~~A Little Less Than Two Years Ago~~
It had been a quiet day on the island, as it typically was. The island was in the North Blue in a remote corner that few bothered with. It was summer which brought a nice breeze in off the ocean. Unfortunately, that breeze was also bringing trouble.
At the village center, a festival was taking place to celebrate the summer solstice. Streamers and banners hung from every post and shop. Strips of lights were waiting to be lit once the sun set. On the outskirts sat a cart loaded with fireworks, also waiting for the sun to set.
“Momma look,” a young boy with blue hair shouted as he ran around with a streamer wand in his hand. He had a few sharp teeth out at the corner of his mouth that gave him an eerie look and scared a few people. The villager came to ignore it.
A brunette woman shifted on the bench she was seated at and turned to look at the child. A smile graced her lips and the corners of her eyes crinkled slightly at the sight. “Did you convince Miss Celia to give you a wand?”
“Uh huh,” he beamed, “She said I could come back later for another one if I wanted.”
“Did she now? That’s nice of her.”
“O,” a male voice began, “Ana!”
The brunette woman drew a sharp breath before shifting again and turning to the voice. Her brow furrowed when she saw the bottle already in his hand and nearly empty. “Today? Really? You’re drinking today of all days?”
“Ana!”
“Enough Theo,” Ana hissed as she stood up. She began walking over to the blue haired boy when she felt a hand on her arm. “If you don’t release me right now, I’ll make sure you lose you other eye.” The grip on her tightened as its owner processed the threat before releasing.
“Where are you going?”
“To spend time with Aenan. You know, our son.” She didn’t wait for a response before picking up the small child and carrying him further into the village center to enjoy the festivities.
~~~
Not far from the island, a large ship was preparing to land. There was all manner of shouting coming from the vessel, but none quite as loud as its captain. “When we land, find him! Do whatever you have to to get payment from him! We are due our 500,000,000 berries and its high time he paid up!”
“Aye captain,” the men shouted in response.
~~~
A short while later, just as the sun was beginning to set, shouting could be heard from the shoreline. Soon, it grew closer, putting the villagers on high alert. As this island was typically left alone, there was no form of shelter for the residents to run to. Instead, they fled to their homes and hoped whatever was coming, would leave as quickly as it came.
Ana quickly made her way over to Aenan and prepared herself for whatever was coming. Not too far off was Theo who had gone pale at the incoming sound. (I Why do I get the feeling he has something to do with this?)
As the sound grew closer, a burly man with bright orange hair and a grimace could be seen at the head of it all. “Theo! We are here for the debt that you owe! Better pay up or this town is burning to the ground.”
“Wait!” Theo looked around in a panic as the man drew closer. The moment his gaze landed on Ana and Aenan he had an idea. “Take my son! He’s only 4 but you could get a good price for him.”
“W-what?” Aenan looked at Theo in horror at what just came out of his mouth. “Daddy why?”
The burly man came to a stop and looked over to where Ana and Aenan were. Sizing up Ana first then looking at the child. He was silent for several minutes before nodding, accepting the arrangement. “We can sell him off to a wealthy family or to the workhouse.” With a flick of his wrist, he sent his men towards Aenan.
“No,” Ana snapped, “You are not trading our son to pay off your debt! Figure something else out!”
“Get rid of the woman,” the man shouted.
Aenan moved behind Ana as the men came closer to them. “Mommy, do something.”
“It’s okay,” Ana whispered, “I’m not going to let them take you.” She looked back at the men and let out a growl, “You touch my son and I’ll tear you to shreds.”
“That’s rich coming from a puny woman like you,” one of the men scoffed.
The moment his hand started reaching for Aenan, Ana transformed into a Simbakubwa and pounced on him. She moved from man to man, attacking them, hoping to keep them from Aenan. It didn’t take long before they started fighting back and shooting at her.
How many bullets had she taken so far? How many cuts did she have from their swords? She lost count. The only thing keeping her going through all the pain and blood loss was the thought of protecting Aenan.
Theo watched as Ana, the woman he once loved, the woman he had beat on whenever he drank, was giving her life for their son. She was still as fearsome as the first time he had laid eyes on her all those years ago. It was one of the reasons he had fallen in love with her in the first place. He watched as she started to falter in her movements, the blood loss clearly beginning to hit her.
It was at this moment that he realized what he’d done. “Wait,” he shouted as he started moving towards Aenan and Ana, “I changed…” The words never left his mouth as a bullet went through him. He collapsed to the ground, watching, vision fading, as Ana too, collapsed and returned to normal. Was she still alive? With her wounds he doubted it.
