Chapter 2

"You ready?"

"As ready as I could ever be"

The clothing provided to me by the homies were rather quaint substitutes. Not that they weren't comfortable, no they were actually more soft and suited to the winter climate than my party tux could ever be. Yet, did it have to be pink and lime green? Even if it was fashionable according to the crew, would it have been hard to simply ask me about my favorite colors before rushing me out of the medical wing.

"Sorry if we couldn't salvage your clothes, your devil fruit mixed with the cold waters ruined whatever fabrics you were wearing on hand" Moscato tossed me my blue pilot jacket, the blasted thing survived being frozen and covered by my devil fruit syrup. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that.

Prior to my eventual recovery, which had been sped up by something that Moscato called "power-up" food or some other anime miracle medicine; the doctor had found out that my body had gained a devil fruit power. Having drunkenly eaten said fruit and nearly drowned by some unknown man or god or whatever, this was rather worrisome. For starters, I had what the doctors or some may call a "Logia" fruit; a power that is the transformation and generation and manipulation of a certain element or phenomenon. I knew about such fruit users like Portgas D. Ace and Sir Crocodile who had mastered elements like fire and sand, sadly this wasn't advantageous for me. Such sadness came from the fruit that was consumed by yours truly, the Candy-Candy fruit.

"No worries Mr. Moscato, I don't mind it much"Sadly my reply didn't match my disappointment at the so-called Special Logia fruit.

The fruit had activated during my unconscious shocked state, emerald syrup poured from my orifices and my physical form slowly turned into a sticky liquid blob. Contact with the frozen waters of Ice Island prevented some loss of solid contact, as Hans and a few homies fished me out of the waters with not much issue. However, healing was a different challenge, the doctors had to peel off the frozen hardened clothing to get at my broken form and they didn't use regular tools, they had to use hacksaws to cut through syrup. By the time it came to surgery, the clothes sans my coat were ruined beyond repair. Leaving me to be washed and healed from possible frostbite on top of my car-based wounds, which took around 2 weeks to heal with some anime "plot medical treatment" provided by the denizens of Totto Land, they still haven't told me what was used to heal my wounds fully.

This was going to be my own candied hell, stuck in a series of islands lorded over by pirates that haven't even graced my knowledge after reading Marineford.

After conversing with Moscato over what these waters are and current paths to take in these uncharted waters; there were three things that were explained in honest detail.

Thing One: Big Mom was one of the legendary "Four Emperors" of the New World, powerful pirates on a level that warranted caution from the World Government and general rookie scallywags trying to outmode them.

Thing Two: The Big Mom Pirates rule over Totto Land, an archipelago of 34 candied islands governed by 39 daughters and 46 sons, all birthed by the elderly matriarch herself. Each island is dedicated to providing certain edible or other goods to help alleviate the leaders "hunger pangs", along with making deals with Underworld operatives off local waters.

Thing Three: Most castaways found are given an option to pay for their rescue and more by working as a crewmember for life, paying off debts like a pirate for hire. Foregoing this act of charity from the rather temperamental captain risks one being…disposed; most never live to contemplate their choices again.

In the world of One Piece, the thought of disposal had grim choices for a schlub like me, so I agreed to Moscatos offer immediately.

Logically the Straw Hat Pirates would've been anyone elses choice but given the circumstances, working under one of the emperors comparable to Whitebeard himself, this situation did not bite at all.

No that happened once I left the hospital with my savior and his homie.

-0-

Weather was cold.

Not even the tropical palm trees swaying to the winds, scents of ice cream in the air, and gelato-shaped houses changed my mind about the snowy island.

A few of those Homies or animated inanimate objects were around the area, mostly houses or animals like huskies or reindeer laying about. Strange, from my days reading about fishmen or giants, this was rather odd to see in such a world. Some were in the houses where people lived, others were the palm trees and snowy mountains, always smiling goofily. Gave me the willies these guys did, although preferably I kept it tucked away emotionally so they wouldn't think anything shady was going on around me. Moscato told me that some homies will get "vicious" or worse depending on how they view a stranger.

