"Go get 'em rebel army!" The villagers cheered as their "protecters" stood before the vicious sea pirates. Y/n sat with Nami and Vivi behind a few rocks, out of view. They were all waiting to see how the fake rebel soldiers would react, Luffy and the others waiting with scripted lines hot on their tongues.
"What's that? You're a rebel soldier?" Luffy grunted out.
"N-No! You got it all wrong! We're just travelers passing through!" The leader stuttered out, trying to convince Luffy to not fight.
"He seems especially spineless to me..." Nami murmured, peeking out from behind the rock. "Not very reliable..."
"We'll see..." Y/n sat with her back against the rock, trying to distract herself from the blistering heat. The villagers kept cheering the fake rebel soldiers on, forcing them to come up with a plan.
"Listen, you! Don't be shocked by what I have to say! We're not the only rebel army soldiers here! In this village here, we've got 100 million more soldiers like us!" The leader shouted out, making everyone sweatdrop.
"Hey look, Usopp's got a twin..." Y/n muttered.
"What?! 100 million?!" Luffy exclaimed in shock, making y/n face-palm.
"He's obviously bluffing!" Usopp told Luffy.
"What? It was a lie?!"
"It wasn't even believable!"
"You! How dare you trick me!" Luffy raised his fist. "Gomu Gomu no..." He reeled back before shooting his fist forward into the leader's face, sending him flying back. "Pistol!"
"Luffy, you idiot! It's all over if you knock him out!" Nami whispered harshly, chastising the captain for his actions. The villagers and fake rebel soldiers started to freak out as Luffy advanced towards them, a scary smile plastered on his face.
"Big Brother!" Some of the village kids started to call out to the leader, trying to get him to stand up. Luffy ignored them and continued towards the rest of the fake soldiers, cracking his knuckles menacingly. He reeled back his fist once more, about to throw another punch, only to be stopped by the leader, who was now back on his feet.
"Yes...We're fake rebel soldiers. Even if all we wanted was to be as strong as the heroes we saw as kids, we're just a bunch of scoundrels now." The leader choked out, his breaths labored. "But, even if my dream never comes true, I'll never take away those kids' dreams! Even though I'm no match for you, I'm going to fight so that these kids can beat you all someday! I'd rather die than be seen as a punk in those kids' eyes!"
Luffy smiled and made the leader punch him, using his own arm to bring the leader's fist to his face. Everyone watched in shock as Luffy fell back into the sand, his smile still present upon his face. Sanji was about to step forward and fight, but was stopped as one of the fake rebel soldiers stood in his path.
"I'll fight too..." He let out nervously. "Your dream is my dream too, Big Bro!" He let out. "We've done all sorts of petty things since we were kids, but you were always there to protect the weak! I-I'll always be there with you, Big Bro! I'm going to be a hero with you!" He finished, preparing to attack Sanji and Usopp. The other two fake soldiers nodded in agreement and turned to Zoro and Chopper, ready to take them on.
"He's right! What do we have to lose?! I'll show you my fighting spirit too!" The one with the sword exclaimed.
"There's no where to run anyway!" The one with the boxing gloves added.
"They're looking different now..." Nami hummed. "Though part of it seems to be because their backs are to the wall."
"Yes. But a change like that wouldn't be possible if they didn't hold something dear in their hearts." Vivi murmured.
"So, they're good?" Nami questioned.
"Yeah, I'll leave this place to them." Vivi smiled. Nami gave her a smile before taking a piece of glass and reflecting light towards Usopp's eye, getting his attention. He informed the others that it was time to retreat, everyone beginning to run towards the girls' hiding place.
"Those bastards! Those are rebel soldiers for ya!" Sanji yelled out, grabbing Luffy on his way out.
"I've never seen people so strong before!" Usopp followed.
"I suck at plays like this..." Zoro let out, a light blush from embarrassment on his face.
