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).
CHAPTER SEVEN
Legends And Lies
Little Death frowned, clenching her tiny fists into balls as she tried to control her temper. She didn't want to hurt Sakazuki - not yet, anyway. But, now there was a problem.
"How did she do that?" Little Death muttered to herself, floating in the air next to the Admiral, who said nothing. He was wondering the same thing.
"Not only that," Kuzan was there, too. They gazed out over the infirmary, where the Marines that had been fighting the Whitebeard Pirates had shown up suddenly. The strangest part was, that they were covered in ribbons, which disappeared upon contact. "But, four people from the other world...including a mighty sexy lady with eyes like ice..."
Sakazuki's gaze drifted over to Carmilla, who was lying on her back, staring at the ceiling with an unreadable expression. Her hands were clutching at the white sheets, and she was biting her lip so hard that it bled slightly.
Her ice-blue eyes flickered over to Sakazuki, and he was suddenly able to read the expression in them - anger, at herself, and the fact that she had just failed. He knew that look all-too-well, he had seen it so many times, and the thought made him angry - those pirates would pay dearly for this. Their constant acts of treason was a constant thorn in his side, and it was suddenly becoming paramount to sort out this problem.
Turning to Little Death, he asked her: "Can you not send them back to their own world?"
Little Death frowned, shaking her head. If Sakazuki had to guess, he'd say her physical age - and, some of her mental age - was stuck at about five years old, maybe six. It seemed an unlikely alliance, but Sakazuki had his reasons. Fire-Fist Ace and Straw Hat Luffy had been within his grasp - but, this Emma Pax...the Demon Of War, as they were now calling her, had stopped him from achieving his goal. Little Death was a question in herself, but she was also an answer. "No...it's against rules...if I break the rules too many times, they can find me..."
"Who's they?"
"The others."
Sakazuki realised that he wasn't going to get a straight answer out of her right now, and turned around, coming face-to-face with Emma.
Emma stared at him, and he stared back at her, before Little Death and Kuzan turned around.
As they watched, Little Death's face changed, and it became so dark that it would've put any evil man to shame. "You!" She pointed a finger at Emma, accusingly. "You're the one who asked Twister to turn those pirates back into people!"
"I did not, it was the compass!" Emma replied, and then suddenly seemed to notice the two Admirals on either side of the goddess. She swallowed, and looked nervous. "This is not what I told my career's counselor at school..." She murmured, taking a half-step back. "I said I wanted to be a policewoman, then a pensioner...not a pirate!"
"It's a bit late for that." Sakazuki muttered, activating his Devil Fruit power.
Emma clenched her fists, which Kuzan noticed were shaking. "Okay...time to wake up now..." She muttered and, although her necklace glowed slightly, nothing happened. "What the...oh no!" She gasped. "The anesthetic!"
Anesthetic? Kuzan wondered, also activating his Devil Fruit powers, as he noticed the bandage on her shoulder. What does she mean by that? Is she asleep in the other world? Is that how she's coming here, via her dreams? It was weird but, hey, he'd heard weirder.
Emma suddenly turned and bolted, turning a corner that was conveniently right there and rushing through a nearby door, hoping that it wouldn't turn out to be a broom cupboard.
She was wrong - it wasn't a broom cupboard, it was a roomful of Marines, listening to a lecture about the proper way to tie knots.
"Ah, Madoka-Sama, you're right on time!" The Captain at the front of the room smiled at her.
Emma cringed, but then put on her best fake smile and dashed to the front of the room. "This is how you tie a figure-eight knot!" She demonstrated so quickly they hardly saw it - it was the only knot that she knew how to tie. The door to the room flew open, and Sakazuki and Kuzan burst in. "And this is how you make a hasty getaway!" Emma added, bolting through another door. "Remember to use that knot I just showed you when climbing rocks!" She yelled over her shoulder.
"She's right." The Captain admitted, as Sakazuki and Kuzan gave chase again.
Emma ran down a corridor, aware that the two Admirals would be upon her at any second when, suddenly, a figure appeared right in front of her, making her have to stop suddenly, as she stared up in horror at Admiral Borsalino.
"Going somewhere?" He asked casually, looking down at her with that same smile on his face.
Hearing footsteps coming from behind her, Emma made a split-second decision. "Such a nice day, I think I'll go out the window."
She'd never jumped through a window before - she would have been sorely embraced if it hadn't broken and she'd just bounced back. Heck, she would've DIED. Luckily, fate or something was on her side, as she crashed through the window, shielding her face from the fragments of glass.
Unfortunately, they were on, like, the ninety-second story of some huge building, and Emma found herself falling, knowing that one of the Admirals was going to come after her, or (maybe it was better) just let her die.
Just then, she felt the necklace around her neck grow warm. "Yes!" She cried, feeling herself being wrapped up into the ribbons, which carried her back to her own world...
The first thing that Emma became aware of when she woke up was that she was on a ship. She could feel the steady swaying of the ship, and hear the crashing of waves.
The second thing that she could hear was somebody screaming - it was Luffy!
With a gasp, Emma jumped out of bed and, ignoring the throbbing pain in her shoulder, she ran from the room that she was in, hardly paying attention to the fact that it was quite nicely furnished. She ran out into a huge hallway, and followed the sound of Luffy's screaming, her heart pounding.
