Thanks for all the reviews from the last chapter, guys! Here is the next one, so enjoy.
'Where am I?' I wondered as I limped around the bare streets, the wind howling through the lanes. 'I hope the others are okay…' My side ached with every step that I took, but it didn't stop me. Lucci had gotten me good, but it wasn't enough to kill me. Somehow I'd managed to land in a waterway, passing out for a few seconds until I was near the point of drowning. Suddenly, I'd gained consciousness and swum up to the surface to drag myself out.
I'd lain on the pathway for a few minutes, body shaking from the pain as I considered what had happened. I'd heard Ikol's voice in my head just as that strange power came into play. I'd managed to move Lucci. Whatever it was, it was powerful. I had no idea who to do it again though.
After I managed to regain my strength, I'd stood back up, going in search of my friends. If I was still alive, Zoro and Luffy should be as well. And Chopper and Nami as well.
"LUFFY."
"ZORO."
"SANJI."
"USOPP."
"MAMORI."
The sound of people calling the names of my friends and myself reached my ears, confusing me when I realized that it didn't sound like anyone I knew. I broke out into a stiff run, carefully stretching my injuries, making my way towards the voices. Skidding around a corner, I stumbled to a stop when I saw a small group of shipwrights.
'What the hell do you want?' I snarled, my lips peeling back to show my teeth. 'Where are my friends!'
"Hey! That's the Straw Hats' dog, isn't it?" one of the men asked the group.
"It is! We found Mamori."
'I am not going down without a fight. Bring it on,' I growled, taking a menacing step forward. Injured or not, I would kick their asses.
"Woah! Hold up, dog!" one of them protested, holding up his hands in a motion of surrender. "We aren't here to fight you. That female of yours, Nami, is looking for you all."
'Nami? Thank the gods! She's okay!' My body swayed in relief, my snarl dropping.
"She's going to train station to stop Nico Robin, and she wants you all to find her," another chipped in.
'Robin…? We're still going after her… Something must have happened. Where is the train station!' I glanced around, ready to break into a run again.
"We'll take you to her! Follow us!"
They led me to a place where I met up with Chopper, Nami and more shipwrights. I almost tackled Chopper and Nami, glad to see that they were both still alive and in one piece. Once I was sure neither of them would keel over any second, I calmed down enough for Nami to explain what had happened. Robin had only gone with them because they threatened our lives. She didn't want to go.
"Is that right! So Sanji made it on the train!" Chopper gasped. "Usopp's on the train too?"
"So anyway! No matter how we get to Enies Lobby, we can't leave until we find Luffy and Zoro!" Nami exclaimed. "Since this is definitely the direction they flew in… Somehow we need to search around here. Everyone search, please!"
"Leave it to us!" the shipwrights cheered. "We already found the dog, we can find the others!"
'Please, I found you,' I snorted. 'Luffy and Zoro won't be that easy.'
It started raining not long after the search had begun, but we didn't manage to locate anyone. My nose, and Chopper's, didn't work well in the rain. The tide was coming in higher and receding out further and further; a signal of a big wave coming. We had all gathered back at the shipyard, on higher ground, staring out the receding sea.
"Can it be…" one of the shipwright muttered. "Is it even possible for the tide to recede this much?"
"The sounds of the ocean have stopped," Paulie said, ignoring the rain that was covering us. "Which can only mean that huge waves with come! The back streets will be completely swallowed."
"There's nobody left in the back streets, right? If there are, they're done for!"
'But… Luffy… Zoro…' I mumbled, squinting against the rain.
"Hey, you, pirate girl," the old drunk woman from the train station called to Nami. Next to her, standing on the railing, were the bunny and the young girl.
"Kokoro," she said, surprised.
"Miss pirate lady! Hey! Look over there! Something's over there!" the young girl chirped and Nami and I walked over to her.
"Something? What've you been looking at all this time, Chimney?" the old lady asked.
