Blood ties like Iron chains, chapter 19:
Setting out again
More revelations – the push forward
Recap-Threads from the previous chapter:
Royals: Ichiji has arrived on Runny Rum Archiepelagos' main island. Meanwhile, Viola is on her way to Germa to meet with her father and get a life saving bloodtransfusion, museum director Falco keeps her company on the voyage.
Marines: Vice Admiral Gion denies Ichiji his selfish demands and contemplates what the Strawhat crew are doing on Runny Rum, while also giving some serious thought to what Coyle's echo-ghost told her at the museum.
Big Mom pirates: Amande and Galette plans their next move, ordering their underlings aroung and having a little fun on their enemies expense.
Strawhats: the crew and guests gets to know Fran, Luffy's mother (whom most of them agree was likely ousted from hell for unneccessary cruelty and foul language), and by proxy the rest of the Isle D family, a bit better. Also gets a big shock! Meanwhile, on the main island of the Archiepelago, Jinbe summarizes his view on Zoro's figthing style, sense of direction and his spirit animal.
Others: Whitey Bay and Amadob have a skirmish in a tavern, but someone gets in between.
(On Dvorak)
"What d'you mean: Call Francis?" Usopp ventured not knowing what else to say, like the others in the room he was staring at their host in a mixture of disbelief, shock and bewilderment.
"Well, call him in this here snail of course, what else?" Fran responded with deadpan annoyance, pointing a fork at the Den den mushi on the shelf "He better pick up though, can't always reach him" she shrugged and skewered a steak on her fork.
Vivi was next to break out of the shock "But, we thought… you said that Luffy's uncle didn't come home from the seas one day…. Didn't he die?"
"No, he didn't die!" Fran glared outraged at Vivi from across the table, mouth full of steak "I never said anything like that, He just changed a lot, gained a lot of weight… didn't come visit me for twenty years… and now he just pops in every now and then to visit"
The rest of the table did a collective mental facepalm (except Luffy due to lack of the cognitive abilities) while Fran grumbled on about her brother taking care of stuff for her all the time.
"So my uncle's alive huh? Neat!" the Strawhat captain concluded with a smile, oblivious to the awkwardness of the situation or the mood of his friends.
"Why didn't you say that before?!" Sanji wailed at Fran, who still sat in her chair, gulping down slaps of juicy meat (which she shamelessly continued to steal from the others' plates).
Nami simply stared at their host, dumbstruck.
"Is it because we didn't ask you?" Luffy inquired innocently, with his usual look of obliviousness, before he sprung an excited grin while rubbing his hands in anticipation "Or did you want to surprise us?"
Nami dearly hoped it wasn't the case, but wouldn't be surprised it were, given her behaviour, the navigator didn't doubt that Fran would have a sense of logic very similar to her son.
"No, because Francis asked me not to, Dummy!" His mother scolded him, while she gave him a blaming look "I can't go around forget what my family tells me all really nilly! I'm not you!"
Nami breathed a sigh of relief, at least she wasn't that sort of person, "Though yeah, I reckon he didn't want me to spoil the surprise, he's bound to meet you lot in the New World anyway" Fran shrugged, before turning to Sanji "Also, You, get back in the kitchen, I want more" Fran pointed with her empty greasy plate at the kitchen door (not to mention the other empthy plates on the table), while giving the chef a deadpan glare. Sanji just stood there, open mouthed, a small vein springing forth on his forehead, starring down at Fran as of she'd grown a second head.
"Is he broke or something?"
"I just think Sanji-san's tired is all" Rebecca offered, with Carrot piping up "Will a little garchu help?"
While Sanji did snap a little out of it, cracking a lecherous smile, Nami spoke up "Mrs. Fran, when did you last see your brother?"
"About a week ago, but he had some business to attend to, so he didn't stay that long" Fran scratched her chin "Said he'd sent a guy to collect something from this other guy… said he had it coming, so I assume he's a scumbag... He called two days ago to say that you…" she pointed menacingly at Luffy "...and probably the rest of you lot" she dismissively waved at the others before continuing "…had them missing little pampered girls your dad" again she pointed at Luffy "...made disappear at that king convention in Mariejois"
A wheel clicked for a few of the Strawhat crew (said pampered girls looked more than ready to protest that remark), with Franky turning to Nami "Didn't you, Robin, Luffy and Jinbe spy on big Mom's crew a while back?"
"Yeah… we did" Nami mused remembering that conversation (authors note, that was back in chapter 13), while Fran droned on "…Then he called yesterday and said you most likely were headed towards Runny Rum and might drop in if you got unlucky… though I don't know what he meant with that…" she finished with a shrug, stealing another steak and loudly consuming it.
The rest of the room sat in silence processing what had been said.
Except Luffy "Where'd he go then? I wanna know"
"How'd I know?" Fran responded while she reached for the den den mushi "He's not easy to talk to… all up in your face and willstrong, serious anger issues (though I don't know where he got those), stubborn, …" she listed some of her brothers' faults on her fingers, while the rest of the room looked at her with something approaching despair, the same thing on their minds: You think He's not easy to talk to?! You're practically describing yourself as a man!
While everyone were giving Fran an extra long wtf-look (though Luffy wasn't crazy enough to do this with his mother) Carrot had gone and picked up the Den den mushi and handed it over to Fran.
"Thanks… you know this is the first one that has proven to be helpful without me having to tell her anything" she offhand mentioned to Luffy as she fidgeted with the snail, earning her more annoyed glares from her guests.
"Francis, you there?" Fran mouthed into the den den mushi, hearing it give a ring, but as no one answered immediately, the woman started to speak louder, eventually shoutting and yelling "Francis. Franciiiiis? FRANCIS?!"
Still nothing.
"What the hell? Don't tell me he's gotten pissed at me again!"
"Well of course that didn't work" Usopp commented with a deadpan expression
"Why?" Fran snarled at him from her seat still holding the snail to her ear, just in case her brother answered.
"Well, I tried to call Robin and Brook earlier when I was hidi… when I was calling for aid against the… weather…" the sniper responded, sweat emerging on his forehead, before he drew back on old habits "Usually I keep my 10.000 troops right behind me to deal with a that sort of thing, but today they all off for … a garden party"
"And what did they tell you God-san?" Rebecca asked swiftly making the sniper blush (he really loved his new epithet).
"Well…." Usopp said while flashing a broad smile at the ex-gladiator "They didn't answer. And I tried for a long time too!"
"Your crew is rude…" their host responded in between snarling at the den den mushi (the woman was starting to lose patience) and shoving food into her mouth.
"I don't' think anyone can call anyone!" Usopp finally managed, to the despair of the rest of them.
It was best summarized by Franky saying "That's… super inconvenient"
"Mrs. Fran, do you have another way to contact your brother?" Nami's question managed to get Fran to stop growling at the snail, and actually think for a moment, before she reached for her brothers' book.
Flapping through the pages, the woman kept muttering "I'm sure it's in here somewhere!" over and over again like a chant. In the meantime, she spread loose sheets of paper and a dozen collected files over the already stuffed table and into the air above her guests' heads. Some of the pages fell limply on the floor in ruddy piles, while others were saved from landing in the food (while there admittedly weren't much left of it (the others' ate too afterall), the pages could still get stained).
Vivi was the first to look at some of the paper "Hey… this has you Name written on it Sanji-san!"
As the chef received the file, Nami could see that it was true. The file started out with a big picture of Sanji's old working place, complete with a list of employees, papers on the owner Zeff (old wanted poster included), a very detailed menu (numerous in fact) and even Sanji's old wanted poster (causing the chef to cough heavily at the sight).
"What the heck is this all about?" was all the chef could mutter, after swiftly tearing the paper to pieces before either Vivi, Rebecca or Carrot could see it.
