Everybody Starts Somewhere
"Well…This is a spot of bother…"
"I know, right?! That is one huge whirlpool!"
That was the dilemma the pirate couple were facing at that moment. Only a few hours after setting sail for their dreams, the two come across a whirlpool big enough to swallow their tiny vessel with ease.
"Well, now what are we gonna do?!" In a situation like this, Luffy would probably hop into a barrel and hope for the best, but since Robin was here, he needed to come up with a plan that would help both him and her from getting sucked underwater.
Robin looked around for anything that could help them in their dire situation. Suddenly, she spotted something. "Luffy! Over there!"
The straw hatted boy looked to where she was pointing, and spotted a large sailing ship opposite from where their little dingy was across the whirlpool. "Good eye, Robin!"
"Think you can get us over there?" She wondered as she kept her eye on the vessel.
"One way to find out!" Luffy declared as he took hold of Robin with an arm around her was it, and slung his other limb as far as he could. He was able to snag on to the side of the ship with ease. He grinned in triumph as he turned to Robin, giving her a look that said 'hold on'. "Gum-Gum Rocket!"
With a swift motion, he and his girl shot out of the boat before it began going down the whirlpool's stream, and soared through the air until they made it to the vessel, Luffy making sure to catch Robin in both of his arms on their way down.
"Why, thank you, Luffy," She smiled sweetly. Luffy giggled as he placed the girl gently on her feet. The two then walked away to explore the ship, while two sailors who were on break came back and made their way to where the young couple was just a few moments ago.
"Ah! That hit the spot!" A portly sailor said to the lanky sailor beside him.
"Tell me about it! Our chef makes the best gru-WOAH! Look at that whirlpool!" The tall sailor exclaimed in surprise.
"Hey, is that a sailboat?!" The stout one spotted Luffy and Robin's previous vessel, still being dragged under by the strong current.
"Hope nobody was in there…" The tall one panicked. He then shot his eyes up to the look out point of the ship. "Hey! What are you doing up there?! Didn't you see that boat go under?!"
Stirred from his slumber, the sailor on look out yawned before cracking an eye open. "…See what? Huh?"
"A ship just got sucked into that whirlpool, and you were napping the whole time!" The tall sailor barked.
"Whate are you talking about?!" The look out began scouring the horizon. "I don't see any…thing…"
It was at that point that the look out did see something; a bright pink ship, with a skull and cross-bones for a flag.
Luffy pushed tow large doors open, letting him and his girl in to see a wide open ballroom, with white pillars acting as decretive support and golden chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. Men and women who were clearly of high living qualities, were scattered about the hall, talking amongst themselves, or dancing to the string quartet who were set in one of the corners.
"Hey! It's a party!" Luffy exclaimed in delight.
"This must be a cruise ship for nobles." Robin mused out loud, seeing the fancy garbs the guests were draped in.
She was taken out of her thoughts by Luffy grabbing her hand. "I'm famished! C'mon, let's go grab a bite!"
The dark haired girl chuckled in agreement as she let her man lead her to the hor d'ouvre table.
Unbeknownst to them, across the ballroom stood a slender young girl, with pixie short ginger hair wearing a flowing tan color dress, looking out the large window of the ship's stern, a distant look in her eyes. A tap on her shoulder brought her away from the view to see a young nobleman wearing a bright green button shirt, holding his hand out to her.
"May I have this dance?" He asked politely.
The girl gave a small shrug, then smiled at the man as she gave him her hand, believing that a spot of dancing will help take her mind off things.
Back with the pirate couple, Luffy was sniffing at a strange blue goo on a spoon, going so far as to give it a taste lick. Some patrons of the party next to him grimaced at his behavior and moved away from the grotesque sight.
Luffy blanched at the foreign taste. "What is this blue stuff? Tastes like its off!"
"That would be caviar, Luffy." Robin deduced for him. "Salted fish eggs."
"Fish eggs?!" Luffy dropped the spoon as if it had become red hot. "Gross! Why would anyone wanna eat this stuff?! And why's everything so small?! I need more than this to fill me up! And why don't they have any meat?!"
Robin couldn't help but chuckle at the rubber boy's ranting. Luffy looked at her as she chuckled, then out over at the dancing couples on the ballroom floor, swaying around and enjoying themselves. Luffy looked back at Robin, and grew a little shy.
"U-um…" The dark haired girl looked to him, seeing him shuffle his feet and look away in nervousness. "Would you…like to dance…Robin?"
The girl blushed at the request. She turned to see the rest of the guests dancing before back to him. She smiled kindly as she gave him her hand. "I would be delighted."
Luffy smiled wide at this, took his girl's hand and guided her to the dance floor. The two interlocked with Luffy's hand on Robin's hip, and her hand on his shoulder. Robin knew how bad Luffy was at dancing, and made sure to go slow for the both of them.
