This is my first One Piece fanfic, and I have concer-wait second One Piece Fanfic, but the very first fanfic I have made implementing a character completely own by me. The anime's so long to write, but I love it to death...I also love cartoons, and thus...it gives me an idea after watching Toon World in Yu-Gi-Oh, and the Mask, and an assortment of Looney Tune cartoons. I...feel I will bring all but backlash and critiques of One Piece writers better than me so, idk by all means. The only characters I own is Autumn, Emi, and Topper, everyone else belongs to Eiichro Oda. Enjoy.
Back on Scrap Island...the Merry still steadily rocks on the distant shores of broken bonds and forgotten friendships. We soon return to Emi's perspective. She soon took watch to the pain-stricken Usopp. Usopp, a man broken both physically and mentally. The red-haired girl was doing all she can to not only nurse him back to health, but keeping an eye on him from doing anything he'll regret. However, Emi adjusted her glasses...thinking about a bigger problem that has arisen with the tide: Aqua Lagoona. Emi sits in the cabin keeping an eye out on Usopp while the longnose is on bed rest. It's clear she has allot on her mind.
"I don't know what to do. I can't leave Autumn out there alone...but I...just can't leave Usopp here, when he has no one to nurse him back to health. Whatever fight he picked with Luffy...the dude really mauled him." Emi says as she soon rose up from her chair as she soon looked at the mirror.
"On top of that...I don't have much time left. I have until midnight tonight to not only find Autumn and get some answers from Luffy, but SOMEHOW move Usopp AND the ship to higher grounds or just...SOMEPLACE safe...or else we'll all be caught in Aqua Lagoona. I didn't even have a chance to pack my own things...everything I made...they'll all drown with Aqua Lagoona." As each step her purple converse makes creates a groaning sound between the floorboards, Emi can only pace around the room in distress. "What can I do, what can I do, what can I doooooooo..." Emi repeats.
"Go to her, already." A voice echoed through the walls with such boredom. A female child's. Emi, however was too distressed to realize the unrecognizable voice, so she replied anyway.
"I CAN'T! Autumn needs help, BUT USOPP NEEDS MORE HELP! Ohhhhh are these what decisions are?" Emi whispers with such anxiety.
"Look, just find Autumn, will ya? I'll keep an eye on longnose." The voice says with such a snark in her tone. Emi, yet again disregards the voice's sarcasm. Yet she still looked at the ceiling in confusion.
"Would you really do that?" Autumn asks.
"Why shouldn't I? After all...I owe 'em. I owe...every last one of 'em. And before I make my last voyage...the least I can do is peep over Longnose. I don't know how...but I can do it...much more freely than before." The voice explains.
"Yeah...WAIT!" Emi yelled out finally snapping in realization. She frantically looked around the cabin. Strangely enough...there doesn't seem to be anyone except her and Usopp. She...was confused to say the least. She soon creaked the door open, returning to the deck.
Still...not a single figure was around. She soon walked to the starboard bow railing as she only watched the waves starting to roughly form. Swishing around in a hypnotizing motion.
"Was I...hearing voices?" Emi says to herself. She soon rubbed her chin, pondering something about the voice that talked to her. "That voice...it had that same energetic vibe that Autumn now has...but it isn't Autumn." Emi says to herself. She soon took a deep sigh.
"Maybe it's just my anxiety taking up a voice. I just...REALLY hope she'll be okay." Emi simply says. Unbeknownst to her, something crawled up the port bow. Something black and...inky. A strange blob of ink simply crawled up the ship and simply landed on the deck with a SPLAT!
"What the?" Emi immediately turned around to see that inky substance. The red-haired girl tilted her head in confusion. The inky blob simply stood inert as ink drips on the very spot around it. She soon approached the blob.
"Is this...ink?" As an artist, it's clear for her what is paint and what is ink due to the texture. Emi can immediately determine it to be ink. When Autumn got close to the blob, she soon approached it, reached out her hand to see if this out of nowhere blot would react.
It reacted. The moment Emi's hands got close.
The red-haired girl soon stepped back, seeing the blob starting to wobble ferociously. She stepped back and back to the starboard railing as the blob began to grow larger, and larger. The blob that was once reached to her jeans...now towered her, growing to the size of a large animal. Perhaps an elephant, if anything. Suddenly, making Emi look up in fear, an eye popped out from the inky black mess. A single white eye with a pacman-shaped iris.
"Uh...hi~" Emi says nervously.
ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAR!
Opening like a puppet's mouth flap, the blobby monster roared into Emi's face as ink was flying everywhere in front of her. Her face, her hair, her glasses, drips and drips of ink was simply flying straight at her. Standing in front of her was...what appears to be some sort of blobby, ink monster.
"WHO'S THERE?! WHAT HAPPENE-" The cabin door slammed open with the injured Usopp barging to the deck with his slingshot at hand. His eyes soon bulged open at the sight of the creature that invaded the Merry. "AHHHHHHHH! WHAT IS THAT?!" He screamed out.
"I DON'T KNOW!" Emi screamed out. Suddenly a fist was grown from the side of the monster. Strangely enough, it was a gloved fist. Pristine white gloves and four arms like Autumn. That said fist was soon racing to the red-haired girl, but quickly she dodged it.
"WHERE DID IT COME FROM?!" Usopp yelled out as another gloved fist was made from the other side as it thrusts forward to Usopp. The injured man quickly dodged it.
