Story Cover Art shipfiend. Original Characters Eiichiro Oda.

Theme Song: "Don't Play" Halsey

Franky pulled the mask off his face as he wiped the sweat from his brow. His bulky frame heaved the panels of wood ripped off the Adam Tree and fresh off the black market. The red cloak he wore was the most clothing he ever had on, and he longed to rip off the ridiculous getup for his preferred swim brief and unbuttoned Hawaiian shirt.

With the sun high over Water 7, he weaved along the back alleys of the waterways and canals and talked into his walkie-talkie. "Zambai? Do you copy?"

Looking over his shoulder, he laid in the darkness cautiously as he knew if Iceburg or any of the Galley-La lot found him, he'd have a high price to pay for this precious wood. Either way, the Franky Family needed to make a quick buck, and bounties had been particularly low in the past few months.

"Big Bro, do you copy?" The tiny contraption hissed.

"Yes, Zambai-bro. Hurry up and bring the bull around…I can't be dragging these logs through the streets much longer."

"Roger, Big Bro!"

As soon as Franky hung up, a speedboat propelled itself through the canal streets and stopped before him. His right hand, Zambai, at the wheel with a wide grin. "Yo!"

"Yo!" Franky cheered as he threw the wood into the boat. "Now, get this back to Franky House…we got a ship to build."

"Got it, Big Bro! Oh, Kiwi and Mozu said they needed some help with the shopping."

"Yoooo, these chicks always get way too much!" Franky said as he disrobed himself. Without the clunky cloak, Franky posed with his forearms flexed and his classic speedo on. His wavy bright blue hair shone in the light reflected off the clear blue water, and the gold thick chain on his neck shimmered.

Zambai clapped in appreciation but focused again. "Big Bro, you told them you wanted to throw a party tonight for the haul we made on the black market…so they are getting a lot."

"Right…right…we're moving on and we're getting paid…" Franky rubbed his chin and threw on his sunglasses. "Fine, I guess it can't be helped. Take this back to the house, and I'll meet the girls. Everybody thirsty, so drinks on me tonight!"

Zambai hollered as he drove off, and Franky made his way back to the sidewalks that bordered the main channels of Water 7. Franky was all about celebrating the wins, but the last few months had been difficult. There seemed to be a shift happening, and though Franky was unsure of who was to blame…he felt Water 7 was going to change.

Ever since Tom, Franky had a bad taste in his mouth for working with government officials, which was fine for a "thug" like him. Iceburg, on the other hand, was a mayor, bellowed and respected, but he often worked for the world governments. Too easily, Franky thought, which is why he managed to get Pluton's blueprints off him.

For a moment, Franky thought of rebuilding it. Creating the warship that could cause immense destruction, but Franky was not ready to disavow another ship if he could help it. Nevertheless, while Iceburg collected together shipwrights and formed Galley-La, Franky worked with the forgotten. In the slums, he found his family…and to protect them, Franky would do anything.

Still, there was a pain in the back of his neck that only satiated when he glanced up at the sky and saw the birds flying away. Perhaps he was restless in one place, but Water 7 was his home…at least until every memory of Tom disappeared. Kokoro was already gone, but Franky…where was he supposed to go?

He came back from his ponder as he noticed his two associates and crossed over to them rather quickly. At 7' 4 ", his long legs took him far, but he was a bit sluggish due to the heavy metal under his fabricated skin. Specifically, in his large forearms, but Mozu and Kiwi stuck their arms into the crook of his elbows as they cheerily greeted them.

"Big Bro, did you hear?" Mozu inquired.

Franky shook his head and Kiwi continued her sister's thought, "Apparently we have a few heavy hitting bounties coming our way!"

"Really?" Franky said as he rolled his r's. "And who might they be?"

Kiwi took out a flyer from her shopping bags, "Ever heard of the Fish Man Crew?"

"They are a smaller network, but apparently, they have pissed off enough people to warrant a heavy load of paper," Mozu added.

Franky took the posters and flipped through them, "They don't look so tough…hell, I've known true fighters from the same region these guys are from. Like Tom…Tom was the real shit compared to these posers-"

He stopped walking and pushed his glasses up with a finger to look at the girl's face on the paper. "And she's with them?"

Kiwi and Mozu leaned in and smirked, "Yeah…Cat Burglar Nami. Why, Big Bro? You've met her?"

Franky shook his head, "No…she…she just looks like a freaking kid compared to these guys." He looked up to see a bird circling, "But a bounty is a bounty."

Just as they were turning the corner, the three stopped. A few feet away from them, the very girl in the picture was being led down some stairs. She did not look as young as she did in the picture, and in fact, she looked like she had a few bruises on her body. Kiwi and Mozu hesitated at first, but Franky moved his arm into position.