Nami peered at where the young girl was pointing in the distance and I jumped up on the railing next to her, head tilting to the side as I glanced through the rain.
"LUFFY!"
'THAT'S LUFFY STUCK BETWEEN TWO BUILDINGS. HOW. THE. BLOODY. HELL!' I snapped.
"Hmm? That Straw Hat… Hey, girl, isn't that your easygoing pirate king? What's he doing there?" Kokoro mumbled, but I hardly heard her because Nami and I were already running to the stairs that led to the back streets. Luffy was in trouble. "HEY! WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING? DON'T YOU KNOW YOU CAN'T GO INTO THE BACK STREETS NOW!"
"DID SHE SAY THE BACK STREETS!" some of the shipwrights panicked. "HEY, SOMEBODY STOP THAT GIRL AND DOG!" They started running after us, but we ran faster than them.
"COME BACK HERE!" the old lady yelled. "DON'T YOU WANT TO STAY ALIVE? AQUA LAGUNA IS COMING!"
'We won't, and can't, live without our captain! We need to save him! WE ARE NAKAMA!' I growled to myself as a leapt down the stairs several at a time.
"This is awful! That pirate woman and her dog! They went running down the stairs!"
"Come back! Don't go down there!"
We got about half way down the stairs, rain pouring down on us as we ran and then I decided it was taking too long. We wouldn't make it to the bottom in time to go find Luffy. When we came to the first platform on the stairs Nami ran to the edge and launched herself off, aiming to land on the roof of the nearby buildings. I followed her, almost slipping off the roof when my paws came in contact with the slippery surface.
"Hurry, Mamori! We don't have time!" Nami screamed over the wind, running over to edge of the roof, jumping onto the next one. I regained my balance and took off after her, jumping from roof to roof as we got closer and closer to where Luffy was.
'Please let this work,' I prayed, rain spraying against my face.
"It's no good…" Nami panted as she skidded to a stop at the edge of a roof. All the other buildings were too far away for us to jump from. I stopped next to her, my eyes landing straight on Luffy who was not that far away from us. Nami took a deep breathe before screaming, "LUFFY! YOU MORON! WHAT'RE YOU DOING UP THERE?"
'IT'S COMING!' I yelled, glancing at the oncoming wave from the corner of my eye. We were all going to be washed away if Luffy didn't hurry up.
"NYO… NYOMI!" a muffled voice yelled. "YOU BEHIN' ME? JEEZ, HEY, PLEASH LISSEN T'ME! I WAS FLUNG 'AY DAT PIGEON GUY. AND SHO I FLEW AN' KIN'A GOT SHTUCK IN THISH CONVEN'NT PLASHE!"
Nami's body started to shake as tears poured out of her eyes, mixing with the rain. I leant my wet, soggy body against her leg, closing my eyes.
"….DON'T JOKE AT A TIME LIKE THIS! WHILE YOU WERE SCREWING AROUND, ROBIN'S BEEN TAKEN AWAY! FOR ALL OF US, ROBIN… SHE'S GOING TO DIE FOR US! ROBIN SACRIFICED HERSELF FOR US! SHE PROTECTED US FROM BEING ATTACKED BY THE GOVERNMENT! EVEN WITH KNOWING SHE MIGHT BE KILLED."
"SO... ROBIN WAS LYING AFTER ALL!"
"YES!"
'YES! NOW GET YOUR ASS OUT AND HELP US SAVE HER!'
"DON'T WORRY! I WON'T LET ROBIN DIE!' Luffy yelled as the wave seemed to get closer and closer. The sounds of the shipwrights yelling at us to move drifted to me on the wind as I stood strong by Nami's side, waiting for my captain. The sea and waves be dammed; one day they'd belong to Luffy. I wasn't going to bow out to them.
"What the…" Nami panted as the wave rose above is, swallowing us in it's shadow. At the same time the buildings the Luffy was trapped between cracked and then shattered, leaving Luffy free to fling his arm towards us.
