FRIENDS
5 days later
The Goa Kingdom was rather small, only housing a palace that towered over the inner circles of the city. The people that had greeted them had seemed pretty nice, in Lucy's opinion, and they've even invited them to a feast, which gave them bonus points in the black haired teen's book.
Ever since they had arrived yesterday, he had not been able to take more than a few steps away from the palace and Lucy did not like it. They've arrived in an unknown place, he had to go explore dammit!
After a few discouraging tries, Ivy finally relented and gave him permission, with the promise that they wouldn't cause trouble. Lucy had been happy to comply with her wishes, hoping more than anything to get out of the huge, constricting place, as ironic as it sounded.
Walking down the road at the Edge of the Town-yes, he wanted to escape that bad- the teen could not help but smile, in spite of the dirty looks the citizens were throwing him. He had a white cloak on and an oversized hood that Ivy insisted that he kept it on because nobody should see his face.
"Lucy, where are we?" A small, trembling voice asked from next to him.
Lucy looked down at the scared boy and laughed. "What, you scared now, Kiiro?" His tone was playful and the boy shoved him a little, pouting.
"You don't even know where we are, don't you?"
His question made his older friend pause but he grinned widely and answered. "Nope, but we'll find our way back somehow, so don't worry."
Yes, in his hurry to escape he had forgotten where he was going and how he should come back.
Uh-huh.
Kiiro looked doubtful, but relented anyway. No use in arguing with the raven head.
After a few more minutes of walking, the line of houses gave way to a tall concrete wall that served as the end of the city.
Lucy stepped closer to investigate, scratching his chin as he looked at the closed metal door. There was something that looked like burn marks on the dirty grey.
Kiiro watched the trash near the wall and sighed. He knew that common people tended to throw their rubbish wherever they wanted, but the small boy didn't know how someone could live in such a filthy place.
"Can I help you kids?" A raspy voice attracted their attention. Both boys looked at the old man that had addressed them.
He was dressed in dirty, tattered clothes. His hair was unkempt and his can looked like it had seen a few things through its life.
"You look like you live here mister."
Lucy's blunt statement made Kiiro cringe.
Of all the things he could have said...
To his relief, the old man gave a hearty laugh. "That sure am. What are boys like you doing here?"
Lucy grinned and the blonde boy instantly knew his friend liked this guy.
"I wanna know what's with this wall. And what's on the other side."
His declaration made the older man narrow his eyes. He stepped closer, making Kiiro tense, but he only sat down on the ground, his back to the metal door. Lucy dropped himself next to him unceremoniously, and the blonde boy followed, but with more grace.
Lucy tapped his knees impatiently, waiting for their new companion to speak.
"On the other side of this wall was the landfill of this country. Many poor people lived there." The man explained.
"This place is awesome!"
"But it burned up in a huge fire more than ten years ago. There were many victims, children, adults, old people. No one was spared. I was lucky to have escaped."
"I will not run!"
"This wall was used to cut us from the rest of the world because no one in the city wanted to enter in contact with the bottom of the society."
"What... did you think I was dead?"
"What're you crying for?! Don't act like people are dead when they're not, dummy!"
"Idiot of course I wouldn't die!"
Kiiro watched his friend's face lose all emotion and a little color as the man told them about the history of the unseen place behind them. His brows furrowed when he saw Lucy sway a bit.
"What's the name of that place?" The blonde boy could not help but ask.
Dark green eyes gazed deeply in his blue ones.
"Grey Terminal."
"How long are you going to carry on like that...?"
"Listen up and remember this! I'm not going to die!"
"LUFFY!"
Kiiro scrambled to his feet in alarm as Lucy released a strangled scream, hands on his head.
On his other side, the older man looked lost as well, not sure how to help the young man screaming in front of him.
Before long, the screams died away and Lucy was reduced to an unconscious mess on the ground.
Kiiro remained frozen, silently whishing for Ivy to be there.
"And you go and faint in the middle of the street! Full of thieves and the like! What was in my mind for letting you two go?!" Ivy would have gone on with her yelling if Lucy wouldn't have groaned, hand on his forehead, trying in vain to push back the pain. His brain pulsed. Was it even possible?
"You are lucky I sent those two guards to follow you." The red head huffed. "Who knows what mess we'll be in otherwise."
Kiiro was sitting on a chair by his bed, eyes downcast, sad and grateful all the same.
"Sorry, Ivy." The boy mumbled.
"You shouldn't listen to her, she's always saying that but she still comes with us when we raid the shops." The black haired teen said from his spot on the bed.
The red head's face was scandalized and her hand twitched with the need to pound some respect in that little pulsing head of his.
Kiiro was immediately on his feet, his wide, blue eyes worried. "Are you okay Lucy? You scared the crap out of me!"
"Haha, sorry." The teen winced.
"What happened Lucy?" Ivy's question was as serious as her face.
The raven head looked at her before his gaze slid to the window. Black eyes stared in the distance, glazed over in thought.
"I don't know." He whispered at last.
"You never remember what you dream right? Did something change?"
A seed of fear seeped inside Ivy's mind and she abstained from launching anymore questions. For almost two months, Lucy had continued to have those dreams and the continuous headaches started barely a month ago but were now stronger than ever. While she was not opposed to them, their presence only sped up the pace.
He was starting to become impatient which made her become more and more uneasy. Lucy's answer was like a loud and obnoxious alarm sounding in her head.
"I think I'm starting to dream when I'm not sleeping."
One day later- GRAND LINE
Rusukaia island was currently undergoing a climate change from its last winter season, that had made Buggy's teeth chatter, to a spring season with a more gentle weather and pretty flowers, which made the clown sigh partly in relief. He preferred allergies to ice hell. He's had enough of it in Impel Down.
Speaking of the blasted prison, its former blasted prisoners-that they've risked their butts to save-had been no more active than rocks for the past week.
With the exception of the green haired bastard, they could at least eat on their own volition. That goddamned sword bastard had refused everything they offered, so Buggy and Sabo had to literally shove it down his throat, while Mr. 3 threatened to throw his three swords in the ocean.
Besides these isolated incidents, they did not try anything else and the clown was glad for it. He had been totally opposed to babysitting these idiots, but he couldn't refuse old man Rayleigh- more accurately, he was scared to refuse him.
So this is how Buggy found himself sitting on a rock, watching other colorful rocks doing nothing while thinking that maybe, looking at real rock would have been more interesting.
A sudden shift in the plant life behind him signaled Sabo's arrival. He was the only one who bothered to visit them when off duty.
"How are they?"
Buggy would have told him in some choice words what his opinion on the health of the eight pirates in front of them was.
"They are sitting like fucking rocks." The clown drawled. "But at least they're not trying to kill themselves." He sighed.
With the exception of that time green hair said he'd go find Strawhat's body to show them they're wrong and then tried to jump in the ocean and swim in the opposite direction.
"You mean besides that time when the blonde cook said he'd go catch some fish and ended up on a one on one with a giant Sea King? And he could barely walk." Sabo scratched his head, taking a seat next to him.
Buggy's eyes went wide. "When did that happen?!"
"When I was on duty." The blonde replied. "Wait 'till you hear what happened on Mr. 3's with the reindeer and the animals of the forest."
The red nosed man shook his head, clearly not intending to know what in the hell could have happened. And there were five more people besides them that were looking after these kids. Okay, so Buggy will admit that they had tried, but were stopped.
Thank heavens or else Rayleigh would kill us all.
"Anyone hungry?" The revolutionary spoke loudly, attracting their attention.
Nami lifted her head up and tried to smile at them. Both men winced.
"No thank you, we are fine."
"Fine looks like the opposite of them right now." Buggy crossed his arms, watching the annoying woman return to her moping. He hated them, because they kicked his ass all those years ago when they didn't even have a ship and now-
"The hell are you staying fucking moping around for?!" The clown finally exploded, making some of them glare up at him. They were promptly ignored.
