"There it is!" Luffy sat upon Merry's figurehead in the storm, legs wrapped around her neck. "The Mystery Mountain!"
My first impression of the Red Line was how impossibly tall it was. There was no visible sky; only moisture-filled clouds made of grey wool. My second impression was how true the colour was to its name. The shade was a near-crimson, like the rock had spent years soaking up the blood of crews that'd been sent to a watery grave by the harsh waves of a constant storm. An uncomfortable thought.
The ocean continued its constant assault, slamming its waters into the Red Line with every passing second.
Just like Laboon.
"We're gonna have to steer into the canal carefully! Start now, guys!" I yelled.
"It's huge!" Usopp shouted over the storm, just as he began running to the meeting room with Sanji.
I was holding onto the same railing as earlier, terrified of falling in the water. Merry was practically getting tossed around by the waves, almost leaning onto one side, but not quite. Just as the two passed me, I yelled: "Biggest thing on this planet!"
Zoro stood beside me, looking through binoculars. "I barely believed it when you said it, but the water really is going up the mountain!"
It was still pouring, my glasses were off and my vision was blurry. I pulled out a spyglass Usopp had given me the day before, and looked through. There was a small sliver carved into the side of the Red Line—barely perceptible through the storm.
"How are we going to sail into that?!" Sanji asked.
"It's probably bigger than it looks! Merry is a small ship!" Nami answered.
I nodded, not that anyone was looking at me. "She's right!"
Usopp and Sanji were steering now, veering us towards the canal at an angle.
"It's pulling us in!" Luffy shouted.
Waves rushed into the Red Line, pulling us along with them. We were still on course, but close enough to the rock that there could be issues.
"Little more to the right!" Nami shouted.
We entered the canal. Some of my crewmates were talking, sounding relieved. I couldn't hear the specific words.
The first arch was several meters ahead. Fear crawled up my throat. Clawed legs of the anxiety spiders piercing my flesh.
It felt like we were moving in slow motion as we approached it. In those seconds, I got a good look at the arches. On the pillars, there looked to be dragon heads attached to mermaid tails, separating them were horizontal lines with something in between. Like words written in an unknown language, rubbed away enough to be just unreadable. The top of the arch had lines that looped and swirled, looking to be as thin as a thread. Only a single thread touched another; it was in the middle, intertwined with the one above, spiralling.
It looked so much different than it had in the manga.
We passed by the arch, far enough away that Luffy didn't jump out. But there was a sound. One loud enough to be heard over the storm and rushing water.
It was a scraping sound of hardy stone against wood.
Merry had been hurt.
"What was that?!" Usopp called out in a panicky voice.
Luffy, now off of Merry's figurehead, ran over to her left side to inspect the damage. He gasped so loud that it was audible to me, several feet away. "She's scraped, but it doesn't look too bad!"
I let out a shaky sigh of relief.
Merry rushed up the mountain, carried by the torrent.
"This is… surreal," I breathed out.
"A lot different from your reality, huh?" Zoro asked.
I nodded. "Very."
We were approaching the clouds—fluffy, grey mixed with white in a way I'd never seen.
"Another minute and we'll be in the Grand Line!" Nami shouted. She had her jacket off now, holding it in one hand and letting it fly in the wind.
I stood, shaky, only holding the railing with my hands. With the angle we were at, the force of the wind tried to push me back. I held on tight. Usopp held onto the mast, Zoro and Sanji stood beside me, and Nami stood up towards the front with Luffy.
I couldn't understand how they stood without holding onto anything, without falling.
The closer we got to the top, the more everyone cheered.
The shakiness began to dissipate.
"This is it, huh," I murmured.
We passed through the damp mist of clouds that ringed around the mountain. I shivered for a half-second, covered in a thin coat of moisture, and hurried to pull on my glasses. My gaze landed on the spout of water we were about to hit. The one spot in the world where all four Blues coalesce.
"Look at how high we are!" Luffy beamed.
"We're in the clouds!" Nami shouted.
Water droplets were spraying out in ringlets, immediately freezing into little ice crystals the second they hit the air. They glistened, bathing us in a golden light.
"How are we—" Usopp started to shriek.
Merry shot off the spout, passing beneath a rainbow, and going airborne.
She seemed to still for a moment, suspended midair. It was the same for me and the crew in that instant. I struggled to hold onto the railing as I was pulled up—somehow—and held there for what felt like an eternity by some invisible force of Grand Line logic.
And then we dropped.
I smacked against floorboards, landing on the same side as my wound. I groaned in pain, tears gathered in the corners of my eyes. But the scary part wasn't over—I didn't stop when I hit the deck. I rolled past the mast, having stupidly let go of the railing when I fell, and squeezed my eyes shut tight.
My crewmates were shouting around me—a mix of cheer and alarm.
I thudded against a wall.
"Are you alright?!" Sanji asked in a panic.
My whole body ached. The side my wound was on had a tingly sort of pain, like little bubbles popping to make a spot hurt more for a half-second before dissipating into a dull pain. Nothing hurt as much as it should've. It was weird. But I was also still riding the high of gorgeous views and dangerous adventures.
'Shock?'
"Fine, just… Grand Line physics suck. Seriously, getting stuck in the air? How does that even happen!" I shouted as I pushed myself to stand.
And then I doubled over laughing.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Sanji asked, slightly less concerned than before.
"Y-yeah! This world is just so weird," I stumbled through my words with giggles.
Before Sanji could reply, there was a loud noise that nearly silenced everyone.
"Buuuooohhhh."
Laboon.
Ceasing my laughter, I frantically shouted, "Left! We gotta turn le—portside! Hug the wall!"
Usopp dropped from his spot on the mast, running alongside Sanji to the whipstaff.
"Why?!" Nami asked.
"Island whale! There's gonna be a gap out on the left side!"
Laboon called out again. There was something unique about it—something that pulled real sadness in my heart to the surface, pooling at the base of my throat and settling into an unwelcome nausea.
We passed through the clouds again. These clouds were darker, a deep grey rather than two shades past white. I covered my face the moment before we passed through, but I wasn't expecting the sensation to be so different. It was less of a cold-shock of wet, and more like being blasted by frozen bits of sand. A stinging sensation welcomed itself all over my legs, hands, and a bit of my neck.
I'd thought the Red Line was impossibly large, and while it was certainly bigger than Laboon, the whale was titanic. Mirroring the Sea Kings we'd seen in size.
His skin was a deep blue, almost black, that looked glossy in the early-evening sun. I couldn't see his scars yet.
I wasn't looking forward to it.
"Is that actually a whale?!" Luffy was still standing at the front of the ship, a bit behind Merry's figurehead; one hand was against his forehead, the other on his hat as he looked up at Laboon.
"Yup!" I dashed back to the spot I was at before. It was hard with the ship's angle, but the railing on the stairs helped immensely.
Nami had taken control of ordering around Sanji and Usopp—not that she didn't have control before, more so that she picked up where my one-lined order left off.
Sailing down Reverse Mountain was faster than sailing up. While going up the canal took about five minutes, we'd only been in the waterway down for a little under two, and we were already past the halfway mark.
Approaching Laboon was intimidating, with the way his form only appeared larger and larger with every second that passed. He cast a shadow on our little caravel, darkening not only our deck but all of the visible water in the channel.
"Are we gonna be able to make that turn?" I asked Nami.
She nodded, eyes forward.
"Turn portside!" Nami shouted.
Approaching the gap, we were a healthy distance from the cliffside and a not-so-healthy distance from Laboon.
It was going to be a tight squeeze.
Laboon's blubbery skin was almost close enough that I could touch it if I were closer to the railing—likewise with the cliffs of the Red Line. But it seemed like it was going well.
"I think we just—" Zoro started.
He was cut off by the cracking of wood above us.
It was not going well.
"The yard!" Usopp shrieked.
The length of wood that the mainsail was attached to snapped about a third of the way down on the right side as it pressed against Laboon.
"Merry!" Luffy shouted.
"Fuck," I cursed.
"We'll dock and fix her up!" Nami said. "Usopp, Sanji, keep left until I say so! Zoro, Luffy, get ready to drop anchor!"
