AN: As always, we'll start with replies to the commenters:
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Guest: Fret not, a loss of Strawhat screen time to my OC's is not in the plans at all. You'll see what I mean in this chapter.
(Update: To anyone who shares this particularly rude guest's opinion on the four castaways, read all the way through the section with them at the start of this chapter because this is probably the last time we'll be seeing them for a while and they DO actually serve a very important purpose in this story.)
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(scratches head) other than the fact that I really and truly hate spam bots posting stuff in my comments section that I can't delete, that's about all I've got for this opening note...
So without further ado, let's get rockin'!
Chapter 10
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The Next Morning, Outskirts of the Conomi Islands
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Ivan sat on a rock, still pale and breathing hard. He and his three friends hadn't stopped running all night after Donny and Albert had finally managed to break out through the thick walls of the Marine Base's brig. That had taken way too long though. Ivan had heard everything. He didn't know how his senses had been so enhanced that he could tell what blood splattering and bodies hitting the floor sounded like through stone walls, but he knew that it was a sound that he would never forget.
The only thing that had been more terrifying, was the emotions. He could hear the fear in their voices, the desperation and panic and pain in their final breaths, and worst of all the excitement in their killer. That was the most terrifying bit of all. The killer had been having the time of his life, a starving lion unleashed into a pen full of sheep.
Ivan wasn't sure how he knew, maybe it was the force of the man's footfalls, but he was certain that the man hadn't been large, not much bigger than Raven if he had to guess. He had been fast though, so very fast that often his footsteps sounded like machine gun fire. The sounds of his fists slamming men bigger than him aside like ragdolls, the thuds and thumps they made as they landed after he sent them flying, and the horrible crunching and cracking of bones shattering upon impact echoed in Ivan's ears, warning him of the terrible strength the monster had possessed.
Even worse though, was the conclusion that was now forming in his head, "He was like us…" Ivan said quietly.
The others heads snapped up. "What?" Raven asked flatly in a tone that clearly declared her too tired for Ivan's teasing.
Ivan took a deep breath, "The guy that attacked that fort last night. He was like us. Not so much Albert, but you Raven, and me, and Donny. Our powers, he had all of them, and he knew what he was doing with them. You all felt his aura, that was just like yours Raven except a thousand times stronger. I could hear it in the way he moved, he could see and hear like I do. Those guys never stood a chance, even their bullets couldn't hit him."
"You're telling me he can dodge bullets?" Raven demanded in disbelief. "I heard twenty four guns fire at him simultaneously, at a distance of what couldn't have been more than ten meters," Ivan declared quietly, "The next thing I heard was the guys holding them getting beaten to pulp." He swallowed slightly, "Literally. Pulp. He's strong, stronger than Donny. I could hear him punching guys that had to be way bigger than him with enough force to shatter every bone around where he hit, crush everything inside to pulp and send them flying like cannonballs."
"He sounds pretty strong," a voice declared before adding in a teasing tone, "Maybe I should go recruit him instead?" The four castaways whirled and saw a young woman sitting in the branches of a nearby tree smirking down at them. She had blonde hair, captivatingly golden eyes and the most mischievously playful smirk any of them had ever seen. She's also insanely gorgeous, with a sexy voice at that, Ivan thought to himself, but more importantly, how in the hell did she sneak up on me?!
"I'm Sherry," she declared, "You're joining my crew, so you can call me Captain if you want, but I don't mind if you want to call me Sherry. The big guy behind you is my grandpa and first mate." "Call me 'Sensei' and I might teach you how to use those powers of yours," the massive old man with the beard declared from right next to Ivan. The four castaways jumped near clean from their skins and then Raven frowned.
Raven's aura suddenly manifested around her as she shot a challenging glare at Sherry, causing Donny and Albert to back up and Ivan to break out in a thin sheen of cold sweat, "And what if we refuse?"