"LET'S GO, NAMI, MAMORI!" Luffy yelled, his arm wrapping around the two of us like a rope. Nami and I both cried out in shock as we were pushed together and pulled off our feet, Luffy's other arm latching on to the bridge, pulling us towards it. The waves crashed right behind us, taking out most of the buildings from the force of it. I closed my eyes, praying we would make it in time.
Nami screamed into my ear until we found ourselves sprawled on the platform of the bridge, the waves licking at the bottom of it. I dragged myself into a sitting position, looking up to see Chopper and Zoro both sprawled out on the ground as well.
'CHOPPER! YOU FOUND ZORO!' I yelled happily, my body heaving as I panted in and out. That was way too close.
"The made it to the big bridge!" The shipwrights called from the stairs above us. "As expected, they can't be reached there! They did it!"
"You guys are amazing!"
"You've done it, Straw Hat!"
"Huh?" Luffy mumbled as a shadow fell over us, causing us all to look up at the next wave that loomed above us. I didn't even manage to take a breath in before the wave smashed over us, swallowing us in its depths. Before I could be pulled away by the wave, something wrapped itself around my back leg, yanking me roughly from the water.
"WAHH!" everyone cried out as they were thrown on the ground, Paulie dropping the ropes that had pulled us out. He was standing on the platform with us, drenched in rain. The bridge started to collapse under us. Zoro and Luffy got to their feet within seconds, Zoro grabbing Chopper, and Luffy grabbing Nami. Paulie and I got ourselves up and legged it with Zoro and Luffy, the wave biting out our heels like a rabid dog.
'SIT, BOY.' I yelled at the waves, pumping my legs. 'SIT. BAD BOY. VERY BAD BOY!'
"HURRY! THE BRIDGE IS COLLAPSING!" the shipwrights yelled. "RUN!"
"AHHHH!" Just as we reached the platform we all threw ourselves in the air, away from the wave at it slammed into the wall of the level, destroying the bridge we were on mere seconds ago.
"That was one scary wave! I can't believe the sea level rose all the way to Zousenjima! We're in danger, even with standing up here. The tide is subsiding again!" a shipwright said as the rest of us landed on the ground and lay there panting.
"Of course, it'll keep repeating for a second time, and a third time… It'll keep coming back. We should get inland for safety." another agreed.
"You're all crazy…" Paulie panted as he pushed himself up into a sitting position. I gathered enough energy to crawl over to him, dropping my head in his lap in a friendly manner.
'You saved us all. Thank you,' I cooed, rubbing the side of my head into his stomach. He looked at me, surprised for a second as he muttered something and ruffled the wet fur on my head.
"Thanks for the help, rope guy," Luffy muttered, breathless.
"How terrifying!" Nami wrapped her arms around herself. "So that was Aqua Laguna! I'm still shaking from fright.
"No, were it like that every year, this island would've been long gone. It's abnormally strong this year!" Paulie said as I stood up, stepping away from him, shaking out my coat.
"Even I was scared for you, you're very lucky to have survived that," Kokoro pointed out, walking over to us as she took a swig of her bottle.
"Ah! Monster Granny! You're here too?" Luffy asked.
"Of course, if I'd stayed at sea I'd have drowned and become fish bait already! Ngagaga!"
"Pirate brother was so cool!" the young girl cheered.
'Yeah, yeah!' the rabbit agreed.
Zoro let out a huge gasp as he ripped Chopper off his face from where he'd been clinging. "BUHAAH! I ALMOST SUFFOCATED! YOU IDIOT! DON'T GRAB ONTO MY HEAD AND THEN PASS OUT…"
'Gentle with him!' I scolded, growling at Zoro as I walked over to check on Chopper.
"Ah! Zoro! Why were you swallowed by the wave? Were you down there too?" Luffy asked.
"Uh… Not exactly…" he mumbled.
"He got stuck in a chimney!" Chopper chirped, suddenly waking up.
