A Golden Opportunity

**Date Completed**: January 21, 2020
**Previous Role-Play**: N/A
**Next Role-Play**: Mischief on a Little Island
**Users Involved:** User:Black Dwarf Star, User:BQD, User:GranCrux, User:Shouri01, User:Lemasters30
**Setting**: Paradise
**Characters**: Lucifer Hyperion, Kujira, Zerstörer Sterben, Lussac Cody, Bruce Ramshackle, Bell Vaughn, Varanus Ora, Tsukuro D. Leonel, Draco Kronus, Cringer

## Freedom!

The brown-haired, green-eyed girl looked towards her feet as she subtly rocked back and forth, the waves of the ocean crashing against the ship she was in. She absent-mindedly scratched at herself, the brown, silk clothes that her captors had put her in to look more presentable were like gravel against his skin. If that wasn't bad enough, the collar wrapped around her neck was several times more uncomfortable, but she couldn’t fit her fingers underneath it in order to scratch it, or at least she was too afraid to try. She wasn't tied to her any of her fellow slaves or a pillar, she didn't need to be as long as she wore that collar. A single tear rolled down her cheek. "I just want to go home."

The sound of feet hitting the deck of the ship above her sounded. There were some shouts, yells of both pain and fear, but they were too muffled for her to make out specifically what they were saying. Some of the shouts seemed to become progressively more distant, as if they were being raised up to the sky.

Suddenly, the deck ripped open above the girl, the smiling face of a man with golden hair and eyes, wearing incredibly ragged clothing. "Hello World Noble slaves!" he shouted, "do not worry, you are being liberated!"

As the man jumped down into the deck, several of the slaves began cheering. Others looked around in confusion. There was truly a cornucopia of emotion in this one instance. But as he descended, planks of wood moving underneath his feet to act as a staircase, as if the ship was reacting to the man. He landed in front of the girl with a slight hop.

"My, how especially unfortunate for you to end up here," said the man, "someone so young. Don't worry, I'll help you." He touched the collar. Suddenly a ticking noise began resounding through the air. The slaves cheers suddenly ceased. It was completely silent, just for a moment as everyone took it all in, before they started screaming again.

"Is that what he meant by liberate!" one slave shouted.

"Is he gonna kill all of us!"

The man's smile didn't wane. "Don't move," he said. The little girl nodded. Despite the situation, despite her seemingly imminent death, she felt completely at ease in this man's presence.

In an instant, the feeling of restriction around her neck was gone. She touched her neck, the collar was gone, and in the man's hands. "A specialty collar, huh? Normally these just explode when you try to take them off, but it looks like this one shoots spikes. I guess that means and explosion wouldn't have been very effective against you then. You're probably a lot stronger than the rest of these guys." He turned to the rest of the slaves. "Alright, who's next?"

Two stood at the bow of their own ship, a pink-haired woman and a man who could only be described as having a gun for a head.

"He's late," said the gun-headed man.

"These sorts of things take time," said the pink-haired woman, "And you know he doesn't like it when anyone else does it."

"I've-" A woman with long flowing white hair and a fringe dyed with a soft purple colored stood behind the two. For whatever reason, she was dressed less like a traditional pirate and more like a traditional maid, a black headband accessorizing a black and purple outfit that went together with the woman's eyes, almost like shiny amethysts. "-already made a special bom-firecracker for his return!"

"Tch. Let's just do it ourselves." a boy spoke. His skin was tanned, incredibly so, and judging from his height and soft facial features, despite the fact that a scowl remained on his face, it was obvious that he was the youngest in the crew. He held a sword at his waist, his grip tightening as the other woman spoke.

"Why do you always want to blow things up, Cody?"

"Oh, so you have the ability to used Advanced Busoshoku Haki now?" said a boy, around the same age as the first, "or do you simply not have faith in the captain? Don't worry about it Vaughn, the captain will be back here soon."

As if on cue, planks from the other ship began forming a walkway back onto the ship of the crew. "Speak of the devil."

The blonde man walked across the planks, followed by the slaves he had freed, each one breathing easy and smiling at their new freedom. Although a few shrieked and cried upon realizing the flag that their saviors flew. It was a golden skull, with a pair of axes below it instead of crossbones. This was the ship of a pirate crew.

"Oh, don't worry," said the captain, "we're friendly."

