"MARYA! MARYA! MARYA!"
A fractured polyphony sheared across the glade, cleaving the hush like tempered steel through gossamer.
Everyone turns.
Jannali Bandler bursts through the treeline first, her afro bouncing, her headscarf—gold and crimson—askew. Eliane Anđel sprints beside her, her silver ponytail streaming behind her like a comet's tail. Vesta Lavana strains to keep pace with the faster runners, desperation in every step as shards of sunlight flash through her rainbow hair.
Sanza Kaplan Figarland brings up the rear, his short legs pumping furiously, his face red with exertion. And bouncing alongside him—literally bouncing, his translucent blue body wobbling with each impact—is Jelly "Giggles" Squish.
"SNACKS!" Jelly bellows, his starry eyes fixed on some distant, imaginary feast.
Eliane and Vesta reach Marya first. Vesta doubles over, gasping for air, her hands on her knees. Eliane bounces on the balls of her feet, her blue eyes wide with excitement.
"We found something really important!"
Marya raises an eyebrow. "Okay. What—"
Sanza arrives next, cutting her off. "Big Sis, there was this pawn shop, and a locket, and Jelly ate all the candy, and we had to escape, but—"
Marya shakes her head. "You're not making any sense."
Jannali steps forward, holding up a silver locket. Suspended at the core, the triple clef snared the ambient gleam, scattering splintered auroras through the forest nave.
"Sorry, mate," she says, her accent thickening the words. "But we found this. Cost us the last of our brass razoo, so we're gonna have to hit the pokies again."
Marya takes the locket from Jannali's hand. Her fingers close around the silver, and for a moment, she goes very still.
She stares at it. The weight of it. The shape of it. The way the triple clef hums against her palm.
"Where did you..." Her voice trails off.
Vesta straightens, still breathless. "It was at this pawn shop. It was singing to Jannali, and we—"
Marya's eyes slide to Jannali. "This was a gift to Uta. From my mother." Her voice is barely above a whisper. "How did..."
Jannali holds up the flyer. "There's heaps more. Read this."
Marya takes the flyer. Law steps up beside her, looking over her shoulder. His eyes scan the text, his expression darkening with each word.
Atlas calls out from behind them. "What is it, Boss?"
Vesta answers before Marya can. "It's a flyer about Uta. It says she's going to be auctioned off."
Luffy jolts.
The name strikes him like a tolling bell, reverberating through bone and memory. He whirls toward the voice, eyes wide, every muscle drawn taut.
Galit's neck uncoils slightly. "That's not possible."
Vesta nods. "But that's what it says."
Jannali interrupts, her voice flat. "Reckoned it was worth a look, but the leads were a fizzer."
Marya's eyes scan the page. They land on the jolly roger in the corner—a skull and crossbones, but with scissors where the bones should be. Her lips press together.
"This jolly roger..."
Eliane bounces. "Oh yeah! The man said that the person with that symbol would know where she is!"
Marya looks up. Her gaze drifts toward the dock, visible in the distance through a gap in the treeline. Her jaw tightens.
Vesta jumps into action, wrapping her arms around Marya in a tackle-hug that makes the older woman stagger. "Don't go without us! We want to help too!"
Marya stiffens. Then, slowly, she relaxes. "Okay, Vesta."
Aurélie's voice cuts through the moment. "What is it you saw?"
Marya raises the flyer. "This jolly roger. It's at the dock. We can go and ask—"
"Hey."
Everyone turns.
Luffy stands apart from the group, his expression grim. The manic energy has drained from him, replaced by something heavier. Something older.
"Uta is dead."
Marya smirks. "Oh, is she?"
Luffy nods. "Yeah. I was there."
Marya cocks a hip, crossing her arms. "Were you there? Or did you only think you were there?"
Law adds, his voice quiet. "I was there too. He's right."
Marya sighs. "Let me try to explain this to you." She holds up a hand, ticking off points on her fingers. "You're saying you saw someone die. Someone who has the ability to transport people to an alternate dimension. Someone who can let them see what she wants them to see."
Law's eyes narrow as he considers her words.
Luffy nods. "Yeah. I know what I saw."
Marya smirks. "Okay, Pirate King. Then explain this to me: what would the daughter of an Emperor be stranded anywhere? Why not just leave?"
Luffy glares.
Law asks, "What are you saying?"
Marya's lips press together. She takes a breath. "When I learned where Uta was, I went to try and get her to leave. To come with us. But she wouldn't." She pauses. "But then we found it."
Bepo asks, his voice nervous, needing his fingers together, "Found what?"
Marya tells them. "The cloning facility."
Jannali nods. "Yeah, mate. It was tucked away under the island."
Eliane adds, "There were hundreds of Uta's. And the king too."
Bepo's eyes widen. "So that means..."
Marya's voice is steady. "That the Uta you thought you saw was a clone. And that clone put you under a spell that made you think you saw her die from wake shrooms."
