Chapter 12: 10,000 Meters! The Underwater Trek!
Several days have passed since Ash, perhaps the youngest pirate to sail, made history once again by becoming the youngest Vice Captain. Standing on the prow, he looked out to sea, more muscular than before. Pikachu reached the prow and greeted Ash who remained gentle despite the muscled frame. "Morning, buddy," he welcomed. Also up was Nami who wore a strapless white gown with a small skirt and white stiletto heels. A News Coo flew to her, the newspaper in tube. It gawked at the outfit she wore, freezing mid-flight. To Nami, the paper rose its rates.
"Again?" she groaned. "I don't know how much-" The News Coo grabbed the bill and with its talons, shredded it to pieces. It then grabbed the newspaper and just flew off with hearts in its beady eyes, a payment not transferred. "Okay, I didn't expect that." She climbed to the prow and found Ash with Pikachu who turned to see her. "Morning, Vice Captain." Ash scoffed and nodded.
"Morning, Nami. I know I'm the Vice Captain but I'm still Ash."
"Come on, what's wrong with favoring a title? I mean, you enjoy having that Pokémon Trainer label on you, right?" Ash sighed to the claim.
"I thought it was an occupation." Regardless, Nami opened the paper when three posters emerged. They fell by Ash's feet which he picked up. "New bounties… Let's see who's on the Marines' Wanted list." One look made Ash gasp. "No way!" Nami circled around to see the posters. Jessie, James and Meowth had their own mugshots for the Marines. James looked to be crying, Meowth's mouth shaped itself like a bullhorn and Jessie's face became abstract and her lips had been enlarged.
"Team Rocket?" Further studying the wanted posters made Ash and Nami burst in laughter.
"Talk about pathetic: 'Whiny' James, bounty of… Ten Berries?!"
"'Loudmouth' Meowth, bounty of… Ten Berries as well!"
"Oh, oh, get this! 'Ape-Lips' Jessie… and her bounty! Only five Berries!" Hearing the new bounties, Chopper raced up to the prow and found the two cackling like hyenas.
"Did someone have too much coffee this morning?" he asked. Pikachu waived Chopper over to check the posters. The reindeer saw the posters and joined in the laughter. "I'm more worthy!" Everyone soon awoke as Nami had the new bounties on display. Chopper, though not laughing as much as earlier, enjoyed seeing three of the new bounties being less than him. "All three combined still only make up for half of my bounty."
"I have to admit, Chopper isn't so worthless for the Marines with these losers," Zoro scoffed. Sanji wasn't as upbeat, more angered to Jessie's poster.
"How DARE they do this to Jess-Seagull!" he growled. "I know her beauty and I won't let this… monstrosity become the beauty of such!" The newspaper fell in Usopp's hands and he read the detail.
"Well, the report says that the photographer couldn't get a clear shot of her face," he examined. "Though, I think they had plenty to work with and have the real pictures at Marie Jois." Sanji shot a growl to Usopp with an agreement.
"And they're not gonna show that to anyone, let alone us? And… 'Ape-Lips?' Those Marines have gone too far!" Luffy glared at the pictures from the top of the prow with his neck stretched several feet out.
"Maybe one of the reasons the bounties are very low is that she and her Rockets aren't pirates like us," he assumed. To the rest, it wasn't the case.
"You do anything against the Marines and they'll put a bounty on you on the spot," Zoro specified. "Though, I do think Jessie's bounty's a real insult at only five Berries. You couldn't get a drink, let alone alcoholic, for only five. All three together and you could get at least two pints." The point dug deeper into Sanji's mentality.
"You're missing the real point, moss-head!" he raged.
"You're right, they should've used a real photo to show how demented she is, especially willing to take Pikachu away." Franky laughed to Zoro's point.
"I'm sure Chopper can give you ointment for that burn Zoro gave you," he chortled. Sanji wasn't having any lip from the Sunny's shipwright.
"If you want a real burn, how about I shove my Diable Jambe up your metal ass!" he shouted. Despite the absence of eyes, Brook looked to the posters, mainly Jessie.
"A woman with a heart as black as the panties she must be wearing," he addressed. "Of course, she could have no heart and prefers to go commando." Sanji retaliated with a swift kick to Brook's skull.
"You're not helping!" Sanji reset himself while Brook fell from the blow. "As a man taught not to harm women by any means, whether physical, mental, chemical or emotional, I will right Jess-Seagull's wrongs! If it means giving her Pikachu to appease her heart to mine, I will!" Suddenly, he sensed discontent from behind. Nami and Robin heard their cook, offering him severe looks of anger.
