"Like I told Marco when he asked me about it before the meeting," Erika stated, "mine is a rare and unique form of Devil Fruit. I've gotten a lot of mixed reactions from those who have seen my full form. The name of my Devil Fruit is Shinka Shinka no Mi Model: Chimera, also known as the Evolution Fruit. My Fruit allows me to have the combined and exasperated power of a normal Devil Fruit. I can transform both partially and fully into 3 separate or combined animals of each zoan class; ancient, normal, and mythical." Here she paused to see if everyone was following her.
"Not only that," Erika continued, "but I have the evolved forms of each of these Zoan Fruits. I have better control over selective shifting, can typically hear and see farther, have a more enhanced sense of smell, and I'm bigger and stronger than those who have eaten the singular Devil Fruit for each animal. These animals are not predetermined by the fruit but tailored to the personality of the fruit user each time it is eaten. With this comes some downsides as well but I can get into that later." In her pause the silence was unnerving.
"So, you can turn into three animals instead of the normal one?" Thatch asked
"Yes. I can also combine the animals and create a creature called a Chimera. It's this form that usually gets mixed reactions as it looks a bit like a monster from your childhood nightmares." She replied.
"What animals can you turn into, yoi? I guessed a form of canine before and from your formation of a structured Pack I would say that it's a wolf." Marco asked.
Erika smiled at him before answering, "Yes, I can turn into a she-wolf, just like your Pops claimed yesterday. I'm not some common grey wolf found in the woods, however, I'm a Dire Wolf. It's an ancient and giant breed of wolf that is more primal and aggressive than their modern counterparts. I'm about 6ft tall and 10ft long, and have a longer head as well as being broader than a modern wolf. I can hear as far as 6 miles away in the forest and 10 miles in the open in wolf form and about half that when in human form. My sense of smell is the strongest sense I have. I'm able to pick up pheromones and scents from everyone in this room, and let me tell you, the testosterone on this ship is overwhelming."
They chuckled lightly at her joke yet seemed amazed at the same time. To show off some of her selective shiftings she elongated her face a little to form the start of a muzzle as well as enlarging all four of her canine teeth.
The commanders watched this process in pure shock and awe. Just to see their reactions she added her wolf ears to the top of her head and tail to her back before shrinking her muzzle until just the fangs showed slightly. Once she was done most of the men had blushed varying shades of red and when she tilted her head and whined lightly Thatch had to cover his now bloody nose. Smirking at her small victory she looked to Whitebeard, who showed no reaction, and Marco, whose only visible reaction was a slight dilation of the eyes and tint of red to his ears. She gave them both a pout, which made things worse for the other men, before reverting to her normal face.
"Here is both a downside and perk to my sense of smell, I can tell distinctively who was most affected by that little show just now. And no, I'm not talking about Thatch's obvious bloody nose. I can smell the arousal in the air and pinpoint it to its origin. While annoying right now, it can come in handy when a perv tries his luck in following me. This is also how I know when a Marine is near-by. I've memorized the distinctive smell of the detergent they use for their uniforms from Garp as well ad the type of lacquer they use on their ships." Erika explained, nodding her head to Namur in a show of fully answering his question.
"That was an excellent show of control and skill, to only transform small areas of yourself and know who exactly was affected," Whitebeard commented with a smirk. Erika just gave him a wink in response. "What other forms do you have?"
"I can take the form of a Komodo Dragon, a giant venomous lizard. It has sharp claws, extremely strong and well-muscled tail, armor-like scales that contain tiny bones acting as a natural chain-mail, and a deadly bite. If needed I can transform just my tongue and use it to track a scent from about 12 miles away." She answered, then proceeded to show them her now very long forked tongue.
"Impressive, yoi. And your third form?" Marco asked.
"Ah, I can turn into a very pretty bird!" Erika exclaimed with a laugh.
Ace, recognizing that she was stalling answering his question about her winged form and quickly remembered the reason why. "You're only going to be here for about a month, aren't you?" he asked her somewhat quietly. "One of those times is coming up soon isn't it?" Ace asked, shaking his head. "Seeing you like that always used to both freak me out and make me feel useless." He continued, looking a little down.
