Chapter Text
The harsh sun's rays extended down on the Big Top, leaving every man (and lady) on deck feeling especially fried. It was a particularly hard afternoon. The morning started off rough with another run-in with the damn marines. Of course, each time Buggy and his pirates made a miraculous and flashy escape each time. But, the hull this time was scratched up. Nothing that would leave the ship in critical condition, but man did it leave an ugly mark in contrast to the ship's colorful coat.
Then, following that the crew encountered a group of hungry sea kings! A couple of big brainless fish is nothing for The Feared Fearless Buggy! Right? Wrong. It wasn’t a pretty scene, to say the least. One sea king, barbed with aisles of teeth stretching down its huge and long mouth roared at the ship. Flashing it down with its terrifying golden eyes and flaring its grim, gray fins.
Another had sickly yellow scales, with a serpent-like face. And another was behind them, it was significantly cuter than your average sea king, bearing a catlike face with calico scales. But god to a pirate, it was absolutely terrifying.
“C-Captain! What do we do?!” cried Cabaji, on the floor after he fell from his unicycle.
The captain, standing at the crow’s nest, was utterly scared shitless. He couldn’t remember the last time he’s dealt with one of these monsters. Or if he’s ever had to deal with these monsters. There’s only one way he knew how to deal with problems like these.
“Men! Ready up the cannons! I’ll give ‘em a taste of my famed Buggy Balls!” The blue-haired pirate exclaimed.
He jumped down from the crow’s nest, his body coiling out like a slinky and compressing again once he touched the ground. He ran towards the cannons and pointed it up at the ferocious beast. Its enormous grin mocking the clown.
He fired at the monster, but as the bomb flew toward’s its head, it opened its mouth and swallowed it whole.
Buggy’s pupils shrunk and he stepped back from the cannon.
“WHAT?!” He cried. That was quite literally the only and last defense he had against these beasts. He was at his wit’s end. And he could see it with his crew too.
Its huge shadows darkened the ship. Buggy didn’t want things to end like this. Not to a couple of giant fish fritters, in the middle of the ocean with no land to be seen on the horizon.
Buggy clutched his hands into firm fists and stood his ground. He glared at the monsters, mustering up all of his courage.
“HEY!! FISH LIP TRIO!!” He yowled. “YOU’RE GOING TO REGRET THE DAY YOU ROSE TO CHALLENGE THE GREAT BUGGY AND HIS BAND OF PIRATES! I WON’T FORGIVE YOU FOR EATING UP OUR BOMBS LIKE DOG TREATS!!” He screamed. And with that, followed one of his most iconic moves.
“Special Attack! Muggy Ball!” He chanted. He jumped into the air and kicked his legs out, revealing a very small projectile within his shoe. It awkwardly hovered towards the creatures in a linear path, seemingly unaffected by the Earth’s gravity. The monstrosities stared at the thing with a confused snarl, unsure as to what would happen.
The thing was a dud. It poofed into a small and jejune cloud of smoke and confetti, barely sizing the ginormous beasts. When their attention shifted back to the ship, the clown was gone. Confused, they leaned forward to search for their lunch when suddenly, by random all three sea kings were struck by lightning!
The bolts crashed into the ocean and eviscerated the monstrosities. The sky flashing dark and light for a split second, putting up a flashy skeletal show before their carcasses plunged back into the depths.
It was eerily quiet for a few minutes. Buggy peaked out of his cabin to see what had happened. And just as he “expected”, the Sea Kings were gone.
He shared a dumbfounded look with his crewmates for a moment, only to jump back out and start cackling.
“See? That was nothing! Nothing can ever stand in the way of Buggy! GYAHAHAHA!” He gloated about his spurious victory.
“Why don’t we celebrate with some Beer?!” He cheered, moseying on over to the cellar to find….
One intoxicated cat. Soaking in booze.
Buggy was furious. “RICHIE!!” He screamed at a high pitch. “You DRANK ALL OF OUR BEER?!”
The purplish lion gawked at his captain with a stupid look on his face. Too drunk to even express guiltiness. In a rage, he slammed the cellar door shut and marched out, pretending he hadn’t seen anything.
“Whatever!! We’ll just make a pit stop for some beer and food, no biggie!” He said, forcing a grin on his face, trying to hide his anger.
The clouds rolled over the sky almost immediately after he announced that. The sky dimmed and became a foreboding gray. Thunder began to shake and rock the ship and rain began to pour down.
