One Piece 1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1- Three Years?! The Crew Comes Back!

"Phew! That was a lot of work for just this piece of junk," a boy speaks out. He sways back and forth as he is looking up at the sky laying on his back. A spray of water sprinkles his face while birds in a flock fly over. The crash of waves is heard and continues to shake his little boat. The boy sits up looking around and then back at the deck of his dinghy. He quizzically looks at the map on the deck and quickly a look of annoyance spreads to his face. The sea that he is in the middle of tosses him to and fro. The boy jumps up and the whole boat shakes as he is turning around trying to get a landscape that he could associate himself with. To no avail, the only landscape he could see was the ocean itself.

The sun beat down on the sea which was a rare occurrence for this sea as it was usually cold and sometimes even frozen. The boy rolled up the sleeves on his black hoodie as the heat started to build up in his body. He now started to search his pockets to see if he could find some type of compass was still in pocket. However, the unfruitful attempt further annoyed the boy. Well, boy wasn't a fair term as he was about the age of seventeen and was already gaining a goatee on his face. His skin started to burn as there was little shade on his dinghy. The dark pigmentation of the boy was unusual for a person on the cold seas of the North Blue. He ran his hand through the curly black hair that was tangled up giving it an unruly look to him.

"Ugh… why did the idiot who I stole this from not have a compass on this?" the adolescent griped. His shining copper eyes looked out onto the vast ocean and was hoping to see another ship. It was Sea Beast hunting season, so there had to be some type of boat on the seas. His search was cut off as he saw another dinghy start to quickly approach.

"_I know I forgot something. The oars, duh,_" the boy thought to himself.

"Punk! Come back here with that dinghy!" a man yelled at him. The boy pulled his hood over his head and a shadow cast over his eyes and only his wicked wide smile was seen. The man started to close in and his face started to become more vivid. This man was covered with wounds that were closed with stitches, which earned him his name of Stitches. He was shirtless and from his pants, which were torn up, it seemed like he had gotten into a scuffle. His emerald green pants had fabric missing from all over and the pants barely qualified as pants.

"Oh, it's the idiot I was just talking about!" the boy yelled back. Stitches sneezed and the boy laughed.

"It seems that the universe and me knows that you're an idiot." The boy waited until the man was nearly close to him to start taunting by sticking his tongue out. The man enraged threw one of the oars at the boy who easily caught it with a hand.

"Now, now. Didn't your mother tell you throwing wasn't nice? Or was her mouth stitched shut?" The boy smiled as he twirled the oar in his hand chuckling to himself.

"Just give the boat back! It has the treasure I've stashed for years in it!" Stitches yelled at the end of his stick. The boats finally bumped into each other and a cloud started to eclipse the sun. The boy stood in the sunlight as a shadow started to make its way over Stitches body. The two men looked at each other in the eyes, the same height. Stitches pulled out a pistol and pointed it at the boy. The waves started to pick up making the seas rough. The boats continued to bang against each other and the boy sighed.

"It seems the sea has made its judgment." The boy's smile faded and the oar was dropped in the water.

"Judgment?" Stitches asked a little uneasy.

"Judgment. I got a job to do and you seem to want to end my life, right?"

"No. I just want my boat back."

"However, these goods weren't yours in the first place. You're a pirate, no pirate doesn't have treasure that was stolen. Now you can let me go and let go off the treasure or try to win a bout with me and keep the boat and dinghy," the boy explained. The boy's face was serious as the waves started to calm a bit.

"I just have to win, right?" The boy nodded and Stitches smiled. The pistol was pointed at the boy and it fired. The bullet shot out of its barrel and travelled out into the sea until it stopped in the water meters away. Stitches' eyes widened as the boy was gone and then he felt a foot slam into his right cheek. As Stitches flew into the water he saw the boy stand staring at him as he made contact with the dinghy he brought. The sea completely stopped and returned to normal.

"He lost. I won. By the ordinance of Sea, I, Powell C. Sim have won the dinghy and the content thereof," Sim said his palm up as if he was making an oath. Sim took his hood off and his wide smile came back as Stitches broke the surface of the water.

"Sorry, Stitches. I won and I get the boat. So excuse me as I have to meet some friends a couple islands over. Bye!" Sim waved as he grabbed both oars which floated in the water.

"Don't give me that! Give back my boat!" Stiches yelled as his hand rose as he started to fire shots repeatedly. Sim watched as the bullets came, but saw they weren't aimed for him. The dinghy started to sink and it broke apart as Sim submerged under the water. Sim started to sink and Stitches watched with a triumphant smile. Stitches swam over and climbed in the other dinghy. The treasure he spoke of was floating in the water. Golden coins floated on the surface of the water and Stitches started to grab for them, but his hand was stopped by Sim's hand.

"I just saved your life! Didn't you hear? I won the treasure fair and square! If you would've touched that you could've died!" Sim yelled at Stitches as his head bobbed in the water.

"Are you serious? Stop playing around, kid! It's my treasure and I'm taking it back," Stitches growled. Sim let go of Stitches' hand and submerged once more and this time he shot up into the air. Stitches, now shocked, watched as Sim came back down toward him and landed behind him. Stitches quickly turned around quickly his fist ready to Sim who easily dodged, ducking under the punch. Sim now crouched down pulled on Stitches' legs who fell down hitting his head on the corner of the boat. Sim quickly stood grabbing Stitches while he was discombobulated and slung him out of the boat.

"Sorry to hit and run, but I'm late as I am and there's some ladies waiting for me. And one's particularly gonna be mad at me so again. Bye!" Sim said as he grabbed the oars and started to paddle away. Stitches went to grab for the boat, but ended up touching one of the golden coins. Stitches screamed in agony and then disappeared.

"Oh no. Sea is not gonna like that. Maybe Stitches gets to be pardoned or… he dies," Sim spoke to himself. Sim, now wanting to get going, hurriedly dug into the water and grabbed the coins in the water and put them in the boat. When his job was finished he grabbed the oars yet again and started to paddle off. Looked down on the boat and his map was missing and then he remembered 'his' dinghy got destroyed along with the map. A loud groan echoed out into the seas causing some fish to run away from his location. Suddenly, Sim realized that it would take a couple weeks, maybe a month, to get back to his crew. Another groan echoed in the air as the boy fell backward looking up at the sky thinking very hard. His face was scrunched up as he was using every fiber of his being concentrated on how he was going to get to his crew. Then, he sat up and he smacked his fist into his palm.

"I'll just call on Sea!" Sim said triumphantly, an imaginary ding going off. Sim stood up and raised hand, the same way he did when he made that contract earlier.

"I hereby make a petition for transportation. Allow me passage to the island of Jadora Republic," Sim said. Nothing happened immediately and Sim started to look around confused. Suddenly the water started to rise around the boat and Sim struggled for balance as the water washed off the big mass. Its voice echoed a singing sound and Sim looked over the edge of the boat to see a whale.

"Whoa! Sea has outdone itself! C'mon…. Song. Let's go to Jadora!" The whale sung out again and submerged until the dinghy was barely touching the water. Sim laughed as the whale sped up and his hood flew like a flag in the wind. Sim was impressed by the speed of the whale as it sped through the water. Soon after a while the whale started to slow and Sim could see in the distance a mass of island. Sim's smile started to fade as the journey started to end.

"Awwww…. I have to paddle all the way over," Sim said. Song heard this and started to raise its head and the dinghy started to fall back. Sim held on tightly and Song waited till the boat was above its tail. Sim looked around confused and then Song's tail smacked the back of the ship and sent it flying. The dinghy skipped as if it was a skipping stone, speeding toward the island. Sim smiled widely and looked back at the whale who did a small backflip into the water with a wail.

"Thank you! I'll remember you, Song!" Sim skipped and skipped along until the momentum from the hit was gone as the boat started to flow with minimal speed. Sim looked on as the island's shore was not too far as he saw island with a complete view. Jadora Republic was an island with a raised main land that was about as high as a small mountain with a shore below it. It would be a straight drop if one jumped off the edge of the Upper Republic as the islanders called it. The Upper City was littered with tall buildings that were used for all sorts of trade, monetary, and government businesses. It was a cesspool of all types of activities, legal or not. The Lower Republic was rundown with shacks and other houses that were poorly built. This was the poorer part of town where pirates and other underground activity would take place.

"Jadora Republic… I'm back… and I got a score to settle," Sim said with a serious tone, but his smile was still ever shining. Sim started to paddle till he got to the sandy shore. A shadow ran on the east side of the island giving the east side of the Lower Republic an eerie feel. The salty white sand crunched under his foot as he walked onto the beach. His black sandals left a grooved footprint in the sand as he walked towards the nearest house. His mind wandered off as he started to remember what caused the three year separation. His smile soon dissolved as he started to think about the subject. An image flashed into his head and then disappeared as quickly as it appeared. Another image appeared and then mushed in his head to leave him with a confused sensation in his head. He slowly came to his senses and he shook his head.

**_"Run! C'mon they're going to get us!" _**Sim fell to one knee, his head throbbing now.

"**_Help! Sim! Please… they're going to kill us!"_** Sim's head fell to his chest and he could barely shake the thoughts off.

"**_No! No! Guys! Get away from them! Ahhhhhhh! No, no, no, no!" _**Sim growled verbally grabbing the grains of sand from the beach leaving five marks in the sand. He threw the sand forward, a cloud of sand in its wake. Sim was sweating with a single drop leaving his brow and it dissolving in the sand. Sim slowly stood, first his hands pushing him up and his feet rooting themselves in the ground. Sim unzipped his jacket revealing a white tee shirt which stuck to his body due to his sweating.

"Ya always wear dat dere jacket no matter sun shine or rain fall," a voice behind him said. Sim quickly smiled and turned around to meet a man about his age. Covering his head was a red bandana that emptied out towards the back that released his dark black hair that were tied together in dreads. His shining brown skin was covered in sweat making him look like a bright copper statue. His brown overalls had no shirt under them showing his chest and his defined muscles looked like someone etched them into his arms. Around his waist was a belt with two holsters with a gun in each. The man put a hand on them and rubbed them with his thumbs. The wooden handles to his flintlocks shined like it was new, but in reality they were ten years old. The barrels were dug into the holsters so one could not see them. The flints were different and the whole gun itself was barely a traditional flintlock. Strapped to his back was a rifle with a long thin cylinder for a barrel and a wooden handle with a golden patch box and butt plate. The man smiled and stroked his already grown in goatee.

"Rakadam! What's up?" Sim said as they grab each other's hand did their regular hand shake, grabbing each other hands with their thumbs keeping them together. They let go and grinned at each other.

"How'd you find me?" Sim asked eyes dancing with curiosity. Rakadam flashed his smile that would break a woman under gaze and his green eyes did not help his prey either.

"Me saw a flying boat coming in and me t'ought that only de captain coulda come in like that 'ere," Rakadam explained his smile never fading.

"You wouldn't have run into the others?"

"Only me captain know how to make an entrance like dat dere." The two boys laughed with each other and started to walk down the beach.

"So what happened after I left?"

"Not a t'ing… well, Okaya and Gaurant left with da ship. The rest had to find a way to get off de island. Me hadda catch a ferry and then me wa' chillin' for a while, but I started to work on me guns. Den you sent that message about meeting in t'ree years. So 'ere we is."

"They took the ship? So you hadn't heard from Nashi and the others?"

"Not a word. After we 'ad separate we just did what we all did." Sim's face fell at that, hoping that his crew could've stayed together for the three years. The two walked the edge of the beach as Sim regaled tales to Rakadam about what he had been doing for the last three years. The ocean sparkled as the sun hit it with its ray and gave the Lower City a proper look even if it was a rundown place. As the two spoke, they passed shacks that looked uninhabited with doors missing right off the hinges with rusted metal that held said missing door. The cement building had a rough look to them due to years and years of weathering and erosion. Some even had broken windows and the frames were even gone. They would pass a few that were once considered to be classy houses now trash living. One particular shack was different than all the rest, they had passed and they stopped to look at it.

A wooden house which was considered a hazard to the Lower City members being the brunt of winds and any type of sea storm hit them the most. A cement structure had less of a chance to fall over due to rapid winds and high tide. This house however was the oldest and sturdiest of all houses on the Republic. On the center of the beach stood the wooden mansion that must've stood for hundreds of years. The mansion was about three stories tall and had at two dozen windows that went across the width. The roof was completely gone and the top floor must have been flooded from the rain and other things. The frame of the house was just about visible as bent wood everywhere on the house. The front porch's awning was still intact with one gaping hole in the center as if someone fell or broke through it. The porch itself had little decorations except for the marram grass that grew on the porch. The steps had decomposed somewhat with fallen wood on them. Behind the door that hung on by the bottom hinge that sent the door on an angle was dark and empty from where they were at.

