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This Bites! (One Piece SI)

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The Patient One said:
To my chagrin, yes. If it's One Piece, it's firmly in Soundbite's blind spot.
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You're the authors.
You literary have an omnipotent omniscient being in this story.
You can give Soundbite access to whatever you want, without giving him any plot-information. You can justify anything - and you won't create any issues with readers wondering "but if he can access X, why can't he access Y" because the in-universe answer is just "because BROB doesn't let him". And as long as you use it for great and funny moments, it'll only improve the story.
 
MaHaL said:
Alright, so I finally came up with something kinda clever for our next Florida Man headline.

FLORIDA MAN SUED FOR MOST VULGAR RANT EVER BROADCAST. CLAIMS IMMUNITY, AS "HIS SNAIL CENSORED IT".
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FLORIDA TEEN SUED FOR MOST VULGAR RANT EVER BROADCAST. CLAIMS IMMUNITY ON THE BASIS OF NOT RECOGNIZING THE GOVERNMENT'S AUTHORITY OVER HIM.
 
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Chapter 35 - Long Ring Long Land Pt 2
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    • Chapter 35​

    Cross-Brain AN: Updated as of April 17, 2024, to comply with revelations concerning Kuzan and to trim the chapter as a whole. Older author's notes preserved for the record:

    Xomniac AN: Just a note to our readers so as to correct a misconception that some of you seem to have. Apparently some readers have taken to believe from our apologies about our late chapters that other readers are giving us a hard time about our posting schedule. This could not be farther from the truth. All of our readers on all of     This Bites! posting sites have been nothing but accommodating for when we post. The only individuals who give us a hard time about when we post are we ourselves. We of the Cross-Brain pride ourselves on our weekly update schedule, and we consider missing our Sunday update to be a mark against us!

    Cross-Brain AN: Ah, yes. And, to our rival, DuncanIdaho2014, author of New Game Plus, currently the third most popular One Piece fic in the fandom, we have a few words to say. Ahem…

    Hornet AN: DUNCAN, YOU JACKASS!

    Xomniac AN: DAMN IT YOU RAT-BASTARD, WE WERE     MINUTES AWAY FROM FINISHING! MERE FUCKING MINUTES! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU, PSYCHIC!?

    Patient AN: You put out a work that thoroughly upstages at least one aspect of our own ideas, and then that blasted cliffhanger… WELL. Let's see how you feel with the cliffhanger waiting for you at the end of this chapter. *Grins menacingly.*

    I clenched my fists, trying to stay calm and think straight. On the surface, Aokiji could be considered a decent Marine, barely, but his attitude of Lazy Justice was too fickle for me to let my guard down. I'd managed to fast-talk Smoker because his morals were strong and firm, but if I tried the same thing on either of the two admirals who weren't psychopathic bastards? If they got bored or disagreed with me, I'd end up as either a humanoid dry-ice popsicle or a freaking burnt sieve.

    The only mercy was that, most likely, he wouldn't be hostile right away, but considering how much I had done on the SBS, if he was in any kind of order-following mood, then I was screwed.

    So, yeah, no pressure.

    "Robin, what's wrong? Do you know this guy?" Luffy demanded.

    "We met once before," Aokiji lazily stated.

    "To terrify Robin like this…" Nami breathed, eyes darting between the two. "Cross, who is he?"

    I swallowed a lump in my throat, clenching and unclenching my hands to keep my blood from freezing solid in my veins. Which was way not metaphorical enough; I swore it was several degrees cooler out than it had been just a few minutes ago.

    "One of the three individuals who comprise the Marines' Ultimate Military Force," I managed to get out. "And back their position as one of the Big Three superpowers in the world today: Admiral Aokiji."

    The reaction from our crew was immediate, sonorous, and, above all else, panicked.

    "A-Admiral?! What the hell is someone like that doing here? Shouldn't he be chasing down some pirate with a billion-beri bounty or something?!" Usopp cried incredulously. Then he stiffened and slowly looked toward me, and I stiffened as well. Shit, had I really done so much damage that they'd send an Admiral after me?! I mean, I could only imagine why Akainu wasn't literally burning down the Grand Line to get at me, but—!

    "Don't worry, don't worry, he doesn't have a bounty yet," Aokiji interjected, casually waving one hand. "Not for lack of desire, mind you. The World Government is still trying to properly define his crimes, is all. Nobody's ever really done what he's done before. Well, that and we don't have a picture yet."

    I relaxed as he said that, though I had trouble reading his tone. I supposed I was hoping that I could find some hint of approval or disapproval from his voice. I took a chance and spoke up. "So, you're not here on anyone's orders?"

    The admiral shrugged nonchalantly. "Nah, I'm just out for a walk. No need to panic."

    "Oh, well, that's good, then! Care to join us for some 'cheese'?" I asked in a hopefully casual tone. Fortunately, much of the crew face-faulted in response to my question, and the resulting amusement did wonders calming me down.

    "Y-Y-You can all relax, I think," Vivi stuttered. "I-I-In my experience, Aokiji does seem to be the… tamest of the Admirals."

    "Ah, Your Highness," Aokiji nodded at her, his eyes traveling to her chest. "Nice boobs. Are you free tonight?"

    Sanji and Vivi made sounds like geese being strangled underwater, and it clearly took an effort for the cook to restrain himself from attacking.

    "Gross, you must be like three times her age!" Su shuddered in disgust.

    I myself felt a sweatdrop weighing down on my temple. Yeeeaaah, I'd forgotten about this little scene…

    "Vivi, is this guy seriously an admiral?" Usopp hissed incredulously.

    "Yes," she, Carue, and I said together, and Vivi grimaced before continuing. "Though Su has a point, I don't recall him being so perverse last time I met him."

    "You didn't have a body then, and I got older," Aokiji shrugged. "Anyway, no need for you all to panic. Like I said, I'm just out for a walk. You guys are… uh…" He scratched the side of his head for a second before shrugging indifferently. "Ah, forget it."

    "YOU'RE NOT MAKING ANY SENSE!"

    "I uphold the motto 'Lazy Justice'," he said.

    "WE CAN SEE THAT!"

    "Anyway… don't mind me, I'm getting tired of standing," he said, shifting his position so that he was lying down.

    "Is this guy really one of the strongest Humanity has to offer?" Leo wondered.

    "Lemme put it this way." I jabbed my thumb over my shoulder. "If he wanted us dead, we'd be corpses a quarter-mile that way."

    Most of the crew gave me shocked looks, while Aokiji waved his hand dismissively. "Now, now, Mister Cross, hold on a second. That estimation is entirely inaccurate."

    I blinked in surprise. "Really? I thought that would be well within your range?"

    "He means you're underestimating him, Cross," Robin whispered, terror dripping from every word. "If he'd wanted, he could have easily sunk us while we were still several miles offshore…"

    I felt my gut drop out from me as the memories of the manga came flooding back. "Oh. Yeah, that sounds about right…" I replied, just barely keeping the wobble out of my voice. "I think I might have blocked that out."

    "This guy is that strong?" Conis whimpered fearfully.

    I cocked my head to the side. "We… might be underselling him a bit."

    "Yeah, well, don't worry about it," Aokiji sighed lazily (how else?) as he scratched his side. "I just decided to wander around a bit to gather information on two subjects: whether Nico Robin had decided to leave Alabasta or burrow in for the long haul, and to gauge what kind of a person one rabble-rouser named Jeremiah Cross is like."

    I allowed myself a grim smile at that. "Wow, way to make a guy feel special, Admiral."

    Aokiji ignored me, looking at the archaeologist on the ground behind me. "Nico Robin, I'm honestly kind of surprised. I expected to find Jeremiah here, obviously, but you? You've always made it a point to be as incognito as possible. And despite that, you're staying with a pirate crew that's become the most well-known in the world."

    Robin stared back, unmoving. After a few seconds, Aokiji shrugged. "Well, I'm not questioning your choice. But that does mean I'll have to let HQ know so the crew's bounty can be… what's the word? Right, recalculated. 100 million plus 60 million plus 55 million plus 79 million is—"

    "A number too big for you to calculate because you just can't be bothered to work up the energy," I cut in, earning several incredulous looks, especially from Robin.

    Aokiji looked at me before shrugging again. "Eh, you're right, they can calculate it themselves," he said.

    "Seriously?" Zoro muttered in disbelief.

    "What do you want with Robin and Cross?" Luffy asked, anger clear in his voice.

    "He-Hey, Luffy, there's no need to get worked up. He just said he's here on a walk!" Usopp hastily said.

    "He's right, Luffy, don't pick a fight with an Admiral! You can't win a fight against someone like him!" Vivi added, somehow sounding even more desperate than Usopp.

    "Like I said, I'm not planning on doing anything while I'm here," Aokiji said blandly, with just a hint of reproach.

    "And we're going to trust the words of the Admiral whose sense of Justice is only a little less wishy-washy than Kizaru's because…?" I trailed off dryly.

    Aokiji stared silently at me before sighing and waving his hand. "Eh, I'd argue, but it doesn't seem worth the effort."

    "YOU'RE NOT EVEN GOING TO DEFEND YOURSELF!?" Usopp demanded incredulously.

    "How did someone like this traumatize Robin?" Donny muttered in confusion.

    "Anyway, I heard something while I was napping. You," he said, pointing at Tonjit, who glanced around in confusion before pointing at himself. "I wasn't in a deep sleep, so I heard what you said. You want to get back to your village, right? Pack your things."

    "Hey, don't listen to him!" Luffy said hastily. "He's—"

    "The good guy, you moron," I deadpanned.

    "—the good guy, you moron, you shouldn't—wait, what?" Luffy said, looking back at me. Then his eyes lit up, and he pounded his fist in his hand. "Oh, right! We're the bad guys, so the Marines are the good guys. Sometimes I forget! Shishishi!"

    "So much for him being smarter," Usopp muttered to Vivi, who was massaging her temples with an exasperated groan.

    Boss, meanwhile, was eyeing the Admiral suspiciously. "And how exactly do you propose to do that, huh?" He gestured his fin toward the coastline. "I've been in those waters, swam out a bit. The currents are completely unreadable, and the paths between the island peaks are too deep to track from the surface. I just don't see—!"

    THOCK THOCK THOCK!

    "Hey, what the—!?" Boss glared up at me as I rapped my knuckles on his shell.

    "Ladies and gentlemen, for today's grand prize, name the two-word phrase that explains any strange, unexplainable phenomena we might encounter," I announced.

    "OH! OH!" Soundbite waved his eyestalk eagerly. "What is 'DEVIL FRUIT'?"

    "Correctamundo!" I crowed as I pointed at Soundbite. "Congratulations, little snail, you've just won an all-expenses paid trip to the wonderful festival island of San Faldo!"

    "Woohoo!"

    "Ah, I'm sorry, but…" Conis spoke up. "I know that Devil Fruits can be very powerful, yes, but the gap between the island's high points must be extremely long! Is there really a power capable of spanning them like that?"

    "Yes…"

    I winced as Robin's weary voice spoke up behind me, shooting a guilty look over my shoulder. To think that I'd forgotten about the near-panic attack she was suffering while I tried to keep myself calm.

    "His powers," Robin continued, distant. "They are more than capable of accomplishing the task…"

    From there, the good part of our meeting with the admiral went as I had expected. An ordeal of packing for Tonjit, an uninjured Sherry promising to get him there fast, and an uneventful walk to the coast, well away from the Merry. Well, almost uneventful.

    "So, aren't you going to—?" Nami began, only for me to cut her off with a motion across my throat. Thankfully, she only needed to take one look at my dead-serious expression to slow her pace a little and fall back behind as though nothing had happened. Once that was handled, I watched Aokiji for a second before moving to the edge of the group, where Robin was only just managing to keep pace. She barely even spared me a glance before renewing her vigil on the Admiral's back.

    "That was foolish, Cross," she whispered. "I have no doubt you know how strong this man is; the entire crew working together would have no chance of defeating him."

    "And yet, if he provoked you enough, you'd ignore all of that and try to snap him in half, despite knowing that it would do nothing," I whispered back before raising my hands when she snapped a look at me. "But! I get where you're coming from, and you're right. I'm sorry, I was acting like an idiot back there, but with me I either put up a strong front or I act like any other person, and on the Grand Line, breaking down just isn't an option. Just…" I rubbed my chin thoughtfully. "Just stay coo—calm, alright? He'll no doubt try and push your buttons, get you to give him an excuse to strike, but it won't work, got it?"

    Robin bit her lip as she looked at Aokiji again. "I can't guarantee that, Cross. He knows me, he knows what to say—"

    "And I know something even better than that," I interrupted, grabbing her shoulder. "I know the truth. He can twist it and paint it however he wants; I know what really happened. And honestly, that should be enough. After all—"

    I leaned forward slightly and gave her an honest smile. "If anyone here knows just how powerful the truth can be in the face of adversity, it's the heiress of Ohara, right?"

    Robin flinched so hard that she stopped walking as I said that, but she recovered the next second, nodding as she resumed walking. And I was gratified to see some confidence back in her step.

    "When this is over, I WANNA KNOW MORE ABOUT OHARA," Soundbite murmured.

    I grumbled slightly as I kept walking. "With any luck, you'll learn it soon enough from her own mouth," I breathed back, too quietly for anyone else to hear.

