#so them both being named after attributes could’ve been a cool match

[rotomartsblog]

So. We can agree that Rosabella should’ve been the beast right?

[kai-borg]

Crystal ('Synthetic')

Crystal is Silver’s ‘daughter’, or at least as close of an equivalent as one of her species can have, being blood and biologically related.

In truth Crystal could be considered a partial clone of Silver, created from her first, and last, attempt at recreating her species reproducing tech after she learned about the other M-M’s kids, having been carrying a few vials of DNA that was possibly compatible with her own, modifying the needed strands to ensure her ‘daughter’ would have a partially different growth and genetic structure to her own.

Silver had expected her idea to go near perfectly.

She’d made the proper machines, even if they were a bit crude, she’d combined the DNA strands, even having gone so far as to use most of her saved DNA strands in creating test versions so as to properly calibrate her machines and ensure no problems should have (probably) arisen, but as one can guess, her plan didn't go as perfectly as she thought it would, not that she was upset, no she was actually quite happy and intrigued, giving her something more to study.

From what she could gather some form of unknown DNA had somehow contaminated her samples, merging its own DNA within her mixtures, something most likely venomous at that seeing as to Crystal’s ‘abilities’ and her left sides mutations and following extra limb growth.

Along with that was an error in the machine she couldn’t have really dealt with anyways, the amount power needed for the growth advancement and how well our own earth tech could handle it. The machine broke down early, releasing Crystal before she had reached the standard adult age, leaving her body in a state of hormonal destabilization and mental fluxes, which she would have to naturally grow out of, I.e. her teens.

As one can guess this left Crystal in what tends to be an easily irritable state of emotion, favouring adding dramatics over reacting in a ‘normal’ way Sighs, dramatic bursts of offense, exaggerated groans and movements, you know, the usual (stereotypical) teenager way.

She’s quite a bit of a tomboy/punk personality wise, preferring to explore and fight more than staying in one area, learning (unless it’s something she’s interested in, I.e. fighting, some of Silver’s science techniques, interesting places to explore, etc) or dealing with others not around her age and sometimes not even them) or whose company she enjoys.

It definitely didn’t help after her mutations started up a few weeks after being released from her growth tube, especially emphasizing Silver’s hypothesis of the contaminated DNA being from a venomous species.

Her mutations only emerged across her entire left side, consisting of her left eye changing colour and gaining a more animalistic look, limbs colour differences and armour, changing into more of a natural carapace than removable armour across said limbs and the growth of an extra, claw ended, limb from the upper left of her back.

Along with this was also the gaining of the ability to naturally produce venom, luckily it is quite weak and diluted, at most only able to cause a slight tingling or pins and needles sensation where ever it was applied/affected. Unfortunately due to it not being a natural occurrence or ability for what is most of her species and also genetic build she can’t properly use it or store it, eventually creating too much for her to contain, allowing for the poison to affect her, unless she uses a good amount of venom, like, around every hour.

Fortunately Silver quickly fixed that, installing draining tubes across her, which caused the venom to be extracted outside of her body and causing it to be crystallized into the purple crystals seen on her left side.

Currently Crystal needs to snap them off about every couple of weeks to clear up the tubes but at least they look cool, and she does have an interesting deal going on with Nekrat & Kelratz for them, both paying her in weapon testing/upgrades, adventuring and sparring partners, Nekrat mistakenly believing that if he collects enough of the crystals, melts them and condenses them he’ll eventually get a highly effective poison (Silver’s already tested it, it won’t, or at least not for like years) and Kelratz just likes ‘em ‘cause they’re shiny.

She also later modified her own body to more match up with her mutated side/punkish look, finishing, and using, a synthetic crystal formula silver had started to make once, to make herself armour and limb modifiers, the crystal actually as strong as her original parts.

She also made herself a prosthetic extra limb in emulation of her ‘natural’ one, to balance out her look as she says.