"Shut up, Ram. I've been practicing!" Vaughn replied, he crossed his arms, looking to the side, even as the blonde man approached them.

"You're late," said the man with the gun head as the captain came aboard, carrying the young girl from before in his arms.

"Sorry, Sterben," said the captain, "there were a lot of specialty collars. They were ferrying a wide variety of races. Including this little cutie!"

"Um... thanks," said the girl, "you can put me down now. My legs work perfectly fine."

"Gahahaha!" the captain laughed, "as you wish little one."

He kneeled down to the ground as she put her down on her feet.

"Stop being a perv, old man!" Vaughn spitted at captain. His brows furrowed angrily, his arms still crossed.

"What the hell is your problem!" Ram shouted.

"It's fine, Ramshackle," said the captain, "Kujira," he addressed the pink-haired woman, "take a census of the freed slaves, we gotta find out where they live so we can take them home."

"Um, mister Captain," said the little girl.

"What is it little one? And please, call me Hyperion."

"Okay, Hyperion, I'm from Gerong Island. Is that going to be a problem?"

The captain took a long look at the young girl. She gave a nervous smile, at which point he finally saw the sharp teeth, customary of her race.

"So that means you're a Gerongian, huh?" The little girl nodded. "Well, I don't see any problems with that! Welcome aboard the ship of the Golden Axe Pirates! What's your name?"

"Ora," she said, "Varanus Ora."

Cody ignored Vaughn's previous question about her explosives, simply pushing it off as she became absorbed in arrival of those around her, but most importantly, her fireworks. "Hey guys! Cap is back!" Cody shouted, as if everyone else hadn't already known. She reached into her stockings, gripping a remote control from its center and momentarily parading. "Ready for a show!" Cody pressed the button, yet nothing happened. "I-" Cody continued to press the button, growing more and more aggressive with each jab, but to no avail.

"...Stupid remote!" She chucked it into the ocean, her face red as she turned around to look at the girl; Ora was her name. "Oh my god, I've never seen one of you guys before. I was expecting you to look more...lizardy. But I guess you are pretty young, maybe your lizard features just haven't grown in yet." Cody stared at Ora, her right hand cupping her chin.

"Um... okay," said Ora.

"Let's not antagonize our new guest," said Hyperion. "Gerong Island is a long way from where we are now, and we'll probably make a lot of stops along the way. Do you think you'll be okay with that?"

Ora nodded. "Yes, I just want to see my family again."

"Antagonize?" Cody looked at her captain, then back to Ora. "Ohhh! Am I making you mad? Do you just want to...explode?" Cody teased, yet her eyes seemed to turn into literal stars as she marveled at the idea.

Boom!

The sound of what one could only assume was an explosion called out, Cody raised her head as she looked in the direction of where it originated from. "...I wonder what nerd caused that to happen."

*"I-it was you..."* Words should've escaped Vaughn's lips, but the drops of sweat and defeated look on his face said it all. He aired his kimono as he leaned on the rail of the ship, feeling the sea's breeze momentarily. Freedom. He could taste it, or at least he thought he could. It was the one thing everyone in that crew shared.

Clearing his throat, Vaughn approached Ora, standing over the Gerongian as his eyes narrowed. "Name is Bell Vaughn. Nice to meet ya." he expressed, though his gaze never met hers.

"Hi!" Ora was happy at first, but she cocked her head to the side in confusion upon looking at him. "Are you socially awkward, Vaughn?"

"Ehhh?! What gives you that impression?!"

"I can kinda just feel it from you," said Ora, "plus you're not even looking me in the eye."

"Looks like she's got you there!" Ramshackle shouted, clapping his fellow teen on the back. "Name's Bruce Ramshackle, senior apprentice of the Golden Axe Pirates. Hello young miss."

"Hi!" Ora exclaimed, "your aura is much more vibrant than your friend's."

"Jakakakaka!" Ramshackle laughed, "you hear that Vaughn? I'm more vibrant!"

"Yea, vibrantly gullible." Ora's voice was heard again, yet it didn't seem to come from her direction.

Ramshackle almost said something to Ora, but quickly relented when he realized that it wasn't her current location that he had heard her voice from. He turned towards Cody, giving her a wicked glare.

