LW: And now, as the manga is just about to leave Egghead, RKMM finally begins its predecessor, Punk Hazard.
Rubber King & Mirror Master - New World Chaos: Paradoxical Island, the Land of Ice and Fire
Thousand Sunny - New World
In the bedroom of one of the 2 throuples on the ship, a sound familiar to Eldrich and Mythical Zoan users could be heard, even if lowly: stretching bone, tearing and shifting flesh and warping of appendages into positions they were never designed for, and yet all 3 of them continued to sleep and cuddle, even Medusa in her own little corner barely twitched.
As the dawn breaks, Robin hums and leans her face into the crook of Kaos' neck, then frowns as she feels scales brush against her thigh. Curious but also confused as, as far as she knew her lover's transformations were all or nothing, so if it was a neck or a naga tail, his neck and shoulder would be similarly scaled, not normal flesh. Sliding her hand under the covers she finds a knee, which just adds to the confusion, as well as much smoother, softer scales than she's experienced with Kaos' Monster Point transformation. Still, she decided to see where this went, sliding up the leg, running her fingers across a firm, meaty thigh, until she reached the apex and in doing so a huge, almost doughy butt cheek, which she gently squeezed.
"Uhh" Shirahoshi whimpers, and Robin's eyes snap open. She's not sure how, or when, but it seems her and Kaos' mermaid girlfriend/fiance, was no longer a naga, but a human, at least from what she can feel.
"Zesesese, this is new" Kaos chuckles lowly, drawing Robin's attention to him. At this point, since everyone was awake, he used his tail to move the sheets, and as Shirahoshi turned as red as Luffy's jacket. Robin grinned impishly, as she notices that the no longer a mermaid, but a scaly-legged woman, had her very damp inner thigh draped across the double dipper's groin.
"It seems we have 2 things to deal with before figuring out how Shirahoshi has gone from a fishtail, to a snake tail, and now 2, sleek, supple legs" Robin purrs, her fingers practically sinking into Shirahoshi's ass cheek, the former mermaid whimpers and moans, not helping Kaos' reaction, nor Robin's as even she was starting to rub her thighs together in anticipation.
Later
"Can you 3 go 1 day without fu-u-u- wHAT the?!" Nami gasps as rather than a bowlegged Robin, the woman stepping onto the deck with shakey legs, was Shirahoshi, her hips wrapped in one of Robin's sarong, which did nothing to hide her wide hips and big bubble butt, nor the salmon pink scales on her legs to her ankles where they shifted to a more human tone cream, her feet ending in 4 clawed toes as she nervously pads over to a chair, Robin and Kaos following her nervously, while Medusa just looks confused "Explain!"
"Shirahoshi turned from a snake lady into a scaly legged lady, we're trying to help her figure out walking" Robin answers, sitting down beside the princess with Medusa in her lap, while Kaos remains standing, watching her curiously and defensively.
"I smell magical bullshit, nothing else makes sense" the navigator grumbles.
"Unlikely, Mama Hoshi can still talk, which rules out the only way I know to give a mermaid legs" Artemis admits as she joins the group "Plus they'd be normal legs, not scaly ones"
"Yeah the scales are kind of odd, they're not fish, but they're not necessarily snake anymore either. They also stop at the ankle and the apex of the inner thigh, leaving the feet and delicate area decidedly human" Robin adds, hugging Shirahoshi as she lets Medusa crawl onto the former mermaid's lap.
"We're working on it, just like the last incident. Whatever this is, it's probably controllable at some point, it's not like we're playing transformation roulette or something equally weird" Kaos hums, getting a sigh from Nami, but as long as the 2 of them say they have it handled, she'll let them be.
The next day
"This is insane, the New World is already making the Previous half look like the East Blue!" Ussop screams as the Sunny bounces across massive waves like a stone being skimmed, which of course has their captain cheering as they bounce around.
"Can the Sunny take this kind of strain?" Brook asks in concern, and panic.
"If it was made of normal wood, I'd be concerned, but Sunny' made of sterner stuff, plus, and I'm taking both Artemis and Val on their word here. Still, the magical reinforcements they've put in, make it almost twice as durable, so she'll be fine" Franky assures the skeleton while a cackling Val steers them towards the next island.
"Um, we have a problem!" Kaya squeaks.
"Tell me about it, the sea's on fire!" Zoro shouted, even he looked shocked.
"New World bullshit strikes again" Artemis sighs from her place inside the cabin with Robin and Medusa.
"Oh, this island has a volcano too, let's go there it looks cool!" Luffy announces, and everyone within earshot already knows there was no stopping him, so they were going to the volcano island surrounded by a flaming ocean. Fun -_-, at least in Luffy's book.
"Luffy hold your horses, none of the needles on the Log pose are pointing to the island!" Nami argues.
