psychonator17

Chapter 4-2: Something Bright in Everyone “So, you’re the one in charge?” Luffy asked calmly. “Indeed. Andreas Van Horzen…though, I suppose I don’t need a formal introduction if you already know me,” the ringmaster replied, offering a handshake. The Straw Hat captain didn’t reply, nor did he move to shake his hand. The ringmaster took the hint, retracting said hand. “Well, I see you’ve brought quite the party,” Andreas continued, looking around at the other crewmates. “Knight of the Sea Jimbei, Black Leg Sanji, Pirate Hunter Zoro, archeologist Nico Robin, and…” The ringmaster chuckled looking between the cowardly trio. “Oh, how quaint. Even the rabble.” “What did you call us?!” Nami snapped, extending her Clima-Tact and about to whip out a Raijun Rod. But Robin put a hand on the navigator’s shoulder to keep her from advancing. “Settle down, Nami,” she said quietly. Nami slowly retracted the tact, but kept her cold stare locked on him. “Just ribbing you, Cat Burglar,” Andreas

Chapter 4-1: The Parade It was now the second day at Wild Wonderworld. Since none of them had been to the Freak Show exhibit yet, Luffy and Usopp wanted to check it out. Blizzard, Zoro and Chopper would also tag along. Nami wasn’t really keen on going there, saying she wanted to see something normal for a change—or possibly something about bugs being a thing at the Freak Show—so she, Aika, Kumi and Robin would head down to the Safari Zone for the day. Franky and Brook would take their turn keeping watch of the Sunny today. The Freak Show was set up almost as bizarrely as its namesake. Tents, stands and walls made of canvas polyester lined each side of the area and spread out like a maze. (At least, a maze to Zoro.) Oddly enough, almost all displays consisted of animals, but many were combinations of different species. One was a small cat with the arms and body of a lemur, another was a dog with a long mane and five digits on each paw. In a large caged area called the “monkey house,”

Chapter 3: Be My Friend Pursuing the panther’s trail wasn’t easy, as there were several branching paths in the alley. Thankfully Aika had her keen sense of smell; she was able to pick up the scent of grass mixed with anise from where the panther had been taken. The scent trail would lead her and Kumi to a peculiar building on the outskirts of Ricketyville, far enough from any human activity. It had the appearance and color of a funhouse attraction; the mural of a jungle surrounded the main entrance, and the sign above said “Leo’s Labyrinth,” outlined with incandescent bulbs, and depicted a lion standing atop the letters, its mouth wide open as though it were roaring. The tagline underneath its name, “Find your inner animal!” consisted of similar lightbulbs. However, the golden yellows and bright reds on its walls were faded, and there was another sign nailed next to the entrance doors saying “KEEP OUT.” It seemed this attraction hadn’t been in service for a long time. “It smells

Chapter 2: The Amazing Acro-Cat Luffy heard Aika and Kumi howl from the front of the ship, and the moment he saw where the two were looking, he grinned. “Hey, guys! We’re here!” The captain called out. It had taken a day or two at most to reach their destination, but it was smooth sailing the whole way. And sure enough, Wild Wonderworld was within sight, peering over the morning horizon. And the first thing anyone would see upon arrival was the enormous dome-shaped structure jutting out from the center of the island. Most of the crew—particularly the D-siblings, Usopp, Blizzard and Chopper—took a minute to let the view sink in (save for Zoro, who was still asleep in the boys’ dorm). From the view on the Sunny, even the roller coaster and ferris wheel in the distance looked tiny in comparison. “Wow…is that the Big Top?” Aika’s mouth was wide open with a smile. “It looks so huge!” “Shishishishi! I’m getting excited, already.” Luffy said with a similar grin. “My word! It must be

Chapter 1: A Mini Vacation “Five.” “Mama! Choose me!” “Four.” “If one of us has to die, I don’t want it to be her! Just choose me! “Three!” “I…I can’t! Please, I can’t!!” “Two!” “Choose me!!” “ONE.” “PLEASE!!!” CRRAAAACK!!! The panther shot up with a sharp gasp, her golden yellow eyes wide with terror. It took a minute for her to straighten her bearings, and as she looked around, she saw herself back in her cell. The terror in her eyes slowly faded and was replaced with numbness. It was just a dream…that dream. That same horrid dream she’d suffer through almost every night. And every time, it was devastating. Yet the panther had no tears to cry. She’d run out of those years ago. And there was no point in crying at this point, anyway. After all… What was there left to grieve over that she hadn’t lost already? Besides, she was scheduled to train for her performance first thing in the morning. And so, the panther silently lay down on the floor of her cell and drifted