April 14, 801 WG
"Oh Laboon! It's been so long!"
Luffy twitched at the sing-song tenor's cry. His limbs felt like lead and his right shoulder was numb. At least he wasn't in pain, which was what he had been expecting after facing down the Malice of the World. Malice of the World? Where did that thought come from? Then again considering conglomeration of dead spirits monolithic hatred toward the World Government, it did seem appropriate. But naming things wasn't his forte so why was he suddenly thinking of that thing as something dangerous and cool sounding as Malice of the World. He gave up within a few seconds when all that thinking threatened to intensify his headache which he awoke to being nothing more than a very dull throb. Thinking wasn't his forte either so maybe he shouldn't be doing that, at least not right now.
His attention turned back to the sounds filtering into space he occupied, but his awareness of the waking world was slower to return. Everything just wanted to slip back into sweet oblivion. So, he didn't understand what was being shouted outside at first. It even took him a moment to realize it was Brook that was shouting despite him having the most distinct combination of voice and speaking style in the whole world.
"I know, Laboon! We didn't mean to break our promise! I hung around just for everyone else that couldn't be here."
Huh? Laboon? What?
Luffy opened his eyes and looked around. It was the bed in Chopper's office. No one was there and daylight filtered in through the partially open door. An IV was attached to his arm and hung next to the bed. He struggled to sit up, feeling weaker than ever and not liking the feeling. Whatever recovery he had managed since his revival had been lost.
Luffy groaned from aches as well as annoyance at his current condition. He swung his legs over the bed's side, placing his bare feet on the floor. His hat sat on the desk across from him. His right arm was in a sling. For a moment he wondered why until his sluggish brain recalled that Zoro had nearly torn it off while he had been possessed. He pulled back his shirt to examine it but when he checked the condition of the injured shoulder there was no bruising. No sign that it had ever been injured despite the general numbness he awoke with. Odd.
He tried to stand but his knees wobbled, and he sat back on the bed. Frustrated, he growled then took a deep breath. He reached up with his left hand and gripped the bed post for support as he tried to stand again. This time he managed to get to his feet. He felt a sharp tug on the inside of his left elbow and remembered the IV. With grimace he pulled it out. Chopper could yell at him later for doing that, but he needed to go out and see everyone. He had to confirm with his own eyes they were fine. He was sure they were. He had been treated and Brook was singing outside but still he needed the reassurance of actually seeing they were all right after being possessed. Leaning against the wall as he shuffled toward the door, Luffy headed out.
He blinked at the brilliant light of the midday sun until his eyes adjusted. Ocean lay to one side and a wall of unyielding red rock lay to the other. He tilted his head up and saw the top of a lighthouse peering over a cliff before the red rock continued into the sky. He heard water roaring but it lay beyond the bow and the forward deck blocked his view. However, he recognized the rock, the towering cliffs belonged only to the Redline.
That lighthouse…
His mind finally took in the echoing moaning sounds and he realized it was the cries of a happy island whale. Brook's statements finally translated in his mind.
Laboon! They were at the entrance to the Grandline! When did they get here and why were they here?
Confused, Luffy stepped forward and away from the door onto the grass covered deck. His knees threatened to give way once he lost the support of the wall and he shook like a newborn fawn as he tried to remain standing.
"Luffy!"
Nami was suddenly next to him, putting his arm around her neck and keeping him from falling forward. The others seemed to materialize around him, though he could have sworn the deck was empty when he stepped out.
"Let me get you something to eat," said Sanji as he vanished back to his kitchen. "You must be starving."
Luffy didn't feel hungry, which was not a sign he didn't need food. It just meant his stomach was even lazier than the rest of him. After a lifetime of being the most diligent and hardest working part of him when it came to anything that wasn't training that was irritating and alarming. Ever since he returned from the lands of the dead, his stomach had been slower to awaken than he. His appetite had also not recovered. He still ate twice what anyone else his size would eat but the feasts he would down before were now far too much for him. He just didn't have the room for them since losing his devil fruit.
Chopper climbed onto his back and checked his shoulder himself. "Can you move your right arm, Luffy?" he asked as he prodded it. "I need to see how stiff it's gotten."
"Huh?"
