Another Nakama III
"You what us to WHAT?" Usopp shouted as he, Ricky and Chopper stood together outside the menacing temple with a snake mouth for an entrance.
"We need to go in there and find a gold tablet," Ricky explained.
"And to do that we have to face booby-traps…" Usopp stated.
"Yup, darts shoot out of the walls, huge columns drop from the ceiling, walls close in, floors fall away, there's usually a whole mess of stuff," Ricky informed him. Usopp paled further with each trap Ricky mentioned while Chopper looked scared to death. "Oh, and sometimes there are statues and monsters that attack us."
"THERE'S MONSTERS TOO?" Chopper shrieked.
"Yeah, last time Nami, Robin and I got attacked by a giant snake," Ricky replied.
"And you want US to go in there with you?" Usopp demanded.
"You two were the only ones left," Ricky pointed out. "Everyone else has already gone."
"Yeah but the rest of you guys are monsters!" Usopp insisted. "You can't expect us to face traps and monsters like that! I bet Nami didn't like it!"
"Nami was the first one to jump through most of the traps," Ricky countered. "But she ended up stealing the disclaimer last time and then the marines confiscated it. Robin and I just got it back. So there's a whole separate reason why I'm not bringing her again."
"Wait-wait-wait!" Usopp cut in. "Just got it back? You mean you still have it?"
"Uh, yeah," Ricky admitted. "But that's the old one. This is the new one."
"So let me get this straight," Usopp said, "You want us to go into a big, scary temple, face deadly traps, statues that attack us and huge monsters… all to get a gold tablet… THAT YOU ALREADY HAVE? ARE YOU NUTS? I'M OUT!"
Ricky's eye widened in surprise as the sniper turned and ran off.
"Usopp! You can't just run away!" Ricky called after him. "What are we gonna do for a disclaimer?"
"JUST USE THE OLD ONE!" Usopp shouted without looking back.
Ricky looked over at Chopper, "Are you too scared to go into the temple too?"
"N-no!" Chopper stammered. His tiny legs were shaking. "I'm not scared." He'd broken out into a cold sweat. "I'm a man." He looked like he was on the verge of tears.
Ricky looked up at the foreboding snake-like entrance of the temple. "I guess we don't have to hunt for the disclaimer this time…"
"REALLY?" Chopper exclaimed. His face lit up and he positively beamed at the prospect of not risking his life over the disclaimer. Chopper looked down and shuffled his feet. "I mean… I don't care. I'm tough. I'm not scared of monsters or traps."
"Don't worry about it Chopper," Ricky resolved. "This is the last chapter anyway. It would be a waste to go through all that trouble just to get a disclaimer for one chapter. We might as well get one last use out of the old one."
"OH BOY!" Chopper shifted into his reindeer form and took off running after Usopp. "USOPP! USOPP! RICKY SAYS WE DON'T HAVE TO GO! YOU CAN STOP RUNNING NOW!"
Ricky shook his head as he watched his brother run off then he turned and looked back at the temple entrance. The menacing snake head suddenly looked disappointed and sad.
"Next time..." Ricky told the temple, "Next time."
'The following is a non-profit fanfic. One Piece and all the related characters are owned by Funimation, Toei Animation, Fuji TV, Shueisha, Shonnan Jump Manga and Eiichiro Oda. QPython only owns the original characters that he created for this story.'
-x-
Showdown:
-x-
"I'm gonna rip your nose off if you sent us in the wrong direction!" Zoro growled at Usopp as they ran through the marine base towards the dock with Luffy and Sanji to recover the captured Going Merry.
"Don't worry, we're definitely heading the right way!" Usopp assured him as he recalled his previous visit to Dock 88. "Just keep moving. Hurry!"
The four Straw Hats raced down the hallway and saw that it made a sharp right turned.
"Yeah, I recognize that wall," Usopp observed. "Merry's docked just around the corner!"
"Something's wrong," Zoro thought to himself. "This is way too easy."
"Alright, stay alert!" Luffy encouraged the others as the rounded the corner. "No one's gonna stop us from stealing our ship!" They ran out into the dock and stopped in their tracks. "GAAH!"
The dock was filled with an army of four hundred marines. Marines with guns aimed at them from up on the metal catwalks while the rest of the marines were crowded down on the floor.
"Ugh… we're busted," Sanji groaned.
"I knew it was an ambush!" Zoro growled.
"SNIPER TEAM SEVEN TO THE FRONT!" Master Chief Petty Officer Todd shouted as he stood in command at the front of the army of marines. "SHOOTERS TAKE AIM!"
Close to fifty marines that had formed the front line of their marine armed dropped down on one knee and aimed their rifles at the four Straw Hat Pirates.
"NO! DON'T AIM!" Usopp whimpered while the others prepared to spring into action.
"GUUUUMM… GUUUUUUMMM…"
"FIRE!" Todd yelled.
"BAAALLOOOOON!" BOOINNNG! Luffy inflated until he completely filled the large doorway they had just come in through but ended up knocking Zoro and Sanji aside.
BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM! The marine snipers opened fire and their bullet hit Luffy's rubber body AND WERE SHOT BACK AT THE MARINES! SHO-SHO-SHOOOM!
"WAAAH!" Officer Todd yelped and dove to the side as he and the men near him attempted to avoid the wildly ricocheting bullets.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?" Zoro and Sanji berated Luffy.
"I… CANNON TEAM TWELVE!" Master Chief Petty Officer Todd called out as he pushed himself off of the ground. "TO THE FRONT!"
The front row of marine snipers were replaced as another unit of marines with large cannons stepped forward and aimed their own weapons at the Straw Hats.
"Great… bazookas…" Zoro complained.
"FIIIRE!" Todd ordered.
BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM! The five cannons blasted at the Straw Hats.
Tunk! Tunk! Tunk! Tunk! Tunk! But all five of the rounds landed on the ground metal floor in front of the four pirates. They hadn't even exploded.
"Huh… duds?" Luffy questioned as he stared at the rounds.
FWOOOOSH! There was a bright flash of light as the five rounds exploded and a cloud of purple smoke suddenly clouded the entrance to the dock.
"Aw! My eyes!" Sanji yelped as he held his face. "What is this?"
"IT BURNS! IT BURNS!" Luffy whined as his eyes turned red from the suddenly exposure to bright light and then the purple gas cloud.
"Those were flash bombs and tear gas!" Usopp realized.
"SWORD UNIT!" Master Chief Petty Officer Todd called out, "ATTACK!"
A large unit of forty marines that were all wearing special goggles charged into the purple gas clouds towards the Straw Hats.
Sanji squinted as he attempted to stare through the gas and saw two marines rushing at him.
THWAK-WAK! Sanji spun and kicked the marines away from him. "BASTARDS!"
"RAAAAH!" Another marine jumped at Sanji from behind.
BOOOOM! A small round ball exploded on the marine and blasted him away from Sanji.
Sanji turned and saw Usopp with his goggles down and his slingshot drawn.
"No worries!" Usopp reassured Sanji.
"Nice equipment you've got there," the cook praised the sniper and his goggles.
"You can borrow these," Usopp told him as he tossed Sanji a spare pair of goggles.
"Thanks," Sanji replied as he quickly slipped them on.
Zoro charged to meet a group of marines and slashed his swords, "DRAGON… TWISTER!" SHOOOOM! There marines were slash and blasted up into the air by Zoro's powerful attack.
"Blindness doesn't work on me," Zoro insisted, "Unlike a certain lovesick moron."
"Shut up mosshead!" Sanji snapped from nearby.
"RAAAAHH!" Luffy growled as he charged through the gas and lashed out his fists at a group of twelve marines. "GUUM… GUUM… GATLING!" POW-POW-POW-POW-POW-POW! The marines were blasted backwards by Luffy's barrage of rapid-fire bunches. SKISH! Luffy jumped and swung his leg which caused it to stretch and slam into another twenty marines. "AND WHIP!" THWHAM!
But what Luffy didn't notice was that his wide range attack had also caught Zoro and Sanji.
"GAAAH!" the swordsman and the cook gasped as they were knocked aside along with the rest of the sword unit marines.
The rushing air of Luffy whipping his leg around finally cleared the gas cloud.
"Shishishishi!" Luffy laughed, "Now that was fun!" But that was when Luffy finally noticed that only Usopp was with him by the entrance. "Hey… where're the guys?"
"YOU WHIPPED 'EM ALONG WITH EVERYONE ELSE!" Usopp yelled at him.
"SORRY!" Luffy called out to Zoro and Sanji.
"YOU! THINK NEXT TIME!" Sanji berated the captain as he and Zoro sat up then he turned and glared at Zoro. "Alright, you dimwitted moron, what'd you say to me?"
Zoro turned and glared back at Sanji, "What do you think I said you swirly-browed pervert!"
"Shishishishi!" Luffy laughed as Zoro and Sanji started to bicker and fight each other instead of the marines.
"IN CASE YOU TWO FORGOT, THERE'S STILL AN ARMY HERE!" Usopp shouted.
"FIRE!" Master Chief Petty Officer Todd shouted.
BOOM! The marine next to him fired a cannon and a net shot out and snagged Luffy before he even saw it coming. WHAP!
"GAAH!" Luffy tumbled backwards in the net and smacked into the wall next to the door.
Zoro and Sanji stopped their fight and looked down to see the captain caught in a net.
"Luffy!" Usopp exclaimed as he turned to help.
"STAY RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE!" Todd barked at Usopp which caused the sniper to freeze. "It says dead or alive on your wanted posters! Here at G-8 we lean towards alive. But if you continue to resist us we'll be forced to change that policy!"
