Lest Ye Become The Monster

by GamerDame

Monsters & demons are an unfortunate danger in this world. They prey on the scared & defenseless. But Abel is neither. A self-proclaimed monster hunter, she seeks to understand the enemy to equip others to save themselves. But she may have to leave the East Blue to achieve this. Where will she find a crew crazy enough to carry her on her fool's errand? Slow burn OCXZoro

25. Adventures in Little Garden

You guys... This chapter... This damn chapter. I didn't think I'd ever get it done.

It started off bad because I spent 2 weeks with writer's block. Then, once I started, I got about a third of the way done before I decided to change the direction the arc went. And then, because it was taking so long, I stubbornly decided to do all of Little Garden in a single chapter. I literally spent two days working off & on just to finish this thing before the end of the month.

But it's done. And it's super long (my longest chapter by far), so you all'd better enjoy it. I think I'll take a week off before writing again. At least with the next two arcs I have a pretty good what I want to do. And I won't be putting them all in one chapter.

On another note, you may have noticed I have a new cover image for this story. It was one of those projects where the idea came to me while I was getting ready for bed & wouldn't let me sleep until I finished it. However, I had to edit it from the original version because I didn't want my account deleted due to "provocative content." If you want to see the unedited version, you can check out my Deviantart page at ironmaidenleigh . deviantart gallery / (take the spaces out, of course). You have to be a member to see it, because I marked it as moderately mature to avoid any trouble.

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Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece. I only own my original additions. This story is for entertainment purposes.

Warnings: Violence, Suggestive Content, Language

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"Can someone please explain what's going on?" Usopp whined. "Why is Miss Wednesday on our ship, and who was that scary woman?"

Deciding they'd never get anything accomplished if someone didn't explain the situation, Abel did her best to efficiently summarize what the two missed. "Whiskey Peak was, in reality, a den of bounty hunters under the employ of a secret criminal organization calling themselves Baroque Works, which is secretly led by one of the Shichibukai - Crocodile. Miss Wednesday, who is actually Princess Nefertari Vivi, heir to the throne of Alabasta Kingdom, was a double agent working to uncover the boss' identity. As it turns out, Crocodile is attempting to stage a coup in Alabasta by pitting the citizens against each other, likely so he can swoop in to overpower the victor while they're winded. But Miss All Sunday, the dark-haired woman you attempted to shoot just now, betrayed the princess' secret to Crocodile, thus resulting in her being on Baroque Works' hit list... and us by extension. Thus we find ourselves at present, attempting to escort the princess safely home to warn her kingdom of Crocodile's conspiracy." Abel explained things in such a no-nonsense, rapid-fire manner that even the people who knew what was going on gawked at her. But Abel ignored them, crossing her arms as she stared at Usopp and Sanji, silently asking if they had any questions. She thought she'd done an excellent job trimming the fat.

After a long silence, Usopp finally muttered, "Wow..." What else was he supposed to say? "I'm glad I slept through all that."

"I see..." Sanji added thoughtfully, idly brushing ash from his cigarette. "Well that's a shame, but I guess that also means that I've still got a chance to shine." He took a long drag, smiling at the thought of the tough battles no doubt in their future. He smiled gallantly at Vivi. "Don't worry! Now that the sleeping prince has awoken, your safety is guaranteed." Vivi just glanced anxious at the sea, probably more concerned about the crew's safety in general rather than doubting Sanji's abilities. Grinning stupidly, Sanji turned to Nami. "Are you jealous, Nami-san?"

"Nope," Nami answered instantly.

Pouting slightly, Sanji recovered quickly by turning to the other female crewmate. "Abel-dono?"

"Hm?" Abel asked, giving Sanji her best innocent expression. "Did you say something?" Abel struggled not to let Sanji see her smirk at his dejected expression. The cook really did bring out the bitch in her, which Abel wasn't too thrilled about. She did consider herself a nice person, after all. But the man simply refused to learn.

"Well you can count on me to back you up!" Usopp butted in eagerly. He grinned toothily at Vivi, holding up Luffy's wanted poster. "The whole world's talking about whether or not the thirty-million bounty is actually for my head instead!" Vivi just blinked as Usopp pointed to the back of his head in the picture. She hadn't even noticed it until he pointed it out...

Oblivious to all the conversations taking place, Luffy demanded in earnest, "Sanji! Breakfast!"

Sanji scowled at the captain, likely for interrupting his conversation with the ladies, but relented nonetheless. "Yeah, yeah..." he muttered, practically stalking towards the galley.

---

For all the chaos, things settled down easily enough for most of the crew. After the usual lively breakfast, everyone scattered about the deck to do their own thing, with the exception of Sanji and Nami who remained in the galley. Perched on the railing outside the galley, Luffy thought aloud, "I wonder if it's gonna snow..." He stared at the sky longingly. The strange weather had been kinda fun. And he wanted to make another snowman.

"Why the hell would it snow?" Zoro asked from the deck beside Luffy. It was too warm for that.

"Because it occurred yesterday whilst you were in a coma," Abel piped up from main deck below.

Zoro craned his neck to send Abel a scathing look, but broke off to raise a questioning eyebrow instead. "What're you doing?" he asked. The woman had one of the guns they'd confiscated from Vivi and her partner, strewn out in pieces on the deck.

Not bothering to look up from mess of metal in her hands, Abel replied, "Disassembling a gun."

Zoro waited for a minute to see if Abel would elaborate, until it became obvious she was happy leaving it as was. This prompted Zoro to continue, "Why?"

"I had a thought," Abel answered, setting the firing mechanism she'd been fiddling with on the deck. Her eyes scanned over the mess she'd made. To most people it was just meaningless chunks of metal, but Abel saw potential. She saw how the pieces fit together, and how they could be altered to suit her purposes. "An idea for an attachment for my crossbows," she continued at length. "So I'm working on a proof of concept design based around these bazookas rather than risk damaging my own artillery." She smiled at Zoro, who watched her with an expression that said he had no idea what she was talking about but was glad she did. "If my test is successful, I can begin modifying the system to fit on smaller weapons."

"Hey!" Luffy chirped, breaking the two out of their conversation. They turned their heads to the captain as he asked loudly, "Do ya think it'll snow again?"

He's still on about that? Abel thought. Strange how sometimes Luffy had the attention span of a goldfish, and other times he became fixated on something.

"Nothing's impossible," Vivi answered, coming out from the storage room. After breakfast, Nami had shown her where the girls slept, and Vivi'd taken the time to change out of her burnt jacket. She'd borrowed one of Nami's shirts, as she didn't have any of her own clothes with her. A dandelion-yellow button-up with thin black lines running at an angle.

Staring at the sea, Vivi explained, "But the sea we were in first is special, since the seven magnetic forces from Reverse Mountain mess everything up. That doesn't mean you can relax your attention here, though. It'd be rare for this sea to be wild like the first journey, but it's still true that this sea is a lot more difficult than ordinary ones. Never underestimate this sea. That's the ironclad rule."

Vivi's sage warning fell on deaf ears, as Sanji came traipsing out of the galley with a tray of glasses filled with blue liquid. "Anybody up for some special drinks!?" he sung.

The answer from the boys was a resounding, "You bet we are!" as they made themselves comfortable on the main deck. Even Carue joined in. And was that one of Nami's lawn chairs?

Naturally, Sanji served Abel first. "For you, Abel-dono!" he cooed. Abel left her tinkering for the moment to take the offered drink. For all her issues with the cook, she wouldn't deny that he was the best at his job.

As she enjoyed the fruity drink, Abel heard Vivi snap, "Is this really okay!?" She looked up to see Vivi yelling at Nami as the navigator exited the galley, pointing at the rest of the crew. No doubt she was referring to the crew's lackadaisical attitude.

"It'll be fine," Nami assured casually. "They'll work hard when we come across rough seas. It's not like they want to die or anything." She held out a glass to the uptight princess. "Here."

Vivi still looked apprehensive. "That's... true... But at this rate we might be caught unaware." Violet eyes filled with worry, Vivi watched the guys. She almost looked like she envied their laid-back attitude.

Watching the guys for a moment, as they chatted about inconsequential things like fishing, Abel allowed a small smile before looking back at Vivi. "Vivi," she called lightly, catching Vivi's attention. Sincerely, Abel said, "If you worry about the bad things that could happen, you'll work yourself into a frenzy. Tomorrow will worry about itself, while we only have this moment." Abel understood Vivi's concerns. As royalty, she already had the weight of her country on her shoulders. But this deal with Crocodile and the coup only exacerbated it. Abel could see the signs clearly. Since boarding the ship, the pensive expression hadn't left Vivi's face for a second. If she kept this up, she'd make herself sick and give herself premature gray hair.

Vivi stared at Abel, digesting her words, before looking back at the crew. She absorbed their antics, the way they acted like they didn't have a care in the world. It was... rather refreshing, now that she thought about it. At least here, in this moment, she felt a thousand miles from her troubles. "Yes..." she admitted eventually. Finally, the princess smiled. "It is quite relaxing..."

"Hey, look! It's a dolphin!"

Sanji's statement drew Abel's attention. Spotting the cook perched on the railing, Abel stood to get a better look. A dolphin splashed playfully in the sea not far from their ship, squeaking happily as the sun glinted off its smooth skin. "Oh, it's so cute!" Nami cooed.

At least she did until she saw how massive the thing was. It wasn't until it leapt towards their ship that the crew realized calling it a whale might be more appropriate. "It's freakin' huge!" Zoro exclaimed as it bore down on them.

"Run away!" Luffy shouted, sounding more thrilled than scared.

"Aye-aye, Cap'n!"

In a flurry, the crew raced into action. What may have looked like chaos to an outsider was just organized madness to the pirates as each member took up a position without really being told what to do. Man the rudder. Adjust the sails. Brace the mast. They worked together like a well-oiled machine, getting the ship moving. Despite the short notice, the Going Merry moved enough out of the path of the dolphin, so it splashed into the water. The turbulence it created when it landed pushed the ship closer to their destination, and the crew rode it out. And not a single scratch.

With that excitement out of the way, Abel went back to her tinkering. Her plan was, essentially, to make a sort of grappling attachment to help her repel up or down surfaces. Of course she could always just fire an arrow with a rope attached from her bow, but that wasn't the most stable setup. A single arrow wouldn't support her weight, no matter how deeply it embedded in a surface. Ultimately, Abel hoped to wind up with something matching the climbing systems rock climbers used. Perhaps a small pulley system, or a harness. But first she wanted to make a larger version with the bazookas. Once she worked out the kinks, she could focus on making the system as small as possible while still retaining its power.

Abel absently hummed a random tune as she shaved the edges of the firing gear from the spare bazooka. Work like this always put her in a Zen state of mind. It was better than meditating for Abel (something she admittedly had never been very good at). She could just drown out everything around her-

"Nami-san! Vivi-chan! Abel-dono!"

Abel frowned at the gouge in the gear from where Sanji's call made her jump. Now she'd have to shave the entire surface down another layer. Frustrated, Abel turned tired eyes towards the galley door. That was usually the closest to a glare she got. But as the door started to swing open, Abel leapt into action. She really did not want to deal with Sanji right now.

Zoro jerked awake with a snort as a door slamming next to his head forced him into consciousness. He blinked blearily, eyes watering slightly from the abruptness. Zoro scowled blindly around, looking for the cause of his rude awakening, but found nothing. Nami and Vivi were near the aft with a map between them. Likely, Vivi was explaining about Alabasta's climate and navigational details. Luffy and Usopp sat not far away, trying to fish. And Sanji was coming this way. That left only Abel, who was absent. Eyeing the door next to him and the approaching cook, Zoro thought he could make an educated guess on what he'd missed.

Sanji stopped a few feet from Zoro and looked around, perplexed. "Where'd Abel-dono go?" he asked to himself. She'd just been here.

Crossing his arms behind his head, Zoro made himself comfortable and replied, "She ran away."

Sanji's eyes flared as his head whipped around to glare at Zoro. "What'd you do to her, you jerk!?" he demanded self-righteously.

Scoffing, Zoro looked away from the cook, which only served to piss him off further (completely unintentional, of course). "Idiot cook, it's not me she was running from."

"What!?" Sanji growled, daring Zoro to get to his point.

"Has it never occurred to you that your womanizing ways might rub some women the wrong way?" Zoro asked, disinterestedly. The only reason he bothered saying anything was out of a tinge of pity for Abel. Why couldn't the cook focus his admiration on someone who thrived on it, like Nami?

Now it was Sanji's turn to scoff. "As if I'd let a moss-head like you lecture me on how to treat a lady." Sanji brushed some ash from his cigarette onto Zoro's boots. The absurdity of it!

"It's only by Abel's continued good graces that she hasn't shot you yet," Zoro retorted. "Haven't you wondered why you're the only one on the ship she doesn't talk to on a regular basis?" Zoro saw he had the cook at that one. Judging by Sanji's almost sad, thoughtful expression, the cook had noticed this. And apparently had been going about fixing the issue in all the wrong ways. He almost felt sorry for the poor sod, even if it was his own fault. Slowly climbing to his feet, Zoro readjusted his swords before giving Sanji a serious look. "Not every woman wants to be put up on a pedestal. Some would rather stick to the trenches with you." And with nothing more to say on the matter, Zoro left. Leaving Sanji to stew on his words.

---

Abel remained in her hidey-hole for the rest of the morning, thankfully not being interrupted again. The crew usually left her alone when she was in her "office" unless they specifically needed some from her or the armory. Probably because they were afraid of what they'd stumble across in there. It was only when she heard Luffy's exuberant cry that Abel decided it was time to rejoin the living. "Woohoo!" Luffy cheered, his voice carrying throughout the entire vessel. "Our second island on the Grand Line!"

Leaving her work, Abel exited the armory to get a look at this Little Garden. The rest of the crew quickly joined her at the bow. Abel studied the island before her. It looked to be a jungle island, if the dense green foliage was any indication. It also looked like volcanoes dotted the island. However, the most prominent feature was the tall, misshapen mountain range in the middle. The odd patterns in the stone reminded Abel of bones, bringing thoughts of a giant ribcage. But as far as Abel could see, there didn't appear to be any civilizations. She'd expect any towns to be near the shore, but that didn't mean there could be tribes hidden within.

As Nami brought the ship closer, Vivi started to get nervous again. "We should be careful..." she warned. "I'm worried about what Miss All Sunday said about this island."

Usopp flinched, starting to sweat when he remembered the woman saying they'd be dead before they reached Vivi's home if they went this way... "Y-y-you don't think there are monsters here, do you?"

"Beats me," Sanji answered uncaringly. "But we gotta stock up on some food pretty soon. I wasn't able to restock at all at the last town." Indeed, they'd been in such a rush to leave that they hadn't taken any supplies. And before... well, they'd been too busy partying. Lesson learned: supplies first, party second.

As with Whiskey Peak, a shallow river cut through Little Garden, providing the ship with an easy path inland. As they floated down river, Abel absorbed the sounds of the forest. It teemed with life, but so far she hadn't heard anything that sounded out of the ordinary. Just birds and bugs, mostly. And she didn't sense anything odd. The air felt more humid than the last island, as to be expected of such a lush location, and it smelt earthy. And even just riding the river, the canopy looming overhead blocked out a lot of the sun, casting shadows across the ground.

"Man," Sanji breathed as they floated along in mostly silence. "Just look at this place. It's like a land yet to be explored by people. The entire island is a thick jungle."

"Given the difficulties of navigating this sea, it's not out of the question that some islands are uninhabited," Abel pointed out.

"So this is Little Garden...!" Usopp squeaked, trying to stick close to the others. Safety in numbers, right?

Nami frowned. "This place doesn't quite fit its cute name. Just what about this island is little? And look!" Nami pointed at the forest. "I've never seen any plants like these even in my encyclopedia!"

This is an ancient forest indeed, Abel thought. The plant life looked very primitive, like something out of an archeology book.

A loud, bird-like screech pierced the air, followed closely by Nami's mimicking scream. "What was that!?" she exclaimed tearfully.

"Terrified Nami is so cute!" Sanji cooed disturbingly. But as cute as she may be (in Sanji's opinion) he didn't want to see his leading lady frightened. So he reassured her, "Don't worry, it's just a bird. And this is just your average jungle." Sanji motioned to what he clearly thought was a normal bird as it burst from the canopy, but even at that distance, Abel saw it was no normal bird. It looked more like a feathered lizard, with sharp finger-like talons. This instantly perked Abel's attention. It looked more like a winged dinosaur, so most likely was completely natural, but if the island was home to more strange creatures it would be worth looking into.

Before Abel could give the matter further thought, a trembling boom echoed through the island, rattling the ship. "Does that sound like your average jungle!?" Nami squealed, growing more anxious by the second.

"That sounded like a volcano exploding or something!" Usopp shouted. And he was probably right. But on the boat, that was hardly a reason for concern.

Another rumble, this time much closer, pulled Abel's attention into the jungle. Eyes reflected in the darkness before a figure emerged on the riverbank. "A tiger!?" Nami gasped. A very large tiger, big enough it could capsize the Going Merry, and easily clear the gap between the boat and shore.

The tiger growled threateningly at the pirates, blood dripping from its jaws. But before it could make another step towards them, it collapsed on the bank in a heap. The blood must've been from internal injuries as opposed to freshly killed prey, Abel rationalized.

Some of the others, however, weren't taking things so calmly. "This is definitely not normal!" Nami yelled. "Otherwise, why would a tiger, king of the jungle, collapse covered in its own blood!?" If there was something tough enough to kill a tiger of that size, Nami wanted no part of it.