"Remember this?" For some reason the house felt familiar to him. Sim started to inch closer to the house until Rakadam grabbed his shoulder with a firmer grip.

"Sim… no. Me no t'ink ya should go in dat one. It get me off me rockers." Rakadam gave the house one suspicious the light in his eyes gone. Sim looked at the house again, something tugging him to the house. Sim felt Rakadam squeeze his shoulder and looked away from the house completely.

"Alright, let's go…. We need to find Nashi and the others."

They passed the house and finally got to an inhabited part of the island. The usual cement houses were built in a circle to resemble a cul-de-sac, but the cul-de-sac had no exit of entrance except for the spaces between houses. They walked closer to them and started to see little children in rag dresses running around playing. One child yelled out that he was the infamous pirate, the Black Hood with a stick out to make the effect of a sword. He chased the other kids and he dangerously got close to a girl almost cutting her. Sim saw this and a dust cloud was where he used to be as he appeared a couple meters to where the kids were holding the girl in his arms. The children were shocked at Sim, their faces showing the shock within.

"Cooooooool!" they chorused and started swarming around him. The girl was put down and his ears nearly busted with all the noise the kids were making.

"How'd you get here so fast?

"Teach me how to do that!"

"Are you a Marine?"

"Are you a robot?"

"How fast can you run?" Sim was about to hush them up when a mother ran over and smacked the boy with the stick in his hand over the head. The boy looked at his mother and pouted holding the back of his head. The boy has sandy blonde hair and matching blue eyes that looked almost too innocent. The rags he wore were nearly faded with a dark shade of brown which was about the same shade as everyone else, but his seemed extra dirty.

"Tony! You could've take Mary's eyes out with that stick!" the woman who ran over exclaimed. She was obviously his mother as they had exactly matching features. Except her face was littered with freckles on her tanned skin. She had one streak of grey hair that one could barely see and her face was the epitome of beauty. Sim could tell when she was younger she was neck breaker, made men nearly break their necks to look at her. Her apparel was very different from the kids wearing an old t-shirt that was a faded yellow and a brown skirt that came down to her mid-calf. Sim noticed that none of the people wore any shoes at all.

"Thank you so much, sir. It's much appreciated," the mother said holding out a bony hand. With another look at everyone he did notice that they all looked hollow and barely alive. He grabbed her hand and shook it.

"My name is Palm and as you see this is Tony," the woman said grabbing her son around the shoulder. The boy smiled and a flash of mischief flew through his eyes and then disappeared. Sim smiled and nodded towards Tony. Rakadam walked up seeing that most of the drama was over. Palm flinched when she saw he was armed with guns and most of the kids retreated behind her. Tony and the girl Sim saved stood almost daring Rakadam to move.

"Guys, it's okay. This is my friend, Rakadam." Rakadam waved. He just carries those for show." The kids calmed and the four behind Palm stepped back out from behind her.

"I'm Mary and this is my brother Johnny," the biggest out of the four. The two had to be twins as they were almost identical. Mary had short brown hair that looked frizzy with strands all out of her hair. She wore rags like everyone else, but she was so big that she had extra rags sewn around the bottom to keep them long enough. She had smudges on her face that seemed permanent or were from lack of soap. Johnny had the same brown hair, but his was in some type of order. It was brushed to the side and came up into a curl. He seemed to be about the same age as his sister who looked like she was 6.

"This is Phineas," Palm said pointing to a young boy," He's very quiet in front of new people, so you won't hear too much out of him." The boy had black hair that was very thin and stuck to his head. He had owlish eyes that were a gray tint and features that exuded a thirst for knowledge.

"I'm Narissa. I thwee year old." The final child spoke up and stood with three fingers up. Sim smiled and crouched.

"Hi, Narissa. You're three years old? You are sure a big girl," Sim laughed. The girl's eyes widened at the compliment and she puffed up her chest in pride. Sim rose his hand for a high five and instead she jumped into his arms. Her black tangled hair wrapped around his face and she let go and stared at him happily with her dark brown eyes.

"Looks like she has taken a liking to you," Palm smiled. Sim stood up and Rakadam nodded to Sim.

"Come play us, Swim." Narissa started pulling on his arm trying to pull him along.

"We're trying to find some people, though. They're our friends and we decided to meet them here on Jadora. We need to find them," Sim said feeling guilty as Narissa's eyes drooped.

"Are there eight of them? Three girls and five guys?" Palm asked.

"Yeah, why? Wait. Are they here?"

"They've been here for a while saying they were waiting on their friend who should have arrived already," Palm said. Out of the circle of houses stood eight individuals and Sim smiled broadly. The first one to approach was a female brunette who wore mainly black who didn't look to happy. Her shirt was black and came to her middle stomach revealing her toned midsection. Her shirt was form fitting showing off her curves and chest. Her sleeves came to about just below her deltoid, her muscles lacking. Her pants, just as her shirt was tight, hugged her legs and came down to her ankle. She wore black sandals that showed that her toe nails were painted blue to match her hooped earrings. She had a distinguished face with high cheekbones and naturally cute facial features. However that cuteness was quickly gone with the scowl that was on her face as she approached Sim.

Sim smiled with sweat running down in fear of her next action. Rakadam backed away grinning very hard wanting to see of the girl's next move. Palm had enough sense to grab the children and put them behind her who were already afraid. The girl stopped in front of him.

"Sim! How dare you make me and the others wait so long?" the girl yelled. Her left foot rose and imbedded itself into the sand. Her right fist balled up and her arm was drawn back. She twisted her body with the ball of her right foot and followed through with the punch. The punch connected with Sim's stomach as he tried to dodge. Nashi twisted her fist and stood up normally taking her foot out of the sand. The punch sent a blast of force from out of Sim's back making his eyes roll into the back of his head. Sim barely could stand because he was so nauseous from the hit. It wasn't the strongest hit he had received, but it still hurt. Rakadam started to laugh as everyone else was wincing.

"Hahaha… yeah captain. Why ya 'ad to make us wait so long, hm?" Rakadam laughed. Suddenly the girl came out of nowhere as she appeared in front of him. She punched him in the stomach as well, but not as hard as she did Sim. Still, Rakadam had the same reaction as he fell to his knees one single tear coming from his eye.

"You're no better." The girl's demeanor changed as she grabbed Rakadam giving him a big hug. She let go of him and grabbed Sim as he was still stumbling his face showing his current pain. She tightly hugged him and squealed.

"Welcome back, Sim!"

"Thanks, Nashi." Sim recovered and stood, looking at the rest of his crew. The other six were nearly bawling out laughing trying to keep a straight face. Nashi stepped away from Sim leaving the hug, while Palm and the kids were horrified from Nashi's act of violence against Sim and Rakadam. One of the six saw this and addressed them.

"It's fine. They both have been in worse situations than a punch in the stomach," one of the boys said. The boy in question stood tall and had a very calm look on his face despite a vein in his head popping out from trying to keep in his laughter in. He had messy black that seemed to have its own gravitational pull as it was on an angle that made it look he had multiple ramps in his hair that ended over his forehead. He had on a white Kung Fu pants with a black Kung Fu shirt that had the symbol of a cloud on his left pectoral. The V in his jacket showed his chest which was tanned like his body like he was a faithful beach goer. He wore a pair of black Kung Fu slippers as he turned towards the family with a smile. His stormy grey eyes looked at them softly as if he was giving them a condolence.

Narissa was the first to jump out from behind Palm running towards Sim. She had tears in her eyes and her cries echoed on the beach. Her mouth was wide open that allowed spit to flow out of her mouth like a waterfall. Just as she was about to get to Sim she dove into his chest. Sim grabbed her so she wouldn't fall as she tightly squeezed his body. Everyone was shocked at this display, even Sim.

"Swim, wahhh! I tought you was dwead! The mean woman pwunched Swim! I wanna play with Swim and I cwouldn't do that if the mean woman kwilled Swim!" Narissa bawled into Sim's chest and Sim's shock turned to sympathy to happiness to curious to smug. Sim turned towards Nashi and gave her the smuggest look he could produce with a smirk.

"It's okay, Narissa. The mean woman won't kill me, I'm too strong for that," Sim smiled as he looked Nashi. Nashi felt a little guilty for making the girl cry and annoyed at Sim for turning the tables on her.

"Weally?"

"Really. See?" Sim threw Narissa into the air as she started to laugh. She fell back down and Sim caught her in a fit of laughter. He set her down as she grabbed his arm, still laughing.

"C'mon, wet's play." Narissa pulled on Sim's arm to come on.

"Narissa, let's let Sim catch up with his friends," Palm said trying to get them to calm down. Narissa wanted to say something, but the stern look in Palm's eyes discouraged her. She let go of Sim's arm and trudged on towards Palm who led them to the circle of houses.

The sun was near setting as the beach was illuminated with orange and yellow, making the sandy beach seem more vibrant and lively. The ocean sparkled like a sea of emeralds giving a peaceful vibe. The once dirty and grimy beach now was a little better in looks.

"Everyone!" Sim yelled running forward and grabbing the six of his crewmates. He managed to grab all of them into his arms.

"Hey!" one of the girls with the brown bandana on yelped.

"We missed you, too!" the other girl said with glasses and a loose sweater on said.

"Put us down now!" all of the guys yelled. Sim let them go and they all dropped in the sand. The girl with the bandana on jumped up a vein in her head was dangerously throbbing. Her skin was an even tone of chocolate that had a nice shine on it from the sun that was just about near sunset. Her hair came out of the bandana in a ponytail that reached her lower neck. She wore a white beater that was grease stained like she worked in a mechanics shop. She had denim jump suit to match; it was unbuttoned to her waist and the back fell behind her. The girl wore a tool belt with a hammer and other compartments for things like bolts and nails. A wrench was on her other side of the belt with screwdrivers on both sides of them. Her golden eyes furiously stared a hole in Sim. She stomped her brown boots into the sand making a tiny sandstorm for ants.

"Don't grab me like that! Not only did you pick me up you, dropped me in the sand! C'mon Sim that's not cool!" the girl yelled.

"Okaya, don't be like that. I haven't seen you guys for three years!" Sim smiled widely nearly laughing.

"Yeah, I understand the girls, but bro. A simple handshake coulda done the job," one of the guys said. The guy with a cooks outfit on spoke up. The white jacket was buttoned to the collar and the collar had a rectangular cut that exposed his Adams apple. A part of his jacket was tucked in while the other was out. His white pants were tucked into his black shoes as he was dusting off the sand off his jacket.

"Rendasi, to be fair, a handshake does not express three years' worth of feelings. He is very justified in what he did," the girl with blue hair spoke. She had on glasses that were rectangular in shape that took covered all of her eye. She had a soft look on her like she was going to either read or study. A stethoscope around her neck swayed as her hand dusted herself off. She had a green loose jacket on and her sleeves covered her hands as she dusted her shoulder. She had a sunflower yellow shirt on with brown shorts that came up to her mid thighs. She had on green sandals on as well to match her light brown eyes.

"Suika does have a point. I think," the final guy said. He had tanned skin, but wasn't like Sim or Okaya's skin. He wore a backwards cap which had red trimmings and a majority of white. He had a red shirt on that matched his hat almost exactly. With red short sleeves and a red collars and white torso and navy blue shorts. His shoes were red with white toes. He looked like a regular teen, but his full grown beard was the thing that changed that. He had a bushy black beard that looked like it needed shaving real soon or else he would look like a dirty traveler.

"As long as I'm clean I'm fine," Nashi said scanning her outfit. Rakadam gained a mischievous smile slowly backing away to do something.

"As always you gotta stay looking good," Rendasi smiled poking fun at Nashi. She smiled doing a little pose comically while Okaya rolled her eyes chuckling. Rakadam reappeared with his hands cupped and he threw it towards Nashi. Sim saw this and gasped giving Nashi time to turn around. She dropped with speed on all fours into a catlike pose. Everyone was shocked at Nashi's display of agility and reaction time.

"Whoa! Nashi! You've been training!" Sim exclaimed. Nashi stood slightly blushing fixing her shirt. She quickly turned around to eye Rakadam who was already gone. The sun was ready to submerge into the sea as the sky turn to violet and orange fire. Stars started to wake up ready to help illuminate sky when the sun left.

