Episode 3

As the warning bell continues to ring out, the townspeople in each arm of the city begin to panic, fleeing into their houses and quickly closing up their shops and businesses. Protective walls rise along the boarders of the villages, acting as strong shields used to stop any cannon fire. Although the situation is dire, the people are sure not to let themselves erupt into chaos, with many parents and security forces reminding everyone to stay calm and safe.

Lunya dashes through the crowds of scurrying people, determined to get to her destination. She holds a folded letter in one hand, careful not to let it fall as she runs at full speed. With a great leap, she bounds over one of the side walls, falls through the air, and lands on one of the corner docking areas below.

A worried sailor approaches her. "Captain Lunya! You can't stay, the Navy is here! We're closing the city up!"

Lunya keeps her sullen eyes on the horizon. "Give me a ship." She says with a chill in her voice.

A few docks away, the Straw Hats still stand in shock after Sky reveals he and his sister's 1 billion berry bounty. They are frozen for the moment, uncertain of how to react to this troubling news.

"1...billion?!" Nami repeats with a ghastly expression.

Sanji's cigarette falls. "For two people?"

Chopper holds his shaking head. "How is that even possible?"

Sky sighs. "I was hoping we'd never have to share this information with you. But I guess it's too late now. I've got 400 million on my head."

Aiku shyly raises her hand. "600 million..."

Usopp's eyes pop. "Whaaa-you have more than him?!"

Luffy giggles. "Hey, cool! We have the same bounty!"

Usopp spins to Luffy angrily. "That's hardly the point here!"

Robin steps forward. "600 million? But how could it possibly be so high? You're so young."

"It's her devil fruit power." Zoro interjects. The crew turn to him, curious. "I told you that was some serious power. Can you even imagine what the government would do with that kind of ability? Think about it. If she created this entire city out of scrap, just imagine what a fully matured user could create. Or destroy."

Nami ponders the notion. "Yeah, now I see..."

Robin agrees. "That's something the government would never want to let go."

Franky rubs his chin, imagining the situation. "They'd probably keep you in a cage like a lab right all your life."

"That's a scary thought." Brook adds.

Aiku nods sadly. "Exactly. Now you see why it's so high."

Sky folds his arms. "They're in constant pursuit."

Usopp turns to Sky. "But hold on-if the government is chasing after you so often, how do they never catch you? This place is the size of an island."

"Well, our abilities can keep smaller forces at bay. And the Navy can't always afford to expend so many resources, so we usually don't have an issue."

Aiku comes beside him. "That and the city is always in motion, moving from one end of the Grand Line to the other. And log poses don't work on us, so they can't track us easily."

"I guess you could say we rely on luck a lot." Sky admits.

Luffy smiles. "Hey, no problem there. That's how we do it."

Just then, Tydal, Tiff and Bara come running down the dock. They call out to Sky and finally stop to catch their breath beside Gilly, who is sitting on a box of supplies puffing on his cigar sleepily.

Sky turns to them. "I know, I know! The Black Sails are here, we're just about to-"

"That's not it!" Tydal interrupts. "Look at this." He hands Sky a white folded letter.

Tiff steps forward with teary eyes. "It's from Lunya. One of my crew delivered it to me. We don't know what's going on!"

Sky unfolds the letter and quickly reads it. His eyes grow wide with concern as his fingers crumple the edges of the paper.

Aiku looks between him and the letter. "What is it?"

Sky hesitates for a moment. "Lunya...she...she's turning herself over to the Navy."

Aiku gasps, along with the rest of the crew. "What do you mean? Why?!"

Distress grows on the faces of the Straw Hats once again. Zoro and Luffy return to their stoic expressions.

Sky folds the letter and holds it gently between his hands. "I don't know. It's something about her past she doesn't want us to understand. And she doesn't want help."

Bara steps forward. "But how could she do this? We're like a family!"

Tiff agrees. "She should know we can help her through anything! This doesn't make sense."

Sky turns to them. "That's not it. It's obvious this is something much bigger than that."

Aiku grabs his arm tearfully. "It doesn't matter! She can count on us for anything. We have to go after her!"

Sky looks to her and studies her fear for a moment. Then he smiles reassuringly. "Don't worry. We will." Aiku's watering eyes give way to a hopeful expression.

"Look, there she is!" Tydal calls out, pointing to the sea.

The group runs to the edge of the dock and notices a small boat racing toward the distant Marine ships.

"Lunya! Stop!" Sky shouts across the waves.

Lunya continues to race forward, pretending she doesn't hear their voices, holding back tears as she continues onward.

"Lunya!" Aiku cries out, her tears flowing freely now. "Come back! Come back, Lunya! We'll figure this out together, I promise!" When no reply comes, she drops to her knees. Sky comes beside her and places a comforting hand on her back.

