The morning after the duel was a hard time for Monkey D. Luffy to comprehend. He knew what had happened, had accepted what had happened, but absolutely hated that it happened. His nakama were now split-up and he had no way of fixing it yet. Usopp made the choice to leave by himself and, as such, it was up to him to settle it. If he went back and begged him to rejoin the crew, it would undermine his role as captain.
The same could be said for the loss of the Going Merry. It pained him that the ship he called home was forced to be retired, but it did little good to dwell on it longer than he had. Iceburg was right: he needed to think about the safety of his crew. It was his responsibility to his nakama and he needed to make the tough choice to make a clean break away…no matter how much it broke his own heart. That is why he and the crew needed to make the choice of what kind of ship to replace Merry with.
But the wild cards in all of this were Steven and the Gems.
Luffy expected certain members of the crew to take all of this hard, but Steven's response came out of left field. He knew that he would be incredibly upset and that he would beg to talk to Usopp, but Pearl and Garnet were an unknown variable in this. They had seriously upset Steven to the point that he actually QUIT the Crystal Gems. Luffy knew that there was no actual way that he would permanently quit the group that his mother formed, but that did not take away from his feelings. Steven was hurting and felt betrayed by his family…
As such, Luffy had to make a choice on what to do first: find a new ship, look for Steven, or talk to the Gems to see what was truly going on. How fortuitous it was that the answer to that issue made its way to him. He was on the top of a tower in the hotel the Straw Hats were staying at, contemplating all of the possible ways he could handle this, when he discovered that he was not alone. It was very early in the morning and despite knowing that barely anybody could have slept last night, he did not expect anyone to join him up there. Imagine Luffy's surprise when two individuals joined him on top of the nearby roof…two individuals Luffy was not expecting to see.
"How could we have known that this could have happened?!" a familiar, raspy voice frantically cried.
"We couldn't…I couldn't…" another familiar voice replied, clearly trying and failing not to break down. Both of them came into view and Luffy saw one of them pace around. The two of them had yet to notice Luffy above them, so he listened in. "I thought we were doing the right thing!"
"I know, but we were wrong! Steven was right! We should have done something…ANYTHING…to make this right! Just because this will POTENTIALLY work itself out in most of the futures we saw doesn't mean that we couldn't have ATTEMPTED to do more to affect the present for our friends!"
Luffy did not have to see Ruby and Sapphire's faces to know that both of them were not mad at each other individually, but instead at themselves. Both Gems were clearly crying, but Ruby was far more vocal about her concerns than Sapphire. This was a very rare opportunity for Luffy to get to know these two and he truly wished it were under better circumstances. Garnet must have been truly shaken up if she split-up into Sapphire and Ruby.
"What could we have done? If we said that the ship probably would not be able to be fixed before, Usopp would not have believed us then either. It would have ended in a brawl that he would not have been able to come back from. He would have tried to take on that admiral himself and he would have been captured by the Marines. There was no coming back from that…you saw that too," Sapphire responded while wiping away her eye. "Every day we saw new possibilities and new chances to…to save the crew, but those possibilities were empty promises."
"Why is the future here so hard to read?!" Ruby growled in anger. "Why couldn't we see that Steven was going to leave us?!"
"I wish I knew, Ruby…I wish I knew…" Sapphire moved over to her and began to hug her. The red Gem cried in her arms while Sapphire did her best to stay strong for the two of them. It was only then that Sapphire noticed Luffy's quiet form above them. She pulled back from Ruby and held her hand over her mouth. "Pirate Captain Luffy! I…we…didn't see you!"
Realizing he was caught eavesdropping, Luffy jumped back from his perch and landed in front of them. They were both so small that it took Luffy by surprise. He had only met them once before, but they looked so different here. They looked so…defeated. "I'm sorry…I wasn't trying to listen in. I was just up here when you both arrived."
"Why are you apologizing?! WE should be the ones apologizing!" Ruby blurted out. "You are our captain and we…we let you down!"
"We should have let you know about the visions we saw…but we made the decision to let events happen like they were supposed to!" Sapphire clarified. "Since coming to the Grand Line, our combined Future Vision…it isn't as perfected as it could be at the best of times in our home dimension…we didn't want to make you all worry for nothing!"
"But now look at what happened! We messed up and everything is going all wrong!" Ruby wailed.
Luffy regarded the two crying Gems and thought about how to proceed. Garnet was usually the voice of reason for the Crystal Gems and, as such, Steven. Yet, here these two were. They were so distraught that Luffy was starting to get even more concerned about the welfare of his crew. "You guys didn't tell us about it…to protect us?"
"Pirate Captain Luffy," Sapphire began. "I don't expect you to understand, but we see so many different futures when we are fused that it can become overwhelming. The endless possibilities that spring from even more endless possibilities…we can't always predict what the best possible choice will be. There are times where we need to follow what we think is right…and there are times where that ends up being wrong."
