The Chronicler

by C-Hablerie

Reality is law. Logic is king. Reason is good. Throw all these out the window and all you are left with is the reality you make for yourself. Some call me The Chronicler, and this is the story of the story I lived. And how I came to chronicle the Legend of the Straw Hat. "I have no idea where I am.[Officially Cancelled. Rewrite: 'Imagine Dreamers', in the making...]

18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18: Waking Up To Choice! Farewell, Little Garden!

The endless plains of green spread out as far as the eye can see. The flowers are blooming. The birds are singing. It's on days like these that I just sit on top of a hill and watch the landscape. It's so vast, so spacious, so… perfect. I just want to run through it, have fun, and never stop! That's what I've wanted ever since…

Since…

… This is a dream. That dream, from way back then. Before I even knew what freedom tasted like. This was… my idealization of it. What I wanted. What I dreamed of. Just… infinite freedom.

But… I was also always alone, in this dream. There were no others, like me, or unlike me. Just some dumb imaginary birds that couldn't even be seen, only heard. It made the whole dream feel more… fake. Dull. Colorless.

I… hadn't dreamed this dream in a long time, back when I was so, so horribly naive. So…

Why am I having this dream now? And… why is it so much more vibrant than I recall? What possible cause could...

I... there is a feeling. A nagging feeling in the back of my mind. I… should notice something. Something different. I try to move my left hand to look at it as if it held the answers. Only to feel… resistance? Not painful, I think, just… resistance.

I turn my head slightly downward to give me a better look. My left eye widens. There, on my side, leaning on me… a figure made of light. So bright I can't tell anything about them, except that they are there. And so… so warm. Why… why is that light, that presence so… warm? And why does it feel so… good? Comforting.

My mind is nagging again. I should realize something. I should… remember?

…

No, I should…

Wake up.

I blink my eyes, blearily, exhaustion suddenly overcoming me. I no longer see the endless, vibrant plains. Instead, I see the endless blue of the open sky and some greenery in my periphery. And all of it starts coming back.

The enclosure, so small, cramped. The voices, so distant and uncaring. The light and noise, so maddening. And the humans, so… so vile! I'd escaped their captivity in the midst of chaos, used them underestimating me to my advantage. And then I had hunted, killed, relished. I remembered facing against humans, and a Velociraptor with blue streaks on their body. I recall a sensation of falling… and then things blur.

I don't know how, but then I'd woken up in a daze, in a… a place not where I'd been. A jungle, like my "home" island, but different. I'd conquered it, for once reveling in being free. I hunted to my heart's content… but it was all so hollow… like something was missing.

I blink at the sky, wondering how I recall all this with such… clarity. I hadn't been this clear of mind since… since my youth. Before my mind started to… crack? I believe humans would call it 'insanity'? Yes, I'd been insane. Broken…

Defective. Just like The Voice had said, so long ago. Only they'd made me like that. But now… It's all clear.

My mind is… clear.

Then I finally pay mind to how my body aches- no, hurt all over. Had I… been in a fight? That… didn't sound right. I was the best on this island. The Apex. The Prime Hunter. Nothing here could beat me, much less match me… except…

I dig at my memories with this newfound clarity. Yes, I do believe there was one who could equal me. They were resourceful, skilled, and strong, though not to my extent. They had something unique. They were… a human.

Some things started coming to me.

I had been… chasing a human. A crafty one, with many tricks. Tools. A gun… At some point, a red haze sets in, and I can't recall details. Only pain. And anger. So, so much anger. At some point, the haze just blocks all my attempts to remember. But based on how my body felt… I could only conclude that I had been beaten quite severely. The thought of being defeated by a human was… hard to swallow. I had been made to be so superior, and my experiences on this island didn't disprove that. The idea of loss was… foreign.

Still, despite all the aching and pain, I felt inexplicably… refreshed? More… free than I had, even after ending up on this island. I couldn't explain it.

"Oh, you're awake!" I jolt at a sudden voice. A human voice! I try to rise, to get into a more defensible position, but my body protests heavily. I barely manage to lift my head before I feel a… soft-touch stop me, with unexpected strength and firmness. "No, no, it's okay! You're hurt, but you're safe. Please, just take it easy and rest."

My left eye could see the… the human. Light-haired, hairless bodied as they tended to be, dressed in white cloths they liked to wear for some reason, and… leathers? Hide? Something thicker and stronger on their limbs. And they looked… a bit battered. I think it was a female…

And their hand was still on the side of my face, just a bit behind my eye. The touch was… warm.

Warm… like the light in my dream. The dream I hadn't had for… so, so long. Could there be a connection?

"Someone looks uncertain," the human says, looking at me… I… can't decipher human faces, I realize. It had… never been a priority to learn. "I bet you're kinda confused, huh?"

That was… putting it lightly. Every one of my learned instincts screamed HUMAN=THREAT=KILL! But with my new… or rather, reclaimed clarity of mind, there was space for gray areas. This human hadn't really… done anything. I'd been asleep and hadn't noticed them right away, too lost to my thoughts. They could have attacked me if that were their intention.

And their touch was warm…

"Okay, I get that," the female human nodded… smiling? Yes, at least I knew what that was, seeing as I was capable of it myself. "Anyway, I believe we've met many times before, but I realize we haven't actually been introduced. I'm Atalanta. Usually, I just call you Black Demon, but I doubt that's your actual name." The human laughed, while I quirked a brow at the name I'd apparently been labeled with. It wasn't… terrible, I think? "What is your name?"

I open my jaws to answer but halt when I remember one indisputable fact. I can understand them, but they've never been able to understand me. The thought brings back the memories of isolation. Not just of physical isolation in that cramped enclosure, but the… desire I used to hold, to connect with another living being. Before that wish was dashed against the ground and smashed into pieces, and with my rapid descent into insanity… safe to say I hadn't thought about it.

I flinched as I felt another hand take a… gentle hold on my muzzle, as the female human softly butted her head on the side of my muzzle, bringing her eye to eye with me. This human was… so very close. The blue of her eyes was so… bright. I… don't know how to respond to this…

"Hey," the human says… softly. It's… comfortable. "I won't pretend I know what you've been through, but I feel your pain. But you're better now… right?"

I recognized the question. While I eyed the human strangely, I had to wonder about that. I… did feel better, in a sense. My mind was clearer than it had ever been. It felt like I was actually thinking for the first time in… a very long time. So… yes, looking at it objectively, I did feel better. For some reason…

Why was I so clear-minded right now? What changed? It felt like I'd gotten back into touch with a side I'd long since forgotten about. Was that it? Did something force that buried side to the surface? I let out a low growl as I tried to figure this out, only to leave with so many questions.

"Yeah, pretty frustrating, right? Not knowing, I mean," the human responds to… wait…

I stare at the human with my eye, she stares back, with a smile. Has she… been responding to me? Does she…? Could…

{Do you…} I speak softly, trying to suppress that feeling deep within my being. That so foreign, yet painfully familiar feeling. {Do you understand me?}

Her eye looks at me, blinking. Then her eye widens as she draws back, waving her arms in front of her. "O-oh, I'm so sorry! Sorry if I, you know, gave the wrong impression!" As the female human speaks her words, I feel that hopeful feeling turn into a sinking feeling. Disappointment, I recognize it. "What I mean is, I can't understand your words. But I can feel your feelings."

That perks my eye back, as it had started to fall down without my awareness. The sinking feeling halted but clings to my core. I look at her, questioning.

The female human reaches out with their hand and… gently places it on my neck. I'm suddenly aware that the feeling is… strange. I tilt my head to the side to take a look at the rest of my form and… oh. That is… a lot of scarring. My left side looks… ravaged, at least partially. My left hand had lost scales, burned off, as had my chest and side. I reach to touch the left side of my face- my left shoulder hurts, but only if I move it too quickly -and I can feel similar irregularities. I had… never been this hurt by… well, anything.

"I may not hear your voice," the human says, softly stroking my scarred neck. "But I can… could feel your pain, your anger, your loneliness, and grief. When we fought, I could feel all of you, like I had never felt before. I understood you, just not in the way you seem to want. But I just knew I had to save you."

I'd fought this human? I recalled such in the past, a few bouts, here and there. No real victor was decided, just brief skirmishes where one side left after a short clash. But she wasn't the… prey I had been hunting. It was a different human. So… why did I fight this one? From my memories, the female human doesn't have the means to cause this sort of damage to me.

"Ah, right," the human speaks up and… laughs softly. "Right, I should probably help you understand what happened. Would you like that?"

I stalled. No one had ever… talked to me like this. Actually talked to me, face to face, and not through some contraption on the wall. Never had my opinion even been a factor. Never had I been talked to, so directly and personally…

Like I mattered… Like my desires mattered… Like I was more than some curiosity… Like I wasn't just some dumb animal…

"I'm sorry," the human says, the look on her face… different, the smile less vibrant. Then her arms wrap around my neck and her face rubs against my scarred one. "I didn't mean to make you sad. So please, don't cry."

Cry? I blink my eyes to clear up the mistiness I only now realized was there. I raised a claw and wiped underneath my eye, and saw wetness on it's hard, deadly surface. I was… crying? When had I last… ah, right. When I realized that the voices I'd listened to all my youth, the only beings I had ever known and had any sort of connection with, the humans… that they didn't care about me. And they never would. I do remember crying then. I'd been so devastated… So sad, and hurt…

But… this was different. The human said I was sad, but this wasn't… this wasn't like that. I wasn't crying because I hurt… it was… the opposite?

