Dragon's First Flame

(re-uploaded due to technical issues)

Vivi hissed, as she clawed at the air Luffy was once in, only for the rubber man to run down her coils, sticking his tongue out, and tugging his cheeks at her.

"Still can't catch me!" Luffy declared. Vivi reached for him, only for him to easily avoid her once again, causing the princess to let out a breath.

Though she had yet to catch Luffy, all things considered, this "training" session had been quite productive, in that Vivi actually learned some things about her Devil Fruit powers. One thing she was learning from this was that while she was fast in beast form, she was far from agile. She was just too big to move with much finesse. She also learned that when she "flew", she wasn't really flying. What she was actually doing, was summoning these strange fire clouds, which she could use to basically carry her where she wanted. That said, Vivi knew that Zoan users had hybrid forms too, though that was something she'd have to work on that another time. Maybe when getting back to Alabasta, once this was all done, she could learn some tips from Pell and Chaka.

Those thoughts made her chuckle slightly. She could only imagine their reaction, as well as that of her father, when she returned to Alubrana with these new powers. They'd probably all be equally parts horrified and awestruck when Vivi revealed herself as a colossal dragon. Her mood then turned melancholy, as her memory shifted to Igaram; he had sacrificed himself for her, and had given her this incredible power. Vivi wondered if she'd ever be able to repay such a debt.

"Hey Vivi!" Luffy cried, getting her back on task, "I'm down here!" Vivi shook her head clear, before resuming her chase of Luffy.

"All the power, and you use it for these cheap games…" Vivi suddenly stopped at the familiar voice, as she looked around. Of course, there was nothing around her but more jungle… and a giant man with an axe charging at her.

Vivi let out an involuntary roar, as she had to move out of the way as the giant swung his axe at her. The giant quickly followed by swinging his axe at her again, causing Vivi to half to dodge out of the way a second time. The momentum of the giant's attack sent him stumbling forward, almost losing his footing.

"Vivi!" Luffy shouted, as he also had to dodge out of the way of the giant.

"Wow!" Brogy said, looking back, "Faster than it looks."

"Who are you?" Vivi demanded, as she floated up, and looked down.

"No one you have to worry about, dragon!" Brogy said with an eager grin, as he spun his axe through his hand, and held it at the ready, "Just know we'll be the ones who'll be slaying you!" Vivi showed her teeth at that, though the giant didn't look the list bit intimidated. If anything, the whole prospect was thrilling to him.

"Vivi look out!" Luffy called. Vivi only had just enough time to look behind her, as Dorry came up. She managed to move away, only to get hit in the cheek by the giant's shield, and unlike Luffy's strike, this one Vivi actually felt. The force sent Vivi tumbling away, causing her to crash into the ground, her coils collapsing around her, and flattening a good amount of the forest.

Shaking her head clear, Vivi looked up to see Dorry and Brogy advancing on her again, their weapons still at the ready. Figuring her best chance was to keep some distance between them, Vivi summoned the fire clouds around her legs, and used them to float up, and away.

"Oh no you don't!" Dorry said, as he reached out. Vivi was suddenly halted, as she looked down to see the giant holding onto her tail with both hands, grinding his heels into the earth.

"You aren't escaping that easily!" He declared. As he said that Brogy came over, and started pulling on Vivi's tail as well.

"I bet this dragon probably destroyed a lot of villages and islands in its time," Brogy said, "We'll probably be doing the people in these waters a great service by killing it!"

"Stop it!" Vivi cried, as she struggled against them, "Leave me alone!"

"Hey you!" Luffy shouted, "Don't you hurt my friend!" He then used Gum Gum Rocket to get into the air, jetting towards Dorry, as he stretched his arms back again.

"Gum Gum Bazooka!" Luffy managed to strike the un-expecting giant right in the cheek. This actually caused Dorry's footing to be offset just enough that he ended up slamming into Brogy, sending both giants to the ground. In the process, their grips on Vivi slipped, and she was able to get away.

