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 adult themes
. Low-level violence
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
Hope
She was waiting for them.
In her long black cloak with the hood pulled up, she glided towards them as the fog began to clear.
Most of Emma's Allies were still staring in complete and utter disbelief at Sumi - aka, The Goddess Of Light. She was talking to Ace.
"He'll be with Tha-Chan." She was saying. "I know that he'll be fine."
Ace nodded seriously. "If I hadn't promised Emiko to stay out of her fight with ... with Teech . . . " He said the name with so much venom that even Luffy, standing nearby, flinched.
"I know." Sumi said softly. "Don't worry, Ace-Kun - I'll get him. For all of us."
"Be careful." He told her, looking stressed all of a sudden.
She, on the other hand, just laughed lightly. "Don't worry." She said again. "Light versus Darkness is an age-old conflict." She turned serious, all of a sudden. "He shouldn't even be The God Of Darkness . . . "
"Yeah, how'd that actually happen, anyway?" Ace sounded casual, but his eyes were very dark.
"Well . . . " Sumi began, but Nami had had enough.
"How is it that YOU'RE The Goddess Of Light?!" She fairly screamed. Her voice echoed throughout the misty darkness, and Ace and Sumi turned towards her.
"Yeah!" Chopper spoke up. "I mean, it makes sense, but ... how?!"
"Yeah, let's just f-forget about Blackbeard b-being The God Of Darkness for one second . . . " Usopp stammered.
"Believe me, I wish that I could." Sumi muttered darkly, and then she brightened. "Do you want to hear about the ways that people can become Gods?"
"No." Said Zoro, Luffy, and Vivi.
Zoro and Luffy glanced over at Vivi. "I already know." She shrugged, and they both nodded wisely.
"No." Nami said also, and then she paused. "I mean ... yes ... no ... maybe . . . ?" She looked at Chopper and Usopp for help, but they just kind of shrugged.
"So, is it yes or no?" Sumi seemed to be enjoying herself.
Brook, meanwhile, was peering off into the distance, as was Emma.
"What's up with you?" Sanji asked Brook, and then to Emma he added: "Do you see something, Emma-Chan?"
"I haven't got my glasses," she replied, still squinting. "But ... it's more like a feeling ... a familiar one . . . "
"A familiar feeling, huh?" Franky adjusted his sunglasses. "Anything that we should be worried about, Emma-Nee-Chan?"
She shook her head, but it was Law who answered.
"Death-Ya." He said quietly but, somehow, everybody heard him.
Nami flinched, Usopp looked terrified, and Chopper scrambled to hide behind Robin.
"Who?" Luffy asked.
"The Goddess Of Death is coming, Luffy-San." Vivi explained to him. It's amazing how relaxed I'm feeling about all of this.
"And, who's she exactly?" Luffy wanted to know.
"She's the partner of The God Of Life." Sumi supplied.
"Ah," Luffy nodded. "So, she's Life-Guy's wife, then?"
Sumi nodded, also. "Yes, that's correct." She gestured out into the swirling mists, as a tall figure in a black hooded cloak appeared suddenly. "She watches over this Realm. The Goddess Of Death." She announced.
Luffy looked over at the hooded figure, even as Nami, Usopp, and Chopper shrank back, and said: "Hey, Dee-Dee."
"Luffy!" Nami and Chopper exclaimed, mortified by his casualness towards The Goddess Of Death.
Sanji gave Luffy a withering Look. "Don't talk so casually to Death-Chan!" He snapped.
"Sanji!" Usopp and Franky cried, as Zoro rolled his eye.
"It's okay, you guys . . . " Sumi tried to say, just as Death reached them, and that was when she locked gazes with Emma beneath her hood and they remembered what had just happened recently.
"Emma . . . " She said, in a soft and melodic voice.
Nami, Chopper, Usopp, and Franky just stared in shock as Emma hurried forwards. Death held out her arms, and pulled the young woman into a hug.
They stayed like that for a few moments, and Death said something that nobody else but Emma heard, until Nami said faintly: "Eto ... Sumi?"
"What is it, Nami-Chan?" Sumi seemed very calm about all of this. She was actually sitting, hovering in mid-air and suspended by the slow and steady beat of her feathery white wings.
"Is it okay for Em to be touching The Goddess Of Death like that?" Nami wanted to know.
"Oh, yes," Sumi nodded, as Emma and Death drew back from each other. "Remember, that Emma-Chan has already taken her hand before - twice, in fact." She reminded them.
"But this okay, right?" Nami stressed,
"Things just work a little bit differently for those of us with Divine Blood, that's all." Sumi replied.
"Their First Knights, too?" Ace wanted to know.
"More or less." Sumi shrugged, as Emma stepped back and Ace drew her back to him.
It was at that point that Death finally pulled down her hood.
There was a collective silence, as each and every single one of them that hadn't seen her before was actually taken aback by The Goddess Of Death's beauty. Only Ace and Luffy seemed oblivious to this, as Ace was watching Emma and Luffy was only barely paying attention. Everybody else was transfixed by The Goddess Of Death.
She seemed to emit her own soft light, which gave the impression of the moonlight. Her skin was very pale, similar to Marionette's. She wore a long black dress underneath of her cloak, and her long black hair billowed gently in a cool breeze that they hadn't noticed up until now. It was her eyes that drew most of them in, however; deep and a brilliant scarlet red, they gazed out calmly at the mortals before her, until they fell on Brook.
"Life mentioned your encounter to me, Brook." She told him, in a voice that was softer and far more gentle than most of them had been expecting. "And, so, we meet again, though not in finality."
"Yohohoho," Brook chuckled, and tipped his top hat to her. "Death-San, did you really come here just to greet me again?"
"Well, not only for that reason," she admitted. "There are many things that need to be said . . . " She smiled slightly, her dark lips smiling a lopsided smile. "I am glad to see that you are all well, though, and that you have made it here."
"Yeah ... about that . . . " Zoro suddenly narrowed his eye. Death looked at him. "Why didn't we just start off down here? Don't you guys teleport or something?"
"Under normal circumstances, that would have been the ideal solution." Death responded, unaffected by Zoro's clipped tone. "However, bringing you down here straight away would have proven ... difficult. It might not have ended so well for all of you."
"It was good to start at the top, then!" Nami said hurriedly. "Better, actually!" She then looked over at Sumi, and said: "But, yeah, why did you have to follow us like you did? Can't you guys just teleport, like Zoro said?"
"Too dangerous." Sumi replied simply, still floating in mid-air. She looked over at Death, and added: "Is Karma-Chan okay?"
Death nodded. "Boss has already berated her for using fast travel to meet up with you in the Ocean Realm, but, that is all that happened to her. She did not encounter ... them."
"Thankfully." Sumi sounded relieved, and then she happened to glance down at Chopper, who was looking awestruck as he stared at The Goddess Of Death. "Nani, Chopper-Chan?" How cute! Even though he's still technically a reindeer and therefore attracted to them, he can still appreciate human-like beauty!
"She's so pretty . . . " Chopper realised, and then he checked himself when Death turned towards him. "Uh! I mean . . . "
"You see, I told you so." Sumi said, also smiling.
"Yeah," Chopper looked over his shoulder at her. "You really did . . . " He then looked past her, to where Sanji had just been standing only moments earlier. "Oh no, Sanji!" He cried, seeing that the cook had all but fainted.
"Take ... my hand ... take my whole life, too . . . " Sanji sung in a dazed voice.
"Don't rush in, Sanji!" Chopper cried, running over to him but looking back over at Death quickly. "He doesn't mean that!" He told the Goddess. "Really!"
Nami seemed to snap out of her daze just then. "Like I told you before, Sanji-Kun, your devotion to women is going to get you killed!" She snapped. "I mean literally!" She added. Beautiful or not, she's still The Goddess Of Death!
"Yes," Brook agreed, much to their surprise. "Take it from me, you do not wish to take Death-San's hand. No offence." He added, tipping his hat once again to Death.
"None taken." She replied serenely. And, looking over now at Luffy, she went on with: "I also do mind if you wish to refer to me as 'Dee-Dee'." She smiled, somewhat sadly. "My sister used to call me that, in fact . . . "
Vivi gasped and, before she could stop herself, asked: "Are you referring to The Goddess Of Infinity?!"
Death nodded. "Yes ... there are ... many things that need to be said." She repeated, a faraway look in her eyes.
Vivi nodded, somewhat seriously. "Yes." She agreed. "There really are."
"Like a river flows, surely to the sea . . . "
"Snap out of it, Sanji!"
Sumi, Law, Emma, and Ace exchanged a four-way glance.
Sumi then lowered herself gracefully to the ground and went over to attend to Sanji.
Ace and Law both looked like they had about a hundred questions for Death but, before they could ask her anything, Emma said: "Death ... have we arrived at Level Zero?" Why does it feel so different here, from what it did last time?
Death nodded serenely, as the fog finally cleared all of the way and revealed their surroundings to them. "Yes. Allies Of The Goddess, welcome to my Realm; Level Zero, The Underworld."
They were all silent for a few moments, taking in the pinkish red and purple skies, the dark trees, the barren plains, and the black rivers. A strange piercing screech suddenly sounded from somewhere in the distance, and Nami numbly concluded: "This is Hell."
They soon found themselves sitting around a stone table amidst what looked like it had once been a temple of sorts - the walls and ceiling had long ago crumbled, leaving only the pillars and a few low stone walls. Vines and dry leaves have the impression of a land long ago taken back by nature.
"We have a lot of questions for you, Death." Ace said to her. "Jeez ... where do we even start?"
"Not to worry," Emma spoke up, from where she was sitting next to him. On her other side, Law had just taken out a piece of paper. "Law-Chan wrote it all down at one point, because there's so much that we need to know." So much to do ... so little time ... speaking of which, I wonder if Father Time is okay right now . . .
"Right, so we just leave it all to him?" Ace said.
Emma didn't say anything (she was still thinking), but Sumi did.
"Ace-Kun," he looked across at her. She gave him a meaningful look. "Calm down."
Ace nodded, and took Emma's hand, just as Law asked the first question.
"What is the immediate situation, Death-Ya?"
"Right now, the situation stands that we are maintaining control over the Chaos that is threatening everything, but, only just." Death replied. Her tone was ever calm, but there was a serious note to it, now. "The two main areas to focus on are The Well Of Chaos, and Infinity's Castle. But, in between those two areas are creatures from The Well Of Chaos - Chaos Creatures."
"That sounds scary." Nami admitted. She was sitting further down the table, in between Usopp and Sanji. "I mean, we've already seen what Chaos magic looks like, seen what it can do. How are they," she gestured to her fellow Allies. "Supposed to be able to combat them?"
"Why about you?" Chopper asked her.
"My strategy is," Nami said, closing her eyes briefly. "Run away." She opened her eyes again, to find that everybody was staring at her. "What?!"
"That's your plan?!" Franky and Chopper cried.
"I like that plan." Usopp admitted. "Mind if I join you?"
"It's a plan for one." Nami responded, crossing her arms firmly. "I had accepted taking this trip, but, now that I'm still firmly in charge of my own future I want you all to remember one thing: Dead Namis do not navigate your pirate ship!" They all just continued to stare at her.
"So, you're scared." Zoro said finally. It wasn't a question.
Nami glared at him. "Past experiences have made me predisposed to the continued act of living." She said tersely.
Zoro just looked at her. "So, you're scared." He repeated.
Nami just groaned.
"I understand your fears, Nami." Death said gently.
The Look on Nami's face clearly read: Do you? Do you really?
"Yes." Death nodded. "I really do."
Nami froze, and then turned towards Sanji. "Why do you like this woman?" She hissed. "She reads minds!"
Sanji seemed about to answer, but Law interrupted. He clearly wanted to keep things on track. He'd had enough experience with keeping Emma focused to know how much he needed to push.
"Where do Ino and Teech fit into all of this?" The Doctor said, and watched as Death's eyes flashed, ever so briefly, at the mention of one name in particular.
"First, let me apologise for not having the foresight to have been able to prevent this." She said quietly.
