"WHAT THE HELL? WHERE DID HE GO?!" Atlas roared in rage. His clawed hand tore through one of the scientists to his side.
Any attempts to answer him were just empty excuses. Blubbering failures to explain what had happened. Atlas refused to hear it.
His one chance to finally kill him, and it had failed. Somehow, Saturn had sensed his attack coming. Before his hand had even finished transforming into this clawed form, his eyes slid to him.
Hardened talons met blackened skin as his hand went numb and every bone in his arm rattled under its own force. Whatever that black form was, it was not normal.
Saturn had simply raised his palm. Watching like from a distance. Feeling nothing.
"Hahhh, failure."
The long sigh leaving him, his eyes holding heavy disappointment.
"A shame. I had such hope that you would succeed."
With that, he turned away. Not even facing the failure anymore. All before disappearing in a flash.
With nowhere left for his rage to go, Atlas turned it on the scientists. They had willingly helped Saturn in their endless, torturous experiments.
It was all too easy. His distorted body making him faster and stronger... and deadlier. These ageing scientists, who'd never experienced true hardship in their lives, didn't stand a chance.
Soon, fountains of blood gushed from their broken forms. The sealed door kept it all in, creating a literal lake of red that lined the bottoms of his feet.
Sloshing footsteps rang out. He raced about, tearing the few remaining apart viciously.
Roff remained for last.
His hard-faced handler, having been the most vindictive of them all, deserved a more personal ending.
Grabbing him by the throat and raising him up to his face, Atlas stared into his terrified eyes one last time.
He saw the fear. The hatred. He saw his warden, the man who controlled his life when Saturn wasn't around, as he always was without the power of Saturn.
A weak man whose sadism was only matched by his fear of the thing he was testing.
Atlas twitched. The shadow Roff formed on him gone, now left with only a sharp confusion. Had he always been this small and pathetic?
Anger flared harder through his racing mind before...
Snap.
He had expected to feel satisfaction at seeing them die. At least a feeling of retribution. Instead, all that he felt was disgust. He didn't know what at, but he hated it all the same.
His eyes caught on his hands. Stained red, warm blood still trickling from Roff.
Memories mixed again.
"Kukukukukukuku!"
Laughter filled the room Atlas had emptied. He stiffened involuntarily. The sound left him on edge, his hair stood on end. Leaving no time to dwell on anything.
His selfish crusade took hold of him so deeply he never even heard the door open.
"Well, what do we have here..."
Turning his head, he finally looked at the group responsible for his opportunity of escape.
A whole host of varying people filled his sight. Each one wild and unique. Yet clearly none of them were weaklings.
A feeling of lingering fear crept up his spine as he looked at each. Some causing it to spike increasingly higher.
Until his eyes stopped on the one who'd spoken. He wasn't the most impressive looking at first glance, but Atlas' gut was screaming at him to run away as fast as he could.
Even Saturn hadn't made him feel this level of fear before. Whomever this guy was, he was not someone he could mess around with.
The pregnant pause only caused the already insane tension to reach a near breaking point. Already, some of the less patient among them were looking ready to shout out in frustration.
"Who are you?" Atlas' voice broke the silence as he kept his tone steady and inquisitive. The feeling of cold water poured on his head at the sight of this crew. Dousing the fire of his anger.
The question managed to stump the others as they looked at him as if he had grown another head.
"Who are we?!" they repeated in a confused anger at such a question.
They were the scourge of the sea. Everyone knew them and feared them! Yet this kid had no idea.
"Kukukukuku! This gets better and better." Rocks' deep voice echoed out as he seemed more amused at the lack of recognition.
"Look, I don't know who you all are. You... here for Saturn?" Atlas responded to the lack of answer. His guess was right.
The crew tensed at his words, focussing back on him in an instant and forgetting all about the earlier question.
Even Rocks' relaxed posture disappeared as his eyes lost any mirth, ready to kill at a moment's notice.
"He's gone, disappeared when I tried killing him!" Atlas rushed to say as he watched their reaction to his words. Realising now was not the time to withhold anything. The anger and frustration in his tone made it clear he was still pissed at failing to take down his persecutor.
That seemed to stop the crew as they gave him an appraising look. In the end, though, their reaction was not what Atlas was expecting.
Several of them broke out into chuckles. Some of them even into full-blown laughs.
"Kukukuku, a brave one, aren't you? Taking on someone even I might find difficult... although clearly you have some skill." Rocks spoke up yet again as he eyed Atlas with unbidden joy.
These were all seasoned warriors. Their senses heightened beyond any normal level. With just a glance, they could easily feel how powerful the person standing before them was.
With that, they could all sense, he was certainly strong. But he had not been trained in Haki at all. If he had, their senses would be blaring at them to tread carefully.
The idea of this kid trying to kill Saturn. The elder known as the Warrior God of Science and Defence. Was the greatest joke of mankind.
Like watching a five-year-old try to beat a Sea King. The fact he was even still alive probably meant that Saturn decided killing him would allow them to catch up before he could escape.
Atlas, however, was not amused. He failed to kill the man who had made his life a misery for years. Now these people showed up and laughed at his attempt at revenge.