Silver tends to call Crystal ‘Synth’, a pet name she gave her due to her state as a ‘synthetic’ being. Now, while that may seem insulting to others, to Silver it’s pretty much normal, even nice in her books. Silver is not a bad ‘mom’ in her ways but due to own species natural tendency to science and their genetically modified restrictions on emotions (which Silver actually did not do to Crystal, having never realized that was done due to her usual lack of interest in such. Accounting for her much higher emotional levels than Silver even despite her ‘blue-eyes’ traits, when combined with her teenage levels of hormonal flux) causing for her to see no problems in certain ways she acts, such as her high levels of scientific interest in Crystal’s genetics, pet name, and the fact that she literally has no understanding of what Crystal is going through, having been grown to a fully matured age on her home planet unlike Crystal who’s machine had broken down early.

Personality: Usually kinda grouchy, dramatic, huffy, semi-stereotypical teemager basically.

Loves a good adventure and can actually be pretty friendly, if in a rough way, if she likes you/enjoys your company enough, usually reserved only for those around her age, who’ll agree to adventure/fight with her and/or who’ll listen to her and leave her alone when she asks, such as Tekan, who pretty much covers three of the four, even if it is mainly from his natural tendency to listen to most given (and reasonable in his mind) ‘directives’.

Due to her mutations she can be quite aggressive, especially when fighting/rough-housing, which she loves, acting much more animalistically, growling, hissing, using her additional limbs quite a bit more than usual.

Other attributes: Usually fights with dual-wields, using either a sword-upside down sword combo or a sword-gun combo

Crystal armour and carapace are the same strength as average armour.

She’s quite a bit more flexible than most M-M’s, utilizing that skill in her adventures quite a bit.

=============

Toa-Shifter

Here you go mate! Told you she was semi-inspired by your kid M-M mocs!

I would've possibly increased her lower leg length (clear and lime parts) and given her matching fingers for each side if I could've, possibly orange, black or light blue for her right side and probably lime or purple/closest for her left hand.

But, unfortunately I don't currently have the pieces.

Update: Woops! forgot about this! (Also for my own reminder if I use her in comics)

She speaks in a turquoise (64-224-208) coloured version of this font:

www.ffonts.net/Venomous.font

[genogenocrazycatman]

Stillwater - Chapter 7

Stillwater [Archive of Our Own, FanFiction.Net, Mibba]

Characters: Original Female Character, Monkey D. Luffy, Rorona Zoro, Vinsmoke Sanji, Nami, Usopp, Tony Tony Chopper, Nefeltari Vivi

***

"We build as only children know to build

We made a way where there's a will

No slowing down or standing still

Innocent and reckless

"How did we get so old and never notice

How did we gain the world and lose the moment

Rise and fall, the tide surrounds us

And drowns us all"

-Hands Like Houses

***

Little Garden was a whole lot harsher than it looked like from the sea. It was hot and humid. The jungle was dense, so much so that your visibility was only about ten feet. In addition, its name betrayed its nature.

So far, nothing about this island had been little. The trees and other plants were fully grown, leaves and branches spread as far as they could mange in the dense jungle, taking over other plants.

The air here was purer. Well maybe not purer exactly. There were volcanoes pumping smoke and ash into the air, but the oxygen levels were higher. I could feel it every time I took a breath. It felt like the island that my father resided on and I knew for a fact that the air there had a higher concentration of oxygen.

That explained why the bugs were so large. A dragon fly had flown over the Merry. It had to be at least a foot and a half in length, and its wings spanned over two feet. Nami and Usopp had screamed, while I had looked on in awe. Bugs hadn’t been that big, since the days of the dinosaur, way before my time.

That caused me to take a closer look at the plants. They were tropical plants, most of which had been a around for millions of years. I couldn’t be positive. I wasn’t close enough to get a good look, but I could’ve sworn that some of them shouldn’t have been there, having gone extinct. They sure looked like the plants, I had read about in my lessons with my aunt, Persie, and Cal.

