One Piece Fan Fiction / Teen Titans Fan Fiction ❯ The Ultimate Cruise ❯ The Survivors - Seeing Through Changed Eyes ( Chapter 23 )

DISCLAIMER: I do not own One Piece, Teen Titans, or any characters or elements contained within. I believe these can be credited to the geniuses Eiichiro Oda [author and artist of OP], Marv Wolfman and George Perez [respective author and artist of The New Teen Titans comic of the eighties], and Glen Murakami and his talented crew [the staff of the Teen Titans animated series, the Titans version which this story is based off.] Thanks for developing these wonderful characters I have the pleasure of using in this story!

 

Any original characters, however, belong to Pivitor. Remember it!

 

 

The Ultimate Cruise:
One Piece meets Teen Titans

 

Chapter 23: The Survivors—Seeing Through Changed Eyes

 

Crimson energy was ablaze on the Eehuah, casting angry shadows across Ian's face. The Iso-jin's eyes had arched into slits, staring across the battlefield into his rival's with a new admiration just barely resonating.

 

“Shall we finish this?”

 

Zoro smirked in turn. He raised his swords, positioning one in front of his body and one behind himself.

 

“Let's!”

 

However, just as the two swordsmen moved to finish their battle Raven appeared before them, rising from a black puddle on the battlefield floor.

 

The Titan's worried eyes darted back and forth between the opponents. She had just been inside both their minds, and in the process had linked their thoughts, if only for a moment. All three of them had seen the tragic pasts that drove Roronoa Zoro and Ian, and despite it all they still wanted to fight!

 

“Zoro,” Raven gasped, “how can you still fight him after all that?!”

 

The pirate just glared at her, not dropping his stance. “It was his idea.”

 

Heaving a sigh of despair, the empath turned her sights to the Iso-jin. “And you? Can't you see that what you're doing is against everything your mother fought for?”

 

“Indeed I can.” Ian replied, lowering his sword. Raven could feel the sudden change in his emotions, and instinctively took a step backwards. As he took a deep breath the crystal around his neck—which had been collecting his opponent's energy as well as boosting his—began to glow even brighter.

 

“Raven,” he continued, biting on his lip, “Though I had been fighting for her all this time, I…I could never bring myself to think of what happened, I…I repressed it all, pushed it to the back of my head! It…it was too painful to think about!

 

“When you unlocked those memories…it was the first time I'd seen them since it happened! All this time I had been fighting with the understanding of a child, following an agenda set for me by a manipulative old bitch!

 

“I've finally seen my mother through the eyes of an adult, and now I can understand what she fought for! If she knew I'd wasted all this time fighting for the Iso-jin, accomplishing nothing…”

 

The crystal levitated into the air, its energy sparking back into the boy. An intimidating crimson aura leapt to life around Ian, the force of it sending debris flying.

 

“I can't do that anymore! From now on I will fight to save Ianoa Island my own way—and I won't let the old lady's plans do any more harm!

 

“Hear that, Iso-jin! We're through!”

 

Finally the crystal shattered, its remnants now nothing but dust. The rest of the power it had provided to Ian hovered around the boy, blazing like a wildfire.

 

Raven still looked confused. “But, if this is true, why are you still fighting?!”

 

Now Ian smirked. “So that somebody else can follow his dream, of course.”

 

Two sets of eyes now turned to Roronoa Zoro, and the green-haired swordsman couldn't help but feel a little touched—not that he'd show it. “Exactly! We still have to prove who the better swordsman between us is!”

 

“Of course, I already know the answer to that!” Ian exclaimed, again readying his weapon. “Prepare to lose, Zoro!”

 

“Bullshit!” Zoro laughed. “I'm going to be the greatest swordsman in the world Ian—don't you ever forget that!”

 

Both swordsmen exploded forward in one final charge. Caught in the crossfire, Raven was just barely able to levitate above their exchange. Before this would have agitated her—no, enraged her—but now it was different. Now she just couldn't rightly object, and in truth, she was more occupied with what something else completely. They had called each other by their first names!

