"This doesn't make sense," Chopper said again, his voice climbing higher the longer he thought about it. He paced so tightly across the deck it looked like he was trying to carve a path into the wood itself, hooves tapping in frantic rhythm. "If that's Fenrir, the Fenrir from Varin's stories, then that would mean devil fruits actually hold the spirits of whatever they're named after. But then why hasn't anyone reported this before? Why hasn't anyone? Why isn't this known?!"
The wolf laughed. It wasn't loud, because it didn't need to be. The sound rolled out low and heavy, like distant thunder under the ocean, something vast and old that had no business being trapped in a mortal frame. Saliva dripped slowly from its maw as its jaws parted just enough to show too many teeth.
"They have, meat," it said, amusement dripping from every word. "They just haven't told anyone else."
Chopper froze mid-step.
"You shut up," Luffy cut in immediately, stepping forward despite Nami grabbing at his sleeve. He crossed his arms, glaring like he was scolding something that had knocked over a plate rather than a god speaking through his crewmate. "You're a bad dog."
The wolf's head turned toward him slowly. "Oh?" it said, voice curling with interest. "Why don't you make me, then?" Its lips peeled back further, grin stretching wider, more wrong. "I bet you chew like jerky."
Zoro shifted his stance, his eyes stayed locked on the thing in front of him, measuring it, the way he always did when something dangerous stood in his way.
Nami didn't speak, but her grip on Vivi tightened just enough to keep her from stepping forward again. Vivi herself hadn't taken her eyes off Varin's body, her expression caught somewhere between worry and disbelief, like she was still trying to reconcile what she was seeing with the person she knew.
Robin watched in silence, but there was something sharper in her gaze now. Recognition, maybe. Or understanding.
This beast was something else entirely. And that was what made it worse. Varin wasn't a small man. Even in human form, he had always carried himself like something solid, something dependable. The kind of person who stepped forward when things went wrong, who took hits meant for others and shrugged them off like they were nothing. Loud, blunt, stubborn, but steady. Now that same body stood there, chained and straining, filled with something that twisted every familiar detail into something wrong.
The way he moved was sharper, more feral. The weight behind each motion felt heavier. Even the stillness between movements felt predatory, like it was choosing not to act rather than being unable to.
It was wrong. Seeing that body, that presence, twisted into something so openly cruel, so openly hungry… it got under the skin in a way none of them could just shake off.
Luckily, it didn't last much longer. At first, it was subtle. The tension in the chains shifted, not from strain but from… less. The constant pressure, that suffocating weight that had filled the air since Fenrir forced his way through, began to thin.
The growl in the wolf's chest faltered. Just for a second, then again as the chains, which had been pulled taut like they were holding back something that could tear the world apart, slackened with a heavy metallic rattle. The sheer weight of them, which had felt like it was dragging the ship itself down into the sea, began to ease, link by link losing that impossible tension.
Fenrir's presence… waned. The massive wolf's head dipped slightly, then jerked back up like something inside it was fighting for control. A low snarl tried to form, but it broke halfway through, turning into something rougher, more uneven.
"—pathetic…" the voice muttered, but it lacked that earlier depth, that crushing vastness. It sounded… farther away.
The body trembled as it took another breath. This one sharper and less controlled. More… Varin.
The chains gave one last heavy clank as the pressure fully dropped, no longer straining against something ancient and endless.
The wolf's head lowered in exhaustion. For a moment, nothing moved. Then a rough, familiar voice broke through, strained and uneven.
"…fuck…" Varin's ears twitched weakly, his body swaying where he stood. The sharp, predatory stillness was gone, replaced by something far more human.
He sucked in a breath like he'd just surfaced from deep water, chest rising hard. "…doc," he muttered hoarsely, not lifting his head. "Next time… warn me if your candy comes with a god inside it…"
His legs buckled slightly, forcing him to drop heavier onto the deck, the last of the tension bleeding out of him all at once.
Chopper didn't hesitate. He rushed forward immediately, skidding to his knees beside him. "Varin! Are you okay? Do you feel weird? Dizzy? Hungry? Violent?!"
Varin let out a weak huff that might have been a laugh. "…all of the above…"
Nami exhaled sharply, some of the tightness leaving her shoulders. Vivi took a hesitant step forward again, worry overriding caution this time, though she kept just out of immediate reach.
