Nami would make great use of it with great results.
Stranger Tides (One Piece x Pokémon [Kinda] SI)
- Location
- Oregon, USA
I think I've found the true power of Thief:
It's a perfect way to counter the dreaded Jacket-Jacket Fruit.
It's a perfect way to counter the dreaded Jacket-Jacket Fruit.
Not much. Pinsir's learnset isn't great, and I'd have to double check the TM list.
Given Nathnlans power is based on typing and islands, Dinosaurs will have to wait a bit.
Pinsir does get decent set up and coverage options.
Dig is always fun.
Would not recommend against White Beard though.
Bold of you to assume she already doesn't know.
TharjaDoesWrite
Tharja the Kat Dragon
- Location
- Muse City
I'm unsure if thats how it'll work. I'm not really sure how it works in the first place, too. It kind of makes discovering what each island will give you kind of... useless? In this case, OP's SI can unlock Dark, Ice, Fighting (probably?), Psychic, Flying, Dragon, Steel, Ground, Fairy, and more just by evolving Water-type pokemon just by itself lol.
Edit: When im saying this, im talking about Pure Water-types evolving into dual-types, like the Horsea Line, Oshawott's line in Hisui, and Starmie for examples.
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So that raises the question of what happens if a pokemon tries evolve into a dual type he doesn't have, will to fail or give him a foot in the door. Maybe enough of a type will unlock it or contribute to type energy for conditional evolutions.
I'm loving this! You really slotted him into the crew very well! Wondering how his evolution works. He managed Croconaw, but is that due to his own strength or the familiarity of the form?
Can he keep to a form indefinitely? Or will he be forced back once they sail away. He'll be better off familiarizing with specific form for combat instead of a hundred different ones.
I'd definitely be trying out Linoone, or Zigzagoon. For the cuteness factor lol. Nice and warm as well.
So he can do Normal, Water, Rock and Bug? So on this island he could go rock bug like Kabutops? Or is rock locked to the other island?
And the going merry allows for normal and water?
That could mean Drum is Ice, Alabasta is Earth or Flying or Fire. Skypiea can be Water or Flying.. hmmm
Edit: can he use the rock samples he's collecting as a necklace to unlock the specific types? Just an idea.
Can he keep to a form indefinitely? Or will he be forced back once they sail away. He'll be better off familiarizing with specific form for combat instead of a hundred different ones.
I'd definitely be trying out Linoone, or Zigzagoon. For the cuteness factor lol. Nice and warm as well.
So he can do Normal, Water, Rock and Bug? So on this island he could go rock bug like Kabutops? Or is rock locked to the other island?
And the going merry allows for normal and water?
That could mean Drum is Ice, Alabasta is Earth or Flying or Fire. Skypiea can be Water or Flying.. hmmm
Edit: can he use the rock samples he's collecting as a necklace to unlock the specific types? Just an idea.
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TharjaDoesWrite
Tharja the Kat Dragon
- Location
- Muse City
It appears (so far) that he can keep the forms even when he sails away. He can likely do dual types like Kabutops unless stated otherwise, I'm unsure if there'd be any extra challenge however though it would make sense. The Going Merry doesn't have a typing as far as we know as he keeps the typings unlocked no matter where he goes, if I remember right, and I'm pretty sure Water is unlocked in general because of One Piece's setting being like, 90%+ water. I can't remember where he unlocked Normal, but Rock was at that place with the Bounty Hunters and Bug is, at the moment, at this prehistoric place. Drum is obviously Ice, Albasta is definetly either Ground (likely this over Fire, tbh) or Fire, with Skypiea being either Flying (the more likely of the two, really) or Electric. So far we haven't seen if Islands can also be dual-typed as well.
Not sure how using rock samples would make sense... if anything, it could be a held item for his Rock-type forms aka the Hard Stone. Which also makes me curious on if some forms of Held Items would exist... hm.
Sadly, that wouldn't work.
As good as the additional versatility would be, this is not how Nathan's power works.
Yeah, there are some forms Nathan can use for support and healing. Though it's not going to be that simple, as just healing up in battle should have downsides.
Thank you!
I will admit I'll be being a bit vague as to what 'level' Nathan is at.
Nathan's power works by picking up types from different islands. He keeps those types, but has to mix them with the type of the island he is currently on (for now, anyway).
Kabutops is rock/water type, so we will see it in the future.
Normal is just a pure, anywhere type. Nathan can change into a pure Normal type anywhere, though the usual restriction for dual types still applies. Water is for the ocean/sea.
As for the next two islands, my omakes on my snippet thread do reveal Alabasta and Drum types. Though Drum was something everyone could see coming from a mile off.
Nathan will get the ability to change freely between types, but that is farther down the Grand Line.
There are a bit of restrictions, mostly tied into Nathan needing to have at least one type match where he is, meaning it's Current Island type + Old Island type for his possible combinations of forms.
Like I said, Drum is obvious, and with rock appearing of Whiskey Peak, Alabasta becomes increasingly narrowed down. Skypia doesn't have a lot of options either, but it's tempting for me to put electric there, given how far it'd be pushed back otherwise.
Chapter 7 - Little Garden Part 2
Almost done with the filler arcs, still picking out which arcs I want to do, and will be starting on the movies soon. I know not all of these are Canon, but neither is G8. If you got any recs, let me know. This Bites has shown Strong World is a must-see (and might get it's own adaptation in Stranger Tides).
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Thomas stretched, letting out a yawn as he uncoiled his body from it's unconscious position on the Merry's deck. He slowly blinked his eyes back to the waking world, trying to wash away the image of that hideous, hideous monster that Nathan turned into. The sooner he scrubbed that from his brain, the better off he would be. He hated bugs by default. If he ever saw that monstrosity again, it would be far, far too soon.
Then he looked at the scene before him. A giant, easily as big if not bigger than the Mery herself, holding the decapitated head of a dinosaur in a triumphant pose.
"It looks like you're awake, little human," the giant laughed voice booming through the jungle. Thomas looked to his right and left, Nami and Usopp passed out on the deck right next to him.
He really wished he hadn't woken up now. Thomas swallowed the ball that had begun to form in his throat.
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"Well, that was a waste of time," a man said, walking away.
"What a shame, I was looking forward to picking him off while he was by himself. No matter. If nature wants to take its course, then so be it," a woman shrugged, following after her partner. It was a shame they didn't get to kill the Straw Hat as payback, but alas, nature had other plans. It was one less problem for them.
Of course, if they had stayed longer, they would have realized things were not as clear-cut as they appeared. If they stayed to observe, they would have noticed its neck begin to bulge, as if someone was pushing against it from the inside. If they remained close enough to hear, they would have heard the sounds of distress of an animal that was about to vomit. Vigorously.
After all, even nature, as mighty as it was, would have a hard time contending with a Straw Hat Pirate.
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"Hold still!" Gina shouted, holding the massive cat like animal in a headlock. She was sure it couldn't understand a word she said, and yet, it struggled even more, trying to claw at her with its long claws and get its long, saber-like teeth into her. But she had it in her grasp, and she wasn't letting go for anything.
It snapped and snarled, failing around in her grasp as she tried to cut off its air supply. Yet, despite the death grip she had on it, still resisted. Gina found herself scowling. Sure, she could keep choking it out, but this was taking far too long as it was. She was going to kill it anyway for food. Might as well make it painless.
It didn't take much more than that. Even as it slumped to the ground she almost heard something, coming out of the forest. It sounded, suspiciously so, like the scream of a human being.
Gina took the moment to pause, but nothing followed but the sound of the jungle. Nor did any lights fill the sky.
Was it possible that there were other people on the island? Not impossible. The island was considered a nature preserve by law and was thus forbidden. Though the island's reputation as a primordial hellhole was enough to ward off most of those traveling the Grand Line.
Now, all she needed to do was get the tiger back to the Going Merry.
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I was hanging from the uvula of a Tyrannosaurus Rex. I didn't know if I should be wetting my pants, and screaming in utter, if slime-covered, glee.
Unfortunately, I had neither pants too wet, or even really a mouth. It was very much helping that I had covered much of its uvula in layer upon layer of string, but I think it was starting to notice the weight at the back of its throat.
There weren't a lot of good options. Leaving through either means was not something I wished to do. On one side, the chompers, the other? Even less inviting.
Though I would be the first person to gain knowledge of how exactly a Tyrannosaurus stomach and intestinal tract, no, stop it! Bad brain!
I would have slapped myself if I wasn't using my four arms and four legs to hold on for dear life. There were better ways to find out about how it digested food than being the food!
Taking stock of my situation was simple. One Tyrannosaurus Rex, who had just tried to eat me. Myself? One Spidops, or aka, how the fuck was this my first instinct when being eaten? Sure it worked, but now what?
I hardly knew anything about it. New mon aside, it was probably one of the weakest fully evolved bugs aside from the cricket. But how well I could keep my grip while human was something I was in no hurry to test.
All I knew was that Spidops was a spider that liked string. Used it for traps and the like.
I paused, looking down the throat, gears turning in my mind. That. That would do the trick.
As soon as the idea popped into my head, I acted, crisscrossing ropes of string back and forth along the Tyrannosaurus's throat. Of course, that wasn't exactly a good thing. It felt the sudden blockage, and combined with a sizable spider hanging from its uvula?
Yeah, anything in nature was going to have a single response to that.
I barely had enough time to react as the massive wall of string in its throat bulged, swiftly breaking apart.
Oh come on!
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Ow. Just. Ow.
Upside, I was the first person to vomit out of the mouth of a Tyrannosaurus Rex. Downside? I'd been vomited out of the mouth of a Tyrannosaurus Rex.
BAHRAOR!
And it didn't like that it just had vomited me out. I shake my head, feeling the wood at my back. Oh shit, that is a lot of teeth!
Silk Trap!
As the jaws came down, silk exploded outward, gumming up it's mouth as I scuttled further up the tree.
Crack!
Bark sundered as the Tyrannosaurus Rex tore its way free, snarling up at me from my perch. Silk wrapped around the trunk of the tree, giving me a better grip, trying to think of an escape plan. I could Spider-man this. Silk string from tree to tree and escape. However, I had no idea how to pull off such a trick. And.
BOOM!
The tree quaked, shaking violently. I looked down, my eyes narrowing. Well, the Tyrannosaurus Rex was now bashing its head against the trunk of the tree. Each blow caused the tree to shake more and more. I either need to learn quickly. Or I needed a completely different plan. I paused, noting the web being woven between my body's fingers. String. String was used to make webs. String was sticky.
I weaved, before hurling the net downwards towards the ancient tyrant. It began to look up, only for the mass of strands to wrap around it's jaw, clamping it shut.
I shifted forward, more string pooling between my fingers as I jumped.
String Shot!
More surrounded its jaw, locking its maw in place as I landed upon its head. I pulled on the string, yanking its head back. Yes! I had control of the Tyrannosaurus Rex!
SNORT! GRRRRRRRRR!
I felt the rumble beneath my feet, legs, whatever. It began to paw at the ground.
Then it began to run.
"SSSPPPPIIIIIII!"
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"DDDDDDOOOOOOPPPPPPPSSSSSS!"
Huh. That was a giant spider riding on top of a giant monster.
Zoro, for a few moments, thought nothing of it. Sure, it was certainly an odd thing to see. Not exactly the strangest, even if it was fairly high up on the list. Ultimately though, he decided to continue on, carrying his kill behind him.
Still, that was one weird-looking spider. And it was making a noise that sounded suspiciously similar to a name. Zoro came to a stop. Killing that would make for a far more impressive kill than the one he had currently.
And what exactly were the odds that the large spider was Nathan? Luffy wasn't nearby, though Nathan didn't seem like the type to wander off on his own.
Zoro pulled Sandai Kitetsu from its sheath.
So he was in for a weird act of nature. Or Nathan was more adventurous than Zoro had thought.
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One year? One year? That's how long it took for the Log Pose to reset on this island? They, did not have the supplies for that long of a stay. Nor the time. Ms, Vivi didn't have that long. Nowhere near that long before things in Alabsta came to a head. They didn't have enough time to waste.
Of course, he wasn't going to ask about any alternatives. The giant, Boggy, seemed friendly enough. But he could also see the human bones littering the ground. Sure, a human wasn't much of a meal to a giant, and Little Garden was, by all accounts, a cornucopia of food. So correlation may not have been causation.
Little Garden's simple nature might have been enough to have done those unfortunate people in. Especially with a year of exposure. Most crews didn't have monsters like Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, and even Nathan. Surviving in Little Garden for a year would require a combination of skills that would include being able to kill the various ancient animals for food.
Nathan would be a blessing on that front. A clean source of water would be crucial in a situation like this.
But that ran into the problem that they needed to get the Alabasta on a much shorter timetable than that. They couldn't afford to remain in Little Garden. They simply couldn't. If they waited a year, there was no doubt Alabasta would burn. If they even managed to survive the experience. Food and water weren't going to be issues, but he wasn't a fool. There were more threats than wildlife, starvation, and dehydration.
God knew stuff inhabited this island that they couldn't see. An isolated primordial hellhole that the World Government considered a nature preserve? How much interaction did this place have with the outside world?
None, would be his best guess. They were on an island untouched by the flow of time. That was when the volcano erupted, spewing out molten rock into the sky. Absent-mindedly, he scratched at the back of his leg. It'd been itching for a bit now.
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You! Little!
POW!
Headbutt was a bad idea. Headbutt was a very bad idea. I was still holding onto the back of it's head for dear life, trees going as if I was in a car going down the highway. And it just wouldn't stop trying to shake me off, likely planning on eating me the moment I was dislodged.
I really couldn't afford to let that happen. Again.
Damnit! Spidops didn't have the offensive firepower to take something like this out of commission! I needed to switch, but that was going to put myself at a lot more risk. It wasn't good. There was only one move that could even attempt to pull my ass out of the fire. But did Spidops even have it? Did I even have a choice?
Then again.
I raised my arms.
What self-respecting bug type didn't have U-turn?
The blow smashed into the back of the T.Rex's skull, sending me flying backward in the same motion, wreathed in pale green light.
There was just about three forms I could possibly have access too that could match a Tyrannosaurus Rex blow for blow. But two of them I wasn't sure. Did I meet the thresholds I needed? The risk of not meeting them was considerable. So it was better to take the safer option.
"Pinsir!" I slammed into the ground, as the T. Rex turned around, snarling at me in anger. Its footfalls almost sounded like thunder as it began to charge at me.
The pair of horns on my head clacked together in anticipation as I charged, ducking under its jaws as I slammed into its leg. There was a roar of pain as it stumbled, even as I pivoted around, the blow crashing into its knee. The blow was not enough to bring it down, but it further knocked the beast off balance.
My goal was simple. Stay away from the mouth, and focus on the legs. Ultimately convenience it that I wasn't worth the trouble of being prey. A fully grown Tyrannosaurus Rex out massed me by a considerable margin. Pinsir I doubted broke 200 pounds. A T. Rex? That was several tons of bone, muscle, and teeth. Of course, it wasn't like it would let me hammer away on it's legs like an early Fromsoft boss.
Yeah. That was a tail, heading straight for my face.
Harden Harden Harden!
WHAM!
And now I was back to being partially embedded in a tree. Again. I was really getting tired that I could keep using the word again to describe what was happening to me.
I shook my head, breaking my way free from the bark, snarling. The Tyrannosaurus Rex stomped its feet, staring me down.
You know what? Screw this.
Focus Energy!
My arms dug into the soil, tearing several sizable rocks from the ground as it began to charge at me.
Rock Tomb!
The first rock was surprisingly sidestepped. But the second? Smashed directly into its mouth. It stumbled, slowing at both the impact and the sudden, rocky intrusion into its maw.
And that was enough. Even as it began to crush the decent-sized stone, I darted forward.
Brick Break!
The uppercut smashed into its lower jaw, the rock in its mouth shattering under the force. Teeth began to break as it stumbled back, seemingly unable to roar in pain.
I held my ground, breathing deeply. As much as Pinsir could, anyway. The Tyrannosaurus Rex then spat, a combination of broken death, blood, saliva, and gravel landing on the forest floor.
"Pinsir," my voice was a low role, promising even more of a fight if it wished to continue pushing its luck. Part of the feeling in my chest vanished, as if my blood had been flowing about a mile a minute, and went straight back to a normal pace.
Still, it stomped on the ground, it's snarl matching my own.
"Oni Giri!"
I barely had time to blink, as three long slashes appeared in T. Rex's flank, causing it to let out a roar of pain, snapping at the air. Expect, it wasn't just snapping at the air. If the name didn't cement it, the cuts sure did. There was only a single member of our crew that could do such a thing.
Zoro!
On one hand, it was great to see the arrival of the man on our crew who could and did slice and dice. But on the other hand?
