LW: Hey people, I'm still here. Let's go
Rubber King and Mirror Master - Final diagnosis of the Going Merry
"Holy shit we've been robbed. Nami how could you let this happen?" Luffy asks, not getting a response from the twitching red head, so moves on
"This is bad, how are we going to get that back, we need it to repair the Merry" Vivi thinks aloud, the 2 making their way over to Usopp who had to stop at the water's edge.
"I thought the point of me not carrying the money was to prevent this from happening" the rubber boy muses, as expected getting a headslap from his wife, with Usopp joining in for good measure "Sorry" he mumbles, then see's a commotion heading their way
"Is that?" Iceburg asks
"Yes, the debt collectors are after him again" Califa answers, referring to the blond man running across the bridge like his ass was on fire, until he spots the Franky family and their Yagura's below him
"Why how convenient, I'll be taking your ride boys" he shouts before jumping off the bridge, throwing out ropes to subdue the crooks before floating away on one of the yagura, laughing maniacally
"Well that's the original thieves dealt with" Vivi notes "Now for the new guy"
Nami unclenches enough to comment, and given what we've just witnessed, I doubt he'll just hand over the money to us" she says with a sigh, Luffy about to go and deal with it Straw Hat style, when someone grabs his hand
"Don't worry, I'll get your money" chirps the pigeon on the man's shoulder, momentarily surprising the crew, before filing it away under 'Grand Line WTFs' like most of the other insanity they've run into on their journey, especially when the man makes quick work of subduing the other dock worker, then bringing him back by his ear like a disobedient child.
Meanwhile
"It's bad isn't it?" Kaku looks up from examining the floorboards to see Kaya standing on the stairs, watching him "That's why you haven't said anything, because the Merry is getting close to the end of her journey?"
The square nose stands "I won't know the specifics until I'm finished examining the entire ship, but if it helps, I can compliment you guys on how clear you keep this place, even a room as manly and spartan as this one is clean as a whistle, only the lack of dust shows this place isn't simply a display ship" he says with a sweet smile, making the Ami girl nod and return to her duties
Back with Luffy's team
"We apologie for Poly's behavior, though his actions did enable you to regain your lost finances from the Franky Family" Califa states clinically
"Of course, that should even things out, more of less" Vivi assures her, ignoring Nami trying to cause damage to Luffy, and failing because rubber as always
"So, this Franky family, do they do that to everyone or are we a special exception?" the navigator finally asks
"Usually they're dismantling ships, but 200 million was probably too good a prize to resist trying to take" Iceburg answers "They're ship dismantlers, and bounty hunters, whenever pirates come in they try take them out for their bounties, then take their ship, strip it for parts and sell them on the open market"
"They're quite frankly, a public nuisance" Califa adds, scrunching her nose
"They don't seem all that tough" Luffy says "I doubt they could take any of us on"
Iceburg nods, true but they aren't the real problem, their boss Franky is. If you run into him don't try confront him as it won't be pretty"
"Well here you go Iceburg, one idiot, and 2 suitcases of money" the pigeon chirps, his handler passively staring
"That bird really is talking" Luffy yells, then catches the suitcases as they're tossed to him "Thanks"
"So the money is yours, guess I saved you a lot of trouble dealing with the Franky Family" Poly says gruffly
"Yeah, that would have been annoying, not hard but still a pain" Luffy nods
"If you want to show your appreciation, I'll accept 10%" the blond's eyes glint before falling to the ground after taking a hammer blow to the back of the head by Lucci
"Do we even want to know what is going on?" Vivi asks rhetorically, something it seems only humans understand
"This here idiot is a compulsive gambler, and a bad one at that, so he owes a lot of people a lot of money" the bird explains
"Will you give it a rest you annoying little shit?" Poly shouts, shooting out rope which knots around Lucci's arm then pulls, sending the statue like man flying in an arc until he hits the ground with a thud, the straw hats looking away before the smoke cloud obscures it anyway
"I can't look, is he ok?" Nami squeaks behind her hand
"What the? He stopped it with his hand, not only that he dug his fingers into the rock itself!" Usopp shouts, which ahd the girls quickly look while Luffy just laughed, this Lucci guy was really strong
"Enough Poly, get back to work" Iceburg scolds the shipwright as Lucci rights himself and his bird returns to its usual resting place on his shoulder
"We apologise for the commotion, we hope this will not happen again and you can continue your business smoothly"
"Um, thanks Mr pigeon" Nami replies awkwardly
"Oh right. My name is Ro… my name is Hattori and this here is Rob Lucci, we both work in the Galy Law factory"
"Wait, the bird almost… you're a ventriloquist" Nami declares, jabbing her finger in the top hat wear man's face
"Awesome"
"I've never seen a skill like that before"
"I never suspected a thing, and tricks like that are usually my specialty"
"Please stop, it's nothing too special" Hattori/Lucci says, giving placating gestures as he steps back. This was interrupted by Poly having a minor episode as he scolds Nami and Vivi for their scandalous outfits, not the cleavage the navigator has on display, but for wearing a skirt and exposing most of her leg with the exception of her thighs.
