Chapter 35: Game of Flags

The Butterfly family and the Johansen Family were the exact opposite. The Butterfly family were prim and proper. While the Johannes family was barbaric and loud. But of course they untied when River married Moon.

So of course they had to have a family reunion every year. Granted they just called it an annual picnic but it was still the same thing.

Which was a bit of a mess because of this clash.

However Star had always invited her brothers, even if they were sworn siblings they were still part of the family.

Even if it meant the two oldest of the siblings had to sit at the kids table…

"I would have thought Moon would have finally made exception if she didn't allow Star there." Sighed Sabo sitting awkwardly at the table.

"Where is Star?" asked Marco.

That was when Moon made Star sit down at the table next to Luffy eating corn.

She tried to sneak on the table on the first course dish.

"That wasn't even a good attempt." Said Sabo.

"Yeah." sighed Star.

"Is Ace okay?" asked Marco.

Ace was sleep face first in corn.

"He's fine." Laughed Luffy.

"IT would be more tillable if Rock was here." Sighed Sabo.

"Rock?" asked Marco.

"My cousin…" said Star, "He's in still the hospital… boating accident."

"Oh… okay…" said Marco.

"He should be out before the next Silver Bell Ball." Said Star.

"That's good." Said Luffy.

That was when Star noticed it.

"It's starting." Said Star.

"What is?" asked Marco.

"Grown up stuff!" said Star.

"What?" asked Marco.

Sabo nudged Ace awake.

"Is it happening?" asked Ace waking out.

"Oh yeah!" said Star, "Grown up stuff!"

They all watched as the two families started fighting.

It was clear that both families hated each other and the only one trying to calm things down was Queen Moon.

Even King River was arguing, but thankfully managed to snap out of it when Queen Moon scolded him.

However King River was the one to calm things down by suggesting how to settle it: With Flags!

"Flags!" cheered Star taking out a pink flag with a butterfly on it.

"Finally!" cheered Luffy.

"We finally get to play." Said Sabo.

"What's going on?" asked Marco.

"It's a family game." Said Ace, "Star is finally old enough to play…"

"We're not official members of the family so we weren't allowed to join in." said Sabo.

"So what is it exactly." Said Marco.

"We climb a hill and plant a flag at the top." Said Star.

Marco saw a hill.

"Oh like King of the Hill. I rock at that game." Said Marco.

"You're looking at the wrong hill." Said Luffy.

"What?" asked Marco.

"It's that one." Said Ace pointing to a massive mountain with a ton of challenges and perils on it.

"Whoa!" said Marco.

"The winner gets to look down on the whole family through the entire year." Said Star, "I'm so ready for this."

Star began to leave. However her mother stopped her.

"No way." Said Queen Moon.

"Hey that's my flag!" said Star.

"You can have it back at the end of the match, but you won't be playing flags today." Said queen Moon.

"You played flags at my age." Said Star.

"I did a lot stuff at your age that you won't be doing." Said Queen Moon.

Star glared at her mother.

"I know it's boring being the oldest at the kid's table." Said Queen Moon.

"I turned 18 not too long ago." Said Ace giving her a deadpan look.

"Being the oldest official family member at the kid's table." She corrected herself, "But you're not ready to be the youngest the adult's table. Now stay back and help your cousins chew your corn. And Sabo I'm trusting you to keep an eye on them."

"Don't worry I will." Said Sabo.

Queen Moon left to watch the match.

"See I told you." Said Sabo.

"You were right." Said Star, "The decoy was a good idea."

She took out another flag this time black with a red A, a blue S, a yellow L and a green S with an X crossing them.

"What?" asked Marco.

"Don't forget the other decoy." Said Sabo.

"Way ahead of you." Said Star.

She made twins of all of them made of corn.

"Wow… I thought you were an unofficial mama's boy." Said Marco looking at Sabo.

"Hey!" yelled Sabo.

"Come we should join the others before Moon notices us doing this." Said Ace.

They snuck into the group of competitors keeping low to the ground.

"So who's side are we on?" asked Marco.

"Our side." Said Star.

"I think the black flag is a sign of it." Said Sabo.

"Plus we got an advance as team." Said Ace.

"all right!" said Manfred, a servant of the Butterfly family who was acting at commentator, "Let's have a spirited game of flags and hopefully avoid the unfortunateness of last year."

"What happened last year?" asked Marco.

"Lump got his body cut off." Said Luffy.

"What!" yelled Marco.

"He's fine, he got a new one." Said Luffy.

They looked towards Star's uncle from Johansen side of the family, who now had a horse's body.

"I think he likes it better this way…" said Star.

"Ready! Set! Flags!" called out Manfred.

And so everyone ran towards the "Hill" ready for a fight.

