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Posted: Mon Jul 22, 2013 3:54 pm
"Uroaaaaar" The massive man eating tree roared, Hadlar shifted his legs causing the dirt and stone below him to shake violently, shockwaves throwing dirt into the air as his roots work their way underground. A substance began to appear in the dragon-like maw of Hadlar's massive form, a thick bronze colored liquid which Hadlar then spat out at the crew below.
The thick liquid was indeed sap, and it collided with the ground with enough force to cause a wave of it to stretch forward in an attempt to ensnare the strawhats. Meanwhile, a majority of Hadlar's vines turned their focus to Luffy's arm which had slammed against the thick trunk of the tree, lashing and coiling around his arm to counter him
Joining the fray the Cyborg ran into the field of battle, he didn't want to cause Hadlar any harm, especially since a majority of his attacks would light the massive plant on fire. Knowing just what to do he ran to the Sunny while his fellow crew members continued to hold Hadlar off.
Franky made his way to the Docking area of the Thousand Sunny and deployed both the Rhyno-bike and Brachio-tank, it took mear moment as the battle raged on outside of the ware house which Sigrin had the Sunny docked inside of but soon a hole was blown in the wall and the Iron Pirate mech arose from the smoke which the blast had created when he knocked the gap in the wall. Piloting the mech franky joined the battle, drawing the mech's large sword he charged in attempting to cut through the vines which where protruding from Hadlar's back, even with the mech's massive strength the vines where thick and strong enough to at times catch the massive sword in mid-chop.
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Posted: Mon Jul 22, 2013 6:43 pm
"Ugh, it's useless, he's like a brick wall. What do we do?" Chopper asked, obviously quite frustrated. "The only thing I can think of is fire, and that might seriously hurt him."
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Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2013 5:52 pm
Zoro was still standing on the back of Hadlar's neck, therefore the thick sap missed him entirely.
Luffy wasn't as lucky. The bronze, gooey wave splashed over his entire body. "OI!!! HADLAR, CUT THAT OUT!" the rubber boy roared. "YOU GOT YOUR STICKY s**t ON MY STRAW HAT!!!" Luffy suddenly became extremely irked that his hat was now covered in sap. His round, worried eyes turned to angered slants. He didn't care that he was unable to move and that the bronze goop had stuck his body to the ground. All that mattered was his hat. "THIS IS MY TREASURE!!" the captain screamed, completely ignoring the vines snaring his arm. "I know you probably don't have a treasure anymore, but...you can always find something new that will REALLY matter to you!!!"
While Luffy was screaming, Zoro took the time to use the sharp sides of his blades and cut the captain's arm free of the multiple vines.
Gritting his teeth, Luffy put more pressure on Hadlar's back with his enormous rubber hand. "Stop shaking, dammit, I'm talking to you!!" he yelled in a voice full of fury, yet the captain's tone had a strong edge of compassion as well. "I know you feel like you've lost the whole world...and I'm sorry!! But I'm telling ya, you still have those who care about you! I care about you!!!! Hadlar..." Luffy blinked a few stray tears from the corners of his eyes, opened his mouth and sucked in a load of air in an enormous inhale. "...WILL YOU JOIN MY CREW??!!" this last request was hollered so loudly that birds atop the tallest trees took flight in an anxious flutter of wings, and the mountains echoed with the captain's unwaveringly determined voice.
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Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2013 7:50 pm
Hadlar had begun to whip his dozens of vines wildly when the straw hat captain began to speak. Luffy's words echoed with the large man eating plant which soon began to stop flailing. Hadlar however didn't shrink back to his normal form, the massive tree stood as static as any tree in the forest would. The wooden body creaking as the wind blew, the ash beginning to settle finally, silence was almost maddening as only the wooden creaking could be heard.
Finally the tree form began to recede, leaves and all, Luffy's words had gotten through to the lizardman during his outrage. When the form had fully shifted back to Hadlar himself he was kneeling, not from weakness or injury but in respect and thanks. Hadlar rested, kneeled on the ground, his left hand resting on his left knee, his right fist locked against the dirt below him. The lizardman's head rose from it's downward angle to look the captain eye to eye.