I could have handled this on my own! This wasn't like Mr. 5 and Ms. Valentine! I wouldn't normally say no to the help, but. Fine.
Focus Energy!
Might as well take the opportunity to set up again. Once more, I reached into the ground picking up another pair of rocks. The first crashed into the side of it's head, drawing it's attention as it roared again, charging towards me. I hurled the second rock as it barreled towards me. My horns clacked together. Zoro wasn't the only one who could cut things.
X-Scissor!
ROAR!
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Something wasn't right. The jungle was quiet. Too quiet.
Slowly, Gina let go of her kill, bringing up her fists. Something was watching her, and she had no idea what it was. But the jungle was silent, not even filled with the buzzing of insects or the chirping of birds in the canopy.
The only sound was her feet against the branches and foliage that made up the forest floor. She moved, making sure her back wasn't facing any given direction longer than a few moments.
Every one of her senses screamed that something was wrong, even if she couldn't see it. Her fists clenched, her thumb cupping the underside of her other digits.
"Do us both a favor and reveal yourself, now!" She shouted, blood pumping through her veins. Anticipating a fight. A challenge.
Then she saw it. Out of the corner of her eye, at the very last second.
"You absolute son of a ---!"
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BOOM!
The clash of steel. It was a marvel to behold. To think he'd ever see two giants going at it, matching the other blow for blow. It was if he was watching a volcano fight a hurricane, two forces of nature going at it with one another. Something as terrifying as it was majestic. He could feel the island itself shake beneath each titanic blow. And the match itself? Equal. None gained ground that the other managed to reclaim. The story of how they had been dueling for a century sounded almost farcical, but seeing it in action? Now Thomas understood how such a clash could last so long. Centuries of combat did nothing but sharpen their skills. But beyond that was how they sharpened one's understanding of the other, something that would have had to have been already clad in solid steel before.
"We really need to head back to the ship," Nami said, giving the Log Pose an annoyed look. "Regroup with the others, and plan our next move."
That was fair. Assuming at least none of the others had encountered the other giant.
Oh, who was he kidding, of course, that was going to be the case. Someone was going to run into him.
"I agree," Thomas rose, brushing off his pants, making sure his crown remained atop his head. Though what exactly was there to plan? The only way off this island was if the giants had their own Log Pose that had been reset already. Which after a century, it would have. But there would likely only be one.
And neither giant was going to take kindly to a bunch of people stealing from them. Enough that they would likely put aside their differences. And while there were a lot of strong people on the crew, but even Luffy would struggle with an enraged giant. At best. They definitely needed to escape, but they definitely needed a plan as well.
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"I can't believe you of all people wandered off on your own," I rolled my eyes at Zoro's words though it wasn't like he was exactly wrong. I was the least likely person to wander off on my own. Well, besides Vivi, for several different reasons.
"I wanted to get out and see the dinosaurs," I shrugged, Zoro sheathing his swords, the T. Rex having finally got the message after the thrashing we gave it. Zoro wanted to kill the thing, but I did point out that it wouldn't count toward his challenge with Sanji. Between what Zoro had on hand and what Sanji was likely to get himself, we were likely set on food, even if it was a bit meat-heavy at the moment.
Of course, Zoro had killed what I wanted to pet above all else, so I wasn't exactly happy, but. I wasn't exactly going to turn down more food. I wasn't that picky, not that Sanji's cooking left me with enough to be picky about.
"I'm surprised you didn't use the ugly beetle from the start, instead of that weird spider," Zoro crossed his arms. To be fair, I didn't understand that, either. Had I just grabbed a bug type in panic? Or had I chosen something else, but ended up getting Spidops?
God, if my powers played by Omnitrix rules, I was going to be pissed. I could handle a lot, but pseudo-sapient powers were not one of them.
"Dumb luck and trying every option but the obvious one," I shrugged. Why exactly did it take so long for me to even consider U-Turn? It was one of the most annoying moves for a damn good reason.
Sure, it wasn't going to be perfect but clearly better than going back to human for a switch. I doubted teleport would work the same way, but that still gave Baton Pass, Volt Switch, and Flip Turn plenty of use for that alone.
Well, maybe not Baton Pass, until I was sure I could keep a boost for longer than ten seconds.
Zoro was about to open his mouth as something screamed through the canopy. My ears followed the sound, catching sight of a red glow above the treetops, trailing smoke as it went.
Oh, that wasn't good. The two of us shared a look.
"You better be able to keep up," Zoro said, before running off into the jungle. I was already beginning to change as he vanished into the underbrush, heading towards the source.
The problem with a lot of the bugs I had was that they weren't evolved enough to be usual, and what few ones I had were too slow. Pinsir was fine, but what few final stagers I had were slow as hell.
That left me with mostly a whole lot of first form, if I was lucky, which I was not right now, bugs. On one hand, type diversity was great. On the other hand, a lot of it was either Poison or Flying in its secondary typing.
But I still had something pretty speedy. It took me a few seconds to get used to the limbs before I skated off across the jungle floor, moving over a very thin sheet of water.
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Under normal circumstances, I would ask how Zoro managed to pop out of the jungle from the exact opposite end of the clearing that I came from, but honestly? There were far more pressing matters to be had. Such as the flare gun, which lay on the ground next to a pile of scorched bodies.
Karoo, Thomas, and Usopp stacked up on top of one another. I gave a brief look into the jungle to be sure nobody else was around, before deciding to let Zoro cover me as I shifted back to my human form, untangling the mess. They were out could, and would be in pain when they woke up, but they were only injured.
Luffy's face was equally scorched, with one problem. He was pinned under the skull of some massive beast. He was out cold too, likely unable to defend himself due to, well, being pinned down by said skull. But the skull itself was massive, beyond even the strongest forms I had. I doubted I could lift it much, even with help.
Zoro approached, his expression both call and pissed in equal measure, a sword sliding from its sheath. "Have anything that can help cut our captain free?"
I paused, before nodding, letting the change take hold.
"Lion Song!"
Razor! Shell!
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Sorry it took so long to get this out. The last of my childhood cats had to be put to sleep, so I'm in a bit of a funk.
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Thomas stretched, letting out a yawn as he uncoiled his body from it's unconscious position on the Merry's deck. He slowly blinked his eyes back to the waking world, trying to wash away the image of that hideous, hideous monster that Nathan turned into. The sooner he scrubbed that from his brain, the better off he would be. He hated bugs by default. If he ever saw that monstrosity again, it would be far, far too soon.
Then he looked at the scene before him. A giant, easily as big if not bigger than the Mery herself, holding the decapitated head of a dinosaur in a triumphant pose.
"It looks like you're awake, little human," the giant laughed voice booming through the jungle. Thomas looked to his right and left, Nami and Usopp passed out on the deck right next to him.
He really wished he hadn't woken up now. Thomas swallowed the ball that had begun to form in his throat.
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"Well, that was a waste of time," a man said, walking away.
"What a shame, I was looking forward to picking him off while he was by himself. No matter. If nature wants to take its course, then so be it," a woman shrugged, following after her partner. It was a shame they didn't get to kill the Straw Hat as payback, but alas, nature had other plans. It was one less problem for them.
Of course, if they had stayed longer, they would have realized things were not as clear-cut as they appeared. If they stayed to observe, they would have noticed its neck begin to bulge, as if someone was pushing against it from the inside. If they remained close enough to hear, they would have heard the sounds of distress of an animal that was about to vomit. Vigorously.
After all, even nature, as mighty as it was, would have a hard time contending with a Straw Hat Pirate.
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"Hold still!" Gina shouted, holding the massive cat like animal in a headlock. She was sure it couldn't understand a word she said, and yet, it struggled even more, trying to claw at her with its long claws and get its long, saber-like teeth into her. But she had it in her grasp, and she wasn't letting go for anything.
It snapped and snarled, failing around in her grasp as she tried to cut off its air supply. Yet, despite the death grip she had on it, still resisted. Gina found herself scowling. Sure, she could keep choking it out, but this was taking far too long as it was. She was going to kill it anyway for food. Might as well make it painless.
It didn't take much more than that. Even as it slumped to the ground she almost heard something, coming out of the forest. It sounded, suspiciously so, like the scream of a human being.
Gina took the moment to pause, but nothing followed but the sound of the jungle. Nor did any lights fill the sky.
Was it possible that there were other people on the island? Not impossible. The island was considered a nature preserve by law and was thus forbidden. Though the island's reputation as a primordial hellhole was enough to ward off most of those traveling the Grand Line.
Now, all she needed to do was get the tiger back to the Going Merry.
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I was hanging from the uvula of a Tyrannosaurus Rex. I didn't know if I should be wetting my pants, and screaming in utter, if slime-covered, glee.
Unfortunately, I had neither pants too wet, or even really a mouth. It was very much helping that I had covered much of its uvula in layer upon layer of string, but I think it was starting to notice the weight at the back of its throat.
There weren't a lot of good options. Leaving through either means was not something I wished to do. On one side, the chompers, the other? Even less inviting.
Though I would be the first person to gain knowledge of how exactly a Tyrannosaurus stomach and intestinal tract, no, stop it! Bad brain!
I would have slapped myself if I wasn't using my four arms and four legs to hold on for dear life. There were better ways to find out about how it digested food than being the food!
Taking stock of my situation was simple. One Tyrannosaurus Rex, who had just tried to eat me. Myself? One Spidops, or aka, how the fuck was this my first instinct when being eaten? Sure it worked, but now what?
I hardly knew anything about it. New mon aside, it was probably one of the weakest fully evolved bugs aside from the cricket. But how well I could keep my grip while human was something I was in no hurry to test.
All I knew was that Spidops was a spider that liked string. Used it for traps and the like.
I paused, looking down the throat, gears turning in my mind. That. That would do the trick.
As soon as the idea popped into my head, I acted, crisscrossing ropes of string back and forth along the Tyrannosaurus's throat. Of course, that wasn't exactly a good thing. It felt the sudden blockage, and combined with a sizable spider hanging from its uvula?
Yeah, anything in nature was going to have a single response to that.
I barely had enough time to react as the massive wall of string in its throat bulged, swiftly breaking apart.
Oh come on!
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Ow. Just. Ow.
Upside, I was the first person to vomit out of the mouth of a Tyrannosaurus Rex. Downside? I'd been vomited out of the mouth of a Tyrannosaurus Rex.
BAHRAOR!
And it didn't like that it just had vomited me out. I shake my head, feeling the wood at my back. Oh shit, that is a lot of teeth!
Silk Trap!
As the jaws came down, silk exploded outward, gumming up it's mouth as I scuttled further up the tree.
Crack!
Bark sundered as the Tyrannosaurus Rex tore its way free, snarling up at me from my perch. Silk wrapped around the trunk of the tree, giving me a better grip, trying to think of an escape plan. I could Spider-man this. Silk string from tree to tree and escape. However, I had no idea how to pull off such a trick. And.
BOOM!
The tree quaked, shaking violently. I looked down, my eyes narrowing. Well, the Tyrannosaurus Rex was now bashing its head against the trunk of the tree. Each blow caused the tree to shake more and more. I either need to learn quickly. Or I needed a completely different plan. I paused, noting the web being woven between my body's fingers. String. String was used to make webs. String was sticky.
I weaved, before hurling the net downwards towards the ancient tyrant. It began to look up, only for the mass of strands to wrap around it's jaw, clamping it shut.
I shifted forward, more string pooling between my fingers as I jumped.
String Shot!
More surrounded its jaw, locking its maw in place as I landed upon its head. I pulled on the string, yanking its head back. Yes! I had control of the Tyrannosaurus Rex!
SNORT! GRRRRRRRRR!
I felt the rumble beneath my feet, legs, whatever. It began to paw at the ground.
Then it began to run.
"SSSPPPPIIIIIII!"
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"DDDDDDOOOOOOPPPPPPPSSSSSS!"
Huh. That was a giant spider riding on top of a giant monster.
Zoro, for a few moments, thought nothing of it. Sure, it was certainly an odd thing to see. Not exactly the strangest, even if it was fairly high up on the list. Ultimately though, he decided to continue on, carrying his kill behind him.
Still, that was one weird-looking spider. And it was making a noise that sounded suspiciously similar to a name. Zoro came to a stop. Killing that would make for a far more impressive kill than the one he had currently.
And what exactly were the odds that the large spider was Nathan? Luffy wasn't nearby, though Nathan didn't seem like the type to wander off on his own.
Zoro pulled Sandai Kitetsu from its sheath.
So he was in for a weird act of nature. Or Nathan was more adventurous than Zoro had thought.
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One year? One year? That's how long it took for the Log Pose to reset on this island? They, did not have the supplies for that long of a stay. Nor the time. Ms, Vivi didn't have that long. Nowhere near that long before things in Alabsta came to a head. They didn't have enough time to waste.
Of course, he wasn't going to ask about any alternatives. The giant, Boggy, seemed friendly enough. But he could also see the human bones littering the ground. Sure, a human wasn't much of a meal to a giant, and Little Garden was, by all accounts, a cornucopia of food. So correlation may not have been causation.
Little Garden's simple nature might have been enough to have done those unfortunate people in. Especially with a year of exposure. Most crews didn't have monsters like Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, and even Nathan. Surviving in Little Garden for a year would require a combination of skills that would include being able to kill the various ancient animals for food.
Nathan would be a blessing on that front. A clean source of water would be crucial in a situation like this.
But that ran into the problem that they needed to get the Alabasta on a much shorter timetable than that. They couldn't afford to remain in Little Garden. They simply couldn't. If they waited a year, there was no doubt Alabasta would burn. If they even managed to survive the experience. Food and water weren't going to be issues, but he wasn't a fool. There were more threats than wildlife, starvation, and dehydration.
God knew stuff inhabited this island that they couldn't see. An isolated primordial hellhole that the World Government considered a nature preserve? How much interaction did this place have with the outside world?
None, would be his best guess. They were on an island untouched by the flow of time. That was when the volcano erupted, spewing out molten rock into the sky. Absent-mindedly, he scratched at the back of his leg. It'd been itching for a bit now.
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You! Little!
POW!
Headbutt was a bad idea. Headbutt was a very bad idea. I was still holding onto the back of it's head for dear life, trees going as if I was in a car going down the highway. And it just wouldn't stop trying to shake me off, likely planning on eating me the moment I was dislodged.
I really couldn't afford to let that happen. Again.
Damnit! Spidops didn't have the offensive firepower to take something like this out of commission! I needed to switch, but that was going to put myself at a lot more risk. It wasn't good. There was only one move that could even attempt to pull my ass out of the fire. But did Spidops even have it? Did I even have a choice?
Then again.
I raised my arms.
What self-respecting bug type didn't have U-turn?
The blow smashed into the back of the T.Rex's skull, sending me flying backward in the same motion, wreathed in pale green light.
There was just about three forms I could possibly have access too that could match a Tyrannosaurus Rex blow for blow. But two of them I wasn't sure. Did I meet the thresholds I needed? The risk of not meeting them was considerable. So it was better to take the safer option.
"Pinsir!" I slammed into the ground, as the T. Rex turned around, snarling at me in anger. Its footfalls almost sounded like thunder as it began to charge at me.
The pair of horns on my head clacked together in anticipation as I charged, ducking under its jaws as I slammed into its leg. There was a roar of pain as it stumbled, even as I pivoted around, the blow crashing into its knee. The blow was not enough to bring it down, but it further knocked the beast off balance.
My goal was simple. Stay away from the mouth, and focus on the legs. Ultimately convenience it that I wasn't worth the trouble of being prey. A fully grown Tyrannosaurus Rex out massed me by a considerable margin. Pinsir I doubted broke 200 pounds. A T. Rex? That was several tons of bone, muscle, and teeth. Of course, it wasn't like it would let me hammer away on it's legs like an early Fromsoft boss.
Yeah. That was a tail, heading straight for my face.
Harden Harden Harden!
WHAM!
And now I was back to being partially embedded in a tree. Again. I was really getting tired that I could keep using the word again to describe what was happening to me.
I shook my head, breaking my way free from the bark, snarling. The Tyrannosaurus Rex stomped its feet, staring me down.
You know what? Screw this.
Focus Energy!
My arms dug into the soil, tearing several sizable rocks from the ground as it began to charge at me.
Rock Tomb!
The first rock was surprisingly sidestepped. But the second? Smashed directly into its mouth. It stumbled, slowing at both the impact and the sudden, rocky intrusion into its maw.
And that was enough. Even as it began to crush the decent-sized stone, I darted forward.
Brick Break!
The uppercut smashed into its lower jaw, the rock in its mouth shattering under the force. Teeth began to break as it stumbled back, seemingly unable to roar in pain.
I held my ground, breathing deeply. As much as Pinsir could, anyway. The Tyrannosaurus Rex then spat, a combination of broken death, blood, saliva, and gravel landing on the forest floor.