"And what the hell do you want us to do?" Zoro bit back, his glare so dark it could melt metal.
"You are fucking free, what do you think?! You are staying here waiting for the Marines to find you. You should have sailed away a long time ago!" Breathing hard after his outburst, his eyes never strayed from the compact circle, glaring at them with all the fury of a pirate clown.
Next to him, Sabo was torn between being impressed at his words and concerned for the blue haired man.
"We don't even have a ship, bro." The Strawhats' shipwright pointed out. "Even if we'd want to leave, we couldn't."
"And go where?" Usopp snorted looking at his friends' faces. None of them looked too eager to set sail.
The clearing lapsed into silence once more, neither party attempting at further conversation now that the facts were thrown to the wind.
Buggy returned to count the minutes until he would be released from this new type of hell.
By the time his counting was at 35 minutes, a splash of water gathered their attention towards the cliffs.
Rayleigh wrung his soaked shirt, slapping it on his shoulder before his eyes moved to take in the camping place and its grim atmosphere. He raised an eyebrow in surprise, but he had been thoroughly expecting this. Still, the former pirate hoped that these kids would defy his expectations yet again.
Not this time, it seems.
"Why are you here old man?" Buggy asked from his spot on the rock.
Years of knowing him made the former First Mate realize the clown was bored, pouting and on the edge of his patience. He remembered the twelve year old Buggy from the Oro Jackson having the exact same face and he could not help but smile. It seems some things don't change even after so many years.
"I've come to visit you. Though I see that you haven't been very productive." Rayleigh addressed the younger pirates. Buggy's snort behind him confirmed his words.
"We are sorry Rayleigh-san, it's just..." Nami stopped speaking, her eyes downcast.
"Not even an encouraging song, Brook?" The grey haired man watched the skeleton wince.
Hit a sore spot huh.
"It's not really working, Rayleigh-san." The usually cheerful man confessed sadly.
"Well then you are lucky I've come with great news." Rayleigh smiled once more, hands on his hips.
Everyone's eyes were on him, searching, questioning.
"Yes!" Buggy exclaimed, jumping from the rock. "Please tell me I can leave this island."
"Yes, something like that." The older man agreed. "We'll talk in more detail when they get here."
Buggy's mood skyrocketed back from space and he slumped. Seems like Rayleigh was not done with him yet.
"They who?" Sabo asked, adjusting the hat on his head.
Rayleigh's eyes shined with mischief. "You'll see."
NORTH BLUE
Dark eyes watched the blue sea spread in front of them with a resigned quiet. Their owner stood on his submarine's deck, hands gripping the metal railing tightly.
Law resisted the urge to grit his teeth. He had set out for the Grand Line with the intention of never returning to this sea-alive or not. He had long forgotten this lands, but he will never forget that promise.
And now he had broken it to help his, as the man himself put in, friend. Law didn't know when the straw hat wearer became a friend for him, but he had saved his life numerous times. Friend or not, he'd do it anyway. He owed him that much.
Eyeing the sand man behind him, the doctor supposed he wasn't the only one doing things because of the past. Crocodile had not behaved any more suspicious than he had the first time, though this time he was more reserved without the obnoxious clown to irritate him. Law supposed they all were.
"How long 'till Spider Miles?" Smoker's voice sounded from the vessel floating next to his- Dressrosa's.
The man had forsaken his military vessel after they passed the Calm Belt with the instruction to his crew to be on standby around that area for their return. Smoker might behave like a reckless fool, but his head wasn't as empty as Law had thought at first. His second in command was left along with the ship, her mission the toughest: keep the G-5 under control.
A surprising appearance was made by the royal family of Dressrosa. Their princess and her father had brought a ship full of soldiers and mercenaries- courtesy of Kyros- that were armed to the teeth and ready to find that goddamned key.
The former Shichibukai had heard that the envelopes with Rayleigh's plan were sent pretty far away through the Grand Line, but he didn't imagine this.
His stupor did not last long because they have passed the Calm Belt fairly quickly. Back in Sabaody, he, Sai and Smoker decided to cut in a straight line through it after passing Fishman Island with Jinbei's help. They did not want to meet any Yonko so they didn't risk traversing their territories. That was five days ago, and now they were going at a fast speed- as much as the polar winds, that had the tendency to blow in the exact opposite direction of their path, let them- towards the place where he had met Doflamingo a long time ago.
"From Bepo's calculations, he says about four or five more days." The island was pretty far away now that Law thought about it.
The white haired man scowled, clearly of the same opinion but he didn't say anything.
"It's getting pretty cold." Sai shivered, tightening his coat around himself. Baby 5 was on him in a second, further serving to exasperate the man.
"Do you need me to bring you something warmer?"
"No! And why the hell don't you have any coat on you!?" The black haired man yelled.
"Because I gave it to a poor man who had no coat to wear." Her face was flushed and her cigarette almost frozen. Law shook his head in disbelief.
Mad woman.
"By the way," he began as if remembering something. Looking to his right, he asked. "Why are you here, Rebecca and Kyros?"
The rose haired woman smiled, leaning over the rail. She was wearing a long, pink fur coat and long boots. Her hair was in the same style he remembered her wearing back in her home country.
"Because Rayleigh-san called us all those months ago. And now, when he called again after you had set for Sabaody, I decided to come give you a hand."
Law would have liked to point out that they didn't need any help in finding a stupid key on a probably abandoned island, but he abstained. They will be useful if they needed to invade Mariejois, so he let it slide.
Nodding to show he accepted her explanation, the man turned his head back to gaze at the calm sea before them. He had almost forgotten how simple it was to sail on it. Despite the easy feeling it gave, Law knew from firsthand experience that deeper and bloodier secrets were buried in these lands.
He could only hope these days will pass by quickly.
RUSUKAINA-GRAND LINE
The people gathered in the glade did not have to wait long. After ten more minutes of silence, Leo announced that four ships were coming.
Four.
The number served to rise up even the most depressed people from the ground out of sheer curiosity, all the island's current inhabitants gathering by the cliffs where Leo pointed they were coming to.
After maximum five minutes, Usopp gasped, his eyes widening as he gazed into the distance. No one else could make out anything else but shadows, the light fog that had settled around the piece of land not helping a bit. Still, the Strawhats' sniper was so shocked, he did not move for a couple of seconds.
When he did move, the black haired man was a mess of emotions ranging from laughing, crying and cheering, all the while doing a little happy dance.
The others were all eyeing him with various degrees of expressions, with the exception of Leo, who had seen through the spyglass what Usopp had seen with the naked eye. He had joined his fellow pirate in his dance immediately when he arrived on the grass where everyone had gathered.
Nami was about to stop him and demand answers when a flash of yellow caught her eye and she forgot how to breathe for a moment. Next to her, Robin gasped, eyes wide and a smile threatening to blossom on her lips.
Chopper cheered in happiness, joining his still dancing friend and crying in happiness.
Franky's grin was bigger than even Luffy's and the cyborg clenched his fists, anticipation cursing through him. After months of thinking she was gone forever, he would finally get to see her again. His mood was instantly super.
Sanji watched the perverted idiot and shook his head, taking a drag out of his cigarette. His original shock wore off, but his lips were pulled in a wide smile that he covered with his precious smoke.
A couple of feet away from the cook, Brook was playing his violin with such vigor, the instrument looked like it might break. So much time had passed since he had played it and the skeleton finally felt complete. His heart would have beaten wildly in his chest- if he'd have one!
"Yohoho! Let's welcome Sunny with a suitable song!"
Cheers of agreement were heard from the Strawhats and the crew gathered around their musician to celebrate.
Zoro shook his head and crossed his arms, eyes looking in the distance where Sunny's head had just pierced the thin veil of white. So it was really Sunny.
