Exposition 10: The End

Inspiration: Another Music Camp

Main Characters: All

Length: 1,306 words

Pairings: None

Seven heads poked sleepily out of their rooms and proceeded to the deck. With the bodies, mind, not just the heads.

On the shore stood the entire population of the island. All of them beaming and cheering. The trumpet player was the bartender who stopped playing the instance he saw the seven people gathered on deck.

"Kneel before your vessels of the Gods," he roared.

Like a huge machine, all the people on shore sank into kneeling position.

The expressions of the Straw Hat crew could be captured by one smiley: O-O

The people on shore didn't move.

A tic began growing just above Nami's eye. She screamed, "WHY DID YOU WAKE ME UP FROM MY BEAUTY SLEEP JUST TO KNEEL!!?!??!"

From his position, the bartender's muffled voice said, "Please honor us, this day, with the music given to you by the gods."

Nami's tic, if possible, grew larger.

"It's Sonata island," came a calm voice. Robin had somehow procured a huge book from behind her back. "Once every year, the villagers of Sonata Island choose seven visitors to become the vessels of the Sonata gods. The conditions are: the visitors do not already know how to play the instruments, the visitors must be treated as gods for the duration of the performance, and the visitors will be the sacrifice for the continuation of music on Sonata Island."

Silence.

"Gods?" hearts were pulsating in Sanji's eyes as he glanced around the crowd, searching for those who would worship him.

"Performance?" Zoro raised an eyebrow. "How the hell are we supposed to perform for them if we don't know how to play?"

"S-s-sacrifice?" Usopp's pupils were dilating.

"At dawn of the next day, the gods will come down to the island and possess the visitors. The music that the visitors will then perform will be likened to angels' song. At the end of the performance, the gods will depart, leaving behind seven lifeless ones."

Silence.

"Cool, when are they coming?" Luffy looked around eagerly.

"Like hell. I'm not gonna die for the sake of these fruity bastards' enjoyment," Zoro glared at the visitors.

"You have been chosen. It is a great honor," came the muffled voice from the ground.

"HONOR!?" Nami shrieked, "HOW IS DYING AN HONOR?!?"

"It is said that those possessed will experience certain enlightenment under the hands of the gods," the muffled voice sounded slightly annoyed.

"HOW WOULD YOU KNOW!? THE PEOPLE WHO WOULD KNOW THAT ARE SIX FEET UNDER!?" Nami screamed. "Robin, Robin, find a way to stop this."

"There is no way to stop the celebration once the Chosen Ones have been chosen," Robin read.

"That's it; we're leaving this stupid place. We've got to get as far away from here as possible before dawn. Zoro, Sanji, get to work. We're leaving."

"Namiiiiii, I want to stay. I'm really good at the drums. Do you wanna hear?" Luffy said excitedly.

"No, I want to leave before anything weird comes and tries to take over my body." As Nami spoke, the horizon began to lighten.

The people kneeling on shore bounded up and started cheering. "The gods' time is nearly upon us," the bartender cried, tears in his eyes.

Zoro threw a rock at him. "Stop cheering damnit, stupid chef, get your frying pan, it'll hurt more."

"Like hell I'm going to use my pan on that creep," Sanji yelled, running to get the ship ready for sail.

Seven rays of the sun suddenly touched each of the seven crewmembers.

"I'M GOING TO DIE. I'M GOING TO DIE," Usopp sobbed as he started floating into the air.

Seven instruments drifted up to their respective owners. Seven pairs of eyes went blank. Usopp had stopped crying. And they began to play.

What the hell am I doing? Zoro thought. Why am I letting some random god take over my body and make me play for a group of random people who would trade my life and my dream for sappy music?

I'm never going to cook again. This is stupid. Sanji thought. And Nami and Robin. If they die, they'll go to the heaven of beautiful women, where I'm not allowed. How can I let myself be separated from them?

The Great Usopp should not be stopped by such an obstacle. The Great Usopp has seen death in the face and punched death in the face. The Great Usopp wouldn't just die; the Great Usopp would throw this goose-horn at those peoples' faces. Then, he would take on all of the gods and save his friends who would build a statue for him and address him as Usopp the Great forever.

I can't die yet. I can't. I haven't mapped the world yet. At least I should die after I've mapped the world, and not for such an idiotic reason. Nami thought. When I get down, I'm going to kill Luffy for making us stop here just cause we ran out of beef. I'm sure the next island is somewhere close by. We could've just gone there.

I'm going to miss everybody. I didn't even get to cure all the diseases in the world yet. Dr. Hiruluk, will he be disappointed in me? Chopper thought.

What an interesting feeling. What a weak god. I don't think those people realized who they're dealing with. These gods couldn't possibly kill us. Robin thought. I wonder if the others have realized they could break free.

How come I can't play loud? I wanna play loud. I'm hungry. This is a dumb game. I'm gonna stop playing and make my nakama stop too cause I'm captain and it's breakfast time.

The music stopped. The people on shore started screaming as one by one the pirates dropped down and stood up with murderous looks on their faces.

The Straw Hat crew sailed away at night. They left behind a bartender with a trumpet mouthpiece stuck in his ear, a skeleton in a coffin with a saxophone forced into its ribcage, a flute lying in the middle of a jewelry shop that looked like a tornado had blown through, and a salesman in the hospital after a piano fell on him.
"Why the hell do you still have those cursed things?" Zoro asked annoyed.

Luffy, Chopper, and Usopp had formed their own band and were currently making "music." A combination of bangs and crashes, goose honks, and a sound like fingernails going down a blackboard were coming from a room. Sanji was serving Nami and Robin drinks on deck, Zoro was trying to sleep.

The three noisemakers grinned at each other.

"Let's call ourselves The Gods of Music and Meat"

"When I was three years old, I became a concert clarinetist. That's why the gods couldn't take me. I already knew how to play. In fact, I know how to play every instrument, so anything those villagers did would have been futile. I was only playing with the god inside me. I could've ditched him anytime and gone to save you folks. But then, I thought you all could take care of yourselves. You are Captain Usopp's chosen crewmembers after all."

Chopper looked at his violin, "I couldn't find the doctor who gave me this. But that's okay. You can teach me how to play right Usopp?"

Usopp looked around nervously, "Oh, I suppose. I may not have time though, it's tough; I can only give every instrument a small amount of time to get around to all of them you know."

"Oh oh oh, I know. Let's get Zoro and Sanji and Nami and Robin. We can make a band called The Ones Who Defeated the Gods of Music and Were Given Meat for Free from those Nice People on Shore."

Zoro, Sanji, Nami, and Robin walked in at that moment.

Zoro grinned dangerously, "Yeah, that sounds about right."

A/N- Honestly, I had no idea how to end this story. I began it with the thought that it would come to me. And I thought the idea was interesting. But then… I kind of didn't work on it for more than two years. So it kind of died. I hope it's okay.