Wealth, Fame, and Power! W. D. Gaster, The King of The Pirates, had all those and the rest of what the world had to offer! Through many battles and trials, he had reached the pinnacle of the world's virtues and had nothing left but an illness that plagued him.
He brought himself in and was held at a worldwide public execution. Before he was executed, a man from the crowd asked:
"Where did you hide all your treasure?!"
To which the King of Pirates smiled and said:
"You want my treasure? You can have it! I left the most important treasure in the world on an island! Go and find it! 'For the next pirate that finds the UnderPiece, will be claimed the new King of The Pirates!"
Those were his final words before he was executed. He smiled to his death.
With those words, the world was flipped upside down as he created The Golden Pirate Era! People and already existing pirates from around the works started to sail the seas in search of the treasure that W. D. Gaster claimed to be-
The UnderPiece!
It had been Twenty Years since, and people have yet to find the treasure he was talking about. Except for one girl, who is now going to change the world by storm for the sake of her people.
This is the story of Muffet D. Baker and her way to becoming Queen of the Pirates!
[Zewz]-[Thursday, 9:15 AM]
The man that once ruled Olympus, was now watching as he began to lose it.
Only his general was in the room. Giving him nothing but grieving news about Cardin.
"Yes sir. What do we suppose we do about the death of Cardin?" The general said with his head down, not trying to show the grief.
Zewz only gave a thousand-yard stare. Nothing but the sounds of angry mobs outside was to be heard in the midst of the silence in the room.
If he had kept the masses waiting any longer, they would storm his quartz castle and break it down from the inside out.
Which is exactly what Hydra did.
Zewz only raised a hand.
"What would you do general...I'm open to ideas..."
"...Any?"
"Any."
Zewz fixed his posture adamantly.
"Well sir, if I were you. I'd say Hydra has done enough to tarnish our name and our kingdom to the point where you are indisputably seen as the bad guy of both continents."
Zewz didn't move, he only absorbed the words.
He gave a slow but hefty nod, allowing him to continue.
"The only way to clear your name is to siege and apprehend Hydra and have him confess to his crimes. Only then would your name be cleared."
"Hmm...and how would we do that-"
"Another war, Sir." The general said quick and to the point.
The King widened his eyes before trading them for more solemn ones. He hated the idea of starting another war, it was his plan to diplomat the continents together again.
However, Hydra wasn't going to allow that without a fight.
So, a fight he will get.
"Well General, I...guess I'll leave the rest to you. But, if we do win, how will the Minks feel?"
The general only gave him a tilt of the head.
"Well uh, that's the thing. He is gathering his army of Minks. He found a way to give them enough fighting spirit to rebel again, so if we do win...we'd have both the continents to ourselves eventually."
Silence went by the room again.
Zewz took a deep sigh before busting out a singular tear.
"...Tell the people, and get the men ready...I want our troops to head out in a week!"
[Hydra Gordons]-[Thursday, 9:32 AM]
"Lord Hydra! The news struck out that Zewz has finally declared war!" Dolpo said over the transponder snail.
After the incident with 'Ms. Atlas', Hydra had told all of the Pantheons to spread the word that the people willing to fight against the tyranny of Zewz, be gathered around in the northern Great Lake of lower Constricta for a speech regarding what to do next.
It started at 9:30 AM, he had displayed Dolpo's message through multiple transponder snails amongst the crowds.
Once they heard it, they began murmuring amongst themselves which quickly turned into an uproar of arguments.
Hydra turned around on his boulder of a stage looking at his Pantheons.
Hades who had a horned helmet on the twisted wickedly toward the sky made his eyes and face visibly unseeable. He was meaty but muscular in build. He seemed to have a toga and skulls as pauldrons. His skin was an unusually dark pink.
Poseidon is a man with long black hair in braids. His skin was unusually light blue. He seemed to have also a toga. He had a slim but fit toned body and did nothing but toss and catch the same three pebbles in his hand.
Helios, a man that wore a full suit of armor that had clocks engraved on the inside of them. His hair was a white-ish gold and so were his eyes. He was the shorter of the three men with a skinny build.
Prometheus, a man of grey skin and long dark green straight hair and red eyes, it was unknown what species he was. He wore nothing but a ripped toga.
And now, his two newly recruited Pantheons since he needed to get two strong people to deal with Ms. Atlas. He couldn't risk his main four men to fight her on the chance that they lose. Although, they shouldn't. So he hired the next two strongest members to do the job.
Athena, was a woman of very tall build, about 9'4. She had very sharp teeth with large fangs and long luscious orange hair that were in mounds. She wore an orange chest plate and then a purple robe for her legs.
And Hephaestus, a man of very muscly build. He had a giant blonde mustache but bald hair. He had a giant war hammer on him at all times and heft to him.
Hydra gave them a thumbs up before getting on the transponder snail he'd use to speak to the entire crowd of millions.
"Did you hear that?! Zewz, the man that has put us, Mink, under oppression and harsh living conditions for decades, has declared war on us!"
Hydra took a small break to let the people below get outraged themselves.
The noise died down when they saw him approach the stand again.
"Now, I know our history. The last time we went to war with the humans, we lost. However, that was because the humans had a willed leader, and we didn't...But now, we do have one! Me! And the King is up there with dementia going crazy. This is a fight we Minks can win!"
Once he said that there were mixed feelings in the crowd.
He knew there'd be. He planned for this, he knew people were gonna be all smiles when suggesting everyone go to war.
"I know that proposal seems a bit extreme. But look!" He said gesturing to the Pantheons sitting on the rock.
