Episode 2: Anger Vs. Anger! Megalon's Power, Unleashed!
I was shaking in my sandals.
Anyone who'd even think of the notion that I was afraid or nervous would get a kick straight to the face. No, I was not afraid. I was not nervous. I was no anxious.
I was shaking with anticipation and pent up rage. I was shaking for the opportunity to utterly destroy Don Krieg, the arrogant, honourless scumbag. I'd eaten my fill. I had my energy back. And most of all, I was still extremely angry.
Luffy seemed okay with the idea of me knocking that guy to oblivion, so he likely wouldn't mind if I desecrated canon and took his fight for myself. I probably shouldn't, but God damnit, I was not letting that bitch off the hook! My murder boner was positively throbbing. I needed this!
But I knew I couldn't just do it. Not yet. I needed to wait and let some events play out. And so I did.
Drakule Mihawk, the badass known as the Strongest Swordsman in the World and one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, showed up and sliced the hell out of Krieg's warship. It made me smile with malevolent glee when he later humiliated Krieg by flat out saying he didn't even register as a threat.
All in all, I liked this man. He is most certainly a candidate for future enemy, but I like him.
Then Zoro challenged Mihawk to a duel and lost. Spectacularly so, but still managed to come out with some serious badass cred. Getting voluntarily slashed across the chest by the Strongest Swordsman wielding the Strongest Sword took some grade A balls.
Zoro had his moment, vowing to never lose again, and soon enough his ass got dragged off by Usopp, Yosaku and Johnny to chase after the fleeing Nami who stole the Going Merry, leaving the duty of cleaning up the Krieg Posse to Luffy, Sanji and I. Oh, and the Baratie cooks, but they are barely above redshirts.
And then that cocky shit Pearl showed up with his bravado and ridiculous iron shields, beating the shit out of Patty and Carne. And this is where I was starting to lose my patience.
I decided it was about time I start warming up.
"Oi, Blond Cook?" I called out to Sanji.
"Yes,, Mega-chan~?" Sanji swoons, which I ignore as I set my sights on Krieg, standing among the parts of his ruined ship.
"Think you can take that shield clown?" I ask.
Sanji gets serious and drops the swooning, thank god. "This small fry? No problem."
"Great! Guess it's time I start my fight then." I crack my neck and my knuckles. I had wrapped some boxing tape around the already existing bandages to cover my knuckles and arms in preparation. "Oh, and Sraw Hat Boy."
"Yeah?" Luffy asks.
I send a toothy grin his way. A predator's grin. "See if you can make sure these morons don't try anything stupid."
He stared at me before flashing a grin of his own. "Sure. Kick his ass."
"That's the plan."
I took a step to the side of the extended fins of the Baratie and lock eyes with Krieg.
"Hey, cocksucker!" I yell and point a finger at him, standing there in his stupid golden battle armor. "I'm coming for you, so you better be ready and not fold like a little bitch!"
That made him sneer in anger. I relished on that. To me his anger was one thing that brought me satisfaction. This was going to be a fight between two angry people.
And I was going to enjoy every fucking moment of it.
"Not if I can help it!" Pearl shouted, appearing next to me, shield poised to strike. I gave him a cool, not concerned look. "Pearl Surprise!"
What would likely have been a somewhat painful strike to the my face got blocked and diverted by Sanji's foot. Thank you, Sanji's foot!
"It's rude to target ladies!" Sanji roared. "I'm your opponent."
I flash him a grin in appreciation. I leave those to their fight and jump across the piece of debris that could hold me, homing in on Krieg's location. The fight was on!
I rushed towards him at speeds I wouldn't have been capable off in the past and in moments I was before him. If he was surprised by my speed, he didn't show it, the prick. I grinned widely and braced my leg for the first strike.
"Feral Heel!" I shout as I ram my heel towards his head, the unprotected part of his body. I could've targeted lower, but I want to enjoy this as long a possible so I'll play by the unwritten rules. He cranes his neck to the side to let my heel pass his head, sneering at me, but that was exactly what I wanted.
I hooked his neck with the inside of my leg and with a slight twist of my body grab his head between my thighs. Using my momentum I use all my force to get his body off the ground. I reached my hands to the wooden surface and twist my body to throw his heavy ass as high into the air as I can. I can see the delicious surprise on his face. Bet he didn't see that coming.
Quickly realigning my body with the ground, I launch myself to meet him partway as he's falling and hooking my arm so that his neck aligns with my bicep. My grin widens in glee.