    And from there, the walk was uneventful. The only thing that really surprised me, though I suppose that it shouldn't have, was that by the time we actually reached the coast, Luffy seemed to have warmed up to Aokiji. I vaguely remembered something about that in the story, but was he actually this friendly? Well, either way, it wasn't quite to the point where he was calling him by name, buuut—

    "So, what are you going to do? You can't swim if you have a Devil Fruit, so are you going to fly them across? That'd be so cool!"

    "Heh," Aokiji smirked, somewhat bitterly. "Sorry, Straw Hat, but the only fruit I know that could carry this much through the air is the Float-Float Fruit, and the pirate who ate that hasn't been active since Roger's execution. Just watch. And move back for a minute, please…"

    Everyone complied, watching quietly as Aokiji dipped his hand into the water. I shook my head at Soundbite, who seemed confused for a moment before his eyes widened, and he grit his teeth to keep from crying out. I turned back towards the ocean in time to catch the massive yellow sea king as it breached the surface and (rather stupidly) bull-rushed Aokiji.

    "O-OH NO, IT'S THE MASTER OF THE LOCAL SEAS!" Tonjit cried fearfully.

    "I-It's going to eat him!" Conis cried as she grabbed for her Burn Bazooka.

    "Shit!" Leo cursed in agreement, one sword unsheathed and the other halfway out, the rest of the squad mirroring him.

    "Wait!"/ "Hold it."

    Conis looked incredulously at the fox clinging tightly to her shoulder, fur fluffed out to the max, while the four dugongs obediently, though nervously, ceased preparing their weapons at their teacher's command and raised flipper.

    "Don't bother." Boss grimly huffed out a cloud of smoke. "You're already too late."

    "Yeah…" Su nodded nervously, her ears and tail twitching with frantic energy. "Can't you tell? It's obvious. So, so obvious. That thing…"

    Aokiji glanced up at the aquatic titan with cold disdain.

    "…it's already dead."

    "Ice Age."

    And just like that, the world stopped.

    There was no other word for it. Everything around us just flat-out stopped moving. Not just the ocean, frozen into solid ice, and not just the Sea King, now the world's largest ice sculpture. I mean the whole world froze. The wind, the grass, my freaking heartbeat. The awe-inspiring display of power before us stole the breath from my lungs. As in, I felt it whoosh out from the sheer impact of the scene.

    Of course, from the burning chill in my lungs, the sheer wave of cold hitting me might have had something to do with it.

    For a few brief seconds, the world was at peace. Until the CRACK! of the frosted-over Admiral standing up broke the silence.

    "H-Holy crap…" Lassoo whimpered.

    "S-Su, how did you—?" Conis stammered out.

    "You know that 'animal instinct' thing where animals know when a storm's about to hit or something like that?" Su shivered fearfully as she cringed as far away from Aokiji as possible. "Kinda firing on full cylinders at the moment."

    "I think this is the last time I underestimate someone who acts weird," Donny squeaked.

    "Good, you'll live longer," Boss grimly stated, his 'knuckles' white around the rope-dart at his side.

    Nami gave me a horrified look. "And there are two others like him?!" she whispered.

    "Oh, no, no, nooo." I shook my head. "There aren't two like him. There are two worse than him. At least he has some respect for human life."

    Nami paled, a stark contrast to most of the crew, who were all smiles as they followed down after Tonjit to see him off. The only other one who stayed in earshot was Zoro. "So, any advice for when he attacks?"

    "Just one thing: protect Robin," I muttered back before following the rest of the crew.

    Because as dire as the situation was about to be, the current state? Walking on the frozen ocean and staring at a sculpture that had been a living, frothing sea king not moments ago was a once-in-a-lifetime event. Even if the sea king in question must have been brain-dead stupid if it didn't recognize that it was attacking an apex of apex predators. Meh, call it Darwin in action. The point was, the whole scene was just as awe-inspiring as it was absolutely terrifying.

    Alas, the farewell to Tonjit couldn't take longer than it took for him to go out of sight, and consequently, for Luffy to finally notice the cold. At that point, I walked closer to Sanji, and as I was casually passing him by, I muttered, "Help Zoro. Protect Robin."

    Sanji didn't pause or break stride, merely altering his gait slightly so that he was shadowing-but-not-shadowing Robin.

    All too soon, we were back on dry land, and all too soon, Aokiji sank into a sitting position with a world-weary sigh. Luffy tilted his head in confusion while Zoro and Sanji exchanged looks of understanding.

    "What's wrong?" Luffy asked curiously.

    "How do I put this… you're the spitting image of your grandfather, Monkey D. Luffy," Aokiji said tiredly, prompting the rubber man to stiffen. "You're both wild souls, neither of you willing to let anyone tell you what to do…"

    "Y-You know my grandpa?!" Luffy whimpered fearfully, looking about ten seconds away from bolting.

    "How could he not know him, Luffy?" I asked dryly. "Heck, he probably trained him."

    In response to that assertion, Aokiji… shrugged?! "'Training' might be overstating things a bit… but the old man did show me a thing or two, I guess." The way he was absentmindedly shaking out his knuckles put the lie to his supposed nonchalance and sent a chill down my spine. And Luffy's, too, from the shiver that wracked his body. Seriously, the man was terrifying enough on his own merits, but now this?! What the hell, Oda?!

    "But to continue my earlier thought, as bad as Straw Hat is, you're making him even worse," the frost-coated Admiral slowly turned his gaze to me. "Mister Jeremiah Cross."

    That was unexpected, but it got worse.

    "Maybe I should just kill you all right here and now. The World Government sees you as the greatest threat, Mister Cross, but analysis of official reports and your SBS has shown that your whole crew is a determined, dangerous lot. Half your number may be animals, but your size is nothing to scoff at. One day, you'll surely become an acute threat. From the time that Straw Hat received his first bounty up until now, your growth has been extraordinary. And though for the most part, you've only preyed on pirates or tyrants unless the situation demanded otherwise, you've made no secret of the fact that you despise the World Government."

    "Wh-Why are you saying all of this?! You said you were just out for a walk!" Usopp stammered.

    "Believe me, when it comes to him and Kizaru, that only means they don't feel like killing you at that moment." I shifted on my feet uncomfortably. "Ten seconds later? Whole different story."

    "And if Cross's impossibly comprehensive knowledge isn't enough, your crew is now especially dangerous because of you, Nico Robin," Aokiji continued, completely ignoring the byplay.

    "So you're saying you want to take Robin away from us?!" Luffy snarled, adopting a fighting stance while Zoro and Sanji flanked Robin, whose face was a mask of impassiveness.

    "Now, now, let me explain…" Aokiji waved his hand placatingly. "It's not quite so simple. See, the size of a person's bounty does not merely reflect their combat capabilities. It also reflects how much of a threat that person is to the World Government." He pointed at Robin. "That's why she had such a large bounty placed on her head at the age of eight. Since then, Nico Robin has always been something of a survivor. Betraying those who gave her shelter, using them as shields so she could escape to a new group. And now, rather than hiding in a warzone, she's picked this crew as a new set of scapegoats, and one as globally active as this?" He sighed, shaking his head. "I am concerned by these circumstances, to say the least."

    Despite my forewarning, Robin's mask cracked clean through and exposed the terror she was feeling. The Admiral's words had shaken her, and I had to actively remind myself that as much as I really, really, really wanted to, trying to tear this bastard down would most likely be fatal.

    "You—!" Sanji started to snarl, only for Vivi to hastily grab his sleeve and hold him back.

    "What did Robin do to you in the past, Aokiji?" Vivi asked, her tone as civil as it could be when her voice shook like a leaf and sweat poured down her brow.

    "Oh, she never did anything to me personally," the Admiral shrugged. "I only know her because she escaped from me a long time ago. But since then?" He slowly cracked his neck back and forth. "Well, suffice to say that the rest of you will learn one day the extent to which this woman is a curse given life."

    I'm not quite sure what hurt more at that instant: the sight of Robin, from the corner of my eye, shuddering and drawing in on herself, or the way my fingers were starting to bite through the bandages covering the palm of my hand.

    "And the proof of that?" Aokiji continued, every bit of him as cool as liquid nitrogen. "Why, you've seen it for yourselves: every organization that Nico Robin has been a part of has ended up completely annihilated, always leaving her as the sole survivor."

    It was all I could do to stay silent as this falsehood, this distortion of the truth sowed its discordant oats amongst the crew. Though there was a lot of uncomfortable shuffling and glancing around, no blame had been thrown. And watching Robin, though she looked utterly haunted, she didn't look close to breaking either. I started to think that we might be able to pull through this.

    Until he said it. Until he fucking went there and said it.

    "That's always how it's been for her, ever since the time when she was eight."

    At first, I blinked in confusion, wondering why he'd been so specific about that. Then the truth hit me like a ton of bricks.

    Twenty years ago. The Archaeologists. Ohara.

    That bastard was pinning fucking Ohara on her.

    I didn't even need to look back at Robin to know how she was feeling, because I was damn well feeling it too. To hell with the consequences and to hell with this asshole. If he wanted to go that far in the name of making Robin attack first, if he wanted to warp the truth into a weapon like that, that was his problem. And it meant that he didn't have the right to complain when I decided to fight back.

    And I started my counterattack the only possible way I could.

    "Pfheheheheh…"

    With a dry and grim chuckle that caused everyone to freeze and stare at me.

    "What's so funny, Jeremiah Cross?" Aokiji wondered, his only reaction a raised eyebrow.

    "Pfheheheh, heh, hoooh…" I wound down my laughter by exaggeratedly wiping a tear from my eye. "Ohh, nothing, nothing, I swear. I'm just amused, is all. Just, you know, the way you said it. It, it's just funny, is all!"

    "Care to elaborate?" the tall man inquired, a hint of warning entering his tone.

    I slowly allowed a savage grin to spread across my lips. "You sure you want that, Admiral? Really, really sure? After all, once I start talking…" I slowly cracked my neck back and forth. "I don't stop until something breaks. And I don't think you're strong enough not to crack."

    Aokiji tensed, but folded his arms in a show of relaxation. "Please, continue." He narrowed his eyes menacingly. "I insist."

    "Cross, please," came a whisper directly into my ear. I glanced back at Robin, and smiled grimly.

    "Sorry, Robin. I know I said I'd be careful, and I really wanted to avoid this…" I shook my head, removing a horrified Soundbite from my shoulder and handing him to the nearest crewmate, Conis. "But when someone goes that far, hurts one of my friends that bad, talking me down is as hopeless as talking logic to Luffy."

    Soundbite whimpered as I turned away, and locked eyes with Aokiji. "This is gonna suck, isn't IT?"

    "Like a black hole," I quietly answered. Then I re-donned my grin and spoke more audibly. "So, what did I find amusing? Well, it was just how you told the story. See," I gestured in his direction. "The way you tell things, it sounds like what happened to those groups was all Robin's fault. But, see, that's… correct, but it's not really right, is it, Admiral? She," I waved my hand at Robin. "Never actually did anything, did she?" I paused and reconsidered that. "Well, alright, she might have helped us with Baroque Works, and I don't know the details of whoever else she worked with. But the point is, the reason that those organizations all collapsed, it wasn't her doing." I slowly pointed my finger up at him, my face now pointedly devoid of emotion. "It was all you. You and the rest of the World Government's dogs."

    Aokiji frowned, and I felt the temperature drop a degree or two, but I ignored that and pressed on. "You're the ones who started the fights against those groups, who destroyed them and made Robin run. You're the ones who put a bounty on her head, and made it so that she couldn't trust anyone in the world. You're the ones who hunted her, day and night, without cease or pause, like bloodhounds after a scent."

    "Now, now, Mister Cross, I'd be careful with what you say," Aokiji retorted coldly. "After all, you're talking about things you know nothing about. Nico Robin is a legitimate threat to the World Government. We were justified in our pursuit."

    I let out a bark of humorless laughter. "A threat? Why, because she destroyed some battleships? Give me a freaking break!" I swung my arm back at Robin. "Her powers make limbs in her line of sight. She's trained those powers for the last twenty years and couldn't sink a ship; how could she do it when she was eight?!" I shook my head. "No. She's not a threat because of what she can do. She's a threat because of what's in her head."

    I took a challenging step forward, glaring bloody murder at the Admiral. "Do you even know why you're hunting her? Twenty years after the fact, after climbing so far up the ranks, do you even have an inkling of the real reason the Elder Stars sentenced her to death? As to why they let—no, ordered what happened twenty years ago to take place?"

    "It's not my place to ask."

    Wrong answer, icehole. "Of course you don't. After all, it's your whole motto of 'Lazy Justice'," I spat. "Akainu doesn't need to ask. Kizaru doesn't care either way. But you, you don't think it's worth the effort to care, you just do what they say because it's easier. Well, let me make it nice and easy for you!" I jabbed a finger back at Robin. "The facts of the matter are thus: the World Government put a bounty on her head when she was eight. Years. Old. When her only crime was to learn something that the World Government didn't want her to know. They didn't consider any alternatives, didn't even contemplate mercy, they just cut her straight out of society. If you had any shred of decent, that would be enough for you to realize that the organization you've dedicated your life to is completely corrupt."

    "And don't give me any of that 'single incident' crap, Kuzan, we both know that's not true!" I shouted over him. Aokiji actually reeled back at that, clearly not having expected me to know even more. Seizing the opportunity, I pointed at Vivi. "They accused a princess of a member nation, who sacrificed everything to save her country from one of their own boxed crooks, of treason because of a one-sided blood feud, forcing her to become a pirate. Forcing her father to give up the 'protection' you'd probably claim the Government offers. And that's just the start. I know five islands off the top of my head that the World Government has driven to hell, not even counting the two currently represented on our crew."

