It was a beautiful day in the Sabaody Archipelago. Fuller Vetica, a dark-haired woman in her twentieth year of life, stretched out on her lawn chair listening to the sound of her black transponder snail chat away. On its side was written the word "WRG." Its purpose was simple, intercept Navy messages, legally of course. She would lose her Tanbou Badge if she ever illegally obtained government info.
As she lay there and closed her eyes, she could feel the phantom sensation of rough hands caressing her face, fragments of memories she constantly tried to repress. She adjusted the sleeves of her oxford shirt to allow better breathing, and let out a sigh.
"You could always wear short sleeves," a man in a tropical print shirt and cargo shorts commented next to her.
Vetica looked over at the man, who was calmly sipping a cold beverage and reading a copy of "New World Magazine". She envied his short, spiked brown hair; it must be cool. She had wanted to cut her hair that short, but, under threat from her handler, she was forced to settle for her wavy bob.
"And please, Rider, tell me what I do if the navy spots them and we have to work," she snapped back. "I have to look professional."
"Should have become a tech then," Rider, said with a loud slurp.
Vetica scrunched up her mouth in a pout, squinting her wide green eyes in disapproval. He was technically correct though, if she didn't want to have to focus on her looks she should have stayed in the assistant track instead of becoming a reporting talent, but she was far too ambitious to be satisfied making calls and fixing gear like the heavy set man was. Besides that, she was so disorganized it probably would have driven her crazy.
The two of them had been together for almost 8 years now; Rider had been her first friend when she had enrolled in the World Reporting Guild's academy. Ever since then they had been through all sorts of hell together, including the Alabasta Civil War and Battle of the Best. In fact, she had him to thank for even finding them accommodations on the archipelago, considering what had happened last time she was there.
Suddenly, she felt a twinge in her left arm, causing Vetica to bolt upright.
"Finish your drink," she said, a wild grin spreading across her lips.
Rider, groaned taking another large slurp and closing his magazine. "You're too superstitious, you know."
Vetica shushed him watching the snail intently.
"Everything is all clear here at twenty-three," a man's voice droned over the snail.
"See, nothing," the man sighed.
Then...
"Straw Hats!" The snail screamed. "This is Grove 43! We have visual on the Straw Hats. Seems they are having a meeting at Grove 46. Repeat, Grove 46!"
"Bingo," the woman said, grabbing a bag and tossing the snail inside. She began to bolt for her bubble bike. "46's only four Groves away! We can make it if we hurry."
The man gathered all his stuff with surprising agility and was by her side in an instant, futzing with a blue transponder snail.
The two hopped onto the bubble bike, and Vetica began pedaling furiously. Rider now had the snail's receiver in one hand, and there was a small click.
"Go ahead," a woman's voice said over the snail.
"Opera, this is team Vetica," Rider yelled into the receiver. "Breaking news, Straw Hat sighting on the Saboady Archipelago. We are currently headed to the scene."
"What in hell's name are you doing on Sabaody?" the snail yelled back.
Vetica wiped sweat from her forehead and turned back to Rider who's expression looked less than pleased. She admittedly had not been fully honest with him about their
clearance in the area, but he should have already come to expect that. She gave him an apologetic smile, and the large man just shook his head.
"Do you want the story or not," he said to the woman on the other line.
There was a moment of silence.
"Fine," the snail said, finally. "You better make this worth my time."
"Roger that, Chief," Vetica called back.
Then she began to pedal with unparalleled ferocity.
-8 years earlier-
"What should we do about this one," a woman said looking down at a stack of papers and the twelve year old Vetica. "Her writing is excellent, but her looks..."
Vetica stood in the spotlight, before the shadowy board of World Reporting Guild heads. Several months of writing till her fingers blistered and hitchhiking on a naval ship had been the only thing that had gotten her to this point. Now the fate of her dream rested in their hands.
"She's too scrawny," a deep man's voice said.
It was true; Vetica knew it. Her hair puffed out in a wavy mess from her rudimentary ponytail, and her clothes weren't pretty or feminine. She didn't have any older sisters or mother to show her how to be a proper girl.
