Chapter 34: A Fairy Returns

The sun was shining as the Merry jaunted over the waves, the warmth of the rays keeping me at a good temperature as I stretched my limbs and woke from my slumber I usually take after eating breakfast. It had been about two days since we had left Drum, our new nakama making himself part of the crew quickly. Cracking my neck, my attention was caught by a small hole…in the sky….it looked about the size of a basketball, and upon further inspection, was made out of ley lines. The small hole was like a loophole in a thread, the line's magic created a bluish tint to the gap in space a few yards away from me.

"What the…?" I peered closer into the strange opening…and soon regretted it as a small object shot out if it like bullet.

"HI BOSS!"

*WHAM*

Lilynette had returned and had also rocketed into my face, barreling me over in surprise and causing me to trip over my souvenir box.

Rubbing my head, I met the pixie's gaze and began mentally berating her. "WHAT THE HELL? Honestly, I lose contact with you for a week and you burst out of…of…what is that anyway?" Directing my gaze to the small portal from which she emerged from, still floating in the sky.

"That? This, my dear charge, is a Ley Portal." She began explaining, swirling around it. "I went to my dimension for a while to bring you something, and I needed this portal to bring it into your world from mine." It was then something budged within the small gap in space, jutting out halfway. It was an ornate box, blue with gold embroidered all around it. I reached out to grab it…only for it to blast out of the portal in a manner similar to Lily's entrance and crash against me...in the very same spot Lily had launched into me.

"Eeyow…What the-?" I garbled, rubbing the lump on my head and lifting the missile-box with my free hand to inspect it.

"Open it, Boss!" The fairy chirped, floating and bobbing in the air with anticipation.

Cocking an eyebrow, I inspected the gift and shook it playfully before grabbing its lid and slowly opening it. As I took in what lay perfectly upon the purple cushioning lining its insides, my eyes bulged and a face-breaking smile engulfed my visage at my newest gift.

Lily merely began giggling and buzzing around, "Awesome, ain't it, Boss? I had to go through a bunch of red tape back in my world to get an Avatar from a different dimension to trade that, ya'know!"

I lifted it as if it was the Holy Grail itself, by its base. It was a device suited to be set on akin to a gauntlet, for it had a bracer for resting upon one's forearm and a handle inside its base to house the hand. At its opposite end, three large claws jutted outward, their ebon steel glinting in the sunlight.

"A…a….a…." I couldn't bother with words.

"A Clawshot." My fairy friend finished for me. "Now you don't have to Blitzkrieg everywhere."

Getting over my stunned moment, I slipped my hand inside and strapped it to my arm, my fingers finding three small levers inside the device that fit my ring, middle, and pointer fingers respectively. Pulling on the ring one, the three claws soon opened like a budding flower, raring to be launching. Grinning like an idiot, I began spying around to test out my new contraption, and my wish was granted as a commotion burst out on the deck. Leaning out my head from the nest, a grey blur streaked up past me, and upon the bow, a panicking Chopper and an exasperated Nami gazed upward. Following their gaze, I saw that the grey blur was a massive bird, which had taken our moron captain hostage in its beak.

Smiling like a devil, I pointed my latest toy at the demon-bird and pulled the middle lever.

*SSSHHHHIIICCKCKKKK*

The claws shot forth from their berth and rocketed towards my intended target, the chain dancing in the sky as it followed the claws upward.

"CRRAAWWW!" The bird shrieked in pain as the clawshot clamped onto its side, still holding Luffy firm in its beak as the rubberman flung his arms outward, twisting them around.

Pulling the third lever, I was soon jettisoned from my seat into the air after the bird.

"YYAAAHHOOOOO!" I shouted, spiraling through the air, the Merry getting smaller while I launched towards a member of the species I had eternally loathed.

"Gomu gomu nooooo….." Luffy shouted, his twisted hands grabbing his captor by the beak…which instantly changed my expression of glee to turmoil.

"Hold on a sec, Luffy!" I yelled at him.

"BOOMERANG!" Too late…the young captain had broken free now proceeded to spin his arm the right way around, sending the bird (and me via the attachment) into a dizzying tornado which soon found itself crashing onto the stern of the deck, ruining a card game of the other three male members of our crew…and I had smacked into the Merry's side, the thin chain still receding back into the base and dragging me upward.

"Luffy…you…dumbass." I gasped, climbing back aboard, the claw retracting from its position and sliding back into its original shape.

"Oi, Sanji! I got us some meat!" Luffy idiotically proclaimed, sliding out from underneath his catch, soon noticing the scene of the three card-players lying on the deck with their game thrown all over, and me with a small welt on my face. "What's with you guys?"

"ASSHOLE!" All four of us shouted.

"How are you gonna repay me? I had a good hand that round, Luffy!" Usopp blathered.

"Oh? Sorry." He chuckled.

"What the heck is that thing?" Sanji asked, holding my latest acquisition up for him to ponder at.

"Hm? Oh this…This would be a Clawshot." I answered, holding it high for all to see. "It allows me to do this!" Pointing my weaponized arm towards the crow's nest, I shot the claw out and the moment it landed, did a mock wave as I rocketed upward, releasing the claw once near it and landing triumphantly in the nest. Turning towards the crowd, I repeated the demonstration by hitting the aft sail mast, swinging around it and returning to my onlookers…Chopper, Usopp, and Luffy all had stars in their eyes.

"CCCCOOOOLLL!" All three exclaimed.

"Nifty, ain't it?" I snickered.