"But we can see the island, so we can just go there" Luffy states bluntly "The pose is just to direct us to an island, but once we see it, we can just go straight"
"That's not how it works, Luffy. NONE of the needles are pointing to the island, despite how close we are to it, even in the New World that's a red flag, that island is bad news" the Navigator retorts.
"That's not stopped us before, nor will it now. The island is right in front of us, and we're pirates, we do what we want when we want, and go where we want, what can stop us?"
"The fact the SEA IS ON FIRE!" Vivi screams, trying to get it through her husband's rubber head "And no matter how strong the Sunny is, it's still made of wood, which burns easily."
The Sunny feels a dent in her pride at that simple fact
"You underestimate Sunny's speed, and the durability of Adam Wood" Franky laughs.
"No, you're underestimating the danger we're all in, look in the water, the fish are dead and reduced to nothing but bones!" Nami cries, pointing into the burning sea to see fish bones floating on the surface.
"There's nothing wrong with that, I like being just bones" Brook defends, getting a mild punch to the side of his head "I'll be quiet now"
"Boohohohohoho!"
"Is the baby hungry? Should we make Sanji make lunch? Is it heat stroke?" Chopper panics as they hear crying, though given Medusa just looked from Artemis to Alvida in confusion, maybe a little tiredness, it certainly wasn't coming from her.
"It's coming from the Den Den Mushi" Kaos calls as he brings the snail outside, the animal still broadcasting the man's sobs.
"It's a distress beacon, someone nearby is in danger" Sanji explains, as the others were wondering why they were receiving a call without answering it first.
"So, we should answer it then" Luffy grins as he bounces over to the snail.
"Hold on a minute Luffy! More than half of those calls are fakes, traps made by the Marines to track down pirate ships. Once you answer the call, they'll know exactly where you are and zero in on your position" Robin warns.
"See, someone talking sense, let's put the snail in a cupboard until we're out of range of the cry…." Usopp sighs in relief
"Hello, my name is Monkey D. Luffy, and I'm gonna be King of the Pirates!" Luffy relays as he picks up the receiver before getting punched by a panicking Ussop for completely ignoring the potential trap.
"So, on a scale of 1 to 10, how bad is this?" Shirahoshi asks nervously.
"Currently, a 4, as nothing bad has happened yet, it's just the potential, and the anticipation that's getting to everyone" Kaos answers, getting a nod from the semi-mermaid.
"Someone help!"
"What's wrong?" Luffy asks now the call had connected properly
"Please, it's cold. We need Boss!"
"It's really hot over here, the sea is even on fire" Luffy responds, while the situation continues to intrigue some of the others "And who's boss?"
"My friends are being cut down, one after the other by some mad samurai! He's going to kill us all!"
"The what now?" Zoro mutters, now very interested in what was going on.
"What? Samurai? Where are you?" Luffy shouts into the receiver, this was getting very bad very quickly.
"Please hurry, we're on the island of Punk Hazard! We don't have much time left. AAAAAHH!"
"Well damn, first time the line going dead was literal" Victor winces as the connection cuts and the snail goes back to sleep.
"Hmm, seems like trouble is brewing" Luffy muses as he puts back the receiver.
"B-BREWING!? He's dead, it's been brewed, poured, and served Luffy!" Ussop shrieks.
"So scary, let's not go there" Chopper frets.
"Or, he was faking it, and it's still a trap" Robin suggests, it was not a popular theory, but it needed to be at least considered.
"Samurai is some kind of swordsman right Brook?" Zoro asks the skeleton who stops strumming his guitar to answer.
"Correct, they are the swordsman that hails from an island deep in the New World, known as Wano, an insular, secretive place closed off from the world and unaffiliated with even the World Government. We've technically met one before, Ryuma was a Samurai, well he was a zombie but I say it counts" Brook answers jovially.
"Not that it matters right now, he said Punk Hazard, not Wano. Think that's the name of the island across from the sea of fire?" Franky asks.
"Well I doubt there's another island close enough to get a signal from, so it must be" Alvida agrees.
Elsewhere
"That was the Straw Hats, no doubt" Tashigi notes as the Black Den Den Mushi goes back to sleep as the transmission is lost "They're going to Punk Hazard, or are at least close enough to get a distress signal"
"That's not ideal" Smoker sighs, looking down at his Log Pose, then at Raijin island, one of the 3 potential targets "But at least we know where they are at the moment. Now we just have to catch them" he exhales a long plume of smoke "I don't care if your boyfriend's on the ship Tashigi we're taking them down"
"Boss!" Tashigi whines, though the Vice Admiral's smirk says it all, just before he orders the ship to set course for Punk Hazard.
Back on the Sunny
"So…. How are we getting to the island?" Val asks.
"And how many of us are going?" Sanji adds, getting looks of confusion from a fair few of the crew "We don't know what's going on over there, so it makes sense to have at least some of us stay here on the Sunny in case things get messy" the cook explains.
