ONE PIECE
Two Worlds, One Family
A young woman struggling to find her place in the world wakes up to find a bunch of cats in her room...cats that turn out to be the characters from her favourite TV show, One Piece! Bound to each other, whether they like it or not, and trying to figure out a way to find a certain somebody's lost Nakama and get everyone back to their home, what follows is bound to be chaos, friendship, tears, romance - and, adventure! (Kind of a re-write of Straw Cat Pirates).
~Parental Warning~
The following chapter contains:
. Low-level adult themes
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
Lullaby In The Sky
Once the clouds had cleared, Emma took a few deep breaths and a good look around before saying: "Okay...is everyone in one pi...I mean, is everyone present and accounted for?"
Almost said it... Ace grinned at her, and she attempted a small smile back.
"Yes." Most of her Allies said.
Nami was the only one who replied: "No."
"Oh, great, who've we lost already?" Emma wanted to know.
"Guess." Nami said witheringly, and pointed.
They all looked.
"Wow, you guys should see this!" Luffy was standing on the very edge of what appeared to be a cliff-face, with one hand shielding his eyes (even though a lot of the clouds were obscuring the sun) as he surveyed the scenery (and, even though most of that was also obscured by the clouds).
"Luffy, get down from there!" At least four people screamed.
"You heard what Life said!" Chopper added. "We're not dead yet but if you fall from up here then you surely will be!" How can he just stand there on the very edge like that?!
The clouds had started to clear away, and the thirteen of them were left standing on a small flat surface on top of a really tall mountain, staring out at slightly less tall mountain ranges in every direction - it didn't matter where they looked, there were mountains in every direction.
"I can see why they call this place the Mountain Realm..." Zoro muttered.
"Now we just need to figure out where we have to go." Nami said sensibly.
"But, how are we supposed to do that?" Usopp asked. He was standing right in the centre of the mountaintop, with his arms crossed. His knees were shaking, but he tried to sound brave as he added: "I mean, is a signpost gonna appear like it did on Level Seven?"
"I doubt it." Vivi said soothingly. "I remember that the Gods mentioned something about portals..."
"Hai, Vivi-Ya." Law confirmed. "I also remember what Emiko and I learned from Death-Ya, so..." His hand was poised with a pen over the convenient piece of paper that had just appeared, and he began writing.
A few people looked over his shoulder as he wrote, and then they started to comment.
"Why are there gaps?" Nami wanted to know, her hands on her hips.
"Because Death didn't have a chance to tell us everything." Emma replied, jumping to Law's defence. "Look here, though, just be thankful that we don't have to worry about finding the right oasis when we get to Level Five, because we'll have started out in the only one that's not an oasis trap!"
"O-oasis trap?!" Usopp squeaked.
"Yeah, but then what's the portal to get us from the desert to the hills?" Nami countered.
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it." Vivi said calmly.
"Speaking of which, I hope that there's some sort of a bridge in that Ocean Realm..." Chopper said.
"There's not." Law said flatly. "There's only one island on that level, and it's where we'll be starting out."
Chopper looked horrified.
"Relax," Robin said soothingly. "Remember, we'll have some help along the way." I wonder...who will be helping us...
"Actually..." Nami said in a strange voice, just as two things happened.
One was that Usopp said: "I'd still like to see some sort of a sign!"
And, two was that Luffy slipped, and fell off of the mountain.
"LUFFY!" Emma and Ace shouted.
"LUFFY-SAN!" Vivi screamed, and was the first one over to the edge of the cliff...but then she drew back, looking shocked, and everybody soon found out why.
A figure appeared to have caught Luffy, and was carrying him back up to them thanks to a pair of large white feathery wings. When she was level with them, they could see that she was a very beautiful young woman in a blue dress that matched her eyes...one of which was covered with the fringe of her golden blonde hair.
"There...we're fine now..." She had a gentle and soothing voice, that immediately filled them all with a sense of peace. She set Luffy down beside Vivi, who looked relieved.
Everybody else was staring at this beautiful angel woman...except for Emma, who was looking at Sanji, because the chef had suddenly turned pale. That was the only thing that told Emma what she needed to know, because she had never seen the blonde-haired woman in the anime or manga, but it didn't matter whether she'd show up in those two things or not...because she was here right now.
Luffy turned around, and looked at the woman. "Hey, thanks!" He grinned.
She smiled serenely back at him. "Please, be careful in this realm, young one . . . " She said, and disappeared as quickly as she had appeared.
"Who ... was that?" Usopp said immediately.
"I think that ... she may have been one of the guardians of this realm . . . " Vivi said slowly.
"That makes sense . . . " Nami agreed thoughtfully. "A place like this would be bound to need somebody to watch over it."
"I wonder what her name is . . . " Chopper said. "Or, if we'll see her again. She was really pretty!" He added, and then he looked around. "Hey ... where did Sanji go?!"
"Oh no, not again!" Nami groaned, as they all looked around quickly.
It was Emma who spotted the chef, standing at the opposite edge of the mountain, next to a path that they hadn't noticed before, and a signpost that read: WAY DOWN. According to Robin.
"There," Emma said, in a voice that Ace and Law instantly recognised as being slightly too cheerful. "That looks like the way to go! How's that for a sign, Usopp?"
"Brilliant," Usopp replied, in an unreadable voice, that is until he added: "And, what happens if one of us falls?" He sounded terrified.
Luffy answered that question almost immediately ... by falling off of the mountain.
Again.
And, just like last time, the blonde-haired lady was there, placing Luffy next to Vivi and giving him a little push in the direction of the path.
"The Mountain Realm is designed to test all kinds of courage," the woman was still smiling, though. "Stay vigilant and stay together, and be aware of all sorts of signs." She then looked at Luffy. "And, please stop jumping off of the mountain, looking for the quick way down."
"There are no shortcuts in life, huh?" Usopp muttered, as Luffy grinned sheepishly and the woman disappeared again.
"Except for when there are, Usopp!" Luffy said cheerfully. "Come on, you guys!" He added, and started off down the path, disappearing into the cloud cover.
Vivi followed him quickly, looking anxious, and the others followed suit, some of them exchanging glances as they did so.
At last, only Emma, Sanji, Law, and Ace were left.
Emma looked at the chef carefully; he hadn't moved from his spot by the signpost, except to shift a little bit to the side so that Robin could read what was written on it better.
He looked up now, though, and the look in his one visible eye told Emma that he wanted to say something to her. Well, good; because, she wanted to say something to him, as well.
"You guys go on ahead," she told Ace and Law. "Please," she added, when they looked about to protest. "This won't take long."
"That lady said to stay together," Ace pointed out. "What if you fall off like Luffy did?"
"Well," Emma said, thinking fast. "Now that you mention it, I think that Luffy will probably fall off of the mountain again at some point - don't you wanna be there to thank the lady for saving him?"
Ace hesitated.
"I'll be fine," Emma went on. "Sanji-Kun would rather throw himself off of the mountain than let me fall, so, I'll be right."
Law closed his eyes briefly, and, Emma knew that she had won.
"Go," she nodded in the direction of the path. "I'll have an easier time catching up with you both." She added pointedly, and Law sighed as he opened his eyes again and looked at her. "Please?"
