BROTHER ON BOARD
yuzukikuran476 - She lived a good life... or not. She's been trapped in a rifle for the last two years. But Sabo made it a little bit better.
BillCiTheDemonGuy - I wanted to have a bunch of funny moments to set up for the dramatic shift in tone at the ending. Breaking the rifle won't free Bonnie. Otherwise Sabo would have tried that a long time ago. She's dying.
ProtoPhinbella - Start digging a hole and prepare a tombstone. Sabo's already killed people for less. It's safe to assume that the tin tyrant won't survive the chapter.
TheVampireDragon - Breaking the rifle doesn't free her. I don't think Nami and Bonnie could get along in the same room for a few hours... let alone the same body.
Guest - The rifle is broken and now she's dying.
Kid - Sorry...
The Keeper of Worlds - I figure Sanji's life is so horrible that I'd throw him a bone and let him have a few moments of happiness with a woman who actually appreciates his attention and over-the-top swooning.
starelight - Not to toot my own horn but I think this is my best chapter ever. Bonnie was blasted by Wapol's cannonball while she, Luffy and Sabo were all distracted watching Chopper transform.
The Patient One - I'd assume that being patient comes with the territory when that's your penname. And as for Wapol... there's an armory in the castle and there's no kill like overkill.
EnixFairy - Sabo's certainly killed people for less. Killing his girlfriend is a perfect excuse.
Babyuknowme13 - I think it's even more surprising when you consider that the Drum Kingdom Arc is usually just a throw away arc that they used to recruit Chopper on the way to Alabasta. I'd like to think that I made it more significant.
Bluejay Blaze - If they did it was unintentional. I have never seen Tales of Vesperia. Is there a specific moment that you have in mind that I'd be able to look up in order to understand the reference?
TheREALMightyKamina - Remember Sabo's rage from when Nami accidentally kidnapped Bonnie? Yeah... that's nothing compared to this. Let's just say that Sabo will be leaving Drum Kingdom a changed man.
Dr. Zenkai - What most people gloss over where Purin Purin is concerned is that Kuro slaughtered the Branch 77 Marines while creating a distraction for Buggy and Alvida to free Arlong. I'll state here, that yes, he did survive the injuries he incurred from Kuro's attack but a large portion of his men didn't. The Munch Munch Fruit isn't that much of a tweak. He chews up objects and reforms them as part of him. He can already fuse people together (sort of) so why not objects? I wanted Wapol to come across as more of a threat so I had him use his best abilities early on.
Johnny Spectre - Yeah... about that...
OrangeFrito - Bonnie is not a cat. She knew one really well at one point... but two years trapped inside a gun can strain any relationship.
UnderTakerxXxMadnesS - If you're reading up to this point... yes, he does. It won't come into play until much later. But I'd like to state plainly it is NOT Bonnie Anne.
luvBonnieAnne - I was worried about your reaction the most. It turns out I was right to be. And I'm really glad that you don't know where I live. The hardest part of attacking the bunker surrounded by landmines is finding the bunker surrounded by landmines. But if it'll make you feel better... cue up Overtaken or another inspirational One Piece song and start playing it the moment Vivi punches Sabo.
Miqila - A fox Mink? That would be a safe guess. But I'm not going to say whether or not it's a correct guess. Good thing you don't know where my bunker is.
ASSASSINEZIO - But I warned you! I warned you after the cliff hanger from the Dalton chapter that the one for the next chapter would be even worse!
Fairy of the Friz - The Big Bonnie Reveal is coming this chapter. But an emotional roller coaster is coming along with it. I know Sanji was pretty good at keeping his heritage hidden but I decided to play around more with it. Funnily enough, someone actually noticed all his subtle reactions.
Maximusace9 - I don't know if you're still reading but I disagree with the concept of a Mizu Mizu no Mi out of principle. Water is a Devil Fruit User's main weakness. It wouldn't make sense for there to be one where the user can control and turn into something that weakens them.
Roaming-Guardian - I like my Monday update schedule. I thinks it's good when an author can be consistent with their updates. The good news is that I've been dying to write this chapter for ages. I already had it mostly written out in my head so I finished it way ahead of schedule.
Ranger Station Charlie - For sheer brightness I'd go with Luffy and Sabo since it's all coming from their eyes. The youth sunset is larger and much more horrifying. Keep your eyes peeled for the Naruto reference.
rasEnshur1KEn - You made it in time. In the cover story Miss Goldenweek's Operation Meet Baroque Works, Miss Valentine's dream is being a Chocolate Lady. I don't know what that is so I went with a baker of chocolate treats. Fourth wall breaking can be fun I want to stay away from that unless I"m making references.
Bonnie Anne-
A fifteen year old Luffy carried a long wooden crate over to an eighteen year old Sabo.
"Sabo! You got a present from Ace!" Luffy called out. "It was delivered to Makino's place."
"Looks like he found it," Sabo said with a wide grin as he took the crate from Luffy.
"What'd Ace find?" Luffy asked as he peered over Sabo's shoulder as he opened the box.
"Ah! She's gorgeous!" Sabo gushed as he pulled a long rifle out of the box.
"What's that? Some kind of gun?" Luffy asked.
"This isn't just a gun, Luffy," Sabo told him. "This is an Advanced Wheel-Lock Rifle with an added scope and custom revolving action!"
Luffy blinked. "But what about your pipe?"
"I'm trading up," Sabo said as he dropped his old pipe into the rifle's crate and continued to admire his new weapon. "I was nearly killed by one of those damn World Nobles wielding a rifle. Now I'm going to use this beautiful creature to accomplish my dream."
"Okay…" Sabo resolved as he and Luffy brought the new rifle out into a clearing in Midway Forest. "I got a box from my ammo collection. Let's see what this baby can do."
Luffy watched as Sabo cracked opened the rifle and prepared to load it.
"Oh… she's already got a couple of rounds in here," Sabo noted. "I'll use these first, I guess."
Sabo raised the rifle and aimed at a tree using the scope… then he pulled the trigger.
Click!
Luffy stared at his brother. "Is something supposed to happen?"
"OH! How stupid of me!" Sabo realized. "The safety switch is on!" Sabo quickly flicked the switch. "That'll do it!"
KER-CHOW!
The rifle fired on its own and smacked Sabo in the face with the recoil.
THUD!
Sabo fell to the ground with a welt under his eye. "Wow… this girl's got kick!"
"Is it supposed to do that?" Luffy asked.
KER-CHOW!
The rifle shot off another round and this one hit Luffy straight in the chest.
Zat!
The round sparked but the rubber man was unharmed.
"HEY! IT JUST SHOT ME!" Luffy exclaimed.
KER-CHOW!
Another round was fired all on its own and struck Luffy between the eyes.
Zat!
Again, the bullet sparked but the rubber man was immune to the electricity.
"SABO! YOUR RIFLE'S TRYING TO KILL ME!" Luffy complained.
"I've never seen that happen with a rifle before," Sabo said, "Maybe those rounds were screwy?"
Sabo pulled out his bullet box.
"Sabo… are you actually putting in more bullets?" Luffy asked warily.
"What do you care?" Sabo countered. "They can't hurt you."
"I still don't like being shot at!" Luffy insisted as he moved behind Sabo. "That rifle's what's screwy!"
"No… it's just gonna take some getting used to," Sabo decided as he slid six new bullets in the rifle. "I've waited too long to get one of these. I'm not gonna abandon it at the first sign of trouble."
Sabo snapped the rifle closed and prepared to fire again.
KER-CHOW!
The rifle went off on its own and once again smacked Sabo in the face with the recoil.
THUD!
Sabo was left sprawled out on his back with a matching welt under his other eye.
The rifle took advantage of Sabo's prone position and fired a series of shots at Luffy.
KER-CHOW-CHOW-CHOW!
The three bullets struck Luffy dead on in the chest... and then bounced off.
BA-BA-BOING!
The ricocheted rounds embedded in the ground around Sabo.
"SABO! I THINK SOMETHING'S IN THERE!" Luffy called out in alarm. "AND WHATEVER IT IS IT'S PISSED!"
"You probably didn't help yourself with that 'screwy' comment," Sabo idly remarked as he sat up. "She's just scared…"
"How do you know it's a girl?" Luffy asked.
KER-CHOW!
"GAAH!" Luffy yelped in alarm rather than pain as a bullet bounced off his face.
"Well, that's righteous indignation if I've ever seen it," Sabo observed as he stroked the rifle's side. "Hey… easy… it's okay… no one's gonna hurt you… That's just Luffy… He ate something called a Devil Fruit. It turned his body into rubber. Don't worry… he's harmless."
The rifle had gone silent.
"Sabo… I don't think you should be messing with her," Luffy warned him.
"Are you kidding?" Sabo replied as he stood up, "Did you notice that every single one of those shots she landed on you was a kill-shot? That's the kind of accuracy I need."
Sabo stared down at the weapon, "You can hear me, right, Miss rifle-dwelling-person?"
Click!
"Great," Sabo said, "Okay… look. We obviously got off on the wrong foot. My name's Sabo and that's my younger brother Luffy. Um…this is an unusual situation… but… are you trapped in that rifle?"
Click!
"Was it something that happened recently?"
Click!
"See Luffy?" Sabo asked. "She's not in there by choice. And the first person she met was a crazy rubber monster. I'd be scared too if I was in her position." Sabo looked back down at the rifle. "Um… I'm not sure how exactly to ask your name…"
KER-CHOW!
The rifle recoiled again. But instead of rearing backwards and smacking Sabo in the face it shot straight back and drove its handle into his stomach.
"UUGGH!" Sabo groaned as the wind was knocked out of him.
Sabo pulled the handle out of his gut and stared at it. "Oh… there's something carved here... 'B.A.'."
"BA?" Luffy repeated. "What kind of name is Ba?"
"They're initials Luffy," Sabo explained as he pulled out a new batch of bullets. "Why don't we just ask her?" Sabo loaded the rifle and snapped it closed. "Okay, first question… is this your rifle?"
Click!
"Okay… so those are your initials," Sabo realized. "Hmm… Ba… ba-ba-ba… OH! That reminds me of a song! Ba ba ba ba Barbara Anne! Is your name Barbara Anne?"
KER-CHOW!
THUD!
Click!
"I'll take that as a maybe…" Sabo groaned from the ground.
"What song was that?" Luffy inquired.
"I don't know… I heard some boys singing it on the beach," Sabo answered as he stood up again. "I'm taking the throwing as a 'no' and the 'clicking' as yes. But since you did both I assume I'm half right."
Click!
"Great… is your name Barbara?"
KER-CHOW!
THUD!
"Uggh… well… it was a fifty-fifty shot…" Sabo mumbled as he staggered back up. "Is it Anne?"
Click!
"Okay, Anne, nice to meet y-"
KER-CHOW!
THUD!
"Not just Anne then…" Sabo realized as he laid flat on his back. "B… Anne… something like that?"
Click! Click! CLICK!
Luffy closed his eyes and seemed to recite, "'It's Bonnie... Bonnie Anne… This is gonna take forever…"
"What?" Sabo asked.
"What?" Luffy echoed as he opened his eyes.
Sabo looked down at the rifle, "Is your name Bonnie Anne?"
Click!
"WAIT!" Sabo exclaimed, "LUFFY! Did you just understand her?"
"I don't know," Luffy answered with a shrug. "Maybe. I don't know how but I think I heard her."
"Can you do it again?" Sabo requested.
KER-CHOW!
Luffy leaned to the side to avoid the bullet and shook his head. "Nothing."
"Damn… that would've actually been convenient," Sabo grumbled. "And I'd like to point out that she didn't throw me that time."
KER-CHOW!
THUD!
"Cheeky…" Sabo muttered as he got back up. For as many times as the rifle had smacked him and thrown him around, he was still undeterred. "Listen… Bonnie Anne… I'll make a deal with you. You're stuck in a rifle… and I'm in need of a good one. Luffy and I are going to set sail as pirates in two years' time. We're heading for the Grand Line. My brother Ace… you probably met him… he's the one who sent you to me... "
CLICK!
"I don't think that encounter went much better than this one," Luffy commented.
Click!
"Still nothing," Luffy reported with a shake of his head.
"Anyway, Ace said in a letter that anything's possible in the Grand Line," Sabo explained. "You've seen Luffy's powers… I bet if we looked hard enough we could find someone that can get you out of that rifle. If you agree to partner up with me and help me out… I promise I'll make it my top priority to find them and free you. All I ask in exchange is that you help me take out some scumbags that live in the Grand Line."
KER-CHOW!
THUD!
"'I'm not your killer...'" Luffy seemingly recited.
Sabo looked over at Luffy then back at the obstinate rifle in his arms.
"What's that supposed to mean!?" Sabo argued. "You'll fire half-a-dozen kill-shots at my brother but you won't help me shoot some bastards that actually deserve it!?"
Truthfully, Luffy was surprised by the whole ordeal. Sabo could usually talk anyone into anything. But here he was arguing with a rifle… and losing.
"I'm gonna leave you two alone," Luffy decided as he turned and dashed off before Sabo gave the rifle any ideas.
Luffy occasionally took breaks from his own training in order to check in with Sabo and Bonnie Anne. He made sure to watch from the trees on the edge of the clearing in order to avoid becoming an unwilling target for the angry rifle.
Luffy loitered nearby in the hopes that he could hear the rifle's voice again. But thus far everything he'd heard had been angry complaints and insults.
"I swear these guys are really bad news!"
KER-CHOW!
THUD!
"'...stubborn dolt…'" Luffy repeated. "'...don't know them…'"
Every time Sabo fired the rifle, he was thrown on his back by the recoil and his bullet would sail wide of whatever was targeting. Luffy had never seen his brother take a beating from anyone like he was from Bonnie Anne. Not even Ace! Because in those fights Sabo at least got in his own offense. These 'battles' had been completely one-sided for months. Sort of like when he fought Ace.
But as with that first day, every time Sabo was thrown he got back up. He never gave up.
Luffy was sure that even Bonnie Anne was secretly impressed with Sabo's determination.
They'd been at this for months. Now it had become a battle of wills. Sabo didn't want to give up on his chance at having a weapon he could use to take out the Celestial Dragons. And from what Luffy had managed to hear from Bonnie Anne… she was refusing to play a part in the murder of people that she didn't know.
