ONE PIECE
Two Worlds, One Family
A young woman struggling to find her place in the world wakes up to find a bunch of cats in her room...cats that turn out to be the characters from her favourite TV show, One Piece! Bound to each other, whether they like it or not, and trying to figure out a way to find a certain somebody's lost Nakama and get everyone back to their home, what follows is bound to be chaos, friendship, tears, romance - and, adventure! (Kind of a re-write of Straw Cat Pirates).
~Parental Warning~
The following chapter contains:
. Adult themes
. Sexual references
CHAPTER THIRTY
Return
The days were calm (when they weren't filled with the sounds of people training and/or getting knocked into the sea) and the nights were balmy (when they weren't filled with the sounds of partying).
The peace of the past week was still going strong and, even though they all knew that it wouldn't last, every single member of the Whitebeard Pirates, of the Straw Hat Pirates, and of the Heart Pirates was enjoying it as best he or she could, while it did last.
People got drunk. People trained. Drunk people trained.
Emma had turned everybody that she could into cats at least eight times.
Cats got drunk. Drunk cats fought with each other.
A few times, the Marines showed up, but they were quickly taken care of.
Nobody was really complaining, and the bonds between the Allies (and, the Allies of the Allies) were growing.
Exactly one week after Sumi's funeral, Nami and Vivi walked onto the deck after an encounter with Brooke asking his usual questions, to witness Robin and Luffy playing Battle-Ships.
"Hmm..." Robin pretended to carefully regard her board, but both Nami and Vivi could see the hand with the eye, peeking over Luffy's shoulder. "E-3."
Luffy groaned. "Aww, what?! You sunk it!" He started to remove his sweatband.
Robin chuckled lightly. "No, no, no, give me the hat."
"How about best three out of five?"
Sanji, meanwhile, had appeared practically out of nowhere, and with a plate of drinks for the girls.
"Thank you." Nami and Vivi said automatically, just as the waters around the Thousand Sunny were rocked, and they all stumbled. Only more of Robin's hands appearing in a flurry of cherry blossom petals prevented the drinks from being spilled.
"What was that?" Sanji muttered, straightening up, just as Chopper and Carue came up onto the deck, and Carue croeod a little bit.
Chopper translated for them. "He says that Zoro and Vista are 'training' again." Chopper even made the little quotation marks, somehow.
"Well, what are they using, cannons?" Georgia asked sarcastically, from behind Chopper and Carue. "Yo, have any of you seen Emma?"
"Yeah, she's onboard the Moby Dick, doing...something." Nami replied. She gazed at Georgia steadily. "You really want to go home, don't you?"
Georgia nodded. "Is it that obvious?" She asked, just as something small and lithe landed with a small thump on the deck.
"You've been chomping at the bit since Tuesday, Georgia." Emma stated calmly, straightening up.
"The term is 'champing', Emma-San." Robin, who was now wearing Luffy's hat, corrected her.
Georgia ignored all of this, and instead said: "Well?"
Emma nodded slightly. "We leave tomorrow morning. It's all been sorted out."
As Georgia began to look very happy, and raced off to tell her sister, Vivi turned to Emma. "Have you had any luck in finding out how we'll get to the Spirit Realm?"
Emma now shook her head, but she said: "Marco's going to contact the gods later on today. I'd appreciate it if everybody was there too, by the way." She added, referring to her Allies.
"Of course." Nami said straight away.
"It will be interesting to meet them." Robin mused.
"Robin, when can I have my hat back?"
"Tonight."
"I'll go and tell the others what we're doing." Sanji added. "Luffy, you tell the mossball."
"Okay...shishishi..." Luffy grinned, as he got up. "Meeting some gods, huh? This'll be fun!"
Later on, as the sun was setting to the west, Emma and her Allies gathered on the deck of the Moby Dick. Although most of the others had decided to go to the bar that night, a few had decided to stay. Georgia, Carmilla, Penelope, Jacob, Robert, Penguin, Shachi, Bepo, Nojiko, Kaya, and Vista sat nearby, along with Whitebeard, as the Allies watched Marco draw the circle with the sacred flames.
As soon as the last flame was placed, an eerie silence fell over the sea, and a cold wind began to blow. The moon went behind a cloud, and soon the only light was from those candles.
Wow...scary... Nami thought, shivering slightly.
"Nami-San," Sanji whispered to her. "If you're scared, then you can hold my hand."
Okay, not as scary as that. Nami rolled her eyes.
Luffy was grinning in anticipation, as a ring of light appeared within the centre of the circle.
Emma subconsciously drew closer to Ace.
Robin's face showed no expression, but her brilliant blue eyes were shining, as a figure began to emerge from the circle.
He was tall, with dark hair and dark sunglasses, and he wore a suit, making him look like one of the guys from Men In Black. He stepped out of the circle, gazing calmly around at them all, before three more figures followed him.
One was instantly recognisable as Twister, with his long black cloak. Another was a woman with long blue hair and silver eyes - Destiny, Emma recognised her from the vision that Sumi had shown her. The third was...
"Faith!" Emma let go of Ace, and launched herself at the short, blue-eyed woman. She hugged her.
"Hello, Emma." Faith smiled. She drew back, and looked up at Emma. "You done so well, get this far. I told you...you capable of great things."
Emma nodded. "I had no idea...when you gave me that necklace, what would happen...who I would really be..."
The man with the sunglasses spoke. "If not for the interference of certain others, then you would have had a much easier time."
Faith gave the man a Look. "Boss, you not mean what Cupid and I did..."
"Cupid?" Emma, Georgia, Carmilla, Penelope, Jacob and Robert said in unison.
"Who's Cupid?" Luffy wanted to know.
"Cupid's the god of love." Emma explained. "He fires an arrow of love, and makes people fall in love..." She trailed off.
