Author's Notes: Ah, again, quite a delay. I must learn to work out the amount of space I've used between chapters. Anyway, here's my next, around the ususal length of my previous chapters. I've introduced a new (self-made) character into this one, as well as focused on further development for a couple. So, without anymore time to waste, I give to you Chapter 26!

Chapter 26: Fishing for Treasure

The clock struck 3 PM, and an eerie silence flooded the streets of the village. Many of the villagers were saddened, for the loss of the villager and the complete eradication of half of their village.

The heroes, however, were in a state of complete shock. This was a beast larger then they had ever encountered: it's arms alone tall as skyscrapers, it's power great, size larger then even that of Hooktail or the Shadow Queen.

"Luuuuuffy!" Usopp called out, trying to find where the rubber man had flown off to. "Hey, Luffy!"

"Give it up, he's long gone." Nami said. "We'll have to go find him."

"…what was that?" Eddy asked.

"…the villagers called it a Kraken." Double D stated quietly.

"What's that?" Goombella asked.

"Well, I'm not too knowledgeable with mythology." Double D stated. "…but what little I know is this:"

Everyone gathered around him.

"The Kraken is a mythological creature said to have been first recorded in history by Norwegian texts circa 1250 ad. Though there may have been earlier accounts, they were the first to report the Kraken's existence. Though heaven forbid they even were credible at that point, since said documents around that period of time lacked-"

"DOUBLE D!" Eddy shouted. "C'mon, we don't have time for the history, just get on with it!"

"My apologies for the digression." Double D stated. "Anyway, the Kraken is an enormous sea monster. A giant Cephalopod (squid), said to attack traveling ships and beaches. It's size could be compared to a large clipper vessel, and it was at one point believed to be a common ocean species, making sailors hesitant to sail across the Atlantic around 1400's. They only target large things, since smaller fish don't quench it's appetite."

"…My, my." Robin commented casually.

"But this thing is much bigger then it's supposed to be in mythology." Double D stated. "And what we saw may be only the tip of the iceberg, so to speak. An average squid's tentacles are around a 5ft of it's size. So something with tentacles that large be as enormous as… a city. Maybe larger."

"…and why did it come after the village?" Goombella asked.

"I can't say for certain." Double D said. "…but by now, judging that things seem to happen to places when we go there, that it may have been after us. Maybe Beldam's after our Crystal Star? Or she wants to stop jus from getting the one here?"

"Oh, what a mess." Sanji sighed, leaning back on a bench. "If that's the case, we'll have to find the star, Luffy, the prisoners, and then get out of here as soon as possible, right?"

"Oh, right!" Eddy grabbed the newspaper from Double D. Goombella peered onto the map with him.

"…right, some random fisherman has the star, huh?" the smallest of the Eds stated.

Goombella looked at the newspaper carefully. "So then all we have to do is find this guy and ask him for the star."

"I'm not too sure." Double D said. "The paper said he was quite reluctant to let the press see more then a glimpse of-"

"Please, when was the last time the paper was a reliable source of facts?" Eddy asked, before promptly ripping it apart.

"Eddy!" Double D and Goombella both shouted angrily.

"Relax." Eddy said, wiping off his hands. "We didn't need that old thing anyway. So, where is this fisherman guy anyway?"

"Gee, I don't know, Eddy." Double D said with a deadpan voice. "Why don't we check the paper?"

"…Hm…" Eddy nodded. "Oh yeah, I get your point. I hate it where you're right."

"Come on guys, let's see if we can go find another newspaper." the sock-hat said.

"Uh…" moaned the green-haired swordsman.

"Great, you're finally coming to!" Chopper shouted.

Zoro realized he was waking up inside of the Going Merry, and Luffy on another bed nearby.

"…what just happened?" Zoro asked, rubbing his head.

"Luffy just randomly flew in and landed on your head." Chopper shrugged.

