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).
Author's Note: There seemed to be some confusion as to whether or not Emma got her heart necklace back. She did. ^^ To avoid any further confusion, please read the following.
Heart Necklace/Traveler's Necklace/Grace's Heart - unless so named, this will be referred to as 'the necklace', or 'her necklace' or just simply as 'necklace'
Compass/Traveler's Compass/Compass Of Friendship/Tomodachi No Konpasu - this is always going to be called the compass, unless so named.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Glass Shatters
The next morning, Emma got up and began her daily routine. She went out and turned the coffee machine on, fed the dog, got dressed (putting on black jeans and a black singlet under a black and red Holden jumper) and then began making breakfast - they had stocked up on things in Cocoyashi Village.
And, speaking of which...
Nami walked into the kitchen yawning. She was wearing an old nightie of Sarah's, and was rubbing the sleep out of her eyes as Emma was putting the sausages on the plate. Nami stopped, and blinked. "Hmm...oh, wow!" She hugged a startled Emma around the neck. "You really just cooked all of this by yourself? I know! You should become my wife!"
Emma blanched, trying to think of something to say, when she realised that Nami was kidding, and so they both laughed. As Emma was untying her apron, she said: "It's a good thing that you're up first - hurry up and dig in before I wake up the boys."
Nami nodded. "Don't worry about me, I'm used to it."
Emma smiled, and left the room, going into the games room to wake up Zoro first. He was asleep with his feet up on the arm of the sofa. She shook his shoulder gently and, when he didn't stir, she reached for the swords.
A hand gripped her wrist.
"I'm up." Zoro said darkly.
She smiled. "Good."
Law was next. He was resting on the couch in the activity room.
"Ohayoo gozaimasu." Emma greeted him. Then, noticing the dark circles under his eyes, added: "Did you even sleep?"
Law just sighed. "Never mind." He stood up, and stretched. "What about you? You look stressed."
"Do I?" She muttered, fiddling with her necklace. "I guess I'm just worried about what's going to happen when my parents come home."
Law regarded her intently, but didn't say anything, as she went into the spare bedroom to wake up the brothers. He smirked when she came out a few seconds later, carrying two black cats by the scruffs of their necks. Some things never changed.
"Some things are going to have to change." Emma said, as she put the breakfast dishes in the dishwasher.
"Like what?" Luffy asked, from behind a glass of orange juice.
"Well, for one thing," Emma placed her hands on the bench, and gazed at them all. "You're going to have to stay hidden - my parents can't know about you."
"Why not?" Luffy wanted to know. "Won't they like us?"
Emma sighed. "It isn't that, Luffy." She replied. "It's just that, as you know, things like this don't happen in this world very often...or, at all!" She shook her head. "The problem I now face is getting you lot fed without my parents finding out about you...I don't think this is going to work..." She admitted. "What to do...what to do...?" Just then, a ringing sound interrupted her thoughts. Well, it wasn't a ringing sound - it was more like a 'ba-du-ba-du-ba-du-ba-du' sound. Emma blinked, and then looked at her wrist, to where the Baby Den-Den Mushi appeared to be ringing. "Oh, umm..." She answered it. "Moshi-Moshi?"
"Emma-Chan!" Sumi's happy voice came over the line. "Ohayoooo!"
"Ah, Sumi-Chan, ohayoo!" Emma replied. "What's up?"
"You'll never guess, so I'll just tell you," everyone could hear the smile in Sumi's voice. "It's so great!"
"Who's that?" Zoro whispered to Luffy.
"Umm, a friend of Emmy's...I forget what she looks like, though." Luffy was eating bacon, so he was too preoccupied to remember who Sumi was, exactly.
"What's great?" Emma asked.
"We're in Perth!"
Emma was startled. "Huh? What? You mean...all of you?"
"That's right, yoi." A new voice said.
"Hey, Marco-San!" Emma exclaimed, grinning. "You're there, too?"
"Uh-huh."
Ace jumped up, and hurried into the kitchen, standing close to Emma. "Marco, bro! How are things going?"
"Good on our end, Ace." Marco replied. "We've sailed all the way up the coastline to reach Perth - we had to take the long way around due to a naval base, though."
"Garden Island..." Emma muttered. "So, where are you now?"
"We're docked just near a teeny-tiny island called Carnac." Sumi explained.
"Carnac..." Emma repeated. "That's just off the coast of Coogee...that's not too far from here..." She furrowed her brow, and then looked up. "Umm, Sumi-Chan...could you possibly...I mean, can I talk to...umm...?"
"To Oyaji?" Sumi guessed. "Sure, he's right here."