Cody shrugged as Ramshackle looked to her. "Anyway, Ora, if you need anything like advice, bombs, an ear to talk to, explosives, a big sister figure, explosive bombs, or just a gal to have some fun with, just know you can count on me."

"You sure are vibrant..." Vaughn chuckled to himself mischievously.

"Hey guys... some of you would like to hear... a story" suddenly the murmuring amidst the sobs of someone with a thick voice interrupted the apprentices' dialogue, so the owner of that voice revealed himself as a tall and muscular man, with slightly tanned skin and brown hair, Tsukuro D. Leonel went in the direction of the children .

However, something seemed wrong with him because he stumbled so much that he could barely balance himself, the strong smell of alcohol coming from him , indicated that he had drunk beyond his bill, stumbling on his own legs the man leaned on one of the ship's masts in an attempt to balance himself, His vision was so confused that Leonel could barely distinguish who was who, and as soon as he glimpsed the figure of Ora , his gaze remained static on her and suddenly he began to cry as he confused t the newly arrived little Gerongian girl with that of his daughter, whom he had left behind to embark on the pirate's life and had not seen for some time.

"Seika, my little flower, what are you doing here my daughter ?, but I don't care , you come here and hug your father !". Leonel said with emotion, bending down and opening his arms waiting for the girl's hug.

Ora's eyes darted across the ship, just standing there as the pirate before her sobbed and called to his daughter.

"Is he...?" she began to ask.

"Drunk? Yes," answered Ramshackle. "Don't worry, you don't need to indulge hi-"

But before he could finish his sentence, the young Gerongian leaped into the arms of Leonel, wrapping her own as far around the pirate's waist as she could. It had been some time since she had received any sign of affection, a blissful smile creeping onto her face.

Leonel did not hesitate to give the girl back her hug, tucking her between his body and one of his arms, half in many tears, he said:

"Oh my little one, you don't know how much I yearn for this, there hasn't been a day that I haven't missed you,of your mother and of your brothers, I also want to hug them soon".

”The hell is this crap?!” A voice echoed from within the ship’s quarters. Following it was the forceful opening of the door that led towards the deck. A shining green track suit, a stylized greenish pompadour as well, Kronus, an explorer and Martial artist from a North Blue Kingdom, stepped outside as he struck a pose before glaring at everyone in the ship’s deck.

”Hmph! Hmph! Hmph! This ruckus~” He began to tap his foot on the floorboards. “Is getting on my nerves~...CAPTAIN!” He spun around elegantly before striking another preposterous pose. “You have to stooooop picking up strangers from other ships~” He sang. “They could bring diseases and annoyance to this ship, and then I’ll have to kick them back into the seaaaa~!!!”

He stopped as he stood in the middle of the deck, brushing his pompadour as he scoffed. “No but seriously...” He glanced at Leonel and Ora, then at Vaughn and Cody, finally at Ramshackle. “Keep it down or I’ll kick ya’ll overboard.” He said with serious intent yet on his face he wore a warm smile as his bright white teeth glistened.

"Oh Kronus!" said Hyperion, clapping his crew mate on the back. "You are just so... eccentric. Besides, if they actually needed to be ejected from the ship, I could just do it myself." Hyperion snapped his fingers. A golden marble floated from the nearby slave ship, and as it began floating over to Hyperion, the planks of wood that connected the two ships together fell into the ocean. Arriving at Hyperion, it floated over the palm of his hand. "Great job Venus! You deserve a nice long rest." The orb sunk into his palm, it's light briefly glowing underneath his skin before dissipating.

Hyperion turned towards his crew, arms outstretched. "Alright Golden Axe Pirates! It's time for this monument to slavery, the exact opposite of freedom, to be eradicated. Phosphora!" A vibration rang through the ship. "Fire!" The cannons of the Golden Axe Pirates ship only needed to fire one volley before the slave vessel was turned into a pile of ash on the ocean's surface. Cody's munitions were exceptionally powerful like that.

Kujira and Sterben walked to his side, looking out into the ocean that was towards Hyperion's back. "Weren't the slavers still on there?" asked Kujira.

"You just said the reason we shouldn't care about them," said Sterben.

"No, it's just, there aren't even any corpses. What kind of gunpowder does Cody use?"

"Alright everyone!" shouted Hyperion. "Let's head towards our first destination! Where would that be?"

Kujira looked at the log pose on her wrist. "Looks like we're headed towards Sill Island. A few of our passengers are from there, and I'm sure we can get a few others some transportation."