"One of those times?" asked Izo, looking confused yet curious. Out of all the commanders he was definitely the nosiest. "What happens in a month and why would Erika have to leave for it?" he looked around, seeing if any of the others had an idea. While most looked just as confused as him, Marco and Pops looked like they had an idea of what was going to happen.
Erika covered Ace's hand, that was on her shoulder, with one of her own when he spoke of being useless, trying to give a measure of comfort to him. "You're not useless. When I was with you boys it wasn't as bad. Being around familial scents helped with the longing. But yes, I should leave before it fully starts. With so many others around, especially… I just don't think it's a good idea." She stated slowly.
Turning to Izo Erika answered, "When a Zoan Fruit user eats their Fruit they are rewriting their DNA to be the combination of both human and animal. With the animal DNA comes animalistic traits and instincts, both in and out of animal form." Izo and the others nodded to show that they understood.
"Animals rely on instinct honed over thousands of years to live. Where to live, what to eat, when to start on the next generations and even being able to sense a change in the weather is all due to instinct. All that is now in our heads, part of our genetic makeup. We can no more control it than we can control being tall or short."
"Ok. I understand all that but what I still don't get is why you need to leave in a month." Izo said.
Erika sighed one last time before looking Marco in the eyes and seeing shock, awe and something she didn't know how to feel about, hope. "I should leave around the beginning of next month because the second week of May is when mating season starts for us Phoenixes."
You could have heard a Beli drop.
"Excuse me, I think I heard you wrong. Did you just say you are a Phoenix too?" Thatch asked. Tearing her eyes away from Marco's confused ones she looked around the table at all the faces of disbelief. Looking back at Thatch Erika stood from her chair and gave a nod and slight smile. "You heard correct. My Devil Fruit it that of a Chimera made up of a Dire Wolf, Phoenix, and Komodo Dragon. The fact that I have an evolved Fruit means that not only can I turn into the Chimera but each animal separately."
As she reiterated her powers she slowly took on her favorite form that combined all the facets within her being. First, she incorporated the ears, eyes, and fangs of her dire wolf form to be extending from her teeth and head, then she grew the strong tail of the Komodo dragon coming out from her tailbone as well as turning the skin on her forearms and whole hands into its armor-like scales and claws. Finally, she wreathed herself in golden fire, her Phoenix wings, the feathers being a range of green hues, coming out of her back and her legs from the knees down becoming that of her bird form.
"This, gentlemen, is what I am," Erika stated confidently, giving a flap of her wings and reducing the fire around her. "My Phoenix flames are what gave me the moniker Lady Golden Fire, and I have to admit that I'm quite fond of it." The changes done to her body were seamless, making it look as if they had always been there.
The Whitebeard Pirates sat in shock and awe for a few moments before Marco stood from his seat, as if in a trance. He slowly approached Erika and raised a hand to her colorful green wings, "This explains why Ace had shown little enthusiasm when I first showed him my form, yoi, being used to seeing such things from you. How do you have your wings coming from your back? My arms are what transform into my wings and while I can keep my hands to an extent it was hard to train for, yoi. To be able to have them come from my back instead…" his hand and arm at that point turned into the beautiful blue of his fiery feathered wing.
Nodding in understanding Erika answered as best she could. "Yes, Ace has seen me transform into all my forms since he was 10. I think I can have my wings coming from my back because that is where they appear when I am in my full Chimera form. When I transform into a Phoenix completely my arms become my wings just the same as yours." Marco nodded, looking a little disappointed. He changed back and sat back down, still looking a little shell shocked in the knowledge that another Phoenix was among them. The rest of the table seemed to be doing a little better.
"I knew that you had to be a spectacular woman, being Ace's big sister, this was something beyond the scope of my thoughts, however. It truly is amazing." Whitebeard said.
"Amazing's right. This is awesome!" Shouted Thatch. The murmurs of agreement that sounded form those around the table shocked Erika. She had never been this openly excepted before, only her Pack has ever shown to be so openminded. Turning back to her normal human form she turned to Ace as if to check that she was hearing right. He smiled warmly at her and nodded, gesturing for her to sit back down.
