Alright, only a few more chapters to go before this book ends and I start a new original arc. It's going to be a pretty awesome original arc, too - - but not as awesome as the post-Enies Lobby arc's gonna be, and nowhere near the awesomeness as the post-Straw Hat Separation original arc! You guys have a lot to look forward to. Also, remember how I mentioned I was only three followers away from a hundred last chapter? Well... I've finally reached that goal! You're all totally awesome! Thanks so much!
Chapter 52 begin!
Operation: Escape Alabasta!
Requiem of the Displaced Soul
Previously on One Piece Full Blast:
Either the very masculine blonde didn't hear us, or she simply didn't care for our comments, because she turned a deaf ear and pointed to Lucy. "I heard that the captain eats a lot, so I had my staff put together a little snack to hold you and your friends over."
"Thank you," Lucy said solemnly, and not even a second later she'd already stuffed the entire cart of fruit in her mouth and swallowed. I stared at her, unsure whether to give her some kind of reward or erase the image from my memory.
"Greedy pig!" the resident Marimo snapped, earning him a light kick on the head from Sanji.
"Don't say that to our beautiful captain!"
Lucy leaned forward, completely serious. "I'm gonna eat three whole day's worth of food, lady."
Terracotta chuckled and put her hands on her hips. "Oh, a challenge!" she concluded. "Good. I'm looking forward to it. My cooking speed has never lost to anyone's stomach, so eat to your heart's content!"
I sighed for the third time that evening and shook my head fondly. That was Lucy for you.
Apparently, nobody had informed Terracotta that telling a Straw Hat to eat to their heart's content was like telling a robber he had free run of the local bank. If you weren't careful, you'd be left without anything to your name.
Needless to say, the banquet was simply crazy.
Food sprayed out of everyone's mouths carelessly. There was much shouting and screaming and laughing, and even some singing. I contributed to most of these, but especially the latter, introducing the Straw Hats, Vivi, King Cobra, and the soldiers on duty to many classic American rock songs. Lucy tried to sing along but ended up dousing me (for I was sitting next to her) in a small storm of mushy food crumbs.
Incredibly - - amazingly - - Terracotta's miniature army of cooks successfully kept up with our enormous appetites for the better part of the night. The food came and kept on coming! It wasn't until about the twentieth serving that the work force started slowing down, and even then our plates were getting replenished only a few seconds after finishing them off.
"How many people does that cross-dresser's wife have in the kitchens?" demanded Zoro through a mouthful of roast beef.
I shrugged idly. "Maybe someone back there ate, like, a Cook-Cook Devil Fruit or something."
The swordsman nearly choked in laughter at the thought, and Usopp had to pound his back to dislodge the piece of meat that had gotten caught in his throat.
For us Straw Hats and even Vivi, the party was a blast. King Cobra seemed both amused and astounded at the bottomless pits we had for stomachs. The soldiers, for their part, appeared to not be able to tell whether they should be awed or disgusted.
"Absolutely no manners whatsoever," one gasped.
"The Grand Dining Hall should be quieter than this," said another as an apple core was tossed his direction.
And of course, Lucy couldn't keep her hands to herself. Zoro tried to eat as fast as he could, but Lucy's thieving hands still managed to snatch one of his sirloin steaks right out from under his fork. He wasn't her only victim. As I watched with a sweatdrop, she also scooped something away from Usopp, regardless of the fact that he sat at the other side of the table.
"Dammit, Lucy!" growled the resident sniper with shark-like teeth. He stomped one foot onto the table and pointed his butter knife at the rubbergirl in question. "You just took that off my plate!"
"Watch your food like a hawk," I advised him seriously, trying not to crack a smile.
The liar's glare turned on me. "Easy for you to say! She hasn't stolen anything from you for weeks! What makes you so special, huh?"
I rolled my eyes. "Oh, please, as if Lucy would play favorites."
(It should be noted that, although I didn't see it, Lucy caught my words and glanced at me through the corner of her eyes. A slight pink blush was warming her cheeks.)
Meanwhile, Nami furiously punched our female captain upside the face. "You're so unladylike!" she snapped.