Usopp turned around and found that the sniper united had their rifles trained on him, Zoro and Sanji again. Up overhead the marines on the catwalks still had their guns trained on the pirates.
"Luffy! You've gotta get outta that!" Usopp warned the captain. "We're in real trouble here!"
Luffy struggled with the net but his strength suddenly faded. "Trying… but worn out…"
"That net's Sea Stone!" Zoro realized.
"Exactly," Todd taunted. "It's a specially designed Sea Stone Net Bomb. One Eye was kind enough to demonstrate how effective they are against Straw Hat when he captured him in the dining hall. It's just like Vice Admiral Jonathan would say, this is checkmate Straw Hats."
-x-
Ricky and Robin stood together in front of the massive safe-storage room that they'd just broken into to recover Ricky's safe and the rest of the Straw Hats' confiscated treasure.
Vice Admiral Jonathan had them trapped with a unit of fifteen armed marines. "In addition to your other crimes the two of you are now guilty of impersonating marine officers."
"Hey, I just impersonated a marine," Ricky pointed out, "You made me an officer."
"Very well, your crime is impersonating a marine," Jonathan amended, "But your friend is still guilty of impersonating Commander Shepherd. You two in addition to Straw Hat Luffy, Pirate Hunter Zoro, Long Nose, the cook and your fake doctor make seven pirates. Looks like I've finally got all of you Straw Hats right where I want you."
Ricky and Robin grinned at the very obvious flaw in Jonathan's logic.
"What're you two grinning at?" Jonathan questioned. "Surrender yourselves immediately."
"That's what we're grinning at," Ricky quickly replied. "You seem to think you can keep us here with only fifteen men. What's the matter? Is everyone else crowded in the dock?"
"I had hoped that we could avoid resorting to violence," Jonathan confessed. "So before you two insist on doing this the hard way I would like to introduce you to my new toy." The fifteen marines kept their guns trained on Ricky and Robin while Jonathan looked back and called down the hall. "Bring it in!"
Four more marines ran in with a large box. They opened it and pulled out a massive bazooka. The huge barrel of the cannon was twice the height of a normal person and three times as wide. A large marine hefted the bazooka onto his shoulder and held onto the long handle that went down the front of his chest and had a trigger on it.
"And what is that exactly?" Robin inquired.
"Interesting that you'd ask that," Jonathan replied. "My men discovered it on the ship that the real Commander Shepherd arrived on. It's a high-powered bazooka called the Eagle Launcher. I doubt the real Shepherd would mind if I used to it apprehend you."
Ricky and Robin stared into the massive barrel of the Eagle Launcher as the big marine that was holding it stood behind Vice Admiral Jonathan. The other eighteen marines all had their guns aimed at the two pirates.
Jonathan held up the handset of his Transponder Snail. "Your friends ran right into our ambush at Dock 88. The game's over One Eye. Checkmate."
Ricky shook his head, "You keep making the same mistake, Vice Admiral."
-x-
Back in Dock 88, Mekao the Shipwright climbed up a ladder on the far side of the room and looked back over his shoulder at the cornered Straw Hats by the door. He looked down and saw Usopp standing alone in the open doorway.
"How'd I know he'd be here?" Mekao wondered outloud.
"What're you doing!" came a shouted from overhead.
Mekao looked up and saw a marine looking down at him from on the catwalk that he was climbing up to.
"This isn't a drill!" the marine continued. "Get to your station!'
"Aw, blow it out your rifle!" Mekao snapped in response.
-x-
"N-not good…" Usopp stammered as he backed away from the advancing line of marine snipers. Now over a hundred marines had rifles trained on him, Zoro and Sanji.
"Look at this," Sanji remarked to Zoro, "There's a sea of them left even after all the ones we took out."
"Make this easy on yourselves and give up!" Todd warned the three Straw Hat Pirates. "Escape from here is impossible. READY!"
Click-click! The marines readied their rifles.
"Damn," Zoro cursed, "We've got no choice."
"ATTACK!" Master Chief Petty Officer Todd ordered.
"AAAAAAAAHHHHH!" But a loud scream cut the marines off before they could fire.
Nami and Dr. Kobato came running into the dock pushing the gurney with Chopper on it in front of them. WHAM! The gurney slammed into Usopp and he crashed to the ground in a heap.
Nami's eyes went wide in shock when she saw the Captain caught in a Sea Stone net, Usopp barely conscious on the ground, Sanji swooning and Zoro looking annoyed as they were surrounded by just small amount of the army of marines stationed in the dock.
Chopper peered out from under his sheet and off the front of the gurney at Usopp's body.
"Usopp?" the doctor called out.
"Somebody call a doctor…" Usopp groaned.
"USOPP!" SWISH! Chopper suddenly transformed into his big Heavy Point form. The man-deer scooped the injured sniper up off the ground. "LOOK WHAT THEY'VE DONE TO HIM! HE'S INJURED! HE COULD DIE AND ITS ALL BECAUSE OF THOSE MARINES!"
"That's not quite it…" Zoro and Sanji whispered to the high-strung reindeer.
-x-
:"Huh… Kobato?" Mekao questioned as he looked down and spotted the doctor behind the gurney with Nurse Nami.
-x-
"Master Chief Petty Officer Todd…" the marine next to the commanding officer spoke up, "That monster must be their doctor…"
"YOU! IDENTIFY YOURSELF!" Todd shouted.
But suddenly Dr. Kobato took a deep breath… and screamed. "AAAAAAAUUUGGGHHHH!" The doctor's incredibly loud scream flooded the dock and forced a large number of the marines to plug their ears.
"Uuugghhh…" Zoro and Sanji groaned from their close proximity to the scream that seemed more like a sonic blast that would make a certain green haired monkey jealous.
Nami turned and snapped at Kobato, "WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH YOU!"
"WE'VE BEEN TAKEN HOSTAGE! WE'RE GONNA DIE!" the doctor continued to scream. Nami's eyes widened as Kobato caught her eye and winked at her. "PLEASE SAVE US! IT WASN'T OUR FAULT! WE WERE FORCED HERE AGAINST OUR WILL!"
"Kobato?" Chopper questioned.
Nami grinned as she caught on and joined Dr. Kobato in screaming in terror. "AAAAAAHHH! THIS GIANT MONSTER IS ONE OF THE PIRATES!"
"Did I miss something?" Zoro wondered as he looked back at the screaming doctor and 'nurse'.
"Who's that other girl?" Sanji inquired. "She's got a lovely set of lungs on her."
"How should I know?" Zoro retorted.
"We can't afford to go in blasting," the marine next to Todd pointed out.
"I… you're right," Todd realized. "Damn those pirates… Now they're taking hostages!"
"So that monster's a pirate!" another marine realized. "What do we do?"
"I… I…" Todd stammered. Sweat started to trickle down the officer's forehead.
"THAT'S RIGHT! I'M A ROUGH AND TOUGH MEMBER OF THE STRAW HATS!" Chopper bellowed. "CRYING BABIES EVEN SHUT THEIR TRAPS WHEN THEY GET A LOAD OF ME!"
Zoro grinned and applauded Chopper's loud boasting.
"YOU MARINES HAD BETTER DO EXACTLY AS I SAY OR THESE HOSTAGES ARE DOOMED!" Chopper growled.
"AAAAAAAHHHHHH!" Nami and Dr. Kobato screamed on cue.
"ORDER YOUR BAFFOONS TO STAND DOWN AND LET US BOARD OUR SHIP!" Chopper demanded.
"Uugghh…" Todd mumbled.
"Now I get it," Zoro realized as a shark-like grin spread across his face.
"DO IT!" Chopper urged the marines. "DOUBLE TIME! OR I'LL SNAP THESE GIRLS' NECKS LIKE TWIGS! THEN THEIR BLOOD WILL BE ON YOUR HANDS!"
"I… blood…" Todd stammered in horror.
"I'd do as he says," Zoro chimed in as he motioned over his shoulder at Chopper. "He's serious. I've seen the neck-snap thing. It's pretty messy."
Sanji stared directly at Master Chief Petty Officer Todd. "How would it look if you, the righteous arm of justice let two innocent women die?"
Todd's legs started shaking. Sweat was pouring down from his forehead. The newly promoted commanding officer was clearly in way over his head.
"Master Chief—Todd!" one of the marines sputtered. "What do we do?"
"If those pirates kill two women on our watch… we'll be shut down…"
"Kill… shut down…" Todd repeated in horror.
"You guys…" Luffy mumbled from in the net. "This isn't helping…"
"Shut up!" Nami hissed at him.
"RRRAAAAAAHHHHHHRRRRRR!" Chopper let out a loud monster roar.
"HE'S GOING TO KILL US!" Kobato shrieked.
"DO AS HE SAYS!" Nami shouted. "I CAN'T DIE BEFORE I GET MARRIED!"
"What do we do?" "What do we do?" The question peppered Todd from all directions.
"I… I don't know…" Master Chief Petty Officer Todd stammered. He yanked out his transponder snail and shouted, "VICE ADMIRAL JONATHAN! WHAT DO I DO?"
-x-
"VICE ADMIRAL JONATHAN! WHAT DO I DO?" Todd's voice echoed through the hall. "THE FAKE DOCTOR'S A MONSTER! HE'S HOLDING DR. KOBATO AND A NURSE HOSTAGE AND IS THREATENING TO KILL THEM! WHAT DO I DO?"
"And that's our cue," Ricky remarked. "Robin, what's that you're always saying about dangerous weapons?"
Robin crossed her arms over her chest, "I'd appreciate it if you didn't point those dangerous objects at me."