    I had him, I could see it. Mentioning Alabasta, specifically, had rattled him something fierce. He didn't speak, so I continued.

    "And speaking of that protection," I spat, packing every ounce of venom into that word. "I'll concede that some Marines do act for the protection of all civilian. And I applaud their work. But they're a minority, Kuzan, and that's only going to get worse. When Sengoku steps down, you'll be his prime candidate to replace him, I'm sure, but who do you think the Five Elder Stars will want in his place? Someone cool-headed and restrained like you? Hell no. They'll want someone who will keep their definition of peace by any means necessary, even if it means murdering hundreds of innocent men, women, and children to remove any risk of their definition of criminal slipping through their clutches."

    His fists clenched as he heard my words, no doubt realizing exactly what I was referring to. But still, despite me rattling him he was way too calm—time for the real guns.

    "You could challenge him to a duel to the death, and Sakazuki would still become Fleet Admiral. You know what the future holds, Kuzan. So, right now, you need to ask yourself… 'Is this what you call justice? Can you take pride in something like this?'"

    Aokiji stiffened, and Robin gasped quietly at Jaguar D. Saul's last words. Then I gave him a slight smile, nothing but bitterness within, and spoke the words that I knew would break him.

    "I know exactly what happened that day, Kuzan. I know what you did and why you did it. I know how you felt then, and admittedly, I've only got a good guess as to how you feel now. But there is one thing I know above all else: I might not have known him personally…but I know that if he were here right now, seeing what you are and what you're doing, what you've done…he'd be disgusted with you."

    I had only a split second to notice Aokiji's expression turn from cold to downright apoplectic—

    Before he was suddenly in front of me, arm drawn back.

    My pupils dilated. "Ah, shi—!"

    WHAM!

    I tumbled into the grass, wheezing, desperately trying to get back the air the backhand to my chest had smashed out of my lungs. That meant the first thing I managed to process through the pain was that I wasn't breathing. The second was that he had strapped me with bands of fucking ice SHIT TOO TIGHT!

    "Sengoku was right, Jeremiah Cross," Aokiji breathed frigidly. "I really shouldn't have let you open your damn mouth."

    "Grrgghh…" I wheezed as I rammed my fist against the restraints, trying desperately to draw a breath but failing. "Bas… tard…!"

    "Actually, in retrospect, I think that Akainu might have been right for once, too."

    My struggles abruptly ceased at the sight of the icicle-laden foot hanging over my head.

    "Sometimes," Aokiji droned darkly. "You just need to stamp out the bugs."

    I clenched my eyes shut—

    "GET AWAY FROM HIM!"

    FWOOM!

    Only to shoot them open at the very sudden burst of heat I felt a few inches above my head. I took in Aokiji a few steps back, glaring daggers in Conis's direction, having barely dodged the Burn Bazooka blast. She didn't hestitate, aiming and firing another blast even as she ran to me, knelt down, and pressed Soundbite to my chest.

    "What do we say to Death? NOT TODAY!"

    CRACK!

    "GAH!"     I gasped like a drowning man coming up for air as the ice shattered and my lungs were freed, putting Soundbite back on my shoulder. "Mother-fucker that stings!"

    "Good, means that YOU'RE STILL CONSCIOUS!"

    As I caught my breath, I took in the rest of the crew. To a man they were ready to follow Conis's example, their expressions ranging from Nami's firm resignation to Boss's cold determination to Luffy's outright fury.

    But above all of them was the best and worst thing that I could have heard at that moment:

    "LEAVE MY FRIENDS ALONE, AOKIJI!" Robin yelled, crossing her arms and glaring bloody murder at the admiral.

    My eyes widened in panic as I snapped an arm up at her. "Robin, don't—"

    "You have no right to protest anymore, Cross," she outright snarled. "You've had your say; now here's mine. TREINTA FLEUR!"

    Before I could do or say anything further, thirty arms bloomed all over Aokiji's body, poised to snap his body in half. He turned his attention to her, his powers beginning to freeze the duplicate arms. But despite her slight wince and the steam starting to waft up from her real arms, she stood strong.

    "My, my. It looks like I underestimated this crew; they've actually pushed you to attack me to try to protect them?" Aokiji said, perfectly calm despite the hold poised to break him.

    "You killed the first friend I ever made right in front of me the last time we met," Robin spat venomously. "Now, for the first time in twenty years, I've actually found friends who still believe in me, even after you did everything you could to turn them against me. And now that I've found them…" She snapped her hands shut. "I am done running. CLUTCH!"

    And just like that, Aokiji's form shattered into diamond dust, and Robin, though panting, had a distinct look of triumph on her face.

    I, however, felt distinctly less enthused. "Very nice, very badass," I grit out as I watched the ice particles shifting. "Oh, and by the way, everyone? His fruit, the Ice-Ice Fruit? It's a fucking Logia, which means that that little display, impressive though it was, accomplished absolutely jack and shit beyond pissing him off. In summary?"

    "Burn him before he pulls himself together, got it," Lassoo growled, padding forward in his hybrid form.

    Aokiji chose that moment to reform his upper body, the air and ground crackling from near-instant snap-freeze.

    Lassoo sucked in a deep breath before belting out a thick ball of tar. "CANI-PLASTER!"

    The Admiral, already half-reformed by that point, spared the black gelatinous ball a glance before blowing out a misty white cloud, leaving a jagged black hunk of ice to drop to the ground a few feet away from impact. He didn't even glance at it as he stood up.

    Lassoo's eyes widened and his tail dropped between his legs as he started inching backward. "Ah…"

    "Actually," I continued in a faux-calm tone of voice. "What I was about to say was this." I promptly turned around and belted down the coastline, grabbing Robin's jacket and dragging her along with me. "FUCKING RUN!"

    "We covered this earlier, Cross," Aokiji said dryly. "Feet or miles…" I noticed him crouching down and pressing his palm to the ground as I looked back. "There's nowhere that you can run. Observe. Ice Age."

    FWOOSH!

    I had all of two seconds to note the wave of cold that swept past my feet—

    "WOAHSHIT!"

    CRACK!

    Before my feet slid out from beneath me due to my feet losing all traction on the frozen soil, sending me crashing to the ground.

    "…Duly noted," I mumbled into the ice.

    "I wonder if he'll be able to pull himself back together after THIS!"

    I managed to flip myself over in time to see Chopper swipe his arm out and send a number of vials spinning through the air, all of them surrounding Aokiji.

    "EAT THIS…" Chopper snarled viciously, a number of scalpels splayed in his hoof. "CHERRY BLOSSOM BLAST FLURRY!" With that, the currently-psycho-doctor snapped his hoof out and flung his blades at the vials, striking each one dead on, breaching the glass—

    KA-BOOM!

    And causing the contents within to react violently with the air.

    I winced and shielded myself from the wave of light and heated air that resulted.

    It only got worse when Conis fired her Burn Bazooka with all the firepower the Dial could muster, followed by Nami practically bringing the wrath of Zeus down on his head. Even Usopp contributed what he could, his hands blurring with how fast he was firing.

    Everybody watched the resulting smog, and when it cleared… Aokiji stood there, completely unscathed and with his normal, bored expression back in place.

    "Well, I'll give you this much," he drawled as he flicked a clod of dirt from his jacket. "If I weren't a Logia, that probably would have stung a bit."

    "WHAT THE HELL DOES IT TAKE TO KEEP THIS GUY DOWN?!" Usopp screamed.

    "Does anyone have any sea prism stone, New World-grade pirates, or convincing enough acting skills to make him think you're Sengoku?" I asked sarcastically. "Or we could just try building a sauna."

    "This is not the time, Cross!" Robin grit out.

    "What part of the words 'coping mechanism' are you people failing to grasp!?" I shot back at her.

    "Sounds like the core concept to me."

    Robin and I froze, slowly turning our gazes up to stare in terror at Aokiji looming over us.

    "I am really starting to hate that technique…" I whimpered.

    "GET AWAY FROM THEM!"/"GET AWAY FROM ROBIN-CHWAN!/""GET AWAY FROM MY CREW!"

    Zoro, Sanji, Boss, and a lobster-red Luffy lunged at Aokiji from behind. He turned his head halfway, briefly regarding them, before moving, fending off Boss with a kick and grabbing one of Zoro's arms before simply tossing him away. Luffy and Sanji, he didn't even touch; his powers crippled them with frost as soon as they touched his body. By the time he was done, the Monster Trio plus one were left rolling on the ground, agonizing over their frostbitten limbs. He turned back to us, and moved for Robin. Gritting my teeth and steeling my nerves, I interposed myself between them, arms flung out to shield her.

    Aokiji raised an eyebrow at me before shrugging indifferently. He then clamped one hand down on my shoulder opposite where Soundbite was and reached past me with the other. And then…

    "Ice Time."

    CRACK!

    "AAAARGH!"

    It was… almost indescribable.

    Intellectually, I knew at the time that the ice—dry ice, at that—was far below zero and thus extremely cold, but physically? Physically, that ice burned. It burned worse than almost any other burn I'd felt before, almost as bad as the hell Eneru had put me through, and it was spreading, going down my arm, down my side, across my chest—

    "GRGH, MOTHERFUCKER!" I snarled out in agony. "RIGHT ON THE FUCKING SCARS, YOU RAGING BASTARD!"

    It took every bit of willpower Zoro had forced into me to not just slip into oblivion, and I came damn close to giving up the ghost, too, but there was one sound that made me hang in there.

    The sound of Robin whimpering in the exact same agony behind me.

    It took a second for me to muster the mental wherewithal to do anything, but once I did, I reached up with my unfrozen hand and grabbed the arm Aokiji was using to freeze my hand. I winced as the ice burned at my already mutilated fingers, but I held fast, prompting him to glance down at me.

    "Let. Her. Go," I snarled in the Admiral's face.

    Aokiji stared at me, his expression unreadable, for several seconds with no notable change in the ice's progression. Then, all at once, the freezing stopped advancing, and Aokiji pulled back.

    I didn't even have time to contemplate the fact that I wasn't being frozen anymore when a grunt of pain behind me captured my attention, prompting me to spin around and grab Robin just before she toppled over.

    I'll be honest, it wasn't good. Whereas I'd managed to get away with only one of my arms and the upper part of one of my legs frozen, the entire right half of Robin's body was completely encased in ice, her remaining half visibly struggling to support the dead weight. How she was still conscious, staring in visible fear at Aokiji, was beyond me.

    "Nico Robin," Aokiji stated quietly. "As Cross somehow knows, Jaguar D. Saul was my friend, too. It was because of his final wishes that I allowed you to escape from Ohara that day. I still feel responsible for your life, but after twenty years of wandering, I felt that it was time for you to die. But it seems that you've found your place after all."

    Robin's breathing hitched, her eyes widening. The rest of the crew seemed stunned as well, myself included. Was… Was he really serious? Had he just approved of Robin staying with us!?

    He sighed and turned away, waving his hand carelessly as he padded toward the ocean. "Well, I suppose we owe you all something from the Alabasta incident, so I'll let you go today."

    I was so relieved I thought I might pass out. Vivi, however, still spun her Lion Cutters—no, wait, Lion Cut-ter, singular. Her other hand was—clutching her necklace again. "Just today?" she snarled.

    Aokiji paused and glanced back at Vivi before rolling his eyes. "Alright, let me rephrase that: I won't come after your crew again unless I'm outright ordered to. Better?"

    Vivi held her glare for a few seconds before allowing her Cutter to stop spinning.

    "Good." And with that, he started walking again, and we allowed ourselves to relax.

    "You've found people who will protect you, Nico Robin. They're willing to take on the world for you, clearly."

    But, of course, it couldn't be that simple.

    "But can they win? I seriously doubt that."

    I couldn't have felt more pain in that moment if he tore all of my bandages off, for moments before Robin gave up the fight to stay awake, I saw the spark that had been growing there over the past few weeks flicker and die.

    Damn it… Damn it… DAMN IT!

    "Damn you…" I hissed. "Damn every last one of you monsters straight to hell."

    Aokiji paused again before chuckling deeply. "A monster, huh. That's rich, coming from a demon like you."

    I grit my teeth as I glared at Aokiji's back. "Well, at least. I'm. Honest."

    That     shut him up.

    And so, without a single word further, Admiral 'Aokiji' Kuzan of Marine HQ walked out onto the winter wasteland he'd constructed, slowly striding off into the distance…

    Leaving us all to process our complete and utter defeat.

    -o-​

    "Geeze, you work fast, Chopper," I complimented, flexing the new bandages on my arm. "Thanks for the quick unfreeze, I didn't expect it to be this fast."

    "It's nothing, Cross," the reindeer replied. I snapped my head over to him, and he sighed. "No, Cross, it still doesn't make me happy, but right now, I don't feel like I've done that much good, considering how my best shot did absolutely nothing against Aokiji."