To give both Ace and Law credit, they did as they were told, although the looks on both of their faces were enough to tell Emma that they weren't at all happy about it.
She turned back to Sanji, once Ace and Law had both disappeared into the clouds.
He was looking at her. It was impossible to read the expression on his face. For awhile, he didn't say anything, and then, in a low voice, she heard him ask her: "Do you know?"
She knew what he meant, at least. She shook her head. "No. Eiichiro Oda's work ... hasn't mentioned your past at all. I mean, before you were stranded." She looked at him carefully. "I take it that you want to keep it from your crew mates?" He nodded. "Well, if it's any consolation, everybody else seemed too preoccupied to notice your reaction ... or, lack thereof, so, for now at least, your secret seems to be safe."
He nodded again. "Yeah ... for now . . . "
"Ne, Sanji-Kun," Emma said, so suddenly that he looked up again quickly. "Can you ... please tell me one thing, at least? Umm ... what her name is?" She shifted slightly. "Can you tell me that, please?"
Sanji was silent for a moment, and then he seemed to sigh. "Her name ... is Sora."
"Sora-San. . . " Emma said slowly. Sanji watched as a smile appeared on her face. "She's beautiful, and ... I know now where you get your kindness from, Sanji-Kun."
Sanji finally smiled. "Thank you, Emma-Chan."
"You're welcome. Now, let's go and catch up with the others." She suggested, and Sanji nodded in agreement.
As they walked into the cloud cover, Sora herself watched them from above.
"Be strong ... my son . . . " She whispered, before she disappeared yet again.
Ace and Law hadn't gone that far, and when Emma and Sanji caught up with them they continued on the path together.
"What happened to making sure that Luffy stays safe?" Emma asked Ace.
"I'm sure that he's fine." Ace replied calmly, although he walked a little bit faster.
"Be aware of all sorts of signs . . . " Sanji was muttering, the smoke from his cigarette practically disappearing within the thick fog.
"Somehow I don't think that they're going to be as easy to figure out as that signpost." Emma said, just as they stepped into a clearing in the fog where everybody else was waiting for them.
"What took you so long?" Luffy wanted to know straight away.
"Not much," Ace replied. "What's everybody standing around that signpost for?"
Emma facepalmed.
"We figured that it was best to wait for you, and proceed together." Vivi explained.
"Hmm . . . " Emma crept closer to the signpost, like it might bite her. The strange symbols on it made no sense to her, but, she was sure that Robin would be able to read them.
She glanced up at the archeologist.
Robin nodded. "It reads: 'Listen well, to what they say - decide the meaning, choose the way'."
No sooner were the words out of her mouth, when the fog lifted slightly. On either side of the signpost was a path, leading further into the fog either way.
The remaining fog all around them had become so thick, that it was impossible to even see if they were still on the mountain.
Emma didn't want to find out the hard way.
Neither, apparently, did Usopp. "Well, I don't know who 'them' is, but, for everybody's sake," he was saying. "We should try to choose the path of least resistance."
Nami rolled her eyes. She was wearing an orange and white outfit that reminded Emma a little bit of Penelope Pitstop, and she wondered how Nami was going to climb down the mountain with it. At least they both had goggles.
"We should what now?" Luffy blinked, and then he pointed to the left. "We go that way!" He declared.
They all just stared at him.
"Why do you say that?" Vivi wanted to know, looking between the two paths and then back at Luffy.
He just shrugged. "Seems like the way to go." He began to head off in that direction, and Vivi, Chopper, and Zoro began to follow him.
"It also says," Robin was still talking. "'There is no time to waste, so make haste - if you wait, it will be too late'."
"They should listen to you, Robin . . . " Franky murmured.
"Well, they're not." She replied simply.
"Come on, hurry up!" Luffy called.
The others exchanged a glance, and then Usopp was just about to start walking, when . . .
"Wait!" Chopper said suddenly. Usopp froze. Zoro and Vivi stopped, and Vivi grabbed Luffy's arm. "I can hear something . . . "
"Like what?" At least three people said.
Chopper was in his Walk Point Form, with his medical bag around his neck like a St. Bernard with the small whisky barrel; he had both of his ears pricked up, and appeared to be listening to something. "Uh-huh . . . " He muttered. "Is that so?"
"Who's he listening to?" Franky wondered.
"To 'them'." Robin replied calmly.
Usopp flinched. "Who's 'them'?" He looked at the others for help, but, they just seemed as mystified as what he was.
Except for Law, who had approached Chopper, with that piece of paper and pen again. The others watched as he listened to what Chopper was muttering, and began writing something.
Emma was about to go over and see whatever it was that Chopper could hear that the rest of them couldn't - she supposed that it had something to do with 'animal hearing' - but Ace suddenly grabbed her wrist.
"Are you okay?" He asked her quietly. He probably didn't need to speak to softly; everybody else seemed to be focusing on whatever it was that Chopper was listening to and trying to figure out what was happening, and didn't seem to notice when Ace subtly dragged Emma aside.
Law briefly glanced up, but thankfully Sanji was decidedly focused on something that Nami was saying.
"Yeah," Emma said quietly, resisting the urge to put her hand on the side of her mouth; her Dad always said that it just drew attention to the fact that you were whispering. "It's just . . . " She glanced at Sanji; she couldn't help it.
Ace followed her gaze. "Ah, I see," he nodded. "I thought that he wasn't reacting the way that he usually does." He smiled, although there was a hint of sadness to it. Emma was glad that he was so in-tune with his little brother's crew. "His Mother?"
Emma hesitated. Well, Sanji-Kun said that he wanted to keep it a secret from his crew-mates ... but, Ace-Chan isn't his crew-mate, now then, is he? But ... should I tell him about meeting his parents . . . ? She bit her lip; big mistake.
Ace was watching her intently. At this point, he reached out as if to clasp her shoulders, but then realised that everybody might notice if he did that. Instead, he straightened out Emma's scarf, in a way that reminded her instantly of her Mum.
"What's wrong?" Ace asked her, his face betraying no emotion but, when she looked into his eyes, she knew that he knew that there was something more to this.
She barely even noticed when Law and Chopper went over to the other side of the signpost, and Chopper listened to whatever he could apparently hear over there as well, and somebody (probably Usopp) complained that the fog was going to start closing in on them if they waited for too long, and Franky replied: "Yeah, probably . . . "
Time seemed to slip away from them, as all that Emma became aware of was Ace searching her gaze, trying to pinpoint what it was that was on her mind.
Emma was aware of the beating of her own heart just then; it was so loud that she wouldn't have been at all surprised to have learned that the others could hear it. Okay, so, maybe everybody accepted their deaths or lack thereof better than I thought they would, and maybe Sanji-Kun is going to be okay after unexpectedly running into his deceased Mother like that . . . She glanced at the chef - he was busy staring lovingly at Penelope Pitstop, Platinum Berlitz, and Princess Nausicaä (aka Nami, Robin, and Vivi) - and then her gaze met Law's.
He glanced up at her.
Emma drew in a deep breath. "I — " She began.
"I still say that we go this way!" Luffy suddenly declared loudly, pointing to the left.
"There's no reasoning behind that!" Nami argued. "None of what Chopper heard makes any sense!"
"She didn't mean it in that way, Tony-Kun." Vivi assured the reindeer, whose antlers had just drooped at Nami's words.