"I DON'T KNOW! IT JUST APPEARED ON DECK!" Emi screamed out as another fist was sent to her. The two were basically in the midst of trying to escape the fists from the monster as they were running around, yelling at each other.
"HOW CAN IT JUST APPEAR ON THE DECK, IT DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE!" Usopp retorts comically.
"IF YOU HAVE ANY BETTER IDEAS ON HOW IT CAME IN, THEN YOU TELL ME!" Emi retorts.
"I'VE GOT THE BEST IDEA! It's simple really, the monster was sent by someone who wishes to fight the FEARLESS Usopp and his army of 8,000 men! OH YEAH!? WELL COME AND GET IT, INKY!" Usopp taunts.
"MY IDEA ISN'T EVEN THE SLIGHTEST ABYSMAL AS YOURS YOU IDIOT!" Emi retorts. Soon, the blob stopped its battalion of fists. Emi soon stopped on her tracks, as Usopp stumbled behind her, panting. In fact, they both began to release their tense as the blob began to shrink and shrink.
"It's shrinking?" Usopp asks. Soon enough, the very thing shank into a little ball the average size of a baseball.
"It's a ball, now?" Emi asked. Soon enough, the strange ball began to blissfully float to the girl and the longnose. The bruised Usopp chuckled lightly.
"Heheh, y'know it's pretty cute, don't you think?" Usopp asked the girl. She simply looked at the floating inky ball.
"It kinda does, but...it still doesn't answer the question on...what is it?" Emi explained. Suddenly, taking the two by surprise...a spike extended to them.
"AHHHH! NOT CUTE, NOT CUTE!" Usopp yelled out as both Emi and him dodged out of the way immediately blocking the black inky spike that shot out from the blot. Suddenly, the ball of ink...began to grow spiky tendrils throughout the body of the inky ball.
"Hmm...it's made up of a sort of flexible substance. Definitely thinking it's ink. I've had enough experience in art to know between black paint and ink. It looks like the thing is utilizing the ink to turn into anything it wants." Emi explained.
"But what does it want?" Usopp asked as he narrowed his eyes at the creature.
"I don't know. That's the thing. There's nothing that's telling me it wants something from us, yet at the same time...it's REALLY clingy to us." Emi explains. Usopp soon growls. He soon gained the courage to fight as he took out his assortment of pellets.
"Well whatever it wants, it won't get it!" Usopp says. He soon took from his pocket a small bottle of rubbing alcohol that was used to treat him. He opened the bottle and doused the ink with the liquid.
"Wait...that was the rubbing alcohol used to treat your wounds. Usopp, what are you?" Emi asked, but was interrupted by the longnose.
"Good, he's doused. Emi, you might want to get behind me." Usopp says as he got ready to fire. His aim was completely at the alcohol doused inky urchin. He took from his pockets a single pellet...and he calls his attack.
"Special Attack: FLAME STAR!" Usopp called out as the pellet was sniped between the inky urchin in the middle, but so very close to the urchin's one eye. The urchin's pac-man shaped pupil dilated in realization.
BOOM!
Despite the blob of ink forming into one tiny ball, Usopp created a mass explosion as a MASSIVE amount of ink began raining down, at the very contact of the pellet and the blob. Emi and Usopp now stand as the ink rained down on them...like a rain cloud dripping away on the Merry.
"Good, that's done with. YEAH! THAT'LL TEACH HIM TO MESS WITH CAPTAIN USOPP!" Usopp yelled. He was soon lightly punched on the shoulder by Emi, who looked at the long-nosed man in rage...and a flustered blush.
"You...IDIOT! Don't you understand how dangerous that could've been?! Not only would you hurt yourself, EVEN MORE, but you could destroy the ship AND US! What were you thinking when you made that explosion?!" Emi yelled out. Usopp lowered his head as the sun shined down on his eyes.
"It was a mild flint, Emi." Usopp says bluntly as he looked at her with a narrowed and determined face.
"I know better than to give the Merry even more pain than it's already in. The Merry is mine, and it's mine alone now. So I wouldn't ANYTHING to destroy it. I know that you have your cat to find, Emi, so I can't ask you to join my crew. So, the Merry's MY responsibility. And to the very end, I will fight ANYONE who DARES to step foot on this deck to cause ill harm." Usopp says determinedly. Emi couldn't believe what the long-nose was saying. No...she didn't know what to say. When it comes to this ship...it's clear that Usopp will do ANYTHING for it.
"Usopp..." Kinda makes the red-haired girl wonder...how big is his bond with it?
"Uh-oh! Emi, keep on guard...I don't think that thing's finished yet...!" Usopp says with a small hint of fear as the rain ceased...and soon all the ink scattered throughout both the sky and the ground retracted to the middle of the deck. The two tensed up seeing the ink growing and growing back to the size of an elephant, regrowing into the cyclops blob.
"It'll keep putting itself back together! At this rate, there'll be no end to it..." Emi says to the long-nose. It was clear that Usopp was shaking.
"N-no! B-but the Merry!" Usopp says weakly, knowing that...the red-haired girl's right. There's no way to get it off the deck without some sort of phenomenal feat of strength. He knew three people who would do it...but it's clear he doesn't even want to utter their names, let alone call for help. The only thing Usopp did was weakly stand his ground.
"T-there has to be a way to get him off the deck! T-THERE'S GOTTA! We can j-j-just push him to the sea, yeah! Ink and water won't mix so well, won't it?" Usopp asks the artist.