"Pinsir," my voice was a low role, promising even more of a fight if it wished to continue pushing its luck. Part of the feeling in my chest vanished, as if my blood had been flowing about a mile a minute, and went straight back to a normal pace.
Still, it stomped on the ground, it's snarl matching my own.
"Oni Giri!"
I barely had time to blink, as three long slashes appeared in T. Rex's flank, causing it to let out a roar of pain, snapping at the air. Expect, it wasn't just snapping at the air. If the name didn't cement it, the cuts sure did. There was only a single member of our crew that could do such a thing.
Zoro!
On one hand, it was great to see the arrival of the man on our crew who could and did slice and dice. But on the other hand?
I could have handled this on my own! This wasn't like Mr. 5 and Ms. Valentine! I wouldn't normally say no to the help, but. Fine.
Focus Energy!
Might as well take the opportunity to set up again. Once more, I reached into the ground picking up another pair of rocks. The first crashed into the side of it's head, drawing it's attention as it roared again, charging towards me. I hurled the second rock as it barreled towards me. My horns clacked together. Zoro wasn't the only one who could cut things.
X-Scissor!
ROAR!
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Something wasn't right. The jungle was quiet. Too quiet.
Slowly, Gina let go of her kill, bringing up her fists. Something was watching her, and she had no idea what it was. But the jungle was silent, not even filled with the buzzing of insects or the chirping of birds in the canopy.
The only sound was her feet against the branches and foliage that made up the forest floor. She moved, making sure her back wasn't facing any given direction longer than a few moments.
Every one of her senses screamed that something was wrong, even if she couldn't see it. Her fists clenched, her thumb cupping the underside of her other digits.
"Do us both a favor and reveal yourself, now!" She shouted, blood pumping through her veins. Anticipating a fight. A challenge.
Then she saw it. Out of the corner of her eye, at the very last second.
"You absolute son of a ---!"
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BOOM!
The clash of steel. It was a marvel to behold. To think he'd ever see two giants going at it, matching the other blow for blow. It was if he was watching a volcano fight a hurricane, two forces of nature going at it with one another. Something as terrifying as it was majestic. He could feel the island itself shake beneath each titanic blow. And the match itself? Equal. None gained ground that the other managed to reclaim. The story of how they had been dueling for a century sounded almost farcical, but seeing it in action? Now Thomas understood how such a clash could last so long. Centuries of combat did nothing but sharpen their skills. But beyond that was how they sharpened one's understanding of the other, something that would have had to have been already clad in solid steel before.
"We really need to head back to the ship," Nami said, giving the Log Pose an annoyed look. "Regroup with the others, and plan our next move."
That was fair. Assuming at least none of the others had encountered the other giant.
Oh, who was he kidding, of course, that was going to be the case. Someone was going to run into him.
"I agree," Thomas rose, brushing off his pants, making sure his crown remained atop his head. Though what exactly was there to plan? The only way off this island was if the giants had their own Log Pose that had been reset already. Which after a century, it would have. But there would likely only be one.
And neither giant was going to take kindly to a bunch of people stealing from them. Enough that they would likely put aside their differences. And while there were a lot of strong people on the crew, but even Luffy would struggle with an enraged giant. At best. They definitely needed to escape, but they definitely needed a plan as well.
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"I can't believe you of all people wandered off on your own," I rolled my eyes at Zoro's words though it wasn't like he was exactly wrong. I was the least likely person to wander off on my own. Well, besides Vivi, for several different reasons.
"I wanted to get out and see the dinosaurs," I shrugged, Zoro sheathing his swords, the T. Rex having finally got the message after the thrashing we gave it. Zoro wanted to kill the thing, but I did point out that it wouldn't count toward his challenge with Sanji. Between what Zoro had on hand and what Sanji was likely to get himself, we were likely set on food, even if it was a bit meat-heavy at the moment.
Of course, Zoro had killed what I wanted to pet above all else, so I wasn't exactly happy, but. I wasn't exactly going to turn down more food. I wasn't that picky, not that Sanji's cooking left me with enough to be picky about.
"I'm surprised you didn't use the ugly beetle from the start, instead of that weird spider," Zoro crossed his arms. To be fair, I didn't understand that, either. Had I just grabbed a bug type in panic? Or had I chosen something else, but ended up getting Spidops?
God, if my powers played by Omnitrix rules, I was going to be pissed. I could handle a lot, but pseudo-sapient powers were not one of them.
"Dumb luck and trying every option but the obvious one," I shrugged. Why exactly did it take so long for me to even consider U-Turn? It was one of the most annoying moves for a damn good reason.
Sure, it wasn't going to be perfect but clearly better than going back to human for a switch. I doubted teleport would work the same way, but that still gave Baton Pass, Volt Switch, and Flip Turn plenty of use for that alone.
Well, maybe not Baton Pass, until I was sure I could keep a boost for longer than ten seconds.
Zoro was about to open his mouth as something screamed through the canopy. My ears followed the sound, catching sight of a red glow above the treetops, trailing smoke as it went.
Oh, that wasn't good. The two of us shared a look.
"You better be able to keep up," Zoro said, before running off into the jungle. I was already beginning to change as he vanished into the underbrush, heading towards the source.
The problem with a lot of the bugs I had was that they weren't evolved enough to be usual, and what few ones I had were too slow. Pinsir was fine, but what few final stagers I had were slow as hell.
That left me with mostly a whole lot of first form, if I was lucky, which I was not right now, bugs. On one hand, type diversity was great. On the other hand, a lot of it was either Poison or Flying in its secondary typing.
But I still had something pretty speedy. It took me a few seconds to get used to the limbs before I skated off across the jungle floor, moving over a very thin sheet of water.
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Under normal circumstances, I would ask how Zoro managed to pop out of the jungle from the exact opposite end of the clearing that I came from, but honestly? There were far more pressing matters to be had. Such as the flare gun, which lay on the ground next to a pile of scorched bodies.
Karoo, Thomas, and Usopp stacked up on top of one another. I gave a brief look into the jungle to be sure nobody else was around, before deciding to let Zoro cover me as I shifted back to my human form, untangling the mess. They were out could, and would be in pain when they woke up, but they were only injured.
Luffy's face was equally scorched, with one problem. He was pinned under the skull of some massive beast. He was out cold too, likely unable to defend himself due to, well, being pinned down by said skull. But the skull itself was massive, beyond even the strongest forms I had. I doubted I could lift it much, even with help.
Zoro approached, his expression both call and pissed in equal measure, a sword sliding from its sheath. "Have anything that can help cut our captain free?"
I paused, before nodding, letting the change take hold.
"Lion Song!"
Razor! Shell!
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Sorry it took so long to get this out. The last of my childhood cats had to be put to sleep, so I'm in a bit of a funk.
- Location
- My happy place
I'm sorry to hear about your cat. About the story, I think the MC could stand to be a little bit smarter? Or at least use his smarts more. It's almost like he is not taking things seriously. I know he doesn't know about One Piece, but even without knowing the setting he should be more careful. Especially if he doesn't know where he is, he knows he is some crazy world.
Egleris
Vagrant Dragon
- Location
- Italy
This is a very interesting story, and I'm glad I managed to find it here. I was curious though, you had a "Gina" in this chapter, which seems like Miss Monday, but when you had Miss Monday introduce herself in Chapter 5, she said her name was "Norris Gegumi". Did you change your mind, was that a typo, or is something else going on with the name?
Thank you.
As for Nathan? I'm not exactly the smartest. I can react a lot more on dumb impulse and brain bugs than I honestly should. And it's not helping that in fights, my strategy has always been very, very blunt.
Huh. I'll I have to double check my notes.
Chapter 8 - Little Garden Part 3
It's so close to July (screams)!
Also, I should have checked my notes last chapter. I'll be going back to make edits to chapter 7.
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Norris opened her eyes, her legs felt as if they were stuck in hardened concrete. It wouldn't be the first time. But concrete didn't tend to be sold white and.
She looked up, scowling, knowing exactly what she would see.
"Mr. 3." She growled, clenching her fists, turning around to see what she feared she would. The Candelabra.
"Sorry you weren't conscious when I put you up there with the others," the man taunted, an insufferable smirk on his face. "But you already know what my Extra Special Candelabra does!"
Yes, she did. Using wax flakes coming from the spinning top to cover someone in wax, turning them into a statue. It was an effective, but cruel, way of dealing with enemies.
But she also knew how to beat it. Mr.3's techniques had a shared weakness from their very nature. Heat and flame. Get sufficient enough of either, and Mr.3's wax constructs would melt away.
Normally, she wouldn't have access to such things. But today? Today was special. Slowly, her bound hands move downward, the motion hidden from view by her body.
With luck, and maybe a pinch of help from Mr. 3's own ego it would still be there. It took every ounce of control for a smirk of her own to grow on her face. It was.
Slowly, she caught Vivi and Nami's attention, subtly pointing to it. Vivi's eyes widened for a brief moment, before subtly shaking her head, while Nami nodded.
Two for three wasn't bad. They'd just have to wait until Mr. 3 and the others were sufficiently distracted. They only had a single shot at this.
Mr.5 seemed to be about to open his mouth as the actual giant pinned to the ground roared, straining against the wax, the substance cracking under his strength.
He had captured a giant. She was missing some information, it sounded like.
"I owe my friend that!" He bellowed, more and more of the wax shattering.
"Cannon!"
BOOM!
The giant screamed in pain as his face was consumed by a massive explosion.
Ms. Valentine laughed, a grimace appearing on Mr.3's face. Norris found herself wincing, knowing what came next, but powerless to stop it.
"It seems I have underestimated your strength, giant," the look in Mr.3's eyes took on a cruel glint. "Wax-Wax Arts, Sword!"
"Broggy!" Nami screamed, the wax sword impaling the giant through his hand, letting out a painful scream.
Of course, at that moment, the jungle began to rumble.
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"Any ideas on how to deal with Mr.3?" Usopp shouted on my right as we made our way through the jungle.
"He generates wax, right? He's not like Luffy, but instead of rubber he's wax?" I ask. Mr.5's fruit made him into a reusable bomb, Luffy's made it so he was made of gum, well, rubber, anyway. So why would someone with the Wax-Wax fruit not be made of wax?
"No? Why would you think that?" Thomas said, pumping his limbs wildly, bat in hand.
"God, Devil Fruits are confusing. Anyway! I have a way that could counter him. It's just going to depend on two different factors," I say. And it really did. Two very important factors.
"And those are?" Zoro raised an eyebrow, looking back at me.
"The temperature wax melts at, and what temperature hot water can start scalding skin at," I say. I can't believe I was thinking this, but thank goodness for Scald and it's absolutely bonkers distribution as a move.
"Nathan, that is the terrifying thing you've threatened to do to a person," Usopp said.
"It's always the ones you least expect," Thomas nodded his head in agreement.
"You're acting like I'm threatening to cut off his face and use it as a mask or something!" I shouted in indignation. I wasn't even going to use it on the guy, just the wax he was creating! Burns sucked. Burns from scalding sucked even more.
"Can we see it!" Luffy grinned, cackling at our antics.
"No, it's way too slow for running," I scowl. Damn Alola. Couldn't introduce a single mon that wasn't a non-legendary that had decent speed besides like, Ribombee.
"And that's any different than you are right now?" Zoro, teased, I think it was teasing.
"It's a 180 centimeter tall water spider Zoro! I'm pretty sure my grandmother could outrun it on dry land, and she has a walker!" I shout back, as Thomas gulped.
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The jungle erupted.
"Luffy!" Vivi shouted, though it wasn't like he was the only one. Zoro, Thomas, Usopp, even Karoo. The only person missing was.
A massive leg bit into the ground, long a stilt like, almost as tall as Norris herself. It was quickly joined by another, a large bug, even larger than the one from before, pulled itself through the treeline. Most of it's body was black, with green legs with water bubble at the joints before the went back to the abdomen. It's eyes were long and blue, it's head encased in yet another bubble of water.
It looked like they weren't going to have to wait long for a distraction to come up after all.
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That was the least subtle I'd even seen a man who was supposed to be a secret member of an organization. How? How do you think styling your hair in the shape of a three was subtle?
Of course, there was Mr. 5 and Ms. Valentine's Day. Alongside, a, small girl eating, crackers?
What was this, bring your child to work day?
"You promised me a wolfman, Ms. Valentines," the obviously named Mr. 3 spoke, his voice full of annoyance. "Though, I do suppose a giant spider might make for a better statue."
"Hurry up, we're starting to harden!" Nami shouted at us.
"If you can break the thing up top and get it to stop coating us with wax, we should be good!" Norris shouted in turn, her arms behind her back for some reason.
Taking in the whole structure left me with the impression of a really weird cake. With a massive bowl at the top, where all the candles had been placed. It slowly seemed to spin, wax flakes falling off of it as it went.
"I don't know what it is, but I'm going to wreck it," Luffy slammed his fist against his palm.
Mr. 5 seemed to scowl at us, as if he wanted to say something, but thought better of it. Or, more specifically, at Zoro and I.
"Remember us?" Zoro taunted, biting down on his third sword, staring down the two agents.
"You two deal with the chaff," Mr. 3 ordered, and I could almost hear Mr. 5's teeth grinding from where I stood. "Ms. Goldenweek, I might require your assistance in this matter after all."
Ms. Goldenweek? Was he talking about the child? The fact that she nodded was confirmation of that, but honestly, terrifying.
"The kid?" Usopp asked, whispering.
"She's Mr. 3's partner agent. I wouldn't underestimate her just because of her looks," Thomas grit his teeth.
"Candle Lock!"
"Cannon!"
"Woah!"
SHING! BOOM!
Zoro cut the explosive attack in half, while Luffy dodged out of the way, which instead found itself wrapped around one of my legs, weighing it down. My head turned to face Mr. 3, water beginning to build up around my head.
Scald!
"Wax Wax Wall!"
The two techniques collided, one a blast of heated water, the other a wall of wax. The impact was briefly covered in a blast of steam. The results? Better than I feared, worse than I hoped. The wax was steaming, partially melted, but the wall itself was ultimately still there.
"Gum Gum Bazooka!"
Until it ran straight into Luffy, who decided to see if he could do better, smashing through the wax like it was a rock.
"Ow! It burns!" Who didn't understand that partially melted wax was hot.
"Nathan! Above!" Usopp shouted as I tilted my head upward. I really didn't need to double-check. That was the problem with Araquanid. It was slow, and it was absolutely a big target. Ms. Valentine was going to use that to, well, squash me like a bug. What? It was obvious. I looked for Thomas, but he was a bit too far away for that to work. Plan A it was, then.
Aqua Ring!
A shimmering veil of water surrounded me, and I could immediately see the woman back off, for now. Devil Fruit users didn't like the water, and I was going to exploit that for all it was worth.
"We need to switch!" Zoro shouted, running past.
"Cannon!"
In the time I tried to figure out why, I felt an explosion impact my body. Fine, if Zoro wanted to trade dance partners, then that worked.
Bubble Beam!
"Exploding Star!"
Mr. 5 swallowed Usopp's attack, mine barely missing the agent. My eyes widened in surprise, before I squeezed them shut, waiting for the man to explode like an over inflated balloon.
"Is that really all?" The man taunted us, as I saw a shadow overhead.
"10,000 Kilo Spider Stomp!"
Shit, she had figured out that wasn't how Aqua Ring worked.
Thomas was close enough. Let's hope this worked.
Protect.
"What!" DOOMPF-grgrgrgrrrrr!
The an unmovable object met a nearly unstoppable force head on, the field screaming as held against mass and gravity assisted assault. The blue field held back against the pressure.
"Cannon!"
"Firestar!"
The fact that I wasn't feeling anything was a sign that Usopp was keeping me safe. I, in my utter stupidity, had failed to take the opportunity to stress test Protect. To even try to see what it could do.
And it could damn well bite me in the ass at any moment. But that moment?
Was not this moment. As protect faded, Ms. Valentine's momentum died completely, as water began to swirl around my maw. The look of oh crap in her eyes had her rear back, floating upward, as if to escape. Pity.
If she pressed the attack, she might have been able to escape.
"Batting Chain Slam!"
"Ah!"
Thomas's chain bat wrapped around Ms. Valentine's leg, before swinging her against the ground.
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"I think that's about as distracted as everyone is going to get," Norris sighed, watching the choas. Luffy was struggling with Color Trap, Zoro was in a sword fight with Mr. 3, while Mr. 5 and Ms. Valentine's Day tried to gang up on Nathan, only for Mr. 9, Thomas, was his real name, and Usopp running interference.
Everything was a mass, and they were getting covered with more and more wax. If there was a time, it was now.
"Ready?" She reached into her pocket, pulling out a single flare gun.
"This better work!" Vivi shouted, covering her ears as Nami pulled out a matching flare gun.
