Control

Fox became aware of the presence of Marshall D. Teach some time before Mock Town became visible among the trees. She was deeply tempted to disregard her promise to Ace and take it as a sign that she should just kill the man and call it a day, but she knew chasing after the traitor mattered to her friend. To her, killing Teach would just be another day, though there would be a certain vindictive satisfaction in balancing Thatch's death.

But she had promised, so instead she decided to take the opportunity to unload some of her possessions from Swift Hunter to the Merry. If there was a way to reach the islands in the sky she was sure Luffy would find it, and her beloved ship could not follow her into the clouds.

She was a little hurt that no-one had thought to ask her about the Sky Islands; she had done more actual navigation on the Grand Line than any of the others yet Nami seemed to prefer to wallow in ignorance than ask her opinion. Never mind that Fox could feel the living things up there, from the microscopic creatures that dwelt in soil to human beings… and a Devil Fruit User. She got a bad vibe off that one; the kind of vibe that prompted her to do pro bono work. Like Blackbeard, some people just needed killing. Curse that promise!

Setting aside her frustration, Fox dropped into her ship and set about putting together the things she would need for a trip to a tropical island, remembering to add her gear for making Eternal Poses. A Pose for a floating island in the sky would be a real rarity.

As she sifted through her wardrobe, she paused at one particular costume. It was appropriate, sort of, and reminded her both of Ace' teasing back in Alabasta and the man who'd had it made for her. She hadn't worn it since leaving Mysteria the last time as she didn't want it to get too worn, but now… the time seemed right. Carefully folding the costume and making sure the jewellery and associated accessories wouldn't get damaged, she finished padding out the bag with more normal tropical gear, survival necessities and weapons, just in case. She then considered Zanchou, hefting his weight thoughtfully before deciding against taking him; he wasn't particularly inconspicuous.

Climbing back on deck with her bag, she patted the deck as it reverted to rough skin. "Take care of yourself while I'm gone, okay? If you get lonely try to find Ace, but don't go too far."

Hunter growled happily at her and vanished beneath the waves. Fox then went into her cabin, dropped her bag and went to sleep, responding to the Merry's gentle tug on her Devil Fruit Power so the ship could better integrate the repairs Usopp and Chopper were making. She needed a lot more sleep than usual on the Going Merry nowadays; the poor girl really wasn't very well.

The ruckus when Luffy, Nami and Zoro got back to the Merry woke Fox from her doze, though she really wasn't coherent enough to be properly angry. Instead she lurched over to have a quick look at the two men's injuries.

"Not serious," she muttered, glowing hands running gently down the side of Luffy's face and up Zoro's neck. "Wha's t'fuss 'bout?"

"These two just let themselves beaten up!" Nami screeched. Fox glared at the navigator, making her flinch.

"So? They're guys. It comes with the territory."

Nami screamed in frustration.

Fox sighed, now feeling more awake than she really cared for. "What's the real issue, if you please Nami?"

Nami sagged. "When I mentioned the Sky Island everyone in the bar just laughed. What was so funny!"

Fox snorted. "So you found a bar full of morons; so what? There are people in the Blues who don't believe in giants, mermaids, island-eaters and Devil Fruit. That doesn't make those things any less real, does it?"

Nami calmed a little. "So there really is an island up there?"

"Yes."

"Why didn't you say so earlier?!" Nami roared.

Fox sent her the kind of look generally used to reprimand badly behaving small children. "You didn't ask me. You never ask my opinion on anything, Nami-san, despite knowing I have been sailing on the Grand Line by myself for over four years. What kind of behaviour is that for a navigator?"

Nami gaped like a fish; Fox turned on her heel and returned to her cabin; Merry needed her help more than the arrogant little girl who thought she knew everything and refused to consider she could be wrong. She threw herself on her futon and closed her eyes, succumbing once more to the drain; she needed a hug. I miss Ace so much right now.

Fox awoke as the ship was blasted by a wall of sheer sound, the Merry keening in pain at the onslaught. Deeming the ship's integrity to be more important than secrecy at this point, Fox swiftly allowed her body to melt into the boards, spreading her area of direct influence to encompass the entire ship. Not even her parents knew her Devil Fruit was in fact a Logia Type rather than a Paramecia; the secret had cost her dearly in blood time after time but she had always felt it was worth it. A Logia User's true vulnerability lay in their assurance that they could not be hit; a little pain was a small price to pay to remember that she too was human. Her teacher had always insisted that true strength could only be reached through pain and hard work and the allure of untouchability was nothing more than a lie: her Kairoseki blades had proved that time and again.

