One Piece Fan Fiction / Teen Titans Fan Fiction ❯ The Ultimate Cruise ❯ The Man Who Almost Had Everything - The Rise and Fall of Iso and Toa ( Chapter 26 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

By: Pivitor

DISCLAIMER: I do not own One Piece, Teen Titans, or any characters or elements contained within. I believe these can be credited to the geniuses Eiichiro Oda [author and artist of OP], Marv Wolfman and George Perez [respective author and artist of The New Teen Titans comic of the eighties], and Glen Murakami and his talented crew [the staff of the Teen Titans animated series, the Titans version which this story is based off.] Thanks for developing these wonderful characters I have the pleasure of using in this story!

Any original characters, however, belong to Pivitor. Remember it!

“These things cannot be stopped. The ebb and flow of the ages. One's dreams. An inherited will of strength. As long as people hunger for freedom, these things will exist!”—Gold Roger, King of the Pirates

The Ultimate Cruise:
One Piece meets Teen Titans

Chapter 26: The Man Who Almost Had Everything—The Rise and Fall of Iso and Toa

“Gold Roger?” Monkey D. Luffy echoed the name, stunned that it was even brought up. “What do you mean calling him a cheater?!”

The Teen Titans were confused by the turn of events. They stared quizzically at the faces of their pirate comrades, wishing they knew what was going on so that they could be shocked speechless too.

Beside them, the dumbfounded Nami finally realized half their team had no idea what was going on. “Gold Roger,” she began, “was the King of the Pirates!

“Twenty years ago he was finally captured by the Marines, and as he was about to be executed in front of the masses he exclaimed that his legendary treasure, the One Piece, was hidden at the end of the Grand Line! He told everybody there to go find it!

“That was the beginning of the age of piracy!”

Finally the Titans understood. “So then, Gold Roger is the man Luffy hopes to succeed!”

Suddenly the thoughts that must be running through the captain's head became apparent to them all. Gold Roger was a man Luffy desired to surpass—and he had just been insulted, called a cheater! When Luffy became the Pirate King what would that say about him?!

“King of the Pirates?!” Iso grumbled disdainfully. “My love, tell me…”

Mother leapt from her observation point to her love's side. “Yes, m'dear. Not long after the great disaster…Gold Roger became the Pirate King.”

Robin nudged Nami. “The…'great disaster?'”

“Even I don't know what they mean,” the navigator admitted, shrugging her shoulders.

Iso started to float to the ground, coming closer to the seething Luffy. “The fool,” he muttered. “He managed to cheat me out of this world, then only becomes King of the Pirates?! So much potential, wasted!”

“What're you saying, bastard?!” Luffy demanded.

“I'm saying that the only reason your precious Gold Roger even became King of the Pirates is because he cheated his way past me!”

Sparks flew as the two blades met, the recoil from the fierce attacks sending both warriors backwards. They paused for a second, each glaring at their opponent before charging yet again, their blades waving into an artful display of power.

The entire town square of Ianoa Island had become a battlefield, but not one of chaos. This island was home to some of the best sword smiths on the Grand Line. As soon as they could hold a sword the citizens were immersed in the culture of the weapon, not only learning to forge them but also becoming quite proficient in their art of killing.

Eventually this path led to a yearly tournament—a chance for the best of the best to show their skills, while using the newest weapons as a testament to the smiths' abilities.

The spectators in the stands cheered as the current competitors fought, all but one. One figure couldn't care less. Toa sighed as the two parried again; blowing a black curl of hair from her face she leaned back, plainly bored.

`It doesn't matter who wins this,' she thought sadly, `he still doesn't have power. None of these losers are truly powerful. Nobody on this island cares to be anything more than mediocre.'

She frowned. `Not one man here strives for greatness! How can I love on this island full of nobodies?!'

Suddenly a woman behind the stands screamed. Only seconds later a surge of water rushed past her, washing up part of the crowed assembled in the concessions. Water continued to flood the town square as an amazing crimson object surfaced in the bay.

Those in the stands and in the competition—safe from the water being pushed from the bay—stared in true awe at the giant, stone boat that had appeared in their harbor. Toa's eyes glistened as the sight of the crimson vessel. She couldn't look away.

The side of the unusual boat seemed to open into a large door; a ramp made of the same red stone emerged from the side and led to the ground.

“Finally, my first victory is at hand.”

Walking down the ramp was an imposing man, clad in a costume of black and the same crimson hue as his boat. A cape flapped behind him as he brushed the bangs of his stark white hair from his eyes.

He looked back and forth across the landscaped. “Quaint,” he said without any change in his expression. “I think I'll make it my capital.”

“Just who do you think you are?!”

The man finally looked down at the people he had intruded upon. All the remaining competitors in the tournament now stood before him, their weapons pointed towards the threat.

The sounds of weapons being readied came from behind the red-clad man as his many minions raised their various weapons too, but one gesture from their leader made them take a step back.