    "You're so let down that you're not even going to flip out like you usually do? I mean, in the story, you were more focused on defrosting—"

    "In the story, I wasn't as good at fighting as I am now," Chopper absentmindedly interrupted as he ruffled through his bag. "In this reality, your advice helped me get stronger and more confident. Back on Skypiea, it was different. I knew that Luffy would have to beat Eneru, and he did. But this time…" He rammed his hoof into his bag, and I damn near shit myself at the clink of glass on glass it produced. "None of us could do anything. I couldn't do anything. I… couldn't even help…"

    I grimaced in acknowledgement but shook my head. "Try not to let it bother you too much, Chopper."

    "And why the hell not, Cross?" Chopper snarled, whirling around with an expression equal parts vicious and desperate.

    I pointed my finger at the cabin wall. "Because currently, our four strongest frontline fighters are warming their frostbitten asses in the ocean after getting said asses absolutely handed to them. In victory, it's not very fair to use them as milestones, but in defeat, they're perfect justifications."

    "So what you're saying…" Soundbite started slowly. "Is that there's no SHAME IN LOSING IF THEY LOST TOO?"

    "Something like that," I said, waving my hand. "Aokiji is very much in the big leagues in this world. Today, we had no chance of winning, but he let us live because he has some decency. I have no doubt that someday, our crew will have to fight someone of his caliber and win, or die trying. But as long as we keep training, we won't be hit with more than we can take. We'll be pushed to our limits just about every time, yes. But we'll survive."

    Chopper groaned and kneaded his temples. "Damn it, Cross, how can you be so sure of that with everything that's gone wrong?"

    I smiled fondly and patted the top of his hat. "I'm not saying this based on my knowledge, Chopper. I'm saying it based on something I believed before I came here and now know with ironclad certainty: our captain, Monkey D. Luffy, will become the Pirate King, and by extension we will be the crew that puts him on top. It's that simple."

    Chopper stared at me, eyes shimmering with hope, for a few seconds before a smile bloomed on his face. "Yeah, you're right. He won't die before he reaches his dream, and neither will the rest of us." He tilted his smile upward as he patted a hoof on the deck. "None of us will…"

    That sobered me up a little, but I did my best not to show it. Fortunately, I got a good excuse not to dwell on my promise to Merry in the form of Conis coming into our impromptu medical room in the kitchen.

    "Everyone else asked me to check on how Robin's doing. Is she going to be alright?" she asked.

    I couldn't suppress my grimace at that. "Physically?" I jabbed my thumb at the tub of lukewarm saltwater she was soaking in. Already, the ice had retreated significantly, releasing her face and torso and leaving only the lower parts of her extremities fragile. "She'll be fine. It was touch and go for a bit since Aokiji literally turns people into ice, but she's thawing well, so she's out of any critical danger."

    I groaned and kneaded the bridge of my nose. "No, the real damage was all in Aokiji's parting shot, and fixing that's… not gonna be so easy." I shook my head. She had called us her friends. She had been ready to accept us. She had been one. Freaking. MINUTE! away from exchanging secrets, from her accepting us wholeheartedly. And now, we'd be lucky if she'd still call us by our names.

    I gave Conis a solemn look. "As soon as Boss and the Monster Trio are healed, bring everyone in here, and Chopper, be ready to wake her up."

    The two nodded and got to work, leaving me to watch over Robin in solemn silence.

    If I was honest with myself, my relationship with Robin was different from the rest of the crew. Back before I came to the Blue Seas, I was always the older brother in my family. Whether with my natural brother or my stepsiblings, I'd always been the eldest, the one… sort of in charge, given how they never respected me worth shit, but I digress. Anyway, the point is that growing up, I didn't really have a… peer that I could relate to, someone with similar interests. And don't get me wrong, I loved the rest of the Straw Hats to death and back, and most of the time, I could match their energy.

    But with Robin, I could find peace and quiet. With her, I could enjoy a quiet moment of debate over some story or other, or a nice, sharp back-and-forth snarkfest. To put it simply, while the rest of the crew were siblings and cousins of similar or slightly lesser ages, Robin had become like the big sister I'd never had. And the idea that all of that could have just been undone by some paltry words?

    I groaned and kneaded my temples. I had to get this right on the first try, I had to, because if I didn't, I wasn't sure that I'd get another chance before everything went straight to hell.

    It was the longest half hour of my life until the others were ready, by which time Robin had completely defrosted. Everyone was gathered in the kitchen while Chopper prepared the smelling salts. Or at least, the horrific concoction he called smelling salts.

    "Alright, fair warning." Chopper bit his tongue as he waved the vial under Robin's nose. "After a trauma like this, the reactions of patients waking up have a tendency of being somewhat—"

    Robin's eyes snapped open and CRAP HARD GRIP ON MY THROAT COULDN'T BREATHE!

    "—VISCERAL!"     Chopper gagged out around the arm that was coiled around his neck.

    "No shit!" I wheezed out as I yanked at the fingers that were throttling me.

    "Let him go OR GET READY TO lose a thumb AGAIN!" Soundbite roared.

    Robin started slightly, blinking rapidly as she came back from her adrenaline high. After a moment she gasped in shock and snapped her arms down, dissolving the limbs that had incapacitated the crew. "I-I'm so sorry, I just—! I-It was reflexive, I didn't mean—!"

    "No harm done, Robin," I rasped, wincing as I rubbed a particularly sore part of my throat. "Well. No lasting harm. Anyway, you don't have anything to worry about. You're back with your friends now."

    I hoped, so hard, that the trauma of being frozen, or at least the sheer hurt of the ordeal, would have chased away Aokiji's little parting shot. But by how hollow the smile she gave me was, that hadn't happened.

    "Yes… Yes, you're right…" Robin relaxed back into the tub, turning a grin on Chopper that made him shiver uncomfortably. "Thank you for the assistance, Mister Doctor, I apprecia—"

    "Come on, Robin!" I cut in, causing her to jump and cracking the mask she was trying to bolt back into place. The sheer anguish that briefly showed nearly stopped me. Nearly. "Are you really going to let the words of that coldhearted bastard undo everything you've been looking for over the last twenty years? You called us your friends—hell, we are your friends, fullstop!"

    She made a weak attempt to smile. "Mister Jeremiah—"

    "DON'T YOU 'MISTER JEREMIAH' ME!" I snapped, slamming my fist into the wall. I noted Sanji holding himself back in my peripheral vision as I stomped over to her. "Damn it, Robin, I thought you were past this! It doesn't matter what the hell that bastard said or what scare tactics he tried to use. We still want to be your friends, and I thought that after all this time, you were willing to trust us. The words of someone like him shouldn't make a difference!"

    Her composure slipped again, briefly showing the anguish I'd seen before, but she still tried to hide behind a painfully neutral expression rather than show vulnerability. I gritted my teeth. If I had to take drastic measures at this point, so be fucking it.

    "Robin, I broke that mask before through kindness, but I can and will go the other way and get you spitting nails if I have to. If I can do it to Aokiji, I can do it to you," I warned her. I exhaled, letting my agitation flow out, and gave her a pleading look. "Listen, Robin. Do you really want us to go back to seeing Crocodile's right hand-woman, instead of seeing you? Do you really want to go back to being Miss All Sunday?"

    As I'd spoken, Vivi had remained silent, her body slightly angled away from Robin, but the glances she occasionally shot her spoke volumes.

    "Come on, Robin!" Nami jumped in, pleading. "You're one of the only people on the crew with a lick of sense. Without you, I'd- we'd go crazy in hours!"

    "You can keep up with me when I'm talking about science, even when I go off the deep end!" Chopper added, tears shimmering in his eyes. "I'm fine with everyone else just smiling and nodding, but you actually read my notes and understand them! You even helped me develop half of the combat formulas I'm using! You're almost as much of a mentor to me as Doctorine!"

    I'll be honest, that was the only thing that made me reconsider this whole venture. Briefly.

    "You're a stone-cold bitch with cheap-as-all-hell powers and enough practice keeping your emotions to yourself that I probably wouldn't trust you if Cross and Luffy didn't," was Zoro's contribution. Before anyone (Sanji) could tear his head off, he sighed and scratched at his head, looking away. "And you're one of the strongest women I've ever met."

    Sanji probably would've gone next had Boss not noticed Luffy silently regarding Robin. Instead, he clamped his flipper over the cook's mouth long enough for our captain to speak. "You're a member of this crew, Robin, no matter what." He stated it as though it was an immutable fact. And knowing Luffy, it was.

    I capped it all off by clamping my hand down on her shoulder and leaning forward, looking her dead in the eyes. "You belong here, Robin. You know it, we know it. So, after everything you've gone through with us, all the good times and the bad that we've shared, do you really want us to treat you like everybody else you've met for the last twenty years, and vice-versa?"

    She tried to keep up her cool, uncaring mask, she really did. But she couldn't look me in the eye, and after a moment she gave up trying. In that moment, I swear I saw something sparkling from her face drip into the tub below her.

    "… No," she breathed at last, hugging herself. "But what else would you have me do? This crew… this is the first place I've actually felt secure since… since…" She bit down on her lip before she could say anything further.

    Arrrrrgh. So close! "Seriously, Robin? Even after all this, all we've gone through, you can't bring yourself to tell them?" I demanded, unable to keep the hurt out of my voice.

    Slowly, she looked up, tears actually shimmering in her eyes. "No, I can't… Because I can't deny what Aokiji said. We… you're all strong, incredibly so… but not strong enough to fight the world." She looked away. "Nobody is…"

    "At the risk of Sanji kicking me, that's a steaming load of bull," Mikey hotly announced.

    The cook took a deep draw from his cigarette before snorting it out. "I never thought I'd agree with anyone insulting a woman in any form, but I agree with the dugong," he stated. "You're the only one here who believes that, Robin dear."

    "How can you say that, Sanji?" she said, voice rising. "What just happened with Aokiji—"

    "Is only going to help us," Zoro cut in sharply. "We lost, and none of us are happy about that, but we survived. We've seen what we're up against. Now we just need to get to the point that when we meet him again, we won't lose."

    "And unless shit somehow goes sideways in a manner most spectacular, we won't have to face anyone we can't beat again, Robin," I said carefully, looking at Luffy the whole time. Unfortunately, his head was still bowed, preventing anyone from reading his expressions.

    "You can't—" Robin began.

    "Do you really think that I'm lying?" I interrupted.

    "I—no, but you don't know—" she stammered.

    "Do you really think that our captain, Monkey D. Luffy, will ever let any of us down?" I pressed, quietly but intensely.

    There was a minor spark of recognition in Robin's eyes, a bit of light coming back into her face. She looked at me, and then at Luffy. He looked up slightly, revealing one of his eyes, and Ace couldn't have had more of a fire burning in his than Luffy's had at that moment. Robin looked at him for what felt like an eternity before slowly looking away, ashamed.

    "I want to say that I believe…" she whispered, clutching tightly at her arms. "But after all these years—"

    "Cross."

    Robin's mouth clamped shut, and we both looked back at Luffy. He looked like he had a bad taste in his mouth, but his eyes still burned. "I'm… changing my orders," he grit out. "From now on, you have my permission to say anything you know—" He shuddered. "But only if it can help us get stronger, that's it!"

    I gaped, and most of the rest of the crew seemed equally stunned, but Luffy just looked at Robin, a wry grin slowly growing on his face. "After all, if we're going to take on the whole world, then we'll need to be a lot stronger, right?"

    I glanced at Robin, finding nothing but gape-mouthed astonishment, before looking back at Luffy. "Yeah, that'd be for the best. I mean, we'll get through what's coming up next as long as we fight like hell…" I paused, wracking my memories for the next couple of arcs. "But yeah, I'd be a lot more comfortable if we took what little time we have here on Long Ring Long to hone our skills."

    "Training whenever you can DOES HURT!" Soundbite piped up. "HURTS THEM, ANYWAY!"

    "Well, I'm all for it. If I know what to shoot for, I should be able to reach it faster," Zoro grinned.

    "My students and I train regularly anyways, so we'll just have to train twice as hard, right, boys?" Boss said confidently, pounding his 'fist' into his 'palm.'

    "BOSS, YES, BOSS!" the dugongs barked as they snapped to attention.

    "I don't plan on letting another lady get injured in my sight. I'll be glad to train," Sanji said firmly.

    "Count me in, too," Chopper nodded in agreement.

    "I could definitely use a chance to get used to wielding my arsenal now that I have the chance," Conis mused to herself.

    Everyone else responded in the same vein, some speaking, others only nodding, but none opposed. I turned back to Robin and felt a pang of sympathy at the sheer shock on her face. For anyone to be so taken aback at the idea that anyone would be willing to risk their lives for them… it was moments like this that I was really grateful for the transceiver hanging at my side.

    Still, what Robin did next washed away my sorrow and rage: she smiled. An honest, true smile. It was weak and frail, but that wasn't important to me. No, what was truly important was that the spark of life that I'd seen extinguished earlier was back in her eyes. Not as strong as before, unfortunately, but there. Ready to be fanned back up.

    Buoyed by her reaction, I nodded and clapped my hands. "Right! Everyone who isn't still recovering from hyper-hypothermia, meet me on the deck in ten minutes. I'm going to need that long to make sure I don't forget anything. Oh, and!" I hastily stuck my finger up, everyone pausing mid-step as I shot apologetic looks at Robin, Conis, and the dugongs. "For the record, I do apologize for my cryptic, nigh-savant-like bullshittery. But! I promise that once everything is said and done on the next island we arrive on, I will let you all in on the secrets I hold. Agreed?"

    Conis and Su exchanged looks. Something passed between them before the angel nodde. "You saved my home with whatever knowledge you have, Cross. I'm perfectly willing to wait as long as I need to learn it."

