Ch. 36- Meeting
One Piece © Oda
Blizzard and Monkey D. Aika © Me
Rokuji © Gakuto1991
It was very early in the morning, and in the Great Kitchen on the 8th floor of the Whole Cake Chateau, the cooks are hard at work preparing for the big wedding ceremony. The ovens were hot, the hors-d'oeuvres were being set on little trays, and the pots and pans were boiling, and in the middle of was the Big Mom Pirates' head chef.
BIG MOM PIRATES' HEAD CHEF
"GOURMET KNIGHT" STREUSEN
Streusen held up a cutlass as he began to sing while his staff carried sacks of flour and sugar.
"A life of fluff, of zest and zeal!
Let me tell you that life's not real~!
The hard knock life is salt and strain,
And tablespoons and tears of pain!
But after all that strife and ache..."
Streusen soon smiled as he began to burst into tears.
"You all deserve a nice sweet cake~!"
"Head chef!" his staff exclaimed as they continued to work.
XXX
Concurrently, at the Eastern Cove of Whole Cake Island, where the clouds have not yet cleared away...
"Stop it, Pekoms! You have to rest and recuperate!"
Pekoms groaned as he tried to force himself to stand up, but struggled to do so, due to being shot by Bege again, as well as nearly getting devoured by sharks. Around him, the Sun Pirates, plus Praline, had all gathered, especially Aladdin to keep the Lion Mink from stressing himself out even more.
"Haa...haa...grraaawr...!" Pekoms panted and growled. "Has...has Jimbei reported to Mama, yet?! About that bastard Bege?!"
"Of course, Pekoms!" answered Aladdin. "No doubt, at this very moment, Mama will be crushing Bege the traitor into dust!"
"No doubt-grraawwr?!" Pekoms growled. "There can't be any room for doubt! I've gotta go make certain, myself!"
"Easy, easy!" Praline said as she lightly shoved Pekoms back on the ground. "Shashashasha! Trust us, you've got to lie down and rest now, Pekos."
"B-but Praline," Pekoms began, "if somehow, the report doesn't reach Mama-grooowwr!"
"Why is why Jimbei is handling this as we speak!" Aladdin interjected. "If they catch you in your current condition, you won't stand a chance! Now just lie back and rest."
"That's right, Pekoms!" shouted one of the Sun Pirates. "As the ship's doctor, I forbid all physical activity! You need absolute rest!"
"Aladdin," Pekoms said as he looked up at Aladdin, "why are you and the rest of these guys acting so dodgy? Suspicious amount of activity, here, in the middle of the night, and I saw some folks carrying out what looked like luggage!"
Some of the Sun Pirates glanced at each other, worriedly.
"Listen," Pekoms started, "you have my gratitude for saving me and whatnot, but I have to go!"
"No! Absolutely not!" Aladdin argued. "I forbid it!"
"What do you mean 'forbid it'-grraaaawwr?!" Pekoms roared. "What are you hiding?!" He then collapsed, panting heavily from getting worked up too much.
XXX
Blizzard panted as he ran along the gross while carrying Luffy, Sanji, and Aika atop his back, remembering the directions Jimbei gave them.
"Luffy! Sanji! Blizzard! You'll find Bege's hideout on the Northwestern side of the island! We'll go there, first, through the mirror! Hurry and meet us there!"
At that moment, Blizzard stopped in front of a huge black building...and it had a castle in the front of it, resting on the edge of a cliff.
"Finally, we're here!" Sanji exclaimed. "It's Bege's base!"
"Hey, Sanji?" Luffy asked. "What's this Bege guy like, anyway?"
"Uh...think of him as a mafia boss," Sanji replied.
"Oh, okay!" Luffy replied. "...Wait...what's a mafia?"
"Really?" Blizzard asked, incredulously.
Soon, Luffy, Sanji, and Aika dismounted from Blizzard's back and the quartet made their way up the stairs. As they drew closer, the door opened to reveal Vito.
"Well, well, if it ain't my Germa hero, Vinsmoke Sanji!" Vito exclaimed.
"Oh, great, it's you," Sanji muttered in annoyance. "I thought I told you not to call me by my family's name!"
"Hey, where are my friends?!" Luffy questioned. "Are you Bege?!"
"He looks scary..." Aika said, nervously. "Especially with that tongue."