“Are you KIDDING ME?!” Buggy shrilled. “It’s just one after another!”
He hung his head low and it sadly shook. His voice began to waver and soften. “I don’t know how much more of this we can take. At this rate.. We’ll b-”
“Captain!! Look!” Alvida cried out. Buggy twisted his head back towards her voice and a huge wave was racing towards the ship. The men began to scream and run like chickens around the ship.
“What the hell are you fools doing?!” He shouted at his crew. “The rudders are jammed! We can’t do anything!!” One pirate cried out.
Buggy grasped the side of his face, not sure if he was touching his own sweat or the rain. He’s dealt with nasty storms just fine but this stream of bad luck was just… Bizarre. He began to wonder if this search for Captain John’s map was really worth this amount of trouble. His head felt like it was spinning. All of this stress nonstop just wasn’t good for him.
He ventured his way to the port while battling the hurricane-like winds just to look down. His face went pale. His stomach dropped. Along with the monster wave rapidly approaching his men, he found himself surrounded by a sea of whirlpools! The ship’s ominous creaking grew louder and grinding. It was as if it was writhing in agony and he could hear it. It spun like a merry-go-round straight from hell.
It was taking every last bit of strength for these pirates not to fly off into their watery grave. Everything grew even darker and the stench of sea salt was practically burning his nostrils at this point. He looked up, wearing a miserable mug with “defeat” written all over. Facing a wrath more watery and fearsome than any man he’s ever fought.
And then….there was silence. And then there wasn’t. The sound of waves gently nipping at the ship began to fade in along with Buggy’s consciousness.
“Captain Buggy..!”
“Captain Buggy!”
“Captain!!”
Third time’s always the charm, and the clown finally opened his eyes and saw his crewmates, hovering over his face. His eyes narrowed as he scanned their faces. He let out a slight groan before he sat himself up.
“What..happened?” He rubbed his temple.
“Uh sir, it appears we’ve survived the storm!” Cabaji responded with a relieved grin on his face.
The clown lit up. “We did?” He said with a dopey look until he switched to a more triumphant expression. “H-Hah! HAAHAHAHA!!” He shot himself and laughed heartily with his hands on his hips.
“And you fools thought we were gonna die! How could you possibly ever succumb to such dreadful thoughts when I’M your captain? GYAHAHAHA~!” He cackled. Coming to an abrupt stop when he realized his back was thrown out during that storm.
“ Ah-tchtchtchtch..” Mohji swiftly came to his side to soothe the pain. Seems his middle years have finally approached.
“Miss Alvida!” He called. “You aren’t dead now, aren't cha?” He teased.
The beautiful lady pirate emerged from the cabin. She was fine, but definitely disoriented. She gave the surrounding pirates a bitter pout, and her face scrunched up when she saw the boastful blue-haired captain she had partnered up with.
“No, but I don’t know if that’s necessarily a good thing.” She quipped.
He chuckled lowly. “It’ll be more than a good thing once we find Captain John’s treasure, my dear Alvida! Think of it this way, this has probably been the worst week we’ve had so far since our encounter with those damned Straw Hats.” He said with a grimace.
“This is a sign that what we’re looking for is flashily approaching!” He swung his arms out. The lady pirate raised her eyebrow. After the hell she’s endured with this crew as of late, all she could do was sigh and shake her head.
“Your optimism knows no bounds, Captain.”
Something about that sentence struck a sour chord with the captain.
“WHAT THE HELL DID YOU SAY ABOUT MY NOSE?!” Buggy screeched. Tempted to pound her head until his attention was called to something else.
“Captain! There’s an island ahead!” Cabaji shouted. The clown turned around and to his delight, a lush looking island was indeed ahead.
“Perfect!!” He exclaimed. “Finally, we can steal some booze and drink off that nightmarish hurricane. Full speeds ahead!” He gestured.
“Aye aye!!”
As they neared the island, an air of mystery breezed through the ship. Alvida pulled out her compass, just to see if it had any sort of reaction. The needle was pointing in the southwest direction, but it grew more and more unstable as they got closer. Something felt off.
“Captain.. Do you feel-”
“Yes.” Buggy cut her off. “There is indeed something strange about these waters. I know the Grand Line is full of mysteries and all but, these waters may have very well only been discovered by Roger himself.” The intuitive captain responded.
The crew hit shore and they were greeted by an island lush with trees and plants. The vibrant greenery reminded the captain of his time in the East Blue.