"Here's one about Iron Man-san" Rebecca handed the file to Franky, who promptly flipped through it "Man… this is… like super weird… But Super Awesome Too!" He pulled out a drawing "There's even a picture of some of my old inventions! Just look at this badboy!"
Nami looked at the picture that the cyborg waved at her excitedly, which at best resembled a scrapheap at first sight, then a scrapheap with wheels and a cannon barrel. Why's he proud of that?
"There's one for me too!" Usopp trembled as he looked at the contents "This is weird!"
"That's just Francis' notes on you guys" Fran called from her seat, her nose still deep in the book, looking for something
"Why'd Luffy's uncle have notes on us?" Franky cocked an eyebrow at their host, asking what everyone was thinking.
"Well…" Fran began, looking up with a bit of a sheepish grin "… After me and Francis got to talking again… I kinda asked him to find out about my boys' underlings…" then she returned to the book, mumbling as she went: "Can't have him sail around with all sort of random weirdo riff raff"
Nami cracked a lopsided grin at the woman, she doesn't know about Luffy's recruitment-style at all! (and you don't think we're that at all?)
She didn't need to look around to know that she wasn't the only one thinking it.
"So… this is all your brothers' doing then…" Usopp repeated, a nervous tick emerging in his eye. Next to him Chopper had managed to drag himself up from his despair, looking through the snipers file absentmindedly.
"This is super creepy, he even found out where I used to live and who my dad is! And how my mom looked... and her maiden-name too!" the sniper rambled on, getting more and more agitated as he went on "I don't' like this! Even if it was for you!" he pointed at Fran, who for her part was still ignoring him, going through the book as if it was her meat rations, but the sniper continued none the less "This is super creepy! It ain't normal to be this thorough! Guy must be off his roc…".
He didn't get to say any more as Chopper flapped a photograph in front of him "Hey Usopp, who's this?"
Usopp looked down and swiftly snatched up the picture "OHOHOOOOOOOO!" he shouted excitedly while he held the photo in front of him, his cheeks turning crimson, eyes turning to big pounding hearts and his tongue flapped out of his mouth. At that moment he was the spitting image of Sanji whenever an attractive woman was within sight.
"What is…" Nami began, while the chef moved around the table to see what it was Usopp was starring at
"Hey, what're you hiding there longnose?"
"Nothing!" the sniper responded hugging the photo to his chest, jumped off his chair and backed away from Sanji, all while giving him a defensive stare.
"Must be Kaya" Chopper chimed in as he looked at another paper with an appraising stare. Instantly the chef tried to pry the photo from Usopp, who put up a valiant effort to prevent it.
"Says here she's studying to be a doctor, and she's doing good too!" the little reindeer smiled pleased as he looked up from the paper "At least judging from her grades" the doctor waved the paper excitedly.
Turning from the struggling people (Carrot had joined at the tug of war for the Photo at this point, Luffy close behind her. Together with Sanji the three tried to pry the photo out of Usopps arms), Nami caught hold on some files of her own.
Her own included pictures of her home-village and while it was wonderful to see Nojiko or Genzo and read how they were doing, she couldn't let go of the trembling feeling deep in her stomach. How did Luffy's uncle find so much on them? The guy had even noted where some of their old enemies were in the world! Right down to coordinates and travelling schedule!
What she found in some of the other files disturbed her even more…
"Found it!" Fran shouted triumpantly from her seat, the wide smile on her face making the family resemblance to Luffy clear for the first time.
Nami soon understood her joy.
In their hosts' hand,
Was an ancient, wrinkled and coffeestained vivre card.
(The pleasure quarter, on the lower streets)
This was awesome!
While she'd been living in Tottoland all her life and had never wanted for anything,
The sheer overabundance of luxury of the pleasure quarter was mesmerizing.
Pudding was used to two or three dozen different races and culinary architecture, and this place certainly wasn't like that: most people were human or fishmen, with a rare few of the more exotic races mixed in (that didn't count the slaves though), while the buildings were mainly stone with huge arches and pillars, letting all hear what went on within (usually a party, which started already in early morning).
There was something different about it though: the place was in a perpetual state of revelry and festivity.
Pudding was reminded of Mama's moods when a new teaparty had been announced, complete with singing and Puddings elder siblings being sent out to gather ingredients for the sweets and pastries (sans all the malice and impending doom that might occur for the guests). She was starting to see why madame Stussy and Mama got along so well.
She supposed there were the obvious similarities:
Queen position, underworld connections, intelligence network, attitude towards old stuff (Madame Stussy's collection of antiques rivalled Mama's by far (It's very hard (even for Big Mom) to top a diamond encrusted long pipe allegedly owned by a chieftain of the Scale tribe, a walking stick made from the horn of a twoheaded Unicorn or a three-meter tall candelabra made from ornately carved and petrified Adamwood)), relationship with money and, most tellingly, both were women not to mess with when angered.
The last point had been hammered in when her host had said how to deal with a tourist (or customer) whose offences included: public drunkenness (quite normal for the Pleasure Quarter), yelling, accosting the inhabitants (which meant cupping a feel and demanding that the slap he received as a response be free) and breaking a musicians' instrument.
Stussy had simply smiled gently at the mild misdemeanours, sipped her wine before directing her employees how to proceed.
Hearing of how a man was made to disappear from the streets and then emerge in a pit of scorpions or finding themselves chained to an anchor in sharkinfested waters, made Pudding conclude that she shouldn't be caught reporting to her siblings… at any point. She was supposed to spy on the woman afterall, but the prize for doing so was seemingly more than Pudding could handle.
Still the place she was walking was wonderful.
The sounds of people laughing
The sights of all the wonders the New World could offer for those willing to pay and search
And the smells of a thousand dishes, sweets, wines and perfumes.
All was flooding her senses and making her wish she'd gone to the pleasure district sooner.
It was like an oversized fair mixed with a small idyllic village! It felt like hat Tottoland could be if Mama ever decided to have the citizens do like the rest of the world.
Passing through a food-specialising area, the sight of a 3-meter-long strudel caught Puddings' eyes. Freshly baked, the huge pastry gave off the scent of its' sweet filling like a beacon in a particularly dangerous strait. Pudding breathed in the wonderful mixture of nuts, currants and spices and watched with envy as the baker glazed the pastry with a chocolate frosting.
It was almost too perfect the way the it was divided into three pieces of equal size and carted out to the waiting customer. Pudding watched him with less satisfaction, a gaudy dressed noble (his mannerisms, the air of indoctrinated disdain, mismatch of physical features (which Pudding assumed was the by-product of having far less than 8 great grandparents) and the ostentatious military uniform with a chest of medals and chains of office, left other options highly unlikely) with a twirling blonde moustache and matching hair that he kept short.
While the man himself wasn't particularly interesting (in truth Pudding found him revolting to her core, especially after the man started to complain that the chocolate wasn't to his liking, making Pudding conclude: that man wouldn't know good chocolate if it descended from the heaven themselves in front of him carried by angels and covered in gold), the sight of him reminded her faintly of someone else.
I wonder what Jiji is doing…
A shiver went up the length of her spine as soon as the thought entered her head.
Blushing heavily, the young woman shook her head from side to side to get over it.
"Is something the matter Lady Pudding?" the stone-scrapping voice of her companion rasped from behind her setting her teeth on edge.
Startled, Pudding turned around to face Madame Stussy's butler, the aging, and huge, Beliworth. He had let her have her space and walked several steps behind her, only making his presence known when he was to pay for something in the district or when he had to carry any of her shopping. As such, the ancient butlers arms were filled with bags and boxes of hats, clothes, shoes and candy (Pudding took after Big Mom in this aspect, but she also liked to have ingredients for her own chocolate experiments). Reminding herself that Pudding had yet to look over some of the antiques that the district also offered, she almost pitied the man, but also dreaded having to spend more time with the stonefaced elder.