"Ink's a more sturdier substance than paint, but I'm sure it can do the job. Still, to push THAT in the water, requires him to charge like a bull, or pushing him physically with an immense amount of strength. But he's coming up too close for us to try it, and neither of us are THAT strong..." Emi explained.
"So, y-you're saying we're done for?" Usopp called out in panic. Emi only lowered her head as the monster began to grow its gloved fists.
"I-I'm not sure...we...we actually could be done f-"
BONK!
Emi was soon interrupted by a sudden sound of a skull meeting with a blunt object. She turned around to see Usopp, his eyes comically rolled back, and he suddenly fell to the ground. The red-haired girl looked at the suddenly fallen man with shock on her face.
"U-USOPP?! WHAT HAPPENED!? ARE YOU OKaaaaaay...?" Emi screamed with such panic in her eyes, until she met with someone on the ground next to Usopp. Also known as the very thing that fell on top of Usopp's head. She picked it up, as it appeared to be...
"A mallet?" Emi says looking at the peculiar wooden mallet. She looked around to see where the mallet came from, until she darted her attention back to the inky monster. The monster soon swung a fist around as if it was a pinwheel, before sending it to Emi's direction. With her friend, so suddenly unconscious, she had no idea what to do. This could be the end...until...
Startling both Emi and the monster came a sudden whirring noise. Almost as if it's the whir of a vacuum. Emi and the monster, to its dismay, suddenly noticed that the ink from within it is starting to attract out of the monster like a magnet. The monster began to shrink smaller and smaller, though not by choice. The only thing left remaining from the monster as it was sucked into the vacuum is its eye...and even then it was suddenly sucked in. The vacuum powered off.
Emi only looked in confusion finally seeing a figure that was manning the vacuum the whole time. The figure was holding a hand vacuum in its gloved hands. Gloves...just like Autumn. It's always gloves. In front of Emi was a small child and behind that child no doubt one of the ship's cannons. Its build tells Emi that the figure is a little girl. The only thing the figure was wearing were dark blue rubber boots, and a light blue sailor's raincoat shrouding anything other than her face and mouth.
"It's always best to expect the unexpected." The little girl simply says as she held the vacuum into the cannon and flicked it on, once more. Freeing the ink that was trapped from within it into the cannon. Tendrils and an eye peeped out, only to see the little girl turned the cannon to direct it to the city. Before the inky blob could even do anything...
BOOM!
The little girl fired the cannon, sending the inky blob flying up high and into the city at a far, FAR distance. Farther distance than any cannon would. The little girl soon turned to Emi. Underneath the hood, Emi can make out two eyes, unlike the monster's one. However what the little girl and the monster had in common, were their pitch black pacman-shaped iris reflecting in the daytime sun.
"I didn't wanna join in...I wanted to stay silent till the time being...but you guys were gonna get smothered in inc...sooo I guess a meeting couldn't be avoided..." The little girl says.
"Who...ARE you?" Emi asks, noticing a shining blue aura emanating the girl's light blue coat. A slight smile entered the girl's face as she looked behind Emi seeing Usopp unconscious. She said her name, knowing that fact.
"My name...is Merry."
New Friend & New Troubles: Franky & Merry Take the Stage!
Shipyard Entrance
The day of mayhem continues in the City of Water, Water 7. Hours has gone by ever since last night, the fateful night that Iceberg was shot. Every citizen throughout Water 7 have drowned themselves in paranoia for their beloved Mayor. Hours on end they try to search for answers on who shot Iceberg, or specifically just what happened in the room he was shot in. However, no one in the Galley-La Company will open up to the public, not yet. For it seems that not even THEY understand what's going on. To make matters worse, as the people of Water 7 surround the Shipyard Entrance, they were unfortunately met with even more mayhem...as Franky, the leader of the Franky Family tower them, personally...searching for one person.
"C'MON, STRAW HAT, YOU CAN'T HIDE FROM ME! STOP BEING SUCH A PANSY! COME OUT HERE AND FIGHT ME, ALREADY!" Franky announced to the people in the Shipyard Entrance. However, everyone soon stopped their Yagaras and turned to the being in confusion. The only person amidst the crowd that's just as confused than ever...is Luffy.
"I don't know how that weirdo figured out my name. I've never seen him before in my life." Luffy says to Nami. However, judging by the people throughout the crowd, she knows who it might be.
"Didn't you hear what those people said? I think that guy might be Franky." Nami explained to Luffy. Now that...that changes everything.
"Then we found him." Luffy growls. His eyes immediately went from confusion...to rage. Luffy glared at the man on top of the bridge with such anger and hate forming quickly in his eyes. "He's the one that beat up Usopp!" Luffy says in his thoughts. Despite the fact that he cannot bare to say the longnose's name anymore...nor can he nor the other Straw Hats cannot think of Usopp anymore...Franky is the one that caused it all.
"Luffy..." Nami says nervously as she sees the straw-hat wearing teen clenching his fist with such anger on his face. The boy rose up from the yagara.
"HEY, BIKINI GUY!" Luffy announced to the crowd.
"Hold on, Luffy!" Nami says quietly, but it's clear that Luffy's beyond angry to respond back to her.
"That's me, I'm Straw Hat!" Luffy announced to the crowd, and more specifically Franky. The blue-haired man caught wind of him quickly.
