#149 The Day After Tomorrow (Vio)

[Vio]

Goggles adjusted, scarf repositioned over her face, Arelya Gaille trekked through the thick white powder that covered seemingly every inch of the island. From her guess, they were moving up the mountainside, though the fact that everything looked nearly identical made such facts harder to discern. Not to mention the fact that every step was taking three times more effort to make, her boots sinking into the white blanket until her feet were entirely swallowed with every step. It was thoroughly tempting to stop and put her snow shoes on, but the prospect of having to take them off again shortly made her think otherwise. Either way, she did her best to listen to the words of the future version of her Captain as he explained his limp. Kairouseki. She'd heard of it before, though never actually encountered it for herself. She at least knew a little of the science behind it, educated in the fact that the clouds upon which she used to live contained traces of the very same chemical found in the 'Sea Watchtower Stone'. Pyro-something.

"Let's get you two inside and then we'll explain everything," exclaimed the Future Kane as they reached a medium-sized tent half-covered by the snow. It was a simple shelter, really, but they had positioned it where the wind did not blow anywhere near as fiercely; sheltered by a rocky outcrop from the mountain above. Sliding into the sunset-coloured tent behind Kane, Miss Gaille was welcomed by a rather humble little household. A temporary shelter which included all the camping basics: a pair of sleeping bags lay rolled up in the far corner, likely to save space while unneeded, and the visage of a few small crates and two large rucksacks decorated the one side. In the centre was a small contraption that vaguely reminded the inventor of an over-sized Dial, albeit a lot less decorative and red in colour. The man from their future zipped shut the tent's opening now that the four of them had entered, blocking out the cold and the howls of the chill mountain breeze.

"Phew," Arelya, her future self that is, huffed as she rested the odd contraption she carried on the ground beside the rucksacks. It clacked within its blanket as she did so, a distinctive sound of loosened metal that indicated the numerous parts that formed its design. Whatever kind of weapon it was, it was relatively primitive, yet clearly effective. Did it use Dials? If it did, why was it so large? A Flame Dial, Arelya remembered, was only the size of a man's fist, yet could spew forth just as much flame as that. Regardless, the younger self's emerald eyes watched cautiously as her older self got to work on the smaller device on the floor, igniting a flame within using nothing more than a match.Within about ten seconds or so, the object was casting out a warm amber light that flickered softly with their breathing, steadily balancing the temperature within.

"Anyway," pulling her hood down, as did Kane from the future, the older Arelya began to speak again as she slowly took away the outer layers of her get-up. "the short of it is that we traveled back in time to put an end to something that we... kinda started."

We? More like him... Pouting a little at the idea of sharing the blame, the Skypiean shipwright listened tentatively, her interest now piqued at least a little as the gradual warmth of the heating system began to penetrate the layers of her coat. Her gaze, however, was a little more focused on her future self than anything else. Though she looked near identical in many respects - the emerald green eyes and the lime locks - there were other features that seemed a little off, but were likely explained by the passage of time. Unlike her own tea-stained flesh tone, the other Arelya was a tad fairer, though maybe that was a direct result of the wintry climate and lack of exposure to the sun? However, there was even a little trace of envy welling up inside herself as she peered at the woman's physique. A lot more trim and toned, there was a certain attractiveness about her that the present form did not possess. Curves. The green-haired girl's body was not so graciously endowed with a womanly figure, but apparently the future held surprises for her. The issue was, that was years away - near enough a decade - and her insecurity made her twiddle with her goggles.

"Yeah. You guys do realise that there is a Marine base on Karakuri, right? It's only small, but it's still a problem. That's why we decided to stay out of town." Commented the future redhead, having also peeled back enough layers to reveal a slightly more muscular build than the present version. At least his figure wasn't drastically different, though maybe that was because the young man already possessed ridiculous degrees of strength and ability. Beyond the human level when pushed to his limits. She knew full well that such power was on her side, but what of the others? Still the tinkerer was uncertain of what to think of their future versions, despite all the evidence that pointed to it.

"Tch! Of course we'd know, else they wouldn't be here right now!" Barked his comrade, once again demonstrating the likeness between present (or past) and future (or present). Gah! Time travel talk! The two of them were no down to similar clothing - jumpers and thick trousers - that matched their colour schemes of red and of green. Now, with the innards of the tent heated sufficiently, the inventor followed suit and steadily removed the outermost layers in an attempt to let the warmth sink into her body.

"Heh. At least it's not Port West." Arelya added quietly, stifling a cold chill from running down her spine at the thought of all that had happened there. By now, she was a little more used to the presence of Marines, but the fact she now had a bounty on her head made it awkward for her when they were around. Oddly, she hadn't seen a single uniform or navy ship since arriving on the island, though that could have been because she had not been looking for it. She looked at her future self, and she stared back at her like a reflection in the mirror.

"U-uh... Yeah..." Her response was hesitant, the look in her eyes a little worrisome. Understandable, given the events that she had just been reminded of. Did it really still trouble her so many years down the line? Probably. That image of a half-collapsed fortress, dead Marines scattered everywhere and that terrifying disco ball of evil was still ripe in the present self's mind. It couldn't have dulled too much, no matter what else she had seen. The thought of more horrific sights did make her shiver, however. What could be worse than that? Well, anything that reminded her of Enel's reign of Skypiea was the answer to such a question...

SPOILER: Click to show

Sorry it took ages! Finally rebuilt the muse needed to post for this.

[Kurosaki]

It was odd to think of himself having a tent somewhere in the middle of a winter wonderland when his ship was right at the docks safe and sound. The Star Chaser, of course, wouldn't make sense to bring if he was taking a time travel trip, right? Or would it even fit through any sort of portal that could have brought Arelya and him back into the past? That was perhaps going to far to try to figure everything out on his own though and only adding to his confusion and wonderment.

Inside was extremely cozy despite its small size. Instantly Nakamura Kane felt at ease despite the unfamiliarity of it. In the center of the room was some sort of interesting contraption that reminded him a lot of the dials that Arelya always seemed to have on her person. Perhaps that was what they used to warm themselves up? Without having Hoshi powers in the future, he could only assume that the cold would bother him again. Right now, though he noticed the increase in temperature, he had never really reached an intolerable point even in the midst of all that snow.

"It's pretty nice in here," he commented, blue eyes shifting back to his counterpart as the older man stayed behind them in order to zip up the flap to keep out the wind and cold. There were whistling noises still from outside that reached their ears and the tent material was rustled every now and again as a reminder that there wasn't much protecting them from the onslaught of weather happening right outside.

The 'Future' Arelya crossed the tent and deposited her truly enormous weapon down next to their other supplies. It seemed that what they had brought from the future or had gathered in their time here now in the past was enough to at least sustain them being out here in the wilderness. They had sleeping bags, rucksacks with other supplies and their weapons at the very least. And then, this tent and the contraption in the middle. It proved to be what he had imagined, a device to provide warmth to the tent. The older version of the inventor had approached it and lit it with a simple match. After a very small period of time, the device began to glow with a warm amber hue. Kane could feel the heat radiating off of it even from the distance he was at.