"Real delight to see you again-rero!" Vito exclaimed. "Nyororororo! There's no need to panic. Your friends-rero are relaxing at their leisure!"
"Uh...can you repeat that?" Luffy asked.
"Luffy! Sanji! Blizzard! Aika!" a familiar voice called out. "You made it!"
"Chopper!" Sanji exclaimed as Chopper ran up and jumped into the cook's arms, which caused him to laugh.
"I'm so glad you're all right!" Chopper exclaimed.
"Yeah, me too," Sanji replied, only to notice that for some reason, Chopper was wearing a pair of shorts and a towel around his shoulders. "Uh...Chopper?"
"Yes?" Chopper asked.
"How come you look all clean?" Blizzard asked.
"Oh, right!" Chopper answered. "You guys should come and take a bath!"
"A bath?" Aika asked.
"A bath...?" Blizzard bemoaned.
"What?!" Luffy questioned. "Are you kidding me?! Why are you just chilling out, here?! And I thought you hated baths!"
"Nyororororo!" laughed Vito. "I'm afraid you've got no choice! The Godfather refuses to meet with dirty guests!"
Luffy, Sanji, Blizzard, and Aika all glanced at each other and soon realized just how filthy they looked.
"Oh, come on," Luffy complained. "I mean, sure, I look like a mess, but I don't smell, do I?"
"...You really want us to answer that?" Blizzard asked, causing Luffy to lift his arm so he could smell his armpit. After that, he gagged as he put his arm back down.
"...You know what?" Luffy asked. "Maybe I could use a quick wash."
XXX
A little while later, Aika had managed to find Nami and Carrot in the women's bath and joined them (although Nami said that Aika was grounded for disobeying her and Luffy). As the girls bathed, Nami was speaking with Chiffon about how she had met Lola, back on Thriller Bark, 2 years ago.
"What?!" Chiffon asked as she tended to Pez, who was sound asleep in his little basket. "You're saying Lola was a warthog zombie?!"
"That's right," Nami said as she sat with Aika under the shower, scrubbing the younger D. Carrier's scalp while Carrot sat in a bathtub nearby. "Every time she saw a man she liked, she'd chase him and terrify him."
"Hahahahaha!" Chiffon laughed. "Yeah, that sounds like Lola, all right!"
"Honestly, though," Nami began, "I don't know what I would have done without her...either back on Thriller Bark or a couple of days back in the Seducing Woods with King Baum."
"No kidding!" Chiffon replied as she wiped away her tears. "Still, you saved my younger twin sister! I can't thank you enough. I mean look at me! I'm so happy, I'm in tears! She and I have always been extremely close!"
"Just like Big Sis Nami and me," said Aika.
"So there really is such a thing as the walking dead," Carrot mused, whimsically. "The ocean really is a wonderland! And then Lola went back to being human."
"That's right," Nami answered. "I'm sure still out there, being a pirate and having herself a good time. I wonder if she found herself a husband, yet."
"One can only hope," said Chiffon. "I just hope she finds herself a good man, like my Bege."
"By the way, Chiffon," Nami said while she rinsed out her hair. "If you don't mind me asking, why is Big Mom so furious with Lola? Something about her running away from a wedding and all that?"
"Oh, you mean that?" asked Chiffon. "It was a major scandal. You see, there's a reason why Mama is hated by all the giants around the world."
"Really?" Nami replied. "The giants?"
"That's right," said Chiffon. "It's why there are no giants here in Totto Land, despite all the other races being represented."
"So giants are real, too!" Carrot exclaimed. "Wow!"
"Hold still and close your eyes, Aika," said Nami as she poured some water on Aika's head, washing out the suds. However, some of it got in her mouth, which caused her to spit and splutter.
"Yuck...!" the 6-year-old wolf-girl grimaced.
"You see, one day, Lola had a surprise suitor who claimed it to be love at first sight," Chiffon explained. "It was none other than Prince Loki of Elbaph, the Land of the Giants!"
"Ooh, a prince~!" Nami exclaimed.
"It sounds like a fairy tale!" Aika added.
"Mama was practically crying with joy at this," Chiffon said. "If Lola became a princess of Elbaph, she could overcome her longstanding antagonism with the giants and even gain use of the Elbaph warriors, the fighting force of what's held to be the mightiest nation in the world!"
"I see," Nami said as she and Aika got out of the shower and began to get in the tub with Carrot. "So that's what she ran away from."
