(runs to the door, slams up against it, and the door falls)
Chopper: Are you okay?!
Yeah, just rushed here to get the new chapters up. Any reviews?
Chopper: Yeah, lots, but the end of the month is tomorrow.
I have school that day, so I have to do this today.
Chopper: Oh, okay! (grabs the first one) From Supercherryninja
Oh! New one! I'm not dead! As you can see. And I come with these chapters and many others for the fics. (points to oversized bag to prove it)
Chopper: (grabs another) From Kira-chan
Don't cry! (sends in tissues) Gomen!
Chopper: (grabs another) From ZO-zoro-Ro
New one! Thanks!
Chopper: (grabs another) From Abhorsen228
New one! (looks guilty) I can't guarantee that…
Chopper: (grabs two) From Soge-san:
Okay! From chapter 14... (giggles) You had a great random dream then. And from 16... There you go! There's an idea for a fic. I don't mind that it's based off this fic, but that's just me. And thanks.
Chopper: (grabs another) From Tori-san
…Gomen…
Chopper: (grabs another) From Tsume-san
Well, I would ask, but he's not here at the moment. He's back at the other studio waiting for me to post up the chapters that he's co-hosting for. But I think he completely forgotten it.
Chopper: (grabs another) From Urnaywey
New one! Well, here is the other chapters. At least up to ten to twenty but it's better than nothing.
Chopper: (grabs another) From Dream-san
The wait is over!
Chopper: From Saiyoru-chan
It has been awhile... (blushes) No, no… I'm not a master of anything like that.
Chopper: (grabs a few) From Mimi-chan
Yay! Okay from chapter 12... I warned you didn't I? Chapter 13... Yep. 14... I try. 15... You should know by now. And 16... I know… gomen…
Chopper: (grabs another) From Kami-san
Oh, thanks. (looks around) Looks like he isn't here.
Chopper: (grabs another) From Ookami-san
Thank you and the wait is over.
Chopper: (grabs another) From PaperBagGhost
New one! Thank you!
Chopper: (grabs another) From Gecko-san
I'm not GOD! But thanks anyway.
Chopper: (grabs another) From FastlyFadingIntoDarkness
New one! …Here's the new chapters. Please don't kill me.
Chopper: (grabs another) From Gino-Esoj
New one! (depressed) Gomen…
Chopper: (grabs another) From Kirai-Ninja
New one! The wait is over… for now.
Chopper: (grabs another) From Mizuki hikari
New one! Will do.
Chopper: (grabs another) From Myrrhmaid
Have you reviewed before? Anyway... That's where I got the inspiration from for the island, and I sometimes do if I seen the movie so many times. And thank you.
Chopper: (grabs last one) From Hmob1994
New one! (hears something being placed beside her and looks to see a plate of cookies) … (looks around to see no one there) Thanks! (grabs a cookie and shares with Chopper) Want one?
Chopper: Thank you! (takes one)
Well! That's all the reviews we have on Reviewer's Reply, and now for the longly anticipated chapters! Enjoy!
Chapter 16
The next morning, Luffy was in the secret spot, eyes red with continuous crying and curled up as he stared at the water, hoping that the night was a horrible nightmare. But the bump on his head was a painful reminder that the night was real, and that his friend was gone with the people that nearly destroyed his home. But he would rather find a new place to live than to lose something so much more precious to him.
He blamed his brother for making it so much worse and left the beach house with that. He didn't want to go near Sanji or Usopp, not even Smoker who didn't say anything to stop him or to try to talk to him about how he was feeling. Chopper was at the vet's office getting checked on.
The night's events continued to play on his mind as he remembered the look the other had on his face. The hopeless, vulnerable, and pressured look the other had when he revealed himself to save him and the others. No one had the right to touch the man! Zoro was his! He choked whenever he thought that.
In a way, Zoro was his, always has been since the day they first met. Zoro was his friend, the very first before he met Usopp and Sanji, his only secret that he proudly keeps when some other secrets aren't worth keeping, the one he can trust his opinion to, to keep his secrets to, and the only one he cared for more than anyone else he'd ever met. He can talk and hug anyone, but he can do more with Zoro since anyone can take him away if they ever saw him. It was selfish, but, if anything, he wanted to be selfish with this one and only thing.
The memories of when he was with the sharkman since the day he found him flooded in his mind like the storm that given him that one gift. He gripped his head, afraid it would explode and he would lose all those memories.