It seemed like it was time to get to the root of everything. Kane wouldn't be lying if he said that he really only cared to know right now exactly what on Earth was going on. 'Future' Arelya was the one to begin, telling both Kane and Arelya of the current timeline that they had come back in time in order to stop something that they had started. A puzzled look flickered over Kane's facial features. Something that they had started? But they hadn't done anything that would be catastrophic that he knew of or even worth going through the trouble of traveling all the way back years to put a stop to it. Clearly, whatever it was hadn't even happened yet.

"Yeah. You guys do realize that there is a Marine base on Karakuri, right? It's only small, but it's still a problem. That's why we decided to stay out of town," added his future self. Kane found himself feeling awkward about the way he had worded the sentence though. It sounded weird to his own ears but he couldn't exactly place why. Perhaps he was being overly critical. 'Future' Kane had begun to strip his layers of clothes off as he limped toward the middle of the tent, throwing them down in a pile by his feet and stretching out his hands to the warmth. He looked more fit, which Kane had definitely expected. He constantly wanted to continue to get stronger in order to protect his crew. But he still wasn't exactly sure how he would be able to pull that all off without his Devil Fruit powers...

Bashfully, Kane looked up at the roof of the tent. He hadn't actually really thought about the need to stay out of town. In fact, he had pretty much known that there were Marines on the Island but he hadn't really considered the need to lay low because of that. Maybe that's why the sentence had struck him as bizarre. Then again, the future him was probably far more careful if he had indeed been struck by a kairouseki bullet.

In very typical Arelya fashion, the older green haired woman retorted the older Kane's statement. It seemed that he couldn't win either now or in the future with her. Causing him to laugh a bit, he watched the scene play out without really making any comments just yet though he was holding back a boat load of questions. Once the two time travelers had both shed some of their layers of excess clothing, Arelya and Kane of the present followed suit. Kane was actually beginning to sweat due to the temperature increase but he seemed to be the only one.

"That brings up a good question too. I wonder if Mad Jack and his gang actually made it out alive from that," Kane commented thoughtfully. He hadn't really considered it before but there was always the remote possibility that they had gotten out of dodge before the explosion could rip them apart. Then again, his new powers looked to have been paramecia in nature, so the large man couldn't have just simply made himself into gas and slipped away. Blue eyes locked onto more narrow dark blue irises across from him but the future him seemed to have grown slightly more stern. Future Arelya also seemed hesitant as though the very nature of the conversation being brought up had made them worried.

After exchanging glances, his counterpart spoke up again. "If you're looking at me to give you answers, I'm afraid neither of us can do that. If we tell you anything more specific about the future it could alter other things that we didn't intend to alter. I'm not quite sure about the details because it's very complex but that's the gist of it," he commented with a very serious expression. It seemed that whatever hardships he had gone through in the future including the details behind how he had gotten shot were then off limits.

"Then why even tell us anything or show up in front of us? You doing that is bound to affect the future, right?" Kane pointed out to himself, wondering if his future self had also predicted he would ask that.

"If we're going to stop what happens, we need your help for that. So, changing that part of the timeline can't really be helped."

[Vio]

"That brings up a good question, too," Kane said, breaking the awkward silence before it had even really started. His comment was thoughtful, reminding Arelya of that peculiar pirate with the beard. Mad Jack. But, there was little chance that anyone inside the fortress had survived; at least not without serious injuries. Again, she shuddered, remembering how small she had seemed in the presence of the insane man's crew. And then she abandoned such thoughts, her mind instead focusing on the more trivial matters of losing a jacket and breaking a perfectly good flat-head screwdriver. If that vengeful memory did not heat her up inside, then what would?

"If you're looking at me to give you answers, I'm afraid neither of us can do that," the future captain said sternly, his visage displaying the increasing severity of the topic of conversation. It was strange to the Skypiean shipwright that a man she knew so well could change so much. Nakamura was the naive and cheerful sort, even in some of the most dire situations, but when pushed he was a force to be reckoned with both physically and emotionally. If anything, the events of the upcoming years would take their toll on him, especially given his position of leadership. She frowned a little, more so than was usual, at the thought of the difficulties they would experience. But perhaps that was the benefit of encountering their future versions? Clearly they did not want such events to happen, else there was absolutely no reason for them to step back in time.

If the future can be rewritten... Wouldn't that also mean that we can rewrite ourselves? Miss Gaille quizzed herself, casting her emerald eyes down to the little heating device on the floor, somewhat entranced by the way the flame inside flickered. Her thoughts were honest ones, though she kept them to herself as the two redheads exchanged words. She was no physics professor, but she was an aspiring engineer. Logic was one thing she had a great deal of and, while the concept of time travel was utterly alien and near inexplicable to her, the effects were more obvious. The use of the word 'timeline' was what got her thinking more furiously, however. It seemed to be that time was fixed, but if that was the case, why was she able to consider things and make decisions? Her will was free will. The idea of being bound to some predetermined series of unfortunate events was sickening and thoroughly infuriating.

"Right! So you need our help. Stop beating around the bush and just tell us. Why?" Finally she'd had enough of all this, the green-haired girl's face reddened a little as she practically yelled out her words. She was fuming. For so long she had felt helpless, idly tinkering away in the White Sea until the unexpected defeat of the False God, and even afterwards she had not done anything in particular to make her feel of worth. She wanted... All she really wanted was to feel useful. Make a change to the world much as the Straw Hats had done to her homeland. Stopping some disastrous event from taking place? Well, what better a way for her to do so? An opportunity like no other now presented itself, and so she was bold enough to take a step forward and do the right thing. It seemed that Kane's determination was beginning to rub off on her.

"Hmph. Alright then," agreed the older gentleman, albeit not so enthusiastically as one would have expected. He very nearly glared at her with his narrowed eyes, but instead he closed them and calmed himself with some basic breathing exercises. Then he looked up and turned to his comrade, the older Arelya chuckling slightly out of amusement and surprise. That was something she hadn't done in a while. Laugh. Smile, maybe, but never had she really felt entertained by anything more than her own technological achievements. That was more out of pride than anything else. Shaking his head, Mister Nakamura looked back to the two past (or present) selves and began to speak once more.

"To keep it short and sweet, as that's what you seem to want," he glanced at Arelya as he paused on the comment, "the issue is the Revolutionary Army. You've heard of them, right?"

Revolutionary Army? Who the hell are they...? She thought, looking at her future captain and then to herself, the expression on her face explaining to them that such a thing was foreign to her. Was that something from the future? If so, why were the telling them about it? Wouldn't that ruin the timeline? The inventor's questions were silent thoughts, but despite this it seemed like her future form was well aware of what was going through her mind.

"Eh? Could've sworn I knew them by now... Well, this shouldn't cause any issues. You'd find out soon enough, anyway," stated the shipwright's mirror image, shrugging her shoulders before beginning to explain. "They're an anti-World Government military. They make a habit of attacking World Government vessels and islands."

"Yeah," added the man with the limp. "World Government island, just like Karakuri."