"W-Wait for me!" Chopper followed. The fake rebel soldiers stood still and watched the pirates retreat with confusion. They were snapped out of their daze as the villagers erupted with cheers and praise. Y/n smiled slightly and opened her arms for Chopper to run into, his heavy point form changing into his brain point form, allowing y/n to carry his smaller frame with ease as the group started running, only slowing down once they were a good ways away from the village.
-
As the day went on, the water supply slowly decreased, the crew's muscles becoming sore as they defended themselves from the many desert beasts that appeared. The group decided that it would be a good idea to rest at some rocks, stopping to get their stomachs filled with lunch.
"Y/n-swan~! Would you like some more?" Sanji offered her another serving, but it was quickly swiped away by Luffy. "Luffy! That's enough you jerk! You've had enough calories!" Sanji scolded the rubber man.
"You took my food too!" Zoro shouted, starting to wrestle with Luffy. Y/n only sighed, trying to finish her meal, only for the plate to be knocked over by Luffy and Zoro. Her eyebrow twitched as the two men continued to fight.
"Knock it off!" She spat, hitting the two upside the head, large bumps quickly swelling atop their crowns. Suddenly, Ace spotted two boys taking some of their food. They gasped, the older boy quickly putting an arm over the younger one, protecting him.
"Who are you?!" The older one spat before taking out a gun, pointing it at Ace. "Move and you're dead!" Ace stared at them, y/n watching from afar. Out of fear, the boy pulled the trigger, the bullet headed straight for Ace. Y/n quickly put her arm up.
"Cancer: Clutch!" She clenched her fist, the bullet stopping in midair, almost nearing Ace's face. Sighing in relief that she was able to catch the bullet, she flexed her hand, allowing the bullet to drop to the ground.
"What was that?!" The boys looked at the bullet in shock before looking at y/n. The group, now noticing the commotion, walked over to where Ace and the two boys were.
"Who're they?" Usopp asked. The boys didn't respond, the older one only dropping the gun and running up to y/n.
"Please miss! I have a favor to ask!" He grabbed onto her cloak, looking up at her with pleading eyes. "There's someone I want you to find and catch!" He then showed her a picture of a man. "Please, find this man!" Y/n took the picture from him, looking it over.
"Who is this?" She asked the boy, handing the picture over to Ace.
"My brother and I followed him out here from the Badlands. He's Scorpion. A bounty hunter." He explained.
"Why are you trailing a bounty hunter?" Nami asked. The two boys didn't respond, looking at each other worryingly.
"I have business with this man as well." Ace suddenly said, making everyone look at him with slight shock. "A man in Yuba defeated Blackbeard. His name was Scorpion. My reason for going to Yuba is to meet him."
"Defeated Blackbeard?!" Everyone echoed in unison.
"Did this man really defeat Blackbeard, Ace?" Usopp looked at the picture skeptically.
"I don't know. The only way to find out is to meet him." Ace responded simply.
"Ace? You mean, Fire Fist Ace?" The boys questioned.
"There you are, Fire Fist Ace!" Suddenly, the man from the picture, Scorpion, appeared on an ostrich. "I'm Scorpion! The indomitable hero! I've come here to challenge you! Fight me, fair and square!" He yelled out, the two boys hiding behind the rocks to keep themselves out of his sight.
"There's somethin' I wanna ask you, old man." Ace ran forward, the ostrich and Scorpion doing the same.
"Take this!" The older man pulled out some sort of weapon, firing it, releasing a metal net. Ace set himself ablaze, quickly blowing the net away towards Scorpion, wrapping itself around him, knocking him off the ostrich and onto the floor. "Ouch! Hot! Hot!" He exclaimed, quickly getting the metal net off of him.
"It seems like you've got some skill." Ace smirked as the man got back up on his feet.
