When Luffy reported to the bar counter for breakfast, she found Garp waiting for her, with a concerned frown on his face. She sighed. No doubt, Makino had told him that she had another nightmare, and he probably wanted to hear about it. How was she going to spin this one?
She sat on the stool next to his and asked, "Did Makino tell you?"
He nodded, "If anything's bothering you that's causing you to have these violent nightmares, I think we have to figure out why, right? I'm your grandfather, for god's sake. I have the right to worry about it, and it's my job to help you feel better."
Luffy sighed, "Okay…" and sat silently for a minute, trying to think of a way to explain the dream without giving too much real-life information away. Though, regardless of what Luffy told Garp, he wouldn't do anything about it except give her some words of comfort.
But then again…Corazon WAS a Marine! Maybe her grandpa knew him! Maybe there was a way he could save him! But Corazon was all the way in the North Blue…what could Garp even do to help him, other than send a warning to Sengoku maybe. Still, it was worth a shot!
She looked up at Garp and said, "I had a nightmare that a man was shot to death by his own brother."
Garp's brows rose, "Really? Were the men anyone you knew?"
Luffy forced her brow to furrow, "No, but I got their names…the man being shot at was named Rosinante and the guy doing the shooting was Doflamingo. They were both very tall with blond hair."
As she expected, Garp's brows nearly flew off his forehead, his eyes bugged out and his jaw dropped very low, almost at the point of dislocating. So, he DID know Corazon.
"Rosinante and Doflamingo, huh…interesting," he replied in a weak tone.
Luffy tilted her head, "What's wrong, Grandpa? You look freaked out. Did my dream mean something?"
Garp shook his head frantically, "No, no, Luffy! It's nothing! I'm just…surprised that you could pronounce such complicated names, is all!"
Luffy frowned. Well, that was a little offensive. Then again, Luffy was six years old, and most six-year-olds couldn't pronounce big names like that…in fact, in her old life, she mostly called Doflamingo Mingo, not his whole name, mainly because it was a mouthful to say back then. She was used to mouthfuls of words now, though.
Garp stood up from the counter and said, "Sit tight for a bit, Luffy. I need to make a phone call."
Luffy nodded, "Okay, grandpa."
Garp practically sprinted over to the phone and dialed very quickly. Luffy hoped he was calling who she thought he was…
Garp prayed internally for Sengoku to pick up the phone, and when he heard his old friend's voice say, "Good morning, Garp. Pretty surprising to get a call from you this early.", he practically shouted, "Thank god you picked up!"
Sengoku was quiet for a moment before asking, "Why? Is something wrong? Did something else happen with Luffy?"
Garp nodded, even though Sengoku couldn't see him, "She had a nightmare last night, one that terrified me more than it probably terrified her."
"What about her nightmare could've scared you?" Sengoku replied, some surprise in his tone.
"She saw a man being shot to death by his own brother," Garp stated.
Sengoku made a slight wincing noise, "Well, I suppose that is a terrifying image for anyone, but why call me about it?"
Garp glanced back at Luffy to see her busy eating her breakfast while Makino talked to her, "She got the men's names. That's what the scary part was for me."
"And what were their names then?"
Garp took a deep breath before saying, "Rosinante and Doflamingo. Rosinante was the man being shot to death."
The line went quiet for a long moment, so long that Garp was worried that Sengoku may have fainted. However, his friend soon replied, in the tensest voice, "Garp, how does Luffy know those names? She's lived in the East Blue all her life and Rosinante had never been stationed East! And Doflamingo's never sailed there either! How could she know who they are and dream about them!"
Garp sighed, "I have no idea, but it gives me a bad feeling. I mean, she dreamt that Rosinante was killed by Doflamingo! That might mean something! What's Rosinante been doing over the last few years? I hadn't seen him for a while…"
Sengoku went quiet for a moment, before saying, "He's been working undercover in the Donquixote family."
Garp's jaw dropped, "You're kidding…"
"I'm not. He's been working to find all of Doflamingo's underworld contacts and to help have him and his entire crew arrested," Sengoku explained. "He's been working under the alias, Corazon, and last I heard, he had left the crew to carry out some sort of personal mission. I can't think what that could be though…"
Gap winced, "Whatever it is, maybe it'll be what leads to his death."
