LW: Kaya doing stealthy sneaky stuff, and a kind of big change to the future of the Straw Hat family… 2 actually ;)
Drop in the Ocean - Secret Syrup Services So Surprisingly Sound
Mohave
Buzz
Buzz
Buzz
Bang
Bang
Bang
Kaya attempts to keep her breathing even as she slides and dodges around snapping mandibles and wicked long stingers, her bullets focused on the wings and thorax of the creature as she knew already that for some reason headshots were less effective than they should for a living thing such as this. Still, eventually it got a little too close to comfort, and as she turned her chest to syrup the animal put itself just a little too close to the pirate to dodge…
"Syrup pincushion!" Kaya cries as her fingers all pierce the insect's head and thorax, the creature twitching and writhing before falling silent
Clap clap clap
Melting down and reforming beside the now dead beast Kaya turns to see a very impressed Shalashaska, smiling softly at the young woman "Very good job Miss Kaya, Cazadors are vicious animals, but what do you expect for hornets larger than people?" he chuckles "One thing the boss and I agree with the World Government on, is that you don't need a hunting license to kill these things, because their pests with no redeeming qualities. The only good Cazador is a dead one"
"Good training too, given they show no mercy and don't back down until they're dead" Kaya half jokes
"Pretty much, especially given I wouldn't throw a greenhorn like you at a Deviljho" he laughs, ruffling her hair as Kaya shivers, that demonic Dragon/Pickle can FUCK right off, thank you very much
Baltigo
"I still don't get why I'm doing this" Kaya sighs as she's led through corridors by a blond man in a top hat
"Because one of our marine contacts was rushed to us in critical condition so the Doc is very busy keeping Eliza alive, and you're potentially the next best medical practitioner on the island" Sabo says with a wink "You are a trained medic right?"
Kaya rolls her eyes "I trained under Dr. Tony Tony Chopper, yes. Now what's the actual issue, that information seems to have been missed in the rush?"
"One of our newer agents…. Well, she's about to give birth. It's kind of why you're more or less being dragged across the facility in order to be there for the event" he explains, finally reaching the room
Kaya swallows thickly as she reaches for the door handle "Is now a bad time to mention this will be my first delivery?" she says half-jokingly before pushing open the door and her eyes bulge in shock "ROBIN!?"
Nico Robin looks up from the bed she was situated on "Oh, hello Kaya, lovely to see you are in good health"
"You, you're still alive…. And wow you've gotten huge!" the blond shouts, before blushing as that was horribly blunt, but Robin just laughs, Kaya also noting that besides the obviously bloated stomach, her time in Tequilla Wolf and with the revolutionaries have caused her tan to fade a little, her hair was longer than she last saw her, now mid back, and her breasts had jumped up a handful of cup sizes, which at least there was a good reason for.
"Yes I am, that's how pregnancy works" she grins "I presume you're my doctor for this evening as Gregory is unavailable"
"Um, yeah. Kind of a last-minute substitution. I should probably check on your progress then" Kaya mutters awkwardly
"Oh Miss Kaya, how forward, what would Ussop and Kaos think?" Robin winks "But go on ahead, my water broke while at a meeting with Dragon and the contractions seem to be every 20 minutes or so"
Despite her red face, Kaya sighs tiredly as she checks under the sheets " Just barely starting to dilate. This is going to be a long day" she mutters to herself
7 hours later
"There we go Robin, just a little more" Kaya coaches her as Koala and surprisingly the Revolutionary Head Monkey D. Dragon himself held her hands
"It hurts" Robin cries, Koala wincing as she holds in the thought that she's not the only one in pain, unconscious armament manifestation may have broken 2 of her fingers at this point "How much longer?"
"I see the head, one more push" the syrup girl assures her, as a head with short white hair begins to enter the world, twitching before with a little help from the logia Kaya was able to free her, of course, that was only the prelude as just at that moment….
"Ahhhhh!"
A strong pulse of energy floods the room, Kaya whimpering before melting into a syrup puddle, luckily someone else was there to catch the baby before it could be harmed, in this case being Dragon as Koala was busy getting her hand and shoulder broken as her knees knock from the haki pressure wave. Despite the haki wave she just unleashed, Robin was able to have a smooth afterbirth and Kaya had reformed enough to finish her job of cutting the cord and swaddling the little white-haired sweetie and passing her to her now very tired mother, as well as fill out the documentation, such as her name.