"It wasn't something that any of us could have predicted, Death." A new voice said.
Everybody looked over, and saw two figures in black hooded cloaks approaching them.
One of them seemed familiar, and Emma's eyes lit up. "Twister!" She exclaimed. "Are you okay?!"
"Princcccccessssss ... yesss, I am fine." He nodded to her, as the person next to him (the one who had spoken to Death) pulled back their hood, revealing herself to be none other than Destiny.
It was Sanji's turn to react, and had he been in an anime then his one visible eye would have turned to a heart, as the blue-haired Goddess faced them all.
"I'm glad to see that you are all here." She told them. "I need to show you something."
"Right." Sumi nodded, and moved from her place at the table to go and sit beside Chopper.
As Destiny reached out to place one hand on the stone table directly in front of where Sumi had just been sitting, onto a strange symbol that Robin could probably read, Usopp whispered down the table to Sumi: "Who is she again?"
"She's Destiny-Chan." Sumi replied quietly.
"The Goddess Of Destiny?" Chopper muttered, and Sumi nodded. "We met her once before . . . " He remembered. That was after Sumi died, though ... yikes! Why is she nodding?!
"Can she read minds, too?" Nami breathed.
"Sumi or Destiny?" Chopper whispered back.
"Both."
"They don't have to; they can hear you guys talking." Zoro, who was sitting in between the four of them, said, not even bothering to try and keep his voice down.
"Ssh!" Nami, Usopp, and Chopper all hissed.
Destiny paused, and looked at Emma. "Are they always like this?" She wanted to know.
She shrugged, and Sumi replied: "Nah, it's just when Twister's watching."
"Which means that they're afraid of change and are always like this." Destiny nodded, wisely.
Nami, Usopp, and Chopper all glared at Sumi, who grinned.
Destiny's hand glowed just then and, second later, six stone tablets rose up from the table, and each of them glowed white.
"Ooh . . . " Nami, Usopp, Chopper, and Luffy all said.
Franky put on his sunglasses, and looked impressed. The light reflected off of his shades.
"The situation with Chaos has changed," Destiny explained. "Due to recent interference by a certain somebody, the Chaos Creatures are evolving . . . "
"Oh my God . . . " Nami and Emma said in unison, as what appeared on the tablet looked like a creature straight out of a nightmare. A half-skeletal, half-leathery bird-bat-demon ... thing ... it screeched in a raspy voice, as Chaos magic surrounded it.
Everybody else was staring at the creature, too. Usopp and Chopper looked just as terrified as Nami. Franky and Sanji just looked shocked. Brook looked startled (probably?). Robin never once took her eyes away from the image of the creature, and her mouth was open ever so slightly, which was a sign that she too was stunned. Zoro was staring the image, too, his expression unreadable but the rigidness of his posture indicated that he was already sizing the thing up. Vivi, too, looked like she was trying to figure out what she would have to do in order to stay alive against such a thing, and then she happened to glance at Sanji.
Sanji glanced back at her. He then glanced at Robin, and at Emma, and finally at Nami. His face set, and he calmly took out a cigarette and lit it up.
As the smoke rose into the air before the image, Nami suddenly turned to Emma and said: "You're not changing your mind, are you? About letting us help?" She seemed to have temporarily forgotten about her desire to stay alive.
"Nah, she's not." Luffy spoke up suddenly, and they all turned to him. He was looking not at the Chaos Creature on the tablet, but at Emma, whose eyes were on another tablet. "She's just trying to figure out what that one's doing." He pointed to the tablet that Emma was watching, and the rest of them looked to see another Chaos Creature, with a very similar appearance to the other one, slash at the air in front of it with a claw.
The space in front of it turned black for a second, before a shimmering bright blue Portal opened up in front of it.
"Did it ... just open up a Portal?!" Sumi gasped, and closed her eyes briefly. They then snapped open again. "Yes! I can sense it! It's opening up a Portal through to one of the Mortal Realms!" She froze. "Oh, noooo . . . " She traded a glance with Destiny, just as Twister spoke up.
"That one there isss the one that you want to focusss on." He indicated to another tablet, and everybody focused in on that one.
Even Robin and Law looked shocked, which was rare for them.
Vivi and Nami both gasped.
And, Emma and Ace stood up in unison, the colour draining fast from both of their faces, but it was Luffy who said: "Wait ... what's Ojichan doing there?!"
There was no mistaking the image of the man on that tablet, nor the fact that he was clearly standing somewhere in Level Zero - that sky was a dead giveaway.
"It's not just him," Nami realised. "Look ... there are more Marines there ... why are they here?!"
Death sighed. "Perhaps they came through a Portal opened by a Chaos Creature, although it seems more likely that it was through a Portal opened from the other side."
"Meaning . . . ?" Nami glanced at Emma, Luffy, and Ace, all of whom looked pale.
"That the Portal was opened by somebody from the Mortal Realm." Death explained.
There was only one person that could've done that. Nami drew in a deep breath. "I didn't know that you guys could do that." She said, grimly. "He really shouldn't be The God Of Darkness." She said to Sumi, who nodded silently.
Death was watching the tablet, where the black waters of a river lapped gently at the shore near to the Marines. "It seems that they have arrived at The River Styx." Her ruby eyes were glittering, although her tone was grave.
"That's not good . . . " Destiny muttered.
"They haven't . . . " Ace was still pale. "I mean . . . " He and Emma still had their hands joined, and they clasped at each other's palms. Ace's nails dug into Emma's skin, and hers returned the favour despite the fact that she'd practically bitten them down to non-existence at some point recently.
"No." Death correctly interpreted his unspoken question. "I have not guided them here myself, nor have they ceased to be alive." She looked at Twister.
The God Of Change nodded. "That isss the firssst area where the Mortal Realm hasss overlapped with the Cccelessstial Realm." He said quietly.
"And ... what does that mean?" Sanji wanted to know.
"It mean they safe - for now." Said a voice from behind them, and they turned to see Faith standing there. "Mortal Realm has overlapped, mean living beings not be in danger in certain areas, even if no accompanied by a God, or . . . " Her startling blue eyes glittered. "In case of you Chosen Ones, exactly that. You Chosen Ones special."
"So, we'll be safe, right?" Nami asked her, and Faith nodded. Nami looked relieved, but Emma suddenly thought of something.
"How come that happened with them, but, Su-Chan still died?" The redhead wanted to know, holding up her right wrist where Su-Chan was still dozing.
"Because you took my hand." Death told her. She watched as Emma's shoulders sagged. "It is not your fault. The Baby DenDen-Mushi will be able to live a unique new existence, and will be able to do so looking very much like the one who gave it to you."
"That's what I said." Sumi grinned. "Why am I always right?" She wondered, and looked at Emma who still looked unhappy. "Come on, Emma-Chan, this is supposed to be fun."
"Yes, thank you, Marco . . . " Emma said sarcastically, and Ace squeezed her hand even tighter. Sumi just grinned.
"Portals have been opened up in other parts of your world, not just at Marineford or what was left of it." Destiny was telling them. "At certain places in the East Blue ... at Water Seven ... at Arabasta . . . "
It was Vivi's turn to suddenly stand up, and all of the colour drained from her face, but, she wasn't looking at Destiny. Her grey eyes were glued to another tablet, which showed two very large yellow ducks, one of them very familiar . . .
"Oh no, Carue!" Emma cried, recognising the chullo. Her free hand (the one that wasn't currently somehow digging its almost not-nails into Ace's palm) flew to her mouth. "And ... another duck in a babushka, what are they doing there?! Why aren't they with the others?!"
"How did Carue get to where Peni-Chan was . . . ?" Vivi's voice was shaking. What if they're both . . . ?
"Is there somebody else there with them?" Emma squinted. Where are my glasses?! Why is that second duck wearing a babushka? Is she a nesting duck? Is Peni-Chan a nickname or her actual name?
"I ... I don't know . . . " Vivi said faintly.
Death glanced at her, and then nodded to Twister. The God Of Change nodded back.
"Vivi," he said. "Come with me." He motioned her away from the others, and she followed him numbly.
Emma was still peering up at the tablets. "I definitely see somebody there with them . . . " I sense a strong presence, one that is ... almost familiar . . . She then looked over at the next tablet. "Matte ... is that . . . ?" She looked over at Death. The Goddess was watching her very carefully. Emma swallowed. "Is that the Cave Of Phosphorescent Flowers? Where Little Death is?" It just had to be. What other cave would have crystallised flowers that glowed with their own light?!
Death nodded, and they watched as the scene on that tablet shifted a few times.
First, it showed a figure in a black hooded cloak, haunched over and with her pink hair veiling her face.
"Little Death . . . " Emma breathed. Hang on ... we're coming ... I refuse to let you become an Ungod! I will save you!
Next, the scene transitioned to show a dark tunnel that was illuminated by a little figure in a white hooded cloak, whose angel wings and halo shone with their own light.
"Who's that?" Emma asked Death, but, it was Sumi who answered.
"That's Pandora." She said, in a rather odd voice, and Emma looked at her to see that her teal eyes were glued to the little figure on the tablet. "She's The Goddess Of Hope."
"She looks . . . " Emma searched for the right word to describe the tiny figure. "Young . . . ?"
"She is." Sumi replied flatly.
"I'm glad that she's alright, at least." Emma said.
"Me too." Sumi nodded, and then she drew in a sharp intake of breath. Her expression changed, and Emma looked quickly back at the screen.
She then gasped as well, as there was no mistaking the person in this third and final transition, but, it was Ace who spoke his name.
"Teech."
They all stared up at the tablet, and then Sumi seemed to take a deep breath.
"Minna," she said. "Let me tell you about the seven different kinds of Gods." She looked around at them all. Most of them were listening, except for Luffy, but, Sumi had expected that. She went on: "The first kind is a Full God. Most of them are this kind. They came into being as a Divine Being, and were never anything else. Such Gods include The Goddess Of Death," she gestured to Death. "Destiny-Chan," she nodded towards the blue-haired Goddess. "And, those like Father Time, The God Of Life, and Boss The Almighty." She glanced back up at the tablet, which was showing Little Death again. Her tone softened. "The next kind is called a Gifted God, because they are a gift from those very flowers that you see there. It doesn't happen very often, but, Little Death is one example of this kind of God."
"Are there any others?" Nami couldn't help but ask.
Sumi seemed to hesitate. At last, she said: "There... could be. Remember that I haven't been here for very long." She added, and Nami nodded. "Next up is the kind that, believe it or not, our world was once so familiar with. The Mortal God. Emma-Chan's Mother, Edward Undine, was this kind of God - that is to say, a Mortal born with Divine Powers, making them a God."
Emma filed that away for future reference.
"I'm guessing that that happens even less than a Gifted God?" Nami finally found her voice, and Sumi nodded.
"We don't even know how it happened." Destiny spoke up.
"But, you knew her before she was in that Mortal Realm, right?" Emma said suddenly.
"Yes . . . " Destiny said, somewhat evasively, and that was when Faith spoke up.
"Next is two similar Gods," she said. They all looked at her. "Both born Mortals, but have Divine powers. Differences, though. Very different differences. Granted God is Mortal given Divine powers."
"Why?" At least four people asked.
"Just 'cause." Faith shrugged. "Has happened only once." She added.
"With Teech." Emma realised. She sighed. Whose bright idea was that, I wonder? "What's the other one, Faith?"
"Is called Ascended God." Faith said, her blue eyes sparkling. "Is Mortal who show ultimate selflessness and gave life to protect other ... happened eight years ago, with Mortal named Hazel Grace Harwich . . . "
"Nanna . . . " Emma breathed, and Faith nodded. "That's my Nanna, you guys." She told her Allies. "My Mum's Mum." She turned back to Faith. "It was at the time when you guys all brought me back to life. When Namna agreed to die fifteen years later, in exchange for the two mes to be made into one and go on living ... why did she have to die the way that she did, though? That was horrible!"
