Coco: Hey, guys, I'm back! And let me tell you that I've been in a very One Piece mood because it's not just a single chapter post today. No, it's a quadruple chapter update! *insert horn noise here* That's right! Not one chapter, not two chapters, not even three, but four chapters! I just got a roll and could not stop. XD
But anyway, I hope you like what is to come in this update. I did reuse some of the stuff from my previous version, but I feel like the previous stuff and the new stuff I added in works well together. I'm really quite proud of these chapters actually (:
But enough of that! Let's get started!
Wren hummed as she looked through the things that her father had packed for her. It was mostly herbs, crystals, and charms along with books. She even saw a few other artifacts and bits and ends that might come in handy. Though she hasn't dabbled much in magic for some time. She's mostly focused on becoming physically stronger and gaining resources to take down Doflamingo.
"Perhaps it is time to revisit my roots." Wren said to herself as she pulled another object from the chest her father had packed.
It was a long, black lacquered piece of wood that looked almost like a cane. It was smooth to the touch, and at the top of the stick there was a carved raven that red gems where the eyes would be. Wren ran her fingers against the bird.
"I remember you." Wren said.
A mage's wand is made from a tree of their choosing when they become of age. Nature has always been a mage's strongest source of power, so it was a bit of a big deal when it came to choosing which tree would be used for a mage's wand. Make the wrong choice and one's magic would always be limited.
"I do not believe it's time for me to use just yet." Wren said as she carefully placed the wand back. "Better to start small. Perhaps I should make some herbal tea for when Nami wakes."
She started pulling out what she needed to make the tea she mentioned. She couldn't do for Nami like Vladimir had, but Wren could keep Nami comfortable as her father asked. Wren looked over to the resting Nami who was still sleeping soundly.
"Once she is well, we will sail to Alabasta." Wren said as she stood. "I just hope they don't become a nuisance. I cannot allow them to get in my way."
Wren then walked off to head up to the galley, so that she may began brewing the tea. Once she made it to the top, she saw the others were gathered.
"Wren-san, is Nami okay?" Vivi asked.
"She's fine." Wren said. "She is still resting. I only came up here to make some tea for when she wakes up. It should keep her comfortable until we reach Drum Island."
Vivi nodded then said she would go keep Nami company until Wren could return to her. Karoo followed Vivi down below to watch over Nami, which left Wren with the boys.
"Sanji, may I use the stove?" Wren asked.
"Of course, Wren-chan!" Sanji said with a large smile. "Allow me to grab you the kettle as well."
He went to grab said kettle as Wren set her supplies down onto the kitchen counter. Havel, who was curled up in Luffy's lap, watched the girl as she placed a few herbs in the bowl she had brought up as well. She used the mortar to crush and mix the herbs. Sanji worked behind her to get the water into the kettle, which he placed on the stove to boil.
"Anything else I can do for you, dear?" Sanji asked Wren.
"No, I can handle the rest." Wren said. "Thank you."
Wren continued mixing and crushing the herbs while murmuring something under her breath. It almost sounded like a song. Zoro watched her wondering if she was using the same magic or whatever it was that she used to heal Mistral.
"You all really plan to fight Crocodile?" Wren asked once she was done murmuring whatever spell she had been putting on the herbs. "He isn't some pushover. He is a Shichibukai."
"I can take him!" Luffy said confidentially as he held up a fist. "Just you wait and see, Wren. I'll kick his ass."
Wren hummed not so sure about that. However, she kept her doubts to herself.
"Your dad said you wanted to take down Crocodile because you want something he has." Usopp commented as Wren continued her work. "Did he take something from you?"
"Not at all." Wren said. "However, I hear he is after some kind weapon of mass destruction, and it wouldn't be in mine or anyone's best interest if he were to get his hands on it. That is why I seek to take him down."
Of course, that wasn't the whole story, but Wren didn't plan to share everything she had going on. These humans weren't like most she has met, but that doesn't mean she's going to trust them with her life story or her great ambition.
"So, you're just taking him down to make sure he doesn't get a weapon?" Zoro asked. "What for? Just out of the goodness of your heart?"
