9Lila and Maggie stare at their cauldron in shock as they watch the vampire kidnap Pete.
Lila turns to Maggie. "Holy crap, what do we do here?!"
"I don't know! This is the first time we've seen Castiel kidnap someone! He usually just bites them then leaves them sleeping in the gutter!"
Lila widens her eyes as she keeps her focus on the cauldron. "You don't think he plays on that side of the fence do-"
She was cut off to a whack in the head by her sister. "Get your head out of your ass! You know he's married to Gwendolyn! Though, it might be possible that he's kidnapping him for his adopted daughter Viola. In any case, we need to go there and tell them about-" Maggie freezes then rushes to the bookshelf.
Lila quirks an eyebrow at her behavior. "What are you looking for?"
"I'm looking for that guidebook mom and dad left us about them! I remember it mentioning something about when they kidnap people! Aha!" She pulls out a thick green book and rushes through the pages then freezes.
"Here it is!" She and Lila quickly read through the pages then gape at it in shock.
"Oh shit! We gotta help the Straw Hats out before it's too late!" Lila says as she and Maggie rush to get their equipment ready while leaving the book open to the page that says: Vampire Initiation.
"Pete! Where are you?!" Lulu searches the streets at the edge of town long past sunset with Usopp nervously following.
"We need to hurry up and find shelter soon! I'm sure he managed to get away from that marine easily."
"It's not that marine I'm worried about! You said so yourself Usopp that vampires target pirates who are alone!" She searches alley after alley then freezes when she sees a pumpkin hat on the ground.
She quickly rushes over to it then widens her eyes in horror when she sees the witches' letter with it. "Oh no…"
Usopp slowly walks up behind her. "What's with the letter?"
She hands him the letter while frantically looking around the area. "ROSE! WHERE ARE YOU?!"
"Ugh…" The pair freezes and turns to the beaten up marine that's regaining consciousness causing Lulu to grab him by the collar of his shirt and glare at him.
"WHAT HAPPENED TO THE GUY YOU WERE CHASING?!"
Lou widens his eyes at the glare and trembles. "I don't know! I heard his voice and some other guy while I was unconscious. I heard the other guy tell him to go to sleep, but that's it!"
She widens her eyes at this and grips onto the collar tighter to the point where she's almost choking him. "Where did he take him?!"
He tries his best to control his trembling while glaring at her. "I-I don't know! I do know that I'm calling head quarters and-" He cuts himself off when he sees the remnants of his den den mushi on the ground. "Shit…"
Lulu punches him in the face to knock him out then drops him on the ground before turning to Usopp. "Did the old lady tell you where the vampires live?!"
Usopp looks at her nervously as he tries to remember. "I-I think she said something about the Western Woods."
"Alright then!" She starts running off to the woods causing Usopp to run in front of her to block her.
"Hold on! You don't even know where that is!"
"I don't care! I'll search the whole island until I find him! You go find the others and tell them what happened!"
She runs off before Usopp can stop her this time.
He sighs as he rushes to the center of town. (Damnit, just because it's Halloween doesn't mean we should be dealing with witches and vampires! How the hell am I gonna explain this to the others without sounding insane?!)
"Usopp!" His eyes widen as Zira's voice when he sees her and Chopper rushing over to him.
He keeps running while the two animals follow him.
"Usopp, Pete and Lulu are Rose and Luffy!" Chopper says.
Usopp nods. "I know, but now's not the time for that! We think Rose's been kidnapped by a vampire!"
"WHAT?!" Zira widens her eyes in shock then flies towards the woods. "Luffy's already in the woods right?! I'll go help her find the vampires hideout!"
Usopp nods. "Good call Zira! Chopper and I will tell the others what happened!"
She nods as she flies off into the woods to find Lulu and the vampire's home.
Castiel jumps from tree to tree in the Western Woods until he lands in front of his dark mansion right next to a cliff leading to the ocean with Pete still sleeping on his shoulder.
"Welcome to your new home." He walks into the foyer where a red eyed woman wearing a strapless navy blue dress that reaches her knees, shoulder length dark red hair wrapped in a ponytail, and black high heeled shoes looks at him in shock.
"What the?! What's with the human Castiel?! Don't tell me you're trying to set Viola up with humans now, because so help me-"
He raises his free hand defensively while the other arm is keeping a hold of Pete. "Hold on, it's not what you think Gwenny! I didn't take him for Viola!" (Though, I wouldn't oppose them getting together…)
He lays Pete down on a green couch before turning to his wife. "Don't you sense anything weird about this boy with your observation haki Gwendolyn?"
She walks up to him then slightly widens her eyes. "You're right. His aura is different from other humans! He's a pirate?"