This had become the routine now. Sabo spent the majority of the morning being thrown around by Bonnie Anne as he tried unsuccessfully to master the rifle. Then he'd slip off at some point in the late afternoon and come back with more bullets. Luffy learned after the first few days that Bonnie Anne wasn't above taking cheap shots so Sabo always made sure to leave the rifle unloaded or with the safety switch on.
But this was the day where everything changed. And it all started with the tiger attack.
Wait a minute…
"GRRRRAAAAAAHHH!"
A huge tiger came charging out of the trees at Sabo as he was getting back up.
KER-CHOW!
"'Look out…'" Luffy repeated.
Sabo turned and grinned when he saw the ten meter long tiger racing at him. "Oh… dinner."
Sabo stood up, twisted and smashed his rifle into the oncoming tiger's face.
WHAAAM!
The huge tiger went flying back out of the clearing the way it had come.
"And he's outta here!" Sabo cheered. He looked down and grinned at Bonnie Anne. "Hahaha! I figured that'd work considering how many times you've slapped me around. But that doesn't mean other pirates won't make fun of me if I use a rifle like its a stick!"
Sabo slung the rifle over his shoulder and turned to follow the tiger. "HEY LUFFY! I FOUND DINNER!"
KER-CHOW!
The branch he was perched on dropped out from under him. Luffy quickly curled into a ball.
BOING-FWIP!
Luffy bounced off the ground then flipped through the air and landed on his feet beside Sabo.
"Wow… that was even faster than normal," Sabo remarked.
It looked like only Bonnie Anne had known that Luffy was lurking nearby.
"Come on, Luffy! It went this way!"
They ran off after the tiger but were disappointed to find that it had landed in the river.
"The crocodiles are gonna get it!" Luffy realized as the scaly reptiles closed in around the tiger. "I hate crocodiles…"
"Not if I have anything to say about it!" Sabo growled, "Damn kill stealing crocs! They should know by now that we're the top of the food chain in this forest!" Sabo shoved Bonnie Anne into Luffy's chest. "Hold her for me. I'm going in."
Sabo threw off his blue coat and black gloves then tossed his waistcoat on top of it. He undid his dress shirt and added it to the pile.
KER-CHOW!
"OOF!" Luffy was thrown backwards, hit the ground and bounced off of it.
Thoing!
"'What the bloody hell is that'..." Luffy repeated as he sat up. "I think she's talking about your scar."
CLICK!
Luffy didn't hear her that time but got the feeling that he'd just been insulted.
"Oh that…" Sabo said as he cast a glance down at the burn scar that covered his side and back as he removed his boots. "I got that from one of the guys that I'm hunting. I was ten. I nearly died. All I did was sail passed his ship while I was trying to escape the island. He fired a rifle at me, my boat exploded and now I'm scarred for life." He turned to fully face the rifle in Luffy's arms.
"I told you they were bad news. They're called the Celestial Dragons. They're the descendants of the original twenty kings that founded the World Government. But they abandoned their kingdoms a long time ago. Now they walk around wearing bubble suits because they don't want to breathe the same air as everyone else. When I tell you these people are the scum of the earth that's because they're the sorriest excuses for human life to have ever existed. And whether you agree to help me or don't I'm going to hunt them down and make the world a better place by removing them from it."
"Now if you'll excuse me," Sabo said as he turned back to the river and dove in, "GIMME BACK MY TIGER, YOU SWIMMING PURSES!"
SKISH! SPLASH!
Luffy stared after Sabo as he heard the sounds of a fight picking up.
KER-CHOW!
"'Help him…'" Luffy repeated. "I can't swim because of my Gum Gum Fruit Powers. I couldn't swim before I got my powers either. But Sabo will be fine. His claws are sharper than that tiger's and those crocs' put together."
Luffy looked down at the rifle. "Y'know… I think it's time you and I had a talk."
CLICK!
Luffy shook his head. "I still can't hear you all the time though. So I'll talk." Luffy cast a glance back at the river. "You've seen his scar now. It's been eight years and he's still really angry about what happened to him. Whenever someone mentions nobles or royalty or those bubble-heads it brings out that ugly side of him. I saw you warn him about that tiger... so I'm pretty sure you don't hate him anymore. He needs someone like you to look after him and make sure he doesn't go too far."
The rifle was silent.
Luffy shook his head. "At first Sabo didn't like me very much. But he's a great guy. I could use a good shot like you on my pirate crew... and to keep an eye on him. When we set sail I'm gonna find the One Piece and become King of the Pirates. You can come along and we'll get you out of that gun. I'm not asking you to be his best friend or anything… just give him a chance. He might surprise you."
...Click...
"You know… it would be easier to understand you if you didn't talk so funny!"
KER-CHOW!
Luffy was thrown backwards again and bounced across the forest floor.
That night they made a big campfire and ate the tiger. Sabo had a leg and Luffy had everything else. Somehow they still finished at the same time.
Luffy was munching on one of the crocodiles that Sabo had brought back for dessert when he heard his brother talking with Bonnie Anne while he rested by a tree.
"You've been quiet for a while now," Sabo noted as he looked down at the rifle in his lap. "Did seeing my scar upset you? I'm sorry I went off on you like that. You're not my enemy. Thinking about those guys brings out the worst part of me. But it's just… that Celestial Dragon… Saint Jalmack… no one batted an eye after what he did. He murdered a ten year old kid in front of a harbor full of witnesses and no one did anything about it. It's the same with all the other ones. They keep slaves, they kill people, they tear families apart… and no one does anything. All because of something their ancestors did. It's disgusting. And I won't let it go on."
"There's a reason I haven't told you who they are until now," Sabo continued, "Just mentioning the thought of going after those spoiled obnoxious twats is considered high treason. If anyone in the World Government caught wind of what I'm planning to do… the Marines would send out one of their strongest officers to come and cut my head off. How's that for justice? They get away with murder... and I get executed for just thinking about it. You know one of my biggest secrets now Bonnie Anne. I'm gonna trust you to keep it."
Sabo frowned, "But now I realize that you don't have a choice. You're stuck in a gun. I can't imagine how horrible that is for you. You can't move on your own… you can't talk… you can throw me around from dawn til dusk but that doesn't change your situation. I'm not gonna force you to do something you won't want to do. That would make me just as bad as them. But we can't work together if we don't trust each other. And so far I haven't really given you a reason to trust me. That changes now. Bonnie Anne… I swear to you… no matter what happens… I'm gonna get you out of that gun."
KRACK!
Luffy watched as Sabo broke something off of the side of the rifle and tossed it away.
"From here on out… I'm going to trust you to fire when it's important," Sabo resolved. "Now… let's see if the rifle still works after I tore off that stupid safety switch…" Sabo stood up and aimed Bonnie Anne at a tree on the other side of the clearing.
KER-CHOW!
Not only did Sabo remain standing on his feet… but the bullet tore a chunk out of the tree's trunk.
"Wow! I actually hit what I was aiming at!" Sabo exclaimed.
"WOW! HE ACTUALLY HIT WHAT HE WAS AIMING AT!" Luffy cheered.
CLICK!
Sabo smiled down at the rifle and stroked its side. "Thanks Bonnie. Thanks for giving me a chance."
"Shishishishi!" Luffy laughed to himself. Just like that he knew everything was going to be okay.
Everything was way better than okay. As the months passed Sabo and Bonnie became inseparable. Sabo carried the rifle everywhere and spent a lot of time to talking to her. Sometimes he'd even just carry her around the island and play tour guide.
Sabo got to be a much better shot. Bonnie still threw him around sometimes and she still took shots at Luffy. But it was usually only when he said something stupid or called her anything other than 'Bonnie'. There had been the week when she'd used half of Sabo's ammo supply shooting at Luffy for calling her 'Anne'. All the while shouting at him and calling him 'backwards'. And then there was that one really bad day where she'd used Sabo's entire ammo supply when he'd called her 'Annie'. After that, Luffy had decided to drop the 'Anne' part of her name and just called her Bonnie like Sabo did.
Luffy hadn't made much headway in understanding the rifle. He still could rarely understand anything she said. But after spending nearly a year around her he found he could 'feel her'. He could sense she was there and could even sense her mood. When she was in a bad mood, Luffy knew to make himself scarce unless he wanted to face a hail of bullet-fire. But he found that when Bonnie was with Sabo, she was usually in a good mood. And because she was almost always with Sabo that meant she was almost always in a good mood.
Even the mountain bandits had noticed Sabo's closeness with his rifle when they visited.
"Hey Sabo!" Dadan called out on one of the days where she'd been drinking a lot. "With the way you carry around that rifle… it's almost like you're dating it!"
"Too bad he doesn't take care of it properly…" Dogra muttered. "Talk about a dirty rifle."
WHUMP!
Sabo suddenly had Dogra pinned on the ground with Bonnie's barrel stuffed in the bandit's mouth. "Insult her again! I dare you! I'll prove to you that I take great care of Bonnie!"
"Mmmffmmm!" the bandit mumbled.
"Sabo! Easy! Easy!" Magra called out. "He didn't mean anything by it! It's just that it's clear how much you use that rifle. There's fingerprints all over it and some dirt."
"I clean her everyday," Sabo insisted.
"Stupid brat," Dadan grunted. "What that rifle needs is a good polishing!"
"Polishing?" Sabo repeated as he finally pulled Bonnie Anne out of Dogra's mouth. "I guess I'll give it a shot. Come on, Bonnie. Let's go get some rifle polish."
Luffy watched them leave. "Maybe she'll stay clean now that she's stopped throwing him as much."
Of course, none of the mountain bandits could have known that they'd just set into motion another big change in Sabo and Bonnie's relationship.
But it all started with 'the Polishing Incident'.
Luffy returned to the tree house that day and was greeted by a bullet blasting through the roof.
KER-CHOW!
Bonnie knew better than to shoot in the tree house so Luffy climbed in to check it out.
He walked into a room that smelled strongly of polish and found Sabo sitting on his bed staring down in surprise at the very shiny rifle in his lap. Luffy sensed a strange feeling coming from Bonnie Anne. She wasn't happy… she wasn't angry… she felt… shame… and not tired... 'spent'. Both emotions were foreign to him.
"Bonnie… you okay?" Sabo asked.
Click… Click...
"'You could've at least bought me dinner first…'" Luffy repeated. "Why's she talking about food?"
Sabo's face flushed and he clutched the rifle to his chest. "LUFFY! AVERT YOUR EYES!"
Luffy whipped around to stare at the wall. "What's going on?"
He was ignored.
"Bonnie… did you just…"
KER-CHOW!
"'Don't wanna talk about it…'" Luffy repeated as he looked over at the new bullet hole in the wall. "Why doesn't she want to talk about it? What's the matter with her? Is she hurt?"
He was ignored again.
"Was it at least good for you?"
...Click…
"Well… this is awkward…" Sabo remarked. "But really there's only one gentlemanly thing to do in a situation like this. Eh-hem! Bonnie Anne… will you go out with me?"
Luffy wasn't sure what that meant. But he was sure that he'd be ignored again if he asked.
Bonnie was silent for a moment but then finally answered.
...Click!
"Really? Great!" Luffy could hear the wide smile in Sabo's voice. "Um… let's go do something then…"
Luffy decided now was the time to turn around. "What just happened?"
"Bonnie and I are going out on a date," Sabo answered as he walked passed.
"What's a date?" Luffy asked. "Can I come?"
Sabo stopped, "A date is a special outing that a girl and a guy go on together. Most of the time it's so they can spend time alone and get to know each other better. That means no kid brothers allowed. See ya later tonight Luffy! We'll be home late!"
Luffy didn't know what happened on the 'date' but he knew something had changed between them.
Late that night, Luffy felt Bonnie before he saw her. The sheer happiness that he felt coming off of the rifle-bound woman was like a beacon in the dark night. Luffy instantly knew the direction they were coming from.
He could easily tell that Sabo was extremely happy too. Sabo's happiness was even easier to read because not only was Luffy able to hear him before he saw him… but he was singing.
"You're just too good too be true
Can't keep my eyes off of you
You'd be like heaven to touch
I wanna hold you so much…"
Sabo started climbing up to the tree house as he continued to sing the unfamiliar song.
"At long last love has arrived
And I thank God I'm alive
You're just too good to be true
Can't take my eyes off you..."
"HEY LUFFY!" Sabo greeted him as he walked in with Bonnie slung across his shoulders and a wide smile going across his face.
"Hey… what song was that?" Luffy asked.
"Oh, we went to this club in Edge Town and saw 'Frankie of the Valli' performing," Sabo answered. "It's called 'Can't Take My Eyes Off You'. We both liked it so we decided it would be 'our song'."
"What's that mean?" Luffy questioned. "You can claim songs?"
"It means Bonnie and I are dating now," Sabo explained. "She's my girlfriend and I'm her boyfriend."
Luffy scratched his head. "What's a girlfriend?"
"A girlfriend is an extra special girl that you care about, enjoy spending time with and like more than every other girl. And before you ask, a boyfriend's the same thing but with a boy. Bonnie and I are a couple. She's mine and I'm hers. And that song is ours and will always remind us of our first date."
Click!
Bonnie seemed happy with the arrangement too.
And so Sabo and Bonnie got even closer. He sang that song to her, danced with her, kissed her, slept in the same bed as her and even kicked Luffy out of the tree house so he could polish her.
Makino called it 'a highly unconventional love'. But she was always the nicest person Luffy knew.
Dadan, the mountain bandits and everyone else in Foosha Village called Sabo crazy for dating Bonnie. Of course… they never actually said that to his face because the crazy soon-to-be-pirate always had a high-power rifle within arm's reach. And anytime that anyone dared to say anything bad about Bonnie while Sabo was within earshot they would soon have a bullet whizzing right by their head. Bonnie had helped Sabo get really good at shooting close to people without actually hitting them. They both seemed to enjoy scaring the piss out of Dogra whenever he mouthed off about them.
KER-CHOW!
Luffy lurked on the outskirts of the clearing that Sabo was training in and watched as he hit three perfect bullseyes in a row while dangling upside down from a tree.