“Take it easy men,” he smiled. “Didn't I tell you it would take some `convincing' first? I'll handle it.”

He walked into the crowd, coming face to face with the drawn swords of a dozen angry competitors. “I am Iso,” he finally answered, “and I am here to rule you all.”

The swordsmen just stared at him blankly, until one finally burst into a fit of laughter. “You—you're serious?!”

“Fully,” Iso said. “I see you're having a tournament. Why don't you let me show you how serious I really am?”

Suddenly he was in the air, floating until he touched down in the center of the arena. “I will take on all of you! Maybe then you'll have the proper respect!”

A murmur ran through the crowd, but the remaining competitors ignored it. Even if he had flown, he was still outnumbered by nearly a dozen! They had it easy!

“You've got it!”

Meanwhile, Toa was flabbergasted. This man—it was as if she was drawn to him! She could almost feel the power emanating from his body! Was this finally the man she had been looking for?

As the dozen competitors spread around Iso he didn't even flinch. “I hear you're an island of sword smiths,” he said in a smug voice. Reaching behind his back, he pulled out an empty sword handle. “So let me show you how a REAL sword is forged!”

Iso screamed as crimson energy exploded around him, his aura destroying the dirt surrounding him. Energy shot from the edge of the handle, extending into the air. However, that didn't last as the uncontrollable force began to condense, growing smaller and smaller until it finally became a solid object. Iso now held a rather large crimson-bladed sword in his hand.

“That is a real sword,” he smiled. “I shall call it the Eehuah!”

Not one soul in the entire town square could utter a word.

“What, you're speechless?” Suddenly he shot forward in a red flash. “Well you should be! This is a time to fight!”

In one lightning quick slash a competitor was rend in two.

The other swordsmen reeled in fear, but realizing there was now no other choice they rushed him in a group. They leapt into the air, burying Iso in a dog pile. However, it was nothing for the powerhouse. Several swings of his brand-new weapon made ribbons of the attackers; he looked on admiringly as the severed bodies tumbled around him.

“Gotcha!” one fighter yelled as he leapt behind Iso. The weapon he carried had two blades, one smaller than the other, with a small space between the two. Thrusting his sword forward, he managed to wedge the Eehuah within the space. “Let's see how well you fight when I've broken your weapon!”

Without saying a word Iso turned his wrist, completely shattering the sword-breaker. With one horizontal swing the fighter followed suit; his torso flew in one direction while his legs flew in another.

However, there were still some of the competitors left alive. Iso felt a gust of wind hurling towards him, and as he waved his powerful sword it unleashed a storm of red that rendered the small blast useless.

Screaming, a competitor swung his sword, the force of it creating a blade of wind that again soared towards Iso.

“That's somewhat impressive,” the powerhouse admitted as he raised the Eehuah above his head, “And by somewhat I mean not at all!”

Swinging the Eehuah vertically, Iso unleashed a crescent-shaped projectile of pure crimson power that tore through the gust and its creator effortlessly. The competitor's body had been cut into two symmetrical halves that fell to the ground like chopped timber.

Only one contestant remained, and with a scream of terror he turned and ran for the exit.

“Smart, to run,” Iso began, “But a smart coward still deserves to die!” Waving his sword, a beam of energy leapt off the end, transforming into a whip-like attack. It stopped the coward in his tracks, ensnaring his legs. However, the end continued to go, curling back around and impaling the final contestant straight through the heart.

As the final competitor hit the ground, fallen in a puddle of his own blood, the crowd went crazy. Hoards of panicked citizens ran in all directions, nearly trampling some of the weaker ones.

Toa, however, moved against the crowed—towards Iso. Upon her face was pasted something she had not been seen with in ages: a smile.

`That is the power I've been looking for! Someone who strives for greatness! I—I must meet him!'

However, as the beauty moved closer to the madman, she was grabbed by several people running past.

“What're you doing broad?!”

“Yer gonna get yourself killed!”

She strained to free herself, but to no avail. Already caught in the unstoppable flow of the crazed crowd, Toa was carried far away from the man she desired so deeply to meet.

But this wouldn't stop her. Iso was the only man for her. Only he had the power that could satisfy her. And he would be hers.

“What should we do sir?” a soldier asked. Iso ignored his subordinate for a second as he soaked in the splendor of the fear he had created.

Finally, he answered. “Nothing. Their fear is already consuming them—they'll be easy to take control of. Every island will. As I've already shown, nobody can stand against my will!”

Toa stood before her fireplace, an exquisite antique sword in her hands. It was the only remaining sword created by her late father—the only legacy passed down to her. With barely a thought, and certainly no hesitation, the woman tossed the weapon into the fire.

Embers scattered from the open flame, but the delicate figure had already turned her back on her legacy, her shapely hips rocking back and forth as if they had a life of their own as she moved towards the window. Despite being nearly across the island, she could still see the intimidating crimson ship in the harbor.

“The power of the sword is obsolete,” she whispered to herself, memories of the white-haired man permeating her mind. “His power is the way of the future!”

