Heart of a Pirate
Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece or Kingdom Hearts. They belong to Eiichiro Oda and Square Enix respectively.
Last time on Heart of a Pirate:
"My, my. Quite a tale, wouldn't you say?"
Everyone's heads jerked up, a look of surprise (and in Usopp's case, fear) appearing on their faces. "Who said that?" said everyone minus Usopp simultaneously.
"I-it's h-him! H-he's back!" said Usopp in a quivering voice.
"Him who?" asked Goofy.
Just then, a large purple cat's head with a wide, toothy grin that spanned the width of its face appeared out of thin air directly in front of the group, bouncing up and down as it did so, before fading back out of existence. The next second, it appeared to their left… then to the right… before finally settling on a nearby tree stump, its pink and purple striped body appearing from nowhere while standing on top of its head. The body then hopped off before grabbing the head and plopping it back on its shoulders.
The Cheshire Cat had arrived.
Chapter 11: Usopp in Wonderland (Part 3)
Title page: Hercules holds an angry-looking Zoro in an armlock to keep him from attacking Pegasus with his swords while Phil yells at him, a speech bubble with weights x'ed out over his head. Zoro's head has a bald patch on the front with small indication lines around it. Meanwhile, Pegasus stands off to the side with a question mark over his head.
Subtitle: Who said you could use our training ground?!
0o0o0o0o0o0o—Wonderland, Lotus Forest—o0o0o0o0o0o0
"COOOOOOOLLLL!" Luffy marveled. He immediately ran over and made a grab for the cat… only for him to disappear. Thrown off balance by this, Luffy fell over and tumbled to the ground off the side of the stump with a yelp. The cat quickly reappeared in the same spot.
"Now now, no need to be so hasty," said the cat, his ever-present grin never faltering.
"Who are you?!" Donald demanded. "WHAT are you?!"
"What, indeed?" the cat responded cryptically. "Though the 'who' of the situation cannot be discounted either, wouldn't you say?"
"Quit trying to confuse us!" Usopp yelled. "I already know who you are! You're the Cheshire Cat!"
"That is what many call me, yes," replied the cat. "But does a moniker truly reflect who or what one is?"
"What's that supposed to mean?!" yelled Donald, annoyed. "Why are you even here?!"
"Who, what, when, where, why, how? It is these six questions that serve as the foundation for all mysteries… such as the true culprit of Alice's crime." The cat's grin became all-knowing. "Poor Alice… soon to lose her head, and she's not guilty of a thing!"
"Wait, do you know something we don't?" asked Sora, eyeing the cat suspiciously.
"The Cheshire Cat has all the answers…" the cat continued nonchalantly. "But doesn't always tell." He shifted his position to lying on his side. "The answer… the culprit… the cat… all lie in darkness."
"Darkness… you mean the Heartless?" asked Goofy. "Where are they right now?"
The cat said nothing, instead beginning to fade away.
"Hey, wait!" cried Sora. "Don't just leave without telling us anything!"
"They have already left the forest," said the cat's voice, its toothy grin still suspended in midair. "Which exit? Well, that's for you to find out."
"That doesn't help at all!" Donald shouted.
"There are four types of evidence to be found," the cat continued like nothing happened. "You'll know it when you see it. Any single one can be used… but why settle for just one? But that's for you to decide." With that, the cat's mouth faded away.
"I dunno, guys. Do you think we should trust him?" Donald asked the group.
At that, the cat instantly reappeared, startling them.
"To trust, or not to trust? I trust you'll decide!" And with that, the cat disappeared again, leaving the stump empty once more. The forest was silent for a few moments afterward.
"I don't think trusting him is a good idea, guys!" said Usopp frantically, breaking said silence. "I mean, would you trust someone who could pop his own head off?!"
"What's that got to do with it?" said Sora, raising an eyebrow. "I mean sure, it's weird and all, but is that really the only thing that should decide it?"
"Don't you remember?! He said it himself! He's mad!" spluttered Usopp.
"That is true…" Sora murmured.
"Well, what's there to lose?" Goofy spoke up. "We don't have any other clues, and it seemed like he wanted to help Alice."
"But he was being really confusing!" Donald said irritably. "It feels more like he's trying to mess with our heads than actually help! He might even be leading us into a trap!"
"Yes! Exactly!" Usopp quickly agreed. "Should we really trust someone that vague about everything?! He sure didn't help ME much!"