"You can just follow my lead, Luffy." She put his mind at ease, to which he sighed with gratitude.
"Thanks, Robin!" He smiled.
The pirate couple gently made their way around the dance floor, occasionally looking into each others eyes. The both silently agreed that this was quite the romantic start to their journey.
As they continued to dance, Luffy accidentally bumped into someone behind him, nearly making them stumble. "Oh! Sorry!"
The ones that they had bumped into were the ginger haired girl and the nobleman she was dancing with.
"Oh, no, its alight!" The red head chuckled passively, but her dance partner wasn't so forgiving.
"Would you mind watching where you're going?" He growled out.
"He said he was sorry," Robin spoke up for her man, a dark gleam in her eyes. "What more do you want?"
The man felt a shiver run down his spine at the glare the dark haired girl gave him, while Nami was perplexed by the odd duo she had bumped into.
"I-I don't remember seeing you two boarding this ship." Apparantly, the nobleman had found his courage once more. "You wouldn't happen to be stow-aways, would you?!"
"Well, we kind of are-!" The straw hatted boy's mouth was covered immediately by his girl's hand, the girl clearing her throat to help him grasp the situation. The nobleman ground his teeth at the insolence these two strangers were showing, while the red head kept wondering who these two even were.
Away from the small scuffle, the captain of the ship, with a thick black mustache and wearing a crisp white uniform, was chatting with a few of the guests.
"I noticed a rather large whirlpool close to the ship outside," A noble woman voiced her worry. "Won't the ship be pulled in?"
"Nonsense!" The captain put the woman's mind at ease. "This ship is the finest of its kind! A little whirlpool like that won't do a thing to us! I guarantee this ship can handle anything!"
"Hey, what's the matter?!" The portly sailor called up to the look out. "You fall asleep again or something?"
"P-p-p-p-p-p-p-p-p…" The look out couldn't find the words quick enough to warn the others, as the bright pink ship opened fire in their direction with a blast of its cannons. "PIRATES OFF THE STARBOARD BOW!"
Right after that, the cannon fire landed close to the cruise ship, blasting water around the vessel, clearly as a warning shot. The force of the blasts were so powerful, they managed to rock the ship violently among the waves.
Inside the ballroom, the guests fell with the sudden motion of the ship, falling to the floor and screaming in surprise and panic. Luffy managed to stay on his feet and grabbed hold of Robin, steadying her before she fell. The nobleman who was scolding them before was now quaking in fear, while the girl behind him was straining in pain.
"You're standing on my foot…!" She growled under her breath.
As the bight pink pirate ship continued to bombarde the cruise ship with warning shots, a gravely yet feminine voice spoke up. "Coby?!"
"Y-yes, Ms. Alvida?!" A small quivering boy, with pink hair and thick dark blue specs, cried out instantly at the mention of his name.
"Who's the most beautiful woman on all the seas?!" The deep voice asked.
"T-that would be you, Ms. Alvida, pirate, mam!" Was the boy's instant reply.
The voice began to chuckle, then cackle in glee. The voice belonged to an enormous, middle aged woman, who was as big as a house, and as stout as a tree stump. In her wrinkled hands, she slammed a massive spike club that was close to being the same size as her down onto the deck floor before her.
"Right you are!" She agreed, showing a smile with her lips covered in a thick, unappealing lather of lipstick. "And only the most beautiful woman on the seas gets to have whatever valuable trinkets that floating jewelry box has to offer!"
"O-of course, Ms. Alvida!" Coby agreed in an instant once more, like a beaten puppy doing whatever it took to not get punished again.
"So, we gonna raid that ship now, or what, captain?!" A largely built pirate grinned at the notion of some action.
"Of course!" The overweight woman lifted her club in one hand with ease as she pointed at the vessel before them. "Let's bring about and have some fun, boys!"
The crew behind her cheered, ready to cause some chaos. Coby forced a smile, but felt like he wanted to be anywhere else but here.
Back on the cruise ship, the vessel gave another violent tip to the other side, making Luffy and Robin land against a vacant table.
"What's going on?!" The straw hatted boy asked aloud.
"If I had to guess, this ship is about to be raided by pirates!" The dark haired girl deduced. The straw hatted boy then place his hands on her shoulders, bringing her close to look her in the eye, with a serious expression across his face
"Robin!" Luffy spoke determinedly. "We gotta get out of here!"
The young archeologist looked to her man, wondering if he had some sort of plan.
"If those pirates find the pantry of this place, I'm gonna starve to death!" Was the rubber boy's reasoning.
Robin could have thought less of him, but this was why she fell in love with him. "Alright, Luffy! Let's go!"
As the two snuck out of a side door, the red headed girl had also pulled a disappearing act of her own.
The bright pink pirate vessel had made it to the cruise ship and run across its side, positioned for the opposing crew to latch on to it with a multitude of grappling hooks and draw it in closer. As soon as it was in boarding distance, the Alvida pirate crew stormed the ship, ready to make a profit of the innocence…
All except Coby.
