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-NINE
Ruins And Runes
It hadn't been as difficult, saying goodbye to the Rumbar Pirates, Harold, and Lunares as what Emma had been expecting. Brook hadn't even cried, although maybe that was because he was a skeleton and couldn't?
At any rate, all of them came to see Emma and her Allies off the following day, as the two rabbit-people led them to the outskirts of the village, to where a lone stone structure stood in a rather barren-looking field.
"A Sphinx." Robin whispered to Emma. "It's different from the ones that we have in our world, though."
Emma made a mental note of that.
Waiting next to the Sphinx was Sora, looking as beautiful in the daylight as what she had in the glow of the fireflies light.
She said nothing to them as she stepped aside, disappearing into the crowd of Rumbar Pirates as both Emma and Sanji stared after her. Emma's heart was pounding in her chest, as she remembered their conversation from last night.
Even Sora-San seems confident that I can do this ... that it'll all be okay, and . . . Emma thought about the small heart-shaped locket with the broken clasp; it was currently hidden in a small pouch around her neck. That I'll be able to give this to that person, later on . . .
"Em!" Nami called to Emma, snapping her out of her reverie. "We're all waiting for you!"
"Right!" She called back, went with Robin over to the rock structure that they were all crowded around, and joined Vivi as she examined the stone monument.
Upon closer inspection, it didn't seem to fit in with the rest of their surroundings, and it appeared to have sand all scattered about its four paws.
Vivi had a look of nostalgia on her face, as she gazed at the statue.
As soon as Emma stepped up to it, the compass began to glow, which she took as a positive sign as a few of her Allies nodded encouragingly.
She put a hand on the stone, and was surprised by just how hot it felt to the touch. Not enough to be painful, but, suddenly, she could picture it being stuck out in the middle of a desert somewhere. She suddenly understood why Vivi has that nostalgic look on her face.
"Open." Emma said suddenly, in a commanding voice that didn't really sound like her own.
At once, a hot breeze began to surround them all, accompanied by what could only be described as sand swirling all around them.
Emma immediately withdrew her hand, shielding Su-Chan from the sand as she shut her eyes tight, but, almost as soon as it had started, it was gone.
Emma immediately opened her eyes, to find herself standing on a small rock in what appeared to be the most gorgeous oasis that Emma had ever seen. Actually, it was the only oasis that she had ever seen.
But ... something was wrong.
She sensed the presences of others on either side of her, but, not nearly enough to be all of her Allies.
Emma looked first down at herself, taking note of her light pink desert outfit. She then looked across at a Sphinx that was identical to the one that they had seen before. It appeared to be looking back at her, almost knowingly.
She looked around her, then, her eyes taking in the lush plants and tropical birds, the limpid pools and cascading waterfalls; her eyes swept over it all and she saw practically none of it.
Because ... that was it.
That was all that was there.
She barely noticed that the Sphinx had moved.
Not even the pinprick of light from her compass, pointing off into the distance, was enough to make her calm down when she cried: "What happened to the others?!"
Two figures stood at the crossroads, watching the Pit Of Chaos growing over Infinity's Castle.
"How did this happen?" Boss wanted to know, glaring at Karma from behind a new pair of sunglasses.
"Which 'it'?" The blonde goddess wanted to know.
"All of it!" Boss snapped.
"How the Hell should I now?!" Karma snapped back. "Why don't you ask Death or somebody?"
Boss just shook his head, and Karma paused, her face losing some of its usual arrogance.
"Boss, what is it?"
Boss turned, and looked like he was about to reply, when Fate appeared, stepping out of a portal beside the fence post in the Forbidden Zone.
"Are you alright?!" Karma asked her immediately. "What about Destiny?"
"Yes, yes, we're both fine," Fate responded. "We managed to escape from him."
"But ... how?" Karma wanted to know. "That so-called God Of Darkness was relentless . . . "
"Tell me about it." Fate sighed, as then they both turned, as Boss turned back to face the the castle. "Boss?"
"You already know, don't you?" He asked her. "So, then, you don't need me to tell you."
"Tell 'what', exactly?" Karma asked. "What exactly is going on here? Why did he stop his attack so suddenly? Where's Death?" I thought that she was going to get her daughter . . .
Fate placed a hand onto Karma's shoulder. Karma looked at her sister.
"Because she knows what he's doing."
Karma stared at Fate. She suddenly understood. "Can ... can she stop it?"
"I don't know."
"Does Destiny know?"
Fate shook her head.
Karma was frustrated. "Does anybody know what's about to happen?!"
"I do know one thing," Boss said suddenly, and the two sisters looked at him. "As bad as this God Of Darkness is, he's not the one that we should be the most concerned about."
They didn't have to ask who he meant.
"Does she know yet?" Karma asked him.
"Oh, she knows, alright," Boss shook his head. "And, she's on her way."
"How?" Karma blinked. "I thought that the only way for somebody to ... unless . . . " She suddenly looked at her sister, who purposely wasn't looking at her all of a sudden. "Do they stay open for some time?"
"A little while." Boss replied. "But that, apparently, is causing another problem."
Karma sighed. "Of course it is."
Luffy spat out a mouthful of sand, suddenly feeling very reminiscent about something as he opened his eyes, sat up, and looked around him.
Next to him, in an orange cloak that matched his cowboy hat, Ace was wiping the sand from his eyes and muttering something about the Sandman. Nearby Chopper, in a pink cloak, was being helped to his feet by somebody who could only be Robin. The archeologist had on a purple cloak that, like Sanji's dark blue cloak, covered most of her, but Luffy recognised her by her skin tone and her height, as well as the gentle way with which she set Chopper down and helped to dust him off.
Sanji he recognised from the slight irritation in the cook's voice, as he worked to free someone or something that on first glance appeared to be just a long nose sticking up out of the sand like a snorkel. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be Usopp. They all pitched in to help after that, and soon Usopp, in a beige cloak that was just perfect for the desert, was also looking around at his surroundings.
Which happened to be in the middle of a desert.
"They're gone." Ace was clenching and unclenching his fists, the way that he always did when he was upset. Every so often, he would switch to twisting the ring on his left hand, so there was no doubt about who he was the most worried about.
"We wouldn't have been able to get through the portal without Emma-Chan," Sanji said diplomatically. "So, there's no way that she would have been left behind." Ace looked at him. The chef went on. "She was standing near Vivi-Chan, too, so I'm sure that they're together."