“Captain! This could be dangerous! Let us accompany you!” Mohji proclaimed. Buggy gave him a side-eye full of skepticism.
“Chill out. It’s only booze.” He sneered. “I need you all to stay here anyway and watch the ship. I’ll check out the island and see what’s up.” He stepped out onto the plank. Before he could touch the sand he stopped and turned back around.
“Oh! And make sure Richie doesn’t eat the rest of our rations!!”
“YES SIR!!”
And so he was off. From where they docked, the island didn’t seem like there was much civilization. Or so Buggy thought. As he ventured into the rainforest he looked up at the canopy and spotted mountains in the very far distance. A large shape could be made out within its silhouette, but he couldn’t tell what it was.
Seems this land has a bit more depth to it than it looked. He continued off, trudging through tall foliage and thick vines. Well, one of those vines turned out to be a snake, which became very angry once the pirate clown grasped it. It’s toxic green eyes seething into Buggy’s beady pupils.
“AAAHHHH!!” His shrill voice echoed throughout the jungle. His legs became a blur as he tried to outrun the vicious vertebrate.
Without realizing, he also stepped on the tail of an alligator, who snarled angrily at the red-nosed man. “S-shit!!” He cursed. Despite its stout build, it kept up pretty well with Buggy’s feet.
“Enough of this!!” He cried. “You aren’t any match for me, LUNCH MEAT!!” He insulted the creatures, before separating his hands from his wrists, arming them with his classic set of knives slotted between his fingers. Slashing the pesky beasts until they scurried away or simply stopped moving.
“GYA~HAHAHAHA! You stupid bastards have no chance for mercy against me!! Challenge the almighty Buggy, and be prepared to meet your ends!” He proclaimed, as if the animals gave any sort of a damn.
“ But, I probably should be more careful from here on out.. ” He muttered.
He continued onward. As he journeyed deeper into the rainforest, the sounds of bugs and other creatures grew quieter, and the noise of something like chatter and music grew louder.
People! Buggy thought. He became excited, it’s been a hot minute since he’s pillaged a town. This could be a chance for him to grow his bounty too! At that moment, he became overjoyed. So happy, he pulled out a modestly large red ball from his cape. How the hell did he even store something like that?
“Gyehehehe… These townsfolk will cower in fear against me as I blow their ugly homes to smithereens!! They’ll probably give me everything they have just so I can leave!! Ah, maybe I can find a cartographer to give me his precious maps too!” He swooned. A huge smile was painted across his face. There’s nothing else in the world that could make him happier than a treasure map.
“Oh! Or maybe even better, they’ll make me their LEADER and beg for my mercy! Yes..With this Buggy Ball, I can declare myself as the new ruler of-” He stopped to think.
“Whatever’s on this island!” He laughed.
His fantasizing quickly came to a stop as he wasn’t looking where he was going, and tripped on a low hanging vine. Causing him to lose grip of the bomb. In fact, the force of him fumbling over it launched the projectile high into the air. His eyes went small.
“Oh no. OH NO-NO-NO-NO!” He darted through the jungle trying to catch up and hopefully catch the bomb in time. He split himself up and hovered in the air to get a better view, but the ball was nowhere to be seen. It was the only one he brought with him by chance, and he won’t be able to make anymore for a while!
His disembodied hands soared through the trees, along with the rest of him following below. The sound of people chattering, music and noisemakers filled the air under him, but he wasn’t paying attention. Until suddenly, he fell hard to the ground. His separated body became whole again upon impact.
“GAH!”
He wiped the dirt off his face and fixed the “tassels” dangling from his hat. Something felt off, and as he looked down, he realized his foot was missing.
“Huh? Where the heck did my foot go?” Before he decided to turn back around and search for it, he spotted a small figure in the distance. And beyond that, seemed to be walls bordering the forest. As he squinted forward, he noticed the figure was holding something with a curly end. Then it hit him.
“AHH! MY SHOE!” He screamed. Flailing his hands in the air.
The little figure must’ve noticed his voice, because it quickly scurried off. Determined to get his foot back, Buggy hobbled towards the walls. It was especially difficult because the ground began to slope up, and walking with uneven legs is already a pain in the ass on flat surfaces alone..
With all his might, he made it to the top of the slope, but he couldn’t slow down after that and he charged straight into a colorful promade, falling flat on his face.