Presently said visage looked as deadpan at her as the man always had (except when complaining to his mistress over spending and how she'd never leave her quarters clean, sounding more like a mother than a butler), it was almost as unnerving as his grinding voice.
"NO" she lied, hoping that the diminished light would hide the blush on her cheeks "Just appreciating the bakers' craftsmanship… " she waved her hands in front of her frantically, hoping to convince the butler, before balling her fists at her side while casting a glance back towards the noble eating the strudel (and still complaining about it as if it was the worst thing he ever ate) "…and then watching it being wasted on that…" glaring at the noble, whom by now was throwing parts of the strudel at the chef, the poor man forced to take cover behind a table "…ungrateful thing"
That last bit wasn't acting or lying in the slightest, and behind her charade Pudding took heart when Belliworth looked past her at the churlish glutton, yelling for another strudel, with apples and cinnamon, while simultaneously threatening to slice the bakers' nose off. Even if the butlers' face was unreadable, she was certain that he'd bought it (she dearly hoped so!).
Finally the man spoke "I see your apprehension" nodding slowly at her, before adding "He's also being unnecessarily rude to the chef, so it seems required that I do something about that…"
He let the idea hang, letting Pudding imagine that he'd go and tell his mistress all about it before long and then the Noble's life was forfeit.
"Uh… perhaps that's a little harsh…" Pudding held up a nervous finger hoping to dissuade the butler.
"What Madame would do to him?" Belliworth responded instantly, taking Pudding by surprise "that wouldn't serve for this one" he turned towards the noble again, who was still yelling for more food "A noble, thus one is from Mororo Kingdom it seems, tends to get away with more than is allowed in most locales" he scratched his chin, for once looking thoughtful.
"So there's nothing to do then?" Pudding looked dejected, even pouting a little
"Not directly no" Belliworth confided as he turned to leave the scene, Pudding reluctantly following him "May I suggest we return to Madame's mansion and unload your belongings Lady Pudding? It's almost time for dinner and Madame does not like it when her guests are late"
"but… what're you going to do?"
"Well…" Belliworth hesitated slightly "When dealing with nobles, you don't charge them directly" he confided with a twitch at the side of his mouth, which could almost look like a smile "You deal with their staff…"
"You want his subordinates to deal with him?" Pudding watched the man with befuddlement, unsure what exactly he was intending.
"Again… not directly, and not well-knowing, at least at first"
"…How?" Pudding eyed her companion inquisitively, even as the pair walked towards the mansion, the warm glow of the street lambs illuminating them one moment, only to bathe them in shadows the next. Belliworth responded when his face was divided by light and darkness, making the mans' craggy features resemble a scheming harlequin in a play "Well… As you might have noticed, I have certain features which are higly useful when performing certain tasks…"
Pudding stooped in her tracks, staying in the light for a moment before she joined the butler in the darkness "You're going to play poker with them?!"
"Indeed, I've only ever lost to three people" the butler said, a hint of pride and boasting appearing in his tone "Why, I believe I can rob the man blind without even touching his wallet!"
Pudding giggled as the pair walked on in silence, but not just because of the rude nobles preeminent misfortune.
Yes, indeed you do go through the servant to get the master… Pudding smiled, her features hidden in the darkness, the smile waxing to kind an appreciative in the light and back to scheming in the shadow. Thank you for that advice, I can't wait to go through your memories to see what you can tell me about madame Stussy…
(On Dvorak)
"We gotta go!" Luffy's shout filled the room "We're going to get Franky-2 and save our friends!"
While the rest of the rest of the crew were either joining in (Sanji in particular, though part of the chef obviously wanted to stay with the two stricken Kuja (both of whom were trying to get up and join in finding their father, but Marguerite only managed to get caught up in her blanket and Rindo had her hair ruffled, making jer appear to have a tiny dark haystack on her head) and cater to their every need (for some strange reason the chef was looking more happy than usual at that prospect)) or restraining Luffy and tell him they had to have a plan first (with Franky also explaining, though laughingly, that Luffys' uncles' name was Francis, not Franky-2). Naturally, Nami tried to speak some sense into her captains' head, despite knowing it was almost always futile.
"We gotta know where he's at first! There's a ton of enemies out on Runny Rum Archipelago right now! That Vice Admiral, Big Mom's crew, those other pirates…" she listed the different groups off swiftly "and we have to meet up with Jinbe, Zoro, Robin and Brook too! We can't go and get all split up like crazy"
"What?" at the sound of her voice the rest of the room stood stock-still, for although the word was simply, short and normal, when spoken by an angry and suspicious Fran, it got the gravity of other things like, Yonko! Bustercall! and end of the world. At that moment Nami wouldn't be surprised if Fran could make teddybear sound like a prolonged exercise in different torture techniques.
"What's that stuff about a Vice Admiral?"
Sanji was the first to respond "There's a beautiful Vice Admiral-chan that are in charge of the marine base…"
"That Gion-girl everyone is always chatting about?"
"You've heard of her?" Nami gave her an incredulous look: Fran could be ignorant about who's who of the shichibukai, but she knew about a high-ranking military leader?
"Hard to miss, all the little girls around here want to be like her" Fran waved her hand at the notion with a scoff "It's almost as bad as those two's-" she pointed at her nieces "...Queen whats-her-name" she scratched her chin trying to remember what she'd been told scant minutes before.
"Empress Boa Hancock!" both kuja answered before they slumped back on the couches, still too tired to do much other than that. Even after several days of illness the two could summon a lot of energy when it came to their idol. Nami hoped that no one on the crew ever insulted the woman, or at least that those two ever heard about it (not that anyone had need for it, but it could still happen).
Chopper swiftly jumped down from his chair at the table and attended the pair.
"In my doctors opinion…" the little reindeer began, summoning the attention of the others "Neither Rindo or Marguerite should be moved, they need absolute rest!" for once the little reindeers' doctors orders weren't ignored.
"Chopper-san, I don't think that Lucy-san would bring his cousins on this trip" Rebecca began soothingly giving the reindeer a kind smile.
"Who the heck says that Luffy'll be on that trip?" the expression on Frans' face was unmistakeable, all tied up as if she'd been eating nothing but lemons for hours (not that her tone made it difficult to imagine her thoughts, the sound of which made Nami cringe reflexively, she must've heard it a dozen times a month before Belle-mere died): Someone was about to get grounded.
"Well…" she began, halfway waiting for Fran to interrupt her "It'd be wrong to not include the captain of the crew, especially since it's his uncle we'll be trying to find" also, I think he'd like not to be left here with you Nami thought to herself, even as she smiled disarmingly at their host.
"You think I'm gonna let my irresponsible son go out to find my even more irresponsible brother, when there's a ton of pirates, and marines, out there looking for ya?" Fran said with a raised eyebrow, daring Nami and anyone else to speak against her.
"Well…" Nami began, but Luffy beat her to it, waving a hand dismissively
"it's like that everyday! We'll be fine"
"Francis said the same, and he wasn't fine when he staggered in two months after the newspapers said he'd died!" Fran shivered at the memory and hugged herself for comfort, looking frail and helpless, her voice beginning to waver, bordering on breaking "He looked like one of 'em corpses that wash up on the beach after a storm... and after there's been seagulls and crabs and all that… he even lost his concord haki to some sort of weapon those scummy psycho bastards used! So don't come and tell me you'll be fine!"
Although she didn't agree with her, Nami could see what Fran was afraid of (borderline hysterical some might say), but she could also see that Fran's fears had to be pushed aside for the greater good. And after they'd found Francis and saved Rindo and Marguerite, her worries would be put aside again, because there was no way for the crew to remain with her for long (for a vast number of reasons). It was almost enough for her to feel sorry for the middle-aged woman.
"I've never been that hurt!"
Several people around the table remembered it very differently than Luffy did and gave him scrutinizing looks as a result, Chopper especially (the tiny reindeer was rubbing his hooves like a normal person did when cracking their knuckles). It was nothing compared to his harridan of a mother though.