"I swear if it doesn't," Nami threatened, pointing toward the base.
"Fire!" Both pulled down on the triggers at once, sending screaming shots of heat into the base.
Already, Norris felt the wax covering her skin beginning to warm.
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The sound cut through the noise of pitched battle like a knife through butter. It was like screaming, the sound created by the flares.
"They're trying to escape!" Mr. 3 shouted, throwing out another Candle Lock at Zoro, who barely managed to get out of the way. "I thought the two of you checked them for anything on their person!"
Well, that was one problem dealt with. That just left why Zoro was fighting.
"Gum Gum! Bazooka."
I suppose why Zoro was fighting Mr. 3 was that Luffy was fighting a splotch of paint on the ground.
"Keep us covered," Usopp said. Wait, us? Karoo ran by, Usopp sliding onto his back with almost practiced ease. I waited for Mr. 5 to make a move. But he didn't, glaring at me with a scowl.
"Now, let's see if you can beat me without any of your friends running in to save you," he growled, pulling out another booger from his nose.
"Oh no, not without me you aren't," there was a shout of pain as Thomas landed next to me in the grass. "I owe you back double for throwing us into your friend's fight at Whiskey Peak."
Mr. 5? By himself, I could stall him, probably even take him.
Mr. 5 and Ms. Valentine's Day? That was harder.
"Cannon!"
Scald!
The explosion is consumed by a blast of hot water, but not before overpowering the blast, continuing through to slam into the man's chest. Even with his powers, he was knocked clean off his feet, disappearing in a cloud of steam.
"10,000 Kilo Spider Stomp!"
Seriously? You want to do this song and dance again? Have a Protect, you crazy nutcase. A blue barrier erupted around my body, ready to take her fall again.
"Breeze Breath Bomb!"
BOOM!
The blast impacted the barrier, failing to penetrate the protective sphere. But that caused it to start fading. Oh, this was going to suck.
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"We can move again!" Nami cheered, jumping up out of the wax as it started to melt. The Candelabra leaned dangerously forward, a looming shadow over the battlefield. It still needed to be destroyed, but they had bought themselves the time they needed.
Norris was about to open her mouth, only for a scream of pain to come across the battlefield.
"Nathan!" Vivi shouted, already scrambling down the Candelabra. Norris felt herself wince at the scene of the giant spider being pinned.
Thankfully, Nami seemed to be joining Vivi. Under normal circumstances, she would be joining them. She felt as if she needed to extract a pound of flesh from her former ally, but for now, she had finished off Mr. 3.
Norris grabbed hold of the Candelabra's still steaming base, and began to pull.
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"Get off him! Iron Batting!"
Ms. Valentine's winced slightly, her body shifting ever so slightly.
"Was that the best you can do?" She sadistically grinned as she leaned further back, enjoying the pained sounds beneath her. But for the briefest of moments, her body lost contact with the monstrous spider she had pinned, its body beginning to condense into a swirling orb of energy.
U-Turn!
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I slammed into her stomach, time seemingly slowing down around me. What did I pick? Pinsir was strong, yes, but fighting Mr. 5 was safest at range. Galisipod was too slow, even with first impressions, and I had no clue how it would react to my current state. Crustle was an option, provided I hit the threshold.
Everything else I couldn't access, or was simply too weak, or too slow. I didn't have a lot of options.
A stray thought passed through my head. That could work. It should work. Time began to speed up.
Evolution Bypass. Shelmet to!
"Accelgor!"
The pair scowled, glaring at me.
"It doesn't matter how many forms you can take, we'll still!" Wham!
"Still what, exactly?" Name taunted, standing over Ms. Valentine's. "We kinda outnumber you at this point."
"In small fry," Mr. 5 sneared, pointing his gun at me. "Breeze -"
Bug Buzz!
I hit the gas, blurring around the man, creating a cacophony surrounding him. The gun clattered to the ground as the man's hands went to his ears.
Giga Drain!
I stopped behind him, green tendrils wrapping around Mr. 5 for a brief moment, before the man slumped to the ground.
"I can't believe you were sitting on something like that this entire time!" Thomas shouted as Vivi shook her head.
"In my defense," I said, turning back into my human form. "That really shouldn't have worked." Evolution Bypass indeed.
"Why didn't you think to -"
CRASH-THUMMM!
"What was that!"
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"Bullfight Red," Ms. Goldenweek explained calmly, mixing paint. All she would need to do is put some green paint on the Captain of the Straw Hat Pirates, and this would be over soon.
"QQQQUUUUUUUAAAAACCCCCCCCCKKKKK!"
Why was she hearing something that sounded like a very angry duck?
Wham! The next thing she knew, Ms. Goldenweek was airborne. So was Luffy, alongside one other man and a duck.
"Quack?"
One man and a very confused duck.
"Luffy, now!"
"You got it! Gum Gum!"
No, no, that simply would not do. She brought up her brush, preparing to touch the Straw Hats Shirt.
Splat!
Only to find the hand of the other man instead.
Oh, that may cause some trouble.
"Bazooka!"
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"Come on! Budge!" Norris felt her muscles scream, pushing them well beyond her limits as she tried to pick up the massive hunk of wax. But despite the weakened base, it wouldn't budge. Not one bit.
Not until the top was blasted off, spinning away into the jungle. The weight became less as what remained groaned in her grasp.
"Candelabra Slam!"
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"What the hell was, Wax Wax House!" Mr. 3 shouted as Zoro darted back, the rest of the Candelabra crashing down atop them.
Zoro coughed, the air filling with dirt and dust.
"Watch where you're swinging that!" Zoro shouted. "You could have dropped that right on top of me!"
"You would have lived!" Norris shouted back, sliding down the remains.
"So, what do we do with him trapped in there?" Thomas asked as they approached, everyone looking a little worse for wear.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" The laughter covers the sound of cracking wax, as Broggy arose. Norris chuckled, watching as Nathan's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates in both fear and awe.
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Then came crying. Very loud crying. At least the literal mountain wasn't hostile, even if I felt bad for him. Kinda.
Who challenges their best friend to an honor duel to the death! One that lasts a whole century at that!
Okay, I shouldn't judge, as humans held grudges on a national level for stupid stuff too, and for far longer than that.
"Should we, you know, check if he's still alive?" I ask, slightly off-put by the crying mountain and also somewhat curious. Yeah, sure I didn't want to see a dead body, but at the same time, it would be good to know if the man was, you know, alive. I didn't want to deal with that man ever again until I had the fire type on tap, and I didn't want to be Schrödingered by a man.
I was using Schrödinger as a past tense verb, what is my life?
"I mean, he probably is. But if he isn't coming out, it's a sign he knows he's been beaten," Norris shrugged. "Maybe. He's smart, but not always as smart as he thinks he is."
I looked over at the taller woman, who seemed to be writing in a book I'm not sure where it had come from. She couldn't have had it on her person this entire time, right? Oh, who am I kidding, she probably did. And honestly, I was going to ignore that, for now. I didn't like leaving someone like that at our rear. Just, tie him up with the others and call it a day, I guess.
Just at that moment, the wax house began to break.
"Behold! My Candle Champ - IIOOONNN!"
Less than a moment later, as he emerged from the house in what I could only dare to describe as a wax mecha, a single slap from a giant sent Mr. 3 soaring through the air and out of sight.
"I am trying to sleep!" A loud voice shouted, as another shadow loomed above us, hand extended outwards.
"Dorry? But? How?" The other giant breathed.
"Did we all just, forget to check for a heartbeat, at, any point, during all this?"
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Holy shit, those were the biggest skeletons I'd ever seen in my life! Yes, I was coping with the fact we'd be stuck in this primordial jungle for a year. Sure, I loved my dinosaurs but a year?
Yeah, no. This place was humid, and it was hell. I'd smuggle some stuff if I could, but that's how Jurassic Park got started. And I wasn't tempting anything like that.
The only reason I hadn't flopped onto the ground by this point was all the bugs, just closing my eyes slightly, standing on my feet. I seriously just wanted to go back to the Merry and take a nap.
"I'm sorry. They only came to this island because of me," Vivi looked down, dejected. My eyes widened enough to see Nami, pulling on her check. While Usopp, Luffy, Karoo, and Thomas were crowded around a bag of.
"Are those rice crackers?" My stomach gurgled in hunger, before I took one. It didn't taste great, but in an odd form, I was too hungry to care.
"It takes a Log Pose a year to reset here," Zoro said, sitting down on a log. "That's not good for us."
"Maybe we could find where the agents put their ships? They should have a few Log Pose going other places, or maybe an Eternal one that points straight to Alabasta, or even just somewhere else that will recalibrate faster?" I ask finishing off the last of the cracker, noticing everyone staring at me. "What? They're part of an underworld organization. They have to have at least a few."
"That's, a valid point," Nami began rubbing her hands together. "There's probably a bit more to take than just a Log Pose, too."
This is where things went from a good idea to mistakes being made, wasn't it?
"Nami!! Vivi!! Norris!" Oh thank goodness, a distraction. "Oh, and you guys!"
Sanji emerged from the jungle, seemingly none the worse for wear, a goofy smile on his face. Norris didn't seem to pay the man any heed, busy talking with the two giants about something, a grin of her own as she recorded something in her notebook.
He causally stroad out into the clearing before his eyes opened enough to notice one of the giants, Dorry, I think.
"Are you Mr. 3?"
How? How did he even know that name?
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"I'm more stuck on the otter and the machine gun wielding vulture, I said with a frown. Sure, I was now filled with a newfound respect for Sanji, because as it turned out this man did not need a kitchen to cook. I didn't think that Mr. 0 believed we were presently dead, but still, that was a play, and it'd worked. And he'd gotten an Eternal Log Pose to Alabasta out of it!
"Right, you weren't conscious for that," Zoro shrugged.
"Still doesn't change how that information is relevant!" I crossed my arms with a huff. Seriously, I never would have guessed that they brought on a pair of animals in the first place. I would have been a sitting duck! Still, it seemed like everyone was ready to head out. Zoro and Sanji were arguing over their hunting competition, Usopp and Luffy shouting their goodbyes, though why Usopp was calling the pair Masters was a question for another day. Norris closed the book she was writing in with a smile, Thomas trying to swat at some of the bugs that hung around him. I waved at them. I didn't really know them, but I wanted to do at least a bit of common curtasy.
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"Alright, get those cut up and loaded up you two!" Nami paused. "And someone get Nathan to stop mourning the death of two random dinosaurs already!"
"NNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
"If we pack it properly, we should be able to fit 5% more than expected."
"That doesn't sound like much."
"Luffy, it's still more meat."
"Hurray!"
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Poor dinosaur's. They will be missed. And eaten. Thus was the circle of life. I should be excited. How many people knew how dinosaur tasted?
Okay, still sad though.
I let out a sigh, arms dangling over the side of the Merry, before looking up to see the two giants. Why exactly where they here?
"There's one big reason that you little people," Broggy started.
"Can't reach the next island," Dorry continued.
That, sounded ominous.
"You risked your lives to defend our honor," Dorry began.
"Now, no matter what," Broggy continued.
"We will allow no enemy to trample on our friends' pride!" Dorry shouted.
"Have faith in us, and sail straight ahead! No matter what happens, sail straight ahead!" Broggy finished, as the sound of the ocean drew my eyes away from the pair, and onto something massive rising out of the waves.
Of course, it took about half second for half the crew to start panicking. To my surprise, Usopp was not one of them.
"Oh, this is going to be fun!" Norris was grinning ear to ear with excitement.
"We're really sailing right toward it? It's going to eat us!" Thomas shouted.
Frankly, we didn't have much of a choice. I don't think we could evade it, even if we tried. We had no choice but to put our lives in the hand of two giants. Two people I knew nothing about.
So why the hell did I feel so calm? Luffy trusted them without a shadow of a doubt. No hesitation. Maybe, that was enough.
"Come on," I breathed. "Straight ahead."
"Straight ahead! Straight ahead!" Luffy and Usopp shouted, even as we began to fall. Then I felt it, the rumble like an earthquake.
"This is it!" Norris shouted, as suddenly, there was light, the Going Merry rocketing out of the giant fish like a rocket.
"WAAAAHHOOOO!" I shouted, letting go of the railing, only for the force to send me flying back with a pained groan for my troubles.
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"Hey Thomas, are you okay?" I asked. He didn't look okay. His skin was pale, skin sweaty, and it was almost like he was swaying on his feet.
"I'm okay. I just need a," his voice suddenly cut out, body falling forward. I managed to catch him before he planted his face onto the Merry's deck. I put my hand on his face, expecting a fever, but it felt cold to the touch. And, how long had that lump at the back of his knee been there?
I pulled up his pants leg. What I found was.
"Oh, that's just wrong." I finish out loud, getting the attention of those who weren't already heading over. It was hideous, a tick nearly the size of my hand, swollen with a feast of blood.
I reach out, preparing to grab hold of the disgusting thing and pull it free, before it could do anymore damage. Before I could, it suddenly turned around, hissing at me.
"Mother!" I ducked, as it flew over my head by inches, landing on the deck of the Merry.
"Kill it kill it kill it!" I couldn't tell if it was Vivi, Nami, Usopp or even myself that shouted that, but it started a frenzied attempt to kill the damn parasite.
The blighter, to its credit, seemed to realize at long last, the danger it was in, some sliver of survival instincts taking over. It jumped and weaved, even if it was ultimately trapped on the boat with us.
"Gum Gum!"
Water!
"Bazooka!" Gun!
We finally managed to catch it out, sending it flying off the ship and into the sea. Though all of us had far more pressing matters to contend with than the possibility of aquatic monster ticks in the future. The ocean was a scary place, it'd sort itself out.
No, we had far bigger problems to worry about. Nami and I picked him up between ourselves, intent on getting him to a bed. Nami and I were the two closest members of the crew to being medical experts.
But knowing what I knew about ticks?
We were going to need a doctor.
Also, I should have checked my notes last chapter. I'll be going back to make edits to chapter 7.
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Norris opened her eyes, her legs felt as if they were stuck in hardened concrete. It wouldn't be the first time. But concrete didn't tend to be sold white and.
She looked up, scowling, knowing exactly what she would see.
"Mr. 3." She growled, clenching her fists, turning around to see what she feared she would. The Candelabra.
"Sorry you weren't conscious when I put you up there with the others," the man taunted, an insufferable smirk on his face. "But you already know what my Extra Special Candelabra does!"
Yes, she did. Using wax flakes coming from the spinning top to cover someone in wax, turning them into a statue. It was an effective, but cruel, way of dealing with enemies.
But she also knew how to beat it. Mr.3's techniques had a shared weakness from their very nature. Heat and flame. Get sufficient enough of either, and Mr.3's wax constructs would melt away.
Normally, she wouldn't have access to such things. But today? Today was special. Slowly, her bound hands move downward, the motion hidden from view by her body.
With luck, and maybe a pinch of help from Mr. 3's own ego it would still be there. It took every ounce of control for a smirk of her own to grow on her face. It was.
Slowly, she caught Vivi and Nami's attention, subtly pointing to it. Vivi's eyes widened for a brief moment, before subtly shaking her head, while Nami nodded.
Two for three wasn't bad. They'd just have to wait until Mr. 3 and the others were sufficiently distracted. They only had a single shot at this.
Mr.5 seemed to be about to open his mouth as the actual giant pinned to the ground roared, straining against the wax, the substance cracking under his strength.
He had captured a giant. She was missing some information, it sounded like.
"I owe my friend that!" He bellowed, more and more of the wax shattering.
"Cannon!"
BOOM!
The giant screamed in pain as his face was consumed by a massive explosion.
Ms. Valentine laughed, a grimace appearing on Mr.3's face. Norris found herself wincing, knowing what came next, but powerless to stop it.
"It seems I have underestimated your strength, giant," the look in Mr.3's eyes took on a cruel glint. "Wax-Wax Arts, Sword!"
"Broggy!" Nami screamed, the wax sword impaling the giant through his hand, letting out a painful scream.
Of course, at that moment, the jungle began to rumble.
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"Any ideas on how to deal with Mr.3?" Usopp shouted on my right as we made our way through the jungle.
"He generates wax, right? He's not like Luffy, but instead of rubber he's wax?" I ask. Mr.5's fruit made him into a reusable bomb, Luffy's made it so he was made of gum, well, rubber, anyway. So why would someone with the Wax-Wax fruit not be made of wax?
"No? Why would you think that?" Thomas said, pumping his limbs wildly, bat in hand.
"God, Devil Fruits are confusing. Anyway! I have a way that could counter him. It's just going to depend on two different factors," I say. And it really did. Two very important factors.
"And those are?" Zoro raised an eyebrow, looking back at me.
