33 Ann's Backstory.

(Throughout this chapter, Ann will be the narrator and the third person narrator will be marked with his sentences starting with a "$" symbol, ok? Also, this'll be the first time I get this creative about deepening the story of a character so, give me feedback about it.)

"Before I begin, I want to be clear that the first part of the story was told to me by our mother through books she left after she passed away, I don't doubt her but I wanted this to be clear since some aspects of it can be very weird and unnatural." Ann.

"Yeah, I've seen many 'unnatural' beings already." Nami.

It was over 18 years ago; mom was pushed overboard by a pirate that tried to take me afterwards. When she fell, the strong currents moved us violently like ragged dolls through the water, but mother managed to keep me above water for me to breath, and when she couldn't, she would take a deep breath and give me mouth-to-mouth.

She was such a strong woman, but tragedy only gets worse from there. The strong current pulled mom all the way towards a reef filled with spiky rocks, and she crashed unto one of them and blacked out.

When she woke up, she was drifting in the ocean with me on top of her belly, crying over and over. He injury was in her spine, rendering her legs useless and she couldn't swim properly, worst yet, the blood from said injury would attract sharks.

My mother was about to give in, she was sure that she would perish, regretting that she would take me alongside her. When she saw the fin looming coming from the water, she accepted her fate and closed her eyes.

*SHRIEK*

But the attack never came, she opened her eyes to see a giant weird bird creature diving from the skies and striking the shark with its claws. The bird took the shark and flew towards an island on the horizon.

Mom was astonished, but she was more astonished by the fact that the big bird came back and picked her up. She grabbed me tightly as the bird took us to her nest, my mother was scared and wanted to escape but she couldn't fend off the bird's grip.

In the end, we were dropped at the nest.

My mother was scared about what the bird would do to us, but the bird did nothing. My mother only hugged me as the bird ripped the sharks to bits and ate it. Mom began to crawl, looking for anything to help her defend both of us.

The bird simply left the nest, leaving the leftovers from the shark it was feasting for anyone to eat. Mom was hungry, and so was I, she did what she had to do with the little resources she had and ate the raw leftovers while feeding me.

Even though she couldn't walk, she was capable enough to search the nest with me tied to her back with a piece of her cloth. In a pile of branches and dirt, she found an explorer's journal.

The journal spoke of an explorer named Albion that arrived accidentally at the island decades before us. He befriended the animals in the island and in exchange the animals gave him a devil fruit to become an animal himself, an avian creature to be exact.

Albion was happy with his friends, until the island was discovered. You see, the island was filled with all sorts of exotic and endangered species from the Grand Line, that somehow managed to arrive at the East Blue.

The poachers tried to kill the animals, but Albion stopped them every time, however, he knew that he would eventually die due to old age and wanted the animals to be protected.

So, he trained the animals so that they could defend themselves. The animals of the island managed to develop some level of intelligence and learnt everything they could from Albion before he died.

Mom theorized that the bird that saved us must be an animal that ate the same fruit that Albion ate. Skipping some years until I was four years old and yes, I was still unable to read.

During her stay at the island, mom managed to befriend the bird and convinced her from helping her raise me, and so we did. Just like Albion all those years back, humans lived in harmony with the animals of the island.

Mom was caring, and perfect in every way, but that's exactly why losing her pained me so much.

Mom was naturally a healthy woman, she drank water constantly, ate three meals a day and even did some sorts of push-ups? I don't know what she called them. The point is, that she should've lived longer than she did.

And the cause of her death was an infection on her spine. She confessed to me that she didn't know how to heal herself and that she would probably die soon, I was mad at her for giving up that easily and ran in a fit of rage.

While running, I tripped and fell into a sinkhole. I was trapped for hours until one of the animals rescued me, when I arrived back to where mother was, she had already passed away, and I didn't make it any less painful for her.

$ Ann began to wipe some tears from her face as Dias and Atoli were comforting her.

"You can take some time, it's not a race." Nami.

"No, I better say everything from the get-go, or else I'll feel too uncomfortable and sad to continue." Ann.

"Ok…" Nami.

I was all alone for the next six years until I became ten years old. The bird that saved me and my mother was having its first offspring, it turns out that the bird was actually a panda that ate the fruit.

"You never mentioned the fruit it ate anyway." Nami.

"Right, she had eaten the Mythological Zoan Type Devil Fruit; Tori-Tori No Mi: Model: Roc." Ann.

"Roc?" Nami.

"It's like a ginormous bird, unfortunately, seems that the fruit shows it's true prowess when the wielder is older." Ann.

"Why do you say that?" Nami.

"I'll explain through the story." Ann.