 

The energy from Eehuah merged with Ian's aura—the final remains of his life as an Iso-jin—and propelled him forward. It shimmered, surrounding him until he was just a red streak jetting across the plateau.

 

“Crimson Comet!”

 

Zoro, meanwhile, pulled both arms above his head and crouched low, forming a somewhat skewed `v' shape. His fingers were moving so fast that they looked as if they were dancing, and in turn the katanas in both hands span until they were just a blur. Using all of his remaining strength he dashed forward, almost vanishing himself.

 

“Washi Tsume Kushi!”

 

The ground around them shattered as their attacks hit home; the two swordsmen didn't even notice as they sank into a crater formed by their own destructive force. Zoro's spinning blades shredded the head of the comet like a lawnmower would grass, and in only moments Ian was within the pirate's sight.

 

Suddenly the former Iso-jin ground to a halt, and the energy that had propelled him just shot forward. The Eehuah's pure power blew Zoro's arms back, nearly ripping them from his shoulders and almost sending him flying.

 

Quickly digging his toes into the dirt, Zoro steadied himself and turned his attention back to the battle. Unfortunately, his arms were still reeling from the first strike of the Crimson Comet—and Ian was swinging the Eehuah, ready to take advantage of his opponent's handicap!

 

However, two useless limbs weren't nearly enough to stop Roronoa Zoro. Shifting his weight, the pirate span his body low, and the blade of the Eehuah met with the blade of his white katana—Kuina's sword—still clenched steadfastly between his teeth.

 

Sparks flew as the two weapons struggled. The power of the Crimson Comet still raged around them, singeing Zoro's body and sending pain through his muscles. Still, he paid attention to nothing but the blade being parried only inches from his face.

 

`You can't win! You're better than a lot of people I've fought, for sure, and for once you even fight for a just cause! Still, you have your entire life to fulfill that dream! If I lose now, my dream is over! I'm sorry, but…'

 

The dust around Zoro stirred as he pressed forward, driving Ian's sword backwards.

 

`…this blade carries more weight than yours ever will!'

 

Slinging his head into the air—with his katana following—the Eehuah was knocked into the air and far away from Ian's reach. The boy's eyes could only grow wide as he noticed Zoro charging forward, with the use of his arms fully restored.

 

The spinning blades dashed through his body, and only a moment later the pirate was standing behind him. He let his fingers go limp, and his katanas' spin slowed until he finally clenched them between his fists, ending the attack. In that very instant blood exploded from all over Ian, spraying the battlefield like a fountain.

 

The former Iso-jin collapsed, blood still trickling from the twisting designs carved into his body. Zoro looked over his shoulder at his unconscious opponent with a small smile.

 

“Good job.”

 

Raven suddenly landed at Ian's side, staring at his body in shock before turning her rage towards Zoro. “Think you could have attacked him a little more? I think he had some skin left.”

 

“Enough,” Zoro growled. “If I had held back any he would have won.” The green-haired swordsman returned his weapons to their sheaths and then stretched; his mouth opened wide into a yawn as he did so. “Yeah, he was a tough one. I think I need a nap after that.”

 

Pulling his sheaths from beneath his haramaki, Zoro plopped onto the ground and stretched onto his back, laying his sheaths across his lap and closing his eyes. In an instant he was asleep.

 

“This is no time to sleep.” Raven chastised. “We still need to find the others!” Receiving no response, she instead leaned over her teammate's fallen opponent. A circle of incandescent blue grew from her gray-skinned hands, and as she placed her palms against Ian's chest his wounds began to recede. In a matter of minutes his more serious injuries had been healed.

 

Zoro was brutally awakened from his slumber by a force jerking him into the air; looking around, he could see that Raven had carried him, Ian's unconscious body, and herself into the air on a black disk. Using a sheath as a cane he climbed onto his feet.

 

“You really are in a hurry, aren't you?” he asked, before glancing at Ian. “You healed him, right? And he still isn't awake?”

 

“Even without the physical damage you did,” Raven replied, “he still went though a lot of mental trauma. It'll be a while before he awakens again.” The empath moved a darkness covered hand to the side, and a few moments later Tashigi floated onto their little vessel, surrounded by a bubble of dark energy.

