Follow up to this post ((please don’t add to it at the moment))
Once upon a time, in the kingdom of the “Red Cliffs” a brave knight named Shanks rode forth on his crimson stallion to slay the fearsome dragon that had been terrorizing the border villages. The dragon was known only as a capricious beast with scales that shimmered like fractured sapphires and a temper as explosive as summer lightning. The dragon’s lair was a vast cavern high in an area called “Misty Peaks” where he hoarded not just gold and jewels, but anything that caught his fleeting fancy. A shiny armor, bright banners, and, on that fateful day, the knight himself.
Shanks had charged into the cave with sword raised, shouting a challenge that echoed off the walls. The dragon, lounging atop a pile of treasure, had simply tilted his massive head, grinned with rows of jagged teeth, and exhaled a puff of sparkling blue flame that disarmed the knight without burning him. Before Shanks could react, the dragon’s clawed tail had coiled around him like a living rope and yanked him deeper into the darkness.
That was the last time anyone saw of Sir Shanks the Bold.
Or at least that's what the survivors of that day claimed to witness.
The kingdom mourned. Bards sang of the fallen hero. Rescue parties were sent first, the king’s finest knights, then mercenaries, then desperate villagers with pitchforks and prayers. None returned. The “Misty Peaks” swallowed them all, or so the stories claimed. Years turned into decades. The tale of Shanks became legend: the noble knight kidnapped by the mad dragon, never to be seen again. Children were told he had died bravely. Old men raised toasts to his memory. Even the king’s own son, now ruling in his father’s stead, declared the knight lost forever.
But one boy never believed it.
“Shanks didn’t die,” he declared, stuffing his mouth with meat. “He’s too strong for that. And that dragon doesn’t sound all that scary!” The villagers laughed.
His name was Luffy, a wild-haired orphan from the coastal village of Foosha. He remembered meeting the knight a handful of times, and yet it was enough to inspire him to become an adventurer. The last memory he had of Shanks was the day he departed to fight the dragon, giving him his straw hat and telling him to keep it safe until he came back for it.
Luffy grew up laughing with the villagers who laughed at him, but the belief never left him. He trained relentlessly, climbing cliffs, wrestling bears, and sailing rickety boats through storms. He dreamed of adventure, of finding his hero and bringing him home. When he turned eighteen, he set out with nothing but a straw hat, a rubbery determination that defied explanation, and a small crew of misfits he called his “party.”
They sailed the seas, fought sea kings, toppled corrupt lords, and became known across the land as the “Straw Hat Adventurers”. Their fame spread, but Luffy never forgot his goal.
“We’re going to save Shanks!” he would shout, fist raised to the sky, every time someone asked what drove him.
Many years after the kidnapping, long enough for the grey to touch the beards of those who remembered the original tale, Luffy’s party stood at the foot of the “Misty Peaks”. The mountains loomed like angry giants, wreathed in perpetual mist. Villagers in the nearest hamlet warned them off.
“The dragon still lives up there,” an old woman croaked. “Anyone who goes never comes back. Sir Shanks died long ago, boy. Don’t throw your life away.”
Luffy grinned, stretching his arms behind his head. “Shanks isn’t dead. He’s waiting for me. Let’s go, guys!”
The climb was brutal. Winds howled like vengeful spirits. Narrow ledges crumbled underfoot. They fought off rock golems and mist wraths summoned by the dragon’s ancient wards.
At last, they reached the cavern mouth; the entrance glowed with inner crystals. A faint, warm light spilled from deeper inside. No roaring dragon greeted them, only silence and the scent of roasted meat and spices.
“Shanks? You in here?” Luffy crept forward, straw hat pulled low.
They moved cautiously into the cave. Piles of gold and jewels glittered, but the space looked strangely lived-in: thick rugs, bookshelves carved into stone, a large hearth, and a massive bed piled with silks and furs.
it didn’t take long for them to find whom they were looking for.
On that bed lay a man with familiar red hair, now streaked with a few strands of gray. Scars crisscrossed his bare chest and arm. His left arm was gone, replaced by a well-crafted prosthetic of black metal and leather. He was sleeping peacefully, breathing slowly and deeply, a faint smile on his lips.
“It’s him…” Luffy whispered in disbelief, eyes wide. “Shanks!”
Zoro’s hand rested on his swords. “He looks hurt. Scars everywhere. We need to get him out before the dragon returns.”
