Episode One: Something is very wrong

Hello everyone this my second attempt at writing this fanfic so bear with me if you have already read the first version. I decided to make the chapters a bit smaller so they are less of a hassle to read also changed the main characters name. Anyways Disclaimer time: I do not not not own One Piece or any of its characters, the only things I own here are the main character this story follows and any characters I have made up to progress her story. Now that that is over I would like to say thanks ahead of time to all those that read this fanfic and remind you to not hesitate to review.

Being thrown off the back end on an inner tube while traveling at high speed is actually not the funnest thing in the world to do, in fact is really just hurts. Still it was way better then working in the blistering heat all day, like we all had been for the past week. I squeeze my eyes shut and hold a vice grip on my nose as I tumble through the water. Slowly coming to a standstill, I peek an eye open in an attempt to regain my bearings. Unfortunately my head is still spinning from the shear force that had torn me from the inflatable raft. Cracking the other eye open I look at the water around me, crystal clear and beautiful. I even peek a glance at the lake bottom another ten or so feet below me despite me aversion to the depth.

The water is freezing but feels amazing compared to the heat and humidity of the air above. This has been one of the hottest summers Washington has seen in the last decade, record temperatures rising into the triple digits. Which is exactly why my friends and I had chosen Lake Cresent as our vacation destination. The lake is always this cool and comforting, fed solely from glacier water running off the Olympic Mountains. It is the perfect vacation spot for camping.

Enjoying the serene peacefulness, my lungs begin to ache from the lack of oxygen which is signal enough to head back to the surface. As much fun as being under water is, I still need air to live. As I paw my way to the surface I don't notice the atmospheric change that has happened around me, to focused on getting the air my lungs are screaming for.

Moments later I break the surface and gulp down a few breaths of fresh air, filling my now grateful lungs before pushing the hair from my eyes and rubbing away the excess water. As my gaze meets the horizon a chill runs down my spine, and I am a wee bit confused as the air catches in my lungs. Suddenly it feels as if my heart has stopped cold in my chest. Something definitely isn't right, in fact it is very, very wrong.

Blue skies stretch for miles all around me and meet on the horizon with the water. There are no lush green pine forests creeping up the slopping hills of the Olympics. No lake houses, or twisting highway, or even the distant echo from the motor of a boat. There is nothing but water and sky.

"Okay… not so funny." I mutter hesitantly to myself as panic begins to raise a lump in the back of my throat. Swimming in small circles I look around half expecting something to change, but oddly knowing it won't. Perhaps I hit my head and this is all just a dream, I think, but that doesn't make much sense, if I hit my head then that would mean… I didn't even want to finish that thought as another chill rushes down my spine. Instead I close my eyes and lay back in the water just floating there for a moment.

Okay let's think about this logically. I tell myself, one minute I'm speeding around on an inner tube pulled by a friends boat and the next thing I know everything is just gone… so how does that happen? This is either some kind of sick joke or a dream. I run over the possibilities in my head on at a time and my options continue to become grimmer and grimmer until eventually I can't take thinking about it anymore and begin screaming into the nothingness that surrounds me.

It takes less than a minute for my lungs to empty of air and I fall into the silence of my own thoughts. What holy hell have I managed to stumble into, well swim into? As I ponder this though a distinct low hum invades my senses, somewhat grating on my already frayed nerves. The sound is persistent and is accompanied by a small disturbance of the water, it kind of reminds me of… my eyes snap open and I right myself in the water, pausing to listen to the sound that echoes over the waters' surface. It is definitely a motor of some kind. Squinting against the glare of the sun on the water I search the horizon frantically for the sound, quickly spotting a darkened splotch to what I could only guess as north.

At the moment the small splotch is heading parallel along the horizon. If I can just get its attention, it is the only chance I have of being rescued. I raise my arms as high out of the water as I can and begin waving like a mad man accompanied by yelling at the top of my lungs. Anything to get this persons attention. Much to my surprise and delight the splotch slowly stops following the horizon and starts growing in size. I can only pray it is heading in my direction and not going to pass me by.

"Heeeeeey! Heeeey I'm right here! Please HELP me!" I cry and my voice cracks. As I continue to wave frantically water splashes into my mouth and it is then that I realize I am no longer in a fresh body of water, rather stranded in the middle of an ocean. My whole being freezes for a split second as dread finds its way out of the pit my stomach has become. How the hell have I managed to get myself so far up shit's creek without a paddle, and when?

Five minutes pass by but it feels like an eternity before I can just make out the shape of the splotch. It is definitely a boat of some sort and I can hear the engine a lot clearer now. Unfortunately as it begins getting close enough for any chance of noticing me it beings to pick up speed. This person can't hear or see me, that or they probably aren't even paying attention. Yet they are heading right for me.

This realization doesn't have time to sink in before I'm moving, making a feeble attempt to get out of the way, but let's face it I have never been that great a swimmer. There is no way I am going to get out of the way fast enough. So instead I do the one thing I can think of at this very moment and let loose a nail biting sound from my throat.

Intermission…