BONDING, TROUBLE & THE BARATIE
East Blue Saga - Baratie Arc - Episode 19 - 20
Dakota's POV:
We are sailing out in the sea, I know it's obvious, but anyway, we are all doing our own thing on the small ship as Zoro is snoozing again, Nami is reading over some maps, Usopp is staring out into the ocean in his own little world, and Luffy is goofing off. I was playing with my red cards in just a yellow bikini top and denim shorts showing off my tattoo of roses on my right shoulder and hiding my compass tattoo on my ribcage. I got them a few years back as a tribute to my mother and brother, as they were her favourite. I also wear my favourite black trilby hat with my red, yellow, blue and white beaded bracelets on my left arm that are symbols of my brothers and mine's relationship. I start playing solitaire when Usopp begins talking to himself. "Foolish Pirates... you still dare to attack the Going Merry knowing it's led by the great Captain Usopp?!" He jumps down behind me, swinging the wooden stick he found earlier; the slight breeze of his swings moves my playing cards around, ruining my game! "A violent battle ensues!" He comes out of his delusion and sees the rest of us not paying him any mind, and Zoro gives off a loud yawn. "Hey, can't you guys... pay some attention to people?"
"IT'S DONE!" Luffy explains, startling Usopp as he jumps up behind him, holding a square piece of black cloth. Luffy turns around, holding the black fabric showing a terrible pirate flag attempt, but he smiles, seeming pleased with himself. "Look, it's our pirate flag! After Usopp and Sis joined us, we now have five people. So we need our own mark." We all look at our so-called mark with mixed feelings that are all bad.
"That is... our mark?" Zoro asks Luffy, who grins broadly, not seeming fazed by the terrible attempt.
"What do you think? Nice isn't it?" Luffy asks us, still giving us all a big grin.
"A pirate's flag is a symbol of death and terror," Zoro explains the meaning of a pirate flag.
"I do feel the terror, but it's the terror of your talent," Nami adds; I know it won't hurt Luffy's feelings, but I don't like what she said, but still, she isn't wrong.
"Small children would just run off laughing," I add, too, looking at the poor excuse of our pirate flag.
"You should have discussed it with me first. How can you forget this genius painter?" Usopp pretends to scold us, smiling slightly and almost seems over-proud of his abilities.
"Genius painter?" Luffy questions as we all look at the long nose boy.
"I've had 50 years of experience painting on walls. When it comes to painting, no one does it better than me." Usopp boasts. We'll see about that.
"Incredible, 50 years!" Luffy buys into the lie quickly due to being overly gullible
"That means... you are an old man!" Zoro mocks him.
"He does look good for his age," I smirk, playing along.
"Maybe he has 5 or 6 grandchildren already." Nami, too mocks his outrageous lie.
"That's even more incredible!" Luffy falls further.
"Hey!" Usopp snaps, slapping Luffy slightly and soon gets to work on our mark as I do the same.
"Now, take a look at this masterpiece," Usopp announces and holds up his mark with a skull with a long nose and a slingshot. "Tada!"
"Who told you to make your own flag?" Luffy asks Usopp, annoyed at him, and the two boys hit him over the head.
"Yeah, well, that's nothing," I smirk and show them my masterpiece of the flag. I know Luffy will want it. They all look agape, Luffy begins clapping, and I hand it over to him. "It's yours, Luf, but don't ruin it." I know he wants to keep it for himself; I know my brothers well. "Come on, Usopp, let's do it properly now," I warn him lightly.
"Right!" He yells, and we begin painting again, come up with the correct mark, and show it to the rest of us. "Well, I guess it's something like this."
"Eh, this is pretty good." Nami marvels over the flag mark.
"That's good; I like it." Luffy agrees, still holding onto the flag I did for him in his hand.
"So, this is our mark from now on, eh." Zoro chimes in, crouching down next to me.
"Okay... Usopp, paint this on the sail!" Luffy orders him, pointing at the mainsail above us, and he looks up too.
"I didn't know you could draw so well, Dakota." Zoro compliments and looks up at me, and I smile.
"There's more about me that you don't know yet," I smirk, looking down at him; he seems at ease more around me since I am an open book. Anything you want to know about me, I will tell them. There are no secrets among crew members.
