(A/N: New chapter! Starting this week, I'm going to be uploading chapters on Sunday and Wednesday, to fasten the pace a little. Enjoy!)


Chapter 3: Eric Attacks- Great Escape From Warship Island!

"Hey, Apis! Who're you talking to?"

"No! Don't come here!"

"Didn't Lost Island sink a long, long time ago?"

"Grandpa Ryu says that the island will surface again. But he doesn't seem to remember clearly where it is, and there's no clue. He was separated from his friends, and lost his energy. I want to take him back to his home no matter what it takes. He always tells me that he'll get his energy back for sure once he goes back to the dragons' nest. So I'll definitely find it for him."

"Okay then! I'll take him... to Lost Island!"

"Luffy! Weren't you listening?! Lost Island sank into the sea!"

"But since the legendary Millennial Dragon exists, I'm sure Lost Island also exists somewhere!"

"An island that's not even on a map?"

"Yeah, that's why we're going!"

The next day, a local was cutting wheat in a field. "It's hot!" He wiped the sweat off his brow, before something caught his attention. "Hm? Wh... what the heck is that?!"

A fleet of Marine ships sailed in from the horizon. "The Marines again?!" Another local exclaimed in fear.

Meanwhile, Luffy and Nami returned to the house. "Hey, everyone! This is so cool!" Luffy called out, but he and Nami found the crew fast asleep. Usopp had his head rested on his triceps on the table, Sanji was laid out on the floor, hands under his head, and Zoro leaned against the wall, with Venus' head on his shoulder.

"What's going on here...?"

"And, the 1,201st King was..." Bokuden mumbled in his sleep, still sitting upward.

"Geez..." Nami griped, "The story isn't over yet?"

"Hey, listen to me." Luffy startled Usopp awake with one poke to his sleep bubble.

"Ugh!" He screamed.

Just then, Zoro woke up. "What? Is it morning already?"

A groggy Sanji sat up from the floor. "I dozed off since the old man's story was so long," He groaned, and stretched his arms above his head.

Zoro nudged the young witch, until her eye blinked open. "Hey, rise and shine, shortie."

"Huh?" She yawned largely, and rubbed her sleepy eye. "Ugh, I must've fallen asleep. So many kings..."

One of the local men came frantically bursting in, making the crew more alert. "Th-there's a problem! Bokuden-san! Where's Apis?!"

"What's the matter?" Nami asked.

"Ah, you guys're pirates, right? A Marine fleet started blocking the harbor!"

"It can't be... just to capture Apis?"

"Why are they after a girl like that?" Usopp wondered aloud.

"It's not like she's done anything wrong," Venus added, "Seems like a lot of trouble."

"Hey!" Nami called attention. "Everyone, come with me!"

Sanji was on his feet immediately. "Certainly, Nami-san!"

The two greenheads shared an eyeroll. "Why?" Luffy asked.

"Just do it!" The navigator commanded.

"What do we do with the old man?" Zoro questioned.

Nami looked Bokuden over. "Looks like he's sound asleep, so let's let him be." She then turned to the man who entered moments ago. "Hey, when Bokuden-san wakes up, please tell him we'll protect Apis."

"O-okay," He complied.

Outside, the Marine fleet was closing in on the harbor. "Their ship is on the starboard bow!" An officer reported after spotting the Going Merry.

"Okay! The landing unit will come to Warship Island with me!"

"The rest of the crew is to seize their ship!"

Elsewhere, the whole crew, sans Luffy and Nami gaped in complete shock at what was before them: the dragon. Apis climbed to the top of his back. "Hi, everyone!"

"This is the Millennial Dragon Grandpa Bokuden was talking about," Nami said.

"See?!" Luffy gushed. "Isn't he cool!"

"Don't talk like he's yours!" Nami scolded.

"When you get closer to the Grand Line, you run into things like this, huh?" Zoro remarked.

"Since there're Sea Kings as well, I guess this is possible," Sanji agreed.

"Awesome!" Venus beamed brightly. "I've read about dragons, but never saw one in person before!

Usopp was more scared than the others. "I-is he really harmless?!" Just then, Ryu pushed his nose up with his own, then licked his face.

"Ah! He can be senile sometimes, so if he acts like you're food, get away!" Apis warned.

On cue, Usopp's head was between his jaws. "It's too late!"

"But it doesn't hurt, right?" Luffy laughed. "I guess you call it "soft-mouth?""