A month later
"Next job Miss Kaya, our informants have managed to find information on another black site that needs clearing out, this time in the South Blue" Adam explains as the ship is being loaded
"Ok, will Koala or any of the other agents from here be joining us?" Kaya asks, not recognizing any of the men on this mission besides what was essentially her mentor since joining the RA
" Afraid not, just us and the regular boys this time. Koala, Eliza, and Hack will be investigating an offshore site on the Grand Line, standard 3-man team for an infiltration mission of this nature, meanwhile we're set up for a Blue Sea collection job, lower risk so less high-rank members needed, and more hands to retrieve any and all data we can before destroying the basecamp"
"So like the job I first met you guys on" the blond hums "Anything else we need to know about this job?"
"Just that Lindbergh himself forwarded this on to us, whatever is going down must be a big deal, so we're heading out as soon as we're ready"
Elsewhere
"Who's a little sweetie, oh I bet you're going to be such a troublemaker growing up just like your Papa"
"You know, it's customary to at least ask before touching someone's baby" a groggy Robin mutters as she opens her eyes, seeing it was Koala's friend who was cooing at her baby, his top hat resting on the floor beside him
"Yeah, but you were sleeping, and I need to get all the time with my niece in quick before she decides one of the other 2 idiots is her favorite uncle" the blond chuckles, running a finger through the baby's silvery white locks
"A little forward isn't it, just because Koala is a friend of mine, doesn't mean you're an uncle" Robin says mostly for clarity, as the teen seems nice enough if a little forward, though maybe it's a Revolutionary thing
"Don't worry, I wouldn't assume anything like that if that was the reason, it's nothing to do with you actually, and all to do, with your baby daddy. I know those eyes, she's got her daddy's eyes. You and Kaos made such a cute kid, my brother will be proud when he finally sees her" Sabo chuckles, grinning widely as Robin's eyes widen in shock
"Brother? But, that's not possible, Kaos' siblings are Luffy, Ace…"
"And Sabo, yes. Me. In my defense, as far as anyone in the Goa Kingdom knows, I'm dead. Not by choice but when I was almost killed by a Celestial Dragon, and soon after, rescued by Dragon and his men… I had amnesia from the head trauma the explosion caused" he chuckles, awkwardly rubbing the back of his head
Robin hums, now curious "Interesting, what snapped you out of it, given you haven't tried to contact any of them since your apparent death?" she asks, hoping Kaos and Luffy's big brother wouldn't just leave them out in the cold like that
"Honestly, not that long ago, it was when I was reading the reports on what happened at Marineford that things kind of clicked in my brain, hurt like a Fishman punch to the braincase, but I remembered everything, and realized what a bunch of near suicidal idiots my brothers have become without me" Sabo sighs "It also explains the random, not heart attacks I've gotten over the last year, my big brother instincts were still intact, but I had no context to the feelings"
"Given all 3 of them have nearly died a good few times in the last year alone, it's probably as much a miracle you're alive as they are by the sound of things" Robin chuckles "Now if you could pass my daughter over to me, that would be lovely"
"Sure thing" Sabo smiles, gently picking up and carrying the child who stared curiously before nuzzling into Robin's chest "She learns fast" he says with a wink
"Yep, knows where the food is, that's for sure" Robin chuckles as she opens her shirt to let the baby nurse, pleased when she sees Sabo had already turned before she looked up "Was there anything else?"
"Honestly, just the name for the little tyke, if it's not too much trouble" he chuckles
"Fair enough. Much like her big sister, this little one is a Nico D. though in this case, I chose the name Medusa after her grandmother"
"Your mother?"