"This gets me excited! Tomorrow…" Sim started.

"Oh no."

"He can't be serious."

"No, not this."

"Tomorrow we fight! One on one! Against me!" Sim yelled in anticipation. Palm and the kids looked out of one the houses to see the commotion. Rakadam appeared walking out of a clump of marram grass an upset frown on his face. The rest of the crew groaned, upset.

"C'mon, Sim. Not that. We always end up hurting each other," Harain spoke putting his hands through his 'ramp' hair.

"Don't care. Captain's order supersedes all!" Sim laughed as he jogged in place. His hood bounced up and down as he was trying to keep his excitement from completely losing control.

"Swim! Can we play now?" Narissa said running out into the beach.

"Of course! My friends will play with you, too." The others couldn't protest his statement as all the kids came out screaming to play. Narissa led the charge to them and the crew ran to them as well. Narissa tagged Sim laughing.

"Tag you're it!"

Jadora filled with echoes of laughter as they played in the Lower City. The sun seemed like it shone brighter on them as it continued to go down as a final burst of light. The stars and moon shone in the sky giving life in the night. The sky was clear, no life in the air as peace set in. The light from the Upper City roared to life as multiple people were having a night out on the town. The Upper City from afar seemed to be more fun filled and happier, but if one got close enough they would see right now the Lower City was the main attraction. Sim laughed as he got Rakadam who then jumped for Nashi. She then got Okaya who tagged Gaurant. Gaurant tagged Harain who instantly got Rendasi who grabbed Suika. Suika tagged Phineas and everyone laughed as they continued.

The Hooded Pirates had returned. And nothing were going to stop them.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Here's another chapter after what two weeks? Yeah... I'm not promising consistency, because I write this in my free time so there won't be a set schedule for this story. Anyways for those to who may have stumbled onto this fanfic then welcome! Here's the story and without further ado, Chapter 2!**

**I don't own One Piece or its characters, places, lore, yadda yadda. All rights belong to Eiichiro Oda and companies thereof.**

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><p>Chapter 2- The Fruits of Training! The Powers Attained!<p>

Sim sat in sand as he watched the night time sky. It was serene and peaceful, a nice way to end the night. A brisk chill came over the beach causing him to roll his sleeves down on his jacket. This was the cold the North Blue was accustomed to. He watched wave after wave come onto the shore, vengeful, but left in the same instant calm and recessive. Sim chuckled to himself and thought of a certain person that would fit that description. They all sat near a fire they started to eat dinner earlier. It was well into the night as Sim looked around on the beach to see his friends talking among themselves.

The children had already went to sleep and Palm was in one of the houses with them as they slept. Rakadam was currently being chewed out by Nashi who was explaining to him how long it took her to get ready. Suika was as usual reading a book keeping to herself. Gaurant was sprawled out in the sand, snoring loudly. Rendasi and Harain were standing over him deciding what to do with his body. Sim chuckled and looked back up to the sky wondering to himself. Then on his course of thought of something.

"Where's the boat?" Sim asked looking at the rest of the crew. Nashi stopped herself mid-sentence making Rakadam sigh in relief. Suika shrugs at his question and instantly dives back into her book. The others just give him a blank look excluding Gaurant.

"It's under work. I still haven't finished the repairs and upgrades," Okaya said walking towards them wiping her hands in a rag.

"Still under repairs? The ship was that damaged?" Sim asked his head tilted to the side.

"Yeah, Sim. The kiln, you know the main piece of wood that goes from the front to the back of the ship had nearly broke in half. The frame was totally broken and not too much parts were left back. I basically had to rebuild the ship, no I _did_ rebuild the ship," Okaya explained throwing the cloth over her shoulder. Everyone who heard had a grim look on their face at the news. Sim, himself, was shocked at the news.

"So it can't go out into sea yet?"

"Yes. But upgrades are going to take me a while. If we stay it'll take less time, a month, maybe? If we leave it'll take way more time to do finish," Sim looked at Okaya with disbelief, his face etched with obvious disappointment. He sifted through his head as he tried to work around this block in the road. The crew all looked at Sim to pass judgment on what to do, all individual tasks being paused. Sim kept jumping through his head for the best decision. He already had the plan to meet and leave, but this block in the road was a complete mountain in his path. If they left now it could be real troubling, but if they didn't he couldn't complete his goal.

"Alright. Listen up. Get Gaurant up, he needs to hear this," Sim said his tone going to commanding and called for attention. Harain and Rendasi sniggered as they started to dig into the sand gathering it in their hands. They then proceeded to pour it over his face, even into gaping mouth. Gaurant quickly shot up sputtering dust and brushing his face quickly. He instantly looked around for the cause of the disturbance of his sleep seeing Harain and Rendasi laughing. He was about to start yelling at them, but saw them point at Sim who was no smiles right now.

"Like I was saying. We're staying at Jadora till the ship gets fixed. Okaya said one month so to shorten that time we're going to help her fix the ship. Okaya, what the estimated time if everybody helps?" Sim spoke.

"I'd say a week, week and a half."

"After the fights tomorrow, we start helping with the ship, so we can go back to the Grand Line," Sim commanded. A whole chorus of murmurs were heard as soon as Sim finished his sentence. Sim grabbed his hood and put it over his head, a shadow being cast over his face.

"Sim, the Grand Line again?" Okaya asked from next to him.

"Of course. We need to go back," Sim paused for a moment," Even if we failed the first time." Suika had completely put her book down, her face contorted in fear. Rendasi and Harain had very calm faces as if they both were remembering the same thing. Gaurant stood and looked very worried. He stroked his beard, making him look fifteen years older than he actually was. He nodded his head looking at Sim. Rakadam rubbed his right flintlock, something he did when he was uneasy.

"I don't want to go back either. To tell you the truth I would do anything not to go back there, but we all have goals that lead us there. We may not have been strong and old enough when we went. I was fourteen and still was growing and so were all of us. I don't expect you guys to follow me, but please give it a chance," Sim said, his voice losing his commanding tone being replaced with a more vulnerable one. Sim rubbed the sleeve of his hoodie as he waited for a response. The sea calmed a little as the sounds of waves crashed on the beach more softly. A stray bird flew overhead and circled over their heads.

The sounds of whistles and the lights of the Upper City were heard on the crest of the island. Shouts of laughter echoed from multiple points on the island, ruining the natural landscape. The stars seemed less bright as they twinkled on the Hooded Pirates sat in silence. The crisp, crackling sound of the fire was the only distinct sound that they all focused on as they sat together.

The silence was broken as multiple sounds of steps in sand were heard. Sim turned as everyone switched to offensive. Rakadam quickly drew his rifle and pointed it towards the sound his left hand holding the barrel and his finger on the trigger. Okaya pulled a hammer from his tool belt as ready to hit someone. Nashi and Suika threw sand onto the fire to extinguish the firewood as they hid in the marram grass. Gaurant, Rendasi and Harain came up behind Sim ready to fight. Sim rolled his neck and cracked his knuckles. A wicked smile sprung on to his face as he felt a pang of excitement in his gut. The figures started to approach closer and closer as the outline of five individuals became crisper. The individuals saw everyone on the beach ready for a fight and three men came forward.

"What're you kids doing here?" one of the men spoke his voice full of fear.

"Where's Palm and the kids?" the middle man almost screamed, his voice in urgency. Sim looked behind at everyone and he put his hand up as at ease.

"Where's Palm and the kids?" the middle man yelled. A candle light came from the midst of the houses and Palm came into view, her face full of curiosity. The middle man ran to her and grabbed her into a hug. She was careful not to burn him with the candle as he let go and focused his attention back on Sim.

"Who're these people?" the man next to Palm asked.

"They're…. Some kids who happened to find us here," Palm explained. Rakadam put his rifle back in its place on his back as Suika and Nashi came out from the marram grass. Everyone settled and Sim frowned as he couldn't fight.

"Well, why are they still here Palm?"

"Our kids like them so I invited them to stay here." Sim took his hood off and nodded along with her to give the five people some assurance. Nashi started to work on the fire and had one going in little to no time. The fire sparked to life and illuminated the beach. The sand looked more crystal like as if some grinded crystals all over the beach and giving everyone a red hue to them.

Sim could now see the people in question and saw two women approaching them standing next to the men across from Sim and the crew. The man next to Palm was taller than her, but only by a couple inches. He had stubble on his chin as if he hadn't shaved in forever and he had on a faded blue uniform. He raised his hand to scratch the stubble making a sort of scratching noise. He had the same mischievous look as Tony making Sim to believe he was his father, but the difference was his mischievous look had almost faded as if he was tired. He had messy black hair that didn't look like it was cut in a while and his cerulean eyes gazed upon them.

"Hello. My name is Morin, nice to meet you," Morin said putting his hand up and waving at them. He had his arm around Palm's waist as if was claiming territory and gave all of Sim's friends a look. He obviously had no intention of trusting them and was waiting for them to slip up and say something.

"I'm Jake and this is my Joan," the man who had first spoke said. He had on the same faded blue uniform as the rest except his was more oil stained and dirty. His brown hair blew in the wind and he had a wide smile, making him seem like a friendly person. However, his smile was tired and his eyes drooped making him seem hollow. He nodded to Sim and his crew almost wanting to sleep right there. However he kept his ocean tinted eyes open and still maintain his smile. The woman next to him smiled her face was bright and happy opposed to her husband. She was tan almost like Palm, but was a little paler in comparison. She had long black flowing hair that came to her mid-back that contrasted her face even more. She had a certain beauty about her, different from Palm's, which made her look like a goddess on Earth. She was a little shorter than her husband and wore the same blue faded uniform. She was more defined as woman than Nashi or any girl on the crew as her outfit seemed to fit her form perfectly and was not loose in anyway. It was attributed to her more than ample curves. She happily looked at them with her brown eyes.

"This is Marc and I'm Selene," the last woman said waving her hand. She was the shortest one out of all the couples coming to the chest of her husband. She was the only red haired person out of everyone and seemed to be vaguely proud of it. She had freckles dot her face like the constellations in the sky above. Her hair came to her lower neck as she had her fingers stroking her hair. She had her eyes scanning the beach as if she was uneasy about them. The piercing indigo eyes of hers had everyone tense once more as they felt a chill go down their spines. Selene smiled and the tension was gone. Her husband Marc seemed to be the most kind of the all as he approached Sim and shook his hand with vigor. Sim smiled at the gesture and thought one of the two were true about the man: he was either really nice or just really stupid. He was living oxymoron as he looked very intelligent, but his personality told another story. He had thin, wispy hair that hung over his forehead that accentuated his owlish eyes that looked like two globes put into sockets. His storm irises implored Sim as if he was trying to evaluate that he was to be trusted. His goatee came to a point and he smiled. He was a little taller than Sim and his uniform was smaller as if he was a kid who had to wear small clothes. He let go of Sim's hand and he stood with his friends.

Gaurant yawned loudly as it echoed all over the beach. The crash of the waves fought for supremacy to be the loudest, but Gaurant's yawn won that battle. The fire crackled through the silence between them as each side was suspicious of the other. Palm set the candle down and clapped her hands to break the silence.

"I cooked some food before and it's in the houses. So you can rest up for tomorrow," she addressed her friends," The kids are in our house, so you can get them when you're ready. Me on the other hand are going to sleep."

"So what're you guys going to do?" Marc asked them. Jake and Joan walked to the house following Palm.

"Well, we got some place to sleep. But thanks for wondering," Okaya said abruptly. Marc nodded while Selene started to pull him away obviously very tired. Morin stood nearer to the houses and watched them with malice.

"I don't trust you guys. Your faces remind of something, but I can't put my finger on it. You must be some type of criminal group or government organization to spy on us Lower City people. Whatever you are don't touch or talk to any of us. We don't want any trouble and I promise if you cause any trouble that'll be it." Morin looked at them once more and turned on his heel to go into his house. Sim turned and scoffed a huge smile on his face. Harain started to mock Morin, shaking his finger and making funny faces. Rakadam chuckled from the back and Nashi rolled her eyes.

"Alright guys," Sim started with a mock serious tone," let's not cause any trouble because that'll be 'it'. I am sooooo scared, I nearly pissed my pants." They all laughed with Rendasi nearly crying from laughter.