"What was that?!" they growled. Sanji's attitude changed from boisterous to sheepish. He turned to the two women who looked ready to teach him a lesson. Luffy nodded to the scene.
"I've only done it once, Sanji," he warned. "And I hate to do it to our cook…" Usopp and Chopper believed Luffy had taken Sanji's word as offensive.
"I forgot, it was after the Davy Back Fight with Foxy the two years ago," Zoro recalled. Sanji retreated to the kitchen, scared for his life. Watching from the other side of the ship and attending to her garden, Robin glared at her Vice Captain and Nami saw the look.
"I think we clarified that you're a little too old to date him," she teased. Robin sighed though smiled regardless.
"I had a dream in which Ash was my child, raising it as my own," she started. "It's like what we talked about several days ago, only I see it longer than that. Being with Ash at birth, watching him grow up in my eyes…" This made Nami squeal to the thought.
"Oh my god… I could just imagine…" Robin giggled to Nami's thought. "As a matter of fact, I had a dream of Ash with me, Nojiko and Bellemere as a happy family, and we didn't have Arlong to worry about." Robin laughed more but soon became saddened.
"It's… amazing what kind of people he and his mother happened to be… especially since Ash doesn't know about his father, unlike Luffy." Nami gasped to the briefing.
"He… He's fatherless?"
"Yes, from Ash's words. He said that ever since his birth, his father wasn't anywhere. He and his mother somehow did just fine on their own. Even more startling, his home doesn't have a picture of his father and only learns about him through his mother." Nami became saddened to the news of Ash. She clenched her fist.
"So, Ash was raised by a really nice woman that his 'father' chose to leave after finding out she's pregnant with Ash. Maybe when I find him, I could give him something to really be fearful of." Robin nodded but had another method in mind.
"Remember back at Water 7 when we forced Franky to join us?" Nami glared to Robin before recalling the moment.
"Yeah…"
"It won't be enough to simply 'grab the jewels,' but he won't be using them again." Her plan of attack left Nami a little worried.
"Talk about the most vicious neutering method…" Nami looked back at Ash. "I'm gonna go talk to him." She crossed over the Sunny to meet with Ash. As he glared out to sea… "Ash?" His name called, Ash turned to Nami who gave him a hug. It wasn't a bone-crushing hug and tears came out of her eyes. "I'm sorry." Ash wasn't sure about the reason. After the hug, Ash saw something on Nami's wrist: a wooden armlet with three crystal spheres attached. Each one had a compass needle inside.
"What's that on your arm?" he asked. Nami blinked before showing it off.
"It's a Log Pose. You could say it's an advanced compass. It helps us find islands and it became helpful when it came to finding the Grand Line. This one's an advanced version in which can help us determine which island is- huh?!" Both saw the three compass needles pointing in three separate directions. One moved ever so slightly, one rocked back and forth while the last tittered around frantically. To Nami, the islands marked the next leg. "Looks like we got three islands ahead of us. Straight ahead is the steady one while path starboard's magnetic field seems like trouble." Out of nowhere, Luffy stretched his head to see the Log Pose.
"Boy, looks like the right way's the fun way," he assumed. "But I'm gonna have the Vice Captain choose this time. He's earned it." Confidence burning within, Ash nodded and refocused on the Log Pose.
"Let's see…" he pondered. He rubbed his chin, thinking. Luffy snickered while wishing.
"Go for the right… Go for the right…" Finally, Ash made his judgment.
"Knowing One Piece is a tricky path… Let's head port!" Nami gasped while Luffy groaned.
"Starboard's funner!" Ash turned to Franky with an order.
"Well, Luffy… you did give me permission." Ash felt ready to give command. "Franky, to port!"
"Aye, aye, Vice Captain!" acknowledged Franky. The Sunny turned to the left for the new island. A few hours later, they found a cavern ahead. The opening could fit an enormous ship like the Sunny.
"Let's head in." Franky furled the sails before they entered the cave to which Luffy felt a sensation.
"Guys…" he spoke up as he looked through the cavernous walls. "I'm getting a weird feeling from this cave." Zoro brushed off the feeling, thinking this happens on a daily basis.
"Probably excitement from new adventure," he scoffed. Unfortunately, Brook and Chopper received same sensations.
"I think Luffy has a point," Brook sided. "My bones are chilling in here, as if a force is warning us to leave."