 

“And yes,” she continued, “I am in a hurry. The energy that was controlling Tashigi frightened me; I sensed so much evil that it was overwhelming. And when I was inside Ian's mind, the heartlessness of Mother was just as bad. We need to find the others or we might not stand a chance.”

 

The pirate nodded, but was suddenly hit with another thought. “Um…” Without the proper words, he simply gestured around the cavern walls at the dozens of passageways. “Do you know which way to go now?”

 

Raven shrugged. “Actually, I was hoping you had an idea.”

 

Looking around, Zoro sighed. “Well, we could go in that one,” he said, pointing to the right, “but maybe that's the right one.” He pointed to the left. “Then again, it could be that really high one; we do need to go up, right?” He nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah, whichever one goes up is the right one.”

The Titan chuckled. “Of course. I saw in your mind that you had no sense of direction—how could I forget?”

 

“I do so have a sense of direction.” her companion growled. “And as for you going into my mind…”

 

“I'm sorry,” Raven interjected, “I really shouldn't have done that.”

 

“It won the battle, right?” Zoro didn't look upset. “It's just about what you saw in there…”

 

“Wait!” Raven again interrupted him—though the timing couldn't have been better, it wasn't planned at all. “I can sense people nearby!”

 

 

 

“Will you stop squirming?” Tony Tony Chopper asked. The doctor was in his reindeer form, plodding through the endless passages of Slade's hideout with forced patience.

 

Across his back lay an iguana. Its feet twitched as it suddenly grew into a basset hound, which let its head dangle over the reindeer's side. The flaps around its mouth moved as it sighed; rolling onto its back it shifted into Beast Boy.

 

“I'm trying, man,” he sighed, “but I just can't get comfortable.” His green hands pulled at the bandages encasing part of his torso. “You wrap these bandages way too tight.”

 

“Really?” Chopper's eyes shot towards the passenger on his back. “I didn't think I pulled them any tighter than usual. Aren't you used to bandages?”

 

Beast Boy smiled. “Not really. I live with a healer.” Suddenly his voice dropped into a whisper. “Besides, our show is rated Y-7. They don't usually hurt us this bad.”

 

Chopper was oblivious to his friend's breach of the fourth wall; his sensitive nose had picked up a familiar scent coming from up ahead. Without warning he galloped ahead, nearly throwing Beast Boy off of his back.

 

“Dude,” the changeling cried, “What are you doing?!” He held on for dear life as the doctor skidded around a corner, his entire body nearly continuing into a wall. Damn Newton and those stupid laws of physics!

 

“It's our friends!” Chopper cried as he clomped further down the new passage. “I can smell them! I can smell Sanji's cigarettes!”

 

Suddenly the reindeer was forced to stop; only inches away from his face stood a man in a black suit. The aforementioned cigarette smoke wafted around them, leaving the impression of a British fog on the roof of the tunnel.

 

“Chopper!” Usopp exclaimed, moving from behind the cook's back. “I'm glad to see you!” Suddenly he collapsed. “I…I'm dying!”

 

The pirate shifted to his tiny half-man half-reindeer form, leaning by the sniper's side.

 

Chopper chattered worriedly, and seemingly endlessly, as he pulled bandages from his backpack. “Dumbass,” Sanji growled, “You aren't injured that much.”

 

Feeling pain pass through his chest as he stared at the reindeer's bandages, Beast Boy quietly added, “You might be better off without the bandages.”

 

The shapeshifter leapt backwards as he heard a soft chuckle come from a figure behind Sanji. “You're still as funny as ever.”

 

“T…Terra?”

 

She smiled, setting Beast Boy's heart into palpitations. It was so good to see her! He had fought all this time so that he could move forward and save her—wait a second, what was she doing here?

 

“Um,” He bit his lip as he searched for the proper words, “What happened?”

 

Terra's smile dropped slightly as she looked towards the floor. “Slade and I—let's just say we had a falling out.”

 

“And so you think you can just waltz back to the Titans?”