"ZORO!!" He screamed as fresh tears came down from his tightly closed, agonized eyes. That's when he heard a splash, he immediately looked up, only to see a girl.
"Hi." She said, but he didn't respond. "I'm Nami, I know where that baka friend of yours is going."
"You… know Zoro?"
She nodded as she crawled up to the sandy bank, her orange tail glittered in the exposing light. "He helped me out a while back, and I have to say you're an interesting human to hold a secret that big."
Luffy put his hands down as he stared at the mermaid. "I'm Luffy."
"Hi Luffy. It's great to finally meet you."
"You said you know where Zoro is."
She nodded. "I know which ship he was forced into, and luckily, the sea witch knows the man who owns the ship yard. So you'll be able to know where the ship will be docked. But after that, once they get onto land, you'll be on your own."
"That's fine! As long as there's still a chance to get Zoro back, I'll do just about anything."
"You're going to need help."
"Like what?"
"Well… your family and friends for one thing."
Luffy didn't seem to sure about that.
"I heard what happened, but you can't blame your brother on that alone. I saw him just briefly, and I know he feels just awful about it."
"If I told them who Zoro really is… He's no longer my secret."
"I know… But he'll still be yours in some way. No one knows about this cove, right? I don't come by here often. And I bet he won't let anyone get close to him like you would. If they want to talk to him and he's not in the mood to, he can just swim away."
Luffy seemed to think about those possibilities.
"I've seen the two of you before." She said in an older sisterly fashion. "You two have a certain bond that only you two can share. And no one can take that as long as you two believe in each other."
He smiled at her. "Thanks Nami."
She nodded as she flicked the tip of his nose. "Now, go tell them about Zoro and head to Dock 08. Then ask for the owner and mention Robin."
"Robin?"
"That's the name of the sea witch that Zoro visits now and then."
"She help Zoro be human then?"
"You could say that."
"So she's one of the good guys."
"As far as you're concerned, yes."
He smiled even more. "Okay! Dock 08, ask for the owner and mention Robin, got it!"
"And don't forget to tell your family and friends about Zoro, they're a part of it now."
He nodded as he ran out of the secret cove, feeling fired up with determination to finding his kidnapped friend.
***
By the time he got to the beach house, he practically kicked the door out of its hinges and saw that everyone was in the living room, staring at him like he was crazy… ier.
"Luffy!? What the hell!?" Ace said as he looked at the door he was going to fix now.
"Someone saw Zoro and where he may be going."
Everyone stared at him, expecting to say something.
"We have to go to Dock 08 and ask for the owner, I'll tell you guys about Zoro on the way."
"The secret friend?" Usopp said.
"Since I was seven." He said as everyone went into Smoker's rental and he told everyone everything. By the time they reached the docks, the car was dead silent.
"So…" Sanji said. "Let me get this straight. This Zoro guy you've mentioned all this time, is a mermaid of some kind?"
"He's a sharkman, which is like a merman, but with a shark's tail."
"And, you've kept this a secret since the very first day…" Ace said, hardly believing what he was hearing. "And yet you couldn't keep the secret of me sleeping on the job?"
"They didn't know about you having a rare condition that allows you to sleep suddenly."
"And he was able to become human with the help from some sea witch, who is a good person?" Smoker said, hardly believing any of it.
"That's why he has to do the job at night, because he was afraid he would run into me and it's just easier for him to do so at night. That way no one can see him when his time's up and has to get back to his real form."
"And the whole thing of you dying was a set up to make sure no one knows about the two of you being friends?" Usopp said.
"Yep, it was risky, and the falling off the cliff was my idea."
"You have any idea how much of my life was lost when I saw you do that!?" Ace said.
"I can guess."
"Well, we're here." Smoker said. "What now?"
"Find the owner of Dock 08 and ask him about Robin."
***
They got out and headed to the location, which was busy with activity with people building ships or making blueprints for larger ones.
"Can I help you gentlemen?" Said a worker.
"We're looking for the owner of this dock." Smoker said.
"Oh, that would be Franky-san." The worker said as he called out the name. "Some guys are here to see you!"
"Eh? What do they want?"
"Just some questions!" Luffy called.
"If it's about ships, anyone here can help you out."
"I want to know a certain ship called Robin." Luffy said, proud that he managed to be creative with the name.
The man looked at them and walked out. "I'll handle this one."
"Okay sir." The worker said as he ran back to work.
Franky, a muscular guy with thin legs, hair a light blue color in a backward wave that would give Elvis a drive for his money, and has baby blue eyes to go with it. "What about Robin?"