The warmth spreading through me, originating from the human… being in physical contact with me. Touching me. Just… being there. Not to hurt, or harm, or mock, or gawk. Just… giving comfort. The mistiness in my eye intensified, and I feel the tears fall harder. And the human's hand strokes my neck, being so close, and so bright…

So warm…

"…Ah. My mistake," the human… her name was… Atalanta? Atalanta whispers, so close. "You're not sad."

I allow my eyes to close, and bask in all the feelings radiating from the human, my tears free to do as they please. I shudder as if I was cold, but I'm not.

"You're happy, aren't you?" she says. I can hear her smile. Her hands hold me tighter. "I'm glad."

My left arm and hand moves, to hold onto the female human. To hold her closer. To feel more warm.

Happy… The realization only makes me cry harder. For the first time… ever since I bore conscious thought…

I don't… I don't ever want this warmth to go away…

-o~O-O~o-

Finally, concluding the legend of Atalanta, the hunting party traveled through heavy rain back to the King of Calydon, to deliver the news of their success in felling the monstrous boar, but not in high spirits. For their victory came at a high cost indeed, as many of their numbers were felled before the end. But none of those losses stung quite as much as the news they had to bring to King Oineus, nor weighed as heavily.

One of his sons had died, after all.

So there the surviving hunting band stood, before King Oineus, who sat on his throne with a deep, sullen expression on his features. Even his body sagged as the weight of this news set on his shoulders.

"… So, Meleager, my son, perished," King Oineus spoke to himself. He glanced at the gathered heroes and hunters. "Tell me, how did he meet his end?"

One man stepped up, older than most of the men present by quite a few years, stroking his graying beard. A man King Oineus recognized. "From what I, with my own two eyes could tell, his side was pierced by the tusk of the boar, as it fell on top of him. The beast also happened to fall on young Meleager's sword. Your son, without a doubt, landed the killing blow on that monster."

The King nodded. "Thank you, Asclepius, you have my gratitude for this knowledge." The older man bowed his head in appreciation. "Tell me, not as a man to a king, but as a man of medicine to a father. Could he have been spared his fate?"

Asclepius strokes his beard in thought, earnestly wishing to give the King as accurate an answer as he could. "In all honesty, I may have been capable of such a feat. Unfortunately, by the time I caught up to them the point of no return had already passed. His injury was quite fatal, and as my age has slowed me down wasn't quick enough to be of use."

King Oineus gave a grave sigh, his eyes seemingly losing some of their light. "I see. I blame you not, old friend. I hold no doubts you gave it your all." He then sat just a bit straighter, attempting to regain some of his lost spirit. "You mentioned a 'them'? Who was by my son's side in his final moments?"

"Oh, I'll tell you who it was!" A loud, angry voice yells out, causing murmurs in the crowd as the brutish form of Toxeus steps out. "It was that gods damned bitch! She's the reason this happened!"

"… Toxeus, lower your voice," The King ordered, not unkindly. "I understand your strife at losing your nephew, but, do not cause a disruption in my court. I hold you in high regard, enough to bless one of my own blood with your namesake. So please, calm yourself."

Toxeus grunted at the polite admonishment, but lowered his voice, though not losing the anger that was already there. "I told everyone, me and my brother. Nothing good would come off that girl accompanying us!"

"Quite so," Plexippus stepped next to his brother, taller and lankier than him, and much more composed, though no less biting. "Just as it is an ill-omen for a woman to board a vessel on an important voyage, we held the fear that the presence of the girl would lead to catastrophe."

"And it did!" Toxeus spat. "By Hades, that bitch probably killed him and made it look like an accident, just to steal the credit!"

"NOW HOLD RIGHT THERE!" Yet another voice boomed, silencing the irate man before he could continue. Out of the crowd stepped yet another man, tall and well-built, the epitome of a warrior. "I will not have you spout such slander, Toxeus!"

The King, having kept quiet and observing the proceedings, gave the man a nod, as he too was recognized, as a fellow king. "Greetings, Peleus," King Oineus greeted the man. "How is your family?"

"Well enough. My son, Achilles, is becoming a fine warrior already, despite his young age," Peleus answered, voice more schooled. "Oineus, listen not to this snake and his words."

"Why you…" But before Toxeus could start, the King silenced him with a raised hand, turning to his fellow king, expectant. Peleus nodded.

"I personally vouch for Atalanta's character," Peleus declared, with noticeable pride. "Never once have I come across one as strong of body and will as them. I refuse to believe they would stoop to the lows Toxeus accuses them of."

"Here, here!" Another well-built man stepped forward, wearing a metal helmet that covered his entire head. His voice was intense, and a bit on the loud side. Another king familiar to Oineus. "I, Theseus, also advocate for Atalanta! While the rest of us were licking our wounds, lost in the discord caused by that beast's might, was it not her that struck first blood, emboldening our wills?!"

Quite a few of the hunters raised their fists and gave a cheer.

"I will also stand by this young woman's merit," a younger man stepped out of the crowd, smaller than most of his peers, but no less of a warrior for it. "I, Jason, son of Aeson, only witnessed skill and strength that none of our numbers could match. It is my earnest belief that without Atalanta, this whole hunt may have ended up an unmitigated failure."

More hunters murmured in agreement to the younger man's words.

"That's not true!"

The audience hall went silent as a single voice pierced it. A most distinctly young, female voice. The crowd of hunters started parting, as Atalanta herself stepped forward. Her head was bowed low, her hair shadowing her eyes, hiding them from sight. Most of the hunters and the men speaking on her behalf regarded her with silence.

One, however, did not.

"You have some nerve show your face, you b-"

"TOXEUS!" The whole court flinched as King Oineus roared, losing his patience with the brute of a man. "You will silence yourself now until I ask for your words, or I will have your mouth sewn shut!"

The brutish man's mouth opened, but he held whatever he was about to say and closed his lips with a sneer.

The King turned his unreadable gaze to Atalanta, who had approached the center of the hall, the other men standing back to give her the floor. "You have something to say, girl? Then speak."

"… It was my fault," the young girl whispered, but her words rang loud and clear in the silent chamber. Her eyes stayed on the floor, unwilling to meet anyone's gaze. "I got too confident after I made it bleed. I r-rushed in… Mele followed. I-I was surprised he could keep up. No one had managed t-that before. Keeping pace with m-me.

"I drew my bow and leaped over the boar as it came straight at me, intent on crippling its foreleg to make it easier to pin down. My arrow h-hit true, and it stumbled t-to the ground, but it was going too f-fast to stop, so it slid across t-the ground." Atalanta's voice started to hitch the further she went on, her body trembling. Wet dots formed on the floor beneath the young girl, as she silently wept. "I-I d-didn't know… t-that M-Mele was so close behind m-me…"

King Oineus, to the hunters and heroes, remained impassive, but his gaze was sharp. Perceptive, and judging. A true king, despite his grief. He shot a look to Asclepius, silently asking for his counsel, as a pair of eyes present at that time he could trust.

Asclepius nodded. "The beast indeed had an arrow lodged in its foreleg, struck so it could not move the limb without grievously injuring itself. It would have locked the foreleg in place, and at the speeds that beast moved, it could have easily tumbled on the ground for quite a distance," the man of medicine provided, truthfully. "Furthermore, as I feel I need to voice this now, rather than never. Concerning Toxeus' wild claim, the injury your son fell to is from the naturally broken off tusk of the Calydonian Boar. While one person could potentially replicate the break to make it look natural, there quite simply was no such time before the hunting band caught up to the two."

"… I see," King Oineus said, shifting his gaze back to the young woman, quietly shedding her own tears. "You refer to my son, Meleager, as 'Mele'. Why is that?"

"…H-he was my f-friend," Atalanta said quietly. "P-people, t-they don't think I-I'm normal. So… they treat me differently. N-not just because I'm a girl." She grasped her other hand with another. "Mele treated me like anyone else. D-didn't even mention once my… my strangeness. He was… my first real friend. O-or so I-I liked to think. I'm… n-not actually sure what that is like."

"… Raise your head, Young Atalanta!"

Doing so, slowly, on the King's command, Atalanta's leaking sorrowful and guilt-ridden eyes met with King Oineus'… softened gaze?

"It's true. My fool of a son was a kind-hearted soul," The King says, reigning in his own grief, to remain strong as a King should. "I believe you, for those tears of remorse speak of your truthfulness. But hear me, young Atalanta, this is nothing more than an accident beyond your control."

Atalanta startled at the words. "B-but it's because of me that-"

"By blaming yourself for my son's death, you cheapen his sacrifice," King Oineus state, voice and eyes firm as steel. "Take heed, young one, for this is a lesson I will impart unto you. My son, Meleager, joined in this hunt, not for fame, not for glory, but because this kingdom was suffering an unjust fate due to my negligence. To him, it was his duty as my blood to fix what had come to be by my actions. And I couldn't be prouder of him, despite how I did not wish for him to endanger his life."

Atalanta listened to the King speak, resolute, unwavering even in the face of his grief. It was astonishing, showcasing the strength of King Oineus' will.

"Meleager, my son, died a hero, felling the beast razing his homeland. He did everything any soul could ask of him and did so knowing the risks involved. I like to believe that even Artemis looks at him in approval. I will grieve his loss, yes, but I will show him the respect a hero deserves," The King continues. "So, I now say this, in the stead of my fool of a hero son: Blame yourself not for his choice, for his mistake, but see it as the heroic act of sacrifice it was!"

Atalanta could only stare at the strong-willed king on his throne, her mind listening to his words. Immediately, she understood what he meant, and went to wipe away her tears. The next time she rose her head, her eyes shone with a powerful flame of determination.

"… I will learn of this," Atalanta spoke resolutely, hand over her heart in a respectful gesture. "You say the fault is not mine own, but I cannot accept that! I will never allow my recklessness to endanger another, ever again. I will not let another be hurt if I am able to give my aid to them! I vow this before you, King Oineus, in the name of Artemis herself!"

