Rocket Man Launches - We'll Get It All Back!
Umiko trailed after Iceburg, the man leading her to an underground train station. Umiko glanced around the deserted station, old memories stirring up from childhood.
"Here we are," Iceburg said
Umiko stared ahead, gazing at the large piece of machinery before her.
"Rocket Man…." She whispered
Iceburg nodded his head. "Are you ready to get him out of retirement?"
Umiko nodded her head, reaching up to tie a bandana around her head.
"Let's get started. We have no time to waste," Iceburg said
Umiko and Iceburg worked diligently prepping Rocket Man, getting the sea train back in commission. Never had the two worked so hard in such a short amount of time, but they were going to get this old sea train up and running if it's the last thing they do.
Iceburg stood up wiping off his brow. "It's coming along nicely Umi. Rocket Man should be ready to go soon."
Umiko stood atop Rocket Man, her face shield by a welders' helmet, the young lady hunched over as she welded away. She briefly paused, raising up her helmet to glance down at Iceburg. She gave the man a thumbs up before lowering her helmet going back to her task at hand.
Iceburg smiled, staring at the girl. Seeing her work so hard reminded him of when she was first learning how to craft. Umiko's true insert didn't lie in the actual building of the ships but rather the modifications made to the vessels to make them more unique. He guessed since Umiko was a unique individual herself she wanted to create something just as special.
If he was being honest, Iceburg was rather worried about letting Umiko go. If his research was as accurate as he perceived, then Umiko would be in a lot of danger going anywhere near the Government, but he knew if he tried to stop her she'd just find a way to go. The best he could do now is prepare her the best way possible for the upcoming battle.
"Umiko, can you come down?" Iceburg waved his hand towards the girl. "We need to have a talk about the Aqua Laguna incident."
Umiko set down her welding equipment, taking off the helmet as well. She hopped off the roof of Rocket Man making her way over to Iceburg.
The Aqua Laguna Incident. A memory cemented in the mind of Umiko and the rest of the residents of Water 7.
Umiko had been testing out a new fighting technique which resulted in massive damage to Dock 1. No one had witnessed the event, but they could tell whatever Umiko had done was something powerful just by the amount of sheer damage she had caused. Hence, why they changed the name of the upcoming storm to Aqua Laguna, its destructive nature mimicking the potential detrimental power that Umiko held.
Iceburg had been the one who found Umiko, the girl only sixteen at the time, standing alone in a pile of rubble. After explaining to the man what had happened, she was told to never tell anyone, nor to never attempt the dangerous move again.
"Umiko there's a reason why I didn't want you to perform the Aqua Laguna move, more than just because of its destructive power," Iceburg said
Umiko tilted her head, clear confusion expressed on her face.
Iceburg sighed, he was dreading this. "The reason why is because it shows who you truly are, where you were really born."
Umiko shoveled some coal into the burning engine of Rocket Man, the train ready to go. She and Iceburg were finishing up the last of the repairs and Rocket Man was just about ready to go. Umiko's mind started to wander, her thoughts going over the information Iceburg had told her.
She stepped out of Rocket Man, a bit of coal dust smudged on her cheek. As she stepped up towards Iceburg the sound of footsteps echoed from the far corridor, as several people came down the stairs entering the old station.
"Whooooo awesome!"
Umiko turned to the newcomers seeing Luffy, Zoro, Granny Kokoro, and Chimney the little girl pulling along Gonbe. Iceburg pulled out a rag wiping the grime from a good job. He then took the rag and wiped away the dirt that clung to Umiko's face, the young woman not putting up a fuss.
"Hey look it's Ice Pop and the tail girl," Luffy said pointing to the two.
"Hello there Straw Hat. So you're okay after all. It seems your friend's faith was well-founded. I assume you brought them here Kokoro." Iceburg said
"The question is what are you two doing here. You've been through a lot today Iceburg you need your rest." Kokoro said
"Well, let's just say you and I were thinking the same thing. We have a soft spot for idiots don't we." Iceburg said
Iceburg's words caused Granny Kokoro to let out a raucous round of laughter, Iceburg joining in with a few chuckles of his own.
Sanji had successfully snuck onto the Sea Train that contained the members of Enies Lobby. He was in the farthest car, at the very back of the train, fighting his way through several Government officials before he finally came upon two familiar faces. Usopp and Franky, the two men bound and gagged inside sacks. The three got into a brief pointless argument before Sanji finally released the two idiots.
The trio sat together devising a plan on how they could get to the front of the train and save Robin.
