95Disclaimer: Ben 10 and One Piece do not belong to me
I'm sorry for the wait everyone. I wanted to update this story on St. Patrick's Day as a sort of holiday treat but there were a few things that kept me occupied at the time. SOPA, South Park: The Stick of Truth (It is so fun to play!) and health problems to name a few. But the most concerning was issues with my personal laptop at home. Long story short, I tried to make an external hard drive compatible with my PS3; I screwed up and now have to redownload a lot of juicy stuff like One Piece for example. Anyway I had to find a decent machine to do this and I have. Now onto more pressing business.
It has come to my attention that the alien Way Big was described to be a lot shorter than he should have been. A reliable source told me that Way Big is actually as big as San Juan Wolf. This will be corrected and he will be edited out of the previous chapter and not show up again until the Marineford arc later. Hey Ben needs some trump cards that the world hasn't seen till then, am I right?
Rumble in the Jungle Part II
Ben and Luffy both glared at Mr. 3, who was initially shocked at the presence of the two boys.
"You're gonna pay for what you did," Ben said as he readied the Ultimatrix.
"What's up with your hair?" Luffy asked as he looked at the large number 3 on top of Mr. 3's head. "It looks so stupid."
Mr. 3's shock turned into anger as he snarled at the boys.
Broggy, still pinned down by the wax covering his body, looked at them. "You two…you were Dorry's friends weren't you?"
Ben nodded. "That's right." He looked at Mr. 3. "And this is the guy who put a bomb in the rum Dorry drank."
"Bomb?" Broggy asked. "Rum?" He glared at Mr. 3. "I knew Dorry was hiding something from me but you….!" Suddenly Broggy tried to push himself up from the wax. Mr. 3 was speechless by the force of strength that the giant had despite his condition.
"Wax-Wax Arts Sword!" Mr. 3 yelled as he raised his hands in the air. His arms turned into globs of wax that flew into the sky. The globs sharpened themselves into a pair gigantic wax swords that descended upon the somewhat immobilized giant. They stabbed into both of his hands and legs, causing Broggy to roar in pain.
"Mr. Giant!" Luffy cried after watching this take place.
Ben glared at Mr. 3. "Alright," he said as he activated the Ultimatrix. "You asked for it." He slammed the dial down.
When the green light past, a new alien stood for the four spectators to see. He had a yellow-armored body and looked much like a robot. His head was similar to a Greek Corinthian helmet with two horns or ears on it giving him the appearance of an armadillo. The big guy also a gray tail and there are jackhammer parts on his elbows, wrists, and hands.
"Armodrillo!" the alien bellowed in a deep, gruff voice.
"So coooool!" Luffy gazed at Armodrillo in wonder.
"What?" Broggy asked in amazement. "In all my years in Elbaf….I have never seen a being like that before."
A beat of sweat trickled down Mr. 3's forehead as he took in this…this…this monstrosity.
I'm starting to agree with Ms. Valentine in wondering how many things this boy can become. Already Mr. 5's team, the Unluckies, and Ms. All Sunday all reported the boy turning into different creatures but nothing like this. But I do know one thing. That boy…his power does not come from a Devil Fruit. He did something before he transformed. He was fiddling with a device of some sort on his wrist. Whatever that wrist was, it's the secret to his transformation. A machine that lets you became monsters? What device on Earth could contain such power?
"Hey, Luffy," said Armodrillo as he cracked his knuckles. "Who gets to go first?"
Luffy had a grin on his face as he punched his fists together.
Mr. 3 scowled as he looked at his two opponents. One was a colossal armored something while the other was a boy believed to be worth 30,000,000 berri. The boy didn't look strong but the yellow armored being sure did.
"Ms. GoldenWeek!" Mr. 3 yelled. "Get over here!"
"Yes, Mr. 3?" Ms. GoldenWeek called back. She was sitting off to the side, sitting on a picnic blanket and eating a rice cracker.
"Would you get over here?" Mr. 3 exasperated at his partner.
Luffy looked at the little girl in confusion. "A kid?"
Armodrillo narrowed his eyes. What was that little kid going to do? Was that really Mr. 3's partner?
"Now," Mr. 3 said as Ms. Golden Week walked up to him. "I'm going to need your assistance in dealing with these two."
"Okay," Ms. GoldenWeek said calmly as she looked at Luffy and Armodrillo. Both were put off by how calm she was by all of this going on. She didn't even look all that fazed by seeing Armodrillo. That was way too calm a reaction for a little girl to react.
"Oi!" Luffy called to the little girl. "Move out of the way!"
"Get of here!" Armodrillo called. "This isn't a place for kids!"
"Sorry," Ms. GoldenWeek said as she stuffed the rest of the rice cracker into her mouth. "But I can't let you stop Mr. 3."
Luffy ignored her and focused instead on Mr. 3. He shot both of his arms back, causing them to stretch. "Gum Gum…"
"Colors Trap," Ms. GoldenWeek said. "Red-Color of a Target." Then she painted some sort of red symbol on the ground.
"Bazooka!" Luffy yelled. But when he fired his arms, he didn't attack Mr. 3. What he attacked instead was the red symbol that Ms. GoldenWeek had made.
"Uh…Luffy?" Armodrillo asked. "What are you doing?"
"I don't know," Luffy admitted. "I just attacked that red symbol for some reason."
Mr. 3 laughed. "Perfect. You have fallen into Ms. Golden Week's Colors Trap!"
Armodrillo and Luffy both looked at Mr. 3 in confusion. "Colors Trap?"
"Ms. GoldenWeek is a portrait artist who can work wonders with her paint," Mr. 3 explained. "And she is capable of using her paint to influence your emotions. You see that red symbol there? Anytime to try to attack, you will be drawn to it like a bull to a red cape."
"Says you!" Luffy yelled as he pulled his arms back again. "Gum Gum Bazooka!" But like before, he merely attacked the red symbol on the ground.
"Now," Mr. 3 chuckled. "I'm going to enjoy making you both my wax figures. Candle Lock!"
Wax fired out of Mr. 3's hands and shot towards Luffy and Armodrillo. Before either could do anything to stop it, the wax struck their legs and turned into giant candles. Luffy stumbled backwards while Armodrillo lurched forward and fell on his face.
"What is this?" Luffy asked as he looked at the Candle Lock on his legs. "This is like a giant hammer."
Armodrillo growled in annoyance at the giant candle that his legs had become stuck in. He then glared at Mr. 3, who had a look of triumph on his face.
"Now for the arms," he said. "Candle Lock!"
He fired more wax at Luffy and Armodrillo. They were just about to move out of the way when a pink wall materialized in front of the pair. The wax slammed harmless against it.
"What?" Mr. 3 exclaimed. He turned to see Gwen rushing towards the group. "You!"
"Gwen!" Luffy and Armodrillo both exclaimed.
"You were the girl who managed to escape Mr. 5 and Ms. Valentine," Mr. 3 said with a snarl. "I wondered where you went."
