Chapter 7

Across the Forest

The Straw Hat Pirates traveled down the forest with Spyro and his friends. Brook played his guitar, singing a song about dragons.

"Uh, you do realize you're making up that song again," Usopp said.

"Just trying to edit the lyrics in my brain, not that I have one," Brook said.

"Well, what's the difference here?" Franky said. "Do you even know where you guys are going?"

"Of course I do," Hunter said. "I've been here."

Nami checked her Log Pose but remembered that the arrows had stopped moving. She crossed her arms. "For once, I wish I'm professional with navigation," she said.

"I'm sure we'll find a map," said Sanji. "I can find one."

"Thank you, Sanji," said Usopp, imitating Nami.

"That's not funny! I was talking to Nami!" Sanji cried with a sad face.

Chopper used his Walk Point to walk, and he noticed some berries on a bush. "What neat looking berries," he said, going to eat them.

"Don't eat them," Hunter said. "These berries will make you blind for hours."

"Blind?"

"Try to imagine how blurry your vision gets from eating the berries, kind of like being hallucinated."

The group heard shouts in a distance and ran across the woods. They arrived at the area and saw Luffy running around, his arms waving around. Usopp noticed a bush with berries gone, and his eyes bugged out. "Gah! That idiot ate all the berries!" he cried.

"I can't see!" Luffy screamed. "Where are you guys?!" He ran around in circles.

"Jeez, why can't he stay out of trouble?" Nami said.

"His vision can't be all broken, right?" Usopp asked.

"Only for hours," Hunter said. "Last time I accidentally ate those berries, my vision got all blurry for hours I had to sleep it off."

Luffy spun around, his arms still waving around. He turned to see his crew, but he couldn't see through his blurry vision. "Baroque Works..." he growled. "I'll kill you all!"

"What's going on with you?!" Nami said.

"I'll show you who's the strongest pirate!"

"Just knock it off, you idiot!" yelled Zoro.

"I hope you're ready! Gum-Gum...!"

"Luffy, wait!" Chopper cried.

"Gatling!"

Luffy threw multiple punches, but the Straw Hats hid behind the trees as Luffy's punches sometimes hit the trees. Chopper almost had his rear punched from hiding the wrong way. Spyro and Cynder hid behind a rock as they cover themselves.

"Oh, my, what a dreadful moment this is," Brook said.

"You should've seen him back in Alabasta," said Zoro.

Hunter shot an arrow at Luffy, and Luffy fell on the ground, sleeping.

"Gah! What have you done!?" cried Usopp.

"Don't worry, that arrow's seeped with tranquilizer," Hunter said.

"Hold on," Spyro said. "How come I never heard about those berries?"

"Because we had to save Warfang, obviously," said Cynder, rolling her eyes.

"Oh, sure," said Sparx. "I would've felt hallucinated after hitting the steam."

"No, you weren't," Cynder said. "You were just...steamed."

"Is that supposed to be a pun? Puns aren't funny, you know."

"What Cynder means is that when the steam hit you, you weren't hallucinated," Spyro said.

Franky picked up Luffy. "Well, since he settled down, we should be on our way."

As soon as the group left the area, Luffy moaned as he slowly opened his eyes, his vision slowly restoring. "Meat..." he said weakly.

"What the...?! You're awake?!" cried the Straw Hat Pirates.

Robin chuckled. "Well, now that he's awake, shall we proceed?" she asked.

Luffy saw the damaged trees, but barely. "Wow, these look recent. I wonder why," he said.

"You're the one who punched them while blind," Nami frowned.

"Me, blind? I thought I can see you guys."

"You were the one who ate the berries, stupid!" Sanji and Zoro yelled out.

The group continued their journey down the forest after Luffy's vision regained. Chopper noticed a fruit with bumps and had to try a bite. His eyes sparkle from the taste as he gasped. "Wow, it tastes so sweet!" he laughed.

"Huh?" Luffy asked. He took a bite on a piece of fruit. His eyes widen. "Oh, man, it tastes awesome! What kind of delicious fruit is this?!" he cried with a big smile.

"We call them dragonberries," Spyro said, sitting. "A dragonberry is the sweetest fruit in all of the Dragon Realms. They grow in forests like this. And because they are common to grow, dragons have been using them for bakery." He started rubbing his stomach, licking his lips. "Mmm... Dragonberry pies, dragonberry pastries, dragonberry bread, dragonberry cakes..."

"Spyro, you're making me hungry," said Cynder.

Spyro stopped rubbing his belly. "Oh, sorry, Cynder. I just can't help thinking of dragonberries."

"Well, a little more walking to Warfang ought to keep you going."

The group resumed walking, but the sun is already setting after miles of walking. And they unfortunately got lost.

"I thought we'd be in Warfang by now," Luffy said. "Have we gotten in circles?"

"A little, considering that blind stunt you pulled back there," said Zoro.

"Oh, so we're lost?"