"WAAAH!" the large gunman yelped as over a dozen arms grew out of his body. He was roughly spun around to face the marines behind him and one of the arms pulled the trigger. BOOOOM! A red rocket blasted out of the Eagle Launcher and blasted the ground. It exploded and blasted the marines backwards. The only ones left standing were the gunman and Jonathan.
Swish-Click! The gunman was roughly spun around again and now the Eagle Launcher was pointed directly at Vice Admiral Jonathan.
"It appears that now we're the ones that have you trapped Vice Admiral," Robin remarked.
Jonathan looked back over his shoulder and into the barrel of the Eagle Launcher at the red rocket that could blast him at any second.
"I… I'm sorry Vice Admiral…" the gunman apologized.
"It's not your fault soldier," Jonathan reassured him. He stiffened as six arms suddenly blossomed out of his own body. Robin's extra hands deftly undid the strap that was fastened to Jonathan's transponder snail then tossed the snail over to Ricky.
Ricky grinned and motioned to Robin, "Perhaps I should introduce our newest crewmate. This is Nico Robin. She joined our crew after Alabasta."
"After Alabasta…" Jonathan repeated. "But… there were only seven cups of coffee…"
Ricky looked over at Robin in confusion. "I'm assuming he means the coffee that Mr. Cook set out for us when we landed in the middle of the base. He must have judged how many of us there were based on the cups Mr. Cook set out."
"Our cook is mad at me because I broke our navigator's heart," Ricky explained. "She's actually the nurse that my crew is holding hostage."
"And you told me that you were in the infirmary so I wouldn't send men in there to investigate," Jonathan realized.
"Don't worry, our doctor is the best in the world," Ricky stated. "He really did help Dr. Kobato treat all those injured marines. Now she's acting as a hostage so my crew to repay him. Don't hold it against her. My crew has a way of inspiring people and changing their lives."
"VICE ADMIRAL! WHAT DO I DO?" Todd screamed again.
"Poor guy," Ricky remarked as he shook his head. "I actually like Todd. But he's nowhere near ready to lead a force that big in such an important battle. You didn't really have a choice though since I took out all your other officers. He could really use your advice right now."
Jonathan glared at Ricky and clenched his hands into fists.
"Losing is never easy," Ricky stated, "But don't do anything stupid. Robin's a trained assassin. We've got a cannon pointed at you but she can just as easily break your back. If she does that you'll never be able to fish again. Now hold still while I help Todd make a decision."
-x-
Escape:
-x-
"Hey Master Chief, I'd recommend letting them go."
"You… ONE EYE!" Todd snarled into his mini-Transponder Snail.
"Ricky?" Zoro questioned when he heard Todd shout.
"I commandeered Vice Admiral Jonathan's Transponder Snail," Ricky answered. "We also have a huge cannon pointed at him so he can't come to the snail-phone right now. You're on your own. You've got to decide if you want to be responsible for a nurse and a pediatrician dying on your watch. That's the sort of thing that'll not only destroy your career but will completely ruin what's left of your base's reputation. Are you really going to disgrace a thousand marines over five pirates?"
"Fine," Todd conceded. "You win." He gave his order. "Stand down men. We can't risk it."
Zoro and Sanji stood at the front of the group and watched the marines backed away from them and then parted to make a path to the Going Merry.
"Wow, they actually complied," Sanji remarked.
"Let's hope so," Zoro replied. He went over to Luffy and with a slash of his sword the rubber pirate was freed from his net.
"Thanks Zoro… I owe you one…" Luffy groaned.
"Alright, snap out of it," Zoro instructed as he pulled Luffy off of the remains of the Sea Stone and to his feet. "Keep your mouth shut so we can get outta here."
-x-
Mekao climbed down the ladder and walked over to the group of orange uniformed shipwrights that had just come through an adjoining room to see what all the fuss was about.
"Call me crazy, but I swear I just heard Kobato screaming," one of the shipwrights said.
"I heard her too," another agreed.
"What's going on up there, Mekao?" a third asked.
"Kobato's being held hostage," Mekao answered casually.
"ARE YOU KIDDING ME!" the shipwright exclaimed. "THAT'S TERRIBLE!"
"Eh, it's nothing to worry about," Mekao assured him as he went passed the group of shipwrights into the dock control room. "What makes me nervous is those marines."
-x-
"Alright, we've complied with your demands," Master Chief Petty Officer Todd pointed out as he tried to regain control of the situation. "Now release the hostages."
"It worked! We did it!" Nami realized. She quickly elbowed Chopper. "Chopper, speak!"
"LISTEN! YOU DON'T GIVE THE ORDERS HERE!" the man-deer bellowed. "THERE WOMEN WILL ONLY BE RELEASED ONCE WE ESCAPE!"
"You spineless, rotten, miserable pirates!" Todd snarled. "Fine! Go!"
"How accommodating," Zoro remarked.
Before Zoro could stop him Luffy dashed over to Todd and smirked at him. "You seem upset. Want us to beat you up instead?"
"Grrrr…" Todd growled. "JUST GET OUT OF HERE, DAMN YOU!"
"Shishishi!" Luffy laughed, "Okay, if you say so. Let's go guys!" Luffy took off and ran for the ship. Zoro raced after him and the 'hostages' Nami and Kobato were forced to run so they could keep pace. Sanji was naturally right behind the two women while Chopper carried Usopp and brought up the rear.
Woing! Luffy stretched his arms and grabbed onto the railing of the Going Merry and shot himself up and onto it. SHOOOM!
SKISH! Zoro jumped up onto the side of the Merry and quickly hopped the railing.
Woing! Luffy stretched his arms down towards Nami and Kobato.
"What a long reach," Dr. Kobato remarked obliviously as he grabbed Luffy's outstretched hand. Nami grabbed Luffy's other hand and he yanked both his arms upward. SHOOOOM! Nami and Kobato flew up onto the ship.
SKISH! Sanji jumped up onto ship in one bound. SKISH! Chopper jumped after him and quickly went over the railing.
"ALRIGHT!" Master Chief Petty Officer Todd called up to the Straw Hats from beside the ship. "You're on your ship. Now release the hostages!"
"Okay," Luffy agreed.
Zoro pulled him back, "Not until you turn us loose."
Everyone had been so caught up with the Straw Hats escaping that no one noticed Mekao as a spun a wheel to operate the dock controls.
SHUNK! The chain attached to the metal block behind the Going Merry on the dock ramp was pulled taught and then it yanked the block up out of the trench and into the air. CHUNK!
"Wait… I never ordered that…" Todd realized as the Going Merry started to slide backwards.
"Here, catch!" Sanji called out as he grabbed Dr. Kobato and tossed her over the railing.
Master Chief Petty Officer Todd looked up and raised his arms in time to catch Kobato in midair. WHAP!
"Oh, my hero!" Dr. Kobato gushed.
"He-hero?" Todd stammered as his face flushed.
"Sir, they're getting away with the other hostage!" a marine called out.
WOOOOSHH! The Going Merry slid backwards the rest of the way down the ramp, through the boat entrance to the dock and splashed down in the water outside. SPLOOOSH!
"SHISHISHISHI!" Luffy laughed as the Going Merry sailed backwards away from the dock.
"Officer Todd, what do we do?" a marine asked.
"FIRE!" Todd ordered.
"But what about the hostage?"
"Uh… FIRE WARNING SHOTS!" Todd amended. "AND SOUND THE ALARM!"
BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM! Bullets splashed the water around the Going Merry as it sailed away.
"YEAH!" Luffy cheered. "IT WORKED!"
"Alright everyone, look alive!" Nami ordered.
RRRRIIIIIINNNG! RRRRIIIIIINNG! Navarone's alarm sounded as the Straw Hats made their escape on their newly reclaimed ship.
-x-
RRRRIIIIIINNNG! RRRRIIIIIINNG! The alarm had even reached the storage room hallway.
"Looks like the others managed to escape," Robin observed.
"Then I guess it's time to get out of here," Ricky resolved.
"There's a door near the end of the hall that we should be able to use to get out onto a balcony," Robin recounted from her study of the Navarone map.
WHUP! Robin's arms bent the gunman that was holding the Eagle Launcher forward so it was pointed at the ground then pulled the trigger. BOOOM! The red rocket shot out and exploded which caused the gunman and the huge bazooka to get blasted up into the air before the crashed to the ground in a heap. BOOOOOOOM-KRASH!
"Remember your fishing career," Robin warned Jonathan as she walked right passed him. Ricky followed but stopped in front of Jonathan.
"I promised the real Natsu I'd tell someone where he is before I left," Ricky stated. "He's in a crate in the large storage room near the infirmary. Also, I left the real Shepherd in your safe. No hard feelings. We just landed here and were trying to get out. That's why we held back and tried not to hurt anyone too badly."
"So this is checkmate," Jonathan observed. "You've beaten me at my own game."
"You know, that's why you lost," Ricky remarked. "It's not that you were playing against the wrong opponent. You and I were playing different games. In Chess, the game is over when the King is captured so whenever the King is in check steps need to be taken to prevent it from being captured at all costs. The King is the linchpin, and everything else does nothing but follow its commands. You caught our King twice but we still kept going and turned things around. That's because while you were playing Chess, I was playing Poker. In Poker, almost any combination of cards could be a winning hand to a skilled enough player. Intelligence, bluffs, tells, knowing the habits and quirks of both your opponent and yourself, the size of the pot, and even how your luck is running are just as important as having a good hand. In Chess, the King is the be-all end-all. But in Poker, even a pair of twos can win if you can make the other guy think you've got a Full House." Ricky shrugged. "I had fun though. Maybe we'll play again sometime."
Ricky stepped around Jonathan and followed after Robin.
