A/N: Hi everyone, I just want to say Happy Anniversary! Today marks a full year since Roses adventures with the Straw Hats began! I want to thank you guys for following her story! I promise to come up with great chapters and specials in the future. I hope you enjoy Fishman Island!
On an average day at Tony's pizzeria 16 year old Rose wearing a long sleeve red t-shirt and jeans was on break in the kitchen while reading her borrowed One Piece manga in the far corner of the room.
Naomi walks in the kitchen while running a hand through her reddish-brown hair and walks up to her. "You can stop hiding in the kitchen Rose. Bobby just left."
She nods as she closes the book. "Thanks Naomi."
"Instead of thanking me how about paying for a permit, so you can street perform without having him chase you."
"I'll do it if you give me a raise."
"No chance. Maybe I'll consider if you tell Bobby or a social worker how your foster family treats-"
"And get relocated somewhere out of the city or an even worse family? Not happening."
Naomi groans in frustration. "It's true you might leave the city, but you might be able to go someplace where the family doesn't claw your arms or hit you." She points at Roses bandaged wrists that are showing causing her to pull her sleeves down then gives her a reassuring grin.
"Relax, it's not like they really hurt me and the scratches fade quickly. I get hit worse at martial arts club. By the way, good news! After careful consideration I've finally decided on the world I want to go to when I figure out the comet's power!"
She sighs. (This again…. At least she has hope in something.) "Really? Which one?"
Rose gets up and shows her the volume 62 One Piece manga that she was reading. "If I have a say in where the Timore Comet takes me I want to go to the One Piece world!"
She quirks an eyebrow then takes the book and skims through it. "Isn't this the one about pirates?"
She eagerly nods. "Yea, it has everything that's awesome in one world. Giants, ghosts, dinosaurs, zombies, mermaids, and if I eat a devil fruit I could get a cool power!"
She giggles at the enthusiasm. "Sounds perfect for you. Are you sure you want to go into a world with so much violence though? Aren't you tired of fighting all the time?"
She shakes her head. "Where's the fun if I can't fight? Besides, with a world as crazy as that one they're bound to have heard of the comet, so I don't have to go back to square one."
"I see, that makes sense." She freezes at one of the pages and sweat drops. "Did this guy really ask if she can poop?" She shows her the picture of Luffy asking Madame Shirley if mermaids can poop.
She covers her mouth to hold back from laughing. (Oh man, this must be what it's like when a parent walks in on their kid watching an awkward anime scene!) "Pfft! Hahaha, yea Luffy's a little weird but he's pretty funny. That world's a crazy place but it's also really fun. I'll just be happy to be in another world."
Naomi sighs as she hands back the book. "I'm sure you would be… Look, I know you don't want to hear this anymore but at least try to enjoy this world. Who knows? Maybe you can have your adventure here and prove the comets existence to the world. After all, from what you told me your parents were able to figure out a lot about it before they died…"
Roses smile starts to fade while putting the manga away. "*Sigh* You're right in that I can try to figure it out here, but unless I travel I can't prove anything and my findings would be treated as theories at best. Besides, compared to a world where bosses don't give raises to their hardworking employees going somewhere else is a better option."
She twitches an eyebrow. "If employees would stop making up breaks to hide from cops then the bosses would be more generous!"
She chuckles while rubbing the back of her head sheepishly. "Good point, but going to another world still sounds more appealing."
"Just get back to work. Your break's over."
She nods then heads out of the kitchen. "You got it boss."
She sighs then grins before joining Rose out of the kitchen before the dinner rush arrived.
5 little mermaids in black tank tops, cowgirl hats on top of brown hair in ponytails and bubbles around their fins float over Rose and Luffy who are sleeping next to each other on a large shell bed.
"Are they ok?"
"They're ok!"
"They're not ok!"
"I think they're ok."
"So what if they're ok?"
Rose wakes up then sits up to find herself in a small but cozy apartment with water ways leading to different rooms.
She spots the cute little mermaids then waves while grinning. "Hi there, I'm Rose. Are we in Camie's apartment?"
They wave back and nod while one of them floats up to her. "Yea, Camie and some of your friends went out to get everyone's clothes dry. We made sure the boys didn't see you when we changed you."
She looks down to find herself in a blue tank top and purple shorts then bows her head. "Thank you for making sure no one saw my stomach."
Another mermaid tilts her head. "Is it about the scar?"
She nods as she places a hand over her stomach. "I got it from a war a few years ago. I'd rather they didn't see it yet." (Too bad the scar from when Aokiji stabbed me isn't temporary like Marie and Laura's scratches… *Sigh* The others are still getting used to me being alive and seeing it will just upset them. It should be fine for them to see after the arc is done.)
The mermaids nod then float over Luffy who's sleeping on his back in a white t-shirt and blue shorts with his limbs sprawled everywhere.
"Will he wake up?"
"He'll wake up."
"He won't wake up."
"I think he'll wake up."
"So what if he wakes up?"
Rose giggles. "Don't worry girls, he'll wake up." She softly grins at Luffy's sleeping face then gently pushes his bangs away from his eyes.
(Cute!) She moves her hand away when Luffy grabs it in his sleep causing her to jolt. He softly grins in his sleep as he turns towards her while his hand holds hers.
(W-what the?) A blush creeps on her face while the mermaids giggle and Sanji, Usopp, Chopper, Zira and Camie enter the room.
