How it Happened
Chopper sighed as he rolled off the ball he was standing on. "This is such a pain. How did it end up like this?"
Chopper scanned his eyes over the room that he, Brook, and Bepo were currently in. All three of them were dressed in sparkling pink tutus. Brook was chained in the corner playing his violin while Bepo was in the middle of the room juggling some balls. And their owner was sitting in her throne like chair watching them with glee. He thought back to the first day that they woke up here.
"What's going on?" Chopper asked. He grabbed the chain that was around his neck. "What is this?!"
"We're prisoners apparently," someone said.
Chopper looked around until he saw a large white bear. "Ah! Scary! Don't eat me!"
"I couldn't even if I wanted to," the bear said.
"Why?" Chopper asked.
"I'm chained down as well," he said pulling on his chain. "I'm Bepo by the way."
"Chopper," Chopper said. "So where are we?" He scanned his eyes around again and spotted a skeleton. "Ah! We're going to die!"
"Hey, what's with all the yelling?" the skeleton asked.
"Ah! It can talk!" Chopper said.
"Ah! It can talk!" the skeleton said.
"Why are you yelling?!" Chopper asked.
"Why are you?!" the skeleton asked.
"Will you two calm down? We're in the same situation," Bepo said. "We're all chained down."
"He's right," the skeleton said. "So who are you animals? I'm Brook."
"Chopper."
"Bepo."
"And how did you all get here?" Brook asked.
"I don't remember," Bepo and Chopper said. They exchanged looks. "You two?"
"What's going on here?" Brook asked. "I can't seem to remember how I got here either. In fact, I can't even remember anything but my name."
"Same," Bepo and Chopper said.
"Okay, this is just weird," Brook said.
"Yeah! They're awake!" a voice shrieked. There was a click and a light washed over the room. Standing there near a door was a curly blonde hair girl dressed in a pink frilly dress. "I'm so happy my new pets are wake!"
"New pets?!" the three shrieked. "What are you talking about?"
"Oh! You can talk!" The girl flushed. "I knew I did the right thing in saving you!"
"What are you talking about?" Brook asked.
"I found you three lying on the beach," she said. "I knew you all were hurt. So I brought you home. Daddy says I can keep you." She skipped over to them. "And now that I know you all can talk we're going to have loads of fun!"
"Who are you?" Chopper asked.
"Angel," she said. "And this is my room."
Chopper sighed. They had been trapped here since. He jumped at the snap and crack of a whip.
"Get up!" Angel said. "We're not done playing circus!"
"Right!" Chopper jumped up and crawled back on the ball.
…
"Should we wake her?" Nami asked looking at Neo.
Neo was curled up on a flowerbed that she had created forty five minutes ago. She had been asleep ever since then. They had finally arrived on the cluster where their remaining three friends were. Several clusters were together. The entire place was called Seyfert. It was a place where the majority of the rich lived on this sea. It was also very close to the capital.
Hoshi was standing on the railing, his eye turned in the direction of the capital. He swished his tail in annoyance.
"No, let her sleep," Law said. "I'm sure we all don't have to go this time. So I'll be staying here."
"I'll stay here too," Penguin said.
"Then lets get going already," Luffy said while jogging in place.
"Hoshi, you coming?" Nami asked.
"I might as well." Hoshi jumped down from the railing. "I'd much rather stay with Neo but you all might need my help."
"Are we going to be in trouble here?" Franky asked.
"Most likely not," Hoshi said. "But we still need to be careful. The Astro Units should still be looking for us." He glanced back out at the sea. "Or they should be. I'm still not sure why we haven't seen them since that last time."
"Maybe we'll get lucky and they won't show up ever again," Shachi said.
"Or they're waiting to ambush us at the right time," Usopp said.
"Let's just go," Nami said. "The quicker we get our last three friends the quicker we can get our memories back."
The pirates, but the few that were staying behind, climbed down the rope ladder. They made their way into the brightly lit town.