Zoro and Luffy went running off and the other two had never left the kitchen. And there I was, standing still, useless, staring at Merry's new injury. When I wasn't present in this universe, she'd only had her figurehead broken, along with a floorboard. Now it was the yard and a possibly deep scrape on her side. 'Am I making things worse?'
The anchor dropped and we were perpendicular to the cliffs. Everyone gathered on deck.
"I'm sorry," I said the moment Luffy and Zoro walked up.
"Why?" Zoro asked.
Sanji spoke at the same time, "There's no reason to apologize."
"Merry got hurt because of me." I looked down, scared of looking anyone in the eye.
"It's not your fault," Nami said.
I could hear Laboon crying in the background.
"You're not the one who hurt her," Luffy said.
I shook my head. "If I didn't exist, her injuries would've been minor."
"And they could've been worse. We could've ran into the whale or crashed into the Red Line," Zoro pointed out.
"The only time things are different are when I intervene—Smoker practically stuck to a script in both words and actions. Merry would be better off without me."
"But we're better with you, Darling," Sanji said.
"And her injuries could be worse," Usopp hesitantly added. He was looking up at the split yard, dangling by ropes and sail.
"You can fix it?" I asked.
He nodded. "It'll take a bit, but I should be able to."
I looked over at Laboon. "Hey, Captain?"
"Yeah?" Luffy asked.
"Would you be up for a trip inside of an Island Whale to save him from some bounty hunters?"
Laboon was moving to lay on his belly, preparing to submerge. I could see his scars now. They looked like someone or something had taken out jagged strips of flesh, leaving them to scar an ugly pink.
"Sounds fun!"
"Rocket us on top of him?"
Stupid. Stupid Eira for acting on impulse—on wants—rather than being semi-rational.
"Gum-gum," Luffy started. He stretched his arm, grabbed onto a rail, and wrapped his other arm around everyone close to me. I was squished against Nami, Sanji behind her, and a rubbery arm was around my stomach.
Seeing it up close while it was stretched was… different. Luffy's skin didn't look like skin; it was without imperfections, with a visual texture like someone had gathered a bunch of silly putty to make a thick cable.
It didn't make me panic.
"Rocket!"
We flew through the air, Nami was screaming in my ear and Sanji was probably cursing out Luffy, who was laughing. I felt a rush of adrenaline, soaring like this. It was odd, unexpected because of the eerie calm I'd felt when the Merry flipped earlier that day. The ocean was a deep blue below us, and we flipped once, catching a glimpse of the sky. The stars were becoming more visible as the sun set.
We thudded on Laboon, rolling away from each other. I put my hands out, try to grip onto something to stop sliding.
Slick rubber didn't end the momentum, but Grand Line physics did. I came to a sudden stop when I should've continued gliding across Laboon.
"Are you ladies okay?!" Sanji shouted.
"Fine!" Nami replied.
"I'm alright!" I stood, nearly slipping again. I found my footing and looked around, shaky. Laboon moved slowly, submerging. "Look for a hatch, trapdoor type thing!"
"Got it!"
"On a whale?" Nami questioned, frantically searching with Sanji.
"Do whales normally have those?" Luffy asked. I'd landed near him.
"Nah. This whale is special," I answered.
"Special how?"
"You'll find out soon, I wouldn't wanna spoil anything."
Stepping across blubber was tricky, made trickier by the dimming sky that seemed to make Laboon blend in with everything around us. I looked around for the hatch, which was way harder than it should've been, considering there was nothing else on the back of Laboon.
"Anyone find it yet?!" I shouted.
"Does it even exist?!" Nami yelled.
I was becoming more frantic with every passing second as I searched for the hatch. More of Laboon was going under, and now it was only part of his back that was out of the water.
"Found it!" Sanji shouted.
I heard the creak of an unoiled door being pulled open, and ran, slipping and sliding across blubber. I caught a glimpse of the trapdoor, a dark metal that blended in with Laboon. I dove for it as the ocean water closed in.
Diving was not a good idea.
The back of my shoulder smacked against protruding metal and I dropped, landing on a half-slick metal surface.
"Ow…" I whined.
My other crewmates dropped as well—I'd outran Nami, and Luffy was… being Luffy.
"Are you alright, Darling?" Sanji asked. He knelt down beside me.
My shoulder hurt a lot on the single point that met metal, but that wasn't the only pain I was in. Every inch of my body was still sore and achy from the chaos of Reverse Mountain and landing on Laboon. It sucked. Pain sucked. "I'm… managing? Hurts. But I wasn't exactly built to take a beating like this—it should hurt more than it does."
"Is there anything I can do for you?" Sanji asked.
"Maybe you're stronger than you thought," Luffy said.
I shook my head. "Nah. Couldn't be that. In my world, someone would be a lot more hurt if they were in my position."
"But this isn't your world," Nami pointed out.
"Mmm. That's true. But… we shouldn't dwell. We gotta find the Keeper of the Whale before things get messy."
"The what?"
"You heard me." I inched away from Sanji, who nearly popped my bubble of personal space, and stood. It was a pain with the way my legs ached.
I felt something warm run down my calf.
Little puddles of blood pooled between the sheets of metal that built the halls inside of Laboon. I'd landed on a puddle before and I could see the exact spot, how the floor was mottled with smeared and speckled ichor—an imperfect puddle compared to the others.
Wooden beams were tinged with crimson. The corridors looked to be straight out of a horror movie. Walls were blood-streaked with a few gaps where red-pink flesh pulsed out. Flickering fluorescent lights were shaded pink, messing with my eyes, nearly giving me a headache.
My stomach churned in discomfort from the visual.
"This place is terrifying," I said.
The trio nodded in agreement.
"Who even builds something like this in a whale?" Sanji questioned.
"Like I said before, Keeper of the Whale," I told him. Sanji seemed to accept that as an answer for now.
"Lead the way?" Nami asked.
"One way to go." I scrunched up my nose—the coppery scent was hitting me, now. Gross.
We walked a short distance down the one-way corridor before we hit a drop. I peeked over, spotting a ladder down. "Everyone ready for a climb? It's a bit long."
Luffy ran past and jumped.
"Need any help down?" Sanji asked Nami and me.
"I'll be fine on my own," Nami said.
"Me too." I turned around, sat a knee on the edge and tried to place a foot a few rungs down the ladder. My shoes were a bit slippery from the blood, but I managed by holding onto the edge with one hand and grabbing the top rung with another. Nami and Sanji climbed down after me.
Echoed shouts bounced around the shaft.
Something dropped past me and thudded on the floor below.
"Sanji jumped!" Nami informed me.
"We should hurry!" I said.
I pulled the sleeves of my sweater over my palms and part of my fingers, wrapped my hands around the rails, and pushed off of the rungs to let myself slide down.
I reached the bottom of the ladder and clung to the railing, half of my body outside of the shaft, my stomach pressed against a squared edge. There was no floor below me—only a several-foot drop.
"Nami! This is a big drop!" I dangled in the air above a metallic pathway and glimpse of teal water. Stomach acid.
My hands were slipping from the rail because of the ocean water and bit of blood that soaked my clothes—soaked my sweater.
"Jump!" Nami said.
"I'll catch you!" Sanji yelled up to me.
The inside of Laboon shook and I nearly smacked against the wall behind. My hands slipped from the rail and I fell in what felt like slow motion. I saw a confused Luffy looking around and Sanji was standing beside him.
And then I splashed in acid.
δ
"What were you asking about this morning?" Zoro asked. He was on the shroud, holding on with one hand and holding up the yard with the other.
Usopp leaned out of the crow's nest, held safely in place by a rope he'd tied around the mast and his waist. "Oh, uh. I was just wondering if—" Usopp paused. He'd gotten the whole question out this morning, but… it was hard.
"Wondering if?"
Hammer pounded against metal and Usopp stayed silent.
Realistically, it shouldn't be hard to ask—Zoro was his crewmate, after all. But there was something embarrassing about it. Embarrassing in the way that he was the weakest member on the crew and every other guy had monster strength.
Usopp wasn't the kind of person that necessarily needed strength. He only needed enough to pull back the bands of his slingshot, and that wasn't a lot. Staying in the backline and sniping down enemies was what he was good at—did he really have to get stronger? He hadn't had any issues yet.
