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:
. Low-level sexual references
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Let's See How Far We've Come
"I see..." A large fish-like man with blue skin and a casual Japanese-style robe was saying, sighing as he gazed at Edward Undine. "I wish I had known about this..." He added.
"It's not that I thought you shouldn't know," Undine said quietly. "I just...never expected that they'd come for me...not so soon after Emma was born..."
"Aye..." Agreed the Fishman - for present-Emma felt fairly certain that that is what he was; she was hiding behind a rock (unsure of why she was hiding, since this was a vision and it wasn't like she was actually there), and watching as her Mother and this Fishman sat on a beach somewhere. "Have you...?"
The beach was a beautiful and peaceful location, with almost white sands decorated with some of the biggest shells that present-Emma had seen outside of the West End on Rottnest Island. The waters were crystal clear, and the waves lapped peaceful against the shore.
Present-Emma looked around for her younger self - where was she?
Something about it didn't feel ... like a regular beach.
Undine was speaking again. "Yes, I've been to see Oto-Chama," she tucked a stray strand of her chestnut-coloured hair behind her ear. "And told her, too..."
"How did she take it?" It wasn't the Fishman on the beach who had spoken, however; a second one emerged from the sea just then. Like the first Fishman, he was tall and had black hair, but his skin was red and he wore a pair of black three-quarter-length pants and no shirt.
In his arms he carried baby Emma, who had some sort of a strange bubble around her face...the bubble disappeared as she and the red Fishman exited the water, and present-Emma had a strange sense that it had been allowing her younger self to breathe under the water.
"Sugoi..." Emma whispered, and thought that she saw her Mother shift slightly.
"Mamma, Mamma!" Baby Emma was very excited about something. The blue necklace - Ocean's Flower - glittered around her neck, seeming very opulent for such a small child to be wearing. "We saw a sark with a loooong nose!" She informed her Mother, as the red Fishman set her down by Undine.
"A Saw Shark..." Undine mused, pursing her lips ever so slightly.
What's wrong with Saw Sharks? Present-Emma wondered. The species sounded vaguely significant, but the red Fishman said something then that made her suddenly pay more attention to him.
"Undine-Sama," he spoke respectfully to Emma's Mother. "How did the Queen react when you told her?"
My Mother was friends with a QUEEN?! Present-Emma felt her heart pounding. Of course...she must call her 'Oto-Chama' the way that I call Vivi 'Vivi-Chama'...Oto...Otohime...? Queen Otohime...?
"Why?" Undine looked at the red Fishman, her expression unreadable. "Are you worried about her?"
The red Fishman looked taken aback, and the blue Fishman smiled slightly.
"Only you could get away with asking Tiger-Aniki something like that, Undine-Sama."
Tiger...
"Because she's the only one who would ask me something like that..." Tiger muttered, sitting down on the sand with them.
Baby Emma appeared to be examining a very beautiful, rather pointed-looking shell. She then looked up at them and said, very clearly: "Cone sell."
"Very good, Emma." Undine praised. "We Must never touch them, because they're quite shy and like to be left alone."
"They 'ting you." Baby Emma nodded.
"That's right, they have a stinger. And, what kind of poison does the cone shell have?" Undine quizzed her daughter.
"Tetado-okin." Baby Emma replied, unable to say it correctly because not even most adults would have been able to pronounce tetrodotoxin. Present-Emma was just amazed that her younger self had gotten it.
The two Fishmen chuckled lightly.
"She'll be a good seafarer one day," the blue fishman remarked, with a fond smile. "Like her parents." He added, and Undine smiled over at him.
"Would you still say that if she wanted to become a Marine, for example?" She wanted to know.
The blue Fishman looked thoughtfully out at the ocean. "I feel that whatever she becomes, she'll still be drawn back to the ocean." He said.
Tiger nodded. "Yes...the ocean is a part of all of us...even if many seem to forget that half the time..."
"Tiger-Kun..." Undine turned to him, her deep brown eyes as calm as the waters further out in the bay and her voice serene. "Do you remember what I told you, the day I introduced Emma to you and the others?"
It was another blue Fishman who interjected - present-Emma hadn't even heard him come up, although Undine and the two Fishmen with her had. This newcomer looked quite a bit younger than the other two, although they were all younger than Undine. He had long black hair, and wore a bandanna, open-vest, and black trousers, and...did he have a shark fin? His teeth were very sharp, and he had yellow eyes. "I remember...we all heard what you said, Undine-Sama." He had a deep voice. He looked down at baby Emma, who peered back up at him. "You said that she was a symbol of the connection between the land and the sea...your hope for the future..."
