Ch. 4- The Biscuits Room

One Piece © Oda

Blizzard, Aika, and Kumi © Me

The 4 Straw Hats and the samurai stared in shock at the sight of the children, who were just as shocked at their entrance.

"W-who are you?!" asked a giant blonde-haired boy, holding a soccer ball.

"S-strangers!" said a black-haired hair that was as tall as he is.

"Whoa! Check it out!" said the blonde-haired boy. "One of them is a robot! Awesome!"

Soon, the other boys became starry-eyed at the sight of Franky.

"Cool! A robot!"

"A stag beetle robot, too! The ultimate robot!"

"Well, Franky's already captured the hearts of the boys," Sanji noted.

"Are you…frozen ones?" asked the giant, black-haired girl. "How did you escape?!"

"Frozen ones?" Nami repeated. "What does she mean by that?"

"Are these giant children?!" asked Franky. "What are we, on an island of giants or something?!"

"No, wait!" Nami said. "Look! Some of them aren't that big, and others are still average-sized."

"Yeah, you're right, Nami," Chopper said.

At that moment, the children began clamoring all at once.

"Robot! Robot!"

"Stag Beetle Robot!"

"Aww, look! A raccoon-dog plush doll!"

"I am NOT a raccoon-dog!" Chopper shouted.

"Look at that man! He's got curly eyebrows!"

"Shut the hell up, you twerps!" Sanji barked. "What is this place?! A daycare for all races or something?!"

"You! Children!" the samurai shouted. "Answer my query! Have any of you seen a young boy who goes by the name of Momonosuke?!"

The kids before they all turned around and began to run!

"AAAAAAAAAAH! A TALKING HEAD!" cried the giant blonde boy.

"SCARY~!" cried a boy with a chestnut-shaped head.

"You IDIOT!" Sanji shouted as he squeezed the samurai's head. "Now they won't answer us!"

"Wait! Come back!" Nami cried. "Don't run away!"

Just then, the navigator felt something tapping her leg. She looked down and she saw Kumi, pawing at her left calf.

"A…a puppy?" Nami asked. "What's a puppy doing here?"

Kumi then sauntered over to the purple cube cushion and pointed her paw behind it. It was then that Nami realized that she wanted to show her something. The orange-haired woman walked over to the cushion and crouched down. As she pulled the cushion away…she found Aika, sitting in the corner, hugging her knees and wiggling her toes, nervously.

"A little girl?" Nami inquired before she looked at Kumi. "Is she your owner?"

Kumi nodded her head before she looked at Aika and went over to her before making small barks and yips.

"Well, how do you know that I can trust her?" Aika asked Kumi, who barked in reply. "It's not that I'm scared! It's just…"

"Can you…understand what your dog is saying?" Nami asked.

"Well…yeah," Aika answered. "I've been able to understand animals since I was a baby."

'Observation Haki,' Nami thought. 'Somehow…it doesn't surprise me. I guess it's because I'm used to Luffy talking to Blizzard so much, now.'

"Kumi said that I should start trusting people more," Aika said.

"I see…how about you tell me your name?" Nami asked, putting on a friendly smile. "I'm Nami. And you are?"

"…Aika," Aika answered. "Just Aika." She then pulled Kumi into her arms. "This is Kumi, my puppy."

RUFF-RUFF! Kumi barked.

"Those are both pretty names," Nami complimented.

Aika smiled.

"Thank you," she said. "I…I think your name is pretty, too."

Nami smiled and gently pet Aika on the head.

"You're such a sweet little girl," she said before she glanced at the children, who have now overcome their fear of the talking head and are playing around Franky, as well as smothering Chopper with hugs.

"Molly! It's my turn!" shouted a brunette girl as she tugged on Chopper's right arm. "I wanna cuddle him!"

"No, Jessie!" said a blue-haired girl, the one called Molly, who tugged on Chopper's left arm.

"Do you hear a popping sound?" Chopper asked with comical tears. "Yeah, that's the sound of my arms getting pulled out of their sockets."

"So…why aren't you playing with the other kids?" Nami asked Aika.

Aika tensed…before she looked away.

"…Because…they don't like me," she answered.

"They don't like you?" Nami repeated. "But…you seem so nice! Why wouldn't they like you?"

"Well…for one thing," Aika began, "it's because they think that me being able to talk to Kumi is weird."

"Well, I think it's very special," Nami said. "Not very many people can talk to animals like you."

Aika smiled at this.

"And…what's the other reason?" Nami asked.

"…The other reason is-" Aika began, but then…

"Nami!" Sanji shouted. "The guards are coming this way! We gotta get outta here!"

