The town that was once lively with raucous pirates has turned into a war zone.
"There's only two of them!" Exclaimed a man with two pistols at hand. "Where the hell is he?!" He was desperate, hiding behind the ruins of what was formerly a bar.
BOOM!
Another explosion ignited from behind his covers, the shiny purple sunglasses cracked on his face. He yelled in fear as the glass nearly punctured his eyeballs, tossing the sunglasses away from his face. "FUCK!" He trembled despite wielding two pistols for the enemy was far stronger than they can ever imagine. "Where the hell is Bellamy!" Sarquis, the first mate of the Bellamy Pirates, screamed in desperation. This was hell, true hell, and it was all their fault.
The pub sign of the Wild Cherry, burning as the day went on.
Earlier…
Wild Cherry Bar
Sarquis had two women in each arms. He was sweet talking to them to get them to his room. Though his efforts were halted when two people walked inside the bar.
One man was a dark skinned fellow, his hair were short, spiky dreadlocks. He wore dark sunglasses along with a black tank top, blue jeans, and a red trench coat. The other person with him was a woman who was by far the most beautiful woman he has ever seen. She wore a black maid outfit, white frills, complete with high heels.
They walked side by side together, causing the room to turn from noisy, to complete silence. Each step caused an echo to the once lively bar. Until finally they sat at the stool in front of the bar keep.
"What will it be?" Asked the bartender.
"Whiskey for me." Responded the man.
"Red Wine." Said the woman. "So where should we start?"
"I think a bar is a good place to start."
Sarquis, being the bright fellow that he was, decided it would be a good idea to approach the obviously dangerous woman. He pushed the two women away from him and he made his way to the bar, casually sitting next to her. "You got a pretty face..." He had a smug look on his face, as if he already had her on the palm of his hands.
"Baby 5." She responded, nonchalant, her eyes never really leaving the gentleman next to her. She was fixated on him, and that was evident.
"Want to leave this dump, I can show you a good time." He didn't know it yet, but Sarquis fucked up. He grabbed Baby 5 by the wrist and tried to force her to follow him.
Gem was a peaceful fellow, he worked for the wrong organisation but found his way on the right path. He had a lot of good things going his way. He had a good crew, great trainers, and Baby 5 as a good friend.
The way that this stranger grabbed Baby 5 just triggered him in a negative way. Before Baby 5 could react, Gem had already tightened his grip at Sarquis' wrist, twisting it.
"Get your hands off her." Sarquis grimaces at the strength of the man, but he wasn't going to back down. He had the backing of the whole bar, he wasn't going to be scared of some bastard.
"You fool! Do you have a death wish!" He still continued to wreath in pain. "Do you know who my boss is?!"
"Frankly, I don't give a fuck." Said Gem, tightening his grip at the risk of the pirate.
At the other end of the bar, a man wearing a northern style fur hat smirked, raising his hands in the air and disappearing out of thin air.
In his seat, a pebble replaced him.
BOOM!
Even Earlier...
Within the deck of the Going Merry, the captain, Strawhat Monkey D. Luffy, sat crossed legs on the wooden floor. On his right, Charlotte Katakuri, formerly the First Commander of the Big Mom pirates. On his left, Yamato, the child of Kaido. To round out the group, Portgas D. Ace, the super rookie, Vinsmoke Reiju, the daughter of Germa 66 leader Vinsmoke Judge. Finally, there was Gem, who continued to stand by her side despite being up against the entire group. "What do you plan now?"
"I guess I will go find a place to settle down? Maybe have children, a family...that will be great..."
"Is that what you really want?" Interjected the captain, seeing her struggle to really see herself in that situation. She paused for some time, the wind picking up from around them.
"No. I want to continue to live a free life. To go on adventures and find a husband that will take care of me until the day I die." She was really broken, that much Luffy could tell.
"Then join us. I promise that I will never throw you away. Nobody in my crew will discard you like you are nothing." With that Luffy could tell he struck a nerve with her.