The red Fishman sighed. "My brother is right," he turned his gaze back to Undine. "However...Undine-Sama, I must ask you..."
She held up her right hand - the strange ring glittered on her ring finger. "I know what it is that you wish to ask me, Tiger-Kun...and, so far...no..." Her gaze softened, as she looked back over at Emma, who was being held up by the first blue Fishman. "However...she will...she is my child, after all...you three," she added, and all three Fishmen turned to her. "I must ask you one last favour..."
"Mochiron." The first blue Fishman said immediately. There was a hundred percent sincerity in his tone, despite not having heard what the request actually was, yet.
Undine's voice was firm, but there was so much love and adoration in her eyes that it sent chills down present-Emma's spine. These three Fishmen...they were important to her Mother, that much was for certain. Tiger...his little brother...and, the first blue Fishman, whom Undine seemed to be looking at the most of all when she said: "Please...watch over my Emma...and, always remember me...because, I will never forget this world and all those living in it...no matter how many things may change, that won't change..."
Change...
Change...
Change...
DAWN OF THE SECOND DAY
6:00am - 48 hours remain
"...what I don't understand is how the weather can just change so quickly...it was sunny yesterday..."
"...it was sunny this morning, until that cool change Nami-San mentioned would happen..."
"...that still doesn't explain her third outfit change before six..."
"...shut up, Zoro! I told you not to worry about things you can't change..."
Emma was vaguely reminded of the previous day, as she groggily opened her eyes and felt a slight headache, signalling to her that she might be waking up with a hangover.
The next thing that she became aware of was of the steady sound of rain on the roof, which could only mean one thing - that Nami had been right about the weather, as usual...
The third thing that she became aware of was that the voices that she'd just heard appeared to be coming from the spare bedroom, and not in her own bedroom this morning. Emma was also pleased that she could recognise that once again it was Luffy, Vivi, Zoro, and Nami who had all spoken, and in that order.
And, finally, Emma realised that two things were lying across her chest. One was the book that she'd been reading in her semi-drunken state in bed last night - it was One Piece volume 56. The other was a medium-sized black cat wearing red beads around his neck - Ace.
Ace was just starting to wake up as well, blinking somewhat sleepily, and then looking over at Emma, who had picked up the manga and was gazing at the cover.
"That'll teach me to read manga drunk in bed..." He heard her mutter, before she glanced over at him. Her hazel eyes brightened. "Ah! Ohayoo!"
"Ohayoo, hime." Ace smiled. "You're awake early again...catching up on some reading?"
"Eh..." Emma shrugged, vaguely. "I was reading it last night for whatever reason, when I fell asleep...also, how'd this happen?" She gestured to him.
Ace tilted his head to one side, his cat ears flicking. "Dunno. You must've brushed up against the compass last night, because I woke up to find myself like this..."
"Only you?"
"Apparently."
"Still doesn't explain what you're doing in my bed, though." Emma raised an eyebrow.
Ace smirked. "It doesn't have to..." He trailed off. "Soooo...do I get to transform back, or what?"
"You would..." Emma said slowly, looking around. "Except that I can't find the compass...it must've slipped off during the night..." She added, realising that the red heart necklace was the only thing around her neck. Its colour had started to brighten significantly since she'd returned to this world...must have had something to do with being back here. Hadn't Sumi hinted at a connection between it and Emma's Nanna, who was now the Goddess Of Grace? Emma was still trying to wrap her head around that one, and wondered whether she should tell her Mum or not.
As Ace searched around under the bed for the compass, Emma's mind wandered back to her dream. It seemed strange, that the red necklace was associated with this world (and, possibly, with Emma's Nanna) and the blue necklace was associated with Emma's Mother from the other world. She had a feeling that there were things that she needed to know about both artefacts, but she also knew that there was no way for her to find anything out now. If she could only talk to her Father - Whitebeard - again...
Or...
Gazing back down at the manga cover, Emma focused in on one particular character who was depicted there. With his arms crossed, and a firm expression on his face, the Fishman Jimbe seemed to be staring back at her.
Emma had no doubt in her mind as she continued to gaze at the drawing, even as Ace the cat jumped back up onto her bed with the compass dangling from his mouth, that it had been a younger version of Jimbe whom she had seen talking with her Mother in that vision.
"That guy..." Ace peered at the cover of the manga, correctly interpreting who Emma was staring at. "I remember him...Jimbe...the one that they call 'The Knight Of The Sea'..." He mused.