"Rose, you're awake!" Zira says as she and Chopper rush onto the bed while Sanji and Usopp walk up to them.
She snaps out of her daze then waves with her free hand. "Hey guys. How long have you been up?"
"We got up about 5 minutes ago. We don't know where the others went though." Usopp says.
She nods. "They made it to the island too. They should be awake and exploring the island by now."
Sanji nods as he holds back a nosebleed then sits on the bed with Usopp. "I'm glad that you, Nami and Robin are alright. Of course I'm happy I get to see you again Camie-chwaan!"
Camie giggles then nods. "Thanks Sanji-chin." She goes up to Rose and hugs her while crying comical tears. "I'm so happy you're ok Rose-chin! When I saw the war I was so sad when I thought you died! Is it true that you're not really psychic?"
She blinks in surprise then nods while hugging her back with her free arm. "Yea, sorry for tricking you Camie and thank you for getting us out of the ocean."
She nods as she pulls away. "My pleasure, your clothes should be done soon. Oh, just a second. Sanji-chin, please come help me in the kitchen." She heads into the kitchen while Sanji eagerly follows her.
Luffy turns to the side away from Rose in his sleep while still holding onto her hand causing her to go down with him.
(Aah!) She quickly turns and catches herself with her free arm before she lands on him, but freezes when her face stops at an inch away from his and her short brown hair tickles his face. She blushes and goes to sit up but his other arm wraps around her waist and pulls her close to him with her face on his chest.
She peeks over his shoulder to see the others shaking from holding back from laughing. (This universe really loves messing with me… Why can't this kind of fluffy stuff happen when we're alone?!) She buries her blushing face in Luffy's chest to hide making the others unable to hold back from laughing anymore.
Zira rolls around on the bed while laughing. "Hahaha, who knew you were so shy Rose?!"
Usopp nods as he recovers. "You don't know the half of it Zira. The first time she and Luffy slept together he kept a hold of her to the point where-" He was cut off when Rose used her free arm to throw a pillow at his face and knock him off the bed.
"Shut up Usopp! I bet you blushed like a fool all the time back at your hometown because of Kaya!"
He freezes before blushing and throwing the pillow at her. "Shut up!"
She catches it with her free arm while laughing with the others at his reaction causing Luffy to stir.
The mermaids start floating above him.
"Is he awake?"
"He's awake."
"He's not awake."
"I think he's awake."
"So what if he's awake?"
He jolts awake causing them to swim away as he sits up with Rose and lets go of her.
"Alright! He's awake!" Chopper says as he looks around in confusion.
"Hm? What happened?"
"You're awake Luffy-chin?! How are you feeling?"
He sees Camie swimming in with a tray full of soup then grins. "Camie?! It's great to see you!"
She nods then looks at them sheepishly. "Sorry for not meeting you at Sabaody, I got the dates mixed up."
"No problem." Chopper says.
"Have we really reached Fishman Island?" Luffy asks
"Yup, we made it." Zira says.
"We just woke up a little while ago." Usopp says.
Sanji walks out of the kitchen with Luffy's hat. "Camie brought us here to rest. Here's your hat back." He tosses the hat back to him.
"The others are scattered on the island, but they're ok." Rose says.
Luffy nods with a grin as he puts his hat on. "Glad to know they're fine. We should go find them soon."
They nod while Camie swims up to them. "I can't wait to see the others again. Here, I'm sure you guys are still cold. Here's some chilled soup to warm you up."
Zira tilts her head in confusion. "Wait, chilled soup doesn't warm you up!"
She looks at her in surprise. "Eh?! I messed up!"
Sanji takes the tray and passes the bowls to the others. "It still tastes great."
The others eat while the little mermaids leave and come back with their clothes.
"Here are your clothes back." One of them hands Rose back her clothes.
Luffy nods as he takes his clothes back. "Thanks, who are you guys anyway?"
Camie goes next to them. "These are my friends: The Medaka mermaid quintuplets."
Each mermaid floated up to introduce themselves.
"I'm Ichika."
"I'm Nika."
"I'm Sanka."
"I'm Yonka."
"I'm Yonka Two."
Usopp looks at them in confusion. "Shouldn't you be Goka?"
They shrug while Camie grins. "We can get out through the Sea Turtle elevator as soon as you guys get dressed."
Rose nods as she gets up and goes into the bathroom while the guys change. She quickly changes back into her jeans and shirt, but stops midway of putting on her shirt to see the vertical scar on her pale skin. She can't take her eyes off the scar on her stomach that goes from about 4 inches above her belly button to an inch below it with 5 stitches across the line.
She shakes her head then grins as she traces the scar line with her finger. (At least it doesn't hurt anymore, it actually looks pretty cool. If this is the cost of stopping Luffy's chest scar from being made then I can live with it.)
"Hey Rose, hurry up!" She snaps out of it at the sound of Luffy's voice.
"I'm coming! Keep your hat on!" She pushes her shirt down to cover it then quickly puts on her jacket, gloves and shoes then meets up with the others to see Sanji on his hands and knees while holding back a nosebleed.
"I will not make a fool of myself by falling unconscious from a nosebleed here. Can't fate just smile on me for once?!"
Usopp sweat drops. "He's really serious about this."
Rose turns to Zira. "He found out we're at the Mermaid cove huh?"
She nods. "Yup, will he be ok?"
"For the most part. We just need to keep an eye on him."
She nods as Camie opens the door.
"We should get going. I can't wait to introduce you to my friends."