I stayed close to him after hearing that.

"Any chance that this crew of yours will be as open as you are?" I asked.

Moscato pulled down a scarf from his jacket, "I think we'll make some room once we hit the docks, my boys will show you the ropes before we head to Whole Cake Island" he answered wholeheartedly.

I wiped away some green flecks that were coming of my head, "So I'm not joining the crew officially?" The devil fruit powers were still a bind as we walked, syrup stench emanated off my body and a few hardened candy specks dusted off my head.

"Not until we hit Whole Cake, that is where you'll be assigned as a grunt to one of the ministries" huffed Moscato. "I can't host any more crewmates as of now and Hans is almost retiring next year."

The Nutcracker jutted in with a cough. "I'd prefer that you refrain from talking about my personal life, especially to rookies like Mr. Grey."

"Sorry Hans" the Minister of Gelato muttered.

We walked past a few small houses that encircled a port area on the island; all of them shaped like bowls of gelato and tubs of ice cream. A small dock carrying a few frigates and some of the famous "Tarte" carriers that the pirates employed. This was the main form of travel on the island. Outside of the hospital and ice cream storages on the island, the dock was the only inhabitable area on Ice Island according to Moscato, not many people desired to live out in the wastes with the wild homies that had gone native and refused to come down from the snowy mountains. Our destination stopped at a large sundae bowl, inched next to the docks as if it was to slide into the icy depths unperturbed by the cold.

"You two wait out here while I call in a few messages by snail, then we'll shove off" said Moscato, he then vanished into the building. Hans took out a wooden pipe from his hat and started to blow a few smoke rings.

He turned to me with a jaw of blue smoke. "Want some?"

I shook my head, "No thanks, I already had fire inside me before coming here" the syrup taste in my mouth lingered. "Got anything that can wash the taste of syrup from my mouth?" I asked.

Hans then pointed to the snow with a bored, yet irritated outlook. "See the snow around us?"

"Yeah, so what about it" the ground did look a bit pinkish in hue.

Almost like the coating on a snowcone.

"Try suckling some of it, it's coated in gelato preserves." The Nutcracker slapped a bit of the frost into my mouth, not even granting me a chance to speak as a fruit-flavored cold slammed into my face.

"AHMF!" The syrupy taste was definitely gone, after being faceslammed with snow of course. Hans chuckled heartily at me wiping away flecks of his gag, his jaw clicking away on its hinge. Real funny I swiped off a bit of the pinkish gelato from my face and ingested it, leaning against the building as we waited. "So how long do these snail calls take? I figured it wouldn't be this hard" my query was rather befitting to my lack of knowledge of Transponder Snails in this section of the world, I only knew of their Paradise relatives and their own foibles. Hans coughed a bit of incense, "Totto Land relies on both Transponder Snails and Slugs in tandem to relay calls between each other", he blew back a few ringlets. So does this mean there are bigger networks than just the regular snail limit? I pondered thoroughly, my hands started to gel with syrup in my pockets, giving the effect drying glue has on one's hands.

"So does this mean you guys have a network outside of snails?" I deadpanned, syrup started clinging to the insides of my coat pocket.

"Oh heavens no! Territorial Slugs roaming the flavored oceans of our very archipelago have a special connection with the snails, almost a familiar link if you will" The Nutcracker then drew a few dots with interconnecting zig-zagging lines, crossing them all together into one massive cobweb. "Every slug and snail carries a familiar electric signal between other, thus allowing them to communicate from a long distance and grant us a free communications network all to our leisure. Only downside to this is that sometimes we need to adjust the signal to suit the island we are talking to, which has led to a few interesting calls from time to time" explained Hans as he wiped the drawing in the snow.

They practically have a communications network spanning a continent of islands, I gulped a bit at this realization. Now my consideration for being lucky increased, only to be dashed by a sudden scream from afar.

"HANSSS!"