Did the Marines find us again? Are we in danger?
Emma's footsteps pounded down the hallways and through the corridors, until she reached a room that had a cross on the door, and read: Infirmary.
Emma burst through the doors. "Luffy?!" She cried, and stopped. She blinked.
Luffy was being held down by Ace, as Law attempted to remove the stitches in Luffy's side.
Ace glanced up. "Oh, hey, Ems!" He grinned. Then: "Why are you covered in glass?"
Emma widened her eyes slightly, and held up her arms. Tiny fragments of glass fluttered from her, and glistened on the ground. "Oh. That. Well...I jumped through a window."
"What window?" Ace wanted to know.
"I..."
"OW!" Luffy suddenly yelled, startling Emma. "Law, haven't you ever heard the gentle treatment?!"
"Maybe the stitches just weren't put in right." Law replied.
"Hey! I resent that!" Emma snapped, leaning against the doorframe. "So, umm...you guys are...humans again...wow...just...wow..."
Law glanced up briefly from what he was doing to smirk at her. "What is it?" He asked her knowingly.
"N-nothing!" She stammered, waving her hands. She watched as he finished taking out the stitches, and then bandaged Luffy back up again.
"Emma-San, don't lie to me." Law reminded her. He got up and began walking towards her. "You know what happens when you do..."
"N-no, really, it's nothing!" Emma exclaimed, throwing her hands up in a half-hearted self-defense and, at once, the compass around her neck glowed, and emitted a purplish-blue light.
And, when it cleared, Emma was left staring at three cats again.
The cats stared back at her, and she felt her knees grow weak. She collapsed to her knees, and wailed: "Well now what do I do?!"
It took awhile for Emma to calm down, and for her to figure out how to use the compass. It was strange, however, that only Luffy, Ace and Law had been effected by it this time - everyone else had stayed human. At least Marco had been able to help her figure it out, and she was dying to ask him how he knew so much but, first things were first - she had to go and meet Whitebeard.
Walking out onto the deck, she suddenly felt like her feet were made of lead. She tripped on a non-existent floorboard that wasn't there, and had to grab onto Ace's arm to steady herself.
He turned to look at her.
She wondered how he'd gotten back his hat and beads. She was dying to try on his hat...
"Ace, c-can I ask you a personal qu-question?" She stammered.
He raised an eyebrow.
"How did you manage to face Whitebeard with the intent to kill him, and not turn into a basket-case?!"
Ace stared at her for a moment, before laughing. Emma just stared at him, confused as to why he was laughing at her, and waited until he'd calmed down. She was blushing.
He smiled. "I'm sorry, it's just that...nobody's ever asked me that before."
"I did." said Marco, who was walking past.
"Yeah, that's because you wanted to use it as blackmail against me." Ace shot back, before turning back to Emma with a grin. "You really wanna know?" She nodded. He cupped his hands against her ear, and whispered: "It's because I'm a pirate."
She rolled her eyes and pushed him away. "That told me nothing!" She said, as they continued towards the deck. Everyone seemed to be up there, which only made Emma feel more nervous, and that was not a good thing.
She clung to Ace's arm tightly, and shut her eyes, not seeing that the compass around her neck was glowing again, until she opened her eyes because she was not holding onto Ace as a cat.
The Whitebeard Pirates, as cats, all stared at her, as did Whitebeard himself - like the others, he had been turned back into a cat.
Emma sunk to her knees. "M-maybe...maybe I only add to your problems..."
"It...it isn't you." Ace assured her, sighing.
Emma examined the compass. "The Tomodachi No Konpasu, huh?" The Compass Of Friendship? I wonder what that means...ah, that's right! I still have to tell Luffy about Zoro! "Hey, Luffy!" She called.
He appeared immediately from below deck. "Hey, Emmy, what's...huh? Why is everybody a cat again?" He was still a human, as was Law, who was behind him.
Emma held up the compass. "This had something to do with it - it's incredible! Not only that but, Luffy, guess what!" She motioned him over, and he came over to her. "Zoro's been turned into a cat somewhere, too! The compass showed me!"
Luffy's eyes widened. "Really? No way! So, where is he?"
Emma shrugged. "I have no idea." Luffy's face fell. She took his shoulders. "But, I promise to do everything that I can to help you find him. Friends, remember?" She added, uncertainly. Maybe she was pushing it by suddenly announcing it out-loud.
But, Luffy just grinned at her, and held out his hand. "Right - Nakama." He reminded her.
"I didn't decide yet."
"Just shake my hand."
She took his hand. "So, when do we start searching?"
"How about now?" Luffy suggested.
"Right...no, wrong!" Emma exclaimed, suddenly feeling panicked. "I have to get back home, and straighten things out with my sister...ooh, damn it, Coby made me drop my mobile phone into the sea! I hope that Nee-San didn't tell Mum!"
"Emmy, relax!" Luffy told her firmly. "It'll be okay! I promise." He added, and she gulped.
She nodded. "O-okay then..." She stood up, and so did he. "Let me just go and get my bag..."
"Hold it!" Yelled about sixty people.
"Huh?" Emma turned around. "Oh, right...sumimasen...umm..." She concentrated on the compass, and felt it glow around her chest. The pinkish-red light expanded again, and turned all of the cats back into people.