The swordsman smiled, though there was a painful jolt in his chest that told him he'd have a hard time walking around the ship again. It had too many memories of him. He was sure the others were feeling the same way, they had talked about it in the few days after their arrival on the island. They had argued that they had to go save Sunny, but with the injuries they had sustained in the prison, it would have been a though thing to do. Franky had been almost desperate, telling them that she might be destroyed as a measure in stopping them, but he understood the reason his crewmates were hesitant. None of them felt powerful enough to invade a Marine base, especially after their utter defeat at the hands of the same organization.
"It looks like you thought of everything Rayleigh-san." Robin smiled at the grey haired man.
If the former pirate was surprised to see her express emotion so openly, he did not comment on it. There was a reason for celebration after all.
"Of course." He smiled back, eyes never straying from the ship in the distance.
Suddenly, two forms appeared on both of the Sunny's sides, followed closely by another one at the far right.
Most of the people gathered stopped and raised an eyebrow, taken aback. Even Rayleigh looked positively surprised.
The three ships broke the wall of clouds as well, sailing at full speed behind the Thousand Sunny, their Jolly Rogers flying with the wind.
"Wha-what the hell is he doing here?!" Buggy exclaimed, hands in his hair and definitely not happy.
"Am I seeing this for real?" Bartolomeo rubbed at his eyes, clearly not believing the pirate flag he was seeing on the ship on the left.
The four ships noticeably decreased their speed as they closed in on the island, making the waiting unbearable for mostly everyone in the group.
Besides Buggy. He only wanted to evaporate in place.
Usopp's eyes were wide as saucers when his brain finally made the connection, heart beating wildly. He knew who was on that ship.
Finally, the dragon figurehead and the whale shaped ships stopped one after the other along with the Sunny and the unknown ship, forming a barrage of vessels.
"Well, well, it's certainly good to finally meet you, Strawhats." A voice spoke from the dragon headed ship. A red haired man wearing a black cloak grinned at them and they stared back in shock.
"What are you doing here you idiot?" Buggy was on Shanks before he had a chance to put a foot on the ground.
"It's nice to see you too Buggy." The man laughed, gesturing his crew to finish with anchoring the ship.
"That's not what I'm talking about!" The clown's hands twitched, wanting nothing more than to strangle him. He's always had a few bones to pick with the Yonko and now that he was available, Buggy asked himself why not. Besides, it was partly his fault for being stuck in there with Rayleigh. And now Shanks came to take a good laugh at him, the damn bastard.
"That's the new Shichibukai?" A blonde haired man from the whale headed ship asked, his hand above his eyes for a better view.
"Is that the commander of the first division of the Whitebeard pirates?!" Bartolomeo almost shrieked, his whole persona entering fanboy mode.
"You look as good as ever, Nami, everyone!"
Heads turned to the unknown ship and the navigator almost had a heart attack.
"Vivi?! What are you doing here?"
The alabastian princess grinned, adjusting the feathered hat on her head. "I came here to give you a hand, of course."
Before any of them could reply, a yell was heard from Sunny's deck, followed by a black form being launched in the sky. It fell a few feet from them.
"Heracles'un?!" Usopp jumped back and pointed at the black clad man accusingly. "What are you-"
"You damn pervert, never stay near me again!" Perona slapped her hand hard against the rail, glaring at him with the intensity of a thousand suns.
Zoro opened his mouth, his jaw almost slack, but the pink haired girl beat him to it.
"Stop asking stupid questions! What does it look like?! We are saving your sorry asses."
The silence that followed her blunt statement was broken by Rayleigh's laugh.
"I'm happy to see everyone here. Though I didn't think you'd be staying in the Grand Line after you've finished your mission." He looked at Shanks who grinned back, scratching the back of his head.
The Yonko felt like he was on the Oro Jackson again.
"We didn't, but Shanks insisted." Marco pointed a thumb in the red head's direction.
"Well, I have to see this through, if only for Luffy's sake."
Buggy rolled his eyes at the dramatic show and Rayleigh laughed again. Marco shook his head in amusement.
"We don't have time for this right now." Vivi reached inside her coat as she made her way closer.
Nami hugged her tightly, happy to see her friend again. After greetings were exchanged with the other Strawhats, Sabo spoke.
"How come you arrived together?" His gaze slid from Red Hair to Marco and then to a floating Perona before finally setting on the alabastian princess in confusion.
Vivi almost burst out laughing at their faces. They had unknowingly made the same expression. Shanks was right, this was really funny.
"It's a long story." She began.
"Yeah, even we don't know how it happened." Shanks agreed, patting Marco on the back. The man rolled his eyes.
"Why don't you tell us everything from the beginning then?" Rayleigh's eyes shined with a light the Yonko hadn't seen for a long time.
Shanks smiled. "Sure old man. Gather up kids!"
"We were on our way to Rusukaina after we made sure to piss off Sakazuki as much as we could and obtained a good laugh out of it too." Shanks chuckled at the memory.
"At the same time we were coming to Rusukaina from Water 7." Perona continued with their part of the story.
"You were in Water 7?" Franky blinked.
"Of course, where the hell do you think we repaired the damn ship?" The pink haired Devil Fruit user snapped.
"They were covered in this fog which was really creepy. Marco thought that it was a ghost ship!"
"You were that one Shanks." The blonde next to him drawled.
"That was because we had to be careful. Old man Haredas took care of it." Perona explained.
"Eh? Haredas is here?" Nami looked back to the ship but the ghost girl shook her head.
"The old guy had to go back to the sky before we got here."
Light brown eyes fell down in sadness. The other pirates that didn't know him were partially alarmed by the gone back to the sky part.
"We kind of had a one on one with the ghost ship." Shanks' chuckle turned awkward.
"I still want to kick your ass for that, bastard." The pink haired woman glared at him. "You've almost sunk a newly repaired ship!"
"If wasn't my fault that-"
"And then the alabastians almost crushed us." Marco explained further.
Vivi's face was red and she waved her hands wildly. "Sorry! It was that big wave that lifted us in the air."
"So that's how we came together." The captain of the Whitebeard pirates concluded. "After we realized we are all on the same side, of course." The man eyed a still glaring Perona, the embarrassed Yonko and the still fretting Vivi.
Rayleigh shook his head in amusement. Kids these days.
"Cap', we have it." Ben Beckman announced as he came closer.
The three stood up immediately and surrounded the man, faces serious. Perona flew over their heads to listen in too. Rayleigh's jaw tightened. He had a feeling he knew what was coming. He looked at the Strawhats but the group remained clueless.
"So it was working." Vivi sighed in relief. "Sorry for bothering you." She smiled at the grey haired man.
Ben nodded. "Don't worry about it. Here you go." He handed a paper to his captain who took it hesitantly, grimacing.
"Do I wanna see it Benny?" Shanks' eyes held a gram of fear, usually lost on the man. It went to show how much the straw hat wearing boy meant to him and his crew.
Ben's face remained impassive, however. "You ain't gonna move if you don't take a risk cap'." The First Mate spoke enigmatically. "I've already taken the liberty to show it to the crews. Must say," the pirate played with his cigarette, a smile on his face. "I got myself a few bucks."
Shanks did not need to hear anything else. He unfolded the paper and his eyes went wide.
"Holy shit."
The other three were in the same state of shock, so Rayleigh stepped closer and took the paper from his junior's hands. He turned and headed back to the bigger group who were looking at the newly arrived in concern.
"What happened Rayleigh-san?" Robin's brows were furrowed.
"This," the grey haired man lifted his hand up, showing them the paper, "is the proof you were waiting for."
With that, he stopped in front of them and lifted the photo.
Everyone's eyes went wide as they stared at Luffy's laughing face and they almost felt like any moment he'd turn his head around and grin at them that obnoxiously big grin of his.