"Emma, it's good to hear from you again. I trust you and Ace are doing well." Said the gruff voice of Edward Newgate, making Emma's heart clench.
She held wrist away from her, like the Baby Den-Den Mushi might bite, and replied: "H-hello, Whitebeard-Sama. Y-yes, we are..."
Nami and Zoro exchanged a glance, suddenly understanding what was going on here.
"You wanted to ask me something?" Whitebeard went on.
Emma nodded, and then remembered that Whitebeard couldn't see her. "Umm, yes...y-you see, my p-parents are coming home tonight, and I-I've just realised that th-the...that Ace and everyone can't stay here..."
"What?!" Ace, Luffy, Nami and Zoro cried, and even Law looked a bit surprised, as Emma jumped back.
"What do you mean 'what'?!" She looked around at them all. "You can't! My parents won't understand or accept what's going on here! Okay, look, you gotta listen to me, just listen. I have two friends in the entire world," she held up two fingers to emphasise her point. "And I've known them since we were five years old. Other than that, there's nobody, no one, you got it? My parents won't get that I've got a whole bunch more now, especially not guys. And, cats that turn into humans because of a magic compass? Forget it. If my parents see you, they're gonna freak out. My Mother's got a temper, not to mention allergies." She face-palmed, realising that she'd just said too much. "Okay, so that's why...that's why you have to stay with Whitebeard-Sama for a little while."
"And who said I'll be willing to take any more brats onboard my ship?" Whitebeard asked suddenly.
"Aww, come on, Whitebeard-Sama, I'm desperate!"
"Really? I couldn't tell."
"Fine then." Emma sighed. She picked up a knife from the bench and handed it to Ace, before turning around. "Okay Ace-Chan, go ahead."
"Emiko..."
"Just push it in and start carving." Emma said, making sure that everybody could hear her. "You might as well because, when my parents get home, I am already in a whole lot of trouble, for more reasons than I care to name." She put her hands on the bench again, as if to steady herself. "You've got no idea what my Mum and Dad are like...I need you guys to not be here when they get home, okay?"
Ace put the knife back on the bench, and wrapped his arms around Emma from behind, drawing her towards him, not caring who was watching. "Oyaji," he addressed his Father. "You won't mind putting up with me and my brother and a couple of my brother's friends for a few days, will you? Oh, and that other guy." He added, as an afterthought, and Law glared at him.
They all heard Whitebeard sigh, and then he said: "Very well then...on one condition...no, wait, make that two..."
"What?" Emma and Ace asked in unison.
"That you stay in contact with us each day," Whitebeard said, speaking to Emma now. "And visit at least once a week. Or else, we'll send someone in the check on you, and don't think we won't." He warned.
"That's gonna be hard to run by my parents, but I'll try." Emma promised.
"What's the other condition, Oyaji?" Ace wanted to know.
"That you two brats tell me why you're referring to each other with cutesy nicknames now."
Emma and Ace both froze, and then they blushed.
"Ah, well, you see..." Ace couldn't figure out what to say. "That's because...uh..."
Emma bit her lip, and then an idea came to her. She said: "So-y Whi-d-ma," she made fake static noises to go along with her charade. "Must be l-ing con-tion, see you l-er!" She quickly hung up, and then both she and Ace sighed in relief.
Onboard the Moby Dick, everyone was staring at Whitebeard staring at the Den-Den Mushi, and then he gritted his teeth and resisted the urge to crush the Den-Den Mushi's receiver in his hand - they wouldn't be able to replace it. "Those little brats..." He muttered, shaking his head. He looked out over the sea. So, it's happening is it, Grace?
"Will your parents mind that you're skipping TAFE today, Emiko?" Ace asked her.
"Probably, but what are they gonna do?" Emma replied, as she turned the car carrying her and the five cats onto Rockingham Road. "I'll just tell them I was sick or something."
"Tell us about your parents, Emma." Nami suggested, from where she was curled up on the front passenger seat.
"Yeah, yeah, what are they like?" Luffy wanted to know. "I mean, aside from your Mum's temper and her allergies..."
Emma considered this, as she continued to drive, and the song Decadence played quietly in the background. "Hmm...what can I say? You saw their pictures on the fridge and in the dining room. My Mum works at a casino, and she was wild in her teens but has settled down now. She doesn't take any nonsense from anybody, and she is also pretty strong...she was in a terrible relationship before she met my Dad, so she's not afraid of anyone anymore." That part was completely true, but Emma didn't go into anymore details, and the others didn't ask about it. They just waited, as Emma continued. "She gets along better with my sister, probably because Nee-San is more into make-up and fashion and all that sort of thing, but I don't know." She shrugged.
"What about your Dad?" Luffy asked. "What's he like?"