"Well, he DID point you to those Mad Hatter and March Hare fellas…" Goofy pointed out.
"Yeah, and look how thatturned out!" Usopp griped. "I don't even want to imagine the number of brain cells I lost talking to them!"
"He's got a point there…" Sora mused.
"Well, I think Goofy's right," Jiminy piped up, gaining everyone's attention. "We really don't have anything to lose by following the cat's advice; it's the only clue we've got. And what else can we do, really? It won't do us much good to just wander around and hope the problem solves itself."
No one had a counter argument for that.
Goofy then looked over at Luffy, who hadn't said anything up to that point. "Say, Luffy, ya look like ya got somethin' on yer mind," the Knight Captain pointed out. The others looked at Luffy as well, and indeed, he did look deep in thought.
"Hmmmmmmmmmmm…" Luffy hummed to himself, his arms crossed and his forehead scrunched up in concentration.
"Wanna tell us, Luffy? It might help us out," said Sora. The pirate captain remained silent for a few more moments.
"Come on! What is it?! Don't leave us hanging here!" Usopp begged.
Luffy continued concentrating, his expression growing more and more intense before finally raising his head.
"I gotta know… do those card guys poop?"
WHAM!
The forest floor shook from the impact of all four of Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Usopp falling to the ground at once.
"THAT'S YOUR BIGGEST QUESTION RIGHT NOW?!" Donald and Usopp shouted simultaneously.
"You gotta be kidding me," groaned Sora, a hand on his forehead, while Goofy and Jiminy just shook their heads.
Luffy looked confused by everyone's reactions. "What?"
Meanwhile, in the nearby brush…
"There's no mistaking it; it's him!"
"You're right; it's the straw hat guy who so flashily humiliated me and took my treasure!"
"And that meddling long-nose who ruined my chance at my best works of art! As well as my reputation!"
"Ohhhh, I've been waiting for this for a LONG time!"
Two figures lay in the shadows of a group of bushes not far from the Keyblade group, observing them carefully. One seemed anxious to leap out and attack them, while the other maintained a more level-headed demeanor and held a hand on the other's shoulder to keep him from jumping up and blowing their cover.
"Not so fast; we still hold the element of surprise! We stand a better chance of victory if we get the drop on them!" said the level-headed figure.
"I suppose you have a plan, then?!"
The other figure paused. "At the moment… no," he admitted. "But it will do us no good to simply charge in. We need to wait for the right moment. Believe me, I have done this sort of thing several times, and rushing in without a strategy always ends in failure."
"Ngh…! Fine, we'll do it your way. But Straw Hat is mine!"
"Only as long as I get the long-nose."
"I've never even seen him before, so knock yourself out!"
"I shall," said the figure, pushing his glasses further up his nose.
"But something's wrong… where are the rest of them? I've got a bone to pick with the two others in his crew too, but I don't see 'em anywhere!"
"We'll worry about them later. For now, let us focus on our current quarry!"
The two figures then began whispering intently to each other while drawing makeshift diagrams in the dirt as they formulated their next move.
Back with the main group…
"Well, anyway, what are we doing again?" asked Luffy.
"We have to find evidence to clear Alice's name!" Usopp groaned.
"Not sure I get it, but OK!"
"Well, we're not going to find anything just standing here!" Donald cut in. "Let's get moving!" To that, everyone nodded and set off as one along the nearest path through the forest.
"While we're doing this," began Usopp, looking at Sora and Luffy. "You guys mind filling me in on what's going on with you? How'd you get here? How do you know these guys? And what the heck is a 'Heartless'?"
Sora and Luffy proceeded to recount their experiences leading up to meeting with Usopp in the courtroom, starting with what happened to them on the islands: Their encounter with Riku, Sora getting the Keyblade, Kairi disappearing, and the two of them fighting the giant Heartless before getting sucked into a giant portal in the sky. They then recalled their individual experiences in Traverse Town leading up to meeting back up in the hotel, then running into Donald and Goofy, right before dealing with another giant Heartless.
During this, Sora finally found out what Luffy had meant when he said that Aerith had stopped him from attacking Leon, and what led to him getting hit with such a huge bill from that restaurant. Sora was hardly surprised by the restaurant bill by this point, but he found himself feeling rather gratified that Luffy considered him such a good friend that he would fight such a formidable opponent for his sake, even though they had known each other for less than a day and it had all been a misunderstanding. Despite his… less than stellar intelligence, Sora could somewhat see how he had become his crew's captain.
