in the blistering heat, sandy winds, and dry air, Mordred began her journey early in the morning. Luckily, she had been allowed to take one of Shiro's family's horses for the long trek through the barren wasteland. As she traveled onward, her mind raced, contemplating what she might be about to encounter. Maybe a large bear? She thought back to everything she had been told the night before; whatever it was, it had been attacking caravans and travelers for weeks, leaving no survivors. The only things left behind were half-eaten remains with large teeth marks.
"Well, whatever it is, I'm sure I can handle it; only a few more hours until I'm there, so no sense in racking my brain yet." As she moved forward, the feeling of sun-chapped skin was starting to get on her nerves. 'I can't wait to get off this island,' she thought. "Even with all these clothes, I'm still burning up." Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud bellow off in the direction she was heading. "Well, it sounds like I found the place." ushering her steed to go faster she couldn't help but feel exited. but she wasn't ready for what she was about to see.
She had arrived at Death Valley; the air had the fresh scent of blood. She saw a band wagon torn to shreds and drag marks leading to the base of some cliffs. Hopping off the horse, she walked over to investigate. 'This doesn't look good,' she thought as she moved closer. The canopy of the wagon had three large claw marks bigger than her. Despite her better judgment, she decided to look inside. Her eyes widened in terror. Inside the wagon lay a woman gasping for air; it looked as if the wooden beam was crushing her lower half. Mordred jumped in to try and help, only to realize the woman was missing her bottom half, it had been ripped off just below the navel. The nameless woman looked up at her with crying eyes, with one final breath she muttered, "Please save my daughter." Pointing at a hidden compartment under the driver's bench, just before the light left her eyes. Without thinking, Mordred jumped over and ripped open the door to find a small child, she couldn't have been more than four years old. The child, looking at her with dread all over her face, thrusting forward she embraced Mordred.
the shock of the situation was sinking in, suddenly the realization of it all hit her. if she wasn't careful this might happen to her as well, and now she had a child to protect. Mordred pushing her thoughts to the sid put a hand on top of the kids head, "its ok now, you're ok" she said with a shaking voice. "im going to get you to town, you're safe" her words were cut short by the sound of her horse crying out in pain, before she could react the wagon was sent rolling woth the two still inside. she did the only thing she could, wrapping her arms around the small child and taking the impact herself. when the wagon came to a stop she told the child to stay put and jumped out to see what was going on.
She was met with the hungry gaze of two huge lion-like monsters, both standing several times taller than Mordred with dark gray fur. Adding to the creepy factor were both having a human-like face. "Banjo!" the first beast yelled speeding towards Mordred faster than a beast of its size should be able to. In a flash, she had her sword at the ready; the monster swung its enormous paw in an attempt to slash her open, and Mordred's sword came up to her side to block. The impact knocked the air out of her, causing her to skip across the dry dirt as she struggled to regain her composure. Jabbing her sword into the ground, she was finally able to stop. 'Did that thing just yell "banjo"?' Before she could finish her thought, the other beast was charging her, jerking her blade from the ground. She charged forward herself. With a clash of steel vs claw, she was again sent flying. This time, however, it was straight up. 'What are those things made of?' she thought as she experienced a moment of weightlessness before hurtling back down. She looked to see a big open mouth ready to eat her. With quick thinking, she shifted her weight narrowly avoiding being lunch. Thrusting her sword into the beasts eye, pushing herself off the monsters face in a backflip landing on her feet.
The gray behemoth shrieked in agony, rolling onto its back and cupping what was once its eye. Mordred tried to go in for the kill while she had the chance, but she was met with a blow from the second beast's paw. One of its claws dug into the upper left side of her forehead, sliding down across the bridge of her nose, and ending at the bottom right side of her jaw. Now, skipping across the ground, Mordred wailed in pain, finally rolling to a stop. She jumped up, shouting, "Okay, now I'm mad!" With a mighty yell, she charged with blinding speed. Both monsters now running at her, each with a rage-filled face, the one missing an eye screamed "Lasso!" Mordred jumped forward, slashing her blade along the left side of the eyeless one, gashing it open. Before she could turn around, the other smashed its paw down on her, pinning her to the ground and having huge fangs about to bite into her. A faint sound was heard. Both beasts stopped and looked at the wagon; the sound of a sobbing child caught everyone's attention. 'No!' thought Mordred as she struggled with all her might to get free, everything she had and the mosnter didn't budge. The two monsters looked at each other and back at the wagon. "Mama," the small child said between sobs, the beast pinning Mordred looking at the one missing an eye and saying "beans." Looking back at the wagon as if to say "take care of that." 'No!' she thought again squirming and jerking trying to get free. The monster started to make its way over to the wagon. "I WON'T LET YOU!!!" A red glow envelopes her and im a flash of light she slashed upwards, cleaving the paw in two up to its elbow.