The others nod as they follow her outside through an air way and reach a turtle with a bubble on its back.
Chopper looks around in excitement as they go inside the bubble. "Wow, we're riding a turtle?!"
Camie nods. "Yup, this is a sea turtle elevator. Please take us up to the surface Turtle-chin."
The turtle nods as it starts swimming up.
Rose looks around in amazement. "Wow, so these are coral apartment buildings huh?"
Camie nods. "That's right. I live near the bottom because it's cheaper. The closer you are to the surface the more expensive it gets."
Luffy looks at her in confusion. "Do Hacchi and Pappagg live with you?"
She shakes her head. "Hacchi got injured a year ago."
Usopp turns to her. "He was injured protecting the Sunny right?"
"Yea, but he's almost fully recovered and is recuperating at his home in the Fishman District."
Zira tilts her head in confusion. "Fishman District?"
She nods. "It's a pretty rough place, but if I'm with you guys we should be safe to visit."
Luffy nods while searching the area with Chopper and Rose. "Let's go there later on then. We gotta thank Hacchi for helping us out."
She nods. "That would be great. As for Pappagg he's a really famous designer. He lives in a mansion on Gyovalley hills."
Chopper turns to her in confusion. "Isn't Pappagg your pet? Shouldn't you live with him?"
"I don't feel comfortable there. Besides, this area has the tastiest clams you can find."
Usopp nods then freezes when he sees giant water tubes going from the water to the surface. "What are the tubes for?"
"Those are water roads so fishmen and mermaids can get around easier. Watch!" Camie leaves and goes in one of the water roads that reaches the surface while the turtle brings them to the surface.
The group leaves the bubble and walks onto the cove while Camie swims right above them in a water road.
"Camie!" One of the mermaids says.
Camie looks out at the cove then waves. "Hi guys!"
The others turn in shock to see mermaids swimming around in the cove while grinning at them.
"Are your pirate friends better now Camie?" A black haired mermaid asks.
A blue haired mermaid waves. "Hello there."
Luffy looks at the cove with stars in his eyes. "Whoa, this is awesome!"
Zira flies around in excitement while Chopper looks around with stars in his eyes.
"It's like a fairytale!" Usopp says.
Rose nods. "It's beautiful!" (This looks more amazing than the mermaid cove in Neverland!)
"WAAAH!" Sanji falls to his knees while crying causing everyone to jolt in shock.
"What the?! He's crying more than when he left the Baratie!" Luffy says.
Rose sighs then grins. "At least he's happy." She freezes when she felt that she was being stared at. (Huh?) She looks around to see the mermaids avoiding her gaze and a few of them whispering among themselves. (What's with them?)
Camie grins as she swims out of the water road and joins them. "Everyone, this is Luffy-chin, the long nose boy is Usopp-chin, the one crying is Sanji chin, the girl is Rose-chin, the bird is Zira-chin, and the raccoon dog is Chopper-chin."
"I'M A REINDEER!" Chopper yells.
Sanji keeps crying as he stands up. "I've finally found my All Blue!"
Zira sweat drops as she flies next to Chopper. "He's kidding right?"
"I hope so."
One of the mermaids swims next to the surface and takes Sanji's hand. "Why are you so sad? Come swim with us!"
He looks at her in shock then starts tearing up again. "I see… This joy cannot be possible… This must be the day I die…"
Usopp looks at him in shock. "Seriously, what happened to you these past two years?! Go accept your happiness Sanji!"
He freezes then nods before taking everything but his pants off. "I'LL DO IT! I'M COMING MERMAIDS!" He jumps into the water to swim with the mermaids.
Rose flies a few feet in the air. (I should find Caribou's barrel before the mermaids finds it.) "I'll be right back guys. I'm gonna explore."
Luffy grins as he waves while sitting by the water. "See ya!"
She waves him off then flies off and sees that most of the mermaids are avoiding her then softly sighs. (I guess I wasn't imagining it. Not like I wasn't expecting others to react to the 'Devil of Hell's Comet' like that… Oh well, I'd better go find the barrel before more craziness happens.)
Zira spots her and flies up next to her. "So Rose, what are you up to this time?"
She snaps out of her daze then chuckles. "Nothing gets past you Zira. Caribou's barrel is here somewhere. I'm gonna try to find him before the mermaids do."
She nods. "I see, even though he's in sea stone cuffs they might pity him if he sweet talks them and pick the locks. I'll help you out."
"Thanks."
"Wind girl! Please come down!"
She looks down to see three mermaids sitting on a rock in the middle of the water waving for her. (Huh? Weren't they avoiding me?)
Zira flies up to her. "Go see what they want. If you warn them about the barrel it'll be easier on us. I'll go see if I can find him."
She nods. "Ok, just be careful. I can't fully remember what comes after this, but I know we'll be leaving soon. If we get separated go to Neptune's castle. The mermaids can tell you where it is."
She nods then flies off. "Got it, don't do anything stupid."
"Back at you." Rose lands on the rock and sits cross legged then nervously grins. "H-hi there. I'm Rose."
The three mermaids nod as they approach her.
A blue finned mermaid with long straight blonde hair, green eyes, and pale skin wearing a red bikini shakes her hand. "Hi, I'm Tara."
A green finned mermaid with short brown hair, blue eyes hidden by glasses and tanned skin wearing a pink bikini grins. "I'm Lizzie."