"Luffy, you've been asleep for two weeks," said Nami as she helped Luffy walk toward the swing. It was a place for him to sit that wasn't inside and wasn't on the ground. He didn't think he could make it to the ground without falling on his butt. The effort to get to the swing exhausted and winded him. He sat there gasping as he clutched the left rope to keep himself upright.
"Luffy?" Chopper's voice was low and full of concern and Nami bent over to peer into his face. Luffy wanted more than anything to reassure them but didn't have the energy to do it.
"Just give me a second, Chopper," Luffy finally managed to say after a half-a-minute of just breathing as he pressed his forward against the rope. "I'll see to my arm then."
"Maybe wait until you've eaten and have some energy again," suggested Nami.
"I'll get Luffy something to drink while Sanji makes the meal," said Carrot. The bunny mink turned and trotted toward the galley.
"Make sure it's something with calories," Nami called after her. Carrot waved her hand at the ginger-haired navigator before disappearing inside.
"Sorry, I'm causing you nothing but trouble lately," said Luffy, feeling some of his earlier depression returning.
"That's not true, Luffy!" snapped Chopper as he jumped back down on the grass.
"Indeed! Franky told us what happened," said Nami. "Zoro's all upset because he was the one used to hurt you."
Luffy flinched. It wasn't Zoro's fault. Everyone had gotten possessed by that thing. It was more shocking he hadn't, and he didn't even know why. Scratch that, he had an idea. It had something to do with his mother. The Malice of the World had mistaken him at first for her before realizing they were related. He then remembered what he had had to promise the thing to get to go back to sleep.
Luffy's face must have revealed his thoughts because Nami asked, "What's wrong, Luffy?" The Straw Hat captain didn't respond right away.
He took a deep breath as the enormity of what needed to be done sank into him. He had to protect the Grandline from all harm. Worse, while he had been asleep, he had seen something that told him he would soon be called to action. A vision of some future calamity. But he didn't understand what had been happening in it. He needed to talk with his crew and pick their collective brains for information, for ideas.
"Luffy, you're awake," said a familiar tenor followed by a thump of someone landing on his deck.
Luffy turned his head to see who had returned to the ship and gasped. Lance stood there, wearing a cape and some kind of long weapon on his back and looking very imposing. Seeing his godfather like this suddenly made his claim to being a former Marine believable, not that he ever thought that man had lied to him he just hadn't looked the part before.
Law landed next along with Crocus, the lighthouse keeper and Roger's former physician.
"It's wonderful to see you kids again and Laboon is over the moon," said Crocus. "I'm glad you were able to keep your promise and to discover the true fate of the Rumbar Pirates. Brook and Laboon are having an emotional reunion right now." The old doctor turned his head sideways. "You look quite the worse for wear, Straw Hat."
"I feel the worse for wear," said Luffy with a weak laugh. Carrot reappeared with some type of vegetable juice and held it out to her captain. Luffy hooked his arm around the rope, he was still having trouble staying in his seat, and took it from her. He sipped it at first. Vegetable, no matter what form they took, just weren't his thing but he knew he needed to drink it. Sanji had probably helped prepare it, it tasted wonderful.
He knew better than to gulp it. After spending weeks with a rebelling stomach, he knew not to swallow large amounts of anything less his stomach protest the intrusion. Fortunately, his stomach accepted the offering with a mild gurgle. At least it wasn't waking up grumpy.
After Luffy had finished his drink he smiled and thanked Carrot. He then turned his attention toward Lance and Law.
"I knew we were coming back here after reaching Raftel, but I didn't know you wanted to too, Law," said Luffy. He then glanced at Lance. "But Lance, why are you here?"
"We're all here for the same reason, Luffy," said Law look uncomfortable. "Lance, here, arrived just at the tail end of that spirit thing's attack."
"You were hit with that, too?" asked Crocus. "I vaguely remember getting possessed by it."
"That would have been nice to know when we were here the first time," said Nami, irked. Luffy didn't say anything but agreed one hundred percent, not that his younger self would have heeded the warning. They didn't have Robin at the time so wouldn't have thought anything about reading any impossible rocks. In fact, the poneglyphs hadn't even come up then. He went to distract himself by taking another sip from his glass only to remember that it was empty. Robin appeared with a sly smile holding a pitcher. Luffy looked at her sheepish and held out his glass.
Crocus grimaced. "I didn't think of it. Honestly, I didn't realize it would cause you that much of a problem. We shook it off, didn't think you wouldn't be able to do the same."