For a moment, all the winged woman did was stare. First towards the time travelers, and then towards her own Captain. She was a little confused at first, but she quickly began to sum up the situation in her head, remaining silent as the conversation continued. So, there was an army - an entire military organisation of immense scale - who opposed the World Government, and they did so through all manner of potentially violent and bloody methods. Karakuri Island itself was a viable target for them, which made sense. What didn't make sense was why it involved them, of all people. Kane, the crew and herself were not associated with the government at all. In fact, quite the opposite. The government wanted them either dead or left to rot in some prison. There were prices upon their heads, for crying out loud! Wouldn't the Revolutionary Army just let them leave if they knew who they were? It's not like they were going to defend the people who wanted them dead, right?

...Right?

[Kurosaki]

SPOILER: Click to show

(Sorry if the post isn't all that fantastic. DX Wrote the ending kinda late at night.)

At that very moment that his nakama announced that they should just stop beating around the bush and tell them the stuff, Kane felt an overwhelming since of pride. She had sounded so enthusiastic about the situation, wanting to know where they fit in. If there was a chance that they could be useful in order to change the future for the better, the young red head also wanted in on the action. He was getting a little bit stir-crazy already sitting here waiting for them to tell him exactly where they both fit in the past with fixing the timeline.

In fact, he was a bit perturbed that his future self didn't seem to be taking much of a vested interest in uplifting everyone's spirits. In fact, he almost seemed critical of Arelya in the way he looked at her. Raising a brow, Kane wondered if he was just being overly sensitive. After all, he never saw his own expressions clearly in a mirror when he was reacting to things. Perhaps instead of the bubbling energetic feeling he thought he was projecting, he was actually less expressive and more sullen in appearance. Still. It wouldn't hurt him to laugh or smile or something, would it? At least the future Arelya seemed to be able to crack a smile now and again.

Had the bullet that lugged itself into his leg in the future also caused a stick to be put up his butt?

"The Revos? Yeah, I've heard of them," the Captain commented, though it seemed that his partner didn't quite share his knowledge. That made sense though seeing as how she wasn't from the Blues, but rather the Islands above it. Though she wasn't the first one that the red head had met from the skies, sometimes Kane had to remind himself that they were from an almost completely different world. Someday he would like to visit a sky Island, though he had heard stories and tales about what had transpired up above the clouds before and it hadn't been all that pleasant.

The older Arelya spoke up, commenting that her lack of knowledge and now enlightenment shouldn't do anything to disturb any sort of timeline. Which, the very fact that they could be messing up a set course of events was really mind blowing. Though Kane wouldn't very much consider himself intelligent, he definitely understood that there was bound to be ripple affects on their actions from here on out that would alter what happened down the road from its original course. Either way though, he was fairly certain that they had the power to control that and to change it at any given point in time. Or, at least, he had always felt that way before.

Well, regardless he wasn't about to go psyching himself out. He had already done that when he had witnessed the murder of his friend Frien and wasn't about to go flying off the handle now despite a revelation that reality wasn't exactly what he had expected.

"Well, while on Karakuri we had no idea what they were planning but we found out the truth when we went to leave... The entire Island was wiped out essentially from them tampering with the heating system that Vegapunk built underneath of the city. I'm sure you guys noticed it when you landed, right?" the future him explained, startling the Pirate Captain quite a bit. The entire Island had been wiped out?

"What!? The entire thing?" he exclaimed, not quite sure that he had heard himself correctly which would have been a joke somewhere if he had been in the state of mind to think of it as humorous. Instead, the young man was considering the implications of that. All the people that they had passed on the way here would be wiped out, including that nice store owner and her General Goods store. If the red head had been sitting down instead of standing, he would have leaped to his feet immediately upon learning of the fact.

"Yes, the entire thing unfortunately... It's a tragic incident that forever changes everything from then on out," the older version of him responded calmly, clearly not feeling the same sense of urgency as his younger counterpart. Though that could have been caused partially because he also held more information about when and where this was going to happen and had confidence in his knowledge. Still, it didn't help abate the intense concern reflected on the young Captain's expressive face. It also didn't do the star-powered man much good not knowing exactly what his future self meant exactly when he cryptically told them that the Island's destruction had a ripple affect over other things in the world as well.

"Well, then we have to stop them before they can get close to the controls! Do you have any idea where Vegapunk put them?" Kane hurried demanded, pacing a bit in place despite his urgent need to do something. At least all the rest of the Hoshi Pirates should have been on the vessel. No one else besides him and Arelya had been silly enough to leap off their nice warm vessel (thanks to some good insulation) and join them in the frigid arctic wilderness after all not even the jet powered Estelle. But that still didn't stop the fact that two sets of Hoshi Pirates were technically now at risk. "How much more time do we have?"

[Vio]

"I'm sure you guys noticed it when you landed, right?" Of course. How could they not have noticed the heating system? It was a stroke of genius, Arelya Gaille herself perhaps a little envious that another could come up with such a thing before herself. But, then again, it was to be expected. She was yet to reach that level of knowledge and experience, the point at which her own technological prowess would shine as bright as any star! Heck, it was actually quite ironic - or perhaps a nice coincidence? - that she had joined the ranks of the Hoshi Pirates and the starry flag which they sailed beneath. As glum as she seemed, the shipwright could not help but enjoy spending time surrounded by the welcoming warmth of people who sailed the Blues for exactly the same reason as she. Freedom. Still, the fact of the matter was that their freedom was about to be rudely interfered with, their future selves effectively enslaved by time itself, but for what reason? Well, the older Captain had explained it, and that seemed more than enough for the younger.

"It's a tragic incident that forever changes everything..." Those words were almost sorrowful in the way they were presented, but that sorrow was hidden beneath layers upon layers of calm. How very unlike the man she currently sailed with, but the green-haired girl wondered just what kind of an impact this 'tragic incident' would have had upon him. There was no denying that Kane was a somewhat emotional fellow, driven to fears that she would have thought impossible simply through his overwhelming desire to do good, even if it really did not concern him all that much. The again, she bore the emotional scars of a similarly tragic incident, so she could easily relate to the changes that the redhead would have experienced over the years. If anything, that made her worry even more about the oncoming storm.

I couldn't do a damn thing against Enel... None of us could... But if Kane can't stop this army now, then... A cold quiver crawled up her spine, making her visibly judder and drawing the piercing jade eyes of her own counterpart. For a moment they met one another's gaze, both listening half-heartedly as the present Captain expressed his thoughts. Strange as it was, Miss Gaille agreed with him, but she would not let him know that. After all, there was always a chance that their own interference would only make it worse. Maybe - just maybe - they could change the future for the better by doing the simple thing and changing what they did? They had their future selves to tell them, right? Surely their memories of the event were crisp and clear, especially if it had had such a heavy impact upon Nakamura.

"How much more time do we have?" questioned the star-powered man, ocean blue hues glimmering with intent in the warm light of the strange camp fire. Breaking eye contact with her future self, the winged woman turned to look up at the still-standing Captain, feeling the determination radiating out from him. In many ways, he really was like a star, even without the supernatural powers of his Devil Fruit. Or was it his power that gave him that personality? Really, she did not at all understand the mysteries behind them. For all she knew, and for all she cared, the inability of the future Kane to use his powers may have drained that aspect of his persona as well. By now the orange glow of the light in the tent's centre seemed absent, instead replaced by the will of her Captain, and that seemed to infuse her with confidence. He was right, even if he had not said it yet. Stopping the Revolutionary Army was definitely the right thing to do.

