Cogs in the Gears of Fate

Disclaimer: Don't own One Piece.

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The next morning, everyone but Devon sat in the galley, feasting on the breakfast Herman had prepared for them. The First Mate of the crew had been out all night and he still wasn't back yet, but no one was worried because the nittoryu swordsman could look after himself. While most of the crew tore apart their bacon, shoveled in their eggs or cut their pancakes and waffles, two of them were too busy to eat...as much.

Axe was still preoccupied with the so called legend that was told to them the day before, and Chizuru kept looking at the Log Pose on her wrist, which was still pointing upward.

"So, Chiz," Azu swiped some bacon from Arisa's plate, "Ever figure what the hell is wrong with the Log Pose?"

The navigator looked it over and tapped the table, "As one who sails throughout the world, one must know the laws of the Log Pose and the islands. The Poses lock onto an island with a strong magnetic pull, and we use that to get our bearings to move to the next one in the ocean,"

Axe nodded, "Yeah, that's basic sailing knowledge, Chizuru...,"

"This Pose isn't broken, believe me, I would know if it was," Chizuru held up the compass and looked at it from below, "The Log Pose keeps pointing upward, and if it's not broken, then that can only mean one thing...," she lowered her arm and looked at her nakama, "There's an island up there,"

"An island in the sky?" Axe shook his head slowly, a look of uncertainty on his face, "I don't know. C'mon, Chizuru, even I don't see that happening, and I'm very open minded,"

Chizuru shrugged, "I'm just saying that there's something going on here with the Pose," she finished her meal and wiped her face with a napkin, "I'll see if I can gather any information on this while in town today,"

Niri nodded as she pushed Dusty away from her plate, "Yeah, good call, Chiz. You can do that while we get some supplies and new clothes. Those Death Root assholes...I don't care if they were just testing us, our clothes got ruined! We need some new ones,"

"Sounds like a plan," Axe agreed, "I'll go look for Devon and see if I can help out his search for info. I for one, am very curious to see what Shidyk did here when he came through," he turned to Azu and Arisa, "By the way...what're we doing here?" he asked, pointing to the girl.

Azu shrugged, "Got me, dude. I ran into her in Mock Town yesterday and since then, she hasn't left. I think she's lonely and want some lovin'-,"

CRACK!

The shipwright went down with a large lump on his shoulder as Arisa holstered her hockey stick.

"Perverted asshole...," Arisa turned to Axe, "Look, I don't want to impose, it's just that I have business with this jackass," she jerked a thumb to Azu, "Then when it's over and I'm satisified, I'll leave,"

Axe looked at the two of them, then turned to Azu, "I think you're right...maybe she does need some lovin'-"

Arisa whipped out and slammed her golf club onto Axe's head, but instead of giving him a decent lump, the club actually bent itself into the shape of Axe's head. Arisa pulled back her club and stared at the piece of broken equipment, "What the hell...?"

The treasure hunter smirked and knocked on his skull, "Gonna take more than a club to crack this egg, babe,"

BOOM!

Axe went down while Niri's boomstick's barrels smoked. Arisa watched in both horror and amazement at the event that just took place. To her greater surprise, Axe rose from the floor, scooping the shrapnel out of the side of his head, "Dammit, Niri!"

Niri blew the smoke from her shotgun and put it back in it's holster, "Remind me to get some more gunpowder,"

With that, breakfast ended and the crew went their own ways, their own agendas set in their minds.

-----

His stomach growled loudly, but Devon ignored it, even as he sat down in the bar, people eating different food all around him. He sat there in silence, looking at the poster of Shidyk D. Shade, "Still nothin'...shit!" he pounded the bar, making nearby plates to rattle, "Keep getting fucked over here!"

"Was wondering where in Mock Town you'd be,"

Devon looked out of the corner of his eye to see Axe take a seat between him and a huge man, "Cap'n...,"

"Sup," Axe nodded to the barkeep, "Uhm...gimme an apple pie, would ya?"

"Got it, kid, one pie coming up,"

Axe turned to his First Mate, "Any luck yet?"

