Updated: 10/31/16

Chapter 17: Fantasia Island

On the fifth day at sea, Liara was unpleasantly roused from her sleep by a deafening roar of thunder. Alarmed, she proceeded to hastily dress herself, tumbling forward as the ship roughly shook. She managed to grab onto one of the nearby dressers, waiting for the quavering to subside until she gained footing again. Once her legs had steadied and acquired an acceptable balance, she cautiously proceeded over to the doorway and entered the narrow corridor.

The moment she attempted to ascend the slippery stairs, she was ruthlessly pelted by ample rain droplets. Goosebumps coated her petite body as frigid precipitation slid into her auburn curls and dotted her clothing. She took hold of the banister and used it to haul herself up as swiftly as possible without losing her footing.

When she finally emerged on deck, she noticed Nami standing in the middle, bellowing orders as lighting flashed above and thunder erupted. Liara shook at the eerie and frightening environment, passionately hoping that a water spout or wave wouldn't bury them beneath the ocean's surface. The last time she'd been in a thunderstorm she had almost been lost at sea, and she'd been lucky enough to have the Straw Hats find her when they did. The only thing currently soothing her was the way everybody listened to Nami without hesitation, which showed that she not only knew what she was doing, but that they were guaranteed a passage into safety.

Not a single one of the pirates seemed even remotely frightened, which she supposed made sense since they had probably traveled through numerous storms together. If anything, they seemed like they were having the time of their life, what with all the laughter and challenging smiles that seemed rather populous among her allies.

"Hey! Liara! Good morning!" Nami shouted with a wave as the brunette made her way over. "Quite a way to wake up huh?"

Liara nervously furrowed her brows as she glanced up and saw another bolt of lightening. "Anything I can do to help?"

Nami shook her head and waved her hand. "Nah, the guys have got it. Besides, we should be out of the storm very shortly. We're honestly lucky we haven't had any bad weather for the past few days. Usually we come across at least two or three a week." She nodded towards the kitchen door. "Breakfast is ready if you're hungry. It took a while for us to drag Luffy away from his food, so you might want to eat while you can before he decides to eat your breakfast too."

Liara's nerves relaxed at the Navigator's composed attitude. She carefully ambled towards the kitchen, endeavoring to not fall on her face in the process. She noticed Brook positioned in the doorway, watching all the activity with amusement. Upon perceiving Liara's gradual approach, he extended out a hand for her to latch onto.

"Good morning Miss Liara! My, you certainly look chilled to the bone! Yo-ho-ho-ho-ho!"

Liara giggled and appreciatively gripped his hand, grateful for his assistance. She peeked through the entryway and glimpsed Robin seated at the table, reading and drinking coffee as if nothing important was occurring outside. The raven-haired woman gazed up with an amiable greeting and gestured towards a vacant seat, where an untouched plate of fruit and blueberry pancakes, along with a glass of fresh-squeezed orange juice were arranged.

The vessel exited the downpour as soon as Liara finished eating. By the time she stood up to put her dishes in the sink, the rest of the group walked in, looking exhausted and drenched. Sanji put a dry cigarette in his mouth and lit it before heading over to the sink and standing next to her.

"Liara, my dear, why don't you go take a hot bath. You look soaked." Before she could protest, Sanji had his arm around her shoulder and was gently nudging her away from the sink. "We'll all go dry off after we eat," he assured her. She gratefully nodded and cleared out of the room, unaware of how Brook's gaze followed her every move.

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After her shower, Liara sat on her bed with a few pencils next to her and an open sketch book on her lap. She had been concentrating on the same image for a while, sketching and using her fingers to mix the graphite. As the figure began to take form, her heart pounded and felt like it would break her chest. She hummed, hoping to convince herself that the process wouldn't seem so strange or aberrant.

When her work was finally finished, she held the picture up, bit her lip and flushed.

Brook's face was looking right at her.

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She stood near the bow, her fingers intertwined as she rested her arms over the guard rail and focused on the serene beryl waves. She was confused and unfamiliar with certain emotions that had crept into her heart over the course of five days. Her stomach was nauseating and her heart felt like it was performing a solo act with every breath she took. As uncomfortable as it sounded, she was actually blissful.

Liara wasn't an idiot. She knew that these were symptoms of affection towards somebody, but she didn't understand why. These emotions ran rapid whenever Brook was near. He made her feel light enough to where she thought she would just float off, and her face was always so hot that she was in awe that he hadn't assumed that she'd gotten a sunburn or something.