"Feral Sky Lariat!" I yelled out loud as my tensed bicep collided with his neck, the counter force sending him spinning towards the platform below. Unfortunately he managed to control his landing and not crash like I had hoped, or better yet, fall into the sea and drown in that heavy armor of his. I continued on and landed in a crouch on a nearby platform, facing him.
Krieg snarls angrily and spits out some blood. The sight makes me shiver in satisfaction. "Tch. You're a bit tougher than I expected, girl. But if that is all you've got you won't stand a chance."
Oooh, I just love how condescending he sounds when he calls me 'girl'. Titillating. My grin grows a bit more feral in appearance.
"Oh, sorry. I was just warming up." I stated it like the fact that it was. "Trust me, when I get serious you'll rue the day you came to this place and drew my fury. You'll regret the life choices you've made in your entire life. You'll-"
Probably shouldn't have attempted to monologue as Krieg got a total sucker punch in while I was distracted, sending my ass flying back towards the Baratie. My head clonked pretty hard on something before I could realign myself and land in a crouch. God was I glad my head was made so tough.
"LET ME FINISH MY MONOLOGUE, MOTHER FUCKER!" I yell at Krieg, the cheating bitch. Also, it seemed like it was me instead of Luffy who managed to make Pearl's nose bleed.
Fuck.
"You doing alright?" Sanji asks a bit to my left. "Some hit you landed on that gold-plated bastard. Self-trained?"
"Absolutely, to both questions." I exclaim proudly as I stand up straight, stretching my neck. "Fucker doesn't know when to let a girl monologue in peace. Knows I got him on the ropes. Bitch."
"That was real cool, Mogeon!" Luffy piped up from nearby.
"IT'S MEGALON, MORON!" I snap at him.
"... Blood..." I snap my attention back to Pearl. Looks like he is about to go all ape-shit because of a fucking bo-boo. "My blood..."
"Oh no..." I can hear Krieg complain in quiet annoyance as he realizes what's gonna happen.
"Pearl, calm down! It's just a broken nose! You're not actually hurt!" One of the Krieg pirates tries to sooth the oncoming storm. And is a massive liar.
And then it happens.
"Bodily harm! Bodily harm! Bodily harm!" Pear screams in panic and slams his shields together, somehow catching all his shields on fire. And not just any fire. White fire. The fuck is up with that?!
"Oh. That might be a problem." I state dully. I certainly didn't want to get burned. Fire didn't bother me by itself, it was the element of anger and rage after all, so we were in some understanding. But it still hurt like a bitch, so fuck that.
"Is he insane?" Sanji says.
"No one sane would light themselves on fire, so yes." I say bluntly as I get into a fighting stance, arms held up in front of my chest, ready to strike. "This might get annoying."
"What a baby." Luffy pipes in, picking his nose.
"FIRE PEARL! SPECIAL TREAT!" Pearl screams out and suddenly fire spread around the area in the form of small flaming pearls. Honestly, I forgot he did that.
Sanji, Luffy and I manage to jump out of the way and dodge, but some of Krieg's own men get caught and lit on fire. Friendly fire. Hilarious. Unfortunately it also started setting the outer fin of the Baratie ablaze. That's bad.
"Hahaha," Pearl laughs, completely manic. "With these flames, my defense is indestructible!"
I'd like to argue that, but he is kind of dangerous to approach right now. Sanji has no such issue and just jumps into the flames surrounding the guy and kicks at him, even if his leg is caught by a flaming shield.
"A proper cook isn't be afraid of something as small as fire!" He says and proceeds to kick him down onto the ground. Then Pearl get's more scared and crazy and throws more flaming pearls at the Baratie itself, which Zeff takes out like a badass.
The old man wasn't "Red Leg" Zeff, a legend in his prime, for nothing. Luffy agreed with me on that.
Krieg took this moment to be a cheap bitch and threw a large spiked ball attached to a chain at Sanji while no one could come to his defense. He was so wrong. Luffy ran right through the flames and I followed right after.
"Gum-Gum-" He said and stretched his arms back
"Feral-" I said and prepped my leg.
"Rocket!/Heel!" We landed our attacks simultaneously and sent the ball right back to Krieg.
"They... shot it back." Sanji said, dumbfounded by our awesome might. I was a bit preoccupied to care. So was Luffy.
"Hot! Hot! Hot!" Luffy yelled out as he tried to put out the fire on his back.
"GAAH! BITCH! FUCK!" I was doing pretty much the same, just more loudly and with more swearing.
The iron ball did it's job and hit the mast next to Krieg and broke it. As it came down, the three of us moved the fuck out the way and the thing landed on Pearl's head, knocking him out.
I was happy about that.
"What is he doing?" Sanji said, exasperated.
"This guy is stupid." Luffy said, all carefree.