Sengoku let out a brief gasp before shouting, "Are you saying that Luffy's nightmare could be a premonition of some sort!? Be real, Garp! She's a child! How could she foretell something like that in her dreams!?"
"You said it yourself; there's no way Luffy could've known who Rosinante and Doflamingo were, and yet, she had a dream where one was killed by the other," Garp said. "Luffy developed Conqueror's Haki recently. Who knows what other abilities she could've manifested since I last saw her. In fact, I once heard that if your perfect Observation Haki well enough, you can see into the future! Maybe this is an instance of that at work! Rosinante could be in danger!"
Sengoku sighed, "Unfortunately, I can't disagree with you on that. I'll contact him as soon as I'm able and give him a warning. Course, I don't know what good that will do since I have no idea what exactly to warn him about. Based on Luffy's nightmare, I imagine it involves his cover being blown."
Garp nodded, "That's a good plan. Maybe it'll work…and maybe I ought to head to the North Blue to help. For some reason, I feel like I shouldn't be left out of this."
"If you feel compelled to help, Garp, go ahead," Sengoku replied. "But won't Luffy be disappointed that you have to leave so suddenly?"
Garp sighed, "For some reason…I doubt it."
When Garp rejoined Luffy at the counter, he said, "Luffy, I know that I said I'd be here for a few days, but some VERY important Marine business just came up, so I have to go."
Most grandchildren would throw a fit if their grandparents left them prematurely because of work, which was what Garp expected Luffy to do given her reaction to him arriving alive after having a nightmare where he died.
But instead, she merely nodded, "Okay, Grandpa. You go be a hero or whatever you gotta do."
Garp winced. She was almost taking this a little too casually. Maybe she wasn't as fond of him as he thought.
Well, at least it made leaving easier.
Luffy saw Garp off at the dock, and once his Marine ship was out of sight, Luffy quickly made her way back to Makino's bar.
"Okay, with Grandpa out of the way, I can travel to the North Blue!" she thought to herself. "But how am I going to get there in time to stop Doflamingo and save Corazon and Law? Sailing on a ship could take too long, and I don't know who'll be going to the North Blue!"
Umi chuckled, "I may have an idea, but it'll involve traveling up to the mountains."
Luffy packed a bag with her notebook, her thickest coat, and some food and water in her bedroom, and she wrote a quick note that she left on her bed for Makino to see. There was no doubt that the bartendress would notice her absence in less than a day. Better assure her that Luffy hadn't run away because Garp left early or something along those lines.
Luffy made her way through Foosha Village as quickly and discreetly as possible, and once she made it to the forest, she slowed her pace slightly.
As she ascended up to the mountains, she noticed that the monkey babies from the other day were hanging around Garp's training ground, and jumped excitedly when they spotted Luffy and ran up to her.
Luffy smiled and let a few of them climb onto her shoulders and back, where she asked, "You guys been waiting for me?"
The monkeys squeaked responses, likely meaning yes, prompting the girl to giggle, "Aw, I knew you guys had fun the other day, but I can't train you today; I have important business up the mountain! But you can hang around until I leave, if you want."
The monkeys chattered amongst themselves and proceeded to follow Luffy upwards, where the girl mentally asked Umi, "So, what exactly am I looking for up here?"
"You know Sea Kings, right?" Umi asked.
"Yeah? There's one near Dawn Island. It ate Shanks' arm! I need to make sure that doesn't happen again…"
"And you know Zunesha, right?"
"The elephant with the land of Zou on it's back, right? What about them?"
"Well, Sea Kings are also known as 'the Beasts of the Sea', while any giant animal that walks on land or above water is called 'a Beast of the Land'," Umi stated. "Based on that, what place can you deduce is left to have 'Beasts'?"
Luffy furrowed her brow tightly, thinking, and after a moment she glanced up, "The sky?"
Umi hummed an affirmation, "Mm-hmm. There are Beasts of the Sky, but you didn't really encounter them much in your old timeline. The closest you can probably think of are the giant birds your friend Chopper befriended and the giant compass birds on Skypeia, right?"