KER-CHOW-CHOW-CHOW!
"Not bad, eh?" Sabo remarked.
Click!
Sabo flipped out of the tree and landed on his feet.
"By the way, Bonnie, I've been meaning to ask this for a while," Sabo said. "Now that you've stopped throwing me around can we switch your responses and make firing 'yes' and misfiring 'no'?"
KER-CHOW!
THUD!
"Hahahaha!" Sabo laughed as he hugged the rifle to him. "You're still cheeky. But I love you anyway." Sabo kissed the rifle's nozzle as he sat up and climbed back up to his feet.
KER-CHOW!
"She loves him too…" Luffy noted.
People kept saying that Sabo and Bonnie's relationship was strange and unnatural. But if being with Bonnie made his brother this happy… then to Luffy it couldn't be anything but good.
And suddenly Luffy was back outside the castle on Drum Rock watching his brother as he clutched his broken girlfriend to his chest.
"No… Bonnie… come on!" Sabo whimpered as he tried to press the two pieces of his rifle together.
Luffy dropped to his knees. It looked like someone had let the air out of the rubber man. He visibly shrank as he stared at his devastated brother and the broken rifle.
"Luffy… can you…" Sabo asked weakly as he looked over at his brother.
Luffy hung his head and couldn't meet his brother's eyes. "I can barely feel her... she's hurt… bad… she's..." Luffy trailed off unable to finish.
Sabo frantically looked over at Chopper. "CHOPPER! DOCTOR! PLEASE! SHE'S HURT! I NEED HELP!"
"And what do you expect me to do?" Dr. Kureha asked. "Glue it back together?"
"I… I don't know how to treat guns…" Chopper confessed as he timidly approached.
"Come on Bonnie… hang in there!" Sabo urged his girlfriend as he rocked the rifle pieces in his arms. "You can't leave me… we had so much left to do… I still don't even know what animal you are… you can't lose to a cheap shot from that sniveling coward of a king… Please… say something..."
But the broken rifle remained silent.
"No… it wasn't supposed to be this way…" Sabo whispered as he fought to hold back tears. "That greedy, arrogant, elitist son of a bitch!" Sabo gritted his teeth and clenched the rifle in his hands as his anguish turned to anger. "This is the last straw… Damn that king… Damn him..."
Sabo looked up and screamed at the top of his lungs. "DAAAAMN HIIIIIIM!"
A wave of pure rage went rolling off of Sabo. Luffy and Chopper were the closest and got blown over.
Dr. Kureha dropped to one knee and clutched her hand over her heart. "I haven't felt rage like that in over twenty years…"
"MONSTER!" Chopper shrieked as he scrambled away to hide behind Dr. Kureha.
A seething Sabo stood up and was engulfed with a flaring dark blue aura.
"YOU WON'T GET AWAY WITH IT THIS TIME!" Sabo roared. "YOU'VE HURT TOO MANY PEOPLE! NO ROYAL PRIVILEGE WILL SAVE YOU NOW! I'LL FIND YOU AND I'LL TEAR YOU TO SHREDS!"
"Sabo… you're scaring Chopper…" Luffy called out as he pushed himself up to his knees.
Sabo looked back at the reindeer who was shaking like a leaf as he hid behind Dr. Kureha. His terrifying aura faded to a low simmer but his facial expression showed that he was absolutely livid.
"I'm not the monster…" Sabo stated. "And you aren't either. He is. He's taken too much for too long. Now I'm going to give that jackass-in-a-can the royal beating that he deserves. And when I'm done… I'm gonna kill him. That way he can never hurt anyone ever again."
Sabo held the broken halves of his rifle out to his unnaturally subdued younger brother. Luffy silently took the rifle and held it in his lap. "She's fading fast. She doesn't have much time left."
"Hang in there Bonnie… I'll be back," Sabo vowed. "I'll avenge you and everyone else that he's hurt. That fat bastard is gonna meet his end before you do. I swear it."
Sabo turned and stomped off toward the castle doors. His hands were clenched in tight fists at his sides and his stride was slow and deliberate.
One thing was perfectly clear… death was coming for Wapol.
Dr. Kureha stared after Sabo, "Looks like Wapol finally bit off more than even he can chew."
"AH-HA!" the doomed King exclaimed as he ran into the castle a moment earlier and spotted Sanji and Marshmallow. Wapol had shrunk down to his normal form. "THERE YOU ARE!"
"Me?" Sanji asked.
"NO! MY HIPPO!" Wapol snapped.
"Mofuun…" Marshmallow whimpered.
"He's not yours anymore," Sanji stated. "Just like this castle's not yours anymore."
"I'M THE KING!" Wapol shouted. "EVERYTHING IN THIS KINGDOM IS MINE BY DEFAULT! THAT'S MY ROYAL BIRTHRIGHT! IT'S SOMETHING A POOR PIRATE PUNK LIKE YOU COULD NEVER UNDERSTAND!"
"You don't say?" Sanji countered. "Well I'd rather be a poor pirate punk than a royal like you any day."
"BAH! YOU FOOL!" Wapol scoffed. "YOU COULD NEVER BE ROYAL LIKE ME!"
But then Sabo's scream of rage came washing in through the front door.
"DAAAAMN HIIIIIIM!"
Wapol was standing by the doors so he got the full blast from it and dropped to the ground shivering. Sanji paled and staggered backwards into Marshmallow who had collapsed with swirls in his eyes.
The cook stood up and shook his head at the near comatose King. "Whatever you just did out there… it's about to bite you in the ass..."
"You know… if you need something smashed… I'm your girl," Miss Valentine supplied.
"Can you really get us out of here?" Nami asked as she looked over at the bald blonde.
"I can…" Miss Valentine said, "I don't know if I should. The doctor didn't clear you yet."
"Which is why I need to sneak out while I have the chance," Nami explained.
"There's a battle going on outside," Miss Valentine reminded her. "It'll be safer in here."
"And there'll be more places to hide out there," Nami countered. "Come on… help a girl out!"
"Alright, alright," Miss Valentine conceded. "Stand aside."
Nami went back to her bed so she could pull on the black winter coat that had been left for her.
Miss Valentine got into a three point stance then pushed off and charged across the room at the door. "TEN THOUSAND KILO… TACKLE!"
KRASH!
The super heavyweight tore the locked door clean off its hinges and slammed it into the wall on the other side of the hallway outside.
"Wow… didn't that door open inward?" Nami questioned.
"Yup," Miss Valentine confirmed as she pointed at the slivers of wood that had been left on the floor. "C'mon sweetie, jail break!"
Nami bundled her coat closed and ran out of the room after her new partner in crime.
But that's when Sabo's rage wave reached them.
"DAAAAMN HIIIIIIM!"
Both women dropped to their knees and clutched at each other.
The Baroque Works Officer Agent who had recently regained her memories from her years as an assassin buried her head in the pirate's chest and started shaking like a puppy in a thunderstorm.
"What was that?" a pale and sweating Nami gasped.
"R-rage…" the shaking Miss Valentine stammered, "P-pure r-rage…"
"When we get to the castle everyone stay back!" Dalton instructed as he, Zoro, Usopp, Ayako, Vivi and a crowd of villagers rode up to the castle crammed into a ropeway cart. "I'll take care of Wapol."
Dalton pulled open his coat to reveal that he had bombs strapped to him. "I'm ending this today even if it costs me my life!"
But that was when Sabo's wave of rage reached them.
"DAAAAMN HIIIIIIM!"
All the villagers but Dalton collapsed in a dead faint.
"EEP!" Ayako and Usopp both squealed like little girls and clung to Zoro.
Vivi fell over and started sweating while Carue collapsed next to her. "Wh-what was that?"
"I've only felt rage like that once before," Zoro admitted. He looked over at Dalton. "Fair warning… There might not be any pieces of Wapol left for you to blow up when we get there…"
"That must've been a trick…" Wapol insisted as he staggered back to his feet.
"It was no trick," Sanji assured him. "I've felt that rage once before… and you're about to be served a royal helping of comeuppance."
"Munch Munch Shock…" Wapol whispered through clenched teeth.
"What's that?" Sanji asked. "You'd think royalty would be able to enunciate."
"TONGUE CANNON!"
BOOOM!
A cannonball shot out of Wapol's mouth and caught the cook clean in the chest.
FWUFF!
Fortunately for Sanji, there was a big, fluffy 'pillow' behind him which he hit, bounced off and dropped to the ground.
"That's one down!" Wapol sneered. "One to go! You're lucky you're unconscious Robson. You won't want to see what happens next!"
"HEY, FAT-ASS! LEAVE MY MARSHMALLOW ALONE!"
Wapol looked up to see Miss Valentine standing on the second floor railing up above him,
SKISH!
Miss Valentine leapt off the railing and seemingly floated through the air at a light weight.
Wapol opened his mouth and fired his tongue cannon.
BOOOM!
Miss Valentine was blasted back in the other direction. Nami stopped in her tracks as the bald blonde flew passed her on the second floor.
"Ten… thousand… kilos..."
KROOOM!
Miss Valentine smashed into the stone wall and was embedded there.
"And who're you supposed to be?" Wapol asked as he stared up at Nami.
"Um… well… I'm… LEAVING!" Nami turned and ran.
But Wapol dashed forward and fired his tongue cannon at the ceiling above him.
BOOOM!
"YAAAAAHH!" Nami screamed as she fell down through the hole Wapol had blasted in the floor.
"I know who you are!" Wapol realized as he stalked after Nami while she crawled out of the rubble and tried to get away. "You're the sick crew member they were so concerned about!"
"Yeah… you wouldn't hurt a sick girl… would you?" Nami asked.
TOMP!
"AAAAH!" Nami shrieked as Wapol ran over and stomped on her back.
"You broke the law by ignoring me earlier," Wapol announced. "And your punishment is death!" The King opened his mouth and aimed his tongue cannon at Nami.
THWHAM!
Sanji appeared and punted Wapol in the jaw and sent him flying off Nami clear across the entryway.
"HOW DARE YOU EVEN TOUCH NAMI-SWAN!" Sanji yelled. "I'LL KICK YOUR UGLY FACE IN!"
"GGGRRRAAH! YOU PEST!" Wapol shouted as he stood up with a dented metal jaw. "I'M NOT DONE! NOW I'M REALLY MAD!" He pointed at a pair of double doors. "Through those doors is the royal armory! Where I've stockpiled more weapons than you punks could even count! I'll eat them and use my powers to incorporate them all into my body and I'll blast every last one of you to smithereens! MAHAHAHAHA! Start begging for mercy because I've got the only key!"
Wapol grabbed at his waist but his hand came up empty. He went bug eyed when he looked down and realized the key wasn't there.
"You were saying?" Sanji asked.
"STUPID PIRATES!" Wapol yelled as he ran off up the spiral stairs. "I'VE STILL GOT ONE WEAPON LEFT! I'LL BE BACK AND I'LL KILL YOU ALL!"
"Oh… so that's what this key was for…" Nami commented as she sat up held out the key she'd stolen from Wapol's belt. "I thought it was the key to his treasury…"
"Marshmallow… are you okay, sweetie?" Miss Valentine asked as she vaulted over the railing and landed on her fluffy hippo. She patted him on the head.
"Mofuun…" the White Walkie mumbled.
"WHERE… IS... HE…"
Nami, Sanji, Miss Valentine and even Marshmallow all shuddered as they turned to see death personified standing in the castle doorway.
"He was trying to get into the armory!" Nami blurted out as she pointed at the locked double doors. "Sanji kicked him in the face and he ran away up the spiral stairs!"
"Armory?" Sabo repeated as he turned to look at the locked doors.
"Yeah, I've got the key right—"
"RAAAAAAAAHHHH!"
KRAASH!
"…here…"
"And he didn't even need to weigh ten thousand kilograms…" Miss Valentine whispered.
Less than a minute later, Sabo came running out of the weapon's vault. He had a shotgun in one hand, a revolver in the other, a cannon tied on his back and a dagger and some kind of fancy grenade stuffed in his pocket.
But there was notably no rifle in his hastily gathered arsonal.
"IT'S PAYBACK TIME YOU FAT SON OF A BITCH!" Sabo hollered as he thundered up the staircase.
"What was the hell was that?" Nami wondered as she stared after Sabo only just now able to stand. "I've never seen him that angry before!"
"I have… once…" Sanji confessed. "It was the day you stole the Going Merry."
"Hey, did you guys notice that he didn't have—" Miss Valentine was cut off by both pirates.
"BONNIE!"
All three of them raced out the castle door to find Luffy sitting on the ground with his head hanging and Chopper and Doctorine hovering around him.
"OH NO!" Miss Valentine stopped in her tracks and covered her mouth when she spotted the broken rifle in Luffy's lap.
Sanji and Nami kept running with the latter throwing herself down next to Luffy. "Hey! Hang in there you bullet-spitting pain-in-the-ass! Sabo's armed to the teeth and is hell bent on avenging you! He's going to tear Wapol a-fucking-sunder! You've gotta be here when he gets back! Hold on!"
Sanji looked over at Chopper, "Can you do anything?"
"I don't know how to treat a gun…" Chopper reiterated as he prodded the broken rifle with his hoof. "I could... strap the pieces together with bandages… but that wouldn't heal it... It'd still be broken…"
"Geez…" Dr. Kureha muttered, "I've never seen anyone so broken up about a weapon. The crazy top hat kid I can understand… but you're all treating the rifle like it's a member of your crew…"
"SHE IS!" Luffy, Nami and Sanji all shouted at once.
"THERE IT IS!" Wapol exclaimed as he stood before a massive cannon with seven holes in the barrel. "MY ULTIMATE WEAPON! THE ROYAL DRUM CROWN SEVEN-SHOT BLIKING CANNON! MAHAHAHAHA! NOTHING WILL STAND IN MY WAY NOW!"
Wapol opened his mouth wide and started eating the cannon.
MUNCH! MUNCH CRUNCH! "Eep!"
The King paid no mind to the cry of pain that came from inside the cannon because that's when he heard someone thundering up the steps.
"THERE YOU ARE!" Sabo shouted as he ran into the tower.
"Top Hat you're just in time… TO DIE!" Wapol exclaimed, "Munch Munch Shock... BLIKING CANNON!"
