"Monsters are tragic beings. They are born too tall, Too strong and too heavy. They aren't evil by choice. That is their tragedy."
-Ishiro Honda, Director of 'Gojira'/'Godzilla' 1954 and 'Rodan' 1956
The world erupted.
Ichiji crouched down, covering his head, as a burning wind washed over him. The deck shook under his feet, and thunder roared in his ears.
Then it was gone. He looked up, and stared.
Vinsmoke Palace was gone; the last remnants flying through the air in a cloud of debris. Blue flames leapt from the foundations, and dark clouds swirled overhead. Thunder rumbled, and lightning cracked; and a freezing wind whistled all around. The seas thundered and crashed, as if the very ocean was crying out in protest.
And then a ghastly howl; a terrible, keening cry that echoed between the mountains.
And then the flames faded, and a figure staggered into view. The whole world turned cold. Frost covered the deck, and the sea waters below began to freeze.
"What… the fuck…?" Yonji uttered, as the figure staggered into view.
"She's dead… it can't be…!" Niji gasped, dropping Law.
All across Kaisafjord, troopers and Marines collapsed like puppets with their strings cut, foaming at the mouth. Crewless ships reared and bucked, crashing into each other or smashing themselves against the cliff sides and shores; until the spreading ice froze them still.
"Yama…to?" Law's voice was a fearful whisper.
The figure shifted; arms and legs morphing, dropping forward onto all fours; an enormous bushy white cyan-tipped tail sprouting from behind. Its face was no longer human, but long-muzzled like a wolf, with canines like scimitars. The red horns, once curved, were now straight. Its fur was pure white with cyan tips, a halo of blue-black flame billowing around its shoulders. Yamato's brown jacket, white shirt and red hakama hung off it, torn and ragged, her getas discarded and Yamato's club, now covered in frost, clinked on the ground in its forepaw; the ground freezing with every footfall.
Ichiji stared at it; spellbound, awestruck. It was magnificent. It was beautiful. It was a divine thing, a thing beyond anything he had thought could exist. It was…
He could not move. He could not think. He knew that this thing was a threat; that it meant to destroy him as his brothers. He should fight it, or else retreat from it; and live to fight another day.
But he couldn't. Something would not let him. He was rooted to the spot, transfixed. His carefully honed instincts, built up since the moment he could walk, did nothing. He was like a ship with its cables cut; its wheel spinning uselessly, its sails flapping.
No! He was Vinsmoke Ichiji! He was the Prince-no, the new King of Germa, its ultimate weapon! He would not die here this day! He could not die here!
The Demon turned its head towards him. Its eyes were bright sapphires, like bits of cold blue fire; burning through the darkness that shrouded its face. The eyebrows were like white flames.
And then it roared; its breath an icy gale, blasting from its maw like a dragon's fire. The sound cut to the depths of Ichiji's soul; as if some lost, hidden part of him was crying out a warning.
This thing was not natural.
This thing should not exist.
This thing was going to kill him.
The beast leapt, fast as lightning. Ichiji blasted off, firing his lasers at the Demon. But the beast twirled its club like a baton; catching every blast. It swung, and the frost in the air turned to spikes of ice, erupting towards him. Ichiji fell back, and saw Niji and Yonji charge from the flanks.
"DIEEEEE!" Ichiji yelled as he joined their charge, hands glowing red. The beast leapt up, and their attacks missed. Ichiji sped away, and so did Niji. But Yonji bumped into a piece of debris.
He had been delayed only an instant.
But it was enough.
The Demon roared, and ice erupted from the frosty ground, spikes like ceiling columns bursting into the sky. Yonji yelled as one of them glanced at him, sending him tumbling to the ground. He rolled, and leapt to his feet; then hesitated, looking down at his side.
"Gaaah! It can't be!" he yelled; and Ichiji's heart froze as he saw the sight. The ice had sliced open Yonji's Raid Suit, leaving a deep cut in his side. His Raid Suit, which had withstood cannonfire, sharp blades, and weight of battleships, had been cut open. Once more, his bulletproof skin had similarly been cut clean open.
What in god's name had they unleashed?
Yonji screamed in mingled pain and anger, and fired his air cannon. The beast darted to the side, and Niji thrust out his hands.
"Tesla Net!" A cone of lightning erupted from his fingertips, searing the earth and flickering over the ice; filling the air with dancing lights. The lightning stuck the Demon, flashing and crackling all over it.
