Angel's True Face (One Piece)

Laboon!

The GoingMerry, having been swallowed by a giant whale had caused Zoro and the rest not able to see. At least that is what normally happened, but for some reason they found themselves looking up at the sky like bother happened. Not to mention a small island with a hut on it, in front of them. "What do you think?" Nami could only ask, unsure of all this.
"'What do I think,' you say." Zoro echoed.
"It doesn't matter what you think." Sanji was telling him.
"Yeah, I mean we were swallowed by a whale..." Even Iris didn't sound convince saying that.
"Is this a dream?" Usopp seemed to be in shock.
"Yeah." Zoro had told him, "Probably a dream." That was the only thing that made sense to him.
"Ah. So the house on that island...?" Nami was questioning.
"An illusion." Sanji decided that was the best thing to call it.
"Then what about that?" Iris pointed at the giant squid that popped out of the green water.
"A GIANT SQUID!!" Usopp and Nami started freaking out like they do when something dangerous came along and like always, only Sanji, Zoro and Iris were ready to fight it. Or at least that was the plan until it was pierced with three harpoons. The giant squid feel backwards into the water making the three of them more alert looking at the house where the ropes were leading to.
"Someone's home." Iris said a bit concerned on who was inside the house.
"Looks like it." Zoro said back to me.
"Better hope it's a person..." Sanji just made them more worried about who was inside to the house now.
"No more. I wanna go home." Nami crying from behind them.
"If Luffy was here, he'd know what to do..." or he would just make things worse.
"Oh yeah, is Luffy alright?" Nami was asking all panicked.
"Shoot it!" Usopp was shouting at us as someone was starting to appear in the door way. "Blast the island with the cannon!"
"No, hang on a sec." Sanji had told him saying someone was coming out. The squid was getting pulled in and finally the person was coming out. "It's a flower!" Sanji called him.
"A flower?" Zoro was echoing him.
"It's a human." Iris told them both looking at a man with petals around his head standing in the door way. He had a rather stocky and muscular body, being bald on the top of his head, but white hair with yellow flower petal-like things, that have purple near the bottom of them, plus a white beard that splits in two parts. His lower lip is noticeably larger than his upper, unlike Usopp. He wore a pink shirt with a yellow and green stripe and purple circles in the yellow along with blueish-grey shorts with sandals. He was wearing a pair of glasses, a seaweed necklace, three gold bracelets, and a green-gem bracelet on his left wrist. There was also a scar on his left arm. This old man had weird taste in clothes.
"What's up with that guy?" Usopp was asking about what the old man was wearing or just the guy in general.
"That Old man just killed the giant squid." Nami was saying.
"Was he fishing... or was he saving us?" That was a good question, it at this point it didn't really matter. The old man had started walking as he was staring at the group staring back at him. The stare he was giving off was intense and the silence wasn't helping with it. Until he just sat down on a chair underneath a Palm tree with a newspaper in his hand.
"SAY SOMETHING, ASSHOLE!" Sanji had stated to lose his patience, the man had looked back up to them again.
"We'll fight you if that's what you want, jerk!" Usopp was shouting...all the way in the kitchen. "We've got a cannon right here!"
"When did you get there?" Iris asked looking at him in disbelief but had turned back to the man that was once again giving off the intense vibe.
"Don't. Or someone will die." He had said, and it sounded like a threat.
"And who would that be?" Sanji asked a bit amused.
"Me." They all fell hearing the old man's answer.
"YOU!?" Sanji really was losing his patience with the all man. "You freakin'... playing with me..."
"Hey. Don't get pissed off." Zoro grabbed onto his shoulder telling him, pulling him back as Zoro stood in front of them now. "Old man, tell me... where are we? And who are you?" There it was again, the intense stare and the intense silence.
"If you want something from someone, it's proper manners to introduce yourself first." The old man had said this time it fit the stare. A bit.
"Yeah. That's right.my mistake." Zoro admitted, "My name is Roro..."
"I am Crocus. I am the keeper of the Twin Capes Lighthouses. I am 71 years old, Gemini, Blood Type AB."
"CAN I KILL HIM NOW!" Zoro lost it completely, about to pull out his sword but
"Now calm down!" Iris told him as she was holding him from behind, stopping him from trying to kill the old man called Crocus.
"You want to know where you are? You came to my one-man resort and then he'll such rude things at me." Crocus did make sense a bit, they were being rude to him. "Do you think you're inside a rat's stomach?"