"Dad?" Emma brightened slightly. "Dad's cool, he's really calm most of the time, and really smart, too. He used to work in a bank. When I was little, he and I would read all sorts of books, which is one reason I love reading so much. Usually it would be books about snakes and sharks, which I guess is why I have a fascination with dangerous animals." She laughed a little bit. "He likes the same band that I do - the one that's playing now - and we used to watch anime when I was younger...but now..." She trailed off.
"But now...?" Ace pressed.
Emma's eyes were focused on the road. "But now...I dunno, I guess we just had a falling out...at that point..." She muttered, her fingers tightening on the wheel. "I'm not the person he expected me to be..." She added, stopping at the lights. "Oh well, no big deal. Come on, let's go and get some fish and chips before we find the ship - I got paid yesterday." She added, and Luffy cheered.
"Alright! Fish meat!"
Sarah Pax rolled her eyes, as she sat at the Coogee Cafe with a client. It was supposed to be a casual meeting, but it was turning into Frustration, like the level in Yoshi's Story, for Sarah and the client both. "Okay, so let me get this straight - none of the power lines are working on Mounts Bay Road?"
"No, no, that's not what I said." The client shook his head.
"Well, what did you say?!" Sarah groaned.
"Okay, it is like this..." The man began to explain, and Sarah resisted the urge to face-palm.
Why won't he shut up? Sarah wondered. He's like the thing that wouldn't shut up... She sighed, and leaned back in her chair, before glancing up at a group that had just entered the cafe. Hmm...tall, dark and handsome guy...tall, scruffy and lanky guy with a straw hat...girl with an hourglass figure and weird orange hair...tall and tanned guy with GREEN hair...shirtless guy with an ugly cowboy hat on...my sister wearing my jumper...this is a really strange crowd...wait a minute, what the...?!
Sarah stood up quickly.
"Is there a problem?" The client asked her.
"Umm...I don't think so..." Sarah mumbled, sitting down again, as she continued to stare at her sister, who was pointing at the menu board, and talking to the five strangers. Who are all these people, and how do they know my sister? She watched, as Emma stepped up to the counter to order, and the shirtless guy and the tall, dark and handsome guy stayed with her, as the other three went off to find a table.
Sarah's eyes narrowed, wondering if one of those guys was Coby. They didn't look like a 'Coby'...however, they were glaring at each other, and Emma seemed oblivious to it, as she paid for the order by debit card, and then turned to find where the others had gone. Sarah quickly picked up a menu and hid behind it, so that her sister would not see her. She wanted to stay undercover for just a little bit longer, until she could figure out what her little sister was doing.
"Okay," the waitresses carried the plates out to the outdoor picnic area, where Nami had managed to persuade the men there to give up their spot so that she could snag the table for her friends. "Here we go..." She began listing their orders as the plates were placed on the table, starting with the fish of the day (Luffy's) and ending with a chai latte (Emma's). "Enjoy." She added, and left, as everyone dug in and began to eat.
The food was good, and everyone was enjoying themselves, even Law, although he seemed a tiny bit uncomfortable with how lighthearted everyone was. That seemed normal, though, since he was slightly out of his comfort-zone anyway, due to being a slight outsider.
After eating, they walked down to the beach, taking off their shoes as they walked along the sand.
"Sun down, all around, walking through the summer sand..." Emma sung softly, as she rolled up the legs of her jeans, and walked through the wet sand, as the waves crashed around her ankles. I can't believe that I'll never swim again but, then again, I have a cool new power... She considered this, Nami came up beside her.
"Ne, Emma," Nami pointed out to sea. "Is that Whitebeard's ship?"
Emma looked, shielding her eyes, and sighed. "I can't see it from here, hold on a minute..." She took her glasses out of her bad, and put them on, still squinting, though. "Umm...yes! Yes, it is!" She turned around. "Hey, Ace-Chan! I found the Moby Dick!" She called to him.
Ace came over, and squinted into the horizon. "Hey, so it is! Excellent!"
"What do you mean you found it?" Nami rolled her eyes, just as Zoro joined them.
"Hey," the swordsman said quietly, and tensely. "There's been a person following us for the last ten or so minutes. She was at the cafe, too." He added.
Emma tensed, as well, and looked around, finally spotting the woman standing on the sand about two yards away from them. She had long black hair with light streaks, and was dressed in a floral-print dress and heels that kept on sinking into the sand as she walked towards them. She then took off her sunglasses.
"Shite." Emma muttered, her blood running cold. "It's Nee-San!"
Nami and the others cringed, as Emma walked towards her sister. The two met in the middle.
"Nee-San, what are you doing here?!" Emma cried.