Simple starring him down with the gravity that only a god could hope to copy, silently, Fran forced Luffy to slink back into his seat and shut up, shuddering all over, though whether from fear or frustration was hard to tell.
Just as their host opened her mouth to, no doubts in anyone's mind, ground the feared and notorious pirate captain for life with no dinner, a small fragile voice stopped her.
"Mrs. Aunt…"
Fran immediately got up and walked over to kneel by her niece, the worry and defiance against her son giving way for… whatever nurturing instincts she had stored away in her being "What is it Marge?" (no one corrected her for getting the name wrong).
"You're not calling her by her haircolour?"
"Of course not! Even if her father's a git, she's still family" Fran responded to Rebecca mumbling with a curt wave of her hand "Now can it, my darling little niece is trying to talk here!"
"Luffy-san managed to make the Empress nicer" the blonde continued, looking up at her aunt with big shiny eyes "There's nothing he can't do, please let him go search for faddørr-san" the word sounded oddly coming from the Kuja, but it stood to reason that neither of the women had had much use of it. Times had changed drastically, and if they caught hold of Francis, that is if they ever got going, the two women would get to use it regularly.
When Fran turned uncharacteristically silent, Nami had to go watch her from the side to see what was going on with their host. She also got a good look at the rest of the room: at that moment, Sanji was looking particularly jealous at an oblivious Luffy (if Fran ever bothered to think about it, Luffy would be in for hell for making an empress nicer), Chopper was being held back by Usopp, preventing the doctor from charging up and telling his charges to calm down. Franky helped, just in case the reindeer used a rumbleball to break free. Carrot was trying to see what was going on, but couldn't get past Vivi, who was pushing back.
Looking back to Fran, the woman was biting her lips, just like her son did, when he didn't know what was going on. It was a surprising sight to say the least.
Finally she managed to open her mouth:
"Fat chance, Francis is as stubborn as a mule, twice the attitude and thrice the… Apalachee"
"Apathy mrs. Fran?" Vivi suggested kindly.
"If that means he's gotten indifferent to all sorts of stuff… including family… then you're right blue hair"
"Why does she use a word when she's not sure what it means?" Usopp was muttering to himself, thankful that their host was too busy ignoring Vivi's attempt at telling the woman her proper name to even notice the sniper.
"You sure he's gonna listen?"
"100 (cough) percent" Marguerite beamed at Fran, the sight being enough to make the middle-aged womans' heart thaw, though only a little as she shook her head to clear her mind.
"Why aren't you sure mrs. Aunt?" Rindo asked from her couch, giving Fran an inquisitive look through her dark ruffled bangs "You don't trust…" Rindo paused, looking for the right way to pronounce the unfamiliar word "Your broddur?"
Their host scratched her hair, a bead of sweat running down her brow, while looking off towards the book the she'd parked on the dinner table.
"Not that I don't trust him… he's the only one of my brothers that's worth a dime these days" Fran responded with closed eyes "Besides I don't want so see my only son" she pointed at Luffy "To end up like him…" she sighed before continuing "Francis used to send letters telling all about this and that he'd seen, asking how we were, ranting off about how powerful this chaos fruit he found was and how important it was to train it all the time… damn he must've sent me a thousand letters about that alone!" Fran droned on, looking more and more tired by the memory alone "But after that accident of his… he got all scummy, distant and condeserting…"
"Condescending?"
"Why're you repeating what I say Pinkhair?"
"Nevermind..."
"Good, now where were I? Oh yeah, he got all nasty and when he told me that Dragon'd leave me and I called him stupid to his face, he just stormed off and I didn't talk to him for 20 years…" the woman trailed off, before exhaling heavily "Luffy's already crap at keeping contact and got that stupid adventure mindset too..."
"Adventure ain't stupid!" Luffy finally protested "It's AWESOME!"
"That's not the point Lucy-san" Rebecca tried, before stopping herself, lest she incur the matron's wrath (again).
"What's there to say? We gonna go get him and then our friends!" Luffy howled from his seat, slamming his fist down on the table with a resounding thud "and after we're done we'll go to that nice restaurant on that island with the museum!" the pirate captain said with a confident and expectant smile rubbing his hands gleefully.
Several of his crew smacked their own foreheads at this, their leader unquestionably sounded like that last bit was the most important thing.
Fran simply stood up and looked at him, no doubt in any ones minds thinking of how to best smack him silly for his skewered priorities. The only one that didn't think that'd happen was Luffy, (if he had even an inkling of it, he'd most likely have slammed through the wall and into the night).
"You know, you could've said there was going to be food involved at the end of all this!" her voice raised several pitches while pointing at the door
"Get going ya dunderheads!"
"But..." Franky started, blinking rapidly at what he had just witnessed "weren't you super against… with the marines... pirates and... your brother…?!"
"That was before I knew they were going to get us a table at restaurant" Fran got up with an overbearing smile and gave the Cyborg a pat on the head "Ordering a table and getting Francis isn't dangerous, everybody knows that"
The room stood, once again dumbstruck and stared at Luffy's mother, all coming to an unspoken agreement that it was no wonder where Luffy got his intelligence from (along with virtually every single other bad trait of his).
"Even my son can't get hurt ordering a table" Fran continued to smile "So what could possibly go wrong?"
"...Except, if you don't get-a-moveonthisINSTANT!"
(On the Main island of the Runny Rum Archipelago, the marine base)
"Well?"
"He'll make a full recovery captain Jolland"
Nodding at the doctor as she left him alone with the bandaged man, the the rotund captain looked down at his colleague. Although he didn't fancy Redcliff that much, his company was prefered compared to Commodore Durkey's. While the man's devilfruit ability to push and strengthen other peoples' devilfruit powers was definetly very useful, the man himself was a complete prick.
"I can't believe I'm saying this..." Jolland wiped his sweaty face with a huge hand "Get up Cliffy, I'm getting on odd feeling about this whole situation..." thinking off all the pirates that had suddenly sprung up in the space of a few hours, he gulped at what else would pop up "Why the hell did you have to get yourself attacked for anyhow?"
"You do know that most don't get attacked on purpose, right?"
Turning to one of the other beds, Jolland eyed their prisoner.
Young, beautiful, female and no doubt very devoted to justice, Ain should have been an idol within the marines ranks.
But due to her actions:
1. Leaving the marines and joining Z in a number of dangerous and unapproved attacks on pirates, which had would likely have escalated into a fullblown war with one of The Yonko if it had continued (While Jolland himself wasn't there at Marineford against Whitebeard, he'd met more than a few veterans that broke down crying at the memory).
2. Not to mention stealing from the marines.
3. One of the things they stole from the marines (not counting numerous ships and supplies) would've been used to destroy the New World, the whole. Damn. New. World.
The woman was a criminal and had to be treated accordingly, which was to have her imprisoned and chianed in a cell surrpunded by guards, not being dragged around on a leash like some pet.
Still, Jolland couldn't bring himself to outright despise her.
"True, but as You'll no doubt agree, Cliffy could've done a better job at recuperating from this here blow see"
Ain only scoffed in response, her blue hair framing her face perfectly "so when he gets up, what then? You go hunt for the guy that did this?"
"No..." Jolland shrugged "We're going to hunt for him" he gestured to both himself and Redcliff... and Ain.
"I thought I was to restore more of that stupid museum?" the prisoner raised an inquisitorial eyebrow at Jolland
"That's the Vice Admirals' odd fancy that we'll benefit the marines by finding out more of this fruit fellow..." the big captain explained as he adjusted his green marine cap "But she also believes it'll help your case if you help us" he looked down at Redcliff again before facing her with a stern expression "And with everything that has happened, pirates, Strawhat, Big Mom... and now some unknown factor, I'd say you'll see plenty of action over the next few days, perhaps even tonight"
"What sort of pirates?" Ain managed after briefly looking down at her chained arms "What crews I mean?"
