Wren looked at the group of Lapahns knowing they didn't have the time to spare to be slowed down by these oversized rabbits….these oversized cute rabbits. Wren bit her lip as she imagined how soft and fluffy those Lapahns were. Probably fluffier than the Sea Lapahns from the North Blue.

"Wren, you should keep going." Luffy said as he looked back at her. "And get Nami to the mountain. Sanji and I can deal with these guys."

Wren was about to suggest she stay behind instead, but heard Nami's voice, which had her pausing. Wren glanced at the navigator at the same time as Sanji and Luffy.

"Hurry…to…Alabas…" Nami murmured.

Wren almost wanted to chuckle in amusement at how worried Nami was about Vivi when she's the one at death's door.

"Nami, just rest." Luffy said as he moved into the sled. "We'll worry about that later, kay?"

"She's not even worried about her own life." Sanji said smiling. "Just hang in there a little while, Nami-chan."

He then turned to look at the Lapahns that remained in their way as Cerberus came to a halt. Sanji and Luffy jumped out of the sled as Cerberus snarled at the Lapahns.

"Down, boy." Sanji said as he and Luffy walked to stand in front of Cerberus. "You don't worry about these guys. You just worry about getting these two lovely ladies to the mountain, understand?"

All three of Cerberus's heads nodded in unison as they made slight growling noises as if to let Sanji know they did understand.

"Good." Sanji said then glanced at Wren. "Please, look after Nami-chan, Wren-chan."

"Nami-san will be fine." Wren said. "I'm more worried about the two of you."

Sanji gave Wren a grin that wasn't like his usually goofy love sick ones as he placed his cigarette back in his mouth.

"Don't worry, my dear." Sanji said. "We'll take care of these overfed bunnies, and be back to you in no time, I promise."

"Yeah, so get going." Luffy said as he grinned. "And we'll meet you at the top of the mountain."

Wren sighed still not sure about this plan of theirs, but she did nod her head. She told Cerberus to keep going as Luffy and Sanji ran forward to make a path. The boys attacked the Lapahns while hitting or kicking them out of the way to make a path for Cerberus to slip through while pulling the sled. Wren looked back at Sanji and Luffy as they continued fighting the Lapahns. She hopes they'll be okay. As Cerberus kept going, Wren pulled Nami close to give her some extra warmth.

"L…Luffy….Sanji." Nami murmured.

"Don't worry, Nami-san." Wren said. "They'll return to us. Sanji-san promised."

Nami just seemed to lean farther into Wren as the harsh snowy wind blew past them. Cerberus made it pretty far from where the Lapahns appeared earlier, and Wren could see that the mountain was getting much closer. There wasn't much farther to go. It seemed things were starting to look up. Cerberus managed to make it to the mountain a few short minutes later, and came to a halt at the bottom of the Drum Rockies. Wren stepped out of the sled while looking up to see the mountain disappeared into the clouds.

"It's time to start heading up." Wren said.

She snapped her fingers with Cerberus disappearing, which had the harness to the sled dropping to the ground since it no longer had anything to attach to. Wren then held out her hand to the right side of her.

"Horā-Horā: Snowy Wyvern." Wren said.

Soon a snowy colored dragon-like creature that was even bigger than Cerberus appeared beside Wren. It let out a hiss while dangerously flashing its fangs. Wren pet its side then went to retrieve Nami from the sled. Wren carefully picked up Nami with ease then walked back to the Wyvern. Wren jumped onto its back then gently set down Nami.

"Hurry and fly to the top of the mountain." Wren ordered the Wyvern.

It made a small screeching sound in confirmation before it started beating its large wings. It took off into the blizzardy winds to head straight up to get to the top of the Drum Rockies. Wren held Nami close while hoping they didn't somehow miss Kureha. The seasoned doctor had to be here…for Nami's sake. As they were flying to the top, Wren heard a rumbling sound from down below, which had her looking down. Now it wasn't completely clear, but she could have sworn that some kind of avalanche had been started. And it was making its way down the slope leading to the mountain side towards one of the towns.

