Egghead Island was a land of mystery, wonder and most importantly science and home to world renowned scientist, Dr. Vegapunk! During his life the man had uncovered many of the world's greatest mysteries and become an icon in the field of scientific study, but somewhere within the last few decades, something akin to worry grew in the back of his mind. The world government doesn't like trouble and will do anything to silence it. With his newer experiments growing too wide in scope, the possibility of being exterminated by CP0 has constantly echoed in his mind.
Thankfully for him, a certain pirate captain and newly crowned Yonko had decided to stop by his island.
"Shishishi, this place is so cool!" Monkey D. Luffy could watch in amazement and wonder at all of Vegapunk's inventions surrounding him. Stars lit in his eyes as his mouth hung open and he continued to scan the room.
"How long did it take you to build all this stuff?" Luffy asked, still in wonder at everything surrounding him.
"Most of these gadgets were created not too long ago. I'm always updating older creations so I consider many of them on the newer side." Vegapunk chuckled.
"Your head's pretty big so I guess it makes sense you're able to think up so many cool ideas!" Luffy beamed as he slowly moved his hand to touch one of Vegapunks inventions. Nami did not find that amusing.
Bonk*
"Stop messing around, Luffy!" Nami barked as she held her now smoking fist up as Luffy rubbed his head.
"What was that for?" He whined.
Nami glared back at Vegapunk who continued on his walk, "We aren't supposed to be this trusting. Especially to a man dedicated to the World Government like him." She really didn't like Vegapunk.
"You mean Scientific Research." He corrected much to her annoyance.
"As if that can erase all the harm your inventions have caused…" Nami held back the thought as Vegapunk had already started to continue on his tour guide with Luffy who, much to her annoyance again, went along with him and both getting dragged into each other's paces.
Did she mention how she doesn't like Vegapunk? Because she really really does not like that man.
The other Straw Hats trailed right behind their captain and watched the affair unfold. Robin placed a kind hand on her shoulder, "You know how our captain is." She smiled as she watched Luffy continue on with childlike glee. "He may not be as smart as you or me, but Luffy is a great judge of character. If he thinks we can trust him then it's probably because he knows he can protect us if need be."
"Right!" Usopp chimed in. "If Luffy's relaxed around him then I guess he's safe enough."
Zoro yawned as he continued to walk. "Plus Vegapunk could make a decent hostage if the Marines are alerted of us being here."
"The green haired idiot kind of has a point." Sanji admitted.
"I'm surprised Number Four here can even speak with a bounty that low." Zoro could instantly see the flame surrounding Sanji as that thoroughly pissed the cook off. Their bounties were still a sore topic for some.
Sanji got in his face as Zoro returned the favor, "Who the hell are you calling an idiot, Curly Brow!" Zoro growled.
"Watch it, Moss Head!" Sanji sneered back at him.
It didn't take long for it to escalate as haki infused kicks and swords were crossed much to the amusement of the rest of the crew. Franky in particular was extremely interested in picking Vegapunk's brain, but figured he wouldn't have much time before things went left. They always did when their captain got involved.
"So where exactly is he taking us?" Brook asked.
"He mentioned something about he's being targeted so I assume something to do with his research and how that relates back to the world government."
Chopper jumped on Robin's back excitedly. "Robin! He could be the key to your dream!" She smiled at the young man, "Maybe so."
Vegapunk eventually led them to a guarded room that had been secluded away from all his other inventions and turned to them. "As many of you have already guessed, my research and exploits has made me a very polarizing figure within the world government itself. I've made many scientific breakthroughs and discoveries that will help mankind in the very near future."
"Alas, it turns out that there are some boundaries that even the Gorosei won't tolerate me crossing."
"The Void Century." Robin interjected.
"That's part of the problem, but unfortunately not even close to the whole ordeal." Vegapunk answered.
He shook his head before unlocking the door and opening up a hidden laboratory unknown to anyone besides himself. The Straw Hats could only look on in wonder. "What is all of this?" Nami asked skeptically.
In front of everyone stood a very large device that was very hard to miss. There were these strange dials that moved across the large screen in a sequenced order. "Is anyone familiar with the Multiverse?" Vegapunk asked.
Franky's eyes went wide as he immediately knew what it was, "No way!-"
Vegapunk nodded once again already understanding what Franky was about to imply, "I did and honestly it was much more troublesome than it was worth. It started off as a side project from my earlier years as I wished to prove the existence of other worlds beyond our own. This took decades and even now it proved to be much more difficult than even I am willing to admit."