"GAH!" Ruby ran over and punched part of the railing, which got sent flying into Water Seven. "WE DROVE STEVEN AWAY AND BROKE UP THE CREW!"
Watching Ruby take out her anger was hard for Luffy, but there was only one thing he wanted to ask. "You guys…you guys said that there is a chance that all of this will work out…that we will all be nakama again?"
"It is possible…but that future vanished the second Steven left. I can honestly say that I have no idea what the future holds," Sapphire told him in a dejected voice.
In a surprising move, the Gems watched as Luffy adopted a smile. "Well I can honestly say that if everything worked out in one future, then it can happen again in our future! All we have to do is make a good future and everything will work out, right?"
The two were silent as they considered Luffy's words. To be fair, Luffy was far from being able to feel hopeful in that moment. The wounds of the previous day were too fresh to ignore completely. But he was also Monkey D. Luffy, and that meant that at some point he would eventually bounce back. He owed it to the Gems to attempt to stay positive in some capacity.
"You...you sound just like her," Sapphire whispered. "It's incredible."
"Like who?"
"Rose Quartz," Sapphire commented softly.
"You mean Steven's mom?" Luffy scratched the back of his head and thought about the compliment. He could not for the life of him understand why she said that. "She was a great leader, huh?"
"The best," Sapphire responded.
"She was better than us," Ruby grumbled. "Rose was an inspiration to all of us...we are just good at punching things."
"Hey!" Luffy shot the two a hard look. "Don't say that! You guys are great leaders! The Gems look up to you and...and I do too..."
Once again, silence filed the air. It was clear that all three of them were nowhere closer than they were at the beginning of this conversation to fixing the issues caused by this fight. "Would she have been able to avoid this?"
"I can't say...she never had to deal with a situation like this," Sapphire admitted. "None of us had. To balance all of your crew and all of us...it takes quite a lot of skill, Pirate Captain Luffy."
"It doesn't feel that way," Luffy responded with a frown. "I know things will work out in the end, but getting there sucks."
The comment caused Ruby to let out a low laugh. "You can say that again."
"Do you think..." Luffy paused before making a decision in his head. In that moment, Luffy looked at Ruby and Sapphire and realized that they were looking to him to be the strong one. They were so used to figuring things out for themselves that it truly said something when they reached out for help. Garnet...both parts of her...she looked to him in a way that renewed his spirit ever so slightly:
They looked to him as their captain. They might be leaders of the Crystal Gems, but they were also Straw Hats.
"I think I'm going to let Steven get some space," Luffy decided, walking to the balcony and clutching the rails. He stared out into the night sky and sighed. "He needs time to breathe. This is a lot for him...I know he is good at bouncing back, but he's only human."
"Half," Ruby and Sapphire replied together in unison. The action caused Sapphire to slightly giggle, followed by Ruby joining in. Luffy completed the trio, glad that the conversation was at least ending on a laugh. He doubted the next conversation he would make would do so…
…which turned out to be true, for when Luffy knocked on Pearl's door later that night, he discovered that she was nowhere to be found.
*GWMAPT*
This was one of the worst nights of Pearl's life. It was not the WORST of her life by a longshot. That honor goes to the moment where Pearl realized Rose Quartz truly loved Greg Universe. But this was a different kind of night. She was partially responsible for causing her boy to run away. Steven was out in this world alone and upset…
And it was her fault.
Steven ran off and he was not coming back anytime soon. She desperately wanted to go and find him, but was stopped by Luffy, who told her to respect his wishes. When she began to try to argue with him about it, she was then yelled at by Amethyst…who told her exactly how she felt.
"What the heck, Pearl?! What is going on with you?! Why couldn't you have just had fun here?!" Amethyst had scolded her.
"I…how can I have fun when all of this has happened?!" Pearl had tried to shoot back, attempting to take control of the situation. "How can you even think of having fun at a time like this?!"
"Because it is what they need!" Amethyst shouted. "Because it is what I need! What Steven needs now is to breathe and to figure out this himself! What you need is to calm down and realize just what you are doing!"
That was the comment that caused Pearl to realize just how far she had fallen. The Gem was given her own room at the hotel to sulk. Amethyst was not talking to her and she couldn't even look poor Greg or Connie in the eye. The two of them were so hurt by it all and it killed her inside to know that she contributed to their pain. Nami had taken Connie to her room to try to comfort her and Greg asked to be alone himself…leaving Pearl to ponder alone in solidarity.
Suddenly, a knock came on her door. "Yo," a voice called from behind the grieving Gem's door. She did not need to turn around to know who it was.
"Go away, Zoro," Pearl told him, wiping the tears away from her eyes. "I do not feel like talking to anyone right now."
"Tough shit," the swordsman tried again. "Let me in."
Pearl wanted to argue with him, but found she had no strength to think of an argument. As such, she slowly relented and opened the door. There was Zoro, still unchanged after the events of the duel and frowning. He gave her the once-over and shook his head. "You look like crap."