"Coby!" Alvida yelled out, startling the poor boy, who was shaking on the spot with a rope in his hand. "What are you waiting for?! Get over there!"
"B-but…I don't think I can make it…" The small child spoke up.
"I'm I hearing things, or did you just talk back to me?!" The large woman inquired as she closed in on him.
"N-no, Lady Alvida! I swear I-!" Cody shut his flapping mouth when the pirate woman was towering above him.
"GET GOING, ALREADY!" Alvida decided to give the boy a boost across the ship, with a swift kick up Coby's backside, sending him flying toward the ship, yelling in pain.
When Coby made a rather painful landing, he suddenly had to move when Alvida came flying at him right after. He barely had enough time to dodge before the rotund woman landed and crashed into the ship much like the cannon balls she had been firing before hand.
Coby ran away screaming in fear, heading down into the cruise ship's interior.
He ran through the endless corridors of the ship's insides, until he found a vacant room and ran inside it, panting for breath as he stopped for a moment.
"That…was a close one…!" He gasped though strained breaths.
"Well, look who it is…" A voice brought the boy out of his heavy breathing. Turning around, he saw that three of Alvida's crew were walking in to the same room as him, all with cruel smirks on their faces. "Our favorite little cabin boy!" The shortest of the three insulted the boy.
"Sneaking off to hide from the captain again, Coby?" Another one of the three, the tallest of them jeered, enjoying the sight of watching Coby squirm.
"N-no, not at all!" The small boy defended himself weakly. "Just…looking to see if anything was worth taking around here! Pirate's life and all, you know?!"
"Yeah, we know…" The last of the three, a large husky one stepped forward, cracking his knuckles in a show of force. "We know that this isn't the first time you've ran and hid on a raid before! Wonder what captain Alvida would do to you if she found out?"
"P-please don't tell her!" The boy begged, nearly falling to his knees as tears came to his eyes. "I'll do whatever you want, just please don't tell her!"
The three pirates laughed, enjoying the privilege of making their cabin boy cry.
Suddenly, a doorway between Coby and the large pirate swung open, slamming into the pirate's face out of nowhere. This took the boy and the other two pirates by surprise, with all three dropping their jaws in unison.
Stepping out of the doorway came a straw hatted boy, patting his now enlarged belly, with a satisfied smile on his face. As he patted his inflated stomach, he soon gave a rather large burp.
"Ahh~! That hit the spot!" He exclaimed happily, until two sword blades were pointed in his face. Looking to the owners of the weapons, he saw two pirates looking mad as all heck.
"What?" The boy asked simply.
"DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU JUST DID?!" The tall man barked.
"YOU'RE GONNA REGRET THAT!" The short man seethed, only to be interrupted by an incredibly attractive girl coming out from the door next. Both the men and the small boy found themselves stunned by the beauty before them.
"What is it, Luffy?" She asked quizzically.
"These guys are mad at me, and I don't know why." He pointed to the fuming pirate duo.
"Perhaps it has something to do with that gentleman down there." She pointed down at the unconscious pirate on the floor, who had a dazed smile on his face.
Luffy looked down to the knocked out man and realized what was wrong. "Oh! Sorry about that! Didn't see him!"
"Oh, you're gonna be sorry, all right!" The short pirate pulled back his blade, his tall partner doing the same, each making ready to run the two through.
Back in the ballroom, all the guests had been rounded up and were surrounded by Alvida and her crew.
"All right, folks, you know how this works!" The large lady ordered smugly. "Give us everything that glitters, and that's all we'll take! Try anything funny, and we start taking lives!"
As Alvida's crew snickers at the scared faces of the nobles, up on the stands, the red head girl was hiding behind one of the supporting columns. With a grin and a gleam in her eye, she pulled her dress off in one swift motion and was now dawning a motley pirate outfit.
Sneaking off from the crowd sized shake-down, the girl made her way to one of the grappling hooks still clinging onto the ship and made her way across. Once she was on board Alvida's galleon, she began searching the whole ship for what she was looking for.
Coby covered his eyes, not wishing to see the bloodshed about to happen. As he did, what sounded like a flinging rubber band went off. He dared to open his eyes and saw that the boy and girl were fine, the two pirates were now weaponless and afraid, and they're blades had been embedded into the ceiling above them.
"watch what you're doing with those!" Luffy scolded the bewildered duo. "You could have cut Robin!"
"W-w-w-w-w…" The two now quivering crooks stuttered. "W-who are you?!"
"I'm Monkey D. Luffy!" He pulled the girl to his side close. "And this is my girl, Robin!"
"A pleasure to meet you!" The dark haired girl giggled.
Meeting the incredibly odd couple became too much for the pirates, so the scooped up the unconscious cremate and bailed from the room, close to crying as they fled. "Lady Alvida! Lady Alivida!"