"And you are?" mumbled the straw-hatted girl. Our ginger navigator nearly tore her hair out in exasperation.
"You're too sarcastic. You've been hanging out with Diamo - - er, I mean Damon too much..."
"Oi!" I complained. "You say that like it's a bad thing!"
"It is," agreed Sanji.
I tic-pulsed and glared at him, but his attention had already been dragged away by Chopper. The cute reindeer was ignoring the chaos around him and sucking up his buttered spaghetti noodles like a vacuum cleaner.
"Oi, oi, slow down or you'll choke!" Sanji told him.
Chopper blinked up at him. "Really?"
I nodded seriously. "Oh, of course," I said. "You could choke and die just from eating your dinner like that."
If reindeer could go pale, the little animal doctor would've been whiter than a ghost. His jaw dropped in fear, dumping all his noodles right into his lap with a wet splotch. I couldn't help myself; I descended into a fit of crazy giggles.
The banquet lasted a considerably long time, though it never felt like it was dragging. In fact, it was so much fun I almost didn't want it to end!
Through it all, Vivi was laughing so hard that she had to hold her side, because she'd gotten a stitch. This appeared to mystify the soldiers. They couldn't seem to understand how a person who was supposed to be regal could possibly enjoy something so... disorderly. However, as we started finishing eating, the real party began, and they slowly began to join their princess in her amusement.
Lucy rolled around on the table in Gum-Gum Balloon form (although thankfully her chest didn't pop out of her shirt). Usopp loudly informed everyone who'd listen about his many false exploits. Chopper stuck chopsticks in his nose like he'd done after Drum Kingdom, and danced around to much cheering and laughter.
"Alright, you guys wanna see something awesome?" I said, grinning.
Lucy's smile couldn't possibly be wider. "Yay! Damon's gonna do stuff! Shishishi! I wonder what it's gonna be~!"
"In the name of Captain Usopp, I command you to do it immediately!" cried our long-nosed sniper importantly. The commandment was accompanied by a dramatic finger point in my direction.
"Alright," I chuckled, "then somebody get me a barrel of water."
Said water barrel was quickly brought to me by one of the many waiters.
I closed my eyes, concentrating. I pictured my thoughts flowing out of my head and into the water. The liquid seeped up through the barrel's lid and streamed high into the air. With a quick mental instruction, it coalesced into a massive, sparkling blue palm tree.
"Whoa!" Nami gasped, her eyes widening. "That's beautiful!"
Sanji was grudgingly impressed. "Not too shabby, Spaz," he admitted.
Usopp nodded approvingly. "Yes, well played! Exactly as I taught you!"
The soldiers stared at my abilities in awe. Shocked, they whispered amongst and over top of themselves.
"Holy crap," one of them said. "T-The water... moved on its own..."
"No, wait, one of those pirates did it!"
"Is it a Devil Fruit ability?"
"It's gotta be, unless... you don't think they have a demigod in their crew, do you?"
"No way. I thought they were only myths."
"If you think that's impressive, just watch this!" I declared with a pleased smirk.
I lifted my finger and pointed at the water tree. It suddenly broke apart into many smaller orbs of H2O. The orbs danced in the air for several seconds before converging again, this time into the shape of a man wielding two swords. The watery swordsman held his liquid blades at eye level before spinning and slashing horizontally. He followed up with a fluid flurry of movements, rapid and as smooth as Soul Eater battles.
Zoro grunted, raising his eyebrow. He said with a grin, "Heh, that water swordsman looks cool, but I could probably kick his ass."
"He's not just cool!" screamed Chopper, his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets. "He's TOTALLY AWESOME!"
"Holy shiiiiit, that's coooool!" gasped Usopp, too stunned to lie about being involved in my artwork's creation. His jaw nearly touched the floor and snot hung out of his long nose. His eyes were bigger than giants'.
"Damon, you're so awesome!" Lucy cried with sparkling eyes.
I grinned, laughing while Sanji huffed and grumbled jealously.
Nami looked scandalized. "You're showing something like this off for free?"