Luffy remains still, silently obverving with a steely gaze.

Sky searches for the right words, but realizes this isn't the time for sadness. He turns to his captains with blackened eyes, his resolve glowing. "Deploy the fleet."

The captains nod assuredly. "Let's go!" Tiff commands, leading Tydal and Bara away.

Sky then turns to the Straw Hats. "Luffy-all of you. You must leave at once before this starts getting ugly. You only have a small window. If you leave now you can-"

"Forget it." Luffy stops him. Sky pauses in confusion. Luffy adjusts his hat and adopts a warm smile. "We're friends now, right?"

Sky slowly realizes what he means. His eyes become misty with pride. "Yes, we are."

Luffy grins. "And you know what that means, right?"

Nami spins her clima-tact and sets the tip on the ground. "We're not going anywhere!"

Sanji lights another cigarette and smiles. "Captain's orders."

Zoro sighs reluctantly and crosses his arms. "Well, it's not like we can stop him."

Aiku jumps to her feet, swiftly wiping away her tears. "You're going to help us?"

"Sure!" Luffy chuckles.

Franky steps forward with his thumbs up. "You can super count on us!"

Brook joins him. "If by my sword or by my axe-and by axe I mean guitar-I shall lend my aide as long as you need!"

"Me too!" Chopper squeals, equally excited and furious.

Robin smiles. "I'm always up for taking on the government."

"But we cannot ask this of you. It is not your responsibility." Sky insists.

Sanji holds a hand up to him. "You're not asking us to do anything. If you really are Straw Hat enthusiasts then you should know by now, this is what we do."

Aiku's tears overflow with happiness. "Truly?! Do you mean it?"

Nami steps in front of her and places two hands on her shoulders. "You can count on us. I promise you that!"

Aiku falls into her and begins to weep with joy. "Thank you, Nami!"

Sanji smiles. "Wouldn't miss it for the world. Especially because I just know Lunya wants me to rescue her. I could tell how smitten she was with me when we first met." He turns to the sea and grows heart eyes. "I'm coming for you my love! Not much longer now until your sweet prince arrives!" He sings.

Nami slaps him down. "Obviously not! Stop ruining this beautiful moment, moron!"

Aiku can't help but giggle softly as hope returns to her spirit.

Sky faces them proudly. "Thank you-all of you! I can't tell you how much this means to me. Truly."

Luffy steps forward and spins his arm. "Enough talk! Come on, let's kick some ass, I'm getting antsy!" He begins to walk away as the crew quickly follow him.

Sky smiles at Aiku. They share a moment of gratitude. "Well, let's go then!" He orders.

Aiku nods vigorously and chases after the crew.

Sky walks up to Gilly, who is still sitting on a storage crate, eating a bag of chips. "Come on, Gilly!" He grabs him by the collar of his shirt and stands him up.

"Huh?" Gilly replies sluggishly.

"Portal!" Sky shouts.

In an instant, Gilly is sent through Sky's portal and reappears inside the wheelhouse of his lighthouse ship. He stands unaffected, his chips spilling on the ground, while his crew looks on in wonder. "...Whoa." He mutters.

Sky dashes away to follow the crew. As he runs forward, Aiku seems to have a sudden change of emotion, falling back and stopping herself. She watches her brother run, her mind flooding with flashbacks of them as children. She remembers him running forward through the forest of their old home island, assuring her he would protect her no matter what. Just like he always had. Just like now. The quick flashback ends and she returns to reality. She shakes her head and wipes away the last tears. She turns toward the ocean and stares silently.

As Tydal, Tiff and Bara arrive at their ships and prepare their crews to depart, the Straw Hats run to their ship at the next corner dock. But before they board, Sky calls to them from behind. "Hey, Luffy!"

Luffy turns and looks to him. "What is it?"

"Why not give the Thousand Sunny a break?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Well..." Sky gestures toward Lunya's ship. "That one is available." He smiles coyly.

Luffy's eyes run up the lighthouse ship in wonder. "Really?"

Nami jumps forward. "You mean we can take that one?!"

Sky nods. "Of course! I'm sure Lunya would appreciate being rescued in her own ship, after all!"

Luffy grins. "Sounds good to me!"

Chopper bounces. "Wow, this is going to be amazing!"

Sanji turns to Luffy. "Well hold on now, we need to plan this out right."

"Hm? Like how?" Luffy wonders.

"Think about it-with all the ships gone, no one will be here to protect the city."

"Oh yeah, you're right."

Nami steps toward them. "We'll need to leave a few of us behind to help just in case anything happens."

Luffy turns to the crew. "Alright then. Usopp, Chopper, Brook, Franky-I need you guys to protect the city while we're gone, okay?"