"Wait, wait, let me explain!" A man with angel wings and wearing a toga appeared from within the circle. "It's true, that I do make people fall in love, but only those who are destined to fall in love!"
"It's true." Destiny said reluctantly, tucking a strand of blue hair behind her ear. "Unfortunately, the arrow hit two people..." She gazed across at Ace, and thens witched her gaze to Law. "I'm glad that you finally figured it out, Trafalgar Law. How many different kinds of love there are."
Emma shifted uncomfortably, as Ace and Law glared at each other, and then Boss sighed.
"That doesn't matter now." He looked around at them. "The thirteen of you are finally together. You are the only ones who can defeat the great evil that has threatened us for so long. Infinity..."
"But, isn't she a god, just like you?" Vivi spoke up. She looked at Destiny. "That's what you told me, when you sent me in as the Decoy Princess."
Destiny nodded. "Yes, but her madness has driven her to a point of no return. When the Princess Of Light was killed, that was Infinity's turning point. I'm afraid that there's no going back for her, now."
"But, I'm alive." Emma protested. "Wouldn't her knowing that...?"
Boss shook his head. "No. We gods have our own set of rules, and she has broken too many of them." He happened to glance over at Whitebeard then. "I'm sorry." he added, quietly, and Whitebeard merely sighed.
"It isss in everybody'sss bessst interessst that ssshe isss defeated." Twister said. "Before ssshe hasss a chanccce to do anymore damage."
"Umm, excuse me," Carmilla spoke up, and the gods all turned to her. "What about that little girl, with the pink hair? Little Death, was that her name? Is she one of you?"
Twister nodded. "If thisss continuesss, then we won't be able to sssave her, either." He sounded regretful.
"She'll become an un-god, just like Infinity." Destiny explained. "We want to help her before that happens."
"But, why?" Emma asked. "What made her decide to help Infinity?" I just can't get over the fact that there's something that I'm missing... She glanced up at her Father, and saw that he was looking at her. But, what is it? She narrowed her eyes. You know...you, and Marco-San and Vista know, don't you, Daddy? You knew her...
Boss nodded to Twister, who reached out one of his white hands. "Princcccccesssss..." He hissed, in his usual voice, but there was a difference in it as well. "Come to me..."
Emma swallowed, and shakily reached out her hand, but stopped, when all of her Allies stepped forward as one.
"Wherever you're taking her, you take all of us, too." Sanji said firmly.
"That's right." Franky agreed.
Twister looked up, his cloak falling back slightly to reveal black-painted lips. "Imposssssible...only the Princcccesssss and her Firssst-Knight may go..."
"Law-Chan, come with me." Emma said. "The rest of you, wait here...we'll be back." She promised, as Law stepped forwards, and took her by the arm. She tried to ignore the glare that her boyfriend was giving Law, and the smug look that Ace got in return from the Surgeon Of Death, as she took Twister's hand.
At once, a cold feeling enveloped her, and she shut her eyes, feeling Law's grip around her tighten, as they vanished.
When Emma opened her eyes again, she and Law were standing in a cave, which appeared to be lit with glowing rocks on the walls. Twister was standing silently nearby, and so was the most beautiful woman that Emma had ever seen. She had snow-white skin, ruby red eyes and long, raven-coloured hair, and Emma knew immediately who she was.
"You...you're Death, aren't you?" Emma stammered.
There was so much familiarity in this woman and yet she was an utter mystery.
The goddess nodded, and spoke, in a voice as cold - and yet, as gentle - as the snow. "That is correct. I am also Little Death's Mother."
Emma didn't know how to respond to that, but Law did. He said: "Do you know why your daughter chose to ally herself with Infinity?"
Death nodded, again. "Yes. I am afraid that it is, to a certain degree, my fault. Little Death was born from one of the Flowers Of Hell, by a wish made by myself and Life. Already, she had a strange upbringing. She could kill mortals from the moment that she was born, and she didn't have any control over her powers. I kept her down here for nine hundred years, to train her and to protect her, but I'm afraid that it took its toll on her. She ran away, and that's when she met Infinity."
"What did Infinity say to her?" Emma wanted to know.
"I'm not sure," Death replied. "But, whatever it was, it was enough to make my daughter completely mute to my calls. She managed to deceive the Government of World 192853746. She told them that she wanted to help them but, in reality, due to Infinity's influence, my daughter despises the World Government, namely Akainu and Ino." Her voice became slightly cold.
"Good." Emma and Law said in unison.
Death sighed. "Regardless, my daughter has caused a lot of trouble, and for that I apologize. She may have done all of this, but I am still very worried for her. She's my daughter, and I love her. A Mother will never stop loving her daughter."
"What about Ino and Sumi-Chan?" Emma asked, but she was ignored. A sudden thought made her think of her own Mother, of Lee. I bet she misses me...I miss her, too...she often threatened to sell me to white slavers, but I know for certain that she never would. I was lucky, and Sumi-Chan was not...how ungrateful have I been?
"Death-Ya," Law spoke up. "What is Infinity planning to do?"
Death glanced at Twister, who nodded. "Come with usss." The god of change said, and the four of them began to walk through the cave.
The cave walls were alight with strategically - yet, randomly - placed glowing stones, and there were pools of reddish-pink water everywhere.
"What is this place, anyway?" Emma wanted to know.
"This is The Underworld." Death replied, from in front. "My domain. It is connected with my partner's realm."
"Life...and Heaven..." Emma realised.
"The two are not so different." Death reminded her, which gave Emma a lot to think about, as she and Law walked hand-in-hand. Death continued with: "When a person dies, this is the first place that they come to, to await my Judgement. I weigh up their good deeds, as well as their sins, and then judge them accordingly. Between here and Heaven, there are Six Levels that a person can reach."
"Do the Levels have anything to do with your Judgement?" Emma wanted to know.
