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 TEN
Cat Thief
When Emma woke up the next day, she was surprised to find that she wasn't hung-over. Maybe she hadn't drunk as much as she thought she had.
Smiling about this, Emma shifted about slightly - and froze.
Something was wrong...yes, something was definitely wrong, but...what was it?
And, when she opened her eyes, she found out what it was.
Lying to her right, with one hand on his hat and the other on Emma's shoulder, was Luffy.
To her left, was Law and, for some reason, she had her left arm draped across him - how had that happened?
But, more importantly, was Ace. He was lying on his stomach, right up close to her on the same side as Luffy, and his head was resting on her chest. He was smiling his sleep.
Emma's heart began to hammer in her chest, as she looked up, to see a green-haired swordsman resting with his back against the doorframe. Zoro glanced up at her, and raised an eyebrow.
Her face turned red, and she quickly averted her gaze, searching for her compass. She found it on the floor, and glanced helplessly at Zoro, who rolled his eyes, and got up, going over and picking up the compass, which he handed to her - she touched it, and changed everybody back into cats.
Thank God. She thought. She was then able to get up, change them back into humans, and walk quietly out of the room, followed by Zoro.
Once out in the kitchen, she sighed. "That...was weird..."
Zoro didn't answer, and instead headed out the back to do some training.
After feeding the dog, Emma didn't feel like cooking, but she knew she had to - she was almost completely out of money, and wouldn't get paid until the day after tomorrow. The trouble was...Emma checked the pantry. She checked the fridges (all three of them). She checked the freezers.
She then double-checked them.
Emma blinked. "Uh...oh no..." She felt a growing sense of dread.
At that point, the other three wandered into the kitchen, to find Emma standing in the middle of said kitchen, looking shocked.
"Emmy, what's wrong?" Luffy asked. "Why isn't breakfast ready?"
Ace slapped Luffy upside the head. "Baka! She's not our maid!"
Emma sighed, and clasped her hands. "Okay, umm, how to say this...we're out of food."
The three men stared at her for a second, trying to comprehend what she'd just said.
Law got it first, and just sighed, placing a hand to his forehead, and waiting for the storm that was to come.
Meanwhile, Luffy and Ace exchanged a glance.
Luffy said: "Did she just say that..."
"We're out of food?" Ace finished.
Slowly, the two brothers turned to Emma in horror.
"I'm really sorry!" She cried, looking upset. "I didn't have enough money to begin with, after board and bills and what-not, and I don't get paid until the day after tomorrow!"
"Can't we just, you know, dine-and-dash?" Luffy suggested.
"No!" Emma exclaimed, shaking her head. "Not in this world - they can get your fingerprints and trace it back to you...I think the Malaysian Government still has my fingerprints from when I went there two years ago."
"You broke the law while you were over there?" Ace raised an eyebrow.
"No, it was a standard procedure." Emma sighed. "The problem is now - what are we going to do?"
"Easy," Law replied, shrugging. "If we can't steal in this world, then we'll go back to our world and do it."
"Yeah!" Luffy agreed. "We can get some ramen!"
"I do like miso ramen..." Emma mused, but then she shook her head. "No...wait...it's too risky, Law-San, remember?"
He didn't say anything, but Ace did.
"Why, Emiko?" He looked at her. "What happened last night?"
Emma and Law exchanged a glance. Emma sighed. "Luffy, go and get Zoro - he needs to hear this, too."
"So, if you find your seven other 'Allies', then you can awaken some huge power that the Government will do anything to stop you from having?" Zoro shook his head. "We always get roped into this sort of stuff, don't we Luffy?"
"Sure do! Shishishishi..." The two exchanged a grin.
Emma rolled her eyes. "Yeah, maybe this sort of thing happens to you two all the time, but not for me!" She put her head in her hands. "Being hunted down by an entireWorld Government?! It's more than I can handle!"
"She sounds like Nami, doesn't she?" Luffy pointed out.
"Shut up you!"
"Yup." Zoro chuckled.
Emma just sighed, and got up, walking down the hall to her room without another word. Maybe it was the lack of food and funds, or the certain lack of tea and coffee in the house, as well. I can't survive like this on my own...Mum and Dad were right, I'd nevermake it out there...
She sat down on her bed, and took off her compass (she'd found that she could do that, as long as she had the notion to put it on again - otherwise, it would appear to be stuck to her neck). She touched the shiny surface of the locket, ran her hands over the glass, and tapped on it gently. As she watched, the compass glowed brightly, and the needle spun. An image appeared above it, just like how it had done with Zoro.