"I would stop laughing now if you don't want to join these scientists..." his biting words dripped out of him in a cold fury. His quiet voice cutting louder than any shout.
The crew all stopped. Not out of any fear for Atlas. Annoyance shone on their faces, his words ticking them off.
Sensing their rising emotions, Atlas decided not to wait for them to make the first move. Rage shrouded any survival instinct he had. The need to crush anyone and anything nearby to vent grew stronger.
His body surged. Growing rapidly in size. Muscles lengthened and doubled. Soon, he was already scraping against the ceiling, his shoulders pressing up.
Before long, even that couldn't hold his new height. Cracks lined the roof like spider webs as it caved under the intense growth spurt Atlas was going through.
As the large chunks of concrete rained down on the Rocks Pirates, Atlas straightened to his new full height.
The others now seemed like mere ants compared to him. Each one of his fingers was larger than most of them stood tall. He stood ready for the clash he expected to come.
Instead, though, he was met with intrigued expressions lacking any real fear. Clearly, this form did not create the impression he was expecting.
They all stood watching in undisguised interest.
Instead, it was Atlas who felt more on edge now. Anyone who could look at a literal giant and not look worried was clearly someone strong.
Again, no one talked. The staredown continued. On one side was a group of warriors all looking at him like he was a new act to watch. On the other was Atlas, who refused to become another person's lab rat.
It didn't take long, before one of the group moved forwards, too bored by the waiting. Kaidou raced forwards before leaping into the air.
Being the youngest in the crew and having yet to properly train in Haki himself, he was too excited at finding someone who he might actually be able to spar on equal footing.
His spiked club raised in a wide arc as he swung it towards Atlas' face at full power. The wind whistled as it was torn apart by sheer power.
Kaidou flew through the air towards him. Atlas threw up his arms defensively as he saw the horned kid manically smiling at him. His club came crashing down.
A massive boom echoed out as club met giant arms. Neither giving ground. The stalemate held them in place.
Kaidou huffed at the giant's untouched skin. The spikes barely managed to press against its hide-like form, let alone break through. He pushed down with all his might, trying to topple him instead.
Atlas cracked a smile. Most of the others left him feeling suppressed simply standing there. This kid? He felt much better about his odds here.
Still, he could tell he was no pushover either. The force behind that attack could easily crush most buildings into dust. Instead, he shifted his feet slightly, deciding to end this fast. Before the kid might actually manage to hurt him.
After all, a fly could hurt you if it flew into your eye. Just because he was confident in his victory didn't mean he should play around. Especially with the others just... watching.
With that, he braced his knees and pressed down on Kaidou. Swinging his arms out from their defensive position. Kaidou tried to keep up the pressure against him, but it was a losing battle. Even he couldn't truly match a giant in pure strength.
Like a kite with its string cut, he was sent smashing back down into the ground. A crater formed around him.
Laying in his new crater, Kaidou cracked a maddened smile. The only sign of him being sent flying, a thin line of blood tracing down from his mouth.
Atlas stood ready for any retaliation. Kaidou may be shaking off that attack for now, but his crewmates were definitely capable of doing much worse to him.
Instead, they all seemed to not care as their comrade was sent packing. Now lying bruised, half-sunk in the broken floor. The apathy towards one of their own made Atlas even more unnerved.
"Not bad, not bad. It's decided. You will join the crew."
That same sinister voice from earlier broke Atlas from eyeing the downed Kaidou apprehensively as the brute shook off the rubble.
"What? Why would I join you? You didn't even ask," Atlas said before he could think it through.
A sudden wave of dread washed over him as his skin prickled with the feeling of incoming death.
"You will join because I said you will." Rocks spoke out in a quiet voice. Barely hiding his annoyance at Atlas questioning.
It didn't look like he would be given a choice. Either he joined them, or... best not to think about what might happen if he refused.
Clearly, this wasn't the type to accept no as an answer. Instead, he stood there, refusing to shrink back down as he tried to calculate his chances of running away.
That lasted all of a few seconds. They were currently on an island surrounded by an eternal chaotic storm specifically chosen for its ability to make even the best navigators meet an early end.
Sighing loudly as he both figuratively and literally shrank, slowly returning back down to his still impressive height, he met the gaze of the man who could only be their leader.
"I accept, but I still don't know who any of you are yet," he said deflatedly as he gave in to what was quickly becoming clear was his only option. At least for now.
That made the man grin, the feeling of dread disappearing as quickly as it came. Atlas could have sworn that he saw the shadows recede back too as light seemed to grow stronger. He chalked it up to just some trick of the mind.
"That's simple. We are the Rocks Pirates, the most feared and despised pirate crew that sails any of the seas of this world!" With that, he raised his arms, splaying them at his crew.
Atlas let the words sink in as he realised just what he had accepted. Well, it wasn't like attacking Saturn was bound to leave him in the World Government's good books.
"And I... am Rocks D. Xebec, the captain of the Rocks Pirates."
The creepy smile that split the man's features left Atlas rooted to his spot. Goosebumps lined his skin.
He may not truly understand the meaning of that name just yet, but he could tell he would. And all too soon.