A purple finned mermaid with bobbed black hair, brown eyes, and pale skin wearing a blue bikini nods. "I'm May. We have questions for you!"
She blinks in surprise. "Questions? What about?"
Tara stares at her intensely along with Mary and Lizzie. "Are you really the Devil of Hell's Comet?"
She tenses up. (They're confronting me?! Why?!) "T-that's what the World Government calls me anyway. Though besides my devil fruit I'm not all that different from humans."
Lizzie crosses her arms over her chest. "If you're not a demon then how did you survive the war?"
"I was just lucky. If the Whitebeards didn't treat me when they did I'd be long gone."
"Are you really from another world?" May asks causing her to nod.
Tara looks at her with stars in her eyes along with the others. "That's wonderful! We're interested in the Timore Comet too! How did you leave your world? If you tell us then we're willing to exchange what we know about it with you!"
Rose freezes at their excitement then blinks. (Wait a minute, they're… KINDRED SPIRITS?!) Her shock fades to pure excitement in seconds as stars form in her eyes. "I'll be more than happy to tell you how-"
She stops herself and shakes her head. (Focus Rose!) "Before that I need to warn you guys. There's a barrel somewhere around here that has a pervert inside. May you please tell your friends not to open it?"
Lizzie nods then swims off. "I'll go search for it. You two stay here and learn all you can about other worlds from her."
Both mermaids give her a thumbs up. "You got it!"
Rose blinks in surprise. "Wow, you guys seem really interested leaving this world."
Tara sighs. "You saw how mermaids are treated by slave traders right? Maybe in another world it'll be better for us mermaids."
Rose nods. "I understand, but I recommend waiting until you're at least thirty so your fins split and you can pass as humans. That way you can survive in any world you go to on both land and sea."
May nods. "That's our intention. Do you have any recommendations of a world that we can go to?"
She eagerly nods. "I know plenty of places where mermaids can coexist with humans. There's a world in a story called My Bride is a Mermaid that might work for you. Mermaid Melody might work too."
"Really?! Can you tell us about them?" Tara asks.
"It'll be my pleasure." Rose eagerly tells them about those worlds while they listened intently and laughed at the crazy adventures.
Usopp looks at the girls and chuckles. "Rose seems to be having fun."
Camie looks at them then grins. "That's Tara and May. They're scared of the slave traders in this world and want to use Hell's Comets power to travel to other worlds just like Rose did. They studied about it in secret from everyone outside the cove, but didn't gain any luck on how to travel. They were ready to give up when they heard that Rose succeeded and now they're more motivated than ever."
Luffy sees Rose enjoying herself then softly grins before turning to Camie. "Hey Camie, there's someone I gotta see while we're here."
Camie tilts her head. "Really? Who?"
"I gotta see Jimbei."
She looks at him in shock. "You mean Boss Jimbei?!"
He nods. "Back when I thought Rose died I almost gave up on being pirate king, but he and Ace helped me keep going. I gotta thank him."
Usopp looks at him in shock. "Hold on, you're telling me you know more shichibukai?! Well, former shichibukai?!"
Luffy nods with an easygoing grin. "Yup, he's my friend."
Chopper looks at him in shock. "What?!"
"Seriously Luffy, just what the hell are you?!" Usopp asks.
He shrugs while grinning. "We made a promise to meet at Fishman Island after I got stronger."
Camie grins. "Now that you mention it I read in an article that you fought alongside Jimbei."
He nods. "You know where he is?"
She sighs. "Sorry Luffy-chin, the thing is he's not on the island. When he left the Shichibukai the former members of the Fishman pirates weren't able to stay here including him…"
"Aww, you mean I can't see him?"
She nods then sighs. "It'll be hard to explain in detail but after the war a lot of things changed on the island."
The Medaka quintuplets swim to Camie in a hurry. "CAMIE!"
"They're coming!"
"The might be coming!"
"They might be coming!"
"They might not be coming!"
"Of course they'll be coming!"
Camie raises her hands up. "Hold on. Who is coming?"
"We don't know yet!" Ichika says.
"It's a rare kingdom ship." Yonka says.
"It doesn't come here very often." Sanka says.
"They could be here to capture the pirates for trespassing!" Yonka Two says.
The guys looks at them in shock. "Eh?!"
Camie turns to them. "You guys need to hide!"
The guys start hiding when Rose, Sanji and the mermaids see a giant ship heading towards them. Sanji was taken by one of the mermaids to hide while Rose gets up.
(Wait, this wasn't about the immigration!) "Hold on guys, they're- Mmph!" She was cut off as May and Tara cover her mouth and take her in the water while keeping her upper body afloat and swam behind some coral.
"Just stay quiet Rose. They'll leave soon." Tara says.
May nods. "As soon as they leave we'll take you to shore."
Rose internally groans. (Damnit, they came to thank us for helping the shark. We shouldn't be hiding...) She struggles and tries to tell them about the princes, but they keep a hand over her mouth while making sure her they don't drop her.
The guards of the ship start playing their bugles caused everyone to freeze.
The captain runs out of the ship first. "Make way for the three Neptune brothers!"
The mermaids that aren't hiding the crew are squealing in excitement as they make their appearance.
A muscular blue haired shark merman, a skinny pink haired oarfish merman, and a chubby shirtless opah merman swim off the gondola.
Rose internally sighs as she gives up and tries looking at them from over the coral. (So that's Fukaboshi, Ryuboshi and Mamboshi huh? It's crazy how three brothers can look so different. They look kinda cool. Wait, how did we get spotted again?)
