Chapter Text
Chapter 1: I’m Monkey D. Luffy! Koby’s Resolve and Green Lightning!
Text and Italic Guide
"Speech"
'Thought'
Emphasized words and Flashback text
[Insert Music]
Special Moves
Devil Fruits and Location Names
Somewhere on The Edge of Space and Time (Year ?)
"Cut it out, Eggman, ya nut! You're… gonna… mess me... up!"
"If I can't have the universe MY way, then you won't have it PERIOD!"
At that moment, the hedgehog noticed something drifting towards the shattered remains of his universe. A tuft of… smiling(?) purple smoke that was pulling countless versions of his world to keep it stable, but adding one extra piece that he didn't know about. He would have paused more to ponder if a certain egg-shaped individual weren't messing with his ability to remedy the situation. It was now or never.
"Aw Man… This is gonna be close…! Hopefully, this at least makes the transition seamless… CHAOS CONTROL!"
"No, you don't! Fire!"
As the egg-shaped man fired their weaponry at the ball of light the yellow one threw, the purple cloud holding everything together gave a toothy grin(?), ate both, and merged with the multiversal slurry. Both witnesses to the event felt their jaws open involuntarily before they were pushed back by the subsequent explosion of light and chillingly joyful laughter.
"That… Doesn't seem right…"
"Eggman…! What did you do?! What did-?!"
Wealth. Fame. Power. Gold Roger, the King of the Pirates, attained everything this world could offer. He was known by many different epithets: a notorious criminal to some, a monster in the shape of a man to others, but those who knew him knew better. To them, he was their best friend, who knew how to twist even the darkest hour into victory. He was never caught. In a shocking twist, he turned himself in. But on his execution platform, Roger's dying words drove countless souls to the seas!
"You want my Treasure?" He asked the entire world watching his execution on the gallows. A dark, audacious grin grew as he continued, shocking the executioners and every naval official there. "You can have it! Search for it! I left it all in one place!"
And so, men and women across countless walks of life set their sights on the Grand Line in pursuit of their dreams. Thus began the great Pirate Era!
(LSHS)
Goat Island, The East Blue (Year 1522)
"Why… is there so much dust on my Bulwark?"
[Insert Start – Pirate – One Piece OST]
"A thousand pardons, Lady Alvida, I thought I cleaned every inch of the ship! Please!" The younger pirate, the newest recruit, begged desperately, "I'll clean everything over again—"
"'Please,' what…?" The Captain, Alvida, asked incredulously. She unholstered her epithet's namesake as the recruit collapsed onto his back in fear.
"No! Not the Iron Mace-!"
With one loud whack to the head, it was over instantly. He wasn't dead, but with the strength of her attack and the blood erupting from his wound, he would be if the ship's doctor didn't get to him soon. This was how a day usually started aboard for the crew aboard the Miss Love Duck, named after its white duck figurehead with hearts for its eyes. It was a large pink ship with four sails, one higher than the other three. Adorned on the top of all 3 was a black flag with a side profile skull and a heart embedded on its side. The crew, the Alvida Pirates led by – shocker – Iron Mace Alvida, a tall and obese woman with long wavy black hair and freckles on her cheeks. She wore a white cowgirl hat with a large red plume, a red neckerchief, a pink plaid shirt, and a blue captain's coat over it with the arms in the sleeves, but the most distinguishing feature was her giant iron mace. A mace that she uses for both combat and to punish anyone who either disobeys her orders or fails to answer one main question of hers incorrectly.
"Koby! Who is the fairest across all the seas?!"
"You are Lady Alvida," Koby, a small, timid, chubby boy with light pink hair and round-frame glasses, said in a practiced manner. Not much made him stand out, as he had a plain white naval shirt and black pants. He didn't dare look into her eyes. He became their cabin boy after he found out the hard way that the fishing boat he walked onto was, in fact, a pirate ship. Too scared to leave and the fight practically beaten out of him over 2 years, he knew how to avoid her ire.
"Correct, but best not to push your luck! I will not tolerate anything dirty, and were it not for your knowledge of the sea, I would have fed you to the sharks long ago! Are you not thankful, Koby?"
"Of course I am Lady Alvida!" He wasn't, but he made no effort to say that out loud as he was kneeling. Maybe this time she wouldn't- she did. She kicked him in the face twice. Better than usual, at least!
"If you've got time to grovel, clean the bathrooms!"
"Right away," Koby said with a smile, ignoring his bloody nose and cracked glasses as he walked away.
"As for the rest of you," She said, shifting her head towards the rest of her cowering crew with a glare. "I don't want to see another speck of dirt on this ship! Am I clear?!"
"Aye Aye!" The rest of the crew shouted enthusiastically.
"Aye Aye…" Koby replied quietly as he walked off the ship and onto the island, trying his best not to cry as he slumped towards the bathrooms.
[Insert – Stop]
(LSHS)
[Insert Start – Mother Sea - One Piece OST]
He hated it here. He wanted desperately to leave, but he didn't have the strength or the willpower to fight the crew, let alone Alvida herself, on his own. As Koby was in the middle of cleaning, he prayed silently that someone, anyone, could save him. Then, as if to answer his prayers, he heard a loud crack of lightning outside.
Hearing it, he ran out expecting a sudden storm. He wasn't alone, as his shipmates were looking at the sky for any sight of clouds. Sure enough, when he looked up, there was nothing there. As he was about to return to what he was doing originally, he noticed some smoke coming from behind the outhouses. Fearful that he'd get blamed for whatever had caught fire, he ran to the back only to be surprised by what, or rather who, he saw. He had heard of them in areas outside of East Blue, but this was the first time he had seen one in person. This was a Mobian. A passed out one in the middle of a crater, at that.