"Of course she's skinny," an elegant woman's voice snapped. "She's only twelve. She's the youngest applicant we've had in years, and her writing samples are nearly flawless. Not to mention she passed all of her tests with flying colors."
"She practically flunked the hearing tests," the deep voiced man corrected her.
"And the name, Fuller," an older man rasped. "You wouldn't happen to be related to Fuller Marlon, would you?"
"Ummm..." Vetica murmured, trying to figure out which of the shadows was asking.
"Well, speak up," the deep man's voice said impatiently.
Vetica perked up, feeling quite aware of the fact that this interview was not going well. She took a deep breath.
"Yes," she answered clutching the sides of her shorts. "He was my father."
This triggered a great deal of murmuring from the panel. The only pieces of which the girl could catch were the things she had heard frequently growing up: "No wonder she writes", "should have kept his nose where it belonged", "such a shame".
After a couple of coughs and grumbles the deep man's voice permeated the air once more. "Very well, I suppose we could put her in the assistant track for now..."
A dark complexioned woman leaned from the panel into the light, so that Vetica could see her dark intelligent eyes.
"Congratulations Vetica," the woman said, putting a face to the elegant voice. "Welcome to the Guild."
By the time they arrived at Grove 46, Rider and Vetica could see explosions in the distance. The young woman took a deep breath; no matter how many times she was around battles it never failed to leave her in awe.
"Pacifistas?" the older man asked.
She nodded bringing the bike to a halt. "Probably."
They parked themselves near one of the great roots of the trees which made up the archipelago and began unpacking their gear. She pulled out her camera snail, note pad, and pen. She placed the snail on her shoulder, before creeping towards the action.
"Shashi. Camera Ready," she whispered to the snail. The snails eyes shined.
As she snuck up over the ridge, Rider followed closely behind with his manual camera. She could see bodies flying through the air in every which direction, then she heard a yell.
"Pacifista," A man's voice yelled. "Target the real Monkey D. Luffy!"
A surge of exhilaration passed through Vetica. He was here!
She dropped to the ground and began a full on sprint, towards the action.
"Vetica! Slow down!" Rider called out after her.
But it was too late; once she was on the hunt she couldn't stop. She climbed the next root, to see a skinny man in a red shirt and straw hat in the air above a Pacifista. She bore down against the roots top to begin writing.
"Snap," she ordered the snail, and a bright flash emanated from her shoulder.
Monkey D. Luffy's fist smashed with a great explosion into the Pacifista.
"Snap!"
Then two blurs whizzed over her head, causing the woman to look up. As if the world was in slow motion she saw a man in robes with three swords and a blonde in a black suit. Her mouth dropped open. She was sure that they were "pirate hunter" Zoro and "Blackfoot" Sanji.
"Snap," she breathed.
The snail obeyed.
There was another explosion, causing Vetica to snap back to attention. She looked around to see the naval soldiers in a panic as the pirates began fighting the remaining Pacifistas. She then began writing down as many details as she could. She counted the number of pirates, the number of soldiers, she looked around for potential other Straw Hats, all the while ordering the snail to take pictures. Then she saw "Straw Hat" Luffy looking in her direction.
"Shit," she whispered and pushed off of the root. She ducked underneath a crack in the root. Then she looked back at her friend, who followed her lead taking cover underneath a root.
Then Monkey D. Luffy, Roronoa Zoro, "Blackfoot" Sanji, and about a dozen or so pirates and marines came busting over the root in wave of chaos. Vetica couldn't help but grin in excitement. According to her directional approximation, they all seemed to be headed towards Grove 40. She looked back over at Rider through the chaos who shot her a thumbs up.
They stayed in their hiding spots until the stampede died down, and then snuck over to where the damaged Pacifistas were lying. The two dozen or so marines that seemed to be helping with the clean-up, medical, and prisoner transport, didn't even notice the pair until Vetica cleared her throat at which point she found herself at the business end of several muskets. She smiled and held up the Tanbou Badge which hung around her neck. They lowered their weapons.
"The press shouldn't be here," one mustached soldier spat.