"These men I have collected over the span of many years. Their strength is unrivaled by anyone else here at this end of the Grand Line! With these people leading the ranks, their puny men can't hope to outmatched them and me!"
There were a few more people in the crowd that were willing but not everyone entirely.
He sighed.
"Look. I know the pain of losing that war...look where it got us...but, now I'm willing to make a change in this lander's history. My goal isn't to just simply fight and win a war, I'm looking at the bigger picture. I want to get this continent to its former glory, with me, a Warlord as the leader, no other humans would dare try and step and tarnish this land as long as I stand. Which will be a while because I am IMMORTAL! I've lost...so much on this land thanks to the underhanded whim of Zewz, and I know they've done you people a lot worse. But! You have to be with me on this when I say that this is a war that we can win! We will be slaves to the quartz sky no longer! We will not live in poverty and pleads! And we will not lose, ever again!"
The entire crowd of millions cheered.
Hydra pumped his fist in the air.
Just then...a wave of spiritual energy cleared the entire crowd.
Even the Pantheons instinctively got up and got ready because they felt a disturbance.
This was...Hydra's Conquerors Haki.
Just then, the crowd pumped their fist in the air too, as if, they adopted his will and spirit.
"Hail King Hydra! Hail King Hydra!" The crowd chanted.
Hydra didn't expect it to work this well...he didn't even know he had Conquerors.
He slowly grinned.
"YES! Now! All the strong capable men gather wood and other natural resources we need for barracks! As for the women, the strong may fight, but those who aren't as inclined will stay and tend for the children. My warriors will act as Generals for the four cardinal districts. You heard the man! War begins in a week! I want to see everyone ready by TOMORROW!" Hydra said with another fist bump in the air, which sent another spiritual shockwave.
Everyone cheered as they quickly dispersed back home to get themselves ready for war under his instructions.
Hydra smiled and turned.
"Poseidon, take the east district, Hades, take the South district, Helios, take the North District, and Prometheus, take the West District."
Just like that, with a nod from all of them, they dispersed off the boulder.
Hades just calmly walked off.
Poseidon ran off the rock at tremendous speeds that shook the area around them.
Helios was gone in an instant, in a ray of light.
Prometheus did the same as Hades.
Hydra then turned to Athena and Hephaestus.
"You two...I have a job for you currently..."
[Ralsei, Hera, and Ronaldo]-[Thursday, 10:48 AM]
After walking for about three and a half hours straight, they had found a village that seemed to be filled with occupied inhabitants.
Everyone seemed to be in a happy rush to do something as if there was a festival about to occur.
Ralsei looked at the people and then back at Ronaldo.
"Hey, they might not welcome you since you're...y'know...human."
Ronaldo completely understood.
"So...what do you think we should do then? I still need to get treated."
"Hmm, I have an idea!"
.
.
The wolf-women that were tending the local medical center under a giant tarp looked at the front door as it was slammed open.
They saw a little girl carry two adults through the door and then plopped both of them on nearby mats.
She seemed to proudly be walking around as if she owned the place.
"Excuse me, who are you?" The ladies said.
"Oh? Well uh, Haha, sorry if you don't know me, it's not a big deal or anything, I'm not wearing my usual clothes. Listen here, I'm kinda a big shot, you should know me, my name is uh, Hera." Hera said with such sass, pizzazz, good but unneeded acting, and hilarity that could've only come from Muffet's influence on her.
The ladies in the tarp started to shake from excitement.
From what Ralsei told her, every Mink has this ancient prophecy that a woman named Hera of unknown origin will come and bring salvation to the land of Constricta.
So, too, as what Muffet would say, "Monopolize", she thought they could use the celebrity card to do whatever they wanted.
Ronaldo gave her props of thinking of that, yet again, he was amazed about how tactically smart Ralsei was. She was abnormally calm when coming up with not half-bad game plans, plus her Sulong form, plus her soul trait.
He would be sure to relay this back to HQ when their mission was over...or if they survived to begin with.
Before the women could squeal Hera held up a finger to shush them.
"Can you ladies keep this between us, can't have the public knowing just yet until after this week. All I ask is that you heal my two...guardians." Hera said with all smiles.
Since Hera had grown up a little more, she was a lot less naive and took more of her family's influences onto her personality.
The wolf-women closed the tarp door sheets and closed down all incoming business for the day.
[Muffet's Squadron]-[Thursday, 11:00]
They had relayed to each other everything that had happened to them since their teleportation.
Muffet had to explain to them who Petrichor was, what she meant to her, her role on the ship, and why she was picked.
Susie had no problem with it, she looked and was reliable, she had a long history with the Captain than anyone else, and they needed a proper cook.
However, Undyne wasn't so willing.
Christie had to explain her current situation and her reason for being. They all had mixed feelings about Christie, but they knew one thing, as a fighter, she was easily tied for strongest amongst them. So it wasn't like they could straight up tell her otherwise.
Susie had told Muffet about the jungle visit and what Undyne did.
Muffet soaked all of it in while looking at Undyne, still slightly mad at her from before but slowly easing up on her since she did make many right decisions when she was unsupervised.
She would have a talk with her later.
Cassidy just sat there, out of energy. She was again the odd one out. However, Muffet went up to her and patted her head.
She brought her crewmates back to her at the expense of her own power. Although she hates her for the pain she inflicted on her crew. From all, she has been through afterward and considering how all of her crew is fine. The debt was paid.
Now to address the elephant in the room, the Deltarune news drop.