He nods. "I saw the little guy being cornered by a marine. He looks scrawny, but he was strong enough to take the marine down without getting a scratch on him. I think he can use observation haki."
"Really?! Wait!" She spots Pete's half red, half black crystal necklace and holds it without taking it off him.
"This is an onnet crystal! I'm surprised he's willing to wear this."
Castiel quirks an eyebrow in confusion. "Why's that?"
"This crystal is a taboo linked to Hell's Comet. I won't bore you with the details, but I must say he's either extremely brave or just reckless. Anyway, if you didn't bring him here to be with Viola then why exactly did you kidnap him? You plan on feeding him to the cousins?"
He shakes his head. "I want him to join us."
She looks at him in shock then looks at the brunette in thought. "Are you sure about this? The family hasn't taken anyone in since Viola."
He nods. "I'm sure. Of course, he needs to pass the test first to get the family's approval. Luckily they're gonna be here soon."
"How long will the boy's hypnosis last?"
"It should hold long enough for me to get everything ready. I'll put him in the room right now."
She nods when a young, beautiful, blonde, red eyed woman wearing a short sleeved dark purple dress and black flat shoes walks in and spots her adoptive parents.
"What going on guys?"
The vampire couple turns to her and grins.
"Hi there Viola, come on over." Castiel says as he waves her over to them.
When she reaches the couch she freezes when she sees Pete. "Why did you kidnap a human? You usually drink them in town."
Gwendolyn sighs. "Your dad thought it would be a good idea to bring this one into the family."
Castiel pouts. "Hey! This is a great idea! We need strong ones like him on our side!"
Viola scans him over curiously. (He might be joining us? He's kind of cute, but would he want to?) "Are you sure about this dad? What if he doesn't want to be a vampire?"
Castiel softly sighs before placing a hand on his daughter's shoulder. "Tell me Viola, do you remember anything about your life before becoming a vampire?"
She shakes her head causing him to nod. "That's because once you transform into a vampire you're basically reborn. Your past life as a human fades away from your memory and you start your immortal life anew. Even if he were to refuse at first once he begins life as a vampire he won't regret a thing. None of us have right?"
Viola nods before looking at the sleeping boy. "I see, you're supposed to test him to see if he's worthy right? How do we do that?"
Gwendolyn opens the door leading to the woods. "I'll tell you about it while we're heading to the cliff docks to pick up our cousins. Castiel, I'm not against bringing him in depending on how the test goes, but I hope you know what you're doing."
He nods. "Don't worry; I saw a look in his eyes that showed me he's worthy. Besides, if he fails we can always drink what's left of him."
Gwen nods as she and her daughter left for the rest of the clan while Castiel picked the boy up in his arms and took him deeper into the mansion.
Ace, Zoro, Brook and Franky were in the bar having dinner while trying to make sense of what they saw when they met Pete and Lulu when Nami, Robin and Sanji walk up to them.
"Have you guys seen Rose and Luffy at all today?" Nami asks causing the guys to jolt.
Franky looks at them nervously. "W-we thought we saw them, but we were SUPER mistaken right fellas?"
Zoro nods while chugging a bottle of sake. "We haven't seen them all day. We were just hallucinating."
Robin giggles. "Those 'hallucinations' don't have anything to do with a boy that could be Roses twin and a female doppelganger of Luffy does it?"
Ace freezes. "You guys saw them too?! The guy was wearing Roses necklace and the guys swore they heard the girl laugh just like Luffy!"
Brook nods. "We all thought we were going crazy! Of course, they couldn't be Luffy-san and Rose-san correct?"
Sanji nervously grins while struggling to light his cigarette. "Y-yea, that's right. Those guys just happened to look similar to Rose and Luffy. There's no way that such a cute girl like Lulu-chan can be Luffy."
The guys look at Sanji in confusion before Usopp and Chopper slam the door open and run towards them.
"There you guys are!" Usopp says as they rush over to them then pant in exhaustion.
Chopper catches his breath before shouting. "ROSE AND LUFFY'S GENDERS GOT SWITCHED BY THE WITCHES! THEN ROSE GOT KIDNAPPED BY A VAMPIRE AND LUFFY'S IN THE WESTERN WOODS TRYING TO FIND HIM! WE HAVE TO GO HELP THEM OUT!"
Sanji's eyes widen at this. "Rose was kidnapped?! Wait, did you just say their genders were switched?!" (Oh god no…)
Usopp nods while showing them Roses letter from the witches. "Rose and Luffy went to the witches hut to see some magic and got their genders switched because they pissed them off! According to the letter the spell wouldn't let them tell us about it which is why they called themselves Pete and Lulu all day!"