"Ok. Hey Franky can I borrow the Mini Merry?" Luffy pipes in.
"Don't even think about it, we can't have you running off like an idiot, it could take us a week to find you again!" Nami shrieks, causing Chopper and Kaos to wince.
"If you wanted to come you could have just said so" Luffy mutters with an eye roll.
"I most certainly do not!"
"I'll come, will be fun to fight this samurai," Zoro says, volunteering for this new adventure.
"Then you definitely need more people, given he's guaranteed to get lost with just Mosshead as the company" Sanji scoffs.
"You wanna start something?"
"Bite me Cyclops!"
"SHUT UP!" Alvida bellows, pinching the bridge of her nose.
"I'd like to go, it seems like fun" Robin chimes in, grinning widely as she does.
Nami sighs deeply "Honestly, the Mini Merry can only hold so much, so the simplest option, and to prevent whining afterwards, is if everyone but Luffy draws straws"
"This seems like a waste of time" Victor grumbles, but goes along with it.
"Will one of you guys go if I get picked?" Chopper asks before picking a straw.
'Lady Luck don't fail me now, what good is luck if I die today' Ussop thinks, before taking his straw, one of the last, then everyone pulls away…. And his was one of the 'winners' who got to go to Punk Hazard.
"Lucky bastard" Kaos and Artemis mutter.
"Seems you only needed one red straw after all" Shirahoshi giggles, seeing Zoro and Robin had gotten the other 2 so we're definitely going with Luffy.
"Ok, everyone has been decided, then let's get this shitshow underway" Nami claps before pulling out her climatact as Franky preps the Merry "Milky Road" she cries, before shooting out a long plume of sea cloud from the end of her rod.
"So cool, just like Skypeia!" Luffy gushes.
"Probably where she got the name from" Vivi chuckles.
"Correct, though you'll need to give them a minute to stabilize enough to move on, otherwise you'll sink through like an ordinary cloud" Nami warns, getting a nod of understanding from her captain, whatever lets them get over the sea of fire is fine with him.
"Alright everyone, Adventure!" Luffy shouts, leaping into the Mini Merry which already contained a grinning Robin, eager, but resolute Zoro, and mildly panicked Ussop, before the vessel began its voyage across the Milky Road into the waters of Punk Hazard proper.
"So, on a scale of 1 to fucked, how bad is this island?" Alvida asks.
"I got nothing, so either there are no devil fruit or powerful people, or they're out of range" Kaos shrugs "I'll give it a 3"
"But they'll probably need our help eventually so it's best not to get too comfortable" Sanji warns.
"So, I shouldn't have broken out the marshmallows?" Artemis asks, she and Carue having found some long poles to put the mallows on.
"Maybe later" Kaya hums, while Vivi sighs, while her oldest companion has a guilty, embarrassed look on her currently human face.
On the Milky Road
"I can see the island, there's even a gate. Wonder if that means there's a town here too" Luffy notes and wonders.
"I doubt that, anyone who lived here was probably burned to ash, any towns or villages suffering the same fate" Usopp argues.
"Unless this is the natural state of the island" Robin hums "Then anything or anyone who lives here would have adapted to the volcanic climate. This might even be where that Yoton technique Val mentioned, and its practitioners live" she adds, not helping the sniper's fears.
"Oh, maybe we can fight them, they're the ones who spit lava at people right?" Luffy asks.
"Lava, ash and I believe Val said quicklime too, though that one is much rarer" Robin confirms with an amused giggle.
"Well, we made it without dying, that's probably an accomplishment" Zoro says as he drags the Merry further up the beach away from the flaming sea.
"And the sign over the fence says Punk Hazard, so we ARE on the right island" Robin notes.
"Technically, but the guy on the call said it was cold, which this definitely isn't" Ussop argues.
"Maybe he got so hot he got cold, like how you can get so cold you feel hot again or something?" Luffy suggests.
"As far as I know, Paradoxical undressing only occurs in cold climates, but we could ask Chopper when this is all over" Robin hums, now actually curious about if such a thing were medically possible.
"Fair" Luffy shrugs.
"Aw man, guess we have to turn back" Ussop snaps his fingers.
"What now?" Zoro grunts.
"The island is off limits, it says so in big letters. Meaning whoever was on this island was here illegally, and probably are bad people, so we should leave before they find us too" Ussop pleads.
"Jokes on you, I can't read" Zoro winks, before slicing through the gate like it was made of paper.
"He's not serious is he?" Luffy stage whispers.
"No, he's just trying to annoy Ussop. Every Bounty hunter can read, how else would he know who he's meant to take in and how much he's getting for them" Robin answers, getting an 'oh' from Luffy, then a nod as that makes perfect sense to him.
"God it's hot in here" Luffy groans, wrapping his shirt around his waist, Zoro doing the same "Why is everything so hot?"