"Of course all you'd think about is money," I snorted. "Alright, one last picture." The watery swordsman broke apart with a flick of my finger, then reformed again. This time it became a sparkling, blue, floating depiction of the Straw Hat Jolly Roger. The skull silently laughed for a few seconds before flowing into a small river. The flying stream of water did a happy little helix before passing through the cracks in the barrel's lid, returning to where it had come from.
"Well, then," King Cobra spoke up as his subordinate's awed mutterings died down. "I'm sure you're all weary and tired after your long adventure. If your stomachs are full, why don't you wash away your exhaustion in the royal baths? I promise you haven't known Alabastan hospitality until you have taken a bath here."
A bath? I grinned widely. That was just what the doctor ordered.
(Well, Chopper didn't literally order that, but you get the point.)
"This bath is freakin' huge!" Usopp declared, bouncing from foot to foot on the slippery tile floor.
I could feel my jaw slacken. "Just how many belli did you guys spend on this thing?"
King Cobra shrugged. "I didn't build it myself, so I wouldn't know. My grandfather's grandfather's grandfather expanded this castle and upgraded the baths to what you see before you."
"That's a lot of grandfathers," muttered Sanji, gazing around the steamy room.
We were now in the royal bathroom, the boys and girls having split to go to their respective baths. It was simply enormous. The floor underneath our feet had been crafted from white marble, and to our right a wall rose to a stop just below the ceiling. There had to be at least a couple hundred square feet of floor. In the middle of the room, a giant golden statue of a sea cat spewed warm water.
The resident sniper and doctor had already jumped into the pool-like bath, eager to mess around.
"Come on, Chopper!" cried Usopp, splashing the poor reindeer, who'd turned into Heavy Point so he wouldn't lose as much energy. (Apparently, Devil Fruit users only lost energy if they were above their knees in water.) In any case, Usopp continued. "You're it!"
Chopper slapped the surface of the bathwater with his hand, throwing spray at his friend. "Ha! Splash war!"
My ears perked. "Splash war?" I said, and the two slowly turned to face me, pale. I dashed forward and dived into the bath while sending out my thoughts into the water. "You guys are toast! Tempest... Mimic!"
"DAMMIT, THAT'S CHEATING!" spluttered boy and reindeer as they were washed away by the gigantic wave I summoned.
I shrugged and grinned evilly. "Nah. I'm just using my resources."
"You're the devil," Zoro decided, sweatdropping.
"A demigod, my good man. There's a large difference."
Chopper, Usopp and I continued to splash each other, slip on the tiles, and basically act like idiots. Meanwhile, Zoro was attempting to have a polite conversation with our host the king.
"That was certainly an enjoyable meal!" Vivi's father said calmly. He sat on the edge of the bath with a light pink towel wrapped around his waist. Actually, we all had similar towels around our wastes, as was the custom for Japanese public baths; however, ours were white.
"I bet it was a far stretch from your usual banquets, eh?" Zoro said, smirking.
The desert king nodded. "Indeed, although it was by no means an annoyance. I usually dine in a neat and tidy manner, but it seems everything around you turns into a party." He glanced at the splashing trio (me included) out of the corner of his eyes.
Sanji sidled up to Igaram and elbowed him lightly, like they were old buddies. "Ne, where's the women's baths?" he asked slyly.
"Perv," I accused from the sidelines.
Igaram had a similar reaction. "You ignoramus! I would not tell someone like YOU! Vivi-sama is in there!"
"And Lucy!" I added, crossing my arms and glaring.
Zoro snorted. "Mighty protective of you, Spaz."
"S-Shut up, Broken Compass!"
While the green-haired swordsman and I traded insults, King Cobra swept his royal hand in a dramatic point to the low wall. "Just over this wall!" he said loudly. We all blinked and stared.
"YOUR MAJESTY, YOU BASTARD!" snapped Igaram with shark teeth.
I sweatdropped again as the other boys gathered together, probably discussing whether to be pervs or not. But clearly the temptation of seeing girls naked was just too much for them all. A second later, they all scurried to the wall, King Cobra and Chopper included. I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms, glowering at their backs. Chopper probably only went because Usopp did, but the King I was highly disappointed with.
After they all somehow managed to climb the walls, I heard a shout from Lucy.
"Hey, guys! This bath's awesome, isn't it!? ...Where's Damon?"