"That ... wasn't our fault . . . " Destiny said quietly and, when Emma just looked at her, she added: "Well, it wasn't! Emma . . . " She reached across the table and took Emma's hand in her own. "Please, believe me ... we never meant for any of this to happen like it did! We had no idea what Chaos was capable of!"
"I know, Destiny." Emma told her. "But, isn't that the very nature of Chaos? To be unpredictable? You can't blame yourselves."
"You say Chaos," Ace said slowly. "Are you talking about a God Of Chaos?"
Destiny nodded. "That's the sixth kind of God. An Ungod. The ... same as Infinity, as it is . . . "
"Can ... can anything be done?" Emma wanted to know, looking into Destiny's blue eyes. She hated keeping eye contact like this, but, she had to know. "For either of them?"
Destiny looked back at her. "I don't know." She said, in a soft voice. "Chaos, no, probably not. Infinity may ... may already be too far gone, as well. But ... as for Little Death . . . "
"Em, why do you want to save her?" Nami asked straight out.
Emma took a deep breath, aware that Death was watching her very closely. Why do I want to save her daughter? She's done nothing but cause trouble for us, she tricked Georgia into stealing my necklace and then gave it to Infinity who used it to open up The Well Of Chaos . . .
But, somehow, none of that sounded quite right . . .
"This is kind of hard to explain . . . " Emma said slowly. "But ... just for a moment, when I confronted her above the city on that day when she opened up the rift in the sky ... I saw this ... image, in the back of my mind."
"What kind of image?" Chopper wanted to know.
"It was a memory," Emma explained. "I don't know if it was her remembering it or me, but ... she and Twister used to come to visit me in the Mortal Realm. I saw ... this memory, of her and me riding on the back of a whale shark ... ah, so obviously Jimbe knew, as well ... and, Mamma must have known . . . " She wished that she could remember more of it. She felt a tiny flutter in her stomach, just thinking about how much fun she would have had during those precious moments.
"You two really were two of a kind, you know that?" Destiny smiled slightly. "A Gifted God and a Demi-God ... even though once Twister opened up that Portal to that world . . . "
"That's when Boss and Father Time came to get my Mother . . . " Emma realised. She sighed. "Death ... Little Death told me that she's always heard how special the Chosen Ones are, and such ... mainly about the Princess, and I can't help but wonder if she would have reacted the way that she did if it had been somebody other than me . . . " She looked into Death's eyes, and was suddenly surprised to see that she was biting at her lower lip, the same way that Emma and Vivi so often did. "Death ... why is it that only I can do this?" A few of her Allies coughed. "With the help of my Allies," she corrected herself. "Just what is it that I'm supposed to do? Infinity and even Chaos are Gods as well ... are we really okay with me taking them out if I have to?"
Destiny looked surprised. She still had Emma's hand in her own, and spoke before Death could. "Can you take them out?"
"If it's what I have to do to save the Realms and get us all back home," Emma replied, and none of them missed her use of the word 'home'. "But, I don't know if I want to ... it depends . . . "
"Why don't we wait and see what happens?" Ace suggested. Emma nodded slowly. "And, in the meantime — "
"What exactly do we have to do?" Law spoke over Ace, much to the Whitebeard Pirate's annoyance.
"I can answer that." Another new voice said, and they all turned to see another Goddess walking towards them. She had dark skin, greyish-blue eyes, and long dark hair. There were bandages on her arms.
"Fate-Chan, you look terrible." Sumi commented.
"Quiet, Light." She replied. "As at now, you have three main objectives, Chosen Ones." She told the rest of them, skilfully ignoring Sanji's dual reactions to her appearance. She stood next to Destiny, one hand on her hip. "Four, if you count what Twister's talking to Vivi about."
"She's going to go and get Carue, right?" Luffy spoke up. He kept on glancing off in the direction that Vivi and Twister had gone.
Fate nodded. "I believe so, and before you comment that she needs to stay focused, let me inform you that she will also be meeting up with somebody who can help you."
"Who is it?" Nami asked, at the same time that Emma said: "I knew that there was somebody there with them!"
Fate ignored the both of them, and went on with: "Which just leaves the matter of keeping those other Portals contained, and getting the Princess Of Light to the castle." She pointed towards the final tablet, and they all looked, to see a rather ominous castle depicted there.
It reminded Emma of her favourite picture for the cards when playing Solitaire on the computer. It was foreboding and spooky, but ... there was also something there ... something was calling to her, that much was for certain.
However . . .
"I need to get to Little Death, first." She reminded Fate.
The Goddess nodded. "I understand. We've all been worried about her. You'll be wanting to take your First Knight and The Goddess Of Light with you?" It was Emma's turn to nod. "Of course. Then, afterwards, you can proceed to the castle, if the way is clear."
"Why wouldn't it be?" Sumi wanted to know.
"That's what we need the other Chosen Ones for." Fate explained. "They'll need to hold back the Chaos for as long as possible, to allow for Emma to reach the castle."
"How are we going to do that?" Nami wanted to know. She looked terrified.
"Remember when you all bathed in the hot springs?" Destiny asked them, and they all nodded. "Do you remember what you all saw?" Everybody except for Emma shook their head. Destiny actually smiled. "You will . . . " She said cryptically.
Nami groaned. "I don't think that she's gonna tell us." She told the others.
"Doesn't seem so." Zoro agreed, as then he just shrugged. "So, how many Portals have we gotta contain, and, where are they?"
"So far, there are three," Fate told them.
"So, if you decide now on groups, my sisters and I will accompany you to each of those Portals."
"Sisters?" Nami repeated.
Destiny nodded. "Karma will also be assisting us."
A new voice spoke up.
"Stop volunteering me for things, Destiny!" And a young woman with very long golden blonde hair and eyes that sparkled like money stepped out from behind a pillar, making Usopp and Chopper scream, and Sanji swooned at the sight of another beautiful Goddess. "If I need a secretary then I'll find myself a scribe!"
"Okay," Destiny replied. "Just for that, you can go with whichever group the chef's going with." She held up her hands, and a tablet appeared in front of them and shone briefly, before fading.
As Karma gasped and Sanji looked thrilled, Law said: "Sanji-Ya will be going with Usopp-Ya."
"Oh, good, I only have to deal with two of you." Karma smiled. "We'll take the Portal that's been torn open in the heart of Flashpoint Fields."
"Why is it called that?" Usopp wanted to know.
"Because it's a lava field." Karma replied.
"That sounds too dangerous." Usopp stated.
"Too bad, Pinocchio, that's where we're going." Karma shrugged. She went around to where Law was consulting his list, and said: "Destiny, why don't you take Astro Boy, Rudolph, and Jack Skellington to Shadow Pass?"
She had pointed to Franky, Chopper, and Brook in turn, and Chopper squeaked: "No!"
Destiny just shrugged. "Sounds fine by me."
"No it doesn't!"
"That just leaves Fate," Karma said, looking at her other sister. "To take those three," she gestured to Robin, Nami, and Zoro. "To Dark Water Beach."
Oh, thank God, I'm with Robin and Zoro. Nami thought. They'll protect me!
I'm glad to be going with Nami-Chan and Zoro-San, and the name 'Dark Water Beach' sounds so mysterious. Robin mused.
Can't I go by myself? Zoro wondered.
"You're not going by yourself, you'll get lost!" Karma suddenly snapped, and Zoro flinched.
At least I'm not going with her! He realised, hoping against all odds that the whole mind-reading thing was only a trait shared by Karma and Death.
He glanced over at Fate but, luckily, she was talking to Luffy and Ace.
"Twister has stated that he wishes to go with Emma to find Little Death," The Goddess Of Fate was saying to them. "So, if you'll just sit tight, then, Faith can take over and accompany you."
Nearby, Faith nodded her confirmation.
"Thanks, but, no thanks." Luffy replied simply. "We can manage."
"Uh, Luffy, I don't know if that's such a good idea." Ace pointed out. "Do you even know where we're going?"
"No, but, Vivi does." Luffy shrugged, just as the blue-haired young woman herself returned, with Twister in tow.
"It'sss all ssset." Twister said calmly. "Jussst asss sssoon asss Bossssss getsss here, we can go . . . "
"And," Vivi seemed rather confident, all of a sudden, although she still looked worried. "I really don't mind it if The Goddess Of Faith accompanies us, Luffy-San. She's good company, I promise you. Plus, she can tell us more about the Ocean's Flower . . . "
"Oh ... well, okay, then." Luffy replied. "Anything else?"
"Yeah," Fate said, and her serious tone made them all stop and look at her. "Just a few things, right, Death?" The other Goddess nodded. "Right, well then, first thing's first is what you'll be encountering once you all leave this place." She gestured around to the area that they were in. They hadn't noticed it before, but, it almost seemed like a safe zone. It wasn't exactly comforting, but, it seemed to be secure, at the very least. Oh, and the sky didn't have rifts in it above where they were. That was a bit of an indicator that something was important about this place. "Right now, you're in an area where the Mortal Realm and the Celestial Realm are overlapping. Once you leave here, however, you'll start to feel the difference, although you'll all be fine because you're you. But, Chaos will start to try and hinder your progress, so it's best to keep moving if you're not in a safe zone."
"How can we tell if we are in a safe zone?" Robin said quietly.
"I can help you." Fate replied. "But, you can read the Poneglyphs, can't you?" Robin nodded. "Just follow the signs."
"Okay, and what about the rest of us?!" Usopp wanted to know.
"You just listen to Karma." Faith told him.
"But, she doesn't like me!" Usopp complained.
"It's not just you." Destiny assured him, before she smiled over at Brook, Franky, and Chopper. "We'll be fine, I'll get you to Shadow Pass safely." Her smile then faded. "Trust me, it's a lot safer of a place than where they'll be going." She nodded her head towards Luffy, Ace, and Vivi.
"Why's that?" Chopper wanted to know. He glanced nervously at Luffy, Ace, and Vivi.
Sumi spoke up. "They're going to the River Styx, aren't they?"
"I believe ssso, yesss." Twister replied.
"What's the River Styx?" Franky asked.
"Isn't that the river of the dead, that has lost souls in it or something, and there's a ferryman or something that guides people across it?" Emma said suddenly and, when a few people gave her a weird look, she added: "Catholic high school."
"Oh."
"I thought that it was like that thing in that video game with the moustache guy." Luffy said.
"That too." Emma replied. "So, basically, a river in the Underworld with lost souls."
Sumi nodded. "Uh-huh, Emma-Chan, it is exactly that." There was a look in her teal eyes that told Emma that the River Styx was not to be messed with.
"Yes." Death said, and they all looked at her. There was something about her tone that they didn't like. "All of you ... beware the River Styx. It will drag you to the depths of Chaos itself, where none have ever returned from." She looked around at them all. Most of them looked unnerved. Nami, Chopper, and Usopp looked downright terrified. Ace and Law were looking at Emma, however, and she was looking at Luffy, who may or may not have been paying attention anymore. Death sighed. "And, on that note, all of you, please be careful. If anything happens to you from this point on ... then, it will not be your lives that are in danger, but your very existences. I ... I may not be able to reach you. You could be lost forever."
"I won't let that happen." Emma said suddenly, and all eyes were immediately on her. She had that tone in her voice again, and she took her hands back from both Destiny and Ace, folding her arms in front of her chest firmly and being careful of her compass. "I can't do this without any of you, and you are all the most important people to me, besides! I meant what I said when I told you that I'd become stronger in order to protect you, so you don't have to worry about any of that other stuff! Just focus on what you have to do." Her hazel eyes glittered, and the compass glowed softly around her neck.
Sumi's teal eyes were shining, now. "Wow, Emma-Chan ... whatever you saw when you were in the springs must have really got through to you. You sound like you're going to be able to do anything!"
"Well, I'm stronger when I'm with my Allies." Emma told her. "That's what that guy, The Spring Keeper, said to me. He was really like my conscience, which is weird because I always imagined my conscience to be more like Teeny Little Super Guy, and this guy was tall. And, clumsy, too - he nearly set himself on fire with his cigarette." She glanced at Law then; he was looking at her, and she reminded herself to stay focused. "He also helped me to figure out why I couldn't reach out to you all before. Which is why I'd like to take some time to talk to you all individually before Boss gets here, if that's okay?"