Varin cracked one eye open, glancing at the blood on Vivi's arm. "…I bit you?" he asked. A pause. "…shit, sorry." Then his head dropped fully, body going still as exhaustion finally caught up to him, the last traces of the chains melting away around him as Fenrir's presence disappeared completely.
That was all it took. The crew moved at once.
Chopper, already there, scrambled forward so fast he nearly tripped over himself, as he closed the distance already shouting half-formed instructions that no one really needed to follow. "Don't let him move! Or—no—actually let him breathe—no wait that's obvious—just—stay there!"
Varin, of course, did the exact opposite. He tried to stand. His muscles tensed, legs pushing under him as he forced himself up out of sheer stubborn habit, like falling over in front of everyone was somehow worse than whatever had just happened.
He made it about halfway before his legs gave out. He dropped back down hard, sprawling across the deck in his wolf form, limbs splayed in a way that would have looked almost comical if not for the way his sides rose and fell too fast, breath still uneven, body not fully his yet.
"…nah," he muttered into the wood, voice muffled slightly by the angle of his head. "Not happenin'."
Chopper was on him instantly, climbing up onto his side like a particularly determined flea with no regard for personal space. "Don't move! I mean it this time! Your body just went through something insane!"
"Doc," Varin rasped, not even trying to lift his head again, "I couldn't move if I wanted to…"
"That's not reassuring!"
Nami let out a long breath she didn't realize she'd been holding, one hand pressing against her forehead. "I swear, if either of you does that again, I'm throwing all of those Rumble Balls overboard."
"Agreed," Zoro added, arms crossed, though his tone was calmer now. The tension had drained out of him, replaced by something closer to his usual indifference. "Next time, warn us before you let something like that loose."
Vivi stepped closer again, more cautious this time, cradling her arm where the bite had broken skin. It wasn't deep, but it still stung, and there was something about the memory of it that lingered more than the pain itself. She looked down at Varin, expression tight but not angry. "…You owe me for that," she said.
Varin groaned faintly. "…put it on my tab…"
Robin lingered a step back from the group, arms loosely crossed, her gaze still fixed on him. Not with fear, not even with concern, but with a quiet, thoughtful intensity. "Interesting," she murmured.
Chopper glanced up at her. "Interesting?! That was terrifying!"
"Yes," she agreed calmly. "And informative."
Varin made a weak sound that might have been a laugh or might have just been him trying to breathe. "…glad someone got somethin' outta it…"
Chopper ignored that, already digging through his supplies. "You're not moving for the rest of the day. Actually, no, longer. I'm not letting you near anything else until I understand what just happened."
Chopper crouched right in front of his muzzle, small hooves planted firm like he was bracing himself for an answer he wasn't going to like. He leaned in, close enough that Varin could see the worry plain on his face, the kind that didn't get hidden behind yelling or frantic pacing this time.
"We said one, Varin," Chopper said, voice tight, controlled in that way that meant he was trying very hard not to lose it. "One Rumble Ball. Why did you eat a second one?"
Varin let out a rough cough, the motion making his ribs protest even now, and lifted his eyes just enough to meet Chopper's. There wasn't much fight left in him at the moment, no deflection, no easy joke to dodge the question.
"'Cause I'm a moron," he said plainly, voice hoarse. "And I got excited at the thought of more power."
Chopper's ears drooped slightly at that, but he didn't look away. If anything, his expression tightened further. "But why?" he asked, quieter now. "You're already strong. You don't need that."
For a second, Varin didn't answer and before he could say anything, a hand settled on Chopper's shoulder.
Sanji stepped forward, his usual edge softened just slightly, though his eyes were still sharp as he looked down at Varin. "No," he said, calm but firm. "We're not."
Chopper blinked, glancing up at him. Sanji took a slow drag from his cigarette before flicking the ash off to the side, gaze drifting out toward the sea for a moment before coming back. "This might've been before you joined," he went on, voice low, more serious than usual. "But everything we've dealt with so far? That was barely the tip of the iceberg."
The words hung there, heavier than they should have been.
Zoro let out a quiet grunt of agreement from where he stood, arms still crossed. "Yeah. If that was tough, we'd be dead already."