    "Speak for yourself!" Su sniffed. "You'd better talk soon and fast, bub, or else I'll snatch slimeball and make him tell me!"

    "JUST TRY IT, puff-BALL!" Soundbite shot back.

    Boss waddled between them, flippers held up in a placating gesture. "Hey, easy, you two. Way I see it, the when doesn't matter. But then, I'm a soldier, and you are my superior." He jabbed his cigar at me. "Until you do something suicidally stupid, my boys and I will listen to you no matter what."

    The TDWS nodded in agreement, though Mikey was noticeably reluctant.

    "Sooo… we don't get a vote in asking for spoilers early, then?" SMACK! "OW! I was just asking, geeze!"

    "Well, if we've got ten minutes, I'll go ahead and double-check the upgrades I've finished," Usopp muttered, seeming somewhat subdued. I frowned as he left, suddenly remembering that while Merry had been one catalyst that drove him to leave the crew, there had been two, and his rock-bottom self-esteem from meeting Aokiji was the other. I needed to nip that in the bud when I had the chance, or else we might be looking at a shitton of trouble anyway.

    Vivi and Carue left the room next, and most of the crew followed soon after, Chopper lingering the longest to ensure the water was still the right temperature for Robin. Soon, only Luffy and I were left.

    "Robin," I said, glancing at Luffy for a moment before giving her a compassionate look. "I'm ready to back you up on that whenever you are."

    She shuddered and clenched her eyes shut. After a moment, she opened them and gave me a light smile. "I'm still not certain… but I…" She nodded hesitantly, the action slowly picking up strength. "For the first time in I don't know how—" Robin shook her head with a dry chuckle. "Lying again, and you no doubt know it. For the first time in twenty years, I have hope again…" She graced me with a much wider, more heartfelt smile. "And it's all thanks to you. You have my thanks, Mis—" Robin flinched and her smile turned apologetic. "Cross."

    I smiled back and clenched her shoulder reassuringly. "We'll get through this, Robin, don't worry. Now, here." I picked up a vial Chopper had left behind and handed it to her. "Take your medicine and get some rest. We'll wake you up around dinnertime, alright?"

    Robin chuckled as she took the vial and downed it. "Knowing Sanji, you didn't even…" She trailed off into a yawn. "Even need… to…" She blinked blearily at the vial. "Huh… it would… appear that Chopper… improved his formula… recently…" I caught the vial as she nodded off and sank a few inches into the water.

    I watched her sleep for a moment before groaning and hanging my head. "Damn it, Robin…" I ground out.

    "Eh? What's wrong?" Luffy asked. "Robin's happy again, isn't that a good thing?"

    I shook my head. "That's what she said, Luffy, and I want to believe her so badly it hurts." I sighed, defeated. "But Robin is a world-class actor, and I honestly can't tell whether or not she was faking those emotions, because I know damn well that she could."

    "You had better not be saying she doesn't think we're her friends, Cross," Luffy growled.

    "No, Luffy, not at all," I said, shaking my head. "In fact, that's the only thing I'm completely certain of at the moment."

    "Then we should trust her! It's what friends do!" Luffy nodded as though that were that.

    "Captain, that's the exact reason why we can't trust her."

    "Eh!?"

    I gestured between him and myself. "We're her friends, Luffy, her friends who she cares about more than life itself." I pointed at him. "You should know better than anyone that people, even people as smart as her, tend to do stupid, stupid, stupid things, so long as it ends with saving their friends… or their family, as the case may be."

    Luffy's expression darkened like a thundercloud, but he didn't have an answer to that.

    -o-​

    Several minutes of me racking my brains for everything that I could instruct the crew on at this point later—which involved no small amount of grumbling (read: violent cursing) at Ace for the 'instructions' on Haki he gave—found me stepping out onto the deck. Everyone's attention turned to me immediately.

    "Alright, guys, let's get started." I clapped my hands together and rubbed them eagerly. "To start things off, let me give you all a fair warning: while I've seen and heard of a lot of techniques, which I will be sharing with you, I don't know how to do most of them. But if you guys could figure it out on your own, then I know that you can figure it out via description, even if it'll no doubt take longer without the firsthand experience."

    I looked at Usopp first, noticing him standing beside something covered with a tablecloth. "Usopp, full status report on upgrades."

    The sniper nodded. "I've almost finished Nami's Perfect Clima-Tact, but I'm still having trouble making the Eisen Dial work down here. You're sure that there's a way to make it happen?"

    "Positive. But if you're still having trouble—Nami, you're the expert on clouds. Think you can figure out what he has to do?"

    Nami nodded, and Usopp continued. "Well, alright, then. In other news, I've almost finished upgrading my slingshot and arsenal. Boss—" He looked at the Dugongs. "I've finished the Thermal Dart, but I haven't worked out a way for you to have a safe place to grab it yet. I'm either going to need some design time to fix that, duration to be determined, or I'll need to make heat-retardant gauntlets for you."

    Boss snorted and waved his flipper dismissively. "Please. A little bit of heat doesn't scare me. I can take it on the chin like a man."

    "Uh, Boss?" Conis hesitantly raised a finger. "I'm sorry to tell you this, but Heat Dials can reach temperatures of up to and over 700 degrees Celsius. You could seriously injure your flippers if you used that weapon unprotected!"

    Boss cocked an eyebrow at Conis before plucking his cigar from his mouth and grinding it down in his free flipper, not reacting in the slightest. "I have spent over three-quarters of my life smashing my flippers into the bedrock of the Sandora River and the skulls of every living creature in it. It is a miracle if I ever feel anything with them." He grinned confidently. "Trust me, if anyone can take the heat, it's me."

    "…Fair enough, I guess. Just make sure that you keep it deactivated whenever you're not using it, or you're going to wind up with a lot more scar tissue," Usopp concluded before nodding at me. "And Cross?" He took hold of the tablecloth. "Your upgrades are complete." With a triumphant grin, he yanked back the cloth.

    I grinned as I took in the sight. He had completely revamped my armor. The color was the same, but ridges covered the backs of them from elbow to finger and knee to toe, and the elbows and knees were thicker than the rest, guarding the joints perfectly. The armor was also thicker in general, each piece easily twice the size of my limb. I could see sleeves of what looked like fabric on the insides of the armor, with the metal part expanded outward. And in the palms of the gauntlets were two distinctly round shapes, the palms displaying seven-piece honeycomb grilles.

    "Specially designed from the Usopp Workshop, your new armor comes complete with heat and cold insulation, along with an extra layer of protection and durability composed of sea king leather and the special fibers I use in my ropes," Usopp rattled off, sounding like an infomercial salesman. "The left one is the Flash Gauntlet, which I've hooked up with that strobe mechanism you said you liked, and the right one is the Impact Gauntlet, which channels all impacts to the Dial no matter where you catch them, even if they're not on the palm itself. And don't worry, I've worked out all of the bugs this time with Luffy and the dugongs acting as test dummies. Just make sure to discharge it outside of the feedback mechanism after every twenty or so blasts, or there's a good chance the buildup of energy will blow your bones out. Also!" He pointed at Conis. "I'm working on a way to build a similar device for the Reject Dial. For now, though, the only one who can use it without breaking their arm—and probably a whole bunch of other important stuff—is Luffy."

    "And he hits about as hard as that thing anyway, so really, it's a moot point," I chuckled before pointing at Zoro. "Alright, moving on. You, mister First Mate: I have absolutely no idea how you pulled it off, but you worked out a technique you called Nine Swords Style: Asura. Basically—"

    "No, no, I got it," Zoro interrupted with a casual wave of his hand. "I know what you're talking about. I've been meditating on it in my spare time, but now that I know that it's actually possible…" He trailed off into a feral grin that caused my blood to freeze over.

    Soundbite shuddered in terror, withdrawing into his shell. "Unclean… Unclean…"

    I swallowed audibly before continuing. "A-A-Anyway, while you're working on that, another technique to think on is one of a set known as the Six Powers." I turned slightly so that I was addressing the whole crew. "The Six Powers is a highly advanced martial arts style, used almost exclusively by the Marines' top brass, the purpose of which is to turn the human body into a weapon. Thankfully, however, I think that the techniques are simple enough that you can figure them out yourselves.

    "The one I'm thinking of at the moment is known as Iron Body. The basics of it, as I understand them, is to clench your body's muscles hard, and I mean really hard, so that your very flesh—" I rapped my knuckles on my abdomen. "Becomes as solid as iron itself, so that not even blades or bullets can hurt you. Well…" I nodded my head to the side. "Unless it's a bullshit-strong attack, but you get my point." I looked back at Zoro. "I figured that you have the most experience out of all of us at blocking near-lethal attacks with your torso, so I figure that you'd have the most luck puzzling it out."

    "Makes sense," Zoro nodded in agreement.

    "Hey, I've taken twice as many blows as the Marimo!" Sanji protested.

    I gave the cook a flat look. "Sanji, you've taken a lot of bad hits, I'll admit, but you sure as hell didn't take Mihawk's ship-cutting slash or Mr. 1's shredding drill head-on."

    Grumbling, Sanji silently conceded the point by looking away.

    "And besides, you'll be focusing on the second, third, and fourth of the Six Powers, and I'll honestly be surprised if you don't figure one of them out by the end of the day And Zoro will never let you hear the end of it, since he's already mastered one of them as far as his fighting style is concerned."

    Both Zoro and Sanji looked at me, the former with wicked eagerness and the latter looking about ready to burst into flames of pure determination. I smiled innocently, somehow managing to move all of my cold sweat to the back of my head. I would not show weakness. I would not show weakness!

    "Talk fast," Sanji growled.

    I most certainly did not swallow heavily. "Well, see, Zoro's able to produce flying slashes with his Phoenix attacks, and the technique known as the Tempest Kick lets you produce them with your legs. All you have to do is kick with enough force and somehow concentrate all the resultant gust from the attack into an amalgamation of pure wind strong and sharp enough to match any blade."

    Sanji's determination faded into a contemplative frown. "Hrm. That actually sounds familiar. I think the old geezer did that with his peg leg back when that huge shield-wearing psycho tried to ignite the Baratie."

    I blinked. "Huh, I forgot about that. Figures that old coot would have figured that technique out. God only knows how far into the Line he got before turning back. But yeah, it's like that, just concentrate all of that wind into a singular blade of air, and you should acquire a nice ranged attack in your arsenal."

    Sanji smirked at Zoro, but when I snapped my fingers for attention he grudgingly looked back at me. "Alright, as much as I'd love to start on that one right away, you said there were two more?"

    "Yeah. The third technique, you've actually done already, back when Ohm scarred Conis. With the Moonwalk technique, you kick so hard that you can jump on the air itself. Besides using Devil Fruit powers, it's the closest thing you can ever get to actual flight. I don't expect you to get the hang of that one anytime soon, but if you can do it while you're berserk?" I shrugged. "If you have to, try channeling that anger so you can figure out how to do it.

    "Now, the fourth one, Shave," I said, looking around at the whole crew again. "Seems to be the easiest of all the Six Powers with how common it is. A certain faux-butler even developed a half-bastardized, half-improved version of it. This is the only one that I know the instructions for: by kicking the ground ten times in a second, you can generate enough force to move fast enough that you seem to practically teleport. How the hell you manage it, I don't know, but like I said, it seems to be the easiest of them. Heck," I chuckled, looking over our sniper and navigator. "With how good you are at running, I wouldn't be surprised if you could manage it, Usopp. Or you, Nami."

    The two of them looked thoughtful, and I turned my attention back to Luffy. "The fifth technique is called Finger Pistol. Essentially, with enough strength and by applying Iron Body to one's finger, just doing this—" I stuck my arm out, index finger pointing outwards. "—oughta be enough to put a hole in a person as well as any gunshot. A bit more visceral than what you're used to, I know, but I just thought it might be a good idea for your pipe. Good way of piercing through solid defenses and all."

    Luffy hummed thoughtfully as he tilted his head to the side.

    "Now, the last one is another one that you've pulled off, Luffy, during your fight against Eneru. Though…" I waved my hand side to side. "The official technique is way more effective than that 'airhead' thing you pulled off. Letting your body go limp and letting your reflexes do all the work dodging is the basis of the Paper Art technique, but the real deal lets you keep your head in the game so you can attack or move appropriately."

    "Oooh, now that sounds like fun!" Luffy grinned eagerly.

    "Alright, now, let's see…" I slowly started ticking down on my fingers as I went over their other techniques. "Zoro needs Haki, Nami and Usopp are fine on their own, Sanji—" I glanced at the cook, who was shadow-boxing but with kicks. "Hey, Sanji, does the phrase 'if God made food, then the Devil made spice' mean anything to you?"

    Sanji froze mid-swing, shooting a shocked look at me. "That move actually works!? I came up with it back up on the Baratie while I was drunk off my ass!"

    I shrugged helplessly. "Yeah, well, it actually does work. And to great effect, I might add. Something about your heart burning even hotter than the kick or something?"

    Sanji's eyes widened slightly, and he turned away, muttering rapid-fire.

    I shrugged and left him to it. "Alright, then. Next up, Chopper!" I pointed at the doctor. "Seeing as we're currently in the middle of a verdant wasteland, is there any chance that you'd be willing to try training to gain control of 'that'?"

    The reindeer was briefly confused before paling, visible even beneath his fur. "I, ah, don't think that that might be such a good idea, Cross."