That took a while to explain but eventually, everyone was situated with the news.
Now, they were about to dock on Veuryid, the island was minutes away and everyone was getting ready to disembark.
It was just a regular island, villages and forests and not that big.
Christie was standing on top of the mast looking off with Cassidy.
Undyne was looking off the port with Petrichor.
Susie and Muffet were talking at the figurehead of the ship.
"When that woman kicked me...I felt as if I was getting unraveled from the inside, it was worse than death...but the worst pain was..." she then looked at Muffet who looked at her back.
Eye to eye.
"Dude. It made me think of you back in Yetera. When I was hit, I couldn't move, I was in shock, and It took Undyne healing me like crazy to barely stand...Captain, dude...how the hell do you get back up so easily. You were in similar, if not, worse shape than me back in Yetera, yet you got up every time. How?"
Muffet just nodded and looked off into the distance. She then wrapped her right set of arms around Susie like a huddle or a side hug.
Susie, never seen Muffet do something like this physically before. It was like an image thought about what might make her, Susie, the most comfortable.
And she was right.
"When you're a captain. It's not about being strong, it's about how good of a message can you spread to your crew, to make them stronger. Though I pride myself on always trying to protect everyone, it all means nothing if they don't want to be protected. If they just gave up. A captain has to be the moral backbone and support of the crew and that's the most important part. Now you tell me, seeing me get back up over and over, did it not inspire you to keep going as well dearie~?" Muffet said with a weak but honest and soft smile and tone.
Susie was speechless at first. Muffet was...maturing. This was the wisest thing that had ever left her mouth.
"Y-yeah, it really did. That was honestly the biggest card you had that made me join the crew."
Muffet giggled into her hand top left.
"Then I'm doing my job well, huehuehue~"
Susie smiled hard before looking straight ahead at the island.
"You know, Undyne said a lot before she transformed into that beast of a warrior. She said that she was ready to die for me so that I could take her place. And that you hated her guts and that's why I'd have an easier time taking her place if she died. She seemed to throw down her life as an apology. Hate her or not captain, she's a keeper. Everyone makes mistakes." Susie said patting Muffet on her right shoulder and getting up to walk toward the mast of the ship.
"I'mma go and bully Cassidy some more, talk to you later Cap'."
"You better not! I have the high ground!" Cassidy said aiming her sniper down the ladder watching Susie climb up.
"Bitch I hope the fuck you do," Susie said continuing to climb up.
Muffet sat there, letting her words sink in. She then sighed.
"Undyne dearie~, Petrichor dearie~, come over here," Muffet said.
Undyne and Petrichor looked at each other and slowly walked over to Muffet. They both tried to sit on her right side.
She sighed.
She had a tough decision to make.
"...Petrichor...sit on my left."
Petrichor knew what that meant. She honestly didn't care, it was Undyne who had this gripe.
The scorpion woman didn't care about her position on the ship, just as long she was on it with strong people and the person she grew up with.
It was Undyne who really want the spot as first commander. It was her pride.
"You two mean the world to me. So much has happened recently, that I just can't help but take a step back and think to myself, why get angry?"
Petrichor and Undyne nodded.
Muffet turned to her fish woman best friend.
"Undyne, you shall remain my first commander, despite your recent failure, I also failed to beat Hydra. So, I can't be a hypocrite, and from what Susie told me, you are still that kickass fishwoman I've bickered with since day one. Thank you dearie~, for protecting them in my stead." Muffet said placing a hand on hers.
Undyne was speechless, and stood speechless. She knew any word she'd say would ruin the moment.
Muffet then turned to Petrichor.
"Any objections?" Muffet said with a smile.
"Nope! Being first commander is too much work anyways, I dont want to stress AND cook. One at a time. And plus, that's Morial's daughter, she's better to fit the role by blood."
Petrichor said smiling at Undyne, Undyne smiled back.
Then, the ship docked.
First thing's first, to find a doctor.
[Ralsei, Hera, and Ronaldo]-[Thursday, 12:46 PM]
"And so I said to Verde 'Gaia? I barely know ya!'" Hera said laughing to her own joke as the other wolf-women did too.
They had tended to Ralsei and Ronaldo without question and they felt pretty new. They were just getting new clothes that Hera ushered that they get.
They both wore green and brown leather coats that flared up at the collar with matching khakis pants and trench boots.
"And which crewmate did she get that from?" Ronaldo said cringing at the joke as he tied his laces.
Ralsei cringed too.
"Undyne. No doubt. She tells horrible jokes."
Ronaldo look and Ralsei and they both laughed at each other's comments.
They were both tying their laces on the same wooden crate on opposite sides.
"So hey, don't you feel grossed out working with a pirate?" Ralsei said teasingly.
Ronaldo just smirked.
"I would, but out of everyone you're the most tolerable."
"I'll take that as a compliment."
"You should. I'm never usually this nice or talkative."
Both of them finished their laces. They looked at each other eye to eye. They grinned at each other.
Hera saw them ready up.
"It was nice chatting to you ladies, but I gotta go, you know, save Constricta!" Hera said as all three of them opened the tarp to see two tall figures waiting outside.
"Pfft! Deuces!" Hera said running away from the two figures. Fuhu chased after her, too scared of the two new people.
These two people were Hephaestus and Athena.
Ronaldo got in a stance, so did Ralsei.
"So, which crew member did she get that from?"
"...Let's just get this over with."
[Muffet's Squadron]-[Thursday, 12:50 PM]
The only people who were outside the infirmary when everyone else was getting treated were Petrichor and Cassidy.