"Guys, are you okay?" Gwen asked as she looked at Luffy and Ben's predicament.
"We can handle this," Armodrillo reassured her. "Just help the other giant."
"Huh?" Gwen asked. She looked up to see Broggy lying on the ground half encased in wax with wax swords stabbed into his arms and legs. "Mr. Broggy! Hold on!" She ran over to him.
"Don't you dare mess with my art!" Mr. 3 yelled. "Wax Wax Art Harpoon!" The Baroque Works agent fired wax from his hand that took the form a giant harpoon towards the unsuspecting Gwen.
"Gwen, look out!" Armodrillo cried.
Gwen turned around to see the harpoon coming at her. Not able to make a mana wall fast enough, Gwen tried moving to the side. Unfortunately, it grazed her side, tearing off the lower part of her shirt. And there was a nasty slash wound on her side. Gwen cringed as she fell on her knees. Quickly, she began applying her mana to heal the wound.
"Gwen!" Armodrillo and Luffy both cried. That was too close for comfort. If Gwen hadn't been able to move out of the way in time, she… They both turned to glare at Mr. 3.
"Darn you!" Luffy yelled. He pulled his fist back. "Gum Gum Pistol!" He tied shooting his fist towards Mr. 3, but it only struck that red Colors Trap that Ms. GoldenWeek had made.
"How many times are you going to try before you get the message?" Mr. 3 asked mockingly. "As long as Ms. GoldenWeek's Colors Trap is there, you won't lay a hand on me."
"Maybe he can't," Armodrillo said. "But I can." He grabbed the Candle Lock around his legs and focused his powers. The Candle Lock began to shake violently until it crumbled to dust.
"What?" Mr. 3 cried out. "How did you…?"
"Easy," Armodrillo said. "Now watch this!" He put his hands on the ground and the jackhammer parts in his elbows started pumping. At first nobody except Gwen knew what was going on. The ground began to tremble violently. Fissures even began to form.
"What is this?" Mr. 3 asked. "What is he doing?" He had to jump out of the way as a fissure was coming towards him now.
Luffy figured it out and looked at Armodrillo in awe. "You can make earthquakes?" he asked excitedly.
Armodrillo nodded as he continued his earthquakes. Focusing his powers, he created sent a fissure towards the red symbol that Ms. GoldenWeek had made. The fissure split the symbol in two.
Mr. 3's eyes bugged out. This form had the power to make earthquakes? If that was the case, it didn't matter about Ms. GoldenWeek's red color trap. This "Armodrillo" could just use his power to attack everything, catching Mr. 3 and his partner in the crossfire. A powerful being like this had to be dealt with immediately.
"Now I can get him," Luffy said as he pulled his fist back again. "Gum Gum…"
"Candle Wall!" Mr. 3 yelled quickly.
"Pistol!" Luffy cried. But just as his fist shot towards Mr. 3, a giant wall of wax appeared and Luffy's hand struck it instead. But it must have been thick wax because Luffy's punch didn't even crack it.
"Let me try!" Armodrillo said as he ran at the wax wall. He pulled back his fist and unleashed a literal jackhammer punch to the candle wall. It punched a hole right through the wall. Mr. 3's jaw dropped as Armodrillo tore through the rest of it.
"Got you!" Armodrillo said as he raised his fists. But just as he was about to bring them down on Mr. 3, he started laughing uncontrollably. In fact, it was so bad that he fell over and continued laughing.
"Hey!" Luffy yelled to Armodrillo. "Why are you so happy?"
"I hahahahahaha can't help it. Ahahahahahahahah!" Armodrillo laughed. "I can't…I can't…I can't stop laughing. Hahahahahahahaha!" He rolled over while laughing. Gwen noticed something.
"Luffy!" She called. "There's some kind of yellow symbol on his back!"
"Huh?" Luffy asked her before he looked at Armodrillo's back. Sure enough, there was a yellow symbol. It was a lot like that red one from before.
"Colors Trap," said a voice behind Luffy. "Yellow-Color of Laughter."
Luffy turned to see Ms. GoldenWeek standing there now. He looked back at Armodrillo. So that yellow symbol thing was making him laugh.
"Luffy!" Gwen called as she ran towards Armodrillo. "We need to get that symbol off of Ben."
"Got it!" Luffy said. He was about to run towards Armodrillo too when…"Waaaaaaah!" Tears like waterfalls began pouring out of his eyes. "I just wanna cry. Waaaaaaah!"
Gwen looked at Luffy dumbfounded. Then she realized what must have happened. It was that girl again.
"Colors Trap," Ms. GoldenWeek said. "Blue-Color of Sorrow."
Gwen was in a bind and she knew it. Luffy was crying while Armodrillo was laughing his head off. And she was outnumbered. Hopefully not outmatched though.
Mr. 3 snorted as he looked at the incapacitated Luffy and Armodrillo. "And here I thought they were going to be a challenge." He looked at Armodrillo. "I must say I'm deeply disappointed. So it seems that you're just one of those who relies entirely on your power alone with no strategic ways of using it." He smiled at his partner. "You did well, Ms. GoldenWeek."
"Can I take a break now?" Ms. GoldenWeek asked.
"Of course," Mr. 3 said. "In fact, don't help me dealing with this last one. I can more than handle one little girl."
Gwen glared at Mr. 3 as she took a fighting stance. "I'll show you what this "little girl" can do."
Mr. 3 smirked at her. "Candle Lock!" He unleashed a glob of wax at her legs. Gwen responded by quickly rolling out of the way and throwing disks of mana at him.
"Candle Wall!" Mr. 3 created a wall of wax in front of him, which the mana disks shattered against. He reduced the wall to a puddle of wax and smirked at her. "I don't how what those purple things are, but it looks like you can't do much to me."
Now it was Gwen's turn to smirk, something that made Mr. 3 raise an eyebrow at her in confusion.
"Tur-bo!" Gwen cried. A violet colored tornado flew from her hand and towards a stunned Mr. 3. Before Mr. 3 could create another Candle Wall or some kind of counter, he was picked up by the wind and blasted into the forest.
Gwen took advantage of this to go and help Luffy and Armodrillo. She went to Luffy first since he was closer. Luffy was now on his knees and still crying his head off. "I wonder how this comes off," Gwen muttered as she looked at symbol. "That girl seemed to paint it on Luffy. I wonder if I…" she brought a hand to the blue symbol and started rubbing it. It hadn't completely dried so part of it came off. And once it did, Luffy immediately stopped crying.
"Ugh," Luffy rubbed his eyes. "What happened?"
"I'll explain later," Gwen said as she helped Luffy to his feet. "Right now we need to help Ben." They ran to Armodrillo, who was still laughing and rolling around.
"Ben, hold still," Gwen said as she tried to reach the yellow symbol on his back. Unfortunately he kept moving around and she couldn't reach it.
"I can't, ahahahahahahahahahaha, help it!" Armodrillo said. "He…help me. Ahahahahahahahahahaha!"
