A/N: To all the returning and new readers I greatly appreciate the support for part one. This was the story I wanted to tell from day one but I felt I needed the events from the first part to be able to do that. Its always great when your fully able to flesh out written notes and ideas you've had since the beginning. As always enjoy the reading
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Kaido's endless armies stood on the beaches of Wano taunting the Regime vessels out on the open sea. The shoreline cannon fire had pushed the enemy vessels off the coast forcing them in the deeper recesses of the gulf. The loud obscene insults hurled by Kaido's army came to an abrupt end seeing a ship larger than they ever thought possible weaving through the line of parting ally vessels.
Since taking over the world's steel supply the Regime were able to allocate more than enough to build the grandest warship in history. The first ever recorded dreadnought was at least six times larger than Grand Mama Chanter and far more expansive. Every square foot was covered in artillery, canons, and soldiers making it the deadliest warship ever invented. Smaller Regime vessels were released out of the hull reinforcing the already impressive fleet of ships approaching the Wano bay.
Kaido's forces quickly scurried to their respective battle stations unsure of exactly what they were seeing as the dreadnought sailed it's way toward the shoreline. A loud foghorn rang vibrating the beach indicating a deadly warning. The soldiers barley had time to contemplate a countermeasure before a large white laser beam incinerated nearly half their forces and canon balls slammed into black sand throwing body parts and carnage everywhere quickly decimating the troops' line of defense.
When the proposition came to the council the moment they declared war on the old world yonko, they unanimously approved the construction of a warship capable of leveling an entire country at maximum capacity. In the history of the world there were ships known to incapacitate some large islands but never entire countries. The Regime's dreadnought was the first of it's kind exemplifying the enlightenment and industrialist age that the Regime sought to bring to the people; gone was the fading way of the old.
Now the second golden age was officially born ushering in a new era of the Regime's dominant influence over the world in every facet of daily life. After taking over the possessions of the wealthiest people in the world two years ago; the Regime had unlimited access to every major resource in the world including control of the media—the people would always be on their side.
The high councilor and his brother Sabo stepped onto the front bridge of the ship witnessing the enemy soldiers scurry like ants desperately trying to escape their sealed fates. War was never simplified; the Regime battled for two long years using every resource in their power to take down the great emperor Kaido along with his highly skilled zoan fruit soldiers.
The great ancient weapons stifled Kaido's naval and marine ground forces neutralizing his advances and any attempts to flee from the land of Wano—Luffy was determined to fulfill his promise to return Momonosuke's homeland to the fallen Kozuki Clan and free the remaining country from it's long sustained tyranny; While also fulfilling Shirahoshi's dream of reintegration into the surface world making Fishman Island rise to true prominence again leaving it's isolationist views to die in the past.
"What do suggest brother?" Sabo asked seeing the majority of Kaido's forces slaughtered by their militiamen's might. It appeared the mere presence of the fearsome battleship struck fear into the enemies making them vulnerable and susceptible to the ground forces' unmerciful assaults.
"I'll take my squadron and storm their retreating forces, we have to end this before this goes on any longer." Luffy spoke trying to clear his muddled thoughts, he needed to find Kaido and fast.
"Alright then we should be fine here Shirahoshi and Momonosuke are guarding the coastlines with our soldiers, that bastard nor his army are leaving the country." Sabo exclaimed earning an approving nod and a pat on the shoulder from his brother. Luffy couldn't help but appreciate the unyielding faith his brother put him after two years of wartime under his belt.
"Any news on Katakuri? The others?" He asked lighting a cigar watching the regime troops drag Kaido's captured prisoners of war through the mud throwing them in the hulls of their large tanker vessels.
"Yeah, word is he, Borsalino, and Marco took out Kaido's one and two; Jack the Drought and X Drake, are both dead." Sabo said evenly smoking from his own cigar.
"Good then I don't have time to waste. You and Ace did great brother, wait for me, I'm ending this now." Luffy spoke heading toward the door. He trusted Sabo to take care of the rest of the responsibilities, he was just as if not more capable of a leader than himself.
"See you when it's over." Sabo said with a nod watching his brother leap over the railing flying toward the shoreline of Wano.
