A/N: Thanks go out to all have done everything that encourages any fanfic author to continue with their fics. You people are awesome.
I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and a safe Black Friday. Seriously though, I've heard so many Black Friday horror stories that I think we should scrap the day completely. Black Friday is the Hunger Games equivalent of holiday shopping. With all the holidays coming up, and with numerous projects coming my way, I wanted to post this before things got too busy and this wouldn't be updated for a few months.
I seriously thought that I would have this done in less than forty chapters. That's obviously not the case, and it may even get to be in the fifties-seventies if the fic hasn't reached the end. I have an end in sight, but I can't say for sure when that will be.
Chapter 34: The Dragon of the Far North
**Countdown: Two Months, 10 days left**
Throughout the rest of the morning there was not a cloud in the sky as the Sunny sailed across the expansive ocean. Aang and Katara had worked together to push the Sunny forward. Their strength and endurance due to the tedious task had risen quite a bit over time, and now they both were lasting a few hours longer than they had before. This sort of training made the training they had done back home seemingly pale in comparison.
While the others had busied themselves with tasks around the ship, both Ebony and Robin were having an in-depth conversation as they did the dishes (Robin washed while Ebony dried and put away).
Eurynome and Zoro had a sparring match for a bit, while being careful not to damage any part of the Sunny. Sanji cheered for Eurynome, telling her to "kick the shitty swordsman's ass, Eury-shwan."
Afterwards, there were various chores about the Sunny that had to be done, and with everyone working together, the day's chores were done rather quickly.
oOo***oOo
The crew now lounged about the deck, with Zuko, Chopper, Robin, and Usopp sitting around Ebony as he shared some of his extensive book collection. Robin noticed the odd diary, and began looking through it. She quickly realized that the strange writing was like that from Poneglyphs, except the writing didn't actually say anything; and if it did, it was overlapped with other text and notes. It seemed that the man who wrote it had simply scribbled down symbols while taking notes for a variety of things, as quite a few notes listed what seemed to be ingredients or reminders to take care of certain things he had to do at that time. The diary was apparently only deemed important because it contained Poneglyph-like scribbles. Robin chuckled, because the majority of the "Poneglyph" writing was actually made up, so it didn't say a thing.
"Honestly, the guy I talked to said the Government would want it, but I think he just wanted more money," Ebony said of the diary, looking disappointed. "He was the one who told me it was on the banned list…I just might have to find him and break his fingers. I don't like getting cheated…I guess I'm gonna have to cross that off the list…"
Usopp cringed, and Zuko dumbly blinked when Ebony suddenly changed the subject as if he had never been threatening someone. "Zuko-san, what other Spirits are there? What else do they do? Are there Spirits that actually live in your World? Or do they live somewhere else?"
Ebony looked more fascinated as Zuko explained to him what he knew. Luffy overheard some of what Zuko was saying, so he joined them, and listened in rapt attention. Zuko soon was telling them of various tales and myths that he had heard growing up, and he had to smile to himself as Chopper, Usopp, Luffy and Ebony had expressions like that of little kids around a campfire.
oOo***oOo
Eurynome had been curious about what Aang was doing, and he explained to her about his meditation technique and encouraged her to try. With the comment of, "nothing better to do," Eurynome sat with Aang for a few hours, simply breathing and meditating, with Aang telling her how to breathe and rest in order to achieve the peace and enlightenment that he strived for daily. Eurynome had to admit it was a sensation she had never felt before, and she wondered if she could grow beyond what she felt now. Their meditation session was interrupted by something that felt like a sort of pulse of cold energy.
"Does anyone else feel that?" Ebony asked. He looked around, as he searched for the source along the surface of the water.
"What?" Zuko said. "I don't feel anything…"
Zuko suddenly paused as he felt the temperature drop. He stood and pulled out his swords.
"Why's it so cold all of a sudden?" Nami hummed, as she brought her arms around herself in attempt to warm up.
"Are we being followed?" Eurynome asked curiously, and she narrowed her eyes. "That's certainly not a Sea King…I've never felt anything like it…"
Aang quickly jumped into action as he felt a hint of Spiritual Energy. Where was it coming from? As he focused, he overheard Zoro say,
"It's in the water."