Emma gasped, watching as the new cat sat on the windowsill in the sunshine, and then purred, smiling happily. A Log-Pose and a gold bangle sat on the windowsill nearby and, as Emma watched in shock, a woman came over to the cat and began speaking to her. She was tall, and very pretty, and had heart-shaped tattoos on her shoulders and collar-bone. The cat spoke back - it had a mark on its left shoulder, a very distinct pattern and shape...
Emma gasped again, as the image disappeared, and she was left staring at the carpet in shock.
Sakazuki's words played out in her mind: Kill them on sight.
Emma made her decision, and stood up, walking back into the living room where the others were waiting for her.
"It doesn't matter whether I'm being hunted by the World Government or not." She said firmly, holding the compass in her hand. The others watched her silently. "I made a promise to help you and, if the World Government is hunting down our Allies, then we must find them before they do. And, on that same note, I know where the next one is." She added.
"Where?!" Luffy exclaimed, eager for the next adventure.
Emma still hadn't gotten over the one in Logue Town, but she pushed that out of her mind and smiled brightly. "Cocoyashi Village!"
Officer Bradley Cates sat at his desk, eyes closed, and considering what was going on.
How was it that four officers could just vanish, and under what circumstances? Bradley knew a little bit - he knew that Carmilla had been investigating the recent sighting of a strange ship with a whale-shaped hull, which had currently disappeared off the radars, but was presumably still close to the Australian coast. He knew that, somehow, she had known that the fingerprints she'd gotten were a key to solving this mystery, so Bradley had sent the fingerprints off to by analysed by forensics.
However, there was still the small matter of the tape that she'd left on her desk, which had been given to Bradley to be reviewed by higher-ups.
Bradley had watched the tape with the straw-hat-wearing girl and her talking cats, and was now trying to piece together wherehe had heard all of this information before.
Deciding to take a chance, he typed into Google: whale-shaped hull of a ship, straw hat, luffy.
He pressed the 'search' button.
"Wow, it's been awhile since we've seen this place." Luffy commented, shielding his eyes from the sun as he gazed out over Nami's homeland. "We should find Nami, and also a place to eat!"
"Actually, Luffy, it might be better if we find Emma first." Zoro commented, picking bits of ribbon off of him, which disappeared before they hit the dusty ground. "She's gone."
Ace looked around. "Don't worry, it happened last time, as well."
"She's probably wandering around somewhere as a cat again." Law added calmly, putting his hands behind his head. So, this is the island where Luffy took on Arlong, huh? Interesting... "She's probably in trouble, that Demon Of War." The doctor added, smiling.
Zoro just stared at him. Demon Of War? And what's with that smile?
Luffy nodded. "Okay, we find Emma, thenwe find Nami - and some food!" He pumped his fist into the air. "Let's go!"
A man sat in one of the restaurants in Cocoyashi Village, wearing a long white cloak which did not help with his incognito-look, but nobody really seemed to pay any attention to him. If they had just thought to look under the hood of his cloak, however, then they would have realised that he shouldn't be in here.
As it happened, his cover was about to be blown, by an unsuspecting young woman. Well, a cat.
The red and white cat just appeared out of nowhere, covered in ribbons, and quite clearly all-tied-up, as she landed in a bowl of cream-cheese stew.
The little girl with blonde curls that sat next to the man in the cloak shrieked, as the cream-cheese stew went all over her. She was clearly of upper-class, so what she was doing in Cocoyashi Village was anyone's guess. She had bright blue eyes, and was dressed in a very expensive-looking blue dress to match. Currently, the dress also matched her hair.
"Eeyaa!" The girl, who couldn't have been more than eight, jumped back, upsetting her chair. She pointed dramatically at the little red and white cat, who was currently trying, without success, to free herself from the tangles of ribbons. A red ribbon was tied around her own neck. "I want that cat executed!" The little girl wailed, angry tears filling her eyes.
The man sighed. "Of course, Sugar." No, that was not a nickname, it was her actualname.
Sugar pouted, and watched as the cat was picked up by the scruff of its neck. The ribbons fell off of it. "Good. Make sure it gets hanged, Uncle Nezumi." She added, grumpily, examining the necklace and compass that had appeared along with the cat. Ooh, shiny... She thought, pocketing them both.
As soon as the words were out of her mouth, everybody in the restaurant gasped. The restaurant owner took out a flint-locked blunderbuss, and pointed it at Nezumi. "Get out." He threatened.
Nezumi paled, and grabbed his niece's hand, hurrying out of the restaurant with the cat still struggling in his firm grasp.