Around Iso chaos reigned as his small group of servants milled in and out of the room, scurrying like ants. The white-haired conqueror, however, sat peacefully in an exquisite throne of crimson stone. No matter what anarchy surrounded him, he could find peace here—here alone with his thoughts, he could plan the fall of the world!

“Lord Iso-sama, sir!”

His solitude interrupted, Iso looked towards the man, his second-in-command. “Yes, Ano. How goes the domination?”

Ano jumped a bit, as his lord's question had nothing to do with the information he had to deliver. Still, why would he possibly ignore a request of Iso? He valued his life!

“It's going quite well, milord,” he began excitedly. “We've already covered half of the island, and those few able to physically resist us didn't last for long.” He removed a red crystal on a chain from his pocket. “We are running rather low on connectors, though.”

Iso smiled. “Then I'll create some more after I've had my supper. Marvelous devices, aren't they?” Ano nodded, having seen their effects first hand on the most rowdy of citizens. “By physical contact they create a direct connection to my omnipotent power. I can take their energy, their very will, creating the perfect inhabitants of my new world.

“After all, there can be no rebellions, war, crime or strife in a world of mindless servants, can there?”

“Of course not!” Ano exclaimed, truly convinced. “A world united under your power is the best place we could possibly live!” The servant's master nodded happily, and then waved him aside. He started to move to leave before remembering that this wasn't what he had planned to discuss at all. His hesitation was enough to tip Iso off.

Raising an eyebrow the conqueror sighed. “What else is there, Ano?”

“Well, milord, it seems we are having trouble with one particular subject,”

“Trouble?” Iso interjected. “How can my troops be having trouble with one person? What is he?”

“Um, it seems that she,”

“SHE!” Iso again interrupted. “My best soldiers are having trouble with a woman?!”

Suddenly the doors to his crown room shot open as two of his soldiers stumbled in, each one desperately around the neck of a single woman. They were trying their hardest to fully contain her, but straining with each step she doggedly moved forward.

Growling, Iso stood and fiercely walked towards the intruder. “What the hell do you think you're doing, woman?”

The furrow on her face softened at the sound of the man's voice. With almost effortless movements she swung the two soldiers into each other—the sound of skulls meeting echoing through the room—and tossed them aside like used cigarettes.

“I am simply…trying to meet you.” With her near-captors disposed of she finally stood up straight, and Iso was surprised that such a powerful woman could be so beautiful. She wiped a curled black bang from her eyes. “I saw your power when you first arrived. It's…beyond my wildest dreams. I just…just want to be a part of that amazing power!”

Ano gasped out loud. “Are you insane, woman? You think you can just waltz in here and—”

“Quiet Ano!” Iso commanded, waving his hand before his stunned assistant. Instantly the man shut his mouth, slapping his hand over it for due measure. Turning his sights towards the visitor he began. “I can see that you're powerful, but I plan to pit my power against the entire world. Tell me, are you willing to take on everybody on the planet?”

A smile of pure pleasure crossed her face. “I'm up to anything, as long as it is by your side.”

Just as Iso opened his mouth to continue, another door opened unexpectedly and one of his guards dashed through as if shot out of a cannon. “Lord Iso-sama! Lord Iso-sama! The Stratogale Pirates were just spotted in the bay! They're starting an all out attack!”

“Really?” Instead of showing fear, Iso simply seemed annoyed. “So, they've followed me here? I'd figured they'd have learned their lesson after what I did to the other fleet.”

Looking over his shoulder Iso asked, “Woman! What is your name?”

“They call me…Toa.”

He waved his hand, beckoning her. “Come, Toa. This is the perfect opportunity to see just what you can do.”

Toa's eyes grew wide, almost sparkling from the pure rush of joy running through her body. She walked to the man's side, unsure of what to expect. Suddenly she was enveloped in a ball of blinding light, and then they were gone.

Iso and Toa reappeared on a beach, not far from where his ship was docked. Coming towards the coast was a small ship, the Jolly Roger—with jagged bolts of lightning behind it—flying on their flag.

Small tinges of fear sparked in Toa as she stared at the powerhouse beside her, but if she was going to be at his side forever she had to lose that, she told herself. She had to be the one person who could speak freely to him. “So, you—you know them?”

“Not personally,” Iso said, “but their part of a fleet from my home island. Probably one of the only ones left.”

“The only ones left?”

“Even when the rest of the world is peacefully unified under my great power,” he said as the boat drew closer, “I will make sure that island never becomes more than a floating pile of ashes. They way they treated me showed me the need for my power in this world,” he paused as his eyebrows arched fiercely, “but more importantly, they caused me to do something about it.”

The boat hit shore, and several dozen sailors leapt over the side of the ship, charging towards the two. Toa panicked for a second, but quickly came to her senses. She knew that his power was more than enough to take down anything they faced!

