FOREWORD:
In the first scene there will be numerous actors, eleven to be precise. As so many introductions would only kill the read, I've decided to just assume that all readers know the first 5 characters of One Piece.
This does not mean that this is a One Piece fanfic however. If anything, it would probably be dedicated to Baldur's Gate II. Fortunately this is a cross-over and I don't have to decide such difficult things.
For those of you that would like to find out more about Imoen, Aerie, Sarevok, Jaheira, Jan and Minsc, I only have one piece of advice. Play the game. :P
OCEAN
The first one to notice it wasn't Zoro, who slept through his guard duty, but Nami.
A big metallic ball swam in the water, making it hard to estimate how big exactly, since most was hidden by the ocean, but Nami guessed that it was about four times the size of Merry. On the top was something resembling a very small sail which probably served mostly to create some shade for whoever was on that thing.
She was just about to inform the others of this strange appearance when some shouting from the quarter-mile far USO (unknown swimming object – Nami was proud of herself for that one) did this job for her.
In a matter of seconds everyone gathered at the rail to watch. A female voice, barely audible, said: "Give me some wind, will you? This is boooring!"
A male voice, though a little high pitched, followed "Some wind for Lady Imoen!"
And another female voice, full of humor, shouted: "Some wind for Lady Imoen, coming right up!"
What happened next amazed the straw hat crew a lot, because they had never before witnessed a metal bullet the size of a big house accelerate that quickly and to that kind of speed. As one being they turned their heads around, their eyes following the ball when it blurred past them, followed by a big wave and a lot of wind that shook the pirate ship as if it was a little toy in a bath tub. Nevertheless, all eyes were still on the ball, on the back of which one could now see a big red and above all crude painting of a skull.
Luffy's eyes were full of tears.
He was barely able to give his next command. "To the ... oars... We'll go after them!"
With the combined strength of Luffy, Zoro and Sanji they were slowly able to gain on their goal, but it was a hard fight, and Usopp couldn't help but worry about the ship. Finally, the distance had shrunk so much that Luffy was able to catch the glittering thing with his hands and put a stop to the chase.
The ball crashed against the side of Merry and there was a lot of very unhealthy noise, though most of it came from Ussop who in his fear for the caravel had clenched his teeth together.
The pirates were just getting back on their feet when they saw two girls on the ball, looking at them, while the sun behind them didn't allow anybody on the lower ship to see anything more than their outlines.
"Whow, they caught us, now we get to take their treasure, right?"
- "Nonsense Arlissa, didn't you listen? A pirate can rob people after he catches them, not the other way around!"
Sanji's face began to melt when he heard those two voices.
"So?"
- "They get our treasure, of course."
At this point Nami seemed to become very attentive.
"That doesn't seem right, Imoen. We worked so hard for all that gold and now we have to give it all away just because someone managed to catch up with us?"
A third, very short person appeared in the view of the straw hats.
"Oh yes, the hardships of piracy. Do you understand now why I chose to become a simple vegetable merchant rather than a fearsome warrior of the sea? That reminds me of my nephew Twice-One-Handed Pete who was punished more than once for theft with the removal of his hand."
- "I think we could just have a go at them after they've taken our treasure..."
There was a pause, when the other girl seemed to consider this. On the Merry everyone except for Luffy, who was still in awe with what he had just seen, was a little unnerved about the direction of the conversation. They had been underestimated before, but it was still unsettling to be considered mere game pieces by two girls whose behavior didn't suggest any experience in the arts of war at all.
Finally the silence was broken when the second girl, the one referred to as Arlissa, said with a hint of disappointment in her voice: "Always exaggerating, you are... Just because we're pirates now doesn't mean that we have to be jerks about it."
That was the moment when Luffy jumped onto the metal ball and towards the three people upon it – his sudden landing just in front of them making them jump too, albeit not as far.
From up here he could see that it wasn't only the two girls and the strange little man, a girl with blond hair and a dress of the same color was lying under the sail some 10 yards off and two bald men were occupying their gigantic muscles with lifting weights. The first idea you'd get when watching those 6ft juggernauts was that they'd have to be the stereotypical good and evil twins. The one with lighter skin had a purple ring tattoo that went from his right temple over half of the forehead to the right eye of his friendly and naive face. At his side the darker man appeared like a demon. It was neither the graying goatee nor the many scars that covered him. The two purple diamonds that covered his eyes and brows and the blue lines on his forehead in the form of a V might have had something to do with it, but it was mostly his expression that said he'd found his inner child and strangled it.
"So, you're pirates too, huh?" Luffy asked with a voice full of excitement.
Arlissa, who seemed to have recovered the quickest from the surprise, answered with gleaming blue eyes: "No, actually we're just having a bit of fun while looking for a lost companion; haven't had a proper vacation for what feels like years... Tell me, did your limbs actually become really long just now or was that just an illusion?"