XXX
The high councilor rallied his elite squadrons pushing the allied majority forces back toward the Regime dreadnought's position to rejoin with the frontline armies off the eastern coast. Zunisha, the sea kings, along with his emperors had successfully taken out the bulk of Kaido's ground soldiers, navy fleet, and beast generals causing the remaining army to gather in the central fortress. Two years of scouting, cold war tactics, and bloody battles led to this final all out confrontation—one more to go before he would finally be able to reach the invincible beast.
Luffy's personal military stepped out of the forest lines standing a few hundred feet from Kaido's forces; the beast army greatly outnumbered his militia. This is exactly what he wanted, the army behind him trained for a year to specifically battle these zoan type enemies. It would be a waste to send young soldiers to their deaths pitting them against the strongest army he'd ever encountered, Big Mom's forces couldn't hold a candle to Kaido's.
The leader of the Regime stood alone in the middle of the battlefield waiting for Kaido's army to make the first move. The war horns echoed across the massive clearing; Kaido's army charged furiously coming straight for him. He could take them out with his powers but he needed to conserve his strength to battle the immortal beast.
Cerulean and black flames consumed his right arm metamorphosing into a blade resembling a lengthy scimitar sword watching the hundreds of soldiers angrily charge him. Luffy couldn't be happier, he was finally going to put an end to this two year long war.
The moment he raised his arm to strike the first soldier his army crashed into the enemies, the force of the impact impaired his hearing for a few moments. Horses and bodies flew everywhere from the shear velocity of their collision creating instant chaos. Warriors from both sides fell instantly, wether from horse riders' spears, archers' arrows, broadswords, or flintlock pistols the brutal battle raged on.
Luffy had an extreme advantage using his supreme observational haki to declare enemies' intentional movements before they decided to make them. He slashed a few horseman trying to decapitate him with their swords. Sensing a transformed zoan user in the form of a kinnaras (half-man, half-horse) charge from behind, Luffy spun around ducking under the blade slicing the top human half from the horse bottom. Not willing to leave the enemy alive he stabbed the barley conscious zoan soldier in the throat finishing him off.
Luffy dug his fiery blade into a human soldiers gut that attempted to run him through tossing him aside before swiftly crouching covering his head to avoid a parade of fiery arrows. The high councilor wasted no time continuing his immense slaughtering of enemies cutting a man cleanly in half to save one of his comrades. He and one of the allied commanders battled in flawless tandem killing a group of warriors surrounding them effortlessly.
"It worked!" Luffy shouted loudly grabbing the man by the collar giving the commander praise for his earlier suggestion about drawing the enemies out first; not more than a moment later the commander had an arrow shot through his head dropping to the ground. Luffy could only blankly stare at the lifeless body of his brightest commander. How much of a fool he must've been years ago when he declared no one would die after not suffering a casualty after the battle for Totto Land—everyone dies, eventually.
The Kaido warriors showed extreme fatigue, the high councilor could see it in their eyes, could feel it in the weak swing of their blades. He sliced a few remaining soldiers in the area managing to jump out of the way of a rampant horse as it trampled an enemy before he picked the struggling solider up running his fiery blade into their chest letting out a thunderous war cry.
The corpses on the battlefield literally piled on top of each other creating mountains of dead bodies for soldiers to continue their battles. On cue a loud roar caught everyone's attention, the few remaining soldiers on both sides began to retreat watching Kaido emerge from the clouds in his massive dragon form before dropping to the earth with a massive crash. The immortal beast upon arrival transformed to his original state beginning to club his own forces in a fit of rage over the major losses suffered. Luffy ordered the remaining squadrons to retreat back to shoreline and imprison the surrendering enemies, their fight was over and now it was time for his to truly begin.
Kaido had finally emerged after nearly three years of hiding. Once this was over the major wars would come to end, he would've restored the entirety of the world back to the people in the name of his Regime. Luffy let out an enraged yell echoing across the land of Wano upon seeing the cause of his pain settle before his eyes. The horns protruded from his forehead as his dragon form emerged. Despite growing to seven feet in height most of his human body remained intact the jet black dragon appendages stopped at his forearms and knees. The twenty two foot wingspan emerged from his back completing the transformation of the cosmic devil fruit he consumed years ago on the Thousand Sunny.