As we sailed inland, a massive rodent that resembled a capybara stood at the edge of the tributary river, drinking from the banks. It was a strangely peaceful scene. That is until a monstrous saber-toothed cat pounced on it from out of the jungle, sinking its lengthy canines into the rodent and wrenching its neck. Once the creature was dead, the feline dragged the carcass back into the depths of the jungle.

It was amazing really.

Of course, what was amazing to me was absolutely terrifying to Nami and Usopp who were convinced that the island was going to be the death of us all.

I shook my head. For as smart and as innovated as those two were, they were just as cowardly it seemed. I had figured that they were both fairly easily frightened, having seen their behavior during the storm, but they had managed to deal with that fairly well, all things considered. They weren’t cool calm nor collected, but they hadn’t been near tears, jumping or screaming at every little thing, like they were now.

Luffy was practically vibrating with excitement, the new environment and prospect of an adventure fueling his desire to go out and explore.

I wanted to go out as well, to get a better look and confirm some of my suspicions, but opted not to, because of my leg. It wasn’t terribly painful, and I wasn’t too concerned about pulling my stitches. I was pretty sure that I would’ve been fine. Even if I wasn’t, I could always fix them. I was honestly more concerned about my pants. I hadn’t brought much with me, so until I could get the stain out of the pair from the night before and stitch up the hole, I was going to have to work to preserve the clothes I did have.

I settled for hearing all about the island from Luffy and Vivi, who had chosen to accompany him, along with Carue. I was happy to see Vivi taking the time to explore, and enjoy the moment. It wasn’t like she had anything better to do. We were stuck here until the log set.

Zoro had left after that, deciding to take a walk. That plan lasted about all of five seconds, before he and Sanji somehow found themselves in the middle of a pissing match- I’m sorry.  A hunting competition.

That left me with Nami and Usopp. They were too afraid to go out. That was fine with me. This crew attracted trouble. I knew that the others could handle themselves if something went wrong, but it was 50/50 with Usopp and Nami. At least with me around, I knew that they wouldn’t die.

I didn’t want to sit around and do nothing though, so I decided to do an inventory of the ship to see what I could do to help out. That way, when my leg was fully healed I could get to it.

I let Usopp and Nami know. “Hey guys, I’m gonna head below deck and see what needs cleaned and organized down there, start making a list.”

“What?!” the two echoed each other.

“You’re just gonna leave us up here?” Nami cried.

“What if some giant bird tries to take off with us?” Usopp asked.

“What if a lion pounces onto the deck?”

“What if we get surrounded by a bunch of ship eating piranhas?”

I rolled my eyes at how dramatic that they were being. “Oh for goodness sake. I’m below deck, if something tries to kill you scream, and I’ll come up and save you.”

Usopp looked at me skeptically. “What about your leg?”

“It’s fine. I can climb up and down with my arms. If I need any help, I’ll holler.”

“You’ll holler, but what if…” I tuned the two out, heading inside to start my work. I started with the kitchen/helm. I had honestly meant to make a list at the start, but as I was writing things down, I realized I could just do them. After all, the pain in my leg wasn’t that bad. As long I didn’t pull my stitches I would be fine.

The crew had a fairly decent stock of cleaning supplies. I went to work. I tidied up everyone’s things, dusted, polished furniture, disinfected the surfaces that needed it. I found comfort in the task. Everyone in my house shared chores, but cleaning tended to fall on me the most. I wasn’t bothered by the mess, but Cal was. With everything she had done for me, I felt that the least I could do was make sure that the house was in order.

I finished up the helm and headed to the bathroom. It was fairly clean, but only because Nami made sure it was, and she only did that because she also used it. I sanitized all of the surfaces, threw any dirty towels into the hamper to be laundered, sorted through the various toiletries just strewn about. As I worked, I kept note of what needed restocked.

I gave the cannon deck/anchor room similar treatment. I went through all of our, weapons, munitions and equipment tucked away in there, keeping an inventory and making a shopping list, before heading to the bedrooms.