They all got to the mountain and Marco began to climb it, however being the weakest member of the team he had a harder time climbing the mountain.

Star's uncle on the Butterfly side of the family decided to "help" him.

"Oh here my dear boy! Let me assist you!" said the uncle.

"Marco no!" yelled Star.

However the trick was that somehow a knight was stuffed into his sleeve and came out to force Marco down.

"Bite my troth, you most purely ate that one! Kiss my royal hindquarters!" called out her uncle.

"Nice takedown uncle Heartrude!" called out Star.

The four siblings went back to down to help Marco.

"You good?" asked Star.

"Just a heads up we're the only team right now." Said Sabo, "Everyone else is trying to backstab each other."

"But why did you congratulate him?" asked Marco.

"That's how you play." Said Star.

"Come on! Let's go!" said Luffy.

They headed up the mountain.

Passing by Heartrude caught in a beat trap with Marco taunting him.

However they got to the part of the mountain that contained one of Marco's weakness.

Rain…

Mostly because of wet socks.

"I can do king of the hill! But I am not doing wet socks." Said Marco.

"Seriously?" asked Ace.

"Wet socks are a form of torture!" yelled Marco.

"So you're saying that wet socks is worse than being completely vulnerable?" asked Ace.

"What?" asked Marco.

"Yeah, Ace definitely has it worse…" said Star.

"Is this the swimming thing?" asked Marco.

"No… of course not." Said Ace, "It's a being made of fire thing."

Marco was about to say something.

"We don't have time!" said Star.

"Protect Ace until he dries off!" yelled Sabo.

They went into the rain zone and Marco grumbled about wet socks.

"It's annoying but you get used to it." Said Sabo.

"You wear socks." Said Marco.

"Yeah…" said Sabo.

"On a pirate ship…" said Marco.

"Like I said you get used to it." Said Sabo.

They managed to get through the rain zone. However they also watched in horror as one of Star's aunts on her mother's side used seed to drag down some family members from her father's ide into the ground.

"Hold on!" yelled Marco.

"We should have warned you… this game gets dark." Said Ace.

One of the members from Johansen side of the family raised a flag and got it struck by lighting, then used the flag to cause a rock slide.

Luffy however garbed him with one hand and the others on the team with the other. He stretched out and flung himself and the team up and throwing the one that caused the rockslide down.

"No fair using Luffy!" yelled the family member as he fell down.

"We all knew this day was coming!" yelled a man from the Butterfly side of the family.

"Still not fair!" yelled the man from Star's father's side of the family.

As they continued on ahead they got out of the rain zone thankfully.

As they did they passed by another family member from Johansson side falling down this one actually happy to see them.

"Hi Star! Glad to you see finally got to play with your brothers." He said actually rather cheerfully.

They continued to the snow zone, however someone was hiding in the snow for an ambush.

That person turned out to be King River. Star blocked with her team's flag as they briefly fought.

"Star! My little girl all grown up! And you're playing flags!" said King River hugging Star, "I take you decided you decided to have a team effort with your brothers."

"Of course!" said Star.

"its only way they can play after all." Laughed King River.

"Anyways…" said Star.

She then threw her father off the mountain shocking everyone else.

"Great job honey!" yelled King River.

"You just threw you…" said Marco.

But was interrupted by King River's yells.

"You just threw…" said Marco.

He still yelled down the mountain.

"You just threw your dad off a mountain!" yelled Marco.

"Yeah… I now it's part of the game." Said Luffy, "But I didn't thin you'd throw River."

Even the older two were unconformable.

"Seriously! You know how the game is!" yelled Star.

"We know… but…" said Luffy.

"Don't get soft on me just because it's my dad!" yelled Star, "You wouldn't have acted this way if it was Aunt Etheria."

She dragged Marco and the other followed.

They got a lava pool thankfully there were areas where they could stand on.

As they jumped on the area they got to the spots, Uncle Heartrude showed up still caught in a bear trap now being held by his knight.

"Well, well, well… your little team has been a throne my side princess for far too long." He said, "I know the perfect way to get at you fair princess!"

He had the knight push Luffy. However Ace caught Luffy. But being solid in order to properly catch Luff, he got knocked down, as he fell he turned to fire thinking that would save him.

However he was about to discover a weakness he didn't know he had even in fire form.

He returned to human form laying on the platforms and clutching his arm in pain, they saw that his arm was badly burned.

"How?" asked Luffy.

"How the hell should I know"! yelled Ace.

Thanks to the odd logic of devil fruits, magma and lava burned hotter than fire. Meaning that it could burn him.

However Star barely even noticed her older brother's pain as she fought off her uncle, causing the knight to drop him and almost fall into the lava himself. Thankfully Marco caught him in time.

"Star!" yelled Luffy.

She turned back.

"Come on guys! We have to keep going!" said Star.