"Sanji-san, Luffy-sama." Wren murmured while truly feeling worried for them.

Wren had to get Nami to the top faster than ever then hand the navigator over to Kureha. Then Wren could hurry back to go aid Luffy and Sanji. Finally the Wyvern made it to the top while letting out a roar, which had to alert Kureha that someone or something was outside her castle doors. The Wyvern landed on the snowy mountain top, so Wren jumped down from its back. She looked at the castle in front of her while not noticing any movement, but she could vaguely sense two presences in the area that didn't belong to herself, Nami, or the Wyvern.

"Dr. Kureha!" Wren shouted. "I know you're here! Please, come out. I have a patient for you!"

Wren then took a deep breath as she paused to wait for some kind of reply. She heard the sound of snow crunching and seconds letter Kureha was walking out the opened castle door with a large furry form following her.

…Chopper…

Wren was glad to see the human-reindeer again, and if circumstances were different, she'd greet Chopper warmly. Kureha and Chopper stopped a few feet away from Wren as they finally reached her.

"So it's you again, girl." Kureha said. "Did you get cut by any poisonous swords lately?"

"No, but I have a girl with me who has some kind of infection that she most possibly received from Little Garden." Wren said. "It's been a couple of days, and her fever just keeps climbing higher."

"An infection from Little Garden you say?" Kureha said. "Sounds serious. Well, let me have a look at her."

Wren led Kureha over to the side of the Wyvern, so Kureha could climb onto its back to get to Nami. Kureha looked over Nami as Wren and Chopper stood side-by-side from down below.

"Yes, this girl is in horrible shape." Kureha said then opened up Nami's coat to look under her clothes. "She's dying, but it seems as if someone slowed down whatever is causing her fever."

Kureha looked at Wren as she said this, but the young woman was staring out over the mountain with a bothered expression on her face.

"Please, help her." Wren said as she looked towards Kureha. "I need to go retrieve two of my companions. There was an avalanche as I was heading up…they could be hurt."

"Three patients, huh?" Kureha asked. "How do you expect to pay me this time, Girlie? I know for a fact that you left your crew, so you can't have any supplies to give me."

"You can have all the treasure I took with me when I left Doflamingo." Wren said. "Every single last gold piece or golden artifact and beri."

Kureha stared silently at Wren for a moment as the wind blew around them to ruffle their hair. Chopper looked in between the two women as he wondered what Kureha would decide.

"All your treasure, huh?" Kureha said then grinned. "Fine, that'll do. Chopper, get this girl inside immediately."

"Yes, Docterine." Chopper said nodding.

He climbed up onto the Wyvern then picked up Nami carefully. He was careful as he climbed off the Wyvern, and as he was heading inside, Kureha jumped down beside Wren.

"You sure are concerned about a couple of acquaintances, Girlie." Kureha said. "Didn't think someone with a reputation such as yourselves could care like that. In fact, I seem to recall you not caring a lick about those pirates you left to die a few months back before you first landed here."

"They were my enemy." Wren said simply. "That girl and her crew are kind enough to give me a way to pass through the Grand Line. I only wish to show them the same courtesy as they are giving me."

Kureha lightly chuckled then watched as Wren climbed up onto the Wyvern's back. She gave a sharp whistle, which had the Wyvern flapping its wings to kick off into the air.

"I'll be back shortly." Wren said as she looked down at Kureha.

Wren then had the Wyvern head down towards the slope leading up to the mountain, which was covered in new snow due to the avalanche that had finally stopped. Wren frowned seeing it went all the way down to a village far from the mountain. She hoped Luffy and Sanji weren't carried down that far. She had to find them fast.

"Horā-Horā: Hellhounds." Wren said as she pointed down at the ground.

Five large dog beasts appeared down below on the ground, and they all snarled and snapped at each other dangerously. However, they quickly snapped their heads up in attention when Wren gave a sharp whistle.

"I'm looking for two humans buried in the snow. Find them." Wren ordered.