Despite the adventures, Petrichor didn't get damaged once. For Cassidy, despite everything Lillian did, all she did was take away her Devil Fruit.
She didn't even know people could even do that.
Regardless, she remained untouched. So, both of them didn't need tending to.
The village was a small and modest village, houses and structures made out of wood and stone. Which was a sense of relief.
On the Grand Line, most islands had an anomalous gimmick to them. Whether it be an island of viciously cold temperatures, an island of zombies, an island where lightning always strikes, etc. So when seeing an island just like any island on any of the Blue's, it was somewhat peaceful.
Petrichor was abnormally tall and Cassidy was on the shorter end. They stood there outside the infirmary guarding the entrance.
"So, you're a sharpshooter, huh?" Petrichor said trying to start off a conversation.
Cassidy only just took a second to view her sniper rifle again.
"Yeah? What of it?"
"You seem awfully young, who taught you?"
"I..." Cassidy trailed off, "I...don't know. I was just born with the skill. A prodigy if you will."
Petrichor nodded.
"So, I heard that with that same skill you did a number on my close friend's crew."
Cassidy scoffed before looking back at her weapon. Seemingly disgusted.
"Yeah- well, I was gonna go back and repeat the process as soon as I knew the direction of Constricta, but someone took my ability to fly so I guess I'm shipwrecked with you guys until I can get back on my feet."
Petrichor giggled.
"So you're not planning on joining the crew?"
"Pfft! As if, I'm not cut out to be a pirate." She said putting away her gun and crossing her arms. She gave a closed-eye grin.
"These people can't stand me, I can't stand a single person there. Not like, I'd be of much help, my only firepower is gone and now I'm essentially useless. They wish they could have me, but I'm not for sale."
"Not for sale, huh?"
"Yeah! Always have, always will be."
"Then how did Hydra afford you?"
Cassidy sharply flinched her body. She tilted her cowboy hat downward.
"He...I owe him. Took me away from an orphanage, treated me like...a princess. He refused to ever let me see him as her dad, but instead a good friend. I owe him, he has been the only thing making my life sane..." Cassidy said looking away.
Petrichor used her tail to act as a chair for herself.
"Why do all of this then, to fight Hydra in the end? Take down his regime."
The wind howled through the village, people walked by to see unfamiliar-looking women.
They minded their business.
"It's...because I don't agree with what he's doing, his story, it just doesn't add up. When I knew him, he was the freest man I ever knew until he started getting me involved in his schemes. Now I realize that he was only as free as the borders of that land. He is the one stopping himself from moving on. And...I just can't respect that."
"...So what will you do then?"
"...I don't want him dead...not that he could die anyways, but, I just want him to know that, somehow, that he's done enough, and should move on."
Petrichor nodded.
It was silent for a while.
"Afterward, the place will be in shambles, what will you do with him after that."
Cassidy...didn't have an answer.
"I see...I'll leave you to that then," Petrichor said leaving her alone.
Just then, two shadowy figures approached the two women.
"Ah! Artemis, Hydra has been looking everywhere for you!" A giant brolic man said.
They hadn't seen these two people approach them, they were too deep in their conversation.
The man that just spoke seemed to have a full suit of armor that seemed to cover everything but his arms. His helmet was shaped like a lion's head with a red feather as the mane.
To that man's right was a woman who was around Petrichor's height. He had long straight black hair, a black kimono robe, and wooden sandals. She had a blade on her back that was jet black and her eyes were an Emerald green.
Petrichor didn't know who these people were.
Cassidy did.
"Hercules, Dionysius, long time see. I was kidnapped by those creatures, but, I was able to break free and find myself here."
"That's good...who's his woman?"
Cassidy looked to her right.
"She was my doctor telling me about the procedure on how she fixed my broken tibia. It was fractured in a way that there needed to be a splint that kept it together." Cassidy said bluntly.
If there was one thing she could give Cassidy credit for, was that she was an impeccable liar.
Hercules and Dionysius were none the wiser.
"Of course, well, we caught wind that the spider girl and her crew are currently on this island. Have you seen them around?"
Cassidy gave Petrichor another side glance. Petrichor gave her the same look.
Behind the doors, they were guarding, were women that really needed fixing. So, if they were to attack them now, who knows what would happen to them.
However, Petrichor was more concerned that Cassidy just simply didn't care.
Cassidy took a while to answer that.
"...No, no I haven't. Hey, can you guys take me back to Constricta? It has been taking me a while because I don't know my way back."
She said giving Petrichor one final glance before turning away.
"Oh well, I guess we can head back, since they aren't on this island...they must've known that we'd be waiting and took a detour!" Dionysius said.
Without another word, those two picked Cassidy and walked away.
Petrichor just watched.
She knew why Cassidy said every word, in that order, with that amount of urgency and laidback-ness.
All she felt was the feeling of regret and sorrow coming from her.
Petrichor knew.
Cassidy ironically took a bullet for them.
She would remember that.
[ Hydra Gordons]-[Thursday, 12:55 PM]
"Boss! There were no signs of the spider girl's crew on the island. However, we found Cassidy! She has requested a return to base."
Hydra grinned widely. He had genuinely missed her. Cassidy played as much of a role as Hera did in his plan.
"Good. Veuryid is a week-long journey away, I can't have Artemis wait that long. I'll have Helios pick you up."
Hades hung up on the Transponder snail that he had for Hercules. He then picked up his Transponder Snail for Helios.
"What do you need me for, Sir?"
