Author's Note: I'm back! As I said in the previous chapter, this was split from one chapter into multiple chapters - hence the reason it took so long to get this out. I aim to be ahead by 1-2 chapters and to update every month! For my returning readers, I'd advise you all to go back and read Chapters 1-3; I've updated them and added in new scenes!

Chapter Four:

The Color of Hunger

As Thatch walked into the galley, he was surprised to find Ace sitting down at one of the tables alone, his eyebrows scrunched in deep thought. Though the galley was full of other members chatting or eating, Ace seemed completely unfazed by the antics happening around him. This amazed the older crewmember, who had to do a double take. The Second Division Commander didn't notice, and still wore the same expression. Thatch cautiously approached the teen, afraid that it was some prank. When he reached the table Ace was sitting at and hadn't been humiliated, Thatch took a seat across from him.

"Ace...?" He said quietly. The teen didn't even look up to see who called him. "Hellooo..." Ace still didn't answer, and only continued to stare at the same spot on the table. "Yo, Ace. You in there?" Thatch snapped his fingers in front of his face, finally getting Ace's attention. He jumped, then blinked before finally registering that Thatch was sitting in front of him.

"When did you get here?" Ace asked. Thatch chuckled, causing the teen to pout.

"What were you even thinking about anyway?" Thatch asked. "You seemed to be thinking about it hard enough to distract you from your surroundings." Ace's face became serious again, causing Thatch to become more interested.

"Well... I was thinking about something I read in a book..." Thatch stared at Ace with wonder in his eyes, unable to entertain the thought of Ace even being in close proximity to *anything* paper-based, be it his unfinished paperwork or a book.

This caused Ace to blush from embarrassment. "Yes, Thatch, I read sometimes! Anyway, the book was talking about colors, and in one chapter, it was talking about the color of mercy. But mercy isn't something that's visible. So how could someone tell what color it was? Apparently, that person was able to tell. So that got me thinking about other non visible things that could have colors, like hunger."

"Thatch, what do you think the color of hunger is?"

Thatch was silent, trying to figure out how exactly to respond to his question. He came up with nothing though, so he answered Ace's question with another one. "First, what do *you* think the color of hunger is?"

The younger Division Captain sighed, running a hand through his hair as he tilted his chair back and looked up at the wooden ceiling. "Well, that's the problem - it could be *any* color! Who's to say it can't be blue, but it can be purple? Who decides what colors hunger can be? Who makes these choices, Thatch?"

"Those are good questions to ask, Ace," The 4th Division Commander replied as he tilted his head slightly, managing to keep his giggle at his younger crewmate's crisis down. "But maybe you should focus on one question for now."

"I guess…" He closed his eyes as he continued to tilt his chair backwards, flirting with gravity's pull. "But where do I even *begin* to find the answer to that…?"

"Find the answer to what?" a voice behind him said. Ace opened his eyes, only to stare into the sunset orange ones of Daphne, who lifted an eyebrow in amusement. Ace righted himself, before turning around and sitting in his chair backwards. Behind him, Thatch was waving his hands wildly, trying to catch the doctor's attention and warn her not to engage - to no avail. "What crazy antic are you up to *now*?"

"Oh, Daphne…" he hummed, leaning his hands on the back of the chair. His eyes lit up, however, as a plan began to form in his mind. "Daphne! You can help me!"

"What are you trying to rope me into this time, Ace?" she frowned, while Thatch again began waving his arms, making an "X" motion repeatedly, only to facepalm as she continued to ignore him. "Last time you needed my help, my face was purple - for a week! And I was held *hostage* by ducks!"

"Don't worry, your skin won't change colors… probably," Ace suggested, before turning to Thatch, who sat up. "And you'll be helping me too, of course!"

"Yippee…" Thatch cried out with feigned enthusiasm, before turning to the doctor with a slight scowl. "Clearly I need a new signal for 'Do Not Engage'..." Daphne could only tilt her head in confusion, before turning back to the 2nd Division Commander.

"So what now, our curious leader? I still have no clue what you're dragging me into…" she added, placing her hands on her hips.

"Now, we locate the other members of our group! And I know who to ask next!" He said enthusiastically, hopping from his seat and heading out the door. Daphne hesitated, looking back at Thatch, who only waved his hand at the duo. If he could help it, he would stay out of Ace's shenanigans as long as possible, starting now. The hot-headed commander didn't notice the lack of Thatch's presence as he entered the cannon rooms, scanning the crowd for his next victim. And find them he did, as he spotted the startling blonde hair of their head shipwright. "Elena!"

The girl in question looked up as her name was called, rag in one hand, cannon part in the other, and a screwdriver in her mouth. There was a quizzical expression on her face as she tried to talk around the tool in her mouth. "Whazzuf? Dih yah neefh fhomefhin?"

"Elena, I have a question that needs answering and you're gonna help me do it! Have you seen Allen, by the way? I also need him..." Ace proclaimed, a large smile on his face.

Elena motioned to the doorway behind her as she paused her work, putting the rag down in favor of removing the screwdriver from her mouth. "Allen's in the storage room back there. What's this 'question that needs answering' first? This better not be *another* one of your pranks! Last time there were feathers stuck in the cannons for *months*!"

"No, it's not a prank," Ace started, before flushing slightly and crossing his arms at the mention of his last prank. "And I told you that was an accident! I didn't realize it would initiate a Chicken-Duck War!"

"Well, as long as it doesn't result in the cannons getting clogged again; I'm still finding feathers in weird places…" she muttered, wiping her hands on her pants legs. "I guess I'm in this mystery 'plan' of yours."