"Wow!" Luffy said. "Looks like another gambling place! We should stop and have some fun!"
"Get real, Luffy," Nami said. She grabbed his cheek and pulled him along when he stopped. "Come on."
They continued walking through the town until the sidewalk led them up to a large mansion just on the edge of the busy city.
"Is that it?" Robin asked.
"That's it." Nami removed the compass and placed it in her pocket. She then pointed to the smaller west wing of the building. "They should be in there."
"What is this place?" Sanji asked. "Should there be guards watching such a fancy building?"
"Not necessarily," Hoshi said. "Remember some people have star flakes. And some don't care. They think their money will save them all the time."
"Let's just check this place out," Zoro said. "It doesn't look like anyone's home. Let's just get them and get back to the ship."
"Well, the gate is open," Robin said.
"Then let's go," Topaz said. She lead them all into the large yard and over to the wing. They slipped up to the window and peaked inside.
"What's going on?" Zoro asked. "Is this some kind of joke?"
"Are they wearing tutus?" Franky asked.
"Looks like there's only that kid inside," Nami said.
"This should be easy then," Franky said. "Think she has a star flake?"
"No, I don't sense one on her," Hoshi said. "There might be a door-" Loud rumbling cut the guardian off. Looking to his left he found Zoro had cut a large section of the wall off. "That was completely unnecessary!"
"What? You all said we were in a hurry," Zoro said.
"You are way too calm!" Hoshi said.
"Might as well go inside," Sanji said as they entered through the hole.
"What the heck?! Who are you people?!" Angel jumped off her chair. "I am Angel! This is my room! Get out! You do not belong here!"
"Sorry, girl," Nami said. "But those three are our friends."
"No! They're mine! I own them!" Angel said. "My daddy is rich, you know?! He'll have you ruined!"
"Geez. She's annoying." Zoro walked over to her. Grabbing her by the collar, he pulled her over to the closet and tossed her inside before putting a chair up against the doorknobs, keeping her inside.
"Hey! Let me out of here!" Angel pounded on the door. "You're going to pay for this! Let me out!"
"What's going on?" Chopper asked.
"It spoke," Robin said.
"I'm not an it! I'm Chopper!" Chopper said.
"Who are you people?" Brook asked.
"We're friends," Sanji said walking up to them. With a couple kicks he hand their chains shattered. "Come with us. We'll explain everything back on the ship."
"You smell different," Bepo said to Topaz.
"Really?" Topaz said. "I guess that's because I'm an elemental."
"A what?" Brook asked.
"I'm going to have you killed if you don't let me out of here!" Angel said.
"Let's get out of here before that happens," Franky said.
"Come on," Nami said.
"I'm going," Bepo said. "It's got to be better that here."
"Yeah." Chopper and Brook nodded.
…
Neo stretched out her body before opening her eyes. Turning to her left she found Law sitting in a chair reading a book. He turned and smiled at her. She sat up and looked around. "Hey. How long have I been a sleep?"
"For about an hour," Law said.
"Are we at…why didn't you wake me up?" Neo asked.
"You needed your rest," Law said. "You've been pushing us far too hard."
"Besides, the others should be back soon," Kailen said. He kept his eyes on the island until he could see their group coming running towards them. "And there they are."
"Hey! We got them!" Luffy cried out. He pulled himself on deck while the others climbed up the ladder.
"So what now?" Sanji asked. "How do we get our memories back?"
"If Tsuki had a hand in it the memories coming back should be automatic," Hoshi said just before a bright light flashed around them.
"I'm so bored!" Luffy cried out. He was laying sprawled out over the deck of the Sunny. The entire crew, plus a few Heart Pirates were gathered around. The wind wasn't blowing at the moment so they were just relaxing. Or most of them were. Zoro was lifting weights in the crow's nest, Robin was reading, Nami was sunning herself, Franky and Usopp were playing a game of chest, and the rest were scattered around the deck.