"Tell her you love her."
Ricky stopped and looked back at Jonathan. "What?"
"Your nurse," Jonathan replied. "The one you kept safe in the infirmary this whole time. I don't know what the circumstances are behind you ending things and breaking her heart. But it's obvious that you still care for her. If that's the case make sure she knows it. The best way to do that is to tell her you love her because you can never say it enough."
Ricky nodded then ran off after Robin.
-x-
In the kitchen, while the marines were dealing with the Straw Hats, Head Chef Jessica was waging a war of her own against her two new cooks.
"No, no, faster!" Jessica demanded. "How many times do I have to go over this? We have one thousand mouths to feed! Speed is of the essence! Pick it up, or pack up!"
Konk! Konk! Jessica hit the celebrity chefs over the head with a ladel.
After Luffy and Sanji had been exposed as fakes, the Navarone Chefs had finally located the real Marley Brothers. Only it turned out that the fakes were the real cooks and the real ones.
"You didn't need to hit uh…" Robert Marley whined while Jacob looked on the verge of tears.
"Oh really? You have a grievance then?" Jessica challenged them. "Because let me be clear! First you two need to prove yourselves to be worthy of being in this kitchen! Now get over there and peel the potatoes! All three thousand!"
"Is it just me or is Jessica a little tense?" Tom asked as he, Billy and Shinpachi worked together at a table in the middle of the kitchen.
"She's having trouble coming to terms with the fact that our star cook turned out to be a pirate," Billy explained.
"And the fact that the real new guys are nothing but incompetent losers," Shinpachi added.
Jessica turned and glared at the three cooks. "Another word and I'll boil your tongues!"
"Yes ma'am!" the trio whimpered.
"Hey Billy, do me a favor and try the special sauce," Tom requested as he fed the other cook a spoon of the sauce he was working on. "Pretty amazing stuff, eh? Well…"
Billy tasted it carefully but then frowned. "It tastes good. Honestly it does."
"Isn't that our house sauce?" Shinpachi inquired.
"Yeah," Billy answered.
"You know what," Shinpachi said, "That pirate may have lied about his name but there's absolutely no questioning his culinary skills. I mean, we are good cooks. But he had real flare."
"Yeah, flare, that's for sure," Billy agreed. "And it's a shame."
"Damn it, what did he do different?" Tom wondered.
The big brown haired sous chef looked back at the other cooks and frowned.
"Jessica…" the Sous Chef said as he turned to the Head Chef.
"Yes? What?" Jessica asked.
"Perhaps this can be of some use," the Sous Chef suggested as he held up a piece of paper. "It seems he left some detailed notes and recipes for various dishes he prepared."
"THE PIRATE LEFT US WHAT?" Tom shouted.
"WHOLE RECIPES?" Billy repeated.
"Oh, that's right," Shinpachi realized as he remembered Sanji saying that he'd write down some of his recipes for them. "He did say he'd do that."
Jessica glared at Sanji recipes in the Sous Chef's hand. "What makes you think I care?"
"Uh… well… I was hoping that… well he did leave it… so what's the harm in using a few?"
"Idiot!" Jessica snapped as she snatched the paper away. "Give me that! Utterly pathetic! All of you! You dare stand there and call yourselves loyal to Navarone? If you accept this pirate's help, if you use one note on this page, then you betray our heritage!"
"Uh… sorry chef…" Jacob Marley suddenly called out as he and Robert held up a mutilated basket of potatoes. "It's just that…"
"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?" Jessica shrieked when she saw the large chunks of potato that were still on the poorly peeled skins. "CAN'T YOU FOOLS EVEN HANDLE A SIMPLE TASK LIKE PEELING POTATOES?"
"Uh… well… our men always used to do it," Jacob confessed.
"They always turned out like that…" Robert admitted.
"THIS KITCHEN IS A BATTLEFIELD!" Jessica berated the two cooks. "IN CASE YOU HAVEN'T NOTICED, WE DON'T HAVE ANY FOOD TO WASTE! EVERY SINGLE SCRAP IS A VITAL RESOURCE!"
Jessica blinked in surprise when she released that she was repeating Sanji's words from when he'd won the cooking challenge using scraps.
"Um… are you okay?" Jacob Marley inquired.
"SILENCE!" Jessica yelled. "REPORT TO DISHWASHING IMMEDIATELY!"
The Marely Brothers recoiled in terror and ran across the kitchen to the sink.
-x-
"Straight ahead, isn't that the pirate ship?" a marine pointed out as he stared through a scope while two others aimed the massive gun turrets on the outer ring of Navarone.
"Yeah, and we've got it dead in our sights," another marine replied. "Why won't the give the order to attack?"
"I hear they have a hostage," the first marine explained. "Some nurse they captured. The poor woman must be losing her mind being handled by such filth."
"Pirates!" a third marine growled. "I could sink the whole lot of 'em!"
"I think I've spotted her!" the second marine announced as he stared through his scope and saw the orange haired woman in the pink nurse's uniform on the Going Merry. "The hostage is safe. But… it looks like she's giving them orders…"
-x-
"Daddy!" Dr. Kobato exclaimed.
"Daddy?" Todd repeated as he stared at Mekao in surprise.
"Now this is how I like to see my baby girl," the shipwright remarked, "Safe and sound."
"So then you released the ship," Todd realized.
"Of course," Mekao replied. "What father in his right mind would stand idly by and watch his daughter fall into harm's way when he can stop it?"
"Oh daddy, don't yell at him," Kobato cut in, "He called off the whole ambush and even let the pirates get away to make sure I was safe."
"So he did," Mekao agreed, "But I can't say the same for that other girl."
"Sir!" a marine ran up to Todd. "I have some intel about the hostage! The scouts outside say that they can see her shouted orders at the pirates. We think that she might be one of them."
"SHE'S WHAAAAT?" Todd shouted. He whirled around to face the marines that were still in the dock. "BOARD THE SHIPS! HURRY UP! DON'T LET THEM ESCAPE!"
-x-
CLANG! The giant vault door fell forward and slammed to the ground.
Vice Admiral Jonathan stood safely in the middle of one of the gear holes in the door. He climbed out of the hole and walked into the vault-like storage room.
"I'M SAVED!"
Jonathan blinked in surprise at the sight of a very excited gray-skinned man.
"You, whoever you are!" Shepherd gushed. "I'm not Condoriano! I'm not a pirate!"
"I know," Jonathan replied. "You're Special Inspector Commander Shepherd from Headquarters. I'm Vice Admiral Jonathan. I apologize but we've been dealing with an invading force of eight extremely skilled pirates. I'm afraid my men got carried away when you were concerned."
"Oh, think nothing of it!" Shepherd replied.
Jonathan blinked. "Really? I thought for sure you'd be upset."
"Don't be silly you old badger!" Shepherd exclaimed. "Those awful pirates kept calling my Condoriano! Then they locked me in that safe! I'm claustrophobic! I thought I'd never get out! BUT YOU SAVED ME!"
"Oh… you're welcome then," Jonathan remarked. "Actually, those pirates are making their escape now."
"Say no more," Shepherd said. "Duty calls good buddy."
"Good buddy?" Jonathan repeated. This friendly gray man was starting to weird him out. Honestly, he'd almost prefer it if Shepherd was furious over the whole ordeal and trying to get him court-martialed.
Jonathan turned away from the vault and Shepherd dutifully ran after him but stopped when he spotted a large bazooka on the ground.
"Hey, is that my Eagle Launcher?" Shepherd asked.
"Yes," Jonathan answered. "I borrowed it in an attempt to apprehend One Eye and Nico Robin."
"Really? How'd it go?" Shepherd inquired.
"It didn't work," Jonathan testily replied.
"You mean it didn't fire?" Shephered questioned. "Or did you fire it backwards by accident? Because there was this one time…"
"No, as I said, one of them was Nico Robin," Jonathan explained. "She's actually the one that attacked you. She has Devil Fruit Powers and she caught us off guard."
"In that case, I'll bring it along," Shepherd decided. "I don't care what kind of ship those pirates have. One good shot from the Eagle Launcher and they'll sink like a stone!"
"I suppose there's no harm in bringing along an extra weapon," Jonathan reasoned.
"What's the plan then?" Shepherd prodded as he hefted his bazooka onto his shoulder.
"One Eye was kind enough to point out that I've been playing the wrong game," Jonathan said. "We're playing poker against these pirates and that means the game's not over. We've got one last chance, one last hand to turn this around. They're no doubt headed for the Sea Gate. That's the only way out of Navarone. We need to go all in and assure that we stop them there. Everything comes down to that."
"I had heard that you were a master strategist, not a gambler," Shepherd commented.
"I am a strategist," Jonathan stated, "But a good strategist can alter his strategy and cater it to a specific opponent. This is a big risk but if it pays off we'll capture all eight members of the crew. If it doesn't, they'll all escape."
"I'm with you good buddy!" Shepherd insisted, "Inspectors never get this kind of excitement."
-x-
The Sea Gate:
-x-
"Why are we hugging the edge of this cliff?" Zoro asked as the Straw Hats Pirates sailed the Going Merry alongside the island.
"Protection," Nami answered. "We'd have cannons blasting us from both sides if we went through the middle."
"Uugghh…" Usopp groaned and finally woke up. "Where am I?"
"Oh, you're awake Usopp!" Luffy observed.
"This is Merry," Usopp realized. "How did we get back?"
"I held a nurse hostage!" Chopper boasted.
Usopp noted Nami's pink nurse outfit, "Oh, I see, so Nami was the hostage."
"Still, I didn't see any of them make the ship move," Zoro pointed out. "How'd that happen?"