But he didn't, and that's when reality hit them like a ton of Sea Kings.
His hair was longer. That's the first thing his friends realized as they gazed upon the piece of paper. Then they saw the scar around his neck and the Strawhats' faces became livid. The ugly, pink scar was jagged, almost taking the form of a hand- that bastard's hand. It looked like it must have hurt like a bitch and they swore to not let AkaInu get away with it. He'd pay.
Soon.
Fighting hard to unglue their eyes from the heart wrenching wound, they decided to move on to his strange clothes. He was wearing a simple, bright red shirt with a black vest above it, black, long jeans that made them take a step back in surprise. Luffy never wore such long pants. If the jeans were the problem, their eyes widened marginally when they saw the boots on his feet. Never in their life did the Strawhats think they'd get to see Luffy wearing anything but his slippers. It felt like a law of nature to them. Even if it was snowing he would wear those slippers. So one can imagine why the Strawhats were having a hard time believing that was really their captain.
Nami's eyes shifted to glance at his surroundings for a moment. The photo was obviously taken when he was moving. Luffy was frozen in mid step, laughing, his left hand lifted up to tug at the red hair of the woman that was walking beside him. She was scowling, head half turned, obviously about to lash out at the raven head. On his other side, there was a blonde haired kid that looked no older than thirteen, his hands as full of shopping bags as Luffy's right hand.
The woman's robes gave her away as a Celestial Dragon, but the kid's clothes were normal, so they had to ask themselves if the young boy was a slave, or something else.
"That's not Luffy." Zoro was the first to speak, growling, a feral look in his eyes.
Usopp looked at him in concern, but agreed with him on this one. "Yeah, I mean why would he even want to stay there?"
His question was met with more silence.
"What if they did something to him?" Robin's eyes were clouded with the numerous possibilities. "What if they threatened to kill us if he doesn't play by their rules?"
The string of questions would have continued if Chopper wouldn't have exploded in a horrified scream.
"What if they cloned him?!"
The possibility was a little too supernatural for normal people, but for his frantic crewmates was enough.
"You mean they killed him and made a clone of him to trick us?!" Franky exclaimed, his eyes searching the person in the photo in a frenzy.
"No, what if they tortured him for information?" Sanji threw his own thoughts in the mash of craziness.
"Luffy-san..." Brook whispered, his face sad, as sad as it could get without a face.
"Y'all need to calm the hell down." Buggy scowled, arms crossed. He was watching them with a sort of disbelief reserved only for morons. Obviously he had expected the rubbery bastard to be alive. After this, Buggy was sure that the kid was not able to die, even if he wanted to.
"I'm so glad he's fine!" Sabo wiped his eyes, looking at the photo with a happiness only an older brother could feel.
"Why the hell are you so happy, that's not Luffy!" The First Mate snapped at him before his glare settled on Rayleigh, who was still holding the photo for them to see. "What the hell is the meaning of this?"
The older man, who had been watching them silently until now, spoke. "I suggest you don't let yourself get carried away."
His sharp eyes studied the younger pirates in front of him with something akin to sympathy. But that did not stop him from giving them a good lashing for their stupid thoughts.
"This is Luffy no matter how you look at it."
"And where the hell do you have that proof from to back it up?" Sanji furrowed his brows though he looked like he was considering it. At least not every one of them was unwilling to listen to reason.
"This is the photo I managed to take of Luffy-san on our first day here." Vivi recited from the paper she took out of her coat. "His behavior made us question a lot of things, but in the end we arrived at the same conclusion, one that we believe might be the most plausible one."Her voice trembled a little as she read. "We believe Luffy-san might have lost his memory. That would be the only explanation for his openness with the people that are keeping him locked up in that city."
Several sharp intakes of breaths came from all around, as people finally made sense of the madness.
"We are not sure about anything else for now, but we will try to see him again. I will continue to send reports to Dragon-san and keep vigilant on his every move. Signed Koala, Captain Coby and Captain-Lieutenant Helmeppo. Who're those?" Vivi frowned at the unknown names, but the others were fast to speak.
"What are those two doing there?"
The Strawhats' question was doubled by Sabo's own exclamation.
"What the hell is Koala doing there?!"
"With the Marines no less." Robin's face was a mix between worried and amused. She was really impressed by the younger girl's feat.
"Their logic is sound." Rayleigh mumbled, scanning the photo with a critical eye.
"Maybe they took Strawhat especially to extract information from him?" Cavendish was behind him, doing the exact same thing, a serious expression on his face.
"Probably even tortured him first." Shanks repeated Sanji's earlier words. "You think it was a mechanism of defense?"
"Doubt it." Marco sighed, speaking for the first time since he saw the photo. "I mean look at that grin." The pirate elaborated when strange looks were thrown at him.
"Yes, this might be our greatest problem as of now." The former pirate agreed, pointing at it. "But I might know who to ask for an opinion."
"Mhm, that's definitely real." Shakky spoke in the receiver, her tone devoid of any emotion.
Rayleigh had expected that much. "So you think there's no torture involved."
The black haired woman laughed. "Red Hair's theory is surely something else, but I doubt it." There was a small pause on the other line before she spoke again. "Look, that's definitely Strawhat and he's definitely without his memory. If you want to dig deeper than that you'll have to go there and see for yourselves."
"Are you sure there isn't any grander plan or something?" Shanks asked impatiently, leaning over the sitting man.
"Doubt it." Was her clipped reply. "You should not be so impatient Red Head. There might be a simple thing such as a wish for the reason he's like that."
"It's red hair..." The younger man mumbled to himself.
Shakky laughed, implying she heard him. "Besides, my intuition is not an oracle. If you want something like that, I'm sure Rayleigh knows an island."
Both former cabin boys looked at the man in question. Rayleigh's smile was almost rueful. "Stop degrading me in front of the young generation Shakky."
"Then you stop playing around with words and go save him. At the last check you were pirates not detectives."
With that, the line went dead.
"That wasn't really useful." Usopp shook his head.
"It was." Rayleigh disagreed. "We now know that there isn't any grand plan."
"Are you sure we can trust Shakky's intuition, though?" Buggy crossed his arms, clearly not sold with the idea.
Rayleigh gave him a look of pain and grim acceptance. "You have no idea how powerful a woman's intuition is."
The clown sweat dropped. "Yes, I'm sure."
"Then we go and save him right?" Sabo asked, his face a hopeful mask. In the background, Usopp, Chopper and Bartolomeo had the same faces.
"No." The grey haired man's reply served to undermine their mood immediately. "Now that we know what is happening, we are going to wait for Law to find that key. After that, we can begin searching for a way into Mariejois."
Everyone nodded.
"I will relay everything to Rebecca and Law." Vivi announced, turning on her heels for the ship.
"Rebecca too?" Robin's eyes were wide in disbelief.
The blue haired princess grinned. "Of course. We've had an alliance going for a while."
"Eh? Who's that? Say, Vivi..." Nami jogged up to catch her friend.
"Seems like our navigator is already better." Zoro mumbled, crossing his arms, watching Nami walk away with Vivi towards Alabasta's vessel.
"You would be too, if you'd stop with that negative attitude." Robin teased before turning to talk to Sabo.
The swordsman made a face, but was immediately knocked on the head by an enraged cook.
"Listen to Robin-chwan you shitty marimo!"
"What did you just call me, shitty cook?"
Shanks smiled as he watched the conflict unfold.
"Seems like they are back to normal." Marco drawled from besides him. "Should I relay the message to the others?"
"Yeah, let's do that."
"Did you call us, Rayleigh-san?" Cavendish crossed his arms, sky blue eyes watching the man in front of him intently. The star had already figured he should not mess around with this guy, his nickname being the last of the reasons. Impel Down the first.
