood out to Nami.
"HELLO, MY GUESTS. I'M SORRY I CANNOT GREET YOU, BUT IT WOULD RUIN THE ATMOSPHERE OF THE SPECIAL PERFORMANCE. YOUR BREAKFAST IS ALREADY PREPARED, PLEASE ENTER BEFORE IT GETS COLD.
THANK YOU,
CONCERT ARTIST, ROCKSMITH"
"Eh? "Atmosphere", this guy is a real artist, huh?" Nami chuckled.
"Nami! What's wrong with you!?" Luffy screamed.
"What're you freaking out about, Luffy?"
"Didn't you hear the old man!? The food's gonna get cold! This is no time for small talk!" Luffy pushed through the door, revealing the stadium.
Everything in the stadium was a piercing, blinding, intimidating red. It irritated the Strawhats's eyes, causing them all, with the exception of Luffy, to let out a slight shriek.
"I'm kinda scared," Chopper mumbled.
"Don't be,' Zoro assured the little doctor "Isn't this supposed to be part of theatrics or whatever? It's probably setting up the theme for the song,"
"Geez, Zoro, I wasn't expecting you know all about theatrics," Nami giggled, causing Zoro to let out an annoyed grunt.
The Strawhats sat down and examined their meals, a seasoned slab of a maimed sea king on top of a type of french bread.
"Aww, it's godden colb,' Luffy frowned while stuffing the whole fish in his mouth.
"You sure it wasn't just intended that way, seeing how shitty the dinner was last night," Sanji murmured.
Abruptly, the curtains of the stage lifted, revealing a the stage was completely obscured by black. Then, a single light shone, which obviously was pulled by Rocksmith himself.
Rocksmith's slump was more defined, arching to properly reach his grand piano. He wore a cream white tuxedo, with not even speck of black invading his face glued to the piano, he sat there for a few minutes, causing a deep, awkward tension to fill the room. Then, almost as if a spark light through his body, a depressing melody erupted from his fingers.
He kept at this melody for about ten minutes, his body shivering with raw emotion. His eyes soon filled with tears, gritting his teeth in order to avoid bursting into sobs. Suddenly, he stopped his song to let out a scratchy yodel,
"A man, born with a curse,
He'll lift it one day?
What a joke
He's a predator
Bloodthirsty
He's..."
Rocksmith coughed furiously, preventing him from sobbing.
"He's a victim, in his mind
He wants to die."
Rocksmith returned to his melody, now playing an odd cheery melody, causing Luffy to happily clap his hands to the rhythm.
Rocksmith, continuing the bright melody, began to belt out unsuiting lyrics
"Blood everywhere,
That's all ever he ever wants,
Faces to frown,
That's what he enjoys,"
Nami, Zoro, Sanji and especially Usopp's face froze. Sanji felt an overwhelming sense of nausea plague his throat, and gripped Nami's hand in crippling fear and instinct to comfort.
Rocksmith began sporadically pounding the piano with his fists, letting out a terrible mishmash of piercing sounds, before finally slumping over the piano in exhaustion.
The crew froze, only interrupted by Luffy eager applause, causing them to feign robotic, stiff applause, with the exception of Zoro.
"This is a trap, or something. There's something very, very wrong with that old man," he darkly stated.
"N-no shit, mosshead,"Sanji stuttered.
"Some psychological? Or maybe he's in pain?" Chopper reasoned, Nami responding with mechanical shifts of disapproval.
"No way.." she coughed out.
Rocksmith suddenly stood up and bowed, swiftly exiting the stage.
"Do let me know when you're finished!" he sang out " I must show you my origami collection when you're done, I'm so glad you enjoyed my performance!"
The Strawhats left their plates practically untouched, finally forcing themselves to stomach the food after receiving a sharp scolding from Sanji.
The crew met Rocksmith in front of the concert stadium, his body glistening with sweat, exhaustion, but unfettering enthusiasm.
"You gonna be alright, sir?" Chopper frowned
"Yes, I'll be just fine." Rocksmith waved his arms, shaking off Chopper's polite offer. "I want to show you something that may shake off that..emotional performance."
"You can say that again," Zoro and Usopp hissed in unison.
The group languidly made their way to Rocksmith's origami collection.
"How far is this place? We've been walked for about half an hour," Usopp cried.