We both turned to face a chess soldier, one of the many security homies employed by Moscato and his family, barreling down at top speed.

"What the blazes-" I mouthed only to be knocked back into the building by Hans, narrowly avoiding a large chunk of debris soaring past my head and sinking one of the small carrier ships. Hans tossed aside his pipe and drew his blade while I reassembled from the floor, "What was that for?" I moaned painfully, the pain in my head still throbbed from the stitches.

The chess soldier ran up to us, his head crumpled like tin with a painted mouth smudged by the wet snow. "They got loose Hans…they broke free from their chains at the Ice Cream Depot…" huffed the soldier as he gathered breath.

My employer's right hand had a look of horror on his painted face at the mention of such a sentence.

"Got loose. Nothing can break out of tempered stee-WATCH OUT!"

FWAK!

Large antlers filled our vision and scattered us in a frenzy, accommodated by a roar of a thing long since extinct. My body was luckily not to be scattered like my nutcracker associate and his fellow homie, who were smacked into a heavy snowbank. Yet, the worst was staring at me with hungry yellowed eyes. It's appearance was that of a prehistoric Tyrannosaur with large icicle encrusted antlers, all across the back and neck laid a mane of white fur. However, the only thing separating me from the hungry reptile was the roof blocking its antlers.

The beast rightfully corrected this by ramming towards me, antlers first. I also rightfully screamed in abject horror, bracing arms included.

"AHHHHHHH!"

"GRAARRRRRRRR!"

-0-

Hans lifted his battered head from the cold pile, his hat was missing but his sword was still intact; sadly Redd was not so lucky for he was resting in the jaws of a feral Ettousaurus or snow rex as aptly named by the populace. It was grinding the remains of the fallen chess homie in its jaws, crushing screaming plastic until a light crush of wet plastic sounded off. The Nutcracker leapt up from the snowbank in righteous fury, whipping off the cold wetness from his sharpened cutlass, Almond.

"Ahem!" he coughed loudly.

The reptile jerked its head from the crunched remains of its meal to eye the small thing talking to it, leveling both eyes to glare downward. It's small orange orbs furrowed in feral hunger like a predator to some unlikely victim.

"Should've never allowed you to be used as security" muttered Hans as he eyed the beast and pointed Almond at the subzero dinosaur.

"What is it foul one? You want another meal? Then ENGARDE!"

"RAAAGGGHHH!"

Ettousaurus charged at the homie with heavy force, bulldozing the large mound of snow that cushioned the nutcracker into a flattened road. Hans nimbly dodged from the path of the oncoming beast and slashed at its right leg, leaving a crimson cut on its calve.

Using some graceful gymnastics from his days under the young LinLin, Hans jumped atop the head of the raging beast as it pulled out from the destroyed mound and started to slash its dome to ribbons. Slivers of blood formed on the mane of white as the dinosaur bucked off the homie in a pained instant. Right as the homie was about to land softly, the reptile swiped at the being with its tail. Hans soared again into the street, landing with a crunch of his wooded left foot; he hopped back up with some slight cringing of pain. Only to be greeted at the monster looming to charge at him a few good steps away.

Damn he got my leg the old homie thought as he steadied his frame on the road.

Ettousaurus was readying for another charge, furious from his bleeding head with antlers aimed towards him.

Hans closed his eyes and began to twirl his rapier in front of him in a S-pattern rapidly.

"Final Winter Waltz-"

Warm air snorted a few paces before the elder homie, antlers almost about to skewer him before he…vanished, not rushed nor hid but vanished to the reptile's own shock. Alas this shock was brief for a sharpened wind sliced its neck.

SLASH!

"SUGAR PLUM STORM!" Hans sliced past the creature in one blurring motion, leaping across the beast's side as three different air-slashes cut through its hide. Its body staggered before the massive head and antlers slid off into gorey chunks, but to a keen eye, each chunk connected would form a S-shape cut.