Usopp nodded sagely, more than happy to agree with Nami this time. "Alright, then it's decided," he announced all on his own. "We are not setting foot on this island!"

"Let's just quietly wait on our ship and leave the very second our log pose finishes recording!" Nami said in a shaky voice while still trying to maintain some rationality. "After all, we have to hurry on to Alabasta as soon as possible."

Yeah, that's not gonna happen... Abel thought, casting an eye towards her bouncing captain. She was amazed he'd managed to restrain himself enough to not have run off already.

After reaching a suitable distance inland, enough that the log pose would begin recording Little Garden's magnetic field, the crew dropped anchor. This area seemed peaceful enough. At least there were no obvious predators about. As Abel took in the scenery, a chuckling sound drew her attention. She wasn't surprised to see Luffy bouncing on the balls of his feet, practically vibrating with energy. Before she could question him, Luffy suddenly said, "Sanji! Prepare a lunchbox!"

Sanji raised a brow. "A lunchbox?" he repeated, eyeing Luffy's trembling form with confusion. Was he already hungry?

A painfully wide grin split Luffy's face. "A pirate lunchbox! I smell adventure in the air!"

"W-wait just a second!" Nami butted in. "Where do you think you're going?"

"On an adventure!" Luffy replied. He beamed at Nami, already planning the great adventures he'd have. Abel swore she saw sparkles floating around his face. "Wanna come along?" When Nami reeled back, Luffy whipped around to the cook again. "Sanji! Prepare my lunchbox!"

"All right," Sanji placated, already heading for the galley before Luffy decided to eat him. "Just hang on a moment."

Oh no, it's too late to stop him, Nami thought tearfully. He's too fired up!

Unexpectedly, Vivi stepped up and asked Luffy, "Could I come along with you?"

"Sure, sure!" Luffy eagerly accepted. The more the merrier.

Nami gasped, "Not you too!" How could Vivi want to go out in this scary jungle?

Vivi grinned calmly back at Nami. "Yes. Just standing around here doing nothing is only going to end up making me think about my worries again. So I may as well try to clear my head until the log pose finishes recording."

"A wise sentiment," Abel agreed. She was glad the girl was taking her advice and not worrying so much. She'd have enough trouble once they actually reached Alabasta, Abel was sure.

"But..." Nami tried to reason. Luffy going somewhere dangerous was just par for the course, but surely a princess wouldn't be able to handle herself so readily.

"It'll be fine!" Vivi reassured the worried redhead. "Carue will be by my side, after all."

Carue, however, didn't seem too thrilled about having been drafted. He stood, gaping at the princess, with his beak open. Nami eyed the duck, commenting, "You're trusty bodyguard looks too scared to even quack..."

From the galley, Sanji called, "Then allow me to make a lunchbox of love for you, Vivi-chan."

Vivi smiled up at the cook, grateful for his thoughtfulness. "Could you also make another drink for Carue as well?"

"Of course!" Sanji agreed without hesitation. "Just leave it to me!"

In usual fashion, it didn't take Sanji long to whip up something for the two explorers. Sanji placed Vivi's box delicately in one of Carue's saddlebags before filling a blue backpack for Luffy. After securely tying it closed, he tied a medium-sized keg to Carue's neck, complete with a one-way straw so the duck could drink without spilling anything. Stepping back, Sanji announced, "Now you're all set. Two pirate lunchboxes and a special drink for Carue."

With their backpacks loaded up, Luffy charged off into the jungle with Vivi following behind on Carue. "All right, let's go!" Luffy cheered as he disappeared into the thick underbrush.

Vivi paused long enough to wave back at the ship. "We'll be back in a little while!" she called in parting before urging Carue to keep up with the energetic boy.

Watching the blobs of red and blue disappear, Usopp muttered with admiration, "That Miss Wednesday's got some guts." She didn't seem bothered with how scary this island was.

"I guess it's expected of one who infiltrated Baroque Works," Nami reasoned. You couldn't be a coward and pull of something like that.

The sound of popping bones drew Abel's attention to the now standing swordsman. As he popped his neck a few times (which Abel wanted to point out wasn't healthy) he groaned, "Well, since I'm not doing anything either, I'll go for a walk."

"A walk!?" Usopp gasped.

As Zoro jumped to the shore, Sanji rushed over to the railing, calling, "Hey Zoro, wait!" Zoro paused and turned back to see what the cook wanted. "We're running out of food onboard so if you see any animals that look to be edible, can you hunt it down and bring it back?"

"Sure thing," Zoro surprisingly agreed. Then again, when would he turn down getting to kill something? But Zoro being Zoro, he couldn't resist adding, "I'll bring back one that you can't possible capture," as he turned to leave.

Naturally, Sanji wasn't going to let that stand. "WAIT RIGHT THERE!" he snarled. Zoro glanced back to glared at the cook, a look which the blond returned with equal fervor. "Did I hear you wrong, or did you just imply that you could hunt bigger game than I can?" Sanji growled threateningly.

Shoving his hands in his pocket, Zoro's easy stance just ticked Sanji off even more. "Isn't that obvious?" he retorted.

Sanji sneered. "That's it! I challenge you at hunting!" Leaping down to the shore, Sanji growled, "Whoever brings back the most kilograms of meat will be the winner!"

"Fine by me," Zoro agreed.

Abel watched the two men snarl at each other like animals, electricity sparking between them at the heat of their hatred, until she couldn't resist any longer. "Why don't you two just kiss and get it over with? The sexual tension is killing me."

The two jumped away from each other so quickly you'd think Abel used a cattle prod on them, falling on their backsides in the process. Abel tried not to burst out laughing as they both gaped at her in utter horror. "A-Abel-dono!" Sanji sputtered, looking as if he wanted to yell at Abel but his code of conduct forbid such a thing. Or perhaps he was merely horrified that one of his precious ladies was imagining such things.

Zoro, on the other hand, had no trouble voicing his thoughts. "Stop saying things like that, woman!" Honestly. Sometimes she could be so shameless with the things she said.

Smirking at their reactions, Abel gazed at the duo with her hands on her hips, looking rather proud of herself. "Distraction is often the best course to break up a fight," she drawled. Slinging a leg over the bulwark, Abel gracefully slid to the shore. "And as for hunting, perhaps you ought to leave that to the actual hunter on this ship. Not to doubt your abilities to murder something, but tracking and capturing animals is slightly more complicated than bashing a human's face in." She didn't doubt the two could bring something back, but it would most likely be because they stumbled across it. And Abel wasn't willing to risk the crew's wellbeing for that.

However, Abel barely took a step away from the ship when she heard Nami and Usopp rush to the side. "Wait!" they both shouted at the same time, sounding quite panicked.

Turning back, Abel stared at the duo in silent question. "You can't leave too!" Nami yelled, looking pale. "If you leave too, we'll be sitting ducks!"

Usopp nodded enthusiastically. "We can't stand up to a monster on our own! Luffy can take care of the princess, and Sanji and Zoro will be fine on their own, but we won't!"

"You have to stay in case something happens!" Nami finished.

Abel considered their words. Cowardly as they may be, she saw their point. It wasn't a good idea to leave the ship essentially unprotected in a potentially hostile environment. So she relented on her desire to explore the island... for now. "Since you've appealed to me ego," Abel began, "I suppose I can reconsider... at least until Sanji or Chief return, because I'm certain Boss will be gone all day." With Nami and Usopp looking much more relieved, Abel glanced at the two men still hovering near the trees. "Don't take all day with your little who's-bigger contest."

"Never fear, Abel-dono!" Sanji gushed. "I'll return as soon as I've showed this swordsman who's the best!"

"You may wish to hurry then, as he's getting a head-start," Abel advised, pointing to Zoro, who was already leaving. Sanji growled before stalking off in the opposite direction.

"I will never understand why those two have to turn everything into a competition," Nami muttered as the two figures disappeared.

"I blame it on an excess of testosterone," Abel commented as she wandered off slightly, but still remaining in sight of the ship to placate her remaining crewmates. Just because she agreed to stay didn't mean she couldn't explore the nearby area. She was confident if Nami or Usopp spotted trouble, they'd be sure to let her know... by screaming.

Abel occupied herself with examining the surrounding foliage. None of the plants resembled anything close to the plants and herbs she'd seen in her father's botany books as a child. Abel'd never taken an interest in horticulture the way she had in anatomy and mechanics, but she could identify plants that were harmful. Especially those used to make poisons. The helpful ones, she wasn't so clear on.

"W-w-what's the matter!?" Usopp's fearful question drew Abel from her musings. Facing the ship, she saw Nami rush into the storage room with Usopp close behind. "Nami, what's wrong!?" he asked, clearly afraid she knew something he didn't. Abel raised a brow, but made no effort to return to the Going Merry. Despite her urgency, Nami hadn't appeared distressed. So she went back to her explorations.

Abel found the trees here quite interesting. They resembled palm trees. Tall and skinny, with no branches. The bark was almost like scales. Running her hand along a trunk, Abel found the bark to be very rough, but fibrous. It almost felt like the hull of a coconut.

Hearing a door open on the ship, Abel saw Usopp exiting onto the deck, looking a bit perplexed. "Trouble?" she called to the boy.

Climbing to the upper deck, Usopp answered, "No. Nami said she thought she had a book about Little Garden, so she's down there tearing your room up looking for it."

"Fantastic," Abel drawled, but wasn't too concerned. Nami didn't like a mess, so she'd clean up anything she tore up.

Returning to her examination, Abel's hand ran up to a length of vine wrapped around the trunk. Following the lineup, Abel noticed some colorful fruit near the top of the tree. Humming in thought, she pulled out a knife threw it at the fruit. Ever true to her aim, the knife sliced the fruit at the stem. Abel caught the fruit before it hit the ground. Holding it in one hand, she examined. She'd never seen anything like it before. It looked like a large pear, but had smooth skin like an apple's, and a deep red color. Bringing it to her nose, she smelled it. It had a crisp, sweet smell, but Abel couldn't place what it smelt like. Eyeing the canopy above her, Abel noticed more of the fruit hidden among the leaves. I should leave this for Sanji to examine, she told herself. He'd know better if it was safe to eat. Abel hoped it was, because it would give them another food source on this island. Meat was all well and good, but without vegetables or fruit they'd contract scurvy or general malnutrition. Prevention was always best.

As she headed back to the ship with her prize in hand, Abel heard Nami call for her. "Abel! Usopp!"

"What?" Usopp asked, turning to the approaching red-head. "What now?" As Abel climbed the rope ladder, he continued, "So did you find your book yet?"

Reaching the top of the ladder, Abel saw Nami nod... looking very apprehensive. "You don't look pleased," Abel noted, slinging her legs back onto the ship. She saw the worn book in Nami's hands. The spine read "Brag Men."

Nami swallowed harshly, doing little to reassure her crewmates that whatever was in that book about Little Garden was in their favor. "This is bad," Nami breathed, turning urgent eyes on the other two. "This island..." She didn't seem able to finish that sentence. Nami was in too much shock.

"What!? What's wrong, Nami?" Usopp asked, growing more nervous by the second.

Before Nami could explain, assuming she'd ever get over shock to explain, Abel felt something behind her. Not in the way she felt monsters, but in the way most people could feel when someone watched them. Behind her, Abel heard rustling through the brush, and the groaning of branches being pushed aside. Dropping the fruit, Abel whipped around, hands flying instinctively towards her crossbows. But what she found nearing their location made even Abel come to a stunned stop. A huge, shadowed figure loomed over them. It appeared humanoid, at least in the sense that it stood on two legs, and the silhouette suggested it had horns. It also looked like it wore a cape or cloak of some kind, again suggesting it was sentient. Thoughtless animals didn't wear clothes.

Behind her, Usopp and Nami screamed as the figure pushed aside the trees with huge, yet very human hands. The trees snapped easily, like toothpicks. Behind it, Abel saw where it had cut, or more likely brushed, a path to the river. Coming to stop before the ship, the figure leaned forward... and laughed. A loud, friendly laugh from the belly. The volume of the sound unsettled the air around them, whipping Abel's hair and scarf around. When it finished, the figure leaned down and grinned toothily. "So? What's the answer?" he asked.

For a moment, the pirates were too stunned to even comprehend the question. But while Nami and Usopp were in tears, Abel just stared, mouth slightly agape. Until... A giant! she thought excitedly, her dumbfounded expression morphing into a smile.

As near as Abel could estimate, the giant stood at least twice the height of the Going Merry's mast, and that was just with him kneeling. He had a stocky, rotund body, with short arms and legs. But he was clearly a warrior, based on the muscular arms, and the axe and shield he carried. Round eyes peeked out from under a horned helmet, set above a wide nose with flared nostrils, a broad mouth and a thick but short, dirty blond beard. He wore Viking attire of various shades of red and brown, except for his cloak, which was blue.

Abel had heard of giants before. Based on her reading from her ancestors, giants were less monsters and more of another race, similar to Fishmen or merpeople. Even so, that didn't mean she wasn't tickled pink to finally meet one in person.

Unfortunately, Abel's crewmates didn't share in her excitement. "C-could you repeat that?" Nami whimpered, trying her best to smile. But it just looked like a grimace. "I didn't catch that. Please? Sir?" No need to be rude and set the giant off.

Leaning down so his face was level with theirs, the giant repeated, "I asked if you have any rum." His voice reverberated.

Fearing what he might do if they said no, Nami answered, "We have a little..."

"Oh, you do?" he asked cheerfully. Abel noticed that just one of his teeth was as tall as her torso. Then, unexpectedly, the giant screamed. Usopp and Nami screamed as well, fearing he was about to pounce, and even Abel jumped in surprise. But it wasn't anger that made the giant scream; it was pain.

As the giant glared behind him, Abel did her best to peer around his massive body. As if things were weird enough, it turned out a dinosaur had decided the giant's backside looked tasty and had its jaws latched on. A tyrannosaurs rex, to be specific. This day just keeps getting better and better, Abel mused. Abel wasn't exactly interested in dinosaurs, as they were natural creatures, but it was still intriguing that they existed on this island at all. As far as Abel knew, they were extinct everywhere else.

Usopp gaped at the scene, his jaw literally on the deck. "A... dino...?" He couldn't even get the words out properly.

"Dinosaur?" Nami finished for him, looking ready to lose it.

Swiftly, the giant grabbed his axe and whirled around. In one decisive move, he lopped the dinosaur's head clean off. As the giant celebrated his victory, Usopp and Nami bawled, clearly fearing the might of this man. To be able to dispatch a dinosaur so easily... Hoisting the t-rex's head aloft like a trophy, the giant proclaimed, "I'm Broggy, Elbaf's strongest warrior!" He laughed, enjoying his victory before turning to the ship again. Abel watched with no small amazement as he set the dinosaur's head down. Grinning at the pirates, Broggy said, "Now I've got meat, too. I'll treat you guys, my guests."

Abel was about to respond, when two loud thunks interrupted her. Glancing over her shoulder, Abel found her companions passed out on the deck. "What are you doing?" Abel asked.

"Pretending we're dead..." Usopp whispered. Abel wanted to point out that the sweating and twitching gave them away, but figured that would just make them panic more.

"D-doesn't pretending to be dead only work on bears?" Nami whispered while still doing her best acting.

Rolling her eyes, Abel turned back to face Broggy, who watched on in confusion. Smiling in a friendly fashion, she said, "They were simply overwhelmed by your presence."

Broggy blinked, before bursting into a hearty laugh. "I often get that reaction from humans," he commented, not sounded the least bit offended. "I take it you're new to the Grand Line."

Abel nodded before holding out her hand. "Since we're introducing ourselves, I'm Abel. These are my crewmates, Nami and Usopp." Broggy seemed amused by her offered hand, but attempted to shake it nonetheless. Of course, given the massive difference in size, it resulted in Abel placing her hand on one of Broggy's knuckles.

"Wake your friends up. It's been a long time since I've had visitors."

Resisting the urge to smirk, Abel knelt between her two crewmates play possum. In a low enough voice that Broggy couldn't hear, she drawled, "Rejecting a giant's hospitality may be eschewed as offensive and provoke his wrath." In all honesty, she was joking. Broggy seemed generally good-natured - not that she wanted to be on the receiving end of a giant's temper. But that didn't stop Nami and Usopp from bolting up like they'd been hit by lightning.

Grinning at the sight of the two conscious again, Broggy reached a hand towards them, palm open. "Come, my friends!" he said cheerfully. "You bring the alcohol and I'll cook the meat, and we'll have a grand time!"

With much reluctance, Nami and Usopp wheeled out several barrel of rum. Broggy licked his lips in anticipation of what was likely his first adult beverage in a long time. Abel doubted he had the resources on this island to make it himself, and based on what he'd said, not many people stopped by this island. Although the barrels looked comically small in comparison to the giant. They looked like marbles in his hand. After tucking the barrels to his belt, Broggy helpfully offered to give the pirates a lift to his home... literally. Nami and Usopp climbed aboard his hand, flinching and sweating like they feared he'd crush them in a moment's notice. Only Abel was at ease in the giant's presence, as she climbed to his shoulder to have the best view of the island while still conversing with him. Part of her ease may have been due to being used to the idea of strange creatures, but mostly it just made logical sense to her. Broggy could've easily already killed them if he wanted; the fact that he hadn't indicated he meant them no harm. Grabbing the t-rex's tail with his free hand, Broggy ambled back towards his home.

"My home is just ahead," Broggy informed them. "You see the giant mountain ahead?" Abel realized he meant one of the strange, rib-like ranges she'd noticed before.

Unable to quell her curiosity, Abel asked, "Are dinosaurs a common occurrence in the Grand Line?"