"This would be a lot easier with Umi. Girls like a human bulldozer. We could just set her loose and have her plow the way to the front." Franky mumbled
Sanji raised a brow, "Umi-chan? How do you know Umiko-chan?"
Franky smirked Sanji's way, the cyborg beaming with pride as he pointed at himself.
"I'm her Papa!"
Sanji and Usopp's jaws dropped, their eyes bugging out.
"WWWWHHHHAAAATTTTT!"
Sanji had a vision of Umiko standing next to Franky. The man sporting a stupid smirk and Umiko copying the expression wearing a pair of matching sunglasses. The image shattered and Sanji screeched, shaking his head trying to get the vision out of his mind. He refused to believe that such a beauty came from such an idiot.
"She's my little Franky jr.!" Franky proclaimed
Sanji stood up pointing at Franky, "There's no way someone as lovely as Umiko would come from you!"
Franky glared back at Sanji, "What's that supposed to mean!"
Usopp watched with a sweatdrop as the two men broke out in another argument.
Iceburg let out a sigh taking a seat on a nearby crate. He sunk down, his body relaxing, exhausted from both his injuries and a large amount of work he just performed.
"Go ahead and take a look, Umi and I have just finished servicing it," Iceburg said
"The coal's been loaded and steam's building up right now," Umiko said
Luffy and Chopper ran up to the sea train examining it, looking like a bunch of kids in a candy store.
"Haha thanks for getting it ready for us. We really owe you one." Luffy said
Iceburg removed the bandana from his head, wiping away the sweat that had built up on his brow.
"I wouldn't start celebrating if I were you. You might not even survive the ride. This was our failed prototype before we made the Puffing Tom. No matter how you tune it you can't control its speed. In other words, it's a runaway train."
Luffy just smiled at the challenge. "That's fine. It can go as fast as it wants."
Iceburg took in Luffy's words and eagerness, smiling with a small nod.
Luffy stepped up to the train. "Hurry up let's go. Get on already. We're leaving as soon as Nami gets here, Granny."
"Umi," Iceburg spoke, grabbing the girl's attention.
The man held something up to Umiko, and she tilted her head confused as she saw Iceburg holding up a case.
"Hold out your arms," Iceburg instructed
Without any hesitation, Umiko did as she was told, holding her arms out. Iceburg set the case down, opening it. He pulled out two large silver braces and put them on Umiko's wrists one by one.
The aqua haired girl studied the new accessions on her wrists. The metal was about two or three inches thick. They were dense and heavy, but nothing for Umiko. The tailed girl was a bit surprised that Iceburg could hold the case with both of the braces inside. The outside of the braces had carvings engraved around it, that etchings looking like waves of water.
"What are these for? What are they?" Umiko asked
Iceburg knelt in closer to Umiko whispering in her ear.
"Those are for Aqua Laguna."
Umiko blinked surprised and took a step back nodding her head.
"You know….Franky and I started this project together. It was one of the last things we worked on together," Iceburg explained
Umiko glanced down at the braces again before wrapping her arms around Iceburg, pulling the man into a firm embrace. Iceburg held back a choke, the warm sentimental gesture cutting off his air supply.
Umiko's hug, or rather death grip, was put to an end when the sound of more footsteps entered Umiko's ears. She pulled away from Iceburg, the man taking in a sharp inhale, as Umiko turned towards the entrance of the station. The squeaky sound of wheels turning echoed out as the footsteps got louder.
"Sorry, I took so long!"
Nami entered but she wasn't alone. Bushon and Stevie followed behind the redhead, the two conductors pulling along a large cart. The cart was piled high with food, mainly meat, along with large quantities of beer.
"Oh, Nami," Zoro said
"Save the small talk for later, get on board, so we can goooo!" Luffy yelled
"Wow amazing, so there's another sea train huh," Nami said
"It was hiding here all this time, and we never knew," Bushon said
"This is a real surprise," Stevie said
"You were the one who told us to hurry, why are you the last one here?" Luffy questioned Nami.
Nami chose to ignore Luffy's words, grabbing a large sack off the cart.
"And what's with the big bag?!" Luffy exclaimed
"I brought you food and drinks-"
Before she could even finish her words, Luffy and Zoro pounced, the two already going at the masses of food and alcohol.
"I'm sorry I yelled at you," Luffy spoke, his words muffled, mouth full of food.
The delicious scent of food wafted into Umiko's nose, and she steadily made her way over to the cart of food. Before she could get in close though Nami stepped forward.
