It has been awhile since I have wrote a multi-chapter One Piece story, but the plot bunny has been on a break for me lately. This story came to me one day after reading zealousfreak27's brilliant parody, 'The Great New Pirate Era?' and watching way too many episodes of The FanFiction Critic. This story is not a parody and is not meant to be complete humorous, but it does dive into some problems with OC characters in the fanfic universe.

This was an overall tough story for me to write and this is different than anything I have ever written before, so I am no sure how everything will pan out. Feedback is always useful and be honest so I can fix any problems that arises.

It is hard to explain this story without given too much a way, so sit back and enjoy the ride. Thanks once again to zealousfreak27 for beta reading this chapter. I really do appreciate the time and energy you give checking everything.

Now, onward to the story.

Chapter 1: Pirate Town

"We will be arriving on the next island by tomorrow afternoon," Nami said bluntly as the rest of the crew sat down for dinner.

Luffy's eyes lit up gleefully at the mention of an island. "Really, what kind of island is it!"

Nami sighed as she rubbed her forehead. "It's a pirate town much like Mock Town."

Zoro inwardly groaned. He hated going to pirate towns, despite the fact that they had only been to two on their short voyage.

In Mock Town they had to deal with a loud mouth hyena and his equally annoying crew. In the other pirate town they had to deal with a group of assholes and a drunken Luffy tearing up the place. Although that last part was almost karma for those pirates.

"Maybe we'll get in luck and the log pose will set quickly," Usopp said hopefully.

"We can only hope," Nami said as she resolved herself for another long day. In either case, this was going to suck.

"Don't worry, Nami-swan," Sanji cooed. "I'll protect you from any shit head pirate who would dare lay a finger on you."

Brook looked up in thought. "It has been many years since I've been to any pirate run town, or any town for that matter," he added as he laughed at his own morbid joke. "In my day, however, my crew used to go to pirate towns to find new crew members."

Chopper looked at the skeleton as he drank his juice. "You went into town to recruit? Didn't your captain picked one at a time for your crew like Luffy?"

Brook shook his head. "My captain had an open invitation to anyone who wanted to join as long as they loved music, wanted to explore the sea, and just have a grand adventure. We didn't want to be like other pirate crews who went around sacking ships and murdering civilians."

"Wow, I always assumed that all pirates chose their crew like Luffy," Chopper said in wonder.

"The way Luffy-san builds his crew is actually quite unusual," Brook stated with some thought. "At least in my day, pirate crews were built with auditions or an open policy much like my old crew. Most captains simply didn't pick crewmates one at a time given how time consuming that is."

Franky gave a short laugh. "Well, this is a highly unusual crew."

Chopper then looked towards his captain. "Why doesn't Luffy have such an open policy?"

"Because our crew is random enough as it is," Sanji answered as he glanced over Chopper, Franky, and Brook. "If Luffy had his way, who knows what we would end up sailing with."

"Now that I think about it, why doesn't Luffy have something like an audition?" Usopp wondered out loud. "That's a fast way to build a crew."

Luffy suddenly stopped eating. "We'll never have an open audition."

The hardness in Luffy's voice caused the entire crew to pause in surprise. It sounded like their captain was talking from a bad personal experience.

"Anyway, you all better behave yourselves once we reach the town," Nami said firmly, getting back on subject. "I don't want another Mock Town or Barrel Brawling. Any nonsense from any of you will earn a two-hundred thousand belli fine from me."

Everyone, save for Robin, groaned, but agreed to the shady deal.

"You're worst than any loan shark," Usopp muttered to himself.

Robin just chuckled, knowing it would be impossible for this crew to behave, no matter the threat.

True to Nami words, they arrived in port by late afternoon. The anchor was dropped and everyone was gathered on deck.

They were still some distance away from the town, given that no one wanted to get any closer. Even if this was a pirate friendly town, they didn't want anyone knowing that they were here. The fact the entire crew was worth over half a million belli was tempting even for pirates who wanted to raise their profile.

"So, who will be guarding the ship?" Franky asked as he looked over the Sunny.

"Should we draw straws?" Zoro asked.

"I don't mind staying behind," Usopp said. He didn't want to go into another pirate town.

Nami looked towards Brook. "Do you mind staying behind? Given your...appearance you may draw too much unwanted attention."

Brook nodded, knowing that she was right. "It would be my honor, Nami-san. I shall guard this Lion-chan with my life."

Nami sweat dropped when she heard that. "It's not that serious."

"And it's Thousand Sunny, not Lion-chain," Franky growled in annoyance.

"I will stay as well," Robin suddenly said, surprising some of the Strawhats. "It would be unwise just to leave one person to guard the ship given where we are."

Zoro nodded. "Good idea."

With the arrangements made, the rest of the Strawhats made their way into town. The city itself was fairly clean for a pirate run town and some of the buildings were made of stone and brick instead of just cheap wood structures.

It didn't take too long, however, before they ran into their first drunk, who was passed out on the street.