"Wh-wh-what're you saying?!" Usopp cried. "He's not a puppy."

"Let him eat you like that!"

"Zoro!"

"Don't!" Sanji protested. "He'll have food poisoning."

"What'd you say, you damn love cook?!" Usopp raged.

Venus finally ran over, and looked Ryu in the eye with authority. "No, bad dragon! Bad dragon! Drop him!" She scolded him like he was a misbehaving dog. On command, he opened his jaws, allowing Usopp to escape, and hide behind a rock. "That's better."

"What the Marines are after is this Millennial Dragon," Nami said, "Frankly, the reason I brought you here is that we'd like to bring this Millennial Dragon back to Lost Island."

"Wh-what're you saying?!" Usopp exclaimed incredulously. "The Marines are closing in on us! We're gonna have enough trouble just getting away; how in the heck could we take such a big creature-"

"Grandpa Ryu..." Apis cut him off, "Wants to go home. So..."

"Don't tell me, Luffy..." Usopp grumbled, "That you promised her, like "Yeah! I'll bring him home."" He mocked the captain with a high-pitched tone.

"Yeah, I promised and said "I'll bring him home.""

"Don't do that! We don't know where that island is, right?!" The sniper ranted. "How are we supposed to get there?!"

"If we go, it'll work out somehow," Luffy said.

"As if!"

"He's got a point."

Usopp stood next to Venus at her words, and put his arm around her shoulders. "Yes, thank you!"

"But we've gotta try!" She pumped her fist in determination, resulting in him slumping over in defeat.

A worried Apis petted the dragon's snout. "I thought Grandpa Ryu would get his energy back once he goes home."

Usopp stayed quiet with sympathy. "Animals have a migration instinct," Nami informed, "This Millennial Dragon may know something.

"Yeah," Luffy agreed, "Let's find Lost Island!"

"But..."

"Well, things will probably work out, don't you think?" Zoro proposed, as Sanji lit a cigarette.

"Zoro," Usopp groaned.

"That's fine, but what are we gonna do with him?" Sanji asked, regarding their new acquaintance. "Just bringing him down the mountain alone will be a lot of work."

Apis perked up, as Nami smirked. "First, build a cart! A big enough one for Grandpa Ryu to ride."

"Let's do it!" Venus grinned with confidence, as Usopp facepalmed behind her.

"All right!" Apis cheered.

"Gum-Gum Gatling!" Luffy bashed multitudes of trees down with his bare fists in a domino effect. Sanji then did his part next, kicking the trees in half, before Zoro cut more down, three-sword style. Nami, Usopp, Venus, and an awe-struck Apis watched, as the three boys presented perfect logs. "Is this enough?"

"Yeah," Nami gave a hand gesture with her thumb, and pointer finger touching, as she winked, "A-okay!"

"Since you did all this, I guess I have no choice," Usopp lamented, then pouted in defeat, "I'll do it. All right, I'll do it!"

"Yes!" Venus cheered.

Before long, a huge cart was assembled, with everyone in the crew (except Nami) participating. Usopp wiped his forehead with his arm after completing a wooden wheel. "Phew! I guess this is it."

Apis jumped for joy, as Luffy settled the logs with one foot. "This thing won't break even when Grandpa Ryu rides it!"

"Yeah!" Luffy agreed.

"But the harbor is blocked by the Marines, right?" Sanji reminded them. "What will we do with the ship?"

"Isn't it gonna work out?" Luffy asked innocently.

"No, it won't."

"Shall we make a raid?" Zoro suggested.

"Yeah, good idea," Sanji agreed.

"That's not gonna work, since we have Grandpa Ryu," Nami pointed out, "I have an idea about how we can carry him out of here. By the way, I want the Going Merry to be brought to the rear of the island."

"Okay!" Usopp stepped up confidently. "It's the precious ship that Kaya gave us. I'll do it."

"He's so cool!" Apis gushed.

"However... Zoro comes with me!"

"Me too?!"

"It'd be a good idea," Venus looked up at the swordsman.

"Then I'll leave it to you guys," Nami decided.

"Okay!" Usopp agreed. "So... how about we wait until nightfall?" Apis' smile dropped at that.

"No!" Nami snapped. "Bring the ship to the edge of the cape that looks like Usopp's nose."

Luffy looked out at said cape, and laughed. "You're right! That's Usopp's nose."