"What do you know?!" She interrupted, revealing the pent up anger that she built up while being held captive. "You stick me to a damp old holding cell, leave me in isolation, only to now say that I should join your crew!" She morphed her hands into a pistol, pointing it at the head of Luffy. The crew was going to react, but Luffy raised his hands to signal for them to stop. "My boss will save me. He will..."
"He abandoned you." With this statement, it finally settled in. Baby 5 began breaking down, tears welling up in her eyes. Gem, who stood beside her, took her in an embrace, her pistol hands dropping and morphing back into human hands. After some time to finally regain her composure, she showed her face once again. She was now ready.
"It was Doflamingo that sent me here to kill you." Baby 5 had held out for a long time, remaining loyal to Doffy was not in her options any longer. It was either survive, or die protecting someone that wasn't going to return the favor.
"Thank you Baby 5." He then looked at the rest of the crew, finally standing on both feet. "Lets see, to prove your loyalty to us, I will need you to gather information on Mock Town, enough that we can get to Dressrosa. Your eternal log post was broken in the skirmish and well, maybe one of these fools have some sort of method to find it." Katakuri presented their Log Pose, it was freaking out, occasionally pointing at the sky.
"This thing is broken I think." Katakuri said with a shrug of his shoulder.
"I'll do it." She said with determination. She was ready to prove her worth, and seek revenge against the bastard who abandoned her.
"I'm going with her." Volunteered Gem, none of the other members offered.
"Excellent. Off you go." Just as he ordered, the Strawhats have arrived in Jaya, the far edge of the island at least.
Several gunshots, loud screams, partying, echoed throughout the area but they were still far from the main town. It was known as a pirate town for a reason.
Gem and Baby 5 nodded their heads before hopping out of the ship and into the ground. It was near enough to where they didn't fear falling into the water, devil fruit user and all.
"Are you testing them Capt'n?" Ace asked, his arms crossed as his eyes followed the duo through the docks.
"Yup." Luffy said, he then looked at the rest of the crew. "Reiju, watch the ship. Katakuro and Yamato, follow them. Ace, you're with me."
"Aye." Responded the crew. And the group dispersed into groups
"Where are we going?" Ace asked, his hands over his head.
"I hear echoes in the sky, somehow...Well let's go greet our host." He then started walking elsewhere, with Ace following close by.
Ace looked perplexed, he wasn't hearing a damn thing. But who was he to doubt the Captain.
The duo made their way to the castle-like structure, but it was more than meets the eyes.
Earlier...
With Ace and Luffy
"Here we are." Luffy finally stopped walking, stopping in front of a gigantic castle. But something was odd about it. They both knew that.
"Captain, this is fake." Ace walked a bit further, realizing that the castle was a mere front, in the back of the facade, a small home. But why go through all the trouble.
"I know that, I was referring to that guy." Luffy pointed at a massive man who pulled himself out of the ocean, climbing up the jagged edges in order to go to his home.
"Huh, who are you guys?" The man asked, he was fairly muscular, with many different scars all over his body. He took notice of the docked ship several yards away from his home.
"Strawhat Pirates." Said Ace.
"Who are you mushroom head?" Luffy asked, to which Ace snickered to himself.
"Pirates you say?" He made his way towards his home, his eyes never leaving them. He then opened his door and reached in for something. He then swiftly pulled it out and pointed it at the duo. The harpoon gun was pointed at Ace, then at Luffy, but neither man seemed to be scared.
The man then put his pinky and thumb in his mouth and let out a loud whistle. "Better get out of here pirates, the rest of my people are coming."
"My log post is all over the place, stopping at the sky on occasion. So tell me, how do I get there?" Luffy pointed at the sky. He could fly to have a look himself, but he wanted to bring the rest of his crew with him.
"Are you trying to die? Fine. I'll send you there." The mushroom head pointed his harpoon at Luffy, clicking the trigger to release the metallic object. Though the harpoon never hit its mark, for Ace stood in front of Luffy, absorbing the strike with his body.