"Unfortunately, no," Broggy answered, grinning. "It's a shame. Few creatures can satisfy my hunger like these beasts." Broggy laughed at his own joke, and Abel smirked in response. A hungry giant could probably wipe out an ecosystem. Getting back to the conversation, Broggy continued, "I'm sure you'll learn it yourself if you visit enough islands, but the islands in the Grand Line all have unique cultures and environments. Thanks to travel between islands being so difficult, species and people tend not to migrate, so every island is different. Some become quite advances, while others remain primitive... like this one."

That made sense to Abel. Thanks to the strange sea, all the islands essentially developed in isolation from each other. Abel found the idea rather exciting. It meant each island would present its own challenges and adventures. Luffy will be pleased to learn of this, she thought. "You seem quite knowledgeable of Little Garden's ecology. Have you lived here long?" Abel asked, ignoring the way her crewmates motioned for her to stop encouraging the giant.

"For a hundred years," Broggy replied.

Abel raised a brow. "I suppose it's true then that giants' lives are far longer than humans."

Broggy would've nodded, but he refrained so he wouldn't sling his little companion to the ground. "We giants can live three times as long as you humans."

Abel hummed thoughtfully as she processed this. "You mentioned a place called Elbaf during your celebratory speech. Is that the giant homeland?"

"Not necessarily," Broggy replied, seeming to enjoy speaking about his people. Or perhaps he enjoyed talking in general. "Elbaf is home to giants, but not all giants are from Elbaf. However..." He grinned in a way that would give Luffy a run for his money. "Those of us from Elbaf count ourselves as some of the greatest warriors this world has ever seen!" He laughed boastfully, clearly believing every word he said.

Eyeing the beheaded dinosaur behind them, Abel murmured, "I don't doubt it."

"Ah!" Broggy exclaimed, bringing Abel's attention to the present. "Here we are! Home sweet home!"

Broggy's home was little more than a cave inside the strange mountain, but it was serviceable. It had a large fire pit outside, and a straw bed in the shelter of the mountain. The area sat in a clearing, and gave a nice panoramic view of the jungle and surrounding volcanoes, without being in harm's way. In the distance, Abel spotted a second, similar mountain range, and wondered if someone lived there as well. Was this the standard giant house?

As Broggy set about preparing the dinosaur to eat, which consisted of chopping it up into pieces and placing skewers over a roaring fire, Abel watched as Nami and Usopp tried to edge away. It was painfully obvious they were judging when it was safe to run away. But what good would that do? Broggy knew where the ship was. Did they think they could outrun a giant? Still, Abel kept her thoughts to herself and just watched their fear in amusement. In spite of his size, Broggy seemed harmless enough.

True, Nami and Usopp were very anxious to leave, yet they kept hesitating. They felt somewhat guilty about leaving Abel at the giant's mercy, even if the crazy woman showed no fear of her situation. Besides, if Luffy found out, they'd just have to save her anyway. And as scary as a giant was, the thought of facing Luffy's disappointment was even worse. So they resigned themselves to playing nice, at least long enough until they could make a good excuse to leave. Nami and Usopp exchanged a look before sighing in tandem and skulking over, like prisoners headed for the executioner's block. Which, to their minds, they probably were.

Eventually, Broggy set a huge chunk of meat in front of the pirates, being sure to place a large leaf down to act as a plate. Such manners! "There! It's all cooked so eat up!" he offered.

Abel was about to thank the man, when Usopp protested weakly, "W... we're not hungry." Abel just stared at the two seated on a cut tree trunk for a bench. They both were so stiff Abel feared they'd break at the slightest touch.

Keeping his head low, Usopp whispered, "Psst! There're skeletons all around us..."

"I know..." Nami whimpered. It was true. Numerous human skeletons littered the grounds.

Unaware of his guests' fear, Broggy encouraged, "No need to decline out of modesty! Eat as much as you want! Dinosaur meat's especially delicious, you know?"

Again, before Abel could reply, Nami and Usopp dismissed, "It's fine. We're not up for much of a meal." Broggy looked confused, but shrugged, humming happily as he picked up his own slab of meat.

The two started whispering again, and Abel came to stand directly behind them without their noticing. "... going to be eaten too..." Usopp finished saying.

"It's only too obvious that he's trying to fatten us up so he can enjoy human meat..." Nami whispered back.

"We're too young to die..." Usopp bemoaned tearfully.

"But maybe that's the best time to eat humans..." Nami suggested, shuddering at the thought.

Oh, this is just too precious, Abel thought. They thought Broggy was going to eat them? The thought was absurd. True, giants were omnivores just like humans were. But nothing she'd ever read suggested giants made a habit of eating people. But Abel just couldn't help herself. Leaning between the two, Abel said in a low, cheerful voice, "You're thinking of trolls. Giants just grind up people's bones to make bread." Wasn't that how the story went?

Abel tried not to blow her cover as Usopp and Nami turned an interesting shade of blue. She could almost read what they were thinking in their eyes. Is that why there are bones everywhere!?

Growing increasingly nervous, Nami asked, "Umm, Mister Broggy... do you mind if I ask you a question?"

"Hm? What's on your mind, young lady?" Broggy mumbled around a mouthful of meat. He looked very much like Luffy in that moment.

Steeling herself, Nami asked, "H-how long does it t-take for the log pose to finish recording on this island...?"

"One full year."

Usopp and Nami collapsed from the shock, and even Abel looked surprised. That's problematic, she thought. Vivi would have a fit when she heard this. Could they afford to wait here a year? Would Luffy even be able to wait that long? He may find Little Garden cool now, buy Luffy wasn't known for his attention span. A few days, and he'd be bouncing off the walls.

But what could they do? Unless they wanted to brave the open sea without the log pose to guide them - which everyone seemed to emphatically state was suicide. Unless... "You stated you'd been here for a hundred years," Abel began, the gears turning in her mind. "That's more than enough time for your log pose to record the magnetic field. Could we perhaps trade? We take your log pose and leave you ours? If you've remained here for over a century, surely you mind waiting another year."

Nami gasped when she realized where Abel was going with this. If he has one, we can use that! she thought, feeling hopeful. And even if he doesn't agree, we can just take it. We'll be long gone before he realizes... of course after leaving the one Crocus gave us. Nami wasn't that heartless. Or stupid.

"Why such a hurry?" Broggy asked.

"We have a pressing date with some impatient people," Abel answered vaguely. Revolutions waited for no man.

Broggy studied the pirates for a moment, before responding, "I'm afraid I can't help you."

"But why!?" Usopp shouted, before flinching when he realized he'd shouted at someone who could squash him like a bug.

But Broggy didn't seem to mind. "The only log pose on this island is an eternal pose."

Nami blinked, reining in her outrage. "Eternal pose? To where?"

"Elbaf," Broggy answered. He glanced at the tallest volcano on the island. "It's our prize."

Prize? What did that mean? Did Broggy mean it was really important to him (which would make sense since it pointed him home)? Did he mean prize as in treasure, or prize as in something to be won? And something else he said stuck out in Abel's mind. "Who's our?"

Broggy beamed at them, happy for the turn in the conversation. "There's another giant on this island. And he's my rival for the log pose." Broggy stared into the sky, looking rather wistful then. "There's a law in our home country that if there's a dispute that can't be settled between men, then we are to leave it to our god. Elbaf will bestow protection on those who are right. This island has served as the battleground between myself and the other giant. Whoever is in the right will survive."

"Whoa!" Usopp breathed, sounding very in awe. But then he realized something. "But wait a minute..." He started counting on his fingers just to make sure he wasn't wrong. But he couldn't be wrong about the numbers. Gaping up at Broggy with wide, disbelieving eyes, Usopp declared, "You've been fighting the same battle for a hundred years!?"

Broggy burst into laughter. While most people might be upset about not winning a fight for that long, he seemed to revel in it. "We just can't seem to settle our duel!"

"That must've been some argument," Abel mused. She tried to think of an issue that she'd spend a century fighting over, but she couldn't come up with anything. Then again, she didn't consider herself a warrior. Or a man. Men were strange about stuff like that.

"To tell you the truth," Broggy managed through his chuckles. "It's been so long neither of us remember what we were fighting about." Abel's eyebrows shot up dramatically at the admission. Nami looked dumbfounded. And Usopp... looked rather awed. Strange.

Before they could continue their conversation, the largest volcano erupted. Even at a safe distance away, it made the pirates jump as the ground rumbled. Oddly, Broggy's face lit up at the spewing volcano. "Ah! It's that time again."

"Time for what?" Nami asked nervously as Broggy stood, drawing his axe and readying his shield.

"Along the way, we decided to make that volcano's eruptions the signal for our next duel," Broggy told them even as he walked in the direction of the other mountain range.

In the distance, another figure emerged above the canopy. Another giant. Like Broggy, he wore Viking attire, although his helmet looked more like a liegonarre's. He didn't wear a shirt, only a blue cloak and an armor-plated belly-band, with gray-green pants and brown moccasins. He was less rotund than Broggy, but definitely powerfully built. A long brown beard fell to his stomach. Like Broggy, he carried a buckler shield on one arm, but in place of an axe he used a sword.

The two giants clashed in the middle of the island with giant grins on their faces. Despite this battle having no clear victor for a hundred years, they obviously still enjoyed the fighting. And it became quickly apparent why the fight had gone on for so long without a winner: the two giants were evenly matched. For every blow, they blocked. After dueling for so long, they knew each other's techniques and styles as fluidly as their own.

With weapons locked together, they struggled to overcome the other's might. "Don't you long for our home, Dorry?" Broggy asked, goading his opponent.

"That's exactly why I'll crush you today and leave for Elbaf at once, Broggy!" the other giant, Dorry, boasted. With a battle cry, he lunged at Broggy, who displayed impressive nimbleness for someone his size by leaping over the sword.

With Dorry's sword embedded in the mountain, Broggy seized his moment. Yelling, he swung his axe down. Rather than release his sword to dodge, Dorry met the blow head-on. Literally. Using his helmet, he took the brunt of Broggy's attack. Nami screamed, covering her eyes as the axe embedded in the metal. Luckily for Dorry, his helmet proved stronger, deflecting the axe.

"H-h-he blocked the blow with his helmet!" Usopp winced, hands flying to his head sympathetically. "If he received that blow just a few centimeters off, it'd have meant instant death!"

"They're quite intent to maim each other," Abel agreed, watching the giants fight in earnest.

"And they've been fighting like this for over one-hundred years!?" Nami wondered aloud. After so many years, you'd think they'd have lost the taste for battle. But no. The giants fought like it was their first encounter. Shaking her head, Nami stood resolutely. "But it's good for us. This gives us our chance to escape!"

Abel watched the other woman start to turn out of the corner of her eye, before shrugging. With her curiosity sated, and no further aid possible from the giant, Abel saw no reason to linger. Nor did she have any real interest in watching a battle where the outcome was almost certain. If the previous one-hundred years of duels had ended in a draw, why should this one be any different? So she made to follow their navigator back to the ship, when she noticed their male companion wasn't following. Curious as to why Usopp, who'd been just as anxious as Nami to leave, wasn't budging, Abel turned back around. "Problem, Usopp?" she asked at length.

Usopp didn't turn. He didn't even respond directly. He just stood, rooted to the spot, muttering, "Wow..."

Realizing she wasn't being followed, Nami halted. "Usopp?" she tried.

Eyes still on the battle, Usopp breathed, "Even without any reason, they fight so seriously..."

Glancing at the giants, Nami huffed, "This fight sure is a bother."

"You fool!" Usopp snapped, surprising the two women. Glaring, Usopp crossed his arms in a defiant gesture. He stood a little taller as he declared, "This is what a man's fight is!"

"You mean battling for no other reason save than to stroke their own egos?" Abel asked.

Abel's dismissive comment only stirred Usopp up further. Women... But maybe he could make them see the beauty of this clash of wills. "Let's say that there's a metaphorical flag raised in their hearts, and those flags are more important than their very lives! They don't want their flags to be destroyed no matter what! And so, to protect that flag, they continue this fight for over a hundred years! Can't you see!? This is a real battle of pride between two warriors!"

It was on the tip of Abel's tongue to dispute Usopp's claim. Despite not considering herself a warrior, Abel could see a lot of things worth fighting for; to protect, for justice... Hell, she even understood the desire to hone one's craft and be the best at whatever endeavor they set their minds to. But she saw nothing worthy of respecting here. Pride and honor were two different things, and often confused. To Abel, what most people called "pride" was little more than preserving their egos. To feel superior at the expense of making others inferior. Domination. Honor, on the other hand, was about preserving integrity and principles. Standing up for what you believed in. Honor was worth fighting for, pride was not. Abel saw pride here, which on its own wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but also tended to make people do stupid things.

However, flying in the face of her own character, Abel managed to hold her tongue. For some reason, it seemed like watching these two men go at it was good for Usopp's soul. Perhaps to someone who wanted with all their being to be brave, despite it not being in their nature, something like this was inspiring. And while she neither agreed nor really understood it, Abel was willing to let Usopp see whatever it was he needed to see.

Nami, of course, had no such qualms. "Well, I'm not interested in any of that stuff so I'm going to take off!" she dismissed, already leaving.

Undeterred, Usopp replied, "I'm gonna watch this a little longer," To himself, he said, "This is it! This is what I meant by a brave warrior of the seas! I want to become a proud man like them!"

Usopp's statement drained Nami's will to leave. She watched the boy a moment longer, considering him, before sitting back on the tree trunk with a long-suffering sigh. "So you want to be a giant, huh?" she asked, trying to sound disinterested. Abel hid a smirk, though, because the fact that Nami hadn't left spoke more than her words right now.

Too bad Usopp couldn't read past that. "Did you even listen to anything I just said!?" he fumed. But the ongoing battle swiftly drew his attention again, and his eyes filled with wonder. "If there's an entire village full of warriors like them, I'd sure like to visit it one day!"

The fight seemed to be winding down, as both giants had disarmed each other. But neither would admit defeat just yet. As one, they charged at each other, using their shields as a bludgeon. The wood and metal weapons connectedly solidly with their faces, in perfect sync. The giants remained frozen for a moment, faces comically smushed. "Seventy-three thousand four-hundred sixty-six fights..." Broggy mumbled.

"And Seventy-three thousand four-hundred sixty-six draws," Dorry finished before they collapsed dramatically.

All was silent throughout the jungle, likely as the giants tried to recover their senses. Eventually, their joyful laughter broke the silence, ringing out heartily. Abel found it strange that two men so eager to kill each other actually bore no ill will against the other. Heck, they might have even considered each other friends. Abel shook her head, figuring she'd never understand how men's brains worked. She blamed it on testosterone.

The trio heard Broggy's return before they saw him as his quaking footsteps approached. When he emerged through the trees, brushing them aside like nothing, he seemed battered but in good spirits. "And so the battle continues for another day," Broggy laughed, not the slightest bit disappointed. Flopping down on his stone seat, Broggy informed the pirates, "By the way. Dorry told me he has some visitors as well. A boy and woman. Are they friends of yours?"

"Must be Luffy and Vivi," Nami replied. "I shouldn't find it surprising Luffy'd stumble across the other giant on this island."

Usopp, eager to speak with Broggy, interrupted, "That fight was amazing!"

Broggy beamed. "Are you a warrior yourself?" he asked.

"I hope to be, one day," Usopp admitted. "It's my dream, and why I set out from home. I dream of one day being a brave warrior of the sea, just like my father!"

"A brave warrior of the sea?" Broggy repeated. "What's that?"

"It's someone like you!" Usopp answered, gazing up at Broggy with more than a little hero worship. "I want to become just like you two one day!"

Broggy's eyes widened. "A giant?"

As Nami burst out laughing, Usopp fumed, "No, that's not what I mean!" How could two people make the same mistake? Although Usopp knew Nami'd just been messing with him. Undaunted, Usopp explained, "I want to live proudly and honorably, just like the warriors of Elbaf!" He thumped his chest to emphasize his point.

Broggy laughed, pleasantly surprised by Usopp's commitment. "I see! We giants have much longer lifespans than you humans, and as such, we wish nothing more than an honorable death. After all, one's fortune or life is all bound to come to an end one day. To a warrior of Elbaf, to die without tarnishing one's pride is what we mean by an honorable death. Our pride almost never comes to an end. It's an eternal treasure that's passed on through the lands of Elbaf."

"So your pride is your treasure," Usopp said, eyes sparkling. "That's great." In a hushed, reverent voice, Usopp proclaimed, "I've just decided... that I'll call you Master from now on!"

As the two chatted animatedly, while Nami watched on in boredom, Abel thought she heard an explosion in the distance. Scanning the forest, Abel asked, "What was that detonation?"

"Probably one of the smaller volcanoes," Broggy replied haphazardly. "This island is very active."

Abel hummed, her mouth pursing slightly. "At the risk of boasting, I know my detonations, and that sounded more akin to gunpowder than geothermal pressure." Considering there wasn't supposed to be anyone else on the island besides the Straw Hat Pirates and the giants, and no one in the crew besides Abel and Usopp would tamper with explosive chemicals, the sound was out of place.

Broggy stared at Abel and her curious way of putting things, but followed her gaze. The group listened for any other suspicious noises. But aside from general jungle life, all was still. Until the large volcano erupted again. Broggy actually jumped this time. He'd been so intent on listening that the sound startled him. Laughing at his own foolishness, Broggy proclaimed, "The fight will begin soon. This is a good day." Sometimes they'd go days without fighting, so any day where Broggy got to fight Dorry more than once was a special occasion. Elbaf must be smiling on them.

"You'll fight again?" Nami asked. "What about your injury?"