As his pirates rushed Iso and Toa, a man in the crow's next took a stand. “Iso! You'll pay for all the lives you—”

With a wave of his hand Iso unleashed a spiraling beam of red that obliterated much of the boat. The remains of the crow's next fell into the deck, and the pirate aboard rolled backwards onto the unharmed back deck. Behind him was a rather large contraption, with a sailor manning a handle on each side.

“You think you can kill me?” Iso asked defiantly as he floated over the men. “Yes, I suppose a small group of misfits can take down the powerhouse that destroyed nearly their entire island.”

“I don't know how you did that,” the pirate spat, “But even you can't survive the machine!”

The two sailors began turning the handles, and sparks flew up both sides of the device.

Iso licked his lips. “I can think of over a dozen ways I could immobilize that thing with almost just a thought,” he stopped as he chuckled, “But I think it'll be more fun just to let you see how worthless the power of your island is compared to one `worthless' inhabitant!”

Meanwhile, dozens of bloodthirsty pirates charged towards Toa. Most women would be intimidated by a band of marauding miscreants with only one—perhaps two—things on their mind, but this woman certainly wasn't. On her mind was only impressing that man!

“Death Scatter!” she cried as her outstretched palms ignited into white flames. The blasts of pure life-force exploded in every direction, becoming cris-crossing beacons of death as they mercilessly impaled Toa's opponents.

“Fire!” the captain exclaimed as the machine reached full-capacity. The sky seemed on fire as the shot of electricity roared towards the seemingly unaffected Iso. Thunder roared as the attack hit its target, and for what seemed like ages the lightning surged forward. Finally as it faded and the roar died all that was left standing was—a smoking Iso, floating without a single scratch!

A beam of crimson tore through the machine as he landed beside the captain, grabbing the man's face with his palm and lifting him into the air. “Now die, like everybody else on that worthless island!” The captain screamed as his body started to glow red. Steam poured from him as he vaporized, and in a matter of minutes he was nothing but a pile of ashes.

As he turned towards the two who had run the machine, gale-force winds leapt from his body and rushed past them. The very force of it sent their skin flying far from the rest of their body.

“Crescent Blade!” Toa screamed as she twisted through the air. A v-shaped beam of chi leapt from her fingers and tore through an attacker, while her leg planted itself in the neck of another antagonist.

However, the numbers were getting to the woman, and as she landed she was overtaken by most of the remaining pirates, who leapt atop her into a giant dog pile.

The stragglers were still rushing to join the fun as Iso landed in the middle of them. “This electricity tickles. I don't think I'll carry it anymore.” Suddenly the very electricity he had absorbed moments before exploded around him, leaving the pirates no better than charcoal. “Now, to rescue the woman. How disa—”

“Don't speak so soon!” The pirates in the dog pile gasped as they began to glow, each one becoming swallowed up in an incandescent beacon of light. “Detonate!”

A ball of chi roared across the sand, utterly decimating all those close to Toa. The provocative shadow of the woman appeared in the center of the attack as the power retreated to a small flame blowing from her fingertips. She smirked. “What was that about being disappointed?”

“On the contrary: I'm quite impressed.” Iso craned his neck as he gave himself a better view of the woman. “You've learned to completely manipulate your chi. You can bend your life force to your very will.”

The smirk turned to a full fledged smile. “Absolutely. This island has lived for centuries on the art of the sword, but I can see that the future runs on your power. I certainly don't have it, but,” she laughed as the chi in her palm flared, “I have the next best thing.”

For the first time in a long time, Iso actually smiled. “Certainly. Come, we have much to discuss.”

He rested his hand on her shoulder as they were both again covered in the light of Iso's teleportation. “But before we start, just let me tell you something. Lose the attack names. That's never going to go anywhere.”

Toa's wildest dreams were coming true. Across the table sat Iso, the most powerful man she could imagine. Since the second she set eyes on him she knew he wanted him and here, now, it seemed it might come true.

Steaming food, delicious enough to make gourmets cry in shame, went to waste on her plate, seeing as her eyes were set only on Iso. One of the powerhouse's servants arrived as she watched with a tray of various red bottles. Iso swept them all into his grasp, covering his meal with streams of burning liquid. Toa's eyes watered from across the table.

Then, in one lumbering movement, Iso swallowed his meal whole.

“W-wow…”

Iso raised an eyebrow, confused by Toa's bewilderment. “What? I like spicy food.” Then he chuckled as he pushed the decimated plate aside, where the same servant promptly disposed of it in the bat of an eye. All the while smoke flew from the white-haired man's ears.

Amused, Toa decided to skip these formalities and use the openness that had already developed between her and her love. “So tell me, where did this great power of yours come from?”

Licking hot sauce from his lips, Iso said, “To keep the story short, from a Devil's Fruit called Konki Konki. It allows me to absorb any type of energy and store it, letting me reuse it later or even reconfigure the power to something more useful! The crimson blasts I so often use are created by combining my own chi with my Konki abilities.”

“Fascinating.” Toa's eyes actually glistened as she heard of the man's abilities. “What amazing power…a power such as yours…deserves the world!”