"Wow…" Usopp whistled. "So there are all kinds of different worlds out there, and now you're some kind of 'chosen one' on a mission to banish the Heartless from the universe?" He shook his head. "It's like something out of a fairy tale; I've told some pretty big stories, but this one definitely ranks up there."
"Weren't you saying all of those stories were true?" Sora asked, cocking an eyebrow.
"Wha-? N-n-no! They ARE true! It's just… I mean… the thing is… goodness, what a strange forest this is, huh?" Usopp stammered before putting on a faux-cheery voice in a feeble attempt to change the subject.
Before anyone could respond to that, several small dark portals suddenly appeared on all sides of the group, from which a large number of Heartless emerged. Some were the normal all-black insectoid form, others were the helmeted forms that they had encountered in Traverse Town before the big armor. And still others were a smaller form that none of them recognized; they had an hourglass-shaped red body with what looked like tiny bird's feet poking out the bottom, an odd yellow hat with a point that curled inwards in a spiral, and in between, the usual black body with glowing yellow eyes. To top it off, they were hovering in place in the air and had that familiar red and black heart sigil emblazoned on their bodies.
"Heartless!" shouted Donald, pulling out his staff. Sora followed suit by summoning the Keyblade into his hands and getting into a fighting stance, while Goofy slipped his shield onto his arm and prepared for battle. Usopp jumped in fright at the appearance of more 'ghosts', but had enough presence of mind to pull out his slingshot.
Luffy, however…
"COOL!" he exclaimed, reaching out and grabbing one of the red Heartless out of the air before propping it under his arm. He then began repeatedly tapping its hat onto its body in rhythm with his free hand, like a bizarre combination of a bongo drum and a castanet. "I can make some pretty good music with this thing!"
"LUFFY!" "YOU IDIOT!" cried Sora, Goofy, Donald, and Usopp simultaneously.
"What?" he asked, pausing in his tapping.
Just then, the Heartless in Luffy's hands started glowing orange before releasing a small burst of fire from its body. "AAAHHH! HOT HOT HOT!" cried the pirate captain, blowing frantically on his now-burned hands.
"Figures…" grumbled Donald, facepalming and shaking his head.
"Luffy! Here! Drink this!" said Sora as he took out a healing potion and handed it to the rubberman.
"What's this?" he asked, eyeing the bottle curiously.
"Just drink it! It'll help!" Sora replied.
Luffy shrugged and quickly downed the liquid. He sighed with relief as his hands healed immediately, leaving no evidence of having been injured at all.
"Heh! Thanks, Sora!" grinned Luffy.
"No problem!" replied Sora, grinning back. He then regained a serious expression as he turned back to the Heartless. "Now let's get rid of these guys!"
As if on cue, the creatures of darkness immediately closed in on the quintet, and the battle was on.
In the bushes…
The two figures who had been watching the group earlier had followed along with them as they wandered through the forest, being extremely careful not to make too much noise and give themselves away. It had been rather difficult with how much foliage there was to get through, plus the occasional creatures they came across. There had been a close call with a group of small duck-like creatures that looked like bicycle horns with legs and eyes that one figure had trodden on slightly, making it honk, but thankfully their quarry had been too wrapped up in their conversation to notice.
The two figures now crouched in the bushes to watch the action as the so-called Heartless attacked. Due to the brush being so thick, one of them split the half of his head with his eyes off from his body to float above the foliage to get a better look at what was happening, with his mouth remaining attached to his body to give his companion a play-by-play.
"The duck looks like he's using some kind of staff to cast magic; he's shooting fire at some and ice at others, which seems to do more damage to the red ones. The dog uses a shield as a weapon; seems to have some skill with it too. The long-nose guy isn't really doing much; he's hitting them with little metal balls from a slingshot, but they're barely doing anything to these things. Straw Hat is really cleaning up, and that kid with the spiky hair is using some kind of big key as a weapon. Funny, he seems to be doing almost as well as Straw Hat!"
"Hmmm… he didn't look like much when we saw him before, but if what you're saying is true, we would be wise not to underestimate him," the other figure mused.
"What?! I can't hear you! My ears are up here with my eyes!"
"Then split them off and bring them back down here! You can do that, can't you?!"
"WHAT?! I still can't hear you!"
The other figure grabbed his partner's body and clamped his hand over his mouth. "Keep it down! Do you want them to notice us?!" he hissed.
"WHMMPH?!"