"Gives us some time to take in the beauty of this island, doesn't it?" Rocksmith chuckled. "It would've took us the same amount of time to walk over to the ship docking area to hop on the Cardinal and ride her over to the shore near there."
"Speaking of ships," Nami asked "Have you taken a look at the Merry yet?"
"Ah, yes, the Merry.." Rocksmith's face turned into a dark expression. "I only took a glance at it, it's so unfortunate. But, alas, your ship is flat-out unrepairable. You're all blessed you found my island before you went any further,"
"What?"
"It's not surprising," Zoro hummed.
"A new ship?" Luffy frowned "It'll be sad to see Merry go, but we've got to.."
"Luffy," Usopp eyes lit in anger as he glared at his captain. "Don't tell me you believe in this man's lies. He must be trying to keep us trapped on this island forever."
"Why would he lie to us? He's an actual shipwright, so what's the reason to not believe in him..'
"I can't believe you're listening to this tripe. Don't tell me you agree with this bullshit, right, Nami?"
Nami eyed the floor, unwilling to contribute to argument.
"Usopp, I don't know.."
"Fine then," Usopp cried, wiping his face as he spoke "Me and the Merry will sail out by ourselves off of this fucked up island if you all want to cast her aside like she's some disposable tool,"
"Usopp, I can't let you do that," Luffy wailed, while placing hand on his shoulder.
"Don't you dare try to stop me, or it won't end well," Usopp hissed his words cracking as he spoke.
"He's right, son," Rocksmith spoke "You can't just leave. My rules were I'd examine the Merry if you all spent 3 days here. If you leave, that means they haven't fully given me their payment, and I won't build them a new ship unless they fully pay me,"
"I don't care, you're trying to trap them anyway, this 'payment' shit is just an excuse," Usopp spat back at the old man.
"Please young man, I'm not trying to trap any of you!" Rocksmith pleaded as he ran towards Usopp "I would never try to do such a thing, when I was a child.."
" I warned you!" Usopp snarled as he viciously slinged a rotten egg in the man's face.
"What..?" Rocksmith huffed in utter disbelief at Usopp's defense mechanism. "Usopp, listen. I'll give your ship a second chance."
"Just so you can tell me the same junk, right? I don't want you touching the Merry," Usopp growled, stopping in his tracks.
"Please, Usopp, just give Rocksmith a chance," Nami cried out.
"Just like you gave the Merry?"
"Usopp, stop this! We're all obviously sorry, and it was stupid of us to put a stranger's opinion above your own, you care about the Merry, we understand," Sanji shrieked.
"Yeah, Usopp.." Luffy shuffled nervously "We were being dumb. We're gonna get off this coo-dumb island soon on the Merry. It's gonna be okay, Usopp!"
"Yeah, please please please don't leave us Usopp! I can't imagine what we would do without you as a comrade!" Chopper sniffled.
Usopp set his slingshot, and paused for a few seconds.
"..fine. If you say so,"
The crew ran up and hugged Usopp in a wave of relief.
'Oh c'mon guys don't smother me!" Usopp grinned. Zoro, however, stayed behind next to Rocksmith with a cold expression.
"We just let him blatantly disrespect the captain's order's then hug him as if it he didn't just threaten to leave the crew? This doesn't sit right with me," Zoro thinks to himself, his thoughts interrupted by Rocksmith.
Rocksmith rubbed his forehead. 'Whew, maybe we all need a little break, don't you think? We'll meet at my Origami Collection in about four hours, in the meantime you all calm down, okay? Oh and Usopp, can I speak to you for a moment..? I really need to apologize to you for all this.."
xx
The crew, still fresh with the wounds of their dark argument promptly navigated themselves to the Rocksmith's Origami collection. The wonder of the island began to wear off on the Strawhats. They were tired of the island, and angry at the emotional rollercoaster it had given them. The 'paradise' seemed to become coming loose at the ends. The Origami Collection was a wide, white dome with the words PAPER DOME splattered across it in gray. The dome had no doors, so the crew took the pleasure of making their way into the room.
The ground crinkled as they walked. The floor was literally thick layers of a wide variety of construction paper. Unlike other areas of the island, the Paper Dome wasn't one plain color. The walls were all origami structures sloppily glued on, obscuring the windows and lazily hanging from the ceilings. It was an overload of stimuli.