"I have my reasons for not wanting Crocodile to become more powerful." Wren said. "In all honesty, I could care less if Alabasta is ruled by some pirate, but if Crocodile reaches his goals, it will put a wrench in my own affairs. That is the only reason I am willing to go against Crocodile."
Zoro's brow quirked wondering what Wren could be planning. She obviously wasn't working with them with the same goal in mind. However, she's honest about her intentions and why she wishes to bring down Crocodile, so he supposes they could trust her for now at least.
"Crocodile is only a small part of your overall goal is what you're saying, right?" Usopp asked.
"Precisely." Wren replied. "Defeating Crocodile is only a stepping stone. My long-term goal is much loftier. Which is one of the reasons why I declined your offer to join your crew, Luffy."
She looked to the straw-hat boy as said boy was currently playing with Havel's paws. Luffy paused in his fun to look at Wren.
"And what is your goal?" Luffy asked.
Wren, who was now adding her mixture into the teapot Sanji had grabbed her, let out a sigh.
"To accomplish the dream of someone very important." Wren said. "The person who set me free."
Luffy blinked curiously, but before he could ask, the kettle whistling brought an end to the conversation. Wren fetched the water to poor into pot as silence fell over the galley.
"Drink." Wren ordered as she held out the teacup to Nami.
Nami, who was sitting up in bed, took the teacup from Wren. She looked down at the dark liquid with a frown on her face. Wren had already warned her the mixture was going to taste bitter.
"Best to get it over with." Wren told Nami. "The faster you drink the sooner you may lay back down to rest."
Nami sighed though didn't argue as she drank the herbal remedy. She almost gagged because of the bitter taste, but managed to hold it down to drink the rest.
"Very good." Wren praised as she took the cup from Nami.
Nami only frowned in reply as she laid back down. Wren chuckled at Nami's pouting expression as she put the cup to the side. She then grabbed a cloth to dip into a bucket of water Vivi had fetched earlier. When she pulled it out, she wrung it out to get rid of some of the water. She folded it up to place over Nami's forehead.
"Thank-you for looking after me, Wren." Nami said weakly. "I know you'd probably rather spend your time doing something else."
"Think nothing of it." Wren said. "Just rest."
Nami smiled while nodding her head. She then drifted off into sleep as Wren remained at her bedside. Vivi sat off to the side as she looked at Wren curiously. She had heard most of what Vladimir had said when explaining Wren's past. Vivi couldn't imagine what kind of hardships Wren went through. The older woman obviously didn't trust people, but yet she was still caring for Nami. It showed that she was a kind person, so Vivi felt like she could trust her. But she was still such a mystery.
"Something on your mind?" Wren asked suddenly.
Vivi jumped then noticed that the older woman had turned her visible red eye on her. Vivi blushed at getting caught staring.
"No! I just—I'm sorry." Vivi stuttered in the end since she had no idea what to say.
She hung her head feeling more embarrassed than a second ago. Wren was silent for a moment as she looked at Vivi.
"I do not understand why you are apologizing, but I suppose apology accepted." Wren said shrugging her shoulders. "Now, I know something is on your mind, so please feel free to share."
Vivi bit her lip as she took her eyes off her lap to look directly at Wren who was regarding her calmly. Vivi went to open her mouth to tell Wren what Vladimir had told them, but before she could, Sanji came down into the women's quarters.
"Wren-chan, how is Nami-san doing?" Sanji asked.
"Her fever is rising again." Wren said as she glanced at Sanji. "What my father did earlier is barely keeping the fever at bay, which means we need to hurry to Drum Island all the more."
Sanji felt like crying when he heard that since he didn't want any of the lovely ladies on the ship to be sick.
"Is there anything else we can do?" Sanji asked.
"I know a few things that bring down fevers." Wren replied. "However, that doesn't mean it will buy her anymore time."
Sanji frowned wishing there was something they could do. He felt helpless right now.
"Could you not use magic like your father had?" Vivi questioned.
"Magic is not a cure all." Havel, who padded down into the room, pointed out.
