*repeatedly bangs head on desk, trying to get back my One Piece interest*
Oh, happy holidays by the way
*continues banging head on desk*
We look down as the drawbridge below us starts to lower; now we'll be able to get across! But then it stops moving; dammit, nothing is ever easy for us, is it? "Damn those Marines!" Luffy growls. "Stop getting in the way!" I swear, these guys somehow get more competent at the worst times!
My ears twitch as I hear someone yell up to Purple Mask Guy to evacuate the tower; shit, this isn't good! I look up and then see Franky talking to him; I can't make it all out but I see him holding up a bunch of papers. Oh yeah, these guys are after blueprints, right? Wait, he had them the whole time?!
Franky says something else, but then he sets fire to the blueprints and I hear Mask Guy screech in terror. I'm actually surprised no one did that in the first place. It's then that Franky sees the rest of the Franky Family down below who are all calling out to him that they came to help save him. Aw, that's actually really touching-
"Hey, SHUT UP!" I flinch as Luffy yells.
"Whoa, Luffy, calm down!" Nami and Zoro exclaim.
"Robin's waiting, hurry up and bring down the bridge!" Luffy yells impatiently. Sheesh, rude much?
"Oh yeah," Zoro blinks. "What the hell are you guys waiting for?!"
"No kidding, get moving!" Nami yells. "Don't make me come down there!"
"Pika…" I sweatdrop; nice to know we have our priorities straight…
"Wow Nami, you're sexy when you boss people around!" Sanji croons, only to get a shock from me.
"Hey Straw Hat!" Franky yells to us. "Thanks for taking care of my men for me! Now I'll show you how super Franky's gratitude can be!"
"I don't need your help!" Luffy snaps. "I'm still mad at you for what you did to Usopp, so don't think we're friends!" I frown and look at Sanji who sighs while Usopp looks at Luffy nervously from behind his mask. Did...Did no one tell him? Is anyone going to tell him?!
I'm snapped out of my thoughts as Franky is suddenly falling. Mask Guy pushed him over the edge! That cheater!
"Hey, Straw Hats!" A voice yells.
Nami pulls out a mini Transponder Snail, "Granny Kokoro?"
"Why are you all still standing around?!" Kokoro demands.
"We're not, the bridge broke!" Nami protests. "There's no way across!"
"It's down halfway, so that's more than enough!" Kokoro says. "I'll be there in about four seconds; jump into the waterfall and trust me on this!" She wants us to jump...down there? I look down at the waterfall below when a train whistle suddenly rings through the air.
"The Sea Train…" Luffy breathes, when he gets a grin on his face. Wait...no, they're not thinking… Luffy stretches his arms so they're around everyone, except me cause I'm too short. "Let's go!"
I run over and grab Sanji's leg right before he jumps off with all of us. We all scream as we fall, and the Sea Train appears. It rolls up the drawbridge like a ramp and goes flying, letting us all land on top of it, also saving Franky. Sanji grabs me before I fly off his leg as we fly towards the building.
"We're gonna crash!" Luffy screams; oh NOW you think of the consequences?!
We all go flying as the Sea Train smashes through the wall, including Kokoro, Chimney, and Gonbe. Well, this oughta make things easier and less painful. I activate my Light Shield and bring it around everyone as we fly through the air. Debris hits my shield making me wince but I keep it up even as we land, rocks and dust falling all over us. Eventually it ends and everything's quiet, and everyone's inside my shield. That wasn't as bad as other times.
"Whoa, pretty!" Chimney says, gazing at my shield.
"I didn't know this thing could shield other people!" Franky exclaims.
"Pika-chan, you're the saving-grace this crew needs…!" Nami breathes, still shaking from the trip.
"Pikachu," I manage with a salute before dropping my shield safely.
"Hey, I save us too…" Luffy pouts.
"Pika-chan doesn't endanger us while doing it!" Nami shoots back.
"There's a staircase over there!" Luffy points. "Let's go!" We all run towards the stairs.
"Not so fast!" We all stop and look up to see...a thing balancing up high on the corner of the wall.
"What the hell is that thing?" Luffy asks; excellent question. I think it's...a ball with a zipper? And a face?
"You might as well turn back now," The Zipper Ball says. "You'll never find Nico Robin; Lucci has already taken her to the Gates of Justice with the Chief!"