Genzo walked through the town, whistling and not really noticing the stranger in the white cloak dragging the little girl behind him (mainly because she kept saying that her dress was ruined and calling the man her Uncle, so Genzo was not worried) and carrying a cat. The cat caught his interest, though, because it was the second one he'd seen recently.
The first one, of course, had not been a cat - it had been their very own Nami.
Genzo still recalled what had happened the other day...
He had been standing in the local convenience store, waiting patiently in line to buy some bread, when a voice nearby had exclaimed that their wallet was missing. A few seconds later, another voice had stated the same thing and, soon, everyone's wallets were missing.
They didn't have to wonder about it for long, as a tabby cat jumped up onto the counter, carrying a small bag with all their money in it.
She was a pretty cat, with warm brown eyes the colour of milk-chocolate, and a very human-like expression on her face when she opened her mouth and said: "You guys got complacent without me around, didn't you?"
Everyone stared at the talking cat for a moment, before somebody said: "N-Nami?!"
The cat grinned in a very Nami-like way, and she said: "Sure am! Don't know how I got this way, but I think I'll be alright now that I'm home!"
"Nami!" Everybody cried, and hurried over to her.
Now, Genzo had just come back from visiting with Nami and her older sister Nojiko. he was happy to see the two girls together again, but curious as to how Nami had ended up as a cat in the first place. Also, how were they going to get her changed back?
He walked into a restaurant to find the owner cleaning up a spill. "What happened?" Genzo asked.
This comment was interrupted by a shout of: "GIMME FOOD!"
A second later, somebody crashed into the restaurant, creating a massive hole in the wall next to the door, and crashed into the back of Genzo, who saw the restaurant owner's eyes widen in horror, and then they crashed into him as well.
They all three of them landed with a thud at the back of the restaurant.
As everyone gasped, and wondered what had happened, somebody with green hair and three swords opened the door and strolled in, ignoring the hole in the wall until he said: "You know Luffy, Nami's going to make you pay for that."
"Nah, she'll be cool with it! Shishishishi!" Luffy laughed from where he was tangled on the floor with Genzo and the restaurant owner.
"It's...it's Luffy! And Zoro!" Somebody said, as people began exclaiming.
"They're back!"
"Quick, somebody run and tell the girls!"
"Welcome back, you two!"
"It's good to see you!"
Luffy and Zoro smiled - it was nice to be appreciated somewhere in the world.
Chabo ran through the forest, not stopping until he reached the small house by the tangerine groves. From what he had heard from everyone, this had been the place of such disaster and heart-ache in the past, but now it was a beautiful and peaceful place once more. More importantly, it was where Nojiko-Nee-San lived.
"Nojiko-Nee-San!" Chabo pounded on the door, which was opened up a moment later by the beautiful blue-haired, teal-eyed Nojiko.
"Chabo, what is it?" She raised an eyebrow. "You're making enough noise to raise the dead." She added, smiling at the thought of how cross Bellemere would get at the ruckus if she was here - even though she herself had been infamous for doing the exact same sort of things.
"I know," Chabo said, breathing heavily from his run through the forest. "But...you'll never believe it! They're...they're here!"
"Who's here?" Said a second voice, and the brown-eyed, orange tabby cat trotted over to them. It was still strange, seeing Nami as a cat, but she seemed to be taking it in her stride. The colour suited her, too. She wore her bracelet around her neck like a collar.
"It's them!" Chabo grinned. "Luffy and Zoro! They're at the restaurant!"
Nami's eyes widened. "Luffy! Zoro!" She cried, and dashed out of the house, her body nothing more than an orange blur as she ran. She'd been worried about them since they'd been split up at Sabaody. She'd heard about what had happened at the Marineford War...in short, nobody knew what had happened to Luffy and Ace...Nami suspected that the Government was keeping things in wraps, and she was determined to find out just what it was!
"Meat, meat, M-E-A-T!" Luffy cheered, as he finished his ninth pork chop. Ace was just finishing a fifth helping of fried chicken.
Law and Zoro were a little more controlled with their eating - they were only on their third helping of white rice.
Just then, the doors to the restaurant burst open, and everybody looked up in shock, but there was nobody there.
Then, they looked down, and saw the tabby cat standing there, breathing heavily.
"Luffy!" She cried, her brown eyes trained on him and Zoro. "Zoro!" She leapt towards them...and began scratching at their faces. "What the Hell did you do to the restaurant?! And what took you so long?!" She screamed, accentuating each syllable with a swipe of her claws.