"This guys is serious isn't he?" Vivi ask, having side stepped behind Luffy when the man started to rant at Califa, who based on her expression had heard it all before and had stopped caring a long time ago
"Poly, enough of this. Let's open the gate so we can begin the tour" Iceburg says, growing tired of the blond's complaints
"This is a very large and impressive door" Usopp says as it opens to reveal the shipyard "And to open it by hand, just how strong are these people?"
"I think would take the whole monster trio to do that, they do make them tough on the Grand Line" Nami notes, whistling as they were let in, after Iceberg reminded them to keep a good eye on their finances, especially after Franky incident.
"I see what Kaku meant, Iceberg is quite the celebrity around here" Vivi muses as practically every dock worker they came across greeted the man with a smile and enthusiasm.
"Of course Miss Vivi" Califa agrees before continuing "In a place like this, where skill is all that matters of course he would shine. But it's more than that. Before Iceberg there were 7 competing factions, now Iceberg runs the show with all the docks co-operating to fill orders even faster than his predecessor could have imagined. His pasion for shipbuilding and grounded nature spreads to everyone around him, and even when he's their boss he's still so aproachable for the workers, and constantly re-earns their respect with every day"
"You're awesome Ice guy, how about you join my crew?" Luffy asks, causing Poly and Califa to go into apoplectic fits, and Lucci's cheek to twitch
"I'm sorry about him, Luffy is direct to put it mildly" Vivi attempts to pacate the shipbuilder and secretary as well as explain to Iceberg the reason for Luffy's request "We're looking for a shipwright as well as repairs so hearing how great Iceberg is, his decided to start at the top and work down so to speak"
Iceberg blinks and turns to Luffy "Is it true, you don't have a shipwright on your crew?"
"Nope. Usopp and later Victor were the closest we've had, but the trip here is as much a chance to try get us a new crewmate as fixing up the Merry" Luffy admits, grinning as always
"Hm, well if you manage to find someone in Gally La willing to join, I won't get in the way" Iceberg replies, then see's something else catch his attention "Those the new designs we were trying to improve?" he asks
The woman before him, petit with grey eyes and a bob cut nods "Yes Mr Iceberg, I belive the new design will actually exceed our original expectations, based on the new calculations" she replies, giving a meek smile "You can recheck the numbers if you want to be sure"
Iceberg laughs but shakes his head "No I beleive you, you earned the position by skill alone. Hey, Straw Hat, if your ship needs any improvements or a replacement, Sui Feng here is the best in the business for ship designs" he claps her shoulder, causing her to blush and hide her face
"We'll keep that in mind, oh dear" Vivi says politely before noticing Luffy run off "I'm sorry but without his brother around, somebody needs to be around to make sure Luffy doesn't cause any trouble" she explains before running after her captain, trusting Nami to get them a good deal on the Merry's repairs
Meanwhile
"I don't understand why Robin would just up and disappear like that" Chopper wonders as he tries to follow her scent, Artemis and Kaos following not to far behind
"Can you sense her Papa?" the artist asks
"Enough to know she's still in Water 7, I don't know this place enough to be any more exact than that I'm afraid" he answers with a sigh, then both perk up when Chopper speeds up, though have to quickly hide their disappointment when it turns out to be Sanji that Chopper found rather than Robin
"Oh, hey guys, what are you doing here?" the cook asks "Shouldn't you be with Robin or something?"