"I'm trying to," Gwen groaned. She pinched the bridge of her nose. "Guess we'll have to do this the hard way. Facio Gravis!"
Just as Armodrillo rolled over on his stomach again, he was stopped moving. He was still laughing but he couldn't move anymore.
"Eeeeeeh?" Luffy asked excitedly. "Gwen, how'd you do that?"
Gwen looked at Luffy. No offense meant to him but he was rather simple minded when it came to things. Examples being when he called Ben's Ultimatrix a "mystery device" when Ben told him about it. Something told Gwen that if she told him about mana, he wouldn't understand. So she decided to go with the simply approach.
"I used magic," she said. Luffy's jaw dropped and his eyes became stars.
"Magic?" He asked excitedly. "You're a witch?"
Gwen pouted, not really liking the word witch. "How about Enchantress?" she suggested. She walked over to the still laughing Armodrillo and rubbed the yellow symbol on his back. Armodrillo's laughing slowly died down.
"Finally," he said weakly. "Thanks, Gwen. Uh…a little help here?"
Gwen giggled as she removed the spell from Armodrillo.
"So where's Mr. 3 at?" Armodrillo asked as he took a look around.
"I sent him into the woods," Gwen explained. "But I don't know if he'll come back or not."
"We'll worry about that later," Armodrillo said. "For now, let's get the big guy out of there!"
The three nodded and ran towards the imprisoned Broggy. Gwen winced as she looked at the swords in Broggy's arms and legs. Then a thought struck her.
"These are wax, right? That means they should melt with heat or fire. Ben, try using NRG or Swampfire to help melt the wax. I'll see what I can do."
"Got it, Gwen," Armodrillo replied. He touched the Ultimatrix dial and turned into NRG.
"So cooooool!" Luffy said as he looked at NRG.
Broggy's eyes widened. "How…how did you do that?"
"It's hard to explain," NRG replied in his Russian accent. He walked over to the first wax sword he could get to and put his hands on it. "This is gonna get hot." He focused his power on the wax sword, the heat causing the sword to melt away. Broggy grit his teeth, as the heat was affecting the gash in his hand.
"Wow!" Luffy said.
"NRG has the power of heat," Gwen explained to Luffy. "He's capable of melting pretty much anything he touches if he wants to."
Gwen went over to one of the other swords. Putting her hand on it, she said the words "Professo Kar!" The wax sword she was touching was reduced to a puddle of wax. Luffy looked a kid in a candy store.
The two cousins repeated this routine on the swords that bound Broggy's legs. All that was left to deal with was the giant coating of wax that covered most of his body.
"Alright," Luffy said. "Soon, we'll get him free."
"Don't bet on it!" The three turned around to see Mr. 3 walking towards him. Only, he was covered in a gigantic suit of armor made out of wax that made him look like a robotic boxer with huge boxing gloves. "Behold! My Candle Champion!"
"So cool!" Luffy admired.
NRG groaned. "You are easily amused, aren't you?" he asked.
Mr. 3 saw NRG standing there and scowled. Another form.
"I seem to have underestimated you," Mr. 3 said. "Now I'm going to fight you for real!" He charged at them. "Champion Fight: Little Garden!"
With a yell, NRG charged at Mr. 3, who responded by punching NRG. The blow was enough to send the armored energy alien flying some good feet before hitting the ground.
Luffy jumped into the air. "Gum Gum Stamp!" he yelled as he shot his leg at Mr. 3's head. But Mr. 3 brought up his fists and blocked the attack.
"Vitalus Eruptum!" Gwen yelled. Vines burst out of the ground and wrapped around Mr. 3's legs.
"What in…" Mr. 3 tried to say but he fell over before he had the chance to finish his sentence. He noticed that the vines were starting to wrap around him so he quickly used his armor's giant bulk to tear through vines. He started getting back up to his feet when he was tackled from behind, making him stumble.
"Miss me?" NRG, who was hanging onto Mr. 3's back, asked. Mr. 3 knew he had to get NRG off quickly or he was going to melt his armor. Mr. 3 swung a fist over his back, hitting NRG on top of the noggin. It didn't hurt him of course but it did managed to knock him off Mr. 3's back and into the ground.
"Gum Gum Pistol!" Luffy yelled as he fired his stretching fist at Mr. 3, who simply made it bounce off his giant boxing glove.
"It's useless," Mr. 3 mocked.
Gwen responded to that by creating a purple tendril of mana and made it grab Mr. 3 by his 3 shaped hair style. She yanked on it, causing Mr. 3 to lurch forward while yelping in pain. "Ow! Ow! Don't pull!"
"Ben, now!" Gwen called.
"Right!" NRG answered back as he focused his power on the ground. He caused the part he was touching to become a geyser of lava that struck Mr. 3's wax armor and causing it to start melting.
"Noooo!" Mr. 3 screamed as he struggled to attack NRG. But this time, NRG caught the giant boxing glove with both of his hands.
"My turn," NRG replied as he started focusing his power on the boxing glove. Mr. 3 wigged out when he saw that the glove was now melting. "The heat is on."
"Let go!" Mr. 3 yelled as he struggled to get away. "Ms. GoldenWeek, help me!"
"But you said I could take a break," Ms. GoldenWeek, who was sitting on her picnic basket, reminded him.
"I'm in trouble and you're worried about taking a break?" Mr. 3 asked. "Help me out!"
Remembering that the girl had some pretty dangerous color powers, Gwen decided to prevent her from causing anymore trouble. "Somnus!" she cried.
Ms. GoldenWeek paused just as she was starting to stand up. Suddenly she fell over and started snoring.
"Who said you could nap?" Mr. 3 demanded but his yelling did nothing to wake the girl up from her slumber. He turned his head to glare at Gwen despite his wax armor melting. "You! You did something to her! What did you do?"
"Magic!" Luffy said with a grin on his face. "She's an Enchantress!"
Mr. 3's eyes widened. "Magic? Enchantress?"
Just what kind of people are on this crew?
"Perhaps you should pay attention," a Russian voice reminded him.
Mr. 3 brought his attention back on NRG and discovered that his armor had completely melted. He was standing there in a puddle of his own wax. Realizing that he was now completely helpless, he gulped and started whimpering.
"Gum Gum…"
Mr. 3 turned around just in time to see Luffy pull back his fist.
"Pistol!"
Luffy's fist struck right into Mr. 3's face. Luffy's fist stretched, carrying him all the way into a nearby tree and smashing him into a tree in the distance .The force of the blow had been enough to snap the tree in half. Mr. 3 crumpled to the ground. And showed no signs of getting up.
"Finally," NRG said. In a flash of green light, he turned back to normal.
Gwen on the other hand was using her magic to make the wax coating Broggy to soften. Once it did, Broggy sat himself up.
"Amazing," he said as he looked down at Gwen. "In all my years, I have never seen two beings quite like you and that boy."