"…you know what, never mind!"
"WHMMMPH?!"
Back with the main group…
"Last one!" Sora called out as he brought the Keyblade down on the one remaining Heartless. With a single blow, the red creature of darkness dispersed into black smoke, a glowing heart flying upwards in the process. With that, the small skirmish concluded.
"Whew!" the Keyblade wielder said as he wiped his forehead before smiling triumphantly. "That was a bit of a workout, but we did it!"
"You're telling me," wheezed Usopp, utterly winded from dodging attacks. "You had it easy with that Keyblade of yours; I don't think I managed a single one!"
"Hey, what's this?"
All heads turned towards Luffy as he stared at a small glowing orange object he held in his thumb and forefinger.
"Be careful with that!" Donald cried, waving his arms frantically as he ran over. "That's a Blaze Shard!"
"A what?" asked Sora.
"A Blaze Shard. Crystallized magical fire," Donald explained. "It gets used a lot in the creation of elemental magical weapons and armor; fire-based in this case." He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "It must have been what was giving those Heartless their fire abilities."
"Can I eat it?" asked Luffy.
"NO, YOU CAN'T EAT IT, YOU MORON!" the Court Magician shouted.
"Aw! I wanted to breathe fire!" the pirate captain pouted.
"IT DOESN'T WORK LIKE THAT!"
"Hey, I found some more!" called out Goofy from his position on all fours on the ground as he held up another Blaze Shard.
As everyone gathered the remaining shards on the ground and placed them in Donald's bag for safekeeping, Usopp picked one up himself and observed it closely. He put a hand to his chin as he considered; could this be used in any of his inventions? He could see it now: By combining it with a Flame Dial, he could make it blast out WAY more fire than normal. Or by fusing it with a Flame Star, it could create a pretty big explosion. The possibilities were endless! With that thought in mind, he slipped the shard into his bag.
Once everything was collected, the group got back to their trek through the forest. After a few minutes more of walking and talking, they found themselves at a fork in the road. Which way would they go?
"Say, fellas," Goofy piped up. "Why don't we split up? We can cover more ground that way!"
"Is that a good idea?" asked Usopp. "How will we find our way back to each other?"
"We can backtrack! These paths are easy to follow back to here!" said Sora.
"Yeah! After an hour or so, we can meet back here!" agreed Goofy.
"But how do we decide who goes with who?" asked Donald.
"We can draw straws," said Usopp, rummaging around in his bag and pulling out some wooden sticks, 6 in all, and snapping 3 in half. "Long goes right, short goes left!" He then turned around, moved his hands a bit, then turned back around and held out his fist, all 6 straws clutched in it.
One draw later…
"This is ridiculous," Donald grumbled. "How did it turn out like this?! This can only end in disaster!"
Sora, Usopp, and Donald stood on the right side, while Luffy, Goofy, and Jiminy stood on the left. Donald looked disgruntled, Sora and Usopp looked exasperated, while Goofy looked amused and Luffy looked excited
"It's what we all agreed to," Usopp said with a sigh. "Can't change the rules now."
"Don't worry, Donald! I'll make sure they stay on task!" declared Jiminy, tipping his hat.
"YAHOO! Let's go find the stuff!" Luffy yelled, turning around and setting off on the agreed-upon path at a sprint.
"See ya in an hour, guys!" Goofy called as he made to follow the pirate captain. Within seconds, they disappeared from view, leaving the other party in silence.
"Think they'll be okay?" Sora asked the other two in his group.
"With Luffy in their group, I doubt it," sighed Usopp.
"All we can do now is count on Jiminy," said Donald, moving back into a more professional demeanor before turning towards their assigned path. "Now let's get moving and find that evidence!"
With that, the second group headed off towards who-knew-where. Little did either of the search parties know of the broom-headed dog that passed through the clearing moments later, erasing the fork in the road they had just left from.
Luffy's Group
Luffy and Goofy sauntered through the forest at a leisurely pace, not really caring which way the path took them. Jiminy occasionally had to call Luffy back whenever he got distracted by some random thing he found cool, but besides that, things were largely uneventful.
Before long, the trio came upon a clearing with a single hollow log in the center. Deciding the most entertaining thing to do would be to crawl through it, Luffy proceeded to do just that, followed by Goofy, who wanted to get in on the fun. Once the Knight Captain came out the other end, he found the Straw Hat captain holding what looked like a gift box. It had a checkered pattern all over that alternated between light pink and dark pink, and a small yellow ribbon on the lid.