"That idiot." Zoro groaned. "What kind of trouble did he get himself into?"

Luffy shot up from his bed suddenly. "Whoa, what just happened?!"

Zoro grabbed Luffy by the collar of his shirt. "You just knocked me out! What were you thinking?"

Luffy tilted his head. "Uh……"

Zoro rose an eyebrow. "…well?"

"Oh, right!" Luffy shouted suddenly. "There's a big monster attacking! I have to get back there and kick it's-"

"Luffy, the monster went back into the ocean." Chopper added in.

"So we'll just fish it out." Luffy said.

"You can't fish for something like that!" Zoro shouted.

"Sure we can." Luffy said.

"No you can't, Luffy!" shouted the angry swordsman.

"Hey, hey, calm down!" Chopper shouted. "You both need to relax, you're still injured!"

"Come on, guys!" Luffy shouted. "We have to go now!"

"…that's it?" asked Eddy.

There was a small shack at the edge of the cliff (the new cliff that was created after half of the village was obliterated. The shack looked old and weathered, and a hole in the ceiling made the place look even worse.

"…so this is that fisherman's house?"

"That's what it looks like in the newspaper." Double D said, looking at the picture. The newspaper looked just like the house they arrived at, only the hole that it now had was absent in the picture.

Double D approached the door, reaching towards the handle of the door.

However, before he could even so much as reach it, the door suddenly flung open, revealing an, crusty looking man with a raincoat ensemble.

"Get of me property, I ain't got no crystal!"

Nami stepped ahead. "Well, sir, for one you used double negatives, implying that you do indeed have a crystal, and second…" She held up a newspaper. "The news would state otherwise."

"I don't care what you all say, nobody's betting their hands on my treasure!" he shouted.

The man held up his arm, letting the sleeve of the raincoat slide out of the way of an artificial hook.

"If yee be seeking me treasure, then you won't be getting it without a fight." the man said.

The group stepped back.

"Whoa, easy there, sir." Goombella said, somewhat bewildered. "We don't want to fight."

The fisherman put on an eye patch and pulled up his left pant leg, revealing a peg leg. "You'll have to go through me, yee will!"

"He's a walking cliché!" Double D shouted.

"He's a nut job!" shouted Eddy angrily. "Let's just take him down, grab the star, and move on!"

"Yee think you'll beat me in a fight?" the fisherman asked. "Ha, what can scallywags like you do to me?"

"Look, sir." Double D said. "Why don't we just settle this like rational-"

He was interrupted when the old man used his unhooked fist to smash him right in the face. Double D fell backwards on impact, also causing his Eye of Wisdom headband to fall off his forehead.

The rest of the group all stood with surprised expressions.

"Who's next?" the old man asked.

"Get him!" Eddy shouted, suddenly lunging at the old man.

The man simply held out his hooked arm, pointing so that Eddy would land directly on the jagged point.

Goombella gasped and jumped into the air, crashing into Eddy, stopping his flight. Both of them crashed down onto the ground.

"Geez, Goombella, what was that for?!" Eddy shouted.

"Wake up, Eddy! You almost got yourself impaled with a hook!" Goombella shouted back.

"You best thank the lass for savin' yee." the fisherman said. "Yee be lucky she just granted you your life."

"And who the heck are you, nearly killing me like that!?" Eddy shouted, completely ignoring the fisherman's advice.

"All's fair in a battle." the man said, still never having left his doorway.

Eddy prepared to punch the old man, when Goombella got in the way again.

"Eddy, stop it already! This is the last thing we need." Goombella said. "If we just stop fighting for once, we can just end it here and them move onto the next star quickly!"

"Next star?" the fisherman asked. "Ya mean there be more of these beautiful treasures?"

"Depends if you are willing to allow us to make negotiations with one another." Nami said.

"…and what be the terms of your negotiations?" he asked, with a hint of suspicion in his voice.

"Oh, not much." She replied. "We'll uh… we'll give you something in return if you give us your star."