A few of the more experienced hunters and heroes, and even King Oineus himself could have sworn that as Atalanta finished the last word of her sacred vow, her voice boomed like the roar of a bear.

Then the King allowed himself to give a brief melancholic smile. "Now, is it true that you struck the first blow against the divine boar?"

"Yes," Atalanta said forthrightly. "I gored its side with my spear, at which point it fled and I gave chase at full sprint. You know what happened after."

"So I hear," King Oineus said.

"With your permission, Oineus," Peleus spoke up respectfully. "It is my belief that the hide of the divine boar should be awarded to Atalanta."

"WHAT?!" Toxeus roared in outrage.

"W-what?" Atalanta stammered in surprise.

The quickly growing murmuring of the heroes and hunters were about to erupt when the King raised his hand, and silence ensued.

"N-no! I can't!" Atalanta spoke quickly to the King. "Mele was the one who killed it. I just hurt it a little bit. The hide should be with you, his family!"

At first, the King's gaze was impassive, but then his expression melted into a warm smile. "Hahah, my son truly chose well to approach you, young Atalanta." He stood from his throne and looked down to the young huntress. "This is no mere reward, but a gift from me to you, who stayed by my son's side in his final moments. Instead of dying alone, he faced his demise with dignity, with a friend by his side. I have no doubt, that Persephone herself guided his soul to his rest in the underworld."

Then, in a turn of events that shocked everyone present, King Oineus took to his knees and bowed his head. "And for that kindness, I offer my sincerest thanks."

Atalanta, of course, protested that a King shouldn't bow to one such as her, but it mattered little.

Afterward, King Oineus stuck by his word and had the divine Calydonian Boar skinned, and gifted its hide to Atalanta. Not truly in need of such a cumbersome thing, she instead had bracers and leg-guards made out of the beasts' tempered hide, which proved unnaturally resilient and durable.

The very same ones she wears to this day, in a vast world of endless oceans, ready for her newest adventure.

-o~O-O~o-

"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO YOU?!" Nami's shriek of absolute dismayed shock makes in the vicinity of the Going Merry to cover their ears due to the piercing volume, while Abel merely tilts his head to look at the navigator impassively.

"Nice seeing you too," the man says in a dour, droll tone, lying on his front, shirtless but his entire upper body absolutely covered in gauze wrap, on a straightened folding chair, being cushioned by a carpet of pillows.

"AND WHY THE HELL ARE THEY HERE?!" Nami continues on, not losing steam and pointing aggressively at Miss Valentine and Miss Goldenweek a few feet away, leisurely drinking tea and eating crackers on a picnic blanket and just passively observing the proceedings.

"I'm gonna live, thanks for asking," Abel says, about as passive-aggressively as humanly possible.

"That lemon-headed bitch and her partner tried to kill us! Zoro, Arlong, and I were almost made into wax statues!" Nami kept going, only marginally quieter.

"Sick," Able quips, as if he'd just heard something really cool. Off to the side, Miss Valentine quietly shot an offended frown up at her hat.

"IT'S NOT!" Nami screamed at the most aggravating man she'd ever known. "Why the hell is Baroque Works here, on our ship, having tea?!"

"Oh, yeah. Thanks for reminding me," Abel glowers. "Hey, Valentine!"

"Hm?" Is all response Miss Valentine gives, sending the damn-near crippled man a flat look. He was raising a hand lightly and gesturing for her to come over, quite certainly while hiding the pain of doing so like a boss. While giving him a leery look, she glanced at Goldenweek, who just nodded without saying a word.

Sighing in resignation, Valentine got on her feet and strutted over to the man, all the while getting hostile looks from the navigator girl, the swordsman, and the admittedly terrifying-looking fishman, who she belatedly recognized as Arlong the Saw. A real big name. Instantly she was nervous but did her damnedest to not let it show.

When beside the man, he gestured her to kneel down a bit. Giving him an odd look, she just figures he wants to not look up at her constantly, so she does so.

The man, with shocking swiftness and deftness of hand, yanks her hat off her head and in one quick motion throws it overboard.

"Wha- HEY!" Miss Valentine yells out, too late to reach and stop it from falling over the ship's railing.

"Trust me, lady, I'm doing you a favor," the man grunts- obviously forcing down the pain from such action -as if this was the most serious thing in the world.

"You asshole, that was my only hat!" Valentine screams in his face and so wishes to throttle him, but she has enough presence of mind to realize she is surrounded by his crew, who'd likely not take kindly to that.

"Amen for that!" The man just says. "That thing was a fashion disaster. I'm just mad I couldn't burn it and enjoy it. You can do so much better…" He quiets down, as Miss Valentine realizes his eyes are trailing the rest of her.

"H-hey!" She jumps back and instinctively covers herself. "Don't just ogle me like that!"

"You wish," Abel snarks. "Still, you actually look pretty good without that eyesore."

Miss Valentine blinked at the… sudden and sincere compliment of her looks. "O-oh…"

"Not that the skit isn't funny," Zoro speaks up. "But what the hell did you do?"

"You know, I really love how you assume this is my fault," Abel deadpans back.

"It was," Goldenweek confirms.

"YOU SHUT YOUR LIAR MOUTH!" Abel screams at the young girl, before wincing trying to twist to look at Goldenweek and going back to resting ramrod-straight, grumbling incomprehensibly.

"Just," Nami, finally taking a breath to calm and collect herself, asks, "what happened? You just ran off on your own and then come back with… all this!" The navigator gestures at Abel's injured, unmoving form, and the two Baroque Works Agents.

"Ran into a dinosaur," Abel says. "Mean fucker. Got me real good."

"… And?" Nami insists.

"Goddamnit, isn't that good enough?" Abel snarls.

"He happened upon our base of operations," Miss Goldenweek cuts in to clarify in a straight-forward manner. "Things happened, the dinosaur got involved, then he blew himself up to get it off our backs."

"YOU WHAT?!" Almost every member of the crew, sans Zoro and Arlong, yelled out. Except for Sanji who wasn't back still… for some reason.

"Not on purpose!" Abel staunchly defended himself. "That was only because Usopp's grenade design fucked me over!"

"Wait, you used the prototype?!" the sniper screams as Abel levels a chilly glare his way.

"Hell to the yes! By the by, way stronger than I anticipated. And that was a downgraded version for, you know, safety!" Abel exclaimed angrily. "Your trigger system set it off way too close and I got caught in it, got my back burned to a crisp, and was sent flying spine first into a tree, AFTER having been cut into by big ass dino claws!"

Usopp swiftly prostrated himself in front of Abel's resting place. "I'm so sorry, Banchou!"

"You better be," Abel grumbles murderously, then in an instant his expression schools itself. "Still three out of four is an acceptable success rate."

"Forget about that!" Luffy exclaims, suddenly right next to the downed man. "Hey, Abel, did you beat the dinosaur up? How big was it? Do you think it would taste good?"

As the simple captain kept spewing questions, Abel shot Vivi an 'I'm not dealing with this shit today'-look. The princess cleared her throat loudly, to try to gain the crew's attention.

"I could fill you in on… certain things Abel is unable to recall," she said.

"You were involved in this, Vivi?" Nami asked with a frown. "I thought you went off with Luffy?"

"Well, err…" How to put this without throwing Luffy to the Sea Kings?

"Oh, yeah," Luffy wonders, breaking out of his question spree, turning his head to the princess. "Hey, Vivi, where did you run off to?"

… Screw it, he can take it. "I was… separated from Luffy after he just disappeared from my sight in all the five seconds I looked away." Vivi states, making her displeasure at the fact.

"HE DID WHAT?!" A voice screams out in fury as Luffy finds himself with a face full of leg. "YOU DARE ABANDON VIVI-CHAN ALONE IN A PLACE LIKE THIS, YOU RUBBER BASTARD?!"

"Hey, Sanji," Abel idly greets the cook, openly amused as Luffy tried to mumble an answer through Sanji's foot embedded into his face. Gruesome, yet comical!

"What took you so long?" Zoro questioned. "Did you get lost?"

"Zoro, you literally tried to walk deeper into the jungle as we were heading back," Nami quipped dryly.

"You gave misleading directions."

"She literally told you to just follow us, Roronoa," Arlong added in.

"Well you were going the wrong way," Zoro insisted steadfastly.

"Yes, because you are so much better at navigating than me," Nami, the navigator, remarked sarcastically, trying to ignore how strange it felt to verbally team up with Arlong of all people.

"Can we just agree none of us knew the way?" Usopp suggested nervously.

"No." All three replied simultaneously.

"PEOPLE!" Abel snapped, gaining everyone's attention. "Focus! I thought we were talking about me and my amazing feats and sacrifices!"

"How very modest of you," Arlong's grumbled, oozing sarcasm and insincerity.

"Fuck you," is Abel's classy retort. "Vivi, if you would? I'd also love to hear how you found my nearly dead ass. My memory gets hazy around that time."

"Right, So," Vivi starts after making sure she had everyone's attention(Sanji removed his foot from Luffy's mug), even Miss Goldenweek and Valentine's. "After Luffy… parted ways with me, I was kind of attacked by a massive pack of raptors."

"Are you okay, Vivi-chan?" Sanji asked, genuinely concerned. Maybe a little over-zealous, but well-meaning.

"I and Carue held them off and beat them," Vivi stated, with no small amount of pride. Speaking off, she whistled and called Carue over to her side, who had hidden in the cabin as soon as Miss Valentine had appeared, and hadn't left since. A scaredy-cat he may be, but Vivi loved her coward. "Afterwards a bigger dinosaur charged in that we couldn't take on, but we were saved by someone."