"Trust me you don't want to go near those animals while they're feeding," Nami said
Umiko looked past Nami, glancing towards Luffy and Zoro, seeing exactly what the redhead meant. Umiko may have a stomach that could easily be classified as a bottomless pit, but she didn't eat with the ravenous intensity of a starved man who thought their food was about to run away.
"It's all ready to go," Kokoro said, her head popping out of the window of the conductors' cart.
Umiko tilted her head. When did Kokoro get on the train?
"You shoot out of the canal and into the ocean. If you can latch onto the railway after that it should be a good start." Iceburg explained
"Don't you worry a bit. I like to drink but I take my job very seriously. You just stay here and give that body of yours a good rest." Kokoro said
"Sounds fine to me," Iceburg said
"And while I'm taking care of these pirate folk I hope you don't mind watching Gonbe and Chimney for me," Kokoro said
"Yes, that's fine. As long as you watch mine." Iceburg said looking over to the blue-haired girl.
"STRAW HAT!"
Luffy stood up turning to the entryway, his mouth still stuffed with food.
"Who's there?"
Dozens of running footsteps sounded off and the Franky family appeared, Zambi leading the way.
"The Franky family." Nami worriedly said
Zoro stood up placing a hand on his sheathed sword. "We're kinda busy right now."
"Please Straw Hat, you guys gotta take us with you! The people from Galley-La said you were gonna take a sea train to Enies Lobby! Those Government bastards took away Franky! They took our bro!" Zambi yelled tears streaming down his face.
Umiko went a bit stiff, her tail included, as she listened to Zambi's words. Franky had been taken by the Government? How? When? And why? Sure he had become rather a nuisance around Water 7 but surely that had nothing to do with it.
Did this have to do with the incident all those years ago? Once again the question of "Why?" appeared in Umiko's head. The young woman had been caught up in her own thoughts and was only brought out of them when Luffy shouted.
"C'mon. Hurry up!" Luffy yelled stepping onto the train.
"YAHHHHHH!"
The Franky Family cheered happily, fresh tears springing forth from each member, shedding tears of joy knowing that Franky was going to be rescued as well.
"Are you sure about this?" Nami exclaimed
Luffy put on a large grin, "Yeah it's fine."
Zambi got on his hands and knees bowing down so far that his face slammed into the ground.
"Thank you!" He shouted
Umiko stepped up to the Franky family, her arms crossed. The entire group froze, looks of fear spreading among them seeing the blue-haired girl. She gazed at the family, her blue eyes feeling like they were piercing through them.
"Do not worry. We'll get him back," Umiko promised
The Franky family gazed at Umiko before they broke out in another round of cheers. They threw themselves at Umiko bringing the girl into a group hug. Umiko's face remained placid, as she allowed herself to be swept up in the joyful arms of the Franky family. Umiko was passed around the clump of crying celebratory people, and she finally found herself back on her own two feet a few moments later.
"We're gonna hop on our King Bulls and ride the waves of the sea train. All you gotta do is let the bulls catch a ride on your tail." Zambi said
"What are King Bulls?" Zoro questioned with a raised brow.
The inquiry was ignored as the Franky family started to exit, going back up the station's stairs.
"Anyway, we're off. See you soon!" Zambi said
"LET'S GOOOOO!"
"YEAAAAHHHH!"
The train was loaded up as everyone got on board. Umiko stood just at the entrance of the train gazing at Iceburg, her eyes holding a saddened glint. This would be the first time they were separated since Umiko came into Iceburg's life.
Iceburg stepped up to Umiko placing a hand on her head, his fingers intertwining with Umiko's aqua locks.
No words needed to be said, the two knowing how one another felt. Umiko entered the train, and Rocket Man started to slowly pull out.
Umiko stuck her head out of one of the windows, clothing dangling in her hands. Rocket Man started to swiftly gain speed and Umiko released her grip on the clothes, the fabric fluttering away only to land at Iceburg's feet. The man glanced down to see Umiko had tossed out her shirt and overalls, meaning she was only going to be in nothing but a pair of shorts and a sports bra like top.
Iceburg chuckled at the young woman's odd quirk. That was his Umiko alright.
Umiko waved to Iceburg as Rocket Man took off the sea train barreling through the tunnel at an extraordinary speed.
Excited cheering sounded from above and Umiko looked back out the window looking upwards. She spotted Luffy atop of Rocket Man. The Straw Hat Captain whooping and cheering, his fists raised high into the air.
"Yeah, full speed! Lets goooo! We'll get it all back!" Luffy cheered