"It all went downhill from there," said Chiffon. "They tried to pass me off instead, but they realized that I wasn't Lola...and things got even worse with the giants. After that, Mama gave up on trying to have real giants in her crew, so she started investing in research to gigantify regular humans, instead, and her rage against Lola has only grown over time! She's a wanted criminal here- if she ever returns to Totto Land, she'll be executed!"
"She wants her own daughter dead?" Aika asked as Nami held her in her lap.
"I'm afraid she does, little one," said Chiffon. "Plus, I don't think Mama likes me much anymore, considering the obvious resemblance to Lola. Every time she saw me, she would beat and abuse me for years and years. Believe it or not, my body is actually covered with all kinds of scars, and some of them are still fresh!"
"What?!" Nami questioned. "That's just awful!"
"Yes," Chiffon agreed, sadly, "and now...I don't even consider that monster to be my Mother, anymore."
"...I'm sorry, Miss Chiffon," said Aika.
"Don't you worry about me," said Chiffon. "I'm fine...it's Lola I'm more worried about. She's so absentminded that I'm sure she doesn't have even the slightest idea that our Mother is filled with a murderous rage for her." She then chuckled, humorlessly.
"So that's it," Nami said. "It all makes sense, now!"
Carrot just quietly sat in the tub, as well as Aika.
"When Bege mentioned assassinating Mama," Chiffon began, "I honestly didn't feel a single thing...does that make me an awful person?"
A pause...but then Nami got out of the tub, wrapped a towel around herself...and held Chiffon's hands in her own.
"Of course it doesn't," she said. "I mean...if she was my Mother, I'd probably think the same!"
"...Thank you," Chiffon smiled, and Carrot and Aika smiled as well.
XXX
"Do I have to spell it out?! I'm not taking a bath! No way, no how!"
"But Blizzard, you have to! We won't be able to talk to Bege!"
"I said I'm NOT going in that tub, Luffy, and you can't make me! ...Why are you looking at me that way? W-whoa! Hey, hey! Luffy, dammit, put me down! Where...where are you taking me? ...Don't you throw me in that water! Luffy, do you hear me?! LUFFY!"
SPLASH! Blizzard was thrown into the bathtub by Luffy, who began to scrub his fur with shampoo. He and Brook were already finished with their baths, so Blizzard just had to take his. Of course, the wolf-dog wouldn't go in willingly, so naturally, Luffy had to make him go in...by force.
"Yohohoho!" Brook chortled, wearing a bathrobe. "What a marvelous bath that was! It felt like I was going to heaven...well, not today, I say!"
"What's the point of even taking a bath?!" Blizzard asked. "Aren't we just gonna get dirty, all over again?! And besides, I had mine for this month!"
"Hey, I don't like it any more than you do!" Luffy said. "It feels like we're already in the post-fight stage, and we haven't started yet! I can't get loose like this!"
"Oh!" Brook exclaimed as he found a mini fridge and opened it up. "Luffy, look! They've got milk in here!"
"Hey!" shouted a Firetank Pirates' gunman. "You can't just go rummaging around someone's fridge like you own it!"
"Ooh, perfect timing!" Luffy chirped as he pointed to his missing tooth. "Sanji busted out one of my teeth, see?"
"And I've got a crack in my skull," Brook said, pointing his face.
Soon, Luffy and Brook each got a little milk cartoon and drank the milk inside. Soon after that, Luffy's tooth grew back while Brook's face returned to normal!
"Ahhh~!" they both sighed in satisfaction. "Much better!"
"WHAT KIND OF BODIES DO YOU HAVE?!" the gunman asked while Blizzard snickered.
XXX
A while later, while everyone was getting ready to meet with Bege, Sanji stood outside the dressing room, wearing a new white dress shirt and black trousers. At that moment, Nami appeared from the women's dressing room, wearing a short, red, backless dress and had her hair done up in a bun. She had this cold glare in her eyes as she looked at Sanji, who gasped silently before he looked away, ashamed, but then he took in a deep breath and opened his mouth to speak.
"Save your apology," Nami said, which caused Sanji's heart to drop. "...Look, Sanji...it's not that I don't forgive you. I mean...you're a great friend and I'm glad you finally got your priorities straight...but...I don't think I can trust you after the things you pulled."
"...I understand," Sanji replied, sadly.
"We're still friends," Nami began, "but it's my trust you need to earn back."
