So now we're finishing up the Baratie Arc, if it could be called that. I think it is called that, actually. Then we move onto the Arlong Arc. I have plans for this one. Mwahahaha! You'll see. Eventually. Maybe this chapter or next. Depends on what kind of mood I'm in.
Also, I understand that there are some concerns about Atticus joining the Mugiwara Crew, and everyone has their own reasons for their concerns. I do understand them. Atticus does know he's stronger, and some of you are saying that you expected him to be his own captain (with Dell as first mater) or travel by himself with just Estrella.
The thing is that he's still only fifteen years old, and he hasn't been exposed to the world's cruelty like Doffy and Evelyn have been (as YoseiOfTheWest pointed out). He isn't exactly ready to take charge of anything despite how much he has learned from his parents. So he chooses to follow someone who has snagged his attention, at least for now.
And you gotta admit, there are some factors about Luffy that could remind him of his father, like his tendency to protect his nakama through whatever their issues are. Difference there is that Doffy doesn't tolerate betrayal and Luffy goes after his nakama to save them even when they 'betray' him. Not to mention that while Atticus is stronger, he is not as strong as he and Estrella think (as Evelyn will mention this chapter) and he has his own issues that he needs to work with and develop as he travels.
As for the fact that he has lived a life different from the others. Well, this gives him a good opportunity to really see different lifestyles and see how differently people handle things when he would have handled it in another way. I understand that some of you are saying he could have started in North Blue for that, but North Blue would still be considered Doflamingo's territory, meaning he wouldn't get the experience he wants because people would be more likely to make the connection than the people in East Blue.
I also don't see him joining the Mugiwara Crew post-timeskip (when they're a lot stronger) because then he can't really bond with them like I would want him to. It would just be one big adventure then they're off pushing against Doflamingo, whether they were aware of it or not when they went to Punk Hazard. He wouldn't be as close to them that way as he would this way, so what I have planned for Dressrosa won't be the way I would like to mess with it. I actually do plan on messing around with quite a few things, but I need Atticus in the crew early in order for them to really work. You'll see later on.
And yes, this is basically canon with my own OC thrown in, but there will be difference during some points of the story. As I mentioned, Dressrosa will be one. But there will be others as well, even if it doesn't look like it at the time.
That's really all I can say about that. If you have any other questions or concerns, just let me know.
Disclaimer: If Harry Potter is mentioned in any way, don't own it. And I don't own One Piece.
Claimer: I do happily own Atticus and Estrella.
Music of the chapter is 'Lion' by Hollywood Undead. Meaning…not mine!
Here's a story of everything we'll ever be
You can hide but some of us can never be
And if you go I don't need those little things
They remind me of all our little dreams
Can you hear the words, all I can say?
We can watch the world even if they walk away
Forget about tomorrow, tomorrow is today
You were born a lion and a lion you will stay
Here the Chapter Starts
Golden armor shattered, shocking the man that it was supposed to protect. Luffy grinned triumphantly before metallic netting trapped him. He still managed to get a hold of Krieg and slam him down into a piece of the deck, though was unable to stop himself from falling into the ocean.
Atticus was quick to jump into the water, startling Sanji until Zeff explained that Luffy is a devil fruit user, meaning he cannot swim. Sanji jumped in after them. Two pairs of eyes are better than one, after all.
Luffy was stuck on a piece of ship that was slowly sinking deeper and deeper, the netting catching a small notch sticking out. Both blondes reached him at the same time, the larger tugging on the netting enough for the other to pull Luffy free and swim back to the surface with him.
He followed the two to the surface, gasping for air as Estrella hovered over him, hissing with worry. "I'm fine," he reassured his agathodemon, swimming after Sanji to get back to the deck.
"You were pretty quick to react when he landed in the water," Zeff noted as Sanji tried to get Luffy breathing again. "Not many here know about devil fruit users and their weakness."
"My father's a devil fruit user," he explained, pushing himself onto the damaged deck. "So is most of my family."
"Obviously not you," the chef huffed with amusement.
"Well, someone other than one of my grandfathers and Mama has to dive in and help the users out when they get drunk," he pointed out with a short laugh, noticing that Luffy was breathing again, but unconscious. No, not unconscious, he realized with shock. "Is he seriously asleep?!"
"I can't believe this idiot," Sanji remarked, sitting next to the snoozing teenager.