"No, not really." Death replied. "The only Judgements that really matter are the ones concerning those sent to Level Seven, or the ones that stay here, on Level Zero."
"Will Akainu stay on Level Zero?"
"I can't answer that."
Law was curious about one thing. "When you say Level Seven...what does a person have to do to get to there?"
"Level Seven is where my partner, Life, resides." Death explained carefully. "To reach him, one would have to have made the ultimate sacrifice."
"Is Sumi-Chan on Level Seven?" Emma asked quietly. She sacrificed herself to save me, and to save the rest of my Allies, too...
Death turned around then, and smiled slightly, with lips the same colour as her eyes. "Yes." Was all that she said, before she turned back to face the front, and they continued walking, again.
Presently, they reached the exit to the cave, and walked outside, into a land filled with dark trees, more reddish-pink water, and a dark sky. Despite it looking so spooky, it was actually kind of peaceful.
People were walking around everywhere, and a thought struck Emma. "Death...what about Kuina? I mean, she died, but she was able to communicate with us, and draw us into this world..."
"Sometimes, my partner and I give special missions to people." Death explained. "In the case of Kuina, she was able to do what she did because it needed to be done. It earned her free access to anywhere."
"So, once you die, you can earn a place in Level Seven?" Emma guessed.
"Yes, that is correct." Death replied. "It doesn't happen very often, though."
"What are the Levels like?" Law wanted to know. I get the feeling that we'll need to know all of this, so I'd better pay attention, because Emiko probably won't!
"Level One is a mass of forests." Death replied. "You climb up from one tree, and there is no ground. The entire world is just made up of giant trees. When you reach the top, you climb through a portal and into the Snow Lands of Level Two. You start out on a frozen over lake, and have to climb to the top of a snow-capped mountain, in order to find the tree that is the portal to Level Three, which is made up entirely of water."
"I don't think that I'd like that world very much." Emma spoke up.
Oh, okay, so she is listening. Law thought.
"When you die, your Devil Fruit ability is gone, too." Death reminded her. "So, you'd be able to swim there. Those who are sent there adapt. There is only one island in that world, and that is the portal to Level Four, which is the hills. After coming out of the small cave, you follow the stream uphill, until you reach the tablelands. There, you'll find the portal to Level Five, which takes you into a desert."
"Is an oasis the portal from Level Five to Level Six?" Emma wanted to know.
Death nodded. "Yes, but there are many Oasis Traps, so caution is advised. When you find the right one, you will go to Level Six, the land of mountains. When you climb to the top of the tallest mountain, Mount Sup'mylo, then you will reach the Holy Gates. But, unless otherwise stated by myself and by Life, travel between the Levels is not possible without this." She reached out a hand, to touch the compass that was around Emma's neck. "Hold onto it, Emma, for it is very important."
"I will." Emma promised, as they reached a pair of wrought iron gates. "What is this place?" She asked. beyond the gates, she could see swirling pinkish-red mists and, unlike the calm waters of The Underworld, it seemed sinister.
"The Forbidden Zone." Twister replied. "It isss the realm between realmsss. Come, we will go there, now." He opened up the gates.
Emma, clutching onto Law's arm now, followed, but Death stayed behind, to guard the gates; she stared after them, her expression unreadable but her eyes full of...regret?
Emma, Law and Twister walked into the pinkish-red and black landscape, across fields of glass and over a bridge, where the water that ran beneath it was an inky black.
In the distance, there was a castle, but Twister led them instead to a black well. It stood out amongst the landscape, in a sinister way.
"Thisss isss the Well Of Chaosss." Twister explained, carefully leading them closer. "It had lain dormant for many yearsss but, now, Infinity hasss awakened itsss power."
"What does it do?" Emma whispered, not wanting to go any closer. The very presence of the Well Of Chaos was terrifying for her, in a way that she couldn't quite describe.
Akainu? Not so bad.
Doflamingo? Fine.
Blackbeard? Okay.
This Well Of Chaos? The worst thing in the entire existence of the multiverse.
"Watch..." Twister whispered quietly, before he suddenly drew his scythe, and held it out in front of Emma and Law, protectively.
And, as they watched, a tiny little gremlin-looking thing, a cross between a dragon and a bat, leaped out of the well, snarling and growling, before it ripped open a hole in time and space, and crawled through.
"Wh-what was that thing?!" Emma exclaimed, horrified. "And...where did it go?!"
"That was a Chaos Creature." Twister replied. "And, it went to another world, to start devouring it. Ever since Infinity activated it, Chaos Creatures have slowly been destroying the multiverse."
"How many worlds have been destroyed?" Emma whispered.
"Over a hundred million." Twister replied.
Tears came to Emma's eyes, and show bowed her head, resting it against Law's shoulder. He put an arm around her, and turned to face Twister. "So, we just need to go into that castle, and defeat Infinity, right?"
"Well, yesss..." Twister nodded his head. "However, it'sss not that sssimple."
Law sighed. "No, of course, it's not."
"You sssee, you need your other Alliesss here." Twister replied. "There isss only one way to bring them here, sssafely, however..."
Emma gave a short sob, and turned away from Twister. Law put his other arm around her, drawing her even closer to him, and then he nodded. "I see."
"It isss the only way." Twister reminded them. "If you do not, then everything will be gone, forever. Your power will ssstill be with you..."
"It's our duty." Emma sniffled. "But, it's just so horrible! They shouldn't have to do this..."
"But, it isss their dessstiny." Twister told her. "Our dessstiny isss sssomething that we all must embraccce."
Emma swallowed, and then nodded. "Okay, I'll...I'll talk to them about it."
Law said: "We'll both do it. Don't worry about it, Emiko."
Twister agreed. "Yesss, it isss not sssomething that you will have to worry about. We can help you to do it."
"That's not what the issue is here!" Emma exclaimed, and then she sighed. "Just get me back to my Father, Twister. I...I need to talk to him about something..."