They let out howls before they split up to search the mountainside for Wren's crewmates. She knew they didn't need a piece of clothing or something Sanji and Luffy touched since Hellhounds smelled out souls instead of a person's actual scent. And all they had to look for were human souls. Wren had the Wyvern fly flow, so she could look for her crewmates as well. One of the hounds gave a baying howl suddenly, and Wren soon heard the others add in as they ran towards the source of the first howl.

"Follow the howls." Wren said.

The Wyvern let out a growl of confirmation then quickly flew towards the sound of the howling. When they made it to the where the hellhounds were circling, Wren saw Luffy holding Sanji under one arm while glaring at the hellhounds.

"You trying to pick a fight?" Luffy asked as he held up a fist.

"Luffy-sama, they mean no harm!" Wren called out, which got Luffy's attention. "They were just helping me find you."

Luffy looked relieved to see Wren, and if it was any other time, he'd get excited about the monsters she had conjured this time. The Wyvern landed on the snowy ground, so Wren jumped off its back.

"Are you alright?" Wren asked. "What happened to Sanji-san?"

"Those stupid bunnies started an avalanche, and Sanji and I got swallowed up in it after crashing into stumps!" Luffy said while looking at Sanji in worry. "He won't wake up."

Wren looked concerned when Luffy said this, but just quickly helped him get Sanji on the Wyvern's back.

"Is Nami alright?" Luffy asked. "Did you get her to the witch doctor?"

"Yes, Nami-san is being treated as we speak." Wren said nodding. "Now let's get Sanji-san to see Dr. Kureha."

Luffy nodded his head, but before he climbed onto the Wyvern, he noticed that baby Lapahn not far from them. It was crying as it was trying to dig out one of the large Lapahns.

"I'll be right back." Luffy said as he headed towards the Lapahns.

Wren watched him go, and as he got closer the baby Lapahn growled and hissed at him as it was trying to protect its fellow Lapahn. Luffy reached forward to grab the large Lapahn's paw, and with one tug he managed to pull it out of the snow. They caused Sanji and Luffy a lot of trouble yet he still helped them. Wren hasn't seen that kind of kindness in a while. Luffy then walked back to Wren, who was already on the Wyvern's back, as she had her hellhounds disappear.

"Okay, let's go." Luffy said as he climbed up as well.

"As you wish, Luffy-sama." Wren said nodding.

She gave a whistle, which had the Wyvern taking off into the sky to head towards the mountain. As they were flying, Wren noticed that Luffy lost his coat. She frowned knowing he had to be freezing. She took off her coat then scooted over to Luffy. She put her coat around him, which had him looking at her with wide eyes.

"This will keep you warm until we reach the top of the mountain." Wren said. "We can't have you getting sick, can we, Captain?"

"But won't you get cold?" Luffy asked.

"I have more winter appropriate clothes on than you." Wren said. "So I'll be fine."

Luffy didn't reply as he looked at Wren. She's been trying really hard to help all of them. He knew she is their nakama now, but it was almost like a mother taking care of her children. Or an older sister looking after for her younger siblings. Yeah, it more like that. Because how she was taking care of him reminded him of how Ace and Sabo looked out for him when they were all younger. Wren then went to check on Sanji who was still unconscious.

"Hey, hey, Straw Hat!"

Luffy and Wren blinked before looking down to see Wapol and two of his cronies riding on a large winter hippo that were common in this area.

"It's that guy." Luffy said frowning. "I owe him a beating! Wren, get Sanji to that doctor!"

Luffy was about to jump down to deal with Wapol, but Wren caught his wrist to stop him. He looked back at her as she was giving him a firm look.

"Luffy-sama, please, stop." Wren said. "The last time we were separated you and Sanji-san were caught up in an avalanche. We can't wrist you getting hurt just so to beat that man. Battling in snow like this can be difficult for people not used to it. Let's just reach the castle."

Luffy's frown deepened, but he slowly nodded his head. He sat back down on the Wyvern as it continued flying while ignoring Wapol.

"Hey, don't ignore me!" Wapol shouted up at them.

He then went on to tell one of his cronies to write down a new law that forbid people to ignore him, and if they did then they'd meet death. Wren shook her head because that was a ridiculous law that not even Doflamingo had in Dressrosa.

