Thank you so much Everlight18 for continuing to read and review! I wasn't sure who was going to be my Hook, till I read about him some and that whole double cigar thing reminded me of Smoker and along with his obsession with Luffy made me feel like he was the perfect fit. I'm projecting Luffy to be somewhere in that 10-12 age range, though he has no idea how old he really is, the others have made these assumptions based on how he acts and his size. I think the pirates go after the boys cause I'm sure they are up to a lot mischief...pulling pranks and such on them, led by Luffy.
I am a creature of the Fey,
Prepare to give your soul away,
My spell is passion and it is art,
My song can bind a human heart,
And if you chance to know my face,
My hold shall be your last embrace.
-Heather Alexander
Chapter 5: The Mermaids' Lagoon
Mermaids are beautiful, envious creatures who would as soon drown you as to have anything to do with you.
Adventures were a daily occurrence; but Luffy devised, with Robin's help, a new game that fascinated him enormously, until he suddenly had no more interest in it, which was what always happened with his games. The most recent one consisted in pretending not to have adventures, sitting on stools flinging balls in the air, pushing each other around, going out for walks and managing to come back without having killed so much as a grizzly. To see Luffy doing nothing while sitting on a stool was a great sight; he could not help but look solemn at times, to sit still seemed to him such a comic thing to do. For several moons these were the most intriguing of all adventures to him.
He would often venture out alone, and when he came back you were never absolutely certain whether he had been on an adventure or not. He might have forgotten it so completely that he said nothing about it; and then when you went out you found the body or he might say a great deal about it, and yet you could not find the body. It was said that there was a flower on the island whose fragrance could steal your memories, the Lily Carnation. It was a most beautiful flower, but dangerous as it often stole your memories of having smelled it, thus preventing you from avoiding it in the future.
There were, many adventures which Robin knew to be true because she was in them herself, and there were still others that were at least somewhat true, for the boys were in them and said they were entirely true. To describe them all would require a book as large as a dictionary, and the most we can do is to give one as an example of an average afternoon on the island. The difficulty is which one to choose. Should we take the brush with the pirates at Little Garden? It was a cheerful affair, and especially interesting as showing one of Luffy's peculiarities, which was that in the middle of a fight he would suddenly change sides. At the Garden, when victory was still hanging in the balance, he called out, "I'm a pirate today; what are you, Chopper?" And Chopper answered, "Pirate; what are you, Sanji?" and Sanji said, "Pirate; what are you Franky?" and so on; and they were all pirates; and of course this would have ended the fight had not the real pirates intrigued by Luffy's methods, agreed to be the lost boys for that one time, and so the battle was renewed once again, more fiercely than ever.
Perhaps a better one would be the night attack by the marines on the treehouse, when several of them became stuck in the hollow trees and had to be pulled out like corks. Or we might tell how Luffy saved Boa Hancock's life in the Mermaids' Lagoon, and so made her his ally.
Or we could tell of that cake the marines cooked so that the boys might eat it and perish; and how they placed it in one cunning spot after another; but Robin always snatched it from the hands of the boys, so that in time it lost its moist texture, and became as hard as a stone.
Which of these amazing adventures shall we choose to dive into first? The best way will be a coin toss.
The lagoon has won the toss. This almost makes one wish that the Garden or the cake or the night attack had won.
The children often spent long summer days at this lagoon, swimming or floating most of the time, playing the mermaid games in the water, and so forth. Unfortunately though, this did not mean that the mermaids were on friendly terms with them. When Robin stole softly to the edge of the lagoon she might see them by the score, especially on Red Rock, where they loved to bask, or she might even swim to within a yard of them, but then they saw her and dived, purposefully splashing her with their tails. Tales told of an evil sea witch who had bewitched the mermaids when she took over their underwater city, turning them petty and deceptive.
They treated all the boys in the same way, except of course Luffy, who chatted with them on Red Rock by the hour, and sat on their tails when they got cheeky. He gave Robin a comb, encrusted with beautiful gems he received as a gift from the mermaid princess Shirahoshi.
She was often at the lagoon alone, however, on sunny days after rain, the other mermaids came up in extraordinary numbers to play with their bubbles. They treated the multicolored bubbles made in rainbow water as balls, hitting them from one to another with their tails, and trying to keep them in the rainbow till they burst. The goals were at each end of the rainbow, and only the keepers were allowed to use their hands. Sometimes a dozen of these games will be going on in the lagoon at a time, and it is quite a breathtaking sight.
But the moment the children tried to join in they had to play by themselves, for the mermaids immediately disappeared. Nevertheless we have proof that they secretly watched the intruders, and were not above taking an idea from them; for Usopp introduced a new way of hitting the bubble, with his head instead of a hand, and the mermaids adopted it. Though purely by accident, this is the one mark that Usopp has left on Neverland.
It was one such day, they were all on Red Rock, and they were dozing, or at least lying with their eyes shut, and pinching occasionally when they thought Robin was not looking. She was very busy, reading.