Ace gave a cheer as he threw his fist into the air, then turned as he heard his name being called. Daphne had gone ahead and explained the situation to Allen, who seemed a bit confused on why he was being included in the group. "So what exactly are you planning? Daphne didn't really tell me, and I'm *really* hoping it's not another Chicken-Duck War…"

"Okay, from this point on, we will not speak of the Chicken-Duck War again!" Ace declared, shaking his head free of those memories. "I want you three to help me figure out what the color of hunger is," Ace explained, the grin on his face growing wider. "See, there was this book I was reading and -"

"There you are! I've been looking everywhere for you," another voice interrupted, causing the four to turn towards the door.

In it stood Pomona, shyly wringing her hands together with an awkward smile on her face; behind her was Sam, who gave a half wave to the quartet. "We've come across a rather… peculiar island that I'll think you'll like, Captain."

"Oh, that'll make the perfect base for our operations!" The 2nd Division Commander exclaimed, waving the other three to follow behind him. They all filed towards the deck, eyes widening in excitement as they took in the shoreline before them. From the direction they had come in, it seemed this was an island that was heavily jungle or forests - most likely jungle, Ace noted, as he felt the increasing humidity in the air. The likelihood of this being a Summer Island was high, given the fog settled around the island; a stark contrast to the much cooler ocean currents they'd previously been riding. Not a problem for him, but he did spy other crewmates wiping sweat from their bodies and fanning themselves with makeshift fans. Even Whitebeard had his nurses set up a fan for him as the Moby Dick lumbered ever closer to the island.

"This island is only noted on an old, weathered map - even the log poses are reacting strangely to its presence…" Pomona noted as she continued to make notes on a new map, occasionally glancing up to make sure they were still on course. "The only name I could find referring to it was 'Champion's Island'; apparently, there's a legend of a powerful artifact left behind by a god; if you complete its challenge, you'll receive the artifact."

Now this piqued Ace's interest. He turned to Pomona, leaning over her shoulder as she made notes. "Wait, so you get this item and… you can do whatever with it? Maybe even, oh I don't know - answer unsolvable questions?"

"Well, there are not many records of this item, so there may be some things lost to time," Pomona answered, before sliding out a sheet of paper yellowed with age. Its print was nearly faded at this point, but from what he could make out, it talked about some mystical thing being "only for champions" who dared try the island god's challenge. "However, with what we do know, answering a simple question would not activate even 10% of this item's power. So in short, yes, it could answer an 'unsolvable question'."

"Well that settles it - I've got to get this artifact thing!" Ace decided, much to the dismay of his three crew mates. "If we work together to complete this trial, then we can get the answer to my question!"

"Wow, I know I call you stupid often, but you're really proving my point now!" Another voice countered, wiping the grin from Ace's face and replacing it with a scowl. He'd recognize that condescending tone anywhere…

Evierose.

And sure enough, as he turned around, he was met with the sight of the frowning, green eyed, silver-haired thief. Today she'd chosen to wear a puce sleeveless shirt with a white sash and bow, white, bell-sleeve arm warmers, purple gloves, blue jeans, and her constant black witch's hat and black knee-high boots.

"What do you want *now*, Strawberry Shortcake? I'm busy." Ace replied instead, letting her comment about him being stupid slide in favor of making her irritated about her height. It worked, as her frown deepened with annoyance and she crossed her arms tightly. "I've got to figure out what this 'Champion's Challenge' is, so go play somewhere else."

"I honestly should let you suffer whatever curse that item has put on it, but I'd like to be able to stay on the ship a little longer," Evierose retorted with an eyeroll. "So I'm gonna say this once, and once *only*. Leave that artifact *alone*."

"And what makes *you* the leading expert on weird, mystical items?" Ace asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Look, I've been in the thieving business for years now, and I've run into plenty of idiots like you who hear 'unlimited power' and 'special artifact' and think there are no consequences," she started, closing her eyes. When she opened them again, there was more softness to them than before, catching Ace off guard. "But there are always consequences to huge powers - you of all people should know *this*. I'm not ordering you to leave this thing alone. I'm warning you and hoping you'll listen."

For a moment, Ace wavered; she did seem sincere in her words - clearly she had some history with mystical items, from the way she changed from crude and childish to genuinely worried. But Ace wasn't one to turn away from *supposed* danger, and if he was going to go ahead, then there was only one option left to him.

"Come with us."

From the way Evierose's demeanor shifted, that wasn't a response she had been expecting the Division Captain to give her. Her eyes widened slightly as her arms dropped to her sides, and she tilted her head as she blinked, trying to come up with a reply. "Excuse me…?"

"Why don't you come with us?" He repeated, shrugging his shoulders. "You seem to know a lot about mysterious artifacts and stuff, so you can tell me if it's dangerous or not before I use it."

"... Wow. You really *are* an idiot…" Evierose muttered with a chuckle, shaking her head. Throwing her hands up in defeat, she gave Ace a smirk, the twinkle in her eyes playful rather than cold. "Fine, I'll go along on your little adventure."

"I… I'm going too!" Pomona suddenly piped up, having watched the exchange between the two. "If this island has only been explored once before, I want to find new information and chronicle it!"

"Having a navigator along wouldn't hurt, so sure!" Ace nodded along, his face splitting into a large smile. He turned towards the front of the ship, eyeing the shoreline growing closer. By now, they'd been enveloped in the fog on all sides, and the temperature only continued to rise. It was nowhere near dangerous to prevent them from stopping, but those who weren't used to heat would certainly suffer from the uptick.

"I'm quite certain that there is no dock for the ship to stop at, judging from the way the waves are carrying us," Pomona muttered as she paced the starboard side of the ship, "And this fog is very thick, making me feel a bit worried we may not find our way out too easily; its movements and density suggest that it will continue to cover the ocean for the next fews days at best, and the next two weeks at worst. Therefore, I suggest we stop here - the water is not too deep here either, so anchoring would not be too much of an issue."

"The shoreline is pretty visible from here," Evierose noted as she leaned against the railing, peering out into the fog-ridden ocean. "Let's load up a boat and get going. We've already got the thumbs-up from the old man, yeah?"

