Chapter 3:
"I still don't get it. How'd you get so much money?" Usopp exclaimed as Nami opened up the briefcases in her hands.
The woman was barely paying attention to him but she answered, "We told him that God granted Luffy magical powers so that he could take the Seven Kingdoms," Nami replied and the man with the long nose laughed. She grinned and continued, "That was the banker's response. So I had Luffy go Gear Second and move so fast that to the teller it was like he disappeared. Then he showed up behind with a scary look on his face and the man agreed to pay us as much as we wanted."
"You're evil," Zoro said, though he was grinning at how rich they were now.
Arya still could barely believe what happened when she went with the two to the bank. She couldn't even see Luffy move and he had steam coming off of his body when he changed gears.
"Let's go!" Luffy shouted as they were the last ones back to the ship. "Franky send us off with a Coup de Burst!"
"You got it Luffy!" The cyborg shouted up.
"Thought you said you had to conserve cola?" Sanji questioned the robot as he went with him to set it up.
Franky laughed, "Turns out they have a drink here that works just like cola. I bought a bunch of barrels with some of our new funds. I was testing the different ones I hadn't heard of before in town this morning."
"That must have been interesting to see," Sanji could only imagine the looks on people's faces when Franky's chest opened up and the blue haired man started shoving drinks inside himself.
Up on deck, Arya was watching as the sailing ship slowed down. The pirates were furling the sails and getting ready for this weird thing they were talking about. "What's a Coup de Burst?" She asked Luffy as he ran past.
"Shishishi," he laughed and kept running. "You'll see."
"Preparations complete," Franky's voice sounded over the ship and Arya was getting nervous. "Coup de," he shouted and everyone braced themselves, "BURST!"
The Thousand Sunny was just sailing under the skirt of the statue when it jolted. Arya was so stunned that she fell on the deck and stared to the sides as she got closer to the clouds. "We're flying!" She yelled and got to her feet, looking back behind her and seeing the top of the giant statue for the first time as they shot away from it.
"Isn't Franky a great shipwright?" Luffy asked and started laughing again. "He made this awesome ship!"
"Wow," Arya whispered and looked off the sides. "A flying ship, magic powers, you guys are truly amazing."
The ship started to descend but it didn't drop. It fell lightly and skid on top of the water, not even rough enough of a landing to knock down the now standing girl. Sanji's the best chef I know, definitely better than the ones in Winterfell and King's Landing. The captain is so strong, Robin is smart, and Nami sneaky and clever. All of them had things about them that made them special. What purpose do I have here? Her purpose didn't seem to matter to the crew who had enjoyed themselves on their trip through the air. Her frown went away and she smiled, having greatly enjoyed the first time she'd ever flown.
And they're all, so welcoming, the girl thought. Maybe people from other lands are just nicer.
They were far out on the open water now and could barely see the strip of land behind them that was Braavos. "Where to now?" A voice asked the girl and she looked up to see Nami looking down at her.
"You're asking me?" She wondered at the navigator. Nami hadn't asked her about what she heard the night before, about the list of names, and Arya was glad. She didn't want to explain why she wanted to kill the boy who commanded the murder of her father, or the man who carried it out. She didn't want to talk about the man who betrayed her mother and brother and slaughtered them at a wedding.
Nami smiled at the girl and said, "Luffy's set on taking this, 'Iron Throne,' but I agree that we'll need help. You know this place better than any of us, so where to?"
Arya was never in charge. Only when she decided to go to Braavos was she in charge for a small moment, but then her power to choose on her own was gone. There was always someone giving her orders, but the captain of this ship didn't seem like the type to do that either. "My older brother, half-brother," she quickly corrected, the image of Robb's body with Grey Wind's head sewn on appearing in her mind when she called Jon her older brother. A look of pain shot over her face as she paused and Nami pretended not to notice. Arya continued, "Before I headed to Braavos I was on my way to him. He's in the far north in the Night's Watch."
"You think he'll help us?" Nami asked.
Arya nodded, "We were really close, and with everyone else..." She stopped and looked over the side of the ship, "I really need to see him." She realized she might be sounding a little selfish and added, "He's been training with a sword since he could walk since he was a bastard and had no claim to our land. I looked up to him a lot." Even though he was an outcast, he embraced it and fought hard and she used to want to be like him when she grew up.
