Ferro Island was fairly large, but most of it was covered in mountains with pitch black clouds covering the peaks. The beaches were covered in black sand from the fertile soil. Law could see lightning coming from the clouds. Shops and houses were built on the sides of the mountain, stairs replaced winding paths as the mountain became more steep. Law instructed the crew to submerge the sub after they docked. He didn't want to be delayed by lightning hitting the sub and blowing the motors. Law also told the crew what to do incase one of them did get hit by lightning and told them to stay in groups.
Most of the crew was weary of the island.
"Scary."
"Who lives on an island like that?"
"Idiots."
"I hate thunder storms."
"Captain wants us to stock up on sub parts."
"Those are metal!"
"We're gonna die!"
"Why can't we get parts somewhere else?"
"They have good stuff here."
"Mountain is a gold mine, literally!"
"Shachi, Penguin. I want the two of you looking at parts for the sub. Lemon-ya has cleared two storage rooms. I want them filled with replacement parts." The galley was filled with the crew, waiting for Law to tell them who would be going on the island, and who would be staying on the sub.
"Yes, Captain!" The two mechanics saluted.
"Cook asked me to pick up a few things, Captain." Leif raised a list in the air. Law nodded in acknowledgment. Leif moved towards the door but was nearly knocked down by Creena. The large cat purred as it rubbed against Leif's legs.
"He wants to go with you," Bepo translated.
"I need too pick up some cleaning supplies, Captain!" Lemon called through the galley crowd. She squeezed through and handed a list to Law for inspection. "Something in the boiler room is leaking and what ever it is has eaten five of my rags and a mop!" Lemon glared at the mechanics who had suddenly shrunk and found something interesting about the galley floor.
Law handed Lemon her list back with money for supplies. "Take Bepo with you, Lemon-ya," he instructed. Lemon nodded and bowed, honored that Law would ask his fluffy first mate to watch over her. Law turned a deadly glare on his mechanics. "I want what ever is leaking in the boiler room replaced by tonight, or we'll see how fast the corrosive substance eats through flesh and bone."
There was a loud "Yes, Captain!" from the mechanics. Shachi and Penguin hurried from the galley.
...
"Shall we leave now?" Law asked his butterfly. He was done giving orders and eager to view new medical equipment. Ferro manufactured anything made of metal, including medical equipment for hospitals and navy ships. Lia looked up from the papers she was holding. She was leaning against the railing of the sub, rereading the text. They were delivered by the news coo when the sub docked that morning. It was a letter from Sou and Rosie, containing all of the information they gathered on Ferro. Her two informants were currently traveling with a fruit merchant to the next island.
"I never expected both of them to run," she whispered. Years together, learning everything about each other, and her nakama still surprised her.
"Why are they avoiding you?" Law handed Lia his nodachi to carry.
"I have a horrible temper. Rosie believes she may have memories that may provoke it." Her temper wouldn't be turned on Rosie, but the enemy she was so terrified of. The enemy Lia still didn't know the identity of. Was it the marines, or someone independent?
"Memories about your former informant?" Lia nodded. She stuffed the note into her pocket. The information circulated the sub hours earlier, warning the crew away from the mines and a sketchy scam where an old couple claimed to have a magical powder that cured acne, but really turned your skin a wide range of blues and purples for several days. Lia pulled out and older, smaller, piece of paper.
"I need to pick something up while you're looking at shiny new torture equipment," she smiled at her captain.
...
Lia looked at the paper and then back to the front of the shop. The small place was definitely the right address. "Weaponry" the sign in front said. Lia looked back at the paper before entering. It was a slip for picking up an ordered item, number 37709 to be exact. Lia had no idea what it was. When Sou gave her the paper back on Estasia, she thought it would be a bauble the group helped Kai pick out and he was waiting for her birthday to pick it up.
When she entered the shop, she was sure she would not be picking up a pretty bauble. She should have known better. Kai wouldn't waste his time looking at baubles. She was slightly disappointed for some reason.
The wooden walls of the shop were covered in weapons of every type, as well as mining equipment. "Why waste time reaching for a sword?" a sign read over a display of pick axes. Shapes, sizes, and materials varied. Fighting in the mines must break out often, Lia figured.