"Oh really?" Nami asks. "Well, thanks for telling us where to start looking."
Zipper Ball deflates, "Why did I tell them that…?"
"He's not too bright…" Chopper comments.
"Pikachu…" 'That seems to be a theme with everyone we run into…'
"It doesn't matter; there's no way you'll make it past our CP9 agents, and we've been given direct orders to eliminate you!" Zipper Ball says. In other news, water is wet. "If you want Nico Robin, then you'll have to get through each of our agents!"
"No duh; I liked it better when you were telling us stuff we didn't already know," Luffy says; see even he knows the drill by now!
"There's one more thing," Zipper Ball digs through his jacket pocket and pulls out a key.
"What's that for?" Sanji asks.
Zipper Ball chuckles, "For all you know, this could be the key needed to unlock Nico Robin's Sea Prism Stone handcuffs."
"Sea Prism Stone?" Franky asks.
"It's a special stone that nullifies Devil Fruit Powers," Nami answers. "It's basically the same as throwing a Devil Fruit user into the ocean."
"That explains why Robin still isn't fighting back," Chopper points out.
"She's not the type to give up easily; she'd probably be mopping the floors with their ugly mugs if she could," Sanji agrees.
"Even if you did somehow manage to get past us, that Sea Prism Stone is tougher than a diamond," Zipper Ball says. "She'd have to wear them for the rest of her life!" I growl under my breath. "So be my guest; try and save her if you dare!"
"Fine!" Luffy stretches back. "Gimme that key!" He stretches out to punch him, but Zipper Ball vanishes. "Damn…" Luffy's arm retracts, "I guess they all can use that move…!"
"Don't be hasty!" Zipper Ball taunts as he lands nearby. "You don't even know if this is the right key I've got here!" Oh Arceus no, don't tell me…
"YOU HAVE GOT TO BE FREAKING KIDDING ME!"
"PIKA PIKA!"
Zipper Ball then starts spinning around and singing some weird song, saying that there are five members of CP9, each with a key. We have no idea which key is the right one, so we have to get all the keys if we want a chance at getting those cuffs off.
"What a stupid way to keep us busy…" Sanji grumbles once the song is done. "While we're wasting our time with this stupid key game, your Chief is gonna get away with Robin."
"That's the plan!" Zipper Ball sings. "Ugh, why do I keep telling them this stuff?!" I have a feeling that mouth zipper is there for a reason…
"Getting Robin is our first priority," Nami says. "Once we get her we can worry about the keys later, so let's just ignore him and start searching!"
"You've got some brains," Zipper Ball says. "But if you do that...I'll have no choice but to toss this key into the ocean!" We all tense and Zipper Ball zooms away through the air.
"HEY! GET BACK HERE!" Luffy tries to give chase, but Zoro and Usopp stop him by grabbing his face.
"Would you just wait a second!" Zoro snaps. "Let's decide what to do before we split up!"
"So Lucci's the pigeon guy?" Sanji asks.
"That's him," Franky nods. "Alright, so he's the only one guarding Robin," Sanji says. "Our best bet will be to send Luffy after him."
"Pika," I nod; that way he can at least keep them busy with a fight and buy Robin some time while we find the keys.
"Hey Luffy!" Sanji calls. "Since you're raring to go, you can hunt down that pigeon guy, okay?" Luffy keeps trying to break free from Zoro and Usopp. "So excluding Luffy, we've got a headcount of seven, and CP9 has five" Sanji says. "So I say we spread out, take them down, and catch up with Luffy." Sounds like a good plan to me. "So let's get going!"
Zoro and Usopp release Luffy and we all start off, Kokoro wishing us luck. My ears twitch as I hear Chimney and Gonbe following us, cheering us on, too. I look back at them with a smirk, but that quickly fades when I see the floor disappear from under the two of them. I squeak and jump back to grab them, but I end up slipping down with them.
Sanji blinked and looked behind him, skidding to a stop. He thought he heard Pika-chan squeal. "Pika-chan?" The mouse was nowhere in sight.
"Sanji, c'mon, we don't have time to wait!" Nami yelled.
"Er, right!" Sanji nodded and continued running. Robin came first; he just had to have faith that Pika-chan would be alright.
