After a break that was much too long, even for me, I am happy to announce that I HAVE RETURNED! And we're finally getting to the end of this story. If I don't end up completing the arc with this chapter, then the next will DEFINITELY complete it, and after that we're running full blast into a brand new, original arc! Complete with vampires, normal people, vampires, almost-Armageddon - - and did I mention vampires? - - this arc is gonna be crazy. It will also be quite important for Damon's little not-so-friend in his head, for any of you Dagger fans! So I'm pretty excited about that. But we have to finish this chapter first before we do any of that... so forward, march!
Chapter 55 begin!
The Sacrifice and the Speech!
Say Good-bye to the Desert Country
Previously on One Piece Full Blast:
"Oh come on!" I complained. "You're the messenger!?"
The ginger shrugged. "Well who else do you know that is aware of the universe's current predicament, and isn't a god, demon, normal human, a part of your soul, or dead? I mean come on, it was obviously me."
"Well, when you put it like that..."
Lucy's head swiveled back and forth between us like she was watching a tennis match. Finally, growling in annoyance, she snapped, "So who are you anyway, and why are you on my ship!?"
"Like Damon-san here, I am a demigod. My name is Ryan Spencer. Finally, I wish to join your pirate crew for the time being."
There was a pause while everybody let that sink in.
Then, unanimously and with many a face-fault, the crew roared: "EEEEEEEEEEEEHHHH!?"
"You... want to join our crew...?" repeated Usopp with his jaw dropped in disbelief.
Lucy blinked. "Alright."
"WHAT!?" everyone on the ship roared, except Bon Clay and Ryan himself. "THAT EASILY!?"
"You don't even know what he can do!" I protested, not really sure why I was so against Ryan joining. A part of me felt like my being one of the Going Merry's crew was simply too much for the universe to handle alone; another alien from another universe, and the world might just collapse. Another part was against this whole affair just for the fact that I had grown protective of the Straw Hats. They had a lot of hardship ahead of them in the not-so-distant future, and we didn't need another demigod and his own personal problems adding to that mess. So while I loved Lucy and I certainly would accept her decision as captain, I just couldn't see how she could possibly be so accepting.
Lucy looked scandalized. "What?" she said like I was an idiot. "He's a mystery angel like you, right?" ("Demigod," I muttered, but she talked right over me.) "Ryan seems cool and powerful and nice, so I'm fine with it. If he wants to join, he can join."
But Zoro was siding with me on this for once. "No, Damon's right," he agreed, slipping his swords out of their scabbards an inch as he glared at Ryan. "This man is a complete question mark. We know nothing about him. For all we know, he might betray our crew."
The ginger-haired son of the demon of the forge at least was smart enough to eye Zoro's three blades with small fear.
"No need for violence!" he said, sweating a little and raising his hands in surrender. "I simply have the same goals as Damon. I want to see this world eradicated from the threat of those immortals who wish to harm it, and sailing the seas with all of you is the best way to make those ends meet."
"See?" said Lucy triumphantly. "He's a mystery angel like my Damon!"
Nami grinned suggestively at me. "'My Damon,' she says."
My face was redder than Ryan's hair. "Shut it, sea witch," I hissed, trying to tone down the heat from my face.
Sanji frowned out at the sea. He didn't seem to be bothered by the newcomer's presence on our ship any longer. Now he was glaring at the ships blocking our path to Vivi, and our route out to the ocean. He raised his leg to ready a makeshift kick. "Well, whether this guy becomes a Straw Hat or not," he declared, "we need to clear a way through these damn Marines. Our ship will sink if she takes much more damage, and we can't risk our precious Merry getting destroyed."
Chopper face-faulted and teared up. "Ah! Y-Yes, that's right! Merry has way too many holes in her already! A-And we gotta see Vivi soon or we might not ever get the chance again!"
Bon Clay stiffened, and we all glanced at him. "About that. Dear friends, might I suggest you use my abilities to your advantage?"
