One Piece: RotPQ Chapter 45

One Piece: Rise of the Pirate Queen

Everything's Okay?
On to the Island Where the Pirate Mafia Rules

Starting back where we left off, the marines were firing away at the Draco Bliss and crew as they quickly made their way down the Sandora River. "After them!" One of the marines shouted out trying to keep the men from giving up so quickly. Most marines simply tried to run after the ship, hoping to possibly get one of the pirates on the ship. This proved pointless as none of them could match the speed of the small vessel as it sailed with the river. Only the captain – Justin – remained behind knowing it would be almost impossible to reach them without a ship.

Meanwhile, as the marines were busy trying to apprehend the pirates, the Royal guards were distracted as they found their princess and the twins safe and sound. They had bright faces with smiles as they all gave their sincere joy that not one of the kids were injured as well as their gratitude to the officers and Sebastian. For the most part, the kids greeted them with sincere smiles, though hiding the fact that they missed their family member and her crew. Both Chaka and Pell knew this without a single doubt, but they knew just as well as the kids that they were simply worried for them. And there was nothing wrong about that.

Sighing in defeat, the marine captain turned away from the river and walked over towards the crowd of Royal guards. One of the guards saw him and soon parted causing the other guards to part as well revealing the Royal officers and the royal family. With a smile, Justin spoke contently to the officers. "I'm glad we were able to rescue the children in time."

"Yes…we were."

"Though it seemed the Super Sonic Duck Squad failed to do much."

"Actually, because they were able to weaken the pirates, I was able to catch them off guard." Pell spoke up, lying about the event that had truly occurred. The kids remained silent, trying not to say anything foolish as instructed by Chaka. Justin nodded, totally believing the lie. The then bent down towards the kids trying to be any less threatening as a stranger to the kids.

"I know you don't know me, but I'm Captain Justin of the marines. I helped lead the operation to rescue you. I'm glad that none of you are hurt."

"Thank you, captain." Titi spoke to the man giving him a smile showing her gratitude. The twins, on the other hand, were less than thrilled to actually thank the marine that essentially chased their sister away. But with a nudge from Chaka, both boys begrudgingly thanked the man.

"Thank you."

"Yeah, whatever."

"What do you plan on doing now, captain?" Justin looked over to Pell as the man spoke of the marine's next move. Justin sighed not sure how to answer the man. Suddenly, an unusually sound emanated from his person. The Alabasta group looked at the captain curiously as the man brought out a Baby Transponder Snail. The kids watched with great interest as the man picked up the receiver of the snail stopping the sound that was being produced by the snail.

"This is Captain Justin of the Marines speaking."

"Captain! This Lieutenant Terry, and we-"

"Move aside lad!" Justin raised an eyebrow hearing a new voice emit from the snail. He heard his lieutenant shout and then fall as the other voice spoke up in his place. "Commodore Winston speaking, what is the situation on those blasted kidnappers?"

"Commodore!? You've recovered?"

"Indeed, I as well as my men seemed to be free of our delusions."

"How?"

"Some lad and his giant yellow bird gave us a nasty shock, literally. He then took off for who knows where, but that's not what's important…" Justin was surprised hearing of the commodore's recovery. Not only that, but they had just been chasing a yellow bird. It seemed like a very odd coincidence. On the other hand, Pell just gave a small smile knowing fully who the 'lad' was having lead the man and bird here.

"…What's the situation of the kids?"

"The kids have been rescued and are unharmed."

"Excellent! And what of the pirates?"

"They are escaping on the Sandora River and appear to be heavily injured."

"Good work captain, we'll take it from this end."

"Excuse me?"

"Once I recovered, I and Commander Higgins quickly borrowed some Gators and made our way back to the base. I am now commanding the battleships, including yours, to intercept the rookies."

"What?! My Ship!"

"Easy now, sonny. We'll easily overtake the rookies before my tea is even finished. Do not threat, I'll give you your due credit. Must be off now, be sure to return Corporal once all is finished in Alubarna. Good luck."

"Wait, Commodore Winston!" The snail went silent and fell asleep signifying the connection has ended. Justin looked furiously at the snail, actually directed to the eccentric commodore, and placed the receiver back on the snail's shell. The man then quietly cursed, being sure that the kids could not hear him. "Dammit!"

