BROTHER ON BOARD
Discordia19 - I figured after a gunslinger duel Sabo needed to quote a badass outlaw. You don't get more badass than Clint Eastwood.
Bluejay Blaze - That was it. I changed the word 'him' to 'that' so it would fit my situation. The quote's meaning remained intact so we're good. Vivi did the other quote. "I'm not that pristine." Is from the John Hughes movie 'the Breakfast Club'.
The Keeper of Worlds - I have a name and backstory sort of picked out for Miss Goldenweek. She has ties to Mr. 3 which I think would explain why such a young is working for a criminal organization with a creep like Galdino. Someone might discover Mr. 5's reincarnated Bomb Bomb Fruit... but it won't be the Straw Hats. They wont' discover Devil Fruit Reincarnation until a bit later. You'll see in this chapter that Sabo takes full responsibility for what he did to both Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine.
Lightsbane1905 - Yeah. And don't forget the ancient disease carrying bugs, human-eating dinosaurs, battle-crazy giants and the Island Eater. Brogy and Dorry should consider sending out travel brochures. 'Little Garden - the next big vacation destination. You'll have a good time or die in the process.' But something tell me that Nico Robin would be the only one overly interested.
The Patient One - I decided to have Mr. 3 tie into Miss Goldenweek's backstory. So I'm not going to kill him off like I did with Mr. 5. Galdino is going to stick around to be a reoccurring character and eventually he'll meet up with Buggy's Crew.
OrangeFrito - Is GG - Good Grief? or Good Game? I'm not quite sure how to take that...
rasEnshur1KEn - The arc isn't over yet! Usopp still gets his time to shine! Little Garden is a big moment for Usopp. I'd never take that away from him. And Bonnie is not royalty. She's actually the opposite. She comes from a place where there's a divisive split in the class system. Bonnie has her own reasons for sparing Vivi which will be revealed later.
Miqila - Originally I planned to do this story with just Sabo and his pipe. But I couldn't think of many attacks for him to use with it. So I decided to change his fighting style and I took a look at the Straw Hats and tried to think of something they didn't have. They don't use guns. Probably because of the non-killing policy. But Sabo with a normal rifle seemed too dark. I realized I needed something funny to lighten him up a bit. And so I gave him Bonnie Anne's Advanced Wheel-lock Rifle with an added scope and custom revolving action from Pirate 101 and had him call it his girlfriend. I didn't originally plan for Bonnie to be fully sentient but I thought it would be funny if the rifle was somehow the smarter of the two. Things just picked up and went from there. I'm happy with the direction they've taken.
luvBonnieAnne - Sabo takes responsibility for killing Mr. 5. And for concussing Miss Valentine. Bonnie's got some great moments at the beginning of this chapter so you have that to look forward to.
BedofRoses1989 - To be fair though, she is part of the group trying to kill him. I know it was rather brutal which is why I had three of the four other captives scold him about his rough treatment of the blonde. But you'll see in this chapter that Sabo shows remorse for what he did and takes it upon himself to ensure that Miss Valentine's injuries are treated. I fell in love with Miss Goldenweek's character during the Operation Meet Baroque Works cover story. I thought that there was so much unexplored potential in her lazy little character. So yes, she is that artist I'm looking for. But in order for her to join the Straw Hats... she has to be crazy first.
Miss Goldenweek-
Sanji stood alone on the deck of the Going Merry. The tyrannosaurus he had bagged for his hunting challenge against Zoro was lying on the shore next to the ship. But the ship was empty.
No Nami-swan. No Princess. Not even Bonnie Anne. And there was no sign of those other guys either. No Luffy. No Sabo. No Marimo. No Usopp. No duck.
"Where is everybody?" the Ship's Cook wondered as he scratched his head in confusion.
"HURRY UP AND GET US OUT OF HERE!" Nami yelled.
"We're working on it!" Sabo snapped back. He looked over at Usopp. "What do you think? That wax was a pain in the ass to crack. But the dearly departed Bomb-bastard showed us that it can be melted."
"Can we make a big enough fire to melt that huge cake-thing?" Usopp wondered.
"We may have to," Sabo reasoned, "Those three and the giant are already half wax. The fire could—" Sabo cut off midsentence then swung his rifle and smashed Usopp upside the head sending him flying.
WHAM!
"QUAACK!" Carue squawked in surprise and ran over to Usopp to check if he was alright.
"Colors Trap… Betrayal Black…"
Sabo turned to see Miss Goldenweek standing on her picnic blanket looking very annoyed.
"I forgot about you…" Sabo admitted with a frown.
"That dumbass…" Zoro growled. "He let his guard down…"
"Drop your gun…" Miss Goldenweek ordered.
TNK!
Sabo complied and Bonnie Anne clattered to the ground instantly squashing any hopeful notion that the others might have been harboring about Sabo being able to resist the hypnosis.
"Come here and put your coat back on," Miss Goldenweek instructed. "I don't want anyone rubbing my paint off this time." Sabo walked over and slipped his coat on to conceal the Colors Trap from view.
"Shit…" Zoro cursed, "Anyone else got a plan?" Everyone looked over at Usopp and the duck that was attempting to wake him.
"Do you have any idea how much trouble you've caused me?" Miss Goldenweek asked. "You broke out of Mr. 3's Candle Service Set, you knocked one Officer Agent silly and then you killed the other one! Get your gun. You got me into this mess… so you're gonna fix it."
"She's not just a gun," Sabo replied as he walked over to his rifle, "She's an Advanced Wheel-lock rifle with an added scope and custom revolving action."
"I don't care!" Miss Goldenweek told him. She looked over at Luffy who was still sitting calmly on the picnic blanket and stepped away from him. "Kill Straw Hat."
"I can't," Sabo told her.
"You have to!" Miss Goldenweek insisted, "I'm certainly not going to do it! But you killed Mr. 5 so I've gotta have a least one body to make up for it when Mr. 3 gets back. Shoot Straw Hat!"
KER-CHOW!
Sabo was thrown backwards by Bonnie's recoil and landed hard on his back.
THUD!
The bullet hit Luffy's square between the eyes and bounced off of the rubber man.
BOING!
"See?" Sabo said as he sat up. "He's rubber. I can't kill him with my gun."
"Then shoot someone else!" Miss Goldenwee instructed, "Any of them! All of them! I don't care who! Give me a body to show Mr. 3!"
"Usopp! Carue! Do something!" Vivi urged the sniper and the duck while Sabo reloaded.
Sabo pointed Bonnie and fired off a shot at each friend and ally in turn.
KER-CHOW! Missed Usopp.
KER-CHOW! Missed Carue.
KER-CHOW! Missed Nami.
KER-CHOW! Missed Zoro.
KER-CHOW! Missed Vivi.
KER-CHOW! Missed Brogy.
"Missed…" Sabo stated as he lowered his smoking rifle while Miss Goldenweek stared in shock.
"You missed all of them!" Miss Goldenweek exclaimed.
"Sorry…" Sabo apologized.
"You didn't even scratch them!" Miss Goldenweek complained.
"Sorry again…" Sabo apologized again.
"You even missed the giant!" Miss Goldenweek added. "How could you miss the giant? He's huge!"
"My rifle missed," Sabo replied. "Sorry…"
"That's not possible… you can't fight my hypnosis!" Miss Goldenweek insisted. "Let me see the symbol!"
Sabo slipped his arms partially out of his coat and it dropped down to reveal the perfectly intact black C.T. symbol painted on his back.
"I'm confused too, little friends," Brogy admitted while the Artist was distracted, "How in the world did he miss me? Every shot he's taken before now was dead on accurate."
"Sorry, big guy, that's a crew secret," Zoro informed him. "We'll tell you about it later if we live."
"Nobody say anything!" Nami hissed to the others. "If anyone can snap Sabo out of that hypnosis while keeping the rest of us safe it's her."
"Reload and try again!" Miss Goldenweek told Sabo, "Shoot at Long Nose until you hit him."
"WAH!" Usopp yelped tried to duck behind the duck.
"QUACK!" Carue sputtered as he ducked behind Usopp.
"Sorry Usopp," Sabo addressed his crewmate as he adjusted his coat and reloaded Bonnie Anne, "Try not to squirm too much. I'll be over quicker that way." Sabo fired off all six rounds in rapid succession.
KER-CHOW-CHOW-CHOW-CHOW-CHOW-CHOW!
The smoke eventually cleared to reveal a terrified and shaking Usopp and Carue hugging each other in the middle of a perfectly round ring of six bullet holes.
"Missed again…" Sabo noted.
Miss Goldenweek's jaw dropped. "You missed… every single shot…"
"Sorry," Sabo apologized.
"Stop apologizing!" Miss Goldenweek snapped in annoyance. "There's something fishy going on here! You can't possibly be this bad a shot! You shot Mr. 5 three times in the span of five seconds! It's almost like you're trying to miss… but you can't be since you're under my hypnosis…"
"Like I said," Sabo replied. "My rifle missed. Do you want to try?" Sabo held out Bonnie Anne.