In the meantime Zoro and Sanji had also climbed up this strange device, so while Luffy showed off his flexibility, Sanji could ask: "You lost a companion? What happened? Did she fall into the sea or something?"
Arlissa raised her thin black eyebrows. "And here I thought I hadn't specified the gender yet... No, this accident was a lot more complicated than just a loss of balance-"
She was cut off by Imoen who snorted: "'Accident'..."
Arlissa blushed. "Look, when you see a big red button with the words 'DO NOT PRESS UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES' on it, you just have to, right?"
Imoen shot back; "And I know I told you not to use wild magic repairing the Planar Sphere! At least we'd know what plane Jaheira landed on if you had listened..."
Luffy, for whom this discussion held to many alien words, had left the group to look around on the metal ball and finally find an entrance door. He was just about to enter when he suddenly felt a cold blade touching his neck. A dead-serious voice told him from behind: "Not without Her permission."
Slightly embarrassed, Arlissa shouted: "Of course he can go in."
A little nervous she added: "He won't break anything, will he?"
Sanji made a face, while Zoro had eyes only for the swordsman who had so quickly moved behind Luffy. He felt his heart pounding when he introduced himself to the dark-tanned warrior and asked for his name in exchange.
It was Sarevok.
"You're dependable on the battlefield, aren't you?"
Sarevok grinned wickedly. "Undefeated... Ever since I stopped trying to kill Her."
He pointed to Arlissa who was at this moment slowly realizing that Sanji didn't take "No" or "Not interested" for an answer.
Not paying the others any mind, Zoro spoke out what had burned his tongue for the past few seconds. "Would you mind a little duel?"
Sarevok's grin grew wide, showing more and more big and predatory teeth. Instead of a verbal answer he just drew his two-handed sword and raised it above his head.
Zoro immediately felt his fighting spirit pressuring him, it wasn't just the clean joy of fencing that many young men radiated, this was pure blood-lust. He didn't understand why his opponent had even mentioned the little girl, in his eyes it was obvious who was the more fearsome, but he also knew that he mustn't waste any more thoughts at this paradox.
He also drew his swords. All three of them.
He took a deep breath.
The big sword cut through the air, sounding like an angry snake, but Zoro wasn't there anymore. Like a leaf in the wind he'd jumped to evade the attack and was hovering above the other fighter when his swords started moving.
Three meters behind Sarevok he landed on his feet, surprised at how easily he had penetrated the opponent's defense. This couldn't have been all after the massive aura that he'd felt.
Sarevok breathed out sharply. The three katanas, while not being able to cut through the hardened muscles on his big chest, had left 3 thin red lines on his skin, not to mention the mess they had made of his shirt.
"I believe we should start getting worried now," Arlissa said, while watching Sarevok's scarred face which didn't move a bit as the Bihander slid out of his fingers and clanked onto the metallic ground. Only a careful observer could see how his eyes began glowing weakly in a yellowish light when he walked a few meters to a little heap of weapons and armor. As he was about to lift a big and dangerous looking halberd, Arlissa was behind him and hugged him tightly. "Don't kill him. They're not enemies," she whispered in his ear. "You don't need to do this, your pride isn't shattered."
When Imoen positioned herself in front of him a smile appeared on his lips, though it was impossible to tell whether it was of friendship or mockery. "Fine," he said, "your sword shall remain sheathed."
With these words he freed himself of the two girls and walked through the door which Luffy had taken a very long minute ago.
There were two things confusing Zoro. For one, a really promising duel consisted of only one single and one-sided exchange, before it was interrupted by two girls girls who drove his sparring partner off.
Secondly there was his lacking reaction to this situation. For some reason he had felt relieved for seeing Sarevok turn away. That man's eyes were scary. Trying to figure this out in his mind, for the first time Zoro really noticed the other occupants of this sphere.
The one Sarevok seemed to consider his superior, the black haired Arlissa, caught his eye first. Though she had joked around a lot earlier, her pretty face was serious now, nearly depressed. But with the black silken dress and the pale blue eyes of hers this attitude seemed to fit her a lot better.
He couldn't lay his finger on it, but something about her was irritating him, until he realized that her ears were abnormally long and pointed.
"There goes the evil incarnate."
The words came from the till-now silent blond whose face was a mask of hatred and disgust, though she was probably a cute girl otherwise. She too had pointed ears.
"Please don't speak like that about him, Aerie," Arlissa said. "He's only a sad soul trapped in a monster of his own creation."
- "Why do you always protect him?" Aerie wanted to know. "You know him!"
- "And you know that it was not he who killed Valygar and Nalia. I simply want to believe that there is redemption possible for us Bhaalspawn."
Arlissa's voice had been quiet, but compared with the following silence it rang in everybody's ears. She turned away.
Then she turned back, with closed eyes and a smile on her lips. "I'm sorry, I didn't want to kill the mood."