"That's right - normally, we would have passed this island, but Captain Whitebeard thought it might be hiding something interesting…" Pomona supplied, climbing into the boat carefully as it hung over the edge of the ship. The others climbed into the ship as well, ending with Sam taking up the last spot on the bench. The little navigator looked up as he sat down, a quizzical look on her face. "I didn't know you were coming along as well; looking for adventure?"

The gunner nodded, a grin on his face and an adventurous shine in his brown eyes. "Of course I am - I'd never pass up an opportunity to go exploring!"

"You do have a point; I wonder what secrets are left hidden in this island's woods…" Pomona agreed, looking out to the mystery-shrouded island as their boat was lowered into the waiting sea. Pomona took her spot at the front of the small boat, and despite the fog blocking their view partially, the young navigator was able to keep the boat on course for the shore. "We're not too far away now… Ace, Sam, adjust the ship 12 degrees port please."

The two nodded, following her directions, and soon, they were hitting shallow water. The two men jumped out of the ship and pulled it up along the sand, hearing and seeing other scouting ships make their way onto the beach as well. Some pirates hopped off and plopped down into the sand immediately, kicking off shoes and laying back, others immediately rushed into the brush, climbing trees and exploring around the area. Ace turned to his gathered group of explorers, a large, full-toothed smile breaking out on his face.

"Alright everyone, let's get to it! On to the Champion's Challenge!" he called out, rushing towards the jungle. However, he was stopped as he ran into a wall of air full force. With a grunt, he was thrown to the ground, landing on his back. A shadow fell over him as he opened his eyes to stare into the disappointed green eyes of Evierose. "Hey, what'd ya do *that* for?!"

"How are you expecting to find this 'Champion's Challenge' by running into the forest with no information?" she instead responded, walking past him as he sat up, rubbing his forehead. She stopped at the edge of the beach, staring into the densely packed trees with a hum. "I mean, you really were going to attempt this blindly and drag us all into your mess…"

"Well, what would *you* suggest I do?" Ace huffed, watching as she paced around the rainforest's edge, occasionally stopping to look back and forth. There was a frown on her face as she studied the area.

"Something's not right…" she muttered, eyes swivelling slowly across the beach as she returned to the rest of the group, passing the pouting Ace. "If there was any sort of mystical relic on this island, I should've sensed it by now…"

"What if it's hidden?" Allen said, staring out at the forest - though he wondered if there was some trick to sensing things like that. "If it's an important item, no one would leave it out in the open to be found…"

"I guess you're right." She agreed, though it still felt like something was off. "But…" she hesitated once more, before shaking her head with finality. "Nevermind."

"According to the information I was able to gather, the 'Champion's Challenge' first starts when you 'reach the appointed place'... I think you also need an item, but all I could make out is 'frozen in time'..." Pomona supplied, looking back up towards the forest.

"Well, do you have a direction we can start looking in?" Sam asked. She nodded, pointing North - towards the opposite end of the island. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

As the group began moving towards the fog, Evierose suddenly stopped, letting out a short gasp and summoning her spear. Before anyone could ask, however, there was a huge rumbling in the ground. Nearby, the other pirates gasped in shock, some of them calling out to others to make sure everyone was alright and accounted for. Pomona lost her balance, landing on her stomach, with Daphne landing on top of her. Elena raised her fists and Sam held one of his guns loosely in his hands.

A roar erupted from the rumbling - a deep guttural noise that made the hairs on Ace's arms stand. Whatever made that sound *definitely* wasn't human, or an animal that he'd heard before. Behind him, he could hear Pomona's whimper, and turned to see if she was okay.

That was his first mistake.

In just a split second, there was a blast from the foggy brush, something resembling one of Kizaru's light lasers - only this one was purple. Just barely he heard Evierose's cry of "Get down!", and he ducked, feeling the heat of the laser burn over his shoulder and land somewhere in the water, creating an explosion. When he stood up, he saw she was already running towards the source of the attack. Quickly, he motioned to the rest of his crewmates and took off after her.

In the forest, he heard something charging up, and a rapid fire of the same lasers was discharged at them. Evierose deflected as best she could, moving forward slowly, but was forced to a standstill, jamming her spear into the sand and using the air around her to block the blows. "What *is* this thing?!"

"I don't know, but we should find out!" Sam said as he positioned himself behind Evierose, gun cocked and ready to fire. With one pull of the trigger, he released a bullet, aiming just under where the lasers were coming from. There was a loud *clang!* as the bullet made contact, and for a brief moment, the firing stopped. Evierose let out a breath of relief, standing up and pulling her spear out of the ground. Allen helped Pomona and Daphne stand, and together, they joined Elena, Ace, Evierose, and Sam.

"Wh-what was that just now…?" Pomona asked, rubbing her arms to get the goosebumps down. Everyone else looked at each other, unease written across their faces.

"Is it possible that it was part of the Champion's Challenge?" Daphne said, giving all of her friends a once over to make sure they weren't harmed; thanks to Evierose's shield, the damage had been minimized. "Perhaps it's to weed out the weak?"

"Only one way to find out." Ace answered quietly. He slowly began making his way to the brush that the lasers had come from, taking care to have his Devil Fruit abilities ready in case there was another attack.

That had been his second mistake.

Something jumped out and over him, heavily landing in the sand behind him. Evierose let out a curse, and he felt the blast of wind hit him as he turned around to fully examine whatever had attacked them, only to stop in utter confusion and shock, unable to believe what he was seeing.

The entire thing had a metallic yellow color to it, with glowing silver etchings marked into the body. It had eight, long, spindly legs and a flat body, like a crab. There was a long cylinder sitting atop the flat body, on which two long eye stalks protruded, with one watching Ace warily, and the other observing the other six pirates. Out of the cylinder came two arms, complete with claws. One claw held a glowing sword, while the other claw snapped as it waited for the pirates to make their move.