"Humans are so predictable and meager. First sign of an alpha and the need for assurance of strength takes over," Suika explained. Everyone stopped laughing and looked at her confused. Sim scratched his head and an imaginary question mark popped over his head.

"In other words, big man wants to feel strong," Suika interpreted. The others shook their head and stopped laughing, having their laugh of the night.

"But for real, where are we sleeping?" Rendasi asked drying a tear from his eyes.

"I answered that already. We're sleeping on the Monkey King, duh," Okaya yawned. Sim's eyes widened in excitement anticipating to see his ship. Okaya started to walk from the direction she had come from. Sim started to follow her as the rest of the crew came. Gaurant grabbed Rendasi and Harain by the neck and put them under his arms, squeezing them with his muscles. The Upper City was louder the closer they got to the ship. They couldn't see it as the land came out like a corner, so the suspense of seeing the ship was even greater. The crescent moon stared at them walking to the ship and lighted their way. A cloud started to make its way to move over the moon, but something split it clean in half.

They approached the corner and Okaya turned and held her hand up. They stopped in their tracks and watched as Okaya turned the corner. Sim went to follow her, but she called back to them.

"No peeking!" Her elation was as if a kid showing their mother a present they made. As a constructor, she loved creating things and this ship was one, if not the most, of the biggest projects she has taken. This ship was her pride and joy as now she has built it from the few scrap pieces and from pure memory. This ship was now Okaya's child and she was its mother.

"Alright, now!" Sim ran around the corner and the rest followed his example. Sim's eyes turned into two stars and the others gasped in shock. Okaya had her hands on her hips as she smiled widely.

"It's the Monkey King alright! My boy is back!" Sim yelled running toward the ship. The famous Monkey King ship was three level schooner and one level below deck and had a crow's nest on the main mast. It wasn't a normal schooner and resembled a sloop, but its sails classified it as schooner. However the body was one of a sloop. Normally, the small sails of a schooner wouldn't be able to support the weight of the ship and would ultimately stunt the speed of the ship. The two masts were taller and wider with the sails, themselves bigger. The body of the Monkey King was about twenty-seven yards long and twenty-two yards wide. It was made out of what looked like sturdy wood that had a light brown hue to it. There were five gun ports on the side that they could see, but logic dictates that there were five others on the other side. The gun ports were closed so the cannons they had were on the inside. The ratlines were on their view sides and connected to yardarm on their main mast. There was a ladder that came down their side and Sim climbed on to the boat via the ladder. He stepped over the little dip in the side of the hull of the ship.

He smiled and left off a gasp in awe of the ship. With the moon's light one could see the ship was truly glistening showing off the newness of the ship. Sim looked towards the head of the ship where the figurehead was. There was a set of two stairs on either side of the hull that led to forecastle deck which was elevated off the actual deck. On the forecastle deck were barrels strapped down to wall of the hull with some rope. There was a wooden railing along the hull with a circular handle top rail and balusters with grooves near the top and the bottom. On the bottom rails there were engraved designs of waves that followed all along the forecastle deck. There was one single hatch in the middle of forecastle deck. On the wall of the forecastle deck that connected to deck was a door to the very left with a rope handle. On the deck there was the two masts of the ship that stood tall with metal rungs with bolts in them on the bottom that kept them in place. The main mast was shorter and had the Jolly Roger on it, but it was rolled up so it was not visible.

The other mast was tall and had the crow nest that had a compartment to open it and had a circular dome and floor. There was a single circular window that wrapped all around the crow's nest. The sail was tied up with rope and had a rope around the mast that connected to the back of the ship on the railing. On the stern deck was the helm with a singular column that had the wheel connected to it. It was a traditional ship wheel with a center circle that had eight columns that came out of the circles with eight handles on the outer circle. The stern deck was mostly empty no real design, but there was one chair behind the wheel and with a small compartment next to it. The railing on the back of the ship was like the forecastles' with the same design. The decks wall had a regular flat top that stopped as the wall raised slightly for the raised decks. The wall connecting the stern deck to the actual deck had one door in the middle of it. The door had a golden framed window and a rope handle. On either side of the door was a built in ladder to the stern deck.

The others climbed on after Sim and shared his gasp looking around. Okaya was the last to climb on and she smiled as they all spread out over the deck. Rendasi ran towards the forecastle door to see if that was the kitchen, but it was just a closet and he closed in disappointment. Nashi scoping out where to put her little spa area on deck walking around in deep contemplation. Suika had her book under her arm and made her way to the stern door. Rakadam followed her and dragged Gaurant with him. Everyone then started to follow Suika and Suika opened the door.

"That right there is the hallway to the inside of the ship." They ignored her comment and filed into the hallway. Okaya sighed and jogged over to ajar hallway. Okaya found them opening and closing doors. Sim found the kitchen and Rendasi bulldozed everyone to get to the kitchen. The kitchen was the first door on the left and was a big enough kitchen. The walls curved along with the end of the ship giving the room an open feel. Along the left wall was a countertop that ran all the way down the wall to a fridge. A double kitchen sink was in the middle of the counter and the silver shone as the light turned on. The counter had jars with labels like sugar, cinnamon, and others. A knife block with a rectangular shape was right next to the fridge. It was a white double door fridge with handles that jumped out the fridge and dove back in the fridge like a dolphin jumping out of the water. The actual kitchen had a tiled floor and stopped where the dining room started. The floor of the dining room was wooden like the ship and had a glossy table in the middle of it. Eight chairs were at the table: two at the ends and three on each side. There was nice lighting and a pantry to the right in the dining room.

"Okaya! Thank you! Everything I wanted to!" Rendasi shouted grabbing Okaya in a hug. She tapped out as Rendasi ran into the kitchen like a little boy seeing if the fridge was stocked. Sim walked to the next room across the hall and the smell of near death hit his nose. The white room nearly blinded him as he remembered a familiar scent. It was Suika's turn to step forward as they had found the medical room. A pictured frame of a red cross hung over an exam table with a white sheet on the teal bed. The table was connected to the wall and was like the bed thing they put you on at the nurse's office. One drawer was under the little mattress that went from end to end with four small ones under it side by side. There was white floor with green rectangles that had some type of pattern on the floor. Across from the exam table was a simple wooden desk with a rolling chair under it. There was paper stacked neatly on the center of the desk with a cup full of pencils right next to it. A clipboard was next to the paper and was aligned with the paper.

Above the desk was a little book shelf with a couple books on it. With titles like '_The Human Body and Its Function'_ and_ Surgical Mediums and How to Apply Them',_ Sim was soon bored of the room. Suika walked past them and entered her room.

"It is absolutely perfect. Thank you. Now if you will excuse me, I need to open those books. I never have seen these titles," Suika said excusing herself as she closed the door. Sim groaned as he walked to the next door which was located was all the way down the hall to the right. He opened it and was disappointed once more. An expansive library was in his view with bookshelves that ranged all over the walls and only separated for a window that ranged from the top of the wall to the bottom. The window was right in front of them, but right now there was no light to shine into the room. A desk was in the middle of the room with a chair behind of it pushed in. Books were filling the vacant spot of the bookshelves and it looked like an actual library.

"Who dis room for?" Rakadam asked scratching his head.

"No one. Just a library for anyone," Okaya replied.

"It has more than one use," Gaurant laughed wickedly smiling. Okaya pushed him slightly and the others looked at them weirdly. Okaya hurriedly moved past them to the door at the end of the hall. She opened it revealing an empty room with a single closet light on. Sim looked at the room and pushed through them into the room. He looked around and saw one red button on the wall with a down arrow. He went to press it, but Okaya stopped him.

"Wait for the rest of us to get on." The others climbed on and Okaya closed the door. Sim pressed the button and the ground lurched making everyone except Okaya and Gaurant look at the ground.

"What is happening?" Nashi asked. Suddenly the ground started to lower slowly and the sound of gears shifting filled the room. They lowered more and more until the sight of a dark room was in their sights. There was a whirring noise and then their platform finally got to the bottom and there was a locking noise that echoed into the dark. One light came on and caused a chain reaction enacting light in the room. Steel bars were to the far wall stacked with bars crisscrossing over each other. A large wooden rectangle sat in the middle with writing over it such as lines and squares. Boxes were stacked to the right of them to wall. The room was obviously unfinished and Sim stepped into the room.

"What's this room?" Sim said expecting the boxes. He knocked on them and there was thumping noise each knock. Nashi joined him as well, but she instead looked to see if there was writing on the box. Harain and Rakadam walked through the room leisurely as if they were planning the room themselves.

"Well this is supposed to the living quarters with a combined bath and a room for everyone else," Okaya explained.

"A room for everyone else?" Nashi asked rushing to Okaya.

"Yeah, but I'm not sure you'll like it. It's for the guys mostly," Okaya shrugged. Sim stopped his knocking going to Okaya too.

"Is it…." Sim started.

"Not telling you. Want it to be a surprise."

"Aw. C'mon. Just one hint."

"Nope."

"Please."

"No."

"Pretty please."

"No."

"With a cherry on top."

"Keep asking and I'll just make bigger rooms." Sim's jaw clicked shut and he started to trudge away moping. Nashi went back to walking around. Okaya yawned making a loud noise in the room.

"We still got more over on the other side. There's a vacant room for whoever. I'm leaning towards a spa for the girls since you guys have the room I'm building. Still need to fix the electrical system and the plumbing needs to get fixed. Steering is off and one more upgrade for the boat still needs to get built," Okaya explained. She took out a notepad from inside her trousers and looked at some notes, scoffing.

"Alright. Let's get some sleep at least," Harain said with Rakadam right behind him.

"Yeah, got to get some sleep for the fights tomorrow," Sim smiled. Nashi rolled her eyes and sat down putting her back against the boxes. She quickly seemed to fall asleep, her face blank, but it seemed like she was having good dreams. Rakadam rose his hands to the back of his head and started to unravel the knot that kept the bandana on his head. The knot finally let itself go and it came undone revealing the top of his head. His dreads seemed to breathe as he crouched down and laid on his side, his guns still on him. His bandana was out on the floor in front of him spread out so it was square once more. Harain stood and started to talk to Okaya.

"How do I get back up?" he asked.

"Just step on the pad and look behind you on the wall. The button should be right there," Okaya directed.

"Should?"

"That's if the wall reveals it." Harain walks to the pad and steps on it, the pad giving a creaking noise. Something on the wall shot open revealing a green button pointing up. Harain pressed the button and the pad started to raise slowly and soon he was out of sight. A resounding locking of metal filled the room. Gaurant went to the far side of the room and laid on the wooden wall, putting his cap on his face revealing his messy hair. Okaya went over to that side as well to lay next to Gaurant as he started to snore. She took her tool belt off and rest it on the floor. She tucked her ponytail in the bandana and then laid down as well. Sim watched as everyone fall asleep and decided to cuddle up next to Nashi. He put his hood over his head and the lights in the room slowly turned off little by little until darkness took over. Sim drifted off to sleep and entered his dreamscape.

* * *

><p><em>Eight kids stumbled after each other in hopes of escape. Gunshots blared with bullets flying over their head. A resounding roar of men followed them as they ran faster and faster. The kid in the front wore a black hoodie that was way too big for him as it looked as if he wore a dress with only the sight of shorts under the end of the hoodie dictating otherwise. One kid was running backwards his hands holding a rifle returning fire. Three girls were on the verge of tears as each had a guy holding their hands. The boy with the hood slowed as everyone passed him the others yelling after him. The boy with the rifle shot round after round until the trigger clicked, his gun empty. The voices were inaudible as the boy ran forward.<em>

_Men with white uniforms ran forward their rifle set on him. The word Marine proudly on their caps looked menacingly at the boy. The gunman's for the Marines stopped and stared to fire at the boy. The boy ducked low and he dove for the water. He rose his hand and spoke some words causing the water to rise. A massive wave from afar started to make its way towards the beach. A muscular man stepped forward, a mace in hand, and charged at the boy. The boy jumped out of the way as the water level started to rise. The wave crashed into the shore hitting the Marines who flew into the rocky side of the island. The water level rose tremendously making it hard to move. The boy however had no problem swimming in the current looking for his friends. _

_Sim watched the scene unfold in front of his eyes as he sat on top of rock. He started to follow the boy walking under the water. The boy was diving under the water to search for his friends and found them swimming in the water. He rose and they all started to swim over to a mass of broken wood. The water level slowly started to fall back to normal as the kids continued to approach the mass of wood. Portholes floated in the water as wood and other things were lost into the sea. Sim managed to catch up to the group as he looked at himself. _

_The younger Sim was in tears as the water was back into the sea. He was on his knees crying as he did so with the girls. Rakadam and the other guys were dead silent as their inaudible cries did not reach Sim. The color in the world faded slowly as all was left was Sim and his younger self who was still crying. _

* * *

><p>"Sim, wake up. Time to get up," a soft voice penetrating the sound barrier. Sim's eyes slowly drifted open as he woke up from his dream. Nashi stood over him with her hands on her hips. She was wearing a yellow sun dress that complimented her eyes. She had spaghetti straps that were barely on her shoulders and her yellow earring to match. The dress was made so that her cleavage was out and about with a slight dip in the chest. She, of course, used that to her advantage with her breast almost getting pushed out of her dress. She wore brown shoes that were flat. A set of brown sunglasses were in her hair that was neatly behind her back.<p>

"Breakfast is set," Nashi said walking off her hips swaying like the breeze. Sim stood hungrily and walked with her to the pad. The room was empty with the lights on. The little compartment for the button opened and she pressed it. Sim was still half asleep as he started rub his eyes and yawning. Nashi looked at him as he stood with his hood still up.