"Yes, I'm going to send you guys to Sabaody first. You will meet Jinbei and Ivankov there."
"Us?" The blonde turned his head and was surprised to see Mr. 3, Perona and Leo there.
"What for, old man?" The pink haired woman placed a hand on her hip, the other holding her strange umbrella.
Rayleigh smiled. "You are going to be looking around the World Government's Capital for a while."
Nami touched the Sunny's railing and smiled sadly. A nostalgic feeling erupted inside her chest and she had to hold back a few tears. She's really missed their ship, not only from a navigator's position. No, she felt as if she's been finally reunited with an old friend. It might be hard to walk around the ship without expecting to hear Luffy's obnoxious noises or crazy schemes, but she will get used to it. Hopefully not for long.
Usopp and Chopper climbed next, their eyes roaming around the ship. The small reindeer skipped a few steps on the grass, as green and vibrant as he remembered and almost sobbed. He really missed Luffy!
He shook his head furiously, trying to get himself rid of the sudden feeling of emptiness. His eyes locked on the door to the Infirmary and he ended up almost running towards it. He could not wait to see his books and make sure the medicine was all lined up. The small reindeer made a mental note to start researching about amnesia and mental illnesses soon. He will have to be prepared to treat his captain.
Usopp watched his friend go with a small upturn of the lips. Chopper was going to be alright. In contrast, the sniper could not say the same thing about himself. Looking around the deserted and silent ship again, the liar decided to finally let himself drown in his sorrows. And he knew just the right place for moping.
Sanji watched the idiot go towards Luffy's favorite spot on the figurehead and allowed himself a sigh. He was really starting to get bothered by the sad atmosphere. The blonde snorted when his mind helpfully supplied that he wasn't a happy fountain of emotions either. Dropping his cigarette in the water, the cook directed his steps towards his favorite room, the kitchen. He had to start sorting and counting the supplies-if they'd still have any after all this time. A shout behind him made his eyes roll. That stupid cyan head.
Franky grinned, hands on his hips, as he looked around his precious ship. Just like he remembered it. And no visible damage. He had to hand it to that bastard Iceburg- he'd done a good job. The cyborg will have to give him a call. Franky did not like to owe the man, but the shipwright will agree that the mayor had been a very much needed help in this whole mess. He had failed, but no more! The cyborg will make sure to keep the Sunny in top condition and more.
"From now on the ship will be always in super condition!" Franky shouted, doing his signature pose.
Brook strummed his long lost guitar, feeling full of positive energy. Meeting Sunny again lifted the skeleton's spirits up and the Devil Fruit user wanted nothing more than to transmit these positive vibes to his saddened friends. Especially to their grumpy First Mate, his mind supplied. The man was becoming especially irritating, though the older pirate knew that was just Zoro's way of dealing with this situation. In contrast to the negative thinking the swordsman seemed to be dead set on following, Brook was very sure that they will manage to save Luffy and everything will go back to normal before long. Having died once, the musician felt like he had a few more experiences under his belt, which made him even more fired up about cheering his friends up. No one should be sad when there was hope left. That was why Brook was there in the first place.
Robin touched a wilted petal and exhaled. She would have to see what she can save from her flowers before getting to cleaning up the remains and replanting everything. The hope that arrived with the Sunny was enough to keep her emotions at bay and now, the archaeologist wanted nothing more than get to the next step in Rayleigh's plan. Saving Luffy was the most important thing for the raven head right now. After that, they could deal with all the aftermath. Robin's eyes narrowed when the image Koala had taken floated again inside her mind. Even if Luffy was not in his right mind, so to speak, at that moment, there was certainly the mystery of the red haired girl and the little boy. She was not concerned, because wherever he went, Luffy could take care of himself-more or less. But the problem that had taken form inside Robin's mind was about the changes their captain might have undergone when in Mariejois. Numerous possibilities came and went but nothing solid.
"We'll just have to see when you come back then, Luffy."
Zoro looked up as he heard someone speak but his lone eye only spotted a turned back. Shaking his head, the swordsman crossed his arms. Though the scowl on his face did not move, his gaze softened a little. Damn, he really had missed the Sunny. The swordsman saw his favorite napping spot and hesitantly started towards it. He was experiencing a really strange feeling, like his mind expected something to happen, but his eyes did not see anything besides the deserted deck. The grass swished in the sea's breeze and Zoro finally allowed himself to breathe again. He was still bitter, but he couldn't stay mad on this ship. Sunny was a friend, and friends did not stay mad at each other for long.
"Oi, stupid marimo." Sanji's voice made his eye twitch.
Just his luck.
"What." He bit, turning his head to look at the cook's uncertain face. A green eyebrow rose up in surprise. That was something new.
"I've found it."
Zoro's feet unwillingly started to move towards the galley, mind reeling. Ignoring his wildly beating heart, the First Mate entered after the cook, his eye settling on the kitchen table.
A lone, beaten up straw hat stood on the table, its red strip as strident as always. Zoro stared at the hat and he felt the hat stared right back at him.
He heard Sanji light up his cigarette. The smoke clouded his vision for a second and the green haired man was glad for that. He did not know if he could continue to look at that hat without busting down Rayleigh's orders and making a swimming record to Mariejois.
"Nami-swan~!" The cook exclaimed and the navigator gasped in surprise.
The swordsman felt her get closer, a thin hand coming in his view. Nami's fingers were just shy of touching the worn material, when Zoro's own, larger hand caught hers.
"This stays here." He spoke, eye never leaving the hat. "Until he comes to take it back."
None of them had any reason to object.
Yasopp finished his knot and exhaled in relief. Finally, he could relax and his captain could not do anything to stop him. Smirking devilishly, he was about to go bother Ben or the red haired man himself when his sharp ears caught footsteps closing in.
He searched but there weren't any of his crewmates around. The sniper would have pinned this on his overreacting imagination if the steps wouldn't have transformed into a thump. Sharp eyes looked up to see a man sporting a dark yellow hat make himself more comfortable on the lion figurehead.
Yasopp's face contorted into a grin when he realized that he was looking at his son and allowed himself a few moments to study him, since Usopp hadn't noticed him yet. The kid had surely grown up, the pirate couldn't believe that he was that same small boy he left behind in Syrup Village. He has obviously heard many stories about the Strawhats' feats, but now he was curious to hear Usopp's.
Grin never leaving his face, the man climbed to sit on the railing close to his own ship's dragon figurehead. The distance was pretty small, so they could speak without shouting.
The motion was heard by the other sniper and his head immediately snapped up. Usopp's heart skipped a beat and his eyes widened when he saw his dad standing casually on the railing, a grin stretching his face.
"Hey there sonny."
The younger cringed at the greeting. Even after all this time, the man remained unchanged.
"Hey, uhm, dad." Good job Usopp, after more than ten years.
"What's with the sad face?"
Yasopp's eyes narrowed when his son's face fell even more.
"Don't tell me you're still moping around because of Luffy. You saw it, the kid's fine."
Usopp chuckled. "Right on point." His eyes shifted to gaze at the open expanse before them, taking in the nature of Rusukaina. It served to somehow calm him.
"It's more of the still-angry-at-myself part. But that's in the past, I guess."
"Oh?" The older man raised an eyebrow. "And why's that?" He could not help his curiosity.
"I refused to follow his orders."
The statement was whispered, but the older man heard it anyway. "What happened, Usopp?"
The Strawhats' sniper looked up at him in surprise when he heard his name spoken. His jaw was tense when he began speaking.
"Luffy asked me to destroy one of AkaInu's ships when we were battling the Marines, but I couldn't." Usopp confessed.
"Well, it might have been pretty hard, considering the size of it." Yasopp scratched his chin, considering the option. Maybe he'd try it when they'll meet him in the future.
The older pirate was surprised when Usopp shook his head.
