"What's even in that thing?" Usopp looked over my shoulder in the small little area I set up in the men's room. The Going Merry wasn't exactly a spacious ship, the small Carveal being the equivalent of a Destroyer Escort. Of course, a Destroyer Escort was a much larger ship than the Merry herself. Not that I thought it was going to matter. As Roberts showed, it wasn't always the size of the ship in the fight that mattered, but the size of the fight in the ship.
"It's a sample I took from the Red Line about a week ago," I answered, opening the case to show him. Sure, it wasn't the most important thing in the world, but I wasn't going to even get a chance to get a new sample for a while now, so I wanted to keep it safe. Not that it would probably matter, as the only way this thing could be lost to me is by chucking it over the side. Nothing I could try even managed to dent the thing.
"The Red Line?" Usopp rested his chin between his thumb and his index finger. "I know all about the Red Line!"
"Really? I haven't been able to figure out what type of rock it is yet, much less any hints of its mineral composition. Any advice I could get on that front would be greatly appreciated," I said with a grin. Usopp's face made several expressions in the span of a few seconds that I would call interesting.
How he was even able to make half of those expressions was a mystery to me. An amusing mystery, but I was far from a detective. Or a medical expert. With that particular thought, I flipped through a second journal. My mom was a nurse, yes, but when it came to medical knowledge, I was sorely lacking. Anything beyond making sure an injury didn't get infected was about as far as I got.
Which could be problematic. Chansey was absolutely something I could have access to in the immediate future. While being nowhere near as good as having a proper medic or doctor, Chansey would serve in a pinch. Writing down every detail I could think of was important. I was a pretty big Pokémon fan, and while I certainly couldn't name every single one, I could name most of them, as well as have a decent memory of their move sets.
But that knowledge would fade with time. Thus, I needed to preserve what I had, while I still had it.
The biggest hindrance in this effort was the fact I didn't have a computer. And without the miracles of modern technology, I was forced to do everything by hand. Though, one upside is that I didn't have to worry about security too much. My chicken scratchings were pretty much impossible for anyone else to read, which was about as good security as any.
"It's Red Gypsum!" Usopp declared, pulling me out of my thoughts.
"Really? It's made of calcium sulfate dihydrate?" I looked surprised. "Something that is used in chalk and plaster?"
"I, don't see what the problem with it is," Usopp gave me a confused look.
"Gypsum is a soft rock, Usopp. If the Red Line were made up of something like that, it would have collapsed a long time ago," I said.
"Don't tell me you actually buy into those conspiracies," I heard Zoro mumble, the swordsman making his way into the room.
"What conspiracies?" I asked, turning around.
"The ones where people claim that the Red Line should have been washed away by now," Zoro said. "Even I know it's been around for eight hundred years."
"That's not why I find it weird," I snickered. "Eight centuries? Sure, that sounds like a long time from a human perspective, but from a Geologic one, it's the equivalent of a rat fart. A sheer cliff face may be a high-intensity erosional environment, but how quickly it goes is going to depend on the material itself."
"The real problem is the material. No depositional strata, no signs of igneous or metamorphic activity," I frowned, doing my best to explain. "As is its positioning. Getting a lithologic bed to reach a ninety-degree angle isn't impossible on a local level but on a global scale? The only thing that makes sense is if the Red Line is leftover from erosion, but that raises several questions, such as where did the rest of the soil go."
Sure, rivers could do the trick, but they moved sediment into depositional deltas. They didn't destroy, not really. They just moved soil from one location to another. So all that sediment would have had to end up somewhere else. Sure, elevation would change as the Red Line would be more resistant to erosion, but everything else?
Never mind the plate tectonics that would be involved.
Wait, did this place even have those? The amount of stress the Red Line would put a continental plate under would be staggering. Of course, 800 years wasn't long when it came to tectonic plates, but it was still a factor to consider.
Both of them blinked at me. "Where exactly did you learn all that?" Zoro asked.
"Geology? Went to school for it. Got a degree and everything," I said. "Everything else? Is my applying what I know and concluding this thing." I patted the rock for additional effect. "Is an abomination of the highest order."
"Oh, it can't be that bad," Zoro said. "Watch. I'll cut it in half."
Before I could say or even do anything, the sword came down. It hit the rock. It stopped at the rock.
That was not enough to spare the table as the thing split in half.
I'd almost be impressed.
Almost.
"What the Hell did you do that for!"
"How the Hell did it chip my sword!"
