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Chapter 6:
Fishman Island

"We made it!" Usopp huffed as the cliffs rose above them, Sarume's weight helping to increase their downward speed. "That was the scariest part of the trip so far. Good thing we've got Sarume now."

As if in response to the sniper's relief, a wave of lava poured over the cliff. It was too far away to do anything to the Sunny other than heat the air around them, but the water currents were a different matter. The sudden heat shifted the natural flow of water, a new current buffeting the cephalopod underneath them. Whether through force or choice, the massive octopus let go, the water pulling him in a different direction. Ace jumped off Billy's back and raced to the railing, one hand outstretched toward the disappearing Kraken.

"Sarumeeeeeeee!"

As Ace wept for the loss of his supposed pet, Coby turned a deadpan glare on the Sniper.

"You just had to say something."

Usopp's face turned a deep red with embarrassment as the rest of the group turned eyes on him. The hardest eyes for the sniper to meet were Ace's, the boy's brown starting to overflow with tears. He sniffled, betrayal on his face as if believing his Uncle Usopp had caused Sarume to go away on purpose.

The toddler refused to cry, however. His mother had told him that this adventure was for big boys and that big boys don't cry when things get hard. Remembering this, Ace's lower lip rose and his eyes almost widened as he willed himself to not cry, making a ridiculous face that did nothing to subtract from Usopp's guilty feeling.

"Oh, Ace," Nami sighed, slipping into a motherly voice as she lowered herself to her knees to be eye-level with her son. Ace ran into her outspread arms, still doing his best not to cry. He buried his face in the crook of her neck, hugging her tightly with all feelings of anger at her initial 'no' forgotten. "There there. It's ok. We'll find him again."

Probably, she added silently, hoping the boy would forget all about the Kraken by the time they stepped foot on Fishman Island. Luffy probably would, so it was a safe bet that their son would as well once he saw all the pretty lights and new things.

Around the Sunny, the bubble considerably smaller than when they started, the water began to lighten. The pirates' eyes, save the boy, were drawn to the massive root system just coming into view. The roots shone like a miniature sun, blanketing the sea floor with dancing rays of light. Underneath this illuminated flora was the largest bubble any of the pirates had ever seen, an entire island with its own pseudo-lake suspended within.

"Wow!" Luffy exclaimed, running to the port side of the ship and Franky began steering them closer to their destination. "That's so cool! Look at that, Ace!"

Ace looked up, still sniffling a little, to see what his father wanted to show him. In a moment, his eyes widened, taking on a similar twinkle to Luffy's as the child took in the scene. Nami stood, carrying their son to where her husband stood.

"Pretty!" Ace gasped, finally finding a word.

"It's true," Coby breathed. "It's just like Rayleigh said. The trees are like telescopes, bringing light to the bottom of the ocean."

"That's wild," Amy agreed. "I mean, I'd heard the stories from other pirates, but seeing it is a whole different thing."

Gin flinched as if something shocked him, his head twisting to and fro before his eyes widened.

"I think we've got other things ta worry about!" he warned, pointing to several giant sea kings arraying themselves in front of the Sunny. They looked like land animals; specifically a lion, gorilla, giraffe, polar bear, rhino, and elephant. On the back of each was a fishman wielding a spear, the one in the lead with yellow skin and a cowboy hat, riding the giraffe sea king. "We've got company!"

Kaku all but slammed into the front of the bubble, stars in his eyes, cutting off whatever the lead fishman was about to say.

"Giraffe! I want it! I want it!"

"This was supposed to be a super-secret government agent?" Grace questioned, her eyelids dropping in disappointment. "Now I'm embarrassed for all of underground society. Have some dignity, will you?"

"I know he said he loved giraffes, but this is a little much," Coby admitted.

"Everyone at Galley-La had something," Merry offered, her smile a little too tight. "Most thought Kaku was the normal one, but that's because we didn't get giraffes too often. There would be days where he just wanted to be a giraffe and wouldn't change out of his Beast Form, even during work."

"I..." Usopp blinked. "Ok, that's not the weirdest thing we've seen, but what do we even do with this?" He gestured to Kaku's squirming form. Franky answered his call for help, a normal-sized hand coming out of the palm of his bigger hand to grab the Zoan by the scruff of the neck. Luffy and Ace couldn't help laughing.

"I'm sorry about him!" Coby called to the fishmen outside the bubble, said fishmen looking incredibly confused. The Dragon Zoan bowed. "Though he is usually more composed than that, I'm afraid our companion has something of an obsession with giraffes. Please ignore him."

"Right," the yellow fishman muttered, shaking the thoughts from his mind. He leveled a trident at the ship. "You lot are the Straw Hat Pirates, aren't you? You've got us in a bit of a bind. See, you're the crew that ended Arlong's career and a lot of us looked up to him, but then Hachi, one of Arlong's crewmates, comes back and starts defending you up and down the streets 'till he's blue in the gills. So tell us now, are you friends or enemies?"

"Why can't we be friends?" Luffy asked, no emotion or other meaning in his words. "You've got a cool ride and we need a guide or something like that."

"Well, friend," the fishman grinned. "My name is Hammond. Why don't we start off this new friendship with you all swearing your loyalty to the New Fishman Pirates, eh?"