"So it seems you will be joining back to the place." Having overheard the conversation easily, Chaka spoke trying to reconfirm the information heard. As he placed the Baby Transponder Snail back into his coat, he nods confirming the information.

"Yes, once I've rounded my men."

"I'll help in rounding outs as well." Pell spoke as he transformed into his hybrid mode. Justin responded with a nod and went off down the river to halt his men from chasing the pirates all the way down the river. Pell then took off into the air, flying low as he searched for the remaining soldiers scouting for the kids. Chaka then took charge of the group at his spot.

"Alright, men! No more standing around, we have succeeded in rescuing the kids. Now let us return to Alubarna!"

"Yeah!"

"Chaka…" As the Royal guards cheered and marched back to their mode of transportation, Chaka was stopped by the small voice of the princess. The man looked down to see all three kids looking up at him worriedly. He didn't even have to ask, he knew clearly why the kids looked worried. Titi then continued with her sentence. "Will Mika and the others be alright?"

"I'm sure they will be okay… After all, she has her father's luck." Hearing how confident Chaka believed of Mika and crew's escape, the kids seem to relax a bit believing he was right. Chaka, on the other hand, hoped that this was true, but he believed in the daughter of the man that had helped saved this country. However, he had other things to deal with. Chaka looked over to Nela as she stood next to the Duck Squad that had originally brought the pirates.

Nela noticed the Head of the Guard looked towards making her look away in shame. Chaka walked over to the pink haired woman, the kids following behind him. Nela waited in her spot hearing the man and kids' footsteps still not looking at the man and his obvious gaze. As the man and kids stopped just in front of Nela, the young woman spoke up sounding worried. "What will happen to the others?"

"Once we return to the palace, they will be judged and mostly likely be jailed for years to come." Chaka looked over to the side where some Royal Guards were carrying the tied up and unconscious lion man. Nela seem to accept the answer, though it didn't make her feel any better. Chaka then looked back at the former mercenary and continued to speak. "I'm sure Pell has already spoken to you."

"Yes…"

"Then all I can say is – be careful from now on…" Chaka then walked past the pink haired woman attending to the ducks that happily greeted him. The kids, however, stayed in front of their caretaker all three of them smiling towards her.

"Don't worry, Nela. We'll help you out!"

"Yeah! With all the trouble will make-!"

"- They'll have no choice but to trust you to take care of us."

"Hmm, thanks kids." Nela, hearing the kids' faithful statement, knelt down and gave them a hug. The kids willingly accepted the hug as well as each gave their own hug to Nela. The former mercenary then shed a single tear seeing how, despite all that happened, the kids still trusted her. However, she soon recalled the twin's statement and immediately sweat-dropped realizing what she had gotten herself into.

'I wonder if it isn't too late to go to jail…'

As this heart-touching moment occurred, down the river, the Hurricane pirates were in real trouble. As the ship finally reached the end of the river the pirates were met with some unfriendly company. "The Marines!" From the Crow's Nest, Lena pointed out the approaching marine battleships from the side. All those still able to stand – Nicole, Drake, and Nore – looked from their various spot on the ship. Currently at the helm, Drake quickly looked at the Log Pose, seeing it point the opposite direction of the marines, and quickly spun the wheel turning the ship.

Meanwhile, on the lead marine battleship – originally Justin's – Commodore Winston was ordering the marine soldiers on the operation. "Alright, we need these rookies alive and only minimally damaged. Cannons are to aim to slow or halt the ship completely. Once we reach their small vessel, we will overtake them like a tiger on a rabbit." The marines cheered becoming inspired by the elder marine officer's plan. Even Lieutenant Terry, though still hesitant letting the commodore onboard, couldn't help but agree with the man's plan. With three battleships against one small, sailing vessel it would be too easy.

"Men! Prepare to fire!" Commander Higgins then spoke up as the lower status marines prepared to fire upon the Draco Bliss. The commodore himself was preparing his own sport as he brought out his rifle and attached a scope upon it. The lieutenant simply stood to the side as he let everything play out. As the cannons readied, the neatly dressed, butler-like commander prepared to give the orders.

"Fir-" Suddenly, a loud boom came from off the side of the lead ship stopping Higgins from giving the command. While Winston was uninterested in the sound, the other two officers rushed to the side of the ship.