"So what're we gonna do?" The sniper wondered aloud. "Just bringing the ship won't..."

"Don't worry about it," Nami assured the sniper, "I don't think they'll find this place so easily. But in any case, hurry up."

"What?!" Usopp exclaimed. "Doing things on a hit-or-miss basis like that isn't..."

"Sanji-kun, Luffy!" The redhead interrupted. "Put Grandpa Ryu on the cart."

"Okay!"

"Okay-Nami-san!"

Meanwhile, a group of Marines invaded Bokuden's house, and all pointed their guns at him, but he stayed asleep. "Hey, old man! Where are you hiding this girl?" He showed a photo of Apis, but Bokuden didn't come to. "Hey! Wake up!"

That did it, but the results were not what they were hoping for. "Oh... did I already talk about the 1,201st King?"

"Wh-what're you talking about?"

"Lt. Commander!" An officer called for him. "There're tracks from something being dragged in the backyard!"

Outside, Eric was examining the ground. "Eric! Did you find anything?!"

Sure enough, a long track was in front of them, leading into a pile of large rocks. "These tracks must've been made by them. They should be hiding somewhere in the mountain."

"Okay! We'll track them down!"

At the harbor, Zoro and Usopp peaked around a building, and noticed the Marines guarding the Going Merry. "Ahhh... this is why I suggested that we wait until night." Without a word, Zoro sliced two pieces from a pipe on the house. "What're you doing?!" Zoro stuck one piece in his own mouth, then shoved the other in the sniper's.

Using the pipe pieces as snorkels, the two sneaked by the Marines by swimming to the ship. They surfaced where they were out of sight; Zoro pulled his makeshift snorkel out, but Usopp struggled with his. "I'll go on ahead." Ignoring the muffled protests, he climbed up the rope hanging down the side, undetected.

Usopp, however, was discovered from his snorkel accidentally knocking on the side of the ship. "Hm...? Ahhh!" A Marine turned to him, now on alert.

"Ahhh!" Usopp's scream of terror was muffled. "Meh mound me!"

Two more Marines joined the first one. "It's them!"

"Don't let him escape! Fire!"

Usopp frantically dodged every gunshot, keeping his grip on the rope. "Zoro!"

On cue, with a cut of a rope, the sail was dropped, and the Merry was moving away to safety, shocking the Marines. "What?!"

"Th-there was another one?!"

"Stop! Stop!"

"Stop! Or we'll fire!"

"Stop!" The rope ladder snapped from the harbor, as the Merry drifted away. To the officers' shock, it was heading straight for their own ship. "Wh-what?! Are they going to ram us?!"

"Maht?!" Usopp exclaimed in terror, still inaudible. "Mis is mad!" He ducked down for cover.

On the bigger ship, Marines scrambled for safety like ants. "It's gonna ram us!"

"Furl the sails!"

"It's too late now!"

With a large tug by Zoro and Usopp, the Merry rocked the Marine ship, and sailed amongst the others. "Prepare to set sail!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Hoist the anchor!"

"Furl the sails!"

"Go after that pirate ship!"

"Yes, sir!"

On the island, the woods were almost completely occupied by waiting officers, as a seagull observed from above. This was not good.

Higher up on the mountain, Nami smiled upon noticing a familiar ship drifting over. "Here they come!"

The seagull landed on Ryu's head, and chirped at Apis in warning. "W-we've got trouble! The bird said the Marines are getting close!"

"Oh no!" Venus' eye widened.

They watched, as a group of officers, led by the Lt. Commander, came closing in. "Oh... they came sooner than I thought."

"Hey, what're you going to do now?" Apis asked.

"Ahh, you don't have to worry," Nami assured, "Because we have these three," She referenced Luffy, Sanji, and Venus. "Once the Going Merry is at Usopp's Nose Cape, we'll go all the way down."

Down below, Eric saw the group watching them, including their target. "That brat is up there."

The officers were shocked at the creature laying with them. "Wh-what's that?"

"I-it's a monster!" Their fears only worsened when Ryu looked straight at them.

Eric however, let a smirk grow. 'I finally found Dragonite, the elixir of immortality!'

At the mercenary's silence, the Lt. Commander took over. "Don't panic! That's the Millennial Dragon we've been looking for! We'll get closer to them without being noticed and capture it in one shot!"

"Yes, sir!"

On the ship, Usopp still struggled to pull his snorkel out of his mouth. "Dammit! After we went through all that trouble to escape!"