Nami nodded. “Quickly and quietly. He’s probably been tortured for years.”
They approached the bed. Sanji gently shook Shanks’ shoulder. “Hey, Mr. Knight. Time to wake up.”
Shanks startled awake, sitting up sharply. Confusion clouded his face as he stared at the group of strangers surrounding his bed.
“Who the hell are you? And what are you doing in my home?”
“I’m Monkey D. Luffy! I came to save you from the dragon, just like I promised myself when I was a kid!” Luffy beamed.
“Luffy?..huh? Wait, Save me?” Shanks blinked, still half-asleep. “Wait- …hold on-”
Before he could finish, strong hands grabbed his arm. Zoro and Franky moved to lift him carefully from the bed, while Chopper prepared a stretcher from his medical bag.
“Don’t worry,” Usopp said dramatically. “We’ll carry you down the mountain! The dragon won’t catch us!”
Shanks’ eyes widened in alarm.
“Hey! Stop! What are yo-”
A thunderous roar shook the cavern.
“WHAT IS GOING ON HERE!?”
The dragon burst into the open space in his full form, massive, blue-and-red scales flashing, wings half-spread, crimson spikes bristling. In his mouth, he had what looked like a giant sake, when he lowered it fresh fruit and wild herbs spilled out. His mismatched eyes blazed with fury as he saw strangers trying to carry Shanks away from the bed.
“Unhand him!” the dragon bellowed, voice echoing like cracking thunder. He lunged forward, tail lashing. “Who dares touch what is mine!?”
“We’re taking Shanks home!” Luffy spun around, fists raised. “He’s been your prisoner long enough, you overgrown lizard!”
“Prisoner?!” The dragon’s roar turned savage. “You rubber-brained fool, it is my ma-”
The dragon couldn’t finish his words as the fight erupted in an instant.
Zoro drew his swords and charged, slicing at the dragon’s scaled side. The beast swatted him away with a wing, sending him skidding across the rugs. Sanji launched a blazing kick toward the dragon’s snout. The dragon exhaled a controlled burst of sparkling blue flame that forced the cook to dodge. Franky fired a shoulder cannon, but a giant tail whipped out and smashed the projectile mid-air. Luffy stretched his arm back for a Gum-Gum Pistol, but the creature’s massive claw pinned him against the wall, not hard enough to crush, but firm enough to hold.
“Enough!” Shanks shouted, voice cutting through the chaos like a blade.
There was a pulse of energy that forced everyone to freeze.
Shanks had climbed off the bed, prosthetic arm gleaming in the crystal light. He looked like equal parts exasperated and overwhelmed. The dragon immediately pulled back, lowering his head toward Shanks with a worried rumble. The Straw Hats stood panting, weapons still ready, utterly confused.
The dragon’s form shimmered. Scales shrank, bones reshaped in a swirl of magic, until he stood as a tall, lean man with wild blue hair, dramatic markings around his eyes, small crimson horns, and a long, scaled tail that flicked anxiously. He still had sharp teeth and faint sapphire patterns on his skin.
Shanks stepped between the two groups, raising his hand.
“Everyone, calm down. Buggy, stop. They’re not enemies. They’re… well, they think they’re rescuing me.”
The dragon-man’s expression crumpled. His tail drooped, and his voice, usually theatrical and loud, came out small and hurt.
“Rescuing you?... So, you do want to leave me. After all this time… you were just waiting for someone to take you away.”
“Buggy, no.” Shanks’s face fell.
“I knew it!” Buggy continued, voice cracking as he backed away a step. “All those rescue stories… You never really chose this. You were just… tolerating me. The loud, flashy dragon who stole you. And now your hero friends are here to save the poor damsel.”
The party started protesting at once.
“That’s not what we meant!” Nami said.
“We thought you were torturing him!” Chopper added, ears drooping.
Luffy scratched his head. “Yeah, the legends said-”
Shanks snapped, louder than any of them had ever heard him. His single hand reached out and gently but firmly pulled Buggy closer. The dragon-man looked on the verge of tears, something no legend had ever suggested a dragon could do. Shanks’ expression was torn: love and worry for his partner warring with the chaos of the misunderstanding.
He turned to the Straw Hats, voice tight with exhaustion. “All of you, out, Now! Leave the cavern. I need to talk to Buggy alone.”