Luffy and Robin chuckled as they watched them go, until the straw hatted boy's stomach began to rumble. "Aw! I'm hungry again!"
"There's still plenty of stock left in the pantry, Luffy." Robin advised.
"Sweet! Let's eat!" The boy led Robin toward the pantry once more, the girl smiling as she let him lead the way.
All the while, Coby was watching the two who had completely ignored him this whole time, until he decided to speak up. "W-Wait a minute!"
The odd couple stopped before heading in, finally taking notice of the small boy.
"Who are you?" Luffy asked quizzically.
"How long have you been there?" Robin was bewildered with how the bespectacled boy had gone unnoticed to even her this whole time.
"M-my name's Coby…" The pink haired boy introduced himself shyly. "A-And if I were you… I'd get out of here while I still could!"
"How come?" Luffy titled his head in confusion.
"Do you have any idea what you've just done?!" The boy seemed like he was close to wetting himself. Do you have any idea who's gonna come after you?!"
"Where is Coby, that little rat?!" The rotund pirate woman stomped up and down the deck of the now captured cruise ship. "I didn't see him helping out with the loot! If he's run off to hide again somewhere, I'm gonna-!"
"LADY ALVIDA!" The large lady didn't get to finish as three of her men, one of them out cold, came barging out of a deck hatch, the two carrying him close to tears.
"What's up with you two?!" She bellowed.
"T-there's some kinda m-monster down here!" One of the panicking pirates cried out, pointing his finger down below.
"With a cute girl with him, too!" The other chimed in, only to throw his hands up to his mouth as he realized what he just said.
"Cute?" Alvida whispered, making the rest of her crew take a step back. "So she's cute, is she?!" The crew all gulped. "Cuter than me, then, is she?!" She clasped her club tightly in anger and began to raise it up. The two who arrived began scrambling back into the hole, leaving their friend to wake up. "More beautiful than me then, is she?!"
"Wha…what's going on?" The pot-bellied pirate asked innocently.
"DON'T YOU DARE SAY ANOTHER GIRL'S MORE BEAUTIFUL THAN ME!"
Before the bloated pirate man could figure out his surroundings, the much more bloated pirate woman threw her club right at him, and sent him flying off the ship like a ball struck by a bat, far off into the distance where he became barely a speck before disappearing.
Alvida was seething with rage, breathing heavily to calm herself. Unfortunately, it didn't work. "Anyone that say's another woman is prettier than me ever again, I'll give them that, but worse! GOT IT?!"
"Y-yes, Lady Alvida!" Her loyalty frightened crew agreed in unison.
"Now…" Alvida stomped over to her club before picking it back up and placing it on her shoulder. "Let's get a look of this 'pretty girl' that took my men's eyes off me!"
"So, if I may reiterate…"
Luffy, Robin and Coby were now back in the cruise ship's pantry, with the straw hatted boy snacking on a bushel of apples, Robin sitting beside him with one in her hands, and Coby sitting on the floor, currently in awe at how much Luffy was putting away.
"You boarded what you thought was your fishing boat, but it turned out to be a pirate long boat belonging to Lady Alvida and her pirate crew, and have been forced to be their cabin boy ever since?" The dark haired girl listed off the story that Coby had told them.
The spectacled boy was still watching Luffy eat more than his weight in food, but managed to snap out of it. "Uh…yeah, that's pretty much it…"
Luffy swallowed a mouthful before he said anything. "Why don't you just stand up to her, or run away if you hate it so much?"
"Are you kidding?!" Coby cried out in outrage. "If Lady Alivida caught wind of me even thinking about making a run for it, I'll be on the business end of her club!"
"So you're dead if you do, and dead if you don't!" Luffy began to laugh, only to get nudged in the sides by Robin, who gave him an unimpressed glare. Luffy immediately stopped, while Robin looked back the small pink haired boy with pity.
"Coby," she spoke softly, making the boy look at her in slight awe. It had been awhile since anyone had talked to him in such a gentle manner. "I know what its like to be surrounded by people who mistreat you. But what helped me to survive those awful days was focusing on what I wanted to do with my life; my dream."
Coby's eyes widened slightly at her words.
"Do you have a dream, Coby?" Robin inquired.
The boy shuffled in his spot, as if wrestling with himself on weather or not he should speak.
"Well…" He finally found the courage to pen his mouth. "I've always wanted…to be a marine…"
"A marine?" Luffy asked through another mouthful of apple.
"YES!" Coby shot up from the floor, clutching his fist in a passion that had been long suppressed. "I've always wanted to be a marine! Beating up pirates, and saving lives! It's been my dream, ever since I was a kid!"
"But, you're still a kid…" Luffy pointed out, earning another elbow to the side from Robin.
Coby was beaming at this point, he hadn't felt like this in what felt like forever. However, his newfound energy was short-lived, as he sank to the floor in depression once more. "But that's never gonna happen…If I don't even have the guts to stand up to Alvida, how could I ever become a marine?"