"There's no way that little twerp could handle Bonnie's recoil…" Usopp thought to himself as he and the others silently watched Miss Goldenweek's rational mind repeatedly fail to grasp the irrational concept known as Bonnie Anne.
The pint-sized artist briefly reached out for the rifle… but thought better of it and ultimately held back.
"No…" Miss Goldenweek decided. "You're going to try again. But this time… I'm giving you a target…" The Artist dabbed her paintbrush in her pallet and sent some red paint flying at Usopp. "Colors Trap… Bullfight Red…"
SWISH!
Usopp went stiff as the paint splattered across his chest and formed the familiar red symbol.
"Sorry Usopp," Sabo addressed his terrified crewmate as he reloaded Bonnie Anne. "But it looks like… I've gotta kill you… now." He snapped his rifle shut and with slow jerky movements aimed at his target.
"CARUE! SMEAR THE PAINT!" Vivi screamed.
WHAAM!
The duck rammed into Usopp's chest and knocked him on his back just as Sabo fired.
KER-CHOW!
The bullet whizzed over Usopp and Carue while Bonnie recoiled and smacked Sabo in the face.
WHAK!
Miss Goldenweek was at her wits' end and exploded, "ARE YOU ON MY SIDE OR NOT!?"
"USOPP! HE'S OPEN! SHOOT NOW!" Zoro yelled.
"Right…" Usopp said as he loaded his slingshot and fired at Sabo, "GUNPOWDER STAR!"
KA-BOOOOM!
Sabo was blasted backwards and landed hard on his back in front of the picnic blanket.
"NOW THE GIRL!" Nami urged him, "HURRY!"
Usopp squinted at the picnic blanket and pulled an orange round out of his bag. "FIRE STAR!"
"GET DOWN!" Sabo yelled as he grabbed Miss Goldenweek and yanked her down out of the line of fire. "I keep telling you… my rifle missed."
"You're hypnotized… but your rifle missed…" Miss Goldenweek mumbled as she stared at her savior while Usopp's round flew over them.
"Ha-ha! Right on target!" Usopp boasted as his orange round hit its actual target.
FWOOOOSSSH!"
"WAAAHHH!" Luffy screamed out in pain and rolled on the ground as his painted vest burst into flames.
"Oh hell…" Sabo groaned as he stood up and shoved Miss Goldenweek behind him. "That's not good…"
"You're… hypnotized… but your rifle… missed…" Miss Goldenweek repeated as she looked from the hypnotized pirate to his rebellious weapon.
"That paint won't work on me anymore," a shirtless Luffy insisted as he stood back up and twisted his arm as he stretched it out behind him. "GUUUUM… GUUUUM… RIIIIFLEEE!"
WHAAAAM!
Luffy's spinning fist smashed into Sabo's chest and sent him flying clear over Miss Goldenweek's head across the field.
THUD!
"FEEL THE BITTERNESS OF DISPAIR! I HAVE RETURNED!"
Everyone turned to see that Mr. 3 had returned but his tiny head was now sticking out of a huge battle suit out of hardened wax. The armor wasn't close to Brogy's gigantic size but the huge boxing gloves and spiked shoulders still made it look menacing.
"WHOOOA! THAT'S SO COOOOL!" Luffy exclaimed.
"DON'T ADMIRE HIM!" Usopp berated him.
"Miss Goldenweek!" Mr. 3 called out to his partner when he noticed how badly the situation had deteriorated in his absence, "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?"
"I DON'T EVEN KNOW ANYMORE!" Miss Goldenweek yelled back.
Mr. 3's eyes widened at his laidback partner's out-of-character yelling, "What's got you so worked up?"
"IT'S HIS FAULT!" Miss Goldenweek exclaimed as she jabbed her finger at Sabo, "AND THE RIFLE'S!"
"The rifle's?" Mr. 3 repeated. "That's ridiculous!"
"YOU'D THINK SO, WOULDN'T YOU!?" Miss Goldenweek retorted. "But while you were off taking a nap everything went to hell! Top Hat got free! Miss Valentine's got a concussion! Mr. 5's dead! And I've got a magic rifle undermining my hypnotism! I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHERE I AM ANYMORE!"
"I have no time for your nonsense!" Mr. 3 scolded her, "Hurry up and paint my armor while Straw Hat's still caught up in his gawking."
"Sure, fine, whatever!" Miss Goldenweek snapped in annoyance as she stomped over to the armor. "Let's just get this over with… I wanna take a nap so I can write this whole ordeal off as a crazy dream."
Sabo sat up and stared at Mr. 3's armor in awe. "WHAT THE HECK IS THAT THING!?"
"This is my greatest work of art!" Mr. 3 boasted while a twitching Miss Goldenweek painted his armor. "This is the Candle Champion! I once took down a pirate worth forty two million berries with it! WITH THIS THING I AM INVINCIBLE!"
"And you just started using it now?" Sabo complained as he stalked over to Bonnie Anne and picked up his rifle. "What is it with you Baroque Works guys holding back your best stuff? If you had attacked with the Bomb Revolver and that thing from the start we would've at least had some respect for you."
Mr. 3 smirked as he surveyed the three remaining pirates. "I didn't want to waste my trump card against some unassuming simpletons," the sculptor sneered. "But now you're in for it!"
Sabo spun and threw his rifle across the clearing.
CLUNK!
The rifle hit Usopp on the head and he dropped to the ground.
Mr. 3 blinked at Sabo's attack on his own crew, "What's with him?"
"Betrayal Black…" Miss Goldenweek answered from where she was attempting to pour herself a new cup of tea. But the frazzled Artist was twitching so badly that she ended up spilling most of it on her. "He's hypnotized but his rifle isn't."
"His rifle? THAT'S CRAZY!" Mr. 3 insisted.
"YOU THINK I DON'T KNOW THAT!?" Miss Goldenweek shouted at him as she spilled the rest of her tea. "THIS IS WHAT I HAD TO PUT UP WITH WHILE YOU WERE GONE!"
"You know… I feel a little bad for subjecting that kid to our special degree of insanity," Zoro admitted. "The girl's clearly cracking."
"I'm more concerned over the fact that Vivi accepted it so easily," Nami replied.
"I was extremely desperate!" Vivi reminded her, "I still am for that matter…" She looked over to see a barely conscious Usopp whispering to Carue.
"Take this rope…" the Master Gunner instructed the duck.
"This actually works out to our benefit," Mr. 3 realized as he kept his focus on the hypnotized Sabo. "With Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine out of the picture we won't have to split the profits from the bounties. Top Hat, kill the long nose! I'll handle Straw Hat!"
"I'm… on it…" Sabo as he took slow strained steps towards Usopp.
"USOPP! CARUE!" Vivi called out in warning. "HE'S COMING!"
"GO CARUE!" Usopp shouted, "RUN FOR IT!"
"QUUUAAAACCK!" Carue took off running and dragged a rope along behind him as he began to run in circles around the wax sculpture and the trapped giant next to it.
"I realize now that I had my plan backwards," Mr. 3 remarked as he watched Luffy get back up. "I should have killed you first and focused on your friends second. Once you're dead I can repair my sculpture and continue turning your friends into wax figures like I planned!"
"NO WAY!" Luffy retorted. "I'm not losing a single one of my friends to the likes of you!"
POW!
Mr. 3 punched his huge boxing glove hands together. "CHAMP FIGHT… LITTLE GARDEN!"
"GUM… GUM… PISTOL!" Luffy threw a punch at Mr. 3 but the Candle Man managed to deflect Luffy's strike with the help of his Candle Champion.
"PLOWING THE FIELD!" Mr. 3 lashed out and drove his fists repeatedly into the ground.
POW-POW-POW-POW-POW!
The armor boosted Mr. 3's strength and his punches tore up the ground and made cracks which threw Luffy even further off balance after his missed punch.
Luffy stumbled backwards and made the most out of his lost footing to shoot his foot out at Mr. 3. "GUM GUM STAMP!"
WHAK!
Mr. 3 weaved to the side in his armor and Luffy's foot glanced harmlessly off of the hard wax suit.
"FUHAHAHAHAHA!" Mr. 3 cackled, "I TOLD YOU I WAS INVINCIBLE IN THIS! EVEN YOUR MONSTROUS STRENGTH IS NO MATCH FOR MY CANDLE CHAMPION!"
"Sorry Usopp… I can't fight the paint…" Sabo mumbled as he slowly approached his cowering crewmate. "I've gotta… kill you..."
"Oh yeah, and how are you going to do that without her!?" Usopp replied as he held up Bonnie Anne.
"He never said… how to kill you…" Sabo reminded him. "Just that I have to do it… Shooting you would have been quicker… but now I'm stuck looking for an alternative method…"
"I'd prefer not dying!" Usopp retorted, "Come on, Sabro! You're hypnotized! Snap out of it!"
"I know… I can't… fight it…" Sabo growled, "It's too strong… As long as that black symbol's on me… there's nothing I can do… Let me have Bonnie… and it'll at least be quick…"
"Oh, I'll let you have her!" Usopp said as he grabbed the rifle that had nearly concussed him, pointed her at Sabo and pulled the trigger.