Sanji looks at him in utter horror before sitting in a corner with a cloud of depression hanging over his head while silently weeping. (Oh my god, I flirted with Luffy and promised him as much food as he wanted… What did I do to deserve this?)
Brook joined Sanji in the corner with his own cloud of depression hanging over his head. (I asked Luffy for his panties… I think this is the biggest regret in my life though I'm already dead…)
Chopper looks at them in confusion. "What's the matter with them?"
Ace shakes his head. "Forget them, what do you mean Rose got kidnapped by a vampire Usopp?!"
"We got chased by marines and had to split up to shake them. When Luffy and I tried to find Rose we found his pumpkin hat and the letter the witches gave him but no sign of him."
Zoro looks at him skeptically. "Are you sure Rose or Pete didn't just wander off somewhere? How do you know it was a vampire that took him?"
"He was definitely kidnapped by a vampire!" The crew freezes to Lila's voice as they turn to see her running up to them with a broom in hand and a satchel hung across her shoulder.
"How do you do? I'm Lila; I'm one of the witches that casted that spell on Luffy and Rose!"
The others except Sanji and Brook widen their eyes at this.
Zoro recovers and scowls at her. "Did you put dog ears on Luffy earlier too?"
"He did that on his own with one of our potions, but that's not the point! Rose really was kidnapped by a vampire!"
Robin steps up to her. "What are they planning on doing to him?"
"They're going to try to turn him into a vampire!"
Ace widens his eyes at this. "What?! Wait, wouldn't he just need to be bitten?! What if he's already changed?!"
Lila shakes her head. "Don't worry, he's safe for now. Castiel's family tests their potential family before turning them. You need to hurry and stop them before he passes, if he gets turned he loses the memories he had as a human. Here!" She digs into her satchel and hands them each a pair of goggles that look similar to Usopp's goggles.
"These goggles will protect you from their hypnotic powers. Maggie's searching for Luffy to get her a pair then she'll go to try to reason with Castiel, but we can't rescue him or it will mess with the treaty. We're sorry..."
Usopp shakes his head. "You don't need to apologize you're really helping us out. Wait, can you change Luffy and Rose back before you leave?"
She shakes her head. "Once a spell's been cast it needs to take its course. Don't worry, they will be back to normal by sunrise. I have to go now, good luck getting your friend back."
She starts running when Nami yells out. "WAIT, WHERE DO THEY LIVE?!"
"IN THE WESTERN WOODS BY THE CLIFFS!" Lila leaves the bar while Brook and Sanji recover and get ready to leave with the others as they put on their goggles.
Sanji smokes a cigarette to calm himself down. (I need to distract myself from this nightmare.) "So what's the plan?"
Zoro smirks. "We storm the woods and slice some vampires, then get back at Rose and Luffy for making us think we were going crazy."
Nami sighs. "Let's worry about that after Rose isn't in danger. Let's go." She and the others run out of the bar and rush to make out of town and into the vampire inhabited woods.
Luffy clenches her fists as she fights off the 20 grizzly bears that have her surrounded. "Damnit, KNOCK IT OFF ALREADY!" She uses her conqueror's haki to knock them all out.
She huffs in exhaustion as she runs throughout the woods to try to find the mansion. "ROSE! WHERE ARE YOU?! GIVE HIM BACK VAMPIRES BEFORE I KICK YOUR ASSES!"
"SHUT UP LUFFY!" She stops and looks up to see Zira landing on a nearby tree branch.
"Zira, do you know where the vampires went?"
She shakes her head. "No, but shouting out to the vampires won't help you find them! Look, take it easy. Sure, Rose is a supernatural nut, but I doubt she or he will join them willingly."
"I won't matter if he wants to or not." The pair turns to Maggie who's landing in front of them on her broom.
Zira looks at her in shock. "You're one of the witches?! What do you mean it won't matter?"
She gets off the flying broom before reaching into her bag. "It doesn't matter if Rose is willing or not. Once they like someone they do whatever it takes to get them on their side even if it means force. Take these, they will protect you from their hypnosis. Once you see Rose give a pair to him as well."
She hands Luffy a few pairs of goggles then reaches into her bag and places a small pair on Zira's head. "I'm going to their lair now to try and talk to them. I can't take you with me Luffy or they might break the treaty, but if Zira comes with me I can show her where it is then she can lead you there."
Luffy and Zira nod at the plan while Maggie gets on her broom and starts flying. "I'm sorry about this. I really hope the spell didn't lead Castiel to taking him."
Zira looks at her in confusion. "Why would turning Rose into a guy cause him to get kidnapped?"
"He has a daughter named Viola who he's trying to get married. I don't know if that's the reason he took him, but I wouldn't put it past him."