"Okay, what about Nami?" Usopp wanted to know.
Sanji didn't have an answer for that, since Nami had been standing with Law and Franky.
Chopper poked at the sand with his hoof. "This place is just like Arabasta." He complained. "It's so hot, and there's . . . "
"Sand," Usopp shook his head. "It's everywhere."
"Get used to it." Sanji said, lighting up a cigarette.
"Sanji, I'm not so sure that's a good idea." Chopper began, and then he looked around. "Hey, where did Robin go?"
Luffy looked around, and saw the tall woman standing by a small rock, her purple hooded cloak almost like a rock itself against the yellow landscape. Tugging at the hem of his own cloak (whose colour matched the ribbon on his straw hat) Luffy went over to join the archeologist, followed by the others.
"Great," Usopp nodded, crossing his arms. "More signposts. At least we have Robin to read it for us!" He realised, brightening slightly.
"Yeah, but what about the others?" Chopper asked worriedly, and Usopp looked worried again. "Sanji?"
It was the cook's turn to start clenching and unclenching his hand (the one that wasn't holding the cigarette). He didn't have an answer for that, either.
"What does it say?" Ace asked quickly. "Robin?"
The woman turned to him, her startling blue eyes shaded by the hood of her cloak. She then turned back to the stone, and they all watched as the symbols on it began to glow blue.
"Ah . . . " She said softly, just as a pinprick of light appeared from the stone, and then shot out from it.
"Ah!" Usopp cried, as the pinprick of light went through his chest. "It's got me, minna!"
Sanji stamped out his cigarette, before grabbing Usopp by the shoulder and yanking him out of the way, to reveal that the pinprick of light continued onwards, and off into the distance.
"Oh, right ... of course . . . " Usopp said sheepishly.
"That looks like the light that comes from Emiko's compass," Ace said slowly, the blue from the light reflected in his eyes. "When we used it to find her and the others . . . "
"Then, is that the way that we should go, to find them now?" Luffy guessed, looking first at Ace, and then at his present Nakama. He glanced up at the tall archeologist.
She nodded.
"Then, that's what we'll do!" Ace declared firmly. Hang on, Emiko.
"Okay . . . " Nami sighed, and then looked up at the cliff.
A giant bird that could only be described as a vulture-crow stared - no, glared - back down at her. It was at least twice the size of Franky, which was huge. Nami wondered if it had known the giant catfish. Perhaps it wanted revenge. Perhaps, despite the halo above its head, it was like them and still got hungry even in this Celestial Realm. Whatever the reason, Nami now had to try and figure out how to reason with it and get it to give her back Zoro, Franky, and Brook before it ate the former two (and, used the latter to construct crude bone instruments of torture).
"Where's Chopper when you need him?" Nami asked no one in particular, wondering how they had ended up separated before they'd even gotten to this Desert Realm. To her right were Zoro's swords, which was the only reason that bird wasn't chop-suey yet.
Up on the cliff, Zoro and Franky watched as Nami tried to negotiate their release with the bird of prey (pray?). That halo was really misleading.
"Is that sign language?" Franky, in a turquoise cloak but still with his trademark sunglasses on, peered down at the figure in the pale yellow cloak.
"I think I saw the Marines doing that, but with flags." Zoro, with his pale green cloak with the hood pulled up, yawned.
"Maritime Flag Signals?" Franky guessed.
Zoro shrugged. "I suppose. It doesn't seem to be working, though." He added.
They both looked at Nami, who was currently doing something akin to the Macarena in an attempt to communicate with the bird, and then over at Brook, who was wearing a grey cloak (not that he needed it) and playing The Streets Of Cairo on his violin.
"Yohohoho!" He said, while still playing. "I see someone!"
"Who is it?" Franky wanted to know.
Zoro was watching Nami and the bird. The bird jerked its head towards Nami's right. Nami looked, and then looked back at the bird. She pointed to Zoro's swords, and the bird nodded.
Zoro's eyes widened. "Don't even think about it, Nami!"
"Well, you think of a way to bargain with it!" Nami yelled back, just as a figure appeared at her side.
"That looks like Vivi." Franky commented, watching the blue-haired woman in the white cloak gesturing frantically, and Nami suddenly looked horrified. A blue dome suddenly appeared around them all. "But, where's the one beside her?"
No sooner had he said this, when they felt all of them suddenly vanish. They all reappeared a few seconds later, behind another large rock formation. The two girls landed gracefully beside Law, along with Zoro's swords. Zoro himself, Brook, and Franky landed unceremoniously onto the hard ground, and were about to protest, when Law disallowed them to - by removing their vocal chords, using his powers.
"How . . . ?" Nami gazed at Brook for a moment, before she turned to Law, who just shook his head and nodded towards the figure in the white cloak. "Vivi?"
"It's listening for us." The Princess barely breathed.
"What is it?" Nami wanted to know, in a voice barely above a whisper. Whatever she'd been already told must have really scared her.
"I told you, it's a Poe . . . " Was the reply, which did sound scary.
"Oh, right; they're deities of the Underworld." Nami looked terrified again, and then she frowned slightly. "Where did you hear that, though?" She asked, as Law deactivated his Room. "Did the Gods tell you about this, too? You're nodding ... that means 'yes'." Nami decided, and sighed again. "Why didn't you tell us about this before?" I should have known.
"I'm telling you now."
"I heard some of Brook's old crew mates talking about 'messengers of the Underworld' in the lodge last night." Zoro spoke up; now that Law had let him have his voice back, he kept it to the same hushed tones as the girls. "I take it that these are them, Vivi?" He fixed her with a slightly piercing gaze. She nodded. "Well? What do they want from us?"
She seemed surprised. "Well, I can't be too certain . . . " She began, just as there was a sharp cry from above them, followed by another similar cry from somewhere off in the distance. "Uh-oh . . . "
"'What'-oh?" Nami looked like she was dreading the answer. "Vivi?"
"I ... it's ... it's calling its mate." Her suddenly tense grey eyes met terrified brown eyes. "When they reach a mature age, they always travel in pairs." She added.
"Oh, great." Nami replied, as Franky groaned. "Vivi, please don't tell me that it has babies, too!" She grabbed her friend's hands.
