Roguetown: Nexus of Ends and Beginnings

Disclaimer: Don't own One Piece

--

The journey from the Baratie to their destination was pretty uneventful. The treasure hunters learned quite a bit from Ripley, their new navigator and nakama. They learned that she was from the North Blue, and that she had a vast knowledge of the Four Blue Seas in her head, thanks to the years of studying maps that her family had back home. They also learned that she packed more toys than just Titan's Fist, her large war-hammer. In addition to the big smashing tool, Ripley carried a device that she usually wore on her wrist, a toy she called it.

She showed it and explained every detail that she could to her new comrades as best she could. It turns out that the device on her arm was a harpoon gun, or some type of harpoon gun. Digging through her pack, she brought out a small, netted object which was actually a full-sized net when it was deployed from her harpoon launcher. She also showed them a wicked looking set of harpoons with jagged tips, ensuring that whatever they were fired into, they would stick.

"So, Ripley, if you don't mind me asking, what brings you all the way from the North Blue to the East Blue?" Axe asked his new friend as he chewed on a large chunk of meat.

"I could ask the same about two kids from the West Blue who appear in the East Blue," Ripley smiled slyly, "But that's just me goofing with ya, hon. The reason I came to the East Blue is because of Woonan's Gold,"

Toby began to choke on his own meat rack.

As Kairi pounded on his chest, Axe tilted his head, looking curious.

"Woonan's Gold?"

Ripley nodded, "Yeah, Woonan's Gold,"

"What's Woonan's Gold?"

"You wanna know what Woonan's Gold is?"

"If I didn't, I wouldn't have asked,"

"Would you have?"

Axe pointed his meat rack at her, "Don't play this game, I wanna know, Ripley,"

The navigator chuckled and waved him off, "Again, just goofing off, kiddo. Woonan was a legendary pirate, not legendary like Gold Roger, but legendary in his own way,"

"What way?"

"What way?"

"Don't start that again!"

"Hehe..relax. Woonan was known as the Great Gold Pirate of the East Blue Sea," Ripley explained, "His story says that he stole one third of the world's gold and stashed it away somewhere in the East Blue Sea. I came here looking for it, and I spent weeks looking for it before coming to the Baratie, but I never found it," she sighed and shook her head, "Oh well, no harm done...," she looked off to the side, "Oh look, we're here,"

--

As the others tied the ship off, Axe stood on the docks of the large port city, looking at the many buildings, the many citizens, the many...other things that the place had to offer. The treasure hunter let out a low whistle as the others came up behind him, finished with their work.

"So, this is Roguetown...dude, I am SO heading to the place where Roger was executed!" he started forward, a very excited look on his face, but that soon disappeared when Ripley reached out and grabbed him by the collar, stopping him in his tracks.

"Not so fast, O Eager One," Ripley pulled him back, "You can't just go off all willy-nilly-,"

"Willy...nilly?"

"Shaddup and listen to me," Ripley cleared her throat, "Roguetown is a major city, that is true, but for people who are after One Piece, like us, it can be trouble if people found out. The Marines here, if they hear one thing about people in the town going after One Piece," she snapped her fingers, "They're automatically a pirate, therefore a criminal, so we have to be careful while we stock up on supplies,"

"Oh c'mon, not ALL Marines think people who hunt One Piece are criminals!" Axe protested, "That's just a stereotype!"

"How do you know?"

Axe thought back to Niri and her father, back home in the West Blue, "Uh...,"

"Thought so," Ripley flicked him on the nose, which irritated him a little, "Just listen to my advice. We need to get stuff done, but we can't let anyone, even passerby's know what we're up to, okay?"

The other three nodded.

"Good,"

"Can I go now?"

"Yes, but-," before Ripley could finish, Axe was off like a gunshot, whooping at the top of his lungs as he ran through the streets, eager to find the execution site of his hero.

"Baka," the three nakama muttered under their breaths, "Big baka!"

Ripley rubbed her forehead, "Okay...that wasn't smart to do...," she turned to the other two, "Feel free to explore while you do you what you need to do, but piece of advice kids, try not to get lost,"

"Is it really that big of a place?"

Ripley opened her mouth to talk...

"WHERE THE HELL AM I?! I'M TOTALLY LOST!!!" Axe's voice suddenly echoed from a little further more inward of the city, "SOMEONE HELP ME, I'M LOST!!!"

"Yeah, it's that big of a place,"

--

"Captain Smoker, sir!"

"What is it?" a large, well-built man with one or two cigars in his mouth and a large jutte on his back turned and looked down at a lower ranking Marine, "What is it?"

"I just thought I would let you know that that was the last wanted man and crew in the city, Captain!" the Marine smiled, pride showing rather easily, "You live up to your reputation, sir!"

"Whatever," Smoker took a drag of his cigar, "I don't care if I have a reputation, Marine, all I care about is stopping any and all pirates who come by here in their tracks," he pulled the spent cigar out and crushed it beneath his boot before getting a new one, "Any other business, Marine?"