This pleased Iso, who floated across the table to the woman as he pulled something from his pocket. “So, you're willing to risk your life fighting at my side…forever?”

“Absolutely.”

“Then you won't mind,” he slipped a small crimson rock on a chain over her head, “Wearing this symbol of allegiance.”

Instantly the two could feel the connection. Toa finally witnessed the true depths of his amazing powers. Iso, meanwhile, couldn't miss the intensity of her passion for him and his power. His powers flared, but for the first time they proved useless. Toa's will was too strong to be absorbed through the connecter.

She was the one.

This woman was no idiot. “So, have I proven my loyalty to you?”

“Without a doubt,” her love said. “You will be a part of this army, a part of the new power over this world!” He paused for a second. “I only have one thing to ask of you.”

Swords, spears, and even guns of every variety lined the walls of Iso's armory, but the weapons that caught Toa's attention glimmered with the crimson power to which she had become so enamored.

“Your sword!” The Eehuah blade, created when Iso first set foot on Ianoa Island, was sheathed on the side of a crimson tunic. “With your power, why did you create it?”

“Because,” Iso again explained, shocked that he was this patient and honest with the woman. She was completely in love with him, so in love that she would bend to his every whim, yet he found himself not wanting to abuse that power. Perhaps, just perhaps, he felt the same way for her. “Because even my power has one weakness. Like all Devil's Fruit abilities, they stop working in the ocean.

“It would be foolhardy to strive for the world and not plan for somebody to attack my weakness. The Eehuah, as well as the Ehedren armor, contain a portion of my power and chi, which are controlled by the user's willpower. If I become incapacitated, they provide me a perfect offense and defense regardless of any ill effects of water.”

“Brilliant,” Toa said, jaw agape. “I am honored that you're sharing all of this with me…”

Iso turned quickly. “This isn't what I brought you here to see.” He pulled a small box from a shelf on the wall. “This is.”

As the top of the delicate container opened, Toa could see a small purple fruit resting inside. “A…Devil's Fruit?”

“The Yoken Yoken Fruit,” Iso said proudly. “Your offense is dazzling, but chi drains quickly. This will add to your defense.” He put his hand on her shoulder. “However, the powers of this fruit will also enable you to take your rightful place at my side. You will be my Oracle.”

If the consequences of eating a Devil's Fruit, or even the idea of being an Oracle, were passing through Toa's mind, she paid those ideas little thought. “At your side? Not just in your army, but at your side?”

“Absolutely. I guarantee you nobody else will be closer. No soldier had the courage to do this tiny deed. Apparently they'd rather swim.”

There was no hesitation as the woman took the fruit from the box and quickly swallowed a bite. Her excitement overrode her taste buds—indeed, euphoria almost made the bitter fruit sweet.

“So,” she asked, “where do we go from here?”

Weeks passed, but little had changed. The smaller towns of Ianoa Island hadn't taken long to fall under control, but even with the entire population brainwashed under Iso's power, the Ehever boat still sat ominously in the island's harbor.

However, there was one significant difference aboard the vessel. The personal quarters of Iso had become home to two.

Iso fell from atop his love, both sighing in pleasure. No matter how they fit into each other's agendas, they were most certainly in love. Every second together was ecstasy—and fittingly, most of those seconds had been spent in ecstasy since Toa's very first night aboard the Ehever.

It seemed like ages before Iso spoke up. “So, m'love…any luck with your powers yet?”

Toa's face fell. “I'm sorry,” she said softly, tears welling in the corners of her eyes. “I've been trying, honestly. I just still don't understand what I'd do to get an ability to work in the first place!”

“It's okay,” Iso reassured her, though inside he was growing frustrated. He wasn't moving forward until he had an Oracle—the last piece he needed to be truly and utterly unbeatable. Still, she had eaten the fruit, and there was no doubt her abilities would kick in eventually. Until then, there was still plenty to do.

Rolling over, he again grasped her shoulder. “But I know what you can do to make it up to me…”

“Lord Iso-sama sir!” Ano exclaimed, bursting through the door.

Toa screamed as her love pulled up the sheets, pure hatred blazing in his eyes. The walls rattled. “Ano, just what in the hell do you think you—”

“I'm sorry Lord Iso-sama, but this is a top-level emergency!” he cried. “A pirate ship has appeared on the far edge of the island! We don't recognize its flag but—”

“Them!” Iso growled. His entire body shimmered crimson as his clothes suddenly appeared on him. He rose from the bed as if propelled by an angry wind. “I knew I should have totally obliterated those fools last time they showed up!”

“Darling?” Toa said, concerned. “Do you need—”

“I don't need anybody's help. Last time I was just testing you and having fun. This time there will be no mercy. They will learn to stop coming after me!”

Light began shining around Iso, illuminating the quarters with his powers. “I'll be back, m'love. It'll only take a few seconds.”

In a flash the man was gone, leaving his lover shaken, still in his bed, still feeling his touch. His servant was also left in the room, but he was quickly chased out by streams of chi.