The room I shared with Nami and now Vivi wasn’t so bad, because again Nami cleaned, and I made it a point to keep things neat. It looked better once I was done, but it hadn’t been too drastic of a transformation.

The boys’ room on the other hand was like night and day. I had raised boys before. I knew how they were, and the state of their room didn’t surprise me. After all there were four teenagers living in it. I would’ve been more concerned if it didn’t look like a war zone.

I gathered up all the laundry, picked up everyone’s belongings, which were scattered about. I tried to put them back in their places, but ended up giving many of them new homes, when I couldn’t figure out where they went. I mopped the floors, dusted, and polished furniture.

I was extremely proud of myself, when I looked around the finished room.

By that point, I was really starting to feel the ache in my leg, so I took a break. I returned up to the deck, but Usopp and Nami were no longer there. I found them in the girls’ room. Nami was tossing books off the shelf over her shoulder, Usopp behind her dodging them.

“Nami, what are you doing? You’re gonna hit me,” Usopp whined.

“I just cleaned in here,” I said from the doorway.

“I’ll put them back, when I’m done,” she said. “I could’ve sworn I read something about this place before.”

A mysterious island with lots of crazy creatures and plants sounded like the basis of a number of fairytales to me, but I let her go, deciding that it was time to finally sit down. I headed up to the deck, grabbing myself a glass of water and dragging out one of the chairs with me, so that I could relax in the sun.

I flopped onto the lounge chair and stretched my legs out in front of me. I leaned back, folding my hands under my head.

I wanted to power wash the deck, but didn’t want to waste our fresh water. We weren’t far enough up the tributary for the water to be pure. Here the river was tainted by the salty sea, making it absolutely useless to me at the moment.

I couldn’t say that it was quiet, but the sounds of the jungle seemed to lull me towards sleep rather than keep it from me. A mid day nap seemed like a pretty solid idea. Plus, it would probably help my leg loads. I settled further into my chair and closed my eyes.

My peace didn’t last long. It took less than ten minutes for Usopp to scramble out on to the deck, worriedly pacing and muttering about the dangers that lurked past the river’s banks.

“Are you looking for something to be afraid of?” I asked, cracking an eye open to look at Usopp, who was staring into the woods intently. “Why don’t you just hide inside until we leave? I can practically feel you shaking from here.”

“THE GREAT CAPTAIN USOPP NEVER HIDES!” he declared loudly, his shaking limbs and quivering voice giving away him away.

A bird flew above the Merry, letting out a terrified cry as a much larger bird chased after it. Usopp whimpered and darted behind my chair.

“Uh huh. Never.” I tried not to chuckle. There was no need to insult the kid. I patted his head, affectionately. “Relax, I’m not gonna let anything get you.”

My amusement was cut short, when I felt the water in my glass begin to move. I stared down at the glass. Normally, I would attribute the effect to the movement of the ship, but this was different. It was rhythmic. With each pulse the water was a little more active.

“Mira?” Usopp asked, looking between the glass and I.

“Something’s coming,” I said, standing up.

“What?!”

I hushed Usopp, before he could start panicking, heading over to the railing.

Nami ran on out deck, book in hand. “Guys this is bad, really bad!”

“No, it’s big,” I corrected, realizing the pattern was that of footsteps. “Really big.”

The tremors got stronger, shaking the land and the water we were in. I could hear the trees falling in the distance, branched cracking, leaves rustling, and the thump of trunks hitting the soft earth.

Something that powerful and that large would be visible soon.

I prepared myself for a fight, just in case. I didn’t have the advantage of freshwater, so I was gonna have to rely on strength and skill if it came to a fight. Durability if it got bad.

“Either be ready to get the Merry out of here, or be ready to run,” I warned the two.

It was pointless. They were frozen in fear, whimpering, eyes full of tears that just waiting for the right incentive to brim over.

The trees cleared, revealing none other than a giant.

Usopp and Nami screamed bloody murder, while I relaxed a bit. I was still wary of our visitor, never having met him before, but at least it wasn’t some mindless killing machine.