Galley-La Company
Meanwhile as the ruckus in the Shipyard commenced, we soon return to the even greater ruckus going on at the Galley-La mansion. Townspeople, and paparazzi alike, are flocking to the front of the mansion. They all want answers...they all NEED answers, they at least need to answer the following question that EVERYONE in Water 7 has in their minds...is Iceberg okay? Well...
"Everyone, you may enter. But please, try to keep your voice down." As 3 Galley-La Foremen wait intently on the bench outside of his mansion, Kalifa finally entered the scene saying these words. The Foremen beamed in hope.
"Then he...he's okay?!" Paulie asks intently.
"His injuries are still serious, but Mr. Iceberg...has finally regained consciousness." Kalifa reported as tears dripped down from her eyes, reflecting off from her glasses. The three foremen looked at each other in excitement and cheered as they rose up from the bench.
"That's great news!" The three say in unison.
"C'mon, let's see how he's doing!" Kaku say as the three ran to Iceberg's room as Kalifa reluctantly trailed behind.
Thus, entering Iceberg's room, the man with the blue hair still lays down with such injuries. Bandaged to the forehead, and many medical machinery on both sides of his bed. However, his eyes were wide open, nothing more than a miracle for the Galley-La Foremen.
"You're okay!" Paulie cried out in relief. Iceberg...the man himself spoke once again. For the first time since last night.
"Mwell...I've been better, I suppose." Iceberg groaned. His voice low and indeed shows sign of pain.
"All things considered, you're pretty lucky! Anyway, you just focus on getting better. In the meantime, you can count on us for taking care of the Shipyard. Okay?" Paulie assured.
"Yes, of course." Iceberg replied. He soon closed his eyes, and then opened them...in urgency. "Now I need to talk to you about the people that broke into my room, last night."
"Oh yeah, well that's still under investigation, I'm afraid." Paulie replied.
"He and I saw them..." Topper says to himself as he watched the conversation from the table. It's surprising that Iceberg still has the hat.
"No. I remember them." Iceberg says urgently. Immediately everyone silently gasped in shock, and listened to the blue-haired man intently.
"There were two of them. One of them was a large man wearing a mask. And the other...was a woman tall...with long, black hair. I could never forget those eyes. It HAS to be her..." Iceberg says to the group. Topper soon pointed his eyes to the wanted poster hanging by the window. It was dark...but without a doubt...it was the same woman in that picture.
"Nico Robin..." Topper simply says.
"DID YOU HEAR THAT, EVERYONE?! IT LOOKS LIKE MR. ICEBERG'S AWAKE AGAIN AND HE'S GONNA BE OKAY!" Topper could hear from outside. No doubt someone was sneaking into the conversation. Cheers were heard from outside Iceberg's mansion. Cheers and sighs of relief. However, Topper just couldn't get that feeling out of his shining top...
A feeling that the worse is yet to come. Kalifa soon speaks up.
"The woman you describe to us...is Nico Robin. Archaeologist to the Straw Hat Pirates, so the reports say." Kalifa says as the group looked at her with surprise in their face. Of all the Pirates they've had a run into, they never thought the Straw Hats would be the culprits.
"So one of the Straw Hats did it? You sure about that, of all people?" Paulie asked.
"Yes. And my personal investigation led to the same results. To make sure, I had Lucci to contact the World Government to confirm her identity and bounty." Kalifa explains as everyone turned their heads to the man with the black hair, black hat, and pigeon resting on his shoulder. He was completely silent, yet his bird talks for him.
"COO-COO! Yes, they said she's a notorious criminal. So, it's no surprise that she'd do something dastardly to our boss. COO-COO!" The pigeon replied. The foremen just couldn't believe their ears. The same people that were kind to them in the Shipyard, are the same people who are today's culprits of Iceberg's attempted assassination.
"Then the next course of action is crystal clear: we've gotta find those rapscallions and show them what's what." Kaku implied.
"What the HELL were they thinking?! Don't tell me they're pissed off cause we wouldn't fix their ship!" Lulu growls.
"I wonder that myself, but regardless of what their motivations might be, the bottom line is that they're the culprits and they NEED to be dealt with." Kaku explains urgently.
"In other words: we should just capture the Straw Hats and interrogate them ourselves, is that right? Instead of just wasting our time trying to figure this crap out? None of this makes sense to me, but anyone who messes with Galley-La is gonna have hell to pay. " Paulie threatens.
Shipyard Entrance
"SO, YOU'RE LUFFY, HUH?! DIDN'T EXPECT YOU TO LOOK SO SHRIMPY!" Franky challenged he cracked his neck and continued. As everyone, Nami, and Luffy can only glare at Franky in either concern or agitation, he and his two square-haired backup dancers began tapping to the rhythmical beat that soon started up again. "I'VE GOT A BONE TO PICK WITH YOU, KID! IT SEEMS YOU AND YOUR GANG HAD A PARTY AT MY PLACE WHILE I WAS GONE!"
Franky
When I came home, now what did I see?
My house was up in shreds and my gang was on their knees
And it's all thanks to LUFFY!
I'll make this as plain as can be:
When you mess with my boys you mess with FRANKY!
Finally, the beat ceased once more, and Franky soon aimed his gigantic yet muscular palm at Luffy and Nami's Yagara. Though the two only looked in confusion, everyone else looked and gasped in fear, realizing that there appears to be...some sort of hole in both his palms.