"Artemis has been shanghaied but now she has been retrieved, they should be of West of Constricta. Bring them to me."
The instant Hydra hung up his Transponder Snail, he hung his head down to go wipe the tiredness off his face.
Once he brought his head back up, Helios was there with Cassidy and the other two Pantheons.
Hydra smiled.
"Reliable as ever Helios. Go back to your posts...I need to be alone with Ms. Artemis for a second."
They all knelt before dispersing. Hercules took a power jump off the high elevation that they were on. It caused a shockwave when he did.
Athena got on all fours before running off.
The instant Hydra finished that sentence, Helios seemingly teleported away in a beam of light.
Hydra had been resting on a little dented pocket on the highest point of the staircase up the mountain to Olympus before hitting the ground floor of it.
It was just the two of them.
Cassidy somewhat smiled seeing him again. She enjoyed seeing him, but not seeing what he was becoming.
She took a deep sigh.
"You seem deflated Cassidy, what's wrong?" He said with genuine care.
She sat down on the edge of the pocket cliff next to him.
"Nothing, just, a lot has happened since, you know, a few days ago."
"Yeah...sorry about that. I should've assumed that those who took down Bronzio were going to be a threat to me. Granted though, I've softened up since back down. I'm not the same I used to be. But, after a week, I should be untouchable."
"Because you'll claim the throne?"
"So you've heard?"
"When do I not your plans? This is all for Lexi right?"
"...You know the answer to that. This is exactly what she wanted me to do."
"Kill-?"
"Protect."
There was a tense silence.
"I'm not sure she would have wanted it this way..." Cassidy said looking down from the cliff seeing the villages and slums of the people below hustling in their war preparations.
Hydra just gave her a quick side glance before looking back down at the people working in his name.
"She didn't specify...not like I had any other option of achieving what she wanted."
"Hey, speaking of that story, whatever happened to that baby you were to take care of?"
He froze and his body felt devoid of spirit.
"For my plan, I couldn't have that kid interfere and I wished for that kid to not see who was the Guardian of it. So I gave the kid to one of the nicest couples I knew from my voyage as a pirate..."
There was a silence again.
"Tell me Hydra, how confident are you that this plan goes off without a hitch? You do know that if this fails, you won't get another shot ever again. I don't think the World Government will have you as Warlord anymore and pass that title to someone else as they go hunting for you."
He took a deep breath.
"For once, I actually am quite fearful. Everyone in the opposing force is so...special. I'm not talking about Zewz's forces. He is a man too troubled by the people of his land to even think about a strategy to deal with mine. He will lose this war. However, that spider girl's group...I don't respect her enough to even call her by her name. But, her team is filled with people that...I would rather not kill or even attempt to for a multitude of reasons."
"Why? Cause they're stronger than you?"
"Somewhat. Look, that spider girl is...one of two spider tribe kin left alive, and if I kill her, which that in itself is a doozy, the other one will surely come after me, and that's not a fight I'd be willing to win. Undyne is the daughter of Morial, I was on good terms with her mom before...y'know, Mt. Ebott happened. But, if I was in her shoes, would've done the same. That Susie girl..."
He glanced at Cassidy who seemed to be intrigued when he mentioned Susie. She really wanted to know how she was as much of a threat as the other two imposed.
"I'm better off not revealing that...who knows if she's looking already...I'm not worried about her friend, but Christie Callegard is a problem, the amount of raw force she has is astounding and one that I can consistently track if she goes unchecked. I'm not sure if you knew already but somewhere on Constricta is this woman called Ms. Atlas who is going around and dispatching my Pantheons one by one, she is already a problem for me, but I already sent out Hephaestus and Athena to go deal with that problem. And lastly...Hera..."
Cassidy just nodded along.
"Hera is that girl she said to look out for, as she would be your final obstacle, right?"
"Exactly, apparently you saw her, right? What did she look like?"
"Well, she was a...little girl. She was blonde and she had a weird body. I can't tell if she had a Devil Fruit or something else but, she kept becoming different elements. I dome'd her in the head and lit the boat her body was on fire."
Hydra smiled.
"Good but, I know she's still alive."
"What?! How?!"
"When I was about doing my plans, felt three distinct energies on a coast. One was that of a Sulong energy, somehow someone was able to achieve a Sulong form despite not having direct full moon moonlight. There was the energy of a man who kept sharply increasing and decreasing his power, it was weird, but lastly, there was an energy that felt artificial, and I had a cold chill when I felt it. That has to be her, because Hera...is the only person I fear."
"Hmph, tough girl if she survived that headshot."
"Tough girl indeed...now Cassidy, run along, I want you to help out Hephaestus and Athena with their hunt."
"I would Hydra, but, recently I've been exposed to some people that have...taken my abilities."
Hydra sharply looked at her before standing up and coming to her side.
"What happened?!"
"Came into contact with Lillian of The Rorschach Pirates..."
"The first commander?"
"She was their First Commander?"
"Everyone on Vortanya's crew shares the role of First Commander. Damn, that was a really powerful Devil Fruit you had, by the way, it had, by far, the most offensive power out of any other Devil Fruit."
Cassidy as she was hearing this just tilted her head more down.
"...That's alright though. We'll get you a new one. We are bound to have one grow here."
"What if I get a bad one?"
"Hey. Remember this for as long as you live. No Devil Fruit is bad. You could have a Logia that makes you lightning itself, and the opponent can have the paramecia that makes his body into pockets. Under the right hands and brain, that man could very easily win. So, be grateful for what you have...you never know when you'll lose it." He said sitting back down.