"The temperature wax melts at, and what temperature hot water can start scalding skin at," I say. I can't believe I was thinking this, but thank goodness for Scald and it's absolutely bonkers distribution as a move.
"Nathan, that is the terrifying thing you've threatened to do to a person," Usopp said.
"It's always the ones you least expect," Thomas nodded his head in agreement.
"You're acting like I'm threatening to cut off his face and use it as a mask or something!" I shouted in indignation. I wasn't even going to use it on the guy, just the wax he was creating! Burns sucked. Burns from scalding sucked even more.
"Can we see it!" Luffy grinned, cackling at our antics.
"No, it's way too slow for running," I scowl. Damn Alola. Couldn't introduce a single mon that wasn't a non-legendary that had decent speed besides like, Ribombee.
"And that's any different than you are right now?" Zoro, teased, I think it was teasing.
"It's a 180 centimeter tall water spider Zoro! I'm pretty sure my grandmother could outrun it on dry land, and she has a walker!" I shout back, as Thomas gulped.
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The jungle erupted.
"Luffy!" Vivi shouted, though it wasn't like he was the only one. Zoro, Thomas, Usopp, even Karoo. The only person missing was.
A massive leg bit into the ground, long a stilt like, almost as tall as Norris herself. It was quickly joined by another, a large bug, even larger than the one from before, pulled itself through the treeline. Most of it's body was black, with green legs with water bubble at the joints before the went back to the abdomen. It's eyes were long and blue, it's head encased in yet another bubble of water.
It looked like they weren't going to have to wait long for a distraction to come up after all.
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That was the least subtle I'd even seen a man who was supposed to be a secret member of an organization. How? How do you think styling your hair in the shape of a three was subtle?
Of course, there was Mr. 5 and Ms. Valentine's Day. Alongside, a, small girl eating, crackers?
What was this, bring your child to work day?
"You promised me a wolfman, Ms. Valentines," the obviously named Mr. 3 spoke, his voice full of annoyance. "Though, I do suppose a giant spider might make for a better statue."
"Hurry up, we're starting to harden!" Nami shouted at us.
"If you can break the thing up top and get it to stop coating us with wax, we should be good!" Norris shouted in turn, her arms behind her back for some reason.
Taking in the whole structure left me with the impression of a really weird cake. With a massive bowl at the top, where all the candles had been placed. It slowly seemed to spin, wax flakes falling off of it as it went.
"I don't know what it is, but I'm going to wreck it," Luffy slammed his fist against his palm.
Mr. 5 seemed to scowl at us, as if he wanted to say something, but thought better of it. Or, more specifically, at Zoro and I.
"Remember us?" Zoro taunted, biting down on his third sword, staring down the two agents.
"You two deal with the chaff," Mr. 3 ordered, and I could almost hear Mr. 5's teeth grinding from where I stood. "Ms. Goldenweek, I might require your assistance in this matter after all."
Ms. Goldenweek? Was he talking about the child? The fact that she nodded was confirmation of that, but honestly, terrifying.
"The kid?" Usopp asked, whispering.
"She's Mr. 3's partner agent. I wouldn't underestimate her just because of her looks," Thomas grit his teeth.
"Candle Lock!"
"Cannon!"
"Woah!"
SHING! BOOM!
Zoro cut the explosive attack in half, while Luffy dodged out of the way, which instead found itself wrapped around one of my legs, weighing it down. My head turned to face Mr. 3, water beginning to build up around my head.
Scald!
"Wax Wax Wall!"
The two techniques collided, one a blast of heated water, the other a wall of wax. The impact was briefly covered in a blast of steam. The results? Better than I feared, worse than I hoped. The wax was steaming, partially melted, but the wall itself was ultimately still there.
"Gum Gum Bazooka!"
Until it ran straight into Luffy, who decided to see if he could do better, smashing through the wax like it was a rock.
"Ow! It burns!" Who didn't understand that partially melted wax was hot.
"Nathan! Above!" Usopp shouted as I tilted my head upward. I really didn't need to double-check. That was the problem with Araquanid. It was slow, and it was absolutely a big target. Ms. Valentine was going to use that to, well, squash me like a bug. What? It was obvious. I looked for Thomas, but he was a bit too far away for that to work. Plan A it was, then.
Aqua Ring!
A shimmering veil of water surrounded me, and I could immediately see the woman back off, for now. Devil Fruit users didn't like the water, and I was going to exploit that for all it was worth.
"We need to switch!" Zoro shouted, running past.
"Cannon!"
In the time I tried to figure out why, I felt an explosion impact my body. Fine, if Zoro wanted to trade dance partners, then that worked.
Bubble Beam!
"Exploding Star!"
Mr. 5 swallowed Usopp's attack, mine barely missing the agent. My eyes widened in surprise, before I squeezed them shut, waiting for the man to explode like an over inflated balloon.
"Is that really all?" The man taunted us, as I saw a shadow overhead.
"10,000 Kilo Spider Stomp!"
Shit, she had figured out that wasn't how Aqua Ring worked.
Thomas was close enough. Let's hope this worked.
Protect.
"What!" DOOMPF-grgrgrgrrrrr!
The an unmovable object met a nearly unstoppable force head on, the field screaming as held against mass and gravity assisted assault. The blue field held back against the pressure.
"Cannon!"
"Firestar!"
The fact that I wasn't feeling anything was a sign that Usopp was keeping me safe. I, in my utter stupidity, had failed to take the opportunity to stress test Protect. To even try to see what it could do.
And it could damn well bite me in the ass at any moment. But that moment?
Was not this moment. As protect faded, Ms. Valentine's momentum died completely, as water began to swirl around my maw. The look of oh crap in her eyes had her rear back, floating upward, as if to escape. Pity.
If she pressed the attack, she might have been able to escape.
"Batting Chain Slam!"
"Ah!"
Thomas's chain bat wrapped around Ms. Valentine's leg, before swinging her against the ground.
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"I think that's about as distracted as everyone is going to get," Norris sighed, watching the choas. Luffy was struggling with Color Trap, Zoro was in a sword fight with Mr. 3, while Mr. 5 and Ms. Valentine's Day tried to gang up on Nathan, only for Mr. 9, Thomas, was his real name, and Usopp running interference.
Everything was a mass, and they were getting covered with more and more wax. If there was a time, it was now.
"Ready?" She reached into her pocket, pulling out a single flare gun.
"This better work!" Vivi shouted, covering her ears as Nami pulled out a matching flare gun.
"I swear if it doesn't," Nami threatened, pointing toward the base.
"Fire!" Both pulled down on the triggers at once, sending screaming shots of heat into the base.
Already, Norris felt the wax covering her skin beginning to warm.
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The sound cut through the noise of pitched battle like a knife through butter. It was like screaming, the sound created by the flares.
"They're trying to escape!" Mr. 3 shouted, throwing out another Candle Lock at Zoro, who barely managed to get out of the way. "I thought the two of you checked them for anything on their person!"
Well, that was one problem dealt with. That just left why Zoro was fighting.
"Gum Gum! Bazooka."
I suppose why Zoro was fighting Mr. 3 was that Luffy was fighting a splotch of paint on the ground.
"Keep us covered," Usopp said. Wait, us? Karoo ran by, Usopp sliding onto his back with almost practiced ease. I waited for Mr. 5 to make a move. But he didn't, glaring at me with a scowl.
"Now, let's see if you can beat me without any of your friends running in to save you," he growled, pulling out another booger from his nose.
"Oh no, not without me you aren't," there was a shout of pain as Thomas landed next to me in the grass. "I owe you back double for throwing us into your friend's fight at Whiskey Peak."
Mr. 5? By himself, I could stall him, probably even take him.
Mr. 5 and Ms. Valentine's Day? That was harder.
"Cannon!"
Scald!
The explosion is consumed by a blast of hot water, but not before overpowering the blast, continuing through to slam into the man's chest. Even with his powers, he was knocked clean off his feet, disappearing in a cloud of steam.
"10,000 Kilo Spider Stomp!"
Seriously? You want to do this song and dance again? Have a Protect, you crazy nutcase. A blue barrier erupted around my body, ready to take her fall again.
"Breeze Breath Bomb!"
BOOM!
The blast impacted the barrier, failing to penetrate the protective sphere. But that caused it to start fading. Oh, this was going to suck.
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"We can move again!" Nami cheered, jumping up out of the wax as it started to melt. The Candelabra leaned dangerously forward, a looming shadow over the battlefield. It still needed to be destroyed, but they had bought themselves the time they needed.
Norris was about to open her mouth, only for a scream of pain to come across the battlefield.
"Nathan!" Vivi shouted, already scrambling down the Candelabra. Norris felt herself wince at the scene of the giant spider being pinned.
Thankfully, Nami seemed to be joining Vivi. Under normal circumstances, she would be joining them. She felt as if she needed to extract a pound of flesh from her former ally, but for now, she had finished off Mr. 3.
Norris grabbed hold of the Candelabra's still steaming base, and began to pull.
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"Get off him! Iron Batting!"
Ms. Valentine's winced slightly, her body shifting ever so slightly.
"Was that the best you can do?" She sadistically grinned as she leaned further back, enjoying the pained sounds beneath her. But for the briefest of moments, her body lost contact with the monstrous spider she had pinned, its body beginning to condense into a swirling orb of energy.
U-Turn!
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I slammed into her stomach, time seemingly slowing down around me. What did I pick? Pinsir was strong, yes, but fighting Mr. 5 was safest at range. Galisipod was too slow, even with first impressions, and I had no clue how it would react to my current state. Crustle was an option, provided I hit the threshold.
Everything else I couldn't access, or was simply too weak, or too slow. I didn't have a lot of options.
A stray thought passed through my head. That could work. It should work. Time began to speed up.
Evolution Bypass. Shelmet to!
"Accelgor!"
The pair scowled, glaring at me.
"It doesn't matter how many forms you can take, we'll still!" Wham!
"Still what, exactly?" Name taunted, standing over Ms. Valentine's. "We kinda outnumber you at this point."
"In small fry," Mr. 5 sneared, pointing his gun at me. "Breeze -"
Bug Buzz!
I hit the gas, blurring around the man, creating a cacophony surrounding him. The gun clattered to the ground as the man's hands went to his ears.
Giga Drain!
I stopped behind him, green tendrils wrapping around Mr. 5 for a brief moment, before the man slumped to the ground.
"I can't believe you were sitting on something like that this entire time!" Thomas shouted as Vivi shook her head.
"In my defense," I said, turning back into my human form. "That really shouldn't have worked." Evolution Bypass indeed.
"Why didn't you think to -"
CRASH-THUMMM!
"What was that!"
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"Bullfight Red," Ms. Goldenweek explained calmly, mixing paint. All she would need to do is put some green paint on the Captain of the Straw Hat Pirates, and this would be over soon.
"QQQQUUUUUUUAAAAACCCCCCCCCKKKKK!"
Why was she hearing something that sounded like a very angry duck?
Wham! The next thing she knew, Ms. Goldenweek was airborne. So was Luffy, alongside one other man and a duck.
"Quack?"
One man and a very confused duck.
"Luffy, now!"
"You got it! Gum Gum!"
No, no, that simply would not do. She brought up her brush, preparing to touch the Straw Hats Shirt.
Splat!
Only to find the hand of the other man instead.
Oh, that may cause some trouble.
"Bazooka!"
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"Come on! Budge!" Norris felt her muscles scream, pushing them well beyond her limits as she tried to pick up the massive hunk of wax. But despite the weakened base, it wouldn't budge. Not one bit.
Not until the top was blasted off, spinning away into the jungle. The weight became less as what remained groaned in her grasp.
"Candelabra Slam!"
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"What the hell was, Wax Wax House!" Mr. 3 shouted as Zoro darted back, the rest of the Candelabra crashing down atop them.
Zoro coughed, the air filling with dirt and dust.
"Watch where you're swinging that!" Zoro shouted. "You could have dropped that right on top of me!"
"You would have lived!" Norris shouted back, sliding down the remains.
"So, what do we do with him trapped in there?" Thomas asked as they approached, everyone looking a little worse for wear.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" The laughter covers the sound of cracking wax, as Broggy arose. Norris chuckled, watching as Nathan's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates in both fear and awe.
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Then came crying. Very loud crying. At least the literal mountain wasn't hostile, even if I felt bad for him. Kinda.
Who challenges their best friend to an honor duel to the death! One that lasts a whole century at that!
Okay, I shouldn't judge, as humans held grudges on a national level for stupid stuff too, and for far longer than that.
"Should we, you know, check if he's still alive?" I ask, slightly off-put by the crying mountain and also somewhat curious. Yeah, sure I didn't want to see a dead body, but at the same time, it would be good to know if the man was, you know, alive. I didn't want to deal with that man ever again until I had the fire type on tap, and I didn't want to be Schrödingered by a man.
I was using Schrödinger as a past tense verb, what is my life?
"I mean, he probably is. But if he isn't coming out, it's a sign he knows he's been beaten," Norris shrugged. "Maybe. He's smart, but not always as smart as he thinks he is."
I looked over at the taller woman, who seemed to be writing in a book I'm not sure where it had come from. She couldn't have had it on her person this entire time, right? Oh, who am I kidding, she probably did. And honestly, I was going to ignore that, for now. I didn't like leaving someone like that at our rear. Just, tie him up with the others and call it a day, I guess.
Just at that moment, the wax house began to break.
"Behold! My Candle Champ - IIOOONNN!"
Less than a moment later, as he emerged from the house in what I could only dare to describe as a wax mecha, a single slap from a giant sent Mr. 3 soaring through the air and out of sight.
"I am trying to sleep!" A loud voice shouted, as another shadow loomed above us, hand extended outwards.
"Dorry? But? How?" The other giant breathed.
"Did we all just, forget to check for a heartbeat, at, any point, during all this?"
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Holy shit, those were the biggest skeletons I'd ever seen in my life! Yes, I was coping with the fact we'd be stuck in this primordial jungle for a year. Sure, I loved my dinosaurs but a year?
Yeah, no. This place was humid, and it was hell. I'd smuggle some stuff if I could, but that's how Jurassic Park got started. And I wasn't tempting anything like that.
The only reason I hadn't flopped onto the ground by this point was all the bugs, just closing my eyes slightly, standing on my feet. I seriously just wanted to go back to the Merry and take a nap.
"I'm sorry. They only came to this island because of me," Vivi looked down, dejected. My eyes widened enough to see Nami, pulling on her check. While Usopp, Luffy, Karoo, and Thomas were crowded around a bag of.
"Are those rice crackers?" My stomach gurgled in hunger, before I took one. It didn't taste great, but in an odd form, I was too hungry to care.
"It takes a Log Pose a year to reset here," Zoro said, sitting down on a log. "That's not good for us."
"Maybe we could find where the agents put their ships? They should have a few Log Pose going other places, or maybe an Eternal one that points straight to Alabasta, or even just somewhere else that will recalibrate faster?" I ask finishing off the last of the cracker, noticing everyone staring at me. "What? They're part of an underworld organization. They have to have at least a few."
"That's, a valid point," Nami began rubbing her hands together. "There's probably a bit more to take than just a Log Pose, too."
This is where things went from a good idea to mistakes being made, wasn't it?
"Nami!! Vivi!! Norris!" Oh thank goodness, a distraction. "Oh, and you guys!"
Sanji emerged from the jungle, seemingly none the worse for wear, a goofy smile on his face. Norris didn't seem to pay the man any heed, busy talking with the two giants about something, a grin of her own as she recorded something in her notebook.
He causally stroad out into the clearing before his eyes opened enough to notice one of the giants, Dorry, I think.
"Are you Mr. 3?"
How? How did he even know that name?
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"I'm more stuck on the otter and the machine gun wielding vulture, I said with a frown. Sure, I was now filled with a newfound respect for Sanji, because as it turned out this man did not need a kitchen to cook. I didn't think that Mr. 0 believed we were presently dead, but still, that was a play, and it'd worked. And he'd gotten an Eternal Log Pose to Alabasta out of it!
"Right, you weren't conscious for that," Zoro shrugged.
"Still doesn't change how that information is relevant!" I crossed my arms with a huff. Seriously, I never would have guessed that they brought on a pair of animals in the first place. I would have been a sitting duck! Still, it seemed like everyone was ready to head out. Zoro and Sanji were arguing over their hunting competition, Usopp and Luffy shouting their goodbyes, though why Usopp was calling the pair Masters was a question for another day. Norris closed the book she was writing in with a smile, Thomas trying to swat at some of the bugs that hung around him. I waved at them. I didn't really know them, but I wanted to do at least a bit of common curtasy.
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"Alright, get those cut up and loaded up you two!" Nami paused. "And someone get Nathan to stop mourning the death of two random dinosaurs already!"
"NNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
"If we pack it properly, we should be able to fit 5% more than expected."
"That doesn't sound like much."