"Don't be silly," Broggy chided mildly. "We both got hurt last time." True, he'd been injured in the last fight, but so had Dorry. The way Broggy figured it, they were even. "Making excuses during a merciless fight to the death would spoil my name!" The giant stood.

"Go get him, Master Broggy!" Usopp cheered, and Abel smirked at his title for the giant.

"Sure!" Broggy agreed, getting pumped for the fight. Slinging his axe over his shoulder, he shouted, "I'll crush him down this time."

As Broggy stomped off, Nami sighed. "Why do they have to continue this stupid fight?"

Usopp was instantly on her. "Don't say that this fight is stupid!"

"It does seem a bit like an exercise in futility," Abel pointed out, gently. Before Usopp could yell at her for being disrespectful as well, Abel continued, "The two have been evenly matched for over a hundred years and seventy-thousand battles. Assuming their prowess has improved at all, as they've only been fighting each other, their skills would still increase at the same speed, thus forever keeping them in a stalemate. One only improves by pushing past what they're capable of."

At her reasoning, Usopp stopped his rant and pondered Abel's words. He supposed they did make some sense. Still, they shouldn't be so disrespectful of a man's pride.

"Anyway," Nami interrupted the philosophy lesson. "Let's go back to our ship. Waiting a year of the log to store up is out of the question!" Nami glance at her log pose before scowling. This really sucked, but there wasn't anything they could do to speed things up. "We'd better wait for everyone and try to find the way out."

As Nami turned, ready to leave again, Usopp stopped her. "Wait a minute." Abel and Nami watched as Usopp struck a dramatic pose and, with utmost sincerity shouted, "I am absolutely useless in a fight against dinosaurs! So there is no way that we can get out of this forest!"

Both women deadpanned. Honesty was a good trait and all, but... "What happened to all that 'brave warrior of the sea' stuff you've been going on about?" Nami asked.

"I meant that my heart has become the great warrior!" Usopp protested, clearly failing to see his hypocrisy.

Crossing her arms, Abel quipped, "Fat lot of a good having a warrior's heart will do you when your body can't keep up."

Shaking her head, Nami decided to just ignore Usopp's weird mood. For now, she'd focus on talking to Abel. "We have no choice left. Let's go see Luffy at the other giant's house."

"Agreed," Abel replied. "Perhaps Vivi knows of a way to circumvent the log pose." It was a long shot, because so far Vivi seemed certain that travel was dependent on the device, but it was best to try until they'd exhausted all options.

Nami smiled cheekily at Abel. "Why don't you take the lead?" she asked chipper. "You are a monster hunter, after all." If anyone should be in front, it ought to be the one with the best chance of protecting them.

Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, because she honestly didn't mind, Abel answered, "Very well. I'll take point... if you can snap Mister Warrior from his tirade."

As Abel nodded to Usopp, Nami sweatdropped upon finding the boy still talking to himself. Oblivious to the women's conversation, Usopp continued to bask in his imagination. He could see himself becoming a fierce and proud warrior, known throughout the world. "One day, even if I have to lose everything or I have to face death alone on an isolated island, I will die with pride and my last words will be, 'I am Usopp, the great warrior of the sea!'!" In the midst of his delusions, Usopp failed to register that Nami dragged him against the ground as she pulled him along by his bag. That was some dedicated fantasizing.

Acting so nonchalantly that Abel felt pride welling up inside her, Nami replied easily, "Okay, okay. I understand," while dragging the boy along, with Abel leading the way. "Please become a great warrior soon, okay?"

"Sure," Usopp agreed, sounding like he came to his senses.

Abel led the group back in the direction of the ship. It was a little different, being on the ground this time instead of riding through the sky, but that had given Abel a good view of the island from there. Plus, with Nami, it wasn't likely they'd get turned around. It was rather amusing how the trip began rather jovially, with Usopp still rambling, only Nami barely paying him any attention. Abel concerned herself more with listening to the jungle, registering Usopp's chatter as just background noise. Dinosaurs roamed these woods, and without the benefit of a giant to scare them off, the trio might look like a tasty meal to some.

Abel fell back to her hunting instincts. Although her prey was a bit bigger that what most hunters pursued, she'd still trained herself in tracking and hunting skills. She walked with light, easy steps, her hands resting on her crossbows. Not in a tense gesture, but just in case. Abel scanned the forest as they walked, turning her head so she had a better idea of the sounds surrounding them.

Abel came to a sudden halt when she heard rustling in the underbrush. Turning in that direction, Abel waited. She kept her eyes glued to one spot so she'd notice any movement easier. Behind her, Nami and Usopp hushed, waiting tensely. Abel wasn't even sure they were breathing. But after a few minutes without any further noise, Abel decided it was safe to move on.

Her companions relaxed and fell back into idle chatter, yet Abel remained vigilant. We're being followed, she thought. It was faint, but she could hear it. Something wasn't just following them, it was circling them. And being very sneaky about it. The leaves rustled lightly in an irregular pattern, like they would if disturbed by the wind. But the sounds remained at a consistent distance and regularity from them, making it highly unlikely that the wind was the culprit. The image of wolves stalking a herd, each member getting into the perfect position to chase their prey into the jaws of their pack mates came to Abel's mind. She wasn't sure if it was wolves (unlikely since they didn't typically live in jungles) but it was a practice shared by many species that hunted in packs. Keeping her stance relaxed, lest she worry her comrades before it was time, Abel ran through her mind what species of dinosaurs might operate in a pack. Not many came to mind. Most carnivorous dinosaurs were solitary, or too large to be ambush predators. But one did come to mind.

Deciding she needed to warn her crewmates, Abel said in her usual, laidback tone, "Not to worry you two, but I fear we're being stalked."

"What!?" Usopp and Nami shrieked at the same time.

Abel flinched, hearing the brush rustle more vigorously. "I said not to worry," she chided mildly without looking back. "If you start behaving in a panicked fashion, whatever it is will sense your fear. It will know we know it's there, and may pounce before we can run. In other words..." She glanced back at them. "Chill out." A strange expression crossed both of their faces, which Abel could only describe as looking constipated. But to their credit, they attempted to look normal. Their movements became jerkier, and their eyes rolled around like the dials on a slot machine, but Abel gave them an A for effort.

"Can we make it to the ship if we run?" Nami asked.

"Shh!" Usopp hurriedly shushed. "They'll hear you."

"I'm fairly confident that dinosaurs don't understand human language," Abel retorted. It's not like they'd understand them. Going back to Nami's question, Abel answered honestly, "I'm not sure. If I'm correct about which species we've had the misfortune of catching the eye of, it'll be a difficult run. Unless-"

Abel suddenly broke off. Dead silence engulfed them. Not leaves rustling, no wind, not even the chirping of the ever-present bugs. That can't be a good sign, Abel thought. "Red, Usopp... I suggest you start running."

"W-what!?" they both gasped, eyes bugging out at Abel's sudden proclamation.

When they saw her pull out her twin crossbows, they knew she was serious. "I'll act as a diversion, you just run. Now go."

Spinning around, Abel trained her crossbows into the bushes on either side of Nami and Usopp. Likely triggered by the suddenly aggressive stance, the beasts that had been tailing them pounced from hiding. Two raptors leapt from hiding, screeching as they rushed the pirates. Nami and Usopp screamed, and wasted no time taking Abel's offer. Usopp streaked past the hunter in a blur of beige, with Nami following close behind.

The raptors attempted to run past Abel, locked onto the running targets, driven by inherent predator instincts to give chase to the weakest in the herd. But of course, Abel wasn't having any of that. Turning as they streaked by, she fired low. Her bolts caught the closest raptors in the legs. The dinosaur shrieked, stumbling and skidding across the ground, temporarily crippled by the pain. The other raptor, farther ahead, jumped into the brush to avoid the bolts. Abel listened as it circled back towards her. It would most likely go for another ambush. That's the way raptors worked. They were faster and deadly, but their true danger was in their intelligence. Not at the human level, but any species that worked in a pack had to have a strategic mind.

But Abel didn't have time to worry about the missing dinosaur when she was about to have a handful of another. The injured raptor hissed, almost like a snake, showing off its razor-sharp teeth. Stumbling at first, it ran at her, fast as a barracuda. Not wanting to let the beast get too close, Abel vaulted back by several yards. As she did, she made use of some caltrops she'd scarpered from Usopp, tossing them on the ground she'd just occupied while simultaneously getting out of harm's way. Not used to such tactics, the raptor didn't know to avoid the caltrops, instead running straight into them. The beast screamed as the barbs stuck into its feet. With its legs already injured, the raptor staggered, but pushed forward.

Seizing the opportunity, Abel leapt as the raptor neared, its head low to the ground as it struggled to stay upright. Abel aimed her jump so she landed squarely on the base of its skull before kicking off again. The force of her dismount shoved the raptor's head into the ground, where it slid across the earth, creating a small rut with its body. Landing behind it, Abel quickly turned, her aim snapping on the beast. But her caution wasn't needed. Dazed, and with its legs bleeding, the raptor struggled to stand, but couldn't make it to its feet.

Abel almost let herself relax, until she remembered the missing raptor. Just in time, too, as she sensed more than heard it. Acting on instinct, Abel dived to the right, narrowly avoiding being shredded by the lunging raptor's claws. Wasting no time, Abel used the raptor's own tactics and made for the bushes. The intense rustling behind her told Abel the beast was in close pursuit. She didn't look back, though, as that's how you got caught. Never look back.

Abel ran through the jungle with the raptor at her heels. Her heart beat hard in her chest as adrenaline pumped through her system, putting her mind in a state of battle-fog, where her sense felt both sharper and dulled at the same time. Simultaneously more aware of her surroundings yet selectively choosing what to acknowledge and ignore. Abel didn't want to stop to fire at the raptor, because she wasn't confident she could get a debilitating shot off before he reached her. So instead, she zig-zagged around trees and bushes, changing her angle whenever she could to prevent it from catching up to her. Raptors were a lot like cheetahs; in a straight run, she was no match for them. She had to keep running at angles just to make it lose some speed.

Making a sharp U-turn around a massive tree trunk, Abel pushed a low-hanging branch out of her way. But before letting go, she had an idea. Pushing the branch as far as it would go, Abel leaned back against the tree, holding the branch back. She waited, holding her breath, until she heard the angry rustle of feet. Giving a controlled exhale, Abel released the branch. It snapped back, whistling through the air as it hit the raptor in its open maw with a satisfying crack. The raptor hit the ground hard. Cautiously, Abel peeked around the tree. The raptor lay sprawled on the ground, dazed and groaning as it pawed as its jaw. Letting out a relieved sigh, Abel made a quick escape while she could.

Abel ran all the way back to the Going Merry. Just because she'd taken care of the two raptors didn't mean there weren't other dangers lurking. Besides, Usopp and Nami had been making enough noise to attract every predator on the island. It didn't bode well when she found the ship vacant. "Red. Usopp," she called, to no avail. Not a peep.

Facing the jungle, Abel thought about what her next step should be. It's not out of the question that they veered from the path in their distress, Abel reasoned. When you're running for your life, you don't exactly have time to stop and check your heading. You just kept going. With that in mind, Abel decided the best thing to do would be search the jungle. Even if she ran into the rest of the crew first, at least she could enlist their help. If nothing else, she knew the general direction Luffy and Vivi were in.

Abel blinked when a figure caught her attention. Zoro stood just inside the tree line. Abel'd been so caught up in her thought she hadn't even noticed him appear. Either that, or his green hair acted like camouflage. But she was glad to see him. "Coming back from your hunt empty-handed, Chief?" she teased as she jumped to shore, noticing his lack of an animal.

Abel started towards the swordsman, ready to catch him up to speed on their situation, when she stopped dead in her tracks. Staring at Zoro, something felt... off. He just... stood there. No reaction, no acknowledgement of her, despite looking right at her. He didn't move. Hell, looking closely Abel saw he wasn't even breathing. And now that she was paying attention, she realized that she didn't feel Kitetsu. True, she'd been working on getting used to the sword's overwhelming presence, but it wasn't that fast. Instead, she felt nothing at all.

This wasn't Zoro. This was a facade. A charade. She might as well have been looking at a mannequin.

The thought made Abel break out into a cold sweat. Mannequins ranked right up there with dolls as far as she was concerned. She literally had a knee-jerk reaction, taking a step back. That seemed to trigger... whatever it was. The Zoro imposter quickly morphed into a white spray, shooting out at Abel. The hunter bit back a scream as she staggered back, losing her balance in the process. Luckily for her, this meant she avoided the majority of the... whatever it was. Most of it went over her head, splashing against the ship's hull, sticking to it like glue. However, a glob did manage to land on her arm, which she'd brought up reflexively to shield herself. Abel gasped as she felt it start to harden. Wax! she thought.

Before she could react, Abel crashed backwards into the river. Apparently she'd stumbled too far on the shore. But this actually worked in her favor, because the wax couldn't reach her under the water. Wax was more dense than water, so it couldn't sink. Floating beneath the surface, Abel watched as the wax slithered back towards the land. Shortly after, two figures appeared. Abel couldn't get a good look at them, thanks to the shadows from the trees and the distortion from the water's surface. But she definitely saw two distinct figures peering into the river. One was fairly skinny, while the other was quite short. Almost like a child. And they were definitely waiting for her.

Let's disappoint them, shall we? Abel thought to herself. Like hell she was just going to pop up to fall into their trap again.

Instead, Abel swam further downriver. She wasn't sure exactly how far she swam, but she lost sight of the Going Merry's hull beneath the waves. Only once she felt safe did Abel stick her head out of the water just enough for her eyes to show. Seeing nothing around but trees, she carefully pulled herself onto shore.

Gasping for breath as she climbed out, Abel took time to reevaluate the situation. Her free hand came down to stroke the strange wax cast on her right arm. It encased from her forearm up to her hand. Only her thumb and the last two knuckles of her index finger were free from the solid prison. Experimentally, Abel knocked the cast against a tree. Not even a chip or flake. Abel brought her arm up, frowning at it. It may have just been wax, but it might has well have been armor. I think it's safe to assume one of the figures awaiting my return at the ship is a Devil Fruit user. That was the only rational explanation. Did something like a Wax-Wax Fruit exist? And who were they?

The most obvious answer was Baroque Works. What were the odds that another pair of people, who didn't live on this island, possessed Devil Fruit powers, and clearly bore a grudge against the Straw Hats, showed up? Not very high, as far as Abel was concerned. Miss All Sunday must've siced them on us, Abel thought. Stalking people through the Grand Line must be a simple matter, as there's only one safe path to and from any given island. Raising her head, she thought, Now's not the time for contemplation. I need to locate the others... fast. Abel had no idea if the rest of the crew had encountered the agents, but she needed to warn them. Come to think of it, could that explain Nami and Usopp's absence?

With a new purpose, Abel headed back into the jungle. But this time, to avoid any entanglements with the locals, Abel stuck to the trees. Fortunately, the trees were densely packed, enabling Abel to jump from tree to tree and avoid going out in the open. She headed in the direction Luffy and Vivi were supposed to be in. Vivi was in the greatest danger. She was Baroque Works' primary target. The rest of them were just peripheral. Hopefully, she'd stumble across the others along the way.

As she traversed the canopy with reasonable speed, a coppery smell flooded Abel's nose. Abel's nose crinkled at the noxious odor. It smelt like a mix of blood and burnt hair. The combination almost made her retch. It grew stronger, almost to the point of overwhelming, until Abel located the source in a small clearing. Even without the odor, the smoldering yellow form on the ground would have caught her attention. Carue? she thought.

Pausing just long enough to ensure there were no immediate threats in the area, Abel leapt from the trees, landing beside the severely injured duck. Kneeling beside him, Abel took stock of his injuries. He looked like he'd been beaten and burnt. Strangely, though, there was no evidence of a fire in the area. In fact, none of the surrounding area was damaged in the slightest. Abel's mind instantly went back to Five and his explosive Devil Fruit powers. Then there are two groups of agents to contend with, Abel reasoned. Because the ones she saw from underwater weren't them.

Gently, Abel placed a hand on the duck's side. Carue flinched, but it seemed more out of fear of who might be touching him than pain. "Carue," she called calmly, idly stroking the duck's feathers in a soothing gesture. With a weak, shaky quack, Carue craned his neck around to face Abel. A look of immense relief crossed his eyes. Instead of asking the first question that came to mind, about what had happened, she settled for asking, "Where's Boss and Vivi?" It didn't seem like Carue would've left the princess' side willingly.

Groaning, Carue struggled to pull his feet underneath him. Understanding that he wanted to stand, Abel helped steady Carue. His legs shook, but he managed to stand, even if he looked ready to collapse at any moment. There was a fire in his eyes, despite the obvious pain. When he took a few shaky steps forward, Abel had a good idea of what he intended to do. "You want to lead me to them," she stated more than asked. Nodding, Carue soldiered on, his devotion to his master admirable.

Carue led Abel to a large clearing identical to the one Broggy'd made his home in. It even had the same mountain. But Abel found no giant. Instead, she found Usopp and Luffy, both charred in a manner similar to Carue. And both unable to move for similar but for distinct reasons. Usopp had been, as best as Abel could describe it, planted in the ground. Seriously, it looked like someone had dug a hole and shoved him in it feet-first, up to his shoulders. If that wasn't odd enough, Luffy was also immobilized, but it was the mountain that pinned him to the ground. Good thing he was made of rubber. A normal person would've had their guts squished out. "You both seem to be in quite the fix," Abel commented lightly, balancing on the balls of her toes as she knelt between them.

"Abel!" both gasped, pleasantly surprised to see the hunter.

