Again, can't thank everyone enough for the support :D
Wealth, Fame, Power…
Chapter 46: Coming Clean
"Hold on a sec Luffy… You're saying that an old man told you all of this?" Nami asked with an unsure tone. This all sounded quite ridiculous after all.
"Not just any old man, Nami. Old Man Crocus!" The rubber man exclaimed with an unusual amount of glee.
The confused girl was in the process of scratching her head and going back in for another question when Luffy jumped up and took an action of his own.
"HEY! WHALE!" He screamed with as much force as he could.
But this didn't stop Laboon in the slightest from rearing back and unleashing a powerful body slam on Reverse Mountain, shaking everyone and everything to the core.
"Wahhhhh! Ok g-guys! We got Luffy back, time to go!" Usopp suggested pleadingly.
"He's right Luffy!" Nami reasoned, grabbing the teen's shoulder gently. "If what that old man told you is true, then that's really sad, but there's nothing we can do about it."
"That doesn't mean I can't try!" He yelled, springing up off the deck and sending out an outstretched arm.
The rest of the crew could do nothing as they watched their captain sail off into the air again. But they could at least rest easy since he appeared to be heading for solid ground this time.
"Damn," Zoro said slowly, still processing the tale that Luffy had told them. "And to think we were about to slice that thing apart…"
"Ehem," Sanji inputted. "We? What are you talking about dumbass? You're the one with the swords."
"Grr, shut the hell up you crappy cook. You were just as in on it as I was," the swordsman accused as he took a threatening step towards the cook.
And never one to back down in this big rivalry, Sanji stepped forward as well, making sure to get right in the pirate hunter's personal bubble. "Yeah? Well I'm not the sadistic bastard who was gonna enjoy it!"
"Will you two morons cut it out! We have bigger issues right now! What on earth is Luffy doing!?"
The two bickering crewmates immediately cooled off their argument and turned around just in time to see Luff landing right at the foot of the lighthouse, effectively giving him a frontal view of the enormous whale.
"HEY! LABOON! STOP!"
This time, the outcry from the straw hat teen reached the creature and stopped it momentarily. And whether or not it was the increased volume or the use of its actual name, Luffy didn't care, now was his chance, and he wasn't about to waste it.
"You need to cut this out! Can't you see it's killing you!?"
When the whale's eyes narrowed slightly, Luffy knew that his words were being heard.
"Yeah! You heard me! Look at yourself you dumb whale! You would be dead already if it wasn't for Old Man Crocus!"
This time, at the mention of the elder's name, Laboon put on a vicious expression. It was now very obvious that he was not happy, and when that was the case, he always had one solution…
Charge.
Luffy watched as the whale reared back again and began throwing its weight forward.
"LUFFY! G-get out of there!" Usopp called through his clattering teeth.
But the rubber man did the opposite, grinning widely as he dug his feet in and squared his shoulders. "Hell no! I'm not scared of anything! Especially not some dumb animal that can't see how much his friend is helping him!"
This was clearly the last straw for the scarred creature, because after Luffy was finished speaking, it unleashed an ear shattering screech and jumped straight for the mountain.
Luffy waited for the gigantic mammal to get as close as possible before he made any sort of movement. Time seemed to slow down from his perspective as the sun was blocked out and a large shadow took over. He could hear the blurred screams of his crewmates in the background as he stared death in the face with a big smile on his lips. If he was crushed here, the ledge he was standing on would surely collapse and he would drown instantly in the large sea below.
But a point needed to be proven… And there was something else on this exact ledge that could help him prove it.
A loud eruption was heard as water splashed everywhere, creating an almost mist-like atmosphere as everything settled down. And judging by how loud this eruption was, it was safe to say that Laboon crashed into more than just water…
Nami held her shoulders in fear, still trying to decide on whether or not to open her eyes. It was only when she heard Zoro curse in confusion that she finally looked and saw what everyone was looking at.
There, laying it's enormous body where Luffy once was, was the giant whale. But something was off, why hadn't it gone back into the water yet? It had pretty much just decimated that entire plateau at the base of Reverse Mountain.
"Um… W-why is t-the whale not moving?" Usopp piped up again.
"I don't know…" Nami breathed, still trying to control her rampant emotions. "It almost looks… Shocked."
And shocked was a massive understatement for what Laboon was feeling right now. In fact, heartbreaking realization was a more accurate descriptor for the poor creature.
"I tried to tell you… But you didn't listen…"
Laboon's large right eye instantly focused on what looked to be his tattered and roughed up opponent. And with how serious he looked, the vulnerable feeling whale almost flinched when the boy approached him.
"Stupid whale," Luffy said grimly as he shook off the remaining rubble on his clothes and walked up to the creature's eye. "You destroyed the old man's lighthouse."