"If you are here just to mock me, I suggest you leave. I am in no mood for it," Pearl warned him.
"I can tell. You look terrible and I can tell you feel terrible. This isn't the best place for you to be right now. You're coming with me," Zoro demanded.
"I'm not going anywhere!"
"That wasn't a question. Come on," Zoro told her and acknowledged the door. "Let's get some air."
Realizing that he was not going to leave and that he was technically right about being stuck in this room, Pearl weakly nodded and followed. "Are you going to tell me where exactly we are going to 'get some air?'"
"No."
*GWMAPT*
"…did we get enough 'air' yet?" Pearl asked in disgust. The two had, almost silently (minus Pearl asking for directions since Zoro seemed to lead them nowhere at all), walked to a local tavern called Blueno's Bar. Unfortunately for the swordsman, it appeared that the establishment was unexpectedly closed for the evening.
"Might as well start heading back...damn it! I needed a drink…I still do," Zoro grumbled. "What kind of a bar is closed at midnight?"
"I wouldn't know."
"I know you don't," the swordsman replied. "Whatever; let's just walk. I'll get a drink back at the hotel."
With that, the two began to walk around a Water Seven enveloped in darkness. It was a quiet night to be sure, but Pearl was too focused on her grief to appreciate it. Noticing this, Zoro started to rub his temples. "You really are something, aren't you?"
"Excuse me?" Pearl turned sharply.
"Look, I'm not here to absolve you of whatever guilt you have. What I want to know is what is really going on here," Zoro requested.
The Gem stopped walking and put her hands on her hips. "What do you mean by that? You dragged me out of my quarters and demanded that I…"
"I'm not talking about that and you know it," Zoro stopped and folded his arms. "Tonight has been a shitshow, that much I can agree with. But what do you have to worry about? What has got you so worked up that you can't even…I don't know…relax?"
"Steven just ran off and it is my fault! How are you not understanding that?!" Pearl shouted.
"Fine; poor wording on my part. I'm not that good at this," Zoro admitted. "What I mean is why don't you want to be here? What is causing you to act so rashly that you drove off the kid?"
"How dare you?! How dare you talk to me like this?! I will not stand to be treated so poorly by…"
"By who? By me? By a human? Guess what? I 'dare' to do this because nobody else is going to talk to you like this and I'm sure as hell not going to deal with this petty crap for the next week," he countered sharply. "Usopp needs to deal with his own shit if he wants to come back and return, but not you. I'm stopping this crap now."
Zoro motioned for Pearl to take a seat near one of the many waterways Water Seven had to offer. Flustered by Zoro's rashness, she almost refused but relented after looking at his eyes. He was not going to take "no" for an answer.
"Back when we were fighting Skinny-Glasses, you seemed somewhat happy. You were forcing yourself to come out of your shell and to enjoy what we do here. How much of that was an act and how much of it was genuine?" Zoro bluntly asked, joining her on the bench.
"If you must know, those were my genuine feelings. Did I think that the captain was acting rash at times? Yes. But those moments searching for the Golden Crown in the cave…those were exciting and new," Pearl admitted, fighting back a defeated smile. "Steven seemed so happy and proud to see me playing along…"
"He wasn't the only one," Zoro informed her. "You need to realize that I've come to actually respect you, as shocking as that may be. You are damn good with a weapon and you put your heart and soul on the line for your team. I respect that. Good swordsmen are hard to come by in this world. But I can't respect you for what you are now! Look at yourself! Is this what the kid would want to come back to?!"
Pearl listened intently at Zoro's words and let them sink in. It was quite a bit to process, but it was surprisingly what she needed to hear. As such, she continued to listen. "We might not have known each other for very long in the grand scheme of things, but I think I've figured you out enough. You might know everything there is to know about the world of Gems or whatever crap you want to call it, but you don't know this place. You don't know this world and its people…but I think you want to. I value and respect many things, and loyalty is one of them. I think you're hiding something…something that isn't letting you let go as much as you would want."
"How is it possible…" Pearl began after a moment. "That someone who has such a poor sense of direction could be so perceptive?"
"The hell if I know," Zoro shrugged. "Look, I don't care if you tell me what's going on with you, but I want you to at least own up to the fact that there is something causing this...whatever this is."
"It's just that…when Steven asked me if I wanted to be here now, it was true. I don't currently want to be on the Grand Line now! It's like I told Luffy before that whole Golden Crown business started. The Cluster is incubating in our planet and we need to destroy it. I find myself being able to distract myself time and time again with small things to keep me from thinking of it, but today has been too much. Garnet might be able to handle it…but I can't," Pearl broke down, tears starting to form again.
"All of this over the loss of the ship?" Zoro raised an eyebrow.
"No! I mean…I told Luffy that the ship was in quite poor condition when I examined it, but never did I dream that…" Pearl started again before shaking her head. "I weep for the ship, truly I do. There has just been a lot of..."
"A lot of what?"