Nami gasped at this.

XXX

Outside the hallway where the Straw Hats just came from, the guards are seen heading towards the room where they are now located.

"Keep the use of knockout gas to a minimum!" said one of the guards. "The door to the Biscuits Room is open! No guns or explosives! You hit any of the children, and the Master will be furious with us!"

XXX

"Dammit," Sanji cursed. "Hey! You kids! Do you know what kind of facility this is?! Answer us!"

"Please, answer me!" the samurai cried. "I am looking for a boy named Momonosuke!"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAH!" the kids screamed before they ran away, again, in fear.

"Will you shut up?!" Nami snapped as she hit the samurai in the face. "You're scaring them worse!"

"AGH!" the samurai cried. "Struck by a woman, once again! My honor has been sullied! If only I could slice open my belly to regain it!"

"Go ahead and slice away!" Nami snapped. "Just shut the…heck up, you chauvinistic pig!"

(A/N: Yeah, don't curse, Nami. There are kids here.)

"Stop right there, fugitives!" the guards shouted as they entered. "You're not getting away!"

"AAAH!" one of the kids screamed.

"Hey, Mr. Robot-Man!" said the blonde-haired boy called to Franky as he ran alongside him. "Did you come from outside the island?!"

"Of course I did!" Franky answered with Chopper sitting on his shoulder. "But look, kid, I'm a cyborg, not a-"

"Do you guys have a ship?!" the boy asked.

"Do I?" Franky asked, flashing a thumbs-up. "The Sunny's the greatest ship the world's ever-"

"Save us!" the boy cried as he got in Franky's way. "PLEASE!"

"Huh?!" Franky questioned.

"What…?" Nami muttered, confused.

"What do you mean, 'Save us'?" Sanji asked.

"You mean…this isn't a nursery school?!" Chopper inquired.

"Please, help us, orange lady!" cried the black-haired girl. "Please!"

"Nami! Don't stop!" Sanji shouted. "We have to go!"

Nami was about to answer, but then the kids started shouting all at once.

"Yeah! Please help us!"

"We're not sick anymore!"

"Everyone's all better!"

"Sick?" Chopper repeated. "Sick with what, exactly?"

"Please!" the giant black-haired girl said, her eyes beginning to water. "I…I just wanna go home! Please, you have to help us!"

Nami gasped in surprise.

'W…what does this mean?!' she thought.

At that moment, the guards spotted the kids talking to Nami.

"Oh, dammit all!" said one of them. "Kids! Get away from them! They're bad, scary people! Come over here to us and we'll put them to sleep with our knockout gas! If you stand there, you'll get hit, too!"

At that moment, the kids started to panic and run away in a frenzy, again!

"AAAH! GUNS!"

"RUN AWAY!"

"That's right, kids!" said the guard. "Get out of the way!"

"Look sweetie," Nami said to the giant girl. "I'm really sorry, but we gotta go, now!"

The kids watched with teary eyes as Nami turned to follow Sanji, Chopper, and Franky.

"Then…come back and help us later!" the black-haired girl shouted, causing Nami to freeze. "We…we've never been outside, but we can guess! This island…it doesn't have any towns or anything, does it?!"

Nami looked up at the children, confused and concerned.

"Please!" the black-haired girl shouted. "No one's coming to save us! I…I WANNA GO HOME AND BE WITH MY MOMMY AND DADDY! IF YOU CAN'T SAVE US, NOW, THEN PLEASE COME BACK FOR US!"

Nami just stared up at the crying children in shock.

"I wanna go home, too!"

"Me, too! I miss my Dad and my big brothers!"

"I miss my Mommy~!"

"Please help us~!"

"What is going on here?!" Chopper questioned. "Should we take them with us?!"

"Hell no!" Franky answered…despite wiping away some tears. "We don't even know where we're going! How are we gonna manage anything with a gang of brats on our hands?!" He sniffled. "Man, what's with this tragic hunch I'm getting?!"

"C'mon, kids!" shouted the guard, who is now getting irritable. "Move it, I said!"

"Nami, c'mon!" Sanji shouted. "If Luffy finds out I let you get shot, he'll skin me alive!"

"…No," Nami answered.

Sanji and Franky braked to a halt.

"What?!" Sanji questioned.

"Nami, we gotta go!" Franky shouted.

"I'm not leaving," Nami said before she turned to boys. "Not without these kids! We're going to save them all!"

The kids gasped happily at this.

"Nami, with all due respect, don't you think you're getting ahead of yourself?!" Sanji questioned. "We don't HAVE to save them! Didn't they say they were sick?! Maybe this is some kind of hospital! We just met them about 15 seconds go, and we don't even know their story! We're not running a rescue charity, here!"