"Aren't you hot?" Nashi asked.

"Now that you mention it, yeah." He started to unzip his jacket as he took it off. The hood fell off as he took his arms out of the sleeves and he soon had his hoodie on his right shoulder. Nashi, to his left, looked at his arms and nearly gasped. He was very muscular, his arms having veins showing. He looked like he was flexing, but that's just how his arms were. Nashi almost ogled at them, but caught herself. The platform clicked as they finally up at the top. Sim opened the door for her as she stepped out. Sim grabbed his shirt and pulled it out and in. The heat was almost unbearable as sweat started to form on his head. They walked to the kitchen with the door wide open.

Rendasi was currently trying to balance multiple plates on his arms and hands. He succeeded in doing so and ran over to the table throwing the plates in the air. He grabbed them each one plate at a time and put them on the table. One managed to evade his grasp and he caught it with his foot, kicking it up to his hand. He smiled and turned to see Nashi with her arms folded and Sim nodding in respect. The others were nowhere to be seen and Sim looked around.

"Where're the others?" Sim implored.

"Outside on the beach with Palm," Nashi asked.

"She hasn't seen the boat?"

"No, luckily Harain was awake this morning and stopped her from coming over," Nashi explained.

"Weird, huh? Wasn't he always the late sleeper?" Rendasi added.

"He seemed to be training under some martial artist or something. That get up can't be choice," Nashi snorted.

"No, it's not really by choice."

The three jumped as they turned to see Harain with his shirt off with a towel around his neck. He had a headband around his forehead which seemed to be soaking up his sweat. His body glistened with sweat as the light from the window shone on him. He was muscly and had a six pack looking like it was chiseled into his body. His arms had burn marks on them like someone had burned his arms. He stepped into the dining room and sat in the middle chair on the right side.

"Everyone is coming right now. Gave Palm the excuse we work for the some shipping people, so if she sees the ship she won't be too suspicious," Harain said as Rendasi continued to fill the plates with food. Sweet scents filled the room along with smells of salt and meat and other foods. Sim's stomach lurched audibly and he grabbed his stomach in pain. Hunger punched his stomach and demanded food.

"Might want to eat something now," Sim groaned as his monster of a stomach roared. Rendasi threw some bread his way and he caught it with his mouth and started to chew. He nodded in thanks as Rendasi opened the fridge and started to pull out juices.

"Morning all," Rakadam said walking. He looked haggard with his bandana barely holding on to his head. Dark bags were visible under his eyes and he obviously didn't have such a good night. He sat across Harain at the table.

"Sup everyone," Gaurant said scratching his beard. He smiled and seemed to be bright with a little bounce in his step. Okaya came directly after him looking a little flustered. She seemed like she was blushing earlier as she shuffled in. Gaurant pulled a seat out for her next to Harain and he walked over to the other side next to Rakadam. He smiled at her widely and she jumped just by the notion. Nashi raised her eyebrows as she stood next to Sim who was still chewing that bread. Suika walked in last pushing up her glasses onto the bridge of her nose. She sat on the other side Rakadam and nodded to everyone.

"Alright. You two sit," Rendasi instructed as he finally got all of the food onto the table. Rendasi grabbed the pitchers of juice and walked towards the table. Sim went to sit next to Harain, but Rendasi stopped him.

"You're at the head of the table," Rendasi corrected. Sim nodded and sat next to Okaya and Gaurant nearest to the window. Nashi sat on the other side of the table to face Sim. Rendasi had a nice little meal in front of them. Sausages, bacon, and toast piled up on three different plates. A big bowl of scrambled eggs sat in the middle of table next to some jam. The jams had a saucer next to it with a stick of butter on it. Sim's mouth watered from the scents and nearly grabbed all of it in one fell sweep. Rendasi sat the pitchers on the table and he flipped everyone's glasses over and finally sat next to Harain.

"Enjoy," he said his fork and knife in hand. Sim grabbed one handful of bacon and sausage in each hand causing the others to protest. He stuck his tongue out and they continued to eat. They laughed between bites as Gaurant started to tell stories. They finished as Gaurant was still telling his story.

"Then he ran down the road near a tree and she ran after him. He went speeding, she went speeding. He went left, she went left. You ever see them shows on Den Den TV with the lion chasing the gazelle? She swept that leg and he just straight buckled like a gazelle. Then, she started beating him down, ruthlessly. Oh man, that was hilarious," Gaurant laughed while the others smiled. Sim left off a big belch that echoed in the kitchen. The guys clapped with respectful looks on their face. Sim stood and bowed sage like with a slight smile.

"Ten. Nice echo value," Harain said with a smirk. The girls all had disgusted looks on their face, outnumbered as always. The clapping died down and Sim sat back in his chair. Rendasi stood as his chair was pushed back from his standing. He started to pick the plates up slowly to clean the table. Sim's face turned to a more joyful expression as the others looked at him.

"Time to fight," Sim smiled. The others groaned as Sim stood and walked to the door. He stood in the doorway and looked back at them. They all stood and followed him to wherever he was going. He went to the left to where the elevator was and opened the door.

"Hold up, Sim. Not in the boat. We haven't finished it, remember?" Okaya reminded him.

"Right. To the beach!" Sim ran forward in front of them and opened the door to the deck. Rendasi came from the kitchen and walked with them to the deck. Sim went to the side of the deck that lead to the beach and jumped straight down. His hoodie left his shoulder as he fell and finally hit the sand with a thud. The hoodie fell on his head dropping over his face. He draped the hoodie over his shoulder again and walked forward to see where they could start.

The ladder from the ship flew down and Suika was the first down from the ladder as Nashi went after her and then Okaya. Then the guys all jumped down forgetting that there was ladder. Rakadam stumbled and rolled in the sand, standing up as if nothing had happened. The Monkey King sat in the only remote deep/shallow bay area with rocks all around it. Sim didn't want to fight so close to the ship so he started to walk in the direction of Palm and the children.

"Where are we going?" Nashi asked jogging to catch to Sim. Her dress radiated color as she ran to him with sand being kicked up from her steps. She stopped and looked at him.

"Going to ask Palm for some directions," Sim explained.

"Not the wisest decision. That course of action might initiate some sort of curiosity. Then that curiosity spreads to Mr. Morin and we now have him over here seeing our ship," Suika said towards the back of the group. Sim turned around and looked for some suggestions.

"Just right here. I'll make a steel boxl, so we don't damage the ship," Okaya said. Everyone, but Gaurant, looked at her quizzically as she stretched her arm asking for some room.

"Make a box?" Rendasi asked. Okaya started to pull a piece of metal out of her belt. She clapped her hands with the metal in hand. The metal disappeared as she slowly put more pressure on it. She raised one of her hands and held a thin sheet of metal. She bent over and dropped the metal in the sand with a small thud. She smiled and touched it and her arm turned dark gray. Some type of liquidly substance covered her arm and covered the metal sheet. The metal sheet spread into a larger square of metal until it was the size of a room.

"How did you do that?" Sim exclaimed running up to the metal.

"Dat is one good ability. We sure woulda use dat in da future," Rakadam commented. Okaya smiled broadly and her arm turning back to normal the substance gone.

"I ate a Devil Fruit a little after we split. On accident of course. But now I have the ability to become metal and make it. I'm a Metal Human," Okaya explained her hands on her hips proudly. Suika's eyes were opened widely as she now had a notepad and pencil in her hand. Sim's face still had the excited look on it, but he seemed to be in deep thought. Okaya continued with the making of the wall and the metal started to raise to a wall on all four sides until finally there was a little box. Okaya was inside until the metal subsided in direction facing the crew. She had her hand where the metal was as the liquidly surface climbed back on her arm.

"Now we can fight," Okaya said stepping to the side. Sim was the first to step and his adrenaline started to pump in anticipation. He threw his hoodie in the air and quickly took his shirt off in one fluid motion. The hoodie fell to the ground, the zipper clanking on the metal. His shirt fell next to the shirt softly landing. He stuck his right arm and stretched it to the left and held it with his left forearm. He walked around for a while and then did the same for the other arm. He then started to roll his shoulders after the pop he was looking for sounded off. The others stepped in and the ladies stared as Sim's back was facing them.

He turned around with a smile on his face. He went to his hoodie, kicking his shirt to the side and putting the jacket on. He rolled his sleeves up with the hoodie unzipped and put the hood on. A shadow cast over his face, only his mouth in view which was currently curled into a mischievous and anxious smile. He pounded his right fist into his left and held it.

"Who's first?" Sim almost gushed. Rendasi looked at the others and they all formed a circle excluding Sim. They started to play Rock, Paper, and Scissors to see who went first. Three smacks echoed each round with a sigh of relief at the end and then continued Rakadam and Harain were still going. Three smacks of the fist into the palm was heard until Harain victoriously held up his scissors to Rakadam's rock. Rakadam, however, was smiling like a devil his hands immediately going to his flintlocks, his thumbs rubbing the handles.

"It appear that it a be me that take on de captain first," Rakadam chuckled. Sim nodded as he then started to roll his neck. The rest of the crew went to one of the walls standing in eerie silence minus the sea that crashed into the shore. The two fighters stepped forward to each other until they grabbed each other's hand and held it in a shake. They both struggled for supremacy in the handshake, but both gave up. Sim jumped back, his sandals flipping as his feet returned to the metal floor. A long pause was shared between the two as they readily looked for an opening. They looked as if they were wolves hunting their prey as they laid in wait.

Rakadam broke the silence pulling out a flintlock and shooting a round at Sim. Sim easily ducked under it and yawned slightly. Rakadam nodded, impressed slightly at the feat. Rakadam pulled the other flintlock out and started to fire consistent round after round at Sim. The blasts echoed out of the metal box to the rest of Jadora as each one was fired. The metal wall held up as each bullet had hit the wall with Sim totally vanishing. The whole crew looked around until they found him balancing on the top of the wall they were leaning on. A shot was fired, no movement from Rakadam seen. Sim easily raised his left leg as the bullet surged past his legs. Rakadam now had his turn to disappear as the audience found him on the opposite wall of Sim his two flintlocks pointed towards Sim's direction.

"Nice. You're firing abilities have gotten way better. Accuracy and speed. But you're holding back," Sim evaluated.

"Only de captain woulda known that information. Ya right, me wa' jus' playing around, but since ya so want me to really fight, den me will bring it," Rakadam said. A blur of movement was seen from Rakadam as the sound of shots were fired. Sim easily jumped off the wall into the box, but the shots were still focused on Sim. He easily jumped to the side and the crew on the wall still had the bullets coming towards them. Harain and Gaurant stepped forward both blocking the bullets. Gaurant grabbed three bullets out of the air and Harain flicked three away with them speeding towards a wall.

"Hey, watch the fire. We still got people here," Gaurant said dropping the bullets onto the ground with three clanks sounding. Rakadam's arms stopped and he innocently smiled in a shrugging fashion his flintlocks loose in his hands. Sim took the opportunity and rushed forward, jumping up with a fist being drawn back.

"Hydro Punch!" Sim yelled. His fist was being surrounded by some type of water and Rakadam recognized the attack. Rakadam quickly dove off the wall as Sim extended his arm and the water shot forward. The water was aimed for the island side as it sped. The water hit the wall with a resounding crunch of rock being heard. The water turned to mist covering the hit area. The mist dissipated to show a crater in the wall about the size of decent pothole.

