Hey there everybody, how ya doin!? This is the 3rd installment of Faker. This chapter will have things kicking up a little; meaning that Parker will meat Luffy and stuff. Maybe I'll even be able to fit in the fight with axe hand douchebag and stuff. Let's find out in this next chapter! Starting now!
Beta: Performed by Undying Soul98
Chapter 3: Meeting the Main Character
I walked-no- I stumbled down the streets like a zombie. Each step I took was slow and off-balanced; sometimes I would bump into people who would either let out an accusing 'Hey!' or at least level a glare at me. It's not like I cared though. It had been an around an hour after my world had come crashing down around me, and frankly, I felt like I had every right to be acting the way I was now.
After, laying there in shock for a good couple of minutes, I thought it best to high tail it away from the Marine army base, combat-pass replica still in hand. But I didn't run like I did previously; the pace I took was slow and stumbling to prevent me from falling. The shock of my entire situation had caused me to go catatonic or something, since in my opinion this was a natural reaction for any person in the position I was in. I was surprised I was even able to move in my present condition.
I wasn't just going to sit there at the base like a dog waiting for its master. Just because Zoro, one of my favourite characters, was there right before my eyes didn't mean I was going to stay by him! Zoro was a dangerous guy no matter how you look at it! Those OC fanfiction stories that think they can just easily get along with him like that are stupid as hell! He's dangerous pirate hunter for god's sake!
So that is how I ended up where I was now, walking aimlessly through the streets of Shells Town: lost, confused, and practically on the verge of loosing my mind.
Compared to the anime, everything seemed so much more… well, different. Unlike the anime, which was an animated drawing, this was real. Everything had so much more colour and was much more detailed. The ground was real, the houses were real, and the people were real. In a sense it was beautiful; if I wasn't in so much shock I would've really loved it here.
Sadly, I was in shock.
Speaking of crappy fanfictions…I wonder what an otaku would give to be in my shoes? Probably an arm, a leg, and the blood of a virgin. I gave a depressed chuckle and at that thought. But in all seriousness, this is ridiculous. I liked fanfictions, don't get me wrong. I just found insert fanfics to be a vain form of wish fulfilment for the author and a waste of time for the reader.
I mean, it's all the same thing. A girl gets transported into an anime, then, they somehow get a male character to fall in love with them, that shouldn't be able to in the first place. Seriously, if you're going to make a fanfiction like that, at least make it more realistic! It was even stated by Oda that most main characters weren't going to find any love! That was true, I've done my research!
Speaking of research, I had to find out how I even got here. That question was an enigma on an entirely different level of confusing. How was I even going to figure something like this out!? I was smart, there was no doubt about that, but even this escapes me!
Come on brain, how did I get here? I asked myself rhetorically, pondering just how I ended up in this cruel twist of fate in the first place. There has to be a reason; what happened that caused me to go flying into a completely different universe!? I scanned through every piece of information in my brain in hopes of finding the answer to this complex equation. My brain was being stubborn though; it was similar to almost remembering something that was just out of reach. But then after some time longer, I finally remembered. Wait! I remember! It was those-!'
-THU-THUMP- -THU-THUMP- -THU-THUMP- -THU-THUMP-
"GOD DAMN!"
I was glad that I had wondered off onto a side street where nobody could see me, because as soon as I remembered what had occurred, the terrible headache returned with double the force it had previously. I fell to the ground holding my head grunting and crying at the absolute pain flowing through my body; it was as if someone had inserted my head in a vice and was slowly applying pressure to my skull.
"…Pl-PlEase stop-p-p…no…m-oRE." I was just able to grunt out in small whisper. Every function in my body seamed to be slowly failing; I could hardly breath and my body made constant jerking motions as if I was having a seizure. My sight was full of many black spots that consumed my vision. I was terrified that I was somehow going to die, but as soon as it came, it left.
"*gasp*!" the very first thing I did was take in a huge gulp of oxygen before I was reduced to a coughing mess. Though I wasn't in pain any more, what just happened had really taken a toll on me. Beads of sweat ran down every inch of my body and I felt exhausted from the whole ordeal. It really took a lot out of me.