Atticus only stared in shock before turning away with a shake of his head. Shouting alerted them to Krieg's presence once more, though he was still unconscious. "Talk about a sore loser," the tall blonde muttered. Gin was the one to stop the rampage before it stared, punching his captain in the stomach to fully knock him out and carried him over a shoulder.
Sanji gave the other man a small boat for him to take his surviving crewmates and leave. Gin mentioned that he was looking forward to meeting again, but on the Grand Line. Atticus could not believe they were going back after being chased off it when they were only there for a week last time. This captain has the wrong mindset for the Line, that's all there was to it. Numbers and fancy weapons meant nothing. Even devil fruit users can have a hard time if they're unprepared.
But it won't be his problem. It will be theirs. He supposed that it was just their luck that caused them to run into Mihawk during their first visit. Though the Donquixote found it strange that Mihawk was so close to the beginning of the Line if they stumbled upon him after a week. It wasn't like they could get far enough into any Shichibukai territory in that length of time, especially leading a whole fleet. Maybe Mihawk was drifting again or planning to come here for food. Probably drifting.
A large head butting his shoulder pulled him from his musing, causing him to turn around to look at Estrella. "Can we actually eat now?" she asked exasperatedly.
Laughing loudly, he pushed her head back. "Yeah, yeah," he answered. "Hey, now that things have settled down, would it be too much to ask for some food now?"
Sanji looked at him before chuckling, lighting a new cigarette held between his teeth. "I've only known this idiot for about a week," he stated. "But you sounded a lot like him just now."
"Sesese, only I don't plan on being the Pirate King," Atticus pointed out. "Just having an adventure and making a name for myself. Besides, Estrella was asking, not me." He jabbed his thumb to the nodding serpent, her tongue flickering out briefly.
"You understand that thing?" Sanji asked in surprise, blinking a couple times before looking up to the snake.
"An ability I inherited from my Mama," the taller blonde groaned as he got to his feet. "We can understand and speak the language of the snakes. It's pretty useful so that I don't have to guess what she's saying. Mama said it was called Parseltongue where she's from. So…food?"
"Yeah," the other sighed lowly. "Let me just get this idiot to a bed and I can whip something up for you guys. Thanks, by the way, for your help. Though you didn't take many of them on, the way you took down that Pearl guy was impressive."
Atticus smirked, looking to his agathodemon. "Think he noticed that I kind of electrified the guy?" he asked her.
Estrella snickered. "I doubt it," she replied.
Here is a line!
The soup bowl shattered on the floor, pieces scattering along the smooth surface. A few words from Zeff was all it took for Sanji to storm out in anger and let loose outside.
"This soup is great!" Luffy exclaimed.
"We know that," Zeff informed him.
"So why the cruel words?" Atticus inquired, passing his bowl to Estrella, who stuck her head inside and started to lap at the soup. Despite the forked tongue, she was still able to drink it.
"Because Sanji won't leave otherwise," the chef explained. "Mugiwara, I have a request to make. Would you mind taking that lil' eggplant with you? Take him to the Grand Line. It's his dream."
"That's Sanji's choice," the tall blonde pointed out before snapping at Estrella. "Hey, leave the bowl here!"
"Sorry." She placed the bowl back down, hardly embarrassed to have been caught trying to steal it.
"Don't wanna," Luffy stated.
"By the way, he is outside the door," Estrella told her master as the restaurant crew exclaimed in shock. "He's eavesdropping, but only because he didn't go very far in the first place."
"Leave him," Atticus sighed lowly, bringing the glass of water to his lips and sipping it. "This may be something he needs to hear."
"What's the meaning of this?" Zeff inquire curiously. "Didn't you want a cook for your ship?! What, are you not satisfied with him?"
"No, it's not that I'm dissatisfied with him," the rubber teen explained, though Atticus still found himself surprised by his next words. "I do want him to come along with me, but he said he wants to stay here and be a cook. So even if you tell me to take him, I'm not gonna." As if suddenly remembering something, Luffy turned to the sitting teen with a smile. "Oh yeah! Did you think about joining my crew?" he asked happily.
"Well, yeah," Atticus sighed with a small grin. "You seem to be a fun guy to hang around, and strong, too. So long as you don't mind Estrella tagging along as well, then I would be happy to join you."
"Of course the snake can stay!" Luffy told him, his own wide grin growing. "So, what can you do?"
"NOW YOU ASK THAT?!" several of the cooks shouted in disbelief.