A few of her Allies looked surprised, and some of them looked curious but, once again, it was Law who surprised them all by saying: "That sounds fine. Emiko, you should speak to Vivi-Ya and her group first, since they'll be leaving first."
"Says who?" Ace couldn't help but ask, glaring at Law.
"Says me." Vivi said firmly, stepping in between them. It was at that point that they realised just how worried she must be about Carue; her hands were shaking, but her voice remained steady as she added: "Law-San, what are you going to do?"
"He's coming with me." Sumi said promptly. "I need to talk with him." She didn't look like she was going to give him much of an option.
Vivi nodded. "Right, and the rest of you will . . . ?" She trailed off, seeing that Nami was busy with a piece of paper and a pencil. "Umm, Nami-San . . . ?"
"What's she writing?" Chopper asked.
"It's probably her last will and testament." Zoro remarked.
"Shut up, Zoro!" Nami snapped. "You know that anything that I don't leave to Nojiko is coming with me!"
"Impossssssible." Twister drawled.
"You don't have the right to comment on that, Twister." Fate told him.
"Yeah, Boss blamed me for you letting those things 'slip' through!" Karma added.
Twister just held up his hands. "A sssimple missstake." He said.
"Your 'mistakes' always seem to involve a lot of other people and no apparent fault of your own, Twister!" Karma replied.
"At leassst I'm more predictable that way." Twister told her.
Karma scoffed and flicked her hair back. "You're The God Of Change! There's nothing predictable about you!"
"Exactly . . . "
"Oh my ... that's it!" Karma had had enough. "Twister, I seriously liked it better when you were a no-show at meetings and did that creepy voice-over thing from the beyond! Let's just go back to doing that! Somebody remove him from my sight!" She demanded.
"I will, right after Boss lets us leave." Emma assured her. To Vivi, she said: "When they're like this, they kind of seem almost . . . "
"Like us?" Vivi suggested, and smiled. "You see, we're not different, after all!"
"So . . . " Emma looked at Vivi.
Vivi looked back at her.
They were sitting side-by-side on a broken stone archway, close by to where the stone table was. From there they could see in every direction. It looked like it might have once been a really nice place, but now it was eerie and looked like it was on the verge of chaos.
Emma couldn't shake the feeling that a great deal had changed, even in the last few weeks.
To Vivi, she said: "How has everybody been ... you know, in the Snow Realm and then the Forest Realm?"
Vivi understood what she meant. "Well," She said carefully. "They were very focused on getting you back - we all were." Emma nodded. "I don't think that they really could have believed what had happened, except for ... the one that told me . . . "
"You mean Queen Otohime-Sama?"
It was Vivi's turn to nod. "Hai. She was worried about you as well, and . . . " She bit at her lower lip. "Worried about what's going on back home . . . " She looked at Emma quickly. "Emma ... may I ask ... did you really mean what you said? About wanting to get us back home?"
There was a great deal of understanding going on between them right then, because Emma knew perfectly well what she was referring to. She sighed. "Hai ... I ... I really do. That world is my home as much as the world that I grew up in, and ... well, it's just so awesome, despite all of the un-awesome things about it. I'd really like to ... be back there . . . " She admitted.
Vivi was smiling. "Good." She said, and then added softly: "It looks like she was right . . . "
"It looks like who was right?" Emma asked immediately.
Vivi looked embarrassed. "Oh, umm ... your Nanna ... The Goddess Of Grace." She noticed the way that Emma's eyes lit up at the mention of her beloved Nanna. "She told me a lot about you, before we even met."
"Is that why you were so eager to meet me?" Emma couldn't help asking her, and Vivi blushed.
"Well ... yes, you know . . . " The Princess admitted. "Your Nanna was able to accurately paint a picture in my mind for me to go on when I first met you, and for that I'm very grateful."
"How did she seem to you?" Emma wanted to know. "Like ... okay with all of this?"
"Oh, absolutely." Vivi said confidently. "She believes in you, Emma. We all believe in you, you just have to believe in yourself."
"I'll try." Emma promised her. "Remember, that I'm the one who's going to protect all of you."
"Are you sure that you're okay?" Vivi asked her. "I mean, as okay as what you can be?" Emma glanced at her. Vivi's face was very serious, but her tone was gentle when she said: "I was ... watching you at the festival. In between all of the lantern lighting and deciding that drinking sake is just like drinking liquid flames . . . "
"According to Ace-Chan." Emma pointed out.
"Yes, well, I noticed that he hardly ever left your side, and, neither did Law-San." Vivi said.
"Well, what else is new?" Emma shrugged.
"Everybody was keeping you really close." Vivi pointed out.
"Hmm . . . " Emma thought about it.
She had learned the Bon Odori alongside Robin. Whilst resting her feet she had then painted lantern boats with Usopp, Chopper, and Franky, before handing them to Ace to light the candles before sending them on their way down the river. She had sung karaoke with Vivi and Brook. She had helped Nami locate Zoro, which was when she'd had her interesting sake-tasting experience. Franky and Brook had then come to find her because Law was looking for her. She had stood next to her First Knight and watched as Sanji learned how to make that ridiculous pork-beef-lamb dish - he'd made two; one for Luffy and one for everybody else. Everybody had eaten together, at one of the noisiest and fun-filled feasts that Emma had ever attended. After that she and Luffy had rescued Chopper from somebody that had suggested substituting him for the lamb in that dish, and then when some of his friends had suggested escargot - and, pointed to Su-Chan - Emma had lost her temper; Ace and Usopp had had to pull her off of the man. At that, point everybody had suddenly started screaming because a Celestial Bull Shark (like a regular Bull Shark, only with wings) jumped out of the River Of Dreams behind them. Usopp had bailed (Nami and Chopper were right behind him), but Ace had stayed put, even as the shark seemed to mirror Emma's emotions and began chasing the group that had wanted to eat Chopper and Su-Chan, its gaping mouth, which was filled with razor sharp teeth, snapping viciously.
No wonder she hadn't had any luck in locating Oden or his wife or the doctors or anybody - they could've been standing three feet away from her and her mind would have been focused completely on her Allies.
Which was the way that it should be.
"They were probably just worried that I'd run off again." She told Vivi. "But, don't worry, I'm not going to. We're stronger when we're together ... even though we have to split up soon."
"Yeah . . . " Vivi glanced down at the Ocean's Flower around her neck. She thought about the piece of paper in her pocket, and wondered if she should tell Emma about what was happening. She wasn't worried about whom Carue and Peni-Chan were allegedly with at that moment, and she knew that Luffy, Ace, and especially Emma would actually be glad about it, but . . .
I'll wait. Vivi decided, noticing that Emma suddenly glanced over her shoulder and, looking too, Vivi saw Luffy making his way up the crumbling staircase towards the top of the archway. She's got a lot going on right now, and needs to stay focused on her current objective. She'll get to see him, soon, though. She's going to be so happy . . .
"We good to go?" Luffy wanted to know, sitting on Emma's left-hand side and swinging his legs over the edge.
"Almost." She replied. "Just as soon as Boss gets here and I've had a chance to talk to Ace-Chan."
"'Bout what?" Luffy asked immediately.
"About the interrelation between two separate anarchical groups on the subject of one mukade satsugai battōtoki whom was represented with one and then the other ... and how it may or may not relate to the overall allegiance of yours truly ... which will also hopefully nicely lead into the topic of how Ace-Chan and I plan to maintain our connection whilst proceeding forwards in the circumstance of separate anarchical groups ... come to think of it, I need to have that conversation with Law-Chan, too . . . " Emma trailed off.
Matte ... did she just — ?! Vivi looked quickly at Luffy, and realised just as quickly that he hadn't understood a single word of what Emma had just said.
Which was probably exactly what Emma had been aiming for. She wasn't entirely ready to reveal her important decision to them just yet, that much was for certain.
"What?" Luffy looked at her. She just looked back at him. "You're thinking of getting a pet bat and naming it Anna?"
"Or just Anne." Emma replied absentmindedly, and felt a small flutter in the pit of her stomach again. Looking back over her shoulder, she saw that Law and Sumi had just returned, and were talking to Twister. The others were mulling around nearby, waiting for Boss. Ace was sitting on a nearby broken pillar that was leaning sideways over a small pool of water; he was watching Emma, and she knew that he had been for some time now. She also sensed that Boss would be arriving soon. To Luffy, she said: "Ne, Luffy? About what happened ... in the Snow Realm . . . "
"Don't worry about it." He said immediately, waving his hand.
"No, no, this must be said." She said firmly, and then took a deep breath. "First off, I'm sorry . . . "
"Don't be." Luffy replied, just as firmly, and then he looked at her sideways. "Unless you didn't mean that bit about believing in us . . . ?"
"I'll never not believe in you guys." She told him.
"What about you, then?" Vivi asked her gently. "Will you believe in yourself?"
"Like we all do." Luffy interjected.
Emma sighed. "Like I said, I'm trying, I just . . . " She looked over at Luffy. "I just wanted to let you know that I'm really, really very grateful that you guys never gave up on me. I put you all in a lot of danger by leaving you, and I understand now how much it hurt to be apart. But, thank you, still, for following me. Not that you had much choice, I mean, where else could you have gone?" She wondered all of a sudden.
"We didn't want to go anywhere else." Luffy shrugged. "Remember what we said? Nakama?" He held out his hand, and this time Emma didn't hesitate to take it.
"Nakama." She replied, and forced herself to meet Luffy's gaze. She was getting better at this whole keeping eye-contact thing, she decided, just as she heard a commotion from somewhere behind her.
"There! Twister, tell Boss that it was all YOUR fault!" Karma yelled. "Go on, tell him!"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"We haven't got time!" Boss snapped. "I need to send the Chosen Ones out as soon as possible, in case you haven't noticed the impending doom!"
Emma, Vivi, and Luffy all turned, to see Boss standing there with two trails of blood running from under his glasses like tear tracks, and there was blood on his suit.
Everybody fell silent. Emma's Allies all looked horrified, to varying degrees. Only Law and Ace remained stoic.
"It's not as bad as it looks, children, but, the situation does seem to be developing rapidly." Death said quietly. She raised her head to meet Emma's gaze, and Emma suddenly looked startled.
"I still have to talk to Ace-Chan!" She exclaimed softly, but Boss heard her.
"If he's going out with the first group then make it quick!" He told her, as she jumped swiftly down from the broken archway, followed by Luffy and then Vivi. "I'll send you out one group at a time, so as to not attract too much attention from those Chaos Creatures! Nami's already planned the best route for you to take. Ask her for the map of where the Portals have opened up near the River Styx."
The orange-haired navigator waved to them.
"How did she get maps?" Vivi asked faintly.
"'Cause she's Nami." Luffy replied, grinning, as Emma hurried over to Ace.
There's not enough time for me to have the conversation that I'd like to with Ace-Chan! Emma realised, as she balanced on the fallen pillar to walk up to where Ace was waiting for her. Oh my God, I don't even know what I want to say to him right now!
As it turned out, however, Ace knew exactly what he wanted to say to her.
"Emiko," he said to her, very seriously, looking right at her as she sat down next to him. He took her hands. "Do you remember what you said to me, just before we left Usopp's village that time?"
"It was months ago, Ace-Chan," she reminded him. "I think that I got angry at you about something, though."
He smiled briefly. "Because I was my usual insensitive self ... when you asked me if I believed in fate."
They both glanced behind them just then, on instinct, and sure enough saw Fate herself smiling at them, although she made a point of turning around then and getting back to helping her fellow Gods with something. Which reminded both Emma and Ace that they had precious little time left.
As they turned back toward each other, Ace said to Emma: "What made you ask that? Can you remember?"
She nodded. "Surprisingly, yes, now I can. I asked because I felt like a lot of things were changing, but that there must have been some reason that I was there with you and so, as long as we were together, that it would be fine. And, I meant that, too." She added.