Tilting her head, Abel asked, "Care to explain how you wound up like this? Although I can hazard a guess..."

Luffy's nostrils flared, and a look of rage burned across his face. "Baroque Works!" he shouted simply.

Abel nodded. "Yes. How do you think I came about this lovely accessory?" she asked, holding her encased hand for them to see. Lowering it, she continued, "What of the others?"

"I lost Nami when we were running away," Usopp admitted. "Baroque Works probably grabbed her when she was alone."

"They took Vivi, too," Luffy picked up. "And they interfered with the fight."

Abel blinked. "The fight?"

"Mister Five said they planted explosives in one of our rum barrels," Usopp explained, beginning to wiggle in his premature grave. Abel noticed the seething tone of his voice. He was angry, something which was fairly rare for the sniper. "It went off after Dorry drank it, so he was already wounded when he went to fight Master Broggy." Usopp grit his teeth so hard Abel feared he'd shatter them. "The injury made it easy for Master Broggy to win. But they were also after the bounties on the giants' heads, so I'm sure they've done something to him as well, the cowards..." It was odd hearing Usopp, of all people, call someone else a coward. But given how passionately he'd spoke of the honor of the giants' duel, Abel wasn't surprised.

"What of Chief and Sanji?" Abel asked at length.

"They said they'd caught Zoro, but they didn't mention Sanji," Luffy answered.

Abel nodded. "Given that Sanji wasn't around when that otter made sketches of us for the agency's hit list, it's highly likely they're unaware of Sanji's existence and thus wouldn't bother searching for him." She glanced meaningfully at Luffy. "What do you propose we do now, Boss?"

Lifting his chin, Luffy asked, "Usopp, will you forgive them?"

"No way," Usopp quickly replied, for once showing no fear.

From her kneeling position, Abel watched curiously as Carue walked up to Luffy. Leaning down, he began scraping at the dirt with his beak. He was trying to dig Luffy out. Realizing this, Luffy asked him, "You want revenge, too?" Carue quacked loudly, eyes brimming with tears as he feared for his master's life. Luffy's tired expression instantly morphed into a smirk. "Good! Let's go then. Let's crush those people into the ground.

Following Carue's example, Abel began digging Usopp out of his predicament. It was a little trickier than strictly necessary, thanks to her right hand being more or less useless. Abel only had use of two fingers, and not even fully the index. Thankfully, after getting the hole started, she used the cast like a shovel to dig out large piles of dirt at a time. Having nothing better to do at the moment but watch the woman, Usopp noticed her arm. "What happened to you?" he asked.

"A wax dummy attempted to assault me when I reached the Going Merry," Abel replied, digging her nails into the dirt. "In my surprise, I avoided the majority of the attack. From the way you described it, I assume Baroque Works wanted to incapacitate me as opposed to just offing me on the spot."

Usopp made a thoughtful noise. "Vivi said something about Mister Three having Wax-Wax powers..." he murmured.

"His model was quite realistic," Abel admitted. "Fortunately for me, it didn't act like the real deal." The Zoro-imposter's lack of reaction to her teasing had been a dead giveaway, and had saved Abel in the end.

Focusing her efforts around Usopp's shoulders, it wasn't long before Usopp felt the pressure around his torso lessen, allowing him to wiggle. Between Abel's digging and Usopp's wiggling, they managed to free Usopp's arms in short order. After that, Usopp helped with his own extrication, speeding up the process immensely. With some help from Abel pulling on his overall straps, Usopp freed himself from the hole. Landing ungracefully in the dirt, Usopp took a deep breath. It'd been hard to breathe with all that dirt around his chest.

Patting the boy on the back, Abel turned to help Carue. It looked like he'd already made a big enough rut for Luffy to free himself. Luffy let Abel grab his hands and pull. At first his arms just stretched out. But this gave Carue access to the dirt directly under Luffy's torso. He dug furiously with his beak, aided eventually by Usopp. With some more pulling and struggling, Luffy's body slipped out from under the mountain.

"Phew!" Luffy sighed, dusting his shirt off before jumping to his feet. Eyes steely with determination, he looked to his crewmates. "Now let's go kick their asses!"

"Do you know where the others are being held?" Abel asked.

Usopp replied, "If Baroque Works were after Master Broggy as well, I bet they're at the battle grounds."

Mulling this over, Abel eventually nodded. "Logical." If Baroque Works had sabotaged the giants' battle, it made sense that they'd attack Broggy while he celebrated his long-sought victory.

Shoving his hat down so the brim hid his eyes, Luffy growled, "Let's go!" With a war cry, Luffy, Usopp and Carue ran in the direction of the giants' battlegrounds. Abel followed quickly behind. Normally she'd advise caution when going up against a group of enemies, but with their friends' lives in danger, she understood the need to throw caution to the wind.

The enraged trio literally tore a path through the forest, knocking down trees and uprooting bushes along the way. The farther they ran, the worse they seem to get, until Abel was certain the entire island could pinpoint their exact location. Yet somehow, as they neared the area Abel predicted to be their destination, Abel managed to hear other voices. At first she could only make out who spoke, not what they said. She heard Nami's panicked voice, followed shortly by Vivi's. As they grew closer, the conversation became more distinct. When a clearing came into view between the trees, Abel heard Broggy's booming voice shout, "LET'S DO IT!"

A male voice Abel didn't recognize yelled in response, "What can you possibly do!?" Knowing how the agents were organized, Abel assumed that was Mister Three. In spite of his anger, he somehow sounded... snooty.

"This is crazy!" Nami screamed in response to whatever was happening.

But at that point, it didn't matter, because Luffy, Usopp and Carue barreled into the clearing with all the subtlety of a bull in a china shop, screaming like banshees. In their haste, they actually flew past the agents, but not without shouting, "I'M GONNA KICK YOUR ASSES, JUST SO YOU KNOW!" before crash-landing on the other side of the clearing.

With everyone so thoroughly distracted by the dramatic entrance, it gave Abel time to take in the scene. And what a scene it was. Firstly, Abel counted four enemies. Five and Valentine were there, having recovered from their beat down on Whiskey Peak rather quickly. Abel recognized the other two as matching the silhouettes from the river. The man, Mister Three, was of average height, but skinny and frail-looking. His proportions seemed elongated, like someone had stretched him. He had pale olive skin and did his black hair up in a "3", which had a flame glowing at the top... like a flame on a candle. He wore a blue-and-white striped sleeveless shirt with a popped collar and ruffles on the front, a pink bowtie, oval blue-framed glasses, khakis, and loafers.

Surprisingly, his partner was a child. Or at least had the stature of a child. But given her odd fashion-sense, Abel assumed her apparent age was genuine. The girl, whom Abel didn't know the name of, had her dark red hair in braided pigtails, with blushed painted on her cheeks. Her clothes were a mishmash, like a child choosing their own clothes for the first time: pink hat with a pale green band around the brim, button-up with a cloudy sky pattern over a dark blue tee, long maroon skirt over blue striped stockings, oversized red shoes, smock over the skirt, and an assortment of necklaces and bracelets that didn't match. The girl also carried a backpack and a briefcase of some description.

To add to the surrealness, Nami, Zoro and Vivi seemed to be embedded in what looked like a wedding cake. Several latticed tiers led up to a tall pillar with a spinning half-pumpkin... thing, topped with several lit candles. Broggy lay prone next to the cake-thing, pinned to the ground by his hands and feet with enormous swords. Given that the items matched the color and texture of the cast on her arm, Abel felt safe in assuming they were all made of wax. Dorry's body lay next to Broggy, completely unmoving.

Having recovered from their entrance, Luffy, Usopp and Carue climbed from the debris, unfazed. "Let's take care of them, guys!" Luffy shouted.

"Yeah!" Usopp agreed, already with his goggles down. Beside him, Carue quacked.

"Luffy! Usopp!" Nami exclaimed, sounding tearfully relieved at their presence. Given that Abel deliberately positioned herself out of everyone's view, she didn't mind that Nami wasn't happy to see her as well. None of them could see her right now.

"Carue!" Vivi gasped.

Pulling out his slingshot, Usopp stepped forward dramatically. "Master Broggy, I will take revenge for you!"

"Usopp," Broggy murmured, both stunned and honored at Usopp's fury for his sake.

"Just crush those guys to the ground and kick them out of here!" Nami yelled.

"Right," Luffy readily agreed, cracking his knuckles. That had been the plan, after all. "I'll take care of all of them, because they destroyed the pride of these giants' battle."

Three scoffed as he sized up the competition. "So you're the one with the highest bounty in the East Blue? It seems the Marines have lowered their standards."

Luffy locked eyes with Three, before his jaw dropped. Unthinkingly, he declared, "Look at his hair style. That looks really stupid."

"Shut up!" Three snapped.

"There's a number three on his head with fire," Luffy continued.

"Just shut up!" Three yelled again.

If you don't want to be made fun of, don't do such ridiculous things, Abel thought. First Buggy and now this joker. If you're going to wear something so obviously stupid, you can't get mad for others point it out. And aren't agents supposed to be incognito? Why bother with codenames if you're just going to tattoo them across your face?

"Luffy!" Nami shouted, the desperation in her voice braking Abel from her thoughts. "Break this pillar first! We're about to become wax statues here!"

Wax statues? Examining the scene more closely, Abel noticed some disturbing things. A layer of wax was slowly growing across Nami, Zoro and Vivi's bodies. Even Broggy had a coating of wax. The air around the trio looked... hazy. Like a mist covered just that area. Taking a deep breath, Abel almost coughed. The scent of wax doused the area. Abel raised her eyes to the lit candles atop the pumpkin. Now that she was looking, Abel saw that the rapid spinning of the pumpkin was slinging the melting wax into the air, where it floated down, creating that mist that was engulfing her crewmates. That's hardly conducive to one's health, she thought. Even at this distance the smell was almost overwhelming. For those trapped in the midst of it, it had to be suffocating.

"Eh?" Luffy asked, confused by Nami's statement. He never was the brightest bulb. "You're in trouble too?"

"No," Zoro answered carelessly, propping a sword on his shoulder. Why did he even have his swords out in the first place? The fact that he wasn't trying to turn the agents in sashimi right now indicated he couldn't move. Did he think they'd just walk close enough for him to cut? "Not really."

Nami looked down at something before gasping. "Hey, Zoro! You're legs!" she breathed, looking rather pale.

Not batting an eyelash, Zoro replied, "Yeah. I made it about halfway through, I'd say."

At first, Abel didn't know what he was referring to, until blood began to run over the edge of the platform Zoro stood on. Legs? Halfway through? Had Zoro tried to cut off his own legs? Abel felt the distinct urge to facepalm, but resisted. I thought only coyotes gnawed off their legs to escape traps...

Nami clearly felt similarly, because she snapped, "And you say that we're not in trouble!"

Ignoring the navigator, Zoro grinned at Luffy, despite nearly half of his face being covered in wax. "Anyway, can you destroy that pole Luffy? I'll take care of the rest."

"Sure," Luffy agreed.

Three stepped forward, demanding Luffy's attention. "I won't allow you to do that."

It was only when Usopp saddled up on Carue that he noticed they were short one person. Frowning, he looked around for their missing hunter. He blinked when he spotted Abel kneeling just out of sight on the far side of the clearing. Nothing his gaze, Abel put a finger to her lips, motioning for Usopp not to reveal her. She then pointed at him and Luffy before pointing at the agents. Finally, she pointed to herself and then to the trees.

It took Usopp a second to get all the motions, but eventually pieced together that Abel wanted him and Luffy to distract the agents while she remained hidden. He wasn't sure what she intended to do, but Abel always seemed to think beyond the current moment. Leaning close to Luffy, Usopp whispered, "Abel wants us to distract those guys."

Surprisingly discrete, Luffy nodded before he became serious. Luffy frowned at the strange cake-pumpkin thing. "Dunno what that is, but let's break it."

Confident that she got her message across, Abel stealthily climbed the nearest tree. It was a little tricky, given that she only had one completely functioning hand, but she managed. It helped that the others kept chattering, indirectly covering her presence. Abel listened idly as she climbed. "Hurry up before we become candles!" Nami shouted. This was shortly followed by her asking someone, "What are you doing?"

"If I'm gonna be a statue, I prefer this pose," Zoro answered. Abel paused just long enough to discover the swordsman standing with one sword pointed at the sky in dramatic fashion. Shaking her head, Abel turned her attention back to her original task.

"This is no time to be playing around!" Vivi chided.

Nami asked, "Anyways, do something about your legs. It's painful just looking at it!"

"Then quit looking at it," Zoro replied easily enough.

Apparently trying a different tactic, Nami stated, "It's kinda hard to ignore! Do you still think it was a bright idea to try to cut your legs off so we could escape?"

"I cut my legs so I could fight them, not escape from them." Had Abel's hands not been occupied, she would've face-palmed.

"That's even crazier!" Nami snapped.

"Shut up!" was Zoro eloquent response.

"Mister Three, look at them," a young, female voice said. Without looking Abel figured it was the girl. "Those people don't seem concerned at all."

"Don't say anything. You're no different from them, Miss Golden Week," Three replied, finally giving his partner's name.

It's as if they instinctively know to keep the enemy's attention, Abel thought. Either that, or they no longer felt in peril with Luffy there.

Reaching the tree canopy, Abel situated herself among the thick leaves, hoping they would hide her for the time being. Aside from trying to stay out of the main fight, given she was at a disadvantage with only the use of one hand, Abel had a plan. Baroque Works wasn't going to just let Luffy break the wax structure. But if Luffy and Usopp could keep their attention long enough to prevent the agents from finding Abel, she might take out the candles with her bow. It wouldn't free her friends, but at least it would remove the immediate danger of turning into candles.

Pulling out her bow, Abel drew an arrow. This is where things got tricky. Normally, Abel drew an arrow with her thumb, index and middle fingers. She needed three fingers; now she only had one and a half. It took some maneuvering, but Abel managed to pinch the arrow shaft between the thumb and cast. Struggling to align the arrow with the end of her index finger, Abel slowly drew the bowstring back. Her hand strained under the unnatural technique as she took aim at the whirling candles. The speed the pumpkin-thing spun at meant it was impossible for Abel to aim at a specific candle. However, as they were on an even plane, if she aimed centrally where they were located, she should be able to hit them. That was the theory, anyway.

On the ground, the fight began in earnest. "Candle Lock!" Three shouted, shooting out a stream of wax from his hand. Caught off guard, the wax encased Luffy's legs, hardening almost instantly into a solid bar.

"He was caught!" Vivi gasped in dismay as Luffy tumbled to the ground. "Mister Luffy!"

Rolling onto his back, Luffy stared at the wax in confusion. "What's this? My legs look like a mallet!" At his own description, Luffy's eyes lit up. "Oh! This is perfect!"

"Next will be your arms," Three gloated. "Candle Lock!" But when he shot wax this time, Luffy was ready, and rolled out of the way.

Stretching out an arm, Luffy wrapped it around one of the swords keeping Broggy pinned. It curled around the handle like a snake. "Sorry, Mister Giant," Luffy apologized as the rest of his body speed towards the sword. "Gum-Gum..." His body spun around the sword so quickly he became a blur.

Unfortunately, this caused the sword to shake, cutting even further into Broggy's hand. "What the hell are you doing!?" Zoro snapped as Broggy cried out in pain.

"Mister Luffy!" Vivi gasped.

Undeterred, Luffy finished his last revolution. As he did, he aimed his legs as the pole holding the pumpkin up. "... Mallet!"

The candle lock, as well as the pole shattered, splitting into two pieces. As the pole fell away, the pumpkin hovered in midair for a moment. As its rotations slowed for a second, Abel took her chance. Releasing her arrow, it struck two of the candles, one in the front and back, shattering them. Eight to go, Abel thought, feeling more confident after her success.

By this point, gravity decided to reassert itself, and the pumpkin fell. It landed with a heavy thud on what was now the top tier. The three pirates trapped shook as it landed. Had they not been essentially cemented in place, they probably would've fallen over. Funny how quickly they went from elated to frenzied. Being in Luffy's crew tended to make even the most stable person bipolar. Nami sighed heavily. "I'm alive..."

"But nothing's changed," Zoro added. They were still stuck.

"That was close," Vivi breathed.

From his perch on the sword, Luffy said cluelessly, "That was dangerous. Why didn't you run away?"

"We can't move!" Nami and Vivi snapped impatiently. "Isn't it obvious!?"

Luffy blinked. He hadn't realized they couldn't move. "Why didn't you tell me about that? You just told me to destroy that pole."

"Are you sure we can trust our lives in his hands, Mister Bushido!?" Vivi asked, rightly concerned.

Zoro didn't answer right away. At length, he grudgingly admitted, "We have no choice. Besides, I can't move my arms anymore."

At his admission, Nami realized he was right. "Wait a minute," she whimpered. "My body's getting harder. I can't move anymore." Panic began to set in as she couldn't even move her head. The only thing she still had control over was her mouth and eyes.

Three laughed maniacally, enjoying their panic like a true psychopath. "Fools! With the candles closer, your hardening has sped up! Now you can become wax figures even quicker!"

With less air to disperse in, they're feeling the full effect of the wax mist, Abel realized, cursing herself for not having considered that. As the seriousness of the situation intensified, Abel worked quicker. She took aim with another arrow. With each candle she took out, she bought them a little more time. And it looked like no one thought it suspicious some of the candles had been destroyed, likely choking it up to the fall.

Now that Luffy was fully aware of the stakes, he was ready to really get down to business. However, Three wasn't going to make that easy. "I don't think so, Straw Hat! Now get out of my way! Candle Harpoon!" Three willed the wax into a very solid, very sharp harpoon. Luffy jumped in time to miss it, with the harpoon instead shattering the sword he'd been on.