"Cool it! There's no use rushing head first into danger or else- or else the same thing will happen again. Or worse." The future Arelya barked, casting an unnerving glare in the direction of the upstart. She had a point. Actually, she had said almost exactly what the present self had wanted to, albeit with that obvious advantage of experience being made prevalent. "Besides," she continued. "Nobody can do a thing right now anyway. Not the Marines. Not the Revolutionaries. And definitely not us!" A finger was jabbed in the direction of the tent's side, and all went quiet. The howl of a bitter wind could be heard rapping against the sides of their shelter despite the protection that the environment had offered, indicating the growing power of the blizzard that hid beyond their vision. The once intrepid inventor suddenly found the warmth to have been banished, stolen from them by the gales and the serious tones of conversation. It reminded her of those first few months in hiding on the White Sea, always on the move in fear of Enel discovering her and raining down judgment upon her, feeling no greater terror than when cloudstorms forced her to hunker down in the wrecks of ships tossed up from below.

"You gonna answer the question or not?" she snapped, her own emerald hues meeting those of the time travelers. They both looked at her, then to Kane, then to each other. Neither of them seemed to want to disclose the truth, or at least give too much information for fear that it would mess up the flow of time, or some bull like that. "Keeping us in the dark isn't gonna help you when the time comes. The more we know now, the better prepared we'll be. That's what you guys want, isn't it? Else all we'll be doing is 'running head first into danger'."

"Hmph! Alright. You win. Tomorrow. That's when the Revolutionaries planned to strike last time, so it'll be the same again this time," the older Mister Nakamura informed them, apparently taken a little aback by the strict and stern attitude that had been presented to him. It was rare for Arelya to make an outburst such as this, especially given the scenario. Normally she was reluctant to want to help, especially when serious danger was most definitely involved, but right now she was feeling altogether different about the whole ordeal. After a brief pause, the Captain continued to explain the situation, but not before receiving a reluctant nod from his own companion. "There aren't really any proper controls, is the thing. From what I remember, the heating system is automatic? He did say that, right?"

"Yeah, he did. Never explained it, though. Guess that's not too important, so long as we fight 'em off?" Shrugging her shoulders, the older inventor looked to her companion, then to their past selves. "This storm will blow over eventually, but for now we should get some rest. We set up base inside what was left of Vegapunk's lab, not far from where the heating system is set up from. That's further up the mountain, though. We won't get there tonight, but we can get a move on at sunrise. Should be there by noon? That doesn't give us too much time, but it'll have to do. At least we all know what's coming, eh?"

SPOILER: Click to show

Finally caught up on my own posts, so I finally managed to post for this mission! Sorry it took so loooooooong, but let's get going shall we? I kinda forgot some of what we agreed upon, but I did what I could.

[Kurosaki]

Perhaps his overzealous nature had caused the fiery youth to want to leap straight into action instead of taking a moment to formulate a plan. That was always his mistake, it seemed; rushing into the open arms of danger as though it were an old friend. Still, the frown that tugged his lips downward after having been barked at as well as folding his arms over his chest showed that he wasn't happy to have had someone yank on his leash. If he could have his way, he would have already been rushing through the frigid cold on the way to wherever these Revolutionaries were planning their attack and beating them senseless. Well, not so much beating them up right away. He would try to get them to stop on their own accord and when they didn't then he would beat them senseless. Perhaps their intent wasn't to destroy the Island and those on it, but Kane still wasn't in a very forgiving mood even if their actions hadn't yet caused the widespread disaster that was to come in the future.

Still, he finally admitted to himself that Future Arelya had a point. The blizzard that was raging outside was not going anywhere soon. Technically, if it would be difficult, if not impossible, for them to venture outside then the same could be said for the Revolutionaries. Surely even if their actions were fueled by a strong motivation to take down the World Government, even they were human and bound to take precautions against their own untimely demise thanks to Mother Nature. Still, his blue eyes seemed to be sparked with energy and he kept moving his feet around impatiently, clearly not about to sit down or remain even in one position for long (almost as though he had ants in his pants).

In a shocking twist, Arelya reiterated the question, standing up to their future selves and demanding that they receive the information that they needed. After all, keeping them out of the loop could have just as disastrous of effects as telling them everything that their future would entail. If he could have without seeming obnoxious to their future selves, he would have high-fived his nakama for her sass. It was interesting to see her getting worked up about something this much. Typically she was the voice of reason on the crew, after all. He actually had to stifle a laugh and wondered if his future self was really hoping she didn't toss a wrench at him.

His future self gave in relatively easily, explaining that tomorrow was when the Revolutionaries had struck last time and that it should be the same in this timeline. With all that Kane knew about timelines, which was nothing essentially, he figured that it should be the same. After all, nothing had significantly changed that would push up the timeline, right? Regardless, that meant that they would have to spend the night in the tent. Knowing himself, the red head was not about to sleep a wink. Worse yet, according to Future Arelya, while they were close to the heating system that Vegapunk had created since the tent was actually set up inside of his lab, the system was still further up the mountain. Which meant that tomorrow they would have to hike starting first thing in the morning and they probably wouldn't arrive until noon. If the Revolutionaries had set up base any closer than they could be in some serious trouble.

"Right, we should try to get some rest. I know it will be hard for everyone here to get comfortable knowing what we have to do tomorrow, but try your best. The more refreshed we are the better prepared we'll be," explained the more solemn version of Kane. With a wry smile, he gestured toward the both of them. "Of course, it's still not as luxurious in this tent as it would be on the 'Star Chaser'."

"I'm sure Mikan is making sure everyone is staying nice and warm around fires. They're probably all making smores too...," almost as soon as he had finished his sentence, the young man's stomach let out a disgruntled moan as if to protest the fact that he had chosen to venture far away from where there was the option of having smores.

"Heh, typical Kane. Don't worry, we've got tons of food as well for us to munch on. We didn't come to the past completely unprepared," Future Arelya commented, shaking her head and then gesturing over to a wooden crate that was next to their other supplies. "We stashed everything food-wise inside of there. Help yourselves. We both already ate before rescuing you two. There's coffee too but it's all decaffeinated so it doesn't matter if you drink it before bed."

Deciding to ignore the fact that she was treating them like they had been damsels in distress versus them being more than capable of fending themselves off from the men that had attacked them earlier, Kane instead relented to his stomach. It was true what they were both saying about getting rest and enough food to eat. If they did not do those things then come tomorrow they would have a real difficult time concentrating to fight properly.

[Vio]

Sleep and sustenance were one thing, but the night itself was not about to go easy on Arelya Gaille. The howling of the winds outside were enough to keep her awake as she lay there in her sleeping bag, emerald hues staring idly at the soft amber light that cast out much needed warmth throughout the tent. The others were fast asleep it seemed, sacks still and silent save for the slight rising and falling of deep and restful breathing. Indeed, the only sounds to be heard were the bitter mountain winds and her own breathing, stirring gently in the strangely unnerving tranquility of the landscape that surrounded them. Though she knew for a fact that he was long gone, the fear of Enel and the storms with which she associated him were forever prevalent. It was curious how her future self seemed so still and serene, unnerved by the familiarity that the present situation presented. Days long passed of sheltering in the White Sea, witnessing those brilliant blue-white flashes from above that signified God's Judgment.