"Whoa!" the crew on wall echoed in unison. Rakadam rolled onto the metal ground and decided that he really needed to stop playing. Sim landed on the wall with his smile still ever so treading on the territory of insanity. Rakadam stood and hit his flintlocks together with bang. Sim turned to see the guns light up to a blue color as it rebounded of off the gray metal. The barrel of the flintlocks turned slightly with a click being heard. There was some type of the metal wrist cuff that came from the flintlocks and hooked themselves on Rakadam's wrists. The blue light died down and multiple shots fired from the flintlocks like they were automatic weapons. Sim's eyes widened as he ran the perimeter of the wall. Bullets zoomed past his head and he started to pick up his speed. The gunfire stopped and Sim stopped to look at Rakadam who still had his guns in the firing position pointed at him. He nodded to the side and Sim looked to where he was nodding to.

A bullet pierced Sim's right forearm arm and Sim instinctively jumped in the air to avoid others. Sim held his arm with his left as hot blood slowly dripped down his arm. Sim started to fall, but caught about six bullets following his jumping pattern. Sim then realized they must be some type of heat seeking bullets and ran around the box trying to figure out a way to stop them from chasing him. Rakadam then continued to fire at Sim with double ammunition coming towards the hooded boy. Nashi looked concerned for Sim as he did his best to dodge the shots with one more grazing his calf. Suika looked fascinated at the match as she scribbled down notes for future reference.

"Rakadam, you are so cheating right now! Heat seeking bullets? Not even remotely fair," Sim protested as he ran. Sim ran straight for the wall with the hole in it jumping directly over the hole and kicking of the wall. Sim heard a bang and one stopped following him. In total he had four bullets following him, the one that hit him the legs had stopped and the one that hit the wall out of commission. Sim hatched a plan as he ducked under one of the regular bullets Rakadam was firing. Sim ran for Rakadam weaving his way under the bullets he fired and around them until he finally slid between Rakadam's legs. The heat seeking bullets followed now aimed for Rakadam. Rakadam hit his flintlocks together again with the same blue light coming from the flintlocks and the barrel that twisted back in place. The wrist cuffs then receded back into the gun with the light dying down. Suddenly four clangs were heard as the heat seeking bullets dropped instantly.

Sim got up his arm somewhat fine, the bleeding dying down. Rakadam spun the flintlocks in his hand and put them back into his holsters. Sim took the opportunity to run forward his leg now being encased in water. Rakadam quickly grabbed his rifle with his right hand taking it out. Sim jumped in the air his right leg encased in water as it was the last leg to leave the ground. Rakadam prepared to shoot Sim as Sim's leg started to go into a slicing motion. Rakadam's shot fired and the crew gasped in surprise. Sim's leg came swinging droplets of water flying on everyone.

"Hurricane Kick!" Sim yelled.

* * *

><p><strong>Alright, that was chapter 2! Pretty cool so far, huh? Sim with these water based attacks and heat seeking bullets and now Okaya's a Metal Human! And we only are started one fight! I got more powers and plot coming up. Don't forget to check the story for another chapter and leave a comment, favorite, and follow this story! Peace and no flames please.<br>**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3- 10 Percent?! The Cul-De-Sac's Trouble!

"Hurricane Kick!" Sim yelled. His right leg that was incased in water swung, the water flying off of it. Rakadam's bullet sprinted out of the barrel and the two attacks collided. The bullet struggled into the water, but ultimately stopped with the force of the slicing water winning. Rakadam quickly ducked under the blast of water with his rifle still up in the air. This all done in the speed of seconds as the water hit the wall behind them. A ringing and vibration was heard that was soon cut short and the sound of sand briefly followed by it. Rakadam looked stunned from what happened and seemed incapable of movement.

He tried to stand, but utter shock stopped him from moving. He managed to stand despite his brain not catching the signal. The rifle barrel slid of the gun cut clean in half. A clatter of metal hit the ground and Rakadam followed the sound. He held the rifle up, which was cut, and looked at the ground. He did so several times before coming to the realization that his gun was broken. He closed his eyes slowly, his face tranquil and void of emotion. In his mind, he was currently trying to calm his anger as he sifted through his negative emotions. Sim's feet hit the metal with a flip and flop and he watched as the half barrel fell to the ground. A single bead of sweat formed on his head as he felt the frigid air from Rakadam rise.

The spectators stood with their mouths ajar all sharing the shocked emotion. They all sailed long enough to know Rakadam cared for those guns like they were his sons and knew nothing good came out of them being broken. Nashi slowly tried to hide behind Harain who was right next to her in the corner of the wall. Gaurant looked on with awe in preparation for Rakadam would do. Everyone knew when Rakadam was angry he either one, yelled quickly in that accent, or two, attempt to hit something or someone.

"Yo, bro. I didn't mean to break your gun," Sim said innocently shrugging. The spectators palmed themselves in the head either mentally or physically. Leave it to Captain Sim to not gauge the mood. Rakadam slowly bent over and picked the broken barrel up and held in his clenched fist.

"Me really 'ad like this gun. Me tinks me can fix it," Rakadam said his face softening. Everyone breathed out a sigh of relief and heard a gun fire. Rakadam was holding smoking flintlock in his right hand with the barrel and actual rifle in his left. The bullet had shot past Sim's face barely nipping his ear as the sound of gong vibrated the room from the bullet hit the metal. Sim's eyes widened, beads of sweat adorning his face.

"Me win," Rakadam smiled. He put the flintlock in his hand into the holster it came from. He then took the broken barrel into his right hand and started to twist it back onto the gun. Sim looked on curious as to what Rakadam was trying to do and then his face changing to disbelief. The rifle was back to normal and Rakadam slung the rifle back onto the holster on his back. The reaction being shared with the spectators watching.

"Over de years, me made modifications to me guns of course. The rifle can turn into a flintlock if me wish if me just twist the barrel on and off. Me used that trick to fool all o' y'all into t'inking me was mad and boom me won," Rakadam said making his feat of magic less magically. Suika scribbled away once more with a dramatic period at the end of her writing. Sim still looked dumbfounded until his mind caught up to the explanation and he laughed out loud.

"Nice. I honestly thought I broke it. Good use of trickery, Rakadam," Sim praised. Rakadam bowed from show and went to the wall leaning against it with some smug looks thrown at his crewmates. Okaya rolled her eyes as she slightly pushed him as he stood next to her in the middle of the wall.

"Next." Sim stretched his arms, this time doing windmills as his hands went in circles. The spectators looked at each other in incredulity as they couldn't believe Sim was trying to fight with a grazed leg and not to mention with a wounded arm and the bullet still in it.

"Why don't I take that bullet out of your arm then we continue?" Suika said shutting her notebook with an absolute shut. She stalked off the wall and grabbed him by the arm that was wounded and pulled him out of the room.

"I'm fine," Sim protested with a hint of whine mixed in.

"You're bleeding arm suggests otherwise," Suika rebutted. Suika really did not like when people were injured and did whatever was in her power to heal them. The bullet wounds were easy so just looked at this as a routine checkup and Sim being a child. However, Sim saw this as him having to get burning alcohol on his wound and having tweezers go into his arm and pull the bullet out. Not to mention Suika scolding him for not dodging the attack even if it was out of his control. Suika led the way out of the box through the opening as the sun hit them directly in the face. The box was in a large amount of shade and it turns out the early morning had turned into mid-morning nearing the noon time.

"It's not bleeding though." The comment was mumbled, so no comment was returned. Sim was marched to the ship where Suika then made him climb up the ladder onto the boat. She followed suit as Sim climbed onto the deck. She then proceeded to grab his arm once more as they walked in and out of shade as they headed to the stern deck door. The masts loomed over their heads as they entered the hallway of the stern. Suika walked them into the sickbay and pushed Sim onto the bed. She knelt down in front of the bed in the drawers and opened it pulling out some gauze and cotton. Her stethoscope dangled and clinked together as she set those things on the floor. Sim sat on the edge as his legs were up and with the drawers pushing his legs out. Suika stood gauze and cotton in hand as she pushed the drawer closed pushed her hips into the drawer.

"Now before you start operation on me," Suika rolled her eyes at Sim's comment", how have you been all these years?" Suika blushed at the question hiding her face by turning her back to him. She was always amazed by her captain's way of being a carefree idiot and yet be a caring guy. This was one of the reasons she had joined the crew in the first place.

"It was fine. I left the island to study some medicinal subjects and found myself at an interesting island full of scholars. The island was named the Osa Provinces. After we finished the fights I'll tell you about my adventures there," Suika explained setting her gauze and cotton on the table. She grabbed some long tweezers of her desk and Sim gulped. She creepily turned, her eyes gleaming and a shadow over her face.

Back at the beach, everyone was out on the beach drenched in sweat. Nashi had her dress around her shoulder completely off. She was wearing a tank top and some high shorts that came up to her high thigh. She was fanning herself with her hand as she was sweating and was hot. Okaya had rolled up her sleeves and taken off her bandana which was tied to her right arm. She was currently at the metal box trying to find a way so they won't be cooked alive when they were in the heated box. Gaurant stood by her and was randomly spouting ideas with each like he found a solution, but got quickly shot down by Okaya. Rendasi unbuttoned his jacket to reveal a black beater that was an even darker shade of black from his sweat. Rakadam had a screwdriver handy in his right hand as he messed with one of his flintlocks. He wiped his brow quickly and quickly went back twisting the screwdriver carefully. He had his tongue poking out of mouth in his focus trying not to mess up. Harain tiptoed behind of Rakadam and crouched behind him to see what he was doing. He was about to shock him when Rakadam started to talk.

"Me swear Harain if ya make me break dis flintlock me will break you." Harain backed up in the same manner he approached his curiosity completely gone. Suddenly a scream was heard from the boat that sounded very familiar and they all looked at the boat. A smile spread on Nashi's face and she looked back at everyone. Rakadam stopped his screwing and smiled while the screaming ceased. Gaurant and Okaya waited with the other and watched as the captain came into view. He climbed down the ladder and approached the crew. Suika followed him with an evil smirk on her face and she pat him on the back.

"What?" Sim had a pout on his face and his eyes were red as if he were crying. The rest of the crew looked at him and started to cry out laughing. Sim stood in their sights as his face heated up from their laughter.

"Shut up! It hurts, the alcohol hurts!" Sim pleaded so they stopped laughing. They continued to laugh even harder from his explanation and he covered his head with his hood, embarrassed. Nashi stood and walked over to Sim putting her hand on her back.

"Hey! Leave him alone." All was quiet over Nashi's voice as she had a serious face on. "Just because the baby here can't take whittle alcohol on his wound doesn't mean we have to laugh."

She burst out laughing again and walked away from Sim barely able to walk. Sim stalked off into the metal box and Okaya stopped laughing quickly banging on the box with her fist. The opening closed as Sim was about to walk in. He started to pout even more and turned his back away from them. They all stopped laughing, the joke already gone and looked at their captain's back.

"You guys are picking on me. First laughing at me and now I can't even go inside the box," Sim grumbled.

"No. The box is sweltering hot and might be at a burning level. I don't think you would want to go in there," Okaya explained.

"Still, you guys laughed at me." They all rolled their eyes almost forgetting their captain was so sensitive.

"Anyways, what're going to do?" Harain asked.

"I don't know. We can't go in there so we can't continue," Okaya explained.

"Oh, too bad. I was looking forward to the fights," Nashi said capitalizing on this opportunity.

"No, we all can figure dis out," Rakadam said not wanting to be the only one to fight Sim.

"Just make a wall in front of the ship," Sim said. Everyone, but Rakadam groaned on the inside at Sim's idea. Okaya had but no choice to make the wall as she set her hand on the metal, her hand turning gray and the metal from the box, liquefied, receded into her arm until she held the same piece of metal she had in her hand a while ago. She then walked over to the area in front of the ship and set the metal down. She stomped on the metal and the metal flattened under the pressure. Her right leg and boot turned gray and was covered with liquid metal. The base of the metal went long ways and then rose like a wave of metal under she removed her leg and the metal instantly hardened once more. There was a half dome of metal covering the ship and Sim removed his hood once more.

"Gaurant, you're next!" Sim smiled. All looked at Gaurant who was currently picking his nose. Okaya pushed him as his finger came out of his mouth. Nashi grabbed Suika as Harain, Rendasi, and Rakadam moved out of way. They were in the shade nearer to the island as they observed. Sim and Gaurant were looking at each other as if having a mental conversation.