He pointed to the screen as images flashed across it. "It was only up until two years ago that I was able to crack the code behind the Multiversal theory and-" Videos of what looked like other worlds continued to pop up along the massive screen. "Now I am able to observe them at will although unable to interact with them at all. The machine takes quite some time to charge up which allows me temporary viewing, but it is a spectacular sight to know we are not alone in space/time!"
"Is that a ghost!? So scary!" Chopper and Usopp screamed in unison as they spotted a white haired, green eyed ghost boy fighting alongside other humans
Zoro smiled to himself as he watched another samurai cutting down what looked like a giant black demon.
Jinbe watched as a man with a trident, blond hair and a hook for a hand swam under the seas headed towards his undersea kingdom.
Brook could only giggle as something akin to the Grim Reaper was being bossed around by two small children, "Yohoho, this is all quite fascinating."
"Old guy, what's this one?" Luffy pointed to one of the many worlds that was plastered on the giant screen. "How are they moving the elements like that? Are they all Logia types?"
It took Vegapunk a moment to realize what he was referring to. "Oh you must mean the world of elemental benders. This one was very interesting even by my own standards. People being blessed by spirits and given the power to bend one of four elements being Water, Fire, Earth and Air."
"How interesting." Robin commented. She noticed Luffy looking a little more intently than he usually does.
"Indeed! Sadly this world has been ravaged by a hundred year long war and by the time I was able to peer into it, the only thing that I was able to observe was heartache and heartbreak for their people. It's truly such a shame given how special this world is and the people continue to pay the price.
DOOM DUT DA DA*
For a reason Luffy didn't quite understand, his heart started to stir. Everyone from this world looked so sad. Almost like there was no joy to be found anywhere.
Luffy crossed his arms puzzled, "So what's the deal here? Why's a war going on and how come the only one's attacking are the fire guys?"
"Firebenders, as they are called, waged war on the entire world one hundred years ago in order to subjugate the populace and in order to achieve that goal, they massacred an entire group of people, The Air Nomads. Because of this sin, the world has been thrown into a permanent state of decay. Such a shame…"
The screen soon turned to yet another interesting scene. There was a boy, equipped with two swords and a giant red scar on his face confronting a man who sat upon a throne in a poorly lit room. Vegapunk pointed towards the screen, "The two people you see before you is the current ruler of the Fire Nation and his son, the prince and future ruler of their kingdom."
It didn't take a genius to figure out something wasn't right with what they were seeing, "Why does the air between them look so hostile?" Sanji sparked a cigarette as they continued to watch the affair unfold.
The more they listened the more sickened they became hearing this man speak so lowly of not only his son, but of almost everyone around him. It was as if he cared very little for anything other than his own well being.
"What a jerk!" Usopp cried.
"Yeah no man should talk to his son like that. It's cruel!" Chopper joined in now, very invested in what was happening. Dr. Hiriluk would've never talked to him like that!
"How awful…" Robin couldn't imagine what this boy had to have gone through in order to confront a man like this.
DOOM DUT DA DA*
There it was again. Like a constant hum in his chest, his heart continued to feel all funny. Like a thumping engine that can't turn off again, but seeing this boy caused a small smile to cross Luffy's face. His observation Haki was keen, but he didn't have to use it to see what was written on his face, clear as day.
"He's scared." Luffy's eyes never left the boy as he continued to stand up to his father. "Yet he's not backing down either."
Vegapunk sent a genuine smile towards Luffy, "The boy is somewhat timid and from my observing their world, he's made some grave, grave mistakes in the past, but I believe that what we are seeing now is the culmination of those actions. His mistakes, his doubts, his judgment, his guilt, the boy is laying it out for any and all to see."
"So what happens to everyone after this?" Luffy really wanted to see how this would end. He reminded him of Koby and the same way he watched him swallow his own fear in order to proclaim he'd become a marine someday.
"What you're seeing is in real time. I'm not in control of viewing this world nor can I mess around with it. All anyone can do is observe." Vegapunk answered.
Right as he mentioned that, the machine turned off leaving the Straw Hats confused. "Sorry about that, I did mention it takes time for it to charge and that's generally as much as I am able to view before the shutdown and eventual recharge. Anyways I believe more pressing matters are at hand…" He still needed to be safely guarded off this island! The Gorosei would not spare any expense making sure he was dead.
Luffy wanted nothing more than to pout given he wouldn't be able to see the end of their confrontation, but the more he tried not to think about it the more prominent it echoed in his mind.