Ace put one hand to the side of her face. "I love you." He told her strongly, and she felt the heat rush to her face but maybe that was because Ace was touching her face? "No one and nothing can ever change that, no matter how hard they try."
"I love you too, Ace-Chan." She whispered, her heart pounding in her chest. "No matter what happens, that's not ever going to change. I never dreamed that somebody like you would love me in that same way."
Ace's eyes were glittering, now. "Emiko, there's something that I have to tell you . . . "
Over by where he was making the final preparations with the other Gods, Boss suddenly groaned, and withdrew his hand from where it had been about two seconds away from helping to form the doorway out of the safe zone.
"Somebody go over there and stop those two before they make any more True Vows and give Cupid more encouragement!" He snapped, looking mainly at Faith.
"No need," Faith held up her hands. "Death gone to get Ace."
A few of Emma's Allies looked over at them sharply.
Karma rolled her eyes. "NOT like that!" She snapped. "Are all you humans so paranoid about death?"
"Just the one named Teech." Fate said unexpectedly.
"How unusual for one who bears the Will Of D. . . . " Destiny mused, and noticed how Law looked at her quickly just then. She smiled. She knew his secret. Not yet, Trafalgar D. Water Law. Your moment to discover its meaning will come, in due time . . .
She wondered if he would tell his true name to Emma. Maybe if she ever learned hers . . .
Boss quickly set to work opening up a doorway out of the safe zone, once Ace, Luffy, and Vivi had assembled.
The doorway shimmered into existence, and Boss stepped back.
"You know what to do." He told Faith, who nodded silently.
She turned to the trio, watching Emma in particular.
The red-head stepped back from hugging Vivi, and for just a moment their two necklaces clinked together and shimmered briefly.
Emma then hugged Luffy, much to the straw hat boy's surprise, but then his face turned serious and he hugged her back.
Next, Emma hugged Ace. The two of them seemed reluctant to let each other go, all of a sudden. Faith couldn't help but notice when Fate and Destiny exchanged a glance, and then the two sisters looked over at Death, who was watching both Emma and Ace very intently. Her calm gaze seemed almost ... sad. Remorseful, even . . .
Faith froze slightly. Surely not . . .
"Okay," Boss was probably rolling his eyes beneath his sunglasses, despite the blood. "These Realms aren't going to save themselves, otherwise I would have done it already! And, those two ducks aren't going to stay in one spot for very long . . . " He added, and Vivi gasped.
Emma and Ace finally pulled apart, and Emma hastily wiped her eyes.
"Yes," the red-head said quickly. "Go and get to them, and Grandpa and the others . . . " She nodded, and watched as Luffy, Vivi, and Ace followed Faith through the doorway. She then seemed to hesitate, and looked like she was actually going to stop them all of a sudden. "Ace . . . — " He turned around quickly. " . . . -Chan . . . " Her voice was shaking.
Sumi stepped up beside her, and put a hand on her shoulder. "Ace-Kun," she said. "At least one of the three Admirals is going to be close by to where you're going, if not all of them." She tightened her grip on Emma's scarred shoulder, as Ace's face took on a look of recognition.
Emma's other hand flew to her throat. "Ace-Chan, please!" She almost begged him. "Don't fight Akainu! Please!" They stared at each other for a few seconds. "I'm sorry, I know that it's bad enough that I ask you not to fight Teech, but ... just this one other thing, Ace-Chan, please . . . "
Ace sighed. "For you, Emiko." He told her. He glanced at Sumi, and she nodded. "We'll meet up again soon." He added, more to the general group now.
"Oh, for sure." Nami said immediately. "Hopefully Luffy doesn't give you too much trouble."
"Hey!"
Ace grinned. "Shouldn't I be saying that to you guys?" He asked, and then his face turned serious. "Seriously, though, thanks for taking care of him, for me." He looked at each of them in turn. "Really."
"We'll keep on doing that." Nami promised, and there were a few nods and 'yeahs' here and there.
"Just come back safely, Luffy." Usopp added, looking at his captain.
"He will." Chopper said, somewhat confidently. "He has Vivi and Ace with him!"
"Don't let anything happen to Vivi-Chan and The Goddess Of Faith!" Sanji warned Luffy and Ace.
"We'll be fine." Vivi tried to reassure him, but from the look on her face they could all tell that she wanted to get going.
Robin smiled. "Godspeed." She told Ace, Vivi, Luffy, and Faith.
"And you, child." Faith replied, her vivid blue eyes sparkling.
"Well, we'll see you." Ace nodded to them all.
"We'll see you soon." Vivi added.
"Ja'ne!" Luffy waved, as Faith led them down a broken stone path that sloped downwards towards a gulley.
From there, they could see that the path branched off in multiple different directions. But, it was hard to make much out past the swirling mists, other than ominous-looking black landmarks, and . . .
"Is that one of those Chaos Creatures?!" Usopp cried, pointing as a huge winged shape soared across the horizon.
"Looks like it." Zoro said, somewhat calmly. "Okay, are we going next?" He suddenly asked Robin and Nami; the latter looked scared but the former just nodded.
"Actually," Twister said, and they all looked at him. Beneath his hood, it was impossible to see his expression, but they all heard a tense note in his voice that not one of them liked. "We'll be leaving nexxxt." He indicated to himself, Sumi, Emma, and Law. "Thingsss look ssset to ... essscalate very quickly in the nexxxt twenty minutesss or ssso." He explained to them.
"You have exactly half an hour." Boss spoke up, not having moved from his spot by the doorway.
That just gives me three minutes with each of them, if it takes me three minutes to walk away from the group starting right now! Emma started to panic. How on Earth was she supposed to say all that she wanted to in such a short amount of time?! It had been bad enough having to rush through her talk with Ace - she hadn't even gotten to tell him the most important parts!
A smooth tanned hand suddenly took Emma's own, and she looked up to find Nico Robin smiling calmly back down at her. Emma was suddenly struck by just how blue her eyes really were. Just like Faith's . . .
Okay, calm down. She told herself firmly, as Robin led her away from the others. It's not like you'll never see them again.
"I can't help but feel like this Realm would actually be quite peaceful, if it wasn't for the Chaos." Vivi found herself saying, as she, Luffy, and Ace followed Faith across a a cracked and mossy stone bridge. The black waters of the quiet stream beneath them reflected the red of the sky, and seemed to lap with a quiet unease.
"It was." Faith agreed, hitching up her white robes slightly to step over the threshold and back onto the dirt-packed trail. "But, Realms like people. Can change."
"Just like the Ocean Realm . . . " Vivi suggested carefully. She was aware that Ace was listening to them. She really couldn't tell if Luffy was or wasn't.
Faith nodded. "Yes. Day in October, when daughter was killed, that when Ocean Goddess cried and flooded whole entire Ocean Realm. Was day that we realised that Well Of Chaos had been opened, too."
"Who opened it?" Ace wanted to know.
"We thought Infinity." Faith replied. "Seemed most logical explanation at time. Until day that Little Death took Grace's Heart to Infinity's Castle. Then, we knew better." She glanced over her shoulder at them. "You want know more about Grace's Heart and Ocean's Flower." It wasn't a question. Ace and Vivi both nodded, and Vivi found her hand drifting to the Ocean's Flower out of habit.
Which is when she realised something, and let out a sharp yelp.
"What is it?!" Ace and Luffy both asked her in unison.
Vivi just quickly shook her head. "N-nothing. Sorry, Faith-San, go on." She said, biting at her lip as they walked on.
Luffy and Ace continued to look at her, though, and so she pulled aside her ponytail, to reveal that Su-Chan was half stuck to her hair.
"She must've slipped off of her band when Emiko hugged you." Ace said calmly, as he helped Vivi to detach the Baby DenDen-Mushi from her hair. "Don't worry, you can just give her back to Emiko when you see her next."
"Yeah, but, she'll worry." Vivi pointed out.
"She has Sumi and Twister and that other guy with her, she'll be fine." Ace responded. To Faith, he added: "Ne, Faith? Did Little Death and Twister really visit Emiko in our world when she was little?"
"Oh, yes, all the time." Faith confirmed.
"And, Undine knew?" Ace said.
"Absolutely. Undine knew all that happen in Emma's life." Faith told them. "Twister one that told Undine that only had under one year, before Almighty and Father Time come to retrieve. Undine had no choice. Had to leave family behind and return to Celestial Realm."
"How could you guys do that to her?!" Ace wanted to know. "And, to Oyaji?!" He added, and a brief look of pain flashed across his eyes.
"Was never our intention to cause so much hurt." Faith explained gently. "Undine was needed to come back, to balance out Chaos."
"But ... you said that you guys didn't know that the Well Of Chaos was opened until just recently." Ace reminded her.
"Was still hints of Chaos, signs not all well." Faith replied. "You see ... Undine what known as Mortal God in your world, but actually have origins here in Celestial Realm. Not supposed to go to Mortal Realm, but did so. Cause huge upset when she go missing. Not able to follow her to World 192853746 until after she give birth."
"Why?" Vivi tilted her head to one side. There was something significant there, that much was for certain.
"Goddesses actually become more powerful when give birth," Faith told them. "In order to protect child."
"Which you guys didn't let her do." Ace couldn't help but say.
"Without her here, Chaos would have leaked out much quicker." Faith told him. "Had to give Chosen Ones time to come into prophecy. Things had to happen way that did."
"Faith-San," Vivi said suddenly. "There's something that I don't understand. In that vision, Undine gave Emma-Sama her necklace, but Emma-Sama said that Ino stole it on ... on that day. So then ... how did you manage to get it to give to Emma-Sama, or, well, her cousin at least . . . ?"
"Is all connected." Faith said quietly. "Ocean's Flower of Celestial Realm. Always meant return, but, always return to Mortal Realm loved by its owner."
"You mean our world . . . " Vivi suddenly gasped. "M-matte! Did ... did Emma-Sama's Mother — ?!"
Luffy suddenly grabbed Vivi and yanked her out of the way. A good thing, too, as a split second later a bullet flew past them and hit a nearby tree. If Luffy hadn't dragged Vivi out of the way then the bullet would have gone straight through her chest.
They all looked around quickly, but, couldn't see anything.
"It seems we have a sniper." Ace said quietly.
"Yeah . . . " Luffy replied, as he pulled Vivi to her feet.
The Princess looked shaken but was otherwise unhurt. She couldn't believe how close she had just come to dying - there had been something exceptionally mortal about what had just happened, as opposed to the clearly Celestial happenings that had occurred throughout most of their journey within the Celestial Realm so far.
"Faith," Ace was still scanning their surroundings. "Are we in one of those safe areas again?"
Faith nodded, her face giving no indication as to how she might be feeling, and her voice was calm as she said: "There appears be connection between some safe zones, now."
"Is that so?" Ace sounded grim. "Meaning that our attacker is most likely mortal . . . "
"Is there ... somebody in Blackbeard's crew who'd be capable of that?" Vivi asked suddenly. It's them, I just know it!
It was Ace's turn to nod. "Oh yeah, it's that guy, alright . . . " He said, more to himself than anything, and then he dodged to the left just as a second bullet came seemingly out of nowhere, and hit the tree behind him. "That was a Sea Stone bullet." He looked angry, now. "Faith, how much can you help us out here?" He said all of a sudden.
Faith remained calm. "My job get you three to where need go. Can intervene if Chaos involved ... you should be able to handle other mortals . . . " She added, somewhat tauntingly.
"Can you at least tell us who he's after, then?" Ace wanted to know.
"He not after any specific target." She replied. "Been told keep you three on your toes."
Another bullet hit the ground by Luffy's feet, causing him to jump back. "Yeah, I see what you mean. It doesn't mean that we can't — "
Ace's eyes widened. "No, Luffy!" He said quickly. Luffy looked at him. Ace looked at Faith. "Faith?"
"Still allowed to kill you if he wants." Faith said.
"Which he's more than capable of." Ace said grimly. "His name's Van Augur - he's a member of the Blackbeard Pirates, one of the few who's not from Impel Down but," there was a dark look in Ace's eyes. "He's nonetheless deadly."