Robin and Luffy looked at each other, appearing to have a mental conversation over the boy. They then both gave a smile, as Luffy moved himself over to Coby and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, Coby?"
The spectacled boy looked up at him.
"Do you know what I wanna be?"
The pink haired child shook his head.
"I wanna be the Pirate King!" The straw hatted boy announced proudly.
Coby blanched. "P-p-p-pirate…King?!"
Yep!" Luffy nodded.
"You?!" Coby pointed a finger.
"Uh-huh!" Luffy nodded again.
"S-so…you guys…?" Coby switched his pointed finger between him and the dark haired girl.
"Are pirates, too!" Luffy smiled as he took Robin in his one arm, the girl draping herself on her man happily.
Coby looked like he was about to faint. Luffy and Robin looked at each other once again, wondering if it was something they said that made the boy freeze up as he had. The straw hatted boy reached his hand out, about to shake the pink haired child out of his stupor. "Uh, Coby?"
The boy suddenly shot up from the floor once again, taking the odd couple by surprise. "You actually want to be the Pirate King?!"
"Yes!" Luffy was getting tired of saying the same thing.
"But, but that means going to the Grand Line! The Pirate's Graveyard!" Coby are more and more frantic the more he talked. "You'd have to go through the navy, the sea-kings, and any other pirate that wants to go after that treasure! Not to mention any of the other crazy things that happen out there! You can't go to the Grand Line! You'll get yourself killed! It's impossible! You'll never make it-!"
Coby's ranting was interrupted by Luffy clocking over the head with his fist.
"Luffy!" Robin gasped. She was only ignored as Luffy came out of her arms and stood over the now groaning boy.
"Why'd you hit me?!" Coby was close to tears. He'd never been hit that hard, not even by Alvida.
"Seemed like the only way to make you stop." Was the straw hatted boy's honest answer.
Coby could only sigh at this, his defeatist nature getting the better of him.
"Listen, Coby…" Coby turned his head up to the boy above him, Luffy taking his hat off and looking at it with a far away look in his eye.
"Becoming the Pirate King is my dream." He stated matter of factly. "And I know how dangerous it is, but I still wanna give it a shot; the best shot I can manage. And if I don't make it, then I can say I at least tried."
Coby was now stunned in light awe at Luffy's words.
Robin smiled as she too stood up and walked toward her man. "It's the same for me. Have you ever heard of the Ponoglpyhs, Coby?"
Coby shook his head in silent attention.
"Well, they say that the Ponoglphs are ancient stone slabs that have the missing history of the world on them," Robin continued. "My dream is to read them, and find that history, and hopefully share it with the world. Much like Luffy's goal, mine has many dangers that will try to stop me, but I want to do it anyway."
"But why?" Coby asked, hanging off of the dark haired girl's words.
"Well…" Robin gave it some thought before smiling. "Simply…because I want to."
Luffy grin at his girl's words, wrapping his arm around her was it and pulling her in to give her a kiss on the cheek. Coby blushed slightly at this public show of affection, the act bringing him out of his awe.
"Well, that's all we can say, really." Robin concluded for the both of them.
"Yeah! And I'm good and full, now!" Luffy patted his belly. The odd couple then began making their way to the panty door. "See you around, Coby! Good luck getting out of your miserable life!"
"Luffy!" Robin chided in a lecturing tone.
"You know what…?" The small voice stopped the both of them, making them look back to the spectacled boy who was still down on the floor. "…I'm gonna do it!"
"Do what?" Luffy asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I'm gonna become a marine!" Coby announced, his timid nature seeming to disappear completely as he shot up from the floor. "I'm gonna get out of here, find a boat, sail to the first navy base I find, and beg the to let me be a marine!"
Luffy and Robin gave the boy a small smile, proud of him for taking the first step toward being a little braver.
"And when I do become a marine," Coby clutched his fists. "The first pirate I
m gonna hunt down is that no-good, big, fat, ugly old whale of a pirate-!"
Before Coby could finish that sentence, the ceiling above them caved in, making the boy scramble for safety, while Luffy shielded Robin from any spare debris.
Out of the dust and destruction, a massive figure began to take shape, revealing itself to be Lady Alvida, looking mad as could be. "There you are, you little pest! So you were hiding out on another raid again!"
Coby's bravery from before disappeared in an instant, turning back into the stuttering, scared little boy he was before. "N-no, Lady Alvida! I w-was looking for s-some food to bring back! I swear!"
The rotund woman ignored the boy for now as she took in the sight of the two strangers with the pink haired boy before her. She sneered at the girl. "So, you must be the pretty little thing that took my men's eyes off me!" She took a moment to look her up and down. "Please! I see prettier every time I look in the mirror!"