The young woman shook her head, making her hoop earrings swing. "Iie; they split up after they become parents, and the hatchlings fend for themselves. We're lucky," she went on, still in a hushed tone. "This is probably a young couple, judging by the size ... they're clumsy hunters. We may be able to outwit them."
"Why does a dead bird need to eat?" Franky asked no one in particular.
"It gives them something to do."
"And, the Gods told you that?" Zoro raised an eyebrow.
"Shh!" Nami hissed suddenly, elbowing Zoro, much to his annoyance. He couldn't say anything though because, just then, a shadow fell over them, and a black bird that was just as large as the first one flew over them. "Vivi?"
"I was right ... it hasn't thought to look for us here." Was all that she said, before a distraction occurred in the form of a pinprick of light that shot out from a rock that none of them had actually noticed before. The light vanished into the distance.
Law's eyes followed the beam of light.
Nami guessed what he was thinking. "Yeah, we follow that light, and, we find the others." Law nodded. "Okay, but, hang on; I just want to make a note of what's on that rock over there, for Robin." The orange-haired woman explained, as a piece of paper and a pencil appeared in her hand. "Vivi, come and help me . . . "
"Hang on, we need to know more about these things." Franky said, striking a pose. "That way, we can take em' out!"
"Oh, no, we certainly won't be able to 'take them out'," the other blue-head said quickly. "These creatures are vital to this Desert Realm - the best that we can hope for is for one of us to distract them long enough for the rest of us to escape." She looked around at them all. "Poes are smart, but, they can be distracted easily when they're so young."
Nami looked over her shoulder from where she was crouched down and copying the glyphs (she was using the back of Brook's violin to lean the paper on). "Zoro said that he'd do it!"
Zoro gave her a Look, but then he nodded.
Law closed his eyes briefly, looking slightly pained, but then he sighed. "I'll stay back as well." He opened his eyes, and looked at Zoro. "I can use my powers to teleport us once the others are safe. Will that work, Vivi-Ya?"
"Hai; both of those methods should be adequate."
Law nodded, and looked in the direction where the light was pointing, as a bright flash of light suddenly came from there. I'll be there soon, Emiko . . .
"What's that?" Luffy asked suddenly, pointing at something in the distance.
"What's what?" Usopp asked, taking out his spyglass.
"Uh, guys . . . " Ace began, but, he was cut off by an exclamation from Usopp.
"It's an oasis!" The sniper cheered. They had been travelling like this nearly all day - they were tired!
"Woohoo!" Luffy cried, and started to run in that direction, but a tanned hand reached out and held him back. "Huh?"
"Robin-Chan?" Sanji looked over at her.
"It would be best if we didn't deviate from our course." The archeologist explained.
"Why?" Luffy wanted to know, looking longingly at the oasis, where a lone bird had just landed on the top of a big leafy tree.
At once, the ground opened up beneath the oasis, and everything sunk in as what appeared to be a giant angler fish appeared, and gulped up the oasis; the bird only just managed to get away.
Luffy, Usopp, Sanji, and Chopper stared in shock.
"That's why."
"Let's just keep on moving." Ace added, just as a blue dome appeared around them.
"That doesn't look too good." Franky commented, the sand angler fish reflected in his sunglasses. "They common around here, Vivi?"
She nodded. "Mmhmm. They will eat anything and everything that falls into their oasis traps. Let's make sure that we're not included." She added, and both Franky and Brook nodded in agreement.
They had stopped in order for Nami to make a note of some glyphs on a rock, and to give Zoro and Law a chance to catch up with them (hopefully, minus the Poe couple). It was late afternoon, and the temperature was starting to drop. In the growing darkness, the beam of light was a lot easier to see, although they still couldn't tell where it led to. They just had to hope that it led to the others.
"I hope that Zoro and Law are okay." The navigator said, coming back over to them. "I hate how we keep on getting split up like this."
"At least we have Vivi-San here with us." Brook said. "Is this desert much like your home in Arabasta?" He asked her.
There was a wistful look in the Princess's grey eyes, as she seemed to stare at something that none of them could see. "Hai." She said softly. "With the obvious exception of a number of things, the overall feel of here is very much like home."
"You miss it, don't you?" Nami asked her.
"Sometimes. But, I know that I am where I need to be right now."
"Nice of you guys to drop in." Sanji said casually, as Law and Zoro landed gracefully beside him. "Where're the others?"
"Over there." Zoro pointed, and Luffy, Sanji, Chopper, and Ace all peered in the direction that he was pointing.
Usopp used his spyglass, and exclaimed: "I see them! It's Nami, Vivi, Franky, and Brook!"
Ace turned to glare at Law, but the surgeon had already vanished, and so he switched his glare to Zoro instead. "What about Emiko?!"
"She wasn't with us." Zoro replied, knowing full well what was coming next.
"Then where is she?!"
"She'll turn up," Zoro said, shaking his head. His expression was serious as he looked over at Luffy. "Meanwhile, we're got a bigger problem."
The look on Ace's face clearly read: What could be a bigger problem than that?
Sanji voiced this opinion. "Poor Emma-Chwan's never been in a desert before - we should be more worried about her Mossball." He glared at Zoro, who glared right back at him. "It's not like she had Vivi-Chan with her, like you guys did."
"That's just it." Zoro said, in an oddly tense voice, that made all of them suddenly pay attention to him. The swordsman looked grim. "The person that we were with ... is not Nefertari Vivi."
"Look," Franky pointed suddenly. "There's Law's Room ... hey! Is that the others?!"
"Must be," Nami sounded relieved. She peered at the blue dome that had just appeared about five hundred metres away from where they were standing. "In fact, it looks like the light is pointing in that direction as well. Thank goodness." She added, just as a blue dome appeared around all of them and, a second later, Law appeared beside them.
"The others are over there," he nodded his head in the direction that Nami had just been looking. "There are two problems, however."
"Who's not there?" Nami asked immediately. "Em's obviously not with them, ne?" Law nodded. "Okay, what else is wrong?"
"You'll see." Law replied flatly, and they all vanished again, to reappear a second later, this time with the other group.
The second that their feet hit the ground, the earth began to shake violently.
"It's an earthquake!" Usopp cried, grabbing onto the nearest person - which happened to be Zoro, and the swordsman was none too impressed.
"What if it's a sand angler?!" Chopper exclaimed.