"You got stuck in a chimney! Ahahaha! Zoro, that's stupid! You're funny!" Luffy laughed as Zoro wrapped his hands around Chopper's neck.
"YOU WEREN'T ANY BETTER!" Nami yelled, grabbing the side of Luffy's face and pulling it. "YOU'RE ALL IDIOTS!"
'Everything is back to normal with these guys… Thank goodness…' I sighed.
"Ah, where's Sanji?" Luffy asked.
"Oh, yeah, I have something to tell you. Zoro, you should listen too," Nami said before explaining the situation to Luffy and Zoro about how Robin was forced into betraying us and how Sanji and Usopp were on the train with her.
"What's there to think about!" Luffy demanded, cracking his knuckles. "Let's set sail and go after them!"
"There's no other way," Zoro agreed.
"Hey! Rope guy! Lend us a boat!" Luffy requested. "By the way, is there another sea train?"
"There's only one sea train in the world, the Puffing Tom," Paulie explained. "It's a miracle that the legendary carpenters spent 10 years in cooperation to create."
"Then let us borrow a ship! Give us your strongest and fastest ship!" Luffy said.
"Are you all brainless or something!" Paulie yelled. "Don't you see how rough it is out there!"
"Yeah! You can't set sail in this weather!"
"It'd be suicide!"
"In the past, it has always been impossible to set sail during the Aqua Laguna," Paulie explained. "And now… Look at the ruins underneath us! Before now, Aqua Laguna hasn't even caused even close to this much damage. Even if we give you the biggest war ship we have, it'll shatter into pieces against these monster waves! I won't give you a ship just so you can die out there! Wait 'til morning. After the tides subside, I'll give you a ship." He pointed at the shipwrights. "The rest of you, got to the shelters. We're done with the search."
"If we wait until morning, won't it be too late?" Nami asked. "I know what kind of a place Enies Lobby is… I remember you said that it's the Government's island. Isn't that where the Gate of Justice is? The fact that someone is being taken to Enies Lobby is evidence enough for the crime. The accused would simply be taken through an empty courthouse to a giant, cold, iron gate. After the criminal passes through the Gate of Justice, they will never again see the light of day because there are only two places that you can go to from that island. One is the heart, Justice, the marine's headquarters. The other is an island covered with interrogation chambers and execution rooms housing all kinds of dangerous criminals from all over the world. The great prison of the deep blue… Impel Down. Enies Lobby has no sympathy for criminals, they're sent directly to jail. It's a place that's judicial in name alone! AM I RIGHT! ROBIN IS A WANTED CRIMINAL! NO MATTER WHERE SHE'S TAKEN, ONLY HELL AWAITS HER! WHILE WE'RE WASTING TIME HERE, SHE'S GETTING CLOSE TO THE GATE OF JUSTICE! HOW CAN WE POSSIBLY WAIT UNTIL MORNING!"
"If you're finished, let me remind you of something," Paulie said. "Even if the sea calms down long enough for you to sail away, you shouldn't go there! Don't forget that you're pirates yourselves! Enies Lobby is the front door to the center of the World Government. There has to be very strong military forces defending it. No matter what kind of pirates you are, there's no way you can go and get your friends out of there successfully. Knowing what will definitely happen if you go… DO YOU STILL PLAN TO WAGE WAR IN THE CENTER OF THE WORLD GOVERNMENT!"
'…Of course,' I replied dangerously, my tail swishing behind me. 'We're pirates! We're already at war with the Government!'
"Yeah! Just forget it!"
"Aqua Laguna's too strong, you won't be able to set sail before morning!"
"Even if you make it there, you're still doomed!"
"You'll never make it!"
"In that case…" Luffy growled as a wave smashed into the side of the wall, knocking several shipwrights off their feet. "WE'LL TAKE THE SHIP BY FORCE. WE'RE LEAVING NOW!"
"What!"
"Wha!"
"He's going all out!"
"Shocking!"