"Uh..," the armed soldier of the World Government flipped through the clipboard he carried with him, "Sorry, nothing new, sir,"

"Good, I'm going back to base and relax," Smoker rubbed the back of his neck, as if he had a crink in it, "You should be able to handle the small stuff, unless you'd like me to hold your hand for you?"

"N-No, sir,"

Smoker nodded and turned to leave, but stopped when something bumped into him.

"HEY!"

"Sorry!"

The Captain looked down to see a young boy, about fourteen or so, with a giant axe on his back, standing in front of him. The Marine was going to say something to the boy, but he was surprised to see him with such a large weapon on his back, and even more surprised that he wasn't falling over.

Axe dusted himself off, "Dude, I am so sorry, I didn't mean to bump into you," he smiled apologetically, "I just came into town and I'm totally lost," he looked him over, "Hey, you're a Marine, right?"

"yeah," Smoker growled, Who is this kid?

"That's cool," Axe nodded, "Hey, maybe you can help me out, lawman?" he turned on his heel and began to point in random directions, "I'm a history buff and I wanna know where the execution place of the Pirate King is for research, but I have no idea where to find it, could you help me out here?"

This kid...there's something wrong with him... Smoker coughed a little and pointed off down a main road that led further into town, "It's at the center of town. Keep taking this road and you'll get there in about ten minutes, five if you really want to get there,"

"Aw, sweet, thanks!" Axe slapped him on the back as he passed by him, "Thanks a lot!"

Smoker and the other soldier watched the boy walk down the road towards the historic site of the city.

"Soldier?"

"Yes, Captain!"

"Keep an eye on him...,"

The Marine looked up at him, "Sir?"

"I said keep an eye on him," Smoker lit his new cigar, "There's something about him that bugs me,"

"Yes sir!"

--

"What a town!" Kairi gasped as she walked the streets of Roguetown, "This is amazing! So many places, so many people...I wonder if the Grand Line is anything like this?"

"We said hand over every money you got, old man!"

"Yeah, cough it up!"

That doesn't sound good! Kairi sped her walking up, following the noise and as she rounded the corner, she found the source of it: three grown men cornering an older man, a priest by the look of his clothing, each one of them armed and the priest looking worse for the wear.

"Hey!" Kairi shouted, making the attackers stop and turn to her, "Leave him alone and go away before I get the authorities!" she threatened.

The men just laughed.

"Look, boys! A little whore with a knife wants in on the fun!"

"Maybe we should let her...hehehe...,'

"Wanna see my knife, honey?"

Kairi scowled and pulled out Heaven's Savior, pointing it's tip at the group, "This is your last chance. I'm willing to spare you if you walk away right now!"

"Not gonna happen!"

"Your sword should give us quite a few Beli...,"

"Get her!"

The former Holy Knight sighed and shook her head as the trio of muggers forgot their original target and came towards her, "I warned you," she rushed at and through the trio of attackers easily before coming to a stop just in front of the priest.

"The hell?" the leader of the gang turned and looked at her, confused, "What was that?!"

Smiling, Kairi turned to them, slashing the air with her rapier, "Oh, nothing, really," she said innocently as the clothing on all the mugger's bodies were turned to ribbons...save the leader, who had a large K cut into the front of his shirt.

K for Kairi! Haha... Kairi cocked an eyebrow, "Want more, boys?"

The criminals just bolted, tripping over their clothing's remains as they fled.

"Are you alright, Father?" Kairi asked, turning to the priest, "Can you stand?"

"Yes, yes, I can, child," the older man slowly climbed to his feet with her help, "God Bless, you child. But, you couldn't been hurt!"

"I can handle myself," Kairi sheathed Heaven's Savior, "I was hoping such an interesting place wouldn't be so bad, but I guess crime only gets more common in the larger cities of the world,"

The priest merely chuckled as he dusted himself off, "Yes, this place has seen some bad times, but some say there's something special in the future,"

"I sure hope so, Father, I really do. Do you need help?"

"Please, you've done enough for me, chlid,"

"It's no trouble, Father, no trouble at all,"

--

The people of Roguetown had seen many odd things: pirates, bounty hunters, mercenaries, entertainers, and even odd hermits who came by, dressed in both fine clothing or rags, but...they never really saw anyone quite like Toby Dicey.

The orphan lycanthrope was in a particular part of town, sniffing everything ranging from fresh fruit in vending booths, to sizzling meat in eateries...and even people when they came close enough to him. He couldn't help it though, it was the canine in him thanks to his condition, and besides, he was curious about the area around him, he wanted to learn. He saw all kinds of shops that sold all sorts of things ranging from expensive clothes, to tools and a thing that both he and Axe enjoyed greatly.

Meat.

Lots of meat.

Everyone stared as Toby stood at the window of the tenth meat shop he had come across, his stomach growling loudly and drooling a waterfall as he stared at all the kinds of meat that was being cooked inside.

"So...many...meat shops...," he moaned, wiping his chin of saliva, "So...hungry...,"

Pulling himself away from the window, Toby quickly looked at the money he was given for his share of supplies and tried to do the math in his head. Unfortunately for him, his childhood never gave him a chance to learn things like that very well. Clutching the wad of Beli dollar bills in his hands, Toby bolted inside the shop, taking as much meat as he could carry. When he approached the counter, he was beaming with excitement and he swore that if he had a tail right now, it would be wagging non-stop.