After seating and recentering herself with a sip of her coffee from the shock of their acceptance Erika said, "Given the situation we are facing currently I don't believe me going through a mating season on this ship, especially with Marco nearby, is a good idea." At the confused looks around the table, she looked to Marco. Most didn't talk about this part of eating a Zoan Fruit or the potential trouble it could lead to. As this was also his secret she was revealing she wanted him to have a say in the matter.
At his consenting nod, she explained further. "When he thought he was the only Phoenix alive Marco could focus somewhat during the season even though it still affected him, as I'm sure you all have seen." Seeing them nod, she continued. "Knowing I exist means that during the season he will be driven by his instincts to seek me out and court me and my instincts will demand that I except him knowing that he is the only other Phoenix in the world."
"I can understand that it seems like your instinct are sort of forcing you together but if you guys just have a couple of protected 'tumbles in the hay', as it were, then the problem is solved right? You guys are adults and it's not like either of you are ugly people." Thatch asked, giving a slightly perverted grin.
Giving a sarcastic chuckle Erika replied, "While some Zoans do that during mating season and it works perfectly fine for them, others like Marco and I need to be more careful. You see, certain animals mate for life, creating a what is called a pair bond between them that is similar to human marriage. Phoenixes fall into this category, as do Dire Wolves and Komodo Dragons. So while Marco might be a nice and good looking guy, I'm not about to tie myself in a form of marriage to someone I just met, thank you very much."
"And you are quite correct in not wanting to do so. You and Marco need to get to know each other more before he makes you my daughter-in-law! Guraguraguragura!" Whitebeard said. This made most at the table laugh as well while both Ace and Marco's heads snapped to him in shock.
"Pops!" they shouted. "That's my sister! You're not allowed to marry her off to Marco." Ace continued. Marco nodded before saying, "You can't just decide that we are to be mated, yoi! And you can't try to recruit her to the crew through it either."
"Oi, who said I was joining your crew, Old Man? I'm the Alpha of my own Pack, I'm not about to show throat and give up that leadership! I'm staying here right now to spend some time with my little brother and get to know those I'm entrusting to protect him when I can't. I will be leaving before mating season begins and the only reason I would come back after it has ended is if we haven't found Luffy yet or if Ace needs my help." Erika said.
"So what you're saying is that we have until you need to leave for your guys' season to convince you that you belong here with us?" Izo asked with a sly look.
"Nahahahahaha! You are welcomed to try but will tell you this, Ace got some of his stubbornness from growing up with me. If it took you a few months to get him to join how the hell do you think you can change my mind in only a couple of weeks?" Erika replied.
"Simple, my dear. By showing you that we can be Pack and family as well, that you need us, just as much as we need and want you, in our lives." Whitebeard said. "You might be stubborn but so are we. We know when someone is one of our own and do everything in our power to let them see it in return."
Erika looked at Whitebeard with a thoughtful frown on her face. She couldn't help believing him a little when he says those kinds of things with such honest eyes. However, she just could not see how she could join his crew while still maintaining the authority and independence she needed to be the Alpha of her Pack.
"Fair enough. You have until May 6th, the day I leave for the mating season, to show and prove to me that not only do you truly want me to belong and stay with you but that by doing so I will retain my authority as Alpha of my Pack. I would also need you to prove to me I will have the ability to leave, if needed, to check on and maintain said Pack members' protection and security." She stated finally.
"Guarguraguragura! Very well, I accept that challenge. When you leave on the 6th of May you will tell us honestly if we have proven ourselves and if we have then you will return to us at the end of the season and stay here on the Moby as a closely allied Captain of the Whitebeard Fleet. Agreed?"
Erika looked a little surprised at the proposed tittle before giving him a perfect D smile. "Agreed!"
A/N: Sorry I'm late with this chapter. I got out of work late last night and life threw me a curveball today. Hope you all enjoyed it, I had fun writing it!
