A Pirate's Life For Me! We Need A Musician!

Part 2 of a 4 Part Saga

by Aoikami Sarah

Chapter Twelve – Straw Hat Vs. Straw Hat

Harmony went straight to the music box with her arms outstretched. "I'm sorry, Vincento!" she cried and embraced its wooden sides. "I should have listened to you."

"It speaks to you?" Robin asked.

Harmony nodded. "Sort of. It's like he gives me ideas or feelings. I don't hear words or anything. He said coming here was a bad idea."

"Amazing." She sat down on her deck chair. "Harmony, did you know the Captain of this ship is in search of One Piece?"

She turned and shook her head. "No. Is that the Pirate King's treasure?" she asked.

Robin's mouth hung open for a second. "Yes. It is." She stared at the box. "My goodness, to think a piece is so close…" she muttered under her breath.

"Hm?"

"Oh, nothing." Robin smiled. "So how do you know Lilly Marlene?"

Harmony frowned and jumped up onto the top of the music box. She kicked her feet, gently tapping out a rhythm against it. She sighed. "Can I trust her, Vincento?" A small smile spread across her lips. "Ok. Vincento says I should tell you about me. That you're good for me."

Robin smiled back. "Please do. I'm a good listener at least."

Harmony looked up at the clouds that ambled across the sky. "I was born on an island called Sofserv that's so small it hardly picks up on a Logue Pose. My dad was a castaway. There's a law that says only 20 people at a time can live on Sofserv."

"Why ever for?" Robin asked.

"Because it's so small. If there's more than 20, the island can't feed them. Dad was the twentieth when he landed. Then he married my mom and they had me. When I was born, the elder died. Dad used to say it's because he saw how amazing I was and gave me his place," she reminisced. "When I was eight, Dad took me and Vincento and left Sofserv because some bad people were looking for him."

"So Vincent belonged to your father," Robin assumed.

Harmony nodded. "We went to Largo Atoll and Dad left me with Vincento. I never saw him again. I know the bad men found him and killed him," she said quietly. "But I never knew why."

"Do you want to know?" Robin asked in the same hushed tone.

The girl's eyes widened and she stopped kicking at the box. "V… Vincento says I don't want to know. That I shouldn't know. That it's not safe for me to know. That Dad was protecting me. That Vincento protects me for him. That if I knew, he wouldn't be able to protect me from… the truth." Tears rolled down her face. "My father wasn't a bad man… was he?" she asked.

"What does Vincento say?"

"No," she answered.

Robin smiled. "You should listen to Vincent."

.X.

The great doors swung open. Two guards bowed and showed Zoro, Nami, Usopp, Sanji, Chopper and Luffy in. More oohs and ahs issued from some of the impressed pirates. Zoro glanced at Sanji and narrowed his eyes. The chef nodded, confirming his ill-feelings. Something wasn't right.

"Greetings, pirates," a strong, smooth voice with a slight accent echoed off of the huge room's walls. "Vivace-chan said you were friends of hers." The pale-skinned jellyfish-woman stood up and walked down a set of steps from her throne to get a better look at them. "Thank you for transporting her back to her home. My name is Lilly Marlene. Welcome to the Straights of Crescendo."

"Wow! Vivace's friend was the singer! Cool!" Luffy cried.

"No problem," Nami said with a wave, ignoring him. "She had mentioned something about compensation for the ride…"

"Of course! You will get what's coming to you. Tell me," Lilly drawled, walking a little to the left, looking over the six people before her. She towered a good six inches above even Zoro's head. "You're a bunch of pirates. You must have certain jobs on your boat. What are they?"

Luffy grinned wide and showed off his crew. "This is Zoro, greatest swordsman in the world, Chopper, a doctor, Sanji, five-star chef, Nami best navigator in the world and Usopp, a liar."

"I'm a marksman, jackass!"

Lilly raised a lavender brow. "And you?"

"I'm Monkey D. Luffy, the man who will be the Pirate King!"

"Isn't that cute," Lilly remarked, turned with a flip of her coat-tails and walked her long stockinged legs back up to her throne. She sat down and her assistants went back to fanning her. "I'll take the chef, the swordsman and the navigator."

"Take?" Usopp asked angrily. "Wha… whaddaya mean, take?"

"Yeah, waddayamean!" Luffy shouted.