Luffy nodded, "Yeah, they were pretty massive. Were they Sky Beasts?"
"Close, but not quite," Umi replied. "Sky Beasts are much, much larger than they are, and they're not all birds. Each one is unique, like the Sea Kings and the Land Beasts. For example, there's one that strictly lives in the East Blue."
Luffy's brows rose, "Really? Who's that?"
Before Umi could answer, Luffy came upon a clearing high up in the mountain, where a nest made of tree trunks and large branches had been built.
Situated in the nest was a giant bird whose size Luffy easily compared to the dragon she and her crew fought on Punk Hazard! It was bigger than the birds Chopper had befriended! It was bigger than the Thousand Sunny!
It's appearance reminded Luffy of an eagle, but rather than just being the typical black and white, its wings were accented by red, blue, green and yellow, and there were black lines around the eyes, almost like it was wearing some kind of fancy eyeliner. In other words, it looked incredibly majestic.
"Whoa! What is this, Umi?" she asked mentally, as the monkeys crept closer to her and began to chitter nervously.
"This is Thora," Umi answered. "She's a lightningbird. She'll get you to the Red Line within days, if not sooner. Be kind to her."
Luffy nodded, "Okay, but…how do I ask her? Will she even understand me?"
"Yes, Luffy, as you are Joyboy's reincarnate," Umi stated. "Just like how the Sea Kings and Zunesha could understand you. Just go up and talk to her."
Luffy gulped, "Alright. If you really think so."
She looked back at her primate companions and said, "You guys might want to get out of here. I have NO idea what Thora likes to eat!"
The monkey babies let out frantic squeaks as they retreated back into the forest, leaving Luffy to face the giant bird alone.
She slowly approached the bird, who, after Luffy was within a few yards of her range, looked down at her, with intense gold eyes.
Luffy smiled, "Hi Thora! Uh, Umi tells me you can get me to the North Blue. Can you actually do that? I have to go there to save a friend…"
The giant bird tilted her head and studied Luffy for a moment, before positioning it upright and letting out an affirmative screech.
She leaned down her head in front of Luffy, who grinned, "Oh cool! Thank you!"
She climbed onto the lightningbird's back and once she was situated, the bird stood up and stretched out its colorful wings, and with a single loud beat, she was up in the air and soaring through the sky!
Luffy clung onto her tightly, screaming, "WHOA!", but she couldn't stop the grin forming on her face. Then again, why would she want to! This was fun! This bird was flying so fast, Luffy wouldn't be surprised if they got to the island Law was on within a day!
She smiled hugely and, after taking a deep breath, she shouted, "We're coming to save you, Law! Just hang in there!"
Meanwhile, somewhere out on the sea, a redhaired man was standing at the bow of a large ship. But he was NOT Redhaired Shanks.
This man was older than Shanks, with his long red hair pulled back into a tight ponytail and his silver eyes focused severely on the horizon the ship was sailing towards.
He wasn't the captain of the ship, but that didn't mean he had no say in where it was going to go. Currently, he was thinking about what Blue they should go to this time. North or West? They had last been sailing around the New World and everyone wanted to move on to one of the Blues and do a tour around for a year before moving on to the next sea.
It sounded like an easy decision, but it was much more complicated than that. After all, whatever sea they went to would determine what islands they had a chance to put on a show, and the red-haired man knew that the most shows they were able to do, the better it'd be for them. Especially if in this sea, they came upon a pirate with a very valuable bounty…
At that moment, someone else walked onto the deck and stood next to him: an older man with long graying black dreadlocks, dark brown skin, a stubble goatee and vivid purple eyes.
He looked at the red-haired man and said, "Hey Beast-man, Thanata had a look at her tarot cards. She thinks we should go to the North Blue."
Beast looked over at the other man with a raised brow, "And why's that, Arlo?"
Arlo grinned, "She thinks we're in for a 'fateful encounter' with someone there. She doesn't know who, but it should prove to be interesting, mon."
Beast rolled his eyes, "You know I don't believe in that fate shit, Arlo."
Arlo raised a brow, "And yet you married a man who did? You confuse me, mon."
Beast groaned, "Samuel's been passionate when it comes to his beliefs. You know that. But…I can't help but love that about him, despite how hard I try not to."