"So far, we've identified Hangan, Amadob, Blondie and the Ice Witch Whitey Bay... all of them veterans from the Whitebeard war, along with some new hotfuzz crew, but they left in a hurry, seemed like they were Strawhats' allies..." Jolland trailed off, the reports had been incomplete on that rookie crew, one of his underlings had been adamant it was some sort of underground fighter that had been at Dressrosa too, But Jolland hadn't paid that too much attention, there had been bigger fish to fry afterall.
"So a slave-thief, a would-be-tyrant, an animalistic berserker, a chilly bitch and some rookie?" Ain concluded and as Jolland nodded in consent she continued "makes me wish we'd succeeded in killing alll those monsters even more!"
"We'll there might be a way to do that without a collosal loss of life this time?" Jolland looked at her sternly, the woman starring defiantly back at him.
the only thing that broke the stalemate, was the sound of Redcliff stirring and mumbling in his sleep.
"Pirates! Kill'em all! shoot 'em full o' holes!"
Jolland looked down at him, and with a heart laugh he put a hand on his colleagues' shoulder, holding him don ass his stirring turned to thrashing on the bed "Seems someone is improving?"
Jolllands' hand did little to stop Redcliff from thrashing furhter on the bed, sending pieces of bandage flying and a pillow fly over and slam into Ain's face. Redcliff finally managed to wake up, frothing at the mouth like a rabid dog.
"What the?! Jolland?" the captain yelped as he whipped his head from left to right so rapidly he appeared to have a dozen eyes at once, before he finally focussed on the larger marine, his peeppers wide and bloodshot "I heard Pirate names! Where are the damn Pirates?"
"Not here obviously" Jolland tried to console the man, but it appeared to be in vain as Redcliff only thrashed all the much harder at his response "Well where are the bastards?" he demanded, his voice rising to a near scream
"Out in the town somewhere, we've got patrols out!" Jolland had to use both hands now " DOCTOR! WE NEED SOMETHING CALMING HERE!"
as the Doctor filled Redcliff with more tranquilizer than it'd take to knock out a seaking, Jolland was awed at the frothing captain kept mouthing off about wanting to execute them all.
"Sure thing..." he wiped a sweaty hand over his brow "We'll go out as soon as you've cooled down a bit okay?"
"How am I to kill pirates if I'm asleep?" edcliff raged, the volume turning down as the medicine began to do it's work.
"Indeed..." a sleazy voice came from behind them.
Jolland didn't have to turn to know who it was, Durkeys' voice was unmistakeable, it fit him all too well. Stoopshouldered, lantern-jawed, spindly limbs that made him resemble a spider in a green tuxedo rather than a man (which many were prepared to debate), a smile that would make a his own mother cringe and dark rings under his eyes deep enough to hide a deer in. In short, the commodore was so ugly that a pitchblack room couldn't have hidden him well enough (one of the rare examples of a man that'd benefit from a literal blind date).
And that was his good points.
Jolland managed to salute his superior, who largely ignored him, instead giving a leering smile at Ain (making the woman cringe) as he walked towards Redcliffs' bedside.
"Feeling better Captain?"
"Improving, sir" Redcliff managed with a slurred voice, eyeing the commodore with halfopen eyes
"Well, do it faster" the commodore put his arms around his back, pacing absentmindedly back and forth in the infirmery "Can't have the big gun waiting afterall"
"I'll be up in no time" Redcliff assured him, his eyes growing clearer "I'll be out hunting pirates soon..."
"The vice Admiral will be informed as soon as possible" Jolland interjected
"yes... the vice admiral, of course..." Durkey mused, as he smiled to himself "I'll deal with that, I have to tell her of how it went with the royal delegation anyway..."
"The Germa prince?" Jolland chuckled "man, he did not look happy when the Vice Admiral was done talking to him"
"Prince Ichiji has gracioulsy lent his assistance to our beleaguered base" he turned sharply to Jolland giving him a predatory grin "You should not disrespect royalty, at any point! see to it that it doesn't happen in the future"
as he turned to leave, Durkey gave a finale order (and a lecherous smile to Ain) "If you can talk, you can get out of the bed, we need every man... and woman" he looked at Ain again "...out on patrol, those pirates must be taken into custody. should you find any, especially Strawhat..." he paused, smiling at the three people "You're to take them directly to me... I'll handle it from there."
While it appeared to Jolland that no one understood the last of the Commodore's orders (even with the logic of: Some pirates are more worth alive), and although he didn't agree with the order, the huge captain helped Redcliff out of bed and out into the streets, Ain between the two, held secure with heavy chains.
"Let's hope we actually get Strawhat captured..." Ain spoke, her voice barely above a whisper "I'd love to see that creep loose him"
Surprisingly Redcliff agreed "And then we'll have due reason to cut Strawhat, and any dirty scum crewmember of his crew, down immediately!"
neither Ain nor Jolland mirrored Redcliffs' smile, not that the man seemed to either notice nor care, smiling at his own private blood-dripping fantasy as the trio found a group of marines and began their patrol, with darkness envelloping them all.
(Still on the main island, inside a luxurious hotel suite)
The pair had run out of family members to discuss (whom was least likely to get married of their brothers had taken a surprisingly long time to pin down, not so which of their sisters were next (Nutmeg had won out over Flampe by a small margin)).
So now the two Charlotte sisters were beginning to get bored and Galette was beginning to look intently at the liquor cabinet.
In a desperate attempt to keep younger sister off the bottle (at least for a while), Amande made a bold suggestion:
"How long has it been since we played Murder, date or Marry?"
"You can't be serious?" the redhead stared in disbelief at her bluehaired elder sister "That game is for teenagers!"
"Oh come on, It'll be fun" Amande smirked at her sibling, making sure not to overdo it, her stoic personality made it unlikely that anyone would believe her actually grinning from ear to ear like some sort of lunatic (or Big Mom on a sugar induced craze).
"Ok…" Galette responded cautiously "I'll go first then"
Amande leaned back in her seat, ready for the weirdness to come in like a tidalwave, Galette tapping her cheek, mentally scraping the barrel of the worlds' hotshots, crooks, powerhouses and deviants.
"Okay… but remember: it was your idea."
"Wouldn't dream of forgetting it"
"So how about: Murder, Date or Marry: Eustass Kidd, Viceadmiral Smoker and… that orange haired member of the Strawhats?"
For a moment Amande looked deadbeat at her sister "a girl? Why'd you put a little girl in the mix? I'm not gay" the last part was partially true, but even if any of Mama's children turned out to be homosexual, the female Yonko's marriage policies would overlook any preferences or orientations they could possibly have (it certainly happened with their feelings a lot).
"And? You're the one that groped her when we caught them in Tottoland" Galette teased with a smile.
"I was trying to get Mama's vivrecard!"
"By reaching down her bra?" the redhead chortled, trying to hold back her laughter.
"That was where she hid it!" Amande could feel heat rising in her cheeks, though a part of her had to admit: Well at least this isn't boring anymore. But I've got to pay her back for this. With interest.
"But you're stalling" the redhead smirked at her snakeneck sister, goading her to respond.
"Fine: I'd kill Eustace Kidd naturally, date Smoker..." She sighed, knowing she'd likely never hear the end of it "...And marry the little orangehaired weathergirl"
The lopsided grin re-emerged on Galettes' face, quickly joined by a frantic laugh "You'd marry that little girl? Really?" she tried, unsuccessfully, to keep her laughter down.
Cracking up in a fit of laughter, Galette slapped the table repeatedly before she was forced to hold unto her sides. Amande looked at her with a distinct degree of annoyance, bidding her time for payback.