"Today, Garnet and I bought a newspaper…and I am not sure what to do. Everything I thought I knew is being thrown out the proverbial window and I find myself completely wishing for some semblance of normalcy!"
"All of this…is over a newspaper. You're kidding me!" Zoro shook his head as he tried to wrap his mind around it. "What the hell did you read?! Was it your own obituary or something?!"
"It's hard to explain…but Garnet and I think that we might not be the only ones from our dimension here," Pearl told him. "We can't be certain until we go out and look for her ourselves, but unless there is a Devil Fruit out there that can control water, it means that Lapis Lazuli has been here or, more accurately, Malachite…"
"That's the monster-thing you showed us at Steven's house…the fusion that can control the ocean, right?" Zoro nodded, vaguely remembering the conversation.
"Precisely."
"Why the hell would a newspaper make you think she was here? How the hell COULD she have gotten here?"
"It was the report that the pirate with the stick told us about, the one with the Baroque Agents at sea. It did not seem natural to either Garnet or myself," Pearl elaborated. "But as for how, I have no idea. Garnet can't see that far into the future here…her Future Vision is not as reliable here as it is at home apparently."
Zoro rubbed his jaw and thought about it. He looked to the Gem and could tell that the talking was at least making Pearl seem somewhat less guarded despite wiping away more tears. "So that's the story. You can't relax until you know that your planet is safe so you can go monster hunting on the off-chance your hunch is correct, right?"
Pearl allowed herself a chuckle. "It sounds silly when you put it that way. But I have my reasons to worry. That...horrible man told us only to use the Steven Badge in times of great need. What if we use it and cannot return back here? What if we doom your world to death and destruction? What if..."
"Pearl, I may not be the best at this crap, but I do know this: things tend to have a way of working themselves out if you give them enough time. If you focus too much on the crap that gets in your way, you'll never make it to where you need to go. If I focused on every little person I ever got into a fight with and let them consume me, I'd never be on Mihawk's level. You won't be in any condition to save your world if you don't focus on your priorities."
"You…you mean Steven?" Pearl gently asked.
"Right in one. You know his little song, the one he never stops singing? He says that your world believes in the Crystal Gems, and last on that list of Gems…"
"…is Steven," Pearl sighed.
"Bingo. You need to talk to Steven about this stuff. If this is the stuff that you and the Gems are concerned about, let him in. He's one of you and deserves to know what you know. I know you didn't ask for my opinion, but I'm telling you anyway. He and the rest of us still think that you are clinging onto whatever superiority complex you had over us when we first met you," Zoro told her.
"I did NOT have a superiority complex!" Pearl looked offended.
"Pearl, you made it VERY clear that you thought Gems were inherently stronger than us 'mere humans.' You can't even deny that!"
"I...but..." Pearl stammered, realizing just how right he was.
"Again, I get it. People like Greg and your mayor aren't exactly powerhouses compared to you. But time and time again your opponents here showed you just how strong they could be and it took an admiral to get you off your high horse."
The Gem was silent and considered his words. She then buried her head in her hands. "Is that how you all view me: a prideful Gem on a high horse?"
"I can't speak for the others, but I doubt it. I'd call you more eccentric than anything, but that's how you used to be those first few days."
"It's just so hard..." Pearl revealed. "It's hard to change an outlook you have had on life for millennia in a few weeks. Everything is different now...and I don't know what to do."
"You can act like the confident Pearl that I first met!" Zoro snapped. "Change will happen whether you are prepared for it or not. If you weren't prepared for today, how do you think Steven is feeling?! From what he has told us, that kid has dealt with a lot of crap and yet manages to be even happier than our captain at times. If he can move on with things, you can too."
"...so you're telling me I should find Steven and make this right."
"I'm not telling you to do anything, but do you want my suggestion? Talk to the others first. They deserve to know. Let Steven sort out his own shit for a bit. He'll come back around, but you can't force it. He needs time to process everything."
"I suppose you are right..." Pearl sighed. She then got up and bowed. "Thank you, Roronoa Zoro. You are far more perceptive than I gave you credit for."
"Please. Somebody just needed to tell you to knock it the hell off. That's all this was," Zoro shrugged it off and got up. "I'm going back to the hotel to get drunk. Any desire to join me?"
"I'll pass...but thank you for the offer," Pearl allowed herself to smile. "I've got a lot to think about before morning."
"Whatever you say...prude."
"Ruffian!"
"Stuck-up!"
"Mongrel!"
With that, the two returned back to the hotel, trading playful insults at each other. It turned out that this was exactly what Pearl needed as her first step to make things right. There was still quite a lot to be done, but that was fine in Pearl's eyes. She had a lot of growing to do, but at least she was perceptive enough to accept it.
She was not perceptive enough, however, to hear a muted gunshot in the heart of Water Seven...
*GWMAPT*
The next morning, the Straw Hats slowly found themselves beginning to leave their rooms around the same time. It was quickly apparent upon looking at any of them that they either did not get any sleep the night before or their sleep was brought about due to sheer exhaustion. None of them looked lively, but that was to be expected.