He held his hand over his eyes as the harpoon went through his stomach, burning into nothing and not reaching the other side as it had completely melted.
The man had a shocked expression on his face, but Ace and Luffy were all smiles.
It was then that two gorillas jumped to the aid of their companion.
"Cricket, are you okay?" The gorilla with the mic asked.
"Masira...Shoujou...thank you for coming." Cricket said but he continued to sweat bullets.
Ace looked around, two massive excavation ships were now surrounding the area. Maybe 200 on each ship, maybe more. 'It's gonna be a fight.' Ace thought. He prepared himself but the Captain disappeared in a swift motion, knocking all three of the strangers on the ground.
"What the hell?" Cricket said while on the ground. A bruise building up on the back of his calf. He looked at his friend and they too were knocked down on the ground. Scary...
"It can be worse, so we don't have to fight you know." Luffy began, causing Ace to look at him with confusion. It was like a scare tactic. He showed them a fraction of his powers to scare them into doing what he wanted from them. "I only came here because I needed a way to get to the sky. My log post says I need to go there, so who am I to dictate what the stupid thing says." Luffy pointed at the sky once more. "And my intuition is telling me that, being the first person I came in contact with on this island, you have the answer on how to get there."
The trio looked at one another, Luffy exerting a bit of his conqueror's haki. If they want to fight, they can but it will not be good for the trio before them.
With much hesitation, Cricket gave in on the pressure. "Fine, there is a way up there, but countless people have never returned from the trip..." Cricket then grabbed his face to wipe the cold sweat he had built up. "...but what you pirates really want is the city of gold. And it sure as hell is not up there."
"Tell you what Cricket, I don't care about what other pirates want. In fact, I'll find the city of gold. Not for me, but a favor to you for helping me. So you have to help us get to the sky. Then I swear to you, I will find it." His negotiation tactic was a bit one sided, which gives Cricket little to no choice. What a scary man indeed.
"What makes you think you can find it?" Cricket pointed at the ocean. "I have scoured the deep sea for ages, trying to prove my ancestors to be innocent. But Noland the Liar will always be dubbed this way unless I find the city of gold. It's nowhere...nowhere because he's a liar."
"It's in the sky stupid." Luffy said simply. "If a giant water geyser keeps sending things toward the sky, what makes you think the city of gold would sink? Shouldn't it logically go up?"
"I..." Cricket was gobstruck. It made sense, but he could not believe it. It was then that he laughed hysterically. There was no way. He finally stopped and looked at Luffy dead in the eye. "Monkey D. Luffy was your name you said…" He paused, building up the courage to place a request to a complete stranger. "Will you prove my ancestor's innocence?!" Exclaimed Mont Blanc Cricket on the top of his lungs, Masira and Shoujou by his side, smiling from ear to ear.
"Hey, you're too loud." His Strawhat was covering his eyes but the smile was evident. "Of course I will dumb ass!"
Ace looked at Luffy and smiled, the man had charisma, far more than anyone he met before. He turned a possible dangerous situation into a friendly exchange of words. They could take them, but it would be bothersome, and they didn't even have to.
"Good." Said Cricket simply. "Bring your crew here by tomorrow morning pirate, the knock up stream is very particular. We also need to do work to your ship to ensure that it has a chance of making the trip."
"You got it mushroom head!" With that, Ace and Luffy made their way back to the crew, letting them know of a little pit stop before heading to Dressrosa. They began a sprint back to the ship. Hoping aboard and finding Reiju fixing it, what happened?
"It's Cricket!" Exclaimed the man, though Luffy and Ace were already too far to hear him.
"You believe these guys?" Asked Masira.
"'Yeah, what more can I lose?" Responded Cricket, with a new wave of hope in his soul.
BOOM!
A loud explosion echoed throughout Jaya.
"Damn pirates causing a ruckus in Mock Town again." Said Shoujou.
With Yamato and Katakuri
"So, you got momma issues huh?" Yamato stood at the top of the highest tower, her eyes scanning the area to ensure their new recruits weren't killed.