"Idiot must've never heard of dodging." I added salt to the wound, ignoring the ginormous amount of hypocrisy in the previous statement. I look at Luffy. "So. Devil Fruit, huh?"
He grins, stretching his cheek. "Yup! I ate the Gum-Gum Fruit."
I let out chuckle. "Nice moves. Sorry for taking most of the action."
"Nah, it's cool. I'm just helping. This is your fight." He says. I grin.
"Damn right it is."
And then the plot moves on, like a spiteful ex-girlfriend.
Gin had used all the commotion and confusion to sneak by everyone and pointed a gun at Zeff's head.
Fuck. This was another part I'd have to let play out.
Gin tried to get Sanji and everyone to skip ship, basically forfeiting to Krieg. Unsurprisingly, Sanji would have none of that. Sanji got all selfless and asked Gin to point the gun at him instead. Luffy thought it was stupid and I stayed quiet. I had to restrain myself because the moment I spoke I'd lose my already fickle control.
Pearl got over being smacked on the head by a god damn mast pretty damn quick and sent Sanji flying to the railing of the Baratie with a strike from his shield.
"SANJI!" Luffy screams to him. "Why didn't you dodge?"
"If I did that, he'd pull the trigger!" Sanji said while sitting against the railing, looking pained.
This surprised Gin. "Why'd you do that? If you just abandon the restaurant everyone will be saved! It's that simple!"
"The restaurant is the old man's treasure." Sanji says, some stubborn regret in his eyes. "I'm the one who took everything from that old fart. His power. His dreams."
The guy must be talking of how Zeff saved his life by cutting off and eating his own leg just so Sanji could live. A very noble act, that I can recognize.
"And that's why..." Sanji stands up. "I don't want that old fart to lose anything, anymore!" While he is distracted Pearl sneaks in a cheap shot by crushing Sanji's head in between his shields with powerful strikes. My self-restrain almost slips, I want to beat this guy so bad.
Sanji fell to the ground, blood seeping out of his injuries. It was freaky seeing a guy eject blood from his ears. He looked like he'd been knocked out cold, maybe even killed. But I knew better. He clutched his hand into a fist.
"That old man... He gave up his leg so I could live." He said as he slowly got back up and stood proudly. "If I too don't put my life on the line, I won't be able to repay the old fart!"
Sanji was being really selfless, willing to accept pain and even death to buy just a little bit more time. I can recognize and even admire that. But just like Luffy, I see the senselessness in such a sacrifice.
And just like Luffy, I am pissed off about it. So when Luffy shoots his leg high skyward, I merely subtly move to a more safe distance. I'd join in the effort, but the chance of ending up in the water doesn't allure me.
When the Gum Gum Axe hit the fin and completely destroyed it, it was a struggle to keep my footing, but I managed to stay on a pretty intact piece. On the plus side all the fire got taken out by all the splashing water from the impact. Small joys.
"That guy..." Krieg started gravely. "Is he planning on destroying the ship?"
The guy was mad.
"Gin! Blow his heads off!" Krieg ordered his Second. But Gin hesitated. "Hurry up!"
"But..." Gin spoke up "He is the man who gave us enough food for out men!"
"Gin, you bastard!" Krieg snarled in anger.
"Hey!" Luffy interjected, not facing Krieg. "I wasn't fighting back at you. I only destroyed the fin." He said it like it was common sense. Which it kind of was... freaky.
"You bastard Waiter Boy! What are you trying?" Sanji yelled at Luffy.
"Sink it." Luffy answered casually.
"What?" Sanji asked, outraged.
"I'm gonna sink the ship." Luffy repeated his intent, which only served to get Sanji more mad. He grabbed Luffy roughly by the collar.
"Bastard! I thought you were gonna say something else! Are you for real, you shit!?"
"But if I destroy the ship they won't get what they want." Luffy explained his logic, as scary as that sounded. Luffy. Using logic. Boggles the mind each time.
"And what do you know about this!? What do you know about my dept to this place?!" Sanji yelled at Luffy.
"So you're gonna die for it?" Luffy again said not at all phased by Sanji's threatening tone. "Are you stupid?"
"What did you say?" Sanji ask in anger. I had slowly been walking up to them and this is where I can't restrain myself anymore.
"Feral Roundhouse!" I roar and deliver a roundhouse kick to Sanji's face, sending his ass onto the ground. He grimaces from pain and looks up at me in anger. Luffy is looking at me with a blank stare. I can tell he is summing me up. I know he is.
"What's that for, Megalon?"