"We haven't yet," Zoro pointed out.

Sure enough, a Marine ship came up next to them. "Ahhhh!" Usopp screamed, the pipe finally coming out of his mouth.

"Don't let them get away! Capture them without fail!"

"Ahhh! Zoro! Zoro! Zoro! Zoro!" Usopp rambled in fear. "T-t-take care of the sail!"

"Got it! Leave it to me!"

Usopp steered the ship from inside the cabin. "Dammit! Their ship is big, but it's fast!"

Up on the mountain, Apis gasped at the sound of cocking guns, and stood in front of the dragon. "No! Don't shoot Grandpa Ryu!"

"Apis!" Nami panicked.

To her surprise, Ryu shielded her with his wing. "Grandpa Ryu!" Now determined, he rose his head up, striking more fear in the officers.

"As I thought, that brad had something to do with the Millennial Dragon," Eric observed, "Although I didn't think that I'd be able to encounter a real live dragon. I no longer care about that brat. That dragon is the elixir of immortality that we've been looking for!"

"Fire!" The Lt. Commander ordered.

To Apis' horror, they did just so. "Stop it!" She tried to stop them, but Luffy stood in her way, directly in front of the bullets. Due to his rubber body, the bullets bounced off of him. "No use!"

"Wh-what the heck?!" The Marines gaped in shock. He was completely unharmed!

"Th-the bullets definitely...!"

"So you have the powers of a Devil Fruit," Eric noted.

"That's right. I'm a rubber person."

Venus stepped up, and conjured an energy ball above her palm. "And I'm a witch."

"R-rubber person!"

"A witch!"

"D-Devil Fruit?"

"What's that?"

"Use-"

"Use swords!" Eric cut off the commander. "Guns don't work against the rubber!"

The Marines started with swords, as ordered. "Sanji-kun!" Nami called worriedly, keeping a scared Apis close.

"Yes, Nami-san!" Sanji charged in, and took them down with his kicks.

"Gum-Gum Gatling!" Luffy joined in the fight, punching more officers out.

"Witchy-Witchy Ball!" Venus contributed, blowing them back with her move.

With that, they were all down, except the two higher-ups. As the three loomed over them, they cowered in fear.

Eric glared in annoyance. "You call yourselves the Marines? Really, you guys are good for nothing." He approached the trio fearlessly.

"Hm?" Luffy hummed. They were shocked to see the mercenary take down an officer, who was trying to flee, with one swipe. "What was that?"

"A knife?" Sanji wondered aloud. Nami watched cautiously, as Eric came closer.

"My name is Eric the Whirlwind. I'm a mercenary hired by Nelson Royal. We don't have any business with you pirates; we have some business with that Millennial Dragon. If you stand in my way, I'll make you a victim of my wind slash, the power of the Sickle-Sickle Fruit."

"Hey, he said Sicko-Sicko," Venus misheard through his introduction.

"Sicko?" Luffy repeated.

"What should we do?" Sanji asked.

"What shall we do?" Luffy turned to the redhead. "Nami! Do we have to keep going?"

She looked over, and the Merry wasn't at the cape. "A little bit longer!"

"Nami-san's lovely even when she looks at the distant ocean," Sanji swooned.

"Knock it off," Venus rolled her eye.

"Just hurry up."

Eric was starting to get mad now. No one was paying attention. "Hey! You bastards! Are you listening to me?!"

Luffy turned back to him. "You're Eric the Sicko, right? We're listening."

"That's not right! I didn't say "sicko", I said "sickle", like the one that slices!"

"We're sicko talking about this!" Luffy joked. "Just kidding!"

Eric prepared his hand for an attack. "Hope you don't regret making me angry. Sickle-Sickle... Whirlwind!"

From his movements, sharp winds came blowing in, scratching Luffy, Sanji, and Venus above their elbows, to the point of shedding blood, and ripping the latter two's sleeves. "Ow!" Luffy held his arm where the cuts were inflicted. "What was that?"

"I see," Sanji repeated his actions, as blood ran down his hand, "A wind slash, huh?"

"Looks like I've got some patching up to do later," Venus pouted, as she too kept pressure on her wounds.

Eric grinned evilly. "The winds I create are as sharp as legendary swords. No matter how trained you are, it's easy for me to tear you apart."

"Aren't we going yet?" Apis asked Nami.

"No, not yet!"

"Now, out of my way! Hand over the Millenial Dragon!"