Zoro had his eyes closed and his hands laced behind his head. He opened his eye and slowly stood, placing a hand on one of his swords. Everyone on board prepared themselves, but what they weren't prepared for was what finally revealed itself. A Dragon shot out of the water about two miles out from the Sunny, and flew high into the air. Its silvery-blue scales glistened in the sunlight, and it had to have been at least fifteen feet long, with a wingspan of almost thirty or more feet. It had transparent wings that shimmered in the sunlight and had large and deadly looking spikes at the joints. Numerous twisted and spikey horns sat atop its head like a crown, and numerous spikes of various sizes, the longest of which were three feet, and the spikes trailed down its spine to a tale that housed even more jagged icy-looking spikes.
Its fierce, icy blue eyes studied them, and it grinned at them, revealing rows of silvery teeth. It was then that those who had confronted the dragons at Punk Hazard knew that this was something entirely different. A devious and intelligent cruelty shown in the Dragon's expression, and upon seeing it, Usopp said in a harsh and frightened whisper,
"We have to get out of here!"
"So cool!" Luffy admired, with stars in his eyes. "Let's keep it as a pet!"
Before anyone could agree with the Sniper, or admonish the Captain, a sound akin to wind drew their attention back to the Dragon. With a single powerful flap of its wings, the Dragon created large waves in the ocean as it shot towards the Sunny, slightly arching its way upwards. It stopped and soared just above the Sunny, its form blocking out the sun. Bits of snow fell from the Dragon as it flew, and the powerful chill could be felt even more, to a point that it was like being on a winter island. It opened its mouth with such a loud "BWA!" sound that it hurt the ears of those that heard it. Energy flowed to the Dragon's mouth, and an object started to form.
Nami's eyes widened in panic and fear, and she ordered, "Furl the sails! Franky, get us out of here!"
"You don't have to super-tell me twice, girlie!" Franky prepared a Coup-de-burst, and the Sunny shot into the air just as an iceberg easily twice the size of their ship was dropped down on top of them. Although they just barely avoided the iceberg by mere seconds, they were pelted with a torrent of sea water raining down on them due to the impact.
Ebony shouted. "That's a Dragon! An actual, really, real Dragon!"
He had a ridiculously excited grin on his face, and his eyes were wide with what could only be compared to child-like wonder.
"It's one of the Spirits!" Aang said, mostly for the sake of those who had just joined them.
"That's amazing!" Ebony said, and Luffy joined in on the excitement.
"I know, right? This is actually the third Dragon that we've met!"
"Really?"
"Yeah, my crew and I saw two Dragons on Punk Hazard. We ate one of 'em."
The two casually conversed while the Dragon was not about to let his prey escape. He roared, and a rush of icy wind washed over them, and it didn't help that they had been soaked. Everyone who had been soaked began to feel their sense of touch and flexibility numb. Because there was some Spiritual Energy behind the attack, it weakened Katara's senses even more than when she had fought Adel. The Dragon shouted, "You won't escape from me, Avatar!"
The fact that it spoke interrupted Luffy's and Ebony's chat, much to their excitement. "It can talk!"
"It's talking!" Eurynome said through chattering teeth. "Just…how? This is unreal. This is not what I signed up for when I asked for your help…I'm going to die at the hands of a Dragon."
"Ebony, are you alright?" Chopper asked, as he noticed that Ebony's hair was a streaky mess of blond-and-black, and his tattoos seemed to be leaking. Perhaps that was why he didn't like water…? Ebony ignored the streaky, leaky mess, talking a mile a minute while wildly motioning at their attacker.
"THIS IS AMAZING. THIS IS THE MOST INCREDIBLE THING. THAT'S A DRAGON!
"What does he do? Have you met this Dragon-Spirit-guy before? Is this what you guys do when you're part of the Game? This is amazing!"
Katara moved quickly, waterbending their soaked clothing and drying everyone off as she knew being covered with anything that housed Spiritual Energy was a bad idea. Ebony's ink quickly flowed back into place, making him look like himself again, while Eurynome pathetically shouted from gripping onto the table.
"I'm so sorry I doubted you! I totally believe you now about the Spirits and the Game you're playing and everything!" to the Pirates and Aang, while shouting at her overly impressed brother who was ecstatic at seeing a real-life Dragon, "Stop being so impressed by that thing!" Turning specifically to Aang, she shouted, "I'll believe anything you tell me from now on, Aang-san!" Eurynome said. Well, if everyone survived this she would believe everything he told her.