"Honestly, that doesn't sound fun," Luffy replied, several of the crew smirking at his response. The fishmen, however, gawked at the blatant disregard of their mercy. Don't these humans understand they'll be killed if they don't join them? "We're only passing through, but if you want to trade numbers, we can do that."

"Thiz guy is be- *hic* bein' real friendly," another fishman hiccupped, this one a blue-ringed octopus with pink skin, black hair, and a bottle of sake that was still somehow intact despite being 10,000 meters below the ocean's surface. "It kinda freaky."

"I don't think I like your tone," Amy commented, idly tossing a pebble in her hand. "Isn't Fishman Island territory of the reformed Whitebeard Pirates? You should be careful. Our captain is a personal friend of Moby Dick."

"They're right," a third fishman whispered. "Boss made an announcement a few months ago about these guys."

"Boss ain't here," Hammond snapped. "Listen up! Either you join the New Fishman Pirates under Captain Hody or we pop your bubble and let you drown here!"

"They're gonna kill us!" Chopper screamed. Beside him, multiple metal flaps opened across Franky's body, a dozen rockets prepped to fire at a mere thought.

"Woah woah woah!" Coby interjected, raising his arms and sending a quick glance to Nami before all the attention came to him. "We can talk about this more!"

"Usopp, go prep another Coup de Burst," the navigator ordered, the sniper disappearing in a blur while their antagonists were distracted.

"Do you human freaks think-?"

"How 'bout you freaks listen?" Gin demanded, lightning arching off his dreadlocks as he interrupted the leading fishman. "Ya come outta nowhere ta threaten us an' y'think that's fine? We're th' crew o' th' future King! Be careful what ya do next. Violence begets violence, an' iffin we go down, we're takin' ya with us."

The threat made the fishmen back up, the electricity scaring even their sea kings. Laughter bubbled.

"Gihihi!" Ace giggled, bringing his existence to the humanoids' attention. "Uncle Gin's real scawy! He's the one dat stole powers fwum a god!"

"A god?" The question bounced through their enemy's ranks, the Electric Devil's smirk widening.

"You can't do that," the yellow fishman on the giraffe sea king snarled. "You'd pop your coating if you tried. Even if you did have a shock strong enough to kill us, you'd kill your crewmates too!"

"Are ya sure about that?" the lightning-monk asked, his eyes taking on a sinister glint.

"Franky, the escape preparations are prepared," Robin's voice whispered from a mouth that had bloomed on one of his shoulders. Her message came only a second before the ship herself shuddered, ready. The cyborg kept an eye on their adversaries as his rockets slowly retreated into his form, the man inching toward the wheel while Gin kept them distracted and questioning themselves.

"We're going to Fishman Island, so I'm sure we'll see each other again," Merry smiled as their shipwright reached his goal, pressing the needed buttons. "Why don't we continue this later after some sightseeing? Right now, though, we need you to get out of the way."

"You dare-!"

"Punch it, Sunny!" the Klabautermann interrupted, punching the air herself. "Coup-!"

"-de Burst!" Franky finished, pulling the lever.

With an explosion of force that left a bubble behind, the Thousand Sunny rocketed through the aquatic group, two of them bouncing off the Adam Wood haul and spinning off in a daze. Within seconds, Sunny's figurehead pushed through the bubble surrounding the underwater island, leaving her coating behind and sailing through a vast expanse of fresh air, a second bubble the pirates hadn't seen before straight ahead of them. This one, however contained a small ocean or very large lake's worth of water. A mass the ship was flying straight toward.

"It's a two-layered bubble!" Brook realized.

"That's not good!" Grace yelled.

"Everyone brace for impact!" Nami warned.

The Straw Hat Pirates screamed as they reached the waters of Fishman Island, everything turning to pain as they were forcefully submerged. Nami felt Ace getting pulled from her arms by the current, his small silhouette disappearing into the water. The water ripped away her scream as everything went black.

"Look at you," a voice muttered, Gin's eyes flickering as his senses returned. He sat up with a groan, but there was a surprising lack of pain. His surroundings were nothing but an expanse of white in every direction and he couldn't tell if the floor he was sitting on was soft or hard. "Pathetic."

"Yeah? Bite me," the monk hissed, turning his body to face... himself.

More accurately, it was Rum in a recreation of his image, clad in a three-piece suit rather than the robes Gin favored, an antithesis. Where Gin had been forced to get over his nicotine addiction, Rum smoked freely, grinning around a fat cigar. Where Gin's hair was braided into cornrows, Rum's was smoothed back into a well-kept ponytail. "Whadya want, ya sophisticated bastard?"

"The same thing I always want, my dear fool," Rum responded, sitting in a velvet chair and crossing his legs. The alternate personality grinned, swirling a glass of, ironically, gin in his hand. "I want you to relinquish control of our body to me, forever."

"Go suck a god's dick," Gin shot back, jumping to his feet. "Ya couldn't beat me b'fore and ya still can't beat me now. This 's my body, an' you ain't welcome."

"You continue to resist, but you know it's futile," Rum said, looking up from her glass. "You can only fight for so long when you battle me and those outside. I have only one fight to face. You will wear down eventually."