"You guys!" Nami had appeared and turned to us, holding her hands at her hips, "We're almost at Arabasta, and we don't have time to be fooling around!" She spun back around and began walking back towards the main deck, all of us in tow.

Hopping onto the main deck, Chopper turned to us and asked, "What's Arabasta?"

"A country Vivi's father rules." Our navigator answered him, as I removed the Clawshot from my hand and strapped it to my backside, hanging it horizontally from my belt.

"There's this really bad guy named Crocodile trying to take it over!" Usopp continued, waving his hands around to illustrate his point.

"He's also one of the Shichibukai." Sanji pointed out, taking a drag from his cigarette.

"Shichibukai?"

"They're super powerful pirates who work for the Government…" I chimed in, "And they go around defeating other pirates."

"That's the problem however…." Vivi began, holding her hand to her chin. "Crocodile is considered a hero in Arabasta….he shows up and defeats pirates who attack any Arabastan town, but it's just a front. Crocodile just wants to overthrow the kingdom, and we are the only ones who know this…not the people….not even my father…" Vivi's face soon began showing worry until Luffy slammed his fists together, jarring everyone's attention.

"I just need to kick this Croc's ass, right?" He chuckled with one of his trademark grins.

"Yes…without Crocodile, Baroque Works would crumble."

"Baroque Works?" Chopper once again piped up.

"Ugh…that's right, you don't know anything about them either…then again, neither do we…their system is way too complicated." Usopp said, rubbing the back of his head.

"Actually it's quite simple…" Vivi began explaining, "Crocodile is at the top, known only as 'Mr. 0' to his subordinates…and directly below him are thirteen agents…twelve men and one animal, and they are all paired with a female agent who compliments their skills. First there's Mr. 1 and Miss Doublefinger…"

"The guy who turns his body to steel and the spike chick…" I added mentally.

"Mr. 2 Bon Clay, the only agent with no corresponding female agent…"

"We should be running into him sometime soon…"

"And Mr. 3 was that wax guy we ran into on Little Garden, right?" Zoro added. "Along with that kid."

"Right, Mr. 3 and Miss Goldenweek." Vivi nodded her head and continued. "Mr. 4 and Miss Merry Christmas…though to be honest I don't know much about them…"

"That mole-woman and the guy with the baseball-bomb dog-cannon thing…."

"And then there's the booger guy and the girl who could change her weight." Usopp stated.

"Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine's Day…" Vivi answered, "And the final Officer Agent is Mr. 6...he is supposedly very strong, but due to him constantly killing his targets and any partners he is assigned, he is kept at a low rank…we then have Mr. 7 down to Mr. 13..."

"Man…I already know this stuff…" I inwardly sighed as Vivi continued droning on about the agents and their Millions and Billions while I begrudgingly stood and listened.

"YOSH! I get it now!" Luffy snapped me out my daze as he threw his fist out, "I just have to go and beat up Crocodile, right?"

"Oi oi, you weren't listening at all were you?" Our sniper berated.

"If taking over Arabasta is Baroque Works' final plan…then that must mean…" Zoro began, a devil's grin on his face.

"That all the Officer Agents will be gathering in Arabasta." Sanji finished for him.

"Where we'll beat the crap out of all of 'em!" I smiled evilly, throwing a mock kick in the air before catching Luffy's mouth just as it opened. "And yes, all you need to do is beat up Crocodile."

It wasn't too long later when everyone returned to their usual activities, and I was interrupted from my nap by a ruckus upon the deck. Leaning over the railing, I saw Luffy being interrogated by a very agitated pirate cook.

"Don't give that attitude! You'd be terrible at poker with that face!" Sanji said scornfully, attempting to get information out of the rubberman, who was sweating profusely with a very guilty disposition.

"What did he do now?" I asked nonchalantly, hopping down from the nest.

Exhaling a breath of smoke, Sanji stood up and turned to me. "Somehow, the rations I had prepared for all of us when we left Drum vanished mysteriously last night."

"How strange…we must have a hungry ghost on our hands." I sarcastically replied before looking down at Luffy. "Oh Luffy, you have something on your face."

"AH CRAP! Crumbs!" Luffy yelled panic-stricken as he attempted to rub off the evidence of his crime.

"SO IT WAS YOU!"

*BAM*

Sanji sent Luffy pinballing across the deck with a black boot upside his head, and as I belted out in laughter while our captain skidded to a halt, I noticed something upon our railing.

"Or maybe it was four hungry ghosts…" I chuckled, nudging Sanji and pointed him towards the trio who were fishing oh-so-innocently as they hurriedly finished chewing. Carue, Chopper, and Usopp all gulped guiltily as the cook approached them, placing a hand gently upon Carue's and Usopp's heads…and promptly bashed all three of their heads together.

"Hahaha! Ah, the Three Stooges would be proud of…" I was interrupted by a glass bottle rolling across the deck, its pitter-patter soon increased in volume as several more rolled from where the three had clumped together upon the ground. My eye soon began twitching before I dashed down to the lower levels of the ship, and opening both of the crates Orlo had granted me…I found them devoid of any of my favorite carbonated drinks…in which both should be at least a quarter-full.

The Merry soon became filled with sound of screaming as I bounded around the deck after the four bastards who had dared to steal my soda.

"QUIT RUNNING AND TAKE YOUR LUMPS!" I roared viciously.

End of Chapter

AN: Yeah, kind of a filler chapter after all this time…but don't worry, the next chapter will be out soon…I'm back from my vacation and my batteries are fully charged.