She was a mostly green-quilled Tenrec with a patch of black fur over her face and eyelids, a peach muzzle that matched the color of her arms, and tall, vertical, flat ears on top of her head. Her clothing was also out of place for the east blue, with two silver earrings on each of her ears, a black shirt with torn-off sleeves, white gloves that possess visible lining with black cuffs that possess six silver studs, a silver ring on each of her index and ring fingers, and yellow, baggy pants with black stripes down the sides that are held up by a black belt with a round, silver belt buckle. Her shoes – Wait, no.
Forget about the shoes; go back. She had all this silver on her, and she's passed out in the middle of a den of pirates?! Koby immediately went into panic mode as he looked around for any other "Shipmate" he had. No one in sight. He knew he needed to find a way to hide her before she ended up like him! Bound to servitude to a filthy pirate. He picked up the unknown mobian, carrying her piggyback on his slightly taller frame, but unused to the extra weight, as he tiptoed (or at least tried to, this damn barrel was heavy) towards the supply cabin.
Koby opened the door, and, Yes! Luckily, none of the senior members were there. Acting quickly, he set her down in a safe corner and began moving barrels of ale in front of her, towering them high to hide her until he could escape. The pinkette looked for the last barrel, no! Those greedy Bastards! They took away the remaining barrel of ale he needed! Never mind the situation at hand. When Alvida eventually blames him for the ale being lost, he needed one more barrel, but where-
He heard the waves wash something up in the distance. He looked at the outside, the shoreline, and… Yes! Thank you, merciful heavens! A lost barrel of ale washed up on the shoreline, probably from a cruise ship where some poor upstanding citizen was apologizing to their boss for the loss of cargo. But he couldn't think about that now! The Mobian's safety and his depend on him getting this barrel back to the supply cabin!
He leaped into action, sprinting towards it with as much energy as he could manage. As he picked up the barrel, it felt like he was lifting a whole person; he felt a long-forgotten dream resurface. Koby had always wanted to become a Marine. Not for the glory or power that came from the position, but because he wanted to save people. Before that fishing trip he had told his family that the next day he would swallow up whatever fears he had and apply to be one of the marine recruits… but ended up trapped and helpless to a captain and crew that hated him just as much as he could secretly hate himself for allowing it to happen. 'At least…' he thought wistfully, rolling the barrel over to the warehouse, "At least I can prevent it from happening to her too!"
"What's happening to who, Koby?"
[Insert Start – Angry - One Piece OST]
Koby's blood ran cold. No… Of course, whatever plan he hatched would always be foiled. That voice belonged to Poppoko, the largest and oldest of a group of triplet brothers who worked for Alvida. He was standing in the middle of the doorway with his brothers Heppoko, a tall tanned skinned man with a large forehead and short black hair with a mustache-goatee combo, and Peppoko, a tall man with long blond hair, eyebrows, and a blonde goatee, inside the warehouse messing with the tower of ale barrels he stacked. If they found the Mobian and got back to Alvida with her, she was toast! He had to find some way to...
"Answer the- Wait… Koby, you were holding out on us! Did that barrel of ale wash up on the shore?"
Koby saw the remaining two turn their attention away from the makeshift barrier of barrels and rush to the doorway with their elder brother in awe. Yes! 'Thank you, God, for short attention spans,' Koby smiled, doing his best to pin his nerves on the barrel. "Y-yeah! It wasn't empty, and I didn't know what to do with it!"
"Well, I know!" Peppoko said with an ugly sneer, "We drink it all!"
"But if the captain finds out," Heppeko warned, the incident from earlier weighing heavily on his mind.
"She won't!" Poppoko exclaimed, taking it into his hands. No! Koby still needed it! "After all, we and Koby are the only ones here; only we four know about this!"
The younger triplets paused before happily agreeing. "Besides, Koby won't say anything." He felt all three loom over him threateningly, "Right, Koby?"
The young pinkette didn't like it, but he had no other way to avoid a beatdown and prevent the triplets from finding the Mobian girl. He would find another way, and at least this gave him more time. "No…" he conceded, hands raised in front of him defensively in case they threw in a punch like they always did. "I didn't even see anything..."
As the three set the barrel onto the ground to open it, thousands of ideas went through Koby's head as to how to get them out of the warehouse after they were done with that barrel. None of them were feasible or possible. Out of desperation, yet again, he prayed for something, anything, to happen that could potentially save them both,
As the barrel shook, independently from any of the triplets' interference, Koby would find his prayers answered… in the most unpredictable way possible.
[Insert End]
(LSHS)
[Insert Start - Trespasser (Lost Colony) - Sonic Adventure 2 [OST]]
Surge the Tenrec, was in and out of consciousness. It hurt to move, to even open her eyes, felt the augmentations in her body healing her, but she didn't know why. Last she remembered, she had unleashed her deadliest attack on Sonic, Eggman's... weird new hoverboard robot, and that old bastard of a Possum, Clutch. As Kit, a blue Fennic Fox Mobian who shared her situation, was driving them out of danger, they were both enveloped in a strange, bright light. She felt wood underneath her… was she in a house? As she felt herself losing consciousness again, she thought back to another confrontation with that irritating blue pest she was groomed to counter.
"Starline's gone now! You don't have to take his orders," Sonic shouts, dodging wisp-charged electric blasts as he desperately tries to get through to her. "Freedom's right in front of you! All you need to do is reach out and take it!"