Robin didn't even attempt to dignify that accusation with a retort, not liking the spitefulness in the woman's eyes. Alvida then looked over to the boy beside her. "And you must be that 'monster' my boys were blubbering about?!" She looked back up from the hole she made. "This string-bean is what you were so afraid of?! You made it sound like that pirate hunter Zoro showed up!"
"Zoro?" Luffy questioned to himself.
Alvida looked back to the young couple with a growl. "Whatever! None of it's gonna matter once I pound you two into paste!" She grinned in malice. "But before that…COBY!"
The pink haired boy flinched at the loud mention of his name. "Y-yes, L-Lady A-Alvida?!" Hearing the fear back in the boy's voice made Robin dislike the large pirate lady before her all the more.
"Tell these scrawny little no-body's who the most beautiful woman on the seas is?!" Alvida ordered as she bounced her dry, knotted black locks of hair with one hand, as if modeling for a picture.
"W-well…" Coby was still stuttering, the sudden entrance of his worst fear shaking him to his core. "I-it's, uh…"
"Oh, that's easy!" Luffy piped up, pulling the girl beside him into a tight embrace. "Robin!"
Everybody gathered around the odd couple could only stop and stare at the boy and his sudden declaration.
"L-Luffy?!" Robin threw her hands up to her face to cover her blushing cheeks.
"What? I'm just telling the truth!" The straw hatted boy went on, proceeding to throw both his arms around her as he squeezed her affectionately. "You're the cutest, prettiest, most beautiful girl in the whole wide world!"
"Luffy! Stop it~!" Robin attempted weakly, but was at this point was gushing in happiness at Luffy's praising. "You're embarrassing me~!"
As the two shared their tender moment, Coby found himself blushing a little, darting his eyes at anything that wasn't the odd couple's public display of closeness. The pirates looking down into the hole raised an eyebrow each, looking at each other with quizzical expressions. Alvida was grinding her teeth in frustration, jealousy thick in her eyes as she took in the affection taking place before her.
As the straw hatted boy continued to hold Robin close, he then had a thought, and stuck his finger out at Alvida.
"Wait, Coby, is this that big, fat, ugly pirate you were talking about?"
Every jaw of every person around the young lovers dropped.
Coby was sweating bullets, aghast at what the straw hatted boy just said.
One of the pirates above was shaking in his boots. "He didn't?!"
Another swallowed a lump of fear in his throat. "He did…"
Alvida bagan to growl under her breath.
She clutched her club tight in anger.
She ground her teeth in brimming rage.
Veins began to strain in her forehead as her fury kept on building.
Then soon enough, like a kettle on a stove, Alvida hit her boiling point, and blew her top.
With a mighty roar, she swung her club high into the air, before bringing it crashing down on where Luffy and Robin were.
However, Luffy was too fast for her, as he held Robin tight to himself and dodged out of the way of the massive mace.
Luffy landed next to Coby, who could only gape at the boy's inhuman reflexes. Robin only giggled at the spectacled boy's perplexmxent.
"Time to go!" Luffy announced, grabbing Coby by the back of his shirt, and leaping high into the air, and out of the hole. Alvida watched them go, baring her teeth like a rabid wild animal.
Once Luffy, Robin and Coby were out of the hole, they landed before the now baffled crew of Lady Alvida. Luffy gave the startled thugs a grin before letting go of Robin and Coby.
One brave soul of Alvida's crew charged forward, swinging his blade down at Luffy.
Luffy dodged the blade, bending back to give the man a vicious headbutt. How the straw hatted boy didn't give himself a concussion from that blow, Coby didn't know.
Luffy then sensed a man coming up behind him, and sucker-punched him before he could do anything.
Four enemy pirates decided to strike all at once, diving for the boy in unison.
Luffy's reflexes allowed him to jump out of the way at the last second, as if in a mocking manner for them being too slow to keep up with him.
Out of nowhere, a lone enemy left from the balcony above the straw hatted boy, his blade crept to split Luffy in two.
Almost predictably, Luffy dodged the oncoming attack by merely leaning to one side, as the pirate landed to the ground with no success of his attack.
Before he could do anything else, Luffy grabbed him by his head, and flung him into his other crew mates, bowling them over into a heap of themselves.
Coby was awestruck with Luffy's abilities, while Robin had a proud smile on her face.
But just as Luffy was beginning to enjoy himself, a large mob of Alvida's men appeared behind him, looking ready to tear him apart.
"You can't gang up one one guy!" Luffy argued as he made a run for it, the fleet of men charging after him.
Coby was frantic of how Luffy was going to get out of this one, while Robin merely smiled knowingly to herself.
Luffy past one of the ship's masts and quickly grabbed hold of it, and kept on running.
When the enemy crew behind him followed, they stopped and stared at the oddity taking place before them.
Luffy's arm had stretched as far as he had run, like rubber.
Looking between the straw hatted boy and his elongated arm, the pirates soon caught on to what was going on.