"This-*gasp*-was just like-*cough*-earlier." I managed to say through gasps and coughs while remembering the earlier event that had sent me to the ground in a similar fashion like this. "What the hell was that?" it was like every time I tried to think about what had happened that headache would appear and stop me from knowing. Was it some kind of trigger to deal with a traumatic memory; that meant whatever happened to must have been horrifying? "Well I'll just add that to my list of many unanswered questioned." I muttered out as I got back up with a sigh.
I winced a little, as the throbbing in my head was still there. It was minuscule compared to what had just happened, so I manned up an decided to deal with it instead of just bitching about the ordeal. I continued walking forward, though not at the same wobbling pace then before; that little bit of mine really woke me up.
I had taken the combat-pass from my pocket and gripped it tightly in my right-hand to calm myself down. It was sorta' a habit I had; I would grasp onto things in hopes of helping myself keep calm. It was a weird habit, but it was my habit none-the-less.
After I felt my ever-quickening heart beat slowly crawl back to a natural pace, I decided that it would be the best time to actually get moving again. There were many other things I had to deal with now besides how I got here, like what I was going to do now?
Zoro is still here, so at least I now know just when I am in the anime.That was an important factor that I was glad I knew. Now I could just wait for Luffy and Coby to come, but that could take to long. My brow furrowed as I tried to think of what I was going to do now. Actually, why am I waiting for Luffy in the first place? I asked myself in confusion while walking back in the more crowded streets. I mean, I don't see any reason in staying to wait for him; I could probably just take get a ride on the next boat off of here. That was true, I could do that. I guess the only reason that thought came to mind was simply because that was what every other character did in the fanfictions I've read.
Do I really even want to join Luffy's crew?
I let that simmer for a bit. Did I even want to join his crew; there were benefits I suppose. I could go on an adventure, save people, find the One Piece, probably find a devil fruit and get some super powers. Though the thought of the danger of dying practically on every adventure didn't sit well with me.
Maybe I could start my own pirate crew. I'm sure that it wouldn't be that difficult to do it. I could look around from island to island and find people to join me; it would probably take some time to find a ship but I could probably do it. Though I don't think I'm really all for the leader role, it was too much trouble for someone like me to handle.
"Just great, what am I supposed to do now?" I asked while my grip tightened again on the combat-pass. "I'm stuck here on this island, with no way of getting off. And for all I know, Luffy could still be on Dawn Island." Again with Luffy! I had to make up my mind, was I going to join his crew or am I going to do something else? I looked up to the sky before reigning in my emotions; I spoke in a tired tone. "God, just give me a sign."
That sign came in the form of an annoyingly high-pitched voice that made me want to tear off my ears.
"Luffy you're out of your mind if you think the right thing to do is to get this guy to join your crew!"
"Well I haven't made my mind up yet; I have to see if he's a good guy."
"HE'S IMPRISONED BECAUSE HE'S OBVIOUSLY NOT!"
My attention was soon brought to said annoying voice that was further down the street behind me. It had come from a duo; I was sure it had come from the far-younger boy. When I saw them my face was marred with a frown of disbelief and a single, raised eyebrow. I stared at them for a moment only letting a single quote pass through my lips.
"Well fuck me sideways."
A great quote indeed, for such an unusual situation.
Walking towards me were the two characters I had been looking for, Monkey D. Luffy and the Whiney Brat Coby.
Luffy looked just as I expect; he was goofy and constantly smiling. Just as in the anime he had short, black hair as well as a scar under his left eye. Just like in the anime, he wore a red vest and blue shorts. His most valued item finally finished off his appearance, which was the straw hat upon his head.
His companion was Coby, and honestly if I hadn't seen the 'Water 7 arc' I would have never guessed this short, scrawny, pink-haired boy in glasses was going to become such a different person; to think he would become a lieutenant, and soon a captain of the marines. I stared at both of them as they kept on their merry way to meet Zoro.
I watched as Luffy went up to a merchant selling pears. He greedily grabbed one and took a giant bite out of it before tossing some coin to the merchant and nonchalantly asked "Hey, do you know where some Zoro guy is around here?"