"Stuff your face!" I snap at him forcefully, my tone actually making him flinch. I snarl at him, not even trying to hide my outrage. "Paying back your dept? Dying to own up for your past? Are you a fucking moron or just that dense?"
"What are you-"
"Do you think that's what's expected of you, you dumb shit?!" I scream in his face, cutting off any arguments. "That's the exact opposite of what that old relic wants of you, you prick! He did all that so you could live and do something with your life! Not so you could throw it away because of some fucking guilt!"
I forcefully pulled him to his feet by his collar and glared him in the eye. "Dying right now would be like spitting on all that was done for you up until this point! Dying is the cowards way out and living is proof of all the sacrifices you've made, of all the things done for you to get you that far! You don't just throw that away for some stupid sentiment, asshole!"
Sanji's eyes were wide open, my words apparently making their way through that thick skull of his. I let go of him, letting him stand on his own as my glare softens, just a bit.
"If you truly want to own up to these surly cooks and that ancient relic, then you better fucking live." I state coolly in a way that doesn't leave much space for arguments. I could feel Luffy grinning ear to ear at me. I didn't need to see it.
"Oh, both of you. Stop arguing."
Oh. Shit, I forgot he was still here.
"Fighting amongst ourselves is just laughable." Pearl spoke to us in a calm voice, far from the panic he showed earlier. "But you can't do anything as long as we have a hostage in our hands."
The guy sounded so proud and smug about it too. Fuck his face!
"How unfortunate for you that you have to face us, the Don Krieg Pirates." Pearl says and then starts fucking laughing. A growl escapes my throat. I really hate smug assholes.
He clanks his shields together again, lighting the two on his hands on fire. "Now let my Fire Pearl burn you down!" He yells and charges us while laughing like mad.
Suddenly I feel myself pushed out of the way as Gin rushes past us and utterly annihilates Pearl's frontal shield like it was nothing with his weighted tonfas. It happened fast.
Pearl fell to the ground, unconscious. Gin stood there, his eyes shadowed and hidden from the world.
Don Krieg was not happy at all about that.
"Gin." He started dangerously. "Are you betraying me?"
"Forgive me, Don Krieg. But this person saved us." Gin spoke, his tone unreadable. "I don't want him to die like this. At least... At least let me finish him with my own hands."
He turned back to us, readying his tonfas. Krieg let it slip that Gin was his battle Commanding Officer, essentially a vice-captain. In pirate circles that translated roughly to "The guy who is the second strongest beside the captain". It was a serious bit of trivia.
Luffy made some odd groaning sound right next to me. "Look! Did you see how successful my 'decoy strategy of threat' was?"
"Stop lying!" Sanji snapped at the Straw Hat Boy. I merely grinned and let out a chuckle. "Do you really want to destroy the ship?"
"Sanji-san." Gin interrupted. "I wanted you out off this ship so I wouldn't have to hurt you. But that doesn't seem possible anymore."
"Yeah. I won't go." Sanji affirmed. "This restaurant. I won't give it to you even at the cost of my life."
"Then at least, let me kill you with my own hands. I can't make this right or wrong." Gin said evenly.
"Thank you." Sanji said, lighting a cigarette. Is now really the time? "Eat shit." I like his additions to basic manners. Still unnecessary.
"The same goes for you two, Straw-hat guy. Sharp-tooth girl." He addressed the two other people there.
"Not necessary." Luffy said without missing a beat. "Because I won't lose to a bunch of weaklings like you."
"THE FUCK YOU CALL ME, PUNK?!" I voiced my displeasure at the nickname. "I'LL BEAT YOU WEAK-ASS IDIOTS SO HARD YOUR PROSTATES COMES OUT OF YOUR EARS!"
Gin looked surprised at out choice of words and the rest of the Krieg Weaklings looked positively pained that their pride was so openly insulted. The small fries began voicing their displeasure of us mocking their commander. Loyalty? In the Krieg Pirates? Ridiculous.
"How dare you talk to our commander like that?!"
"You bastard!"
"We're the Don Krieg Pirates, the strongest in East Blue!"
I clicked my tongue and sneered. What blowhards.
"Don't you mean, the one with the most people?" Luffy said obliviously, again making sense. I need to keep reminding myself he isn't all idiot. Not completely.
Every Krieg Pirate winced simultaneously at Luffy's truth bomb. It was amusing.
"Looks like you hit them where it hurts." Sanji noted.
"Yeah, definitely." Luffy replied instantly.
I chuckled evilly and smacked Luffy on the back, even when the rest of the Krieg Weaklings charged us in anger. "Way to go, Straw Hat Boy! Bring the pain!"
"Back off!" Krieg raises his voice and our pathetic lynch mob just stops dead on their tracks.