Click!
"Bonnie?"
Click!
"Please! Help! He's gonna kill me!"
Click!
Sabo shook his head, "Hypnotized or not… Bonnie would never shoot me."
"Bonnie?" Miss Goldenweek repeated as she watched the hypnotized pirate tower over his terrified friend who had failed to defend himself with the rebellious rifle.
Usopp rolled over and tried to crawl away.
TOMP!
Sabo stomped on Usopp's ankle and wrenched Bonnie free from his crewmate's grasp. But as soon as the rifle was back in his arms, Bonnie Anne went off and launched Sabo backwards.
KER-CHOW! THUD!
Usopp scrambled up to his feet and took off running. He frantically searched his arsenal bag for a suitable weapon while looking to get as far as possible from his murderous crewmate.
"Haven't you realized yet that throwing me isn't going to smear the paint?" Sabo asked his girlfriend.
KER-CHOW! WHAK!
Bonnie went off again and this time the recoil caused the rifle to smack Sabo in the face.
"Uggh…" Sabo groaned as he rubbed the welt on his face, "That won't work… either…"
"Mr. 3! Look! He's even talking to it!" Miss Goldenweek called out as she pointed her empty tea cup at the rifle-loving Quartermaster.
"I'm busy at the moment!" Mr. 3 replied before he crossed his armor's huge arms to block a punch.
WHAK!
"LEAD STAR!" Usopp called out as he fired a batch of pachinko balls at Sabo.
Sabo spun and swung Bonnie Anne around him with one sweeping motion.
KA-BLOOSH!
Usopp's rounds burst on impact and created a thick cloud of smoke that hid the sniper from view.
"Hahahahahaha!" Usopp laughed through the smoke, "You should know me better than that Sabro! I'm a liar! Those were my Smoke Stars! Not Lead Stars! Just try and shoot me now!"
"You do realize… that because I can't see you… Bonnie can't either," Sabo pointed out as he raised his rifle and fired blindly into the smoke.
KER-CHOW!
"YIIIPE!" Usopp shrieked and dropped to the ground as the extremely lucky shot grazed his arm.
"USOPP!" Luffy cried out in alarm.
WHAM!
Mr. 3 took advantage of Luffy's distraction and drove him into the ground with a big punch.
"PLOWING THE FIELD!" Mr. 3 lashed out for another barrage of punches but this time they were delivered straight to Luffy.
POW-POW-POW-POW-POW!
"It's over Straw Hat!" Mr. 3 shouted. "You should have just given up from the start! It all would have ended the same way! I've never failed to complete a mission! Your friends are doomed!"
"Come out… Usopp…" Sabo called out as he waded through the smoke.
"LUFFY!" Usopp shouted as he clutched his bleeding arm with his good one as he slithered on his belly through the smoke. "DON'T WORRY ABOUT THE OTHERS! I'VE GOT A PLAN TO BREAK THEM OUT!"
POW!
Mr. 3's giant wax arm went flying upward as Luffy burst out of the hole Mr. 3 had driven into. "REALLY?"
"What the…" Mr. 3 sputtered. His giant form reeled backwards in surprise from Luffy's strength. "There's no way he's that strong! That was a fluke! PLOWING THE FIELD!" Mr. 3 lashed out at Luffy with another rapid-fire barrage of punches.
"GUM GUM GATLING!" Luffy lashed out and his fists collided with the Candle Champion's.
POW-POW-POW-POW-POW!
While the Candle Champion's massive size increased Mr. 3's normal strength ten-fold… Luffy's strength was just overwhelming. At the first sign that his friends would be okay the rubber pirate began to overpower the Candle Man with his immense herculean strength.
"Im-impossible!" Mr. 3 stammered as he was thrown back by Luffy's unrelenting onslaught. "No one's this strong! Not even the giants!"
Usopp jumped out of the smoke in front of the remains of the Candle Service Set, "READY CARUE?"
"QUUAAACCK!" the duck called out as he came running back. His rope had been wound around the wax cake-like structure and also went around Brogy's body.
"DON'T WORRY, YOU GUYS!" Usopp called out, "USOPP THE BRAVE WARRIOR OF THE SEA IS HERE TO SAVE THE DAY!"
"Usopp, what did you do?" Nami asked.
"I soaked that rope in oil!" Usopp explained, "It'll burn and melt the wax!"
"Heads up, girls," Zoro warned the others, "This is gonna get hot…"
"What do we do about her?" Vivi inquired as she glanced down at the unconscious Miss Valentine.
"FIRE STAR!"
CHOO!
Usopp fired an orange round and it struck the oil-soaked rope which immediately burst into the flames. The fire quickly spread and ran along the rope until the entire length of it had caught fire.
FWOOOOOSSSH!
The flames grew in size and soon there was a flaming inferno around the sculpture.
"NOOOOO!" Mr. 3 shrieked. "MY WAX! MY AMAZING MASTERPIECE! IT'S ALL MELTING!"
"Well that's not good…" Miss Goldenweek remarked as she watched the raging fire consume the remains of Mr. 3's wax sculpture.
"I DID IT!" Usopp cheered, "LUFFY! THE OTHERS ARE SAFE! THEY CAN GET OUT!"
A wide smile stretched across Luffy's face, "Hear that, Candle Guy? My friends are safe! You're not taking a single one of them! GUM… GUM… BAAAZOOOOKAAAA!"
WHAAAAAAM!
Mr. 3 crossed the Candle Champion's arms in front of him to defend himself but the sheer strength behind Luffy's blow overwhelmed his defenses and he was knocked on his back.
The heat from the raging inferno that Usopp had created had even reached Mr. 3 and his Candle Champion began to melt along with the sculpture. Mr. 3 decided to bail out when he saw his plan go up in smoke.
GLOOP!
Mr. 3 slipped out of his rapidly melting armor and took off running. "RUN FOR IT MISS. GOLDENWEEK!" The sculptor fled the clearing and ran off out into the jungle.
"YOU WON'T GET AWAY!" Luffy hollered as he chased after him, "YOU TRIED TO KILL MY FRIENDS! YOU INTERFERED IN A BATTLE OF HONOR! TAKE YOUR ASS KICKING LIKE A MAN!"
"Nice going Usopp."
Usopp's eyes went wide in alarm when he turned and saw Sabo standing behind him. Usopp didn't have any time to react before the entranced Quartermaster nailed him with his rifle.
WHAM!
"But… I'm still under orders to kill you…" Sabo stated as he climbed on top of Usopp. His hands were shaking as he pressed Bonnie's barrel into his crewmate's throat. "And since Bonnie won't let me… shoot you… I've gotta do it… another way…"
"URK! GURGLE!" Usopp whizzed as Sabo started choking him. But then he saw something charging towards them out of the corner of his eyes.
WHAP!
Despite being choked, Usopp smirked weakly as he wrapped his arms around the rifle choking him and pinned the weapon to him.
"QUUUAAACK!" Carue charged in and tackled Sabo off of Usopp.
WHAAAM!
Usopp kept his desperate hold on Bonnie Anne and the hypnotized pirate was separated from his rifle.
"Brave… duck…" Sabo mumbled as he staggered back up and began to make his way back towards his crewmate and the duck that had knocked him away.
SKISH!
Two flaming figures burst out of the giant blaze and hit Sabo with their respective weapons.
WHAK! SLI-SLISH!
Sabo went flying backwards but quickly sat up and found a singed Vivi and a scorched bra-clad Nami standing in between him and Usopp with their respective weapons drawn.
"That was kind of hot, Usopp," Nami complained. "Wasn't there another way?"
"No…" the Master Gunner wheezed as he gingerly held his throat with Bonnie Anne in his lap.
"Good work, Carue," Vivi praised her duck then she turned back to Sabo. "It looks like we're having that fight after all."
"QUAACK!" Carue crowed as he took up a position in between the two women.
Sabo shook his head, "You're gonna have to hit me a lot harder than that to put me down…"
WHING!
Miss Valentine suddenly came flying out of the inferno with her dress on fire. Sabo ducked down as the unconscious agent hurled over his head.
BOOOOOM!
"That might have worked," Sabo admitted as he chanced a glance at the blonde in the burned dress. Miss Valentine's body had made a large indent in the ground next to her partner which showed that she still weighed five thousand kilograms. "But you missed."
"This won't… YAKI… ONI… GIRI!"
SLA-SLISH!
A burned Zoro came flying out of the flames with his three swords ablaze looking every bit like the demon that the rumors in the East Blue made him out to be. Zoro slashed his flaming swords across Sabo's chest as he lunged passed.
"Flaming swords… not bad," Zoro remarked as Sabo dropped to the ground. Zoro turned and smirked at the Quartermaster. "You beat two Devil Fruit Powered Officer Agents… that works out to twenty million. But I beat you and you're worth twenty-three million. I win this round, rifle-freak."
KER-CHOW!
"GAAH!" Zoro yelped in surprise as a bullet took a chunk out of his shoulder.
"USOPP!" Nami shrieked at the Master Gunner who still had the smoking rifle in his lap.