Fuukaboshi crosses his arms over his chest. "We have received reports on illegal immigrants in the area. Have any of you seen them?"
Ryuboshi nods. "If you've seen them let us know re-fa-so-la-ti-do~""
Mamboshi nods while slightly dancing. "Aakaa Mamboo! Afterwards we can dance!"
One of the mermaids shakes her head while grinning. "Sorry, we haven't seen anyone."
Another mermaid nods. "Are they important?"
Fuukaboshi sighs. "To be honest we're not sure they're the ones we suspect… We received information from the border guard that they were here though."
Camie nods "If we see anyone we'll let you know right away."
Fuukaboshi sighs. "The border guard must've been mistaken. Thank you anyway."
He turns to get on the gondola while his brothers wave the girls off.
Mamboshi dances as he gets on the gondola. "When I'm free let's go dancing!"
Ryuboshi nods. "Until then we shall go-mi-re-do~"
The girls wave as the gondola starts leaving when suddenly a giant splurge of blood soared into the air in the shape of a mermaid shocking everyone and catching the princes attention.
(Oh crap! Sanji's nosebleed! How did his nosebleed look like a mermaid?!) Rose uses the shock to her advantage and shakes May and Tara's hands off of her mouth. "Guys, get me out of the water! I gotta help him!"
They nod as they bring her to dry land while Luffy, Usopp and Chopper rush over to Sanji after the mermaid places him on the coast.
"Oh crap, that's a lot of blood!" Luffy says.
"All the tension from being here bursted his blood out all at once!" Usopp says.
Chopper rushes to stop the bleeding. "He needs a blood donation!"
Fuukaboshi looks at them in shock then looks at Luffy's wanted poster. "It's him! Ammo knights!"
"RIGHT!" The knights of Neptune's army jump off the gondola and rush over to the Straw Hats.
Chopper raises his hands defensively. "Hold on! We're sorry for not entering here legally, but please let us treat our friend! We need a blood donation! His blood type is S RH negative! Please, I know it's rare but if anyone donates we'll be grateful! Fishmen and mermaid blood are compatible with human blood right?!"
The fishmen and mermaids look at them in distraught while staying silent.
Luffy looks at them in frustration. "Please help us!"
"He can't die in such a ridiculous way! Please help!" Usopp says.
Rose softly sighs as she gets on land. (They're scared of the blood law…) She rushes over to them while Camie goes over to Chopper.
"Chopper-chin, mermaids and fishmen do have the same blood types as humans but…"
"BWAHAHA! Stupid humans! Why would a superior fishman give blood to weak humans like you?!" Everyone turns in shock to see Hammond, and his henchmen including a sea monster walking to the scene while Hammond keeps ranting.
"If fishmen donated blood to pathetic humans then they're subject to punishment by the human haters!"
Luffy glares at them. "It's those guys from before."
Camie jumps into the water causing Usopp to look in confusion while Hammond keeps up his rant.
"We have a law on this land that's stayed standing for years. 'Thou shalt never share thy blood with human kind!' You humans are all to blame for this! Your fear of our kind has caused countless deaths to our kind! Including Fisher Tiger who freed all slaves regardless of race died because humans refused to give him blood! Just forget your friend and come with us to the Fishman District!"
Rose clenches her fists while keeping quiet when Hammond grabs a net launcher.
"We're not giving up until you some with us to the Fishman District! We'll even use force!" He launches a net while Luffy glares at them.
"I thought I told you we're not listening to your demands!" He punches the net away in a flash then gets into second gear and punches them. "JET PISTOL!"
Everyone else looks at Luffy in shock while he punched out Hammond and most of the cronies when the sea monster charges at him. He turns around and uses his conquerors haki to tame it.
Usopp looks at him in shock. "He didn't even hit him and he gave up?!"
Rose nods. "His conqueror's haki is amazing."
"GUYS! GET ON! THERE'S A PORT WHERE WE CAN FIND SOME HUMANS!" The group looks up to see Camie hijacking the royal gondola.
Rose uses her wind to quickly bring them on the ship while half the guards look at her in shock the other half looks at the gondola.
"Is that Wind Rider Rose?! I thought she died!"
"Give back the gondola!"
Camie bows her head to them while driving away. "I'M SORRY! I'LL GIVE IT BACK LATER!"
She quickly drives the ship away while the princes and the Neptune Army were left stranded at the cove. She turns to the others. "Sorry guys, if I had the right blood type I'd donate."
Usopp shakes his head and points to Sanji. "There's nothing for you to apologize about. It's this idiot's fault for being a pervert."
Chopper slaps Sanji on the head while he's still grinning like a perverted idiot. "Knock it off Sanji! Try thinking about your blood!"
Usopp huffs. "Still though, first the discrimination against you guys two years ago and now this. The problem with you guys runs deeper than we thought huh?"
Rose sighs as she crosses her arms over her chest. "You don't know the half of it. We should focus on getting this guy some blood right now…" (Too bad my blood's not the universal donor or I'd donate. Good thing blood type B positive exists in this world or I would've been a goner…)
Camie looks at Sanji. "Will we be able to find a donor at such short notice though?"
Rose nods. "Don't worry, I know some guys in town who can help. They should be at a local bar at the port by now."
Camie nods as she drives ahead while Luffy tilts his head in thought. "Hey, what happened to Zira?"