DOOM DUT DA DA*
Before he could even really think about it, Luffy's clothes and hair began to shift to their milky white color as his eyes soon followed into their bright red color. The smoke ring returned to him and his heartbeat was at full volume now. He started to laugh while his crewmates could watch in awe at the transformation itself.
"AH HYA HYA HYA HYA!" Luffy laughed much to everyone's dismay.
Vegapunk looked starstruck, The warrior in white…" He'd heard about it in the ancient text, but this was his first time seeing it in person.
"I dunno why, but I really wanna see that world again! It looked pretty cool!" Luffy laughed out as he started to bounce in front of the screen. "I get the feeling that I'm about to miss out on something super interesting! Old Guy! You sure there's nothing you can do to charge it early?"
Boing
Boing
Boing
Vegapunk's eyes followed up and down as Luffy continued to bounce in front of them. There's not much I can do currently. More importantly we need to move before Cp0 agents arrive-"
Before he could get another word out, Luffy turned upside down and bounced some more, "Shishishi! My heartbeat feels funnier and funnier the more I think about it! Cmon, get the machine running again!"
"Luffy, stop messing around and get down!" Nami ordered much to her own aggravation.
Her captain had completely ignored her by this point. Ignoring his crewmates' calls to stop having fun, Luffy focused more and more on the device before him and used what small, small portion of his brain that worked to think of a solution.
As he continued to bounce, Luffy spotted something he should not have seen. Something Vegapunk thought he had hidden so very well. At the very, very top of the machine sat a big red button. Generally nobody would be able to spot it at that, but Luffy's antics caused him to stumble upon it.
"There's a button up here! Maybe I can turn it on that way!" Luffy smiled. Vegapunk went wide-eyed realizing what was about to unfortunately transpire.
A multitude of things happened at once.
Luffy, in his infinite wisdom, stretched his hand out to press said button.
Vegapunk called out to him to not press said button as the other Straw Hats joined in to no avail.
Luffy pressed it anyway and a bright rush of light enveloped him before dissipating and him along with it.
Nobody in the room made a sound as they had shock written all over their face. The silence was unbearable. They had no way of knowing what that machine just did to their captain.
The Straw Hat Pirates had no idea that their captain, newly crowned Yonko, Monkey D. Luffy was about to get himself wrapped up in a century long war he had nothing to do with. All thanks to the boy's own curiosity and pure heart.
Zuko continued to stare down a very irate and angered Firelord Ozai who had just finished spewing pure venom at him upon informing him of his plans and how he intended to help end his nation's reign of terror.
Suffice to say, his Father didn't like that one bit.
"You must learn discipline, boy! It seems like you deserve a punishment far worse than the one I gave you before…" Ozai's spirit could slowly feel the sun creep back into his body and he knew his abilities would soon return. The moment he was able to bend again, he'd shoot a flash of lightning through this fool's chest and be done with it. He had mastered the art of killing by minimizing the amount of time needed to weave lightning and knew that there was no chance his son would be able to leave this room alive.
Unfortunately for Ozai, he was unable to predict any of what was about to transpire however.
BAM*
The door of his chamber burst open as something barreled through with such force that it sent the door flying directly into Ozai himself, completely incapacitating him. Zuko barely had time to dodge as the dust from the collision started to clear and coughed as his vision was able to focus on what exactly came through the door.
"Man, I really messed up this time. Nami's gonna kill me…" A strange man with a straw hat stood before him as he was talking to himself completely unaware of his own surroundings. The two eventually locked eyes, sending Zuko into high alert.
Unsheathing his swords, he took aim at the mysterious man, "Who are you?"
"I know you! You're from that video!" The man responded as a bright grin popped onto his face.
Zuko heard groaning and looked over to see his Father, the man who he came here to announce his goals to, groaning from the pain of a flying metal door hitting him at full speed.
"Shishishishi, I was wondering who I hit when I flew in here." The aloof man looked around again before turning to Zuko, "I don't really get it, but we should leave right?" He pointed to the still very unconscious Ozai buried under the door itself. "These fire guys aren't gonna be happy when they see him." Zuko could see that he wasn't taking any of what was going on seriously. It made his nerves continue to jump.
"So how do we get outta here? I was running away from those fire guys earlier and they're all over the place!" He asked Zuko again. Everything was moving so fast Zuko could barely stand. This was not how he expected this to go. Though…from the look of the man Zuko couldn't tell whether he was a threat or not.
He didn't trust him, but it's not like he had many other options besides this. Plus trying to fight a potential ally would be stupid especially when the clock is ticking and guards should be in this room any minute now.