For a brief moment, she gives pause and turns her attention away from him. Surge wistfully reaches out to the air, grasping it as grief washed over her. No memories, no life outside of this, no one except her powers… and Kit. She looks at him, telling her remorseful, grief-filled, and resigned response, "I can't…"
She destroys his footholds, sending him to the shallow water below, and charges it with her electricity. He makes an elongated scream as she zips over to him and clasps her hands around his neck TIGHT. "There's NO future for me! No Freedom! Every cell in my body, every memory was made for the sole purpose of beating YOU! So there is no 'Starting over' for me!" She shouts desperately, at the end of her rope as she sends all of the electricity she has into his body, "NOT WHILE YOU'RE STILL BREATHING!"
It was all she had now. As she let unconsciousness finally take her-
[Insert End]
A loud crack of a fist meeting the underside of a larger-bodied chin filled the air. Her eyes snapped open as the cybernetics went into overdrive, healing her body, jolting her into a sitting upright position as she heard a loud, masculine, and high-pitched voice yell one singular sentence that kept her awake.
"I! SLEPT! SO! GOOOOOD!"
[Insert - Luffy - One Piece [OST] (0:17 onward)]
What? She looked over to where the noise came from. Barrels are in her way. Barrels? Shouldn't Kit have taken her to their hideout in the desert? Where was her bike? More importantly, speaking of Drippy - an insult for him turned full-fledged nickname - where was he? 'One problem at a time, Surge, one problem at a time,' she thought, sending the barrels guarding her flying with an electrically charged punch.
The scene in front of her unblocked view now shifted from blind confusion to just plain confusion. Electric blue eyes scanning as she found herself in a warehouse with 3 grown men and two teens about her age. Only… they weren't Mobians. One of the men passed out on the floor, and cartoon swirls in his eyes, signifying he was out for the count. The other two men and the youngest pink-haired teenager, whom she assumed were already shocked by the big guy getting knocked out, had their jaws on the floor as they looked at her. The older teen in the barrel had a scar underneath his left eye. He wore a straw hat over his messy black hair and a buttoned-up red sleeveless vest. He rubbed his eyes sleepily before he opened them up, looking around the scene with a couple of perplexed sounds of "huh" before briefly settling his gaze on the pink-haired one, and then finally on her. As she expected him to start swinging at her, news of her reputation with the hedgehog potentially reaching airwaves, he instead did something else.
He asked a question. "Who're you guys?"
Pupils disappeared from her eyes as well as the eyes of the two upright men as they all shouted angrily in unison at him, "IDIOT! WE SHOULD BE THE ONES ASKING YOU THAT!"
Straw-Hat looked down at the guy on the ground before he stepped out of the barrel, "You should watch your friend; he's gonna get a cold if he sleeps on the floor."
"YOU DID THAT!" The men replied in exasperation. One of them pulled out a cutlass and held it in front of him threateningly, motioning towards the blond one before they did the same with her.
"Are you two toyin' with us because we're pirates?"
Surge growled, ready to show these two idiots where they landed on the pecking order-
"I'm hungry," Straw-Hat said suddenly, ignoring the man holding the cutlass in favor of the pinkette who was scared out of his mind. Surge felt whatever tension on her end leave as she looked at him, curiosity overtaking confusion. 'He's a lackadaisical dumb ass, huh?'
"LISTEN WHEN PEOPLE ARE TALKING TO YOU!" Big-head shouted at the teen, eyes practically bulging out of their sockets. "That's it! Peppoko, we're killing 'em both!"
The blond brought down his weapon on her. For most other young men and women her age, the sight of a blade alone would be grounds to pass out, the fear of getting struck and drawing blood potentially too much for her. Surge wasn't like most men and women her age, though; she was augmented to be the best counter for the fastest thing alive! And right now, as her perception of time slows down and she flashes her razor-sharp, shark-like teeth, she needs to relieve some stress.
She moved out of the way nonchalantly, letting the sword hit the ground and using it as a foothold, breaking it and sending it slowly flying upwards. She kicked his foot away from the ground, clenched her fist, and sent 5 rapid-fire, electrically charged heavy punches to his ribs that hit with a thunderclap accompanying the crack the impacts made. To her, that took about one minute to set up, but to everyone else, it was an instant, as Peppeko flew out the doorway. She was about to turn her attention towards the remaining one standing, but… it seemed Straw-Hat took care of him already.
The two pirates whimpered pathetically (Surge was surprised the blond one was still conscious), as the teen's face was shadowed by his straw hat. What she assumed would happen next was that he would use the opportunity to keep pummeling them, but he lifted his head so the shadowed expression was more readable; it was one of genuine confusion.
"What's the big Idea?"
"W-Who are you?" The least injured member of the three stammered out.
"Me?" He asked, his tone oddly jovial and upbeat. "Glad you asked! I'm Monkey D. Luffy! Nice to meet ya!"
Surge blinked. 'What an odd name.'
To the two thugs, however, it was the last straw that broke the proverbial camel's back. They screamed and grabbed the largest thug in the room, dragging him outside as they ran towards… hold up, was that a pirate ship?
"What… What just happened?" Pink-Hair asked, confusion overtaking him. At least someone was asking the real questions here.
"What's their problem?" Straw-Hat- Err… Monkey? Luffy. She was going with Luffy whether he liked it or not. Pink-hair turned his gaze towards her, making her go back into a fighting stance, and then, as if remembering where he was, he frantically looked between her and Luffy.
"R-run! We need to run! If they come back with their friends-"
"Man, I sure am hungry! How about you, Greedy!"