The group freezes then a cloud of depression hangs over Roses head as she hugs her knees. "She went to find the perv barrel … If I go back it'll cause a scene… As long as she's not noticed by Hammond's crew she shouldn't get caught and fed to the sea kings…"
Usopp sweat drops. "You hang out with Robin too much…"
Chopper looks at Usopp in confusion. "What's a perv barrel?"
Usopp shrugs while Luffy sits next to her and pats her on the shoulder. "Don't worry, I'm sure Zira's fine. She'll catch up to us when she finds the mystery barrel."
Rose sighs then nods. "Yea, you're right. I told her to meet us at the palace if we got separated, so we should meet her there."
Chopper tilts his head in confusion. "Why would you tell her to go there when they want to arrest us?"
"They weren't there to arrest us. They wanted to bring us to the palace to thank us for saving the shark Luffy made Surume cough up."
They froze then sweat dropped.
"Seriously?" Usopp asks.
She nods. "I was going to tell you guys, but Tara and May hid me before I could and well..." She points to Sanji causing them to nod.
"As long as Sanji will be ok it's fine. Let's go." Luffy says causing them to nod as the ship heads to the port.
10 minutes earlier Zira was looking for the barrel in frustration while the craziness had almost everyone's attention. "How can a barrel be so hard to find? Is he really here?" She freezes when she sees Sanji's blood geyser soaring in the air. "What the hell?! Why did the blood look like a mermaid?! Was that Sanji?! *Sigh* Guess that's why they had to go. Crazy pervert…"
She shakes her head. "They'll be fine. I'll head to the palace by myself and meet them there when I'm done."
"Thank you so much for getting these cuffs off of me."
She freezes in shock as when she hears Caribou's voice and sees him free of the barrel and cuffs thanks to two mermaids.
One mermaid nods. "It's our pleasure, I can't believe you were kidnapped by a phantom. Do you know if it's here?"
He nods as he starts licking his lips. "It is. You've heard of Catone Rose correct?"
The other mermaid nods. "Of course. Some of our friends are learning about other worlds from her. We were nervous about her at first, but when we calmed down she didn't seem scary."
"Don't let looks fool you! Things are never what they seem. Just like with… ME!" He turns most of his body into mud and starts kidnapping the girls.
(OH CRAP!) Zira flies behind him while he's distracted. (TASTE MY SONIC BOOM!) She opens her beak and screeches an ultrasonic sound wave at his head causing him to clench his ears then keel over and release the girls.
"GUYS!" The mermaids look to see Lizzie swimming towards them. "Come on, we have to get away from him!"
They swim away while Zira flies above them. "Are you guys ok?!"
They nod while Caribou recovers and layers mud over his ears. "I'LL TEACH YOU TO MESS WITH ME YOU FLYING HOWLER MONKEY!" He turns his arms into mud and traps Zira in it while muffling her beak.
(DAMNIT! SOMEONE HELP!) She struggles in the mud while Caribou brings her to his face.
"You're the phantoms pet aren't you? Perfect! Not only will I get my revenge by selling you off, but I'll make a great profit!"
Zira widens her golden eyes in shock. (Did he just say sell me?! AND WHO ARE YOU CALLING A PET YOU PERVY SWAMP DONKEY?! WHEN THE OTHERS ARE DONE WITH YOU YOU'LL BE LUCKY TO EAT MUD THROUGH A STRAW!) She screeches and blasts the mud off her beak. She aims another sound wave at him and almost made his ears bleed before he slammed her to the ground and knocked her out.
He shakes his head to get the ringing out of his ears. "Damn bird, if she kept her mouth open any longer she would've blasted my head off since my body's liquid. Not that it would kill me. Still, that power can fetch a good price." He reinforces the mud around her beak then traps her in his body.
The two mermaids got away while Lizzie looks back to see that Zira's in trouble then sees the sea stone cuffs. (I gotta stop him before he hurts anyone else!) She swims for the cuffs, but Caribou saw her and trapped her in his mud before she could get them and gagged her.
He smirks as he sees her squirm and struggle. "Who says I'd settle with the bird? I'll collect as many mermaids as I want and make a fortune!" He keeps Zira and Lizzie trapped in his body then runs off to kidnap more mermaids.
Luffy's group are in the back of the mermaid café where Sanji is sleeping in a bed in one side of the room that's divided by a curtain. Everyone surrounds his bed while his blood transfusion is finishing.
Sanji starts gaining consciousness as the blood finishes entering his body. "Huh? Where… Am I?"
The group starts relaxing in their seats.
Camie sniffles with tears in her eyes. "You almost lost all your blood Sanji-chin… We were so worried! You're in my friend's house."
He sits up while rubbing his head. "I almost lost all my blood? What happened?"
Rose raises her hands up. "Don't try to remember!"
Luffy groans. "It was frustrating… I wish the fishmen helped us…"
Usopp groans. "I'm just glad we found some humans…"
Sanji blinks in surprise. "Thank you."
Rose grins. "No problem."
Usopp moves to open the hospital curtain that splits the room in two. "By the way, here are the donors we found."
A feminine voice chirps behind the curtain. "Please, no need to thank us. We human need to stick together in times of need."
Sanji widens his eyes in shock while the curtain is still hiding the donors. "D-don't tell me I received blood from a-"
Usopp opens the curtains to reveal twin masculine okama pirates Splash and Splatter.
