One Piece: Unforeseen

| The Luminous Island (Part 25) |

(Somewhere in the Central Court)

After Mae caught everyone up to speed, Jael took over and broke them off into groups. "And as for Sanji and I, we're going to go to the GN tower to disconnect the GN soldiers," he said, pointing towards a colossal tower in the distance.

"GN soldiers?" Chopper repeated. "What're GN soldiers?"

"They're robots controlled by men. There are exactly five-hundred GN soldiers. One-hundred to each court. They're ranked from one to one-hundred. The higher the number in their name, the stronger they are. Basically, they're upgraded guards," Jael answered. "They'll end up being a real problem if we don't shut them down."

"So, they're not cyborgs," Mae noted, remembering her encounter with GN 1.

"I'm sure we can handle them," Zoro said with confidence.

Mae nodded. "Zoro's right, we can handle them. They don't seem like they'd be a problem."

"Eeeh," Jael stretched out his jaw. "I'm sure you can handle them, but the workers will be killed within seconds if the GN soldiers get a hold of them. They're on strict command to eliminate the workers if they try to escape. Which means the GN soldiers are probably out there right now hunting them down."

Robin gave Jael a despairing look. "Well, this isn't good."

"Now," dusting his hands together, Jael looked around at the group, "does everyone know what they're supposed to do?"

Franky gave a thumbs up. "Robin, Chopper and I will start herding the slaves together and keep them in one spot."

"Herding?" Mae pinched one eye closed. "They aren't sheep..."

Usopp saluted. "Nami will join me. We'll find Brook and give him the run down and then join Franky after."

Mae moved next to Zoro. "And Zoro will be joining me. We're going to head back underground, find Ma' and tell her what's going on. Her husband was a great influence on the people down there. I'm sure she can get word out and keep everyone under control down there."

"And are you sure he can handle Aro?" Jael asked doubtingly, jabbing his thumb towards Luffy. "He isn't going to be an easy fight."

Sanji pocketed his hands. "Trust us, he can handle him."

Jael looked Luffy up and down. He couldn't see how someone so small could take down Aro, but he wasn't going to argue with them. Stressfully rubbing a hand over his stubble, he sighed. "Aro typically keeps to himself and doesn't come out of the Central tower unless it's for business or pleasure. Keep in mind, he's no joke. Aro's the mastermind of this entire Kingdom. Compared to him, the other elders are nothing."

"And what about the other elders?" Franky asked.

"I'm one hundred percent positive that the other elders will show up soon. And when that happens, whoever they confront will have to take care of them right then and there." Jael answered.

Resting a hand on her hip, Nami glanced around at everyone. "All right then, let's get this started."

(Central Court – Courtyard – Main Stage)

Brook raised his left hand high and inclined his head back as he sang the last verse in his song. And as the last note on the piano was played, he knelt down on one knee and bowed his head. Simultaneously as he did this, fireworks rocketed into the midnight sky.

The audience in the courtyard roared loud.

The deafening cheers filled Brook's heart with pride. Standing back up, he began to bow and blow them kisses, showing his gratitude.

From behind Brook, a pale and petite woman with tangled black hair appeared. "What a show, what a show, what a show!" She voiced, a microphone pressed against her lower lip.

Acknowledging the woman with a bow, Brook moved to the side and let her take the center of the stage. However, the woman didn't move to the center of the stage. Rather, she made sure to stand right beside him.

Resting a hand on his elbow, she grabbed it tight. "I don't know how you feel about the show tonight, but in my opinion, this was one of the best we've had in years!"

The crowd started to cheer again, chanting for an encore.

"More!"

"One more song!"

"More, more, more!"

"We want more!"

"One more song!"

Clearing her throat, the woman held her free hand up. "I would suggest an encore-"

Before she could finish her sentence, the people's wild cheers rose back up.

"-I would suggest an encore," she articulated, making sure that the people could hear her over their noise, "but due to an unfortunate circumstance, we are going to have to end the celebrations early tonight!"

The people began to moan and groan.

"I know that this hasn't happened before and believe me, I don't want the celebrations to end either, but something has come up!"

"What's going on?!" A man shouted from the crowds.

"Yeah!" Another person added.

"We're going under lockdown," the woman answered simply. "Now go home and turn your radios to the proper channel. When the okay is given, you may come out and together we can enjoy the celebrations again."

"Lockdown?!" People shouted in unison.

Soon everyone in the crowd started to spin in short circles and rumors started to spread. A night of celebration had never been canceled before and the Kingdom hadn't been in a lockdown in years.

Tightening her hold on Brook, keeping him in place, the woman raised her head high. "For your safety, go now. If you are caught wandering the streets and not in your home, you will be arrested."

While he watched the people swarm and leave the courtyard, a subtle movement in Brook's peripheral view caught his attention. From behind a set of curtains, Nami and Usopp waved fervently at him while mouthing something.

Leaning back to get a better view of them, he mouthed, 'what?'.

Usopp shoved Nami aside and pointed a finger at the woman. 'She knows who you are!' He mouthed.

Confused, Brook looked down at the rather short woman and then back at his crew with a shrug.

With an over exaggerated breath, Usopp started to make dramatic hand signs while mouthing, 'She. Knows. Who. You. Are'.

Brook scratched at his afro. He'd never been any good at lip reading.

A smirk reached the corner of the woman's mouth. With her eyes still on the dispersing crowds, she yanked him closer. "I think your friends are trying to tell you that I know who you are."