Yet.
That was the important word. The one that implied something bad could happen in the future if he wasn't physically strong. Would he get in a fight where he couldn't use his slingshot? Probably not, he could use it up close without much issue. But what if someone broke it? It could maybe be preventable if he was warned in the first place.
Maybe he just needed to get stronger. No particular reason—simply to be strong. Maybe it would boost his confidence.
He finished wrapping metal around the break on the yard, added in some nails to keep it in place—it was the best he could do on such short notice. Sucked that he didn't have anything to replace it with. Only planks, metal, and nails to work with.
"Done," he told Zoro.
"That fast?"
He gave his crewmate a look. "Of course."
Usopp leaned back, untied the rope holding him in place, and climbed down from the crow's nest. He saw Zoro leaning over Merry's side, probably to look at her scrape.
Luffy had said it didn't look bad, but it really wasn't great. The scrape was wide, spanned across three planks and cut halfway through them.
"This is something we'll have to patch," Zoro said.
Exactly what Usopp was thinking, too.
"Hold me up while I do?" he asked.
"Mhmm."
He and Zoro started on a makeshift harness made of rope.
"What I wanted to ask earlier…" Usopp started. He hesitated again. Did he really have to? He had other things to do—Eira had given him a whole list of things, including something he had to build. All he had was a short description lacking components and everything clicked when he was buying stuff for it.
Zoro stopped for a half-second, gave Usopp his 'I'm listening' look.
It couldn't be that bad of an idea. It wouldn't kill him.
"Willyoutrainme?!" he blurted out.
"You want me to train you?" Zoro raised an eyebrow.
He gulped down the impossibly large lump in his throat and nodded.
"Think you can handle it?" Zoro asked.
It definitely wouldn't kill him, right?
He'd taken vicious strikes from a Fishman before, so, of course it wouldn't!
"Of course I can!" His voice held a newfound confidence that was great enough to carry him into battle against the most bloodthirsty villains alive.
And then Zoro's expression morphed into the bloodthirsty grin that he saw on the imaginary villains. His confidence promptly diminished.
"We'll start tomorrow," Zoro said.
Usopp gulped again and finished the makeshift harness. "S-so, let's uh, get to patching up Merry."
With a hammer on his belt and a few metal sheets sticking out of his bag, Zoro lowered him off the side. It was shaky and he wobbled a bit in the air, but it was just stable enough for him to get some work done.
The next few minutes consisted of silence between him and Zoro. Usopp was mostly hyper-focused on repairing Merry, trying to keep away the horrific imagery of what training with Zoro may entail.
He definitely regretted it already.
"Usopp," Zoro said.
The sniper-turned-makeshift shipwright jumped a bit. "Yeah?"
"There's uh, an otter wearing a onesie."
"A what?" He finished hammering in another nail and slid his hammer back through a loop on his belt.
"In the sea behind you. There's an otter in a onesie."
He cranked his head around as far as he could with the minimal amount he could turn. Nothing in sight. "Are you… okay?"
Usopp was pulled up with a force and speed that was completely unexpected. Zoro turned him towards the sea and pointed out a small blip in the ocean. With a closer look that involved using his shiny new goggles—he'd won them from a bounty hunter back in Loguetown—the blip turned out to be exactly what Zoro had said. A tiny otter wearing a white onesie adorned with uneven splotches of purple polka dots. It laid on its back with arms outstretched, holding large white shells in each hand.
"See!" Zoro said.
Usopp nodded slowly.
There was an otter in the Grand Line. Wearing a onesie.
In the Grand Line.
"I'm seeing things, right?" Usopp asked.
"Yeah. It's real."
A large bird swooped down and the otter grabbed onto a feathery scruff and pulled itself on. The two animals flew off together in the setting sun.
The two Straw Hats looked on for what felt like an hour.
But in reality, it'd only been a minute or so—a minute of shocked silence.
"What just happened?" Usopp asked.
"Was that a vulture wearing a hat?"
It was. The vulture had been wearing a hat and goggles of its own. "This is the Grand Line, huh?"
"Mhmm."
δ
I hit a wall and water washed away from me, leaving me to the damp air of Laboon's insides.
Everything that followed splashing in acid happened in a blur. The only things I could somewhat clearly remember were the sounds of water—very diluted acid—rushing around me and bubbly echoes that spawned from the air escaping from my lips. And then I was out, sputtering and coughing up the slight bit of fluid that entered my mouth.
It didn't burn. It was like a slight tingle on my skin, and in my mouth, the only comparison I could think of was the sensation of pop rocks. Not them popping per se, but more so the feeling they left on tongue and cheek as they burst. It was uncomfortable, and needless to say, I was thankful to have most of the diluted acid out of my mouth.
"Stay away from her!" Sanji shouted in panic.
'What?' I thought. 'Who stay away from who?'
"She's hurt," a man said. The voice was closer to me than Sanji was.
"And what about that woman, huh? Did you help her too!?" Sanji's panic didn't let up. His voice was soaked in anger—his steps pounded against the ground, ringing out as he ran closer.
The sound, combined with everything else, was giving me a headache.
I couldn't see anything at all—my eyelashes had droplets of moisture in them and I wasn't about to risk burning my eyes. "Does he look like he has flower petals on his head?!" I called out.
"Uh, yeah!" Sanji answered.
"It's just Crocus! Keeper of the Whale I mentioned earlier. He won't hurt us as long as we don't hurt Laboon."
Sanji stopped beside me and I heard his voice for a slight second just before he was cut off by Crocus.
"How do you know all of this?" Crocus's voice was defensive, nervous. I'd put him on edge.
"He doesn't really look like a keeper of a whale," Luffy said.
"What do you think one would look like?" Nami asked, incredulously.
I jumped a bit. I hadn't even heard either of their footsteps.
"A whale," Luffy said matter-of-factly.
"Sanji, do you have a dry handkerchief?" I asked, holding out my hand in the direction I imagined him to be.
"Mhmm," he hummed.
The dry piece of cloth was placed in my hand. I dried off my face, and the entire time I did, I couldn't help but notice the minuscule tingle of diluted acid on my skin. My clothes were thoroughly soaked.
I opened my eyes for the first time after the literal flood of mayhem. The first thing I noticed was how Vivi and Mr. 9 were laying on the ground, rocket launchers nowhere in sight. No one on the crew had hurt them, I knew that for sure.
'It must've been Crocus,' I thought. 'Never realized he had it in him.'
Crocus himself looked quite similar to his drawn and animated versions. The petals on his head were purple at the base, yellow dots splattered through the middle and melded into an opaque yellow. A large scar spread across his left bicep in an ugly pink shade.
Crocus was patient enough to wait for me to speak, or he was dumbfounded by Luffy's verbal chaos. It sounded like Nami and my Captain were having a discussion about what a 'keeper of a whale' would be.
"C'mon, Mister Petal," I said, "anyone could dig this info up if they tried hard enough." I was saddened by how quickly Crocus responded, not even attempting to do his bit. Stupid changes and meddling ruining the good parts.
"What made you look into me?" he asked.
"It wasn't like I intended to. It was just… when you look into something, it's not too hard to come across something related to it."
"I see. And why did you come inside Laboon, exactly?"
"Yeah, why did we?" Nami asked me. She was staring with daggers in her eyes.
"I thought we'd have to stop those two on the floor over there. I wasn't sure if he'd come out of Laboon without meeting us, either."
I could feel Crocus giving me a look, one that said 'tell me more, I'm intrigued.' Or something less polite.
"I guess there's a bit more to it," I said. "C'mon, you gotta calm down Laboon."
Laboon started to shake again. I shoved my hand between the cracks of a metal sheet that was a bit raised and held on tight. Acid sloshed on the other side of the canal and metal dug into my hands—if I moved a slight bit to the side, I was sure my palms would have gashes across them.
Nami shouted a bit at the suddenness of the event, Luffy made some weird sound while attempting to not fall, and Sanji ran forward, picking up Vivi and Mr. 9 so they wouldn't fall. Crocus leaped to the other walkway that was covered in a wave of acid, determined to help Laboon.
"Will this ever end!" Nami cried. She was hanging onto a metal sheet as well.
"Sorry!" I said.