Chopper depresses. "Aw, man! But I wanted to go too!" Franky agrees.

Brook sighs. "Designated to the skeleton crew again..." Then he throws his hands up cheerfully. "Good thing I'm a skeleton! Yo Hooo!"

Usopp cries miserably. "We never get to be the heroes!"

Nami places a hand on her hip in frustration. "What do you mean-you're going to be the protectors of the entire city!"

All four suddenly realize this and leap into the air together, each striking a unique battle pose. "Heroes of the city!" They proclaim in unison.

"Well, that was easy..." Nami murmurs to herself.

"We're counting on you guys!" Luffy declares.

"You can have faith in us, captain!" They sing together again.

Luffy chuckles, then turns to Sky as he notices something missing. "Hey Sky, where's Aiku?"

The crew stop and turn toward him. Sky looks around and realizes she is no where to be seen. Suddenly, a familar voice calls out over the waves. Someone is calling Sky's name. They all turn toward the ocean and watch as another small boat drifts away from the city. Shock comes over them as they realize it's Aiku.

"Sky!" She calls to him.

Sky jumps forward and almost falls from the ledge. "Aiku! What are you doing?!"

Aiku steps up on the side of the ship. "I'm going alone! I'm doing this myself!"

Sanji runs forward. "Is she crazy!?"

"She can't be serious!" Usopp exclaims.

"Get back here now!" Sky commands, the trauma of the situation shaking his voice.

"No. I won't! It's time for me to prove to you how strong I am. I can do this!" She fights to hold in her tears.

"Aiku, don't be a fool! This is ridiculous!"

"I know exactly what I'm doing. All these years you've protected me, Sky. Now it's my turn to protect you."

"You don't have to do this Aiku! There's nothing to prove!"

"You're wrong, Sky!" The tears begin to flow, yet her face remains confident. "It's time for me to save everyone."

Sky is shocked by her statements and stands frozen for a moment, trembling. Zoro glares at her.

Nami turns to Luffy. "Luffy, do something!"

Usopp jumps in front of him. "Yeah, Luffy! Use your gum-gum and grab her!"

Luffy shrugs. "I can't, she's too far away!"

"Well what are we going to do!? Now you're going to have two prisoners to rescue!"

Nami turns to Sky. "Is there really nothing we can do?"

Sky pauses for a long moment, then his expression hardens. He faces the crew. "Of course there is."

Luffy nods confidently. "Let's go! Hurry, everyone!" He yells, running toward the giant staircase of Lunya's ship.

When they reach the top, the last remaining townspeople who are not part of the crew race down the stairs as Lunya's crew mates order them off the ship. When they see Luffy and his crew arrive, they are confused. "Captain Luffy? Straw Hats! What are you all doing here?"

Luffy smirks. "Get her ready, guys. You're sailing with me now."

The crew cheers with gusto, welcoming them onboard. When they reach the top of the lighthouse and enter the wheelhouse once more, Luffy immediatly runs to the dome window and presses himself agaisnt the glass, ready for another adventure.

Sanji comes beside Nami as she examines the helm. "Sure you can handle this big ass ship, Nami?"

She turns to him confidently. "Are you kidding? No problem! A good navigator can handle anything!"

"Glad to hear it!" He turns away. "Well, I better start heading to the kitchen. Lunya's crew will need some good energy for the battle."

Luffy peels his face from the glass. "Bring me back some meat, Sanji!"

Sanji swings around to him aggressivly. "It's not for you, meathead!"

Just then, a transponder snail fixated to the helm rings. Nami looks down and picks it up. "Hey, is that you over there, Straw Hats?" Tydal's voice calls from the other end.

Nami smiles. "Sure is! We're heading out with you!"

"Sweet! Sky brought all the crews up to speed already. We know everything. Don't you worry about a thing, Nami! We're going to be unstoppable!"

"I'm sure we will! If I can ever figure out how this thing works... " She studies the controls.

"Just pull that lever on the left side, that will undock you. If you need anything else, just call!"

"Right, got it!"

Luffy stands tall and proud, overlooking the city with a stern, assertive expression. "Alright-let's do this! SET SAIL!" He stretches his arms out wide.

The crew behind him cheer with confidence. "We can do this!" "Let's show these Straw Hats what we're made of!" "We'll get Aiku and Captain Lunya back no matter what!"

As Nami pulls the left lever down, the front of massive ship disconnects from the city, raising the giant staircase and folding it into the bow. In place of sails, a huge wooden rolling wheel fixated to the aft section begins to rotate, pulling the ship away from the city. When Nami pulls down another lever on the right, the wheel slowly spins forward, now pushing the ship through the water and out to sea.

Slowly but surely, the other ships join them side by side, until all 5 vessels race together as one across the white caps toward the distant shapes of the Black Sails.

