So yeah. Roger got us a crewmate! And it was Silvers Rayleigh!

If there was any chance of me being able to deny being in One Piece before, it's gone kaput now.

Honestly, it was a real stroke of luck that Roger gotRayleigh as his first cremate. Likely in both Canon and this one. Rayleigh is able to navigate the Blues with little to no problem. He's also level-headed, responsible and competent in just about every way necessary on a pirate ship.

Seriously, how the fuck was Roger's luck this good and how can I get me some of that?

Well, regardless, with Rayleigh, we rapidly gathered up more crewmates. He was a lot more capable when picking out someone to join than Roger's method of asking everyone he thinks is cool. We managed to get a swordsman, a cook, a couple of snipers and a lookout. I told Roger and Rayleigh - after Rayleigh was convinced I wasn't a sign that crazy was infectious - that I'd rather not be known to the entire crew. Just those two knowing about me was enough.

With a bigger crew, we soon needed a bigger ship, not that that was much of a problem. We just robbed most of the more… unpleasant pirates we came across of their treasure. Not like they'll need it at the bottom of the sea.

Still, by the time we set off for the Grand Line, we still haven't managed to recruit a capable sea doctor. A few of our crewmates knew basic first aid, but that doesn't make up for the lack of real medical knowledge. The only reason I didn't protest the matter was because I knew Crocus was at the beginning of the Grand Line and we would recruit him before we really set off to our first island.

"ALRIGHT!" Roge excitedly screams. "THE GRAND LINE!"

None of the pirates around him could seem to keep the smiles off their faces, no matter how small or large they ended up being. This was what they were all waiting for. The Grand Line.

"Cool your heels, Roger." Rayleigh says, amused. In the past few months, he's gotten swept up in Roger's chaos more times than he wants to count, so he's had to get used to going with the flow. Still, someone has to be the reasonable one. "We're not going to be there for a little while yet."

"Boo!" Roger sulks. "You party pooper."

:: Did you seriously think we would be there the moment you woke up from your nap? ::

"Well no, but I thought we would have at least been able to see the Red Line by now." Roger complains. "Also, are you sure I can't tell any of the others about you? I mean- "

:: For the last time, YES, I'm sure. Goda, just because you don't like speaking to me in your head is not going to make me budge from my decision. ::

"Hey, what is Goda anyways?"

:: The God of this world. All he requires to worship him is an interesting story. In our case, living out adventures is plenty. Oh look! We're here! ::

Roger's head whips to the side as he gets a clear view of the Red Line, easily forgetting about the topic he was discussing with Felix, who wishes he could sweatdrop at how short Roger's attention span could be.

:: Roger, you should really get Rayleigh to prep the ship for Reverse Mountain. We need to catch the right current to get through without dying. ::

"Got it." "Rayleigh!" Roger calls back. "Set the ship to ride the current up Reverse Mountain!"

Rayleigh blinks, though he moves to do what he's ordered to before asking, "Is this something else Felix told you?" The, just now, was left unsaid between them.

"Yep!" Roger nods. "The currents flow up the mountain and then take us down into the Grand Line."

"You know," Flint, the older brother of Fleur and part of a sniper duo with her, asks. "I'd like to meet this Felix one day. It sounds like he knows a lot about the Grand Line. He must have some interesting stories to tell about it."

Roger glances at his Hat, "Nah, he just gave me some advice before I set sail is all. He knows a few things here and there."

:: Oh ho? What's this? Roger's able to tell a lie of omission now? I'm so proud of you. ::

"Keep that up and I'll tell the others whether you like it or not."

:: Shutting up now! ::

For the next few minutes, the crew on The Satisfaction moved in practiced motions as Rayleigh shouted out orders to keep the crew on course.

"Alright, that should do it." Rayleigh says as he turns away from the sea with a cruel smirk. "You better hope I didn't get it wrong because if we crash now, we're done for."