We don't fall too far, but it's enough to make all three of us bounce on the hard ground. "Owwww…" Chimney whines before popping up. "Whoa, where's this?!"
"Pika…" I rub my head and look around; the place is very green and sewer-like. Are we under the building right now?
Chimney gasps, "It's a secret passageway!" She says excitedly. Yeah, that seems to be the case; I look up but it looks like the entrance closed up when we fell too. "Well, there's only one thing to do now!" Chimney says. "Explore!" Gonbe meows in agreement.
Well, I guess that's our only option. We start walking in a random direction down the hall. I hope this doesn't screw up our overall plan...
Ten minutes later, and I want to pull my ears out. Chimney's been singing this secret passageway song at the top of her lungs, and I'm quickly regretted stopping to help them. Of all the kids I've babysat, this is the first time one of them has been loud.
"Cobwebs! Slimy walls! Dark and creepy!" Chimney chants while Gonbe meows along with her. Apparently, I wasn't the only one not digging her song, because a flock of bats fly towards us. Chimney and Gonbe scream and I quickly leap forward, zapping all of them easily.
"T-Thanks…! You saved us…!" Chimney says, suddenly looking quite pale. Gonbe meows.
"Pikachu," 'No problem,'
"I'm starting to wonder how far this passage really goes…!" Chimney says. Yeah, good point; we've been walking for a while and nothing's changed.
Just then my ears twitch as something echoes through the tunnels. "Pikachu?"
"I hear something too!" Chimney says; Gonbe nods. They sound like footsteps…followed by an obnoxious laugh. My ears twitch; that's Purple Mask guy's voice! All of our eyes twinkle with mischief.
"Let's check it out!" Chimney says.
"Pika!"
We run towards the sound until we reach a dead-end; we can still hear the noise on the other side. We push the wall, and it swings open like a door, leading us back into the light, and into a large stairwell. We gaze around when we catch a glimpse of someone turning on the stairwell. We all grin at each other and nod; I think we just found ourselves a shortcut to Robin!
We follow as quietly as possible, me staying in the lead in case something pops out and we have to fight, until we come to the end. We peek around a corner seeing a whole bunch of machines and a big metal door, where Robin, Lucci, and Purple Mask are standing. "What a weird room," Chimney whispers. We watch as Purple Mask seems to be fiddling with a controller.
"What do you think they're doing?" Chimney whispers.
"Pika…" I whisper with a shrug.
Purple Mask turns a key, and steam emerges from the door as it slowly opens to a dark hallway. "Cool…" Chimney breathes.
"Pikachu…" 'What is that place…?'
"Now we'll get to the Gates of Justice in no time!" Purple Mask laughs. We all gape; there's no way we were this lucky! Purple Mask, Lucci, and Robin go through the door and it shuts.
Once it does, Chimney lets out a loud cheer, "A secret path to the gate!" Gonbe meows happily. "C'mon, we gotta find the others and tell them!" Hey, being the spy who finds the secret passages is MY job!
We rush back up the stairs, passing the passage we came through when Gonbe stops, making Chimney and I move back to where he is. On the wall, there's a big yellow button in the middle of the pattern. "That looks fishy," Chimney says.
She stares at the button and I shrug; pushing random buttons hasn't backfired on me yet. I push the button without any hesitation.
Then the ground starts shaking. "What's going on?!" Chimney screams. Oh, Arceus is my streak finally broken?!
Luckily it wasn't, because the wall in front of us opens; how many secret passages does this place have?! "Alright! Another secret passage!" Chimney cheers. I can't help but jump for joy with them; finding these things during a crisis really does feel good.
We run down the new passage at top speed and eventually burst out of a fake crate and onto a dock-like area. "Where are we now?" Chimney wonders. My ears twitch as I hear a familiar blubbering noise; like someone drowning. We turn to see Luffy flailing in the choppy ocean waters, holding an oar with an overturned boat nearby.
"Whoa, are you okay, Pirate guy?!" Chimney calls. I squeak out in horror and make it quick to dive into the water. I grab the back of Luffy's vest and paddle as fast as I can back to land where Chimney and Gonbe help me drag him up.
Luffy coughs up water and I smack his head with my tail, "Pika pika pikachu!" 'What the hell were you thinking, you idiot! Do you always forget you can't swim at the worst moments!?' I rant.