Finally, the silence had been broken when Hadlar spoke up " I will join your crew, I will serve as a Straw Hat pirate!" He declared, his maw curling into a slight smile "However I pledge that any of my people left alive in this world, slave or otherwise, I will free them.. No.. All slaves, that will be my goal! I will free every slave in this world if it kills me.. and Tahow will be dealt with!" Hadlar rose to his feet looking forward as the sun cast it's light on the crewmembers who stood before him, projecting their silhouettes against the orange sky.
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Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2013 7:58 pm
Chopper let out a sigh of relief, shifting back to brain point. He looked up at their new nakama, and smiled. "Welcome to the crew, Hadlar." he said. "Now then, I believe we should be shoving off to the other side of the island?"
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Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2013 8:09 pm
Luffy flashed a huge white grin at Hadlar. "Your dream is incredible!" he praised, laughing in relief that the lizard man was calm---and was now a Straw Hat Pirate!!
The captain smiled encouragingly at Chopper once the little reindeer welcomed Hadlar to the crew. "Chopper is right, we gotta head out---But, er...I'm stuck," the rubber boy said, his voice high pitched with embarrassment as he looked down at his sap encrusted body.
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Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2013 8:35 pm
Hadlar smirked, looking at the sap which had caught Luffy, the material was quickly hardening around the rubber captain. Hadlar took his index finger and, with his claw, began to cut the thick substance in lines down the center on all four sides of his body, causing it to peel back when the rubber man pulled.
"Now then, we gotta go see if anybody is alive still, there may be some hope yet!" Ahead of everybody, Hadlar made his way to the Thousand Sunny through the hole in the wall of the enclosure Franky had made on his way out with the pirate mech. Hadlar looked around the ship, as currently it was sitting in a dry dock, the water completely drained, meaning the ship was going nowhere. On top of that the gate was closed in front of them.
Immediately, not wanting to waste any time Hadlar went to work showing his skill at analyzing a situation, mainly wanting to prove himself to the crew "Zoro cut the grappling hooks from the railing" he said pointing at several metal chains connected to the railing on the upper deck, bow, and stern." Franky, do something about that gate, I'll take care of the water flow!" Immediately Hadlar shifted to his hybrid plant form while on the deck, he aimed his mouth towards the multiple closed off pipes and unleashed several bursts of bile at the metal coverings, steam almost instantly began to billow from them as the acidic substance ate through the metal.
Franky didn't waste any time either, running along the large stone walkway inside the building he made his way to a large turn valve which activated the metal gate. Using the mech's great strength he turned the wheel once the water had stopped rising, clearing the way for them to sail out.
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Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2013 8:47 pm
Chopper climbed on board the Thousand Sunny, then looked out at the gate. "I'm going to clean Saberie up and tend to her. If you guys need any help or have any injuries, come see me in the infirmary." With that, The doctor scurried off to the sick bay.
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Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2013 8:53 pm
Luffy eyed Hadlar's long claw with a cautious interest as the lizard man raked it down the sides of the sap. When Luffy struggled, the sap split and caked off. "Thanks, buddy," he replied with a small upturned grin, jumping away from the mess and hitting the deck with the others.
"Roger," Zoro uttered, swinging his firm silver blades against the chains and dispatching them with ease.
"Yosh! You guys freed Sunny!" Luffy cheered.
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Posted: Wed Jul 24, 2013 10:29 pm
((WUUAHH, WUAH, WUAH... DOUBLE POST!!)) ---------
Leaping onto the bow of the Sunny, Luffy coiled his rubber arms affectionately around the lion's head. "I missed you," he piped, proceeding to squish his cheek above the lion's eyes as another form of embracing the ship. "Hadlar, this is your home now, too!!"
Soon the Thousand Sunny reached the side of the island where Hadlar's village was meant to be. Luffy didn't bother helping with anchoring the ship. He was the first one back on the island, and issued a warning to his crew from the land. "If there's any sign of Tahow, we gotta leave. Our retreat will only do us any good if we're off the island, so even now we're not safe. Be on your guard. Now search for survivors!"
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Posted: Thu Jul 25, 2013 10:44 am
Hadlar smiled as the captain said that the Sunny would be his home from now on "I'm looking forward to it, now I just have to think of a skill which will let me pull my own weight around here." He paused for a moment "I will think of something when we finish checking for survivors, right now that's all I can think about."