"Regardless, I want you to help those two out. Maybe not as in the frontlines as before but in a safe distance. I want to make sure Ms. Atlas has very little chance of success."
"Okay Hydra." She said about to take a stage dive from the cliff before Hydra placed his hand on her shoulder.
"Please do be careful. Out of everyone in the Pantheon, you're the one I can't afford losing."
Cassidy smiled.
"Thanks man, just please, don't do anything reckless." She said before taking the leap off the mountain in pursuit of the two other Pantheon's positions.
Hydra sighed as he looked down at the people below. Smoke was rising from the blacksmith booths, several trees were being cut down and he saw as everyone had a hand in preparing for the upcoming war.
He knew that once the war would break out, that the fight would most likely be at the base of the staircase and spread out towards the forest. It would be unwise to plan an attack going up the staircase since they want to purge their land and not the other way around.
Which was what he wanted.
Olympus to be empty.
Just as he finished that thought all his primal danger signals flared as if a gun, or a missile, a cannon, or just anything lethal and threatening to him was about to hit him.
He instinctively jumped to his side and hugged the wall to the left of him. His back slapped against it as his arms sprawled along with it like how a cornered animal would.
For something to make him react this shocked and scared would have to be the existence of one person.
Not Hera, no...
Someone stronger.
"Hello Gordon, it's been a while hasn't it."
The afternoon sun gleamed in that small pocket, but not on Hydra's side. On the side of the other person as Hydra was enveloped in the darkness, the shadow.
The sunlight gleamed perfectly off of her dark green scales and dark green hair. Her yellow eyes seemed to be radiant when matched with the sun's rays. Her tail wagged slowly but melodically.
She brushed aside her hair before posing in a way as if she was being violated just by her looking at him. She did so with grace and smooth motion and a certain shyness he had forgotten about.
This was indeed, the Monster Admiral, Shyren.
"Oh how far you've fallen...I had so much hope for you." She said softly and still shy.
Although that hurt his pride, for some reason he couldn't get mad at her.
She wasn't wearing her Admiral uniform, but instead, she wore a sun hat and a dark blue buttoned shirt with white lotuses on them as part of the design.
"It's been...quite the while hasn't it? What are you here for? To arrest me and to bring me to Impel Down? Well, if you're going to do that, do it now, there's no way in hell I'd be able to beat you."
She only held up a finger.
"No, I'm not here on a mission, I'm on vacation. Even so, I rather fight if it's avoidable, I'm an influencer, not a fighter."
Hydra cracked a sinister smile.
"Don't give me that crap!" He pointed and jabbed his finger aggressively at her chest and kept it there, "We all know that your title is Monster Admiral because you were the one that caused the most damage to Morial during Mt. Ebott and was the linchpin of that entire war. I was there! She even refused to hit you because-"
Hydra tried to continue before she whistled and an invisible physical force slammed his lower jaw to his upper jaw causing him to forcefully stop talking.
His top and bottom rows of teeth shattered when that happened. He covered his mouth and kept both his hands over his mouth to prevent a loud scream to be heard.
"I rather you not tall about the actions of that war. I wish to not relive those days, and plus, till this day I regret what I did to Morial. She was a good friend, she knew that. I was the person she trusted the most amongst the World Government, us being Fishwomen."
His teeth regrew. He opened his mouth as blood came out like a waterfall and the shards of his previous teeth.
"I've been doing everything in my power to tie up all the amends she wanted to. To fill out her bucket list, which is why I'm on this vacation."
He wiped his mouth.
"So, again back to my question, why are you here?"
She looked off the side of the pocket of the cliff and continued.
"The first Ancient Weapon has awoken, and after recent research, she is supposed to be here and stop a force. Wanted to see it for myself when that happens. I just didn't know you were that force."
"She won't stop me. I've made every precaution to make sure she doesn't."
"Hey, Gordon, tell me something."
Silence went by, she took that as for her to continue.
"Your Devil Fruit makes you immortal to age. You were going to outlive Lexi...so why are you mad that she died earlier?"
Hydra choked up in his words, she just sighed.
"Don't worry, I won't pick sides in this war. I won't interfere on any of the sides, I'll just simply spectate. The only reason is because...Morial on her bucket list wanted to see the downfall of Olympus, just like you. Although I'm sure she wouldn't have gone to this length to do it."
"...Are you done? I'm starting to get sick of hearing you talk to me with your Justice speech."
Shyren was filled with...
Perseverance!
"Whatever you say, but if I had to pick a winner...I say the winner would be of those with the rawest intentions." She said before humming and scaling down the wall at a speed that made her impossible to see.
He, again, sat back on the pocket.
Alone.
[Ralsei, Hera, and Ronaldo]-[Thursday, 1:00 PM]
Ralsei ducked under a swipe of claws that Athena attempted to cut her with.
The height difference between them was wicked, Athena was 9'4 and Ralsei was 4'5.
The fight took place along the village, upon talking, they knew that Ralsei was Ms. Atlas because of the voice recognition.
Ronaldo was in charge of fighting Hephaestus.
Hera was in charge of hiding to avoid being noticed by anyone from Hydra's Pantheon.
"Got some moves Goat Girl!" Athena said before coating her arms in Armament Haki.
Ralsei did the same but hers was fading in and out, like it was so weak she had to do everything in her power to keep it intact.
Athena scoffed at it.
"You're really planning on beating me with Haki levels that small? Don't you know, in the Grand Line, you need the strongest of Haki to survive? All the soul bullcrap is useless here."