The blond haired blue eyed pirate named Splash giggles. "Think nothing of it silly!"
The dark haired green eyed man grins while flexing his arm. "If you need any more blood there's plenty more where that came from."
Sanji looks at them in utter horror then screams and starts freaking out. "AAAH!"
Usopp sweat drops. "Try saying thank you…"
Luffy laughs while Sanji keeps freaking out. "Glad to see that he's back to normal. Shishishi!"
Chopper looks at him in shock. "What part of that is normal?!"
Rose sighs. "He's hopeless. This is why I said not to reveal the donors. Oh well, It was still nice of them to help us out."
Camie giggles at the reaction then places a bubble around her fin. "I'm gonna tell my friend that you're ok Sanji-chin." She turns to Usopp, Luffy and Rose. "Do you guys want to meet her?"
The three of them nod as they follow Camie out of the room while Chopper stays behind to take care of Sanji. Once they reached the next room Camie goes up to the large black haired shark mermaid named Madame Shirley who is smoking from her pipe.
"Is the blond boy alright now?" Madame Shirley asks.
Camie nods. "Uh-huh. Thank you for lending us the back room. May I please ask that you stay out of there since you're so beautiful? Also, we're not allowed to let Sanji-chin to know that we're at the Mermaid café."
She giggles at the request. "Hahaha, that's an unusual prescription but if it'll help I'll do what I can."
Rose looks around the room in amazement while viewing the trinkets. (So this is Madame Shirley's treasure trove! Cool!) She walks up to the mermaids then politely bows. "It's a pleasure to meet you Madame Shirley, I'm Rose. Thank you for helping us."
She grins as she smokes her pipe. "My pleasure. I'm glad my vision about you came true."
She quirks an eyebrow as she straightens up. "What vis-"
"Hey big mermaid, what's this here?" Luffy cuts her off while pointing to a crystal ball that's sitting in a giant shell.
"Her name's Madame Shirley Luffy-chin!" Camie says.
Madame Shirley smiles. "Don't go touching that boys, it's very fragile."
Camie nods. "Madame Shirley uses that crystal ball for fortune telling!"
Usopp looks at the shark mermaid in shock. "So you're a real psychic?"
She nods. "I don't do that sort of thing anymore though… It's better not to know the future."
Rose looks at her softly while Luffy grins. "So do mermaids poop?"
Usopp slaps him upside the head. "WHAT DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH FORTUNE TELLING?!"
Madame Shirley glares at him while fangs starts coming out of her mouth. "What a vulgar boy!"
Rose runs in front of her while waving her arms defensively. "Sorry about him Madame Shirley! He didn't ask to be gross I swear!" (How can a scene that made me laugh back home be so scary up close?!)
Camie goes next to Luffy. "Apologize too Luffy-chin!"
He sweat drops at the drama. "Sorry…"
Madame Shirley nods then smokes her pipe. "It's fine. Camie, go ahead and take today off. You can show your friends to the island."
Camie looks at her in shock. "Are you sure?!"
She nods. "Of course. We haven't had a lot of business lately and the girls from the cove should be here soon, so we'll be fine."
Camie widens her eyes in realization. "Oh right! I have to go get Pappagg his clams!"
Usopp sweat drops. "That's a weird timing to bring that up."
Madame Shirley looks at her curiously. "Pappagg? He's meeting some old friends. They're making a scene in the front room of the café."
"Really?! We should get going."
The others nod then wave her off as they leave from the back entrance to get in the café in order to avoid Sanji.
Camie turns to them while floating besides them. "I didn't want to tell you guys this in front of her but Madame Shirley is never wrong in her predictions. When she was younger she predicted pirates coming here in droves and then the great pirate era began!"
Luffy and Usopp look at her in shock. "What?!"
Rose giggles. "Unlike me she's able to know the future for the rest of her life if she wanted while I only have a few pieces of the future left. Hey Camie, do you know what she meant when she talked about a vision of me?"
Camie nods. "She's had a lot of visions over her life. She even saw the war and Whitebeard's death. You however managed to change her vision."
She blinks in shock. "I changed her vision?!"
She nods. "She saw Ace's fate in the war long before the war was even announced to the world. However, when she looked into her crystal ball a few days before the battle her vision of the war's outcome changed and she saw you saving him. She also saw you surviving the ordeal. I was really happy when she told me."
Rose blinks in surprise before smiling. "Wow, that's-" She freezes when she felt Luffy's hand intertwine with hers.
She turns and sees him looking at the ground softly. (Luffy…) She gently squeezes his hand while Camie keeps going.
"She was tired of seeing terrible things in advance, so she stopped looking into the future ever since she saw what happened in the war…"
The others nod in understanding when they reach the main entrance of the Mermaid café. "Here it is guys! The mermaid café!"
Luffy recovers then grins at the café in excitement. "Awesome! I can't wait to eat!"
"It's a café not a restaurant Luffy!" Usopp says.
"There's plenty of food though! They have cakes and ocean fruits." Camie says.
Luffy tilts his head. "What about meat?"
She shakes her head. "Mermaids don't eat meat or fish. We have scallop sandwiches, clam pizza… Wait, we do have shellfish meat!"
"Shellfish isn't meat!"
Rose giggles. "Relax Luffy, you'll get some meat later."
Usopp nods. "Let's just head in-"
"Come back again soon Soul King!" The door opens to Brook with a mermaid under each arm while Pappagg is sitting on his shoulder.