(A/N: Shut the hell up, Sanji, you jerk.)

"These children are CRYING for us to help!" Nami shouted. "How can we possibly turn our backs on them?!"

Sanji stared at Nami in shock.

"The kids aren't moving!" shouted one of the guards. "Those pirates are gonna get away!"

"Ah, forget it!" shouted the lead guard. "I've had enough! Just waste those kids along with them!"

The kids screamed at this, and Aika gasped as she backed up into a corner with Kumi standing before her, growling viciously. Just when the guard was about to open fire, Sanji jumped up…his leg ablaze.

"Diable Jambe…COLLIER STRIKE!"

THWAM! Sanji delivered a kick that was more powerful than his original Collier Shot!

"Sanji!" Nami exclaimed happily.

"Why you-" shouted one of the guards, but then…

"Kung-Fu POINT! HACHAAAA~!"

KAGONG! Chopper, in Kung-Fu Point, delivered a powerful uppercut to the guard's jaw!

"Strong RIGHT!"

CRRAANK! BAM! Franky fired his right fist at the remaining guards, causing the younger boys to cheer.

"A ROCKET PUNCH~!" they cried.

"They've turned around!" said one of the guards.

"They're not running!" shouted another.

"Nami's even more gorgeous when she acts all motherly around little kids," Sanji said. "So…I'll do this for her."

The samurai's head sneered at the sight…but he was also in shock at how strong the Straw Hats were.

"They may be lowly pirates," he noted, "but…they're certainly STRONG pirates!"

"Chopper, you go with Nami and the kids!" Sanji ordered. "Franky and I will stay behind and hold these guys off!"

"Got it! HWACHAAA!" Chopper exclaimed before he somersaulted to Nami's side.

"Listen up, you bunch of munchkins!" Sanji shouted. "Stay close to the pretty lady and the Kung-Fu raccoon-dog!"

"I AM NOT RACOON-DOG!" Chopper snapped.

"But make no mistake!" Sanji shouted. "I'm only doing this in response to Nami's heartbreaking kindness! The fact that she's sticking up for you brats actually makes me really hate you, right now!"

"Thanks, Mr. Curly-Eyebrows Man!" said one of the little boys.

"BITE ME!" Sanji snapped.

"C'mon, kids! We're getting out of here, right now!" Nami shouted.

The kids quickly hurried out to a back corridor…except for one: Aika, who is still sitting in the corner with Kumi at her side.

"Aika, c'mon!" Nami called. "We gotta go, now!"

"…No," Aika answered, turning away from Nami. "Just…go on without me."

"What?!" Nami questioned before she ran over to the shy little girl. "Aika, I can't leave you here! You have to come with us!"

"There's no point," Aika said. "Just leave me here."

"Aika, I don't understand," Nami said. "Don't you wanna come home?"

Aika tensed…and then she shrank back, chewing her lip. Kumi whimpered and nuzzled her face, trying to comfort her.

"Aika?" Nami asked, concerned.

"…I don't have a home, anymore," the 6-year-old answered, causing Nami to gasp silently.

"You…you don't have a home?" Nami asked. "You're…alone?"

Aika nodded…and started to sniffle.

"I…I don't have a Daddy," she said, "and my Mommy is…!" She choked back a sob…as tears spilled from her eyes. "My Mommy…is…!"

Suddenly, Nami pulled Aika into a tight embrace…as tears fell from her eyes, as well.

"…You poor, poor thing…!" she whispered.

Aika's eyes went wide in surprise…but then she whimpered before a soft sob escaped her mouth, and Kumi watched with a smile on her muzzle. Nami then pulled away from Aika, wiping her tears away first before she wiped away the little one's tears next.

"Aika, listen to me," Nami said. "If you come with us…I think I know someone who might be able to help you: my Captain, Monkey D. Luffy."

Aika blinked at Nami, curiously.

"When you meet him…he might come off as a little…loopy," Nami said, "but trust me…he'll help you. I know he will…you just have to trust me, okay?"

"…Okay," Aika said.

Nami chuckled and petted Aika's hair.

"Good girl," she praised.

Aika seemed surprised at first…but then, she made a broad, toothy grin…and what happened next really surprised Nami.

"Shishishi…!" Aika giggled, causing Nami to gasp in surprise.

'That…that laugh,' she thought. 'It sounded like…no…it can't be. It's probably just a coincidence!'

"Nami! C'mon!" Chopper called. "We have to go! HACHAAA!"

"I-I'm coming!" Nami said before she looked at Aika. "Let's go, Aika!"