Alvida for herself, managed to pull herself out of the hole she made in the ship's deck, just in time to see Luffy pull off his next trick.
"…Got'ya!" He grinned.
Alvida's crew ran the opposite direction, their anger turned to utter fright. But that just set them up for the straw hatted boy.
"Gum-Gum…" Luffy declared, setting himself up for something that none of the pirates wanted any part of.
"ROCKET!" Luffy shot himself back at the fleeing crew like a human slingshot, and crashed into the lot of them.
Robin began to chuckle at the display her man had put on. Watching the terrified faces of their enemies when Luffy stretched like that always put a smile on her face.
Coby's eyes were wide in shock, unable to process what he had just witnessed.
Even Alvida was struck dumb by the boy's unnatural stunt.
As the large pirate woman's crew groaned in agony, speed across the deck after Luffy's last attack, Robin rushed over to the boy and wrapped her arms around him. "Luffy, that as amazing!"
The straw hatted boy chuckled as the dark haired girl gave him a peck on the cheek. "Thanks, Robin!"
Coby dared to step toward the odd couple, scarcely afraid of whatever else could possibly happen. "Luffy…what are you?!"
The two pirate lovers looked to the stunned spectacled boy, Luffy quizzical of what he was talking about. Huh?…Oh!
He then realized what he meant, and proceeded to pull his cheek out, his flesh stretching like his arm before. "I'm a rubber-man! See?" He stated, his words slurred with his cheek elongated as it was. Robin giggled at Luffy's antics.
Coby was astounded by the straw hatted boy's statement. "A…a rubber-man! But that means you ate a…a…"
A large shadow loomed over the pink haired child. Coby turned around to see that it was Last Alvida who was standing over him, glaring hatefully at him and the odd couple. Coby ran over to the pirate lovers, hiding behind Luffy as he stared at the rotund woman.
"You ate a Devil Fruit, didn't you, straw-hat?" Alvida asked, seeming to be over her previous shock.
Luffy let his cheek snap back into place. "Yup! I ate the Gum-Gum Fruit!"
"I see…" Alvida mused out loud. "I heard stories about fruits giving people unimaginable power, but I thought they were just rumors…" She then looked between the boy and the dark haired girl with her arms still around him. "So, what's your story? Out for a little sight-seeing?"
"Actually, we're pirates!" Luffy declared proudly.
"Pirates?! You?!" She pointed between them before scoffing. "And how far do you expect to get when its just the two of you?"
"It's just us for now, but we plan on getting more members to make a full crew." Robin stated matter of factly.
"Yeah! We're thinking of getting…" Luffy counted each of his fingers on both his hands before smiling in satisfaction. "Ten…yeah, ten guys!"
Alvida cackled maliciously. "You've got to be joking!" She then turned to look over to the dark haired girl. "And you actually chose to be with this idiot?!"
Robin did not like that remark as she scowled at the large woman.
Alvida ignored her as she went back to talking to Luffy. "Well, boy, if you're really serious about being a pirate, and if you and I aren't under the same flag…then that would make us enemies, now wouldn't it?"
Luffy caught on quick to what she was saying as he smiled with glee. He let go of Robin, who courteously stepped back. Luffy wound up his fist, ready for a fight, until he felt a tug on his shirt from behind him. Looking back, he found that it was Coby, and he was looking more scared than ever since he found him.
"Luffy…" The pink haired boy whimpered. "We gotta get out of here…!"
"Why?" Luffy asked. "I can take her!"
"No, you can't!" Coby denied desperately. "Don't you see, Luffy?! Out of all the pirates on the whole sea, Alvida is the…the…"
Coby stopped when he looked into the eyes of the straw hatted boy. The spectacled boy couldn't figure it out, but it was like he was staring right through him, as if looking for something.
Coby then looked over to Robin, who looked at him the same way as Luffy. Like she was waiting for something.
Coby's mind was brought back to what the two of them said to him back in the pantry. About how they focused on what they wanted to do with their lives, and how they didn't care what happened.
They just went for it.
Coby was so caught up in his head, he almost didn't hear Alvida talking to him.
"Well, go on, Coby…" The large woman sneered smugly. "Tell them what you were about to say…"
Coby looked at the rotund pair woman, a black stare in his eyes. Alvida's arrogant grin faded when she saw this strange new behavior from the usually passive child.
And she certainly wasn't ready for what he did next.
His black stare turned to an expression of pure rage, and he roared out loud so that everyone around him could hear him.
"ALVIDA'S THE BIGGEST, FATTEST, UGLIEST THING ON THE WHOLE SEA!"
Silence filled the air.
Pirates still on Alvida's ship had wide eyes and gaping mouths.
Alvida was as still as a statue, stunned by the boy she used to pick on for fun calling her such a thing for the first time since she captured him.
Coby had clenched his eyes tight closed, fighting his inner fear for the first time, and refusing to take his words back.