"That's what you think," the pirate snarled. "Ya don't scare me like ya used to, Rum. I will protect my crew 'til th' day I die, an' when that day comes, I'm takin' ya with me."

"It's almost funny that you believe that. Almost, because you actually do. Be forewarned, Gin, the moment you hit your limit, the moment you show me an opening, I will take hold of this body of ours and you will be unable to stop me. I refuse to let your limited ideas bind us to a life of servitude to anyone, much less the moron you have given the title of Don. Under our power, my power, the world will become our oyster. It's just a shame you won't be around to see it." He frowned, his head turning without any change in his expression. "Well, it seems our time is up for this round. Go on, me. Your friends are waiting."

Gin made to respond, only for a low buzzing that had been on the fringes of his hearing to rise in volume exponentially. The world faded, only for Gin to bolt upright in a world of color.

"You're awake!" a familiar female voice called. Gin blinked, the world around him spinning in a blur of color that threatened to give him a headache. A second later allowed him to clear his vision and thoughts, his gaze focusing on the half-human half-fish form of Camie.

"Where am I?" He asked, shaking the cobwebs from his head. He was sure the laughter echoing in his ears was his own imagination... probably. "Camie? I'm not dead, am I?"

"Not at all!" the mermaid smiled. "I heard a crash outside my house and found you, Luffy-chin, and Franky-chin in the hangout square outside. It was lucky you all landed nearby since you and Luffy-chin can't swim."

"Where is everyone?"

"We don't know," Franky's voice answered, his bulky form appearing behind the green-haired mermaid. His mechanized body seemed to fill the whole room and there were five tiny mermaids clinging to his shoulders and arms. "Swimming while carrying you and Luffy is super tough work, you know. And we don't know where the Sunny is, either."

"She can defend herself," Gin waved off, taking in what parts of the room he could see. It was a mix of a bedroom and kitchenette, the bed on a dry floor and the kitchenette with a flooded area for Camie to swim as she prepared food. The bed, which Gin himself laid on, also had Luffy on the other side, their captain still unconscious for the time being.

"That's right!" Camie clapped. "Your ship is alive or something, right? Hachin said something about that before."

"Their ship is alive?" one of the little mermaids asked.
"It's alive!" another yelled.
"It's not alive," a third commented.
"Maybe it's alive," the fourth shrugged.
"Who cares if it's alive?" the fifth mermaid muttered.

"And these are...?" Gin wondered aloud.

"Oh!" Camie realized. "I'll probably introduce them again once Luffy-chin wakes up, but these are the Medaka Mermaid Quintuplets. They're good friends of mine. Their names are Ichika, Nika, Sanka, Yonka, and Yonka Two."

"I'm Ichika."
"I'm Nika!"
"I'm Sanka."
"I'm Yonka."
"I'm Yonka Two!"

"Why are their two Yonkas?" Gin asked.

"Where is Octo-bro anyway?" Franky wondered.

"I'm not sure," Camie admitted. "Hatchin went to the Fishman District a few weeks ago and hasn't come back since. I'm a little worried about him, but Hachin's tough. He grew up there, after all."

"Ace!" Luffy yelled, bolting upright in the bed. Everyone else jumped, Camie actually falling into the water in the kitchen. Luffy blinked, using his Observation Haki to take in his surroundings. "Ace isn't here."

"He's safe, though," Franky assured, pulling a device out of his arm and handing it to the captain. "Nami had me make a way to check Ace's health in case anything happened. He's got a bracelet keeping track of his vitals."

Luffy stared at the screen and all the various readings, each one's meaning unknown to him. Franky seemed to pick up on this, his smaller hand coming out of his palm to point at a certain circle with a red line.

"As long as this line is going up and down, Ace is alive," he explained.

"Oohh!" Luffy nodded, thankful for the Layman's terms. "Well, as long as he's safe, I don't see why we can't enjoy ourselves for a little bit. Where are we?"

"This is my apartment, Luffy-chin," Camie answered, swimming out from behind the hulking figure of Franky. "Sorry! I know I was supposed to come get you all at Sabaody, but I thought that was next month."

"Nah, it's fine," Luffy waved off. "We're here now and my son is alive, so everything's alright."

"That's good," Camie smiled, only for her face to suddenly contort, her eyes widening while her tongue stuck out in shock. "You have a son, Luffy-chin?!"

"I know, right?" Gin essentially echoed. "An' what's with that mindset, Don?! It's like... oh. That's how yer fam'ly is."

"Well, I guess we should start looking," Luffy said, stretching his arms and hopping out of bed. "Ace is out there somewhere and I need to find him and the rest of the crew."

"Follow me, then!" Camie offered, opening a door to a balcony, the air in the apartment expanding into a bubble. Hopping outside, the mermaid whistled, a sea turtle with a bubble on its shell rising from below.

"Sea turtle elevator," Gin read from the lettering on the turtle's shell, the bubbles just barely touching each other. Camie jumped from one to the other without a moment's pause, the pirates and the quintuplets following.

"Take us to the surface, Mr. Sea Turtle," Camie said, their mount rising. "I'll show you all the most popular hangout for mermaids. I'm sure they'll help you look!"