Nami had made the decision to take Connie into to the city to grab a quick breakfast for the crew since Sanji was nowhere to be found. This was a good way for the navigator to pick her brain a bit more. The young girl was not really up for much discussion the night before and it worried Nami quite a bit. She knew that keeping negative feelings deep down would not be healthy for the young girl.
"So…did you get any sleep last night?" Nami asked.
"A bit…not enough…" Connie muttered.
"Worried about Steven?"
"Of course I am!" Connie exclaimed, seemingly a bit offended. "Why wouldn't I be?"
"I'm just checking in…I'm worried about you," Nami told her. "You guys aren't exactly used to a big blowout like this. I mean, we aren't either, but you are only twelve."
"Does that really mean anything in the long run?"
"I suppose not," Nami sighed. "If it makes a difference, I'm sorry that all of this ruined your special day yesterday."
"It's not your fault that literally everything around us fell down like…like dominoes or something!" Connie clenched her fist and then released it, giving a worrying glance down at herself. "This is just so frustrating! My first kiss will forever be overshadowed by…well, this!"
"My god! I totally forgot that Steven said that!" Nami looked floored. "That's not even getting into how you fused with him!"
"Yeah…I can see why you guys would…" Connie bitterly replied. It was then that she adopted a look of sadness on her face and started to cry. "I'm sorry, Nami! I don't mean to sound so upset and dismissive, but all of this was just so…"
"Shh…" Nami put her arm around her and let her cry. Surprisingly, the denizens of Water Seven were paying them no mind, as most were engrossed in their newspapers and were too busy talking amongst themselves. They all seemed to be worried about something, but Nami kept her focus on the grieving girl. "This was just a terrible situation; nobody can deny that. But look at you! You and Steven had the one good moment of the day! You two shared something none of us have experienced. You might be only kids, but you guys make a cute couple…"
"He's out there right now…upset and hurting…"
"We will find him soon enough. Right now, think of it this way: he would be even more upset if he knew how you were feeling," Nami pointed out. "You can't let it consume you like this."
"I know…but it's hard!"
"Yes, it is hard. That's why we are going to distract ourselves for now and get breakfast. I'm sure Luffy will want to go address out ship situation and then…well, hopefully Steven will be feeling good enough to talk this out."
"Something wasn't right with him…and I don't think it is just because of the duel or even the Gems," Connie thought about it. "He looked like he was really hurting. He never did that when at home."
"I never saw him do that when he was here either," Nami admitted. "Just chalk it up to another thing you two can talk about."
"I suppose so…" Connie ruffled her hair. "I guess I need to be strong, right?"
"That sounds like a good idea to me," Nami smiled. "So…fusion, eh? What's it like?"
"It's just so…wonderful!" Connie allowed herself to grin. "Being Stevonnie is one of the greatest feelings I have ever felt!"
"Well, when all of this settles down, you two need to tell us about it. Until then, I'm thinking bagels will suffice. Any objections?"
"My mom doesn't usually let me eat bagels. She says they are quite unhealthy…but I think that desperate times call for desperate measures!" Connie said with a wink.
Nami gave her a big smile. "That's the Connie I remember. Now then, let's get enough for all of us and twice that for Luffy. He'll probably need something to tide him over until later."
When they walked into a small shop, they were bombarded with frantic discussions among the patrons inside. All of them were intently staring at newspapers and freaking out as loud as they could. The two ladies had no choice now but to listen in and hear just what all the commotion was about.
"How could they have shot him?!"
"He can't die! Iceburg can't die!"
"This is the work of that bastard Franky! It has to be!"
"Is it retaliation for whatever happened to the Franky House?!"
"WE NEED TO KNOW!"
"Hold it! Iceburg…you mean the nice mayor?!" Nami tried to asked the people over the crowd. "What happened?!"
"Read this!" a random person shoved a newspaper into Nami's hands and the navigator quickly scanned its contents. In an instant, she knew the full story.
"What's going on, Nami? Who is Iceburg?" Connie asked, concerned about the state of the patrons.
"He is the mayor of Water Seven and the head of the shipwrights around here…this is bad! The city is going to be in a state of panic!"
Connie's eyes narrowed and looked around. "This…this can't be a coincidence!"
"What?"
"Think about it! The mayor getting shot, the duel, the money getting stolen, Robin being missing, Steven running out…there is something rotten in the state of Water Seven," Connie told her. "There has to be some connected reason about why so many bad things are happening all in one day!"
"Maybe you're on to something," Nami nodded frantically. "We need to talk to the crew and tell them what is going on!"
"What about the bagels?"
"Forget the bagels! Did you see the pandemonium in there?! We are needed at the hotel!" Nami grabbed Connie's arm and started to run back to where they came from.