"Not one single hit," Devon muttered, "Just some assholes saying stuff about Straw Hat Luffy beating the shit out of this dude called Bellamy with a single punch,"

"Here's your pie," the barkeep set down a large pie in front of Axe, "Enjoy,"

"Thanks, man," Axe grabbed his fork and began to poke at the pie, "Well, I'm sure that sooner or later, you'll find something," he speared a piece of pie and shoved it into his mouth, "Chizuru thinks that the Log Pose is pointing at an island in the sky. Mm, this is good pie," Axe shoved another piece into his mouth, "At least you got something credible...I mean...seriously...,"

Devon turned and facefaulted when he saw his captain scooping up pie with his hands and cramming them into his mouth, only to finish it off by shoving his face into the pan and licking it clean.

"Uh...,"

"HEY BARKEEP, MORE APPLE PIE!" Axe screamed, waving the empty pan, "TWENTY MORE PANS!"

Devon rolled his eyes and leaned on the counter, "For the love of Odin...,"

"Ze ha ha ha! You love pie, don't ya kid?"

Axe turned to the very large man who sat next to him. He was a very broad man with an open white shirt, long black hair, a crooked nose, and some teeth missing.

"Yosh, I love pie, especially apple," Axe clapped as his pies came to him, "Nothing is better than apple pie!"

"Bah, apple pie is shit!" the large man dug into his own pie, "This place has the best cherry pie in town!"

Axe paused in his gorging and scoffed, "Cherry pie sucks...apple is where it's at,"

The large man paused as well and turned to him, glaring at him, "Something wrong with you, kid? Cherry's better, end of story,"

Axe's eye twitched, "Apple,"

"Cherry...,"

"Apple!"

"Cherry!"

"APPLE!"

"CHERRY!"

Axe shoved his pie away and climbed onto the counter, "APPLE PIE IS BETTER THAN CHERRY, FATASS!"

The huge man rose up from his chair and held back a fist, "You wanna fight, brat?!"

"BRING IT ON!"

"DO YOU TWO HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT THE HELL YOU'RE FIGHTING ABOUT!" Devon screamed, fed up with the argument, "YOU'RE FIGHTING OVER PIE FLAVORS FOR GOD SAKES!!"

Both men turned to him, "YOU STAY OUTTA THIS!"

Devon waved his arms, "You know what, fuck this, alright?" he grabbed Shidyk's poster from the bar, "I just wanted some damn information and here I am, watching two full grown men fighting over food!"

The huge man with missing teeth opened his mouth to tell him off, but he stopped when he saw Shidyk's poster. He immediately became calm and pointed at it, "You're looking for him?"

"Yeah, what's it to ya, fatass?" Axe snapped, still in the mood for a fight.

Devon, however, sensed something. He pulled his captain down and faced him into the direction of his pies, "Shaddup, Cap'n, big boys are talking, so eat your pie," he held up the poster to the large man, "I heard that this guy passed through here recently,"

The huge man nodded, "Yeah, he did...,"

Finally, some luck! Devon smiled, "He did? Say, did he have a little girl with wings on her back with him?" he asked anxiously.

"Yeah, he did actually,"

"When did he pass through?"

"I don't remember when exactly," the man scratched his head, "But believe me, I remember meeting him. Considering he beat the shit outta a crewmate of mine," he eyed Devon warily, "What's a kid like you doing, going after the World's Greatest Assassin? You a bounty hunter?"

Devon shook his head, "No, no, nothing like that. I'm not stupid. It's about that girl he brought with him,"

"What, you a pedophile or something?"

Devon facefaulted and nearly fell over, but he regained his composure, "HELL NO!" he took a breath, trying to calm down, "Listen...I just needed to know if for sure, he passed through here. Do you have any idea of where he went after meeting you?"

The man shook his head, "Sorry, kid, but I don't have a clue,"

"Damn," Devon stuffed the poster into his pocket and grabbed his gluttonous captain by the collar of his jacket, "Thank you anyway...come on, boss,"

"NUU!" Axe resisted, but he ended up being dragged out of the bar, "PIE! I'LL COME BACK FOR YOU MY LOVE!"

"Oh, get a grip on yourself, man, it's just pie!"