"The mermaids will help."
"They'll help!"
"They won't help."
"Maybe they'll help."
"Who cares if they help?"

"So, uh," Gin muttered, squished against Franky in the tight space, "is that normal fer them?"

"Who?" Camie blinked.

"Tha five a' them," he answered, gesturing to the quintuplets.

"It's normal for us."
"It's normal!"
"It's not normal."
"Maybe it's normal."
"Who cares if it's normal?"

"Wake the Hell up, Long Neck!" Amy demanded, the smack from her hand hitting Kaku's cheek echoing through the alleyway. He responded instinctively, shifting into his Man-Beast Form while reaching for his swords. Amy responded in kind, a Haki-coated umbrella catching both blades easily. "Calm down. We made it to Fishman Island."

"Where are we?" the former agent asked, his adrenaline fading as he shifted out of his transformation. "What happened? I remember we were suddenly zoomin' and hit the bubble, but it's fuzzy after that."

"Those fishmen from before threatened us," the woman explained, squeezing water out of her cake-themed dress now that Kaku's swords were down, though she'd lost her hat in the crash. "We managed to get away with a Coup de Burst, but the island has two bubbles around it and we hit the second one under the waterline around the island. Usopp managed to grab us and swim to the island. He's out scouting the area right now."

"That explains why I'm soaked," Kaku commented, noting the puddle at his feet. "How long do we have until Long-Nose gets back?"

"Any time now."

True to Amy's prediction, Usopp blurred into view at the end of the alley, his back pressed against one of the building's stone walls. He was panting, his face colored a deep shade of red. Fearing the worst, both ex-assassins hurried to his side.

"That was pretty fast," Kaku praised. "Almost as fast as Shave."

"Where the Hell did that human go?" a voice asked, a duo of fishmen running past the entrance of the alley.

"Where are we, Usopp?" Amy asked. "Who were those guys?"

"I... We..." Usopp struggled. "Th-There's bad, well n-not bad, but I don't? It's..."

"Come on, Usopp," Amy pressed. "We don't have time for this."

"W-We're in the s-sex district!" Usopp managed, covering his eyes and muttering to himself. "I've seen things. So many things... I'm sorry, Kaya. I was saving myself for you."

"That's what's got your boxers in a twist?" Kaku blinked.

"Why are you stuttering and blushing like a schoolgirl?" Amy demanded, smacking Usopp upside the head. "It's just the Red Light District. Every major island has one. ...Oh, wait, I forgot! You're a virgin! Kyahahaha!"

"Not so loud!" Usopp whispered over her laughter, his cheeks on fire. "Stop it! I mean, I haven't exactly had any chances and... and... uh..."

"I just think it's so funny!" Amy continued to laugh. "You're older than Luffy, but he's already married with a kid while you're still a little cherryboy! Kyahahaha!"

"Oh yeah?" Usopp demanded, a sinister smirk growing. "At least my long-distance relationship is working! And how are things with you and Gin?"

Amy froze, slowly turning an evil eye on the sniper.

"We don't talk about that," the blonde hissed, grabbing Usopp by the suspenders and dragging him close. "If you ever bring that up again, I'll feed you to the sea kings before you can even cry for mercy."

"Hypocrite," Usopp wheezed.

"I think we need to cool our jets for a hot sec," Kaku offered, stepping between the squabbling shipmates. "I don't know any of the details of your love lives 'cept for what I've gotten from Merry, but that don't do a thing for us now. We're in an unknown locale and have been split from the group. In addition to that, there are folks looking for humans. We got three options: make a base, find higher ground, or make a commotion to bring the others here."

"I do not want to stay here!" Usopp offered instantly, one hand raised.

"Cherryboy," Amy coughed.

Kaku sighed, pinching the bridge of his square nose. Right now, they needed information, and the Red Light District is one of the places where someone knows everything, if you can find them. It'd been a few years, but the former agent still had the training to deal with areas like this.

"Since you to can't stop squabbling, I'll go get us some information. A map, a few names of people in power, the major factions. Stuff like that."

"There aren't any humans," Usopp offered. "Your giraffe form might attract less attention, but I'm not sure."

"Good tip," the Zoan nodded, shifting into his Man-Beast Form. He towered over them, which could be a hindrance but he supposed it might be better than just walking around as a human. He glanced around the corner, taking in the sight of the busy street, a mixture of drunken patrons, alert guards, and certain businesses trying to sell their "special" services. His gaze followed the flow, tracking down the ones in the most expensive clothing.

His eyes were drawn to a three-story building hear the middle of the street, a man, who seemed to be part swordfish, was in the process of getting kicked out.

"You really can't make yourself any smaller?" Amy asked, Kaku feeling a tic form on his forehead at the question.

"I am a giraffe!" Kaku hissed, bending his neck to stare his fellow blonde in the eye. "No, I can't just make myself smaller."

"No, but doing that might help," Usopp noted, indicating the way Kaku had his neck bent. Kaku shrugged, accepting the idea.

"Don't do anything careless," the Zoan warned before taking a breath and stepping out into the street. Calling on his years as an assassin of CP9, Kaku blended into the crowd naturally, only dragging the occasional eye of some stumbling drunk.