Luffy opened his mouth. “But Shanks-”
“Out, Luffy,” Shanks said firmly, though not unkindly. “Give us space. Please.”
The party hesitated, exchanging uneasy glances. Zoro sheathed his swords with a grunt. Sanji muttered something about “poor lovebirds” under his breath. One by one they filed out of the cavern and down the rocky path just outside the entrance.
Luffy, however, refused to go far.
“I’m not leaving until I talk to him properly!”
He declared. The crew set up camp right there on a wide ledge outside the cave mouth: tents, a small fire, and Sanji’s cooking pot. They waited under the stars, the mist swirling below them like a sea of clouds.
Inside, Shanks spent a long while comforting his dragon. Soft voices drifted faintly to the waiting party, reassurances, gentle touches, Buggy’s occasional dramatic sniffles, followed by Shanks quiet laughter. Eventually, the sounds quietened.
Hours later, as dawn painted the peaks in soft gold, Shanks emerged alone from the cavern. He looked tired but calm, and his red hair was tousled by the mountain wind. Buggy stayed inside, giving them privacy.
Luffy jumped up immediately.
“Shanks! Are you okay? We didn’t mean to make things weird!”
Shanks sat down on a rock near the campfire, gesturing for the whole party to gather. They did, still confused but respectful.
“Listen,” Shanks began, voice steady. “What you saw in there… it wasn’t what the legends say.”
“Then what is the truth?” asked Ussop, Shanks found his words before continuing.
“Buggy did kidnap me all those years ago. I came here ready to fight and die gloriously. Instead, he disarmed me with a puff of glittery flame and wrapped me up in his tail like a prize. I was furious at first. But then… he started talking. Complaining about knights interrupting his naps, showing off his treasure, and asking why humans always assumed dragons were evil. He was lonely, not monstrous. Over weeks, arguments turned into conversations. Conversations turned into companionship. And somewhere along the way, it became more.”
“But he took your arm!” exclaimed chopper in horror. He touched the place where his arm used to be.
“I lost the arm in an avalanche during one of our early ‘adventures’ together, trying to retrieve a silly jeweled crown Buggy wanted. He cried harder than I did and spent months crafting this prosthetic with his own magic and claws…. He’s not my captor…. Buggy is my mate... My partner. I am staying because I want to.
“But many people came to rescue you, none of them saw that you are buddy buddy with the dragon?” Zoro asked.
“The rescue parties? We scared most of them off together because we wanted peace. I never sent a word back because… well, the kingdom wouldn’t understand. A knight happily living with the “evil” dragon? They’d call it enchantment or treason.”
Shanks smiled softly, eyes warm with memory.
“Buggy can be loud, dramatic, and he still sets the curtains on fire when he sneezes in dragon form. But he makes me laugh every day. He listens when I need it. And I love him, scales, horns, clownish hair, and all. He’s not holding me prisoner. I chose this life with him.”
Luffy listened with wide eyes, then broke into a huge grin.
“Shishishi! So you really are happy! The legends got it all wrong, you weren’t a damsel at all!”
The rest of the party relaxed, tension melting into understanding smiles and a few embarrassed chuckles.
“Explains why he fought like he was protecting something precious.” Zoro grunted.
“We really walked into the middle of a lovers’ quarrel…” Nami sighed.
Sanji lit a new cigarette. “As long as the knight is happy and well-fed, that’s what matters.”
Buggy’s voice called from inside the cavern, still a little sulky but warming.
“If you idiots are done misunderstanding, there’s breakfast! And don’t touch the gold without asking!”
Shanks laughed and stood up.
“Come on. He’s shy about apologies, but he’ll make you the best spiced fruits you’ve ever tasted. Just… maybe don’t call him an overgrown lizard again. He’s sensitive.”
“Plenty of meat,” Shanks promised.
Luffy punched the air before running inside the cavern. The Straw Hats followed the knight back into the warm, lived-in cavern.
The old legend of the kidnapped knight quietly began to rewrite itself in their hearts. Shanks was no damsel in distress. He was exactly where he belonged, loved fiercely by a dragon who had once seemed like a monster, but had become his home.
And high in the “Misty Peaks” two unlikely souls continued their story together, while a new generation of adventurers carried the truth back down the mountain: sometimes the greatest rescue is realizing the one you came to save never needed saving at all.
snowghoul
theartofmadeline
andulkaphoto
2087
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