"There's a spare war balloon I've hidden near one of the hidden passageways. If we can get to that then we can leave this place before getting killed for treason." Zuko told him as he sheathed his swords.
A massive smile flashed on the man's face as he grabbed hold of Zuko and hoisted him over his shoulder much to his own protests. Ignoring him completely, they both heard the door pop open as numerous guards shot a massive burst of flames towards them.
And before he could get another word out they were off. The man with the Straw Hat doing the running while he dragged Zuko along like he was cargo.
"Do you even know how to get there!?" Zuko asked as they continued to run from the guards.
"Nope!" The man answered with a smile.
"No?" Zuko had to be sure he heard that right. "What do you mean no? How did you even get to the throne room?"
He could see the man pause in thought a moment before answering. His eyes and mouth turned slightly as if to play innocent, "I'm…not sure…" He was a terrible, terrible liar. Zuko made a mental note to question him on that once they were away from here.
He turned another corner and kept running as fast as he could not even realize what lay ahead of this tunnel.
"Where's Suki! Where are you keeping her!" Sokka held a now subdued Azula to the wall with a fury in his eyes that she found quite amusing.
"Oh I don't know, maybe I should go and ask about any of the many horrible, treacherous, deep dark prisons we have and see if I can find her." Azula answered with a hint of sarcasm in her response. She could feel her bending coming back and decided it was time to leave.
Azula bended a massive burst of flames from her hands, freeing her, and leapt over Aang, Sokka and Toph before smirking at them. "I'd love to stay and chat, but I've really got to run." They had just wasted the eclipse along with this makeshift invasion and now stood no hope of leaving alive. Her job was done.
She sped off into the cavern, already having memorized all the different twists and turns in order to always ensure a perfect escape should the occasion call for it like now. Just as she attempted to finish making her escape, something very peculiar caught her attention.
"Is that Zuko?" Azula was watching her brother be carried away by someone. Probably one of the riff raff that managed to sneak down here during the initial chaos. She knew the routes inside and out and knew exactly where they were headed and prematurely put a stop to that.
"Dai Li!" She called out to them and like a moth to a flame they had already come to her. The agents used their Earthbending to block the entrance just as they were about to escape leaving the two of them stuck.
"And where exactly do you plan on taking my brother?" She leapt down and met the two of them eye to eye. "Trying to kidnap the Firelord's son is an act of treason worthy of an immediate death. If you surrender now, we may only give you a life sentence instead of an execution."
The man dropped Zuko and looked at Azula in confusion. "Why would I listen to you when you're so much weaker than me? We need to get outta here." He casually looked around the cavern trying to find a new way out. "Man, it's so hot down here…"
Azula had to do a double take. Was he talking to her? Weak? She was the farthest thing from it! How dare this commoner rebel filth talk to her like that.
"Watch your tone when speaking to me! I will not tolerate any disrespect from a prisoner!"
The man barely gave her the time of day as he had already turned back to Zuko and started asking him questions which pissed her off even more.
"Regain your composure." She calmed herself. "He must be putting on a false mask of confidence given he hasn't moved to attack yet."
"What nation are you affiliated with?" Azula didn't think he belonged to the Fire Nation.
"Nation? I don't know what you're talking about. I'm just trying to get outta here." He answered honestly, much to her annoyance.
"Zuko, why aren't you attacking your captor?" She thought to herself watching how nervous he looked watching her. It didn't take long for the wheels in her head to start turning.
"Don't tell me you've turned traitor? How unsightly that would be for our family's reputation." Azula could see him tense up as if she had caught him red handed. "I'm not privy to the details, but I think I'll get everything I need once I capture the both of you."
Dai Li agents moved to attack and subdue them for further questions but a swift wave of what seemed like energy was released from the Straw Hatted man who kept his eye on Azula as the agents she had stationed around them soon collapsed into unconsciousness. Their eyes fully rolled into their head and had foam coming out of their mouths.
The siblings couldn't believe what they were seeing. How did he do that? Did he have some sort of trap set up? The man took a few steps towards Azula who quickly leapt backwards to a safe location. She didn't know why, but this unassuming man was causing all the warning signs to ring in her head. He was dangerous and for reasons unknown to her. He had to be eliminated before the situation could grow any weirder.
Up and down, side to side, Azula weaved her body in a pattern that made Zuko's heart drop. Sparks of lightning danced around her as she smirked at the both of them. "Since I'm so weak, let's see if you can dodge this!"