"Our hellish battle has only begun! Popo! Compressed Extinguisher Gun!" The man yelled out, his ostrich running towards him and placing the weapon in front of him. The man quickly put together the weapon, shooting the compressed extinguishing foam towards Ace. The male moved out of the way, the foam shooting large holes through the rock Ace once stood in front of.
Scorpion kept firing the foam, Ace continuously dodging until he got close enough to the bounty hunter, throwing a quick punch into the his gut. Scorpion fell to the ground, holding his stomach in pain.
"I expected as much. You lied about defeating Blackbeard, didn't you? You knew that using his name would get me to show up, huh?" Ace looked down at the man, frowning slightly. Scorpion tried to get up, coughing and trembling in agony.
"No more! That's enough, dad!" The older brother got out from his hiding place, yelling out to Scorpion.
"Dad?" Y/n raised a brow. The two brothers ran towards Scorpion, yelling for him to stop.
"D-Dip! Chip!" Scorpion stuttered out.
"Dad! Stop this! You don't stand a chance against Fire Fist Ace!"
"What are you two doing here?!"
"The world's greatest battle is too much for you! We came to get you, dad!"
"Even the most incapable person can challenged the world's greatest hero if he tries hard enough! That's what I wanted! I wanted to show you two a grand dream! I won't lose! Not while a dream burns fierce in my heart! Popo! The bazooka!" Scorpion inched towards Ace, the ostrich dropping off the weapon in front of the older man. "Fire Fist Ace! This is the end!"
"Dad! Stop!" The two boys ran up and hugged Scorpion's torso, tears pouring out from their eyes.
"We understand! We get what you're saying! We'll fight too! You being there gives us courage!" The older one cried out.
"We love you!" With that, Scorpion dropped the bazooka, hugging his two boys close to him. The forgotten bazooka went off, the projectile exploding in the large rock formation above them. Large rocks began to fall down, threatening to crush the family of three.
"Fire Fist!" Ace shouted out, throwing a large blast of fire, destroying the rocks and blowing away the debris. The two boys began to cry out as their dad collapsed to the floor after protecting his children. "Are you alright?" Ace approached them.
"Hey, old man, did you die?" Luffy let out simply. Scorpion huffed, looking up at Luffy.
"As if I'd die and leave my adorable sons behind..." He got up and hugged his children. "Scorpion-sama is invulnerable!" His children cried out, hugging him tighter. "Let's go home. To the Badlands!" The whole group smiled at the sight, finding it heartwarming.
The sun started to set, Scorpion getting Dip and Chip on Popo the ostrich, getting ready to head back home.
"Well then, it looks like I should be going as well." Ace sighed.
"Are you really leaving? Ace?" Chopper looked up at the man.
"Seeing as Blackbeard isn't in Alabasta, I have no reason to be here." Ace explained.
"Where are you headed next?" Y/n questioned, crossing her arms.
"Scorpion says that a man spotted him in the west. Guess I'll check 'em out." Ace brought out a piece of paper, handing it to Luffy. "Here. Always hang on to that."
"Huh? It's just a scrap of paper..." Luffy examined the scrap closely, trying to find it's importance.
"That scrap of paper will bring us back together someday. You don't want it?" Ace questioned, seeing Luffy's inquisitive face.
"No, I'll keep it." Luffy protested shortly.
"It's natural for a big brother to worry about his bungling kid brother. He might be a bit much to handle, but please take good care of him." Ace bowed then stood up straight, winking at y/n, who only rolled her eyes in response.
"Oi!" Dip and Chip called out, capturing the attention of the whole group. Luffy waved to them as they waved back, Popo and Scorpion beginning to walk away. Turning back, the group saw that Ace had disappeared.
"Huh? Where's Ace?" Luffy wondered.
"He's gone." Zoro let out simply.
"We'll see him again!" Luffy laughed.
"I'm sure we will..." Y/n smiled.
-
"Come back here, Crocodile!" Luffy ran around the dunes wildly, calling out for Crocodile.