"Probably because everything is ON FIRE!" the swordsman grumbles
"Makes sense, this place resembles some depiction of the literally fiery hellscape that awaits the damned souls in the afterlife" Robin nods, removing his green dress to reveal a much lighter outfit underneath.
"Oh good, I wasn't going to die by Shimmer and Artemis' hands just because you decided to walk around topless" Zoro sighs, glad Robin at least came prepared.
"Oh please, like I'd let anyone see me like that besides my lovers" Robin chuckles even as she rolls her eyes.
"Hey guys, this is a bad idea. Trespassing is very illegal, especially on Government property…. Ah who am I kidding we're pirates and we kind of already did this schtick with Enies Lobby. Fine, I'll come too, you'll all be lost without me!" the sniper calls out, then rushes to catch up.
"That's the spirit Ussop, join the adventure!" Luffy cheers.
"I wonder when the island became this hellscape, it can't have been naturally like given the Government put that fence up, plus the way the structures were built, this place was habitable once upon a time" Robin thinks aloud.
"Yeah, this place wouldn't be half melted and still burning if the place had always been like this" Zoro agrees.
"Plus, none of these structures really resemble houses, so it was most likely a Government Research base of some kind" Robin notes.
"Like the one Artemis came from, just less on fire?" Usopp asks, finally catching up with the group.
"True, though if it was this one, I'd have certainly left with it on fire to this extent given the chance these days" Robin nods, causing a shiver to run down all 3 men's spines despite the near-boiling air temperature.
"Still, we need to find those guys or the samurai, they have to be someone on the island," Luffy says, drawing attention to, rather than away from their mission for a change.
"In order to do that, we need to somehow find some cold in this burning abyss!" Ussop reminds him.
"Yeah, that doesn't make sense, how can you be cold and on fire? Maybe he was just stupid" Luffy hums.
"I don't think that's how anything works Luffy" Robin sighs "But it could mean that this particular aspect of the island is localised, and there is also a polar area, which is where the distress call originated" she guesses.
"So there's a fire part and an ice part? K, let's go find the Mystery Ice!"
'Close enough' Zoro, Robin, and Ussop think, before all 4 of them hear a whooshing sound followed by a wheezing sigh.
"What was that? Why are there scary noises where everything should be dead and on fire?" Usopp shrieks.
"That is quite concerning, that something is surviving despite the current condition of the area" Robin agrees, before the source of the noises finally enters the line of sight.
"Wait, those are real, I thought Shanks was bullshiting me!" Luffy shouts as an honest-to-God Dragon appears behind them, hissing and salivating as it stares down at the 4 humans.
"It would seem the Yonko was correct, Dragons are real" Robin gasps.
"I'm gonna cut it, it can't be a real Dragon, those things are myths" Zoro grunts, reaching for his swords.
"It's right there Zoro, clearly not a myth! We're all gonna die!" Usopp screams.
"SO COOL!" Luffy bellows, once his brain finishes processing that 'Yep, that's a dragon all right' "Seriously it's a Dragon, it snarls and moves, and everything, even the wings move. How badass is this thing?"
"If he asks to keep you, you put your foot down" Ussop whispers to Robin.
"Just because I'm a mother doesn't mean Luffy will listen to me, besides, I think Artemis has enough restraint to not ask to keep a clearly feral dragon as a pet. She'd find one of its eggs and show it to us as we leave, asking if it's ok to keep it as we can't turn back now" Robin argues, getting a snort of amusement from the swordsman and a sigh from the sniper.
"True, what good's a dragon you don't raise from birth?" Zoro adds jokingly, then grimaces as it's fire starts to crackle between it's large, conical teeth "ah crap, I was hoping the fire-breathing part was fabricated"
"Everybody run!" Luffy orders just before the Dragon performs a fairly impressive imitation Flamethrower, the other 3 diving out of the way while Luffy chooses to bounce over it with a yell and a cheer.
"I wasn't sure what I was expecting" Usopp squeaks
"Given it's a Red Dragon, the fire should have been obvious" Robin says in a tone that implies a facepalm.
"Oh no, you don't get to have all the fun Mr Dragon" Luffy grins before activating Gear 2nd and leaping into the air faster than most could see, only reappearing…
"Gum Gum Jet Pistol!"
…right before his fist slammed into the Dragon's jaw, pushing its head quite a bit, but the rest of its body was firmly planted on the ground. It's return attack, a tail slam, knocks Luffy out of the air and sends him flying through a building which crumbles from the impact.
"Shit, that thing took out Luffy in 1 attack, what do we do now?" Usopp panics.
"It's my turn now" Zoro states with an almost feral grin, though the bandana was still on his arm so he wasn't going all out just yet.