"Can I help you?" an elderly woman asked from behind a wooden counter. The woman looked out of place surrounded by all of the deadly weapons lining the walls.
"I've come to pick up an item." Lia handed the woman the slip. Her eyes widened as she read the paper.
"Come with me, child." The woman led Lia into the back of the shop where men were forging custom made weapons. The room was loud and hot. The woman led Lia further back, into a large storage room. Weapons of every size and variety covered the shelves on the walls like the shop front, though each was marked with a number tag. "I remember that one. It was the last my husband helped make. He spoke of it for months. You would have thought he was forging it for Hawkeye himself," The old woman huffed, thought her voice was also slightly amused. "Here it is. Have a look at it." The woman handed Lia a box. A small box. Maybe it was a bauble after all.
"Oh my," Lia breathed.
...
"Stop holding it like a sword!" Kai yelled for the third time. "Even if it was a sword, you would be holding that wrong as well!"
"No I would not!" Lia protested. She dropped the scythe to her side.
"She's right about that," Sou told Kai. It had been a month since they gained their new comrade. "If you think Hime-chi is scary with her daggers, she's twice as scary with a sword." The wind blew over the grassy field where the three had made camp that afternoon. Sou was lounging by the half built fire, waiting for someone to gather wood.
"I feel sorry for whoever had to teach you," Kai told Lia blandly. She glared at him. "You asked to learn, the least you could do is listen."
"You agreed, the least you could do is teach." The two glared at each other. Sou sighed at the exchange and briefly wondered who would snap first.
...
The box held a chain with one charm. It was in the shape of a scythe. The chain wrapped around her middle finger and then her wrist, allowing the charm to rest either in the palm or on the back of her hand. It fit perfectly, as if it was meant to be on her hand. It is, Lia reminded herself.
"It takes a bit of haki," the woman told her. Lia summoned her sprit, instantly, the charm took it's true shape. It rolled off the back of her hand in to Lia's palm. The woman began to give Lia a detailed description of the scythe. It was black, simply designed. "You will note that there is a pointed diamond tip both on the bottom of the handle and on top," the woman continued to ramble. The blade was double sided. An inch long strip down the middle of the blade was engraved. Phlox flowers spelled "DREAM WORLD" with butterflies resting on either side. The other side of the blade said "YUME NO SEKAI" in the same style.
Lia summoned her haki again, returning the magnificent weapon to it's portable state. She thanked the woman and left. Lia was on the boarder line of tears due to extreme elation, and melancholy memories.
...
"Why do you fight with your scythe sometimes, not every time?" Lia was laying on the top bunk of a bunk bed. The hotel room held two bunk beds, a night table between them, and a dresser on the other side of the room. Kai laid on the bottom bunk of the other bed.
"A scythe is a symbol of death. I use it only when I intend to kill." Lia ignored his bored tone.
"Then why teach me to fight with it?"
"You asked."
"But your ideals-"
"Are not yours." Lia stared at Kai. He was laying on his back, his arms crossed behind his head, long silver hair tied in a braid, eyes closed. If only he was truly as peaceful as he looked at that moment. "What?" He opened one grey, nearly white eye, to catch Lia staring.
"If you were this mature around Elli, he might hate you less."
"He'll get over it." Kai closed his eyes.
"You tried to kill him."
"Not lately."
...
Shachi and Penguin stood in heaven.
Well, as close to heaven as they could be without actually dying or nearly dying.
They were surrounded by metal and tools screaming for the two pirates to buy them and add them to the sub.
"We don't need rockets," Penguin told a bright eyed Shachi. "We need to buy batteries. That's what's leaking in the boiler room." Shachi quickly sobered.
"Captain actually might make us sleep in the boiler room."
"The acid might not leak through metal, but I dont want to see what it would do to us." Penguin agreed.
"Did you see that mop though? How hard do you think Lemon-chan scrubbed?"
"You mean there was something left?" Penguin was amazed.
"Maybe we should get more than one," Shachi suggested. "Incase one leaks again."