SHOOM!
Wapol grew in size as the seven barrels of his fancy cannon came out of his chest. "NOW DIE!"
BOOOOM!
Sabo blinked as a white cannonball fired from the cannon and bounced harmlessly off of his chest.
Thud...
"What was that?" Wapol wondered as he stared down at the white ball in surprise.
Sabo knelt down and prodded at the white ball. "Feathers…" His eyes blazed and his dark blue aura flared up again. "YOU SICK SON OF A BITCH! THERE WERE SNOW BIRDS NESTING IN THAT CANNON!"
Wapol staggered backwards until his back was nearly against the wall. "I… I'M THE KING! IT SERVES THEM RIGHT FOR NESTING IN MY ROYAL CANNON!"
"NO! NO MORE! YOU WILL NEVER HARM... ANOTHER SOUL... EVER AGAIN! MY PROMISE TO GOD!"
Sabo pumped his shotgun and fired off two quick shots while Wapol was still reeling from his rage.
KA-BLAM! KA-BLAM!
Wapol's shins exploded and the King dropped to the ground as he lost his feet below the ankles.
KLANG!
The cannon-man fell on his side and cried out in pain. "AAAAUUGGH!" He pushed himself partially up with one arm and fired a cannonball at Sabo.
BOOOM!
Sabo calmly raised his revolver and fired two shots at the cannonball flying towards him.
BAM! BAM!
The cannonball exploded and Sabo fired a third shot at Wapol's wrist.
BAM!
Wapol dropped back to the ground as he lost the hand supporting him. He managed to fire off another cannonball.
BOOOM!
But Wapol's second cannonball met the same fate at the last one.
BAM! BAM!
The cannonball crumbled in midair and then Sabo used his last bullet to shoot Wapol's other wrist.
BAM!
"AAAUUGGHRRAAH!" Wapol's cry of pain became a roar of rage. "NOW YOU'RE OUT OF BULLETS! DIE!"
BOOOM!
Wapol fired a third cannonball at Sabo as he tossed his empty resolver aside.
WHAP!
Wapol stared in wide-eyed shock as Sabo caught the cannonball in his bare hand.
KRUNCH!
Sabo's hand clenched and the cannonball shattered.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU!?" Wapol hollered.
"YOUR RECKONING!" Sabo growled as he bent over and lit the fuse for the cannon his back.
BOOOOM!
Sabo's cannonball blasted an eighth hole in the barrel of Wapol's cannon.
WHAM!
The King was blown back and embedded in the tower wall behind him.
Sabo tore the cannon off his back and swung it at Wapol's like a massive baseball bat.
WHAAAM!
The cannon-turned-club smashed down on the cannon coming out Wapol's chest and dented the barrel so it would never fire again.
Shoom!
Wapol shrunk down to his normal body but remained embedded in the wall. "I give up! Mercy!"
"YOU DARE TO ASK FOR MERCY AFTER EVERYONE YOU'VE HURT?" Sabo snarled.
"Let me live… and I'll make you a Lord in my court!" Wapol pleaded.
"..." Sabo's glare only increased as he stalked toward Wapol with the cannon held at his side.
"Uh… Vice-King! I'll give you half the kingdom!" Wapol begged desperately.
TMP!
Sabo placed the cannon down next to him as he stopped in front of Wapol.
"GOTCHA!" Wapol exclaimed, "Munch Munch Shock… TONGUE CANNON!"
Shoom!
Wapol's tongue transformed into a hastily made cannon.
But Sabo's hand flashed out, reached inside Wapol's mouth and grabbed the cannon barrel.
KRESH!
The cannon shattered in Sabo's iron grip and Wapol's tongue returned to normal.
"ENOUGH OF THAT!" Sabo grabbed hold of Wapol's floppy tongue and pulled out the dagger. "What did you say you were going to do to me when we first met?"
SLIK!
"AAAAUUUUGGHH!" Wapol screamed.
Sabo stepped back and picked up his cannon. "Long... live… the king..." Sabo swung the cannon and smashed Wapol through the tower wall and sent him flying out over the peak of Drum Rock.
Sabo fished into his pocket and pulled out his final weapon. It was a golden ball with a cross on top. He pulled out the cross-shaped pin and counted. "One… Two… FIVE!" Sabo lobbed the golden ball after the airborne Wapol.
KA-BOOOOOOOOM!
The holy-looking hand grenade exploded and the tyrannical King of Drum snuffed it.
"Rest in pieces… you son of a bitch…" Sabo growled as he watched the body drop to the ground.
"Hey! Quit shoving!" Zoro complained as Usopp shoved him out of the lift where the ropeway let out.
"See anything?" Usopp asked as he hid behind the Boatswain.
THUD!
Wapol's mangled corpse slammed into the ground in front of him.
"Well… I think Sabo found Wapol," Zoro remarked.
"He did?" Usopp questioned as he peaked out from around his human shield. "OH MY GOD! That guy's definitely dead!"
"Is it safe to come out?" Vivi inquired as she stood in the doorway with Ayako, Carue and Dalton.
"Yeah… Wapol's dead," Zoro announced.
"He is?" Dalton rushed out and stared in shock down at the body of the former King. "OH! Well… now I know what it would've looked like if I had blown him up…"
"Yeah… and shot off all his limbs first…" Usopp muttered as Vivi and Ayako came over.
"DON'T LOOK!" Vivi exclaimed as she immediately covered Ayako's eyes.
"You know that I spent years sitting around and drinking tea while my uncle killed people, right?" Ayako reminded her.
"I guess there's no questioning who did it," Zoro resolved, "He did call dibs."
"What could he have done to set Sabo off so badly?" Vivi wondered. "He didn't go this overboard against Mr. 5 on Little Garden."
"Quack!" Carue called out as he pointed his wing at the group gathered outside the castle.
"Oh! Hey guys!" Usopp greeted. "Why the long faces? Wapol's gone."
"It's Bonnie…" a subdue Sanji answered.
"NO!" Usopp shrieked as he, Ayako, Vivi and Carue ran over.
"What's going on over there?" Dalton wondered.
"One of our crew is dying," Zoro told him as he followed the others. "Now I know what set Sabo off. Keep everyone back."
Zoro joined the circle around Luffy as he stepped into the spot that Usopp and Ayako made between them. Nami was on the artist's other side with Miss Valentine and Sanji next to her. Dr. Kureha and Chopper came next and then Carue and Vivi finished off the circle on Usopp's other side.
Usopp looked over at Dr. Kureha, "Is there anything you can do?"
"For that last time… it's a gun!" Doctorine insisted, "It's made of metal and wood! I treat injuries to flesh, bone and internal organs!"
"Luffy… is she…"
Everyone turned to see Sabo standing in the castle doorway. The menacing aura was gone and had left only a heart-broken pirate in its wake. The assembled group made a hole for Sabo to run through.
The miserable rubber man still couldn't meet his brother's gaze as he gave a sad shake of his head.
"NO!" Sabo cried as he took the broken pieces of his girlfriend from his brother and started sobbing. "Bonnie… I got him… Please… I promised I'd get you out of there… You can't die like this..."
Sabo's tears pushed Usopp over the edge and the sniper started crying along with the Quartermaster. Ayako started sniffling but it was actually the hardened assassin Miss Valentine who broke next as she turned and started sobbing into a stiff Sanji's shoulder.
All the crying caused Chopper to start wailing. "IF ONLY I KNEW HOW TO TREAT GUNS!"
"Did that thing just talk?" a stoic Zoro asked.
"Yeah… he's gonna be our new doctor," a grim-faced Nami informed him.
A teary-eyed Vivi reached out and placed a hand on the devastated Quartermaster's shoulder in an effort to comfort him.
Sabo gently rocked back and forth as he began singing a familiar song.
"You're just too good to be true…
Can't keep my eyes off of you…
You'd be like heaven to touch…
I wanna hold you so much… OH GOD!"
Sabo couldn't bring himself to finish started outright bawling as he kept rocking the rifle in his lap.
Everyone went stiff as a disembodied voice suddenly took over where he left off. It was a lilting feminine voice with a noticeable brogue that everyone in the circle heard plain as day.
"At long last love has arrived
An' I thank God I'm alive
Ye're just too good to be true
Can't keep my eyes off you…"
"B-Bonnie?" Sabo croaked.
The air in front of him started to shimmer and everyone shielded their eyes from a sudden bright blue glow. But when the glow faded there was a figure standing in front of Sabo.
She was a fox. That was the first thing everyone noticed. The second was that she was a transparent blue ghost. Her fur was most likely orange but due to the ghost being in blue-scale it was impossible to tell what color anything really was.
She stood roughly 175cms tall and wore a dark bandana tied over the top of her head with her pointed ears poking through the brim. She had intelligent, slanted eyes and her 'blue' fur turned white under her nose and cheeks before it went down the front of her neck to her chest. She wore a dark scarf around her neck that joined a sash that stretched at an angle across the noticeable swell of her chest before it met the thick belt above her waist. Her white blouse bared her 'blue' shoulders and a bit of the white fur at the top of her chest before the billowy sleeves met elbow-high fingerless gloves. Down below, she wore a dark knee-length skirt that had a notable plaid pattern with black pants underneath it and boots that had the same leathery look as her gloves and belt but had their tops rolled down so they came up to her mid-shin. And, of course, coming out through the back of her skirt about waist high was a long 'blue' tail.
Nami leaned toward Zoro, "You see the blue ghost fox too, right?"
"Yeah…" the swordsman admitted with a sharp nod.
"Good… then it's not just me this time…" Nami realized.
In between them, Ayako was fumbling to pull a small canvas out of her backpack.
"Bonnie!" Sabo gasped. "It's you!"
"Hey Sabo…" Bonnie Anne the Fox Musketeer greeted him as she knelt down in front of him.
"You're…"
"A Fox?" Bonnie finished for him. "Yea, I know. I swear I tried t' tell you. But ev'ry time I did ye'd insist that I was still a person. It was the sweetest, most stubborn thing anyone's ever done for me."
Sabo shook his head, "You're beautiful."
"Oh…" the fox's ears perked up and she smiled fondly. "Thanks. Ye're rather dashing yerself."
"Bonnie! I'm so sorry!" Sabo blurted out. "I should have taken better care of you! I-"
"Yeah right…" Usopp muttered as he tried to wipe away his tears. "Like that's even possible."
Bonnie looked passed Sabo at Usopp and gave him a quick smile as she was reminded that there were other people present.
"He has a point…" Bonnie admitted, "Sabo, ye took wonderful care o' me. Ye took better care o' me than any sane, rational person ever could. It was more than I ever could've hoped for when I found myself trapped in my rifle. I never thought I'd fall in love with a Human… but considering how dedicated ye were… I couldn't help it. Ye carried me around, ye treated me like I still mattered an' ye defended my honor against anyone who questioned our relationship. I'll always be grateful for that."
"Bonnie, don't go!" Sabo pleaded. "I'll get the rifle fixed! I promised I'd get you out of it! I love you..."
Bonnie shook her head sadly. "Sabo… I was never supposed t' be here. That rifle was the only thing keepin' me here. It was my anchor, if ye will. And now that it's broken I can already feel my spirit startin' to be pulled away. But I wanted to take this one last chance to see you so I could say goodbye an' thank you for ev'rythin' ye did for me."
Bonnie leaned in and brought her muzzle to Sabo's lips but the spectral fox passed right through her human boyfriend.
The fox's ears drooped as she pulled back and gave a sad sigh, "That's just us to a T, isn't it? You can finally see me but now we can't touch. That rifle's the only thing here I've ever had any control over."
"In that case…" Sabo said as he lifted the top half of the broken rifle and held it up in between them then kissed one side of the nozzle. Bonnie's ears perked back up and her tail wagged slightly as she leaned in to kiss the other side of the rifle. It was the closest that the two could get to a real kiss.
"I'll be back," Bonnie assured Sabo as she stood back up. "I'm goin' to say goodbye to the others too." The fox only had to go half a step before she was standing over the depressed rubber pirate sitting behind Sabo. "C'mon Luffy… don't look so down… it's not the end o' the world..."
"Bonnie… I'm sorry…" Luffy mumbled, "I killed you…"
"Really? I must've missed the part where ye fired a cannon at me," Bonnie remarked dryly.
"But… I dodged it!" Luffy protested. "I didn't want to get involved so I jumped out of the way instead of bouncing it back."
"And if I hadn't been so distracted watchin' Chopper fight I could've warned Sabo," Bonnie argued, "That's just conjecture. Let's look at the facts instead, shall we? Did ye fire a cannon at me?"
"No…" Luffy answered.
"Then ye didn't kill me," the Fox stated. "Simple as that. Now chin up, Captain. Ye've gotta be strong for ev'ryone else."
Luffy stood back up. He still looked saggy and deflated which made Bonnie look even taller than him than she already was. But the Straw Hat Captain was staring at the ghost of a member of his crew. "Bonnie… thanks for looking after my brother. Thank you for giving him a chance."
Bonnie nodded, "Twas my genuine pleasure." She moved passed Luffy to Usopp whose lip was quivering as he struggled to hold back a new stream of tears. "C'mon Usopp… stand up straight, shoulders back. Ye're a brave warrior, remember? Brave warriors don't cry."
"They do at funerals!" Usopp whimpered before the dam burst and he started crying anew. "S-sorry we never got to have that rematch…"
"I was goin' to let you win that one anyway," Bonnie replied. "Then we could've had a third."
Usopp shook his head wistfully, "Prissy pistol."
"I'd prefer righteous rifle but suit yerself," Bonnie countered as moved on to Zoro.
Zoro raised an eyebrow, "After meeting a top-hatted lunatic who looked like he was in a one-sided relationship with his rifle… learning that you're a fox doesn't seem all that strange in comparison."
"Trust me, it's always been two-sided," Bonnie told him. "I just wasn't in a position to freely show my affection. I settled for shootin' at the people that irked 'im." They both glanced at Zoro's shoulder. "Speakin' of which… I need to ask you something..."
"You want a favor?" Zoro asked.