Emma found herself gazing at Whitebeard.
She found herself looking at the left side of his face, and was suddenly immensely glad that Sakazuki hadn't destroyed it in the battle.
"Come here." He ordered her, and she did so, feeling nervous. He held out his hand. "Give me the compass."
Emma reached up to take it from around her neck, only to discover that it wouldn't budge. "What the Hell...?" She muttered, swallowing. "It...it won't come off..."
Whitebeard sighed. "Just as I thought...it's imprinted with her, hasn't it, Marco?"
"Seems that way, Oyaji." Marco replied.
Emma glanced at him. "H-how do you you know so much about it?" She asked him.
"I read it in a book." Marco stated calmly. "The compass was said to imprint with whomever needed it the most at the time. In this case, I'm guessing that it's you."
"Wh-why me?" Emma stammered, glancing up at Whitebeard. Why is he so big? Is he from Samoa? "I j-just got dragged into all of this, Whi...uh, Edw...umm..." She shot Ace a desperate Look that read: What am I supposed to call him?
Ace just shrugged.
Emma sighed, and turned back to look at Whitebeard. He was regarding her intently, making her feel nervous. He then reached out a hand towards her and, on instinct, she flinched.
"I'm sorry, I won't do it again!"
"That's what you said last time, you little bitch!"
SLAP!
"I'm really sorry! Dad, please stop!"
SLAP!
"Sarah, wait, I-"
SLAP!
The pain of being struck by her own family members, as they lost their tempers for whatever reasons, was far less painful than the feeling of emptiness that she felt in her chest. Like a hole had formed, and it was slowly starting to get bigger until, eventually, it had consumed her entirely...
Emma was shaking like a leaf, her eyes tight shut, when she opened them slowly, however, she realised that everybody was staring at her.
She glanced up, to see Whitebeard watching her, still intently, but his eyes were a whole lot softer now.]. He still had his hand there, and she looked at it uncertainly.
"Emma Pax," Whitebeard said to her, in his gruff voice. "I want to thank you for what you did for us." Emma was too stunned to say anything, as were most of the crew. Ace, however, was grinning. "Ace and Marco told me everything, and I remember seeing you at Marineford now. The World Government has referred to you as the Demon Of War, and are surely out for your blood by now. I owe you, however, for saving my son's life."
Omigosh, omigosh, OMI-FRAGGING-GOSH!Emma thought, managing to remain poker-faced throughout all of this. I just got a 'thank you' from Edward Newgate, and he said he owes me! Could this be the best day of my LIFE? Learning how to canter when horse-back-riding up in Chidlow...finally getting to go to Malaysia for her twenty-first...learning that she passed her first semester of TAFE last year...? We have a new winner!
But, all she said was: "DÅitashimashite, Whitebeard-Sama." She took his hand (which was more like his finger, because he was about the same size as freaking Bumblebee from Transformers!) and bowed her head briefly. "But...I'm nothing special, really. I just...want to help you all."
"Why?" Whitebeard wanted to know.
That was an excellent question. Emma glanced up at him, and then across at Ace. She may not have realised it at the time, but she was blushing, and this did not go unnoticed by the boy's Father.
He was beginning to understand what Monkey D. Garp had meant, when the Vice Admiral had dared to approach them, requesting that they assist this young lady who was helping Ace. Whitebeard had been hesitant at agreeing to the Marine's request but, in the end, he was glad that he had. There was something about this girl, and this could turn out to be very interesting...
Emma watched blankly as Ace and Luffy ate their lunches, which seemed to be enough lunch for a hundred people. Next to her, Law just calmly sipped on some tea, not seeming too concerned, considering that they were in the dining room of a pirate ship that was not Law's own. He was doing his best to keep to himself, and everybody seemed to be giving him a wide berth. Emma was sure that everybody had their eyes on him, though.
Or, on her.
Emma was just finishing up her soup (which was delicious) and set her spoon down carefully, when Ace said to her: "Hey, Ems - you should sing for us!"
At once, everything in the dining room went quiet and, suddenly, all eyes really were on her.
"Aiyee..." Emma muttered, tugging at her dress collar, and feeling a dull ache in her left arm, either from Coby's punch of doom, or from the cut that Louie had given her. "Do I have to?" She whispered.
"Mmhmm." The two brothers said in unison, earning them a glare that was more like a grimace from Emma. "If you don't, we'll tell the crew your secret." Ace added.
"What secret?!"
"That secret."
"There's no secret."
"Yeah there is." Ace grinned at her.
Fine, if that's the way you want to play it.Emma thought, standing up suddenly. Two can play at that game. She thought for a moment, and then opened her mouth and began to sing the Ikimono-Gakari song Uruwashiki-Hito, her voice starting out soft but eventually gaining more power, though it still maintained its soft approach. She was thrilled when it didn't waver on the high notes, but kept her eyes closed, so she didn't see how mesmerized everybody looked until the end of the song, when she opened her eyes.
Most people immediately started clapping, much to her shock, and she quickly ducked her head, but then she remembered...
Smiling evilly, she walked up to the nearest person, which happened to be Marco, and pulled out her camera, pressing the 'review' button and bringing up the picture of the two black cats sleeping together.