"What's he freaking out about?" Nami questioned.
"Plus, he's flying..." Y/n murmured, seeing as Luffy walked on air.
"Did he eat another weird cactus?" Usopp questioned.
"Is it impossible for him to not cause trouble?" Nami sighed. "Chopper?"
"I don't think he can help much..." Zoro told her, both of them looking back at the poor reindeer who was passed out from the heat.
"Oh geez. Alright Zoro, it's up to you." Nami ordered.
"Why me?!" Zoro growled.
"Want me to talk more about your debt?" Nami smirked as Zoro's scowl deepened before he walked in Luffy's direction, muttering curses at the navigator.
"I'll go too. You can't trust that moss head to lead in any direction, even with footprints to follow..." Y/n sighed, following Zoro to go and apprehend their captain. Nami and the others continued forward, knowing that y/n will help the others find their way back to them.
"You idiot! Wake up!" Zoro spat at Luffy, who was punching the air in fury. Luffy turning towards Zoro, scowling and panting heavily.
"Crocodile!" He yelled out. "I found you!" Zoro's eyes widened in shock.
"What are you talking about?! You dumbass! Don't make me-" Zoro was cut off as Luffy punched him with an uppercut. Zoro growled and ran towards Luffy, the two engaging in a ferocious fist fight, y/n running over to dig Chopper out of the sand that he was now buried in due to Luffy's last attack. Zoro and Luffy threw one more punch, each of their fists landing on the other's face, knocking each other out simultaneously.
"Gah! What happened?!" Chopper woke up, spitting out sand. Looking over, y/n and the reindeer saw that Luffy and Zoro were buried up to their armpits in sand.
"These idiots..." Y/n grumbled, grabbing Zoro and pulling him out of the sand. He refused to regain consciousness, so Chopper had to put a foul smelling serum below his nose, effectively waking the swordsman up. He started to cough from disgust, gasping for fresh air.
"Thanks." He panted out.
"Luffy's still buried..." Chopper looked at the rubber man's unconscious form, still stuck in the sand.
"Leave him be for now. Where are the others?" Zoro asked.
"They're gone. They took off assuming we would find them again." Y/n told him.
"Those cold hearted bastards! But I guess it's okay, we just need to follow their footprints..." They all sat in silence for a while as they realized the footprints had been swept away why the windblown sand. The three of them sighed exasperatingly. At that moment, Luffy regained consciousness, looking to Zoro in shock.
"You're actually Crocodile?!" He sputtered.
"Of course not you dumbass!" Zoro hit Luffy atop his head.
"Huh? We got separated? Why didn't we go after them sooner?!" Luffy glared at his crew mates, only to receive another punch to the head.
"It's your fault!" Y/n growled. "Chopper, can you smell them?" Y/n turned to the reindeer who was now in his heavy point form.
"I'm already trying, but I don't smell anything at all..." Chopper said.
"What direction is the wind blowing?" Zoro asked.
"I don't know what direction it is, but it's blowing from our left." Chopper responded.
"Left? Then at least we know which way to not go..." Zoro muttered.
"What kind of logic is that?!" Y/n growled out.
"Shut up! Stay here if you want! Let's go Chopper!" Zoro and Chopper began to walk.
"Come on, unless you want to die here." Y/n started to walk, Luffy quickly following her and the others.
"Say, is the pirate life always like this?" Chopper asked out of the blue as they continued walking. "Always climbing snowy mountains and crossing the desert?"
"Ain't that the truth?" Zoro huffed. "But we're just a little out of the ordinary.
"Plus there's our captain...." Y/n added, looking back at the rubber man who was huffing and puffing, sweating a river.
"I think I've gotten aboard a not-so-good ship..." Chopper pouted.
"What a coincidence. I was just thinking the same thing." Y/n sighed.
"Say, you're the most veteran member here, right Zoro?" Chopper asked.
"I guess, but there isn't much of a difference between us." Zoro responded.