"Chess, shoot them down!" Wapol then ordered.

"Yes, Wapol-sama." Chess said bowing.

He jumped off of the hippo, which came to a stop. He pulled out his bow and arrows, and as he was getting ready, Wren stood up while unsheathing her sword. Chess fired, and before the arrows were even close, Wren slashed at the air, which sent a screaming wave towards the arrows. The arrows were quickly destroyed by the screaming slash, which kept going until it hit the ground. The force of the scream and the scream itself created a small avalanche that covered Wapol and his men. However, it was just a small one, so it didn't go far down the mountain like the last.

"That should keep them out of our way for a while." Wren said.

She was about to sit down, but suddenly three gunshots rang out, one after the other through the air. Wren hadn't been expecting it at all, so when she felt a searing pain in her side she was completely shocked. She fell to her knees while still on the back of the Wyvern as blood soaked her clothes, which was caused by the three bullet holes in her side.

"Wren!" Luffy shouted in alarm.

He hurried to her side as she placed her hand on her side. Where had those shots come from? They definitely weren't from Wapol or his men. Wren looked to the side to look down below. She vaguely caught sight of a figure peeking around a tree before it was gone. How the hell had that person manage to shoot her? Her haki should have warned her when those shots were coming. Wren then winced while noticing that the bullets seemed to be sapping away her strength. As if they were draining her. Was it made of sea prism stone?

"Wren, are you going to be okay?" Luffy asked as he placed his hands on her shoulder.

Despite feeling a lot of pain in her side, Wren smiled at Luffy to give him some reassurance.

"I'll be fine, Luffy-sama." Wren said. "Dr. Kureha will patch me up easily."

Or Chopper would do it. Of course, Wren wouldn't ask for treatment until she knew Sanji and Nami were going to be okay. The Wyvern finally made it to the top of the mountain where it landed with ease. Luffy picked up Sanji to carry him off the Wyvern as Wren slid down off his back. She snapped her fingers with the Wyvern disappearing. Wren started feeling lightheaded suddenly. Before she knew it, she was falling forward as her vision became blurry.

"Wren!" She heard Luffy shout in concern as she hit the ground.

She heard Luffy set down Sanji then run towards her. He turned her over to look down at her, and his face was the last she saw before she passed out.

As Wren started to comeback to consciousness, she felt the pain in her side had lessened greatly. It was now just three spots of dull aching. She frowned while still wondering who the hell managed to shoot her like that. Wren then forced herself to sit up to look around to see she was in the same room she had been in the last time that she was here. Wren lowered her cover to see that her shirt had been removed, so she could have the bullets removed from her side. She was now wrapped up starting from the bottom of her torso to her chest.

She pushed the covers off of her completely as she turned to the side of the bed. She set her bare feet onto the cold stone floor, which had her shivering. She found her boots set to the side, so she grabbed them to put on her bare feet. She got up out of the bed though wobbled for a moment when a small wave of dizziness hit her. It passed quickly though. She let out a sigh then saw that a simple black, long-sleeved shirt was laid out for her. She grabbed it to quickly put on since she was freezing, and when seeing her coat, she grabbed it too. As she was putting on her coat, she heard a lot of racket happening outside her door.

"Is that…Chopper screaming?" Wren asked.

She went over to the door, and when she opened it, Chopper went rushing by with Luffy, who was asking Chopper to be his friend, running after him. However, Luffy zipped back to stand in front of her when he had realized he passed her.

"Oh, Wren, you're up!" Luffy shouted

Luffy grinned brightly at Wren as Chopper hid around the corner. He needed to check on Wren, and get her back to bed. However, he couldn't get near her with Luffy around.

"Are you feeling better?" Luffy asked. "Did that old doctor lady take care of your bullet wounds?"

"Yes, I'm much better, Luffy-sama." Wren said then touched her side. "The wounds ache a bit, but that's it."

Luffy grinned even more since he was so glad his friends were all doing a lot better.

"Now, Luffy-sama, why are you chasing around Chopper?" Wren asked.