He then went over to Wren, so to jump up into her lap. She stroked the feline's fur as he made himself comfortable.
"If it was then this trip to see Dr. Kureha would be pointless." Havel continued.
Vivi sighed though saw Havel had a point. If magic was the answer to curing Nami, she was sure Vladimir would have already taken care of it.
"We should reach Drum Island shortly." Wren tried to assure Vivi and Sanji. "Until then all we can do is make sure Nami is comfortable."
Wren then sat up straighter with a frown pulling across her face when she sensed the presence of others near their ship.
"I wonder who all those people could be." She said as she looked up towards the deck.
"Wren-san…what are you talking about?" Vivi asked.
Wren, who moved Havel to her shoulders, just stood up while grabbing her sword from where it had been resting against the wall. She put it in its holster then grabbed her coat, which she pulled on.
"Stay here." Wren said. "Make sure Nami isn't too jostled."
Before Sanji or Vivi could ask Wren what was going on, Wren was already up the steps to get into the galley. Wren shut the trapdoor that led to the women's quarters then walked out the door to the deck. Luffy and Usopp turned to look at her and Havel from where they were at the front of the ship.
"Hey, Wren, there's some guy on the water!" Luffy said pointing.
"There is actually more than just that person, Luffy." Wren said as she stood by the mast. "I would say about a hundred or so men."
Usopp and Luffy looked at Wren in confusion as Zoro looked down from up above. He could tell by Wren's movement that she was gearing up for a fight. Did she sense something they couldn't?
"Here they come." She said.
Just as soon as the words left her mouth a huge metal sphere shot up out of the ground. The Going Merry slipped right off of it while hitting the water below, which had the ship bouncing and shaking. Usopp went falling backwards as the ship continued to shake.
"What is that thing?!" Luffy asked. "A watermelon?!"
"Looks like some kind of ship to me." Havel commented as the large, iron sphere started to open.
The iron slipped down into the ocean to reveal a large ship that made the Going Merry seem like a dingy. A figurehead rose out of the water to stop at the front of the ship, and a flag with a Jolly Rodger was hoisted up. Wren frowned knowing that this would be a delay for them, which is something they couldn't afford at the moment.
"Oh crap!" Usopp exclaimed. "It's a pirate ship!"
"It's huge." Luffy said with wide eyes.
It was definitely bigger than the Going Merry, but definitely not the biggest ship Wren has ever seen. Still, it was a problem.
"Great." Zoro complained. "Just when we need to hurry."
They all then heard laughter coming from the ship, which had Wren and the others looking for the source of it.
"What's the matter?" A voice asked. "Don't tell me our underwater raid ship the Tin Tyrant surprised you!"
The laughter continued, and Wren soon pinpointed the source of it to a large man who was eating meat off a dagger. The large man's men then came on board to surround all of them. It didn't take long before they held Wren and the boys at gunpoint. Wren narrowed her eyes at the men as Sanji came bursting through the door to join them.
"Hey!" He called out. "What's going on…?"
He trailed off while looking around to see they had guests. He then looked to Wren wondering if she knew these people were going to appear, which had her come up here in the first place. He let out a sigh as he brought out his match box to light a match. He lit a cigarette calmly then after he took a drag, he let out a puff of smoke.
"So, what's going on?" Sanji asked nonchalantly.
"Well, we're under attack and it's still snowing." Luffy said casually as some of the men surround Sanji as well.
Sanji let out another puff of smoke as he held his cigarette away from his mouth in between his fingers.
"Well, yeah, the guns pointed at my face kind of gave that one away." Sanji said. "What next? Oh, I know."
A second later he attacked the men that had their guns pointed at Wren with his feet.
"I'm going to give you punks a lesson about never pointing your guns at a lady!" Sanji said. "Especially such a beautiful one like Wren-chan!"
It took only a matter of seconds for Sanji to defeat those four men. Wren blinked not understanding the point in that. Sure, she didn't like having guns pointed at her, but it wasn't as if she was in immediate danger.
"You bastard!" Another man shouted. "How dare you attack our comrades?!"