"Wasn't me…" Usopp wheezed. His hands were gingerly holding his throat. They were nowhere near Bonnie's triggers.
Zoro pressed his hand to his shoulder to stem the bleeding as he turned to face an angry Bonnie Anne.
"The flaming swords instantly cauterized the wounds!" Zoro defended himself to the rifle. "It probably hurt like hell but I doubt that'll even leave a scar. Nothing else was working. What more do you want?"
Click!
Zoro didn't speak rifle but he certainly understood a threat when he felt, heard and saw one. The shoulder shot had been Bonnie's way of reprimanding Zoro for his rough treatment of her boyfriend and the following gun cock had been her way of warning him to never do it again.
"Okay, I won't do it again unless he's really asking for it!" the exasperated swordsman assured the rifle. "Someone get that paint off him before he wakes up. If he attacks us he'll be really asking for it."
Nami and VIvi wasted no time in stripping off Sabo's coat and Vivi quickly knelt down behind him and rubbed her forearm against his back to smear off the paint.
TOMP! TOMP!
Two giant hands slammed into the ground. The Princess and the three pirates looked up to see Brogy pushing himself back up. His hands and feet still bared the wounds of Mr. 3's wax swords.
"Now there are only two more left to fight," Brogy mused as he sat on the ground.
"Yup, it's good to be alive," Zoro agreed.
Brogy cast a sad glance over at Dorry then looked back at his little friends. "Now… can one of you please explain why you were talking to that rifle?"
"I'd like to know the same thing…"
Everyone turned to see Miss Goldenweek still standing on her picnic blanket.
She hadn't run off with Mr. 3.
"Get ready to set up the Wax Wax Mansion, Miss Goldenweek!" Mr. 3 instructed as he raced through the woods with Luffy in hot pursuit.
"…"
"Miss Goldenweek?" Mr. 3 looked back to see that his young partner hadn't followed him. "Damn her… Now I'll have to improvise!"
"EEEP!" Miss Goldenweek squeaked as she found herself facing three swords, a bow staff, peacock slashers, a 'magical' rifle (wielded by Usopp), an angry giant and a surprisingly menacing duck. The girl stuck her arms up into the air. "I GIVE UP! I SURRENDER! I just wanna know about the rifle! It's driving me crazy!"
Nami rolled her eyes and lowered her bow staff, "Join the club. I was sane once. Then I met Luffy, Zoro and Sabo. And a bitch named Bonnie Anne."
KER-CHOW!
To her credit, Nami only flinched a little when the bullet whizzed by her and barely grazed her shoulder. Nami looked at her bare shoulder and realized that Bonnie's shot had split her bra strap. "Seriously?" She turned and smirked at the rifle. "I hope you're proud of that shot. Because I was counting… you're out of bullets now. And there's no Sabo to save you this time!"
CLICK!
"Eep!" Usopp squeaked as Nami charged at him, intent on attacking the rifle in his arms.
"Hey, hold on!" Zoro objected when he stepped in Nami's path. "I was sane too before I met them!"
"Oh, please," Nami scoffed as she stopped, rolled her eyes and crossed her arms under her chest, "You're just like them Mr. Cut-Off-My-Legs-To-Escape!"
"It was so I could fight!" Zoro insisted.
"Am I crazy too?" Usopp wondered as he glanced down at the rifle in his lap.
"Of course," Zoro told him, "You were lost right from the start despite our best efforts to save you."
"Is that what you call that intervention?" Usopp recalled, "I was right about that!"
"Yeah, and you were the one encouraging Sabo's madness!" Nami accused him.
As the three Straw Hats devolved into arguing, Vivi looked sheepishly over at the giant and the Artist.
"Maybe we should wait until the Dandy Man wakes up so he can explain it?" she suggested.
"FUHAHAHAHAHA! WELCOME TO MY WAX WAX MANSION! VERSION TWO!"
"WHOOA!" Luffy gasped as he ran into a small clearing that were filled with copies of Mr. 3. There were at least twenty of them and every single copy of Mr. 3 was wax white.
"Normally I have Miss Goldenweek to add some color for this deathtrap… but she fell behind so I had to improvise. Instead I covered myself with wax so I could blend in with the other copies. You'll never be able to tell which one is the real me."
"So you're still not gonna be a man and fight me yourself?" Luffy challenged him.
"Fuhahaha! Don't be ridiculous! I should have known that fighting a muscle-bound simpleton like you was a mistake from the start. I'm Baroque Works' most cunning Officer Agent for a reason. I'm your intellectual superior. A simple-minded brute like you who relies only on instinct is no match for me."
"…" Luffy silently stared into the crowd of Mr. 3s.
"I'm Mr. 3. I never fail my missions. I use my cunning to carry them out to perfection. So please… step into my parlor. But the second you turn your back I'll stab a knife through that noble heart of yours!"
Luffy decided on his target and stretched back his leg, "GUUUM… GUUUM… STAAAAMP!"
THWHAAAM!
Luffy's foot slammed into the real Mr. 3's face and shattered his glasses as he smashed him through the tree he was leaning against.
"How… did you know… where I was?" Mr. 3 groaned as he dropped to the ground unconscious.
"Instinct," Luffy answered.
Sanji sat in Mr. 3's wax house drinking a cup of tea. He had happened upon the odd structure when he decided to leave the Going Merry and search for Nami, Vivi and the others.
"Wait a minute!" the Ship's Cook blurted out, "What am I doing!? Nami-swan and my Princess could be in trouble! Bonnie can look after herself and the guy carrying her around… But I can't afford to be sitting here and relaxing in the middle of the jungle while they're in danger!"
Sanji got up and prepared to leave but a suddenly muffled ringing stopped him.
Pururururururu…
"Is that… a Trasponder Snail?" Sanji wondered when he recognized the familiar ringing tone. He glanced around the small house and saw that the ringing was coming from a box in the corner.
Pururururururu…
Sanji pulled out the ringing snail and set it on the table, "I don't even live here. But I'm still the one that ends up answering the snail."
Pururururururu…
Irritated at having to take a message for some stranger and with no real clue where he was, Sanji picked up the handset and answered the snail.
"Hello, this is a shitty restaurant, would you like to make a reservation?"
"Quit fooling around, you imbecile!" the gravelly voice berated him. "You're late with your report."
"Right… and who am I speaking to exactly?" Sanji inquired.
"It's me… Mr. 0."
"Overreacting? I'd like to see how you react if he slept with your sister!"
"I don't have a sister!"
KER-CHOW!
"OOF!" The arguing Straw Hats cut off and turned to see Vivi get thrown on her back by Bonnie Anne.
"Did you seriously just reload her?" Nami complained.
"I wanted you to stop arguing…" Vivi admitted, "And I was hoping it would wake the Dandy Man."
"It did…" Everyone turned to see Sabo slowly sit up. "Ugghhh…" He groaned and held his stomach then nodded thankfully at Zoro. "Thanks for taking me down."
"Anytime," Zoro replied.
Sabo held his hand out expectantly and Vivi returned Bonnie Anne.
Click…
Sabo patted the rifle's barrel. "Don't worry. I'm okay. Thanks for protecting everyone and trying so hard to snap me out of it." Sabo hugged his girlfriend to him and looked over at Usopp. "You alright, Usopp? Sorry about giving you such a hard time. That hypnotism was way stronger than Jango's."
"I'm okay…" Usopp answered, "Thanks mainly to Bonnie and these guys."
"I owe you one," Sabo told the Master Gunner. "The next time you find yourself in a fight where you're in over your head or about to be dragged on a life-threatening adventure by Luffy… if I'm there you can tag me in and I'll take your place. But it's a one-time thing. I'm not gonna fight all your battles for you. Especially not after you did so well today. You fought like a warrior and you ended up saving everybody. You're definitely on your way to becoming a Brave Warrior of the Sea. Deal?"
Usopp beamed and shook his hand, "Deal."
Sabo looked over at the others and spotted Miss Goldenweek. "What're you doing here? Did you change your mind about joining us?"
Miss Goldenweek blinked. "You still want me to join you?"
"I'll have to check with Luffy first," Sabo told her, "You hypnotized him too. But he's not one to hold a grudge about that kind of stuff. Personally, I'd like to avoid having that paint used against me again. It was way more powerful than regular hypnotism. Do you have Devil Fruit Powers or something?"
"No, it's actually a combination of the paint and a strong sense of color," Miss Goldenweek explained. "I've infused all my paints with a subtle but extremely potent perfume. The scent doesn't travel very far but it makes anyone that inhales it extremely suggestible. The command comes from the specific color. You don't even have to see it. But as long as my special Colors Trap symbol stays intact my target will remain under the hypnosis. Basically I overwhelm two of your senses at once."
"Huh… I didn't smell anything," Sabo admitted, "But I guess that explains how it worked so well when I couldn't even see the black paint."
"Now… I told you my secret," Miss Goldenweek prompted, "I stuck around because I need you to explain your… um Bonnie before it drives me crazy."