It was rather amusing to watch all the citizens of this town suddenly jump away from the duo in fear. Some had even jumped behind stalls or simply disappeared from sight. They stared at them as if they were a plague.
"Maybe we shouldn't say Zoro's name around here." Coby whispered to Luffy with about as much subtleness as an elephant walking on a tightrope. Luffy nodded to him before they continued on their journey upward. Just as they passed me, I had regained control of shock and went back to thinking; I had been doing that a lot this day.
Ok…well that was a surprise. My eyes drifted to their shrinking forms. What do I do, follow them, or find a way to get off this rock? I thought with squinted eyes. Really, this wasn't that hard of decision to make; it wasn't like I was questioning whether to follow him on his journey and-yada-yada-yada-One-Piece.
"Oh what the hell, it might just be worth it." I mumbled as my legs carried after the 2 odd characters. This was either going to keep me entertained or get me killed, judging on future events that is.
I jogged toward them before stopping just out of range of their notice; the thought of me being framed as a creeper was not on my ta-do list. As I followed them from behind I heard their continued conversation.
"Let's head to the base and check it out; you wanna' be a marine right?" Luffy said as they headed in the direction in the base.
"Well of course I do Luffy, but I don't just think I'm ready yet." He said barring down on himself. Kid has serious issues. "From what I heard the man in charge of this base is captain Morgan!" he spoke the faggots name with glee. It turned to shock as each person around them jumped away from them once again with a yelp.
They continued on up with confusion as I tagged along behind them. Unlike my first trip up to the base, hadn't taken a look around the settlement that that surrounded the blue structure. But as we passed I got a good look. The streets had become scares with people and eerily quiet. I guess it has to do with the rain of spoon-arm and his ability to execute them if somebody stands out of line.
And suddenly, and completely unexpectedly, Luffy burst out laughing. What made him suddenly laugh after his ten-minute hike up here was beyond my sane mind. This action nearly made me jump and it sent his nerdy companion skyward a few inches. Jumpy little bugger isn't he. Loudly, Luffy said. "Man! This town is such a weird place!" before falling back into laughter.
"Well that was odd. I mean, I could understand everyone being scared of Zoro, but why did they flip when I mentioned Morgan's?" he said confused.
Here! I mentally shouted. This was the perfect chance, if any, for me to make myself know to the duo! Then, slowly but surely, I could earn their trust. Don't know where that will get me though; maybe a way off this island when Zoro and Luffy leave. Before I spoke, I mentally prepared myself; who wouldn't when meeting one of their favourite anime characters?
"I seems you guys don't know." I said just loud enough for them to here me. They turned around to look at me, probably not expecting my presence. "You guys must not be locals like me." I said while scratching the back of my head while pretending to act as if I had to come to some kind of revelation. I was always good at acting; well, just bullshitting in general.
"Wadya' mean?" Luffy said with a raised eyebrow. Even Coby looked interested in my words. Yes! Hook line and sinker.
"Well apparently, from I learned that is, the captain of this base acts like some kind of tyrannical ruler." Luffy looked a little surprised but Coby's face had taken on a look of shock. "He basically threatens to execute anyone that disobeys his orders."
"WHAT!?" Coby said in disbelief.
"Wow, that sounds really bad." Luffy said while…picking his noes. This one has a lot of tact.
"Yeah, it also doesn't help that the guy's son goes around threatening to execute everyone that does something he doesn't like either." I said frowning at the memory of Helmeppo. While I admit that he did turn his leaf over later in the series, this Helmeppo was a giant ass.
Coby responded with "What, are you sure!? I mean, captain Morgan is a marine captain. He can't be like that." Oh bless this idiot's heart. "He can't be doing stuff like that?"
"Well guess what, he is." I told them while scratching my spiky hair. "If you want proof, look at the locals; they looked more terrified of Morgan's name than Zoro's." I told them with a leveled stare. That wasn't a real judgement, I was simply basing that off of their jump radius earlier when they all freaked out. "Plus, have you taken a look around you?" I said.