"All out?" Sim asked.

"Do you think the island could take it?"

"The Upper City, yeah. Not Palm and the others down here."

"It's up to you."

"Nah, let's go 10%," Sim nodded. Gaurant agreed as he cracked his knuckles on each hand. He messed with cap a little bit as he had his hand shifting the cap side to side. He then stuck his left hand out and a sword with a scabbard appeared into his hand. The sword was royally crafted and looked as if it were brand new. The hilt had a golden pommel that had a ruby, which shone blood red in the light, where the peen block would be. The pommel was octagonal in shape and was larger at the end and came into be smaller as it led to the grip. The black leather was wound tightly as it lead to the guard. The guard continued with the gold as it pointed to the ends. It was rectangular and had engraved insignias. A crown was in the center with waves that led to diamond shapes in the guard. The guard was slim as the sword protruded from the top of the guard. The sword was a polished silver color that had light bouncing off of it in all directions. The fuller of sword was replaced with a golden that filled the empty place of the fuller. The blade was long and had a dangerously pointed tip.

The scabbard was a simple black with a golden end on it. The sword was passed down generation to generation to the best of warriors and it was Gaurant's now. It belonged to his family and only could be summoned by them. Gaurant threw it into the air and grabbed the grip and the scabbard fell to the earth as it dug itself into the sand. The sword and the sun shone on everything as the sword reflected the light onto the metal sheet. Gaurant spun the sword in his hand so he wasn't holding it with a reverse grip. He swung it in his hand with an X motion as he smiled.

"I never get tired of seeing that sword," Sim smiled almost following the X slash.

"It's called Shutian for the last time!" Gaurant's face looked miffed. He didn't like people not treating his sword like it was human. He knew for a fact that it was human because it would never shut up, but that was a story for another day.

"Yeah, my bad. Sorry, Shutian, didn't mean to disrespect."

"It-er-she forgives you." Gaurant's face turned to a more serious one and Sim's face mirrored his. Gaurant grabbed the sword with his other hand and now had a two hand grip on it and held pointed to Sim. His left foot was in front as he had a fighter's stance ready for Sim.

Sim watched Gaurant and tried to look for some chinks in his stance. Trouble was there were absolutely none. Either way Sim approached there was no way for him to land a successful blow on Gaurant without taking damage. He would have to overwhelm him to get some hits in. Now his dilemma was if he should use more of his energy for another sea attack or would he just do it with his own produced attack. He thought it over until Gaurant slightly shifted and Sim saw his opportunity. Sim disappeared with a column of sand in his wake. Gaurant stood completely still and his eye caught a black blur. He turned and there was a clash that echoed on the beach. A blast of wind emanated from the contact. Sim's fist was pressing against the flat of Gaurant's sword. The spectators looked on shielding their eyes from the sand with the same thought in mind. '_They have too much fun when they fight each other._'

"Nice, you caught my movement," Sim praised.

"Barely. What's that move you use anyways? The speed thing you just used," Gaurant inquired as he pressed against Sim's fist.

"It's similar to Soru that the Marines use, but it is my own version. I call it Speed Step," Sim explained trying to beat Gaurant in strength.

"I think Soru is the best name for it. You just found it by yourself," Gaurant said his voice almost showing struggle. Sim and Gaurant pushed until Sim jumped back. Sim grunted as his two fist were surrounded with water. He decided he wanted overwhelm him with his own strength.

"High Tide!" Sim yelled as he punched forward, his fists created two torrents of water. They rushed to Gaurant who raised his arms in preparation. It resembled a wave as it barreled to Gaurant. It got close enough as Gaurant's Shutian came down like an executioners blade. The wave was cleaved right in half as it part ways.

"Guillotine Cleave," Gaurant said his voice dark. The waves then proceeded to go onto the spectators. Harain stepped in front of one and did a roundhouse kick. The wave exploded into mist and sprayed them in the face and Rendasi jumped in front of the other and clapped towards the wave, it then slowing until it dropped all together.

"I, Powell C. Sim, petition for a grant of power," Sim said as he backed up slowly to the water, his hand was raised like he was making an oath. His foot touched the water and he pushed his hand forward. A wave almost appeared from nowhere and started to advance to the beach. It veiled Sim in its water and made its way for Gaurant. Gaurant stood perfectly still in a nonchalant pose and looked at the water.

"Heat," Gaurant said as he started to lift his arm. Shutian started to refract light, it heating up dangerously. The metal started to look red in hue and Gaurant grabbed the scabbard to Shutian. He had his blade in his left and the scabbard in his right. He threw the scabbard in front of the oncoming wave and it landed in the sand digging itself in the sand. Gaurant then jumped forward in the air as the wave was ready to hit him. He shoved his sword in the scabbard and the scabbard started to glow red. The wave was right at his feet as he felt the water douse his shoes.

"Heat of the Summer's Day!" Gaurant roared as a surge of heat was emitted from the scabbard. The wave disappeared as it evaporated into the air. The steam and the heat washed over the beach as the spectators could not see anything. The beach was now covered in a dense fog, both of the fighters were not in sight.

Gaurant pulled his sword from its scabbard in one fluid motion and cut through the fog. His area of effect was only as long as sword and still the fog filled where he had cut. A crush of sand was heard and Gaurant turned towards the sound. Another crush of sand was heard on his left side causing him to turn to the other side. Gaurant focused on the fog and worked out Sim's black hood moving. Gaurant noticed the density of the fog started to lessen, but Sim was nowhere to be found. A shift was heard behind him, which was dangerously close to him. Gaurant swung around with his sword in both hands, extended, and cut the air. He was shocked that there was no one behind him and then felt a fist against his turned face. Gaurant stumbled back and then looked at Sim who was smiling like a devil.

"Forgot about that stupid Soru move," Gaurant said holding his jaw with his right hand. Everyone gasped as they didn't expect for an attack like that to be made. Sim and Gaurant normally were an equal match for each other and normally didn't get blows like that on each other. Gaurant had a gleam in his eyes as they resumed their wolf stand-off they started at the beginning of the bout. They suddenly jumped forward exchanging blows with each other. Gaurant swung his sword and Sim ducked under it. Sim then jumped up to avoid another swing and came down with an axe kick. Gaurant blocked it with the flat of his blade as Sim jumped off the blade. Sim went for a swing kick, but Shutian came down with the point to the ground and nearly stabbed Sim in the hand. Sim rolled away and jumped up to his feet.

"Alright, alright. How 'bout this? One last attack. Whoever connects, wins," Sim offered.

"Afraid that you'll lose?" Gaurant asked.

"No. Afraid I might kill you," Sim said darkly. Gaurant chuckled at the statement and nodded to Sim's agreement. Suddenly, the sea started to roughen, waves starting to get choppy. Clouds formed over the island and the sun was eclipsed by the clouds. The sky was now gray as the two friends stared at each other. The sand around them started to pick up and circle. Gaurant's sword started to glow red once more and his area started to lighten up. The energy from them started to surge, pulsating like a heart. The sand would jump and land continuously around the two as they concentrated. Harain's eyes suddenly flew open in shock as he started to feel the energy.

"Sim! Gaurant! Calm down! You're going to blow the Lower City off the map!" Harain said as the wind they were causing blew in his face. His hair flew around in the air, his gi rippling like a flag. They couldn't hear his plea as the energy started to increase.

"Aren't they only at 10%?" Okaya yelled over the wind.

"Me don't know anymore!" Rakadam responded. The wind suddenly stopped and all went silent. The glow of red started to brighten and they could see Sim's fist being incased in water. The two stood at the ready to attack.

"No! Everyone cover your heads!" Harain yelled running forwards. He dashed for Gaurant to stop him, but Gaurant jumped forward. Sim did the same as they met in the middle.

"Dandelion!" Gaurant yelled.

"Oceanus Berserker!" Sim yelled.

"Sky Guardian!" Harain yelled jumping in the air and smashing down in the sand. Gaurant cut horizontally making a dandelion appear in the vertically in front of Sim. Sim then proceeded to punch with both his fists extended as water gushed from each fist. Harain managed to block the attack as a tangible wall of air was formed. The sky cleared and the sea returned to its docile state. A burst of air was formed at the collision of the attack. Nashi stepped forward as Harain looked on to the two of the fighters. Steam lifted as the wind blew it away to show the one victor standing.

The sky was a blue azure, an endless expanse. The victor stared at the sky and smiled. Birds, not shaken by the previous events, flew overhead making their beautiful music. The sun added a hot flavor to the sky as its rays hit the land with intensity. The sand on the beach was in a disarray, not in a makeshift order like before, but now it was in piles and had holes that were being filled slowly as the wind breathed over the land with a cool inviting embrace that stayed on your cheeks only to be melted away by the punch of the sun. The waves danced to the shore and jumped back to the sea as if it was on beat with a rhythm. The victor felt the very energy from the ocean and put his fist up in the air.

"Yo! That was nice!" Sim smiled as Gaurant used Shutian to get up off the ground. Gaurant stood and put his left hand with his grip on Shutian tight and dropped the sword within the scabbard as it disappeared into nothingness. Gaurant's shirt was wet only on his left ribcage as he looked around for the cap that flew off sometime in the blast. Sim managed to get only one hit from the multiple that he threw and that's what decided the match. Gaurant found his cap perched on a rock next to the metal wall Okaya made. He walked over and put it on firmly before turning to Sim.

"Hehe… you've gotten good. Nice to know, my captain is finally stronger than me," Gaurant said as he walked off the beach back to his usual self. He walked over to Okaya who was had worry engraved on her face and as soon as she saw him walk she quickly returned to a normal face. As Gaurant approached he hit the wall of air. He was pushed back by the pressure it was exuded, but he kept his footing as he slid back as his hands flew into pockets. Harain, who was still trying to connect how Sim won, raised both his hands above his head. He head his fingers stretched out and his palm flexed as his fingertips on each hand were pointing in left and to the right respectively. Then he brought them down in a fluid motion and his fingertips were now pointing to each other. The wall burst with a small gust of air and Gaurant then continued to walk forward. Sim suddenly disappeared from in front of them.

Harain held his right forearm blocking the attack Sim just tried to land. Sim's foot was the attacker and he fell back down to the ground both of his feet planting themselves in the sand looking at Harain viciously. Before anyone could utter a word, Palm and the children shuffled out of the corner as they looked shaken. Narissa was looking around holding Palm's hand and caught the sight of Sim's hood, bolting to him. Sim had managed to turn and catch the little girl that jumped in his arms. Narissa was giggling as her head was buried into his chest. Sim's instinct shut off immediately and he turned to his normal self.

"Hey, Narissa," he smiled warmly.

"Swim! I was worwied! Dwid you hear the big boom? And the cwouds were angwy and stawted to blow on us," Narissa said her arm flailing about. The Hooded Pirates all sweat dropped and Nashi inched her way to Sim.

"Nice job. They heard us," Nashi growled in his right ear. Sim laughed nervously and then addressed the girl he had in his left arm.

"Yeah, I heard. I scared them away, so don't worry," Sim explained with a warm smile. Narissa grinned widely and rested her back into his chest as Palm and the other kids walked over to them. Phineas was first to walk over and gave a quick glance to Suika. She noticed and smiled at the boy who quickly disappeared into the group he came with. She went back to scribbling into her notebook with an interested face dawning. Mary and Johnny were conversing between themselves occasionally looking at the metal wall and then furiously going back and forth. Tony was currently next to Nashi getting closer and closer to her. She noticed and smiled at him which then turned into his face turning a nice shade of magenta. Palm had herself behind the children and their shenanigans, her eyes bloodshot and eyes an unhealthy grey. She look haggard and as if she hadn't gotten a wink of sleep last night. Her hair was in a disarray as strands of it defied gravity and stood on end. Palm looked less put together as usual, but nevertheless beauty never left a face.

"Did you guys get in some cover from that freak storm?" Palm questioned, her voice hoarse and shaky. She yawned quickly raising her hand to cover her mouth, but giving up half way.

"Y-y-yeah, we did. N-nothing, we couldn't handle," Sim babbled. Palm raised her eyebrows and the crew nearly groaned aloud. Sim was a terrible liar when it came to simple things which was a complete oddity. One would think someone with such a mischievous smile could tell a simple white lie. Rendasi however stood forward, the most silver tongued of the group, and tried to salvage the rest of their cover story.