Silence.
Then—
"Hey."
Everyone turns.
Luffy's voice is different now. Quieter. Uncertain.
"Is what you're saying true? Is she still alive?"
Marya nods. "But what I don't understand is how her clone is off the island."
Galit walks over, taking the flyer from her. He reads it, his emerald eyes moving across the text. "It looks like they removed the entire chamber."
Marya nods. "Yeah, but—"
"WE HAVE TO HELP HER!"
Vesta's voice cuts through the clearing like a thunderclap. She surges forward, her violet eyes blazing, her rainbow hair practically vibrating with intensity.
Marya takes a breath. "Vesta—"
"YOU SAID YOU WOULD!" Vesta gestures wildly at Luffy. "WE HAVE HIM NOW! WE CAN DO THIS! IT WON'T MESS ANYTHING UP!"
Marya places a hand on her shoulder. "Yes, Vesta. I know." She pauses. "Let's go and get her."
Vesta's face transforms. The fury drains away, replaced by something bright and hopeful. She turns to Eliane, her voice rising with excitement. "Did you hear that?"
Eliane jumps up and down, her silver ponytail bouncing. "Yes!"
Sanza asks, his brow furrowed. "So if she's your cousin, does that mean she's my cousin too?"
Marya nods. "Yes."
Sanza opens his mouth to ask another question—
Luffy's eyes bulge.
"YOUR UTA'S COUSIN?!"
Everyone looks at him. His jaw has dropped. His eyes have gone wide. His brain—visible in the way his expression shifts from confusion to concentration to dawning realization—is working overtime.
"I didn't know she had a cousin." His head tilts. He presses his fingers to his temples. "Wait. Then that means... that means... that means..."
Marya looks up at Law. "Hey. Are you really..."
Marya nods. "Yeah. I have to do this. Vesta is right. I can't let this go."
Law's lips press together.
Marya tells him, "I understand if you need to—"
Law shakes his head. "It's fine." He pulls his hat down, shadowing his eyes.
Marya smiles. Then Aurélie asks, "What is the plan?"
Marya looks at the group. Her voice is steady, commanding. "The only way we can help Uta is to get Shanks. He's the only one who can get her off that island."
Law asks, "But he was there when she died."
Marya sighs. "I suspect he and his crew were the ones impacted the most. It will take some convincing." She pauses. "But before we do that, we need to find the person who made this flyer."
She looks at Galit. "Go back to the ship. Find Shanks' Vivre card and try to pinpoint his location. Start prepping for a jump."
Galit nods. "That will be our third jump in a row."
Marya nods. "Do we know where Bianca is..."
BOOM!
Everyone looks up.
A plume of smoke trails over the treetops, dark and thick against the blue sky. The sound of the explosion echoes across the clearing, rattling leaves and sending birds scattering into the air.
Atlas sighs. "I think I have a general idea where they could be."
Luffy punches his fist into his open palm. "I've got it!" His face brightens with the triumph of someone who has finally cracked an impossible riddle. "That means you're Uta's sister!"
Law snaps, "NO, STRAW HAT!"
Luffy's face falls. He holds his chin, attempting to concentrate, to connect dots that clearly don't want to be connected.
Marya looks at Galit. "Have a snail."
Galit nods, tossing her a small Den Den Mushi. She catches it, dials, and waits.
The snail rings once. Twice. Then—
"Like, yo! I like, kind of, like, have a like, situation!"
Bianca's voice crackles through the speaker, punctuated by the distant sound of an explosion. Charlie's voice calls Ember's name in the background—followed by another explosion.
Marya's voice is dry. "We've also had a development. We need to prep to go. We need to make another jump."
Bianca replies, "That's, like, cool and all, but, like, we need to, like, chill for, like, at least a day to, like, let the engines cool all the way down and stuff."
Marya nods. "Understood. How fast can you get back so we can start prepping?"
Bianca's response is hesitant. "Um, like, so, that is, like, the challenge, like..."
Aurélie interrupts, wings sprouting from her back in a whisper of chitin and shadow. "I will assist and bring them back."
Marya nods. Aurélie launches into the air, her wings beating with a sound like distant drums. Marya speaks into the snail. "Aurélie is on the way."
Bianca's voice brightens. "Like, cool! Like, see you in, like, a bit!"
The snail clicks off.
Luffy is still muttering to himself, trying to work through the cousin mathematics. Marya interrupts his thoughts.
"Monkey D. Luffy."
Luffy looks up.
"Are you coming with us to help Uta?"
Luffy nods. His expression is serious now—the manic energy burned away, replaced by something harder. "Yeah." He pauses. "But after we help Uta, I'm kicking your ass. And you're taking me to my crew."
Marya raises an eyebrow. She doesn't agree. She doesn't make a deal. She doesn't promise anything.
She just says, "Let's go."