"Huh, is there something here?" Luffy questioned while looking around.
"Yeah, I don't get what you're saying?" Coby followed up. They were turning their heads around quickly to try and find just what I was pointing out. Guess I must' point it out for them.
"Haven't you noticed the lack people here?" I finally said.
"Now that you mention it, where is everyone?" Coby said while repositioning his glasses higher up his nose. "It's like a ghost-town."
"Maybe everyone just got tired and decided to go to sleep." Luffy interjected with his idiotic answer.
"Luffy, I don't think everyone would just decide to go to sleep all at the same time." Coby sighed out, obviously fed up with the stupidity of his friend.
"Hey, it could happen."
"Look that's not the point. The point I'm trying to make here is that Morgan isn't that good of a guy." God these two were…they weren't just stupid, they were...advanced stupid. Now that's an completely different circle of hell. It was like Navi herself had met up with Tingle and had a love child. "He's got all the locals scared stiff around here."
"Hey, you're not from this town are you?" Coby deduced. How he didn't figure it out earlier I don't know, since I mentioned it several times before.
"Nope, I just got here today by ship." I told them while trying to come up with the perfect cover up story. "I was actually heading up to the marine base to see the pirate hunter Zoro that was recently imprisoned."
"Really, we are to!" Luffy said loudly with a smile. "Why don't you come with us!?" He asked. I took a fake thinking pose even though I had already made up my mind.
"Sure why not." I answered while walking forward once again. They began following from behind me as they tried to keep up.
Luffy appeared on my left a little to close for comfort. "By the way, my names Luffy; over there's Coby." I saw Coby give a small wave to me at mention of him. "What's your name?" he asked with his usual idiotic smile.
"My name is Patrick, Patrick Falso." I said plainly. I had quickly contemplated whether I should tell them my real name or not, but I realized that would only cause more problems later on if I even tried that. "So why exactly are you guys going to see Zoro anyway?" I asked with a raised eyebrow try to look curious.
"I'm going to make Zoro apart of my pirate crew!" He said excitedly with his massive signature grin.
"Wow, ain't that neat." I said trying to look surprised in anyway possible. I was absolutely failing on that part, but it didn't seem like Luffy noticed. I turned to Coby and asked. "So are you apart of his crew or something?" I asked.
"Oh no, I could never be a pirate; I don't have the guts to do that." He said with a smile that lacked any form of self-esteem. "But I plan on joining the Marines as soon as I'm strong enough!" he said determinedly.
"Huh, well ain't that nice." I said. Damn, I have to sound more happy and convincing; this terrible acting on my part. My attention was quickly brought forward as we had finally arrived at the marine base. "Eyes forward, we're finally here." I told them as we stood in front of the marine base. I was about to speak again, until I heard…crying?
"I finally made it." Coby cried out with snot and tears dripping from his face while using his forearm to rub it away. It was so sudden that I honestly stepped back a little at the shock. Jesus, the kid wasn't crying 5 seconds ago; does he have some kind of disorder or something? "This is where you and I part ways Luffy, we didn't have long together but…" His bitching was cut off at the sound of grunting. We both looked back at Luffy, who was slowly climbing the wall.
"Where's the foothold?"
"GET DOWN FROM THERE, WHAT ARE YOU DOING, THEY'LL SEE YOU!"
"This one's a natural born idiot."
Seeing as there was nothing else to do down here, I decided it would be best to get up that wall before anything else happens. So like Luffy, I quickly scaled the wall like earlier.
"OH NOT YOU TOO!" I heard Coby complain as I reached the top. "You guys should get down from there before the marines catch you." I wanted to tell him to suck it up, but I was to busy trying not to fall like earlier.
"Now where's this demon?" Luffy said while searching the courtyard.
"They wouldn't keep him out in the open." Coby said from below "He's a dangerous criminal; he's probably locked away underground somewhere." In all honesty, that should be true. But apparently, people here don't really understand just how to properly hold a prisoner correctly. "Now come on, you guys gotta' get down from there before you get caught!"
"Oh go grow a pair." I told the little brat.