"Ah who cares!" Roger laughs, throwing his head back. "There is no better way to die than without regrets!"

"WE CARE YOU IDIOT!" Came the shouts of his crew.

Roger rubs at an ear. "Yeesh, fine. Umm, how about..," Roger tilts his head as if listening to something the crew couldn't hear. "Okay I got it. 'If we don't make it out alive, we'll haunt your afterlife?'"

Rayleigh shakes his head with a small amused smile on his face. "Aye Aye Captain."

:: You know, Rayleigh is a lot more amenable to calling you Captain than when we first met him. He must have gotten attached to your brand of chaos. ::

"Huh? What are you talking about? Of course he calls me Captain. I'm the Captain."

:: ...It's times like these that I wonder how it's possible for you to be so perceptive about things other people over look and so oblivious to things that are obvious. ::

"Roger giving you a hard time Felix?" Rayleigh asks in a low voice as the rest of the crew enjoy the ride up Reverse Mountain.

Roger pouts. "I'm not that bad."

"Yes you are." Rayleigh deadpans in coincidental unison with Felix. "I remember the one time you didn't have Felix with you when we went to an island. Never again." Rayleigh feverently swears. "I never want to try to reel you in by myself ever again.

"But-"

"NEVER." Rayleigh glares at Roger.

"Captain!" Flint calls out. "I think I see the top!"

In an instant, Roger appears at the figurehead of the ship, eagerly anticipating the ride back down. From what Felix said, it's supposed to be amazing.

:: When have I ever been wrong? Hold onto your Hat, it's gonna be wild! ::

Roger clasps a hand over his Hat just in time to keep it from being blown off his head by the strong winds as they rush down the other side of Reverse Mountain. Roger whoops and hollers the entire way down along with the rest of his crew.

"You know, I'm getting flashbacks to the Squirrels. There aren't any giant animals at the end of this ride, is there?"

:: ...ahe. There's just one? ::

Roger glances up at his Hat in alarm. "Felix!"

:: It's harmless and probably won't- ah shit. Damn you Murphy. ::

"All hands on deck!" Rayleigh shouts, having seen what Felix just did. "Hard to Port! There's an opening around it on the left!"

The crew called out affirmatives as they rushed to follow Rayleigh's commands. Rayleigh himself pulls Roger out of the way and grabs Felix off his head and places him rather forcefully on his own.

"Why the fuck didn't you say anything about the giant whale at the end of Reverse Mountain."

:: ...I thought it wouldn't be there? ::

"Felix!" Roger whisper shouts. "We nearly crashed because of it."

:: He's not as big as he could have been. He'll be twice this size in about thirty years. ::

"That doesn't make it better!" Rayleigh thinks furiously.

:: Well what do you want me to do! I thought it would know to stay clear of the opening of Reverse Mountain! Dozens of ships before us had to pass through here! ::

"And dozens probably crashed because of it too." Rayleigh sighs. "Just prepare us before we reach these things next time. And I thought Roger was bad enough."

:: Hey! I heard that! I'm nowhere near as bad as he is! ::

"I'm still here!" Roger points out.

"You were meant to. Both of you." Rayleigh places Felix back on Roger's head, glancing over Roger's shoulder at the rest of the crew. "Looks like they managed to divert us just in time."

"Yeah, well, we almost didn't." Markel, the cook, says with narrowed eyes and crossed arms. "The heck were you bozos doing back here?"

Rayleigh frowns. "Sorry about that. I thought that Roger forgot to tell me about the giant whale. Turns out that Felix never mentioned it. I'll make sure to leave the reaming for later next time."

"Next time?" Roger complains. "It's not as if I do these things on purpose."

"So you say." Rayleigh mutters. Then in a much louder voice, he says, "I remember this one time, not long after I met you, involving cannibals, cannibals that eat cannibals, and the two of us stuck between them. In fact I vividly remember the clothes you were tricked into wearing too. What was it again? Oh right it-"

"I get it, I get it!" Roger yelps. "I thought we agreed to never speak of that again!"