Nami didn't argue either. She just crossed her arms tighter, expression unreadable, but she didn't deny it.
Varin huffed weakly, something like a tired laugh slipping out. "See?" he muttered, shifting his head slightly against the deck. "Not just me bein' stupid."
Chopper frowned, looking between all of them, clearly not liking the answer any more than before. "That doesn't mean you push yourself until something like that happens," he shot back, gesturing vaguely to where Fenrir had very recently been trying to eat them. "That wasn't just power, that was—you weren't even you!"
Varin's ears flicked back slightly at that. "…I know," he said, quieter now.
For a moment, the only sound was the ocean against the hull and the faint creak of the ship settling now that the storm and the weight of whatever had been there were gone.
Sanji's hand squeezed Chopper's shoulder once before he pulled it back. "We'll get stronger," he said, more to the group than anyone specific. "But not by losing ourselves."
Varin let his eyes slip half-shut again, the exhaustion settling deep into his bones now that everything else had burned away. "Apparently being possessed by a god-beast really drains you," he muttered, voice rough and barely above a breath.
"I could've told you that, idiot," Vivi said, though there wasn't any real bite to it. She stepped closer, this time without hesitation and crouched down beside him, mirroring Chopper without even realizing it. One hand came to rest carefully against his shoulder blade, light, steady, like she was grounding both of them at once. When he cracked an eye open again, the concern on her face was obvious, not hidden behind anger or frustration.
"Mmm," Varin grunted, trying to shift his head just enough to look at her properly. "I'm… sorr—"
"Don't," Vivi cut in immediately, shaking her head before he could finish. "Don't, Varin. It's fine. I promise. I know that wasn't you." She hesitated for half a second, then added, quieter, "And even if it was… after everything you've done for me, I can let one scratch slide."
Varin's ears flicked weakly, something in his expression tightening despite how tired he was. "…still doesn't make it okay," he mumbled, voice dull with exhaustion.
Then, without really thinking about it, he shifted just enough and leaned forward. His tongue dragged gently across the bite on her arm.
Once, twice, and a third time before his brain caught up with what he was doing. There was a pause. "…did I just lick you?" Varin asked slowly, blinking like he wasn't entirely convinced that had actually happened.
Vivi stared at him. Then at her arm. Then back at him. "…yes," she said flatly.
Behind them, there was a very distinct snort. Zoro turned his head slightly, clearly failing to hide it.
Nami covered her mouth, shoulders shaking just a bit.
Chopper, on the other hand, looked horrified. "That is not sterile! That is the opposite of sterile!"
Varin groaned and let his head drop back against the deck. "…great," he muttered. "Possessed by a god, almost ate the crew, and now I'm lickin' people."
Vivi exhaled, somewhere between exasperated and relieved, before lightly tapping his shoulder. "You're unbelievable."
"…you're welcome," Varin mumbled.
She rolled her eyes, though the tension had bled out of her shoulders now, replaced with something softer, something that almost looked like relief. "It's not that weird," Vivi said, glancing down at the faint marks on her arm before looking back at him. "You're basically a dog. Dogs lick wounds. So it's… more sweet than anything."
Varin stared at her for a long second. Then his ears twitched, and his expression flattened completely. "No," he said, voice deadpan despite the fact he was still sprawled across the deck like a collapsed building. "It's just weird."
Vivi huffed, clearly not impressed with that response. "You nearly bit my arm off five minutes ago, I think you lost the right to argue what counts as weird."
"…fair," Varin muttered.
Chopper, who had been hovering nearby with supplies in hand, looked deeply conflicted. "It's still not medically recommended," he insisted, though his voice had lost most of its earlier panic. "Saliva has bacteria, you could make it worse, actually, no, I'm definitely cleaning that like five times."
"I figured," Vivi said dryly, letting him take her arm without protest.
Zoro let out a quiet chuckle, shaking his head. "Guy turns into a giant wolf, summons a blizzard, gets possessed by some ancient monster… and the weirdest part is he licks someone."
Nami smirked, crossing her arms. "Honestly, yeah. That tracks."
Varin groaned, dragging one paw weakly over his face. "…I hate all of you."
"Good," Nami shot back immediately. "That means you're back to normal."