Arlo snorted a laughed, "Yeah, you try so hard all the time, mon. That's why you had two kids with the man!"
Beast glared at him, "I only wanted ONE. How was I supposed to know that we'd have twins!"
Arlo shrugged, "I guess that's fate, mon. They're pretty good kids, though. They have talent for many things: They can sing, dance, act and kill a bounty in a minute! Quadruple threats, am I right, mon?"
Beast sighed and looked back at the horizon. After a moment of silence, he asked, "The Donquixote family are still lurking in those waters, right?"
"Last I checked, they are," Arlo confirmed. "They've been raising a lot of hell, mon. I've heard rumors that they plan to go to the New World soon..."
Beast gritted his teeth. "I'd love nothing more than to see that grinning flamingo bastard's head in a sack."
Arlo nodded, "Me too, mon. But personally, I'd love to get a look at what kind of loot they have on that ship. That crew's been getting ahold of a lot of popular devil fruits lately. They may have one that we could use."
Beast looked at Arlo, "You know I don't approve of the usage of devil fruits. The power of them can drive some people into pure madness, and they give a permanent handicap. I don't want any of us being unable to swim, especially my boys."
Arlo sighed, "Just like my daughter and Diablo years ago. What a terrible loss it was for our troupe when they got taken away by the Marines, and as for the second problem with devil fruits…" he knocked the side of his hand on the bow, resulting in a loud metallic bang. "Some of us can never swim anyway, mon, what with these heavy bodies Dom and her ex-boss gave us..."
Then, a feminine voice chuckled, "Ooh, I hope you're not complaining about those bodies Punkie and I gave you years ago. I could just take them right back, you know…"
Arlo and Beast both tensed up and looked back at the speaker.
Standing on the deck was a 13-foot-tall woman, with a very curvy figure bound with a tight lab coat that reached halfway to her thighs. She was smiling hugely at them, revealing her big, pearly-white teeth, and her green eyes glistened with sadistic intent. The sea breeze barely stirred her bobbed black hair, parted evenly down the middle, and she had her slender but strong hands clasped together, twiddling her thumbs nimbly.
Beast grimaced, "Don't scare us like that, Dom. Our hearts aren't as tough as they used to be."
Dom threw her head back and cackled, "Ahahahahahaha! Don't make me laugh, Beastie! I built both of your hearts, you know! I know full well that your heart can handle my glorious presence, as it had for the last decade and a half."
Beast groaned and looked away from her, and Arlo asked, "What do you say, Dom? Should we go to the North Blue?"
Dom closed her lips and looked up at the sky for a moment, before grinning, "If Thanata says we're due for a fateful encounter, then perhaps we should go. Maybe our encounter will be with that brute Doflamingo, or maybe a recruit for our sailing theater troupe. I don't really care about the whole fate thing myself, but I'm curious to know what we'll find there this year. It's been so long since we've been in the North Blue!"
"5 years, at least," Beast replied. "But I don't think anything exciting will happen this time. Nothing has before."
Arlo smiled, "Things can change in 5 years. Regardless of how you feel, Beast, it's two votes against one." He turned his head up to where the helm was and called out, "Yo, Jingles!"
A pink-haired woman with a round, red nose looked down at Arlo with a big smile on her face, "Yes, Captain Grimshaw?"
The man grinned up at her and pointed north. "We're going to the North Blue! Full speed, girl!"
The woman smiled and saluted him, "Aye-aye, Captain! Oh, someone had better tell the kids to bundle up before we arrive…" She turned the wheel in the direction of their destination and soon, the large ship began to shift on the sea.
Beast sighed, "Fine. Let's just get it over with. If we do find a recruit, we'll take them, and if we cross paths with any pirates, we'll deal with them as we always do…"
Then, he himself finally grinned, revealing pointed metal teeth. "Without an ounce of mercy."
Uh-oh, looks like Luffy's not the only trouble heading to the North Blue!
Will she and Thora make it there in time to save Law and Corazon? Or will these figures, Beast, Arlo and Dom, beat her to the punch?
Just who are those three and their theater troupe, aside from OCs of mine that I decided to include into the story!
Guess you'll have to find out next time!
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