"A dear friend of mine was kidnapped last night, a source told me you may know the people who took him."
Franky looked back to see that the workers were fully dedicated to working that they didn't even glance their way. "Follow me." He said as they went a few feet away from earshot. "I didn't see your friend, but I did see a tank of some form being carried onto an unnamed ship. Bad luck that is. But the guys were very shady, and it did sound like there was a body in there."
"And you didn't stop them?" Sanji asked.
"The man promised that he would send my company into flames and send me hell if I said anything, but this is different. And how did you know about her anyway?"
"Someone very similar to her, and my friend has seen her for help to get around on land for some time."
"Oh! I know him. She told me about him."
"So you'll help?"
"Well, I know where they're heading, but their ship must be a day ahead, maybe more. It's a pretty fast ship for being so bulky."
"Where?"
"They're heading to a trading island that has is nothing but city. Hardly any resources to supply the people and relies heavily on trades."
"Why would they go there?" Usopp said.
"Money." Smoker said. "If I know Crocodile as well as I do for so many years, he'll make a black market item out of Zoro to the highest bidder to the very rich. And there's no place better than that island. The breeding ground of underhanded works going on."
"No doubt about that." Franky said. "And I've been there myself once… And that was fifteen years ago."
"What's the fastest ship you could lend us?" Luffy asked.
"You're not seriously going there are you?" Usopp asked.
"Zoro is my best friend! I won't let anyone have him as long as I have anything to say about it!"
The group looked a bit surprised as Franky laughed.
"You and me both! I would never let anyone take my baby."
"What's so special about a boat?" Usopp asked.
"Robin is a mermaid you dumbass." Sanji said.
"I know the perfect ship, but you're also going to need some help from me. Because only I can ride her."
"That's too much info." Usopp said.
"He was talking about the ship you moron."
"How the hell am I suppose to know if he's talking about his girlfriend or his ship if he keeps saying 'her' or 'she' all the time!"
"Don't ask me! Shipmen have always referred to their ships as a female for as long as history is written!"
"Calm down you two, you're making a scene." Ace said.
"Can we set out now?" Luffy asked
"This Zoro must be very important to you to just jump in like this." Franky said.
"I jumped a cliff yesterday, so yeah I do jump before I look. But because I jump, I'm able to do something than just stand there and let things get worse."
"Yosha!" Franky said. "Ready when you are!"
"Ready!"
"Oi! Don't we have a say in this?" Sanji asked.
"You guys are coming too!"
"Eh?!" Everyone said.
"I can't do this alone, and all of you know Zoro now, and I can't let anyone else know about him."
"You're not making a lot of sense…" Smoker said.
"Welcome to our world." Said the other three as Franky made a speedy announcement and got the ship ready.
"I can't believe this is happening!" Usopp said. "How the hell are we going to find this guy?"
"I may be of some assistance."
The guys looked to see Robin, wearing a beautiful black sundress, making Sanji act on impulse.
"My, my… what is a beautiful woman such as you in such a place?"
"Hey Babe!" Franky said as he kissed her forehead. "You better not be hitting on her, Kid."
"Be nice, Franky-kun." She said with a smile.
"You know us guys when we love a woman."
"I know, and I'm glad you show how much you care every time." She said as she looked to see Luffy. "You must be the young man Zoro mentions so highly of."
"He mentioned about me?"
"Not by name, but he surely has talked about you. It was quite interesting to hear him so passionate about you."
Luffy slightly blushed, but he laughed it off. "Looks like we're not at all different."
She smiled as she walked up to him. "He thought of the world of you. And for that I'm willing to help as much as I can for that reason alone."
"Thanks…" Luffy said as he felt some weight off of his shoulders from her motherly aura.
"We're ready to head out!" Franky said.
"Okay Dear!" She said with an amused smile as she was let on first, then everyone else got on.
"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" Usopp said.
"When don't you?" Sanji asked when he saw something small and furry run up the dock and jumped on board. "Chopper?"
"Chopper!? You found us?!" Usopp said as Chopper jumped on him and licked him. "Oh! I missed you too!"
"We got a dog, that's usually good." Smoker said.
"When will we get to the island Franky?" Luffy asked.
"No more than two days. We'll be behind them by a few hours, but I doubt he will be sold by then."
Luffy nodded, but didn't feel assured as he went to the front of the boat and sat there, like a statue overlooking the horizon.