"You saw Robin?" they ask
"Yeah, she was with some masked weirdo, then they disappeared when I turned this corner. By this point I had gotten tired of this maze of an island and kind of just decided to mope for a few minutes"
"When was that?" Artemis asks curious
"About...10 minutes ago I think" Sanji guesses, while Kaos pulls out a pocket watch from his coat
Back at Dock 1
"Kaku, where did you disappear to, you're never late" Poly asks, now smoking a cigar
"I wasn't late, I was doing an assessment" the square nosed man replies, which has Nami's ears prick up
"You're done already, you really are fast" Nami says with a grin
"Sure am. Oh there you are boss, these kids were looking for you earlier, nice to see they found you" Iceberg nods, petting his mouse absently
"I gathered. So, how is the ship"
Kaku's smile fades "About that…" while Nami calls Luffy and Vivi down, yelling for Usopp as she hadn't seen him in a little while.
"Hey Square Usopp is back. So how much will it cost to fix the Merry, no price is too high for our ship. Then we can work on upgrading her, make her stronger, faster, and more dangerous, MORE CANNONS!"
"I wouldn't mind some decorative engravings on the hull, the Merry is lovely but we got her before we were even a proper crew, just 3 idiots and demon and myself" Nami adds, sighing almost nostalgicly
Kaku frowns "Hold your horses. That ship of yours, it's been through a lot hasn't it?" he asks
"Well we went to the sky islands, does that count?" Luffy asks in responce
"Yes. The problem is that your ship has some rather impressive, but deep scars"
"So it'll just take a while to fix her right?" Vivi asks, crossing her fingers
"No, it's not a matter of time, or skill. Your ship can't be repaired by anyone" Kaku tells them
Poly sighs, resembling a blond Smoker for a second "The keel?" he asks, to which Kaku nods
"It's taken a lot of damage" he says "it's also the biggest problem with repairing it or any ship"
"No, we've gone everywhere with this ship without a problem" Nami shouts
"I'm sure you have, but the thing is, even if we did everything we could for her, the probability of your ship making it to the next island, is 0" Kaku says seriously, a cold shudder ran down their spines
Meanwhile, on the Going Merry
"This is fucking bullshit!" Valentina shouts, kicking a barrel apart before falling back against the cabin
Kaya sniffles as she runs her hand along the side of the caravel "This is as far as you can go ay Merry?" she asks rhetorically "We've been through a lot, and I know we're sorry for any part we've played in what's happened to you"
Zoro grips her shoulder, trying to help as best he could "It'll be ok, we'll get through this, somehow. And just because she can't go any further down the Grand Line, doesn't mean she won't get a respectful end she deserves, she's part of the crew after all" he hears a low chuckle across the deck
"Seems the swordsman does care, nice work. You're also right: Kaos and Robin, their talk about the klaburthingy, everyone loves the Merry so she's going to go out the way she's meant to, with love and respect"
With the other Straw Hats in Water 7
"Well, this sucks" Sanji grumbles as the 4 make their way back to the ship with their supplies, and minus their archiologist
"I'm sorry Sanji, she told us to go in ahead of her and we thought she'd be right in" Chopper whimpers, Artemis nods while Kaos remains silent
"It's not your fault Chopper, none of your need to apologize. I just want to know who that guy I saw he walking with was. Given he was a big fella with a cloak I'd have thought it was you had I not known Chopper and Artemis would be tagging along on your little trip" the cook says to the reflect human "Unfortunely that cloak, as well as some kind of mask, means I don't have anything to tell you about the guy"
"Too bad everyone seems to be wearing masks around here, or else a big guy wearing a mask would be really helpful in finding her" Artemis notes with a frown
"There's also the fact they managed to just disappear, not even poof, but they were there and then not" Sanji adds "Hey you're the expert, know any fruits that can do that?"
"No, but the feeling I got in that culdesac, it's a fairly good bet whoever the man with Robin was, he had a Devil fruit"
"Well, there's clearly nothign else we can do, so all that's left is to head back to the Merry and if there's nothing wrong Robin will show up on her own"
"And if something is wrong?" Chopper asks
"Then just like with nami and Vivi's problems…" the blond begins
"...we beat it into the ground and deal with things that way" Kaos finishes, a grin that promises pain across his face.