He and a few other men turned their guns on the pair as they stood back-to-back.
"Now, now, calm down, men." The large man said as he came onto the ship as well. "Don't attack them yet. We still have questions to ask them."
The men under his command growled as they glared at Sanji who glared right back at them. However, he soon smiled goofily as he turned his attention to Wren. He spun around to face her as he took one of her delicate hands into his own hands.
"Are you alright, my dear?" He asked.
"Yes, Sanji," Wren assured him. "However, you needn't bother yourself with worrying about me."
"It isn't a bother to take care of you, Wren-chan." Sanji said then gave her a grin. "Just think of me as your personal knight in shining armor."
"I will…keep that in mind." Wren said.
Sanji's grin widen as he continued to hold onto Wren's hand. She glanced down at their hands wondering why he was still holding onto her.
"Um, Sanji, you can let go now." Wren told him.
Sanji chuckled sheepishly as he released Wren's hand from his hold. Though even when letting her go, he made sure to stay close to the woman. Especially when the men from the hippo's ship moved in closer. Havel gave them a hiss in warning as their captain began to speak once more.
"You all consider yourselves a band of pirates?" The hippo man asked as he chewed on his food. "That's amusing. I only county five of ya."
He then took a bite out of his dagger as he was finishing off the rest of the meat. Wren quirked a brow at this as the rest of her companions either flinched or looked at the man as if he was some kind of freak.
"Sort of strange that your group would have such few members." The man continued.
He tossed the rest of the dagger into his mouth to munch loudly on. Wren frowned at his poor eating manners. Sanji nearly gagged at the sight.
"Kay, that's just weird." Luffy said. "What kind of guy likes to eat knives?"
"My gums are bleeding just thinking about it." Usopp said.
He also felt a lot of pain in his gums even if he wasn't the one physically eating the dagger.
"With a comment like that I suspect you're quite new to sailing yourself." Wren commented casually. "Shall I give you some advice, Hippo-san? This is the Grand Line, and whether you sail with a hundred men or just five, there is no guarantee of your survival. Especially when you foolishly attack an enemy ship without any clear plan. Though I cannot say I am surprised. You do look a bit…dim."
The man narrowed his eyes at Wren as her lips turned up into a mocking smirk. Havel, who jumped down to stand at her side, snickered, which had Wren's smirk turning up even more.
"How dare you insult, Wapol-sama!" One of the men shouted. "One-Eyed Wench!"
Wren looked at the man rather unimpressed even when he shoved his gun in her direction. It would appear that she had struck a nerve.
"Oi, what the hell did you call Wren-chwan, you shitty bastard?!" Sanji demanded.
He went to attack the man, but Wren placed her hand on his shoulder to keep him in place. Sanji let out a growl at the man, but remained still.
"There's no need for any more violence." Wren said. "Just tell us what you want, Hippo-san, so that we may be on our way. We are in a bit of a hurry."
"Yeah, what she said!" Luffy added.
He knew they needed to get to Drum Island as soon as possible, so they could get Nami to that doctor that Vladimir mentioned.
"Alright, I'll keep this simple." The hippo man, who they recently found out is named Wapol, said as he continued munching. "See my men here and I wish to travel to Drum Kingdom. You wouldn't happen to have an eternal pose or a log pose would ya?"
Wren narrowed her eyes at Wapol. It would appear as if he was heading to the same destination as them. Or at least trying to.
"No, can't help." Sanji said. "Sorry, but I've never heard of this Drum Island."
Which was a total lie since Sanji knew it was the place that Wren's father had instructed them to set sail, so to get help for Nami. Didn't mean they had to let these bozos know though. He just prayed the idiots of the crew didn't blab accidentally that they actually knew about the place Wapol was talking about.
"Well, now that we have that all settled, would you guys just leave already?" Luffy asked frowning. "We're in a hurry. We don't have time to deal with all this."
"You'll never enjoy life if you're always in a rush." Wapol said then held up his finger. "But if you have neither pose what can be done? I suppose I'll have to settle for your treasure and this ship."