Mordred stood there, looking at the two monsters - one on its side, scratching at its now useless arm, while the other looked behind its back at her. She had an air of rage that could be felt, and a gauntlet forming over her right arm. The beast turned and charged her. "Cactus!" it yelled, Mordred just standing there, staring at it. Slobbering at the mouth, bloodshot eyes, and bearing its fangs, the sight would be enough to have most people shaking in their boots. Mordred just stayed still and readied herself, raising her blade, and when it was close enough, she slashed. A red wave of energy projected itself out of the edge of her sword, rocketing at the beast, cutting it clean in half. Without hesitation, she jumped towards the other, stopping just above it, and with a mighty wave, it too found itself in pieces.
Mordred walked towards the wagon, her body beaten and bruised each step feeling heavy. But she wouldn't let herself stop; she had a job to do and she would see it through. She grabbed the child up, who was still sobbing. "Come on," she said with labored breath. "It's a several-hour walk, and I'm running low on energy." The young girl pushed her face into Mordred's chest and whispered two words before passing out from exhaustion: "Tank you."
-five hours later-
Shiro had been sitting at the bar for hours; he didn't want to show how worried he was. 'She should have been back already, its sun down and still no word' he thought as he waved his hand to indicate he wanted another glass of scotch. The waiter filled his glass and placed two cubes of ice in the drink. 'I guess she didn't make it.' Shiro stood up and started to walk upstairs, but on his way, he heard some commotion outside. Curious, he walked to the entrance and looked out, his eyes widening and his jaw dropping as he couldn't believe what he saw. mordred was inching her way to the saloon step by step, dragging two huge heads behind her and what seemed to be a child in her left arm. "get the med kit ready!" he ordered the bartender "and get the doctor now!". he ran outside to meet her "Samuel!" he yelled seemingly by magic Samuel appeared out of Shiros shadow and was running next to him "sir" said Samuel, "Help me get them upstairs" said Shiro.
Exhausted, Mordred had placed her hat over the child to keep her out of the sun. The entire time, she dragged the two severed heads through the unforgiving landscape, step by step. She had sunburns covering all exposed skin and was suffering from blood loss, all exacerbated by the beating she took. But now she was so close; she could see the saloon in the distance. "Good," she thought as she noticed Shiro and Samuel running toward her. "We made it. Now I can get some sleep." With that thought, she collapsed to her side, unconscious.
-the next morning-
A knight clad in full armor was riding through the streets; the sound of cheers was all that could be heard. Mordred looked up at the shining figure and felt excitement and joy. Suddenly, a crack of red lightning, and everything changed. She found herself in an alleyway, talking to a woman in a blue and black dress. "That, my dear child, is your father," a sense of shock and pride grew inside her until she was about to burst. Another crack of lightning, and she was in a gory landscape filled with bodies. The knight from before stood in front of her. She noticed a pain in her stomach and looked down; she saw a sword sticking out of her.
Mordred shot upright in bed drenched in sweat, holding her stomach as if it was still fresh. before she could process what was going on she heard a voice from the chair across the room "good your awake, im glad" said Shiro sitting there smokeing a cigarette. as if finally processing everything she asked "is the kid ok?" Shiro chuckled "you truly are a hero, first thing you think about is that little one." he said "yes shes fine, shes downstairs playing with the piano." letting out a sigh of relief Mordred spoke again "if i had been just a Little earlier i might have been able to save her family, whatever those things were it took everything i had to stop them" shiro stood up and began to walk over "those things are known as sphinx, and if im being honest, one of them could level a small army. the fact is if you had been any later she wouldn't be alive."
Mordred reached up and touched her face, feeling the bandage. "I almost didn't make it," she said, before holding out her arm, thinking back to the feeling of power and anger that had surged through her. She began to focus, trying to get the spark to ignite once more. Shiro looked confused, but he was soon met with a shock as Mordred's sword flew through the air, landing in its master's grasp. "That was a neat little trick, what did you eat a devil fruit or something?" said Shiro. Mordred looked at him a little strangely, "I keep hearing you say 'devil fruit', what is that?" Shiro now composed himself and began to explain, "It's a rare fruit that grants the eater with amazing abilities, controlling the elements or maybe transforming into a monster. But it comes at a steep price: the user of said power loses the ability to swim."
Mordred looked confused but before she could say anything, Shiro spoke again, "Speaking of the Devil Fruits, we need to talk about strategies for the upcoming invasion. Captain Yellowbelly should be here in two days; do you think you'll be ready? Because you look really beaten up."