"Talk about fire hazard," Usopp mumbled to himself, breaking the silence.
"Hello everyone! You've reached my absolute favorite part of this island, and I'm not one to really pick favorites," Rocksmith boasted, his voice echoing throughout the dome
"Where are you, old man? We can't see you," Luffy called out.
"Oh, keep on walking, I'm behind the curtains in my studio," Rocksmith replied nonchalantly.
The crew carefully walked through the Paper Dome, trying to avoid recklessly destroying origami structures along the way. A tall wall eventually blocked the Strawhats's path a thick layer of white paper planes and cranes.
"Um, I think this is supposed to be the 'curtain'," Nami said, causing the crew to all simultaneously groan in displeasure.
"He can't be serious, I should just cut through this-"
"Zoro don't you even think about it," Nami glared at the swordsman, balling up her fist in anticipation.
"Hello?" Luffy pressed his face into the wall "Old man? Are you behind this?"
"Huh?" Rocksmith called back "Yeah, I am! Come on in, and try not to get too much paper cuts, okay?" Rocksmith dug his hands into his stomach to hold back his hearty laugh.
The crew hesitated at first, but eventually ran through the wall. The structures cut like blades, causing the Strawhats to let out weeps as the paper planes continuously let out burning slashes. It cut their throats, their eyes, and the white wall was slowly invaded by a circle of dark red blood.
Zoro reached for his sword, in attempt to slice through the wall, but stopped realizing that the risk of accidentally slicing his comrades into pieces wasn't worth it.
The crew slumped through the wall, each falling out, dazed, confused, and sliced all over. Their clothes were tattered by the fat wall's incessant assault.
Rocksmith looked over at the battered Strawhats, his body still slumped over his desk, which was stuffed with a variety of papers, from sandpaper to plain white office paper. His face turned pale white in fear, as he reached the group to comfort them.
"I'm so sorry, I always use the back entrance, I didn't know my curtain had gotten that bad," he gasped "I have an infirmary, I'll take you all there and do the best I can,"
"It's too late for that, old man," Zoro growled, gripped his sword. "Usopp was right from the start. I don't know what the hell is up with you and this island but you've been playing innocent from the start,"
"I much as I hate to admit it, mosshead is right," Sanji stood up slowly, still battered from the venture.
Nami nodded and gripped her clima-tact in agreement.
"Wait," Usopp huffed out "I know you're probably gonna think I've lost it or something, but I think it was a honest mistake.."
"An honest mistake?" Nami snapped "Usopp, did those paper planes cut out your brain? This guy is bad news,"
"Listen. The old man told me about this island, about everything after..you know what happened a few hours ago, he told me all about this island, about everything.."
Rocksmith uneasily nodded his head. "I was left on an island as a young child by my parents. They told me they'd come back for me..but they obviously never did. I don't know what they left for..but somebody else found me and changed my life. Pirates. I was deathly afraid of them, but they saved my life. In all honesty the only reason why they took me was because of my talent, the ability create beautiful things..anyway, the crew wasn't very successful. Let's just say we got into a shitty battle, and left me as the only survivor, and our ship..So I stayed here. Used the tools from our broken up ship and spent my life building this wondrous island. I was waiting just waiting for someone to show up here, give this old man a way to die peacefully.I know how much you all value the Merry. Very much. I screwed up, my senile self forgets these type of things, and know you're all cut up," he put his hands on Usopp's arm and began to rub his arms in a comforting measure.
"It's not that bad old man," Usopp reassured him 'It's a few cuts, Chopper can fix us up.."
"Yeah!" Chopper perked up "I was getting worried but I understand you know, Rocky. You said you have an infirmary, right? I can treat everyone there it's a just a few scars,"
Luffy looked over to Usopp and Rocksmith, his expression a cold and captain-like one. "Usopp," he tensed "Are you sure we can trust this old man?"
Usopp opened his lips, only to be cut off by Sanji.
"Are you sure he's telling us the full story?"
"We're counting on you," Zoro said rigidly "Don't let your emotions take over your thoughts."
"He's not manipulating us." Usopp stressed "You all know I'm an expert liar, and I can see one from far away. This old man is a good guy."