"They took down one of those big lizards?" Zoro questioned to the air, with a smirk. "They sound tough."

"Yeah, shot an arrow right in the eye and stamped it in with a shield," Vivi said, maybe gushing a bit. It had been really impressive. "That's when Carue and I ran into Atalanta, who was initially tracking Abel but ended up finding us instead. She informed us that Abel could be in danger from this dangerous dinosaur called the Black Demon, so we went to look for him."

"Fitting name," Abel says with a slight nod of the head. Then his eyes widened. "Wait, what was that other name?"

"Huh?" Vivi blinked. "oh, she said her name was Atalanta. She's a huntress who's lived on this island for a while. Seemed to know her stuff, and she was really, really skilled."

"… No, no, don't be dumb, man." Abel speaks, mostly to himself. "The name just sounds the same. No way it's that person. That's just impossible."

"You know her?" Vivi asks, curious. Atalanta hadn't made any indication she knew who Abel was.

"I know of AN Atalanta," Abel clarifies. "But there is no fucking way in hell-"

"Does 'Artemis' ring a bell to you?" Goldenweek cuts in, making Abel's face pale(not that you could tell), immediately going blank.

"Oh yeah, she did keep saying that," Vivi realized, thumbing her chin in thought. "Like it was a prayer of some sort."

"… Oh my god, you met THE Atalanta," Abel mumbles, looking as if his world just shattered from underneath him.

"Who is she?" Nami asks before Vivi could.

"A legend from a civilization that no longer really exists," Abel drones, seemingly processing something world-altering. "A huntress without peer, blessed by Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt and the Wilds. Also pretty much the only female hero amidst an absolute sausage fest of a mythos."

He gave Vivi a wide-eyed look. It was… mildly unnerving, how his right eye twitched.

"You have met Atalanta the Huntress, a LITERAL living legend from COUPLE THOUSAND YEARS AGO IN A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT WORLD!"

"… What?" Vivi asks, trying to process whatever the hell the suddenly irate man was spouting.

"Oh, right. Abel's from a different world. I keep forgetting about that."

"…WHAT?!" Vivi would not have been so visibly and vocally incredulous if it was anyone else, but out of someone as sensible as NAMI suggesting something so… absurd was… a shock to the system.

"It's true," Zoro simply said.

"Abel's an alien!" Luffy exclaimed in his usual excitable manner.

"For the last time, no I'm fucking not!" Abel snapped at the Straw Hat. "I'm just a dimensionally displaced human being! I just ended up here, like, two-three months back?"

"Wow, that sounds like what happened with me!"

"Thank you!" Abel deflated from relief, relaxing as much as Abel was able to. "Finally! Someone who gets it- WAIT, WHO THE HELL-?!"

At the same time, everyone realized that a new person was standing on the railing of the Merry, balancing in a cat-like crouch. A blonde-haired, blue-eyed woman, all smiles at the alarmed looks sent her way. Zoro and Arlong were automatically on guard due to someone getting so close without their notice, Usopp had ducked behind the folding chair Abel was on in fright, Sanji looked absolutely smitten with the wild woman, while Nami and Abel just looked on passively in shared suffering at a bunch of over-reactors. At least Vivi and Goldenweek recognized her immediately.

"Atalanta!" Vivi yelled out, relief worming its way into her voice. "Thank the gods, you're okay!"

"Duh. Why wouldn't I be?" The Greek woman asked quizzically, tilting her head obliviously.

"Last time we saw you, you were about to fight that… that monster of a dinosaur!" Vivi exclaimed. "I was so worried about your safety…"

"Oh, I took care of that," Atalanta stated simply. "I'm pretty tough."

"Your legs are all bloody!" Vivi noticed sizable puncture wounds in her lower body area in general. The blood seemed to have dried somewhat, and the bleeding had mostly stopped, but it was still ghastly to look at.

"Yeah, I got bit. It's fine." She said dismissively, looking the whole crew over. "Huh, you all made it back? Awesome! None of you died!" She spied the unfamiliar Miss Valentine with Goldenweek, staring at her with something resembling awe. "Wow, and you made new friends? You're really good at this not dying thing!"

"Hi!" A certain Straw Hat hops on the railing, balancing on it in a crouch, much like the woman. "I'm Monkey D. Luffy! You're the one who helped Abel, right?"

"The injured one there? Yup!" Atalanta replied with a wide smile, pumping her fist. "Got really close there for a second, but I placed faith in my abilities, and found them in time!"

"Thanks a lot!" Luffy said with a smile as big, if not bigger. "You sound really strong, Amalamda!"

"Atalanta," the youthful woman casually corrected. "And yeah, I've been blessed with great abilities by the will of Artemis. There's no way I'd fail if I try my all!"

"Wow, that sounds cool!" Luffy exclaimed, before pulling his elastic cheeks wide apart, doing what he usually did to demonstrate his Devil Fruit powers. "I can do neat things too!"

"WHAAAAAAT?!" Atalanta reels back in shock and awe. "You… you've been blessed with spectacular abilities too?! That's amazing!"

"Shishishi, I know right!" Luffy laughed, letting his cheeks snap back in place. "I'm a Rubber Human!"

"What's rubber?" Atalanta asks, tilting her head. "I've never heard of it."

"It's this stretchy stuff at snaps back when you pull it and let it go," Luffy explained, pulling his finger and then letting it go to demonstrate.

"That is absolutely fantastic!" Atalanta exclaimed with stars in her eyes.

Most of the crew, and Arlong, but most specifically Nami and Abel could only stare at the Huntress and the Straw Hat's interaction with a growing, horrifying sinking feeling. Two people, smiling like idiots, perched on the ship's railing like a monkey and cat respectively while showcasing a cheerful, excitable nature. And so a singular thought crossed most of their minds.

'Oh god, there's two of them.'

"Okay, I've decided!" Luffy exclaimed. "Hey, Atalanta, join my crew!"

"LUFFY, NO!" The suddenly irate Abel yells out, forcing his body to rise from his horizontal positioning despite the obvious discomfort it caused him. "You can't ask every single person you meet to join your crew!"

"Why not?" Luffy pouts, which only serves to rile Abel up further.

"WHY NOT?! YOU LITTLE-YAAAAAGH!" Mid yell Abel topples to off his makeshift bed, his back arching sharply in the landing, causing him to yell out from the pain radiating from the entirety of his back. Vivi and Nami immediately rushed to help him.

Meanwhile, Atalanta wasn't even paying attention to the man screaming his lungs out on the deck. "You… want me to sail with you?" She asked the Straw Hat, brow quirked in question.

"Yeah!" Luffy affirmed. "You sound really tough, and you saved Abel, so it's perfect!"

Atalanta let her eyes wander over everyone in sight, perching her chin on her fist in consideration. "… It has been a long time since I last sailed the seas…"

"You've sailed before?" Luffy asked, curious.

"Oh, yes! Aboard a ship called the Argo," Atalanta explained enthusiastically, her mind going back to those days. "I was part of a crew that followed the captain, Jason, aboard the Argo, a ship designed by the famed shipwright Argus, to traverse the dangerous and vast waters around Greece. I traveled with them, for a time. It was quite an exciting time in my life."

"Sounds like you have a lot of cool stories," Luffy chuckled. "So, how about it? Wanna sail with us?"

Atalanta gave the ship a look-over, then at the people doing their own thing. Vivi and Nami were practically holding a grumpy Abel down and giving him a lecture on not pushing himself. Zoro and Arlong had gone to separate, opposite sides of the Going Merry, both keeping an eye out for anything from their respective viewpoints. Sanji was fawning over Miss Valentine, who was already taking advantage of the attention and ordering some sweets for her and Goldenweek's picnic. She also spied Carue and Usopp hanging out together, probably hiding while keeping an eye out for all the suspicious/new people.

It was quite lively, all things considered. Very… nostalgic.

Then she turned to the captain of the vessel, straw hat on his head and a happy smile on his face. Examining her just as she examined him.

"Well, to be honest, that does sound nice," Atalanta admitted, wistfully. "Those were some of the best months of my life, and I'd love to experience that wonder again. Actually, I was waiting on this island for someone to come up to ask just for that… initially."

Luffy's smile dipped, his expression turning a bit more serious. "Something wrong?"

Atalanta gave him a sad smile. "Just today, something… happened. I made a connection to someone, a connection that means a lot to them. If I were to leave…" She'd be abandoning them. Leaving them to their grief and pain, alone.

"So bring them along."

"Huh?" Atalanta shoots the Straw Hat a surprised look.

"This person means a lot to you, right?" Luffy asks, looking Atalanta dead in the eye. "So if you want to go, then take them along, so you won't leave them behind."

"Wo…" Atalanta hesitated. That… seemed too good to be true. "Would that really be okay?"

"Of course!" Luffy exclaimed, eyes severe. "You don't leave people you care about behind!"

Atalanta could only stare. This young man… his disposition was completely different from the cheerful, odd boy from before… and that made her smile. He reminded her of herself at that age, after all. "Thank you, truly… although," the huntress feels her smile strain a bit, "what you are suggesting might be… a bit much to ask."

"Hm? Why?"

"Hey, Luffy?" Usopp approaches the two, seeming to have calmed himself of his leftover nerves, but wearing a frown. "I just had a thought- AAAH! W-w-w-what is that?!" He immediately ducked behind the two, pointing out at the jungle.

Catching everyone's attention, every person on deck turned to gaze into the foliage(sans Abel, who couldn't see from his vantage point and wasn't happy about it) and very quickly spotted what Usopp was so frightened by. A sight that in particular made Miss Goldenweek drop her cup of tea from her shaking hands.