"No, that wasn't the problem. The wind was altered because of the continuous swishing of cannonballs, so it would have been a gamble to launch the ammunition at the low altitude Luffy wanted. I could probably do it, but the impact would have caused the tremors in the water to hit Sunny hard and there was an active underwater volcano we bypassed right before we were ambushed, so if any lava from AkaInu would have gotten in there or the explosion would have been too big, it would have erupted."
Yasopp's jaw hung partly open in shock and a proud smile was threatening to burst out again. He crossed his arms, really curious about his son's newly acquired skills.
"How do you know there was a volcano?"
Usopp looked up, scratching his head. "Nami told us. She said the currents were strange in that area. And I saw the volcano's cone. It was really close to the surface."
The Red Hair's sniper made a sound of understanding, prompting a comfortable silence to settle between the two. Usopp continued to look between his father, the ship he was travelling on and the island's cliffs, still filled with a few people.
"You should stop beating yourself up for that." Yasopp's voice snapped him away from his musings.
Usopp looked up, prompting him to elaborate.
"The sniper's job is to destroy those guys from a long distance. Your captain gave you an order, but it's up to you to decide whether it's safe to act or not. He'll have to understand it."
The black haired teen still looked uncertain, but nodded anyway.
Yasopp sighed. What was he going to do with his unconfident son?
"Besides, Anchor's not the kind of guy to not understand that. So stop moping, your swordsman is a handful already."
His son mirrored his grin. A bit of light returned to his dark eyes and the older man patted himself on the back for a job well done in cheering up his son. That was the least he could do, after all these years.
"Yeah, he's starting to become irritating already." Usopp laughed.
NORTH BLUE-5 days later
"Strawhat is alive."
I knew it.
Law had known it for a long time actually. But he had let such matter slip, in favor of concentrating on other important things, like Impel Down and dealing with idiots.
The news that the alabastian princess relayed had not impacted him in any way. So he continued on.
Dark eyes watched the snow covered island come steadily closer as the submarine advanced through the cold waters. Just a little bit more and he'd be placing foot on a soil lost in his darkest memories. A saying taught that people had to confront their demons, but Law had asked himself a long time ago what could someone do when there was an army of those demons. But then, an obnoxious pirate appeared and he learned that those armies can be defeated with outside help. Funny, he hadn't thought of that.
"So this is Spider Miles." Sai shivered, as he looked at the wreckage around them.
Law took in the deserted landfill covered with snow and grime and his steps doubled. He truly did not want to stay here anymore than they had to.
A cloud of sand landed next to him.
"There's a village to the far north. But they're not gonna interrupt us." Crocodile exhaled smoke, following the others.
"This place looks like hell even with all the snow." Smoker shook his head. "I don't wanna know how it's like in the summer."
"You wouldn't, trust me." The pirate's voice was laced with venom. Even with all his mental barriers, the memories were still coming back. "Baby 5 where is it?"
The raven haired woman jogged to the entrance of the former Donquixote hideout and went straight to the left towards the former rooms of the crewmembers.
Law studied the deserted place and remained by the door while the others continued to explore. He's had enough of looking around.
A few minutes later, after a couple of thumps and things falling on the ground-possibly breaking by the awful sound-Baby 5 came back downstairs.
Her eyes were red rimmed, but Law didn't comment on it. She held out her hand and the doctor accepted the object handed to him. It was a simple golden key with an inscription spelling Holy City of Mariejois on it. On one end was an intricate design meant to make it hard to be replicated while on the other end was a transparent gem in the form of a diamond.
Fancy ass key.
"Alright, let's go-"
A sudden explosion cut him off. Everyone was immediately on guard, all looking at one another and then around the warehouse.
"You there!" A man's voice cut through the tension.
Law turned around to gaze at the mountain of garbage that should have been deserted. Unfortunately, it wasn't anymore. People, mostly men, were slowly but surely rising up from every mound of scrap available, like an army cornering its prey. And they fell for it.
"What the fuck Crocodile." The surgeon's eyebrows twitched dangerously as he watched all the people gathered in front of them. They might be able to make it back to the ships without much problems, considering there weren't any more surprises around the island-like Devil Fruit users.
The former Shichibukai looked mildly impressed, but snorted all the same. "Ups, I guess."
"You don't even sound half sorry, you sandy bastard." Smoker lighted another cigar, his other hand lifting to grasp at the weapon on his back.
Crocodile shrugged, making no effort to defend himself.
"What the hell man, my blind grandma could have done a better job." Sai growled, reaching for his weapon as well.
"Then you should have brought her here." Crocodile lifted his hand, golden hook glinting in the weak sun.
"Not to destroy your party," Kyros began, locking eyes with Law, "but the Marines are here with a few ships."
The surgeon did not even tire himself out in asking exactly what he meant by a few. Instead, he unsheathed his sword, preparing for the battle ahead.
"We meet back at the ships. Try not to get your asses handed to you."
MARIEJOIS
"Ouch."
The sound was followed by a hard thump on the floor. The young man on the ground slumped, a pout on his face.
"That was horrible, but you at least know the basics." A graying old man spoke, his arms folded. He was clothed in a traditional Keikogi uniform and was glaring at the raven haired teen currently plastered on his dojo's floor.
"I can say that I'm surprised." Ivy snorted, her eyes clearly amused.
"Yeah, well you do better!" Lucy exclaimed, still not lifting himself up from his position.
"Already did." The red head replied smugly making her friend lift an eyebrow up.
He knew the girl could fight but-
"Indeed, Ivy was my very last student. I've poured all my teachings into her and she can kick your average ass anytime boy." The man announced.
A vein pulsed on Lucy's temple, his words striking a chord deep inside him.
"This sound like a challenge, old man?" The teen lifted himself from the ground slowly, his longer bangs partially shadowing his eyes. He suddenly grinned and looked up, eyes burning up. "Then I'm gonna make damn sure I beat her! And you too!" He declared, hands closing into fists.
"Then come." The old man challenged, his own hands lifting up in an attack position.
Lucy took a step back before running forward, right arm drawn back. When he was a few steps from the man he shouted, arm straightening in the other direction.
"Gomu gomu no pistol!"
His fist met the old man's outstretched palm, the force of his own attack throwing him back on the floor.
With a frustrated cry, Lucy lifted himself back up and shouted again.
"Gomu gomu no bazooka!"
In that moment, the raven head could have sworn his hands tingled, but he couldn't dwell too much on it as he attacked again, but was met with the same fate.
"Maybe you should drop the 'gomu gomu no'?" Ivy asked, hand on her cheek, looking mockingly disappointed.
Lucy scowled. "I don't wanna."
"Where did you even get that way of naming your attacks from?" The martial artist shook his head, clearly done with the fight.
The raven head opened his mouth to protest, intending to explain that he really had no clue, but paused. Because the old man had already turned around and was walking to the exit!
"Woah, woah, wait!"
A bushy grey eyebrow was raised in permission to continue speaking.
"I wanna come here again. Teach me how to fight again old man!" Black eyes burned in determination, making the man sigh.
"I am not teaching anymore. But I suppose a few sparring matches will do me good."
Grinning at the positive answer, Lucy jumped up, not even tired from the numerous fights.
"Yosh! Let's go back Ivy!" With that he took off, clearly forgetting about his companion.
The red head shook her head, staring amusedly at the dust trail he was leaving in his wake. He had been really energetic ever since they came back from their cruise. A sudden shadow passed over her features when the conversation from that fateful day in Goa returned in her mind. Lucy's headaches have been a constant ever since then, but he'd surprised her when he had easily learned to deal with them.
"You look troubled." Kinjo stated, making his way back to the fighting ring with a tray of tea in his hands. He offered her a cup and a seat and she took it gratefully.
"Mind sharing?" The blunt question was so like her teacher that she found herself bursting out in laughter.
