LW: Here we go, the Little Garden Arc and more canon divergence, yay!

Rubber King and Mirror Master – Little Garden… more like Jurassic Park

'So what do you think the problem with Little Garden is? I mean Miss All Sunday says it neutralises the threat we pose to Crocodile's plans so it must be bad' Kaya asks the group, the trip from Whiskey Peak a lot calmer than the one to it.

'Maybe it's full of vicious monsters, or cannibalistic amazons' Usopp panics, causing a shiver to shoot down the spines of half the crew… while Kaos hums and shrugs

'That's not it… well I suppose it could be, but when Robin gave us the Eternal Pose she said it was so we'd show up in time to do something, so I think the problem is something much simpler, but also outside out control. The Log Pose need time to adjust to each island's magnetic signature and point to the next one, so what if the problem is it takes weeks or even months to record Little Garden's?' at the question Vivi pales

'So he could destroy my kingdom and I'd be helpless to stop them?' she whimpers

'It's just a theory, but we don't know anything so it's all we got' the purplette backtracks, trying to appease the light blue haired princess. It wasn't much but he had more things on his mind than Vivi's feelings, like the 2 prescience's that the ship had picked up in Whisky Peak, and were still nudging his sense. He just didn't know if it meant they had a shadow or stowaways.

'Not that it matters' the 1st mate thinks 'until we deal with Crocodile we're going to have them and the other agents gunning for us'

Those musings were interrupted by the appearance of a giant dolphin, spurring everyone to get their asses in gear, then the appearance of Little Garden on the horizon, which at least gave them a target.

The island at first glance appeared to be that of a thick rainforest, with little in the way of visible fauna due to all the trees along the edge of the river they used to enter the island proper. It didn't last forever though as they caught sight of and were then sqiftly attacked by a large bird like creature which quickly flew away when it failed to capture any of them. Then there was the giant tiger which stalked the Merry for a spell before being attacked by a smaller but still large reptile which made swift work of it.

'All in favour of staying put on the boat till the pose resets say I' Usopp yells, getting immediate 'I's from Nami and Kaya just as the Merry stops, Zoro throwing out the anchor to keep her from floating away before they needed to go.

'This place is… so cool!' Luffy cheers, then quickly turns to his cook 'Sanji, 2 pirate lunchboxes, I'm going exploring'

'Can we come too Luffy?' Vivi asks, surprising everyone, most of all Carue, who was a little annoyed she had been volunteered by her princess to go onto the dangerous island when she could just stay here and sleep

'Okay'

Kaos pulls himself to his feet, brushing dust off his pants 'Well I've got nothing better to do, I think I'll tag along'

'What? We're stuck on a mysterious island of death…and you want to explore?' Usopp yells

'Yep'

'Pretty much'

'Quack'

'Got it in one long nose'

'Ahh, why would they do something this crazy? Plus Luffy and Kaos are some of our best fighters, but I guess as long as…'

'I'm heading out too, need to replenish our food stores given these 2 endless stomachs' Sanji says as he passes backpacks to Team Exploration, Luffy grinning unapologetically while Kaos smirks and makes a joke about being a growing lad.

'If I find anything good should I bring it back?' the reflect human asks

'Nah, I'll be fine, plus Zoro volunteered to assist' the swordsman chuckles

'Actually I said I could catch a bigger beast than you, then almost swallowed your cigarette at the speed you entered my personal space to tell me I was deluded'

'Shut up marimo!' Sanji growls, nearly head butting the teen

'Make me swirly brow'

'Bring me meat! Good luck guys' Luffy orders then grinning widely as he hops off the ship, Vivi following on Carue and a still sniggering Kaos not far behind

'We're stuck on a dangerous island and they've left us alone and defenceless' Usopp sobs, till Kaya taps his shoulder

'Not all the hard hitters as gone, Alvida's staying on the ship' she says, trying to raise his spirits

'She's right; no way am I walking through the woods unless I need it. I'm using the free time for a little sunbathing but yeah I'll lend a hand if there's any threat to the ship' the former captain says as she sets up a deck chair and pulls out a book

Nami nods 'Yeah Usopp, we'll be fine till at least Sanji and Zoro return with food'

The sniper nods and stands up 'You're right, there's nothing to worry about I guess I was being silly' the trio laugh until they hear a small thump. Turning they see Alvida passed out and lightly snoring, her book having slid off her smooth stomach and her hat having joined it on the floor.

'Seriously? She's asleep!'

'No way, that's faster than Zoro!'