"Alright then," Nami said, agreeing with the girl, "Usopp change the heading to Northwest!"
"You got it!" The guy with the long-nose shouted back.
The ship was only sailing for a few minutes when Usopp's voice called out over the speakers for everyone on the ship to hear. "Ship straight ahead!"
Everyone rushed out on deck and ran to the bow of the ship. There was a large ship about the size of there's heading straight towards them, or more likely the large city behind them. Usopp turned the helm to avoid them, but their ship matched and it looked like they were planning on intercepting the pirates.
Arya looked closer to the sails of the ship in the distance and then shouted, "It's from King's Landing, the capital of Westeros. It's one of the Lannister's ships."
"They're enemies right?" Luffy asked and the girl next to him was glaring at the boat with an intense hatred. A grin spread on his face and he held up an arm, "Guys! Get ready for battle!"
The crew started running around and Arya looked at the captain in the Straw Hat who was smiling really wide. "You're enjoying this? They're here to kill you." And me if they see me.
"They won't," Luffy said in a confident tone and the girl didn't see a reason to argue with him.
The two boats got close to each other and then Chopper yelled, "They're firing arrows at us!" The crew looked over and saw dozens of arrows lifting off the ship towards them.
Arya ran over and stood with her back against the mast. The other weaker members of the crew found places to hide. The girl looked to her left and right and saw the four stronger men standing out in the open as the arrows fell.
Luffy grinned and held up his hands, catching two arrows in midair and moving his head to the right to avoid a third. Zoro sliced around him with one sword and sheathed it just as fast. The arrows split in midair and collapsed harmlessly to the ground. Sanji took a puff of his cigarette and then moved out of the way of a few arrows before kicking one in the shaft and redirecting it back at the ship that fired on him. Franky just stood still and allowed four sharp arrows to slam into his chest and break on his steel plating.
"Whoa," Arya whispered as the four men cracked their necks and looked ready for battle.
"Pirates!" A voice shouted from the deck of the ship pulling up alongside them. "We've come to take your food and supplies. If you surrender, I might be merciful," the crew looked over at a man in fancy golden armor and a helmet standing at the edge of the ship looking towards them. There were a few dozen archers and sailors around him holding swords.
"Ser Meryn, I believe I said to be civil with them," an elderly man behind the knight spoke. He looked nervous as he stared at the pirate ship with four men visible on the deck.
"Attack!" Luffy yelled and the enemy were shocked that the ones they were attacking were now charging at them.
"Weapons left!" Franky yelled as he got to the side of the Sunny and pointed his arm off the side. A fire of bullets hit the ground near the enemies' feet and the wooden surface of their ship splintered out as the men shouted and jumped around to dodge the strange attack.
Arya was standing with her back against the wooden mast and her mind was blank. One word echoed through her mind as she knew she heard correctly. Merron...
Nami, Usopp, and Chopper ran back out of their hiding spots inside the deck and behind crates and started cheering on their friends.
"Face, Hip, Back, Mutton Shot!" Sanji kicked the men around him as he dodged their swords. Each of his kicks threw the men backwards, scaring the other men. The fear Sanji instilled was nothing to the fear they felt as the green haired man jumped on the ship with two long katanas drawn in each of his hands. They'd never seen swords like his and they sliced through their weapons with ease.
A few sailors were able to press their weapons against Zoro's, but he managed to push them back and cut them before their friends were able to gang up on him. None of his cuts were deep and the men writhed around on the floor like the ones hurt by Sanji's kicks.
Luffy jumped up in the air and aimed at the armored men in front of the guy in gold standing next to the mast, still not looking afraid. "Gum Gum Stamp Gattling Gun!" He slammed his feet down over and over and they crashed into the deck sending shards of wood and men flying everywhere.
He stopped throwing his Stamps down when some of the more trained swordsmen didn't freak out from his attack and tried to slice his legs. He dropped down and caught a blade coming down at his head between his hands. He pushed hard to the right and snapped the weapon in half before punching the man in the armor, denting it in and tossing him backwards into two of his comrades.
A man had his sword raised behind Luffy's head and the pirate started to turn just to see the man get hit by an explosion and thrown into the mast. "Thanks Usopp!" He yelled and the sniper on the deck of the Sunny rose his goggles and smirked with the slingshot in his hands.
