Norris opened her eyes, her legs felt as if they were stuck in hardened concrete. It wouldn't be the first time. But concrete didn't tend to be sold white and.
She looked up, scowling, knowing exactly what she would see.
"Mr. 3." She growled, clenching her fists, turning around to see what she feared she would. The Candelabra.
"Sorry you weren't conscious when I put you up there with the others," the man taunted, an insufferable smirk on his face. "But you already know what my Extra Special Candelabra does!"
Yes, she did. Using wax flakes coming from the spinning top to cover someone in wax, turning them into a statue. It was an effective, but cruel, way of dealing with enemies.
But she also knew how to beat it. Mr.3's techniques had a shared weakness from their very nature. Heat and flame. Get sufficient enough of either, and Mr.3's wax constructs would melt away.
Normally, she wouldn't have access to such things. But today? Today was special. Slowly, her bound hands move downward, the motion hidden from view by her body.
With luck, and maybe a pinch of help from Mr. 3's own ego it would still be there. It took every ounce of control for a smirk of her own to grow on her face. It was.
Slowly, she caught Vivi and Nami's attention, subtly pointing to it. Vivi's eyes widened for a brief moment, before subtly shaking her head, while Nami nodded.
Two for three wasn't bad. They'd just have to wait until Mr. 3 and the others were sufficiently distracted. They only had a single shot at this.
Mr.5 seemed to be about to open his mouth as the actual giant pinned to the ground roared, straining against the wax, the substance cracking under his strength.
He had captured a giant. She was missing some information, it sounded like.
"I owe my friend that!" He bellowed, more and more of the wax shattering.
"Cannon!"
BOOM!
The giant screamed in pain as his face was consumed by a massive explosion.
Ms. Valentine laughed, a grimace appearing on Mr.3's face. Norris found herself wincing, knowing what came next, but powerless to stop it.
"It seems I have underestimated your strength, giant," the look in Mr.3's eyes took on a cruel glint. "Wax-Wax Arts, Sword!"
"Broggy!" Nami screamed, the wax sword impaling the giant through his hand, letting out a painful scream.
Of course, at that moment, the jungle began to rumble.
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"Any ideas on how to deal with Mr.3?" Usopp shouted on my right as we made our way through the jungle.
"He generates wax, right? He's not like Luffy, but instead of rubber he's wax?" I ask. Mr.5's fruit made him into a reusable bomb, Luffy's made it so he was made of gum, well, rubber, anyway. So why would someone with the Wax-Wax fruit not be made of wax?
"No? Why would you think that?" Thomas said, pumping his limbs wildly, bat in hand.
"God, Devil Fruits are confusing. Anyway! I have a way that could counter him. It's just going to depend on two different factors," I say. And it really did. Two very important factors.
"And those are?" Zoro raised an eyebrow, looking back at me.
"The temperature wax melts at, and what temperature hot water can start scalding skin at," I say. I can't believe I was thinking this, but thank goodness for Scald and it's absolutely bonkers distribution as a move.
"Nathan, that is the terrifying thing you've threatened to do to a person," Usopp said.
"It's always the ones you least expect," Thomas nodded his head in agreement.
"You're acting like I'm threatening to cut off his face and use it as a mask or something!" I shouted in indignation. I wasn't even going to use it on the guy, just the wax he was creating! Burns sucked. Burns from scalding sucked even more.
"Can we see it!" Luffy grinned, cackling at our antics.
"No, it's way too slow for running," I scowl. Damn Alola. Couldn't introduce a single mon that wasn't a non-legendary that had decent speed besides like, Ribombee.
"And that's any different than you are right now?" Zoro, teased, I think it was teasing.
"It's a 180 centimeter tall water spider Zoro! I'm pretty sure my grandmother could outrun it on dry land, and she has a walker!" I shout back, as Thomas gulped.
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The jungle erupted.
"Luffy!" Vivi shouted, though it wasn't like he was the only one. Zoro, Thomas, Usopp, even Karoo. The only person missing was.
