LUFFY

HA!

I couldn't believe how clever I was. Or how desperately this guy wanted his stupid swords back. Don't get me wrong- he was in a terrible position and it would have driven the sanest of men to madness. No way was I laughing at that. Nope, I was laughing at the way he drooled a little when his swords were mentioned, the dopey look he got on his face as he thought about them. A hungry look had washed over him when he realized I was actually going into the base. What a weirdo; but, hey, he was MY weirdo now!

With this exciting news overwhelming my mind, it seemed like a short job until I made it from the execution yard to the front door of the base. However, I stopped in my tracks when I noticed the weirdest thing yet about this town- there were no guards by the door. Like, this was the FRONT DOOR we're talking about here, and they were too stupid to guard it? Even I wasn't that dumb!

However, my distraction did not last long. I had a mission- I needed to find that weirdo son of the captain and get Zoro's swords back! I needed my first mate! I looked around, still disbelieving the fact no one was guarding the door. I was about to march in, when suddenly a ruckus came from above.

I looked up to the roof. However, I was unable to see anything. All I could make out was a dull roar of voices. With a shrug, I stretched my arms out, grabbed the side of the roof, and with a triumphant yell, bellowed, "GUM GUM… ROCKET!"

It wasn't necessary for me to yell out "gum gum" every time I wanted to stretch; however, it did make it much more satisfactory! I let out a laugh as I flew above the ground; this never got old!

Suddenly, I noticed I was not on the roof like I had aimed for, but was instead flying high above all the soldiers and the captain on the roof.

"DAMNIT!" I called in frustration as I continued to soar into the sky. I was excited to see, however, a rope attached to a big stone thingy. I grabbed the rope, and managed to successfully jump off the giant sculpture and onto the roof of the base. The ground shook and trembled, causing me to turn around. The structure, which I assume the soldiers had been trying to lift, had completely fallen on the other side of the roof. Oops…

I scratched the back of my neck awkwardly. "Uh… Sorry… About… You know… That."

Suddenly the statue toppled over the side of the roof and fell to the ground with a crash, sending another tremor through the earth. Although slightly regretful of ruining the statue and the hard work the soldiers had put in, part of me was also gleeful because WHOA THAT WAS THE COOLEST CRASH EVER! AND I CAUSED IT!

The grin that had snuck onto my face was quickly erased when a loud, booming voice echoed through the sky. "HAVE HIM KILLED IMMEDIATELY."

I turned my attention to the voice. Sure, he was big, but was he really that to- HOLY SHIT WAS THAT AN AXE IMPLANTED IN HIS ARM?

A whiny voice distracted me from the axe-arm.

"Daddy! That's HIM! The one who pushed me!" Halmeppo cried out.

I immediately perked up and went over to him, despite his screaming and petrified looks over at me. "Hey, you! Nice to see you, again! So, you have something that I kind of need to get back from you! It's for a special friend!" And with that, I threw my arm around him and dragged him off the roof and through the door leading to the lower parts of the base.

I ran frantically down the halls, trying to confuse the onslaught of soldiers that would be chasing me any minute now. Sure, the rooftop rendezvous wasn't my most brilliant idea; however, I was smart enough to know I needed to run quickly and make myself as unknown as possible to the captain and soldiers!

After a few minutes of running and losing the soldiers, I asked, "Okay, so tell me where Zoro's sword is!"

Halmeppo, who had been screaming, kicking, and crying hectically, finally said real words to me, "I can tell you if you put me down! I promise!"

I wasn't about to give in to this creep that easily! However, when I looked down at his face, it did look kind of red and like he was having trouble breathing. I didn't like him, but he didn't need to die. I let him go, and looked expectantly at him, ready to grab him back if he tried to run off.

"They're in my room! We just passed it! At the end of the hallway, to the left!" he choked out, dropping to his hands and knees on the floor.

I gave him a look. "Well, why didn't you say so earlier? Now we have to go ALL the way back!"

Before I could turn around, a voice pretending to be brave yelled, "Don't move!"

I turned my head slightly to see some Marines pointing their guns at me. Really? Guns? Cornering me in a hallway? That was the best they could do?

I turned to face them, waiting expectantly.

"Let Halmeppo go!" another one demanded. This one seemed to have a bit more courage, but not by much. The Marines were supposed to protect the citizens, and yet they were afraid to chase me? What cowards!

"No way!" I replied, standing Halmeppo up in front of me as a shield. What were they going to do, shoot their precious brat of a captain's son? "You can try shooting me if you want."

Halmeppo immediately started screaming in his oh-so-annoying voice, and without a thought I ran through the guards, still using Halmeppo as my shield. Even from the back, I doubted they would shoot because the bullet could go through me and into the royal brat.

Now it was time to go find those swords.