A little more exposition for now - we'll be moving things along some more next chapter :D Thank you all for all your feedback! I am glad to hear you are enjoying this!

Chapter Two: En Route

They made it to the first half of Paradise at a much quicker speed than Sabo had originally anticipated. Of course, he hadn't anticipated that they'd be flying.

"YOU KNOW, WE COULD CHECK IN ON KOALA ALONG THE WAY AT THIS RATE. MAYBE SHE HAS SOME MORE NEWS FOR US."

Dragon said nothing in response to this suggestion. Or at least, Sabo didn't think so. Then again, it was hard to hear anything in the middle of the storm that they were in. Sabo winced as a loud clap of thunder roared several feet behind him. He really should have brought earplugs with him. Or another coat. As if the rain wasn't bad enough, the speed they were going in was making the wind cut sharply into his skin even through his clothing. He held back a shiver, gritting his teeth as he forced himself to endure this.

He had been the one who asked to come along in the first place. It wouldn't do to complain about their means of transportation.

Plus, it was pretty cool to be riding on top of a dragon.

I thought his skin would feel more like a crocodile's… Sabo thought as he pressed himself closer to the Mythical Zoan's reptilian body in an attempt to minimize the amount of wind hitting his face. Thankfully, he had the foresight of bringing his sunglasses or he would have a harder time seeing anything at all. Not that he could see much in the first place, being this high up in the sky. Sabo had always held a faint longing in his heart for a life of sailing the seas, but he had never felt that longing more strongly than he did right now. Even the temperamental waters of the Grand Line felt safer to navigate through in comparison to this.

He suppressed another shiver as the skin of his cheek brushed up against the cool, carp-like scales of Dragon's body. It was a very weird sensation. The scales that covered his body felt a lot smoother than the blunt, protruding scales that ran across the entirety of the dragon's back. Sabo couldn't help but to ponder on whether he'd taste like a fish, a snake, or a crocodile… He found his mouth watering slightly at the thought.

A bolt of lightning crashed a few inches to their left and Sabo aborted all thoughts of food as he wondered if he was going to make it out of this alive. A slightly hysterical bout of laughter escaped his lips.

Oh god, I'm going to die, aren't I?

Not that he doubted Dragon's regard for his safety, but…

Sabo winced as another couple bolts of lightning rained down around them.

Who the hell flies in these kind of conditions!?

Sabo tried to relax, he really did, but it was hard to forget that they were flying at an altitude that wasn't remotely possible to be at under normal circumstances. If he were to fall from this height, it would absolutely mean instant death in one way or another. He also really didn't want to find out whether he could survive being struck by lightning.

As if the dragon he was riding on could hear his inner complaints—and was choosing to ignore them—at that moment, Dragon took a sudden turn that had Sabo clenching his thighs until they were pressed tightly against the protruding scales that lay between them. His gloved hands, too, tightened their grip on the thick, black mane that surrounded the back of Dragon's neck.

"Oh god, what now…" he muttered between clenched teeth.

The blond took a quiet breath through his nose and used a few seconds to brace himself. Then, he craned his neck to the side to try and get a glimpse of what was happening. It seemed like they were descending... Sabo squinted through his dark lenses. He could somewhat make out the silhouette of an island coming into view in the far distance.

"Hey—err, HEY, IS THAT—"

Sabo's voice was drowned out by another roar of thunder, but in another minute he would no longer need a confirmation to know that the island ahead was none other than Cactus Island.

Nevertheless, Dragon's body rumbled slightly as he said something in reply, but Sabo couldn't quite make out what he was saying amidst the surrounding noise.

"WHAT?!"

Unfortunately, that was all the warning he got before Dragon took an unexpectedly swift dive below. Sabo's terrified yell was lost among the dark grey clouds.

Once they landed on the ground, Sabo let his knees give out shamelessly. The blond slouched over in exhaustion, leaning all of his weight on the palms of his hands as he stared at the floor beneath him like it was an old lover.

"Ugh. Why is it still raining?" he complained as he felt the steady shower of water continue to drum against his back. He reluctantly raised his head to look at Dragon, who no longer looked like a sixty-foot-long version of his namesake. The man seemed entirely unconcerned by the weather as he stood there, staring down at him. Sabo scowled fiercely as he met the other's eyes, remembering all too clearly the way they had just landed. Though Dragon's expression was cool and collected, Sabo just knew the other man was silently laughing at him.

"See if you can get in touch with Koala," Dragon said without a change in his expression. "We'll leave in an hour."

"Right…" Sabo muttered. He watched Dragon walk off towards the center of the town. While there weren't many people outside at the moment due to the ongoing storm, with his dark coat and imposing figure, the older man easily blended in among the bounty hunters wandering around Whiskey Peak.

Once he was out of sight, Sabo let out a small sigh and slowly got up to his feet. He made a futile attempt to brush off some of the dirt clinging to the fabric of his coat as he made his way out of the cemetery they had discretely landed in.