"It'd give Mama control of the Strawhats and that's marginally better than destroying them, don't you agree?" Amande folded her arms across her chest, defending her choices, fortunately her tone instilled a modicum of seriousness (even if it was against her initial wishes for the two of them to have fun) "I'd be able to stand Smokers' obvious smoking, but not in the longrun, cigars and cigarettes don't mix that well…" She waved her hand in front of her face repeatedly before continuing "…and Kidd just deserves to die after what he stole from Mama"
"How'd hehehehehe-hahaha" Galette managed through her chortling, trying to get a hang of herself "How'd he even pffftt!" she almost collapsed from laughter again "…Find out we had that anyway? Mama kept it so much under wraps that it was only the ministers and the combatants that knew about it"
"I don't know, someone must've told him I guess, a spy or someone smart… because gods know that meatheaded upstart couldn't have come up with that plan himself"
"How'd you know he's an idiot?" Galette tilted her, still flushed, head at her sister "You didn't repel his attack, that was Bobbin and Brother Crackers' wife… ehehe" Galette sheepishly traced a finger over her cheek mild embarassment settling in "What's her name these days anyway?"
"…I don't know, she keeps changing it to fit the family theme…" Amande admitted with a reluctant shrug, somewhere after Crackers' wife had changed her name from Pretzel because he'd named his sword after her, Amande had honestly lost count (and interest) "She even styles her hair like Cracker these days"
"Yeah, I know, it's so adorable" she put a hand behind her head mimicking their sister-in-laws' haircut "It's like a little reverse unicorn" Galette smiled, glad that at least one of her siblings were so happily married (she intentionally didn't count her treacherous sisters, Chiffon and Praline, for obvious reasons (Authors note: if anyone is puzzled about this sister-in-law, I imagined it is the woman sitting between Galette and Charlotte Mondee at that meeting in chapter 854 or episode 822, that dame is either a wife or a granddaughter or a daughter-in-law of big Mom, that I am certain of)).
"But back to Kidd: everyone is automatically a meathead if they piss off Mama…" Amande pointed out, a stern finger raised admonishingly "Especially after they've already gotten on Red Hairs bad side too" to a degree, Not even Mama was open to the idea of attacking Shanks, even in an unfair fight!
"Fair point" Galette conceded, her laughing fit having subsided somewhat.
"Glad you've had your fun" Amande smiled expectantly "Because it's my turn: Murder, Date or Marry:…" Amande paused, just long enough for Galette to get nervous, and while she was having a mirthful joy of her little sisters' wariness, the bluehaired woman quickly brought an end to it.
"Buggy the star clown…." Amande started out slowly, giving Galette time to get more anxious, even nervously try and take a sip of water to wash off the feeling of dread "Strawhat aaaaand: Dacquise."
Galette stopped instantly, her face still red but now it wasn't due to entertainment. More like shock and outrage.
"You can't be serious…"
"I am, now cough up the answers!" Amande smiled at her sibling "Or are you too afraid to give an honest answer?" she teased
"No, because it's pretty damn obvious who I'd pick…" Galette responded with a deadpan expression (which bordered outright disappointment) "First of all, I'd marry:…"
"MEeeee?" a flirtatious and expecting voice came from the side, stopping Galette dead in her tracks.
Neither woman was surprised to see Dacquise stand with his arms folded and a smugly satisfied expression on his face, as if he'd won at cards over a dozen opponents "Babe" he adressed Galette with a smile giving her elevator eyes behind his sunglasses "Even if it's a game, I'm really flattered and happy you'd pick me to mar…"
"I'd obviously marry Buggy the Star Clown" Galette responded deadpan, not an emotion visible on her face, only her voice carrying a hint of anger, not just at having been interrupted but at having to deal with the winged underling "Even if he's a damned dog of the World Government, he's got power and connections, both of which Mama can always find a use for, so it'd be a good match for any of my sisters"
Amande leaned back in her seat, she already knew what was coming, but the true fun of the game was to hear what reasons people had for their choices and as Galette began to list up the next post to Dacquise, Amande listened with rapt attention "I'd murder you, because you haven't done anything useful lately and it's better to get rid of the dirt than drag it around the house all day"
Dacquise looked down at her, his spirits starting to break as his jaw started to sag "So you'd date Strawhat?!" even behind his glasses the man looked to be lost in thought. Disturbing unbelievable thoughts.
"A date isn't a long term relationship…" Galette reasoned picking up her glass "besides, if his actions on Tottoland is any indication, I'd at least have fun…" she took a sip "…Perhaps even as much as I had here before you lot turned up" she dismissed a miffed Dacquise with a wave of her hand.
As the winged man left, head hanging low and spirit crushed (though both women knew it was only for the time being, soon the guy would be back with his usual straightforward and uncouth advances), Amande leaned in over the table, her hand in her chin "Is this the part where I remind you that you've nursed hangovers most of the time?"
"Comes with the music, dancing and the drinking I guess…" Galette stared down into her glass with a small smile "I've really liked it here…"
"Yeah, me too" Amande conceded, though both knew she hadn't taken anywhere near as much joy from it as Galette "Even if we had to try and be matchmakers for our siblings, however long it lasted…"
"Well, Mama might thank us for our efforts…" Both nodded sagely, they knew damn well that it'd be a snowy day in hell before that happened (in fact, make that two days) or they even got that sort of influence ever again.
"Perhaps we should try playing marry, date or murder to find suitable partners for our brothers too…"
Amande looked puzzled for a moment "That's… actually not a bad idea" she lit a cigarette "But I think we should just imagine who'd be a good match for them instead, I don't even think that there is enough princesses or female pirate captains to go around for all our brothers, and it's boring using the same ones everytime"
"We'll just make do then" Galette bopped her head from side to side "How about that Tajine Queen… erhm…" she struggled to remember the name "Mormon-ron?"
"No good" Amande drew a line across her long throat to emphasize "I heard she's a consummate alcoholic (just like evryone else in that country), Mama wouldn't want that" before hurriedly adding "At least not for anyone besides brother Zucotto, and even then it'd just be because he's the minister of Alcohol"
A full hour later, both sisters concluded that it was near impossibly to find a perfect match for their favourite big brother Katakuri.
The closest they got to an agreement was either the mermaid princess Shirahoshi, whom Galette found to be both too young and not adding anything to the crew (since Fishman Island was already part of Big Mom's territory) or Boa Hancock, where Amande argued that she was a Shichibukai and far too wilful to obey Mama's orders anyway (but both had agreed that Boa Hancock would add much needed (wo)manpower to the crew).
Still it was better to argue about it, if only theoretically, rather than think he'd remain single for the rest of his life.
"…You think something will happen soon?" Galette started, growing a little tired of their games.
"Don't know, Hopefully there's going to be some sort of development tonight, I'd like to cut something"
"I know what you mean"
"You're not a swordswoman"
"I can still feel like wanting to harm people!" the redhead protested, before continuing with a sullen tone "Especially after that damn mess at the museum today…"
"Yes I agree, when we find the Strawhats again, they're going to rue crossing us" Amande smiled as she lit another cigarette "If we're lucky, Hangans' men will lead us to Jinbe and that green haired guy so we can remove them early on, less trouble later"
Galette smiled as Amande continued
"No matter what, we'll have to make sure to pay the marines a visit before we leave the archipelago, give a little payback, get that Ain-girl... perhaps even get our bounties up a little" the bluehaired woman smiled as she blew a smoke ring into the air above her head, unable at containing her mirth of the carnage to come.
"I thought that only men were so childish as to worry about bounty sizes" Galette smiled at her sister as she emphasized those words in particular
"but just imagine some of our brothers' faces when we return to Tottoland…" Amande kept pulsating on her cigarette, ignoring her sisters' hamfisted innuendo
"They'll be green with envy" the redhead smirked "Mama might even reward us for bringing her Strawhats' head"
"We better remember to raid all the sweets stores in town while we're at it then" She blew another smoke ring into the air, giving her younger sister a barely noticable smirk "Afterall, it doesn't hurt to be certain Mama is satisfied"
(on the main island, a warship in the harbour)
"So that's the gist of it" The redhead ended his report with a smug confident grin.