"I'd hate to be you, right now, CAUSE I'M ROLLED UP THIS WEEK AND AIN'T NOBODY GONNA STOP ME! Now, you can cry all ya want, but I'm gonna beat ya so hard THAT EVEN YOUR MOTHER WOULDN'T RECOGNIZE YOU WHEN I'M DONE!" Franky challenged boastfully. Nami...has had enough of Franky's boisterous actions.
"SHUT UP!" Nami called out, gaining Franky's attention. "YOU JERK! GIVE US BACK OUR 200,000,000 BERI BACK ALREADY! YOU HEAR ME?!" Nami yelled out to the blue-haired gangster.
"Huh? You want your money back, you say? Well that's a DAMN shame, cause I'm afraid I SPENT IT ALL!" Franky gloated from afar. Luffy, however...didn't seem to care about the money. Or at least...not as much as Nami. "You Pirates are ALL a bunch of sore losers. Don't act so high and mighty when you probably stole it from someone else!"
"The money doesn't matter." Luffy intervened gaining both Franky AND Nami's attention.
"Maybe not to you, but it does to me!" Nami retorts to the straw-hat wearing man.
"All I care about now is getting revenge! SO MONEY OR MONEY, I'M GONNA MAKE YOU PAY!" Luffy declared. There's no stopping Luffy, when he has such anger within him. Franky only chuckled at the ebony-haired boy.
"YOU'RE STEALIN' MY LINES, YA BASTARD! ARE YOU TRYING TO MAKE ME MAD?!" Franky demands playfully.
"Whatever. JUST COME DOWN HERE AND FIGHT!" Luffy yelled out. The civilians around Luffy's yagara looked to the straw-hat dawning boy with fear in their eyes. It's clear to them that a fight's about to emerge. And a fight with Franky is a devastating one indeed. Immediately they sped away from the soon to be battlefield.
Soon, Franky began to inhale the air around him. He inhaled...and inhaled...and inhaled. Nami looked at the strange beast in confusion.
"Is he holding his breath or something? Weird." Nami says. She and Luffy only looked, confused at what Franky's planning to do. Suddenly...with enough air in his lungs...He exhales and breaths out a powerful BILLOW of fire that reached down to the canals. Everyone quickly sped off away from the fire, including Luffy and Nami's yagara. The green-skinned creature swam and swam with everyone else as Luffy looked up at Franky.
"HE JUST...S-SPIT FIRE!" Luffy inquired.
"Yeah, I can see THAT much, but HOW?" Nami asks.
"Oh? Ya scared? Havin' second thoughts?" Franky asks. It's clear that judging by that fire, Franky isn't someone to be messed with.
"Careful, if he can do that, then he might have Devil Fruit powers." Nami inquired.
"Yeah, but that doesn't really help..." Luffy says. It's clear the fight's just getting started. Franky soon leaped off the top of the bridge, and into the water with a great SPLASH! Now THAT was off. Especially to Luffy.
"If that guy DID eat a Devil Fruit, then he wouldn't just jump in the water for no reason, would he? Maybe no one told him that if you try to swim, you'll die." Luffy says.
"Yeah, that'd be pretty pathetic. But at least it would save us the trouble from fighting that weirdo." Nami replied. Soon, the yagara decided to poke its neck underwater on the chance that Franky DID die in the water. To the yagara's dismay...no. He was coming. He was coming back fast.
CRASH!
"YAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Franky screamed out as he suddenly bursts out of the water, the exact same spot the yagara sits. Franky was able to destroy the boat, sending Luffy and Nami flying.
"I GUESS HE CAN SWIM! LUCKY HE DIDN'T DROWN, HUH?!" Luffy says in realization.
"NOOOO!" Nami retorts.
"I didn't eat no Devil Fruit! Ya think I'm CRAZY?!" Franky asks abruptly. Though Nami dropped to the water with a great SPLASH, Luffy wound up his arm planning to take Franky out with his punch.
"Doesn't matter to ME!" Luffy retorts. Franky soon climbed on the boat and aimed his fist towards Luffy.
"Can't surprise me. I heard about that lil' power of yours." Franky inquired. Soon, just when Luffy got close to him...he did the unthinkable to the two. "STRONG ARM!" Franky screamed out. To Luffy and Nami's surprise his arm detached and a fist was sent flying with a steel chain supporting it. The fist was sent straight to Luffy's stomach, hitting him hard, sending him flying to the Dock 1 gate. Luffy was slammed so hard to the concrete of the gate enough to knock him out.
"LUFFY!" Nami called out as she rushed to the Shipyard shore. Soon, Franky retracted his arm as it was placed back into the socket. With nothing holding Luffy, the ebony-haired boy was simply left falling to the concrete floor, head-first.
"Hey, are you okay?!" Nami asks. Though no response came in. Soon, Franky made his way to the shores making the people of Water 7 flee in terror. Nami...just couldn't help but ask. "If you don't have Devil Fruit powers, then what ARE you?" Nami asks. The strange blue-haired man turned to her.
"Huh? You poor saps don't know ANYTHING do ya? Alright then, I'll humor ya." Franky says. He soon detached his arm as if it was a natural thing...for a human that is. "I'm just a normal guy with some extra parts: a Cyborg, you might say." Franky chuckles. Luffy soon raised his head, growling...passionately hating this blue-haired...Cyborg.