"So we really were swallowed by the whale!"
"Yeah, but that doesn't explain the sky..." Iris pointed out to Usopp as she looked up.
"Hold on! What's gonna happen to us?!" Nami was freaking out again after hearing that. "I don't want to be digested!" And once again, as if he enjoyed doing it, he was giving off the intense look.
"STOP DOING THAT!" Everyone, but Iris, snapped at the old man
"Can't you appreciate a good running gag?" He had asked them.
"A GAG!?" They were really losing their patience with the old man, Crocus.
"As for the exit, it's over there." He had pointed to a door.
"WE CAN LEAVE!?" They shouted turning to see there was a door out to stomach of the whale.
"Hold on a sec. What's an exit doing in a whale's stomach?"
"Yeah, I'm no expert about whales but I am pretty sure they don't have doors leading out." Iris said after Nami, and then asked why was the door on the sky.
"Wait... look carefully." Usopp was telling us both looking up, "The sky, the clouds... even the seagulls... it's all a painting! It's all painted on the whale's stomach!" Well, that explains that, now another question came up who and why would they do that?
"I like having fun." Well that answers that question!
"JUST WHAT THE HELL ARE YIU DOING HERE!?" Usopp now was losing his mind snapping over at the old man,
"It's okay, just leave him alone." Zoro told him, holding his shoulder.
"Now what?" Sanji asked.
"Nami, there's the exit." Zoro told her.
"Alright." After She said that, everything was shaking like crazy and the waves were forming.
"What is it now?" Iris had asked holding on tight to the rails.
"He's started again." The old man stated, but what did he mean by that?
"Look at that!" Nami was telling them pointing to the island, "That's not an island! It's a ship!" She was right, it had steal plates under it.
"You're right!" She was told by Usopp, but then that would mean,
"This oceans made of acid." Iris was kind of panicking.
"So if we stay here too long, we'll get digested..." now that was one more thing to panic about.
"OI! 'Started what!?" Usopp was shouting over to him telling him to explain it to them.
"This whale... Laboon has started ramming himself against the Red Line." Laboon? Was that the whale's name? And what did he mean by 'ramming' into the Red Line?
"WHAT!?" Zoro and Sanji both yelled.
"Now that you mention it... this whale had some huge scars on its head..." thinking back to the outside of the Whale, Iris remembered that had also seen them too and the sound of his bellowing it was...
"Sad..."
"What are you saying?" Usopp was asking Iris.
"His hurt. His in so much pain." She was telling him
"I get it! So the old man's plan is..." He began saying
"Probably. He's trying to kill the whale from inside its body!" Nami had agreed with what he was about to say.
"What a horrible way to kill it!" He shouted.
"Now that we've solved this mystery, let's get out of here. Our ship's going to dissolve if you just stand there complaining." Zoro was right about that.
"Well, the whaling business doesn't bother me... and I don't feel like saving this one." Sanji was agreeing with him for once. "Let's get out of here."
"Yeah, but how do we do that?" Iris question just earned her stupid looks. "I mean, if the whale's ramming the Red Line then wouldn't that mean we're under water right now?" That made everyone stop to think for a second but that was interrupted but the ship shaking.
"Shit! The waves are too strong! We won't be able to get to the exit like this!" That was about right.
"We gonna have to the rowing. Take the oar!" Zoro was telling the others.
"We have to get out now!" Now Nami was ordering, "We have to find out what happened to Luffy!"
"He's outside! I saw him get thrown up to the side of the whale's mouth!" Zoro was informing her. Iris was looking back to where the old man's land was and saw him just dive in as if it wasn't acid at all.
"Guys, the old man jumped into the acid!" She shouted to them.
"Eh? Why'd he do that? He'll be digested." Zoro was saying next to her confused.
"Oi, the old man's coming up!" Usopp informed them and had seen the old man resurfacing by the door and started climbing up the ladder.
"Just ignore him." Zoro told him, "We have to figure out how to open the door." He was true, if they didn't know how to open the door they'll be digested for sure. Iris was trying to think about what if she flew over to that door to see if there was some kind of switch behind it when someone had already beat her too it but instead of going inside they shot out screaming.
"Oh no, Miss. Wednesday!" A man in a green suit was screaming. "Below us is a huge sea of digestive juices!" They were falling into it too.