"Being an idiot," Sanji called. "He didn't want to have this chance!"
"Eh? Really?" the straw-hatted girl said. Then she paused and I could practically see her tilt her head. "What chance?"
A beat passed. Then Nami's voice rang out over the wall: "HAPPINESS PUNCH!"
And every guy who'd climbed the wall was blasted back by a nosebleed.
I shook my head in disgust. "Bakas."
"Arigato," murmured the king, wiping blood from his nose.
Usopp sat up Indian-style. "Dirty old man," he said, and I nodded in agreement as I strolled over to them. King Cobra stiffened and shook his head.
"No, not for that!" The older man's eyes turned serious. "For this country." To our shock, King Cobra sat cross-legged and bowed his back low to us, supporting himself with both hands. We all blinked and gaped at him.
"Oi, oi," said Zoro, raising an eyebrow. "You sure you should be doing that? A king doing that to pirates..."
"This is no small matter, Cobra-sama!" Igaram agreed. "A king should not lower his head to others."
Vivi's father shook his head. "Igaram. Power is something worn over clothing. But... this is a bath. There is no such thing as a naked king. As a father, and as a man who lives on this land, I wish to express my heartfelt gratitude." His speech completed, he lifted his head and gazed at each of us purposefully. "Thank you. Thank you so much!"
I put a hand on my waist-towel, grinning. The black-haired man may've been a bit of a perv, but there was no doubt of his greatness as a leader. He had a truly honorable soul.
Not long afterwards, we all decided we were clean enough. We got out of the bath and redressed ourselves. Then we started the small trek to our bedroom. I was the last one of the boys out, and I walked to our chambers alone. I didn't mind. Now that I had a moment of peace, I could take in just how beautiful the palace was, even at night.
The halls alone were quite breathtaking. The architecture was top-notch, every inch designed with extreme mathematical accuracy. Whoever had built the place definitely knew what he (or she - - we're not sexist here) was doing. And that wasn't even the sole attraction. Beautiful artwork had been engraved into the walls, and the most amazing paintings were hung above that.
I was so distracted by the paintings and engravings that I didn't notice Lucy behind me. At least, not until she dashed straight into my back carelessly.
I stumbled and looked behind me. "Whoa! Oh, hey, Luce."
"Hey Damon!" she giggled. She opened her mouth to say something, then frowned and looked away, blushing.
I blinked. "Luce?" I said, looking at her curiously. "You alright?"
"Uh... yeah, but... Why didn't you want to see me in the bath?"
Wait, what? I stared. Since when had Lucy, of all people, ever cared about things like this? I gaped at the rubbergirl, wondering if this was really my captain. She was fidgeting with her thumbs nervously, her eyes darting everywhere but into mine.
I didn't answer for a moment. Then I shrugged and looked down the corridor.
"I dunno," I began, "I guess I just... didn't want to.. gee, I don't know how to put it. I remembered how I'd felt when that weird okama guy flashed you guys in my body. I hated that. I figured you'd... be embarrassed, or something, and I didn't want to make you feel that way. It wouldn't sit right with me."
Lucy remained stunningly quiet.
"Damon?" she said after a moment. "Do you... do you like me?"
I froze, my face immediately hotter than the Sun.
"W-What? L... l... like you!? Who told you that?"
"Nami. She told me while we were in the baths. She said... she said you cared for me more than anyone else, but wouldn't admit it unless I asked you myself. She also said it's because you're a dense idiot who's too hard on himself for his own good. So... Do you? Love me?"
Lucy appeared to have gotten over any nerves she had, because her eyes bore directly into my own. They seemed to peer through me and search my soul, trying to divulge whether my answer would be a lie or not. I gazed back. I wondered what was going on in my captain's head.
How was I supposed to react to this? If I said the wrong thing, she might hate me!
My eye twitched. I took a step back, then halted again. What was I meant to say? What should I do? What?
"I... I..." I stammered, unable to form a complete sentence. The future Pirate Queen's eyes flashed with emotion - - was that... hope?
My world screeched to a stand-still, and a single thought flowed through my mind: I may never get this chance again. I let out a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding. I clenched and unclenched my hands. Every nerve in my body was on overdrive, put on the spot by the unexpected question.