`I hope he's okay,' Toa thought as she fell back against her pillow. `Something just doesn't seem right he—`

Suddenly it hit her—not only her funny feeling, but also a full-fledged premonition.

The sky was lit red, a whirlpool of energy spiraling around Iso. On the ground a mustached man defiantly stood against her love. An attack was launched, but just as easily reversed. Then the sky itself seemed to tear apart—

Leaping from the bed Toa feverishly threw her clothes on, already sweating armor-piercing bullets. Not wasting time exiting properly she leapt through the window, landing as if the several-story jump was nothing and exploding forward into a prodigious dash. All her body's chi was focused in her legs, and she was bounding across the landscape like a cheetah out of hell.

As she ran, it replayed itself in her mind—constantly. Her love. The mustached man. A reflected attack. A hole in the very sky itself. Then nothing.

Toa could see the far shore drawing close, and leaping into the sky she sent a beam of chi into the ground which propelled her far above the rooftops.

From there, she was met with horror. Not the horror of the unexpected, but the perhaps even more terrifying horror of dreams brought to life.

A whirlpool of red was hurling towards Iso, straying far from its intended target. The mustached man was straining to repel the attack and was doing a tremendous job of it; Iso was uncertain if he could dodge in time! Still, the white light of his teleportation started to form—and at that exact moment Iso's own attack hit its maker.

Iso screamed like a man deranged as the crimson waves surrounded him, combining with the beginnings of his attempted teleportation as they warped the very sky. As reality itself was bending, Iso was becoming smaller and smaller, until finally he was completely immersed in the attack. A crimson sphere shrank until—in mere moments—it had condensed into a gorgeous crystal.

With tremendous backlash the sky repaired itself, and Toa screamed desperately as the stone was lost behind the mended hole in the sky. Where once chaos had reigned moments before, silence was finally heard.

Even Toa was deathly silent, too stunned to make a sound as she fell from the sky. Tears left a trail behind her. The woman's mind kept replaying the scene, this time seen for real. There was no way Iso of all people could be beaten, yet here he was, a victim of his own reflected attack and the wormhole it had triggered! So it was understandable that, with all this on her mind, she forgot she had leapt far into the air. The silence was finally broken by the sound of her body hitting the ground.

“No…” she whispered pitifully, grasping her hand around nothing in a vain effort to move. “I've…got to survive…if only to see him again…”

The connector around her neck started to shine radiantly, but its wearer regained little of her health. `Damn!' she cursed to herself. `With him so small, weakened, and so far away, even the connector can't heal me properly! I can't believe…I can't believe…'

“That I've screwed it up so badly…twice…”

As her tears spattered on the ground a halo of crimson encircled Toa and flittering waves of energy moved through the air, focusing on the fallen warrior. Toa rose to the ground, almost robotic in her movement. As quickly as the phenomenon had began, it ended, the circle retreating into Toa. It was like magic.

“Through enough effort I was able to open a better link to my love's power through only my thought!” she realized, “and by channeling the little power I could into my chi I can achieve what he never could…I can heal!”

However, the revelation wasn't enough, and Toa fell to her knees. “Some good it's done though. Iso has saved me, yet I let him down! I failed him! Even with advanced warning…I couldn't save him!”

Her cries were partially drowned out by her sobs. “Why couldn't I save him?!”

Suddenly, just as space had contorted in the sky, time decided to unravel itself in the woman's head. The trauma had finally unlocked the true powers of the Yoken Yoken—and now it showed Toa all.

She saw a new society dedicated to bringing back her love—with her as its mother. A scared little boy who hated himself so much he'd latch onto anybody. A woman whose death would give her a most valuable new pawn. Soldiers who owed her their very life.

Then she saw them. The rubber boy. The detective. Perhaps most importantly, the user of santoryu—after all, what can rile up a swordsman more than another swordsman? She could see how they would be the ones to return her lover to her, and the ones to open a new world to her love.

“Yes, that's it,” she told herself. “I couldn't save him…it was fate…fate stopped me because it wanted me…wanted me to bring my love to greater places…

“I couldn't save Iso because fate wanted me to help propel him to a greater destiny than just one world!”

Toa rose, her newfound philosophy blotting out her guilt. In a dash she was gone, leaving her lover's attackers unharmed. Why attack them? After all, she hadn't seen herself kill them in her visions of the future, had she? Fate was in control of Toa's life now.

Iso's entire crew was gathered in the meeting room of the Ehever, which itself was submerged far beneath the surface of the sea, just off the coast of Ianoa Island.

“What are we doing here?!” Ano cried, standing before his fellow soldiers. “Those pirates are destroying all the connecters! They defeated Iso! We should be—”

“Silence!” Toa demanded from the stage. “Iso left me as his second-in-command, so I would deem it unwise to question my orders.”

She smiled as the soldiers immediately grew quiet. `They're so fun to mess around with,' she thought. “And as Iso's Oracle, I've seen the future.” Balls of chi sparked to life in her palms, and several grunts gasped.