Voices overlapped with one another. Some laughing, cheering, some screaming too. Definitely wasn’t related to a disembodied foot. There were also some voices that seemed louder than others. It was hard to distinguish what they were saying over the music.
Buggy’s vision began to clear up as he slowly opened his eyes. He looked around and noticed he was on cobblestone pavement, littered with pink, yellow and blue streamers. The smell of food filled the air, along with the smell of smoke. It felt…Familiar but foreign at the same time.
Realizing he was probably surrounded by people, he jolted up, and whipped out his signature knives.
“ATTENTION YOU LANDLUBBERS!” He shrieked.
“ALL YOUR MONEY, FOOD AND BOOZE BELONGS TO ME! Y’HEAR?! IT’S ALL MINE N….”
Buggy’s voice faltered. He stood, frozen in his enthusiastic pose. He couldn’t get another word to climb out his mouth. He wanted to move, but he couldn’t. The sight being laid upon his eyes had him petrified. Head to foot and ankle. The dozens of sets of eyes met his as well, as they didn’t understand what to do. They all just stopped in their tracks. Trying to understand who was this fellow making such an unusual ruckus.
The pirate has never experienced what some may call “stagefright.” He’s never had a problem showing himself off and making a flashy entrance for his audience but. This was new. He’s never experienced this before. He just couldn’t believe what he was looking at.
There was a woman, she was holding baskets stuffed with freshly picked flowers. Wrapped up and bundled neatly with colored paper and ribbons. She wore a dress that stopped a little past her knees. It had a vibrant design that blended in with the beautiful flowers. Her hair was a light brown that barely touched her shoulders. With bangs that curtained her eyelids. Her eyes were a glossy blue. But most distinctively, her face was topped with a cherry. Right where her nose should be.
As Buggy scanned the rest of the scene, he noticed this with every individual he looked at. A tall man with light green hair. Handing out food to a line of people. Two young girls standing next to each other, who seemed like they were exchanging jokes until the unfamiliar face showed up. Street performers who were juggling objects, and waving sparklers ceased their frivolous activities as their audience grew silent. All staring at this blue-haired freak. All of them bore a big red nose.
Buggy’s face scrunched up in utter confusion.
“W-what?”
Then, a man emerged from the stagnant crowd. Hands behind his back, with an easy smile on his face. Hiding the anxiety burning in his stomach.
“You seem a bit frazzled there, son.” He spoke.
Buggy glared down at the shorter man, eyes fluttering and blinking like his vision was failing him. He lowered his arms, furling his eyebrows at the jolly fellow.
They locked eyes for a long minute. Not sure what to say to each other. Just then, the laughter of a child emerged from the quiet. A little girl, running down the festive street, seemingly from a game of tag approached the two men. Not even caring who they were, she slung her arm around Buggy’s leg as she encircled him. She pulled him off balance and he stumbled about, almost falling back down, but he managed to stay on his foot.
“HEY! WATCH IT YOU STINKIN’ BRAT!!” He barked at her.
The little girl laughed at him and she stuck her tongue out in response. Snapping him back to the realization that hit him before.
“Wait… You… look like me.” He pointed towards his chest.
The little girl turned around and cocked her head to the side.
“A-All of you look like me!” He exclaimed. His mouth hung open in shock.
The man raised his eyebrow and smirked. “Well, of course! It’s not very hard to spot a Giovalean.” He winked at him.
“A what?” He shook his head in disbelief. “Where am I?”
“Giovale!” The man said with a laugh.
The Blue Sea is home to a boundless variety of people, and cultures. He’s met a few of them himself. He’s heard of tales of all kinds of people, even ones who live in the clouds. But not once has he ever heard the word “Giovalean” from anyone. All of this just felt unreal to him. He’d pinch himself to see if it was a dream but the sensation of his missing foot was stimulating enough for him to tell he was certainly awake.
It just didn’t feel like it.
“Erm.. But I’m a clown.” He replied. The older man laughed. A few other voices followed suit and murmuring ensued.
“Yes, I believe that’s what they also call us outside. But we are the Giovalean people.” He nodded at him reassuringly.
This was probably the most stunning thing Buggy has ever discovered. Thirty-seven years. Thirty-seven years of sailing on the seas with Roger and eventually his own crew. And not once has he ever found anyone that resembled him. Thirty-seven years of dealing with the same questions and jokes about his face. It always bothered him to no end, of course. But the one thing that bothered him even more was why he never found anyone else like him during his years of sailing. He never even recalled Roger telling him about where he came from. Simply that he found him drifting along a rocky shore.