"Luffy, it's still more meat."
"Hurray!"
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Poor dinosaur's. They will be missed. And eaten. Thus was the circle of life. I should be excited. How many people knew how dinosaur tasted?
Okay, still sad though.
I let out a sigh, arms dangling over the side of the Merry, before looking up to see the two giants. Why exactly where they here?
"There's one big reason that you little people," Broggy started.
"Can't reach the next island," Dorry continued.
That, sounded ominous.
"You risked your lives to defend our honor," Dorry began.
"Now, no matter what," Broggy continued.
"We will allow no enemy to trample on our friends' pride!" Dorry shouted.
"Have faith in us, and sail straight ahead! No matter what happens, sail straight ahead!" Broggy finished, as the sound of the ocean drew my eyes away from the pair, and onto something massive rising out of the waves.
Of course, it took about half second for half the crew to start panicking. To my surprise, Usopp was not one of them.
"Oh, this is going to be fun!" Norris was grinning ear to ear with excitement.
"We're really sailing right toward it? It's going to eat us!" Thomas shouted.
Frankly, we didn't have much of a choice. I don't think we could evade it, even if we tried. We had no choice but to put our lives in the hand of two giants. Two people I knew nothing about.
So why the hell did I feel so calm? Luffy trusted them without a shadow of a doubt. No hesitation. Maybe, that was enough.
"Come on," I breathed. "Straight ahead."
"Straight ahead! Straight ahead!" Luffy and Usopp shouted, even as we began to fall. Then I felt it, the rumble like an earthquake.
"This is it!" Norris shouted, as suddenly, there was light, the Going Merry rocketing out of the giant fish like a rocket.
"WAAAAHHOOOO!" I shouted, letting go of the railing, only for the force to send me flying back with a pained groan for my troubles.
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"Hey Thomas, are you okay?" I asked. He didn't look okay. His skin was pale, skin sweaty, and it was almost like he was swaying on his feet.
"I'm okay. I just need a," his voice suddenly cut out, body falling forward. I managed to catch him before he planted his face onto the Merry's deck. I put my hand on his face, expecting a fever, but it felt cold to the touch. And, how long had that lump at the back of his knee been there?
I pulled up his pants leg. What I found was.
"Oh, that's just wrong." I finish out loud, getting the attention of those who weren't already heading over. It was hideous, a tick nearly the size of my hand, swollen with a feast of blood.
I reach out, preparing to grab hold of the disgusting thing and pull it free, before it could do anymore damage. Before I could, it suddenly turned around, hissing at me.
"Mother!" I ducked, as it flew over my head by inches, landing on the deck of the Merry.
"Kill it kill it kill it!" I couldn't tell if it was Vivi, Nami, Usopp or even myself that shouted that, but it started a frenzied attempt to kill the damn parasite.
The blighter, to its credit, seemed to realize at long last, the danger it was in, some sliver of survival instincts taking over. It jumped and weaved, even if it was ultimately trapped on the boat with us.
"Gum Gum!"
Water!
"Bazooka!" Gun!
We finally managed to catch it out, sending it flying off the ship and into the sea. Though all of us had far more pressing matters to contend with than the possibility of aquatic monster ticks in the future. The ocean was a scary place, it'd sort itself out.
No, we had far bigger problems to worry about. Nami and I picked him up between ourselves, intent on getting him to a bed. Nami and I were the two closest members of the crew to being medical experts.
But knowing what I knew about ticks?
We were going to need a doctor.
Chapter 9 - Drum Island Part 1
"Set him down on the bed!" Nami ordered, even as I was part of the way through the motion. Body temperature was low, which meant blankets. Something to at least keep him warm. "Do you have any idea what we're dealing with, specifically?"
"Besides blood loss? Not a damn clue. It will depend on what diseases the tick had in its system!" Ticks were nightmares when it came to spreading disease. Not quite on par with fleas, who played a role in causing the Black Death, but ticks could still carry a lot of a really nasty things back home.
Lyme, deer fever, Colorado tick fever, and many others. Just a whole host of nasty, dangerous shit. By the standards of my world.
I wasn't going to lie. I'd long since managed to figure out that people around here were, well, built different. When human, I was the weakest of the Straw Hats, and it wasn't even a close contest between me and Usopp. So what passed off as bad by the standards of my world probably would give most of the crew mild indigestion. At best. But that wasn't a tick from my world.
Hell, it wasn't even a standard tick from theirs! It was a tick from some god blessed prehistorical jungle. I had no idea what it could be carrying. If luck was on our side, then we'd just be dealing with blood lose here. And if it wasn't? How do you try to cure a potentially fatal disease if you don't know what disease you're trying to cure in the first place? The answer is, you don't.
"So focus on the one we can fix," Nami's facial expression was a thin crease. "Do you know Thomas's blood type?"
Oh good, this world knew about blood types, I wasn't going to have to try and explain that sort of thing. Not that I'd ever do a good job, as the only thing I really grasped is that you didn't want to put inject someone with a blood type that they weren't.
"No, but Vivi worked with him for some time. If we need to ask anyone before he wakes up, she's the one," I said. There was no if. He had to wake up. I refused to accept any alternative. Maybe we caught it early enough that there wasn't too much gone. And it wasn't like being bitten by a tick guaranteed catching a disease.
Nami's frown grew. "Do you know how to do a blood transfusion?"
"Do we even have the supplies to do a blood transfusion?" I asked back. I highly doubted we had nearly everything on hand, the tech level simply wasn't at that point, but did we have the basics? Hell, did we even have needles? I really didn't know, but I understood the basics enough that I could, in theory, rig something up. The base idea wasn't hard, far from it. Take blood from one person and put it in another person. It was the matter of blood types and getting those lined up.
Of course, did anyone else besides maybe Nami, Vivi, maybe Usopp and Sanji alongside myself even know what a blood type was? Much less know what theirs was? Okay, yeah, that was most of us, actually.
And speaking of the rest of the crew, did that door use to have that, bulge to it? The wood was groaning, as if bearing some weight that I couldn't see. Then it cracked, sending the entirity of the crew spilling out onto the floor, almost like a wave.
"Is he going to be okay?" Luffy was the first one up, moving toward the bed quickly, followed by Vivi and Gina. Zoro and Sanji kept their distance a bit more, but the fact they were here in the first place spoke volumes.
"I," I took a deep breath. "I can't make any promises, Captain. The blood loss is making things enough in the air as is, until we know Thomas's blood type, or even if we have the equipment needed to do a transfusion."
The swearing coming from Nami's mouth wasn't filling me with confidence.
"And I have no idea what, if any, diseases the tick may have infected Thomas with," I continued. That was the crux of the matter. If there was anything, I certainly didn't, I wouldn't know about it. It was always better to be safe than sorry.
"What's so important about a blood type?" Zoro gave me a confused look.
"If you donate blood to someone that isn't compatible with their blood type, they can die," I say, a slight frown.
"That means having more than just red blood, right?" Luffy's brow seemed to be scrunched up in thought.
"Sadly, yes, Captain," I watched as Luffy's brow furrowed even more. Had he been considering donating blood? Would that even be safe? Baring getting through his skin for a moment, but were Devil Fruit abilities able to be transmitted through blood? That, would be important to know if little else.
"There is the RH to consider as well," Vivi's voice was, I really had a hard time pinning it. Sure, she had been undercover for years, but at the same time, Thomas had been her partner during those years. They had to be close. But as for what she said, though?
"I can't believe I forgot about that," I pinched my brow. How could I have? Sure, I wasn't exactly a doctor, but my Mom was a nurse, and I spent a month with Crocus! I should have a basic idea about this stuff.
"When Nathan says exact match, he means exact," Gina said, placing her hand on his forehead. "I've seen what happens when you do it wrong. Your body rejects the transfusion, treating it like a disease to root out. There are more painful ways to go, but it still isn't what I would consider pleasant."
"There should be doctors in Alabasta able to help him," Vivi said, sitting down in a chair next to the bed. And while I didn't exactly doubt that. The problem was, would he last long enough for us to get to Alabasta?
"And what happens if we can't get the equipment or if we don't have a matching blood type?" Sanji for once, wasn't smoking.
"There are foods that help promote the body to help it generate more blood," Gina seemed to muse, looking at Sanji thoughtfully.
"I do," the man spoke slowly. "Most of those are meats, things heavy in irons." Okay, meat, that wasn't a big deal, we had plenty of meat.
"Do it. This is more important," Luffy said, with all the calm and confidence of the world. "Keeping our crewmate alive is more important."
Sanji didn't say a word, simply nodding.
"Come on, don't go counting me out yet," there was a coughing that came from the bed.
"Thomas!" Vivi wrapped her arms around him for a brief moment, as Thomas chuckled, before letting out a slight groan of pain as everyone crowded around the bed. "I just needed a bit of shut-eye, is all."
Thomas then tried to push himself off the bed, struggling every metaphorical step of the way.
"What you need," I say firmly, putting my hand on his chest to gently push him back down. "Is to rest."
For a brief moment, I felt him push back against me, before Thomas let out a sigh, falling back against the bedsheets.
"It must be pretty bad if you're able to push me around," another cough wracked Thomas's body as I frowned. That couldn't have been a normal symptom of blood loss.
"To be fair, you're one of the two people on this crew who wouldn't be able to intimidate your way out of being sick when it comes to me," I gently teased back, trying to keep some levity to the situation at hand.
"Wait, if he's the first, then who's the second?" Usopp asked as I looked at him. The act of doing so was the answer to the question at hand. Usopp looked behind himself for a moment, as if he would find another member of the crew standing somewhere behind him. "Me?"
"To be fair, Usopp, you're the closest one that Nathan can beat in a fight," Gina chuckled, clearly amused. The only thing that made me chuckle was the squawk of protest that came from Usopp's lips. "Well, you and the duck."
"Good to know you're all joking around while I'm the one doing all the work," Nami entered the room, killing all conversation with the expression on her face and the needle in her hand. "Now, which one of you am I going to have to take blood from to get Thomas back on his feet?"
I, like the rest of my crewmates, balked. I'd done my best to stay on Nami's good side. She was scary when mad, and I was squishy. Built for this world of slapstick, I was most certainly not. And we still didn't have an answer to what Thomas's blood type was yet.
"That would be X-, my good lady," Thomas coughed, the slight smirk on his face telling that he was happy to be not on the receiving end of Nami's wrath.
Of course, that had almost been relegated to a secondary concern. The four main blood types not counting for their opposite negative pairs, were A, B AB, and O. So what the hell was an X doing in here?
Curse blood type classifications from another world!
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"I might have something that could help," I said, after giving it a few minutes of thought. Most if the crew was outside, dealing with the Grand Line being the Grand Line. But Nami wanted at least one person, usually two, with Thomas at all times.
"Oh?" Thomas pushed up slightly out of bed, his face falling into a more confident grin. "And what exactly would that be?"
I took a step back from the bed, taking in a deep breath as I closed my eyes. Chansey. I needed Chansey. I felt my body shift and contort, taking on a new appearance.
"Happiny!"
Fuck!
My tiny arms flailed about, causing Vivi to look up.
"That looks adorable," Vivi's statement about my appearance was completely correct. Happiny was, by all accounts, incredibly adorable. The problem was, I didn't need adorableness. I needed Chansey.
"It's like you're a cute little doll!" I flailed even more as Thomas managed to pick me up easily, Happiny's tiny frame unable to offer any major resistance. "Don't know how this is supposed to help, though."
Thankfully, the bright light that came off my body as I began to transform back was enough for Thomas to put me back on the ground. I wasn't going to try to Pokémon speak this to them.
"That's because its evolution has something that might be able to help, not Happiny itself," I said with a frown. Which was a problem. As, out of all the Pokémon I knew about? Happiny was about the only one I didn't know how it evolved. The only time I ever remember encountering one in base play was Diamond and Pearl, where you were given one from an egg. I remembered trying to evolve it, before giving up and throwing it in the box for that play-through, and not even bothering with the egg for every subsequent run.
"How would it help, exactly?" Thomas looked at me, puzzled, before letting out a cough Vivi leaned in as well, seemingly equally curious.
"Chansey is said to lay eggs that, when eaten, have healing properties," I say, scratching my chin as I tried to pry secrets that weren't there out of my head.
"So, you were going to offer me an egg in these," Thomas coughed again into his elbow. "Trying times?"
Why did that sound like a reference to something?
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"I normally wouldn't want you to worry, but," Nami let the silence hang in the air, as Vivi looked at the newspaper, a look of horror and despair written all over it. I gave her a comforting pat on the shoulder, but beyond that, I didn't think I could do much.
The situation in Alabasta got worse. About half of the Royalist side had defected. It wasn't just the massive swing in manpower, it was yet another step towards whatever plans Crocodile had for Alabasta coming to fruition. And it wasn't as if the Royal Army was doing well either, from the sound of things, even before this. With the weapons, men, and guns the rebels now had, the war had swung rather decisively in their favor.
I may not be a military strategist, but I did like strategy games. That type of disparity, even at the best of times, could be a tall order to defeat on the battlefield. It was not impossible, but often relied on an opponent making a mistake of some kind.
And given how not only did the rebels have the royalists outnumbered more than two to one, close to half the rebel army knew the royalist playbook. Because they were former royalists!
And the worst part was? This was close to half a week ago. Sure, they were likely moving on foot, maybe on horseback, duck back, whatever. Point being, that this was close to half a week ago, so there was no telling just how badly things had deteriorated since then. Sure, speed of travel definitely put a damper on just how quickly things could happen. But the situation was still awful and wasn't likely to get better.
It felt weird, rooting for a king, but Vivi was a good person. I didn't have any reason to suspect that the King was any different from his daughter. A good person.
However, that wasn't going to matter for much if the rebels started to push their numerical advantage. We had a week to get there, and a week was a long time, no matter how you tried to cut it. Nami was practically a miracle worker, but she could only do so much. The Merry, no matter how much she fought, could only go so fast. It was going to take a week. Just to get there, and we wouldn't be at full strength until Thomas was patched up. And we'd need all the help we could get in a fight like this.
Of course, that moment of calm was broken with a shout.
"Nathan, I'm going to need you to come take a look at this!" That was Sanji's voice. Oh, I did not like the sound of that.
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That.
Was a concerning amount of vomit. What the hell had happened here?
"I was just heading out after I gave Thomas his food, and then," Sanji's voice had a tweak to it, and it was clear to see why. Part of the room was just a mess. Despite the bucket I put in place just for emergency situations, it had been missed completely. Instead, spew covered a sizable chunk of the wall, which I was ignoring for the moment.
"Thomas, what happened?" It was clear he wasn't okay, not by any stretch of the word. That was not an okay thing to do.
"I don't know," Thomas rasped, painting heavily. "I tried to eat a little bit, but when it hit my stomach, the meat just… hurk."
Thomas's face paled even more as he began to heave. And he wasn't aiming toward the bucket.
Protect!
Quickly transforming, the vomit hit the barrier, splattering harmlessly to the floor, rather than on my face.
"Thank you," Sanji said as I transformed back.
"You're welcome," I respond, moving to rub Thomas's back as he'd finally gone for the bucket. I looked down at the plate, trying to identify the meal. Thomas said he started having problems when the meat hit is stomach. And Sanji was a high enough caliber of a cook that food poisoning shouldn't be an issue. Especially not now. But with it being partially covered in vomit, I had no idea what i could have been.
"It's steak with a bit of pork and greens," Sanji said, following my gaze, though there as a twing of hostility in his voice. Steak and pork. Red meat. Tick bite. Tick bite. Red meat. Vomiting.
Fuck. That wasn't good at all.
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"A coworker of mine had the same thing happen to her before I arrived in the Grand Line after she got bitten by a tick," I said, addressing everyone on the deck of the Merry. Everyone but Thomas, as we moved him to a new room and he was now getting much needed shuteye.
"What!" Luffy shouted. "Is there anything we can do?" For Luffy, not being able to eat meat was a fate worse than death, and given how much meat I tended to eat, I couldn't say I disagreed with my Captain on that one.
"If we had a doctor yesterday, Captain, then maybe," I said, rubbing my forehead.
"I could try the dinosaur meat. We have plenty of chicken that we can use in the meantime," Sanji said, taking a puff of smoke from his cigarette.
"How would that even work? It's still red meat," Gina crossed her arms as she paced up and down the deck.
"Mammals and Dinosaur's split off evolution wise a while ago. Dinosaur meat should have more in common with chicken or other birds, rather than a cow or a pig. Of course, that's only on paper, and experimenting is probably not something we should be doing on that front right now," as interesting as that thought experiment would be now, it certainly wasn't the time for it.
Zoro nodded, his lips a thin line. Sadly, this was not an enemy he could simply cut to pieces with his sword, no matter how badly he wanted too.