Twister nodded. "Asss you wisssh, Princccessssss..." He held up his scythe. "But, know thisss - you will all return to thisss placcce, and sssoon...you cannot essscape your dessstiny..."
Emma and Law appeared on the deck of the Moby Dick, which was void of any gods.
As soon as they appeared, they were swamped by their other Allies, mainly by Ace, who made a big deal of yanking Emma away from Law, and hugging her.
"Emiko!" He hugged her tightly, before he caught sight of her face. "Hang on a minute, you're crying! What happened?!" He glared quickly at Law.
Emma sniffled, and did her best to smile. "N-nothing's wrong...I just...umm..." She glanced quickly at Law, and then shook her head slightly. "Nothing. Everything's fine."
"Are you sure?" Nami asked doubtfully. "What did you learn?"
"J-just a few things, here and there." Emma replied carefully, avoiding eye-contact with anybody except for Law. "I know how to get us to the Spirit Realm, but...we can't go now. We have to go from the other world."
"So then, what are we waiting for?" Georgia asked, impatiently, from her seat on top of a rum barrel.
"Just one more night, okay, Georgia?" Emma begged her. "Then, we'll go in the morning. I promise you, okay?"
"Okay." Georgia narrowed her eyes. "And, you'd better mean it, this time."
"I do." Emma nodded. "Just one more night." She repeated, giving her Father an 'I-Need-To-Talk-To-You' look, which he interpreted correctly.
"I see." Whitebeard said, taking a swig from his sake. he calmly regarded his daughter, who sat on a nearby chair with her legs curled up underneath of her, and a photograph in her hands - it was the photograph of her, with her parents. Whitebeard and...that mysterious lady who was her Mother. "You didn't want to tell the others?"
Emma shook her head. "How can I? How can I tell them that all of their hopes and dreams are going to be destroyed, and that they have to do it, or else we're all going to be reduced to nothingness?" God, I haven't listened to that song in ages... "I mean, Luffy's supposed to become the Pirate King, and Zoro has to be the World's Greatest Swordsman, and Nami has to draw her map of the world, and Usopp's going to become a brave warrior of the sea, and Sanji's got to find the All-Blue, and Chopper has to invent that miracle cure for everything, and Robin's meant to find the Rio Poneglyphs and change the world, and Franky was supposed to sail all around the world in the ship that he designed..." She was crying by this stage, tears dripping down her face and onto the photograph. "Daddy...I...all I want is for them to achieve their dreams, and they can't! Because they're my Allies! How am I supposed to tell them that they have to die?!"
"Come here, Emma." Whitebeard said, and she did, hurrying over to him as he drew her against his chest, and she sobbed. "Have you ever thought about what kinds of people they are, Emma?" She shook her head. "There are many different kinds of people in the world, Emma. There are selfish people, and selfless people. I believe that you and your Allies fall into the latter category."
She looked up at him, with damp eyes. "You think so?"
Whitebeard nodded. "Yes, my daughter, I do. I think that, if they can do this for you, and for everybody else, then their lives will have some sort of fulfilment, and they won't regret it."
Emma swallowed, as he put her back down again. She looked up at him. "But, Daddy, I...I wanted to be with Ace, and start a family...I wanted to be that kind of woman...I love him."
"I know." Whitebeard replied. She wanted to WHAT?! Yes, I approve of her being with Ace, but the thought of them...okay, calm down... "But, something your Mother used to say is that 'love survives beyond our lives'. It means that it never dies, even when we do."
Emma nodded. "Okay...and, speaking of which...about my Mother..."
There was suddenly a knock on the door.
"Enter." Whitebeard said, and the door opened, to reveal Ace.
There was no expression on the other pirate's face, as he looked at Emma, and said: "Can I borrow you, please?"
Emma paled slightly. Oh my God, he just heard all of that, didn't he? Nodding, she walked over to the door. "See you later, Daddy." She called to her Father, as she closed the door behind her.
Emma followed Ace wordlessly through the halls of the Moby Dick, staring at the tattoo on his back, and trying to figure out what she should say.
They walked past various people, and Emma couldn't help but notice the potential couples that could never be...Luffy and Vivi...Franky and Robin...Usopp and Kaya...Sanji and Nami...Zoro and Nojiko...wait, what?
Emma just shook her head, and followed Ace to his room. They walked inside, shutting the door behind them.
Ace stood in the centre of the room, not moving, and Emma tentatively asked him: "Did you...hear all of that?"
"I did." Ace replied, confirming Emma's worst suspicions. He turned around, and looked at her. "Daijoubu."
"Dai...wait, what did you just say?" Emma blinked. "It's alright?"
Ace crossed the room to her, and put his hands on her shoulders. "I'm prepared to die, if it means fulfilling my destiny. You aremy destiny, Emiko."
Emma swallowed. "You're my destiny too, Ace-Chan..." She reached up a hand, to cup the side of his face. "I love you..."
"I love you, too..." Ace gently took her hand, and then kissed it. "And, if we're going to die, then...I want to be with you. Tonight."
It clicked with Emma immediately what he meant, and her heart began to race. Ace drew her close to him, resting his chin on the top of her head, waiting for her answer.
When we die, we'll die together, but I'm not afraid, as long as we're together...
Emma moved back slightly, and looked up at him. "I love you, Ace-Chan." She said, closing her eyes. "Let's be together..."
She didn't see Ace's smile, but she felt it, when he placed his lips to hers, and kissed her, which was the beginning of their night together...
The next day, Emma was sore. Her whole entire body hurt, and she hoped that nobody would notice but, no such luck.
"Emmy, why are you limping?" Luffy wanted to know.
Before Emma (who was wincing) could answer, Nami came charging up to her, a look of outrage and shock on her face. "No! You didn't!" She yelled, so loudly that everybody looked at them. She took Emma by the wrist and led her away. When they were alone, she turned to her, and hissed: "Did you and Ace have sex?!"