"So you've returned to finish me? Only one of us will live high councilor, even after all this time you're no king. Instead of sending you to prison to become my subordinate I should've bashed your empty little head against a fucking rock." Kaido spoke preparing the spiked club in his hand with haki to strike his opponent down in a single blow.
"Not killing me then will prove to be your worst mistake, I'm far more powerful than the man you faced the last time, I will kill you." Luffy stated placing his hands together then rapidly pulling them apart to reveal a cerulean and black hellfire lance.
"No matter what new tricks you've learned it still wont be enough to kill me." The immortal beast barked unleashing the true power he'd held back until he and four other supernovas attempted to take his life. Kaido's giant wings pierced from his shoulders blades spreading out to take up most of Luffy's field of vision. The trees on the outsides of the clearing threatened to tumble over the force of the flapping wings.
Luffy twirled the hellfire lance between his fingers letting the reserved power he held back for the past two years flow through his veins. He didn't back down an inch when Kaido charged aiming the fearsome kanabo at his head attempting to kill him in a single blow.
The high councilor's lance met the eternal beast's kanabo engulfing the combatants in a tornado of haki tearing the trees down on the outskirts of the field, breaking the ground beneath their feet causing a large crater to appear; the two fierce enemies' blows tore the very fabric of reality of existence, warping the air around them.
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The Regime emperors gathered around the war table conversing over the prisoners of war and restoration of Wano before suddenly bursting to the outer deck adjacent to the bridge staring at the sky. They couldn't see the fight but they could damn well feel it echoing through their bones.
"So it's begun..." Katakuri spoke crossing his arms, this was a battle unlike he'd ever felt before, he doubted his presence would be of any help at this point.
The rest of the emperors including Dragon, Raleigh, Kuma sat pondering in silence, sensing the battle between Kaido and their leader.
"Don't worry Dragon, the few months of training I put him through before we started all this will see him through." Raleigh stated sensing the father's worry.
"Brother..." Sabo said keeping his eyes shut clutching onto the railing until his knuckles ran white—this was an all or nothing battle to the death, if Luffy fell then they might as well all have.
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Momonosuke sat at the head of Zunisha off the coast of the far west coast telepathically listening to the gargantuan elephant's distressed tone about the devastating battle.
"Luffy..." He said standing to his feet staring out into the distance feeling the extraordinary powers shake the earth to it's core.
The samurai and ninja furrowed their brows sitting in a circle trying to sense every movement of the two titans wrecking havoc among the world.
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Shirahoshi gasped below the surface of the rough undersea currents of the north Wano coast staying close to the sea kings.
"It's that boy from before who could hear the voice of all things, he's engaged the immortal beast himself." One of the sea kings spoke.
"He has no chance to beat that thing! He's doomed!" Another one snapped.
The queen of Fishman Island closed her eyes ignoring the bickering sea kings to focus on the battle. Although she didn't have a preference, she knew her mother's dream would not come to fruition if Luffy lost, she could only pray he pulled through.
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Every country and region across the globe were effected by the fearsome clash: The Blue Sea countries, the Goa Kingdom, Dressrosa, Water Seven, Alabasta, Gran Carina, Drum Island, Weatheria, Totto Land, Sky Island, Thriller Bark, the land of Elbaf, Sabaody Archipelago, Fishman Island, and the World Capital City, all felt the ramifications of the battle between high councilor Luffy and the immortal beast Kaido.
The people of the world gathered outdoors looking toward the sky feeling an unusual gust of wind blow through the air; unlike a sea breeze it was warm rather than cold. Electricity crackled through the atmosphere causing ordinary people to wonder what the hell could've been going on. Everyone knew the Regime were at war but none of them were expecting this kind rare phenomenon to come upon them at this time.
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Ace's eyes widened and his mouth hung slightly agape witnessing the titanic clash before his eyes. The power radiated off their bodies decorating the sky and shaking the ground beneath their feet surely to be felt across the world. Despite his existence not being quite his own as a resurrected semi-spirit he couldn't help feel the remnants of shivers along his body. He'd never seen such power in a single battle before, if he'd been in his mortal body, he would've been disintegrated awhile ago lingering this close.