Usopp finishes the mark on our mainsail, and we all look at it. "Okay, it's finished! Now the pirate ship Going Merry is complete!" Luffy laughs and looks at the rest of us as we stand before him.
ONE PIECE - BARATIE ARC
It's been a day since we made our pirate flag and found an island full of extraordinary creatures with a man in a box who looks after the animals, but at the moment, we are all resting when a loud crash comes from behind me. I turn from my new book to see my baby brother with a crate. "What?" We ask as we look startled at the rubber boy.
"Whew, this is heavy," Luffy complains; he is stupid sometimes; if it's heavy, why carry the crate?
"What is that?" Nami asks him as she stops reading her map.
"I found these in the storage rooms." Luffy answers but doesn't answer the question, opening up the wooden crate with red paint spelling out 'DANGER!' on the side.
"Aren't those cannonballs?" Nami asks, looking at them; I pick one up and throw it a few times before returning it.
"I figured we could practice using our hard-earned cannon," Luffy merely says, and I go over to Zoro, seeing that he's still snoozing.
"Then I'll take care of it," Usopp tells Luffy and begins to reminisce or lie. "I think I was three...travelling halfway around the world, riding on a cannonball..." But Luffy isn't paying any mind as he looks over the cannon.
"How do you use this?" He asks, scratching at the straw hat.
"Listen to me!" Usopp snaps, looking over at the rubber idiot.
"Hey, Zoro! Do you know how to use this?!" Luffy shouts over to us, but Zoro's still sleeping soundly.
"He's been sleeping for a while," I tell Luffy and return to reading my book as I had no interest in the cannon.
"No fun." Luffy sulks, pouting a little, but Nami tries lifting his spirit.
"If we go a little south, there's a perfect place for practising," Nami tells him as she looks over the map.
"Really? Let's go, let's go!" Luffy cheers, and we make heading so the boys can practice.
"Hey, can you shoot cannons as well as I can?" Usopp asks, trying to boast. "People call me the cannon master... Listen!" As Luffy continues to ignore him.
ONE PIECE - BARATIE ARC
We finally find the place Nami was talking about, and the boys begin to load the cannon, but Luffy has the first go missing the mark, but the loud boom of the cannon startles the sleeping swordsman. "I missed," Luffy states the obvious as we watch on.
"What are you guys doing?" Zoro asks the two boys below us as he sits up next to me; he turns to me, seeing as I am looking over. I have abandoned my book for now.
"We're practising shooting the cannon." Luffy answers. "But it's harder than I thought it would be."
"I told you, let me show you how it's done," Usopp tells him, pointing towards himself with a big smile. "Eh, with the current distance... this is about right?" Usopp positions the cannon as he mutters and fires the cannonball at the rock columns. "Fire!" The cannonball sails through the air and hits the target right in the middle, dust flies from the impact, and the top falls to pieces down into the water below.
"Amazing!" Luffy marvels, looking at the decimated bile of rocks falling below the vast waters. "You hit it with one shot!"
"It really hit the target! Of course, when it comes to aiming, I know everything. So you believe me now?" Usopp asks, seeming full of himself even though, just a second ago, he didn't believe it either.
"You're the Sniper from now on." Luffy awards him nodding his head erratically; I look over to see Zoro glancing down at them with a smile, seeming content with their antics.
"What? I'm not the Captain?" Usopp asks, seeming disappointed.
"I'm the Captain!" Luffy objects, annoyed at the long nose sniper.
"They already seem close, must be the hat," I comment, looking over at them next to Zoro; he looks at me and seems confused. "Didn't Luffy tell you about the hat? It was my Dad's, but he gave it to Luffy when he left me on Luffy's island." I explain and look down at the two arguing boys.
"Yeah, I remember you saying that Usopp's Dad was on your ship?" He inquires, and I nod.
"Uncle Yasopp, he's fun to be around, though all my Uncles are," I tell him, and I know this crew was getting more and more interesting by the second I spent with them.
"Seems nice; why didn't you go back to them once you left the island?" Zoro asks me, I always wanted to go back, but then I remember my promise to my Dad that I would help my Baby Brother fulfil his and my dream.
"I promised my Dad I'd help Luffy become King of the Pirates and fulfil my own dream. Till that happens, I'm just going to have to wait." I answer and look at him, and I have to ask. "What's your dream?"