"Yes, we're lost, and guess whose fault is that?!" Zoro and Usopp yelled.

Luffy looked at the two and then guessed, "My fault?"

"We'll camp here for tonight," said Hunter. "I get lost in the forest sometimes."

This filled Zoro, Sanji, Usopp, and Nami's minds, and they got mad. "You should've told us that sooner than this!" they shouted, pointing their fingers at Hunter.

The group had finished setting up the campsite in the forest. They had some dragonberries.

Luffy took a bite on the dragonberry and fell satisfied. "Delicious!" he said.

Brook tasted some of the dragonberry juice in a mug and drank it. "My, that dragonberry is so delicious to my taste buds, if I have any!" he said.

Spyro took a bite on the fruit and rubbed his stomach. "Mmm... the sweetest fruit I've ever tasted," he said.

Robin checked the book about the forest and the fruits that grow. She looked up about the dragonberries. "Huh, I guess they are common to grow," she said. She then looked at Hunter. "You do know where Warfang is, don't you?"

"Of course I do," Hunter said. "I won't screw up next time."

"See that you don't," said Zoro.

The group slept in the sleeping bags. A huge dragon hiding in the shadows crept toward the campsite, noticing the Straw Hat Pirates. The fire revealed the dragon to have curly horns, large silver wings, grey scales with a white underbelly and chest, baby blue eyes, and a tail with a tip shaped like a pine cone. Around her neck is a genuine silver crystal in a gold collar. The dragon sniffed at Chopper's fur, but Chopper waved his hoof while sleeping.

"Keep your face away from me, Luffy..." Chopper snored.

The dragon continued looking at the group as she walked around. She noticed Spyro and Cynder sleeping together, and she made a smile.

Spyro suddenly started squirming around. "No..." he said. "No! Ignitus, no! Ignitus!"

The dragon ran off as Spyro kept screaming and squirming in his sleep, waking up the group.

"No! Ignitus! Ignitus!" Spyro cried. He squirmed as Cynder shook him.

"Spyro, wake up!" Cynder said. "Wake up!"

"Noo...!" Spyro then opened his eyes, panting. He then saw Cynder, and his eyes tear up.

"Having that dream again, Spyro?" Cynder asked.

"I can't help it," Spyro sniffles, covering his eyes. "It just won't leave me alone."

"Could you guys keep it down?" Zoro asked, still asleep. "I'm trying to have a good rest here."

"Come here, Spyro," said Cynder, pulling Spyro into a hug. "It'll be okay, Spyro. Ignitus is with us. You're just letting that day take its toll on you."

Spyro sniffled. "What'll I do? I miss him so much."

"And you always will, but he's always with us. Just stop thinking about him for once, okay?"

Spyro wiped the tears from his eyes. "I'm sorry, everyone," he said. "I just can't help it."

"Let's all get back to sleep," said Sanji. "Jeez, that shouting almost made me..."

"Soil your pants?" Zoro asked before laughing.

Sanji got angry. "Shut up, moss head! I was about to say it almost made me wanna kick somebody!"

"Hey, if there's gonna be fighting, could you do it some other time?" Nami asked.

"Whatever you say, Nami," Sanji said lovingly.

As the group got back to sleep, the grey dragon looked at her crystal and gripped it before looking at the night sky. "Ignitus," she said, "your purple dragon is doing fine, and I'm glad Cynder is free from the Dark Master's control. He may be with her, but his thoughts about you are still in his mind. It reminds me of how I think of you. The day you gave me the silver crystal. I just wish I could have seen you again while you were alive. Thank you, Ignitus."

But little did the dragon know that Robin was watching her. The dragon then flew away as she watched.

"How peculiar," Robin said. "I wonder who that dragon is."

The next morning, the group awoke from the sunlight, had breakfast, and continued their journey across the forest. Luffy just enjoyed eating a dragonberry. Robin checked the book and found the image of the dragon she had seen. Her name was Agatina. "Agatina," she read. "How odd."

"Come again, Robin?" Nami asked.

"Agatina the dragon. I actually saw that dragon last night."

"Okay, can you give us the details about this Agatina?" Sparx asked.

"Agatina is a mysterious dragon who wanders around this world. She might have something to do with Ignitus, what she said about that silver crystal around her neck. I wonder if they were friends."

"Agatina..." Cynder said curiously. "I think I did see her years ago."

"You did?" Robin asked, closing the book.

"It was after Spyro freed me from Malefor's spell. One night I saw that dragon while everyone else was sleeping. She told me that I was wise to take Spyro's side. It's like she knew I was under Malefor's control that day. Except that when I told the others about it, they didn't understand the name, except Ignitus."

"Cynder..." Spyro said. "I think I understand that name now. I'm sorry."

Cynder made a grin. "It's alright, Spyro."

"We're here," Hunter said.

The Straw Hat Pirates exit the forest, and they gasped as their eyes lay their sights on the glorious city they were hoping to see: Warfang.