"OH THERE HE IS!" Luffy pointed out to the tied up Zoro in the center of the courtyard. "I'm gonna get closer." He said before hopping down in one leap. Damnit! Why was everyone in this universe so strong!? I mean, I was no slouch; I was very fit. But that kind of endurance and strength was insane!
I carefully climbed back to the safety that was the ground before fallowing after him with one Coby in tow. We found him further down a part of the wall that was closer to the area, already at the top. I didn't even bother to wait at the bottom for a moment and just started to climb the damn thing again.
"Coby look!" Luffy said.
"I'm telling you Luffy, he's not-." Words stopped emitting from Coby's mouth as he climbed up the wall to get a good look at what Luffy was so adamant on him seeing. He obviously wasn't expecting to see the so-called 'Demon', pirate-hunter Zoro.
I wanted to laugh or at least snort at the look on his face, but I knew mine from earlier was probably just as bad as his or worse. But our fears were for different reasons. The reason I was scared was simply because I had realized I was now in a different plane of existence entirely; he was just scared because he thought this guy was a demon.
"Hey, if we untie those ropes he can just walk away."
"OH DON'T BE SUCH AN IDIOT LUFFY! THERE'S NO TELLING WHAT A BANDIT LIKE HIM COULD DO IF YOU LET HIM GO! HE COULD KILL ALL OF US!"
"Oh calm down Coby," I said to the kid. He looked at me with almost pleading eyes, like he was begging me to stop his friend from doing something stupid. "From what I've seen about your friend, something as simple as being caught by the marines isn't going to do jack-shit." Coby hung his head in defeat.
"Hey, you." We looked down to see the Zoro glaring at us; a familiar killing-intent flowed upon me. "You're annoying me. Piss off." He said in a threatening tone.
Did he seriously, use the same line from before? I thought with a raised eyebrow. Maybe it was he phrased he learned to say when someone gets a little to curious and decides to come visit him during his not-so-lovely stay here. Ok, that's weird. But it's not like that's the weirdest thing that happens on this show.
"YEEEEAAAAEEEEGH!"
And of course, Coby was back to bitching and crying.
He then turned to Luffy "LUFFY, YOU GOT TO BELIEVE ME, NOTHING GOOD WILL COME FROM HAVING HIM ON YOUR CREW!"
And then suddenly, we heard the sound of wood smashing against the rock wall in between Coby and me. A ladder had been placed there, and climbing to its top was a little girl. She shushed the three of us before throwing down a rope and slowly climbed down it.
As Coby cried out for one of us to stop her from getting caught by the marines or getting hurt by Zoro, I was busy off in La La Land waiting for something to actually happen. Because each episode was around 30 minutes long, that meant that everything here was going to happen at a much slower rate. What took 5 minutes for Luffy to go back to town before returning to finally free Zoro would possibly take an hour in real time.
Meaning that I'm going to be stuck here waiting for things to get going for a good hour or two. I sighed at that thought. Not that I wasn't patient, I just want this crazy day to finally be over. Well, let's hope Luffy decides to do something, or it looks I'm going to find some other way to entertain myself.
My inner jumble of thoughts was stopped at that moment by a high-pitched scream flowing through the air. The only reason I was even listening to it was because it was too girly to be Coby's. I looked up and nearly let go of the wall in shock.
Up in the air was the little girl; this must have been the point in time where that marine soldier literally throws the little girl out of the base. And right now, she was going to go splat on the ground if she was not caught.
Damn it! Why do I have to have a soft spot for the adorable things in life!?
I stupidly jumped higher into the air using what little jumping room the walls crevasses provided. Thankfully, the jump had put me directly into the child's path. And as her body made contact with mine, I latched onto her before hugging her to my chest like a motherly gorilla protecting its young.
And then I hit the ground.
OUCH!
I had tried to calculate just how much it would hurt, and sadly, I was wrong. It hurt a fuck-ton more than I thought it would.
"GAH!" I said coughing up mucus and other bodily liquids that I was not able to name. Ok, in all honesty, that really hurt a lot. I looked down at the girl in my chest crying and sniffling before letting out a sigh of relief. At least she was ok; so my sacrifice was not in vain.