"You got daddy issues." Replied Katakuri, his scarf over his pelican eel mouth, and his eyes also looking out for Baby 5 and Gem.
"Touche, what made you turn?" Yamato looked towards Katakuri, trying to understand him further. She had a brief explanation every now and then during their trip, but she never really talked to Katakuri one on one like this.
"I hated how she treated everyone. She would be happy and go lucky one moment and steal 50 years of someone's life in another. She is a child in a mother's body, and she is spiteful beyond belief." Katakuri had trailed into a pained monologue. Yamato was there to listen.
"You miss them huh?" Yamato noticed his passion came from a source.
"Yeah, my siblings. I dread thinking of what my mother will do to them if I am not there." Regret filled him, for his mission was to teach Arlong a lesson. And he ended up abandoning his family and joining a crew which made him happy. For once, he made a decision for himself and he regretted it dearly.
"Luffy will be king, and when he does, he will eliminate all opposition, even the Emperors of the Sea. It is then that your siblings can live in peace."
"Of course he will be King, I am here." Katakuri said with a smirk,though under his scarf. Yamato could tell she picked up his spirit, and smiled to herself.
BOOM!
"Oh shit."
"They'll be fine."
"Hey who the hell are you!" A man shouted from across the way, a rifle at hand.
"Shs." Katakuri simply commanded, launching a mochi bullet right at the rifle of the pirate, shattering it before he could fire. "We're watching the show."
To that, Yamato snickered.
Earlier with Reiju
Reiju had been leisurely relaxing aboard the ship in her pink matching bikini. Nobody bothered her relaxation, well nobody yet. That all changed when a strange crazy looking guy hopped aboard the ship.
The man had white pants, a pink tank top, and a blue captain's coat. He had a wild look in his eyes, especially after seeing Reiju in her bikini.
"Delicious, I knew I would find a good hunt today." The crazy looking pirate began to approach her. "Do not resist lovey, and I won't hurt you."
Reiju raised an eyebrow. Did he really think...fuck this guy. Reiju rushed the guy, moving easily despite her lack of attire. She was quick on her feet, appearing below the man. She then attempted to bear hug him, only to miss completely. The legs of the man had morphed into springs, hoping out of the way to avoid her grasp.
"I said behave!" The man double foot stamped Reiju right on her back, destroying part of the ship in the process. Reiju was slammed straight to the wooden floor, leaving her in a compromising position. "Now that's more like it." The man admired her behind, only to receive a foot directly on his face. "You just hit me?" The man stumbled backward, Reiju recovering from the strike. Blood flowed from his nose causing him to become hysterical. "You hit me?! Bellamy the Hyena!"
The crazy fellow began to wind his spring, building up momentum before realising his abilities. He bounced off the wall, the deck, the mass, creating a massive momentum.
Though for Reiju, who had three annoying brothers growing up, this was nothing. She jumped in the air, timing it perfect, catching Bellamy right in the face with a punch.
The spring human did not see it coming, shocked beyond belief at getting caught mid attack.
Though Reiju wasn't done, unleashing a flurry of strikes including punches, butterfly wings, and kicks.
If Bellamy was going to die, well, it was entirely his own fault. He was a lecherous, nasty, and disgusting creature, and he deserved everything he was going to get.
During the beat down of Bellamy, Reiju felt pity for the rat bastard and decided to send him packing.
"Think of trying to assault anybody again, and you will remember this day." Reiju grabbed him by the balls, twisting it. He felt like they could fall off at any minute, the pain far more excruciating than anything he ever experienced in his life. She finally released her grip and finally grabbed Bellamy by the shirt. "Now get lost." Reiju tossed the full weight of Bellamy over the ship, dropping him on the ground below.
Bellamy scoured like a dog, moaning in pain as every step was more painful than the last. He really thought he found an easy target, turns out he was the prey.
"I'll get my revenge." Said Bellamy weakly, though little did he know, there were bigger fish, and he happened to swim with sharks as a carp.