"My fur's standing up and even then," Chopper shivered. "I can't seem to calm down." Robin also received the sensation and looked through the cave.
"No wonder this cave's causing problems for all of us," she studied. "The walls are embedded with seastones." The explanation didn't sit well with the rest of the crew.
"Are you sure?" questioned Usopp. "Seems a bit of an overkill for a place like this to be caked with seastones." Ash blinked to the reasoning of their sudden chills, mainly to those of Devil Fruit users.
"Did I miss something?" he asked. "Why are Luffy, Brook, Chopper and Robin feeling weird while the rest of us are fine?" With Nami nearby, she provided an answer.
"I doubt you've heard of Sea-Prism, right?" she started. Ash remembered the name from after joining the Straw Hats.
"Yeah, when Nezumi actually trapped me and Pikachu in one." That's when Ash discovered something interesting. "Wait… Sea-Prism is made of seastones?" Nami nodded to his guess. "Okay, that makes sense. If those stones make contact with a Devil Fruit user, they lose their powers." Ash started to regret the decision but the current into the cave forced him to look out ahead. Franky couldn't make a move of the wheel. Nami reached the front of the ship with Ash to find the current rapidly moving.
"Okay, where are we going?" An answer soon revealed itself in a waterfall. Ash turned back with a warning.
"Hang on! We're in for a fall!" Everyone braced as the Sunny began to slide from the waterfall but it's only the start as more waterfalls appeared in their path. Some retreated inside while others couldn't find a place to hold their footing. Robin took action regardless of the seastones within the cave.
"Veinte Fleur!" she casted. Many arms came out and held Robin's legs down, as well as Ash, Nami, Luffy, Zoro and Pikachu. For almost a minute, the Sunny endured waterfalls aplenty before the largest fall and landed upright. The crazy ride ended and Robin dropped to her hands and knees. Her arms vanished as did her strength. "That wasn't easy." Everyone looked out to see the giant waterfall that brought them to a final stop. All the crew saw were nothing but wall with seastones throughout.
"This must be some sort of ship graveyard," Franky assessed. "Think about it, the only way back out is up." To Ash, he sent himself and the Straw Hats to an early grave. Quickly, Zoro had an idea.
"Ash, see if one of your Pokémon can check underwater," he suggested. Ash nodded to the idea.
"You got it," he agreed. "Squirtle, I choose you!" Ash threw the Pokéball and Squirtle emerged. "Squirtle, see if there's a way out from underneath us." Squirtle dove into the sea and swam below, looking for something that had an exit. A couple of minutes later, the turtle found a clue… or rather the clue found it as it fought out of a vacuum-like pull by using Hydro Pump to propel itself to safety. It swam back up and chatted to say it found something.
"Is it a way out, Squirtle?" asked Chopper. Squirtle nodded but a new problem arose.
"How are we gonna get out underwater?" questioned Ash. "Not to mention keep those with the Devil Fruit powers safe?" Franky had a solution.
"No problem!" he spoke up. "Let me activate the coating and we'll be on our way!" Ash and Pikachu blinked to Franky's idea.
"Coating?"
"You'll like it, Ash," Nami assured. Franky pulled a lever which started an engine that pumped a clear liquid. The ship began to flood with the sticky liquid.
"Good thing Usopp and I created a machine that pumps the coating resin to cover the Sunny," Franky bragged. "Should only take half an hour to get ready for the voyage below." This made the Vice Captain and his Pokémon curious.
"How does this coating work?" he asked.
"What this coating does is allow us to dive into the depths of the sea as a bubble from the resin made from Yarukiman Mangroves," Nami explained.
"Hold on… Bubbles and wood float, so do the two cancel each other?"
"Not really. This resin actually helps anchor the ship down, and protects us from pressure of the sea collapsing on us, as well as keep those with Devil Fruit powers from losing their strength."
"I see… This makes the Sunny a submarine."
"Right. I'm actually glad someone pays attention to what I'm teaching." Before long, the Sunny had one huge coating of resin.
"Now for the bag," Franky grinned. He made a swan dive into the water, concerning Ash.
"Franky!" he shouted.
"Relax," Usopp eased. "Franky's got plenty of schematics to survive underwater." Franky reached a giant white bag with Squirtle standing by. The cyborg squeezed the bag which caused the resin to suddenly inflate. Ash gawked in awe at the dome-like structure.
"Whoa… amazing!" Pikachu agreed as the boat began to sink. Franky and Squirtle entered the bubble which didn't burst. The Sunny began to descend below the water's surface. Ash couldn't hold in his excitement about being underwater. "This is the best ride I've ever been on!" Those watched the walls of seastone pass on their dive. Squirtle described to Chopper about nearly being sucked out of the cave.