Feeling the ship reform, jagged tears in the boards closing and holes healing, Fox forced herself back into physical form and fell to the floor of her cabin, breathing heavily at the abrupt shift in her senses. Shutting her powers out suddenly like that after fully embracing them felt a bit like dying.

The door crashed open. "Fox? Fox!" Familiar fingers ran over her face.

"Zoro." Her eyes opened a crack to focus on the face of the swordsman kneeling over her.

"Are you alright? That was a pretty big thing you just did."

"Just. Feel. Stretched." Fox managed. It was the abruptness of what she had done that made her queasy and shaky rather than the amount of energy spent. Of course, Zoro didn't know that.

"I'll tell dartboard-brow to make you something to eat," he said, face concerned as he lifted her off the floor and placed her on her bed. "Don't worry about the rest of the damage; Usopp will fix it."

"Okay." Fox rolled on her side and trembled, body pulled up into a ball. Allowing her power to take full reign was exhilarating, but the aftershocks were severe if she cut herself off too fast. Closing her eyes, she let the power bloom again, then smoothly contracted it inwards, reducing her sphere of perception down to the usual five miles, then in again to just one. Her teacher had been right: to do a thing well, you first had to do it slowly. Then when you could do it slowly, you did it a thousand times more to make sure you had it down and only then did you start working on speed.

Fox hadn't quite cracked speed yet, but it would come. Ironic really that she was better at using Haki than her own Devil Fruit Power. Then again, she'd been using Haki for longer.

After eating the generous meal Sanji brought to her, Fox did not wake again until two monkey-faced pirates and a man with a chestnut-shaped growth on the top of his head started working on the Merry. They were very surprised to see her, but a short explanation of her abilities soon settled the matter and the trio were delighted to have her help reinforcing the ship so it could be sailed up into the clouds. The man in charge, one Montblanc Cricket, was happy to tell her where the rest of the crew was and about the things she had missed while sleeping. Fox asked a lot of questions about the people and culture of the civilisation Montblanc Noland had met, which said explorer's descendent was happy to expound at length about.

"So what's the bird they're looking for look like?" she eventually asked.

"Purple with light green wingtips and tail with a purple and yellow beak and crest," Cricket told her. "Its' call is a bit like–"

"Choooooh!"

"– that." Cricket blinked as the bird landed on Fox' head. "How did you do that?"

"Live things like me and smart animals like me more than most," Fox shrugged, taking care not to dislodge the bird. "I think it's connected to my Devil Fruit Power." She yawned. "Mind if I retire for the night? It's been a long day."

"That's fine," Cricket assured her. "We'll have your ship ready in no time now!"

Fox went to bed after making sure the South Bird was comfortable perching on the capstan and slept like the dead.

She woke an indeterminate amount of time later to the sound of a fight and the sense that there were people who enjoyed breaking things in the vicinity. Her pupils spiralling down into points in a way that made her look disturbingly like her father, Fox grabbed a set of knives and set out to share her pain. It was too early in the morning for this shit.

Fox' first action on taking in the cowards who were trying to shake down Montblanc Cricket for his gold was to show them how out of their league they were. So, just as the pirate with the knife was about to strike the chestnut-headed man down she let loose, the full force of her irritation at being woken channelled into the Colour of the Conquering King. For a moment there was absolute, blessed silence, then with soft, choking sounds all the pirates save the blond captain collapsed into limp heaps. Not very impressive really, but she had only just woken up and her focus wasn't fantastic. Besides, the Colour of the Conquering King was her worst ability.

"Who are you?" the captain asked, a little shaky on his feet.

"Who wants to know," Fox growled.

"I am Bellamy the Hyena!"

"A scavenger. Perfect," Fox snarled sarcastically. "Run back into the hole you crawled out of, pest."

Bellamy, face a mask of fury, lunged at her. She dodged easily, moving away from the Merry so as not to damage her. Bellamy lunged again, this time with springs for legs. Fox ignored his shouted boasts, slipping aside just far enough to avoid being hit as she shoved a dagger between his ribs. It was common steel rather than Kairoseki, but it would still slow him down.

"Take your crew and piss off, dog," she told him flatly, brutally twisting the knife before yanking it out again and flaring her Haki threateningly. "Or are you going to stay so I can play some more?"

Bellamy proved himself to truly be a coward and fled, but not before grabbing a heavy-looking bag. She kicked his crew awake so they could run after him, tossing a knife idly in one hand as she watched them leave.

"There's always somebody nastier than you are on the Grand Line, Bellamy!" She shouted after him as Montblanc Cricket came up beside her. "Try to keep that in mind!"

"Who are you?" Cricket asked quietly.

Fox bared her teeth at him. "Someone who hates being woken up early in the morning."

A small change and some more background.