 

The crew turned, seeing an angry Raven standing behind them. The disk of energy that had been carrying her friends vanished, dropping Zoro and the unconscious bodies of Ian and Tashigi to the ground. Her cloak fluttered behind her angrily as she approached her former teammate.

 

“You were a spy! You betrayed us to Slade!” Trails of white floated from the Titan's arching eyes. “We decided to trust you when you saved our home, but apparently even that was a lie! How do you expect us to just let you say you made a mistake and rejoin just like that?!”

 

Terra swallowed the lump in her throat, instinctively taking a step backwards. Everything Slade had told her when she seemingly had him beaten echoed in her mind.

 

“You have forever planted the seeds of doubt in their mind. Do you think even killing me can undo that, my child? Robin most of all will think it an elaborate ruse of mine.”

 

Her heart beat faster as she stared into the furious eyes of Raven.

 

“There is no turning back! From here you are destined for destruction—everyone is your enemy!”

 

“Enough.” Suddenly Terra snapped back into reality, and she saw Sanji standing between her and Raven. “You didn't see what Slade did to her!” he growled. “She fought him with every inch of her power and defeated him!”

 

Raven waved her hand to the side, and a black spark snuffed out the flame on Sanji's cigarette. “Just like she used all her power to help us save Titan's Tower? That certainly didn't make her a traitor.”

 

Beast Boy and Terra both reeled. Usopp, on the other hand, was fed up. “How can you keep saying these things?!”

 

“It's easy. She's a traitor, and I can't trust her.”

 

Suddenly Raven felt a hand on her shoulder, and looked up to see Zoro's imposing figure. “Maybe you should just look in her mind?” he suggested, shrugging his arms innocently.

 

The witch buried her face in her hand. “You're not helping.” Still, she could feel the tension in her friends and realized there wasn't time for this. “This argument is pointless,” Raven continued. “Terra cannot yet be trusted, and we can't take her with us. It's as simple as that. Now we need to get moving—”

 

“But—” Beast Boy interrupted the other Titan's sentence, and stammered for a second before continuing with a new resolve. “—while she's with us Terra's a Titan, and we don't leave a Titan behind!”

 

“No, Beast Boy.” The changeling leapt around, surprised, to see Terra walking forward. She was happy that her friends were proving Slade wrong, but at the same time both he and Raven had a point. “There is no reason for you guys to trust me. You should just go ahead.”

 

Raven raised an eyebrow. Was this for real, or just part of the act?

 

Indifferent as ever, Zoro turned towards a fourth tunnel, the only place none of them had come from. “So this is the way we go then, right?”

 

“How would you know which way to go, seaweed head?” Sanji asked, lighting a new death-stick at the swordsman's side.

 

Zoro's face took on the expression of an angry zombie. “Are you trying to start something, love cook?!”

 

“Up. We have to go up.”

 

Yet again the crew was stunned to hear Terra speak up. “I saw Slade's diagram of this place. There are at least three large tunnels leading to his control room. All the passages in this quadrant of the hideout lead to this one—a straight passage to Slade.”

 

“Really?” Chopper asked in awe. He looked up, followed by his companions, to a massive tunnel burrowing straight through the ceiling. They couldn't even see the top.

 

Dropping her head, Terra continued. “That is, if you believe me.”

 

Again tension bristled through the group, but naïve Chopper was oblivious to it all. “So how do we get up anyway?”

 

Leaping to his feet, Usopp pulled a gaudy belt from his bag and strapped it on. “With Captain Usopp's amazing grappling-belt, of course!” A grappling hook was attached to the front of the belt—via a long rope. Usopp swung the hook before launching it; as it sunk into the tunnel wall, the sniper began to pull himself up it.

 

Usopp grunted as he laboriously pulled himself up the rope, nearly slipping several times on his sweat. Suddenly he gasped as he was pulled backwards by a field of black, and landed—on his back—on a giant disk of black.

 

“I think this is easier.” Raven said. Beast Boy pointed at the fallen sniper and laughed out loud.

 

Looking all around her at the Titan's form of transportation, Terra was stunned. “You…you believe me?”