"Isn't it a little early to be that plaster?" Franky asked as they passed over the body.

"Apparently, not in this town," Nami said offhandedly.

"I wonder where're the restaurants are around here?" Luffy suddenly asked. He kept sniffing around until he stopped in front of a local bar. He could smell meat.

"Luffy, we're not eating in this town, remember?" Nami said as she attempted to grab her captain.

She was too slow as Luffy ran inside, knocking over several people who were standing by the door. He immediately went to the bar and took a seat.

"Hey mister, I want meat!" Luffy yelled as he banged his on the bar.

His yelled caught the attention of the other customers. They all stared at the strawhat boy and began to mutter among themselves.

"Isn't that Strawhat Luffy?" one of them muttered.

Another man nodded. "Yeah, no other pirate wears a hat like that. So, he made it way out here."

Nami took note of the conversation and became worried. She didn't want to get into any fights because of their bounties. She thought about using cloaks again to hide their identities, but that strategic never works.

Usopp also noticed the muttering among the other pirates. "They know us," he whispered to Nami.

"I just hope we can avoid any trouble," Nami whispered back towards Usopp. "But as always, get ready to run."

Usopp nodded in agreement.

Zoro paid no attention to any of this as he went to join Luffy at the bar. "I want some sake."

"Cola for me," Franky said as he placed his order.

"What kind of exotic drinks do you have here?" Sanji asked the bartender.

"How can they all be so calm?" Usopp muttered.

Nami decided it was best to join the rest of her crewmates and ordered a drink for herself. Thankfully, the other pirates seemed to go about their business and said nothing more about the Strawhats.

Within a span of an hour, however, that all changed. As Luffy happily ate, a huge man suddenly approached him from behind. "Are you Strawhat Luffy?"

Luffy turned around to face the man with a mouthful of meat in his mouth. He towered over the boy since he seemed to be passed seven feet and had a musclier built. He also had long black hair with eyes that matched.

"Yeah, who're you?" Luffy muttered through his food.

Before Luffy even finished his question, the man pulled out his sword and attempted to behead Luffy. He might have succeeded if Zoro didn't see the flash of the sword from the corner of his eye. Within a blink of an eye, Zoro's sword was locked with the other man's.

The man glared at Zoro. "The Pirate Hunter, Roronoa Zoro."

"What do you think you're trying to do to my captain?" Zoro growled.

The man didn't bother to answer.

Chopper's head shot up when he heard the cock of a gun. "Look out!" he yelled as he tackled Zoro, just as someone tried to shoot him.

"Dammit, is everyone here trying to kill us?" Sanji asked in frustration as he stood up. He noticed several other people now standing in front of them.

"If we killed the Strawhat Luffy, we'll become even more infamous," one of them grinned.

"Dammit." Nami cussed as she took out her Clima-Tact. She knew this could happen.

Another pirate chuckled. "Not just Strawhat Luffy, but his entire crew."

"Although, who's the guy with the curly brow?" one of the pirates asked as he looked at Sanji.

Sanji growled when he heard this. Damn the World Government for screwing up his wanted poster.

"Like any of you could kill Strawhat Luffy or his crew for that matter," a voice spoke up.

Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at the person who dared interrupt their fight. In one of the corners of the bar sat a young woman with long-flowing red and purple hair that matched her hypnotic violet eyes. Her skin was pale, despite the sunny weather outside, but that seemed to only add to her beauty. It looked like she attempted to cover up her beauty by wearing conservative clothes, but that too only added to her charm.

Luffy looked at the girl and felt himself grasp. She was very pretty, especially her eyes. Which was strange since he hardly noticed or cared about a girl's appearance. Honestly, the only girl that Luffy really noticed appearance wise was Nami and that was because she was very up front about her looks.

Even Zoro raised an eyebrow when he saw the girl. That was something about this girl, but he couldn't put his finger on it, although even he found her to be beautiful.

"And just who the hell are you to talk to us like that?" one of the pirates asked.

The girl leaned forward and gave the pirate a smug look. "Not much, apparently. I could call you all pirates, but that would be an insult to pirates everywhere."

A pirate growled at her. "You little bitch."

Sanji immediately kicked the man across the room. "That's no way to talk to a lady!"

The girl rolled her eyes as she stood up. "I hardly need any man to stand up for me," she then glanced at each of the pirates. "I find your murder attempt annoying, especially given that I'm trying to have a nice meal here. So, I suggest you all shut up, behave yourselves, and wait until I leave before Strawhat kick all your asses."

Usopp gave a loud whistle. "She has guts."

"I don't know who you think you are, little girl, the man who attacked Luffy said, "But, you better stay quiet before I kill..."

Before he could finish his threat, the girl kicked him hard between the legs, causing a loud cracking sound to be heard. Everyone, even the women, felt it.

The man screamed in pain as he collapsed on the dirty floor. "That...that's...low..."