Up in Galley La
"What do you mean you can't fix the Merry? You're supposed to be these awesome shipwrights, what a load of bull" Luffy shouts angrilly "If it's about the money we have more than enough"
"It's not money" Kaku repeats "There's nothing we can do that will get her back to where she once was. In fact, if I'm being honest with you I'm impressed you made it this far given her current condition"
"Current condition?" Vivi asks
"Do you know what the keel is princess blue?" Poly asks
"Actually no" Vivi admits
"It's the bit at the bottom of the ship, the bit that goes along the middle?" Nami asks, the name sounding right in her head at least
"Correct. It's also the most important part of the ship, structurally speaking. It's the starting point and the part in which the entire ship is built off of. It's the core or spine of the ship, and when it breaks, the ship is dead in the water, or it's not far off" Poly explains "You can't just replace it, due to the building process you're basically building a new ship entirely at that point. And that is why nobody, not even we can fix her. Your ship is just a pile of wood awaiting her end"
"Hey, you don't have to be such an ass about this!" Nami shouts, clenching her fists "The Merry is important to us show her some decency"
"I'm being straight with you, that ship isn't going anywhere, if you try it's basically suicide"
"Well if you have to build her again then do that. Build us a new Going Merry, maybe even have bee girl spruce her up or something"
"We can't do that" Lucci says through Hatori "We could build you a very similar ship, but nobody could build you the same ship over again, not here, not anywhere"
"So you're saying there's no way for us to continue sailing on the Going Merry?" Vivi asks, really hoping she'd misunderstood
"Exactly. Your only options, are to wait for her to sink, or dismantle her immidiately" Kaku tells them bluntly.
"Oh don't just look at the negatives, think of this as an opportunity. This is the best place in the world to get a new ship. Kaku said the Merry was a Caravel correct? An old ship like that, it's a miracle you made it this deep into the Grand Line.
"We don't want a new ship" Luffy says flatly "The Going Merry is the Straw Hat's Pirate Ship, if we repair her she can sail. She got us here, she's given us no trouble since we got on her back on Kaya and Ussop's home island and now you say she's useless out of the blue? I refuse to believe this bullshit!" he continues, getting progressively angrier
"So you plan to sail her till she sinks then?" Iceberg asks, knocking the wind out of Luffy's sails "That's the decision of her captain? This discussion is over, go clear your head and process what we've told you, if you decide to get a new ship we'll be happy to build you one. 300 million will get you quite an impressive marvel in a place like this" he says, about to walk off when one of the shipwrights run over, saying there were WG suits looking for him "Damn it. Tell them I'm not here, come on Califa I guess we're leaving the back way"
"Iceberg, there you are" the bluenette cringes when a shifty looking man with a scar and wirey facial hair, and his goons saunter into the shipyard, Poly hissing at the straw hats to make themselves scarce, as pirates and government idiots are a bad combo
"Hello Corgi, as you can see I'm not here today, try again tomorrow please" Iceberg somehow says with a straight face
"Yes you are" Corgi growls "I've come all the way here by seatrain, don't turn me away it's very rude. I expected better from the mayor and Tom's sucsessor" the suit smirks, then sniffs the air "That's strange, I thought I caught a whiff of pirate for a second there, must have been my imagination. Anyway, I'm here to talk"
"I don't like you, go away" Iceberg replies bluntly, reminding both female straw hats of their captain in terms of bluntness
"You can't be that stupid. Listen I need to discuss something important with you Mr Iceberg, best done in private" the bluenette frowns, but follows the suits, his loyal secretary never far behind
"Those suits, always sniffing around Iceberg, what do they want?" Poly grumbles to himself
"It's none of our business, probably hush hush political stuff"
"Nami, we have a problem" Luffy says, gently poking the red head
"What now?"
"These suitcases, they felt really light when I grabbed them to hide them over here with us"
"Luffy, I think you're imagining things. You're a lot stronger than the rest of us, unless those things were full of gold again I doubt you'd feel any weight at all" Vivi assures him, until Nami clicks them open…
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
"Can you weirdos calm down, you're drawing attention to yourselves" Luci squaks through his pigeon, him and Poly walking over to see them screaming over 2 empty cases
"200 million beri" Nami squeaks
"Gone" Vivi finishes, knowing the navigator couldn't bring herself to
"Wait a minute, these cases are different, all worn and kind of shitty" Luffy notes
"These people are weird. Hey Kaku, what were you doing with the Franky Family earlier?" one of the shipwirights ask, the square nosed man looks at him in confusion
"What are you talking about, I haven't even seen one of the Franky squad in at least a week"
The moustachioued man frowns "Really, I was sure it was you, given that long nose" the description snapped Nami out of her daze
"Did you just say someone with a long nose, was with the Franky family?" she asks in a panic
"Well, you could say with, or you could say, being dragged away"
"That's Kidnapping You Dolt!" the red head shrieks
"So once again, the Franky family have taken our money, and now they have Usopp too" Vivi sumerises, twitching slightly "Where can we find the Franky Family hideout, or whatever these thugs are calling it?"