The giant let out a loud laugh. “Gababababababa! Why hello there,” he greeted, smiling down at us. “I thought I saw a ship come in. Any chance you guys have alcohol? I drank all mine.”

I allowed my tense muscles to loosen. “Hi,” I returned his greeting. “We do, but it’s the crap for cleaning and cooking. I’m sure, you could probably stomach it, but it’s not all that great. You’re welcome to it, if you’d like.”

“Good thinking, Mira. Give him what he wants and maybe he won’t eat us,” Usopp whispered in my ear.

I had forgotten how little humans really knew about creatures other than themselves. They dismissed truths as myths and accepted myths as fact. Giants were horrible man eating beasts, mermaids were beautiful maidens, and dwarves only went after your socks.

“He’s not going to eat us regardless,” I hissed back at him, not that there weren’t man eating giants out there. There were man eating humans out there too. It was clear that this giant wasn’t after our flesh.

The giant cried out in pain. The sudden shout startled me. It terrified the other two.

The giant turned to glare at a t-rex, which had bitten his back.

“That is… a surprise,” I said, looking at the reptile. I don’t know why I was so surprised. If the plants were anything to go buy, the existence of a dinosaur should’ve been a very real possibility in my brain.

The giant pulled out his weapon, an axe fit for a man of his size, slicing the head clean off the animal.

Usopp and Nami were huddled together, bawling their eyes out. “Will you two stop it?” I snapped. Their behavior was ridiculous and insulting.

The giant lifted the head of the creature, raising it high in the air. “I’m Broggy. Elbaf’s strongest warrior, the invincible!”

‘Just like I thought.’ “I’m Zale Mira Kai,” I introduced myself. “These two crybabies are Nami and Usopp.”

“Now I have dinner, and you three are invited as my guests.”

Nami and Usopp fell back onto the deck. They held perfectly still. I could hear that they were whispering to one another but couldn’t make out what they were saying.

“I’m sorry,” I apologized, creating a mental reminder to smack them later. Clearly they weren’t going to calm down any time soon. “My friends have never seen a giant before. It’s seems that they’re a bit overwhelmed. We would love to, but I’m in no shape to carry them. I’m still recovering from a bullet wound, and I can’t just leave them here alone.”

“No worries, little lady. I’ll gladly carry both you and your friends. I’m sure some food and drink will help break the ice.”

I glanced at the pair on the deck, deciding that if they would come around eventually. Broggy was nice enough, and now that I knew giants resided on this island I was a lot more curious.

“Sure. Let me go grab that alcohol for you.”

I headed down and grabbed a barrel of alcohol. There were other things we could use as a disinfectant until then. I hoisted it up on my shoulder, returning the deck.

Broggy took the barrel from me, tucking into a pouch he had been carrying. He grabbed the tail of the dinosaur with one hand and scooped the other two into the palm of the opposite hand. He set it down on the deck, so that I could get on.

It had been decades, since I had been carried around by a giant. The thrill was the same as it had been. Being up that high was like nothing else. There was just so much to see, to take in. There were volcanoes and dinosaurs and weird looking rock formation that looked like bone. It was beautiful. I would say that it was ironic considering how dangerous the island was proving to be, but that tended to be the case. The most beautiful things in life were usually the most dangerous.

I glanced at Usopp and Nami. They still hadn’t moved. Unsure of what their plan was, I decided not to bother them. Again, they would come around.

“This is gorgeous.”

Broggy laughed once more. “I guess it is a lot different to someone tiny like you. So Kai was it?

“Yep, but I prefer Mira.”

“Mira. Pretty name. You know there’s legend of a sea witch of that name?” he teased.

I chuckled, ignoring the way my heart seemed to stop beating. “No, I haven’t heard that one before.”

“Just a story I heard years ago, they say she was stranded on an island all by her lonesome and that she sinks the ships of anyone, who sails to close stranding them there with her.”

“Interesting. Well let me assure you that I am no witch, just a pirate.”

“A pirate? I guess that explains the wound.”