Surge paused at the interruption and looked around. His gaze was clearly on her, but that wasn't her name. As she looked at him, she pointed to herself with a raised eyebrow and a visible frown.
"Yeah, you! You're the only Green and Speedy one here, so until I know your name, you're Greedy!"
...Did his parents drop him on his head when he was a baby? Wait, "You saw me do all that?"
"Yeah! You got some sick moves over there, right, Pinkie?" Pink-hair stared at Luffy as if he had grown a second head.
"MY NAME IS KOBY!" Exasperation was getting to the shorter human teen.
"Oh! My bad," Luffy said, bowing in apology.
"HOW ARE YOU SO RUDE AND POLITE AT THE SAME TIME?!" Surge paused at the second voice screaming at him, surprised that it was her own.
"There's no time for that right now!" Koby grabbed both their hands, dragging them out of the cabin and deep into the forest. Normally, Surge would air fry anyone who touched her without permission, but then she noticed his face. No ulterior motive or plan in mind, just pure fear and desperation. "You both need to get out of here!"
[Insert End]
(LSHS)
[Insert Play – Knuckles' Chaotix OST – Midnight Greenhouse]
Koby had led them both to a supply closet on the other end of the shore. While Luffy was pigging out on the food inside, Surge was eyeing where the pinkette was. He was poking in the bush looking for something. This kid just so happens to be on an abandoned Island with pirates running all over the place, and he's concerned about their safety? Nah! She was born on a day, but not yesterday. Which, unfortunately, is sad because it was one of the memories Starline dumped- No! No existential dread! Only suspicious rage-
Apple. There was an apple in front of her. Why was there a hand holding an apple in front of her? She looked at its owner and… It was Luffy. "Want an apple?"
She took a pause and shifted her suspicion towards him, "Why...? Did you do something to it?"
Luffy's face shifted as he looked at her, surprise overtaking Surge as his brow furrowed while he squinted his now ring-pupiled eyes at her. His mouth became agape in a frown as his nostrils flared. 'He looks… disgusted?'
"Haaaah? Why would I do that?"
"Why are you even offended?" Surge almost shouted, an embarrassed blush forming on her muzzle, "You look like you're struggling even to give it to me right now!"
Immediately, his face shifted again, he darted his now normal eyes with regular pupils away from her as he puffed his cheeks out and tried (but failed) to whistle nonchalantly. 'HE'S A HORRIBLE LIAR TOO?!' She had to fight herself from outright screaming those thoughts.
"Just take eat the damn thing if you want it so badly!"
Luffy's face shifted into a trademark smile, nothing extra about it, just a big and disarming toothy grin. "You're not sad anymore, though!"
He might have had a point, but Surge was at her wits' end, pupils disappearing as she ground her shark-like teeth at him, electricity flowing freely out of her hands as she was about to throttle him. "I OUGHT TO AIR FRY YOU RIGHT NOW!"
"U-um," A voice spoke up, snapping them both out of their conversation. It was Koby. "Luffy, Right?"
"Yup! You were trying to find the Dingy you hid, right?"
What?
"How'd you know?" Koby asked earnestly, dragging out a makeshift boat from its hiding place.
"It's probably the only way to get to an Island like this," Luffy said plainly, as if discussing the weather. "I had one, but it got sucked up into a whirlpool. I had to jump into that barrel to survive."
...How does this guy function…?
"You're lucky to be alive! But uh… if you need a replacement… You should probably take mine."
It was a pitiful-looking escape ship. The wood was barely cobbled together and was bound with nothing but driftwood and a dream. "Looks more like a coffin than an escape boat." Thank you, Luffy, for summarizing Surge's thoughts. "Well, it did take me two years to build in between Alvida's orders-"
"Two years?!" Luffy yelled, not caring who heard.
"So… you're giving it to us free of charge?" She asked, cautious and on guard. "No catch at all?"
"No! Err- well, I wouldn't say that exactly…" There it was. Always a catch with these types.
"You see… I just want it put to actual use. I had a dream, but I don't dare to escape and pursue it anymore…" Surge raised an eyebrow as she listened to the pinkette's reasoning. "I went on a ship thinking I would just go fishing, then I had to choose between a pirate's life or not living. No marine base would want me now. So… if someone else has a chance to get away from Alvida's clutches using my boat, maybe I can die happy that I helped someone live the life they want."
Huh. This is a new feeling, empathy. For someone who wasn't her surrogate family. As she was about to open her mouth, Luffy piped up. "You're kinda a clumsy idiot, huh?"
Damn, so brutal! Surge looked at him in shock as the young man was grinning and laughing the day away as if he hadn't said something that would break the poor boy's spirit even further. "And you're gutless too! Man, I hate you!"
Surge growled at him before she turned back towards Koby, feeling as if for the first time she needed to comfort someone… only to see that, yes, Luffy was right. He was shifting in fear at the thought of this pirate captain whom he's so afraid of, discovering his escape plan. Tears streaming from his eyes, he sighed wistfully, "You're right, Luffy… If only I dared to set out like you, drift the sea aimlessly… maybe appear spontaneously in a crater on a new island like you two."
Wait, "You were the one who put me in that room? Behind all the barrels?"
Koby nodded. "You were passed out. You had a lot of silver on you. Not a good thing to have when pirates are about."
Okay, that was a fair observation. "Plus, you're a Mobian, way far from home in the Grand Line! I didn't want to risk Alvida finding you."
The Grand Line?
"THE GRAND LINE?!" Luffy asked excitedly, immediately holding her hands as he did a happy dance. "Wicked fast, and you used to live in the grand line! What's your name? You gotta join my crew now!"