Taking advantage of their distraction, Abel fired another arrow. Again, it struck two of the candles, bringing the total down to six. This didn't go without notice on either side. "The candles!" Valentine gasped as chunks of wax crumbled to the ground.

Abel! Zoro and Nami thought at the same time, grinning. Nice to know someone a bit more on the ball than Luffy helping them out.

"Someone must be helping from the shadows," Five growled, quickly catching on. He frowned behind his shades as he scanned the jungle around them.

Usopp swallowed hard as he steeled himself for what he was about to do. It was probably suicidal, but necessary. Abel was counting on him to play his part. His friends were counting on him. Loading a pellet into his slingshot, Usopp aimed at Five. "Exploding Star!"

Shockingly, Five didn't attempt to dodge the shot. In fact, he caught it... in his mouth! He even swallowed it. The pellet exploded inside his gut. But where it ought to have killed, or at the very least severely injured, a normal person, Five's body expanded like a balloon before shrinking back to normal. Almost comically, Five exhaled a string of smoke, like he'd just finished his favorite cigar. "That was rather bland," he drawled. "You must use low quality gunpowder."

He ate my Exploding Star! Usopp thought, growing nervous. Was this thanks to his Devil Fruit? Still, he'd distracted Five from his search... for the moment.

On the wax cake, things were devolving quickly. Abel had slowed the process, but they were running on borrowed time. "This is bad," Zoro admitted. Even talking was a chore, and breathing was becoming a chore. "It really is fast. Good thing I've got my pose ready."

"Moron!" Nami snapped. Couldn't he at least acknowledge the danger they were in?

"Mister Luffy, please hurry up!" Vivi pleaded desperately.

Luffy's brow furrowed. "Okay!" He stood with his feet wide apart, grounding himself. "That pumpkin's the bad thing, right?" Luffy stretched his arms back. Even if he couldn't break the massive wax structure, with enough force he could knock it off the pedestal. So long as it stopped spinning and spewing wax everywhere, his friends would be safe.

"That's not going to work," Three taunted, already devising a countermeasure. "Candle Wall!" As Luffy shot his hands forward in his Gum-Gum Bazooka attack, Three formed a tall wall of wax in his line of attack. Despite the power of Luffy's attack, his hands slammed harmlessly into the wall.

Bouncing back, Luffy glared at Three. "You!" he shouted, voice cracking. "Don't get in my way!"

Three sneered. "That would be my line. You'd better not interfere with my creative activities."

Again, when they let their guard down, two more candles shattered, crumbling to the ground. Four left. "There's obviously someone else here!" Valentine shouted.

"It must be that other woman who escaped from Mister Three," Five rationalized. Who else would it be?

"Then find her!" Three ordered. "What good are you two, anyway!?" A few more lucky shots, and his work would be destroyed.

"I'll find her!" Valentine said, popping her umbrella open. Leaping into the air, the blond floating like a leaf on the breeze, flying in the sky. Once she was high above the canopy, she stopped rising. Sitting as pretty as you pleased, Valentine scanned through the treetops. If the woman was nearby, she'd see her. She could see everything from up here.

Satisfied, for the moment, that the interloper would be dealt with, Three focus his attention on Luffy. "Candle Lock!"

"Again!?" Luffy grumbled, legs tensing to dodge. But then he thought better of it. "Ah! That's right." So instead of jumping completely out of the way, Luffy moved just enough for the wax to cover one arm. Smugly, Luffy pointed out his accessory. "I got a mallet!" he sung, confusing Three.

Not wasting any time, Abel fired another arrow. Unfortunately, it missed all of the remaining candles, flying between the gaps. Damn, Abel mentally cursed. The more candles I take out, the more spaced out the remaining ones become. I'll have to time my shots perfectly.

But in the sky, Valentine finally spotted her prey. "Ah-ha!" she exclaimed triumphantly. She'd seen where the arrow came from. "I have you now!" the blond taunted. Hovering over the tree where the pirate hid, Valentine shouted, "Ten-thousand Kilo Press!" Valentine fell from the sky like an anvil, literally aiming her backside at Abel.

Of course, with all her shouting, Abel was quite aware of the fact that she'd been found out. And she wasn't going to sit around waiting to get crushed - if the blonde's supposed power was what Abel was thinking. Quickly, Abel leapt from her hiding spot, resulting in Valentine crashing into the tree. Abel landed safely several yards away. As she got to her feet, Abel observed the state of her former hiding place. Valentine had split the tree right down the middle, throwing up a good amount of dirt in the process. "That's one way to split a tree," Abel mused as Valentine staggered from the debris. Abel was a bit surprised the woman hadn't broken her pelvis or anything. As it was, the blond just looked angry at missing.

"So we finally flushed you out of hiding, eh, little mouse?" Five taunted.

Barely sparing the man a glance, Abel retorted smartly, "This little mouse did a remarkable job of foiling your plans." Five scowled. Or Abel assumed that was what he tried to emote - he always looked ticked off.

Before they could continue their battle of words, Luffy shouted, "Gum-Gum Mallet!"

Turning to see the resulting attack, Abel watched as Luffy punched at Three with his coated hand. Naturally, Three brought up another Candle Wall to block it. But the man's eyes widened as Luffy's hand punched through the wall. Luffy's fist struck Three in the face before the other could react, shattering his glasses and sending the would-be artist flying through the air. Impressive coup de grace, Boss, Abel thought proudly. Using the enemy's technique against them is a stroke of inspirational genius.

"Mister Three!" Five gasped as the man sailed out of sight, probably landing somewhere else in the jungle.

"This is crazy!" Valentine gasped in horror. How could these pirates, with almost no reputation in the Grand Line, be so strong?

"Great job!" Nami cheered. She would've jumped for joy, but that was out of the question at the moment. "Now hurry up and destroy this thing, Luffy!"

However, instead of his usual enthusiasm, Luffy simply replied, "No."

Abel blinked. No?

"Stop fooling around!" Nami snapped. Now wasn't the time for jokes. "Hurry up!"

"No," Luffy repeated.

Nami blinked, now both confused and concerned. "What?" she croaked.

"Hey Luffy! This is no time to play games!" Zoro growled. What was that idiot doing?

"Please, Mister Luffy," Vivi pleaded.

Abel watched keenly as Luffy stared vacantly at the crew. "What should I do?" he asked, voice sounding hollow. Abel didn't like that look in his eyes. It was like no one was home. "I don't feel like saving you guys."

Nami's eyes widened. "Luffy what's wrong?" she asked breathlessly. And it wasn't from the mist. Mentally shaking herself from her stupor, Nami tried yelling at the straw hatted kid, hoping to snap Luffy out of whatever funk he was in. "We don't have time, Luffy! Hurry up and destroy this stupid pumpkin!"

"I know," Luffy monotoned.

"If you know, then do it!" Nami yelped, panic starting to overwhelm her.

Unblinking, Luffy stated, "I know, but I don't want to do it."

"What are you talking about!?" Nami yelled. "We've almost become wax statues! It means that we're going to die! Don't you get it!?"

"I understand, but I don't want to do it."

"The problem isn't about whether you want to do it or not!" the trapped trio shouted.

Studying Luffy for a moment longer, Abel decided they had bigger problems then whatever the hell had possessed Luffy in that moment. Rescue the others, then exorcise Boss, Abel told herself.

Abel raised her bow, aiming for the pumpkin, when a figure blocked her way. "You really need to stop interfering," Valentine said. Given that she seemed far more confident than previously, after Three's defeat, Abel felt certain the agents had more than a passing hand in Luffy's state.

Abel didn't voice this, however. Instead, she drawled, "I hate to disappoint, but that's not about to happen."

Valentine gave her annoying, grating laugh. "It doesn't matter what you try, nothing will help. He's fallen into our trap. Why don't you take a look under his foot?"

Abel raised a brow. His foot? Daring to take her eyes off Valentine, as the woman was too busy gloating to actually attack Abel, Abel looked at the ground under Luffy's feet. Although she couldn't make out exactly what it was from this angle, there was definitely something there. A dark shadow surrounded Luffy's feet. It looked like a black, circular shape painted on the ground. "So you're using that symbol to control his mind." Was it some hypnotic symbol? No, that didn't make sense. Luffy wasn't looking at it.

Valentine laughed cheekily, trying to play innocent. "It's nothing. It's just a normal sign."

"Of course it is," Abel replied drolly. "You just happened to specifically draw attention to it with no real reason. Jeeze, you must be a natural blond."

A vein appeared on Valentine's forehead. "What did you say!?"

Using the woman's temper to her advantage, Abel released her arrow. As expected, Valentine jumped into the air, floating away. Valentine laughed tauntingly. "Thanks to my Kilo-Kilo Fruit, you can't touch me!"

"Then it's most convenient touching you wasn't part of my plan," Abel retorted, already half way to Luffy. If that symbol was making Luffy not want to do anything, then getting him off it was the key. And since he clearly wasn't going to do it himself, she would just have to "convince" him.

Luffy just stared as Abel tackled him, knocking him off that painted symbol. The two landed in a heap on the grass, with Abel on top of Luffy. Pushing herself up onto her elbows, Abel gazed down at Luffy's face. For a moment, he stared blankly at her. But then, he blinked before shaking his head, and when he met Abel's eyes, he seemed himself again. "Wha?" Luffy murmured, sounding almost drowsy. "What was that?"

"That must've been your doing, Miss Golden Week," Vivi growled.

Tilting her head to the side, Abel found the girl standing forgotten off to the side, idly munching on chips. Expressionlessly, Golden Week explained, "Color Trap: Betrayal Black. If any person is painted with this color, he'll want to betray his friends, no matter what they say."

"What does that mean?" Nami demanded. "What happened?"

But Abel thought she knew. "She's able to influence a person's mind through the use of specific colors."

"Influence a person's mind?" Zoro repeated, frowning. "This is bad. An innocent person like Luffy is defenseless against stuff like hypnotism." They'd seen it firsthand against the Black Cat Pirates when Jango hypnotized Luffy without meaning to. Luffy had zero mental defenses. His naivety and honesty worked against him in cases like this.

Without further discussion, Luffy pushed Abel aside, climbing to his feet. "I'll save you now!" he proclaimed. He didn't really get what had happened, but the weird feeling he had before was gone, so he'd help his friends now.

Luffy began to stretch his arms back, when Abel saw Golden Week reach for a paint pallet. "Look out!" she warned.

With a flourish of her brush, Golden Week threw out a bright yellow symbol. Abel threw herself out of the way in time, but Luffy, who'd turned to see what Abel was warning about as opposed to just getting out of the way, ended up with a yellow symbol on his shirt. Immediately, Luffy burst into laughter, as if he'd just heard the funniest joke ever. "What's wrong now!?" Nami shrieked.

"Color Trap: Laughter Yellow. He can't move now."

"Abel! Do something!" Nami urged as Luffy just rolled around in the dirt.

Abel made to move towards Luffy, with the intent of taking his shirt off, when a voice from above shouted, "I don't think so!"

Abel gasped. She'd completely forgotten about Valentine hovering over them like a buzzard. And she paid the price, when the woman landed on top of her back like a pile of bricks. The impact of hitting the ground so hard knocked the breath from Abel. It didn't help with Valentine seemingly increased her weight, pressing Abel further into the ground. Seriously, she was starting to dent to earth. To make matters worse, when she'd hit the ground Abel lost her grip on her bow, sending the weapon skittering uselessly away.

Before Abel could regain her senses, she felt Valentine twist her good hand behind her back at a painful angle whilst simultaneously digging her heels into the back of Abel's head - likely out of spite. "Just try to get up now!" Valentine laughed.

Huffing, sending a cloud of dirt up that nearly sent her into a coughing fit, Abel managed to twist her head enough to send the blond stuck to her back like a leech a scathing look. "Would you kindly get your fat ass off me?" Valentine glared fiercely at the brunette. In retaliation, she increased her weight even more, cracking to ground around Abel. For good measure, Valentine kicked her in the back of the head hard enough to stun her. Apparently even when in complete control of their weight, women didn't like people making comments on their weight.

"Miss Abel!" Vivi called, concerned for the other woman.

Zoro grit his teeth. "Damn. This is really bad." Abel was down, and Luffy was in no state to help them. He couldn't even save himself. And where the hell was Usopp?

As if summoned by the mere thought, Usopp and Carue ran across the clearing. Not to save their friends, but to get away from Five, who was in hot pursuit. For being a giant duck, Carue was pretty fast. But more importantly, in their haste to escape Five's wrath, and their general lack of watching where they were going, Carue ran over Luffy as the boy continued to roll on the ground. Luffy cried out in surprised pain as he got trampled, but at least it put an end to his laughing.

Abel instantly noticed the silence. "What happened?" she asked. She could see that far to the side.

"When Usopp ran into him, the paint on his back smudged!" Nami cheered.

Out of the corner of her eyes, Abel saw Luffy stagger to his feet. "Ouch!" he whined. "I was caught in that trap again. Hey, you! This is enough!" Abel could only assume he was yelling at Golden Week.

"Yellow is the color of fun," Golden Week said, very blasé. "You must have had a good time, right?"

"Shut up!" Luffy snapped, losing his patience. "Are you crazy of something!?"

"There are more important things to worry about, Boss," Abel advised.

Turning in the direction of her voice, Luffy's eyes widened when he saw the state of his hunter. "Abel!" he gasped before settling his gaze on the blond pinning her down. "Why, you...!"

"Rescue crew first, kick ass second," Abel interrupted, still managing to remain objective even while being squashed like a grape, motioning with her encased hand towards the tower.

Frowning, Luffy realized Abel was right. He'd kick that stupid woman off her once the others weren't in danger any longer. Whipping around to the pumpkin, Luffy pulled his arms back. "Gum-Gum..."

Abel heard Golden Week mutter, "Color Trap: Bullfight Red."

"Bazooka!" It sounded like Luffy completed his attack, but afterwards, the structure remained.

"What are you trying to hit!?" Zoro yelled.

"I can't let you destroy that thing," Golden Week explained calmly. "Mister Three will be mad at me. You will want to hit that sign just like a bull always wants to hit a red target."

Luffy growled deep in his throat, growing more enraged with each passing second. "I can't stand you anymore! Just get out of my face! Gum-Gum Bazooka!" Again, Abel heard him hit something, but it wasn't the wax tower.

"Is that fun?" Golden Week quipped emotionlessly.

"What's he hitting?" Abel couldn't help asking. She couldn't see much.

Zoro's brow twitched as he grumbled, "The girl painted a red mark on the ground, and Luffy keeps hitting it."

"This is bad," Nami repeated. What was it, the third time they'd stated that? "He can't beat her. His power means nothing to her." It didn't matter that Luffy was stronger than Golden Week if she kept preventing him from attacking.

"I'll mix this color for you," the girl announced. "Laughter Yellow mixed with Sadness Blue. Color Trap: Tranquil Green."

Abel assumed Golden Week added blue to the yellow paint already on Luffy's shirt. The next thing she heard was Luffy stating serenely, "This tea is really delicious."

"Are you crazy!?"

Sighing in resignation, Nami asked, "What'll happen now?"

"Now?" Zoro repeated. "I told you you should've posed. Too bad for you."

Equally as irreverent, Abel commented, "It should come as no surprise that Boss' stomach would doom us." Truthfully, she was trying to distract from the situation. She didn't actually blame Luffy for this scenario.

"This is not funny," Vivi insisted sternly.

Despite her attitude, Abel was keenly aware of the situation. And she wasn't about to just stand (or lay) by to watch her friends eventually suffocate to death. Unfortunately, given her current state, her options were limited. But she wouldn't give up. If she could just get Valentine off her back...

An idea popped into Abel's head. But first, she wanted to reassure her crewmates. Their conversation was becoming increasingly distressed, which was understandable. Still, it would only create more problems. "Remain calm," Abel interrupted their ranting.

Nami and Vivi gaped at the other woman. "That's easy for you to say!" Nami snapped. "You're not about to become a candle!"

"Yes, because watching ineptly as my friends turn into wax mannequins is on my list of things to do," Abel drawled. Nami blinked. Despite her casual tone, Abel's choice of words revealed that she wasn't as unaffected as she seemed.

Seeing that she had their attention, Abel stated, "I can't guarantee I can prevent you from being consumed by the wax, but I can promise we won't leave you as such. The human body can survive for six minutes without oxygen before permanent damage sets in. But you can extend that time by remaining calm, slowing her heart rate and preserving the oxygen in your blood. The more you panic, the more oxygen you use. Ergo, it's imperative to your survival that you relax."

Nami didn't look entirely convinced. Staying calm in the face of impending death went against human nature. Seeing her hesitance, Zoro added, "Just don't think about it. Luffy may be an idiot, but he always finds a way to pull through."

Nami frowned, but tried to do as they said. Staring straight ahead, she took a deep breath, willing her body to relax. Almost instantly, her chest loosened, making it easier to breathe even through the mist. Maybe this will work... she thought as she closed her eyes. She really didn't want to see what was about to happen.

On the other side, Vivi looked stunned at the trust and determination displayed by the pirates. She knew their bond was strong, but to so easily place their lives in their friends' hands... What had they been through already to develop such trust? And how could Vivi do anything less than follow suit? Following their lead, Vivi closed her eyes, almost falling into a meditative state.

Smiling somewhat, Abel winced when Valentine laughed mockingly, pulling at her arm for emphasis. "That won't do you any good, you know? You're all going to die here."

"Stow it, you hussy," Abel murmured.