Vivi herself trembled as she, along with everyone else, stared amidst the trees and foliage, clearly trying to hide, but not making that much of an attempt at it, was the demonic dinosaur, the so-called Black Demon, a single one of its red eyes glaring in their direction not even fifteen feet from the Merry. Everyone was immediately on guard, Zoro, and Arlong, in particular, drawing their respective weapons, ready to fight.

Vivi turned to the huntress to ask the burning question. "A-Atalanta-" Only the woman was no longer where she once was. Instead, she was suddenly on the shore, within reaching distance from the partially hidden dinosaur.

"Hey, I was wondering if you'd show up!" The huntress spoke to the hulking beast fearlessly. "Come on, you don't have to hide. Come say hi!"

"Okay, what's happening now?" Abel asks, only to go ignored.

"Atalanta, what are you doing?!" Vivi shouts out, desperate for some answers. "Why are you being so casual with… with that thing?"

"Don't call them a thing!" Atalanta snaps back with a burning look in her eyes. "And that's not going to happen! They're just here to see you!"

"Seriously, what the fuck is happening?!" Abel yells out, louder this time. "Someone, explain to the invalid that can't see!"

"It's h-here," Miss Goldenweek answered instead, voice a bit weak and shaky. "T-the black-scaled dinosaur."

"… Fuck me," Abel cursed.

Meanwhile, while shocked by Atalanta's sudden burst of hostility, Vivi also noticed something else that seemed unusual. Behind the woman, in the foliage, the black dinosaur had retreated, showing less of itself, practically hiding behind a thick tree trunk, its crimson eye barely peeking out. The eye wasn't looking at them, being slightly downcast. Vivi frowned. To her, the beasts minimal body language seemed almost… bashful.

On a hunch, Vivi took a running start and leaped onto the shore, not too far from Atalanta.

"Vivi!" "Vivi-chan!" Both Nami and Sanji called out after her, whom Vivi silenced with a stern look, before turning to face the large form hiding in the jungle. On the inside, she was beyond terrified, of the possibility her gut feeling was wrong. But she wouldn't know without taking a risk.

As she had done when leaving her home to infiltrate Baroque Works.

Atalanta shot her a smile, and moved out of the way and stepped behind her, leaving it to Vivi what to do next. Taking a deep breath, nerves and expression schooled, she took one step forward. Then another. And a third. Until she was a mere five feet distance away from where the large beast hid, it's crimson eye following her every move. And on that spot, she just stopped, maintaining eye contact with the dinosaur.

The black-scaled dinosaur regarded her, Vivi could see the suspicion in its eye. But also hesitation. Forcing herself to relax, she put a small smile on her face. The crimson eye of the dinosaur regarded her a moment before its eye moved to something behind her. Atalanta, probably.

After a few more tense seconds, the eye returned to her, and the beast moved, slowly and deliberately, out of the foliage. At first, it moved low to the ground, on all fours, giving a true insight into the predator that it was, its steps nearly silent despite its size and weight. But then as it took a step in her direction, it's upper body rose to stand on it's hind-legs, and Vivi truly came to realize just how big this thing was. If it was on all fours, it was only somewhat taller than your average person.

On two feet, it towered almost twice Vivi's height. It was asserting dominance, making itself larger to dissuade action against it. It also made her realize its physique wasn't made for either bipedal or quadrupedal movement, but to be able to function with both or either. That was… highly unusual.

And then she saw its left side. All those scars… Vivi could only cover her mouth at the extent of them. Nearly a third of the scales on the dinosaurs left side had been burned off, revealing sickly ashen muscle tissue. That was… that coloration was not normal.

Abel had done this? With the same explosive that had scorched his back so badly? Only the dinosaur had gotten it far, far worse… how was it even still alive?

Almost without thinking she took a step closer, and to her surprise and shock the dinosaur actually backed away from her. Realizing her movement had been quicker than she'd intended, her next step was with deliberate slowness. The dinosaur actually eyed her nervously. Vivi found the notion baffling, having seen this terrifying creature on a rage driven rampage.

Now it seemed about as threatening as a kitten. A… really, really huge kitten with long, sharp claws- oh wow, those looked deadly! And Abel survived those by the skin of his teeth?! The man truly had the devil's luck.

Vivi, coughed, both to compose herself and to make sure attention was on her. "Hello." She said lamely, with a timid wave. And now she felt stupid. She was talking to a dinosaur! How had her life come to this?

Then the black dino blinked its red eyes at her and lowered its head so they were eye-level with one another. And really, really close. Its muzzle was close enough that Vivi could feel its exhales, and picture it just biting her head off, just like that. The atmosphere was obviously tense, as she could feel a lot of eyes on the back of her head. Her palms were starting to get sweaty.

Still, slowly, making sure the strange dinosaur saw her motions clearly, she raised her hand. Its eye followed her hand all the way, but it didn't make sudden moves, even when she placed her hand softly on its muzzle, on a scarred portion of it. At which point the dinosaur surprised everyone when, after a few seconds of Vivi simply touching it lightly, it started to honest to god purr, while visibly smiling and wagging its tail slowly.

Immediately Vivi felt her nerves vanish into thin air, alongside with her heart-melting because gosh darn that was the just the most adorable thing! Unable to suppress her internal squeeing, it escaped her in a low whine, moving from just touching it to petting it with one hand and scratching the underside of its lower jaw. "Oh, you're just the nicest dino, aren't you! Yes, you are, yes you are!"

As the so-called Black Demon continued to be treated like an over-sized, scaly dog, everyone was coming to grips with the utter absurdity happening right in front of their eyes. Only Atalanta, and maybe not so surprisingly Luffy smiled at the display.

"Soooo," the huntress drawled out the word, turning back to the Straw Hat with a shrug. "That's the friend."

Luffy nodded in understanding, which was somewhat undermined by his massive grin and the literal stars in his eyes. "So cool!"

"I just wanna leave this place," Abel groaned from his makeshift bed at all this tomfoolery going on. "The sooner I get to leave this Isla Sorna wannabe behind, then…" He halts as a glint of recollection flashes in his eyes.

"Abel, no!" Nami shouts as she tries to stop the man from forcing himself into a sitting position. "Lie back down this instant!"

"Last time I checked I'm the adult here, and you're not my mother," Abel groaned, forcing himself to keep a straight face. "If it bothers you that much, then just help keep me steady and off the floor." He then forced the ultimatum by pushing himself to stand, and he'd likely fallen right back down to the deck if Nami hadn't caved and moved to help him stand under his shoulder. "There we go. Nice and steady."

The man walked, with assistance, to the ship's railing, joining the others who were ogling at Vivi being friendly with a really menacing looking dinosaur. Abel took a breath and seemed to gather himself. "Hey!"

The elated dinosaur instantly stopped its purring, stepping back from Vivi and her warmth to shoot what seemed to be a bewildered look of surprise at the man it clearly recognized.

"Yeah, you! I'm gonna just assume you're about as smart as I think you are," Abel pointed at it with the arm that wasn't supported by Nami, who eyed him strangely. "Took it a while to click, but you're the Indoraptor, aren't you?"

The Indoraptor blinked, shocked to hear the name spoken after so many years. It nodded and made vocalizations that none of the humans could understand.

"So I was right," Abel says out loud, to himself. "Two more beings, huh?"

"Abel… what are you talking about?" Nami asks.

"Simple. Her," he points at Atalanta, "that," he shifts to the Indoraptor, before pointing a thumb at himself, "and I. We're all the same."

The dinosaur and huntress shared looks, then both look to the man who can barely stand. "What do you mean, injured one?" Atalanta asks.

"Name's Abel, but that's not the point. You've been trapped on this island for a while, right? Just appeared, one day, and you don't quite know how?" He asks, to which Atalanta nods. "Then you might not know. We three, we are not in our respective worlds anymore, but were brought into this one." He points at Atalanta. "We ain't in Greece, on earth anymore," then at the Indoraptor, who was frowning, "nor in Isla Sorna, if you recognize the name.

Atalanta frowned, trying to wrap her head around this information in a way she'd understand. "… You mean we have been spirited away to a far-off realm? Away from our respective homelands?"

"… Sure, if that's how you want to word it," he replies. "But also inaccurate. See, where I'm from, the tale of Atalanta the Huntress is a myth from Ancient Greece, dating back about a couble millennia. But just that, a story from a time long gone."

"… Three hundred years," Atalanta whispers, wide-eyed in awe. "You're… from the future?"

"Yes," Adel says. "Also, not the point. See, while you are a myth, a legend, this one," he gestures at the Indoraptor, "is a whole another matter. Different story, but much more recent. Basically, we three, we were not sent here from our world. But instead, we are each from three separate worlds with shared commonalities."

"… Abel, you realize you sound insane, right?" Nami remarked, having been pretty quiet as Abel had gone on about his theories.

"Oh, I am aggravatingly aware," Abel snarled disdainfully. "But it makes sense given evidence and context, so my feelings about the weird, fucked-up metaphysics happening here don't mean shit."

"… Your crew is so freaking weird," Miss Valentine voices her opinion, not that anyone pays attention, or are able to rebuff the claim. Goldenweek, meanwhile, was listening intently while nibbling on a cracker, having calmed down by now.

"Look, anyway, I can give brief introductions, because I've just resigned to the fact that Luffy is going to do something colossally dumb and none of us have actual means of stopping his reign of moronic terror," Abel rambles on, sounding more and more done with everything. Or maybe that was because of the pain. "Anyway, you two, because I highly suspect mega-raptor there can understand speech just fine, listen up! I am not repeating myself!