"Er… where I come from favors are a commodity," Bonnie informed him, "I have no way to pay ye back so let's just call it a dyin' request." Zoro nodded and Bonnie glanced over her shoulder at Sabo. "Don't let 'im sulk for too long when I'm gone. I need you to make sure he keeps fightin'. Throw a stick in his hands an' attack 'im if need be. I won't be there t' take shots at ye anymore."
"I'll do it," Zoro agreed.
Bonnie nodded her thanks and moved on to Ayako who was on her knees painting like a girl possessed. There was a swirl of different colors on the pallet in her lap. "I'm not interruptin', am I?"
"A'm't 'un'..." the Artist mumbled around the paintbrush in her mouth while she dabbed at her canvas with one of the two in her hands.
Bonnie looked back at Zoro, "This is why ye shouldn't be allowed around kids. Three days after meetin' you an' she's already emulating you an' puttin' weird things in 'er mouth. Ye'd better hope that doesn't give 'er an oral fixation like yours."
"I don't have an oral fixation!" Zoro argued.
"Sure ye don't…" Bonnie said with a roll of her slanted eyes.
Ayako used the paintbrush from her mouth to add a final dab of light blue paint. "Alright… I'm done." She turned the canvas around and unveiled her painting. The Artist had captured the exact moment when Sabo and Bonnie had been sharing their 'rifle kiss'. "I think I'll call it 'Star Crossed Lovers'."
Bonnie rolled her eyes again, "Ye don't know the half of it. Would ye mind givin' it to Sabo? Ye know… to remember me by?"
"Sure," Ayako agreed, "But it's not like he'd ever forget you,"
Bonnie smiled. "Sorry for drivin' ye mad."
"It's okay," Ayako said, "I wouldn't have found my artistic inspiration again if you hadn't."
"An' ye got some great friends out o' the deal too," Bonnie added. "I'd call it a win."
Ayako nodded as Bonnie moved on to Nami.
"..." the two silently stared at each other for a moment.
"Riflegeist…." Nami eventually ground out as she folded her arms under her chest.
"Thievin' kidnapper..." Bonnie retorted as she mimicked Nami's pose. "Yer mother asked me to tell ye that she says 'hi' an' that she's proud of ye."
Nami blinked. "When did you see my mother?"
Bonnie smirked, "Well it was late at night… I was in yer house… Sabo an' Nojiko had both passed out… Do ye really want me t' go any further?"
Nami shuddered. "Hate you."
"Hate you too," Bonnie replied and then flipped her off for good measure before she went to Miss Valentine. Bonnie held out her hand to the blonde. "Bonnie Anne, nice to finally meet ye."
"I still can't actually remember my real name," Miss Valentine confessed. Her hand went through Bonnie's spectral hand but they both mimed the shaking motion.
"Normally I'd be a lot angrier at someone feelin' all over my boyfriend," Bonnie said, "Especially since I can't do anythin' with 'im myself. But after seein' what happened to ye afterwards… I figured ye'd suffered enough already."
"Thanks for the freebie then!" Miss Valentine chirped. "Kyahahaha!"
Bonnie shook her head and wore an amused grin as she turned to Sanji.
"Miss Anne," Sanji greeted her. Bonnie twitched at the name. "I apologize for being unable to cater to your whims properly."
"That's okay," Bonnie reassured him, "I already had a charmin' blonde Human doing all that for me." Bonnie leaned in and whispered in his ear so only Sanji could hear. "No matter what anyone says… ye'll always be a Prince to me."
Sanji's visible eye widened as Bonnie pulled back. "How did you…"
"Sharp eyes on this rifle too," Bonnie reminded him. "Don't worry. I'm takin' yer secret to the grave."
Sanji frowned, "It shouldn't have come to that…"
Bonnie shrugged, "I've made my peace with it."
"Not just a rifle…" Dr. Kureha mused as Bonnie turned to her. "So you're a Mink then…"
"What's a Mink?" Bonnie asked.
"Um… you are a Mink," Doctorine replied as if talking to a particularly slow child.
"No… I'm a Fox," Bonnie countered as she matched the ancient doctor's patronizing tone.
"Look… there's a tribe of animal-people like you living on the back of an elephant in the New World," Dr. Kureha bruskly informed her. "Or at least there was when I last checked fifty years ago. They called themselves the Mink Tribe."
"Hm… I would've liked to see that…" Bonnie admitted, "I thought I was the only one in this world…" She turned to Chopper, "Which is why I was so surprised to see you." Bonnie knelt down so she was at eye-level with the shorter human-reindeer. "I'm sorry I kept scarin' ye. I was just so surprised t' see another Animal. I wanted to make sure the others recruited ye."
"He was telling the truth…" Chopper realized, "You really are like me!"
"Do ye still think ye don't belong on this crew?" Bonnie asked. "I've been a member since day one. Think on that, little guy."
Bonnie stayed on her knees as she turned to Carue. "I'll admit I haven't met many Ducks in my life. But ye're by far the bravest one I've ever seen."
"Quack!" Carue said as he used his wing to salute.
Bonnie smiled and returned the duck's salute with one of her own then stood up to face Vivi.
"..." Bonnie stared silently at the Princess for a moment. Vivi tried not to wilt under the fox's scrutiny. "Sabo has a lot of hatred an' anger in his heart towards royalty but ye managed to work yer way through it like I hoped ye would. That's why I spared you back in Whisky Peak. It wasn't for you… it was for him. But that turned out t' be a double-edged sword for me. Cuz I've never seen anybody so concerned about what my boyfriend thought about 'er. An' that scared the hell out of me. For the first time since we got together I was scared about losin' 'im."
"Bonnie… Sabo's devotion to you borders on obsession," Vivi pointed out. "Considering everything you two have been through… I never would have stood a chance."
Bonnie shook her head. "It hardly matters now. Look after 'im… please… he's goin' to be in a dark place after this Wapol-business. Help 'im see the light again."
Bonnie turned away before she could hear Vivi's response and faced Sabo who had finally stood up. "Bonnie… I don't want to lose you… I still need you…"
"I know but I can't be there for you anymore," Bonnie replied. "I've always had one foot out the door. Now I'm fightin' not to be dragged through kickin' an' screamin'. I don't have much time left. But before I go… I think I can help ye one last time… C'mon! An' bring the rifle! I don't know how far I can go from it even now that I'm… well… C'mon!"
"'Scuse me Chopper..." Bonnie called out as she ran straight through him to get out of the circle and raced for Drum Castle. The reindeer froze like… well… like a deer while Sabo leapt over him still clutching the broken rifle to his chest as he tore after his ghostly girlfriend.
Everyone left shared a look that said 'I'm not missing this' before running after the couple.
"So am I just supposed to stand out here and wonder what that was about?" Dalton asked out loud as he remained standing over Wapol's already forgotten corpse.
"Bonnie… where are we going?" Sabo asked as he chased Bonnie into the castle.
"MOFUUN!" Marshmallow yelped as he backpedaled away from the ghost fox as she ran by him.
"I told ye that I had one foot out the door," Bonnie replied as she stood in the middle of the entryway and closed her eyes in deep concentration, "I think it's cuz of that I was able to sense the exact moment ye offed Wapol. It's this way..." Bonnie turned and led Sabo to the right. "He crossed over but somethin' else came back…"
Bonnie stopped in front of a big double door that was across the entryway from the armory. Only unlike the armory doors these doubles were completely frozen over. "It's through here…" Bonnie dashed forward and ran straight through the solid door.
Sabo ran forward and kicked at the door. But the emotionally exhausted Quartermaster who had torn the ones opposite off their hinges in a fit of rage could only kick weakly at the frozen doors as he hugged the broken rifle to his chest.
"Bonnie! They're frozen solid!" Sabo called through the door. "They won't budge!"
"Out of the way!"
WHAM!
THWHAM!
A split-second later Zoro and Sanji were standing on top of the broken doors.
"Oh… so this is Wapol's kitchen, huh?" Sanji questioned as he stared at the huge two-story room. "Doesn't surprise me that a greedy bastard like him would hoard such a fancy room all to himself."
"Over here!" Bonnie announced as she stood in front of an utterly massive refrigerator that reached the ceiling of the two-story room.
Sabo rushed over to the enormous refrigerator but found both of the double doors bound together with a chain and sealed with a huge padlock.
"It's locked…" Sabo pointed out.
"Not for long!" Nami called out from the doorway. She turned and prodded a still rather subdued Luffy in the shoulder. "Luffy, there's food in that fridge. Get it opened and you can eat it all."
Luffy nodded and ran over to Sabo and Bonnie.
Dr. Kureha leaned towards Nami, "You do realize all that food's been sitting there for a year and isn't fit for human consumption."
"That's why I'm only feeding it to Luffy," Nami casually replied.
KRUNCH!
Luffy tore the refrigerator's two doors clean off and tossed them aside. But then to the surprise of everyone he simply turned and walked away from all the food.
"Luffy… you okay?" Nami asked. "I half-expected you to dive in head-first."
Luffy shook his head. "I can't eat while Bonnie's like that."
The Straw Hat's gathered by the doorway shared a wide-eyed look at finally discovering something that could curb the Captain's monstrous appetite.
"I think it's somewhere near the top," Bonnie said as she craned her neck upward.
Sabo looked up at the twenty shelves packed full of old food then looked down at the rifle pieces cradled in his arms. "I can't climb like this…"
"NEVER FEAR! CAPTAIN USOPP'S HERE!" Usopp ran over and fished into his arsenal bag. "And I've brought my trusty grappling hook!" Usopp pulled the familiar metal hook and the long length of coiled rope it was attached to out of his bag and then swing it around at his side before letting it fly.
WHING!
KLINK!
The grappling hook embedded in the top of the refrigerator and Usopp gave it a quick tug to ensure it was secure then jumped up and planted his feet on the second shelf. The Master Gunner held on tight and began walking straight up the inside of the huge refrigerator.
"What am I looking for exactly?" Usopp inquired as he quickly scaled up to the tenth shelf.
"I don't know…" Bonnie admitted, "Something that doesn't look like normal food…"
"Well, I found the vegetables," Usopp reported from up on the fifteenth shelf. "These look untouched. I guess Wapol didn't like eating healthy."
"Try an' find a fruit shelf…" Bonnie suggested.
"It looks like those are the last two," Usopp observed as he climbed the rest of the way to the top and then dangled there. "Hey! What does a Devil Fruit look like?"
"Mine was round… and purple… with swirls and a green stem," Luffy recalled.
"I know of two Zoan-type Devil Fruit," Vivi supplied. "They've been passed down for generations in my country and are fed to our two strongest warriors so they can become our guardian animals. They're different colors but both are shaped like a bunch of bananas."
"Really?" Chopper asked. "Mine was pink and shaped like a big apple…"
Miss Valentine closed her eyes and screwed up her face in hard concentration, "Mine was… round… reddish purple… with lumps all over it… My stupid boyfriend thought it was candy… WHOA! I JUST REMEMBERED SOMETHING AGAIN!"
"Well, good old Captain Usopp just found one!" Usopp announced, "This one's round, purply-gray and has barbs that look like bolts coming out of it. Sabro, catch!" Usopp tossed the fruit back behind him then started to slide back down his rope.
Sabo cradled the broken rifle with his right arm and reached up to catch the fruit with his left hand.
WHAP!
Sabo lowered his arm and stared down at the fruit in his hand just as Usopp reached the ground. It was as Usopp described, grayish purple with bolt-like barbs coming out of it. Some of which had scratched Sabo's hand when he caught it.
"Bonnie… I don't want a Devil Fruit… I want you!" Sabo insisted.
"Sabo… don't make this harder than it already is!" Bonnie pressed him. Her strong resolve had finally cracked. Her tail was sagging, her ears were drooping and there were tears in her eyes. "I can't be with you anymore…"
"This isn't fair," Sabo complained. "I love you…"
"Life rarely is…" Bonnie replied. "But if ye eat that… ye'll be stronger. An' ye'll hopefully be able to swing the scales back in yer favor. An' that way I won't have to spend my afterlife worryin' about ye. I don't know how Devil Fruit work… but I'm guessin' it's Wapol's."
Sabo looked disgusted. "Why would I want anything that fat sack of crap had? He killed you! I don't want anything about the jerk to live on."
POW!
Sabo doubled over with a fist in his stomach.
The Princess of Alabasta glared down at the stubborn pirate as she removed her fist. "You can make up for it by using the powers better than Wapol ever did and by being a better person than he was. That starts with heeding your dying girlfriend's last request." Vivi grabbed the Devil Fruit out of Sabo's hand and stuffed it in his gaping mouth. "Now chew… and then swallow."
"Huff… huff… Mr. Dalton… says… it's okay…" Everyone looked to see Ayako panting and wheezing in the doorway. No one had noticed that the mousy artist was gone but her flushed face showed that the lazy girl had actually run out of the castle and back. "He says… huff-huff… since you killed Wapol… it's yours… by right of conquest…huff-huff... And he doesn't want it… in his country… anymore… huff… Oh God I think I pulled something..."
"First motion sickness now this," Dr. Kureha remarked, "Someone make sure this poor girl gets some regular exercise."
"There, you even got permission," Vivi resolved. "Now you're out of excuses. Eat the fruit."
Sabo finally relented.
Chomp-Chomp-Chomp… Gulp!
"AAUUUGGGH!" Sabo howled and dropped to his knees as he clutched his stomach.
"WHAT'S IT DOIN' TO 'IM!?" Bonnie shrieked in alarm.
"I DON'T KNOW!" Vivi exclaimed. "Maybe it's the powers manifesting?"
"That tasted… horrible…" Sabo groaned. "Why didn't anyone warn me?"
"You already didn't wanna eat it," Luffy chimed in. "I decided not to warn you that mine tasted like burned rubber."
"Rusty metal…" Sabo stated. "And despite eating something so revolting… I'm starving."
"If that's the biggest of yer worries… I think ye'll be okay," Bonnie said with a sad smile.
"Do I look any different?" Sabo asked. "Wapol was…"
"Yer mouth's a little bit bigger," Bonnie noted as she looked him over like it was going to be her last chance to do so. "It takes up more of yer face."
"I guess I'll have to put my big mouth to good use," Sabo resolved.
The blue spectre pulsed and shined brighter for a split second but then she slowly began to fade. "Sabo… it's time for me to go. Thank you. An' I'm glad I was able to help ye this one last time..."