Before Buggy could interrogate the man some more, An elderly Giovalean woman appeared next to the man. Her face was folded with wrinkles and creases, and she had stringy grayish-pink hair that hung over her squinty eyes. The rest of it being contained in a messy bun.
“Oh..Are you a sailor, young man?” She asked him, with a sweet smile. Buggy scowled at the condescending name.
“I’m a pirate ya freaking hag!” He scowled at her.
The rude remark knocked the smile off her face. And she nodded. She came closer to the ill-tempered pirate. She stretched her arm out, her wrinkly hand slowly reaching his stubbled face. Buggy didn’t know this grandma at all. He was tempted to smack it away but before he could lift his hand he felt a cold sensation on his face.
“You must’ve been so lonely for so long…” She said, in a despairing manner. Her thumb gently brushing his rough cheek.
The pirate’s eyes went big and twinkled when the old lady said that. But, his moment of vulnerability was shadowed as he winced and pushed her hand away.
“Damn! Will ya get offa me, grandma?! I’m not your freakin’ kid! AND WHERE’S YOUR BEER?! I don’t want to use FORCE!” He proclaimed. Shoving off the older woman and backing away. But he lost control of his balance as he forgot he was missing a foot.
“KYA~!! AND WHO THE HELL TOOK MY FOOT?! I’LL KILL ALL OF YA!!” He squawked, making a flashy fool of himself once again.
“Your foot?” The old lady looked down at him, holding her hand out so he could stand back up.
The screams of other children filled the air on the street as three more ran down. One seemed to be holding a boot.
“It’s mine now!” One shrieked.
“No it’s not! I found it first!” Another cried.
“Give it to me!! I want it!” A third proclaimed.
The three little squirts meandered around the crowd and the stands and the towering stilt performers until the one holding the boot tripped.
Buggy looked forward and found his foot rolling along the street. He jumped to action and extended his incomplete leg and the foot floated back to its rightful owner. He marched towards the little kids and gave them an ugly glare.
They looked up at the towering figure, growing intimidated by his mean stare, and they pouted back. Their innocent eyes gleaming with guilt broke the man’s expression. He gave a big, exasperated sigh and rolled his eyes.
“Don’t you know you shouldn’t run off with things that aren’t yours?! Imps!!” He hissed. His cruel demeanor startled the children and they skittered back to where they came from. He crossed his arms and fixed his posture to look back at the adults who’ve greeted him.
Buggy made plans to attack the next town he’d come across when he was still at sea but, ever since he’s landed in this little town, he couldn’t bring himself to lay a finger on any of these citizens. Giovale… He thought to himself.
The man walked up to him again. “I can take you to the bar at the end of the street if you like? Come, we’ll treat you.”
“Really?” His eyes brightened.
“Of course! “I’m under the impression you don’t want to hurt anybody.” He gestured towards the crowd.
Buggy was quiet.
“You’re right. Just give me what I want and I’m getting the hell up outta here.” He grimaced.
The bar was alive with some few discordant singing voices, the sounds of mugs clinking together while getting washed and placed down. The barkeeper was an older Giovalen man, with a mustache that curled up at the ends. A man and a woman were standing near the walls, having a conversation. It looked as if they were leaning, but upon closer inspection they were just uncomfortably tilted towards the wall. As if they wanted to rest on it, but couldn’t for some reason. Two other people were sitting at a table across the room, playing cards. Their hands seemed to have an excessive amount of cards.
“Tipston! Pour two, please.” The man called, walking inside with the new face. He pulled a chair out for him and his new guest, sat down and looked at him with curious eyes.
“I forgot to introduce myself. My name’s Darnab.” He said.
Buggy smirked as he leaned himself back in his chair, placing his curly boot on the table.
“Buggy.” He introduced himself.
“It’s a pleasure, Mr.Buggy! I’m sure you have plenty of burning questions about this island, so ask away.” Darnab chirped.
The pirate glanced away, thinking of what to ask first. What did he want to know? His head was running with dozens of thoughts ever since he stepped foot on here.
“So what’s the deal with this place? How come I haven’t heard of it?!” Buggy protested.
“I can’t tell you for sure. Especially considering you’re a Giovalen yourself. What I can explain is that we’ve maintained a low profile amongst other nations & organizations for a very long time. It’s been decades since we’ve had visitors, and most of the time, they were just poor, lost sailors. Too sick to even remember how they ended up here.” Darnab said, shaking his head.