"Okay," Aika answered.

With that, Nami took Aika into her arms and began to run after Chopper with Kumi following after her.

"See, Aika?" Kumi asked. "I told you that you could trust her!"

Aika smiled at Kumi and giggled, "Shishishi!"

XXX

Meanwhile, at the Straw Hats' former cell, the guards are investigating what happened. Among them…is what looked like a swirling cloud of mist or gas of some kind.

"I see," said the mysterious cloud. "This door was built to absorb all kinds of shocks, and yet…"

"Oh! Master, you're here!" said one of the guards.

"These burns," the cloud, whom the guards dubbed "Master" pondered. "Who are those people? I thought he was the only one who could produce laser technology! It looks like the work of Vegapunk's damned Pacifistas! So…you haven't caught our interlopers yet, have you?"

"We have them cornered in the Biscuits Room, Master!" the guard answered.

"Is Master here, yet?!" asked another guard as he came running.

"Yes, I'm here," said the Master. "What seems to be the trouble?"

"There's a G-5 battleship on the shore and-" the guard began, but he was quickly cut off.

"What?!" the Master questioned. "A battleship?! Drive them away, whatever it takes! Use the poison gas if you must! Killing Marine men is going to put them on our trail, and that's the last thing I need!"

"Yes, Master!" the guards shouted.

XXX

Above Punk Hazard, the bird-woman from before is seen flying in the sky, licking her lips.

"Do you see them?" she asked. "Hahahaha…"

"I'm about to take them down, right now! 5 intruders in all!" said a voice from a Mini Transponder Snail that was attached to her wing.

"Hmm-hmm-hmm," she chuckled. "Good."

XXX

Back on the burning side of Punk Hazard…

"WHAT?!" Usopp questioned, holding a Mini Transponder Snail in his hand. "Nobody's there?! You're by yourself?! And then, when you woke, you were surrounded by snow and ice?!"

"Yohohoho! Correct!" Brook's voice laughed on the other side. "It was quite the shock-chilling bone, you might say! Yohohohoho! …Err…hold on. 'Bone-shocking chill'? Err, no, a…oh, whatever! Yohohoho!"

'I think he means a bone-chilling shock,' Blizzard thought.

"YOHOHOHO-HACK-COFF-HORF!" Brook laughed, only to choke on his own laugh and cough, and a fart soon followed after. "Oh. Pardon me."

"Jokes aside," Usopp muttered, "who was it that was trying to steal the Sunny's cargo?"

"Oh, I haven't the foggiest idea," Brook answered. "Plus, I already cut them down. They appeared to be wearing some strange suits. Hazmat suits or something of the like."

"Perhaps they fired gas canisters that knock their targets unconscious?" Robin pondered. "If the weren't any notes left behind, they might have taken the other 4 off somewhere."

"Good point, Robin," Zoro agreed.

"Yeah," Usopp added. "I remember the same thing happening on Fishman Island, and since you're a skeleton Brook, they thought you were just a dead body."

"Ah, yes, of course," Brook agreed. "I suppose I'm quite the lucky fellow, wouldn't you concur?"

"And now the enemy thinks they've got all of us," Robin said. "Brook, tell us, do you see any buildings or people around your area?"

"Yohohohoho! It's as if can see everything already, Miss Robin! You're quite the brilliant detective, I must say!"

XXX

"Well, let's see," Brook said as he strolled across the snowy deck of the Sunny with a cup of tea in hand and the bodies of the strange men in suits lying around him, defeated. "Buildings, you say…yes. Yes, I do indeed see some buildings! Rather peculiar ones, at that!"

In front of Brook…there appears to be some sort of giant laboratory, covered in ice and snow.

"Alas," he said, "none of them look like restaurants."

"Brook, stay there, all right? We're on our way over there as we speak."

"Ah, Miss Robin, before you go, can I have a look at your-"

KOCHEP! The Mini Transponder Snail fell asleep before Brook could finish.

XXX

"So, are these Government men we're up against?" Zoro asked.

"Who knows?" Usopp asked. "As far as I'm concerned, I only WISH that they're 'men'! I mean, look around us! So far, we've crossed paths with a giant, fire-breathing dragon, a pair of legs with an upper half, a harpy, and…uh…hey, where did Luffy go?"

At that moment, everyone noticed that their Captain had disappeared.

"Luffy?" Blizzard called as he looked around. "Luffy? Luffy, where are y- WHOA!"

The wolf-dog soon spotted Luffy…tangling with what looked like a creature with the upper half made of a man's body…and the lower half made of a leopard's body.

"A…a Centaur?!" Usopp questioned. "But that's impossible!"