With a smirk, Atticus held up both hands and created two balls of light, one in each. Though he can use just about any spell his Mama taught him, he found that forming them into light orbs made them easier to handle. "I'm a jack of all trades and master of none," he explained, throwing the orbs. One ball of light struck the door, exploding into a burst of sparkling flakes of snow. The other hit the table, engulfing it before fading to reveal clean dishes ready to support another helping of the untouched food. "The name is Atticus. Just think of me as a magician."
"Whoa!" Luffy nearly yelled in excitement as he took in the results of the light orbs. "That's so cool!" He turned to Atticus, his eyes shining brightly. "What else can you do?"
"Whatever I want, sesesese," Atticus chuckled lowly. "Anyway, now you can say you have a magician on your crew. What about your cook?"
Luffy didn't have time to answer before a strange creature broke through the restaurant walls. Estrella reared back in surprise, her feathers ruffling as Atticus coughed through the dust, waving his hand to clear the debris from the air. A panda shark, with a man half swallowed in its mouth, and they were laying on top of Sanji.
"Yosaku!" Luffy exclaimed, apparently knowing the 'eaten' man.
"Ah! Brother Luffy!" the man returned, tears in his eyes.
"What are you doing here alone? Where are the others? And what about Nami?" Despite the questions, Luffy looked more annoyed than concerned by anything.
When the man, freed from the jaws of the shark, explained the situation in a cryptic kind of way that raised more questions than answers, Luffy declared that it was time to go. Atticus simply finished his quick meal as the man spoke.
Sanji, however, gave him pause. "Wait," the cook called. "I'll go, too. Take me with you." Some of the other cooks watched in surprise. "I'll accompany you on your way to becoming the Pirate King. After all, we both have crazy dreams. So I'll tag along to fulfill mine. I'll be the cook for your ship." He fully turned to Luffy. "Sound good? Or bad?"
"Woohoo! Sounds great!" the young pirate cheered.
"Now if this could be accomplished without the drama, that would be great," Estrella commented.
"Drama's everywhere, Estrella," Atticus pointed out with a wave of his hand. "I already feel it. This won't be the only bit of drama we get to watch." He grinned widely. "And I'm perfectly fine with that."
Here is a line!
"Your snake won't fit on the boat with the rest of us," Sanji pointed out, looking to Atticus.
"Don't worry," he reassured as Estrella started flapping her wings, lifting herself from the Baratie's deck and taking flight. "If she needs to rest, she can curl into a pretty small ball. I'll just be with her for a while." With that, he leapt high into the air. As he descended, Estrella flew under him, the teen landing on her neck.
From the height, he could see Zeff exiting the restaurant, standing on the balcony. He said something to Sanji, which resulted in the curly-brow blonde to suddenly cry, drop to the deck, and bow his head towards the chef. He was yelling his gratitude loud enough for all of East Blue to hear.
Puru-puru-puru…puru-puru-puru…puru-Gacha
"Didn't we just talk this morning?" Atticus sighed upon answering the den-den mushi, already guessing who was calling.
"Yes, but then I heard from Mihawk about you being at a certain restaurant in East Blue," his mother responded, which sort of surprised him since he expected his father to call first. Of course, Mihawk just so happened to be the only Shichibukai that she could get along with well enough and became good friends with him. At least his father finally got through his jealousy moments once he realized it was strictly platonic. "Dealing with a man covered head to toe in weapons and armor."
"Luffy dealt with him, I just took a few guys down," he clarified, watching Sanji finally get on the boat before it pushed off. "Tell Dad that I found a crew to join."
"Already?"
"He's something else, Mama," he chuckled lightly. "I want to see just what he will do and what he'll stir up." His lips stretched into a wide grin. "This may be a lot more fun than I expected." Especially since he's a D and they always do crazy stuff, if stories were to be believed.
"Alright. Be careful."
"Stop worrying, Mama. It isn't good for you. I know I'm strong and these weaklings won't take me down."
"That Donquixote overconfidence is going to rear up and bite both you and your father in the ass one day. And you know what I'm going to do? I'm going to sit here and laugh."
"Yeah, yeah, I gotta go. At least before these guys get themselves lost. Luffy looks like he would get lost easy."
"Alright," she sighed, the den-den mushi drooping slightly.
"Get some rest, Mama, and stop worrying about me. I have to grow up eventually."
"I know, trust me. I've told your father that often enough through the years. It's just that…"
"I understand. But this is something I have to do."
She huffed before saying, "If we were all back where I was born and stayed there, you would definitely go into Gryffindor with how adventurous you are."
"We couldn't stay there. You and Dad weren't happy there and you guys killed two major people." Even if one was openly evil and the other was a major manipulator held in very high regard and was still evil to a certain level.