Luffy was holding his hat against his head, laughing over the rushing torrent.
Holding on was excruciating. The day felt unending—we'd been at Loguetown just a few hours ago, my wound had reopened, and here I was. Inside a whale, dangling from a sheet of metal. Breathing hurt. My arms felt like they were a shake away from getting yanked out of the sockets.
A loud snap rang out and I dropped a half-inch.
The metal had broken, pulled away from a bolt that held it in place on the left side. Now it was lopsided and my hands were slick with acid and—
I smacked into the floor and whimpered in pain. Laboon had settled, reoriented himself in a way that didn't help those inside of him.
"Are you ladies okay?!" Sanji ran towards me and Nami; Mr. 9 had been dropped on the floor, and he was carrying Vivi bridal-style.
I slowly pulled my hands away from the sharp edge.
"As good as I can be," Nami said.
Blood dribbled from the cuts across my palms and I cried from the sight and the pain. The gashes stung, bubbling slightly from residual acid.
"Shit. Does anyone have anything dry?" Sanji asked.
I shook a bit. The wound on my side was bad, but it wasn't something I had to look at all the time. It wasn't completely fresh when I'd woken up for the first time on Merry, and while it had reopened once, it wasn't particularly awful. It didn't hurt as badly as my hands, even after I'd been submerged. The cuts on my palms were new and visible and burning and just all too there, too pronounced. The sight made my head fuzzy.
Trying to open my hands all the way was a bad idea; it just opened the wound more and made me wince. I kept them closed at my sides, out of my own sight.
Neither Nami nor Luffy had anything dry. The unconscious Vivi and Mr. 9 didn't look like they'd been doused, but they had wet droplets splattered across their skin and clothes.
"I-I'll manage," I stuttered. "Just can't open my hands, I guess. Sorry I dragged us in here."
"Don't apologize," Sanji said.
"Did you know this would happen?" Nami asked.
Pushing myself up was a struggle. Everything was sore, in pain… It sucked. "Not uh, not quite. Sorta. I didn't know it was this bad."
Nami sighed.
"Who are those guys?" Luffy asked, pointing towards Vivi and Mr. 9.
I glanced over at them. Mr. 9's forehead looked to be swollen, beginning to take on a purple hue. Vivi's looked much the same.
"The guy is kind of a loser, but they both work for a criminal organization," I said.
"What makes the guy a loser?" Luffy asked.
"He works for a criminal organization and he's kinda bad at his job, from what I've seen," I said.
"Why isn't she a loser?"
"Spoilers," I told him. Luffy nodded slowly, and I couldn't help but giggle a bit.
Crocus thudded on our side of the canal. "I can't let you leave until you've answered a few questions," he said.
"Is that a threat? Will you fight us if I don't answer your questions?" It took a lot of willpower to not laugh as I asked.
Crocus stared.
His eyes narrowed into a glare.
A sense of discomfort settled in the air.
"If we fight, one of us will die."
"And who would that be?" Sanji asked in alarm.
Crocus maintained his glare.
Sanji twitched without an ounce of his usual flair.
I could hear him utter a swear.
"Me," Crocus spoke in a grave tone.
Right on script.
Maintaining his bit.
And as—
"Will you stop already!" Nami and Sanji shouted.
"It's a bit," I said. I was sad that it had to end so soon—it was more than amusing to experience in real life.
"What's a 'bit'?" Luffy asked.
"Like a gag or a running joke, stuff like that."
"Oh, okay!"
"Mmm. So, Crocus, your questions?"
Water sloshed gently in the canal. A slight sway was prevalent inside of Laboon and it was making me dizzy, off-balance.
"How did you know those two were after Laboon?" Crocus asked. He still seemed to be on edge, glancing between my crewmates and me.
"That information is kinda classified, Flower Bud. Next question?"
Crocus took a lengthy moment to answer, during which, I thought he was starting up his bit again. But there was no glaring or crossed arms, not a long enough pause.
"What were your other reasons for coming here?"
"Uhh, let's see… Thought you'd be a cool guy for my Captain to talk to, y'know? Given whose crew you were on in the past."
Luffy jumped in the conversation at that. "Whose crew was he on? Was it someone famous? Was it Shanks?"
"Not Shanks' crew per se, but more so the crew he was on when he was a newbie," I said. "Any other guesses? Wait. Luffy, do you know many other pirate crews?"
"There's that clown guy we ran into earlier, the guy in the armour, the cat-man, and—"
I cut him off, partially for Nami's sake. "So mostly nobodies. Got it."
It was surprisingly easy to tell how intrigued Crocus was beneath the layer of caution he'd taped on. "Not many people know Shanks was on Roger's crew. How did you find out?"
Luffy's eyes grew into glimmering tea plates as he shouted gleefully, "Shanks was on Roger's crew!? So cool!"
As adorable as Luffy's excitement was, it threw me off more than the slight sway from being inside of Laboon. His shout echoed, producing more whispery-shouts that came back to attack my head—which honestly didn't seem like it should've happened. Stupid Grand Line logic.
I was getting wobbly, my vision a little off. Reality appeared to move a single frame every second. I shifted my footing a bit and fell towards Nami, who caught me.
"Thanks," I mumbled.
"What's wrong?" she asked. Nami pulled me upright, still holding onto me to keep me steady.
"Really dizzy. Stupid lighting, stupid pain, and shouting, stupid echoes, and swaying whales, and stupid long day."
"You're resting when we get back," Nami said. She didn't ask if I wanted to—only stated that I would.
She was sweet.
During the time it took me to feel semi-normal again, Sanji bullied Luffy a bit over the shouting. My Captain ignored him, though, choosing to direct a lengthy fanboy ramble towards Crocus. Luffy said stuff about how Shanks just got cooler and cooler, mentioned to Crocus how cool he was, and asked some questions about Roger. All of his questions were left half-answered, however, as he spouted more of them off.
During all of this, Crocus looked content.
"Are you alright?" Sanji asked. "You keep getting hurt."
I leaned against Nami a bit, she was still helping me stand upright. "I'll be fine, eventually. Can't wait 'til we get a doctor on our crew."
"Are you expecting me to join your crew?" Crocus asked, popping into the conversation.
"Is he a doctor?" Luffy asked.
I nodded. "Yeah. But not the doctor for our crew. He's gotta watch over the whale."
"Oh yeah, he's the Keeper of the Whale, isn't he."
"Mhmm." I looked at Crocus, "Are we gonna be able to get outta here yet?"
"You still haven't explained yourself much," Crocus said. "How do you know so much?"
I was hoping he'd forget about that after listening to Luffy. But no, no he didn't. "Was what I said before not enough? I read some stuff, saw some pictures. Heard a few whispers here and there. Nothing too crazy."
Crocus raised an eyebrow and made a little gesture for me to continue.
"I'm getting sick, smelling blood and being covered in acid. Can we get out yet?" I asked.
"Me too. I think those two right there"—Nami pointed towards Mr. 9 and Vivi—"need to get out of here. They're not looking too great."
Sanji picked up Mr. 9, and Crocus led us back where we came from, back to the ladder I fell off of. He banged on the wall, or pushed a button or something—I couldn't quite tell—and the ladder extended down.
"I can't carry them both up there," Sanji said.
"I'll take one of them," Crocus said.
Sanji passed Mr. 9 over.
I looked down at my hands again. Red smeared across, turned pink, stained skin.
"Need help climbing up?" Nami asked.
"Kinda, but I think I'll manage," I told her.
"I can carry you up, Darling," Sanji offered.
"Nah. I'm fine."
"If you need help, just ask." Sanji gave me a smile and climbed up after Luffy and Crocus. Sanji was one-handed, holding Vivi in one arm.
"Thank you."
Nami climbed up, and I followed her. I pawed a bit at the ladders, hooking my arms around the individual rungs to climb up.
"Feeling okay?" Sanji asked once I got to the top.
"Hands sting a bunch. I'm fine, though." My stomach growled. "Oh, uh, hungry too."
"I'll make dinner after we get settled."
"Blue-Finned Elephant Tuna?"
Sanji's smile was child-like, his eyes glimmered in a similar way to Luffy's had earlier. It was cute. "You know what it is? Have you had it before?"