Wren almost scoffed. She was quite certain the Straw Hats had no treasure. She herself didn't have a lot of funds either considering she left almost all of her belongs behind when fleeing Dressrosa.
"First thing's first!" Wapol said. "I'm feeling a bit hungry."
He then took a big bite out of the Going Merry, which had the Straw Hats and Havel gasping in shock. Wren's visible eye widened a bit as Wapol ripped the large chunk of ship he bit into off. He started munching on it as if it was completely normal.
"He's a ship eating monster!" Usopp cried.
"Hey, our ship isn't your lunch!" Luffy snapped.
"Be quiet." One of Wapol's men ordered. "Wapol-sama doesn't like to be disturbed while he's eating."
Luffy snapped at them to shut-up as he punched that guy and another over their heads. This led to Wapol's men attacking, which didn't seem to bother Zoro and Sanji in the slightest. In fact, Wren noticed they looked excited for a fight. As they got ready to fight, Usopp ducked for cover. The boys—beside Usopp—started fighting those men as Wren let out a small sigh.
"I suppose just asking you all to leave is out of the question." Wren said casually.
"Damn straight!" They shouted as about five men came to attack her.
Wren didn't seem too worried about their impending attack as she looked down at Havel.
"Havel," She said simply.
Havel seemed in grin in reply as his body started to grow. Wapol's men gasped in surprise while backing up as Havel grew larger and larger. Luffy, who threw another man off the ship, gasped with sparkles entering his eyes as Havel grew to the size of a large horse.
"So cool!" Luffy shouted as Havel gave a growl that sounded more like it belonged to a lion than a housecat.
Havel then swiped Wapol's men away before they could recover from their shock. He easily took them down with Wren not even having to lift a finger to help. Once they were all knocked down, Havel shrunk back down to his normal size.
"Good job, Havel." Wren praised as the feline jumped into her arms.
Havel purred at the praise as he rubbed the top of his head against Wren's chin.
"Just what kind of monster is that cat?" One of the men asked as he continued to lay on the ground.
He then grunted in pain when Wren stepped on his head as she walked away. She saw Luffy heading for Wapol as he was stretching his arms backwards. He ended up in the Wapol's mouth, which had Wren wondering if he needed help.
"What is this?" Vivi asked as she stepped out on deck.
"Oh, hey there, Vivi-chan." Sanji said casually. "Everything okay with Nami-san?"
Wren looked at her companions seeing that they didn't seem too concerned with the fact that Luffy was being eaten, so she supposed it was alright for her to not interfere. It seemed it was the right call to make since Luffy sent Wapol flying seconds later.
"This is bad!" The man in the jester outfit said. "He sent Wapol-sama flying out into the ocean!"
"Bad?!" His afro-headed companion exclaimed. "It's worse! It's a disaster! Wapol-sama is gonna drown. He can't swim!"
The two men, who appeared to be some kind of officers, called for the rest of the men on the Going Merry to retreat. Wren watched them go as they were quick to try and follow after their captain. All the while they shouted threats at the Straw Hats. Wren shook her head as she watched their ship go farther and farther into the distance.
"Wow, crazy." Usopp said. "Those guys are really upset. What were they calling that old garbage can? Wapol?"
"I believe so." Wren replied. "It appears he is some kind of devil fruit user as well. They were saying something about him drowning because he's unable to swim."
Of course, it would also mean he just wasn't a good swimmer, but the higher chance was him being a devil fruit user. Not that it mattered now considering he was taken care of.
"Who cares what his name was?" Sanji said. "Don't worry about it, Usopp. The guy's obviously a moron. Best to just forget about him."
"You have a point." Wren said. "However, it seems as if he is wishing to go to Drum, which is the same island we are heading for. Moron or not if he arrives on the island it could cause us some trouble."
She didn't feel like dealing with such a nuisance. She merely wished to have Nami looked after, so they could continue to Alabasta. Any delays would be unacceptable. She then let out a hum as she turned away to head inside. It was getting a bit too cold for her liking, and a warm pot of tea sounded nice about now.
Coco: And that is the end of that chapter. Shall we move on to the next?