The City Streets
Meanwhile as the fight with Franky and Luffy progressed at the other side of town, we now return to the city streets and the Shopping District, with Chopper, Autumn, and Sanji. Everyone has finally calmed themselves from any fear. News has already spread like a wildfire that Iceberg is alive and well. Now the people who visited Iceberg at the Shipyard, are making their way back to work, knowing that they can rest easy...knowing that their leader...will be okay. Since that commotion is over, people are finally continuing on with their sales and making preparations for Aqua Lagoona.
"Stay on the lookout for Robin. Okay, you two?" Sanji called out to the deer and the cat. The three continue their search for Robin and Emi. Unfortunately, it seems that neither ladies were found by the trio. Autumn simply kicks her feet as she still rests on the back of Chopper's deer form, despite the trio riding on a yagara.
"You got it, Sanji! I got eyes like a hawk, you can count on me!" Autumn replies as she held her eyes open wide as she searched far and wide for both Robin and Emi. The blonde-haired man soon turned to Chopper, realizing that he hasn't gotten a reply from him yet.
"Chopper?" Sanji asks getting the deer's attention once more.
"Oh, uh, yeah! Right!" Chopper replied as he keeps his eyes peeled for Robin as well. However, as he watched and watched the people passing by, the deer can only look in concern. "Hey, Sanji?"
"Hmm?" The blonde-haired man pipes up.
"Uh...this Aqua Lagoona thing, it's gonna be crazy huh?" Chopper couldn't help but ask.
"Yeah, by midnight tonight everything's gonna be underwater." Sanji answered.
"And we gotta find Emi and Robin soon! Otherwise, well...I hope you got your floaties, boys cause nothing says searching like some deep sea searching~" Autumn says as she suddenly looked at the two with a snorkel mask covering her face.
"Uh...I can't swim." Chopper confesses.
"AND NEITHER CAN YOU!" Sanji reminded the cat. The anthropomorphic kitten simply gave a toothy smile, as she discarded her snorkeler and continued her lookout.
"Uh...anyway, so do you think, there might be somebody like a tourist maybe, who doesn't know it's coming yet?" Chopper blissfully asks.
"Yeah, I guess." Sanji shrugs.
"And that guy, if he had a boat he wanted to take care of, the storm would be really bad, huh?" Chopper asks nervously. Clearly to Sanji and Autumn, the little deer's talking about Usopp. "Well I mean...y-you think we should..." Chopper says starting to lose courage to this fight.
"Hey, that reminds me. You told me, you forgot something on the Merry, didn't you? A uh...medical bag or something?" Sanji reminded. The deer soon looked down in confusion. "That's what you said right?" Sanji asks.
"Hmm-hmm." Chopper simply answered.
"Well, we should probably get back there, then." The blonde-haired man suggested. Soon, Chopper beamed as Sanji suddenly turned the Yagara around. Autumn gave the two boys a smile. Till suddenly...
"WOAH!" Autumn cried out as she fell flat on the boat, the moment Chopper returned back into his anthropomorphic form.
"I FORGOT SOMETHING, HOORAY! WE'RE GOING BACK TO THE MERRY!" Chopper couldn't help but cheer as he simply stood on top of Sanji's shoulder. Autumn soon rose up from the ground as she simply smiled at the laughing deer and the chuckling man. It's back...to an old friend they go.
The Shopping District
While that scene transpired...two figures still sat themselves on the dining table at the Shopping District, expecting something. Unfortunately for them, something dark and inky comes this way to the District. After being fired out of a cannon, the inky monster continues to fly...and fly...and fly until its being hurled towards the sea. To which...
"Got you." The gentlemen simply says immediately snatching the small, inky blob. His hands extended and pitch black...and especially inky. Could it be that this man possess Devil Fruit powers? "Now then...what did you discover?" The gentleman asks.
The inky blob soon flapped open its mouth coughing out strains of hair. Specifically red, black...and blonde hair. The gentleman inspects these strains of hair. He soon sniffed from his mask the three strains. When he soon got to the blonde hair, a low chuckle was heard from behind his mask.
"What is it?" Miss Goldenweek asks. Though his mask covers his face, it's clear that a smile creaks widely on the man's face.
"Cat hair. BLONDE cat hair. Inspecting it even further the strain...is wavy. Perfect." The gentleman says mischievously. He soon looked down to the inky blot. "Where did your search take you?" The gentleman asks the blob. The blob soon manifests into a different form. It turns itself into a miniature Pirate Ship.
"A ship? Then his search must have taken the little creature outside the city." The gentleman implied. Soon, Miss Goldenweek looked at the ship intently She soon narrowed her eyes as she looked closer...specifically the goat-shaped figurehead.
"I know that ship." Goldenweek says.
Where the Merry Lies
"Merry?" Emi asks the little girl. She simply nodded her head so nonchalantly. "As in...M-A-R-Y? Or..." Emi tried to rack up her head, but the little girl nodded her head in disagreement.
"Merry, M-E-R-R-Y." Merry replied. Emi only looked at the hooded girl in confusion.
"But...I'm confused. Isn't M-E-R-R-Y the name of the ship? It can't be a coincidence that you're name is Merry, and you're ON the Merry." The red-haired girl objected. The hooded girl soon creaked a toothy grin to the red-haired girl.
"You can say that me and Merry are more in common than you think. You can say that we both are a packaged deal. You can even go far to say that I'm perhaps...the ship itself?" Merry says trying to give out hints to Emi as she simply circled around the red-haired girl. NONE of this is making sense to Emi, however.