The offspring of the island's protector was born healthy, but unfortunately, the protector died after the birth. Just then, I saw how the Devil Fruit manifested on a nearby nut, I told the animals about it, so that they could have their protectors.

But the animals rejected the fruit, I think they wanted me to be their protector, just like Albion once was. But it wasn't meant to be.

I, alongside the animals of the island, raised the baby panda as well as we could, I even gave him a cute name…Balloon.

We spent the days together for another two years. When I turned twelve, I accidentally dropped the Roc fruit inside Balloon's mouth, making him the new protector of the island, the animals saw it as a sign of rejection to them and gave me the cold shoulder.

No longer feeling the island like home, I left. But Balloon wanted to follow me, I told him to not go but he wouldn't listen. When I managed to make a makeshift raft and packed my belongings, I left the island.

Who would've thought that Balloon would follow me using his flying abilities, I was sure that I chained him to a tree to prevent that. He would protect me from the sea creatures and will guide me to prevent upcoming danger. He was like a younger brother that wanted to protect me.

But the tragedy would strike me again after some years, it happened when I was fifteen.

Balloon and I were living on an island that had a village. I was skeptical and distrustful of humans due to, well, not having any contact with them at all and decided to live alongside Balloon outside the village. Balloon, on the other hand, was very social and even helped the villagers to fish.

But good things don't last forever.

"Balloon! I already told you, stop meddling with other people's affairs." Younger Ann.

*SHIREK*

"I know you just want to help but; I'm just telling you to be careful. Mom told me to always be aware of humans, especially the adults." Ann.

*KAKAW*

"Don't you get sassy with me! I told you to stay on the island and be their guardian but NO...… you had to disobey and come here with me." Ann.

*KRIEEEEK*

"I'm not saying that I don't want to see nor spend time with you, I'm just saying that's dangerous for both of us to be so carefree." Ann.

*KUREEE KKRRRRAAAW*

Balloon flew away.

"BALLOON!" Ann.

That day, Balloon left in a tantrum that I did not help deflate. He was gone for days and I grew even more worried for him since not even the villagers had heard anything about him.

"I know the feeling." Nami.

"I was hoping you wouldn't." Ann.

After a whole month of waiting, Balloon finally came back, but this time, he was bringing some "companions".

He brought some "fishermen" that needed some help. He brought them to the island and they were nice, at first. But I was always having my guard up whenever I was around them. Balloon insisted in them being nice, and making one of the greatest mistakes in my life, I trusted them.

Everything was fine and nothing seemed out of place, until they found out that Ballon had eaten a Devil Fruit. He tried to save one of the fishermen but touched too much seawater, making him revert back into his normal self, a panda.

Afterwards, it was all left to old human greed and deceit.

They revealed themselves as pirates, attacked us and hunted us down for Balloons' fruit, we escaped as far as we could and even asked for some help from the villagers, but none of them helped us. 

*BANG*

$ Ann punches the table.

Even after all those years that Balloon helped them…! Even after all the benefits they gained from him…! They just let us to our luck!!!!!!!!

We tried to fend them off as we could, but we ultimately failed and they got a hold of us and that's when real hell began. They pierced my right arm with an arrow while they chained Balloon.

"Seriously?!" Nami.

"Yeah, look." Ann raises the sleeve on her arm and shows a scar on her deltoid, just like Nami.

"My God." Nami.

"And it only goes downhill from there." Ann.

"Why are you doing this?! Balloon helped all of you!!" Y-Ann.

"Kid, it seems that you don't know the value of a Devil Fruit. Those things not only proportionate outstanding power, but are also quite pricey for the correct buyer." Pirate.

"Besides, who's gonna miss a freak of nature like this guy anyway."

$ The Pirate pierces Balloon's left wing with a lance.

*SHRIEEEEEEEEEEK*

"Balloon!!!!!!!!" Y-Ann.

"Now that the beast is pinned down, let's kill it."

"Wait!!!"

"What?"

"If we kill it now, the devil fruit will be passed unto any fruit on the island. What if some ugly bug eats it and then buries itself underground." Pirate3.

"Ah, solid thinking mate, let's take this fool out on the open sea with a basket of fruits, that way we can get the fruit from the get-go." Pirate.

"What about the girl?"

"We can just sell her; I've got a contact on the slave market that would pay big for a child her age."

"Ah, slavery, bringing innocent girls to old men since the 1.500's."

"I think it was before that."

"Who cares. The point is that this makes us more money."

They took us into a pirate ship that they were secretly building since they were rescued on the further side of the island to escape my sight. Balloon was chained to the deck while I was thrown into the storage room with my bleeding arm.

