Title: At the Bottom of the Sea
Rating: K
Characters: The whole crew
Pairings: You'll see…
Timeframe: One thousand years after the crew's death
Notes: This was written for the 30_onepiece mini-challenge, for the theme Millennium. I probably won't finish the mini-challenge (since it ends at midnight on November 30th), but I've been wanting to write something like this and it was a good excuse to.
Summary: One thousand years after the death of the Second Pirate King, the Thousand Sunny goes to its final resting place.
At the Bottom of the Sea
By Dandy Wonderous
The old, creaking hull slowly plowed through the waves. It was nearly a thousand years old, now, yet somehow still afloat. The paint was washed away, the sails were tattered, there were numerous holes in the deck and hull, and, as fate would have it, there was a serious fracture in the keel. It was a miracle the ship was even sailable, yet there it went, crewless, it's figurehead still proud even though it was missing most of its mane.
Most sailors claimed that the ship continued to sail because it was on a mission of some sort. Once it got to the end of its journey, legend said, the ship would finally go to its final rest, to be with its nakama at the bottom of the sea.
The ship had floated, navigation-less, across all the blues and through the Grand Line, surviving through storms as though it really did have a crew to guide it. It was an amazing ship, and those blessed to look upon it were said to have heard the happy kanpai-ing of the Second Pirate King and have had good luck for their future journeys.
But today, as the sun sank down below the horizon, the ship seemed to stop over a certain spot in the ocean. It bobbed for a moment, refusing to go with the wind, and then, with a great sigh, the Thousand Sunny collapsed all at once, as though nothing but sheer will had been holding it together all this time. Within minutes, the pieces had sunk to the bottom of the sea.
"Sunny… Sunny… Sunny!"
"Mmm, hrrg, wha?" The klabautermann sat up slowly and peered around itself into the gloom. The seabed was dark, and it could only vaguely see into its surroundings.
Suddenly, there was a flash, and then a second klabautermann was standing before him, looking slightly huffy. "There you are, Sunny!" it greeted. "You took forever."
Sunny rubbed its head and glared up at the other spirit. "Well, excuse me, Merry. Trying to get to a specific point without a crew is just a little difficult."
"Yes, but a thousand years? I thought you were supposed to be the greatest ship ever built!" Merry teased.
Sunny forced itself to its feet. "I am, you better remember tha-URF!"
It was immediately knocked on its back again by an enthusiastic Merry, who flung itself on top of Sunny. The smaller klabautermann nuzzled its face into Sunny's neck. "Oh, Sunny, I'm so glad you're here! We've all been waiting for you."
Sunny froze in surprise, then hesitantly wrapped its small arms around Merry in return. "We?" it repeated, unwillingly enjoying the smaller ship spirit clinging to its waist.
Merry nodded enthusiastically, knocking into Sunny's chin a few times. "The whole crew. They refused to go on until you joined us."
Sunny's eyes lit up a bit. "Da-er, Franky?" it asked, blushing silver when it made the slip.
"Uh-huh. And Usopp," it said this name adoringly, "and Luffy, and everybody!"
"Brooke?"
"He watched over the crew's descendents until they got to be too numerous, and then he returned here and sank into the ocean."
Sunny cringed at the cheerful way Merry delivered this information. "That's sad, isn't it?"
"Not really. He had lots of friends waiting for him. The crew, and his crew from before, and his friends from before that, even!" Merry snuggled closer. "And lots of others have been through here, too. Zeff-san and Iceburg-san and Nojiko-chan and Kuleha-san, and there were a lot waiting here, too, like Kuina-chan and Bellemere-san and Hiruluk-san and Banchina-san. They kept me company while I was waiting on the crew."
Sunny looked around, but the ocean floor was empty other than the two of them and the remains of its physical form. "But where are they?" it asked, a bit disappointed that there wasn't a large crowd waiting for it.
Merry smiled sheepishly, blushing lightly. "Because I wanted to see you first."
Sunny blushed as well, looking away. "Oh. Well then…"
Merry hugged it tightly one more time, and then turned just as a large portal of light grew in the gloom of the water. "Well, there it is," it said, nodding to it. "The afterlife."
"Oi! Merry! Sunny!"
There was a bound and Luffy was suddenly in front of them, not old and scarred like Sunny had last seen him, but seventeen again, just as full of life and energy as always. He smiled big when he saw the little klabautermann. "You're here! Now we all are! Yosha!"
"Sunny-bro!" Franky was the next there, grinning metal ear to metal ear. "You made it back!"
Sunny grinned back at him, but then its smile drooped. "But… I broke down," it muttered, looking ashamed.
Franky laughed and scooped the klabautermann up. "But you lasted a thousand years! You were worthy of your name." Then he started to tear up. "I missed you, Sunny-bro!" he cried into the silvery form.
Sunny patted his shoulder. "It's okay, aniki."
"Good to see you again, Sunny," said Usopp, standing next to Merry and trying very hard not to burst into tears himself. "Kaya's been wanting to meet you."
"Oh, yeah!" agreed Merry enthusiastically. "You'll like Kaya-chan!"