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"How did I forget you?" I muttered to myself, though the question itself was largely rhetorical. I knew exactly how I forgot this one. Because in a fight, it was pretty much useless. What few moves it got worth a damn were coming off of stats that were barely worth anything, only looking good compared to first-form anythings.
There was just one simple issue as to why that was a problem.
Combat wasn't the only thing my power was good for, and it was something I was going to need to start processing quickly. Which was why I was adding it to my book, to make sure I didn't forget.
Castform. Pretty much useless, but it had the unique ability of Forecast. Well, it also picked up moves that allowed it to change the weather, though it only benefited from three of those. Nor was I certain how people would react to a sandstorm out on open water. That probably wouldn't be the best idea. But everything else could be on the table in theory.
Frankly, I wasn't even sure if I could access Castform's alternate forms. Not only did its appearance change but so did its type. One of those was water, of course, but the other two were fire and ice.
Still, it was worth looking into. At least into Forecast. Crocus has proven right about the weather, in that it was chaotic at best. Being able to prepare for what was coming would be a leg up.
Well, might as well give it a try. What's the absolute worst that could happen?
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Nami looked out the window, as a small grey creature rotated outside. She supposed that did answer the question of where exactly Nathan was. Though what he was doing was a completely different matter. Finding weird and abnormal animals on the ship was frequently a common occurrence, all leading back to a single man.
But this was one she hadn't seen yet. Its back, at least she thought it was its back, was facing the window as it continued to rotate in the air. She had half the mind to demand to know what was going on. But Nathan left the book he was usually working on right in the open. And she was the only one on the crew besides himself who could make heads or tails of what he was writing. It hadn't been the worst handwriting she had spent time decoding.
"Let's see," she mused to herself. It was nice of Nathan to leave it on the page he was last working on, with featured a crude rendition of what she saw through the window, though this time she could see it's face. Though there wasn't much beyond what could only a grin and a white mask around the creature's small black eyes.
Castform was apparently the name of this creature. Most of Nathan's transformations spoke, in a certain manner of speaking. What they said was what he called them. Why, she wasn't sure. Nami breezed through to what appeared to be more personal notes. Useless in combat. But.
She read the line over and over, to make sure she understood what was written, her temper growing all the while. Able to react and predict weather phenomena through transformation and the ability to manipulate the weather! And he just, forgot about it? Something that useful? She quickly flipped to the next page, which featured drawings of what those transformations had to look like.
Nami looked up at the still-spinning creature in the window, only for it to suddenly stop. Then its body, flickered, changing into something that looked like a sun, then a raindrop that were riding on clouds, before becoming something that looked as if it were encased in a cloud. Finally, it flashed back to normal.
Right before there was a thump, as Nami caught a glimpse of a pale but very green Nathan running towards the side of the ship. With a frown, Nami put the book back down again, managing to draw the dots. This Castform could predict the weather. Nathan tried to use it to do just that. So either something went wrong.
Or the Grand Line was just that unpredictable.
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"Never, again," I groaned. Was it even possible to suffer the organic equivalent of a 404 error? Because that's what it sure damn well felt like!
Was it because I didn't have the necessary types? Or was the Grand Line so insane that Castform, a Pokémon literally made to tell the weather, was rendered completely useless? That was -.
Nope, still going to hurl! My stomach heaved, though by this point it was empty. I let out a whimper of protest. Against both the nausea that was doing a merry little rampage through my brain case and the fact I just wasted a perfectly good meal. Even trying to think about what happened made me ill to my stomach.
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"So you can't be our musician?" Luffy complained between mouthfuls of food. How he managed to unhinge his entire jaw to shovel it into his mouth without nary a pause to chew was impressive. And something I could go my life without seeing.
"I haven't touched an instrument in about," I quickly did the math in my head. "A decade. And even if I kept up practicing, I don't think we're going to find a trombone or baritone out in these waters." Well, we weren't going to find any instruments until we got to an island with shops. I wasn't sure how things worked when it came down to the splitting of funds when it came to shopping, but even then, I'd be hard-pressed to want to make that purchase over more practical ones.
Luffy frowned for the briefest of seconds, before grinning again. "It's okay! Your powers are still really cool!"
That was a sentiment I more than agreed with. Being able to turn into Pokémon? Even with the limits, it was something out of one of my childhood fantasies!
"That they are," I grinned back, returning to my meal. Sanji, the cook, did excellent work. Though by this point, that was expected. I was thankful that my time with Crocus helped me push through my picky eating habits. He'd made it no secret that he hated wasting food.