"Oh-kay!" Emma decided, and dragged Ace over to intervene. "What's the sit-rep?" She asked Law.
"Did you pick that word up from Ojichan?" Ace wanted to know.
"Him, and Transformers Animated." Emma replied. She tugged at the sleeve of Law's bomber jacket. "What's going on? Did Chopper hear something that might give us a hint?"
"If you could call it that." Law held out the piece of paper to her. "See for yourself. This is what the tanuki heard."
"Hey!"
Emma looked at what was written on the piece of paper, marvelling at Law's flawless script that was so easy to read, and at the fact that he had managed to write so well with nothing to lean on.
Shouldn't there be holes in the paper or something? What if the pen runs out of ink?
"Focus, Emiko." Law and Ace said at exactly the same time, and she sighed.
~LEFT: Can I sail through the changing ocean tides? Can I handle the seasons of my life?~
At first glance, Nami was right; the words made no sense and provided no real reasoning for Luffy (or, anybody) to choose the left path. Still, there was something familiar about the words ... something that made Emma think that she had heard them somewhere before.
Ace was reading the words over her shoulder. Law was just waiting. Chopper was still fuming at being called a raccoon-dog.
The others seemed to be divided about which way to go.
"It just makes no sense." Nami was shaking her head.
"It doesn't have to." Luffy replied simply.
"We just need to think carefully about it." Nami stressed.
Robin looked like she agreed with that, although she didn't say anything.
"What's there to think about?" Luffy wanted to know. "Let's just choose a path and see what happens."
"And, what if what happens involves you falling from a great height?!" Nami snapped.
"Then that pretty lady will probably show up again!" Luffy grinned, unfazed by Nami's annoyance at him (well, he was probably used to it by now, they'd been in each other's lives nearly every single day since they'd met). "You worry too much, Nami." He added, and Nami looked like she was about to start yelling at him again, but then she just sighed.
"Forget it." She said to no one in particular. "It's hopeless. He'll never change."
Next to Ace, Emma had started humming very softly. He wasn't sure why at, first, until Brook - standing nearby and holding his violin - seemed to recognise whatever it was that the red-haired woman was humming, and began to play along. Emma's lips moved silently then, as if miming the lyrics.
Ace and Law just looked at each other, and then looked away quickly.
There was something bothering Ace about the way that Law was acting. He just wasn't quite sure what it was, yet . . .
Meanwhile, Vivi was trying to reason with Usopp on a different matter.
"It's okay to be afraid, Usopp-San," she was saying, as she waved her hand at the fog; it dispersed slightly when she did, before being drawn back almost magically. "This is unlike anything we've ever faced before, starting with the fog."
"Oh, I'm not scared of the fog," Usopp maintained. "Not at all."
"No," Zoro seemed to agree with him, but, he was smirking slightly. "He's just scared of what's in the fog, you know, like monsters and stuff."
Usopp gasped, and then tried to look brave. "W-well, at least I'm not scared of change." He tried to defend himself.
"What about the God Of Change?" Vivi wanted to know.
"He should be scared of me!" Usopp replied, just as Emma dashed up to them.
"Usopp!" She exclaimed, only half looking at him - the rest of her attention was focused on the piece of paper.
"Emma?!" Usopp would have jumped back, but, he couldn't - the fog was right behind him. "What is it?! Look, I'm sorry, I know that Twister's your friend and all, but . . . "
"No, not that!" Emma shook the piece of paper so violently it was a wonder it didn't tear. "The bit before, about changing!"
Usopp blinked. "Huh? You mean that I'm not scared of changing?"
Emma nodded. "Yes! That bit!"
"I'm not scared of changing?"
"Yes, but now, can you say 'afraid' instead of 'scared', please?"
"I'm not afraid of changing?"
"Okay," Emma was staring at the piece of paper in her hands. "But, now, can you say that you have been?"
"But, I'm not!"
"Just do it, please!"
Usopp sighed. He looked mystified. Vivi and Zoro just exchanged a glance, as the long-nosed sniper seemed to recite: "Well ... I've been afraid of changing . . . "
Emma looked up all of a sudden, her eyes shining. "Yes, that's it. I've figured out this clue."
"You have?" Usopp, Vivi, Zoro, Franky, Sanji, and Chopper all asked in unison.
Emma nodded, her heart pounding. "Hai ... or, at least, I know where the words come from." She drew in a deep breath. "They're song lyrics."
Chopper stamped his hoof (the reindeer equivalent of snapping ones fingers). "Uh-huh! The voices that I could hear were singing!"
Nami groaned. "Why didn't you tell us that sooner?"
"It's not my fault!"
"Nobody's saying that it is," Vivi intervened quickly. "And, luckily, Emma and Brook-San have figured it out."
"With Usopp's help," Emma smiled at the sniper, who seemed surprised before smiling smugly back. "Arigatoō, Usopp."
"Mochiron," he replied, rubbing under his long nose. "I knew that the clues would all be song lyrics, after all, but, it would have been considered cheating if I had told you all that beforehand. Even though I knew that you might all be upset with me."
"There, you see?" Vivi smiled, also. "You can be brave, Usopp-San."
"Yeah, way to go, Usopp!" Luffy grinned.
"And, super job at helping Emma-Nee-Chan to figure out what she was thinking!" Franky added, striking a pose.
"We wouldn't have gotten it, otherwise!" Chopper cheered, also striking the same pose (he was still in his Walk Point Form).
Sanji found himself standing next to Zoro.
"That baka . . . " The cook muttered.
"Really had no idea what Emma was doing." Zoro finished for him. He sighed. That probably makes all of us, including Ribbon-Girl over there . . .
Emma looked at Zoro suddenly, as if she'd just heard what he was thinking. Her eyes narrowed.
Zoro cringed, hoping that she hadn't learned how to read minds since taking the hand of the so-called Goddess Of Death.
Perhaps Robin sensed this, because she said to Emma: "What song are they the lyrics for, Emma-San?"
"'Landslide', by The Dixie Chicks."
Everybody stopped, and stared at Emma.
"'Landslide'?" Vivi repeated faintly.
Emma nodded. "By The Dixie Chicks."
There were a few moments of silence, in which the fog seemed to grow twice as thick, and then Nami said: "Wh-What about the other way?"
"Huh?" Emma blinked.
"The other way!" Nami said impatiently, crossing her arms. "Chopper said that he heard something over there, too! Are they also song lyrics?!"
Emma looked back down at the piece of paper, and only then did she notice the rest of Law's writing.
~RIGHT: Fading away in horizon, there's a million streets, leading off the night . . . ~
She read them out loud to herself.
"I'd rather take in a landslide than 'a million streets'." Luffy, who was listening, announced.
"Well I wouldn't!" Nami cried.
"Is that one also a song, Emma?" Vivi asked Emma, but, it was Ace and Law who answered the blue-haired Princess.
"It's called 'Good Morning Sunshine'," Ace recognised the song from something that he had heard the eight-year-old Emma singing by the pool in Bali. "It's by Emiko's childhood favourite band — "
"Aqua." Law finished quietly.
Ace gave him a Look, which he pretended not to see, as Nami spoke up again.
"'Good Morning Sunshine'," she repeated, looking a lot happier. "Now, there's something that I can handle!"