"...Yes, Nami," Sanji nodded. "I'll do whatever it takes...I swear it!"
"...As long as you know that," Nami said, but then, Luffy came out of the men's dressing room, along with Chopper, Blizzard, Brook, Jimbei, and Pedro, while Aika and Carrot emerged from the women's dressing room.
Luffy had on a red suit jacket with a dark brown shirt underneath, a pink ascot tied around his neck, and a black fedora with a white band on top of the bowl of his straw hat.
Chopper had on a dark blue suit with a light green shirt underneath and a yellow ascot around his neck.
Blizzard had on a gray suit with pinstripes and dark gray pants (which he did not like in the least), as well as a gray fedora on his head.
Brook had on a rather large fedora, a black shirt, a black-and-red striped vest to go over it, and a light yellow ascot around his neck.
Aika had a black dress with a red rose corsage, a black fedora, her hair done up in a rolled up bun like Nami's, and had her pipe strapped to her back.
Pedro wore a green suit with a matching fedora, a black shirt underneath the suit, and a red ascot around his neck.
Finally, Carrot had on a flapper-style outfit, which consisted of a white cloche hat with a pink rose, a sleeveless white blouse, a frilly black skirt, and black pumps.
As for Jimbei, he just wore what he had on, already.
"Okay," Luffy said. "Everyone ready?"
"Yes," everyone nodded.
"...Then let's hit it," Luffy replied before they all headed down the hall.
XXX
3 hours and 30 minutes left until the tea party...
"ARRRRGH! Chiffon, how could you?! Now you're really in for it! You have no idea!"
It was revealed that Brulee and Diesel had also gotten dolled up for the meeting, as well.
"How could you be an accomplice to Mama's attempted assassination?!" asked Brulee.
"Be reasonable, Lady Chiffon!" Diesel shouted. "You should know that this plan will never work!"
"You know what Mama did to me, Sister Brulee!" Chiffon argued while holding a sleeping Pez in her arms. "I'm worried about Lola, and Bege and Pez are my only family, now! That's all I need anymore!"
At that moment, the door opened and someone walked in.
"That should be everybody. Are you all cleaned up? As the saying goes, 'The suit makes the man', and I'm not in any mood to speak with someone who can't take care of their appearance."
It was soon revealed to be Bege, who sat down on one side of the room, along with the Firetank Pirates. Luffy and the Straw Hats sat on the other.
"So," Bege began, "we've got three-and-a-half hours...let's decide first if we're working together or not!"
Luffy sat quietly, along with the others. Nami sat to his right while Aika sat to his left, shuffling nervously. Just then, Luffy reached over the table, and at first, the Firetank Pirates pointed their guns at him, thinking he was about to attack...until they saw that he was only trying to grab some cookies out of a bowl, which he held out to Aika.
"Here you go, sis," Luffy told her. "You're probably hungry, right?"
"Oh!" Aika exclaimed as she took the cookies. "Thanks, Big Brother." She soon began to eat them.
"I suppose getting the kid calmed down makes sense," said Bege. "Now then...from our perspective, you Straw Hats are just unwanted intruders. The tidiest solution for us would be to eliminate the whole lot of you, right here and now!"
Aika squeaked in fright at this, accidentally dropping the cookies in the bowl as she did.
"Hey, will you watch it?!" Nami questioned. "Aika's tense enough as it is!"
"If I die, right now," Sanji started, "your chances of killing Big Mom will be gone. You won't have much of a ceremony anymore. They're gonna get suspicious if I'm not back 2 hours before the wedding starts."
"As much as I hate to admit it," Bege started, "you're right, Black Leg. You're the one man I can't really kill."
"We don't have any time to waste on threats," said Jimbei. "What does your intuition say, Luffy? Can you work with Bege?"
"Hmm..." Luffy hummed...but his eyes weren't really on Bege, at the moment. Rather, his eyes were on the spiky-haired, scrawny mobster sitting to the left, trying to stay stone-faced.
"HEY!" Luffy yelled. "YOU'RE CAESAR, AREN'T YOU?!"
"GAH!" Caesar cried.
"What?! Caesar?!" Chopper questioned. "Where is he?!"
"Oh, Chopper..." Nami muttered in disbelief.
"He's been right here with us, the whole time," said Sanji.