Still, she just couldn't comprehend the fact that these things were occurring only when he was around. She couldn't deduce how such feelings had increased when she'd known him for less than two weeks. What if she'd developed these thoughts and emotions so fluently with him because he was the first guy who'd treated her so kindly and spent a great deal of time with her? It was the only thing that made sense to her.

She promised herself that she wouldn't react on any of those sentiments until she was positive about what she felt.

Her vision trailed over to the right as she heard buoyant footsteps approaching. Robin strolled over to her side with a piece of paper in her hand and a sparkling gleam in her eyes.

"I have something that you might find interesting," Robin enlightened the younger woman as she held out the parchment. Liara eyed it curiously before she took it from the Archaeologist's offered hand.

She moderately unfolded the paper, and was startled to see a wanted poster. On it was a man who appeared to be laughing without a trace of fear, his thick lips spread in an amused grin. A full afro donned his head, and a familiar scar was etched into his temples. Jet black shades covered his eyes, giving him a mysterious appearance. She closely examined the face before her eyes widened in realization.

"This is Brook," she verbally concluded in shock. Sure enough, as she lowered her gaze she saw his name written in large, bold letters squarely beneath his picture.

Robin slanted herself against the railing with knowing eyes. "It is. I figured you might want to see what he once looked like."

Liara continued inspecting the picture for a moment before she glanced up. "Why are you showing this to me?"

A compassionate smile crossed over the Archaeologist's face. "I'm not a fool, and don't forget that I can clone any part of my body." She chuckled at Liara's alarmed look. "Don't worry; I don't spy on you. The only time I might have kept an "extra eye open" was during the fireworks, and even upon returning I could see you two had become quite close, which is understandable."

Liara sighed and timidly faced away, her cheeks tinted pink. "I honestly don't know if we have anything that would be considered close. I do know that we have fun together, and that I can be myself around him, but still..." Her eyes flashed down at the wanted poster. "I know I'm young, and that I don't have much experience when it comes to having intimate affection towards somebody, but what I feel with Brook seems deeper than just friends, and I'm not sure what to do about it. " Her blue eyes glistened with apprehension as they met Robin's. "Am I weird for feeling this way towards somebody who is technically no longer alive?" Just saying it out loud curled her stomach in worry.

She found herself wondering why she was even confiding in Robin about all this, but she realized that out of all the crew members, Robin was probably the most mature one there. She had the wisdom of someone twice her age, and the understanding and kindness of a mother.

"I think that love is the most precious gift to give, and it shouldn't matter if it's towards somebody of the opposite sex, the same sex, or even a walking skeleton. If the love you feel is true, and not simply based off of lust, then I believe it shouldn't matter who you feel it towards. What you feel with Brook is acceptable, and you shouldn't care what anybody else thinks about it."

"Have you ever been in love?"

The older woman smiled. "Perhaps. I could be right now, just like Nami might be, but I can't speak for her."

She felt like she was going to die of curiously, but she understood that she wasn't going to get an answer. It was Robin, after all.

The paleontologist raised a hand up and settled it on Liara's shoulder. " Brook is a wonderful person who continually puts other people before himself. Regardless of the fact that he is no longer a living man, he has the heart of one. We would all trust Brook without hesitation, and I think it's wonderful that you feel something like this for him. In fact, I think he might feel the same way."

Somewhere inside, Liara felt a twinge of hope that what she and Brook had was special, but she had to make sure first. Regardless, she was thankful for Robin's advice, and glad that she was able to voice the thoughts that had overtaken her mind the past few days. Before she could stop herself she leaned forward and gave Robin a hug.

"Thank you," she whispered.

It was a reaction Robin hadn't been prepared for, but one that she welcome nonetheless. She returned the hug, and as she pulled away, she looked behind Liara, where something had caught her attention. "Good luck," was all Robin said before she winked and walked off.

"Hello, Miss Liara."

Liara had been so busy running Robin's words through her head that she hadn't even heard Brook strutting up behind her. She quickly folded the wanted poster and tucked it into her pocket before she turned around and greeted him with a smile. "Oh, uh, hey Brook. How are you?" She pretended to focus her attention on something out in the water.

Brook's jaw slowly shut as he titled his head to the side as he stood beside her. "Do you have something on your mind, my dear?"

She suddenly felt really nervous. Her heart was racing, her stomach churned and her fingers gathered sweat. Slowly, her eyes trailed up to his face, her breath catching in her throat. It was funny how he had no skin to easily display expressions, yet she could easily read his emotions. He looked curious, and even a little concerned. He waited patiently for her to answer.