"I could ask you the same thing." Sarah said. She raised an eyebrow. "Don't you have TAFE today? And, who are all these people?"
"Umm...they're just some...friends of mine..." Emma muttered, avoiding the first question.
Sarah looked past her. "I see...where's Coby?"
Emma groaned. "He's not here, so don't ask...why are you here?"
"I had a meeting with a client." Sarah replied coolly. "Does Mum know you're not at TAFE?"
"Why the Hell do you keep asking me if Mum knows what I'm doing or not?!" Emma cried. "What about all the stuff that you did last year?"
"That's got nothing to do with this." Sarah retorted, crossing her arms.
"Oh, sure, so it's okay if you go off the rails, but as soon as I start doing something nobody understands, then it's like I've gone and killed somebody!" Emma put her hands on her hips. "Look, if you must know," she was about to lie and Law, who was listening, knew it, from the position of her body and the tone of her voice, but they were very subtle signs that only he could pick. "These guys are all in my class, and we're having a research day for our next project, which you wouldn't understand!"
"Yeah, whatever." Sarah rolled her eyes, which today wore blue contacts. "I don't really care, I was just worried about you."
"I know..." Emma muttered, digging her toe into the sand. "But, remember when I was worried about you last year?"
"Yes, but this is different!" Sarah snapped. "Are you still coming to the airport tonight to pick up Mum and Dad?"
"Of course I am!" Emma snapped back. "Will you come to our place first?"
"Well, I have to, don't I?" Sarah shrugged. "So, I'll see you at seven."
"Yup, see you then." Emma nodded shortly, as her sister turned and walked away.
Emma watched her go, feeling a lonely thud in her chest, until she looked behind her, and saw Luffy, Ace, Law, Zoro and Nami watching her with varying looks of sympathy. Emma attempted a smile, and turned to walk back to them. It was time to go and see Whitebeard, and then she would have to go home - alone - and tidy the house.
She wasn't looking forward to it.
Twister didn't say anything, even though a few of his associates were glaring at him.
Boss was the first to speak. "Just what is it that you are doing, Twister?" He demanded to know. "You were supposed to erase everyone's memories and shut off the portal between the two dimensions! What happened?!"
Twister was calm. "I changed my mind."
Boss groaned. "You can't do that, Twister." He explained.
"I jussst did."
Fate was smiling, as per. the usual. "It seems that these small actions have re-written the destiny of all these people, wouldn't you agree, dear?" She asked Destiny, and the blue-haired woman merely scowled in response. "In fact, I think that it is all going very well."
Destiny sighed. "Maybe...but...this was not supposed to happen."
"Maybe it was." An unexpected voice said, and all eyes turned to Chance, whose facial expression did not change as he went on. "I mean, none of us ever expected that one in a kajillion to be the one odd that came true, did we? When you think about it, this all started when Little Death broke the rules." He shrugged, like he was talking about the weather or something.
"Followed by Faith, then Cupid, then Twister." Boss glared at the ones in question from behind his dark sunglasses. "If we break the rules, then what are the humans going to start doing?"
"Boss," Faith spoke up, her blue gaze unwavering. "Perhaps...this for the best? If Little Death really awaken..."
"Ssh!" Boss hissed, sounding anxious which, for him, was a very rare occurrence. "Do not speak that name, Faith! Do not even consider for a moment that Little Death is aware of...of...that thing's existence! If she is, then..." He sighed. "We are all doomed...even us immortal ones..."
The house, which had just that morning been full of energy, seemed too quiet and desolate as Emma sat on the couch, drinking mocha and working on her long-stitch as she watched One Piece, although it made her heart ache. She knew that it was for the best, that it would be better for everybody if the others weren't staying here. But, still, it hurt.
Looking around, Emma smiled sadly. If they could've stayed...then, Luffy would be in the kitchen right now, raiding the pantry (they had given most of the provisions they'd gotten from Cocoyashi Village to the Whitebeard Pirates, though said crew seemed to have a never-ending storeroom). Zoro would be sitting at the table, cleaning his swords. Nami would be reading the West Australian paper, or maybe the Sunday Times. Law would be sitting on the reclining sofa chair, hands behind his head, and completely at ease. And Ace...well, Ace would probably be asleep!
The thought made Emma smile some more, and she looked at the Baby Den-Den Mushi on her wrist. Maybe I'll just give them a call... She thought, prodding the sleeping snail to wake it up but, just then, she heard the laundry door opened, and jumped.
Sarah walked in, followed by the dog (she seemed to have a habit of letting him inside whenever she dropped by for a visit).
"Hi, Nee-San." Emma greeted her sister.
