And it begins…
Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece.
They were almost there. It had taken so long, they had travelled so far. Made so many friends along the way. They'd fought, laughed, cried, and nearly died together. Yet, through it all-here they were, each of them, just moments away from breaking the surface to the second half of the grand line. They had made it. It had been a long time since Luffy had been this happy. It was almost unimaginable to think they were only half way there. A memory hit him, his last moments with his Nakama back on Sabody Archipelago. He had failed them; let them be blown away by Kuma. He remembered his anger- his loathing for the man. Looking back, he couldn't help but grin. He saw it now- Kuma had saved them. There was no denying it. Still, he couldn't help but regret all the lost time. Sure, he was stronger- he knew they were, too. But two years worth of laughter and struggles had been missed out on. He knew they felt it, too. Regret for losing each other that day, pride for what they had accomplished since then, and anticipation for what had yet to come.
Fishman Island had been fun, but it was just a warm-up. Despite the crew of Van Der Decken and the New Fishmen Pirates that they fought, it hadn't been an all-out desperate clash like Luffy was used to. Glancing at a non-wounded Zoro was all the confirmation he needed. His crew was obviously stronger now; he simply wondered how strong they had gotten. They were more than enough for the Fishmen Pirates- that much was true. The thought of a full out battle thrilled him.
They'd finally met Big Mam, one of the Four Legendary Yonkos. It was a shaky encounter; Big Mam believed that Luffy's crew really did plan to destroy Fishman Island, along with her candy factories. Luckily, Nami had kept up with the Vivrecard given to them by Lola on Thriller Bark all those years ago. The situation eased up with that, and soon Van Der Decken and the New Fishmen Pirates announced, with explosive results, their plan to topple the government and overthrow Neptune. With the assistance of the Straw Hat pirates, the rebellion was quickly crushed. The Straw hats were heralded as heroes, and a celebration was promptly ordered. Due to Luffy's impatience, however, they stocked their ship and headed out in the middle of the night. Despite their secrecy, hundreds of fish and mer-folk -along with King Neptune, the princess, and the princes- were there to wave them goodbye. It wasn't until the strawhats departed that the prince exclaimed "Ah! We forgot to give them the letter from Jimbei!" *
The princess snatched it from her brother's hand, and crouched to leap into the water. Her father's large hand blocked her path, and with a glint in his eye said "You won't make it, their almost to the rising current." As if on cue, the Thousand Sunny entered a huge, vertical current. Upon entering the current, Sunny seemed to explode upward- the current rocketing them through the ocean. The crowd gave a final cheer at seeing their safe departure, and started to disperse.
"Whatever it is, I'm sure they'll be fine without it." Neptune said with a smile, and turned to leave.
The Princess gaped at him for a split second, but then smiled and gave a sharp nod.
Usopp's voice snapped Luffy from his thoughts.
"O-oi, Nami! What is this thing!" he stammered as he clung to the mast. He really hadn't expected this. The Thousand Sunny shook violently for a few seconds as the current propelled them through the water at a break-neck speed.
Luffy laughed as he looked up into the darkness, his head leaned back at an unnatural angle.
"We're going fast!"
"It's a rising current!" Nami yelled as she crouched on the lawn of the Sunny. "It'll take us straight up to the surface on the other side of the Red Line, kinda like how that descending current brought us to Fishman Island!"
"We didn't understand it then, ain't gonna understand it now" Zoro said, as he stretched his arms over his head and let loose a yawn. He took off his katana and leaned against the mast, settling in for the trip. Nami rolled her eyes, but kept quiet. They continued to rise for several minutes in silence, each enjoying the experience and the quiet company. Other than the occasional exclamation at an abnormal fish or spectacular sight, they sat in quiet.
"Hey," Zoro stated calmly, breaking the silence. "Look at the bubble."
The crew looked up at the bubble coating surrounding the ship in confusion. Before anyone could question what he meant, they noticed slight movement of the sphere.
Realization struck Nami. "It's the differences in pressure," she explained "as the water pressure on our bubble decreases, it's able to expand. Simple physics."
"Ah," Luffy said, as he placed a fist in his open palm "so it's a mystery bu-" He was abruptly cut off by Nami's foot in his mouth.
She lowered her foot, and inhaled deeply, although an annoyed look stayed on her face. "Well, we're rising faster than we sank, but it should still take some time before we reach the surface. It'd be best if everyone just relaxed."
"Of course, Nami~swannnnn!" chorused from somewhere in the ship.
Brook laughed to himself. Some things would never change. As long as the cook retained a healthy blood pressure, all was well.
Said cook burst out of the kitchen moments later, swinging a platter of drinks in his hands, his lower torso doing the infamous noodle-dance. He swiftly served both Robin and Nami, who each took a colored drink with freshly sliced fruit garnishing it. He then sat the platter on a nearby table, so the men could grab a drink for themselves. The rest of the crew flocked to the beverages, each grabbing a mug of ale, with the exception of Franky, who took a pitcher of Cola. **
Luffy raised his glass above his head, and yelled "On to the next adventure!" which was abruptly met with shouts of "Cheers!" and a "Superr!"