"I still think that we can take him." Luffy said stubbornly.
"He'd see us coming from a mile away, Luffy, his eye sight's as insane as what he - and the rest of the crew - is!" Ace replied, trying to keep his frustration levels down. Glancing swiftly at Faith, who nodded and subtly moved closer to stand beside Vivi, Ace grabbed Luffy's hand and pulled him aside, whispering hurriedly: "Okay, look, we could probably take him if we worked together, but what about Vivi? She hasn't had as much experience taking on such powerful opponents!"
"She managed to infiltrate a criminal organisation when she was just thirteen." Luffy pointed out.
"Even so." Ace sighed. "Vivi's capable, but, she's still inexperienced. Meanwhile, as soon as Augur figured out what was happening, he'd just take us out one by one. Even through the trees he's a literal sure-shot. It's just too risky."
"Exactly." Vivi said; she had suddenly come to stand beside them, and she was folding something up in her hand. "Which is why I'm going to take the underground route to get to our destination, and that will allow you guys to deal with Augur. Once you're done, Faith will guide you the rest of the way."
The blue-eyes Goddess nodded from nearby.
"What if you get lost?" Luffy asked Vivi.
"I won't get lost." She replied confidently. "I checked Nami-San's map just now, and I also have . . . " She held up something in her other hand. "This."
"Is that a Vivre Card?" Ace asked immediately, and Vivi nodded. "Where . . . ?"
"From Twister." Vivi replied, holding her hand out flat and watching as the little piece of paper quivered and shuddered in one particular direction. "And, he got it from Marco-San . . . " She suddenly closed her hand and yanked her arm back, but not fast enough; a bullet grazed across the tops of her fingers, and she gasped but didn't yell out.
"Vivi!"
"I'm fine!" She assured the two brothers, clutching her injured hand to her chest. "You two take care of Augur, and, I'll see you shortly!" And, before they could stop her, she disappeared into the trees, just as another bullet narrowly avoided hitting Ace's Log Pose.
Ace and Luffy exchanged a glance. Faith noted how serious both of them suddenly appeared to be.
"Ready?" Ace asked Luffy.
Luffy's dark eyes glittered. "Yup."
"Well, here we are." Sumi gestured grandly to the dark mouth of the cave that was looming before them. "The Caves Of Skops."
"Why are they called that?" Emma asked, thinking of Skops the scorpion from Rayman. If there's something like that in there, I'm leaving.
"Becaussse ssshe jussst made that name up." Twister drawled, as he and Law walked past Sumi. "There isss a labyrinth of many cavesss down here. The Cave Of Phosssphoressscent Flowersss isss jussst one of them." He added, and Emma nodded.
"That's where Little Death is." She said quietly.
"How will we find her, though?" Law wanted to know.
"I'll know." Sumi said confidently. "Trust me, I'll know. Pandora is there too, after all . . . "
Emma suddenly let out a yelp, and Twister, Sumi, and Law all looked at her quickly.
"Princccessssss?"
"Emma-Chan?"
"Emiko?"
Emma was looking at her right wrist. "Su-Chan's missing!" She exclaimed.
Twister closed his one visible eye briefly, and then he sighed. "Don't worry, the Baby DenDen-Mussshi isss with Vivi."
Emma looked at him quickly. "Are ... are you sure?"
He nodded, still not opening his eye. "Mmhmm. And, with that in mind, I mussst go - Bossssss isss calling a meeting."
"Now?" Emma and Sumi asked in unison.
"Yesss, now."
"Do I have to go, too?" Sumi asked, looking worried all of a sudden.
Twister opened his eye and, holding his left hand out to the side, opened up a Portal.
"Should you be doing that?" Emma asked him.
"Thisss Portal goesss directly to Bossssss, it'sss fine." Twister told Emma. "And, no, Sssumi. The meeting isss for important Godsss, only." He added, before he stepped swiftly through the Portal, his long black robes swishing.
"Ouch." Emma blinked, and then glanced at Sumi. "Hey, how come you're smiling, Sumi-Chan?"
"Because," Sumi replied, as she led the way into the cave. "What he said wasn't what he meant."
"Explain how." Emma said immediately. "Please?" Hang on, I just realised how much I DON'T like being underground . . .
"Chotto matte . . . " Sumi said serenely, and gestured to Emma and Law that they should stand back. She then spread her white feathery wings out on either side of her, and they began to glow, as did her halo, and soon the darkness of the cave was replaced by the warm glow of the Goddess Of Light.
"Wow." Emma couldn't help but say.
Sumi smiled calmly. "Well, shall we continue?" She asked them. "And, I'll tell you both more of what you need to know."
"Like, how you know the Goddess Of Hope so well?" Emma asked, suddenly inspired. "Or, about how you came to have the Ocean's Flower and how it might have ended up here?"
Come to think of it, Law suddenly realised. Twister-Ya hinted that the meeting had to do with Vivi-Ya ... she went with those two, dear God, what have they done now? He wisely chose not to mention this to Emma.
"Which one do you want to know first?" Sumi asked her.
"The Ocean's Flower." Emma said promptly. "And, no hedging around the subject, please! Your Mother stole it from me - did you steal it from her?" There was no hint of accusing or judgement in her tone.
Sumi nodded. "Sure did." She replied, tilting her chin up. "She was always wearing it like it was a trophy or something. It really annoyed me!"
"Why do I get the feeling that you were a difficult child, Sumi-Ya?" Law asked her.
She grinned. "You could say that it's in my blood." She led them down the middle path of a choice of three, her light guiding the way and making Emma feel a whole or better about being underground. "I come from a strange family."
"Tell me about it." Emma and Law spoke in unison again. "And, also," Emma went on. "Tell me how the necklace ended up here, then."
"Well, I don't know exactly how it did, beyond it probably wanting to return." Sumi said slowly. "It's from here, after all. Both of the necklaces are. The compass, too." She added.
"Wow . . . " Emma breathed. "So, umm ... I heard that you threw it into the sea? How come?"
"A guy that I met said that I should." Sumi replied.
"That will probably make a lot more sense with some context." Emma told her.
"Don't worry, it really will. He was a fellow slave." Sumi said, and Emma listened carefully. She sensed how rare it was for anybody to talk about this sort of thing. "I met him on a ship when Jalmack was dragging me around all over the place ... he liked to take vacations away from Mariejois back then, for whatever reason. Anyways, he has this cousin - I can never remember her proper name, it's like 'Gina' something, and I always called her 'Jin' and got hit for it; they didn't like it when you talked. Her slave always looked out for me, though. We became friends, you know?"
"That's good." Emma replied, feeling slightly uneasy all the same. Slavery is really terrible! "What was his name?"
"Cub." Sumi replied, and didn't see when Law looked up quickly. "He's a Fishman." Law's eyes widened. "A bit hard to get along with, but, he has a good heart. He was the first one to call me '-Chan' - I had always wanted to be called that. It used to drive Jin crazy, and so they tried to keep us apart but we'd always sneak out at nighttime and they never found out. It didn't help them that the voyage took months because they both liked vacationing away from Mariejois."
That might explain why Tiger-Ya couldn't find him . . . Law's brain was ticking. "Sumi-Ya, did this other slave say anything about the necklace?"
"Just that he recognised it." She replied, glancing at him over her shoulder. "But, then again, what Fishman wouldn't recognise their beloved Ocean Goddess's necklace?" She turned back around to face the front. "He didn't believe me at first when I told him that Ino was my Mother, not until I showed him the necklace and said that I'd taken it from her. That night, it was a full moon, I remember ... it was the night that Jalamck had forced me to eat the Hito Hito No Mi, Model: Tenshi ... Cub was calming me down because I was panicking about the wings on my back ... we were out on the deck, and, we both heard it ... it was like a voice, softly sobbing. It was the most beautiful and the most tragic sound that I'd ever heard, and I believe that it was the voice of the Ocean Goddess herself. Cub told me that the Ocean Goddess wanted me to give her the necklace back, and so I did. I threw it into the ocean. Cub also threw something overboard - this Devil Fruit that Jin had wanted him to eat, so I don't know how he got ahold of it before she could make him do that." She shook her head, and then smiled at Emma over her shoulder. "Demo, I specifically remember that the Devil Fruit was a plum-red colour, and that it looked a bit like those things from your world called 'sultanas'."
Emma's eyes widened. "You don't think . . . " Her heart pounded in her chest. "No way . . . "I dunno." Sumi was still smiling, even as she turned around. "Fate-Chan works in mysterious ways. I wish that that included Cub's freedom, though . . . " She added, a bit sadly.
"Yeah . . . " Emma agreed. "If I ever meet him . . . " She said suddenly.
Sumi sighed. "Don't push yourself too hard, Emma-Chan ... how old do you think I am?" She asked all of a sudden.
Emma blinked again. "Umm ... fifteen, wasn't it?"
"That's how old Ace-Kun probably said that I was," Sumi responded. "But, how old do you think I am?"
Emma thought for a moment. "I dunno ... sometimes you seem much older." She realised. "Sumi-Chan, are you older than that? And, please don't say that it's because one human year equals seven girl years or something."
"Well, they do, I saw that, Law," Sumi said, correctly guessing that Law was rolling his eyes behind her back. "And, as a matter of fact, I'm probably closer to Nami-Chan's age - or, at least, I was."
Emma watched as her wings folded in briefly, and she let some cool air from up ahead which made her wonder if they were approaching a larger part of the cave. Sumi's wings then extended outwards slightly, and Emma caught sight of the mark of the Whitebeard Pirates on her back. She smiled, thinking about her own mark, but then her smile faded. Daddy . . .
Emma felt Law's left hand slide into her right hand, and that was when she realised that he had switched the ring over to his left hand. When had he done that? Why? Emma had almost completely forgotten about doing that with the ring that he'd given her, and she had only done it because the giant centipede had injured her right hand. Should she change the ring back over? It seemed a bit strange that she was wearing it on her left hand, on the same finger that she wore the ring from Ace - her husband. But, now that Law had changed his ring over to the left hand, would it seem a bit strange to suddenly switch back?
"Emma-Chan?"
"Hai?!" She fairly yelped, suddenly startled back into reality by Sumi's voice again.
"Have you ever wondered why you've been able to remember things that technically nobody should?" Sumi asked her. "Recalling things from when you were barely even one year old. Like that song, or the memory of riding whale sharks with Little Death?"
"Because I'm an anomaly?" Emma guessed, shrugging again.
Sumi chuckled. "Perhaps not. Those with Divine Blood often adjust themselves accordingly."
"Meaning?" Emma and Law asked in unison.
"That, if the situation calls for it, then somebody with Divine Blood can be whatever they need to be - within reason." Sumi explained. "You'll learn more about how that affects you as time goes on, Emma-Chan, I'm sure. But, for now," she went on, as they turned left at a fork in the cave's road. "Know this: The Goddess Of Hope was always meant to be the Goddess Of Hope. When she died, her age was accelerated to around two years old - it probably could have gone a bit further, but, she had her Father there at the time and so it wasn't really necessary for her to be any older."
"You seem to know a lot about her." Law pointed out.
Sumi nodded. "Hai. I do. That is because . . . " She trailed off suddenly, as they stepped out of the narrow tunnel and onto a ledge overlooking a very large cavern that was filled with glowing flowers. A large waterfall tumbled into a sparkling pool, and there was something very magical about the whole place ... except that there was also something very ominous about it, as well.
"Because . . . ?" Emma pressed her. Her eyes swept the cavern. This is it! The Cave Of Phosphorescent Flowers!
Sumi's eyes were glued on something in the middle of the cavern, which at first glance just appeared to be a chasm but, apparently, there was something special enough about this thing that warranted Sumi's full attention. She narrowed her eyes.
"Law," she said, in a low voice. "You need to open up a Portal back to the Mortal Realm. You're going to need to do it in the next half an hour or so. There's a weak spot right within that chasm. That's where you'll need to open up the Portal."