"Aren't Ace and Luffy adorable?" Emma asked Marco.
Marco laughed. "Hey, Vista, come and check this out!" He called over the man with the mustache, and the man himself came over, followed by a few others and soon a lot of people were crowded around.
"Aww, look at the cute little kitties!"
"Such brotherly love!"
Ace and Luffy glanced over.
"Hey, Emmy, what are you showing them?!" Luffy called to her.
Emma's smile was positively evil. "Oh, just your secret." She said.
Ace and Luffy exchanged a glance.
"She didn't..." Ace gasped.
"I think she did!" Luffy exclaimed.
Together, the two of them stood up. "Let's get her!"
"Eek!" Emma cried, grabbing the camera and taking off running. "Tell everybody that I died young!" She called over her shoulder, bolting from the dining hall as the two brothers of D. gave chase.
Most people laughed at this, amused by the young ones' antics. Only Law was not not smiling - there was a dark look in his eyes.
Emma decided to hide in the crows nest, since she figured it would be the last place the two brothers would look for her and her camera, which she stashed back into her bag.
Up in the crow's nest, Emma met one of the only female members of the crew. She had noticed that there weren't very many of them.
Like the other nurses, she wore the pink uniform. Her hat, however, did not have the red cross on it, making Emma think that she was a nurse-in-training. She looked young, maybe about fifteen, and had very long light blonde plaited pigtails and teal-coloured eyes.
"Hi." She said, by way of greeting.
"H-hello." Emma stammered, wondering if she was welcomed up here.
The nurse smiled at her. "Don't be afraid, I don't bite." She patted a spot on the seat next to her. "Come on, sit down." So, Emma did so, feeling nervous. "So, what brings you up here?" The nurse wanted to know.
Suddenly, from below them, they heard Ace cry: "Now, where on this ship did she run off to?!"
"We'll find her!" Luffy declared. "We have to - she was showing everybody incriminating pictures of us!"
"Luffy...do you even know what incriminating means?"
"Well...sure I do!" Luffy replied. "Shishishishi!" He ran off, followed closely by Ace.
Emma and the nurse rolled their eyes.
"My name's Sumi, by the way." The nurse introduced herself.
"E-Emma," the red-head replied. "Which, I'm sure you already know." Sumi smiled, and nodded. Emma mentally panicked. Okay, NOW what do I say?! Conversation topics...something...anything! "So, umm...you're a nurse?" What the Hell?!
Sumi just continued to smile, and nodded again. "Sure am...well, a nurse-in-training aboard this ship - I was the doctor onboard Ace's ship back then."
Emma was shocked. Sumi was a former member of the Spade Pirates! "You...so then, you've known Ace for...?"
"Four years now." Sumi smiled at her. "And, I gotta say, I've never seen him like this before."
"Like what?" Emma was genuinely confused.
Sumi laughed. "Oh dear, you're as clueless as he isn't, aren't you?" She shook her head. "Still, Ace-Kun has a way with people...he's good at getting them to see the good in themselves, but I doubt he can see much of it in himself..." She touched a hand to her neck, where a bunch of white scars sat in a ring around her neck.
Emma didn't dare to ask how she'd gotten them, and instead asked her: "S-Sumi-San...?"
"Call me -Chan." Sumi said abruptly.
Emma was taken aback, but then she smiled, also. "Sumi-Chan, tell me...what's it like being a pirate? Is it fun?"
Sumi nodded. "Sure it's fun, Emma-Chan, but it can also be dangerous - the two go hand-in-hand, of course! But, with a family like this one," she gestured to the deck, where the crew was milling. "I know that I've got nothing to worry about. They've got my back, and I've got theirs."
"Hmm..." Emma mused, looking up at the sky. "I always read that you guys call Whitebeard-Sama 'Oyaji'...he really considers you to be like his sons and daughters?"
Sumi looked up at the sky also. Clouds drifted lazily by on the mild day. An osprey flew overhead. "Most of us have never had a family to go to for help, so it was a bit weird at first...it certainly took Ace-Kun awhile to get used to!" She grinned. "He tried over a hundred times to take Oyaji's life but, in the end, you'll find nobody more loyal to our Father than what he is."
Emma swallowed. "Hmm...I guess so..."
Sumi turned to look at her. "Emma, thank you for saving Ace-Kun the way you did..."
"But I didn't..."
"Yes, you did." Sumi replied firmly. "It doesn't matter that you read about him in some comic book (which, by the way, I'd like to read sometime) - what matters is that you desired to save him and, so, you did. You saved all of us, actually."
"Sumi-Chan...the comic book series didn't do that whole war justice (I'll lend you a few copies, if you'd like). More people were hurt than I'd ever seen before...I only did it because nobody else could." Emma replied.
Sumi rolled her beautiful eyes. "Yeah, sure, whatever you say - Demon Of War."
Emma groaned. "Are they really calling me that?" She reached a hand up to her throat but then, not wanting to mimic Sumi, she dropped her hand to the compass, which immediately lit up.
Sumi gasped. "Emma-Chan, what's that?!" She stared in wonder at the scene.
Emma did as well, looking at the image projected up by the compass. "It's...it's Zoro!" She realised, recognizing that same cat. "But...where's his swords?"