"To become the World's Greatest Swordsman." He answers in a beat, and I smile; I guess my Uncle will have a good fight on his hands once they meet, but for now, I hope it's not too soon.
"I hope you fulfil your dream Zoro," I tell him and walk off smiling; he really is fascinating.
ONE PIECE - BARATIE ARC
An hour later, we get bored, and all come inside to the kitchen to laze about; Zoro is sitting against the fridge while the rest of us sit around the table, and the boys are still going on about the position of Captain. "That's okay; I'll let you have that position for now. However, if you do a poor job, I'm gonna replace you." Usopp so graciously offers. If anyone is Captain next, it would be someone who spent 11 years on a ship and is the daughter of a very famous pirate. Me. Nah, I don't want the responsibility, and I know Luffy will do a fantastic job of being our Captain.
"That's fine. Before that, I've been thinking. Before going to the Grand Line, we need to fill one more position." Luffy explains, and I know what is coming next.
"Right, and we have such a nice kitchen!" Nami compliments, looking around the room. It was nice, but I bet that isn't what Luffy was thinking about. "If you pay me, I'll do it."
"It's an important position for any long voyages." Zoro cuts in, but they are still on their own marks but not Luffy's.
"That's right; it's someone that we must have on a pirate ship!" Luffy exclaims, thinking they are thinking the same as him. "A musician!"
"Are you an idiot?" Zoro asks him, annoyed as I couldn't help but laugh at my Baby Brother's idiocy.
"What the hell do you think sailing is?!" Nami hollers at our Captain in disbelief.
"I thought you were actually saying something constructive for once." Usopp sighs in disappointment at our Captain.
"To be honest, Luf, I thought you'd be thinking with your stomach for once." I laugh; I mean, he usually thinks about his stomach, and he needs a good cook to keep up with his hunger.
"But pirates have to sing." Luffy tries to defend himself, but it's cut short as we all hear a loud crash on the deck.
"Come out, you pirates!" A loud, angry voice shouts on the deck, gaining our attention, and Luffy goes off, opening the door with me behind him as the bodyguard of the crew.
ONE PIECE - BARATIE ARC
Looking out the door, I see a lone man wearing sunglasses and a blue hoodie, he is brandishing a sword, but it isn't very intimidating to look at, and I notice a tattoo on the side of his face that was the kanji for 'sea'. "What, what?!" Luffy demands as we look down at the stowaway. "Who are you?"
"Shut up!" The man snaps at us. "It doesn't matter who I am!" With that said, he swings his sword down on the bannister in front of Luffy and me; I use my Demon Speed to pick up Luffy and jump out of the way onto the deck near the stowaway. "I've killed a countless number of pirates. But a no-name pirate like you dares try to kill my partner?!" He accuses us, but I leap away again as he slashes his sword onto the deck where we stand.
"What do you mean, partner?" Luffy asks the stowaway, clueless; I guess it happened when Usopp hit the rock column earlier, and he and his partner were there. "I don't know what's going on? But don't damage our ship!" He demands and stretches his arms out to the stowaway grabbing his head, and flips him over our heads into the opposite wall. The stowaway lands on the wall upside down with a loud crash and slides down onto the floor in defeat.
"Al-Almost had them..." He groans as he slides down to the floor.
"What was that?" I question, looking at the two of them.
"Hey, you! Aren't you, Johnny?" I hear Zoro shout down to the knocked-out man on the deck.
"Who is it? Calling out my name with no respect!" The man named Johnny snaps, looking up at the voice to see Zoro looking down at him from the railing and springs up, looking up surprised. "Big Bro Zoro!" He yelps in shock.
"So it is you, Johnny." Zoro clarifies, seeming almost pleased.
"You're on a pirate ship, Big Bro?" Johnny demands in a shaky voice. "W-Why?"
"What's wrong? Isn't Yosaku with you? You're not together?" Zoro asks his friend, I guess but ignores the question by asking his own. Johnny tells Zoro to follow him, and they go to the ship's side. Looking over the side, I could still hear them.
"Y-Yosaku is..." Johnny cries, and Zoro awkwardly pats him on the shoulder as his friend cries over their partner. I have enough now; I want to know what is happening and walk over to see a small boat with a man bleeding over the side. We get the injured Yosaku onto our ship and take a look over him; I thought so.
"He's ill right, Johnny?" I ask him.