"Hello." Sarah said, smiling. They always seemed to get along okay after their arguments, for some odd reason. "Umm, what happened to the house?"
Emma sighed. She'd been too lazy to clean it properly, and had just made a half-hearted attempt at it. Of course her sister would notice and, if she did, then Lee certainly would.
Oh well, it was too late now.
"We'll get going in about ten minutes, okay?" Sarah suggested, and Emma nodded.
The drive to the airport took place in two separate cars, since Lee had suggested to the two girls that they do this. By the sounds of it, Lee and Bruce (mostly Lee) had purchased everything they could get their hands on in Adelaide, Hobart, Sydney and Melbourne. Considering how much Lee and the girls used to buy in Bali, neither of them were surprised.
Emma took her car, and Sarah took hers. Emma followed Sarah on Roe Highway, cringing when she saw how many police were patrolling the roads near the airports, and making sure that she was doing under the speed-limit, just in case...
She was still thinking about the police officers who had gone missing, and about the one that had arrested her, Carmilla Brown...Brown...Brown...
"Oh no..." Emma whispered, as she turned onto Dunreath Drive. An image of Carmilla, with her icy blue eyes, flashed into Emma's mind, followed by Georgia, with her icy blue eyes... "Oh my God...what have I done...?" She wondered, as she drove around the round-a-bout, and stopped at the toll-gate to collect her ticket, before driving into the car-park of the Perth Domestic Airport. She stopped her car in a parking spot, and sat there for a few moments until Sarah came to get her.
At the domestic airport, unlike the international one (which was more impressive, however), you could wait for loved ones at the gate. Following the same procedures as when they'd seen their parents off, Emma and Sarah made their way over to Gate Five, and sat on the window-sill, watching the planes coming in and taking off. Emma wished that she'd thought to bring her glasses with her, since the lights were all blurry out there on the runway for her.
She and her sister chatted about airplanes, and what it had been like flying to Bali with their Mother, and Emma re-told the story of the monsoon she had flown through coming back to Kuala Lumpur from Penang.
Emma checked her watch. Twenty minutes past eight...the flight was supposed to be in at eight...
Before she could ask her sister if she thought that everything was okay (what if they CRASHED?!), Sarah asked: "What is that thing?"
Just then, a little kid nearby exclaimed: "It's a snail-phone thingie from One Piece!" He pointed to it. He was wearing a t-shirt with Luffy on it.
"Uh-huh." Emma laughed nervously, and hid it with her sleeve. "Just...got it from the anime shop...a-ha-ha-ha...ha..." Her shoulders sagged. Yeah, right. She thought, as a stewardess walked past them, and stood at the doors to Gate Five.
"And, what's with the compass?" Sarah eyed the compass warily.
"Umm...it's...Pirate Chic?" Emma suggested.
"Not really."
At that moment, a very large Qantas plane made its way slowly towards the terminal, and airport carts began driving towards it to collect the luggage. The plane came to a complete stop, and the stewardess at the gate opened the doors. Above them, a sign changed to now read: Flight QT8944, Sydney - LANDED.
"Do you think this is Mum and Dad's flight?" Emma asked.
"Must be." Sarah smiled. "Come on."
They made their way over to the gate, as people began piling out of the walkway - by the looks of it, it had been a full flight.
Emma smiled as she watched kids run to their Dads and greet them, and lovers embrace, and families come out holding their sleeping children after a long and happy family holiday.
Then, she spotted a tall, olive-skinned woman with blonde hair, wearing a red blouse and black pants.
"Mum!" Emma cried, hurrying over to her and throwing her arms around her.
Lee hugged her back tightly, and then reached out her other arm to hug her other daughter.
"Did you have a good trip?" Emma asked.
"We did, but it's good to be back." Lee replied, as they all drew back, and Emma looked around.
"Where's Dad?" She asked.
Lee pointed. "He went on ahead."
"What the Hell?" Emma grinned, and walked quickly over to the tan-skinned man with the greying-black beard and moustache, and blue eyes. He was wearing a black and grey striped polo shirt and grey pants, and wheeling a hand-luggage case similar to Lee's. Emma hugged him tightly and, when Lee and Sarah came over to join them, the latter hugged him, also.
Emma couldn't stop smiling, happy that her family was together once more, as they made their way over to the escalator that would take them downstairs to where the luggage collection was. Emma walked in front with Bruce, asking him questions about his first flight and everything, and Sarah walked behind with Lee, talking to her about...something.
At the luggage collection conveyer-belts, as Emma was smiling at the sight of a drug-detector dog (it was a beagle, like her Aunty Bev's old dog Sassy had been), Sarah stood back and watched as Bruce got not one, not two, not three, but four suitcases off of the conveyer, wondering what on Earth her parents had bought.