Marshall D. Teach, or Blackbeard as others knew him, shook his head and smiled, "I'm getting the same feeling I had when I met Straw Hat at this bar," he turned back to his cherry pie, "Let's see what Fate has in store for us,"

-----

"Woo, finally, some new clothes! Money well spent, I'd say!"

"Same here, now I can look extra good!"

Kirsty smiled at Niri and Dusty, who actually seemed to be on the same level today. The three of them had just spent their time buying new clothes for themselves and the crew, as well as some new gunpowder kits for Niri and her guns. Dusty spent some of her own money on souvenirs of Mock Town, such as random figurines of famous pirates that passed through in the history of the town.

"So, did Chizuru say where she would go to get info on that Log Pose problem?" Dusty asked, bags swaying back and forth as she walked, "I hope she did. Whether or not there's an island in the sky, I think it's an awesome idea," she looked up at the clear blue sky above them, "A big ol' island filled with god knows what...," her eyes went wide with excitement, "I'm getting goosebumps here!"

Niri grinned, "I'll admit, that does sound like a nice adventure. Plus, with an island in the sky, there'd be no Marines up there so it'd be one hell of a vacation spot,"

"Really, I mean-,"

"ACK!"

Both Niri and Kirsty spun around to see Dusty laying on the ground, a large man in black fur laying on top of her. Dusty tried to push the man off of herself, but she went pale when she saw the man wasn't moving and felt clammy.

"...THERE'S A DEAD GUY ON ME!" she screamed, her limbs flailing around, "SOMEONE GET THIS GUY OFF ME! DEAD GUY, DEAD GUY, DEAD GUY!!!"

She became even more spooked when the supposedly dead man coughed, "ACK! LIVING DEAD GUY! ZOMBIE!"

"No, I don't think so," Kirsty bent down and gently rolled the man off her friend. The man had a pale, sickly face with purple markings around his eyes, and long braided, blonde hair. He coughed again and weakly raised a hand to the girls.

"Sorry about that...I didn't mean to frighten the girl,"

"WELL YOU DID!" Dusty screamed at him, "YOU SCARED THE SHIT OUTTA ME!"

"Dusty!" Kirsty bent down and helped the man to his feet, "Are you alright, mister?"

"I will be," the man coughed again, "...if I can just get back on my horse. Stronger, where are you?" he asked to no one, looking around.

"Uhm...is this...," Niri pointed to a very large horse a few feet away, "Stronger?"

The man smiled when he saw his horse, "There you are, boy...," he coughed again as Kirsty walked him over to the horse, "Wonderin' off without me...,".

With the help of Niri, and a very reluctant Dusty, Kirsty was able to get the man back on his horse.

"Thank you so much, ladies," the man laid his head against the horse's back, "I'm not like most people. I was very ill as a boy, but I never recovered, so I'm now the sick man you see here before you," he took a labored breath and patted his horse's neck, "C'mon Stronger, let's get going,".

The horse collapsed face-first onto the streets, causing all three girls to facefault.

"The horse, too?!"

-----

"Sorry, girl,"

"Well, thank you anyway, I appreciate your help," Chizuru whipped out a knife and stuck into the man's hand, causing him to pull his other hand away from her backside, "But I don't appreciate someone I don't know touch me like that," she hissed, pulling the dagger out and punching him in the face.

The man fell to the street while Chizuru and Austin started walking through the town again. The navigator flipped her knife around, flinging blood off it before sheathing it again, "I hate assholes who think they can cop a feel from a girl," she eyed Austin, "You don't turn out like that, you got me?"

Austin nodded and gave a thumbs up.

"Good boy," Chizuru lifted her wrist again and stared, "Still no information on my hunch about a Sky Island...maybe, I am wrong and this thing is broken?"

"Oi, oi...you say Sky Island?"

Both Chizuru and Austin came to a halt and turned to see a small group of kids, not much younger than the others in their own crew standing nearby, holding bags of food. Chizuru looked them over. One of them was a girl about her age with long bangs of violet hair that covered her eyes and a thin body. Another member of the group was a large, dark-skinned young man with thick arms and a face that would make people think he was a monkey, but clearly, he was human. The third was a thin young man with large, dark eyes, teal-ish colored hair and his two front teeth missing. The fourth and final one reminded Chizuru of Devon greatly. He had a dark aura that seemed to dance around him. He wore an inverted crucifix necklace, had dark blue hair and a pair of mis-matched eyes: one black and one red.