Emma swallowed and then, checking to make sure that nobody was around, she nodded. "Well, yeah, we did." Yup, you've done it, Emma. You're no longer a virgin. Welcome to the world of adulthood.
Nami's eyes were about the size of saucers, as she stared in disbelief, gaping.
Nojiko came up, and gently pushed her younger sister away. "Calm down Nami, it was bound to happen." She winked at Emma. "It's about time."
Emma was depressed after that - how many more people were going to find out?
As she walked down the hall, Kaya smiled at her.
When she turned the corner, Vivi was there, and she looked startled, but then gave a wavering sort of smile.
Robin gave her a knowing look from across the dining hall, when she arrived for breakfast.
Emma had to refrain from slamming her head down onto the table and, when she looked up, Ace was there.
Memories of the previous night came flooding back to her, and she blushed, but she felt it, too - a strong, almost magnetic pull, that was tugging her towards that one man. Towards Ace, her soul-mate.
Ace was about to sit down next to her, when Emma was pounced on by the nurses, who dragged her away.
"Noooo, coffee!" Emma complained, as she was dragged into the med-bay, and had to endure ten minutes of gruelling questions about 'safety' from the nurses, until she was found and rescued by Robin.
"Are you okay?" Robin asked Emma calmly, as they sat up on deck, with cups of coffee.
Emma just shrugged, and muttered something about 'is nothing sacred, anymore?'.
Robin smiled, and the two of them lapsed into silence, that is until Georgia showed up, with her sister and her sister's colleagues in tow.
"Emma." Georgia began.
"AURGH!" Emma finally lost it, throwing her empty cup down (Robin caught it, just before it hit the deck) and storming over to the other side of the deck.
"Emma-San," Robin called to her. "I believe that Georgia was merely going to enquire as to when we were leaving."
"Oh." Emma blushed, and looked sheepish, as she came back. "I thought that you were...oh, never mind. Yes, about leaving..."
"Can we go soon, please?" Carmilla wanted to know.
Emma nodded. "Go and gather everybody together. Then...we can go..."
Georgia nodded, and she and the others set off.
Emma turned back to Robin. "Don't you dare say a word." She warned the older woman.
Robin smiled, and sipped on her coffee. "About what?"
"So, then, this is it?" Chopper asked, hitching up his backpack. "Are we really going back?"
"Yup." Georgia was grinning, as she rocked back and forth on her heels. "Just as soon as Emma gets back out here..."
"I'm here." Emma spoke up, walking towards them, with Ace in tow.
"Then, let's go!" Georgia suggested. "That way, I can go home, and you guys can...do whatever it is that you have to do."
Emma exchanged a glance with Law, and Robin noted this. There was something going on, that much was for certain, and Robin had been wondering about it since last night but, before she could dwell on it for too much longer, Carmilla spoke up.
"Look, there." Carmilla pointed and so, of course, they all looked.
"The Marines!" Somebody cried, unnecessarily.
"We can take them!" Luffy and Ace said in unison, readying themselves, but Emma stopped them.
"Wait!" She said sharply, before she borrowed Usopp's spyglass, and focused in on the ship. There, standing on the bow, and holding a white flag, was... "Grandpa Garp!"
"There she goes." Ace rolled his eyes, watching as Emma leapt through the air, easily crossing the distance between the two ships, and throwing her arms around Monkey D. Garp.
Ace sighed, and then happened to glance up, at Whitebeard, who had somehow appeared on-deck without anybody noticing. The look in the old sea captain's eyes was hard to read, but Ace, who knew Whitebeard quite well, recognized it instantly. Whatever shaky alliance he had had with Garp back in Dunsborough did not extend to sharing his daughter with the Marine. Whitebeard had lost Emma once before, and it was going to take him a long time to get over that. Perhaps he never would.
Presently, Garp was standing on the deck of the Moby Dick (under the watchful eyes of about half of the Whitebeard crew). A few Marines accompanied him, amongst them, Coby and Helmeppo.
Emma caught the eyes of the pink-haired captain, and pointed first at her own eyes, and then at his, making him cringe. She grinned, as Luffy laughed at Coby's fear.
Whitebeard addressed Garp. "So, you're here to find out what's going on with the Allies." It wasn't a question.
Garp nodded calmly. "They caused an awful lot of problems for us last week, with that little charade."
"That little charade got rid of all the problems from Dawn Island, Ojichan." Ace told Garp. "Especially after what happened." He narrowed his eyes.
Garp sighed. "If you're referring to Sumi, then..."
"Grandpa," Emma interrupted him, seeing the looks on the faces of a few of the Whitebeard Pirates. "Can we wrap this up, please? I have to go somewhere."
"Go to where?" Garp looked down at her. "Granddaughter, where are you going?"
"Back to the other world." Emma replied, and Garp looked surprised. "I'm taking Georgia and the others home, and then...the rest of us have a mission to complete."
Garp closed his eyes briefly, and then opened them again, looking not at Emma, but at Ace and Luffy. "I have orders to not let you leave." He said, regretfully.
"I'm afraid that you fail to understand the severity of the situation, Garp-Ya." Law stepped forwards, and a few of the Marines tensed. "If we don't defeat Infinity, then her Chaos Creatures will continue to devour worlds...including this one." He added, and a few people gulped.
"Over a hundred million worlds have already been destroyed." Emma said quietly, and Ace silently took her hand. It comforted her. "It's my duty, as Hikari No Hime, to stop this from happening...me and my Allies...we have to go." She looked up at Garp. "You won't stop us."
Garp shook his head. "I said that I have orders...I didn't say that I was going to carry them out."
Emma blinked. "You mean...?"
Garp looked at her. "Do you remember that conversation that we had on the back porch of your house?"