"They really call him that?" Emma blinked, glancing at Ace now. He nodded. "I see...it makes sense...he knew my Mother..." She added.
"You had another dream?" Ace guessed, his tail swishing.
Emma nodded. "Mmhmm...my Mother was saying goodbye to Jimbe, and to two other Fishmen, as well..."
"Who?" Ace wanted to know.
"Somebody named Tiger, and his younger brother..." Emma replied.
"You mean Fisher Tiger?" Ace seemed surprised. "Your Mother knew the captain of the Sun Pirates...?"
"I guess so." Emma looked across at him. "She seemed to be really close to them, although mostly to Jimbe..." She picked up her compass, as the light that emitted from it reflected off of the ring that Law had given her. "I wonder..."
"Wonder what?" Ace has become a human once again. He lay on his side, his head propped up on one hand as he gazed at her.
"If maybe she..." Emma began, just as there was a slight distraction in the form of a huge crash from somewhere else in the house and then some splashing and what seemed like an awful lot of yelling.
Emma and Ace wordlessly exchanged a glance, just as the sound of running footsteps could be heard, followed by running footsteps, and then the bedroom door was flung open by Vivi.
"Emma, come quickly, there's..." Her voice trailed off when she noticed Ace. Her face turned pink. "Umm...never mind..." She began to back out of the room.
"Daijoubu!" Emma and Ace assured her in unison, hurriedly. Emma sat up properly now, and realised that she'd forgotten to put her nightie on the previous night, and just gone to sleep in pants and a bra.
Vivi grimaced slightly, and turned around as Emma grabbed the bedsheets and pulled them up to her chest. The yelling was still going on from nearby.
"Sounds like something pretty hectic's going on out there, Vivi." Ace said casually, standing up, like this was the most normal thing in the world and both Princesses weren't currently dying of embarrassment. "Did Luffy set fire to the kitchen again?"
Vivi shook her head, her hoop earrings swinging as she did. "No, even worse - the laundry flooded!"
"Flooded?!" Emma gasped. "How much flooded?!"
"As in, Chopper only escaped drowning by surfing out on the ironing board." Said Nami, who had come up to see what was taking Vivi so long. "I just got Ranger outside..." Like Vivi, Nami trailed off when she saw that Ace was in Emma's room, and then narrowed her eyes at Emma's attire. "Since it's, uh, kind of wet out there, you might want to think about getting dressed before you come out." She suggested.
"Great idea, Nami!" Emma agreed. As Vivi and Nami started to leave, and Ace followed them, Emma thought of something. "Ne, Nami, where's my parents?"
"They said something about going into your Mum's work." Nami replied.
"Again?"
Nami nodded, pausing as Vivi continued on down the hallway. "Yeah, and then they were going to your Mum's sister's, and then shopping. Robin went with them." She added, unexpectedly.
"How come?" Emma wanted to know, surprised by the news.
"She said she wanted to go shopping." Nami replied.
"That was awfully brave of her." Ace commented, and Emma agreed.
Nami lowered her voice. "Well, Robin spent more than half of her life as an undercover agent, avoiding people at all costs. I'm sure she can avoid a bunch of her fans, even the ones with cameras. Anyway," she added, in a louder voice. "Em, you should go now if you want to have a shower before Usopp gets in there!"
"I heard that!" The sniper yelled, from elsewhere in the house.
"Good!" Nami yelled back.
"So, we're to sit around here and wait for the repair guys." Emma explained, as they congregated in the dining room watching the TV that Franky had managed to save from the living room. "And, my Mum asks that we not do that again." She added sternly, giving a couple of her Allies a Look.
"Do what?" Luffy asked innocently, earning him a glare from Nami.
"At least we managed to contain the water to the living room and kitchen." Ace said. "I still don't get how you managed to overflow the washing machine, though, Luffy..." He added, giving his little brother a wry Look.
"It was an accident!" Luffy protested.
"That's for the insurance company to decide." Emma said peaceably, as she sipped on her coffee. The news headline had just caught her eye: Strange Cloud Over Perth Grows Larger.
She noticed that Nami and Usopp seemed to glance at the headline too, and then began whispering over in the corner of the room. They were joined by Chopper, who also seemed in on their conversation.
Franky appeared to be listening, as well, even as he began flicking through the TV stations.
"News...news...Chinese news...sport..." Emma noted. "News...Xena Warrior Princess, forget it Sanji-Kun, my Dad has it on DVD..." She added, when the cook's eyes lit up. "Russian news...The Bold And The Beautiful...Jaws..."