"Oh, he's going to join our crew and be our friend!" Luffy said then looked around until he spotted Chopper who stiffened. "There you are! Come back, Reindeer!"

Chopper took off running with Luffy dashing after him. Wren watched him go for a moment while wondering if he knew that making Chopper see you as a friend was hard. He didn't trust humans. Wren shook her head then walked down the hallway towards the main medical room where she was sure she'd find Kureha. Wren reached the door that led to the room she was looking for. She opened the door to see Nami, Sanji, and Kureha inside.

"Well, well, well, look who's up." Kureha said. "Not many people would be up after getting shot three times."

"Not many people are a demon like me." Wren replied as she walked forward. "And I would like to apologize if I interrupted any conversation you might have been having."

"We just finished speaking." Kureha said. "I was just telling them the story about Chopper's past."

"You mean the story about the Quack?" Wren asked.

Kureha nodded her head in reply as Sanji hurried out of his seat to walk over to Wren.

"Wren-chan, should you really being moving?" Sanji asked looking concerned. "You don't want to get any worse, do you?"

"I'll be fine." Wren said. "When you've been a pirate for as long as I have, you get over wounds like this quickly."

Sanji frowned since he was still very worried about Wren. He didn't want any lovely lady to be in pain. However, he just nodded then pulled out a chair for Wren to sit in.

"Thank-you." She said as she sat down. "Nami-san, how are you?"

"I'm doing really well." Nami said smiling. "Dr. Kureha told me that if you hadn't helped me that I probably wouldn't have made it here alive."

"Yes, it's quite remarkable that you slowed down the five day disease." Kureha said. "It seems you know more medical knowledge than you let on the last time you were here."

Wren shrugged her shoulder in a nonchalant manner as she glanced at the table. There was no tea. She'd really like some about now.

"Hey, Cook," Kureha said as she glanced at Sanji. "How about you make some tea? There's some herbs I laid out that will help this girl's pain in her side to go in with some tea leaves."

"I'll get to it right away!" Sanji said as he jumped up. "Anything to make Wren-chwan feel better!~"

He hurried off to go make the tea as Wren looked at Kureha with a quirked brow.

"You seem to know me very well considering I was only here for a week last time." Wren said casually.

"A doctor needs to understand her patients to make them feel better again." Kureha said. "Don't forget that, Girlie."

Wren nodded her head as she resisted the urge to just lean back in her seat. However, her old lessons of how a woman should properly sit kept her from doing so.

"So I hear you've been busy since we last saw." Kureha said. "Not long after you left here, you left Donquixote Doflamingo and his crew. Now you're with another group of pirates. Can't stay away from trouble, can you?"

"It's not like it's possible for me to just leave behind the life of a wanted criminal." Wren said. "Any possibility of a trouble free life was taken away fourteen years ago."

Though Wren kept her tone casual Nami could hear a slight bitterness to it, which had the navigator looking at Wren in sympathy. Nami kind of understood what Wren was going through since she had to work for Arlong and his crew for years to try and protect her village. Wren was trying to do the same, but the difference was that Wren lost her family, friends, and kingdom. Nami couldn't imagine being without her sister or the people of her village. Just the thought makes her feel depressed, so she could imagine how much pain Wren feels on a daily basis.

"You could always go into hiding." Kureha suggested.

"I'm not a coward." Wren said. "And I have business to attend to, and a goal that's been waiting eleven years to be completed to do. If I'm still alive after all that, I'll have one more thing to do before I can finally be at peace."

Nami frowned having a feeling that Wren didn't mean she'd be relaxing after everything was said and done. When Wren said be at peace it sounded like she meant something else. A few more minutes of comfortable silence passed before Sanji returned with fresh tea.

"Here you go, my dear." Sanji said as he set the tea in front of Wren.

He poured her a cup then held it out to her. Wren took it then took an experimental sip.

"It tastes delicious, Sanji-san." Wren said. "Thank-you."