Emma thought back, and then she remembered. She nodded. "I see...so, then..."
"I've thought about what you said." Garp told her. "You've raised some very valid points, Granddaughter."
She swallowed. "Y-yes, well..."
"I still haven't properly thanked you, for what you did back then." Garp continued, surprising everybody by suddenly kneeling in the formal seiza position. "Saving the lives of my grandsons...thank you, Emma, for doing what I couldn't. You've become a hero."
The Marines looked shocked, and so did a great number of the Whitebeard Pirates, and a few of the Straw Hat Pirates and Heart Pirates, too.
Emma, meanwhile, was frozen to the spot, staring at Garp being so OOC, and feeling her heart pounding in her chest. She felt Ace's hand tighten around her own, and sensed Luffy standing rigidly on her other side. Something about that, and about hearing Garp's gratitude, brought tears to her eyes, that soon spilled over silently.
It didn't matter. Franky was sobbing, crying very manly tears at the beautiful situation.
"So...so then..." Emma said, her voice barely above a whisper. "You're letting us go?"
Garp looked up at her, and adjusted his position, straightening up. "No."
"But, you just said..."
"I'm coming with you."
There was a moment of silence, in which nobody moved or spoke, and Emma just stared at her Grandfather, whom stared back at her.
Then...
"No way!" Luffy yelled.
"Like Hell you're coming with us, Ojichan!" Ace added.
"We can't take any more people with us!" Nami exclaimed.
"It would just get troublesome!" Usopp added.
"It's already troublesome." Zoro murmured.
"For once, I completely agree with you, Mossy." Sanji muttered, lighting a cigarette.
"Shut up, Curly." Zoro snapped, going to elbow Sanji, who dodged, and Usopp ended up getting hit instead.
"Oh, a wise guy, aye?" Usopp glared at Zoro. "You're lucky that I'm in a good mood."
Zoro just rolled his eyes, as Ace, Luffy and Nami argued about the cons of Garp coming along with them, and Vivi wondered: "How come they all seem to have an opinion on this?"
Nojiko just shrugged.
Law stepped forwards then, and held up his hands, bringing silence. He looked around at Luffy, Ace, Nami, Zoro, Usopp, Sanji, Chopper, Robin, Franky, Brook and Vivi, and then said: "It's up to Emiko. She's our leader."
All eyes turned to Emma, who cringed. She swallowed, and then said: "I-I really d-don't mind..."
"Emma!"
"Emiko!"
"Emmy!" Luffy grabbed onto Emma's arm. "Why?!"
"Luffy." Emma looked at him. "He's our Grandfather." Luffy blinked. "And, besides, he's not so bad!" She grinned.
Ace sighed. "Emiko, we need to discuss your definition of 'not so bad'."
"Then, that settles it." Garp stood up, and grinned. "When do we leave?"
"Right now...right?" Georgia looked at Emma and, when the other red-head seemed to be having a silent, eyes-only conversation with her Father, she got right up in her face. "Right?"
Emma sighed, defeated. "Right."
"Be careful, Nami." Nojiko hugged her little sister.
"I will be." Nami promised.
"Nami, knowing us, maybe that's not the best thing for you to be promising." Zoro spoke up.
"Shut up, Zoro!" Nami snapped.
Nojiko smiled slightly. "Why, Zoro, thank you so very much for volunteering to protect my little sister."
"Little?!"
"Wait, why do I have to do it?!" Zoro demanded to know.
"Yeah, why him?" Sanji protested. "I would be much more suited for the job!"
Nojiko smiled widely. "Then, you can bothprotect her." She was smiling, but her teal eyes were fierce. "And," she went on, in an eerily pleasant voice. "If anything happens to her, then I will kill you."
Sanji and Zoro gulped.
Nearby, Usopp was trying to say a private goodbye to Kaya. That was a little bit hard to do with the eyes of nearly every single Whitebeard Pirate, Heart Pirate and Marine boring holes into them, but they tried.
Law was leaving his crew with some very strict instructions, and told them all to be careful. Bepo looked like he was about to cry.
"May the force be with you." That was Georgia saying goodbye to the Whitebeard Pirates.
Emma stepped up to her Father, and allowed him to pick her up. She hugged him as best that she could around his neck, trying not to cry.
"Goodbye, Daddy." She said quietly, holding onto him, and breathing in deeply. His scent was of sake, and of the sea.
"It's not goodbye forever." He assured her. He held her out, and looked at her. "We'll see each other again, and soon."
She nodded, as he put her back down. Georgia immediately latched onto her, like she was afraid that Emma would disappear without her.
Whitebeard looked over at Garp, and at his two grandsons. "You three..." He said, in his deep, gravelly voice. "Protect Emma with your lives." There was so much strength and fierceness in her voice, that none of the three that he was addressing would - could - respond. "She is...amongst the most precious treasure in the world to me, and I cannot lose her again."
Emma stared up at Whitebeard, her heart pounding.
"Oyaji..." Ace had finally found his voice, and he held up his left hand. "You already know, that I would lay down my life for Emiko, you know..."
"Promise me, Ace."
"I promise."
Whitebeard nodded, and stepped back.
Ace sighed, and then looked determined.
Emma swallowed. "Alright, then. Everybody, hold hands." She instructed, and everybody who was going with her obeyed. Law took her right hand, and Georgia, who was standing there, took her left hand. That didn't leave Ace with any of Emma's hands to hold, which he didn't like, so he made a big show of glaring at Law and at Georgia. The former was unaffected, and the latter glared right back at him.
When everybody was ready, Emma began to concentrate. She felt a strange, lonely tugging on her heart, as she left the world that she now knew that she'd been born into, and that she was so comfortable and happy in but, like she'd said, so many times before, she had a mission to do and, like it or not, that other world was her home, too.