And then it was gone. It had done nothing.
Niji darted away as the Demon leapt, narrowly avoiding its snapping jaws. The Demon flew on, out over the edge of the deck, plunging down towards the roiling, freezing sea.
"DROWN CUNT!" Niji yelled, firing another lightning blast; Ichiji doing the same.
"Bardeen Spear!"
"Sparking Comet!"
The Demon hit the water, and the water froze at its touch. It skidded onward, ice forming a path before it as it swung its club, dispersing the lightning and laser with a single blow.
Ichiji could only stare. What was this thing?
(X)
Law shivered as he staggered onwards.
He could see Reiju, limping over the frozen rubble some way ahead. And there was Izuku, lying unmoving under the snow.
"Midori…ya!" Law yelled, forcing his tortured body into a staggering run. Reiju saw him and flew down, offering her hand. Law took it, and allowed himself to be carried over the ruins. They landed beside Izuku, and began brushing the snow off him.
A crash drew his eyes across the ruins. There was Yamato, battling the Vinsmoke brothers in her new form.
Except now, something else was happening.
It was changing, again; bulking out, until it was bigger than the Arctic Unicorn. Her eyes were deep blue pits, the flame belt burning bright around her shoulders; her tail bushy and long. Now on all fours, looking like some alabaster wolf.
But it was too… monstrous. Demonic.
Angry.
"SPARKING!"
"EDISON!"
"RISING SUN!"
"SUPER NOVA!"
Two massive balls of plasma and lightning burst from Ichiji and Niji's hands, combining into an enormous purple orb; bigger even than the palace had been. Yamato ran straight into it, and the orb exploded, brighter than a new-born sun. Law screwed up his eyes and crouched down as the shockwave watched over them, shielding Izuku with his body. Reiju did likewise, grunting under the impact.
"Yamato…" Reiju uttered, as they looked up. "Is that really her?"
Law didn't know what to say.
"Midoriya…" He looked down at Izuku again. He was still alive, fortunately, but Law's heart clenched at the sight of his injuries.
"I got most of the poison…" Reiju said. "But I still need to remove the rest."
As Reiju set to work, Law looked from Izuku's ravaged finger to his own hands.
Five minutes. His power had lasted only five minutes. Five goddamn minutes!
"DAMNIT!" Law punched the ground, barely noticing the pain. Was the entire world this strong?
"DAMNIIIIIT!"
(X)
"BWAHAHAHAHAHA!" Yonji laughed in adrenaline filled glee, as smoke billowed from where their combined attack had detonated. "EAT SHIT! YA FUCKING DEMON CUNT!"
He saw Niji and Ichiji on his flanks, panting as they poured everything they had into the smoke. Yonji spread his arms wide.
"We're invincible! We will be the ones to Conquer North Blue!" he declared. "The Marines will know WE conquered them! We will take a Snail Cruiser to the New World!"
There was a shift in the smoke.
"We'll join with an Emperor! And we'll rebuild our strength; no, stronger than ever! Then we'll toss them aside! Then…!
"YONJI YOU IDIOT!" yelled Ichiji.
"THE WORLD IS OURS!"
The smoke vanished, and something moved. For an instant, Yonji felt a pressure on his arm.
And then it was gone. His left forearm had been ripped clean off.
Yonji looked down at the stump, as it spurted blood. It didn't seem real.
First came the disbelief.
Then the shock.
Then the pain.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGGGHK!" he screamed, clutching at the bleeding stump, stomach churning at the horror of it. He had been maimed!
"Yonji!" yelled Niji, and then he froze as the thing turned again to face them. It was enormous now, the size of a ship, shrouded in white and crackling with blue lightning. Its jaws crunched, chewing what remained of his arm; blood drooling from between its clenched teeth.
His arm, stronger than steel. His arm, now a hunk of meat to be chewed and swallowed.
And then he saw it. The symbol on its shoulder. The tattoo of the Whitebeard Pirates.
"She's…a Whitebeard!" he babbled. "That means…!"
She was a Whitebeard Pirate. Which meant that boy Midoriya was too. And so, logically, was Trafalgar Law.
They had made mortal enemies of Whitebeard Pirates.
Yonji stammered and gasped, his mechanical arm squeezing the stump tight. It was too much. It was all too much!