"Nami-Swan!" Sanji reached for the navigator, but the tremors from beneath them sent her to her right instead, where a tall figure was struggling to keep her footing.
"Robin!" Nami cried, grabbing onto the archeologist's purple cloak.
It was at that point when they all of them realised what was happening; a huge stone structure was rising up out of the sand. It took only about thirty seconds and, when it was finished, the thirteen of them found themselves standing before a rather impressive-looking temple. It stood silhouetted in the moonlight, and had showered them all with small rocks just for good measures.
A few things happened at this point.
"Was that there this whole time?!" Usopp wanted to know. "At least it's not another one of those anglerfish . . . " He then glanced to his right. "Oh no, Chopper!" He cried, seeing a huge rock right where Chopper had been standing.
"I'm here!" Chopper was backing away from the rock, that had just missed him.
Nami suddenly shrieked, and jumped back from the person that she had been clinging onto. The archeologist's purple hood had fallen back, revealing familiar blue eyes and unfamiliar white hair.
"That's not Robin-San. . . " Brook realised; he said it because most of his nakama seemed too shocked to say or do anything.
Franky's glasses had fallen from his face, and Chopper looked absolutely mortified.
The others all looked equally as shocked to realise that this woman was not in fact Nico Robin. She had just seemed so ... Robin-like. Even staring back at them now. And, those eyes. None of them could believe it.
Except for Luffy, who was staring at the blue-haired woman beside him. Her hood had also fallen back, revealing a woman that maybe like Vivi, except that now they could see that she was slightly older.
"Wow," Luffy said. "You do look a lot like Vivi, but," his eyes narrowed slightly. "You're not Vivi."
Nami was slowly backing away from the white-haired woman, and then she turned to look at Luffy and the woman beside him in shock. "Th-that's not Vivi," she stammered. "And," she pointed first at the blue-haired woman, and then at the white-haired woman. "That's not Robin ... who are they, then?!"
The next second, she got her answer ... well, in a way.
There was a loud, terrible-sounding roar from somewhere deep inside the temple, followed by an explosion from the wall of the temple, from which a small figure came flying.
"Room!" Law said immediately and, when the small figure entered the dome, he picked up a rock and swiftly switched the figure with the rock.
"Emiko!" Ace cried, seeing how scratched up and exhausted she looked; he was so instantly worried that he didn't even bother getting annoyed at Law for holding onto Emma like he was, as they all rushed up to the pair.
"Minna!" Emma looked exhausted, but, she immediately attempted to stand up; Law allowed her to, but kept a firm hand on her arm. She leaned against him - she was breathing very heavily. She didn't seem to be able to speak properly, but, she tried. "I ... oasis ... portal was ... attacked ... Robin-San and Vivi-Chama . . . "
"What happened?!" In an instant, the two women who so resembled the ones that Emma had just mentioned were in front of her, and Emma immediately jumped back with a yelp. Only Law's grip on her arm stopped her from completely falling over, and she was shaking now.
"N-Nico Olvia!" She cried, her voice shaking now, too. "A-and, Qu-Queen Nefertari Titi!" She stumbled slightly, and Ace caught her by her other arm.
And, that was when he and the others noticed something horrible.
"Emmy, where's your compass?" Luffy wanted to know.
"Th-that Sphinx has it!" She sounded close to tears now. "It has Vivi-Chama and Robin-San, too! I-I t-tried to ... s-so strong! I ... it . . . "
Law suddenly took her by the other shoulder, nudging Ace none too subtly out of the way as he made Emma sit down and got her to look him in the eye.
"Hime,"he said, very seriously, but in the kind of voice that he reserved exclusively for her. "Daijoubu."
She didn't look as if she believed him.
"Take a few deep breaths." Chopper advised her, recognising the signs of potential hyperventilation. "In through the nose, and, out through the mouth."
"Just like Mum said." Emma murmured. She did as she was told, though. After a few moments, she had stopped shaking.
Law kept his hands on her shoulders, and now Ace found himself strong annoyed, but, he kept silent as Law spoke to Emma again. "Tell me what happened."
"But, there's no time . . . " She protested.
"Let the tanuki,"
"Hey!"
"And I treat your wounds," he said firmly. "And, you can tell us what we're up against."
Emma bit her lip, still breathing heavily. She and Law gazed steadily at each other for a few seconds, before she nodded, and rested her forehead against Law's shoulder. She looked miserable.
Law glanced at Chopper, and nodded briefly. The two of them set to work treating Emma's cuts, as the rest of her Allies milled around, with varying degrees of concern.
Emma kept on looking at Nico Olvia and Nefertari Titi, so much so that Nami finally spoke up.
"Em," she said, from her place on the large rock that had missed Chopper by a few feet when it had fallen from the temple. "What you called these two . . . " She trailed off.
Emma swallowed. "Umm, h-hai ... they're ... I mean ... this is Nico Olvia. She's Robin-San's Mother." She added, and a few people gasped.
"You ... you're sure?" Chopper peered up at her. Emma shrugged. "Don't move that shoulder!" He examined a scrape that was there, and shook his head. "We thought that she was Robin, when she had her hood up." He explained.
Emma sighed. "Well, that's understandable. They do look an awful lot alike, except for the hair, of course. Olvia-San is also an archeologist, by the way ... remember?" She added, and everybody except for Brook, Ace, and Law nodded.
Olvia inclined her head briefly, and Nami gasped softly.
"Oh!" She reached into the pocket of her cloak, and pulled out a piece of paper. "That means that you can read these, right?" She showed Olvia the piece of paper, where she had made copies of the glyphs with her expert eye for detail.
Olvia's stunning blue eyes - so much like Robin's - carefully scanned the sheet, and then she nodded.
"Hai." She said, looking up at them all. "These inscriptions pair with the ones that I noticed on our way, as well."
She even talks just like Robin does. Nami thought, scarcely able to believe that they were really meeting Robin's Mother. Something was bothering her, though. "Why didn't you tell us who you really are?" She wanted to know, looking more at the Vivi-doppelgänger than anything.
It was the blue-haired woman's turn to incline her head. "I must apologise for our deception." She said. She exchanged a glance with Olvia. "It's just . . . " She trailed off, and bit her lip.