A massive leg bit into the ground, long a stilt like, almost as tall as Norris herself. It was quickly joined by another, a large bug, even larger than the one from before, pulled itself through the treeline. Most of it's body was black, with green legs with water bubble at the joints before the went back to the abdomen. It's eyes were long and blue, it's head encased in yet another bubble of water.
It looked like they weren't going to have to wait long for a distraction to come up after all.
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That was the least subtle I'd even seen a man who was supposed to be a secret member of an organization. How? How do you think styling your hair in the shape of a three was subtle?
Of course, there was Mr. 5 and Ms. Valentine's Day. Alongside, a, small girl eating, crackers?
What was this, bring your child to work day?
"You promised me a wolfman, Ms. Valentines," the obviously named Mr. 3 spoke, his voice full of annoyance. "Though, I do suppose a giant spider might make for a better statue."
"Hurry up, we're starting to harden!" Nami shouted at us.
"If you can break the thing up top and get it to stop coating us with wax, we should be good!" Norris shouted in turn, her arms behind her back for some reason.
Taking in the whole structure left me with the impression of a really weird cake. With a massive bowl at the top, where all the candles had been placed. It slowly seemed to spin, wax flakes falling off of it as it went.
"I don't know what it is, but I'm going to wreck it," Luffy slammed his fist against his palm.
Mr. 5 seemed to scowl at us, as if he wanted to say something, but thought better of it. Or, more specifically, at Zoro and I.
"Remember us?" Zoro taunted, biting down on his third sword, staring down the two agents.
"You two deal with the chaff," Mr. 3 ordered, and I could almost hear Mr. 5's teeth grinding from where I stood. "Ms. Goldenweek, I might require your assistance in this matter after all."
Ms. Goldenweek? Was he talking about the child? The fact that she nodded was confirmation of that, but honestly, terrifying.
"The kid?" Usopp asked, whispering.
"She's Mr. 3's partner agent. I wouldn't underestimate her just because of her looks," Thomas grit his teeth.
"Candle Lock!"
"Cannon!"
"Woah!"
SHING! BOOM!
Zoro cut the explosive attack in half, while Luffy dodged out of the way, which instead found itself wrapped around one of my legs, weighing it down. My head turned to face Mr. 3, water beginning to build up around my head.
Scald!
"Wax Wax Wall!"
The two techniques collided, one a blast of heated water, the other a wall of wax. The impact was briefly covered in a blast of steam. The results? Better than I feared, worse than I hoped. The wax was steaming, partially melted, but the wall itself was ultimately still there.
"Gum Gum Bazooka!"
Until it ran straight into Luffy, who decided to see if he could do better, smashing through the wax like it was a rock.
"Ow! It burns!" Who didn't understand that partially melted wax was hot.
"Nathan! Above!" Usopp shouted as I tilted my head upward. I really didn't need to double-check. That was the problem with Araquanid. It was slow, and it was absolutely a big target. Ms. Valentine was going to use that to, well, squash me like a bug. What? It was obvious. I looked for Thomas, but he was a bit too far away for that to work. Plan A it was, then.
Aqua Ring!
A shimmering veil of water surrounded me, and I could immediately see the woman back off, for now. Devil Fruit users didn't like the water, and I was going to exploit that for all it was worth.
"We need to switch!" Zoro shouted, running past.
"Cannon!"
In the time I tried to figure out why, I felt an explosion impact my body. Fine, if Zoro wanted to trade dance partners, then that worked.
Bubble Beam!
"Exploding Star!"
Mr. 5 swallowed Usopp's attack, mine barely missing the agent. My eyes widened in surprise, before I squeezed them shut, waiting for the man to explode like an over inflated balloon.
"Is that really all?" The man taunted us, as I saw a shadow overhead.
"10,000 Kilo Spider Stomp!"
Shit, she had figured out that wasn't how Aqua Ring worked.