"I need a better spot," Amy muttered, lowering her mass and jumping from wall to wall in the small alley before Usopp could get a word in edgewise, leaving him in the shadows as she reached the roof above. From there, she followed her fellow blond's progress through the crowd.

He approached a building colored a deep red, a pair of burly bouncers standing on either side of a red felt rope. They eyed the giraffe as he neared, one clearly confused.

"Howdy," Kaku muttered, stopping before them. "I'm new to the area and looking for some fun. Got any suggestions for me?"

"You've come to the right place," the bouncer that wasn't looking at him funny answered. "You've come to Madam Finwaters' Tails of the Night. Whatever you're looking for, you can find in here, even humans."

"Whatever I'm looking for?" Kaku asked, his eyebrows raising. "Anything?"

"Not anything," the other guard amended. "We don't have any giants or most humanoids like Long-Arms, but you know what we mean."

"Looks like a first-class place. What's the cost to get in?"

"That depends," the first guard spoke up. "It costs 10,000 to get in, but drinks cost extra and the girls have their own prices. That is, if you don't have something juicy for Madam Finwaters."

Kaku leaned in, covering his mouth from outside onlookers and lowering his voice.

Neither Amy or Usopp heard any of the conversation from their individual hiding places, but they did see Kaku whisper something to the bouncer, causing the fishman's eyes to widen before he abandoned his post to run into the building. The other bouncer fixed Kaku with a glare, asking something. Based on his lips, Amy guessed he said "Who are you?" The Zoan simply smiled, waiting for the first man to return.

He returned in a matter of moments, out of breath. Grabbing one side of the felt rope, the bouncer opened the path, bowing slightly.

"Madam Finwaters will see you now."

Kaku smirked, glancing over his shoulder to make eye contact with Amy and Usopp, his eyes telling them to stay put or find a way in.

"What do you think?" Usopp asked right next to Amy.

"!" Amy jumped, every ounce of her willpower keeping her from screaming. She hadn't even heard Usopp move. She didn't know what sort of training he'd had, but he was a lot faster than he had been two years ago. "Don't do that," she hissed, refraining from punching him in the arm. "You scared the Life out of me."

"How are we supposed to get in there?" Usopp asked, ignoring the woman's glare. "I'm not fast enough to get past those guys without them seeing me."

"We don't have to," Amy answered, grabbing Usopp's nose to direct his eyes toward the alleyway beside Tails of the Night. "If we can get there, we can get in through the roof or one of the windows."

"Sounds like a plan," Usopp agreed, shaking. "Let's find everyone."

"Ace!" Nami yelled, all thoughts of her soaked appearance gone as she ran through some sort of park, dodging trees while calling for her child at the top of her lungs. The ocean-lake around the island extended to her left, the shore passing as she continuously noted that her son was not there. "Ace! Where are you?!"

"Nami, please!" Brook wheezed as he tried to follow the worried navigator. Though he didn't have lungs, the skeleton sounded out of breath, the pirate trying to shake water out of his guitar. Had it not been specially made, it would have been ruined. "I'm sure he's safe-"

"But you don't know that!" the mother growled, rounding on the musician so fast he almost slammed into her fist. "My son isn't even two and he's lost somewhere on this unfamiliar island! Dammit! I should have been holding that Status I had Franky make. Every second he's not in my arms is another one where he could be getting killed by some horrible fishman!"

"My word, Nami!" Brook gasped, one hand over where he heart would have been. "I didn't think you would be so bias against people you haven't met."

"This is the safety of my child we're talking about, Brook! You don't know how much I'd suffered at the hands of fishmen before Luffy found me, and I will not let anyone do anything to my baby or so help me Goda, I will tear this island apart to get my revenge! Now get your boney ass back to searching before I rip you apart so you can be in multiple places!"

She turned from the now-cowering undead, picking up her pace once more as she resumed her search.

"Who's there?!" a new voice called through the trees, years of being a thief causing Nami to shove her back against the closest tree. Brook followed, clearly unaware of the meaning of stealth.

"Yo-" Brook began, only for the navigator to punch him in the skull. He dropped as she moved, resettling in a new hiding spot while rubbing her injured knuckles. A squad of five fishmen moved into the area, each in matching sets of armor made from coral and sea king bone. They zeroed in on the fleshless remains, one pulling out a trident and poking Brook in the arm. The skeleton didn't react.

"That's weird," one of the men commented. "I thought I heard a woman's voice."

"And this body has to have been here for a long time to be like this," another soldier added, getting down on one knee to examine the be-afro'd corpse. "That's not possible since this is a relatively popular area on the weekends. Based on the clothes and shape, I'd say human, but the quality and state of the clothes doesn't agree with the stage of decay. The clothes are soaked, and the bones are picked clean. I'd ordinarily guess this is the work of a piranha fishman, but there are no teeth marks."

"You're really putting that F.I.U. education to work, rookie," an older soldier laughed.

"I got my Masters for a reason, Dave!"

"This thing looks familiar," the fourth soldier muttered, scratching his head as he tried to understand why he recognized the pile of bones. Maybe it was the afro...?

