Chapter 18: Late and Axe's Dream

Disclaimer: Don't own One Piece.

Knock knock

The cabin door opened and Kirsty peeked out to see Axe, Devon and Austin standing outside. "What?" she yawned, rubbing her eyes. "You, Niri, and Dusty get dressed, we've reached our destination," Axe ordered.

Kirsty nodded and closed the door, then walked over to the bureau near their beds. Dusty fell out of bed, still snoring and Niri woke up by the sound of her nakama hitting the floor. Out of instinct, Niri shot up and aimed her gun at Kirsty.

The doctor hit the floor, "NIRI! Watch where your pointing that thing!" she scolded. Niri blinked a few times then looked down at Kirsty, "Why are you down there?" she asked sleepily. Kirsty sweatdropped, Are you kiddin' me...?

Dusty walked out of the cabin, wearing her sandals, her long green skirt, red tube top and elbow length gloves. She stretched and yawned loudly as Kirsty came out, wearing a yellow skirt with a brown belt, a blue tank top and knee-high beige boots.

"You two sleep alot more than I do...," she commented, moving some of her hair to the back. "Yeah, well not everyone can set their internal clock, Doc," Niri muttered as she exited the room, shutting the door behind her. Kirsty looked at what she was wearing: a long blue, beach skirt with a brown belt holding it up, and a white button-up shirt that was tied off just above her stomach, showing her slim belly. To complete the ensemble, she had black sandals and a large blue bandanna tied over her black hair.

"It's about time. I swear girls take so much damn time gettin' ready,"

The trio of girls glared at Devon, who was standing a short ways away, looking at them both. He wore his usual black shirt with blue jeans, and he held his (still) bloodstained jean jacket in his hand. "Shut up, Devon! If you don't like how we get ready, then don't say a damn thing!" Dusty snapped as she walked by him.

Kirsty shook her head while Niri placed her gun in her hip holster, "They get along like brother and sister, and they haven't known each other for that long,". Niri glanced at her, "Well if you ask me, they're the same...complete baka's,". Kirsty giggled and looked around, "Where exactly are we?" she asked.

"...a battlefield," Devon said quietly.

Niri looked over the railing to see large pieces of wood and large objects in the water, "What in the name of kami happened here?". Devon shrugged, "Not exactly sure...but something tells me it had to do with those guys we picked up a few days ago,".

A loud clanking noise made the girls look overboard to see Axe had released the anchor and it was now sinking to the bottom of the sea. "Captain? Uh...what are you doin'?" Dusty asked, walking up to him. Axe pointed ahead to a large structure just a few feet away. If the girls had only looked ahead closer, they would've been able to see that it was different from the rest of the debris.

They could see men in waiter uniforms move around the place, some holding mops while others held onto wooden planks and hammers. "What the hell happened here?" Niri wondered aloud. The crew jumped off their ship one after the other and made their way inside the wrecked building. Kirsty and Niri noticed that most of the people who were making repairs, either looked like they were terrified, or they shot evil glares at them.

"Geez what's with them?" Kirsty asked, looking ahead. Niri put her hand over her pistol, "They were recently attacked by Don Krieg...you think that they will be all calm and happy to everyone?" she pointed out.

"Alrigh' there, lads and lassies, what are ya wantin' here at Baratie?"

"Yeah, man. You want trouble, you got it!"

The group stopped and saw two men, one with small sunglasses, the other with green hair and large arms. Axe shook his head and walked up to them both, "Patty...Carne...you dumbasses. Is that how you treat an old friend?" he asked calmly. The men raised their eyebrows and Axe took off his hat, a large grin on his face.

"Well shiver me timbers. Axe me boy, what are you doin' back here in the East Blue?"

"Ya, you sonofabitch, why didn't you tell us?"

Kirsty, Devon, Austin, Dusty and Niri fell over at the sudden turn of events. Axe grabbed the two strange men and brought them close, "Oh man, it's been a long time you guys! What happened to the Baratie?" he asked, looking around, "Looks like a Sea King pup went through this place!".

"It was no Sea King pup, you little asswipe," a stern voice replied.

The others looked up at a spiral staircase to see an old man with a very big chef's hat and a peg leg standing at the railing. "Who's that?" Kirsty asked as Dusty and Niri helped her up. Axe walked past the two workers and over to the bottom of the staircase, "You still alive, old man? I thought for sure I'd pass your watery monument on the way over here!".

"Hmph, and I thought for sure I'd see your face in the paper right after you got caught by the Marines, kid. I guess we're both full of surprises," the old man shot back as he made his way down the stairs. "Damn straight, ya old piece of crap! So...," Axe looked around, "Where's Sanji? Me and him got business to talk about, Zeff,".

Zeff sighed loudly and looked straight at him, "He's gone...left days ago with a kid in a straw hat,". Axe groaned and smacked himself in the face, "Man...,".