Thomas was close enough. Let's hope this worked.
Protect.
"What!" DOOMPF-grgrgrgrrrrr!
The an unmovable object met a nearly unstoppable force head on, the field screaming as held against mass and gravity assisted assault. The blue field held back against the pressure.
"Cannon!"
"Firestar!"
The fact that I wasn't feeling anything was a sign that Usopp was keeping me safe. I, in my utter stupidity, had failed to take the opportunity to stress test Protect. To even try to see what it could do.
And it could damn well bite me in the ass at any moment. But that moment?
Was not this moment. As protect faded, Ms. Valentine's momentum died completely, as water began to swirl around my maw. The look of oh crap in her eyes had her rear back, floating upward, as if to escape. Pity.
If she pressed the attack, she might have been able to escape.
"Batting Chain Slam!"
"Ah!"
Thomas's chain bat wrapped around Ms. Valentine's leg, before swinging her against the ground.
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"I think that's about as distracted as everyone is going to get," Norris sighed, watching the choas. Luffy was struggling with Color Trap, Zoro was in a sword fight with Mr. 3, while Mr. 5 and Ms. Valentine's Day tried to gang up on Nathan, only for Mr. 9, Thomas, was his real name, and Usopp running interference.
Everything was a mass, and they were getting covered with more and more wax. If there was a time, it was now.
"Ready?" She reached into her pocket, pulling out a single flare gun.
"This better work!" Vivi shouted, covering her ears as Nami pulled out a matching flare gun.
"I swear if it doesn't," Nami threatened, pointing toward the base.
"Fire!" Both pulled down on the triggers at once, sending screaming shots of heat into the base.
Already, Norris felt the wax covering her skin beginning to warm.
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The sound cut through the noise of pitched battle like a knife through butter. It was like screaming, the sound created by the flares.
"They're trying to escape!" Mr. 3 shouted, throwing out another Candle Lock at Zoro, who barely managed to get out of the way. "I thought the two of you checked them for anything on their person!"
Well, that was one problem dealt with. That just left why Zoro was fighting.
"Gum Gum! Bazooka."
I suppose why Zoro was fighting Mr. 3 was that Luffy was fighting a splotch of paint on the ground.
"Keep us covered," Usopp said. Wait, us? Karoo ran by, Usopp sliding onto his back with almost practiced ease. I waited for Mr. 5 to make a move. But he didn't, glaring at me with a scowl.
"Now, let's see if you can beat me without any of your friends running in to save you," he growled, pulling out another booger from his nose.
"Oh no, not without me you aren't," there was a shout of pain as Thomas landed next to me in the grass. "I owe you back double for throwing us into your friend's fight at Whiskey Peak."
Mr. 5? By himself, I could stall him, probably even take him.
Mr. 5 and Ms. Valentine's Day? That was harder.
"Cannon!"
Scald!
The explosion is consumed by a blast of hot water, but not before overpowering the blast, continuing through to slam into the man's chest. Even with his powers, he was knocked clean off his feet, disappearing in a cloud of steam.
"10,000 Kilo Spider Stomp!"
Seriously? You want to do this song and dance again? Have a Protect, you crazy nutcase. A blue barrier erupted around my body, ready to take her fall again.
"Breeze Breath Bomb!"
BOOM!
The blast impacted the barrier, failing to penetrate the protective sphere. But that caused it to start fading. Oh, this was going to suck.
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"We can move again!" Nami cheered, jumping up out of the wax as it started to melt. The Candelabra leaned dangerously forward, a looming shadow over the battlefield. It still needed to be destroyed, but they had bought themselves the time they needed.
Norris was about to open her mouth, only for a scream of pain to come across the battlefield.
"Nathan!" Vivi shouted, already scrambling down the Candelabra. Norris felt herself wince at the scene of the giant spider being pinned.
Thankfully, Nami seemed to be joining Vivi. Under normal circumstances, she would be joining them. She felt as if she needed to extract a pound of flesh from her former ally, but for now, she had finished off Mr. 3.