"If I had to guess, I say it was that old shipwright," Usopp suggested even though he hadn't been conscious for the ordeal.
"Why's that?" Zoro inquired.
"Just a feeling," Usopp answered.
"Oh, Miss. Nami dressed as a nurse!" Sanji swooned as he took in Nami in her nurse's outfit.
"Well we escaped," Nami reasoned, "But what good are we without maps or charts? We were way better off with you guys in jail. What do we do now?"
"Oh, it's Miss. Robin!" Sanji called out.
VRRRRROOOOOOMM… Nami spun around at the familiar sound of her Waver approaching.
"IT'S RICKY! AND ROBIN!" Chopper exclaimed.
Ricky and Robin pulled up alongside the Merry on the Waver. Ricky was driving and Robin was pulling along Ricky's safe with two chains of arms. Nami's eyes narrowed at how Robin's arms were wrapped around Ricky's waist.
"Hey Luffy! We could use a hand!" Ricky called up to the ship as he held up his hand.
WOIINNG! Luffy shot his arm down and grabbed his brother's hand then yanked upward on his own arm. SHOOOOOOM! Ricky, Robin, the Waver and the safe all flew up out of the water, over the railing and crashed down onto the main deck. WHAM! Whap! Robin acted quickly and managed to catch herself with some extra arms on the railing. Ricky wasn't as lucky and ended up in a heap on the deck.
Ricky pushed himself up and brushed himself off, "Okay, so I didn't stick the dismount but I did drive it decently. I think that Dial Board and those Dial Skis played a part in figuring it out."
"So… it went well?" Nami inquired.
"We had to directly deal with the old badger," Ricky admitted, "But as you can see we successfully retrieved the treasure as well as your Waver and we still have the G-8 map that will show us how to get out of here. I also stole Jonathan's main Transponder Snail."
Squeak… Nami skidded forward but stopped in her tracks. She was left slightly off balance as if she had just stopped herself mid-glomp
"Um…. Good job," Nami said awkwardly. "Let's... let's see that map."
Robin reached into her floral patterned shirt and removed the map that she'd taken from the book of charts. She unfolded it and presented it to Nami.
"The only way in and out of Navarone is through the Sea Gate," Robin explained.
"Right and according to this it should be somewhere on the northern shore," Nami noted as she scanned the map and spotted the marked gate at the top.
BOOOOM! BOOOOOM! BOOOOOOM! Cannons suddenly started firing all around the Straw Hats and cannonballs hit the water around the Going Merry and exploded.
"They're shooting at us!" Luffy realized.
"You guys said they wouldn't attack us because we had a hostage!" Usopp pointed out.
"Well we knew it was only going to be a matter of time," Nami reasoned.
"Did we also know that they'd send warships after us?" Usopp exclaimed.
The Straw Hats looked back to see five marine warships in pursuit of the Going Merry.
-x-
"Yes, that's right, there is no hostage on board!" Master Chief Petty Officer Todd confirmed as he stood at the front railing of the lead warship. "Fire at will!"
"Officer, good to hear you again," came the voice of Vice Admiral Jonathan.
"Vice Admiral!" Todd exclaimed. "I have five warships in pursuit of the Straw Hats."
"Excellent," Jonathan replied. "Commander Shepherd and I are here at the gate house at the Sea Gate. With the gate sealed and cannon fire from both sides there will be no escape."
"Right, sir!" Todd agreed.
"And Todd…" Jonathan added. "You did the right thing at the dock. There are some marines that would have followed Absolute Justice and risked the lives of hostages in order to capture the pirates at all costs. But despite my ties with Admiral Akainu, we are not that type of marines that endanger the lives of innocent civilians to accomplish our goals."
"Yes sir, thank you sir," Todd replied. "I know of your dedication to Moral Justice."
"Very good," Jonathan said. "Don't worry about being deceived by the Straw Hats. They're an exceptionally crafty group of pirates that we weren't prepared for. But we've got them now."
"That's right sir," Todd stated. "We're closing in on them and they should spot the Sea Gate any second now."
-x-
"There it is!" Nami called out as she pointed off the front of the ship at the big metal G-8 gate. "That's our exit! The Sea Gate!"
"Usopp, prepare the bow cannon!" Nami ordered then she looked back at Chopper who was in the galley manning the whipstaff. "Chopper, make extra certain you follow my orders."
"No problem," the reindeer agreed.
"This is the base's only way out so we'll have to break through that gate," Nami resolved.
Ricky looked over at Luffy, Zoro and Sanji. "Be ready guys," he warned them. "If this is the only way out of the base, the marines know that too. Be ready to see some cannon fire."
-x-
"Sir, we have a confirmed sighting of the Straw Hats' ship!" one of the marines operating the Gate House called back to Vice Admiral Jonathan as he stared out the window.
"Yes, I see them," Jonathan confirmed. "Do not open the gate under any circumstances. Those pirates will either crash into it or be forced to turn around."
"The cannons are locked on target, sir!" another marine reported.
"SO IS THE EAGLE LAUNCHER, BEST BUDDY!" Shepherd shouted down from on the roof. He had his huge bazooka perched on his shoulder and it was aimed at the Going Merry.
"Do not fire until I give the order!" Vice Admiral Jonathan commanded. "Let's give the warships some more time to close in on them."
"Yes sir!" the marines chorused.
"Sure things, good buddy!" Shepherd echoed.
"Sir… what is with that guy?" a marine wondered.
"One Eye left him trapped the storage vault," Jonathan explained. "It turns out that he's majorly claustrophobic so when I let him out I became his best buddy."
-x-
"What do you mean we don't have any cannon balls?" Nami snapped.
"Not just cannon balls, we've got not explosives of any kind," Usopp explained. "We don't even have the boxes they came in."
"Well that's hardly surprising," Robin remarked, "given that they confiscated the Going Merry."
"Well what do we do?" Usopp asked. "We can't burst through that gate without some serious firepower."
"And that's your cue," Ricky prompted.
"HI GUYS!" Luffy called out and waved to the others as he, Zoro and Sanji stood together on the front deck. "We're the firepower."
"Oh…" Usopp said as he surveyed the Monster Trio. "You know… that might work."
"Remember Luffy, when we close in on the gate they're bound to open fire on us," Ricky stated. "You remember what to do, right?"
"Yup, I'm ready!" Luffy exclaimed.
"So are we," Zoro announced. "No more holding back."
"We're getting out of here now," Sanji resolved.
-x-
"Lock on target… FIRE!" Jonathan ordered.
"HERE'S A PRESENT FROM CONDORIANO, YOU LOUSY PIRATES!" Shepherd shrieked. BOOOM! The redrocket blasted out from the Eagle Launcher.
Below him, the cannons mounted around the Se Gate shot off a volley of cannonballs.
BOOOOOM-BOOOOOOM-BOOOOOOOM-BOOOOOOM-BOOOOOOM!
-x-
"Now Luffy!" Ricky called out.
SKISH! Luffy jumped up into the air. "GUUUUM… GUUUUM… BAAALLOOOOON!" FWOOOSH! Luffy inflated until his round rubber body was the size of the front sail. The red rocket and the barrage of cannonballs sunk into his body and were then shot back. SHOOOOM! The rocket and the cannonballs flew across the water and blasted the Sea Gate. KA-BOOOOM-BOOOOOM-BOOOOOOOM-BOOOOOOM-BOOOOOOM!
The resulting series of explosions resulted in a bright flash of light and a dark cloud of smoke.
"I can't see the gate!" Usopp exclaimed. "Did that do it?"
"Only one way to find out," Nami reasoned. "Chopper, forward full!"
"Aye!" Chopper chirped.
-x-
"Status report!" Vice Admiral Jonathan called out. "Has the gate been compromised?"
"The gate team are reporting that only the front layer of the gate was destroyed by the blast," a marine answered.
"Alright, everyone hold fire!" Jonathan ordered. "We can't risk further damaging the gate." Jonathan grabbed the receiver of his new Transponder Snail. "Master Chief Petty Officer Todd, are you in range?"
"Um… yes and no sir…"
"What's that supposed to means, soldier?" Jonathan demanded.
"We were in range," Todd explained. "But that explosion created a large cloud of smoke. We've lost visual of the Straw Hat ship. What do we do?"
"Hang back," Jonathan instructed. "Those are shallow waters. We can't risk damaging the ships. The gate is still intact. And we confiscated all the explosives from the ship. The Straw Hats are either going to crash into the gate or will turn around at the last second and sail back out. That's when we'll get them. Set up a perimeter outside the smoke cloud. I want every man onboard your ships to be scanning that cloud for signs of the Straw Hats."
Yes sir," Todd agreed. "We won't let them through our barricade."
-x-
"It's no good!" Sanji realized. "The cannons only destroyed the first layer. There's another one under it!"
"Oh no…" Ricky dead-panned, "If only we had someone that could blast through thatl…"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm on it," Zoro replied. "Luffy, I'm borrowing your seat." The swordsman drew all three of his swords and slashed them in circle as he jumped up onto the Going Merry's figurehead. "108 CALIBER PHOENIX!" SLA-SLA-SLISH! The circular air blades flew off of Zoro's swords and plowed into the steel gate with the force of a cannon. BOOOOOOOM!
But when the blast cleared, the steel was dented but had not been broken.
"Damn it," Zoro complained. "That attack's still not strong enough to break through steel."
"Then I'll show you how it's done, mossball," Sanji taunted. SKISH! He ran and launched himself forward off the front of the Merry and swung his legs forward. "VEAU SHOOT!" THWHAM! Sanji foot smashed through the already dented and amaaged steel of the gate.
