Previously on the last chapter:
My vision refocused and I saw a Blonde with some iconic twirly eyebrows and wearing sunglasses.
Showtime. I walk over and take a seat next to him. I smile at him and he acknowledges my presence.
"Excuse me. I need some help. I'm looking for an old friend I grew up with. He's kinda silly, really willful, makes stupid decisions sometimes, wears a straw hat, and claims he will be a bigshot in the future. Any chance you've seen him around?"
***Amaya's POV***
He seemed rather surprised at my claim of being friends with Luffy before it turned into a look of suspicion.
"Oh? Is that so? You seem to know him pretty well." Sanji comments.
"Does that mean you know who I speak of?" I ask, counting at his pace even if it was slow.
"I'm about to go see him if you want to tag along." He said, glancing at the entrance door.
I followed his gaze to see several bodies littering the ground. I whistled, impressed. "Looks like someone is wreaking shop." I comment on the amount of people knocked out.
Sanji smirked. "The one who did that is a part of the crew."
"Cool! I can't wait to see him again and meet the best of the crew." I smile, happy for Luffy at his choice of crewmates.
Before Sanji could comment on what I had to say, a bluenette girl with her hair up in a ponytail ran over to us. It was Vivi! Her hair is such a pretty color in person. I'm still not used to unnatural colored hair in this world, despite having a striking red color myself.
"S-Sanji! They need help! They're trapped!" She starts to panickly try to explain.
"Lead the way," Sanji said.
Vivi nodded before giving me a quick glance. She shook her head then started to lead the way to the hidden room that was starting to self-destruct.
We entered at the top of the room, unnoticed by Luffy and the others who were stuck in the cage. I could hear Nami and Usopp freaking out, before Nami and Luffy tried to trick a bananagator into tearing their cage open with its teeth. If the animal wasn't trying to eat them, I might have felt bad for it once it broke its teeth.
"That croc didn't think that through. Even if it worked, would you really want Luffy inside your stomach? Talk about indigestion. " I comment nonchalantly.
Vivi paled at the suggestion while Sanji lightly snickered at the thought.
I turn to look at them. "May I? I want to surprise him?" I ask the blonde and bluenette.
"As you wish my lady!" Sanji fullheartly agreed.
Vivi just nods, still looking worried.
I surveyed the area below us and noticed another extra large banangator nearing the cage. Nami and Usopp were freaking out about the gator and Luffy started to panic about the water levels. I shake my head at him.
I jump down from the entrance at the top of the stairs. Taking my sword still inside its holder, I slice the bananagator in half and scaring the rest away a few feet. I smile at the straw hat boy locked in the cage. "Long time no see Luffy. Mind if I drop in?" I say jokingly.
Luffy laughs with a huge grin, donning on his face. "Ama!"
"S-scary lady," Usopp comments at the far end of the cage, hiding behind an interested Zoro. Both men were eyeing the sword I was holding with different gazes. One of fear and the other of intrigue.
"L-Luffy you know this person?" Nami asks tentatively, while keeping her eyes on me.
He turns to face her with a smile still present. "Yeah! She's my childhood friend!" He then turned to face me. "Ama! Hurry up and let us out! Cut the cage!" He semi asks and orders.
I place my sword back on my hip. "Sorry Luffy, but if I did I would also cut you in half so no can do." I shift my weight to one side like a fashion model. "You'll just have to wait for a key."
"Ahh!" Luffy, Nami, and Usopp all yelled. Luffy from disappointment and the other two with slight fear.
Luffy then started to freak out about the water levels. "Ah! It's up to my thighs! I'm kinda starting to feel tired."
I laugh at his reaction to the water.
"N-no fair, Ama! Why aren't you being affected by the water too?!" He questioned.
I give a slight smirk filled with a little pride. "I've trained myself to have a higher resistance to it. I can still use my powers until the levels rise up to my waist. After that, game over." I explained, seeing that I still had some time left as the water was only to the lower part of my thighs.
Another bananagator starts to come up behind me since I could hear it walking and splashing in my direction. I didn't bother to move though. There was really no need.