Ben, who overheard him, scratched his head. "We're kind of…well, one of a kind."
"Hey," Luffy said. "Didn't that woman with the lemon hat say that candle guy had our friends?"
"Lemon hat?" Gwen asked. Then it dawned on her. "Oh, Ms. Valentine. Right, it was all a trap. I managed to get away and Kevin told me to go find help." She rubbed her arm sheepishly. "I kind of got lost for a bit, then I ran into Vivi, Usopp, and Carue. I helped heal Carue for a bit, then Vivi told me how you guys beat up Mr. 5 and Ms. Valentine and had gone to find Mr. 3. So I came to help."
"Thanks, Gwen," Ben said. "How's your side?" He looked at her stomach, which was visible now that part of her shirt had been turn courtesy of Mr. 3's harpoon. But he saw that she didn't even have a scar.
"It's fine, Ben," Gwen reassured him. "Good thing I learned that healing spell."
Ben nodded. "No kidding. Now we just need to find out where the others are. Gwen, do you have anything we can use so you can track them."
Luffy tilted his head in confusion. "Huh?" he asked.
"Not on me," Gwen admitted. "Guess we'll just have to look for them the hard way."
"Guys!" Luffy suddenly screamed. "Where are you? You can come out now!"
"Ow," Ben whined as he rubbed his soar ears. "Try to make me deaf why don't ya?"
"Luffy," Gwen said. "Mr. 3 probably hid them somewhere."
"If that's the case, then we'd better split up and go look for them," Ben said. "We'll meet back here in ten minutes if we can't find anything. Got it?"
Luffy and Gwen nodded. "Got it!"
With that, the three went their different ways into the woods to find the others. Broggy chuckled to himself as he watched them leave.
"Those kids really are something," he looked softly at his fallen comrade. "Right, Dorry?"
Ben grumbled as he fought past the various plant life.
"Where in the world could he hide them?" The wielder of the Ultimatrix grumbled as he trudged through. "This is the jungle."
Then Ben noticed something that really stuck out. A house made out of wax. A sweatdrop appeared on his head.
"Apparently Mr. 3's not very subtle," Ben muttered to himself. He ran over to the wax house. Cautiously, Ben opened the door a tiny crack and peeked inside. Inside was furniture made of wax with a table in the middle of it. Inside was…
"Guys!" Ben cried as he flung the door open.
Sure enough, Nami, Zoro, and Kevin were all lying on the ground with their arms and legs encased in candle locks.
"Ben!" Nami cried happily when she saw who came in.
"About time, Tennyson," Kevin grumbled.
"Hold on a second, guys," Ben said as he activated the Ultimatrix. "I'll use NRG to get you out of there." He switched the dial to NRG and slammed it down. When the green flash of light disappeared, NRG was not the alien the group was seeing. Instead Swampfire stood in his place. "That works too."
"So what happened to you guys?" Zoro asked as Swampfire walked over to them and started using his flames to soften the wax.
"Did Gwen get away?" Kevin asked.
"Yeah," Swampfire replied. "She helped me and Luffy out against Mr. 3."
Kevin let out a sigh of relief.
"What about Mr. 5 and Ms. Valentine?" Nami asked.
"Took care of them before we dealt with Mr. 3," Swampfire explained. "There, that should do it."
The three were able to get out of their locks now thanks to Swampfire weakening them.
"Thanks, Ben," Nami said as Swampfire turned back to normal.
"No problem," Ben said. "Let's go get Usopp, Vivi, and Carue and head back to where I told Gwen and Luffy to meet up at."
Nodding, the gang all left the wax house.
Back at Dorry's home, Usopp and Vivi were looking at each other in concern.
"I don't like it," Usopp said. "Didn't you feel that earthquake from earlier?"
"What could have caused that?" Vivi asked.
"Do you think Ben can turn into something that can make earthquakes?" Usopp asked.
"After seeing the other things Ben's turned into," Vivi said. "I wouldn't be surprised now. I just hope Miss Gwen got to them okay. I really appreciate her healing Carue."
"Quack!" Carue said as he started pointing towards the woods with one of his wings.
"What is it, Carue?" Vivi asked. She looked where Carue was pointing and saw Ben, Zoro, Nami, and Kevin walking towards them. "Guys!"
Ms. Valentine, who was still tied up against Dorry's home, was speechless.
"Did you take care of Mr. 3?" Usopp asked.
Ben grinned. "Naturally,"
Ms. Valentine began whimpering like a puppy. So far this crew had managed to defeat her and Mr. 5 but also the Mr. 3 team as well.
"Is Gwen okay?" Vivi asked.
"She was fine the last time I saw her," Ben explained. "We split up to look for the others. I told them to meet back at the clearing in ten minutes."
"Do you think we should go look for them?" Kevin asked.
Nami shook her head. "Luffy will be fine and I'm pretty sure that Gwen can take care of herself."
Kevin nodded. "True…it's just…"
Nami smiled mischievously at Kevin. She could see how much Kevin cared about Gwen.
"Hey, I just thought of something," Ben realized.
"Took you long enough," Kevin joked. Ben scowled at him.
"What's up, Ben?" Usopp asked.
Ben looked at the ground in thought for a minute before he looked at Ms. Valentine. She flinched when Ben's eyes were on her.
"Where's Sanji?" he asked.
The others gasped. "That's right!" Nami said. "Sanji-kun wasn't with us."
"Who?" Ms. Valentine asked.
"Blonde hair, curly eyebrow, smoking a cigar," Kevin described.
Ms. Valentine shook her head. "I…I'm sorry," she said. "We didn't encounter anyone like that."
The others let out a sigh of relief. "Well at least Sanji didn't get captured." Ben said.
"But where is he?" Vivi asked.
"Probably back on the ship," Ben figured.
"Hope he didn't forget about our hunting contest." Zoro said.
"Vivi-chan! Nami-san!"
"Speak of the devil," Kevin said as everyone turned to see Sanji coming towards them. Behind him was Gwen and Luffy.
"Ben! You found them!" Gwen said as she ran towards the group.
"Guys!" Luffy called happily. "You're all okay!"
"Nami-san! Vivi-chan!" Sanji said in a lovey dovy mood. "I heard rumbling while I was on the ship and went to go investigate. Then I ran into Gwen-chan and she told me everything." He looked at Ben sternly. "I hope you pounded that Mr. 3 guy for hurting Gwen-chan."
That caught Kevin's attention. "What? What happened to Gwen?" He looked at Gwen and saw the lower part of her shirt was torn. "Gwen, what happened?"
"A little gift from Mr. 3," Gwen explained. "Don't worry, though. I'm fine."
But the look of concern didn't leave Kevin's face as he continued looking at Gwen.
"It was so cool!" Luffy said. "First Ben turned into this yellow robot that makes earthquakes…"
"Armodrillo," Kevin said. "I should have known he was the one behind it."
"And then he turned into this suit that could melt stuff!" Luffy finished.