"If you don't stop complaining I'm going to throw you overboard!" Sanji growled.
"I have to admit that I'm a little bored myself," Neo said. "It's been several weeks since we landed on an island." She placed her hand on her stomach when their baby kicked her. "Our son's bored too."
"You're making that up." Law smiled.
"Am not." Neo stuck her tongue out at him.
"Don't worry, my sweet little fairy," Sanji said. "I'm sure things will liven up soon."
"Maybe we should go for a swim," Neo said.
"Yeah!" Luffy and Chopper cheered.
"You feeling up to it?" Law asked. "I can tell you're tired."
"Maybe, but I think it's more just sitting around doing nothing," Neo said. "I need to move."
"Well," Law said.
"We won't go far," Neo said. "That way if I get too tired you can easily warp us back to the ship."
"All right," Law said. "But no longer than an hour."
"Anyone else want to go?" Neo asked.
"I'll come," Penguin said.
"I'm staying here," Shachi said.
Bepo just snored as he was enjoying a nap.
"I'm going to stay here this time," Topaz said.
"Me too," Kailen said. "Have fun."
When no one else said they were going, Neo summoned a wind and water crystal. She formed an air bubble around them and lowered them into the water.
"Yeah! This is so much fun!" Luffy said as he watched several colorful fish swim by.
"Just don't pop the bubble," Penguin said.
"Neo's got it covered," Luffy said.
"Still, we shouldn't take any chances," Penguin said. "And we only have an hour before the captain wants Neo back on the ship."
"We'll be back in time," Chopper said.
"Hey, what's that?" Luffy asked.
"What's what?" Penguin asked.
"That." Luffy pointed in the distance. The pirates turned their attention in the direction he was pointing. A large shadow was moving towards them.
"Is it a sea king?" Penguin asked.
"I don't think so," Neo said. "It feels half the size of a sea king. I think it's some sort of a large fish. I've never sensed one like this before."
The shadow swam closer to them. The closer it got the more visible it became. Is glided along side them, showing off its shimmering rainbow colored scales.
"Wow!" Chopper said. "It's so pretty."
"I wonder where it came from," Neo said scanning the fish. There appeared to be some sort of hooks on the fish's fins. "I've never seen anything like it."
"Do you think it tastes good?" Luffy asked.
"Let's not find out," Penguin said. "We have-"
"Gum Gum Pistol!" Luffy threw a punch out at the fish.
"Straw Hat!" Penguin shrieked.
The punch hit the fish. Its tail flew up towards the Sunny, nailing it with its hook. It then swam off, taking the ship with it.
"Ah! It's taking off with the Sunny!" Chopper screamed.
"Wait! Come back!" Neo said but the fish didn't listen. She took them to the surface.
"Hey, what's going on?! Where's the Sunny going?!" Jean Bart asked from the sub.
"A fish has it! Get the sub going and follow us!" Neo said. "I'll leave a trail of seaweed for you to follow!"
"Aye!" Jean Bart said.
Neo took off for the Sunny. Increasing her winds she managed to catch up to it and land on the deck. The pirates were scatter on the deck now from the sudden jerk. "Law! Is everyone okay?"
"We're fine," Law said adjusting his hat.
"What happened?" Nami asked.
"Luffy punched a fish," Penguin said. "It has these strange hooks on its fins. One of the got caught in the Sunny."
"A fish is doing this?" Franky asked.
"I've never seen one before," Neo said. "Its scaled was shimmering rainbows."
"Where do you think it's taking us?" Sanji asked.
"Is that a cave?" Usopp asked.
"Where is this fish taking us?" Nami ran up to the helm to look at the cave Usopp spotted.
"Hey! What's going on down there?" Zoro asked.
"Zoro, get the binoculars and check what that thing is we're heading for!" Nami said.
"It looks like a cave," Zoro said.
"Is this fish actually heading for it?" Robin asked.
"Why would it do that?" Shachi asked.