The fisherman glanced at the ground, and quickly grabbed the Eye of Wisdom that had fallen off the now unconscious Sock Hat.

"I'll do it in exchange for this little trinket." he said.

Nami nodded. "Deal!"

"What?!" Eddy and Goombella simultaneously asked.

"No, we take it back!" Eddy shouted.

"Ah, ah, ah, little boy. A deal is a deal. I keep this golden eye thing." the fisherman said, placing the ancient relic into his raincoat pocket. "Now you young folk just wait here, I'll be back in a second with your little star."

With that, the fisherman turned around and slammed the door as he walked inside.

Goombella turned towards Nami.

"Nami, that was Double D's Eye of Wisdom! He needs that to use his powers!" Goombella shouted.

"Yeah, without it, he's just a scrawny little nerd!" Eddy shouted.

Goombella gave him a cold glance.

Nami stared for a few seconds, then laughed nervously. "Oh, it was that Eye of Wisdom!"

"Don't be so nonchalant about it!" Usopp shouted at her.

"Well, at least I got you people that star thing you were looking for." the red headed one said. "So as soon as you get it, our deal is over and we are out of here!"

"But don't they really need that Eye thing?" Usopp asked.

"A deal is a deal." Nami stated proudly.

"Somebody say something!" Usopp shouted.

Robin shrugged without an ounce of enthusiasm. "It was a deal."

Usopp turned to Sanji. "Sanji, come on!"

But the blonde cook had no interest. "She's so cute when she's strict!" he absentmindedly swooned.

"I give up." Usopp said, exasperated.
Goombella walked over to Double D, who slowly began to come to.

"…what just happened?" he asked, sounding weary.

"That fisherman knocked you out." She said.

"Yeah, that old dude seriously owned you just there!" Eddy said with a chuckle, before getting a headbonk on the shoulder by Goombella.

"Ow, geez, what are you anyway, my mom?" Eddy whined.

"…hey." Robin said, breaking up the conversation. "That fisherman is taking quite a while, isn't he?"

"Maybe he just walks slowly?" Sanji asked. "He did seem old."

"He just KO'd Double D." Eddy said. "He can't be too slowly, unless he's like Yoda or something."

There was the sound of machinery moving. They looked towards the right side of the cabin to see a garage door on the side of the house open up. As it opened about halfway, a pick-up truck barreled out of it's door, and came to a sudden halt, screeching as it did.

Everyone watched in astonishment.

"Hey, he has the star!" Eddy shouted, noticing a star-shaped item underneath a cloth in the back of the truck.

"Hahaha, all's fair in war, maties!" the fisherman shouted, tauntingly waving the Eye of Wisdom at them through the window.

Double D surprised, finally realizing it was no longer on his head. "What the-"

Before he could complete his sentence, the tires screeched loudly and sped towards them.

Everyone in the group was forced to jump out of the way of the truck as it rushed right through them, speeding down the road, and careening away, carrying it's devious passenger behind a corner and out of sight.

"That con-man!" Goombella shouted. "What a jerk!"

"I have so much to learn from this guy, huh?" Eddy asked, half-laughingly.

"I could have sword he was a pirate or something." Double D remarked. "But now he has the star and the Eye of Wisdom! I'm powerless!"

"We have to go chase him, immediately!" Usopp shouted.

"How?" Goombella asked. "The X-nauts stole the van!"

"We have to do something, he's getting away!" shouted Nami.

Eddy looked to and fro. "Bingo!" He shouted.

The small Ed ran towards a parked car. It read "Arizona" on the side, and the keys were remarkably in the ignition.

"Isn't that Snowhill's police car?" Double D asked.

"Yeah, let's take it!" Eddy shouted.

"Absolutely not!" Double D shouted. "Do you know what the consequences are for-"

Eddy quickly grabbed him. "Well, you know what? These are the consequences for leaving your keys in the ignition!"