Maybe I'm just better at hiding it that I thought... Trying to instill some confidence in herself for sake of getting some sleep, the Skypiean shipwright rolled over, back to the centre of the tent and facing into the shadows that her own body projected. Tomorrow held a more serious situation, one which Arelya had to admit she was not entirely prepared to take part in. But betraying the trust of her own Captain was not something she was prepared to do either, not after he had worked so hard to build some form of rapport with her. For that she was grateful, aware that her own nature was one that drove people away. That said, who else could she really confide in? Opening up to him was something she had yet to do, trying her damnedest to remain enigmatic and unsociable despite her insecurities. But these thoughts were pointless ones whose sole purpose was to keep her awake, the girl most definitely afraid of something, but that something was incomprehensible...

-~-~-~-

Miss Gaille woke with a start, body torn from darkness only to encounter yet more of it. The amber glow in the centre of the tent still cast itself about the place, providing enough illumination to see by, but beyond the rippling walls of their temporary shelter remained the shadows of the night. And yet, as she turned her head to look towards her comrades, at least two of the three sleeping bags were empty. Not just empty, but rolled up and neatly fastened for transport purposes. At one end of the tent sat the future version of Kane Nakamura, his side to the light as he examined his own leg. For a minute or two, she remained still, until finally his ocean blue eyes met her own.

"Finally awake, huh?" he smirked, pulling himself to his feet after covering up his injured leg. Rather hastily, face briefly turning a dull shade of red, Arelya hauled herself out of her sleeping bag and straightened out her clothing. In all honesty, she had not expected to sleep for so long, but she definitely felt better for it. But that also begged the obvious question.

"What do you mean 'finally'? It's still dark out," questioned the winged woman, pointing to the tent's entrance to try and emphasise a point that she knew she had little understanding of.

"Yeah, it is. But that's how it is here. Sometimes it's almost always light out, others the sun doesn't show up until late morning," the older Captain told her, clearly more aware of Karakuri's own situations. This was an island that was cold all year round, where a day without snowfall could easily be considered a hot one. For a moment, the inventor puzzled over the possibilities, but remembered that the Sky was much the same. Nights were often short up above, sheer altitude meaning that the rays of the sun reached them for a couple of hours longer than it did down on the Blue Sea. But this was the opposite. Darkness lingered, though the thick snow itself seemed to offer enough light to make some of the most obscure features more pronounced. At was not so much perpetual night, as perpetual twilight. The sun was there, but it had yet to shed its golden-white light down from above. "And then it sets just a little after lunch, too. It's hard to keep track of really, but I think it's safe to say we're moving into the 'dark' season. Heh. Rumour has it that the Burning Beast shows up around this time, but I'm sure it's just a folktale!"

"Kinda ironic that I - uh, future me - uses that flamethrower..." Finding suspicious correlation between the weapon she would come to use a decade from now and the legends surrounding Karakuri Island, it was only the sense of urgency in the back of her mind that stopped Arelya from making a big deal of it. And, even if she did, it was likely nothing more than a misconception. She was rather good at those, often settling upon her judgments before she knew anything. The same applied for the two time travelers...

[Kurosaki]

When a person is wound up, fretting about the next day full of difficult tasks, it's often very difficult to sleep. As he lay, blue eyes staring up at the ceiling to the big white tent in the middle of the frozen wasteland, Kane felt it was an enormous undertaking just to get his mind to stop racing. Something seemed so stressful about the possibility that your actions would forever shape the future and knowing about it, rather than simply acting out your normal, day-to-day activities without such knowledge. It was like jumping down into the rabbit hole of thought trains.

Normally the spunky Captain was accused of not planning ahead or brainstorming something before simply throwing himself into the fray. While that was true almost a hundred percent of the time, he wasn't completely without introspection. Just... Mostly was without it.

The others probably believed him to be asleep. Well, except his future self, potentially? Which just made him all the more confused. Now that things in the timeline had been changed just by himself coming back to the present, past... What? Deciding that he was actually in reality too tired to really delve into that madness without reaching the same confusing paradoxes, the Pirate scratched his head in frustration, rolled over in his sleeping bag and attempted to slam his eyes shut and keep them that way. Slowly they worked their way back open though prompting him to roll back onto his back, slam his head momentarily into the pillow and try again. Finally, after a lot of effort that was probably unnoticed by the majority of the tent, the red head managed to slowly work himself into a strange dream-state where he was sleeping, but ultimately not getting much rest as his thoughts plagued him in his dreams.

----

Voices broke into the darkness, pulling him from an already uneasy slumber. At first he was pretty unhappy about the whole ordeal, wanting to favor the comfort of the sleeping bag rather than face the harsh cold, snowy wilderness outside despite his near-immunity to cold. That was until remembrance slapped him hard, causing him to nearly leap out of his slumber, stumble forward a tad in the bag, and then plant face down into the ground, narrowly missing breaking his nose as his hands came out to catch his fall.

"Argh," he groaned, rolling over before working to unzip himself from his comfy confines. Once free, the young man shamefully worked his way over to where his future self and current Inventor were, having missed all of the conversation completely. Sometimes the best way to play off your own embarrassment is to just act casual. This was really not one of those times. It was pretty darn clear he had just made an idiot of himself.

"Sorry, I'm up. Okay, so, what's the plan?" he questioned sleepily, rubbing the corners of his eyes and finishing it all up with a yawn. By his casual glance around the area, he was the last of the group up. Kinda pathetic, actually, seeing as he was supposed to be a Captain who lead his people. Especially, you know, when the whole future was at stake. Even so, he had to wonder why they were up this dang early. From the looks of it, there was no light coming from outside into the tent, which meant that it was still before sunrise. Though he was often an early riser, Nakamura Kane was not prone to waking up before the crack of dawn.

Knowing this more reserved version of himself, Future Kane would probably have some idea of what they were going to do. Trekking there with absolutely no plan in mind just didn't seem up his alley.

"No real plan, actually! Other than kicking some butt and taking some names in our typical fashion," Future Kane laughed, one eyebrow raised in response to his counterparts silly antics first thing in the morning. "We should probably roll out soon and it should be safe enough now."

[Vio]

Somehow, Nakamura Kane was able to make an absolute fool of himself before he'd even woken up properly, planting his face firm against the tent's floor. But while one may have found it a good excuse to laugh or chuckle at the misfortune of the young man, Arelya Gaille did no such thing. Countless thoughts of the upcoming hours were pestering the deepest recesses of her mind, scrambling her thoughts about and leaving her in a state of serious caution that was expressed rather blatantly upon her visage. Emerald eyes looked to sleepy sky blue hues, an odd frown drawn upon her face that was rather typical for her when things were not going well. But the glance she gave did not last too long, attentions quickly diverted as troubling possibilities came back to the forefront of her mind. The day was not going to be easy on them, that much was for certain, but they had long since made their decision. So long ago, in fact, that the two pirates were likely just children at the time.