"Nah. I'm excited to try it, though, even if I'm not a big fan of seafood."
"Have you had good seafood before?"
I shook my head. "Unless imitation crab counts."
Sanji's childlike expression diminished. "I don't think I wanna ask what that even is."
I let out a short laugh in response.
Crocus creaked open the hatch and all of us climbed out, one by one. Laboon floated on top of the ocean, making small clicks here and there. Merry wasn't very far from where we were, but she was pretty far below.
"How are we gonna get down?" I asked.
Luffy was running towards the edge of Laboon's back. He shouted a response to my question as he leaped off, aiming for the Merry. "Jump!"
Nami sighed, "He's gonna die."
Sanji nodded.
"You comin' down with us, Crocus?" I asked.
"Yes. You need medical attention," he said.
I was quiet for a moment, unsure how to answer.
"You really do," Nami told me.
"I'll be fine," I said. "Doesn't hurt too bad."
Nami looked at me with disappointment in her eyes.
"I only caught a glimpse, but your hands looked pretty rough, Darling," Sanji said.
"Nami, can you swim?" I asked, changing the subject.
She nodded. "Why?"
"I can't. If we jump in the water, you're gonna have to pull me out."
"Will do."
"Do you have a Devil Fruit?" Crocus asked me.
"That's a good question, Petals."
Crocus glared at me. It wasn't one with malice or one of false malice like with his bit—it was a glare of slight annoyance. It would've made me laugh if I weren't a ball of anxiety.
We made our way over to where Luffy had jumped just a minute ago.
"Scared?" Nami asked.
"Little bit. Are Mr. 9 and Miss Wednesday still out?" I asked.
"Yeah," Sanji said. "Her name is Miss Wednesday?"
"Codename."
I stared down at the water below, watching the waves lap against Laboon's blubber. The thought of jumping and sinking into the depths left me with a sick feeling—my throat felt as if it were constricting, making it harder to breathe.
Death by drowning was not desirable.
"If you're not above water within seconds after hitting the ocean, I'll come for you," Sanji told me.
"You'll what for me?"
"I'll come get you," he said.
"Oh, okay," I said. "Hey, Nami? Can we, um, can we jump down together?" I held out my hand.
She sighed but took my hand. "Sure, but don't drown me."
Sanji jumped, followed by Crocus. They both splashed into the water, carrying their respective Baroque Works agents.
"Ready?" Nami asked.
I nodded and we stepped off Laboon.
I counted the seconds in my head and falling was a lot slower than I expected. Nami screamed in my ears, I squeezed my eyes shut and clung to her.
'Three, four, five.'
Cold air rushed around us as we fell. The chill made my eyes water.
'Seven, eight, nine.'
I took a deep breath and squeezed my eyes shut.
'Elev—'
We hit the water. It was near-ice cold, and the saltwater stung my hands. I held onto Nami with one arm and used my left hand to pinch my nose shut.
We didn't move up for the first few seconds we were submerged. I wanted to flail, to try to swim up, but I couldn't. There was a little voice in my head telling me that if I moved, I'd mess up. I'd drag Nami down with me and we'd both die or Sanji would have to pull her out—pull me out—and I wouldn't be able to handle that.
So I stayed still for what felt like an eternity. My lungs burned, begging for air. It took everything I had to not gulp in the water.
Nami moved. Swam, pulled me up.
I didn't count in my head this time.
I felt the cooler air hit my skin as we surfaced. I took several deep breaths of air, savouring each one.
"I'm not doing that ever again," Nami told me.
"Are you telling me you don't want to climb inside a whale, wade through acid, and jump a thousand feet down into the water?" I asked.
Nami smiled sweetly. "I just loved getting flung through the air by Luffy, only to get doused in a whale's stomach acid!"
And then her sweet smile dropped and she gave me a long multi-second look. It felt like she was staring into my soul.
"Hey, guys! Climb on up!" Usopp yelled.
I looked in the direction his voice came from. Wooden planks blurred together, blobs stood at the rails of the Merry, and—
"Fuck. Lost my glasses."
"You got new ones in Loguetown, right?"
I nodded. "Those were my only pair from home, though…"
Nami's eyes were filled with something akin to pity. She pulled me over to the side of Merry and let me climb up the rope ladder first. It was harder to climb than the metal one on Laboon—it was all wobbly and I couldn't wrap my arms around the rungs the same way. When I tried, it moved around too much, making me nervous.
I defaulted to wrapping my fingers around the wooden rungs of the ladder and pulling myself up that way. It hurt and it was hard, but it wasn't as bad as it would be if my wounded palms came in contact with the rough, water-soaked wood.
"Are you alright?" Sanji asked the moment I hit the deck.
"As alright as I'll ever be," I told him between gasps for air. I sat down beside Zoro; we both leaned against the railing. I looked at my hands again. The blood was clotting, sort of—the sight made me feel even sicker than I felt before.
"Looks pretty rough," Zoro said.
"Yeah. Sharp metal and literal waves of stomach acid will do that."
"What happened in there?"
"A lot. Lost my glasses in the ocean." I frowned a little.
"Want me to get them for you, Darling?" Sanji asked.
"Nah. You probably wouldn't be able to find them. I have extras, don't worry."
"Do you ladies need anything?" Sanji asked.
"Food. Change of clothes. Rest."
"What she said," Nami said.
"I need to change too, then I'll prepare dinner. Someone watch after Miss Wednesday while I'm gone," Sanji said.
"Who's Miss Wednesday?" Usopp asked. He looked over at her, still in Sanji's arms.
"A member of a criminal organization, same with him," I said. I pointed towards Mr. 9 who laid at Crocus's feet. The former's suit was lighter in some spots. The dark green bleached out to lime or white.
Usopp's eyes widened a bit. "Why are they here? Is the old man—" Usopp stopped speaking and stared at Crocus.
"Nah. He's the Lighthouse Keeper and Keeper of the Whale. And they're here because their village is hungry and stuff."
Usopp sighed a little bit. "Oh good. Zoro and I'll watch them as long as they don't hurt us."
"You should probably tie them up," I said. "Anyway, I'm gonna go change clothes. This is uncomfortable." My clothes were thoroughly soaked in saltwater, a bit of Laboon's stomach acid, too probably; my sweater clung to my skin, cold and heavy. A soft breeze blew past and made me shiver.
"Let me tend to your wounds when you're back," Crocus said.
I shook my head. "It'd be best if you don't. I'll be fine."
"Your hands will scar if I don't stitch them. They may get infected, too."
I looked at his bleary form. "All I gotta do is bandage it and keep it clean, yeah?"
"Dry too."
"Guess I'm screwed, huh?"
He shook his head. "Do you have gauze? Tape?"
"I'm pretty sure someone picked some up."
"I did," Nami said. "Need me to help bandage your wounds again?"
"Please," I said. "Crocus, tell us Laboon's story when we get back?"
"Why do I have a feeling you already know it?" he asked.
"Why do you?" I asked. I walked away before he could answer.
δ
Zoro yawned, one eye opened slightly to watch his surroundings and glimpse at the darkening sky. It was around seven o'clock, or so. Luffy and the others had been gone for a half-hour already. In that time, he and Usopp completed the ship repairs and watched as an otter rode a vulture off into the sunset. It was weird, but probably not that weird considering what the Grand Line was as a whole.
He was excited to see what else was out there. Who else. 'The swordsmen.'
He closed his eyes and rested against the ship's railing. His hands cushioned the back of his head, fingers interlocked.
It was peaceful—as peaceful as being in the middle of the ocean without half of your crew could be, at least.
He listened to the waves crash against the ship. The sound of the wind blowing against the sails. He thought about the day. How his Captain nearly died but was saved by the World's Worst Criminal himself. How that man was Luffy's father. How that man's subordinate was Luffy's brother.
That thought led straight into the first meeting with Sabo. When they jumped out of a window and Eira freaked out.
He wouldn't forget that look in her eyes.
It was funny how she hounded him for not sharing his past when she'd barely said a word about herself. He almost thought of her as a hypocrite. Almost.
He heard the water splashing and Merry rocked side to side in rough waves. The whale resurfaced and stayed still. Zoro closed his eyes again.