Luffy widens her eyes at this before clenching her fists in pure rage. "HE TOOK ROSE FOR WHAT?!"
Maggie and Zira jolt at her rage before flying away.
(Oh crap, I probably shouldn't have said that!) Maggie looks back to see Luffy trying to keep up with them but falling behind. "JUST STAY THERE LUFFY! ZIRA WILL BE RIGHT BACK WITH THE DIRECTIONS!"
"LIKE HELL I'M JUST STAYING STILL AFTER I HEARD ROSE MIGHT BE COUPLED WITH SOMEONE ELSE!"
She tries to keep up but they flew too fast causing her to groan as she loses sight of them. "Damnit! Just hang on Rose!"
She keeps running as fast as she can to find the lair while furiously fighting off every forest animal she finds.
Gwendolyn and Viola reach the docks near the cliffs of their home to see their 4 cousins consisting of two ladies and two males docking on the pier and jumping off their small boat.
Gwendolyn smiles as she walks up to a woman in a long sleeve green dress with her long blonde hair reaching her mid back and pulls her into a hug. "How was the ride Maria?"
She nods as she hugs back. "Long as usual, but worth it to see you three again!"
"It's great to see you too!" Gwendolyn pulls back then hugs the woman next to her that's wearing a dark red dress with her brown hair pulled into a pony tail. "Anything new with you Cassandra?"
She shakes her head as she pulls back. "As new as it gets when travelling on the Grand Line. It's always an adventure though." She pulls back and turns to Viola. "How are you Viola? You're not causing too much trouble are you?"
Viola shrugs. "About the same as usual."
A young muscular man in a dark blue suit with buzz cut brown hair chuckles as he steps up to Viola and ruffles her hair. "As funny as usual. So little cuz, anything new happen here?"
She whacks his hand away while pouting. "Quit it Bernie! Anyway, nothing new happened except Dad just brought a human home."
He and the other girls widen their red eyes at this while the young man behind them in a black suit with short red hair pushes his bangs back. "You gotta be kidding me. What's Castiel thinking?"
Gwendolyn nods. "I know what you mean Julius, but the boy he picked up is rather interesting. Castiel is getting the test ready for him as we speak."
Bernie widens his eyes at this. "So it's a guy? Aww, if anything I was hoping for a cute-" He was cut off by a whack in the head by Cassandra.
"If you're gonna act like a pervert Bernard I'll send bears after you."
He nervously chuckles while rubbing his sore spot. "Sorry honey, you know I love you." He kisses his wife's cheek while Gwendolyn leads them to the mansion.
Julius walks up to Gwendolyn with a small scowl on his face. "Do you guys know anything about this human?"
She shakes her head. "Sadly, Castiel placed him under hypnosis before we could learn anything about him. He's a pirate though, so the treaty won't be threatened by this."
He nods as he looks ahead. "That's good to know, you guys made a wise choice making that treaty. We're still trying to find a place of our own."
She nods. "You can always stay here if you want."
"We'll think about it. You guys will need all the help you can get if you're taking on a new vampire."
She nods while Viola walks up next to them. "Is it ok if I talk to the human before the test starts? I want to get to know him before he changes."
Gwen blinks in surprise before nodding. "Ok, but be very careful. He's going to be jumpy when he wakes up."
She nods. "Ok! I'll let you guys know of what I can find out about him too!" She rushes ahead causing Julius to chuckle.
"I take it Viola's one of the reasons Castiel wants to take on a newborn?"
She groans. "I really hope not. He promised that he wasn't taking him just for Viola. To be honest, I think he just wants to train another youngling. If this boy and Viola hit it off then he'll probably think it's killing two birds with one stone."
Maria chuckles. "Whatever the case this is exciting. It's been a long time since we tested someone for the family. Castiel has the bear ready?"
Gwendolyn looks ahead to see her husband approaching them. "We can ask him right-" She cuts herself off when she gets a closer look and sees Castiel riding the biggest grizzly bear she's ever seen who looks like he's in a daze.
Castiel jumps off of him and grins at his family. "Hey guys, do you think this one's big enough for-"
He was cut off by a whack to the head by his wife. "Are you crazy?! The boy needs at least some chance to survive!"
He rubs the sore spot on his head before turning to his wife. "Trust me Gwendolyn I know what I'm doing! I saw the boy fight myself, if he fought 2 of these guys I'm sure he'll survive!"
Bernard looks at him curiously. "Is he really that strong? I wanna meet this guy!"
Maria nods. "If he passes which one of us will turn him?"
Castiel turns to his family with his arms crossed over his chest. "If you're alright with it I would like Viola to do it since this is her first time seeing someone turn into a vampire. Speaking of which where is she?"
"She went inside to talk to the human." Gwendolyn says causing a smile to grow on her husband's face.