Rayleigh remains unimpressed. "You did. I wasn't the one who managed to insult their ancestors from three hundred years back."

Markel stares, his previous annoyance forgotten. "Seriously, if you're not going to share what happened stop talking about these things in front of us. Dammit, I'm not going to be able to stop thinking about this for a while." He grumbles as he returns to the galley.

"AGH!" Flint cries out, clutching his side as he collapses by the cannons. The entire crew snaps to alert, searching for their comrade's attacker. It wasn't hard. A man wearing a dark pink sleeveless shirt, a pink hat dotted with black spots, shorts and sandals was standing in plain view of the ship. The most damning thing about the flower-like man were the harpoons he had resting in his hand and on his back.

"Tch." He shoves his glasses further up his face. "I missed."

"#&^$& !" Fleur curses. Despite her flowery name, there was nothing remotely ladylike about her. She could tumble with the guys, knock back an entire cargo ship of alcohol and slap the shit out of the bastards who inevitably hit on her without blinking an eye.

Roger nearly attacked him on sight, if it wasn't for Rayleigh holding an arm out in his way. Only the same fury in Rayleigh's eyes kept Roger from ignoring his request. Request, because they both knew that Roger was stronger, for now.

Rayleigh keeps one eye on Flint until another crewmate is able to patch him up before giving their assailant his full attention. "We're not looking for trouble. We just want to get past to the Grand Line." He says tersely.

:: Oh I get it. Roger, we don't have a real doctor. It's better if we don't get hurt fighting just as we start out in Paradise. We could take him down easily, but there's always the chance that our crewmates could get hurt in the crossfire. ::

"I couldn't give a flying fuck why you're here." Crocus spits, his grip on his weapon tightening. "But that gunner of yours was going to shoot Laboon and I won't stand for that."

"Laboon?" A glint of realization enters Rayleigh's eyes. "The whale."

"That's right." Crocus grunts, watching the entire crew warily. "I was asked to look after him until his Captain came back. Any attacks on him, I'll return tenfold."

"Flint." Rayleigh says, never taking his gaze off their aggressor. "Why were you going to shoot the whale?"

It takes a moment, but Flint manages to croak out, "Wasn't gonna. It was coming- too close to the ship. Was aiming for a warning shot."

"A warning…" Crocus' eyes widen in shock and a hint of guilt enters his features. "I'm sorry. I was too hasty in assuming he was aiming to kill. Too many pirates aim for Laboon's vitals when they try to pass and I assumed that you were the same." He says remorsefully.

Roger relaxes and nods when Rayleigh glances his way. Crocus' Voice was saying he was telling the truth. It genuinely was a misunderstanding.

Crocus himself is unaware of this exchange between Captain and First Mate. Instead, he was paying attention to Flint's treatment. "That's not how you treat an injury that large, especially not when created by a harpoon." His eyes flick up and holds Roger's gaze. "I'm a doctor. I understand that you may not trust me after what I've done, but as it was my fault, I am willing to help him."

Roger doesn't hesitate to accept, much to Fleur's dismay. The crew still keeps an eye on Crocus as he boards the ship and tends to their crewmate, but save for Fleur - who glares at Crocus the entire time - it is less with antagonism and more with caution.

"It'll be around a week until he's well enough to do anything more serious than walking again." Crocus says as he packs his equipment up, having grabbed his medical supplies before boarding. "But other than that, he shouldn't have any problems healing."

"Yeah, from an injury YOU gave him!" Fleur yells, trembling in fury.

Crocus bows his head slightly. "As I said before, I am sorry for that. However, I do not regret acting in Laboon's defense."

"What's up with that anyways?" Roger asks, nearly all animosity gone after Crocus offered to treat Flint. "That's an island whale right? I remember seeing them in West Blue. What's one doing all the way out here?"

Crocus stands. "I suppose you have the right to know considering it's the reason I attacked your crew in the first place."

