The Pumpkin Pirates

Robin crossed her arms and closed her eyes. There was a muffled "oopf" and a large kid with brown hair in a yellow shirt under denim overalls was pushed into view.

"Hey, kid!" Robin called. "Would you be so kind as to take us to your leader?"

The boy, who Henzo identified as Pukau, was brought to the ship. At first he was quite reluctant, but as they sailed through Ape's Concert, he realized that the Straw Hats weren't bad people. Eventually, the Merry made its way to rest next to a wrecked Marine ship, black flags with a skull-shaped pumpkin waving in the Rainbow Mist's constant, unexplained breeze.

"Pukau!" Rapanui cried worriedly, seeing his friend on an enemy ship. "Let him go!"

"Why would we do that?" Luffy questioned innocently from his captain's seat. "We came here to find you all, after all."

"Don't give me that crap!" The leader of the Pumpkin Pirates hopped down, sword in hand, slashing at Luffy. The rubber-man jumped back to stand beside Zoro before the weapon could hit him. Rapanui attacked again, but Zoro partially drew his own sword. The boy's weapon was ripped from his hand and splashed into the water, pronouncing the difference of skill between the two.

"Hey, kid," Zoro muttered darkly. "Swords are dangerous if you don't know how to use them."

"Dammit! Leave us alone!"

"Wait, Rapanui!" Pukau insisted. "They aren't bad people. They're here to help get us out of the Mist."

"You can't trust them," Rapanui growled. "You can never trust a grown-up."

"If you can't trust them, then trust me." Coby stepped forward, his hands out as a sign of peace. "I'm not an adult. That means you can trust me, right? We're here to get you out of here."

"Why would you do that?" Rapanui asked skeptically. "We don't know any of you."

"Professor Henzo asked us for help. He's been looking for ways to save you for 50 years now."

"Henzo?" the blond asked. "Wait. Did you say 50 years? What-?"

"According to the books I've read, time isn't the same in the Rainbow Mist," Robin offered. "A lot has changed back on Luluka, and not much of it is good."

"What do you mean?" Rapanui demanded.

"Why don't you call your friends down?" Robin suggested just as Usopp walked out of the kitchen with several plates of food. Sure, Sanji wouldn't be happy that the sniper had made a mess in there, but they were hungry and could just blame Luffy. "It would be a hassle to explain twice," the woman continued.

"…Isoka!" Rapanui called hesitantly. "Rongo! Akibi!" The three children jumped down, eyeing the food with unhidden want. Pukau had no doubts and rushed over to the meal, he and Luffy eating quickly.

"Slow down!" Usopp ordered, punching Luffy over the head. "Save some for everyone else!"

"Would you all like some?" Robin asked with a kind smile.

"Oh boy!" Rongo replied, not bothering to note that the "monster" from earlier was nowhere to be seen. He, Isoka, and Akibi hurried over to join their friend.

"Don't worry, kid," Zoro laughed, a bottle of booze in his hand. "Usopp may not be our cook, but he's not half-bad." Slowly, the leader joined his friends.

"You said a lot has changed back on Luluka," the young blond prompted. "What did you mean by that?"

"We heard the story about how you all ended up here," Coby began. "How you ended up stealing Whetton's ship, the Tally Ellison. Well, Whetton decided not to leave."

"What?!"

"For the last 50 years, Whetton had been the tyrant mayor of Luluka's town," Robin took over, "forcing the people to pay outrageous taxes. He hopes that he can take all the treasure from Ape's Concert. And he used Professor Henzo to be able to do so."

"What did he do to Henzo?!" Rapanui demanded.

"He made me work for him," the professor answered, tears streaming down his face. "He knew I'd do anything to find you five again, so he told me that if I researched the Rainbow Mist for him, he would let me save you and wouldn't kill you."

"Henzo," Isoka whispered. "Is it really you?"

"It's me. It's really me." One by one, the children hugged the older man until he was in the center of a group hug, glad to be reunited with their friend.