"Meryn Trant!" A voice shouted over the battlefield and everyone stopped and looked over towards the deck of the pirate ship. There were men unconscious and bleeding all over the deck of the Lannister ship, only a few remained gathered around Mace Tyrell and their commander.
"I'm the Master of Coin for the Seven Kingdoms. Just don't kill me!" The old man shouted and everyone was ignoring him.
The pirates on the deck of the Lannister ship looked back and saw the young girl on their ship walking towards the side. The leading knight in between his remaining, strongest men, called out, "Who are you?!" He didn't associate himself with pirates and would have remembered this crew if he'd met them before.
"I guess it has been a while since we last met," Arya growled and jumped from the Sunny to the Lannister ship.
"Meryn Trant," Nami whispered in shock, having heard the girl say it before. "That's one of the names," Usopp and Chopper turned to her and Robin walked over from wherever she'd been the whole time and looked at her oddly too. Nami remembered it from the night before and a pit was forming in her stomach.
"Luffy," Arya whispered as she walked past the pirate in the Straw Hat, "don't interfere."
Luffy, Sanji, and Zoro all stared at the girl as she walked past the moaning men and drew her thin weapon. The knights in front of her started laughing and Merron glared down at the girl, "How do you know me?" She didn't answer, only took another step towards him. "Actually, it doesn't matter," he said with a nasty snarl, "you'll be dead in a minute anyway."
The knight pushed his men aside and drew a large sword from the sheath at his side. In his armor with the huge sword, he looked much more threatening than the girl before him.
"Luffy, do something," Nami called down to her captain but Luffy stood by and watched as the much bigger man walked towards Arya. The captain didn't budge from his spot and no one else was moving either.
Arya rose her sword and then started moving gracefully and everyone stared at her. She rose a leg and her Needle arced above her head as she twisted her arms. It looked like she was dancing and Merron laughed as he brought down his sword. The girl swiftly moved out of the way and then jumped backwards to avoid the sword as it was swung from the ground at her.
Ser Merron was fast even in his armor and every time his sword missed, he turned and swung again. The girl had no armor weighing her down and was nimble on her feet as she danced around him. The Water Dance, her style of fighting taught to her by Syrio Forel. He was her fighting teacher and her friend, and Meryn Trant cut him down.
With that anger fueling her, Arya dodged another attack and then stabbed forward at the split in armor on Trant's side between his chestplate and the back section. Unfortunately for her, Meryn had chain mail under his armor and the sword didn't have enough force behind it to pierce the armor.
Still, the man knew that without his under armor he'd have a sword in his side and he was furious. Instead of bringing around his entire sword, he used his other hand and backhanded her with a metal glove. She spun to the side and hit the ground, tasting blood in her mouth. The girl still had her sword clenched in her hand and rolled to the right, expecting the sword coming down while she lay on her stomach.
She rolled just in time and stabbed at the chink in the armor between the man's boot and his leg. This time she got through and sliced skin, causing the man above her to shout out in pain and stumble back.
The girl stood up and had a large welt on her left cheek and she rose her sword again. Zoro was watching her, judging her skills, strengths and weaknesses while she fought. There was something he admired about her sword. A sword with hesitation behind it wouldn't cut anything, but she had no hesitation. There was killing intent in her eyes and he stared at her as she moved around again.
Arya's head was throbbing and she clenched her teeth, swallowing the spit on the inside of her mouth as she got ready. Meryn was standing on both feet, ignoring the sharp pain in his left ankle.
Two knights on either side of him stepped forward to help but the man pushed them aside. "I don't need you to kill this girl," he growled and rose his sword again at her.
The man charged at her and she had to dodge his attacks, having no way to parry them with her small sword and body. She weaved between his attacks looking for an opening but he was better protected his time. He didn't underestimate her as much this time and was relentless in his strikes.
"I don't think she can do this," Sanji muttered to his captain and Zoro. "If she's in trouble I will step in."
"This isn't another woman for you to protect," Zoro stated as he stared ahead at the girl dodging the attacks and jumping around the ship, carefully moving away from her attacker, leading him while he thought he had her on the run. "This is a duel, if you can't watch go back to the ship curly cook."