"If you say so," Nami uneasily replied, focusing on Rocksmith's expressions, checking for any sadistic smiles or a hint of a nervous twitch.
"Rocksmith," Luffy glanced over to the shipwright "Tomorrow's our last day here, right?"
"R-right!" he shook his head furiously "Let's all take you the the infirmary immediately. I'm also almost done with the Merry, when you all were resting after your little quarrel, I took the pleasure of giving a the Merry a proper examination.." he paused.
"Let's just say I was absolutely wrong about the Merry"
xx
"So, please tell me one reason why we shouldn't kill you," the silky haired man chuckled as he approached Rocksmith with his intimidating katana gripped tightly
"You should. I'm a freak, y'know."
'"Is that supposed to be sarcasm, or some shit? Do you know who we are, kid? We're pirates. Actual freaks. I could slit your throat right now and not give a damn."
"You don't understand."
Rocksmith looked over at the ship. It's massive, frightening appearance could make anyone's heart stop. It was a crimson red, it's mass containing a gorey jolly roger..a skeleton with blood splattered all over it. The head of the ship was designed as a crying dragon, it's face pierced in half, revealing it's battered and smashed brain.
"That, over there," Rocksmith pointed towards the ship "You try to make it look all scary and stuff. It's not, well not to me. Let me show you something."
Rocksmith swatted his lengthy, faded blue hair aside and took out a crumpled piece of paper and scissors. He plopped down, pretzel style, and began making a small paper ship hastily.
"You thinking I'm joking you little sh.."
Rocksmith threw the paper on the ground, causing it to erupt spontaneously. Slowly, the paper ship transformed into a life like one.
The ship was white like the paper Rocksmith used, simplistic in design matching the quick, plain origami design.
"I have this weird curse. I can make paper figures turn into real things, and I can turn real things into paper figures, as long as I'm familiar with those things, of course," he grit his teeth looking away. "You'll all think I'm a monster now, right? I'm freak, and I'm useless to a pirate crew. I can't even swim!"
The pirate's face lit up with joy "Shit, you're a freak alright. I'm a damn pirate, kid. I've met freakier. Do you know what you could do with your power? You're coming with us, and you're definitely getting off of this damn island,"
The pirate roughly gripped Rocksmith's shoulder and scurried him aboard the ferocious ship "Hey, cap'n, look what I found! A diamond in a pile of rotten steaming shit,"
"A rotten pile of shit?" A low voice playfully commented from the balcony "That's a new one, not very creative though,"
"Nobody asked for your commentary, dumbass," the pirate snapped.
The pirate and Rocksmith raced to the captain's quarter's, a fat, yet youthful rust-red haired man sat in his luxurious room. The room was rich with numerous bounties galore, some displaying a meager thousand berries, while others showing a terrifying 60 million. The names were varied, "HOWLING FALCON RAY", "BLOODTHRISTY MANSE", and "QUICK FEET TERITH"
"Hey, cap'n," the pirate called out to his captain "This kid right here, he's a fruit user, a useful one too,"
He pushed Rocksmith foward, causing him to stumble over and trip. Echoes of high pitch screams flooded the room.
"Sounds more like a damned crybaby than a capable fruit user!" the captain chortled "Ray, unless he can take out a few bodies he'll be a burden."
"Look outside, and you'll see," Ray smiled as the captain's eyes widened
"That kid built that?"
"I wouldn't say built, sir, all he did was play around a make a paper origami thing.." he turned to Rocksmith "What can you do again, son?"
"Um," the blue haired boy sniffled "I can turn origami things into real items..I don't know how, sir."
"Oh I know how kid," the captain's face converted into a cheerful smile, he reached out a friendly hand, while Rocksmith stood shaking in utter confusion "..you're supposed to shake."
"O-oh," Rocksmith stuttered, lifting out the wrong hand to complete the shake
"Never mind," the captain groaned "The name's Manse, and I have something I'm willing to offer you. Would you like to be a pirate?"
"I don't know what that is, sir."
"You've got to be fucking kidding me," Ray bursted out in laughter.
"Ray." Manse demanded, narrowing his eyes "Get outta here and find something useful to do. I need to chat with.."
"Rocksmith,"
"Heh, Rocksmith," Manse smiled "I can see it now, Papercut Killer Manse. Listen, Manse. If you join us you'll never have to live on this shithole of hell island again. We'll provide everything you need. Food, water, and hey, you'll get to travel the world. How about it?"