Several other marines nodded in agreement with him, as the rest got back to work. Vetica wasn't too surprised; marines had never been her biggest fans, especially when they lost.
"What are the casualties," she asked, ignoring the nasty looks she received. "Monkey D. Luffy's return is big news."
"Five fatalities and Thirty-Six injuries," a young marine who was bandaging another volunteered, to the disgust of his comrade.
Vetica took notes and pictures as she questioned the marines until their commanding officers arrived and shooed her and Rider away. Once they got back to their retreat on Grove 50, they began going through all the information they had collected. The young woman was disappointed with how many of the pictures came out blurry, but the most important one turned out beautifully.
The next day her story, "Chaos Ensues as the Son of Dragon Returns", ran in the Grand Line Gazette featuring a picture of a steaming Monkey D. Luffy mid punch above a Pacifista. Her handler and chief was quite happy with the results and agreed to forgive Vetica's side trip.
"Just get yourself back over to the New World as soon as possible," was all the deep voiced woman had said. "Those rookies aren't going to cover themselves."
The alleyway was cold and dark. Vetica struggled against the rope that bound her wrists. All around her hulking men covered in piercings and tattoos were giggling manically as a figure approached her. She looked to her side to see her heavy set friend, Rider, unconscious and bound. The young woman tried her best to scream, but the cloth tied around her face made it difficult. As the figure got closer, she could recognize him as a young man with a green pompadour and fangs.
The man grinned devilishly and reached a clawed hand towards her.
She attempted to shrink away, to no avail.
"I can't believe it's you-dabe," the man whispered.
Vetica woke up.
She was dressed in a camisole and shorts but was covered in sweat. She breathed heavily, clutching her, now throbbing, tattooed left arm. She looked around the dark cabin, which rocked and creaked lightly. In the bed next to her's, Rider was snoring loudly. She let out a sigh of relief and went over to the bag which she fondly called "snail palace". She reached in and pulled out the snail which was her personal communicator.
"Shea, wake up," she whispered stroking the bubbly looking little snail's head.
The little snail stirred awake and looked up at her. People thought she was crazy naming them all; she had four separate snails with her at all times. Shea handled her personal calls. Bishi was for work calls. Boro was for video. Shashi took photos for her, and the smallest one, Kiite-chi, intercepted government channels. Some people at the academy called her the "crazy snail lady", but it didn't bother her too much. Each of her snails had a different purpose, and she appreciated their hard work.
She punched in the number and listened while Shea rang.
Purupurupuru... Purupurupuru... kachiku
"Hello?" A man's voice said, blearily. Shea's lids were half lidded, meaning the man on the other side more than likely just woke up.
"It's me," she whispered.
"Who else calls this thing-dabe?" he replied unenthusiastically.
"I don't know," she admitted. "You don't have ladies banging down your door, now that you're a hotshot?"
The man let out an objectively unattractive laugh. It was high pitched and grating, but it made Vetica smile.
"I take that back," she said. "No amount of power in the world could make you and that seasick pack of pups you have attractive."
"But you keep calling-dabe," the man said, clearly more awake now.
Vetica looked up at Rider to make sure he was still asleep and peeked around the hall outside before continuing their conversation.
"Where are you headed next, Barty?" She asked, cupping her hand around her mouth when she said his name.
"On my way to Dressrosa right now," Bartolomeo the "Cannibal" said. Then suddenly he seemed to get more excited. "Why? Are there new posters-dabe?"
Vetica leaned up against the cabin's wall and pulled her notepad out of her other bag. She wrote down "Dressrosa." Then she let out a sigh.
"No, not yet,"she said. "What are you going to Dressrosa for? I thought you didn't want to mess with any of the warlords."
"I don't-dabe," he said, distantly. "But Doflamingo is offering the Mera Mera no mi, to whoever can win this fighting tournament, and I'm going to win it for Luffy-senpai!"
There was the sound of trickling water over the snail, causing the young woman to scowl.
"Are you pissing while I'm talking to you?" She exclaimed.
"What? You woke me up-dabe!" The fanged man complained.
She rubbed her temple and sighed. Nearby came the sound of rustling, and Rider sat up rubbing his eyes. He cringed as he looked down at her on the snail.