"Abilities?" Lucy cocked her head. "You mean your awesome face-changing stuff?"
"That's correct!" He grinned, and it was not a grin of confidence, but of the soldier who goes into war with a friend, and in the war realizes he must sacrifice himself to save his fellow soldier. "Straw-chan, Eyebrow-chan, Nose-chan and everyone else... allow me to prove my devotion to our friendship! A man does not receive a chance like this every day! Please let me atone for the trouble I have caused you, even if only a little."
Usopp's eyes watered. "B-Bon Clay... what are you saying?"
We all gathered around him, and in a hushed voice like a pin drop, he discussed his plan.
"This is the stupidest plan ever," I decided, staring out across to our friends' ship, where Bon Clay and his crew had disguised themselves as us.
Ryan sweatdropped. "They look nothing like you guys. And why are there people dressed up as both Damon and Diamond? I mean, you're the same people. The Marines have to know that now, right?"
"Uh... actually..."
Bon Clay took a final look back at us across the distance between our ships. Tears, minuscule as pebbles of sand, started to well up in his eyes, but he quickly wiped them away. "Listen, Straw-chan and friends! Listen closely! The way of the okama... no, the way of Bon Clay is to never leave a single friend behind. Now that I know what your goal for staying here is, I can no longer simply turn my back. Your statement earlier reminded me of what I originally set sail to do. This stage of my journey may be over for me, but it must go on for you."
"This stage of your journey...?" repeated Chopper, his eyes widening.
Usopp gritted his teeth. "Oi, oi, what are you saying? You can't just..."
"I CAN!" Bon Clay burst out loudly. He blinked in surprise at himself, but firmly set his jaw. "And I must. Do not look back. Just continue forward to meet your friend, whoever this amazing person may be. I, Bon Clay, will ensure that you can arrive at your meeting place safely." He turned back to face his men, who all were failing miserably at stopping their waterworks. "Now, cast off! Aim for the hole in the ships at the eastern harbor!"
"YES, SIR!" they roared with a salute that could shake even the mighty walls of Impel Down.
Lucy bit her lips, all but forcing herself not to demand that they not go forward with this insane plan of theirs. We all knew what they were going to do. And none of us liked what it meant for them, not even me. As they broke apart from us and quickly started covering ground - - er, water - - the Marines hesitated. But after a few tense moments, the ships all started breaking formation to tail Bon Clay.
"Lucy," I said softly. "We need to get going as well."
"Right." Her voice rose. "Alright! Head to the southern harbor while we still can!"
"Aye!" the rest of us roared, and set to work getting everything ready. Zoro and I scampered up the mast like cats, kicking off of it at the top and dashing along the yard to unfurl the sails. Sanji rushed to command the helm, while Usopp took over the cannon in case of any stray Marine warships catching our trail. Nami scared Ryan into patching up holes in the hull alongside Chopper. Lucy walked slowly across Merry's deck, and climbed up onto her mast, where she gently sat down Indian-style.
"Everyone ready?" Nami called.
We all shouted as one. "AYE!"
"Then, full speed ahead! To Vivi!"
"TO VIVI!"
We cast off, Merry skimming over the water like a sea bird flying just near enough to the waves that its claws brushed them. As the warm Alabasta wind whipped by us, none of us could help but ignore something Bon Clay had asked of us. We looked back. The Marine corps had already caught up to the former Mr. 2 and the two forces were currently engaged in furious battle. Cannons smoked. Swords reflected the hot sun. Guns cracked with a resonating finality.
Lucy gripped her iconic straw hat, forcing it down so it shadowed her eyes, and cast her gaze forward, clearly hoping no one would notice. I did. I stared sadly at her, wondering what I should do.
In the end, I did nothing but to climb up onto the mast behind her, and put my hands onto her shoulders in comfort.
We reached our destination exactly one full minute before the decided time.
Nami glanced anxiously at a wristwatch I hadn't known she'd owned. "Where is Vivi?" she demanded, pacing back and forth. I could sense her emotions swirling like the winds of a summer storm at sea. "It's almost noon. She should be at the shore by now. Can you see her, Usopp?"