"There was no way that little boat was gonna make it across, are you stupid or something?" Chimney asks bluntly.
"You don't understand, Robin's being taken through those gates!" Luffy cries, getting up. "I Have to hurry or I won't be able to bring her back!" He then stretches over and grabs a cannon. "It's pretty far but I should be able to make it!" Whoa whoa whoa, are you insane?! There's no way you can stretch far enough to slingshot your way over! Especially since we JUST found another way!
Chimney leaps up. "Stop! You can't make that!"
"Pika pikachu!"
"If I can't get there by boat, I'll just have to jump!"
"LISTEN!" Chimney yells. "We found another way to the Gates of Justice!"
Luffy freezes, "Huh…?" His body then zooms forward towards the cannon and he smacks his head, flipping towards the ocean. I zoom over and grab the back of Luffy's vest before hooking the cannon with my tail, keeping him out of the water. "Whew…! Thanks Pika-chan!" Luffy calls.
"Pika…" I sigh tiredly, my ears drooping. Sometimes I wish I could shock and hurt him…
After that fiasco, we lead Luffy back down the passage we came and into the stairwell. Luffy puts all three of us on his back so we can get down there ten times faster. Once we arrive, Luffy goes up and inspects the door. It's super thick now that I'm looking closer; I don't think Luffy's punches are gonna do it this time. Maybe if we had Zoro's swords, or Franky's weird cyborg things…
"Any idea how to open this?" Luffy asks.
"Lucci's servant was messing around with this thing," Chimney stands on her tip-toes to see the control panel next to the door where a big keyhole is sitting. "You must unlock it with this keyhole...but I don't see a key…" Well looks like we can't get in the polite way.
Luffy stares at the door and then cracks his knuckles. "Alright...stand back, all of you," He says firmly.
"Why? What are you gonna do?" Chimney asks. Luffy doesn't answer. I tug on Chimney's shirt and gesture for her and Gonbe to hide; this was probably gonna be rough.
We run behind one of the large machines just as we hear Luffy say "Third Gear!"
We hear what sounds like something being inflated and we peek out just in time to see Luffy's arm inflate and grow gigantic in size! What the hell did he just- We all let out a cry as Luffy slams his now massive fist into the door, completely obliterating it. Chimney, Gonbe, and I slowly come out of our hiding place, staring at the wreckage, until the smoke clears revealing...Luffy...but…small…!?
"Alright, let's go!"
"YOU SHRANK!" Chimney screeches.
"PIKA?!" What the hell?! He's barely a head taller than me now! What on earth did that move do to him! Luffy doesn't turn around and keeps walking. "C'mon Pika-chan!"
I flinch and exchange a look with Chimney and Gonbe, who then recover from the initial shock. "Don't worry about us; we still got a lot of work to do!" Chimney says. Gonbe meows and nods.
"Chu," I nod and hurry after Luffy. I catch up with Luffy but I try to slow my run so he can keep up.
"Heads up!" I squeak as Luffy then jumps on my back, nearly making me faceplant. "C'mon, it'll be faster this way!"
"Pikachu!" I growl.
"C'mon, hurry, Robin's waiting!" Luffy yells. Ugh, you're lucky this is because of Robin! I adjust my weight to the passenger on my back and start to run as fast as I can. Luffy even tries to make it easier for me by lying on his stomach to even out the weight being put on me. But that doesn't last too long, as suddenly the weight on my back increases tenfold, making me trip and fall, skidding to a stop, a regular-sized Luffy on top of me.
"Alright, back to normal! C'mon!"
"Pi…?!" I barely have time to catch my breath before Luffy grabs me and keeps on running like nothing happened. I climb onto his shoulder and get my breath back while Luffy runs.
"Stupid Pigeon Guy!" Luffy growls. "I can't wait to kick your ass!"
I frown in determination with a nod; just hang in there Robin! We'll make it, I swear!
So yeah, the overall winner of the 'Which path will Pika-chan take in Enies Lobby' was Chimney and Gonbe, with Luffy coming in second. Mostly because this was the quickest way to cut through the bullshit and get this arc done without having to worry about fight scenes bleeding into each other. Let me tell you, if you wanna focus on just ONE person throughout this arc, you gotta skim through a LOT of eps and fights XP