What Valentine failed to notice was that, even in the middle of her speech, Abel had already been enacting her plan. It had served both to comfort and distract, and seemed to work in both regards. While speaking, Abel had moved her free hand to her belt, trying to use her thumb to snag the trigger of her crossbow. It was difficult, because she couldn't bend her wrist, meaning she had to bend her thumb at an awkward angle. The tip of her thumb slipped a few times, increasing Abel's frustration.

It took some straining, to the point that Abel winced as she pulled the muscles in her palm, but she managed to slip her thumb securely into the trigger ring on her weapon. Glancing at the others to judge how they fared, Abel felt her chest clench when she saw all three completely encased in wax. Although she objectively knew they still had time, it was distressing to see.

A strangled noise off to her side forced Abel to tilt her head. Usopp, still riding Carue, had appeared in the clearing again. He remained motionless, gaping in horror at the state of his friends. It took him a moment, overcoming his shock, to take in the rest of the scene. Abel pinned and Luffy... having a picnic? "Luffy!" he exclaimed. "What are you doing!?"

Abel could hear the strain in Luffy's voice. "This tea... delicious..." Despite his body's relaxed state, he was anything but. Not being able to do anything must be tearing him up inside.

On the far side of the clearing, Abel heard a gunshot. Usopp pulled out his slingshot and aimed in Luffy's direction. "He shot his gun!" the sniper growled, trying to act quickly. "Here, take this! Fire Star!" Abel couldn't miss the fireball that set their captain ablaze. That Usopp invented a self-lighting shot was impressive.

Atop her, Valentine laughed, "That's so stupid. Why are you aiming at your friends?"

"It's called foresight."

Valentine turned to glare at Abel, but gasped when she saw the crossbow pointed at her. Abel aimed the weapon by propping it against her hip and, using her thumb, pulled the trigger. Valentine leapt out of the way instantly, landing like a leaf a few meters away. Abel instantly felt relieved, and staggered to her feet. Her legs felt numb from having the circulation cut off for so long.

But before she could regroup, something exploded in Usopp's face, knocking him and Carue back. Abel faced Five, being the likely culprit. Expressionlessly, Five taunted, "I forgot to tell you that my breath can explode, too."

Abel stumbled towards the boys. She only just now realized how much her body hurt. Her shoulder, stomach, chest and back all ached. Abel knew she'd have some nice bruising and a few imprints on her torso later. "Are you dead?" she called to the two.

Carue quacked weakly, dazed and singed, but otherwise fine. The same was true for Usopp, as he pushed himself up on her elbows and knees. "Yeah..." he panted, coughing up some smoke. Tilting his head slightly, he asked, "What about you?"

"Aside from feeling like a hippo tap danced on my spine, I'm uninjured."

Nodding and sweatdropping at the same time, Usopp looked the other way as he asked, "Are you waking up yet?"

Luffy staggered to his feet. Usopp's attack had burnt his shirt off, and the boy looked pissed beyond belief. "Yeah..." Luffy answered at length. "I'm awake! That stupid sign can't do anything to me now!"

Rejoining her partner, Valentine's eyes narrowed. "He aimed at his friend to destroy the Color Trap?" That was both extreme and brilliant.

Glaring, Luffy growled, "I won't let anyone die! Now I'm angry!"

"So what if you're mad?" Five asked. Abel noticed he held a revolver in his other hand. It was a newer style of gun. Unlike the regular flintlock pistols most people used, a revolver allowed one to fire multiple bullets without reloading, depending on the size of the chamber. Five's, fittingly enough, looked like a five-shooter. "All of your friends are already finished."

"No!" Luffy protested vehemently. "They're still alive!"

Valentine laughed at their persistence. "Are you sure?" she taunted, wanting to enjoy their suffering longer. "Just wait until Miss Golden Week paints them. They'll become beautiful candle dolls!"

"You didn't have a chance," Five added smugly.

"That's right!" Everyone turned in the direction of the voice from the jungle. "It's too late! And now I'll let you taste the bitterness of despair!" A hulking figure emerged from the jungle. It was Three... in a giant suit of what appeared to be wax armor. Spikes protruded from the shoulders, and huge mits formed imposing fists. The only part of Three exposed was his face. "Let's fight!" he challenged, using his powers to move the armor. It even had a "belt" around the waste, like some kind of wrestling champ. "Candle Champion!"

As Usopp screamed, Luffy questioned, "What's that?"

"That was used to kill a forty-two million berri pirate," Five answered roundaboutly.

"Mister Three's ultimate piece of art!" Valentine added.

Stomping gangly over to the other agents, Three demanded, "Miss Golden Week, can you paint my Candle Champion? I want a cool color! I will crush that straw-hat kid in pieces!"

"When I'm done, can I take a rest?" Golden Week asked, sounding either bored or exhausted.

"Sure, why not!?" Three agreed, mostly ignoring the girl in favor of glaring at Luffy. How dare that brainless punk send him flying like that. "I'd prefer that you stay out of this! There's no one who can compete with me! My body is covered with wax which is stronger than steel! I don't have any weak spots!"

"Except that gaping maw you seem incapable of not spouting nonsense with," Abel retorted smartly.

Beside her, Luffy's eyes sparkled. "Cool!" he cooed, impressed by the suit.

"This is no time to admire them!" Usopp snapped. "Prepare to fight!"

"Okay!"

Leaving the duel to Luffy, Abel snagged Usopp by the arm and pulled him up. "While Luffy takes out the trash, we need to act quickly to save the others."

"We can?" Usopp asked. He glanced at their lifeless forms. Abel's statement made him hopeful, but...

Knowing what Usopp was thinking, Abel explained hurriedly, "It takes up to ten minutes before the brain begins to starve for oxygen. And despite its origins, wax is still wax. Therefore..." She trailed off, deliberately letting Usopp wrack his brain to finish her thought.

Usopp blinked as it started to fall into place. "So, if we melt the wax, they'll be fine!"

"Exactly."

Brow furrowing in determination, Usopp reached into his pack to retrieve a special pellet. It looked like a hunk of phosphorus. "Then I'll use my Fire Star!" Abel stepped back to give him room to work.

Unfortunately, someone always had to butt in. "Breeze Breath Bomb!" Five fired his revolver, sending out a burst of flame. It might as well have been a flamethrower. It had the same effect. Usopp gasped, hands instinctively moving up to protect his face.

The attack went off with the force of a small bomb, exploding a burst of smoke and fire. "Usopp!" Luffy screamed, spotting the figure in the midst of the flames.

But when the fire dissipated, it wasn't Usopp standing there. "Abel!" Usopp gasped, stunned that the woman had thrown herself in the way to take the brunt of the attack. Usopp didn't even smell of smoke. He didn't even see her move. She'd just been... there.

Abel stumbled, falling to her knees as smoke rolled off her clothes. As Valentine laughed, Five chided, "Can't you see that you have no chance to win?"

"It's too early to be cocky." Everyone stared as Abel lowered her arms, which she'd used to shield her face. A gasp fell over the clearing when Abel revealed herself to be mostly unharmed. A bit singed, and smelling like a fire pit, but unharmed. Her scarf covered her face and head, so that only her eyes showed. Even her arms had avoided most of the flames, thanks to Abel using her wax-encrusted arm to protect the other. And, more importantly, due to the immense head of Five's attack, the wax was starting to melt. Standing, Abel shook her hand to remove the wax. It fell to the ground in wet globs. With her other hand, Abel pulled her scarf down so it no longer covered her head.

"So cool!" Luffy squealed, thoroughly impressed by this crewmate. At least until Three punched him in the face, forcing him back to the present.

Behind her, Abel heard Usopp shout, "Go, Carue!" Abel watched questioningly as the duck ran past her, carrying a rope with him. Quacking in fear, but still somehow determined to do... whatever he was trying to do, Carue ran circles around the wax structure. It was a mystery to Abel what he was up to, until she caught the distinct scent of oil. The rope must've been soaked in it. Abel's eyes widened in understanding. Wrap the structure in oil-soaked rope, set in on fire and... whoosh!

But now Abel found herself at a dilemma. Five had his gun training on Carue, yet Abel heard Valentine teasing Usopp, asking how much weight he could handle. She didn't have to look to knew he was receiving the same treatment she'd experienced. What should she do? Who needed her more?

Making a split second decision, Abel moved in front of Five. Now that both hands were free, she drew both crossbows and trained them on Five. Scowling behind his shades, Five fired on the woman constantly in his way. Abel dived out of the way, keeping her weapons on the man. Avoiding the shots were difficult, because she couldn't actually the "bullets." But if she kept moving, in theory he couldn't hit her.

Pausing just long enough to steady her aim, Abel fired on Five. He blew up her first bolt, but the second made it through, embedding in his hand. Five cursed, dropping the gun in favor of clutching his pierced hand. "You bitch!" Clearly fed up with her, Five decided to handle things the old fashion way. He rushed her, ready to expend some energy through physical violence.

Five attacked with a flurry of punches and kicks, all of which were wise to avoid. If he could explode any part of his body, then getting hit by him would be the equivalent of catching a grenade. And Abel didn't want that. Fortunately for her, Abel had speed and agility on her side. She traded her own blows, firing when she had an opening, using her bolts to herd the man's attacks, allowing her to control the battle. Not that there weren't some close calls. Abel was lucky hair or loose clothing impact with Five's body didn't set off his powers.

On the other side of the clearing, Luffy was in the middle of his own climactic battle. "Give it up! They've become my works of art!" Three yelled, sending lumbering punches at Luffy.

But the boy was too bouncy. Jumping his way up Three's armor, Luffy shouted, "There's no way I'm gonna let you have my friends, candle boy!" Ducking under a fist, Luffy smirked as he grabbed Three by the hair. Before the man could react, Luffy ran off, pulling the agent along unwillingly by the hair. "Using fire to melt, right?" he asked, having overhead Usopp and Abel's conversation. "I'll use your fire to melt it!" Talk about ironic; using the fire on Three's hair to undo his own work.

"Luffy!" Usopp gasped around the pain of having his insides squished. "That's not enough fire! Just burn Carue's rope!"

"Carue's rope?" Luffy eyed the rope now wrapped around everything, even his crew's bodies.

Underneath Valentine, Usopp explained, "Just trust me on this! I covered it in oil!"

Luffy's eyes lit up. Even he knew what would happen when you mixed oil and fire. "I get it! Everyone, it's time to wake up!"

"Let go of me! Wait!" Three protested, flailing uselessly as Luffy yanked his head to the nearest length of rope.

Smirking, Usopp thought aloud, "It might be a little bit too hot, but there's no better way."

The instant Three's hair touched the rope, flame shot up it, engulfing the candle structure in an inferno. The sudden flare of light and heat forced everyone to stop fighting, unable to do more than stare at the scene. The intense heat quickly melted the wax, giant globs of it falling to the ground. Abel saw the wax starting to drip from her crew's bodies. The plan would work, it was just a question of if they'd been quick enough.

"Hot! Hot!" Three shrieked, falling out of his armor as it, too, melted. "You! How could you!?" He actually had the gall to sound indignant.

"It's really hot! Are they going to be okay?" Luffy asked. The others were stuck in the middle of that. They couldn't even see them over the blaze.

"You've completely destroyed my Candle Service!"

Luffy turned to see Three and Golden Week retreating into the jungle. "Ah!" he gasped. "I won't let you get away, you jerks!" Luffy quickly gave chase, wanting to end this fight one and for all.

Abel felt Five's glare even if she couldn't see it. "How dare you try to insult us?"

Abel snorted. "You're the ones who assaulted us even after getting you asses handed to you. You could have accepted your defeat gracefully, but no, you had to let your hubris get the better of you."

With a deep growl, Five lunged at Abel. The woman jumped back, but with the fire directly behind her, she didn't get far. Five grabbed her by the scarf, yanking her forward. Before Abel could react, she found herself in Five's tight grip. The man had her in a bear hug. And for some reason, she didn't think it was because he'd had a sudden change of heart. "Unhand me!" Abel shouted indignantly. She wasn't touchy-feely on a good day.

"I'll explode myself with you!" Five proclaimed. Abel's eyes widened. He was gonna kamikaze her?

She started to struggle, though with little effect, seeing as how her feet weren't even touching the ground and she couldn't raise her arms. When behind her, she heard a familiar, comforting voice. "Yaki Oni Giri!"

Abel caught a glimpse of Zoro fly past her wielding three flaming swords. By which they were actually on fire. Fire engulfed Five's body as the swords cut into his chest. Fortunately, Five let go of Abel before she caught on fire with him. She landed heavily on her backside. Quickly shuffling back, in case Five decided to fall on her, Abel looked past the agent to find Zoro kneeling on the ground, dramatically sheathing his swords - which weren't on fire anymore. "Flaming swords aren't too shabby," he admitted, playing off the fact that he'd just been on fire. He even had his bandana on! How long had he been standing in the middle of hell?

"Zoro!"

At Usopp's exclamation, Abel turned her head to discover Usopp, Nami and Vivi standing off to the side. Given that the two women had their weapons drawn, Abel felt it safe to assume they were responsible for Valentine being unconscious on the ground. Abel let out a sigh. It seems we've cheated death once more...

That included everyone, as even Broggy had been freed from his waxy prison. The giant struggled to sit up, his movements still sluggish. Turning to smile lopsidedly at the giant, Zoro greeted coolly, "Yo. Good to see you're alive."

Broggy laughed, but it sounded hollow. Forced. "Yeah." He turned sad eyes to his friend. Despite their victory, it wouldn't bring Dorry back.

"Master..." Usopp murmured, sharing in his friend's sorrow.

Shaking his head, Broggy stared at the jungle. "There are two more enemies?"

"Luffy can handle them," Zoro assured.

Knowing that victory was inevitably at hand, Abel took the time before Luffy's return to gauge the health of the crew. All of them had suffered some injuries. Vivi and Nami, aside from being a bit charred, seemed unharmed otherwise. Nami's shirt had burnt completely off, leaving her in just a black bra (Hadn't she been wearing a white shirt before?) and skirt. But Nami being Nami didn't seem to care about her exposure. She even brushed aside Vivi offering her own shirt, since the princess still wore her corset from before underneath. Usopp was battered, and would definitely be feeling it in the morning when the bruising appeared from Valentine sitting on his stomach. But for now, he seemed too excited to be alive to notice. And Zoro? Abel's eyes instantly landed on his bleeding legs. As asinine as it sounded, it appeared he'd genuinely tried to cut his legs off at the ankle to escape his confinement. Abel saw the deep wounds around his calves and outer legs. They'd stopped bleeding by this point, but looked painful regardless.

Abel herself hadn't escaped without damage. It was mostly superficial, but her arms had suffered some minor burns. The skin was starting to turn a bright red. But Abel knew by examination it was just first-degree. Her torso also ached from having been pressed so violently into the ground, and her back felt like it was in need of a good chiropractor.

Rustling in the bushes grabbed everyone's attention. Nami, Usopp and Vivi tensed momentarily, until Luffy came running out. "Hey guys!" he greeted excitedly.

"I take it from your enthusiasm the battle is won?" Abel asked. Luffy's broad, self-assured grin was all the crew needed.

But before they could celebrate, Broggy let out a loud, heart wrenching sob. At first he tried to hold the tears back, but he gave up shortly, letting them flow like a waterfall. Quite literally. The giant's tears streamed down his face in massive drops, threatening to drown the humans at his feet. It didn't help that his sobs were louder than even the volcano. "Even his crying is ear-splittingly energetic!" Nami exclaimed, covering her ears.

"It's like looking at a waterfall!" Zoro observed. Trying to avoid drawing attention to himself, Zoro sat on a nearby stump. His legs were killing him.

"Hey, look!" Luffy shouted, pointing at the sky. "You can see a rainbow behind him!"

Wincing painfully as she covered her sensitive ears, Abel mused, "It seems everything giants do is larger than life."

"My ears..." Vivi whimpered.

Sniffing back his own tears, Usopp bawled, "I understand completely, Master Broggy!" The battle was won, but it wouldn't bring Dorry back.

At least that was the theory until said giant suddenly sat up. Everyone's eyes, even Broggy's, nearly popped out upon seeing the blue giant moving. He sat next to Broggy, unaware of everyone's shock, clutching at his wounded shoulder. Strangely, that seemed to be his only visible injury. Was that why he still lived? Groggily, Dorry muttered, "Seems I passed out for a bit..."

"Dorry..." Broggy gasped, shock managing to rob the giant of his words, for a change. "You're...!?"

"Mister Dorry!" Vivi cried, smiling in great relief.

Sagging slightly, the man did still suffer from internal injuries, Dorry said, "It's most likely... because of our weapons..."

"The weapons...?" Usopp repeated. As he wiped the tears away, he looked to where the giants' weapons lay discarded. Upon seeing their state up close, it dawned on Usopp what Dorry meant. "Ah! That's right!" Both weapons bore the nicks and chips you'd except after such a long and continuous battle. Hell, in their current state, they'd be lucky to cut paper. "Even Elbaf's weapons couldn't withstand all the stress of a duel between giants that's been going on for a hundred years... It's a miracle."

"I'm certainly not going to complain when convenience works to my benefit," Abel commented.

Just as loudly as he'd cried before, Broggy laughed with the same gusto. Unable to control himself, he threw his arms around Dorry's neck, pulling him in to a giant bear hug. "Don't hug me so much, Broggy," Dorry chided, although it was clearly just token resistance. The giant couldn't hide his smile behind Broggy's shoulder. "You're hurting my wounds."

"Thank god you've survived, my dearest friend!" Dorry proclaimed.