"Excellent!" said Hyperion. "Onwards!" The ship rumbled in response.

Kujira walked over to Ora and Leonel, still embracing one another. "Alright, little lady," said Kujira, pulling Ora out of Leonel's arms. "It's not nice to lead a man on like that. Let's get you something to eat." She held out her hand for the young Gerongian to take.

Ora's stomach rumbled, taking Kujira's hand without any further delay. She looked back at Leonel, as well as the apprentices and Cody. "It was nice meeting you guys!"

Vaughn leaned on the rails of the ship once more as he watched Ora be moved away. A smirk crept unto his lips momentarily. The sea breeze softly breathed upon his skin, causing his hair to billow. He felt incredibly peaceful, incredibly free. Despite the burning pile behind them. That was the sensation that made him join the Golden Axe Pirates, it was the feeling that Hyperion had promised him.

"Wait..." His eyes opened as Vaughn realized what had just happened. They had completely eradicated the slave vessel. "Oi, Hyperion! I thought I'd be allowed to fight this time!"

"Oh, right..." said Hyperion, the massive grin he was wearing earlier, somewhat wavering. "Oh yeah, sorry about that. Got kinda caught up in the moment. Don't worry though, you'll definitely get to fight next time. In the meantime, I gotta..."

"Meow!" The familiar sound of the crew's mascot sounded as he walked onto the deck of the ship.

"I gotta go feed Cringer! Yeah, that's right. Come on ya little rascal!" The pirate captain scooped the cat up into his arms as he walked away towards his quarters.

"Alright, guess that means I'm in charge right now," said Sterben. "You two!" he pointed at Ramshackle and Vaughn. "Swab the deck. I want it done by dinner!"

"But I thought Hyperion always swabbed the deck," said Ramshackle.

"No 'buts'! Get swabbing!"

"B-but, why do I have to do it?! There's plenty of people here, ya know?!"

"I said no 'buts"!" said Sterben, pointing a finger at him. Of course, when Sterben pointed a finger at someone, they would be looking down the barrel of a gun.

"Boys, how about listening to the story of how much I threw a king of the seas in a fight while they were cleaning the deck?" offered Leonel with a smile stamped on his face, after crying a lot once Ora separated from him, he finally got himself together.

"Hoy, Sterben bring a bottle of Wiskey and a couple of glasses, come drink and hear the story with us!" exclaimed Leonel, as soon as he sat on the deck leaning his back on the mast next to him.

"I think you've had enough, Leonel," said Sterben, "and don't distract the boys from their work."

”Sterben!” Kronus pranced around before reaching his comrade. “Don’t be so uptight! Let’s have some fun, how about some friendly competition~!” He said as he glanced at the younger apprentices.

“Let’s place bets and pit the younguns against one another! Sounds more fun than them doing some house cleaning, eh? Right Leonel?”

"It's okay with me, let's motivate them a little bit, let's do it this way, whoever wins doesn't work for a week!" Leonel answers with a haunting animation.

"What?" said Ramshackle. "Yeah, no. I don't like this. Vaughn's stronger than me, it's already unfair."

"You don't mind? Sterben." Vaughn asked seriously before a smile slowly formed on his lips. "I mean the ship would get cleaned one way or another."

"Hoy, Shackle, how do you think you can win a fight with this attitude,come on, show Vaughn and Cody the power of a hard-working warrior !" Shouted Leonel in an attempt to motivate Ramshackle to fight.

"I'll swab the deck, but I'm not making a competition out of it!" said Ramshackle.

"I don't care if you make a game out of it or not!" shouted Sterben, forcing a pair of brooms into Ramshackle and Vaughn's hands, "just make sure it gets done!"

Ramshackle sighed as he began sweeping.

Twirling the broom around his figure, Vaughn scoffed before he pouted. "He'll eventually have to accept..." and he too begun sweeping.

## Story Time

Below deck on the ship was one of the most hectic group of all time: Children. They shouted, ran about the deck, pulled each other's hair, shoved, and cried. And it wasn't just human children either. There were Minks, Fishmen, Skylanders, Dwarves, Longarms, Longlegs, Reptilinoids, Onis, Yurei, and even a baby Giant. But at that moment, the only Gerongian on the ship wasn't having much fun at all.