She teasingly smiled and shrugged. "Depends. How interested are you?"

Brook chuckled and crossed his arms over his torso. "Quite interested, but I would never force you to tell me anything." When he stated that, it was a bit of a relief for Liara. To her, it was him saying that he would listen to what she had to say, and that she could tell him when the time was right.

She just had to figure out what to say first.

"Miss Artist, I think you should come take a look at this," Robin unexpectedly called out from Sunny's bow.

The pair immediately wandered over to where the older woman was and followed her gaze. The moment Liara saw what was in front of her, she gasped, her hands flying to her mouth and eyes widening.

"Hey what's going o-WOAH." Usopp became just as speechless, as did Chopper and Brook.

Luffy had the grin of a Cheshire cat. "HEY EVERYBODY! YOU GOTTA COME SEE THIS! LOOK!" he excitedly hollered.

One-by-one, Franky, Nami, Sanji, and Zoro emerged from wherever they had been to see what the commotion was about, and what they saw had them frozen to the spot.

[Peter Pan-Flying]

Before them was a gigantic island that glowed like the sun. A rainbow stretched out over the entire isle, beginning and ending in the ocean. Mammoth-sized trees clustered over every inch of the place, with two vast willow trees providing entryway, their elongated leaves dangling in front like curtains. Purple and red birds that looked like flamingos stood in front the forest, their heads lifting up from the waters to tentatively scrutinize the approaching visitors.

"This-this is Fantasia Island." As the island Liara had dreamed about finding since she was a little girl blossomed up before her, a tear slid down her cheek. Brook smiled and gave her shoulder a squeeze.

This was it. She'd finally found it. Her dream had actually come true.

"Yosh! One dream down, now nine more to go!" Luffy cheerfully exclaimed, punching his fists upwards in triumph. Chopper and Usopp cheered along while Nami patted Liara's back and congratulated her. Sunny was soon in front of the willow trees, and like magic, the leaves parted to allow the crew passage.

It was as if they were in a different world.

Diminutive amber birds perched on tree branches, looming over the stream that the ship sailed on. The ground was mostly covered in shade, but little circles of golden sunlight danced along the floor as the branches above swayed back and forth from the gentle wind. Blue and yellow fish leaped up on all sides of Sunny, earning excited squeaks from Chopper and hand claps from Usopp.

"Uh, guys, I think we need to take some action here," Zoro gestured towards the front. Everybody looked forward, their mouths gaping in alarm when they saw that the stream shifted up onto what appeared to be a protracted ramp. Chopper and Usopp rushed around in a panic while Franky bounded over to the steering wheel to prevent them from flying off course.

Nami stood near the front of the ship with a hand on her hip. "Alright, we need to open all the sails. The wind is going to speed us up, and we're probably going to end up flying for a little bit. This is just like when we went to Skypiea." Brook, Franky, and Liara exchanged puzzled looks, as they hadn't been part of the whole Skypiea experience. The group did what they were told though, and got into position.

Luffy stretched his body out and encompassed himself around his entire crew, compressing the Artist and Musician between Robin and Nami.

"Dammit Luffy!"

"Idiot."

"I'll increase your debt!"

"Oh my."

The rubber man guffawed at their predicament, neglecting all their complaints as they waited for the inevitable flight. The sails fully bellowed out as heavy bursts of air pushed Sunny up.

"Hold onnnnnn!" Nami asserted as the ship suddenly erupted into a burst of speed. All screamed in either excitement or terror as the ferocity of the wind whipped against their skin and hair. The ride lasted about thirty second before Sunny reached the top of the ramp and soared over an expansive lake.

The ramp ended up being a waterfall that poured into the vast lagoon below. A glow enclosed around the ship as meager balls of golden light veiled every inch of the vessel. Liara gaped disbelief as she realized what they were seeing. "Fairies," she murmured, unable to believe her eyes.

"Oh cool!" Luffy exclaimed as he released his friends and bolted over to one of the sides to get a better look.

Chopper reached his modest hoof up in astonishment, giggling when one the fairies patted it with her minuscule hand. The ship unhurriedly glided down onto a grassy area to provide a safe landing zone, with the fairies below the hull moving out of harms way and lowering the gangplank.

"This is amazing," Nami muttered in awe and disbelief, already looking forward to mapping the exotic island.

Liara had positively beamed the entire time, admiring their surroundings with astonishment and wonder. She was here.

She had uncovered the grandiosity of Fantasia Island.

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