"Maybe it's the fish's home?" Bepo asked. "Can you talk to it, Neo?"
"I've been trying but it won't listen," Neo said.
"Luffy must have stressed it out too much," Kailen said. "It's not listening to us either."
"I guess we have no choice but to follow until the fish calms down enough for us to talk to it," Topaz said.
"Hey! We're going into the cave!" Luffy said from the figurehead.
"Are there any obstacles we need to be concerned about?" Law asked.
"No," Neo said. "We shouldn't hit any rocks, but…"
"What?" Sanji asked.
"I think there's another sea in that cave," Neo said.
"Another sea?" Brook asked. "That's not possible."
"No, I can sense it too," Topaz said. "That cave leads to somewhere."
"All right! We're going on an adventure!" Luffy said.
The pirates gasped. The walls of the cave were glittering like stars in the sky. A few minutes later they were exiting the cave. Another round of gasps escaped them.
"What is this place?!" Sanji asked.
"Why is they sea black?! Are those stars in it?" Penguin asked.
"The sky is wrong too! It's different shades of purple!" Shachi said.
The fish continued to pull them. It took a sharp turn to its right, detaching itself from the ship. The Sunny went flying towards and island. It came to rest on the beach, throwing the pirates all over the deck of the ship.
"Neo!" Law's heart jerked. He turned his attention to find she had lifted herself and him into the air before they hit.
"Could have saved us as well," Penguin said.
"Sorry." Neo smiled.
"Great. She just had to enter into a playful mood swing," Shachi said pulling himself up to his feet.
"Nami, do you know what this place is?" Robin asked.
"No," Nami said looking around. "I've never even heard about a place like this."
"Where do you think we are?" Brook asked.
"At some castle apparently," Franky said.
"Is it possible that we've landed at a Celestial Dragon's place?" Nami asked. "This could cause trouble."
"Don't worry, my sweet Nami," Sanji said. "I'll protect you."
"I don't think we're in the New World," Robin said. "Or at least the parts we know about. This looks to be connected to the sea still."
"Might as well look around," Nami said.
Neo lifted them and placed them down on the beach. Just as they started walking towards the castle a large eruption happened.
"What the heck was that?!" Sanji asked.
"That was a super big explosion," Franky said.
"Let's go check it out!" Luffy said before dashing off.
"Luffy! Come back here!" Nami called.
"Why can't he run away from explosions for once?" Shachi asked.
"Might as well follow him," Penguin said. "We're getting involved whether we want to or not."
They followed him.
"What the heck is going on?!" Bepo shrieked when they reached the fight.
Several guys, dressed in the same uniform, were firing electrical attacks, running at fast speeds, throwing meteors around, and forming some kind of gas clouds.
"Are they all devil fruit users?" Nami asked.
"That can't be," Franky said. "They all have the same powers. Devil fruits don't work that way."
"It doesn't matter! That girl needs help!" Luffy punched his fists into his palm before running towards the fight.
"Girl? What girl?" Kailen asked.
"The one with the scepter apparently," Chopper said.
Neo turned her attention to the girl. She looked about her height with long white hair. The girl was wielding a long scepter with what looked to be a twelve pointed star on the top.
"It looks like she's fighting alone," Brook said.
"What?! How dare they attack an innocent girl like that?! They're horrible! I shall smash them all!" Sanji ran towards the fight.
"What a moron," Zoro said before following.
The rest of the pirates joined in the fight.
Neo summoned her crystals. Using her winds she blew several men off their feet, trapped some in vines and the ground, while burning up their weapons with their fire crystals. Before long the strangely dressed men pulled back and disappeared on their ships.
The girl dropped to her knees.
Neo rushed over to her. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"
"I'm okay," the girl said through her pants. She looked up with her dark blue eyes. They were sparkling with white specks, like stars. "Just a bit tired. I'm so glad you all came along when you did. I don't know how long I would be able to hold them off." She looked up at Neo. "But who are you? I don't think I've ever seen you around here before. And you have the presence of the sun on you."