"Dodge? Why would I do that? You can't hurt me with any of that crap!" The man beamed as he stood directly in front of her. Zuko tried to pull him away, but he stood firm in his stance.
The moment her energies aligned she aimed her two fingers directly at his heart and fired, knowing that it would fry his heart to a crisp and send him to an early grave. A genius like her didn't have time to deal with a fool's arrogance.
The lightning rushed over to him and pierced his heart in a flash causing Zuko panic. Did he just watch her kill someone who was trying to help him? He felt his resolve weaken knowing there was next to no chance of leaving here now. His sister probably still had a few Dai Li agents around the cavern somewhere, so running away was out of the question.
So you could imagine the look in Zuko and Azula's eyes when the man, who just had lightning pierce his heart, was still standing there, completely unphased by the attack. He looked over at Zuko and smiled, "Shishishi, I told you it wouldn't hurt me!"
Azula could not believe it. She was always precise with her attacks and she was sure that she'd pierced his heart. No matter, she'd finish him off with another swift rush of lightning. She wound up the motions again and fired it into him again much to the man's confusion.
He continued to stand there as if nothing had happened. That was twice now and she was sure something was wrong with him, "How are you still unharmed!? I hit you in the heart twice with my lightning!"
The next thing he did almost made Zuko faint.
He pulled on his cheek as it stretched out, "I'm a rubber man so that kinda stuff doesn't work on me." He looked at Zuko and giggled, "Your sister's not that smart is she?"
"Wha-what are you?" Zuko forced out as he pinched himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming.
His answer was simple. "I'm a pirate."
The man smiled as his arms stretched out and grabbed ahold of Azula. She tried to escape but it was no good. He'd already wrapped his arms and legs around her and his body collided into her. The two were face to face as Azula was now thoroughly freaked out.
She needed to get away and regroup, "What in Agni are you!? How are you stretching like this!?" She summoned her flames to try and escape, but he had already stretched his head back.
"Let go of me, you freak of nature!" Her cries went unheard.
Gum Gum…His head was upside down as it reached all the way back to Zuko who could only watch as the man was still smiling.
Azula, for one of the first times in her life, was experiencing true fear. Her pride would never allow that to show and she spit commands to him to no avail. "I am Azula, Princess of the Fire Nation! I swear to you that I will end your wretched existence if you do not unhand-"
Bell! He yanked his head forward and smacked clean into Azula's, knocking her out as she went limp on the ground. Zuko could feel his mouth open but could not find any words to describe what he'd just seen.
The man turned to him and gave a sigh of relief, "Well that was easy. Now we can get outta this place. The heat is killing me!" He stretched an arm over to Zuko and pulled him over his shoulder.
"Lead the way!" And with that the two sped off to their getaway vehicle leaving Azula on the ground behind them and Zuko absolutely puzzled by what on earth he'd just watched unfold.
Finally out of the caverns, Zuko and his new companion had managed to sneak onto the ship he'd stored away and gotten a good deal of distance between them and the fleet that had begun chasing the Avatar and his friends.
Because they took much longer in the cavern than he originally anticipated, Zuko had missed his chance to tail the avatar back to wherever they were hiding. As much as he was kicking himself for messing up what was supposed to be a smooth getaway, he had a much bigger obstacle to overcome.
"We're so high up! I can almost touch the clouds!" The strange man was stretching his hands out and trying to touch the clouds as they rode by them.
Zuko could only groan as he sat down in order to catch his breath again. "Name?" He asked stoically.
"Huh?" The man barely heard him given he was still preoccupied with the clouds surrounding them.
He waited until the man turned around to ask again. "What is your name?" Zuko repeated.
The man pulled his arms back to himself and smiled, "Monkey D. Luffy and the man who will become King of the Pirates!" He stretched a hand over to Zuko as if to symbolize peace between them.
Zuko didn't know whether or not he should faint now or later. Sadly for his own mental health he was now stuck in the air for Agni knew how long with a strange man calling himself a pirate and who can stretch.
Not weird. Totally not weird at all.
"Always look at the positives Prince Zuko!" His uncle Iroh was more of an optimist than he was, but even Zuko had to see the bright side in all of this.
He didn't know whether the strange man riding with him was a monster, a spirit or something in between…yet he'd much rather deal with whatever this was in front of him than being in his own Father's presence anymore.
Caught up to One Piece and loved everything about it. I was already a massive Avatar fan and Zuko in particular so this was a no brainer to write lol. I hope I managed to capture the characters voices decently enough and next chapter will reveal where exactly the two will end up given Zuko missed his chance to follow Aang and co.