"Can he do that?" Emma wanted to know. "Why can't you do it?" She added.
"He can do it." Sumi replied, and that was when Emma and Law both noticed just how tense she suddenly was. "That's part of the reason why he's here. I've got a different job to do ... depending on how that goes, Law, you might not even have to open up that Portal. It all depends." She added, switching her gaze to something that was directly opposite to them.
"On what?" Law asked, tensely.
"On whether or not I let him live." Sumi replied, pointing now.
Emma and Law both looked.
Law then swore under his breath, and Emma gasped softly.
Across the other side of the cavern, Marshall D. Teech grinned toothily at them, as his dark eyes glittered rather dangerously. "What was that about not letting me live?" He called to Sumi. "You think that something's changed since our last encounter, girlie?"
Sumi's whole entire body was quivering now, and her teal eyes were flashing. "Law, the Portal - trust me, you'll know what to do."
"Will it be necessary?" He responded quietly.
She laughed hollowly. "Who knows? This is a battle between light and dark. Anything could happen." The look on her face was enough to convince Law that him learning how to open Portals was going to be purely for his benefit.
Law watched as Teech seemed to draw in the darkness from the shadows around him, and a pair of leathery black wings that were made up of darkness appeared on his back. He narrowed his eyes at the God Of Darkness. He's become stronger, however ... that power does not belong to him . . .
"Emma-Chan," Sumi went on. "You need to hurry." She pointed with her other hand towards the waterfall. "Little Death and my daughter are both in the cave behind the waterfall." Light appeared in her hands, just as darkness appeared in Teech's hands. "Hurry!" She urged Emma again, before she shot towards the centre of the cavern at the same time that Teech did, and the two of them clashed in the very centre of the cavern, over the chasm.
Emma stared for a second, and then she gasped again and looked over at Law. He was looking at her with slightly wide eyes.
"What?!"
Vivi forced herself to keep on moving, using the light from Su-Chan's halo to check on the Vivre Card every so often and make sure sure that she was going in the right direction. The underground tunnel twisted and turned and branched off, and twice Vivi felt herself step out of a safe zone, and was grateful for whatever Celestial powers were protecting her and her mortality. She wondered if these passageways connected to the Cave Of Phosphorescent Flowers.
"I hope that everybody is doing alright . . . " She whispered. "And, also, was this passageway once a part of something different? Those rocks look manmade ... almost like they were in a castle ... oh! Is that the exit?!" She hurried forwards, and was relieved to see that yes indeed it was.
She had emerged at a point near to a crossroads, and was just shaking the water out of her hair (the tunnels that she'd just navigated had been damp - she wondered if they ran underneath of the River Styx) when she heard a familiar call.
"Vivi!"
"Luffy-San!" Vivi exclaimed, turning around and seeing to her relief the straw hat-wearing captain running towards her. Then: "Matte, where's Ace-San?"
The look on Luffy's face was grim. "That sniper guy said something that made Ace worried. I don't know what it was, but, he told me to tell you and that we should find Emmy."
"Where is he?" Vivi began to worry. "Where's Faith-San?"
"Faith got called away to a meeting," Luffy explained, much to Vivi's shock. "And, Ace went to the River Styx."
"Oh my God . . . " Vivi muttered. Something was terribly wrong. She could just feel it. "Did ... did you at least take care of that guy from Blackbeard's crew?"
"He got away." Luffy looked annoyed, but then his expression changed. He raised one hand to shield his eyes, and Vivi tried not to notice that his other hand was bleeding, just like hers had been. "Hey, is that . . . ?"
"Kroo!"
Vivi turned around quickly, her already hammering heart now doing backflips in her chest, as she spied the two familiar Spot-Billed Ducks running towards her. "Carue!" She cried, throwing her arms around her beloved pet's neck as soon as he reached her. "And, Peni-Chan!" She added, and the second duck saluted.
"Who?" Luffy tilted his head sideways slightly, staring at the unfamiliar Spot-Billed Duck. She was a couple of inches shorter than Carue, with the same shade of yellow feathers and black spots on her bill and forehead. Instead of a single black line extending upwards from each eye like Carue had, this duck had two and they gave the impression of either eyelashes or makeup. Her eyes, which were a deep shade of blue that were almost black, seemed to pierce into Luffy's soul, and he realised with a start that he was being sized up by a duck. Albeit a four foot nine one with a dark pink babushka and eye makeup on, but, still a duck nonetheless.
"This is Peni-Chan." Vivi told Luffy, trying and failing not to show just how relieved she was that both ducks were still alive; Luffy tactfully didn't comment on the few tears that escaped from Vivi's eyes. "She's Carue's girlfriend."
It was a credit to Luffy that he also didn't comment on the girlfriend part, perhaps having learned his lesson back in Orange Town. Instead, he said: "What's she doing here, though?"
"I have no idea." Vivi shook her head. "Unless ... didn't Destiny-San say that a Portal had been opened up in Arabasta? What if . . . ?" She and Luffy exchanged a glance.
"Kroo caa!" Peni-Chan waved her wings, almost frantically.
"Is that it?" Vivi asked her urgently. "Did a Portal open up back home?" Peni-Chan nodded. "What about Otou-Sama?!"
Peni-Chan seemed to hesitate, and Carue half-nodded.
"Karoo!" Carue looked over his shoulder, and then back at Vivi.
"Man, where's Chopper when you need him?" Luffy asked, at the same time that Vivi said: "Oh, where is Tony-Kun at a time like this?"
They looked at each other again, and that was when Vivi could see that Luffy was getting impatient. Clearly, he wanted to get moving, and Vivi couldn't blame him.
She made her decision.
"Take Carue and Peni-Chan to the Cave Of Phosphorescent Flowers," she told Luffy, and watched as his eyes widened in surprise. "According to Nami-San's map, an entrance to the labyrinth where Emma-Sama and the others are is in a north-westerly direction, just go down the cuesta and across the plains until you reach the piedmont . . . " Luffy just looked at her. Vivi reminded herself that she only knew what those terms were because Nami had written them on the map and conveniently they happened to be right there, so she pointed with her non-injured hand; through the swirling mists they could just make out the entrance to a cave, nestled in the mountainside on the other side of a gentle slope that led down to a grassy plain. "Go that way." She gestured towards the two riding ducks. "Take them both with you, you'll need them when you find Emma-Sama and Law-San."
"What about you?" Luffy asked her, watching as she fiddled with Peni-Chan's bridle.
"I'll follow the Vivre Card north-east until I reach the bluffs," Vivi said, not even bothering to explain what she meant; she knew what awaited her there, and, right now that was all that mattered. She turned back around, having just managed to transform Peni-Chan's reins into a lead rope, which she attached to Carue's bridle. "Luffy-San, you — " She was suddenly cut off by Luffy giving her a tight hug, and absolutely everything that she'd been about to say flew out of her mind.
"Just be careful, okay?" Luffy told her, drawing back and looking at her very seriously.
Vivi nodded. "Same to you." She told him, and then gave Carue a reassuring pat as Luffy climbed into the saddle. "Godspeed." She repeated Robin's words, as both Carue and Peni-Chan saluted.
Then, Luffy nudged Carue with his heels, and he and Peni-Chan both sprinted off in the direction of the entrance to the caves. Vivi watched them go and, when they were about halfway to where the hill started to slope downwards, she watched as Luffy suddenly began looking around, before he reached up and discovered that Su-Chan was perched on top of his head. The Baby DenDen-Mushi must have gone over to him when he'd hugged Vivi and, from the looks of it, was now ringing.
Vivi had no idea who or what could be calling them at this time, and, it probably didn't matter. The blue-haired Princess Just turned around and began running, taking the path to the right to the crossroads and not even bothering to check with the Vivre Card if she was going in the right direction or not.
There was only one thing that Vivi needed at that moment, the only thing that could possibly tell her which way to go. The Ocean's Flower was what was pulling her in that direction, now.
As Emma teleported herself and Law down to the ground floor of the waterfall room, she had to stop briefly to steady herself against a nearby phosphorescent flower.
She felt Law's cool hand grip her arm. "Emiko . . . "
"I'm okay," she lied. She shook her head quickly. "I'm just ... worrying about the others." Okay, that part was true. She was suddenly filled with a feeling of dread, and she sensed that it had something to do with the others. "I can sense something . . . " She trailed off, as the hand that was resting on the crystal-like flower suddenly slipped slightly, and she realised that there was space inside of the flowers, which was both weird and cool.
Law's grip tightened on her arm. He couldn't tell her that everybody else would be fine, because he didn't know that for certain and she knew that he didn't know that. Still, he knew that he had to say something to set her mind at ease, which was why his response was: "Okay." When she asked him to call through to Su-Chan to find out if Vivi was okay, and she handed him a black Baby DenDen-Mushi that she had just pulled out of one of the glowing flowers.
"That one reminds me of Little Death ... I have to go!" Emma exclaimed, all of a sudden. "You have time to call the others, Sumi-Chan looks like she's going to be up there for awhile!" She added, as she dashed off, and Law glanced upwards and affirmed this - Sumi and Teech were really starting to increase the ferocity of their attacks. Would the cave survive?
He then glanced back down.
The black Baby DenDen-Mushi stared back up at him. It had a purple shell from which protruded two small leathery black wings, a small pair of back horns, and red lips and eyes that matched the 'X' marking on its forehead.
How does Emiko keep on finding all of these weird things? Law wondered, before he readjusted Kikoku against his shoulder - he had a feeling that he was going to need the sword to open up the Portal - and marched towards the chasm as he placed the black Baby DenDen-Mushi onto his shoulder and lifted the receiver, dialling in a memorised number.
It rang once ... twice ... then . . .
"Yosh?"
Law sighed. "It's me. Where's Vivi-Ya?" I should be used to Emiko noticing things without mentioning them straight away.
"She's gone to meet somebody." Luffy replied. Law got the sense that he was moving fast, but, not by his own accord - he was probably riding Carue. "Where's Emmy?"
"She's gone to find Little Death-Ya." Law replied. "Why?" He couldn't help but add.
"Ace needs her." Luffy told him, and Law paused. "Can you tell her to hurry? I'm on my way!"
The sensation was so strong that Vivi felt it welling up in her chest long before she ever laid eyes on the man that the Ocean's Flower and the Vivre Card had both led her to. It bubbled up in response to the necklace's connection to the man, and left Vivi at a loss for words when she finally reached the top of the bluffs.
He was tall, close to about ten feet and with a stocky but powerful appearance. Beneath a red cloak he wore a coral-coloured yukata with a black and white diamond-print on it, and wooden geta that added a couple of inches to his height; Vivi found herself vaguely wondering if Emma would benefit from such footwear.
And, speaking of which . . .
As the blue-skinned, black-haired Fishman turned around slowly, Vivi couldn't help but sense that he had been waiting for somebody else ... yes, he had probably most definitely been waiting for Emma. Probably for a lot longer than he had been standing there for.
He didn't seem surprised to see Vivi standing there, but Vivi sensed that he was thinking about a lot of things, all of which were impossible for her to read in his expression when she looked at him.
This was a proud and honourable man, whose deep history was occasionally stained by blood and which always seemed to tie him back to the one whose necklace Vivi now wore around her neck ... and, by extension, to her daughter, as well.
Vivi forced herself to hold his gaze, as his silver eyes gazed back at her ... and, then they widened ever so slightly when they caught sight of the Ocean's Flower.
Perhaps it was that small sign of surprise that he had just shown, that tiny bit of uncertainty, that gave Vivi the courage that she needed to finally speak.
"You're Jimbe-San, aren't you?"
The Fishman nodded. "Hai." He had a deep voice, that reminded Vivi of the rolling waves. "And, you are . . . ?" He was remaining polite, but also distant, which Vivi had fully expected from him. She also got the sense that he actually suspected who she was, but, he wasn't going to give anything away. She understood. She had to meet him halfway.