"Why did you join? To me, since I joined, everyone just seems like a maverick. Especially you guys..." Chopper looked between y/n and Zoro.
"That's true. In my case, things just kind of turned out this way. The others are the same. Their real goals are different from his. We're trying to do what we want to do." Zoro explained.
"On the outside, we have no teamwork at all. Especially given our captain. He's a real handful." Y/n added.
"But really, what is teamwork? Is protecting each other and helping each other out good enough? Some people say it is, but I think that teamwork starts when everyone risks their lives to do what they can and then says 'I did it! You're up next! If you can't do it, I'll kill you!' When you think about it that way, what's wrong with having mavericks as companions?" Zoro finished.
"So that's what Usopp meant when he said 'do what you can'!" Chopper thought.
"Yeah, but it sounds like bull crap when he says it." Y/n sighed, Zoro laughed.
"As for why I stay with him..." The three of them stopped walking to look back at Luffy. "Being by his side all this time has given me a goal to strive for."
"Another goal?"
"Sorry, I can't really put an answer to it." They started to walk again, only to stop short as Luffy suddenly sprung to life.
"Shade!" He yelled out, extending his arms, grabbing onto the rocks in the distance. "Gomu Gomu no...Rocket!" Luffy sprung forward, his outspread legs catching onto Zoro, Chopper, and y/n, bringing them with him at an incredible speed towards the rocks. They all crashed down, Luffy sighing in content, laughing like nobody's business. "Woohoo! Nice and cool!"
Y/n sprung up from the sand she flew into, placing a hand on the hilt of her rapier.
"I'll knock you to the next life!" She growled out.
"Sorry, sorry!" Luffy apologized insincerely. "Huh? Where's Chopper?" They all looked over to Choppers knocked out form in the sand, a little ways away from them. "Oh! There he is! What is he doin'? Trying to be funny?" Luffy's forehead turned blue as y/n put the end of her rapier at his neck. "Right, sorry. It was my fault..."
"I swear, I'm going to be reborn sooner than usual because of you..." Y/n sat next to Zoro, the rock beneath them suddenly giving out, their forms falling into the sinkhole. She grunted as she hit the floor, groaning in agony as her body throbbed from pain.
"Shit, that hurts..." Zoro groaned, holding his head. He then got up and went over to y/n, helping her up. "Are you okay?"
"I think so..." She dusted herself off before looking around.
"What is this place?" Zoro asked. The two looked around in the dark, spotting a large cube-like rock at the center of the dome they were in. "What's that?"
"A poneglyph..." Y/n gasped, walking up to it, running a hand over the calligraphy. As she touched the stone, a rush of nostalgia ran through her body, just like it did back at the prehistoric island when she touched an Aquarius sign carved into a rock. She looked up, gasping as she saw a large zodiac wheel painted on the ceiling, some parts of it fading and crumbling from old age. "What...What is all of this?" She looked back to the poneglyph, looking over the words, reading it silently.
"Poneglyph?" Zoro questioned, walking up to stand next to her.
"From the void century, 900 or so years ago. There are a lot of them scattered across the Grand Line. There was also one back in Lurelin, in my spring." Zoro nodded as y/n explained simply.
"Can you read it?" He asked her. She nodded.
"It's like the one back in my spring. It talks about an ancient weapon, a weapon of mass destruction among the stars. I still can't decipher the clues. I don't understand what it is..." Y/n murmured.
"Ah, so it's a mystery weapon." Zoro and y/n turned around at the new voice, finding Luffy standing behind them.
"Why are you down here?!" Zoro questioned.
"I used my arms!"
"I'm asking why!"
"Just 'cause."
"You idiot." Y/n sighed. "With you down here, we might get separated from Chopper."
"Without him we won't be able to find Vivi and the others!" Zoro added.
"Oh, that's okay!"
"Why's that?"