Varin exhaled slowly, the last of the tension bleeding out of him as his eyes drifted half-shut, the weight of everything finally catching up now that his body was his again. The deck felt steady beneath him, voices around him fading into something distant and muffled, like he was already halfway gone.
Then something moved above him.
At first, he thought it was just his vision going. Spots, shapes, the usual nonsense that came with pushing too far past your limits. His eyes cracked open just a fraction more, unfocused, barely holding onto the world.
"…huh," he breathed, squinting weakly as the shape grew clearer through the haze. Wood. Sails. A full ship, broken and tumbling end over end like it had been dropped by something that didn't care where it landed. "…it's raining boats…" His voice was barely more than a slur.
No one really reacted at first. Zoro didn't even look up. "You're hallucinating."
Nami sighed. "Yeah, yeah, go to sleep already—"
Then the shadow passed over them. The light shifted as the sun was blotted out.
And the creak of something massive cutting through the air made every head snap upward at once. "…that's not a hallucination," Robin said quietly.
The ship above them was real. Broken, splintered, sails torn to ribbons, it fell from the sky like a corpse, cutting through the clouds that shouldn't have been there. For a second, everything seemed to slow, the impossible sight hanging over them as the wind shifted around its descent.
Chopper's jaw dropped. "WHAT IS THAT?!"
"MOVE!" Nami shouted instantly.
The crew scattered, instinct kicking in as the falling wreck slammed into the sea not far off their side with a deafening crash, sending a massive wave surging outward. The Merry rocked violently from the impact, wood groaning under the force as water crashed over the deck.
Varin didn't move. By the time the wave hit and the ship steadied again, he was already out cold, completely gone, sprawled across the deck like nothing in the world could wake him.
Zoro wiped water from his face, staring out at where the wreckage was already beginning to sink. "…the hell was that."
Nami didn't answer right away, eyes still fixed on the spot where it disappeared beneath the waves.
Robin, however, smiled faintly. "Something interesting," she said. Behind them, Varin snored lightly. Completely unaware of the chaos.
— — — — — —
The next thing Varin was aware of wasn't pain, or cold, or even the distant memory of teeth and chains and something ancient pressing against his skull.
It was a stick, poking him relentlessly.
"Varin. Varin. Vaaariiiin?" Usopp's voice dragged through the fog in his head, somewhere between concerned and deeply annoyed. "Wake up, you lazy dog."
Poke. Poke. Poke.
Varin's ear twitched first, a slow, irritated flick against the wood beneath him. Then his nose wrinkled, breath huffing out in a low, warning exhale.
The stick poked him again. This time it was a mistake. Without opening his eyes, without even lifting his head, Varin's jaws snapped shut around the offending piece of wood with a sharp crack. The end of it disappeared clean into his mouth, teeth closing just shy of Usopp's hand.
Usopp yelped and jumped back like he'd just almost lost a limb. "HEY—! I NEED THAT!"
Varin chewed it a few times out of spite. Then lazily opened one eye, looking up at him with all the energy of a man who had been through entirely too much and was not interested in doing anything else today.
"…morning," he muttered around the splintered remains of the stick.
Usopp stared at what used to be his tool, then back at Varin. "You just ate my stick."
Varin swallowed. "…it attacked me first."
"That is not how that works!"
Varin let his head drop back down with a dull thud against the deck, closing his eyes again like that settled the conversation. "Then it shouldn't have started it…"
Usopp sputtered, clearly trying to decide whether to be mad or concerned. "You've been out for hours! We thought you were dead!"
"…was thinkin' about it," Varin mumbled.
"That's not funny!"
A groan escaped Varin as he finally shifted, pushing himself up just enough to roll onto his side. Every part of him complained about it, muscles stiff, ribs still reminding him they'd been through hell not long ago.
"…why're you wakin' me," he asked, cracking one eye open again. "If it's more bad news, I'm goin' back to sleep."
"…why're you wakin' me," he asked, cracking one eye open again. "If it's more bad news, I'm goin' back to sleep."
Usopp huffed, crossing his arms like he'd just been personally insulted for doing his job. "It's not bad news. Well… I mean, probably not. We're at the next island. A place called Jaya, I think? Nami said to check if you were alive and all that. Also to see if you wanted to come explore."