"Me too!" Usopp agreed quickly. "For all of your sakes!" He added.
"Why, Usopp, how noble of you." Zoro rolled his eyes, but then he looked around. "So, what do we say? Are we're going with this sunshine thing?" The whole song thing sounded absolutely ridiculous to him, but, he didn't bother pointing that out.
"We say yes!" Nami said quickly. "Don't we, Robin?" She turned towards the archeologist, who appeared serene.
"If that's what you say . . . "
"And, I do." Nami nodded firmly. "Sunshine over landslide, any day!" She declared.
"To see Nami-San, Vivi-Chan, Robin-Chan, and Emma-Chan sparkling in the sunlight . . . " That was Sanji, of course.
"The path to the right seems to be a popular choice . . . " Vivi nodded, and then glanced at Luffy, whose arms were stubbornly folded. "I mean ... uh ... majority rules, I suppose?" She shrugged.
Nami glanced at Law.
He sighed, and stepped forwards. "Everybody turn around and we can vote fairly that way." He ordered them and, to nearly everybody's credit, they complied. "All in favour of the path towards the right?" Why am I suddenly in charge? He looked around.
"Aye!" Nearly everybody raised their hands (Usopp raised two).
Even as they turned back around, Luffy still had his arms stubbornly crossed, and Emma appeared to not have been paying attention to what was going on; she was staring at ... something, and her face was suddenly paler than usual.
It didn't seem to matter, though, because majority had ruled in favour of the path on the right, which everybody started heading down. The fog dispersed as they approached it, like it had with Vivi's hand, and then returned, giving them the impression of being swallowed up.
Or, at least that's how it looked to Emma, Luffy, Ace, Law, and Vivi, who were the last ones to enter the fog.
"I still think we could've taken on the landslide." Luffy said. "Ne, Emmy?" He shook her shoulder.
Emma jumped, seemingly startled out of whatever trance she had just been in.
She seemed surprised to see Luffy there, because she would have thought that he would be at the front of the line, ready for whatever dangers a path could hold when its clue had 'sunshine' in it.
Ace and Law exchanged another glance, realised who they were exchanging a glance with and turned away again, just as Vivi gasped sharply.
"Oh no!" She cried.
They turned to look at were she was suddenly pointing, and saw ... nothing. The path to the right had completely vanished, and so had the signpost. The path to the left was still there, but, there was no sign of any of their friends.
"We waited for too long." Ace muttered.
"Seems that way." Vivi looked dejected.
"It can't be helped." Law sighed.
"What does it mean, though?" Emma wondered, and Law had a sudden feeling that she wasn't talking about the disappearing signpost. She was biting at her lip again, and kept on glancing at the Baby Den-Den Mushi on her wrist (it was wearing a pair of aviator goggles, and sleeping soundly).
"It means we get to take on the landslide!" Luffy cheered, grabbing Vivi's hand. "Come on!" He dragged her off into the fog; she seemed too stunned to even protest.
"Ah, matte Luffy! Vivi-Chama!" Emma exclaimed, and hurried off after them, with Law and Ace following closely behind her, as the fog closed in on them.
"I should be down there." Sumi was standing on a wooden fence post in the golden fields that were Level Seven. Every so often, she would hover just a few feet above the fence post, before landing delicately back down again.
"You said that before." Thatch pointed out. He was sitting on the top railing of the wooden fence that was opposite to her, and watching her carefully. He knew why she was so stressed. He could feel it too, and, Sumi's connection with this was a lot stronger than his was. That didn't mean that he didn't worry.
"I know where it is that I need to be . . . " Sumi said slowly. I can feel it with every ounce of my being.
"Then, you should go there." Thatch said reasonably.
She turned to look at him, with somewhat of a sad smile. "I'm just afraid that if I go ... then, I won't be able to come back to you."
"You will be able to." Thatch told her. "They couldn't keep us apart before."
"True," Sumi looked towards the Holy Gates, which were rising up in the distance. She sighed. "But, they're not the ones that I'm worried about. Tha-Chan . . . "
He had risen from where he sat, and now used his wings to fly towards her. She met him in the middle of the path, where they hovered.
There wasn't a sound, save for the steady beats of the wings, as they held hands and looked into each other's eyes.
"Suko," Thatch said gently. "I've known that you were a true angel from the very first moment that we met. I believe in you."
She nodded. "I know. Arigatoō, Tha-Chan."
"Go," he urged her gently. "Be with them. They need you."
She nodded again, as their feet touched the ground. As they kissed, Sumi was indeed hoping that this wouldn't be the last time that she saw him. She also knew that he was thinking the exact same thing.
As they drew back, Thatch said again: "Go. You know what to do."
And, Sumi nodded for a third time, a very determined look coming across her young face. "Hai. You're right. I won't do what she did." She added, and then turned and ran, her hair and wings flying out behind her, obscuring the spot where the Hoof Of The Soaring Dragon had once been on her back.
"I know." That he whispered softly, still sanding exactly where she had left him. "You wouldn't do that, Suko . . . "
"We were so worried about you!" Nami said, hugging Vivi and then Emma tightly, before turning to Luffy, Law, and Ace. "And what took you so long?!"
"Landslide." The three men said in unison - Luffy sounded proud, Law sounded frustrated, and Ace sounded tired. All three of them, plus the two girls, were scratched and had tears in their clothes.
"And, then," Emma added, as she and Vivi tried to coax Su-Chan out of her shell. "Some violin guy who looked like a cross between Rob Lucci and Jabra helped us to find our way back to you."
"A cross between those two, aye?" Franky looked suspicious.
"I'm sure that he's not a bad guy; he had wings and a halo, like Sumi-Chan and Thatch-San and ... the pretty lady." Emma shrugged, giving up on trying to get the Den-Den Mushi to re-emerge. "What happened to you guys?" She asked, glancing around and doing a quick head-count. Zoro, Sanji-Kun, Nami, Usopp, Brook, Franky, Robin-San, Chopper . . .
She noticed that Law was doing the same thing, quite literally. "Moss-Head, Blondie, Carrot-Top, Curly, Curly, Stylish, Raven, Horns . . . "
"They're antlers, dammit!" Chopper complained. He was checking Vivi's scratches. "And," he went on. "I'll have you know that we had a very nice walk along a grassy path in the sunshine!"
Emma just stared at him. "What? That was what happened? No avalanche?" He shook his head. "No cliff-wall?" He shook his head. "No unsettling music from the boulder level of Crash Bandicoot 2?!"
"Nope, none of that," Nami smiled. "Not even an Angry Sun named Eric. Just a nice stroll amongst the flowers."
"'Roses Are Red'." Emma muttered, thinking about another Aqua song, and Ace and Law both smiled slightly.
"And, Usopp-San's face?" Vivi wanted to know.
"Well . . . "
Twenty Minutes Ago . . .
Usopp was running for his life, his legs moving so fast that they were a blur and nothing more, as he sprinted to avoid his enemy. It was closing in on him, until he spied something up ahead that made his heart soar.
Pushing himself to the brink of exhaustion, he sprinted up to the old Ford Focus and, not even bothering to question what one was doing here, he wrenched the door open, leapt into the compact car, and slammed the door shut again behind him.
Finally safe, Usopp leaned back against the seats, and breathed a sigh of relief.