"That would be NRG," Gwen told Luffy.
Ms. Valentine paled as she took in this information. Two more creatures that the boy could turn into?
"Just how many of those…monsters can you become?" she was unable to prevent herself from asking.
Ben turned around to look at her when the gang heard a thunderous noise that made them all jump. At first they thought it was thunder until they noticed that it sounded like crying.
"Who can cry this loud?" Ben asked.
"Teacher Broggy!" Usopp realized. He ran off in the direction where Broggy and Dorry were.
"Usopp, wait up!" Gwen said as she ran after him. In no time, everyone ran in the direction Usopp went. But they left Ms. Valentine behind. But personally, Ms. Valentine was relieved because she wanted to be as far away from this crew as possible.
When the gang arrived where they left Dorry and Broggy, Broggy was crying so much that tears came out of his eyes like waterfalls. There was even a rainbow formed because of his crying.
"Look!" Luffy said. "A rainbow."
"He's way too loud," Kevin grumbled as he covered his ears.
"Who is this guy?" Sanji asked.
"He's a big one," Zoro commented.
Usopp was starting to cry now. "I understand how he feels."
Ben gave a sad look over at Dorry's fallen body. This was all Mr. 3's fault. If he hadn't put that bomb in Dorry's rum, then the giant would be still around.
Suddenly Dorry sat straight up, shocking everyone.
"Do…Dorry?" Broggy asked in shock.
"You're okay!" Ben said. "But how?"
"It must have been the weapons," Dorry said as he placed a hand on his bleeding shoulder.
"The weapons?" Usopp asked before he looked at them. "Oh I get it."
"Elbaf's weapons are made to last a long time," Dorry said. 'But not enough for this one hundred year fight. I am stunned."
He and Broggy started laughing merrily.
"This is a real miracle," Usopp said as he looked at the group in awe.
Broggy hugged Dorry. "I am so glad you are alive, my friend."
"Hey, Broggy," Dorry said. "Don't hug me too tight. It hurts my wounds." But Dorry was still laughing regardless.
"Miracle?" Zoro asked. "That's possible, just like those 100 year old weapons and their owners."
"I think it was dumb luck," Kevin muttered.
Gwen frowned at him for his comment.
"This is a wonderful day!" Broggy said. "I have to thank the Elbaf God!"
"You hit just once," Dorry said dubiously. "And you are this happy, Broggy?"
"I didn't say that," Broggy retorted, playing hitting his friend's shoulder.
"Don't touch my wound," Dorry said.
"You wanna fight?" Both giants asked each other. "I will knock you down this time!"
"Why are you fighting again?" Nami demanded while Luffy laughed at the exchange between the giants.
Kevin groaned as he shook his head. Right now those two made him think of Rath jumbo sized. And that was the last thing any universe needed.
"Ow!" Gwen said, rubbing a spot on her exposed stomach.
Kevin looked at her "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Gwen said as she rubbed a spot on her stomach. "I think a bug bit me or something. Probably a mosquito."
"Wouldn't be surprised in a place like this," Kevin said as he looked at the area around them. "Well now what do we do? I vote for getting out of here."
"We can't," Nami said. "We need an entire year to wait for the Log Posse to set."
"Come on," Kevin groaned. "I've seen enough of this place. Let's just wing it."
"Right and wind up getting stuck on an island filled with living plants or something," Ben said. "If we take our chances, we might just wind up going in the opposite direction of Arabasta." A thought occurred to him. "Hold on. That Log Posse things deals with the magnetic frequency of this island right? Maybe I could turn into Lodestar and speed things up."
"Lodestar?" Vivi asked.
"A creature with magnetic powers," Gwen explained before looking at Ben. "We shouldn't risk it. There's a chance that Lodestar's magnetism might interfere and cause the Log Pose to mess up anyway."
Kevin snorted. "Well, we did have an Eternal Pose that would have led us right to Arabasta but somebody had to go and break it." He glared at Luffy.
"Don't go blaming Luffy for this, Kevin," Gwen said.
"Why not?" Kevin asked. "He's the one who broke the Eternal Pose that Ms. All Sunday woman gave us?"
"What if that was her plan from the start?" Gwen pointed out. "What if she was messing with our heads so that we wouldn't trust her and go to Little Garden?"
"Then Luffy's an idiot for falling for it," Kevin said.
"Kevin!" Gwen retorted.
"Okay, this isn't helping," Ben said as he stood between them. "We need to find a way to get off this island because who knows what that Crocodile guy's gonna do if we don't make it to Arabasta as soon as possible."
"Can't you do something?" Nami asked the two giants, who shook their heads.
"Not even we know how to use the Log Pose," Dorry admitted.
Ben scratched his chin for a minute. "Maybe someone else can help us," he said cryptically.
"You're talking about Ms. Valentine aren't you?" Kevin said.
Vivi's eyes widened. "That…might work."
"Yosh!" Luffy said excitedly. "Then let's go ask her."
"By the way," Sanji said to Zoro. "Don't forget about our hunting contest."
"That?" Zoro asked. "I already won. I bagged a big rhino."
"A rhino, huh?" Sanji asked. "Well let's see if it's as big as the lizard I got."
"Hunting contest?" Dorry and Broggy both thought to themselves as the group went off to talk with Ms. Valentine.
As for the woman in question; she was trying her best to get out of the webbing that Ben had encased her in as Spidermonkey. She had to get away. She and her partner had failed their mission completely. That boy and his forms were too much to overcome by themselves. She couldn't go back to the boss, as he would kill her for her failure. Mr. 0 had been told a lot about this boy and his ability to turn into multiple monsters. Mr. 0 did not consider the boy a threat, but he did admit that the boy made stopping the princess rather difficult. That was why Mr. 3 had been assigned to the mission. But even he and his intellect that was renowned throughout Baroque Works, had failed to bring this boy down. Who…who in Baroque Works could stand against this boy other than Mr. 0 himself?
"Hey, Ms. Valentine?"
Ms. Valentine stopped in her struggling and looked in fear as she saw Ben and the others coming towards her. Oh no. What would they do to her? Would they kill her? Torture her?
"We have a couple of questions we'd like to ask you," Gwen said.
So that was it. They were going to interrogate her. Ms. Valentine knew that giving away any secrets regarding Baroque Works would mean a death warrant on her head. But then…who knew what this crew of pirates was capable of.
"We need to get to Arabasta," Nami said as she looked at Ms. Valentine, curious about the webbing her body was encased in.
"But it takes a whole year for the Log Pose to set," Vivi continued.
"So we'll be nice to you if you're nice to us," Kevin said. "Got it?"
Too scared to say anything, Ms. Valentine slowly nodded her head.
"How do we get to Arabasta without waiting for the Log Pose to settle?" Ben asked.
"You can't," Ms. Valentine said. She panicked when she saw the darkened look on some of the group's faces. "I'm being serious! The only way you could make it to Arabasta without waiting is if you had an Eternal Pose."