"I... I..." My voice choked. "Dammit, Lucy," I growled, and leaned down. Before I could rethink my decision, our lips connected.
Lucy gave a small gasp of... something into my mouth. But I didn't care. Nothing in the world mattered except this moment. I was kissing Lucy. It was incredible, impossible, an unbelievable sensation. I'd never felt happier, more sure of anything in my life. My heart was soaring as Lucy's own tender lips brushed against mine.
I wrapped my arms around the beautiful girl and broke the kiss.
"Baka," I hissed, nearly crying although I didn't quite know why. "Baka, baka, baka! You gave me a home when I had no where to go! A family when I thought I had none! You renewed my reason to live! It took me a while... but lately I've realized that I was never actually happy until I met you."
Lucy sniffed, and when she looked up at me, she was crying too.
"Of course I love you, you baka," I breathed.
Feeling as though I could defy gravity and leap to the moon, I pulled my crush into another gentle kiss. We didn't come up for air until several minutes had passed. We reveled in each other's warmth, in the tenderness of the moment.
Lucy wiped her eyes. Her grin stretched out the corners of her mouth, lighting up her entire face.
"I love you too, Damon," she said softly, leaning into my shoulder.
I felt like I was dreaming. No way could this moment possibly be real.
My captain... the girl who's going to be Queen of the Pirates... Lucy loves me...
"Would you... be my girlfriend?" I gulped, grinning nervously down at her.
She smirked and stood on her tiptoes, too short otherwise. This time, she initiated the kiss. The female pirate smiled against my lips.
"You're the baka," she murmured, pulling back and leaving me breathless. "Nami was right. You are pretty dense... of course I will!" Then Lucy grinned playfully. "Ne, Damon, let's go tell the others!"
My eyes nearly popped out of my head. "E-EH!? ALREADY!? Whoa - - slow down!"
Giggling like a maniac, my new girlfriend had wrapped her rubbery arm around mine. Now she was pulling me along as she dashed down the hallway, tearing off for the bedroom. I could barely keep up and I nearly stumbled at least five times.
The crazy female captain had never been more gorgeous before.
Sorry, Sanji, but you'll have to keep your dirty paws away. Lucy's mine!
"HEY, MINNA!" shouted Lucy, incredibly cheerful as she kicked the bedroom door open. She tore through the entrance, still dragging me along.
"There you are!" Usopp frowned. "Where the heck have you two been?"
Zoro sighed. "Yeah, what were you doing? We have a message on the Den-Den Mushi."
"Den-Den Mushi?" I said, blinking. "From who?"
"Someone who apparently calls himself 'Bon-chan.' He says he's our friend our something."
Bon-chan... that name rang a bell. I thought deeply as I dislodge myself from Lucy's tight grasp. Who was he? I felt like I should definitely know that character.
"Minna, minna, guess what!?" cried Lucy, oblivious to the situation. "Damon and I are - -"
"Not now!" I cut in, red as a tomato. "I'm trying to think. Bon-chan... Bon-chan... who's Bon-chan...?"
But it was hopeless. My memories were too focused on kissing Lucy not once, not twice, but three times to think about anything else. I shrugged in defeat and sighed. "Ah, whatever. Just pick up the call already."
Lucy pouted at me. "Bastard! I wanted to tell them..."
We all gathered around Sanji, who held up the snail's receiver. Some of us sat on beds; a couple of us made ourselves comfortable on chairs. Lucy apparently decided my lap was as good a place to sit and listen as any. Nami glanced knowingly at us, a spark of victory in her eye; but she gave me a sealed-lips gesture and looked away.
I ignored the soulless ginger and hugged Lucy from behind. That earned me a giggle from her and an arched eyebrow from Sanji, Zoro and Usopp. Chopper blinked, adorably confused, and Vivi giggled.
"If our bastard lookout would get his sweaty hands off our beautiful captain," growled Sanji jealously, "then I'll answer the receiver."
I rolled my eyes but released Lucy. My new girlfriend pouted a little.
"Alright," said the blond. "Let's see who this friend of ours is."