"Miracle my ass," Zoro derided, watching the two rivals enjoying each other's presence. This is the way rivalry should be. Even if your goals caused you to clash, you were still, in the end, friends. "It's only natural. The fact those weapons are still intact after a hundred years of fighting is the miraculous part. Not to mention their owners."

Finally leaning back, Broggy shouted to the heavens, "What a splendid day this is! Let us thank the god of Elbaf!"

Dorry snorted. "Are you happy about finally landing a blow on me and making me pass out?" he teased.

"That's not the reason, you big ol' fool!" Broggy protested and punched Dorry in the shoulder good-naturedly.

"Stop touching my wounds!"

The two men poked and prodded at each other, trying to one-up the other, until both jumped to their feet. Glaring at each other with fists clenched, Broggy snapped, "You intend to start something!?"

"I intend to crush you flat, all right!" Dorry growled back.

As Luffy burst into laughter at how quickly things devolved, Nami snapped, "Why're you starting a fight already!?"

"Any wonder their dispute has lived this long?" Abel asked, before whistling sharply to interrupt the giants. Their heads snapped down, gaping at Abel in surprise. Unfazed, Abel called up, "If you can contain yourselves, gentlemen, perhaps it's best to salve your wounds before you attempt to tear each other's throats out again."

Broggy and Dorry stared down at Abel before glancing at each other. "Perhaps she's right. After all, how can we know who's truly the greatest warrior if we don't fight at our best?" Dorry asked.

That settled it. For the time being, the giants called a truce. Even better, they led the pirates back to one of their homes and helped patch each other up. Abel offered to help, but with her small size, in comparison, even doing something as simple as wrapping Broggy's hands became a chore. But the mending got done, and everyone else enjoyed the moment of peace.

"You little ones really helped us out back there," Broggy admitted. "If there's anything we can do to thank you..."

Beside him, Dorry laughed. "I had completely forgotten about the bounties placed on our heads!"

Vivi looked at the ground guiltily. "But even so..." she said, downtrodden. "It's my fault that those agents came to this island-"

"Don't say that!" Nami interrupted, pinching Vivi hard on the cheek.

"Why the long face, Vivi?" Luffy asked, lounging on the ground next to Usopp and Carue while they enjoyed a bag of rice crackers. "Wanna eat some rice crackers?" he offered, in a remarkable display of generosity. Then again, Luffy's answer to feeling bad was always food.

"Where the heck did you get those from?" Nami asked.

"I believe they confiscated them from Miss Golden Week," Abel answered, eyeing the trio. Despite munching away mindlessly, their eyes seemed to be glued to Nami's exposed chest. That was to be expected, Abel supposed. They were boys, and Nami was essentially walking around in her lingerie.

Either oblivious to this, or just not caring, Nami smiled kindly at Vivi. "See? Nobody here blames you for anything." Vivi stared back, rubbing her red cheek, before smiling gently.

"All right!" Luffy suddenly shouted, jumping up and brandishing a rice cracker like a sword. "Time for a rice cracker party!"

Usopp was quick to join in. "Yeah, let's get this party started! Take it all off, Nami!" Apparently this was crossing the line, and earned Usopp a quick smack to the back of the head.

Abel chuckled at the boys' antics, but the action made her wince as pain shot up her stomach. Abel rubbed her abdomen. Perhaps, for the time being, it would be best to forgo the corset. With that in mind, Abel stretched her hands behind her back and unlaced the confines of her underbust. The stretching pulled at her sore muscles. But once the ties were loosened, Abel instantly felt relief as the pressure left her injured torso. She pulled the garment off over her head, leaving her in her button-up, which fit close but loosely to her body. Abel pulled the hem of the shirt up with one hand to study her stomach. A nice bruise across her abs was already forming.

Beside her, Zoro had watched her actions with curiosity. When he saw the nice shade of purple on her stomach, he asked, "You gonna make it?" It came out as flippant, but he was genuinely asking about her health.

"Nothing a nice soak won't remedy," Abel replied.

Nodding, satisfied at her response, Zoro continued, "But we'll all be in serious trouble if we have to wait a full year for the log to record."

"Exactly!" Nami agreed quickly. "This is no laughing matter."

"Can't you misters do something about that?" Luffy asked.

Dorry snorted. "Don't speak nonsense. Even we can't do a thing about the logs."

Thoughtfully, Abel asked, "Perhaps Baroque Works may have something we can make use of?" They must've come on a ship. Perhaps they'd have something the crew could make use of.

Out of the blue, a chipper voice shouted from the jungle, "HELLOOOOOOOOO, NAMI-SAN, ABEL-DONO AND VIVI-CHAN! And the rest." Abel resisted sighing. She didn't even have to look up to know Sanji was running towards them, gushing his usual nonsense. "Thank god you're all safe!"

"Hey, Sanji!" Luffy greeted.

Usopp, however, wasn't so thrilled. "He shows up now!?" Where was Sanji when they needed him? That was probably a good question, but Abel had honestly been too busy enjoying the relative peace of not having the cook around to question it.

It was only when Sanji was right next to Dorry that he even noticed the giants. That was real dedication to womanizing that he'd completely miss two giant men in favor of cooing over the women. Then again, if the giant had been a woman, Sanji would've noticed instantly. Regardless, when Sanji did finally take in more than just his three beauties, his eyes popped out. "The hell is that!?" he gasped. "Are you Mister Three!?"

This question instantly had the crew's attention. "Huh? How do you know about Mister Three?" Nami asked.

Abel thought Sanji was going to blow a gasket when he saw Nami's state of undress. "Oh my!" he squealed. Abel thought she'd have to push his eyes back in. "Electrifying as always, Nami-san!"

"Ah-hem!" Abel fake coughed, catching Sanji's attention. Giving him a stern look, she drawled, "You were saying...?"

Sanji blinked. "Oh, right!" He coughed, attempting to cover up his excitement. He then pulled off his jacket and placed it gently on Nami's shoulders. "As beautiful as you are, a lady shouldn't be so exposed." Nami looked unimpressed, but didn't push the gesture away. Smiling, Sanji finally got back to the conversation. "Now, what was I saying?"

"You were about to explain how, despite your absence in the events that just concluded, you came upon the name of one of the men who tried to murder us," Abel explained.

Sanji balked. "What!?"

"Mister Sanji, please!" Vivi pleaded. The cook knew something, and Vivi wanted to know what. They could catch him up to speed later.

"Uh... okay," Sanji began, unsure of just what was going on, but starting his story. "I just finished talking with Mister Zero over a den-den mushi." Well, that wasn't what Abel expected. Den-Den Mushis, or transponder snails, were a special species of snails that could communicate telepathically with others of their kind. Civilizations had long since harnessed this unique ability as a communication system. Two people with a den-den mushi could speak to each other over vast distances, or even send images. Abel had never seen one herself, but she knew they were invaluable to the Marines. It made sense that a secret organization where the boss couldn't show his face would resort to such methods.

"You talked to the boss!?" Vivi gasped, teetering somewhere between scared and shocked.

"Yeah. I found this weird hideout in the jungle, you see. He seemed to think I was Mister Three, so I told him I eliminated everyone."

"So that means he thinks we're dead?" Vivi breathed, hardly believing their luck. That meant agents wouldn't be after them anymore.

Usopp was torn between cheering and crying, so he did a little of both. "Just when we finally throw off our pursuers, we can't even step a foot off this island!"

Sanji blinked. "What? Do we still have unfinished business here or something?" Reaching into his pants pocket, Sanji pulled out an eternal pose. Staring at the object in his hand, which had a label reading "Alabasta" on it, Sanji murmured, "I mean, I managed to get this from them and all..." Sanji broke off when he noticed everyone gaping at him. The blond glanced between his crewmates, not quite getting what had them stunned. "Huh? Wha?"

"AN ETERNAL POSE TO ALABASTA!" the crew cheered. "We can set sail!"

Overwhelmed, Vivi threw her arms around Sanji's neck. "Thank you so much, Mister Sanji!" she gushed. "I was so worried over what to do!"

"Y-you're... welcome," Sanji stuttered. Not in nervousness, but because he looked ready to pass out in euphoria. "I didn't think it'd make you this happy."

"All right, guys!" Luffy shouted, bouncing around. "It's time for a rice cracker party!"

"Luffy! This ain't much of a party if we've only got three crackers left!" Usopp protested.

Stepping between them, Nami shoved Luffy's hand down. "This isn't the time for that," she chided. "It's time to set sail, Captain! We can't just loiter around here forever!" They'd wasted enough time. It was time to leave this crazy place. The sooner, the better, preferably.

"Ah, that's right," Sanji muttered, standing. Casting a sidelong glance Zoro's way, Sanji asked, "You haven't forgotten about our hunting contest, have you?"

"Oh, I'm sure I've won that," Zoro answered confidently. "I caught a huge rhino." Zoro even made motions with his hands to indicate how large it was, like a kid telling a story about the fish that got away.

Sanji raised a brow. "A rhino!? Can you even eat that thing?"

Luffy smiled up at the two giants, who were lost in thought. "All right then, Mister Round, Mister Giant!" he called up, gaining the attention. "We'll be taking off now!"

"I see," Broggy said, coming out of his reverie. "Busy lil' buggers, aren'cha?"

"It's a shame," Dorry added. "But we won't ask you to stay longer." He looked at Vivi. "I hope your country's safe, girl."

"Thank you," Vivi said, sincerely.

---

The crew made it back to the Going Merry with no further incidents... if you don't count Sanji and Zoro bickering the entire way about whose catch was bigger. Abel couldn't say she was too surprised when she discovered the "lizard" and "rhino" were in fact a t-rex and triceratops. As Nami got the ship ready to sail, Abel continued to watch, with no small amount of amusement, as the two men yelled at each other from atop their hauls. "Look! My lizard is clearly bigger," Sanji insisted.

"Are your eyes just for show or something? The bigger animal is my rhino," Zoro growled, shoving his face right in Sanji's.

Abel smirked as she thought, If I close my eyes, I could take this conversation completely out of context.

Next to her, Luffy interjected, "Who cares? They both look pretty tasty to me."

"You stay out of this!" both men yelled.

Upon hearing a door open, Abel glanced over her shoulder to find Nami exiting from the galley. She'd even put on a new shirt. A light blue, short-sleeve sweater. Nami took one look at the two men who still weren't on board and asked, "How long are you two going to bicker? We can't even carry that much meat. Just pack up as much as we need and let's go already. It's time to set sail!"

"As you wish, Nami-san!" Sanji exclaimed.

Frowning, Zoro turned to the others for support. "Hey, Usopp. Mine's clearly bigger, right?"

"Huh?" Usopp muttered. He hadn't even been paying attention. "I couldn't care less," he said.

Next to him, Vivi asked, "Can't you just call it a tie?"

Zoro looked vaguely insulted. "There's no tie in a contest!" Still, if Sanji wasn't even going to try anymore, there was no point in continuing the contest. Stupid love-sick fool.

With Sanji's guidance, Zoro chopped up the two animals and loaded the edible parts in the freezer. He also, at Abel's request, cut one of the triceratops' horns off and placed it in the armory. Abel might find a way to make use of it later. By the time that was finished, there was still a lot of animal left. But they couldn't load any more meat. At least none that wouldn't spoil before they got to it.

Once everything was finally situated, Nami ordered the anchor raised, and the ship was off. The island seemed far calmer now that they were leaving. Or maybe it was the knowledge that they'd survived the worst it could throw at them. "If we sail straight from here, we should be able to exit on the western side of the island," Nami informed them.

Staring longingly at where they'd come from, Luffy asked, "Do you think we should've packed some more of that meat?" Leaving good meat behind was a sin to Luffy.

"Don't be stupid," Nami argued. "We don't even have enough space to preserve any more than this."

"Are you trying to sink our ship?" Sanji added. Luffy pouted, but let it go. He knew when he was outnumbered.

It didn't take long before the trees opened up, revealing the edge of the island. And it looked like they had visitors. "Ah! It's the giants!" Luffy said. "They've come to see us off!"

Broggy and Dorry stood on opposite sides of the river with their backs facing the pirates. Their cloaks bellowed in the wind. Can we say dramatic? Abel thought.

Without taking their eyes off the horizon, Broggy began, "The most important reason why all the little ones who come to this island..."

"... don't reach the next island lies straight ahead," Dorry finished.

"What?" Nami asked.

Instead of just answering the question, Dorry decided to take the cryptic route. "You all risked your lives so that our pride can remain untarnished."

"Thus, in turn, no matter the foe..." Broggy said ominously.

"We must not let your flag of pride be tarnished either!" Dorry declared.

"Trust in us and sail straight ahead!" Broggy ordered. "No matter what happens, sail only straight ahead!"

Placing his hands on his hips, Zoro murmured, "What're they..."

"Got it!" Luffy readily agreed, uncaring that the giants' seriousness likely meant there was something very bad ahead. "Sail straight ahead!"

"Farewell," the giants said as the Going Merry exited the river, finally reaching the open sea.

"Let us meet again," Dorry said.

Broggy finished, "One day in the future."

"Why are they drawing their weapons?" Abel wondered aloud. "Something bad is about to happen, isn't it?"

No sooner than the words left Abel's mouth did Nami scream. "Look! Up ahead!"

Directly in front of the ship, something made a beeline for them. A huge dorsal fin, bigger than their entire ship, stuck out from the surface. The sea began to rise as the rest of the creature's body began to emerge, slowly. Splotches of red and white appeared, followed by two bulging eyes.

Behind them, Dorry growled eagerly, "So you've come, Island-Eater." Yeah, that didn't sound like a good name.

"In the name of Elbaf, we vow to clear a path!" Broggy chanted. Raising their weapons, the giants growled, an aura beginning to form around their weapons.

The creature finally emerged, rearing its massive head above the waves. "What is that thing!?" Nami shrieked.

"Is it a sea king!?" Vivi gasped.

It looked to Abel like a giant goldfish. Bulbous eyes swiveled towards their boat, and the fish opened is maw, ready to suck them in. Since when were goldfish carnivorous?

"Grab the helm or we're going to be swallowed alive!" Nami ordered, shouting up at Usopp, who seemed to be in even more shock then usual when presented with such a monster. Frantically, Nami tried again. "Usopp! Hurry!"

Usopp flinched, coming back to reality. However, he didn't follow Nami's orders. In fact, he didn't take a step near the galley or whipstaff. Instead, he grit his teeth, clutching to the railing. "I... I won't!" he said, sounding like he was trying to psych himself up in the process. "We'll be going straight ahead! R-right, Luffy?"

"Yup," Luffy answered, not a hint of hesitation or panic in his voice. "You bet."

"Don't be ridiculous!" Nami snapped, desperate to make them see reason. The black pit of Island-Eater's stomach beaconed them. "This is completely different than getting swallowed by Laboon!"

"Yeah, yeah. Just pipe down already," Luffy dismissed. Smiling he tossed a rice cracker at Nami. "Here, I'll even give you the last rice cracker." Did Luffy's generosity know no bounds?

Snarling as she gestured wildly, even whilst holding the cracker, Nami yelled, "I don't need any crackers! If we don't turn this ship around this instant, we'll-"

"Nami," Zoro interrupted calmly. "Give it up already." He opened the storeroom door so Carue, who'd been on the verge of having a panic attack, could hide inside. Other than that, he remained unmoved. No, he didn't like the situation. But he knew the futility of trying to change Luffy's mind. Nami just whimpered, tearing up even as she nibbled nervously at the cracker.

"Luffy! You sure those giants are trustworthy, right?" Sanji asked, growing more nervous as the goldfish's mouth loomed before them.

Luffy nodded. "Yup."

"Are you serious!?" Vivi squeaked. "We're really going to sail straight into that monster!?" That was suicide.

Watching as the Island Devourer's teeth hovered above them, Abel drawled, "Be grateful it's large enough it doesn't need to chew us." For some reason, Abel's word didn't comfort Vivi.

"It's too late to do anything now!" Nami cried as the Going Merry was swept past the teeth and over the fish's tongue.

Once they were inside, the Island Devourer tilted its head back, and the ship slid down along its tongue to the back of its throat. Darkness engulfed them, and it took some time before Abel's eyes adjusted. Not that there was much to see. If you've seen one inside of a fish, you've seen them all. Which wasn't something Abel ever thought she'd have reason to say.

"Straight ahead! Straight ahead!" Usopp kept yelling.

"What're you screaming for!?" Nami snapped. "We've already been swallowed alive!"

Luffy picked up the call. "Straight ahead! Straight ahead!" As if they really had a choice in the matter at this point.

At first, Abel didn't notice the rumbling sound over the rush of the water around them. But as it became louder, everyone seemed to notice it. And before anyone could question it, a force struck the ship before behind propelling them forward at a tremendous speed. A strange swirl of red and blue light rushed past the ship, almost like an aurora... but inside a fish's gut. The crew had to grab hold of whatever they could, or risk being left behind. When the strange aura hit the back of the fish's stomach, it easily cut a massive hole in it, opening to the outside world. The end result was the Going Merry and her crew shooting into the sky, back into the open, leaving a hole-riddled fish behind them.

As the ship flew through the sky, Luffy cheered from his perch at the figurehead. "WOOHOO! We're flying! Don't turn back now! Fly straight ahead!"

Up top, Usopp sniffled. "They cut... the ocean itself... so this is... the power of Elbaf's warriors! Absolutely stunning!"

As the Going Merry crashed to the sea, skipping forward like a rock, Abel cast one final gaze back at Little Garden. The giants stood proudly behind them, like colossal statues, holding up their broken weapons. "Now go!" they cheered, having returned the favor.