Rocksmith gulped. "I-I already have all of those things here.."
Manse looked out of the window again. He spread his legs out across his wooden table. He rubbed his bare butt chin, observing Rocksmith's creation.
"Rocksmith, do you have.." he drawled out "..a family?"
Rocksmith let out a peep of a gasp.
"Judging by your reaction, you don't."
"I-I did," he gnawed into his upper lip "But not anymore..they didn't really love me, anyways. I don't think so. I mean, they left me here, by myself."
"Well, pirates are basically family. We care for each other," Rocksmith continued, eyes still focused on Rocksmith's ship "Rocky-kid, do you want a family that'll have your back, that'll die for you?"
"Y-yea,"
"Then join my crew."
"I..I will."
"Hey!"Manse bellowed "Everyone, gather in my quarters."
Suddenly, Ray reappeared, with him a tall curvy, young cocoa-haired woman, and a stubby ashy grey skinned elderly man slipped in.
"Oh, come on, Ray, you knew what I was about to announce yet you didn't bring booze? I oughta kick your sorry ass out," Manse let out a slight, pitchy laugh "Well, anyway, Rocky-smith here today is gonna be apart of my crew today. He's family now."
"This lil' fetus?" The woman smile.
"I am absolutely without a doubt willing to sacrifice myself for you, young man," the stubby man said with a stone hard face.
"Sooth, you're a mess," the woman laughed.
"But he's right," Manse spoke "Starting today's, he's an official member of the Bloodthristy Pirates."
"B-bloodthristy...?" Rocksmith peeped out, the group of pirates too busy surrounding him with appraisal to notice his fear-laced question.
"Tonight, ya gonna be a man, fetus-boy!" The woman chanted while embracing him "How old are you?"
"Ten."
"Old enough to start drinkin'! Ray, get the grog!"
"Am I the fucking maid on this ship?" He huffed, trodging his way to the cellar as he moaned.
"Stop complanin', you're more of baby than Rocky!"
"Rocksmith," Manse walked over the the lean, young boy "We're your family now. Don't ever forget that, okay?"
...
This is Rocksmith speaking. Imagine this. Imagine being cast aside like garbage, and believing you're cursed, that you're doomed to wander this hellhole until you starve, or catch some disease. Or maybe someone finds you..and tosses you aside again.
And they do. They've found you again, and scattered as soon as they saw the superhuman inside of you.
Then, this rag-tag group of monsters, bloodthristy blind dreamer idiots, holding on to their mashed up version of a family. They give you hope. They teach you to stop being such a weak crybaby idi..well, I wasn't weak. But they teach you a lot of things.
Like to not value the life of others who aren't in your family. So horrible, inhumane ideals are normalized, they're internalized. You don't believe you're some evil strange outcast anymore, when in reality you've become that thing your "family" convince you you weren't.
But you ignore it, until that day comes...they day you watch your "family" get defeated, right in front of your own eyes. That ship crashes, the only people who'd shown you love.
You're back where you started at. You're on this strange island, alone. You can escape, but there's a hideous bounty on your head, no one to protect you, and millions willing to kill you.
So you spend the rest of your life making this "paradise". You're bitter, and you don't know what to blame your anger on. You parents for throwing you away like a piece of trash, or those barbaric pirates for playing with your emotions, for turning you into a ruthless killing machine?
Ah, who cares, it's just my old senile rambling again...
xx
"Usopp.
Usopp!
Usopp, wake the hell up!"
"Huh? What's going on, Nami?" Usopp rubbed his sand-filled eyes as he lay in his silky white bed.
"It's an emergency. We can't find Rocksmith, and the Merry's gone."
Usopp mouthed a "No", only to be aggressively pulled by Nami's lanky arm.
"The rest of the crew's at the dock, and we were all worried as hell about you. Whatever is going in this island, it's obvious we weren't alone here the whole time.."
Swiftly, Nami and Usopp made their way to the dock.
"Yay! Usopp, you're okay!" Chopper cheered as he scuttered over to the sniper, embracing him tightly.
"Whatever the hell is going on in this island, we need to find out who kidnapped the old man and took the Merry," Sanji spoke after taking a nervous puff of his cigarette.