"Whatcha got there, Luffy?" asked Goofy as he came over for a closer look.
"Dunno; I just found it in the log," Luffy remarked, before getting an excited expression. "Let's see what's inside!"
"Luffy, wait!" cried Jiminy. "You should think about this before you – !"
But Luffy had already pulled the lid off the box to find…
… a flattened clump of dirt.
"Aw, that's boring," the straw hat teen pouted.
"Wait a sec," said Goofy, taking the box and peering at the dirt. "Are those footprints?"
"I think you're right," said Jiminy, hopping onto Goofy's shoulder for a better look. "They look a bit like the smaller Heartless' feet." He turned to the Knight Captain. "Do you think this is one of the pieces of evidence the Cheshire Cat was talking about?"
"I ain't positive, but it sure seems like it," Goofy replied. "Let's hang onto it just in case." With that, he placed it in his bag.
Honk!
The two Disney Castle representatives jumped slightly at the sudden noise of what sounded like a bike horn behind them. Turning around, they found Luffy squatting down and peering at a pair of short, rotund men with their hands on their hips, standing in front of the log opening they had just come out of. They wore black shoes, large red pants that covered their round bellies, yellow shirts with large white lapels and blue bow ties, and red baseball caps with small green flags on top, covering their orange hair. 'Tweedledee' and 'Tweedledum' had been stitched into the left and right lapels respectively. They stood perfectly still, as if they were statues.
"Were these here before?" asked Jiminy.
"Gawrsh, I don't think so," said Goofy, looking thoughtful.
"But they're really cool!" said Luffy excitedly. "Watch this!" He then poked the one with 'Tweedledee' on his lapels in the belly with his finger, at which the small man let out a honking sound just like the earlier one. "Ha ha! See?"
"If you think we're wax-works, then you ought to pay us, you know!" the Tweedledee figure suddenly spoke, surprising all three. He then elbowed Tweedledum, who gave a honk! in response.
"But contrary to that, if you think we're alive, then you ought to speak to us!" said Tweedledum. He then elbowed Tweedledee back, who gave a honk! himself. The two then began dancing and bouncing around, squeaking and honking like bicycle horns with each bounce, before standing up straight and raising their fingers like a lecturing teacher.
"That's logic!" they proclaimed simultaneously.
"COOL!" exclaimed Luffy.
Recovering from his surprise, Jiminy regained his composure and spoke. "Well, it's been nice meeting you two, but we really should be going…"
"No way!" the Straw Hat captain protested. "These guys are funny! I wanna see more!"
"Luffy, you know we need to – "
Jiminy didn't get to finish his sentence as the twins zipped in front of them and began lecturing. "You're beginning backwards!" said Tweedledee.
Tweedledum then spoke. "Aye, the first thing you do in a visit is to say…"
"BARA BARA HOU!"
"Nope! It's…" At this, the twins grabbed Luffy and Goofy by the hands and pulled them away, just as a pair of fists wielding four knives each came flying in from somewhere in the trees and embedded themselves in the grass that the two had just been standing on. Tweedledee and Tweedledum didn't seem to notice as they began singing.
'How do you do!' and shake hands!
Shake hands, shake hands!
'How do you do!' and shake hands!
State your name and business!
As they sang, they danced around in circles while simultaneously shaking Goofy and Luffy's hands in some sort of weird demonstration. They then let go and moved back into their lecturing teacher pose. "That's manners!" they proclaimed.
"Goofy, Luffy! Look!" Jiminy cried, gesturing frantically at the twin sets of holes in the ground, formerly occupied by the twin sets of four knives. Said knives and the hands holding them had since disappeared. "We're being attacked!"
"By who?" asked Goofy, pulling out his shield and sliding it onto his arm as he moved back-to-back with Luffy.
"I think I know," said Luffy, now looking serious as he got into a fighting stance. "I've heard that voice before…"
"CHI WO BARA BARA HOU!" said voice shouted.
The hands reappeared from both ends of the log, flying towards Luffy from two different directions. Luffy noticed one just in time and twisted his body out of the way, while Goofy noticed the other and quickly swatted it away with his shield. Luffy then looked in the direction of the voice and raised his fists.
"Gomu Gomu no Gatling Gun!"
The rubberman proceeded to launch several punches into the treeline, causing a cry of pain and surprise, followed by a thump of something heavy hitting the ground, after which the flying hands promptly flew back into the foliage. Stopping his attack, Luffy watched as a silhouetted figure came marching out of the treeline, rubbing his cheek.