"Well done Ichiji, as expected of my firstborn son" the voice from the den den mushi ranted on proudly "With this new devellopment, we can't possibly loose!"
"Yeah I know" the redhaired prince responded, smiling as he went "When I've gotten my hands on Strawhat, then we'll have that last princess and Riku's grandkid… she's a cutie too I've heard"
"That's not what's important right now!" Judge called out from the snail, his tone turning frustratedn bordering on panic "The real princess is the important thing, not the spawn of some commoner! But the Kuja too!" Judges' voice turned excited as he contemplated the opportunities "If we get them, we can cut a deal with the the rest of their tribe, we can even get Boa Hancock to serve Germa if we play our card right!"
"Yeah, I'd like a wife that hot, it almost makes up for her being a pirate doesn't it?"
"True" Judge consented "But for now, focus on getting your hands on Sanji's imbecilic captain, preferably before the marines do it" Even if Ichiji couldn't see him, it wasn't hard to imagine his father smiling from ear to ear at this point "If we get him custody, we can get the world government on our side for years to come!"
"Not to mention make Dragon bow before us!" Ichiji smiled in anticipation "We don't need Strawhat in one piece for that though, do we? I'd like to repay him for refusing our generous offer after what happened in Tottoland" (authors note: see chapter 6 of the previous fic: Out of the Jaws of death, titled: Epilogue. It really wasn't a generous offer)
"As long as he's alive we can use his as a bargaining chip against that bigheaded monstrosity!"
"What happened to Yonji anyway? I thought he was more than able to deal with that freak of nature" Ichiji smiled as he sipped from a glass of wine
"… They used poison" Judge responded immediately, his words rushed and far too forceful for it to be true "We'll ransom the antidote as soon as we have Strawhat" (another authors note: see chapter 17 of this fic to know just what Ivankov did)
"Understood" the prince nodded
"Oh and Ichiji"
"Yes father?"
"Since Strawhat has already proven to be able to cause extreme levels of trouble, just to be on the safe side: Make sure he can't fight back or escape later on"
"Break legs, arms and his spine several places, I was going to do that anyway father" Ichiji whined into the snail
"That's my son" Judge added proudly before hurrying on "But better make it seem like it was the marines, we can't have the other kings know about it, they seem oddly fond of the little piece of trash"
At this Judge ended the call, allowing Ichiji to lean back and wait for Strawhat to come to him. The reports told them that two of his crewmembers was on the island, and from Strawhats' actions on Tottoland, there was no way that he'd just let them linger in enemy country.
And when Strawhat arrived, Ichiji would make certain that he'd never go anywhere without chains or a full medical ward.
(Elsewhere in the harbour area)
JInbe ducked into an alley, dragging the angry Zoro in with him.
once more the fishman quelled his frustration at having to work with a man that'd get lost walking a straight line. What was worse however, was that his companion didn't have the faintest idea what it meant to be incognito. Three times the former Shichibukai had tugged the green haired man under his arm and sprinted off from a marine patrol.
Jinbe counted on it being for the best, that they didn't cause too much of a ruckus, while they found a way to catch up with the rest of the crew.
"You better have a good reason for dragging me around like a piece of luggage" the swordsman snarled from JInbe's armpit, his patience running thin.
"We can't go around an alert the marines to our movements! it's imperative that we saty hidden for the time being"
"We'll still be hidden if we deal with them immediately!" the swordsman protested "I don't know about you, but I'd like a challenge for a change"
I'm already dealing with a significant challenge here! Jinbe thought as he hid in the shadows, avoiding detection from a group of eight marines "And then what? What'd we do with the bodies? the screams? the inevitable sound of swords clashing?"
Zoro just shruggered "there's a sea and a sewer around here somewhere"
"I'm not fighthing knee deep in waste"
"No, it's for the bodies you're babbling about"
Jinbe simply sighed, happy that he had plenty of experience with stupid arguments and dealing with them (it's amazing what you'll learn when you're a new recruit in the military... and when you're dealing with a group of entitled marines as a Shichibukai).
"Listen, let's do this my way" he started, slowly, making certain that he didn't raise his voice, lest the marines were alerted "And we'll do it your way if that doesn't work"
Zoro mulled it over, doing what could vaguely be called a pout, Jinbe hurriedly continued "If you don't make a fuzz, we'll do a quick stop at a winesink, hows that?" as he briefly pondered why the patrol was so slow (and large)
"There won't be a quick stop unless they're out of booze"
While Jinbe didn't like the implications of the response, he was none the less happy, that Zoro wasn't doubling back on his word immediately. As he put the smaller man down, JInbe noticed why the marines were taking so long.
they weren't a patrol.
they were a prisoner transport.
In the cart the marines were dragging after them, despite being in chains and beaten bloody, Jinbe could easily recognise some old faces. Some very well known faces in fact.
"Seems we have to do things your way after all Zoro" he conceeded as he stepped into the streets, Zoro unsheathing his swords behind him with a smile
"After this, we're still going drinking"
Jinbe had no response, hoping that they could do this fast and silent.
(On the Sunny, 20 minutes after Fran telling them to get going)
Nami looked out at the sea as the Sunny began its slow voyage. She could feel a storm coming up, but that wasn't so bad she told herself, it'd give them wind in the sails as they set out to get hold of their prey.
Fran's vivrecard would provide them with all the help they needed for saving Rindo and Marguerite.
Tightening one of the Sunny's ropes, she looked over at Luffy and thought back to what they'd spoken to Fran about:
1. When they found Francis, don't mention his past as a smuggler, he hates it.
2. Don't anger him, he's not going to come willingly if he is.
3. Don't get him to talk about Devil fruits, you'll never hear the end of it!
While Fran had listed off the great list of don'ts for Luffy's uncle gremlin, and while that was tedious and too timeconsuming, Nami had actually been more unnerved by how few they were on this trip.
Chopper couldn't have come no matter what, he was integral to keeping Luffy two Kuja cousins alive. Franky had chosen to stay, since Fran's house was proving as much of a deathtrap (after all those incidents with freak weather) as leaving their friends unattended in front of an onrushing tidalwave (that was on fire).
Vivi and Rebecca had both opted to stay, for different reasons. Rebecca had been on a ship or at sea for a while now and amazingly, had yet to find her sealegs properly (Nami assumed it stood to reason that a gladiator that had never stepped foot off her country, would have some problems with sea travel). Vivi was still very selfconscious after their last trip, even if Nami had assured her that it wasn't that big a loss that her climatact had been lost in the harbour. Regardless, the bluehaired princess had still opted to stay, her bad conscience forcing her to keep her distance.
Usopp hadn't wanted to leave the house, though he'd argued that the girls (all four) needed guarding (which Sanji had volunteered to do less than a heartbeat later), while in fact he was just afraid to go back to an area with both hostile pirates and marines. He also argued that he needed time to make a new Climatact and had to have peace and quiet for his work. Nhile it was unlikely that he'd have either on this trip, it seemed to Nami that peace and quiet, was Not something to come by when Fran was around, but she guessed the sniper would have to learn that the hard way.
And after Carrot had tried to garchu Luffy (for whatever reason), Fran had tackled the bunny mink to the floor and put her in a headlock.
The fact that it left only Nami and Luffy to do the searching, didn't dawn on the matron until after the Sunny had left for… wherever it was the vivrecard was pointing (Sanji was jealous too, but with 5 beautiful women around him, even if two were off limits with their aunt nearby, he didn't complain).
When Nami looked back she could see Luffy's mother try and yell something from the pier, Franky making sure she didn't jump in the water after the Ship. Nami had to give the woman credit though, as even after donating almost a litre of blood, the middle-aged woman still had legstrenght enough to make Franky lift off the ground wih each jump.