"But, n-no...this is crazy. Are you telling me that YOU'RE the ship itself?" Emi asks. Merry simply nodded as she soon sat down on the wooden floors. The blue raincoat dawning girl soon explains herself.
"I am a Klabautermann. In Sailor's folklore, Klabautermann are water spirits...or fairies that dwell on the very ship itself. I reveal myself to people who have a strong bond with the Merry, and therefore me. I aid the Straw Hats as much as I can throughout this journey. It makes me smile just...seeing them make it this far." Merry explained. She soon turned to the unconscious longnose.
"Out of all the people who cared for me the most though, I couldn't ask for a better friend...than Usopp. He's always been there for me, and even now he stayed behind...when I'm on the brink of dying. It...really shows how much he cares for the Merry...and me." Merry explained as tears soon dripped down her pristine blue face. Emi looked up at the ship itself.
"So that fight...Usopp fought Luffy because he really cares about you, huh? He must really see you as a person too, huh?" Emi asks. Merry's smile soon dissipated into disappointment.
"I show appearance, mostly to the people who truly cared for me the most." Merry says as she soon lowered her head in disappointment. "But...there's another side to us Klabautermann." Merry replied.
"What's that?" Emi asks.
"In sailor lore, Klabautermann not only are seen as fairies who will aid the sailors...but we...are also an omen to those sailors. An omen of a doomed ship." Merry says as tears began to drop down. Emi looked in shock, realizing what she means.
"As much as I want to sail with them one last time, the Merry...just can't keep going on. Not like this. Usopp doesn't want to admit it...but...I can't. I really CAN'T keep going on...I want to help them...I really do, but..." Merry says as she tried to hold in her tears, almost letting them slip.
"Merry..." Emi says as tears began to drip through her eyes down to her glasses. The toon continued.
"That's why I knocked Usopp unconscious. He's done all he can, and I know it's hard on him to get rid of me. However, I don't want him to do something he'll regret. Look what happened. He's all alone...because of me. I can't keep up anymore. The Merry...it can't be fixed." Merry explains as tears simply flew down her pacman shaped eyes.
"Are you here to tell me so I can deliver the message to Usopp? I...I don't even know what bond you have between you and the Straw Hats, or how big. So if Usopp won't listen to reason with Luffy, how can he listen to me?" Emi asks the fairy.
"I don't expect you to deliver this message. I don't want to give it to him, yet..." Merry replies. "What Usopp needs...is time. Time to bind the broken friendship between Luffy and the others. Time...to accept that I...can't guide them, anymore." Merry says with such sadness in her face. Emi can only look at the hooded girl in confusion.
"But, I don't understand, Merry...HOW are you here right now? You explained to me that Klabautermann only appear in the eyes of those that care for the ship. I've never really gotten to make a wide connection to it, or got to know it, unlike others. So the question is...why are you standing in front of me?" Emi asks the raincoat wearing girl.
"Well, that usually is the case. However, something new happened. Happened to me. I feel...different somehow, as if I'm apart of someone else. I was brought here...as if someone was called to my soul." Merry explained.
"What do you mean?" Emi asks.
"Tell me...Emi, do you see anyone when you look at this...?" Merry soon took off her hood. Her full face is shown to Emi...who only looked in shock. Merry finally showed herself to be a blue skinned spirit with eyes and a pacman-shaped iris. However, the one feature that completely surprises Emi...was Merry's hair. A light color, fancy, pampered...mildly wavy hair. Hair that only one person she knows has. She knew exactly who she sees.
"Autumn...?" The red-haired girl asks meekly. "Then that means...she was here?!"
"Ever since I've been awaken...I feel...things. Things that I've never felt before. An energetic and imaginative feeling, feelings of snark and sarcasm, strange and sudden feelings on different clothing, and my pockets feel more like black holes now...I feel like I can fit anything. I just...feel...How can I put this...?" Merry asks trying to find the words.
"Zany?" Emi answered.
"Y-yes! Zany, that's the first word that popped into mind. I...don't know what happened to me, or how I woke up..." Merry says. Emi soon smiles at the fairy. The red-haired girl has some explaining to do.
"I'll fill you in, then. It's my pet cat, you see...Autumn. She accidentally ate a Devil Fruit known as the Toon-Toon Fruit. Now, she's as silly and spontaneous as you, Merry. Anything she touches with her bare palms will turn into a toon. Which is why you feel this sudden energetic emotion." Emi explained.
"A...toon?" Merry asks.
"A cartoon character. Crazy, zany, reality bending characters on paper. Still..." Emi says still thinking of something...off. "What dragged Autumn to the Merry, and...why did she use her powers on you?" She asks the toon spirit.
"Maybe...she wanted to know more about me. I was awoken at the time Usopp and Luffy fought against each other. Perhaps...she witnessed the fight, and she wanted to know more about me." Merry suggested.
"Because she never knew what it meant by fighting for something you love..." Emi says as she lowered her head in thought. She soon raised her head in determination as she turned to Merry. "I've gotta find her, Merry." Emi declared.
"Do you trust in finding her, now that I'm around to watch Usopp?" Merry asks. The red-haired girl smiled. She knows how much Merry means to Usopp. It would be a crime to deny her that wish to watch him.
"Sure, Merry. Thank you for doing so." The red-haired girl says as she soon hopped to the railing preparing to jump off the ship. Merry soon placed her hood back on, giving the red-haired girl a satisfied nod.
