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Wyper's Point of View
That damn cook dragged me out to help him with his grocery shopping. While we were out, we saw Robin, but Chopper wasn't with her.
"Do you think the guy in the mask was him?" Sanji asked me.
"I doubt it. Why would Ikki need to wear a mask just to walk around? Maybe your eyes are playing tricks on you? Or maybe your eyebrow is so curled it's burrowed into your brain?"
"Shut it!"
We finished up the rest of his shopping and got ready to head back to the ship.
"Sanji!"
We looked over and saw the little fur ball running toward our boat. He hopped in and told us he couldn't find Robin anywhere.
"This isn't good," I said.
"I have a bad feeling about this," Sanji replied.
"It's all my fault. I should have been paying more attention," Chopper whimpered.
"It's not your fault, Chopper. Let's just head back to the Merry and hope she's there."
"She'd better be, because if she isn't, Steve will throw a fit," I told them. The cook mumbled something about how Robin should pay more attention to him, not Steve.
"You're not going to pull them apart," Chopper told him. "I may be young, but even I can tell they have something special."
I just laughed. "They should just stop skirting around it and make out already."
That only seemed to set the chef off. "We're going back to the ship right now!"
Steve's Point of View
"What do you mean you can't fix the Merry?!" Luffy begged.
"It's the keel, isn't it?" Paulie said, already knowing the answer.
"Yep."
"Do you folks know what that is?" he explained. "It's like the backbone of a ship. Every piece of wood connects to that main beam. If it's cracked, there's nothing that can be done. You can't replace a keel; you have to build a whole new ship."
"Are you serious? There's no way at all?" I asked, my heart sinking.
"Your ship is nothing more than a pile of wood waiting to be scrapped."
"How could you say that?!" Nami yelled.
"I'm only telling you the truth," Paulie replied flatly.
"Well, can't you just rebuild the Merry?" Luffy pleaded.
"Impossible!" a bird with a human-like voice cooed. "There are no two identical ships."
"What do you mean?"
"There are no two identical trees. The wood may be similar, but you would be the first ones to notice the difference."
"So you're saying Merry will never sail again?" I asked him, hoping this was all just a bad dream.
"That's correct," Iceberg said, a statement that felt like it was cutting into my soul. "You can leave it here and have it taken apart now or let it die a natural death. But there is a bright side: you can now buy a new ship. Even if your ship was brand new, a model like that wouldn't last much deeper into the Grand Line. The seas are just too strong, and your opposition will only have more powerful ships."
"So, Luffy...?" I looked at him, searching for a sign of what to do.
"No... I don't want a new ship!" Luffy whined. "Just fix it! I'm sure Merry can keep going; we sailed here today, didn't we?!"
"Luffy, they're professionals. They know what they're talking about. I know it's hard, but we should listen," I told him, trying to be the voice of reason.
"No! I don't believe them!"
"Then you're going to sit on it and watch it sink," Iceberg shot back. "A whiny brat like you thinks he can call himself a captain."
We all just looked at each other for a while. I think what Iceberg had just said hit Luffy personally.
"That's enough for today. Come back if you want a new ship; the 300 million you have will be plenty for a new one." The secretary handed us a magazine of ship models and went to help her boss. Some government agents came by, so we hid behind a nearby pile of wood.
"Hmmmm," Luffy mumbled.
"What's wrong?" Nami asked him.
"They feel light."
"Don't joke like that, Luffy," I told him.
"Yeah, there's 100 million Beli in there; it can't possibly be light," Nami said as she opened up the cases.
"AHHHH!"
"What the hell are you screaming for?!" Paulie yelled.
"IT'S GONE! 200 MILLION BELI GONE!"
"Those briefcases aren't even yours!" Paulie snapped.
A man with a bad cowlick asked Kaku if he had been with the Franky Family earlier. "What are you talking about? I haven't seen them all day," Kaku replied.
"That's odd. I swore I saw a long-nosed man with them today," the other man said.
Wait... Long... Nose...