"Gebababababa!" Brogy laughed, "Although, with the way the other little pirates were arguing… it seems like being driven crazy makes you part of the crew."
Sabo laid Bonnie in his lap and fondly ran his hand along the barrel, "This is Bonnie Anne. And like I said when I was under your hypnosis… she's not just a rifle. The real Bonnie Anne is trapped inside it and can control the rifle. We take turns firing it. But she's actually a way better shot than I am. I've made it my mission to free her from the rifle. She's my girlfriend, my partner, my better half and as you've seen… we make a great team."
"I'll say," Miss Goldenweek agreed, "That makes sense now. I never would've thought to paint a rifle…"
"YOOOOUUUUU!"
Everyone turned to see that Luffy had come back. He had his finger pointed at Miss Goldenweek.
"Gulp!" the Artist swallowed hard. The shirtless, Devil Fruit-Powered, Pirate Captain that had most likely just beaten up her partner went over to her picnic blanket and picked up the painting she'd done on a whim of Sabo leaping out of the fiery explosion during his escape from the Candle Service Set. "Y-yes?"
"This painting's really good!" Luffy exclaimed, "JOIN MY CREW! BE MY ARTIST!"
"Okay."
Luffy blinked. Hmm… usually this was a lot harder. But then he beamed, "REALLY?"
"I never wanted my art to hurt anyone," Miss Goldenweek confessed, "But Baroque Works is a powerful criminal organization that is comprised of many powerful assassins. They mark anyone that defects as a traitor and have them executed. I'm just a girl with a paint brush. I'm not strong enough to go up against an organization like that all on my own. But you guys… you were trapped in a horrible situation but you worked together and managed to completely turn it around. That's the kind of help that I need. If I join up with you I can escape Baroque Works and finally live out my dream."
"Ooooh? What's that?" Luffy asked eagerly.
"Well… I'm a painter, I like to paint things," the Artist told him, "I've heard stories about all the amazing things that exist in the Grand Line. When I left my home and joined Baroque Works with Mr. 3, I was hoping to see some of them myself. I want to see the magic of the Grand Line and capture it on canvas!"
Sabo looked over at Usopp, "See? That's what sets a person that draws and paints as a hobby apart from an actual Artist. Art is her dream. It's what she lives for."
"Yeah, I see that now," Usopp agreed, "The fact that she can hypnotize people with paint shows that she's on a whole different level from me."
"Vivi… do you have a problem with those two recruiting one of your enemies?" Nami asked.
"She's a kid… I can't exactly blame her for the actions of an entire criminal organization," Vivi answered. "But I do have a condition…" Vivi looked over at the Straw Hats' new Artist. "What's your name?"
"My name?" Miss Goldenweek repeated.
"I refuse to refer to you by your codename," Vivi insisted, "Your codename reminds me of Baroque Works and Baroque Works is my enemy. If we're going to be sailing on the same ship as friends… I want to know your real name."
"It's Ayako," the Artist answered.
"Doesn't that mean 'color child'?" Zoro asked,
"Ayako the Artist…" Usopp mused, "That has a ring to it."
"Welcome aboard then… Ayako," Vivi addressed the Straw Hat Artist.
"…" The others were all focused on their newest Nakama so only Nami was aware enough to notice the quick glance that Vivi sent towards Sabo and the small pleased smile the Princess wore when she saw that the royal-hating former noble was happy with her decision.
"I have one request though…" Ayako added. "Can we… maybe… bring Mr. 3 along?"
Luffy shook his head, "I don't like that guy. He's not joining my crew."
"And I don't want him to," Ayako said, "But when Mr. 0 learns that he failed his mission… he'll have him executed. He'll send Mr. 2 or the Mr. 1 Pair here to kill him. I know that Mr. 3 has done things that are unforgiveable… but I don't want him to die for them. Can't we… take him prisoner or something?"
"We're free pirates," Luffy stated, "We don't take prisoners."
The girl hung her head, "But… he's my uncle…"
"Oh phew," Nami let out a sigh of relief, "You're a fourteen year old girl traveling along with a creepy middle aged man. I was getting a major pedo vibe from him."
Ayako flushed and shook her head, "No. He's always been my crazy uncle Galdino. When I first started painting, he was the one that encouraged me the most. My painting skills wouldn't be half of what they are today if it wasn't for him. I'll always owe him for that. I don't know how he managed to convince my parents but I left home with him so we could, in his words, 'share our art with the world'. But I didn't know that would involve killing people. By the time I realized what kind of monster he was it was too late. I was already an Officer Agent of Baroque Works. I know he's cruel and horrible… and I don't want him to hurt anyone else… but he's family… I can't just leave him here to die."
"…" Luffy stared silently at the Artist.
"The guy's a know-it-all… he might have useful information about Baroque Works," Nami suggested.
"It'll be one less enemy to worry about," Zoro admitted.
"We can't leave him here with Master Brogy after what he did," Usopp insisted.
"He's a twisted criminal but I don't exactly want to condemn him to death," Vivi confessed.
"Luffy… do you want an Artist or not?" Sabo asked. "We both know full-well that you can choose your friends but you can't choose your family. Mr. 3 is the baggage that comes with her."
"Fine," Luffy agreed as he continued to stare at Ayako. No one was sure if he'd actually listened to everybody else of if he had just decided on his own. "He can come. But you've gotta make sure he doesn't cause any trouble."
"Thank you…" Ayako said with a grateful nod. "I'll keep him hypnotized with my paint. A little bit of Betrayal Black will loosen his tongue and he'll tell you anything you wanna know about Baroque Works." Ayako turned to Brogy and dropped into a low bow, "And for what it's worth... I'm sorry about what my uncle did to your friend, Mr. Giant."
Brogy nodded and he reached up to rub his suddenly watery eyes. "Hopefully Dorry can rest peacefully knowing that the ones responsible for his death have been defeated and will face justice."
Sabo looked over at Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine, "Oh, yeah, I've still gotta deal with that…"
"UUGGHHH…"
Everyone turned and stared wide-eyed as the previously 'dead' giant sat up and held the ax-wound going across his chest.
"DORRY!" Brogy exclaimed, "YOU'RE ALIVE!"
"Hm… I must've passed out for a minute…" the wounded giant mused.
"HOW!?" Brogy sputtered. "I THOUGHT I KILLED YOU!"
"Don't get ahead of yourself!" Dorry retorted, "It'll take more than that to kill me." Dorry looked over at his sword and Brogy's ax. "It must have been the weapons. Even Elbaf's strongest blades couldn't handle the strain of a duel between two giants that's been going on for a hundred years."
"It's a miracle!" Usopp exclaimed as he wiped tears from his eyes.
"MY DEAREST FRIEND! YOU SURVIVED!" Brogy gushed as he hugged his friend. "GEBABABABA!"
"Careful… don't squeeze me so hard…" Dorry warned him, "You're hurting my wounds…"
"A miracle?" Zoro repeated as he looked over at the battered blades, "If anything it's a miracle that those weapons can cut anything after a hundred years of constant usage."
"THANK GOD ELBAF FOR THIS GLORIOUS DAY!" Brogy shouted as he cried tears of joy.
"What? Are you so happy about finally landing a blow on me and making me pass out for a bit?"
"That's not it at all!" Brogy assured him as he slapped his friend on the shoulder.
"Ow! Stop touching my wounds!" Dorry complained, "You trying to start something?"
"Grr… this time I'll but you down for real!" Brogy growled.
"Here they go again…" Nami groaned.
Sabo smiled as he made his way over to the fallen Demolition Duo. He knelt down by Miss Valentine and gently nudged the blonde's shoulder until she woke up.
"Uuuhh… where am I?" Miss Valentine groaned, "And why does my head hurt…"
Sabo warily watched the blonde Officer Agent as she pushed herself partially up off the ground and stared around her. She stopped and stared at Sabo.
"Who are you?"
"I'm the reason your head hurts," Sabo answered honestly.
"Oh…" Miss Valentine said as she slid partially away from him, "And um… who am I?"
Sabo stared at the blonde and swore quietly then called out, "LUFFY! WE'VE GOT A PROBLEM!"
Mr. 0 AKA Sir Crocodile the Warlord hung up his Transponder Snail as he sat in his secret lair in Alabasta.
He looked over at his partner Miss All Sunday who was petting a massive crocodile with a banana on its head called a Bananawani. Crocodile had a float of at least two dozen Bananawani. The huge reptiles were considered some of the fiercest in all the Grand Line. They were known for taking down Sea Kings. Miss All Sunday was petting the enormous reptile like it was a trained puppy.
"Miss All Sunday, send Mr. 2 to Little Garden," Mr. 0, the President of Baroque Works, instructed his Vice President. "His orders are to lie in wait in the route between Little Garden and Alabasta… and assassinate Mr. 3."
"That's rather ruthless, Mr. 0," Miss All Sunday remarked.
"He can be replaced," Mr. 0 insisted, "I still have plenty of capable officers. Are you back talking me?"
"No," Miss All Sunday assured him as she got up and made her way up a long staircase out of the room. "I'll take care of everything at once."
Crocodile growled to himself as his partner left.
