Hello all you Voice readers! Man, my fingers just flew across the keyboard when I was writing this chapter, as you can tell by the early update.
The thing that really surprised me was, my computer deleted everything I wrote. T_T So, I had to write this chapter twice!
Koe: Say, Frosty, this is chapter fifty.
FM13: Right! Thanks to everyone who reviewed, followed, and favorited this story! Especially to Molly Grace 16, Shininheart of Thunderclan, and Grey-Skye-eyes, who have been reviewing since nearly the beginning.
Luffy and Usopp: FROSTY!
FM13: Yikes! What!?
Luffy: We have the answer!
FM13: Alright, what is it?
Luffy and Usopp: A snake!
Koe: Yeah, you got it.
Luffy: Yay!
Koe: By the way, guys... Next challenge, asking Vivi is off limits.
Luffy and Usopp: How did she find out?
Koe: Anyway, frostmoon13 doesn't own One Piece or any of it's characters. Only her OCs.
So, hope you enjoy chapter 50!
Chapter 50
The door opened with a pleasant tingle.
I was immediately met with a blast of cool air.
I stepped in and shut the door behind me, grateful for a break.
There were two people sitting at a table in the centre of the room, and one behind the counter preparing drinks.
When she heard the door slam, the woman behind the counter turned around, and smiled. She was kinda pretty, I guess. She was thin, with frizzy midnight blue hair she tied back in a purple bandana.
She wore a purple tank top and form-fitting black pants.
"Hello." she said. "Can I get you something to drink?"
"Water, please." I said, jumping onto a stool at the bar counter.
The lady brought me two glasses. "My name is Paula." she said.
"Koe." I said.
I fished around in my pocket for some berries, but Paula raised her hand. "It's alright. Water is on the house today."
"Oh! Thank you." I said, withdrawing my hand from my pocket.
"Paula!" Someone snapped from behind me. "Is my hot chocolate ready yet?!"
I turned on my stool to see who'd spoken. It was a really fat lady sitting with a very tall, fat man. The lady had frizzy red hair and wore a white shirt and a tie that looked like a christmas tree.
The man beside her had a greasy flap of yellow hair and large lips. He wore a green coat and black pants, and had a bazooka-like thing strapped to his back.
The woman was ranting like a maniac. She slapped her companion over the head. "Don't slouch! This is all your fault! You're slow, Mr. 4!"
I nearly choked on my water. Mr. 4?
This wasn't good. If more BW agents were coming... I didn't want to think about it.
Mr. 4 blinked a couple of times, then said, "...Sorry..."
Something told me that Mr. 4 was slow in more ways than one.
Paula placed a steaming mug of hot cocoa in front of the rioting old lady. "Here you are, Miss Merry Christmas." she said.
Miss Merry Christmas roughly grabbed the cocoa and started to chug it down.
Then I heard something from outside. A faint chanting. I could just barely make it out.
"This world is made for both men and women. But if you're like me, a man, and a woman... That means I'm..."
"THE STRONGEST!"
"Strongest!"
"Strongest!"
"OH COME MY WAY!"
I blinked. What the hell was that all about?
That's when the door burst open and in came the most crazy looking guy... At least, I thought it was a guy. He was wearing way too much mascara, a ballet and puffy outfit with swans on it, and weird puff-ball things on his head. On the back of his pink coat was written Oh Come My Way, or at least, it looked like it was supposed to be. I first read it as Okama Way.
I couldn't exactly remember what that meant. Ah well, it would come back to me.
He looked like a Shakespearian actor turned ballet dancer.
I immediately turned away. I have a slight problem with men who show that much thigh.
He twirled in, and (to my horror) leaned against the counter right beside me. "Paula!" he said. "How deux you do?"
Paula chuckled good-naturedly. "I'm fine thank you, Mr. 2."
Of course. Mr. 2 Bon Clay. I heard he was the only BW officer agent without a partner. \
"Ah, no thanks!" he said. "I'll just twirl." He stopped mid-twirl, and stared at me. "Say, who's this?"
"Don't bother my other customers, Mr. 2." Paula scolded lightly.
For the next five minutes, Bon Clay twirled around and around. I couldn't look at him because his twirling combined with his crazy appearance made me dizzy.
Suddenly, there was a crash and seven unconscious people were tossed through a huge hole where the door used to be.
Kinda like what Ji-chan used to do. I thought.
I decided not to face whoever it was in case they recognised me. You never know with Baroque Works.
"These friends of yours, Bon Clay?" said a gruff voice.