"What happened?!" The two officers looked out to the other ship and were shocked to see their other marine battleship halted and suddenly sinking. It wasn't too long after that another boom came from the ship, this time on the back end of the battleship. The ship now began sinking even faster startling the officers.

"Sir! We've lost a ship!"

"Eh? What now?" Despite the old marine answering, he was still posed to shoot one of the Hurricanes. Both lower tier officers sweat-dropped seeing how unconcern the highest ranking officer was. However, Winston soon gave a reaction of mild surprised as he looked slightly off the scope. "Hold on…where's that Fishman lad…"

"…The Fishman!"

"Blue Harpoon: Pierce!" Underneath the water, Ryuudo had launched his weapon's metal point towards the second marine battleship. The force of the launch broke through the wood haul of the ship. Then, in his other hand, Ryuudo began swinging an anchor – borrowed from the Draco – only to launch it into the commodore/captain's ship. "Piercing Blue!"

"Lieutenant! We have a breach!" Terry looked towards one of the doors leading to the lower deck, a nameless marine quickly reported the situation to him. Realizing that the Fishman was attacking the ship, both lieutenant and commander rushed to the side and looked off the side, looking for the Fishman. The commodore, now taking some interest, followed the lower tier officers though he failed to actually try and look for him.

Back in the water, after having tested if his weapons had a good hold on the ships, Ryuudo began tugging one both weapons. Using his mighty strength, even though half that of a real Fishman, the two ships began turning towards him. Onboard the ships, the marines were displaced as the ship suddenly jerked and began turning towards the other. The lower tier officers grabbed onto the railing while the commodore kept his pose looking down into the sea. With an observing eye, the man brought up his rifle and took aim towards the waters between the soon-to-be colliding ships. As the man looked through the scope, he smirked as he spoke to himself.

"There you are…"

As Winston readied to pull the trigger, a sudden bang came from his gun, but not because he pulled the trigger. Even though he indeed pulled the trigger, the old marine looked down at his rifle to find a hole going right through it. The man was stunned, seeing his precious weapon damaged and useless, but he also had another concern. The commodore swung his rifle around and pointed it at the small vessel, but not to fire. He used the scope to scourer the ship until he finally found what he was looking for. On the Crow's Nest, he found a black haired girl looking directly at him and giving him a devious smirk and 'The Finger' to him. Again, the man was stunned. "My word…"

"Commodore?"

"I've been outgunned?"

"We're going to crash!" Terry pointed out that they were still on course to crash. Both the Alabasta marines looked back over only to see the other ship only feet away. Instantly, the two elder men were shocked.

"That should stop them." Ryuudo smirked as he watched from underwater the two ships crash. It wasn't serious, but it would do the job in slowing them down. With his anchor on his back and this harpoon in his hand, he swam away from the ships heading back to his ship.

"They've been stopped! Ryuudo did it!" Still in the Crow's Nest, Lena shouted down to the rest of the crew giving them the good news. Everyone was able to give a cheer in success, even those still too tired to move (Mika) and heavily injured (Akio).

"Did he have to take all the ships out? Wanted to-"

"Oh no you're not, Akio." Nicole quickly intercepted Akio giving him a light punch on the shoulder. Despite the lack of any serious force, the woman's hit caused a wave of pain to overtake his senses. But as a man, he would not scream his pain; however, he was horrible at hiding it. Nicole immediately noticed the pain she had unintentionally caused and began to frantically apologize to the first-mate. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

"I'm….Fine…"

"Liar~." Akio glared over to the side where Mika was watching the whole scene on her back with a large, carefree grin. The boxer wanted so much to give the captain a good knock on the head, if only his nurse would allow him to.

"The truth will set you free…" Akio turned his head as he wore a look of contempt as he glared over at Nore. He wasn't sure if the man was trying to be serious or it was some sort attempt at humor. However, listening from his spot at the helm, Drake seemed to find it humorous. Nicole simply ignored this and continued to tend to Akio's wounds.

Hearing a sudden splash, Nicole and Akio looked out towards the ship's side. Landing and dripping wet stood the half-Fishman carrying an anchor on his back and a harpoon in his hand. Seeing his nakama to the side, Ryuudo waved to the group. "I'm back."

"Good job out there!" Mika shined a grin towards Ryuudo and gave him thumb up. Ryuudo just sent her a deadpanned look as he retorted her cheery praise.