"Hey curlybrow!" Zoro called out, "You were supposed to make a hole big enough for the ship, not just a person! Why do you think I used a large blast instead of just slicing it?"
"Shut up mosshead…" Sanji growled as he pulled himself out of the hole he'd made in the door and jumped back onto the Going Merry.
"Wait… we can't fit through that!" Nami realized.
"OH NO!" Usopp shrieked. "WE'RE GONNA CRASH!"
"WE'RE GONNA CRASH?" Chopper shrieked.
Whap-whap! The two had made it to the front deck in an instant and here holding onto Ricky.
Squeak… Nami skidded to a stop as she once again stopped herself in mid-leap. She turned away from Ricky and spotted Robin standing alone behind her. GLOMP!
"Really?" Robin asked in annoyance. "He's right there. You know he won't mind."
"I'm still mad at him," Nami insisted. "I can't grab him now."
"But your forgetting one important thing," Robin pointed out, "I don't care for hugging."
"Eh, then that just means you're due for one," Nami waved her off. "Hug now, complain later."
"Luffy! Hurry up and finish it!" Ricky instructed.
"RIGHT!" Luffy agreed. "MY TURN!" SKISH! Luffy jumped up onto the sheephead and stretched his arms back behind him. WOOOOIIIING! Luffy's arms extended back over the heads of the others, whizzed past both sides of the galley and reached the rear railing.
-x-
"Sir! There's smoke coming through the Sea Gate!" a marine observed.
"No!" Jonathan gasped. "THEY'RE BREAKING THROUGH THE SEA GATE! SHEPHERD AIM FOR THE OTHER SIDE! ALL CANNONS, GET READY TO OPEN FIRE ON THE STRAW HATS AS SOON AS THEY PASS THROUGH THE GATE!"
-x-
"GUUUUUUUMMMMM… GUUUUUUUUMMMMM… BAAAAAZZOOOKAAAAAA!" Luffy's fists shot across the boat whizzed off the front and slammed into the Sea Gate. WHAAAAAAM! Luffy's hands smashed through the heavily damaged and already broken steel gate and wrenched the metal upward until the bottom half was sticking almost straight out ahead.
"And now we just need a ride," Ricky resolved as he pulled a snail out of his pocket. "Hey Sheldon! We're coming out the entrance now. Time to go."
Ricky grinned and reached down and grabbed the handset for the Transponder Snail that he'd stolen from Jonathan at the storage vault. "One more call to make…"
-x-
"Hey Jonathan!" Ricky's voice came through Jonathan's new Transponder Snail. "If you thought that was cool, get ready to see something even more incredible."
"BEST BUDDY!" Shepherd shouted down from the roof. "THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE WATER! AND IT'S HUGE!"
The marines ran to the windows and stared down at the dark, utterly massive shape that was under the water beside the base.
SPLOOOSH! A round looking rock broke the surface but I was just the tip and was followed by countless other rockets which quickly formed a gigantic round dome.
"IT'S AN ISLAND!" Shepherd screamed.
"No… it's not an island," Jonathan realized, "It's a giant turtle…"
"IT'S NEARLY AS BIG AS NAVARONE!"
SPLOOOSSHHH! Sheldon emerged from the water. His massive head was bigger than the gate the Straw Hats had just sailed through and now his mouth was wide opened.
"They're-they're going into the turtle!" a marine stammered as the Merry sailed straight towards the monster turtles opened mouth.
"MONSTER!" BOOOM! Shepherd fired his Eager Launcher again and the red rocket round struck Sheldon's shell and exploded. KA-BOOOOM! But the sea turtle that was half the size of Navarone didn't even notice it. "WHAT ARE THESE PEOPLE?"
-x-
Ricky dashed across the desk to the rear desk and stood by the rear railing.
Luffy bounded up beside him and Ricky offered him the receiver of the Transponder he'd stolen from Jonathan.
"BYE FORTRESS-GUY!" Luffy shouted into the receiver.
-x-
"BYE FORTRESS GUY!" Vice Admiral Jonathan watched as the giant turtle's mouth closed after the Going Merry and then sank back into the water.
"Goodbye… Straw Hat Luffy… One Eye Ricky…" the marine officer replied. "That was… an incredible game…"
And that was how the Straw Hat Pirates escaped from the marine fortress known as Navarone.
-x-
Aftermath:
-x-
Hours later, the commotion that the Straw Hats had caused had finally died down. The marines that had been patrolling and keeping looking out for the pirates were now doing repairs and attempted to fix the damage that the pirates had done during their stay. The most heavily damaged areas were the Brig, Straw Bridge and the Sea Gate. Now entire units of marines were working together in an attempt to repair the damage done to their base.
In the dining hall, exhausted marines sat down for dinner.
"Man, dealing with those pirates wore me out," one marines groaned to another.
"And cleaning up after them is wearing me out," the other marine admitted. "But this delicious food should give us some energy. Then it's back to work."
The marines dug into their meals but as the taste settled in their mouth their chewing slowed and their faces were marred with frowns.
"This doesn't taste anything like the food from this morning," the first marine realized.
"You're right," the other marine agreed. "Compared to the eats we had this morning this stuff tastes like dirt."
"HEY! WHAT'RE YOU COOKS TRYING TO PULL HERE?" the first marine shouted towards the kitchen. "GIVE US SOME OF THE GOOD GRUB!"
"YEAH!" a bunch of the other marines echoed his sentiment.
"GIVE US GOOD GRUB! GIVE US GOOD GRUB! GIVE US GOOD GRUB!"
The marines started chanting for food and soon it filled the dining hall and couldn't be ignored by the kitchen.
"Jessica… do you hear that?" Shinpachi asked. "The soldiers are complaining about the food. What do we do?"
"Jessica, please…" the big Sous Chef approached the Head Chef. "You have to let us use some of his recipes…"
"No way," Jessica refused. "How dare you even suggest such a thing in this kitchen?"
"Please, hear me out!" the Sous Chef urged her. "It's true that he was a pirate but he was still an excellent cook. His food tantalized the pallets of the soldiers that ate here. Isn't that the goal of each and every one of us in the kitchen?"
"The troops loved his cooking," Billy chimed in, "In fact, it's his food they're asking for right now, Jessica."
"So what's it gonna be?" Tom asked. "Please say yes!"
"We're begging you, Jessica!" Shinpachi pleaded, "Please!"
"PLEASE JESSICA!" the cooks chorused.
Jessica frowned as she walked across the kitchen… and pinned Sanji's recipe to the menu board. The cooks' faces lit up at the sight of Sanji's recipes and notes.
"Alright, listen up," Head Chef Jessica addressed the kitchen. "We're going to learn how to make food just as delicious and mouthwatering as the pirate's was. But as for today, we're going to swallow our pride and use his recipes to feed our troops. And you're right. He wasn't a pirate when he was working in this kitchen. He was a cook. And he knew that the most important thing was to satisfy the people eating his food."
"JESSICA!" the cooks cheered.
"What are you standing around for?" Jessica demanded. "We've got men to feed!"
"YEAH!" the cooks cheered again as they returned to their tasks with renewed energy and drive.
-x-
"You know…" one of the shipwright marines remarked as he and two others worked on repairing a marine warship. "They may be pirates but you've got to admire how dedicated those Straw Hats were to recovering their ship. They could have tried to steal a marine ship and maybe escaped on that but instead they charged right into a trap and faced off with an army of marines to recover their ship."
"If we had all our docks working soldiers might have stood a better chance at catching them," another shipwright pointed out.
"But look at the state of the docks that we do use…" the third shipwright muttered, "When our big moment came all we could provide the troops with were five warships. There are two other ships that could have been ready if we had put as much care into our ships as the Straw Hats clearly have with theirs."
"Maybe we should ask Mekao for some tips on how to properly care for our ships," the second shipwright suggested. "That old man really knows his stuff."
"Where is he anyway?" the first shipwright wondered.
"He went to visit his daughter in the infirmary," the second shipwright replied.
-x-
"Daddy, you have to take your medicine," Dr. Kobato insisted.
"No way!" Mekao refused. He held up a rum bottle. "There's nothing wrong with me that a nip from the bottle won't cure. The stuff in this bottle is all the medicine I need."
WHAP! Kobato snatched the bottle away from him before he could drink from it. "Dad! You know there's no smoking or drinking in the infirmary."
"Come on! Just one drink!" Mekao pleaded.
"NO!" Kobato snapped.
"Aw, when did you get so stubborn?" Mekao complained.
"I became this way after those two pirates helped me become a real doctor," Kobato answered. "And just so you know, I applied to become a full-time doctor here at Navarone. That means I'm not just your daughter but I'm your doctor too! And as your doctor I order you to lay off the booze and drink your medicine!"
"Geez," Mekao grumbled, "A girl performs a few surgeries and suddenly she thinks she can boss her own father around. What happened to that little girl that cried for an hour and nearly fainted when she got a paper cut?"
"That girl grew up and became a doctor," Kobato answered. "My duty is to treat sick people. You're sick, I'm your doctor, TAKE YOUR MEDICINE!"
"Okay, okay, fine," Mekao finally relented then he smiled. "It's good to see you so confident."
-x-
"I'm sorry guys…" the real Seaman Recruit Natsu apologized as he joined Unit 55 in repairing the damage done to the Straw Bridge. "I shouldn't have let One Eye get the drop on me."
"No, we're the ones who should be apologizing to you Natsu," the Unit Leader insisted. "If we had been paying more attention that pirate would have never gotten the drop on you and he never would have pulled off his deception. For now on, we're going to incorporate special identification procedures so we can't be infiltrated by impersonators. Just like this bridge, our unit is going to come back from this stronger than ever!"