Buggy raised an eyebrow. “..What about other times?”
“Other times?” Darnab repeated. “Well, if we want to get technical, it really was just a single instance. But one time, we were visited by a rather quaint fellow. He was drunk out of his senses and he led his whole ship and crew to our little island!” He gave a little chuckle, his nose wiggling up and down along.
“Ah, were we relieved when we realized he meant no harm.” He said with a reminiscing smile.
Buggy slammed his hand on the table and leaned forward. “Hold on! Was he a pirate? Did he have a red hat? And a bushy mustache?!” Buggy asked. Anxiety filling in the pit of his gut.
Darnab, put off by the sudden change in tones narrowed his eyes as he tried to remember.
“Mmnh…. That’s a good question. It’s been so long I can’t really put my finger on it. I think he did have a hat, yes..” He droned.
Buggy slouched back into his chair, dumbfounded. Roger..He’s had to have seen this place! He’s definitely been to this island!
Just as he was about to get into his thoughts, the barkeeper arrived with their drinks. Placed them down and left quickly.
“Oh, there we go.” Darnab remarked, sitting up to take a big gulp.
“Why do you ask, by the way? About this man- Did’jya know him?” He questioned him.
“Yeah. We go way back. He’s dead now, though. What was he like? When you met him?”
“He was hearty, he fit right in with us! He was down for a good time the whole day! Could’ve been the alcohol, though.” He smirked. “We did ask for his name but he never told us, and he didn’t stay for long either. In fact, he promised to leave this island as soon as possible when he could finally say some words.”
“Why?” Buggy asked. “Is there something dangerous here I don’t know about?” He quivered.
Darnab shook his head. “Apart from the wild animals, nope. We’re a very peaceful island, you see.”
“We stick together in everything and try to stay out of as little trouble with outsiders as possible. And what we’ve learned is that the best method to do that, is simply not appear at all!”
“..Huh?” Buggy tilted his head.
“The sea that surrounds Giovale is a strange one. It’s not particularly the most dangerous since you can still sail in it, but it’s something you could consider a “mini calm belt”, as it’s infested with sea kings. Because of this, none of us have ever set out to travel for decades.” Darnab explained.
“Of course.” The pirate grimaced. “Those bastards gave me and my crew hell. It wasn’t anything we couldn’t get past, of course!” He chortled.
Darnab gave him a skeptical grin but he wasn’t going to question it either way.
“On top of that, we have recorded the weather patterns that occur in our sea over the years and we’ve noticed a phenomenom in which the way the rain falls, it’s at a perfect angle to reflect the sun’s light. Which not only creates rainbows but an illusion that can confuse sailors, and convince them there isn’t an island to be seen on the horizon.”
“So is that how you’ve managed to avoid other people for so long?”
Darnab nodded.
“Well, it doesn’t stop some of the most formidable forces in the world. Like the World Government for example.”
“That’s no surprise. They like to pry themselves into every single thing they can find.” Buggy remarked, taking a large swig of his drink.
Darnab laughed. “Well that is true! As much as the government advocates for justice and peace, we really are just a small community, and we decided getting involved with authoritative figures would at some point, disturb the way of life in our home.”
“So?”
“So we hid from them!” Darnab let out an especially jaunty laugh.
Buggy spat his drink out. “You WHAT?!” He screamed, absolutely flabbergasted.
Darnab stood from his chair. “Look closely at the walls around you, Mr.Buggy.” He said, pointing at the walls.
Buggy stared around to see if there was something special. And upon his surprise, there was. All the walls weren’t solid concrete at all! It was all just cloth being held up by a wooden frame!
“All of our buildings and homes are just giant tents!” Darnab chuckled. “Anytime there’s an emergency we just pull them all down and get into groups to hide in the forest. It’s how we’ve avoided the world government for years!”
Buggy gave him a look that was a mix of concern and admiration. “W-Well what’re you gonna do once they find out?!” He questioned.
Darnab’s face faded into a grim look. A forced grin hardly hiding his pain. “Well…” He went quiet. An eerie moment of silence was shared before them.
“I just don’t know. None of us here..Are really the fighting sort.”