"There's the captain, Monkey D. Luffy." The captain waved with a wide grin. "The rest are Roronoa Zoro, muscle head who like fighting, swords, and fighting with swords. Usopp's hiding behind the lot of us, he's kind of a pushover." No retort to contrary "The one with hearts in his eyes more often than not is Sanji, his weakness is girls. The fish-person is Arlong, he's a grouch. That's Vivi and her duck, you know them, kinda." I finally point at the two Baroque Works agents. "Don't quite know why those two are still around- we're kinda enemies -but that's Miss Goldenweek and Miss Valentine."

"And I am the ever-fabulous Cain Abel, the prettiest girly man this side of the Grand Line!" Abel said, ever the pillar of humility. Then he lightly ruffled Nami's hair while pressing their cheeks against one another, much to her annoyance. "And this is Nami. We kind of keep everyone alive and on track. Moving on,

"Introducing Atalanta, a hero from a land called Greece and pretty much the only female in the whole misogynistic lot. Legendary huntress, famed for being the first to make the fearsome and literally divine Calydonian Boar bleed on a grand hunt. Is badass enough to be acknowledged by Artemis, a literal Goddess of Hunters. Also, she was raised by bears."

The huntress waved with a pleasantly surprised smile. "Wow, you know a lot about me!"

"Second, the genetically engineered super-dinosaur, the Indoraptor!" Unseen by anyone else, Sanji's brow twitched minutely as his visible eye widened a tad. "Made and created from the genetic material of a Velociraptor and another artificial freak of nature, the Indominus Rex, by a morally bankrupt mad scientist to be used as a living weapon. Stronger, faster, and infinitely smarter than any being before it, but most likely mentally unstable from the experiments done to it to the point of insanity. I should know, I had to pull out my A-game to get away from this one's rampage. Seems to have suddenly gotten a lot better, so what the fuck do I know!"

The Indoraptor blinked at the long string of words, before slowly nodding in affirmation of the words spoken. It looked over at Atalanta and mimicked the waving motion she'd made. Which looked really awkward coming from a large dinosaur with deadly claws in its hand. Even the Indoraptor seemed aware that it looked weird, and immediately dropped the gesture after a second.

"Okay. Now!" Abel guided Nami to turn him to face Luffy, still smiling like a man who had just heard a lot of awesome stuff. Abel was not. "Please, Luffy, for once in your life, please tell me you're not actually planning on bringing a dinosaur on board!"

Luffy only grinned wider, a glint in his eye.

"Fuck it, I tried! You all saw!" Abel throws his arms in surrender, finally allowing Nami to drag him back to his resting place, where he proceeded to sulk in silence.

Atalanta watched the display with wide eyes. Processing… "Wait, so…"

"Good grief," Zoro grumbles, realizing this is now happening.

"I-I just remembered that I have a, uh, thing to do… inside!" Usopp stutters and leaves in a hurry.

"It'd be rude to disregard the wishes of a fair maiden," Sanji waxed poetic in the usual cool way he sometimes did when women were concerned. Still, he covertly eyed the so-called Indoraptor with a hard to place look.

"I swear, Luffy just keeps getting crazier," Nami sighed from beside the sulking man-child. "But, if Abel vouches for you two, I guess it'll be fine."

"Reluctantly," Abel breaks his silence to clarify. "But yes."

"Hmph." Arlong just made a non-verbal noise, having sat down to relax a while ago.

Atalanta couldn't help but smile with all her heart and hop excitedly in place at the confirmation. The Indoraptor, meanwhile… was still processing what this all meant. All of this was… very new to it, and it was mostly trying to follow Atalanta's lead.

This day, Atalanta the Huntress of Greece, and the Ultimate Dinosaur Indoraptor, two Outsiders to this world, joined the Straw Hat Pirates…

And the order of the world started to quiver, ever so slightly.

-o~O-O~o-

Atalanta, of her own volition and suggestion, accepted the position as the Outlook of the Straw Hat Pirates, due to her incredibly keen senses of sight and hearing. It fir her like a glove. Apparently, her weapons broke in her fight, so her only property was the immaculate bone shield she had crafted of a skull-plate of a 'Metallosaur', a dinosaur species endemic to Little Garden that had exceptionally thick and hard bone-plating on their skulls.

Usopp meanwhile, still skittish around a large creature with dangerous claws and teeth, after learning of her skills with archery and spears offered to make her new weapons. The huntress was quite… enthusiastic in her gratitude, burying Usopp's face into her chest while giving him a crushing bear-hug.

As for the Indoraptor… that was a bit tougher. Zoro suggested just keeping it as a team pet, but the beast made its umbrage at the demeaning title known by grabbing him by his feet and flinging him overboard with its surprisingly strong arms and then laughing about it. Or, well, trying to, with its non-human vocal cords. Everyone had a good laugh at that, helping alleviate tensions, while the Indoraptor made its intelligence and language comprehension skills quite clear.

It was Abel that actually suggested making the super dinosaur their designed Ship Guard. One could almost read the signs of the Indoraptor processing that, imagining the Going Merry as its territory that it would protect from anything that dared try to mess with it. Luffy was all for it, and eventually, even the Indoraptor nodded in agreement, letting out a bellowing roar to claim the ship as its own turf.

Everyone was eager to leave the island after all the drama and action, but they hit a bit of a snag. See, for Log-poses to work and send us on our merry way, they need to acclimate to the island's magnetic field. Usually wastes a few days to a week, but a necessary evil. But Nami informed the crew of a very distressing fact.

Little Garden didn't take a week to acclimate. It took a whole year. Which was bullshit and unacceptable.

Then Sanji came in with an absolutely miraculous save.

"Where did you get this?" Nami questions, looking the new Eternal Pose, a Grand Line compass that points to a specific island. On it was inscribed 'Alabasta', and wasn't that just the biggest deus ex machina.

Not that anyone was going to complain.

"Oh, I beat up that vulture and the otter for it," Sanji said proudly as if what he just uttered wasn't weird.

"What." Abel spoke, baffled and needing context, ASAP.

"You beat up the Unluckies?!" Miss Valentine exclaims in bear-faced shock. "How the- why were they even here?!"

"Oh, that." Sanji takes out a cigarette and lights it casually. "I found your hideout, sort of like Abel, and answered Transponder Snail for that wax-bastard. Then I lied my ass off to your boss, those two arrived with the Eternal Pose, and I beat them up and took it."

Miss Valentine went white as a sheet, her eye shrinking as what the cook said set in and the repercussions therein. "You… beat Mr.13 and Miss Friday… sent by Mr.0…"

That could only mean one of two things. Either they were called back to Alabasta… or Mr.0 assumes they'd betrayed them. The Unluckies were both messengers as well as executioners, so either was possible. And that thought, on top of everything else going on in her life up to this point, was terrifying for Miss Valentine.

"You lied to Crocodile's face?!" Vivi exclaims in shock at the cook's brazen actions.

"Mr.0 is who?!" Miss Valentine screamed in terror. "Crocodile? As in Sir Crocodile, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea?!"

"You didn't know?" Zoro asked, clearly not really caring but still putting the question out there.

"NO!" Valentine exclaimed, jolting to her feet. "A-are you trying to lie to me? To fool me?!"

"Why the hell would we?" Zoro shot back with a severe, but still uncaring look.

"Hah!" Abel let out a short laugh. "He's named like a handbag. Heh, get it? Crocodile skin!"

Miss Valentine, meanwhile, was not having fun at all. She had gone deathly pale and was visibly distraught. "… Mr.0 is Sir fucking Crocodile…"

"… Hey, are you alright?" Sanji asked, unable to bear watching a woman in that sort of condition. Enemy or not.

"… We're dead," Miss Valentine whispered, grasping at her hair since her hat was gone. "We are so, fucking dead…"

Her mind was a maelstrom of so many things… but at least this made her next choice easy.

She swiftly walked over and grasped onto the cook's lapels, staring him down with a panicked look. "Please take me with you!"

"…Huh?" Sanji asked, blinking in wide-eyed surprise.

"I-if what you say is true, the-then my life is forfeit!" Valentine… Mikita spoke harshly, slightly manic. "I already failed Mr.0 once. This fucking island was supposed to be my last saving grace, and now that's fucked too! And if Mr.0 really is Sir fucking Crocodile, then my life is double-forfeit! So…" Mikita gulped as her throat started to go dry from the tension in her. "Y-you lot seem tough, beating Mr.3 and all, so please take me with you!"

"I'd like to request passage as well," Miss Goldenweek speaks out, far more composed, though frowning in concern. "What Miss Valentine says is accurate. Merely knowing our bosses identity now threatens our lives. I doubt we'd live long with that knowledge."

"… Wow, this guy sounds like a massive prick," Abel says, almost impressed. "Hey, for the dumb outsider, the hell is are the Warlord of the Sea?"

"Basically, extremely strong and notorious pirates that are employed by the Marines in return for amnesty for their crimes," Miss Goldenweek explained. "Sir Crocodile is one of them, and what he is doing with Baroque Works is in grave violation for the terms and conditions required to maintain his positions. Therefore, if anyone were to learn his identity, he could not afford that knowledge getting out, or his position would be at risk."

"Privateers, basically," Abel concludes. "Wonderful. How much oversight is involved?"

"Almost nil," Goldenweek supplies. "The Warlords are mostly allowed to do whatever with no direct supervision."

"… Great, the Marines are fucking lazy idiots," Abel growls cynically, before regarding the young girl. "You know, you're pretty knowledgeable, Goldenweek."

"Call me Marianne," the young girl said taking a sip of her tea. "I might not like doing work, but I do like to read while not doing work. Mr.3 was too full of himself, so it fell to me to be informed about things. He just didn't apply my knowledge."