"Now take this!" Luffy said, "Gum Gum Gatling!" He peppered the Blue Ogre with powerful punches, but this didn't seem to do much to phase the giant, who just held up his hand to block them.

"Wow!" Dorry said, "For such a little guy, these are actually some pretty good punches. Maybe when we're done here I'll get back to you, but for now, I'm afraid I don't have time for you, I've got a bet to win." With that, he managed to swat Luffy away, sending him tumbling into the jungle.

"Luffy!" Vivi called, as she floated over to where Luffy flew over to, and managed to land on the ground. She saw him emerge out of the foliage, none the worst for wear, as he shook his head clear.

"Man, those guys are strong!" He said. That was a bit of an understatement, much to Vivi's distress, as she noticed both giants getting back up.

"You just let yourself get brought down by a little human, Dorry," Brogy said with a grin, "What makes you think you can beat a dragon?"

"You were the one who let the dragon slip by," Dorry responded, with a grin of his own, as they both retrieved their weapons, and got ready to charge Vivi. Meanwhile, the princess turned dragon turned to see them making their way over to her.

In that moment, though, her fear changed. It was replaced by something different, something Vivi couldn't explain, but could strangely understand: rage. No, she wasn't angry, because anger didn't seem like a strong enough word. Not that Vivi had never felt rage before; she felt tons of it whenever she thought of Crocodile and Baroque Works, but this rage was different. It was more base, more primal, almost like a flame; indeed, Vivi felt a deep sense of power gathering within her, like a fire that just had a mountain fuel added to it. And as the giants came upon her, that rage erupted out in a way it never had.

"I said… LEAVE… ME… ALONE!"

The shout turned into a roar, the force of which actually made both giants stop, with one even having to take a step back. A glow then went up Vivi's chest, and into her mouth. Her pupils then dilated, as she took a deep breath in. Some words then entered her brain…

"BLAST BREATH!"

With the same amount of force as a thousand Marine cannons, a stream of fire exploded out of Vivi's mouth, right towards Brogy. The giant held up his shield to block, but the fire proved fiercer than any attack he had felt, and that was saying something. Dorry ended up coming behind his friend, trying to help brace him. It proved little good, as the fire ultimately triumphed, as Brogy's shield broke. The two warriors were caught in the flame, and sent tumbling away, as Vivi's fire breath carved through the landscape.

(back at the Going Merry)

Though it wasn't in the fire's path (thankfully), the glow of the inferno could be seen even from the Going Merry.

"What the hell is that?" Usopp asked.

"I've got a sneaking suspicion that might be Vivi," Nami said.

"So she can fly and breathe fire?" Usopp said, "Gotta say, if the circumstances were a teensy bit different I'd find that really cool."

"Not me," Nami said with a sweat drop, "I'd still rather Vivi never ate that fruit, and been turned into a giant, flying flamethrower. It's just too-" She was cut off as there was the sound of crashing going through the trees. The navigator and the sniper turned towards the jungle... just in time to see a herd of massive dinosaurs leaping out of the trees, and over the river to the bank, likely fleeing the giant dragon. Both of them screamed, as they dove behind the ship railing, hoping they'd be ignored.

"Just lay low, Nami!" Usopp hissed, "Pretend you're not here!"

"God, I wish I wasn't!" Nami moaned.

Right as she said that, another dinosaur burst out of the tree-line, and vaulted over the Going Merry. This caused the ship to shake slightly, which sent Nami and Usopp spilling across the deck. The two both rose their feet, only for another dinosaur to emerge, and try to leap over the Going Merry. In the process, it practically bowled through Nami and Usopp, sending both into the air.

Nami screamed as she flew up... followed by falling back down. And because the powers that be were apparently feeling cheeky on that day, she ended up landing right on the back of a dinosaur. The navigator could really only scream as the dinosaur carried her deeper into the jungle.

"Usopp!" Nami cried, as she held on (really because it was the only thing she could think to do), "Help me!"

"Uhh, I'm kinda occupied here," Usopp's muffled voice answered. Nami tried to look around, and couldn't help but notice Usopp's legs sticking out of the same dinosaur's mouth.