"He hung up…" Sanji noted then looked over at Mr. 13 and Miss Friday who had attacked him during the Snail-Call. "What am I supposed to do with these guys? Weren't they that mysterious woman's pets?"
TNK!
Sanji's eyes widened as Log Pose locked in a wooden frame rolled out of Mr. 13's messenger pouch. 'Alabasta' was inscribed on the top part of the frame.
"Hmm… this is…" Sanji realized as he picked up the Eternal Pose Alabasta that Mr. 0 had sent for Mr. 3. The Cook grinned. "I bet Nami-swan and my Princess will be pleased to see this!"
"GEGYAGYAGYAGYA!" Dorry laughed. Everyone had returned to Dorry's cave where he'd patched up his injuries with some giant-sized bandages. Zoro had been given bit off the end to bandage his leg injuries. "I had completely forgotten about the bounties on our heads!"
"You little guys sure helped us out," Brogy remarked, "Let us know is there's anything we can do to repay you."
Luffy, Usopp and Ayako were sitting in front of the giants on Ayako's picnic blanket eating her leftover rice crackers. Zoro was sitting nearby on a stump.
Mr. 5 had been laid off to the side near Mr. 3 who was still unconscious and sporting a foot-shaped indent on his face from Luffy's kick. There was a familiar black C.T. symbol painted on his chest. A little bit behind them, Sabo was sitting and having a quiet conversation with Miss Valentine.
Vivi hung back with Nami and surveyed the others, "It's all my fault… the Baroque Works Agents came to this island because of me."
PINCH!
Nami wasn't going to allow the Princess to blame herself. "Don't say that. We all knew that there were going to be Officer Agents coming after us on this island."
"Thanks Vivi!" Luffy called out, "I finally got my Artist because of you! Now I just need a Musician!"
"You've got strange priorities…" Ayako commented quietly as she surveyed her new Captain.
"You'll get used to it, kid," Usopp reassured her, "Here, wanna try some of my special tabasco sauce on that cracker?"
Nami turned back to Vivi, "See? No one blames you." Nami was close enough to watch Vivi's eyes dart off to the side. "Not even him."
Fwwwoooosh!
"WAAAH!" Usopp and Ayako both screamed as flames shot out their mouth from the tabasco sauce.
"HEY! THAT LOOKS FUN!" Luffy exclaimed, "I WANNA BREATHE FIRE TOO!"
"Luffy! Princess!" Luffy and Vivi turned to see that Sabo had broken away from Miss Valentine. "Might I have a word, please?"
"He's still calling me 'Princess'…" Vivi whispered to Nami, "But at least he doesn't sound like he hates me when he says it. I think I'm making progress."
The Princess and the Pirate Captain went to join the Quartermaster while Nami sat down on the log by Usopp and Ayako. "So, new girl, do you know if your partner has a Pose to get off this island with? It takes a year to reset here and we don't have that long."
"We only have the one we used to get here from Kyuka Island," Ayako answered. "Mr. 0 usually sends any Poses that we need to us along with our orders."
"Damn… that's no good…" Nami grumbled.
Sabo looked back at Miss Valentine and shook his head sadly when he met up with Luffy and Vivi. "She doesn't remember anything. She's got full-blown amnesia. And it's all because of me. She has no idea who she is or how she got here. She still weighs five thousand kilograms because she doesn't remember that she has Devil Fruit Powers."
"Why's she waving at you?" Luffy asked as he peaked around his brother.
"I'm not sure," Sabo admitted, "I told her some basic stuff: that we're enemies, that we were fighting and that I'm the cause of her head injury. But it's really hard explaining to someone who they are when you don't know who they are. She has basic common sense and knowledge… but no recollection of how she learned those things. Her emotions seem to be intact. She likes all the attention I'm giving her. I don't know if that's how her mind works or if she's jumping to conclusions because her memory is one big blank… but I think she thinks that I like her. I've already told her three-times that I'm spoken for but I don't think she believes me."
"Is that why she's glaring at me?" Vivi inquired.
Sabo looked back to see Miss Valentine giving Vivi a very sour looked and frantically waved his arms. "No! We're not dating! She's a Princess! I'll be right back!"
Sabo sighed and turned back to Luffy and a frowning Vivi. "I didn't have the heart to tell her about Bonnie. Her grasp on reality is tenuous at best right now. I'm trying to put myself in her position and if I suddenly woke up on a strange island, surrounded by strangers and couldn't remember anything about who I was or how I go there… I'd be terrified. The last thing she needs right now is for me to drop the Bonnie Bombshell on her."
"So what do we do?" Luffy wondered.
"I… I need to bring her with us," Sabo answered. "I can't explain why… but something about her amnesia really resonates with me. All of my instincts are screaming at me to help her. I don't know if it's because I'm the one that did it to her… or some other reason. But I can't leave her here like this… she's helpless… She needs a doctor or some kind of medical care to help her remember who she is."
"Does Alabasta have doctors, Vivi?" Luffy questioned.
"It does," Vivi told him, "But she's a ticking time bomb. If she suddenly remembers who she is while we're sailing she could sink the Going Merry in an instant."
"I know…" Sabo admitted, "That's why I'm hoping she'll also remember how I've been looking after her and how I didn't take advantage of her while she's in this vulnerable state."
"If she needs help then the right thing to do is to help her," Luffy decided.
"Miss Valentine is the third Baroque Works Agent that you've asked me to sail with," Vivi pointed out. Sabo nodded. "I hope you realize that you're the only one that's killed one of them." Sabo frowned. "This should hopefully put a damper on your theory that every royal is a merciless self-serving tyrant."
"I'm willing to admit that you're not a merciless self-serving tyrant," Sabo replied, "But you're probably the exception to royalty like Luffy is the exception to most pirates."
Vivi sighed, "I'll take it," she said. "It's fine. She can come."
Luffy smiled, "Hey Sabo! Now can we have a rice cracker party to celebrate Ayako joining the crew?"
"Why don't we wait until we get back to the Going Merry and have a tea party instead," Sabo suggested.
"Oooh yeah, she'd probably like that too," Luffy agreed.
"Hey Ayako!" Sabo called out, "What kind of tea do you like best?"
"Um… Mr. 3 likes Earl Grey…" the Artist answered.
Sabo grimaced, "Earl Grey is piss. It makes sense that a pretentious jerk like him would like it. But what kind of little girl are you? Wouldn't you prefer something flavored?"
Ayako shrugged, "Mr. 3 is the one who paid for it so he always picked… It's the only kind I've had..."
"I've got some Honey Lemon flavored tea in my stash back on the ship," Sabo told her, "Let's see if you like that better."
"Okay…" the Artist agreed.
"YEAH! TEA PARTY!" Luffy cheered.
Sabo turned back to Miss Valentine and motioned for her to come over and join them. She blonde smiled and left deep footprints in the ground as she walked over.
But suddenly a familiar voice cried out…
"NAAAAMIIII-SWAAAAAN! VIIIIVIIIII! And the rest of you. I'M SO GLAD YOU'RE SAFE!"
Sanji had finally arrived. The cook was carrying Mr. 13 and Miss Friday with him.
"Oh sure… now he shows up," Usopp grumbled.
"Who's that guy?" Ayako wondered.
"That's our Cook Sanji," Luffy answered, "He makes yummy food." Luffy waved. "HEY! SANJI!"
Sanji spotted Miss Valentine standing by Sabo first. "Who are you, Miss? I'm afraid we haven't met."
"She's Miss Valentine," Sabo answered on the blonde woman's behalf, "and she's got amnesia. We're going to be taking her off the island with us so she can get medical treatment."
Sanji took Miss Valentine's hand in his and kissed the back of it, "I'm Sanji the Ship Cook and as long as you're on our ship… I am your humble servant, my valentine."
Miss Valentine flushed faintly as Sanji moved on. She turned and smiled at Sabo, "I think I just remembered something… I really like blondes."
"Great…" Sabo muttered.
Sanji spotted the two massive giants next. "WHOA! Are one of you Mr. 3?"
"No… that's Mr. 3…" Zoro cut in as he jabbed his finger at the unconscious Candle Man. "You missed everything… useless cook."
"Good to see you too, lazy Mossball," Sanji retorted.
"Sanji… how do you know about Mr. 3?" Nami asked.
Sanji turned and spotted Nami... and the fact that she was in a bra. His suddenly heart-shaped eyes bugged out. "WAAH! NAMI-SWAN! YOU'RE AS BEAUTIFUL AS EVER!"
Ever the suave gentleman, the Ship's Cook dropped the two animals he'd brought with him and took off his suit jacket so he could present it to Nami. The Navigator gratefully pulled it on.
"Sanji… what're you doing with these guys?" Luffy asked as he eyed the otter and vulture.
"They attacked me earlier so I taught them some manners," Sanji explained, "Did you still want the monkey to be our Artist?"
"Actually we found one Sanji," Luffy informed him as he pointed to the girl next to him. "That's Ayako. She's our new Artist."