"Are you talking to that scum again?" The older man asked, clear disapproval all over his face.
"It's business," she retorted.
"Yeah, yeah," the brown haired man replied, laying back down. "Just make sure the navy doesn't hear you..."
Vetica let out a short huff and checked the hallway again. Her friend wasn't wrong, if the navy realized that she was regularly calling a star rookie pirate, she would more than likely lose her Tanbou Badge or worse.
"Rider there-dabe?" Bartolomeo asked.
"Yeah," she grumbled. "And he's grouchy as ever."
"I read your latest article-dabe," the man said after a moment of silence. "You still in Sabaody?"
"Nope," she whispered. "We just entered the New World yesterday. Currently headed to Marine Headquarters to meet up with our new transport."
"So you'll be close," Bartolomeo mused.
"Don't you even think of trying anything," she said. "I don't have any new stories for you, just call me back after the tournament. I'll send you posters as soon as I get them."
"Yes, Vetica-senpai," the man said, firmly, and hung up.
Vetica returned Shea to the snail palace and climb back in bed. She usually preferred to communicate by letter, but the dream of the how they first met left her feeling paranoid.
It had been a little under two years now. She had been banished to Logue Town to write entrance and exit articles after submitting an article she had written about the jail break at Impel Down. She knew it had been on the "No Write" list, but in her opinion people deserved to know the truth. Opera had been furious though, so she sent Vetica to "Tourist Town" to write, essentially, fluff.
While she was wandering around the city gathering info on pirates who had arrived in port one day, she and Rider were directed to check out a tavern just off the docks. When they arrived they discovered that the tavern was closed and had been for a while. That made Vetica immediately suspicious; however, before she could act upon her instincts, a heavy board knocked the pair out from behind.
When she came to, she found herself bound and gagged, surrounded by thugs. A hulking figure approached her. She tried to break loose, but the ropes around her wrists were just too tight. As he got closer and she could better see his face, she recognized the man as one of the local mob bosses, Bartolomeo the Wall. His face was ugly like a demon's, but there was something off about the way he looked at her. He grinned devilishly, reaching out a clawed hand to stroke her cheek.
She tried to scream, but it only came out as a weird hum. She kicked at him, but the man was living up to his reputation of being undamageable.
"I can't believe it's you-dabe," He whispered, stroking her cheek.
Vetica was sure he was going to murder her.
Then the man held up a newspaper clipping, and pointed to it. At the bottom of the clipping was a picture of a woman that she distinctly recognized as herself. She stared wide-eyed at the clipping. The title of the article was "Straw Hat Strikes Again." She didn't have to read it to know its contents; she had written it.
She looked back at the hulking green haired man and noticed he was blushing furiously.
"You're her!" The man squealed. "You're Fuller Vetica-senpai!"
He turned to the men in the alley way with a scowl.
"Why's she tied up-dabe?" He screamed.
The men quickly exchanged looks, some confusion and some terror, like they were trying to decide who was to blame.
"You said to bring her at all costs," a skinny tattooed man responded.
Bartolomeo, punched the man in the face before proceeding to untie the woman.
"I'm so sorry Vetica-senpai," he apologized as he removed her gag. "It won't ever happen again-dabe."
Vetica looked past the man down the alleyway. It was clear; she could have run. However, she dared not risk making the seemingly good tempered thug angry. She looked down at Rider who was still unconscious. She sighed. She really couldn't escape without him.
She looked back up at Bartolomeo who was wringing his hands and staring at her with what she assumed was adoration.
"So, you know my work?" she said, trying to give him as genuine a smile as she could.
The man's eyes lit up.
"Of course-dabe! You're the woman who sought out the history of Luffy-senpai," the man exclaimed. "You documented his heroic battles, and even his moment of destiny here at Logue Town-dabe."
It was her turn to get excited; he really had read a lot of her work. That story about Luffy's miraculous survival, had barely made the third page of the gazette. Not to mention he was a fellow fan of her favorite pirate. She reached out and clutched his hands.
"You read that piece?" She said, cheeks growing warm.