"… I knew I liked you for a reason," Abel said with a crooked smile. "How about it, Luffy? You fine with two more tag-alongs? I know those are piling up."

"Huh? Yeah, sure," the Straw Hat answers, digging into his nose with his pinky.

"THAT EASILY?!" Miss Valentine exclaims, unused to the captain's nonchalant way of doing things. "You realize we were enemies, right?"

"Well, you didn't really do anything," Luffy remarks with a shocking grasp of logic, for once. "And you're no longer with the bad guys, right? So it's no problem."

"… Broken clocks, twice a day," Abel sighs out. "Well, you heard the Captain! Welcome aboard! Just don't make yourselves too comfy, we're already starting to become starved for space, what with the BIG ASS DINOSAUR!"

The Indoraptor opened one of its eyes to briefly glare at the injured man for being so loud. It had still remained onshore, giving all the humans some space to adjust to its presence.

"… Wait, shit!" Zoro suddenly growled out. "After everything happened, I forgot about hunting!"

"Big surprise, moss head," Sanji needled the swordsman. "Of course you'd fuck up something so simple."

"Well, I don't see anything from your scrawny ass, either," Zoro snarled back.

The two entered into a glaring match. Sanji spoke fist, "It seems…"

"We have unfinished business," Zoro finished severely.

"Get a room to get your hate-boner over with, you numbskulls!" Abel snapped at the two of bickering idiots. "But if you wanna hunt so bad, we're really gonna need more provisions, since, you know, have four new mouths to feed, one of which is a BIG ASS DINOSAUR!" He paused for thought. "Also, Luffy. Luffy remains an enemy to rationing."

The Indoraptor visibly perked up at the notion of hunting, stood tall and let out an excited shriek.

"Huh, you want in on our competition?" Zoro asked, guessing the dinosaurs motivations. The Indoraptor let screech in affirmation, nodding repeatedly.

"Heh, you know," Sanji muses, rubbing his chin, "it would make things more interesting to try to take on the supposed king of Little Garden. Plus, we'd get more meat out of the whole deal. It's a win-win."

"Yeah, right. As if your catch even matters," Zoro remarked.

"I'll shove those words right up your ass after I'm done," the Cook snarled back.

The Indoraptor, meanwhile, growled a cackle and shot a confident grin. While unable to comprehend its words, both Zoro and Sanji got the basic message. 'Bring it, amateurs!'

"Just to be clear, the winner will be defined by both the size of the kill, and how much meat you can get from it," Sanji set down the ground rules. "There'll also be a time limit since we're kinda on a schedule. So we'll meet up back here with our kills in an hour. That acceptable?"

Zoro and the Indoraptor give a short, concise nod. Zoro with a determined grin, and the dinosaur with a vicious smirk.

"Well, if we're talking hunting," Atalanta stepped up, joining their little pow-wow, radiating confidence, "then it would not do well for my pride as a huntress to not take part! Consider me in on this!"

After a brief four-way staring match, the four split off to different directions.

…

"Hey, wanna bet that they'll take way longer than an hour?" Abel asked everyone present.

"I refuse to take that bet," Nami shot him down instantly, knowing better.

"50,000 Beri says they'll all be back within a half-an-hour, almost one after another." Abel made his bet known.

… Well, those odds were a whole different case.

Nami, Usopp, and Valentine would end up ruing the day they took part in the bet.

Twenty-six minutes later, Atalanta returned first, dragging along a body of a large Triceratops. Just after, Sanji came back with a Tyrannosaurus. Roughly two minutes later, Zoro arrived back with the body of a massive Ankylosaurus. The three had set their kills in a row, to take a measure of their prey.

It didn't all go that well.

"Shoot," Atalanta cursed, patting Zoro on the back consolingly. "Real tough luck to get one that's sick. That one's no good."

"Damnit to hell!" Zoro roared at the air in frustration at his misfortune. The Ankylosaurus was by far the biggest and meatiest, but that didn't mean shit if it was diseased and inedible.

"Hmm, ours are fairly even in body-size to meat rations," Sanji noted, eyeing his and Atalanta's kills. "Good work Atalanta-chan! That'll be a tough call."

"Now, wait just a moment," Atalanta stopped him there. "The Black Demon is a hunter that may even out-do myself. We'll have to wait to see what they bring back."

"Of course, of course," Sanji placates easily but having his doubts.

"I swear to god if I'm out-done by a damn lizard…" Zoro grumbled.

Just then, before a full thirty minutes had passed, the trio heard something massive shuffling through the jungle, closing in on their location. Then, out from the jungle came the Indoraptor, bodily dragging something to the shore, before dropping it.

Zoro and Sanji's eyes bulged out of their sockets, while Atalanta couldn't contain a loud belly-laugh out of sheer pride at her fellow hunter. "Yeehahaha!"

Even if just the neck was visible, the Indoraptor had killed and dragged a truly gigantic Brontosaurus all the way to the ship. It seemingly climbed its legs and jumped onto its back, before straight-up decapitating it with its jaws and claws. It sent the three fellow hunters a smug look and grinned widely

It was an unambiguous victory, and the King of Little Garden reigned supreme as the Apex Predator.

Zoro sighed, idly resting his hand on Sandai Kitetsu's hilt. "Well, now I feel silly not going for one of those."

~{…kiru…}~

Zoro flinched minutely. He could've sworn he'd just heard someone laugh, right next to his ear. But looking around, he couldn't find any evident source. On combat reflex, he grabbed onto the handle of Sandai Kitetsu.

~{…shame…could…not...taste…your…legs…kiru…kiru…}~

The almost ghostly whispers vanished into the blowing wind, and Zoro could only wonder if he'd just imagined the whole thing… still, his eye was drawn to the cursed blade on his hip, held in a tight grip. The feeling he got from the blade was… different from back at Loguetown. More intense, concrete.

"You gonna keep looking around like a crazy person?" Arlong jabbed at Zoro with his Kiribachi, which he easily dodged. He shot the swordsman a vicious grin. "If you're so easily distracted, then I suppose you're not disciplined enough."

Zoro snorted and drew Wado Ichimonji, ready to spar. Idly, he wondered if this was Arlong's roundabout way to help distract him from whatever was eating at him, but it quickly got lost in the clang of steel against steel.

Meanwhile, Abel netted himself 150,000 Beri that everyone involved grudgingly coughed up. To add insult to injury, he then gleefully admitted that he never had the initial 50,000, to begin with.

He escaped a severe beating only because it could have actually killed him in his current condition.

Everyone learned that betting against Abel is a severely bad idea.

-o~O-O~o-

Departure wasn't soon after Sanji and Atalanta teamed up to salvage all the meat he could from the three healthy dinosaurs, which was a LOT, and locked it all safely inside the nearly bursting pantry(constantly locked because of Luffy). I was happy with my new earnings, even if I'd need to sleep with one eye open for the foreseeable future. Still, it was nice feeling richer. I get why Nami likes having money.

I'll pay her back… eventually.

Atalanta had settled in nicely, in the guys quarters, weirdly enough. Apparently, she likes the company and doesn't really care for modern sensibilities. The Indoraptor was… tougher, due to its size, but it just settled on resting near the bow of the ship, taking up a lot of space in a fairly unimportant area. Even if it made the ship briefly tilt harshly after its 1 tonne of mass hopped on board the first time. Valentine and Goldenweek, or rather Mikita and Marianne were set up to bunk with Nami. Everything was turning out great.

Still, escaping the island just couldn't be so easy. The moment we hot a small distance off, a truly titanic goldfish Sea King rose up to gobble us whole. The whole thing reminded me why I initially decided to never swim in this fucked up ocean unless I absolutely had to. If it wasn't for a timely save from two LITERAL GIANTS who lived on the island, we'd have never made it out alive.

And wasn't that neat! Not only the fishmen and mermaids, but giants are a thing too? That's so cool! Their weapon swings literally flew through the air and blew a hole in the goldfish Sea King for us to sail through. It was absolutely sick!

…

Though, right now I can only find myself bitter.

"Fucking bastards forgot about me," I grumble, simply letting my eyes wander in the moonlit darkness of the night.

Everyone had settled in for a well-deserved nap after our course was set for Alabasta. Unfortunately, I realized too late that no one had bothered to move my makeshift bed inside, so I was just kinda left on the deck. At least Nami had brought me a blanket to keep me warm, though leaving immediately after with a wicked smile. This was so obviously her payback at me scamming her out of her money.

I begrudgingly felt proud of her.

That still left me sleeping in the open air. At least it didn't rain or some crap. Though, knowing Grand Line, I don't want to really test my luck by jinxing such things.

"So, just you and me, huh?" I ask the only thing besides me on deck. The crimson red eye glares at me, almost glowing in the dark. "… So… Hi."

The Indoraptor snorts. It's just us. The man with a back injury who can't move worth dick, and the big-ass lizard that did it to him. Also, the guy who scarred the left side of the monster dino quite severely. Yeah, this isn't awkward at all.

I quickly tire of the staring contest and let out a sigh. "Look… I'm not gonna apologize for injuring you," I say flat-out. The Indoraptor's glare hardens and narrows. "But that means you don't gotta apologize for shit either." I weakly lift a hand to point to my covered back. "You gave as good as you got. Took your beating like a champ, and way better than I did. So, as far as I'm concerned, we're even."

After another round of tense staring, the Indoraptor grumbles and gives a shallow nod. I give out a small grin.

"It's so nice that you're getting along." A third party speaks up, as Atalanta joins out little corner, huddling to rest snugly on the Indoraptor's side, causing it to purr. "How are you, injured one?"