Sherry's smirk grew into a beautiful sunny smile so big that her eyes were almost closed. The effect was such that Donny and Albert decided immediately that even if Ivan and Raven didn't join her, they would without hesitation. Ivan's breath jumped straight out of him to make googly heart eyes at the angel before him, but his poker face was well enough ingrained that it didn't show beyond a slight widening of his eyes. Raven was caught so off guard that her aura dissipated instantly.
"Isn't it obvious?" Sherry asked as she stood up on the branch, a hand casually going to the hilt of the katana Ivan now noticed at her side.
Then Sherry's eyes snapped open, blazing like miniature suns and an aura every bit as terrible as what they had felt the night before slammed into them like a cart load of bricks, only this time without the stone walls to muffle it. Donny and Albert only narrowly managed to keep from fainting in pure terror, Ivan's breath did not jump back in, opting instead to flee as fast as it could, and Raven became very VERY aware of just how incredibly weak her ability was in comparison.
The night before they had thought for sure the demon invading the fort was death itself. Now they knew for sure. What was before them was no lowly angel, but an earthbound goddess whose wishes were no mere desires but inevitable realities. Sherry started to glow like a roaring bonfire as she declared in a tone like a tidal wave of molten iron, "I'll refuse your refusal and you WILLjoin my crew."
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Meanwhile, Nojiko's House
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Nojiko woke up with her mind in a slight fog. Then she realized where she was, bare naked in someone's arms, and sat bolt upright. She was immediately wide awake and immediately aware as something shifted inside her, sending a wave of pleasure racing through her that immediately triggered a surge of guilt with the memories of what had happened the night before.
"Oh man, Nami's gonna kill me!" She groaned as she saw Luffy peering groggily up at her. She shifted slightly and looked at the door nervously and tried to ignore how good it felt just to move. Luffy on the other hand had no such qualms as his mind raced to register what was going on, and his blood immediately started rushing to where his body met hers, eager to resume the previous nights activities. Nojiko noticed immediately as she felt the foreign mass between her legs begin to grow inside her and snapped her gaze down to meet Luffy's, "Quit it."
Luffy blinked in confusion that killed the growing boner he was getting, "Why? Didn't you have fun?" Nojiko blushed as crimson as her hair was blue, "It's not that! Aren't you and Nami dating?!"
Luffy blinked, "Oh, you mean what we did last night? Yeah we've done that before. What's that got to do with anything?" Then realization dawned on him, "Wait, is this about that moms and dads thing?"
Nojiko went ghostly pale as she tried to remember if it had been a safe night, "Y-yeah, that's part of it…" She quickly counted in her head and missed what Luffy was saying as she breathed a sigh of relief, "We should be okay on that front though." Then she frowned, "But it still wasn't right! If you and Nami have done that then I definitely shouldn't have done it with you!" She ran the fingers of one hand through her hair, "Crap, I was gonna jump that cutie with the swords…"
Luffy frowned, "Buuut, if you're not supposed to do it with me because Nami has, then shouldn't you not do it with Zoro or Atlas either?" Nojiko frowned, "What? What do they have to do with Nami?" "Well she's done it with all three of us," Luffy declared with all the subtlety of a rhino, "She seemed to really like it when it was all three of us."
Nojiko went very still and very quiet as Luffy's words sank in. Then she turned absolutely crimson, "GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!" she shrieked.
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Not Far Away
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Zoro and Nami jumped as they heard Nojiko shriek and immediately dropped the groceries they'd been carrying and raced towards the house. They arrived just in time to see Luffy come skidding out the front door on his face with his clothes and hat being thrown out after him before an irate Nojiko slammed the door so hard the house shook.
Zoro and Nami sighed in unison, that idiot… "So what do you think he did to piss her off?" Zoro asked as he and Nami waited for the confused captain to get the dirt out of his mouth.
Nami sighed, "Knowing him, probably the most bone headedly, stupid, honest…" She froze, Oh crap… "Luffy, what did you say to Nojiko that made her throw you out?"
Luffy sat up and set his hat back on his head, "I don't know! All I did was ask her if you having done that sex thing with Zoro and Atlas meant she shouldn't! She thought you would be super angry with her because she did it with me after you did, but she wanted to do it with Zoro and it didn't make sense so I was asking!"