Sanji growled at him and clenched his fists, trying to convince himself not to interfere. Arya brought the man close by pretending not to dodge, only for him to step on a plank that was loosened by Franky's attack earlier. His armored boot went through the floor and the girl struck for the part of skin between the helmet and the chestplate.
Merron didn't see the hole coming, but he rose his sword in time to block Arya's strike and then pushed back. He was too strong and she tumbled backwards, hitting a broken plank that slashed her left leg as she fell and she reached down with her free hand and grabbed it.
Nami winced and looked away in fear. Usopp wasn't going to snipe him and interrupt a duel, but he didn't want to look either and looked up. Both him and Nami dropped their jaws and screamed at the tops of their lungs.
Arya was on the deck of the Lannister ship and was staring scared at the man who pulled his foot out of the hole and was walking towards her with his sword in hand. He growled at her and had an evil smirk on his face, "Die."
They heard the screams and didn't look away, but when Meryn's men began screaming too, Arya looked over and saw them all staring straight up and falling to the ground.
Merron planned on killing her and then turning, but the girl in front of him stared up in the sky and her jaw dropped as her eyes widened too and he had to look. He tilted his head up and dropped his sword in shock, "Dragon," he whispered, having heard rumors of the Targaryan girl but never believing them. They all watched as it flapped its wings and moved across the sky.
The man heard something in front of him and realized he had forgotten completely about his opponent.
Everyone on both ships were staring up at the huge dragon flying high overhead as it flew over them, but one by one the Straw Hats looked down and stared wide-eyed at the change in pace of the duel. The man Arya was facing was backing up with his hands raised at his side while the girl moved just as fast forward until he was backed up against the mast and had nowhere to go. The point of Arya's blade was pointed inches away from his right eye and he couldn't move in fear of her plunging it in.
"What do we say to death?" She asked him and the man's eyes grew double their size. He recognized exactly who this girl was now. The last man he heard say those words was the Braavosi in King's Landing, and he said them to a young girl next to him.
"You're Arya Stark," Meryn Trant whispered.
"What do we say to death?" Arya asked him again and the man stared in fear at her as his eyes grew even more, giving her an even better target. "Not today," she plunged the sword straight through Meryn's eye, through the back of his head and into the wood of the mast, pinning him there with Needle.
Everyone on the crew had something special about them and now she knew what hers was. Ruthless, she thought as she stared at the man she just killed. But that's another name off the list.
"We give up," the old man surrounded by a dozen knights shouted. "Put down your weapons you fools, you're no match for them."
The men who just lost their leader didn't have any complaints and dropped their swords. The battle was won for the Straw Hats, but they didn't start cheering.
"Let's go," Zoro said and Sanji didn't argue with him this time as they got back on their ship. The Lannister men were confused why they weren't being captured or getting their weapons and gold stolen from them.
Luffy looked over at Arya who turned and made eye contact with him. He motioned towards their ship with his head and she nodded. The girl grabbed her sword and pulled with all her might, ripping it from the mast and then out of Merron's head. She wiped the blood on her shirt and then slid Needle back in its sheath.
"Who did we let on our ship?" Usopp whispered.
Robin looked at Usopp harshly, "A very troubled young girl. You shouldn't judge what she did without knowing the reason behind it," she scolded and the long-nosed man shut his mouth and nodded.
Chopper still couldn't help himself from backing up a few steps when Arya walked on the deck next to him. The doctor jumped off and ran onto the enemy ship where he made a quick look around. Besides the one man, the rest of their injuries weren't very severe and he left and went back to his ship, deciding not to waste any supplies on the enemies who would be fine anyway.
The young girl noticed that no one else on the ship was killed as she got off of it. These aren't any type of pirates I've ever seen, but if they really think they can take the Iron Throne without killing anyone, they've got another thing coming. Her eyes were dark as she got back on the Sunny, I guess I have a purpose on this crew after all.
A/N So... the Straw Hats kick ass in their usual badass fashion, and Arya steps it up a notch. Arya doesn't know the pasts of the Straw Hats either, but are they really ready for Westerosi style fighting? Or will they Dany the shit out of the place and "Break the Gears"? I don't really know, but what I do know is that they're heading off to find Arya's long gone half-brother who may or may not be at the Wall right now. I'm really happy about all the feedback from this story so thanks everyone for reading/faving/following/reviewing. Till next time!