The Power of One Dream (A One Piece x Fairy Tail Story)

Part 6

[Meanwhile]

"Uuuuuuhhhh" Nami slowly came too. Suddenly she didn't feel as warm and cozy as when she first went to bed. "L.. Lucy?.." she said groggily as her eyes gradually flickered open. She heard Lucy moan groggily as if just rousing herself, but a little way from her rather than beside her. And when Nami's eyes were completely open, they were not in Lucy's bedroom, but a dark and dank dungeon cell lit by scarcely few candles. And they were both chained to opposite walls (Lucy still in her Pyjamas and Nami in the ones Lucy had lent her, fitting snuggly over her baby bump), their arms stretched out uncomfortablely and their feet only just touching the stone floor.

Nami wished she could rub her temples as her head felt swimmy. "Na.. N.. Nami..?.. Wait.... Where are we?", "Wish I knew." Nami replied calmly, fighting to keep her panic that was as intense as Lucy's looked, out of her voice. She was sure she hadn't touched a drop of alcohol that night, or anything else to justify making her feel this woozy. And yet she hadn't been aware of being handled and moved. She didn't even know how much time had passed between falling asleep in Lucy's bed and now. It wasn't even possible to tell if it was day or night outside without any windows. All she could be sure of was that wherever they were, they were a long way from Magnolia, from the guild, and from Luffy.

"Well, uncomfortable as we may be, we're still alive. Meaning whoever did this wants us for something. Something I'm guessing involves our friends. Any ideas what that might be, or anyone who might hold a grudge against your guild?", "Someone with a grudge against us? Ghee, let me think?" Lucy replied sarcastically, reflecting on the number of enemies Fairy Tail had faced down over the years. But it was clear in her tone (and from what Nami could see of her face in the dim light of their cell) that she was shaken by how easily they were abducted, given no opportunity to fight back. Lucy for her part knew now that they had both been imprisoned before. But in those times their captors had often been not too difficult to trick. And she could always count on her friends to be not far behind, ready to tear walls down to find her. Here though, she knew nothing of her captor or what they were planning. And worse, Nami had been dragged into it. If this was indeed the work of an enemy of Fairy Tail, then whatever happened to Nami, and the child growing inside her, that was on Lucy.

"Hey, Lucy, we can't give up (Nami declared more confidently than she felt, determined not to let her friend succumb to despair)! Whoever these jerks are and whatever they want, Luffy, Natsu and our friends WILL come for us. And they WILL kick their butts! But until then, we've gotta buy them all the time we can."

With that said, Lucy looked (even a tad) more optimistic. But now came the (really) hard part. Nami took a deep breath in, and with all the strength of will she could muster (and a yelp), used the fingers of her right hand to dislocate her thumb. Lucy's optimistic look instantly became a disturbed one at the sight. But following a little more groaning from Nami, it became one of wonder as she managed to slip the hand out of its shackle, and reach her still intact fingers into her mouth. From there she withdrew a small white cap from one of her teeth that was previously invisible. A handy trinket (courtesy of Ussop) that when pressed a certain way, became a retractable pin. Nami hadn't been given the moniker 'Cat Burglar' for nothing.

[At the same time, elsewhere in the foreboding castle]

Invel Yura, Neinhart, and a host of masked, robed figures, sat around a large round table with a clouded purple crystal orb in its centre, discussing their next course of action. "So remind me, Maw, why we are all indulging this tired old cliché? And how exactly capturing these women alive was so instrumental to our ultimate goals? The Celestial Wizard I could understand for her unique skill sets, but the red-haired harlot is worthless." 'Manticore Sting's' Guild Leader 'Head's' commanding tone barely masked his impatience; a figure few would dare to answer back to quite as boldly. He was a large imposing man in a hooded black robe with the emblem of a man-like face (but grotesquely distorted, along with a fiery mane of hair and razor sharp fangs) emblazoned in crimson red on the front of the robe. Besides this, his only apparent item of clothing was a matching garish mask, albeit with it's mane of a shining golden-hue, which contrasted sharply with his own visibly long silver-hair. Fittingly denoting (Invel thought) his proclaimed title as 'Head' of the Manticore identity.