Aboard the lead ship of the Black Sail Brigade, the commander of the ship 'First Warden Fukitsu' stands at the aft balcony over looking a map of Lighthouse Empire. He is dressed in a traditional Navy coat, which is charcoal in color, with kanji that combines the symbols for 'death' and 'justice' together. The coat's collar is studded with small silver spikes, and it's torn and stained with blood in several places. Around his shoulder are several braids of hair taken from his victims, strung together with rope, and he is adorned with many colorful medals that appear to be handmade and unofficial. His face is weathered and cracked with age, covered in a thick black beard and a long handlebar mustache that resembles long upturned horns. He puffs on a large ivory pipe in the shape of a fisherman's head, studying the details of the map.

Just then, one of his officers jogs down the deck and stops behind him. "Warden Fukitsu, sir!"

Fukitsu turns to him slowly. "Yes?"

The officer catches his breath. "One of Dani Sky's captains has arrived at the front of the ship." Fukitsu narrows his eyes. "She appears to be surrendering."

Fukitsu releases an evil smile as smoke spills from his teeth.

Moments later he arrives at the front of his ship to see Lunya in her dory, floating in front of the ship with her hands raised in the air. Her expression is determined, yet she holds back shivers of fear. Lunya catches sight of Fukitsu and motions to him. "I surrender, Fukitsu! Take me. Let's make a deal."

Fukitsu grins and waves his men forward. "Take her." He growls.

The officer beside him nods, then orders his men to operate a device that lowers an iron ladder. But just as they are lowering the ladder into the sea to allow her on board, an explosion violently rocks one of the ships next to them. The crewmen fall backwards, then quickly jump to their feet again, surveying the situation. Fukitsu simply shifts his thin eyes in the direction of the disturbance, remaining unshaken.

The crewmen can now see that one of their neighboring ships has been reduced to a pile of flames and splintered wood. "What's going on?!" One of them yells. "The other ship has been destroyed!" Another calls out.

As the crewmen begin to panic, Fukitsu turns toward the fiery ship. There, only a few yards away from the destruction, is the figure of a young girl standing at the bow of a small skiff. The shape of a massive lighthouse can be seen raising up from the wreckage of the ship, reducing it's size as it coils into her upturned palm. Aiku has arrived. Her face is fierce and feral.

Lunya turns to her in shock. "Aiku! What are you doing?! Stop now!"

"I'm here to rescue you, Lunya!" Aiku confirms.

"You must turn back! I've already surrendered!"

"Not yet you haven't!"

On the other ship adjacent to Fukitsu's, several crewmen come to the front with handheld cannonball launchers, immediately firing them at Aiku. She leaps from her skiff just as it explodes, landing on top of a lighthouse which suddenly appears from the ocean. "What the hell?!" The crewmen begin to exclaim. "She landed on a lighthouse!" "How?!" "Where did it even come from?!"

Aiku crouches and swiftly crosses her arms in front of her. "Lighthouse leviathan!" She yells.

With a rush of violent waves, a lighthouse in the shape of a sea monster's head erupts from the ocean, racing toward the ship. Screams from the crew can be heard for only a brief moment as the head of the beast collides with the ship, sending them all to a watery grave in a cloud of fire.

"Aiku, stop!" Lunya calls to her desperately again.

Aiku stands and crosses her arms in a different shape. "Lunya, duck down!"

"No!" Lunya protests one last time. But it's too late.

"Lighthouse lance!" Aiku screams.

From Aiku's glowing tattooed hands, the shape of a thin, steel lighthouse flies from her palm, crackling the air around it. The indestructible rod flies through the air like a bullet, aimed straight at Fukitsu's heart.

"Sir, look out!" One of the crew call to him.

Yet Fukitsu remains unmoved. Standing as still as a statue, he stares down at Aiku with cold, dark eyes. And just before the lighthouse spear impales his heart, the rod collides with his chest and flattens against it. Aiku's eyes grow wide with concern as Fukitsu continues to stare down at her calmly.

Lunya stands and looks to Aiku. "I told you to stop! His haki is too strong for you! Run, Aiku!"

One of the officers comes beside Fukitsu. "The nets are ready, sir!" Fukitsu nods once.

As the sea prism net guns prepare to fire, Lunya turns back to the ship and sees what is about to happen. But there's no time left. The guns fire, sending the special nets flying through the air with great speed. Both land perfectly on each of the girls. The crewmen quickly reel in the nets, attached to the rods with thick cable. Although she struggles with all the strength she has left, Aiku's worst fears are realized as she is dragged aboard the ship.

"Place them in the cell immediately." Fukitsu grumbles, turning away and walking toward the helm.

"Yes, sir!" An officer responds.