Lilly sighed. "I don't have a use for the rest of you and frankly, you're not much to look at. I'll take those three, only. The rest of you can go."

"Listen, lady," Luffy said, balling his fists. "They're my nakama. You can't just have them!"

"Then you'll have to fight for them," Lilly said with a smirk. "Rather, you'll have to fight them." She tilted her head to the side. "Zoro, Nami, Sanji. Kill your friends."

Usopp screamed in terror as Nami's Clima Tact swung at his head.

"Heavy point!" Chopper cried and grew to his large size. "Guys! It's us!" he shouted as Sanji tried to kick his head off of his shoulders.

"Zoro!" Luffy called. "Sanji, Nami! Stop it!" He bent his body away from Zoro's three swords as he charged at his captain.

Lilly Marlene laughed. "Oh, splendid! What a show!" She watched with wide eyes as they fought each other, marveling at their skill and pain.

.X.

The breeze blew across the deck and played with Harmony's sausage-curl bangs. She wiped her eyes. "What of Lilly Marlene?" Robin asked, changing the subject.

Harmony jumped down off of the box and went to the side of the ship. "She appeared right after Dad didn't come back. She took me in. She became my mentor and got me a job performing at the G-Clef. She said she wanted me to be her successor." Harmony furrowed her brows. "I stayed with her for four years. Last year, all of a sudden my voice started hurting people, like I told you."

"Do you remember eating a strange fruit?" Robin asked. "Perhaps just before the power presented itself?"

Harmony shook her head slowly, trying to remember. Then she gasped. "There was a special dessert…" She clapped a hand to her mouth. "It was her! Lilly Marlene fed me the Akuma no Mi!"

"Bingo!" a voice from across the ship shouted. A bubble sprouted around Harmony. "Wow, you are really dense, you know that, Princess?" Vivace snarled as she strode toward them. "I can't believe Lilly Marlene-sama chose you as her protégée over me! I mean, really! You didn't even know you'd been fed the YobuYobu no Mi? I would have killed for that fruit! What did I get instead? The TamaTama no Mi. Nearly useless!" she complained. Harmony shouted in alarm, but her voice didn't penetrate the bubble. She could see Vivace gesturing, but couldn't hear a word she was saying. "It is useful for some things, though. Scream all you want. Not a sound can escape my special Insonorizzato Bolla, my soundproof bubble!"

Robin frowned and crossed her arms in front of her chest. Vivace grinned wide and a bluish bubble of protection shot out of her hands and engulfed herself. "So," Vivace purred. "You figured me out, huh, Lady? You took Harmony away just as I was about to deliver her peacefully to Lilly Marlene-sama."

"That bandage you wear on your arm," Robin stated. "I saw you changing it last night. It hides a very distinctive burn mark in the shape of a hand. Hi-ken no Ace is reported to be a complete gentleman. He wouldn't burn a friend, let along his own fiancée like that."

"Yes, yes, you're very smart. Shut up," Vivace warned.

"Let Harmony go," Robin commanded, still walking forward.

"Ooh, I'm so scared! You can't touch me when I'm in here," she said and poked the inside of the bubble. "Not even my darling Portgas-san could hurt me!"

Harmony hugged herself and cried, helpless and lost. "Robin Nee-chan…"

"I'll tell you one more time. Let Harmony-chan go. You can't win." Robin spread her fingers out. "Deux Fleur!"

"You can't touch me!" Vivace shouted back with a sneer.

"I already have."

Vivace hadn't noticed that an extra pair of arms had grown out of her shoulder blades long before she put the bubble up to protect herself.

Robin nodded her head. "Very well."

"Robin Nee-chan! Don't kill! Please!" Harmony shrieked. She hoped against hope that the woman could read lips. Robin twisted her wrists and the arms flew to action, clamping down on Vivace's neck. Harmony shielded her eyes and wept. After a long moment the bubble around her burst and she knew it was over. She knelt on the deck and covered her face with her hands. Robin's gentle touch startled her.

"It's alright, Harmony-chan. I left her alive." The girl peeked through her fingers and saw Vivace sprawled on the deck, obviously breathing. She looked up at the warm, caring smile and lunged into Robin's arms. "Saa. Be brave now, Harmony-chan. We probably have people to rescue."

More to come...