Italics indicate thinking

Bold is for attacks

Steve's POV

"RAAHHH!" I couldn't help but let out a demonic screech as I spread my wings "Now I don't know who you are, but are you gonna get outta the way or not?!"

"Kong Gun!"

Luffy darted passed me and blew right through part of the guy's stomach.

"I see you!" I roared "Brimstone!"

I opened my mouth and let out a red-hot laser of demonic energy, knocking something out.

"You're not real, well no you are but that wasn't." I glared a bit "That was just a suit of living armor."

"Well now you've gone and done it." The man stepped out, his body was muscular but small, though his hair was large and spun up into a point.

"I don't get it." Luffy said.

"You're confused, it's me you idiot, Thousand Arms Cracker." He laughed.

"That's the real guy, he was hiding inside that last look like a suit of armor." I said "It's like the General Franky."

"But he coughed up blood when I punched him before." Luffy said.

"That was just a clever trick, a special jam." Cracker said "That was armor I made with my Devil Fruit; the truth is I'm a Biscuit man with the power of the Bis-Bis Fruit. In the hands of a craftsman like myself you can make them into even more powerful constructs and warriors."

"Devil fruits with such seemingly small powers can be used in truly strange ways." I growled.

"I'll give you credit, you two are some of the only ones to reveal my real identity, even the government spreads posters of the armor face, but now that my armor is broken, I'm right pissed, I hate pain."

The shattered pieces of his armors rose up and reassembled into multiple copies of the same person.

"It took everything to beat just that one armor set." He laughed "Now I know there's no way you can handle all these! You'll never get to the Vinsmoke boy! You've lost just give up! There's just some people in this world you can't hope to beat!"

"I thought that once too." I said "He said the same thing to me, nearly killed me, but then I came back stronger and I beat him! I mastered the moves he used against me to get even stronger!"

I dropped to my hands and feet.

"Life Return: Four-Legged form!"

I pulled back and shot forward like a bullet

"Horn Pistol!"

I shattered a shield and opened my mouth, letting off another blast to blow the face off one.

"Luffy!" I yelled.

"Kong Organ!"

A multitude of coiled fists shattered more of the armor.

"Honey Pretzel!"

"Demon Claw!"

I let my hands heat up as I grabbed the sword with a Haki coating to block any cuts.

"HRAAA!" I spun around and threw Cracker into a tree "The strenght of my Demon-Demon fruit powers are no joke! I didn't spend two years learning them and the Six Powers to lose to some glorified side dish! We are going to beat you!"

I let off a blast of heat from my arms.

"Hahaha!" Cracker stood up and assembled more of his armored soldiers "I'm going to enjoy killing you two!"

"I was thinking the same thing." I said "Luffy, time to put that oversized appetite of yours to work, this stuffs just biscuits so…eat it."

"Oh, why didn't I think of that!" He gasped.

"Because you never think!"

Monet's POV

"This Vivre Card is a life saver!" Nami said "You're the best Lola!"

"It sure is helpful." I said "It even got us this very useful vehicle."

"I'm a tree not a rickshaw!" The giant tree said.

"Whatever it took us too long to find a path through all those trees even with the Vivre card cause we've gotten so turned around, now take us to Luffy and Steve."

"I was quite surprised to see him here." I said "I wonder why he came; I assume he must have flown here with his wings but still to leave Zou after us and catch up would require near constant flight."

"Who knows how long we've really been lost in this forest." Nami said "Watches won't work here so for all we know we've been in here a couple hours; plus, the indirect path we took to get to the shore and I guess he could have caught up flying most of the day and night."

Steve's POV

"HMPH!" I threw another flaming punch at Cracker "Dammit why would you just die already!"

"I was thinking the same this battle is dragging on more than enough." He said "What can you even do your friend ate so many biscuits he's bloated like a croaking frog!"

He's right though I need to end this, I'm running out of energy we've been fighting for who knows how long I can't keep up. I've never stayed in my Full Demon form this long it's trying on me.

"Hellfire Fist!"

I let off another flaming punch and burned down more of the soldiers.

There has to be a weak point…

I charged in and grabbed Cracker by the arm and got behind him.

"Stern Breaker!"

I lifted him up and suplexed him.

"And Anchor Drop!"

I lifted one of my hoofed feet and stomped down on his chest.

"Luffy use Tankman!" I yelled.

With his body bloated to that size this should work.

"Right!" he covered his stomach in Haki.

"HRAAAA!" I grabbed cracker by his hair and charged at Luffy.

"What the hell are you doing!" he aimed his sword "I'll skewer your friend!"

"Thruster!" I let off a blast of flames from my elbow to increase my throw "Hell Shotput!"

Cracker slammed into Luffy and I flew back with my wings.

"Now Luffy!"

"Gum-Gum Cannonball!"

After absorbing the blow Luffy rebounded and shot Cracker through his armor soldiers and back into me.

"Hellfire Six King Gun!"

I held my arms out with my demonic strenght let off a blast that sent Cracker clear through the forest and surrounding area.

"Now stay down!" I roar "UGH!"

I shrank back down to my normal form and sighed.

"That guy sure was a pain in the ass."

"Jeez you two what the heck took you so long!" Nami snapped.

"I'd rather not deal with this." I said going over to Luffy "You burn off all that food yet?"

"I'm good!" he cheered jumping up "Hahaha! But wait, why are you here, I thought you were going to Wano with the others?"

"Oh yeah, that." I said sitting on a rock and fixing the bandages on my arm "Well after you guys left, I was getting ready to set off with the others and…I screwed up again, I'm sorry Luffy."

He lowered his hat a bit.