"Minna," Emma said. "This is Queen Nefertari Titi Of Arabasta. I ... I know that she looks a lot like her daughter . . . "
"She acts a lot like her, too." Franky pointed out. "But, apparently, Zoro knew straight away . . . "
"How?" Nami wanted to know. Even I didn't realise! So, how did Zoro notice?!
"Because she warned us about the dangers in this desert before they became an issue."The swordsman replied simply.
"He didn't mean that how it sounded!" Nami said quickly, correctly interpreting the Look that flashed across Titi's face. "Vivi's helped us a lot! I mean, maybe not with that, but, certainly with this whole God thing!"
"Hai." Titi looked worried again. "My daughter has been tasked with an enormous responsibility. I can only pray that she has been as much a blessing to those around her as what they have been to her." A soft breeze blew her sky blue hair. She locked her gaze with Emma, just then. "Do you understand, Emma-Sama?"
Emma nodded slowly. "Titi-Sama, hai ... I understand, that's why you and Olvia-San didn't reveal yourselves straight away. You wanted to see for yourselves what your daughters' friends were like . . . "
The two women looked slightly relieved. That was when the others realised just how grateful the two Mothers were that somebody had understood what they'd been trying to do. And, how worried they must have been about their daughters.
"You don't have to worry about them!" Usopp said quickly.
"Yeah, let us worry about them!" Franky added.
"I would never let anything happen to Vivi-Chan and Robin-Chan!" Sanji declared.
"Except that something has happened to them." Zoro pointed out.
"You're the one who hasn't stopped staring at the temple entrance with your hand on your sword!" Nami snapped.
"Guys!" Luffy said suddenly, and most of them looked at him. He was standing next to Ace, with his arms crossed. "Let's let Emmy tell us what actually happened, and then we can go and rescue our nakama!" He said firmly.
They all nodded, and looked at Emma, who suddenly drew in a sharp intake of breath, but maybe that was because Chopper had just put something on her shoulder.
"There's something strange about this injury . . . " The reindeer doctor said quietly. "I mean, it's healing, but . . . " He noticed that Olvia and Titi exchanged a quick glance just then.
"Y-yeah . . . " Emma stammered. She closed her eyes briefly. "It was ... Chaos Energy." Law froze, as Emma opened her eyes quickly. "I don't mean one of those things from the Well Of Chaos," she explained. "S-something was in the temple waiting for us. It took over the Sphinx - you know, the statue that was the marker for the portal to here?" A few of the others nodded. "Well, turns out that it was alive. She was actually quite friendly, until ... until we got here."
"What happened then?" Ace asked her. "Emiko . . . ?"
"Well, we went into the temple, you know, just to have a look," Emma told them. "And, there were some glyphs there ... Robin-San was reading them, using Su-Chan's halo as a light because it was dark in there . . . "
"Su-Chan is a DenDen Mushi." Nami explained to Titi and Olvia.
"Ah, yes," Titi nodded. "The one that was given to her by Sumi-Sama."
Nami barely had time to register what Titi - the former Queen of Arabasta - had just called Sumi, because, Emma was still talking.
"When, suddenly, a woman in a black cloak stepped out ... I only know that it was a woman because Robin-San said 'her!', and then . . . " Emma swallowed. "Chaos Energy appeared and enveloped the Sphinx. It made her grow to a gigantic size, and she grabbed both Robin-San and Vivi-Chama, and ... I can't ... I can't fight against Chaos Energy by myself, I mean . . . " A suddenly cold look came across her face. "That woman, though ... she grabbed Vivi-Chama's necklace ... my Mother's necklace . . . "
Titi and Olvia exchanged another glance.
"What happened to your compass, Em?" Nami wanted to know.
Emma glanced down. Law carefully touched the graze on Emma's collarbone (Ace narrowed his eyes, and Law's own gaze flickered ever so briefly over to the other pirate). Next to Law's fingertips, Grace's Heart seemed to burn a deep red colour.
"It came off in the fight," Emma told them. She shook her head. "My hand brushed against it when it did, and transformed Vivi-Chama and Robin-San into cats ... that may have saved them." She finished in a whisper.
"Why?" Usopp wanted to know.
"Well, the Sphinx stopped attacking them straight away." Emma said, somewhat thoughtfully. "She picked them up and got all protective. Maybe a maternal cat thing? I dunno ... me, on the other hand ... it didn't get my back, did it?!" She asked suddenly, and Ace checked.
"No, you're fine." He assured her, and reached out a hand to help her up. He took the opportunity to hold her close to him for a moment, as Law and Chopper packed up their medical supplies, and the others began to process their current situation.
"Okay, we need to go in there and rescue them." Luffy declared, all of a sudden.
"We need a plan!" Nami said quickly. "Yes, we have to rescue Robin and Vivi, but, you heard what Em said; that thing in there," she cast a wary glance towards the temple. "Isn't hurting them ... not now that they're cats, at least."
Emma nodded. "Yeah, she's not gonna hurt them. She only attacked me when she saw me again ... I went back in there without a plan. Without backup ... I need you guys." She sighed. "Like, I went in okay, and then, it's fairly symmetrical." She had closed her eyes by this stage as if remembering and, as they all watched her, she began gesturing with her hands. "You go straight in, and then there's a lot of empty space ... then, there's a raised bit at the back, and another raised bit on top of that."
"Like a dais?" Titi offered.
Emma nodded. "Hai, that's the one. So, that's where the Sphinx was when I last saw it; in front of the big stone tablet thingie, with Robin-San and Vivi-Chama. Unless she took them down one of those two flights of stairs on either side, but, I dunno if those lead very far down or if it's just a slightly lower level that goes around the edge of the dais. Like I said, it wasn't very well lit in there ... I mean, it had windows up top," she gestured upwards, and, a few people turned to look at the temple, taking in the windows that were indeed high up. "And, a sort of balcony on the inside . . . "
"A mezzanine, perhaps?" Olvia suggested.
Emma nodded, again. She still had her eyes closed, as she gestured with her hands. "Right. It went all the way around the inside. But, there's no way to get to that mezzanine, or at least not that Vivi-Chama and I could see." She opened her eyes again, and, the first thing that she saw was Nami, leaning on the rock that had almost taken out Chopper, drawing a perfectly detailed map of what had just been described to them all. Emma's mouth dropped open, despite herself. "How did you do that?" She asked the navigator.