"You didn't see a thing did you?"

"Nope!"

"It doesn't matter." Everyone looked up seeing Lena climb down from the Crow's Nest. She then continued to speak as she jumped onto the deck. "The marines are no longer chasing us, we can sail on-"

"-To Maffino! To kick Bege's ass!" Mika was quick to the point as she raised he fist up in the air shouting her intentions to the heavens. For the crew, most had figured that would their captain's hastily thought up plan. For most of the male nakama, they all immediately agreed with their captain. Nicole simply smiled, feeling rather confident with her partner Dahlia by – or around – her side. Biri was resting off to the side next to one of the mikan trees, thus making Lena the only person that found the captain's exclamation tiresome.

"That's not gonna be easy, captain. We're facing one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, and one that had even faced the Pirate King in his younger days." All those not too tired to stand looked up to the upper deck as Drake spoke though speaking a warning instead looking incredibly thrilled. Lena gave their navigator an expression of worry, wondering if his mind was in a right state. Hearing a bit of snickering, Lena looked over to see that as always Mika was still in a good mood.

"So? He's not the Pirate King."

"Or else you wouldn't be the Pirate Princess."

"Shut Up!" Ryuudo and Akio snickered with Akio's own comment only to be quickly retorted by Mika gaining a sudden burst of energy to sit up and shout at them. Nicole covered her mouth with her hand, muffling her own giggles at the joke. Nore remained stoic and to the side as he listened on, only speaking a single sentence.

"And let's not forget that man …"

"Grrr, Cadrid…" Nore looked over to the jet-black haired girl spoke with a growl remembering when she and Mika had met and seen the man's true nature. Nore eyed the girl curiously, but did not speak any further.

"Don't forget what's even before them…"

"The entire pirate-mafia crew said to even beat Baroque Works' numbers in its glory days."

"On an island where they rule absolute…"

"What's the matter? Is everyone scared already?" Mika spoke up jokingly questioning her crew's – Drake, Akio, and Ryuudo – determination. All three men either turned their gaze towards their captain or just flash a cheerful yet confident smile. All three spoke at the same time with equal amount of determination.

"Hell no."

"Well, until then, Akio you need to recover." Nicole quickly returned to attending Akio's serious wounds making the man almost flinch in pain as she applied the medical herbs. Lena, her mouth almost hanging open, quickly huffed and turned around crossing her arms in frustration.

"Why is almost everyone in this crew so battle crazed…"

"Why aren't you used to it by now?" Ryuudo quickly replied sending a question back at Lena with half-lidded eyes looking unsympathetic. Still sitting up, Mika raised both her fist in the air as she shouted out again.

"Alright! To Maffino and onward!"

"Yeah!"

All the crew cheered, whether in actual shouting or just smiling, as everyone geared for their next encounter. However as the Hurricane crew left Sandy Island, believing to have left it safe from Bege's plans, they had no idea of who was still on the island or what their plans were. In the Alabasta capital Alubarna, a group of shady men were sneakily leaving the palace carrying crates from the back. As the men quickly moved the crates, a single man kept watch though was smirking contently as he spoke to himself.

"Not too long now… the Father will soon take the world under his thumb."

TO BE CONTINUED…

Hurricane Theater
Gauken Grand Line

Day 1: Between Periods 6th & 7th – Outside of the Principal's Office

"Hello Ms. Lena, what brings you to Principal's office? Is everything okay?" Chibi Lena, no longer wearing her gym outfit, was sitting in front of a desk where the secretary, Chibi Nami, spoke to her. Chibi Nami spoke worriedly for the girl as she fixed her glasses gazed at transfer student. Chibi Lena didn't make eye contact as she looked to side opposite of where Chibi Zoro stood looking grouchy.

"It was, until Mister Lazy Ass-"

"Oi! That's Mister Roronoa to you!"

"Quiet both of you!" The secretary yelled at both teacher and student making them both shut their mouths and go silent. Heck, they were even afraid. With both quiet, Chibi Nami relaxed as she addressed the chibi adult with much contempt. "Zoro, what do you have to complain about this time."

"Hey! This little…girl threw a dodge ball at me!"

"You were asleep."