When Fukitsu arrives at the helm, he checks a golden chain watch attached to his belt, then looks to the navigator. "Navigator-set the next coarse."

"Right away, sir." He responds.

Another officer comes beside Fukitsu. "Sir, we're leaving already? Are we not to attack the city?"

Fukitsu lights his pipe and blows out a plume of smoke. "It is no longer needed. The planned attack was only a distraction to kidnap one important member of Sky's crew. However, if they're gracious enough to do the job for us, then we're free to depart."

"Of course." The officer affirms.

"Sky has no doubt deployed his entire fleet at this point." Fukitsu continues, wreathed in smoke. "His humble nature is also his downfall. He will hunt us relentlessly. Like a starving wolf. Leaving his city abandoned and defenseless." His eyes narrow into gleaming daggers. "And as his city burns, he will fall straight into our trap."

Lunya and Aiku are quickly taken below deck by the Black Sail crewmen, still aimlessly struggling beneath the weight of the sea stone nets. Aiku tries desperately to break free, but her strength has vanished. The crew laugh as they drag them into a dark room at the aft of the ship. When brought inside, they are tossed into a small prison cell callously. Their hands are cuffed behind their backs with sea stone bindings, and then they're removed from the nets hastily. As Aiku is freed, she delivers one swift kick to the side of a crewman's face with the very last of her strength, causing the man to throw her against the wall angrily.

One of the officers runs to stop him. "No! They are to remain unharmed for now. Just leave them."

Another crewman steps beside him with a menacing grin. "Yeah, don't worry. They'll be suffering soon enough."

Satisfied with their actions, the crewmen laugh and exit the room, leaving Aiku and Lunya in dim, desolate silence.

Aiku sits up and leans her back against the cold wall, recovering from the affects of the sea stone nets. She takes a deep breath as life returns to her, centering her emotions and adjusting to reality again. She looks to Lunya, who is sitting silently, hunched forward on her knees, stricken with grief. "Lunya- " She says gently.

"Why. Why, Aiku." Lunya snaps, her watery eyes focused on the steel floor.

Aiku's expression changes from exhausted to frustrated instantly. "I came to rescue you! What do you even think you're doing?"

Lunya looks to her. "I specifically told you not to follow me!"

"But that's what we don't understand! Why would you run away? We can help you-"

"No! You can't help me through this."

Aiku is quiet for a moment, studying Lunya's grave expression. "But why? I don't understand."

"I don't want you to."

"I want to!"

"No, you don't. Trust me. This is something I felt I must do alone."

Aiku ponders the notion. "I understand. That's exactly how I felt when I came to rescue you..."

Lunya's expression softens. "You're too young, Aiku. You've made a dire mistake by coming to my aide."

Aiku grows angry. "No I haven't! I can do things on my own."

"That's exactly what I'm taking about! Such decisions are immature."

"I could say the same about you!" Aiku counters.

Lunya holds her tongue and pauses to think. "I suppose that could be so. But it still doesn't explain why you would choose to come here all alone. Sky has always been there for you-"

"That's exactly my point!" Aiku interrupts. She turns her trembling eyes toward the floor. "He's always been there for me. And I've never been there for him." Lunya begins to understand. Aiku closes her eyes and lets a tear slide out. "All his life, my brother has done nothing but take care of me. All of his time was devoted to my safety, my well being, my life. It's not fair anymore. I just wanted to do something for him. Just once, so I could prove myself."

Lunya looks to her. "But Aiku, that's not-"

"Don't tell me it's not worth it!" She faces Lunya tearfully. "It is. To me it is."

Lunya searches for the right words, but finds none. She relents and adopts a warmer expression. A weak smile crosses her lips. "I understand, Aiku. Thank you."

Aiku tries to smile through her tears. She turns away and breaths out sharply, attempting to expel the last of her sadness. "But I still don't get what drove you to do this, Lunya. Why would you ever think you had to do something like this? We're like family."

Lunya sighs. "Are we, though?" Aiku is offended by this, shooting her a look of disdain. "I only joined the crew a few years ago. I didn't grow up with all of you like your friends did. I wasn't with you to form those bonds. I don't share that."

"That doesn't matter!" Aiku protests. "You know we all treat you like a sister!"

"That may be so. But still, I find myself feeling distant from the rest of you."

"Lunya..."

"Don't get me wrong, it has nothing to do with all of you. You welcomed me in with open arms and made me feel like part of your family. But deep down, I always knew I didn't share that life time connection with you."

Aiku processes her statements. "...I guess I can understand that. But I hope you know that's not the way we feel. Not at all."

Lunya smiles. "I know. Trust me, I do. And I can't tell you how much it means to me."

Aiku slides closer to her. "Then why, Lunya? What would cause you to do something so drastic?"

