"What you said to Koby… What did you mean by it?"

Brynlee was surprised it had taken this long for Zoro to ask. Now merrily floating a few hours away from Shells Town, Luffy had yet to tire of nagging Nami to officially join the crew – much to the navigator's dismay – and Brynlee and Zoro had been chilling on the deck in comfortable silence – until now.

"I said a lot of things. You'll need to be more specific," she replied, eyes closed as she soaked in the warmth of the sun on her skin.

"You said the marines eradicated your people."

"I mean, it sounds pretty self-explanatory."

"I'm pretty sure we would have heard if an entire island in East Blue had been wiped out."

A wry smile graced her lips. "I'm not from the East Blue. Or at least, I wasn't born here."

"Were you born on the Grand Line?" gasped Luffy, suddenly joining in on the conversation.

"Yes, though I couldn't tell you where, exactly." She finally cracked her eyes open, glancing to her Captain with a fond smile. "I know a couple of things about the Grand Line – we'll definitely have a fun time out there, Caps."

"Shi-shi-shi! Can't wait!"

She then glanced towards Zoro, who still seemed unsatisfied with her vague answers. "I can't really give you the details right now. As soon as we're ready to head to the Grand Line, I'll tell you and everyone else. But until then, just understand that I hold no love for the marines and the World Government, and I will do my utmost best to utterly fuck them over in every way possible on our journey. Sounds good?"

Zoro stared her down for a moment, obviously gauging if she was saying the truth, and she held his gaze, unperturbed. After a moment, he nodded, his shoulders slouching a bit as he relaxed against the pillows he'd claimed as his own.

"Just know that if we get in trouble for any mysteriously blown-up marine base, I will blame you for it."

"Sounds fair – it'll most probably be my fault, anyway."

"So? What do you think of them so far?"

Night had fallen and the boys had elected to sleep out on the deck, while Nami and Brynlee went inside to settle down in the small, two-person cot they'd set up before leaving Cocoyashi Village.

"… they're strong," admitted Nami. "But will it be enough?"

"It won't be until you learn to believe in them – and yourself, too. But it's okay. We still have plenty of time for that."

Nami lightly slapped her arm. "I hate when you talk in riddles like that. You sound all old and wise when we're really the same age."

"Sorry, I can't help it," chuckled Brynlee. "But why do you think they're strong?"

"Well, they took down Morgan pretty easily. Luffy's got an insane power, and Zoro is stupidly strong, capable of wielding three swords and all. Though, you could probably take them both if it came down to it," snorted her friend.

"Well, probably," amended Brynlee. "But so you could you – or at least, you'd stand a fair chance. You've gotten pretty good at wielding Armament Haki thanks to Miss Belo's teachings, and your Fishman Karate is even better than mine. But anyway, what I meant is: what do you think drives them to be this strong?"

Nami seemed genuinely confused by the question, and Brynlee lightly flicked her forehead.

"Their dreams, silly. They're both so strong because they need to be, in order to achieve their dreams. The Strongest Swordsman in the World, and the Pirate King… Those are some pretty great ambitions, so of course they need to the strength to match. And so will you. Your dream to draw a map of the world… A lot of places are said to be unreachable, or unbreachable, or are simply forbidden to go to. You'll need all the strength you can get if you want to map out those places as well."

"It sounds a bit scary, when you put it that way."

"Maybe, but true strength also comes from the people who stand beside you. Their strength is yours as well. Our strength is our dreams and our crew. And so long as we have both, then absolutely nothing will be able to stand in our way."

"… what's yours, then?"

"Hm?"

"What's your dream, Brynlee?"

Brynlee fell quiet for a moment, not expecting that question.

What's my dream?

"… no clue."

"What!? After all this talk of dreams and strength—!"

Brynlee laughed, ruffling Nami's hair. "Fine, fine. My dream… is to win so much cash that I get banned from all the casinos in the world!"

Nami gawked at her for a few seconds… then grabbed a pillow and roughly slammed it into her face, only barely muffling her laughter. After hitting Brynlee a few times, Nami dropped the pillow and fell back on the cot with a groan, half-smiling.

"You're a jerk, Bryn. You'll have to tell me your dream, one day."

"I will, Nami. Now go to sleep – Luffy's bound to get us in trouble before long."

My dream…

I suppose it's about time I figured that one out, uh?

"Hey, hey! Bryn, why does your back look all weird?"

Nami choked on her water and Zoro cringed. Obviously, neither of them had expected Luffy to ask such a direct – and somewhat rude – question. But Brynlee simply laughed, unbothered. Frankly, having someone around who didn't hide their thoughts or mince their words was rather refreshing.

"I was born that way."

"What way?"

"A mystery way."

Luffy's eyes instantly began sparkling. "A mystery way?"

"Aa. It's a secret. But I'll show you once we get to Cocoyashi."

"Deal!" He immediately rounded on Nami. "Nami! Let's go to that Coco place right now! I wanna know Bryn's secret back mystery thing!"

Nami sweatdropped a bit. "Didn't you say you wanted to get a ship, first?"

"Oh, right! Then first a ship, then Coco Island! And we need to find a musician, too!"

"It's Cocoyashi Village, Luffy. And why a musician?"

"'Cause a great pirate crew needs a great musician, duh!"

Nami appeared profoundly dumbfounded, and Zoro snorted. Brynlee simply smiled again, glad everyone seemed to be getting along.

Now, to recruit our next crewmate…

So glad you guys enjoyed Bryn's smashin' entry into the Canon storyline! I truly enjoy reading all of your reviews and theories ah ah.

PS. In case it wasn't clear, small reminder that Brynlee is currently hiding her wings by folding them and basically keeping them tied up with straps and harnesses, then putting a cloak over it. So yes, there's a noticeable, awkward hunch - but fear not! A solution shall present itself in due time~