Back to thinking about the day. Cutting Tashigi as badly as he did was unintentional. A result of his new sword acting against his wishes.
He lowered an arm and stroked Kitetsu's grip. "You better listen next time," he murmured.
The sword, of course, didn't speak back. He had a feeling that it would happen again, once or twice, if he didn't talk some sense into it. Or get it on the same page as him.
He heard the wind woosh above him and he looked up just in time to see Luffy land beside him.
"That was so much fun!" Luffy said through a giggle.
The Cook landed on the deck in front of them. He held a woman in his arms with long, blue hair.
"Someone throw the rope ladder down!"
"Who's that?" Zoro asked. He tossed the rope ladder over and watched an old man immediately begin climbing up with one hand. He held a man in his other arm.
He pulled Wado Ichimonji out of its sheath.
"Hold it! He's an ally. And this lovely lady is—"
"He's the Whale Guy," Luffy said, cutting off the cook.
"Yeah. That's what Luffy keeps calling him. Anyway, this lovely la—"
The woman in Swirly Brow's arms, and the man that the Whale Guy carried up, had bumps on their heads.
"What happened to them?" Zoro asked.
"I knocked them out," said the Whale Guy.
"And then they got splashed by sting-y whale water," Luffy said with his face scrunching up.
"We got hit by it, too," the Cook added. "Eira had it worse, though."
"In what way?"
"She fell in, got—"
There was a splash in the water a few feet away from the ship.
"Nami and Eira just jumped in."
"Mm," Zoro hummed.
Three seconds later and they weren't up for air yet.
"Hold her," the Cook said, holding the woman out towards Zoro.
"Give it a few seconds. They just jumped off a whale."
"But what if they—"
The women in question surfaced, exchanging some mostly inaudible words. Something about losing glasses. Usopp walked over with a curious look on his face.
"What's going on?" Usopp asked. He saw Nami and Eira in the water. "Hey, guys! Climb on up!"
They swam over. Zoro went back to sitting against the railing. Eira sat beside him and held her hands in front of her, staring at them with an uncomfortable expression.
The cuts were deep, looked aggravated, and the blood was already clotting. The ends of her sweater were nearly stained red.
He made a comment, and Eira gave a vague reply about what happened.
'Why would metal be in a whale?' Zoro thought. 'The Grand Line just became even more interesting.'
There was some conversation between the rest of the crew. It seemed the woman was named Miss Wednesday, the old man named Crocus, and the man in the green suit was left unnamed.
Something about the name Miss Wednesday sounded familiar. Something he couldn't quite put his finger on.
Nami and Eira headed down to their room. The cook had already changed and was in the kitchen now, making dinner. Crocus sat not too far away, Luffy beside him.
"I wanna hear about Laboon!" Luffy said.
"The girl didn't tell you anything?" Crocus asked.
"Nope. You're the one that's gotta tell us, Whale-Guy."
Zoro half-listened, pondering the name he'd heard.
"I see," Crocus said. "Laboon is an Island Whale, a species from the West Blue. They're the biggest in the world."
Miss Wednesday was in a criminal organization. Miss Wednesday. The naming scheme was familiar.
"I can see why." Usopp leaned against Merry's railing, eyes glued to Laboon.
Miss was typically paired with a day of a week, if he let two sets be a pattern. It was so familiar. If only he knew the man's name, then—
Wait. Baroque Works. An organization that attempted to recruit him, once. The man's name started with Mr., followed by a number—Zoro was positive he was right about that. He narrowed his eyes a bit, eying the man closer, looking for a clue. There was a diluted black paint splotched across his cheeks.
Crocus nodded and continued his story, "A long time ago, a friendly bunch of pirates came down the mountain. Tailing their ship was Laboon. They'd been sailing the West Blue together, and—"
Zoro stopped listening to Crocus speak, attention shifting towards the man in the green suit, who just shot up, gasping for air. His eyes darted around his surroundings, seeming to take in everyone around him. There was no panic in his eyes. He was reserved, guarded. His hand laid on Miss Wednesday's, who was still lying unconscious.
Mister whatever number he was didn't seem like he was going to attack, but Zoro still held Wado's grip, ready to stand at a moment's notice. Zoro stared, waiting for the man to make a move. Crocus was still telling the story of Laboon to an enamoured Luffy, and Usopp who seemed even more childlike than their captain.
The man's jaw moved slightly, mouth not quite opening before he settled for a moment. A look of apprehension left Mister's face as soon as it appeared, and he asked, "What happened?"
Crocus stopped speaking and looked over. Luffy frowned, displeased. Usopp looked curious, a little scared, but not so much that it would be obvious to those who didn't know him.
"You tried to hurt Laboon, so I knocked you out. Now you're here," Crocus said.
"Why'dyou try to hurt Laboon?" Luffy asked. He looked a little upset, sad someone would hurt the whale. He shifted around, facing Mister instead of Crocus, now.
Mister held Miss Wednesday's hand now, fingers interlocked. "Our village… they're going hungry. If we—"
Usopp cut him off. His tone was passionate. "That may sound like a good reason, but he's a living creature with feelings! Can't you see how heartbroken he is?"
Yeah, Zoro definitely missed something in that Laboon story.
Mister continued what he was saying before. "If we brought the whale back, we could feed our people for at least a year!"
"Two or three at that," Crocus chimed in. He glared at Mister, tone serious and filled with conviction, "But for as long as I live, you'll never harm Laboon."
He didn't hear everything about Laboon—he was sure the story hadn't finished, either—but it seemed like he'd been through a lot, and Zoro could tell how much the old man cared. Zoro respected that—the way the old man stood up for someone he cared about. The welts on the pair's foreheads showed how much Crocus cared.
For just a moment, Zoro thought of all the enemies he'd cut down during his time travelling with Luffy.
δ
"What kind of dish do you think he'll make out of the Elephant Tuna?" Nami asked. She was cleaning the wound on my left hand and had just finished bandaging the right.
Tears were in my eyes from the pain, but I still smiled a little and giggled a bit. "Won't be too much of a surprise for me. Some things are set in stone, as the Fates have deemed it so."
"Or it's just the little things that won't change."
"Big things, too. I can't stop a lot. Maybe shift their direction, but the beginning? The outcomes? Those won't always be different."
Nami looked up. "I think that'll change. The longer you're here, the less will be the same. Luffy is gonna be a big deal in the world, right? He already was in the East Blue. You'll be a big deal too."
"Like the marines would even notice me. But I could speak to key figures, already have."
I kept flip-flopping between positive and negative mindsets. I knew I was changing things in a big way. But my brain wouldn't let me believe that all the time. The pile of spiders would crawl around in a forced imagination, drawing out words—intrusive thoughts that I couldn't help but believe time and time again.
"Dragon?"
I nodded. "Yeah. I think I have a decent deal going with him. Sabo too. I'm excited to see him again."
"He seemed nice," Nami said. "And I think the Marines would definitely notice you. You robbed them blind. So. Much. Beli." Beli signs shone bright in the Cat Burglar's eyes, and a thin trail of drool dripped down the corner of her mouth, down the side of her chin.
"I'm happy Luffy got to reconnect with him so soon. I think… Yeah. I'm making a difference, huh?"
Nami's beli-obsessed haze dissipated. "You are. Don't worry. Now just give me a minute and I'll have this hand bandaged."
I nodded. All of the water had been dabbed up with clean gauze, an ointment gently applied, and a fresh strip of gauze wrapped around in a neat way that I imagined only Nami could do.
Chopper could, too, of course. But he would be here later on.
"Wanna head back up?" I asked.
"Yeah, I'm starving." She wiped little bits of my blood off of her hands before standing and stretching. "C'mon. I can hear your stomach from a mile away," she laughed.
My stomach growled. Yeah. Long day, starving Eira. We walked out of our room, made our way to the deck.
"We'll never stop coming after that whale, Crocus!" Mr. 9 said.
Mr. 9 sat against a wall beside a knocked-out Vivi. One of his hands held hers, fingers laced together. The numbers on his face had washed off—not that I could remember seeing them before, anyway.
I watched as Vivi's hand twitched in response to Mr. 9's exclamation. Her eyelids squeezed together, trying to shut more than they already were.