"MONSTEEER!" Niji yelled, leaping at the monster.
"DEMOOOON!" Ichiji roared as he leapt in turn.
The demon prowled forward, heedless of the brothers' fusillade. It growled and panted, its eyes fixed on Yonji. It licked its chops, its mouth curving upward in a grin.
It was relishing this.
"DIE! VOLTA SCHNEIDEEEER!" Niji charged, a blade of pure electricity on his foot, causing the beast's eyes to turn on him. It snarled and raised a paw, swatting the attack aside. The beast reared its hind legs,and its forepaws sprouted into fingers, its body shifting back into something like human.
"Stealth!" Niji turned blue, and blazed away into the night. Yonji felt Ichiji lift him up.
And then the monster moved, quick as a snake's strike, and stopped right in front of Niji. Niji cried out shock as a clawed hand swung down, smashing him down.
"YOU! WILL!" the Demon roared, "PAAAAAY!"
Blue-Black Lightning flashed from her claws as she punched down again and again, pummeling Niji into the ground.
Yonji heard him cry out in agony, his bones breaking, his Raid Suit twisting and breaking. Blood spurted from his mouth, his eyes bulging with every blow; as the monster pummeled him again, and again, and again.
Finally the beast roared, and with one strike of her claws and a pivot, sent the broken and bleeded Niji flying into the clouds. Blood was over her claws as it snarled towards the stunned Ichiji and Yonji's way.
"NIJIIIIIII!" Yonji cried in horror.
"DAMN YOUUUUUU!" Ichiji yelled, glowing bright red as he charged at the beast; blazing like a new-born star. "SPARKING KNUCKLE!"
Ichiji's glowing fist struck the monster's jaw, causing a bright explosion.
It didn't even flinch.
The monster roared, and backhanded him away. Ichiji yelled as he tumbled over and over, hitting the ground and bouncing like a stone over a pond. Snarling, the Demon hefted her club, and let out an icy breath.
"Kyourou Hakkeeee!" she bellowed, claws sharpening and her form straightening out; her flame belt blazing black-blue.
She rose to her feet, twirling her ice-covered club. Even her eyebrows were like flames.
She took off after Ichiji, spinning her club behind her, lightning flashing from the heavens. "WARAI IKARIIII!"
Ichiji roared, firing off more red bolts. The bolts singed her fur, but the demon pressed on, looming over Ichiji like some ancient war god of old. Her fur was no longer white, but a bright silver; as if the whiteness was beginning to dim.
"RAGNA!" She roared.
"ICHIJIIIIII!" Yonji shrieked, as his brother stared up at the nightmare, eyes wide with horror.
"RAKU!"
Down came the club, and smashed Ichiji down into the deck. The deck exploded, blue-black thunder and ice flying all around. The winds howled, and Yonji was flung away; bouncing and rolling over the rubble before he finally hit something hard. He staggered up, clutching his maimed arm.
And there was nothing there. All he could see was rubble and ruins. His brothers… His father… His kingdom. They were all gone.
Thirty minutes ago it had been untouched, pristine. They had been sitting at dinner, trash-talking each other like they always did; as brothers always did.
It was fun.
He looked around again, looking for something familiar, something he could recognize. But there was nothing there; nothing that he knew. He could feel the palace deck sinking beneath him, hear the ice around it cracking. He could see the Snail Cruisers burning as they sank, or frozen stiff in the monster's ice; like some hellish ship's graveyard.
His father's kingdom, the proud and mighty Kingdom of Germa, was no more. It had been destroyed.
Just like the kingdoms he and his siblings had destroyed, by their father's command.
His heart sank, as he saw Sanji in his mind's eye. Sanji, lying bruised and broken on the floor. Sanji, howling and weeping inside the prison cell; his face enclosed in an iron mask.
Why? Why had their mother give birth to a weakling? Why couldn't she be strong? If she was strong she'd still be alive, and Sanji would be strong! Why was she so weak!?
And why hadn't father just sent Sanji away, when it was clear he wasn't up to it!? Why had he insisted on keeping him, like trapping a kitten among wolf cubs!? Why was he so stubborn!?
He felt heavy footfalls, and looked up. There was Yamato again, moving slowly towards him. The snowstorm picked up, blowing away the smoke and dust. Her arms dangled, her club dragging along the surface of the icy sea, waves of fresh ice rising from every footfall. Each footfall was like an earthquake; every breath a rumbling snarl from her steaming maw.