Okay first one down, a second to go Hans leaned on rapier like a crutch as he turned to face Moscato's office, the second Ettousaurus was ramming itself through the building to get near his two compatriots. While also bringing in attention from the onlooking civilians. There was a storm from afar, chess grunts riding on their mounts were coming in a slog.

Better to take care of the mess before it finishes, Hans took a deep huff and started to hop to the current beast trying to breach the brick gelato building. Although there was a slight feeling that devil fruit straggler was going to surprise him, it wasn't a premonition, this was a rather odd twinge in his judgment.

-0-

"GET IN HERE!"

Moscato pulled me into his office, as antlers crushed past the roof and pierced the door frame. Ramming continued as the dinosaur started to snort with impatience, chunks of brickwork raining down to every forceful beat.

"What is that?" I gasped, trying to regain my footing in the crumbling house.

Charlotte Moscato loaded up a handheld bazooka, albeit one colored like a candy cane and holding in homie; a tranquil looking rocket with lidded eyes.

"That's a Ettousaurus; one of Ice Islands wildlife and trained security in times of invasion, also one of our biggest liabilities" grunted Moscato. He clicked back the bazookas hammer, the homie ammunition inside woke with a jolt.

Then his attention was to the shattered entrance being hollowed out more by the feral lizard outside, Moscato slicked back his tousled neapolitan hair and took aim at the snarling lizard. Trigger was clicked.

Deafening rings soared in my ears. The bazooka's rocket rendered the entire front section into brick and mortar, shrieks of death sounded off in the fray as my vision was obscured by debris. Moscato hefted his cannon onto his shoulders with a grin; the deed was done.

Except for the rather unsettling sight of a bloodied, shrapnel covered, and most thoroughly pissed off Ettousaur staring us down. With one last forceful push despite the multiple scars left on its snout or loss of antlers from the blast, the great lizard breached the building.

Both of us tried to retreat out the rather panicked back door, who was praying to her holy savior to be saved. It failed.

Roughened jaws lurched out to bite Moscato in the legs, before he was then hoisted in the air and proceeded to be shakened. His thick legs were slowly being sawed with each sway of the Ettousaur.

"Grey take cover!" screamed Moscato as he hefted his gun once more by a leather strap, poking it at the chest of the monster and pulled the trigger.

Ached with a few pains from the car hit prior and being hit again by a snowy monster, I crouched to the floor as the minister of the island clicked his guns trigger.

BOOM!

Sharpened brown flechettes ejected from the gun, piercing the security beast point blank and staggering it…for a minute, which it then proceeded to slam the horrified man into the wall. I saw my rescuer become ragdolled, almost like me before. Oh shit this is not good, what's a guy to do? I contemplated my actions further; one was to run away like an abject coward, the other was to go out like a hero with this accursed fruit power to which I had no training or saw any use yet. However, given that my rescuers mentioned that my powers of a possible "rare logia" variety. My mind made a stupid decison that would not isekai me again if it goes wrong.

"Oi Tiny!"

The thing silenced its grunting play with the unconscious Moscato, it turned one single undamaged eye towards me; blood dripping from the combined wounds on its cyan form.

I then made a finger gun gesture to it and attempted something straight out of the devil fruit pose log, my right palm started to liquefy into a green simulacrum that reeked of hardened cady sap. Said pose did jack shit as it dripped for a few seconds, a sweatbead fell over my target and it did a small headtilt.

"Okay give it a moment, this is my badass move" the blob that was my fist fell to the floor, dinosaur proceeded to look on with pity or confusion, either applicable.

"OKAY I KNOW I'M SHIT AT THIS NO NEED TO RUB IT IN!" I raged, while giving the rather confused reptile the bird and extending my middle finger into a sharpened solid syrup spine.

A lightbulb went off in my head, another went off in his as the dinosaur dropped Moscato to chase after the little man who showed him the one bird salute. Pointing my middle finger to the dinosaur, I aimed it at the thing as it lunged forward, jaws open, praying internally for at least chance.

SNIKT!

"NROOARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!"

Middle-finger and my entire hand became an emerald candy spear as it shot outward, drilling through the open jaws of the Ettousaurus and past its brain in single motion. The thing finally dropped dead, as my hand spike shattered and reformed as a regular limb. Sweet Jesus I then proceeded to throw up on the floor for a second at this act of murderous bravery and garnered my strength with pride as someone clapped from outside. It was a one-legged Hans, who was watching from the wreckage outside.

He hopped inside with a tow of smaller chess homies following in pursuit, three soldiers broke off to assess the fallen Moscato. While the Nutcracker gazed at the fallen lizard with a elongated candy pike the size of a human forearm nailed through the cranium, he promptly poked the spear, the pike embedded made a few nerves in the things tail twitch. "Never thought you would activate your fruits power so soon, many logias take time to understand their powers but not at this fast a start" said the homie as he enjoyed making the corpses nerves twitch the tail a few inches."Although I'd be careful using that power, logias are a rare breed in the New World, our captains mentioned they are hunted down fast for their heightened lethality."

Looking at my palm again, it had reassembled into a normal hand with some slight concentration, this could be managed. If a person could become sand or darkness or even sludge, this could be easy in no time, even with this world's policy on Logia fruit users.

"I can manage it, any Logia can manage it and become invincible" I replied with a determined smile.

Hans sheathed his rapier. "Your funeral kid…"

"What'd ya say?"

"Oh nothing my friend, just a small good luck before we both shove off for Whole Cake Island" Hans said with a painted sly grin, we then both left the room to be given first aid by the chess soldiers and huskie homie that healed me in the hospital afar.

-0-

"Puru puru puru puru!"

A furred hand answered the snails transceiver.

"Pekoms speaking…."

"Hi Pekoms, it's Moscato; sorry if i interrupted anything of importance right now" the gastropod had a rather worried expression with a slight heavy lidded feature on the eyes, the lion mink himself could sympathize as he laid in his hammock.

"No worries good buddy, I'm currently having a siesta right now with the Baron" replied Pekoms, his long-legged friend was nesting on a lawn-chair fast asleep. "Asides what's worrying ya?"

The snails face didn't lose its sleepy or cringed expression, "Well remember when I messaged you a week ago about a potential straggler from the Sky-Islands being rescued?" Pekoms remembered the brief call but it was rather dashed during his quelling of the biscuit homie riots.

"Yeah I remember a bit, you need him iced or something? I don't think Momma will mind a rare addition to her collection" he answered to the reciever.

"Nice try furry-face but no, I need you to introduce this kid to a crew" the minks eyebrows raised for a moment. "Guys real nice and get this, he doesn't even know anything about the New World since he's a Skylander, the kid wants to join this crew out of simply not having a home to be in."

"And the bleeding-heart himself can't bring himself to kill the stray puppy" the mink let out a small chuckle, "Aight bring this kid to Whole Cake Island and I'll put him under my crash course in the Big Mom Crew, let's see if this puppy will last until momma's snack time", he then laughed heartily.

"Sadly I can't come by to Sweet City, We had a recent breakout of our security and they did me in good, Hans is delivering the guy by ship tonight."

"O-okay then, so anything I should do about this kid before you dump him onto the Straggler Laws?" Pekoms flicked out a small workpad from his jacket.

The Gastropod made a weak smile.

"Yeah the kid's name is Arkady Grey and he ate the Candy-Candy Fruit, some rare logia that was used by some blowhard wannabe admiral years ago, the kid ate it before he tumbled out of the sk-" Pekoms dropped his pen as he took in that information hard, a rare logia fruit mixed with an islander not found in Momma's collection, now that would be a new addition to Totto-Land.

The next couple of minutes were spent gathering details from his friend, as Baron Tamago slept in blissful ignorance at this new recruit coming in tomorrow.

Yet, Pekoms reminded himself to not forget this, as this would make Momma very proud of her boy if he manages this correctly.

At least that's what he hoped to happen.