"Can you try not to sound so pleased about that, he's going to eat us all!" the sniper scolds him, though Zoro clearly didn't care, so all he and Robin could do was give him some room to fight, starting off by blocking the Dragon's charge with an Ultra Tiger Trap, though that doesn't deter it from making another pass at him, his swords holding back those jaws, but it would only work for so long.
"BACK OFF!" Luffy's yell was followed by a kick to its side, this attack actually managing to knock it away and off balance, giving both Luffy and Zoro a chance to re-orientate themselves and prepare for the next attack.
It seemed the dragon also wanted to put some distance between itself and the pirates as its wings opened to full extension and it took to the air, then launches more massive fireballs upon the pirates who scattered to avoid the deluge.
Back on the Sunny
"Do we really have to stay this close to the firewater?" Artemis whines as she lies on the grassy deck.
"Eh, probably" Kaos shrugs, looking kind of sleepy as Medusa nuzzles into his waistcoat.
"I feel so weird being this hot and dry, is this how humans normally feel?" Shirahoshi pants, leaning against Kaos as she sits rather than trying to stand or waddle on her new legs.
"No, if it was we wouldn't complain as much" Vivi corrects her, draped over Alvida who was similarly roasting, which was better than Kaya who seemed on the verge of melting.
"Hm, this island makes no sense, even just based on the cloud coverage" Nami frowns as she stares outward using his binoculars "One side blazing hot, the other freezing cold. It's unnatural that's for sure" she mutters to herself, then begins to worry as something clearly explodes within her extended line of sight.
FSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
Not that it mattered for very long as the Straw Hats began to get lightheaded and woozy, each of them dropping like flies as the gas took effect.
"We have, 2 pets, a cyborg, a female of unknown species, 9 humans, and a baby. Tie them up!"
"Yes boss!"
"It's a good thing they're just lowlife pirates, nobody will miss them, the perfect test subjects for our master"
Punk Hazard - Fire Side
"We can't do anything while it's in the air" Luffy grunts as they keep dodging fireballs "Get back down here and take your beatings like a dragon damn it!"
"Just leave him to me Luffy, I'll have him sliced to pieces in no time" Zoro states, the group having been separated by the flames into 2 pairs, them on one side of the area the Dragon seemed to call home, with Robin and Ussop on the other.
"If you wanna kill it then go right ahead, just, ow…" Luffy hisses as he grabs some of the burning wall to anchor himself "...let me bring him to you" he smirks before using Gum Gum Rocket to shoot himself right at the dragon, extending his arm to latch onto one of it's spines, though he had to let go. Half flail, half bounce onto it's back to avoid being flame-grilled in the process "Damn, this thing feels like it's on fire too" Luffy sighs, before noticing something that was weird even for this place, someone's lower half resting on the dragon's neck.
"PFFT I felt a gentle breeze there a moment ago, has the great beast moved to somewhere else PFFT" a voice calls from the legs as they flail, catching Luffy's attention.
"Hm, so I did hear a voice earlier, but, where's the talking part?" Luffy wonders aloud as he pokes and prods at the legs, very confused by the fact that was literally all there was, a man from the waist down.
"Unhand me you foul ruffian PFFT, such antics dishonour a proud warrior such as I!" the pants growl.
"This is so weird, but so cool too" Luffy chuckles, then peers over the Dragon's wings to where the others were, far below "Hey guys!" he bellows "You'll never guess what I found up here, some fancy pants guy in a diaper, stuck in the dragon's back!"
"You have got to be kidding me" Ussop facepalms, while Robin just looked curious, then fearful as the Dragon finally notices his new passenger, and tries to eat Luffy, though the rubber boy is quick to bounce further down the dragon's back.
"You hungry, then eat this!" Luffy shouts, grabbing the Dragon's wing joint just as the head lunges for him, it's rabid gnawing and gnashing of jaws, making short work of its prey. Unfortunately, what it did manage to get its teeth on, was its own wing, and without it, all that dragon was coming down hard and fast. "Watch out down there, I can't stop this thing!" Luffy calls down as a warning, but also serves as Zoro's cue to make his own move to slay the beast, dashing across the burning roofs to get into the perfect spot to launch his attack.
"Not enough air, Ussop, I need a boost" he calls over, getting a nod from the sniper before he unleashes his Green Star: Trampolia, which the verdette quickly jumps onto to get closer to his target. Passing its jaws with a spin and a clash of swords on teeth, Zoro rose above, finding the perfect spot for the death blow.
"One Sword Style: Lion's Death Song"
As he resheaths Shusui, the dragon's head separates from its body, both falling straight down into the blaze below.
"One slice and it's dead, Zoro cut clean through it's spine with that attack!" Usoop cheers.
"Well of course he did, he's our swordsman of course" Robin teases, as the 2 watch from a relatively safe distance.
"Oh, I bet this thing tastes real good" Luffy laughs as they all fall out of the sky.