"Oh, I've had plenty of practice with drawing maps from vague descriptions." Nami said airily, waving a hand but looking pleased as a few people applauded. She had even drawn red marks (apparently, the Celestial Realm had pencils that could write in different colours) where the Sphinx could be, along with any possible entry points for the building that weren't the front door - although, that's where Luffy seemed to be aiming for.
"Matte, Luffy-Ya," Law said quietly. He was studying the map intently over Nami's shoulder. "We'll need to check the other side of the temple, for possible points of access, before we proceed."
"Okay," Luffy didn't look happy, as Sanji and Nami went to check around the outside of the building. "But, then we make a decision!"
How did I ever let myself get talked into doing this? Chopper wondered to himself, as he crept along on all-fours - in his Brain Point - and tried not to make a sound; the ribbons that were wrapped around his hooves helped with that. He was also wearing more ribbons on his ears, to make them more pointed. His antlers were hidden by his hat. Nami had drawn whiskers on his face with eyeliner. More ribbons formed a long tail that was tied to his shorts. He even had a ribbon around his neck.
Since Emma couldn't turn him into a cat without her compass, this was the next best thing - the perfect disguise.
This is great, he thought, as he inched his way across the ominously empty floor. I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm gonna die. He thought about Emma's injuries, and swallowed nervously. There really had been something strange about them. Although Emma had healed, Chopper couldn't help but wonder if it had to do with the fact that she was part God - maybe they could heal faster from Chaos-induced injuries than, say, the average mortal reindeer doctor?
As Chopper reached the centre of the building, and stepped into what appeared to be a dusty circle, he hardly failed to notice the multitude of bones that was scattered about the place. Emma hadn't mentioned that to them, before!
Chopper was shaking, and then he happened to look up, and met the gaze of a pair of HUGE ruby red eyes that were watching him from atop the raised platform that Titi had referred to as a dais.
Even in the dim light, Chopper could tell that the Sphinx had grown to well over its original size. It was at least twenty feet tall, maybe even more, and its red eyes did nothing to make it look any less menacing.
It watched Chopper's every move, so much so that Chopper began to wonder if his disguise was really working. After what seemed like an eternity, he decided to try it out.
" . . . . . . . . . mew?"
Chopper closed his eyes then, not wanting to see it when the Sphinx decided to tear him to shreds. He waited, with bated breath, and then he heard a low growl.
'Speak, strange blue-nosed cat.'
Chopper would have bristled, except that he suddenly realised that this meant that his disguise had worked!
"I - I . . . " Oh, great, now what was he supposed to say?!
The Sphinx had a strangely calm, and almost melodic tone. It was also a female. Yes, definitely a female. 'You wish to know the way forwards - am I to assume that?'
'H-h-hai . . . "
She seemed to sigh. 'I have but one weakness, blue-nosed cat,
Veiled by neme, akin to your hat,
Though indestructible to all, whether satin or flaming,
The answer is clear to the one that knows gaming . . . '
Emma! Chopper yelled mentally.
'My first is the colour of what blankets the gravel, of the next place that you will travel,
My second, of which there are many from where you just came - but, from the gamer's home, what is the highest one's name?
My third, the first name of a certain vessel under sail - or, the surname of the author of the Great White Whale . . . '
" . . . What?"
'I will not say it again.'
"I should have brought a pen."
"Did you get all of that?" Sanji barely whispered to Nami.
She nodded, carefully putting the piece of paper and pencil into the pocket of her cloak, before checking to make sure that Su-Chan was secured on her arm before she and Sanji quietly made their way back out the door at the other end of the temple.
Well, perhaps 'door' was a bit of a stretch - 'hole made in the wall by Sanji after they both noticed just how weak that bit of wall looked' was probably more accurate.
They had crept in, to what appeared to be a storage room, and the very first thing that they had seen was Su-Chan, sitting on a water jug, fast asleep. She had woken up briefly when Nami had picked her up, before falling back to sleep. Luckily, her halo had provided adequate light for the two of them to then make their way into the temple; two identical flights of stairs led either way from the store room, and they had just finished exploring both paths when they had heard the Sphinx's cryptic conversation with Chopper.
Or, complete and utter 'mumbo-jumbo', according to Usopp.
"Oh, great!" The sniper exclaimed, once they were standing back out at the front of the temple. "It told us its weakness, without actually telling us!"
"The Sphinx is a girl, Usopp." Emma told him, from where she seemed to be glued to Ace's side. She put her hands on her hips. This appeared to be an ongoing conversation.
"Well, obviously," Usopp replied, crossing his arms. "Because, I can't make heads or tails of any of this!" He nodded towards the piece of paper in Nami's hands.
"Oh, what, and I can?" Nami rolled her eyes, but then she sighed. "Well, actually, I can . . . " She admitted. "I mean, I know how to work out these riddles, but . . . "
"Okay, let's look at them, then," Ace suggested. "I don't like the chances of Luffy refraining from taking on Miss. Sphinx for very long."
"He has Zoro and Brook with him," Emma reassured Ace. She paused. "Hey ... wait a minute . . . "
Nami was pointing to the first part of the Sphinx's riddle. "'My first is the colour of what blankets the gravel, of the next place that you will travel'," she read. "Okay, so, then, where's the next place that we're going, again?"
"The Hills Realm." Law said immediately, glancing at Emma; she appeared to be trying to figure something out - she would have been biting at her nails, except Ace had correctly predicted this, and had both of her hands in his. She settled for biting on her lower lip, instead. Law also noticed that Titi was doing this, as well - she was clearly still worried about her daughter.
So was Olvia, but, she was handling this in a different way, by helping Nami to figure out the Sphinx's weakness.
"So, if the first answer is 'green'," Olvia said thoughtfully, as Nami wrote this down. "And ... the next answer is going to be based on the Mountain Realm that you just came from ... hmm . . . "
"It still sounds like mumbo-jumbo to me!" Usopp muttered.
"Like that video game that we played at Emma's cousin's house," Chopper seemed to be a lot less nervous, now that he was out of the temple. "With the shaman man, Mumbo Jumbo."
"Video games . . . " Nami narrowed her eyes at the piece of paper. "'From the gamer's home' . . . " She looked up at Sanji. "How many gamers do we know?"
"Just one," he replied, nodding and taking a long drag of his cigarette, sending a long spiral of smoke up into the starry sky. "Ne, Emma-Chan? What's the highest mountain back in your world?"