"It is weird how despite not knowing how you got your powers, you understand so much about them," Zoro's words cut through the air like a knife. Though his insinuation was far from subtle.
"That's because I recognize them. Where I'm from, there are these, myths, and stories, about creatures with mystical abilities. Many being close to animals, but always being something just a bit more," I said. "Stories, that as a child, I devoured voraciously. Frankly, I know more about what I can transform into rather than the how, the why, or even really how to push even further than that. If it were just one attribute, I'd just call it a day, but I have two."
That meant something. It had to mean something.
"Two of what?" Luffy asked me innocently before anyone else could get in a word in otherwise.
"The creatures I can be divided into multiple combinations of one or two attributes from a total of nineteen overall," which got several people's attention, even the two in the corner. "These types usually align with things found in the natural world, such as Fire, Rock, or Water. However, there are acceptions for more esoteric types, such as Dark, Fairy, or Dragon. Right now, I can turn into forms of the Normal and Water attribute, but that's it."
"How is normal an attribute?" Sanji raised one of the swirly eyebrows.
"Normal is something closely related to something more mundane, but considerably stronger. Tauros and Miltank are closely related to cows, but are capable of far greater feats of strength," I used as an example, somewhat pulling an excuse from my ass. But it wasn't exactly wrong. They would be closely related, and much more capable. Still, my words left tension in the air.
"Beef!" Right until our Captain opened his mouth, which shattered the tension just as quickly as Nami's retaliatory punch. The speed of the blow made me recoil backward in surprise, as Luffy, despite the fact he was made of rubber, was now nursing a welt on his head. I'd already been trying to create space, as Luffy already had drool coming out of his mouth.
"Now, I'm guessing that has something to do with the fact you think you might have a way home," Nami turned toward me. For someone who just punched someone in the face, she looked calm on the surface. Which was a sign to try and explain myself.
"Correct. There are a few forms that can teleport, though the exact distance has always been a matter of speculation. As for the main ideas, however," I scowled. "As for what I'm thinking of, even if I did have the necessary combinations, I still don't have access to them. Not at the moment."
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
"What the hell does that mean?" Zoro's eyes narrowed.
"Because those forms are, mythical. Legendary. Unique. One of a kind, and extremely powerful. I have the attributes necessary for a handful. I've even tried to use some of the less dangerous ones. They don't work," I scowled. "I don't know if it's because I'm not strong enough to do so, or there's some other factor."
"I really just don't. I know what I might be capable of, but that's a big, big might."
That seemed to calm things down a little. I had tried with Phione and Manaphy, with no success. It was safe to say that Kyogre and Arceus were off the table, as well as Regigigas. And even if they weren't? Sure, Regigigas was probably fine, but Arceus the thousand-limbed creator, and Kyogre?
Kyorge? Just the mere thought of releasing that into the world sent chills up and down my spine. Even in its base form, Kyogre would be a nightmare. If it came with its Primal Reversion straight out of the box? That was cataclysmic. No, outright apocalyptic. I was not exaggerating when I said such a thing could quite literally end the entire world, nor was it something I said lightly.
Either Primal was in truth. Both were natural disasters that could walk.
"Just how strong are they?" I shuttered under Zoro's grin. This man had no chill sometimes.
"You want to tell those two that, idiot!" Nami landed a blow against his skull, also leaving welts on the swordsman. While I didn't approve of the violence, I did mirror her sentiments.
"All I'm willing to say is that it varies. Beyond that," I turned toward the corner, narrowing my eyes. "I'm not saying anything." For a brief moment, it looked as if Zoro was contemplating throwing the two overboard, before he simply shrugged, before turning to face Nami.
"What the hell is wrong with you!"
"Don't talk to Nami-san that way, Mosshead!"
While Zoro could have put things softer, as I for one preferred to have allies that weren't concussed, this was not the time for criticisms.
Now was the time to evacuate the kitchen!
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"This is some Kansas-level bullshit right here," I grumbled. The Grand Line was roughly equatorial, if I remember correctly. The fact we were getting snow, accumulating snow at that, was its own level of insane. But for the snow to come out of nowhere when just moments ago there was a cloud in the sky?
As I said. Kansas. Level. Bullshit. Right now, it was just Sanji and I shoveling the accumulating snow. Usopp and Luffy were building a snowman, or in Usopp's case, a snow woman. An impressive one, before it was destroyed by our Captain's antics. Dorks, the both of them.