"Leave it on here!" Zoro said, suddenly seeming interested in the lunchtime movie which showed a shark's fin cutting through the water like a knife.
"Why?" Emma rolled her eyes. "They always cut out the bit where Jaws eats the boat...and that guy..."
Chopper and Usopp looked horrified.
Since there was nothing else better on, though, they just went with that, and let Jaws terrorise Amity Island while they waited for the repair company.
"Hey, Luffy," Emma asked suddenly. The Captain looked up from his bacon. "Where's Grandpa?"
Luffy shrugged, just as they heard the sliding door to the back open up, and he and Ace exchanged a horrified glance, as Garp announced: "I'm back!" Then: "YOU TWO BRATS!" They heard him sloshing through the water to reach them.
Ace and Luffy both turned to Emma in horror. "Do something!" They exclaimed, as the TV chose that moment to start playing the Jaws Theme.
"Huh?" Emma blinked, and then realised that she probably should do something. "Oh, right! The compass...the compass!" Her hand flew to the magical compass, which emitted a burst of light just as Garp threw open the door and a tidal wave of water crashed out - the various towels placed on the floor stopped it from soaking the dining room carpet.
Emma looked at the large grey and tan cat who stood there, his dark eyes furious, and sighed with relief. "Crisis averted." She declared.
"Uh...Emma..." Vivi said faintly.
Emma looked over to see the beautiful blue cat staring at her from atop Carue's back, and then turned slowly to see the two black cats that were Luffy and Ace backing up slowly as their Grandpa advanced upon them. Their other friends, all of whom had been turned into cats as well, stared at them.
The rain seemed to come down twice as hard then, as the fur on Garp's back was standing on end.
"Umm...technically, Ace didn't cause it this time." The orange tabby cat that was Nami spoke up, from where she was sitting atop the piano.
"Only because he was too busy in Emiko's bedroom." Law, as the dark grey cat with the black facial markings, muttered quietly.
Ace glared at Law, who merely smirked and jumped up onto Emma's shoulder.
Garp was seeing red.
Emma sighed, and picked up both Luffy's hat and the blue flower necklace (because Vivi had her red gem necklace back on for some reason), just as the doorbell rang and everyone froze, except for Zoro who was watching the movie with his tail swishing in anticipation.
Emma cast them all a wary glance as she clipped on the necklace, and then went to answer the door.
She opened it up to find the repairmen there, about eight of them, all men and dressed for work.
"H-hi..." Emma stammered, glad that Law was with her. "Umm..." Water splashed around her ankles. "Thanks for coming on such short notice." She sighed.
"All good, mate." One of the repairmen nodded, and began directing his tradies.
"That's Straw Hat Wearing Cat Girl!" One of them realised.
"Oh, hey, it is you!" Another one of them said.
Emma recognised him, too. He'd been the tire clerk at the bookshop, when she'd been looking for Garp! "Yeah, you, from Elizabeth's...did you get a new job?"
"That's only my part-time job." The young man replied. "I see you found the big cat." He had noticed Garp. "Did you also get a new cat?" He asked, eyeing the cat on her shoulder who eyed him back with cool grey eyes.
Another repairman, who was getting something out of his van, called over his shoulder: "That's probably one of those pirates, you know, Kyle!"
The guy, Kyle, turned back to Emma, his eyes widening. "Now that you mention it...it probably is..." He realised.
Law swished his tail. "Excellent observation skills, Kyle-Ya..." He purred, not really meaning it.
Kyle froze.
"This is Trafalgar Law," Emma said casually, moving aside for the repairmen to come in. "You know, the Surgeon Of Death?" She added, hoping to see a reaction. She was not disappointed.
Kyle jumped about a mile and then visibly paled.
Law smirked as he decided to stay with Emma while the repairmen worked. Meanwhile, Garp chased Luffy and Ace all throughout the house, and Zoro managed to convince Franky and Brook to watch the movie with him. Nami, Vivi, Usopp, and Chopper were having no part of it, especially seeing as how the station had seemingly forgotten to cut out the bit where Jaws ate the boat (and that guy) and it was shown in all of its gory glory.
That reminded Emma of the dream that she'd had, which she quietly told Law about as the repairmen fixed up the house. He listened intently to her, and then seemed to draw the same conclusion about it that she had.
"Your Mother had a First Knight."