After a short sprint, they returned to the hotel and started bolting up the stairs. It was clear from the street level that there were figures on the roof. Nami and Connie silently agreed that it had to have been the crew. Opening the door to the roof revealed that they were correct. However, the surprising part was not that they were there, but that Pearl and Garnet (who was without her sunglasses) were in the process of addressing all of them.
"Guys! We have a serious…" Nami had started before getting startled by their presence. "Am I interrupting something?"
"Oh! Nami…and Connie…" Pearl gulped, looking at her pupil and adopting a depressed look on her face. "It is good that you arrived when you did. Garnet and I have been talking and we decided that we each have something to say…if you would let us."
"I mean, we have some very important…" Nami began before getting stopped by Connie, who grabbed her arm and squeezed. It was clear that the girl desperately wanted to hear what the Gems had to say and, for her sake, Nami relented. "It can wait. What is going on?"
"The past night was a time for serious reflection…and we did not like what we saw," Garnet began. "I should have told you all about the potential futures I saw, but I did not tell you for good reasons."
"Like what?" Amethyst angrily asked. She was clearly not in a good mood whatsoever. She was standing near Greg, who looked like he was hit by a truck. The man clearly did not get any rest and was sullen beyond all reason. Nami had never seen such a jovial soul broken down so much.
To be fair, the rest of the crew was not doing well at all. Sanji had finally returned from his little expenditure and it was clear he was out all night, Chopper looked like he had only just stopped crying a few hours before, and Peridot just stared out into the city. The only two who looked somewhat normal were Zoro and Luffy, though Luffy was uncharacteristically silent. He was listening to the two of them intently, but it was clear that he was still in deep thought over the previous night.
"My Future Vision is somewhat limited here…I cannot get a good grasp on what could happen until it is right in front of me. I can only get glimpses of what could potentially be coming, but even that is not as precise as it could be. Some of those futures were good…most of them ended badly for us. I wanted to protect all of you in case things worked out, but that was clearly the wrong answer. For that, I apologize to each of you for letting you down," Garnet proclaimed to the collective.
She paused and regarded everyone. Nami could see that she was attempting to find the right words to describe her feelings. This was clearly something Garnet was not used to and she could see that Luffy was hanging on every word. "If we are all Straw Hats, then we all should act like Straw Hats. From now on, if I see a scenario that should warrant your appraisal, I will do just that. I am still learning to be more open with these things…and I do not expect you to forgive me just yet. What's done is done and time will be required to truly forgive. But I hope that we can move past this and begin a good future, but not one of Crystal Gems and Straw Hats; rather, one of a truly unified crew. It is what Steven would want…and what I want as well."
"So now you are concerned about what Steven wants," Amethyst frowned. The Gem's body language showed just how upset she was at the situation. "That's rich."
"Come on, Amethyst! Garnet seems really sincere about this!" Chopper defended the Gem. "I think that was beautiful, Garnet."
"Thank you, reindeer-doctor. That means quite a bit to me," Garnet replied with a smile.
"Don't try to compliment me, you asshole!" Chopper tried to hide his true feelings about the comment.
"I suppose that makes sense when you put it like that..." Sanji commented, taking a drag of his cigarette. "It's still a shitty situation, but I get it."
"You still should have told us," Amethyst folded her arms. "Steven was right on that front. Things might be bad, but…"
"…but nothing. She did it and she apologized. She's accepted that her actions were not the best and she vowed to do better in the future," Zoro cut her off. "We've all done it."
"True as that may be, she is right. I should have been more mindful of my actions. I just hope that we can salvage this mess and grow into the crew that I know we can become," Garnet replied.
"Ugh," Amethyst shook her head in anger. "That's not going to change what happened! Steven ran off and is probably sad and stuff! Why aren't we doing anything about that?! We gave him all night!"
"Steven will come to us when he is ready," Pearl told her. "We might not like it…but it's what Steven needs."
"You don't get to talk!"
"Amethyst," Luffy called to her in a stern voice. "Let her speak."
"I…but…fine," Amethyst relented, glaring angrily at Pearl. "This had better be good."
Pearl glanced over the crowd and saw that she had their full attention. Before she could even start talking, tears began to flow down her face. "I'M SO SORRY!" Pearl wailed as loudly as she could. "I DIDN'T MEAN TO HURT YOU ALL!"
"Dial it back a bit," Garnet nudged her.
Taking a moment to catch her breath and regain her composure, Pearl began again. "Over the course of my time with you all, I will admit that it was hard for me to find my place. This adventure and excitement…it is not my typical cup of tea, to borrow the phrase. However, the last week-and-a-half has been just so…fun! I am truly finding myself having a good time here. But I can't allow myself to fully enjoy myself, and I believe you all should know why…"
The Gem looked to Garnet, as if to ask for her approval. Garnet nodded and Pearl allowed her gemstone to project an image of Peridot playing around with Steven back at the beach house. Steven was inside of a cardboard box colored like the Earth and Peridot was hitting it with a flyswatter. "You all know that prior to our return to the Grand Line, we were facing a crisis with the Cluster preparing to destroy the Earth. It is hard to fully let go when your planet can be destroyed any time now. We have no way of knowing just what is happening on Earth right now, and that scares me."