Ben looked at the ground.
"There's no other way?" Luffy asked. Ms. Valentine shook her head.
Ben tapped his chin for a minute, then started walking off again.
"Hey, Ben," Sanji said. "Where are you going?"
"I'm going to that wax house I found," Ben said. "It belongs to Mr. 3 so I'm gonna see if maybe he had something useful."
"There wasn't much in there," Nami said. "When Zoro, Kevin, and I were locked up in the wax house, the only thing there was a tea set and a picnic basket."
"Well, it doesn't hurt to do a double check," Ben pointed out.
"A wax house? I'll come with you," Sanji said.
He and Ben walked through the forest with Ben leading him to where the wax house was at. As soon as the two walked in, they became aware of a ringing noise.
"Do you hear that?" Ben asked Sanji.
"I hear it," Sanji said. "I wonder where it's coming from."
The two followed the ringing noise, where it led them to the picnic basket that Nami had mentioned. Looking at each other in confusion, they opened the basket and pulled out what appeared to be a cross between a phone and a snail.
"Cool," Sanji said. "A Den Den Mushi."
"A what?" Ben asked, causing Sanji to look at him in surprise.
"You've never used a Den Den Mushi before?" Sanji asked him.
Ben shook his head. Looking at Ben in puzzlement, Sanji brought his attention back to the Den Den Mushi and pulled the receiver off its back. "Hello, this is Restaurant Le Crap; would you like to make a reservation?"
Ben gawked at Sanji. Of all the things to say. But…he did have to admit that it was kind of funny.
"Stop playing, you idiot," said a low, menacing voice from the Den Den Mushi. The snail part's mouth moved in synch with the voice. "Why don't you send me a report?"
Sanji and Ben shared a cautious glance at each other before Sanji talked into the receiver. "Report?" he asked. "Um…who are you?"
"It's me," Came the answer. "Mr. 0."
Ben's eyes widened in shock as he looked at Sanji, whose one visible eye was narrowed at the Den Den Mushi. So this was the guy that led Baroque Works. The one who was involved with a war in Arabasta and wanted Vivi dead. Apparently Mr. 0 thought Sanji was either Mr. 3 or Mr. 5. Probably Mr. 3 since this wax house had to belong to him. Who else would it belong to?
"I have given you an order," Mr. 0 said. "I would like to know the progress, Mr. 3."
Figures. Mr. 0, or Crocodile, had called to see if Mr. 3 had managed to finish them off. Ben and Sanji looked at each other, silently asking between the two of them what they should do. If Mr. 0 figured out that he wasn't talking with Mr. 3, who knew what he was going to do.
"Why don't you answer me?" Mr. 0 asked. "I'm asking you a question. Have you killed Princess Vivi and the Straw-hat Pirates?"
Sanji took a whiff of his cigarette and blew out some smoke. Coolly, he leaned back and smirked. "Oh, I've killed all of them. Everyone who knew your secret is dead. So, we don't have to hunt for them anymore."
"Is that so?" Mr. 0 asked. "What about this boy who is said to turn into monsters? Are you sure you killed him?"
"Of course," Sanji said before playfully grinning. "He went down pretty easy actually."
Ben scowled in annoyance at Sanji.
"Good work," Mr. 0 said. "I've sent the Unluckies to see if you had completed the mission or not. They will give it to you."
"It?" Sanji asked as he and Ben exchanged a look at each other.
"The Eternal Pose," Mr. 0 explained. "To Arabasta."
Sanji and Ben's eyes widened. An Eternal Pose to Arabasta? That was it! Their ticket off this island and back to Vivi's home.
"You and Ms. GoldenWeek shall go to Arabasta," Mr. 0 continued. "It's time to accomplish our goals. I will send you more details after you've arrived at Arabasta."
Ben and Sanji would have been sharing a look of triumph right now if it weren't for the fact that they were looking at the Unluckies, who were looking at them from the windows in the wax house.
"What are those two creatures?" Sanji asked Ben.
"What happened?" Mr. 0 asked from the Den Den Mushi.
The vulture bent forward to reveal a pair of cannons or bazookas on its back. The otter pulled out two clams with blades sticking out of them.
"Nothing," Sanji replied.
The vulture fired the bazookas at its two foes, forcing Sanji and Ben to duck out of the way. Only for the otter to try and attack them with its bladed clams. Ben was just about to activate the Ultimatrix…
"You think that you can kill me?" Sanji asked the otter. "Take this! You stupid otter with sunglasses!" he kicked the otter and made it smack into the wall of the wax house. It slid to the ground with a giant lump on its forehead.
The vulture fired at Sanji again, only for Sanji to flip in the air and grab the vulture's neck with his feet. "Why didn't you listen, you stupid giant vulture?" he twisted the vulture's neck, making the vulture hit the ground as well.
Ben watched this all in shocked silence. Even though they were just two animals, Sanji's moves were amazing. He didn't think that any human could be capable of something like that.
"What is happening?" Mr. 0's voice from the Den Den Mushi demanded. Sanji calmly went over and picked up the receiver.
"Oh there's nothing going on," Sanji said. "Turns out the monster boy was still alive after all. But don't worry. He's dead for sure this time."
There was moment of silence from the other end. Then...
"Still…alive? I thought you told me that you accomplished that mission, didn't you?"
"That's right," Sanji said. "I thought I was. But that kid's sneakier than I thought."
"In other words," Mr. 0 said in an even more menacing voice. "You gave me a false report?"
"Um…" Sanj said. Both he and Ben were put off by this dark tone. "I can't help it if you think that way. But everyone is now one hundred percent dead. So, there is no need to look for them anymore. Ok?"
"Never mind that," Mr. 0 said. "After you take care of everything, just go to Arabasta. I will hang up now because if the Marines detect this conversation, we will be in trouble. From now on, I will send the orders by mail as usual. That's all. I wish you luck, Mr. 3." Then the line went dead, meaning that Mr. 0 had hung up.
"Phew," Ben said as he relaxed. "I didn't think he'd buy it."
"Never did I," Sanji said. He got up and looked at the Unluckies. "By the way, who are these two?"
"The Unluckies," Ben said. "Guess they thawed out of that ice I put them in."
"Hey, Ben. Look." Sanji said.
Ben looked in the direction Sanji was looking and saw an object lying next to the otter. He gasped. "It's the Eternal Pose to Arabasta!"
"Great!" Sanji said as he picked up the Eternal Pose. "Let's go back and tell the others."
Nodding, Ben opened the door to the house and the two of them ran to where the others were.
"Ben?" Gwen asked as she saw them running. "Sanji?"
"Whoa, where's the fire?" Kevin asked as the two came to a halt right in front of them.
"Very funny, Kevin," Ben said between pants. "But listen. We went to Mr. 3' house and found this thing called a Den Den Mushi."
Ms. Valentine's eyes widened.
"And we got a call from Mr. 0," Sanji finished for Ben.