"But...why?" Emma wasn't sure why she was whispering. They were sitting side-by-side on the dining room sofa chair, with Law as a cat perched on the chair's arm. Nobody else was in the room except for Zoro, who was also still a cat and watching Jaws 2 - it seemed that there was a shark movie marathon on that week. Everybody else was elsewhere (in Luffy and Ace's case, they were avoiding their angry Grandpa). "I mean, I know that Princesses often have First Knights, but I don't think that my Mother was a Princess...so..."
Law guessed what she was thinking. "She was a Goddess, though...you know, Emiko...your powers..."
"Are you suggesting...?" Emma eyed him.
"I am." Law said flatly. "I know your powers, Emiko."
"Because they're yours, too." Emma said unexpectedly, and Law paused. "Oh, I wish I could talk to Jinbe himself about this...or, better yet..." She trailed off.
"You miss your Father, don't you?" Law said softly, referring to Whitebeard.
Emma nodded, staring out the window at the pouring rain. "It's not just that...I'm finding out so much about my Mother, but...she's so unreachable..."
"What if she's in the Celestial Realm?" It wasn't Law who spoke - Zoro appeared to have been listening after all...well, there was a commercial on, so maybe that was why the green cat had decided to join in on the conversation. Both Emma and Law looked at him. The green cat shrugged. "Sounds like she may be one of those 'Gods' as well." They could almost see the quotation marks when Zoro mentioned the gods, but his words also sounded sincere enough.
Emma and Law exchanged a glance.
"You're wondering which one." Law correctly identified Emma's train of thought.
"I probably shouldn't be thinking of that right now..." Emma admitted. "But..." She drew her legs up, and stared back out the window.
Law looked at her, sitting there in a black and pink jumper, black leggings, and her glasses (she had started wearing them as of late). Her hazel eyes were alight all of a sudden, as she fiddled with the red heart necklace.
Law had been thinking for some time about the power that he and Emma shared, and how closely it resembled that of the gods that they had met. Perhaps Emma herself had't realised this because she was still getting used to her Devil Fruit Powers - Law had had his powers for years, so he'd had more time to analyse this new one.
He was also sure that Emma wouldn't want to realise that her Mother being a God made Emma a Demi-God.
Looking at her, though, Law had always known that she had the blood of the gods within her.
"Megami..." Law said quietly, and watched as Emma jumped.
The dark grey cat smirked, and was just about to jump up onto her shoulder, when the black cat that was Ace dashed into the room and did that instead.
"Ace-Chan!" Emma exclaimed, her attention immediately focused on him.
"Emiko!" Ace nuzzled against her neck.
They both looked at each other for a moment, before the large grey and tan cat that was Garp stalked into the room and looked around, before stalking back out again and muttering Luffy's name angrily.
"Uh-oh..." Ace murmured.
"We'd better find Luffy before Grandpa does..." Emma stood up.
"Agreed..." Ace nodded, as Emma headed out of the room in the opposite direction to what Garp has taken.
Ace glanced back, and saw the murderous look that Law was giving him. He smirked.
Law was trying not to seethe.
And Zoro, whose attention was only half trained on the TV, rolled his eyes. Between Emma's other Mother actually being a God and the fact that there was still no love lost between Ace and Law, this shark movie was actually a lot easier to follow than real life right now!
Emma and Ace found the smallish black cat that was Luffy hiding out on the top shelf of Emma's closet. They managed to coax him down with the promise of a chicken dinner (Emma made a mental note to mention that to her parents later) and went out into the living room together, the two cats sitting on Emma's shoulders and the straw hat on her head.
As soon as Emma stepped over the towels and into the room, the other cats that were her Allies started to appear from everywhere. Emma had to really hand it to the repairmen when they didn't freak out the same way that most people would have when a bunch of cats - in all assorted sizes and colours - showed up, although Ace and Law both made a point of purposefully glaring at poor Kyle, she noticed.
Franky appeared to be helping the repairmen, somehow able to do this even without opposable thumbs. Chopper and Usopp were pitching in, too.
Nami and Brook were hanging out by the CD player - also saved from the flood - and we're currently switching out Faith Hill for Greenday.
Zoro was perched on the kitchen table with his swords, so Emma figured that he'd finished watching the movie...she went to check, and found that the TV was indeed now playing the news. She was also thankful to see that Garp was now asleep in the dining room; with a little bit of luck, he'd have forgotten about murdering his two grandsons by the time he woke up.
Emma returned to the kitchen to find that Sanji, Vivi, and Carue had joined them.
Luffy leapt onto the counter, landing next to Vivi, and said: "Emmy, Sanji, when's lunch - I'm hungry."
"Don't worry, Luffy," Emma told him, checking her phone. "My parents will be home soon and they're bringing something with them..." She looked around the kitchen as Luffy nodded happily. "I mean...not much cooking can go on here right now..."
