Black Whirlwind

IX: Scarlet Security

"So, Black Feather is actually the third strongest?" Nami was asking as Ancient Fairy Dragon took them to the skies on its back. "Then, Stardust is..."

"The one with the most potential," Ancient Fairy acknowledged as her large butterfly wings beat on air. "Stardust Dragon... was the one closest to the Dragon Star. Looking at her, flying in the air, scattering light and bringing the promise of salvation..."

"Ah," Robin agreed. "Stardust... is a wonderful sight."

"However, Stardust held a great darkness in her heart as well," Ancient Fairy continued. "This darkness... it threatens to consume us sometimes, but... no one ever thought that Stardust would act on it. We called it the curse of the stars..."

"Curse?" Brook shivered.

"What curse?" Crow asked.

"That is... Stardust would be able to grant any other wishes," Ancient Fairy demurred. "However, it would never be able to grant the wishes of its wielder. Its wielder is doomed to die alone, isolated, and face the darkness without any other help... that is the curse of the stars, the curse of Stardust's masters. They will flicker and shine in the skies brightly, but, come their time quickly, they will fade."

"Fade..." Crow echoed, stumped. "Yusei will... fade..."

"That's impossible!" Nami disagreed fiercely. "Yusei's so... grounded and sensible..."

"And he will put his life on the line to protect his nakama," Robin agreed. "But... he has no Devil Fruit, and despite his monsters, he gets hurt... it is so easy to forget that the Grand Line is a cruel place."

Brook lowered his head. "Ancient Fairy Sama... how long can dragons live?"

"I don't know," the blue dragon answered quietly as they swooped closer to the Isle of Life. "Perhaps... forever. Why?"

"I was thinking," the musician answered. "Perhaps..."

Roronoa Zoro stood, bleeding and injured and still holding all three katana in his unique stance. "Che, you're pretty good," he spoke around Wado Ichimonji.

"You're the same," the Crimson Blader held up his swords. "But, the likes of you are doomed to fail all the same. It is a valiant effort; I don't think I've faced such a fight since Gilford the Legend."

"Sorry, but I can't afford to lose just yet," Zoro grimaced. "Kiki: Kyuutouryuu!"

Some aura shimmered around him as Zoro's face and arms split into three, each bearing a sword to give a total of nine swords.

"Asura!"

Sanji back-flipped away, to look as Zoro began fighting in earnest. "Oh? He's already fighting seriously..."

"Is this really the time to pay attention to other people?" the purple dragon growled. "You're already suffering from my burns and you look away?"

Sanji airily pulled a cigarette from his pack. "You see, shitty dragon, if he's taking this seriously... I'm going to as well."

The dragon had no time to react as a flaming foot crashed into its maw, sending him back to crash into the side of the volcano.

Sanji blew out a plume of smoke. "Happy dreams... shitty bastard."

"Oh? You're done?" Zoro drawled as he walked over, back to normal. Some distance away, the Crimson Blader lay, stunned and unmoving. "That's slow."

"I don't want to hear that from you," Sanji retorted. "Now, time for the other shitty dragon."

A wheezing sound started as the Crimson Blader struggled on the ground. "You guys... against Red Demon's Dragon? Hahaha... what a joke!"

"Guys!' Luffy ran over, a single crystal shard glimmering in his hand. "Get this to Yusei! I'm gonna help Ace with the dragon!"

"Huh?" Zoro drawled. "Why do we-?"

"Yusei's only got till midnight!" Luffy screamed, clearly desperate. "Sanji, go! Zoro, make sure Sanji get there! Yusei... Yusei needs us!"

"After this great fight... there'll be more opponents!" the Crimson Blader cackled. "The Warriors... The Warriors of the Clustering Stars are some of the strongest opponents we face!"

"Really?" Zoro grinned maniacally. "I haven't had such a good fight in a long time... there are stronger people... I wanna fight them."

"Stop that thought!" Sanji snarled as he took the shard. "Luffy, you deal with shitty dragon number two. We'll go for the mountain. Got it?"

"Yosh!" Luffy grinned as he turned to the large dragon battling the conflagration of flames that was Ace personified. "Ace! I'm gonna help you right now!"

Izayoi Aki panted as she handled wave after wave of the Resonators, finally stopping when the last Resonator was gone.

"Mistress?" the knight that was Black Rose Dragon asked, pausing in his relentless assault.

"I'm fine, Black Rose," she shook her head. "This..."

"Aki-sensei~!" Sanji spiralled over, kicking the tiny fiends out of the way. "Luffy stole the shard! Let's go!"

"They did?" Aki smiled wearily. "Black Rose?"

"I can fly the three of you there, Mistress," the dragon nodded as it changed into its true form.

"Good," Zoro said as he walked up. "Thanks."

Red florid wings spread wide, the Black Rose Dragon took to the skies.

In its true form, the Red Demon's Dragon's fists hit fire again and again, batting away the little hot-head who dared challenge it.

"Dies Irae..." it mused as Ace hit him, burning red flames scoring the armoured scal skin. "Day of Wrath?"

"Yeah," Orange flames gave way to red as Ace grinned at the dragon. "As to how I got this power... it's a funny story..."

A booted foot crashed down on the red dragon's head, sending him crashing into the ash-crusted ground.

"One day, I was at an unidentified island," Ace recalled, idly kicking the red dragon with a flame-surrounded foot. "There was a large, dark dragon present... I just barely escaped it with my life. The same thing I met with other monsters we ran across in those two years..."

"Ace!" Luffy yelled as he ran over. "I'm coming!"

"For a long time, I couldn't figure out what was wrong," Ace growled. "Haki worked only about half as effectively on them, normal flames couldn't hit them, and they could hit even me, who has a Logia power... one day, we were fighting another man who could control fire. Watching him fight... I realised. What I was lacking. True, fighting normal people needed nothing other than to move one's fists... but, fighting monsters like you...! It requires the whole soul in it! Enkai: Entei!"