"NO!" Sabo growled. "You're not going anywhere!"
"Sabo! Quit bein' stubborn!" a half-visible Bonnie snapped. Her tears were finally falling. "There's... nothin' ye can do..."
"No… there is…" Sabo insisted. He grabbed the two pieces of his broken rifle, opened his mouth wide and dumped them inside. His eyes locked on Bonnie's.
Munch… Munch...
"Sabo… what're ye doin'?" Bonnie asked warily.
"How many cannons do you even have?"
"Just the two! But thanks to my miraculous Munch Munch Fruit Powers I can alter the shape of things that I've eaten. Watch this! Munch Munch Shock… DOUBLE BARREL!"
Shoom!
"See? Good as new!"
Sabo finally broke eye contact and stared down at his left arm. "Munch Munch Shock… Rifle Arm."
Shoom!
Sabo forearm shifted and started to extend and then suddenly there was a familiar rifle in its place. The handle of the 1.5 meter rifle went out passed his elbow joint while the nozzle stretched out way beyond where his fingers once were.
Sabo smiled a wide smile that took up half his face then looked up at Bonnie. "Good as new."
"Sabo…" Bonnie gasped and covered her mouth.
"You said your rifle was your anchor…" Sabo reminded her, "That it's the thing keeping you here… well… now your rifle is a part of me… so that means I'm your anchor."
"But Sabo… yer arm…" Bonnie pointed out as she jabbed her finger at the rifle.
Sabo shrugged it off. "Big deal. You know I'm right handed. It's just an arm… that's a small price to pay if it means that you're safe."
Luffy's face lit up at the familiar words and his heart swelled. The rubber man jumped three meters in the air and let out a cheer, "YEAH! SHE'S GONNA BE OKAY!"
Sabo smiled as he stood up and held out his arms. "Bonnie… come home."
"S-Sabo!" Bonnie gave one last gasping sob before she ran into his arms… and vanished into his chest.
Sabo reached into his pocket and pulled out a hand-full of bullets. He opened his mouth wide and tossed them down like potato chips.
Chunch! Chunch! Gulp!
"Bonnie?" Sabo asked as he looked down at his rifle-arm. "Are you there?"
Sabo's arm fired on its own.
KER-CHOW!
"You bet yer cute, tailless arse I am!" a familiar lilting brogue sounded through his head.
Sabo blinked. "What?"
"What?"
"Bonnie?"
"Sabo? Can ye… hear me?"
"Well… I heard you say something about my ass…"
"OH MY GOD! YE CAN ACTUALLY HEAR ME! THIS IS AMAZIN'! NO MORE YES AN' NO CONVERSATIONS! I CAN FINALLY TALK TO YOU!"
"And that bit about my ass?"
"I said what I meant. I'm not takin' it back."
"Eh-hem." Sabo turned to see Zoro standing in front of him with a shit-eating grin. "Now that I know your girlfriend's okay… I don't have to hold back anymore."
Sabo folded his rifle and his arm across his chest. "Let me have it. With the mood I'm in nothing you say can get to me."
"Okay," Zoro agreed as he held up his three swords. "Three swords, three things. Wado Ichimonji… Your girlfriend's a fox… that officially makes you a Furry."
Sabo shrugged. "I'd say I'm attracted to this very special fox and not animal-people in general. But if loving my brilliant fox girlfriend makes me some kind of pervert… then that's fine. You can call me a Furry."
"What's a 'Furry'?" Chopper asked.
"It means you're no longer allowed to be alone in the same room with him," Nami answered.
"Yubashiri…" Zoro continued.
"Is he usin' his swords to count?"
"He probably can't count that high otherwise," Sabo replied.
"Eh-hem," Zoro cleared his throat again. "As I was saying... Yubashiri, I assume that you were talking to your girlfriend just now. But none of us can actually hear her so it just looks like you're talking to yourself which makes you appear even crazier than normal."
"So I'm crazy?" Sabo questioned. "Nothing I haven't heard before. In the meantime, I'll work on it."
"Try thinkin' what ye want to say instead of just blurtin' it out…"
"Like this?"
"Aye!"
"Sandai Kitetsu," Zoro's grin took on a predatory shark-like quality. "Your rifle-dwelling girlfriend is now your left hand. That officially makes you a walking, talking mastrubation joke."
Sabo's eyes bugged out and his jaw dropped to his waist.
Zoro smirked, "Got him."
Swish!
Suddenly a blue spectral fox head popped out of Sabo's open mouth.
"GAAAH!" Zoro yelped in surprise.
"Keep talkin' like that Zoro!" Bonnie called out. "It's probably why those precious swords of yours won't give ye the time o' day!"
Zoro stared wide-eyed at Bonnie then cast a wounded look down at his three katana.
Bonnie smirked and then vanished back into Sabo.
"Wanna give a guy warning before you suddenly pop out of him?"
"I didn't know I could until I did it just now. And even then, I could only stay out fer a bit b'fore I felt myself bein' sucked back in. But it looks like nearly dyin' left me with my ghost phasin'."
"And that bit about Zoro's swords? Do you talk to them? Are there spirits trapped in them too?"
"As far as I know they're just regular swords. But the important part is that HE doesn't know that."
Sabo grinned at Zoro, "I guess that's another win for Team SaBonnie."
"Two on one…" Zoro grumbled, "No fair…"
"More like two on four," Sabo countered. "Maybe if you actually knew how to treat a lady your blades would be more willing to lend a hand."
Zoro flinched and cast a guilty look at his swords.
"Bullseye! That'll show 'im!"
Nami shook her head, "Just when I thought their relationship couldn't get any weirder. Now she's his left arm and she's literally living inside him."
"Ye're not gonna charge me rent are ye?"
"Nah. Stay as long as you like."
"So… so beautiful…" Miss Valentine sobbed.
"You okay?" Ayako asked.
"No! I'm a romantic at heart!" the crying blonde told her. "Between that and my love for chocolate why do you think I picked Miss Valentine as my codename?"
"Hm… I picked 'goldenweek' because it's a week-long vacation…" the artist admitted.
"Usopp… are you still crying?" Vivi asked as she watched Usopp wipe tears from eyes.
"No! These are manly tears of joy!" the sniper insisted. "I'm just so happy for them..."
Vivi smiled as she looked over the pirate and his new arm, "I am too…"
"So that's how you fix a rifle…" Chopper noted.
"Hmm… a noisy blonde kid with a fox spirit living inside him," Dr. Kureha mused to herself, "I feel like I've heard this story before…"
"OH SHIT!" Sanji suddenly swore loudly and then paled. "Excuse me… sorry ladies…"
"What's with you?" Zoro asked.
"I already had my hands full dealing with Luffy's appetite," the cook stated. "Now I've gotta deal with a Munch Munch Man's on top of that..."
"THAT REMINDS ME!" Sabo exclaimed, "I'm starving!" He turned towards Wapol's huge refrigerator and saw that Luffy was already halfway through it. "HEY! MOVE OVER! STARVING GUY COMING THROUGH!"
The Straw Hats watched in horror as the two Devil Fruit-powered brothers made short work of Wapol's year-old food. Luffy gobbled down everything his rubber arms could reach as per usual while Sabo new appetite didn't limit him to just the food and he starting munching on the actual shelves and containers.
"Sanji…" a pale Nami whispered. "Remember how you were asking about getting a lock for the fridge?"
"Did you finally decide to grant my request?" the cook asked eagerly.
Nami nodded frantically, "Our lives depend on it."
Knock-knock!
Dalton rapped on the doorframe. "Is it safe to come in now? The other villagers finally woke up and wanted some answers."
"All clear!" Sabo announced as he and Luffy stepped away from the completely empty refrigerator.
Dalton immediately spotted the pirate's new 'arm'. "So you're the one who ate Wapol's Devil Fruit."
"He broke my rifle so I broke him," Sabo stated. "Now I've got his powers and she's better than ever."
"I'm just sorry that it cost you your arm to fix it," Dalton replied.
"I'm not!" Sabo reassured him, "Best thing to ever happen to me."
"I'm already livin' inside you. Ye don't have to sweet-talk me."
"Who's sweet-talking? Finally being able to hear your voice is the greatest thing to happen to me."
"Hm… charmer..."
"So if you defeated Wapol… who was the one that defeated his henchmen?" Dalton inquired. "I noticed that they were fused to form Chessmarimo. Together those two are our country's strongest warrior."
"The reindeer did it!" Luffy exclaimed as he pointed at Nami.
Nami stepped aside to reveal the reindeer that had been attempting to 'hide' behind her.
"You…" Dalton gasped.
"If you can't beat me than you don't stand a chance against them!" Dalton growled as he grappled with a brown yeti wearing a pinkl top hat in his bison-hybrid form. "If this is about them laughing at Dr. Hiluluk's death then I'll apologize for them. But fighting them would mean certain death. DON'T BECOME ANOTHER SACRIFICE FOR THIS COUNTRY! I beg of you!"
"You fought for the sake of this country…" Dalton said in a reverent whisper. He dropped to his knees and bowed to Chopper. "Thank you! This country can now be born again!"
"That reminds me!" Luffy realized.
WOING-WHAP!
He stretched his arms across the room and grabbed Chopper then yanked him over.
"I finally caught ya!" the rubber man exclaimed. "SHISHISHI!"
"Did he just stretch?" Dalton asked. Ayako nodded.
"Chopper! Join my crew!"
"I… but I…" Chopper blustered.
Swish!
Bonnie's head popped out of Sabo's top hat. "But what? Do ye like pirates?"
"Yes…"
"Do ye wanna sail the seas an' become the Miracle Cure?"
"Yes…"
"Do ye finally wanna have friends?"
"Yes…"
"Then there's yer answer." With that, Bonnie sank back into Sabo's hat.
Dalton looked over at Dr. Kureha. "Did a Mink just pop out of his top hat?"
"She was originally in the gun," Doctorine replied. "She says she's a fox. I had to tell her what a Mink was."
"Odd…" Dalton remarked.
"You have no idea," the ancient doctor grumbled. "When this is over I'm gonna get good and drunk."
"Well, Chopper?" Luffy prompted.
"OKAY!" Chopper finally agreed. "I'LL BE A PIRATE!"
"YEAH!" Luffy cheered.
"I knew you'd cave eventually!" Nami squealed as she grabbed the startled reindeer and hugged him.
"Hey! I want in on this!" Miss Valentine exclaimed as she glomped Chopper along with Nami. "FINALLY! He's so fluffy!"
"Wait… did Luffy just poach the witch's reindeer?" Usopp asked.
"Are you really questioning the Captain's crazy whims?" Zoro countered.
"Have you guys seen his adorable pink hat!?" Ayako added as she joined the group hug with Nami and Miss Valentine. "Why wouldn't we want him?"
"ALSO HE'S A TALKING REINDEER THAT TRANSFORMS!" Luffy gushed.
"Well that explains everything," Usopp realized.
"And he's a doctor," Sabo informed Vivi who had hung back near him. "Which means Nami won't have to stay here for another three days like the witchdoctor wanted and we can get you back home."
"Oh… thank you," Vivi replied.
Swish!
Vivi jumped when Bonnie's ghostly head popped out of Sabo's left shoulder. "Also, he's an Animal, he's cute as a button an' can hold his own in a fight. Ye see? There are plenty of reasons why we want 'im. Don't think we've been houndin' 'im since we found out he was a doctor just because o' you."
"Right… of course," Vivi agreed with a small smile.
"And you!" Bonnie said as she turned fully around to addressed her boyfriend. "Quit callin' 'er a witchdoctor. I've known actual witchdoctors an' she isn't one."
Sabo blinked as Bonnie sank down into his shoulder. "I feel like there's a story in there somewhere…"
"Later…"
"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!" Dr. Kureha suddenly called out. "You may have convinced him… but don't think I'm just going to step back and allow you to drag my only assistant out to sea with you."
"You said we could take him," Nami reminded her as she tightened her hold on Chopper.
"That was because I didn't think there was any chance that he'd actually go," Dr. Kureha argued.
"Then you can have me. I'll take his place."
Everyone turned to stare at Miss Valentine as she extracted herself from the hug.
"I spent a long time hurting a lot of people," the blonde stated. "I think it's high time I started helping them instead. Plus, my memory's still spotty and it would be useful to have a doctor nearby on this out-of-the-way island where a certain organization will never find me."
Dr. Kureha folded her arms across her chest. "I spent years teaching Chopper medicine. I'd hardly count you as a worthwhile replacement."
"Considering how many years you've been practicing medicine, I don't think you'll actually need any help in that department," Miss Valentine pointed out. "But I'm great at throwing my weight around."
WHUP!
Miss Valentine suddenly had Dalton thrown over her shoulder.
"What just happened?" the muscular Militia Captain asked as the petite blonde held him up with ease. "See? I can do heavy lifting… or I can just pin down struggling patients. And I've also got a furry hippo parked outside that I can use to give you a ride down the mountain. And if you're interested I can make some more of that Hard Chocolate with plum that you seemed to like."
"Fine… you're hired," Dr. Kureha agreed. "You can start by gathering the villagers and pushing all the cannons that are in Wapol's armory out in front of the castle."
"Right, boss!" Miss Valentine agreed as she dropped Dalton and ran out the door. "Good luck everybody!" She came running back in a second later. "I almost forgot!"
"Urk!" Sanji gagged as the blonde grabbed him by the tie and yanked him into a hard, searing kiss.
"You're the kindest person I've ever met. Thank you for everything… Mr. Prince."
"Of course my Valentine, it was my pleasure," a widely smiling, red-faced Sanji replied.
"Kyahahaha," Miss Valentine giggled and ran out the door.
Zoro grimaced at the happy look on Sanji's face. "When did that become a thing?"
"After he made her some hot chocolate that jogged her memories," Sabo answered. "So is this an issue with women or with relationships in general?"
"That is an issue with him being unbearably happy for the next few days," Zoro stated. "Yours was an unnatural crime against nature… but now it goes against the laws of life and death too."
"Bite me, I'm a pirate," Sabo retorted. "That means I'm free to do whatever I want."