Norris grabbed hold of the Candelabra's still steaming base, and began to pull.
This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.
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"Get off him! Iron Batting!"
Ms. Valentine's winced slightly, her body shifting ever so slightly.
"Was that the best you can do?" She sadistically grinned as she leaned further back, enjoying the pained sounds beneath her. But for the briefest of moments, her body lost contact with the monstrous spider she had pinned, its body beginning to condense into a swirling orb of energy.
U-Turn!
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I slammed into her stomach, time seemingly slowing down around me. What did I pick? Pinsir was strong, yes, but fighting Mr. 5 was safest at range. Galisipod was too slow, even with first impressions, and I had no clue how it would react to my current state. Crustle was an option, provided I hit the threshold.
Everything else I couldn't access, or was simply too weak, or too slow. I didn't have a lot of options.
A stray thought passed through my head. That could work. It should work. Time began to speed up.
Evolution Bypass. Shelmet to!
"Accelgor!"
The pair scowled, glaring at me.
"It doesn't matter how many forms you can take, we'll still!" Wham!
"Still what, exactly?" Name taunted, standing over Ms. Valentine's. "We kinda outnumber you at this point."
"In small fry," Mr. 5 sneared, pointing his gun at me. "Breeze -"
Bug Buzz!
I hit the gas, blurring around the man, creating a cacophony surrounding him. The gun clattered to the ground as the man's hands went to his ears.
Giga Drain!
I stopped behind him, green tendrils wrapping around Mr. 5 for a brief moment, before the man slumped to the ground.
"I can't believe you were sitting on something like that this entire time!" Thomas shouted as Vivi shook her head.
"In my defense," I said, turning back into my human form. "That really shouldn't have worked." Evolution Bypass indeed.
"Why didn't you think to -"
CRASH-THUMMM!
"What was that!"
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"Bullfight Red," Ms. Goldenweek explained calmly, mixing paint. All she would need to do is put some green paint on the Captain of the Straw Hat Pirates, and this would be over soon.
"QQQQUUUUUUUAAAAACCCCCCCCCKKKKK!"
Why was she hearing something that sounded like a very angry duck?
Wham! The next thing she knew, Ms. Goldenweek was airborne. So was Luffy, alongside one other man and a duck.
"Quack?"
One man and a very confused duck.
"Luffy, now!"
"You got it! Gum Gum!"
No, no, that simply would not do. She brought up her brush, preparing to touch the Straw Hats Shirt.
Splat!
Only to find the hand of the other man instead.
Oh, that may cause some trouble.
"Bazooka!"
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"Come on! Budge!" Norris felt her muscles scream, pushing them well beyond her limits as she tried to pick up the massive hunk of wax. But despite the weakened base, it wouldn't budge. Not one bit.
Not until the top was blasted off, spinning away into the jungle. The weight became less as what remained groaned in her grasp.
"Candelabra Slam!"
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"What the hell was, Wax Wax House!" Mr. 3 shouted as Zoro darted back, the rest of the Candelabra crashing down atop them.
Zoro coughed, the air filling with dirt and dust.
"Watch where you're swinging that!" Zoro shouted. "You could have dropped that right on top of me!"
"You would have lived!" Norris shouted back, sliding down the remains.
"So, what do we do with him trapped in there?" Thomas asked as they approached, everyone looking a little worse for wear.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" The laughter covers the sound of cracking wax, as Broggy arose. Norris chuckled, watching as Nathan's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates in both fear and awe.
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Then came crying. Very loud crying. At least the literal mountain wasn't hostile, even if I felt bad for him. Kinda.
Who challenges their best friend to an honor duel to the death! One that lasts a whole century at that!
Okay, I shouldn't judge, as humans held grudges on a national level for stupid stuff too, and for far longer than that.