Outside, the bee buzzed angrily.
"Heh heh . . . " Usopp chuckled, despite himself. "You can't get in here . . . "
Famous last words. It was at that point that the bee discovered something that Usopp hadn't yet realised - that one of the windows wasn't wound up all the way. There was a small crack at the very top. It was too small for the bee under normal circumstances, but, the bee was very determined to get in there.
Which it did, and Usopp could do nothing to stop it as it flew straight at him . . .
"Well, that explains that." Ace said, wincing slightly at the huge sting on Usopp's nose.
"Ah, yes," Emma muttered. "For, you see, they also sing 'Bumble Bees'."
"Best keep that one to yourself, Emiko." Law replied, smirking slightly. "It's an interesting band, Aqua . . . "
Emma jumped slightly.
"Robin said that a signpost said that the bees would be angry if they were woken up, and to be sneaky." Nami explained. "And, as you can see, Usopp wasn't. Sanji-Kun and Zoro took care of the rest of them." She added.
"They didn't get stung." Chopper added. "It's lucky that you're not allergic, Usopp."
As Usopp tried to pass it off as a scratch that he had taken for the team, the ones that had just arrived took a look at the second signpost.
Or, more to the point, what was on either side of it, as Robin translated.
"'Not one, but two - that is the choice for you. Seven on either side, then rejoin for the final ride'. That is what it says."
The situation was eerily similar to the last one; a signpost, with two paths on either side of it, surrounded by fog. The difference was the turnstiles. It seemed somewhat ominous, but, at the same time it made sense.
"'Not one, but two'." Law murmured.
"Somehow I don't think that they're talking about the song by Boyfriend." Emma shook her head. "It probably means . . . "
"That we'll have to do both paths." Ace finished for her.
"In two groups." Emma sighed.
"Seems like it." Ace agreed.
"Wait, how do you figure that?" Franky wanted to know. "It says 'seven on either side', and," he gestured around to them all. "We're short one."
"No, we're not," Emma spoke up. Franky looked at her. She held up her wrist. "Su-Chan."
"Oh, yeah," a few people nodded. "Sure, okay. . . "
"We should probably figure out what the next clues are before we decide who's going with who . . . " Nami trailed off, seeing that Emma was still surrounded by Ace, Law, and Luffy; Luffy had grabbed Vivi's arm and dragged her over. And, because Vivi had been fussing slightly over the sting on Usopp's nose, she had ended up grabbing him (by his nose) and, so, he came too. "Or, not . . . "
"It seems like that's sorted, then." Robin said, smiling, as Chopper went over to hear if there were more musical clues, and Law went with him to write them down. "Emma-San," Robin approached the red-head. "If you see anymore signposts, would you be sure to make a note of them?"
"You mean like this?" Emma held up her hand, where she had made a few rough sketches on the back of her hand of some symbols, in what Robin hoped wasn't permanent ink. "I drew this while Ace-Chan and Law-Chan were saving Luffy from the mirrors in the sky."
Robin didn't want to ask. Brook had performed a bit of the song to them while Zoro and Sanji had been fighting off the bees. Instead, she said: "This one says 'look above you'."
Emma blanched. "Ah, well, that probably makes sense. What about this one?"
"It says 'glass'."
"Uh-huh. And, this one?"
"'Walk'."
"I see." Emma nodded seriously, looking at the symbols and then back up at Robin. "Arigatoō. And, I'll get Law-Chan to write down anything that's written." She added.
"Hopefully it won't be too late." Robin nodded, as Law and Chopper came back.
Law handed the piece of paper to Emma.
"Sing!" Luffy said immediately.
"How do you know that it's lyrics?" Emma asked him witheringly. She looked at what Law had written. "It's lyrics."
Luffy grinned.
Emma and Ace exchanged a glance, and he just shrugged. She sighed.
"I know that you're gonna have it your way or nothing at all, but I think you're moving too fast . . . "
Luffy and the others just stared at her.
Law barely refrained from rolling his eyes. "That's the song." He explained.
Emma was nodding, and pointing to the left. "'Waterfalls', by TLC."
"Next!" Chopper said immediately.
"The other one's not much better, I'm afraid," Emma informed him.
"It sounded better," Chopper said stubbornly, and began humming.
Emma sang along with him. "I won't give up, never ever hide, I won't be struck . . . " She paused. "Chopper, when it says 'struck', what do you think they're referring to?"
"Umm . . . ?"
"That song's called 'Electric Storm', by Delta Goodrem." Emma told him, and he groaned, as a few of the others looked troubled, as well.
Luffy, however, seemed excited again. "Yeah! Let's go with that one!"
Emma looked at him. "You're immune to lightning, aren't you?" He just looked at her. "Uh, you're 'un-shockable?" He grinned, and nodded. "But, that doesn't mean that the rest of us are . . . " She glanced around. "Still . . . " Her eyes met Vivi's.
As one of the 'non Devil Fruit users', surely Vivi would feel more comfortable handling a waterfall, since she could swim. Vivi returned Emma's gaze; she was looking very nervous, but then she happened to glance at Luffy. Her expression changed, and she nodded determinedly.
Princesses have to make sacrifices too, I suppose. Emma thought, and then she sighed. "Okay, so then, Ace-Chan, Law-Chan, Vivi-Chama, Luffy, Usopp . . . "
"I'll see you guys later!" Usopp was walking through the turnstile on the left. "Robin said that she'd go with you!" He added, and everybody turned to see that Robin was still standing next to Emma.
"She said no such thing, Usopp!" Chopper cried. "What about me?!" He asked, looking terrified and then glancing at Vivi, as if she might offer up her spot in the lightning round.
"Both doctors can't go the same way, Chopper." Nami pointed out. She then seemed to realise that Chopper had begun shaking, and her expression softened. "I'll make sure that you don't drown, okay?"
Chopper brightened. "Really?"
"Really." Nami promised him. "I'll write down anything that we see written down." She added, and a piece of paper and pencil appeared in her hand. "Oh, cool!"
Luffy was nodding. "Okay. See you guys on the other side."
"We're already ON the other side!" Usopp called from the fog.
Emma was soon very, very glad that Robin had come with them. They hadn't been walking for very long when the fog cleared, to reveal a path that was cutting through a dense forest.
"Hey, you guys, look up." Vivi said suddenly, and they all looked up to see that the sky was visible through the trees; it was a dark greyish-green colour, one which threatened of storms. "If Nami were here, then, she'd say that it's not going to rain, but . . . " Vivi bit her lip and trailed off, as a rumble of thunder sounded from somewhere far away.
Not far enough away, though.
"What kind of a mountain is this?" Ace was wondering.
"The surprising kind." Emma replied, just as Robin said: "The mysterious kind." And, Vivi mumbled: "The shocking kind."
The three women glanced at each other. Emma giggled, Robin smiled serenely, and Vivi looked a cross between the two - her expression was somewhat of a grimace.
Usually, Ace would have exchanged a glance with the person next to him, but, it happened to be Law and he wasn't doing that again. So, instead, he just looked around for Luffy.
Luffy was distracted by something else.
"Ne, minna," he called, and they all looked over to him; he was standing in front of a signpost. "What's this?"