"Guys, quit squabbling and shut up!" Nami barked. "Let's get out of here so the doctor can have some privacy to say goodbye to Chopper."
The Straw Hats and Dalton all filed out of the kitchen leaving Dr. Kureha alone with her assistant.
"Is this really what you want to do?"
Chopper nodded. "The Doctor said I should go out to sea. I want to carry his banner and declare war against all the world's illnesses. This is what you trained me for. I want to become the Miracle Cure."
"Alright then," Dr. Kureha replied. "Take the sleigh so you bring your friends down the mountain without stealing the cart the villagers took up here."
Chopper blinked at the abrupt dismissal and headed for the door. "Right… goodbye, Doctorine."
"Chopper…" Dr. Kureha called after him. "Take care of yourself."
And the dam broke. The reindeer burst into tears and ran back and hugged the ancient doctor's leg. "Doctor Kureha… thank you! Thank you for teaching me! Thank you for taking care of me! Thank you for everything!"
"Get off!" Doctorine complained as she shook her bawling assistant off of her. "If you think I'm going to shed any tears just because you're leaving… you've got another thing coming! Get out of here!"
Chopper ran out of the kitchen to fetch the sleigh.
"Stupid brat…" Dr. Kureha muttered as she wiped at her eyes once she was sure Chopper was gone. "He thinks he's all grown up."
"Everybody get in the sleigh!" Chopper called out as he pulled Dr. Kureha's sleigh out of the castle and stopped in front of the other Straw Hats who were watching the villagers roll cannons outside.
"She's letting us take the sleigh?" Sabo questioned. "You know, for a witch she wasn't that bad. I half expected her to chase us out of here."
"All part of yer charm, hon."
"I don't know why," Zoro admitted, "But for some reason we seem leave every village on a peaceful, positive note."
"Are you complaining?" Usopp asked.
"No," Zoro replied. "It's just really freakin' weird. This isn't how pirates are normally operate."
"You said 'normal'," Nami pointed out, "There's nothing normal about this crew."
"WAAAAAIIIIT!" Miss Valentine suddenly came tearing out of the castle. She was running so fast that the villager she was dragging behind her looked like he was flapping in the air. "LUFFY! SABO!"
The Captain and Quartermaster turned to face the blonde as she caught up to them and placed the surprised villager down beside the sleigh. "This guy's got a message for you…"
"I think she pulled my arm out of the socket…" the man complained as he held his shoulder.
He didn't notice the hulking yeti coming up behind him until Chopper had grabbed his arm and jammed it back in place.
Krek…
"AAH!" the villager yelped then turned and screamed when he saw who'd helped him. "AAAAAHH!"
"AAAAAH!" Chopper screamed back at the villager.
"MONSTER!" the man shrieked and turned to flee but found his path somehow barred by an angry 156cm fourteen year old girl.
"That's our new doctor that you just screamed at," Ayako informed him. "He fixed your arm for free. Would you have preferred going to the witch to fix it?"
The villager paled at the thought of Dr. Kureha's treatment. The infamous witch was actually more terrifying than the huge yeti.
"I think an apology and a thank you are in order," Ayako said.
"I… right…" the villager agreed as he turned and easily spotted Chopper who was still in his Heavy Point form but was attempting to hide behind a much smaller Vivi. "Sorry… Thank you monster." Chopper blinked in surprise. It was surreal enough to have people thanking him... but now people were defending him too!
"What did you want?" Luffy asked. "My crew and I have to go."
"You're 'Straw Hat' Luffy, right?" the villager questioned and got a nod in response. "Well… a week ago a man seemingly wandered into Robello. I remember it because it was the first day in a long time that it didn't snow. He said his name was Ace…"
Suddenly Luffy and Sabo were paying rapt attention. "Did you say 'Ace'?"
"Yeah… he had a newspaper with both your picture in it. He said to pass on a message to you if you ever came here. He said he would be waiting for you in Alabasta for ten days."
"That means we've only got three days left," Sabo realized.
"EVERYONE IN!" Luffy shouted as he jumped in the front of the sleigh. "WE'VE GOTTA GET TO ALABASTA IN THREE DAYS SO WE CAN MEET ACE!"
"Yes, we've gotta get to Alabasta ," Sabo stated as he sat down next to a certain blue haired Princess. "For that reason and that reason only." He winked at Vivi then turned and smiled at the former Baroque Works Officer Agent. "Thanks Miss Valentine. Good catch."
"Yeah! Thanks Valentine!" Luffy exclaimed as Chopper started running towards the ropeway.
"No problem guys!" Miss Valentine responded. "Good luck with everything you find in Alabasta."
"Who's Ace?" Ayako asked from next to Luffy.
"Our brother," Luffy answered.
"YOU MEAN THERE'S THREE OF YOU!?" the Artist shrieked. She promptly fainted.
"She's taking that rather hard…" a mildly offended Sabo noted.
"Actually... I think that might've been the motion sickness," Usopp informed him as Chopper raced down the ropeway.
"What're you doing standing out here?" Dr. Kureha demanded as she walked up to Miss Valentine.
"Oh… just passing on a message," the blonde answered while the villager shrieked and ran away.
Doctorine stuffed a sack into her new assistant's arms, "Take this powder and load it in the cannons… then point them all up into the air."
"Okay…" Miss Valentine agreed. "Um… why?"
"Because we're going to give those pirates a proper send off," Dr. Kureha explained. "We're going to make Dr. Hiluluk's cherry blossoms bloom."
"Right, I'm on it, boss!"
The Straw Hats reached the bottom of the ropeway in time to see the sky light up with cannonfire from the top of Drum Rock. Dr. Hiluluk's red powder was fired up into the sky where it combined with the white snow clouds and now pink snowflakes were falling on the island.
The Straw Hats stood in the sleigh and marveled at the astonishing beauty of Hiluluk's cherry blossoms.
But it was the two youngest Straw Hats that were moved the most by the amazing sight.
"Cherry blossoms… in an island of snow…" Ayako whispered as she staggered back up and hurriedly dug a new canvas out of her backpack. The beautiful, awe-inspiring sight instantly cured her any lingering effects of her motion sickness. Just like the sight of cherry blossoms had seemed to cure a certain bandit-turned-quack many years ago. "It's a miracle… it's magic… I've gotta paint it!"
And then, of course, there was Chopper.
"DOCTOR!" Chopper bawled as he stood in front of the sleigh and cried his eyes out.
His father's dream of doing the impossible and making cherry blossoms bloom in an island of snow had finally come true.
"Kyahahaha! It's beautiful!" Miss Valentine laughed as she stood next to Dr. Kureha on Drum Rock. "Boy did I pick the right island to stay at!"
"Hee hee hee," Dr. Kureha cackled as she stared down at the edge of the island. "Well, if you turn out to be a good assistant and if you play your cards right… I might even show you the secret of my youthful appearance."
"Ooo... goodie!" Miss Valentine chirped.
"They're probably gone by now," Dalton noted as he came up behind them.
Miss Valentine looked over at Doctorine, "Are you sure you're okay about your adorable assistant running off on you?"
The doctor smiled, "Him? He was just a stray that I was taking care of for an old friend. He'll be fine." She glanced over at her companions. "New assistant, that man appears to be injured. He shouldn't be standing or walking around. Get him up to the patient room and make sure he stays there."
"Righto, boss!" Miss Valentine agreed.
WHUP!
Dalton found himself thrown over the blonde's shoulder again as she carried him into the castle and left deep footprints in her wake. "Let's get you to bed, mister!"
"You do realize that there's a strong chance that I'll be elected this country's new King soon…" Dalton reminded her as he was carried away.
"Oh... my mistake," Miss Valentine said without breaking her stride "Let's get you to bed, your majesty."
"Hee hee hee!" Dr. Kureha cackled as he remained standing at the edge of the mountain. "Oh yes, she's going to be fun to have around." She turned back to gazing off the side of the Drum Rock. "Off to sea with you... my foolish son."
Chopper was still sniffling as he followed the Straw Hats back to their ship. They were walking the last bit on foot to accommodate the emotionally spent reindeer. "WAIT! I FORGOT MY MEDICAL BAG!"
"Quaff!" Chopper turned to see Carue holding a familiar blue backpack in his beak.
"Oh… thanks," Chopper said as he took the bag. "Where'd you find it?"
"Quack!" Carue answered.
"You mean it was in the sleigh?"
"Chopper… did you just understand Carue?" Vivi asked.
"Well… I'm originally an animal," Chopper explained.
"That's amazing!" Vivi exclaimed, "So you're just full of interesting talents."
"Shut up, you jerk! Saying stuff like that won't make me happy!" the reindeer stopped dancing and fished into his backpack. "Hmm… this is more than I had in it earlier… it's all packed..."
Nami smiled, "It looks like the doctor knew what you were going to decide all along."
"Doctorine…" Chopper whispered as he turned to looked back at Drum Rock. He started crying again.
"And you're sure you took out all of Wapol's men?" Sabo asked Zoro from the other end of the group.
"Yes, long-nose and I took care of them," the swordsman answered.
"Then why do I feel like we're forgetting something?" Sabo wondered. "We beat Wapol… we beat his crew… What are we missing?"
"Ye didn't destroy the ship..."
"GAH! YOU'RE RIGHT!" Sabo exclaimed. "LUFFY! WE FORGOT TO DESTROY WAPOL'S SHIP!"
"LET'S GO!" Luffy shouted as the two brothers raced off ahead towards Wapol's abandoned ship.
Usopp looked over at Zoro and Sanji, "That does sound… kind of fun…"
"I feel like I barely got to do anything today," Zoro admitted.
"What the hell," Sanji said, "If it's a crew tradition we might as well lend a hand…"
"HEY YOU GUYS! WAIT UP!" the Boatswain, Master Gunner and Ship's Cook raced off after the Captain and Quartermaster.
"QUACK!" Carue crowed as he followed them.
"Carue!" Vivi gasped.
"Quack-quack quack!"
"He says 'smashing Wapol's stuff sounds like fun'..." Chopper translated. He practically bouncing with a giddy smile on his face.
Nami looked over at the excited reindeer, "Well? You're a man too, right? What are you waiting for? Go smash your little heart out."
"YEEEAAAAH!" Chopper cheered as he ran off to join the others.
"Boys," the Navigator scoffed. "No self control."
"I've never seen Carue like that before…" Vivi confessed.
Ayako petulantly kicked a pile of snow, "I'd go too if I had anything that packed any sort of punch…"
Nami, Ayako, and Vivi reached the shore and were greeted by the sound of wanton destruction and uproarious manly laughter.
"Hey Ayako!" Usopp called off the side. "I found Wapol's junk food stash. There are cookies and crackers galore! Come and help me grab it before Luffy finds it!"
The Artist beamed as she dashed through the hippo figurehead's open mouth.
"Here, kid, take this," Usopp instructed as he handed the girl a hammer. "Wapol's got a chest of fancy glass cups and plates with your name on it."
Nami's eye twitched. "And of course the boys are rubbing off on the impressionable children."
"NAMI! NAMI!" Luffy shouted as he ran out onto the deck. "Zoro's trying to cut through the door of Wapol's safe. Sanji said to come tell you that Wapol's rich so there's probably a lot of money inside."
Ka-CHING!
"DON'T YOU DARE SINK THAT SHIP BEFORE I GET THE TREASURE OFF IT!" And like that she was gone.
Vivi was left standing alone on the shore. "I guess this is what I get for being friends with pirates."
MUNCH! MUNCH!
Sabo jumped out of a hole he'd just chewed through the deck then jumped up and kicked the crown off of the hippo figurehead as he landed on top of it. "Well… what do you think?"
Vivi blinked in surprise when she realized that Sabo's outfit had changed since she'd seen him two minutes ago. His blue winter coat and top hat had both taken on a metallic sheen that made them look like they were made of painted plate metal and there were metal rivets lining the seam at the top of his top hat, the two shoulders of his coat and the seam that went down the back of his coat. He also had columns of small gray gears going up the sides of his black boots.
"Well? We need an outside opinion," Sabo prompted.
"It looks… interesting," Vivi admitted. "Between the revolver-rifle, the armor and the gears it looks like you're some kind of robot man cobbled together using old technology."
Swish!
"We're callin' it 'Steampunk'," Bonnie stated as her head popped out of Sabo's top hat. "I had some problems with robots back home but on him it all seems t' work. 'Steampunk' Sabo sounds fittin'."
"Of course, you're the one who finally gives me a decent nickname." Sabo mused.
"Anythin' for you, hon," Bonnie replied as she sank back into her boyfriend.
Sabo looked back at Vivi, "Are you just gonna stand down there or are you going to join in?"
"Um… I'm not much for senseless violence…" the Princess protested.
"I think it'd be a therapeutic," Sabo countered, "If anyone needs a harmless outlet to vent their frustrations… I'd say it's you. Come on… you're one of us, aren't you?"
"But I don't have anything that can do major damage…" Vivi argued as she reluctantly walked through the hippo figurehead's mouth and came out on the deck.
Sabo jumped down and handed her a rifle that he'd picked up off the deck. "Here. Shoot something."
Vivi bit her lip but then movement caught her eye and she looked up to see Wapol's pirate flag fluttering overhead. She aimed rifle up at the flag and fired.
BLAM!
Vivi's shot sailed wide of the flag. "Sorry… I'm not good at this…"
"Nice target though," Sabo mused. He held out a handful of bullets. "Try again."
Swish!
Bonnie's head lurched out of Sabo's left arm and brought her shoulders and arms with it. "This time try t' regulate yer breathin'. Breath in while yer aimin', then breath out an' fire. Also, this time ye know how loud it's gonna be so try not t' jump. That rifle's not shootin' magnum rounds so it won't have as much kick as mine does. An' also, keep the weather in mind. The wind an' pink snow is gonna throw off yer shot. Ye've gotta adjust yer aim t' compensate for it. Aim… just there."
Sabo leaned towards Vivi so Bonnie could point her blue-tinted spectral arm up at the mast.
Vivi lined up her rifle with the spot Bonnie was pointing at, took a breath, let it out and then fired.
BLAM!
The bullet embedded in the mast.
"Atta girl," Bonnie praised her as she slipped back into Sabo.
Vivi felt her chest then glanced over at Sabo. "Oh… my heart's beating faster."