"It's's okay, my beautiful Pearl!" Sanji ran up to try to make her feel better. "We will be there to help you stop that Cluster! I will never allow it to destroy a world that hosts such beautiful Gems like you!"
"Oh please!" Amethyst interjected. "We knew all of that already! I have been worried and I'm fine! Steven was worried and he was fine…until you both broke his trust!"
"Amethyst, that's not fair!" Connie spoke up. "Steven knew that Pearl was hurting about this! He was hurting too!"
"But that's what I am saying! Steven could find the fun in anything!"
"But Pearl isn't Steven!" Connie retorted.
"I know…" Pearl tried to regain control of her speech. "I know I'm not as strong as Steven. I truly wish I was, but I know my limitations. There are things that Garnet and I found out that we think you should know…but we aren't entirely sure what it means."
"What are you even talking about?!" Amethyst angrily barked.
"We think Malachite is here! There! I said it!" Pearl threw up her hand in frustrated defeat. She then allowed her gemstone to project a familiar image of a giant monster with four eyes and four hands. "We think she is responsible for the disappearances of those Baroque Works ships!"
Silence fell upon the roof as the Straw Hats processed exactly what Pearl meant. It was Amethyst who spoke first, shaking her head. "No. No. No. That is impossible! How the hay could she have gotten here?!"
"I don't know!"
"So what would she even want?"
"I have no idea!" Pearl pointed to the image. "I have no idea why or how she would be here…but that's what has been worrying me! That's why I didn't want to be here! That's why I said what I said…that's what drove Steven away from us."
"It's true, Amethyst," Garnet nodded. "We were moments from telling you about it last night."
"That's why you were insisting that we returned back to the beach house when chocolate-girl and the others came back? I…this is madness! Tell me this isn't crazy!" Amethyst freaked out.
"This is the Grand Line…anything can happen," Peridot whispered, not even acknowledging the image. "That's what Robin would have said…"
"I...gah! This is making my gem hurt!" Amethyst ruffled back her hair. "I'm sorry, but this is just too much. I'm just so angry and worried that I don't know what I am feeling!"
"I understand, Amethyst...you are just as worried about Steven as we are, and for that I am so sorry. But for now, we need to look forward, right? Everyone…I have a request of you," Pearl asked the group, who were now mostly shocked at the implications of a giant fusion capable of controlling the ocean somehow appearing on the Grand Line. "The Crystal Gems have a responsibility to protect the planet from the evils of Homeworld…so I request that this be the last island on our trip before returning home. The captain had already told me that he would try to help us get materials to build our...'Clusterbuster,' but I know that won't be enough. Could…could you come with us? The Crystal Gems need their entire team…and I truly consider you to be a part of the team…"
"Do you mean that?" Luffy asked, his voice somewhat monotone yet hopeful at the same time. Nami tried to read her captain, but it was hard. He was clearly still conflicted with emotions about Usopp and Merry, yet he knew that Pearl was imploring him and the others to understand her point of view. Though she did not personally agree with Luffy and Usopp's actions the night before, she felt proud to be a member of a crew where the captain would attempt to put his own emotions aside for the betterment of others.
Pearl wiped away the tears streaming down her face and nodded. "I do, Captain Luffy. I have pledged my services to you already and I stand by that. The odds are truly against us. It won't be easy to stop the Cluster and Malachite, but we don't have to do it alone…"
"Then I guess our next stop after we get our ship and find Robin will be to kick the Cluster's ass," Luffy gave a smile, forced yet genuine. He extended his hand to Pearl, who accepted it and found herself sobbing into his arms.
"Thank you…thank you! I am so sorry for any grief or mistrust that I caused you!" Pearl wailed.
"We aren't the ones you need to talk to," Luffy told her. Pearl stopped crying and regarded him. "We aren't the ones who were hurt by your actions…at least not all of us."
The Gem knew exactly who he was referring to and walked over to the one person who had yet to say a word...the one who needed encouragement more than anyone. "Greg…what can I say that hasn't been said? Steven…"
"…is hurting more than I have ever seen him," Greg finished her thoughts for her in a hoarse voice. "Do you know how hard it is to see my boy like that? It killed me when he was lost and it's killing me that I'm not there for him."
"What would you have me do, Greg? What can I do to make this right?" Pearl begged.
"Let Steven come to you…he's the one who is affected the most in this right now," Greg sighed and rubbed his own eyes, trying to see straight.
"That's not what I'm asking," Pearl corrected herself. "What I mean is…what can I do to make this right by you?"
The man thought about it and shook his head. "Don't worry about me, Pearl. I just need to know my boy is safe."
"Maybe you should get some rest, Greg?" Nami suggested. "You don't want Steven seeing you like this, right?"