"He's ill?" Zoro asks his friend looking down at him.
"Yosaku is... he was perfectly fine until a while ago... then he grew pale and started to lose consciousness... I have no clue why. Lately, his teeth started falling out... and his old wounds have started to bleed again... I just don't know what to do anymore! So I took him to that rocky island to let him rest, but... then your ship attacked us!" Johnny cries with tears falling from under his sunglasses; I look at the boys shaking my head as they look at the poor man, shocked.
"I-I'm sorry!" They both apologise, bowing to him, but he seems to have calmed down slightly.
"If all problems could be solved with an apology, we wouldn't need the police." Johnny comments, and I feel like adding 'or me', but the boys grow scared of what they have done. "Isn't that right? Partner!" Johnny starts crying again. "Big Bro, is he... going to die?"
"Are you stupid?" Nami asks, walking towards us and examining the sick Yosaku.
"What?" Zoro demands, looking at her, which suggests he still doesn't fully trust her, and I knew he only trusts me a little more than her. As she examines Yosaku, Johnny stops her grabbing her arms and spits in her face as he yells at her.
"What are you...? What're you doing to my partner here? I'll kill you!" Nami, having enough, pushes his face away from hers and takes charge.
"Luffy! Usopp!" She calls out to them, and I see them slightly crying from the guilt. "There are some limes in the storage, aren't there?" She asks them and doesn't get a response. "Are you listening? Bring 'em to me right now!" She snaps them out of it, and they scramble to the door, pushing each other out of the way, trying to get there first or just away from the fuming Nami first.
"Aye! Aye!" They exclaim as they fight.
"Get out of my way!" Luffy yells as he pushes the long nose boy to the side.
"You get out of my way! Hey, you're the one in my way!" Usopp yells back and pushes the rubber boy away, but they both fly forward onto the floor. They soon return with a barrel of limes; Nami instructs them to put the lime juice in Yosaku's mouth.
"He's got scurvy, huh, Nami?" I ask, looking on; she nods her head in confirmation.
"Scurvy?" Johnny asks. I can't believe he sails and doesn't know about such illnesses.
"We've got to him in time; he should recover in a few days," Nami explains, which excites Johnny.
"A-Are you sure, Big Sis?! I'm really grateful for Big Sis's..." Johnny spits excited but gets cut off as Nami pushes his face away from her, having enough spit flying onto her face.
"Stop spitting all over me, please," Nami orders him, gets serious, and starts explaining what was wrong with Yosaku. "In the past, it was an incurable disease that plagued sailors."
"Come on, drink up.." The two boys mutter to the ill man.
"But now, it's just a minor problem, caused by the lack of Vitamin C. In the past, ships couldn't carry enough fresh fruit to avoid it." She continues to explain, and the boys begin stuffing the limes into the unconscious man's mouth with force. Idiots.
"You sure are something." Luffy cheers, looking up at us but looking at Nami with a cheerful smile. "Just like a doctor and Dakota."
"I've always known you were smart women. Yep, that's right." Usopp chimes in; I won't take offence, but Nami snaps.
"You should of at least know what this was! It could happen to you sooner or later, you know!" She yells at them, and then Yosaku spits out the limes and sits up looking better; the two men celebrate, spinning around and cheering.
"It's working! He's recovering!" Johnny cheers as the two bounty hunters spin around. "Welcome back, partner!"
"You don't recover that quickly!" Nami yells, and Yosaku and Johnny stop their little celebration and turn to face us.
"Pardon us for not introducing ourselves..." They say together as they strike a strange pose.
"My name is Johnny." He introduces himself as he poses with his fists clenched, one leaning against his cheek with the kanji for 'sea' and the elbow resting on the other arm, which crosses over his chest.
"And I'm Yosaku." He introduces himself in his pose, similar to Johnny's pose, but he has his hand holding a cigarette.
"We are the pirate hunters!" They say together; I know they are bounty hunters, but the men seem weak.
"Big Bro Zoro used to be one of us too," Johnny explains how they knew Zoro. "It's a pleasure to meet you all." Zoro walks over to them, passing the rest of us.
"I never expected to see you guys here!" Zoro tells them, seeming pleased nevertheless.
"But, I'm even more surprised. The pirate hunter Zoro has become a pirate himself." Johnny replies, slightly shocked.
