Thanksgiving is nearly upon us!
Okay, guys - so as of last week, I managed to finish posting a story that was going at 3 chapters a week. I'm going to move that posting regimen over here because I am done writing everything for the One Piece arcs. For now, at least. So I'm gonna post three chapters a week and be done with all that by the first week of January, give or take a couple days depending on whether or not I decide to do more than that.
Thanks to fictionfangirl1 for the Fav!
Now onto the chapter - expect chapter 10 up on Wednesday!
Chapter 149 (or 9) – Prophecies from Palms
Maria's POV
We flew – well, more like glided – straight towards the docks that connected to the mainland. Oddly enough, there weren't very many human ships docked there from what I could see, but I chalked that up to the fact that traveling underwater was dangerous business and that not very many people could have made it here easily.
Then again, those guys blocking the way in had talked about sinking our ship. I was going to have to talk to them about that one.
There was also a flag flying at the harbor – a skull with a pink afro behind, and a sun and a tree to either side.
When we got to the dock and landed, we were met with a group of fishmen wearing the same armor that the guys at the gate had been wearing.
"You guys the ones who keep order around here?" I guessed as my hoverboard attached to my back.
One of the fishmen nodded. "We are Neptune's army. You are Fire Storm Maria?" He eyed Lugia nervously as the Pokémon stood on the dock behind me.
"I am."
"How did you tame a Sea King like this, that can fire such powerful attacks by controlling water?"
"Lugia is a friend." I shrugged. "And there are things that I can do that most people can't."
Lugia huffed at my statement.
"He's gonna be heading back in a bit, anyway. He was just my ride here."
"Will you be bringing it – er, him – back?"
I shook my head. "Not unless I need him, which I doubt will happen while I'm here on your island. I don't want to disturb the peace here as much as it probably has been already." I nodded back to the gate. "There were a number of fishmen waiting for us out there – something about the New Fishmen Pirates and getting us to join them. Luffy refused, and we got separated while Lugia handled giving us time to get away from them."
The fishmen exchanged looks at that.
"We'll keep an eye out for them," one of the guards said. "For now, you promise that you aren't going to cause any trouble?"
I nodded. "I don't intend to be trouble here."
To prove my point, I shifted out of my armor and back into my normal clothes before spreading my hands, showing that I was weaponless.
The fishmen considered that for a moment, then nodded.
"We've heard of how you helped Jimbei in the War of the Best," one of the fishmen said. "So we'll let this one slide. But King Neptune will probably wish to see you."
"Can I have some time to try and find my crewmates?"
"Well, they entered illegally, so we will be searching for them as well." The fishman's eyes narrowed. "Technically, you did as well, if only because of the creature you arrived on." He looked up at Lugia, who eyed the fishmen with a curious look.
Lugia brought his head down and nudged me gently. "I must return. If you have need of me, I will be waiting for your call."
I nodded, then scratched the side of Lugia's head. "Thanks, buddy."
Lugia huffed, then vanished in a flash of light that caused the fishmen in front of me to stiffen in surprise and alarm – they probably hadn't seen a creature just disappear into thin air like that before.
So I gave them something to distract themselves with.
"Is there an entrance fee I have to pay?"
The fishman – after a moment to recover his composure – filled me in on the requirements that were usually asked of pirates – promises of no combat in places with civilians, a small fee for coming in through the main entrance, the usual sorts of things I was expecting.
The guards at the docks accepted what they needed from me and let me through into the town itself.
Fishman Island's town looked pretty incredible, honestly. It's so cool that the people here were able to live in the air and in the water this far below the surface.
But I couldn't help but feel like there was something else in the air, too. The people here – fishmen, fishwomen, and merfolk of both genders flying around with bubble floaties around their waists to keep them moving – all looked at me with unusually grim expressions, and made it a point to avoid me.
I chalked it up to the fact that I looked human myself, but that was just as worrysome as the fact that they were avoiding me because of my reputation as a pirate – perhaps even more so, in fact.
But, still…I couldn't shake off the chill that ran up my spine every time one of them looked at me.
Did the hatred between humans and fishmen really run that deep here? It was definitely something to keep in mind.
Especially since I was going to be sticking around for however long it took for me to find my crewmates and the Sunny on top of that.
"You look a little lost."
"Hm?" I turned my head at the voice and blinked at the large building I was moving past.
A large mermaid with the lower half of a shark was standing - probably more like kneeling, if she was human – in the entrance of the larger building. It looked like I'd come around behind somewhere and this was the back entrance.