Double D went silent. "I am going to regret this."

Eddy jumped in and threw Double D the keys.

"You drive!"

Snowhill was looking around the village, inspecting the damages around the village.

"I have never seen so much destruction. What is going on?" He asked.

He suddenly heard the sound of a siren calling from behind him, getting progressively closer and closer.

He was forced to jump out of the way as a police car barreled past him. He quickly spotted it's teenage driver and it's various passengers.

"HEY!" he ran after them in futility. "GET BACK HERE!"

But as he sounded his command, the car was gone. He ran to a nearby pay phone and searched through his pockets, only to realize moments later that he had no Peruvian currency.

He angrily grabbed his hat and slammed it down on the ground, then reached into his pocket, taking out a radio.

"This is Sergeant Snowhill, requesting backup!" he shouted.

"SNOWHILL!" his commander shouted over the radio. "Where the devil have you been these last couple days?!"

"I'm in Peru sir, we pursued the suspect-"

"Get yourself back up here on the double! You know that Arizona authorities don't go beyond the state border, much less the county!" his commander continued.

"The call of duty is universal, commander." Snowhill said.

"I'm your commander, I am the call of duty! Now get back here before I suspend your command!"

Snowhill sighed. "Very well, I will return after I apprehend the suspect."

"Sergeant, do you hear me? DO NOT-"

Snowhill switched the radio off. "What a windbag."

Still, now he was in a considerably tight spot.

"Ok, I don't have a car, how do I pursue mine?"

"Double D, turn it off!" Goombella shouted.

As the sock-hat drove in pursuit of the fisherman, the siren blared loudly, to the point where it was deafening.

"I can't!" Double D shouted over the sound of the sirens. "Now sit down and put your seatbelt back on!"

"What?" Goombella asked.

"WHAT?!" Double D asked.

"Just keep driving!" Nava shouted.

"Yes Nami." Double D said. He wasn't sure what it was, but she definitely seemed to have a certain "persuasive influence" on others, but that may have been through solid intimidation.

"Hey, there he is!" Eddy shouted, pointing ahead.

As the car rounded a corner and away from the village, an old fisherman's truck was visibly driving down the road, towards the mountains.

"We got him now!" Eddy shouted. "We're gonna get you!"

The Fisherman looked back to spot the police car driving behind him, with the sirens blaring.

"Oh no, yee don't!" shouted the fisherman.

Double D peered ahead. "He's getting' away!" Eddy shouted.

The sock-hat looked back towards everyone. "Hold on!"

With that, he slammed his foot against the gas pedal. The speedometer's needle rushed upwards, the engines revved like a race cars, as the car neared 90mph.

"Geez, Double D!!" Eddy shouted, being pinned against his seat by their speed alone.

"Ah, we're gonna die!" Usopp shouted.

"At least we are gaining." Robin added in from the background.

They indeed were, as it looked as though the cop car was getting closer and closer to the truck.

"Drive alongside him!" Eddy shouted. "I'll try to jump him!"

"Are you crazy?!" Goombella shouted.

"No!" Eddy shouted. "I'm not, in spite how many people ask me that!"

Both of the cars were almost alongside one another at this point, both going at almost 100 mph.

Eddy opened the window, and leaned his head out to face the fisherman.

"This is madness!" Edd shouted at Eddy.

"I am not crazy!" Eddy shouted back, before facing the Fisherman again.

The truck window opened up as well, leaving Eddy face to face with the robber.

"Give us back our stuff!" Eddy shouted.

"Yee be dealin' with a pirate, ya know! I ain't about to give up me treasure!" the fisherman shouted.

"I knew it, he's a pirate!" Eddy shouted.

The fisherman wove his hand, holding the Eye of Wisdom on it. "C'mon, lad! You wanted to get me earlier, didn't you? Bring it on, lad!"

"You're a whacko!" Eddy shouted.

