"So you are members of a pirate crew who got attacked by a guy whose power scattered you all across the world? Sounds like a powerful foe."
"He's the first one our monsters couldn't defeat, which says a lot."
"Monsters?"
"That's how Usopp-kun refers to Luffy, Zoro and Sanji," Robin explained, "our captain, our swordsman and our cook."
"Swordsman?" Erza's eyes shined on that word, and she seemed very interested in that specific pirate, "is he strong?"
"He isn't one of the three monsters for nothing, y'know," Usopp commented, "you're a swordswoman, right? Where is that sword you were using?"
His jaw dropped when she made the sword appear seemingly out of nowhere in her hand and handed it to him. He grabbed it hesitantly and immediately dropped it. It was unusually and impressively heavy.
"Anyway, we need to get to Water 7," Robin spoke, as Usopp handled the sailing part, "and get a log pose or, preferably, an eternal pose to Sabaody."
"It took us weeks to reach Shabaody last time," Usopp protested, "can't we try to sail straight there?"
"Without a log pose? That's impossible. Maybe if we had Nami we could try to figure out an alternative, but none of us are navigators, and Erza-san isn't even from this world."
"What do you mean by…"
"Is that a ship?," Erza interrupted them, and they both stopped chatting to look at the direction she was pointing. Indeed, a ship slowly seemed to approach their own, and after just a few minutes they were able to identify the flags: it was a Marine ship.
"Crap!" Usopp exclaimed.
"We're on a Marine ship," Robin commented, calming him down "we might be able to just pass them by without causing an incident if the two of us can hide. Erza-san isn't on a wanted poster."
"We have to turn back!" Usopp shouted, turning the ship around, not convinced by Robin's logic, "Robin! They'll know she's not a Marine!"
"Usopp, calm down and sail us away from them," Robin spoke, still calm, "we should be fine as long as the ship stays far."
Just as she said that, another Marine ship came into their line of sight. Cursing, Usopp tried to make the ship go faster, but the other one would eventually catch up.
It did just as they were about to get out of the first one's range.
"Wait right there, sir!" One of the officers shouted, and widened his eyes as he realized who he was looking at.
Usopp didn't wait, he increased their speed to the maximum and gained some distance from the other ships, but suddenly, their ship stopped.
"What the heck?!"
"Aokiji," Robin spoke, tense, as she looked around them. "The sea around us is frozen."
"What? Why is an Admiral here?"
A bridge made of ice suddenly formed, connecting both ships, and the marine officers moved.
Robin crossed her arms in front of her and arms grew out of the incoming officers, squeezing the air out of them. Usopp, grabbing his slingshot, started shooting at them desperately.
"We can't fight here forever! We're sitting ducks in the middle of Marine ships, Robin!"
"Ice Make: Lance!"
An ice made spear suddenly flew towards Robin, and Erza swiftly blocked it with a shield – who appeared in her hands out of thin air. Usopp stared surprised at it.
"You can make shields appear too?"
"That attack…" Erza spoke, ignoring the sniper, "Gray?"
"Erza?!" Gray, getting into their field of vision, stared surprised at the redhead, "what are you doing with pirates?"
"What are you doing attacking us?" She asked back, "get over here!"
"They're… you don't know what they're capable of!"
"Dice Fleur," Robin's voice made Erza turn to face her, just as many arms grew out of Gray's body.
He froze them all before she could make them move, and she immediately dropped the attack, panting.
"Ice guy!" One of the officers called, just as Erza cut the bridge down, "stop chatting with them and take them down! We just need to stall until reinforcements arrive."
Gray didn't move, his eyes were still locked on Erza. After a minute in silence, he sighed and the ice around the ship melted.
"Go," he said, "I'll slow them down. I don't get why you're with them, but I'll trust your judgement." When she seemed about to protest, his expression softened, "trust me, too, will you? I'll find you guys, now go!"
Nodding, she told Usopp to set sail – which he was already doing – while Gray froze the entire ship he was on, and a wide area of water around it. As two other Marine ships arrived, he did the same freezing move, allowing the pirate group to escape.
"Shouldn't we have brought him with us?" Usopp asked, turning to face Erza after they reached safer waters, "he'll be arrested, or worse, for helping us."
"He can take care of himself," Erza affirmed, convinced, "I'd rather avoid battles for now, we're outnumbered and we need to find your crew – and my friends."
"You just left one of your friends behind!"
"He's the only one I don't worry about," she explained, thinking about the rest of the group. Wendy was too young to be alone in a world that seemed more violent than they were used to, and her tendency to help whoever got injured around her put her in even more danger. Lucy, although strong, wasn't as strong as the rest of them. Natsu, on the other hand, was too powerful, but also too impulsive, which could be just as dangerous as having no power at all.
Gray had power, and he tended to think things through before acting, so she didn't have to worry about him as much.
