(Author's note: One of the first people to start reading my fanfic (Lanceboi) has recently started writing his own one-piece fic, it's called, Lance's Adventure Through One Piece. It looked promising, so I hope you guys can check it out and show it as much love as you've shown me and my story in the past couple of months!)
"Are you saying that Doc is a Lunarian?" I asked in a confused tone, my gaze turning to Doc Q as I observed his lack of wings, wondering if I misunderstood crocus' meaning.
"Indeed," Crocus said, taking a deep breath to calm himself, but a sign of fury can still be observed on his face.
"But aren't Lunarians supposed to have a pair of wings?" I asked in a hesitant tone, scratching my head.
"And I'm not exactly what you would call beautiful," Doc added from the side with a chuckle, referring to Crocus' statement about the beauty of Lunarians.
"I'm not even going to ask how you know about the Lunarians having wings," Crocus said with a sigh, massaging his temple as he turned to look at me.
"However, the reason Doc doesn't have wings is because of the virus," Crocus added while pointing towards the sickly doctor. "Lunarians are born with their wings inside of their body like roots, and they would develop as the Lunarians themselves grow older," he explained.
"And the virus has been hampering Doc's growth, among other things, and stopping the formation of his wings in the process," Crocus concluded with a sigh, shaking his head.
"How does that even work?" Doc asked in a confused tone while I remained silent as he asked what I wanted to ask already.
"The vitality inside the bodies of Lunarians, represented by their flames, is almost inexhaustible," Crocus replied. "It's this vitality that powers the growth of their wings," he added, waving his hand to the side.
"And your body unconsciously channeled that same vitality towards your heart to keep it from being destroyed by the virus," Crocus explained, pointing towards his heart.
"Which is why you are unable to control the flame, and you don't have wings, but the roots of your wings are indeed present inside your back," he concluded.
"Those celestial pigs sure are thorough," I said with a frown. "They even went as far as to take away the Lunarians' wings to stop them from sliding down the red line to freedom," I concluded with a disgusted expression, shaking my head.
"They aren't capable of such things. Not back then, and not now," Crocus commented with a sigh, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Then...?" I remarked with a frown, feeling genuinely confused.
"I'm afraid that just a stroke of luck on the celestial dragons' part," he replied with a shrug.
"Well... that's a lot to take in..." Doc said with a complicated expression. "I've always taken my illness as something brought upon me by my own bad luck," he added with a sigh, his face turning blue.
"I've taken it as a matter of fact and lived my life the best way I could," Doc remarked, clenching his fist. "But to think..." He said, rage on his face as he paused to swallow a mouthful of blood without letting it spurt from his mouth.
"Can I be cured?" he asked in a calm tone as he turned to look at Crocus.
"It's possible with Kureha's help and the ope-ope fruit," Crocus replied, his expression turning grim. "But are you sure you wish to be cured?" he asked, earning a confused look from Doc.
"The world government is still hunting down Lunarians to this day," Crocus explained in a stern tone. "And there are other powerful groups and organizations, like the yonko, Big Mom's crew, who would kill without a second of thought to get their hands on a Lunarian," he added as he looked straight at Doc's eyes.
"Your wings will start growing soon after we cure your heart, and your fire will return," Crocus explained while gesturing towards Doc's back. "Needless to say that you will have a target painted on your back," Crocus added in a calm tone.
"One the biggest targets in the world, no less..." he concluded, trailing at the end of his sentence as he paused to let his words sink into Doc's mind.
"Rehahaha," I heard Crocus' words and laughed loudly, earning a confused look from everyone in the room. "Sounds like a good time to me," I added with a smirk.
"It's up to you if your want to be cured or not, Doc," I said, still smirking as I turned to look at Doc. "But as long as you're sailing on my ship, whether it be the world government or Big Mom herself trying to get to you..." I added trailing at the end of her sentence.
"They'll have to get through me first," I concluded while gesturing towards myself with a toothy smile.
"Well, if the captain himself can say as much, then what choice do I have but to accept being cured?" Doc remarked in between coughs, with a faint smile on his lips.
"Good, now if you'll excuse me," I said as I got up with a smirk. "I have a king to drive out of his castle..." I added as I began walking towards the door, my smile vanishing only to be replaced by an icy expression.
"But Dr. Kureha said that could wait," Byron said from the side.
"I know, but I'm kind of bored, and I have nothing better to do right now," I replied without turning around as I reached for the door's handle. "So I might as well get over with right now," I concluded as I opened the door and walked out, closing it behind me.
Despite my cheery attitude, I was, in fact, very pissed off by what I heard from Crocus.
Granted, I did not know the full circumstances of the hostilities between the Lunarians and the world government, and they could have deserved to be wiped out for all I know; the story still left a foul taste in my mouth.
It just might be my own hostility towards the celestial dragons fueling my anger, or it could be how far the sick bastards would go to fulfill their twisted ego, but that doesn't change the fact I'm pissed.
I needed to vent, and what better sandbag for me to do so than Wapol? The bastard was basically a poor man's celestial dragon, sharing their hideous appearance and misguided feeling of superiority over everyone else.
With that line of thought, I began flying as I made my way towards Drum castle at my fastest speed with an icy expression.
...
I reached the castle after what felt like thirty minutes of flight, floating down to the snow ground in front of it as I began looking around.
Immediately, several guards noticed me and promptly began walking towards me with hostile expressions. "Halt! You are trespassing on Drum castle, home of Wapol, the ruler of these lands!" said one guard while brandishing a spear.
"Not for long..."