    "What? Why not?" I asked, genuinely curious. "I mean, I suppose the whole hyper-exhaustion thing is a danger, but we've got enough muscle here to match you, and all we have to do to break the form is knock you into the ocean."

    "Weeeell…" Chopper sheepishly clicked his hooves together. With the same look on his face as when he was explaining how he'd developed his little Hyde-issue aw fuck me.

    "This is gonna suck, isn't it?" I blandly stated.

    "Well, see, the thing is, Cross," he said, rubbing the back of his skull. "'That' was a berserker when I stumbled onto it because it was primarily controlled by my unconscious mind. Back then, my unconscious was totally empty, so it was essentially my baser animal instincts given form, albeit more savage than I'd expected. But now…" He tapped his hoof against his temple. "That part of my brain isn't quite so unconscious anymore, remember?"

    I froze as the implications sunk in. And said implications were that if things proceeded anywhere close to canon, there was an alarmingly good chance of the Tower of Justice becoming a butcher's shop, or some other unimaginable abomination of SCIENCE!

    …On the other hand, maybe Spandam deserved that—NO, no, it wasn't worth it. It so very, very nearly was, but! I had collateral to think of, so much collateral.

    "Let's put a pin in that for now, alright?" I squeaked.

    Chopper nodded eagerly. "Probably for the best, yes."

    "Moving right along!" I hastily swung around to my next target, then paused as an idea came to me, prompting me to swing back to Chopper. "Actually, there's still something that you can do. You know about Luffy's Gears, right?"

    "Uh…" Chopper blinked in surprise. "You mean that technique that he used to turn huge and punch out the seawall, right? And the one he used to save Conis from Eneru? What about them?"

    "The latter is Gear 1.5 and the prior is 2.5, prototype versions of Gears Second and Third," I explained. "Both extremely powerful tools, but, well…" I scratched the back of my neck. "Well, you remember how the recoil from 2.5 snapped Luffy into a midget?"

    Chopper grimaced. "I'm guessing that 1.5 has some kind of side-effect as well?" He rubbed his chin, humming thoughtfully. "Well, I don't know if I can help with anything like the shrinkage, but—"

    "Yeeeaaah, see…" My sheepishness redoubled. "That's the thing. Gear Second's side effects are a lot more, shall we say, visceral than Gear Third. How to best put this—ah, Luffy!" I pointed at our captain. "How do you start 1.5, and how do you usually feel after using it?"

    Luffy grinned eagerly as he held his leg up and pointed to it. "Oh, it's easy! I just pump my legs to get my blood flowing faster, and then that makes me go faster, too!" He then looked up, hand on his chin, totally missing the horrified look spreading over Chopper's face. "The bad news is that so far, I've only been able to keep it going for a few seconds. And after it runs out, I usually feel kinda tired, and my muscles ache all over." And then his eager grin was right back in place. "But I've been getting better at using it in my spare time! Some more practice and I'll be able to keep it running for as long as I want! Here." He placed his fist on the deck. "Check it ou—!"

    THWACK!

    "GRK!" Luffy choked, slapping a hand to the side of his neck. The syringe that had just stabbed him finished emptying its contents into his bloodstream before he could do anything else, causing him to keel over and start snoring.

    We stared at Luffy's prone form before turning our gazes to Chopper, whose hoof was still extended in a throwing follow-through and whose face was a rictus of pure rage.

    "Unbelievable, inconsiderate, suicidal…!"     The human-reindeer's words trailed off into unintelligible grumbling as he marched up to Luffy and grabbed the back of his collar. He then shot a dour glare around the deck. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going to retire to the kitchen for a bit to guarantee that this ignoramus—" He emphasized the word with a thoroughly ineffective smack to Luffy's temple. "—doesn't keel over at age 50 due to having the heart of a 90-YEAR-OLD!"

    Nobody dared halt the doctor as he marched up the stairs, flung Luffy into the kitchen, and slammed the door shut behind him.

    Soundbite blinked once more before giving me a hesitant glance. "Should we SAVE HIM?"

    "No, no, best we leave them be," I sighed. "Luffy might suffer right now, but Chopper is essentially working to save him from, well, himself." I clapped my hands as I decided that it'd be better for my sanity to not dwell on whatever unholy procedures Chopper was performing. "Right then, next up is…" I frowned as I realized who I had turned to. "Vivi. I meant to ask you after we were through with Eneru, but things got kinda hectic. So before I forget again: that necklace you're wearing, what—?"

    "OH, MY, LOOK AT THE TIME!" Vivi yelped before I could get another word out, sweat cascading down her face as she plastered on a rictus grin and vaulted onto Carue's back, his reins clutched in a white-knuckled grip. "In all the excitement, I almost forgot that I'd been meaning to run some laps with Carue, for practice! Well, no time like the present! Come on Carue, let's go, once around the island, chop chop!"

    "Hey, now, wait a—!"

    WHOOSH!

    "Minute…" I trailed off slowly as the dust cloud that was Carue approached the horizon. "Wow."

    "DAT DUCK CAN MOVE!" Soundbite whistled.

    "Tell me about it," I grumbled before giving Soundbite a searching look. "By the way, is there any chance that she—?"

    "Sorry, nada." Soundbite shook his head. "Most I've GOTTEN IS THE word 'SIROCCO.' ALTHOUGH…"

    "What?"

    "EH…" He nodded his head side to side. "I think that I heard a voice coming from IT? DON'T THINK IT WAS alive though."

    I mulled that over before shaking my head. "Well, if she doesn't want to share, I suppose that's her prerogative. I'll drop it for now." I moved on to Conis. "Alright, now for you, our resident angel of firepower. Given how you've been toting that Burn Bazooka around all day without breaking a sweat, I'm guessing that you don't find its weight to be daunting?"

    "Yes, that sounds about right," Conis answered. "Thanks to all the strength from the extra oxygen, it barely feels like I'm carrying anything."

    "Then I say it's high time we change that," I said, smacking my fist into my palm. "Seeing as you can carry that behemoth around no problem, you can easily carry around a bunch of its cousins, too. Your goal is to find out just how firepower you can comfortably strap to yourself at once. Trust me, if you think talking softly and carrying a big gun equals being a badass, that's easily trumped by being a walking arsenal."

    "Can do!" the angel saluted eagerly.

    "Su, make sure she doesn't somehow overload and become ineffective."

    "I will try, but I make no promises!" Su swiped her tail up to her forehead in a salute.

    "Hey!"

    "Remember the macaroni incident?"

    "YOU SWORE TO NEVER MENTION THAT AGAIN! Though I suppose I see your point. So much cheese…"

    I shuddered slightly as I watched the usually serene woman devolve into a fit of horrified twitching. Moving on! "And Boss!" I confidently pointed at the martial artist, holding that pose for a moment before slowly lowering my finger. "I'm afraid that I have nothing for you or your students…"

    "Eh," Boss shrugged indifferently. "You've given us more than enough to work on already." He pumped his flipper, grinning. "We'll just have to do the rest ourselves! Right, boys?"

    "AYE, BOSS!" his students concurred.

    "Well, then, in that case…" I clapped my hands and nodded. "That's it! Everyone go right ahead and get to it!"

    "Hang on a second, Cross," Nami interjected. "Aren't you forgetting someone?"

    "Eh?" I blinked at her in confusion. "No, I was just leaving that up to you. I don't have anything to suggest until Usopp's got the Clima-Tact ready, so—"

    Nami rapped her knuckles on my forehead with a flat look. "I meant you, dumb-dumb. You've told everyone else what they should do to get stronger, but what will you do in the meantime?"

    I felt a cold sweat begin to drip down my forehead as I suddenly realized I hadn't thought of something for me to do, and that meant someone was going to 'volunteer' me to work with them. And that was likely to end with me in a motherload of pain.

    "I-I, uh…" I stammered, trying to buy time.

    "Mikey, Donny," Boss thankfully interrupted. "Go help Cross out. Sobek knows he needs it."

    "BOSS, YES, BOSS!" both dugongs barked, saluting.

    I swallowed nervously at their enthusiasm and promptly shot a pleading look at Usopp. "Please tell me that you managed to finish whatever upgrades you planned to make to my baton."

    "Ah…" Usopp hesitated for a moment before nodding nervously. "Maybe yes? Fair warning, I'm not entirely confident about its build, so—!"

    "I'm about to fight two Kung Fu Dugongs, see how much I care!" I snarled.

    Usopp glanced at the two amphibians, who were tapping their weapons in their flippers, and shuddered in terror. "Point taken." The sniper-tinkerer drew a metal cylinder out of his bag and tossed it to me. "Just be careful, it's still kind of—!"

    I caught the cylinder in mid-air—

    ZAP!

    And promptly found myself flat on my back, coughing up a hefty cloud of smoke. "Ow…"

    "NOT fun!" Soundbite whined.

    "…sensitive," Usopp said as he stood over me, scratching the back of his head. "Sorry, those Thunder Dials are really tricky. Guess there are still a few bugs to work out, huh?"

    "The appropriate phrase here," I wheezed out as I shakily raised my arm, my baton delicately between my fingertips. "Would be 'no doi'."

    Usopp took the collapsed weapon back with a pair of insulated pliers he'd pulled from his bag. "I'll just, ah, try and work them out then, huh?"

    "Yeah," I wheezed as I coughed up another lungful of smoke. "You do that."

    "Nice dance, Cross," Su snickered. "Real fancy footwork!"

    "Go get your tail charred off, puff-ball," I snarled as I slowly crawled to my feet, shaking my head to dislodge the stars swirling in it. "So, uh, how are we doing this exactly?"

    Donny jabbed a flipper over his shoulder, pointing toward the shore. "This way."

    I gave him a shaky thumbs-up. "You got it. Just gimme a bit to get my armor on. I'm going to need all the protection I can get."

    "Yeah, sure thing, we'll be waiting," Donny said, he and Mikey leaping over the edge with a careless wave of their flippers.

    I waited for a moment before shooting a glare at Nami. "You realize that they are going to absolutely tenderize me, right?"

    Nami hummed to herself, tapping a finger on her lips. "I suppose I could tell you that this is for your own good. That I care about you, and that I want to see you get stronger so that I don't have to worry about you so much. I could also tell you that I think you can teach those dugongs as much as they teach you, or even that this is a matter of solidarity, with all of us getting steadily stronger, and that I don't want you left behind."

    I could see this punchline coming a mile away. "Aaaand in reality?"

    She patted my shoulder, a winning smile on her face. "Try and grow a spine and some thicker skin, you weak-ass piece of putty."

    "Alright, I'll accept most of that, but thicker skin? Don't you think I'd jump on it if there was a way to do that?" I asked dryly, holding an arm up at eye level.

    The blood drained from Nami's face at the sight of my limb. "Okay, I suppose I could have worded… that…" She trailed off, her expression falling flat again. "Considering how you always tell Lassoo that dog insults were fine before he joined the crew, I'm going to take a shot in the dark and say you're screwing with me?"

    "Atta girl," I chuckled, slapping her back as I walked past her to where my armor was laid out.

    I thought about how different it felt as I pulled on the pieces. The sleeves fit, well, like a glove, and the metal on the outside moved just as the sleeves did. It was a bit more comfortable than the last set, but I could feel that it was a lot tougher this time, too. The sheer extra weight of the things attested to that. In addition, the Kevlar-grade material on the inside, coupled with Usopp's whatever-the-hell metal on the outside, made sure that I wouldn't have to worry about any pain getting through the bandages. To cap it all off, the armor was sealed on just as tightly as my previous iteration, with the elbow and knee guards doing an expert job of hiding the unlatching mechanisms.

    I rolled my arms and took a few practice steps to re-acclimate myself to the weight of the armor. But it quickly became clear that that wasn't happening anytime soon. The massive jump in size and weight made it clear that this was no upgrade, but a completely new set of armor that I'd have to grow used to all over again. And it wouldn't be as easy as I'd hoped, either.

    I threw out a few practice punches and swung my leg up to lash out a Spartan kick.

    I grinned in satisfaction.

    "Perfect," I announced before glancing over at Usopp, one of my gauntlets held up so that the palm was facing him. "So, how do I—?"

    "Hey, don't point it at me, that's the Flash one!" the sniper said, hastily covering his eyes. "But just flexing your palm should be enough. Whole hand, to prevent misfires."

    I eyed my left hand—my Flash Gauntlet— for a moment before flipping it palm down and firmly flexing the bottoms of my knuckles. I was delighted to see light strobing on the ground. "Ooooh, yeah, this is gonna be useful…" I glanced down as Lassoo padded over, sniffing at the spot. "Well, I'm almost completely loaded down anyway. Whaddaya say, Lassoo, wanna help me give them our best?"

    The dog-gun yawned jaw-crackingly wide before giving me an apologetic borf. "Sorry, Cross, no can do." He jerked his head over at Conis. "I've got an appointment with our resident angel here for an upgrade." He leered eagerly, tongues of flame licking out from between his fangs. "I want me a piece of that firepower she was tossing around earlier!"

    In spite of the fact that I was going to be left without my heaviest artillery at my back, I couldn't help but chuckle. "Alright, go on, then."

    Tail wagging excitedly, he bounded over to Conis, and I exchanged a wry look with an eager-looking Soundbite before jogging over to the railing and jumping down to the shore. I was very pleased when the action didn't hurt in the least.