"For some reason..." Sanji told his captain witheringly.
Luffy chose to ignore Sanji, and instead began chatting to Vivi. Emma noticed that the two of them were almost the same size when they were in cat form, and couldn't help but smile when she saw how expressive they both were being. Their pointed ears flickered, and their tails swished. It didn't matter what form they took - they looked good together.
"They look good together." Ace whispered in Emma's ear, as she leaned against the side wall out of the way of the repairmen.
"I was just thinking that." Emma replied, and Ace purred happily and nuzzled against her neck, making her earrings clink together. That reminded Emma of someone else. "Although...I cant help but wonder what Boa Hancock would say..." She said it quietly but, across the room from her, Luffy suddenly shivered.
Emma and Ace chuckled quietly, as Law sauntered up to them.
"Did you ever get that doll back, Emiko?" The Surgeon Of Death wanted to know?
"The Luffy doll?" Emma remembered giving it to Hancock. "You know, I never did...it's Hancock's now..."
"What?" Luffy called. "You gave Hancock the me doll?" Emma nodded. "Why?"
"Because I needed to convince her to not tell Akainu where Makino was that time." Emma explained. "It worked out good, because later she sent Sandersonia to save me from...umm..." She glanced at Ace. She hadn't told them about her first run-in with Teech and his crew yet. She realised that there was a lot that she hadn't told him yet and, somehow, that didn't seem right. "I'll be back, actually..."
"Umm, do you have a Samsung charger?" One of the repairmen asked her.
"I might do, I'll check." She left the room and Ace, sensing that she wanted to talk to him, cling to her shoulder. He wasn't at all happy when Law decided to come too, but chose not to say anything. Law might actually be able to give him some information too, actually.
Emma was halfway down the hall, when she heard Luffy say: "Ne, look, the rain stopped! We can go outside again!"
"Yeah!" Nami, Sanji, Chopper, and Usopp all cheered.
"Come on, I'll show you guys the chickens!" Luffy added.
Emma froze for a second, before calling: "No more hen-hunting!"
"Aww!" Luffy complained. "But Emmy, you promised me a chicken dinner!"
"Do you want me to wake up our Grandpa?!" Emma threatened.
She heard Luffy gasp. "I'll be good!"
Ace didn't know what to say, as he tried to process what Emma had just told him.
He didn't know what he should react to first - the fact that Teech had killed Sumi's unborn child on the same day that he'd killed her lover, the fact that Teech had attacked Emma on her first day on Dawn Island and suggested that she become his woman, or the fact that Teech had somehow become a God Of Darkness.
The first one filled him with a painful kind of anger. The second one turned that anger white-hot in an instant. The third one...well...he didn't know how to react to that...
Emma's back was to him, so he couldn't see the look on her face as she searched for the Samsung charger. Ace could picture the Whitebeard tattoo on her back, and thought of her Father...who was also the only Father that Ace had ever known. Ace wondered how Whitebeard would react to the information that Ace had just learned and, as if reading his mind, Emma said: "Sumi-Chan...when she told me about...what happened...she said...that Daddy and the nurses knew, but...nobody else..." Ace watched her head move, as her gaze drifted towards a copy of the symbol that Usopp had designed. She had hung it on the wall, above her bed. Ace looked, too, looking at the white wings on either side of the star. The wings that had been such an iconic part of Sumi's image...and now were a part of Emma's image as the Princess Of Light.
Ace remembered the last thing that Whitebeard had said to him (and to Luffy and their Grandpa, as well) and the promise that had been made (by all three of them) to protect Emma at all costs.
Ace had not made that vow lightly...just as Whitebeard had not asked of it lightly. Whitebeard already knew about what the Allies were going to have to do in order to defeat Infinity. Yet, he had still made Ace promise to protect Emma, saying that he could not lose her again.
Did he...know something that they didn't?
As Ace was pondering this sudden thought, Emma was speaking again. She had turned to face him now, although the expression on her face was hard to read. "You know...Law-Chan seems to think that the power of Hikari No Hime is similar to that of the gods...possibly because of Undine..." Her voice softened. "Of my Mother..." Ace looked at her. "He says that he knows my powers..."
Ace glanced at Law now, a little frustrated that the surgeon cat's expression was also unreadable. "It's because I'm her First Knight." He said simply, from where he was lying across her bed. "The same as we believe..."
