Chp 10 – What will be will be
'Holy crap I thought I posted this LONG AGO! I bet you guys thought it was on hiatus or dropped... But it was only uploaded and not published! m(._.)m I'm soo sorry and amused at my clumsiness! The next chapter is currently being edited before the upload. So kindly look forward to it!'
"I've realized that being happy is a choice. You never want to rub anybody the wrong way or not be fun to be around, but you have to be happy. When I get logical and I don't trust my instincts – That's when I get in trouble."
- Angelina Jolie
An orange glow started to rise on the horizon, its light stretching to envelop the entire ocean ahead of it.
"Everyone! Wake up! Wake up!" A sharp voice from below rang out. Random distant shouts of a fight like "disgusting face" and "bastard" followed by growling could be heard.
"It's an island!" The voice continued, then a scramble of feet clambering up the deck could be heard as the crew came up to get a view.
"Alright, let's set off then!" A slow calm fell over the ship as the inhabitants left it, leaving behind a single guard after drawing lots.
"Ahhh I'm hungry." She looked around in disappointment that she was still on a ship. I can't even call this a dream anymore. Being shocked at waking up as a wolf and being on a ship somewhere on an ocean was getting pretty old.
She got up and looked around in surprise, why was the place so windy? She stared at the deck which was 20 meters below and groaned. Why on earth was she there and how on earth did she get up here in the first place! It didn't bother her the last time she woke up but now she realized she had a problem.
She went through her chaotic memories. One moment she woke up on a ship in the middle of an ocean, saw a blue nosed, shape changing reindeer, an over-the-top, gynophobic cook, then finally a normal looking calm woman that reminded her of her grandmother, followed by tasting some heavenly food and taking a nap.
Not to mention waking up to a crazy storm with other crazy people onboard, cheering during and after the storm like it was a funfair.
She paused, why there so many gaps in her memory? The connecting factors to each memory were disjointed.
She summarized the entire experience related to this string of events: Crazy, illogical and messed up. She sighed, taking a look at her surroundings, accepting reality as it is: I guess that's gonna happen on a daily basis here.
Then a childish voice rang out, "Oi everyone, starting from today. I am the great Captain Chopper!" She turned to the voice.
"Hey everyone! Look he-…" The voice was cut off as a ball of fur collided with her face. "Ouch.. What was tha-" The doctor stared at the victim, also his em, crazed patient, "AHHHH! I'M SO SORRY!" he burst out in tears.
Artemis, dazed, mumbled out something like a grunt as she tried to drive the stars in front of her eyes away. "Wait here! I'll get my medical supplies up!" He disappeared down the crow's nest and flung a door open roughly, slamming it close immediately.
I knew my instinct was right... Sighing was becoming a habit for her. She got up on all fours when she felt steady and looked down cautiously, checking for other dangerous flying objects.
She took a huge breath to steady her nerves. Okay, the coast is finally clear. She kept her tongue fully within her mouth, clamped it shut, and leapt over the railing. Here goes nothing.
I'm gonnnaa dieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! She stared wide eyed at the ground rushing up to meet her. Adrenaline and frantic heartbeats coursed through her ears as she fell, prolonging the experience and allowing an inspection of the grains of the wooden flooring below.
A split moment where she imagined herself as a unidentifiable gory splat on the ground came to her. She tensed at the scene and braced herself for the painful impact that was sure to come.
She stretched her two front paws to meet the ground first, slouching a little upon contact to soften the shockwave as it ran up her hands, through her spine and down two feet. She stood, stunned for an entire minute as she ran the moment in her head over and over again.
The landing had felt natural, as though she had been born and moved with all fours throughout her life. That's in your face, whomsoever that said going by instinct and not logic will bite you in the butt.
She let out a wolfish smirk at the small victory as she padded over to the source of shouting that could be heard coming from a room nearby, head held high.
"Here you go, you just need some medication over the few days along with plenty of food and rest." She suspiciously stared at the bright coloured pills on the outstretched hooves, sniffing them with her large nose. They smelt like raspberries, ginseng and other herbs. In other words, distasteful.
Seeing that the self-proclaimed blue nosed doctor wouldn't budge until she did as instructed, swallowed them in one gulp and grimaced at the bittersweet and sour taste.
She closed her eyes and waited, sighed internally as her condition didn't worsen several moments later aside from the headache and woozy feeling she had since she awoke.
"Then this is for motion sickness until you get used to being on a ship." More pills appeared before her, swallowing them, she wondered how he knew when she never voiced her discomfort.
This time, she felt a difference, her sea sickness faded away immediately. she stared at doctor with disbelief. I'm quite sure sea sickness doesn't get cured instantly…
She continued staring at the reindeer, collecting her thoughts as he started to head out for something. Suddenly, he ran back in a flash and slammed the door, perspiring as he leaned against it. Artemis sat up in shock, catching the sense of emergency and alert for whatever that scared the little creature.