“I got a little distracted.”

“Rookie mistake.”

I nodded. “Yeah, but if you knew my crew, you’d get how easy it is to become distracted.”

Broggy was a very upbeat individual. He hummed and sang as he walked back to his camp, pointing things out to me as we passed and answering my questions about the island. Apparently, Little Garden was so isolated that it just stopped evolving, which was why it was still stuck in the dinosaur days.

Once, we got to his camp, he set Usopp and Nami down on a bed of hay, and me on a large stone, so that I could continue our conversation, while he broke the dinosaur down and roasted it.

“I think you’re the first human that I’ve ever met, who hasn’t been surprised by a giant,” he said, sitting down and turning the meat.

Human.  If he only knew.

“Actually, I’ve met a few giants in my life. Some lived on the same island as me. Other’s just passed through as part of pirate crews.”

“You don’t say. Where are you from?”

“There’s no translation of it for me to give you.”

“Oh well then.”

“How’d you end up a pirate?”

“I ended up in the East Blue and needed a lift back. Luffy, my captain, offered me a spot on the crew, said he’d take me home after we’d sailed the Grand Line. I’m the newest member, though we do have a guest at the moment.”

“The other two are on your crew as well?”

“Yeah, they-“I stopped, having glanced over Broggy’s shoulder to check on them. “-Are missing. Damn it,” I swore.

A pair of terrified screams came from the jungle nearby.

“They’re easy to find,” I said, moving to stand.

“Sit. I’ll get them,” Broggy offered.

“Thank you.”

He returned with the two cowards in tow, sitting them on a log that I had brought over for a bench and dropping a large piece of meat in front of the three of us.

“Mira, you’re alive!” Usopp had cried, when he saw me sitting there.

“I was never in danger of losing my life. You two are just obnoxious, and even if I was in danger, you just left me. Next time I might let whatever’s after you have you.”

“You told us you weren’t going to let anything get us. He got us,” Nami snapped.

“We were invited to dinner, and I accepted on your behalf. No one took you. I agreed in your proxy.”

“Go on. Eat hearty my friends. It tastes delicious.”

We were further up the river, the water here fresh. I pulled it over, through the flames, until it boiled and then used it to slice off, three pieces of meat.

“I think I’ve lost my appetite,” Nami said, sounded dejected.

“Don’t be shy now. Dig in.”

I took a bite and was surprise by how good it was. Sanji would definitely have had fun with this. I thought about him and Zoro, wondering how their hunting was going. I had no clue, where Sanji was, but I could very faintly feel, Sandai Kitetsu. I could feel Luffy as well. He must’ve been a good ways away, because it wasn’t as strong as usual.

I couldn’t pin point either of them, but knew their general vicinity.

It would probably be handy if I could feel them better, but it had been so long since I opened up to that. I didn’t even know if I could. I had spent long closing off my mind to the world around me, its energy, I didn’t even know if I could open it back up again. I didn’t know if I wanted to. I had spent so long created that dam in my head, just to stay sane. The idea of loosening that hold was terrifying.

“Mira,” Broggy said, catching my attention.

“I’m sorry. I spaced out. What?”

“Do you like it?”

“It’s really good.” I emphasized my statement by taking another bite. “It’s sweet. I didn’t see you put anything on it.”

“Nope. Natural sweetness.”

Usopp and Nami were still crying.

“For the love of- He’s not going to eat you,” I said, sternly. “Now, quit your crying, pick up your dinner and thank Broggy for such a nice meal.”

“Eat you?”  Broggy asked, before laughing. “I’m not going to eat you.”

“See. I pushed food into their hands. Eat.”

Both looked between each other, and then bit into their food.

“Sorry about them. Like I said. They’ve never met a giant before.”

“Like you have,” Usopp scoffed.

“A few of them,” I elaborated, taking another bite. “Enough to know that the whole, giants are man eating barbarian things is a stereotype, spread through ignorance and pure stupidity.”

Usopp and Nami winced at my sharp words.