“I've seen the remarks some of you made when you found out. How many of you didn't even believe in his dream? His power? Said it was only a matter of time, that he'd been growing crazier, or had lost focus since I came around?!

“Fortunately, fate has chosen a cruel fate for you Doubting Thomases.” Suddenly she was the only one alive in the room, as a wall of burning white energy decimated the entire crowd, blowing across the floor like a tidal wave.

Speaking to no one in particular, Toa continued. “It's time for a new society. The age of the Iso-jin has dawned! And through it, my love will soon return!”

With the Iso-jin's purpose fulfilled Mother had become Toa again, and now she watched from her love's side as he seethed at the thought of the great disaster that had started it all.

“There was no way Gold Roger could have defeated me!” Iso exclaimed. “That mustached buffoon landed on my island, defied my power, and despite facing someone immeasurably more powerful than himself, didn't give up and instead reflected my own attack back at me!

“I cannot believe he had the nerve to put someone like myself through what I've gone through when he had no right to survive that battle! And then to settle for becoming just the King of the Pirates…

“If he hadn't already died I'd kill him myself.”

“Enough with the bullshit!” Luffy cried. All eyes were instantly on the rubberman. “Who cares how he beat you?! Maybe Gold Roger didn't think you were strong enough to attack himself! It doesn't matter; all that does matter is that you lost! He defeated you, and for all the bullshit you've said about him I'll defeat you too!”

Nami shook her head sadly. “You'll beat Iso because of what he said about Gold Roger? What about all he's done to us?”

Monkey D. Luffy—as he often did—completely ignored his navigator. “I'll kick your Iso-jin ass so hard you'll be wishing you were back in that shiny rock!”

Silence fell for a moment before Iso began laughing. “You'll defeat me? Funny. You can beat me but the twelve of you can't? You can beat me but your idol, the very King of the Pirates, couldn't without cheating? You can't win, and you know it.

“And while were at it, don't compare me with those Iso-jin. They were simply tools of my love's to free me, and since they've done their job they're over now. Ian renounced us, after all. Ivan's dead. The soldiers back home were never of much use anyway…”

Chopper's eyes shot open wide. “Wait, Ivan died? Really?!” The reindeer turned to Beast Boy, who tried to avoid his friend's gaze. “How'd I miss that?”

“Dad's…dead?” Ian had finally managed to drag himself to his feet, though Tashigi hadn't been quite so fortunate yet. “And I'll bet that until the very end he still thought you cared about him, Mother.”

Toa didn't deny it; in fact, she actually looked proud.

“And you!” The former Iso-jin now turned to the so-called `Great Power.' “You're may think you're helping us, but don't fool yourself! You're only in this in the first place to gain more power! I can't believe I wasted so many years of my life thinking you were the cure to Ianoa Island's sickness!” His blood-drenched hand clenched the handle of his sword.

Zoro yelled, “Hey dumbass, stand down before your wounds open again!”

Ian ignored his former rival. Energy exploded as he drew the Eehuah. “Crimson Blade!”

A curving streak of deadly energy cut through the sky and attempted to do the same to Iso—but not surprisingly, the powerhouse was utterly unharmed.

“I believe that belongs to me,” Iso said with a smile. He waved both his hands, and the Eehuah and its sheath flew from Ian's grip and into the grasp of their creator. He raised the weapon above his head as if he was about to chop wood with an axe.

Iso laughed as power built in Eehuah. “It's certainly been fun getting to play with you all, but the time has come to put an end to this for good! After all, I can't spend too much time here with you when there are more heroes…”

He turned to Robin as he continued. “…better heroes to get out of the way of my plans.” The Boy Wonder's teeth gnashed at the insinuation. “Don't feel bad though! Your lives aren't without meaning! I mean, you've revived me, haven't you?!”

`This is it!' Toa exclaimed in her mind, `This is what I've been waiting for, the moment I've bragged to Cyborg about and replayed through my Yoken Yoken over and over!

`Now is the time that my love will launch the one, final attack that obliterates the Straw Hat Pirates, Teen Titans, and this worthless base once and for all!'

However, despite whatever the oracle had foreseen, time and fate decided to play games with the future. Just as the great power moved to act on his threats, an explosion rocked the far wall. As rubble poured like dirty rain more blasts detonated, and an entire wall on the far side of the room started to crumble.

“No!” Toa exclaimed, so worked up that she spoke her thoughts aloud. “This isn't what's supposed to happen! Not at all!”

“What's the matter? Can't handle the unexpected?”

From high atop a plateau, where the Stone of Iso Toa had been kept and Iso had been released, a figure moved from the shadows, his black and silver costume torn and shredded but his gait not showing the same signs of damage. As he walked he placed a brand new brown and black mask, with only one eyehole, over his perpetually unseen face.

“Perhaps you should learn to be more flexible,” Slade suggested. “After all, I couldn't let you kill the children. I've reserved that right for myself!”