"Hey!" Bon Clay shouted. "Those are my henchmen!"
"Don't worry." the man said. "They're not dead."
"You must want a fight! Swan-"
"Stop it, both of you!" Paula said sharply. "You're trashing my cafe and disturbing my other customer! We're leaving soon, but for now, calm down."
"Don't try to stop me, Miss Doublefinger." the man growled.
Miss Doublefinger? Ah, that's why this place is a nest for BW agents.
"Who is that, anyway?" the man said. "She looks suspicious."
Damn it! So much for trying to keep my head low.
A large, strong hand grabbed my shoulder and spun me around.
Now, I have a problem with strange people touching me. Especially if they happen to be assassins.
I used the momentum from him spinning me around and drove my fist into his nose.
He let out a growl of anger and pain.
When the blood stopped roaring in my ears, I looked up at the man I had punched.
He was tall, with very lean muscles and a deep tan. His head was shaved. He had very long fingers. He had a box jaw and large lips. There was a tattoo on his chest that said 'one'.
There was a fine line of blood running down from his now slightly squashed nose.
He looked oddly familiar. I thought I had seen his face in the newspaper once, but I couldn't remember his name.
There was a cold fire in his small eyes. "You, brat, must really want to die." he growled.
Miss Doublefinger stepped in front of him. "Stop it, Mr. 1!" she said. "That's enough!"
"This kid." Mr. 1 growled. "What is she?"
"She's a customer!" Doublefinger snapped. "Leave her be!"
Mr. 1 turned away, growling at me to watch my back if we ever met again.
I sighed, thinking how lucky I was that Miss Doublefinger was sticking her neck out for me. If she hadn't... I hate to think.
"Well," said Miss Doublefinger. "We should head to Rain Dinners. And meet our boss. The boss we've never seen."
She turned to me. "Please stay as long as you like." she said. "Sorry, but we have to go."
I nodded. "It's fine." I said.
All the Baroque Works officer agents present left the room, Mr. 2 Bon Clay giving me a cheery wave, Mr. 1 giving me the death glare.
I sat alone at the spider's cafe counter, trying to process all that I'd just seen. I had come face to face with five of the strongest officer agents. This was absolutely incredible.
I stood up and stretched. I completely filled my hip flask, and turned my back on the room. I had seen all I wanted to of this place.
When I stepped outside, a shiver spiked up my spine. It was the middle of the night.
I turned on my heels and shut the door. It was nice and warm in there. No point in walking in the middle of the night.
I sat down at the counter, and placed my forehead against the rough wooden surface. I sighed. I had only been alone for about three hours, and I had so many ideas coursing through my head.
The windows started to rattle, and the wind outside wailed as it passed through the dunes.
I stood up and looked out the window. It was nothing but a brown and black blur out there.
Then I was really glad that I had decided to stay in the spider's cafe. It was the only thing between me and the sandstorm outside.
I stared at the storm. I folded my arms over the counter. Soon, my eyelids felt heavy, and my forehead fell on my folded arms and I fell asleep.
When I woke up, soft morning light was shining in through the windows.
I blinked groggily. "Ah, what time is it...?" I groaned.
I figured it would be a good thing to leave. I needed to find the others as quickly as possible.
As I stepped from the threshold, something immediately caught my eye.
A huge pillar of fire.
My heart gave such a leap I thought it would leap right out my throat. I ran towards it, heedless of the still sharp desert air burning my lungs.
There, behind a huge sand dune, standing over a burned and blackened giant scorpion, was Ace.
He was smirking in that self-satisfied manner of his.
"ACE!" I shouted at the top of my lungs.
Ace turned around, and a look of absolute disbelief crossed his face. He waited until I was right next to him before he reacted.
Before I could hug him, he grabbed me by the shoulders, hard. "Idiot!" he shouted. "Do you have any idea how worried we've been about you?!"
I pulled back a little bit. "Ace, I got sep-"
Ace gritted his teeth and pulled me up against his chest. He put his hand on the back of my head. "Don't you dare do that again. I seriously thought I'd lost you this time. When Sanji came back alone-"
"Sanji made it back?" I said, happiness rising in my chest.
Ace nodded, still not letting go of me. "He was pretty frantic. I've never seen Luffy look so murderous."
"Ace, what are you doing here alone?" I asked. "I thought we weren't supposed to get separated."
Ace held me out at arms length. He smiled sheepishly. "I kinda fell asleep on my feet and got separated from the others."
I glared at him. "That's an even more pathetic excuse than mine."