Nami felt the blood drain from her face and then rush back as she noticed Zoro trembling with barely restrained laughter. "Not one word…" she growled at the green haired swordsman who could no longer restrain his snickers. Nami walked over and crouched down to lay a hand on Luffy's shoulder, "Okay Luffy, let me explain. Normally people only do that with one person who is very special to them, but some people don't. If girls do it with lots of people, or if they do it with more than one person at once, then some people think a lot less of them. Nojiko didn't know that I had done it with all three of you, so she thought you were lying, and that's a really REALLY big insult if it's not true, and kind of not something you should just up and tell people even if it is. Most girls would shoot somebody who lied about them doing something like that, and Nojiko is my big sister, so she was very angry because she thought you were lying and dragging my name through the mud. Do you understand?"
"But, wait, so…we weren't all supposed to do it with you?" Luffy asked, clearly confused. Nami sighed, "By the rules of most society, no. I shouldn't have allowed you three to do that with me, especially all at once, and I shouldn't have done that sexy dance for you, but by the rules of society I shouldn't have had sex with you at all until we were married. The same goes for Nojiko, but because you're my friend and saved my home from Arlong, we're willing to do it with you, Atlas and Zoro. Nojiko was probably hoping to snag Zoro for herself because normally sex is a one on one thing. A lot of people get jealous about it and don't like to share. We're not most people though, and since the rules of society say we shouldn't be pirates either, I say screw the rules, we're pirates." She declared with a mischievous grin, "So you go with Zoro and pick up the food we dropped when we heard Nojiko yelling at you, and I'll go explain it to her, kay?"
Luffy grinned, "Sure thing!" He got up and started to walk off, "Let's go Zoro! Meat!" "PUT SOME PANTS ON!" Zoro barked. Luffy blinked and looked down, "Oh, wrong meat…" "HELL YEAH WRONG MEAT!" Zoro barked as Nami started cackling, "QUIT JUST LOOKING AT IT AND PUT YOUR PANTS ON!"
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Meanwhile, Two Islands Over
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Atlas sealed the grave up and turned to the young woman clutching the pink haired doll with tears in her eyes, "I'm no priest, and I know there's nothing I can say to console you. The only advice I can give is to think of how much happier a place she is in now. I'm, no good at this consoling people thing, so I'm just going to stand over here and let you say goodbye. My offer of asylum still stands if you want it."
The young woman nodded, her vividly pink hair falling down over her watery brown eyes. Atlas stepped away and walked about twenty feet before sitting down on a stump. I hate these moments, he thought to himself, I hate feeling powerless like this. How can I tell her everything will be alright? How can I make her feel better? Why is that doll moving?
Atlas shot a glance over his shoulder as his Haki alerted him to the fact that the doll had started hugging its owner back and then his eyes went wide as memories started rushing to the surface. He went slightly pale as he realized why the young woman and her recently deceased aunt looked so familiar, Oh…oh shit…oh shit oh shit oh shit…those two aren't supposed to be here…why are they here? Who's the doll? It isn't Thunder Soldier…
He immediately began scratching his head and recalling his memories from the ten years he'd spent in the Grand Line and comparing them to what he knew was supposed to be true. The more he thought, the more it became painfully clear. Shit… he thought as he raised his eyes to stare at nothing, Someone's messed with the time stream…
He rose and turned, quickly walking back over to the new grave, "Excuse me miss, I just realized I've been terribly rude. I haven't asked your name…it wouldn't be Rebecca would it?" The girl looked up at him with eyes still red and puffy with tears, "What? No, my name's Mina…"
Then the doll stepped away from her and walked up to him to look at him with wide eyes, "How do you know my name?"
Atlas felt like he'd been hit in the face with a sledge hammer, "What?" Then the doll was suddenly at his throat with a knife that he had no idea where she'd pulled it from and murder in her eyes, "And what do you want from me and my little sister?"