"I don't want Usopp to see me, or any of them to see me just yet. I'll reveal myself to him when he's more accepting. Until then, I'll be watching him through the ship. Say hi to Autumn, for me. Okay?" Merry requests.
"Got it." Emi says as she jumped the railing. Before Merry could even have the chance to approach the railing to watch her friend depart, a yawn and a groggy groan was heard from behind her. Usopp's starting to wake up. Merry soon disappeared via teleportation hole, as Usopp finally began to regain consciousness again. He soon looked around seeing nothing. No one is on deck...all except a mallet.
"Ohhh...my head..." Usopp groaned as he picked up the mallet just below his green boots. "What the? HEY, EMI! WERE YOU TRYING TO KNOCK ME OUT OR SOMETHING?!" Usopp yelled out...realizing that he got no response. Even surprising to him...the ink monster's gone. He soon walked to the railing, seeing nothing on the fields.
"That's strange...where did Emi and that monster go?" Usopp asked himself. There was nothing at all on the field. Absolutely nothing but the wind of the dust of the rough land in front of him. The long-nosed man simply shrugged as he looked up at the ship's pole.
"Maybe...that monster kidnapped her...but then, he would at least left tracks. Maybe...he was sent to the water? But...by who? And what about Emi? Hmm...ohhh, but then there's the Merry..." Usopp says looking at the damaged pole. The long-nosed man bit his fingers trying to think up what to do. He soon sighed.
"I need to stick around and fix the Merry. If what she said is true, then I've gotta prepare for the worse, when this Aqua Lagoona comes in. Maybe Emi went on ahead to find her cat. I can't afford to look for myself...not when the Merry's unguarded." Usopp says as he soon limped back to his cabin to grab his tools.
"Shhhh~" Unbeknownst to him, the red-haired girl was right on the back of the ship the whole time. Her body, and mouth both completely encased in ink. Soon...the ink began to compress, and transform into a sphere, trapping the sweatshirt wearing girl. The sphere, unbeknownst to Usopp escaped, and is now heading towards the city...with its captive Emi.
Shipyard Entrance
As if trouble hadn't ensued enough throughout Water 7 already. Meanwhile at the Shipyard, the fight between Luffy and Franky roared in a more devastating level. The fight escalated to the point of destruction throughout the Shipyard as the people of Water 7 watch in horror, and Nami, Kiwi, and Mozu cheering for their respective Captains. Unfortunately for Nami, HER Captain had already been sent flying by Franky, causing even more destruction through the Shipyard. The speedo sporting Cyborg only smiled smugly at his opponent.
"Gum-Gum...PISTOL!" Luffy yelled out as he threw a punch to Franky, directly hitting his face. That punch was enough to send Franky flying to the other side, causing more damage in the ruined arena. Although the people of Water 7 were screaming, paralyzed in fear, Nami, Kiwi, and Mozu continued to cheer for Luffy or Franky.
"LUFFY, RIP THAT JERK INTO PIECES AND MAKE HIM PUT SOME PANTS ON!" Nami yelled out cheering for Luffy.
"Hey, big bro," The square-haired girl in yellow started.
"Don't for to put on a good show!" The square-haired girl in pink finished as they were both cheering for Franky. As fallen steel and wooden planks scatter the arena, Luffy and Franky stared each other down,
"You're stronger than I thought you'd be, but I'm STILL gonna beat you, bikini guy!" Luffy declared as Franky only laugh.
"AHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! If you say so! Though, it's gonna take a long ass time with those weenie arms of yours!" Franky taunts as the launchers on his hand opened up to be a weapon launcher, and the hole on his palms turn into a target locker.
"WEAPONS LEFT!" Franky yelled out as a flaming missile shot out of his arm. Luffy dodged out of the way before a massive BOOM! was made at direct contact of the pile of scraps.
"Now Gum-Gum...PISTOL!" Luffy yelled out, but immediately his arm was snatched by Franky's grip. It's clear how devastating the fight Luffy and Franky are having. However...they instead both met with fists. Fists powerful enough to send both of them flying to the heaps of scrap.
"I can't see, it seems they BOTH got hit!" A person says as the crowd looked at the fight in confusion. Soon, as the dust cleared up...the townspeople and Nami beamed up in confusion as the being who punched the two showed their face...or faces.
"HEY! WHO JUST PUNCHED ME?!" Luffy yelled out. Approaching them with glares on their faces...came the Shipwrights.
"This is too easy. If you knew what was good for ya, you would've skipped town a long time ago. You're in for it now!" Paulie challenged, intervening the battle as a new one shall soon emerge. All four Shipwright Foremen, and another one, a being much larger than the other four have arrived.
And thus Emi gets kidnapped, and the Shipwrights are joining in on the fight. I've been thinking up some story aspects for Autumn and Emi's arc, which won't come in soon. We're nearing the next night where things get hectic for Water 7...and the Straw Hats. That being said, unlike my other stories, I'm more...welcomed to suggestions. The reason being...idk I've been spammed by suggestions (commands) and they would usually have me on edge. Which was a damn shame, since I had allot of good suggestions from my old Adventures of Light story. Now those suggestions have been reduced to...Put Bill Cipher in the story. Put every Disney character I want in the story. It keeps me on edge, man. In any case, to those who are still reading this, I hope you've enjoyed the story and I'll see you at the next chapter.