"Care to tell me what happened here?" Just as Reiju began repairs, Luffy and Ace had returned.
Present Time
Gem had blasted the entire place, destroying the bar in the process. The pirates that were after them had now taken cover.
Baby 5 was looking at him with some sort of strange look, he couldn't pinpoint it, but he was just protecting his friend. That damn bastard touched her, he didn't like that.
"Any of you bastards know how to get to Doflamingo." Gem exclaimed, at the mention of the name, the crowd got even more scared. Seems like a taboo name.
"My captain...he knows where..." Sarquis tried to speak, but he was silenced immediately when Baby 5 pointed both hands at him. One hand was an mp5, the other was a flamethrower. Out of fear, the poor guy passed out, causing the morale to fall from all members of the Bellamy Pirates.
Suddenly, a quick moving individual barraging both Baby 5 and Gem. The person was bouncing off the walls and creating momentum on impact.
"You guys are fucked now! Captain Bellamy is here!" Sarquis was back from his nap, woken by the heavy bouncing from around him.
"This guy?" Gem had a vein appear on his forehead. He was getting tired of these damn pirates. Bellamy thought he had him, going for the back of his head. But instead of connecting, he received a bullet hole right through his shoulder. Baby 5 had followed his movement, knocking him out of the air.
Bellamy stumbled on the ground, rolling until he stopped right under the foot of Gem. He looked menacing right at the face of Bellamy, it seemed like he already received a beating. "You got a way to Doflamingo?"
Suddenly it clicked. These were monsters, this weapon girl and the exploding sunglasses...were they in the same group with the bikini woman? Sure is a big coincidence since monsters started to appear on the island all of a sudden. Doflamingo was the demon and he can send them to kill each other. Then when both of these bastard forces collide and effectively kill each other. They will weaken each other and the grip of Doflamingo in the underworld will crumble. He can fill that seat, he knows he can.
"Sir, please, I have it, I have it." Bellamy reached into his coat, pulling out a box containing a log post. "It was given to me by Joker, but it currently points to the sky, meaning something up there will magnetize the log pose enough to finally set your course to Dressrosa." He was half assing it, fully assuming all this. But who cares, they won't know. He knew by giving this to them, he was signing his death anyway. Though he hoped that Doflamingo would be too busy to realize where the leak came from. He received a beating from who he thought was easy prey, and now he was going to receive another one from these pirates.
"See easy." Baby 5 grabbed the log post, returning it to its box and grabbing Gem by the hand. "Let's return back to the crew."
Gem nodded his head, but not before unleashing an exploding soccer kick right at the face of Bellamy.
Katakuri and Yamato, who had been watching the whole time, decided to return to the ship, their new recruits knew how to handle themselves.
Aboard the Going Merry
"So, what happened here?" Katakuri looked around the deck of the going merry, indentation and cracks appeared from all over the ship. Reiju, still in her revealing bikini, was all fours trying to repair the ship.
"Some idiot tried to make a move, I put him in his place." Reiju stood up, wiping the sweat off her forehead. She had been actively trying her best to fix the ship, but they really needed a shipwright.
"Well let's get to work before Captain comes back." Katakuri picked up some wooden planks and some nails.
"Ah he's gonna be pissed." Yamato picked up some wood herself and began to get to work. With the effort of the trio, they returned the ship to top shape.
"He actually saw it already, he went to get some wood with Ace." Said Reiju, causing Yamato and Katakuri to look at each other and shrug.
Gem and Baby 5 arrived next, showing the crew the eternal log pose.
"Mission accomplished." Said Baby 5 with a giant smile on her face, though she was stealing glances at Gem who was oblivious. Instead, he joined the rest in getting back to work, the decks weren't going to clean themselves.
"Come, the potatoes are not going to peel themselves." Reiju grabbed Baby 5 by the arm and pulled her along, she had equipped her raid suit to cover her exposed skin. It was set to casual mode rather than combat mode.