"Give it back, Ram!" shouted Ora, reaching up towards the pole Ramshackle was holding over his head.

"I don't see why you think this is so important," said Ramshackle, a grin on his face. "It's just a stick. You dove into the water to get this from your old slave ship. Now that's insane."

"Just give it back!" She leaped high into the air, yanking it out of Ramshackle's hand before landing back on the ground. Ramshackle simply looked at his now, empty hand, dumbfounded.

"Shackle your idiot stop bothering Ora, she's been through too much already, let her play with whatever she wants, no problem if it's a simple stick, and then what matters is that she's happy!" said Leonel, reprimanding Ramshckle for his attitude.

Approaching Ora he bent down, staring her in the eyes, soon her closed expression was replaced by a friendly smile, grabbing a lollipop in a paper bag that he carried with him he offered the girl, leaving the bag on the floor he scratched the back of his head and said:

"Here miss, a little gift,for you to put a smile on that face and also a way to apologize for the embarrassment I caused you the other day, I know I should not have done that, you went through a lot and I should not have bothered you like that".

"It's fine, don't worry about it," said Ora, taking the lollipop from his hand. Ramshackle simply grunted while standing behind her. "What is this thing though?"

Leonel gave a broad smile, and stroked the head of Ora his big hand made the girls brown hair, catching the bag of candy he stood up , facing Ramshackle he put again a serious expression on his face and said:

"By the way, Shackle, what are you doing here, wasting your time harassing our guests instead of doing your chores, I don't care if you don't, so I won't report you, but if the Captain or Miss Kujira catch Catch you of loafing, you'll get in trouble."

"Vaughn and I finished our chores an hour ago!" Ramshackle snapped, "it just so happens that our living quarters are being used to house all these kids!"

Almost to enunciate his point, an Oni child ran up to Ramshackle and kicked him in the shin. "Ow! You little brat!"

Grabbing the boy Oni easily by the head, Leonel pulled him away from Ramshackle, put him back on the ground and put his hand on the boy's shoulder and after a sigh he faced that child and said:
"I know he's an idiot, but don't do it again, after all if it's Vaughn in his place or even if he sees one of you he could end up getting hurt, so when one of them is rude or does something wrong, look for me to take care of the punishments myself, understood? "

Getting up, the man walked a little away from the boy, and putting his hand inside the bag, he removed several candies, giving the boy a fight:

"CHILDREN, WHO WANTS CANDY?!"

As soon as they heard this, all the little ones went towards Leonel and surrounded him with their hands outstretched, it didn't take long and the package, which until then was full of candies, gum and lollipops, was empty, since they had all received a fair amount of candy, Robert stood up, putting the empty bag in the pocket of his coat, walked a little bit and stopped beside Ramshackle and whispered:

"As punishment for what you did today, tomorrow you will clean the barnacles on the ship's hull, without Vaughn's help, don't get me wrong, I don't want to humiliate you. See these children, so young and still suffered so much, all I ask is a little peace from them, don't worry when we leave everyone at home you will have your beloved space back, until then be patient and try to learn something from it's".

"Leonel, it's not that serious." Cody called, holding the door open as a few children slid into the room, all either having freshly braided hair, cleaned faces, or bandages on their wounds. They seemed pretty energetic too, having received from fresh air under the woman's watch. She got closer to the man, ensuring that the children wouldn't be able to hear what else she had to say. "And I'd prefer if you didn't give the children candy all willy nilly, some of us have to watch out for them. And you don't know how they react, what if one of them has an allergy or gets super hyper? And don't even get me started on you hugging Ora while reeking of booze and bad decisions. It's not healthy. I know you want the children to enjoy themselves, but someone also has to look out for their well-being. Next time avoid being an emotional wreck around them."

For a woman obsessed with bombs, explosions, and otherwise mass calamity, Cody seemed to know quite the bit about children. Maybe there was an untouched history behind her maid outfit. Or perhaps this care for children stemmed from plans for her future. "And no more candy, at least until I figure out if they have any allergies or what not."

Leonel snorted when he heard Cody's words, he was really doing his best to take care of the children and try to cheer them up and listen to it didn't please him at all, however he swallowed his dissatisfaction, having put both hands in the pockets of his pants, he walked towards the low exit door, but not before answering his companion:

"It's okay, I won't give candy to the children anymore and I won't go near them when I'm drunk, but if you're so committed to taking care of them, try to keep them away from Shackle and Vau, I can keep them busy for a while but I can't force them to anything once they've finished their tasks, I trust they won't bother the children again, but it's better to prevent it".