"Ribon-Ribon No Teleport! Take us home!"
In Kings Park, a woman dressed all in black stepped up to the war memorial, and knelt down, to place some white and yellow frangi-panis at the foot of it. Behind her, the Eternal Flame danced, casting a reflection off of the polished black stone.
The image of a woman appeared, and Lee Pax turned, to see a woman with dark auburn hair and light blue eyes, also dressed all in black, and holding a bouquet of carnations.
"Hello." Lee said politely.
"Hello." The other woman replied, eyeing her warily as she set the flowers down. "I'm Jacqueline Brown."
"Lee Pax." Lee held out her hand.
Jacqueline eyed it, before shaking it carefully. "Ah, so you're Emma's Mother."
Lee nodded. "Yes. I take it that you've been affected somehow by all of this?" She asked, tightly.
"Only that my daughters were somehow transported away by your daughter." Jacqueline replied, just as tightly.
Lee sighed. "I see." She ran a hand through her wavy blonde hair. "My daughter doescause a lot of trouble, but she's a good person. Please believe that."
"How can I?" Jacqueline hissed. "Thanks to you and your family, I've lost part of mine! It was bad enough when Carmilla's partner was killed, and now..."
"How do you think that I feel?!" Lee snapped. "My socially awkward and troubled daughter, whom I've been arguing with terribly lately, brings home a boy that's really a pirate from another world, shows me that she has magical powers and then ends up in trouble with the law?!"
"Don't you dare act like you're the victim here!" Jacqueline retorted. "Georgia was going to go on to do her certificate IV, and then become a graphic designer!"
"Well, so was Emma!" Lee exclaimed.
The two women stared at each other for a moment, before Jacqueline sighed. "I'm sorry...it's just been more stressful over these past few weeks than what you can imagine."
"We don't need to imagine." Lee replied. "I can understand better than anybody else what you are going through right now and, so, I'm also sorry."
The two women stared at each other for a moment, before the sound of bells tolling interrupted their silence.
"The bells." Jacqueline said quietly.
"They've been tolling them everyday since...well, since that day." Lee muttered, feeling tears welling up in her eyes. "In the hopes that..."
"It will guide them back?" Jacqueline had tears in her eyes, as well.
Lee looked up at the cloudless sky, wondering how it could be such a nice day, when her whole entire world had fallen apart. Emma's winning Lotto ticket had really set them up - it had made them more money than they'd ever dreamed of. But, it was all bitter-sweet, and all of the money in the world couldn't bring their daughter back to them.
Lee blinked, suddenly, staring up at the sky, where a small pinprick of light had just appeared. It expanded, and became a multicoloured swirl of light. Jacqueline looked up as well, and her face was shocked, as the lights separated, and shot down to the ground.
Figures appeared from the beams of light...
"That was awesome!"
"Suuuuper!"
"Why do you always think that these sorts of things are so great?!"
"Calm down, Nami-Swan."
"I'll be upset if I want!"
Lee and Jacqueline stared in shock, taking in the cyborg, the nine-foot-tall skeleton, and the reindeer...and, then, their eyes focused in on three particular figures.
"Well, there you go, Georgia, we're back." Emma said, trying to get up. "Now, would you please let go of my arm?!"
"Yeah, come on, George, let her go." Carmilla said, and Georgia's face turned the colour of her hair.
"Don't. Call. Me. George."
"Georgia?!"
"There, you see, that's my name." Georgia sighed, and then she froze. "M-Mum?!"
"Mum?!" Carmilla repeated, as Jacqueline began running towards them.
"Georgia! Carmilla!" Jacqueline threw her arms around them. She cried, and so did Carmilla, but Georgia didn't, because Georgia never cried.
Emma, meanwhile, was staring at her Mother, who was staring back at her.
"Mum..." Emma began to walk, at the same time that Lee did.
"Emma...oh my God, Emma!" Lee broke into a run, as did Emma, and the two of them met.
Both of them burst into tears.
Ace was staring hard at Lee. Out of all of them, he was the only one who had seen the result of Emma's arguments with her parents and, no matter what, he had meant what he'd said.
He would never, ever let them 'punish' her, ever again.
"Emma, where have you been?!" Lee exclaimed. "And...what are you wearing?!"
"M-Mum, I..." Emma began to explain.
"Oh my God, Emma!" Lee began with a fresh wave of tears, and the two of them hugged again.
"That's Emma's Mother?" Franky whispered to Robin.
The archeologist nodded. "It appears so."
Brook was taking in the situation, and then he stepped forwards. he took out his violin, and began to play a song.
Jacqueline and Lee stared at the skeleton, and then turned to their daughters for help.
The three women sighed. Oh boy...
In the end, they all went back to the Pax's house, except for Jacqueline and her daughters, whom went back home. Jacqueline seemed to want to get her daughters as far away from Emma and the others as possible. Carmilla's colleagues also went back to their homes.
Emma had ended up transforming most of her Allies into cats, with the exceptions of Ace and Law.
Lee seeing her soon-to-be-son-in-law again was interesting. It went something like this:
"You!" Lee stared accusingly at the pirate, as if it was his fault that Emma had been taken away from her. She held her daughter protectively around the shoulders.
"I." Ace calmly crossed his arms.
"You've got some nerve, coming back here after what you did!" Lee snapped.
"After what I did?" Ace raised an eyebrow.
"Mum, he didn't do anything!" Emma pulled away from her Mother, and held up her left hand. "Besides, Mum, Ace-Chan and I are getting married soon!"
Lee gaped at the ring on her daughter's hand, and then her eyes narrowed in on the other hand. "What about that?!" she cried, staring at the second ring.
"Umm..."
Law stepped forwards. "That's mine and Emiko's bond. My soul reason for existing is to protect her."
Lee just stared.
Emma sighed. "Okay...why don't we go back home, and I'll explain everything?"