"Uh... Where's the other me, anyway?" Waiting for the questions of her Captain to be answered by... well, himself, the Skypiean shipwright raised the next most obvious question. There were clearly only three of them present in the tent at this point in time, the fourth member of the group nowhere to be found, likely having ventured out in the cold and the dark for whatever reason. Still, Arelya had a right to be cautious about every little detail, still acclimatising to the peculiarities of the Grand Line and the even more peculiar predicament she had been dragged into. Between the bitter cold and the problems presented, she wasn't entirely willing to weigh her options. Besides, as inexperienced as she was with the whole mortal combat thing, at least she had her wits about her when things went awry. A few Revolutionaries should not be too much of a problem, she had told herself, unaware of the scale of the opposition she would be up against in the near future.

"Hm? She went to check if the path's clear. Last thing we'd want is to have to make a huge detour because of some snowdrifts, right?" Future Kane answered, jabbing a thumb in what one could only assume to be the direction they would be moving in shortly. True, the night had stricken the mountainous terrain of Karakuri with heavy snow and driving gales, the tent surviving through sheltered positioning which had spared them a great deal of troubles. But while the issue of weather and climate had been avoided in the passing night, the lasting effects of such phenomenon could definitely cause issues. They were on a strict time limit, perhaps the strictest that Miss Gaille had even been bound to, and unforeseen obstacles were only going to make matters worse. "She should be back in a few minutes, so if I were you...

"Which I am, by the way!" he continued, eyeing his present counterpart, apparently feeling the need to confirm what was already a fact. "I think you two get yourselves ready. We need to be quick - even quicker if we've got to take another route - and you two already overslept a bit, anyway."

Overslept? You could've just woken us up... Despite her disdain for what were otherwise harmless comments, the irritable inventor mulled over her thoughts for a moment or two, in the end deciding that an early morning argument was probably not the best use of her energy. What mattered now was preparing for the trek and, most likely, an inevitable fight with a force unknown to her. What kind of training regime did the Revolutionary movement follow? What kinds of weapons did they have access to? Did any of them have powers akin to her Captain's? These were all extremely important questions that the green-haired girl took into consideration as she suited up...


"Route's all clear," said the familiar voice of her future self just as Arelya had finished her preparations, the taller woman unzipping the front of the tent from the outside and poking her head inside. Beyond the boundaries of their camp, the world beyond seemed unusually bright for how dim it still was, the prolonged twilight still holding the island in its frosty grasp. It was strange. The longer she spent here, the more she could understand the mind of Doctor Vegapunk, seeing the daily trials he would have had to live through with her own two eyes. Admittedly, it was unlikely that the winged woman would have had the same selfless thoughts as the legendary scientist, but that did not matter to her. After all, how many experiments did the doctor perform before he started to think for his people? "So, you all ready to move out? I reckon we can make it in a couple of hours."

"Yeah, whatever. Let's go..." Disgruntled and certainly not hiding it, Miss Gaille was the first to move. Out of the tent she walked, clad once more in her thick winter coat and the numerous other pieces of protection that she would need to resist the bitter winter chills. Outside, the world seemed starkly different to what it had been the previous day, the sky a murky grey despite the sparse cloud cover and the landscape a splash of dark rock and brilliant white. By now, the sun was trying to peak over the horizon, painting parts of the sky and the snow-capped mountain a peculiar shade of orange-pink. Unfortunately, that only served to make the path ahead of them look even more daunting...

[Kurosaki]

It seemed that he wasn't the only curious party here. After the question was uttered was when Kane actually took notice of the fact that Future Arelya was no where to be found within the confines of the tent. Strange that the red head hadn't actually noticed her absence. Well, then again, he was never really that observant. Call it one of his flaws. Kane was always more interested in the bigger picture than anything. Still, he attributed his lack of attention more to his sleepiness than anything.

It seemed a bit dangerous to send Arelya, even when she could clearly take care of herself with that massive weapon, all by herself into the snowy landscape to make sure that the path was clear. Snowdrifts, of course, weren't his specialty, however, so he was really going to have to defer to his more knowledgeable counterpart here. Eyes widening a bit at the part where his future self joked about being him. His smile seemed uncomfortable, however, like the edges were strained. Perhaps it was still the fact that speaking with your future self was unnerving in a lot of ways.

"Whoa, we're late?! Oh, crap!" exclaimed the Captain, his hands immediately going up to his hair and pulling at the sides of it, making his already spiked out hairdo even more erratic. Turning around in a circle at first as panic flared up within him, the red head spotted his items and quickly scooped them up. After hurriedly checking to make sure everything was present, including his new snow shoes, he stood near the flap of the tent bounding on the heels of his feet with anticipation caused by his nerves.

Jumping back, almost like he had been shot at, his eyes followed the zipper of the tent as it was moved up from a party on the outside. Of course, it was Future Arelya. Her green hair was the first thing that he noticed followed by the rest of her face. She announced that the pathway was clear, which only caused Kane's eagerness to spike. The star-earring wasted almost no time. Or so he thought... He was about to bolt out of the tent when his shipwright casually strolled out of the tent in front of him her posture casual and the response to her own self quite dismissive. The first thing that Kane noticed upon stepping outside was that it was most likely a lot later in the day than he had first presumed, but it was still difficult to tell. Still, the fact that the sun was still peaking over the horizon meant that it was probably seven or so in the morning.

"It'll take a few hours to get there? That doesn't really leave us much time, does it? I think we should step on the gas pedal!" raising a hand and clenching it into a fist, the spark in Kane's eyes and the determination that caused his eyebrows to furrow spoke to how much he was taking all of this seriously. There definitely was no hesitation in his movements as he began to make the trek forward. Then he suddenly came to a stop. Shuffling back around in a circle due to the layers of clothing he had on restricting some of his ability to simply turn his head, he asked the question he should have asked before anything else. "Uh, which way are we going, actually?"

Following behind the rest of the group was the more grim version of himself, complete with that limp that disturbed him so much. Just when and where would that happen? Why couldn't his future self tell him in order to keep a kairouseki bullet from being lodged into his leg in the first place? Surely it wouldn't have an adverse affect on the future, right? Even as he heated himself up using his Devil Fruit powers, his hands glowing a faint golden color, he swore to himself that he would prevent it from happening somehow.

"Well, it's definitely not that way. You're heading back the way you came from earlier," laughed himself. A slight pinkish hue arose in Kane's cheeks as he realized his mistake from himself. There had to be some sort of rule about embarrassing yourself like that, right? "The path we need to take is that way." Raising a gloved hand, his future self pointed down a more clearly defined route.

"Oh, right, yeah, I knew that," he stammered a little, glancing down at the white snowy expanse of ground. "Let's get going then!" Attempting to cover up his mistake, the young man practically ran toward the route and began to lead the way toward their destination.