While she read, a change came to the lagoon. Little shivers ran over it, and the sun went away and shadows stole across the water, turning it cold. Robin could no longer see to turn the page, and when she looked up, the lagoon that had always been such a laughing place seemed formidable and unfriendly.
It was well for those boys then that there was one among them who could sniff danger even in his sleep. Luffy sprang up, and with one warning cry he roused the others.
He stood motionless, one hand to his ear.
"Marines!" he cried. The others came closer to him. A strange smile was playing about his face, the others saw it and shuddered. While that smile was on his face no one dared address him; all they could do was to stand ready to obey. The order came sharp and decisive.
"Dive!"
There was a gleam of legs, and instantly the lagoon seemed deserted. Red Rock stood alone in the forbidding waters as if it were itself marooned.
The boat drew closer. It was the marine dinghy, with three figures in her, Tashigi and Hina, and the third a captive, no other than Boa Hancock. Her hands and ankles were tied, and she knew what was to be her fate. She was to be left on the rock to perish, an end to one of her tribe more terrible than death by fire, torture or in the heat of battle; for a princess of the Kuja tribe to be treated so by other women was unheard of. Yet her face was impassive; she was the Pirate Empress after all, if she must die as such, it is enough.
They had caught her boarding the marine ship with a knife in her mouth. Her goal to slit the throat of the man who dared to invade her island. No watch was kept on the ship, it being Smoker's boast that wind of his name guarded the ship for a mile around. Now her fate would help to guard it also.
In the gloom that they brought with them the two marines did not see the rock till they crashed into it.
"Dammit," cried a voice that was Tashigi's; "Here's the rock. Now, then, what we have to do is to hoist the pirate on to it and leave her here to drown."
Quite near the rock, but out of sight, two heads were bobbing up and down, Luffy's and Robin's. He was less sorry than Robin for Boa Hancock: it was two against one that angered him, and he meant to save her. An easy way would have been to wait until the marines had gone, but he was never one to choose the easy way.
There was almost nothing he could not do, so he now imitated the voice of Smoker.
"Ahoy there, you lubbers!" he called. It was a marvelous imitation.
"The captain!" said the marines, staring at each other in surprise.
"He must be swimming out to us," Hina said, when they had looked for him in vain.
"We are putting the pirate on the rock," Tashigi called out.
"Set her free," came the astonishing answer.
"Free!"
"Yes, cut the ropes which bind her and let her go."
"But, captain - "
"At once, ya hear," cried Luffy, "or I'll plunge my hook in you."
"This is irrational!" Tashigi gasped.
"Hina thinks you better do as the captain orders," said Hina nervously.
"Aye, aye." Tashigi said, and she cut Boa Hancock's cords. At once she slid down the rock, into the water.
Of course Robin was very elated over Luffy's cleverness; but she knew that he would be elated also and very likely laugh out loud and thus betray himself, so at once her hand went out to cover his mouth. But it was stayed even in the act, for "Boat ahoy!" rang over the lagoon in Smoker's voice, and this time it was not Luffy who had spoken.
Luffy may have been about to laugh, but his face puckered in a whistle of surprise instead.
"Boat ahoy!" again came the voice.
Now Robin understood. The real Smoker was also in the water.
He was swimming to the boat, and as his subordinates showed a light to guide him, he had soon reached them. In the light of the lantern Robin saw his hook grip the boat's side; she saw his evil swarthy face as he rose dripping from the water, and she would have liked to swim away, but Luffy would not budge.
He signaled for to her to listen.
"Captain, is all well?" they asked timidly.
"Where is the pirate?" he demanded abruptly.
He had a playful humor at moments, and they thought this was one of the moments.
"That is all right, captain," Tashigi answered complacently; "we let her go."
"Let her go!" cried Smoker.
"'Twas your own orders," the marine faltered.
"Hina heard you call over the water to us to let her go," said Hina.
"Ladies," he said, shaking a little, "I gave no such order."
"Spirit that haunts this dark lagoon tonight," he cried, "do you hear me?"
Of course Luffy should have kept quiet, but of course he did not. He immediately answered in Smoker's voice:
"Odds, ends, hammer and tongs, I hear you."
"Who are you, stranger? Speak!" Smoker demanded.
"I am Smoker," replied the voice, "captain of the marines."
"You are not," Smoker cried hoarsely.
"You call me a liar," the voice retorted, "say that again, and I'll string you up."
Smoker tried a more ingratiating manner. "If you are Smoker," he said almost humbly, "come tell me, who am I?"
"A codfish," replied the voice, "only a codfish."
"A codfish!" Smoker echoed blankly. He saw the women draw back from him.
"Have we been captained all this time by a codfish!" they muttered. "It is most damaging to our pride."
In his dark nature there was a touch of the feminine, as in all the great marines, and it sometimes gave him intuitions. Suddenly he tried the guessing game.
"Smoker," he called, "have you another voice?"
Now Luffy could never resist a game, and he answered blithely in his own voice, "I have."
"And another name?"
"Aye, aye."
"Vegetable?" asked Smoker.