"I see…" the reindeer studied. "Sounds like you found an undercurrent before you escaped with Hydro Pump." Ash scratched his head to Chopper's description.
"Undercurrent?"
"A current underwater," Nami simplified. "A flow of water underwater, something to the extent of a stream or a lake." Ash nodded.
"Sounds like the undercurrent Squirtle found may be the way out of here," Sanji believed. The Sunny hit the undercurrent before it took the bubbled ship out to the undersea. From the deck, the Straw Hats saw schools of fish that were larger than normal. Eels swam like snakes in the ocean.
"I've never seen so much life under the sea!" awed Ash. Pikachu squeaked in awe as well. It did leave Zoro feeling nostalgic.
"I think we're on our way back to Fishman Island," he assumed. The thought gave Sanji and Brook excitement.
"Fishman Island?!" they repeated. Both glared at each other. "We're gonna see the mermaids again!" The two danced around joyously while others wondered and Chopper freaked out.
"Sanji, you can't see the mermaids again!" he pleaded. "Don't you remember? You had a nosebleed so bad you nearly died! Do I need to call up Splash and Splatta again?!" Sanji stopped at the sounds of the names and freaked out. Screaming his head off, he dashed back into the kitchen.
"You have a way with recalling the past, Chopper," Usopp sighed.
"I'm just trying to keep him alive." Ash and the girls laughed before Nami saw a giant fish with massive serrated teeth. Scared, she hugged Ash who gulped at the size of the fish. Unfortunately for the fish, a giant eel with a massive jaw snagged the fish to eat.
"We're good," Ash eased. While the ship continued to descend, Pikachu soon felt a chill in the sea. Ash as well as he saw most of the Straw Hats dressing up. "Man, wasn't it nice before? It feels like Fall came early that I may be wearing the wrong wardrobe." He massaged his arms in an attempt to keep warm. "Well, the bubble should be good for Charizard to keep warm." He reached for his Pokéball when he got wrapped from behind. Robin, in a mink coat, wrapped her warm cloth and her arms around Ash, startling him. "Robin?" She smiled while holding the youngest member firmly among her body.
"Don't worry, honey," she softly eased. "You'll be okay with me around." Her warm body comforted Ash that he began to close his eyes.
"Thanks… Robin…" The sight angered Sanji but soon thought of a way to be back near her.
"I could use the same warmth, Robin Dear!" he yelled as he tore off his coat and his shirt. However, Nami slugged his chin with a massive right hook.
"Don't mock the situation!" she snapped. Sanji flew into the mast and landed with a disturbing grin.
"Nami… Swan…" Robin heard Ash snoring among her breasts. She petted Ash before turning to Sanji as he seemed knocked out.
"Sanji, is it possible if you brew a couple cups of coffee for us?" she asked. Sanji sprung back up with a smile and blood pouring from his head wound.
"Sure thing, Robin Dear!" He dashed to the kitchen while Chopper followed. A few minutes later, Ash and Robin enjoyed a cup of coffee to warm their bodies and stay awake.
"Sorry, I guess I got a little too relaxed," Ash apologized.
"It's okay, dear," Robin giggled. Pikachu also giggled until he saw a shark with a massive horn protruding from the top of its head. It warned with a loud squeak. All saw the shark and Franky steered away in time.
"That's gotta be a Goblin Shark," Zoro groaned. The Goblin Shark soon began to chase.
"Hang on tight!" warned Franky. The pipe at the rear began loading energy. "We're getting outta here! Coup de Burst!" The energy released, the Sunny blasted forward from more dangerous fish like anglers and several more marine life including floating eels who missed the ship by inches. All sighed in relief. As the Sunny continued to sink and the bubble scrunching, it steered around the Goblin Shark. It chased the Sunny and tried to eat the ship covered in the mangrove resin. Luffy glanced over to see eyes in some sort of mass ahead. He turned to the shipwright.
"Franky!" he yelled. "Straight ahead! I see Surume!" Ash blinked to the name.
"Surume?" he repeated.
"If that's Surume, I can steer this Goblin Shark near him!" planned Franky. The ship aimed at the mass as the Goblin Shark closed in. The Sunny now swam above the mass which Luffy decided to call the name once more.