WHAM! Luffy kicked the Leopard Centaur in the jaw before he could hit him with his iron mace.

"Ugh…!" the Centaur groaned. "How…careless of me…I thought you were…one of us!"

THUD! The Leopard Centaur fell to the ground, unconscious.

"Who says I'm not?!" Luffy questioned. "I thought we were gonna be pals, but then you up and attack me!"

"Luffy!" Robin called. "Look out behind you! Two more!"

Luffy looked back and saw 2 more Centaurs charging at him: one with the lower half of a giraffe, armed with a saber, and another with the lower half of a gray wolf, armed with a spear.

"Take this!" shouted the Giraffe Centaur.

"You're gonna pay for that, you little brat!" shouted the Wolf Centaur.

"Huh?" Luffy muttered.

Just then, Blizzard came rushing towards the 2 Centaurs, growling viciously.

"Oh, it's ON NOW, you 4-legged, turd-sniffing butt-monkeys! RAAAAAAAAAARRGH!" he roared.

KABAM! Blizzard barreled right through them like a bowling and a set of pins, then he stood up his hind legs and started punching the Wolf Centaur with his paws, over and over!

'Right! Left! Right! Left! Right! Left! Right! Left!' he thought as he kept punching until his foe finally collapsed.

"HAHAHAHAHA!" Luffy laughed. "Go, Blizzard, go!"

However, the Giraffe Centaur stood back up, preparing to cut Luffy down from behind, but then, 100 arms appeared out of nowhere and grabbed.

"Cien Fleur…BELL FLOWER!"

KRRAAAAACCK! Robin painfully twisted the Giraffe Centaur's body all the way around, 180 degrees, snapping his spine, his legs, and his neck! Soon, he fell, just like his comrades.

"A leopard, a giraffe, and wolf?" Zoro asked.

"They're supposed to have horse legs…not that Centaurs actually exist!" Usopp said before he got down on his knees and began to search through their clothing. He soon pulled up a Mini Transponder Snail with the letters "CC" stamped on its shell. "Hey, check it out! This snail says 'CC' on it! That means that these guys probably aren't wild Centaurs. They must be in some kind of group."

"I guess so," Zoro said.

"Anyway, now we know there's no point in crossing the sea of fire, again," Usopp explained, "since the ship's not gonna be there. We have no choice but to make our way over to the icy side of the island. Not to mention 4 of our crewmates are missing!"

"I'd wager on them being 'captive', not just missing," Robin pondered. "Let's hope they haven't been killed by the firing squad, yet."

"Will you cut the morbid crap, already?!" Usopp questioned.

'Are you TRYING to scare us?!' Blizzard thought.

"Guess it would've been much quicker if we'd gotten off on the other side of the island to begin with," Zoro noted.

"Well, I guess," Luffy said, "but then we wouldn't have gotten to eat that dragon and I wouldn't have met Ashimaro!"

"'Ashimaro'?" Blizzard repeated. "What the hell is that?"

"Oh! It's the name of my new back legs!" Luffy answered. "Anyway, let's go. I wanna hurry and find Nami. I'm getting worried about her."

"It's decided then!" Usopp exclaimed. "We're off for the land of ice to rescue our friends!"

"Do you think they sell Winter clothes somewhere along the way?" Robin asked.

"No kidding," Usopp said. "We'll freeze to death if we go like this! Well…except for Blizzard, that is."

"Hmm…good point," Luffy agreed. "Hey Blizzard, can I borrow your fur coat for a minute?"

"Huh? Oh, sure, just lemme…" Blizzard began…when it him. "I CAN'T TAKE THIS OFF, YOU MORON!"

XXX

Meanwhile, on Punk Hazard's Northwestern Coast, Smoker and his men are seen sailing their battleship into the icy bay.

"Vice-Admiral Smoker!" called one of the G-5 soldiers. "We can't do this! There's poison gas everywhere!"

"When Vegapunk's stupid chemical weapons experiment failed, 4 years ago," another explained, it rendered the whole entire island uninhabitable! Besides, I don't see Straw Hat Luffy's pirate ship anywhere near here! Plus, the gas is so thick, nobody could've reached the land, anyway!"

"No," Smoker said. "This is unnatural. The gas shouldn't be this thick. 2 years ago, this island was just barren. No fire, no ice. Surprisingly, the area was no longer toxic…and that, men…is exactly why Akainu and Aokiji…chose Punk Hazard to be their dueling ground."

Everyone except Tashigi gasped.

"The location of a battle, so fierce," Smoker said, "that it changed the climate of the whole entire island!"

TO BE CONTINUED…

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