"Yeah, I guess I kinda am." I rubbed the back of my head, feeling somewhat sheepish. "I'm trying to find my friends – the Straw Hat crew? We got separated when we were entering the island and I don't know where they all ended up."
"Ah." The woman considered that, then blew bubbles out of the pipe she held. "I'd heard that you all had entered illegally – except for one who came into the bubble on the back of a monster. I assume that was you, then?"
I nodded, getting a lopsided grin. "Yeah. Lugia really gave them a surprise at the entrance. I'm Maria, by the way."
"Sharley," the woman introduced herself. Well, that explained the name that was up over the door. "It is a pleasure to meet a human who is capable of taming creatures that we have only heard of in fictional tales."
That statement….
"Pokémon are fictional creatures here?" I asked. Did this shark mermaid know something about who I was and what it was that I was capable of?
"Indeed. So it intrigues me that you were able to bring such a creature out of the depths and bring him to life." Sharley motioned for me to come inside. "Please, come in. It wouldn't be wise of me to treat such a guest with hospitality."
I blinked at that, raising an eyebrow. "You're the first person here who's thought of inviting me in anywhere. Considering the welcome we received outside your island's gates, I hope you won't see it as impolite if I question why you're deciding to show me any form of kindness."
"I like pirates," Sharley replied amiably. "And I know your secret, World Jumper."
I stiffened as soon as she said the title.
I had told no one on this island who I was. I hadn't even told my fellow crewmates.
Others I'd met over the last two years, on the other hand….
I nodded, then moved past Sharley and into a large sitting room, with a large cushion that was clearly big enough for Sharley to sit on comfortably.
I noticed what looked like a glass sphere sitting on a cushion in a clam shell nearby and it clicked.
"You're psychic." I turned and looked at Sharley as she closed the door behind me and hopped over to a little kitchen and started pouring tea. "That's how you know what I am. You saw me coming."
"Many years ago, yes." Sharley looked over at me and flicked her shark-fin tail at me in a slow manner. "I didn't know your importance at the time, but now, with that grand entrance of yours…" She smiled, showing some sharp teeth – she wasn't just a shark in the fact that she had the tail of one, no way. "You are going to shake up this world with just your presence alone when word spreads of who you are and where you have come from, as well as what you have done."
"Considering that I'm a part of the Straw Hats, I don't doubt it," I replied. Sharley motioned for me to sit down at a table, and I did so. "So, is that your usual job or—"
"No, no. I own the Mermaid Café. My psychic abilities aren't utilized very often anymore. Sometimes it's better not to know the future."
"You don't need it as much as what you're getting there, then." I nodded as Sharley brought over a cup of tea. "That makes sense. But do people still come to you for their fortunes?"
"Some. It's mostly little things, like palm-reading, but I haven't had any need to use the crystal ball you saw when you entered. That is for grand prophecies involving people, but I've put that part of my practice behind me. Everything I do is only for trivialities that most people search people with my gift out for."
I considered that as Sharley sat down across from me and sipped her tea. I took a sip of it and blinked in surprise – it tasted like the sea smelled and felt. I should have expected that, considering what sort of place we were in, but…
"Wow, this is good tea," I commented. "I mean, I know what the sea smells and tastes like, but this takes it to a whole new level."
"It's my own personal blend," Sharley replied with an easy-going smile. "Would you like the recipe, for when you are missing the sea?"
"If you're willing to share."
"I wouldn't offer unless I was. And…one other thing." Sharley put down her tea and looked at me curiously. "I haven't had the opportunity to read the palm of someone such as yourself before, and I find myself curious as to what the hands of a World Jumper look like."
I blinked in surprise at that. "Wha – really? Uh…I don't know if you'll be able to pick anything up off mine because I'm not human, but—"
"Whether or not you are who you were at birth has nothing to do with the act of palm reading," Sharley replied. "It has more to do with the power that lies in your hands, and I am curious as to what I might find on the hands of a World Jumper. Now, which would you consider to be your dominant hand?"
I put my right hand forward without question, palm up. Sharley took it in hers – her grip was strong as she poked and prodded at my palm, looking it over intently.
My face twitched on occasion when she poked in certain spots, but other than that, I didn't pull away, and I didn't give any other sign that certain areas tickled or not.
"You have some unresolved feelings about a moment in your past," Sharley commented finally. "They are going to have to be resolved, I think."
My eyes narrowed slightly. "I'm not holding my feelings back anymore. I'm not who I was then."
"But you are still holding back certain emotions. I would suggest that you find yourself a private place with friends nearby when you have the chance to, or else everything will come crashing down in the least expected ways."
I glanced away from her at that, and she looked up at me before looking back down at my palm.