In the distance, he could hear the sounds of shots being fired and more of those mechanical *things* moving across the sand, as well as the sounds of his other crewmates fighting and shouting. *This wasn't the only one,* he realized. They could have very well walked into a trap.

"Evierose, shield! *Now!*" Ace called out, not waiting for the spearwoman to activate it. He launched one fist out, releasing a large column of fire.

**"Fire Fist!"**

To his unsurprise, the machine dodged, its body spinning as its legs maneuvered it quickly over the sand and out of the fire blast's range. It sailed towards the rest of his group but didn't hit any of them; Evierose had thrown her spear point-down into the sand and slammed her hands together with a loud clap, using the surrounding air to split it in half cleanly. The flames dispersed into the sand, turning the area surrounding the six pirates instantly to glass. With one hand, she used the air to lift a piece of glass and threw it at the machine, which once again dodged the attack.

The machine reached its hand out, the large claws swinging towards the group, while the sword-wielding hand surged towards Ace, swinging the blade down at him. Ace didn't move, letting the blade pass right through him as his body shifted into fire.

Interestingly, it didn't melt - and neither did its hand, as it pulled back and fired a laser at Ace instead. This, he dodged, noting the still throbbing burn on his shoulder he'd received from its first fire - and watched as the laser turned the sand into glass. He had a feeling his Devil Fruit wouldn't help very much with those...

The others had gotten split up while avoiding the grabbing claws of the machine, but each were launching attacks to hit it. Sam had both guns out now and was switching clips like clockwork, ranging from his Explosion Bullets to the potent Acid Bullets, but even his marksmanship was no match for the surprisingly nimble enemy. Its body rotated and maneuvered over the sand quickly - having now switched to using the sword on everyone but Ace - and swung the bladed weapon down on Elena as she dodged and attempted to keep it distracted. Meanwhile, Daphne launched poison after poison at it, taking care to avoid her friends. Pomona had opted to stay behind Allen, who defended the shaking navigator vigorously, using his kicks to deflect the blade whenever it came near and pulling her with him when he dodged the menacing claw. Evierose had ended up near Ace, seamlessly defending him whenever the lasers fired at him and moving out of his way to allow him to attack. And when he missed, she used her own abilities to redirect the fire and tried to throw the machine's rhythm off. None of it worked - most of their attacks flew past it, and only a few landed on the body, doing minimal damage to it.

"This isn't working…!" Evierose panted out as she threw yet another piece of glass towards the machine, which it once again dodged.

Ace nodded, noting she was right; everyone was reaching their limits against this thing, from the tired panting and the delayed dodging, to the slowed-down nature of their attacks. At this rate, either the blade, claw, or laser would get them…

It was then that Pomona called out to the duo. "You must get it off of the ground! I am sure we can destroy it if we can take out its strongest point!"

Ace paused briefly, turning his attention to its legs and noted Pomona was right - the few attacks that caused it to stumble were always the ones that struck when the thing was airborne. It might be less dangerous if only they could lift it…!

He turned to Evierose, who had busied herself with deflecting the blasts while Ace had stood and watched it. "Can you lift it off the ground?"

"Of course I can, who do you take me for?" she responded, smirking.

In her hands, she gathered two balls of wind, before combining them and launching them at the machine, capturing it in a whirlwind. The machine began firing its lasers as it was lifted, trying to pinpoint the source of the twister and eradicate it. The six pirates dodged to the best of their abilities as the lasers continued to rain down on them and sand was thrown in their faces. Evierose snatched the largest piece of glass she could with a blast of air and held it in front of Elena, Sam, and Daphne, while Allen and Pomona took cover behind another piece of glass. Between maintaining cover for the trio and keeping the machine airborne, she was brought to her knees, hands wavering as she tried to maintain control.

"Now what, Portgas?" the spearwoman cried out, the strain clear in her voice. "I can't hold this thing up forever…!"

"When I tell you to drop that thing, drop it!" He called out to her, causing her to look back in disbelief. Her look of skepticism soon turned into one of understanding, as she saw Ace charging up an attack. With a nod, she reinforced her whirlwind, hand glowing brightly as she waited for his signal.

Ace had managed to get as close as possible to Evierose's twister, the fire around him building and burning as he prepared his attack. Everywhere he stepped the ground sizzled, before cooling and reflecting his flames on its glass surface. Inside the twister, Ace spotted the darkened and obscured figure of the thing that had *dared* to attack his family and kneeled, keeping his eyes trained on his target as he raised his fist, using the fire around him to create long lances in his hand. His other hand helped him pinpoint the machine, palm facing towards it and the space between his thumb and pointer figure acting as a reticle to accurately measure where he'd hit his target.

Still with his eyes locked onto the machine, he sucked in a large breath, yelling, "*Now!*"

With a small cry of relief, Evierose dropped her hand, dissipating the whirlwind and letting the machine drop towards the ground, watching as Ace thrust his hand forward, releasing the javelins with a mighty throw.

**Sacred Fire: Mysterious Light At Sea**

With a loud crunch, the lances tore through the machine's outer defenses, lodging themselves into it and exploding, creating a blinding light above the ground. Then, it fell - or rather, its remains fell, crashing to the ground with the screeching sound of metal bending and crushing and turning in on itself.

Ace stood, panting loudly, and waited for any sign of another attack. The beach had become silent; the other battles must have finished as well. He looked around at the chaos that had been created and frowned, an uneasy feeling welling up in the pit of his stomach. Just *what exactly did they fight against?* "Elena…"

"I'm on it," she responded, knowing exactly what he wanted. Taking out a screwdriver and a wrench, she set to work, taking a few steps towards the mangled corpse of the machine. "Honestly, after that display I'm *dying* to know what-"

"Elena *look out!*" Sam cried out, pushing her out of the way of a stray laser. The two hit the ground harshly, with Sam crying out in pain as he landed awkwardly on his left hand.