"That the Fishman known as Jimbe was to my Mother." Emma finished for him, and Ace's eyes widened in surprise. Emma clasped her hands, the black cable swinging from them. Under the lights of her bedroom, the blue necklace around her necklace glittered. "Princesses often have First Knights..." Hey, I wonder if Vivi...oh, never mind...
"But, Emiko's Mother wasn't a Princess...at least, not that I'm aware of..." Ace still wondered about Edward Undine; there was such a mystery surrounding Whitebeard's wife...
"She was a Goddess, though." Law pointed out. His tail swished. "After all, Emiko herself is a Demi-God..."
"Oh, don't say it like that!" Emma groaned, already picturing what the fan girls would say. Heck, even Georgia thought that Emma was a Mary-Sue! "Let's just say that my powers are a gift from the gods and leave it at that!" She suggested.
"Hmm..." Ace sat down, his pointed ears twitching a few times. "You know, from what you told me about your dream, there did seem to be that kind of relationship between Undine and Jimbe. And," he added, looking first at Emma and then at Law. "I know what that sort of thing looks like...I know what signs to look for." He looked thoughtful, as Emma and Law exchanged a glance. "However...if Emiko as the Princess Of Light has a First Knight..."
"Then maybe Teech, as the God Of Darkness..." Law realised what Ace was thinking.
"Has one, too." Emma finished faintly. We are so screwed.
The three of them looked at each other, and then jumped when a tanned hand with a mouth on it appeared in the middle of Emma's bedroom in a flurry of sakura petals.
"Emma-San," Robin's voice said serenely. "We're back, but your Mother says that she can't come inside of the house yet without sneezing...but, before you do that..." The hand pointed out the window, and Emma and the two cats looked out the back. They saw the black cat that was Luffy showing Vivi, Nami, Usopp, Chopper, and Sanji how he could walk across the roller with the pool blanket on it without falling in.
"Be careful, please, Luffy-San!" Vivi was urging him.
"I'll be fine, Vivi!" Luffy responded.
"Eep...I'm on it..." Emma hurried out of the room, as the hand disappeared in another flurry of cherry blossom petals.
Ace and Law waited wordlessly, watching as Emma appeared out the back less than a minute later.
"You're in luck, Luffy!" They heard her say. "My parents brought home Kentucky Fried Chicken!"
"Yay! KFC!" Luffy cheered, just as he slipped and fell into the pool.
Emma's hand flew to the compass, and the twelve cats that had been in or outside of her house transformed back into their normal selves.
As Sanji dived in to save Luffy, Law turned to leave the room, but Ace stopped him.
"Ne, Trafalgar..." Law turned to see that Ace was wearing a very serious expression on his face. "Listen...I don't like the fact that you're still in love with Emiko, and don't say you're not because you are. I know, I can tell because...well, overall, what you and I want isn't so different. We just want her to be safe and happy."
Law leaned back against the wall and didn't respond. He just waited.
Ace sighed. "Remember...when I said that I considered you to be as much my enemy as Blackbeard?" Law nodded. "Well...knowing what I now know about him...what he's done, and what he's become..." Law noticed that Ace's hands shook. "The fact that he's waiting there for Emiko...I just..." Ace shook his head. "You're not like him, and I'm glad. If her First Knight had to be someone that I knew...well, you wouldn't have been my first choice, but...I'm kinda glad that it's you..."
Law hadn't expected Ace to say this, and wasn't even sure why the Whitebeard Pirate had said it in the first place.
Ace, apparently, wasn't sure either, which is why he just turned and started to leave the room ahead of Law, but it was the surgeon's turn to stop him.
"Firefist," he said quietly. "You should know...that it's a good thing that you're not like my greatest enemy." Ace knew who he meant, but he wasn't expecting what the surgeon said next. "What he had intended to do to Emiko...on top of what he'd already done to her..." Ace's blood ran cold. "You fixed up Emiko's back but you would have never been able to undo what Doflamingo had been about to put her through." All of Ace was shaking now, his mind numb except for a hatred that he felt towards one pink-clad member of the Shichibukai. "Also...I already know, about what Emiko and you have done." Ace knew what Law meant by that. "Nobody has to tell me, but let me tell you something, Firefist..." There was a darkness to Law's voice that would have chilled most to the bone, but Ace merely turned to him, waiting. The look in Law's eyes matched his tone. "If you ever fail to keep that promise that you made, then I will kill you. I don't care who I go to war with because of it."
Ace stared at Law, imagining him standing against the entire Whitebeard fleet after killing one of their own - him.
Scarily enough, he could imagine Law going through with it.