Ralsei got in a pose that she was only able to do because it was a boxing pose that she saw Undyne do once.
She didn't have her Yo-Yo, and no one was here to fight for her.
This was indeed, Ralsei's First. Ever. Fight.
Athena rushed at Ralsei with her massive claws.
Everyone was in the village was witness to this fight as they all stayed in their respected homes and shacks watching this fight. Too scared to intervene.
She came with a cross slash using her claws in the shape of an 'X'. Ralsei just quickly did a back step.
Ralsei then held out hands as she immediately saw Athena rushing at her again, this time readying a punt kick.
The height difference allowed that.
The kick connected with the entire front half of her body as she was punted into the air.
Ralsei just flinched as she was in the air as that kick hurt...but not as much as she thought it would.
How durable was she?
She had survived harsher attacks. Like the many tens of tons attack from that Emerald girl, the Body Impact attack of The Chaos King, the presence of Jevil, and the bronze mini pillar attack from Bronzio.
This was the scaling theory that Undyne was talking about, which makes sense to relative muscle theory.
Which was the fact that Undyne pointed out that if you fight a person with certain stats and you survive, win, or recovery after that, that your body naturally adjusts to that level of pain intake.
Which now meant to her that she is now indeed strong than what she was back when they first met.
What a crazy couple of months it has been since.
Now she was entrusted with fighting on the frontlines this once. She was in charge of winning this fight for the sake of her friends, but how was she able to do so if she is the team's healer?
Athen jumped up to her at a speed that she was barely able to react to. All she was able to do was block with her arms in a boxing defense.
"Saber Slam!" She said as she clenched both her face and slammed down on Ralsei's arms with it.
Ralsei landed on her back hard, it hurt. It should've been enough to kill her or shatter her spine, but it didn't.
Why was that? Why was she able to be so strong now?
Was the enemy too weak?
That may be the case, but it was something else.
Ralsei cast a dome of Courage. The same Courage she was brimming with since earlier. However, when she did, normally she would feel a deplenish in her stamina and Courage energy.
However, now, she felt no consequence, no strain.
Athena came down and tried a charged dive kick on the dome.
Ralsei flinched as she knew this would cause a lot of strain on her body.
The impact was made and it caused a shake of the ground and indent in the dirt ground. Everything around shook violently.
However...Ralsei felt barely any pressure. Like the attack wasn't strong enough.
Which was strange, because that was a devastating attack, but it barely applied any pressure on her.
Ralsei started to look at her hands.
Athena kept attacking the barrier trying to crack. When she started using Armament, then it started to apply more pressure than before, a good amount. However, Ralsei knew that the dome should have given out a long time ago.
Why? Why was she able to do this?
...
Then it clicked.
She looked at her hands before slowly clenching them.
"My soul, had a breakthrough. Your soul evolves along with you...I evolved...I'm not a healer..."
Ralsei grinned and looked up as her eyes started surging with Courage.
Copious amounts of it!
Athena kept thrashing at the dome.
"Why won't this break! Your bounty is so low for the ship's healer, so why won't this give?! Soul energy users are garbage in the Grand Line!" Athena said before attempting a headbutt.
"Hey, watch it! Soul energy is my career!" Ralsei said before taking down the dome and giving herself a helmet of courage.
Athena was expecting that when following through with the headbutt, Ralsei cranked her head back and went for a headbutt too.
After a hard thud and shockwave of both the heads colliding, Athena was the one that got bunted back. Blood streaming down her head.
Ralsei raised both her arms and clenched her fist. She kept her captain in mind before flailing punches that were coated in her Soul Energy and shot a barrage of Courage beams at her opponent like how she did against the Chaos King, but this time in volleys.
Each one landed on Athena, causing slight visible damage as it kept pelting her.
Then lastly, she thought of Undyne before summoning a giant singular beam of courage that, upon impact, sent back Athena a good distance back. Even landing in a carpentry shack and making it collapse.
All the village folk's jaw dropped as they all slowly paced their attention from Athena to Ralsei.
She looked at the sun that was slowly causing her skin to burn again.
She knew if she turned into a Sulong now that she'd most likely win the fight easily.
That being said, she made herself a replica of her old hat using her Courage. She made domes around her fist and then concentrated more before casting a full body shield around her.
Athena aggressively hopped out of the debris of the shack.
Her body was morphed.
She looked like a combination of herself and a Saber Tooth Tiger. She kept her fangs, she grew to 13 feet tall with a broader chest and shoulders. She had fur matching the spots and placements of a Saber Tooth. Her forearms were noticeably bigger as well.
Ralsei smirked.
"Devil Fruit user, huh?"
Athena smiled before wiping blood from her mouth.
"This is the Neko Neko no mi, Model: Saber Tooth Tiger!"
Ralsei laughed.
"Hey! You are the first Prehistoric Zoan my crew has ever fought, be happy!" Ralsei said smiling.
"Then you should know that now that I'm in my hybrid form, the strongest form of any Zoan user, that this fight won't be as easy as before."
Ralsei nodded.
"Hey, I want to thank you. This fight has really enlightened me on where I should focus my expertise. I was always looking for ways to make myself stronger for my crew, but I was always looking for other ways outside my reach. When all this time, I should've looked in myself...But let me get one this straight! I'm not the team's healer-!"
Athena and Ralsei doved at each other. Ralsei used her courage beams to fly faster to Athena, while Athena ran on all fours for maximum speed while coating her arms in Armament. They both then charged a punch.
They clashed fists, this time Ralsei's courage shield cracked as she felt immense stress and pain on her body.