"I just got so stressed out about everything that's been going on with this plan to fight Kaido, then the stuff with Sanji, Zou I just…I shouldn't make excuses I need to be better. For them I need to control my urges." I touched the locket around my neck "After that Robin thought it might be a good idea for me to come see you pal, and I agreed. So, I flew out here, talk about a pain. To catch up to you guys I had to fly nearly twenty hours a day but here I am. I spotted the Sunny on the shore while flying up high and figured you were in here somewhere since it sounded like there was a fight going on and sure enough here you were."

"We won so It was worth it to get you here!" Nami said "Robin's so smart."

"That she is!" I laughed.

"Still this is part of the problem." Monet adjusted her glasses "it required some of the high-level power techniques Luffy and Steve have to simply defeat one of Big Mom's underlings in a long fight."

"Monet's right Nami, don't get so ahead of yourself like we've won, we've only just gotten started." I told her.

"You should leave this place." Some guy with a big head said "While there's still time. Last time a Sweet Commander was defeated Cracker took a fleet out and they said there was a storm of Linlin's Rage."

"A storm?" Nami asked.

"She has the power to control the weather, her left hand brings out the Thunder Cloud Zeus and the right the Sun Prometheus." He said "Once she gets like that there's no stopping her. Before Linlin finds you, leave."

"Something is still bothering me; Pudding gave us the map that got us here but then Pekoms vanished." Monet said "Then this forest was clearly a trap, once we got here Brulee took Chopper and Carrot into her mirror world, we don't know how Brook, Wyper and Pedro are faring either. I believe we were set up either by Pudding herself or someone manipulating her."

"This was all a distraction to keep us from stopping that wedding." Nami said "Once Sanji marries Pudding he'll be in her crew forever."

"Well we've got a ride." I looked at the tree "So let's just go to the castle."

"What a reckless plan, that's not like you." Nami said.

"We wasted enough time in this forest." I said "So we can't afford to play it safe anymore either."

I climbed up on the tree "Let's just go."

"You're pathetic…"

"Ugh!" I grabbed my head "Shut up…"

"You can't save him…you can't save anyone…you let the woman you love leave and walk right up to the doorstep of someone like Kaido, you might as well just have handed him to her on a silver platter! She's probably already dead!"

"AHH!" I groaned "Go away…just…leave me alone!"

"Steve!"

"Pathetic!"

"You're worthless!"

"Give your body to the darkness, so we can annihilate your enemies!"

"If you won't kill the weak, we will!"

"AH!" I slammed my head into the tree "Please! Just be quiet!"

Robin…Lil…help me…you're my light…in this darkness!

"Shut up!" Luffy slammed his head into me.

Luffy…

Monet's POV

"What's wrong with him?" Nami said as Steve laid on the top of the tree clutching his head.

"I don't know." I glared "Perhaps it is his Devil fruit."

"What?"

"It's said all Devil fruits are the power of the Sea Devils themselves." I explained "Legends say that each one houses the essence and spirit of a Sea Devil, that is why those who eat two are torn apart when the Devils inside them clash. They say the Demon-Demon variety of Mythical Zoan fruits are constantly in this state of Devil fighting, and due to their overwhelming internal strife, most who attempt to eat one are killed or driven mad by voices of Devils."

"Are you saying Steve's losing to those things, that's why he's so irritable and angry lately?" Nami asked.

"I don't know I assumed all that was just superstition there's so much we don't know about Devil Fruits but," I paused "Maybe it's true."

"I don't care! Shut up!" Luffy slammed his head into Steve.

"Luffy!"

"I don't care if there's some weird demon monster or whatever leave my friend alone!"

"Ugh!" Steve rubbed his head before whacking Luffy "That hurt brat!"

"You were the one being all weird and stuff." He said.

"It's fine…it's quiet for now." Steve said "Thanks Luffy."

"Yup." He laughed "If those things bother you just say so and I'll whack them super hard and make them shut up, they sound like jerks anyway."

"Wait you heard them?" Nami asked.

"You didn't?" he tilted his head.

"Hmm…I see." I blinked.

So, it wasn't just a thing on Zou…Luffy really did hear the Elephant speak didn't he. Could the Voice of All things be real…?

"Enough worrying about this crap right now." Steve said "We're getting close."

Steve's POV

It's quiet…really quiet…for now

"Over there!" The tree said "That's Germa 66."

"Sanji!" Luffy yelled jumped off "It's been like forever!"

"Don't rush in like that idiot!" I ran after him as he landed on the carriage they were riding.

"We came to get you." Luffy said in his usual simple and matter of fact way.

"Luffy!" I caught him as he flew back from a kick "Watch it!"

"Leave…now." Sanji said "You're annoying me."

"Hmph." I stood up "Really now, normally you only say that sort of stuff to Zoro."

"I am Vinsmoke Sanji, a prince of the Germa Kingdom, I apologize for hiding that fact from you but it was for my own reasons." He said, smoke trailing from his lips "I didn't think any of you wanted to develop an inferiority complex from being in my presence."

"The mouth of yours is gonna get you killed." I growled.

"Go back to screwing around on the seas with you, or live a peaceful life wanting for nothing alongside Big Mom's beautiful daughter, I'm sure even an idiot like you can figure out which is the better option can't you Luffy? I wrote that letter to try and let you down easy but since you never think and Steve thinks he's so much smarter than he is you didn't realize that, I'm not going back! Now get lost!"

"Screw that!" Luffy snapped "You think I'd buy that load of crap!"

"This is starting to get funny!" One of the men in the carriage laughed "I'll help you get rid of them."

That must be one of the siblings Monet and Nami mentioned.

"Stay out of this." Sanji warned him "I'll deal with this annoyance myself."

AN

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Pick up- Chapter 844

Till Next Time!