Lunya sighs again and gazes out a small port window in front of her. "My history is what you would call...obscure. There are certain parts of my past that I never wished to share with you."

Aiku displays an inviting expression. "But you can tell me."

Lunya looks to her and studies her face, then returns her eyes to the window, becoming lost in thought. "Long ago...I had friend. Remember when I told you I knew someone who worked for the World Government?"

"Of course. That's how we developed a lot of our technology."

Lunya smiles in remembrance. "Her name was Monet."

"Monet?" Aiku repeats.

Lunya nods. "I grew up with her and her younger sister in a land far from here. It was a troubling existence. We barely scraped by day by day, trying to hold onto any bit of joy there was. But one day, while I was away, a mysterious man came to take her and her sister away. I heard he rescued them, so at first I was happy for my friends. But as time went on, I found myself lonely and wishing for their return. Then, many years later, when I was out on my own as part of another pirate crew, fate blessed us. Monet had heard about me through town gossip, and she came to find me one day when I returned from sea. We had another chance to rekindle our friendship for a short time, but soon after I learned she was working for the Donquixote family. For many years I had no idea what the family was truly about, so we remained friends for a while, visiting each other whenever she had time. But I could tell something within her had changed. She was different. When she informed me of Doflamingo's invasion of Dressrosa, I expected that would be her time to depart, due to the extreme circumstances. But to my surprise, she stayed. She was even happy. After that, we became distant once again. I was still young and inexperienced. I didn't know how to process everything. So we decided to keep our distance, only communicating through letters..."

"That was probably the best thing to do, knowing who Doflamingo is now." Aiku affirms.

Lunya nods. "But we did see each other one last time. And I will never forget it. After I had not heard from her in years, she finally wrote to inform me of a safe spot to meet. When I arrived, I was shocked to find her transformed into some kind of monster. Bird appendages in place of her legs, and huge white wings in place of her arms. I was horrified and fascinated. When I asked her about it, all she told me was that she had found her place, and this would be the last time we would ever see each other. All of her warmth and compassion seemed to be gone, replaced by some sadistic energy. I could feel it so vividly. And then, she handed me a vial of green liquid. She placed it in my hand and told me that this would always keep us connected no matter what..."

"A green liquid? What was it?" Aiku wonders.

"At the time, I didn't understand either. But soon after came the last letter I would ever receive from Monet. She told me that she had eaten a devil fruit. The snow-snow fruit. And for countless years, Vegapunk and his team were attempting to clone the powers of devil fruit users by creating a substance called 'green blood.' Eventually, they were able to successfully recreate Zoan and Paramecia powers, but never Logia. However, Caesar-who was second only to Vegapunk himself-had in fact successfully created it at his lab. Monet never shared with me the exact details, but somehow his experiments were able to accomplish the impossible feat. At the time, Monet was testing all of those experiments. When she discovered that the Logia green blood had actually worked, she stole the vile for herself, later pretending to accidentally break the vial in front of Caesar. Why she did this, I'll never know. But I'd like to think it was one last ray of humanity shining through. Perhaps her personal guilt, combined with the notion of the circumstances it would create. But due to her foolish actions, Caesar punished her by banning her from the labs, and replacing her legs and arms with bird parts. That way, she could never perform delicate experiments again. Although she pretended she liked them, I knew deep down she hated herself. It was only out of loyalty to Doflamingo that she accepted her fate. But she knew she was a monster. She just embraced it..." Lunya begins to tear.

"Lunya...I'm so sorry." Aiku says softly.

"Soon after Caesar deemed the Logia experiments impossible, just as Vegapunk had, as it had taken him many years to complete just one single vial. Monet and myself were the only people who ever knew."

Aiku thinks. "I see...so the reason she gave you the green blood was to keep it safe."

Lunya nods. "I guess she thought it would be in better hands. But for all the time I had it, I always remembered her words. She said it would keep us connected. So one day, I injected the green blood. Immediately I felt a strange change in my body, and within hours, I too had the powers of the snow-snow fruit. I don't know why I did it. Perhaps in dedication to our friendship, or maybe morbid curiosity. All I was certain of was that it connected us."

Aiku leans toward her and smiles. "You did it for friendship. Because friends are like family."

Lunya looks to her with a sad, yet hopeful expression. "Yes. We are."

Aiku's smile grows brighter. Then another notion dawns on her. "But I still don't understand how the government ever found out? How did they know it was you?"

"Well, as you know, the World Government has many affective spies. And because of Vegapunk and Caesar's history together, Vegapunk would often send his spies to Punk Hazard, searching for any useful documents. On one of their recent trips, they discovered Monet's diary, suspecting that some of Caesar's underlings may have been keeping secrets from him. And their suspicions were correct. Monet had written about the entire experience in detail, even mentioning my name. When you have no one else to talk to, you spill your mind onto a page instead. It wasn't long before they located me."