"Welcome aboard, little lady," Sanji greeted the newest Straw Hat. "If you need anything to eat or drink while you're on board our ship… don't hesitate to ask me. I am at your disposal."
"I can't believe you beat the Unluckies!" Ayako blurted out as she stared at the two animals.
"Well, I remembered they're that mysterious woman Miss All Sunday's pets so I wasn't as hard on them as I'd normally be," the fighting cook admitted, "But they interrupted me when I was in the middle of a call with Mr. 0 so I had to get a little rough on them."
Everyone was suddenly staring at Sanji.
"Did you just say you were on a call with Mr. 0?" Vivi questioned.
"VIVI, MY PRINCESS!" Sanji exclaimed, "Wonderful to see you safe and sound!"
"Sanji… why don't you sit down and explain everything that happened," Vivi requested.
"Alright," Sanji agreed as he took a seat on the log.
And so he did.
"And that's what happened," the Ship's Cook concluded.
"So you mean as of now Baroque Works thinks we're all dead and won't be sending anymore agents after us?" Nami clarified.
"Yes, my dear," Sanji confirmed. "I took care of everything."
"Now all we have to worry about is being stuck on this island," Usopp commented.
"Why? Do we have unfinished business here?" Sanji questioned as he pulled out the Eternal Pose to Alabasta that he'd gotten from Mr. 13. "I got this from the monkey."
"THAT'S THE ETERNAL POSE TO ALABASTA!" Vivi exclaimed. She threw herself at the cook and hugged him tightly. "OH SANJI! THANK YOU!"
"OH! I didn't realize you'd be this happy!" Sanji swooned.
"Now we can leave!" Luffy cheered, "That's another reason to celebrate! Sanji, let's have a tea party!"
"A tea party?" Sanji repeated, "I'll get right on it Captain." Overall, it had been a pretty good day for the cook. But there was one thing that could make it even better. He turned and grinned at Zoro. "By the way, Marimo. I hope you didn't forget about our hunting challenge. I definitely won."
"No way!" Zoro argued, "Just wait until you see the size of the rhino that I caught!"
"Hunting challenge?" Brogy and Dorry both thought to themselves. The forgotten cause of their duel was a hunting challenge between the two giants. The hole-filled caves that the two giants lived in were the skeletal remains of the two colossal Sea Kings that the giants had slayed. One little girl's question of which beast was bigger sparked an argument that remained unsettled to this very day.
"Um… I should probably tell you guys about Mr. 3's boat…" Ayako spoke up.
"A boat?" Nami repeated.
"My uncle has a boat that's custom made to run on his Wax Wax Fruit Powers," Ayako explained. "You need to make the boat disappear. If a Baroque Works Agent comes across it for some reason and Mr. 3 is nowhere around… they'll start to question what happened here. Also… I've got some stuff on it…"
"I'll take you back to the boat," Sabo volunteered. "Miss Valentine, you should probably come along."
"Aw, you want me to stay with you," Miss Valentine cooed.
"I need you to figure out your Devil Fruit Powers before you set foot on your ship," Sabo stated, "Otherwise you'll do to our ship what I'm hoping you'll do to Mr. 3's boat."
"Quuack…" Carue grunted as he hefted the still unconscious Mr. 3 onto his back.
"I've gotta pick up my rhino…" Zoro stated.
"Usopp, go with him," Nami instructed, "You keep Zoro from getting lost. And Zoro, you keep Usopp from being eaten by a dinosaur."
"Luffy, bring the otter and the vulture back to the boat with you," Sabo requested, "Maybe we can convince them to update our Baroque Works Bounties."
"Oooh yeah!" Luffy cheered as he scooped up the two animals.
"I want one too this time!" Usopp insisted.
"Yeah, me too," Sanji added, "I beat the two of them. That's gotta count for something."
"GOODBYE MASTER BROGY!" Usopp called out, "I'LL BE SURE TO GO TO ELBAF SOMEDAY!"
"TAKE CARE, GIANTS!" Luffy shouted, "WE'RE TAKING OFF NOW! TRY NOT TO KILL EACH OTHER!"
"FAREWELL, LITTLE FRIENDS!" Brogy and Dorry bellowed.
The Straw Hats parted ways leaving only Sabo, Ayako and Miss Valentine at the giant's cave.
"There's one last thing we should take care of first," Sabo decided, "Dorry… can I ask you a small favor? Please dig a hole somewhere away from your house."
"Sure…" Dorry said as he stood up and easily scraped a ten foot hole in the ground with his bare hand.
Sabo scooped up Mr. 5's body and dumped him in the hole.
"I suppose someone should say something," Sabo resolved. "We lay to rest a man known as 'Mr. 5'. If nothing else, he was devoutly loyal towards the organization that he believed in. He gave every part of himself for his cause and in the end he even gave his life. Mr. 5 died on his feet in battle and no one can take that away from him."
Sabo nodded to Dorry and the giant dumped the dirt back in the hole.
"Who was that guy?" Miss Valentine asked.
"Your partner," Sabo answered.
"Oh… that's sad…" the blonde said.
"I don't know how close you two were," Sabo admitted, "But when you regain your memories… you'll at least know that I did this for him… even if I was the one that killed him."
"Wait… what?" Miss Valentine sputtered, "If you killed him why are you the one burying him? If he's my partner why are you helping me?"
"I'm responsible for his death and your current condition," Sabo told her, "so I'm taking responsibility for my actions. Honor is considered the most valuable treasure on this island which acts as a sacred battleground for two proud warriors." Sabo glanced upward and nodded at the giants then looked Miss Valentine straight in her green eyes. "You have my word of honor that I will not harm you any further than I already have and that I'll get you to a doctor who can help you with your amnesia."
"Alright then," Miss Valentine said then she leaned in closer, "You sure you're not doing all this because you think I'm cute?"
CLICK!
"Positive," Sabo stated as he gave Bonnie Anne a reassuring pat.
"Um… Miss Valentine, you probably shouldn't flirt with him," Ayako advised. "He has a girlfriend… and she's really dangerous."
"I'm not scared of the blue-haired hussy," Miss Valentine insisted.
"The Princess is not my girlfriend," Sabo insisted.
"Really? But you didn't even look at the other one… and she was walking around half naked."
"Miss Valentine… my girlfriend is a lot closer than you might think," Sabo warned her. "And for your continued health and safety you need to stop flirting with me. I promised not to harm you… but she has no such restriction. Please don't press your luck."
Sabo turned and addressed the giants. "Goodbye Mr. Dorry, Mr. Brogy. Hopefully the volcano doesn't go off for a while so the two of you can recover from your various injuries."
"God speed little pirate," Dorry replied.
Sabo turned and led Ayako and Miss Valentine off into the jungle.
"You don't often see such great spirit in such little warriors," Brogy remarked.
"Indeed," Dorry agreed. "Our little friends are setting sail. Perhaps there is something we can do to repay them for their help."
"Aye…" Brogy said, "Your sword and my ax have lived long lives. But they're a small price to pay for friends like them."
Sabo, Ayako and Miss Valentine walked into a heated argument when they got to the Going Merry.
"MINE'S BIGGER!"
"ARE YOU BLIND? MINE'S BIGGER!"
"I can't believe they're still arguing about this…" Nami complained as she came out of the storage room wearing a new top.
"I think they both look great!" Luffy exclaimed, "Let's eat 'em both!"
"I don't care…" Usopp stated.
"Can't we call it a draw?" Vivi suggested.
"There are now draws in a hunting challenge!" Zoro insisted.
"Sabo, tell this dumbass Marimo that my lizard is longer," Sanji called out to the Quartermaster.
"It is longer…" Sabo pointed out.
"Maybe it is," Zoro growled, "But this is a contest about weight. My rhino is thicker and heavier. Even you can't deny that!"
"His does look chunkier," Sabo admitted.
"That weight is all from the bones and horns!" Sanji insisted, "It may be a little chunkier but mine has more edible meat."
"Look, if you're gonna keep arguing can you do it while you're carving them up?" Sabo requested. "Meanwhile, the rest of us can have that tea party."
"Sure," Sanji replied, "I got everything ready before this guy showed up."
A little bit later, everyone was sitting in a circle on the deck of the Going Merry. An assortment of crackers and desserts had been set out in front of everyone. Although, as per usual, the desserts in front of the women appeared to have been prepared with much more love and care.
"TO OUR NEW NAKAMA!" Luffy exclaimed.
"TO GIANT WARRIORS!" Usopp called out.
"TO SURVIVING BAROQUE WORKS!" Nami added.
"CHEERS!" Everyone chorused.
"Dish is delishus!" Luffy mumbled through a mouth-full of cake.
"You rubber jerk!" Sanji scolded him, "That lemon-cake was for Miss Valentine!"
"Is it always lively like this for you guys?" Miss Valentine inquired as she sipped her tea.
"It seems like it," Sabo admitted, "Is that honey lemon tea jogging any memories?"
"Why would it?" Miss Valentine asked.
"You're wearing lemon slice earrings," Sabo pointed out, "I thought that since you seem to feel fondly for them... they might jog your memory a bit."