He lifted the receiver off of the Den-Den Mushi.
And almost immediately we were all greeted by a very loud, very obnoxious drawl of, "Moshi, moshi! Moshi, moshi? Are you guys there? It's ME! It. Is. MEEEE!"
Sanji threw the receiver back on the snail like it was a hot coal. The caller didn't seem to care. Not even a half-beat later, the snail immediately started freaking out, vibrating so bad it nearly fell out of the cook's hand. The racket it made was so loud even Zoro had to cover his ears.
"WHAT IS IT!?" screamed Sanji furiously into the receiver. He'd again picked it up, if only to shut the stupid snailphone up.
Lucy stretched her hands out to snatch the thing out from Sanji's grasp. The blond blinked in momentary surprise. Our captain set the snail down next to me and started speaking into the receiver.
"Oh, it's you," she said, sounding unsure whether she wanted to be happy or sad. "What do you want from us?"
"Who is it?" I demanded. The voice sounded extremely familiar, and incredibly irksome for some weird reason. But I just couldn't place it.
"That okama dude who could change into people."
I paused. For a second, nobody moved.
"PUT THE DAMN DEN-DEN MUSHI DOWN!" I roared, accompanied by a tic-pulse bigger than Dallas. My eye twitched a thousand times per second. "I NEVER WANT TO SEE OR HEAR THAT FREAK AGAIN!"
But the okama dude, Bon Clay, didn't seem to care. "Oh!?" his voice cried happily from the other end. "Isn't that the voices of Straw-chan and Water-chan!? ...Is your voice deeper, Water-chan?"
"SHUT IT, YOU!"
Lucy patted my back as if to calm me down.
Bon Clay continued. "You two are so stroooong~! I was so surprised~! Oh, yes, yes. Don't go calling me Mr. 2! If the Marines get wind of this conversation, I'll be in super big trouble."
"He just said it himself!" Chopper deadpanned in disbelief.
Zoro crossed his arms. "Tch. Just spit it out."
"Ah, right, right, right," agreed the bastard okama. "I took your cute little ship!"
"WHAT THE HELL!?" we all demanded.
I was especially enraged. The first time we met him, this guy insulted me by showing off my female body to my girlfriend, who had at that time been my crush. Now he had insulted the entire crew by stealing our ship! I mentally swore to kick Bon-chan's face in the next time I saw him. I conveniently forgot he would be one of the sole reasons for Lucy's survival, when she breaks in to Impel Down in the future.
"I HAVE FURY!" I exclaimed, a watery aura of rage springing up around me.
Usopp was equally mad. "Asshole!" he belted at the Den-Den Mushi receiver. "That ain't funny! Where the hell are you now!?"
The other man's annoyingly high voice drifted through the receiver. "I'm on your booooaaaaat!"
"Of all the annoying bastards in the world..." grumbled Sanji, shaking.
"You've got it wroooong, all wroooong~! Aren't you and I... friends~? Hahahahah! Hahahaha!"
"HELL NO, WE AREN'T!" I screamed so loud, the poor Den-Den Mushi nearly shrunk back in its shell.
"Alright, you need to calm down," Nami decided, tic-pulsing in my direction. I stiffened in sudden anxiety. Lucy giggled at my reaction. "Go out in the hallway until he's done explaining himself. We won't understand anything he says with you yelling like that."
"I'm not a kid!" I grunted. "I don't need time-out!"
But under the navigator's intense glare, I withered and bowed my head.
"Yes, Nami..."
They didn't let me back in for several boring minutes. While I waited for them to finish up, I tapped my foot to some random tune that popped in my head. I paced restlessly and muttered under my breath about soulless gingers. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the door groaned open and I practically flew back into the bedroom.
"So, what's the deal?" I asked, flopping back down on a bed. Lucy happily retook her place on my lap.
"He took the Merry upstream on the Sandora River," said Nami.
I thought back to the map of Alabasta. "You mean that river that cuts through the country's center?"
Vivi nodded in confirmation. "That's the one."
"Can we trust him?" mused Usopp, rubbing a non-existent mustache.
Lucy pouted, seemingly unable to decide. "We... we were friends with him before... but..."