Zoro was looking up at a shop, and there was a steely glint in his eyes, as he looked up at the shop.
Sumi was leaning forwards, and suddenly, she gasped again. "Wait! I know that shop!"
"What?!"
Sumi nodded, her pigtails swinging. "Uh-huh! That's Ippon-Matsu's Sword Shop! It's in..."
"Louge Town..." Emma whispered, realising at once what was happening. "Zoro's still in your world, but...he's stuck as a cat, and he needs our help!" She stood up swiftly, and the hologram disappeared. "I have to go and tell Luffy!" She declared, before turning to climb down from the crows nest. "Let's just hope that he doesn't attack me for showing everyone that photo of him and Ace curled up together as cats."
"Ooh, lemme see!"
Emma showed Sumi the picture, and then they both climbed down onto the deck, and went looking for the two brothers.
"So, what are we going to do?"
They were sitting in the state room, and it was Ace who had spoken. He was sitting in a chair with his hands behind his head, completely at ease now that he'd found his crew-mates.
"What do you mean, 'what are we going to do'?" Luffy repeated, looking surprised. "We're going to go and find Zoro, of course!"
"Yeah, but how are we going to do that?" Ace asked calmly.
All eyes turned to Emma, except for Whitebeard, who was drinking.
The large man took a large swig of sake, before clearing his throat, and everyone looked at him, except for Law. He continued to gaze at Emma, which unnerved her slightly as she turned to face Ace's captain.
"I suggest," Whitebeard said steadily (how could he always sound so steady when he drank so much?). "That you all go back to this little brat's house," he gestured to Emma, who tried not to bristle. "And get some rest. Then, she can use her powers to transport you all back to our own world."
Emma gasped, despite herself. "Can...can I do that?" She wondered, staring at her hands. "I mean...you know...I've never done anything like this before, and I...yeah..."
"It doesn't matter if you have or haven't, brat." Whitebeard interrupted her and, this time, she really did bristle. They all heard the sharp intake of breath, and Law found himself smirking. Whitebeard ignored all of this, knowing that, despite all of her shyness, she was as stubborn as a mule - he had her pegged. "You're involved in this now, whether you like it or not. If you so desire to help everyone, like you keep saying, then you're going to have to do it." He sat back, and waited.
Emma considered this, staring at a spot on the table. She took a deep breath, and Luffy looked at her in anticipation. "Okay...here's what I think we should do. We go back to my house, and I try and straighten things out with my sister. We spend a few days recovering, and I go to TAFE like nothing's happened. Then, on Friday...we go and get Zoro."
"Yeah!" Luffy agreed, grinning now. he hadn't been worried, though - he'd known that Emma would come through for him.
Ace was smiling, too. "Sounds like a plan, then."
Emma looked up. "Do you guys...really intend to come and stay with me some more?" Nobody missed the hope in her voice, or the nervous way that she picked at her nails.
Law sighed, and came over to her, grabbing her hands to stop her from assaulting her nails anymore. Looking into her eyes intently, and smirking at the way she blushed, he said: "You owe me, remember? You're not getting rid of me, at least not yet."
Emma gulped, wondering about the implications behind that. Luffy was distracted by a seagull outside the window, and Whitebeard was watching Ace. His son was staring...no, glaring, at Law, his fists clenched at his sides.
Whitebeard sighed quietly. How troublesome.
Emma suddenly stood up, and addressed Law, Luffy and Ace as one. "Then let me just say this - I can turn you back into cats in the blink of an eye, and I will not hesitate to do so if you annoy me! Law, that means nocreepy stuff, and no using that Devil Fruit power of yours, because it's just as creepy as you are, and yes I am telling you what to do, so don't give me that look! Ace, if you ever drink my parents' alcohol again, I willsee to it that you never have kids, because my parents are going to kill me anyway, and Hell's fury hath nothing on them, believeme!" She suddnely turned to Luffy, who flinched. "And Luffy, no...uh, no..."
"Emma-Chan!" Sumi suddenly burst into the room, looking excited about something. "I need you for a minute!" She smiled quickly at her Father, before gesturing to Emma. "Come on!"
"Coming, Sumi-Chan!" Emma responde,d and hurried to the door.
"Well what about his guidelines?!" Ace exclaimed, gesturing to Luffy, who glared at him.
Emma came back in. "Think of something you really like doing that annoys people." She told him. "You got it?" He nodded. "Well no that!"
As Emma left again, leaving Luffy, Ace, and Law stunned, the three young men were startled out of this by Whitebeard's laughing.
"Gu ra ra ra ra! To think, three brats like you, rendered speechless by that girl!" I'll have to keep my eye on this one...
Up on deck, Emma was getting ready to leave when Luffy, Ace and Law appeared. They found her and Sumi standing there, and Emma was asking Sumi a bunch of rapid questions which made no sense to the three men, because they included: "Do I need to feed it?" And: "What if it dies?" Until, that is, they saw the Baby Den-Den Mushi on her wrist.
It was pink, and had a red cross on its forehead. It's shell was teal blue, the same colour as Sumi's eyes.
Sumi looked up, and smiled when she saw Ace. "Ah, Ace-Kun, please tell your girlfriend that the Den-Den Mushi can take care of itself."
Everybody blanched, and then Emma exclaimed: "I am not his girlfriend!" At the same time Ace cried: "She is not my girlfriend!"