Luffy's feet crashed into the ground causing him to sink further into the crater staring up at an amused Kaido. "Is this truly how far you've come? You disappoint me once again Monkey D. Luffy, I'm going to kill you once and for all." The cracking of yellow lightning charged on the sea prism spiked club prepping it to deal a lethal blow.
Kaido charged at unbelievable speed aiming kanabo directly for the crown of Luffy's skull. The high councilor charged his right fist in spectacular chaotic flames letting the newly acquired supreme armament haki encapsulate his arm.
Luffy leapt out of the crater meeting the beast head on, "Hellfire Hawk!" The magnificent flames met the electrified kanabo, the fearsome clash could be heard for hundreds of miles all around. A split second later Kaido's eyes widened in a mix of utter shock and surprise seeing his beloved club shatter into a million splinters.
When the pair landed back on the ground Kaido regained his composure tossing the wooden handle of the broken weapon aside, "that was sheer luck boy, your death is inevitable." Purple haki surrounded the former emperor's body sending our furious winds across the torn battlefield now a barren wasteland.
The high councilor ignored the beast shutting his eyes remembering wise words from Raleigh the moment he began his brief few months of training before the war officially started. There'd been a specific reason why he didn't use his reserves of power until this very moment—it was time to awaken his true devil fruit zoan ability.
Kaido's brows arched up before he shielded his vision feeling an even more powerful gust of wind send him back a few meters. "W-what is this power?!" He growled peaking at the cerulean and black flames chaotically dancing a few meters of him nearly blinding the beast while threatening to incinerate the nearby landscape. The winds became too powerful as the solid fortress that stood for centuries crumbled from the intense pressure gathering in the area.
A booming roar caused Kaido to take another step back witnessing a cerulean and black scaled dragon emerge from the massive cloud of smoke, the beast nearly rivaled his own form.
"I see," Kaido spoke through gritted teeth tightening his fists causing blood to drip onto the ground, "your pleased that you eliminated my army-that you negated my attacks to a standstill-that you broke my sea prism ladened kanabo, and now you think your my equal because of your newly acquired transformation..."
The only response he received from Luffy's dragon was a booming roar causing the very foundation of Wano country to shake.
He grit his teeth again as his skin threatened to tear apart from his body to prepare for his own transformation. "Don't be so full of yourself...HUMAN!" Kaido's skin shredded apart fully, revealing his monstrous dragon form.
The dragons shared a earth shattering roars before colliding into one another flying high into the atmosphere continuing their titanic sized battle.
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Wano's weather had always been sporadic throughout it's history even before Kaido's mobilization, militarization, and industrialization of the country. The sky began to darken with lightning and thunder clouds decorating the surrounding atmosphere. Everyone in country and the surrounding areas off shore felt the reverberations of the brutal battle between the two dragons.
Deadman Ace shifted through the clouds watching the fearsome clash in stunned silence; the dragons exchanged slashes before Luffy's form viciously bit into Kaido's neck earning a pained roar from the beast dragon. Their forms ascended even higher into the air threatening to push past the atmospheric clouds and risking to limit their oxygen intake.
"Your a fool Monkey D. Luffy," Kaido spoke in his hybrid form, "you are unable to control your form at your own leisure, a foolish gamble that will surely cost you your life." The beast's skin threatened to rip again hearing the high councilor's thunderous war howl.
"It's not too late we could be partners, think of what we would accomplish with our combined strength, don't be a fool!" He yelled in vein as his mythical zoan form reappeared witnessing Luffy's dragon charge at him with opened jaws.
Ace followed the two dragons watching their tangled war of wills exchanging respective flames trying to burn through one another's armor plated skin. The dragons rolled into each other hovering even higher into the sky; the deadman's eyes widened realizing where the fierce combatants were headed.
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Five years of planning had come down to this moment; Enel in all his arrogance of becoming a god stood atop his moon fortress examining the pristine earth. Infiltration spies he sent to the damned planet reported nothing relevant that seemed to please him.