Happily, she couldn't hear Fran's yelling thanks to the crash of waves, but as she looked though her spyglass Nami coudl judge by the mortified looks of the locals and all the mothers holding hands over their children's' ears what the howling entailed.
It was better for a lot of reasons this way, fewer in number meant that they could be more inconspicuous while searching for Francis. As far as Nami could tell, the vivrecard was showing that their target was close. Hopefully the man would be more pliable as an older man, than he'd been when they met his ghost at the museum.
"Hey Luffy!" the navigator called out to her captain, causing him to reluctantly turn form his vantage point atop the figurehead starring out into the horizon (If Nami hadn't told him the Sunny was faster, he'd have tried to take the Mini Merry II and sailed himself).
"What is it Nami?" he jumped down from his spot and halfran to the bridge "Are we getting closer to where Franky-2 is?"
Nami shook her head at the question, hopefully Luffy wouldn't call Francis that when they found him, especially given Fran's explanation of her brothers'... touchy character.
"Luffy, the Vivrecard points us towards the main island, and even if we have to travel further, I'm thinking we can pick up Jinbe and Zoro while we're there"
"Great, they can help us search then!"
While Nami did agree with the general idea, she highly doubted that Zoro would be able to search for their target without getting stuck in a backyard on another continent. But that wasn't what she had to speak with Luffy about.
"There's something else too..." the navigator continued, unsure of how best to proceed. Luffy managed to catch up and gave her a concerned look.
"What is it you want to say?"
"Your uncles files... he found out things about us, that we don't know about our friends!"
"Like what?" Luffy eyed her in confusion "And why does that matter now? We're gonna save my brother-cousins!"
"They're just your cousins Luffy..." Nami corrected him with a small sigh "And it matters because your uncle Francis might be very dangerous!"
"So what?" he looked at her, a lip stuck out "We're always in danger anyway! What's the big deal about it being from Franky-2?"
Nami choose not to correct him on that last one, focussing on her point instead "WHat he knows is stuff like what Zoro was doing before we entered the New World, what places Robin had been before Baroque Works... and some of those are down right nasty I tell you... but even then, he knew where Sanji were and even noted things about most of this fleet thing we've gotten all of a sudden!"
"So?"
"We've gotten a veritable army, some of whom are absolute monsters!"
"Like who? Old guy Chins-and-forehead isn't that bad once he's cooled down"
"Not Chinjao" Nami responded, assumind that was whom her captain was speaking of (Hajrudins explanation of who was in the grandfleet had been even more sketchy than Luffy's or Zoro's, Robins' introduction had been far more satisfactory) " I'm talking about the giant that saved out butts in Tottoland!" Nami paused again, catching her breath, daring Luffy to interrupt with a stupid question
When he didn't, she continued "And this Cannibal guy, the Barto Club"
"Oh!" the captain beamed "Rooster head right?"
"Sure... Francis wrote that he had to guide Rooster head through the Grand Line Luffy... that's bad."
"How?" he knows some of our friends, so he can't be as bad as mom said"
"It's bad because he's been controling things behind the scenes! It even said something in the files about some of the other Supernovas"
"Who's that?"
Nami swiftly reminded Luffy of whom the Worst genereation were, and that he waas a part of it (alongside Zoro, Trafalgar and Bege) before continuing to voice her concerns "and then there's what your mother said"
"That he was just like her, but with ba-"
"Not that!" Nami intterupted him with a scoff just as she turned the wheel to avoid a large wave, although part of her dreaded to face that... sort of characteristics again so soon "I mean about that Chaos fruit thingy..."
"That super special Logia right?"
" Exactly Luffy... I think your uncle ate it"
"...Cool" He smiled like a toddler beong tokd they were going to a candy store "I can't wait to see him use it!"
"You want to fight him?!"
"No, No, I don't need to fight him to see it"
Nami looked at him, somewhat relieved "Oh, that's goo-"
"There's going to be plenty of other people that's going to do that! the Marines, Big Moms' kids, perhaps we'll meet Cabbage too!" his smiled gleefully as he listed off the opponents they might face (though why he included one from their own fleet was beyond Nami), but then he stopped, frowning and gnashing his teeth "That crownye-head guy!"
"That's you wanting to fight that Amadob guy, I can understand, but we can't, we have to hurry doing this!"
"...Yeah, you're right..." he conceeded reluctantly
"But we are going to beat him up later... after we've gotten Franky-2" Luffy commented as he turned to scan the horizon, no doubt looking for another adventure "and has eaten all they got at that restaurant" he finished while smacking his lips excitedly.
For the first time on their ride, Nami managed a smile, glad that her captain hadn't gotten completely into crazy revenge-mode.
Following his gaze, even in the approaching gloom, the two could start to see the outline of the Main island, the humongous Marine Base capping off the hill like a large crown, recognisable even at a great distance.
Somewhere beneath the cannons, two of their friends were either hiding or fighting for their lives (though most likely for fun) and it was where the Vivre-card was pointing them.
Hopefully the pair of them could help them find Luffy's troublesome uncle aswell.
And soon,
Chopper had made it abundantly clear that neither Rindo nor Marguerite would survive for long,
if the captain and navigator didn't fetch the two Kuja's father Francis right away, Luffy´'s two cousins would die, a slow excruciating death (Chopper hadn't spared them as he explained the final stages of the disease in gruesome detail).
Looking at the island in front of them, the navigator dearly hoped he was on the main island, both so they didn't need to travel any further, and could get him back to Dvorak immediately.
But Nami doubted it'd be that easy.
With marines and pirates waiting for them,
Nami could practically smell the blood that'd run already...
And she was heading straight into it!
(Even as part of her mind continued to complain that the worst part was that they wouldn't get any money out of it, period!)
And so it comes to pass.
that all lines converge on the Main island of the Runny Rum Archiepelago.
As the wind whips up yet more brine and the waves run ever higher,
and the air turns crispy cold and charged,
even a child could tell you that a storm's brewing:
Two pirates sail towards their destination from Dvorak, arguing all the way, aiming to be saviours, hoping that they won't be too late.
On the main island, in a luxurious hotel, two sisters keep planning the end and ruin of their enemies, while plotting to get in their mothers' good graces.
Deep within the bowels of the Marine Base atop the same island, a Vice Admiral keeps pondering what the future brings and what is hidden in the past. What her over-eager subordinates are up to matters little in comparisson, their prisoner largely forgotten, being dragged along through the streets.
At the docks, a prince wants to secure the missing princesses as swiftly as possible, and take others into vustody as well, and something else too... something which he dearly wants to make his.
On the streets of the town, a silent figure with a briefcase stalks through the shadows as if they were a second home, though noone who manages to notice knows whether they are searching for prey or simply passing time.
Two other pirates are trying to deduce what's going on on the streets.
the pirates captains that're just trying to keep their heads down, hoping to escape before all hell breaks loose.
Or the man that, unknowing off all the other parties, is simply teaching his dog new tricks before it was dinner time?
Who'll win in the end?
Or will they all lose?
End of chapter 19
this was a very chatty chapter, with perhaps a bit long scenes that felt like it just drew out in the indefinite, I just really wanted to expand on the different characters and goals of the different groups before we dive into this next part.
Don't worry there will be less talking and more slashing in the chapters to come, If I can manage it, the segments of the story will also be shorter so it becomes more dynamic visually as well.
Btw welcome to any new followers, Hope You'll stick around for the rest of this story, even if it's getting near it's natural conclusion.
This one took a while to post and finish, so I hope you can forgive my tardiness, it's been a very busy few weeks so far.
I don't know when I''l post the next chapter, but regardless, stay tuned for the twentieths chapter titled:
Rendezvous of Friends and Foes
RnR if you'd be so kind, hard to improve my writing without it