Luffy, Nami, Usopp, Gwen, and Vivi all gasped. Zoro and Kevin narrowed their eyes.
"You…you actually talked with Mr. 0?" Vivi asked.
"He thought Sanji was Mr. 3," Ben explained. "And Sanji told him that we were all dead."
Kevin grinned. "Nice one."
"With Mr. 0 thinking we're all dead," Gwen said. "We can get back to Arabasta unnoticed."
"Only one problem," Zoro said. "What about her?" He pointed at Ms. Valentine with his thumb.
"Good point," Usopp said. "She just overheard everything."
"So she might try to escape and warn Mr. 0 about us still being alive," Nami realized.
"No need to worry about that,"
The gang turned to see Broggy and Dorry towering behind them. How in the world the giants got there without them noticing was a mystery to all. Maybe they were so wrapped up in their situation that they failed to notice.
"We should repay you for all that you've done for us," Broggy said.
"And keeping this hooligans from bothering anymore seems like a fair trade," Dorry said with a laugh.
"Are you sure?" Gwen asked. "I mean I don't want us to any trouble."
"No trouble," Broggy said. "Consider it a thank you."
"That's great and all," Kevin said. "Only one problem…we're still stuck on this island anyway."
"Oh really?" Sanji asked as he pulled out the Eternal Pose. This caused Luffy, Usopp, Zoro, Nami, Vivi, Gwen, Kevin, and even Carue to gap at him. "What?"
"The Eternal Pose to Arabasta!" Vivi cried out.
Kevin scowled at Sanji and Ben. "And when were you planning on telling us you had that?"
Vivi threw her arms around Sanji and Ben. "Thank you both so very much! I never thought we'd get out of here."
Sanji's visible eye became heart shaped. "You're welcome," he mumbled happily. "I didn't know you would be so happy."
"Finally!" Luffy said happily. "We can get out of here!"
"Well what are we waiting for?" Nami asked with a smile. "Let's go!"
Luffy looked up at the giants and smiled. "Then, it's time to say good-bye. I wish both of you luck."
"Oh!" Broggy said. "You must be in a hurry."
"That's too bad," Dorry admitted. "But we won't stop you. I wish that you could save your country."
Vivi smiled at them. "Thank you."
"Don't die, Ok?" Luffy called as they started walking back towards the ship.
"Take care!" Ben called.
"I will go to Elbaf one day!" Usopp shouted to the giants. Soon, they disappeared in the thick jungle or forest of the island. Dorry and Broggy continued staring at the woods.
"Our friends are about to leave," Broggy said.
"We can't stay here while knowing that there is a monster out there," Dorry said.
Ms. Valentine looked up at them in confusion. Monster?
"How is your injury, Dorry?" Broggy asked.
"Don't worry about that," Dorry said as he gripped his sword tightly.
Broggy gripped his axe. "My axe and your sword are coming to their end."
"Are you going to be sad?" Dorry asked.
"Of course. I've been using axe for 100 years but…for our friends, I won't regret it."
Dorry nodded. "We've decided."
Back at the ship, Sanji and Zoro were getting into an argument. Turns out that Zoro's rhino was the triceratops from before. And Sanji's lizard the T-Rex he ran into earlier. Both had them next to the ship and were comparing sizes between the two giant reptiles.
"Can't you see?" Sanji demanded. "My lizard is bigger."
"Then you must be blind because my rhino is definitely bigger," Zoro countered.
"You don't need to argue," Luffy said from the railing. "Both of them look delicious anyway."
"Shut up!" Zoro and Sanji both said.
"How long are you going to fight?" Nami asked from the upper deck of the ship. "We can't carry the whole thing anyway. Just cut the parts that we can bring and let's go."
"Yes, Nami-san!" Sanji said eagerly.
"Usopp, mine's bigger right?" Zoro asked Usopp.
"Ben, mine's bigger than his right?" Sanji asked Ben.
"Huh?" Usopp asked Zoro before looking at the two dead dinosaurs. "I don't want to decide."
"Me neither," Ben said.
"Can't you call it a draw?" Vivi asked.
"There's no draw in a competition," Zoro replied.
"Says who?" Kevin asked.
After a while for getting the meat on the ship, the gang sailed off through the river so that they could reach the end of the island. Nami noticed Ben was leaning against the railing, very lost in thought. "What's up, Ben?" She asked as she walked over to him.
"Huh?" Ben looked up at her. "Nothing it's just…"
"Just what?"
"Well…it's about that Mr. 0 or Crocodile or whoever he is," Ben said. "Why is he doing this in the first place? Why does he want Arabasta?"
Nami shook her head. "I'm not sure. I don't think even Vivi knows for sure, and she knows more about Baroque Works than any of us do."
Ben sighed as he looked at the railing.
"Cheer up," Nami said with a grin. "With all those monsters you can turn into, I bet you can kick this Crocodile's butt all the way around the world."
Ben grinned. "You think so?"
"I'm pretty sure," Nami said. "But…"
Ben raised an eyebrow. "But what?"
"Where were you?" Nami asked annoyed. "Your position on the ship is to be my bodyguard, remember? So why weren't you there to protect me from those Baroque Works guys? If you don't start doing your job, I'm gonna start charging you."
"Charging me? For what?"
"Your bodyguard fee of course," Nami said. Then she made a pouty face. "I'm just a sweet innocent girl in this big scary world. I need someone to keep me safe."
I'm starting to think you're anything but innocent. Ben thought to himself. And shouldn't I be the one getting paid, not the other way around?
Sanji growled under his breath. "Curse him." He said. "How come he gets to be all close to Nami-san?"
"Hey look!" Luffy said, pointing ahead. "Those are the Mister Giants! They coming to see us off!"
Sure enough, Dorry and Broggy were standing on either side of the island's edge, facing out towards the ocean.
"The small humans who came to his island…" Broggy said.
"They have a big reason to go to the next island," Dorry finished.
"What are they doing?" Nami asked.
"I'm not sure," Gwen replied.
"You have protected our honor with your lives," Dorry said.
"So," Broggy said. "No matter what will come…"
"We won't let anything happen to your flag!" Dorry declared.
"Trust in us," Broggy reassured them. "No matter what happens, we want you to keep heading straight."
"I've got it!" Luffy said. "I will."
Kevin tensed. "I don't like the sound of this."
"What is it?" Zoro asked.
"Something in my gut telling me that something bad's about to happen," Kevin told him. "And it usually does."
As the ship sailed past the giants, they both called "We shall meet again some day!"
"Look at that!" Nami cried.
The water in front of the ship was starting to rise up. Or rather, something in the water was coming out.
Dorry narrowed his eyes. "So you've come out, Island Eater."
A giant fin came out of the water.
"What is that?" Ben asked. "Some kind of fish?"
Broggy grit his teeth. "In the name of Elbaf, we will risk our lives to open the way for you!"