"Hey are you two ok!?" Coby called out while rushing towards us.
"Yeah." I answered before looking down to the girl. "You ok to kid?" I asked the girl still clinging to my chest. Through the sniffling and crying I was able to get a nod from her. "Good, That's nice." I sighed out while slowly getting up into a sitting position.
Wait a minute. Wasn't Luffy supposed to do the same thing I did? I mentally kicked myself. If Luffy was going to do the same thing then what I did was completely stupid. I mean he's of rubber for god's sake! Well I did, there's no reason to get angry about what you can't change. I begrudgingly told myself. I carefully pulled the little girl off my chest before setting her down on the ground. She stood there sniffling we tears in her eyes; the scene just made my heart quiver.
"Hey, don't cry." I said trying to imitate a brotherly tone. I softly patted her head as she stared up at me. "That was very brave what you did trying to help Zoro, so you shouldn't go around crying; you should smile and feel proud." I did all this with the kindest smile I could muster. Was I saying the right thing? I've never been in a situation like this sense I'm a only child.
"O-*sniff*-ok." She finally said with and adorable sniff.
I got up with a groan of pain. The dull, aching pain I was getting was moslty coming from my back, which I had landed on.
"Are you ok Patrick, that was a pretty nasty fall you took?" Coby asked me, still worried about the stupid stunt I just pulled.
"Yep, just a little hurt." I told him while twisting my body around gaining several relieving pops from my back. I was about to say something else when I realized something was missing. "Hey Coby, we seem to be one idiot short." I said while looking around for Luffy.
"What the-where did he go!?" Coby said in shock at his missing friend.
"He probably went over the wall to see Zoro." I concluded. That was what he did after this, right? "You might want to go check on him before he does something stupid." Though he was probably going to do it anyway.
"What! Oh no this is bad!" Coby cried out while gripping his head. He would have continued panicking if it were not for Luffy jumping back over the wall. "Luffy!" Coby cried out running over to him. "What did you do!? What were you thinking!?" Luffy just laughed at his friend's panicked state.
"Oh nothing, I was just talking Zoro; I still haven't decided if he should join my crew or not." He said with a laugh. Luffy then brought his attention onto me with a grin. "By the way that was really cool what you did there Patrick." He said talking about my little stunt.
"Yeah, jumping off a 11-foot tall wall was really cool." I muttered under my breath sarcastically. This world, it was not meant for people like me. "So what are you gonna' do now?" I asked him curiously. Whatever happened at this part wasn't shown in this episode, so I was a little curious.
"What I think we should do is take her home." Coby said grasping the shaken girls hand. "Her parents must be worried, and who knows what'll happen if we stay here with the marines." He said worriedly.
"Yeah, let's go back into town." Luffy said while patting his stomach, which let out a loud growl. "I could really go for some meat!" He cheered with a small amount of drool crawling down his lower-lip.
And like always, he misses the point. I knew he was an idiot in the anime, but this is taking it a little to far. He has to have some kind of brain in that noggin of his. I saw that in my quick thinking the small group had begun to walk away back to town. Luffy turned back to me.
"Hey! Are you coming Patrick!?" He asked.
I thought about my answer. "Y'know what, I'll just stay here." I told them. He was going to come here later, might as well stay and wait for him here. "I'll see you later then."
"Bye Patrick! See you later!" Luffy said as they walked back to town. I stood there watching their disappearing forms for a moment before they were finally out of sight. I sighed before walking to the wall. I sat down by it and leaned my aching back against it. God was I tired. Not just physically, but mentally also. Today was the most exhausted I have ever felt.
And right now, I just needed to close my eyes, and rest.
I did just that, eye let my eyelids close and let my breaths fall into a rhythmic motion. And not long after, I was asleep, preparing for the chaos that was soon to come.
Yes! 3rd chapter is done! Now I know I promised that I would have a battle happen in this chapter, but there was just so much stuff happening that I have to now postpone it for the next one, sorry. Anyways. Stay tuned for the 4th chapter that will come out whenever the hell it does! Nigris Out!