Both Robin and Toa's face contorted into physics defying shapes. “Slade?!”

“Obviously,” the madman stated, as if he hadn't been blown through a wall by a spiraling energy beam and presumed dead. “That was only a flesh wound compared to some of the things I've been through. However, I know you're capable of worse—and besides, I've been looking forward to killing you too, old woman.

“I've activated the base's self-destruct mechanism. We only have minutes to go before this entire hideout falls in on itself. Tell me, `Great Power', can even you survive that?”

Iso smiled, prepared to answer until Toa leapt into the air and tackled Slade, sending the terrorist across his own base and into the catwalks and beams lining the ceiling. Slade arched into a landing, and the Iso-jin founder wasn't far behind.

“It's your fault!” She exclaimed. “You're the one who's ruined everything!”

Again Toa lunged, but a well-placed roundhouse kick sent her sprawling to the side. “My my, it seems you have some issues to work out,” Slade observed before dashing after her.

“Dammit, the blasts knocked him unconscious again!” Zoro grumbled as he returned from the entrance, Ian in one arm and Tashigi in the other.

“What does it matter, seaweed head?” growled Sanji as Usopp ran behind him, screaming for his life. “We have to worry about getting out of here first!”

Fortunately, an escape was nothing to one Titan. “Now that Iso's been released and his energy isn't being channeled through the walls,” Raven began, “I should be able to phase us out of here and onto the surface.”

Usopp stopped in his tracks before leaping into the air in joy. “Hooray, we're saved!”

“Saved?” Iso suddenly appeared before the group. “I was about to destroy you all in one stroke. What makes you think I can't do it again?” Usopp pointed, but before he could even speak the powerhouse interrupted him. “And before you say it, let me remind you of my teleportation abilities. This death trap has nothing on me.”

Usopp's arm and jaw dropped, but as Iso moved to finish the group for the second time in mere moments he was stopped, this time, by a Redbird boomerang soaring straight into his forehead.

Before he could even recover, an elongated leg slammed into his side. “Rubber Whip!”

“Good distraction guys!” Cyborg called to Luffy and Robin as the two watched their opponent soar sideways. “C'mon, let's get out of here!”

“We can't!” Robin exclaimed.

“What do you mean, Robin?” Starfire cried. “Why can you not leave with us?!”

The Boy Wonder looked pained as he continued. “Because we can't let Iso leave this cave! As powerful as he is here, it's nothing compared to if he got to the surface! Just the sunlight alone would increase his power ten-fold within seconds!”

“So I see,” Zoro smiled as he fingered the hilt of a katana. “We gotta take him down before this cave explodes and we all die. Sounds like fun.”

“No.” Luffy commanded, much to his first mate's surprise. “I'm gonna fight this guy myself!”

Robin smiled. “Me too. You guys get out of here! We're going to need you…in case the plan fails.”

The Tamaranian's normally orange skin grew pale. “If the plan…fails?!”

“Are you sure?” Raven asked as darkness started leaking from her fingertips. The two leaders nodded.

Suddenly the silence of the departing group was broken by one member dashing towards the two stragglers. “Wait!”

Next thing Luffy knew he had been driven into the ground by Nami's fist.

“What was that for?!” The rubberman cried as he rubbed his injured butt.

Nami stuck out her tongue playfully. “For luck!” Then she turned to Robin, pulling something from her pocket. “And this is for you.”

“What—”

“I have no clue what it is, actually,” the navigator admitted. “When Slade captured me I managed to pick his pocket. I was hoping for a bomb or something, but that disk was all I could find.” She sighed, her Straw Hat topped head drooping. “I kept telling myself I would help today, so I'm sorry that's all I could do.”

Slipping the tiny computer chip into his utility belt, Robin didn't seem concerned. “Hey, picking Slade's pocket is impressive enough to me!”

“Now leave the rest to us!” Luffy declared.

A few tears welled in Nami's eyes as she nodded and then turned, dashing back to the retreating group. “Don't die,” she whispered.

Beside her, Beast Boy groaned. “Aww, c'mon! You know you're never supposed to say that!”

“Azarath…”

Rings of black flew from Raven's fingers, surrounding the ten heroes.

“…Metrion…”

The energy grew into seemingly endless walls of darkness, which swallowed them up before taking the shape of an enormous raven.

“…Zinthos!”

With a cry that would put even a mighty lion to shame the portal of cold, lifeless energy took flight and disappeared into the roof, leaving the Titan and the pirate very much alone.

“I can't tell if you're brave, or just plain stupid,” Iso said as he emerged from beneath some wreckage, wiping aside several ton boulders as if they were dandruff.

“I say we're brave,” Robin chuckled as he reached for his belt, “because you've already got stupid taken!”

Luffy cracked his knuckles and looked towards his enemy with fierce eyes that could stop a demon in their tracks. “Yeah, red guy! Your ass is grass!”

Next time: Weaknesses—Fight Against Time and Power!