"OUR FRIENDS ARE WAITING FOR US! DON'T GET IN OUR WAY!" Luffy screamed at them.
"Fine!" Paulie said, stepping up with his rope out. "You'll have to get through me first." Everyone slipped into battle ready positions.
"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!" Kokoro yelled, drawing everyone's attention. "Paulie is right. You're not thinking straight Straw Hats."
"You're annoying! It's not like you know-" Luffy started to say.
"You think I don't know?" she interrupted. "You should hear me out first. If we let you go like this, you'll end up dead in a flash. Listen carefully, if there's anything that can survive this unprecedented Aqua Laguna, it's the sea train made by the man in the legend. If you're determined to put your lives on the line for this, then follow me. I'll start the sea train for you."
"This warehouse has been abandoned for 8 years," Kokoro explained as she opened the door to an underground warehouse. We all followed her down into it. "The train hasn't been touched in 12 years. It might not work anymore, Ngagaga!"
"Hey, that's bad!" Nami snapped.
"I have a key for the lock on the door…" she said as we came to another set of doors, Luffy running ahead and swinging them open. "Hm? It's open."
"WOAH! THERE IT IS! IT'S COOL!" Luffy cheered.
"First off, it's not a good thing," she said as we all entered the cavern to see a sea train modeled to look like a shark. "The name's Rocket Man. It can't carry any passengers on it, because it's a runaway sea train."
"Runaway sea train?" Zoro asked.
"The shark's head was just a joke though," Kokoro laughed.
"It's looks fast!" Luffy called out, sparkles in his eyes.
'…It looks like Luffy's kind of thing,' I sweat-dropped.
A door on the train swung open and none other then Iceberg stepped out.
"Hey! It's Uncle Iceberg!" Luffy said.
"Straw Hat… So you were safe, just like the pirate girl said," Iceberg mumbled. "Kokoro, you brought them here?"
"I see you're still alive, Iceberg!" she laughed. "What're you going here?
"If I'm here, I must've had the same idea you had. We can't leave these idiots be." He went and sat down on a box next to train as we walked over to it. "Use it. I've prepared it for you. It has water and coal, it's gathering steam now."
"Uncle prepared it for us!" Luffy cheered.
"Celebrate after you survive. The rocket man is a failure prototype that was built before Puffing Tom. No matter how you adjust the steam rate, you just can't slow it down. You'll easily lose control. I can't guarantee your safety."
'Luffy likes fast things… That won't bother him,' I sighed, shaking my head.
"Okay! Thank, Uncle Ice!" Luffy chirped, jumping onto the stairs. "Yeah, let's go, guys! Get on! Old lady, let's go as soon as Nami gets here!" Luffy tripped and stumbled as he made it to the last step. "Ugn… Oops…"
"Luffy, are you okay!" Chopper panicked. "You've been wobbly since earlier!"
"You've lost too much blood," Zoro pointed out, crossing his arms.
'…Like you can talk,' I hissed, sending him a dirty look.
"Yeah, I can't maintain my strength right now… If only I had some meat," Luffy grumbled.
"SORRY I'M LATE!" Nami yelled out, running through the door with two men pulling a cart with a large brown sack in it. My nose twitched as I smelt it.
'Is that…'
"Nami! Hey. What're you doing! Get on, stupid!" Luffy demanded. "Where were you! Who's the one that said there wasn't any time! What's all the stuff?"
"Meat and Sake," she said and before she could even blink, Luffy and Zoro were raiding the sack.
"SORRY I COMPLAINED."
"STRAW HAT!" A loud group of voices yelled from the doorway.
"These guys," Luffy said, mouth full of food.
"The Franky Family!" Nami gasped.
"At a time like this," Zoro hissed.
'The fuck y'all want?' I grunted, glowering at them.
"PLEASE TAKE US WITH YOU!" the leader of the group begged, tears streaming out of his eyes. "We heard from the guys at Galley-La that bro's going to Enies Lobby! He's being escorted by the Government! We wanted to go after them but we can't get past Aqua Laguna!"