"Is that any way to greet an old friend, Straw Hat?" said the figure.
"I knew it was you!" Luffy exclaimed. "And you're not my friend!"
Once fully in the open, all present got a good look at the speaker. He was dressed in a ragged-looking black and white-striped prison outfit, had long blue hair tied behind his head in a ponytail, a pair of bones painted across his forehead and eyes, red make-up on his lips, a bit of beard stubble on his chin, and most notable of all, a big round red nose in the center of his face. Altogether, he looked rather like a clown.
"Who's that guy, Luffy?" asked Goofy, standing in a battle-ready stance.
The man spread his arms wide, a confident grin appearing on his face as he declared, "The flashiest of the flashy! Far and wide, across the seas, I am known as… Buggy the Clown!"
Sora's Group
Much like Luffy, Goofy and Jiminy, Sora, Donald, and Usopp's trek through the forest was largely uneventful, which was an absolute mercy as far as Usopp was concerned. Before too long, they found themselves in a clearing outside some hedges. And right in the middle of the clearing was a small checkered pink box with a yellow ribbon on the lid.
"What do you think that is?" asked Sora.
"No idea," remarked Usopp. "Let's find out!" He moved to walk over to it, only for Donald to swing his staff out in front of the sniper to block his way.
"Hold on! We don't know if it's safe!" the Court Magician lectured. "I don't know about you, but I don't trust fancy boxes just sitting out in the open! Let me check it first!" He then waddled over and waved his staff over the pink package, some small green sparks falling from the tip and landing on it. He closed his eyes as he concentrated, analyzing, before opening them again. "OK, it's safe. Let's open it!"
With that, Usopp picked up the box and pulled off the lid to find…
…a small, black, thin, crooked… something.
"What the heck is that?" asked Sora, looking at it from the side.
"Beats me," replied the pirate, rubbing his chin. "It almost looks like a straightened-out coat hanger, or a plant root, or…"
"Or a bug antenna," suggested Donald.
"Yeah… hey!" Sora burst out, startling the other two. "This looks like it's from one of the Heartless! I think this is one of the pieces of evidence the cat told us about!"
"You think so?" Usopp responded.
"Well, it's hard to say at this point, but it seems likely," the duck replied, before opening his bag. "Let's hang onto it just in case."
"Good idea," said the long-nose, putting the lid back on the box and placing it into said bag.
"Now that that's done, where should we go next?" wondered Sora.
Looking around, they could vaguely see architecture and furniture on the edge of the nearby hedge. Moving around it, they could now see, to Usopp's eyes, very familiar scenery.
"Oh no! Not the Mad Hatter and March Hare's place again!" the sniper cried, clutching his head. "Let's get out of here, guys!"
"So this is what it looks like," Sora observed. "Sure are a lot of seats here; are they expecting lots of guests?"
"If they are, we'd better be quick about searching the place for more evidence," said Donald. "But I don't see anyone!"
"Yeah, no one's here," agreed Sora. He then gained a perplexed expression. "Weren't the Mad Hatter and March Hare supposed to be here, Usopp?"
Said long-nose seemed to come to the same conclusion. "Yeah, I don't see or hear them. They've still got all the snacks and tea here, though; where'd they go?" He then paled. "Y-you don't think…!"
"Huh? Think what?" asked Donald.
"Th-the gh-gho- I mean, H-heartless got them?" the pirate finished in a shaky voice.
"That's a good point," Sora replied, looking a bit perturbed himself. "If that's the case, we'd better get a move o-"
"CANDLE LOCK!"
Before any of the trio could react, three large globs of white slime came flying out of the brush and slammed into their legs, instantly solidifying and forming large white hourglass-shaped beams around their ankles like manacles. The sudden shock caused them to lose their balance, windmilling their arms in a futile attempt to stay upright before ultimately toppling to the ground, Sora and Donald falling backwards and Usopp toppling forwards.
"What the heck? What was that?" said Sora as he sat up and looked left and right, trying to find the source.
"What is this stuff?!" Donald squawked, pulling and jerking at the object binding his legs with both hands. "It won't come off!"
"G-guys…" began Usopp, voice shaking as he began to sweat. "W-we're n-not alone."