"I can't believe you guys left me," a sixth soldier grumbled, stepping into the group. Over his shoulder was a limp, male form with a shock of pink hair and a pair of crossed swords. "This human is heavier than he looks. He's dense."

"In more ways than one, yohoho!"

The six guards jumped back as Brook shifted, his bones rattling as he laughed. Light on his feet as ever, Brook jumped to his feet and dusted off his pants. Each of the guards aimed their tridents or spears at the musician, but the skeleton barely reacted.

"What are you?" 'Dave' demanded. "What do you want?"

"Please, relax," Brook replied, tuning his guitar by ear, which is funny since he doesn't have any ears. "I assure you I'm not your enemy, unless you happen to work for the New Fishman Pirates, seeing as they threatened my crew as we came in. It was quite the conundrum, you know. Now, if you would be so kind, please allow me to wake my crewmate from his slumber."

"You know this guy?" the one carrying Coby asked.

"Indeed I do," Brook nodded. "Oh dear me, I haven't properly introduced myself. A pleasure to meet you. The warrior on your shoulder is Coby, and I am the gentlemanly skeleton Brook, though you might know me by the name Soul King."

"That's it!" one of the soldiers realized. "You're that famous new singer! What are you doing here on Fishman Island?"

"My crew got into something of a skirmish as we tried to enter," Brook explained, testing some chords on his re-tuned instrument. "A group of pirates tried to force us into servitude to them, but we didn't have the means to defend ourselves underwater. As such, we were forced to take the faster and more disastrous way in."

Brook strummed a particularly loud G chord, the sound causing Coby to awaken and flail, falling to the ground.

"I wasn't me! I didn't eat the last bag of chips!" The roset trailed off as his eyes came into focus. "Oh, uh... hello?"

"Oh, are you 'Tri-Horn' Coby?" the soldier that had been silent up to that point realized. "That means you all are the Straw Hats, right?"

"Uh, that depends," the swordsman responded quickly. "What happens if I say yes?"

"We'll bring you to the Ryugu Palace and prepare a feast for you to celebrate your arrival," the soldier answered. "Mr. Moby Dick and Boss have been waiting for you all to come through for the past few months and we want to see if you live up to the hype."

"I still think I heard a woman's voice," the first fishman reaffirmed.

"That would have been me," Nami revealed, stepping out from behind the tree she'd used as a hiding spot. "'Cat Burglar' Monkey D. Nami, and we aren't going to the castle any time soon."

"Why not?" Coby blinked, his head tilting in confusion. "These guys aren't hostile."

"Indeed, we aren't," the educated soldier reaffirmed. Nami didn't take kindly to either of them, whipping her Perfect Clima-tact to the right. There was a pulse of air that ruffled the clothes of everyone in the area, a tree splitting diagonally from a clean cut through its trunk. Nami was silent, the tree noisily crashing to the ground.

"Listen up, all of you," she hissed, seeming to loom over everyone; human, skeleton, and fishman alike. "I'm in charge now, and we aren't going to the palace until my son is in my arms again!"

"...You have a son?" Dave asked.

"Is that a problem?"

"N-No!" the fishman answered, trying to come up with an excuse. "You j-just look really good for having a kid!"

"Aw, thank you. Now MOVE!"

"Thanks for your help!" Merry grinned, throwing up a peace sign toward those she was thanking. Billy, dripping with seawater, panted beside her while trying to shake himself dry. Robin laid at their feet, still unconscious but breathing. "I mean, Billy and I could have handled it, but still."

"Not a problem at all," the lead mermaid, a beautiful woman with wavy black hair, responded. "We'd do the same for anyone."

"Say, are you all pirates?" a red-haired mermaid asked, saddling up beside Merry. The woman raised one arm, her fingers brushing against the Klabautermann's chin. "Just curious."

"Oh," the ship-girl squeaked, her cheeks turning a deep red that contrasted with her white hair. "Uh, yeah?"

"Wah?" Billy blinked, confused.

"That's hot. I've got a thing for pirates." The mermaid leaned in, her chest pressing against Merry's while their faces became only inches apart. "Got any plans, later?"

"Mina," the lead mermaid warned.

"Come on, Ishilly," the ginger pouting cutely in response, pulling away to look back. "Just one little spin! I wanna give this cute little lamb a good first impression. There are just some things you can't find anywhere except here."

"Maybe later," Merry denied, sliding back. "More importantly, I'm worried since Robin isn't awake yet."

"Wah!" Billy agreed, startled at the reminder. The duck rushed to the girls' sides, shoving one ear against Robin's chest.

"Is she ok, Billy?" Merry asked, trusting that the intelligent bird knew what he was was doing. She knelt by Robin's head, checking her for welts or bruises. Billy visibly relaxed after a moment, turning his head to shove his beak into Robin's abdomen, pushing.

"Guh!" Robin jerked as if she had been shocked, coughing up water. She rolled over, her lungs discharging all the liquid they'd taken in, though it wasn't a life-threatening amount.

"Easy," Merry muttered, pulling Robin's long hair out of her face.

"That was not a pleasurable experience," the archeologist moaned, pushing herself into an upright position. "Thank you, Merry, Billy. What is the current situation?"