"Kaos' birth mother, though I am aware he sees Miss Dadan as his mom due to being raised by her" Robin explains as she swaps breasts for Medusa to feed from, Medusa staring up at her before they slide closed as she resumes suckling
South Blue - WG Blacksite
In hindsight, the lack of activity within the facility should have put the team on edge, but most hoped the place was abandoned and that they could simply retrieve any scraps left behind and take them away for study and to figure out what had been done within the base. Unfortunately, that's not what was going on as the group reached the central area of the base, a large, enclosed area similar to an aircraft hanger, that things began to make sense as the door sealed behind them. It was a trap
"It seems some curious little rats have entered our facility, a perfect test bed for my creation" a voice is heard from somewhere near the ceiling, looking up from the ground see a railing near the wall where a man in a lab coat and glasses is standing looking smug
"Dr. Emmerich I should have known the World Government would snatch you up, though I'd expected someone of your caliber to be working alongside Dr. Vegapunk
The man scoffs "Please, the old man could never appreciate my brilliance, luckily though, the World Government did, allowed me to set up a lab and provided all the funding and materials I would need, in order to achieve my masterpiece. Behold!" Emmerich laughs as the hanger's lights turn on revealing his creation "The weapon that will surpass the Warlord system, Metal Gear!" Of all the reactions he expected, a slight snort wasn't one of them
"Sorry" Kaya squeaks as she realizes all eyes were now on her "That wasn't meant to come out! Though you have to admit, after what I've seen and heard about Doctor Vegapunk, those Pacifista Kuma cyborg clones, and his Devil fruit-imbued objects…. A giant robot isn't exactly, impressive, it's even a little clumsy and crude, no offense"
"Well if that's not impressive enough for you, I'll show you the full power of my Metal Warlord replacement, the ST-84 Metal Gear, Gorgon!" Emmerich declares as he activates the mech. The visor glowing before with a whir of mechanism the weapon basically unfolds and 'stands up' revealing the entity was a 24m tall, heavily armored, bipedal death-machine with a vaguely human shape, more so than expected due to certain… design choices.
"Those, are breasts" Kaya notes, Adam coughing behind her as she had a point, 2 canisters, partially embedded in the armor plating of the main body of the battle droid, did give the appearance of breasts, rounding out the ST-84's shape/silhouette to that of a VERY well-endowed giantess "Gorgon…. Oh crap, this was based on Boa Hancock, wasn't it?
"They're not breasts, the design was too top-heavy and unbalanced when the containment vessels were on the shoulders, so we had to move them lower and more centralized, hence their current placement within the central core" Emmerich attempts to defend, then scowls, and orders it to attack the Revolutionaries
There was a hum from within the machine before it raises its left hand, and much like the Pacifistas reveals there to be a port in its palm, which then spews a cloud of thick grey smog on a portion of the enemy, screams were heard before everything turned silent and as the smoke dissipated those caught in the cloud had been rapidly petrified
"THAT is why it's called Gorgon you uncultured little brat!" Emmerich bellows from high above "Now eliminate them all!"
"Focus fire on the joints and the core, we either topple this thing or damage the power source enough that it breaks down on its own!" Adam shouts as everyone begins shooting at the machine, to which it turns its right hand toward them and as they scatter unleashed a reddish-black haze upon a corner of the warehouse
"Damn it, we're dropping like flies out here" Adam scowls as he reloads and flares haki into his "There has to be some way around the smoke"
"Sir, we got a problem, this stuff is eating through our weapons like they're made of paper mache" one of the agents call from the black smog
"So, there's more than one effect, explains what he meant by needing multiple containers" Adam hums
"And the other attack doesn't affect the weapons, as the men still have their swords and guns even while they're statues" Kaya agrees, firing as many syrup bullets as she could from cover, melting into syrup to avoid the clouds, and to the surprise of everyone still alive/conscious and not turned to stone…. The missiles in its shoulders "That's just unfair" she gurgles just as a rust cloud enveloped her position "FUCK!"
"Damn it this is getting us nowhere, we need a new plan or we're dead" one of the surviving agents curses as they attempt to regroup, by now used to the yellow sludge pile slinking over to them before reforming into Kaya
"Guns are out, weapons fried or ash…. I have a very bad idea" Kaya mutters, Adam looking at her in concern
"You think it can take this thing out?" he asks
"As long as I don't miss, and I can focus my haki for long enough, then yes" she nods, getting a smile from the older man
"Then take this thing down Miss Kaya" he nods, letting her take the helm so to speak, as this thing's armor just wasn't budging no matter how hard they hammer it
Kaya breathes deeply, letting the haki flow, collecting in her clenched fist, as well as forcing pressure into her arm, holding it tightly while her eyes lock on to her target…
'Gear 2nd, made Luffy faster but cost a bit of his lifespan when Chopper and I did our daily checkups' She thought back to a year ago, to the fight with Gecko Moriah and the dismantling at Sabaody
'Anord Nathair is essentially a spring and needle type of trick' Kaya thought further to when Kaos pulled this trick out of his hat.