Hold up! "It's Surge, but- wait, why am I telling you my name? What the hell is a grand line? Where the hell is that, Station Square?"
"OOOH! IS THAT AN ISLAND THERE?!"
This guy was either nuts or was living under a rock if he didn't know what Station Square was. "Koby, you have to know where-"
[Insert - One Piece OST - Lurking Shadows]
She froze, confusion clear on his face. Almost as if that place was completely foreign to him. No way… What did that mean? She had to test this.
"What does 'South Island' mean to you?" No reaction from Koby. He had never heard of it. "Angel Island?" Her town was more frantic, yet still no reaction. "Metropolis?" No reaction! "Sonic the Hedgehog, for FUCK'S sake?!"
"THE PIRATE KING'S OLD SPEEDSTER?!" Luffy shouted excitedly, "YOU KNOW HIM TOO?"
Of course, the idiot knew him- wait… old? "Pirate King… and what do you mean, old?"
Koby was even more puzzled at her confusion, "Surge, you're a Mobian from the Grand Line, but… do you not know about Gold Roger, the Pirate King? He's the reason why pirates even go to the Grand Line in the first place- for his treasure. No one has seen or heard from Sonic the Hedgehog or… well… any of Gold Roger's crew in the years since they disbanded."
That did not sound right at all… Where the hell was she? When the hell was she? Koby started panicking as he noticed the distressed look on her face. "You probably got knocked on the noggin pretty hard if you don't know about The Great Pirate era," Luffy said plainly, "I don't know your full story but what I do know is I'm not not going to wait idly by while everyone else tries to find the treasure at the end of the Grand Line."
Surge looked up at him, confused and lost. "If you need help finding answers and you've got nothing else to do, why not join my crew, Surge! With your help, I'm sure that I can become the next King of the Pirates!"
Surge put aside whatever crisis was building in her head to make room for one singular thought. 'Huh?' "King of the pirates?!" Koby screamed incredulously, "Are you serious, Luffy? You're a Pirate?"
"Yeah." He said plainly.
That made sense. Why else would he ask her to join, after all?
"What about your crew?!"
"Don't got one," Luffy replied in the same tone. He still had Surge's hands in his own as he raised both his and her right hand up, "With Surge here, I think I can fit about 10 to 15 more on my crew!"
"I didn't say anything about joining at all," Surge grumbled. "I barely know you, and you want me on your crew? I Re-"
The tenrec cut herself off as she and Luffy noticed the far-off glance Koby was sporting. Luffy let go of her hands, needing them free to subsequently wave them in front of the pink-haired boy's face to get his attention. Surge herself walked over to his left side and snapped her fingers in his ear intermittently. Nothing. "Now look what you did, ya broke him."
(LSHS)
"Lady Alvida, come quick; there's a--!"
She didn't let Peppeko finish as she whacked his head with her mace in an instant. Alvida was furious. Didn't she just send the triplets to inspect where that lightning strike came from? She picked it up and let it rest on her larger frame, terrifying the last conscious triplet as she gave him one singular opportunity to explain himself. "This had better be important."
"A b-b-barrel!"
Alvida's eye twitched as she readied her mace again, batting it against her hand threateningly, "Who're you calling a barrel, Heppeko…?"
"N-n-nobody, lady Alvida," he corrected himself immediately. "We were attacked by some guy who popped out from a barrel and a green menace that was incredibly fast!"
Alvida paused, moving the mace back to the original resting position as she took in all the information. She turned her back on Heppeko, who let out a sigh of relief as her attention was away from him. 'Green…' She asked herself internally, 'isn't the pirate hunter's hair Green?' If she was right and he was here… then that meant...
"Stop wasting time and gather the rest of the crew," She shouted at Heppeko. "We got a bounty hunter on the island!"
(LSHS)
[Insert -Sonic Adventure 2 OST - Event: The Base]
"K-K-King of the Pirates is the title given to the person who obtains everything in this world!" Koby sputtered at Luffy and Surge, barely regaining enough of his composure to speak. 'At least he's moving again,' Surge thought to herself, slightly off-put by how worried she was about his safety. He kind of reminded her of Kit in a way. "That means seeking the great treasure of wealth, fame, and power, the One Piece!"
"Yup," Luffy said proudly, "and I'm gonna find it first."
"No way! No way, no way, no way! Absolutely no way!" Koby was shaking his head so fast it might as well have been a blur. "There's no way you can stand at the apex of this Great Pirate Era! No way! No way-"
Luffy's retort was a punch to the top of Koby's noggin. Knocking him out of his infinite loop of denial. Before Surge could say or do anything, Luffy held out his free hand to her, stopping her. Reading his gesture, she growled and sat down on a nearby stump, left hand holding up her face as she glared at him in warning. Whatever he was trying to say, it had better be good.
"Why'd you hit me?" Koby asked, rubbing the back of his head.
"Because I felt like it."
"Oh… It's okay. I'm used to..."
"It's not a matter if I can do it or not," Luffy interrupted, speaking earnestly and with conviction. Koby stared onward in amazed curiosity while Surge herself raised an eyebrow, not sold… but a little interested. "I decided to be the King of the Pirates, so if I die fighting for it, well, I'll die happy!"
Both Koby and Surge stared at him in awe. Despite knowing him for an hour, it felt like ages as Surge finally understood where Luffy's head was at. It made her think about her direction in life and where she was going.
"Do… Do you think…"
Surge watched the young boy gear himself up to ask his question. She recognized the Lack of confidence, yup, just like Kit. She missed the blue runt… but she'd never say it out loud. "Do you think I could join the Navy?"