"Perfect! So what do you guys say?! Can she do it?"
The other vampires nod as they reach the front of the mansion.
"I'm really curious to see this child. We're going to settle in then meet you in the arena." Cassandra says as she, Bernard, Gwendolyn and Maria walk inside while Julius turns to Castiel.
"Why the sudden desire for a new family member?"
Castiel sighs as his smile starts fading. "You know how strong the World Government is getting. If we get attacked I want to make sure we're strong enough to protect ourselves. I'm sure I don't need to remind you of how troubling it is to settle on a new island."
He nods in understanding. "I see what you mean. If this child passes I'll support the decision."
"That's all I ask." Castiel grins at his cousin who's walking inside to join his family then turns to the hypnotized bear behind him. "Come with me big guy. You're gonna help us with an important decision tonight."
The bear nods as he starts following Castiel to the back of the house.
"CASTIEL!" The vampire freezes to Maggie's voice then turns to see her landing in front of him.
Zira stays above Maggie and Castiel then flies back to the forest. (So that's where the vampire lives! I gotta go show Luffy the way!)
She leaves without Castiel noticing her presence who's softly glaring at Maggie before crossing his arms over his chest. "To what do I owe the pleasure Maggie? Is this about the human I took in?"
She nods. "You can't take this one. You see I-"
"I don't want to hear it! This boy is a pirate correct?!"
She blinks in surprise at his rage before clearing her throat. "Yes, but-"
"Then it doesn't affect the treaty. I refuse to have you interfering with things that aren't in your jurisdiction! Unless you want to see how serious I am about this I suggest leaving now you brat!"
She twitches an eyebrow before getting on her broom. (You know what? He gets what's coming. It will be a lot more fun to see how they react if they suddenly see Rose turn back into a girl.) "I just came to tell you that the crew found out what happened and are extremely pissed."
He widens his eyes at this before glaring at her. "You told them didn't you?"
She turns away from him to hide her smirk as she starts flying off. "Who me? Never in my wildest dreams would I interfere with things outside my jurisdiction. Now if you'll excuse me there are some potions that need attending to. Happy Halloween."
He clicks his tongue as he watches her fly away before leading the bear to the cellar. (Damn that witch! At least she told me about the pirates coming. Kind of surprising his crew would fight a family of vampires to rescue him. Oh well, I'll let the others know and get the guys to help me.) He brings the bear into the cellar before running back in to alert the others of what's happening.
Viola walks into the basement of the mansion then looks at the door that's holding the human. (So this guy could be a new member of the family. If he passes I want to tell him about some of his human life after he turns.)
She nods to herself and opens the door. She walks into a well lit, windowless, brown room with swords and staffs hanging on the walls. She closes the door behind her and locks it before walking up to the sleeping freckled boy on a twin sized bed.
She looks at him curiously while gently pushing the bangs away from his eyes. (He truly is cute. His hypnosis should wear off any second.) She looks around to find various weapons hanging on the wall of the room.
(So he chooses a weapon, and if he beats the bear he becomes one of us. I wonder how I managed during my test?) She softly sighs when Pete starts grumbling.
"Ugh, why does it feel like Zoro and Sanji are fighting in my head?" He sits up while rubbing his forehead then freezes when his purple eyes meet a pair of red eyes.
"What the-?!" He widens his eyes at remembering meeting the vampire then looks down while trembling. "Oh crap, please…"
Viola tilts her head in confusion. (Huh? Is he begging for his life? This is kind of disappointing… Wait, is he crying?!) She widens her eyes in shock to see tears streaming down his face.
He looks up to face her with pleading eyes as tears keep streaming down his face. "Please, for the love of all that is Oda… Tell me that vampires don't sparkle!" (I don't care if I'm facing vampires from Hellsing, but I can't handle Twilight vampires!)
She looks at him in utter confusion. "Huh?!"
He wipes his tears while looking at her nervously. "What I mean is, in the sun a vampire would burn right? Your skin doesn't sparkle?"
"Umm… No…" (What the hell kind of question was that?!)
A smile forms on his face as he sighs in relief. "Oh thank god! Hey, wait!" He inspects his body to find himself not bitten. "You guys didn't bite me?"
She shakes her head. "No, we didn't bite you. Wait, aren't you scared? You were kidnapped by vampires."
He shrugs as he crosses his legs. "My crew should be coming to pick me up soon. Besides, I like the supernatural and if you didn't bite me that means you're waiting for something right?"
She nods. "Y-yea, it's a surprise though. Wait, I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me tell you my name. I'm Viola, what's your name?"
"You can call me Pete."
"Pete huh? So you're really a pirate?"