Everyone else laughed about this (except for Ace, who'd fallen asleep, and Law, because that wasn't like him), as Nami finished scolding her two crew-mates, and then hugged them as best she could in her cat-form.
Luffy and Zoro, now with scratch marks on their faces like when Meowth scratched Jessie and James in Pokemon, then sat down with Nami to swap stories, and catch up on what had happened since they'd parted ways.
Meanwhile, Genzo was talking to the restaurant owner, as he helped him to assess the damage made by Luffy's entrance (they were a bit annoyed, but seeing as how happy Nami was to see her crew-mates, they supposed that they could let it go, just this one time).
"Oh, that's right, I almost forgot to tell you," the restaurant owner remembered. "Just before you came in, we had a visit from that low-life, Nezumi."
Genzo tensed, his eyes flashing angrily. He would never forgive that Marine that had hurt Nami and Nojiko so badly. "What did he want?"
The restaurant owner shrugged. "No idea - he was here with his niece, though, so I suppose he was just stopping by the eat. he was wearing a white cloak."
"Ah, yes, I saw him." Genzo nodded. "What happened?"
"Well, everything was going smoothly, I suppose. But then that cat appeared, and..."
"Wait, what cat?" Law had suddenly appeared by their sides, seeming interested all of a sudden.
"Well, a cat appeared in a bundle of ribbons," a waitress supplied, blushing a little bit due to Law's attractive features. "And landed in the cream-cheese stew, splattering Nezumi's niece. She was angry with the cat, and so they left with it."
Law's cool grey eyes darkened. "I see." He said, in a voice that alerted everyone in the vicinity to the fact that the Supernova was angry. He marched over to Ace, and woke him up with a quick knock to the head. "Oi, Fire-Fist-ya - what does Emma-San look like as a cat?"
He knew, of course, but he also knew that everyone was probably more likely to listen to Ace.
Ace glared at him for waking him up like that (at least he didn't pour water on him!) and was about to reply, when Zoro beat him to it.
Or, they'd listen to Zoro.
"She's dark red, with white markings on her paws, tail and face." Zoro remembered. "She was wearing a red ribbon around her neck that time..." He added.
The waitress nodded. "Yeah, that's the cat we saw...the one...they're going to...execute." She finished meekly.
Zoro, Ace, Law, and Luffy stared at her in horror.
"Oh, and the little girl also took with her a strange compass and a necklace." The waitress added.
Nami gasped. "Wait! Luffy! Zoro! Isn't that the compass that will help turn me back into a human?!" She jumped up onto Zoro's chest, digging her claws into his shirt as she tried to get her point across. "And, isn't this Emma the only one that can use it?! We have to find her!" She wailed.
"Nami, calm down, we will!" Luffy promised, standing up. He adjusted his hat. He looked annoyed. "Emma's our Nakama now." He added purposefully, and everybody in the restaurant suddenly understood. They'd seen what Luffy had done when Nami was the one in danger - to this kid, Nakama meant everything.
Zoro turned to Genzo. "Any idea where those two might have taken her?" He asked.
Genzo looked thoughtful. "It's possible that they're docked around the other side of the island, where Arlong Park used to be." He spoke the name of the place like it was a curse and, for nearly everyone that lived in the Conomi Islands, it was. "There's no way they would have docked near the village." He added.
Ace stood up suddenly, a dark look in his eyes. "We are going there." He announced, a threat in his voice, as if daring anyone to try and stop him.
Genzo nodded. "We will show you the way."
"Poor little kitty, you're going to die, but you ruined my dress, and you made me cry."
Emma wanted to put her paws over her ears to drawn out the off-key and morbid song, but she couldn't, because she was chained up. She was also locked inside a cage, so why she needed to be chained up, she knew not. It was a tad excessive, as was the fact that the cage was suspended over a pit of some sort of liquid which she severelyhoped wasn't water or acid.
"Now, now, Sugar, don't torment the prisoner." Nezumi had shed his cloak, and now wore his standard Marine uniform. He stood by his niece's side, and put a hand on her shoulder. "Come now, it's time for your nap." He added, and led her from the room.
She went with him, swinging the compass and Emma's necklace from her hand.
Emma's heart sank - she should've just used the Ribon-Ribon No Body-Swap with Nezumi, and then he would've been the one in the cage (somehow). Curse her and her unwillingness to kill!
She suddenly gave a short gasp, as the cage jolted, and then moved down a bit, towards the pit of death. Emma began shaking, and her chains clanked together. She realised then why she couldn't use her powers - they were sea-stone cuffs! This was not good.