"Given their honest business, it's a workshop more than anything else. From where you're ship is docked, follow the shore clockwise, the next outcrop will have one building out on it's lonesome. It's called the Franky House, you literally can't miss it"
"Thanks Parrot guy. Let's go!" Luffy shouts, running off, the girls sigh deeply before following him slower, until Nami stops
"We need to go back to the ship. Going to these people with our money is asking for trouble, plus it might be easier to deal with whoever these bozo's are with some of our more combat oriented crewmates helping"
Vivi nods, understanding her point, both getting into a Yagura which made a beeline for the Merry, until they were distracted by a comosion
"Stop the Yagura!" Vivi shouts, Nami turning and following through when she see's what the other girl did: Usopp, badly beaten and left on the side of the path "Detour, we need to pick up Usopp, get him and the money to the Merry, then while Kaya and Chopper treat him, the others can beat the Franku Family blue and retreive our ship money" the navigator nods and directs the yagura to make it's way over to their sniper
"Come on Usopp, you better be alive" Nami calls frnatically as she shakes the long nose, scaring away the crowd in her haste
"Nami" Usopp croaks, eyes half open
"You're alive!" she cheers, then her smile drops again "Who did this to you, was it the Franky Family?"
"I, it happened because I was weak" he wheezes between tears "They beat me and then they took all the money" Nami winces, having suspected but confirmation sucks Sea King balls "How, will I face the others, after losing our money, losing the chance to fix Merry?" he asks/blubbers
"Nami, he looks really hurt, I don't we can just move him, especially not at the speed we were just going with the Yagura" Vivi notes, wincing as she watches Usopp cry his heart out "Listen Usopp, don't worry about the money, we're on our way to get it back and beat those thugs who hurt you. I sure wouldn't want to be those guys if we sent the Monster Trio and Demon twins on them" she lightly jokes, mostly to stop herself from crying alongside him "We'll grab Chopper and Kaya, they'll patch you up real good, just relax and everything will be ok" she assures him, then helps Nami set him down against the wall "We'll be back before you know it" Usopp barely grunts an acknowledgement, then the girls are back on the Yagura and speeding out of Water 7
On the Merry, a little before this comes to a head
"Fuck!" Kaos groans, the first of the 4 to react to the news, that the Merry was done for
"You can't be serious" Sanji gasps
"That's what the shipwright with an Usopp sized nose said" Valentina replies glumly "That the Merry can't be repaired, no way, no how"
"But, if we can't repair it, what will happen to the Merry?" Chopper asks, getting less than helpful answers, as they're mostly shrugs
"No clue, we need to wait for Luffy and the others to get back, see what they think. They might have already made a decision on the way back" Victor answers the scared reindeer
Kaya frowns "It's so weird to even think, The Merry has been our home, it's gotten us all the way from the East Blue to here. It's literally been part of the crew as long as Usopp and I, she's a founding member"
"Exactly, why now, what happened that broke her?" Sanji asks
"Most likely what you just point out, she's gone through a lot because of us, and unlike one of us, who can heal and get stronger as we get beat down, a ship, it's damage simply accumulates" Zoro replies
"Plus I'm pretty sure whatever springdick did didn't help" Kaos grumbles, anger flashing through all of them as they remembered that the Merry had been damaged while they had been getting her ready to fly.
"The Merry is apparently screwed and Robin is missing, I think I could kill for some good news right about now" Alvida fumes, though having something to swing her mace at would be a welcome 2nd choice
"Hey everyone!" they hear Nami shout
"It's Nami-kun and Vivi-chan" Sanji swoons, then stops "But where are Luffy and Usopp?"