"Your life line is far longer than any being I've seen," Sharley said. "Both human and fishman."
"I know," I said quietly. "I'm older than one of my brothers, but both of them look older than me. Can you tell how long—"
"I'm afraid that isn't quite certain from what I can see here. If I gave you an exact number, what would you do with it?" Sharley looked at me curiously.
I paused to consider that, and she took it as enough of an answer before she continued.
"You have seen a lot, judging from how you've changed yourself, but I believe that you will be seeing far more – both unfamiliar and familiar." Sharley paused. "There is something you seek. You will find it."
My mind instantly shot to Airam. That purple-themed double of mine that I'd last seen at Marineford – who was also someone else at the exact same time.
Someone who had a crew that dearly missed her.
"Is there anything else you see?" I asked.
Sharley frowned, tilted her head slightly, then shook her head. "No; that's all I see. Palm-reading only works for short-distance future-telling. Prophecies would tell me more, but they take much energy, and I haven't had one since a year before the War of the Best."
"…I see." I considered that, then nodded a little. "Even if I knew more about my future, I don't know if that would be a good thing or not. I guess I'll have to wait and see what the future brings me." I smiled sheepishly.
Sharley nodded, and released my hand. "Worry not for your crewmembers; I do not doubt they are alive and well. Spend time walking around the city. You will run into them soon enough."
I nodded, feeling more relaxed. "All right; thanks. Knowing that they're okay takes a load off my chest – I mean, I know there's no way they couldn't be okay, but knowing that we're going to meet up eventually is a good thing."
Sharley nodded thoughtfully. "Before you go – you wanted to know about my tea?"
"Yeah!"
Sharley filled me in on what she used for tea and where I could find the ingredients, then sent me on my way with some of her already-mixed tea bags and locations of shops where I could by more if I wanted to have a good supply for a while.
I knew Robin was going to be interested in this, at least.
Time Break
I was in the middle of the market of this area of Fishman island when I ran into a group of fishmen armed with tridents on the street.
Uh-oh.
"Uh…hi?" I waved a little, feeling somewhat nervous. "What's up?"
"Are you Fire Storm Maria of the Straw Hat Pirates?" one of them asked, looking down at me through an opaque black visor.
I nodded cautiously. Whatever was going on, I had to make sure that I wasn't about to get involved in something drastic.
"The Straw Hats are presently involved in two investigations," the fishman said grimly. "One, you are accused of kidnapping mermaids."
My eyes widened sharply at that. "Excuse me?!"
"Two, you are being considered under suspicion as a possible danger because of Madam Sharley's prevision, so—"
"She told me she wasn't doing that anymore!" I exclaimed sharply, my voice rising. "And besides, we saved Hachi's and Camie's lives two years ago; what would make us change our minds to go kidnapping mermaids anyway?"
Something about this definitely was not adding up; there had to be something else going on that would make them put two and two together to make negative 12 or something.
"That is what we intend to find out," the fishman replied. "So, if you'll come into custody with—"
"Yeah right! If there's something going on, I want to be able to figure it out just as much as you! Let me help!"
"No! You humans are dangerous and should be placed in custody until—"
I could tell that I was getting nowhere with these guys. I glared at them disapprovingly, then backflipped as a certain red and orange metal board materialized behind me.
I landed on my hoverboard and frowned at the group. "Look, I know you guys have a job to do, but we don't kidnap mermaids, and whatever this prophecy-vision thing has involved with us, we won't be the direct cause of the start of whatever problem Sharley saw. We never are."
The fishman who had been speaking gritted his teeth. "Get her!"
I shot up on my hoverboard before any one of them could pierce me through with a trident; I did a quick loop in the air before looking down at them.
"Look, I can tell that we're going to be at a bit of an impasse," I said, frowning at them critically. "I'm not gonna go with you because innocent until proven guilty, and you don't want me to do that because you guys automatically think that I'm guilty of it just because I'm human. For all we know, it could be humans kidnapping those mermaids, but they're not humans from the Straw Hat crew. Besides, I'm not even human anyways, so buzz off."
My voice changed a bit at the end, making it sound more static-y and metallic. The noise caused the fishmen to wince at the sound of it, and I took advantage of that.
Before any one of them could leap up at me or try and bring me down to the ground, I turned and took off for another part of the town.
If I was going to get any answers from anyone, it was gonna be Sharley and that vision of hers.
I'd considered sending Maria up to the palace with the others, but she started to make so much of a ruckus that it would have completely changed the plot of Fishman Island and I didn't know how to fix it. So she's doing this instead - don't worry, she'll meet up with the Straw Hats later. I just need to make sure that certain things happen as intended.