"You mean 'what's written on it'?" Robin guessed, and Luffy nodded. "Well, let's see, then . . . " The archeologist gazed at the signpost thoughtfully. "Ah, I see . . . "
"What?" Emma, Vivi, and Ace all asked in unison.
"It says: 'when you hear the thunder clap, it's no time to settle; lightning strays from its own map, striking all that's made of — '"
"'Metal'." Emma finished for her, and they all looked at her. She cringed. "Umm, because ... metal rhymes with settle . . . " They weren't convinced. She sighed. "And, also, if that," she pointed to one of the symbols on the signpost. "Is the symbol that I'm talking about . . . ?" She glanced questioningly up at Robin, who nodded. She was smiling.
"It is the symbol for 'precious metal'," the archeologist explained. "But, it can also just read 'metal'. As Emma-San said."
"Yeah, but how did you know that?" Ace asked Emma.
"Because it's like the symbol for 'glass'," Emma held up her hand, and Ace immediately (but, gently) yanked it over to compare it to the symbol for 'metal'.
"Very good, Emma-San." Robin told her.
Emma quickly yanked her hand back. "Umm, yeah, but, reading these things is your thing, Robin-San," she said quickly. "I'm much better with interpreting things that I can hear, you know?" She shrugged.
"That doesn't mean that I can't be pleased that you learned something from me." Robin replied, still smiling serenely. "After all, it's you who studies images and patterns."
"Yeah, but not all of these things are as easy to decipher." Emma pointed out.
"No, they're not." Robin agreed.
The others, meanwhile, were discussing how to proceed from there.
"If Luffy-Ya and I act as lightning rods . . . " Law was saying, and Emma turned around fast.
"Wait, why you?" She demanded to know. "You're not immune to lightning, Law-Chan."
"No," he agreed. "But, I can use my skills in other ways."
"By using his 'ROOM' to create an area where he'll disperse any lightning that threatens him." Vivi explained.
"But, apparently, not the rest of us." Ace remarked. His tone was casual, but Emma, Robin, and Law didn't miss the subtle hint.
His cool grey eyes met Ace's somewhat fiery brown ones. "Best to keep the lightning away from what's really precious," he inclined his head ever so slightly towards where Emma, Robin, and Vivi were standing. "And ... others." He returned his gaze to Ace.
Ace was digging his fingernails into his palm. But, before he could say anything, Luffy announced: "Okay, we're ready to go!"
"Not yet, we're not!" Ace said quickly. "We're going to need to figure out what to do with our metal gear."
"Well, if Luffy-San and Law-San hold onto those things for us," Vivi jumped in, possibly sensing the tension even though she hadn't been listening to their conversation. "Then, that will help them to," she swallowed. "Act as lightning rods for the rest of."
"Hai, but I feel that we will still need to be careful as we proceed." Robin stated.
Vivi nodded. "Uh-huh."
A few minutes later they were finally ready to go. Luffy and Law were both wearing belt bags that had appeared as magically as Nami's pencil and paper had. In Luffy's belt bag were Vivi's hoop earrings and her ruby pendant, the blue flower necklace, and Ace and Emma's matching rings; he was also wearing Ace's Log Pose. Law's belt bag held Emma's earrings (all six of them), Grace's Heart, and the ring that he had given Emma. They had thought that they would encounter a problem with the Tomodachi No Konpasu, but, it seemed happy to allow itself to be worn by Law around his neck.
"Because he's my First Knight." Emma nodded.
"Right." Ace didn't look particularly happy.
"Come on, Ace-Chan, let's go." Emma said, taking his hand and leading him after Luffy, Vivi, and Robin.
Ace looked happier.
Law, following behind them, with his nodachi in hand to increase his odds of attracting the lightning, glared holes into the tattoo on Ace's back. On his left wrist, Su-Chan looked around worriedly.
It wasn't long before they had their first encounter with the lightning.
It started with a very ominous rumble of thunder, followed by a clap that made both Emma and Vivi jump, and Su-Chan retreat back into her shell.
"This is it." Robin said softly.
A white bolt of lightning suddenly shot down from the sky, so straight and fast that it looked like somebody had shot it from a gun.
The lightning lit up the surrounding area for a second, before disappearing in a shower of white sparkles, a few feet away from where they were all standing.
"Sugoi!" Luffy ran to the spot, and held his arms out above him hopefully.
"Luffy, lightning never strikes in the same place twice." Ace told him.
"That's an old wive's tale." Robin smiled.
"Really?" Ace and Vivi asked in unison, just as there was a flash behind them, and they all turned just in time to see Law deflect a lightning strike, which hit Luffy and bounced harmlessly off of him, careening off into the trees somewhere. They heard it make contact with something, and then . . .
"Hey! Watch it!" A disgruntled voice complained.
"Gomen nasai!" Emma, Vivi, and Ace all called, as Luffy looked thrilled with his first successful lightning-deflection, and Robin just looked at Law.
"We should probably keep on moving." The surgeon stated simply.
Robin nodded in agreement.
"Major Walter Summerford was struck by lightning not once not twice but three times in his life." Emma was saying.
"Really?" Vivi's eyes were the size of dinner plates.
"What happened to him?" Luffy was walking backwards, with his hands behind his head.
"He died in 1932, from complications following his third lightning strike." Emma said simply.
"Third time's the charm." Robin mused quietly, picturing a man in a Marine's outfit dodging a bolt of lightning on either side of him, only to be hit by the third one (which was thrown by Enel).
"Is that it?" Luffy looked disappointed.
"Well, not quite," Emma admitted. "Because, four years after he was laid to rest . . . "
"Yes?" Luffy, Vivi, and Ace were staring at her in fascination.
"Lightning destroyed his gravestone."
There was a moment of silence, in which they didn't seem to notice the rumble of thunder from overhead, followed by a clap.
"Whoa . . . " Vivi breathed.
Luffy was laughing. "Wow! That guy must've made must've angry!" He then just so happened to glance up, just as a bolt of lightning shot down towards him.
The others all watched silently as, once again, it bounced harmlessly off of him, and ricocheted into the trees.
And, once again . . .
"Do you-gara mind?!"
"Who's 'gara'?" Emma wondered.
Law sighed. "Iie, that's just how they talk."
"Who's 'they'?" Emma said, feeling like Usopp, just as a man hopped out of the trees.
Literally hopped. Emma couldn't help but stare, and the man stared back at her. He was tall, with dark brown eyes and sandy coloured hair that fell like a mane and gave the impression of a lion.
Except that he had fluffy white paws, a round fluffy tail, and long white upright ears with black tips.
Oh, and he was wearing a white toga and sandals, and had feathery white wings and a halo.
A rabbit-man with a lion mane and bird wings? Is he a chimera?
"You're thinking weird thoughts again, aren't you?" Ace muttered to Emma, and she smiled sheepishly.
Vivi, meanwhile, was apologising to the man, whose name was apparently Harold, and who ah apparently been hit by the lightning both times that Luffy has deflected it.
"Oh, it's alright," Harold sighed, waving his hand - paw - dismissively, before he couldn't seem to stop himself from taking ahold of the Princess's long sky blue hair and nuzzling up against it. Nobody seemed to notice this at all. "It's not like it hurts me-gara now, after all; it just messes up my mink." He let go of Vivi's hair, to try and straighten out his own. "You-gara, on the other hand . . . " He glanced up at the sky. "Might wanna keep on moving . . . "
"Agreed," Ace said, nodding. "The others are probably waiting for us."