"GAH!" Nami screamed, "Usopp!"

(somewhere in the jungle)

"You've gotta be an absolute dumb ass to say you won."

"Then what does that make you?"

Both Sanji and Zoro had just completed their respective hunts, and both were bringing home good prizes. But, in what was perhaps to be expected, they seemed more intent on arguing who got the bigger prize. If it was worth anything, their dinosaurs were in fact the same size, but if the two even noticed it, they weren't giving that any thought.

"Bullshit!" Sanji said, "You can clearly see that mine is longer by at least a foot!"

"We're talking about mass here, not length," Zoro said, "And mine is clearly more massive than yours."

"Most of that is probably just bone," Sanji said, "And I can't cook bone." That was actually a half truth, since Sanji actually knew a good recipe for bone marrow stew, but he wasn't going to tell that Zoro.

"I bet there's more meat on mine than on your's," Zoro said, pointing, "What is that, just-" In what was becoming a bit of the trend for the day, he was cut off by a massive burst of fire that tore through the jungle. The two men had just enough time to look up as it blasted past them. They just stood numbly as it blazed by, really just feet away from where they were standing.

Eventually, the fires dispersed, leaving both men unsure how to react. Really, what could they do? So they just defaulted to their normal state, and were about to resume arguing, but then they took another look at just what were arguing about. Unfortunately, both of their trophies had been half incinerated.

"Well crap," both men said at the same time.

(elsewhere in the jungle)

Sitting somewhere deep in the jungle, was of all things, a cottage, which was made out of solid wax. Despite what one might think though, it was as hard as steel, and could make for a pretty effective defense. Well, to be fully honest, it was half of a cottage. One half had been in the path of the flames, and had ended getting annihilated by it.

Both of them were pressed up against the side of the other wall, still staring at the place where, up until a minute ago, one of them had just been sitting. Said person, Mr. 3, just trembled like a worm, fearful tears welling in his eyes. For her own, Miss Goldenweek maintained her stoic expression, but if one looked closer, they could see the shock in her eyes over what just happened.

"What was that?" she asked.

"I... I don't know," Mr. 3 answered, shaking his head, "The boss never mentioned about a fire breathing monster on this island." Speaking of monsters, he realized just how exposed they were now that one of the walls was missing, and he quickly set about repairing it with his Wax Wax powers.

"Gotta say, you really got a knack for making the most hellish of places homely?" a familiar voice said, as the door opened, revealing Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine.

"And just where were you?" Miss Goldenweek asked.

"Out in the jungle, looking for the princess," Miss Valentine answered.

"It's where we found this," Mr. 5 said, before tossing what he was carrying behind him. It was none other than Carue, who looked beaten and disheveled, no doubt the handiwork of Mr. 5 and his partner.

"We were trying to get him to squawk," Miss Valentine said, as she sat beside Miss Goldenweek on the bench, leaning on her parasol, "Get him to call out to his master. Gotta say, that duck's got some balls."

"Stupid piece of trash," Mr. 5 said, giving the duck a harsh kick.

"You would know, wouldn't you?" Mr. 3 sneered. Mr. 5 glared at him, but managed to put the emotions aside; they had more important things to do.

"So, care to tells us what that blast of fire was about?" he then asked. At that, Mr. 3 coughed into his hand, and even Miss Goldenweek averted her eyes.

"What it is, is incentive to complete our assignment, and get out of here," Mr. 3 said, "We have to find the princess, and we have to terminate her."

"Fine then," Mr. 5 said, "Then let's just find her, whack her, and call it a day."

"Ever the thick head, Mr. 5," Mr. 3 scoffed, "You do realize that she's traveling with the Straw Hat pirates, right?"

"So what?"

"Because back on Cactus Island, both you and your partner rather soundly defeated by the Straw Hats," Mr. 3 answered, arching an eyebrow, "No, if we're going to win this, it'll take brains, not brawn."

"Just what are you suggesting, Mr. 3?" Miss Goldenweek asked.