The owner of the shop, a large man in an apron looked at the pile of meat, then at the money he was given, and shook his head.

"Sorry kiddo, no can do,"

"What?" Toby's face fell, "Why not?!"

"You don't have enough money here," the owner took a very large amount of the pile away, leaving a few, but good-sized peices of meat in front of Toby, "That's all you can have, kid...you want 'em?"

Toby let out a whine and slid to the floor in tears.

"You okay, kid?"

--

Axe stood in awe at the sight that lay before him. Directly in front of him, in the very center of Roguetown, was a large platform structure made out of wood. It was a very tall structure, but even he could see the top from where he stood. He had heard of this place, and he wanted to be here...and now he was.

This is... Axe thought excitedly, trying to keep a straight face as his fingers tingled, This is where Gold Roger, the Pirate King was executed by the World Government! he slowly approached the platform, He was stabbed by two spears in the chest, but while most people would be sullen or bawling their eyes out, Roger looked out at the city with a smile... he turned around and faced the large, busy populace as they passed by, unaware of him staring.

That one man, on the brink of his own death, he challenged everyone watching him to go out and find his legendary treasure of One Piece...he alone sparked the Great Pirate Era and inspired hundreds, if not thousands of men and women to sail the seas in search of his treasure... he turned back to the platform and bowed his head in the deepest respect.

"You were a great man, Roger," he whispered to himself, "...and to this day, you still are,"

Lifting his head, Axe smiled widely, "I have got to tell Niri about this sometime," he rubbed his chin in thought, "I wonder...?"

--

"GET BACK YOU LITTLE THIEVING BASTARD!"

Kairi, on her way to shop after visiting the priest some more, turned to see a large man in an apron standing in the middle of the road, screaming at the top of his lungs as he looked all around, as if he were searching for someone.

"WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YOU, I'LL TURN YOU INTO A DAMN VEGETARIAN, YOU HEAR ME?!"

The former Holy Knight shook her head, "So many strange people...," she sighed before turning back and heading down the road, "Wonder how Ripley and the others are doing?"

--

"Dear Niri,

It's me, how are you doing? I'm doing alright myself. You won't believe it! I've already got three people onboard with me and get this: we're at Roguetown in the East Blue Sea, the birthplace and execution site of the Pirate King himself!!! I can't tell you how excited I am to be here in such a fantastic place! I've been to the execution platform and I can't tell you how honored I felt to be in the last place where the Pirate King made his final declaration that sparked this whole Pirate Era.

Enough about me, how are you doing? I hope life at the Academy is okay. If anyone gives ya any lip or any trouble, just do to them what you do to me and kick them in the balls, that'll get them to back off, hehehe. Are you still in the West Blue, or are you at another Academy in one of the other Blue Seas? I hope you're making friends there, I know you must be aching to see me again...mostly to wail on me, haha. Truth is, I miss ya too, miss ya everyday, but I hope we get to meet up again someday. Hopefully, that day will end in good fortune and not with the two of us at each others throats for one thing or another, ya know?

I haven't had much luck in finding anything, but then again, I've been pretty busy getting nakama. In fact, we're stocking up on supplies and getting our own ship (hopefully) here in Roguetown. Not sure what path we'll take now, but I hope to enter the Grand Line soon, I can't wait to start searching! Good luck to you and your training, I know you'll pass with flying colors in everything. I dunno if I'll be able to write to ya again in the future, but hopefully I will.

Love, Sam

P.S.

Going over the Red Line to go into the other Seas is a pain in the ass...be sure to bring a barfbag!"

Axe stuffed the letter into an envelope and sealed it shut. He didn't really like using an alias to send mail to his friend, but he knew that if he got a reputation and his real name was found on Niri's stuff, it would pose trouble for her. Even though he was far away from her, he still watched out for her. He gave the letter to a postal worker at the Marine base in Roguetown, asking if she could find a way to locate Niri in one of the Academy's and send her the letter. He wasn't sure if that would work, or when that would arrive at Niri's area, but he hoped that she at least got it safely without certain people snooping around the letter.

When he was done with that, he sent another letter, this time to his family back home in the West Blue, telling them he was alright and that they shouldn't worry about him. That letter he gave to a postal carrier seagull, positive that that was the safest route to deliver mail.

With that done, Axe left the Marine base, the smile from before on his face again as he walked down the street, eyes gazing up at the sky and his hands behind his head, humming a tune as he walked.

Now, to find the others and to find a ship!

--

Kilnorc: Okay, that one's taken care of. I'm sure ya'll are wondering some things about certain things and people, but don't worry, I'll show more soon.

On the next chapter of Origin...

Axe: Where the hell is the shipyard?

Kairi: You stole food?!

Ripley: You guys seem like you've been having a blast, am I right?

Axe: Wow...lotsa ships...how much money we got left?!

Roguetown: Bar Tales and Vessels

Axe: Let's get going, everyone!