Ace glared at me, then bopped me on the head. "I'm a lot older and more experienced than you."
I rolled my eyes, and placed a hand over the lump on my head. "Sorry, ossan. I didn't realise how much older five years of seniority is."
Ace smirked lightly. "Ossan?" he said. "That's a little harsh, don't you think?"
I stuck my tongue out at him. "Not nearly harsh enough." I said. "Serves you right for hitting me."
We set off to find the others. Ace his fingers laced through mine, just so we wouldn't get separated. (Honestly, what am I? A five-year-old?)
We had been walking about ten minutes when the sand in front of us started to stir.
I stopped immediately, and grabbed Ace's arm to stop him. If that was a giant pit scorpion trap-
It was nothing of the sort. Out from the sand rose a lizard. It was about as tall as Ace when it stood on it's hind legs, with blue and purple scales, and bulging yellow eyes that just blinked at us.
We stood there, staring at it.
A minute passed, and nothing happened.
"I guess it's not hostile." I said. "Let's go."
We took a step to the right to pass it.
It stepped in front of us.
We tried again, to the left this time.
It blocked us again.
Ace frowned. "He seems dead set on causing us trouble. Let's see if this works." His hand turned to fire.
The lizard stared at his flaming hand, and his purple skin turned green. He ran away as fast as his lizard legs would carry him.
"Annoying, wasn't it?" Ace grumbled, as he led me onwards.
"I think he's the friendliest thing I've met in this desert so far." I said.
"Man, it's a scorcher!" I said, wiping my forehead with the back of my hand.
The day was now in full swing, so naturally, it was very, very hot.
"Ah, you complain too much." Ace said lightly, swinging his arm back and forth. Since he was holding my hand, my arm swung too.
"Don't do that." I said.
"Aww..." Ace pouted. He looked like a little kid stuffed into the body of a twenty-year-old. "My kid sister's annoyed with me..."
Then he got that misty look in his eyes.
Ah, crap.
Ace's head fell against his chest and he started to snore lightly.
It didn't help that we had been walking downhill.
Ace toppled, and since I don't weigh nearly as much as he does, I went down with him. We rolled down the dune, finally stopping when we hit the bottom. I hit my head on Ace's abs.
"Ouch." I muttered. Did my brother have to have an iron core? I thought he was made of fire.
Ace snorted, and opened his eyes. "Well, whaddaya know..." he said. "I fell asleep."
"Tell me something I don't know." I said. "Now get off me."
We had somehow landed in a human knot, with Ace sitting on my legs.
Ace got up, dusted himself off, and looked around. "Hey... We're not on the dune anymore."
"Really? I didn't notice." I said, getting up and brushing the sand out of my hair. Now my legs were sore, too.
Ace took my hand again. "Alright. Onward, march!"
I didn't move.
Ace turned and looked at me, one eyebrow raised. "What?"
"I'm not a little kid." I said. "Let go of my hand."
Ace frowned. "Fine then." he said. "We'll just do this." He tripped me, causing me to fall backwards, and caught me up, bridal style. Then he started walking. He hummed a tune as he walked.
"Ace." I said. "This is embarrassing. Put me down."
Ace raised his eyebrow at me again. "Why? There's no one here but us."
"I don't care!" I snapped. "Just because you're my aniki doesn't mean you have to carry me all the time."
All I got from my dear annoying aniki was a grin. Until he got that look in his eye again.
I only had time to say, "Ace..." before he dropped like a stone.
"That does it!"
"So, Ace," I said as we trudged through the sand. "Can you tell me a bit more about your crewmates?"
Ace shrugged. "What else do you want to know?" he said. "I already told you about the division commanders."
"You told me their names." I deadpanned. "I'd like to know a little more about them."
Ace put his finger to his chin, thinking. "Well... Let's see... Marco, the first division commander is pretty cool. He's got this devil fruit power that allows him to turn into a phoenix. He's always got this semi-bored expression on his face, and his hair looks a bit like a banana peel. Jozu, the third division commander is built like a tank. He's got the power to turn to diamond. Vista's pretty strange. He's got a huge black moustache that he curls upwards. He's a swordsman who uses nitoryu."
I raised an eyebrow. "Those sound like some pretty cool abilities."
"Hmm..." Ace nodded.
"I thought you were after the One Piece too, though." I said. "You and Luffy argued for years over who would find it first. We're still rivals in the big pirate picture. What made you give it up?"