"This is ... nice." Sanji said.
"Suuuuper relaxing." Franky agreed, as they floated lazily down the picturesque river.
"Mmhmm." Nami said, and then she rolled her eyes. "Chopper, do you want to come down now?"
"Iie." He replied, from where he was clinging to Nami's head.
"Well, at least stop pulling my hair, then, please."
Usopp smiled, as he looked ahead through his spy glass. "There's no need to worry, Chopper, not with the brave Captain Usopp at the helm!"
"The 'brave Captain Usopp' who's standing right in the centre of the boat that Franky built." Zoro pointed out.
"It's called a wa'a kaulua, Zoro." Usopp said, as scathingly as he could.
"He learned that word from Ben." Franky explained. "Also, Usopp, this double-hull outrigger canoe doesn't have a helm."
"I knew that!" Usopp snapped.
"Umm, guys," Chopper spoke up. "The river's moving faster all of a sudden . . . "
And, indeed it was.
Brook, who had been playing 'Rolling On The River' on his violin, chuckled. "Yohohohoho - we are probably going to encounter one of the waterfalls shortly!"
"Usopp knew that, too." Zoro said, watching as Usopp looked like he was about to start climbing the mast. He chuckled slightly, and leaned back again. "Oh well. Whatever happens . . . "
"Happens." Sanji agreed, taking another drag of his cigarette.
"Would you two please show a little more concern here?!" Nami, Chopper, and Usopp all screamed. "And, you," Nami added, pointing angrily at Brook. "Stop playing the love theme from Titanic!"
"Yohohohoho . . . "
"So, how did it go?" Emma wanted to know, leaning nonchalantly against a signpost.
Nami glared at her as she stalked past, tracking water as she went. Emma silently pointed towards Ace, understanding what Nami needed right now.
"That bad, huh?" Vivi blinked.
A soaking wet Chopper just sort of grumbled, as he and Sanji stood waiting their turn to be steam-dried by Ace (who was being helped by Robin to dry and comb through Nami's hair), and so Zoro (also soaking wet) filled them in.
He told them how they had ended up white-water rafting down a huge waterfall, and somehow most of them had managed to hang on. Chopper had been the only one to actually fall overboard but Nami, remembering her promise to save Chopper from drowning, had dived straight in after him. Well, Sanji hadn't wanted to stay out of the water after that, especially when a gigantic fish that resembled a Wells Catfish - jumbo-sized - had suddenly appeared, and Zoro had been forced to join in the fray as well because the river monster had tried to swallow their vessel whole. Franky had only just managed to keep them from capsizing and, throughout all of this, Brook had been playing the Jaws theme on his violin.
"Usopp nearly fell in when he fainted, and then some weird rabbit-lady stole our fish!" Zoro finished.
"Oh?" Luffy glanced over at them. "That's weird. We met a rabbit-guy. He was pretty cool."
"Yay for you. You only liked him because he didn't steal your food." Nami muttered, and then she sighed. "Okay, so, what's next?" After that, I feel ready to take on anything!
Robin was reading from the signpost. "'The end's in sight - all together, follow the fire into the night'."
"No, Emiko," Ace said, seeing his fiancée cross her fingers and look hopeful. "It's not referring to your favourite Disturbed song." He glanced at Chopper. "Is it?"
Chopper shook his head. "No, I don't think so." He was listening to something. "This song's kind of easy-going and slow, like 'Landslide'. Not at all like Disturbed . . . "
"Well, one of their songs is." Emma informed him. He looked up at her. "I get it, though. Disturbed is unique. It's like what the Kid Pirates would listen to." Her eyes lit up at the idea.
Luffy gave her an odd look. "Ne, Emmy, do you really wanna meet up with that guy again?"
Emma tilted her head to one side, thinking about the slightly scary but definitely interesting Eustace Kid. Then, she smiled and nodded. "Yes!"
"You even want to meet his crew?" Luffy guessed.
Emma nodded again. "Especially Killer!"
"But ... why?"
Emma just shrugged. She was still smiling. "I dunno."
Nami, Chopper, and Usopp looked horrified. "You're insane, aren't you?" They asked her, as they set out on the one path. Since there was only one way to go, they had somehow all silently decided not to worry about the song.
"It's taken you that long to figure this out?" Ace remarked casually.
Emma turned to him, and was about to say something in response to that (probably something along the lines of 'birds of a feather' or 'you knew what you were getting into when you asked me to marry you') but, suddenly, she gasped softly. "Is that a - ?!"
Next to her, Nami had gone very still as well, and was staring as well. She then reached out carefully, and let her hand hover close to the glowing ball of light that was perched atop Ace's head. It blinked a few times, but stayed lit as it floated around them.
"Fireflies." Vivi whispered.
In response to her words, the entire area around them was suddenly lit up, with hundreds if not thousands of the flying, glowing insects.
They flew around slowly, lighting everything up so that they could see that they were in a forest again. But, this time, it was nighttime, and it definitely felt like they weren't anywhere near the summit of the mountain anymore.
"Look!" Luffy pointed. A group of fireflies immediately lined up on his arm. They all looked, and saw what was clearly the lights go a village, twinkling not too far away.
"Salvation!" Nami gasped, clasping her hands together as some fireflies formed a halo behind her head.
"Hooray!" Chopper, with fireflies perched on his antlers like Christmas decorations, cheered. Like the rest of them, he looked exhausted.
Are we ... supposed to be getting this tired? Vivi wondered, shaking her head slightly and realising that there were fireflies on her earrings.
"I kinda wish that you'd managed to get that fish back from the rabbit-lady," Luffy remarked, as they set off down the path. "I'm starving!"
We're getting hungry, too? Vivi realised, and then she happened to become aware of a conversation that was going on behind her.
" . . . The Jabra-Lucci crossover, the rabbit-people, and Sanji-Kun's Mum . . . " Emma was saying, and Vivi's heart skipped a beat.
" . . . You think that they're all connected . . . ?" Law wanted to know.
" . . . Yeah. Maybe not to each other, but, definitely to us I mean, Sanji-Kun doesn't want the rest of the Straw Hats to know about Sora-San ... what?"
Vivi quickly checked over her shoulder, with the premise of trying to shake the fireflies off of her earrings (they just settled on her head like a crown, instead).
Law was shaking his head, smiling slightly, and then Vivi heard him mention something about 'Sora, Warrior Of The Sea'.
She smiled as well, and they continued onwards.
It was a straight path. The fireflies were there to guide them (in fact, they wouldn't leave them alone). Even Zoro managed to get there.
"What happened to Emma?!" Chopper cried.
Everybody stopped, and looked around.
"Oh, come on . . . " Nami groaned. "And, we were so close to salvation!" She added.
They were standing right underneath of the sign that said: Welcome To Sup'mylo Village (according to Robin).
"Let's just go, shall we?" Usopp suggested, looking longingly in the direction of the village. "They'll turn up eventually . . . "
"'They'?" Nami repeated, and then she sighed. "Oh, of course. The Den Den Mushi - this is all your fault!" She added, glaring at Law, who had just strolled nonchalantly up. He just raised an eyebrow.