The Dragon flapped its wings again, and was now flying alongside the Sunny, and his grin widened. "Let's have some fun, Avatar."
His mouth opened wide and his roar was thunderous as the iceberg started to form.
"Ink Shot!"
The Dragon coughed and gagged, spitting out a mix of ink, saliva, and silvery blood, while he tore at his face as he choked and was blinded by ink.
"Sorry to have to do that to you, Dragon. Hm, you're pretty tough even on the inside," Ebony commented, now very straight-faced. "Saul, come on!" Ebony grabbed Saul and with numerous quick motions, sliced the Dragon's face and successfully cut off the wing facing the Sunny at the base of the joint. Ebony watched as the Dragon fell into the ocean, and the others looked on in surprise.
"Way to go, Ebony!" Usopp cheered, while a "Yahoo!" was heard from Chopper, but Ebony shook his head, and it was obvious by his expression that things were not looking good. The Dragon was coming back now, slightly slower, but still just as powerful.
"We're going to die!" Usopp wailed, and Chopper joined him.
Eurynome stood quickly, while muttering, "Seriously, Spirits and Dragons 'n shit…" Running over to Ebony, she said, "Give me a harpoon, the seven-foot!"
Ebony complied within seconds. He ran over to his bag and pulled out some papers, searching through them.
"Hurry up!"
"I'm looking!" Ebony finally found the desired paper, and said, "Ink Release!" and seemingly pulled the harpoon off of the paper.
"So cool!" Luffy marveled, along with Usopp and Chopper who seemingly forgot about the Dragon, if only for a moment. Usopp wanted to see more of Ebony's abilities. Ebony handed Eurynome the harpoon, and Eurynome turned to the others. "I am not about to die at the hands of a Dragon! Do you know how to fight it?"
Aang honestly shook his head, and Zuko make a face accompanied by a shrug. This wasn't exactly the time to be telling everyone that while they had faced off against Dragons, the creatures were rare and noble creatures that were nearly extinct, and that their "match" with the Dragons wasn't anything compared to this.
"Great, we're dead," Eurynome muttered as she tied a length of rope around the handle of the harpoon.
"It's coming up from beneath us," Law stated casually. "It'll surely crack the ship in half and we'll all die…"
"Very astute, Law-kun," Robin agreed, smiling. "I wonder if we'll die by drowning or getting eaten first…"
"Why are you two being so morbid?!" Usopp demanded.
"No one wants to hear that kind of thing at a time like this!" Sokka couldn't help but agree.
"Ah don wadda diiieee!" Chopper wailed.
"Katara-dono!" Momonosuke cried as he ran into her arms. "We aren't going to die, are we? (sniffle)"
The boy figured if he were to die, it might as well be in the arms of a beautiful woman.
"No one is dying!" Katara shouted, trying to comfort Momonosuke and scold Robin and Law at the same time. "Seriously, what's with you two?"
"Maybe we can try tying it up – after cutting off the wings or something…" Eurynome motioned with her harpoon and the rope.
"That just might work, Eury-shwan!" Sanji commented. "I'll tie up the Dragon!"
As the Dragon neared them, Law activated "Room" and switched the Sunny with the Dragon, so that it was now above them. It continued ascending for a mere few seconds before it noticed that the ship was now below it. The Dragon easily reverted, and dove at the ship at full speed. Zoro easily sent two flying slashes that cut off both of the Dragon's wings.
Eurynome quickly and carefully aimed and threw her harpoon right between the Dragon's ribs just under where the wing joint was; even going deep enough that there was no way it was coming out without a little help. Sanji quickly grabbed the rope and sky-walked around the Dragon, tying the rope as tightly as he could, before violently kicking it off to the side so that it was no longer in any danger of crashing into the beloved Sunny. The Dragon instead somehow managed to twist itself so that its tail hooked onto the Sunny, causing the ship to tilt to the point of nearly capsizing. A few of the crew members were panicking about crashing into the ocean, and others took action to prevent such an outcome.
