Sorry for the wait guys, college is a pain in the butt, but I'm trying to make a schedule for myself to separate my hobby (this) and my work, so enjoy!
To reviewers:
Juti91: Finally Nami has met someone who is just as stubborn as her!
Rhatch89: Awesome review :)
"Hey, you got any allergies?"
Lyson is peacefully reading his book, laying in a hammock on the lower deck when Sanji approached him. Lyson tilts his book down and stares at the cook.
"Excuse me?"
"I asked you if you're allergic to anything." Sanji states, eyeing the scientist, "I don't want to end up serving you something that'll kill you and this ship has no doctor yet."
"Oh, you're talking about food. I have my own." Lyson lifts his book back up and continues reading until a hand pushes it down and he's face to face with the pirate cook. "If you're talking about those 'scraps' you carry around with you, that isn't going to fly with me."
"For your information, those 'scraps' are dehydrated food I carry with me. They have enough nutrients so that I won't die on the sea. I'm not one of your crewmates, so don't worry about me. I'm basically cargo." Lyson says annoyingly and lifts his book back up. He sees Sanji's hand lift from his book and Lyson sighs before catching up where he was last.
Until a polished shoe clocked him on the top of his head.
"OW!" Lyson drops his book and cradles his head as he looks up and sees Sanji with his leg raised. "What the hell was that for!?"
Sanji narrows his eyes before making his way back from the deck without a word, leaving Lyson rubbing his head and one thought. 'What the hell is his damn problem?'
After 10 minutes, when Lyson feels the pain subsiding, he takes a seat on the couch and starts to write some notes until he hears the hatch from the upper deck opening and Sanji entering with a tray of steaming food and a glass of water. When he sees the cook again, Lyson's face evolves into a scowl as he tries to ignore the cook and turns back to his writing. He's unable to ignore him when he places the tray on the table right in front of him.
Lyson, without taking a look at the dish, asks, "What now, gonna hit me over the head again?"
"Nope." Sanji replies and he leans on the mast in the middle of the room.
"Then why the hell-" Lyson stops as something hits his nose. Something tangy, sweet, and spicy all in one. He lowers his notebook and takes a glance at the dish in front of him. The dish itself looks simple, just some rice and curry, with sliced vegetables on the side, but the smell. Lyson has to gulp to swallow all of the saliva that was building up in his mouth.
"Well, what are you waiting for?" Sanji asks, taking a spoon and tossing it Lyson's way. Lyson manages to catch it with both hands before looking back at the cook. "What the hell do you want me to do with this?"
"It's a spoon. Take a wild guess."
Lyson's scowl deepens at the comment as he takes the warm plate and lifts it from the table, enhancing the smell to a greater degree. Spoon in hand, he scoops up a portion of rice and curry together and brings it to his mouth. When the food touches his tongue, it took almost all of Lyson's willpower not to react. The rice itself was airy and every time he bites into them, he can taste the salt and vinegar within each grain. The curry's tang and spice seemed to further enhance the taste of the rice and feel like pure heaven in his mouth. Not to mention the different vegetables in-
"So, what do you think?" Sanji's words knock Lyson out of his train of thought and the scientist looks up to the smirking cook and quickly dons a neutral mask.
"It's better than other food I had on a ship," Lyson says in a bored voice.
"Still want to keep going with your 'nutritional scraps' or have some real food?" Sanji asks, his face full of smug.
Lyson puts the plat down, only taking one bite, and picks back his notebook, "Sure, whatever." he says nonchalantly. Sanji quirks an eyebrow before shrugging and makes his way back to the upper deck. Before he leaves Sanji adds, "You better make it to dinner or I'll drag you there."
"Whatever."
When Sanji leaves the room, Lyson waits a moment before dropping his notebook and grabs the plate of food before he starts shoveling spoonful after spoonful of it in his mouth, enjoying the feeling of a full stomach, and ends up choking on it a bit. Luckily he washes it down with the glass of water he was given, but when he goes for another spoonful, his spoon hits nothing but air. Lyson looks down and sees he already finished the plate, not leaving a single grain left on it. Lyson looks back at the hatch where Sanji exited before returning to his work, feeling better than he did before.