"WE'RE FIFTY-FIVE AND THEY BETTER FEAR IT!"
"OR THEY'RE GONNA FACE OUR BURNING SPIRIT!"
-x-
"Straighten those bars soldier," Ensign Christopher barked as he and his unit of marines worked to repair the damage done to the brig.
"Yes sir," the marine agreed.
"It was because of my ego and negligence that those Straw Hats trashed this brig and escaped," Ensign Christopher admitted. "Well, it's going to because of me that no one ever does that again! From now on, all prisoners will be properly searched! Even harmless looking objects will be confiscated. And we'll have to make sure to bind the prisoner's hands and feet as well."
"Yes sir," the marine unit chorused.
"I destroyed this prison…" Christopher lamented. "So I'm going to build it back up!"
-x-
"Oh… you're still here, huh?" Vice Admiral Jonathan noted as he looked up from his veggie-filled dish to the smirking chef Shinpachi that had delivered it. "I said dismissed!"
"Sorry sir," Shinpachi replied, "But the Head Chef gave me very specific orders. 'Don't leave until the Vice Admiral has cleaned his plate'. Even if you're dining in your private quarters, rules are rules. You know the credo. Plus she was very adamant that you finish every last bite."
"Uugghhh…" Jonathan groaned. "Jessica…"
"Heehehe!" Master Chief Petty Officer Todd chuckled at his own desk.
"You too, officer," Shinpachi informed Todd.
"WHAAAT?" Todd shrieked.
"Head Chef made dinner for you as well," Shinpachi explained as he place another veggie-filled dish on Master Chief Petty Officer Todd's desk. "Bon appetite, sirs!"
"Not a fan of the broccoli either, eh?" Jonathan inquired.
"No for me it's the tomatoes and carrots," Todd confessed.
Krek! The doors swung opened and Commander Shepherd marched in, "Well best buddy, I delivered my report and I did what I could. Naturally I had to mention the fiasco with those Straw Hats but I made sure to stress the unorthodox methods of how they arrived and escaped."
Jonathan thought back to how the G-8 marines had quickly captured and investigate the pirate ship after it had fallen out of the sky. How Unit 55 had been willing to serve as a diversion while the other units formed an army in Dock 88.
"You know," Jonathan said, "the truth is, it's been so long since this base has seen that kind of action. Even if we didn't accomplish our objective and capture the Straw Hats, it was nice to see everyone come together the way they did. I think getting shown up by the Straw Hats might even be a good thing. I've heard whispers from the men, from almost every unit, and they seem more determined than ever to improve so something like this doesn't happen again."
Jonathan grinned and looked over at his chessboard in the corner of the room and then looked down at the deck of playing cards that he had on his deck. "Even I learned something from them. One Eye taught me that I need to diversify my strategy when it comes to dealing with pirates."
Sniff… sniff… Shepherd's hooked gray nosed twitched as he sniffed Jonathan's plate. "Say, that smells good."
A wide grin spread across Jonathan's face. "That's a special dish my wife made for me. But you know what, you've had such a rough day. You deserve a treat. Here, have some."
"Oh no, I couldn't!" Shepherd blustered.
"Don't worry about it, I insist, best buddy," Jonathan encouraged him. He got out of his chair and guided Shepherd down into it. "Go ahead. Dig in."
"Aw, alright, why not," Shepherd conceded. He sat down and dug in to the plate. "Oh, wow!" The Special Inspector gushed. "This is delicious!"
"I'm so glad you like it!" Jonathan beamed. "Be sure to eat every bite!"
"Yes sir!" Shepherd happily agreed.
Jonathan turned and grinned at Shinpachi who was still standing and waiting for him to finish 'his' meal, "Tell Jessica that it was even more delicious than usual."
"Yes sir," Shinpachi agreed. It wasn't uncommon for the Vice Admiral to pull crazy schemes to get out of eating his vegetables.
Kreeekkk… The doors slowly swung opened again and this time they admitted a dejected Lieutenant Commander Drake.
"I'm sorry Vice Admiral," Drake apologized. "One Eye caught me off guard."
"Join the club," Vice Admiral Jonathan replied. "That pirate's a trickster. None of us were prepared for the unorthodox craftiness of those Straw Hats."
"Still… I spent the day locked in a closet in the infirmary," Drake grumbled. "I was useless."
"Actually Drake, I was hoping to ask you a few questions," Todd requested.
"Oh? About what?" Drake asked.
"You have the most experience at this base of leading units on the front lines," Todd said. "I ended up leading the ambush against the Straw Hats and I was hoping to pick your brain about what I could have done differently."
"I suppose I could help you out," Drake agreed as he joined Todd at his desk.
Todd looked back and saw that Shepherd was still happily eating Vice Admiral Jonathan's meal. "And you must be hungry," Todd noted as he pushed his plate over to Drake. "Here, the Head Chef made it herself."
Grumble… Drake's stomach growled and answered the question for him. "I guess I could eat." The Lieutenant Commander quickly dug into the offered plate.
Todd shared a glance with Jonathan and the two marine officers proceeded to giggle like a pair of school girls as other people were forced to eat their vegetables.
"What you needed was a snatch and grab unit," Drake explained once Shinpachi left with the empty plates and the food cart.
"What's that?" Todd asked.
"You take a group of stealthy marines and have them sneak through the others so they can get within jumping distance of the pirates," Drake told him. Todd actually took notes. "Then you had another marine cause a distraction. He could drop his gun. Anything sudden that would draw the attention of the pirates. Once they're distracted the snatch and grab team jumps in and recovers the hostage or anything else you're trying to recover."
"Hmm… that might've worked," Todd mused. "Although, it turned out one of the hostages was actually one of the pirates. Who knows how she would have reacted to getting grabbed."
"You know soldier," Jonathan told Todd, "After One Eye captured Straw Hat and that cook in the dining hall I obtained the paperwork to have him promoted to a Commissioned Officer. But after it was revealed that he was a traitor and you stepped up in place of my other missing officers, I took the liberty to put your name on the paperwork."
"Really, sir?" Todd asked.
"That's right, Ensign Todd." Jonathan looked over at Commander Shepherd, "Does that sound good to you, best buddy?"
"I'll work my magic at HQ," Shepherd offered, "But I'm all for it. This young man preformed honorably. He was thrust into a huge situation that he hadn't been properly trained for and he still managed to keep things under control."
"I'm honored," Todd gushed. "And I won't let you down Vice Admiral!"
Rring! Riing!
"Oh, sorry, that's me," Commander Shepherd apologized. "It must be a call from Marineford." Shepherd answered the snail-call. "Hello? Yes this is Commander Shepherd. Oh, you want to speak with the Vice Admiral? Of course, right away." Shepherd offered the Transponder Snail to Vice Admiral Joanthan.
"Hello, Vice Admiral Jonathan speaking…" Jonathan stated.
"Vice Admiral Jonathan, this is Commodore Smoker from the Loguetown Marines."
"I heard you left Loguetown to chase the Straw Hats," Jonathan noted.
"And I just heard that you recently had an encounter with those pests."
"We did," Jonathan answered. "They ran amok in our base and managed to escape."
"That's them. No one's better at causing chaos and then running away than the Straw Hats. What can you tell me about your dealings with them?"
"Well, this will be hard to believe," Jonathan said, "But they dropped down out of the air into the middle of my base. They claim that they were riding a giant octopus balloon. They managed to escape when they sailed their ship into the mouth of a massive sea turtle that was half the size of my whole island."
"That sounds about right. I've learned not to dismiss anything when it comes to them."
"While I have you on the line, would mind sharing what actually happened in Alabasta?"
"What's the matter? Was the official report not enough for you?"
"It was until I actually met them. Straw Hat refused to reveal his true purpose there and One Eye seemed to be on good terms with Nico Robin when I met him."
"So Nico Robin joined up with them? Alabasta's a long story. But the short version is that the Straw Hats made friends with Princess Vivi and she asked them to help her save her kingdom and defeat Crocodile. One Eye had his hands in everything and seemed to know everything. Straw Hat seemed completely oblivious but he ended up beating that rotten sandbag."
"That still doesn't fill in all the blanks but it will do for now."
"Thank you for the information. I'll put it to good use."
-x-
Click! Commodore Smoker hung up his Transponder Snail and turned to face his officers Lieutenant Commander Devo and Ensign Tashigi.
"Is that arm of yours ready for an official field test?" Smoker asked. "The Straw Hats were sighted fleeing from Navarone."
Clack! Devo clenched his new metal fist, "Time for a long overdue rematch."
"We need to stop them before they can cause even more trouble," Tashigi resolved.
"Then that means the vacation's over," Smoker announced, "We've got some pirates to hunt."
The Straw Hats might have escaped from Navarone but now 'White Chase' Smoker and his crew were once again on their trail.
-x-
SPLOOOSH! Sheldon broke the surface of the open sea and the Going Merry sailed out from his mouth.
Ricky sat on the rear deck of the Going Merry with three different sized Transponder Snails in front of him. The first was the small mini-Transponder Snail that he used to call Sheldon. The second was the medium-sized Transponder Snail Speaker that he had previously rigged in Sheldon's ear. The third was the large Transponder Snail that he'd stolen from Jonathan.
"So what are you doing?" Chopper asked from where he was perched on Ricky's shoulders.
"I just finished rigging up the Going Merry's new communication system," Ricky answered. "You see, now that we've taken the big snail from G-8, I introduced it to the other two Snails so now it will be able to call both of them whenever we need it to."
"So we'll be able to call Sheldon from the Merry?" Chopper asked.