The crew all gathered on the lawn of Sunny. Luffy, Usopp and Chopper all leaned against the railing, occasionally glancing over the side of the ship to look at their surroundings. Zoro sat against the mast, his swords in his lap. Robin and Nami both sat in lawn chairs, sipping their fruity drinks with Sanji swooning over them. Brook stood next to Franky, his lanky form in stark contrast to Franky's large metal one. The crew chatted about random things- what had happened to them on the island, their experiences over the last two years, and what they were to do next. They soon came across the subject of Sanji's mishap among the mermaids.
Zoro howled with laughter "I've always known you were a pansy-ass, but nearly dying from a nose bleed? That's gotta be a new low!" He wiped a tear from his eye before swiftly blocking a kick to the head.
"Shut it, marimo!" Sanji growled, his right leg still in a lock with Zoro's forearm. "You couldn't understand the hell I've been through! I just got excited over those beautiful, curvy, well-endowed" He paused, squeezing the bridge of his nose with a look of concentration upon his brow. "Just be quiet, shitty-swordsman." He walked off slowly, and swayed about as if he were lightheaded.
Zoro decided not to pester him further, instead opting for a swig of his drink.
Luffy laughed at his crewmates antics.
Brook left Franky's hulking form and walked towards Nami. She saw him approaching, and lowered her cocktail from her lips.
"Hello, Nami-san. I was wondering-" Nami cut him off, a vein already visible on her forehead.
"Brook, if you ask to see my panties, I'll break every bone in your body." She said swiftly, without a trace of humor. From her side, Robin quietly laughed.
Knowing not to push his luck, Brook quickly thought of a question.
"Yohohoho, a true gentleman would never ask such a thing, Nami-san. I was just curious as to how much longer until we reach the surface." He gripped his cane nervously; sweat beginning to form on his skin 'Even though I have no skin, Yohoho'
"Oh" She replied, not entirely convinced. She took a quick sip of her drink, and smiled at the citrus explosion in her mouth. She could barely taste the alcohol, but knew it to be in there; her last experience with them taught her a lesson- one she could barely remember. She sat in silence for a few seconds longer, looking outside their bubble imprisonment. "Well, it's definitely getting brighter. It can't be much longer now, Brook."
Brook, a little surprised to have escaped Nami's deadly wrath, was all to please to hear the news. He thanked her, gave a quick tilt of his hat to both her and Robin, and walked off.
Usopp, Chopper, and Luffy sat on the railing of the Sunny, peering into the ocean. It was bright enough to see now, and they were playing a game to see who could find the coolest fish.
"Awesome! Look at that one; it has a head on both ends!" Chopper exclaimed, pointing to his find.
Usopp's jaw dropped in disbelief, but he recomposed himself quickly.
"That has nothing on the 400 foot sea-dragon I saw earlier!"
"Really? Why didn't you tell me when you saw it?"
"Simple! I jumped into the ocean to fight with it! Our battle lasted 30 years, neither side willing to give in, until I finally got the upper hand by-"
"Usopp." Zoro's deep voice resounded over Usopp's own.
"Yeah, Zoro?"
"You're like 19 now. Grow up. Or at least tell better stories."
"I'll show you grown up!" Usopp yelled, while signaling Chopper and Luffy to give him a hand. The three dog-piled Zoro, with Chopper grabbing his legs while Luffy and Usopp both took an arm. They had him pinned to the ground on his back. Before they could let out a cry of victory, Zoro let out a growl and clapped his hands in front of him, causing Usopp and Luffy to headbutt in mid-air. They fell down in a heap, and the dog-pile started over.
"Ow-ow-ow-ow! Luffy! You're biting ME!" Usopp shrieked.
Despite the commotion around her, Nami noticed their sudden decrease in lift. "Guys!" she yelled. For the most part, they all froze mid tussle. Chopper released his hold on Zoro's legs. Luffy looked up at Nami, Usopp's arm still in his mouth. Usopp paid her no mind; both of his feet were planted on Luffy's face as he tried to free his arm. With his arm and legs on Luffy's face, his rear-end was sitting atop Zoro's head.
"Usopp, you have three seconds to get your ass out of my face before-"
"Guys!" Name repeated, this time with enough malice for them all to unroll and look at her.
Satisfied they were paying enough attention, she continued.
"We've exited the Up-draft stream, from here on we'll just be floating to the top- there won't be a current to help us. But this also means we're only a few minutes from the surface!"
Luffy blinked twice, the information processing in his head. Realization dawned on him, and he sprung into the air with a cheer.
They were almost there.
*This was written before we found out what the note said, I just haven't bothered to publish it. I know I could've taken it down, but I liked how it sounded- So I kept it.
** I'm guessing Franky is still Cola-powered. I still can't get over his form.. I'm not sure I like it, but Oda's the man- He'll make it work.
So, there's the first chapter. I didn't like writing this part, the transition from cannon to my story-line was a pain. There's just way to many assumptions to be made, and there is no telling how the Fishman Island arc is really gonna end.. but this is my shot at it. I tried to give everyone something to do or say, but there really wasn't much going on here.
So, if you like it, say so. If you don't, say so. If you know proper grammar and saw a mistake, say so. If nobody likes where this is going, just tell me- it won't hurt my feelings. It'll save me a bunch of time, honestly.
Next chapter will be much longer.
I refuse to beg you to read and review, so.. Read and critique, please? (Those rhyme. Sounds much better)