Chapter 2: Cocoyashi Village
"BELL-MERE!"
The redhead woman looked down from the tangerine tree she was tending to see Genzo, the local police chief, storming up to her. He was dragging a small girl around five-years-old by her shirttail. Bell-mere put her hands on her hip and gave her signature smirk.
"Genzo! What brings you by?" She greeted.
"Get down here. I've got something that belongs to you." Genzo commanded.
"Aww, but I didn't bring anything for you. Tell you what, if you come back around midnight, I can make it worth your while."
"Stop propositioning me and come collect your troublemaking brat!" Genzo shouted.
Bell-mere climbed down her ladder and came over to the fuming policeman. The orange-haired girl in his grasp kept squirming and shouting curses.
"Let me go, you old fart!" She screamed.
"Don't call me an old fart!" Genzo scolded.
"What did Nami do, you old fart?" Bell-mere asked.
Genzo groaned in exasperation. "She stole three books from the library and ripped out some pages from the World Atlas."
"I needed those pages!" Nami reasoned.
"What's a five-year-old girl want with pages from an atlas?"
"I'm gonna learn how to make maps, you dumb geezer!"
"Nami, what did I tell you about name-calling?" Bell-mere chided.
Nami sighed. "Nobody calls Genzo names except for you."
Bell-mere smiled. "Good girl."
"You need to stop undermining my authority in front of your girls, Bell-mere." Genzo said.
"Come on, Genzo. Cut the girl some slack. That atlas has been around since I was five; it's as old as dirt." Bell-mere reasoned. "Nami did you a favor."
"Even so, she still needs to take back the books she stole or buy them at least."
Nami looked at Genzo in shock. "What?! I don't have any money." She complained.
"You should've thought about that before you stole books!" Genzo shouted.
"Nami, go inside and wash up for dinner." Bell-mere instructed. "Let me talk to Genzo for a second."
"Okay, Bell-mere." Nami stuck her tongue out at Genzo before running in the house.
"You need to stop bailing that girl out." The Policeman admonished.
"I'm not bailing Nami out." Bell-mere defended. "She loves books and drawing maps. I'm merely feeding her interest. Who knows? She might become a great navigator someday." When Genzo gave her a knowing glare, Bell-mere sighed and handed him a fistful of money. "Here's 200 beris. That should be enough to cover for the books. And I'll teach Nami to save some money so she can purchase a book next time. Sounds good?"
"What about the missing pages of the atlas?"
"Meet me halfway, Genzo." Bell-mere deadpanned.
"All right, all right. I'll take the 200 beris." Genzo conceded. "And I'll leave a book or two out for Nami to take home."
Bell-mere squealed happily as she wrapped her arms around Genzo's neck. "You're a real sweetheart, Genzo! Don't let anybody tell you otherwise."
"Yeah, yeah." Genzo grumbled.
"Bell-mere!"
Genzo and Bell-mere turned to see Nojiko running up to them.
"What's the matter, Nojiko?" Bell-mere asked.
The seven-year-old girl looked up at her adopted mother. "There's an old lady in the house with Nami." She informed.
"What?!"
Genzo and Bell-mere ran to the house to save Nami from whoever was holding her hostage. But when they got to the house, they saw Nami trying to hustle an old lady (who clearly saw right through the hustle) by playing three-card monte.
"Okay, keep your eye on the Queen of Spades," Nami said, shuffling the cards. "If you can spot it, I'll give you 100 beris. If not, I get 100 beris."
"Sounds like a deal." The woman nodded.
Nami smirked evilly as she stop shuffling the cards. "Pick your card, old lady."
The lady gave a smirk of her own. "Right here." She replied, pointing to the card on the far left. Nami's brown eyes grew wide as she flipped the said card. Sure enough, it was the Queen of Spades.
"Hey, no fair!" She complained. "How did you know it was there?"
"You have a tell." The old lady replied. "But you're very good at hustling at only 5-years-old. Polish up your bluffs and you'll be unstoppable."
Bell-mere couldn't believe who was sitting in her living room, playing hustle games with her daughter.
"Magdalena?" She breathed.
Magdalena turned to the young woman she hasn't seen in nearly five years.
"Bell-mere!" She greeted. "It's been far too long."
