This thing really hates me sometimes. I mean it.

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece

Warnings: Brief, Mild Language

Sorry this is dragging out so long ^^; I hope you enjoy anyway!

I stood from the bench and stared out at the ocean in front of us, but was met with nothing more than the same inky darkness that had been present since I had first stepped outside that night. "I don't see anything."

"We're here," Zoro repeated, pushing himself to his feet as he spoke. He turned and called behind him, toward the observation room. "Brook! Get everyone on deck! We're landing soon!"

I was about to volunteer to get them myself, thinking it might be faster than waiting for Brook to come down from the observation room, when a loud, fast-paced violin battle march filled the air around the ship, making the little hairs on the back of my neck stand up in alarm. I looked at Zoro in confusion.

"Franky fixed the speaker yesterday," he explained.

"Ah," I nodded. Before I could fully turn around, Luffy had landed on the foredeck and started trotting toward Zoro, already dressed and clutching his hat to his head.

"Is it the island?" the captain asked eagerly. "Is that old guy there?"

"Yes," Zoro answered patiently. "And probably. That's why we're here, anyway."

"Good," Luffy shot him a quick grin and was off toward the front of the ship without another word.

"I still don't see anything," I mumbled, taking another look at where I assumed the horizon would be, if it were actually visible. "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely," Zoro answered quietly over his shoulder. "Trust me, it's there."

I kept searching, taking an unconscious step closer to the swordsman at the same time. "Where?" I whispered.

"Directly ahead of us," Zoro replied, although he was still facing the staircase. "You'll be able to see it in a few minutes, the sun is coming up."

I had only a second or two to wonder when Zoro had become so much more agreeable, before several pairs of feet sounded on the steps and I leaned around him to see the rest of the crew coming toward us. They too were already fully dressed, and wore expressions of determination much more grim than the one I had seen on their captain.

"Alright," Nami reached the wheel of the Sunny first and turned to address the others. "We're coming in fast, so everyone be ready. We still don't know what to expect here."

"Perhaps we should circle to the other side of the island," Robin spoke up. "There is a rock quarry on the south end, according to the map, and it doesn't seem to be as inhabited as the north side. Given his reclusive habits, it is more likely our target will be in that area."

I shuddered at the words 'our target' but kept quiet, still partially hiding behind the swordsman's sleeve.

"I don't really care where we fight him," Franky shrugged. "But a non-populated place would be more ideal, I guess." He walked forward to take position beside Nami. "What do you think, Sis?"

"Listen to Robin," Nami nodded in affirmation. "But follow the outside current; the others are moving too fast, we could crash into the island before we have a chance to dock."

Franky grunted in response and bent down to unlock the wheel, turning the Sunny just slightly to the left.

I was still staring as hard as I could toward the bow, but even with the soft blue and gold light now moving quickly across the horizon, I still couldn't see the island. Biting my lip in frustration I turned to the side and nearly fell over in shock, letting out a sharp squeak and backpedaling quickly to steady myself just in time.

"Uhm, Zoro?" I asked shakily. I took another step backward and nearly stepped on Syla, who seemed to have snuck up from behind without me noticing her at all. "Is that…?"

"Yeah," Zoro nodded. "That's it."

"Wha-" I gasped at the barely visible looming mass far too close to the Sunny's rail for my comfort. "We're right on top of it!" I hissed. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"I did," he grunted, clearly annoyed. "Pay attention when people talk to you."

Trying to calm my pounding heart, I stood with the rest of the crew as we slid past the beginnings of the island, finally realizing why I hadn't been able to see it until that moment. Everything from the grains of sand on the beach to the tall jagged outcroppings of rock looked like they were made of tiny mirror fragments. This meant instead of seeing what was actually in front of me, I had been looking at the reflections of the surrounding ocean. I hadn't been able to see the island at all. Now, with the sun rising fully into view, the island's surface shone in uneven sparks of bright light and smooth, dark waves. The jolting light patterns revealed the outlines of the rugged island, although we were still just far enough away for the details to still be somewhat hidden.