"Surume!" he shouted. "NOW!" Out of nowhere, a giant orange tentacle came up and smashed in the shark's snout. The Goblin Shark's lights were out in the instant and began to float to the surface, belly up. The Sunny turned around to find the tentacles and an orange octopus-like creature of epic proportions. The octopus-like creature recognized the ship and playfully rubbed its head with a tentacle. "Surume! It's great to see you again!" Ash came to the front to see Surume, jaw dropped at the size of the sea creature.
"That… can't seriously be a friend of yours," he stuttered. Luffy grinned.
"Sure is! Got us to Fishman Island the first time." Ash's eyes expanded in shock.
"And I thought I had some crazy adventures back home…" Luffy called out to the giant octopus-like creature.
"Surume! Meet our new Vice Captain, Ash!"
"Hi, Surume!" The sea creature smiled as he waived a tentacle to Ash.
"Funny how this legendary Kraken saved our asses after Luffy knocked some sense into him," Zoro shrugged. Ash gawked to their encounter of Surume.
"Legendary?" Luffy laughed to Ash's dismay. "Wow…" Luffy patted Ash on the back.
"Since we know where we're going, I'll tell Surume and we can relax," he reassured. "Surume! Take us back to Fishman Island! There's no Hordy Jones to threaten you anymore!" Surume nodded and using most of his tentacles to move, headed out while carrying the Sunny in two of his tentacles. Ash wanted to check on a room.
"Let me make sure our supplies are okay." He and Pikachu walked into the supply room. The two checked barrels to see if any broke or got misplaced. Pikachu looked around as well when it found something sparkle. It squeaked Ash over to which he saw a jewel with many colors shaped like a melon with a stem. "What's this?" Pikachu looked at the jewel but couldn't picture how it got into the supply room. "Let's show Nami." Ash and Pikachu left the supply room before confronting Usopp.
"Everything in check?" he asked.
"Yep, and I found this." He showed Usopp the jewel to which he gawked to the sight.
"The Rainbow Gem! You found it?!" Nami heard the news and ran to see the gem. She snagged the gem and observed it herself.
"No way!" she gasped. "It's really the Rainbow Gem!" She eyed Ash and Pikachu who got nervous. "You found it?" Pikachu nodded before she snagged him and kissed the Pokémon on the lips, causing his ears and paws to perk. He squealed loudly to the kiss. Now her attention focused on Ash. "As for you…" She reached and pilled Ash's head to her face and gave him a kiss that she held for around a minute. Sanji and Brook whined to Ash receiving Nami and Robin's love once more.
"What has this world done to curse us?" moaned the skeleton.
"I want to know myself, the drive I have is bone dry," Sanji whined.
"You know skull jokes are the only things I have. Don't take them away." Surume started to slow down as it reached a cliff. Looking down, he grew shaky. Ash, having a kiss imprint on his face and mostly his lips, came to the prow and saw the cliff.
"You okay, Surume?" he asked. Surume groaned to the sight of the cliff and its depth.
"That's the same undersea cliff we fell from when we first found Fishman Island," pointed out Nami. To Ash, Surume became scared of the height.
"I don't blame Surume for how high it is. I may be a pretty good climber but… that's a bit high for even me." He turned to the shipwright. "Franky, can we get down safely?"
"You bet!" he replied. "I've got the steering down on falling so it should be cake!" Ash nodded, ready to continue on.
"Thank you, Surume! We'll take it from here!" Surume nodded before letting the Sunny go. The ship sank into the cliff walls.
"Bye, Surume!" yelled Luffy. All waived to Surume as they fell into the depths. The Sunny descended deeper and deeper into the darkness.
"So how far down are we gonna be?"
"Considering where we may end up," Robin pointed out. "We'll end up at ten thousand feet into the sea: the lowest level anyone or anything has been." Ash gulped to the thought of their level. Out of nowhere, a glimmer of light.
"We're nearly at ten thousand meters!" announced Franky. From the light was sand and soon, splinters of wood and other pieces of ships who've sunk. It looked like a mix of a ship graveyard and an underwater beach. Pikachu gasped to the sight.
"So, this is ten thousand metersbelow…"gulped Ash. "Amazing…" That's when he saw a giant sphere on pillar-like stands. "Wait… Is that the island you guys talked about?" Luffy came to Ash and took Pikachu from him.
"Yep," he snapped a reply. "Vice Captain… That's Fishman Island!" Ash laughed in awe to the sight. Soon, he'd be seeing what laid within the island. If Tracey and Misty only knew what their friends were seeing… They'd be shocked and awed.
TO BE CONTINUED...