After some introductions and explaining, Axe and his crew sat a large table near the back, menus in front of them. Niri looked at Axe, "You never told me you knew Red Boots," she whispered. Axe shrugged, "He was Red Boots, Niri...now he own's this place...," he whispered back.

Devon jerked a thumb to Zeff who was yelling at some of the works, "That old fart is Red Boots the Pirate?" he asked, not believing what he had heard. Axe motioned for him to quiet down, "That's a touchy subject for him...best not to mention it," he advised.

Dusty leafed through her menu and immediately began to drool, "Wow...,". Kirsty leaned over to look, "Find something?" she asked, scanning the menu. A few seconds later, she began to drool too, "Wicked...,".

Axe removed his hat and put it on the table, "I think it's time I tell you guys what exactly I'm aimin' for on this trip," he said quietly. Everyone else looked at him, interested. He lifted his head and looked at them all, "All my life, I've had the dream to be the best treasure hunter in the world. I want to find hoards of gold, and legendary treasures. From weapons and silk, to gold and jewels...it doesn't matter, as long as I can find them. With those in mind, I have one major treasure in mind for me to recover,".

Devon leaned back, his hand on his swords, "One Piece. You're after Gold Roger's treasure,". Kirsty's and Dusty's eyes widened, while Niri took a sip of her water. Axe nodded, "Yeah. The most legendary of all treasures. If I can find that, then I can die happily knowing I've fulfilled my dream. But I can't do it alone...that's why I became a pirate and recruited you guys," he went on, his eyes never leaving his nakama.

"You know that that's pretty much suicidal right? Entering the Grand Line, which is filled with God knows what, to look for a treasure that might not even be there!" Devon pointed out. Axe chuckled, "Yeah, I guess it is suicidal to some people...but not to me, it's my dream," he looked at each one of them, "Are your dreams like mine? Suicidal in anyway?".

Devon closed his eyes, "I'm only looking for a pair of swords. The Onimaru blade and the Water Moon...I grew up hearing hearing legends of these blades. The Onimaru can grant the one who wields it tremendous power, but at the cost of life. The Water Moon can restore energy and heal the person who wields it. If used together in combat, these two swords will balance out their power and the who using them will have the power of life and death in their hands...,".

Dusty leaned forward on the table and put her head on her hands, "I wanna be a famous star! I wanna go around the world and do my magic, and act in big plays! Ever since I first saw one of the big stars, I knew that I had to do it...," she said in a dreamy voice.

Niri pulled out her father's pistol and held it in front of her, "Before, I joined the Marines to be a high-ranking soldier, like my father...to make him proud. But, it went under after I saw a family friend shot to death by an unknown assassin. I was framed for the murder and I spent a couple of years in a prison cell. My dream has changed from being a soldier to avenging my friend, Baron. I want to hunt down the one who killed him, and exact the punishment that they deserve," she said bitterly.

Next was Kirsty. "I grew up looking at all sorts of medical books and treating the injured and ill. No matter who or what it was. From a stray animal, to a even a Merman that came by the island, I helped them with their injuries. My dream is to become the best doctor that I can be...the doctor I was born to be, as well as to live out the dreams of my sister,".

"I didn't know you had a sister, Doc," Axe said, surprised. Kirsty nodded, "Yeah. One night pirates came to our village and attacked. My sister told me to run, but when I finally listened to her, I was cut down and left for dead. Luckily, the villagers saved me in time and when I recovered, they told me that the pirates had taken her when they left," she paused and sniffed, a few tears rolling down her face, "Her dream, ironically, was to become a pirate and sail the world, to make a name for herself. I don't know if she's still out there, but I know what I have to do. I have to live out both of our dreams. That's why I joined up. I knew that you could use a doctor, and travelling around, I could learn new things, but by joining a pirate crew, I would become what my sister wanted to be,".

Devon reached out and put a hand on Kirsty's shoulder, and she wiped away her tears. He looked at her from the corner of his eyes and smiled slightly, "I can understand about family dreams, Doc...,". Kirsty looked at him and smiled. Axe smiled at the crew and took up his glass, "I would like to mark this as the first celebration of the Axe-Head Pirate crew!" he proposed. Austin, Dusty, Niri, Kirsty and Devon raised their glasses and clinked them all together.

"KANPAI!" they yelled together, except Austin of course.

Near the staircase, Patty, Carne, and Zeff watched the group of kids. "Aye, the boyo's gonna have an interesting time with this crew," Patty noted. Carne nodded, "I just hope it doesn't turn out like his old nakama...,". Zeff looked at Axe intently and turned around, "He knows what he's doing this time around. Axe wouldn't let the same thing happen twice...,". The two cooks watched as their boss walked away, then turned back to the group of young people.

"KANPAI!"

Kilnorc: hope this was good, and if it was in anyway, confusing, I apologize. Ja ne.