"Quite right, my old enemy," came an oily voice from the surrounding brush. The trio looked as one towards where the voice came from as a man stepped out into the open. He wore what looked like a black and white-striped prison outfit and glasses with blue frames, and sported a wicked grin on his face. What really stood out about him, though, was his hair, styled into a large, slightly sagging number 3 and currently burning at the tip like a candle wick.
"It's you…!" Usopp choked, looking terrified yet angry.
"You know him?" asked Sora.
"Oh, we're quite well-acquainted," the man said with a smarmy tone, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Truly, it was serendipity that led us to meet once more."
"Who are you?!" Donald demanded.
The man's smirk widened as he spread his arms wide in a dramatic fashion. "The one and only… Mr. 3!"
0o0o0o0o0o0o—Another World, Several Hours Earlier—o0o0o0o0o0o0
"Oooooohhh, my head…" Chopper moaned as he came to, gingerly pressing a hoof to his temple; he'd need a seriously strong painkiller for this headache. Pulling one from his backpack, he popped it into his mouth and swallowed. Sighing with relief as it began to work its magic, the small doctor got to his feet and took a look around.
"Thank goodness… the storm's over…" he breathed with relief, looking at the full moon in the night sky partly obscured by clouds. That big hole in the sky was gone too; he hoped those creatures he and Usopp had fought were also gone. "I hope everyone's alright; how about you, Usopp?"
He received no answer. He then lowered his vision, looked to each side… and did a small double-take.
He found himself at the top of a small hill overlooking what looked like a cemetery; several gravestones and mausoleums surrounded his perch, accompanied by pumpkins that for some reason had faces carved into them and candles lighting them from the inside. It was oddly festive, which was strange considering they were in a graveyard. Was it all just a setup for some kind of macabre celebration?
"Th-this isn't r-right," Chopper murmured nervously, taking in the spooky imagery; the eerie silence broken only by a slight breeze didn't help either. This didn't look anything like Destiny Islands; just what was going on? Why was he here?
And where was Usopp? The last thing he could remember was the two of them fighting off those black, yellow-eyed creatures and then both him and the sniper each getting dragged down into dark portals. Upon not seeing his long-nosed friend anywhere, fear began creeping in.
"USOPP!" the small reindeer called out, his voice echoing across the landscape. "WHERE ARE YOU?!"
No answer.
"USOPP! PLEASE, SAY SOMETHING!" he cried out once again.
Still no answer.
He stepped down the hill to more steady ground and began looking around frantically; he didn't see any sign of Usopp or any of the other Straw Hats anywhere, which only increased his fear. For the sake of speed, he shifted into Walking Point and began dashing around in all directions, trying to catch a scent or find any kind of clue that could lead him to his friends. But he came up with nothing, though in his search, he saw that the hill he had come down from had its tip curling in on itself in a spiral, which only added to the spooky atmosphere of the place.
"USOPP! EVERYONE! WHERE ARE YOU?! PLEASE, DON'T LEAVE ME ALONE!" he cried out once more, making one last desperate attempt to get them to respond.
"Oh, for goodness' sake! What's all this racket?!"
Chopper whipped his head around in the direction of the voice. A short distance away, on a nearby footpath, he saw what looked like a small bald man in a power wheelchair rolling his way towards him. He had a chalk-white complexion with a beak-like mouth and a big round head that looked like it had bolts in it. He wore a white lab coat with white pants, black leather gloves, and a pair of sunglasses, which didn't make sense to Chopper since it was nighttime. He looked like some kind of scientist; who was this person?
"Was that you making all that noise?! Some of us are trying to get some research done, you know!" the man said in an annoyed tone.
"Sorry, sorry," Chopper apologized; he didn't want to make anyone mad around here… wherever 'here' was. To appear less threatening, he shifted back into his usual Brain Point form. "It's just… I'm lost, and I'm looking for my friends…"
But the man didn't seem to be listening, the annoyance on his face now fading away to be replaced with curiosity. "Fascinating…!" he said distantly, a hand on his chin.
"Um, what?" the reindeer gulped.
"You're new here, aren't you? I've never seen anyone or anything quite like you before!"
"Well… I don't exactly know how I got here…" Chopper replied, getting more and more nervous at the look this guy was giving him. Despite his eyes being concealed by the sunglasses, his expression was still unnerving.
"That settles it, then!" the man said, clapping his hands together. "We're going back to my lab so I can find out more about you!"
"Wh-what?!" the pirate doctor yelped.