"You'd be going against the World Government though," Kokoro pointed out.
"We don't care who it is!"
"We're getting our bro back!"
"We'd throw ours lives away for our bro!"
"Please!"
"You've got to be joking!" Nami snapped. "Do you realize what you've done to us!"
"We're begging you!" the leader said, getting on his hands and knees. "We want to save our bro!"
"GET ON! HURRY!" Luffy yelled.
"Straw Hat…" they all cried.
"Hey, Luffy!" Nami argued.
"It's cool," he laughed, smiling. I turned my head away from Nami to hide my own smile. I may not have been impressed by what they did to Usopp, but we'd gotten them back. We were both even now, why carry it on anymore?
"THANK YOU! WE'LL REMEMBER THIS! We don't have to get on!" the leader said. "We'll just follow you guys out using our king bull. We just need to get it attached to the back of the train! Thank you!"
"Let's go then!" Kokoro laugher, taking another swig of her bottle. "You pirates better not get thrown off! Now leaving Water Seven. Destination: Enies Lobby."
'Wait, wait, wait!' I snapped. 'Whose bright idea was it to let the drunk old woman drive!'
"ROCKET MAN IS LEAVING THE CANAL! READY YOURSELVES, EVERYONE!" Kokoro yelled as the sea train went flying out of the canal and into the air, aiming for the open sea below up. I had my head sticking out the window of the train, the air blowing straight in my face.
"WOW! WE'RE FLYING!" Luffy yelled from the front of the train where he'd decided to sit.
"FLY, SODOM! GOMORRAH!" voices called from behind us and I looked back to see two giant king bulls also come flying out the canal, the Franky's ship attached to the back of them.
"STRAW HAT!" the leader yelled out. "THE FRANKY FAMILY HAS A TOTAL OF 50 MEMBERS! THANKS FOR EVERYTHING YOU'VE DONE!"
"WOW!" Luffy called out. "SUCH HUGE YAGARA BULLS!"
"They're king bulls," Kokoro corrected. "Top-quality bulls that can roam in even the most violent of waves."
"Fire the link cannons!" the Frankys yelled, firing a spiked bar for their transport that hit the back of the train. The train was jarred violently as it connected, causing it to shake.
"Those damned idiots!" Zoro hissed.
"We're depending on you guys now!"
"DON'T BE SO COCKY!" Zoro yelled back before slamming the window closed and throwing himself down on a bench with some booze. Using my nose, I closed my window and jumped up on the chair next to Zoro, dropping my head on my paws.
"Urgent message from the control room!" the old lady's voice came over the speakers. "We will be latching onto the rail soon, and that means your speed will increase considerably! Please brace yourselves so you'll only receive minor injuries!"
'Only?' I asked doubtfully
"So… We'll get hurt no matter what?" Nami mumbled.
I felt the train latch onto the railings, the speed increasing to a considerably dramatic degree, sending Zoro and I flying off the seat. Nami, Zoro, and I all slammed into the back wall and then crumpled to the ground, laying there in shock.
"…MINOR INJURIES!" Nami screamed.
I twitched, trying to keep myself calm.
"That was an amazing acceleration," the Franky Family leader sighed.
"Ngagaga! It's not acceleration, it's gone out of control!" Kokoro laughed.
"My back," complained a shipwright, rubbing said back.
"That scared the hell out of me!" another shipwright replied.
I twitched again, staring down the unexpected guests that had descended upon the cart after we got onto the railing.
"That wasn't a first-class seat after all…" Luffy grumbled. "I almost got blown away."
"Wait a minute…" Zoro said. "There are some suspicious looking people in here."
'Yeah,' I agreed.
"Oh? Who?" the two stray-shipwrights asked.
"YOU!" snapped Paulie.
"YOU TOO!" Zoro yelled.