"I hope Lemon-chan is thinking the same about her mops," Penguin smiled.
"Are you sure-"
"Rockets won't work under water."
"But think of how cool it would be if they did!" Penguin shook his head at his friend who now has sparkles for eyes. He grabbed Shachi roughly by the collar and dragged him to the display of batteries.
...
Leif glanced at Creena. The cat was a huge help. After a bit of adjustment, he carried bags on his back. He also sniffed out the best food and intimidated shop keepers for lower prices, as well as the towns people for a clear path.
The secret belly rubs and table scraps Leif gave Creena paid off quite nicely. The exotic feline even scared off a weird looking group of people in yellow robes, asking him if he was at peace with the island.
...
"Do we really need five mops?" Bepo asked.
"What if what ever is leaking in the boiler room leaks again? Did you see what it did to the last one?"
"I'm sorry." Bepo stopped walking and hung his head.
"Its not your fault," Lemon assured the bear. "You've been a huge help. I'm too small to carry everything back to the sub." Bepo brightened instantly.
The two reached the dock where the sub was submerged. "How long until they surface?" Lemon asked.
"Another hour."
"That long?"
"I'm sorry."
"Captain just wants everyone to be safe, including the sub." Lemon tried to bring Bepo out of his new depression. She knew that the sub was to stay under water and surface only at certain times to minimize exposure to lightning and hide the crew's presence. She just wished she had spent more time window shopping.
"What are those?" Bepo pointed to a stack of metal boxes on the dock.
"They look familiar. Maybe Shachi and Penguin bought them." The boxes could be sub parts, or anything else. For the thousandth time, Lemon reminded herself that she needed the mechanics to explain to her how the sub worked. You needed to know how something ticked and what it was made of to clean it right? She definitely did not believe Shachi's claim that everything needed to be covered in oil to work.
"Why would they leave sub parts without anyone to watch them?"
"That's a good point."
"Excuse me," a voice called. Lemon and Bepo turned to see a group of people in yellow cloaks. "Have you found peace with Ferro Island?"
...
"When I said shiny torture tools, I meant a new scalpel, not, what is it again?" Lia looked skeptically at the maching Law was carrying. She held his nodachi again while they headed back to the docks.
"A defibrillator," Law grinned. Once he had Shachi and Penguin tamper with the device, it would be ready for medical and recreational use.
"There is irony in this somewhere."
"Are you disturbed Lia?" Law smirked.
"No. I'm feeling sorry for the mechanics if the leak isn't fixed." Law chuckled. He was like a child with a new toy. He wanted to try it out as soon as possible. The effects of electricticity on the human body was not studied enough to satisfy Law's curiosity. "The sub should be rising any minute now." Lia turned her attention away from Law's gleefully sadistic mood and to the dock.
Something was not right.
There were boxes, batteries, Lia corrected herself, stacked on the dock. Cleaning supplies were also strewn about. "I don't like how this looks," Lia whispered.
"Four gone, two possibly injured in a struggle."
Something growled behind the couple.
"What happened?" Leif asked Law as Creena inspected the dock.
"Bepo, Shachi, Penguin, and Lemon-ya are missing, possible kidnapped." Further information was drowned out by the sound of the sub surfacing.
"Creena might be able to follow a scent," Lia offered via butterfly. Law nodded. They would begin the search once everything was loaded onto the sub.
Thunder rumbled in the not so distance.
...
Ferro Island is the creation of Greengirl011. It's been a long wait, but we're finally here!
Question: do you guys want the main story to continue, or a Christmas special, or, your so mean Gecko we waited a whole month, we deserve both?
About that...
So, there is this thing, called writer's block, it's evil. Horribly evil. I wanted to write a major arc and I knew it would be on Ferro, but I just didn't know who the bad guy would be. So, today, or yesterday depending on time zones, after watching the Christmas tree lighting at Rockefeller Center on tv, I got that little spark that told me to write.
Thank you everyone who reviewed, favorited, and followed! Seeing those emails just makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. It's December and on the norther hemisphere, we need warm fuzzies. Thanks for reading!