"Should we, you know, check if he's still alive?" I ask, slightly off-put by the crying mountain and also somewhat curious. Yeah, sure I didn't want to see a dead body, but at the same time, it would be good to know if the man was, you know, alive. I didn't want to deal with that man ever again until I had the fire type on tap, and I didn't want to be Schrödingered by a man.
I was using Schrödinger as a past tense verb, what is my life?
"I mean, he probably is. But if he isn't coming out, it's a sign he knows he's been beaten," Norris shrugged. "Maybe. He's smart, but not always as smart as he thinks he is."
I looked over at the taller woman, who seemed to be writing in a book I'm not sure where it had come from. She couldn't have had it on her person this entire time, right? Oh, who am I kidding, she probably did. And honestly, I was going to ignore that, for now. I didn't like leaving someone like that at our rear. Just, tie him up with the others and call it a day, I guess.
Just at that moment, the wax house began to break.
"Behold! My Candle Champ - IIOOONNN!"
Less than a moment later, as he emerged from the house in what I could only dare to describe as a wax mecha, a single slap from a giant sent Mr. 3 soaring through the air and out of sight.
"I am trying to sleep!" A loud voice shouted, as another shadow loomed above us, hand extended outwards.
"Dorry? But? How?" The other giant breathed.
"Did we all just, forget to check for a heartbeat, at, any point, during all this?"
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Holy shit, those were the biggest skeletons I'd ever seen in my life! Yes, I was coping with the fact we'd be stuck in this primordial jungle for a year. Sure, I loved my dinosaurs but a year?
Yeah, no. This place was humid, and it was hell. I'd smuggle some stuff if I could, but that's how Jurassic Park got started. And I wasn't tempting anything like that.
The only reason I hadn't flopped onto the ground by this point was all the bugs, just closing my eyes slightly, standing on my feet. I seriously just wanted to go back to the Merry and take a nap.
"I'm sorry. They only came to this island because of me," Vivi looked down, dejected. My eyes widened enough to see Nami, pulling on her check. While Usopp, Luffy, Karoo, and Thomas were crowded around a bag of.
"Are those rice crackers?" My stomach gurgled in hunger, before I took one. It didn't taste great, but in an odd form, I was too hungry to care.
"It takes a Log Pose a year to reset here," Zoro said, sitting down on a log. "That's not good for us."
"Maybe we could find where the agents put their ships? They should have a few Log Pose going other places, or maybe an Eternal one that points straight to Alabasta, or even just somewhere else that will recalibrate faster?" I ask finishing off the last of the cracker, noticing everyone staring at me. "What? They're part of an underworld organization. They have to have at least a few."
"That's, a valid point," Nami began rubbing her hands together. "There's probably a bit more to take than just a Log Pose, too."
This is where things went from a good idea to mistakes being made, wasn't it?
"Nami!! Vivi!! Norris!" Oh thank goodness, a distraction. "Oh, and you guys!"
Sanji emerged from the jungle, seemingly none the worse for wear, a goofy smile on his face. Norris didn't seem to pay the man any heed, busy talking with the two giants about something, a grin of her own as she recorded something in her notebook.
He causally stroad out into the clearing before his eyes opened enough to notice one of the giants, Dorry, I think.
"Are you Mr. 3?"
How? How did he even know that name?
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"I'm more stuck on the otter and the machine gun wielding vulture, I said with a frown. Sure, I was now filled with a newfound respect for Sanji, because as it turned out this man did not need a kitchen to cook. I didn't think that Mr. 0 believed we were presently dead, but still, that was a play, and it'd worked. And he'd gotten an Eternal Log Pose to Alabasta out of it!
"Right, you weren't conscious for that," Zoro shrugged.
"Still doesn't change how that information is relevant!" I crossed my arms with a huff. Seriously, I never would have guessed that they brought on a pair of animals in the first place. I would have been a sitting duck! Still, it seemed like everyone was ready to head out. Zoro and Sanji were arguing over their hunting competition, Usopp and Luffy shouting their goodbyes, though why Usopp was calling the pair Masters was a question for another day. Norris closed the book she was writing in with a smile, Thomas trying to swat at some of the bugs that hung around him. I waved at them. I didn't really know them, but I wanted to do at least a bit of common curtasy.