The ground caught fire from the sheer intensity of the flames as Ace glared down at the bleeding dragon. "These flames fed by strong emotions to burn at the greatest intensity... these crimson flames... are the fiercest, hottest flames I can conjure without help. These flames... you're the first to see them. Congratulations... and stay down, worthy opponent."

"Wha...?" the dragon growled as it crouched on all fours, ready to jump back, leathery wings spread as it eyed the flame-man taking a running jump. "This power...! Master...!"

Boots covered in red flames sent his head, and the rest of the dragon, crashing back into the ground with the sheer intensity of flame. "Sakamaku Hono: Tenpa Josai!"

A clap sounded like thunder itself as rings of flames burned even ashes to dust. The orange hat perched jauntily over dark hair remained, the two medallions on it grinning and frowning as Ace turned to Luffy.

The older D held up a hand, grinning. "Oops. I took him out first."

"Eh? No fair!" Luffy pouted.

"Damn brat..." Red Demon spoke, still on the ground. "Even if you overpower me in this form, don't think... that I'll lose that easily!"

"Whoa, he;s still standing!" Luffy exclaimed as the man stood back up.

"Red Carpet!" a red carpet rolled out at two grinning black creatures holding tuning forks and hammers floated along to the red dragon. "If that was your strongest technique... then I'll show my own strongest technique as well. Double Tuning!"

"Double Tuning...?" both D brothers exclaimed as the grinning creatures clanged their forks together.

"The King and The Devil, here and now, shall become as one." The dragon chanted, roaring to a crescendo. "A raging spirit! Lift up the very cries of creation itself!"

The ground shook as the red and black changed to completely red, runes and lines running through the dragon's very form itself as the armoured wings spread wide and it bared its maw at the two brothers. "Cosmic Synchro: Scar-Red Nova Dragon!"

"Cosmic Synchro..." Luffy echoed.

"Scar-Red Nova Dragon..." Ace agreed. "Double Tuning... wow."

"Cool!" Luffy cheered. "I'm all pumped up! Ace, let's go!"

"Oi, Luffy, wait!" Ace yelled as Luffy charged, only for him to be slammed back down with a single flaming fist of the dragon.

"In this form, I cannot be destroyed by any ability, including flames," the dragon roared. "Furthermore, for each tuner fallen, I take on their power and grow myself. I thank Izayoi Aki... for unwittingly enhancing my power... for my comrades Resonators, I will honour them."

It roared to the skies. "This pride... it won't let me fall!"

The cup of coffee dropped to the ground, but Jack Atlas paid no heed to the fact that his precious Blue Eyes Mountain Coffee had been wasted, preoccupied with something else.

"Yusei is in danger," the blond decided as he approached the Wheel of Fortune. "Hmm... where is the man?"

The D-Wheel started up, screens flashing with some red light.

"That'd work," he nodded, as if his bike starting up made sense, perhaps in the head of Jack Atlas. The D-Wheel's engine roared as he drove down the road, accelerating until-

-There was a flash of red light, and Jack Atlas disappeared.

"To... friends!"Usopp yelled.

"To... new meetings!" Chopper happily echoed.

"To... this alliance!" Power Tool grinned.

"Kampai!" all three yelled.

"Oi! Are you forgetting something?" Franky hollered at them. "Anyway, shouldn't we get to Yusei?"

"Stardust wouldn't just let us walk into it," Power Tool agreed. "That's why, I'm waiting for Ancient Fairy Dragon to come over. Then we can discuss what to do. Until then... party!"

"What party, idiot brother?" An armoured fist descended on the dragon turned human as a long serpentine body and butterfly wings fluttered down to the ground. "I'm so sorry for my brother's idiocy..."

"Don't worry," Nami assured as she got off the Ancient Fairy Dragon. "Anyway, why did we stop here?"

The dragon looked amused. "Stardust Dragon would probably fight us. Even though we are both Signer Dragons, Stardust has more fighting experience than either of us. That's why I have to ask for help."

"Eh? That's what I thought too!" Power Tool leapt to his feet, still nursing a bump. "I sent the Magnen Bar to tell you..."

"I didn't see him," Ancient Fairy answered.

"Anyway, this means that we got more help, right?" Franky drawled, grinning.

"Of course, I will do everything in my power to assist your efforts," Ancient Fairy nodded. "If only to uncover the truth behind Stardust's darkness."

"There's one problem," Crow pointed out. "We've got a huge cyborg and about nine people to bring to Starlight Road. How are we going to get there? Stardust would have guards over the place."

"We cannot fly there," Ancient Fairy nodded. "I would be shot down before we even approach there, and neither of us can carry... what's your name?"

"Yo, I'm Franky!" the pompadour cyborg grinned.

"We cannot carry Franky Sama," Ancient Fairy concluded. "That means... Power Tool."

"Yes, yes, I'm on it," Power tool floated to the coast. "Damn whale! You owe me! I'm cashing it in!"

All the Straw Hats stared as from the waters rose some dark entity, the rims of cannons and barnacles shimmering on its back as it glared at the dragon-turned-human with beady lidded eyes.

Ancient Fairy held out a hand. "Meet, the Orca – Mega Fortress of Darkness."

"Cool!" Usopp, Chopper, Brook and Franky exclaimed as one.

逆巻く炎 : 天破壌砕 : It basically involves a running jump, followed by a two-heeled drop-kick covered in flames intense enough to roast anything. No, Ace is not copying Sanji; the distinction between this and the Diable Jambe is that the flames ensure that the more obstacles encountered, the harder the impact once it crashes through.

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