Ramshackle sat on his bed, which had two or three other kids sitting on it as well. One jumped on it, but he seemed otherwise annoyed. "I don't have to do anything that geezer says," he mumbled, just quiet enough for no one else to hear.

"Hey Ram," said Ora, sitting on the bed next to him. She held out the lollipop towards him. "What is this?"

"You seriously don't know what a lollipop is?" he said.

"No, we don't have any... what is it called? Candy? Well, we don't have it on Gerong Island."

"Oh, well, it's basically just a sweet. It doesn't have much nutritional value, but it tastes nice."

"Hm, doesn't sound like my cup of tea then. Would you like it?"

Ramshackle raised his eyebrows. "Sure." He unwrapped the lollipop from its wrapper and stuck the red lollipop in his mouth.

"Wait, the wrapper isn't edible?" said Ora.

Ramshackle raised his eyebrow again. "No, and neither is the stick."

"Well darn," said Ora, taking the wrapper from Ramshackle. "Guess I'm gonna have to figure out what to do with this."

"You're a weird one, Ora."

"By human standards, perhaps."

It was at this moment that Ramshackle noticed that all of the other nearby children had stopped their mini tirades in the young girl's presence.

Sitting in his own bed, cross-legged, was Vaughn. His wooden sword lied on his lap, as both of his hands pressed lightly against his knees. Veins popped from his temples at the sound of so many children, though his annoyance quickly dissipated as the screaming came to a halt.

"Ram, remind me to never have children man..."

Ramshackle flashed his fellow apprentice a quick smile. "No."

Just as quickly as the children ceasing their activities, they began to shout and play once again. It was annoying, infuriating. Ramshackle and Vaughn might have attempted to do something, if someone else hadn't done something first.

A high-pitched sound rung throughout the room. Everyone put their hands over their ears in order to block it out, but it barely seemed to effect the sound at all. Just as quickly as it had come, it was gone. The apprentices would recognize that ability from all the times she had had to discipline them. It was the Mother Orca: Kujira.

"Alright children!" she said, "I know you're all excited about your new freedom, but that's no excuse to run amok on our ship. You're still guests here after all." She pointed at Leonel. "And you shouldn't be coddling them too much. That just leads to them becoming spoiled."

"In my opinion, you and Cody are very tough, these boys were torn from their homes, their families and who knows what these bastards made them spend the time they had in captivity, I think they've seen enough of the bad side of the world, so I don't mind reminding them that still for the good things, after all this doesn't cost me much, and don't worry that I won't expose their health, but don't expect me to stop trying to cheer them up! ", replied Leonel, without further holding his thoughts.

Still with his hands in his pockets, he didn't say anything else relaunched that subject nor waited for Kujira or Cody's answer, he simply closed the door and left the room.

Kujira sighed. It wasn't that she thought they shouldn't be kind to the children, but planks on the walls were starting to be ripped off and the Giant baby was still crying. She hadn't even hit the baby with her Devil Fruit's hypersonic waves, it's not like he was doing anything.

"That being said," Kujira began, "I still plan on being a gracious host. Gather around children, how would you like to hear a story!" All of the children immediately sat on the ground and beds near Kujira. They were still young, after all. They still loved to hear stories.

"What kind of story is it?" said Ora.

"I'm sure it's one our two apprentices have heard many times before," said Kujira, gesturing towards Ramshackle and Vaughn, "but it's still a thrilling tale nonetheless. This is the story of the foundation of the Golden Axe Pirates!"

Cody watched as Leonel fled the room, not quite bothered by his words. His intentions were good in the end, and she couldn't fault him. All it meant was that she'd probably turn out to be the "bad guy" to these children. She heeded the words Kujira spoke, about that oh so thrilling tale. Cody seemed to race walk to the door, quickly taking her leave. "Have fun with that."

One could only wonder what type of bombs she was planning to test now.