Luffy leaned forward with newfound interest in Koby, "The Navy, huh?"
"Yeah!" Koby shouted with newfound enthusiasm, the sun beaming down on him and Luffy as he got on top of his cobbled-together rowboat and continued speaking. "Catching bad guys is my dream! It's been my dream ever since I was little! Do you think I can do it?!"
"How should I know…" Luffy grinned, looking upward and rubbing his chin in mock doubt, "Can you even do it?"
"Hell yeah, I will!
The tenrec found herself smiling at the interaction, joy finding her legitimately for the first time today. That's what Luffy was doing, and it was obvious when she thought about it. He was building Koby's confidence in himself and his dreams. It was fun. If Surge were a romantic, she'd say that maybe the clouds parted to signify a newfound light in Koby's life… but nah, that's nerd talk. Though she paused at the big body approaching him from behind. "Uh… Koby?" She said, trying to draw his attention to it.
"It doesn't matter whether you think I can or not!"
"Uhhh… Koby?" Surge said, motioning for him to cut off his thoughts as a big-bodied woman stood behind him, Iron Mace at the ready to whack him.
"If I'm gonna be a chore boy for the rest of my life, then I'll break out of here and catch even Lady Alvida- No, she doesn't deserve that title! That pirate scum, Alvida!"
"Catch WHO?!"
[Insert - One Piece OST - Pirate 2]
Koby stopped and turned around. Alvida had her mace raised, ready to slam it down on him and possibly end his life… if Surge wasn't there. Her eyes glowed electric blue as time slowed to a crawl for the second time today. She stared at the situation in front of her and gave a tired sigh. "I'm gonna be wasting charge again today…" She groaned, venting to no one in particular. "That pink-haired runt owes me big time for this." Surge zipped over and picked him up, his face contorting into a scream in what seemed to be slow motion for her, and carried his partially frozen body over to next to Luffy's before putting him down. After turning his body to face the direction the Straw Hat pirate was facing, her eyes stopped glowing as she watched Alvida destroy the boat Koby had worked on for two years. "M-my-" Koby stammered, staring at the remains with despair. "My boat!"
She only had enough left to save Koby or the boat, and she chose Koby. Alvida raised her mace yet again, "So you're the reason these bounty hunters came to our hideout, eh, Koby?!"
Bounty Hunters? Oh wait. Right. If there were Pirates, there were probably also bounty hunters who collected bounties, too. It seemed obvious when Surge thought about it more. "Oh," Alvida said, noticing Surge's presence finally, "a Mobian, eh? A long way from the grand line with your little lackey, huh? Guess the rumors were true. The pirate hunter, Roronoa Zoro, won't be plaguing these waters anymore!"
Luffy perked up upon hearing that name. "Zoro?"
"Well, men," Alvida continued, ignoring Luffy, "Let's give them a warm welcome before we deal with Koby's insubordination!"
The pirates shouted with enthusiasm before they surrounded the trio of red, pink, and green. Surge got into a fighting stance as she faced her half of the crew. It wasn't like this would be a problem for her, but she did at least notice Koby cringing at the numbers he was facing. Luffy, however, was unaffected as he stared all around him.
"Since I'm such a merciful captain, Koby, I will give you and your friends one last chance to save themselves," Alvida said, sneering. "Who is the fairest in all the sea?"
Before Koby could say anything, Luffy pointed at her unceremoniously and blurted out the first sentence on his mind. "Hey Koby, who's this big, chunky, and ugly old hag?"
If there was a sound to describe a group of 40 or so people's jaws slamming against the ground, Surge could not find one. Instead, she choked back a laugh as she looked at the pirates around her, all of them scared to their very core by what he just called their captain, Alvida. "Luffy, Lady Alvida is… is..." Just as Koby was about to correct him, suddenly, the resolve that she thought had left him came back. He suddenly started laughing, tears streaming down his face as he yelled at her. Confirmation that he was going to do whatever he could to achieve his dream. "Y-yeah…! She is, isn't she!? She's the ugliest hag of them all!"
Both Surge and Luffy grinned at him, proud of the newfound resolve. Alvida, however, was livid. "KILL THEM ALL! STARTING WITH KOBY!"
As the pirates roared and closed in, Surge decided to make things a little more fun. "Hey, Luffy, right?"
"Yeah?"
"If you can take out more chumps than me," She said, grinning, "Maybe I'll join your crew!"
She wasn't gonna play fair, of course, but it was good motivation for him. What she thought was an impossible task, though, as the Alvida pirates closed in on the trio, Luffy gave his trademark grin before moving his Straw-Hat over his eyes. "Really? If that's all I have to do…!"
[Insert - One Piece OST – "Gum Gum Bazooka!" (2:02 onward)]
She looked over her shoulder, and just like the crew earlier, her jaw dropped as Luffy stretched his leg to ludicrous proportions. Beyond the bounds of common sense and what should be possible. The Alvida Pirates, Koby, and even Alvida herself were too stunned to move as he whipped the leg back.
"Gum-Gum…!" He shouted with mischievous glee, sweeping the pirates and launching them all away from the forest and into the sea next to it, "Whip!"
Surge, Koby, and Alvida looked towards where the pirates were launched in disbelief before looking back at Luffy. The Straw-Hat pirate looked at them all with a toothy grin, eyes closed as he gave a laugh that sounded like a cheerful "Shi Shi Shi!"
"What-" Surge sputtered, "How-?!"
"I win," he exclaimed triumphantly.
"You…" Alvida said, preparing her iron mace, "You ate a Devil Fruit, didn't you?"
Devil Fruit?