"Yup," Ricky answered. "And whoever has the little snail will be able to the one of the Merry. So if we ever split up into groups like we did on Upper Yard we'll be able to call the group that's still on the Going Merry."
"Oh, that'll be really helpful!" Chopper realized.
"Do me a favor and go stick this one in Sheldon's ear," Ricky requested as he passed the medium Snail Speaker up to Chopper. "It's a snail so it will stick and stay wherever you put it."
"Aye sir!" Chopper quickly agreed. He jumped off of Ricky's shoulders onto the rear railing then Transformed into his big Heavy Point form and jumped off the Merry onto Sheldon's snout. SKISH! Chopper ran up and around Sheldon's head and eventually came to the large cave-like hole that was the giant sea turtle's ear.
Chopper grinned and took the Snail Speaker and stuck it sideways onto the wall. Squish!
"Teeheehee!"Chopper laughed. "It does stick!"
"Can you hear me, Chopper?" Ricky's voice sounded through the cave.
"Yeah! I hear you, Big Brother!" Chopper replied.
"Don't answer that. It's a one-way speaker. If you can hear this, come on out. I've got a present for you, Little Brother."
"A present?" Chopper repeated. The excited reindeer ran out of the ear-cave, raced around Sheldon's face and jumped back onto the Going Merry. Chopper beamed at Ricky, "You made me a present?"
Ricky nodded and grinned, "And that means that the Snails are all working. I'll give it to you once I dismiss Sheldon." Ricky stood up and picked up the handset on the big Transponder Snail.
"Thanks Sheldon," Ricky addressed the giant turtle. "Thanks for following that cloud for the last few days and thanks for helping us escape. We're headed for the next island so we'll be fine for the next few days. Feel free to swim off and do whatever you want. I'll call if I need you."
SPLOOOSH! The turtle responded by sinking back down into the water.
"And now for you," Ricky resolved as he turned back to Chopper who had shrunk back down into this hybrid form. "I found this on one of the ships in Sheldon's stomach. I finished carving it after Luffy beat Eneru." Ricky fished into his pocket and pulled out a pink gemstone and handed it to Chopper.
Chopper held the pink gem in between his hooves and saw that Ricky had expertly crafted the still mostly-round stone to look like a partially opened cherry blossom.
"It's beautiful!" Chopper exclaimed.
"I make special treasures for people I care about and want to be able to find when I need to," Ricky informed him. "The first one is a gold top hat that I used to decorate my older brother Sabo's grave. The second one is those bands of rubies that Ace wears on his hat and neck. The third one is an emerald pendant that I made for Ollie. The fourth is a diamond manji that I made for Whitebeard. The fifth… Nami had one…" Ricky shook his head and his frown disappeared. "Anyway, this is the sixth. It's worth exactly two million, two hundred twenty-two thousand, two hundred twenty-two berries. I can use my Treasure Sense Mantra to lock onto that amount so that I can find you if you ever get lost. Eneru and Aisa were able to hear everyone in Skypiea so I think that as long as we're on the same island I'll always be able to find you."
"Oh wow, thanks!" Chopper gushed as he stared at the pink cherry blossom in awe. "But wait… why didn't you ever make one for Luffy? He's your brother too isn't he?"
"Do you have any idea what he's put that treasured straw hat of his through?" Ricky countered. "If I gave Luffy one he'd end up losing it or selling it for meat. Besides, he's easy enough to find as it is. It just have to look for a place that has food or is really noisy, or both."
Chopper frowned, "Then… maybe I shouldn't hold onto this…" he suggested. "It's so pretty and I don't wanna lose it."
"Yeah, but I figure if we fasten it inside that pink hat of yours you won't be able to lose it," Ricky suggested, "Even at your clumsiest I've never seen it fall off."
Chopper looked up at his pink hat, "This top hat was the first present I ever got." He beamed. "Now it'll be even better since it has my present from you in it too!" Chopper lunged at Ricky and hugged him around the waist. "THANKS BIG BROTHER!"
-x-
A tender moment later Ricky and Chopper joined the other Straw Hats in the galley.
Ricky placed the big Transponder Snail on the table while Chopper claimed a seat at the table next to Luffy and helped himself to the small spread of snacks that Sanji had made.
"The marines raided the store rooms but not the fridge," Sanji stated as he stared hard at Ricky. "I whipped up those using what was left. You can have one on the condition that you replenish the stores the next time we make port."
"I'm actually grateful for your reluctance in feeding me," Ricky admitted. "It threw Jonathan off and gave me a big advantage while I was moving against him." Ricky glanced over at Nami.
The navigator had changed out of her nurse's outfit and was back in her short-shorts and her gray t-shirt that said 'EVIL' on the chest.
"I see you took the liberty of moving me safe in here," Ricky observed.
"We were just deciding how to spend the gold that you still have in there," Nami replied.
"We could buy all sorts of stuff!" Usopp chimed in.
"I wanna buy a big gold statue!" Luffy announced.
"I had to talk the Skypieans out of making us a statue," Ricky told him, oblivious to the fact that they had still made one anyway.
"Oh, I could buy medical books that'll teach me all about the latest medical procedures and operations!" Chopper exclaimed.
"I could use some new pots, frying pans, silverware, and a giant mouse trap," Sanji commented. He turned his hard gaze to Luffy which told everyone what pest he'd be using the mouse trap on.
"I just wanna replace the booze the marines took," Zoro added.
"…" Robin looked up from a book and shrugged then went right back to it.
"Well I think I should get everyone's share plus whatever's in the safe," Nami resolved.
"ARE YOU NUTS?" Luffy, Zoro, Usopp and Chopper all snapped at her.
"Not for me," Nami clarified, "For a special lady. I think we should set aside all that treasure to pay for the repairs we need to make on the Merry. Isn't it about time we've paid her back for all she's done for us?"
"Oh yeah!" Usopp quickly agreed. "The Going Merry has carried us for a long time now. Its been our ship and our home ever since I joined up in the East Blue."
"Don't forget the Merry was with us when we crossed that crazy Reverse Mountain and burst into the Grand Line," Zoro pointed out.
"And she flew up to the Sky Island," Sanji continued.
"Big Brother and I risked our lives to defend the Merry on Upper Yard," Chopper recalled.
"And then that mysterious someone repaired the damage for us," Usopp noted as he remembered the 'ghost' he'd seen late at night fixing the Merry. "I SAW SOMEBODY! I SWEAR!"
"When you think about it, this ship's gone through a lot for us," Luffy realized.
"And that's exactly why we need to give her some tender love and care," Nami resolved.
"Oh yeah!" Usopp exclaimed, "The Going Merry's Great Repair!"
"Let's do it!" Luffy cheered.
"It sounds like what you need is a Shipwright," Robin chimed in.
"Oh Miss. Robin, you're so smart!" Sanji swooned.
"That's what that old man Mekao suggested," Usopp admitted.
"Wait, isn't that what Usopp is?" Chopper questioned.
"I'm a sniper not a Shipwright!" Usopp insisted. "Sometimes when you need a job done right, you've gotta go see a professional."
"THAT'S IT!" Luffy exclaimed as he stood up. "We've gotta get a Shipwright for our crew." The Straw Hats all turned to look at the Captain. "Our journey's far from over. We really need someone with us that has the skills to take care of the Merry. She's not just our ship. She's our home too. So let's go find us a Shipwright that can keep the Merry safe!"
With that Luffy sat down and went back to his drink.
"Is anyone else shocked that he just said something really smart?" Sanji asked.
"And we should get a musician too!" Luffy added.
"And now he's back…" Zoro groaned.
"Hey, you don't need to convince me," Ricky said. "I'm all for spending the treasure on repairs. I'll hire a Shipwright to sail with us if I have to."
"You're right," Nami replied. "We don't need to convince you. I was convincing them. Now I'm taking all that treasure." Nami got up and walked over to the safe in the corner.
"YOU'RE MY BROTHER'S TREASURE."
Nami reached up and dialed 141139 on Ricky's keypad lock. Click! The safe unlocked.
Nami turned around and folded her arms across the 'EVIL' on her chest.
"Wanna tell me why my name is the combination to your safe?" Nami taunted.
14-1-13-9 – N-A-M-I
"I thought it was obvious," Ricky answered, "I used the name of someone I treasure and want to keep safe to guard the treasure in my safe."
Ricky turned and walked out of the galley. Nami was left staring after him with wide eyes and a pink face. She had expected to see him flinch at her guessing his combination and had planned to make him squirm by taunting him over taking his money. She hadn't expected or planned for him to respond with a blatant confession. She was so caught off guard that she completely forgot to add a point to her score in the Swindling War.
"Wait a minute... Doesn't Ricky love treasure?"
Nami's face went from pink to bright red when she suddenly remembered that she wasn't alone. Nami looked back at the table and saw the others, even Robin, staring at her.
"WHAT'RE YOU STARING AT?" Nami shouted at them. The Straw Hats quickly averted their eyes.
"RIGHT!" Luffy announced as he up again. "I'm done eating and we're back in the Grand Line so that means while we look for that Shipwright we're onto our next adventure!"
"Just be careful Luffy," Robin warned him. "You have no idea what you'll be facing next."
-x-
And that's Another Nakama III. Thank you to Sallem Cortez 004 for the chess/poker speech, thank you to kallen22 and anieljesu gonzalez who kept me motivated and on a semi-regular update schedule, thank you to everyone who stuck with me for the almost three years that it took me to finally finish this sucker and thank you to everyone that joined in along the way and showed their support.
Now that this installment is finally done, exactly five years after I started the first one, I'm going to take the next month off to work on projects that aren't One Piece related but I'll be back in February with Another Nakama IV.
'Till Next Time…
Peace!