"Yup, I'm a member of the Straw Hats. So, vampires can use hypnotism huh? That's really cool! What other powers do vampires have?"
"We have super strength, and we can also use haki."
He widens his eyes at this. "Really? Both armament and observation?"
She nods. "Yea, though some of us can't use armament haki we can all use observation haki. By the way, why is your aura different from other humans?"
He rubs the back of his head sheepishly. "It's kind of a long story. You see, I'm from a very far off place."
"Really? Where?"
"It's a city called New York."
"Cool! So, you like the supernatural? What else do you like?"
He quirks an eyebrow. "Why do you want to know?"
She looks around the room nervously. "I-I'm curious about people with your aura… Please? I'll let you know anything you want about vampires."
He looks at her curiously. (If she's not going to bite me then I guess it's ok.) He starts grinning before nodding. "Ok, but when we're done I need to get back to my crew."
She slowly nods. (If only he knew. At least I can save some things from his human past.) "O-ok. So what position are you in the crew?"
"I'm an astronomer."
"Really?! I love stars!"
"You do?"
"Yea, they're the best thing about being nocturnal! My favorite's when they shoot across the sky!"
He chuckles at her enthusiasm. "I know what you mean. I mainly study a comet that-" He freezes and feels his chest to make sure he still has his necklace then sighs in relief when he touches it. (Good, I didn't lose it.)
She looks at his necklace curiously. "What kind of necklace is that?"
"It's an onnet crystal that my folks gave me. It's kind of my treasure. My turn, were you born a vampire or are you a human that turned into a vampire?"
"I'm a human turned vampire. My turn, why did you want to become a pirate?"
He softly smiles at the memory of Luffy asking him to join. "When my captain asked I couldn't refuse. Every adventure we've been on has been a blast."
She giggles. "Being a vampire is really fun too. We go on plenty of outings and if any mischievous humans try to come to our house for a test of courage we scare them silly."
He chuckles. "Sounds like fun. So how does a human become a vampire?"
"You see, first we bite into the human and drink their blood. Afterwards, we need to feed the human some of our own blood."
"What happens if you don't?"
"They just feel anemic for a while depending on how much we drink. For example, if I take a small amount of your blood you'll be a little dizzy while I feel energized, but if I take too much you die."
He widens his eyes at this while tensing up. "Y-you don't say…" (I'd better not tell her I'm a logia user. I can use the element of surprise on them if they try to bite me as long as they don't use haki.)
She giggles at his tenseness. (Aww, he's adorable! He's a little weird but he seems really nice too. I hope he stays.) "Don't worry, my dad didn't kidnap you to kill you."
He quirks an eyebrow in confusion. "Why exactly did he bring me here?"
She takes his right hand in both of hers while giving him a sheepish grin. "I guess it's ok to tell you. We want you to join the family!"
He widens his eyes then looks at their hands. (Wait, she doesn't mean…) He takes his hand back before bowing his head. "I'm sorry, I can't marry you. I have a lover in the crew." (No use trying to tell her I'm a girl since the spell's still in effect…)
She widens her eyes in shock. (What?! He already has someone?! He'll just forget her when he joins, so I'll just play along.) She clears her throat. "T-that's not what I meant…"
He quirks an eyebrow as he lifts his head up. "Then what do you mean by joining the family?"
She keeps a fake smile while explaining. "We want you to become a vampire. There's no marriage required and if you want you can still be with your crew and lover then when the adventure ends you come back to us." (Good thing I didn't tell him about the memory loss. It'll be much easier to turn him if he's willing.)
He rubs the back of his head sheepishly. (Oops, guess I jumped the gun…) "I-I see, sorry for the misunderstanding, but I still can't join."
She looks at him in confusion. "Huh? Why not?"
"I consider the crew to be my family, and living forever while watching my lover grow old and die is something I can't handle." (Even if I did turn I wouldn't turn Luffy into a vampire either. Seeing his crew and brothers grow old while remaining young even with me is something he'd hate… I'd better get going.)
He gets off the bed and turns to her. "I'm sorry for wasting your family's time. I should get going before the crew comes here and starts tearing the place apart."
He starts walking towards the door, but freezes when he looks around the windowless room to see the various weapons everywhere. "Why did your dad put me in a weapons room?"
She sighs as she walks toward the door and stops right in front of it. (Looks like the family will have to do it by force… Sorry Pete, at least when you join we can start over.) "You were going to be put to the test to see if you were worthy of our vampire blood. But, since you don't want to join the test will just be a fight for your life."
He widens his eyes as he keeps an eye on her while reaching for a staff. "What do I need to do exactly?"