"Oh yeah, is that right, me lad?" The fisherman asked.

"I'm not your lad!" Eddy shouted.

"Well then, child, you should be more prepared when battling' a pirate!" the Fisherman shouted.

"Oh yeah?" Eddy shouted back.

"Yeah!" The fisherman shouted. "For example, I could do this!"

Suddenly, the truck pulled very closely to the cop car The two automobiles mad contact, and sparks flew as the metal sides scraped against one another, causing everyone in the car to exclaim.

The Fisherman poked his head through his window and into the cop car's, starring it's bewildered passengers right in the faces.

Both of the cars began to swerve.

"I can't control the car like this!" Double D shouted.

"CRAZY!" Eddy shouted. He pushed the Fisherman out of his face and back into his own truck.

As he did, the truck suddenly veered off to the right.

Double D knew why: in that distraction, he had caused them to drive off the road and towards a mountain.

The car's passengers gave a collective scream as they proceeded away from the roadways and into nature.

A few X-nauts had gathered downstairs to celebrate their victory earlier that day below deck, some enjoying a good drink whist the rest laughed and danced in the poorly lit, but highly technological galley..

Mac and Bloo were with them, still tied to a post, but this time near a dinning table.

One of the X-nauts approached them.

"Come on, you two look very glum." the X-naut said. "Enjoy the party while you still can."

Bloo's attempts at mumbling an insult were reduced to mumbles behind the duct tape on his mouth.

"Well, you don't have to get snappy." the X-naut said before walking off.

Mac continued to struggle against the rope. "…argh, if we could just get out of here."

"Hey, shut up maggots!" Called an angry voice.

The entire party came to a halt. It was Lord Crump whom had yelled, but only because Beldam had walked back inside.

"At ease, soldiers." Beldam said, half jokingly.

They slowly resumed the party again. Bloo was angrily attempting to break free, but Mac was doing his best to spy on the witch.

"…listen, Crump. I have a plan, but I need you to listen to me very carefully." said the possessed girl. Crump nodded quietly. Beldam went towards Crump and began to tell him, but the noise of the party prevented Mac from hearing the conversation.

"I wish I could hear what's going on with them." Mac said.

Beldam suddenly stopped and looked towards Mac, noticing that he was spying on them.

"Hey, you there, Johnson!" Beldam called out.

One of the X-nauts looked up.

"Take these two downstairs into the cargo." Beldam stated. "We'll keep them there until we need them."

"Aye." replied the X-naut. The soldier walked up to Bloo and Mac, and freed them from the pole.

"Come on, you two." the soldier said, pushing them towards a door.

The soldier led them into a nearly dark spiral stairwell leading downwards into a dark unseen chamber.

The solider stopped and locked the door.

"Are we alone?" the soldier asked.

Mac looked around. "What's it to you?"

The X-naut suddenly ran ahead of them and blocked the stairs.

"What's going on?" Inquired the 8 year old boy.

The X-naut suddenly reached into a pocket, pulling out a laser gun and pointing it upward.

"You two aren't going anywhere." said the soldier in a suddenly different voice.

Mac and Bloo both rose their arms into the air.

"Ah, look out, she's got a gun!" Mac shouted.

Bloo replied with a muffled exclamation.

"Relax, you two." the solider said. "It's not what you think."

"Then what is going on?!" Mac asked.

The solider reached for the top of it's head. With a elegant tug, the solider ripped off it's hood, letting crystal blue hair to fall out from underneath it. She also revealed her blue, yet serious eyes.

"My name is Adelle Snowhill, member of the Arizona Police Department." Adelle said, raising a poorly drawn police badge. "I'm here to save your lives."

Author's Notes: That about sums it up. Prepare for action, twists, a battle, car-chases, explosions, all that good stuff. But above all, prepare to see one specific relationship's very well being put to the test. Next time, we'll be headed towards the climax of the arc! I hope I'll get it done soon, but until then, please review!