Now the creature's head fully came out of the water. Sure enough, it was a giant fish. In fact, it looked like a gigantic gold fish bigger than any aquatic creature that Ben, Gwen, and Kevin had ever seen. It was even bigger than the Kraken that Ben met when he was ten years old.
"What is that?" Kevin shouted.
"It's…it's huge," Gwen said.
"Hurry up and change course or we'll be eaten!" Nami yelled at Usopp. But he was too busy staring at the Island Eater.
"That's huge!" he said. "A giant gold-fish? Sounds like I heard of it somewhere."
"Are you deaf?" Kevin asked Usopp. "Nami said to change course."
"No!" Usopp snapped at Kevin.
"No? What do you mean no?" Kevin demanded.
"We will head straight!" Usopp declared. "Isn't that right, Luffy?"
Luffy grinned up at his friend. "Yep. Absolutely."
"Luffy are you sure this is a good idea?" Ben asked.
"Of course."
"Don't be stupid!" Nami yelled. "This is different from Laboon!"
"I know," Luffy replied. "Why don't you stay calm?"
"How can I stay calm?" Nami asked.
"Nami," Zoro said while leaning against the ship. "I think you'd better give up."
Nami sobbed.
"Luffy," Sanji called. "Are you sure we can trust those giants?"
"Yes," Luffy said without a moment's hesitation.
"Are you serious?" Vivi asked him. "That giant goldfish is swimming towards us!"
"It's too late now!" Nami cried.
Everyone looked up and saw that the ship was already inside the Island Eater's mouth.
Dorry grinned. "The Island Eater. It sure has grown a lot."
"It's not only the size that scares people," Broggy said. "It has also eaten and destroyed many islands around here. They say it's poop is very long and big. They even said it's bigger than an island.
Dorry laughed. "Remember when we landed on one and that it was an island?"
"It's a very beautiful adventure," Broggy said. "When I saw those humans, they reminded me of our past together."
The Island Eater closed its mouth, taking the ship and its crew inside. Immediately both giants gripped their weapons tightly and held them like baseball bats, winding up for the hit.
"The only thing we can't pierce is a snake soaked in blood," Dorry said as he readied his sword.
"Take a good look at the legendary Elbaf's spear," Broggy said to the Island Eater.
"Keep going straight!" Usopp cried.
"We're already eaten, you idiot!" Kevin yelled. "It's too late now!"
"Keep going straight!" Luffy shouted.
Back outside, Broggy and Dorry swung their weapons at the Island Eater, unleashing two powerful blasts of air that managed to blow a gigantic hole on the Island Eater. And that powerful wind blasted the ship out of the Island Eater too.
"Yahoo!" Luffy cried. "We're flying!"
"How did we…?" Kevin was dumbfounded.
"Hold on to something!" Gwen yelled, not sure what was going to happen.
"No need to tell me twice," Nami said, clutching onto the railing for dear life.
Luffy grinned as he took in the sight of the sky. "Great," He said happily to himself. "This is great."
Usopp had tears running down his face but he also had a smile too. "They can even cut the ocean. This is the power of Elbaf's warriors. They're the best."
Ben snorted. "Big deal," He muttered. "I bet they can't shoot beams like Way Big can."
Back on the island, Dorry and Broggy, despite their weapons' shattering, were happy that they could lend a hand to the humans that they could become friends with.
And so it seemed smooth sailing now. With the adventure of Little Garden over, everyone was in high spirits, especially Usopp.
"Listen up, everyone!" Usopp announced. "One day, I will go to Elbaf's village."
"Good luck with that one," Kevin said as he sat down on the ship's stairs.
"Yeah!" Luffy said. "Let's go together to the home town of those giants!"
He and Usopp jumped on the railing and started chanted the word Elbaf.
Nami shook her head. "They sure are happy." Then she noticed Gwen leaning against the railing of the ship looking pretty worn out. "Hey, Gwen," she said as she walked up to her. "You okay?"
Gwen, who had been staring at the ocean with a dazed off look, snapped out of it when Nami called her name. "Huh? Oh hey, Nami. I'm not sure. For some reason I feel pretty tired."
Nami grinned. "Probably all the excitement leaving your body."
"We did have quite a time in Little Garden," Vivi said.
Nami nodded. "And now we're finally heading to Arabasta. But I really hope nothing else happens to us on the way there."
Vivi smiled. "Yes, and I will definitely go back there! Because I am the only one who can free my country." Then her faced turned solemn as she looked at the ground. "I have to live and return to Arabasta."
"Relax, Vivi-chan," Vivi turned around to see Sanji with a plate of food in his hands. "You can always count on me." He held out the tray for her. "Just take a good rest and try my food. Would you like tea or coffee?"
"Mr. Sanji," Vivi said softly.
"It looks good," Luffy said as he drooled looking at the food.
"It looks delicious," Usopp agreed as he drooled too.
"Your portions are in the kitchen," An annoyed Sanji said.
Usopp and Luffy immediately dashed to the kitchen, leaving a sweatdropping Nami, Vivi, and Gwen behind.
At the back of the ship, Zoro was lifted gigantic weights, swinging them like a sword.
"2603!" Zoro said before swinging the sword again. "2604! We wasted so much time there. I'm still weak. I have to be stronger. I have to be able to cut through everything. Even steel."
Kevin ran a hand through his hair as he looked out into the ocean.
"What's up?" Ben asked as he stood by his friend.
"This whole place is up, Tennyson," Kevin replied. "I mean, people back on our Earth liked to imagine what parallel Earths were like. I just never thought…
"You'd never thought we'd be in a place that we could feel right at him in," Ben figured.
"Yeah," Kevin admitted. "With all these Devil Fruits and stuff, I'm not a freak or anything. They all think I'm just another Devil Fruit user here."
"Is that a problem?" Ben asked.
"Not really. It's just kinda strange going places where human beings can do things like we can."
"I think it's cool," Ben said. "Hey, maybe I should find a Devil Fruit and eat one. Then I could have my own super power! Do you think it could work with my aliens? Oh that would be so cool!"
Kevin shook his head. Trust Ben Tennyson to get hyped up for something like that.
Back with Nami, Vivi, and Gwen, the young Anodite wiped some sweat from her forehead. "Hey, guys," she said weakly. "I'm gonna go lie down."
"Sure thing, Gwen," Nami said. "Go ahead and take a rest."
"Thank you," Gwen said as she started walking toward the rooms. But she only took three steps when she collapsed. Immediately Vivi and Nami were at her side.
"Everyone!" Nami cried. "Come here, quick!"
"What?" Ben asked. "What is it?"
"Something happened to Miss Gwen!" Vivi cried.
Kevin was next to them as quick as a flash. "What?" he demanded. "What happened to her?"
Gwen was lying on the ground. Her body was sweating and her face was red.
"Gwen's a got a fever!"
End of Chapter.
Well, everyone. I apologize for the long wait. But I will update the next chapter of Ten Piece on Easter sunday. So stay tuned people and get ready for more chaos coming at ya! Till then, take care!