"Hey girls, everything ok?" Valentina calls, then notices the expressions on both girls faces 'Well shit'
A little later - Franky House
The Franky Family were celebrating their sudden windfall, 200 million beri scored by robbing some weak pirate… when the doors were blown off the hinges of their base
"What the? Who dares attack the Franky Family?" One of the goons shout, surprised to see Usopp, panting in the doorway, blood still dripping from his wounds, but his slingshot out and his bag of tricks open
"Hey it's that weakling from earlier" One Franky thug notes
"Give us our money back" Usopp demands, breathing slowly and evenly
The man in charge, hidden behind a mask laughs "Give you your money back? So you must be one of those Straw Hats"
"Yuk yuk yuk, yeah boss, I heard all the Straw hats were Super strong, but this one's a real weakling yahuk"
"Stay out of things that don't concern you" Usopp shouts, making a dive for the money only for Franky to pull it away
"Nice try, but you're going to need to try harder than that" he says as the Franky Family laugh in the background "Ballsy trying to take us all on yourself though, I respect that"
"You don't understand, we need the money, to fix the Merry. Her scar are deep, the damage sevre, we need that money to help her heal! So I'm not letting you thugs stop me getting what I need to fix our ship!"
"Sounds like you love that ship of yours quite a lot. Unfortunately, that doesn't mean anything to us, as this money, belongs to the Franky Family now" he laughs, the others chorusing alongside him "Too bad for you, stealing from pirates isn't exactly seen as a crime (Hear that East Blue Nami, you did nothing wrong!), besides people like you don't earn money, you make it by pillaging it from innocent victims, so really we're just liberating it into much more deserving hands" Franky laughs, before kicking Usopp out of his way and turning on his heels "Show the boy how we treat intruders in the Family boys, I got some money to spend"
Exploding Star
Usopp launches one of his explosive pellets but it's stopped by the masked man's fist, no visible damage made.
"Listen to me good boy. My name is Franky, and if you want to live long enough to leave this island, you'll do good not to cross me" he says with an unseen scowl, walking away as his boys restrain and then take turns beating the already badly injured Usopp
On the Merry
"Seriously where does the bastard keep all this stuff?" Nami thinks aloud as she sits with Valentina, Artemis and Carue, all having decided to stay and guard the ship, while waiting for Robin to come back, going through the pile of weapons Kaos had left for them to use to defend themselves in case the Franky family came knocking while they were gone.
"His coat" Artemis answers with a shrug, scratching Lasoo behind the ears as it rested it's head on her lap
With the others
"What the, where could Usopp have gone?" Vivi gasps "He shouldn't have even been standing up, never mind walk off on us"
"So we're not lost, makes a change" Zoro hums, though is curious as to what happened to their sniper
"Guys! Come quick" they all turn as Chopper yells "It's blood, a lot of blood"
"Usopp!" Kaya squeaks, the scowls "We need to make these monsters pay"
"Oh Usopp, you do love making this difficult" Kaos sighs tiredly, knowing the long nose was as stubborn as the rest of the crew, so clearly didn't take being ordered to stay put all that well.
The moment was ruined by a pinballing of Luffy, bouncing off the wall in front of them before falling into the canal, prompting Zoro to go fish him out before anything else happened.
"Well the gang's back together, can we go kick some ass now?" Alvida asks, itching to show these scavangers why you don't mess with the Straw Hats
"Yes. We're going to get our money back and show them that nobody beats up a straw hat without punishment" Luffy bellows, about to run off until Kaos and Kays grab him, mostly because he clearly had no idea where he was going, as usual
About 10 minutes later
There was a tense silence, as the pirates watched Kaya and Chopper at work, finally coming to a head when Luffy asks "Is he still breathing?"
Kaya tenses, syrup spikes blooming from her shoulders, but it was Chopper who answered "He's unconscious, beaten almost as badly as when we fought Merry Christmas and Mr. 4, but he's still alive. Kaya and I should be able to patch him up, once we get him back to the Merry"
Vivi sighs, sniffling before pulling her gloves tight "Stay here for real this time Usopp, we won't be long and you'll be in good hands soon enough"
"You mess with one you mess with all of us" Zoro growls, bandana on and all 3 swords already out
"This stupid house is going to be raized to the ground" Luffy declares, his eyes hidden under his hat
"We're about to become a wrecking crew for one day only. I just wish you were awake to see it" Victor say with a frown
"No Mercy, not this time" Kaya's statement is barely a whisper, but the anger in it could be felt in the air, mixing and strengthened by the same aura coming off the rest of the crew, as they march together towards the Franky House.