Bell-mere ran over to Magdalena, engulfing her into a warm hug, surprising Genzo, Nojiko and Nami.
"It has." Bell-mere cried. "I missed you so much."
"I missed you as well," Magdalena smiled, breaking their embrace. "I see you're doing quite well for yourself."
"I'm getting by."
"Do you know this woman, Bell-mere?" Genzo asked.
"This is Magdalena, the woman I told you about who owned the restaurant near Navy HQ." Bell-mere introduced. "Magdalena, this is Genzo, he's the local police chief here. And these are my adopted daughters, my oldest, Nojiko and you already met my youngest, Nami."
"Yes, your baby is quite the hustler." Magdalena complimented.
"I'm so sorry about that. Nami knows better than to take advantage of the elderly." Bell-mere gave Nami a steely glare which made the child flinch.
"Aw, no need to apologize." Magdalena waved off. "I actually find Nami very refreshing. She reminds me a lot like you, Belle."
"See? I'm not the only one who thinks that." Genzo said. "All of your bad habits rubbed off on Nami."
"Oh, come now, Mr. Genzo. Bell-mere can't be all that bad." Magdalena defended.
"Ma'am, you didn't watch Bell-mere grow up as a kid." Genzo said. "She was a hellion."
"As much as I would love to take a trip down memory lane," Bell-mere interrupted. "I have a guest at my house I haven't seen in years that I would like to catch up with. If there's nothing else, Genzo, can you please leave?"
"Oh no, let Mr. Genzo stay." Magdalena insisted. "Abigail can make enough Gumbo for all of us."
Bell-mere's eyes lit up. "Abby's here?"
"Against my better judgement, but yes. She's in town buying some ingredients." Magdalena paused briefly before adding this: "There's something very important I have to tell you, Bell-mere."
"Is everything okay?" Bell-mere asked, concerned.
"It depends."
"Depends on what? What is it?"
Before Magdalena could respond, there was a loud crash outside, followed by the sound of shrill crying.
"What the hell was that?" Genzo asked.
"It's coming from the tangerine grove." Bell-mere observed.
She and Genzo rushed out of the house, Magdalena trailing not far behind with Nami and Nojiko bringing up the rear. Bell-mere reached the grove and saw Abigail trying to drag a three-year-old boy from under the fallen ladder.
"Abigail, what happened?" Bell-mere asked.
The younger woman looked up to see her friend coming over to her.
"Belle! It's good to see you!" She greeted. "Sorry about the commotion. Felix was so eager to meet you that he didn't see where he was going and ran into the ladder."
Bell-mere got a good look at Felix and felt her breath catch in her chest. The boy was fairly tall and lanky for his age. He also bared a great resemblance to Bell-mere, with the exception of his eyes-which looked exactly like Rosinante's. Genzo ran over to Bell-mere's side and took a look at the kid that looked exactly like the woman he raised as a kid. But that was impossible because Bell-mere couldn't have children of her own.
"Uh, Bell-mere?" Genzo stammered.
"Yeah, Genzo?" Bell-mere replied breathlessly.
"Who's kid is that?"
"He's mine."
"But you can't have kids."
"I know but…that's my son."
Magdalena came over to Bell-mere's other side and put her arm around her.
"It's like looking in a mirror, isn't it?" She smiled.
"I can't believe it." Bell-mere cried. "This can't be possible and yet…I'm staring at my and Roci's child. How is this happening, Mags?"
"I'll explain everything over dinner. For now, you should go introduce yourself to your son."
Bell-mere nodded and looked at, well, her son. By then, Felix stopped crying and finally looked at Bell-mere. He has seen pictures and heard stories about his parents but to see one of them face-to-face, it was almost nerve-wracking for the boy. Abigail sensed Felix's apprehension and gave him a reassuring hug.
"It's okay, Felix." She whispered. "Go on, say hi to your mom."
"Is she gonna like me?" Felix asked.
"Something tells me she already does."
Felix smiled as he walked up to Bell-mere, who decided to meet him halfway. Genzo was speechless and Nojiko & Nami were looking at each other in confusion. Bell-mere finally reached Felix and knelt down to his level.
"Hi, I'm Bell-mere." She greeted. "What's your name?"
"Felix." The boy replied.