"Oi, watch out!" Zoro warned, but it wasn't necessarily.
The gator suddenly received a hard kick from underneath its large belly. "Bad Manners Kick Course!" Sanji called out as he kicked the beast. It was a one kick KO. "Stupid beast. Anyone who would harm a lady will get some manners beaten into them." He stated all gentlemanly like.
Usopp and Nami looked shocked again at the display of strength shown by the blonde. Even Zoro made a small reaction not expecting it since he looked lost in thought earlier.
"Hey," Sanji starts to say, smoking a cigarette. "Been waiting long?"
"Yay!! Mr. Prince!!" Luffy and Usopp cheered out.
"You idiot!" Zoro yells at Sanji. "Stop goofing around and find the key already!"
Sanji completely ignores him and starts doing some noodle dance, asking if Nami fell in love with him.
"Sanji, please hurry before the water starts to affect me." I kindly hurried him up.
"Right away!"
"Vivi!" Luffy calls, looking up at her. "Way to go!"
I've always been impressed with how he can remember small important details like that when it came to friends. It was differentially one of his strong suits.
"Here they come one after another." Sanji comments after the two of us being surrounded by several monstrous bananagators.
"Go, Sanji! Pound them all!" Luffy orders.
"Bunch together all you want and come get me you dumb bananas." He starts to give a mini speech as he prepares a powerful kick.
Usopp apparently didn't like the pace that he was going, so he also starts to yell at Sanji. "We don't have time for this! One-second strikes! No, make that one-instant strikes!"
"Take out the third one that just came out of the opening." Smoker commands.
"What? You can tell?" Luffy asks.
"Are your ears just for show? His growl is the same as the one who swallowed the key, isn't it?" He mockingly explains to him in monotone.
I suppress a grin at his cool factor. Leave it to my chosen brother figure to have a weird talent for great hearing.
"I can't really tell." Luffy says after listening to the different growls of the gators.
I chuckled in response before my attention went to a large ball of wax that flew out the bananagator's mouth that Sanji kicked.
"The key!" Luffy shouts.
"That doesn't look like a key!" Usopp says.
A weak voice inside the ball then said, "Wax-wax ball release!" The wax ball cracked in half and revealed a severely dehydrated Mr.3. He greedily drank the water in the room and rapidly returned to his normal state.
He started to monologue to himself on how he ended up inside the gator thanks to Crocodile, unaware of his audience. He finally stopped after he noticed that there was a key on the rubble in front of him.
"What's this? Mr. 3 asks as he picks it up, making the trio inside the cage, Nami, Usopp, and Luffy, yell "Hand over the key!" like savages.
Mr. 3 then freaked out seeing that it was then. He then looked around the room before figuring out what was going on.
"You're Mr. 3 aren't you?" Sanji asks walking over to him.
He freaked out even more upon seeing the blonde
"Hand over the key, quietly." Sanji ordered.
Mr. 3 grinned mischievously, before yelling, "Here comes the long throw!" He chucked the key to the other side of the room, causing it to sink into the water.
"What?!" Those inside the cage freak out.
"I don't know who you are, but you appear to be on their side!" Mr. 3 dramatically declared. "If you want the key, you'll have to go find it. However, whether or not you are able to, I won't be responsible!"
What a moron. I think, shaking my head at his stupidity.
Sanji looked like he was about to kill him. Makes sense as Nami was inside the cage that was about to be flooded even further.
"It flew far away! Far away!" Mr. 3 taunted those inside the cage, making them irritated.
"That moron," Zoro says.
"That was smart, for coming out of nowhere." Luffy comments dumbfounded.
"There's no time, Sanji!" Nami calls out.
"That was a good-for-nothing thing to pull," Sanji states, getting ready to fight the man.
"Wait a minute, Sanji!" Usopp calls out to the blonde.
"Couldn't his wax-wax power make a key to this cage?" He asks.
"Why didn't you say so sooner?" I said as I started to stretch. "I would have jumped in sooner." I state. I ran over to Mr. 3, punching him straight in the mouth, receiving a small kiss in the process on my fist.