"There it is." Luffy noticed the ship, and scowled at the Marine's symbol on it, though his heart was racing for another adventure! "Okay, let's go!" he said, but Nami sunk her claws into the hem of his vest.
"Hold it!" She said, through clenched teeth. "If we just rush into that, then they could do something drastic, like kill Emma outright!" Her eyes watered.
It's so nice of Nami to be worried about Emmy, even though she's never met her!Luffy thought, inspired. Nami's so great!
"They might even do it before I'm a human again, and then I'll be stuck like this forever!" Nami added.
"And there it is." Zoro rolled his eyes.
"Nami-ya is right, minna." Law said unexpectedly. His eyes were trained on the ship. "If we just go in guns-blazing, it could prove to be worse than the current situation. We need someone to go in, get the information, and then get out. After that, we can get in again and slit some throats."
"Coming from you, that sounds almost illegal." Zoro muttered. "Still, it's a good plan." He admitted grudgingly. "We need somebody small, who can get in undetected."
"And that's where I come in." Nami said importantly, nodding. She jumped down from the small ledge that they were all on. She landed on the sand without a sound, and turned back. "Okay, Luffy - we'll do this without anything bad happening."
Luffy nodded, understanding. "Okay, Nami - I trust you."
Nami turned back around, tears running down her face. Why do I have to be so noble? She sobbed on the inside.
Onboard the ship, Nami crept along, keeping to the shadows and living up to her name as Cat Thief Nami.
Just then, she rounded a corner, and came across the biggest, most lavish door she had ever seen - it was pink, and frilly, and had a golden name-plaque on it that read SUGAR. The door opened suddenly, and Nami pressed herself up against the wall, in the shadows.
"Uncle Nezumi..." a sleepy voice said from within the room, and a man that Nami despised turned around.
"Yes, Sugar?" He asked warily.
"Can you kill that cat now...?" Sugar sounded tired. If Nami had to guess her age, then she would've pegged it at about seven or eight. "Sink it into the water in the brig..." Sugar yawned.
Nami's eyes widened.
"Yes, Sugar." Nezumi sounded just as tired as his niece, if not even more so, as he pulled the door to.
Nami watched him go, her hatred building, and then she crept over to the door and peered in.
The room was lit by the nightlight, and Nami could see that Sugar had everything a little girl could ever desire.
What mostly caught Nami's attention, however, was the two items on Sugar's bedside table - a heart-shaped necklace, and a compass! Nami's eyes widened - that compass was the ticket to her freedom! She wouldn't be able to carry them both by herself, however, and so she quickly turned, and darted from the room. She had to get back to Luffy and the others, and tell them what was happening!
However, she was running across the deck, when a hand grabbed her by the scruff of her neck, and a Marine glared at her. "Another cat?" he growled, as he turned her around to face him. "We don't like cats..."
Nami struggled, but the Marine's grip was too strong. Her heart was racing - this was bad, this was really bad!
There was only one thing to do.
Nami took a deep breath...
"What do you think's happening?" Luffy whispered. He was itching to get onboard that ship and battle.
Zoro seemed to be anticipating, too. He kept fiddling with his sword, clicking it slightly out of its sheath and then clicking it back in again, and repeating, until Law gave him a Death Look, which he returned.
Ace was staring at the ship, very still, like a dog hunting a rabbit. He wasn't going to take his eyes off the ship and, as soon as he was given the word, then he would go in.
Just then, they all heard a scream, one that was slightly familiar to Ace and Law, and one that was very familiar to Luffy and Zoro.
"LUFFY! ZORO! THEY'RE GOT EMMA IN THE BRIG ABOUT TO SINK INTO WATER, AND THE COMPASS IS IN A ROOM WITH A PINK DOOR MARKED SUGAR!" Nami screamed, just as she was thrown overboard, and landed with a small splash in the water.
Luffy jumped up, his eyes blazing. "Zoro, get Nami! Ace, get that compass! Law, come with me!"
For once, Law didn't mind being ordered around, although he made a mental note to not make a habit out of it, as he grabbed Luffy's arm as Luffy stretched himself back.
"GOMU-GOMU NO...SLING-SHOT!" Luffy shot himself and Law towards the ship, as Ace followed behind them using his fire powers, and Zoro sprinted to the water and dived in to save Nami.
In the brig, Nezumi heard the commotion overhead. "What on earth are those baka doing up there?" He wondered, just as a man burst into the room, running so fast that he nearly toppled into the water, and would have, except that Nezumi grabbed him by the back of his collar.
"Captain!" The Marine gasped. "It's terrible - we're being attacked!"