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"Alright, get those cut up and loaded up you two!" Nami paused. "And someone get Nathan to stop mourning the death of two random dinosaurs already!"
"NNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
"If we pack it properly, we should be able to fit 5% more than expected."
"That doesn't sound like much."
"Luffy, it's still more meat."
"Hurray!"
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Poor dinosaur's. They will be missed. And eaten. Thus was the circle of life. I should be excited. How many people knew how dinosaur tasted?
Okay, still sad though.
I let out a sigh, arms dangling over the side of the Merry, before looking up to see the two giants. Why exactly where they here?
"There's one big reason that you little people," Broggy started.
"Can't reach the next island," Dorry continued.
That, sounded ominous.
"You risked your lives to defend our honor," Dorry began.
"Now, no matter what," Broggy continued.
"We will allow no enemy to trample on our friends' pride!" Dorry shouted.
"Have faith in us, and sail straight ahead! No matter what happens, sail straight ahead!" Broggy finished, as the sound of the ocean drew my eyes away from the pair, and onto something massive rising out of the waves.
Of course, it took about half second for half the crew to start panicking. To my surprise, Usopp was not one of them.
"Oh, this is going to be fun!" Norris was grinning ear to ear with excitement.
"We're really sailing right toward it? It's going to eat us!" Thomas shouted.
Frankly, we didn't have much of a choice. I don't think we could evade it, even if we tried. We had no choice but to put our lives in the hand of two giants. Two people I knew nothing about.
So why the hell did I feel so calm? Luffy trusted them without a shadow of a doubt. No hesitation. Maybe, that was enough.
"Come on," I breathed. "Straight ahead."
"Straight ahead! Straight ahead!" Luffy and Usopp shouted, even as we began to fall. Then I felt it, the rumble like an earthquake.
"This is it!" Norris shouted, as suddenly, there was light, the Going Merry rocketing out of the giant fish like a rocket.
"WAAAAHHOOOO!" I shouted, letting go of the railing, only for the force to send me flying back with a pained groan for my troubles.
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"Hey Thomas, are you okay?" I asked. He didn't look okay. His skin was pale, skin sweaty, and it was almost like he was swaying on his feet.
"I'm okay. I just need a," his voice suddenly cut out, body falling forward. I managed to catch him before he planted his face onto the Merry's deck. I put my hand on his face, expecting a fever, but it felt cold to the touch. And, how long had that lump at the back of his knee been there?
I pulled up his pants leg. What I found was.
"Oh, that's just wrong." I finish out loud, getting the attention of those who weren't already heading over. It was hideous, a tick nearly the size of my hand, swollen with a feast of blood.
I reach out, preparing to grab hold of the disgusting thing and pull it free, before it could do anymore damage. Before I could, it suddenly turned around, hissing at me.
"Mother!" I ducked, as it flew over my head by inches, landing on the deck of the Merry.
"Kill it kill it kill it!" I couldn't tell if it was Vivi, Nami, Usopp or even myself that shouted that, but it started a frenzied attempt to kill the damn parasite.
The blighter, to its credit, seemed to realize at long last, the danger it was in, some sliver of survival instincts taking over. It jumped and weaved, even if it was ultimately trapped on the boat with us.
"Gum Gum!"
Water!
"Bazooka!" Gun!
We finally managed to catch it out, sending it flying off the ship and into the sea. Though all of us had far more pressing matters to contend with than the possibility of aquatic monster ticks in the future. The ocean was a scary place, it'd sort itself out.
No, we had far bigger problems to worry about. Nami and I picked him up between ourselves, intent on getting him to a bed. Nami and I were the two closest members of the crew to being medical experts.
But knowing what I knew about ticks?
We were going to need a doctor.