"No… how is it still moving…?" Pomona said quietly, her eyes widened in panic and fear as the gnarled machine started moving, getting to three of its feet and limping forward slowly.

One of its eyes was broken, the light sputtering and flickering as the broken stalk hung freely, while the other watched the pirates carefully, its red light once again washing over them to determine their new threat level. Three of its eight feet hung limply from its body, dragging along in the sand, while two were completely missing. One of its arms was ripped to shreds, sparks flying from what remained, while the other rummaged around in the wreckage and retrieved its missing sword, holding it up and pointing it towards the pirates. All over its ripped and torn body wires poked out, while its once simple lighting began to go haywire, flashing warning colors of blue and red along with the steady silver it had been previously.

"It... it shouldn't be… moving..." Elena said, slowly at first. She sat up next to Sam, who favored leaning on his right arm. "I'm sure you hit its power source; judging from its body mass and its relative size, it shouldn't be able to move, much less fire a laser…!"

"Well, we're just going to have to beat it into the ground until it *can't* move!" Daphne called out, reaching into a pouch on her belt - but there wasn't much left in it.

Looking around, she saw the same went for the rest of her friends; Sam held his left wrist gingerly, while Elena favored her left foot, wiping blood away from her forehead where she'd been cut. Pomona looked ready to faint at having to survive yet another battle, and Allen was still panting from the last fight, scrapes and bruises dotting what she could see of his skin. Even Ace and Evierose looked to be reaching their limits, despite her witnessing those two expend near limitless energy on other occasions. With the enemy weakened, they should have had the advantage, but… the injuries they had taken themselves guaranteed nothing.

The damaged machine beeped, its laser charging up. The pirates readied themselves, dodging yet another blast as it limped forward. Daphne bit her lip, stumbling as she dodged a series of rapid fire beams, before tripping and landing in the brush near the edge of the beach. Her eyes lit up as an idea quickly formed in her mind. "Everyone, over here! Let's head into the forest!"

Ace turned towards Daphne's voice, noticing she'd somehow managed to stumble her way out of the beach. Head into the forest? What good would that do?

It wasn't until another blast from the limping monstrosity made him realize it; of course! They'd never make it out to sea and back to the ship before that thing took them down; damaged or not, they were low on stamina and that machine's firing range was long. Given that it hadn't fired on the Moby Dick, however, meant it couldn't sense anything out of its immediate vicinity - a fact he'd realized when Evierose had lifted it into the air; it could still sense them, but not very well, which meant there was a limit to what this thing could do. Going into the forest gave them a better chance of evading its attacks and regaining some energy. He nodded along with Daphne's quick thinking and began running towards the forest, scooping Pomona and Allen up as he did so.

That was when he learned the big glaring hole in her plan.

Despite it being damaged beyond repair, the crushed machine was *still* fast; it might not have been at its peak speed, but it had enough left in it to sprint towards the trio, firing lasers at them as it gave chase. And with everyone heading to the forest, of *course* it would follow them there! He cursed loudly, using every swear possible as he dodged and kept the younger pirates in his grasp. But it was no use; it was gaining on them, faster than Ace could run.

Elena and Sam had already reached the brush before he did and watched with worry. "Ace!"

"Elena, Sam, catch!" he gasped out, lifting both Allen and Pomona and tossing them towards the two older pirates, who caught them with ease.

The sudden shift in his weight, however, caused him to miscalculate his next step, and he tripped, toppling forward. The machine was well on his back now; he could hear the inconsistent beeps of its broken body as it bore down on him, laser charging and ready to fire through him. He stuck both hands out, catching himself as he fell and pushed upward in a forward leap, launching himself up and through the air toward the brush, desperately hoping he could make it before the machine caught him.

As he did this, however, he spotted a gleam of silver underneath him. The machine? No… he recognized this silver… Then it was gone, only replaced by the sickening groan of metal dragging across ground.

Just as he'd launched himself up, Evierose appeared underneath him, her entire body shrouded in lightning as she pushed their pursuer back with her towards the beach, forcing her spear in where he'd made holes before. The machine's beeping got worse as she did so, sputtering as sparks flew more rapidly. She backed away from it, lifting her free hand in the air. In it was a ball of lightning, coiling as it hissed and popped. She threw it at the machine, hitting it squarely and knocking it back a few feet.

Daphne frowned, pursing her lips. Lightning - that was new. She was sure Evierose had never used that before. But then again, she never fully explained her abilities, only supplying a quick, simple sentence in the moment… Daphne would make sure to ask her for a more detailed explanation later.

"Go! That thing might signal more of it to come after us if it gets into the forest with you!" Evierose called out, creating another ball of lightning and hitting the machine once more; this time it teetered, trying to stay balanced on its trio of feet. "I'll catch up with you, don't worry!"

"How are you going to do that?" Ace called out, standing at the edge. The others had already started down the path, but Ace waited. He might not have liked *or* trusted Evierose as much as he did his other crewmates, but she was still a member of their crew - whether she thought so or not - and as her Commander, he needed to make sure she would be okay.

He barely caught the smirk on her face before she turned around, facing the mangled machine once more. "I have my ways… Now go!"

Ace nodded, hearing the confidence in her voice as she faced down her enemy, letting out a cry as she ran towards it. He turned, running blindly into the trees and following the sound of running from everyone else. Briefly, however, he looked over his shoulder before the beach fully disappeared, and caught sight of Evierose, running around the machine and dealing devastating blows, using the lightning to enhance her speed as she did so. Then, something peculiar happened.

