One Piece: Shattered Faith- Prologue
One Piece © Eiichiro Oda
William Henley and Flora © HatOnFire/Me
Read and review, but please be gentle. It's my first fanfic, after all!
Dark Grey. The entire island is covered by the nighttime atmosphere. The moon isn't coming out due to the gloomy clouds blocking part of the sky.
The only light that can cover this island is the one shining around this marine base. It's got everything one would expect of it.
Peculiarly, the entire base has walls that almost look like a castle. The outer defensive walls look to be about forty feet tall, with some cannons sticking out of the walls. The main building is three times the height of the walls, and has G-13 imprinted in the midsection. Next to it is a building half its size, and has multiple barred windows, indicating it as a detention center.
Guards with rifles in arms, patrolling the inside of the base, the outer walls, especially the jungle. Also, the top of the towers have spotlights shining light on the ground moving in a random pattern. No one is getting in or out tonight.
Security is pretty tight, though that's because of the pirate they just recently put in that building.
"He is a real troublemaker, so we must remain vigilant!" The captain of the guard shouted to the group of marines standing in formation.
With collective cries of "SIR, YES SIR!" from the troops, they dutifully returned to their stationed posts and squads.
Inside the third floor the detention block, there are a few guards walking around the place, but there are no prisoners in the cells. That is, except one.
His black hair is in disarray, his face has a few bruise marks, the most noticeable being a black right eye. A bandage placed on his left cheek, directly under his scar. He was wearing a purple vest and blue shorts. He usually has a bright smile, however, he isn't smiling. He currently has a pair of handcuffs clamped to his wrists behind his back.
He is very well-known individual, but without his straw hat, you could never the difference. He has a name, one that spells out trouble to anyone who crosses his path.
His name is... Monkey D. Luffy. And he looks like he just went through the worst days of his life.
How did all this happen? We have to go back a week or so in time to find the answer...
HatOnFire Presents...
One Piece: Shattered Faith
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The last time Luffy and the Straw Hat Pirates were heard of, they have recently defeated the notorious pirate, "Golden Lion" Shiki, stopped his plans to destroy the East Blue, and rescued Nami when she joined his crew. Luffy said that he trusted her in the past, but now, he doesn't know what to think of her.
You see, he felt betrayed because of what she said in the tone dial Shiki gave her. She said that the crew would have no chance against him because of how badly they got beaten by him. To Luffy, that means that she doesn't have the same faith he has in her. He decides to fight Shiki again anyway, to get her back, but is still sore over what she did.
The truth was, Nami wanted him and the crew to come back and save her. Luffy wanted to hear the message again, but she didn't want him to out of embarrassment, which led to the tone dial sinking into the sea. He hasn't gotten over that for a few days, but that wasn't enough to completely lose trust in her.
No, how that happens comes a few days after the fight with the Golden Lion Pirates.
XXX
Three Days Earlier...
XXX
It was yet another typical, but boring day out in the Grand Line. The Straw Hat Pirates had escaped a real storm, but that's nothing special. After all, this has been a regular thing since they first entered.
At this moment, the Thousand Sunny was traveling to an island that they spotted. It wasn't the island they were looking for, but this meant more supplies for the crew. Besides, Luffy found its eternal pose on a beach from some random island. He mentioned finding it a few months after he did, which got the poor guy a beating from Nami, saying that he should say stuff like that at the moment, not put it off. It could have been worse, since he only got a black eye, swollen lips, and had to have five bandages cover his cranium. (Wait a second...)
Zoro was weightlifting as usual. He was doing pretty well in despite of the wounds he received from Kuma at Thriller Bark. At the moment, he only had his black pants and shoes on, currently shirtless. His bright red T-shirt was set down next to his three swords. His sweat was flowing down his well-toned, tanned skin and chiseled abs. His notable scar could definitely be seen.
Robin was making occasional glances of him in action while catching up on her books under an umbrella. She was wearing a red lace dress with black spots patterned all over it.
Meanwhile, Franky was at the helm steering their ship to the island. He was wearing a speedo and a unique green tropical shirt, wrenches printed on the shirt in place of the palm tree design.
"Just a few more minutes, everyone, and we'll be there!" Franky shouted.
"Whatever," Zoro mumbled, currently on his 2,483rd lift.
"Yo-Ho-Ho-Ho~!" Brook chortled cheerfully, walking up the stairway to the helm, yearning for a glimpse of the island from the front. He was wearing a navy blue coat with a whitish-gold vest underneath it, and dark blue pants. He also had a blue tricorn hat that fitted perfectly around his afro.
"You thinking about something funny, Skeleton-Bro?" Franky asked.
"Not at all, Mr. Franky," the skeleton man replied. "I was merely thinking about how great it is to be aboard this ship."
"Yeah, these guys sure have been through a lot," Franky said. "Heck, we each have been through something..."
Usopp climbed down from the Crow's Nest, wearing a light blue dress shirt and blue pants.
"The island looks nice," the sniper said. "Hopefully, we won't have to run into some vicious wild animals!"