"They had it coming! Anyway, I'll talk to you later. In more than twelve hours this time."
"Sesese, we'll see about that. Bye, Mama."
Upon her farewell, he hung up the snail, the little creature falling back to sleep in the bag. "So, any idea where we're going?" Estrella inquired, looking to her master curiously.
"I don't know where that Nami girl went, but one of the guys down there does. We just stick close or we'll lose them," he explained, patting her neck. "Go down a little lower so we can hear what they're saying." The agathodemon glided downward until they were next to the ship, though she had to watch her speed or risk running ahead and losing them.
Here is a line!
The island they finally landed at (the trip made quicker do to the large sea cow that Luffy and Sanji beat) was a small, kind of out-of-the-way place. There was civilization, a village here and there with people trying to live life in fear. After seeing that one small village with every single building upside down, Atticus could not blame them.
As Luffy, Sanji, and Yosaku looked for the others, he and Estrella took to the sky to get a general layout of the island. It was in the distance where he spotted the towering building with a shark head that had a saw-like pole sticking out of the snout. A flag was waving on the 'nose', a crossbones with a unique red mark. "Great," he groaned, slapping his forehead. "Fishmen."
"That may make things more difficult," Estrella pointed out as he directed her away, hopefully back to the others. "More than likely, they're from the Line. The others probably never encountered Fishmen before. The only one with any experience is you since you were raised alongside Dellinger."
"Yeah, but Dell's only half. We're dealing with purebloods here," he pointed out, scanning the ground for the others. He spotted a familiar head of green hair walking through a village, looking around almost boredly. "Yo, Zoro!"
The other looked up, almost jumping a few feet in the air as Estrella flew over him, the tall blonde hopping off her back to land in front of the swordsman. "Who the hell are you again?" Zoro asked, hand on his swords.
"Sorry, I didn't introduce myself last time I saw you," Atticus stated, rubbing the back of his neck. "My name's Atticus and I just joined your crew back on the Baratie. Sanji joined to."
"Great, an unknown with a flying snake and a love cook," Zoro scoffed, but relaxed his stance even though he kept his hand on the swords. "So, Atticus, where is Luffy?"
"Estrella and I were just looking for him," he explained as Estrella landed behind him. "I was scouting out the island first. From what I can see, Fishmen are inhabiting the place, but judging from the building and the flag, they're not friendly."
"Yeah, I just came from there," the swordsman said with a nod. "Nami's a part of that crew. But I don't think she's there willingly. Something's going on."
"Fishmen taking in a human?" the blonde muttered, finger tapping his chin. Some Fishmen are nice enough that they'll help humans out, or they'll integrate into a group of humans if the humans don't act hostile. But a human being part of a Fishman crew is basically unheard of.
"The name Arlong mean anything to you?"
"Arlong? Uh…" He looked to his serpent inquiringly, who only shook her head. It does sound familiar, somewhat, but he could only think of one thing concerning him. "From the top of my head, he hates humans. So Nami being a part of his crew is really weird. She must have some sort of skill that he craves and he's holding her in his crew somehow."
"I was thinking the same thing," Zoro agreed. "Let's go find Luffy and figure things out."
He started to walk off, but Atticus called him back. "You just came from that direction."
"Gah! Shut up!"
"You may be an unknown with a flying snake, but he's a 'fearsome' swordsman with no sense of direction," Estrella snickered.
"Eh, we all have flaws," he told her uncaringly with a shrug of his shoulders.
Here is a line!
Luffy had walked off when Nami left. Sanji and Zoro were across from each other, the dirt road between them, and already arguing back and forth. Estrella coiled on the path with Atticus sitting on her back, his elbows on her head and his head on his open palms.
"3…2…1…Impact," he drawled as the two men tried to attack each other. 'Tried' being the key word since Usopp, whom they were told was just murdered by Nami, was suddenly in between them, their attacks hitting him on both sides of his head. "Yeah, he's been coming at us for a while."
"So why didn't you say anything?" Usopp groaned as he fell to the ground.
"Because I thought two fighters like them would notice you sooner," the blonde explained with a smirk. "You're Usopp, right? Name's Atticus and this is my agathodemon, Estrella." She hissed slightly, her mouth open in what he knew to be a smile, but the long-nosed teen shivered at seeing the razor sharp fangs in her mouth. "Relax, she's harmless. Mostly."
"N-n-n-nice to me-me-meet you," Usopp stuttered, his wide eyes focused on Estrella mainly.