"It's nice to meet you, Felix. How old are you?"
"I just turned three on July 3rd."
"July 3rd?" Bell-mere gave a wet laugh. "That's really cool. Do you know who I am?"
Felix nodded. "You're my mommy. Nana said that I'm gonna live with you from now on. Is that okay?"
"Of course, it's okay. As long as this is what you want. I adopted two girls, if you don't mind having sisters."
"I have a twin sister, so I don't mind."
Bell-mere's eyes widened at that. "Awesome. Can I have a hug?"
Felix nodded happily and threw his arms around Bell-mere's neck. The floodgates finally opened and the woman sobbed happily as she held her own son in her arms. Bell-mere resigned to the idea of not being able to have children of her own, even though she and Rosinante have talked about it numerous times. But, alas, she was holding her biological son in her arms. Felix was literally the male version of Bell-mere, but his mannerisms, personality, even his clumsiness had Donquixote Rosinante written all over it. Bell-mere didn't know why or how Magdalena did it, but she was thankful that it happened. Besides, Magdalena would explain everything over dinner. Bell-mere wiped the tears from her face and looked over at her two daughters.
"Nojiko, Nami, come here quickly." She instructed.
The two small girls sprinted over to their mother. Bell-mere broke her embrace with Felix so she can introduce him to his older sisters.
"Girls, this is my son, Felix. He's your little brother. Felix, these are your older sisters."
"Hi, Felix. I'm Nojiko!" The older girl with purple hair smiled.
"Hi, Nojiko." Felix greeted shyly.
"I'm Nami." The younger orange-haired girl introduced. "Do you have a middle name?"
"No." Felix replied.
"Bell-mere, you should give him a middle name. Felix is too boring." Nami said.
"Nami!" Nojiko scolded.
Bell-mere simply laughed. "What do you think his middle name should be, Nami?"
"I don't know." Nami shrugged. "What's your daddy's name?"
Felix shrugged and turned to Abigail, silently asking her.
"Felix's father was named Rosinante." The young woman answered.
"Cool! That should be your middle name!" Nami cheered. "And I can call you Roci for short."
"If that's okay with you, Felix." Bell-mere imputed.
"Yeah!" Felix beamed. "Thanks, Nami!"
"Don't mention it!" Nami smirked. "Stick with me, Roci. I'll make sure nobody messes with you."
"Oh, Gods! This is going to be a test on my sanity." Genzo lamented.
"I wouldn't worry so much, Mr. Genzo." Magdalena laughed. "Felix is warm-hearted like his father, he won't cause much trouble."
"Much trouble?"
"He has a spitfire sister in his corner. From my experience, that combination can be quite deadly."
"Magdalena, Felix said that he has a twin sister. Is that true?" Bell-mere asked.
"Yes, um…where's Norah, Abigail?"
Abigail looked around and realized that Norah wasn't here.
"Oh, Merde." She cursed. "Norah is still at that bakery. I'll be right back. You can start dinner, Nana." Magdalena shook her head as she watched her granddaughter run off.
Later that evening, Nojiko and Nami were giving Felix and Norah a grand tour around Bell-mere's tangerine grove while the adults were gathered on the front porch, listening to Magdalena's story on how the twins came to be.
"Felix and Norah are what?!"
"Devil Fruit Twins."
Bell-mere looked at Magdalena like she was crazy. "How is that possible?"
"I ate the Stork-Stork Fruit and became a midwife of sorts." Magdalena explained.
"The Stork-Stork Fruit?" Genzo repeated.
"Did your parents ever tell you that fake story about babies being delivered by a stork? Well, my grandmother is that said stork." Abigail mused.
"Basically, my powers create offspring from the essence of two people I touch at the same time." Magdalena explained. "I touched Bell-mere and Rosinante at the same time and used their essences to create twin babies."
"When did you get our essences?" Bell-mere asked.
"The last time we saw each other."
Bell-mere recalled the last time she saw Magdalena. They were at that tavern, along with Kuzan and Rosinante, eating jambalaya and talking about their plans for the future. Bell-mere revealed to her friends that she couldn't have children of her own. Magdalena touched both her and Rosinante's hands while giving them heartfelt words of encouragement.
"It was that time?"
"Consider this my coming-of-age present to you."