"Everyone, look at this!" In the meeting room, Nami slams down a map on the table. Luffy, Sanji, and Zoro were crowded around the table, Usopp was operating the steering helm, and Lyson was sitting in the corner polishing his chain.
"I've only heard rumors about this, but this map confirms it. If what I'm reading is true, then the entrance to the Grand Line is a mountain!" Nami explains, gesturing to the map.
"A mountain?" Luffy asks, juggling a glass between his teeth.
"We're gonna crash into a mountain?"
"You can't be serious."
"I didn't believe it myself, but according to this map, the canals that flow to a mountain," Nami explains, "Based on that, the only way to go through it is going up the mountain."
"That sounds neat!"
"Even with these canals or whatever, it's impossible to sail a ship over a mountain." Zoro argues.
"According to the map, that's what we have to do!" Nami bites back.
"Oi!" Sanji quips, "Don't doubt Nami-san! If she said it then it must be true!"
"That map is from Buggy, right? How can we trust it?" Zoro reasons.
"H-hey! Are you guys gonna help me?" Usopp cries as he's struggling with the rudder.
"Go help him Sanji."
"Yes, Nami-san!" Sanji goes to help Usopp and realizes that the rudder won't budge an inch.
"Are the currents that strong for you?" Lyson asks, watching the two of them struggle with a raised eyebrow.
"Currents..." Nami repeats, "That's it! We need to go up that mountain!"
"Are you still on about that?"
Lyson, interested, puts away his chain and walks over to the table as Nami points out the canal. "Look here," She pointed to the path that branches off East Blue, "See the canals here? If there was a strong current from each of the four oceans leading up to the mountain, then they would all converge at one point and then flow into the Grand Line. Due to the current's path, if we mess up our entry point then we could end up colliding with the Red Line."
"Not to mention that if we do crash, the pull from the current will drag us down to the bottom of the ocean." Lyson added.
"So...it's a mystery mountain!" Luffy realizes.
"Well, you still might not get it..." Nami sighs, "Since we're on the current already, as long as our rudder works fine, we should be able to go through the summit of Reverse Mountain."
"You're so amazing, Nami-san!" Sanji complements the navigator as Zoro grunts, "I still think it's impossible for a ship to go over a mountain."
"Well, I have heard some stories about this," Sanji adds.
"About a mystery mountain?" Luffy asks.
"No, I heard that half of those who venture to the Grand Line dies before entering it. I knew entering it wouldn't be so easy."
"So, like some extreme test for those entering it? No wonder people say the Grand Line is a death trap." Lyson remarks, staring intently at the map.
An hour later, the soft pitter-patter of rain soon evolves into a torrent of rain. Everyone is on deck, preparing for the worst, minus Usopp who's meaning the rudder.
"Sanji! Could you get the sail?"
"Yes, Nami-san! Luffy, come help me out!"
"Eh?" Luffy swings his way up to the sail and rolls up the sail. He takes a look forward and spots something. "Hey! I see the mystery mountain!" he shouts, causing everyone to rush out to see. In front of the ship, a large wall comes into view, growing larger and larger the closer they get.
"W-what!? That's too huge!" Usopp cries out.
"So that's the entrance to the Grand Line..." Nami says, speechless.
"How in the hell are we going to go up that thing?" Lyson asks no one in particular.
The Going Merry suddenly begins to lurch as it gets trapped in the strong current. Sanji and Usopp rush back inside to gain control of the rudder and Zoro, Lyson, and Nami hold on to the railing for dear life.
"Nami! Where's the entrance?" Luffy asks, holding on to the sail. Zoro pulls out a pair of binoculars and peers through them as Nami sends the order to sail straight ahead. Lyson sees a large crack in the Red Line as he hears Zoro next to him, "This can't be for real! The damn ocean is flowing up the mountain!"
"Let me see that!" Lyson snatches the binoculars from the swordsman-
"Hey!"