"You're at the Mermaid Cove," the red-haired mermaid, Mina, answered, hopping up onto the rocky crag the raven-haired woman was resting on. Her red tail waved slowly as she leaned in. "Welcome to Fishman Island. So you're Robin, right? Your eyes are beautiful. I can't help getting lost in them."

"Mina..." the other mermaid sighed, covering her face with one hand.

"Come on, beautiful," Mina winked, grabbing one of Robin's hands. "Give me a chance. I know this amazing spot down by the forest with the most amazing trees and a big black cube that's a national treasure. It's a popular sp-"

"Big black cube?" Merry and Robin parroted, leaning close.

"Oh yes," Mina smirked. "No one can read it, but couples love going down and making their own guesses. Care to go on a date there with me?"

"I will gladly accompany you," Robin answered, accepting the offer. "If that cube fits your description, then it is, in all likelihood, a Poneglyph. I have begun teaching Merry how to read them."

"Oh, so you're the smart type," Mina grinned, leaning up so her lips brushed by Robin's ear. "That's such a turn on."

"Godadammit, Mina," Ishilly groaned, her face in her hands. "Can't you go one day without flirting with pirates?"

"Oh, lighten up, Ishilly. It's just some harmless fun."

"Can we get going?" Merry asked.

"Wah!" Billy protested, gesturing with his wings in a pattern Merry did not recognize. "Wah! Wah, wah."

"I see," Robin nodded. "Billy wishes to know where the others are, since you have a sense for that."

"You speak Duck?" Merry gasped.

"No?" the Devil Fruit user blinked. "That was ASL, Animal Sign Language. An associate of mine uses crows as messengers, so I learned the basics of it."

"That's so cool! As for the others..." Merry tilted her head, focusing on her Mantra. "Let's see, Luffy, Gin, and Franky are pretty close. Nami and Brook are near town, I think. Wait, there's Coby with them. Zoro, Grace, Chopper, and Ace are somewhere to the west of here. Usopp and Amy are to the north, but I can't feel Sunny or Sanji."

"Wah!" Billy saluted before taking off, flapping his wings as he flew to the west.

"Oh," Merry blinked. "He ditched us."

"I would never do that," Mina offered.

"Down!" Ishilly ordered with a smack to the back of the thirsty mermaid's head, though her admonishment had no effect.

"More likely, he's probably going to find Ace," Robin commented, standing up to stretch. "Well, it appears we have acquired some free time before things spiral out of control and we either die while taking the island with us in a blazing inferno or are run out of town lest we be massacred, so why don't we head to the Poneglyph?"

"I really hope you aren't being prophetic, Robin," Merry sighed.

"In any case, the crew can take care of themselves. We can't miss this opportunity to learn more of our lost history."

"Ugh, my head," Grace groaned, fingers slipping through her soaked hair and her palms pressing against her forehead in a vain attempt to ease the pain there. With a thought, her brain started releasing dopamine to counter the headache, though that wasn't enough to fix it. "What just happened?"

"Auntie Gwace?" a little voice questioned, the thief's eyes snapping open at the sound. Her head twisted, finding Ace sitting on the sand only a few steps away. His big eyes blinked at her. "Where are we?"

"I... don't know," the young woman admitted, hastily scooping the child into her arms. Once he was secure against her hip, she took a moment to observe the land around them. It was dark, buildings on the edge of her vision made of some sort of algae-covered sea stone. There was sand under her shoes, the fine crystals as dark as the depths beyond the protective double-bubble. "Don't you worry, Ace. Auntie Grace will protect you."

"'Kay!" He paused, his eye growing a wide as apples, his small hands reaching up to his black hair. "Hat! Hat's gone!"

"Your hat?" Grace asked, a hint of nostalgia touching her as she remembered her own hats back when she first joined the crew.

"Yeah, Hat! Daddy gave me Hat and said was Daddy's bwother's!"

"I'll help you find your hat," Grace promised, her grip keeping him from wiggling away from her to go looking on his own. "I bet your Mommy or one of your aunts or uncles has your hat right now."

"Pwomise?"

"Pinky promise," Grace vowed.

"Pinkie pwomise? What's that?"

"You do it like this," Grace answered, her and the little boy curling their pinkies around each others'. "When you make a pinkie promise, it's the most binding promise, and you can never ever break it. Never ever forever."

"Never ever forever!" the boy echoed. With the promise made, Ace visibly calmed down, now certain that he would have Hat back soon.

Something splashed in the water behind them, the art thief spinning to locate the sound with a swirling ball of argon gas in her hand. A head of green hair appeared with a gasp, Zoro breathing heavily as he hoisted Chopper out of the water.

"Uncle Zowo!"

"Dammit," Zoro growled, tossing the reindeer doctor onto the sand where he sputtered and coughed, getting water out of his lungs. "That crash made me lose my booze."

"Dammit!" Ace echoed. "Dammit booze!"

"Zoro!" Grace growled, walking over with the cursing baby. "I'm not taking the fall for this one!"

"Oh come on!" the swordsman complained. "Why does he only pick out those words?!"

"Because he's heard everything else," Grace responded, setting Ace beside the drenched doctor. Ace giggled, putting his hands on Chopper's stomach and rolling him back and forth.