Zoro was napping, somehow, despite the sudden cold snap. Our prodigious guests were in the kitchen, alongside Nami. But given that my clothes were very limited, the only things I could do for warmth were to try and borrow someone's coat, fight someone for a blanket, or work up a sweat.
Given how quickly as this storm appeared, I figured the prior two were just a waste of time and effort. Never mind that I was pretty sure neither of my forms could stand up in a fight with easily half the crew. Even with transforming. Zoro managed to wield three swords and had enough skill to make it work. Picking a fight with someone who prepared your food was just not an intelligent idea, cook's honor or not. While Luffy had crouching moron, hidden badass down to an actual form of art.
And even then, just fighting your comrades over something that trivial was just as much of a waste of effort. I could bother Mr. 9 and Ms. Wednesday. A single showing of Whismer would certainly be enough to cow them.
But that was a waste of time too. The weather would be gone as quickly as it appeared. Because for whatever reason, the Grand Line played by Kansas rules. Which I was more than prepared for because I spent my entire youth growing up there.
Throwing a boat into the mix made things trickery. Living on Laboon for a month may have given me my sea legs, but that did nothing to help my formerly landlocked ass, having no idea how to sail a ship. It was a learning, and quite frankly, painful curve, and it was still not one I was used to.
"We need to turn around!" Nami shouted, barking out orders as she went. However, by the time I was halfway up the rigging, the winds began to shift. The accumulated snow quickly began to melt as the temperature increased, a pleasant warm breeze filling the air. Certainly a nice sign for things to come. If one wasn't already part way up the rigging and couldn't see what was coming our way.
"Iceberg on our ten o'clock!" I shouted, already shifting into a new form. Waves were growing all around the ship, so entering the water wasn't an option at this point unless I wanted to get swept away by the currents. Wishiwashi was an option, but its ability only worked at level twenty. Croconaw put me somewhere near that ballpark, but I couldn't just check a number, and I wasn't going to dive into the surf just to check. Dondozo was a safer option, though it still had to contend with the wild waves.
Clauncher would be my weapon of choice. I gripped the rigging with all the strength my tiny, barely one-foot body possessed, and fired. Water erupted from my larger claw, screaming into the iceberg. The immediate result was not much, the iceberg still plowing through the surf without a care in the world, even as I continued to pump out water. The second result was much more clear. That I was really, really bad at math.
See, what I planned on was using the water to move both the iceberg and the Going Merry herself from their present collision course. However, I forgot to account for, well, several different factors. The Going Merry was massive. Well, not by ship sizes, but even one of her size had to be upwards of at least a ton, and an iceberg would likely be heavier than that. Trying to push her hull from a surface like her rigging simply wasn't going to work.
At first. The rigging groaned in protest as slowly the ship began to turn, either from my present actions or someone getting into position from my warning. I continued to put up the pressure, water slamming against the iceberg with everything I could push out. I refused to let the ship and crew go out like the Titanic! It passed us by what looked to be a clear margin, but I knew how icebergs worked. There was always more underneath the surface.
Of course, there was still one final issue with my grand plan. How to get myself out of the rigging, as my human body was now very much entangled in the rope.
"Usopp, get him down from there!" Nami order. "And somebody wake Zoro up!"
"I have a way to do that!" I shouted. "Everyone should cover their ears, though!"
There was no way that would be enough, but if Zoro was still asleep, there was one thing I could do. It also made for an excellent means of escaping my entangled situation, a familiar pink blob falling to the deck with the sound of a whoopee cushion, causing Usopp and Luffy to break down laughing as Nami steamed.
"Not the rabbit!" I heard Mr. 9 and Ms. Wednesday shout at the top of their lungs, hands already covering their ears.
"WWWHHHHIIIISSSSMMMMEEEERRRR!"
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"I know you were trying to help, but don't do that again!" Nami scolded as I rubbed my head. I at least knew what it was like to be knocked out while transformed. Though it was a surprise to some, the blow to my face didn't come from our fiery redhead, but from Zoro, who, despite being asleep, managed to snipe me in the face with the pummel of one of his swords.
Which was impressive. If I hadn't just taken a sword pommel to the face. But I was more than willing to let the man have the blow Nami delivered to the back of his skull. Plus, he wasn't conscious. At least, he better not have been.
"Yeah, yeah, with great volume comes great collateral," I said, still gently rubbing the bruise on my head. Well, I wasn't going to tell them that this thing's final evolution's name was a literal combination of explosion and loud.
Would it show them? No, no it wouldn't. But one day, I would save a place through truly excessive amounts of noise.