"That's a wonderful idea," Pearl quickly nodded. "Perhaps…perhaps when you wake up from one of those 'nap' things I hear so much about, you can be the one to look for Steven? He doesn't know where we are lodging, right?"
"Yeah. Yeah, I think I'm going to do that," Greg nodded and slowly got himself up. "Leave it to dear old dad to save the day, right?"
"I can think of no better person to search for him…well, almost any person," Garnet commented, her eyes finding Connie's.
Picking up Garnet's suggestion, Connie nodded. "I think that I'll stay too…but wait! There's a problem that you guys don't even know about!"
"Damn it; what now?" Sanji rubbed his head. "I don't think I can handle any more of this shit."
"We were out in town trying to get breakfast and…and we learned that Iceburg was shot!" Nami composed herself, getting back on track. She handed the newspaper she received over to the crew.
"Iceburg? You mean that ship-guy?" Amethyst asked, now more interested than annoyed. "He's like a big deal here. Who would want to hurt him?"
"We don't know! The whole city is in a panic!"
"It's going to be hard to find Steven in all of this…and this doesn't even take into account the fact we still don't have a ship," Garnet folded her arms. "This is not good."
"We needed to talk to the old man today anyway," Luffy said as he started walking to the door. "I'm going to go see how he's doing."
"Wait! You can't just go alone! I'm coming too," Nami told him.
"We should join along as well," Garnet commented, acknowledging the Gems. Pearl gave a nod and Amethyst just folded her arms. It was clear that their speech was not quite enough to make her forgive the broken trust that Pearl and Garnet left her with, but she was invested enough in seeing the completion of a new ship to join their company.
"If you guys are going to look for this 'Iceburg' guy and these two are going to look for Steven, then I'm going to search the town for Robin. Peridot? Chopper? Moss-head? You guys coming with me?" Sanji asked, discarding his finished cigarette.
"Sure!" Chopper nodded.
"I'll pass. Perhaps splitting up will yield a higher chance of locating Robin before the day is done. I will follow the captain around…if he does not mind?" Peridot asked, giving Luffy puppy-dog eyes.
"That's fine with me," he nodded. "What about you, Zoro?"
"I'm gonna stay here and see what happens. For now, I'll watch over Greg and wait with Connie. I'll figure it out from there," the swordsman told the rest of them.
"Then we have a plan. While we are out, we'll try to find out when the sea train comes in so we could figure out when the others are getting back. We'll figure out what to do next by the night's end," Luffy told the crew.
Though shaken, the Straw Hats agreed. It was clear that there were still hard feelings from Amethyst toward her fellow Gems, but their words were the beginning of the healing process. With Steven and Robin missing; Damian, Petrea, and Genevieve returning; and Usopp and Merry no longer official members of the crew…things were only going to go from bad to worse. As they began to part ways, a loud blaring announcement could be heard throughout the island:
"THE WATER SEVEN WEATHER FORECAST HAS DECLARED AN AQUA LAGUNA WARNING FOR THE ENTIRE ISLAND. BE SURE TO MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND."
*GWMAPT*
The first sea train of the day pulled into Water Seven amid a time of panic. The city was collectively freaking out over the attempted assassination attempt on Iceburg's life. Everyone on the island had been made aware of it…
Including Franky: the head of the Franky Family and the former passenger on the sea train. His distinctive face was covered by one of the many masks that were seen throughout the city the day before. He was joined by two women with square-like hair. The lone difference between the two was the fact that one's hair was slightly curlier than the other's. The three, though detested by the citizens of Water Seven, were just as shocked as they were to hear about their mayor. However, the shock of learning about Iceburg was nothing compared to the shock they received when they returned home to their base of operations.
"Kiwi…Mozu…I'm dreaming, right? This is not our Franky House…" Franky asked the nearly identical sisters that followed him around when they came across the battered remains of the former stronghold.
"You're not dreaming," the girl with the curlier hair replied. "This is…"
"…terrible!" the other sister finished the other's thoughts.
Franky looked down at the rubble and saw that several of his loyal Franky Family followers were passed out and wounded, stuck under the fallen structure. The sight of human life being left out like broken dolls after a night of play caused Franky to rip off his mask and tighten his fist. "DAMN YOU, STRAW HAT! IS THIS IS YOUR REVENGE?! YOU DARE TO DESTROY MY LIFE LIKE THIS?!"
"Big…Big bro! It's you!" the weak voice of Zambai called to him. Franky whipped around and saw several injured members of the Franky Family hobbling toward him.
"You guys made it out?" Franky asked him.
"Barely! Those pirates…they are crazy strong! Some of them aren't human, I'll tell you! You've gotta avenge us, bro!" a battered and bruised Zambai pleaded.
"Do you know where they are?"
"We watched them leave a hotel they were staying at not too long ago…I can't speak for some of the crew, but I think Straw Hat is headed toward Dock One."
Franky gave one final look to his pleading men and to the ruined house they called home. Anger surged up inside of him and, as such, there was only one response the man could give to comfort them all:
"Super!"