"Oh, yeah," Emma voiced the question. "What did you buy? Did you bring me a present? Did you get the ponchos?" This last question was directed at Lee - Emma and Sarah had both been invited to their cousin Ashlee's twenty-third birthday party, and it was a Mexican party, so ponchos were a must.
Lee nodded, but then added: "We didn't really buy that much."
Emma eyed the four suitcases. "Yeah. Sure."
Sarah drove her car home, with Bruce as the passenger.
Emma, however, was a passenger in her own car, as Lee decided to drive.
They chatted about the holiday, and about what had happened like seeing the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House, and about the scorpion that Lee had found in her room in Tasmania. She said that, between her and her husband, they must've driven over five thousand kilometres, since they'd driven from Melbourne to Sydney. They hadn't really liked Melbourne, but Sydney had been good. Tasmania was just beautiful. They'd only been in Adelaide for two days, and their sleep had been interrupted by the Fringe World Festival but, all in all, it had been a good holiday for their wedding anniversary.
"That's good." Emma said, snuggling down into her seat, and listening to Distorted Princess on her I-Pod. She was just starting to close her eyes, when her Mother spoke to her again.
"How much of my wine did you drink while we were away?"
Emma's eyes flew open, and she tried not to panic, although her heart was pounding in her chest. "Umm...a bit..." She muttered.
"How much?" Lee wanted to know.
I can't lie...she's going to find out, anyway... Emma gulped, and replied: "A few bottles..."
"Emma, how could you?" Lee asked angrily, as she turned onto the Kwinana Freeway. "I wanted to have a few drinks when I got home tonight - is there any left?"
"N-no, not really..." Emma stammered.
"What makes you think you can just steal from other people?" Lee snapped, as the car accelerated to one hundred. "Especially my alcohol. You're turning into an alcoholic, you know that?"
"Mmhmm." Emma muttered, staring at the Baby Den-Den Mushi that was sleeping on her wrist. Thanks Ace-Chan, thanks a lot... Emma thought but, somehow, she couldn't blame him. There must've been a reason why he'd done what he did...she would have to ask him.
Lee fumed, and Emma just stared out the window.
"Sarah also tells me..." Lee began, and Emma swung her head around to look at her.
"What?!" She gasped. "What did she tell you?"
"What do you think she told me?" Lee raised an eyebrow.
Not wanting to say anything that Sarah might not have said, Emma said: "I dunno, what?"
"You tell me."
"I don't know!"
Lee turned onto Beelier Drive. "She told me that the house is an absolute mess." She faced the front again. "We'll talk more about this when we get home." She said, and Emma didn't reply.
Why does it always end up like this? She thought sadly.
At home, Ranger was ecstatic to see Lee and Bruce again, and jumped about, whining happily, his tail wagging.
Lee took him out the back while Bruce brought the suitcases in, since the sight of suitcases tended to upset the dog, as he knew what they meant - people tended to go away for certain amounts of time whenever suitcases showed up, so they tried to avoid him seeing them as much as possible.
A few minutes later, after coming back in, Lee was seeing Sarah off (Sarah had work the next day, and needed to drive all the way back to Baldivis). Emma was up in the master bedroom, watching Bruce unpack his suitcases.
He handed her a soft mauve poncho, which she immediately put on, admiring how she looked in the mirror down in the vanity area when she went down there.
Then, from the dining room, she heard Lee say: "...five hundred dollars..."
Emma froze, feeling all of her happiness and self-nerve dissolve, as she took off the poncho, and then Lee called: "Emma, come here, right now."
Knowing that tone of voice of her Mother's, Emma, walked slowly down the hall, and went into the dining room, where both her parents were standing, looking stern.
Emma bit her lip as she picked at her nail, and waited.
"Sit." Lee pointed to a chair, and Emma sat. "Now, would you mind telling me how you found the key to Nanna's cabinet?"
Emma, hoping that Lee wouldn't ask her where she'd found it, replied: "I just...went looking for it..." She shrugged.
"And drank five hundred dollars worth of our alcohol?" Lee said.
"I didn't drink it all in one night!" Emma exclaimed.
"That's not the point!" Lee snapped back. "That was not your alcohol to drink - you deliberately stole from me!" She looked at Bruce. "Say something to her, Bruce, I...I don't know what to say." She admitted.
Bruce faced Emma with a stern gaze. "Why did you do the wrong thing, again?" He asked her.
Emma dropped her gaze, the harshness of her Father's voice way worse than anything her mother could throw at her short of a punch. "I...I don't know...I just...did..."