Aiku is confused by this. "But I've never seen a bounty poster for you!"

"And you never will. For someone like me, the World Government doesn't even create a public bounty. I'm so wanted, they don't want anyone to know aside from their most elite forces."

"I see now. So that's why the Black Sail Brigade was called...But how did you find out about it?"

"I only found out myself a few weeks ago, while we were visiting our last port. In town, I was planning to do a bit of spying myself when I noticed a few Vice Admirals wandering through town. I overheard them talking about me. And as soon as I realized what was happening, I starting planning my escape right away. I had originally planned to leave sooner, but unfortunately they caught up with us first."

Aiku takes a moment to absorb all the information. "I understand now."

Lunya turns away. "Now you see why I had to come alone. I wanted to turn myself in. And now I've made the situation even worse by getting you captured."

Aiku is still confused. "But why would this makes things better? They would still come after us anyway!"

"Maybe not..." Lunya retorts. "I wanted to make a deal with them. In exchange for giving my life to Vegapunk's experiments, I would demand they leave you alone."

"I don't get how that could work..."

"Maybe it would have. I had to try." Lunya turns to her with a weak smile.

Aiku and Lunya stare at each other for a long moment, as Aiku begins to realize that the insane action Lunya had taken was in reality bravery and honor.

Aiku grins. "You really are humble, Lunya."

Lunya let's a shallow laugh slip through. "I suppose I learned from the best." She gazes through the port window optimistically.

Upon the white caps of the blue sea, far behind Fukitsu's ship, Sky's captains and the Straw Hats prepare for battle. The ships speed alongside each other, cutting through the waves smoothly, inching ever closer to the Black Sails on the horizon.

"Nami! How far away are we now?" Luffy calls to her, crouched in front of the glass over looking the deck.

Nami checks a few coordinates on the map and places a finger on their ship's position. "Only a few miles! We should be gaining on them now."

Luffy huffs in frustration. "We need to go faster!"

"What do you want me to do, get out and push?!"

"Can you do that?" He asks honestly.

"Obviously I'm not serious!" She screams at him with a vicious face.

Zoro steps beside her. "Why don't we just use that portal ability? Don't all the ships have it?"

"Oh yeah." Nami picks up the transponder snail. "Hey, Tydal! How do we use this portal ability?"

"We'll show you soon! Right now we're still waiting on Sky to arrive."

"Isn't he on one of the ships?"

"Well, not yet..."

Just then, Luffy gazes into the air, catching sight of something from the corner of his eye. There in the sunny blue haze is the figure of a man darting down through the clouds. Luffy smiles and chuckles as he realizes it's Sky. "Hey, there he is!"

Nami, Robin and Zoro gather around him to watch as Sky descends through the air and lands gracefully on the deck below, much to the amusement of the crewman, who all erupt in supportive cheers.

"He's so cool!" Luffy exclaims. He runs to the an open window at the side of the wheelhouse and pops his upper body out. "Hey, Sky dude! Up here, come on!"

With a jolt of energy, Luffy shoots his rubber arm downward and grabs Sky by the shirt. Sky only has a second to express his shock before Luffy yanks him into the air with a desperate scream, pulling him into the wheelhouse. Sky collides with Luffy as he comes through window, knocking Nami and Zoro over into a twisted pile.

Zoro jumps back to his feet aggressively. "What the hell was that, Luffy?!"

"You moron!" Nami yells.

Luffy laughs and dusts himself off. "That was fun, wasn't it?"

To their surprise, Sky rises to his feet happily. "Sure was! Let's do it again sometime!"

"Seriously?!" Nami and Zoro shout in unison.

Robin comes beside the helm and points to the orb. "So can you tell us how we use this? Surely it will help us catch up a lot faster."

Sky nods and jogs over to the controls. "Sure! First we have to-"

"Sky!" A crewman interrupts, running into the wheelhouse. "Bad news-we've got some company!"

Sky turns to him. "Already? Where?"

"Just off the port side! A small fleet is charging right at us!" He gestures to the port side windows.

Sky runs to the windows with the Straw Hats and removes a monoscope from his belt. Through the scope, he can see several normal Marine ships. "Damn. Looks like a flank."

"More Black Sails?" Robin inquires.

"No. They're traditional Navy ships. They must be working together with the Black Sails on this mission. It appears to be a much larger operation than we first thought." Sky turns to the crewman. "Inform the other captains of this immediately."

"Right away!" The crewman nods and runs to a nearby transponder snail.

Nami walks toward the helm again. "Well come on, let's use the portal quickly to get away!"

"We can't!" Sky calls to her.

"Huh- why not?" The group gather around the wheel.