"Oh, don't worry, it's nothing TOO invasive," the scientist said with an eerie grin. "A few tests here, a few samplings there…"
"Samplings?!" Chopper cried, now subconsciously taking slow steps backwards. "Sorry, but no, I'd rather not!"
"Oh, come now! I simply must find out everything I can from you! It won't hurt! …much!"
"NO!" Chopper cried as he turned on his heel and began running in the opposite direction. "I'm sorry, but I have to go!"
"Wait! Come back! Scientific progress depends on your cooperation!" the scientist's voice called out as he gave chase with his wheelchair. Unfortunately for him, said wheelchair was nowhere near as fast as Chopper, and the reindeer quickly widened the distance between them.
There was no way Chopper was going with this guy! He wasn't some lab rat to be poked, prodded, and tested! And what if he tried to dissect him?! He didn't know this guy, but he had 'mad scientist' written all over him, and the small doctor wasn't about to take a chance on that! His biggest priority was getting as far away from him as possible!
As he ran, Chopper looked forward and quickly skidded to a stop in front of a large stone pedestal, falling on his rear in the process. Looking up, he saw a big stone gargoyle with its wings flared, claws out, and a nasty snarl on its face.
"Where am I?!" he breathed.
Jumping back to his feet, the reindeer human quickly dashed off in another direction and rounded a corner around a stone fence, only to trip, lose his footing, and tumble right into a tree. Shaking his head as he got on all fours, he looked up once again… and saw what was quite clearly a monstrous face carved into the tree. That was scary enough, but then it began moving, looking down at him, raising a couple of its branches like arms and growling at him!
"Where am I?!" Chopper squealed, springing back to his feet and running off once again.
He soon found himself running across a grey wasteland with the occasional dead tree dotting the landscape. Not too far away, he spotted what looked like three small children in a bathtub; one was dressed like a devil, another like a witch, and the third like a skeleton. Not only that, but the bathtub they sat in had legs and feet, and was walking!
"WHERE AM IIIIIII?!" Chopper screamed as he took off towards some nearby woods.
Author's Note: Holy shit, I can't believe it took me SEVEN YEARS to get back to this thing! To all of you who have waited this long, I'm truly sorry. I've gone through some pretty big life changes since the last update, not the least of which being a career change, becoming an uncle, and moving back in and back out of my parents' place during that time, to say nothing of the whole pandemic situation. Still, I hate keeping you all waiting, and I've got so many ideas for future chapters in this story that I really don't want to just abandon it. I know I've said that before, but I mean it.
I think going forward, I'm going to just write what comes to mind and damn the finest of fine details, but after this story is finished, I'm thinking about coming back and releasing an HD Remix version of the story, with some narrative aspects and character interactions cleaned up and made more natural and organic; I went back and looked at some of the first few chapters, and some spots really make me cringe at how forced they are. Perhaps some new scenes to add context if necessary.
As for the story as is, so far, I think I've managed to get the Straw Hats' individual personalities fairly accurate, but what of everyone else's? Specifically Yuffie? She's supposed to be spunky and mischievous with a kleptomaniac side, but I kind of feel like I turned her into Nami 2.0. I also feel like I haven't really given Goofy enough to do. Would you agree? Let me know in your reviews.
That's all I've got to say for now. Thanks for reading, and look forward to the next one!
Techniques used in this chapter:
Bara Bara Hou: Translation: Chop Chop Cannon. Buggy sends his hand(s) flying from his body towards an opponent, usually holding a weapon or multiple weapons when doing so.
Chi wo Bara Bara Hou: Translation: Ground Runner Chop Chop Cannon. Similar to Chop Chop Cannon, but low to the ground to attack an opponent's legs.
Gomu Gomu no Gatling Gun: No translation needed. Luffy sends out a rapid-fire barrage of stretching punches, moving his arms so fast that it appears as though he has multiple arms. Each individual punch is not as powerful as the Pistol attack, but allows many more hits to land.
Candle Lock: No translation needed. Mr. 3 generates wax and spreads it over an opponent's limbs to restrain them in a large, candle-shaped object.
Big thanks to FictionReader98 and Zoneshifter D for beta-reading this chapter!
Things take an unexpected turn as two of the Straw Hat crew's past enemies arrive on the scene seeking revenge for their respective defeats! How will Sora and the others escape their adversaries? Will they be able to find and present the required evidence to exonerate Alice? And what are the Heartless up to all of a sudden? Stay tuned for the next exciting chapter of Heart of a Pirate!