"Don Krieg? Why?" One of the Weaklings asks.
"When a guy gets flustered because someone calls him weak, it's proof that he recognizes that he IS weak." Krieg said, surprisingly calm and sat his ass down. "I'm still here. So don't make a fuss."
"A-Aye!" The Krieg Weaklings echo.
"Gin." Krieg addresses his Second. "You're responsible for killing that cook. That troublesome girl and the Hammer boy, leave them to me." Finally, recognition! I'll get to kick you ass soon, you Golden Prick!
"I understand, Don Krieg." Gin said, ready to attack.
"Hey, brats!" Krieg stared me and Luffy down. I granted him my attention. "I'll show you the power that conquered East Blue. I don't even care if you've eaten a Devil Fruit, boy. I don't even care that you got me with a lucky shot, girl. I'll show you that both your efforts are meaningless."
"You never shut up." Luffy says with eerie calm. "I'd want to kick your ass, but I promised someone else that they could do it."
I cackled and glared at Krieg with a borderline animalistic smile. "And that'd be me! You ready or do you need a minute to plan out your surrender?" I blatantly mock him. That got under his skin as he narrowed his eyes and snarled at me.
"You arrogant..."
While that was going on, Gin and Sanji had a stare down. Gin twirled his tonfa in a rapid fashion, showing his skill with the weapon. "I'm sorry, Sanji-san. You can't defeat me."
"We'll see, small fry." The blonde cook replied coolly.
Then Gin charged, but Sanji saw it coming and went for a kick. Gin saw it coming in retirn and stopped just out of reach. He slammed the weighted end of his tonfa at Sanji, who vaulted out of the way, sinking the weight into the wooden platform. He then pulled it out, sending wooden shrapnel everywhere.
The guy had monstrous strength behind all that finesse. Gin truly deserved his spot as the battle commander.
Sanji tried to kick at Gin while in the air but Gin just angled his body differently and avoided it, managing to pin Sanji to the ground with his tonfa handle on his throat. He landed next to him, cross-legged. Classy.
"Didn't I tell you. You can't defeat me." Gin said with a fearsome smile. "Farewell. Just disappear from this world."
He twirled his other tonfa, building up momentum and power for a finishing blow. Sanji did nothing until the weight was descending upon him, spitting his lit cigarette at Gin's eye. The momentary distraction was all Sanji needed to escape Gin's hold and kick him in the back of the head.
Were it anyone else the battle would've been over by this point. But Gin wasn't anyone else. Gin gained some second-wind and slammed the weight of his tonfa into Sanji's side, more than likely breaking some ribs. Both affected by each others strikes they both hit the floor, panting heavily.
I was so close. I could have interfered. But I didn't. I didn't want to. This was not my fight. It was not mine to interrupt, no matter how angry I was. This was Sanji's battle. It was personal.
Gin got up fairly quickly while Sanji remained down, managing to only get on his knees while nursing his side. Sanji was a wreck at this point and could barely stand. And yet he did shakily get onto his feet and had the nerve to taunt Gin.
I didn't care what I may think of Sanji, at that moment I respected his guts and resolve.
At this point in canon, Luffy would have tried to rush Krieg, like an idiot. But because he seemed adamant on keeping our little deal, he kept most of his attention on Sanji and Gin's fight. No matter. Krieg would receive my grace soon enough.
Gin struck Sanji, who was too weak and injured to properly defend himself anymore, putting him on the ground, coughing blood. And Gin was revving up for the final blow.
"Prepare to be finished!" He said. "I have played enough." And then he swung, and Sanji managed to vault away from it. Somehow.
"What is this? Mercy?" Sanji asked, sounding somewhat offended as he angled a kick to Gin's left shoulder blade. "Stop joking!"
Gin went down and just when it seemed like things were looking up, Sanji's injuries caught up to him and his body seized. He fell to his knees, clutching his stomach, forehead hitting the platform.
'Those hits to the ribs finally cashed in.' I thought. 'The force behind his own kick was too much strain for him in this state.'
Gin forced himself up and Sanji was in no condition to do anything anymore. Gin grabbed Sanji by the throat and pushed him to the ground. It looked like game over.
Luffy and I stood on the sideline impassively, Luffy looking worried while I hid behind a calm mask. We knew not to get involved, both of us. The fighter in us knew what that would mean. Shaming a man's pride.
I didn't like it.
Then a few droplets shone in the light briefly, and I knew that moment had come. Gin was crying.
"W-what the hell?" Gin whimpered pitifully. "I... Don Krieg. I really..." He paused as his tears flowed freely. "I CAN'T KILL THIS MAN! DON KRIEG!"