"Brook! Starfish!" Luffy lets go of Roses hand and runs up to Brooks group while the others followed.
"So this was where you were Brook!" Usopp says.
"Glad you guys made it." Rose says.
Brook looks at them. "Guys, I'm glad you're alright. Camie-san, aren't you all for sore eyes. Though I don't have any eyes. YOHOHOHO!"
Camie giggles. "It's good to see you too Brook-chin."
Pappagg looks at Rose, Usopp, and Luffy in shock then tears well up in his eyes. "I've missed you guys! All of you are really here!" He jumps off to hug Rose. "I can't believe you really survived! Don't you dare scare people like that again!"
She giggles as she hugs him back. "I'll do my best not to. It's great to see you too Pappagg."
Both mermaids kiss Brook on the cheek.
"You'll come back sometime won't you Soul King?" One of the mermaids ask.
Usopp's mouth dropped to the ground at the sight. (What the hell?!)
Brook joyfully laughs. "Yohohoho! Of course I will! Being here has brought a fuzzy feeling in my heart." He starts twirling around happily while the mermaids head inside. "Of course I don't have a heart! Yohohoho! I'm so happy I could die but I'm already dead!"
Usopp looks at him in shock. "He turned into Sanji!"
Luffy turns to Rose in shock. "What happened to him in there?!"
"Your guess is as good as mine. I'm just grateful his nose's not bleeding. Hey Brook, what's your blood type?"
He stops spinning then tilts his head in thought. "Back when I was alive I was blood type G. Why do you ask?"
"Just curious."
Pappagg jumps off of Roses embrace. "Hey guys, do you want to come with us? I was planning on showing Brook my place on Gyovalley Hill. I'll treat you to some sea monster meat?"
Luffy looks at him with stars in his eyes. "Seriously?! I'm in!"
The others nod while Camie goes into her shell bag. "Oh Pappagg, here's a clam."
He grins in excitement as he takes her clam. "Yay! Thanks Camie!" He eats the clam while hailing for a taxi when Brook sees a wanted poster posted on the wall and stares at it in shock.
"What's the?! This is Vander Decken! Why is a ghost on a wanted poster?!"
A giant fish taxi arrived while Usopp looks at it in shock. "You're right, that's the guy we met before the volcanoes erupted."
Pappagg looks at them in shock. "What?! You guys met Vander Decken?! The whole country is after him!"
Rose uses her wind to get everyone on board the taxi while he keeps explaining. "That guy has been stalking out princess for years. First he sent her love letters, then packages which lead to marriage proposals that were full of blackmail! The princess was terrified."
Camie nods. "She was so scared that King Neptune sent his sons to find him. They still haven't found him even with the royal army…"
Pappagg sweat drops. "Um, Camie I was doing the explaining..."
Brook starts shaking in fear. "What I'm more worried about is whether Vander Decken is really the cursed pirate from hundreds of years ago…"
Pappagg shakes his head. "The legend was blown out of proportion. Vander Decken did exist but he wound up on here and died. The ship you guys saw was probably the same ship. The captain however was his descendent-"
"Vander Decken the 9th." Camie says causing Pappagg to sit on the far end of the ship with a cloud of depression hanging over his head.
"Camie, I was explaining…"
Rose pats his head while Brook looks at Camie in shock.
"That was his descendant?! Thank goodness, I thought we met a ghost for a moment. It scared the living daylights out of me. Though I'm already dead!"
Luffy looks around the island when he sees a tall building with a jolly roger that has curly hair and lipstick on the skull. "What's that?"
Pappagg recovers from the depression then heads over to Luffy's side of the taxi with Rose.
"That's the sweets factory."
"Not that, I mean the pirate flag. Why's it on the building?"
Pappagg nods. "The flag's protecting our island. It belongs to the yonko Big Mom. Whitebeard was the one protecting us before he died but after the war she took over."
Rose sighs. "Is it true you guys have to give her sweets in order to protect you guys?"
He nods. "Without a powerful name like hers to protect us our country would collapse. Compared to that it's a small price to pay."
Luffy grins as he relaxes in his seat. "If she's protecting you guys like Whitebeard did she must be a good person right?"
Pappagg sighs. "You could say that, though Whitebeard never asked for anything in return… To Big Mom this is more of a business deal…"
Luffy nods. "Still, she must be pretty strong to be a yonko like Shanks. I'd love to meet her."
Rose bites her lip but keeps quiet. (If she wasn't so unreasonable with the deal with Fishman Island… From what I've read so far she doesn't seem like someone we should be meeting…)
"Hey Rose you ok? Do you know what Big Mom's like?"
She snaps out of it to Luffy's voice then grins. "I'm fine. I've heard a few things. She's a scary, but strong woman I'll give her that."
He nods while Usopp rushes to the window. "Hey guys, look over there!"
The other look around to see that they're surrounded by fancy buildings all around them.
Pappagg grins. "Welcome to the home of the rich and the famous guys! This is Gyovalley Hills!"
Camie looks ahead in excitement. "That large mansion in front of us is Pappaggs house!"
Usopp points to Pappagg in shock. "This little starfish owns all of that?!"
The others grin in excitement while making their way to the town while Rose stares at the district. (Alright, if we're going by the manga we'll be able to find Nami here! No doubt things are gonna get interesting.)
She enjoys the view then freezes when she realizes that she forgot someone. (WHAT HAPPENED TO ACE?!)
TO BE CONTINUED