"Presence of the sun?" Neo asked. "What does that mean?"
"It means you're not from this sea," the girl said standing up. "My name is Tsuki. I'm the ruler of the Star Line. Those men you fought off work for someone who's trying to take over my throne. They're called the Astro Unit."
"Wow! A beautiful royal!" Sanji said.
"Someone's trying to throw you off your throne?" Nami asked.
"Yes. Though I'm not sure who it is," Tsuki said. "So who are you all?"
"I'm Neo. And these are my friends and family," Neo said before everyone introduced themselves.
"It's nice to meet you all. Please, come to my castle," Tsuki said. "I'll have the kitchen prepare a meal for you all."
"Yeah! Food!" Luffy cried. They followed their new friend to the castle.
Neo scanned the area carefully, taking in all the strange plants and the greenish blue walls of the castle. She took Law's hand in hers.
'Nervous?' Law asked through their bond.
'No, not really,' Neo said. 'Tsuki's nice. I can tell.'
'Good to know that,' Law said.
'I'm more concerned about those guys who were attacking,' Neo said.
'I doubt they'll come back very soon. We took them by surprise.'
'I hope you're right.' Neo focused back on the castle to find they had arrived at a large room with a large table. Within minutes several maids at the table filled with several variety of dishes.
"Princess Tsuki," a man said as he walked into the room. "Are you all right? I heard you were out fighting again."
"I'm fine, Kuro," Tsuki said. "These people helped and I was able to drive the Astro Unit away. They have some amazing powers and skills that don't belong to the star flakes."
"I'm so glad you're safe," Kuro said with a soft smile.
Neo looked at the man. He was a couple inches taller than Law with black hair and eyes. A shiver ran up and down her spine when he looked at her.
'What is it, love?' Law brushed his thumb over Neo's skin.
'There's something wrong with him. We should keep a close eye on him.'
'Okay. Keep calm and keep a straight face.'
'I'll be fine.'
"Please enjoy your meal," Kuro said. He bowed to them then left the room.
"What are star flakes?" Robin asked.
"This." Tsuki reached into her pocket and pulled out a small star. "Those powers the Astro Unit has come from these. Anyone can use them. All you have to do is place them on your skin. You can remove them anytime you want."
"They sound like devil fruits," Nami said. "Only without the removing part."
"Devil fruit?" Tsuki asked.
"I ate the Gum Gum devil fruit," Luffy said pulling his cheek away from his face. "I'm a rubber man now."
"I ate the revive revive devil fruit and now I'm a living skeleton," Brook said.
"I ate the human human devil fruit," Chopper said. "I'm a reindeer that can transform into a human."
"I ate the Op Op devil fruit," Law said. "I can modify a person's body among other things."
"So what brought you to the Star Line?" Tsuki asked.
"This nut case." Shachi jerked his thumb at Luffy.
"Hm?" Luffy chomped on his food.
"We were swimming in the sea," Neo said. "He aggravated a fish with hooks on its fins. One of his hook caught on the ship and the fish pulled us here."
"Oh, yeah. I am familiar with those fish," Tsuki said. "They're not ones you should mess with. I take it you'll need some time to fix your ship?"
"I can have it fix in no time," Franky said.
"I see. Well, you're more than welcome to stay here as long as you like," Tsuki said. "It's nice to meet other from the other sea."
The pirates blinked. The image running through their minds switched to a fierce battle.
"Sorry, Princess," Kuro said. "You're never going to see your friends again. "Star Scepter! I command you scatter these pirates to the farthest reaches of the Star Line! And erase their memories so they may never interfere with my plans again!"
"No!" Tsuki lunged forward. She grabbed the scepter. "Star Scepter! I am your true owner! Do not let them lose their memories! And do not scatter them!"
"Scatter them! Forget everything!" Kuro said.
"No don't! Suppress there memories if you must but do not erase them! And let them remember when they are finally together again!" Tsuki cried before a bright light flashed.