"Really?" Chibi Zoro immediately went quiet, hearing the secretary speak with much venom in her tone. Chibi Lena was surprised as she could see the gym teacher looking away and begin to sweat nervously. As the chibi girl looked to the secretary, she freaked seeing the scary, almost venomous, expression she wore. She even started to sweat herself.

"Yohohoho! What are you doing here, everyone?"

"Wah!" Everyone in the office looked back as they heard a man spoke, soon followed by the screams of a group of students. Chibi Lena looked back and gasped seeing all her new friends in a dog pile just in front of a…

"Skeleton!?!"

"Yohohoho! Hello miss." The chibi skeleton man greeted Chibi Lena with a bow and a tip of his hat while the group of students remained on the ground.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Chibi Nami slammed her palms onto the deck making a loud thud noise. It was so loud it scared everyone into an upright position standing at attention. Chibi Nami looked at everyone in front of her seemingly looking for someone in the crowd. "Mika! I know you're in here!"

"Hai!" Chibi Mika suddenly stepped out from behind the group, speaking almost nervously. Chibi Lena was actually quite surprised seeing the girl, fearless in front a whole firing squad of dodge ball opponents, now almost shaking in front of this orange haired secretary.

"Mika… Why are you and your friends outside the door?"

"Uh, uh, uh, uh…"

"We're here to speak on behalf of our new friend." With Chibi Mika becoming surprisingly dumbfounded, Chibi Akio spoke up for the group. Behind him, the rest of the group nodded agreeing. The secretary looked at the group with a questioning eye and then directed back to Chibi Mika. This time, the chibi girl had lost her nervousness and readily agreed with her friends. The secretary then smiled and sat back down relaxing a bit.

"Don't worry, I'm letting Lena off anyways."

"What?!"

"Really?"

"Hey! I'm a-"

"Lazy, good-for-nothing, poor excuse for a gym teacher." Chibi Zoro was immediately silenced as Chibi Nami intercepted him with insults. The green haired chibi man clenched his teeth in frustration making him look away while mumbling incoherent insults about the secretary. Chibi Nami chose to ignore this and continued speaking to the students.

"Anyway, I'm sure it was an accident. You all are free to go-"

"Nami~!" Suddenly, bursting through the adjacent door, Chibi Luffy enters speaking in a whining tone. Everyone in the room looked at the chibi man in surprise while Lena herself just seemed confused. Chibi Luffy then continued on to whine looking at the secretary. "Nami~, I'm hungry~."

"Luffy…I told you, not until after school is done and you've done all the paperwork."

"But that's boring~."

"Deal with it."

"Uh, who is that?"

"That would be the principal, Lena." Chibi Nicole spoke answering to Chibi Lena. The transfer student looked back to the group with wide, unbelieving eyes speechless. The group of friends all nodded, some with a sigh and others with a mild smile. Meanwhile the gym teacher, having been finished with this conversation, decided to leave before he was insulted anymore.

"This isn't over, Zoro!"

"Damn women…"

"Huh? Why are there so many people here?" Chibi Luffy soon took noticed of everyone in the office outside his room. No one spoke, finding the chibi man odd for not noticing them here in the first place. Only Chibi Mika did anything, waving to the chibi principal with a grin. The chibi man replied back with his own grin and wave, but was soon stopped as the secretary pulled on the man's ear.

"Enough of this, Brook please take the students back to class."

"Alright, Mrs. Nami. Come along students." The chibi skeleton began shooing the students out of the room, including Chibi Lena, and followed along with Chibi Zoro. As they left, the chibi principal and secretary continued their conversation. As they now stood outside the office, now separated by a window, Chibi couldn't help but look at the arguing adults and comment.

"They're like a married couple…"

"Huh? You didn't know?"

"Know what?"

"Bye, mom! Bye, dad! See you back at home!" After hearing Chibi Akio's comment, Chibi Lena looked back hearing Chibi Mika speak up cheerfully waving back at both adults. Chibi Lena gasped in shock and looked through the window and saw the two adults break from arguing to wave and smile towards Chibi Mika.

"Bye, dear."

"Eh~!"

Principal: Monkey D. Luffy
Secretary Monkey Nami
Happily married since XXXX
Working together for the school making it a…unique place. Along with their friends:
The Straw Hat club
Currently they have three kids:
Monkey D. Namika (Mika), Monkey D. Ace, & Monkey D. Sabo

"You've could've told me that before!!!"

Well, now you know!