"Now that we've got that settled," Zoro yawned, "how are we gonna get out of here?"

"I talked with the others while you were napping, Zoro-sensei. I have a feeling Nami is going to drag them into the Mist to get the treasure. We know how much she loves money. They'll find us and we can sail out together."

"I thought you weren't after the treasure," Rapanui hissed, his eyes narrowing.

"Our navigator is a different story," Coby waved off. "Plus, she's got Captain Luffy wrapped around her finger so tightly that she'll be the freest person in the world when he's the Pirate King."

"What do you mean?" Luffy questioned. "I'm right here, so how can I be wrapped around her finger? Besides, her hands are way too small for me to wrap around."

"It's just an expression, Captain," Robin laughed. "The point is that the rest of the crew will be here soon."

"You seem to have a lot of faith in your friends," Pukau observed.

"Of course!" Luffy all but yelled. "We've had loads of adventures together!"

"So are you going to come out of the Mist with us?" Coby asked. Rapanui seemed to think about it, weighing their options.

"Guys," he finally said. "Let's get the stuff ready. We're leaving."

"Hurry up, you maggots!" Mayor Whetton ordered from his spot on the docks, the Rainbow Mist within eyesight. "Get ready to launch the Rainbow Tower! Has anyone gotten in contact with Henzo?"

"No, sir!" the man next to the den-den answered. "We've searched the entire island and we can't get through. It seems he's already in the Rainbow Mist and that it's messing with the den-den mushi. That or he doesn't have his with him."

"Tch. Fine. We don't need him anyway. Launch the Rainbow Tower! And somebody bring me my suit!"

"Father!" Phillip called, running up to Whetton.

"That's Mayor Whetton!" the ex-pirate yelled, punching his moronic son.

"Sorry, Mayor Whetton," Phillip amended.

"Where is Link?"

"That's what I needed to talk to you about. Someone destroyed his suit and refused to pay a tax! And his arm's broken from where part of his suit crushed it."

"His suit's broken? Dammit. Oh well, it doesn't matter right now. We're going into the Rainbow Mist. Gather your men."

"Yes, father."

"That's Mayor Whetton!"

"Alright, punks, nobody move or I shoot the kid!" a man demanded from the deck of the wrecked Marine ship that the Pumpkin Pirates has been using as their base. He was rather tan with long brown hair under a blue-and-white striped headband that looked nearly identical to Gin's. He held Rongo by the neck with a gun on his head, the boy's form partially hiding the man's light blue shirt and maroon slacks. Brown boots covered his feet and just a hint of stubble on his chin showed that he'd been in the Mist for nearly a week.

"Ian!" Rapanui yelled angrily. "What the Hell are you doing?!" About 15 minutes had passed since he'd told the other kids to go pack, so something must have happened. Last Rapanui had seen, the former Whetton pirate had been in one of the holding cells after the kids had mutinied against him.

"What does it look like?" Ian shot back. "I'm taking control so you brats don't leave me behind. I'm not the one that's going to be staying."

"I don't like you," Luffy stated, causing the man to notice the new faces of Luffy and what few of his crew were with him.

"And who are you? Some more morons that decided to see what Ape's Concert had in store?"

"Put the kid down," Luffy ordered.

"Or what? You gonna punch me or something?"

Luffy did just that.

"Gum-Gum Pistol!" The captain's arm shot forward, scaring not only the older pirate, but the younger Pumpkin Pirates and Henzo as well. Ian wasn't scared for long, however, since he fell unconscious by the force of Luffy's fist against his face.

"You're weird, too?" Akibi questioned, his eyes narrowing on the straw-hat-wearing teen.

"Yeah!" Luffy smiled. "I ate the Gum-Gum Fruit when I was little, so now I'm a rubber-man."

"And what about you two?" Rapanui asked, turning his gaze on Zoro and Usopp. "Do you two have weird powers, too?"