Usopp adjusted his sniper goggles. "Nope. Nada."
"What's the hold up?" Sanji gritted his teeth. "I swear, if some weird desert creature got its grubby hands on her, I'm going to - -"
"Carue's far too fast and protective of Vivi to let something like that happen to her," Lucy assured him. "She'll be here. They both will."
The sun gleamed overhead, beautiful sparkles of light dancing joyfully in the waves below us. Our ship rolled over the slightly choppy sea, but our anchor kept us firmly in place. Zoro had dropped it into the desert shoals on Nami's orders not five minutes ago. The water was so damn clear I could see the anchor lodged in the pristine white sand about fifteen feet below us, and I stared in awe as a rainbow of fish cut through the sea.
The hands on Nami's wristwatch fell on precisely twelve o'clock.
"It's time," said Zoro. Despite the casual air in which he stated it, the simple words struck us all like a grand speech. Our backs straightened. Our eyes all slowly fell upon the rocky shore.
Chopper's voice sounded like he'd spent several days in the desert without any water. "She's not there."
I swallowed. "No. Let's wait another minute."
"The Marines will catch up to us soon," pointed out our newest (and most shocking) recruit. "We don't have all day."
"Shut up, dammit! We can't just leave Vivi without waiting to see whether she shows up or not."
Nami's face was completely emotionless. "Actually, Ryan's right. We can't spend much longer here. The Marines clearly discovered Bon Clay's trick not long before we left their sights completely, and with their ship technology, they'll probably be here in a few minutes. We can't risk staying here much longer."
She fell silent, and nobody said anything for a tense moment.
"I guess that settles it, then," said Chopper sadly. We all gritted our teeth, but seeing as how no blue-haired desert princess was appearing atop the sand, we had to concur that he was right. Vivi wasn't coming. As one body, we began to turn back around.
"Prepare to set sail," I said woodenly. "Lift the anchor. Unfurl the sails... again."
Just as the crew let out a despondent, "Aye," a very loud shout froze us all in our tracks.
"WAIT! EVERYONE!"
The voice was undeniable. We'd been adventuring with its owner for almost a full month now - - or was it over a month? At this point, I had lost track. Regardless, all of us except perhaps Ryan could tell who belonged to that smooth, sun-warmed tone instinctively.
Lucy's eyes watered, and she immediately did a complete 180. "VIVI!" she cried, beaming in every sense of the word.
We all turned back to shore as happy as our captain. Even Zoro was grinning in relief.
There was our dear friend, standing just before the edge of the ocean. She shone like the sun. Her hair held all the blueness of the sky in a cloudless day, and her smile holding all the warmth and kindness of the Sun that had poked out of Alabasta's first storm clouds in three years. Her dress was beautiful. It was clearly made out of some of the rarest materials the desert had to offer - - and it complimented her milk-white skin stunningly. Carue stood proudly next to her, his yellow feathers all fluffed in the sun. A transponder snail was perched on his head.
"VIVI! CARUE!" Usopp yelled happily, wiping tears from his eyes in relief. He was grinning like Christmas had come early - - we all were. Even I was, and I knew the ultimate reason for Vivi's appearance.
"See? She came," said Lucy, in that simplistic tone that showed she'd never lost faith even for a moment, despite having turned back with the rest of us.
I could see hearts swimming in Sanji's eyes. "Vivi-chan! You look so beautiful in your ceremony dress!"
"Let's go back!" Usopp declared, dashing to the helm. "Better hurry before the Marines get here!"
Chopper onto my back. "They're just coming around the corner!" he announced, his smile never wiping away from his face. Lucy leaped off of our caravel's figurehead and began to run to the helm with Usopp, eager to go pick up our royal friend. But Vivi's next words gave halted her like she'd been hit with Conqueror's Haki.
"I came here to say goodbye!"