"You're going to end up as an alcoholic, Emma!" Lee told her. "Is that what you want?!"
Emma just shrugged. She didn't know how to respond to any of this. A sudden flash in her mind reminded her of the other similar conversations.
You're going to end up failing. Is that what you want?
You're going to end up with nothing. Is that what you want?
You're going to end up in jail. Is that what you want?
You're going to end up as nothing. Is that what you want?
Is that what you want? Is that what you want? Is that what...
Emma stood up. Her heart was pounding. "Look, I'm sorry, okay?" She said, through gritted teeth. Without looking at her parents, she turned on her heel and headed straight back towards the bathroom. "I'll be going to have a shower, now." She declared.
"Emma, get back here!" Lee snapped.
Emma didn't answer, and just quickened her pace, making it to the bathroom where she slammed the door and locked it. Leaning against the door, Emma breathed heavily. Whew...I'm surprised Mum didn't follow me, she usually does...maybe she doesn't want to fight right now, either...
However, Lee wasn't finished just yet. When Emma got out of the shower, Lee called her into the living room, where her laptop was sitting open on her lap. Emma didn't have to look at what web-page was open, she already knew that it was the bank website.
"What have you been spending all of your money on?" Lee demanded to know. "You withdrew seventy dollars today, and last week you withdrew over a hundred..."
Okay, how do I explain this without telling her? Emma wondered, but Lee interrupted her thoughts.
"Go and get me your card." Lee said, and Emma gasped.
"What, you can't..."
"You're not having it." Lee said. "In fact, go and get me your whole wallet - now."
Emma walked out to her car in the garage, and leaned in, to where she'd left her bag that day. There was still sand on the floor of her car, from where she'd forgotten to shake a lot of it out of her shoes. The song, Sand In My Shoes, Dido, entered her mind and, blinking back tears, Emma quickly took out thirty dollars, stashing it under the seat before returning to the living room.
She handed her wallet wordlessly to her Mum, who asked her again: "What did you buy?"
"Umm, some manga...and, a DVD..."
"Go and get them."
"What?!"
"You heard me." Lee had opened up the pink wallet with the white bow, and began to go through it, much to Emma's annoyance.
Emma turned and walked down the hall to her bedroom, kneeling on the floor beside her manga collection. There was no way in Hell she was going to show her Mother the real manga she'd bought, and so she picked out a few old ones like Death Note and Claymore, before selecting a random Pokemon DVD (Arceus And The Jewel Of Life) before going back out to the living room, where her Father was drinking Pepsi and watching the news. He pointed wordlessly to the table, where Emma placed the books and DVD - she had a feeling that she wouldn't see them again for awhile. It had happened before.
Lee then came back in, from where she'd just been out to Emma's car. In one hand, she held the thirty dollars. In the other, she held Emma's sandy shoes, which she threw onto the ground. She pointed to them. "Pick them up, and then clean up this mess." She ordered. "Where did all of that sand come from?"
"I went to the beach." Emma replied shortly, picking up her shoes and going to the sliding doors to shake them out.
"Not there!" Lee snapped, and so Emma walked out further, shaking the remainder of the sand out into the back garden. "Sarah told me that you didn't go to TAFE today." She added, as Emma came back towards the house.
Emma was angry. "I had an off-campus assignment to do!"
"Don't lie to me!" Lee exclaimed. She stood in the doorway, barring Emma's way in.
"I'm not lying!" Emma lied. "I really did have to be there today! And, another thing, I need some money for tomorrow, for lunch, and coffee, and..."
"No way!" Lee laughed shortly. "You're not getting your card back again, ever! I am so disappointed in you, Emma!"
"But, Mum, I need my money!" Emma protested, feeling weak.
"You owe your Father and I over five hundred dollars!" Lee yelled. "You'll just have to go without!"
"I can't, I need to eat!" Emma shouted. "You're not being fair!"
SMACK!
Lee whipped her hand across her daughter's face, before she could even stop herself.
Emma gasped, her hand flying up to the side of her face, which was turning bright red.
Emma had wanted to block it, but she couldn't bring herself to stand up to her Mother that way. This was her Mother - as Lee had said in the past, she could punish her daughter however she wanted to.
Tears brimming in her eyes, Emma turned on her heel and sprinted off into the darkness, running down the back, so she didn't see Lee put a hand to her forehead and sigh unhappily.
Emma didn't stop until she reached the shed where the tractor and the ride-on-lawnmower were kept. There, she flung herself into the small space between the wall and the tractor, and burst into tears.
The next day, Ace was woken up by Marco shaking his shoulder.
"Yoi, Ace," the blonde said. "Your Grandfather's here."
"Huh?" Ace was only half awake. "Wazzat?"
