She Came From Outta Space... I Think?

War... War Never Changes... That's What The Video Games Say

"This is our last shot,"

Those words... Those words filled Tani's gut with a feeling of dreaded anticipation.

Trip had dragged Tani into a small cabin, locked the doors, and explained everything.

"Oscar didn't describe just how brutal this war was gonna be..." Trip groaned. "It's a straight up blood bath," her expression was grim.

"But... But the fatality rates?"

"Those bitches fluctuate like crazy!" Trip flung an arm up in exacerbation. "One small change, and boom! Your 3% can jump to a 33%."

"Shit... This is butterfly effect rules," Tani cursed. That level of uncertainty, there's so much that can and will go wrong. "What if we're making things worse?" Tani panicked. Trip gave her a glare.

"This world can go to shit for all I care, if I can't save Ace. There's no point in living." Trip leaned back against the wall. Tani let out a sigh.

She understood the dedication. Tani would do the same for Luffy, at the drop of a hat. No questions asked. To hell with a world that lacked Luffy.

"How many?" Tani choked up on the words. Trip gave her a side glance.

"Times have I watched him die? Watched my partner be brutally murdered by spears? Sea stone bullets? Admiral lava bitch punching a clean chunk through his abdomen?" Trip's throat felt like it had a lump growing in it. Flashes of every single fatality, passed her in a blur.

She didn't even notice the stray tears that trailed down her cheek.

"Too many... Too many fucking times." Trip slammed her wrapped fist into the wall behind her. Tani didn't know what to do, she wasn't great at the whole comforting thing. Plus Trip was in a very volatile state.

"We can win this time," Tani promised. "You're not alone." Trip let out a defeated chuckle.

"What's so funny?" Tani asked, cheeks gaining heat from slight embarrassment.

"It's nothing... You just say that little phrase during every version of this day." she explained. Turning to face the younger girl fully. "It's nice... Knowing that I'll get to hear those kind words, every time." she sighed softly.

A loud knock at the door interrupted the girls conversation. The door swinging open to reveal a scantily clad okama extra.

"Jinbe has requested both of your presences." they informed, before running off to do their own thing. The girls exchanged a glance, before rising to leave the room.

The girls silently walked towards the Fishman warlord, who stood at the helm of the ship. Steering it towards the Marineford gate of justice.

"You called," Tani spoke first. Jinbe looked at her with a solemn smile.

"Luffy's been looking down. Can you go check on him for me?" he asked kindly. Tani gave a nod, before leaving Trip behind with Jinbe.

The masthead was boring compared to the bright lion head of the Sunny, or the simple sheep head of the Merry. Luffy sat with his legs crossed, his hat resting on his back. The wind blew in his hair.

Tani noticed the little slip of burning paper in Luffy's hand, he stared at it blankly.

"Hey Lu," Tani greeted gently. Luffy looked up at her, instantly giving her a small smile. He scooted over, Tani sat down beside him. "How's Ace doing?" she looked at the paper. There was half a fingers worth of length left.

"He's a little roughed up right now." Luffy tucked the paper back onto his hat. "That's ok, he's been through worse." Luffy assured himself. "There's no way he can die. I won't let him," Tani nodded.