They looked at each other, and then said, in perfect unison: "Why, would that be so bad?" Then: "I didn't say that, you said it."
"Okay, could you two please stop that?" Law asked sarcastically.
"I can, but I don't think s/he can."
Luffy was laughing. "Shishishishi! That was awesome!" Sumi joined in.
Emma and Ace exchanged a glance. Emma was blushing. Law's eyes were dark.
Meanwhile, Whitebeard had come up on-deck, and there were a few calls of: "Hello, Oyaji." And: "The old man's drinking again - don't tell the nurses."
Whitebeard came up to them, carrying the sake in one hand. "We'll be staying here for a few days, Ace." He told his son, looking down at him. "Use the Den-Den Mushi to keep in contact with us. If we don't hear from you at least once a week, we'll send someone to find you - we know where you live."
Okay, that's just creepy. Emma thought, and then watched Ace and Whitebeard exchange a smile. And that is adorable...they really are just like Father and son... She smiled, but then jumped when Whitebeard called her over to him.
They stood a few paces away from everybody else, but Emma could feel the eyes of everybody staring holes into her. She focused her attention on her new Baby Den-Den Mushi instead, but also listened to what the ancient Captain had to say to her.
"Emma," he said, addressing her by her first name, which surprised her. "I sense a lot of fighting spirit within you, even if you don't. Learn this about yourself, or else you've got no hope of helping Ace in the future."
Emma gulped, and nodded. She understood what he was saying.
"I have a proposition for you." Whitebeard went on, and Emma glanced up at him, shocked. "I think you know what it is that I'm about to say, don't you?"
Is he...he is, isn't he?! AAAUUURRRGGGHHH! Emma wondered why he was asking her so suddenly and, once again, came to the conclusion that he knew something that she didn't. Why else would he be asking her to...?
"You don't have to answer now." Whitebeard added, as if reading her mind (which, Emma reminded herself, he probably could). "Think about it."
Taking a deep breath, more to steady herself than anything (and, for once, she hadn't been the one drinking!), she replied: "Alright. I will think about it...and let you know soon."
That was all that she could really say. Any more, and she might faint again.
"The offer will still stand."
Somehow, I don't actually believe that he's ASKING me, is he? Emma thought, as she slowly walked back to the group. I mean, in the fan fictions, whenever Whitebeard asks somebody, they usually end up joining one way or the other...hey, wait a minute, I already HAVE a Father! And, though he's a bit strict, he's still my Dad! Oh, this is so confusing!
"Hey, Emmy, are you okay?" Luffy waved a hand in front of her face. "You look weird."
"Oh, thanks." She muttered sarcastically. "It may not have crossed your minds, but we have to walk back to my car - I hatewalking!"
"Actually, much as I'd like to carry you that whole way," Ace said unexpectedly. "That won't be an issue - look." And, he pointed to the police car, that was still parked up by the beach.
Emma followed his gaze. "Oh no, no, no, no, no, no!" She cried.
"Ace, I hate you." Emma muttered, as she drove the police car back towards the town.
"No you don't." Ace said, grinning cheerfully from the passenger seat.
"You're right, I don't hate you." She agreed. "It goes beyond hatred, it's...it's...Law-San, word, please."
"Loathe?" He drawled from the back-seat, where he was sitting next to Luffy.
"Ooh, loathe is good, I like loathe, write that one down." Emma rolled her eyes.
"Come on Ems, what's the big deal?" Ace shrugged. "On my planet, we steal Marine ships all the time."
"But, we're not on your planet, are we?
"...No."
Emma sighed, and drove around to the place near to where she had parked her car. She stopped, and everybody got out. They began to trek back to the car, after Emma stowed the keys under the car's seat.
"Oh well, look on the bright side," Ace said, slinging an arm around her shoulder, much to her embarrassment. "You're gonna become a pirate soon enough anyway, so you might as well go all the way!"
"Why am I not feeling reassured?" Emma grumbled, before she looked up to where her car was. "Huh?" She stopped walking, and so did everybody else.
"Is that...?" Ace squinted at the tall, broad figure who was leaning against the white Lancer, apparently waiting for them.
"It is!" Emma exclaimed.
"Yikes!" Luffy cried, and hid behind Ace, just as Garp looked up and saw them.
"AH-HA!" He bellowed, running towards them. "THERE YOU ARE!"
Emma watched in complete shock as he punched both Luffy and Ace, sending them both flying across the road. Luckily, nobody was around to see this, as the two brothers destroyed a family's triangle-shaped mailbox and nearly took out the rhododendron bush.
"EMMA IS NOT GOING TO BECOME A PIRATE!" Garp shouted.
"There's nothing wrong with his ears." Law muttered.
"That's for sure." Emma agreed.
Once Garp had calmed down, he said: "I know exactly what's going on right now, so there's no need to explain it to me." He crossed his arms.
"How do you know?" Luffy asked him.
"Don't ask questions!" Garp snapped. "Now, as for what I am going to be doing with my time - I have decided to come back to Perth with you, but from there out I'll be going it alone."
"Where will you..."
"No questions!" Garp yelled. "I'll be coming in every day to check on you, and," he turned his gaze to Emma, who resisted the urge to hide behind Law. "To commence with your training."