"Miss Wednesday?" I asked. "You awake?"
"How do you know our names?" Mr. 9 asked.
"Just do. I have a proposition for you," I said.
Vivi's eyes opened and immediately shut from the assault of sunset light. "Who even are you?" she asked.
This wasn't Vivi. Not personality-wise, of course. This was Miss Wednesday through and through; her tone gave it away so clearly. She was a pretty good actress.
"Eira. How about you guys listen to Laboon's story before you decide to keep failing at taking his flesh?" I asked.
Mr. 9 looked at me, a deep frown on his face. "Why would a whale's story even change our minds?"
"Cause he's cool and deserves all the love and attention that any other animal deserves, y'know? Give it a listen," I said.
Luffy chimed in, "I wanna hear it again!"
"You never finished listening in the first place," Usopp said.
"You told the story without me here?" I asked, mock-pouting.
"The kid insisted," Crocus said.
I sighed. "Mind telling it again from the beginning?" I asked.
"What do I get out of it?"
"Food from the best chef in the Grand Line," I said.
"Fifty years ago, Laboon—" Crocus began, before he was cut off by Miss Wednesday and Mr. 9.
"We didn't agree to this!" they shouted in unison.
But they stayed put. They listened to Crocus tell Laboon's tale—his history and tragedy alike. Mr. 9's emotions didn't shift drastically, but Vivi's expressions betrayed her attempts at showing annoyance—she looked concerned, slightly regretful.
I didn't pay attention to the crew's expressions. I already knew how they would act, and so I waited until Crocus was done speaking, and chimed in quickly enough that no one else had the chance before me. "None of them ran away—most of them died. The Rumbar Pirates."
"Why wouldn't the living ones come back?" Luffy asked.
I yawned. My eyelids were getting heavy, the sun was nearly gone from the sky, and the stars twinkled like lightning bugs. "Sometimes you can't control things. That's what happened to the Rumbar Pirates. Ran into a situation they couldn't get out of. A situation that the living couldn't return from."
"How do you know this?" Vivi asked.
I glanced over, attempting to be nonchalant in look and tone. "I just know things. I'm good at info-gathering with this kinda thing."
She nodded.
"That sucks," Usopp said. "Poor Laboon."
"It really does. But it'll be okay! We just… need Laboon to stop smacking the Red Line."
"How do you suppose we do that?" Crocus asked.
"We could get him to listen to us somehow. Have Luffy challenge him to a duel, maybe?"
Luffy hopped up, a determined smile on his face. "I like that idea! Now, how to…"
His eyes landed on the main mast.
"No," I said. "You're not allowed to yoink out the mast just to fight Laboon."
Luffy deflated both literally and figuratively, slinking down to the ground with a groaning breath out. "But… but it woulda been fun," he whined.
"Mmm, yeah. But we can't just hurt Merry." I ran my hand along her railing, admiring the still-pristine paint. Well, mostly pristine. There were some smudges and stains, faint, as most of the blemishes had been washed away by rain and splashes of water.
"Fine."
"You really expect him to fight that?" Nami asked, thumb jutting back, pointing toward Laboon.
"Think he can't?"
"I know he's crazy enough to," she laughed.
"As terrible as an idea that is, I wanna watch," Usopp said.
"Dinners ready!" Sanji said, walking out of the kitchen.
Luffy came back from his deflation, jumping over the railing to avoid the stairs, and nearly smashed through the kitchen door.
"You better not eat it all!" Sanji called out.
"Guess we're eating first." Zoro stood up beside me, yawned and stretched, and made his way to dinner. Crocus followed a moment after Zoro left.
"Where'd you get the idea for him to fight Laboon?" Usopp asked.
"Where do you think?" I tapped the side of my forehead, giggling a little bit.
Usopp sighed, "Why do I even ask…"
"It's fun to ask," I said. "Now, c'mon, dinner."
I stood from my spot against the railing, walking alongside Usopp, tailing behind Nami and Zoro, the latter of which had already entered the kitchen.
"Wait," Usopp said, "what about those two?"
"We're not just gonna let 'em starve." I turned towards the Baroque-duo, "You two hungry?"
Vivi had been sitting up for a while, now, leaning forward to intently listen during Crocus's storytelling. She sat back, a regal air around her that I suspected to only be a part of her facade—her attempts to embody the character of Miss Wednesday. Princess Nefertari Vivi had never given me the same vibe. But that was on paper and animated frames and false voices. Acting in a way that she couldn't. This was real life, and Vivi could be different, even in minor ways.
"We don't need handouts," Mr. 9 said.
"It isn't a handout if you think of yourselves as guests on our ship," I said. "You're not bound so… it's sorta true."
My crewmates hadn't tied them up like I'd told them to.
The two took a moment, conversed with each other, considering.
"Will we have enough food for everyone?" Usopp asked.
"Considering Sanji, definitely. He probably planned for Luffy, and he didn't start cooking until everyone was on the ship. The only people he maybe didn't account for were Crocus and Mr. 9 'cause they're dudes. "
Usopp nodded and laughed a bit.
Vivi and Mr. 9 stood and followed up to the kitchen.
The first thing I saw when I opened the door was Sanji holding Luffy back, the latter of which was gnawing on three thick bones and trying to grab more food.
"You can have whatever's leftover, just let everyone get some first!" Sanji tightened his hold on Luffy, struggling to hold our Captain back.
"But I'm hungry!" Luffy stretched an arm out, trying to grab more meat.
Sanji let go of one of Luffy's arms, pivoted, and grabbed his hands, pulling them close to Luffy's body, squishing him enough to prevent his stretching.
"I promise you can have more, but you just have to wait," Sanji said.
Luffy huffed, still grinding fish bones on his teeth, and sunk down into his chair. The growling of his stomach was loud enough to remind me of the lightning strike—the sound of thunder—back in Loguetown.
Set on a large platter in the middle of the kitchen table was the partially-eaten Blue-Finned Elephant Tuna, cooked to perfection, surrounded by veggies, an assortment of sides, and a still-cooking dessert on the stove.
Sanji spotted all of us, save for Zoro and Crocus who were already eating, and took a few steps over.
"Sorry about that, ladies. Would you like me to get a plate for you?" Sanji asked.
"Mhmm, please," I said, nodding. I sat in the only free spot on the side against the wall.
Zoro was to my left, Crocus on the other side of him, and the stove was to my right. Across from me sat Luffy, Nami, and Usopp, which led Sanji to pulling three barrels over and making Usopp sit on one so Miss Wednesday wouldn't have to.
There was some conversation between Usopp and Luffy, whispering between the Baroque-duo, who sat as close as possible to each other, and what felt like miles away from everyone else. Sitting at the same table didn't mean anything in regard to distance. Not when they were so intrinsically different from the rest of us in the here and now.
After everyone settled, Sanji sat plates in front of us all, save for Luffy, Zoro, and Crocus, who'd already gotten their food.
I grinned when I saw how amazing the food looked. There was a slice of the Elephant Tuna on my plate—rich pink in the middle with crispy skin on the outside—along with some roasted asparagus, and a side of rice.
I picked up a fork, fumbling with it and trying to hold it without pain. Every time I attempted to tighten my grip, my palm shifted too much, stinging and making me cringe. I couldn't imagine how awful it would be to hold a knife to cut my food.
Ugh.
I took a long breath in, long breath out, and did my best to ignore the pain. It wasn't as bad as when it was fresh and soaked in salt water—I could tough it out.
"So, about Luffy fighting Laboon," Nami said. "You really think he can do it?"
I nodded. " Luffy's kind of a powerhouse, y'know?"
"He's practically a gnat compared to Laboon. He'll lose, of course," Vivi said, speaking as Miss Wednesday. Her words dribbled with such astounding confidence that it nearly rang true. It was possible that she believed it, but I wasn't incredibly sure because of how uninsightful I felt in the moment. I overthought every word she spoke and every little movement she made, trying to decipher what everything meant.
Not everything had a deeper meaning.
"You'd be surprised," I said.
She returned my comment with a little chuckle, snide, as if the regal Miss Wednesday knew I was completely wrong.
I didn't like this form of Vivi. I didn't wanna live with it for another second, let alone the time it would take us to arrive at Whiskey Peak and live through the chaos that would ensue there.