He nodded enthusiastically. "I've read all of them!"
Vetica pressed her hands to her cheeks and purred. The eighteen year-old had never felt more appreciated in her life. She was sure she was blushing all over from the flattery. After all, being a journalist was usually such a thankless job.
Then Bartolomeo dropped to his knees before her and bowed.
"Please, Vetica-senpai," he yelled. "Tell me everything you know about Luffy-senpai and the Straw Hats-dabe!"
She bent down and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Of course," she said. She looked down at Rider's battered face again. "But first could we get my friend some medical attention?"
Once they had taken Rider to the doctor, Bartolomeo took her to the gang's secret lair. He told her all about his dreams to be just like Luffy, and she in return told him everything she could about the Straw Hats. She told him about how the government tossed out her coverage of them during the Alabasta Civil War and the battle she had witnessed on the floating restaurant prior to that. Then he showed her his collection of wanted posters.
Bartolomeo was clearly proud of them, but in the eyes of the writer they were far from impressive. The corners were all damaged and you could distinctly see where he had ripped them from their original locations.
"You know I could get you better posters than this right?" She said, pointing at the wall.
"Really-dabe?" The man exclaimed.
She grinned and gave him a thumbs up. "We get fresh copies from the guild all the time."
She could swear the man's eyes were sparkling. He crept closer to her.
"Do you have a collection, too Vetica-senpai?" He whispered.
"Are you kidding," She laughed, as she rummaged through her skirt pocket and pulled out a photograph. The man's jaw dropped when he saw it. "This is my prized possession."
In the photo Vetica was smiling in the foreground, holding up a peace sign. There was nothing remarkable about that. However, behind her, stood Monkey D Luffy with his hand over his heart at the destroyed base of Marineford.
She looked up Bartolomeo to see that he was crying. Tears of Joy. He was absolutely crying tears of Joy. She smiled; it was nice to see someone filled with such admiration. The man wiped his eyes and sniffled.
"It's beautiful," he said. "It would be perfect on the Going Luffy-senpai."
"Going Luffy?"
He had made a ship, and on its bow was an exact likeness of Monkey D. Luffy, stretched arms and all. The main cabin area was styled to look like the white rams head which had been featured on the Straw Hats original ship. On the stern was a gigantic reindeer head, obviously made to mimic the straw hats pet Tony Tony Chopper. It was borderline creepy how much time and effort had been put into it.
"That's pretty amazing," Vetica admitted, not knowing what else there really was to say.
The man let out a sigh beside her. "Isn't it-dabe? It's almost done, but it feels like it's missing something."
Vetica wracked her brain, thinking over all the pictures and instances that she had seen the straw hat ship and research she had done. Then it came to her.
"Trees," she blurted. "The Going Merry had orange trees from 'Cat Burglar' Nami's home town."
"Trees-dabe?"
"Yeah, her mom owned an orchard," the woman explained.
"I think I remember reading that-dabe," Bartolomeo said. "We'll have to put trees on before we set sail."
Vetica sighed. She wished she could get off this god forsaken island. She missed travelling around the Grand Line, but there was no way that Opera was ever going to let her leave Logue Town unless she had a good story. With how many people passed through Logue Town it was impossible to determine which of the many pirates would go on to become stars. Unless...
She grinned, looking up at Bartolomeo. He was already a well known criminal already in Logue Town and was rumored to be pretty much invincible. Plus, he had a terrifyingly harsh face. With a little bit of help he could easily become the next big player on the Grand Line.
He looked down at her questioningly.
"Bartolomeo," she cooed, a sly smile creeping across her lips. "How would you like me to help you?"
And that's how their relationship began. She sent him maps and ideas of how to put himself on the map: destroy a few towns, threaten a couple people, and be his normal obnoxious self. In return, he would send him news of what he did as well as any rumors that he had heard about other pirates in the area.
Opera brought Vetica back to the Grand Line upon the arrival of her first article about the man, "Terror of the Town, To Terror of the Sea." According to the Older woman it was the best entries and exits article she had ever seen, and she demanded that Vetica continue to follow the adventures of the thug, until that day happened...