Lee nodded, seeming dazed. She eyed the unfamiliar faces. "Umm, Emma, who are...?"
"Oh!" Emma immediately began the introductions. "The blue-haired guy is Franky. He's a cyborg. The woman next to him is called Robin. She's an archeologist. The blue-haired girl over there is Princess Vivi...well, former Princess, but anyways. And, the musically-talented skeleton next to Vivi is Brook."
"Yohoho, it is a pleasure to meet Emma's Mother!" Brook bowed. "And, may I..."
"Brook!" Emma and Nami exclaimed.
Lee nodded. "I see. Okay then, everybody, you can all come to our house." She smiled, or at least, she tried to.
A few people had to admire her bravery in the face of such weirdness. She really wasquite a bit like Emma.
At home, Bruce and Sarah were both there. They greeted Emma like she'd been missing for years, and Ranger nearly knocked her over. There was a lot of hugging, and tears, and most of Emma's Allies stood back, feeling uncomfortable.
This is so strange... Vivi thought, shifting uncomfortably in her cat-mode. I didn't feel at all strange about intruding upon Emma's time with Whitebeard, but here, I feel so out of place. From the looks on the others' faces, they all felt the same way.
Once the reunions were out of the way, and Emma had transformed everybody back into humans (with the exception of Brook, because he was just too damn big), she introduced Brook, Vivi, Franky and Robin to her Father and to her sister, and then they all sat down, to begin the explanations.
It was Emma that did most of the talking, and she spoke calmly, which surprised her family. She told them everything, from the moment that she'd decided to get that necklace, to saying goodbye to Whitebeard on the ship.
She only left out the fact that Whitebeard was her other Father, and that she and Ace were now intimately involved, and the fact that she was going to have to die and so were her Allies. They didn't need to know about that, right now...
When she got to the part about the tattoo, her Mother looked shocked and so, of course, she had to show her.
"Who did it for you?" Bruce wanted to know.
"Ace-Chan did." Emma replied. She smiled. "He's the only one that I would let do it for me."
Bruce switched his gaze to Ace. "You intend to marry my daughter?"
Ace nodded. "Yes but, before I ask for your blessing, I ask for your forgiveness. That day, a few months ago, it was me that drank all of your alcohol, not Emiko."
Bruce gave him a hard look. "Why?"
"I discovered that I was meant to die during the battle at Marineford." Ace replied. "This explains my actions, but doesn't excuse them."
"Too right." Lee remarked. "You let us think that it was our own child..."
"Enough." Garp said, from his place on a nearby chair. They all turned to look at him, except for Luffy, because he was eating bacon. "These children are hardly childrenanymore. They've all seen and done things that you cannot comprehend."
"Like what?" Lee wanted to know.
Emma glanced at Ace, and then looked back at her parents. "Guys...do you...do you remember Sumi-Chan, the blonde-haired girl with pigtails?" She mimed pigtails, and both of her parents nodded. "She's dead."
Lee gasped. She hadn't been expecting this. "What?!"
Emma explained: "We were battling our powerful enemies, the three Admirals, and also Blackbeard. Akainu was heading for Vivi-Chama whom, at the time, we thought was the Princess Of Light that we'd been searching for. I jumped in the way to protect her but, then...Sumi-Chan sacrificed herself to save me." Emma said, her eyes briefly shadowed by the memory.
"Why?" Lee whispered.
Emma looked up at her. "Because I'm the Princess Of Light."
Lee, Bruce and Sarah were speechless.
Luffy decided to intervene. "Umm, you know, Emmy's become really powerful...she's gonna defeat that god, Infinite, or whatever her name is..."
"Infinity." Said about five different people.
Emma sighed, and then leaned back in her chair, noticing that Ace had fallen asleep again, and that Law appeared to be glaring at her parents. "What day is it, today?"
"It's Wednesday." Sarah replied.
"Thanks, Nee-San." Emma stood up. "I'm going to go and get the mail." She headed for the front door, and opened it up.
The police were standing there. "Good evening, Emma Pax."
Author's Notes:
. TAFE is finally finished! I did it! I really, really did it!
. But, I have a cold. *Cough*
. I'm also gonna get a second-opinion on my test results, because I didn't really go for that other doctor's diagnosis.
. OMG, Emma and Ace are now BONDED! Law doesn't know about this...yet.
. All of the girls seem to know, though.
MoorePyon - yes. Yes, it was. Thanks for the review!
KaiF . Raphaella - crying is manly, bro! *Sobs very manly tears* Thanks so much for the review!
Shiningheart of ThunderClan - my sister actually just sang this song on-stage, and she was really good...we didn't even know that she could sing! It was played at our Nanna's funeral, so I was crying, because I know how much it means to my sister. :) Yeah, Zoro and Nojiko...but, hey, it works! ^^ And, yes, nami's going to have a few things to say about this. Thanks for your review!
Shinobi . Hikari . Ookami - I'm still here! ^^ And, yay, a dog, cookies, and Absalom! Lol, that sounded weird. Anyways, yes, Kid swears a lot, just like Hidan! And, kills people! Thanks for the review!
Mugiwara Wolf Spirite - hmm, now you've just given me an idea. XD Maybe someday...maybe someday...it could happen! And, yes, that was ZoroxNojiko. Yeah, they never die when they should! Emma would be like, to quote a certain movie: "Just. F*cking. Die." If she swears for once, that is! Thanks for reviewing!
Cocoa Liddell - if you ever need to know anything, or feel a bit lost, just ask me, and I'll fill you in on what's going on. :D Thanks for the review!
MsWildLuck - yeah, even I got a bit nervous, too, and i was writing it, lol! And, don't worry, the mystery will be revealed in the very next chapter, but...it may not be a very good revelation. *Mysterious* And, yeah, adding Kidd in there was fun. He's an awesome character. Thanks for your review! XD