The area underneath her glowed, with weird circles and symbols appearing. Just barely he caught her saying something, but whatever it was, he was too far to understand it, only hearing her voice carry through the air. Then, above her, with one hand in the air, a swirling mass of energy that was not fire, or air - or even that weird lightning trick she'd been using - appeared. It looked more like when he'd use Flame Emperor, though nowhere near as big and not as fiery. He was unable to catch what happened next, as the mist suddenly swirled in and blocked his view; all he could hear was the devastating blow as it landed, hitting the ground and causing a brief rumble. Frowning, he turned forward and continued running, a weird feeling at the back of his mind as he mulled over Evierose's strange display of power.

Eventually, he'd caught up to the rest of his group, spying Elena's bright blonde and Daphne's salmon pink in between trees. "I'm glad everyone's alright… Evierose said she'd catch up with us soon. For now, since we've got a break, let's rest up then keep moving."

"How's she gonna find us in this fog?" Sam muttered, looking around. Since entering the forest, it seemed to have gotten thicker; there was a few feet around him he could see before everything was obscured and out of sight.

"Wait, you *still* want to find the Champion's Challenge?" Elena asked in slow disbelief. Ace hesitated, then shook his head, a thoughtful look on his face.

"There's something else on this island, something that made those things, and I want to know what it is." He said, glancing around. "If we happen to figure out the Champion's Challenge in the process, I think it'll be a win-win."

Elena let out a small groan, leaning back against the rock she'd chosen to sit by, before turning to Sam. "How's your wrist doing?"

"It's smarting, but I'll get over it, especially thanks to Daphne," the sharpshooter answered, holding his now wrapped hand. "I might have some trouble using my rifle, but I can still use my handguns!"

"It should be better within the next two days, *provided* you don't stress your wrist." She said pointedly, moving on to care for Elena's wounds. "Given your track record, however, I'm giving you a week at best!"

"Hey, I promise this time I'll be a good patient, Doc!" Sam joked, turning as Allen and Pomona came back through the brush, Evierose behind them. She looked worn down, with a few cuts on her arms and face that hadn't been there before, as well as new bruises.

"Cool, everyone's still alive," She said, smirking. "I guess we gotta figure out who the heck sent that monster after us now?"

"Pomona and I found some things that we think will lead us somewhere," Allen chimed in, pointing back to where they came from. "But… well. You should come see for yourselves."

The four other pirates looked at each other, before gathering up their supplies and following the two younger pirates. It seemed it would take a bit before they reached the area, so Daphne pulled back to walk at the same pace as Evierose, giving her a once over. "How are your cuts? Do you need anything?"

"Hm? Oh, these?" She looked down, seeming mildly surprised that she had any. "I'll be alright; I'll just lick it to make it better."

"You most certainly *will not!*" Daphne hissed, the doctor in her rearing its head as she began lecturing. "Not only is that incredibly unhygienic, spit does not have any sort of healing properties to help disinfect or speed the process of closing the wound! Who told you that was okay? And where are they so I can give them a proper rundown on how to effectively maintain and clean wounds!"

At this, Evierose's face gave way to a dark look, and Daphne paused, frowning. However, in the midst of that darkness, she managed to glimpse… Sadness?

"They told me that a long time ago…" She answered quietly, turning her face away from Daphne's observant eyes. After a brief silence, she turned back to the doctor, a smirk on her face as she held up a small bag. "Anyway, I noticed you were running low on your poisons, so I… grabbed these from the wreckage of our rowboat; hope something in there is useful to you. I also managed to grab this too," said added, giving Daphne her spiked mace.

"Oh, thanks…" Daphne said, a bit surprised that the spearwoman had picked up on something like that during the battle… Peeking into the bag, she noticed that it did in fact have some of her more common poisons in there, and she took careful steps to separate them and place them in their respective pouches, while letting the mace hang from its strap around her wrist.

"We're gonna need it for whatever we face next," Evierose noted, motioning her head towards the front of the group. Daphne turned to see what she meant, and gasped.

She could already tell that it was the same type of machine that attacked them on the beach, and she felt her body tense as she got into a battle stance. Instead of resembling a crab, this one looked more like a spider, with eight, spindly legs and two flat body parts. The longer she looked at it, though, the more she realized its power source must have gone out quite a while ago. Vines and mold were covering its body, and the shiny silver color had eroded into a rusty copper brown in places. One of its arms hung limply in the branches of the tree it was under - really, it looked as though the power chose to die while it was climbing down the tree, as evidenced by its legs securely wrapped around the large tree's trunk… Elena had approached the machine cautiously, checking it to make sure it wouldn't suddenly activate. Once she was sure its power source was dead, she immediately began tearing it apart to study how it worked.

"I've never seen anything like it…" the shipwright muttered, shock and awe brimming in her eyes as she studied the decayed machine's wiring. "This… is so advanced, I don't even know where to begin…"

"Anything that tells us its weak points would be helpful," Ace advised, checking the surrounding area quickly. "If and when we run into another one of those things, we'll be better prepared to fight it off."

"That's not all Allen and I found," Pomona intercepted, catching the rest of the pirates' attention. Elena looked up briefly, before returning to her work on the strange machine. The rest followed the young navigator as she walked a little ways away from the spider-machine and the enraptured mechanic. "We think there were - or are - people living on this island."

In front of the six pirates was a well worn-path, cutting through the trees and mist like a knife. The path split in two directions, and in the intersection was a well-worn sign. Pomona tentatively stepped towards it, bending down to wipe the dust off. "Hm… this is a language I've never seen before…"

"Let's pick a path and see where it takes us - hopefully not towards our deaths," Daphne suggested, looking between their two choices. "If there are people here, both paths should lead us towards them… right?"

"Theoretically, the chances of us running into natives of this island are good," Pomona surmised as she studied the path. "These paths had to have been worn down over a long period of time, but given its narrow width, it must not be a heavily traveled area. There is also the possibility that only one will lead us to people; the other might lead nowhere."