Bell-mere looked back at her four children playing tag in the grove. Felix tripped over a bucket but Nami caught him before he fell flat on his face.
"This is the best gift I've ever received." She said.
"You deserve it, my dear."
"It's a touching gesture, but I can imagine a power like that must be taxing to your body." Genzo observed.
"It is, which is why I don't use it often." Magdalena explained. "And I certainly don't create twins with it. This is my first time experimenting with that."
"Also, Nana can't keep the babies with her for no more than three years. She has to reunite them with their parents or else she dies." Abigail added.
"What?!" Bell-mere gasped. "Magdalena, you didn't have to create twins for us. Rosinante and I would've been happy with just one child."
"Call me stubborn but I wanted the both of you to experience having a child of your own." Magdalena replied. "That and I couldn't decide whether or not to give you a boy or a girl."
"Well, thank you for your indecisiveness. So, if Felix is staying with me, that means you're taking Norah to Rosinante?"
"That's the plan, but we all know how quickly plans go awry."
"Let's hope this time will be different." Abigail said. "Felix and Norah have a really close bond, I would hate for them to be separated for so long."
"Something tells me that those kids can handle their own with or without each other." Genzo observed. "If their mother is any indication, the world better watch out."
Bell-mere laughed. "Genzo, you sure know how to compliment a gal." To Magdalena, she offered: "Why don't you and Abigail stay for the night? We don't have much but we can accommodate."
"Who am I to refuse such warm hospitality?" Magdalena beamed. "I would love to."
The next morning, Abigail was making breakfast for a full house, with Norah and Nojiko watching intently. Nami was drawing maps and Felix was assisting by handing her drawing pens.
"I'm gonna miss your cooking, Abby." Norah lamented.
"Aww, that's so sweet, Norah." Abigail blushed. "Hopefully, you'll find someone who loves cooking as much as you do."
"You wanna be a chef when you grow up, Norah?" Nojiko asked.
"Yeah! I wanna open my own restaurant like Nana someday! I don't know where though."
"The world is a big place, Norah." Abigail assured. "You'll find the perfect spot for your restaurant."
There was a knock on the door and Felix got up to answer it, hitting his knee on the side table in the process.
"OW! I GOT IT!" He announced.
"How is he still alive?" Nami asked.
"Nami!" Nojiko scolded.
"I usually pick Felix up whenever he has his clumsy moments." Norah replied.
"Oh. Good to know." Nami nodded.
Felix opened the door to reveal Genzo standing in the door way.
"Hi Genzo!" Felix greeted.
"Hi Felix." Genzo replied. "Is Magdalena awake?"
"Not yet, she's been really tired lately." Abigail answered. "Did you need to see her?"
"A package came for her at the police house this morning. It's from a Vice Admiral Garp."
Abigail gasped. "Norah, go wake up Nana." She instructed. "Tell her it's urgent."
Before Norah could run to the bedroom, Magdalena and Bell-mere entered the house.
"Good morning, everyone!" Magdalena beamed.
"Grandmother!" Abigail scolded. "Why aren't you in bed?!"
"Abigail, bed is for old people. I need fresh air. Besides, Bell-mere and I just took a walk around the tangerine grove." Magdalena finally spotted Genzo and smiled. "Ah, Mr. Genzo! Here for breakfast this morning?"
"Well, actually, I'm here to deliver a package for you. It's from Vice Admiral Garp."
Magdalena's smile faded as she took the package from Genzo. She opened it, revealing a small note and an eternal log pose for Minion Island.
"What is it, Magdalena?" Bell-mere asked.
"It's an eternal log pose to Minion Island. Garp just gave me Rosinante's location."
"What's Roci doing on a winter island in the North Blue?"
"He's trying to retrieve a devil fruit."
Magdalena read the note Garp gave her:
Mags,
I gave you an eternal log pose to Minion Island.
This is where the Op-Op Fruit is located, so Rosinante will most likely be headed over there with the kid.
It's a week's journey from Cocoyashi so I suggest that you leave as soon as you get this. Chances are that Rosinante already made it to the island but the pirates that wanted the fruit might be there too. You should know that the pirate crew that's after the Op-Op fruit are the Don Quixote Pirates, led by Doflamingo. If he finds out that his little brother is a Marine spy, he won't hesitate to kill him.