"By whom?!" Nezumi wanted to know, just as somebody burst through the wall. Nezumi gasped and jumped back, as Luffy and Law straightened up, glaring murderously at him. "Ah! S-S-Straw hat L-L-Luffy!" He pointed at Luffy like he'd seen a ghost. "And...the one standing next to you?"
Law chuckled darkly, a smirk on his face. "Room." He muttered. He was going to enjoy this.
Running through the halls, Ace quickly found Sugar's room. The abundance of pink inside made him want to faint, but he soldiered on and immediately grabbed the necklace and compass.
As he was making his way quickly, he heard the click of a gun, and knew, to his horror, that the little girl was pointing one at him!
"Not so fast!" She threatened him.
"Okaaaay..." Ace slowed down.
The little girl responded by firing a bullet at him, which shouldn't have done anything - except it was made of sea-stone. The bullet grazed into Ace's right shoulder but, luckily, Sugar hadn't been prepared for the recoil, and this gave Ace the chance to make his escape, and head towards the brig. If anyone asked, he'd been shot by a Marine!
Ace reached a T-Junction, just as Nami and Zoro did.
"This way!" The tabby cat cried, racing off down the last hallway, and the two men followed her. Nami used her common-knowledge of ships to lead them straight to the brig. She was also clued in due to the sounds of a fight, which had escalated by the time they arrived.
More Marines had shown up in the brig, and the fight seemed to be going all-out, since Law's Room only covered a certain area, and Luffy was busy taking on the rest of them by himself.
"Ace!" Luffy shouted when he saw his brother. "Hurry! Get the key to Emmy's cage!" He punched a few Marines that tried to attack him.
"Where is it?!" Ace shouted back, suddenly dragged into the fray along with Zoro.
"I don't know, but we have to find it!" Luffy cried, pointing to where Emma's cage was already half-submerged. "That entire cage is made of sea-stone!"
Nezumi laughed at the desperation in Luffy's voice. "Straw Hat, you'll never free her! My niece has the key, and she'll nevergive it up!"
Nami suddenly turned tail and ran, back up the stairs. She had an idea.
The fight, at that moment, grew more vicious, as Ace burned a hole in the roof without setting fire to the ship, and punching a good number of Marines up to there. Everybody followed, and the fight resumed.
Nami, meanwhile, had returned to Sugar's room, and went in, but then jumped back when a bullet was fired at her, grazing her right shoulder.
Sugar stood there, in a frilly pink nightie, and holding the gun, which she aimed at Nami. It was, decidedly, the scariest thing that the Navigator had ever seen. "Another cat!" Sugar yelled. "Get out of here!" She was shaking, however.
Nami didn't move.
"Didn't you hear me?!" Sugar shouted. "You're not going to hurt me, not like that other cat!"
Did she mean Emma? Nami wasn't sure, as she took a step forward.
"Don't move!" Sugar had tears in her blue eyes. "I hate cats! I hate them! My Mummy and Daddy were eaten by a leopard two months ago!"
Nami stopped, her eyes growing wide.
"So...so don't come any closer!" Sugar had tears running down her face, now. "I hate cats!"
Nami considered this, her heart pounding. She then laid down, her stomach touching the floor, as she looked up at Sugar, trying to appear as unthreatening as possible. "Sugar," Nami said gently, and watched as Sugar gasped and looked shocked that the tabby cat had just spoken. "Sugar, I'm not really a cat - I'm really a human, like you. My name is Nami."
"You...you're lying!" Sugar accused her.
"No, I'm not." Nami replied patiently. "I was turned into a cat by a magic spell and, to undo the spell, I need to set free my friend that you have tied up in the brig. She's the only one who can help me."
"Wh-why should I help you?" Sugar wanted to know, sounding uncertain now.
"Because I know how you feel." Nami told her.
"What would you know?" Sugar snapped.
Nami's eyes were deep, and her voice grew softer. Around them, the sounds from outside seemed to vanish. "Sugar...when I was your age, my Mum was killed by the Arlong Pirates..by Fishmen." Sugar froze, looking at Nami in surprise. "She died to save my life, and I always said I hated all Pirates after that...until I met some of my best friends, who showed me that not all Pirates are the same. It's the same with cats, and with people, and even with Fishmen." She stood up again, and walked closer. This time, Sugar did not try and shoot at her. "Sugar, I know how much it hurts, and how much you want to blame everyone that looks like the ones who killed your parents...but, you can't let those regrets make you hurt other people." She was now standing right beside the little girl, and her voice was gentle. "Sugar...I love my friends, and I don't want them to die...please...help me..."