"We do need Emma-Sama to continue onwards." Vivi sighed as well, looking back towards the mountain that they had just climbed down. Was it just her, or, did it look twice as tall right now? "I'm also worried. What if something's happened to her?"
"It hasn't." Law said. They all looked at him. "Somebody wished to speak Emiko."
"Who?" Ace asked immediately.
"The lady from before." Law responded.
Everybody looked visibly relieved.
"She said that she'd call." Law went on, just as there was the unmistakable sounds of a telephone ringing.
"Huh?" Everybody else looked around.
"Den Den Mushi can connect with those telephone things from Emma-Chan's world?" Sanji wondered.
"In this world, anything's possible." Nami responded, thinking about everything that they'd been through that day.
Vivi, meanwhile, had located the telephone, in one of those old-fashioned red telephone boxes (not that she quite knew about them, but, she figured it out).
"Moshi-Moshi?"
Everybody looked over, to see Vivi speaking into the telephone.
"Uh-huh... okay, I see, I'm so glad ... oh, okay then ... really?" She glanced over her shoulder at them all. "I see," she said again, nodding even though Emma - it had to be Emma - couldn't see her. She suddenly gestured towards Luffy, who immediately came over to her, stepping into the telephone box with her and listening to the phone conversation. "Oh, did they?"
"Excellent!" Luffy cheered, grabbing the phone from Vivi. "We'll be there, Emmy!"
"Well, that was nice of them!" Vivi said, managing to wrestle the phone back from Luffy. "Yes, yes, we'll tell them. Okay, we'll see you soon, then." She hung up, and she and Luffy stepped out of the telephone box, which vanished behind them.
The others stared at them, except for Law, who was calmly looking towards the village.
"Okay, so — " Vivi began, but, Luffy interrupted her.
"The rabbit-lady brought the fish here, and it's waiting for us with a feast!" Luffy cheered, and Usopp, Chopper, and Franky joined in.
Ace smiled. "Okay, but... what about Emiko?" He looked at Vivi.
The Princess nodded. "She's waiting for us, too."
"Yeah," Luffy said. "With some guy ... what was his name? Some kind of Terrier name ... Yorkshire or Corgi or something . . . ?"
"Yorki." Vivi supplied.
"Yeah, him — " Luffy was suddenly cut off by Brook, as the skeleton went speeding past him, into the village.
Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho . . .
"They made it through." Fate said.
"I knew that they would." Destiny nodded.
"Oh, did you, now?" Fate glanced at her sister, before turning back to the image before them.
Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho . . .
Together, they watched as Chopper once again heard singing, only this time everybody else heard it, too. They watched as Sanji correctly identified 'Emma-Chwan's' voice amongst the rest, and he and the rest of the Allies had to sprint to keep up with Brook.
Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho . . .
They watched as everybody managed to catch up with the skeleton, who was standing almost frozen outside of the Lumbar Lodge, with one bony hand held out to push the door open, but, it was like he couldn't bring himself to do it all of a sudden.
Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho . . .
"What's the big deal?" The sisters heard Luffy say, and watched as the pirate captain marched past Brook and pushed the door open.
Gather up all of the crew, it's time to ship out Binks' brew!
"Konban wa!" The blonde-haired, dark-eyed lady with lop rabbit ears and a fluffy tail announced. She was wearing a waitress dress that somehow went with her feathery white wings and halo, and a name badge on her apron announced that her name was Lunares. "Welcome-teia to the Lumbar Lodge ... oh! Hey, it's you-teia!"
Sea wind blows, to where, who knows? The waves will be our guide!
"A rabbit girl?"
"A waitress?"
"Lunares-Chan!"
"The fish-thief!" Usopp cried, and Nami hit him upside the head.
Lunares smiled a dazzling smile. "We've been waiting for you-teia." She pointed over to the other side of the room, where a young red-haired woman was sitting with a group of unfamiliar men, and all of them were singing. Some of the men played instruments, as well. "She's been too shy to play the piano, but, they're getting along swimmingly."
O'er across the ocean's tide! Rays of sunshine far and wide!
Luffy, grinning, raised one hand in greeting and Emma, sensing so many sets of eyes upon her, looked up and then waved back. Luffy then turned back to Lunares, and said: "You know why we're here, ne?"
She nodded. "Hai. My husband and I have been asked to take you-teia to the portal-teia tomorrow."
Birds they sing, of cheerful things, in circles passing by!
Luffy nodded seriously. "Good. Thanks for helping us out rabbit-lady and where's that fish?!"
Lunares pointed to the buffet table, where the giant river monster was now cooked and the centrepiece of what appeared to be a month's worth of feast.
Luffy's eyes lit up, and he, Usopp, Chopper, and Franky all made a mad dash for the table, knocking over a waiter in the process.
"Harold-San!" Vivi hurried over to help him up.
"Arigatoō, I'm fine-gara," Harold dusted himself off. "He reminds me a little bit of my daughter-gara. You would think that I'd be used to it." He smiled wistfully.
"Aww . . . "
Bid farewell to weaver's town, say so long to port renowned!
"Doesn't it seem strange that we're all getting tired and have the need to eat and rest?" Nami asked Robin, as Lunares showed Zoro where the sake was, and Sanji followed her with what would have been hearts for eyes (had he been in an anime).
"Perhaps . . . "
Ace and Law, meanwhile, had approached Emma, who was currently singing a duet with this Yorki guy.
Tall, Ace was thinking, eyeing the unfamiliar man suspiciously. Relatively attractive as far as looks go, tattoos, good singer (especially as he's singing with Emiko) . . .
Physique suggests relatively good fitness levels, Law was thinking, at exactly the same time. Easy-going nature which is putting Emiko at ease, seems friendly enough . . .
"Sing a song, it won't be long, before we're casting off! Cross the gold and silver seas, a salty spray puts us at ease! Day and night, to our delight, the voyage never ends!"
But, he's dead. They both thought in almost perfect unison, sighing somewhat with relief.
"And what was that for?"
Ace and Law hadn't realised that they had reached their destination, and now Emma was gazing at them suspiciously.
"Nothing." They both replied hastily, and the group around them started laughing.
"Guys," Emma was smiling now, as she stood up and placed herself between Ace and Law. "I'd like you to meet Yorki," the man that she'd been sitting next to raised a hand in greeting. "The twins, Madaisuki and Mawaritosuki . . . "
"Yo!" A pair of fraternal twin brothers sang in unison, which started off another round of singing, as Emma listed off names and each man raised a hand or gave some indication when his name was mentioned, including the Jabra-Lucci crossover guy.
Yorki was saying: "Emma-San, we just need one more instrument to make it sound complete!"
"I already told you that I'm not playing the piano, Yorki-Kun," Emma rolled her eyes, and then her gaze drifted over to where a lone piano in the corner had just been approached by a nine foot tall individual. "Besides . . ."
"Is that — ?!"
"It must be!"
"BROOK!"
Law and Ace looked at Emma.
"His old Nakama." She said simply, her eyes glistening with tears, but, she was smiling.
Fate and Destiny watched in silence after that.
"Do you think that they'll be able to figure out why all of this is happening to them?" Fate wanted to know after awhile.
Destiny smiled slightly. "I hope so, sister . . ."