Everything after that flashed by. Before Atlas could even process what was happening, he was whisked aboard their ship and they were sailing far away from the island.
He had been held captive for what was not far off being half his life by now. Seeing the island shrink into the distance. A whole flood of emotions welled up.
It was like he was constantly going from flash-fried to frozen in a second. The two emotions warring for control. Finally, he slumped against the railings in a sigh. deciding to just enjoy the first time he could remember where hope felt... real.
He had escaped that hellhole. Whatever came next? That would simply be another challenge he could overcome. With that, his eyes hardened resolutely. A smile tugging at his lips.
The fresh air filled his lungs, another reminder that he was no longer in that stuffy prison any longer. He still didn't know what being a part of the Rocks Pirates crew meant, but if it meant he would be free, then he didn't care.
While his mind was occupied with thoughts, he barely even registered the presence beside him. Until now, most of the crew had mostly ignored his presence. Instead they went about their own routines.
Whitebeard had been the first to talk to him. Slapping him on the back and nearly sending him stumbling from the force, he welcomed him to their crew. Then it was the horned kid that had attacked him, declaring a rematch soon.
After that, though, he barely got a nod or an appraising look from the rest. That was until a pink-haired woman in a tricorn hat suddenly blitzed in front of him.
He had almost acted out of reflex. His hands clenched up into fists. No, he stopped himself from making that mistake.
"You! How old are you?"
The question caught him by such surprise he nearly fell back in shock.
"Huh? How... why does that matter?" He could barely even form a proper thought. Her intense stare locked onto him.
"Because I asked. How old?"
Patience was clearly not her virtue. Irritation marked her features. Her fingers tapped ceaselessly against her crossed arms as she waited.
"Buzz off", was his immediate instinct. Luckily he thought better of it.
"I... don't know for sure. They never told me how long I was here for," he ended up saying instead. "But I'd guess around 22"
"Mama-hahaha, perfect."
With that, she turned and left, leaving Atlas stunned. Completely at a loss for what the hell had just happened.
It seemed, that now he may be getting some idea. She leant against the railings beside him. That same enigmatic pink-haired woman.
"You know, you never told me your name." Atlas decided to speak first this time. Hoping it might give control of whatever would happen next.
The woman simply tilted her head towards him. For a second, a look passed in her eyes.
"Charlotte Linlin." She said puffing out her chest, a smirk at her lips. "Although you know it's normally the man who says his name first."
He realised he never actually introduced himself. The last time they'd spoken, he was too caught off guard. Her weird question throwing him.
"Atlas. No other names I know of."
With that, he turned back to the sea.
He barely remembered even that much. While in the lab, he'd only ever been 00.
She didn't respond straight away. The quiet felt more comfortable now. Both of them simply stared out at the horizon. The waves lapped at the ship lazily.
The breeze picked up slightly, playing with Linlin's hair. During his time in the lab, even his haircut was controlled by them, along with every other aspect of his life. As an experiment hair was considered unnecessary.
He couldn't wait to finally decide for himself what he wore and how he looked. No one forcing him to wear white uniforms anymore. He would make his own way from now on.
"Your fruit, what is it?"
The question caught him by surprise yet again.This time for a different reason. The words caused his defences to flare up. He eyed Linlin warily.
"... that's, you have no care for boundaries, do you?" A sigh slipped out of him. He saw the nonchalance she just asked that with.
Asking someone for the name of their Devil Fruit, at least for those who knew what that was, was like saying, "Hey, can you tell me all your weaknesses in case we ever fight?"
"That's for weaklings. The strong don't care about that stuff. I can tell you my fruit and you still couldn't beat me." Her answer came out with a smug snort. As if his question was the simplest thing in the world.
"Riight. I still think it's a good idea not to tell everyone how your abilities work," Atlas shot back. He shook his head at the way she saw things.
Clearly, she'd always overpowered those around her. How else could she see everything like that otherwise.
"Hmmm..." She paused to think about it, "dumb."
That was all he got back. He couldn't help but choke on his own saliva before chuckling. Well, at least she stuck to her words.