"There's enough fire all over the place we could barbecue even a beast as big as this one" Zoro jokes, getting a wider grin from his captain, just before the 2 had their fall broken by Robin and her blooms, allowing them to land safely before the dragon crashed beside them.
A little later
"So, since Zoro someone managed to miss them without even seeing them, what do we do about the Dragon's leggy little tumour there?" Ussop asks as the legs continue to flail around, sticking out just past the back of the dragon's head.
"We pull him out of course!" Luffy yells, before extending his arms to wrap around the man's lower half.
"PFFT unhand me you roughian, how dare you lay your savage mitts up my hind quarters PFFT!"
"Shut up, I'm trying to help you" Luffy grunts as he keeps pulling.
"He does seem very stuck. Do we have any backup plans if this doesn't work?" Robin asks curiously.
"We could try cutting him out" Zoro suggests.
"Let's save that for plan B, right now I want to know how he got stuck like that and how he can talk and breathe with half his body buried in a dragon" Ussop hisses.
POP!
In much less time than expected, Luffy managed to separate the man from the dragon, which was when things got even weirder and more confusing, as it turned out to JUST be the lower half of the man.
"Annnnnnnd, now I've seen everything" Zoro deadpans, wanting an entire barrel of sake right about now.
"Oh crap I broke him, do I put it back?" Luffy frets.
"Huh, guess he was a tumor" Robin hums.
Confusion continued as the legs stood themselves up, and got into a relatively normal posture, as if still supporting a body, though it clearly wasn't.
"Seems I've been liberated," the legs say triumphantly.
"This is very strange, there's no mark on the dragon where this person had originally been attached, nor are there any signs of a body anywhere, besides the void where one should be" Robin theorises.
"So, it was legs the entire time?" Zoro asks, mostly for clarification, and getting a 'yep' from Robin in return.
"Hm, well whoever these legs below to, it's a big fella" Ussop notes as he circles the half they could find, noting that part along was almost the same size as him.
"Not really, Kaos was bigger even before the training break we took, this guy is breaking 10ft" Luffy shrugs "More important question, how is he moving around with just legs?"
"PFFT I know you're there, but without eyes or ears I can only sense your presence" the legs state with an audible scowl.
"He's pretty smart for something without a brain" Luffy grins, just before the legs jump angrily in his direction
"PFFT Whoever you are, get out of my way!" it cries, before making a break for…. Who knows where "I refuse to die in a place like this, I have a mission to carry out PFFT! I will not allow this indignity to go unpunished! Prepare yourself, warlord, for my revenge!"
"He's getting away… I'll go get him, you guys roast that dragon and I'll be back shortly," Luffy says with a grin before running off, Zoro and Ussop facepalm as they know Luffy was about to stupid his way into another incident. Robin also knew, but her reaction was just to giggle, as it should be fun to see how their adventure ends this time.
"I don't think this is a good idea. I mean Brook was one thing, he was a skeleton due to Devil Fruit shenanigans, but a pair of talking legs, it seems a bit, iffy" Ussop sighs.
"Quite, there must be more to this situation than what we can see" Robin nods "Plus, the fact he mentioned the Warlords, that is cause for concern"
"You mean one of them is here right now?" the sniper squeaks fearfully.
"Potentially, yes, or they've left after doing, well that to our currently a pair of talking legs" Robin hums, pointing in the direction of where Luffy ran off to "I don't know who could do something like this though, it's so strange"
"We'll find out, and kick their asses later, for now, let's see if Dragon's are edible or not" Zoro grunts, not really in the mood to worry about Warlords right now.
Elsewhere
"Hm, this guy has a worse sense of direction than Zoro, makes sense I guess given he's got no head" Luffy chuckles to himself as the legs accidentally set themselves on fire via running into a wall as they rush around the Burning Lands completely blind "Oh crap, stop running you idiot you're going to crash into that building!" he shouts and shoots his arm forward to grab them, only for the legs to somehow dodge a then parkour their way to the top of the building.
"PFFT, a most stubborn of pursuers, and yet I sense no hostility in their aura, very strange. You there, what pray tell do you intend of me, standing in the way of my sacred duty like this?!"
"Sacred, I don't fucking know I'm just trying to get you to calm down and tell us what you're doing you weirdo!" Luffy shouts up, before shooting both arms up and grabbing both legs by the ankle.
"What sorcery is this? PFFT!" the legs cry "Unhand me knave!"
"Sure, all you need to do, is stop running away!" Luffy shouts as he slingshots himself at the legs, and in doing so, gives them a Luffy-sized cannonball to the balls. "Oops" Luffy chuckles, as his plan technically worked, as the leg monster wasn't going anywhere soon after a blow that strong…. Nor was it reproducing, but that's not really that important right now. What was, was that the legs, once more got stuck when he and Luffy finally hit the ground again.