Marco rolled his eyes. "Yoi, you're still half-asleep. Ace, it's me, Marco. You're onboard the Moby Dick. Your Grandfather's here."
"Huh?" Ace was surprised, and fully awake now. "Ojīchan came here?"
Marco nodded, as he escorted Ace from the room. "Hai. Don't worry, he's here peacefully...well, sort of..."
Curious, Ace followed Marco back up to the deck.
"He was the one that warned us that Emma was in danger back in Dunsborough." Marco added, in answer to Ace's unspoken question.
"Is that so?"
"Mmhmm." Marco sounded suspiciously casual, even though he was talking about a 'frenemy'. "He seems to be concerned about that girl's welfare."
Ace didn't doubt that for, as soon as he took a single step onto the deck, he was punched full-on in the face by one very angry Monkey D. Garp.
As Ace hit the wall at the other side of the ship, his nose spurting blood from the well-aimed Haki-infused punch curtesy of his Grandpa, the man himself stood on the deck, breathing heavily. The other crew-members must've been aware of Garp's intentions, because they didn't move from their spots on the deck.
Ace picked himself up, and glared angrily at his Grandfather. "What the Hell, old man...?!"
Garp cut him off. "What on Earth got into your head, you ignorant idiot?!" He shouted. "What in God's name possessed you to drink all that alcohol at Emma's house?!"
Ace just stared at him. "What is...?"
"When her parents came home last night, there was a huge argument!" Garp was seeing red, furious that his adopted grandson's actions had caused the events of last night. "What I just did to you is similar to what Emma's Mother did to her!"
Ace gasped, the blood draining from his face far faster than his nose. Around him, everyone seemed to have gone still, and Nami looked shocked - there was a certain degree of emotion in her deep brown eyes - as Law's own eyes darkened at the news.
Garp appeared to calm down after this, but he still spoke angrily as he said: "I went to visit last night, and let me tell you, I was horribly surprised by what I saw. How could you leave her like that?" He demanded to know.
Nami spoke up, sounding nervous. "She...asked us...to..." She trailed off under Garp's glare.
"How is she?" Law asked suddenly, glancing at the Vice-Admiral.
"Yes, please tell us." Sumi added, stepping forward. "How hard was she hit?"
"It doesn't matter." Ace and Luffy said, at exactly the same time and in the exact same tone of voice.
"I have to see her." Ace added. "Today! I'm going to her TAFE!"
Back at her house, Emma groaned as she looked in the mirror. Her eyes were puffy and red from crying last night, and there were dark circles under them as a result of this. But, worse yet, on one side of her very pale face, was the start of a very big, and very purple and blue bruise.
Well, at least Ace wouldn't see it.
Author's Notes:
. 'Shite' is a word that Emma invented, since she doesn't like to swear that much.
. Decadence, by Disturbed - watch?v=_vJlYoogYVE
. Circle In The Sand, by Belinda Carlisle - watch?v=c8EvHmj3MfQ
. Distorted Princess, by Hatsune Miku - watch?v=NxXkCioy_qE
. An example of the emotion in Nami's eyes (watch Sora at 0:54) - watch?v=Z4BMzMNWRcc . Does anybody know what this is called? An Abridged series (I think it was Princess Tutu) called it 'vibrate-y eyes thing', but that isn't it...
Kouralia - thank you for your review. ^^ What areas do you think I can improve on?
MsWildLuck - OMG, Boa, what are you doing here?! *Panics* Okay, I'll write more!
KaiF . Raphaella - I'm glad that it made you laugh, but don't forget to breathe! XD
Cocoa Liddell - I agree, Law is great, but there's just something so loveable about Ace! He got into trouble for getting Emma into trouble, though! Thanks for the support, I'm hoping that my writing will keep on improving until it just seems seamless - like JK Rowling, only without the profit. ^/ / / /^ Oh well, I can always try! XD
person - :D Yes, these was a Harry Potter reference in there, I just couldn't resist, can you blame me? And, yosh, love-triangles INSPIRE insanity!
WindWhistle21 - the love-triangle will get more heated, let me promise you that! Ooh, but you like Law! This is getting interesting!
Chieko Namikaze - yup, they got it back, I hope I cleared up any further confusion for everybody. ^^ But, you're in favour of EmmaxAce...oh, the humanity! *Faints from controversy overload* Well, let's see what happens!
Mugiwara Otome - thank you! ^^ Hmm, knowing Law, it might be something Emma's not expecting! XD
So, who do you think Emma should end up with, Law or Ace? I've been getting a few opinions...not that that makes me happy or anything... ^/ / / /^ *Does happy squiggle dance of happiness*