Why were we brought here?
The blond was a pervert.
That's the first thing Lucy noticed. He was running like hell from the group of okama people, which was a very creepy sight, and his speed was crazy impressive: he was as fast as Jet.
The most impressive thing, however, was how much he sped up once he saw Lucy. Suddenly, he was at her side, kneeling, and looking like he was about to propose. She couldn't help but notice that he had distinctive swirly eyebrows, which, at that moment, only made him look weirder.
"Who the hell are you?!" She asked, alarmed, just as the okama reached them.
"Sanji-boy," a huge headed okama spoke, staring at the blond man, who quickly stood up and tensed, but didn't run: he looked extremely torn between the okama and Lucy. "You finally stopped!"
"How could I not, at the sight of such beauty?" He asked in a melodious tone, staring at a perplexed Lucy. "Let us run away together, my love…"
"Lucy, he lllllikes you," Happy teased, rolling his tongue as he spoke, and earning a smack on his head from the blonde girl.
"We're wasting time here, Law," one of the crewmembers spoke, attracting everyone's attention, while the captain nodded in agreement. "You're Ivankov, right?"
"I remember you, boy," Ivankov spoke, eyes locked on Law, "you saved Dragon's son's life," as she said that, Law quietly nodded.
Lucy found it hard to believe that the guy was actually capable of altruistically saving someone's life. The blonde man turned to face Law upon hearing Ivankov's words, and Lucy wondered if maybe he was a friend of Nami and Zoro. She then remembered Nami mentioning someone named Sanji once…
"We are in your debt," Ivankov continued, "how may we be of help?"
"We are looking for provisions," Law spoke, and the Okama nodded and immediately ordered that food and supplies were brought to the shore. Ivankov himself moved to bring stuff as well, but not before telling Sanji to wait for them and blinking at him.
He shivered and made a disgusted face.
"You're a straw hat, aren't ya?" Law asked Sanji, whose expression changed to serious and nearly dangerous, "your crew is heading to Sabaody."
"You've seen the others?"
"Nami-chan and Zoro-san are with my friends," Lucy spoke in a friendlier tone, though he still stared at her as if she were a dream come true. It felt awkward, even to her standards – and she had gotten used to Loke by now. "They are alright."
He seemed relieved to hear that. Lighting up a cigarrete and leading it to his mouth, he spoke again.
"I guess I must head there as well," he decided, "I don't trust that marimo to protect my Nami-swan."
"He's really strong though," Happy defended Zoro, "I think he can protect her, and they have Wendy and Charle and Ace, too."
Sanji's eyes widened at that, and he looked at the exceed as if he had just told him the sky was falling.
"What did you just say?!"
"Happy! That's supposed to be a secret, remember? You can't say that in an island full of people, if someone listens…"
"That's for real? He's dead!"
Lucy shook her head negatively, looking around for anyone overhearing before she explained.
"Our friend saved him," she told him in a low voice, "he's sailing with them until he sees his brother."
Sanji's smile was the first one that didn't seem perverted or filled with hidden intentions, which made Lucy smile as well. He was a perverted guy, yes, but he also cared about his friends.
"I need to set sail," he decided, "I assume you didn't see any ships around here?"
"You can come along," Law surprised them, and his eyes fell on Lucy, "we have no quarrel with Strawhat for now."
Sanji frowned.
"Even if you say that…"
"Lucy's with us," Bepo added, and Sanji's words died in his mouth, replaced by heart-shaped eyes and a very excited expression. "I don't know why, though," the bear added, looking intrigued at his captain, who didn't answer.
Lucy didn't realize Law had a reason for allowing her to come along – but knowing what she learned about him thus far, it made sense. He didn't seem like the guy who'd just help out strays like Nami and Zoro.
She wondered if she should be prepared to have him as an enemy, but quickly shook that thought away.
He didn't seem like an evil person despite all his flaws and mystery.
"Someone's coming," suddenly, Law spoke, facing the ocean, and indeed, three ships with no flags approaching the island.
"Enemies?" Sanji asked, now in a battle posture.
"They're like that Kaze Kaze guy's ship," Happy spoke, and Lucy nodded, "they don't have flags."
"Kaze Kaze guy?"
"Some pirates attacked us when we were with Zoro-san and Nami-chan," Lucy explained, "before we met with Wendy and Law-san in the island. They had no flags and I think they were after your friends. Why are they here though? For you?"
"For you," Law told her, surprising her, "they were after the two of you," he added, and she was about to protest. "They're strong, you should hide."
"No way! I can fight!"
"If you hide, they might not attack," Bepo protested, and she hesitated, "they don't have anything against us."
Lucy nodded after thinking it through, and she and Happy hurried to the submarine, but arrows flying at them stopped the two. One barely missed Lucy, severing a strand of her hair.