The pirates lifted into the air and were scattered.
"That's it! I remember now!" Usopp said.
"Kuro stole the scepter when we all were sleeping. Tsuki was able to grab the scepter in time to keep Kuro from erasing our memories," Nami said. "They were only suppressed. Tsuki did the best she could with what little control she had over the scepter."
"I guess that explains why we were able to do the things we did," Neo said looking at all.
Law nodded.
"So what now?" Usopp asked. "What happened to Tsuki after that? Do you think he killed her?"
Everyone glanced at Hoshi. He shook his head. "No, I know she's alive. If she wasn't then I wouldn't have been summoned to find you all."
"So where do you think she is?" Penguin asked.
"Kuro wouldn't let her get far from his grasp," Hoshi said. "My guess is she's somewhere in the castle."
"He was a tough opponent before," Zoro said. "How are we going to beat him this time?"
"We will," Luffy said punching a fist into his hand. "I'm going to kick his butt!"
"We need to get the scepter away from him," Hoshi said. "But once we do we need it in Tsuki's hands. She's the true wielder of it. You only lost the last battle because you were ambushed. I'm sure it will be different this time."
"Yes, but we're going to need a very detailed plan to pull this off," Robin said. "And I think Neo and Law should spilt up and be the leaders of two groups."
Neo looked up at Law.
"You two can communicate with each other through your bond," Robin continued. "Once we know Tsuki is a live and safe, Tra can warp the scepter out of Kuro's hands and into Tsuki's."
"The rest of us can create a distraction," Sanji said. "But a small group should go with Neo. Kuro would notice if a large number of us were missing."
"I'm going with her," Hoshi said. "I know the layout of the castle better than anyone."
"And I'll go," Chopper said. "Just in case Neo needs a doctor."
"Then it's settled," Luffy said.
"Not quite," Law said.
"What's left?" Bepo asked.
"Those strange blue crystals that Laden was gathering," Law said.
"What blue crystals?" Usopp asked.
"I think I might know what he's talking about," Robin said. "I read about a certain blue crystal that could summon a powerful weapon."
"I think I read about that too," Neo said. "I came across a library shortly after I woke up. I was trying to learn about memory lost."
"What was it about?" Brook asked.
Neo thought for a moment. "It was about a powerful crystal that's said to be able to shape and reshape the clusters into a powerful weapon. It's said that the sailor was able to move the clusters and form the weapon. He uncovered a lot of hidden treasure that made him greedy. He killed anyone who didn't give him what he wanted. The more greedy he became the more powerful the crystal seemed to become. Many began to suffer and a lot died from dissent. Before long the crystal had turned to liquid and covered his body. The man became a tyrant until one day a young girl arrived. The crystal reacted to her. Somehow she was able to pull the crystal from the man's body and put everything back to normal. In order for this to never happen again she shattered the crystal and scattered it over the Star Line in hopes that it would never be found and used again. In doing so she was granted the star scepter to help rule over the Star Line. Her descendants have been watching over the Star Line since then with the scepter by their side."
"I remember reading about that story as well," Robin said.
"I wonder if that girl is Tsuki," Usopp said.
"If not it's possible she's related to the girl in the book," Robin said.
"If that's the crystals that Laden had then we might be too late," Law said. "The story never mentioned how many pieces the crystal was shattered into, right?"
"It didn't," Robin said. "It could have been a counter measure too."
"Either way we need to get back to the castle," Sanji said. "Neo, I hate to ask you this, but you need to get us there as fast as you can."
"I'll do my best," Neo said.
"And I'll help as much as I can," Kailen said. "I'll call up as many sea creatures to help us like I did when I took you all to Luminous."
"Then let's go," Nami said.
"Neo, you use your crystals for a while then I want you to rest. Kailen can take over for a while after that," Law said.
"Okay." Neo nodded. Summoning a hundred wind crystals, she picked the ship up and headed towards the castle.