And, perhaps it was the sense of formality that she got from him, but, whatever the reason, she felt the need to introduce herself properly. "I am Princess Nefertari Vivi Of Arabasta." She watched for any signs of the typical reaction, and there it was - a blink, and then a slight incline of the head. "I am also an Ally to both the Straw Hat Pirates," she watched as Jimbe raised his eyebrows ever so slightly. "And, to the Princess Of Light ... to Edward Emma-Sama."
Jimbe seemed to straighten himself up just then, and he said: "Correct me if I am mistaken, Vivi-Sama, but, you are acquainted with two certain Spot-Billed Ducks, one wearing a chullo and one wearing a babushka, yes?"
She nodded. "Hai. The God Of Change told me how you kept watch over them. Arigatoō." She bowed her head, and Jimbe nodded briefly. "They are currently accompanying Luffy-San, to the Cave Of Phosphorescent Flowers where Emma-Sama is." Seeing the expression that crossed Jimbe's face just then, Vivi elaborated: "She is there with her First Knight, in an attempt to help the daughter of the Goddess Of Death. However, Luffy-San informs me that he and Ace-San - after encountering an enemy - received intel. that has concerned Ace-San enough to send his little brother to at once check on Emma-Sama."
"I see," Jimbe said, closing his eyes briefly and, when he opened them again, he looked not at Vivi but to his right and towards the river. "However, if Emma-Sama is indeed with her First Knight, then, I can ascertain that none of you Allies need worry about her safety or let it distract you from your mission." He glanced back at Vivi.
"I don't think that it's quite like that," Vivi said careful, aware now that Jimbe had not been informed of some of the finer details of what was going on with Emma and her Allies. "Ace-San... often worries about Emma-Sama . . . " She hoped that she didn't sound as evasive as what she felt; it had suddenly occurred to her that she might end up being the one to explain to the Knight Of The Sea that the Ocean Goddess's only daughter was not only in a relationship with the Pirate King's son but that she was actually married to him. Yes, Ace and Jimbe had come to respect one another, and Vivi sensed that earning Jimbe's respect was no easy feat (she wasn't at all surprised that both Luffy and Ace had managed it, though). But, from the little information that Vivi had, the bond between Jimbe and Undine had been just as strong as the bond between Law and Emma - a First Knight was devoted to their God or Goddess, after all. And, for Jimbe, that seemed to extend to Undine's daughter as well. Just what that meant, Vivi wasn't sure. Probably that Jimbe would end up being very protective of Emma, if Vivi was going to simplify it in her own mind. And, so, keeping that in mind, Vivi said: "If I may be so bold as to ask, are you aware of what has been going on in regards to our quest?"
Jimbe looked straight at her. "Up until the end of the engagement party that was held for Ace and Emma-Sama by her other parents back in that other mortal world."
Oh, wow. Vivi hadn't expected that. "Demo ... how?" She then gasped. "Robin-San's book?! One of them was in Carue's saddlebag . . . " Jimbe nodded. "Okay, right ... okay . . . " Vivi took a deep breath. There's a lot that Robin-San - wisely - chose to omit from the book. At least Jimbe-San knows about Emma-Sama and Ace-San's relationship ... just not about any of the finer points and how it involves Law-San . . .
"I do have another question for you, Vivi-Sama," Jimbe said suddenly. "How is it that you knew where I was?"
Vivi held up her hand, and the Vivre Card on her palm practically had a mini heart attack, as it quivered in the direction of the one whose life-force it represented.
Jimbe nodded. "Ah, I see. Twister."
"He says that he got it from Marco-San . . . " Vivi suddenly paused. She had just realised how much Jimbe didn't know, having been stuck here in the Celestial Realm since just after the war had been interrupted. She was also going to have to be the one to tell him about Whitebeard's death. "Ano ... there has been ... an incident that has occurred recently . . . "
"I sense that it has a lot to do with why many of the Whitebeard Pirates are currently gathered by the banks of the River Styx, along with what appears to be half of the population of Marineford." Jimbe stated.
Vivi closed her fist again, as her face paled.
"There's not much that we can do right now." Jimbe went on. "And, by the looks of things, they're not doing much at the moment, either." He glanced back at Vivi, and his eyes zeroed in on the cut on her hand. They then travelled up to the scars on her shoulder.
"Well, then," Vivi said, realising that there was a reason why Jimbe was here and why he hadn't done anything yet, and that they were quite possibly the same reason. "Since we've got time, and since I am honour-bound to fulfil my role as Decoy Princess, will you allow me to share with you some further details about what has happened?" Jimbe looked at her quickly. "I can't tell you everything, of course. There are some things that Emma-Sama will wish to tell you herself. She's ... been wanting to meet you. She will be really happy to know that you're here, Jimbe-San."
"You seem to be quite close with her." Jimbe observed. He watched as Vivi blushed slightly. "There are a number of key details that I need to know, Vivi-Sama, so I would greatly appreciate any information that you could give me. Such as why the Marines and the Whitebeard Pirates are standing down there at a stalemate, and what the latter are even doing here without their captain." He watched as Vivi flinched. "It would seem that the very first thing that I've asked you is the hardest one for you to answer." He then looked closer at Vivi's face. His eyes widened. "No . . . "
"I'm sorry." Vivi said quietly. The memories of her conversation with Queen Otohime were replaying in her mind. "I wish that there was a better way to start things off here, but that is ... I mean, to make matters worse, the one responsible for it is also here in the Celestial Realm." Jimbe froze. "You're aware of our interactions with the Blackbeard Pirates, ne?"
Jimbe nodded, and then he seemed to realise what Vivi had meant. "That is ... troubling." He said finally. Vivi could tell that this news was weighing heavily on him, and her heart went out to him. "How ... how is she?"
Vivi knew who he meant. "Well," she said carefully. "She was understandably upset ... I believe that she felt responsible for not being able to save him a second time ... not that it was her fault, of course!" She added quickly.
"I imagine how hard it would have been to convince her of that." Jimbe responded.
"It was Luffy-San, Ace-San, and Law-San, mostly." Vivi admitted. "The sense of trust that she has in them - and, they in her - is quite amazing."
"Hmm . . . " Jimbe seemed to be contemplating this. Then, he said: "How would you describe the relationship between Emma-Sama and her First Knight?"
Vivi couldn't keep the surprise off of her face or out of her voice when she said: "Oh! Umm, well, I ... I wouldn't presume to . . . "
Jimbe bower his head slightly. "My apologies. Perhaps I should reword this? How would you describe their relationship when approaching various situations? I'm sorry that this has seemingly come out of nowhere. However, with the situation on the brink of another potential battle, and as somebody who understands the challenges that can be faced by a First Knight . . . "
"It's why you're here, isn't it?" Vivi ventured, and Jimbe froze again. "You sensed that all of this was coming, and that this was where you needed to be." She smiled. "And, I do believe that you are right, because, just recently, I believe that Emma-Sama and Law-San faced a difficult situation that, although it all panned out eventually, may have caused some doubt in them. They've had to try and figure out what they should be doing just purely based on intuition and emotions. Sometimes they got it wrong. He's her First Knight, but ... what does that really mean?" She hesitated, and then, deciding to just go right ahead and ask, said: "What will happen if either of them gets killed?"
Jimbe regarded her very seriously now, and said: "That all depends ... on if Emma-Sama has truly accepted him." He sighed. "And, from the sounds of it, she hasn't quite done that ... yet. There is something in her mind preventing her from doing that."
Ace-San . . . Vivi realised. She thought of another question. "Jimbe-San, something else has been troubling me about the whole First Knight to God thing. When we were discussing it, Law-San said that Teech's First Knight allowing him to take on the Whitebeard Pirates for a second time - after transporting them all to Marineford, no less - without her being present just didn't feel right."
"He is absolutely one hundred percent correct about that." Jimbe confirmed. "For a First Knight to allow his or her God or Goddess to do that requires a high level of trust. If the danger level becomes too high for the Divine being involved, then, depending on their connection, the First Knight can step in at a moment's notice, even if they're very far away. Undine-Sama and I used to call it 'Divine Intervention' . . . " He paused. "Did you discover the identity of Teech's First Knight, by any chance?"
"It's Ino." Vivi replied, without hesitation.
Jimbe just stared at her for a moment, and then he shook his head. "It would appear that she has managed to fool everybody, even Teech. But, then again, that woman is notorious for what she does and how she does it."
"What do you mean?" Vivi wanted to know.
"What I mean," Jimbe said. "Is that there is no way that Ino could be Teech's First Knight. It is absolutely impossible. She is not capable of being that to him, but, she is of course perfectly capable of deceiving him into thinking that she is." There was a glint in his eyes, all of a sudden. "Which means that the God Of Darkness has not got a hope of holding onto his powers if faced with a God of equal or greater strength."
"Jimbe-San ... why can't Ino be Teech's First Knight?" Vivi asked him.
"Because Ino herself is a God."
"Okay," Fate walked back to the group that was standing by the stone table. "Sorry that that took so long, are you guys ready to ... go . . . ?" She trailed off, as Emma's Allies that were left there turned to look at her. She took stock of all of their expressions and emotions, and frowned slightly. "I was only gone for twelve minutes, what on Earth could have happened in the . . . ?"
She looked carefully at the Allies.
Franky and Robin seemed troubled; Fate could sense the cyborg's uncharacteristically pensive expression even behind his shades, and the archeologist was staring off into the distance.
Chopper, Usopp, and Brook seemed worried; the reindeer doctor was pacing in his Walk Point, the sniper was twisting and untwisting his hands, and the skeleton seemed frozen to the spot.
Nami seemed upset; she actually looked like she was struggling not to cry.
Sanji seemed angry; plain and simple.
But, it was Zoro whose emotions were of the most concern to Fate, all of a sudden. There was a burning aura emanating from the swordsman. He had one of his hands resting on Wado Ichimonji, and the other one gripped the already crumbling edge of a stone banister which, as Fate watched in concern, suddenly crumbled all of the way away, and that was when Karma appeared at her side.
"Go and see Destiny." She whispered, her golden eyes unusually tense. "I'll take my group out now, before Boss starts yelling at us again." She raised her voice. "Pinocchio! France!"
"Yikes!"
"What is it, Karma-Chan?!"
How did they both know to respond to those names? Normally, Fate would have wondered this out loud, but, she was much too worried about what had just changed in the past half an hour or so to really say much of anything. Going over to where Destiny and Twister were standing by some Stone Tablets, Fate just instinctively looked at one of the tablets that was shining the most to her.
And, then, she frowned. "Law came back here? Wasn't he supposed to be with Emma?" She looked over at Twister. "There's no way that he would've left her!" She looked at the tablet of Law speaking to the remaining Allies, and then said: "Can you bring up the tablet of where Emma was at that time?" Whatever he was saying to these guys, it's done something ... their trust level in him has gone right back to zero!
"We already tried." Twister replied, holding up his hands (one of them was bandaged).
"And?"
"There wasss too much inerferenccce."
"From what?" Fate asked, although she already knew.
"From Sumi's fight with that guy." Destiny replied, drawing back her tablets. "What are we gonna do, guys?" She looked at them, as Karma left through the doorway with Usopp and Sanji.
"Why are you worried?" Fate couldn't help but ask her. "I'm the one that has to handle Roronoa Zoro."
"Hmm . . . " Destiny said, and then shook her head. "No, Fate, don't worry about that too much. You just focus on those two women, okay?" The two sisters exchanged a glance, and then nodded.
Fate then turned to Twister. "Go and check on her? Please?"
Twister sighed. "Okay, fine, I'm going. But, not becaussse YOU wanted me to!"
"We know." He thought that he heard Faith say, as he brushed past her through the doorway. "Twister, you worry about Little Death all the time. But, you also worry about Emma, too."
Yesss . . . Twister thought, almost angrily, as he continued onwards. But, the differenccce isss that you all know WHY I'm ssso worried about Little Death ... but, if you knew the reasssonsss why I wasss ssso worried about Emma, then, you'd all never forgive me . . .
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
When Emma mentioned the mukade satsugai battōtoki (ムカデ殺害抜刀斎) she was talking about Oden being a 'centipede-slaying swordsman'.