"You just don't give up, do you?" Eurynome asked just as the Dragon's head appeared over the railing. She had been closest to the railing, so she got there first. Gripping her machete, she swung and very nearly decapitated the Dragon. Silvery-blue blood ran over her fingers, chilling them, and Eurynome recognized the symptoms of frostbite. The Dragon gurgled and released itself from the Sunny, crashing into the ocean below.
Law quickly used "Takt" and righted the Sunny.
"Is it gone?" Usopp asked in a weak voice.
"My heart is nearly beating out of my chest, even though I don't have one…" Brook rested a skeletal hand where a heart would have been if he had been normal.
Things were slightly settling down, and Chopper ran to check on Eurynome's hands. The peace only lasted for a few minutes before they heard a roar.
"Not again…" Toph moaned. "When is that thing going to quit?!"
"That does it." Aang grabbed his glider.
The Dragon managed to twist and cut himself out of the rope, and furiously struggled to no avail at getting the harpoon lodged into his side out. His wings has formed once again, and the Dragon shot towards them, mouth open, ready to devour them if icebergs and icy breaths weren't going to work.
"CUT…IT…OUT!" Luffy shouted, and the Dragon felt a strange force, something he had never felt before, and it was terrifying. He didn't have time to think about it as the Avatar flew towards him and delivered a stream of fire. The Dragon dodged, although some of the fire caught one of his newly formed wings. Since his wing hadn't fully set yet, he was veered off course, and hurdled towards Aang with such incredible speed that when the Dragon desperately twisted himself to once again get control, his tail came down on Aang who didn't have a chance to dodge. Aang was tossed into the ocean, and the Sunny continued it path ahead without him. He could hear the faint voice of Katara calling out, "Aang!"
The Dragon grinned as if the unintended event had somehow been his plan all along. The others didn't matter, because he had his true prey; the Avatar. Aang had had the wind knocked out of him, and he ignored the cuts and stab wounds the Dragon had inflicted on him. He created an air bubble using water bending, and quickly took control of his breathing. Oh, Spirits… his glider had been damaged, and wasn't in any position to fly. He tightened his grip on it as he quickly dodged the silvery teeth of the Dragon. Aang created a makeshift ice path for him to stand on, and he demanded, "Why are you doing this?!"
The Dragon grinned, "Because I—"
He didn't get to hear the answer as Aang suddenly found himself on board the Sunny once again. He recognized this technique as Law's "Room" and "Shambles" ability. Before Aang could even ask, a loud *BOOM* shook the entire ship.
"I knew that bomb would come in handy one day," Ebony was quite pleased, but his smile fell.
"That thing is worse than a cockroach!" Usopp cursed the luck that had befallen them. The Dragon no longer shimmered, but he clearly showed that he housed the harsh cold of winter's wrath. The Dragon simply refused to go down, no matter what they threw at him.
"Attack him from the inside out!" Usopp said. He prepared his Black Kabuto. "It worked when Ebony shot his ink at him earlier! We just have to go deeper! That's the only other thing I can think of!"
Usopp prepared a Green Star: Skull Exploding Grass. He would have to time it just right, and wait for his opportunity. The Dragon flapped its wings again, and was forced to come at them from an angle due to the harpoon hindering his flight. He opened his mouth preparing a different attack, and Usopp fired three successive shots.
The seeds exploded upon impact, and smoke rose from the Dragon's mouth and nostrils. The Dragon continued at the same speed it had been going in, and as it careened out of control, Sokka shouted, "That thing is going to crash into us! Again!"
Luffy stopped the impact from happening at the last second as he ballooned himself up between the Sunny and the Dragon. The Dragon bounced off of Luffy, and flew back a few miles from the Sunny. The Dragon floated in the water, and there were those who stared at it curiously, while others were acting quickly to vacate the area and find Spirit-Dragon-free-waters as quickly as possible. The Dragon began to shift in the water, before twisting his head back to glare at those who were staring at him with icy blue eyes.
"GAAHHHH! HE'S AWAKE ALREADY!" The voices of Usopp, Nami, and Chopper shouted.
"Damn him." Eurynome muttered.
The Dragon winced in annoyance and pain as he shifted in the water. He dove under before coming back up a few feet from the Sunny, startling a few of the ship's occupants. His throat had already somewhat healed, with a strange, see-through patch of icy flesh. He eyed them carefully before speaking. "You're annoyingly loud."