Despite the high water levels, I could feel my powers slowly start to copy the wax-wax power inside myself.
Mr. 3 was knocked out cold, shocking the rest of Luffy's crew and Smoker.
"What did you do that for!?!" Nami yelled at me.
"Yeah, now we can't get out!" Usopp complained.
Luffy laughed. "Don't worry, Shishishi. Ama's got a special ability."
His statement made the others curious since they then turned to watch me do my thing.
Once I felt the power fully copy itself. I moved my figures on one hand, allowing them to turn into wax. I molded a key that could fit inside the door. When I finished, I handed it over to Sanji to set them free.
"One key as requested and just in time too. Any second now the water will be too high for me to use my ability." I comment as Sanji gratefully takes the key to let the others out. I would have done it myself, but the sea prism wouldn't do me any favors for touching it.
After letting the other out, Sanji went to stick a note of some kind onto Mr. 3 before kicking him even further away from the group.
"Let's get going. There's little time." He reminds the group after smashing Mr. 3 deep into the rock wall.
Vivi watched Mr. 3's impact with shock as Nami spoke.
"Yeah. I'm sure the first route they took is toward Alubarna."
"But there are still so many bananagators that way!" Vivi comments worriedly.
"You might want to retally those numbers, princess." I said, pointing my thumb over my shoulder at Luffy and Zoro who just went to work.
"Aren't there any more? That wasn't enough!" Luffy calls out, still fired up.
"Yeah, they were pretty weak. I didn't even need to unsheath my sword earlier." I comment in agreement with Luffy. I look back at the others to see Nami, Usopp, and Vivi stunned.
"Looks like we needn't worry." Nami comments, not taking her eyes off the stack of bananagators lying on the wet floor.
Vivi turned around and started to yell into the palm of her hand. "And after I had that much trouble with one of them!"
"No, their strength is just abnormal, so don't worry about it." Usopp tries to comfort her.
I walk over to her before placing a hand on her shoulder. "True strength is having the power to protect those you care for. You were strong enough to get help to save your friends in time. That took plenty of strength to accomplish, so don't sell yourself short."
She nods her head in acceptance.
The moment was ruined by Luffy complaining. "Grr! I can't go all-out soaked in water like this!"
"Yeah, I'm starting to have trouble just standing at this point." I agree with the lad.
The walls of the room started to crack much quicker, causing Luffy to freak out even more. "Ahh!! The walls are cracking!"
"Idiot, that's overdoing it." Zoro scolds him, keeping his ever calm facade.
"Everyone out!" Sanji yells out, but we didn't get the chance as the room became overflowed with water.
I could feel the coldness surrounding me before becoming numb. I was able to stay awake. I had that much resistance to the sea, but I couldn't move a muscle. All my energy was drained.
I saw Zoro swim in my direction as he was lugging Smoker with his other hand. I gave him a small smile in thanks when we made eye contact. He seemed surprised that I was conscious.
I could see Sanji hauling Luffy up, and I saw Nami and Vivi pulling Usopp up. It looked like he got knocked out by something hitting him in the head.
Soon we broke the water's surface, and Zoro pulled me onto a dry patch of ground. I started to cough up the sea water that had started to fill my lungs and replace it with fresh air.
Zoro threw Smoker next to me before pulling himself out of the water.
"Thanks, Greenie." I say in gratitude.
He seemed irked by the nickname. No surprise there, but at least I didn't say Moss Head ya know? I also couldn't use his name or else he might wonder how I knew.
"Zoro," He responded. "You're welcome. I wouldn't let a friend of my captain drown, especially a swordswoman. I want a duel sometime." He explained.
I laughed. "Sounds fun. After this mess is all wrapped up, I'll gladly have a friendly duel with you." I smile in both excitement and challenge, which received a smirk from him in return.
"Sheesh, you guys with your abilities sure bear some hard risks, huh?" Sanji comments.
"Sorry for the burden," I reply. "But I wouldn't trade it for anything. I'll use my powers to keep those I cherish safe." I declare.