I looked on as the Sunny sailed perpendicular to the half-concealed shore, still wondering if what I was seeing was real. "It's reflective?" I asked, feeling completely befuddled.

"It's a chameleon island," Robin explained. "Most likely, the effect is directly linked to the rock quarry. I would guess from this effect it's a kind of Lunar stone." She finished the short explanation with a shrug and smiled when I only looked more confused.

"It's the dust," Ussop supplied. "That's what gives the island it's reflective appearance. When the wind picks up, it covers everything in Lunar stone dust, turning the whole place into a big, lumpy mirror. The only time it's visible from any distance is during sunrise and sunset."

"I said you'd be able to see it soon," Zoro frowned down at me. "Don't be so impatient."

I didn't even have it in me to fight with him right then, not that I would have had the opportunity, anyway.

"Zoro, take Renna inside before we get any closer," Nami ordered suddenly. "Stay out of sight."

"Yeah, I got it," Zoro scowled, still very unimpressed about being stuck on the ship. "Get moving, Renna."

I wanted to ask if it would absolutely kill him to not be such an ass, but the sight of the bandages still covering his torso kept my mouth firmly closed. I had trotted after him a few steps toward the staircase when I felt a small hand on my arm, stopping me momentarily. Before I could even look behind me a light weight covered my shoulders over my jacket.

"Take this with you," Syla said seriously. "It may come in handy."

I glanced down and realized she had set her dragon skin jacket around my upper body. "What about you guys?" I asked, running my fingers over the jacket's smooth, shiny surface. "Wont you need it?"

"If something happens here," Syla tilted her head before shooting a sidelong look at Zoro. "You'll need it more."

"Hey," Zoro called behind him. "Let's go."

"Okay," I gave Syla a quick, forced smile before moving toward the stairs once more.

I stopped again when I felt as if I had been forgetting something and paused beside the top step. Turning around I was met with the full view of the crew, all standing with their backs to me, still as statues and completely focused. Even Luffy, stationed at the front of the ship, was silent.

I wasn't entirely sure what to do, my fingers wrapping in the edges of the jacket. Was I supposed to say something? Wish them luck or tell them to be safe?

"Renna, let's go. Hurry."

I looked down toward where Zoro was standing on the bottom step. "I…I don't…"

He sighed, seeming to know what I was thinking. "It's fine," he said, a little less gruff than before. "Come on."

With a last look at the Straw Hats (and Syla) I spun on my heel and practically flew down the stairs, stumbling on the last few steps and hitting the grass on my hands and knees, the odd jacket sliding from my shoulders.

"Don't hurry that much," Zoro snickered. "Let me guess; the stairs moved?"

"Shut up, cave man," I mumbled, the insult sounding hollow even to my own ears. I ignored the annoyed puff of air from above me and climbed unsteadily to my feet, picking Syla's jacket from the ground and following Zoro across the deck and through the door to the galley without another word.

The click of a closing door had never sounded louder to me than in that moment.

I glanced at the clock in the galley for the upteenth time and sighed, still running my hands over the jacket across my lap. It felt as if it had been hours since the crew left the Sunny to find Shogun, but in reality had only been around twenty minutes.

Upon entering the ship I had managed to convince Zoro to go back to the medical room (by 'convince' I mean he was really just too tired to argue with me anymore) and stationed myself at the kitchen table to wait. What I was waiting for exactly, I couldn't really say.

Just a few minutes into my watch duty I had heard sounds out on the deck that nearly scared me out of my skin; a low, almost humming growl and heavy padded steps. It had taken a few seconds of terror to place the sound as belonging to Syla's pet wolf-monster, which was currently still pacing around the Sunny on a kind of guard run. Apparently the jacket wasn't the only gift she had left behind for us.

Rolling the article into a ball I set it on the table in front of me and pressed the side of my face against the cool surface, trying very hard to remain calm and having absolutely no success. In my current worked up state, it was no surprise that I flew out of my chair so fast I ended up on the floor of the galley when a low scratching sounded at the door.