"Good," Nami rubbed her ears, and I highly doubt she was the only one with a ringing head. I pushed myself up, taking careful, measured steps to make sure I didn't have a concussion. My headache still raged, but my balance seemed fine and my vision wasn't wobbly or blurry. Unlike the time a dumbass football player thought it would be a good idea to catch me with his knees while I was sledding down a hill.
Which was a good thing, as I got to see the parting fog.
"Wow," I simply breathed, looking up at the view before me. The first thing I noticed was the cacti. They were titanic, easily reaching the size of a small mountain. How? Why? Was there enough water to sustain anything of that size? That could explain the alleged food shortages, but I doubt it. It was certainly an impressive sight. Nothing I'd ever get to see back home, my issues with cacti aside. Though, these were far too large to even think about engaging in sneak attacks.
Besides that, the island seemed largely arid and flat.
"Well, we'll be taking our leave now!" Mr. Nine declared, leaping onto the ship's railing, an action mirrored by Ms. Wednesday.
"Thank you for the ride, Darlings!" Ms. Wednesday said in a sing-song voice.
"Wahoo!"
Splash!
"So, those two just, Mario'd their way off a ship," I pinched my brow, feeling a different sort of headache coming on. "Who in the universe is responsible for me having to use Mario as a verb?"
"Who even is Mario?" Usopp asked as Luffy was already demanding that we make landfall.
"A character in a play. He's a plumber that rescues a kidnapped princess from a fire-breathing bipedal turtle," I said. "It's mostly made for kids."
Usopp didn't seem to have a response to that, his eyes widening in surprise.
"I'm concerned if that is the type of story that's common where you are from," Sanji took a brief puff of his cigarette as he rolled his eyes.
"Oh please, that's not even in the top ten weirdest things in literature I've heard of," I huffed. "The Monkey King, anything Cu or Zeus did, it doesn't take long for you to find weird, messed up things that just sound wrong."
Sanji shrugged, seeming to leave it at that. I caught the tail end of what Nami was saying about how the Log Pose needed to be calibrated, and how long it took would vary from island to island.
"You mean, if this island is full of monsters, we might have to stick around for days?" Usopp looked worried, and that was a concerning prospect. Then again, between Zoro and Luffy, I wasn't too concerned.
"I mean, if we're stuck on an island for a few days, we could replenish our supplies. I might be able to find a good place to dig a well for drinking water," I said, getting several surprised looks, even if Luffy just looked confused. "What? I'm a geologist. Sure, well boring isn't a specialty of mine, but I do know how to make sure an aquifer is good to tap. You don't want to restock and end up with what you brought being contaminated by salt water or anything else that's toxic or bad for you."
"That can happen?!" Was the response I got from several of them as I did my best not to show displeasure.
"It can be. It tends to depend on many different factors," I nodded. "But once it is contaminated, it's a long, lengthy process to remove it from the aquifer itself. And boiling the water can probably be used to remove the impurities if you know how to do it correctly."
Which I didn't. I had a rough idea of what I needed to do, but that was about it. I didn't think it would be an issue though. The river was a good sign that the aquifer was above sea level, despite the area looking overall arid.
"But what about the monsters?"
"Do you think we can't take them?" Zoro and I said at the same time. We both glared at one another for a moment, scowling. He wasn't exactly wrong. Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji were all units in their own right. While I was far less capable in comparison, my forms could still pack a considerable punch.
The fog continued to stream out of the river's mouth as the Going Merry pushed against the tide. The wind howled off the cliff faces, barely managing to cut through the fog that surrounded us. Then came the whispers. From the fog came voices, something that was enough to make me bristle. I'd seen enough horror games to know that this wasn't going to lead anywhere good.
Just as the mists parted, as a roar went up over the town.
"Welcome to the town of celebration! Whiskey Peak!"
I stared over the side of the ship, flabbergasted by what I was seeing. Sure, Mr. 9 and Ms. Wednesday said something about their being a town here, but it wasn't like I believed them. Why would I? Though it wasn't like what I was seeing made much in the way of sense. Sure, I knew these people were good, or at the very least, not evil, but most who flew the Jolly Roger were raiders. Not the types you would welcome with open arms.
And given that the pair were supposed to be from around here, we shouldn't be getting the warmest of welcomes in the first place.
Of course, all the thoughts flying through my head about why this place shouldn't be trusted, and that this was some type of trap were utterly secondary, as I was being confronted with my true mortal nemesis.
Parties.