He remembered that name, 'Monkey D. Luffy.' The rubber man who luckily defeated him on sky island forcing him to the place he resided now. Supposedly he'd become the unquestioned leader of the world reigning as a high councilor of sorts. However none of it mattered; despite the state of the world, the owner of the Goro Goro no mi fruit wanted to eliminate the earth's population and rule over it with his loyal moon tribe.
"Sir we have something incoming, two large anomalies threatening to break through the earth's atmosphere." A guard spoke looking through the telescope.
Enel waved him off dismissively, "it's no matter, they will be slaughtered along with the rest—prepare the canon, it's time."
"Sir!" The guard ran off to follow orders leaving Enel to watch the battle on the edge of Earth's atmosphere. An uneasiness crept down his spine sensing an all too familiar presence.
The mammoth canon powered by Enel's devil fruit charged after being calibrated to hit earth directly. The blue lightning ignited the moon in a magnificent glow from miles around. The local tribe huddled together celebrating their inevitable victory.
Enel stepped onto the platform manually guiding and powering the cannon, "prepare to fire." He ordered earning collective nods from his personal assistants.
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Even in his fully transformed zoan ability Luffy felt the vulnerability of needing oxygen and the extreme dangers of being nearly out of the earth's atmosphere. Space was something he wasn't even sure Kaido could survive in, however knowing the beast's attempted suicidal history it'd be fair to say he would take it as a victory if both of them perished—he needed to make his last stand here and now.
"You'll die out here if you linger high councilor, but...I no longer think of you as beneath my level." Kaido stated in his hybrid form letting the sustained injuries show. "One of our times is coming to an end...I have to end you here...just know no matter what attack you have in store it won't be enough to kill me." The immortal beast's haki sprouted from his body creating an intense pressure between the two.
The blue eyed black dragon opened it's jaws revealing a small hellfire meteor growing rapidly by the second. Upon seeing this all the former emperor's haki surrounded his right fist to counterattack; Kaido wasn't the least bit intimated by the mountainous meteor.
"It's not enough!" Kaido yelled charging at the monstrous beast. Luffy's zoan dragon form roared releasing the meteor toward the former emperor letting out cerulean atomic breath behind the attack jetting it forward at a frenetic pace. The moment the combatants released their respective attacks Enel's electrified moon canon shot toward the pair. On instinct Kaido halted the powerful canon fire while clashing with the gigantic meteor holding both at bay.
Enel's eyes widened witnessing the spectacle unfold, he grinned widely knowing it would be a matter of time before the canon's lightning broke through them both incinerating the earth's population.
Kaido grunted from the enormous weight of the two monumental attacks. His fist began to slightly crack the meteor in front of him starting to push it back earning a small smirk from the immortal beast; the high councilor's power was already fading.
Luffy couldn't hold the powerful atomic breath much longer before it finally gave out, the reserves of power had faded faster than he anticipated due to the limited amount of time training it not having fully mastered the zoan form.
'If I fail here...everyone dies...'
'The people of earth...my family...my friends...I can't fail...I made a promise...' His thoughts of his friends and the people that depended on him filled his mind.
All those years ago on the Sunny, the first night after the first retreat he made a promise to protect everyone to her. Before his departure from Paradise she made a promise to find him—he intended to hold steady to those. It didn't matter if he died here, he would perish happily protecting the world he fought so hard to perfect and finally be reunited with his beloved once again.
He could still hear her words spoken on Paradise clear as day, "You're my strength as I am yours."
"You'll never lose your strength Luffy, your the strongest man I know."
"I'll always be with you, here." She said placing a hand over his heart."
Kaido's premature victorious smirk vanished feeling the atomic breath start to push him out farther into the empty vacuum of space. His hold began to slip on the electrified canon blast behind him. "Where is he getting this energy?!" The immortal beast growled unable to stop the backwards momentum gathering.
The high councilor's dragon gave another ear-splitting guttural roar pushing the meteor along with Kaido into the full force of the electrical blast rocketing him toward the canon's origin point. The immortal beast shouted in agony feeling the meteor clamp on his hands and torso while the lightning incinerated his vulnerable back.