"What? We'll run into some wild animals on the island?" Chopper questioned as he held a fishing pole over the side, quivering at the idea of a giant bear rising up from a bush with red eyes. The doctor's attire consisted of a white dress shirt with a blue tie, and his maroon shorts.
"No, no, of course not! I said we wouldn't!" Usopp quickly backpedaled as to not frighten the toddler-sized reindeer.
"Oh, phew! That's good!" Chopper felt relieved. He didn't want to have to dodge animal after animal again, not after that incident a few days ago.
Sanji then came out of the kitchen with a drink on a tray. He was wearing a lavender shirt, a blue tie, and formal black pants.
"Here you go, Robin, I hope this is to your liking~!" Sanji exclaimed, with hearts flying around him as he presented it to Robin.
"Thank you, Sanji," Robin said, removing the glass from the tray and taking a drink from it. "Sparkling water mixed with tangerine juice. Very good work."
"I live to serve as a slave of your everlasting love, Robin~!" Sanji, developing hearts in his eyes, started to swirl around in a tornado, hearts flying in motion. "Love is a hurricane and I'm caught in the storm~!"
"Hmph. With luck, you might get blown over the side and we'll have to carry on without you," Zoro quipped, developing a tick mark on his head.
"What did you say, Moss-head?"
"Are you deaf, Dartboard? You heard me!"
"All right! Knock it off!" Nami shouted from the observation deck. She came up to the railing and glared down on the two. She was wearing a teal shirt that had gold colored words and numbers saying 'BEING 18', with the berries' symbol replacing the B. She was also wearing silver shorts that fit rather nicely on her.
"Tch. Whatever..." Zoro grumbled. He went and put his shirt on and equipped his swords back on his personage.
"Nami is beautiful, even when she's angry at Zoro!" Sanji continued to swoon, completely forgetting his verbal scuffle with the swordsman.
"She's angry with you too, dude..." Usopp remarked.
"It seems as though we can't have peace for a few seconds when those two argue," Brook mused. "Is that normal?"
"Mm-hmm, it is," Franky responded. "There isn't a cure for that, unless you count bashing their heads together as one."
Brook sweat-dropped. "Not something I'd be proud of doing, but when you put it that way..."
While Franky was steering the ship, he realized something. The past few days have been quiet, but not because they haven't been attacked by marines or pirates, and not because of the rainstorm they went through. It's because his captain has ceased to cause another incident.
"Hey, Bones," Franky asked. "Is it just me, or is Luffy being less... you know, himself?"
"Hmm?" Brook questioned. "I thought being quiet and sitting on the Lion's head was normal for him," he then responded.
Franky had a question mark rising behind him. 'Straw Hat's been quiet and we didn't even notice,' he thought. 'Wonder what's crawling into his skull, assuming he still has something in there.'
A person then came climbing off the figurehead and down the steps to the front deck. He was wearing the usual, a red vest, blue shorts, and a straw hat on his head. It was Luffy.
"So, we're coming up to an island now, huh?" Luffy said with a thoughtful expression.
"Oh, uh, yeah, Straw Hat Bro!" Franky stammered, until he found his heading. "We're getting closer now. Soon we'll disembark!"
"Okay!" Luffy shouted, his cheshire grin suddenly returning to his face. He then went to the grassy deck, getting ready to jump on land.
"Well, he's back to being chipper," Brook said. "Almost like how I was when I was a lad filled with vigor. Though I'm filled with nothing now that I'm all bones! Yo-Ho-Ho-Ho~! Skeleton joke!"
"Yeah, sure..." the cyborg retorted. He was still in thought, wondering how quickly Luffy changed his character in that moment. He decided that something was up.
XXX
Around that time, something was in the jungle, maneuvering from tree to tree. The figure was able to elude the panthers trying to catch him.
He then came to a cliff, where a bright pink flower was blooming and sparkling. The figure was wearing a brown cloak and hood, masking his appearance, but he then removed the hood, revealing himself.
He had red hair, looking similar to a mullet, but with bangs on his front. There were spikes drooping on the front and sides, looking almost like spider legs. His eyes were brown, and he had a scar on his left cheek, looking like a left parenthesis.
He does have a name, and a title to go with it.
WILLIAM HENLEY. Chemical Scientist on the Run.
He knelt down to the flower and took a sniff.
"This is the one," he said. "At long last, the hard part's over."
Henley then pulled out a picture, then looked to the sky. The picture showed him wearing a grey jacket with a cerulean blue shirt underneath, holding hands with a girl, both smiling. She was as short as he is, wearing a magenta shirt with a white daisy flower with a few petals falling, imprinted on it. She had brown hair and green eyes, pretty rare for a person to have.
"Flora," he said. "Hang in there a little longer, my sweet. I'm coming back soon." He smiled softly.
Little did the young man know, that something was going to happen, and he would plague the captain mind, setting in motion a series of troublesome events...
TO BE CONTINUED…
So it begins... The first of many challenges for the crew, particularly two members. One thing's for sure, the journey to One Piece will take a different route unlike any other! Stay tuned!