Hopefully, you can get to Minion Island before Doflamingo does. Whatever you do, DO NOT let Doflamingo find out about Felix and Norah. I'll contact you as soon as I can. Be careful, Sweet Pea.
Your Teddy Bear,
Garp
Bell-mere took a glance at the letter and was, for lack of a better word, disturbed.
"Did Vice Admiral Garp just call you Sweet Pea?!" She exclaimed.
"Yeah, Garp and I have a special relationship, you would say." Magdalena smiled.
"What kind of special relationship?"
"The kind that I can't describe in front of the children."
"Ugh!" Bell-mere and Abigail shuddered.
Genzo laughed. "Ah, love comes in many forms."
"Well, now that I know where Rosinante is, we can stock up on some food and supplies and head to the North Blue as soon as possible." Magdalena said. "Abigail, go pack our things and load them on our ship."
"Wait, Magdalena. Are you not aware of what Garp just told you?" Bell-mere asked.
"Yes, the Don Quixote Pirates want the Op-Op Fruit."
"That's not what I meant."
Magdalena looked at the young woman confusedly, but she realized what Bell-mere was referring to.
"Oh, if you're talking about the fact that Rosinante and Doflamingo are brothers, I knew that already."
Bell-mere's eyes grew wide. "You did?"
"It wasn't hard to put two and two together. 'Donquixote' isn't a common surname. But the fact that Rosinante is related to a psychopath isn't going to make me love him any less. I just hope I'm not too late."
The ship was docked and ready to go. All that was left to do was say goodbye. Abigail and Bell-mere shared one big hug.
"Don't forget to write and call me whenever you can." Abigail said.
"The same goes for you." Bell-mere replied.
"It was nice to meet you, Nojiko and Nami!" Norah chirped. "Take care of Felix for me."
"Nice to meet you too, Norah!" Nojiko smiled.
"Don't worry, Norah. I'll make sure Roci doesn't fall too much." Nami assured.
Norah nodded as she ran over to her twin brother. "Here." She handed Felix a black bracelet with a heart in the middle. "I made these bracelets before we left. Just in case we find each other years later and you forget what I look like."
"But I already know what you look like." Felix pointed out.
"I know that." Norah said, rolling her eyes. "But what if one of us eats a devil fruit? Or gets tattoos?"
"All right, I get it. So, what does your bracelet look like?" Norah held out her wrist to show Felix her blue bracelet with a tangerine in the middle. "Cool, but just so you know, I don't plan on eating a devil fruit. I love to swim."
"Just try not to drown."
"And you try to stay alive. I want to tease my little sister again."
"We're five minutes apart, you klutz."
"Brat."
Norah smiled tearfully as she threw her arms around Felix, hugging him tight.
"I love you, Felix." She cried.
"I love you too, Norah." Felix replied.
Bell-mere came over to her twin children as they broke their embrace.
"You and Felix will see each other again soon, Norah." She reassured. "And once your father finishes his mission, we'll all be together again."
"Promise, Mommy?" Norah said.
"I pinky promise." Bell-mere replied, holding her pinky out.
Norah smiled and intertwined her pinky with Bell-mere and wrapped her arms around her mother's waist.
"I'm glad I met you."
"So am I. Be safe out there and look after your father. He's more of a klutz than Felix is." Bell-mere advised.
Norah giggled. "Got it."
"Norah. It's time to go." Magdalena announced.
The young girl nodded and ran up to the boat. "Bye Mom! Bye Genzo! Bye Nojiko! Bye Nami! Bye Felix! I love you guys!" She shouted.
"Bye, Norah!" Nami responded.
"Be safe!" Felix added.
"Please make sure Rosinante and that kid are okay, Magdalena." Bell-mere pleaded. "I don't want to lose him."
"Don't worry, Belle." Magdalena assured. "Rosinante is my giant child. There's no way I'm going to lose either of them to his demented brother." She gave Bell-mere a long, loving hug. "You take care of those kids. Especially Nami. She's going to be a force to be reckoned with when she grows up."
"Gotcha." Bell-mere nodded.
Magdalena boarded the boat and got ready to set sail to Minion Island, silently praying that she wasn't too late to reach Rosinante.