A little later
"Well, at least we now know how he got stuck to the dragon" Robin hums, starting her own portion of Dragon meat.
"Yeah, don't know how, but it did" Ussop sighs.
"Hey, at least he won't run off like this" Luffy laughs "This dragon meat is real good, tender, and juicy, nice job. Also, what exactly do you call people, like me right now?" he asks curiously.
"With 4 legs. I think it's a centaur" Ussop answers with a shrug.
"Neat. I'm a centaur now!" Luffy cheers, bouncing around like a loon.
"I mean it was bound to happen eventually, magic and transformations seem to be par for the course this past week. Just look at the princess" Zoro mutters "What even is she now?"
"Technically she's somewhere between human, naga, and merfolk, but we're not actually sure right now" Robin admits.
"Curses, I appear to have affixed myself to something again PFFT!"
"Luffy, please stop before you risk making yourself look like more of an idiot" Robin deadpans.
"Plus those legs probably have their own head telling them what to do, best to cut them loose and let them get back to their own stupid" Ussop argues as he begins to drag the leftover dragon meat across the floor.
"Hey guys, get over here!" Zoro shouts from the roof of one of the buildings "You NEED to see this!"
"Is it something about the samurai, or the leg monster?" Luffy asks as he runs over and clambers over to where Zoro was standing, Robin and Ussop not that far behind.
"WHAT! There's snow on those mountains!" Ussop screams, then pauses "Actually, I think those are glaciers. Ok why the hell is one side of the lake on fire than the other frozen solid, it makes no sense".
"Indeed, but at least we now understand, that the distress call came from that side of the island, not this one" Robin summarises.
"And that means the Samurai is also over there" Zoro nods, already eager to fight him.
"Let's head over there, I'm in the mood for snow cones, we just have to cross the lake right?" Luffy asks, bouncing around giddily.
"That is the jist of it, yes" Robin nods.
"Are you insane, not only is the lake too wide, but none of us are fit for Winter Island weather. We'd freeze to death in minutes!" Ussop argues.
"Easy, we'll just skin some of the native animals and make coats" Zoro suggests, following Luffy and Robin to the shoreline.
"Am I the only person with self-preservation instincts on this crew?" Usopp mutters to himself, before heavy wingbeats send a shiver down his spine, and since the last time they heard that it was followed by a dragon, he didn't want to know what that one heralded, meaning he ran full pelt after the rest of his crewmates.
Meanwhile on the other side of the island
"Shi-rororororo Shurorororo"
"I bring news Master" a man in a heavy-duty hazmat suit states as he opens the bunker door "We've seized several intruders from the Hot Zone, they appear to be pirates, sir."
"Well, isn't that just splendid" 'Master' purrs as purple smoke begins to coalesce in front of the man "And perfect timing, we were running low on guinea pigs"
"Indeed, in fact, one in particular might be of use to you, master, she is a child, most likely less than 5 years old" the suited man adds, as a wide grin forms in the smoke
"Oh, that's just perfect Shirororororororo!" 'Master' cackles.
Not long after
"My, what a fascinating group of specimens you're brought me, I'm sure they'll be eager to contribute to my research" the smoke hums as it looks upon the still passed-out Straw Hats "And it seems you were correct, this one will do nicely" he croons, before his smoke wraps around Medusa and pulls her into his grasp, just as the pinkish smog coalesces into a more human form, a pale-skinned man in a lab coat with dark, slick-looking hair, backward-pointing horns similar to appearance to a ram or goat, long slender limbs, yellow eyes, a small nose, and purple lipstick "Just perfect"
"We expected as such, both her, and the cyborg, though the other woman, whatever she is, maybe a worthwhile research specimen" the head of the hazmat crew agrees and notes.
"Yes, cybernetics on this level are quite rare, and as for this new species, usually we hear about ancient races dying out, not new ones being born, fascinating indeed" 'Master' hums "I'll take this one to my lab, you lock the rest of them up, we'll have plenty of time for fun later Shurorororo"
Sometime later
BANG!
BANG!
BANG!
"My fucking head. Sanji, you keep doing that your head is the next thing going through…. Whatever that is" Kaos snarls as he comes to, Sanji's clanging kicks also rousing the others with its volume and echoes.
"It's some kind of prison cell, or a vault but it's being used as a cell" the cook argues "And since you're awake, you can fucking HELP me! We need to escape this vault, then kick the asses of whoever kidnapped us!" the cook shouts back.
"Yeah yeah, we'll get out eventually, better question, does anyone remember what happened?" Franky asks as he sits up and stretches.
"We got drugged, I think I remember someone in yellow, but that might have been the gas making me hallucinate" Sanji sighs "Either way, we got gassed, kidnapped and locked in a cell, most likely on Punk Hazard, as this doesn't seem like standard practice for the marines"
"Everyone but Brook at least" Kaya notes, before noticing something else and freezing.