"You need to just beat up a bear. You're free to choose one of any of the weapons in the room. There's no use trying to run away since my cousins are guarding the door out of the basement. These weapons are dulled to the point where you can't kill us with them, but they can still hurt the bear, so I suggest going with it. I'll explain to them that you don't want to be a vampire, so when you beat the bear you're free."
Pete widens his eyes at this then looks down at the steel staff he took that has sharp edges on both sides. (I'd better play along for now. I'll hold out the fight for as long as I can then when I hear a commotion I'll hightail it. It's better safe than sorry.) He nods before walking over to the katanas, grabs one to take the wrappings from the scabbard, and uses it as a blindfold.
Viola looks at him in confusion. "Why are you using a blindfold?"
"If your family is ok with sparing me after going through the trouble of setting this up then I'm gonna thank them by giving them a show. I have observation haki, so I'll be fine." (As long as I don't look into their eyes I can't get hypnotized again. I don't know if they'll really spare me or not so I'd better be prepared.)
He nods to himself before grinning at Viola. "Lead the way Viola."
She nods as she walks ahead with him following from behind.
Pete turns to her curiously while focusing his observation haki on her aura. (That's weird, her aura is completely white. I guess it's because she's a vampire. This must be what it's like when others sense my aura.)
Viola grins as she turns to him. "I hope they're no hard feelings about my father kidnapping you."
He shakes his head with a grin. "Don't worry about it. Thank you for going to explain to them that I can't join and for answering my questions. I hope we can be friends after this."
Her smile almost fades but she keeps it up while leading him to a large steel door. (I hope we can be more than that after you join us.) "No problem. Good luck, once the others are in their seats the bear gate will open."
He nods as she easily opens the heavy door for him then he walks into a well lit underground arena with the only exits being the now locked door behind him, the gate in front of him and the door leading to a seating room where Gwendolyn and Maria are gathered.
They're watching Pete curiously in the separate room from the large reinforced glass window giving them a full view of the arena.
Maria starts grinning in excitement. "So this is him? He seems charming. I can see what you meant by interesting. His aura is definitely strange."
Gwendolyn nods. "About as strange as him using a blindfold. Either he's doing it to demonstrate his haki or he doesn't want to watch himself die. I doubt that's the case though."
"You were right with the former mom." The two ladies turn to see Viola joining them.
Gwendolyn nods. "So he is a haki user? Very good! What else did you learn about him?"
"His name's Pete, he's an astronomer, and he's from a crew called the Straw Hats."
Maria widen her eyes at this before grabbing her shoulders. "Are you absolutely sure he said Straw Hats?!"
She nods causing Maria to run a hand through her hair. "It's a good thing Cassandra and the guys left to defend the place then. The Straw Hats are one of the strongest rookie pirates on the Grand Line. This Pete must be a new member because I never heard of him."
Gwendolyn widens her eyes at this. "You can't be serious. As long as we turn him they should lose hope for him right?"
Maria sighs. "I'm not sure. I heard this crew went through Enies Lobby just to save one of their own and of course you heard of what happened in Marineford with both the girl who came here through Hell's Comet and Straw Hat Luffy invading the war just to save the captain's brother."
Gwendolyn looks at her nervously. "Did you say Hell's Comet?"
She nods. "Yea why?"
"N-nothing!" (It has to be a coincidence that he's wearing a crystal that can use that comet's power. Maybe that girl gave it to him or something. She did say the one that came here was a girl, so I might be over thinking it… Right?)
Viola looks at Pete longingly for a moment before turning to Gwendolyn. "Can I go help the others take care of the pirates? If they're as strong as Maria says then I want to help out." (I bet the girl Pete's in love with is that Hell's Comet girl. I'll make sure she can't get to him!)
Gwendolyn looks at her in thought before nodding. "Ok, we were planning on you being the one to turn him, so come back quickly. If he's done before you get back then we'll take care of him."
She eagerly nods. (I better get back quickly so I can be the one to change him!) "Ok, he doesn't want to join, so if I don't come back before he finishes you can force him. I told him he would be free if he beats the bear, so be careful!"
The ladies nod as they see the young vampire running out of the room.
Maria looks at her in thought before sighing. "Looks like Castiel's wish came true. She fell for him."
Gwendolyn groans before running a hand down her face. "I have a bad feeling about this… We should just get the test over with before the boy tries to run."
She nods before pulling a lever on the wall that opens the gate in front of Pete to reveal a giant furious bear running out.
Pete widens his eyes behind the blindfold as he dodges the charging bear and senses him scanning him like a piece of meat. (Oh shit, they use giant bears like this for all potential family?! No wonder they're so small! I can only sense two besides Viola. Where's she going? She might be finding the crew.)
He continuously dodges the bear's attacks as he tries to claw and bite him. He jumps above the bear to dodge his bites then kicks him in the face, but was countered by the bear's claw as he takes a swing at him and sends him flying to the wall.