"Sorry." She breathed, taking a sip from the warm liquid.
"Is that him?"
Ivy nodded, her white gaze staring at the small reflection in the cup.
"You risked a lot, including both your lives when you brought him here." The old man commented, absently gazing at the empty tray.
"I obviously know that." The young woman snorted.
Silence settled between the two, something that made Ivy restless. Usually, her teacher would be busy filling it with words, insults and life lessons, all addressed to her. Lifting her head up, eyes widened when her white gaze locked with his dark one.
"You changed." The simple sentence felt like a cold wave had hit her.
"Wha-"
"I'm not going to berate you any longer for what you've done. There is one question I have left. Have you learned what you wanted from him?"
Ivy's eyes narrowed, mouth pressed in a tight line. "Almost." The whisper sounded like it came from someone else.
Kinjo nodded, speaking again. "Well you have to hurry. I fear there is no more time left."
She opened her mouth to ask more, but her teacher was already half way to the door. "Finish that delicious tea and leave. You can't let him out of your sight."
The Noble's stomach dropped.
"Whoo, food!" Lucy's hands were in the air as he entered the mansion, going straight for the kitchen. Over the months he had stayed here, the raven head's favorite routes were always the kitchen and the garden. More than once per day he'd scare the staff working there, not to mention the fridge was mostly empty in the mornings after his nightly snacks. It seemed everyone around him, including Ivy, remarked that his appetite was steadily growing with each passing day. As well as his headaches, but he tried to deal with them and not create anymore trouble for his red haired friend.
The black haired teen wondered what Kiiro was doing. He hadn't seen him ever since they came back, but he didn't have time to dwell on it any longer. He felt his body collide with someone else's and he only had time to turn his head a little before the impact sent them both backwards.
Rubbing his forehead, Lucy apologized, his face sheepish.
"Sorry, I wasn't looking."
"Yes, I could see that."
The black haired teen froze, every muscle in his body tensing at the sound of the bored tone the man above him spoke in. Looking up, black eyes locked with black and the young man resisted the urge to get away. Ivy's father was looking at him with void eyes, holes that he felt burned right through him, peeling him of everything.
A stiff silence embraced the two, neither speaking. Lucy tried hard to concentrate on looking somewhere else when those black holes were studying him so closely.
"How are you feeling, Lucy-kun?"
The man's question surprised him, but he answered quickly, almost stumbling on his own words.
"Fine, just a little hungry!" His voice got high pitched at the end, making him inwardly cringe. The noble did not seem to mind it though. "Uhm... thanks for asking." He finished lamely, inwardly berating himself and the stupid pounding in his head that just got even more unbearable.
"You don't look so concentrated to me. Does your head hurt?" The older man spoke in a monotone, clearly asking just to be polite.
Or another hidden reason. Lucy's mind supplied. The boy resisted the urge to grit his teeth, forcing a carefully blank expression on.
"Not really. I'm just fine."
The noble didn't look like he was buying it, but he nodded his head anyway and walked away. Lucy almost sighed in relief when he heard him speak again, still moving away.
"Forgetting is like a wound, Lucy-kun."
His cryptic words left Lucy's head pulsing continuously. He waited a few more moments in silence for the man to leave completely. When the front door thudded closed, he stood up, swaying and made his way towards his room, snacks forsaken.
Thankfully, he arrived just in time for the pain to become like a needle being stuck in his brain, making everything around him rotate and blur. The last thing he heard before he was consumed by darkness was his own, mad scream.
"So remember this, Luffy. No matter what, the two of us have to live our lives with no regrets!"
"Were going... to be pirates!"
"Listen Luffy... I have only one regret... That I couldn't see you achieve your dream... Thank you... For loving me!"
Black eyes snapped open, gazing at the ceiling above his head. Lucy looked to his right instinctively and was surprised to see Kiiro dozing off on the chair beside his bed. Usually it would be Ivy, making a fuss. Placing a hand on his head, he swore that he had to remember something, but the events from before he blacked out were washed up at best so he let it go. It was bringing back the headache if he tried to think about it hard.
"You dreamed again Lucy?" The blond haired boy was up and running in less than a second.
The black haired teen grinned. "Yep, I think so!"
Blue eyes looked up at him curiously. "What did you dream about? You never told me about your dreams."
Lucy scratched his temple, clearly not feeling able to tell him anything.
Because he didn't have any clue what those dreams were about.
Sometimes there were images, sometimes only darkness but whatever it was, voices were always speaking in his head, randomly and making no sense to him. At least, that's how his dream self felt. When he woke up he never remembered anything, rather, only after images like colorful ghosts or sounds that rung in his ears were his only proof that he was not going mad. At least not yet.
"Sorry, I never really remember them."
Kiiro blinked. "Eh, really?" His mouth was agape, clearly concerned for his friend. "Hana said that if you don't remember what you dream about is because you don't pay enough attention to what happens in that dream."
Even in his half asleep state, Lucy could find some flaws in the boy's words, but he decided to not address them.
"Where's Ivy?" He decided to change the subject.
"She said she wasn't feeling so good so she went to bed. I was just about to leave for the night too, before I dozed off."
Casting a look to the window, Lucy realized it was really dark outside. His surprise did not last long as he nodded and stood up from the bed.
"All right, as thanks for watching over me I'm gonna get you home!" The raven head declared, smiling at the beaming boy.
"Really? Thanks!"
The city at night wasn't as shiny as it was during the day, Lucy quickly concluded. One look at the massive clock on one of the buildings in the plaza and the young man realized it was pretty late.
Like two in the fucking morning.
He almost scolded Kiiro for staying with him for so long but didn't, because he was really touched and grateful.
The boy's house was no longer illuminated, something that made a question he had asked himself since he first met the boy pop up in Lucy's head.
"Say," he began, making Kiiro look up at him, "aren't your parents worried that you stay up this late with strangers?"
The boy thought the question over before he answered. "Not really. And they are not my parents. I've never met them."
A black eyebrow shot up in surprise. "Then what are they?"
"My masters." Kiiro answered it like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Lucy's jaw was almost on the ground. "Please tell me you're not a slave." It was more of a demand.
The blonde giggled. "Not really. I don't wear shackles. But I'm not a Noble either. There are not many people like me, but they call us Commons. 'Cause we dress normal and are not really bound by our masters until they order us to do something." The boy explained, waving his arms for effect.
Lucy's hand was on his chin, his face thoughtful.
"I actually thought..." Kiiro hesitated, making Lucy curious about what he wanted to say.
"I thought that you were the same." Blue eyes gazed up at him with overflowing curiosity and anxiousness. "I'm not really sure now." He confessed quietly.
Lucy let his head drop backwards, eyes looking at the stars above, shining just as quiet and patient in the dark sky and resisted the urge to sigh.
"Freedom is all I want."
"Me neither."
The trek back home was silent without his blonde haired friend, but now Lucy finally got some time to think. Something he wasn't so good at, nor was he really enjoying such occasions, but this was a serious enough situation to make an exception.
"One day, I'll have a ship and a crew better than yours! And we'll have the biggest hoard of treasure in the world!"
Ignoring his pulsing head, no doubt about to have another one of those blasted dreams, the young man made a left on a side street, opting for a detour instead. Black eyes gazed absently around as Lucy tried to make sense of whatever was happening to him. His biggest problem was that he didn't have any way of knowing if something like that has been happening for a long time or just recently, more precisely since three months ago. The absence of his memories was worrying him more and more as the days passed by, and he was starting to feel like the world around him might be nothing but an illusion-a well thought one.
He wouldn't ask Ivy though, and he sure as hell won't tell her this. He knew, for a fact, that she was not acting. Neither she nor Kiiro for that matter. Lucy didn't know how he was so sure, but he just felt like they were being honest to him. The red head carried a darker aura than her usual attitude might care to divulge, but he did not care about that. He was sure that when she'll feel comfortable in talking about it, she will. Until then, it was not Lucy's business.