Varin blinked slowly, letting that process through the fog still clinging to his head.
"Most of them already went ahead," Usopp added, jerking a thumb toward the shore. "It's just me, you, and Vivi right now. And sanji, but he's staying to protect the boat"
Varin groaned softly and dragged a hand down his face, pushing himself up into a sitting position with a lot more effort than he wanted to admit. His body still felt like it had been wrung out and tossed aside, but at least it was listening to him again. "…they left the injured one behind," he muttered.
"You were unconscious and possessed by a god," Usopp shot back. "We figured you needed a nap."
"…fair." Varin rolled his shoulders slowly, wincing once before the stiffness started to ease. Then he glanced past Usopp, toward the shoreline.
From what he could see, it didn't look welcoming. Dark wood structures, rough edges, the kind of place that felt loud even when it wasn't. The air itself seemed heavier, like it carried trouble with it.
"…doesn't look like the kinda place you send the crew into without backup," he said.
"That's what I said!" Usopp replied immediately. "Which is why I stayed behind. To… guard the ship."
Varin gave him a long look."…right."
Usopp coughed. "And Vivi stayed because—uh—because someone had to make sure you didn't die."
"Comforting," Varin muttered. He pushed himself to his feet, slower this time, testing his balance. His legs held, barely, but enough. He stretched once, then twice, working the stiffness out as best he could.
"…alright," he said after a moment. "Let's go find the idiots before they start a war or get arrested."
Usopp perked up slightly. "You sure you're good to walk?"
Varin snorted. "…no." Then he stepped forward anyway. "…but I'm goin' anyway."
Behind them, Vivi let out a small sigh, already moving to follow as Usopp scrambled to keep up, muttering something about how this was definitely a bad idea.
Varin let out a long breath and shifted, his form folding in on itself as fur receded and bone reshaped, the massive wolf compressing back down into something human. He rolled his shoulders once he was upright again, grimacing slightly as everything settled where it was supposed to be. "Gods, that never gets less weird," he muttered under his breath.
Then he made his way toward the edge of the ship, boots thudding softly against the deck as he stopped near the railing and looked out toward Jaya.
"…so," he said, glancing sideways at Usopp and Vivi, "what'd I miss? I imagine a boat fallin' from the sky ain't somethin' we're just passin' over."
Usopp straightened immediately, like he'd been waiting for this exact moment.
"Well," he started, gesturing broadly like he was recounting some grand expedition, "we—well, I, actually engineered a way to dive underwater and loot the thing."
Varin blinked. "Of course you did."
Usopp nodded seriously. "Then we had to argue with a sentient monkey over salvage rights."
Varin opened his mouth, closed it. "…a what."
"A monkey," Usopp repeated, completely straight-faced. "Big one. Talks with punches."
"…right."
"And then," Usopp continued, warming up now, "Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji got eaten by a massive turtle." Varin stared at him. "…spit out," Usopp added quickly.
Varin dragged a hand down his face. "…of course they were."
"And don't forget the giants," Vivi added, her voice quieter, a faint shudder running through her as she crossed her arms. "Tall as the sky… with wings." She shook her head slightly, still trying to process it. "It was terrifying. I'm not even sure how you fight something that big."
His gaze drifted back out toward the horizon, toward the open sky above Jaya. Something in his expression shifted, not fear, not excitement, but recognition. Or maybe anticipation.
"Yeah," Usopp said, nodding. "Way up there. Like it came out of the clouds or something."
Varin exhaled slowly through his nose. "…that tracks," he muttered.
Vivi glanced at him. "Tracks? You say that like it makes sense."
Varin shrugged lightly, though his eyes stayed on the sky. "After today? Boats fallin' from the sky, giants with wings, monkeys argu—yeah. Makes about as much sense as anything else."
He pushed off the railing then, turning toward the dock with a faint smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.
"…c'mon," he said. "Let's go find the others before they get eaten again."
Usopp hurried after him. "Hey, that only happened once!"
"You're forgettin' the whale," Varin shot back without missing a step, already moving down the gangplank toward the dock. His boots hit the wood with a steady rhythm, slower than usual but still carrying that same stubborn forward momentum. "So let's go make sure our morons ain't startin' a war."