"Yes, I did say something about that," Chizuru turned to them, "Do you know something about it,"

The boy with dark eyes nodded, "Yeah, we do. While everyone else in town have sticks up their bums, there's a couple of people on the other side of Jaya who know what you're talking about,"

Chizuru raised an eyebrow and peeked inward, but couldn't find any false words in his statement, "Tell me, who would know about this?" she asked, holding her Log Pose, "...and could you help me find them?"

-----

As the late afternoon came, the crew reunited on the Tomahawk and shared their days with everyone else. From Axe's pie fight with the fat guy at the bar, to the sick man and his equally sick horse, and finally, the information Chizuru had come across. While the first two incidents were amusing, it was Chizuru's information that got their attention.

"...and that's it," the navigator finished, taking a sip of her drink, "Told you that the Pose wasn't broken,"

"Who's this Cricket guy?" Kirsty asked, setting a large bowl of apples on the table, "Never heard of him,"

Axe rolled his eyes, "As much as I would love to believe that there's an island in the sky, I'm still doubtful. First off, we still have to talk to this Cricket guy about it," he noticed the apples on the table, "Oh hey, apples, sweet,"

"Everyone duck and cover, he's gonna go nuts!" Devon cracked, diving to the floor, "He's a maniac for apples!"

Axe flipped him the bird, "Oh shut up,"

Dusty stuck out her tongue and passed the bowl around, "Dig in, guys! Arisa, you want one?"

"Nah, I'm good,"

"Good, because there's not enough for all of us, just the real crewmembers," Dusty quickly ducked a swipe from the fear hockey stick, "Hey!"

Devon caught an apple in mid-air, "So, where's this Cricket live, Chizuru?" he asked as he polished it on his shirt.

The navigator pulled out a piece of paper from under her hat and placed it on the table for them all to see. It was a map of Jaya, which was made of two conjoining islands. One had the village of Mock Town one island, but on the other one, was just a big, black X near the coast. Chizuru stabbed the X with a large knife, "There...Cricket lives there,"

The room became quiet as everyone stared at the knife.

"Chizuru?"

"Yes, Captain?"

"Did you really need to do that?"

"No, not really,"

"Then why did you do that?"

"I felt it would add a somewhat dramatic touch to the conversation,"

Everyone stared at each other, shrugged and bit into their apples.

Seconds later, a massive explosion rocked the area and a plume of smoke and fire rose into the air. The galley door burst open and every single one of the pirate crew, plus Arisa, ran out to see a large building had exploded in the middle of Mock Town.

"Dude...," Axe took out another chunk of his fruit, "That sucks," he looked down at his apple, "By the way, where'd you guys get these, these are good!"

"From that sick guy and his horse," Kirsty said as she chewed her apple, "Nice man, really. Feel sorry for him though. I wanted to heal him, but I had this feeling that I shouldn't, so I didn't,"

"Huh...go figure, huh?"

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Kilnorc: Wow, an eventful day for the gang, huh? Pie fight with Blackbeard, finally getting info on Shidyk AND an interesting lead about this Sky Island. What awaits the crew next? Stay tuned!

On the next chapter of Homeland...

Axe: Huh...so, you kids came to Jaya just to work with Cricket?

Dusty: Dude! A castle...wait a minute, this doesn't look right...

Kirsty: His name is Montblanc Cricket? Montblanc as in Norland the Liar, Montblanc?

DJ: HOLY SHIT, GIANT MONKEY PEOPLE!

Descendant of the Infamous Liar, Cricket

Cricket: Kid...thereis an island up there. Believe me, we know.

BTW, I feel I should explain this now. Those four kids Chizuru met? Well, a while back, I was getting into GORILLAZ and it was a friend of mine's idea to make the band's members into characters that would fit into the Saruyama Alliance. Why? -points to Gorillaz and then to Shoujo and Masira- Hello...? But, they won't be super important characters, they're just something my friend thought we could try out. So, with that said, this chapter is done!

Also, I had a lot of fun with the pie scene...I really did, MWAHAHA