Dragon-san, you bastard, Sabo thought mutinously. It wasn't often that he thought badly about the leader of the Revolutionary Army, but the blond thought his ire was more than justified just then. He had not appreciated that sudden drop, nor was he happy about the way Dragon had abruptly transformed back to his human form and proceeded to manhandle him like a small kitten as he carried Sabo the rest of the way down by the back of his coat.

A cold breeze blew by, reminding him of exactly how wet he was at the moment. Wearing a raincoat had kept most of his clothes dry, but the edges of his sleeves and the lower parts of his pants still ended up completely soaked. Even his hair hadn't been spared despite having had his hood up; his blond curls were clinging on to him like a second skin.

As he carefully began looking around for the familiar faces of his fellow revolutionaries, Sabo considered who would be the best target to steal some clothes from. Now that he had better foresight, there was no way he was going to go through this again without a better coat on. It was cold up there, and his damp hair was beginning to drip onto the collar of his shirt.

He sneezed.

"Ugh, I can't wait to get out of these clothes," he grumbled.

"Oh?" A quiet, feminine voice broke through his musings. "Maybe I can help you with that."

Sabo tensed momentarily, then scowled in annoyance as he recognized the aura of the person standing behind him.

"Very funny."

"Hehe. It took you long enough to notice me. Are you losing your touch, Sabo-kun?"

Sabo turned around to face the very woman he had been looking for. The smug smirk on Koala's lips made his scowl deepen. "Oh, shut up," he told her. "This doesn't count."

Koala's fingers drummed against the stem of her umbrella as she raised her eyebrows, unimpressed by his claim. "Right," she scoffed. "Fine, then. In that case, how about you start telling me what the Chief of Staff is doing all the way over here?"

Sabo opened his mouth to explain before thinking better of it. His eyes darted around, and although no one around them was looking their way, he grabbed Koala's wrist and pulled her towards the back of the nearest building.

"Hey!"

"I'm here with the boss," Sabo murmured quietly as he let go of his longtime friend. Koala's eyes widened in surprise. A small frown appeared on her face but she said nothing as she leaned in closer to listen. "We're not on official business, technically. At least, not as far as I know anyway." Now that he thought about it, Sabo was surprised he hadn't bothered to ask Dragon what he was planning to do in the East Blue. It was very easy to fall into that man's pace... "We're heading to Loguetown," he said.

"Loguetown? What for?"

Sabo shrugged and flashed her a small grin.

"Geez, that's helpful."

"Yeah, well, since this place was on the way, we decided to stop by for a bit. I figured you could use the break. Got any updates for us?"

Koala's easygoing expression dimmed as she shook her head. "No. We ought to have taken on this job much earlier," she said, frustration etched in the lines of her face. "Their information network is basically nonexistent - nobody knows anything about anyone! There's definitely something weird about the organization though."

"Something weird?"

"Yeah… the upper rank members are definitely up to something strange. We're going to be moving on to the next island soon. Hopefully the Officer Agents will give us a better lead to the mysterious Mr. 0."

"I see…" Sabo wrinkled his nose. He didn't envy Koala's current assignment. Despite the nature of their job, he had never been a fan of undercover missions when he could go all out instead. Still, he was more than familiar with the need for discretion. "Well, it sure sounds like a drag, but I'm sure you'll run into something good with your luck."

Koala's mood perked up a little at his encouragement. "Oh? You think it's all luck, do you?" she smirked, causing Sabo to grin in response.

"Are you saying it's not?"

"Sabo-kun…" Koala said in a sweet voice as she twirled her umbrella between her fingers. "Do you want to test out your luck?"

A crash of thunder rumbled above them and the sky lit up. On any other day, Sabo would have taken that as a sign to quit while he was ahead of the game. Instead, it only served to remind him exactly of how wet he was and who was responsible for it. He felt a brief flash of dismay as he thought of getting back out on the road so soon…

"...Err, okay, why are you staring at me like that?"

"Say, Koala… How do you feel about taking a break before you move on from here? Think you can spare a few hours?"

"...What did you have in mind?" the redhead asked in a dubious voice, not trusting the growing grin on Sabo's face.

"Come with us! I don't think we'll take too long. The boss said he wanted to make it back to the base before tomorrow night."

Koala raised an eyebrow but chose not to comment on the incredulous statement. "Where is he anyway?"

Sabo pointed in the direction he last saw Dragon walk off to. "I think he went to one of the bars, so if you're coming, you should probably pick up some extra provisions on the way back to make up for it."

Koala winced. That more than anything else was enough encouragement to get her to agree. "Right… Well, I'm all for it, but hey, how did you guys even get here? I'd know if a ship had docked at the port. Kinda our job to know."

At that question, Sabo adjusted his sunglasses. "About that… You wouldn't happen to have a good raincoat or two with you, would you?"

"Huh?"

Later…

"You know, I'm not sure whether to be really impressed or really shocked right now," Koala said as she stared at Dragon.

"Right?!"

TO BE CONTINUED

On the next chapter of Chasing the Remnants! "Loguetown" Sabo and Koala are given some time to explore and run across a few colorful characters.