"Abel. Name. Use it," I deadpan. "I guess I'm fine. Keeping the pain down has gotten a lot easier, so long as I don't move a whole lot. Real annoyed at being left here. At least the blanket's warm, so there's that. Will have to plan revenge on Nami later."

"You two seem close," Atalanta remarks.

"Are we?" I question with a raised brow.

"Yes," Atalanta nods, before looking up at the stars in the sky. "I'm not that socially graceful, as you might have noticed. I just can't find it in me to care too hard about the details of socializing with other people. Everyone always mentions how strange I am, but I like to think I can understand people somewhat, even if not to the extent of the beasts of the wilds." The raised a hand to scratch the Indoraptor's neck, who preened at the touch and attention.

"Well, being raised by bears kinda does that," I note with a lopsided grin. "You're real fortunate that Artemis paid heed to your time of need, early on."

She closed her eyes and nodded, reminiscing. Then she looked back at me. "Although my experiences are rather limited, and somewhat out of the norm, your interactions with Nami remind me of a parent teasing their child."

My smile dropped to a neutral look, eyes sharpening. "That so?"

Atalanta frowned. "I apologize, did I make a misstep? I'm sorry if so."

"… I guess not," I say with a deep sigh. Then just look out at the moonlit ocean going by. "… You eventually met your parents, and I mean your actual birth parents again, right?"

"Well," Atalanta pauses, brow furrowing in concentration. "I… do not know if I ever truly saw them as my mother and father. Merely the two who gave me life, before finding me insufficient and throwing me away. I feel no resentment towards them, but I also lack that connection a child is supposed to have. My family was the she-bear who cared for me, and the hunters that found me, raised me, and taught me all I know. It may sound a bit blasphemous, but I even consider Artemis to be family, to an extent."

"Hmm," I hummed in affirmation of that I'd heard. Then I looked at the Indoraptor, watching the two of us intently. "And you… you never found out who created you, did you?"

Blinking in surprise, clearly not expecting to be included, the Indoraptor shakes its head.

"Yeah, figured," I say, giving it a stern look. "The human man that made you, what he must have put you through for his twisted purposes was wrong. Never let yourself be told differently. And by no means do they deserve to be called your parent in any capacity." The dinosaur gives me a look like it's confused about how to respond to my words. "Their name is Henry Wu."

Almost immediately, the look in the Indoraptor's eyes sharpen and narrow dangerously, a low growl rising from its chest. It was as if they finally have a name for something they'd wondered about all their lives. Like their feelings finally had a concrete target to focus on.

"As for me, since this is sad parent-story sharing hour, or whatever," I continue casually, "to go back to your observation, about Nami and I. Maybe I do." That sounds like I'm pussyfooting around, but I'm really not. "Not like I could tell anyway. It was always just my mother and me. For a few years, I wasn't even aware I had a dad if the deadbeat I've never even met, much less seen can be called that."

I close my eyes, breathing in the brisk night air. It is refreshing. "Maybe I'm projecting a bit. Trying to emulate what I imagine a father is supposed to be like, without a good frame of reference." I really wish I had a smoke right now. Maybe I can bum some off of Sanji later? "Anyway, Nami's had it rough growing up, for reasons that are not mine to divulge. I guess this… thing is my way of trying to help, in my own way."

I've never really delved deeply into this, mainly not to think about it at all. But, here we are. Fair's fair. "Maybe I'm also trying to make up for past mistakes," I admit. "My mother and I had a… vicious falling out, though most of it was just me. I hurt her deeply that day, over ten years ago, and kept salting and festering that wound by never even trying to contact her once I was in a better place emotionally. Coward, is what I was. Still am, to an extent."

I take a deep breath and shift my expression as I exhale into something a lot lighter. "Okay, enough of this sad shit!" I lazily point to our dinosaur companion. "I think you need a proper name." The dinosaur tilts its head, the question obvious. "The Indoraptor is not who you are, it is what you are. Though, considering you are the only one of your kind, that might be a moot point. What really matters, do you want Indoraptor to be your name? Cause personally, that's cumbersome as fuck."

"You swear a lot," Atalanta notes.

"Fuck yes I do!" I state with pride. Actually, now that I'm thinking of it… "Uhh, sorry if this is out of nowhere, but are you male or female?" The mutant-dino's head tilts even further as its eyes narrow in thought. "… No clue, huh?" It shakes its head slowly.

I shoot Atalanta a dry look.

"… I'm not checking," I say, making my stance clear. "Also, err, I guess it's a matter of personal opinion, which you prefer. Not exactly one to talk about gender norms, me."

"Hm? What do you mean, injur- Abel?" Atalanta asks, curious like a kid.

"Thank you." At least she's starting to use my name. "It's just that, I prefer to wear women's clothing." … "Well, except right fucking now, obviously, since, you know. Jungle."

"…And?" Atalanta asks, tilting her head a bit.

"…Oh, right," I mumble. "The Greeks didn't really have that huge differences when it came to women and menswear, did they. Well fuck, there goes my point. Makes me a bit irregular, is what I was saying." I shake my head, returning to the subject of the dinosaur. "Look, what I mean is, whatever you might be physically- hell thanks to the way you were made you may not even have biological sex -but all that really matters is how you feel about it. So don't stress out over it. You'll figure it out in time." I shrug. "Or not. Up to you, really?"

"… So what you're saying is," Atalanta puzzles through that blurb I just spat out of my noise-hole. Skilled huntress she may be, but I got the feeling that she mostly does things by instinct rather than actual planning, "that Indo can choose if they want to be a boy or a girl?"

"Already on nicknames, huh?" I muse with an amused smile. "Pretty much, yeah. Though, I assume it's going to take some time to figure out. It's not like this sort of thing is obvious."

The Indoraptor made a low noise, looking at Atalanta. God damn, animals are hard to read. How does Atalanta do it so easily?

"…Hmm," the huntress narrows her eyes, interpreting in her mind what the dinosaur is on about. "… Do you like Indo?"

The Indoraptor seemed to let the name sound in its mind, testing it out, before giving the huntress an eager smile. At least I could read that much.

"Indo the Indoraptor, first to their name. Real original." I drone in slight jest. "If you're gonna shorten it, at least make it Indora. It sounds more fierce, you know? Indo is a name I'd give to a pet rabbit. But, if you like it, I can still complain about it, but it won't matter for jack."

Atalanta's brow and nose crinkle cutely in what I identified as confused curiosity. "What is this 'jack' you speak of?"

"Just a saying back home. Don't worry about it," I wave the ancient woman off. I am not becoming a language teacher. "So, which do you prefer, or would you like to wait on that decisions? No shame in either."

The Indoraptor seems to bounce our suggested names in its head, eyes closed in deep concentration. Then it nods to my direction approvingly.

"Indora the Indoraptor it is!" I cry out victoriously and place my open hand, palm down, outward towards the two of them. "To celebrate, I think that as fellow outsiders to this utterly insane world, we need to stick by one another. While from different places and times, we still all share a commonality. So, who wants to make a totally non-binding friendship vow?"

Atalanta barely even waits before placing her hand on top of mine. Huh, her hand is less calloused than I'd imagined from someone of her background. She smiled widely. "I might not really understand this yet, but I won't say no to a new friend!"

Both of us turn as one to our dinosaur buddy. It seems to hesitate, looking at our hands and processing what is happening. Both Atalanta and I give it encouraging grins, though mine is slightly challenging also, to play on that hunter nature. Eventually, it slowly, and carefully, settles it's large, clawed hand on top of ours.

"Then, from this day forth, we three, Cain Abel, Atalanta the Huntress, and Indora the Indoraptor, Outsiders to this world, forge a chain to bind our hearts and minds in camaraderie, facing all this world throws at us. Together."

I ham it up a bit, but honestly, the thought that I am no longer alone in this madness lifts a small weight off my shoulders. Atalanta and I smile fiercely at my declaration, and soon enough Indora joins us.

… Huh.

I… actually have companions. The Straw Hats are neat and all, but they could never 'get' my situation, not fully.

This… this is nice.

-o~O-O~o-

And so, the Straw Hats gain a badass huntress Lookout and a super-dinosaur Ship Guard, Atalanta and Indora! As well as two tag-alongs using them as glorified meat shields. I'll just flat out say that Mikita and Marianne are not currently planned to become full-time Straw Hats, but are just people traveling with them like Vivi is. Maybe things will change as I go along, maybe not.

Atalanta is just a largely uneducated wild-child who's still in touch with that part of her youth. Of course, she and Luffy are gonna get along! Meanwhile, Indora continues adapting to actually being involved with other living things in a friendly, non-malicious way, and being flustered all the way. Being starved of affection and companionship since birth really sucks, but it makes filling that void all the fluffier!

Now, because it may not come across clearly, the reason Indora regained their sanity all of a sudden is because of the shock from all the other trauma Marianne accidentally dug up and brought to the surface. It reawakened a slumbering part of them, so to speak.

Also, since you can't be a Straw Hat without a tragic backstory, Atalanta's legend is quite a bit modified from its original form. Losing your first real human friend and blaming yourself for it, only for his dad to forgive you for your honesty and heart is tragic enough for a Greek hero of Atalanta's caliber. Creative Liberties are the word of the day!

Zoro is hearing voices. Wonderful.

From this point onward, Outsiders will start gaining more and more of a role in this story, and in each Arc that follows.

Speaking off, the next chapter will be a bit of a break from Straw Hat shenanigans, as we expand the scope to what is happening elsewhere on the Blue Sea. And after that, we enter the Drum Island Arc, proper.

Next Chapter: Outsiders Present Perspective! Views From Across the Seas!

-Friendship Expert, C-Hablerie