'Coup De Vent, is an air cannon but with a lot of recoil as Chopper and I routinely stress to Franky' Kaya jokingly thought about the cyborg that brought them grief but turned into one of their most loyal friends
'Alright Kaya, just focus yourself like a needle and maybe you won't die after all, I need to be strong for Ussop and my friends!'
"Ame Ame Missile!" Kaya screams as her forearm swells and explodes, firing her haki blackened fist right at Gorgon, striking and piercing the right canister, rupturing the containment vessel and releasing a cloud of archaea, the still conscious revolutionaries tense and hold their breath as the dark cloud envelops the mech, and then bloody red patches started to form all over, Kaya grins as she'd struck true, the metallic archaea, that had destroyed their weapons and left them defenseless to the paralytic variant, was now doing the same to Gorgon, eating away at the metal frame and turning it to ash
"No, my glorious Metal Gear, this is impossible!" Emmerich shouts in shock and fear, just before he's slammed by a wave of syrup, colliding face-first with the wall behind him and passing out, Kaya reforms as the agents tie him up to take away for questioning
"Ok, now the threat's been dealt with, everyone collect all research notes and useful material you can find, if we find something to reverse the current state of our guys that's even better" Adam states, the group spreading out in the lab and sifting through Emmryich's notes and logs.
Later
"Hm, green blood?"
"Something wrong there Miss Kaya?" one of the men asks as they sift through the records in the lab
"I found something while looking for a way to restore our guys…. Which from what I can tell, is this" the syrup girl replies, pointing to a large oil drum-shaped canister
"Restorative compound Alpha Trixine was a success at reversing the effect of metamorphic Achadia, but with such a limited sample of Green Blood Dr. Vegapunk provided, it's unclear if it would also work against the genuine article, the Mero Mero no mi…"
"That, is quite a worrying piece of information, knowing the government is attempting to figure out a way around the Mero Mero's petrification abilities" Adam frowns "There may be something very important they want that needs to be restored, or maybe it's just a precaution in case the Kuja Empress betrays them" he muses
"Hope for the latter, but presume it's the former" Kaya asks with a frown, getting a nod from the older blond
"Pretty much, now let's get this alpha trixine to the boys and take all the research we can, though at least Huey still being alive means he can fill in the gaps from whatever we missed"
Some time Later
"What is Green Blood?" Dragon asks after reading the report from Adam and Kaya
"I, have no idea what you're talking about" the snail responds, eyes darting irregularly
The Revolutionary commander sighs deeply "The problem with playing dumb, is that it doesn't work with someone as smart as you, so just tell me the truth, we have proof of the stuff's existence but very little actual information on it"
Shaka was silent for a few minutes before answering "It's something we've been working on for a while, synthesizing Devil Fruit abilities through a liquid medium. It's very trial and error at the moment and only works on Paramecia types, but it's getting there"
Dragon grimaces, not liking the thoughts popping into his head at what the World Government could do with multiple users of some Devil Fruits, even if they could only use it on ⅓ of the fruits in the world, some of the most powerful ones were Paramecia, the Gura Gura and Soru Soru to name but 2 "Keep me up to date, this could go south very quickly"
"Of course it could, it's why Lilith isn't allowed to work on them or Project ArkAngel without supervision, she's being secretive enough about her so-called Magnum Opis as it is, we don't want her tinkering with something we already have stabilized" Shaka groans, Dragon knowing the man had his head in his hands "Good Day Dragon"
"Good day, Dr. Vegapunk" Dragon responds as the call is cut and he mutters aloud in exasperation "I'm getting too old for all this crap"
TBC
LW: Well, it's finally done, man this one was tricky to tease out, and probably still kind of crappy. If so then I apologize
I believe next time will be Sanji's chapter, unless I've mixed up my notes. Until then…. Happy Easter!