"T-training?" She repeated, and had a sudden vision of an obstacle course reminiscent of the one from The Biggest Loser.
Garp nodded. "Mmhmm. We need to get you into shape, young lady, and there's no better trainer than me!" He nodded to himself.
"I agree." Emma said unexpectedly, and then said: "That'll work out perfectly if my parents won't let me continue with my martial arts. But, Grandpa Garp, h-how will you get back to my house from wherever it is that you are?"
Garp laughed. "Bwa ha ha ha ha! Young lady, I am a Marine Vice-Admiral! I can run the length of an entire island in under a day, six times over!"
I'd like to see him try it with this particular island. Emma thought, but all she said was: "Aww, I'm surrounded by insanely powerful, athletic people." She began pointing. "Youcan stretch yourself like rubber and eat an entire cow without getting fat, you can control fire and have the body of a god, no wait scratch that, forget I said that...you just told me you can run like a zillion miles and not die, and you...well, I don't know quite what it is that you do, but I'm sure that it's superhuman." Emma's shoulders sank. "Meanwhile, I nearly get taken out by Coby."
Garp seemed to find that hilarious, and it took him awhile to stop laughing, but only because they threatened to leave him there if he didn't shut up and get in the car.
Emma drove back to Perth in a slight fog, feeling tired and knowing that TAFE - and her sister - awaited her when she got back there...
Georgia didn't cry - Georgia never cried, it was not the kind of person that she was, it just...wasn't.
Her eyes hurt though, and she felt a lump in her throat. Across from her, her Mother was sobbing, and her Father did his best to console her, as Georgia tried to find a place to look.
After awhile, she turned her gaze to the policeman standing awkwardly in the centre of the living room, and said: "Did my sister say what her assignment was, by any chance?" The realisation that Carmilla was missing, and presumed either injured or dead, seemed foreign. How could Carmilla be missing? Carmilla was strong, she was unstoppable...where was she?
The officer, Bradley Cates, just shook his head. "No, Ma'Am." he replied, in an American accent. "Unfortunately, the case that she was working on was classified - she wasn't obliged to discuss it with anyone."
Georgia's Father, Timothy, looked up at Bradley. "Isn't there anything you can tell us?" He asked, in a tight voice.
For a moment, all that could be heard was Jacqueline Brown's sobs.
Then, Bradley cleared his throat. "Look, Officer Brown was investigating a particularly out-of-the-ordinary case, and the only lead we have is some fingerprints we obtained over the weekend. If anything comes up and, if HQ allows it, I'll let you know." He tipped his hat to them, and bid them all a goodnight.
Georgia's Mother looked up at her, and opened her arms. Georgia hesitated, and then hurried to her Mother's arms, but she still didn't cry.
Georgia never cried.
Emma saw her sister's car still out the front when she pulled into the driveway at nine o'clock that night. Advising the now-cats to wait in the car, which she parked in the garage, Emma took a deep breath and walked inside.
Sarah Pax just about pounced on her, looking angry. "Where have you been?!" She nearly shouted, as Ranger happily bounded over to Emma and jumped up.
"Down, Ranger." Emma said automatically and, when he did, she patted his head. "Good boy."
"I called Krystal's place but Blake said that you weren't there," Sarah accused. "And then, when I rang you, you were with a boy! Now, what is going on?!" She grabbed Emma's hand and dragged her down to her room, pointing at the stain on the carpet. "Why is there blood on your carpet, and scratch marks on your bed-post?! Who is this Coby person, and does Mum know about him?"
Emma could only stare at her sister - since when did Sarah start caring so much.
"Answer me, or I'll tell Mum!" Sarah threatened. "You threw off my entire plans for the whole weekend - Ben and I were going to take Ngarimu and Corey to the zoo!"
That angered Emma. For years now, she'd been walked on by her sister. Last year, her sister had broken up with her partner of seven years, to start dating a much older, married man from New Zealand. It had thrown the entire family into disarray when Sarah had revealed all of this. She and her ex had had to sell their house, there was money issues (Sarah now had virtually none, due to spending their Nanna's inheritance all on the house, all $10'000) and now Sarah was using her job to pay Ben's mortgage, and the child care for his four kids to his (ex)wife. Ben was an alcoholic, and he smoked marujana - when Sarah had revealed that, so too did she, it had thrown Emma completely off-balance. There was a fair amount of tension within the family, fuelled by the unknowing, and the fact that they didn't particularly like the situation surrounding Ben...
Actually, Lee wasn't too fond of Ben, full stop.
Bruce wouldn't even let him in the house.
Emma turnbed to face her sister. "Look, Nee-San, I don't care what you were planning on doing this weekend! I had things that I needed to do, and you can do something for this family every once and awhile!"
"You're starting to sound just like Mum!" Sarah accused, not used to her sister fighting back like this. She knew better than to lose her temper like she had in the past, however - Lee would kill her. Then again, Lee's temper was no better. "Does she know where you were?"
"No!" Emma cried. "And, Nee-San, you can'ttell her!"
"Is this Coby your boyfriend?" Sarah wanted to know.
Emma averted her gaze. "N-no, not exactly...it's pretty complicated..."
"Complicated or serious?"