Mordred responded by jumping off the bed with a flip landing on her feet. "I think I'll be fine, and besides, his name is Yellow Belly... How bad can he actually be?" Mordred tried to emphasize her point by holding her hand in a mock expression next to her own stomach. Shiro simply responded with an emotionless face, "He has the power of the Belly Belly Fruit; he is capable of drenching his opponents in corrosive stomach acid and eating the mess afterwards..."
Starting at the tip of her chin, Mordred's face started to turn a sickly green. "You mean he pukes on people?" Her hand leapt from her stomach to her mouth, covering it to prevent herself from getting sick. "And he eats them afterward?" Shiro, a bit amused that the would-be hero is a tad squeamish, spoke again, "Yes, exactly. And it's not just him I'm concerned about. His crew is comprised of six top-notch fighters, but I have a few others ready to fi..."
Mordred put her hand up and cut Shiro off, saying, "Just put me next to the leader, and I'll take care of him. As for the others, do you think they can handle the rest of his crew?"
Shiro spoke as he walked to the door. "How about you get dressed and meet me downstairs? Everyone should be here shortly. Get a feel for everyone and then tell me if you think they can handle themselves." with that she was alone
Mordred walked over to the leather bag Doc had given her and pulled out the red outfit she had been wearing when she fell from the sky. "Doc wasn't kidding; the red color is beautiful. But why was I wearing something so revealing? Who was I?" She looked at the clothes she had been wearing: a white button-up with holes and dirt everywhere and her pants didn't look much better. "I suppose it's better than what I have on," she said aloud to no one in particular. She grabbed a pair of scissors off the desk by the door and one of the black long sleeved shirts out of the closet and began to work.
After a while, Mordred made her way down the stairs. She was wearing her red outfit, with some slight modifications. Under her sports bra-like top, she had a black shirt. She had cut the fabric to stop just below her bottom ribs and left her shoulders bare. The top was cut out, revealing her collarbone. Her hair was also clean and styled as usual. She remembered how to do it from muscle memory. after reaching the bottom she was greeted with a smiling face as a young girl crashed into her legs "you wake!" the ball of energy now jumping up and down. "shes been waiting on you all morning" said the man behind the bar "ive been trying to keep her occupied so you could rest up, the boss made sure nobody bothered you". the little girl grabbed Mordreds hand and drug her to a table "look look" she pointed at some coloring pages. Mordred not really the nurturing type did her best to sound amused "oh i see"
Shiro entered the room seeing the awkward display he began to laugh. "i see you two are getting along well" Mordred looked at him with an expression that could kill before saying "i had to check on my little buddy" padding the little girl on the back "what's your name by the way?" she asked the little one. "Mara" she said with a happy grin. Shiro spoke up "her aunt and uncle should be here tonight to get her, shes from the next town over" he walked over to the bar and ordered a scotch "i think she wants to get to know you a little, you did save her life after all". he stops for a moment pulling out his cigarettes he sticks one in his mouth but before he could light it a tall dark figure emerged from his shadow "you shouldn't smoke around children" it said before color started to fill in the blackness to reveal Samuel. "how he do that?!?!" said Mara in amazement shiro responded "fine" he began to walk towards the swinging doors "you two need to talk anyway" as soon as he was out of sight a flick of a zippo was heard. "he is right, we do need to talk" said Samuel "for starters how did you take down those monsters?" Mordred explained everything, about how she found the wagon and about the gauntlet that formed over her right arm.
After hearing her story and contemplating for a moment, Samuel spoke again, "So you have no memories, but somehow were able to take down a pair of Sphinx. People don't just drop out of the sky; you had to have come from somewhere."
Mordred in between coloring with Mara responded, "That's why I'm asking Shiro for help; I need to find any information I can." She put down a yellow crown and grabbed a blue one, saying, "Like you said, people don't just fall out of the sky."
Samuel started playing with his fiddly hair, thinking, "Well, I'm almost certain you have a Devil Fruit power, though I'm unsure as to what that may be; it might come in handy on the raid." He stopped and ordered a shot, but before he could continue, the saloon doors swung open, and in walked four cloaked figures. Samuel glanced over and said, "Good, you guys made it."
One of the figures spoke, "I wouldn't miss this for the world. A chance to get a little payback." All of the people began to take off their cloaks, reveling three men and a woman, all looking strikingly similar to Samuel. The older of the bunch spoke to the younger looking: "Don't be so hasty. Got to use that noodle of yours."
Mordred looked at Samuel, "Is this your family, or something?" referring to the similarities in appearance, Samuel chuckled, "Yep, that's my little brothers and sister." The group bickered among themselves as Samuel and Mordred talked.
"Might not look it, but they should be more than enough. Jess is the best longshot on the island. Tommy knows his way around explosives. Billy makes all kinds of crazy weapons. And Greg is… well, he's handy to have around." Samuel stood up, took his shot, and walked over to Mordred's table. His siblings followed his example. "It's time to tell you all the plan."