 

Raven placed a hand on the earth-mover's shoulder. “I don't trust you yet, and I may not for a long time, but—” Strangely enough, she actually smiled. Terra's admittance of guilt, and the adamancy of the others, was still fresh in her mind. “—everybody deserves a second chance.”

 

Blue energy suddenly emerged from the empath's palm, spreading until it covered the entire disk. Each Straw Hat Pirate and Teen Titan felt some of their energy returning, and some of their wounds even receded.

 

“That's the best I can do,” Raven began, “and we're going to need every bit of that power if we want to win.”

 

“Don't worry,” Sanji said, tapping some ashes from his cigarette, “we'll kick all their asses.” Hearts suddenly sprang from his eyes. “After all, Nami-san and Star-kun are still out there!”

 

“Yes! Captain Usopp shall defeat them all single handedly! They'll all fall to the power of Captain Usopp, the destroyer, whom instantly def—”

 

His rant was cut short by Sanji driving his head into the disk. Chopper sighed, disappointed that he'd never hear the end of Usopp's story.

 

Beast Boy chuckled. “At least we're all hyped.”

 

Zoro fell flat on his back. Crossing his arms over his chest, he simply mumbled, “Wake me up when we get there.”

 

 

 

“Titans! Come in!” Receiving nothing but static, Robin shoved the communicator back into his belt. “Slade must be jamming our signal!” he growled.

 

Luffy smiled, oblivious to Robin's plight but not to the sounds of his rumbling stomach echoing through the tunnel. “Jam sounds real good right now!”

 

The boy wonder sighed, and again turned his attention to the dead-end before them. Looking up, his amazing mind tried to figure out a way to climb the tunnel bored into the ceiling. Unfortunately, it was far too high for even him to scale.

 

“I guess we'll have to turn back.” Robin's shoulders sagged as he turned to the direction from which they came.

 

“Don't be stupid.” Luffy said with a laugh. Robin's eyes grew wide as Luffy threw his arms backwards. With a snap they soared forward, scaling the wall until finally his fingers dug into the rock.

 

Robin waved his arms ahead of him, as if trying to ward off the rubberman. “Luffy, don't…” However, only a second later Monkey D. Luffy's legs had wrapped around the detective. In an instant they were gone, soaring into the air.

 

“Rubber…ROCKET!”

 

The only sound they made was Robin's screams echoing up the distance of the tunnel.

 

 

 

 

“Give up?” Both Nami and Cyborg nodded, eager to get the joke over with. “Zeptak!”

 

Starfire's two companions heaved heavy sighs, their bodies now dragging even closer to the ground.

 

“Do you not get it?” Star asked, confused to as why they didn't respond. “It is humorous because a blorgie would never pagio a zeptak!”

 

Cyborg faked a grin. “Yeah, it's hilarious. Um, I'm kind of joked out now. How about you, Nami?”

 

The thief nodded vigorously. “What I could really go for,” she said, “are some more lights in this tunnel. That Slade has all this money to build a place like this yet he keeps all his passages so dark? It doesn't make any sense.”

 

Raising an eyebrow, the mechanical man asked, “If you had his money would you put more lights in here?”

 

Nami didn't waste a second. “Of course not! I'd lock it all in a box to keep it away from Luffy, of course!” Suddenly the navigator's face took on a devilish look as she remembered all the money Robin had been waving about at the pizza shop. “You know, you guys should hire me to manage your money!”

 

For whatever reason, that hit Cyborg funny. “Yeah, like I'd trust our money to you!”

 

Raging fires of anger suddenly sparked to life in Nami's eyes, but before she could do anything Starfire floated between the two.

 

“Please, do not argue!” the alien girl pleaded. “I know! To quicken our journey I shall sing a traditional Tamaranian folk song!”

 

She took a deep breath, and as the first note left Starfire's mouth both of her companions' eardrums contemplated suicide. The tunnel quaked, and if glass had been present it would have shattered—no, this was a sound that would shatter diamond.