Robin and Luffy were stunned as well for a moment, only to break out into laughter a second later; Robin holding a hand to her face in politeness, and Luffy bellowing out without a shred of shame.
Alvida came out of her shock, and began to snarl in fury. "What did you just say?!"
"You heard me, you lard-bucket!" Coby erupted again, his held back frustration seeming to break down the wall of fear that surrounded him. "Or are you so fat, that you've got blubber blocking your ears?!"
Robin clutched at her stomach on that one, while Luffy was close to falling to the floor.
"HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND?!" Alvida roared in outrage.
"Maybe, or maybe I'm doing what I've always wanted to do!" Coby refused to back down now. "I don't wanna be your whipping boy anymore, I wanna be a marine, just like I always wanted! to be And when I do become one, you're gonna be the fist pirate I hunt down! But it might not take so long, since your'e so big, that anyone could spot you from A MILLION MILES AWAY!"
And that was the final straw for Alvida's pride and patience. THAT'S ENOUGH!"
Coby was stunned. He couldn't believe it. He stood up for himself. He stood up for his dream. He never felt so alive!
"AAAH!" He screamed as Alvida raised her massive weapon. "I'M GONNA DIE!"
"COBY!" Luffy stepped infant of the terrified child, bringing Coby out of his fear, and grinned. "Well said!"
Before the rotund woman could bring her club down, a multitude of hands sprouted out all over her body, clinging to the arm that held her club, and holding her in place. "W-what the?! WHAT IS THIS?!
A mirth chuckle made its way to her ears, making her turn to the slim dark haired girl, had her arms crossed in an odd fashion.
"If you're so desperate to know," Robin enquired teasingly. "I ate the Hana-Hans Fruit."
Alvida tried to wrestle her way out of the phantom limbs, but no matter how angry she as, or how hard she struggled, Robin held her tight.
"And for the record," Robin chimed in once more. "I don't like it when someone insults my Luffy."
Alvida growled, wishing for nothing more than to bash that smug grin off of the young pirate girl.
"That wouldn't have hurt me anyway!" The straw hatted boy piped up, making Alvida look back at him in surprise. "I'm a rubber-man, remember?"
Luffy then clasped onto his right shoulder, and shot his fist back behind him, the rubber limb stretching far off the ship before stopping at a long distance.
"Gum-Gum…"
Alvida suddenly had a feeling she wasn't going to like what came next.
"PISTOL!"
Luffy pulled his arm back, the rubber limb building up speed.
Robin let her phantom arms disappear, letting Alvida go.
Before the large pirate woman could register that she was free again, it was too late.
Luffy smashed his fist right into Alvida's large gut, with a force strong enough to lift her off her feet, and send her flying off the ship, out over the water, and finally far into the distance, with the pot-bellied pirate screaming all the way.
The straw hatted boy's arm came back to him, snapping back into place. Luffy had a victorious grin on his face. Robin was smiling proudly at her man. Coby was aghast by the disappearance of his long time tormentor, and what was left of Alvida's crew could only gape at the loss of their large leader.
"YOU!" The shout from the straw hatted boy made all the pirates still standing on the now captain-less ship stand at attention. "Coby's leaving your crew and joining the marines! Gotta problem with that?!"
All the man on board shook their heads in humbled silence.
Coby was close to shedding tears, his two years of use and abuse were finally over. "Luffy…Thank you!"
Robin stepped up to her man and gave him a congratulatory kiss on the cheek, making Luffy blush but grin with pride.
The trio were then rocked off their feet, clinging onto the sidereal of the ship. Looking out to where the sudden jolt had come from, they found that it was a small fleet of marine battleships coming there way.
"Hey, Coby!" Luffy announced in excitement. "Now's your chance!" The pink haired boy looked at him in confusion. "You can join the marines here and now!"
"WHAT?!" The spectacled boy shrieked.
"And I do believe its time for us to go!" Robin declared, getting Luffy to nod in agreement and head for the closest lifeboat.
"W-wait!" Coby called to them ,scrambling into the same boat as the odd couple. "You gotta take me with you!"
"Why?" Luffy asked with a raised eyebrow. "This is your chance to be a marine, Coby!"
"If the Navy finds me here, they might think I'm a pirate!" The pink haired boy reasoned.
Robin silently agreed with the boy, while Luffy just looked at him in a confused fashion. Why doesn't he just tell them he's not a pirate, its that simple.
But it was too late to turn back now. Robin undid the ropes holding up the small dingy, and they all fell into the water below.
As the trio got their bearings from the fall, Luffy caught the sight of someone across from them, heaving a large sack of treasure on her tiny boat. It was the redheaded girl they bumped into in the ballroom.
The two locked eyes for a split second, time seeming to stop for just a moment.
Then the moment was over, as a falling cannonball blasted between the trio and the girl, separating them with a massive explosion of water and waves.