"USOPP!"
"Why was he with them?" Nami asked.
"Well, he wasn't with them as much as they were carrying him," the man explained.
"So he was kidnapped!" Nami yelled. "You two go find him!"
Luffy and I went off to try and find our friend. Luffy went to the top of the buildings while I hit the streets below.
"I'm gonna jump like that foreman!" Luffy exclaimed.
"Luffy, this isn't the time to fool around!"
He jumped anyway.
"Wait for me, idiot!" I said, throwing a whip around the soaring Luffy. We flew across the city. It was beautiful up there in the air. We splashed down in the water, and I had to pull Luffy out onto dry land. I looked around and saw the rest of the crewâwell, everybody except Nami, Robin, and Usopp.
"What are you two doing?" Ikki asked me.
"HEY! Usopp got taken!" Luffy told them.
"We know; we're going to the place he got taken," Sanji explained.
"Usopp got the crap beaten out of him," Wyper said. "There's a lot of blood here."
"He must have gone on alone... This is the place Nami found him, but he's not here now," Zoro said.
"We need to find this Franky Family," I growled. "NOW!"
We headed to the Franky House, the base of operations for the people last seen with Usopp. Outside, we found Usopp on the ground, and he wasn't in good shape. Chopper treated his wounds and said he'd be okay.
"Just wait for us a little longer, Usopp," Luffy said.
"Do whatever you want in there," I told the others. "I don't give a damn how wild you guys wanna be. Raise hell."
When we got close to the door, a large man emerged from the house. We sent him flying back inside without hesitation. They were having a party, most likely at our expense.
"Look at them, here for the money. What can you do? You're just six men and a woman."
Another man, about as big as the last guy, walked toward us. "If you're as weak as the long nose, I'll give you a free hit."
"Gum-Gum Bazooka!"
The thick armor that the man was wearing shattered from the blow. The men were terrified of Luffy's attack.
"Le-Let's talk this out like gentlemen."
Before they knew it, Ikki was already behind them. "It's far too late for talk. Sunset Shower!" She jumped off their backs as multiple men suddenly fell over, bleeding.
They tried to fire a bunch of cannonballs at us, but Zoro took care of them. He not only cut the cannonballs but the cannons as well.
"Holy crap! He even cut the cannon!"
"You need to be taught a lesson," Sanji told them. "Party Table Kick Course!"
"Let me show you real pain! Flame Dial!"
Wyper scorched the men and sent them running at me and Chopper.
"Roseo Coronedo!"
"Whip Crush!"
"Listen, let's all calm down," one of the men said, pleading. "If you want the 200 million, it's too late. Our boss Franky took that already. He was getting on the Sea Train, and we have no idea where he's going or when he'll be back. No matter how much you destroy, you can't get your money back!"
Luffy punched the man in the face.
"You still don't get it," Ikki told them.
"This isn't about the money," Sanji explained.
"You made a big mistake," Zoro added.
"We're going to annihilate you," Luffy and I said in unison.
They fired a bunch of random junk at us.
"Burn Bazooka!" Wyper melted all the shrapnel that was shot at us.
The rest of us went on a rampage to eliminate our problem.
"36 Caliber Phoenix!"
"Gum-Gum Gatling!"
"Whip Tornado!"
"20,000 Thorn Broadsword: Fell Stinger!"
It took us a few more minutes to tear the whole house down and knock out most of the men.
"Are we going after Franky?" Sanji asked as we sat amongst the rubble.
"Where would we even go?" Zoro asked.
"Those guys didn't know anything," Wyper said. "We'll have to wait and ask Franky."
"But by then, he'll be done shopping and spending our money," Ikki said.
Chopper told us Usopp was ready to move; he just needed someone to help him carry the sniper.
"Let's head back," I told them. "Nami's alone on the ship, and you guys said you didn't know where Robin was. Come on, Luffy."
I'm worried about Robin; I hope she's okay.
"I've decided," Luffy said, looking out at the sea. "It's time to say goodbye to Merry."