"You are wolves. And as wolves, you will rip your enemies apart and stand alone in victory."
Yonji couldn't move. He could barely even breathe. He was a wolf. They had been raised to be wolves. The ultimate hunter, predator, killer.
Except he wasn't. They never had been. This thing approaching them was what his father had dreamed of, what he had meant his children to be. But it was as above them as they were above normal humans.
A chill started to form over Yonji's body, yet he could tell it wasn't from the ice or the snow….no it was something else. A quickly glance at his remaining arm revealed it to be shaking and quivering, making his eyes widen.
'No….that….that can't be.'
He was not afraid. He had seen fear; seen it in those he had hunted and killed. He had seen them running, trying to hide, husbands turning on wives, mothers abandoning their children, friends trampling friends; just to get a little further away. Or else they had lain on the ground, sobbing and gibbering, their minds overwhelmed. Every time, he had despised them for debasing themselves; laughed at the slave morality that they tossed aside the moment the chips were down.
But now he had no such escape. His father had burned that aspect from his mind, but had left nothing to replace it. In his hubris, in his lust to touch the divine, he had toyed with what he did not fully understand. He had simply torn a cog from the machine, thinking it unnecessary. And now the machine had seized up.
This wasn't fear.
This was…despair.
(X)
The wolf, who thought itself a masterful hunter, with one paw ripped and mangled, was frozen in the gale of the harsh winter.
The great dog, blood on its maw, approached the unmoving form of the wolf. It was less a dog than a terrible monstrous hound. Eyes all black and blue. Fur dark silver, like a black blotch against the howling white blizzard gale.
The wolf then turned, running as best as it could across the snow covered field, the storm the great dog had wrought blanketing it in frost.
The wolf howled and yelled, crying out as it tried to run, exhausted from the battle against the great dog and its own pack. Yet it couldn't, wounded and frantic.
The wolf howled for one thing, before the great dog's jaws approached.
It was a terrible thing to know.
Knowing that one's place on the food chain was not what they thought.
(X)
Yonji tripped, falling to his knees, as the monster loomed over him as he tried to run.
Yes, this was despair. They had thought themselves great, the mightiest of all. Yet here, looming over him, was the truth. The thing they had sought to become, the power they had thought to steal, had descended from the sky to destroy them utterly.
He had seen fear, and cowardice; but courage too. He had seen enemies take up arms, stand their ground, sell their lives as dearly as they could. He had reveled in their sacrifice, futile though it was. Their courage was like fine wine with a good meal.
Except he couldn't do it. He had no strength, no will left to stand and fight.
"Mother…"
He didn't know why he said it. Why cry out to her now? She was gone, to wherever it was the dead went.
Yet there she was, in his mind's eye; looking away, as she always had. There was Reiju, holding her hand; and Sanji holding her other hand. He was wearing that mask, yet even with it on, Yonji could tell he wasn't crying….not anymore.
He understood now. Sanji had been brave; like those poor fools who fought to the end. He had struggled on, endured all, picked himself up and kept on trying; no matter how many times he was beaten down.
So that was why he had wept and wailed, down in the dungeon. His own father had taken that poor dignity from him; crushed that tiny scrap of the son he had wanted.
"Mommy…!"
She didn't look. She turned and walked away, hand in hand with the sister who had betrayed him, and the son she had wanted.
"Sanji! Mama! Help m-"
He felt teeth like piledrivers ripping mechanical arm. He felt himself be yanked up, shaken like a rag doll. He felt nothing but blinding agony as the nerve connectors were destroyed, and with a shake, the beast let him go. Up he flew into the air, with no more feeling in either of his arms as he twisted and turned. He landed on something soft.
Darkness.
(X)
Law was agog.
It was surreal. It was amazing. He had watched, amazed, as Yamato had laid waste to the Vinsmoke Princes. In her monstrous new form, she had beaten them utterly.
And now the silver furred hound was looking at them. It was striding through the ruins towards them, growling and snarling as the mechanical ruins of Yonji's arm dripped from her maw. The blue flame turning darker and darker.
"Yamato! Hey! Yamato!" Law yelled, waving his arms. "It's alright! Y-you can change back! Yamato!"
But Yamato ignored him. She strode on, staring straight at him.
No. Not at him. Through him.