"Because Chopper was falling down here too!" After Luffy said that, the ceiling crumbled, a hole forming where Chopper fell through with a scream. "See?"
"Ouch...What is this place?" Chopper questioned, looking around from where he fell.
"Chopper, are you alright?" Y/n ran towards the reindeer, Zoro and Luffy following after her.
"Y/n! Zoro! Luffy! What is this place?" Chopper asked, getting up from the floor.
"No idea, but it's some sort of underground dome." Zoro shrugged.
"Not just that..." Y/n's gaze fell back on the poneglyph. "It's definitely some ancient ruins." She explained.
"Who cares about that?! It's nice and cool down here!" Luffy sighed in content, laying spread out on the floor, basking in the coolness of the shaded building.
"As to why it's underground, I have a feeling it's been hidden on purpose." Y/n crossed her arms, watching as Zoro began to walk away.
"I guess it doesn't really matter now. Doesn't really have anythin' to do with me anyway." He shrugged. "What we need to do now is get outta here, right captain?" He approached Luffy who only looked at him with a surprised expression.
"Really? But it's so cool down here..." The rubber man complained, only to receive a punch to the head. "Okay, time to get out of here!" He did a 180 turn in attitude, Zoro crossing his arms and scowling at the captain. "Alright. Gomu Gomu no..." Luffy shot his arm up, missing the hole he was aiming for, hitting the top of the dome instead, the debris and sand falling onto the rubber man.
"What are you doing?" Zoro and y/n deadpanned.
"Darn it, I missed 'cause the target's so small..." Luffy tried again, this time grabbing the edge of the hole, only for the ceiling to break, the debris and sand falling onto Luffy once more. "Darn it! This is getting annoying! Gomu Gomu no...Gatling Gun!" Luffy threw a bunch of punches at the ceiling, y/n almost protesting as he started to destroy the zodiac wheel painted on it.
"You idiot! What are you doing?!" Zoro, y/n, and Chopper had to dodge the debris that was falling down.
"Alright! All better!" Luffy sighed.
"Are you crazy?!" Zoro spat. "What are you going to grab onto now that you destroyed the boulder?!"
"Don't worry! I have an idea!" Luffy walked over to a pillar, wrapping his arm around it many times. "Chopper, you might wanna turn little." The reindeer nodded, going back to his smaller form. "Grab on!" Luffy demanded, Zoro sighing.
"We've got no other choice. Might as well go along with it." He walked over, grabbing onto Luffy, y/n and Chopper doing the same.
"Here we go!" Luffy jumped up, allowing his body to swing around the pillar swiftly as his arm unraveled, the three of his crew mates hanging on for dear life. Once Luffy's arm released from the pillar, their forms shot up into the sky through the hole in the ceiling. "Yahoo!" Luffy cheered, the three holding onto him screaming in fear.
The four of them crashed into the sand, rolling, bouncing, and tumbling around until they came to a stop, their bodies scattered around the dunes. Y/n almost broke down into tears.
"This man is definitely going to make me rebirth sooner than usual." She spat out sand that had gotten into her mouth. Luffy only laughed, not harmed at all from having a rubber body.
"Hey, you guys! Hurry up!" Luffy laughed, walking energetically through the sand, y/n, Chopper, and Zoro trailing behind him.
"Of course he gets all energetic once it starts to cool down." Zoro muttered, looking up at the darkening sky, the sun setting once more. Chopper stopped walking suddenly, sniffing the air.
"What is it, Chopper?" Y/n asked.
"That smell...It's definitely it! Nami's perfume!" He said.
"Way to go! Luffy!" Zoro called out to the captain. "We found Nami and the others!" Luffy smiled, running off in the direction that Chopper was pointing, towards the sunset.
"Oi! Everyone!" He yelled out.
"Don't run off on your own!" Y/n, Chopper, and Zoro ran after the troublesome rubber man, yelling at him to slow down or they'd get separated.
"This idiot!"