    A few feet before me, Donny and Mikey stood on opposite ends of the impromptu practice field, bound by the Merry's hull, the former twirling his staff with quiet but ill-disguised eagerness and the latter practically bursting with belligerent excitement.

    "Alright, then," I said as I walked up, stretching my arms back and forth as I went. "So, are there any rules here? Any limitations, any holds barred, is there a starting sig—" I cut myself off mid-sentence, leaping forwards and swinging my leg at Mikey.

    Said leg was caught by the chains of the nunchuck the dugong snapped taut, held at bay without even a hint of strain.

    Mikey stared blandly at the sole of my greave before cocking an eyebrow at me. "Did you honestly expect that to work?"

    I shrugged. "Not really, but I had to try."

    "Well, I guess the first lesson is situational awareness," the dugong replied.

    I frowned. "Situational awareness? What—"

    "BEHIND!" Soundbite suddenly yelped.

    I didn't need to look to know that I needed to duck. But seeing as I wasn't one for conventional solutions, I instead chose to leap forward, using the chain of Mikey's weapon as a platform to vault over him. I'd have gone for a boot to the head in the process, but he cashed in the momentum I gave him and rolled under me before I got the chance, leaving me to land in a roll and pivot on my way up to face my opponents.

    "Hmm, not bad," Donny hummed, twirling his bo staff as he landed, Mikey popping up beside him. "You and Soundbite really do form a good team. Okay, we'll do this the normal way."

    Both dugongs snapped their weapons into ready stances, a palpable aura of menace rising around them.

    "Defend yourself."

    "GASTRO-FLASH!" I immediately shouted, pointing the Flash Gauntlet in front of me, Soundbite chiming in with an ear-piercing shriek. Mikey stumbled and fell to the ground with a cry of pain while Donny kept going. It seemed he'd had the foresight to plug his shell with wax.

    I threw up an arm to block the bo staff as it descended, then hastily moved my other arm up when the dugong seamlessly moved into another strike. And then another strike came and was blocked. And another. I backpedaled furiously, barely blocking the strikes from the bo staff, but I was actually blocking them. And every other block built up a little more energy…

    I caught another overhead strike on my forearm, and instead of blocking the follow-up, I tried to meet it with my palm. The Impact Dial rang out, rattling the air in front of me, and Donny only barely managed to pull back his staff before it shattered. We each paused, me panting slightly and Donny not winded at all. And just to make matters even more fun, Mikey jumped to Donny's side, eyes narrowed and bloodshot but still full of raw energy.

    The standoff continued for a few moments. Then the dugongs moved.

    Mikey shot toward me while Donny veered off to the left. He was going to go behind me again, I just knew it, but with Mikey up in my face, I couldn't do much about it. Where Donny was almost like a dancer, flowing from attack to attack with almost water-like fluidity, Mikey was straightforward, brutal smashing. Or, to put it another way, Donny actually had grace and skill, while Mikey had adapted hack-and-slash to his nunchucks.

    Once again, I found myself on the defensive, and I kept a count in my head as the blows rained on my right arm. Not to let off the Impact Dial again. I doubted they'd let me do that. No, it was for something else…

    "BEHIND!"

    I was ducking even before Soundbite barked out a warning. Unfortunately, Donny had gone low with his attack this time. Fortunately, as I was squatting down, I was only lightly knocked onto my side rather than sent tumbling. I grinned as an idea came to me, and I planted my right palm on the ground.

    "Impact."

    With a loud bang, the Impact Dial discharged, spraying dirt and grass everywhere.

    "Ackpft!"

    Including my face. Not my brightest idea, but it did get the dugongs to back off and snap their guards up, and that was precisely what I'd been going for. I quickly sprang to my feet and charged at the first dugong I saw, who turned out to be Mikey. After all, I couldn't stay on the defensive forever, and the best way to flip the script would be to take out their primary enforcer first.

    I did not count on Mikey wrapping up my punch in the chains of his nunchucks and flipping me off my feet.

    I don't know if it was design or by accident—probably a bit of both—but as I sailed through the air, I positioned my foot just right so that it clocked Mikey upside the head. He had that big turtle shell protecting him, but a nice and heavy armored boot connecting with his skull still dazed him a bit. Of course, I also got the wind knocked out of me upon hitting the ground, so I think we came off even in that exchange.

    As I caught my breath, I felt Soundbite desperately chomp on my shoulder. I glanced up and hastily threw up my armored palm to catch Donny's staff, something I felt even through the layers of protection. My foot came up to try and meet his soft underbelly, but he put his muscular tail in the way—and in doing so, forgot about my second trick of the fight.

    "GASTRO-FLASH!"

    Wax or not, non-sight combat senses or not, getting a spotlight to the face hurts. More than that, the instinct to cover your eyes is both universal and very difficult to overcome, as demonstrated by Dragon Ball Z. With the pressure on my arms gone, I raised my other foot and managed to nail Donny clean in his face, throwing him off of me and leaving him reeling. I breathed a sigh of relief and began to stand up—

    "INCOMING!"

    This time, the warning wasn't in time. Mikey's nunchucks hit me right between the shoulder blades. I let the blow knock me forward onto my hands, and shot my foot back in a mule-kick. It didn't hit anything, but it did force him to dodge back a bit before leaping at me again, giving me long enough to spin around—

    "IMPACT!"

    And slam my right gauntlet into his gut as I activated its mechanism.

    "GAGH!" he cried out, flailing slightly as he tumbled on the ground. I immediately took the opportunity, diving onto the downed dugong. It wasn't any kind of formal move, closer to just kneeling on him, but I was over double his weight and size, so it worked. I punched the ground, to get as much charge as I could into the Impact Dial, and moved the gauntlet into position—

    Aaaaand promptly froze when I felt a weight land on my back and wood knock against the back of my skull.

    All four of us stayed frozen for a few seconds until I slowly raised my Flash gauntlet up where Donny could see it, pointedly keeping the palm facing away from him. "Truce?"

    Donny was silent for a moment before removing his staff from my neck and hopping off. "I can live with that."

    "Ooooowww," Mikey whined as he wiggled on the ground, clutching his belly. "Damn it dude, that huuuurt…"

    "Oh, you have no right to talk, Chuck-boy!" I snapped as I twisted my torso back and forth, causing the spot where he'd managed to slam me to flare up painfully. "Freaking hell, those things hurt like heck!"

    "You kicked me in the head and hit me with the pure force of Donny's staff!" the dugong retorted. "That does not compare to one nunchuk-blow!"

    "Guys, guys," Donny cut in, coming between us with his flippers raised. "You're both babies, can we move on now?"

    "HEY! I'm a baby, TOO!"

    We all spared Soundbite a flat look, which he responded to with a wide grin.

    "Fine, moving on," I ultimately conceded. "So, any advice you two can give me?"

    "Well, for starters, you're an instinctive fighter, Cross," Donny explained.

    "Basically, that means you can lash out like a freaking maniac without thinking and not automatically get your ass handed to you," Mikey provided.

    Donny glared at his fellow student and opened his mouth, then cocked his head to the side. "Alright, so he's not entirely wrong. Zoro described your style as "brawling with some sense to it" to Boss, which Boss passed on, and that's a pretty good description of what you're trying to do. Since you've got a foundation, your best training options are, well…" He shrugged helplessly. "Unless you want to actually learn something formal, there's only one. The best way to train what you do is to just let you go ahead and fight. Trial and error, let you work out the flaws in your form the hard way."

    I nodded thoughtfully. "Works for me…" I hummed thoughtfully, looking at the snail on my shoulder. "Ah, by the way, Soundbite? You need to be a bit—"

    "Say faster. I DARE YOU."

    "No, no, your speed was fine!" I assured him. "I was going to say 'specific.' Just saying 'behind' doesn't help much when an attack can come from high or low as well."

    Soundbite frowned but nodded. "I'll keep that in mind."

    "Well, if we're done here, I'm going to get back to trying out more of our new arsenal," Mikey said, heading back toward the Merry.

    "And if Nami's done with Usopp, I should probably see how her bojutsu has progressed," Donny added, following his fellow student.

    I was about to go find Lassoo when I remembered that I had something to deal with on the ship as well. Sighing, I began trudging back toward it.

    "What's wrong? WE DIDN'T DO THAT badly," Soundbite asked.

    "It's not that, Soundbite. It's about something far more serious," I said grimly as I climbed back aboard the Merry. "Do me a favor, will you? Any snide remarks you feel like sharing during the coming conversation? Try and keep them to yourself unless they're constructive. This is going to be delicate."

    Soundbite seemed to shrink in on himself in apprehension. He'd probably seen me this kind of serious enough now that he was worried about what was coming next. Just like I was.

    I climbed to the top of the Merry where Usopp had established his makeshift factory. I saw him tinkering with the Eisen Dial's control apparatus alongside a blue rod that was splayed open and starting to take on a very familiar form. He glanced up as he heard my approach and rolled his eyes, "Look, Cross, I'm sorry about the baton, but with your armor finished, Nami won't be happy if I don't make her upgrade priority one, so—"

    "This isn't about that, Usopp," I interrupted. "I could give a damn about getting shocked. I'm here about the stability of the crew."

    Usopp coughed in shock and turned to fully face me.

    I glanced at Soundbite and spun my finger in the air, waiting for the telltale buzz before continuing. "Usopp, this is very serious: how are you feeling after that meeting with Aokiji?"

    The sniper's expression instantly darkened, and it took a few seconds for him to work up his nerve to reply. "I… I remember what you said after Drum Island, Cross," he muttered. "That I'd always be the weakest on the crew. At first, I was alright with that because of how you said that I was the weakest out of the world's strongest crew. And it really worked too." He clenched his jaw, teeth audibly grinding. "Until now, anyway. It's just, if the Monster Trio and Boss were beaten in one shot like that, what good am I going to do against opponents like—"

    "Usopp," I interrupted, a little desperately. "All of us on the crew are meant to do what we can. Nothing more, and nothing less. I'm the crew's tactician, so my training in brawling is so that I can handle mooks, not full-blown officers or captains. You're a sniper, not a front-line fighter. If anything, you're supposed to be as far from the fight as possible, so you have a better chance of attacking opponents nobody else can."

    Usopp's expression didn't shift, and he sighed. "Cross, I know I'm stronger than I would have been at this point without you. And obviously, all the extra upgrades and weapon designs I've been doing have made it clear that I play a key role in helping the crew's weaker members. But still…" He scratched the back of his head. "If we're going to be up against monsters like Aokiji… I just want to make sure I live up to the crew, you know?"

    I sighed in undisguised relief. I could work with this. "So, what you're saying is that you're just disappointed because you don't feel like you're living up to the name of the crew?"

    Usopp started to nod his head before pausing and slowly shooting a suspicious glance my way. "Yeah. But why do you ask?"

    Fuck. I froze, realizing I'd overplayed my hand. "I—it's nothing, Usopp, just getting some ducks in—"

    "What is it, Cross?" he pressed, serious as the grave.

    I grimaced, thinking furiously. "Usopp, do you trust me?" I finally said.

    That finally broke his melancholy in favor of confusion. "Huh? What are you—?"

    "Answer the question," I repeated.

    "Yes, yes, I trust you, geeze! What's this got to do with—!"

    "Usopp," I interrupted again. "I realize that I might have played this card to death and back when I joined the crew, but I am playing it now anyway: you are better off not knowing."

    "What!?" Usopp squawked indignantly. "Cross, this obviously concerns me. I have a right—!"

    "You have the right to know, but that does not mean it is in your best interests," I retorted. "If you trust me at all, then you will listen to my words and heed them: that possible path in life is dead and buried in the ground, where, if I have any say in the matter, it will remain until the end of time, forever unseen and unheard. You. Are better off. Not knowing it." I softened my expression, putting as much pleading desperation into it as I could manage. "So, please. Don't ask again?"

    Usopp hesitated for a second before sighing and turning back to his work. "Alright, Cross. If you say so."

    I let out a sigh of relief, and clapped Usopp on the shoulder. "Great, thanks! Well, seeing as that's—everything…" I trailed off, slowly turning back to Usopp. "Actually, one more thing. You want some advice to help with your confidence?"

    "Uh…" Usopp thought it over before nodding."Yeah, why not. Couldn't hurt, I guess."

    "Great! First things first. Do you think you're a good liar?"

    "Wha—? I know that I'm a good liar!"

    "Then how about this: if all else fails, why not try lying to yourself? Now, now!" I held a hand up when Usopp opened his mouth to protest. "Hear me out! Look, when you get scared or feel like running, why not just try, I dunno, convincing yourself that you actually have the willpower you need to fight and win? Practice that enough, and eventually, you'll believe it so much that it's actually true! Genius, no?"

    Usopp blinked several times, cupping his chin in thought. "You know, that's crazy enough that it just might—"

    "LOOK out!" Soundbite suddenly hollered.

    Moments later, we heard the sound of a door slamming open, followed shortly by Chopper, still clearly in the throes of the Madness Place.

    "ALRIGHT, I'M DONE WITH THIS IDIOT! DO WHAT YOU WANT WITH HIM!"

    We quickly rushed to the edge of the Merry's top, just in time to see Luffy arc off the Merry, wafting gracefully through the air before slamming to the ground in a shower of dirt and grass. Amazingly, he stayed asleep through the whole ordeal.

    Well, at least, until a small syringe-dart shot off the ship and hit Luffy in the seat of his pants. Two seconds of stillness. Just two. And then—

    "WOOHOO!"