Aika whimpered nervously as she tried to hide behind Luffy's back. Truth be told, she knew all along that Caesar was sitting in the room. In fact, he was the true source of all her tension. Even now, all she could think about when she saw his face were all those awful experiments he conducted on her and Kumi back on Punk Hazard, as well when he locked her up in that gas chamber to silence her for good. She actually had phantom pains from whenever she thought back on them.
As for Caesar, he couldn't believe his rotten luck. He was in the lab that Big Mom made for him, trying to work on the gigantification serum when suddenly Bege bursts in with his heart. He had promised to let the mad scientist go, but only if he did what he said. Of course, Caesar protested, but when Bege started squeezing on his heart, he realized he had no choice. When he heard that Luffy and the others were coming to meet with Bege, that just made it worse to him.
"C...Caesar, you say?" Caesar asked, forcing a grin. "Never heard of the guy! I'm Bege's...err...blood brother! Yes! I'm 'Gangster Gastino! Shulololololo!"
"GANGSTER" GASTINO
'He's not even trying to hide it!' thought Chopper.
'Seriously? He even laughs the same!' thought Sanji.
'And what kinda lame-ass name is Gastino?' thought Blizzard. 'I mean, seriously!'
"Oh, I see," Luffy realized. "I guess I got the wrong guy."
"No, Big Brother!" Aika said. "That really is Caesar!"
"WHAT?!" Luffy questioned as he got up in Caesar's face. "I KNEW IT WAS YOU! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?!"
"DO YOU HONESTLY THINK I WANTED TO BE HERE, YOU IDIOT?!" Caesar questioned. "THANKS TO YOU FOOLS, I GOT HANDED OVER TO BIG MOM AND MY ONLY ESCAPE FROM CERTAIN DEATH WAS BEGE TAKING CONTROL OF MY HEART AND MAKING ME HIS SLAVE! If you ever see Law again, TELL HIM I'LL KILL HIM THE NEXT TIME WE MEET, AND THAT GOES FOR THE REST OF YOU IF I EVER GET THE CHANCE!"
Aika whimpered worried as she scooted closer to Nami's side, prompting the navigator to hold her to her side to keep her calm.
"All right, can it!" Bege yelled as he squeezed Caesar's heart, causing him to scream in pain. "We don't have any time to waste, here! So, Straw Hat...are you with me or against me?!"
"...First off," Luffy said as he reeled his fist back, "lemme punch you for shooting Pekoms!"
Immediately, Blizzard and Jimbei jumped to hold Luffy back.
"Hey! Let go of me!" Luffy yelled.
"Cut it out, you idiot!" Blizzard shouted.
"That's not going to help matters!" Jimbei cried.
"Hey! You said something about hitting the Godfather!" yelled Gotti.
"No, Gotti, stop!" Vito cried as he tried to hold him back, too. "Don't do it!"
"That's all right, Vito," said Bege. "Just let him do it."
"Yeah, kick these morons out!" yelled Caesar.
"Ugh..." Jimbei groaned. "...Luffy! Caesar!"
"WHAT?!" Luffy and Caesar questioned.
"Tell me," Jimbei started, "do you like Big Mom or not?"
"HELL NO!" Luffy and Caesar yelled. "I HATE HER!"
"Then that alone makes us allies, here!" Jimbei exclaimed. "You can always fight with each other, later, but if you form an alliance now, it will give our cause the advantage!"
"Fine!" Luffy shouted, begrudgingly. "Then what's the plan?!"
"I've got it all arranged in exact detail," Bege replied.
"Then let's hurry up, carry it out, and be done with it!" Caesar demanded. "The sooner, the better!"
Time left until the tea party: 3 hours and 20 minutes.
TO BE CONTINUED...
Next time on One Piece: The Whole Cake Island Arc.
Sanji: So...is Big Mom the type to be killed by artillery fire?
Bege: Under certain conditions, I can have Big Mom dead in a matter of 5 seconds!
Chopper: Eh?! Five seconds?!
Caesar: I present the KX Launcher! One will do the job, but I made two extra ones, just in case!
Bege: But Big Mom's skin can't be pierced even by a needle when she's healthy.
Chopper: So what do we do?!
Bege: The conditions needed to kill Big Mom just so happen to be at the tea party!
Luffy: Shishishishi! I just thought of a cool way to make my appearance!
Next time: Emperor Assassination Plan
Finally got this one up. Perhaps next week, I'll do more of The Fire Within, too.
Review, please!