"I guess." Zoro just shrugs it off and seems to give a special greeting.
"Big Bro." Johnny takes his hand in his, and Yosaku struggles to try to reach for their outstretched hands and falls to the floor, looking terrible again. "Hey, partner?!" He panics, looking at his friend.
ONE PIECE - BARATIE ARC
We get Yosaku into the boy's bedroom to lie down and recover as the rest of us sit in the kitchen doing our own thing. Such as I am reading, Nami is sorting out her maps, Zoro is napping or just resting against the wall, Luffy and Usopp are chatting, and Johnny worrying about his partner in the boy's room. "Let this be a lesson for us," Nami warns the others lightly while writing.
"Yeah." Zoro agrees, not looking up. "These kinds of things can happen on a long voyage."
"Especially since we don't have much room for food on this ship," Usopp adds.
"Speaking of which, we should get somebody who'd know about this dietary business," I tell them as Luffy munches on a piece of bread.
"Dietary, eh... I've got it! We need a sea cook!" Luffy exclaims, making us all look in surprise at our idiot Captain. "Let's go look for a sea cook!"
"I get it! Then we'd have all sorts of delicious food to eat!" Usopp chimes in, getting excited.
"EX-ACT-LY!" Luffy cheers and sticks his tongue out, probably thinking about all the food he wants the cook to make him. Mostly meat, I bet.
"If you're looking for such a cook, I know where you could go," Johnny tells us.
"Yeah, that's the spirit! So, where would that be?" Luffy asks the pirate hunter.
"But it's pretty close to the Grand Line, and the man Big Bro's been hunting for, Hawk-Eye, is around there too," Johnny says and walks over to stand in front of the swordsman; man, he was too determined as he looks up with a grin clutching at his swords. "It's direction is... North-northeast!" He points his arm in that direction, and we all smirk, thinking of what's to come, and we set a course for our destination.
ONE PIECE - BARATIE ARC
We sail all night, and finally, it's morning; Nami is so much trouble when she sleeps, always muttering about her precious treasure. It gets annoying. Fast. So I sleep for a few hours before training a little, and now everyone is awake, and Johnny finally tells us our destination's name. "Our destination is... the floating restaurant... Baratie!" He exclaims, and it comes into view. It is a floating sea restaurant with a fish head and tail at either end; it looks quaint. Everyone looks at the restaurant in amazement and awe as the two boys look with drool, mostly Luffy. "Whatcha guys think, huh?"
"Oh, that's a humongous fish!" Luffy exclaims, drooling more.
"Isn't it amazing!" Nami gushes with sparkles in her eyes.
"It really is." Usopp agrees, pumping his fists into the air.
"Amazing!" Luffy cheers, jumping on his toes, and I laugh at their joyful antics, but that cuts short when a Marine Ship warning horn cuts into our tranquil joys, and the ship pulls up beside us.
"What?! Way out here?!" I hear Yosaku yelp; I huff in annoyance at the sight and know we will be in trouble now. "A Marine ship?!"
"It didn't come all this way just to attack us, did it?" Usopp questions, looking slightly worried.
"No, you're not known pirates, and they don't know that I'm here," I answer, looking at the ship with narrowed eyes.
"I smell trouble," Zoro mutters, gripping the railing tightly.
"Just out of the blue?" Nami ponders, looking at the more giant ship, and Johnny badly sneaks away from the rest of us, and a man on the other vessel walks over to the side.
"I've never seen your pirate mark before." The Marine addresses us, and Johnny denies being pirates as the two pirate hunters cower behind the door. The Marine smacks his hand, showing off his iron bar with screws lined along his knuckles. "I'm the Marine Lieutenant Iron Fist Fullbody! Hey, who's your Captain? Show yourself!" He demands, seeming more aggressive than needed.
"I am Luffy!" He shouts his introduction.
"I am Usopp!" He adds - though he doesn't need to.
"Our pirate mark was just made yesterday!" Luffy states with confidence.
"I was the one who made the pirate mark!" Usopp adds, trying to gain some credibility, and Luffy seems annoyed by the long nose sniper.
"What's wrong with you people?" The Marine Lieutenant inquires but still has a smirk on his lips, but it turns into a frown when his eyes dart to the side with the two pirate hunters. "I've seen those two before, though. You claim to be pirate hunters, don't you?" He asks Johnny and Yosaku, who seem startled at the attention.