As if this was some sort of confirmation for the saddened animal, Laboon did the very last thing anyone ever expected.
He cried.
Luffy almost did a double take when the huge eye that he was so close to began spouting fluids everywhere all of the sudden. "Woah!" He yelled, jumping right out of the way of a comically big teardrop.
"Agh! Cut it out!" Luffy clenched his teeth, his patience growing thinner every second. "Stop crying and be a man!"
This however, was not an effective way of calming down the suffering creature, because it's loud screeching and moaning only grew louder.
Except this time, the straw hat teen wasn't having any of it. "Damn it!" He screamed in fury, throwing back both of his arms as far as he could. "I SAID, BE A MAN!"
Without another moment's wait, the rubber man unleashed a powerful gum gum bazooka upon the bellowing whale's eye, making it close up in an instant.
"Huh," Sanji blinked in disbelief. "Yep, he's a dead man."
The rest of the straw hat pirates could neither agree or disagree with the cook's sentiment. But one thing they were sure of to do was watch until the very end. And when the whale had all but clammed up after Luffy's attack, it only confused them even more.
Nami especially was quite lost at the moment. Luffy had just finished explaining to them how that poor whale had been abandoned by its old crew, and how this mysterious old man was now the one taking care of it. What is Luffy doing? That poor thing looks so sad now.
Slowly, Luffy made his way back to the large eye that he had just bombarded. Smiling sadly to himself, when Laboon flinched away from his touch. "It's ok buddy, I'm not gonna do that again."
But the whale still looked unsure of the boy, and for good reason. After all, his right eye wasn't looking too perfect right about now.
"Old Man Crocus told me everything," the teen mumbled, patting Laboon's damaged eye gently. "I'm sorry that happened to you, I can't even imagine what it's like to be abandoned by your friends…"
The sad noise that Laboon made was enough for Luffy to snap his head up and make serious eye contact with the creature once again. "But you better not cry!"
Trembling with emotion, Laboon cautiously and and quickly forced the tears back and looked once again to the rubber man.
"Good. Believe me, I know how much that light house meant to you, I have treasure of my own that I want to protect too. But Old Man Crocus told me himself, you're a he, not an it, And men aren't supposed to cry, got it!?"
The now innocent looking Laboon nodded his head hesitantly.
"Great!" Luffy celebrated, losing the serious face and smiling widely again. "Now you can move on to the important stuff, like Old Man Crocus. You've gotta promise me to stop banging your head on that mountain, that poor guy is working his ass off in there just to keep you alive. That's how much he cares about you. You do know that right?"
Again, Laboon nodded lightly.
"Then what are you so mad about!? You've already got an awesome friend in there! He sailed with the Pirate King you know!"
When Laboon didn't show any emotion at his question, Luffy brought a hand to his chin and thought deeply.
…
"Ooooh! I got it!" The boy jumped again, getting the whale's undivided attention. "Old Man Crocus may be really awesome, but you probably want more than one friend right? Yeah! That's what I would want!"
The straw hat teen awaited Laboon's reaction with bubbling excitement ready to blow. And he was not disappointed at all when the large creature actually showed an emotion that wasn't sadness or anger… Joy.
"Haha! Alright then! How about this Labbon. If you stop hurting yourself and go a little easier on Old Man Crocus, I'll make you a part of my crew!"
Even though the whale was clearly in a better mood than before, it still didn't look one hundred percent convinced on the rubber man's proposition. But could you blame him? He had been in this same position before, and it only resulted in pain.
Luffy seemed to sense the hesitance in his new friend as well, because he acted right away. "Aw c'mon Laboon! I promise I'll come back! I'm gonna be the next King of the Pirates after all! Plus, I still owe Old Man Crocus a rematch, I am so gonna kick his ass next time!"
This time, Laboon's eyes lit up with a never before seen fire, and it wasn't an angry fire either.
And Luffy didn't know how, but he could understand the whale's feelings perfectly.
"Oh yeah…" The teen whispered, tipping his hat as his smile only grew. "Hehe, I guess I owe you a rematch too huh?"
The loud bellow of the large blue whale was all that could be heard for miles throughout the Grand Line.
But this time it wasn't a cry of agony.
"So can ya fix it Usopp?"
The long nosed teen inspected the break in the wood carefully, and luckily for Luffy, this indeed was an easy fix. "Oh yeah, no problem at all Luffy. I'll have our beloved figurehead back on in no time flat, count on it!"
The rubber man jumped for joy at the great news for his favorite seat. He had just finished making his way down from the mountain side and back onto the Merry safely, with a very cheerful Laboon in tow.