"Her specialty is assassination and her ability is top-notch. We have to be careful of her." He panted out. We are under attack by a female assassin? What? Why?
She tensed as she stared at the door, waiting for a deadly attacker. Wait, if we really are, then why is he not fighting back but continuing on his work and mumbling to himself peacefully…!
Chopper had calmed down and went to his desk, mixing different herbs and ingredients together, muttering to himself all the while.
"…" Seeing that the reindeer has settled down, Artemis cautiously sat down. Perhaps he saw an assassin attacking others but weren't heading for us…
Robin walked into the room silently in the background with a cup, unnoticed by Chopper as he talked about his past. Artemis laid down in a corner to listen, resting her head on her hands as she watched Robin head towards an apparatus with two globe like shapes attached to each other, a handle sticking out of the bottom one.
She started putting something brown inside and filled it with water. A fat bottle shaped object at the bottom produced fire when she turned a knob, boiling the water above it in a container.
Oooh! They have weird instruments that boil water with fire! Artemis looked on with interest as Robin placed a cap over the fire outlet, extinguishing it.
"I wonder what's Doctorine doing now…" Chopper sighed, he came out of his day dreaming, sniffing the air.
A gentle and fragrant aroma filled the room from the apparatus, giving a relaxing atmosphere.
"Hmm, so that's a rumble ball?"
"Ahh!" Startled, Chopper jumped into a barrel, peeking out from it, agitated by Robin's sudden presence in the room. "You want to know the secret behind rumble ball to assassinate me? I won't go down that easily!"
Robin stood up, walking over to her glass instruments.
"Rumble! Guard point!" Crunch. Chopper changed into a furry and bouncy ball and jumped out. Hey! He didn't show me that form previously! Tch. How many others does he have up his sleeve? Artemis twitched her eyes in annoyance.
"Ouch, it's hot." Her hand retreated from the top of the glass.
"Heavy point!" He grew a large muscular frame, similar to a body builder, with a six pack, slightly ripped arms and fur around his neck and shoulders. Artemis looked on with interesting, scanning this form with appreciation. She is an appreciative female, after all. Her eyes travelled, then stopped suddenly. Pfft. His nose is still blue, but in a human-reindeer mix way! Also, his pink hat and that burly appearance…! Why didn't I notice this the first time? Artemis exploded into laughter inwardly, unwilling to interrupt whatever craze the doctor was in now.
"Jumping point!" His frame shrank to a less bulky form and his limbs stretched, now his fur covered the entire upper body as well as his hands like a short jacket.
He leaped into the air with no apparent destination, crashing into a barrel filled with water, breaking it. Escaped waters flew out of it, knocking over several other empty barrels and Robin's apparatus.
Then, perhaps more confused, Chopper continued, "Horn point!" as the named implied, his horns grew exceedingly long and large as he got on all fours, while his fur now covered his entire upper body, leaving his shoulders bare.
"Behold the powers of the rumble ball! That's not all, I'll find out your weakness."
He minimized himself into his usual small size, putting his hooves together to form a diamond in the middle. "Brain point! Scope!"
He squinted through his hooves, looking at Robin through it. "Weakness, weakness, where's your weakness…"
Robin laughed at his antics and walked over to him. "What's so funny?" Chopper asked cautiously at the approaching figure.
"You don't have to put on such a scary face." Petals flowed across the area and disappeared as two pairs of arms sprouted from Chopper's body.
Artemis grinned at the scene and predictable outcome. So much for finding out Robin's weakness.
"St-stop it! Bwahahahahahha!" A voice cried out as the two pairs of hands that sprouted from his torso started to tickle him while the other held up his hands, rendering his resistance useless.
"You're cute one", she said after a pause, "I like you.".
Chopper stilled, a blush slowly crept over his face. "C-cute? Stop joking! Being complimented by you doesn't make me happy! How could it make me happy, you idiot!~" The same jingly awkward dance appeared as he tried to brush off the compliment.
"Now then, we should set off now." When Chopper stared back at her with a blank face, she placed an empty barrel into his hands. "Now our water is gone but I would like to have some coffee before reading." She pushed open the door.
Chopper hesitated, unsure of the current situation. "What's wrong, since you're the one who broke the barrel, you should refill it, yes?" The reindeer shuttered, walking out slowly with a barrel twice as large as his current petite form and a slightly furrowed brow at the sudden change of events.
Artemis chuckled as she followed them out to find water.
~ To be continued ~
AN: And it ends here for now! I was going to continue but it seemed easier to stop here!
It's quite obvious where this occurs already yeah?
Thanks for favouriting / following this story! (Sorry if I missed anyone out!)
Demeter13909
Shadow D. Princess