"What we need to do is pick them off one at a time," Mr. 3 answered, "Get them away from each other, and then knock them out of the game. Then, once the princess is alone, we move in for the kill." Carue tried to let out a defiant quack, but he only got kicked again by Mr. 5.

"Shut up, duck," he said, "You had your chance."

"And how do you plan on getting them alone?" Miss Valentine asked.

"Leave that much to Miss Goldenweek and I," Mr. 3 answered, as he let himself smile, "We'll have them in our lock before noon."

"And the giants?" Mr. 5 asked, "They might be a problem."

"Come now," Mr. 3 said, "Who do you take me for? You? We were originally bound for this island to hunt them down. You think I didn't already have a plan?"

(back with Luffy and Vivi)

For a while, both Luffy and Vivi just stood there numbly, with expressions of blank shock on their faces. The latter's mouth was still wide open, and had clouds of steam billowing out.

That... was... AWESOME!" Luffy suddenly declared, pumping his fists, his eyes literally sparkling, "I didn't know you could breathe fire!"

"N-Neither did I," Vivi said slowly, as she finally closed her mouth. To be fully frank, she had NO idea where that attack had come from. It had been an act of pure instinct, motivated by her desire to stay alive; in fact, she wasn't even sure where that attack name had come from.

"It's been a technique used by eaters of my fruit for generation upon generation," the dragon suddenly said, "It's the power to destroy mountains, and sunder nations." Vivi wasn't sure if she liked the sound of that. She was a princess, after all, and sundering nations wasn't exactly something she believed she should do much of. But at the same time, she couldn't deny the sheer, raw power of the attack. It had left a massive, black, still smoldering scar in the island landscape, stretching from where Vivi was, all the way to one of the mountains, where the giants were both now laying. If Vivi could use an attack like that on Crocodile...

Suddenly new images filled her mind. Images of the agents of Baroque Works being consumed, and incinerated in her fire, combined with images of other enemies of Alabasta being reduced to ash in the wind. It was then that Vivi started to wonder, why shouldn't she be using all this power? It was hers now, after all. Would Luffy have struggled so much with using his Devil Fruit? Of course not, he never did. Maybe the dragon was right, maybe Vivi should just fly to Alabasta herself and deal with all of this herself. And if they resisted, then well...

"No!" Vivi suddenly said at loud, shaking her head. Those thoughts weren't her's, they were the dragon's, and she couldn't let them eclipse her own.

"No to what?" Being snapped back into the real world, Vivi noticed Luffy reaching up with his arms, and using them to climb up Vivi's back.

"You just said no," Luffy said, as he made his way up to Vivi's head, "No to what?"

"Oh, it's nothing," Vivi answered, "Just a little lost in thought here."

"Well, c'mon!" Luffy said, gesturing, "Let's make sure those giants are beat! We can't have them interrupting your training today." Vivi didn't particularly like that idea; she'd much rather find somewhere else to practice her powers, especially if this island was inhabited by giants who wanted to be dragon slayers. But, on the other hand, Vivi figured if they were still a threat to her, she should probably verify as much. With that in mind, she started floating in the direction they flew, with Luffy still sitting on her head.

"Luffy," she said, getting his attention, "What if they aren't beat yet?"

"Then we just beat them up until they give up," Luffy said with a cheeky grin. Vivi sighed at that, not sure why she expected any other kind of answer.

Note: I'm sure Kaidou wasn't the first person to weaponize the Azure Dragon's ability to breath fire, a technique which does have a pretty obvious name. To that end, maybe the name of the attack came from an eater before him, and was passed down in the Devil Friut's "memory".

Obviously, the context of the group meeting the giants is different than it is in cannon, where they met on friendly terms. Here, they met with them trying to kill Vivi. Hopefully things will improve from here. On top of that, Baroque Works is going to have devise a new plan to make do with the situation.

Please leave a comment as well, and thanks for reading.

Unrelated, but I've been entertaining the idea of consolidating different chapters together, and would like some additional opinions. Do you think I should keep the current format I've got, or start consolidating chapters together?