"Lu?" Iris had spotted the last of the three of them and Luffy was that one.
"Yo! You guys are all okay!" Luffy had also spotted the Merry, "By the way... save me!"
"Luffy caught up with us..." Usopp, along with Sanji, had ran over to join Zoro and Iris that had just watched their captain fall into the acid, "...But he brought a couple of weirdos with him."
"Hey! The old man's gone!" Nami was telling them.
"Who cares? We have to help Luffy." It was bad enough Luffy couldn't swim but to not swim and fall in acid, now that was just plain terrible. Without much of a choice Iris grabbed Zoro and flew him to above where Luffy had fell in and he dove into save him. While that was happening, Iris spotted the two stranger surfacing from the acid and grabbed onto their bazooka's as she flew by them. Dropping them on the ship and flew back to grab Zoro, who now had Luffy and took them back to them ship as well.
"It's calm! The whale's calmed down." Nami had pointed out to the rest of them as they landed on deck.
"Looks that way... so..." Zoro had turned around to the two strangers now on the Going Merry. "We saved your asses." The crew had all gathered at the front of the ship surrounding the two of them. "Now who are you?"
"Mr. 9, these are pirates." The young woman with long wavy light blue hair pulled back seemed uncomfortable with Sanji so close to her as she spoke the the guy next to her. The woman's eyes were brown and she looked a bit older then me with her facial features being angular. The singlet she had on had both dark and light blue lines going diagonally across it. She was wearing plain white shorts that went half way down her thighs with a gold and lapis belt. Overnight her shoulders and arms was an open coat with fur on the neck of it.
"I can see that, Miss Wednesday." The young man, Mr. 9 who had on a golden crown on the top of his orange hair and the number night on both on his cheeks below his eyes. He had a green suit with white lace one that had a ruffled red scarf. His attire makes him look like a prince or a king in the fairytales. "But I think we can convince them... probably..."
"Are you two scoundrels still here?!" The old man was asking from all the way up the door. "Don't make me repeat myself! As long as I'm alive, you won't lay one finger on Laboon!" The man was trying to save and stop the whale not kill it.
"Oh, he's back." Usopp didn't sound all that happy.
"Who's the old guy?" Luffy turned back around to face the crew before asking, the woman, Miss Wednesday began to giggle and started standing up as she spoke to the old man.
"You may say that, but we cannot retreat." She was holding her weapon.
"Killing this whale is our mission." The man Mr. 9 had also stood up, "We won't let you interfere with our whaling anymore!" These guys wish to kill the whale. "We'll rip a hole in its stomach!" They were pointing both of their Bazookas at the whale. "Let 'er rip, baby!"
"Wait!" Iris stretched out her arm about to stop them, but they had already fired. As the cannonball were heading for the stomach sides, the old man had began running in the same direction as them.
"You...!" Had had leaped at the balls without considering his own safety and they blow up. The old man was falling from the smoke from the explosion.
"That old man.... stopped the shots himself!" Usopp sounded surprised as did Sanji.
"He actually protected the whale...!?" He didn't say so sure saying that.
"Cease your pathetic resistance!" The woman was yelling amused.
"If you want to protect it that badly, just try that again!" As was the man, as the woman was laughing, "The whale is going to feed out town!" He then had had joined her.
"What's going on..." Nami was still confused and out of nowhere the two of them were stacked by Luffy falling to the ground unconscious.
"Luffy?"
"Don't know why. Just had to hit them." That was Luffy for you. After that the crew boarded the old man's island boat with him.
"You helped me immensely... but why?" The old man had asked Luffy that question confused.
"I didn't help you. Just didn't want to see that." He honestly told him.
"Hey... what's the deal with those guys?" Nami was asking him as the group had turned and looked at the two guys, that tried to kill the whale, tied up. Well almost all of them, Luffy was trying to climb the palm tree while Usopp was trying to stop him. "And what are you doing inside the whale?"
"These two scoundrels are from a nearby town. They want the whale's meat. Laboon could feed their town for two or three years." That does explain a bit.
"Laboon?"