"Are ya gonna answer me? I'm getting annoyed!" Linlin shouted at him. Her face scrunched up in frustration. Already she'd waited way longer than she was used to.
A slight, creeping feeling weighed on him. He hated that. Nearly everyone on this crew was clearly stronger than him.
"It's the Toshi Toshi no Mi," he finally relented, even while his own anger built up. Being forced to give in to her demands. He promised to triple his training and get rid of this feeling of weakness.
"Huh?" Visible confusion filled her face. "Never heard of it. What's it do?"
Atlas noticed some of the light behind her eyes dim slightly. She was already losing any real interest.
Still, Atlas could tell she wouldn't be willing to drop the subject just yet. Two ideas now played in his heart as he witnessed that.
Part of him refused to let her to look down on his fruit with her disinterest.
Another part told him to use it. To hide his true power and play off his fruit being bland and underpowered.
He quashed it ruthlessly. The memory of having to stay his hand. To bow his head to those who had put him through so much. It all surfaced like a knife jammed into his skull.
It was only short-lived. Resolve to never have to cower and hide away burning through him. His chest swelled to force his posture straighter.
"Its primary ability is manipulating the age of anything... though its true capabilities are only limited by anyone unworthy of it." A wolfish smile arced across his lips. His teeth seemed to gain a sharper edge.
"That 'true capabilities' part," she looked at him knowingly, "Have anything to do with that giant form from earlier?"
Now it was her turn to grin. Atlas stared back at her, not answering. Neither did he deny it.
The light came back stronger as she held his eyes, searching him for something. He couldn't quite tell what. He wasn't surprised she figured it out. The sight of him turning into what was a respectable height amongst giants, even from his already impressive stature, wasn't exactly normal.
Though he admitted he wasn't really the authority on what was normal. Having spent the last decade or so imprisoned as Saturn's pet project.
Still, he knew that much, and clearly so did all of his new crewmates. However, instead of the wary looks filled with a fearful respect for the strong hidden behind masked indifference like he was used to, these guys truly weren't all that impressed.
Sure, it was unique and could be powerful if it were trained. But they all held an underlying faith in their own strength that left them only interested in his ability.
Doubt about his true purpose at that facility mingled with his own growing frustration. He had gone from a being capable of becoming the World Government's greatest weapon to just another person. Slightly stronger than the average shmuck, but a person all the same.
"Giants are strong and resilient. Makes for a useful form when you aren't sure what to expect," Atlas finally spoke. It was true. His giant form was his tanky fighter. Good to hit hard and get hit harder. Speed and flexibility were the trade off.
"So there are more forms? Mama-hahaha" Linlin caught on fast. A sudden laugh of excitement escaped her. "Good to know." This was finally starting to get interesting.
"You know, for someone who berated me for not introducing myself first, you've yet to say anything about your fruit." Atlas huffed. The weird intensity that Charlotte's gaze brought him was uncomfortable.
Not to mention the way she dissected everything he said. Was she searching for some hidden meaning? He had only just escaped the lab and still wasn't sure what normal etiquette was. That said, he knew for damn sure she wasn't following any of it.
There was a pause. A flash of annoyance passed through Linlin. She wasn't done asking about his fruit yet. Eventually she decided to throw the new guy a bone.
There was also the added bonus of being able to brag about her own abilities. She was always fond of that. The begrudging praise even her other crewmates had to give her ability helped.
"Soru Soru no Mi, that's the name. I can take souls and make homies."
Before Atlas could roll his eyes and complain about the vagueness of that statement, he saw Linlin raise her arm.
Atop it stood a small sun. So golden bright that small sunspots flared at the corners of his vision when he stared at it straight on.
The being wasn't truly small in the normal sense, being over 7 feet. It could easily look down upon most humans with ease. It looked like a flaming ball of pure burnished golden yellow, blazing the way the midday sun does if it were inches from your face too.
Even from the few feet that separated them, Atlas' thick skin was getting a nice tan from their proximity. Then, while Atlas was still admiring whatever it was, the miniature sun spoke.