They were preparing the fruit basket, I assume, while I found out that they threw me alongside a bag of gunpowder. I did what I had to do and blew those motherfucker's ship into oblivion. Or at least that's what I wanted but, I just managed to destroy their storage room.

As I exited the room with several burns, I saw Balloon's chain and tried to untie him but to no avail. The pirates were panicking too much and some were even leaving the ship due to the fire, but they still saw me.

"Catch that brat!"

"She must've been the one to blow up the ship!"

"Crap, Balloon, get smaller!" Y-Ann.

That idiot had forgotten that his true form is that of a Panda, he reverted back and escaped the chains. I found a short axe on the ground, picked it up and steadied myself for combat alongside Balloon.

We began to fight the pirates, Balloon would be my wall while I delivered small cuts to their weak spots, elbows, necks, face, anywhere to make sure that they'd either die or bleed themselves out.

And that plan worked a little too well, since the pirates that fell overboard attracted sharks and soon after, the whole ship was surrounded by them, and let me remind you that the ship was still catching fire and would break any moment from then.

We somehow managed to defeat them, we were quite injured but we were alive.

"Balloon, become a bird and get us out of here." Y-Ann.

$ Balloon nodded and turned into a Roc but his wing began to pain him.

He couldn't fly. The damage made by the pirates was such that poor Balloon's wing was completely unusable. We were out of time and plans, so I decided to improvise.

I cut off the main mast and tied two ropes unto cannonballs then I loaded up the cannons lit them up. I did the same for Balloon, except that I doubled the cannons for him to be lifted. I told Balloon to hang unto his part of the mast and so he did.

Once the cannons were shot, it surprisingly worked, a little too bad. Balloon's cannons had nearly none enough power to send him flying like me, so he was descending faster than I was and we were still a reasonable distance from the island, with sharks on the sea to feast on us.

Balloon panicked and tried to fly once again, aggravating his wing injury. He was somehow able to glide through the air enough to reach the island as we both crash-landed on the beach.

I went to check on Balloon with the little energy I had left and saw him...…

$ Ann's voice remains silent as she tries to continues her story but can't. Atoli and Dias were also trying their best to not cry over the story but tears escape their eyes.

"It's okay if you need a moment." Nami.

"No! no, I... I have to finish." Ann.

I...… I was Balloon's body...his wing...completely ripped off by his injuries...…his body impaled by rocks on the beach…! He was suffering! And I didn't know what to do!!!!!!!!

*SNIFF*

He was in the edge of his life; he had lost too much blood and was unable to anymore. I could only grab his head and pet him as kindly as I could over and over again.

"Everything'll be okay. Everything'll be okay. Everything'll be okay. Everything'll be okay. Everything'll be okay. Everything'll be okay. Everything'll be okay. Everything'll be okay. Everything'll be okay. Everything'll be okay. Everything'll be okay." Y-Ann kept saying in denial.

$ Balloon only looked at her with an expression saying "sorry" while his lids began to close.

As Balloon's eyes were closing, he was also reverting to his panda form and I knew what had happened. He died. Because of their selfish bullshit and uninterested crap!!!! And more importantly, he died...…because of me.

Had I not discussed with him, he wouldn't had left the island. Had I never trusted those pirates, I could've had some plan to stop them. Had I not complied with his request to stay on the island and move unto another one, he wouldn't had befriended those jackasses of villagers.

$ Ann's eyes were filled with tears but then she calmed herself out.

"After that, I simply buried Balloon, found his fruit in my reserves and paid back to those villagers for what they did." Ann.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there with you." Nami.

"I'm glad you weren't, I wouldn't want you to see what I became that day." Ann.

(Outside the kitchen)

Everyone was eavesdropping except for Luffy who decided to sleep after hearing the part involving pirates, since he connected the dots and knew how the story would end.

"Man, that's harsh." Usopp.

"Tell me about it, I've got chicken skin." Kaizo.

"That was a good friend. But too blind kindhearted." Zoro.

"Poor Ann-swan." Sanji.

'With this, I'm sure, this is an AU through and through!' Kaizo.

'It would appear so; I really was hoping things would be easy to predict.' Izanagi.

'Meh, would've been a little too boring anyway.' Kaizo.

'That's contradictory to what you wanted.' Izanagi.

'Maybe so but, at least I'll have an entertaining blast experiencing the story.' Kaizo.

'Who could ever understand you?' Izanagi.

After a few hours of chit-chat and helping Ann regain her composure, Nami began to interrogate Dias and Atoli.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Next time on One Piece: Shinigami of the Strawhats.

"Dias and Atoli, Onwards Rainbow Island."

"I can hardly wait for this, Shishishi!" Luffy.

"Neither can I!" Kaizo.