Enel's eyes widened seeing the massive meteor approach his moon fortress as he started to shout orders to his helpless followers; the supposed lightning god gave a loud pitiful screech before being crushed by the former yonko's massive back. Kaido coughed out blood feeling his invulnerable skin being pierced for the first time in decades. The canon had managed to pierce through his body trapping him on the surface of the moon. Kaido was relentless however; he held the destructive meteor in his grasp despite it melting the hardened flesh on his hands. He slowly lifted off the canon inching his way off despite ripping his body apart from the exertion.
Luffy's scales began to crack and splinter threatening to shatter as the atomic breath threatened to halt which would give Kaido a chance to recover rendering him helpless; even if he died at this moment he needed to put everything into the final stretch. Just as the immortal beast reached the plateau of the mechanical marvel threatening to escape, Luffy's dragon roared one final time letting a supersonic wave weave through the atomic breath slamming Kaido back onto the bottom of the canon becoming suddenly pinned by the massive hellfire meteor.
Kaido growled feeling the cerulean and black meteor melting his flesh on the front of his body, yet he was still unwilling to die. A moment later the moon crackled letting out an amplified boom exploding into large chunks sending the immortal beast through the shattered moon and on a trajectory toward the Sun.
Kaido's screams became lost in the far reaches of space as the hellfire meteor collided into the sun roughly a hundred million miles away—he truly sent the yonko flying to the end of the universe. Luffy's dragon form remained frozen watching the devastation from afar after losing all the power reserved for the last attack. The armor began to crack threatening to break and he couldn't sustain oxygen without the mythical form.
'Is this...where I'm going to die?' He wondered floating alone on the outer edge of earth's atmosphere watching as meteors from the broken moon fell a few hundred thousand miles toward him. He shut his eyes one last time feeling by some miracle the earth's gravitational pull him back into the outer atmosphere—The moment he entered the familiar air his true zoan form shattered like glass as the high councilor began to free fall back toward the surface.
Luffy's eyes shot open feeling oxygen refill his lungs fully seeing meteor showers of massive moon rocks flooding the sky descending from open space, some heading past earth while others went toward the world's surface. The meteors flew past him at a blazing speed while he continued to rapidly fall, at this rate he would be dead either way wether he hit land or water.
As the high councilor continued descending rapidly he let out a heavy sigh knowing he'd accomplished everything he set out when he first lost everything. It didn't matter if there were a few remaining resurgences of resistance out there in the world. His Regime protected the people and their freedoms while owning everything that was considered a highly valuable asset.
"I finally did it..." he said softly closing his eyes. Even if he wouldn't get a chance to fulfill his ambitions of expansion beyond his world, he would leave it to the next generation to fulfill the purpose—he felt his time was coming to a meaningful end. The last thing he saw was the impressive meteor shower passing over the clear blue sky tearing through the clouds before passing out into oblivion with a small smile gracing his features.
People from every nation around the world stood with their loved ones pointing at the anomalies descending across the sky. They recognized that the moon had been obliterated and the remnants from the dead astronomical body blazed through the atmosphere.
None were more enraptured by the sight then the Regime; the soldiers cheered hugging one another happily letting tears of unadulterated joy fall at the momentous victory of their leader. The dreadnought and other allied vessels shot off fireworks signaling the end of the two year war, it was finally time to return home.
Dragon sat down with a huff placing his hand over his eyes to guard his smiling expression soaking in the victory of his son. The council began pouring drinks willing to begin their long awaited celebration now. Sabo clenched his fists tightly around the railing refusing to relent himself until his brother came back safe. He couldn't take his eyes off the fiery meteors that descended toward the open ocean wondering when Luffy would return.
Luffy felt himself plunge into the freezing sea water slowing descending into the darkened depths. He didn't even resist letting the current pull him farther down letting his feet descend toward the bottom. He couldn't tell if he was hallucinating or not witnessing a gaping hole in the sand beneath his feet open up sucking his body in like a vacuum welcoming him into the darkness.
'I hope I'll see you again in the next life Nami.' Luffy blacked out again not caring what came next letting his mind rest at ease.
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A/N: Hope you all enjoyed the first chapter. I'm just getting started so let me know what you think.