One of the men picked up Aenan, who was screaming for Ana, tears streaming down his face. “Momma,” he screamed as he was carried by Ana’s body, “Momma!” No matter how much he struggled, the man wouldn’t release him.
“We’re done here,” the burly man said before he and his troupe turned to leave. “Next time,” he looked over his shoulder, “it’s better to just let us to what we want than to fight back. You may have survived.”
~~Nearly Two Years Later~~
Ana was camped out on a beach, waiting for the sun to rise before continuing her journey to find Aenan. It had been nearly two years since the day he was taken. She had failed to protect him back then, but nothing was going to stop her from getting him back.
As she carefully turned the stake containing her meal, she looked down at the scars that littered her body. By now they were just faded bits of silver skin, only visible if the sun hit them just right. But they served as a reminder. A reminder of Theo’s betrayal and Aenan’s abduction.
Just as she was about to remove the meat from the fire, she heard something near the tree line. Looking up she glimpsed what looked like the outlines of people. (I Guess I am not alone here after all.) With a sigh, she stood up, her movement triggering them to charge her. She didn’t hesitate before transforming and attacking in defense. Not long after, the ten men that attempted to jump her, were scattered on the beach, dead and some in pieces.
She was not without injury however and limped around in her tiger form. There was a gash on her arm and one running, what would be the span of her abdomen on the left. (I Just my luck, I am out of first aid stuff too.)
~~~
“Hey look,” Usopp shouted, “There is an island ahead.” He looked around some more, soon coming across the fire of Ana’s camp. “Looks like someone is already here too.” Though it was feint, he could make out the outlines on the beach and soon spotted the tiger roaming around. “Uhm.”
“What,” Nami shouted up at him, “Do you see something else?”
“Yeah, a tiger that killed like ten guys.”
“No way,” Luffy moved and headed towards Usopp, “Let me see! Can we keep it?”
“We don’t need a tiger,” Nami replied.
“It looks hurt,” Usopp pointed out.
"I'll go talk to it when we dock," Chopper offered.
As the crew drew closer to the island, Usopp kept an eye on the tiger. He and Chopper had a conversation about possibly tranquilizing it should talking not work in Chopper's favor. Once they docked, Chopper left the ship and made his way towards the tiger.
Ana stopped pacing when she senses another presence and began to growl. "Go away."
"I'm not here to hurt you," Chopper reasoned, "I'm here to help."
Ana narrowed her eyes and turned to him, still growling. "I don't believe you."
~~~
"Looks like he's meeting some resistance," Franky said as he watched the exchange., "Doesn't look it wants help."
"Well," Robin leaned on the railing, "Chopper wants to help regardless."
Usopp readied the pod with the tranquilizer gas and waited until Chopped was far enough away from the tiger before firing. Once the pod exploded and cleared, the tiger was on the ground and slowly transforming back into their human state. "It’s a fruit user?"
"That explains a lot," Nami sighed as the rest of the crew hopped off the ship. By the time the crew joined Chopper on the beach, he was already fast at work on fixing the woman.
"Oh," Robin frowned, "I know her. But what is she doing out here when she should be in the North Blue with her family?"
"Who is she," Luffy asked as he crouched by the woman's head.
"Her name is Ana. She helped me out six years ago when she was pregnant." Robin frowned, "Her husband was an abusive alcoholic if I recall."
"Maybe that’s why she's here?"
"Unlikely, that baby was the single most important thing to her. She wouldn't leave him with his father let alone bring him somewhere dangerous like the new world."
"Unless the father brought the son out here," Nami suggested.
"We won’t know until she wakes up," Zoro pointed out.
While Chopper worked, he noticed all the scars littering the woman's body. He had heard what Robin said about her abusive husband, but most of the scars looked to be the same age. Once he finished treating the wounds, stitching them up and bandaging them, he sat down looking over her. "The wound on her side is pretty bad. I don't want to move her just yet."
"Let’s look around to see if we can find out who these guys are," Nami suggested, "They had to have attacked her for a reason."
A short while later, Ana began to stir before sitting up and looking around. It was darker than it had been when the bandits ambushed her. Their bodies were gone but she noticed the presence of several other people around the fire, two were awake. Not liking the situation, she moved away from the group quickly, only to feel pain in her side immediately after.
“You’re awake,” Zoro said calmly, “I wouldn’t move though.”
While holding her side, Ana continued to move away. “Stay away from me.”
“If you keep moving you’re going to open up the stitched Chopper just put in!”