SBS: Shitsumon o Boshu Suru
gamelover41592: Thanks. And yes, he could.
The Utterly Fabulous Z: You're welcome.
Xipholynx: Thank you. And yes, most of the time, it's a lot of fun.
xanothos: Thank you very much.
NightFlowerLuv: Jones did not pick up that dream from the dugongs, and I'm not lying. *grins* Jones picked up that dream because some friends on Spacebattles made some very good points about some fun things I can do if I make Jones a martial arts master. Very fun things.
Gerbilfriend: *laughs* You'll never hear me condemning puns like that. And you're welcome.
Draco Oblivion: Your reaction to Johnny and Yosaku's gadgets was actually the same as I had while writing it, and the same as they had while using them. I realized while doing that scene that my original intentions weren't going to pan out, so I changed it to something I could use to give them some character development— or try to, at least.
Dragondancer81: Of course. Lots more Ace for us to see; why wouldn't I milk the presence of my favourite character for all it was worth?
TTrunks: *shrugs* Sorry about that. I can't please everyone, and the majority wanted to see some sort of crew reaction to Ace's attack. About the Iron Body thing... Yes, karate does teach something like that, and as part of her dream, Jones will be figuring out the Rokushiki at some point. That's all I can really say without major spoilers.
LilPrincess95: I'm glad I could make you laugh.
Guest (July 27): That's exactly the reference I was going for.
GreenDrkness: Thank you.
Mercy Smith: Thank you very much! Although at this point, it's more like "Next Time: A Wild Omake Appears!"
zillese: *grins* You're welcome.
starelight: I do have some plans for romance in this fic surrounding Jones, but other than that I'm saying nothing. You'll find out when she does.
Partsu: Oh, Ace will end up needing Jones' help, just wait and see... Wait many chapters but it'll happen. And yes, teamwork digging. *holds up plate* Your corn and cheese is served. *dodges hit to the head* I know, that pun was bad and I should feel bad...
Guest (July 28): Yeah, I messed up. Misread something in an SBS segment that led me to have the wrong numbers for the army, and further screwed up by not caring to make the proportion of the army that had been infiltrated realistic. Not going back to change it because 1) numbers mean nothing to the plot, 2) I'm lazy, and 3) I'm willing to own up to my mistakes rather than trying to hide them. Or at least, these kinds of mistakes. I'm glad you like the Ace parts. ^_^ And don't worry, at no point have you said anything that would cause bad feelings.
LegionnaireBlaze: XD Yes, I love Merry too. She's the best ship. You're welcome.
Kakusei: Yes, Jones certainly knows how to turn the odds in her favour. And you didn't see Doya coming? Hooray, that means I'm doing something right!
Azurai Wolf: Not forever, but yes, Ace will be there for a story arc or three.
WaterStar45: Thank you! And telling Ace but not Sabo... It wasn't just a favourite character thing, although that's part of it. Her real reasoning shall be revealed next plot chapter.
Quimsical One: Thank you very much!
Thunder In The Sky: Thank you. And... Not weird (I've already had people ship Jones/Lucci, and he hasn't appeared in the story yet; that's weird) but yeah, not going anywhere. Jones only has one ship that can carry her heart, and it hasn't quite come in yet.
Fairygirl960: And what happens next is... A wild omake appears!
The Keeper Of Worlds: Thank you. And yeah, everyone's pretty curious, but Luffy would never make him tell before he's ready, so there won't be anything coming of it just yet.
tylermech66: Actually, Jones' reaction to the story would mostly be to file it away in the WTF?! part of her brain until a chance to figure it out presented itself. And yeah... Nami hasn't accepted just yet that non-humans can be people. And yay! I'm glad you like me attempting to explain some of the nonsenseoleum. It's a lot of fun to do, actually. I get to play with scientific what ifs and WTFs. I agree— One Piece isn't so much where science goes to die, but rather where science as we know it goes to die. After all, a different gravitational force doesn't mean there's no gravity; it just means the planet's got a different mass.