"Yeah, that cliff right there with the rocks covered us from the storm. Wonder how that could've started?" Rendasi asked with genuinely curious face.

"I formulate that clouds couldn't completely form and winds destroyed the formation of the cumulonimbus clouds," Phineas whispered, being barely heard. Suika once again looked up as the crew looked at her for a translation.

"Wind destroys storm cloud. Which is pretty logical," Suika nodded to Phineas who puffed out his chest.

"Do you know what that sheet is for?" Palm asked pointing to it.

"It's been there the whole time. We were trying to find if there was something valuable under it," Rendasi explained jerking his thumb behind him. The holes in beach further backed up his lie and Palm nodded.

"The Marines probably used it as shooting target," Palm guessed. Sim looked curiously at Palm's answer and a frown painting on his face.

"De Marines shoot down 'ere?" Rakadam butted in.

"Yeah, I always here those wastes of space shooting on our beach!" Tony said his fist balled up.

"They're awful close for practice." Nashi adorned a motherly scowl and grabbing Tony by the head, rubbing it. Sim had another train of thought going and put Narissa down who started to grab onto his leg.

"Do they come over by you guys?" Sim asked his face dropping. Palm's face obviously taken back by his intuition. By her reaction it was true the Marines came over by the house. Her face showed one of discomfort leading Sim to think they intimidated them.

"Yes, but they are less than friendly to us. You see, the Lower City are the lowerclassmen of the island. We have little to no respect here at the bottom of the island. As you see we have no money, not too many clothes, and lack of commodities. We go to the Upper City to work and then we don't even get the minimum wage. We are seen as trash and it's been this way for as long as the Marines have landed here. Which was what? Ten years ago? Once they came here, they took our homes and sent us to the Lower City which used to be abandoned. So we just deal with their shots and words in fears of them doing worse," Palm explained to them. The kids let the words wash off of them and they started to play with each other. Narissa held fast to Sim's leg and all was silent.

The ocean beat against the island as now the secret of the land was out. Sim's jaw clenched in anger as a vein throbbed in his head. He understood their plight as he was a pirate and they dealt with this unfairness daily. Nashi looked up at the sky as a cloud flew in front of the sun and cast a shadow on Jadora Republica. It stayed for a while as emotions led the motion of the silence of the beach. Sim shook slightly granting Narissa to look up at him with her thumb in her mouth. Narissa was slightly afraid as she could sense Sim's anger skyrocketing. She let go of his leg and backed away slowly still within his personal space. His crew members looked over at him and hoped he would calm down. Sim wasn't pleasant when he was angered and he was angered. Sim breathed a halfhearted sigh, his chest expanding and returning to normal. His anger dilapidated within his self as the cloud started to roll out from its position letting the sun break out. Narissa felt the shift in Sim's emotions and rushed back to his leg.

"I don't like that. But it looks like that I can't do too much," Sim said, his tone very nonchalant. Rakadam looked at his best friend feeling his resolve. Sim may have said he couldn't do anything, but he could and would do something. Palm sat in the sand feeling the sun beating down on her.

"These kids are so tiring. I wish that Joan and Selene weren't working today." Nashi instantly looked up and gained a mischievous smile. Nashi slid over to Palm and a gleam in her eyes. Rendasi and Suika caught on to her plan. Those two crept on to both of the sides of Sim ready for the start of the plan.

"Hey, Palm, we can take care of the kids. You seem tired anyway and we're not really finding anything so we can take care of them." Sim was about to speak up to rebut Nashi's idea until Rendasi and Suika both tapped his back.

"Tag, you're it!" Rendasi yelled as he ran away from Sim with the other kids hearing the initiation of a game of tag. They all scattered over the beach, even Narissa. Sim had no other choice, but to play due to his childish nature taking over. He quickly chased after Tony who tried to shake him, feigning to go to his left, but dashing to right. Sim smiled at the agility of the boy and tried to make a grab of Mary.

"You just relax in your house and we'll take care of them. We can get some food for them and they'll be properly taken care of," Suika reassured Palm who nodded not wanting to argue with a day off. She gave the kids a wave and walked to her house. Nashi, Suika, and Rendasi made a three way high five with triumphant smiles on their face.

"Just so you know we're finishing this when they leave," Sim said as he ran after Phineas. The three felt a wave of despair over them as a sweat drop was seen on all of their heads. Okaya sighed as she thought about the ship.

"We can't finish the shi-er-project, now. I need some help and we already planned to finish it together," Okaya said her hands on her hips, a pout forming. Sim halted making a hard step in the sand and looked at Okaya who was still over by the wall of the island.

"Hm. A problem. Think!" Sim urged himself. He had hard concentration all of his face and soon everybody, including the kids thought something was wrong with him. Rakadam thought it was constipation, no one makes a face of pain unless they're holding a load. Sim then smacked his fist into his left hand, an imaginary light bulb appearing over his head.

"How 'bout we split into groups? Okaya, Gaurant, Harain, and Rakadam," each looked up," You guys are going to finish the project. Me, Nashi, Rendasi, and Suika will stay with the kids." The crew agreed to the plan.

"What project? Is it fun? Can we go with them?" Tony said running forward to Sim.

"There is a reason why I said we'll stay with the kids. That means we get to stay on the beach. Plus, you're too young for the project," Sim explained. Tony pouted, only for Mary to hit him in the arm, and the two siblings started to argue about being nosy. Phineas seemed okay as he sat in the sand and started to write. He was doing equations like multiplication, and basic arithmetic. Suika slowly walked past him and saw his efforts, nodding, standing over him. Narissa was jumping in place, her head bobbing with each jump. She didn't care what she did as long as she had fun.

"So we need to go so…," Okaya said nodding her head to Sim.

"Okay, then. Bye," Sim said as he turned to his group. She sighed and cleared her throat, hands on her hips.

"You still here?" Sim said turning his head to see them. His crew sighed and Nashi stalked over and stamped on his foot.

"Ow! What was that for? Wait…Ohhhhhh. I get it now," Sim nodded jumping in place his left foot in hand. He rested the now throbbing foot in the sand.

"Look! A dragon in the sky!" Sim yelled. Five heads turned to the sky in hope of finding the dragon.

"Where?" they chorused as the ship repair group dashed behind the metal wall. Sim caught them in the corner of his eyes and when he noticed they were behind the wall he sighed.

"Never mind. It was just a seagull." He feigned disappointment as the kids also shared in his disappointment.

"Where'd Ms. Okaya and the others go?" Mary asked as she turned to see no one in the beach.

"They went on a journey to start the project," Nashi clapped her hands and put on his brightest smile. She threw her dress on to look more motherly and she crouched down to be at eye level with the kids.

"Now, why don't we explore the beach?" She asked nicely and even added a wink and turned her head slightly. Rendasi and Sim sweat dropped as they watched Nashi. Only if she could be as nice as she was all the time.

"Don't really want to. We've already seen the beach," Tony said. A small vein in Nashi's head throbbed at his statement, her smile still bright.

"Mwean woman. Just wanna chwase Swim awound thwat's all," Narissa said nodding to herself. Another vein appeared on her forehead as a blaze of fire erupted around her. Her eyes turned bright red and her teeth sharpened, her smile never leaving.

"I said we're going to walk the beach, now walk the beach!" Nashi growled, her hair snaking in the air.

"Yes ma'am!" Sim and Rendasi replied as they ushered the children back towards the houses. Narissa fell behind as Suika and Nashi followed the leading group. Narissa tried to jump on Sim's calf as he walked as she thudded in the sand each time. This continued as they approached the circle of white houses. Palm was laying in the sand, her eyes closed and a smile as she hummed a small tune. She heard the footsteps and sighed out loud. She slowly opened her eyes and looked to right from where they were coming.

"Knew it was too good to be true," Palm sighed as she sat up, sand cascading from off of her shirt.

"Don't worry, mom. We're just walking the beach," Tony said waving his mom off. She laid back down not trying to argue with him as they walked by Palm.

"I've been wondering," Suika spoke," Are you all the only ones in the Lower City?"

"Of course not. We just live in a geographically dangerous area. We're more like to get hit by a storm as we face the Reverse Mountain," Phineas spoke. Everyone halted in their tracks except for Phineas as he walked forward in front of them. He turned his eyes less than amused and watched the group carefully.

"What? I'm comfortable with you people now. You do not qualify as a stranger to me," Phineas said with nod as he turned and strolled down the beach. Suika seemed to be impressed with the seven year old display of knowledge. She made a mental note to watch him and further assess his potential. The group continued to walk as they absorbed the beach.

The sea was nice shade of emerald as the sun hit it with the right light. It shimmered as the water cascaded over itself in a never ending cycle. As the water approached the beach, it would run as far as it could on the beach before fear set in and it would run back to its home. As it ran back it would leave its mark as the stray water would dampen the sand and be absorbed into the sand. The water was a brave soul and would repeat this action constantly. The sand was its usual salty white and condensed under their feet as it made a muffled crushing sound with each one of their steps. However, the sand the group walked on would jump up and swirl around in the sky before it became invisible. Narissa was the cause of this as she still tried to jump on the much taller than her man to no avail. They looked over the beach as it was littered with patches of marram grass and wooden debris. It was like a scene from a war zone which made Sim even more infuriated, but he kept his anger inside. Why should people who breathe and have the same blood pumping through their veins like everyone else be subjected to such poor lifestyles?

Sim caught a familiar building and suddenly stopped. Narissa, who wasn't paying attention, walked right into Sim's muscly calf. She fell back to the ground on her bottom and looked up at his black hood with teary eyes. Mary and Tony helped her up and Tony was ready to say something until he realized what Sim was staring at. Rendasi followed Sim's line of vision and saw the wooden mansion. The children felt a chill rush over them as Sim looked entranced by the building. He started to groggily walk towards the patio of the mansion.

"Swim! Stwop! Don't go to the ghost hwouse!" Narissa said grabbing his arm and pulling him in the other direction. The kids had suspicious look on their face and tried to ignore her comment.

"Ghost house?" Sim and Suika asked. Sim turned away from the house shaking his trance and Suika pulled her notebook out from her jacket. Rendasi eyed the house trying to see the specialness about it. A figure moved in the window and he jumped, turning back to the kids.

"Yeah! Mommy and daddy say hwouse is vewy bwad! Swim shouldn't go in thwere!" Narissa pleaded as Sim stopped. Sim looked at the building once more and shook his curiosity off.

"What about the house is bad?" Suika questioned. The kids were quiet about it and almost refused to answer the question.

"There's just a lot of bad history with that house. No one likes it," Tony said messing with his rags. Suika went for another question and Sim rose his hand in a dismissing tone. Suika nodded reluctantly putting her pad back into her jacket. Sim watched the building once more and a tug of the stomach invited him to try to walk back to the mansion. His foot wouldn't move as his will told him otherwise. He thought of the kids that so adamantly protested of his exploration and he quickly stopped. Sim walked past Rendasi and Suika with the kids trying to get as far away from that mansion as he could. His two crewmates walking along with the oddly quiet Nashi chased after Sim and the kids.

They continued their way and trudged in the sand. It was now quiet among the group as the sound of nature took over. A flock of birds in an arrow formation flew over, cawing, their wings flapping. However, the Upper City sounds took control of the air with the sounds of puffing and mechanical engines purring as one. A nice coating of grey smog would lift into the air, but due to the height of the city the smog would be swept away. Sim would occasionally glare at the top of the island, but would be grabbed back by Narissa's grabbing of his arm. They walked along with the sand making a small crushing sound under their feet with the sun hitting the sand making it seem like small glass shards under their feet. The occasional abandoned cement house would stare at them hoping to be lived in, but they passed it breaking its empty inside. They would have to skirt around the houses to avoid broken glass and then they started to approach the curve of the island. As they walked closer, the curve turned into a whole side of the island. As they turned the landscape turned into a different area. Instead of broken glass and marram grass with other debris, it turned to a better scene.

White rectangular cement houses were lined up neatly in rows like it was a financial district. The sand was cleared to make walkways in the sand by digging them up. The houses were in a fine condition with windows intact and doors present in doorways. There was a group of children near the ocean with three individuals in front talking to the children. Narissa hid behind Sim's legs, trembling, trying to hide. Mary and Tony stood behind Nashi, their faces less than happy. Phineas was bright red as he tried to hide his face by hanging it lower. Sim looked at the kids as Rendasi shrugged towards Sim.

"Then, the children went to the… is that? Mary? Tony?" one of the people talking to kids asked.


End file.