"That's this whale's name." Crocus began to explained that the whale, Laboon was an Island Whale that inhabit the West Blue. They were the largest species of whale in the world. "How could I let him become food? There's a reason why he continues to bash his head against the Red Line... and why he faces Reverse Mountain and bellows..." They did wonder why it was like this. Was it due to him being separated from his herd? "This whale, you see... he's a whale with a heart like a person. And he's been earnestly waiting for a certain group of pirates... for 59 years... You'll hear it. This is Laboon's story." Crocus had began to tell the crew the story behind Laboon. "I was taking care of the lighthouses as usual that day... when a group of jolly pirates came down from Reverse Mountain and into the Grand Line. Swimming along their boat was a small whale. That whale was Laboon. Island Whales like him only inhabit the West Blue. They"re the largest species of whale in the world. It appeared Laboon had been traveling with the pirates for quite some time. But they were now heading into the dangers of the Grand Line. They thought they had left him behind in the West Blue... but, Laboon had followed them. Island Whales normally swim together with their friends in pods, but to Laboon, these pirates were his friends. They remained anchored at this Cape for a few months to repair their ship. I became quite friendly with them myself after a while. Then, on the day they were ready to leave..." they had asked Crocus to look after Laboon for 2-3 years and had left him here, "That was 50 years ago." That must have been so hard for Laboon.
"50 years?"
"Laboon's been waiting for those guys for 50 years?" Usopp had asked, still holding Luffy down.
"So that's why he's bellowing? And he's ramming it to reach the other side of the wall?" Nami asked Crocus
"Yes." Trying to explain the feels of someone in their place can never truly be understand by them. That was how this's were, but still, Iris at least understand his pain about being left behind by those you love. After listening to Laboon's story and before the Merry was digested the crew headed to the door leading out of Laboon's stomach. It was weird to say the least because it was kind of like a sewage System.
"This water pipe's incredible. Surprised he's still alive with such a big tunnel in him." Iris was also surprised like Zoro.
"Is this more of your 'having fun'?" Sanji was asking Crocus.
"This is my doctor fun." He was reading his newspaper on his island boat in front of the. "I'm his doctor after all. A long time ago, I ran a clinic here on this cape. I was even a ship's doctor, years ago."
"Really? Well then, be my ship's doctor!" Luffy had told him.
"Don't be stupid. Unlike you six young'ins, I don't have the energy to go around doing foolhardy things anymore." So climb ladders and playing with a giant island whale didn't count?
"A doctor... so that's why you're living inside the whale."
"And this is all a result of your medical treatment."
"That's right." Crocus turned to them once he reached the top of the ladder. "When they get this big, there's no way to treat 'em from the outside." That made perfect sense. "Here we go!" The door to the outside was wide open.
"WE'RE OUT! IT'S THE REAL SKY!" It feels so nice to feel the sun on their skins again. Although they've only been in there for maybe a 1 hours it felt like years.
"But 50 whole years? Those lousy pirates sure are making him wait a long time..." Usopp didn't understand anything.
"Idiot. This is the Grand Line, y'know? They're dead." Sanji had told him as he, Zoro, Nami and Iris sat around the head of Merry that came off as Luffy was sitting on it. "No use waiting on them anymore."
"That's for sure, since it's already been 50 year." Both him and Nami were right about that. "I guess that shows just how terrible and chaotic this unexplored ocean is going to get." It was understandable by listening to stories about it too.
"How can you jerks say such heartless things!? You don't know that! They might still come back!" Usopp was shouting but in all honesty there really wasn't anyway they were alive if its been 50 years. "It's such a good story!" And now he was beginning to cry. "A whale that continues to believe in his friends' promise... ain't that right, Old man!?"
"Yeah. But the truth is crueler than you can imagine. It was all part of their plan. Those guys ran away... front the Grand Line." Hearing that, Iris' eyes looked right to the whale.
"No way... so, they actually left the whale behind?" Usopp was asking in disbelief. It made sense as to why he was bellowing but not why he was ramming into the Red Line. It was clear, since his friends left the Grand Line they went back to the West Blue or at least tried to.
"They tried to run away from the Grand Line... that means they would have he'd to cross the Calm Belt, right?" The place filled with the sea kings.
"Even if by chance they are alive, they would never return to this place. The seasons, the weather, the ocean currents, even the winds. They all go around in unpredictable patterns. Common logic is worthless in this ocean. The terror of the Grand Line quickly overwhelms the weak of heart." Crocus was telling them
"So those weak-hearted shitheads... without a thought for your life or their promise, packed up and hightailed it out of the ocean." It sounded cruel when Sanji said it out loud.
"They just abandoned the whale? And he's been waiting here 50 years for them to come back for him? That's so cruel!" Usopp was frustrated but it really was cruel. The poor thing just wants to be with his friends again but they are dead because there was no way they could have gotten through to the Calm Belt.