"Gin..." Luffy spoke while I allowed myself to smile, just a little bit.
"I really... I really can't kill him." Gin sobbed, unable to reign in his tears.
Krieg was, to put it mildly, furious.
"What did you say?!" He roared from his seat away from us, looking ready to pop a blood vessel.
"Because... Because I am... For the first time..." Gin spoke shakily, battling with his own emotions. "This is the first time anyone has been kind to me. That's why, I can't kill this man."
No one could find words for the moment happening.
"Don Krieg. I beg of you." Gin pleaded. "Couldn't we just leave the restaurant alone?!"
And at that very moment all of Don Krieg's self restraint snapped like a twig. "You bastard!" He stood up in rage. "Not only do you disobey my orders, but then you tell me what to do!"
Krieg did not appreciate anyone questioning or undermining his authority.
"Do you wish to die so much? I'm very disappointed in you." He reprimands Gin. "Don't I always say I detest these kinds of principles." He then took of one of his large shoulder pauldrons and attached it to his arm. "The rest of you, more to the other side."
My eyes widen. Fuck shit fuck, I completely forgot about this part! How could I be so stupid!? How could I forget about the fucking poison bomb?!
Panic erupted in Krieg's ranks, informing us of the weapon's properties and threat as everyone fumbled to get their breathing masks on. Fuckfuckfuck, I don't have a counter for this!
"Stop babbling over there. This is a battle. The purpose is to win." He said smugly, completely nonplussed by the notion of putting his men at risk. "Treacherous? Despicable? Don't you agree that this is acceptable? Winning is the goal. The method does not matter as long as you reach the foal.
"I don't care what consequences the poison gas will bring as long as I win. That is strength." Krieg stated his horrendous philosophy as if it were an ironclad rule of nature. My anger spiked. This man... was he so honourless and vile?
Yes. Yes he was.
I grit my teeth. "This is really bad."
"Thow away your mask!" Krieg barked at Gin, who held a gas mask in his hand. "You aren't one of mine anymore. You must die." He ordered coldly, with no remorse or sympathy. This piece of scum...
… I needed to focus. I needed a way to survive this! If I get caught in that poison... It's all over for me.
While I was distracted, Luffy rushed at Krieg, just as he did in canon. "I won't let you shoot that poisonous gas!" Krieg just slams the mast Luffy used as a bridge to make him stumble and fall on his butt. Then his shield opened up and shot stakes at Luffy, forcing him to run away and back to our side of this divide. He wasn't hit, thankfully.
Come on, think. Think!
"Gin!" Luffy calls out. "I've never heard of such cowardly words. I'm gonna destroy him."
I take steps forward. "Oi, oi! That's my line!" I say with a tone of annoyance as my brain keeps trying to make a plan that doesn't suck horse apples.
"Do not mock Don Krieg!" Gin yells at us. "He is the strongest man alive! And it's impossible for you to win."
"You stupid or something?" I hiss sharply. "Wasn't he trying to kill you just now?"
"Of course!" He says without missing a beat. "For me to talk about my feelings, is to betray the role I have. That's why this is the obvious consequence!"
He throws his gas mask away, into the water.
I grit my teeth. "The idiot..."
"Gin!" Luffy exclaims.
"Why?" Sanji asks. "Why?"
Krieg just sounds pleased. "So you realize at the end, eh? But it's too late. Die together with that cook."
His eyes darkened.
"Poisonous Gas..."
Oh... Oh God... I...
God damnit!
"Luffy!" I scream at the boy, using his name instead of a nickname. "Fling me into the air, as high as you can!"
"What-"
"HURRY!" I snap at him. Sensing my urgency he sends his arm out far back.
"Gum Gum..." His hand springs back and the moment it passes us I jump and place my leg on his palm. Luffy realigns his arm to spring me upwards and launches me high to the sky just in time. "Slingshot!"
"PH5!"
Don Krieg launches his poison weapon as I soar higher and higher. Luffy has a really amazing power in that scrawny body of his. I know he and Sanji will be fine. But this has gone on long enough. I'm finishing this now!
Time to show Krieg exactly what he is fucking with!
[3rd Person]
The explosion caused by PH5 was nothing compared to the toxic fumes it released into the area. Anyone caught in it's radius without protection was fated a slow and agonizing death.
The fatal potential of PH5 was truly horrendous, a weapon fit for a pragmatic monster like Krieg.
Luffy snatched and flung two protective masks to Sanji and Gin, but realized he lacked one himself too late. However, at the last moment a mask dropped by his feet. That mask saved Luffy's life.