"Yup!" He stretched his cheek beyond the normal bounds, "I'm a Rubber Man!"
Her grin became deadly at that confirmation. "So… all I need to do to beat you then," she lunged at him, Iron Mace ready to send him flying, "Is to send you rocketing towards the ocean!"
Koby shouted for him to move, but he didn't. He just stood there, bored, as the mace hit his side… to no effect. "What...?" Alvida began hammering the mace repeatedly, trying to put more and more power into each swing. "Impossible! Impossible…! No one can survive my Iron mace!"
Surge and Koby stood dumbfounded at the scene before them... until it clicked for them. A rubber ball will bounce back when it hits something. So that means the blunt force of the iron mace…
"Doesn't work on me!" Luffy grinned, unintentionally finishing the would-be marine and the electric tenrec's shared thoughts. "Because, again, I'm a Rubber Man! Gum-Gum…!"
Announcing his next attack and grabbing Alvida's Iron Mace with his left hand, he stretches his right beyond the boundaries of reason. Stretching inches, to feet, to miles away from the islands' boundaries before stopping at his self-imposed limit. Once he was sure he had enough distance, he utilized the elastic force combined with his strength to smash his fist into Alvida's stomach, knocking the wind out of her! "Pistol!"
It was over the very moment his fist hit her stomach, the power behind the blow being strong enough to send her rocketing into the sky. Once she hit observable limits, there was a twinkle in the sky where she was last seen. In Koby's eyes, he saw Iron Mace Alvida, aged 25 years old, a woman worth 5 million berries who terrorized this side of the East Blue for 2 years… lose spectacularly to a man he had full confidence in becoming the next pirate king. As for Surge, only one thought came to her mind.
...How does this guy function…?
(LSHS)
"So… you don't know about the Grand Line, Surge?"
Shortly after the battle, the trio took off one one of Miss Love Duck's spare sailboats, not ideal for a pirate ship but a start nonetheless. They took a map, a week's supply of food, and a decent enough sail to get them towards the next island to drop off Koby. While passing the time, Koby brought the question up, and Surge needed to answer. "No. Don't even know how to get there, either. All I remember is a flash of light, and suddenly I'm woken up by a rubber lunatic while being guarded by a tower of barrels."
"Aw, shucks…" Luffy sulked. "Well, you're still a cool shipmate, Surge!"
The tenrec puffed and looked to the side, crossing her arms. "I didn't say I was going to be a part of your crew."
"Huh? But you said,"
"I said maybe, if you win my little bet. If you want me, I'm a package deal, and I need to clear it with him first if we manage to find him. Until then… I'm not a shipmate," She said definitively, but she tried her best to hide one little addition to her statement. "...yet."
"I'll take it!" Luffy wrapped her in a hug, which she struggled against, growling, thrashing around, and gnashing her teeth before he let her go. "Ask next time!" She bellowed at him after knocking him upside the head. She wasn't opposed to it, she just needed proper forewarning.
"Yes, ma'am," he groaned, steam coming off the bump on his head. "Sorry, ma'am."
Koby, ignoring the commotion in the background, stared at the sea. "Still, Luffy… to become the Pirate King, you need to enter the Grand Line, and it's no joke either. It's called the 'Pirate's Graveyard' for a good reason. The pirates there are stronger than they are here, and you have to be prepared for anything."
"I know," Luffy replied as he took his seat near the mast of the rowboat. "That's why I'm assembling a super crew! With Surge and her friend, that'd make 3 so far! Oh!" Luffy turned towards Koby. "That lady talked about a guy named Zoro earlier, right?"
"Roronoa Zoro?" Koby asked, puzzled for some reason that Surge couldn't pinpoint. "Who's that?"
"One of the most notorious bounty hunters in the East Blue, Surge. If anything, it's a lucky thing he's captured because-"
"He's joining my crew!"
[Insert - One Piece OST – "Luffy's Here"]
Both the Pinkette and the Green Tenrec's ears twitched upon hearing Luffy's voice. Dumbfounded faces meet his earnest, grinning, and borderline insane one.
"What…?" They both asked in exasperation.
"If he's a good guy," He gave a beaming smile to his makeshift shipmates, "I'll ask him to join!"
As Koby regressed into his infinite loop of denial, Surge had pretty much given up on making sense of the situation. She leaned on the port side of the ship and looked towards the sky. She had a feeling this would be a long, long, long journey ahead. She hoped they would find Kit soon, so she at least had someone more sane to talk to. At the very least, if Koby's correct, at least there's no Sonic, or god forbid Eggman, to cramp her style here.
"So… what now? This is your fault after all."
An older mobian wearing a red uniform and a visor over his eyes sat on the edge of the lookout post to the now-abandoned Miss Love Duck.
"I have no clue what you mean," his more human-looking compatriot looked away from him, cheeks puffed out, trying (and failing) to whistle nonchalantly. The Space Pirate was just as horrible a liar as the version of Luffy here. He wasn't in uniform like the other, but his outfit took on a more science fiction-inspired appearance, with a space suit and all.
"Zuffy, I'm serious. Do you know how much paperwork I have to do to keep this zone alive after that headache of a super genesis wave? It was a pain to even register this mess of a zone as a main zone!"
"Not my problem. You gave me meat, and I said I'd help you. You didn't say how to save the prime universe, so I mixed them all with an offshoot of my prime universe! Not my fault your war with Sega got out of hand!"
"Nega!" The older Mobian shouted, "As in Negative!"
"Prerogative, got it."
He let out a groan, lifting his visor to pinch his brow. "I miss Sonic so much right now, It was a lot more bearable with his brand of laziness. Speaking of… why pick Surge to run into Luffy instead of Sonic? This does mean she's the prime Sonic on this side of the multiverse now."