"The enemy that kidnapped your friends also tried to assassinate Mr. Iceberg," Paulie said. "Since I couldn't stop you guys… I might as well join you! This has nothing to do with Galley-La though, it's personal."
'And you were so damn against us going,' I snorted.
"Gahaha! Paulie! We wanted to see who Iceberg's enemies are, so we followed you onto the train!" the larger of the two shipwrights proclaimed lousily. "We hid together in the coal car."
"It's just as I'd thought," the smaller of the two said. "So that's what's going on. We're joining you too!"
I sent Paulie a sharp look, narrowed eyes. 'You haven't told them?'
"Moreover those enemies are the same as the people who kidnapped our bro!" the Franky leader butted in.
"That's right!" one of the two female Franky twins agreed. "And we know exactly who they are, too!"
"Galley-La!" the other twin snapped. "If anything happens to bro, you're going to pay!"
"Shut up!" Paulie yelled. "The one who's suffering the most is Mr. Iceberg!"
"Paulie!" the larger shipwright said. "Explain something to us first!"
"You know who the real criminals are…" the other continued. "So tell us yourself. We're not stupid. We've pretty much figured it out. We won't be surprised."
"…Well, you probably figured it out since they all suddenly disappeared, but I'll fully explain it," Paulie sighed. "Those guys with the masks were actually Lucci, Kaku, Kalifa and Blueno from the bar. Those four were actually spies from the World Government. They tried to kill Mr. Iceberg!" Both the shipwrights suddenly looked really surprised, their jaws dropping in horror. "YOU DIDN'T KNOW! WHO DID YOU THINK THEY WERE!"
"Michael and Hoyker from the old town?" the large one gasped.
"Yeah! Yeah!" the other agreed.
"Who the hell are they!" Paulie snapped.
I twitched yet again. 'Damn stowaways are going to get themselves killed.'
"So!" Luffy interrupted. "Franky Family and Galley-La shipwrights… Even though we had some problems with each other in town, our enemies are the same now. In the upcoming fights… The strongest guy is the pigeon bastard! I will definitely kick his ass!"
"That's right," Zoro agreed. "The reason for this fight is to take back what those four people took from us. It won't end until we get them."
"Granma! Granma!" Chimney chirped suddenly, popping out from the control room. "It's the Aqua Laguna!"
'Yeah, yeah!' the bunny agreed.
"By the way, Granny Kokoro, shouldn't you be in the control room?" Nami asked.
"Ngagaga," she laughed. "I've told you before! Rocket Man is a runaway train! My job was to get the train on the rails. The brakes are useless, so it's impossible to control it now. All this train does is charge forward at full speed. It's impossible to stop it!"
"What!" Nami yelled. "Luffy, the train is going to run into a tidal wave!"
Luffy was ignoring her, settle for focusing his attention on Paulie and the leader of the Franky family. The stood in a circle, facing each other. Luffy put is hand on the middle of the circle. "We're all heading in the same direction. There's no point in fighting separately. From now on, we're allies!" the other two join their hands in the center. "The sea train ahead of us has our friends on it. By joining up, our power is even stronger. We're not going to be beaten by a wave! We're going to achieve all of our goals! LET'S GO."
"WOOOOH!"
"Ngagaga! Okay, people, see if you can do something about this wave!" Kokoro ordered, and everyone jumped into action. The Franky family leader went to organize his guys to fire cannons. There wasn't much I could do while everyone scrambled around, so I stayed next to Nami, out of the road.
"It rang! The baby den den mushi!" Nami gasped as a ringing sound echoed out from between her breasts.
'Why is it there?' I questioned, raising a brow. 'Poor thing…'
The sounds of cannons and attacks on the on-coming tidal wave echoed from outside, where they were firing from, which happened to be the nose of the train. Our driver, the old and drunken granny, was sitting back on the bench, laughing as she took another swig of her booze.