"Aw! You'll never be a burden Ama-swan!" Sanji started to noodle dance.
"Ama?" I questioned his use of my nickname.
"Is that not your name?" The blonde asked. "That's what Luffy called you earlier."
"Ahh, that's right. That's his nickname for me, but it's fine if you want to use it. I just wasn't expecting it is all. My full name is Amaya." I explained.
He nods in understanding, and I think most of the others heard as well.
"Hey Nami-san!" He suddenly called.
"Hm?" She asks, while fixing her now wet hair into an updo.
"Do you still have that perfume I gave you?"
"Huh? Yeah. Why?"
"Put some of it on." He said seriously.
She obliged, making him swoon even more for her. I sweatdrop at the scene.
"Roronoa!" Smoker suddenly yelled out, thrusting his baton at Zoro who coolly blocked the attack with the side of his sword. "Why did you save my life?" He questioned.
"I was just following the captain's orders. I don't think you necessarily have to thank me. It was one of his whims. Pay it no mind." Zoro answered serious as ever.
Before the scene could become more tense, I ran at Smoker and gave him a big hug. "Smoker! It's great to see you again! How've you been?" I asked.
"W-what are you doing?!?" He questioned becoming flustered. "Get off me pirate!" He demanded.
I released him with a frown. "You don't remember me?" I ask sadly. "You watched me for Garp when I was a kid!" I complained.
He seemed to look at me skeptically.
I huffed. "You still don't believe me! Look!" I turned my arm into smoke, using his own Smoke-Smoke power I got from him many years ago.
He seemed to be very surprised. "You're that Ama?" He slowly questioned.
"The one and only!" I grin in response, happy that he finally remembered me.
He slightly grinned before he shook his head and wiped the grin off his face. "Why did you become a pirate? I thought Garp was training you to join the marines?" He questioned.
"It's a long story, but I'll tell you the short version." I start to create images with the smoke power like he used to do when telling me stories as a kid.
It showed planes and an island. There was chaos in the background and two people placing a baby in a basket.
"My island was destroyed by a buster call since we were the only people who could fly. I'm the sole survivor. How could I join the group that killed my people?" I ask with a serious look. "You and Garp may be good people, but the same can't be said for your higher ups." I state.
I dissipated the smoke. "It was good to see you, but sadly we are now enemies. I'm glad we got to talk one last time before a time comes when we have to fight one another." I turn to face the Strawhats who were listening in along with Vivi. I glanced back at Smoker who stood stunned. "Now if you'll excuse us, we have to save Vivi's people from a similar fate." I give a small smile before running after Sanji who started to lead the way.
I was surprised that Smoker let us go. I think I heard him say the word, "go" towards us.
Luffy smiled. "Ya know, he's not so bad. Shishishi."
"Get going already!" Smoker yells from a distance at him, clearly embarrassed by the comment.
"Full speed to Alubarna!" Usopp yells out.
"Straight East!" Vivi directs the group.
Luffy's fighting spirit started to revive once we started running.
"Um? We aren't going to run the whole way to Alubarna, right?" Usopp questions.
"Yeah, where's Eyelash?" Nami wonders.
I think I remembered that being the name of the camel, but I wasn't too sure.
"Don't worry about that." Sanji comments continuing to run ahead.
"Hey, guys!" Choppers voice echos in the distance.
Turning my head in the direction of the sound, I saw a large dust cloud headed our way.
Chopper arrived on the back of a really large sand crab. His claws were two different sizes, and he made a funny expression.
"He's Lashes's friend. Hop on!" Chopper explained from on top of the crab. The camel, now assumed to be named Lashes, was also riding on top.
"Amazing! Moving crabs are always under the sand, so they're very nearly phantom crabs!" Vivi exclaimed in delight.
"This guy's pretty fast, right?" Zoro questions, looking slightly impatient.
"Guys, hang on tight!" Chopper happily shouts before pulling the reins on the grab. "All right! Let's go!"
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Enter main cast!!! Woo!! We've officially made it to Alabasta and are not active with the main plot, for now anyways. Hope you enjoyed! Until Next Time...
World_Imaginer