"I did manage to come up with something," Usopp said, rolling out what I could only describe as a primitive Blood Bag feed. "Just encase we run into someone with Thomas's blood type."
It was impressive, but at the same time, blood loss was becoming something of a lesser concern in my book.
"Thank you, Usopp," Nami nodded, her face not really looking at anyone else, scanning the sky and clouds for changes in the Grand Line's weather. The young man beamed with a smile, as I have him a pat on the back. It was good work.
"We need to find a doctor as soon as possible," Vivi cut in, clutching the newspaper in her hands.
I blinked a bit in surprise. I wasn't wrong about us really needing a doctor yesterday. But I figured that Vivi would want us to cut full speed to Alabasta to deal with the problem there. It would allow her to do everything she wanted. It would get us and her to Alabasta, and would allow her friend in Thomas to be healed.
But everyone else? They just smiled, as if that is what they had expected from the beginning. And thus, we headed south.
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Gina liked to think she had some degree of experience. The sudden and consistent shift of weather was enough to tell her they had gotten close to an island, and Nami was currently trying to pinpoint it's exact location. She liked to think, among other things, that it would take a lot to get her surprised.
Even in her state, worried as she was, about a crewmate who was sick with who knows what, and the closest thing they had to a doctor only being able to say that things were bad, it should take a lot to surprise her.
A person standing out on the open water was not what she had expected this morning, or any other morning. But it certainly was on the checklist now.
Then the Merry lurched, the sea suddenly bucking, taking even Nami by surprise. Gina grabbed on to the arm rail, keeping herself steady as a massive ship emerged from beneath the waves. This was really how today was going to go, wasn't it? Just, run into a pirate crew on the high seas. They didn't have time for this. Unless?
What were the odds of a crew of this size having a doctor themselves? Sure, they weren't going to just, let them make use of their skills. Willingly, anyway. Still, that didn't mean she enjoyed the numerous people swarming the deck, all carrying various different firearms. She would like to start fighting now, but doing so would mean the bullets would start flying, and, well. The Going Merry wasn't bulletproof. The protection she would provide Thomas was minimal, and there would a considerable number of stray bullets
.
The shaking was enough to draw Sanji and Nathan out of the medical bay, Sanji reacting as if there wasn't even a gun pointed at his face. While Nathan definitely gave them a second glance, but his expression was one of 'I'm getting far more used to this than I have any right to be'.
Then the man was clearly the captain of this group emerged. Gina's first thought was Devil Fruit. It was clear the man had one if his metal jaws were anything to go by. That, and the fact he was eating a knife. Not a cheap one, either. The hilt was covered in gemstones, and yet, he had no problems throwing the entire knife into his mouth.
Which only marked the man as rich. Extremely rich. To use a knife of high quality make with a hilt that would be worth it's weight in gold was nothing else than a sign of exorbitant wealth. Much less eating one as if it were a desert to water down a luxurious meal.
Something that made Nami halfway about to burst a blood vessel. Sanji had already managed to clear the distance, standing between her and several of the pirates. Actually, were they really pirates at all? Yes, they were flying the Jolly Roger, and all that initialed, but at the same time, they looked a bit too, professional. They weren't navy, but at the same time? They had uniforms, to start.
"We want to go to the Drum Kingdom. Do you have an Eternal Pose or a Log Pose?" The way the man spoke more or less confirmed it. This wasn't simply a pirate, this man was, at the very least, a noble of some description. That would explain why he was literally willing to eat something that expensive. It wasn't like he likely had more lying around.
"Nope," Sanji's voice was firm, but not happy about the situation. "And we've never heard of that place, either."
"So, if you're done, go away!" Luffy demanded, still sitting there. She knew the answer to that. No, he was going to start raiding the ship for other valuables, etc, etc.
Then two things happened in quick succession. No, more like one thing. The man took a bite out of Merry's frame, tearing it off with his teeth and chewing the wood like, well, something that wasn't wood.
That resulted in two immediate and similar reactions. The first was Luffy, immediately hitting one of the boarders on the head, something they should have done from the start.
"So, would you like paper or plastic?" Nathan's words made Gina pause for the briefest of moments, alongside just about everyone else in earshot.
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"The shame is made less knowing that we aren't the only people who fell for that."
"Are you okay right now?!"
"I'm okay, I promise!"
Your fever has been going up!"
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The gunmen were stunned much longer than she was, but that may have also been because Nathan was transforming. Even partway through, Nathan was swinging his tail, water forming around it before as it turned, knocking men onto their backs.
And what finally took shape?
Was big. Easily, the largest form she had seen out of the young man yet. Blue scales covered its body nearly from head to toe. A trio of red spines, each one coming to three sharp points, one on its head, another on its back, and a third on its tail, rose, giving its body an even more imposing presence. While its feet ended with three clawed toes, its arms had five fingers, each ending in a claw, and it looked as if the monster had opposable thumbs. Which seemed like gripping overkill, given the massive jaws of the beast.
"Feraligatr!" The roar that came from the monster's mouth was impressive, already sending many of the men who were trying to go for their firearms that leaving them and running was the smarter plan. At the moment though, her hands were mostly tied, dealing with her own problems, grabbing one of the men surrounding her before using him as a makeshift club, before tossing him aside to grab the furthest man and place him into a grapple, slamming him against the deck in the process.
Sanji and Zoro had already gotten a head start on her, knocking out men with casual ease. Nathan and Luffy seemed to share a single brain cell, trying to get close to the man who was in the process of eating their ship. Surprisingly, it was Nathan who got there first advancing on the man. The loud clang of teeth meeting metal rang out over the battlefield, causing everyone to pause.
"King Wapol!" Several of the men shouted. Oh, great, that was a king Nathan held in his grip. Not. Still, they had the man hostage. They didn't even need to find an island now. Get a doctor to heal Thomas, take some gold on the side as compensation, in exchange for their king's safety.
"Oh, this is going to be fun!" Luffy said, with everyone looking at him confused. Why was he saying that? What did?
Gina looked back at Nathan, his iris having narrowed and elongated. This was some type of alligator, wasn't it? That meant.
Just as the thought crossed her mind, Nathan began to roll around, Wapol's head firmly in his jaws. She had no idea how Luffy of all people recognized the behavior, but the result was clear. Nathan had a Wapol in a death roll, or, at the very least, as close as one could get to a death roll without being in the water. The only reason the man wasn't as hurt as he could be was the man's metal chin, the teeth not finding any purchase there.
As impressive as the display was, it didn't seem to be having a major impact.
"You dare strike me! Munch Munch Shock!"
BOOM!
It sounded as if a cannon had gone off, barely managing to drown out Nathan's roar of pain. Wapol slipped from his jaws, as he skidded backwards, claws digging into the deck to halt his movement. Blood dripped down onto the deck as Nathan snarled, a flickering blue aura surrounding his body.
Wapol's eyes widened in surprise, before leveling the cannon that his arm had become at Nathan.
"Gum Gum Takeoff!" Then came Luffy, arms extended backward, slamming into Wapol's chest, sending the man flying. And when she meant flying, she meant, flying. The man nothing but a dot, not even starting to descend by the time he vanished from sight.
That was enough for panic to set in among the enemy pirates who quickly abandoned their assault in favor of retreating on their massive ship after their Captain/king, rather than continuing the battle. Not like that would have done them any good. Nathan looked pissed off enough to take the remaining crew on his own. Maybe. She couldn't exactly read crocodile facial expressions.
Once everyone was gone, Nathan shifted back, letting out a sigh as he gingerly touched his chest.
"I figured this would hurt more," he muttered, mostly to himself. His shirt seemed fine, but the wince he made showed that despite his cloth's undamaged state, there was probably damage under there.
"Are you alright?" Luffy was already next to Nathan, looking concerned. And he wasn't the only one. Usopp seemed in a panic, Sanji was impressed, and Zoro, it was hard to tell with that man, but he seemed impressed. Nami on the other hand?
"I'll need to get it bandaged, and maybe see if it broke any ribs, but I should be fine. Hurts like a rat bastard, though," Gina frowned, as Nathan's eyes seemed somewhat misty. Was he trying to play off his injury as being not as bad as it was?
"You better not make do something like that ever again!" Nami threw her arms around Nathan's neck suddenly, causing Sanji to squawk. Gina smiled at the moment. How sweat. "Because if you do, I'm going to make sure you regret it!"
Or not. Nami gripped Nathan's ear, dragging him along behind her, despite his shouts of protest and pain.
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I wasn't going to protest Nami's bedside manner. It wouldn't be effective, and she would probably give me something to take my mind off the pain. In the form of a fist to the face.
The cannonball to the chest hurt. Not as much as it should, but it did. The bruise was large, and there were several cuts, but it should have been worse if it caught me at any other point. It was going to be a pain in the ass going forward, but nothing was broken, so that was a plus.
Lesson learned, I suppose. Don't get that close to a Devil Fruit user until you know how their powers work. Because if other people could just pull a cannon out of their ass, I wasn't going to have a good time.
"Now, I want you off your feet for the rest of the day, do I make myself clear?" Nami looked at me, anger mixing with concern on her face.
"Yes Ma'am."
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"Land-ho!"
I'd spent the early part of the next day out of commission too. I mostly helped Thomas, who was suffering from a fever on top of everything else now.
Still, to step outside was a thing of beauty, a winter wonderland, covered in snow and cylindrical flat tops. Here was hoping that we could find a doctor in short order.
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I actually planned on getting to Drum this chapter. I was planning on getting considerably into Drum. But I ended up focusing a bit more on characters, giving Thomas a bit more time to differentiate himself from Usopp in how he deals with something like this, as well as Nathan explaining what was happening keeping the panicking to somewhat of a minimum as everyone is focused on solving the problem.
A good 5k words later, and I'm not even on Drum. Oh well. Hope you guys enjoyed!
"Besides blood loss? Not a damn clue. It will depend on what diseases the tick had in its system!" Ticks were nightmares when it came to spreading disease. Not quite on par with fleas, who played a role in causing the Black Death, but ticks could still carry a lot of a really nasty things back home.
Lyme, deer fever, Colorado tick fever, and many others. Just a whole host of nasty, dangerous shit. By the standards of my world.
I wasn't going to lie. I'd long since managed to figure out that people around here were, well, built different. When human, I was the weakest of the Straw Hats, and it wasn't even a close contest between me and Usopp. So what passed off as bad by the standards of my world probably would give most of the crew mild indigestion. At best. But that wasn't a tick from my world.
Hell, it wasn't even a standard tick from theirs! It was a tick from some god blessed prehistorical jungle. I had no idea what it could be carrying. If luck was on our side, then we'd just be dealing with blood lose here. And if it wasn't? How do you try to cure a potentially fatal disease if you don't know what disease you're trying to cure in the first place? The answer is, you don't.
"So focus on the one we can fix," Nami's facial expression was a thin crease. "Do you know Thomas's blood type?"
Oh good, this world knew about blood types, I wasn't going to have to try and explain that sort of thing. Not that I'd ever do a good job, as the only thing I really grasped is that you didn't want to put inject someone with a blood type that they weren't.
"No, but Vivi worked with him for some time. If we need to ask anyone before he wakes up, she's the one," I said. There was no if. He had to wake up. I refused to accept any alternative. Maybe we caught it early enough that there wasn't too much gone. And it wasn't like being bitten by a tick guaranteed catching a disease.
Nami's frown grew. "Do you know how to do a blood transfusion?"
"Do we even have the supplies to do a blood transfusion?" I asked back. I highly doubted we had nearly everything on hand, the tech level simply wasn't at that point, but did we have the basics? Hell, did we even have needles? I really didn't know, but I understood the basics enough that I could, in theory, rig something up. The base idea wasn't hard, far from it. Take blood from one person and put it in another person. It was the matter of blood types and getting those lined up.
Of course, did anyone else besides maybe Nami, Vivi, maybe Usopp and Sanji alongside myself even know what a blood type was? Much less know what theirs was? Okay, yeah, that was most of us, actually.
And speaking of the rest of the crew, did that door use to have that, bulge to it? The wood was groaning, as if bearing some weight that I couldn't see. Then it cracked, sending the entirity of the crew spilling out onto the floor, almost like a wave.
"Is he going to be okay?" Luffy was the first one up, moving toward the bed quickly, followed by Vivi and Gina. Zoro and Sanji kept their distance a bit more, but the fact they were here in the first place spoke volumes.
"I," I took a deep breath. "I can't make any promises, Captain. The blood loss is making things enough in the air as is, until we know Thomas's blood type, or even if we have the equipment needed to do a transfusion."
The swearing coming from Nami's mouth wasn't filling me with confidence.
"And I have no idea what, if any, diseases the tick may have infected Thomas with," I continued. That was the crux of the matter. If there was anything, I certainly didn't, I wouldn't know about it. It was always better to be safe than sorry.
"What's so important about a blood type?" Zoro gave me a confused look.
"If you donate blood to someone that isn't compatible with their blood type, they can die," I say, a slight frown.
"That means having more than just red blood, right?" Luffy's brow seemed to be scrunched up in thought.
"Sadly, yes, Captain," I watched as Luffy's brow furrowed even more. Had he been considering donating blood? Would that even be safe? Baring getting through his skin for a moment, but were Devil Fruit abilities able to be transmitted through blood? That, would be important to know if little else.
"There is the RH to consider as well," Vivi's voice was, I really had a hard time pinning it. Sure, she had been undercover for years, but at the same time, Thomas had been her partner during those years. They had to be close. But as for what she said, though?
"I can't believe I forgot about that," I pinched my brow. How could I have? Sure, I wasn't exactly a doctor, but my Mom was a nurse, and I spent a month with Crocus! I should have a basic idea about this stuff.
"When Nathan says exact match, he means exact," Gina said, placing her hand on his forehead. "I've seen what happens when you do it wrong. Your body rejects the transfusion, treating it like a disease to root out. There are more painful ways to go, but it still isn't what I would consider pleasant."
"There should be doctors in Alabasta able to help him," Vivi said, sitting down in a chair next to the bed. And while I didn't exactly doubt that. The problem was, would he last long enough for us to get to Alabasta?
"And what happens if we can't get the equipment or if we don't have a matching blood type?" Sanji for once, wasn't smoking.
"There are foods that help promote the body to help it generate more blood," Gina seemed to muse, looking at Sanji thoughtfully.
"I do," the man spoke slowly. "Most of those are meats, things heavy in irons." Okay, meat, that wasn't a big deal, we had plenty of meat.
"Do it. This is more important," Luffy said, with all the calm and confidence of the world. "Keeping our crewmate alive is more important."
Sanji didn't say a word, simply nodding.
"Come on, don't go counting me out yet," there was a coughing that came from the bed.
"Thomas!" Vivi wrapped her arms around him for a brief moment, as Thomas chuckled, before letting out a slight groan of pain as everyone crowded around the bed. "I just needed a bit of shut-eye, is all."
Thomas then tried to push himself off the bed, struggling every metaphorical step of the way.
"What you need," I say firmly, putting my hand on his chest to gently push him back down. "Is to rest."
For a brief moment, I felt him push back against me, before Thomas let out a sigh, falling back against the bedsheets.
"It must be pretty bad if you're able to push me around," another cough wracked Thomas's body as I frowned. That couldn't have been a normal symptom of blood loss.
"To be fair, you're one of the two people on this crew who wouldn't be able to intimidate your way out of being sick when it comes to me," I gently teased back, trying to keep some levity to the situation at hand.
"Wait, if he's the first, then who's the second?" Usopp asked as I looked at him. The act of doing so was the answer to the question at hand. Usopp looked behind himself for a moment, as if he would find another member of the crew standing somewhere behind him. "Me?"
"To be fair, Usopp, you're the closest one that Nathan can beat in a fight," Gina chuckled, clearly amused. The only thing that made me chuckle was the squawk of protest that came from Usopp's lips. "Well, you and the duck."
"Good to know you're all joking around while I'm the one doing all the work," Nami entered the room, killing all conversation with the expression on her face and the needle in her hand. "Now, which one of you am I going to have to take blood from to get Thomas back on his feet?"
I, like the rest of my crewmates, balked. I'd done my best to stay on Nami's good side. She was scary when mad, and I was squishy. Built for this world of slapstick, I was most certainly not. And we still didn't have an answer to what Thomas's blood type was yet.
"That would be X-, my good lady," Thomas coughed, the slight smirk on his face telling that he was happy to be not on the receiving end of Nami's wrath.
Of course, that had almost been relegated to a secondary concern. The four main blood types not counting for their opposite negative pairs, were A, B AB, and O. So what the hell was an X doing in here?
Curse blood type classifications from another world!
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"I might have something that could help," I said, after giving it a few minutes of thought. Most if the crew was outside, dealing with the Grand Line being the Grand Line. But Nami wanted at least one person, usually two, with Thomas at all times.