"Choppy no sleepy! No sleep, Choppy! Ne, Uncle Zowo, I'm hungwy!"

"Me too, bud," Zoro replied, taking his long coat off to wring it out. "Where the H... Where are we?"

"Somewhere on Fishman Island," Grace answered. "We don't know where the others or the Sunny are, and I'm sure Nami and Luffy are gonna be going nuts over Ace being missing."

"I'm not missin'!" the boy protested, pointing to himself. "I'm wight here!"

"But your parents aren't," Zoro pointed out as Chopper gasped, taking in his first full lungful of breath since they arrived. "Alright, Ace, let's take stock. What can you do?"

"I know things!" the young boy offered immediately, "like a-stro-spher-ic phe-no-men-a! Mommy says I talk real good- er, well, for my age. And Autie Wobin started showing me letters for this old, old language! Oh, and I'm weal good at coloring! I stay in the lines mostly, except when that's boring, but map lines are super duper fun! Oh, oh! And I've been pwacticing my jumping!" Ace jumped as hard as he could straight up, though it was more like a hop seeing as he only went about six inches up. "Mommy says I'll be able to jump weal high like Daddy soon! And I can make pinkie pwomises now!"

"Yeah that's... great," Zoro muttered, the boy not picking up the hesitation in the swordsman's voice.

"I think those are some great skills, Ace," Grace smiled, picking up the boy again, only to set him on Zoro's shoulders. "How about you ride here and watch your Uncle Zoro, just to help keep him from getting lost."

"I don't get lost!" the verdet denied, even as Ace yelled "Ok!"

"Is everyone ok?" Chopper demanded, pulling out some emergency medical gear. "No major injuries?"

"Maybe not yet," a nasally voice laughed, a whole group of fishmen stepping out of the shadows of one of the nearby buildings. "What's a bunch of humans doing by the Fishman District without collars? Captain Hody don't want your kind walking around free, you know."

"Hold on and close your eyes, Ace," Zoro growled, pulling out Kitetsu III and Yubashiri. "This could get messy."

"Ugh," Sanji groaned, rolling over onto his side from where he laid on the floor. There was a small puddle of red where he head had been a moment before, the world still fuzzy and indistinct through his eyes. Nothing looked familiar and a headache pounding against the inside of his skull wasn't helping matters. In his confusion, the blond didn't notice a snail slip out of his pocket as he pushed himself onto all fours, taking a deep breath before standing.

Sanji wobbled, his feet unsteady as the world spun. The floor was slanted, though it shouldn't have been. His surrounding, a kitchen based on context clues, wasn't familiar. As a matter of fact, nothing was familiar and nothing seemed to click.

"My name is Sanji," the cook muttered aloud, his native accent present. "I... I cook? Yeah, I think I cook. I need to keep my hands safe. I travel with..." He trailed off, pulling a blank. "I travel with... Where am I?"

Though he asked his question, no answer came, the kitchen dark and empty. His headache still going, the chef shuffled to the door. He jiggled the doorknob but it didn't open, the door apparently locked. Confused and annoyed (because who wants to be wake up in an unknown locked room?), Sanji rifled through the cabinets. He didn't find anything useful and was about ready for kick the door down we he heard the click of the lock unlocking itself. Now on guard more than ever, he stepped out onto the grass deck. The salty smell of the ocean met him first, the sounds of small waves reaching him a second later. The ship was tilted at an angle, making walking more difficult than it needed to be.

With no idea what do do now, Sanji decided that staying and waiting was not an option. Clearly he had come here with people and he needed to find them. Somehow.

"Rah!" Instincts honed from years of practice kicked in before Sanji could even comprehend the situation, the chef kicking into and off the air before the ropes that came down from the rigging could reach him. More ropes came after, forcing the cook to act without thinking as he dodged around them in midair.

After several minutes, Sanji landed on the soft sand out of the ship's range. Tears leaked from the sunflower-shaped figurehead - at least, it looked like a sunflower to him - while more whimpers echoed through her hull. Being a ship, however, the sentient being was unable to turn or come after him.

Sanji was just fine with that. Why would he stay with a thing that attacked him the instant he stepped outside? No, he had more important things to handle, like figuring out where he was or who he was traveling with.

Nodding to that logic, the blond set off, walking along the shoreline whilst the ship called for him in vain.

"What's this?" the rough voice of a blue fishman rumbled, said fishman's eyebrows rising as a certain orange hat washed ashore off to his right. He turned, picking it up to study its buttons. The many other fishmen and mermaids working in the port barely glanced his way. "Well that's ominous, but knowing this hat, I'd say they're all fine. Today is the day."

He grinned, pulling a den-den mushi from his pocket. It rung only once before connecting.

"Goldfish."

"Whale."

"You've got news?"

"Yeah. They're here, but they didn't come the normal way. Are you ready for a little collateral damage?"

"I wish we didn't have to be. I guess we'll go round them up. Got any guesses about where they are?"

"I'd try Mermaid Cove or the Fishman District. Those seem like likely spots, unless they're shopping."

"...You don't actually know, do you?"

"Well, uh, would you look at that! I have a hat to return!"

End of Chapter 6

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-SwordOfTheGods