'Think she's narcoleptic?' Nami asks the remaining crew

Kaya shakes her head 'No, we'd have noticed before now if she was. This is most likely her body reacting to the 1st proper chance to rest since we entered the Grand Line' the ship doctor/gunslinger then gains a thoughtful look 'I'm actually surprised she's the only one: Zoro, Kaos and Luffy didn't exactly get any sleep either and Vivi had to remain awake to spring that trap as Miss Wednesday. Add to that the stress of a death sentence over our heads, it's quite exhausting'

With Team Explorers

'It's a dinosaur!' Luffy cheers, clapping his hands rapidly while Vivi, Carue and Kaos were shocked to silence, the tall 1st mate for once not having a comment yet.

When the shock finally waned he grinned widely, laughing and grabbed the rubber captain 'You some know how to pick 'em Lu Sesese' Vivi noticing the brothers joyful expressions were nearly identical

'They're treating this like it's a pleasure cruise. Are they stupid, insane or just that strong?' she wondered before getting a new reason to loose her mind.

'I'm going to go ride it' Luffy declares, shooting his arms up to grab the brachiosaurus by the top of its neck and springing up to land on its head. Kaos facepalms but chuckles while Vivi sits on Carue's back, her jaw hitting the duck's back while her eyes go pure white

'That boy is going to get himself killed, or worse all of us killed' the princess begins to panic until she feels Kaos' bony fingers on her shoulder

'Don't worry about Luffy, sure he seems like a reckless idiot and sometimes that's true, but he's too stubborn to die' the purplette explains, watching the straw hat captain bounce from one angry dinosaur to the other, not a care in the world. That was until one of them manages to swallow him, Kaos not needing to look to know Vivi was glaring at him, the word 'See!' implied in her eyes

CHOP YUG YUG YUG YUG

A massive sword slices through the dinosaurs neck, falling to the ground just in front of Kaos and Vivi with a loud crash. A moment later Luffy comes out the end, looking really confused

'That was weird' he says, mostly to himself, but the 3 others agreed whole heartedly 'Hey, when'd he get here?' Luffy asks, causing them to turn in the direction he was looking at which point Vivi's heart decided to try escape out her mouth

Standing, watching them was a giant at least 12 metres tall, best described as being basically a Viking, down to the thick greying brown beard on his pointed face, nearly reaching his belt.

'Yug yug yug. You little people are very brave and a lot of fun to watch you grapple the long necks' the giant says with a huge smile

Now given they (being Luffy and Kaos) grew up in the East Blue, it had been quite a while since anyone called Kaos little, so his 1st reaction… was to laugh

'Is he okay?' the giant asks, Luffy waving his hand dismissively

'He'll be fine, it's just he's the tallest guy we've ever met before you. What's your name by the way?'

The giant flexes his muscles before raising his sword into the air 'I'm Dorry, greatest warrior in all of Elbaf and don't let anyone tell you different'

'That's so cool! Wait, where's Elbaf?' Luffy asks

'Elbaf is the home of the giants, on an island deep in the New World' Dorry explains 'Come eat with me new friends, we don't get visitors to Little Garden'

The pirates put it to a vote, Luffy eagar for giant food, Kaos not having issues as Dorry seemed nice enough and Carue couldn't vote, meaning Vivi was out numbered and followed the guys back to the giant's lair.

Dorry's home in the mountain

'FOOD!'

Luffy pounces like a wild animal, his rubber jaws enabling him to swallow the massive chunks he tears off. Kaos had to use one of Hebi's larger forms to cut it due to the sheer size of the chunk of dinosaur meat in front of him, passing some to a reluctant Vivi before having his own, Carue was fine with the drink Sanji made her so simply sat beside the princess, ready for the 1st sign of danger, to run for her life.

'Mr. Giant, it must be pretty lonely here on your own, why are you here by the way?' Luffy asks curiously, the other 3 also interested

'Yug yug yug. I'm not alone' Dorry laughs

'You're not'

The giant shakes his head 'Nope, there's another giant on Little Garden, his name is Broggy. As for why we're here, it's to fight'

'What?' Vivi yells 'Why?'

'We're not allowed fight in Elbaf, it angers our Gods, if 2 giants have a disagreement that can't be settled any other way they are set away to another island and only 1 will leave, the victor decided by the will of the gods and granted their divine protection. We've been fighting for the last 100 years'

'100 years! It must be really important to keep fighting for this long'

'Actually, I've forgotten what we were fighting about, it's been so long' Dorry admits with a slight chuckle, causing Kaos and Luffy to laugh and Vivi to groan

'If you can't remember why you're here then just stop and go home'

'No, even if we don't remember the reason the fact Broggy and I are even here proves how serious it must have been. Plus this is a sacred duel, to back out dishonours the Gods of Elbaf, as well as both our families'

'But…'

'Vivi' the princess turns to the taller straw hat 'This is clearly a wide cultural difference between you both but you should let him follow his traditions unhindered. I'm sure if I knew anything about Alabasta I'd be able to point out things I viewed as flaws in the traditions of the sand people as an outsider, I mean besides making Crocodile a Sir even you know that was a bad idea, but they won't make you charge your mind or ways' he smiles as the bluenette looks thoughtful, then winces at the light punch to the kidney Luffy gives him 'Hey!'