Her eyes opened, emanating zest for life again. "The divination spell has finished by the way. Jaheira's not on this plane. If you're as fed up with this never ending water as I am, I suggest we move on. - And if words aren't enough to restrain you boy," she continued in Sanji's direction, whom she was trying to hold at bay with her left hand, "I'll have to settle for something a little more drastic."
Zoro asked: "Move on? There is nothing but water for days in every direction, even with your speed!"
Sanji, who had finally taken the hint and was checking out the other two girls now, asked: "Can't we come with you?"
The second warrior, who had been quiet until now, took up Sanji by his collar and beamed at him. "Of course you can come with us."
Showing the hamster he held in his other hand he continued: "Boo here says you're alright. Besides, you look like fun! - Do you want to hold Boo for a bit?"
Sanji, paralyzed and shocked by this treatment, was put back on the ground and given the little rodent into his unresisting hands.
A broad grin went through the audience.
Though when she had regained control of her facial muscles Imoen explained that things were not that easy. "Certainly you could join us on our dimension jump to another world in the Planar Sphere, but your ship is going to stay here."
She looked at Zoro, whom she deemed the smartest of their guests. "Even if you decide to come along, you should elect somebody to guard it."
"What about 'Otiluke's Resilient Sphere'?" Aerie asked. "Surely that'd suffice to keep the ship safe?"
A helpless expression crept on Zoro's face; and left again. "I'd like to ask you what makes you think we'd want to accompany you, unfortunately I know how our captain thinks about weird, almost certainly suicidal and stupid adventures."
He grinned.
"Wait, you're not the captain?" the short and old-looking man asked. His eyes became big as understanding hit him. Pointing his finger to the entrance he asked: "Wait, it was that guy? Mr I'm-as-elastic-as-uncle-Konrad's-special-glue-and-just-as-clueless?"
- "We prefer to call him Luffy. It's shorter."
Nami had finally managed to climb up the Planar Sphere and looked around a little exhausted. "What are you pipsqueak, anyway?"
Jan beamed at this question. "Jan Jansen, gnome since birth, inventor since the age of 6, successful inventor also of non-explosives since the age of 17, vegetable merchant since the age of 19, independent thief since the age of 23, adventurer since the age of 37, a short employment as party clown at the age of 41, author of guidelines for every situation and love-novels since the age of 58, lead-smuggler of monk-"
When his voice was cut off he grasped his neck, before he accusingly looked at Imoen whose right arm still aimed at him.
"Likes to talk," the redhead said.
- "Likes to talk," the Nami repeated.
Imoen grinned happily. "Well, let's finish the introduction. I'm Imoen, the girl over there is Aerie, the other one is my sort-of-sister Arlissa, that bulk over there's Minsc and what your friend in a suit is holding is his miniature giant space hamster Boo. Don't ask."
While she spoke, her hand waved in the general direction of the persons as they were mentioned. There was a short pause before she went on. "Usually there'd also be Jaheira, who was accidentally teleported away by Arlissa, - and Sarevok, who's probably sulking in there right now. You can't confuse them though. One's a woman, while the other one most certainly is not."
With that she released Jan from whatever she had done to him and, though he still shot angry glances at her, he didn't try to take revenge.
Feeling that certain things still needed to be said, but also that with Luffy still rummaging around somewhere in the Planar Sphere she'd probably have to say it twice if she started now, Imoen cleared her throat, trying to gain a little more time, when a loud noise from inside the sphere alerted everybody.
It sounded as if a lot of furniture was being destroyed systematically and, if her expression was any indicator, Arlissa didn't like the idea at all.
As abrupt as it had started, as abrupt it ended a few seconds later.
Everyone exchanged worried glances, especially the black-haired girl, who seemed to be fighting the urge to rush down and protect her property from whatever was threatening it, but before anyone could take action, hysterical screaming flooded out of the door.
"Luffy!" Nami, Sanji and Zoro yelled in unison while ducking into fighting stances.
"Calm down," Aerie tried to save the peace, "I'm sure there is a perfectly reasonable explanation for all this."
But the screaming gradually became louder, eating away at everybody's nerves.
Finally Sarevok walked out into the sun, dragging behind him the shouting and pleading Luffy, whose wrists were firmly fixated in the left hand of the dark warrior.
"He tried to plunder our larder," Sarevok explained when confronted with all the inquiring faces, "And I believed that our leader should be the one to decide what's to be done with him."
A collective sigh and with it all the tension of the last moments was released into the air.
"Let him free, please," Arlissa said with a soft voice.
When Luffy was back on his feet and trying to find the perfect spot on his head for his straw ornament, she turned to him. "Word has reached my ears that you are a friend of 'weird, almost certainly suicidal and stupid adventures'?"
There was only confusion in his eyes and his mouth opened to a "what?" but before the word had left his lips his face changed to utter zeal. "Amazing! Your ship is simply amazing! So much bigger on the inside than on the outside! And there's all sorts of things!"
And to his crew members he repeated the last part: "Really! All sorts of things!"