One Step Behind

Toes over the edge

This... was insane. Completely and utterly insane! The sun had been... she couldn't see it anymore... It was blotted out! By the immense walls of water that had now risen up to almost the height of the top of the Marine Headquarters! Forming the biggest tsunami Strauss had ever seen in her life... not that she'd seen many.

It was dumb. She should have anticipated something like this ever since Whitebeard sent off that quake. Even if she hadn't quite known what it was at the time. She'd heard stories when working in Sabaody about earthquakes and tsunamis... and never quite put two and two together. An earthquake displaces matter. When water is displaced, it causes a wave. She could remember talking about it with Law when wondering about how currents under the surface affected the Polar Tang.

Law...

Strauss sucked in a deep, deep, breath. The sheer force of which making her face regain the tension she needed to keep her emotions under wraps. He would be fine. He wasn't an idiot. Hopefully he'd seen the signs sooner than she had, and moved the Tang into a safer location. She couldn't worry about him now.

Thankfully everyone's attention was pulled towards the waves, and their almost cloud-like surf foaming at the very top of the watery walls. So she had some space to school here expression once more before people noticed.

Whitebeard's laugh continued, bellowing around the island with so much energy and mirth that it was hard to believe that this was the beginning of a war. Ace himself seemed to be experiencing a strange mixture of horror and excitement... for reasons Strauss wasn't quite sure of. That or... she was choosing not to. She wasn't sure at this point.

So much adrenaline was pumping through her veins that thinking straight was becoming increasingly difficult.

A blur caught her eye as a large figure leapt into the air from below. She deliberately lowered her head, hoping the shadow of her hat brim would be enough to hide the fact that she really didn't belong. But she heard the crackling. And saw the wall of water develop what must be a thick layer of ice, stretching from the top to the bottom.

"ICE AGE!"

Despite it being so far away (relatively speaking... the wall of water had advanced too close to the island for her own comfort) the air seemed to grow colder. Although perhaps that was mostly psychological than anything physical. With the way her flesh was erupting into goosebumps, she couldn't trust anything anymore.

"Aokiji."

That single word and the temperature descended further.

Whitebeard spat out a laugh. "You damn youngster!"

More cracks. "Partisan."

Several icy spears entered into view, aimed directly at the pirate. Whitebeard slammed his fist against the air once again, shattering the ice into miniscule dust.

"Oh."

Strauss risked the glance up to see the Admiral himself... shatter. Compressing into a pile of ice shards that crashed into the open water of the dock below.

Crrr...

Before she had time to blink it was ice. The entire circle of water engulphing the Whitebeard fleet... Ice. Thick and spiked, and trailing up the sides of Marineford's ramparts like a living animal.

She let out a breath. And watched it condense in front of her.

This was... She stifled a shudder as the first fire of cannons echoed out towards the Moby Dick, the sound almost deafening after so much tense silence. She'd known a little about the Admiral's incredible devil fruits... and about Aokiji's ice... but seeing it in action was...