"You gonna stare any longer?"
A male voice broke out, startling Atlas out of his examination. He looked around for who spoke.
"Here, you daft giant. You were just looking at me."
The voice came again. Atlas turned to look back at the ball of fire. His eyes widened slightly as he noticed that it wasn't just a ball of burning gas.
Glaring right back at him were a pair of eyes that looked just as searchingly at him as he did at it. Seeming to come to some conclusion, its eyes left Atlas. It spun to look at Charlotte instead.
"Not bad, though he's got a long way to go to be any good," it spoke with an almost reluctance to its words. It huffed afterwards and then ignored Atlas completely.
The turn of events still leaving Atlas reeling to catch up.
"What is that?" was all he could manage while he processed the thing's words. That only ended up causing him more confusion in the end.
'What had it meant by that? Was it judging him?'
The thought almost made him grunt in anger. The audacity of this tiny thing's dismissive review.
The sun may be big to any normal man, but to Atlas it was no more than a large bug by comparison. The idea it thought it could judge him burnt him more than any fire that made it up could ever manage.
"Mama-hahaha, you should see the look on his face, Prometheus." Linlin's voice boomed out in a laughing and mocking tone. "He can't tell whether to be confused or angry!"
Her thunderous laughter shook the wooden deck beneath them as she watched Atlas' growing upset.
"That is a homie. My homie, made from my soul! He can control fire and burn hotter than the sun. Nothing can last under his rays for long." Linlin spoke with obvious pride lacing her every word.
Atlas had to admit it seemed deserved if her statement held any truth. The power to create a miniature sun that could create fire. Literal fire. Was a powerful ability.
After calming himself down, he even admitted as much. Which caused Linlin to laugh again as if he had said something funny.
"I don't just create fire! I can create more than that. My homies all have special powers, especially the ones I made from my soul."
Atlas was starting to understand what she meant.
This was clearly another fruit like his. Not so straightforward as some Logia. He could already see how powerful this could be, and Linlin clearly was using it well.
"So you create these... 'homies', that have special powers?" Atlas finally said piecing together all the things she told him.
"Pretty much. Now you know mine. Tell me what yours does." Linlin all but ordered him, "And don't be vague like last time." She glared at him slightly. Atlas suppressed a small chuckle.
Once you got past the initial abrasiveness, he couldn't help but admit the straightforward nature of Linlin was kind of nice. The complete opposite of the mind games he was used to from the scientists. Or the subtle manipulation of Saturn.
It was refreshing to know exactly what the other person wanted. No having to figure out the hidden meaning.
"Fine, seeing as you were so honest about yours, I will explain mine more."
He stopped to give her a little amused smirk. It seemed she didn't see anything to his words, and that only made his smirk widen into a true smile.
"I can use my fruit not just to manipulate age, but also what I imagine my future self to be like." He paused to show her. His hand distorted into a more bestial form. Fur growing while his nails turned to claws. Finally changing into a mink's paw.
"So far, I can change races fairly easily. Even managed a couple of species swaps, though not for long." He watched his own hand. It felt nice to do this for himself.
That was what Saturn had managed to teach him through hard-fought lessons. Each new distorted future was tested rigorously to learn its upper limits. That had always meant, for Atlas, that Saturn and his scientists would put him through more and more painful experiments till he broke and they deemed that its limit.
The memories stung like fresh wounds. He remembered them all so vividly. Being sliced apart as a giant to find out how tough his skin was. To more recently being drowned as a Fishman or thrown from a great height as a Birkan. All to see how long he could glide before falling again.
Each "test" had felt more like a way to watch him struggle. To see him in pain. More than any real training. Even now, as he spoke, he felt there was more to his powers than he was shown.
"Hmmmm, that... That might be good! It is decided."
Linlin smacked her hands against the railings so hard the wood trembled. Somehow it held under insane might, though Atlas suspected it wasn't ordinary wood.
Before he could ask what was decided, or even firm up his footing from the sudden lurching of the ship Linlin's actions caused, she practically shouted.
"You will be my first husband candidate!"