"They saw us!" Happy shouted, and took Lucy up in the air, away from the arrows. Sanji looked impressed at the exceed, not expecting it to be able to fly.
"Law-boy, here are your supplies," just then, Ivankov arrived, along with her people, and they handed Law a few sacks of food and other necessities. They stopped when they saw cannonballs coming at them.
"How are they shooting cannonballs at the beach from that distance?" Bepo asked, dodging one.
"Why are people shooting?" One of the okama asked, exasperated.
"Death Wink!" Ivankov suddenly attacked, shattering the next cannonballs.
"Happy, take me closer to their ships and drop me into the water," Lucy commanded, and the exceed did as she asked, dropping her a few inches from the ships, ignoring Sanji's and the okama's calls of protest.
When she didn't sink, instead getting water to surround her and shield her, they stopped shouting. She had also changed her clothes somehow, and even her hair was different.
"Aqua Metria!" As she chanted it, huge waves covered the ships, washing them all towards the shore in a fast speed, and making most pirates fall into the ocean due to the water nearly sinking it. As they approached the shore, the rest of the pirates and okama moved.
"Room," Law called, making the dome surround himself and two ships, "tact".
The ships turned upside down, in the air, and crashed full force on the sand, rendering the people there unable to fight. Lucy returned to the shore and landed next to Sanji, who just then kicked a pirate with such force that he literally flew a long distance before falling into the ocean.
"Incredible," Lucy acknowledged, "Open, gate of the lion, Loke! Star dress: leo!" As she spoke, holding her golden key, they all watched, perplexed, a man appearing out of thin air and her clothes changing into a dress, while her hair changed into a more sophisticated style.
"What's that Devil Fruit?" One of the okama asked, impressed.
"Devil Fruit? She can swim though!"
"Lucy, my goddess, it's lovely to see you again," Loke spoke, and Lucy sighed: not two on the same day.
"Fight first, okay?" She asked, delivering a Regulus Lucy Kick on an approaching enemy. She stopped, looking around: the enemies were clearly losing, and yet they wouldn't back down. They had no numbers nor the power to defeat the group of pirates and okamas fighting.
What could they possibly want with her and Happy so badly anyway?
She looked at the black key on her keyring, wondering if it might have something to do with the object. It opened the door to the Sloth Demon, Abaddon, yet no spirits appeared when she called on it, it simply made a portal. Opening it again didn't work: she felt as if the key had died.
It had to be connected, though: it couldn't be a coincidence that she found a weird key, got transported to that world and then people started hunting them down, could it?
"Lucy! They won!" Happy called on her, snapping her back to reality. Sanji had grabbed one of the attackers by the neck and started interrogating him, but to no avail. He wouldn't speak, no matter how much Sanji kicked him up, and Loke didn't seem to scare him either.
"I don't think he knows," she spoke, watching the man carefully, and then looking around to the other defeated ones. "I think they are just following orders."
"There has to be a reason though, it can't be just a coincidence that they start hunting you as soon as you fell into this world," Loke spoke, realizing, only a second later, the implications of what he just revealed to the people around them.
Luckily the Okama were busy with Ivankov, getting rid of the pirates, and only Sanji, Law and Bepo heard the lion's words.
"Other world?" Sanji inquired, lighting up a cigarrete, "that explains how you can swim and use that power of yours. So it isn't a Devil Fruit?"
"We don't even know what that is," Happy told the blond.
"We should get going," Bepo said, looking around, "there might be more of them coming for her."
Law nodded, commanding the crew to carry the supplies onto the submarine before going himself, stopping only to stare at Lucy. He didn't say a word, but she knew he was waiting on her.
She closed Loke's gate, reversing the star dress and getting back into her regular clothes to save her magic power, and hurried after the captain. She stopped, though, before boarding the submarine.
"What about him?" She asked Law, turning around to look at a troubled Sanji. He seemed like he was in actual pain from seeing the girl leave him - probably due to perv reasons, she guessed - and disgusted to stay with the okama. But he looked like the kind of man who was too proud to ask for a favor, "he's Nami-chan's friend, right?"
"He can come along," Law's words got a smile out of her, "I might need the Strawhats one day, so the more they owe me, the better.
Ignoring the enigmatic reason, Lucy called out for Sanji, whose eyes seemed to turn into actual hearts before he arrived next to her in a flash. Complaining about how annoying he was, they all boarded the submarine and it finally set sail.
No Author's note today. I write on my phone and it was stolen three days ago, so I lost the AN because I hadn't updated it here yet and I really don't feel like writing everything I did again. So I'll set with a simple Thank You for reading and commenting (that's the most important thing I have to say, too, really! The readers and comments mean the world to me). And thank you for all the suggestions and advices. I'll take them all into consideration.
I noticed some questions, I'll address them in the next update, kay? :)