Meanwhile the Franky Family were being their usual dumbass selves, drinking and partying like there wasn't an impending doom about to befall them. Clearly looking out the window was too much for these people, but as always, doors needed to be destroyed in order to get the 'don't fuck with us' message across, this time with a well place Gum Gum Pistol dead centre, knocking out the idiot who had been about to go off to resupply.
"The fuck, who'd be dumb enough to pick a fight with the family?" One of the Frankuy Family asks
"Funny, we were asking ourselves a similar question" Alvida muses, moving her mace from her shoulder so it was pointed straight at the Franky crew "What suicidal dumb ass thought it was a good idea…"
"To fuck with the Straw Hats" Luffy finishes, cocking his arm back to another swing
Several of the Franky family began to panic, though a few had brains equivilaent to the amount Enaru gave a potato, so this was always going to end badly
"He's the captain of that weakling we beat earlier, he can't be that tough to have something like that on his cre…" the sentence didn't end with words, but gurgles, as a yellow slime encased his head, bringing him to the ground
Honey Smother
"Nobody badmouths Usopp around me" Kaya screams, her fruit forming tendrils of syrup from her arms and back, yellow teartreds running down her cheeks
"Um, maybe we can talk about this, right guys?" One of the wreckers asks, rasing his hands in surrender "Guys… fire the cannons!"
Breeze Breath Bomb
Shinso
Victor's air gun and Kaos' extended blade made short work of the cannonfire, really making the Franky Family panic inside, not helped when Zoro decided to stop them repeating their failures by slicing their cannons apart, which was the catalyst for them to immidiately flee, running for the back door
"Leaving so soon?"
"You started this fight, at least have the balls to stay till the end"
The Franky Family stop dead when they see Alvida had slid her way around them, while Sanji had jumped over, using a few of them as platforms, so they were truely boxed in within their own hideout
"Quick, run for the windows!"
Traptrix: Arena of Death
Neith's wrath
Vivi's wires coupled with Kaos' formed a dome of interwoven misery, stopping the Franky Family in their tracks
"H-H-Hold on a sec, it's the money you wanted, right?" One asks, stuttering in panic "The 200 million we took from the long nose. Well it's not here, Franky, the family boss took it for a shopping spree. And since it's a Black Market Deal, we can't tell you where he is, will be or even how to find him. So no matter how much you wreck the place, that 200" he was interrupted by a punch from Luffy sending him through the opposite wall
"Shut up already" Sanji grunts, lighting another cigerette "This isn't about money anymore, it was barely about it to begin with"
"You hurt a member of our crew, our family" Chopper growls, having gone on a bit of a rampage himself in his Horn Point
"There's not going to be anything left but a crater when we're done with you" Luffy finally says, the tone cold as ice "For Usopp, we break EVERYTHING!" he orders, a few vicious grins flicker across the faces of his crewmates, before the jump into the fight, dodging random junk fired at them, and take their anger out on the building as much as the Frankys, if Usopp had been conscious he'd have been impressed and intrigued by the explosions and quakes seen and felt from the distance away he'd been dumped, ending with a showstopper
GUM GUM JET BAZOOKA
The explosion big enough even Nami, Artemis and Valentina saw it, hoping it meant their guys were successful ,rather than beat to Hell like their sniper
"Damn, you didn't make a crater but it was close" Kaos notes with a little amusement, kicking one of the idiots out of his path to check on the others "So what now?"
"We should go looking for Franky" Zoro begins
"But if these bozo's don't know where he is, how will we be able to find him, we don't even know what he looks like" Alvida counters, sighing heavily as she sits down
"Plus, even if we do find him, he'll have most likely spent it all by the time we get to him, making the attempt pointless" Vivi adds
"We can't just stick around here, who knows when Franky will come back and we left some of our least combat ready crewmates on the Merry, plus Robin's still missing. Best we head back and deal with the real Franky if and when he comes looking for us" Sanji suggests, getting nods from some of the crew
'Come on Usopp, stay with us' Kaya thinks, holding in tears as she and Chopper bandage their sniper up, prepping him for the journey back to the Merry, as well as recovery.
"You ready to go Luffy?" Kaos asks, shouting up to the boy standing on the highest part of what remained of the Franky House.
"I've made a decision about what we're going to do with the ship" he responds, catching the other straw hat's attention "It's time we parted ways with the Merry, we say our goodbyes here"
TBC
LW: So shit's got real and the Straw Hats don't mess around. And this is just the beginning, oh boy.