Hi, everyone! Here's Chapter 17! All credit for original plot, settings, and characters goes to Eiichiro Oda. Enjoy the chapter!
Magina woke up with a jolt. How long did she sleep? The room was dark and she lay still, listening to the silence but mostly enjoying the fact that her nausea was completely gone. She had to thank Zoro when she rejoined everyone. She felt rejuvenated yet something was wrong. Magina listened again. She only heard the deck creaking with the cresting waves. If she focused, she could almost hear men shouting. Otherwise, the silence was deafening. Pondering this new puzzle, Magina stretched carefully. She sharpened her senses so that she could catch the strains of Zoro's song, only she couldn't hear anything. She frowned and sat up. No wonder she had the impression that something wasn't right. Magina quickly got up and opened the door. She made her way to where she discovered men shouting. Most of the yelling was above deck. The voices floated down the stairway to her left.
"That damn frog! If he hadn't done that, we would still be with the others!"
"Sodom! Gomorrah! Go as fast as you can! Everyone else, keep your eyes peeled for Rocketman!"
They were separated? That must be why her nakamas' songs were so distant that she wasn't even sure which direction they were. Some men ran past her, talking about making preparations for the cannons. She snatched the arm of one man.
"Hey, what's going on around here?" Magina asked, keeping her tone polite. Zoro was right; they were not enemies right now so she should stay civil.
"Oh, it's the bushido's girl!" the man exclaimed with a small grin.
Magina cheeks flamed suddenly. Saying it like that was true, yet embarrassing. The man chuckled briefly before clearing his throat and pointing to the flight of stairs.
"We're very busy down below, but if you go on the top deck; I'm sure that one of the searchers will be willing to explain the situation."
The man was called away, leaving Magina alone. She shrugged and climbed up to the top deck. She filled her lungs with the sea air. Magina glanced around her. Most of the men were at the center of the boat. They scanned the ocean, some with binoculars, while others used goggles to search the stormy landscape. She carefully picked her way past the Family members; keeping in mind they were searching. They barely acknowledged as she passed them. Only one man noticed her, and he peeled away from the group to stand next to her.
He wore blue-gray overalls instead of the Franky Family traditional battle armor marked with a red star. His grey hair brushed his shoulders and goggles sat proudly on his face. He smiled as he approached.
"You must by Roronoa's woman. Are you feeling better now? Roronoa insisted that we let you rest."
Magina nearly choked. Roronoa's woman? Why was everyone making those assumptions? She cleared her throat once to bite back her first response.
"I'm doing much better, thank you. I slept a little. It looks like Rocketman is no longer pulling us so I don't feel sick anymore…" Magina trailed off when she realized that she just revealed a weakness to a complete stranger.
The man's smile turned understanding, even sympathetic, "Yeah, the Sea Train affects me that way too. I'm fine on a regular ship but put me on a train and I spill my guts. I have a remedy now, and it helps a lot. Remind me to give you some before you return to The Straw Hats. My name is Tetsu. Just ask for me if you need anything else. What's your name, little lady?"
Magina breathed a sigh of relief. She wanted to be with everyone and help them if she could. She wouldn't be able to if she was still sick. "My name is Magina and thank you. That will help out a lot, Tetsu. Could you explain what's happening right now? Where are the others?" She looked around, a small frown creasing her forehead. Rocketman should be pulling them along. There was nothing but open sea in front of them.
"Well, Magina, basically a giant frog hit Rocketman and derailed it. We're still following the tracks to Enies Lobby. We're hoping that we'll spot them along the way. It would be better if we could regroup before going wild," Tetsu frowned, his concern bleeding through just enough for Magina to pick up on it.
The range and speed it took to get acquainted to others' songs were slowly increasing. It surprised her when not only she could pick up Tetsu's worry but also, on the very edge of her senses, she identified two familiar songs.
"I'm still not sure about our allies on Rocketman but in about 4,000 yards; a couple of my nakama are waiting. I think someone will start to see them soon," Magina replied.
She concentrated on the two songs she identified. The songs dragged a bit, but Magina couldn't tell if it was because they were gravely injured or if they were just shocked and worried. She didn't hear Robin with them and there was something strange about one of the songs. Maybe the distance was messing with the tones and nuances a little?
"What, seriously? How can you tell? Do you see them?" the man demanded.
"I can't see them, but I can hear them just fine. I'm a siren. At the speed we're traveling, I think we'll reach them soon."