"W-what?" Johnny spurts out, clenching his fists in anger.
"It looks like you finally caught yourselves some." The Marine Lieutenant taunts them.
"We are..." Johnny spits out, but the Marine Lieutenant just laughs at them.
"This is too good." He smirks then a beautiful woman with light blond hair steps out wearing a wine-coloured dress from behind the pink-haired Marine Lieutenant in the sharp suit.
"Hey, let's go now." The blond beauty purs trying to distract the Marine Lieutenant.
"Sure." He agrees, and they link arms, but Johnny gains their attention as he talks while pulling out Wanted Posters from his inside hoodie pocket.
"I'll show you just what it is we pirate hunters do!" Johnny seethes and throws all the Wanted Posters across our floor, but the cocky Marine Lieutenant and his date just walk off. The Lieutenant gives his men an order but continues walking off, and something seems to catch Nami's eyes, but I can't help but feel as if something dangerous is coming our way soon. "He simply ignored us!" Johnny sulks.
"We'll get back at him!" Yosaku snaps, and Nami walks over to them.
"What's... all this?" She asks them and kneels down, looking at the Wanted Posters scattered on the deck.
"These are all people with bounties on their heads, Big Sis Nami," Johnny explains and gasps as he catches himself too late and holds his hands over his mouth, and Yosaku looks worried for his partner. Nami doesn't react as she stares at one of the Wanted Posters in her hands, I can't get a good look, so I walk over and see a familiar face staring at me. It is me. I pick up my Wanted Poster and smile, I really do look good for 17, and I haven't changed that much either. "It means that if we get 'em, we'd get the money offered on their Wanted Posters."
"Don't you think it's good business, Big Sis?" Yosaku asks her, and Johnny slaps his hand over his mouth, but he has already called her the name. Nami seems in her own dark world as she looks at the Wanted Poster; I dart my eyes to see it's on Arlong the Fishman. Strange. She crumples up the piece of paper and seems as if she's shaking, but in fear or anger, I'm not too sure. I hear the sound of cannons being positioned and turn my head to the side to see the Marine Ship's weapons aiming for us.
"This is bad!" Usopp panics. "They're aiming right at us!" As he says this, the cannon fires the cannonball hurtling towards us fast; smoke from the heavy firearm mixes with the little explosion with a bright light, and Luffy goes into action.
"Leave it to me! GUM-GUM..." The cannonball goes straight for Luffy as he stretches out his arms to the side, holding on and gets pulled back by the force of the cannonball. "...SLINGSHOT!" As Luffy goes further out, his hold on Merry's head slips, and he moves to the right more, then releases the cannonball towards the sea restaurant and goes flying into the back of Merry's head. Idiot. I see the damage done by the cannonball and Luffy being dragged by two chefs into the room; the damage is the worst.
It's been some time since our Captain was dragged off into The Baratie, and Johnny and Yosaku are fixing the damage they had done to our ship while Nami and Usopp are waiting for Luffy. Zoro is napping, and I am getting dressed in a floral skirt that reaches my mid-thighs and a black crop top, then one of my leather jackets. I need new clothes. I leave my and Nami's room to see them waiting for Luffy. "Why don't we go see how he's doing and get something to eat. My treat." I tell my crewmates, they look at me, and I turn to the two pirate hunters. "You can guard the ship, can't you?" I purr, leaning slightly forward, and they nod in agreement. I hear a scoff from behind me and turn to see Zoro turning his head away from me.
"Yes, food!" Usopp cheers, jumping up and running off.
"As long as I don't have to pay, I'm good." Nami agrees and goes to join Usopp; I look at Zoro, who grunts in the form of agreement.
ONE PIECE - BARATIE ARC
We take Johnny and Yosaku's little boat, and the boys paddle us to the sea restaurant with Nami and me gossiping about the food behind those doors. Zoro seems to be ignoring us, but Usopp occasionally adds a few comments.
We reach the restaurant, and Usopp jumps onto the deck; I throw over the rope, and he begins tying it securely to one of the posts when we hear a loud series of crashing sounds from inside. Probably Luffy the Idiot.
Another chapter is done, YEAH! So now that's done, what do you think? Please comment if you wish, and I will begin writing again! See ya, DEADGIRLETERNAL OUT!