"Hmm… this flavored tea is way better than Earl Grey," Ayako commented. "I don't even have to add much sugar to it now." She glanced around the deck, "What happened to Mr. 3?"
"We left him in the anchor room," Usopp answered. "Luffy's kick really did a number on him. I don't think he'll be waking up anytime soon."
"Take it easy with that tea, Carue…" Vivi warned her duck who was sipping tea through a straw.
Zoro rolled his eyes and snapped the cap off of a booze bottle and poured some into his tea cup.
"Eh-hem…" Zoro looked to the side and saw Nami holding out her cup expectantly. The Boatswain sighed and poured the rest of his booze in Nami's cup.
"Hey! The bird and the monkey are waking up!" Luffy suddenly announced.
"Hey, you guys," Sabo greeted the Unluckies, "Remember us?"
"…" Mr. 13 raised his sunglasses so he could roll his beady black eyes.
"I'll take that as a 'yes'," Sabo said, "Do you think Miss All Sunday would be willing to update our bounties to account for what happened here?"
"We can't tell her everything that happened," Vivi argued, "She's the Vice President of Baroque Works. If she knows we're still alive then Mr. 0 is sure to know too."
"I think we can trust her," Luffy said. "She visited our ship but kept Usopp and Sanji a secret."
"You can give our posters to Miss All Sunday and only Miss All Sunday, right?" Zoro asked.
Mr. 13 and Miss Friday shared a look… then nodded.
"Remember, I beat you two," Sanji pointed out, "That should qualify me for a bounty this time."
"And I saved everybody by melting Mr. 3's big wax deathtrap!" Usopp boasted.
Mr. 13 pulled out his sketch pad and drew two new sketches.
Skisssh-skitch! Scribble!
"Can I see those?" Ayako requested as she slid closer and peered over the otter's shoulder.
"…" Mr. 13 pointed his paw accusingly at Ayako… then at Miss Valentine.
"She's our new Artist!" Luffy explained, "And the other one got hurt fighting Sabo so we're taking her to a doctor."
Skisshh… scribble-scribble!
The Straw Hats' new Artist suddenly found herself starting at a her own Wanted Poster.
"Can I show you a trick?" Ayako offered. The two animals warily watched the Artist as she took the sketch pad and pencil. "If you press down harder when you're outlining the face… like this… it'll allow you to use normal lighter strokes to shade the sides."
Skitch-skitch-skitch…
"When you add the shading it makes the sketch more three dimensional and more life-like," Ayako said as she handed back the pad.
"Here… I swiped the old sketches from Mr. 3's hideout," Sabo said as he handed over the old bounties for himself, Zoro, Nami, Luffy and Vivi. "Can you update those?"
Mr. 13 pointed to Sabo and turned over the Quartermaster's poster.
"I killed Mr. 5 and I'm the reason Miss Valentine is injured," Sabo stated.
"I beat him," Zoro was quick to add. "He was hypnotized and working for Baroque Works at the time."
"I beat up the Candle-guy," Luffy said, "And I convinced Ayako to become our Artist."
"Um… hi…" Ayako greeted the Unluckies.
"I melted Mr. 3's big wax death trap!" Usopp boated.
"Don't look at me… I didn't do anything," Nami insisted.
"Oh… I guess I didn't either…" Vivi confessed.
"Don't worry about it, Vivi," Nami reassured her as she let out a pained grimace and held her forehead. "If you get caught up in their macho madness you'll end up with a splitting headache like mine."
"Oh… are you okay?" Vivi inquired with concern.
"I'm fine," Nami answered, "Let's just finish the tea party and get out of here. It's been another one of those long days."
"BYYYYEEE!" Luffy shouted as Miss Friday flew off with Mr. 13 on her back. "ALRIGHT! LET'S SET SAIL!"
The Going Merry's anchor was raised and they sailed along the river to the other side of the island. But when they reached the end of the river they spotted two familiar gigantic figures standing on the shore on opposite sides of the river.
"Oh hey, it's the giants!" Luffy called out.
"Did they came to see us off?" Usopp wondered.
"There's one final, very important reason why the little humans that come here fail to make it to the next island," Brogy informed them.
"That important reason lies straight ahead," Dorry added as he stared out at the open sea off the shore.
"What is it?" Usopp asked as everyone gathered on the front deck.
"You little pirates risked your lives and fought to keep our pride from being tarnished," Dorry continued, "And so in return… we will not allow the pride your pirate flag represents to be tarnished either!"
"Have faith in us and sail straight ahead!" Brogy instructed, "No matter what happens… keep going straight!"
"Got it," Luffy agreed, "We'll sail straight ahead."
"Farewell," the two giants called out. "Let us meet again someday in the future!"
"LOOK UP AHEAD!" Nami shouted as the water in front of the Going Merry started to bubble.
SPLOOSH!
A massive fin that was bigger than any of the dinosaurs on Little Garden broke the surface.
"So you've come Island Eater," Dorry growled.
"In the name of Elbaf… we vow to clear a path!" Brogy proclaimed.
SPLOOOSH!
The Island Eater continued to rise up out of the ocean and revealed it to be an utterly enormous goldfish that was nearly half the size of Little Garden and easily dwarfed the Going Merry.
"WHAT IS THAT THING?" Zoro shouted.
"Is it a Sea King?" Sabo asked.
"MOONSTEEEER!" Miss Valentine shrieked in terror.
"Someone grab the helm and turn us around!" Nami ordered, "We'll be swallowed whole!"
"We… we can't!" Usopp refused. "W-we've gotta… sail straight ahead! Right Luffy?"
"Right, Usopp," Luffy replied, "Straight ahead! Just like the giants said!"
"BUT THIS ISN'T LIKE LABOON!" Nami shouted.
"Nami… give it up…" Zoro told her, "Captain's orders."
"Did I join the right crew?" Ayako meekly wondered.
"Stick with us and you get used to this kind of stuff, kid," Sabo reassured her.
"Oh yeah? Then why're you hugging your rifle?" the Artist demanded.
"Obviously I didn't want Bonnie to be scared," Sabo answered.
Click!
"Don't worry, ladies! I'll protect you!" Sanji nobly volunteered.
Whap!
The Ship's Cook was surprised that someone actually took him up on his offer and found Miss Valentine clutching his arm like a life line.
"I don't know why everyone's so casual about this…" the amnesic Officer Agent whimpered. "We're willingly sailing right into the mouth of a huge goldfish… just on the word of some giants."
"Luffy…" Vivi called out, "Are you sure about this?"
"YEAH!" Luffy yelled, "STRAIGHT AHEAD! STRAIGHT AHEAD!"
"IT'S TOO LATE! WE'RE GONNA BE SWALLOWED!" Nami whined.
"STRAIGHT AHEAD! STRAIGHT AHEAD!" Luffy and Usopp chanted together even after the Going Merry was swallowed.
"Well, well, Island Eater… you've grown," Dorry remarked.
"You know, I heard that the little humans once mistook its droppings for an island," Brogy recalled.
"Only a great serpent soaked in blood can withstand our mightiest attack," Dorry boasted.
"Behold! The Mightiest Spear in all of Elbah!" Brogy exclaimed.
The two giants smashed their weapons on the ground in front of them and gave a loud shout.
"HAKOKO!"
SHOOOOOM!
The giants' battered weapons shattered on the ground as a red blast of compressed air flew out from Brogy's ax while a blue one emitted from Dorry's sword. The two blasts marched together and blasted a hole straight through the Island Eater.
BOOOOOOM!
"WOOOOHOOOO! WE'RE FLYING!" Luffy shouted as the Going Merry came flying out.
"Wow… so this is the power of Elbaf's strongest warriors!" Usopp gasped.
"WHOA! The giants blasted a hole straight through it!" Zoro gasped.
Sabo smirked at him, "Which just goes to show you that the best attack from a sword and ax wielding giant is a blast."
KER-CHOW!
"I can't believe it… we're alive!" Miss Valentine exclaimed. She still hadn't let go of Sanji's arm.
"I've definitely gotta paint that," Ayako resolved.
"KEEP GOING MERRY!" Usopp yelled, "FLY STRAIGHT HEAD!"
The giants' laughter carried after the Going Merry.
"GEBABABABABABA!" "GEGYAGYAGYAGYAGYA!"
"GOOD FORTUNE ACCOMPANY YOU, LITTLE FRIENDS!"
So yeah, Ayako AKA Miss Goldenweek is the new Straw Hat Artist. I'd like to credit QPython for coming up with the 'Ayako' name. Aya – Color, Ko – Child. It fits her perfectly. I'm taking some liberties with Miss Goldenweek's canon dream and I'm expanding on it. Her dream isn't just to be an artist but to see the magic of the Grand Line and capture it on canvas. You can probably expect the cherry blossoms on Drum Kingdom to be the first of many paintings.
I am once again taking a week off in between arcs so I'll be back November 14th with the first chapter of the Drum Kingdom Arc. Let's see how Drum Kingdom turns out with Sabo, Bonnie, Ayako, Miss Valentine and Mr. 3 all coming along for the ride.
Silver signing off