This was the pain she was used to.
Athena's knuckles dented with that punch and her hand almost cracked.
"I'M THEIR SUPPORT! Ralsei said before following her attack with a downward punch toward the top of Athena's head.
The hit connected but it didn't cause as much damage as she thought she would. This meant that she had an underwhelming physical power, she would just have to rely on Athena's savage attacks to damage herself.
She then kicked off Athena to gain distance, but her leg was grabbed as if she closed the gap in the distance immediately.
Athena then slammed her on the ground repeatedly before tossing her to another shack.
That hurt her a lot, but she still got up. She wiped the blood from her mouth as she noticed the cracked in her full body shield.
Athena then came rushing at her in a lunge attack.
Ralsei quickly mall a wall with her Courage to which halted Athena as she bashed her head on it causing her to gush more blood from her head.
Ralsei quickly brought it down as she hit Athena with a dual-arm blast. It caused her to be launched into the opposite shack on the other side of the dirt road from her.
Ralsei walked out of the debris, once she did she was greeted with a sudden uppercut at a speed in which was so fast she couldn't see until it happened.
It shattered the shield she had around her head and sent her airborne.
"Like I said! Your Soul means nothing to someone who is stronger than you!"
"Saber Crunch!" Athena said as she bit down on Ralsei's midsection in mid-air, causing her to shatter the body shield Ralsei had and piercing her hip all the way through.
Ralsei screamed in pain as Athena did so, the pain was unbearable and was such a specifically weird spot that it was torturous as a first experience.
The Saber woman then closed her fists.
"Super Saber Slam!" She said slamming her down to the ground again. This time, she felt it.
Athena landed next to her and just stood over her.
"And what did I tell ya? Now look at you, Ms. Atlas. Pathetic."
Ralsei coughed out a disgusting amount of blood before slowly getting up.
Athena raised a brow.
"Admirable, but I suggest you stay down, once you fully stand up, I'll be forced to finish you."
Ralsei painfully got up. However, all she had in mind, was Muffet's pain in Yetera, compared to that, this pain was nothing. That's what she kept telling herself for motivation.
"This fight...was a good lesson for me...thank you."
Ralsei was about to stand up straight, Athena got in a stance ready to lunge and bite her head off.
Ralsei filled her hands with Courage and cocked back her arms.
She fully stood up, Athena lunged at her.
"SABER GUILLOTINE!"
"RUDE BUSTER!" Ralsei said as from her hands she cocked back, she shot forwarded and fired a beam using all of her total brimming Courage.
It completely depleted her of her Courage as she shot a beam the size of the whole village pathway from both her hands at her opponent.
When it collided with Athena, Athena wasn't expecting her to fire back and just collided with it to be flung back immediately, however, Ralsei kept firing the beam.
Athena kept trying to use her strength to get herself out of the beam, but the beam was too furious and powerful for her to escape from.
The beam bulldozed trees, shacks, and incinerated the grass in its way.
Slowly, Athena started to go back to her base form from the pain. Then, afterward, she, herself, started to be incinerated, starting with her arms, then her legs, then the rest at the same time as she screamed out her last words.
"YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO STOP HYDRA MS. ATLAS! SEE YOU IN HELL!"
Then, Ralsei stopped her beam and collapsed onto her knees as she started to hyperventilate. She looked up to see that where she faced, created a mark where her beam left. A line of bulldozed land.
She smiled.
"That's for...disrespecting...my work..." she said before passing out again.
Ronaldo then ran up to her.
He had finished his fight, he was the clear victor, as his Devil Fruit was simply no match for Hephaestus who had the ability to turn and part of his body into a firearm.
He saw the beam and ran over to see if it was Ralsei who was obliterated, but as it turns out, it was Ralsei who won.
He smiled as he looked around, seeing that the people were too scared to step in. Ronaldo didn't know where Hera went, she must've booked it, which was the smarter decision.
He picked her up.
"You did good Ralsei! Now time to get out of here!" He said before trying to run off in the direction in which Ralsei's beam fired.
However, a gunshot was fired, that went straight through his left kneecap from behind.
He quickly tripped in pain and dropped Ralsei.
Ronaldo turned around on his back to see that Cassidy had him in point-blank range, aiming her flintlock revolver at his forehead.
"Easy there buster. Have to report you into the boss."
Ronaldo only laid there and gritted his teeth.
"I'd rather die!"
"Poor choice of words." She said aiming her gun at his other limbs and shooting all his joints.
He screamed in pain with every shot. After she was done, Ronaldo was there aggressively seething, unable to physically move because of his injuries.
"Now that you'll be unresponsive, time to haul you in-" she tried saying before being bit on the ankle.
She yanked her foot up in pain before looking at it.
It was Fuhu, trying to fight on Ronaldo's behalf.
She aimed her gun at Fuhu.
"You again?! I thought I killed you!" She said trying to pull the trigger, but she was shoved so hard that she fell to the ground.
She looked to see who shoved her, but drooling above her...was Ralsei.
Without her Courage hat, the sun rays touched Ralsei when she was unconscious, turning her back into a Sulong.
"Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!" Cassidy said a Ralsei went to go take a bite out of her.
However, her mouth was clamped shut by something. Ralsei looked down at her snout to see the problem.
Just to see Hydra holding it down himself, in his Hybrid form.
"Hey Ms. Atlas, I knew I'd find you from the result of this fight. If you hadn't done that flashy move, I wouldn't have been able to decipher your location. Now...let's talk...about sending an actual message!"
**To Be Continued**