"Nope," Zoro answered with a yawn. "I'm just a swordsman and he's just a coward."

"That's right!" Usopp agreed before coming to a realization. "Hey!"

"Luffy!" a familiar voice called. The group's attention turned to the water where an undecorated boat just under the size of the Merry was sailing toward them. Gin and Chopper each had an oar and were struggling to move the ship since it was laden down with treasure chests and jewels of all shapes and sizes. Amy stood in the crow's nest while Grace and Nami stood on the deck amongst the treasure, the orange-haired girl waving at her captain. Sanji was hidden in the back, controlling the rudder.

"Robin-chwan!" the cook's voice yelled. Everyone ignored him.

"Nami!" Luffy called back happily, his stretchy arms quickly pulling the girl to the rubber-man were he planted a kiss on her lips. Behind them, the Pumpkin Pirates gagged at the "gross adult stuff" and mumbled something about coodies. The other ship pulled up beside the Going Merry and the navigator soon put Zoro, Coby, Usopp, Chopper, Gin, and Sanji to work transferring all the expensive cargo from their stole... er, borrowed ship to the pirate vessel. Introductions were made and Ian was tied up, Luffy going only so far as to explain that "he's a bastard. I don't like him."

"Alright," Amy announced. "We came. We saw. We collected treasure. Now how do we leave?"

"That's... actually a really good question," Gin muttered. "How are we going to leave? And are we taking that guy with us?" He gestured to the still-unconscious Ian.

"Nah," Rapanui waved off. "We'll leave him a knife. It's not like the world will miss him. I sure won't."

"Kyahahaha!"

"That's damn cruel, kid," Gin smiled as Amy laughed. "I like you already."

"That still doesn't answer how we're getting out of here," Usopp fretted.

"The entrance is still open, right?" Robin thought aloud. "There isn't really a roof, so Ms. Valentine should be able to spot the entrance from the air and direct us out."

"That sounds like a good plan," Chopper agreed.

"But how is the blonde lady going to get up there?" Rongo asked. The chocolatier smiled down at the boy as she opened her parasol and pressed the button on it. The three propellers spun and lifted her up and away, the boy gaping at her form. She rose quickly, reaching nearly half a mile up in less than a minute.

BUDUP-BUDUP-BUDUP... BUDUP-BUDUP-BUDUP...

"Hello," Nami answered, opening her baby den-den.

"Reporting," Amy declared, her voice clear as day now that they were on the same side of the Rainbow Mist's veil. "I can see the entrance. Do a 180 and go straight. I'll follow from the air."

"You boys heard her! Let's get moving!" The Merry exploded into activity, the men (minus Zoro, who went back to napping) running every which way to get the ship pointed the right direction. During the momentary chaos, Rapanui was sure to dump Ian on the abandoned vessel and stab a knife into the wood next to his face. They left him there and took off.

"Take the next right," Amy told them. "Yes. Right there. Alright, keep going. Take a left. No, the other left. Yeah, that one. Go straight. Wait... What is that?"

"What is it?" Nami demanded into the snail.

"Something just came through the entrance. A long, metal tube with what looks like a pumpkin on top. Oh, it just opened. Now there are small boats coming out of it."

"That would be the Rainbow Tower," Henzo offered. "That's good news and bad news."

"What's the good news?" Coby questioned.

"As long as it stays in the entrance, it shouldn't be able to close."

"And the bad news?" Usopp gulped.

"Whetton's here. He forced me to design the tower so he could use it like a conveyor belt to collect all the gold from Ape's Concert."

"Then I hope he's ready for a fight," Luffy grinned, punching the palm of his hand. "There's no way I'm letting him take this gold away from Nami. I'm gonna kick his ass!"

"Luffy said it," Usopp nodded sagely. "It's going to happen now. There's no avoiding it."

"Zoro-sensei," Coby muttered, shaking his teacher. "Zoro-sensei. There's going to be a fight."

"I'm up," the swordsman yawned. "Where's the fight?"