But that mask was Gin's. He threw it away, forced the remaining mask on Sanji and it left the battle commander of the Don Krieg Pirates with a full dose of PH5. The man would surely die in a matter og hours.
Krieg was what most men would call honourless scum. He didn't believe in honor. He believed in winning by any means necessary. He always won, and no being could tell him different. That was strength.
"Pirate Admiral" Don Krieg laughed at his former subordinate's foolish sacrifice. He laughed and mocked Gin because of how idiotic the concept of sacrificing ones self for the sake of another was. It was so... so... Un-pragmatic. It didn't help him win.
Luffy was furious. Sanji was furious. But Krieg just laughed.
In fact, he laughed so hard that he completely disregarded the shadow descending upon him.
"H-hey! W-w-w..." A cook of the Baratie stuttered out of the bombs range.
"T-tha-that's..." A member of the Krieg Pirates stuttered, lifting their mask in fear and disbelief.
Sanji noticed too. His eyes widened to their breaking point. "What the hell?!"
Luffy, confused of what Sanji was looking at, also looked to see what was so fascinating. His jaw opened comically wide in wonder. "WOOOOAH!"
It was only after that that Krieg took time to notice. Notice how no one was paying attention to him. Notice a whisper in the back of his mind.
He noticed the shadow he stood in, despite it being a fairly cloudless day.
"HEY, COCKSUCKER!" A shout reached him. A familiar one, yet sounding so much more potent and powerful. Slowly Krieg turned his gaze to the sky.
And it was then that Don Krieg, though he'd never admit to it, felt fear.
A form, a truly massive form descended from the sky, shadowed by the sun behind it. And then Krieg realized it was heading straight for him.
"MEGALO..." The voice shouted fiercely and Krieg knew he had to get out of the way. He had to move right now! "SKY METEOR!"
The massive being crashed down onto the remains of Krieg's warship, causing a massive wave at the point of submersion, shattering every piece of the ruined warship into tiny splinters or dragging them under for good.
Krieg got out of that area, just barely. But the wave caused from the impact was strong enough to send him tumbling to the shattered fin of the Baratie. Don Krieg breathed heavily. He was certain of it. Whatever that was, it could have killed him. Easily.
"W-what the hell was that?" Sanji asked, nearly speechless of what he just witnessed.
The Baratie cooks and the Don Krieg Pirates were all speechless as well. Even the legendary "Red Leg" Zeff couldn't find anything to say.
Luffy... Luffy had no such issues.
"SOOOO COOOOL!" The boy yelled with an amazed glint in his eyes. A sort of childish wonder at something truly awesome and fantastic.
Then someone chuckled. It was a familiar chuckle, but held much more power behind it, despite it's near casual tone.
"OI, OI. SERIOUSLY? YOU MANAGED TO DODGE THAT?"
The Krieg Pirates shrieked in fear as a grey curved fin rose above the seas' surface. A massive fin, longer than any man present. It circled the Baratie, leaving behind a trail of slightly rising water as something pushed against it. Then a pointy nose rose after it, followed by a thick body covered in grey hide. It flashed its massive triangular serrated teeth, each bigger than a man's hand, nestled in a mouth big enough to swallow a man whole and bite smaller ships in half.
It was a shark. A truly massive shark. It was like a Sea King capable of sinking ships twice it's size, maybe more. And it was aiming a very familiar glare at Krieg with those pale blue, intelligent eyes.
"ALLOW ME TO EDUCATE YOU, CHUCKLE FUCK." The voice... no... the shark spoke in an almost bored tone as it kept circling the restaurant. "ABOUT WHAT KIND OF MONSTERS TRULY EXIST IN THIS OCEAN."
Krieg gaped, internally. On the outside he didn't allow himself to show shock or fear. "Y-you damn... You ate a Devil Fruit?!"
"AND THE PRODIGAL SON FIGURES IT OUT. GOOD JOB!" The shark, that... that girl, ridiculed him. Him! Don Krieg!
"But that's impossible! You're in the ocean! You should drown! You're a Hammer!" He yelled. It had to be impossible! It was impossible! This had to be a trick!
"THAT'S NOT REALLY IMPORTANT, NOW IS IT? I AM SWIMMING ALONG, AM I NOT? SWIMMING ALONG~, SWIMMING ALONG~." That girl wearing the monster shark's visage prattled on. "FOR YOU SEE, I ATE THE SHARK-SHARK FRUIT, AND BECAME A SHARK WOMAN."
Sanji was at a loss. "That... That kind of Devil Fruit exists?"
"Shishishi!" Luffy laughed excitedly, clapping his hands together over his head. "That's so awesome, Megalon!"