"If it leads to nowhere, we can always backtrack and try the other option," Sam proposed, rubbing his chin. "Though we should also consider the person who created those machines - it's likely they didn't want visitors, and these roads could be covered with traps."

"So maybe we're better off *not* following either path?" Ace asked, raising an eyebrow as he looked over the two roads. "I'd assume there are more traps the deeper we go."

"Well we can't head back to the beach yet; there could be more of those machines lying around." Evierose reminded everyone. "I say we pick a path and go."

"'Kokarika Village, left path, 10 miles' - so the sign says," Allen read, squinting his eyes as he did so. The other five pirates turned towards him, watching as he studied the sign. "I can't be sure that's correct, however; the sign's writing is pretty worn, plus this is a dialect I don't think I've come across before."

"You can understand this language?" Pomona said, excitement creeping into her voice. Allen paused, a slight blush appearing on his face.

"Y-yeah; my mother was into studying languages, so I… picked up a few from her. It's a habit I've tried to break." he responded sheepishly, looking away from the pirates' curious gazes. "A-anyway, I also think we should try a path - preferably the left one, since we know a village is down it."

"We can take a vote and go with the majority; Sam, can you grab Elena?" Ace watched as the orange-haired sharpshooter nodded and headed back the way they came, disappearing into the mist almost immediately. "Truthfully, I'd like to keep going as well, but if our odds are-"

His sentence was cut off as a scream tore through the foggy jungle, followed by Sam's cry of "Elena!" The five pirates all turned and raced back down the path, adrenaline pushing their bodies to prepare for an attack. When they reached the tree and the machine, no one was in sight - the only indication that the two had been there was Elena's tools, and one of Sam's handguns.

Ace bent to pick up the gun, staying crouched and holding it tightly as he slowly scanned their surroundings, looking for any hint that they weren't alone. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Evierose standing with her eyes closed.

"There were three… no wait, five - there were five people here, along with Sam and Elena," she said quietly, her eyes still closed and face scrunched in concentration. "I don't know where they went, though; it's almost like they've completely hidden themselves, energy and all. Sam and Elena's are gone too."

Ace frowned, standing up as he did so. "We can't leave them behind. We're going to search the surrounding area; everyone stays together, especially in this mist."

The other four nodded, and Ace turned to step off the path. The moment he did so, a *swoosh!* sounded, followed by a yelp from Pomona.

A net had shot off, from a trap Ace didn't notice. The net began to reel in quickly, taking the young girl off the path and into the fog. "Help me!"

"Pomona!" Allen took off after her, and dove into the jungle, followed by Daphne. Almost immediately, the two were swallowed into the fog, which thickened the further they ran.

"We have to stick together!" Ace cried out, worry and slight panic coursing through his body as he and Evierose tried to follow the duo. It was too late - even though their vision was impeded, they could hear the sounds of a battle going on, the cries of the chef and doctor ringing out clearly.

Ace growled, tendrils of flames leaping from his body as he tried to spot anyone, *anything,* moving through the mist. The jungle had fallen silent, the only sounds being the wildlife that lived here. There was no unnatural sound of battle, no remnant of a human moving through the underbrush, *nothing*.

He turned to Evierose, frustration clearly showing on his face. "Can't you do something about this fog?"

But she only shook her head, a perplexed look crossing her features. "I can't… There's something… *off* about this island. This mist, it's unnatural, and the air here… It won't obey me - it's different from when we were on the beach. For now, there's nothing I can do."

"Well, we've got to do something! Allen and the others are-"

He paused as he suddenly felt a stinging sensation in his left arm. That was odd… Looking down, he saw a dart protruding from his tattoo; the needle had pricked him right in the crossed-out 'S'. He plucked it out, examining it in confusion - noticing the distinct blue tip…

And felt his feet give out under him.

The world started to sway as he crashed into the ground, the stinging now turning into numbness and spreading throughout his body. Above, he heard what sounded like someone calling his name, but his brain had turned to mush, making it hard to stay focused… His eyelids started to close, and it took all his effort to force them back open. He tried to reach up to touch his face, but his arms weren't working right; in fact, they weren't working *at all*. Across from him, he saw Evierose enter his field of vision, her body hitting the ground roughly. Her spear slid across the jungle floor and off into the underbrush, out of sight. Just like him, she also had a dart in her shoulder, but he noticed that its tip was a strange hazel and amber color, unlike the blue one he had…

With a groan, she tried to sit up, breathing heavily. Ace tried to call out to her, but all that came out was a gurgled moan that sounded like, "Eeeeefi..." His mouth felt like it'd been stuffed with cotton, and he smacked his lips, trying to get them to work. But his tongue felt heavy and wouldn't move right; it stuck to the roof of his mouth like he ate an entire jar of peanut butter.

She glanced at him, worry lining her features, then behind her as a shadow fell over the two. Another dart entered her shoulder, and she let out a cry, her head swaying before it finally fell forward, her green eyes dull and unfocused as her gaze fell on him.

The last thing Ace saw was her being dragged away, her silver hair leaving his sight.

~holypoopyits18pagesandwe'reonlygettingstarted!~

The shuffling and quiet whispers were what pulled Sam back to consciousness.

He groaned as he slowly opened his eyes, blinking rapidly in confusion and lingering sleep. What happened? Where was he? And why did his head hurt so much? He sat up slowly, rubbing at his bleary eyes with his right hand and winced when he put pressure on his left. The sharp and quick bite of pain caused him to yelp, and he held his hand up, examining it. That's right… He sprained his wrist earlier, when they fought against that strange machine, then their journey into the jungle… The last thing he remembered was being ambushed in the forest, with Elena...

Next to him, Elena mumbled, rolling onto her side and pulling the sheet over her head. He turned to look at her, feeling relieved that she was alright, and took the time to study their surroundings better.