He staggers up by grabbing the wall to get up which causes his energy to start sapping away. He widens his eyes as he pushes himself away from the wall. (The walls of this arena are sea stone?! Shit, now I really can't use my powers or they could use that against me!)
He clenches his staff while infusing it with haki. (Damnit, this is harder than I thought. Please come quick guys!) He charges at the bear and attacked with all he could while suppressing his devil fruit abilities in front of his audience.
Zira flies around the woods in search of Luffy. (Damnit, if she had just stayed where we left her I could've lead her there by now! Where did she-)
"FIRE FIST!" She freezes to the sound of Ace's voice then sees flames lighting up the night sky.
"Ace!" Zira flies to where the flames were to see Robin, Brook, Franky and Chopper in the middle fighting off a pack of 20 hypnotized bears. Ace, Zoro, and Sanji are near the end of a fierce battle between Castiel, Bernard, and Julius respectively while Nami and Usopp are working together to take on Cassandra.
Castiel starts panting from exhaustion as he's suffering from third degree burns on his torso courtesy of Ace. "Why are you going through so much trouble for one boy?"
Ace pants while widening his eyes behind the goggles before smirking. (They don't know do they? Hehehe.) "That 'boy' means a lot more to us than you think."
He charges towards Castiel with both of his arms in flames while the others hold back from laughing as they decide to not tell them.
Julius quirks an eyebrow as he dodges Sanji's kicks. (They know something… It's better to kick their asses quick!) He grits his fangs as he lunges at a half beaten Sanji but he jumps to dodge while glaring at him.
"I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS EVIL ISLAND! DIABLE JAMBE!" He kicks him to the chest and slams him down to the ground.
Bernard push Zoro back with his armament infused hands then widens his eyes to see his cousin down. "Julius!" He grits his teeth as he tries to strike at Sanji with his sword but was blocked by Zoro.
Zoro smirks at his opponent as he pushes him back while panting from exhaustion then chuckles. "As fun as this has been we have a 'boy' to pick up. Hehe."
He rushes towards him while preparing his swords with armament haki. "Three sword style: Dishinkan!" He strikes at his chest strong enough to break through Bernards armament haki and cuts his chest while sending him flying headfirst through a tree to knock him out.
Ace pants from exhaustion as he sees Castiel knocked out as his feet with most of his body covered in burns. "He's stronger than I thought. If he was human he would've died."
Cassandra keeps her focus on the fight as she traps Nami in a choke hold. "After the trouble your crew caused drinking you is the least you can do." She leans in for a bite when one of Usopp's pop greens grew from under her and trapped her in the plant causing her to release Nami in the confusion.
Nami catches her breath while using her staff to create a thunder cloud and glaring at the vampire. "You guys are the ones that kidnapped our friend! The least we deserve is the right to kick your ass! But, as a parting gift there's a secret we should tell you about the 'boy'."
She quirks an eyebrow while clawing at the plant to try to get herself out. "What is it?"
"He's actually a girl that the witches changed for the day."
She freezes in utter shock. "What the- AAAH!" She was shocked by the lightning bolt that came down on her from Nami's cloud then was knocked out from the electrocution.
Robin grins as she uses her hands to take down the last of the bears. "This night has become more entertaining than I thought. Do you think we have anymore vampires to deal with before finding Rose?"
Franky shrugs. "Not sure, we'd better get going before they change Freckles."
Chopper nods. "The only problem is we don't know where the cliffs are."
Brook nods then looks up to see Zira flying above them. "There you are Zira-san, did you found out where their home is located?"
She nods. "Maggie managed to lead me there, but I don't know where Luffy is."
Usopp nods. "Knowing Luffy's luck she's probably there now. Lead the way to the mansion Zira!"
She nods as she flies off. "Leave it to me guys! Come on!"
The others rush while they follow Zira to the mansion.
Luffy pants from exhaustion as she looks ahead to see the entrance to the vampire's mansion.
"There it is!" Luffy runs up to the door but before reaching the porch had to jump back to dodge Viola's katana.
Viola glares at her as she gets in stance. "So you're Pete's lover? Go back to the ocean before I suck your blood until you're nothing but a shriveled raisin."
Luffy blinks in surprise before glaring at her and getting in a stance. "I'm not leaving without him!"
"Then die!" Both girls charge at each other while Pete continues to fight for his life right below them.
TO BE CONTINUED
A/N: Hi guys, Happy Halloween. Sorry, but it looks like I won't be able to finish by today because school is a pain in the ass. I'll definitely finish though. I hope you're enjoying reading this as much as I enjoy writing. Have a good holiday. :)