### Kujira Meets Hyperion

*It all started on an island far, far away from here, called Amazon Lily. It's a unique island, inhabited by a race of warrior women known as the Kuja Tribe. Each one fought alongside a large snake, using them as bows for firing arrows, or sometimes using even bigger ones for modes of transportation. Sometimes a member of the tribe would leave the island, and return pregnant. But they only ever seemed to get pregnant with girls.*

*I was still a teenager at the time, barely eighteen. I was a bit of an outcast. I was the only Kuja that didn't have a snake. But that wasn't what bothered me. What bothered me was that I wanted to know what laid out, far out to sea, beyond the Calm Belt, on the Grand Line. And that's when he appeared.*

*If I wasn't on the shore that night, staring out into the horizon, I probably wouldn't have found them; someone with golden blonde hair, in ragged clothes, washed up on the shore next to a raft.*

*I ran over to them immediately, asking if they were okay. It wasn't until after I flipped them onto their back that I realized they were a man. He must've been the same age as me. I'd never seen a man before, and was completely mesmerized by his appearance. I just couldn't stop staring, at least until his coughs brought me out of my stupor.*

*After expelling the remaining water from his lungs, his eyes slowly opened, looking into my own. "Are you an angel?" he asked.*

*I blinked a few times in confusion. "No, I'm a Kuja." I didn't know what else to say."*

*He laughed weakly as he sat up. "So does that mean I'm on Amazon Lily? Woo! I'm a long way from home. Guess that also explains where the Sea King that wrecked my boat came from." He looked at his raft. "So, what's the name of my savior.*

*"My name's Kujira, but I'm not your savior. You washed up onto shore all by yourself."*

*"A Kuja named Kujira? That's kinda funny. Well Ms. Kujira, I know that the Kuja don't like it when men come to their island, so I'll just be getting out of your hair."*

*"You're not planning on leaving with that raft, are you? You'll get eaten alive by the Sea Kings."*

*I'll be fine," he said, "I've got this." He held out his hand and a golden orb flew out from the raft and into his hand.* This is Phosphora. She's got my back."

*The orb seemed to vibrate, almost as if it were showing its affection towards Hyperion, before flying back into the raft which it had come from.*

*"I don't see how that's supposed to help you do anything," I said.*

*"Don't worry about it," said Hyperion. "Alright Phosphora! Let's go!" And he hopped on top of his raft as it began to go out into the sea.*

*He didn't get very far. As soon as he was just out of the shallow water of Amazon Lily, a massive Sea King came out of the water and capsized his raft. "Kujira! Help!" he cried, before quickly sinking into the water.*

*I quickly realized his inability to swim, and hopped into the sea after him. Fortunately, the Sea King that had attacked him hadn't yet come back to swallow Hyperion, so I grabbed him by the collar and returned to the shore as quick as I could. He was a sputtering mess after I dropped him on the sands, spitting out all of the water that had entered his lungs once again. The golden orb that had accompanied him flew over towards his hand, then back into his skin.*

*Then he sat up like nothing had even happened. "Well, that was a bust. Are there any ships on the island I can use to get out of here?*

*I shook my head as he said this, giggling at him. I felt a twinge in my heart as he spoke, something I couldn't quite explain. Then I smiled at him. "There aren't that many," I said, "but the Kuja Tribe wouldn't take too kindly to seeing a man. And we'll need a pretty big one to get out of here without being attacked by Sea Kings. Can that thing you have control big ships too?"*

*"Phosphora?" he said, "of course she can. I ate the Fune Fune no Mi after all. I'm a ship-controlling human"*

*It was a rather stealthy ordeal. With so many of my fellow Kuja asleep, we needed to be as quiet as we could in the Kuja marina. And when Hyperion set sail with his new ship, I didn't get off. And thus, we begun our adventure together.*

Kujira tucked a sleeping Ora into bed, brushing a few stray hairs out of the way to get a better look at her smiling face. She turned towards Vaughn and Ramshackle, a more stern expression couple with a quiet voice. "It was hard getting these kids to sleep, so I don't want either of you two disturbing them, got it?"

"Yes ma'am," said Ramshackle with a salute.

"Hm? Alright." Vaughn nodded, placing his hands behind his back as he leaned back on his bed. He had heard the tale countless times, yet it never failed to mesmerize him. A broken ship, a curious woman, the open seas, and a fearless man. To think that so easily could kickstart a journey. Everytime he wondered, what had driven Hyperion, and more than that, what had driven Kujira to leave? The answer was clear to him and every person on the ship.

"Freedom..."