"But if you knew this, why haven't you told him? The whale understands human speech, right?" Nami was asking the old man.
"I did tell him. All of it. But he refused to listen." Crocus stated looking to Laboon. "That night Laboon faced Reverse Mountain and bellowed for the first time, and began battering himself against the Red Line. He still believes they'll return from the other side of that wall... he just won't listen to the truth."
"What a whale..." Sanji was blowing his smoke.
"Even when there's no point in waiting..." Usopp then said. Iris moved to the side of the ship that Crocus was to continue listening to him.
"If there was no reason to wait, he would have listened to me. More than anything else, he is afraid of losing his reason to wait. His home is in the West Blue. And yet, there's no way home for him now. All he wished for... was to continue being friends with the men he followed here." That would makes sense.
"Y'know... he may be in this pitiful state... but you were betrayed too, right?" It's really not your problem anymore, is it?" Sanji was asking him.
"Look at the scars on his head!" Looking at the whale Laboon, there were plenty of scars on his front. "If he keeps ramming it against the rocks like that, without a doubt, he will die. We may have a strange relationship, but it's been 50 years. I'm not going to watch him kill himself." After saying that, the battle cries of Luffy ceased all of head to turn around.
"What is Lu doing?" Iris was asking watching him running up the whale.
"Can't take you're eyes off him for a second!" That was true.
"Looks like he's going mountain climbing." Sanji was saying as Luffy was running up the the whale's side and not only that but he had the mast of the Merry with him too.
"Gum Gum..." He pulled the mast over his head. "...The Art of Flower Arranging!" That attack made no sense as he just slammed the mast into the wound of the poor whale.
"That's the mast, isn't it?" Zoro was asking the rest of them.
"Yup. Right off our ship." Sanji told him back.
"It's our main mast." Usopp pointed out to them both.
"I sometime worry about him." Iris said out loud
"QUIT BREAKIN' THE SHIP!" Usopp lost it at Luffy since he, Zoro and Sanji were the main ones that always end up breaking something of Merry. Laboon finally reacted and was going wild, causing giant waves that pushed the Merry away as he was bellowing in pain.
"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT FOR!?" Every one, excluding Iris, were freaking out at Luffy, how was sent flying down on the cape. Laboon had leaped into the air and was heading head first onto the cape which flatten Luffy.
"HEY, BOY!" At least that's what Crocus thought.
"Its okay! He won't die even if he gets crushed!" Nami was reassuring him as we were holding onto the ship. None of them really knew what was going on but Luffy seemed to be fighting with Laboon and was being sent flying all over the place.
"What's he thinking?!"
"Knowing Lu, I don't think he does the thinking thing." Iris had told Usopp watching Luffy get throw into the light house.
"Luffy! What the hell are you doing?" Zoro was shouting at him trying to get an answer from him. Laboon had began charging at Luffy when...
"It's a draw!" Hearing Luffy shout that, Laboon stopped and Luffy stood back up, "Pretty strong, ain't I?" He was smiling. "You wanna beat me, don't you? Our battle isn't over. So we're going to have to fight again someday. Your friends may be dead, but from now on I'm your rival!" This was Luffy's talent, to become friends with others easily through their fights. "We'll fight again some day to decide which of us is the strongest! Once we're finished sailing the Grand Line, I'll be back! Then we'll finish out fight!" Laboon had began to cry hearing his and he bellowed up to the sky in joy not pain this time. After everything finally calmed down Luffy had painted on Laboon, "Lookin' good!" It was just as bad when he pained the flag.
"It's like the flag fiasco all over again..." Iris was sweating looking at it.
"This is our 'Fight Promise'! So until u get back, don't go hitting the wall and rubbing the mark off!" But as long as it stops Laboon, it's fine. "YOSH!"
"What happened to those two weirdos?" Usopp was asking out of nowhere looking to Nami, Sanji and Iris who were up on the deck in front of the kitchen, with lumber in his hand.
"Those two weirdos?" Nami echoed not knowing who he was talking about.
"Oh, you mean those two strangers. They got loss of the ropes well we were dealing with Laboon." Iris saw the whole thing go done, but didn't think it really matter because they couldn't do any harm without their weapons that the crew confiscated.
"Really?" Nami looked at her, "I wonder who they were anyway..."