"No way!" Luffy glared.

"Do you wanna experience the Sickle-Sickle Whirlwind again?"

"Aren't we going yet, Nami-san?!" Apis asked again.

Just then, Nami saw the Merry approaching the cape. "Here they come! They're here!" She turned to the three below. "Sanji-kun! Luffy, Venus!"

"Okay, Nami-swan!" Sanji gushed; he, the captain, and the witch ran back up to the ledge.

"What?!"

"We'll be right there!" After Luffy and Venus were on Ryu's back, Sanji prepared to push the wagon. "Nami-san! I'll be your love catapult!"

"Just push already!" Venus ordered, as she held onto Luffy. Using the mountain for leverage, he sent them rolling down.

"I won't let you escape!" Eric stood directly in their path

"Gum-Gum..."

"Sickle-Sickle..."

"Pistol!"

"Whirlwind!"

After the attacks cancelled each other out, Eric jumped out of the way, and watched them disappear down the mountain, adjusting his skinny shades. "I won't let you escape."

The passengers cheered with ecstasy as they sailed down. "We're gonna run into a rock!" Apis exclaimed.

"Guys!"

"Gum-Gum... Gatling!" Luffy threw hundreds of rapid punches at the huge rock in their path, sending pieces raining down on them. Sanji kicked them into smaller, less dangerous pieces, while Ryu used his tail to swipe others away to protect Apis, and Venus broke some with her energy balls.

"What is this?!" Apis exclaimed in fear.

Luffy laughed heartily. "That's how I do it."

"Tree!" As Venus ducked down, they rolled under a tree, and his chin got caught on a low-hanging branch, stretching his neck. "Dumbass!" She held onto his waist again, as they were both in the air; Ryu brought them back with his tail, and they were back on track.

"That was close..." He held onto his hat.

Apis was still stunned, but then started to enjoy the ride. "Yoo-hoo!"

"This is awesome!" Venus exclaimed.

"Yoo-hoo!" Apis held onto Ryu. At this point, everyone was having a lot of fun. "Yoo-hoo!"

"We're almost there!" Venus pointed out.

Meanwhile, Usopp and Zoro were nearing the cape, but still being tailed by the Marine ship. "Nami said to come to the edge of that cape, right?" Usopp confirmed.

"Yeah."

Usopp glared in frustration at the larger ship right behind them. "Darn. We couldn't get rid of them."

"Yeah." Zoro watched, as the Marines drifted beside them. "Well, after all, we have no choice but to make a raid." On cue, he spotted the wagon barreling towards them. "Yikes!"

"Hey, guys!" Venus waved.

"Go! Go!" Apis cheered.

"Go!" At Luffy's cue, the wagon sailed off the slope, and was in the air.

"Yoo-hoo!" The scared Marines ran off just in time, before the wagon collided with the crows' nest, and sent the mast in the ocean, before landing themselves more safely.

Usopp and Zoro could only watch in shock, as they drifted next to them. "What a crazy plan that was!" Zoro remarked.

Apis gave a thumbs-up while recovering from the wild ride. "Well, it worked out!"

Luffy laughed, as he and Venus laid on their backs. "Exactly."

"Go after them!" They heard a Marine command. "Go after that ship!"

"We can't move, because the sail is in our way!"

"What?!"

Meanwhile, Usopp tied the wagon firmly to the back of the ship. "I think this will do."

"That was fun," Luffy said.

"That was fun!" Apis agreed.

"Definitely," Venus chimed in.

"Apis!" Nami called. "Are you okay?"

"Yep!"

Nami turned to the captain. "Luffy, we can leave at any time now."

"Okay!" Luffy beamed. "Set sail... for Lost Island!"

Usopp sweatdropped. "But which way?"

"Hmmm, that way?" Luffy looked and pointed to his left, then to his right. "Or, maybe this way? Huh? Huh? Huh?"

"Are we gonna be okay when you're so unreliable?" Usopp expressed his worry.

"Well, we'll just have to go," Zoro smirked.

"Yeah!" Venus agreed.

"It's not on the sea chart either, so..."

"You're lovely, Nami-san, even when you're decisive," Sanji swooned.

Usopp hung his head down in defeat. "You know..."

The sails were furled, and they were on their way, brimming with confidence, as Ryu slept on the wagon. "Our destination is Lost Island!"


(A/N: That concludes chapter 3! You know the disclaimer.)