He turned. Reiju was pulled back, laying Izuku's head down. The black was gone from his veins, his color returning to normal. Her work was done.
Yet her 66 headphones remained. From the Raid Suit.
Law's mouth opened in a silent scream, as Yamato flashed past him. Reiju saw her, and stood up; her eyes full of shock and horror. Yamato was upon her, jaws wide.
"REIJU!"
Izuku was rising, his body glowing. He shoved Reiju aside, and stepped into the closing jaws. Law flung out his hands, trying to conjure Room. But the blue glow fizzled and vanished, and Law fell to his knees. His strength was gone.
The jaws snapped shut, and a cry of denial burst from Law's throat.
But they were not shut. Law stared, as his hazy eyes saw the impossible. Izuku was standing in Yamato's open maw, her fangs puncturing his legs and chest, holding her mouth open with his own body.
The beast snarled. The flame belt around it roared, growing darker and darker, the fur a dull silver.
"Yama…to…!" Izuku coughed. "That's… enough…"
He reached up a shaking hand, patted the snarling beast's snout.
She blinked. And the blue glow faded from its eyes, soft sapphire pupils returning; and the black flame became a soft blue; and her silver-black fur became a soft white, once again.
(X)
"That's… enough…"
The words came through, and Yamato's mouth opened.
"Hnn?"
Something was wrong. She felt…different, wrong somehow. Had the world shrunk? Why was she taller? What had happened?
Why was Izuku so close? Why was he bleeding? Why did she have a snout?
Why could she taste blood in her mouth?
"Wha-?"
Her jaw dropped open, and Izuku tumbled out; landing in Reiju's arms. His Hero costume was in tatters, stained with blood. In the reflection of his armored grieves, she saw.
What…what was she? Why was she in this form?
She had become an enormous white wolf; with a rope of blue flame around her shoulders. Her horns were straight.
A gust of wind blew up, and something tore from her jaws; fluttering away into the night sky.
It was Izuku's yellow cape. Gran Torino's cape. Bloodstained, torn, ruined.
Izuku was bleeding, and breathing hard; his eyes closed. Reiju looked up, her eyes bright with terror, as she held the panting Izuku close.
No…
Her horns were warming.
She began to breathe, but nothing came. She breathed again, and again as her heart raced. Tears formed in her eyes.
She didn't do this. She couldn't have. She wanted to protect them. She wanted to protect him.
She saw Law standing there, looking at her with the same fear. Where was Drona? Where were the Hearts? The Maids?
Did... did she-
The horns got hot.
"I… I…" She backed away, her heart pounding between her ears, her tail between her legs.
She hurt him. She hurt the boy she admired; the boy she cherished above all others. The boy she would give her life to protect.
She… almost…killed him.
She let out a terrible cry, and leapt off the deck; praying for the sea to claim her once and for all. But there was ice under her feet; ice that held firm, trapping her in this life. She could hear Law and Reiju crying after her. Or cursing her.
She didn't care.
She ran.
YOU ARE MY SPECIAL
*whistles*
YOU ARE MY SPECIAL
*GUITAR RIFF*
YOU ARE MY SPECIAL
...
Okay that was terrible but I couldn't resist.
Attack name translations:
Kyourou Hakke: Wild Wolf Bagua(more like Mad Wolf Bagua, but Wild fit considering drunken dragon from Shuron was alliterative and fitted well)
Warai Ikari Ragnaraku: Lightning Wrath Ragnaraku
Niji's attacks were all named after famous scientists in the field of electricity.
Anyways, here it is. The climax of the North Blue Arc. With the emotional climax to come. Dreams die, trauma explodes and new trrauma takes its place. The anger in the background for Yamato? The insecurities? All of it has lead to this.
Maybe one of the shorter chapters, but we needed this after that heavy hitter in the previous one. As you can obviously guess, Reiju killing Judge was the cut off point prior before we decided to cut this one and move the top half of this chapter to the prior one.
I have dreamt this chapter for months. I wrote like, the last half of the prior chapter and this one in the span of a day.
And the next one Juubi got tackled in like, a day too. I can tell he was excited for this. As for when that will drop
Soon. Eventually. It's done.
Just need to let you all... sit on this. Because boy howdy is nothing gonna be the same after this.
Anyways, hope you all enjoyed this. And big thanks again to the team of Juubi-K , IKnowNothing and WildJoker000
See you all in this one.