-and peers through it and his eyes widen. In the crack on the Red line stood a series of gates that surrounded a rushing current of water, almost like a river that is running up the mountain. "I've never seen anything like this!" Lyson says, flabbergasted.
As they approached the gates, Nami yells, "We need to make our way through the water gates just right! Otherwise, the ship will be busted into pieces!"
"W-we're getting off course!" Luffy shouts, causing every to turn their head forward. The ship is veering slightly to the left and is headed straight towards the gate. "Move to the right! The right!"
Sanji and Usopp are struggling with the rudder as they turn to starboard, making the ship violently rock back and forth until the sound of a snap and crash draws everyone's attention. Luffy, Zoro, Nami, and Lyson's faces are filled with horror as the rudder breaks like a twig, sending the two of them back and taking out their only way to control the ship's path.
"The rudder!" They all yell. Lyson turns back and grabs a hold of Luffy's left arm before yelling, "Grab on the right side of the gate. Now!" Luffy nods and stretches his arm and grabs ahold of the gate. At the same time, Lyson, still holding on to Luffy's arm, draws his arm back before throwing it.
'Let's see how far it can go!', he thinks as his arm starts to stretch, much to his discomfort.
His arm manages to stretch far enough to hold the top of the gate. He looks over at the surprised faces of Nami and Zoro and howl, "Help me pull!"
Zoro, breaking out of his surprise, grabs ahold of Lyson's stretched-out arm and pulls on it as Nami goes to help Luffy. With their combined efforts, the boat manages to steady itself and straighten itself as it passes through the first gate. As soon as it does, Luffy's and Lyson's arms snap back to their owners, smacking itself into the latter's face, and the two lay on the floor breathing heavily.
As the ship sails through the gates, Sanji and Usopp are celebrating the fact they managed to survive and Nami takes a deep sigh in relief. On the deck, Luffy and Lyson are laying next to one another as the captain takes a deep breath and yells out,
"WE MADE IT!"
Luffy jumps back up on his feet and holds out his hand to Lyson, but the scientist refuses. "I'm just gonna *pant* lay down for a minute." He says exhausted. Luffy shrugs before joining everyone else celebrating reaching the mountain river.
"Now it's a straight shot to the summit!" Nami says, ditching her raincoat.
"I wanna see!" Luffy perks up and joins Zoro at the front of the boat watching the view of the mountain. Sanji and Usopp join them as they watch their boat sail up the mountain. Suddenly, the boat becomes enveloped in a cloud as the ship goes higher and higher until they reach a point where they are sailing above the clouds. Lyson gets up from the floor and notices the water droplets on him begin o freeze before falling off.
'We're at such a high altitude, the water is crystallizing. Fascinating.' Lyson thinks before something taps his shoulder. Lyson turns around and sees Sanji sitting up next to the grove of tangerines. Sanji pats the spot next to him, inviting him to sit, and Lyson begrudgingly obliges, taking a seat next to the cook as the boat begins to reach the summit. At the summit of the mountain, all the ocean currents converge, creating a geyser that sprays the after in every direction.
When the boat reaches the summit, it's launched straight in the air and manages to stay there for a moment before gravity takes effect, first dropping the boat and then everyone else falling after. The Going Merry lands perfectly onto another current that flows downward, towards the ocean below, the Grand Line.
'I'm finally here...' Lyson's mouth jerks upward as excitement fills his veins, 'The ocean where they came from. I will find the Garden even if it's the last thing I do!'
FINALLY, I CAN GET STARTED ON THE GRAND LINE!
In the case of those who wondered, I decided not to include the Apis Arc because I didn't think much of it. The only thing I took from that arc was the arrival of Reverse Mountain, in which I tweaked a few things to include Lyson to prevent this from being just a play-by-play. I also wanted to include that nice snippet Lyson had with Sanji because as much as I like to say, there are some groups the crew has, like the Monster Trio, the Weird Trio, the Coward Trio, the Kiddies (Luffy, Chopper, Usopp), the Perverts (Sanji, Brook, Franky) and so on.
Hope you liked the chapter!
Reviews are my life source!