Dazac: You could be waiting for a while— that wasn't a reference I was planning on, but could easily work its way in unplanned. *shrugs*
GingerFury: Thank you! And to answer your questions... Nope! And the dreams sort of have a connection to the story, but it's a bit convoluted. If you're asking because you don't like them... *shrugs* Sorry... You don't have to read them if you don't want— just knowing they're there is enough. The contents won't usually matter. I just like to show rather than tell.
MidnightFenrir: Thank you very much! ^_^ But really? No idea what'll happen with Jones? Yay! That means I've finally learned subtlety!
Eneflin7: Thank you. And about the annoyance... Eh, sorry. *shrugs* But I find it funny, so the Fourth Wall shall stay broken.
Kibbits: *grins* Yes.
Zoroshen: Interesting idea. And don't worry, I have plenty of fun plans for her Devil Fruit. Just can't have her figuring them all out at once, now can I? If I did, I'd miss opportunities for glorious slapstick.
Guest (July 31): Thank you. Although I'm surprised now— I didn't mean for that chapter to be fluffy... So, unintentional fluff win?
And now, dear readers, a break from the usual corn and cheese as I bring you... an omake!
A young woman sat at a table, writing something. Outside, the air was full of sound- waves crashing, people shouting, the cries of sea birds. But in the galley, everything was more or less quiet, aside from the scratching of the woman's pen- that, and the soft slide of scales against wood as a white dragon the size of a dog snuck up behind her. The woman didn't react as the dragon climbed up her back and perched on her shoulder. When the winged reptile started chewing on her hat though, then she moved. A scarred, callused hand snapped up over her shoulder, clamping down on a toothy muzzle with surprising strength.
"Hey! Leave my hat alone! Naughty little ball of scales…" Forced to pause in her writing, the woman looked up and smiled. "Oh, hi. Sorry, I wasn't paying attention. You should've said something when you came in."
Her smile grew broader, into a demented grin twisted up at the sides by the scars on her face. It showed prominent canines at the edges, and just a few too many teeth overall to be comfortable. "So, I bet you're wondering what this omake's for. Well, FFN doesn't allow info sheet posts and suchlike, so my writer decided to get around that by turning it into a story fragment. See, she wanted to answer all the questions Oda did for the canon Straw Hats about me. I'm not sure it's a good idea- not the sort of thing I expect many people would like, and an abuse of my Fourth Wall breaking abilities. But hey, I'm not really the one in control here, am I?"
The smile morphed into a frown, and suddenly the woman no longer looked so insane. But at the same time, she no longer looked like herself. It didn't last long though; her uncomfortable grin returned soon enough. "Since I can't avoid this… As you probably know, my name is Jones, and it's time to start the SBS!" Here she pumped a fist in the air, causing the dragon on her shoulder to squawk in protest as his balance was thrown off. "I've always wanted to say that!"
Looking at her papers, Jones nodded. "Right, let's do this. First is my animal resemblance. Let's see if you can spot it without me saying." So saying, Jones stood up and grinned, spreading her arms and baring even more teeth- if such a feat were even possible. Scars pulled tight to give her skin an uneven, almost scaly appearance in places. On her shoulder, Ruatha- for who else could a white dragon in Jones' company be?- copied his mother, spreading his wings and opening his mouth with an eager hiss.
"Dovah!"
Jones nodded at her companion's assessment. "Yeah, that should be pretty obvious. You're kind of a dead giveaway bud."
"Zokah!"
"Specifically," Jones continued, "My motif is the Catalan drac, a dragon with two legs, wings, and the head of a lion. Its breath is a poisonous, flammable vapour that rots all it touches."
Looking down at her list, Jones frowned. "The next two I can't do much interesting with- colour and number. My colours are purple and black- Disney villain colours. And my number… pi. Because it's irrational."
Rather than addressing her smell- the next thing on the list- Jones stood still and let the narration answer the question for her. Ruatha shoved his muzzle in her hair, chirping at the scent of apples and cat food. Laughing, Jones reached up to scratch him behind the ears.
"As for my favourite island and season… autumn on a winter island. I love the colours of falling leaves, the smell of decay, and the early snowfall that it brings; it reminds me of home. The good parts, that I wasn't thinking about when…" For a moment, her face went dark. "Eh, you saw how my story started; you know what I mean."