Lucy turned slowly back to the princess. "What... did she just- -"
"I can't go with you," Vivi decided firmly, speaking now into the transponder snail that Carue had carried. "But thank you so much for everything! I'd like to go on more adventures, but there's no ignoring that I love my country! So, I apologize, but I can't go."
Our captain was silent for a few moment's, the princess' speech slowly working through her brain. Lucy broke out into a proud grin. "Oh, I see."
I swallowed.
"It's... It's... I..." stammered Vivi, unable to string together a proper sentence as tears welled in her eyes and cascaded down her cheeks. She looked unbelievably sad and helpless, scared of something that would clearly keep her up for weeks. "I know I cannot travel with you any longer... but could I still... If we ever meet again some day, could I... would you still call me your friend?"
Her tears were streaming down her face now, unbridled. I hated seeing people cry. It made me feel so weak myself.
Lucy leaped onto the Merry's figurehead, took an impossibly huge breath, and started to shout, "OF CO- -" but Nami pounded her head in before she could finish. The redhead glared icily at our captain, who looked up at her furiously. "Oi, what the hell was that for, Nami!? Of course she's still going to be our friend!"
"Don't reply!" Nami snapped, closing her eyes in regret. "The Navy will know we have a connection with Vivi now, since her voice is broadcasting so loudly. Look at that warship over there - - the lookouts keep turning from us to her. If we respond, it'll just prove she's connected with us, and she'll become a criminal." Nami bit her lower lip and placed an apologetic hand on Lucy's shoulder. "Come on. Let's leave without saying anything."
"Man, I feel like I shouldn't be here right now," said Ryan quietly, casting his eyes at the deck. He was sitting on a barrel, his massive sword sheathed on his back.
The rest of us all turned around so our backs were facing Vivi. Then all our left arms rose at once, as one body. We lifted our other hand up to tug our sleeves down, and tear off the white bandages that concealed our left wrists. And there, sending an unbreakable oath across the waves, were two simple lines just below all of our left hands: a black X. All of us had it, including Vivi and even (incredibly) Carue, though it had taken quite a bit of effort to get the damn thing stenciled onto the duck's wing. We had made it after first finding out about Bon Clay's powers. It was a symbol that we were ourselves; a symbol, one could say, of our eternal friendship.
Sometimes, you don't need words to know when you're someone's friend.
The Marines were close enough now that they opened fire upon us. Cannonballs smashed into the ocean around our little caravel, throwing up plumes of seawater reflecting the sun like dazzling diamonds. The droplets that rained down upon us were the waters of change. Sitting on his barrel, Ryan grinned widely, the strength of the friendship of a Straw Hat clearly having touched something within him.
"SET SAIL!" declared Lucy, grinning madly, and we all responded with a resounding - -
"AYE!"
"Man, your happiness burns," complained Dagger inside my mind. But I didn't care. I couldn't care, not when I was a part of this wonderful crew, when I knew these incredible people and had an impossibly amazing journey layed out before me. I may not have been able to see all the odds and ends; all the twists and turns, all the red lights and green lights; but at that moment, all that mattered was my ship, my crew, and my friends.
And thus concludes the not-quite-end of Book 2. One final chapter to go, folks, for real this time.
Damon: *sniff* Vivi... *sniff* I still... wish... she could've come with us...
Ryan: Well, this is awkward.
Damon: *SNIFF* WAHHHH VIVIIII
Chopper: VIVIIII
Usopp: Bi-bi-bi-VI... VI... VIVIIII
Zoro: ...Just go soak your heads already.
I hope you liked this chapter even though it took an EXTREMELY long time to get its ass off the presses. I had a lot of fun writing it - - episode 129 is probably one of my favorite episodes of One Piece, especially concerning non-action based ones. If you haven't yet, I would appreciate it if you follow/favorite this story, and I would LOVE a review or two or five! I thank you all for sticking with me and my rather terrible writing schedule. I know it's been a bit of a long ride, but I definitely hope it's been worth it for you guys. :)
Happy reading! -TheRealEvanSG