The human, Zuffy, paused and looked at the sky. His straw hat, which mirrored Luffy's, shadowed his face as he thought back to the scene he viewed while on his way to the Genesis Wave's epicenter.
"There is no freedom for me! NOT WHILE YOU'RE STILL ALIVE!"
"Kit and her needed Luffy more." He said with simple-minded wisdom.
Zonic sighed in resignation, remembering his reaction when reading her and Kitsunami's file. "I guess I can't argue with that."
"Don't worry, it's not like he's not around! I dropped him somewhere in a place and time that needed his help more. Tails too. Now Zonic," he stretched his arm towards him before reeling him in close, his eyes manic and giddy as he stared straight into the zone cop's eyes, "This Prerogative guy who wants to take over the multiverse, he strong?"
Zonic smiled, recognizing the trademark grin that he and every variant of him had whenever they found something entertaining. "Yeah, incredibly!"
Hopefully, he didn't regret this team-up.
An Unknown Island, located somewhere in the East Blue (Year 1522)
A black boot kicks the window off the wreckage of the Egg Wily Machine on the island’s shore, making it shatter onto the sandy shore with a resounding crash. Who it belonged tow was… not unknown as he climbed out of the wreckage, grumbling and cursing not only his former collaborator but the being that ruined his plans in the first place… white bald head growing as red as the nose over his glorious bushy brown mustaches as his thoughts drifted towards… the hedgehog…! No, no. It’s the chaos factor, the unknowable variable. His assurances calming him down as he pushed up his glasses to hide the whites of his eyes- wait… he just saw them in the eyewear’s reflection. His sclera was white instead of black… they’re white now??
[Insert - Sonic The Hedgehog(2006) OST – "Dr. Eggman Appears"]
Realizing he was on the shoreline of an island, he rushed towards the shoreline to inspect what else had changed. Relief washed over him as his changes were minimal at worst. While his body was fully organic again, he still stood tall at 6 ft 3 with his burly frame, he still had his favorite red coat adorned with four golden buttons on each side of the chest, each accompanied by white straps running to additional identical buttons on the back. He inspected the Egg Goggles on his head and was confused at the new anti-hypnotism feature. He didn’t remember- instantly he clutched his gloved hands to his face as new memories flooded his brain, of places he’s never been, people he’s never seen, plots foiled that looked awesome… but were dismantled when they went out of control by a stubborn platypus that wanted to share control of his world. His empire. No… Dr. Ivo D. RobotnikⅢ would not share Gaia with anyone but himself.
Wait. He stood up straight. D? Ⅲ?? Gaia??? He growled as he walked back to the wreckage, “Stupid Genesis Wave altering my history… Orbot! Cubot!”
No one seemed to answer him. He could have sworn Orbot and Cubot were in the cockpit with him when he crashed into that accursed Blue Rodent. As he was about to climb it, he heard the rapid footfalls of a group of people behind him. He turned towards it, glaring until he recognized the insignia on their uniforms. They were wearing an insignia that matched his face, and they were wearing a white version of his uniform.
Before he could ask anything, they all lowered their weapons and saluted him. “Captain!” The nearest one exclaimed happily, taking off their helmet to reveal that they were… mobian? A mobian fox at that. “We were worried when you went missing a day ago! I thought the marines held you up, but sure enough, here you are on the shore of potential Eggman territory!”
He paused at that, jumping down and landing in front of him. He stroked his unkempt, bushy brown mustache in curiosity. His personal history was changed by interfering with the hedgehog, and that cloud entity must have done something else to hinder the restoration process… so… what did that mean for him now?
“My…” He asked, his glasses gleaming as newfound curiosity filled him. “… potential Territory?”
“Don’t you remember, sir?” The deer mobian tilted his head, his companions each looking at each other, confused. “We’re on this island to expand our operations to Roger’s old stamping grounds, the East Blue. It's a perfect way to show the world government that the 5th Emperor of the Sea, Dr. Eggman of the Eggman Pirates, means to take the world after he finds the One Piece!!”
Ivo, or rather Eggman, found his eyes widening upon hearing that. He fought back the urge to grin, new knowledge of a bested former rival proclaiming where he left everything filling his head. “And… refresh my memory, lad,” he said as knowledge of what used to be the Dark Egg Legion slowly converted into something more… his style in this new world. “How large… is my Egg Fleet now?”
“Ummm… I believe 200 or 300 ships strong, with Egg-Bosses leading each division splendidly in the grand line.”
The mad doctor begins chuckling to himself before increasing his volume. The chuckle grew into a mad cackle as he reveled in this newfound form of victory… while his subordinates joined along with him in confusion (a few younger members tried to abstain, but the senior minions elbowed them to join, not wanting to undergo any consequences for not laughing). He might not be able to conquer Mobius anymore, but now… ohoho, now~! He has an entirely new world to conquer, and if his new memories are correct, the hedgehog hasn’t been spotted in years. If there’s no Sonic… then there’s no one who can stop him now!
[Insert End]
Shells Town, Yotsuba Island Region in The East Blue (Year 1522)
Zoro stood in the middle of the navy base’s courtyard. His arms and torso were tied to the post as he waited out the rest of his sentence. 9 More Days... It sucked having to do this for almost a month straight, but if he managed to do it, he’d be back in the Navy’s good graces. Before he nodded off, he saw a figure standing in front of him. Something… short and blue.
“E-e-excuse me sir…” The timid little voice began, “Do you happen to know where I can find someone…?”