"Idiot! Now is not the time to talk about ship repairs! Aren't you forgetting something!?" Nami reprimanded.
The straw hat captain looked around curiously for any sort of indication of what the navigator was getting at, his eyes finally landing on the elated looking whale looking over the ship. "Oh, you mean Laboon? Nah, he's fine. Weren't you paying attention Nami?"
The navigator looked up nervously to the towering new 'crewmate' above her. Sure, she did end up feeling kinda bad for the poor thing, and what Luffy did to befriend it was incredible and all. But she still couldn't help feeling uneasy with such a huge creature looking down on them, even if it was kinda adorable.
Also, Laboon wasn't what she was getting at before.
"No Luffy, I wasn't talking about Laboon. I mean the other thing you're forgetting."
"Huh?" Luffy questioned, turning around and seeing exactly what Nami was talking about. "Oh…"
"She's got a point Luffy," Zoro added. "You've explained everything except for them."
"Yeah! So start talking!" Sanji shook with exhilaration. "Especially about the hottie!"
"Aw man," Luffy complained. "You guys, I don't wanna talk about them. They're just dumb bounty hunters."
"What!?" the four crewmates yelled.
"Ughhh, what happened?" A new voice asked groggily.
Everyone, including Luffy, did a complete one eighty, now facing the newly awakened Vivi as she adjusted to her surroundings. And judging by her wide eyes and frozen silence, she wasn't gonna be the first one to talk.
So instead, Luffy took the initiative and stepped forward, staring directly at the blue haired girl with an unreadable expression plastered on his face. "Vivi…"
"Um, Luffy? What's going? Where am I?"
The straw hat teen fought the urge to feel sorry for the girl when he heard her innocent tone. This was not gonna be an easy conversation.
"We're back on my ship. Old Man Crocus showed me the way out of Laboon after he explained everything to me."
It took a moment for the alleged bounty hunter to realize exactly what that meant for her. And the moment she knew, her eyes doubled in size. "No! Luffy, you can't trust that old fool, he's just-"
"He's just what Vivi?" The boy replied dangerously.
When the blunette hesitated to answer his question, Luffy pushed on, already tired of this conversation. "C'mon! I wanna hear what you think about him! Because I know he's a good person, there's no doubt in my mind about that. He knew some really personal stuff about me and some of my old friends, and he's been helping Laboon stay alive for years. So if you don't cut the crap right now and tell me who you are, the small amount of trust I have left in you is gonna go right out the window!"
The rest of the crew didn't dare interrupt the heated conversation that was unfolding before their eyes. Even Sanji was taken aback at how the situation turned out, and he had been hoping this girl would be on their side.
"Luffy, I… I'm sorry…" She said weakly, slumping back down onto the deck in defeat.
"Start talking," Luffy growled.
With a heavy sigh and a look of shame, Vivi mustered up all of the will she had left and locked eyes with Luffy. "It's a long story."
But this deflection was not about to stop the persistent rubber man. "I've got time," He said defiantly, plopping himself down on the deck and waiting for the explanation.
After hesitating for a few more minutes without seeing a way out, the blunette finally crumbled and gave in. She wasn't exactly sure if her life was in danger or not with these people, but it was definitely best for her not to push her luck.
"Fine… You got me… I lied to you before."
When she was met with silence, she continued her complicated story. "My name is Nefertari Vivi, and I am the princess of the desert kingdom of Alabasta here in the Grand Line…"
…
…
…
"WHAT!?"
Later that day, when the nightfall was approaching rapidly and the straw hats had departed from reverse mountain, A very nauseous and confused Crocus made his way back out to the real world.
"Don't close your mouth yet Laboon, I'm only getting some supplies from the lighthouse. You really made me dizzy with all that moving around you did today, what the hell's gotten into you?"
The last thing Crocus expected to hear from his beloved friend was a cry of joy that felt completely genuine.
Hmm, that's weird, Laboon actually seems pretty lively tonight? Am I missing something?
Too deep in thought to notice, Crocus never realized that he was no longer walking on Laboon's tongue, but instead on the rocky surface of Reverse Mountain. In fact, it wasn't until he stubbed his toe on a pile of rubble that the old man looked up and almost had a heart attack.
There, right before his very eyes, his beloved lighthouse sat in ruins. And in a desperate attempt to look for an explanation, he looked back towards Laboon, only to see a very crude drawing of a jolly roger painted onto his closest friend's face.
"Laboon!? What the hell happened!?"
But the whale only swayed side to side in a fun little dance, as if it didn't have a care in the world.
"Tch, stupid brat. I'll be watching ya in the papers kid. So you better get rich enough to buy me a new lighthouse."
Ooooh, so Vivi is telling them already... I guess we'll see how that changes things ;)