"Ngagaga! Good luck!" she laughed. "Everyone aim at the same spot! Even if the rail rises up, it won't rise high enough to cross the Aqua Laguna! If we charge into the wave, not even the Rocket Man can survive the crash! Ngaga!"
"Gyaaah!" Chopper screamed. "ARE WE GOING TO DIE!"
"Ngagaga, that's why I told you guys to be mentally prepared."
"EHHH!" Chimney screeched. "US TOO!"
'I now see why she needs the booze…' I sweat-dropped before glancing across the other side of the room to Nami who was talking to Sanji on the den den mushi. She was explaining to him the situation with Robin. 'It's okay though… Zoro and Luffy will get us through… Right?'
"IT'S TOO CLOSE!" someone yelled outside and I braced for impact with the wave, hunching down as I closed my eyes, all my bravado going out the window along with my dignity.
'Oh my gods, I'm too young to die!' I cried, suddenly having flashbacks of the Knock up Stream.
"GOMU GOMU NO SANBYAKU POUND CANNON*!" the unmistakable voices of Luffy and Zoro yelled and suddenly everyone was yelling as we went flying into the air and through a small hole in the wave that Zoro and Luffy had made. My ears rang from the screams until we hit back down on the sea the other side of the wave.
"WE MADE I THROUGH! WE SURVIVED AQUA LAGUNA!" the sounds of a celebration from outside echoed into the cabin.
"Ngagaga! That was impressive!" Kokoro laughed. "You guys sure are something."
'Of course they made it,' I coughed, straightening myself up and pretending that I never doubted them. 'I knew it. That wasn't anything to worry about.'
"Wow! Mamori, you're so brave!" Chopper gasped as he stared at me. "I thought we were going to die!"
'U-Uh…' I stuttered, staring at him with wide eyes.
"That was fun!" Luffy said as he swung back into the cabin through the window, Zoro not far behind him.
"Wow! Straw Hat! You guys are amazing!" one of the two twin sisters said.
"Something like that shouldn't even be humanly possible," the other added.
"Luffy, come here," Nami said all of a sudden as she held out the den den mushi. "It's Sanji!"
"Oh, Luffy?" a voice came out of it as Nami, Chopper, Luffy, Zoro, and I all crowded around it.
"Sanji! How is it over there! How's Robin?" Luffy asked casually.
"Robin is still in their hands," he replied. "Nami told me everything just now. Every single thing…"
"Oh, yeah? Okay, go kick their asses!" Luffy ordered.
"Luffy! Don't mess around!" Zoro snapped. "Tell him to wait for us! Hey, Cook! Do you hear me? Those guys are dangerous!"
"Forget it Zoro!" Luffy argued. "If it were you, you wouldn't listen to us either."
'….True,' I agreed, knowing that if it was me, I wouldn't wait either.
"That's right!" Sanji agreed. "Oh, and Marimo, are you actually worried about me?"
"LIKE HELL I AM!"
"But, unfortunately, after hearing about Robin's reasons, even if the captain ordered me not to, I would not stop, no matter what!" Sanji declared and suddenly the signal cut off, stopping us from talking to Sanji.
'I hope he's okay…' I mumbled.
"Granny! Make this train go faster!" Luffy ordered as he spun around to face Kokoro.
'Are you crazy!' I snapped, frowning as I glowered at him. 'Are you really trying to kill us all?'
"You want it faster? It's already way past its safe maximum speed!" she replied. "It's out of control. I don't know if we'll even be able to stop! Ngagaga!"
'…Don't listen to him. He's and idiot. Our idiot, but and idiot all the same.' Suddenly I began to feel really dizzy, my early injuries kicking in again. 'Urgh… I need to rest before I pass out.' I managed to make it to the seat, jumping up on it before curling up into a tight ball, the room spinning around me. 'Might as well take a short nap…'
Gomu Gomu no Sanbyaku Pound Cannon: Literally "Rubber Rubber 300 Pound Cannon". A combination of Gomu Gomu no Cannon and 108 Pound Cannon.
Beta read by praeses