[Vio]

A peculiar mix of bitter cold and sunny warmth graced the face of Arelya Gaille as she began to advance along the path ahead, caring little for the lagging Hoshi Captain’s obvious mistakes and attempts at keeping the situation light. So far, an innocent visit to the homeland of the world’s most famous scientist had turned to chaos, but trouble always seemed to brew wherever the green-haired girl roamed. What made things worse, however, was the fact that the troubles of this island were not so easily escaped from. Yes, she’d already considered giving up this venture long ago, but the fact of the matter was that a small spark of interest had roped her in. She was probably going to regret this at some point, but for now her moody mind was settled upon what it did best during those lulls of activity – coming up with preposterous ideas for inventions. More specifically, she was trying to figure out the inner workings of her future self’s flamethrower. A weapon of such size was excessive if it used a Flame Dial, but her hunches told her that it was instead powered by simple fuels. It reminded her somewhat of the Burn Bazooka, a Shandian wartime invention which called upon the combined might of a Flame Dial and a large Breath Dial to spit forth a ‘beam’ of searing blue flame.

“Huh. I guess we don’t happen to run into any ‘Burning Beasts’ up here… do we?” the Skypiean shipwright asked, her thoughts of coruscating conflagration reminding her of one of the original reasons that they had even come this far. Kane’s unusual heroism and lust for adventure were perhaps his finest personal traits, but they also happened to be some of his most annoying in Arelya’s eyes, his decisions pulling her into such situations as these. The reluctant truth was that, sooner or later, she would have to adapt to it. Heck, she was already taking tentative steps upon the Captain’s moral path, but that was just the start of a long and arduous journey; a thousand miles and all that.

“Eh? You believe that?” the time-travelling technician replied, the tone in her voice seeming a little critical, but likely for good reason. The legend of the Burning Beast was just that; folklore that had come about via some incident. Fire seemed something seen little in the wilds of Karakuri, the island’s climate denying the types of storm that often brought bolts of lightning down upon helpless trees and set them ablaze. The merest thought of thunderbolts drifted into the forefront of Miss Gaille’s mind, sending a cold shiver up her spine and causing her wings – white plumes crumpled within the confines of her clothing – to twitch in rebellion. Despite the years having passed her by, her fear of thunderstorms was still great, the distant rumble of thunder reminding her of the terrors that Enel’s reign had brought to her and her people.

No, don’t think about that… Telling herself to shake off such frightening memories, the winged woman delved into less deeply imprinted parts of her mind, searching for possible explanations of the legend which had brought them here. She needed something to keep her mind off the nuances of the mountain trek along which they were barely a quarter of the way, and the inevitable dangers that faced them when the Revolutionary Army reared its ugly head. Of course, Arelya did not have the slightest idea of what to expect when that time came to them a few hours from now, her own self neither a trained soldier nor an experienced combatant. Hopefully the experience and expertise of the others would help compensate for her lack thereof. Instead, her mind settled upon an idea from before; the concept of faulty machinery developed by Vegapunk during his youth. That seemed the single most logical reason for the birth of such mythos as the Burning Beast…

-~-

“Here we go. The halfway mark,” Future Kane said as the group reached something of a rocky outcrop protruding from the small cliff to their right, the likes of which cast shadows over the snow-laden route they followed. Roughly an hour had passed by now, though the sun itself had hardly shifted from beyond the horizon, the rose-amber light maintaining its strange hues despite lacking some its former intensity. No longer was the morning sun blinding them whenever they turned a corner, but it was still a glaring object that clashed with the dull clouds above. Sooner or later, that magnificent fireball would be swallowed by the wintry murk, stealing away the haunting beauty of this otherwise harsh and merciless landscape. Never before had Arelya herself seen anything like this, the experience as new to her as the day she first descended from the White Sea and set sail upon the Blue. If not for its aggression against her body, this ‘underworld’ was far more like a heaven to the alien explorer.

“How can you tell?”

“Because of this stuff,” he grinned, rapping his gloved knuckles gently upon part of the outcrop. His tapping was light, but hard enough to generate audible sounds, and that protrusion definitely didn’t sound like rock or ice. Rather, the noise it produced sounded steely and metallic, provoking Arelya to stop for a moment and examine the object more closely. With her own gloved fingers, she wiped off some of the dirty frost that clung to it, revealing the memorable rufous hues of rusted iron. A sight she had seen often up amongst the abandoned ships tossed skyward by the Knock-Up Stream, where anchor and chain would be coated in layers of oxidised metal that cracked and crumbled with the slightest touch. Almost as if it were shedding its skin, this piece of metal was covered in flaking rust glued to the body by gelid growths. With forefinger and thumb, the inventor took hold of one such bronzed shred and peeled it free with ease – a sliver of damaged iron no more than a couple of inches in size into which the elements had bitten deep, telling tales of the processes involved in the mother metal’s unusual placement.

“That’s odd. Rust doesn’t form in dry conditions,” the mechanic commented, rubbing the friable flake between her fingers and watching as it crumbled to smaller fragments of reddish-brown dust. Realising she was now starting to lag behind a bit, she waltzed her way forwards and continued on, well aware that they had another hour of walking and climbing ahead of them. The scenery was starting to change now that they crested a low ridge, revealing the mountain to be embedded with numerous chunks of metal – iron bars, sheets, cracked pipework and the like was littered about – that spoke of the structures that once rested here. Much like the first, much of the trash – though few and far between – showed signs of rusting. But rust needed moisture to form, the frigid air being far too dry and the climate itself denying much of a chance for rainfall outside of the height of summer. Something had to have caused the ice to melt and stay damp, and what better to do that than fire…?

[Kurosaki]

Whatever secrets lurked beneath the white, seemingly innocent sheets of snow that covered this Island, The Burning Beast in particular sounded like merely a tale that had been spun by someone sitting by the campfire, attempting to scare young children. The myth or urban legend, whichever you preferred to call it, most likely started as a means to keep kids from unknowingly wandering out into the wilderness to become lost and confused; perhaps even disappearing from existence and leaving their family to grieve their mysterious loss. It made sense that such a story would circulate in a society living on the edge of certain death for the inexperienced traveler.

Strange, bizarre and dangerous stories, however, seemed to have the exact opposite effect on a brain programmed to act like Nakamura Kane's did. It was a wonder that as a young child he had not perished very early on. When told that sharks often roamed past sandbars, as a young boy he had been the first out of all his friends to attempt to prove whether or not this was true. The near bite that he experienced served not as a warning for the stubborn youth, but instead seemed to only encourage him to test out more theories and attempt more ridiculous stunts that only served to possibly whiten his mother's hair faster.

Living on an Island like Cave Nine, with nine caves each more dangerous than the last, the red head often disappeared for hours, sometimes days, at a time. The town he lived in was called on during multiple occasions to hunt for the adventurous lad, each time the town mayor becoming more and more certain that they would find his cold corpse lodged between piles of rocks and be forced to break the news to family members. Understandably, Kane's early exposure to such precarious situations had left Kane mostly numb and able to handle high levels of risk without batting an eye.

"I wonder what The Burning Beast looks like," the Pirate Captain used out loud, clearly tempted to discover this potentially deadly creature. If not for the fact that the team was already on a mission of such import, the blue eyed simpleton would have probably begun to search for telltale signs of the monster in an attempt to track it down. Fortunately for the health, both mental and physical, of the others in the group, the focus on saving the Island was strong enough to keep him from starting a foolish chase though that didn't seem to stop his eyes from sweeping the area, potentially keeping an eye out for any signs of melted snow or signs of flames.