"It's our lucky day, girls. Guess we're gonna eat super well tonight!" At that, Franky let the shot fire from his arm mechanism and the two men leading her ducked for cover, but the debris separated them from her.

Franky directed Mozu and Kiwi to go for the two coughing on the floor as Franky charged after the girl. She was quick, even in cuffs, she dove in and out of alleyways as Franky sprinted to keep up with her. She jumped over a cart that Franky rammed through.

"Shit! Motherfucker, don't play with me!" He shouted at her, but she managed to hop over a few boats and across the channel.

"Yeah, don't even try…your fat ass is gonna sink, old man." She joked with her tongue stuck out.

Franky fumed, "Old man? You little brat. Can't fuck up my vibe girlie…" And Franky launched himself forward, but he was short. So, he turned his hands down and the rockets from his arms launched him forward.

The fear on the girl's face rose as she realized her hunter was not a normal human. "The fuc- what are you the Terminator?"

She sprinted on, as Franky landed on the other end with a smirk. He posed and called after her, "It's called Super Franky, babe."

The girl stopped at an archway for a moment to give him a blank stare as she took in his hairy legs, speedo, and unbuttoned shirt. "You're just a pervert, aren't you? Flashing young girls your nasty underwear…"

Franky was dumbfounded at the cheekiness of this stranger and so his body jolted into action which led her down another rabbit hole and him after her.

As they seemed to go deeper and deeper into the city, the colorful architecture faded as the salty water whipped around the houses. Franky was dangerously close to the old sunken parts of the town, where new houses are built on top of them. As a kid, he called them underwater coffins, because if you happened to be stuck when the houses sink or sea level rises... you'd better hope to be a Mermaid or Fish Man. Franky chuckled to himself over the monikers given to his friends, Kokoro and Tom, but now he needed to focus.

He turned a corner and found himself at a dead end, wondering where the quick-footed girl could have gone. As his eyes went to the sky again, he saw a rather large bird diving for him. Except it wasn't a bird, but the orange hair girl. Franky didn't have a chance as she brought a rusted pipe onto his extended arm. It made a sickening crack, but otherwise, he was fine. However, she wasn't quite done and with another swift move, she swept his legs from underneath him and had the pipe in the hole of his palm.

She huffed, "You superhuman? 7-foot-tall metal giant or something?"

Franky smirked, "Something like that. But why don't you just come quietly with me…I'll hand you over, collect my bounty…and then we never have to see each other ever again."

A heeled foot went to his thick neck and she applied pressure as she spoke, "Now…where would that leave me, Cyborg Franky?"

"You've heard of me, then?"

"Well, my boss likes to use you for his ships. Apparently, Fish Men still appreciate quality work."

"You praising me right now?"

"No, I am just saying…you don't seem like the type to be working with Arlong's lot."

"I'm on my own…and I had some space to do it…besides money has no law."

Her brown eyes softened but before Franky could take advantage of the momentary humanity, the pipe went further into the barrel in his arm. "That's right, Cyborg…money has no law. So, what if I told you…I could make you a very rich man. Support that ragtag group of idiots you call a family?"

Franky narrowed his eyes, "How do you know so much about me? About us?"

She brought her face closer, "Cause I'm on my own, too. Knowledge is power…so the more you know…"

"What? You their slave or something?" It was not an entirely foreign concept to Franky. Tom and Kokoro would not share their past much, but Franky knew some of the horrors they faced simply because of who they were versus who had all the power around them.

Her foot on his throat did not move. "No…I'm going to end them."

Franky chuckled, "Hmm, women don't play no fucking games, huh?"

"Only when I know I can win."

"Well, just FYI, Nami the Cat Burglar…if one arm has a rocket…you should assume the other arm does, too!"

Franky pointed it and Nami cussed as she narrowly moved out of the way. While she was on her back, Franky got back up and aimed his palm at her. However, as the smoke settled, a figure moved quickly through the dust and picked Nami up. He caught the apparent rescuer for a moment. Under a white hat, dark blue almost brown eyes set on a tanned face. A straight nose and a small smile framed by black hair. Yet, with a blink, both women were gone.

He coughed and tried to follow them, but his foot stepped on something and as he leaned down, he picked up a piece of paper. As Franky read it, he scrunched his nose in confusion. "What the hell is a u-soap?"

WHOOP. Guys, this is not exactly how I planned this section to play out…but but…like I said I love Water 7, and like I said- Robin and Franky are more intimately tied together, especially when you realize that timeline wise…it all fits. Anywhoo.

Is Nami saved? Was that indeed Robin who got Nami? Who left the note for Franky…or was it for Franky? Will our gang ever reach Iceburg? THE WORLD MAY NEVER KNOW…unless I tell you.

Also, I legit love this song cause it kinda has this underwater/island musical tones and I thought it fit so well.