"No."
"Mineral?"
"No."
"Animal?"
"Yes."
"Man?"
"No!" This answer rang out scornfully.
"Boy?"
"Yes."
"Ordinary boy?"
"No!"
"Special boy?"
To Robin's pain the answer that rang out this time was "Yes."
"Are you in Alabasta?"
"No."
"Are you here?"
"Yes."
Smoker was completely puzzled. "You ask him some questions," he said to the others, wiping his damp brow.
Tashigi reflected. "I can't think of a thing," she said regretfully.
"Can't guess, can't guess!" taunted Luffy. "Do you give it up?"
Of course in his pride he was carrying the game too far, and the marines saw their chance.
"Yes, yes," they answered eagerly.
"Well, then," he cried, "I am Monkey D. Luffy."
Luffy!
In a moment Smoker was himself again, and Tashigi and Hina were his faithful followers.
"Now we have him," Smoker shouted. "Into the water, Tashigi. Hina, mind the boat. Take him dead or alive!"
He leapt as he spoke, and simultaneously came the happy voice of Luffy.
"Are you ready, boys?"
"Aye, aye," from various parts of the lagoon.
"Then charge into the marines."
The fight was short and sharp. First to draw blood was Zoro, who gallantly climbed into the boat and held back Hina. There was a fierce struggle, in which the cutlass was torn from the marine's grasp. She wriggled overboard and Zoro leapt after her. The dinghy drifted away. Farther from the rock, Tashigi was pressing Brook and Sanji hard. Quickly, the group moved farther away from where Robin was, still clinging to the rock.
Where all this time was Luffy? He was seeking bigger game.
Strangely, it was not in the water that they met. Smoker rose to the rock to breathe, and at the same moment Luffy scaled it on the opposite side. The rock was slippery as an eel, and they had to crawl rather than climb. Neither knew that the other was coming. Each feeling for a grip met the other's arm: in surprise they raised their heads; their faces were almost touching; so they met.
Some of the greatest heroes have confessed that just before they began combat they had a sinking feeling in pit of their stomach. But Luffy had no sinking, only gladness; and he gnashed his pretty teeth with joy. Quick as thought he snatched a dagger from Smoker's belt and was about to drive it home, when he saw that he was higher up the rock that his foe. It would not have been fighting fair. He gave the marine a hand to help him up.
It was then that Smoker struck him.
Not the pain of this, but its unfairness was what dazed Luffy. So when he met it now, he could just stare, helpless. Luffy quickly regained his composure, an unfathomable anger at how Smoker was ruining the game reflected in dark eyes. Standing at his full height, which was barely half of Smoker's impressive stature, Luffy drew back into an attack stance that Zoro had taught him early on. He rarely used the tactics that were taught to him, but his body seemed to move of it's own accord. Muscle memory taking over his actions as he followed through with his attack. The blood roared so furiously in his ears that he almost missed the sound that made Smoker's own wary eyes widen in unconcealed terror.
Tick tock, tick tock!
A few moments afterwards the other boys saw Smoker in the water swimming wildly for the ship; the sea king in pursuit of him. On ordinary occasions the boys would have swum alongside cheering; but now they were uneasy, for they had lost both Luffy and Robin, and were scouring the lagoon for them, calling them by name. Though a thick fog had rolled in and it was getting close to high tide, making searching any longer unwise. They found the dinghy and went home in it, shouting "Luffy, Robin" as they went, but no answer came save mocking laughter from the mermaids. "They must be swimming back or flying," the boys concluded. They were not very anxious, because they had such faith in Luffy.
When their voices died away there came cold silence over the lagoon, and then a feeble cry.
"Help, help!"
Two small figures were beating against the rock; the girl had fainted and lay on the boy's arm. With a last effort he pulled her up the rock and then lay down beside her. He knew that they would soon be drowned, but he could do no more. His wounds were bleeding and the adrenaline from the battle was waning. Frankly, he was exhausted and hungry.
Steadily the waters rose till they were nibbling at their feet; and to pass the time until they made their final gulp, they watched the only thing on the lagoon. Robin thought it was a piece of floating paper, perhaps part of a kite, and wondered idly how long it would take to drift ashore.
The rock was very small now; soon it would be submerged. Pale rays of light tiptoed across the waters; and by and by there was to be heard a sound at once the most musical and the most melancholy in the world: the celestial mermaids calling to the rising moon.
Luffy was not quite like other boys; but he was afraid at last. A tremor ran through him, like a shudder passing over the sea; but on the sea one shudder follows another till there are hundreds of them, and Luffy felt just the one. Next moment he was standing erect on the rock again, with that smile on his face and a drum beating within him. It was saying, "To die will be an awfully big adventure."
As we know, such a sacrifice was unnecessary as Boa Hancock arrived on a small ship with several of her pirate sisters. They scooped Robin and Luffy off of the rock before it submerged and delivered them both safely to shore after they made sure their injuries were tended to.
ORIGINAL POSTING DATE: July 26,2016
WORD COUNT: 3,043
