Musician: Chapter 5—Poison
It was the morning of a new day. The sunlight illuminated the entire horizon for miles around. The ship cut through the icy water, as wispy clouds floated by. Seagulls flew in circles around the mast, their cries announcing that a new island was close by. The crew sat around lazily, enjoying the breeze which was growing colder each minute.
Usopp emerged from below deck, carrying a new gadget in his hand. He walked towards Drummerman, who was leaning on the rail, looking out towards the ocean. "Hey, Drummerman!" said Usopp cordially. "I finished those drum-chucks you wanted. They're exactly how you wanted them. Look at how they work." Usopp tapped the ends of the two sticks together, and pulled them apart again. A chain now connected the two sticks. "It's a steel link chain: the strongest I could find." Usopp looked proud of himself.
"Thanks," Drummerman responded half-heartedly. "I guess it'll work." He held one end and spun it around, faster and faster. The air started to swish, then sing. He stopped abruptly. "Yeah, these are nice. Very nice…" his voice trailed off. He disconnected the sticks and put them in his pocket, turning toward the ocean once again.
"Well, I should hope so. After all, I made them," Usopp replied, a little hurt.
Drummerman spoke without looking at Usopp: "Modified them, remember? These weapons were my original creation." Suddenly, Drummerman held out his hand and spoke excitedly. "Usopp, quick. Give me one of your poison stars."
"Uh, okay." Usopp looked confused as he reached into his bag, took out the small bead, and placed it in Drummerman's outstretched hand. "What's it for?" he asked, puzzled.
"Watch." Drummerman tossed the small object up into the air, and as it hung there, Drummerman smiled. A small seagull, oblivious to the danger of the bead, swooped down, caught it in its beak, and swallowed. Almost immediately, it started to grow weak, struggling to flap its wings and stay aloft. It let out one last, long, mournful cry before landing in the ocean with a small splash. "I guess those things work well," said Drummerman, amused. "Hehe…"
"Are you crazy? What the heck was that for?" screamed Usopp. "That was an innocent bird! What were you thinking?"
Drummerman spun around: his eyes were blood-shot. "I can do whatever I want, Usopp, got that?" He advanced slowly towads the now terrified gunner. "I can kill anyone or anything that I want dead. And no one, especially you, can stop me. AaaaAAARG!" With this exclamation, he took out his sticks, linked them together, and swung the drum-chucks at Usopp's head. Usopp ducked, and the weapon hit the railing beside him, splintering it.
A powerful kick to the back of Drummerman's head sent him sprawling to the deck, unconscious. Sanji lifted him up and placed him on a bed below deck. "What's gotten into this guy?" thought Sanji. He went back up to the kitchen to prepare lunch. "Sweet dreams," he said aloud, as he shook his head.
Six hours later, Chopper was standing near the drummer's bedside, with the rest of the crew circled around. "It looks like he hasn't slept in about four days," Chopper said, diagnosing the situation. "I'd like to go explore this island to find ingredients for some sleeping pills."
Luffy was confused: "If he was having a problem, why didn't he just tell us?" he asked.
Nami was sympathetic: "Maybe he just doesn't feel like he can trust us yet."
Zoro shouted at her: "If he doesn't trust us, then what is he doing on our freakin' ship!"
"It's not that." Robin cut off the conversation. She told all of them what Drummerman had told her a few days before. "Chopper, is there anything you can do? He's being tormented inside."
"No," Chopper solemnly replied. "The only one who can heal this type of sickness is Drummerman himself." The ship lurched suddenly, and everyone fell to the floor.
Luffy sprang up. "The island! I forgot. Let's go on an adventure!" Everyone groaned. Slowly, they filed out of the room to put on their coats.
Several hours later, Drummerman opened his eyes to find Robin sitting next to him. "Where is everybody?" he asked her. He yawned and stretched his arms as he sat up.
"They've gone ashore. I suppose we're here until the Log Pose sets." Robin went back to reading her book, purposely ignoring Drummerman for the time being. She was trying to find out something.
"So, we're alone? Hmm…" An evil smile spread across his face…
Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Sanji, Usopp, and Chopper were trekking through the snow. Zoro shivered. "Dang, it's cold!" he said under his breath. "I'm going to go train." Zoro walked away.
Nami called after him. "Zoro, wait!"
Sanji jumped into her field of vision. "Naaaami-swaaaaaan! Let cuddle to keep each other waaaarm!"
"Idiot." She punched him in the back of the head. "Let's keep going…"
Luffy started jumping up and down. "Look! A cave, a cave! Let's make a fire and have Sanji cook for us! Meat! Meat! Meat!"
After they settled down, Usopp started to look at the walls of the cave. "Wow, look at this, guys!" he exclaimed. "Carvings on the wall! And they go back as far as I can see!"
Nami perked up. "Robin will want to see this! I'll go get her."
"And I'll go with you Nami-saaaaan!" Sanji scored another bump on his head.
"Chopper! Take me back to the ship on your back!" Nami commanded.
Chopper changed into his running form. "Okay, Nami, hop on! We'll be there in no time!"
As they galloped away, Sanji sat down and leaned against the wall of the cave. "Lucky reindeer…"
When Nami and Chopper arrived back at the Going Merry, they found that all was quiet. "Robin, where are you?" called Nami.
"Robin! Drummerman! Where are they, Nami?" asked Chopper. They entered the room where Drummerman had been sleeping. "Robi—Robin!"
Robin was face-down in the center of the room: in an ever-growing pool of blood.
End Chapter 5