His voice was calm and cold. He continually had to shift his position to upright because the harpoon in his side put him off-balance, and his wings weren't offering much help either. He looked specifically at the twins, as if they were unfortunate intruders that had ventured into his lair. "You're unfamiliar. Who are you? You are not part of the Game. You are anomalies in this Game."
The twins shifted under his accusing gaze, both wondering if they should answer him. Deciding they had nothing to lose, they introduced themselves.
"I am Saoirse Eurynome."
"My name is Saoirse Ebony."
"Eurynome!?" The Dragon growled as his eyes widened. He strained as he lifted his head higher so that he could look directly at her, obviously ignoring the pain he was in. "Why are you here?!"
Eurynome was confused as to why the Dragon seemed so angry. She looked to Aang and the others curiously, as if expecting them to have the answer, but they could only shrug and shake their heads. Turning her attention back to the Dragon, she said slowly, "Uh, I hitched a ride? Why—"
"Lies," the Dragon shouted his voice on the brink of a roar. The icy patch on his neck actually tore somewhat, causing some blood to leak before slowly sealing itself up again. "You've broken all ties with Cyprus and the other Spirits, along with a few of the Mythical Creatures, and said you would not be a part of this Game, and yet you still get involved! That pathetic Human form and that silly ink Sprite of yours do nothing to deceive me!"
"Wait…you think I'm a Spirit?" Eurynome asked.
"Ink Sprite…?" Ebony mouthed, looking confused. He mouthed to Sokka, "He thinks I'm an Ink Sprite?"
Sokka made a face that said he was just as confused as he was and shrugged.
"If you truly wanted to deceive me, you should have at least changed your name. And that pathetic Human form is passable at best." The Dragon certainly seemed insulted that Eurynome was "trying" to deceive him, and that whoever he thought she was had seemingly gotten involved in the Spirits' Game.
The Dragon growled his disappointment. "…And…I suppose for my…distasteful actions the last time we met warranted your stabbing and cutting me. Combining the events from last time, along with this…I suppose I should be thankful that you were kind enough to not kill me."
The Dragon sounded almost mocking as he spoke the last sentence. Everyone on board the Sunny decided not to ask for details, as to whomever or whatever the other Eurynome was. The Dragon pulled out a few of his scales, and dispersed them among the likes of Luffy, Law, Aang, and Eurynome. The scales were cool to the touch, and they shimmered in the sunlight.
"Now, pay attention carefully," the Dragon started, "The scale can only be used once, for anything you might need at the time. Think of it as a sort of wish fulfillment. But it will only cure your problem, not your situation. And it can only be used if you really need it. Such as starvation; it will only give you food if you are in fact, truly going to starve. Or if you are trapped with no hope for escape, it will help you to do so. I must warn you though; the effects for the same wish are always going to be different, so there is no guarantee on what will happen or how. Of course, I'm sure you already knew all that, Eurynome."
The Dragon then glanced at the other members of the crew. The stories the Siren Kapri had told seemed to hold some amount of truth, judging by how the others had attacked him. It had been a painful experience to be sure. There was certainly an aura about all of them that was unlike anything he had ever sensed from Humans before. It had never occurred to him that Eurynome, of all people, had allied herself with the likes of the Avatar and his Pirating friends. Annoyed that he had lost in such a manner, he turned away and dove under the water to find his way back home. He would have to go to a Healer of some sort to help him remove the harpoon from his side.
oOo***oOo
Luffy admired his scale, holding it up so that the sun's rays caught it, and his eyes lit up in wonder. "So cool…"
Law studied the scale, wondering if he could somehow use his now. His thoughts were interrupted by Eurynome, who said, "Hey, I bet we can use this to get a decent ship!"
She held out the scale, saying, "I wish to have a ship." When nothing happened, she shook the scale. "Uh…I need to have a sea-faring vessel?"
Again, nothing happened. "What is this? …Am I doing something wrong?" She glared at the scale, as if it would give her the answer.
"Uh…I think I know what's wrong," Aang spoke up. "The Dragon said it was "need" over "want", right? So…in this case, you don't need a ship because you technically already have one."
"Perhaps it's in how you word it?" Zuko suggested helpfully.
"My brother and I need to get to Hel Skel island?"