Soon they reached the other side of Isla Saurna, the ground was charred and what trees where left had lost the once abundant leaves from their branches. Hadlar looked at his former home and let out a sigh of sorrow as he leapt from the Sunny and onto the ground below. "Hello! Anybody?!" He shouts out into the crater of his village and the surrounding areas "Matron?.. Mother?" he shouted checking then for his mother, though even then it felt strange giving her that title. Hadlar leaped into the crater and searched the crumbling, burnt wood planks that once made up the huts, seemingly nothing had survived, not even remains.
At this point Hadlar had lost hope of finding anybody but from the corner of his eye as he climbed from the massive crater he saw one object of his people that he been completely undamaged at the edge of the crater. "That would survive wouldn't it..?" Hadlar approaches a large statue made of what seemed to be the same material as a Poneglyph, the statue itself was that of a large bird with it's wings opened wide. The statue had not been seen earlier because they had not entered the Hut where the statue had been kept.
Looking up at the large stone bird structure Hadlar "I really hope I was wrong never to believe.." Hadlar said sadly looking to the others near him "This is a statue of my people's God, Lamia. Supposedly she was the one who spread our kind through the ocean of the new world, and was said to protect out people from disasters, since none of the islands Lizardmen use to be found on where ever affected by the raging weather of the new world." He placed a hand on the stone, gazing at the dirt below he repeated himself "I really hope I was wrong by not believing in her."
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Posted: Thu Jul 25, 2013 4:56 pm
Chopper, using his sensitive reindeer nose, searched for survivors as well. He transformed into heavy point to move around the rubble of the village, lifting up piles of dubris out of the way... only to find crushed corpses and burnt remains. After searching nearly every nook and cranny for so much as a breath of life, he gave up, transforming back to brain point, and walked over to Luffy and the others. He was unsure of what to say to Hadlar, after his explanation behind the statue. He only gave a confirming nod and a sympathetic look.
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Posted: Fri Jul 26, 2013 5:01 pm
Luffy had scampered off into the crater just as Chopper did, shoving his palms under planks of wood and throwing pieces of the huts aside. But just like the others, Luffy found no one still alive. Making no comment, he approached the statue Hadlar seemed to be mumbling about. The captain got on his hands and knees and lowered his head to the ground in respect.
After a few solemn moments went by, Luffy lifted his head and rose to his feet, giving the statue a brief nod before turning to Hadlar. "D'you wanna take something from this site?" he asked, gazing around the destroyed village. "A lot of times, even simple objects can motivate people. I have my straw hat. If you can find something in tact here, I think you should take it. Both as a reminder of your people and as a promise that you'll defeat your brother."
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Posted: Fri Jul 26, 2013 7:21 pm
"An interesting legend, I must say." Said a familiar voice from behind them all. Sigrin was in the village ruins along side the straw hats, the short man standing cane-in-hand as the lizardman had told of the statue's meaning. Hadlar turned around, ready to attack the old man. Hadlar bared his claws and just before he was able to lunge the man interrupted holding two manila envelopes."I came down here knowing you would eventually check for survivors, you wouldn't disembark with such thoughts looming in your minds." He walked forward, not towards luffy, Chopper and Hadlar but towards Natsuin who had accompanied them "The information on the whereabouts of your captain and your fellow crew members are contained within, their trajectory, plotted course and possible next docking targets." Sigrin turned now to Luffy with the second envelope "Its a terrible shame that all the slaves in the arena where killed by volcanic activity within the mountain. At least that's what the report will say when the former owners request their indentured servants be returned to them." within the envelope contained a shipping manifest that he was having the slaves moved from the island away from their owners.
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Posted: Sat Jul 27, 2013 4:48 pm
Zoro darted forward at a great speed, shifting his swords out of their sheaths. He halted right at the old man's side, and aimed to slash him with furious blades if he should launch any kind of attack.
Luffy whirled around and glared at Sigrin, the captain's eyes betraying how startled he was by the man's sudden arrival. Just like Hadlar and Zoro, Luffy clenched his fists and readied himself to pound Sigrin repeatedly.
Eying the man carefully as he spoke, Luffy dipped his head briskly in approval when Sigrin gave the information to Natsuin. When Sigrin approached Luffy, the captain was tempted to whack his hand aside but decided against it and carelessly gripped the envelope. "What the heck is this?" Luffy demanded.
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