“Not to say there aren’t some bad ones out there, but not all of them.”

The two cowards looked ashamed.

“Apologize.”

“We’re sorry, Mr. Broggy,” they chorused.

“And?”

“Thank you for the meal.”

I grinned, satisfied.

“No problem, young lady, young sir.”

Nami and Usopp were still nervous, but that was to be expected. After all this was a giant. He could easily kill them. They didn’t know him. They had settled considerably, which was enough for me.

“Mr. Broggy, sir? Can I ask you something?” Nami asked.

“Sure, what’s on your mind, young lady?”

“How long will it take until the log resets?”

“One whole year,” Broggy answered.

I cringed. Nami and Usopp both fell over backwards in shock.

“Yeah… That’s… Bad.” We didn’t have a year. Alabasta’s people could go to war any day now. Not only that a year on this island was sure to completely fry Usopp and Nami’s nerves, and by extension mine.

“A BIT OF AN UNDERSTATEMENT DON’T YOU THINK?!” Nami yelled at me. “WE’RE GOING TO DIE HERE!”

I forced her to sit back down. “Screaming about it doesn’t help the situation.” I looked up at Broggy. “Do you have-“

I was cut off by the eruption of a volcano.

Broggy rose to his feet, throwing the remainder of his meat in the fire. He features shifted. The easy going smile replaced by fierce determination.

“Broggy?”

“Please forgive me, but there is something that I must attend to.

“What? You’re leaving?”

“No choice. That’s the signal my opponent and I use to mark the beginning of our fight,” he explained. I had earlier inquired as to why he was on the island, so I knew the story, but to the others, it really didn’t explain anything, leading to more questions than answers.

“A fight?”

“With who? Where? And more importantly why?” Usopp asked.

“Why? I don’t remember.”

I laughed with Broggy. Oh what time does to the memory.

“Why are you laughing?” Nami snapped at you.

“I don’t remember,” I said, cracking myself up further, Broggy seeming to also find my joke funny.

“You’re a funny girl, Mira. I look forward to finishing our meal, when I return.”

“Confidence is good, but don’t get too cocky.”

“My opponent and I have been fighting for over a hundred years. I am aware of and respect his skill.” With that, he charged into the jungle towards his opponent, another giant, who had risen from his hiding place.

“A hundred years?!”

“Giants’ lifespans are three times that of humans,” I explained. “A hundred years doesn’t mean much to them. The giants of Elbaf believe that their god chooses, who wins and who loses. A loss means that they have fallen out of their god’s favor. In this case they’re fighting to see, who their god deems worthy enough to return to their home land.”

“Still a fight to the death? Why doesn’t one of them just go somewhere else? Surely someone could lose without dying.”

“Death before dishonor,” I said, watching the two behemoths go at it. The force of their blows sent shockwaves through the air, pushing us away from the epicenter of the fight. Their steps rocked the island to its core, shaking the dirt beneath our feet.  Trees were torn from the ground like nothing.

A fight between giants. I had heard stories of their epic battles, but had never gotten to experience one for myself. It was a sight to behold.

“What an incredible fight! Every one of those attacks is aimed at a vital spot, just one slip from either of them and that’s it, they’re dead.”

I nodded in agreement. It was clear that these two knew each other well. That was expected after a hundred years. Each move was precise and deliberate. There was no wasted motion, no wasted effort.

“You’d think this would get old,” Nami said. “This is a good thing. This is our chance to get away.”

“You’re not still convinced he’s going to eat you are you?” I asked.

“You may trust him, but I’m not taking my chances.”

‘Ridiculous,’ I thought, turning to watch the giants again.

Unlike Nami, who was walking away from the camp, Usopp was frozen in place. I thought he was scared at first. I was fully prepared to defend Broggy once more, but then I saw his face. He wasn’t afraid, he was in awe. His eyes were wide, his jaw practically dragging on the floor.

“Usopp!” Nami called, when she realized that he wasn’t following.