The pirate clown understood everything now. These people have no real connection to the outside world. All they’ve done is wake up and celebrate the day for what it is. They’ve never had a worry in their lives, Or the need to harm one another. But that’s what places them in such a dangerous position. For the fateful day the World Government swings by again, and discovers these timid folks, their whole lives will change. And very much for the worse.
He winced and shut his eyes, pinching the top his nose out of frustration. He couldn’t believe he hailed from such weak-kneed individuals! It made his blood boil.
“You…You weaklings!!” He cried. Darnab’s eyes went small.
“How could you inherently endanger your own kind by not teaching yourselves how to defend-”
Buggy’s protest was interrupted by a group of voices running inside the bar.
Four little Giovalean children ran in, laughing and cheering.
“There he is!!” One cried.
“Woahh!!” Another said in awe.
“His nose is even bigger than ours!” Another pointed at Buggy.
“We all have the same size, dingus!” The last one exclaimed, shoving him with her elbow.
The pirate turned around and grimaced at the four brats.
Darnab stepped in front of the children, blocking their view from the new face.
“What the heck are you guys doing here?!” Darnab said in an irritated manner, holding his arms out. Trying to stop them from moving any closer.
“We want to see the new guy!” The first one exclaimed.
“I heard he’s a sailor!” The second one added.
“I’M NOT A SAILOR!!” Buggy squawked, poking his head over Darnab's shoulder, then shoving the poor man aside.
“I’m one of the fiercest pirates in the seas; Buggy! The Genius Jester!!” He proclaimed, grabbing his large orange coat and swinging it behind him for effect. Outstretching his arm in a championic manner.
The children all gawked at him with huge sparkling eyes. Too big to even fit on their tiny faces.
“That’s SO COOL!!!” They all squealed, running laps around the filthy pirate now. The youngsters quickly grew attached to this stranger.
“Hey now, let’s not overwhelm our guest, okay?” Darnab said softly, slowly gesturing his hands in a poor attempt to calm them down.
Among the group, there were three boys, and a single girl. They were Darnab’s niece and nephews, all around ages between 9 & 12.
“Control your brats will you?!” Buggy griped, getting disoriented from the children spinning around him.
Darnab chuckled nervously as he grabbed them one by one. “Aw, they’re just really excited to see somebody new.”
“Hey!” One cried.
“Let go of us!!” The other exclaimed.
“We wanna play with him!!” Another pleaded.
“Uncle Nabs!!” The smallest one whined.
Buggy looked at the crying children and he couldn’t help but smile at them. Buggy’s never been a fan of kids at all. They always got under his skin whilst being the weakest of the weak. Perhaps it was because he saw himself in these kids that something soft began to develop in his rough heart. And just then, an auspicious idea came into mind.
“So, you all want to play , huh?” Buggy spoke up, chuckling softly.
The little clowns nodded excitedly. Their faces squished up against each other, eager to see what the blue-haired pirate would say next.
“Follow me! I have a flashy new game we can all try!” He laughed, marching out the bar, with four little ducklings waddling behind his back.
Meanwhile, The Buggy Pirates were growing wary of their captain’s absence.
“...Maybe he’s hauling a lot of alcohol?” Mohji spoke. His doltish theory was followed by a thunk on the head from Cabaji.
“Don’t be an idiot! Obviously our captain has been captured!!” Cabaji exclaimed. Mohji frowned, looking at the fresh bruise sitting on his head.
“So, you wanna go look for him?” Alvida added, spinning her mace around.
“Yes. Before it’s completely dark! Come on men!” Cabaji cried, signaling the other pirates to leave the ship and search for their captain.
“In the Grand Line, you’re going to meet many opponents. As fierce as your worst nightmares!” Buggy exclaimed. The children “ooh-ing” in intrigue.
“And many of them, such as myself, are special power holders. Those who’ve taken a bite out of a Devil Fruit will be granted incredible abilities!” He cheered.
“Like what?” The lone girl in the group asked.
“Like…THIS!” Buggy popped his head off his shoulders and it flew towards the kids, prompting them to run and scream for their lives.
“GYAHAHAHAHA!!” He cackled, flying through the street after the little ones.
“WHAT IS THAT?!” One shouted.
“IT’S CAPTAIN BUGGY! BUT HIS HEAD’S COME OFF!” The girl cried.
“WHAT THE HELL?!” The other shouted.
They all darted down the block, running as fast as their stubby legs could carry them.