"I think she popped one of them," Nami whispered to herself as she put her hand over her mouth.

"You brought it all on yourself," the girl said coldly. "Although there wasn't much to hit."

Franky rubbed his own speedo in sympathy. He knew all too well how that man felt at the moment.

"You've just signed your death warrant," the pirates growled as they turned their attention from the Strawhats.

The woman reached for something on her belt. "You fools just never learn."

Just before the pirates could attack, however, Sanji did a handstand and ruthlessly kicked all of the pirates out of the way, surprising the girl.

"What are you doing?" the girl asked. "I can handle this myself."

Sanji casually took the cigarette out of his mouth and stomped it on the wooden floor. He then glared at each of the pirates who were quickly started to back up. "Even if you can fight these shit heads on your own, my code won't allow any woman to be harmed in my presence."

"That's a stupid code," the girl muttered.

Zoro nodded his head. "We do agree on that," he then took off his bandanna and retied it around his head. "Unlike the love cook her, I'm fighting because no one tries to harm our captain and get a way with it," he then began to grin.

The rest of the Strawhats also got ready for combat.

"Kill them all!" one of the pirates yelled as they attacked the Strawhats and the young woman.

Franky dislocated his shoulders, surprising the pirates. "Franky Destroy Cannon!" he then began to open fire on the pirates, causing them to scattered like cockroaches.

Chopper decided not to hold back and ate one of his Rumble Balls. He then changed into his Horn Point.

"The hell!" the pirates yelled before Chopper ruthlessly mowed them down, skewing some of them on his sharp horns.

"Thunder Tempo!" Nami screamed as lighting volts rained from the sky, striking a group of the pirates.

The young woman took out a pair of guns and began to fire away at anyone who got too close to her. If they did manage to get within close range of her, she would knock them out of the way with a well place kick or right hook.

It didn't take long before the bar was cleared and all the pirates were either unconscious or too wounded to get back up and fight. All and all, it was an easy battle.

"That was disappointing," Zoro said as he retied his bandana on his arm. "I would expect more from a group that wanted to become infamous."

"Most trash are all bark and no bite," the woman said as she casually kicked one of the fallen pirates. "Just ashamed I had to waste my ammo on them. Not to mention my lunch."

Luffy then turned towards the woman. "You were amazing!"

The statement confused Nami. The woman could fight, but she hasn't shown anything amazing enough to earn such praise from her captain. He practically had stars in his eyes.

"You handled yourself well," Zoro said. "Those were some slick moves you pulled on those pirates."

"Oh, you mean my martial arts," the girl said with a slight shrug. "It's no big deal. I trained in a dojo for most of my life before setting off to sea. You can't survive long on the Grand Line if you can't defend yourself in some way."

As she looked at Zoro, her eyes caught his interest again. They were just unusual and he found that he couldn't turn away from her. What was wrong with him?

Luffy paid little attention to any of this as he ran up to the girl. "Hey lady, why don't you join my crew?"

The other Strawhats stared at Luffy in disbelief.

"What, are you serious?" Nami asked in shock.

It wasn't unusual for Luffy to invite random people or things to his crew with little to no rational reason. That's how they ended up with Chopper and Brook as crewmates. But, this was just strange even by Luffy's standards. Besides being very pretty, there was nothing outstanding about her that should have caught Luffy's interest like this.

Nami blinked several times in surprise. Did she just call the girl pretty? Well, she was beautiful and she even put Nami to shame with her fair skin and silky hair that was an unusual color. Any man or woman would want to be with her.

Wait a minute, why were these thoughts going through her head?

"Nami, you okay?" Usopp asked as he noticed how flush the navigator was.

Nami rubbed her head. "Yeah...I'm fine."

"Wow, we're going to have a new crewmate!" Chopper cheered happily. He always loved adding to the family.

Sanji was practically spinning in joy. It was about time Luffy invited more women. "It would be my honor to have such an exotic beauty like you on board."

"I decline," the woman said bluntly, stopping Sanji cold. "Look, you seem like nice people and all, but I'm a loner. I just don't do the group thing."

"Neither does Zoro, but he's part of my crew," Luffy pointed out.

Zoro glanced at his captain. That may be true, but Luffy didn't have to go tell her that. He was uncomfortable enough around her.

The girl waved her hand. "Sorry, not interested," she then turned around to leave.

"Oh come on, join my crew," Luffy insisted.

"I said no," the woman said more firmly. "Can't you take no for an answer?"

"No," Luffy answered without missing a beat.

"Well, you're taking it now. I don't want to join your crew," she said with finality as she began to walk out the door.

Nami suddenly felt a strong urge take over her. "At least tell us your name?"

The woman turned around to look at the orange-haired woman. "It's Mariangely." She walked out the bar.

Now, I know what you are thinking. Mariangely is a Mary Sue classic. Well, she is kind of meant to be at the moment. Well, that will be explain later. You all just have to trust me on this.

See you next time, if Miss Sue hasn't scared you off already.