The rest of the crew crowded around then, all looking just like they had in their prime. Sunny drank them all in. Zoro still had both arms, he noticed, and Sanji's hair was all back and had returned to cover the left side of his face, and Nami didn't have any of those wrinkles she had cursed and Robin could see just fine. There wasn't a hint of rust on Franky and Chopper's hair was rich brown instead of snow white and Usopp wasn't a stooped old storyteller but a young and energetic liar. They welcomed him in turn, and then several of them wandered around the sea floor, looking at the wreckage of his body and pointing out what was still recognizable. Nami in particular was very excited to find a necklace she had lost long ago, while Luffy sat one last time on his special seat.
The portal shimmered and Merry waved at the others from where it was seated on Usopp's shoulders. "Come on! Everyone's waiting for us!"
The crew gathered back together and went into the light, Luffy leading the way with Chopper and Brooke in tow, singing loudly. Usopp and Franky were walking next to each other, and from its spot on the sniper's shoulders, Merry lifted a hand up toward Sunny. Sunny bent down and took it in its own.
The portal closed behind them, and all was dark on the bottom of the sea.
The End
MerryxSunny… it's my new OTP. XD
The "it" thing was intentional. Ships are typically called she's, but both of these have been called he's before. This way, you can assign any gender you want to them. It was very difficult, I assure you. XP
Reader Review Corner for "Special Day"!!
Sheimi5: (for chapter 9) I think I replied to you, but if I didn't, here's a reply. Lol! I can't, but still, that laugh was HILARIOUS!!! I found a clip of it on youtube once and just kept replaying it. XD
Abra Cadaverous: *sings loud and out of key* Binkusu no sake o, todoke no yuku yo!!! I love that song!!! XD Woot! Party, party! XP
Reidluver: Thanks! Heehee, I'm glad. ^^ Oh, me too, me too. T_T Oh! You're welcome. ^^ It really is, and that's why I love this show so much! Me too!! We'll hope together!
IzumiTheMoogle: Haha, just like Zoro, are you? XP Yay! I'm glad. I figured he wouldn't really care about birthdays. XD Chopper's too cute. Like a little kid. ^^ Sanji and Zoro, they got the brotherly love going on. XP Good. ^^ Thanks!!!
Starry-Night-11.0: Well, Zoro probably was just thinking his lucky stars for the quiet and otherwise not worrying about it. XD I didn't realize that until someone said something. I think that's pretty cool. ^^
Lady Embezel: Thanks! I knooow!!! Lamentations! Couldn't resist, couldn't resist. XP
Three-days-late: Swordsmen Get to Nap in Peace Day! XP Brooke didn't, either. They may have had something for him somewhere, but… well, the author was being lazy. XP Thanks! You do that. -_- XD
AGENT KELL: Haha, yeah… -_-' Or just that he'd totally be on the couch if he forgot it. XP
LunaticV: (for chap 1) I don't know if I've replied to you. Yeah, it was definitely weird; we were all very scared. XD Uh, 'cause I didn't have one. *sweatdrop* Maybe Chopper snuck something into their drinks. XP
The Black Kitsune: (for chapter 10) Again, not sure what all I've replied to. It's hilarious!!! You probably would; we almost did. XP
Yumi: (this is going to be long, everybody else) 1) Thanks! Yeah, a little. But anytime those two are getting along, it's OOC. XP 2) Hahaha!! I feel accomplished. XD Thanks! 3) Ooo, that's so cool! I didn't even do that while I was writing it, but now I want to. XP Right? I was singing them to myself to find the right spots. Thanks!!! 4) I do that anytime a One Piece fic uses the phrase "one piece." XP 5) Thanks! Oh, I bet he would be an awesome dancer. ^^ It is, surprisingly. If you just don't go in the restaurant, it's totally black tie and evening gown. XD 6) Thanks! Hey, anyone would be with a relationship like theirs. ^^ I do, too. I try to stay away from the phone as much as possible. Well, I can live with that much. XP 7) Hahahahahaha!!! His pants ARE awesome. XP He does indeed. *looks around shiftily, then tackleglomps Sanji* Hahaha! Thanks! ^^ 8) Hahaha! Thanks! It's one of my favorite fights. ^^ 9) Hahaha, that's okay! I started spoiling a lot around this time. -_-' Me too, actually. XP Thanks! Chopper's just too cute, eh? ^^ 10) Woot! I feel accomplished (again)!!! XD XD Haha, I found it out prematurely, too. But I wasn't TOO far away. Well, actually, what I read was, "He's Roger's son!?!" in a fic, and then I had my suspicions as to exactly who they were talking about, but I went back to watching and reading until I caught up for real. Aww, really? You're making me blush! *^^* No, don't worship me. Well, maybe you could peel my grapes… I kid, I kid!!! XP Alas, no, I don't have that shirt! That was a joke between myself and Abra Cadaverous. But I would LOVE to have it!!! XD XD Good luck! Have fun! ^^
Wondering why her brand new iPod is skipping, this is Dandy Wonderous, signing off.