Atlas's thoughts were summed up in one word as Mina's eyes went as wide as dinner plates, "What?" "You heard me," the now-named Rebecca demanded, looking abnormally murderous and scary for a little ragdoll, "What. Do you want. With us? Are you with him?! Did Doflamingo send you?!"
Atlas shook his head and raised his hands, "Nothing of the sort. In fact, I'd like to help you if I can." "Unless you've got a cure for Devil Fruit curses, or a magic bullet to kill that bastard, we don't need or want your help," Rebecca declared in frosty rage.
Atlas smiled slightly, "As it happens…" The air rippled around his hands and then with a sound like a balloon popping, a gorgeous young woman in a blue hoodie and a pink dress barely sticking out below the bottom of it with a double edged longsword had taken the place of the murderously defensive little doll. There was a round of surprised blinks and then it registered with the two girls what had just happened.
Rebecca was so stunned that she dropped her sword and staggered back to look at her hands, human for the first time in fifteen years. "I'm…I'm me again…" Tears welled in her eyes, "I'm…I'm finally free!" Then her head snapped up, "Mina!" She whirled and launched to wrap the girl who was beyond any shadow of a doubt her little sister in a hug, "I'm so sorry! I wanted to tell you so badly!"
Mina pushed free of Rebecca's hug to hold her at arm's length and stare, "You're…my big sister?"
"That's the curse of the Hobi-hobi no mi," Atlas said quietly, "It allows its user to turn their victims into living toys, and wipes the victim from the memories of all who knew them. The user can also enslave the toy victims, but I'm thinking you were one of the first people she got. Am I right Rebecca?"
Rebecca moved between him and Mina, a steely paranoid light in her eyes, "How do you know so much about it?" "I am privy to a lot of knowledge that can't really be explained," Atlas replied quietly, "And the explanations I could give you that would have a ring of truth to them I have sworn to keep quiet. Until those oaths are betrayed, I cannot tell you how I know about Donquixote Doflamingo and his agents. For now, settle for the fact that I am no stranger to the Grand Line or the New World, and I am familiar with many of its powerhouse figures."
Atlas sighed, "Know that I sympathize with your plight and have every intention of helping you kill that scum bag Doflamingo. I would guess from Viola's wounds that you were accosted by a man with sideburns like lightning bolts and sunglasses?" Rebecca and Mina's eyes went wide, "You know him?"
"I know of him," Atlas replied, "His name is Vergo. The only question I have, is why he spared your lives. He's not the merciful sort from what I've heard of him, and if he'd had orders to eliminate you, I fully believe he would have."
Rebecca went stiff as a board and then Mina said quietly, "Can I have a moment alone with my big sister? I want to discuss that with her."
Atlas noted the grim look in the younger girl's eye and the almost frightened look in Rebecca's, "Of course. Take all the time you need."
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Back At Nami & Nojiko's
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When Nami stopped laughing, she went over to the door and knocked, "Nojiko? It's Nami." "Come on in," Nojiko called.
Nami stepped in and found Nojiko sitting at the table with her face in her hands, "Hey sis. Um, how much did you hear?" "All of it," Nojiko replied bluntly. Nami rubbed the back of her head, "So, ah, I guess, erm…do you…wanna talk about it?"
Nojiko folded her hands in front of her face and rested her forehead on them, "Not really. I heard enough." Nami flinched, that wasn't a good sign. "What I want to ask you Nami," Nojiko said quietly, "Is do you know how Devil Fruits taste? I know they exist now, but how do they taste?"
Nami blinked, "That's, kind of a weird question. I don't really know, I've never eaten one, but Atlas says they taste horrible. Luffy didn't remember what his tasted like, so I guess they probably taste pretty bad. Why do you ask?"
"Bad enough to say…spoil an entire sauce pan?" Nojiko asked quietly. Then it clicked and Nami's hand flew to her mouth, "Oh my god…you…" Nojiko raised her head and looked at Nami with an awestruck look in her eyes, "I can see…everything…"