Pausing for a moment, Jones reached into a bowl that had been sitting on the table. She pulled out a handful of chocolate-covered cranberries, downing them all at once in the ungraceful manner of a gamer in the middle of an encounter. A minute later, after she was done chewing, her grin was stained with red. "Yum! But no, that wasn't my favourite food. I don't really have one. But I do have a food-based weakness- bananas. Not allergic or anything, but I've found that I'm more likely to have an… episode… if it's been a while since I've eaten a banana." Jones shrugged helplessly. "Probably has something to do with potassium levels."
Running a finger down her list, Jones shook her head. "Position in the Straw Hat family? Eh, probably crazy cat lady aunt. Or maybe oldest daughter. It's hard to tell. Sorry."
"Skipping real world nationality- you already know that one." Running her finger down her list, Jones suddenly burst out laughing. "Sesehihihihihi! Genderswap? What would I be like if I were genderswapped? Hihihihihi! Look, judging by past records, most people wouldn't even notice if I'd been genderswapped this whole chapter. I might not even notice!"
Concerned for his mother's sanity, Ruatha snaked his neck around and began licking Jones' face. She continued laughing for the next few minutes, sounding like she was about to hack up a lung- or maybe both lungs. The baby dragon crooned and hummed until the woman got herself under control. When she started speaking again, her voice sounded even more hoarse than its usual broken rasp.
"My bold type is O+, but Chopper's leery of having me donate to anyone, or getting donations from anyone because of the whole para-dimensional, different species thing. Which means yes, he takes my blood regularly in case he needs a supply of it when I inevitably get another major injury. And my flower's a dandelion- if only for the reason that those things are even harder to get rid of than my plot armour."
The next few items on the list earned a low groan. "Okay, you know I can't answer sea of origin, and I don't know enough about Japan to figure out which prefecture I'm most suited to. I sleep from midnight to seven, unless I have funny watch shifts. And I bathe every day, if you need to know." Rolling her eyes, Jones continued down the list.
"Now, unlike favourites, I do have a least favourite food. Tomatoes. I'm not fond of cheese either. Weirdly, I'm okay with them if they're together, like on pizza. And I think we all know what my specialty is when it comes to cooking- bug repellent. Edible things, not so much. Although I've never had a problem eating my own cooking." The woman shook her head and preened her dragon's wings. Ruatha purred.
"I'm not sure if you can guess my preferred non-pirate career," Jones said with a wry smirk, "Although I suspect it's pretty obvious. Still, just in case… I always wanted to be a novelist. Been writing since I was six years old."
Nearing the end of the list, Jones shook her head and laughed again. "Sesehihihihihi! Where would I come out in a race against the rest of the crew? Well, usually I'd say about level with Nami, maybe Usopp if I pushed really hard. But… That's while wearing my weights. Remember, I almost never take those things off. I don't know how fast I'd be without them; maybe I should test that one of these days."
Setting her paper down, Jones scrawled her autograph across the bottom of the list. And not the name she used, but her full name- Keira Faye Jones. Her writing was broad, childish cursive, like an eleven-year-old just learning, but neater. Her motions were quick and sure, someone accustomed to writing a lot in a short period of time. But despite being slightly smudged by her speed and the closeness of her hand to the paper, the letters were still clearly legible.
For a moment, it seemed as if the woman didn't notice she'd missed a question- she hadn't said anything about the inner workings of her brain. Now, one could argue- and Jones probably would, if someone mentioned it- that there was no point. She was the usual POV character, so seeing her inner thoughts was easily done. The pirate sat back down at the table, patting her dragon with one hand and writing with the other, seemingly ignoring everyone else in the world. She whistled softly as she worked, a cheery, insistent rhythm. It was at odds with the thoughts that echoed through her head.
Cold. Darkness. Dragons flying overhead, FIRE spewing everywhere. Training- running, fighting, FUN! Careful balance, walking a golden tightrope over the abyss; a door that slams shut before anyone can look beyond. Hihihihihi, I SeE yOu.