"You're welcome, Wren-chwan~" Sanji said as he spun around. "I'm so glad you liked it. Do you want me to make you anything to eat to go with your tea?~"

"No, thank-you, Sanji-san." Wren said. "I'm not very hungry right now."

Sanji nodded his head then took his seat, which he scooted over to the table to sit beside Wren.

"Hmm, seems like you've been busier than I previously thought." Kureha said as she grinned at Wren.

Wren just silently looked at Kureha as the old woman cackled in the peculiar way of hers.

"Anyway, now that I'm feeling more relaxed, I would like to see the bullets you pulled out of me." Wren said as she held out her hands. "I know you kept them."

Kureha reached into her pocket to pull out a small glass bottle. She tossed it to Wren who caught it in her hand. She looked at the three bullets that held up pretty well considering they did impact her body.

"And in case you're curious about your wounds, none of them hit anything vital." Kureha said.

"I see." Wren said while not seeming concerned. "Thank-you for mending my wounds."

Kureha nodded her head as Wren opened up the bottle to drop out one of the bullets into her waiting palm. When it touched her skin she winced a bit when immediately feeling her strength wane a bit.

"Wren, are you alright?" Sanji asked quickly when he saw her wince.

"I'm alright." Wren said as she placed the bullet back into the bottle. "I was just testing a theory. When these bullets hit me, they not only paused me pain…it also felt as if my very strength was being taken from me. Only one type of bullet could cause that…and it's a sea prism bullet."

Kureha lightly frowned while knowing that sea prism bullets weren't easy to come by especially in these waters.

"Sea prism bullet?" Nami asked. "What's that?"

"Sea prism bullets are made of sea prism stones." Wren said. "And sea prism stones give off the same energy as the sea, which means it can be used against devil fruit users. A lot of marine base prison bars are made of it. Sea prism bullets though are rare. You can't even find them on this side of the Grand Line, which means the person who shot me had to have purchased the bullets on an island farther along the Grand Line."

This meant the person knew what he or she was doing. They hit Wren three times with sea prism bullets to weaken her so she'd be less of a threat. Then they made sure to be able to miss any vital organs. That must mean they wanted her alive, which leads her to believe the person was a bounty hunter after her bounty. Or perhaps someone hired by Doflamingo himself.

"If I run into the bastard who shot you, I'll kill him." Sanji growled glared forward. "I'll make sure he suffers beforehand because what he's done is unforgiveable!"

He wasn't just mad at this shooter either. He was angry with himself for not being able to protect Wren. He promised to be her knight in shining armor, but he couldn't prevent her from being shot.

"I don't want him dead." Wren said as she crossed one leg over the other. "I want information out of him, so that I can find out who he is, why he was shooting me exactly, and if he works for anyone."

After that Wren would leave the man speaking to the point of insanity for anyone to find that way if anyone else is on her trail, they'll see what waits for them should they try to continue tracking her.

"Wren, I know knowledge is important." Nami said. "But is it really that important here on the Grand Line?"

"Yes, it is." Wren said as she glanced at Nami. "Information can be more valuable than gold on these waters, and keep you alive. Just basic information like knowing other pirate crews, who the Shichibukai are, where certain marine headquarters rest, etc. can help you know what you're up against."

Nami nodded her head in understanding. That made sense to her. Like know they knew what sea prism stone is, which means they can try to keep it away from their devil fruit users.

"Gathering information is my specialty." Wren said. "So don't worry. I'll keep my feelers out to see if I catch wind of anything the crew may need to know. When I last spoke to one of my informants, she was entering the Grand Line, and heading for Alabasta. I'll get a hold of her, and ask her to check on the situation in Alabasta before we get there, so we can get information on the situation before we land."

"That really makes me feel better." Nami said smiling. "And I'm sure Vivi will appreciate it."

Wren nodded her head then sensed a presence rushing towards the door, which had her looking back at it. The door burst open with Chopper, who was in his Walking Point, was standing there looking upset.

"Docterine, it's bad!" He said. "Wapol's back."

Wren frowned while remembering that annoying king and his henchmen. She was hoping they'd freeze to death after she buried them in snow.

"Is he?" Kureha asked grinning.