"I will..." Sugar said, her voice suddenly firm. "If you give me that gold ring around your neck."
What the Hell?
Nami flinched, but made that split-second decision to just go with it. "Fine." She said, slipping the band off of her neck. She hated giving up the bracelet her sister gave her but, if it meant saving Emma and the others, then she would.
Sugar reached into the pocket of her dress, and pulled out a little silver key. "Here. This unlocks the bars and the cuffs." She handed the key to the tabby cat, who took it in her mouth.
Nami bowed her head, and then ran from the room.
When she got back to the brig, it was nearly unrecognisable - the fight had destroyed most of it, and sea-water was now leaking in.
Nami, knowing that she had only seconds, since the cage was now under water, dove in, and fought against the currents, her eyes stinging. She could still see the cage, however, and made her way towards it, seeing the red and white cat was now unconscious.
Nami wondered how she was going to do this without opposable thumbs.
The answer came to her, however, because even as a cat she found that her paws were rather dextrous, and she quickly worked the locks, ignoring the stinging in her shoulder from where she'd been shot. She was always aware of the seconds ticking by, knowing that with each moment Emma was unconscious, she was taking in sea-water to the lungs.
Finally, Nami was able to get the locks away and free Emma but, by that stage, she was too exhausted to make her own way to the surface, let alone drag another cat with her.
This is bad... Nami thought, starting to black out. Bellemere-San...I didn't get to...draw my map of the world...I'm so sorry...
Suddenly, a hand grabbed her, and the other one wrapped around Emma.
With strong kicks, Zoro brought both the cats to the surface, pulling them all up onto the slightly-ruined floor, and then up to the drier part of the ship.
Nami fought to get her breath back, as Emma began coughing up sea-water, and Zoro just waited.
"Don't think...that I'm gonna let you off all the debts you owe me, just because you saved my life...twice today..." Nami told Zoro.
He rolled his eyes. "Of course not."
"What took you so long?"
"I got lost."
"Why am I not surprised?" It was Nami's turn to roll her eyes, but she was grateful to the swordsman.
Emma coughed, and then looked up at the both of them. "Z-Zoro?" She questioned, looking a little dazed.
Zoro nodded, and then handed something to her. It was her compass. "You might need this." He told her.
She nodded as well, and touched a paw to the compass.
At once, a warm glow spread throughout Nami's body, and she found herself as a human once more. Ah, much better! She thought, checking to make sure her Clima-Tact was there - it was. She held it in her hands, looking relieved, and then froze.
A stranger in a black cloak stood over them. Nami and Zoro tensed, but Emma, on the other hand (paw), looked relieved to see him, as she stood up again and said: "Twister..."
"Friend of yours?" Zoro's hands were on his swords, ready just in case.
"Sort of..." Emma replied. "He's here to turn me back into a human."
Twister chuckled darkly. "Now, why would I do that, Emma? Don't you like being a cat?"
"I want to help...Luffy and Ace..." Emma replied.
"You couldn't even help yourssself." Twister pointed out.
"I know..." Emma looked to the side. "Excuse me for not coming from a world where learning self-defence is something your parents encourage."
Twister reached out a white hand, stopping her. "Enough. I already know your story." He held up his scythe. "I will turn you back into a human, but you need to learn to defend yourssself..." He brought the scythe down, and Emma began to change, as Twister began to disappear. "Only when you are ssstrong enough to defeat the one whom you believe almossst killed you, will your body be able to handle not turning into a cat in thisss world..."
Up on deck, the battle was almost over when Emma, Nami and Zoro arrived. Emma had her necklace back on, and looked ready for action. But...
"Just stay back, and try not to get hurt!" Nami told Emma briskly, before she and Zoro vanished.
"Yeah, right." Emma muttered, as she was suddenly surrounded by three Marines. She looked over and, seeing that Luffy currently had nothing to do, said: "Ribon-Ribon No...Body-Swap!"
Luffy suddenly found his position switched with Emma's, but he didn't mind, as he quickly dealt with the three Marines.
Emma, meanwhile, side-stepped a punch that was aimed at her, before using the push-kick that she'd learned in martial arts class to push him overboard.
Ace was busy fighting a guy who could've been part-giant - he certainly had his hands full, that is until the deck collapsed beneath them, and they both vanished.
A second later, Sugar ran out onto the deck, screaming: "Uncle Nezumi, they just fell into the roomful of gun-powder!"
Everyone froze for a fraction of a second, before everyone began running, and jumping overboard.