I thought about Robin, too, how I would handle her. How I would handle the Vivi situation. Part of me wanted to leave it as a problem for future Eira, but that wasn't an option. I pulled out a notebook and pen, tuned everyone out, and jotted down notes between each bite of delicious food.
δ
"Laboon!" Luffy called out.
If we were in my world, Laboon would have blended in with the ocean and night sky. It was bright enough here, colourful enough, that we could see his outline, the whites of his eyes.
"We're gonna fight!" he continued.
Part of me wondered if that would be enough. If it even made sense.
Luffy grabbed onto rock, some of the landscape around us, and pulled back until his arms looked like they couldn't stretch anymore.
"I almost can't believe he's going through with it," Usopp murmured.
Zoro laughed. "You know how our Captain is. He'd do anything."
My Captain let go, flying through the air toward Laboon.
Vivi and Mr. 9 were standing a bit away from us all. I ran my hand along the journal in my bag, took a few deep breaths in and out, and worked up the courage to go over.
"Hey Nami," I said, "I'll be right back. Keep the crew away if they go wandering?"
She quirked an eyebrow. "Where are you going?"
"To have a conversation," I told her. "It's important. I'll be safe, promise. Mostly promise. I'm pretty confident I'll be fine, at least."
She gave me a look. "Are you gonna talk to those guys?" She pointed to Vivi and Mr. 9 with her thumb.
"Mhmm. Only one of them, though."
She thought for a moment, a look of concern oh-so-barely washing over her face before she said, "Stay safe."
I gave her a quick smile and walked off.
Vivi and Mr. 9 were talking, exchanging a few haughty laughs. If I didn't want to put on a kind mask, I would've sighed and shot a glare—but I wasn't going to do that. I was going to win over Vivi, and try to get her to be comfortable around me. Around the crew. Work together from the get-go, rather than the end of the next island.
Or at the very least, I would try.
"Miss Wednesday," I said, keeping a smile on my face. "Can we have a chat?"
She turned, raised a brow. "About what?"
"A chat in private. Please?"
She glanced at Mr. 9 and their eyes locked in silent conversation.
In this moment, I was acutely aware of how they were both stronger than me—how they had the ability to end me here and now, especially if Vivi felt she or her mission were in danger.
My heart thumped loudly in my chest; I controlled my breathing, slowly in and out, tried to keep my eye movements steady and calm. The cold of the night air licked exposed skin, causing me to shiver.
The slight narrowing of Vivi's gaze—the little she deigned to give me—nearly made a bolt of fear slice through my very being. I missed the murmurs exchanged between the two in front of me.
I let out a long-held breath, shivered again, and Vivi's attention was back on me in full. She looked me over, eyes lingering on bandaged hands and bruised legs.
"I suppose we can have a chat," she said.
I offered up a small smile, and we walked several meters away from the rest of the group. Mr. 9 watched us like a hawk, save for the moments he looked over at Luffy's fight with Laboon, which, as much as I wanted to give my attention to, this thing with Vivi was more important.
"What did you want to talk about?" she asked.
I sat down on a large rock. "Do you know what your organization is up to?"
She looked at me, face betraying not a single emotion towards it.
"There's this kingdom of sand. Well, not exactly of sand per se, but more that it's in a desert. There's a drought in most of the country. It's not great. There's a rebel army being built. A little birdie told me that the Revolutionary Army is involved now, too."
Vivi had turned away from me, eyes glued on the fight between my Captain and Laboon. "Where are you going with this?" she asked.
"Everyone blames the king and it's not his fault. There's a man who can send sandstorms anywhere in the country without lifting a finger—he's already destroyed an oasis. Destroyed dreams and lives without a care."
I squeezed my hand involuntarily and it twinged in pain. Thinking about this in the mindset of everything being a living, breathing person was taking a toll on me. In the past, it was just hand-drawn pictures that were affected. But these were people. People I would meet and cross paths with. I continued speaking, my tone slightly strained with emotion, "What I want is to take him down. That man—the one who's ended so many things, is your boss. The one in charge of your organization."
"What are you going to do if you take him down?" Vivi stood, half turned, half raising her voice in a growl, but keeping it quiet enough not to be heard by the crew.
"Leave. Run with our tail between our legs because we're pirates. We'll maybe spend a day getting thanked, maybe receive some gifts. But that's not guaranteed, and not necessary. Not the main goal."
She looked at me. It was hard to see in the dim light, but her facade was cracking. She held a worried expression of fear, one that didn't match the Miss Wednesday mask she typically wore. "What's your main goal?"
"To help people. The ones I care about, the ones I've never met. There's a rumour about the missing princess. That she's dead or kidnapped or ran away. Part of that main goal is to reunite her with her father, bring relative peace to the land of Alabasta."
"Why are you saying this to me of all people? I could report in to my boss." Her Miss Wednesday mask crumbled in more ways than one. Her voice wavered down to a tone more befitting of Vivi, her facial expression softened slightly more.
I smiled a little, stared into her eyes. "I wanted you to be informed about your organization, but… I think you should stay a little longer. Work with us, Vivi,"—I held out my hand—"let us help you save your people."
It took a few moments, but she placed her hand atop mine.
In the background, the crew was cheering as Luffy painted our jolly roger over Laboon's scars.
"Talk later? Maybe in the morning with the crew?" I asked.
"Sure, but what about Mr. 9?"
"He's not too bad. Likes you a decent amount. Should be fine? Maybe?"
She nodded, and we went back to our respective places. Vivi with her mask back up, just for now.
"Crocus was telling me about how to navigate the Grand Line," Nami said, just as I returned.
"He gave you a log pose?" I asked.
She looked at me and sighed. "Why am I not surprised? But no, not yet."
"I have one for you. I can hand it over when we get back to the ship."
"You bought one?" she asked.
I nodded. "Didn't know how things would play out. I thought it would be smart to have an extra, y'know?"
Nami smiled. "Thank you," she said, "and I'm surprised things turned out well with Laboon."
"Sometimes simple things work, even if they don't make a ton of sense."
She laughed. "Yeah. It's like that in this crew."
Soon, we all headed back to the ship for the night, deciding to set sail in the morning. The day finally caught up to me and I passed out the very moment my head hit the couch.
δ
I floated in a world of threads. There were no buildings, landmarks, anything of the sort. Only strings pulled tight, lining a space where nothing else existed. Colour didn't appear to be a concept in this reality—it was only something my mind filled in, but even then, it didn't make sense. Each tilt of my head made the threads appear a different colour. It wasn't an iridescence. It was as if my mind was trying to make sense of the colours and kept shifting between shades that I couldn't even decipher—shifting through a colour spectrum left undiscovered by nearly all humans, impossibly found by one person alone. Me.
I tried to move my arms, legs, anything, but I couldn't. I glanced down at myself, staring at a thread that spiralled around my entire body, holding me in place. The ends stretched out, connecting to two other threads.
My eyes forced themselves closed.
'Is this how I got the bruises?' I thought.
Panic should've set in by now, but I felt a sense of calm. Like this was a safe space that I couldn't fear. I let out a long-held breath, let my body relax, and savoured the tranquillity.
I felt something. Feelings akin to thoughts pushed out from my surroundings, directed at me, trying to convey a message. They made sense in a way that could translate to loosely formed sentences.
'Apologies,' was the first message. It left me slightly bemused until the next came.
'This wasn't intended,' was the next.
'What would 'this' be,' I thought. Being in this safe space? Not being able to tell what colour this place was? Or was it… was it getting dropped in another world?
'Affirmative,' the space conveyed.
I'd imagine that in any other context of something reading my mind, I would be fearful. But not here. Part of me wondered if it was just a comforting dream or some kind of charm spell cast by the threads surrounding me.
Anything was possible in my reality, now.
'We have a gift.'
I opened my eyes again. More threads of ever-changing colour reached out and coiled around my very being. It felt like silk against my skin.
"What kind of gift?" I asked.
'Acclimation.'
A/N: Hey everyone, sorry for taking so long to update. The past uh,, four? or so months have been very chaotic. I can't promise to update again soon, but I'll do my best. I hope you enjoy this super long (for me!) chapter