One of the children tripped on a stone and nearly fell if it weren’t for the disembodied hand catching him on his chest.” He screamed when he noticed the helpful hand wasn’t attached to an arm or body at all. A shadow loomed over the young one and he looked up at the fearful pirate’s body, who was missing his head and right hand.
“Don’t lose yourself now!”
The pirate’s head levitated towards the boy, laughing at him, and it floated back to his neck where it belonged. The boy smiled back, standing back up properly. Holding his disembodied hand and looking up at his new idol.
“Mhm!” He replied.
It wasn’t long until the kids were all out of breath. The girl had to stop and hold her knees to catch her breath, while the other two boys were plopped on the ground, gasping for air.
“You’re all very flashy athletes! But it’ll take more than running to be the best of all pirates in the seas.” The captain proclaimed to his winded mentees.
But no worries. Even in a day, I can shape you into formidable pirates! Ready to take on the grand line! And maybe you could even join my crew!” He avowed eagerly, slipping into an even giddier laugh as he thought about having Giovaleans in his own crew. His fantasies halted as he felt a hand on his shoulders.
“ You’re not taking them anywhere.” Darnab appeared behind Buggy, with a perturbed smile.
It took a second for him to realize what he said, until his face snapped into crossness.
“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU GONNA DO ABOUT IT?!” His voice rose at least 20 octaves.
“These booger-flickers absolutely love me, and they aren’t gonna listen to a pushover like you!” He barked at the brown haired clown. Pointing an inch away from his frowny face.
His arm got pulled away as one of the kids had grabbed him.
“Buggy!!” One cried. This one had black hair, and wore a short, navy blue poncho over a yellow shirt and orange suspenders. With a jingly hat to match. He had striped puffy pants and brown boots.
“Yes, Tinkle~?” He answered in a doting tone, fixing his face into a very forced smile, which immediately fell.
The kid yanked his arm at his response.
“It’s TINKY!” He yelled.
“GAOW!!” Screeched Buggy.
“YOU FREAKIN’ BRAT!” He cursed. “I didn’t mean to get your name wrong!!” He cried.
“Mr Captain!!” The single girl called out to him. This one had long, wavy pink hair. With an orange dress and matching beret. She had a perfect set of freckles on her face and emerald green eyes. She ran up to him and wrapped her arms around his waist.
“Oh! Pepa! Are you ready to continue your training?” Buggy perked up. The girl nodded in response.
“Are you gonna teach us how to separate your body like that? I wanna do that too!” Another voice popped up. It was the biggest kid out of the group. He was a very green kid. Green hair, teal eyes, and a mostly green outfit with hints of yellow and pink.
Buggy deadpanned at the boy’s question. “I can’t teach you how to separate your body parts, Pit. That’s a power that only I possess..” The boy groaned at his response.
“Well can you at least teach us how to fight?” And the last child spoke up. Sitting up after catching his breath and crossing his arms.
His hair was almost as dark as Tinky’s. He wore a faded red beanie with two tails at the end, bells attached to it.” His shoes were also topped with bells on the tip of their curly ends. And he sported a teal shirt with a pair of purple pants and vest. Come to think of it, all the children’s outfits were adorned with jingling bells. Probably to keep track of where they are.
“Of course I’ll teach you, Flats! It’s essential to pirating!” Buggy remarked, ignoring the three other children climbing up his body.
Just then, Buggy noticed a sound coming from the distance. It sounded like…a crowd. A big one. And just then, he snapped to a realization.
Pirates, in all shapes and colors were charging through the forest and up to the main village, holding up their swords and guns. They were all being led by a beautiful woman, and an armed unicyclist.
They became visible after they ran up the steps. And then, his name was called out.
“Captain Buggy! We’re here to rescue you!” A woman’s voice echoed.
The children all looked at this strange crowd with confusion, and fear. Clutching onto the big clown for protection.
As they advanced into the town, their movements became slower as they could spot their beloved captain. Only his first mate and associate continued to move forward. Until they noticed his unusual circumstance.
“What…happened?” Alvida narrowed her eyes at the sight of her goofy colleague being overtaken by juveniles.
Buggy was relieved to see it was only his crew. And he just smiled as wide as his face could allow it.
He laughed, with a smile she’s never seen on his face before. A pure, unadulterated joy. Not influenced by the prospect of material items like maps, or treasure, or even booze. No, this was the face of a man who’s discovered happiness like no other. In the form of a blood connection.
“I found my people!” The blue-haired clown cheered.
END OF CHAPTER 1.