"No!" yelled Luffy.

"Star this game is changing you!" yelled Marco, "This isn't about who versus who, it's about winning no matter what! And that's not you!"

Star looked at her relatives fighting each other in horrible ways.

"Come we should go back down and get Ace medical attention." Said Sabo.

She looked at her family then at her brothers and best friend… then continued back up the hill.

Luffy however grinned.

"We have to back her up." Said Luffy knowing what she was doing.

"What?" asked Marco.

They saw that Star started to steal every one else's flags.

"Huh…" said Sabo figuring it out.

"You heard Luffy! Back her up." Said Ace.

"Your arm." Said Marco.

"It's fine." Said Ace clearly gritting through the pain.

Marco and Sabo sighed, before the four follow Star.

However due to talking about it, it allowed her family to chase her down and all tackle her.

They looked at Luffy who was ready to fight off her family.

But before her could get the family off her. A strange glowing figure appeared, they saw it was strange butterfly like figure. The figure levitated her family off Star sending them flying.

The light died down and the mysterious figure appeared to be Queen Moon in a form similar to when Star hit Mewberty.

"Mom?" asked Star.

"Are you all right?" asked Queen Moon regaining some of her humanity.

Oh man! That's amazing! Those are some sweet magic moves with your big old wings and stuff!" said Star.

Ace stared at his sister who was distracted by the magic close to gesturing to his arm.

However Queen Moon wasn't

"Star you're never going to believe this but I just met your twin sister." Said Queen Moon getting rid of her extra arms and wings as her voice was absolutely dripping with sarcasm, "She was made out of corn. I don't remember giving birth to her. River? Did I ever give birth to a corn baby?"

King River stood up injured from his earlier fall.

"No I'm afraid we just have the one child my dear." Said King River.

"Thank you River." Said Queen Moon.

"Her name is Star!" said King River clearly out of it.

"Okay… why don't you lay back down." Said Queen Moon to King River, "You see what Flags does to your brain."

Queen Moon then looked at Sabo with a deadpan look.

"I was looking after Star." He said.

"Moon… he's a teenager, of course he'd twist his words around on you." Said an old fat woman on the Butterfly side of the family.

"Thank you Aunt Etheria." Muttered Queen Moon.

"I'm sorry I tried to trick you my corn twin." Said Star, "And Maybe you're right… maybe I'm not ready for flags… but maybe the real reason is that flags is dumb."

That was when Ace flinched from the pain.

Queen Moon finally noticed the arm.

"What happened?" asked Queen Moon.

"Lava burned my arm." Said Ace.

"I thought that fire spirit…" said Queen Moon.

"It did.. but apparently lava can burn me." Said Ace.

"Okay so Moon thinks that Luffy got experimented on by a mad scientist and Ace got possessed by a fire spirit that permanently altered his body during the possession." Whispered Sabo to Marco.

"That's how they explained their powers?" asked Marco in a low voice, "Wait… mad scientists?"

He could buy the whole fire spirit thing but a mad scientist thing sounded just off.

"yeah…" said Sabo, "Star was 7 at the time and it was before I met her so… Honestly I don't think she believes that story and just doesn't want to pry…"

Marco nodded.

"Here she is! Found her! Star Butterfly!" said King River still out of it and hugging Star.

Everyone stared at King River.

"Anyway…" said Star deciding to get back on track to she wanted to tell her mother, "I was trying to bring all the flags not claim the hill for myself, but for all of us!"

"That's the most adult thing I heard all day! I midjudge you Star! You have earned a rightful place at the adults table."

"Hugs!" cheered Star.

"Finally!" groaned Sabo.

"I'd celebrate but I've gotten used to not experiencing burns in the last year." Muttered Ace.

"Star... public displays of affections aren't a Butterfly virtue, "But the Johansen on the other hand are great at it. You're the perfect blend of both our families. I'm proud of you."

"Thanks Mom." Said Star, "Come on let's go down the mountain and work on that burn scar healing spell we were talking about creating."

Queen Moon nodded, as it was something they talked about fairly recently… something for some friends who had a horrible scars Star wanted to remove.

"Okay … it hasn't even scarred yet." Said Ace confused.

They all headed down the mountain.

"You know, I realized only an idiom would want to win at this game." Said Star.

"Hey… where's Marco?" asked Luffy noticing he was missing.

However that was when Marco planted his hoody like a flag cheering about king of the hill. Causing Luffy to laugh and the other siblings to sigh.

Indeed, Star earned her mother's respect in this family picnic, however Marco at the same time lost a tiny bit of respect from Star after that little stunt…

Next Time: Star knowing she's having problems with her wand decides to talk to Janna about magic thanks to the fact... that well she's become a natural at it. What will happen? Also what are Janna's face marks? Find out next time!