"Oi, guys! Look straight ahead!" Tetsu called out, "You see anything?"
"Not yet! Wait! There's a detached train car up ahead! Is anyone there? Show yourselves!"
Tetsu turned to her with a grin, "Right on, little lady! Let's pick up your nakama."
Magina nodded happily, "Yeah."
…
The Franky Brothers rescued Sanji. Magina raced to the room where he was taken. She still had questions. Why was he on the government train? Where was Robin? In her hurry, she passed an unfamiliar cloaked figure. Even more intriguing, something was very odd about his song. She stopped in her tracks, staring at the masked man. Magina wasn't even sure that she could fish out what was so different. She was about to call his name when Sanji interrupted.
"Magina-san! How wonderful, you came to welcome me onboard! That shitty marimo actually let you out of his sight? How careless. Feel free to fall for me instead!"
The disbelieving looks on the Franky Family's faces reflected her inner thoughts on the possibility of falling for the cook. One Brother even dared to speak up, "It's best to give up now, Nii-san, this is Roronoa's woman after all."
"Roronoa's woman? Which one of you said that? I'll kick your ass!" Sanji whirled to face the direction of the speaker, ready to kick the offender into oblivion, only Magina stopped him.
"Sanji, there's no time for this. What happened to Uso…" Before she could finish her sentence, another Franky Brother interrupted her.
"Yeah, curly eyebrows. Tell us what happened to Aniki. He was on the train too! Why isn't he here with you?"
"Well, about that…"Sanji trailed off, gently leading her to a seat first before taking a seat himself and explaining seriously. When he finished, one Franky Brother turned to Sanji, tears washing his face. All of the other Family members were also moved to the point of tears.
"S-So…you're saying that Aniki sacrificed himself?" the Franky Brother's voice cracked.
Sanji took another drag of his cigarette before answering, "Yeah, that's right. He was trying to save Robin-chan. We didn't know about that guy's Devil Fruit power though. In the end, she still got away."
Sanji's hand curled in anger. Magina felt as grim as he sounded. She didn't know what to say. She wanted to cheer them up but no words would come out. She sighed silently. She would just do what she could.
"I'll get some bandages. You're both scraped up. We need to be ready when we reach Enies Lobby. We won't let Robin go!"
Masked Usopp nodded, "I appreciate that, Magina-kun. I'm sure Sanji-kun is also grateful for your kindness."
"Of course, I am, you idiot!" he was about to jump Usopp when loud wails interrupted him.
"What a guy you are, Aniki!"
"We'll follow you for life!"
Sanji looked exasperated, "What's wrong with you guys? If we don't hurry, we'll be too late!"
Magina left the room quietly so that they could discuss strategy. She searched briefly for Tetsu. He was talking with one of the engineers.
"Ah, Tetsu! Do you have a minute? I wanted to see if I could get some gauze and bandages."
Tetsu smiled and dismissed the other Family member. "Your nakama did look a little beat up. This will be a good opportunity to give you that remedy too. Come with me."
Magina was led to a medical supply room. Tetsu motioned to the supplies, "You can take whatever you need, but first let me give you this. Hold out your hand."
Magina followed his instructions and held out her hand, only a little confused. A gnarled root was dropped into her palm.
"This is…" she trailed off.
Tetsu chuckled. "I know; it doesn't look like much. Peel off the skin and suck on that. It should help for a few hours. That'll be plenty of time to reach Enies Lobby. Don't chew on it, if you can help it. It'll make your breath smell worse than a rotting corpse," he grinned and gave her a quick wink.
Magina grinned back. "Thank you, Tetsu. Now I can help everyone."
Somebody on the top deck suddenly cried out, "Look over there! The light of the Nightless Isle! We're approaching Enies Lobby!"
"You'd better hurry, little lady. Good luck!" Tetsu said.
"You too, Tetsu and thank you again!" Magina called after the man as he rushed to help. She returned to where Sanji and Usopp waited. She was about to start cleaning and binding wounds when a shrill whistle split the night.
"Oi! You guys!"
Sanji and Usopp leaned out of one window while Magina checked from another one close by. Rocketman was bearing down on them fast, their Captain at the front, waving and smiling excitedly.
"Luffy!"
Hello, I hope you enjoyed Chapter 17! I've started writing Chapter 18, so we'll see how long it takes to finish and edit it. Read and review; let me know what you think! There are no other special notes for this chapter, so take it easy and keep cool. Thanks guys!