"That's the adrenaline," Sabo informed her as he offered her another bullet. "Keep going until that flag comes down."
Vivi smiled as she aimed her rifle and fired again.
Much fun was had by all of the Straw Hats as they collectively ransacked and laid waste to Wapol's ship.
Ten minutes later, the Straw Hats headed to the Going Merry with their armed laden full of things they'd plundered from the Bliking before leaving it a sinking wreck.
"Now this is how pirates operate," Zoro said as he carried a barrel of rum under each arm.
"Quack!" Carue waddled behind him with two more barrels tied onto his saddle and a crate of sake on his back.
"Shishishi!" Luffy laughed as he walked with Wapol's refrigerator tied onto his back. "That was fun! We should do that again! But only if the other guys are jerks..."
"I can't believe I found the Twenty MDs Lab…" Chopper remarked as he carried a stack of boxes with red crosses on them in his Heavy Point form. "I don't think I'll ever run out of bandages!"
"With this crew… that'll probably last a week," Nami informed him as she cuddled her large sack of money like it was a newborn baby.
"Once we set sail we can have a big welcome party for Chopper!" Usopp exclaimed as he and Ayako carried arms' full of sugary snacks.
"All at Wapol's expense!" Ayako chirped.
"Somehow I'm not surprised that pig's pantry looked like a grocery store," Sanji commented as he held a spice rack under one arm and sacks of flour, sugar and salt under his other.
"I just hope you're all this efficient at dismantling Baroque Works when we finally get to Alabasta," Vivi admitted as she brought up the rear with Wapol's flag thrown over her shoulder.
"What're you gonna do with that anyway?" Sabo inquired as he walked next to her with a crate of tea tucked under his non-rifle arm. "Use it as toilet paper?"
"I was planning on giving it to you," Vivi answered.
"You're giving me Wapol's flag so that I can use it as toilet paper?" Sabo attempted clarify.
"I suppose you can do that if you want," Vivi replied. "But I thought it would be more beneficial if you used it to explain why you're walking around with an infamous King's Devil Fruit Powers."
Sabo froze and stared at Vivi in shock. He clearly hadn't thought of that.
Vivi stopped next to him. "The Marines will probably be more accepting if you explain that you defended yourself against a pirate who was flying this flag and that you didn't learn he was a King until afterwards. I'm sure the new King of Drum Kingdom will be happy to vouch for you and tell anyone who asks that Wapol abandoned his kingdom over a year ago so he could become a pirate."
"I… wow…" Sabo stammered.
"You're welcome," Vivi said as she draped the flag over Sabo's rifle arm.
"Hug that girl. She just saved your arse. She's earned it."
Sabo hooked his rifle around Vivi and pulled her into a one-armed hug. "Thank you. I didn't even think of that. You just saved my ass."
"After what happened you weren't in the mindset to clean up the mess," the Princess pointed out. "Since we're friends now I wanted to make sure you stay alive... both of you."
"HEY SABO! BONNIE! VIVI! COME ON!" Luffy called out from on the Going Merry's figurehead. "The sooner you guys get on, the sooner we can leave and the sooner we can celebrate!"
Sabo and Vivi smiled then ran to join the others.
The Straw Hats set off and left Drum Kingdom behind them as they once more began following the Eternal Pose to Alabasta.
"Alright everybody," Sanji announced as brought out a tray of steaming mugs, "I got a special hot chocolate recipe from Miss Valentine."
"No alcohol, right?" Sabo asked with a wary glance at Luffy.
"No, it's the regular one," Sanji replied as he handed out the cups.
"TO OUR NEW CREWMATE… TONY TONY CHOPPER!" Luffy shouted.
"CHEERS!" everyone cheered.
And so the party began in earnest.
"Usopp, look at this dance that Johnny and Yosaku taught me!" Luffy exclaimed.
"Whoa! Let me try!" Usopp called out.
"Oh great, now they've got Chopper doing it…" Nami grumbled.
"EEP! I forgot all about my Uncle!" Ayako squeaked.
"Time to break out the hard stuff…" Zoro announced as he pried open one of the barrels he'd gotten from Wapol's ship.
"So… you're okay about leaving Miss Valentine behind?" Vivi asked Sanji.
"She told me her plan while we were making dinner," Sanji replied, "I think she'll be happy there and she said she didn't want to do any more harm to your country."
"THIS IS THE MOST FUN I'VE EVER HAD!" Chopper shouted as he danced along with Luffy and Usopp..
"Shishishishi!" Luffy laughed. He looked back over his shoulder for a moment and saw Sabo sitting off to the side against the railing. His eyes were closed and his new arm was in his lap. Luffy grinned. There was no missing the wide smile on his brother's face.
"I've been talking your ear off for two years now. I think it's high time that I learned about you."
"As you wish. Where should I start?"
"I noticed you've got an accent. Where are you from exactly?"
"Well, that's an authentic Albion accent. I know it stands out a bit… Luffy used t' say I talked funny… but back home everyone has an accent."
"I think it's pretty."
"Oh… thanks. Er... before I go any further I've got a long overdue bomb t' drop on ye that's gonna be hard t' believe… I'm… not from yer world."
"Okay."
"Okay?"
"I believe you."
"Just like that?"
"Bonnie, it's you. I'll believe anything you tell me automatically."
"..."
"Bonnie? Are you okay?"
"I've been dreadin' this conversation for years. I didn't expect ye to accept it so easily. I was dreadin' the not-Human talk even more an' ye took that really well... I guess I shouldn't be so surprised…"
"Well? Tell me about your world! You can't dangle something like that in front of me and pull it away."
"Well… I was born in Albion… which is part o' a world called Marleybone… which is actually just one o' over a dozen interconnected worlds called the Spiral."
"Are most of the people there animal-people like you?"
"We're the vast majority. About nine out o' ev'ry ten people are Animals but the ratio actually gets even bigger the further out in the Spiral ye go. Marleybone is pretty far out. Most o' the people ye meet there are Dogs or Foxes but there are also Cats an' some Frogs too."
"Sounds interesting."
"I think ye'd actually fit in pretty well there. Some o' the wealthier Dogs dress like you do. Bein' around ye actually reminds me of home a bit…"
"So how did you wind up here then?"
"Er… that's a long story…"
"I've got time."
"Well... there are a couple o' other things I've gotta explain first before I get t' that. First o' all… as I said before… the Spiral is a series of interconnected worlds. Normally we can travel from one to another usin' Storm Gates. Erm… those are hard to explain… but just remember that's the traditional way of inter-world travel. Like goin' over Reverse Mountain to get from the East Blue to the Grand Line."
"Okay…"
"Aside from all the Animals… one o' the main things that sets my world apart from yours is… we've got magic there."
"MAGIC? You mean like spells and enchantments and that kind of stuff?"
"There's all kinds."
"Can you do magic?"
"Er… not anymore… but I can shoot the wings off a baticuda from thirty paces!"
"I have no idea what that is but it sounds impressive."
"God, ye're cute. Anyway, as I told ye… Storm Gates are the traditional method for inter-world travel. Magic is the non-traditional way. Y'see we've got these things called Transportals. They're magic doorways that ye can step through in one world an' come out in another. But runnin' 'em takes a high level o' magic that most pirates don't have an' the fee is really expensive. So most people avoid them in favor o' the more the traditional Storm Gate method which is free providin' ye've got a ship an' the proper Windstone… Ye still with me?"
"I was until you mentioned Windstones…"
"They're a special kind o' key that ye… Nevermind! We're gettin' off track. Two years ago, before all the trouble started, I was workin' as a scout for a famous retired pirate named Avery. My former shipmates Calico Jake and Reedy Mary tracked me down an' said they needed my help for a special mission. They even got me a special rifle t' do the job. Wanna take a wild guess what kind it was?"
"An Advanced Wheel-lock Rifle with an added scope and custom revolving action."
"Aye. Custom made by Lucius Fox himself. But the mission went horribly wrong and it was all a trap. We got blindsided and I woke up in a robot witchdoctor's lab."
"Ah… your problems with robots…"
There was a pause before Bonnie spoke again. "He used weird techno-magic an' was tryin' to create a special Transportal that would allow travel… b-beyond the Spiral. He was... ready for his first test an'... and I was an expendable prisoner…"
"Bonnie… it's okay… I can tell where this is going. You can stop."
"IT DIDN'T BlOODY WORK! That mad mechanical maniac even admitted that he had no idea where I'd end up! He just shoved my loaded rifle into my hands, wished me luck an' chucked me through!"
Sabo began stroking the rifle attached to his arm in an attempt to sooth is distressed girlfriend.
"It wasn't like a regular Transportal… Mmm… I went flyin' through a blindin' tunnel o' colors… Aaah, that's nice… The next thing I knew I was a rifle… an' then I met yer brother... an' then he stuffed me in a box. So I apologize if I was in a foul mood when we first met."
"I'm sorry Bonnie… I'm sorry you got stuck in that rifle… I'm sorry that we don't have magic here to help you get back home…"
"Don't be daft..."
Swish!
Bonnie's hands and arms popped out of the rifle followed by her head and shoulders. The fox braced herself on the rifle and then started wiggling and straining until her chest slid out of it. Bonnie stared into Sabo's eyes and gave him a look that spoke volumes. "...I am home."
"Bonnie…"
Bonnie silenced him as she held a spectral finger to his lips. "I met you an' ev'rythin' got better. You were crazy an' stubborn enough t' love a rifle. Ye didn't care about who I was, ye didn't care about what I looked like an' ye didn't care about where I came from. But even then you still cared more about me than anyone ever has. There aren't enough words t' describe how grateful I am for the unconditional love that you showed me. I'll settle for sayin' this: I love you, Sabo… and I always will." Bonnie leaned in and her muzzle went through Sabo's mouth as she sealed her statement with a ghostly kiss.
Sabo smiled as the fox pulled back and then sank back down into the rifle. He glanced across the deck and saw that the party was over and that the others had all passed out at some point. "Looks like we spent the whole party talking. We've had a long, crazy day. Wanna head to bed?"
"Aye. Nearly dyin' wore me out."
Sabo stood up and slipped down into the men's quarters leaving a silent deck behind him.
Zoro climbed down from the crow's nest once the couple disappeared below deck. He glanced around him and saw Luffy, Usopp, Ayako and Chopper all passed out in a pile on the middle of the deck. The fourteen year old was cuddling the new doctor like a teddy bear. Nami and Vivi had both fallen asleep on a certain 'feather pillow' that he had tested out a few days prior. Sanji had draped a blanket over the two women and was sleeping in the corner so he was only a shout away.
Zoro stepped over the others and slipped into the anchor room. The Boatswain glanced over his shoulder as the door closed then sat down and drew his swords. He laid the three blades across his lap, took a deep breath and then knocked on each one in turn.
Knock... Knock... Knock…
"Anybody in there?"
Hopefully that made up for the ending of last chapter. I've got a few big things to discuss here.
First: You're all probably wondering how was Luffy able to 'hear'/'sense' Bonnie in the rifle. Simple, his dormant Color of Observation Haki combined with his still-unexplained special ability to 'hear the voice of all things' that he shares with Gol D. Roger and uses to hear the Sea Kings in the Fishman Island Arc, Zunisha in the Zou Arc and even the Millennial Dragons in the filler arcs. However the two are still manifesting and are interfering with each other which resulted in spotty reception.
Second: Sabo's Devil Fruit is the Munch Munch Fruit. Because nothing says Steampunk more than a guy in victorian era clothing that has rivets and gears lining it and a custom weapon on his arm. It's an underrated power that doesn't work off of brute strength but rather creative use of edible resources. As you've seen, I'm already putting it to good use by sticking Bonnie and Sabo together so they can enter the second stage of their extremely weird relationship. Because, come on, if there's going to be romance in One Piece it can't be a normal straight-forward relationship. It's gotta be weird!
Third: So it turns out Bonnie Anne is the actual Bonnie Anne from Pirate 101. I believe that technically makes this story the first-ever One PiecexPirate 101 Crossover. Originally, I had only planned to name the rifle after my favorite P101 character. But as the story went on she took on a life of her own and I knew I eventually would have to give her an actual character and body. I exaggerated her accent to stress the fact that she has one. Remember that every 'ye' sounds like 'yeh'.
I dropped a few hints last chapter and at the beginning of this one. But the biggest hint was all the way back in the Laboon chapter where Bonnie commented about having been inside 'a weirder whale'. If you've played Pirate 101 you'll probably know the whale I'm talking about. If you haven't played Pirate 101 - that's okay. This story will be centered in the One Piece World with Bonnie Anne as the 'fish out of water' trying to get her Mink-like Animal body back. She'll provide any necessary information to Sabo - who also knows nothing about her world - as the story goes on.
For those of you who are interested in meeting the real Bonnie Anne. The first chapters of Pirate 101 are free to play. Bonnie is literally the second character you meet in the first quest Captain Avery gives you following the tutorial. She takes some getting used to but give her the right Epic Abilities after the Level 8 Promotion Quest and she's lethal. I've spent years traveling the Spiral with that amazing Fox running beside my pirate every step of the way. If you had been through what Bonnie Anne and I have been through together you'd understand why I couldn't just make her a generic One Piece Fox Mink. She would've just been a pale imitation and it would have been a great disservice to one of my favorite characters ever.
Actually, I'll extend an open invitation to any of my readers. I'm playing through the Pirate 101 storyline with a new character. Shoot me a PM here if you're interested in playing the game and, if I'm free, I'll join you in the Spiral. I work a full-time day job so I'm more likely to be available on weekends. I wholeheartedly recommend Pirate 101 to any One Piece fan. It's kid-friendly but there's an interesting storyline, the characters are fun and colorful, it's chocked full of movie and historical references and the battle system requires strategy.
Last: You'll notice that the flashback at the beginning of this chapter revolved around Luffy. That's because next week I'm going to be launching a side-story called Brother on Board: Gunshots which will be an actual crossover told from Bonnie Anne's perspective. The premiere chapter will be the full version of how Bonnie got sent from the Spiral to the One Piece World. I'll post that on February 6th before skipping a week and posting the first chapter of the Alabasta Arc on the 20th.
Silver signing off...