Zoro scowled. "The idea of you becoming friends again scares me," he muttered.
Chopper hummed. "But... we don't really have a choice."
"That's right." Sanji nodded. "Either way, he's got our ship. If he tries any funny business, we'll just kick his ass." Coming from a Black Leg fighter, he probably meant that literally.
"Then let's get moving already!" I said, stretching.
"Took the words right out of my mouth," the local Marimo approved.
Usopp sighed. "Yosh! Let's get going. If our ship gets taken, then we gotta - -"
"Hey, minna," Vivi suddenly spoke up. We all paused and looked at her. Her eyes were watery, and she seemed unsure about something. "Minna... What... should I do? I don't know whether to go with you all or stay here and help my country." The princess bit her lip. "Please, tell me."
We pirates exchanged sad looks.
"We can't tell you to join, Vivi-chan," I told her kindly. "You need to decide that for yourself."
"Though I didn't really get a choice," Zoro mumbled.
"No comments from the peanut gallery. Anyway, this is a kaizokou crew we're talking about. It's a dangerous life for anyone - - even more so for you, since you would be an ex-princess."
"Listen carefully, Vivi," Nami added. "We'll give you twelve hours to think. Does that sound fair, guys?" We nodded. Satisfied, the redhead rolled out a map of Alabasta and indicated various spots. "After we leave, we'll take our ship back on the Sandora River. Then, at exactly noon tomorrow, we'll sail down it and swing the ship past the eastern harbor once. I doubt we'll be able to drop anchor, so if you decide to keep adventuring with us, that will be the last chance you have to jump aboard." She grinned. "If so, we'll celebrate - - as kaizokou!"
While Nami outlined the plan to Vivi, the rest of us started getting up and preparing to leave. Zoro and I checked to make sure we had our swords. Lucy dashed to the kitchen to grab any leftover meat. Chopper left a few medical notes for the palace's doctors, who apparently had been fascinated by his methods.
The mapmaker gave a cheerful thumbs-up. "You're the princess of this kingdom, so this is the best invitation we can give you."
"Come, Vivi!" pleaded Lucy, returning with armfuls of meat. "Pleeeease?"
I sighed. "Baka. You're just making it harder for her to make a decision."
"Ehhhh? But wouldn't being a princess be boring? Being a kaizokou is much more fun!"
I rolled my eyes. As beautiful as the raven-haired girl was, she was a hopeless case.
While Usopp tried to explain to Lucy just why Vivi had to decide this on her own, Sanji threw a sturdy rope out the bedroom window. This was the only way we could get out of the palace, for the Marines were watching the city like a hawk.
The night air drifted the window cold and moist. I breathed in the damp air gladly, thankful that it was no longer quite so dry. Outside, the night sky was lit up with an ocean of stars. They were millions of faraway lamps, twinkling and shining their light down on the dark desert sand. The city was calm and serene. It was really too bad that we had to leave so soon; I would've loved to stay longer and enjoy the beautiful sights Alabasta took pride in.
"Good night, Vivi!" we all cried. She bade us good night as well, smiling indecisively. Then all of us Straw Hats scampered down the rope and into the city below.
To quote Gravity Falls, "Ba-da-bing, ba-da-bam!" Another chapter in the bag. Damon should be pleased with me. After all, a pretty big event in his life has finally occurred and - -
Damon: Shit-author.
EEEEHHH!? What for?
Damon: For not letting me know my crush freakin' LOVED ME. Oh, and for not making that kiss happen sooner. That was easily the best thing in the world. I definitely needed that earlier in my life, man.
But... but... but it built character!
Damon: Screw building character! What are you, my grandpa or something?
...No. I am your author. *Ahem* Anyway, if Damon's done interrupting, I hope you enjoyed this newest update of my story! It came a lot quicker than chapters have lately. Finally getting over 100 followers got me SUPER! (cue epic Franky pose with background explosion) motivated to write this story. If you did like this update, go ahead and follow and/or favorite if you haven't yet done so. These actions are unnecessary to keep me writing, but highly appreciated. What's far more appreciated are reviews - - even if I do not respond, I still read and love each one I get.
-TheRealEvanSG