"Whoever stole the Merry is gonna get their ass kicked," Luffy clenched his fist.
"I think we should split up..we don't know this island too well, granted, but it'll be faster to search for him if we do," Sanji remarked.
"If he's there at all," Zoro sighed "Whoever took the old man, he might be aboard the Merry far off this island."
"We'll never know if we don't search," Nami gruffed "I've looked at the map long enough in which I know this island pretty well."
"So give me the map and I'll take..."
"No way in hell are you getting the map, Zoro! You know how you are with directions."
"Yeah, mosshead! The hell's your problem!"
"I'm not bad with directions..anyway, I'm not gonna argue over this or whatever. How are we gonna split up?"
"I think it's best you come with me so you don't get completely lost," Nami replied "Sanji, you and Chopper stay here and go check the Cardinal, if he's not there, check the Fold. Luffy and Usopp should check the concert stadium, and if he's not there, look for him in the infirmary. Zoro and I will go see if he's in the Paper Dome. We'll all meet back up in front of the hotel, okay?"
"Sounds like a plan," Sanji, Chopper and Zoro said in unison.
Usopp eyes darted away from the crew, his feet shuffling against the ground, face flushed and pale.
"Usopp.." Luffy began, firming his voice "Usopp, listen to me. We'll find out whoever stole the Merry and kick their asses, don't worry about."
"Yeah!" Chopper perked "And for all we know, Rocky might just be taking Merry out on a test drive! Don't be so down!"
"Thanks, guys," Usopp slightly grinned, as Nami handed him a map of the island "Well, Luffy, let's check go check the stadium and.."
"And find those dumbasses who took the Merry!"
Luffy gripped Usopp aggressively and sling-shotted him with full force.
"Luffy do you even know where the stadium is?"
"Umm..now that you think of it, I don't."
"Well I do and according to this map you're taking us in the completely opposite direction!"
"Oh..woops."
"Yeah, woops! Now take us back!"
In an instant Luffy whipped the two in the correct direction, the air filling with the sounds of elastic popping, howling wind, Luffy's boastful laughs and Usopp cowardly cries.
Luffy shoved Usopp into the stadium, not willing to waste time on Usopp's predictable cowardice.
"I hope the old man left us some breakfast here, I'm starving.." Luffy whined while rubbing his stomach.
"Luffy that is the absolute last thing you should be thinking about right now!"
Luffy surveyed the concert stadium, it's intimidating crimson red intensified with the chilling silence and overall emptiness of the place.
"Hey old man!" Luffy called out "You in here? Are you behind those curtains? Some buttface took the Merry!"
Luffy's voice echoed throughout the stadium."I guess he isn't here..or he just can't hear me. Don't most old farts have a bad sense of hearing?"
"Luffy, that's rude!" Usopp barked "Either way, we should check behind the curtain to make sure."
On The Fold, Sanji quickly scanned the dining room.
"He's not here, and since you haven't said anything I assumed he's not in the kitchen, either?"
"No," Chopper cried, sticking while frantically sticking his head in a wooden bowl, tossing it on the ground, and stuffing his head in the sink "I can't find him anywhere!"
"Um..those aren't really the best places to check." Sanji chuckled. "Well let's go double check the Cardinal."
"Okay! Let's go"
"You'd better not even try to stop me from slicing up whatever walls come in my way, witch."
Nami rolled her eyes. "There's no need for that. Rocksmith entered the Paper Dome last time through the back, remember?"
The two raced to the back, Nami struggling slightly to open it, then swiftly kicking the door causing it to fly open.
"Rocksmith, are you in there? Are you okay?"
There was nothing but silence as the two entered the Paper Dome.
"Ugh," Nami covered her mouth as she held back her growing urge to vomit "That curtain-thingy still has our blood all over it.."
"Old man!" The two echoed as they searched the messy dome.
"Do you think he's on the other side of that wall?" Nami asked, to receive a shrug of a response from Zoro.
"There's only one way to find out," He said as he reached for two of his swords, slicing through the wall with ease.
"Pff, you sliced through that like butter! Why don't you think about taking up cooking sometimes?" Nami teased the already slightly annoyed swordsman, her face light up in realization, quickly snapping out of her playful mood. "Wait a sec, Zoro! Don't just slice through that thing so carelessly. What if he's inside that wall for some strange reason?"