“Amazing. They fight so seriously, and they don’t even know why.”

“This fight is getting annoying,” Nami whined.

“Don’t you see?” Usopp asked. “This is an example of a real battle, between real men.”

“Say what?”

“Maybe an analogy will help. It’s as if they each planted a flag in their hearts that says ‘I am a warrior.’ This flag is more important than anything, more than their lives even. They will never allow the flag to be destroyed by someone else. That’s why they’ve both continued this fight for a hundred years. Do you see it now? This is a proud duel, a legendary fight between two dedicated warriors!”

“Yeah. Whatever. That warrior stuff doesn’t really interest me in the slightest,” Nami said, dismissively.

“That’s because you can’t put a price tag on honor,” I shot.

She ignored me. “You coming?”

“No. I’m still watching this. This is my ultimate goal, this right here, to be a brave warrior, like each of these titans. Really though one day, I’ll be a proud warrior of the sea.”

I smiled at Usopp. “A proud warrior of the sea, a perfect companion for the king of the pirates.”

“So what you’re saying is you want to be a giant?”

I snorted at Nami’s interpretation. Usopp stomped over to her, yelling about her missing the point, before returning his attention to the fight.

The pair both managed to disarm each other, leaving them with only their shields and fists to fight with. They each went for a finishing blow, the punches landing at the same time, knocking them both down.

Broggy returned from his battle, battered and bloody, but alive.

Usopp began to fawn over the giant, as soon as he was near, explaining his admiration and ambition to Broggy. Broggy was surprised by Usopp at first, but seemed to accept his new found title as master well.

I idly wondered what Luffy and Vivi were doing. According to Broggy, they had befriended the other giant, Dorry. Luffy was probably just as enthralled with the epic nature of their battle of Usopp was.

The volcano they used as a signal erupted once more. “Well, there’s the signal. It’s really been active today.”

“You’re really going? But your wounds from the last battle haven’t healed.”

“Please,” Broggy scoffed. “Dorry can’t be doing any better than me. A few scratches won’t take me out of a duel. That surely would be a poor excuse for a brave warrior.”

It was a fair point.

“I guess so,” Usopp conceded.

“Alright then.”

“Now, Master Broggy, go and show this guy!” Usopp cheered.

“You bet, Usopp! I’m gonna beat him for sure this time. He hasn’t got a chance.”

“Go get him, you great warrior of Elbaf! The mighty Broggy always defeats his opponent! You can do it Broggy! You’re the mightiest warrior in the world! You can destroy him any day! Go Broggy!”

“Why does he continue this pointless fight?” Nami asked.

Usopp turned and exploded on her.

Nami was unfazed. “Well now we can get back to the ship. Waiting for a year. No freaking’ way it’s completely unacceptable. We need to get everyone on the ship and come up with a plan.”

I was in agreement as much as I wanted to watch this play out, we didn’t have time. There was never going to be a clear victor. They were too evenly matched. Plus, we had to make sure that the others were alright, and figure out how we were going to get to Alabasta.

“Now hold on a second. I for one don’t think that we stand a chance against dinosaurs. Cutting through the jungle to get back to the Merry won’t so us much good if we get killed on the way, will it?”

“Such bravado from our brave warrior of the sea, afraid of a big lizard,” I teased, standing up.

“I said that come day I’ll be a brave warrior of the sea. Besides even a brave warrior has to have enough sense not to get himself killed. Mira, Nami, listen. Even if I should lose everything someday and have to face a horribly tragic death, along on a deserted island, I will proudly say this about how I have lived, “I am Captain Usopp and know that I have been a great brave warrior of the sea!””

Usopp hit the ground with a hard thud, his fear causing him to go stiff as a board.

“Yeah. Yeah. For now can you just settle for being a dependable warrior?” Nami asked, dragging him by his satchel.

“Yeah. Let’s go.”

I shook my head, following the two. “Well then I guess I’ll be on dinosaur duty. I expect you to return the favor, when you’re a brave warrior of the sea.”

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Notes:

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