"Oh?" Thomas pushed up slightly out of bed, his face falling into a more confident grin. "And what exactly would that be?"
I took a step back from the bed, taking in a deep breath as I closed my eyes. Chansey. I needed Chansey. I felt my body shift and contort, taking on a new appearance.
"Happiny!"
Fuck!
My tiny arms flailed about, causing Vivi to look up.
"That looks adorable," Vivi's statement about my appearance was completely correct. Happiny was, by all accounts, incredibly adorable. The problem was, I didn't need adorableness. I needed Chansey.
"It's like you're a cute little doll!" I flailed even more as Thomas managed to pick me up easily, Happiny's tiny frame unable to offer any major resistance. "Don't know how this is supposed to help, though."
Thankfully, the bright light that came off my body as I began to transform back was enough for Thomas to put me back on the ground. I wasn't going to try to Pokémon speak this to them.
"That's because its evolution has something that might be able to help, not Happiny itself," I said with a frown. Which was a problem. As, out of all the Pokémon I knew about? Happiny was about the only one I didn't know how it evolved. The only time I ever remember encountering one in base play was Diamond and Pearl, where you were given one from an egg. I remembered trying to evolve it, before giving up and throwing it in the box for that play-through, and not even bothering with the egg for every subsequent run.
"How would it help, exactly?" Thomas looked at me, puzzled, before letting out a cough Vivi leaned in as well, seemingly equally curious.
"Chansey is said to lay eggs that, when eaten, have healing properties," I say, scratching my chin as I tried to pry secrets that weren't there out of my head.
"So, you were going to offer me an egg in these," Thomas coughed again into his elbow. "Trying times?"
Why did that sound like a reference to something?
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"I normally wouldn't want you to worry, but," Nami let the silence hang in the air, as Vivi looked at the newspaper, a look of horror and despair written all over it. I gave her a comforting pat on the shoulder, but beyond that, I didn't think I could do much.
The situation in Alabasta got worse. About half of the Royalist side had defected. It wasn't just the massive swing in manpower, it was yet another step towards whatever plans Crocodile had for Alabasta coming to fruition. And it wasn't as if the Royal Army was doing well either, from the sound of things, even before this. With the weapons, men, and guns the rebels now had, the war had swung rather decisively in their favor.
I may not be a military strategist, but I did like strategy games. That type of disparity, even at the best of times, could be a tall order to defeat on the battlefield. It was not impossible, but often relied on an opponent making a mistake of some kind.
And given how not only did the rebels have the royalists outnumbered more than two to one, close to half the rebel army knew the royalist playbook. Because they were former royalists!
And the worst part was? This was close to half a week ago. Sure, they were likely moving on foot, maybe on horseback, duck back, whatever. Point being, that this was close to half a week ago, so there was no telling just how badly things had deteriorated since then. Sure, speed of travel definitely put a damper on just how quickly things could happen. But the situation was still awful and wasn't likely to get better.
It felt weird, rooting for a king, but Vivi was a good person. I didn't have any reason to suspect that the King was any different from his daughter. A good person.
However, that wasn't going to matter for much if the rebels started to push their numerical advantage. We had a week to get there, and a week was a long time, no matter how you tried to cut it. Nami was practically a miracle worker, but she could only do so much. The Merry, no matter how much she fought, could only go so fast. It was going to take a week. Just to get there, and we wouldn't be at full strength until Thomas was patched up. And we'd need all the help we could get in a fight like this.
Of course, that moment of calm was broken with a shout.
"Nathan, I'm going to need you to come take a look at this!" That was Sanji's voice. Oh, I did not like the sound of that.
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That.
Was a concerning amount of vomit. What the hell had happened here?
"I was just heading out after I gave Thomas his food, and then," Sanji's voice had a tweak to it, and it was clear to see why. Part of the room was just a mess. Despite the bucket I put in place just for emergency situations, it had been missed completely. Instead, spew covered a sizable chunk of the wall, which I was ignoring for the moment.
"Thomas, what happened?" It was clear he wasn't okay, not by any stretch of the word. That was not an okay thing to do.
"I don't know," Thomas rasped, painting heavily. "I tried to eat a little bit, but when it hit my stomach, the meat just… hurk."
Thomas's face paled even more as he began to heave. And he wasn't aiming toward the bucket.
Protect!
Quickly transforming, the vomit hit the barrier, splattering harmlessly to the floor, rather than on my face.
"Thank you," Sanji said as I transformed back.
"You're welcome," I respond, moving to rub Thomas's back as he'd finally gone for the bucket. I looked down at the plate, trying to identify the meal. Thomas said he started having problems when the meat hit is stomach. And Sanji was a high enough caliber of a cook that food poisoning shouldn't be an issue. Especially not now. But with it being partially covered in vomit, I had no idea what i could have been.
"It's steak with a bit of pork and greens," Sanji said, following my gaze, though there as a twing of hostility in his voice. Steak and pork. Red meat. Tick bite. Tick bite. Red meat. Vomiting.
Fuck. That wasn't good at all.
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"A coworker of mine had the same thing happen to her before I arrived in the Grand Line after she got bitten by a tick," I said, addressing everyone on the deck of the Merry. Everyone but Thomas, as we moved him to a new room and he was now getting much needed shuteye.
"What!" Luffy shouted. "Is there anything we can do?" For Luffy, not being able to eat meat was a fate worse than death, and given how much meat I tended to eat, I couldn't say I disagreed with my Captain on that one.
"If we had a doctor yesterday, Captain, then maybe," I said, rubbing my forehead.
"I could try the dinosaur meat. We have plenty of chicken that we can use in the meantime," Sanji said, taking a puff of smoke from his cigarette.
"How would that even work? It's still red meat," Gina crossed her arms as she paced up and down the deck.
"Mammals and Dinosaur's split off evolution wise a while ago. Dinosaur meat should have more in common with chicken or other birds, rather than a cow or a pig. Of course, that's only on paper, and experimenting is probably not something we should be doing on that front right now," as interesting as that thought experiment would be now, it certainly wasn't the time for it.
Zoro nodded, his lips a thin line. Sadly, this was not an enemy he could simply cut to pieces with his sword, no matter how badly he wanted too.
"I did manage to come up with something," Usopp said, rolling out what I could only describe as a primitive Blood Bag feed. "Just encase we run into someone with Thomas's blood type."
It was impressive, but at the same time, blood loss was becoming something of a lesser concern in my book.
"Thank you, Usopp," Nami nodded, her face not really looking at anyone else, scanning the sky and clouds for changes in the Grand Line's weather. The young man beamed with a smile, as I have him a pat on the back. It was good work.
"We need to find a doctor as soon as possible," Vivi cut in, clutching the newspaper in her hands.
I blinked a bit in surprise. I wasn't wrong about us really needing a doctor yesterday. But I figured that Vivi would want us to cut full speed to Alabasta to deal with the problem there. It would allow her to do everything she wanted. It would get us and her to Alabasta, and would allow her friend in Thomas to be healed.
But everyone else? They just smiled, as if that is what they had expected from the beginning. And thus, we headed south.
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Gina liked to think she had some degree of experience. The sudden and consistent shift of weather was enough to tell her they had gotten close to an island, and Nami was currently trying to pinpoint it's exact location. She liked to think, among other things, that it would take a lot to get her surprised.
Even in her state, worried as she was, about a crewmate who was sick with who knows what, and the closest thing they had to a doctor only being able to say that things were bad, it should take a lot to surprise her.
A person standing out on the open water was not what she had expected this morning, or any other morning. But it certainly was on the checklist now.
Then the Merry lurched, the sea suddenly bucking, taking even Nami by surprise. Gina grabbed on to the arm rail, keeping herself steady as a massive ship emerged from beneath the waves. This was really how today was going to go, wasn't it? Just, run into a pirate crew on the high seas. They didn't have time for this. Unless?
What were the odds of a crew of this size having a doctor themselves? Sure, they weren't going to just, let them make use of their skills. Willingly, anyway. Still, that didn't mean she enjoyed the numerous people swarming the deck, all carrying various different firearms. She would like to start fighting now, but doing so would mean the bullets would start flying, and, well. The Going Merry wasn't bulletproof. The protection she would provide Thomas was minimal, and there would a considerable number of stray bullets
.
The shaking was enough to draw Sanji and Nathan out of the medical bay, Sanji reacting as if there wasn't even a gun pointed at his face. While Nathan definitely gave them a second glance, but his expression was one of 'I'm getting far more used to this than I have any right to be'.
Then the man was clearly the captain of this group emerged. Gina's first thought was Devil Fruit. It was clear the man had one if his metal jaws were anything to go by. That, and the fact he was eating a knife. Not a cheap one, either. The hilt was covered in gemstones, and yet, he had no problems throwing the entire knife into his mouth.
Which only marked the man as rich. Extremely rich. To use a knife of high quality make with a hilt that would be worth it's weight in gold was nothing else than a sign of exorbitant wealth. Much less eating one as if it were a desert to water down a luxurious meal.
Something that made Nami halfway about to burst a blood vessel. Sanji had already managed to clear the distance, standing between her and several of the pirates. Actually, were they really pirates at all? Yes, they were flying the Jolly Roger, and all that initialed, but at the same time, they looked a bit too, professional. They weren't navy, but at the same time? They had uniforms, to start.
"We want to go to the Drum Kingdom. Do you have an Eternal Pose or a Log Pose?" The way the man spoke more or less confirmed it. This wasn't simply a pirate, this man was, at the very least, a noble of some description. That would explain why he was literally willing to eat something that expensive. It wasn't like he likely had more lying around.
"Nope," Sanji's voice was firm, but not happy about the situation. "And we've never heard of that place, either."
"So, if you're done, go away!" Luffy demanded, still sitting there. She knew the answer to that. No, he was going to start raiding the ship for other valuables, etc, etc.
Then two things happened in quick succession. No, more like one thing. The man took a bite out of Merry's frame, tearing it off with his teeth and chewing the wood like, well, something that wasn't wood.
That resulted in two immediate and similar reactions. The first was Luffy, immediately hitting one of the boarders on the head, something they should have done from the start.
"So, would you like paper or plastic?" Nathan's words made Gina pause for the briefest of moments, alongside just about everyone else in earshot.
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"The shame is made less knowing that we aren't the only people who fell for that."
"Are you okay right now?!"
"I'm okay, I promise!"
Your fever has been going up!"
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The gunmen were stunned much longer than she was, but that may have also been because Nathan was transforming. Even partway through, Nathan was swinging his tail, water forming around it before as it turned, knocking men onto their backs.
And what finally took shape?
Was big. Easily, the largest form she had seen out of the young man yet. Blue scales covered its body nearly from head to toe. A trio of red spines, each one coming to three sharp points, one on its head, another on its back, and a third on its tail, rose, giving its body an even more imposing presence. While its feet ended with three clawed toes, its arms had five fingers, each ending in a claw, and it looked as if the monster had opposable thumbs. Which seemed like gripping overkill, given the massive jaws of the beast.
"Feraligatr!" The roar that came from the monster's mouth was impressive, already sending many of the men who were trying to go for their firearms that leaving them and running was the smarter plan. At the moment though, her hands were mostly tied, dealing with her own problems, grabbing one of the men surrounding her before using him as a makeshift club, before tossing him aside to grab the furthest man and place him into a grapple, slamming him against the deck in the process.
Sanji and Zoro had already gotten a head start on her, knocking out men with casual ease. Nathan and Luffy seemed to share a single brain cell, trying to get close to the man who was in the process of eating their ship. Surprisingly, it was Nathan who got there first advancing on the man. The loud clang of teeth meeting metal rang out over the battlefield, causing everyone to pause.
"King Wapol!" Several of the men shouted. Oh, great, that was a king Nathan held in his grip. Not. Still, they had the man hostage. They didn't even need to find an island now. Get a doctor to heal Thomas, take some gold on the side as compensation, in exchange for their king's safety.
"Oh, this is going to be fun!" Luffy said, with everyone looking at him confused. Why was he saying that? What did?
Gina looked back at Nathan, his iris having narrowed and elongated. This was some type of alligator, wasn't it? That meant.
Just as the thought crossed her mind, Nathan began to roll around, Wapol's head firmly in his jaws. She had no idea how Luffy of all people recognized the behavior, but the result was clear. Nathan had a Wapol in a death roll, or, at the very least, as close as one could get to a death roll without being in the water. The only reason the man wasn't as hurt as he could be was the man's metal chin, the teeth not finding any purchase there.
As impressive as the display was, it didn't seem to be having a major impact.
"You dare strike me! Munch Munch Shock!"
BOOM!
It sounded as if a cannon had gone off, barely managing to drown out Nathan's roar of pain. Wapol slipped from his jaws, as he skidded backwards, claws digging into the deck to halt his movement. Blood dripped down onto the deck as Nathan snarled, a flickering blue aura surrounding his body.
Wapol's eyes widened in surprise, before leveling the cannon that his arm had become at Nathan.
"Gum Gum Takeoff!" Then came Luffy, arms extended backward, slamming into Wapol's chest, sending the man flying. And when she meant flying, she meant, flying. The man nothing but a dot, not even starting to descend by the time he vanished from sight.
That was enough for panic to set in among the enemy pirates who quickly abandoned their assault in favor of retreating on their massive ship after their Captain/king, rather than continuing the battle. Not like that would have done them any good. Nathan looked pissed off enough to take the remaining crew on his own. Maybe. She couldn't exactly read crocodile facial expressions.
Once everyone was gone, Nathan shifted back, letting out a sigh as he gingerly touched his chest.
"I figured this would hurt more," he muttered, mostly to himself. His shirt seemed fine, but the wince he made showed that despite his cloth's undamaged state, there was probably damage under there.
"Are you alright?" Luffy was already next to Nathan, looking concerned. And he wasn't the only one. Usopp seemed in a panic, Sanji was impressed, and Zoro, it was hard to tell with that man, but he seemed impressed. Nami on the other hand?
"I'll need to get it bandaged, and maybe see if it broke any ribs, but I should be fine. Hurts like a rat bastard, though," Gina frowned, as Nathan's eyes seemed somewhat misty. Was he trying to play off his injury as being not as bad as it was?
"You better not make do something like that ever again!" Nami threw her arms around Nathan's neck suddenly, causing Sanji to squawk. Gina smiled at the moment. How sweat. "Because if you do, I'm going to make sure you regret it!"
Or not. Nami gripped Nathan's ear, dragging him along behind her, despite his shouts of protest and pain.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
I wasn't going to protest Nami's bedside manner. It wouldn't be effective, and she would probably give me something to take my mind off the pain. In the form of a fist to the face.
The cannonball to the chest hurt. Not as much as it should, but it did. The bruise was large, and there were several cuts, but it should have been worse if it caught me at any other point. It was going to be a pain in the ass going forward, but nothing was broken, so that was a plus.
Lesson learned, I suppose. Don't get that close to a Devil Fruit user until you know how their powers work. Because if other people could just pull a cannon out of their ass, I wasn't going to have a good time.
"Now, I want you off your feet for the rest of the day, do I make myself clear?" Nami looked at me, anger mixing with concern on her face.
"Yes Ma'am."
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
"Land-ho!"
I'd spent the early part of the next day out of commission too. I mostly helped Thomas, who was suffering from a fever on top of everything else now.
Still, to step outside was a thing of beauty, a winter wonderland, covered in snow and cylindrical flat tops. Here was hoping that we could find a doctor in short order.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
I actually planned on getting to Drum this chapter. I was planning on getting considerably into Drum. But I ended up focusing a bit more on characters, giving Thomas a bit more time to differentiate himself from Usopp in how he deals with something like this, as well as Nathan explaining what was happening keeping the panicking to somewhat of a minimum as everyone is focused on solving the problem.
A good 5k words later, and I'm not even on Drum. Oh well. Hope you guys enjoyed!
LordofTentacles
Surprisingly Sturdy
- Location
- Louisiana
Who's Thomas I have no memory of this character.
- Location
- Escondido, California, USA, North America
He was Mr. 9, Vivi's partner from Baroque Works.
- Pronouns
- Zack
I don't know why reading this story reminds me of the ultimate animations from Pocket Incoming
Actually, would Aqua Ring+Baton Pass do any good?
edit:
Probably wouldn't be able to cure a disease, but could certainly heal some of the damage being done.
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- Pronouns
- Zack
What will you do with the forms of the pseudo legendary pokemon?
No, but it does mean Chopper will join up.
Yeah, he's Mr.9. I couldn't find a name for him, so I just made one.
Never heard of that animation.
Baton Pass isn't going to pass things along to other Straw Hats. I feel like that could be just too easy to abuse.
Most psuedo's aren't going to appear until the timeskip happens, after Nathan gets his second major upgrade. Though two will appear pre-timeskip.