The interest kept him mostly preoccupied as they walked through the otherwise uninteresting white expanse but at times he could almost hear the ticktock noise as each second passed. Since there was no real way to tell how far they had gone for the star powered human, he could not feel any sort of accomplishment, despite walking for quite a long time.

-----

Though he had no watch in order to be certain, the red head was fairly confident at least an hour had gone by since the group had started their travels. Following his doppelganger, it was easy to fall once again into thoughts about the future that lay ahead of the gang in more ways than one. Of course, questions surrounding the mysterious nature of their future versions were there still, as before, but 'Star Earring' was also wondering if it really was possible to change a set path that they were supposed to walk. If they did alter what was to come, how would that affect everything else? Feeling as though his mind were about to explode and a need to talk to someone about it, the Captain was about to turn to his Arelya to break the silence, when he announced that they had reached the halfway mark. Future him, rather.

In front was a jagged outcrop that the man with the limp promptly tapped with his fist, cluing in everyone that it was not, in fact, rock but made of metal. The metal scraps were presumably due to the mechanic that had worked in this area, right? That guy named Vegapunk that they kept hearing about so frequently. That was a good sign, of course, because it meant that they were drawing near to their destination. But to only be about halfway after an hour of walking?

"What!? We're only halfway? We need to pick up the pace! Come on guys, let's hustle. The future isn't going to save itself or anything!" the charismatic individual announced, fist pumping into the air excitedly. It was clear that his Devil Fruit abilities were what helped his stamina remain high despite the frigid temperatures, as a hint of golden light could be seen shining out from beneath is layers of clothes. Without any hesitation, the energetic man began to run ahead, legs pumping up and down as he blazed ahead of the others. As if activated by his enthusiasm, his golden hue seemed to increase until it was dazzling to the eyes just before he tilted forward and fell face first, causing water to splash up and spray in all directions, instantly freezing into small droplets and falling back into snow again.

After a moment, the red head shot back up and scrambled up the snow away from the pool.

"W-where did all this water come from!?"

(I figured if you wanted to spice something up, we could either have the water come from Vegapunk's thing, Kane's fruit overheating the area or a Burning Beast of our own just for the lol's until we get back to the main mission.)

[Vio]

“What!? We’re only halfway? We need to pick up the pace!” Nakamura Kane called out enthusiastically, racing ahead of the pack with his usual abundance of energy. All Arelya Gaille could do was shake her head and sigh, still dwelling on the fact that there was so much rust in a landscape so cold and dry. In all honesty, that one little fact was what bothered her most about their mountain trek. Whilst the cold may have had its influence on all but the star-powered man, the one thing that failed to faze her body was the gradual thinning of the air. Sky Islanders such as her thought nothing of low oxygen, their bodies suited to such environments much as the Fishmen were able to breathe comfortably in the water. It did concern her, however, that her own future form seemed to be finding the climate increasingly difficult. Perhaps it was due to the fact that she had spent the best part of a third of her lifetime down upon the Blue Sea; her body had adjusted to the high oxygen environments, not unlike how Kane’s future self no longer had the same tolerance to the heat.

“W- Where did all this water come from!?” the curious Captain exclaimed, the determination in his voice now having been replaced with some degree of nervous quavering, much to Arelya’s amusement. It was funny how quickly a man’s demeanour could change when their weakness was thrown toward them, but he at least brought forth a good point. Where he had been standing, the snow had melted away to form a frigid pool of crystal clear water that sparkled softly, but there was definitely something odd about the puddle.

“You probably melted it by accident,” she answered, finally catching up with the party. Indeed, she had recognised the brightness of the Hoshi Hoshi no Mi, and knew all too well the kind of heat it could generate. Melting snow and ice must have been easy despite him producing so little in the way of heat when compared to what he could do, but there was certainly more to it than just the influence of a Devil Fruit. In fact, outside of a series of melted footprints, there was not actually that much water that had been generated. The pool itself was shallow, quickly soaking into the slush it formed, but it seemed like it was not the only one. They had reached some form of plateau – a narrow but lengthy expanse of relatively flat ground littered with boulders and scrap metal. Honestly, it looked like somebody had blown it up a while ago and left this mess behind…

“Nah. Well, maybe, but that’s not the only reason.” Once more taking the lead, the inventor’s older version seemed to want to explain what was going on, but first allowed silence to befall them as she scanned the surroundings. With her own eyes, the younger Arelya also looked around, trying to take in the scenery and search for signs of Vegapunk’s work. If anything, much of the metal here had to have come from what he had made, but it was as her emerald eyes looked around that they realised numerous puddles that sparkled softly amidst the snowdrifts. Something was causing the snow and ice to melt just enough to form small bodies of water, and if it was warm enough to do that, then the conditions for rust were present.

“What is it, then?”

“Up until about two years ago, there was more to this mountain, but an incident called the ‘Nightmare of Barujimoa’ put an end to that. The whole top half of the mountain collapsed after some massive explosion, and shortly after that – if you really want to know – was when the ‘Burning Beast’ was first spotted!” explained the future Kane, moving between the two Miss Gailles and pointing ahead. “But let’s not get side-tracked; the lab is up that way, across this little plateau, then a bit further up the mountain!”

That really doesn’t explain anything… Keeping her disappointment at the lack of information hidden, Arelya continued on, but she could not help but cast her companion a nervous glance. In her mind, she knew something was wrong, but she just could not seem to place her qualms upon any one particular thing. There was something about the abundance of rusty metals, not to mention the various pools that seemed to unnerve her ally, which rubbed her up the wrong way. Whatever was causing the ice to melt, it had to be doing so on a regular basis – regular enough for the moisture to start affecting the metal and causing the rufous flaking to form as it did. As she came to another piece of metal, this one a bent iron bar that protruding from the snow, she paused and squatted to examine it. Much like the hunk of metal from before, it was laced with a frail and flaky skin of orange-brown, mixed with thin formations of black ice that seemed to keep the rust glued to the metal. However, as she stood up again, her eyes widened.

“U-uh! Guys? We… We’ve got a problem!” Scrambling towards the ‘safety’ of her allies, it was no surprise that Miss Gaille was frightening. While what her eyes had spied was hardly the worst of her fears, the fact that she was by very little stretch a superhuman was more than enough to add it to the list of things to be rightfully afraid of. Cyborg animals were one thing, but the monstrosity she had met was far more than your run of the mill winter animal. She’d expected cats and dogs with prosthetic limbs, but what stood a little way across the plateau from them was anything but a household pet.

Standing about as tall at the shoulder as the humans whom it stalked, a long-bodied lizard augmented with various bits of metal and machinery crept across the rock and ice towards them. Its eyes were covered by some sort of visor and its skin a mix of scale and steel. What it had been before its ‘conversion’ she dreaded to think, but it was obvious that this thing could no longer be considered as anything less than a monster. It was almost draconic, but wore no wings upon its back, scurrying almost silently on all fours across the snow and ice towards them…

SPOILER: Click to show

{*Spoiler*}

[/a], but it's a lot less robotic.[/ul][/spoiler][/div][/font][/blockquote][/blockquote]