"You didn't shake it off. My mother kicked its ass," said Luffy from around his glass. Everyone stared at him. He looked back at them in confusion. "Franky told you what happened, right?" he asked as pulled his glass away from his mouth.
"Franky told us some sort of red misty thing came out of our bodies after we fell over unconscious, formed a mouth and swallowed you up before dispersing," said Nami.
"Whatever conversation you had with it, no one else heard," said Lance. "You may not have been communicating with any conventional method, which is why you were worn out."
That made sense. As much as ghostly happening ever could. Mendoran were heavy into all things spirits and auras, so of course Lance wasn't blinking at any of this talk when most people would have been wondering what the crews had been smoking just prior to the incident.
Luffy took another sip then a deep breath. He described the entire confrontation with the Malice of the World, the revelation about his mother and the promise he had made to make it back off. Everyone stared at him in silence, faces pale.
"Well damn!" snapped Law. "And we already have a nation bombing crisis on the Grandline."
"What do you mean?" asked Luffy, feeling his blood run cold.
"It's the reason why I'm here, Luffy," said Lance, his expression grim. He then went on to explain what he had told the crews two weeks earlier about Pluton. He explained about the plan to destroy Pluton by igniting the magazine and the risks involved if Sabo couldn't do it from the deck.
"And the news gets worse," said Lance.
"How so?" asked Robin.
"I was just talking with Haku," replied Lance, his expression growing dark. "The Marines were lying in wait on Moady. I fear Aaron, the one who warned me of Pluton's discovery, may have been caught. Akainu was expecting them. The place is a bloody warzone right now, equal in violence and destruction to Paramount War. The Revolutionary Army can't get near Pluton."
Everyone stared at Lance in horror. If Dragon and Sabo couldn't break through before the ship dove…
"Do they know where it's going yet?" asked Crocus. Lance shook his head.
"Alabasta," whispered Luffy. His dream. His two-weeklong dream was starting to make terrifying sense.
"It certainly one of the possibilities but why Alabasta?" asked Lance. The others were looking back and forth between themselves, uncertain.
"I was dreaming. In the dream, we were in Alabasta, walking down the streets, just us from before. It was before. Vivi was there… even Ace. I was seeing all the people walking around instead of being focusing on my own wants. Then I was in the palace and Vivi was there in her royal robes staring out the window toward the sea. She was older, like how we saw her in the pictures from Reverie. She had her hands clasped before her in prayer, crying as of all hope were gone. Then a light swallowed everything and when it went away only a hole and mushroom shaped smoke cloud remained. And the sea was roaring in to fill it."
Luffy rubbed his head. Recalling it had made his head hurt for some reason. The others paled and Lance clenched his fist.
"Vivi sailed with us for a time. If they learned of her involvement with pirates…" said Nami.
"Or her father was asking questions they didn't like in Reverie…" said Robin. Newspaper had mentioned King Cobra confronting the Gorosei over something, but not what.
"Or it could be the Nefetari family were the only one of the twenty kings to refuse to move to Marie Geoise and are considered traitors by the Celestial Dragons," said Lance.
"Why would you know that?" asked Law.
Lance gave a crooked smile. "Maryanne mentioned it once a long, long time ago. She never did answer how she knew. Just another thing about her we never got answers for. That's neither here nor there. We need to focus on the present. They're targeting Alabasta."
"You're so certain," said Luffy. "Why? That Malice thing poured all sorts of horrors into my head. Maybe I was just dreaming and that's all that was."
"It's the only lead we have, Luffy," said Lance, his expression stern and his tone becoming harsh. He strode forward until he was in front of the younger man and gently placed his hands on Luffy's shoulders as he looked at him. "Your mother was a collection of mysteries and secrets that were never revealed. We knew nothing about her origins or the nature of her unique abilities, only that they were not of devil fruit origin. Thus, potentially inheritable. That's what I think is going on here. Your trip to the other side and the loss of your devil fruit awoke your birthright. You say Alabasta is the target. I have no reason not to believe it. With what's happening in Moady, I'm now praying Maryanne's last 'prediction' comes true."
Luffy stared at Lance, not sure what to say to all that. He really didn't know his parents at all. Lance did. Maybe not everything, but far more than him.
"What was that prediction?"
Lance sighed and said, "That it would be you and not your father that would destroy Pluton."