But, instead of mentioning any of that, what Ace said was: "Shouldn't I be saying that to you, 'First Knight'?"
Law raised an eyebrow. "I don't recall making that kind of promise to anyone, 'Pirate Prince'." He said, only half meaning that.
"Then maybe you should."
NIGHT OF THE SECOND DAY
6:00pm - 36 hours remain
"Did you have fun shopping with my parents, Robin-San?" Emma asked the archeologist that evening.
The Allies, Garp, Carue, and Emma's parents were sitting on picnic blankets out the front, after having watched a highly spectacular sunset. Now, they were just relaxing, having a few drinks and just generally getting along. It gave Emma a warm and happy feeling.
Robin smiled at Emma, clearly picking up on the contended mood of the evening. "Hai. Some of the stores in this world are unbelievable. I was also able to have a conversation with Bruce-San about archeology." She added, her blue eyes meeting the blue eyes of Emma's Dad from that world.
"I bet that conversation was a good one!" Emma laughed, but then she sobered slightly as she realised that her Dad's dream of studying paleoanthropology would never come true since the world was going to end the day after tomorrow.
As if guessing her thoughts, Robin said: "Emma-San...I was wondering if I may borrow some of your manga tonight."
"You mean the One Piece manga?" Emma blinked. Robin nodded. "Umm...all of it...?" She asked hesitantly, and Robin nodded again. Emma nodded too. "Yeah, sure...but...can I ask why?"
"Because there is only so much that Google can tell me."
Perhaps it was just how bizarre it sounded for Nico Robin to be saying something like that, but it spurred Emma into taking Robin straight to her manga collection and taking out the One Piece manga.
"We start with the East Blue saga..."
Later that night - more like early the next morning - Nami was awoken by the sounds of a pen scratching on paper. For just a fraction of a second, she felt haunted by the sounds as she recalled the various late nights that she had been forced to stay up late drawing maps in pen...she had almost been able to start drawing her maps in her own blood.
Opening her eyes, she looked across the spare bedroom - Vivi was still asleep on her mattress, curled up next to Carue who was sleeping with his head underneath of his wing.
Robins as sitting at the desk, with a small lamp illuminating the small area where she was working on...something. It was for the second night in a row.
"What are you doing?" Nami asked quietly, carefully getting up and going over to Robin.
Robin paused in her writing. "Have a look." She suggested, and Nami silently read the paragraph that Robin had written in her flawless handwriting. She then noticed the pile of Emma's manga that was sitting on the desk beside her.
It didn't take a genius to figure out what Robin was doing.
"You're up to the Impel Down arc already?" Was all that Nami could say. Luffy ran into Blackbeard there, too?!
"Mmhmm." Robin nodded. "Soon, I'll be able to write down everything that happened since Emma-San bought that necklace."
Nami gazed at Robin, her chocolate brown eyes serious as she said: "Do you know...what's going to have to happen to us all the day after tomorrow?"
Robin's gaze met Nami's. Nami knew then that the archeologist knew. "How did you find out?" Robin asked quietly.
"I overheard Emma talking to Garp about it." Nami admitted. "Chopper and Usopp heard it, as well. I think that they told Franky." She added.
"I see." Robin replied.
"Did you overhear it that day when Emma was talking to Little Death?"
"I did."
They were silent for a few moments.
"Want me to go through the photos from last night?" Nami pointed to the pile of photos that Robin had gone and gotten printed, when she'd been out shopping.
"That would be wonderful." Robin smiled, and Nami took the photos over to her mattress, sitting up cross-legged and beginning to sort through the photos.
Neither one of them noticed Vivi, lying in her side now with her back to them, her worried blue-grey eyes staring at the night sky.
Destiny's eyes flew open, and both she and Karma turned in shock when Fate appeared behind them and staggered.
The other gods watched silently, as Destiny and Karma hurried to their sister.
"Was it...?" Karma whispered.
Fate nodded. "N-not just him..." She said. She had been severely weakened, which worried them. "L-Little Death, too..."
"Oh no..." Luck looked horrified. "What about Twister, and...?"
"They'll be fine..." Destiny said, closing her eyes. "At least from this..." She added.
Boss sighed. "We're running out of time." He said. "This is it...I can't wait anymore." He reached for the phone that's as beside him.
"This not good..." Faith whispered.
"Life?" Boss was saying into the phone. "Where is Death?" He listened for a moment, and then nodded grimly (as if Life could see him). "I...see...is she sure about this? Yes...yes, I understand...very well." He hung up the phone, and turned to face the others, who all waited. "It is time." He said simply. "Go and find them..."