Emma, who was reminded of the end of the wedding scene in Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows, managed to find Nami, Zoro, Law and Luffy, and grabbed them without any hesitation. "Ribon-Ribon No Transport!" She cried, just as Ace yelled something from below that sounded suspiciously like: "Katsu!"
There was a brief moment of silence, as Emma appeared on the beach with Law, Luffy, Nami and Zoro.
Then, the entire ship exploded into a katrillion pieces, which went flying in every direction.
Everyone scattered, dodging bits of shrapnel and the occasional cannonball.
A second after that, Ace came flying through the air, looking positively gleeful, but maybe that was because he aimed himself to land right on top of Emma.
"Did you see that?!" Ace cried, from his position. "That was epic!"
Emma was too shocked to say anything, as Ace stood up and then helped her up.
Nezumi did, though. He was floating in the water, looking hateful. Sugar clung to him.
"I won't forget this!" Nezumi threatened. "This is the second time you've done this to me!" He added.
Emma yelled back: "Then maybe you should stop being such an idiot, rat-boy!" And, she chanted: "Baka busu, baka-baka busu!"
Luffy joined in, and Nezumi was seeing red!
Nami, meanwhile, was horrified. "She's...she's just as insane and weird as everyone else is!" She realised, sinking to her knees on the sand.
Later on, in the restaurant, Emma approached Nami. "Umm, Nami...thank you, thank you very much." She bowed her head.
Nami gave her a Look. "You should be thanking me in riches, Emma. Thanks to you, I had to give up my sister's bracelet to that Sugar girl."
Emma gasped. "I'm really sorry!"
Nami sighed. "Forget about it. I'll get over it."
"No, you won't." Said a voice, and everybody looked up to see Sugar standing in the doorway to the restaurant, alone.
Nami looked surprised. "Oh, Sugar...what are you doing here?"
"I just came to give you this back." Sugar said, coming over and handing Nami her bracelet. "I didn't know that your sister gave it to you but, after I thought about it, it seemed really special to you since you had it on as a cat."
She's like a completely different person now. Nami thought, as she took her bracelet back. "Thanks." She said, sliding the bracelet onto her wrist, next to her Log-Pose.
Sugar pouted. "I'm going to go and see mybig sister, and ask her to give me a bracelet." She declared. "And, it'll be prettier than yours is, Nami." She stuck her tongue out, and then turned and flounced out the door.
Nami and Emma watched her go.
"She's a strange girl." Nami commented.
"Yeah." Emma replied.
The two of them exchanged a glance, and then started laughing.
Back at home, Emma fed the dog, as the others took Nami on a quick tour of the house.
It was nice to have another girl in the house - Emma had told Nami that she could sleep in Sarah's room, which had a lock on the door, and the tour started from there.
"Bathroom's there, shower's there." Zoro pointed.
"And this is the cabinet where Ace drunk five hundred dollars worth of Emma's parents' expensive alcohol!" Luffy laughed, as Emma gave Ace a dark look, which he pretended not to see.
"Speaking of which, Emma-San," Law said suddenly. "When are your parents getting home?"
Emma frowned, and went over to the calendar, which was also covered in her cousin's writing, after Ashlee had commandeered the calendar to write down important dates, like her birthday and such. "Hmm...what day is it today?"
"Monday." Ace said.
Emma ran her finger along the edge of the calendar. "Ah." She said, stepping back.
"What is it?" Nami wanted to know.
Emma turned to face them and said, very simply: "My parents are coming home tomorrow night."
Author's Notes:
. Yes, when you go to Malaysia, they really do take your fingerprints and put them on file. It was pretty weird...
. Is Sugar bi-polar? Yes, yes she is. Who is her sister?
. So, Nami comes to the other world, and becomes the next Ally - what will happen next?!
MsWildLuck - a jealous Ace is an awesome Ace. XD It also means I get to write descriptive words, like 'fiery' and 'intense'.
Cocoa Liddell - well, Emma does owe Law, twice in fact...wonder what he'll do. :) Hmm, okay, I'm not seeing a lot of support for LawxEmma here...hmm...
Chieko Namikaze - that makes me so happy to hear that! ^^ Umm, I dunno about 'Straw Cat Pirates' yet...I wanna see how this one and my Hetalia fan-fic go, first...
KaiF . Raphaella - thank you. ^^
Wolf Spirite - poor Zoro...he needs a hug...I'm not gonna try it, though! XD Hmm, another AcexEmma fan...poor Law needs a hug now, too! Once again, I am notvolunteering! *Shoves random fan-girl his way* Anyways, thanks for the review!