Baby 5 lets Reiju guide her, but not before stealing one final look at Gem, working his hardest in the presence of the others. She smiled before disappearing into the kitchen.
Just as the two girls left, Ace and Luffy were back with some woods at hand. They had arrived earlier than the others, and proceeded to gather material for the repair of the Going Merry.
"Oh everyone's here. Well, we are going to the Sky." Announced Luffy, "Later today, the old mushroom guy and his monkey friends are gonna prepare our ship on the journey.." Luffy pointed at Cricket's fake castle.
"Ah Captain, wait a minute, you want us to die?" Yamato asked, she wasn't one to question his decisions. But what did he mean by going to the sky?
"There's something up there." Luffy pointed in the sky. "And I want to see it. Plus I promised the old mushroom guy that I will find the city of gold."
"How do you know Captain?" Asked Katakuri,a good question to have.
"I hear the voices of all things, it's strange. Kaido has told me countless times what it is but I never listen to the old bastard. Apparently it's…"
"You can perceive the words of things or animals that should not be possible. Is that it Captain?" Yamato came to a realization, a smile covering the face of Luffy.
"Yeah. You paid attention to those stupid lessons?"
"Someone had to for the both of us." To this, Luffy and Yamato laughed.
"Well then, you heard the Captain, we are going to the sky." Exclaimed Katakuri, ordering the crew where they needed to go. He was used to it from being the commander in the Big Mom pirates, and he sure as hell was good at it.
It took a few moments to move the ship to the house of Mont Blanc Cricket.
The crew was welcomed immediately by Masira and Shoujou, with the monkey holding a South Bird.
"Took us all day to get this." Masira was bruised and so was Shoujou. But if it will help their friend, they would do anything.
"So then let's get to work everyone!" Cricket exclaimed, and the combined forces of the Saruyama Alliance began to fix the ship so that it was better prepared for the pressure of the knocked up stream.
"You telling me they were gonna fix the ship anyway!" Reiju face palmed herself, remembering the hours she spent with the others in mending the ship.
"It's okay Reiju, let's eat." Ace laughed as he patted Reiju in the back, entering the home of Cricket and joining the rest for the feast that Reiju and Baby 5 prepared.
Luffy was eating to his heart's content, he chatted with Katakuri about their plans for the sky expedition. They could hardly plan since they really did not know what to expect.
Yamato was cuddling with Ace, a bonfire created for the crew to keep warm in the cold night. Sure helps to start the bonfire since someone can shoot fire out of their body at will.
Baby 5 was talking with Gem, gauging his interest. She was sure he must have felt something for her, but wasn't really sure.
Reiju was talking with Cricket, learning his rich history and stories, laughing along with the rest of the crew and their antics.
Everyone was worry free. For today they party, tomorrow they head to the Sky.
Author's Note, Reviews
Asura - Here it is, sorry for the delay, just life and all that yada yada, but here we are. And thank you, I hope you continue to enjoy it!
Tsuki-no-Hazama Hime - Is it? Or are the main character going to meet there demise! Haha thank you for reading!
mlkoolc86 - Here you go, thank you for reading and hope you continue to enjoy.
Z'ev Wolfram - I haven't really thought about that, that is a good question. Let me ask a buddy of mine who will be a good candidate. Skypie is the perfect time to find someone who can read it.
dragonball256 - Thank you for reading, I try to be as original as I can since I've written a couple of time travel AU. This is definitely
CatViper - Thank you, and you are nice for reading it!
Vchoriv - Where is she? I don't think I introduced her in the story yet? But she will be a big part of the future.
MrBigBottoms - Thank you
PraetorXyn - Here's more hehe, thank you for reading.
zzkaizer - A bit more action here, to bad nobody can challenge them just yet.
TheGreatBubbaJ - Yeah I really like where this story is going, though I need to make sure I'm staying true to my goals rather than change on the fly haha. Thank you for reading
Special thanks to DarkKnight2000,
check out his story Red Hair Redemption.
A banger of a story!