"Does it matter?" Emma mumbled. "Look, Nee-San, I'm having a bad week, okay? My phone got run over by a train yesterday, I'm running out of money, and I have four assignment due in soon that I haven't even started..." Plus, I am involved in things you couldn't even begin to imagine. She added mentally.
Sarah sighed. "Whatever. Look, just don'task me to do this again, understand? I won't ask about the blood, and I won't tell Mum what happened, but this is the last time, okay? I won't cover for you again."
"Thanks." Emma mumbled.
"By the way, what is that on your wrist?" Sarah pointed to it, and Emma froze.
She'd forgotten about the Baby Den-Den Mushi! "Uh..."
Just then, Sarah's mobile phone rang, and she hurried to answer it, saving Emma from anymore embarrassing questions. She sighed, and glanced down at the Baby Den-Den Mushi on her wrist. She gave it a poke, and it woke up, glancing sleepily at her.
Emma smiled, and promised it some lettuce once her sister left. The Baby Den-Den Mushi blinked sleepily at her, before going back to sleep.
Boss was the only one not affected by Twister's presence. Perhaps everybody was just thrown off to have the pale-skinned, black-cloaked figure in their presence after so long, since he didn't usually show up for Celestial Meetings. At least he'd left his giant sickle at home.
Luck decided to speak up.
"So, what do you wish to do about this, Boss?" He asked bravely.
Boss turned to him. "I want to go to World 790412, and get those pirates and that Marine back to World 192853746, before bringing those four police officers back to World 790412!"
"And, what would that accomplish?" Karma asked. "Nobody would forget what they've learned, plus, things have already been thrown out of balance, right, Destiny?"
The blue-haired woman nodded glumly.
Boss sighed. "That's why Twister is here. Twister, you know what you have to do?" The man nodded. "Then, go and do it."
"Asss you wisssh, sssir..." Twister hissed, before turning and gliding from the room, and leaving everybody feeling chilled.
"Umm, sir... ?" Fate spoke up, smiling. "Any luck in tracking down Little Death yet?"
Boss shook his head. "no. The little brat's getting good at evading everyone. I really didn't want to have to resort to calling her parents, but..." He reached for a conveniently-located phone, and everyone pounced on him.
"NO!" They shouted, whilst wrestling the phone away from him.
"Boss, that is the last thing you'd want to do right now!" Karma cried, finally managing to secure the phone. "Please, just let us handle this!"
"Okay, fine, but all of you, get off of me!" He shouted. He really needed that Boss Coffee now but, unfortunately, Faith had disappeared...along with Cupid...
"Ready?" Faith whispered to Cupid.
Cupid, feeling very important, nodded, and readied his bow. "~No time to be stupid, just leave it to Cupid!~" He sung, as he aimed his arrow that had a head shaped like a heart, and Faith rolled her brilliant blue eyes at his antics. "~With a heart as soft as a velvet glove, now open your eyes and fall in LOVE!~" He let the arrow fly.
It pierced through veil, from the celestial realm and into the worlds of reality. Its female target was clear - it sailed through time and space, aiming for that one true heart...
Faith closed her eyes, and prayed. This how meant to be. This way it meant to be, please understand...everybody...this Emma's DESTINY...
Elsewhere, Destiny opened her eyes and gasped. "Faith, what have you done?!"
Author's Notes:
. Sorry for such a wait between updates, as I was so tired yesterday that I didn't get this chapter finished, but now it's done! ^^
. Heh, Samoa. Watch the first episode of Lilo And Stitch: The Series, if you don't get it. www.youtube watch?v=SlYCFxv2uSQ
. Uruwashiki Hito, by Ikimono-Gakari - this song is LOVE! Watch the Naruto Konoha High fan-made series to hear it, and also A Little Pain, by Olivia Lufkin.
watch?v=7u90pxYiN_M
watch?v=tbN9BzvbedY
. Sumi is a new character, with a very interesting past. You'll have to wait and see what it is, though! ^_^
MsWildLuck - thank you so very much. :)
tanakaL - lol, I know what you mean. My cousin has a cat called Tom, I keep hoping that he'll turn into a Fishman! Thank you!
WindWhistle21 - don't worry, dear, you're unique...just like everybody else. XD Nah, I re-read stuff too, when waiting for the updates...
M. A. W. writer - I know, right? It'd be the most terrifyingly epic thing imaginable! Hmm, Zoroi and Sanji, fighting as cats? :P Some things will never change, trust me! Thanks for the review!
Wolf Spirite - finding Zoro and the crew is a top priority, for sure! Eheheh...romance...well, that is one of the categories of this story... ^^ You'll just have to wait and see what happens!
Guest - a-ha, you're an insomniac too, just like me, Law-San and Sabaku No Garaa! Thanks for the review!
Cocoa Liddell - yes, they are cute, aren't they? Possessive/jealous Ace sounds epic but, as before, you'll just have to wait and see! ^_^
Thanks to: MsWildLuck, KaiF . Raphaella, Wolf Spirite, SignUpWith, M . A . W . writer, xXxEmeraldBlueXxX and thoughtwasrare for the Alert.
Thanks to: WarriorSoul7, Max Wolfwing, KaiF . Raphaella, Wolf Spirite, M . A . W . writer and xXxEmeraldBlueXxX for the Favs.