"Bah!"

The scratching started again just as I was using a nearby chair to pull myself to my feet, followed this time by a quiet whine.

"I'm not letting you in here," I called to the Lumbra, still shaking a little from the scare. "Sanji will be so pissed if you wreck his kitchen." I wasn't even sure if it could understand me, but with every other wacky thing running loose in this world, I wouldn't have been surprised either way.

The whining continued for awhile before it occurred to me that there might be an enemy close by, and maybe the Lumbra was trying to get inside to protect itself. If that was the case, I really couldn't just leave it outside, could I?

Moving quickly, I shrugged out of my cropped jacket and pulled my arms through the sleeves of the much longer jacket before creeping toward the door. Once in front of the wood I reached up and hooked my fingers on the rim of the round window, standing on the tips of my toes to see through the glass. The Lumbra moved into view, walking backward toward the rail, then trotted forward again to scratch at the door.

"Stop that," I scolded, dropping again to slide the bolts free. "Franky wont be too happy either if you damage anything." I opened the door a crack, forcing myself to not run away from the big hairy animal, and hissed through the space, "Alright, get in here. But don't break anything." I swung the door open the rest of the way, hoping the Lumbra would dart inside so I could close it again as soon as possible.

Instead, it backed up and swung it's head around with a growl, looking toward the front of the ship before focusing its creepy yellow eyes on me once more.

"Come on," I urged. "Get in here."

Again, the Lumbra backed away from me, its head moving wildly as it whined and shimmied toward the stairs. After watching it for another moment, I finally caught on to what it wanted.

"I'm not supposed to go outside," I hissed. "I have to stay here."

The Lumbra ignored my refusal, moving toward me so fast I didn't have time to even think about slamming the door closed before it latched it's teeth around the edge of Syla's jacket and pulled me out of the galley.

"What the hell?" I squeaked. "Let go! Crazy dog!"

Once again I was ignored as Syla's pet tugged me all the way down the stairs and across the lawn of the Sunny, it's grip on the dragon skin careful but firm. By the time it let go again, I was very aware it could probably swallow me whole, but wouldn't do so. With that thought in mind I took a deep breath and followed it up the staircase to the fore deck.

"I'm really not supposed to be out here," I whispered, watching as it danced around by the starboard rail and pawed at the deck. "What if something happens?" Keeping low, I pulled the hood of the jacket over my head and crept toward Syla's impatient scout. "What do you want?"

The Lumbra stood on it's back legs, placing it's front paws on the rail and looking down into the shallows with another growl.

A horrible thought occurred to me and I dropped low again. "I can't fight sea monsters!" I squeaked. "You take care of it!"

The big animal made a coughing sound, as if it were scoffing at my cowardice, then lowered it's head back down toward the water in a more pointed gesture. It stomped one paw impatiently on the wood of the rail and shook it's massive head, obviously wanting me to move to the edge of the ship.

Realizing it wasn't going to leave me alone until I did as it wanted, I slinked forward again and took hold of the rail, leaning over as little as I could to peer into the clear, shallow water surrounding the Thousand Sunny. Something long and shiny caught my eye immediately and I nearly growled, myself.

"It's just one of those rocks Robin was talking about earlier," I groaned. "Nothing special. Let me go back inside."

As I turned to make my way back toward the staircase, the Lumbra pushed away from the rail and cut me off, nudging me back toward the side with it's head.

"It's nothing!" I repeated. "Just let me- dammit!" Giving in to the prodding I turned around I walked back to the rail to lean over it once again, taking a closer look at the shiny object. I froze a moment later, my mind growing numb as I slowly began to recognize the long shape in the water. The almost worried snuffling of the monster beside me was blocked out by the loud ringing in my ears as I gripped the rail beneath my hands.

"Is that…?"

It didn't seem possible.

"Can't be-"

What were the odds?

"-It is."

What was I supposed to do now?

"Holy. Shit."