 

Suddenly the Titan found herself beneath the body of her cybernetic teammate—tackled to the floor. “Did I do something wrong?” she moaned.

 

“Of course not!” Cyborg quickly lied. “I, I just thought I saw somebody ahead.” For added effect he continued, as his arm shifted back into his Sonic Cannon. “There it is again!”

 

The shot of blue sound waves tore through the wall, leaving only steaming pebbles. The robotic warrior helped his teammate to her feet, but the action left him oblivious to his destruction—and the effects it had reaped.

 

Nami's eyes grew wide as saucers—and her pupils shrunk to dots—as a light peeked through the decimated wall.

 

“Guys,” she stuttered, taking a trembling step backwards, “I…I think we've found something big.”

 

Through the hole in the wall lied a gaping cavern, with flood lights on every corner. Various pipes, gears, and mechanical tidbits lined the walls, and plateaus of assorted heights changed the elevation randomly. A small recess in the far wall held what probably was the largest computer console known to man, which was linked to several giant viewscreens displaying a diverse variety of information.

 

Starfire started to float towards the cavern. “Wait,” Cyborg gasped, “Don't people usually die when they walk into bright lights?”

 

“I am not familiar with this custom,” The Tamaranian replied. “But I do know that we cannot stay here. We have a greater chance of finding our friends if we move forward and face the danger.”

 

Strolling past the Titan, Nami chuckled. “Afraid, big man?”

Cyborg grabbed his Sonic Cannon with his other arm. “Of course not.” The three heroes entered the room, and suddenly alarms blared across the robot's eye. “I'm picking up two heat signatures, dead ahead!”

 

Those two figures stood atop a high plateau of rock, on the other side of the room.

 

“Finally, our guests have arrived,” cooed the frightening voice of the first figure. Slade cast his sight upon a clock on one of his screens. “And right on time too. Correct as always, Mother.”

 

The second figure's withered face cracked a smile. “My predictions always come true.” Mother took a step forward, pulling her Iso-jin crystal from inside her dress.

 

Slade cracked his knuckles and took a step forwards. “Then I guess it's time to have some fun.”

 

“No.”

 

Hovering above Cyborg, balls of translucent green light came to life around Starfire's palms, and her pupils faded as her eyes became pools of that same green energy. “They are coming down here.”

 

“Then we'd better be ready for a fight.” Cyborg said grimly. He turned his head over his shoulder, looking towards Nami. “You going to be all right?”

 

The navigator nodded. “I'll…I'll be fine.” Jumping nimbly backwards, she then ran back to the opening Cyborg had created, bouncing all the way. “I'll just wait back here!”

 

`Idiot!' she mentally chastised herself. `How do you get involved in such dangerous adventures?'

 

“What do you mean no?” Slade demanded.

 

Mother chuckled. “Do you really think you can take down both of them together?”

 

“There's no doubt in my mind,” the madman said, “If I try hard enough.”

 

“And I believe you,” the Iso-jin continued, “but you can't defeat them the proper way. Only I can do that!”

 

Suddenly Mother leapt over the edge of the plateau, her brittle gray hair blowing behind her as she plummeted through the air. As she grew closer to the ground light emerged from her crystal, bathing her in a blinding crimson hue.

 

She hit the ground only feet away from the two Titans. “Don't worry, Slade! You'll still have your fun!”

 

Slade raised an eyebrow. His fun could wait—he had to see what she had planned now. How could somebody of her age make that leap? And her voice—it sounded different.

 

“Hello, Teen Titans. How good to see you again.”

 

Cyborg looked bewildered. “Do…do we know you?”

 

“I…I believe it is the old woman,” Starfire stuttered, “but she no longer looks like she has very much of the…old.”

 

Mother emerged from the aura of the Iso Toa's power, curling a strand of black hair between her fingers. Her back had straightened, and her wrinkles had disappeared as if she had been ironed out. Sagging parts had tightened into a figure with curves like a long country road—and in all the right places.

 

The not-so-very-old woman took a deep breath as she sauntered towards her opponents.

 

“Ah, how nice to be young again.”

Next time: The Final Stage—One Step Ahead in Time