"Twenty years, huh?" Rayleigh tilts his head back in thought. "That's awfully long for a pirate crew to leave a friend behind."

Crocus frowns. "I'm aware. At this point I don't have much hope of them being alive, but there's no real way for me to find out what happened to them. I only wish I could tell Laboon their fate, if only so he can make his peace with it and move on, but he won't believe it if there's even a chance I'm wrong."

Roger brightens. "Hey! We need a doctor and it seems like you're plenty strong. Why don't you come with us? You can find out the truth and tell Laboon when you come back."

Crocus raises an eyebrow. "And leave Laboon here alone?"

"Well, why don't we ask him?" Roger doesn't wait for Crocus' answer. "LABOON! DOWN HERE!"

"Gah!" Rayleigh rubs his ear as he was unfortunate enough to be directly next to Roger's eardrum bursting shout. He slaps Roger upside the head. "Don't do that!"

Roger rolls with it, too used to Rayleigh's weak - to him because Rayleigh hasn't learned Haki yet - hits and looks into the island whale's giant eye. "Laboon, Crocus wants to find out what happened to your crew, but doesn't want to leave you here alone. Are you alright with staying here alone for a few years while he travels with us?"

"BWOOO." Laboon bellows.

"Alright, thanks! I promise we'll bring him back to you!" Roger waves.

Crocus slaps Roger upside the head too. "Don't just take that for a yes!"

"But it was." Roger rubs his head. Rayleigh cuts in before Crocus slaps him again.

"Roger has always been able to understand animals. If he says that Laboon agreed, then Laboon agreed."

Crocus turns to Laboon. "Is this true? You really want me to go with them to find out what happened?"

Laboon makes a series of shorter cries that Crocus must have taught him. Crocus leans back, satisfied with Laboon's answer. "If that's what you really want. I'll make sure to come back alive."

Crocus turns back to his new Captain. "Looks like you've got yourself a doctor."

"Yes!" Roger jumps up, fist in the air. "Ah, what's your name again?"

Crocus shakes his head. "My name's Crocus, and I'm one of the best doctors you'll find this side of the Grand Line."

"Good." Rayleigh nods. "With how much trouble our Captain brings, we'll need your expertise. It's fortunate that we came across you so soon."

"Yeah, just a minute here." Fleur interjects. "This guy's joining?" Nods and affirmatives all around. "Then I need to this first."

She steps up and punches Crocus into the Red Line before anyone could really stop her. "That's for my brother you asshole. Now we're even."

Crocus rubs his jaw, already swelling slightly. "Suppose I deserved that."

Fleur snorts. "Damn right you did. Don't do anything like it again and we'll get along just fine."

The men watch her walk back to the ship. "I got off easy?" Crocus asks.

"Yep."

A spark of inspiration hit me recently, so here's the chapter, a lot earlier than I expected, but I don't think anyone's complaining.

And yeah, Roger's always had the Voice of All Things, but having Felix with him all the time made him able to exercise it a lot easier. Luffy could understand animals pretty easily too. Now that Roger's expecting Felix to be able to talk, he's able to hear him even without his Hat on his head. It's not like you try to hear random inanimate objects to talk to you, but now Roger's more prone to listening to the world around him.

I wrote up the Squirrel story mentioned in this chapter and the last one too. It's now in: Tales with Roger. I'll be writing these mostly when I get inspiration from them, though I'll focus more on Hat. Updates for this story will slow down after the 26th. I'm on vacation from school right now so I've got a lot more time to write, even if I'm writing for this half the time when I do write.

As it is? Next chapter skips A LOT of things. I don't want to say anything to spoil it, but if it helps the Gol Arc will end by the 6th chapter and we'll move on to Shanks, which will be even shorter than this one so it'll be less of an arc and more a timeskip. I did keep a timeline of events going though, even if I didn't explore the details.

Comments, Questions, Concerns? Please Review.