Once again, nothing happened.
"Perhaps it's not working because there's no need for you to go…" Katara suggested. "If it was urgent and desperate, then that might be a different story. At least, that was how it sounded to me when having to use those things."
"Dammit…" Eurynome looked depressed.
Law was slightly annoyed that it seemed he could not use it now either. Obviously, the need over want rules included complicated terms and conditions. If Eury-ya and Ink-ya couldn't leave, then what chances did he have? Plus, his situation wasn't exactly urgent, if in fact that needed to be the case for the scale to even work. It was annoying at how cryptic the Spirits got in explaining things. He stuffed the scale into one of his pockets, figuring he would only use it once he got back with his crew. Eurynome eyed the scale with one last glare, before she tucked it away into the safety of a compartment in her belt. Upon giving the scale a second thought, it was likely akin to money of sorts. Perhaps she had been too hasty (and wasteful) in trying to spend it now. Perhaps it was better spent when she or Ebony truly needed it, whenever that might be. Aang wondered what he would do with the scale. He wondered if his need to return home outweighed the want. Wasn't his having to reach Ha Chi before the remaining months ran out urgent? But the Dragon had said that it fixed problems, not the situation, and it had to be a desperate problem at that, and perhaps they weren't exactly considered desperate just yet.
Now that things had calmed down, the crew continued onwards to Chomei, and hoped that nothing else would interrupt them, and Franky set to work on repairing Aang's glider.
oOo***oOo
That evening, everyone sat outside before going to bed for the night. Aang was telling them stories of the Air Nomads and Monk Gyatso, and the Pirates listened in fascination. Even Law spoke up a few times, asking about them at certain parts. After Aang finished his stories, he smiled sadly.
"Monk Gyatso was the closest thing I ever had to a parent," he explained, as he looked up at the stars. "Sometimes I miss him, especially on nights like this one."
Aang went into another story at the memory of Monk Gyatso showing him constellations and telling him the stories behind them. He didn't feel like going into how he was the only Airbender of his World, and he figured as of right now, all everyone needed to know was that Monk Gyatso was no longer among the living. As the evening wore on, their conversations waned. Luffy asked about the next island as he lay back, staring into the night sky.
"Chomei," Nami responded with a yawn, too tired to be irritated at having to repeat what Luffy should have already known and scold him for it.
"I can't wait to go play!" Luffy said excitedly, even though he was fighting back sleep. "And I bet they have delicious (yawn) meat…"
Everyone seemed to settle onto the deck for the night instead of going to their rooms. They were settling down, when a chill unlike any other disrupted the evening's calm.
"Is something burning?" Chopper asked, rubbing his eyes. Suddenly, his feral senses flared out of control, telling him to get away from there – anywhere but the ship. His eyes widened as he stared at the shadows various parts of the ship cast, he could have sworn he saw a face swimming within.
Ink trails traveled across Ebony's face as he shivered. "Please tell me I wasn't the only one to feel that…"
Everyone who had Kenbunshoku Haki quickly stood and even Aang had felt something. It was an unnerving, unnatural chill. And it terrified him. Momo and Saul screeched at the shadows that seemed to come alive, as they stretched and twisted by the light of the full moon. As quickly as whatever it was had come, it had gone again, the only hint that something had been there was a slight stench that could be compared to burning rubber and rot. While everyone had been tired and had nearly dozed off, they were now very much awake, because the way all the Haki users and the monkeys had been acting caused the others to become unnerved and alert.
"Hey, uh…maybe we should go to our rooms," Sokka suggested quickly. No one disagreed with him, and Law silently stalked into the men's area looking almost pale, his knuckles white from gripping his nodachi with a tight fist. Whoever or whatever had been outside had made even Law want to take refuge within the confines of the ship, not caring that he currently had Chopper clinging to his arm for dear life. As the night dragged on into the early hours of the morning, and not one of the Sunny's occupants was able to get a restful night's sleep.
oOo***oOo
Next Time: Just what was it that was on the Sunny? The previous night's events are forgotten as they explore the island and relax while they can. But while at Chomei, it seems that Pirates aren't the only ones who enjoy a good vacation, and with strange things happening at the resort, Chomei becomes anything other than a paradise.
oOo***oOo
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and have an awesome and safe New Year y'all.