"It takes time to warm up. Time we don't have now."

Zoro sighs. "That's convenient." He grabs hold of his sword hilts and heads toward the exit.

Luffy turns to him. "Where are you going, Zoro?"

Zoro shrugs. "What do you mean? There's only one thing left to do."

Luffy grins and pumps his fists. "Right! Finally time to kick some ass!" He runs past Zoro, then turns back to him quickly. "Oh, hey Zoro-go get Sanji, I think he's still downstairs cooking."

Zoro's anger spikes. "What?! I'm not your damn errand boy!"

Nami strides past him spinning her clima-tact. "Just go!"

Robin walks past next and smiles. "We'll try to save some for you."

Zoro stands shaking in anger for a moment. "Fine! Just don't leave without me!" He turns and runs down a side corridor, stopping the first crewman he sees. "Hey, where's the kitchen at?"

The crewman points to a side stairwell. "Right down that way, 7 levels down on the waterline floor, can't miss it!"

"Thanks!" Zoro runs inside and stars heading down the stairs.

Out on the deck, Luffy, Nami and Robin survey the situation. They can see a handful of ships heading directly toward them, only a half a mile away. Sky comes behind them and crosses his arms.

"Looks to be about 10 ships, I'd say." Nami comments.

Luffy laughs dismissively. "Is that all? No problem!"

"It won't be as long as we're smart about-"

Nami's words are cut off by Luffy shouting excitedly and launching himself into the air, flying across to the adjacent ship.

Nami gasps, exasperated. "Luffy, what the hell!"

Robin smiles and giggles. "Well, I guess that's our cue!"

Nami huffs. "More like a death bell..."

Sky laughs. "Sounds like my kind of party!" He jumps on top of the ship's railing. "Let's not keep him waiting!"

As Luffy lands on the next ship, which belongs to Tydal, he looks around to find his next jumping point as the crew hesitates, surprised by his abrupt arrival. Tydal runs up next to him. "Captain Luffy! What are you doing, man?!"

Luffy turns to him. "Oh hey, tie-dye! We're going to fight, come on!" He waves him along before leaping into the air once more, heading for the next ship.

Behind Tydal, Nami and Robin arrive, jumping across a bridge made of hands provided by Robin. They come beside Tydal. "You wouldn't happen to have seen a crazy rubber man pass through this way?" Nami jokes.

Tydal laughs. "I can see you all are used to this sort of thing!"

Nami smiles. "You have no idea."

Tydal follows them across another hand bridge to the next ship, removing the large blue sword from his back and holding it high in the air.

Next, Luffy lands on Tiff's ship, almost knocking her over. As Luffy runs past her, she spins around circles. As the rest of the crew passes she continues to spin. When Tydal runs past he calls back to her. "Come on, babe! Quit stalling!" She stands dizzy for a moment, then quickly charges after them.

Now a much larger group, they jump onto Bara's ship. He is equally surprised but quickly joins them, blending with the group smoothly as they pass by.

Finally, they arrive on Gilly's ship, the last in the line. When they land, he is the only captain undisturbed by the sudden arrival. He sits reclined on top of a storage box at the top of the bow, puffing on his cigar.

Tydal runs up to him. "Hey, doofus! You do know the Navy is coming, right?"

Gilly looks to him casually. "Huh? Oh...yeah...I think they're almost here now."

The group looks to the sea and sees the small fleet is nearly in firing range.

"We're out of time, we have to move now!" Nami commands.

Tydal turns to his fellow captains. "Right! I say we can all take on one ship each, what do you think guys?" They all nod in agreement.

"No sweat!" Tiff proclaims.

Bara pumps his fist. "In my sleep!"

Tydal turns to Luffy. "How about you, Luf-" But he's already leapt into the air again. "Luffy!" He calls to him.

"Enough talk!" Luffy calls back, flying high over the ship. "Time to fight!"

On board the lead Navy ship, some of the crew notice Luffy hovering over their ship. They gather around the bow and look up in wonder. "What the hell? Is that Straw Hat Luffy?" One yells. "It can't be!" Another shouts in disbelief.

"Now-THIRD GEAR!" Luffy swings his arm back. It expands to a monstrous size and coats in a sheen of silver armor.

"Oh crap, it is!" The crew of the Navy ship scream in unison.

"ELEPHANT GUN!"

Luffy slams his giant fist down on the ship, blasting the entire vessel apart with one powerful blow. The sailors are sent flying into the air as the other ship crews brace themselves, covering their faces from the debris.

Back on board Lunya's ship, Zoro stands confused at the rear section of the ship, over looking the paddle wheel. He gazes out at the horizon and crosses his arms. "This isn't the kitchen. What the hell was that guy talking about?"

End of Episode 3