Emma was still trying to figure something out, and didn't appear to have heard Sanji.
Ace filled in for her. "It's Mount Everest." He told the cook, showing off his brilliant research skills from his quest of trying to find out as much about Emma's world as what he could.
"Everest . . . " Nami repeated, writing that down as well. "That just leaves ... oh, Ace probably knows this one, too." She realised, and looked back up at him. "Did somebody from Em's world write a book about a 'great white whale'?"
Ace nodded, a small smile on his face.
"Why is he smiling like that?" Usopp asked Franky, who shrugged.
"The author is Herman Melville," Ace explained. "Melville Herman if you're saying it our way. He wrote the book 'Moby Dick'."
The others all stared at him, except for Emma who was staring at the ground, and Law who was staring at Emma.
"Okay, so - " Nami began, just as an explosion of sorts rocked the temple.
Emma's head snapped up. "Luffy!" She gasped.
Ace looked grim. "We'll have to work out the riddle as we go."
"It's this way!" Nami said hurriedly, leading the way in through the door that Sanji had created at the back of the temple. She, Emma, Ace, Chopper, Titi, and Olvia were going in through that way to rescue Vivi and Robin - everybody else was going straight through the front door, to join in the battle against the Sphinx.
Emma was trying not to show how worried she was, as she and Nami led the way with Su-Chan's halo light. If Law-Chan or Luffy or somebody get hurt by the Chaos . . .
The battle was in full swing by the time that they emerged from the stairwell on the left, and the Sphinx seemed too preoccupied with its attackers to pay much attention to the group that crept up to the dais.
As Emma teleported herself, Chopper, and Ace up to the dais that the Sphinx was no longer occupying, Nami, Titi, and Olvia watched the battle unfold.
Thanks to somebody (probably Luffy) there were now a number of holes in the ceiling that provided enough light for them all to see.
The battle also wasn't going very well for the Allies. The Sphinx seemed to be as indestructible as what it was big. Each swipe of its claws sent out a wave of Chaos Energy.
"That's ... the same Sphinx that was the portal to this Desert Realm?" Nami gasped.
"Why is she attacking us, though?" Titi murmured. "This isn't like her ... she's a Guardian, just like Olvia-San and myself ... what could have done this to her?"
"Maybe her neme is on too tight?" Nami suggested sarcastically, just as Emma, Ace, and Chopper reappeared.
Emma was carrying a beautiful blue cat with a red gem necklace in her arms, and Ace had a slightly larger violet-black cat in his arms.
"Put them down there!" Chopper instructed briskly.
Emma and Ace did as they were told, and then noticed that Titi and Olvia had gone very still. The two pirates exchanged a glance, but couldn't really comment as the two Mothers approached their transformed daughters, and Nami set about helping Chopper. Vivi and Robin appeared to be unconscious, although Emma wasn't a hundred percent sure since she wasn't a doctor.
"I mean, sure, I have red hair and I stitched up Luffy when he was a cat." Emma reasoned with herself out loud, and Ace gave her a sideways glance. "But, I'm no Nurse Joy . . . " She suddenly gasped, as in, really gasped, and grabbed onto Ace's arm (the one with his name tattooed onto it, and misspelled on purpose). "That's it! That's what it means! Oh, they'll never hear me over this!" She realised, holding onto Ace a little bit tighter as the Sphinx roared.
"If only we had a speaker." Ace said, deciding to just go along with whatever his fiancée was saying; he'd learned by that stage that he'd find out in the end.
No sooner were the words out of his mouth, when one appeared on the mezzanine above them.
"Now I see what Life meant about us being given the tools that we need." Ace remarked casually.
"How convenient!" Emma agreed brightly, teleporting them both up onto the ledge.
From up there, they could see the full scope of the battle, from the window that Luffy had slingshotted himself up through, to the way that the Sphinx seemed to be able to produce heavy golden slabs from her headdress, which crashed into the ground around them.
"Jeez, Emiko," Ace said, as he hooked up Su-Chan to the speaker. "Are you sure that she was friendly before?"
"Uh-huh," Emma nodded, looking troubled. "Until that lady showed up and did something to her. The lady who stole Vivi's necklace ... my Mother's necklace." She added, and Ace clasped her shoulder.
"We'll get it back." He promised her, and she nodded.
Turning back to face the battle, Emma lifted the receiver, and began speaking into it, her voice magnified by the speaker to which Su-Chan was attached.
"Minna!" She addressed them all. They all looked up at her voice, but weren't really able to stop moving, because the Sphinx was still attacking them. Her attacks were becoming more wild and vicious; Luffy had to leap to the side to avoid being torn apart by a wave of Chaos Energy from the Sphinx's claws. His hat flew from his head thanks to the force of the attack, ending up next to the dais where it landed on Nami's head. She looked up as well, as Emma continued. "Its weak point - you need to attack it with fighting and steel! I mean ... fists and swords!" She corrected herself. "Trust me, I know! I'm a gamer - it's type matchups 101!"
"Okay, gotcha, Emmy!" Luffy didn't need a speaker to make his voice heard, as he flexed his fist.
"Yeah, but, we don't even know where its weak point is!" Usopp complained, as he dodged another slab of gold. "I never wanted to go to the Lost City Of Gold!"
Emma looked down at Nami, just as the navigator looked up at her. Their eyes met, and then Nami grabbed the sides of the straw hat on her head, suddenly realising.
"Law!" She called, as the surgeon was close by. "I need to get up there! You come and help here!"
It was a credit to Law that he didn't complain about this - he just did as he was told, using his Room to teleport Nami up to where Emma and Ace were, before going to help Chopper with Vivi and Robin.
Once she was up there, Nami grabbed the receiver from Emma.
"It's a gem!" She cried. "Its weak point is a gemstone on its forehead, hidden by that headdress that it's wearing!"
The Sphinx turned angrily, and lunged up at them all of a sudden. Without even hesitating, Ace grabbed onto both girls and jumped down from the dais (Su-Chan looked extremely annoyed as her telecommunications equipment was yanked none too gently out of the speaker), landing on the giant stone tablet. The Sphinx lunged at them again, and Ace jumped again; the Sphinx shattered the stone tablet.
"Ooh . . . " Emma, Franky, Usopp, and Sanji cringed.