"Idiot! How can you be so okay with this?!" Sanji snapped at the dimwitted boy wearing a straw hat.
The shark continued, voice carrying condescending indifference. "YOU KNOW NOTHING OF STRENGTH, DON KRIEG. YOU KNOW ONLY YOUR SELF-MAINTAINED ILLUSION OF WHAT STRENGTH IS. ALLOW ME TO EDUCATE YOU ON TRUE STRENGTH.
"STRENGTH IS OVERCOMING ADVERSITY. IT IS SOMETHING ONLY THE WEAK ARE CAPABLE OF. IF YOU POSSESS STRENGTH TO NATURALLY OVERCOME ALL YOUR OPPOSITION, TO FACE ALL OF LIFE'S OBSTACLES, THAT IS NOT STRENGTH. THAT IS EMPTY POWER WITH NO SUBSTANCE.
"YOU BELIEVE STRENGTH TO BE ABOUT WINNING. YOU COULDN'T BE MORE WRONG. STRENGTH IS ABOUT LOSING. LOSING AGAIN AND AGAIN, THEN STANDING BACK UP TO TRY ONCE MORE. STRENGTH IS NOT MEASURED IN HOW STRONG YOU ARE, OR BY WHAT WEAPONS YOU WIELD OR ARMOR YOU WEAR.
"IT IS MEASURED BY WILL AND DETERMINATION ALONE! IT IS FOR THOSE TO CLAIM WHO WILL NEVER GIVE UP ON THEIR DREAMS! THAT IS WHAT SOMEONE MUST POSSESS TO MATCH GOLD ROGER AND REACH THE END OF THE GRAND LINE!"
Don Krieg was bristling. "You dare lecture me!? I am Don Krieg, the Strongest Man in East Blue! I am invincible! I can't ever lose! I WILL BE THE PIRATE KING!"
The shark was quiet for a moment, only staring at this arrogant, arrogant man. "A PITY. YOU ARE BEYOND REASON. AND AS SUCH..." The shark dove under the blue sea and disappeared.
Don Krieg, Sanji, Luffy, everyone looked around to find any sign of the massive sea predator. They didn't need to wait for long.
The massive creature leaped out of the sea, into the air. And it headed straight towards the Baratie. At Krieg.
"OH NO!" A Baratie cook shrieked.
"That fool is going to ram my restaurant!" Zeff yelled, more than a bit angry.
Sanji's eyes widened. "Oh crap!" Even Luffy was panicking.
"H-hey, hey! Don't come here!" The Straw Hat scrambled about, shaking his hands to and fro.
"DON KRIEG!" All of the Krieg Pirate screamed their captain's name. But Don Krieg, as he stared down at the looming monster heading his way...
He found himself unable to move a muscle. Unknowingly he'd been paralyzed by fear. More fear than he had ever felt in his life. Because of it he didn't notice that the massive form coming his way became smaller until it was too late.
"FERAL SKY..." A voice shouted as the shrinking form began to spin rapidly. When it reached Krieg, a heel was slammed down onto his skull at great strength and velocity. "VORTEX HEEL!"
Don Krieg, the Conqueror of East Blue, stood no chance as his skull was assaulted by a kick of such caliber. His eyes bugged out of their sockets from the shock. The one responsible flipped away from Krieg as he sunk to his knees, eyes blank and lifeless. Then he collapsed onto the ground, unconscious.
Megalon Grandwhite clicked her tongue and sneered at the downed man. "And as such I will bash your skull in, cocksucker!"
Episode 2
Fin~
Next Episode: Welcome to the Crew! Onward to Arlong Park!
A/N: Ho. Ly. Shit. This got waaay longer than I intended it to be, but not sleeping once you get really into it does that to a guy. That and I needed to make this fight as epic as possible. I like to think I succeeded. And maybe overdone it a bit. Proofreading this was such a pain. The biggest gripe was that I kept spelling Krieg's name slightly wrong and spotting the difference is so tedious.
So now you all know Megalon's Devil Fruit. The Same Same no Mi, Model: Megalodon. An Ancient Zoan type. Or as it is referred to in English, the Shark-Shark Fruit. This ain't your run of the mill Devil Fruit, oh no, because it allows the user to actually swim, under certain conditions. We will explore this fruit more in-depth(ha-haa, puns!) over the course of the story.
Also a reminder: Timeline wise, Megalon has only had this power for four weeks, tops. She is still experimenting with it. ;)
Aside from that, WOW! My reviewers seem to really like Megalon. I am so honoured and moved that some of you hold that opinion. My appreciations to you, all of you who find my insane Main Character amusing in all her crude glory.
~Till Next Episode.~