The entire room was dim, with the only bit of light coming from the barred window above them. And speaking of bars - there was a heavy set of them going across one stone wall to the next, separating them from the other side of the room, where an identical set of bars blocked another space. He stood slowly, turning around to get a full picture of where the two were. More walls made of stone, a rough cot with worn sheets, and a bucket in the corner…

They were imprisoned.

The orange-haired sharpshooter sat back down on the cot as his mind tried to retrace the steps that lead him here. But all his brain could remember was Elena's cries of shock, and his fumbling for his gun -

A shock passed through him, and he quickly patted his sides. Yup, his guns were gone. He frowned; those guns had been with him for as long as he could remember; not having them now made him feel open, *vulnerable*... Shaking his head, he pushed the uncomfortable feelings away and looked at all the facts he had.

He and Elena were in some sort of holding cell.

He was unarmed and injured.

He had no clue where they were, and he was sure Elena wouldn't either.

He didn't know where any of his friends were, or if they were safe.

And, he didn't know who it was that attacked them.

"What a mess…" He muttered, rubbing his face with his hand and turning to glance at Elena. She was still sleeping peacefully, and Sam hated to be the one to ruin it, but… "Elena, wake up."

He shook her a bit, and with an unhappy moan, she pulled away from his hand, cuddling further underneath the blanket. God, she could not be more adorable… With a firm shake of his head to keep himself focused, he continued poking and prodding at the sleeping blonde until she finally sat up, eyes unfocused and still caught within a dream. "Wha…? Sam, why are you in my room?"

"We're… not in your room." Sam responded, fighting the urge to smile at Elena's innocent confusion. "Remember? We were ambushed in the forest?"

Sudden realization dawned on Elena, and she examined the room quickly, frowning as she stood from the rickety cot to examine the heavy iron bars. "Oh no…"

"Yeah… I don't know if the others were attacked or not." Sam supplied, rolling his left wrist to ease some of the pain. "If anything they hopefully escaped, or saw who attacked us."

The blond nodded, giving the bars a quick yank to test their sturdiness. Just as she suspected - whoever built this holding cell intended for it to withstand the strength of whoever was trapped within it. She noticed Sam lacking his holsters, and knew she'd been disarmed as well. So they were trapped, at the mercy of whoever had caught them. "If I had my tools, I could've dismantled this cage in a flash…"

"Maybe there's something in here that can help," Sam suggested, though their temporary home was threadbare and empty.

The two paused their searching, however, as they heard the sound of a heavy door opening. They looked at each other, hope and unease lighting their eyes as they rushed to the bars, trying to see to the end of the hall. There were voices as well, and they grew closer and closer to their cell, speaking in quiet whispers before finally stopping. From the angle she was standing at, Elena could see two hooded figures; their entire bodies were completely shrouded, making the mechanic unable to tell what they looked like. They were each holding onto something - no, they were holding onto *someone* -

"Pomona!" Sam cried out, panic lining his voice. Elena gasped as they opened the cell across from them and tossed the girl unceremoniously inside. Her body landed with a thud on the ground, causing her to release a pained yelp. Elena's grip on the bars tightened, and she felt the metal groan under the pressure. "What did you do to her?!"

"Nothing that wasn't deserved." one of the hooded figures answered, only turning slightly to the duo This voice was high pitched, but firm and unyielding - this one must have been a high ranking officer, or something similar. "A simple… procedure, to ensure our safety."

"You bastards…" Sam growled, giving the two a heated glare. "What do you want from us?!"

"That is of no concern of yours; but do not fret - your time will come, just as the young girl's, and just as that leader of yours and his silver-haired Witch." The same figure responded, before turning away. The other figure followed, and soon, the hallway fell into silence again.

"Silver-hair… That could only mean they got Evierose too…" Elena answered, though she hummed at them calling the thief a "Witch"... Perhaps they didn't know of Devil Fruits here? Though Elena herself wasn't sure if Evierose *even* had a Devil Fruit… "And 'our leader' must be Ace… But what about the others?"

"That only leaves Daphne and Allen - we can only hope they didn't get ambushed like we did…" Sam frowned, not liking the odds. But a small groan from across the hall pushed that worry away in favor of a new one. "Pomona! Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine and well…" The blue-haired girl sat up, wincing as she did so. She looked beaten and battered, with new cuts and bruises dotting her skin. Her skirt was torn and her white shirt was dirty, but other than that, she didn't seem to be in any extreme pain. Her eyes were glowing brightly with clarity and focus as she looked over at the older crew members. "Are you two alright?"

"We're fine, just confused and apprehensive," Sam answered, crouching down to get a better look at the navigator. "What about the others, do you know where they are or what happened to them?"

At his question, Pomona frowned, and tears gathered in her eyes as she nodded. "Th-they captured us all... i-it was too late to avoid th-them. I was separated from Allen a-and Daphne, but the room they took me to… Captain Ace was there. He was chained up with sea stone, and… h-he looked to be in p-pain. Th-they were trying to get him to talk b-but he wouldn't, until… until…"

Pomona's voice shuddered as she sobbed, and Elena and Sam looked at each other, already understanding what she wouldn't say. Their situation was only getting worse; if their strongest fighter was out of commission, then… Sam turned back to Pomona, questions still brimming in his mind. "Did you see Evierose? They said they'd captured her too."

But the little pirate only shook her head, wiping at her tears. "I-I don't kn-know where th-they've taken her… B-But Captain Ace might. He said he'd s-seen her after they brought me in."

So that was their situation: Ace immobilized, their other crewmates nowhere to be seen, and no new information on where they were or who they were being held captive by. Sam tried not to let the negatives get to him - right now, their objective was clear.

They needed to escape, and do it fast.

Author's Note: Ah, I haven't done a cliffhanger like that in a long time... What's gonna happen to them? I guess you'll find out in Chapter 5!

Sit tight, and see you next time!