The Sphinx turned, and was suddenly slashed by sword attacks from both Zoro and Brook, which cut the blue and yellow headdress that she was wearing to shreds.
A brilliantly sparkling white gemstone glittered upon her forehead, nearly dazzling them all except for Nami who was mesmerised and Luffy who attacked.
He drew back his fist, and, with slightly more force than what he had been using before, he struck the Sphinx right under the chin, sending her flying backwards and straight into the Room that Law had just put up.
In the next instant, Law had drawn his nodachi, and thrust it directly into the Sphinx's forehead gem.
White light mixed in with black Chaos Energy immediately began to pour out, forcing most of them to close their eyes except for Law, as he was intently focused on what he was doing.
And, in an instant, Emma was at his side, somehow having made it there despite the gale from the conflicting energies. She reached out and wrapped her hands around his wrists - and, in that instant, not only did he feel like he had more strength than before, but, Emma's compass floated down in front of them, glowing in a way that Emma took to mean that it was as happy to see her again as what she was to see it.
As soon as the compass had settled around her neck, the gale stopped, but now Emma and Law were surrounded by glittering whiteness.
They looked at each other for a moment, before they looked down.
The Sphinx smiled serenely back up at them.
'That which has no rhyme or reason, makes even us Guardians commit such treason.' She told them.
"'No rhyme or reason'?" Emma repeated.
"Sphinx-Ya, are you referring to that Chaos Energy?" Law wanted to know.
She nodded. Now that she was back to normal, the gemstone on her forehead glittered benevolently. Emma and Law could see themselves reflected in it.
"But why?" Emma wanted to know, drawing in a deep breath, which she let out slowly. "Sphinx, who was that lady?" Why did she take my Mother's necklace?!
As if she knew what Emma was thinking, the Sphinx walked forwards, and then reared up; she was now able to put her paws upon Emma's shoulders, so that they were eye-to-eye.
'Answers that you seek, come from a place of which we speak ... though backwards time should not turn, from the past you can learn . . . '
The white light was becoming almost too much, and she closed her eyes tightly. And there, in the back of her mind, she saw a figure with long hair ... a figure that she knew, but, she couldn't make out the face.
'Chaos speaks and acts of its own accord, its role in this is a double-edged sword ... he who trusts it loses more than pride, in those moments when Light and Darkness collide . . . '
"They're going to be okay." Chopper was saying.
"That's a relief." Nami said, handing Luffy his hat back. "We'll keep them in their cat forms until they wake up though, okay, Em?"
"Huh?" Emma blinked, trying to figure out what was going on. "What do you mean? What's happening?"
"We're going." Zoro explained to her, walking past.
"The portal's that way, mosshead!" Sanji called, pointing in the opposite direction.
"What?" Emma said. "Wait, what happened to the Sphinx?" She looked at Law, who just shrugged.
Ace came up, and started leading Emma up a flight of makeshift steps formed by the rubble, towards where the stone tablet had just been.
"Why are we leaving now?" Emma wanted to know. "What about Titi-Sama and Olvia-San?"
"I feel that, given the circumstances, it would be better not to linger." Olvia was waiting for them at the top of the dais, as was Titi and . . .
"That thing's not gonna attack is too, is it?!" Usopp cried, staring at the rock-like statue that sort of looked like a little person.
"Let's hope not." Nami said nervously. The black cat in her arms shifted.
"Emma-San," Olvia said, coming over to her. "I made a note of the glyphs that were scattered around on our way here." She handed Emma a piece of paper, and smiled when Emma looked almost apprehensively at it. "Don't worry, I wrote it so that you can read it."
Emma tried to smile back. "Are you ... I mean ... won't you . . . ?" She glanced over her shoulder at the black cat that was Robin in Nami's arms, and then back at Olvia and Titi.
Before they could say anything, Emma felt an irresistible tugging, that seemed to draw her in the direction of the little stone man.
Titi's grey eyes widened slightly. "You must not linger here for too long," she warned them all. Sanji suddenly felt something struggling in his arms, and looked down to realise that the blue cat that was Vivi had just woken up. "Now that Chaos is aware of what you are doing, you must keep on moving whenever you can!"
"But, what is Chaos exactly?" Nami wanted to know. "Is it worse than Infinity?"
"Yes," the two Mothers said in perfect unison. "Absolutely it is worse."
Three things happened just then.
One was that Emma said: "Open." Again in that commanding voice that was hardly her own.
Two was that Ace, Law, Luffy, Zoro, Usopp, Chopper, Franky, and Brook immediately grabbed onto some part of her, to avoid another situation just like last time from occurring.
And, three was that this caused her to stagger slightly, and her hand came out and touched the compass that was around her neck.
In an instant, Vivi and Robin were standing there as humans again, and nothing in the world could have stopped them from running to their Mothers just then.
"Okaasama!"
"Mother!"
Time seemed to stand still, as the Mothers embraced their daughters, and whispered things for only them to hear.
Emma, despite the fact that she felt like she was surrounded by grass, and had five men all but clinging to her and a small reindeer wrapped around one leg and a cyborg holding onto one of her hands and a nine-foot-talk skeleton holding onto the other hand, felt tears sting her eyes. Her vision was blurred, but then she realised why, and she gasped, sending the tears splashing down her cheeks.
Nami had turned back to her with the same horrified expression.
"Ribon-Ribon No Grab!" Emma shouted; the ribbons snaked out of her body, grabbing ahold of Nami, and then of Sanji just as he grabbed onto both Vivi and Robin.
Titi-Sama ... Olvia-San ... thank you . . .
"Sphinx-Chan!" Sumi was practically a blur of pink and feathers and hair, as she ran down the mountain path towards the Sphinx. "What happened?!" She cried, and threw her arms around the creature's neck.
'That without cause has made its intentions clear, the time is soon that we will all fear.' The Sphinx replied, collapsing against the young girl's knees.
"But ... what about Ace-Kun and the others? Are they okay?" Sumi wanted to know. I know that Emma-Chan and Law will be okay, because of their connection, but . . .
'Their greatest strength is that which she dreads,' the Sphinx explained. 'As she tears at reality's threads.'
"Hai, I understand." Sumi said soothingly, her teal eyes full of worry. I understand all too well. I won't be able to forgive you if you keep on doing this ... Mother . . .