"Why would he be?"
"I don't know, just be careful, idiot!"
Zoro reluctantly obeyed Nami's demands, slowing his pace. Finally finishing his work, the other half of the Paper Dome, was unsurprisingly, empty.
"..and he's not here, either. What luck." Zoro said, his voice obviously laced in sarcasm.
"I wonder if the rest of the guys have had any luck.." Nami sighed "And even if we find the guy, the Merry's still lost. I hope the old guy isn't dead,"
"Well wasting our time here isn't gonna help us, let's head back to the hotel."
Something strange happened, then. As if the Strawhat crew were almost telepathically connected, the crew raced toward the hotel in unison. Once reaching the front of the hotel, the crew looked at each other, each shifting the responsibility of breaking the saddening silence. Everyone began softly shaking their heads.
"So..what's our plan, now?" Nami sighed "Search again?"
"That'll be a waste of time.."Zoro commented "Wherever the old man is, there's no way we can save him. Or the Merry. We need to take the Cardinal and.."
"Come on in! You guys forgot to sign in for your last day here in the Paper Thin Suite!" a familiar, old voice sounded from inside the Paper Suite.
"Rocksmith,"
The crew busted the door down in relief.
"Oh Rock guy, you're not dead!" Luffy said "Who took the Merry..? If sometime tried to hurt you, we're gonna kick their ass"
"Don't worry, nothing happened like that" Rocksmith laughed. "But the Merry, however, fate is much worse.."
"What do you...mean by that?" Usopp wheezed
"The Merry," Rocksmith held out an origami figure shaped similar to the Merry "Will be like this, now. Forever."
"Now's not the time for a joke, shitty geezer!" Sanji hissed.
"I'm not. It's nice you're all worried about me, but in reality it's yourselves you should all be worried about. I've been hiding something this whole time. This island? I didn't make it by bare hands. I have this..devil power. I can make origami folds real, I'm not kidding you. And I used this power to deceive a lot of people, and helped out some barbaric pirates, those of your sort to do awful things. And I hate it..but I'm not going to ramble. What I'm saying is I'm not going to let you all leave this island to go out and hurt more innocent people like I did when I was a pirate. You're all gonna die here..." Rocksmith then took the paper Merry and ripped in half.
"So you mean.."Luffy said, anger slowly rising as he spoke, stepping towards the old man."You took advantage of Usopp's feelings, of our feelings..you...you destroyed the Merry."
Luffy blinded fired a Gum-Gum Bazooka at the old man, smashing him through the Paper Thin Suite with ease. Rocksmith covered his eyes, muttering slight words that changed the rubble around him into pieces of paper.
Rocksmith stood up and rubbed the rubble off of him, uneased by Luffy's reckless show of strength. He dashed, the Strawhat's chasing after him.
"He's heading in the direction of the Paper Dome, everyone!" Nami yelled while gripping her clima-tact in anticipation.
The old man was incredibly fast, the exactly opposite of his unbearble trudge he had before.
Usopp held back tears. The voices of his crewmates, disappointed and angry with him filled his head.
"I thought you said this man was worth our trust, Usopp."
"Look what you brought us into, longnose."
"We'll all die here because of you, Usopp."
"Guys.." he coughed out, tears now flowing " I got us into to all of this mess...I'm so sorry,"
"No you didn't!" The rest of the Strawhats yelled back
"Now is not the time to blame anyone, Usopp." Zoro reassured
"Two of you go to the back of the dome!" Sanji ordered "Whatever it takes take make sure he doesn't get out!"
Usopp stopped in his tracks. "Wait a second.." he drawled "Guys! I'll be right back!"
"Usopp! What are you doing!?" Chopper squeaked.
"The remains of the Merry..are buried under that rubble! Even if she's paper I'm not going to abandon her like that!"
Usopp clumsily raced back to the rubble, looking at what was left of the Paper Thin Suite's lobby. He digged through the debris haphazardly, rubbing the dust of his eyes and coughing on the hard air.
"You've gotta be here somewhere, Merry..I'm counting on you.."
Sanji smashed the door down with one heavy kick, the entire dome becoming visible to him here. The ground of the Paper Dome was littered, a thick layer of paper now coating the ground.
"Hmm, looks like a certain mosshead sliced down that shitty wall already..now where in the hell did that geezer go?"