"He'll warm up to you eventually," he reassured his serpent, rubbing her snout gently.
"Hey, Usopp, we heard you were dead from Johnny and Yosaku," Zoro pointed out.
"Oh, right!" the teen leapt to his feet, ignoring the swelling bruises on his face. "Nami's in real trouble, guys! Where's Luffy? We need to go help her before it's too late!"
"Explain what happened first," Atticus told him. "Dude, we just heard you were killed by her. And here you are!"
"Those Fishmen were going to kill me, but one of them told Nami to do it in order to prove her loyalty to them," Usopp explained. "When she stabbed me, she actually stabbed her own hand and told me quietly, so that Arlong and his men wouldn't hear, to fall into the water and swim away. If they find out what she did, she'll be in danger!"
"Hmm," the blonde hummed before looking towards the sea. "Something's going on. Estrella, up."
"We'll go find Luffy," Zoro informed as the large serpent spread her wings and gave a powerful flap, lifting herself into the air.
"Got it!" Atticus replied before Estrella flew high enough to go over the trees. His eyes narrowed as he spotted the ship. "I thought so."
"What is it?" his agathodemon asked.
"That's a marine vessel." He scowled. "I don't like this one bit."
Here is a line!
Luffy stood behind her, ignoring the loose dirt Nami was throwing at him blindly as she cried, her shoulder pouring blood from the self-inflicted stab wounds. "Luffy…" she choked, turning to him with fat tears pouring from her eyes. "…Help me…"
Hand on his beloved hat, he removed the headwear and pushed it onto her own head. Turning from her and walking towards the other four crewmates, the rubber man threw his hands into the air and shouted, "Of course!" He marched off, three of the others following him.
Atticus turned to Estrella then looked to Nami. "I know you have your own reasons for working under him," he told her. "I can tell you're trapped. I'll admit I'm curious, but we can all wait for the story. Estrella will stay with you, just in case. She's smart, so don't worry about her not understanding you." He turned to follow the others, but Nami's voice stopped him.
"I'm sorry," she cried, the hat shadowing her face. "I just…I just want to go home…I want to see my mom…and my dad…my sister and brother…I just want to see them all again!"
"You will," he reassured. "Estrella, guard her. And don't let her interfere with the fight. She'll snap out this eventually and may try to stop us."
"You got it," she promised with a nod of her large head. "Better hurry or the fun will start without you."
Smirking, he sprinted towards the others, the distance they covered impressive for their pace. He caught up, taking his place by Zoro, his smirk growing into a grin not unlike his father's. Catching the curious glance from the swordsman, he explained, "I was telling Estrella to stay with Nami in case anyone tries anything. Hey, Luffy. You may get a bit pissed after hearing this."
"What is it?" Luffy asked, his voice dark and gaze focused.
"Arlong either kidnapped her from her family or is keeping her from them somehow," he answered. "She wants to go home and see them all again. I'm sure she'll tell us the whole story when everything settles down."
"Then we'll take her back home," the captain decided, his gaze sharpening. "Just as soon as I kick Arlong's ass!"
"You left something for us to handle, right, marimo?" Sanji inquired, lighting a new cigarette.
"What the hell did you just call me, ero-cook?" Zoro growled.
"Save it," Luffy ordered. "Don't waste any energy arguing. We're going to let it all out against Arlong and his crew."
It seemed to be almost no time at all when they marched up to the gate of Arlong Park. Luffy stretched back his arm (at a normal length) before delivering a powerful punch that not only threw the door off the hinges, but also across the watery courtyard. Knuckles cracking, Luffy looked to the Fishmen staring at them.
"Which one of you is Arlong?" he asked, his hand flexing as he walked into the area.
"Arlong? My name is Arlong," the large Fishman with thick black hair and a saw-like nose replied, staring at them uncaringly from his seat. "Who are you?"
"Luffy. A pirate," the Strawhat informed.
"And what is a pirate doing here looking for me?" Arlong inquired before Luffy's fist suddenly slammed into his face, sending him flying into a wall.
His glare darker than before, Luffy looked towards the Fishman getting back to his feet. "How dare you make my navigator cry!"
Here the Chapter Ends
Has anyone figured Nami out yet? I left a pretty big clue in there!
Anyway, we get to kick Arlong's ass next chapter and get Nami's story from her. You'll notice that I did change things up a little bit for her and that will be explained next chapter when Nami tells the others what happened.
Let me know what you guys think! Ja ne, minna-san!