    Luffy shot up and started rocketing around the plain like a rubbery bat out of Impel Down, the syringe falling out immediately. And what followed was proof that giving Luffy too much caffeine or sugar was only to be done if we needed to use him as a weapon.

    "I THINK he may have mastered SHAVING," Soundbite groaned dizzily, his eyestalks spinning uncontrollably. Frankly, I was having no better luck following the dust trails criss-crossing the plain and the air above it. And that damn chipmunk voice wasn't helping! It also almost made me ask Chopper to make more of whatever the hell that had been for combat use.

    Almost.

    After a few seconds, I turned my head to look at Usopp. "You want some practice hitting a moving target?" I deadpanned.

    "I will admit that I am good at my field, Cross," Usopp deadpanned right back. "But I am nowhere near that good."

    "Fair 'nuff."

    Shouts arose from the island as Luffy tore through everyone's training sessions in his stimulant-induced rampage, none more angry than Zoro and Sanji. The second I heard those two irate voices, I hid behind the scant protection of the Merry's railing.

    "Uh, Cross, what are you—?" Usopp began.

    "LUFFY!!!!"

    "Nice place you got here," Usopp commented as he huddled beside me.

    "Make yourself right at home," I replied.

    After a few seconds of no explosion, we both poked our heads out from behind the railing. We almost immediately regretted it. I could see faces and arms flickering in and out on Zoro's sides, and Sanji's right foot was dragging along the ground, wafting up smoke. Luffy had stopped bounding around like a chipmunk on crack, and seemed to be almost appraising the threat.

    And then they moved. The clash threw up a massive cloud of dust, streaked with fire and practically spitting razor-sharp winds. The din echoing out was devoid of grunts of pain. Then, after a solid minute, we saw Luffy soar above it, biting down on his hand and his body already bulging.

    "GUM-GUM!" Luffy shouted, audible even over the roar of the clash below. I gaped in awe, completely forgetting to take cover. This is what I had signed up for.

    "GIANT PISTOL!"

    Luffy's fist impacted the shore under the dust cloud with an almighty crash, and the hard-packed soil and the rock below simply disintegrated. And rather than add to the existing dust cloud, it blew it away entirely. I caught a glimpse of red on Sanji's foot and nine swords rather than three before the last of the dust cleared, and then a good look at the impact crater, distracting me from all else.

    It was as if a giant had stomped on the spot—which was basically what happened. A fist-shaped chunk of coast was simply gone, as if it had never been there. And right next to it, shrunken to a foot tall, was Luffy. The contrast was so ridiculous that it triggered… something within me.

    "Pff—"

    "WILL YOU JUST HURRY UP AND LAUGH ALREADY!?" Nami screamed at me.

    Well, who was I to deny a lady her wishes?

    "PFFHAHAHAHAHAHA! I FUCKING LOVE THIS CREW SO MUCH! PFFHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

    Ahhh, it was good to be back.

    -o-​

    A few hours later, we decided that we'd gotten as much as possible out of staying moored to Long Ring Long. We packed up what little of our supplies we'd unpacked, got everyone aboard, and weighed anchor, following the course the Log set for us to reach the next stop on our journey.

    As we set off, Nami, Zoro, and I stood side-by-side on the railing, staring at the sunset.

    "So," Zoro started. "We've suffered our first complete defeat as a crew, and it pushed us far enough that Luffy decided to revoke any limits on spoilers as long as it could make us stronger. And you said this is just the start of the hardest leg we're going through?"

    "Aokiji was a hopeless fight, and we won't be finding another one of those anytime soon," I confirmed before allowing myself a slight grimace. "But the fights that we'll find are going to push us further than Alabasta. This extra training will help, I'm sure, but…" I hung my head with a sigh. "Well, buckle up."

    Nami glanced between us before groaning in frustration and turning around to stride back towards the cabin, but as she walked, I didn't miss the last words she muttered beneath her breath.

    "I need a vacation."

    Cross-Brain AN: Here's something unheard of for This Bites!: a preview of the next chapter!

    "Wow, it is a map, of an island! Weird name though, anyone recognize it?"

    "Not me."

    "Nope."

    "Never heard of it."

    "What about the letter that came with it?"

    "Here, let me, I'll read it. Alright, let's see. Here's what is says:

    "If you are a pirate among pirates…"

    A Resort with a Twisted Secret…

    "I DON'T KNOW HOW TO PUT IT, BUT… I DUNNO, something just sounds… off. GOOD OR BAD, I don't… this place is weird."

    "Among pirates…"

    A Vile Demon Hidden in Plain Sight…

    "A… smiling flower, at that. Swear to God, Grand Line gets weirder every day…"    ​

    "Among pirates…"

    A Pitiful Man With a Terrible Past…

    "Every single one of those arrows symbolizes a day of loneliness I endured after that storm. They are the number of the regrets I have suffered at suddenly losing every one of my beloved crewmates. Have you had a glimpse of what I've endured?    "

    "Then gather your steadfast crew of companions…"

    Doubt Turns to Conflict, Conflict Turns to Hate, Hate Turns to Madness…

    "HEY! GET BACK HERE, BITCH! THAT'S MY AUDIENCE!     GIVE ME BACK MY AUDIENCE!"

    "And set sail for our island."

    And All the World Made to Bear Witness

    "LUUUUUUUFFYYYYYYY!"

    "The name of the island is…"

    The Island that Nobody Leaves…

    "How… how could this happen? WHAT HAPPENED TO MY FRIENDS?!"

    OMATSURI ISLAND.[/CENTER]

    "Wow, this place sounds like fun!"

    "Yeah, it does… any opinions on it, Cross?"

    "Hmm… I'll be honest, I think I might have? But I can't quite… ah, no, wait a second! Yeah, now I remember! I saw a poster for—ah… for, for… for an event! Yeah, an event about the place! Never actually saw it so I've got no clue what to expect, buuut the poster itself looked pretty cheery! Flowers everywhere, bright and colorful; probably nothing on the island itself to worry about. In my opinion?"

    "Tell me this is just a NIGHTMARE. SOMEONE WAKE ME UP!"

    "I'd say that this could turn out to be the most relaxing vacation of our lives."​

    Cross-Brain AN: All of a sudden, that ending turned into a devastating cliffhanger. And for those of you who don't get how, well… clearly, you've never seen the darkest tale ever to bear the name of One Piece: Baron Omatsuri and the Secret Island.

    Patient AN: It's high time that we got to include a bit of horror in this story, and so we shall… at the stroke of midnight next Sunday. Don't hold it against us… you don't know what we've been through…

    Hornet AN: Are you ready?

    Xomniac AN: Sleep tight, readers…     don't let the flowers bite.
     
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  • Threadmarks
    • Wow. The most terrifying moment in the Straw Hats history, but Robin still (hopefully) finally accepts her place.

    Lucy reveals he's still a badass, and orders Cross to break out the big guns.

    And Aokiji gets a few, tiny cracks that maybe...just maybe, possibly, hopefully...will spread until they shatter.

    This...I really liked this. It was powerful in so many ways.
     
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    EVA-Saiyajin said:
    Wow. The most terrifying moment in the Straw Hats history, but Robin still (hopefully) finally accepts her place.

    Lucy reveals he's still a badass, and orders Cross to break out the big guns.

    And Aokiji gets a few, tiny cracks that maybe...just maybe, possibly, hopefully...will spread until they shatter.

    This...I really liked this. It was powerful in so many ways.
    Click to expand...
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    I think you mean Luffy.
     
    21k Eh?

    I'll read it tomorrow today after I sleep, during the BBQ or something.

    Thanks Guys!
    Xomniac said:
    Patient AN: It's high time that we got to include a bit of horror in this story, and so we shall… at the stroke of midnight next Sunday. Don't hold it against us… you don't know what we've been through…
    Click to expand...
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    But this isn't posted at midnight! Well... maybe it was if it's going by PST instead of civilized EST time.

    Also it's Monday now... so 12 midnight PST Monday?

    Nobody lives in the PST timezone though! :V

    Edit: I lied. I got out of bed and started reading the chapter. I couldn't help myself. :cry:
     
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    oh god no
    that island is next
    the horror that Crox is about to see will be legendary
     
    Welp, Maybe I can go to sleep now after reading it. Thanks Cross-Brain!
    Xomniac said:
    "Right then, next up is…" I frowned as I realized who I had turned to. "Vivi. I meant to ask you after we were through with Eneru, but things got kinda hectic so I forgot until now with Aokiji, so I'll ask before I forget: that necklace you're wearing, what—?"

    "OH, MY, LOOK AT THE TIME!" Vivi yelped desperately before I could get another word out, sweat cascading down her face as she plastered a very rictus grin on. She then vaulted onto Carue's back and clutched his reins in a white-knuckled grip. "In all the excitement, I almost forgot that I'd been meaning to run some laps with Carue, for practice! Well, no time like the present! Come on Carue, let's go, once around the island, chop chop!"

    "Hey, now, wait a—!"

    WHOOSH!
    Click to expand...
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    Welp. At least the question has been asked. We might eventually learn what the necklace is about. Perhaps some sort of super powerful wind? Something contained within?

    It's totally aladdin's genie isn't it? With Robin William's voice...

    Now I'm sad. :sad:
    Promenius said:
    *Likely Theory*
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    It does make sense, and I've thought of that possibility. There was an earlier recommendation actually from the Cross-Brain of another OP story. In that one Vivi ate the sand fruit (Crocodiles?) that was paid for by the King/Father. Also many things stored in that vault. So there is precedent. And in that story one of the three mercs that hunted the fruits (and holders of them) to resell them, could tell what fruit is what by the smell I think. And Soundbite can HEAR the voice of all things. I wouldn't be surprised if he could hear what a fruit is before eating it.

    A simple google on SIROCCO gives out
    Sirocco, scirocco, /sɪˈrɒkoʊ/, jugo or, rarely, siroc (Catalan: Xaloc, Greek: Σορόκος, Spanish: Siroco, Occitan: Siròc, Eisseròc) is a Mediterranean wind that comes from the Sahara and can reach hurricane speeds in North Africa and Southern Europe.
    Click to expand...
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    Sooo... Hurricane winds, dry from the Sahara. So I could be wind related possibly, and/or sand related as well.

    I get the feeling of Logia as well from that second quote of yours with Eneru talking. I imagine Logia users are more 'annoying' to kill... normally.

    Xomniac said:
    One Piece: Baron Omatsuri and the Secret Island.
    Click to expand...
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    Well damn it.

    Xomniac said:
    OMATSURI ISLAND
    ​
    "Wow, this place sounds like fun!"

    "Yeah, it does… any opinions on it, Cross?"

    "Hmm… I'll be honest, I think I might have? But I can't quite… ah, no, wait a second! Yeah, now I remember! I saw a poster for—ah… for, for… for an event! Yeah, an event about the place! Never actually saw it so I've got no clue what to expect, buuut the poster itself looked pretty cheery! Flowers everywhere, bright and colorful; probably nothing on the island itself to worry about. In my opinion?"
    Click to expand...
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    And Cross doesn't know of it? Welp I guess that means he doesn't know all of the filler/movie stuff. Or maybe it's just some of the movies he hasn't watched.

    Well this will be terrifying. And yet more waiting for Water Seven I guess. We'll be with you sooooon Franky!
     
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    Jorlem said:
    I've never heard of it, so I'm just going to assume it is like that other island that nobody ever leaves alive:
    Monkey Island
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    "That's the second biggest monkey head I've ever seen!"

    Hah, but jokes aside, Omatsuri Island is... CREEEEEEEPY. It's the darkest One Piece movie ever, and some of the things that happen on said island is pure nightmare fuel.
     
    And Luffy also actually kills someone as well. The one confirmed kill in the series so far, on screen at least.
     
    I can't recall ever watching that movie, despite having a pretty good idea of what happens in it. Which means I need to find someplace to watch it from my phone before next week.

    Well then. This is gonna go well. And might give me nightmares the rest of my vacation.
     
    Xomniac said:
    OMATSURI ISLAND
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    Oh, no, not that island! Not after the ass-kickery they got from Aokiji. It makes the Sabaody arc ending look like a saturday morning cartoon in comparison. There is only one island that scares me more than Omatsuri Island and that was the "you-are-what-you-eat" island from Brunetta6's SOCCP One Piece Self Insert. I swear that girl is related to H.P Lovecraft or something, from those horrifying descriptions she made of it.

    My only question is this: Will Luffy be once more the only person that remembers what transpired here in the end or will Cross also remember the events with him. I can totally seem them together, gulping bottles of sake and sobbing, far away so the rest of the crew won't hear them.
     
    I have not seen any One Piece movie besides the Nebulanda one.(Or any of the episodes in fact. Or read the manga...) So this should be a treat. (As I'm telling myself, surely it can't be as bad as that one scene from Blood C.)
     
    Cross did say that the next clusterfuck will push them
    well he was right
    it will
    just not in the way he thought
     
    Z000 said:
    At least it not as bad as Flowey
    that little thing scare me more than that Lily
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    having just watched the movie right off of my Undertale binge, I would say Lily is more threatening. Flowey w/o human souls is just a douche, a scary, sociopathic douche, but still manageable. Lily might not be as smart, but it doesn't need any McGuffins to turn the world upside down.

    That said they are around the same ballpark when it comes to being fucked up.
     
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