"I'll shock him out!" Nami yelled "Thunder bolt temp.."
The old man emerged from the ground. "No need for th.."
"Gum-gum.." Luffy charged his arm back. "Pistol!"
Rocksmith quickly dodged the attack, unaware of the fact that Nami ignored his previous remark and fired her thunderbolt tempo away, electrocuting him.
"Aggghh!"
The ground ignited, the electricity sending the paper into a immediate flame. The trio scattered, closing the door behind them.
"Shit, I wasn't thinking.." Nami spoke
"Actually, Nami you're wrong. He's cooking in there now.." Sanji said, Nami shooting him a look of disgust at his cruel pun.
Zoro and Chopper dashed from the exit of the dome, noticing the fire ran to the front.
"You guys alright? Did you get Rock.."
"Rocksmith's in the dome," Nami muttered, looking over at the silent Luffy.
"Who cares about the old man.." Luffy looked away from the dome "Let's go check on Usopp."
xx
The crew stumbled Usopp a deathly white Usopp, submerged deep into the rubble.
"Usopp!" Luffy screech "Usopp, are you there?"
Usopp spoke no words, he only lay in the rubble, and let out a long, deafening cry of despair.
"What's...wrong..Usopp!?" Chopper struggled to speak.
He clawed through the rubble, his face caked in the dirt. "I.." he let out another cry "I couldn't find the Merry."
"Usopp, it's okay.." Nami said in attempt to comfort.
"You don't understand!" He cried "I said I'd never let anyone hurt her, I'd never let anyone destroy her.."
The crew all kneeled towards Usopp.
"You don't know what's it's like to be such an utter disappointment..."
Luffy placed a shoulder on Usopp's shoulder.
"Usopp. I..sort of understand what it's like," Luffy in a uncharacteristically mature voice "Back in Alabasta, I saw a woman in the rubble..back when I finished kicking Crocodile's ass. She looked at me with your same face. She didn't want to live anymore, she felt as if her life was useless. I wouldn't allow her to do that do herself, he if she was my enemy before. So I tried to save her..Robin, that's her name. I tried to save Robin. But she slipped from my hands at the last moment. I heard her screams as the building collapsed, I tried running back to save her, but it was useless. I still think about it sometimes...I don't want that to happen to you. You did the best you can, trust me."
The Strawhat's looked at each other in confusion at Luffy's strange tale. "Robin...?" they thought "Who was that?"
Usopp grit his teeth. "I couldn't even give her a proper burial, Luffy.."
Luffy smothered Usopp in a tight hug.
The crew stood silently for a few minutes, Nami eventually breaking the silence. "So..what's next?"
Usopp struggled to let out the words he'd never thought he would hear himself say.
"We board the Cardinal."
xx
The Cardinal was different from the Merry in many ways. It carried the stench of the Origami Island, particularly Rocksmith's stench. It felt as if the Strawhat's were boarding on a portable version of the island.
Home was dead. Destroyed. The smell of Bellemere's fresh tangerines, the many spices hoarded in Sanji's kitchen, and the little money left over from the Strawhat's previous adventures. It was as if they were setting sail out on the sea for the first time, as if someone had pressed a restart button.
They'd manage to gather whatever they'd found useful one the island, some leftover food from the island, beds gathered from the rubble of the Paper Thin Suite, instruments from the concert stadium that Luffy convinced the crew he was "saving for the our future musician."
They took the sail off of the Cardinal, painting over it the Strawhat's traditional jolly roger, making it somewhat feel like home.
And after the Cardinal was stocked, and ready to sail, the foreign ship now property of the Strawhats, Nami looked at her log pose, the crew staring at the strange position of the pose, not even giving the island the dignity of one final look as the Cardinal sailed away.
It pointed up.
It pointed up.
Luffy donned his signature smile, directly contrasted the crew's ghostly faces of confusion, worry and doubt. Yet another adventure had strutted itself in front of the Strawhat pirates.
"A sky island?" Nami gasped "Are you kidding me? Those only exist in fairy tales, right!? How the hell are we supposed to get to a sky island?"
Luffy rubbed his chin in deep thought before reaching the most logical conclusion.
"We go up."
The End
A/N: Thanks for reading. Reviews are highly appreciated!