"Probably because he's a skeleton, they didn't think to take him while he slept as he literally looked dead to the world" Alvida argues.
"I don't think even Kaya or I could escape with our logia fruits, those pipes seem too high, and given how sophisticated it is around here, most likely seal shut at a moment's notice" Vivi grimaces.
"May I speak?" an unknown voice asks, the Straw hats looking around in confusion.
"We got another invisoperv, or is it a real ghost this time?" Valentina wonders aloud, then grimaces when she realises all their weapons were still on the Sunny 'Of fucking course they are, and of double fucking course I don't have a lockpick' she thinks bitterly.
"I am no pervert nor a spectre of the great beyond, merely a man in a tight spot. Please, if you would be so kind as to restore the puzzle, that is my face" the voice continues, at which point the pirates look down, seeing bits of something was talking to them.
"GWAAAA! It's a thing, it'll kill us all!" Chopper screams, leaping into Shirahoshi's lap.
"Whatever this is, I sense Devil fruit bullshit was involved" Victor sighs.
"I know not what sorcery you speak of, but I would be most grateful if you restore my face to the correct orientation, please" the head parts ask.
CLICK!
CLANG!
Despite being even less than a disembodied head, all 8 parts shiver as a massive talon indents the ground right in front of his right eye.
"We'll put you back together, if you tell me. Where. Is. My. Daughter?" Kaos hisses, purple already bleeding into his acid-green eyes.
"Shit" Sanji curses under his breath.
"Not again" Nami whimpers, praying the vault doesn't collapse on top of them in an outburst.
"You, also are missing your offspring?" the headpieces gasp "My greatest sympathy, my son is also somewhere in this ghastly facility, but I am unable to locate him due to my current condition"
The 1st mate hisses lowly, before crouching down, finding one of the eyes and meeting its gaze "Your son is here, somewhere?"
"Yes, Momonosuke, he's 8 and shouldn't be alone, especially not in a place like this" the pieces plead.
"Medusa is 2…. And I believe you" Kaos sighs "Artemis, I found you a new thing to make into art. See if you can make a face with the pieces"
"Wait, I don't think that's necess-"
"Hush now, I'm the ship's sorceress, and artist, if anyone knows how a face should look it's me" Artemis huffs.
"Depends on their style, some art I've seen looks to be drawn by people who have seen a human before" Vivi argues "You at least seem to aim for realism, so he should be fine"
He was.
"Thank you, Miss Artemis, correct? It feels good to have all my parts in the right places once more" the man states with clear gratitude in his voice.
Beat
"IT'S A SEVERED HEAD!" several straw hats cry.
"Indeed, I thought we already established that" the head hums, his eyebrows making weird gestures.
"How are you alive, how are you talking to us? Are you a ghost?" Chopper asks fearfully.
"I, do not know, but i suspect the swordsman I crossed paths with on this island to be responsible, his used some kind of wicked sorcery on my person before he cut me to pieces as you saw moments ago" the head explains "He cut me but I did not bleed, there wasn't even any pain, it's most mysterious"
"Yeah, there are no spells I'm aware of that can do anything he just said" Artemis admits, getting a nod from Valentina as nothing she could think of could do so either.
"I have an idea" Kaos hums "Trafalgar Law. What's happened to this guy feels a lot like what he did to those marines back on Sabaody 2 years ago"
"I have no idea who that is, other than if he is, then he's a scoundrel for cutting me down like this but not granting me the honour of a warrior's death, instead I suffer this indignity" the head mopes.
Fire Side
"It seems going around the lake to be nearly impossible, it's just too large" Robin notes as there doesn't seem to be a point in her line of sight where the lake curves towards the other side.
"So we'll just have to cross it, but how?" Zoro asks.
"Um, guys… Luffy found a new friend" Ussop groans, facepalming as the 2 look back to see Luffy had found another weirdo, this one some kind of leopard centaur/caveman looking weirdo, the 2 gushing about how awesome the other looks.
"Hm, seems this side of the island can support life" Robin blinks, surprised, but amused nonetheless.
"Sorry about that friend, I was looking for intruders and never saw you before, so I just assumed" The centaur apologises.
"It's fine, I'd have probably punched you too" Luffy laughs.
"PFFT Where am I, confound this dishonourable sorcerer" the legs grunt.
"Wow, your legs talk? That's awesome! And I thought I was cool when I found a muscle shirt to match my legs, but you still win" Leopard centaur gushes.
"This is nothing, I have a lot of cool things besides my talking legs, but that's for later. We're getting snow cones, once we get to the other side of the island" Luffy grins, amused by his new friend.
TBC
LW: And we're done, Punk Hazard and its weird climate has been established, things have happened and Medusa has been kidnapped again… Law is going to have to be VERY convincing in order for Robin to not murder Caesar the first chance she gets. Here's hoping.