"Can you really do this..?"
What the raven head did not plan to tell his friends, though, were the voices inside his head. He might have told Ivy that he started dreaming when he was awake too, but that wasn't the whole truth. And contrary to what he said that he didn't remember them, he actually did.
He heard them when they spoke.
On any other occasion it would have creeped the hell out of him. It still did. Not to mention most of the time they were speaking gibberish and his head started to hurt. That's why he didn't like to think about it.
A sudden flash and footsteps down the street in the dead silence of the night snapped him from his thoughts and he looked up just in time to see a shadow pass the building, running down the street. A nagging feeling told Luffy there were three people actually.
His curiosity awakened, the raven head made to follow the group, trying to tail them as quietly as he could. After some ten minutes of continuous running and stalking-on Lucy's part- the group stopped in the shadow of another big house, huddling close.
A quick look down the street and Lucy realized it was his street and the building on the other side of the street was Ivy's house.
What the hell were those guys doing?
Their suspicious looks directed to the house in question didn't do anything to ease the teen's doubts at all. Hoping to avoid any conflict that might wake up the whole neighborhood, the black haired teen stepped away from his hiding spot, only for three pairs of eyes to be fixed on him.
Ah, they knew.
The one standing in the middle stepped forward, making Lucy drop in an attack stance. Surprisingly, the man lifted his hands up, showing no signs of conflict. Now that he looked at him better, the guy looked to be having pink hair.
How.
"Uhm, do you have a minute?" Pink hair asked uncertainly. His hands were still raised and his eyes were looking anywhere but at him.
Raising an eyebrow, he nodded hesitantly. Somehow, these people were searching for him. As long as they didn't make a ruckus, he supposed he will indulge them.
The pink haired guy's face broke in a wide smile, which took Lucy aback a little. He made to follow him, keeping his two companions at a careful distance behind, a cautious look at the corner of his eyes.
They returned to a side alley and stopped near a bunch of crates, an awkward silence descending above them as the three looked at him with scrutinizing gazes, assessing him with almost predator eyes. On his part, Lucy brushed their looks away as he did his own research, taking in the new faces around him. Something tugged at his memory, but the raven head shook his head, not in the mood for another round of pain.
The guy next to pink hair had long, blonde hair and a scowl on his face. His arms were crossed and his eyes shadowed behind dark visors. Next to him was a woman, a little shorter than the two. Her hair was also blond, a cap on her head. They were all dressed in white uniforms with long, white jackets on their shoulders.
"Who're you?" The blunt question escaped his mouth before he could dwell on it.
The three almost jumped, something Lucy found amusing and strange. He had thought that they were some kind of soldiers, but they looked kind of distracted right now.
Pink head cleared his throat, clearly uncomfortable to speak.
"We are from the Marine station."
His answer made the raven head even more suspicious. Eyes narrowing on their shadowed forms, he asked.
"Then what were you doing stalking houses like that in the middle of the night?" He crossed his arms for effect.
"Sorry!" Pink head almost screamed. "My name is Coby. These are Helmeppo and Koala. We were looking for you."
A jolt of pain burst in his brain at the confession and Lucy only managed to ask out loud, hand on his temple.
"Why?"
Coby looked ready to run out of there, but he pressed on.
"Because we wanted to speak with you and ask you a few questions."
His words were only a buzz in Luffy's ears at the moment. The raven head took a moment to sit down, exhaling in relief when the irritating feeling subsided a little.
"Luffy-san-"
"Who's that?" Black eyes looked up, eyebrows furrowed. A small spark of anger burst in Lucy's chest and though the feeling felt inexplicable to him at the moment, he could not help but fall into it.
The three looked shocked for a moment, before Coby snapped out of it, trying his best shot at a polite smile.
"Sorry, uhm, we would like to know if you remember anything about your arrival here?"
"Are you some kind of cops or something?" Lucy looked at them with suspicion, obviously not about to answer anything some random stalkers would ask him.
"Kind of. We just want to know how you've been feeling these past months." The blonde woman spoke softly, hands on her knees. Her face was honest, but the raven head could not bring himself to return their honesty.
"Just fine."
"Have you ever been to Sabaody Archipelago?" Helmeppo asked, his face carefully blank.
Though the question felt random to the young man, his anger doubled.
"No." Lucy growled, surprising all of them, including himself. Shaking his head, the teen stood up, ready to return home and forget about this.
"I've gotta go. It was nice... meeting you, I guess."
"Wa-wait a second Luffy-sa-"
"I told you!" Lucy's head turned around so fast, his neck cracked audibly.
The trio stopped in their tracks, eyes wide-particularly the pink haired guy's.
"I don't know who this guy is and I'm not him!"
Coby watched his amnesiac friend turn away and leave after his furious declaration. He was angry, but the Captain could not figure out why. Maybe because he said that name, though in his opinion, Luffy should have had some other reaction besides that random anger.
"He's behaving nothing like him." Helmeppo spat, crossing his arms.
"Maybe because we are suspicious people in the middle of the night, looking for him and asking him strange questions!" Koala whispered back furiously, her glare not helping Coby in the least. Though he understood her feelings.
Their approach hasn't been the best thought out plan they could have concocted, but they were starting to become desperate. Coby smiled as he watched his friend's back disappear inside the darkness. His behavior might have been unusual, but his eyes were a constant that the pink haired man had counted on and he was happy to know it still remained.
Luffy might have lost his memories, but he was still there. Their friend was alive and kicking. He just needed to be snapped out of his amnesiac stupor. And the Marines-along with their revolutionary side-kick, were planning to do just that.
But first, they had a report to Rayleigh to make.
Ivy breathed deeply, trying to settle her rapidly beating heart.
I've made it.
Swiftly closing the window to her room, she stripped her black costume, throwing it directly in the trash, before going to the bathroom to wash the blood no doubt splattered on her face and neck.
Killing those two bastards had been much more tiring and disgusting than it was really worth. Not to mention she caught them in the middle of one of their experiments. Unfortunately, the man on the metal table had been dead by the time she finished with those two.
The red head's thoughts took a sudden turn, settling on one of the more uncomfortable conclusions she had came to. Namely, that Lucy had to undergo this kind of experiment at least three times a week and she had known.
And it hadn't bothered her.
Until a month ago. Since then, she had tried to keep Lucy away as much as he could from them, making up random excuses to her father. The man looked like he bought them, but Ivy was sure that wasn't the case. Her father was more cunning than anyone in the city combined. That was why he was the only person the Five Stars kept up the communication with, demanding reports and cover ups for any of their lesser doings.
Kinjo was right, Lucy had changed her, but not as much as he'd think. The red head liked to consider herself independent from this city and the nobles. And whatever her reasons, they will be not influenced by anyone, just like in Lucy's case.
She had learned a long time ago that it was enough to say it for something to go your way. If these people had half the mind, she would have been discovered long ago, but in essence, for someone to do whatever they wanted without problems, you just had to be a good actor.
And Ivy was sure she had them all fooled, except probably the most dangerous of all of them. Her father would find out sooner or later. And if those two had sent their report before she killed them, then the older man was already on Lucy.
Time was running out.
A/N: Hi :D
I'm posting this in hope I can get to beta the other remaining chapters until tomorrow(prayer circle). Then it will be how much wi-fi can you steal and post a chapter (no joke, I'll have to resort to drastic measures xD)
I hope no one gets confused with all the time skips... I know I did ._. (still am, but don't worry, the plot is moving! owo)
Past me had written in the original doc that I should make it plausible...I tried my best past me sniff
So yeah, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please leave me your thoughts!
Also, if you spot any grammar and spelling mistakes pls tell me o3o
Reviews and Feedback are loved! :D