For that, Ace bopped me on the head again. "I haven't given up." he said. "It's just... I want Whitebeard to become King. I've never met a more inspiring pirate." He elbowed me lightly. "What about you, Koe? You never expressed any desire to do that."
I shrugged. "I'm not into treasure, really." I said. "To me, the greatest treasure are memories. I want to see everything and write it down. I want to sail to raftel." I smiled. "Besides, I will help Luffy become King of the Pirates."
Ace chuckled. "Well, I guess you and I have a bit of a rivalry too." he said.
I stuck my tongue out at him playfully. "Well, let's just see who gets there first."
"Hey, Koe. It's getting dark." Ace said.
I didn't need Ace to tell me that. It was also getting chilly.
I shivered and rubbed my arms.
Ace dropped his pack on the ground. "Let's set up camp here." he said. "We'll find the others tomorrow."
I nodded.
We huddled up to a fire, courtesy of Ace's flame-flame powers and my skill at finding wood, with our backs to a large rock outcropping.
We were experimenting on certain foods in Ace's pack. The question: does this taste good when roasted over a fire?"
My advice: Don't cook an apple too long. It becomes nothing more than a fragrant mush in a skin.
After we'd eaten, it was completely dark, and freezing cold.
I scooted close to Ace.
"Hey." he said, smirking at me. "What are you doing?"
"You're a human heating pad." I said. "And I'm cold."
Ace chuckled and put his arm around my shoulders. "So, my kid sister still needs to lean on me after all."
"Oh, bite me." I muttered, resting my head on his shoulder.
Before I knew it, I was so relaxed I couldn't move. My eyelids grew heavy. My mind was fuzzy. I sighed and slipped into a deep, dreamless sleep.
I woke up to someone shaking my shoulder. But, I was so comfortable I didn't want to move yet.
"Just a few more minutes..." I groaned.
Something small violently collided with my nose, and my eyes shot open.
I glared at Ace, who was standing over me. "You didn't have to flick my nose." I said.
Ace grinned. "Yeah, I did. Since when am I awake before you?"
"Since I probably got five hours of sleep the night before last." I groaned.
I wanted to protest as Ace pulled me up on my feet, but I didn't have the energy.
"Alright... Let's hit the road."
It was about mid morning by the time we stopped for breakfast.
"We'll stop at the top of that dune." Ace said.
"Sure thing." I said. I was really looking forward to a rest, and more importantly the pirate boxed lunches that Sanji made.
I went on ahead, slightly. (Ace had let go of my hand, for once) I got to the top of the dune first and looked down on the scenery below.
I gasped.
At the base of the dune were eight figures, making their slow way across the seemingly endless sand.
I turned around. "Hey, Ace!" I called. "I found 'em!"
Ace was at my side in a split second. He grinned. "Let's go meet up with 'em then." He grabbed my hand and jumped off the dune.
"ACE!" I shouted. The wind whistled in my ears. "You are so gonna pay when we hit the ground!"
Ace pulled me a little closer. His lower half turned to fire, and our fall slowed. "Bend your knees when you hit the sand!" he shouted. "It'll absorb the impact!"
I nodded and braced for impact.
It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, actually.
We did give Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper a near heart attack, though.
Even Zoro looked startled.
There was a bit of stunned silence. Everyone; Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Usopp, Sanji, Vivi, Chopper, and ... was that a camel? ; stared at Ace and I in dumb disbelief.
I lifted my hand in a small, cheery wave. "Hey guys." I said. "We're back."
Luffy caught me in such a tight hug, he knocked the wind out of me. "Koe!" he shouted. "You're alive!"
"Yeah." I coughed. "At least, I will be still if you stop crushing me."
I turned to Sanji. "Well, Dartboard Brow." I said. "How was your trip?"
Sanji stepped up and ruffled my hair. "You gave us a scare, Koe-chan."
I took his hand and pushed it off my head. "Yeah, Sanji... No unnecessary contact." I made a small head motion towards Ace, who was looking a little murderous.
Vivi was the next person to give me a hug. "I'm so glad you're alright!"
I patted her back. "I'm alright." I said. "Don't know where I'd be if I hadn't run into Ace, though."
Ace grinned.
I pushed Vivi lightly off me. "Never mind the reunion stuff." I had remembered what happened to me a couple of days before.
"Guys... There's something you need to know."
Luffy: Koe, is Frosty going to ask us another riddle?
Koe: You'll have to wait until next chapter.
Luffy: (pouts)
Koe: And that pout isn't going to work on me!
Koe: Anyway, we'd be happy if you dropped us a review! We love reading them!