'That wasn't nice calling Vivi a sand person'

'Actually it's fine, in the old tongue that's the name of the island before the Nefetari family took over and named it Alabasta, 'Sunagakure' the people of the sand' Vivi explains

'Oh, okay then'

Back on the Merry

'G-G-G-GIANT!' Usopp yells, as a large and rotund man with a bushy beard and wide grin crashes out of the forest.

'Usopp stop yelling, holy shit, whoop' Alvida groans before seeing the giant and slipping off the chair

'Hi I'm Broggy, do you have any booze? I drank mine and people don't come by very often so I hope you have some' the giant booms

Usopp and the girls look to one another 'The only thing we have big enough for him is the cleaning alcohol, but that's not something that's meant to be drunk'

'Just give it to him, worst case he doesn't like the taste' Nami argues, wanting to make the giant go away as quickly as possible

Any arguments were cut off my Broggy's loud yell, turning they see a T-Rex (to which they have the expected freak-out) had decided to chomp down on the giant's butt, in response Broggy takes his axe off his belt an swings, removing the dinosaur's head rather easily

'Holy shit'

'I'll go get the alcohol just one moment' Usopp yells, speeding into the bowels of the ship to retrieve it

'Thanks, hey why don't you come with me, let me feed you as thanks' Broggy offers happily 'I just caught dinner after all, so you know the meat will be fresh' he grins as he holds the T-Rex head above him 'Yababababa'

'Oh we'd love to but…'

'Yeah sure'

'I got no problems'

'WHAT!' Nami screams at Kaya and Alivda, Usopp meanwhile stunned into silence

'Broggy seems like a nice guy, it wouldn't be polite to refuse' Kaya explains

'I'm just hungry and who knows when Sanji and Zoro will come back with food, this is my best chance to eat before nightfall' Alvida answers bluntly

'Yabababababa/ It's settled, let's go so I can feed my new friends, and get drunk for the first time in many years' Broggy grins, placing his hand palm up on the deck of the ship

Later, at Broggy's camp

'This is actually better than I expected' Alvida says, Broggy smiling as she digs into the meat with a speed only beaten by their captain, the other slab shared by Kaya, Usopp and Nami, all a bit leery about the giant staring down at them, though Kaya was at least trying to eat enough to show she appreciated the meal

'I agree, it turns out dinosaurs doesn't taste like anything in the East Blue' the blond responds to which the others nod

'Hey Mr. Broggy Sir, how long does it take for the log to reset for this island?' Nami asks, both to fill the dead air and find out how long they would need to remain on this death-trap

'One full year' the giant responds with his jolly tones, which made the statement even worse

'FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!' was the only thing going through Nami's head before passing out, Usopp not far behind her but managing to somehow remain conscious, Kaya paled to a greenish grey while Alivda laughed thinking Kaos and Robin had been right, they were screwed not because of any nefarious plans, but because of the screwed up nature of the Grand Line itself

The volcano in the centre of the island began to rumble and explode, Broggy sits straighter and drops his meat before standing, Usopp shivers when he sees the steely gaze in his eyes 'I'm sorry to leave you little ones, but there's something I must attend to' he booms, picking up his axe and shield before walking off, the 4 stand and move to watch whatever was important enough to make the happy go lucky giant act so serious.

Turns out the cause was another giant, the 2 running towards one another, shaking the ground as they go before colliding with a thud of their blades against the other's shields.

'I have forgotten the reason for our brawl!' Dorry yells as he swings

'As have I!' Broggy responds, batting away the strike with his shield

'But I will still be victorious!' they both bellow, their very will felt wash across the island for a moment, that was the strength of their conviction.

TBC

LW: Giants are definitely not something to be trifled with in the OP universe, especially when you consider according to Oda, the minimum height for someone to be considered a true giant is 12m tall.

No lore, terms or other stuff this time, but there will be next time everyone, I grantee it

Miss Golden Week: Hi, did I come to the right place?

LW: Right place wrong week, but while you're here…

Miss GoldenWeek: Lonly doesn't own anything from One Piece other than Kaos, his associated bits and bobs (weapon, devil fruit etc) and OP versions of characters from other series, such as Captain Nylock Morgan and his crew to name but 3,