Court

So far: Crew has arrived at a giant upside down tree with the intentions to travel to the lower levels of it to save the blue monkey humanoids from giant salamanders. They were requested this from a monkey-person named Dalma who they left on the boat in their travels to get protective coating from the poison the creatures give off.

Zoro, Robin, Chopper, and Usopp are headed up the tree to search for the coating at the very top where the Pale apes dwell. Luffy broke into the lower levels but after breaking out, was dragged to prison. Though he was poisoned, he was saved by an old golden ape named Simeon. Sanji and Nami, are trying to get to the lower level to aid their captain, unaware that he no longer abides there.

-Sanji and Nami-

"Namiiiiiiii? Could you possibly maybe hurry things up pretty please my love?" Sanji yelled with controlled impatience as he kicked back another charging ape. The bravery of his attackers had waned but already he had heard them calling for backup and with his injury still blazing across his stomach he was beginning to consider their chance of success. He had been relentlessly slamming the down button in the controls of the elevator but to no avail. There must have been a special lockdown across the entire system because he knew Nami was excellent regarding hacking computers and unlocking safes.

It wasn't too hard to defend the small confines of the elevator he was in, and no one was breaking through the other glass windows. Only his captain could do that.

"Nami! Luffy isn't going to be findable at this rate! If you can't get it to work then we should get out of here before the whole army gets here!"

He hated to say it because Luffy had been his responsibility and he'd lost him. His only reassurance was that the kid could take care of himself and that they'd just meet up sooner rather than later.

Hearing cursing from the other side of the door, the cook took that as an agreement and began to clear a way for himself. If only they'd known the elevator wouldn't work; then they wouldn't have had to fight a battle to get out and he could be napping and nursing his injuries. Still, they had to try.

As he slammed an overconfident monkey out of his way and began to crawl out of the broken elevator, Sanji heard Nami's door unlock and an explosion sent the awaiting guards flying in every direction.

Sometimes he wished he had the hammer of Thor to fight his battles as well.

"This way" he shouted with a wave of this arm as he dashed out into the darkness of night towards an opening that wasn't quite so heavily guarded. He'd had time to come up with an escape route from his glass room.

Nodding, the navigator fought her way over to him first before the two made a charge for the door. It was closed and locked but such trifles had become insignificant obstacles for the strawhats, having picked up on their captain's barge-in-head-first method of getting where he wanted to be.

They heard an alarm going off in the distance, unaware that it was the signal of their captain's return to the surface. Hoping that the civilians weren't vigilantes, the pirates dashed through the dwindling crowd. Since darkness had fallen the path was much darker but still lit by the warm lamps and the glow of the multitude of houses that they hadn't even noted on their arrival, all dispersed like fireflies in the massive branches of Endure Simianus.

Nami offered Sanji her arm though he had given no indication that he was growing weak from blood loss. Still, he was, so he accepted her support knowing that he would need to reserve his energy in case an emergency sprint was necessary.

"Do you have any idea where the crap we should be going?" she asked, looking around for a reasonable escape route.

"Somewhere dark and hidden" Sanji replied as he kicked away a following soldier.

"How're we supposed to out-run monkeys in a friggin tree" Nami asked as they began to run in no particularly tactical direction.

"Wanna cheat?"

"Wha-?"

"Blind them with one of your flashy attacks when we get into a darker part of town. That's gotta keep them scrambling for at least a while."

Nami brightened (no pun intended) at the suggestion, grinning evilly at the prospect of doing something backhanded. She had been the closest of them to being a real pirate before they met Luffy, who kind of changed up the definition of the title with his shameless goodness. Not to say Nami wasn't an incredibly compassionate and kindhearted girl; she'd just developed a mean-streak during her years of lonely struggle and sometimes she seemed to enjoy returning to her backhanded tactics for old time's sake.

"Great idea" she said with a grin as she broke her clima tact into three pieces and began forming a cloud as they rushed along the wooden walkway.

Just getting to where they were had been a constant struggle against a swarm of (thankfully) low-ranking monkey guards. Nothing they hadn't dealt with before, but enough of a bother to keep them on their toes.

Ignoring the voice of a man over a speaker demanding that they turn themselves in peacefully, followed by a warning to the civilians to stay in their homes since there were armed and dangerous criminals roaming their streets, the two rushed along.

At around the time that Nami's storm had grown dangerous, Sanji subtly motioned to a hidden stairway they could slip up during the makeshift flash bomb.

Catching his hint, she let loose the final pair of blue and red orbs into the growing dark cloud behind them. As expected, the blast of electricity lit up the tree like it was daylight; every surface turned white with its glow.

There were screeches and shouts of shock behind them, but the two crewmates kept their eyes shaded and their sights focused on their escape route.

Sanji was half-tempted to use one of his burning attacks on the stairwell to keep them from being followed but he figured that the consequences of the tree actually catching fire would be much worse than them getting caught; not that he intended to be caught.

As planned, the two scrambled up the uneven steps and, upon being out of sight from the pursuing monkeys, began climbing to less-populated branches that seemed to have good cover. Sanji insisted Nami ride on his back for the climb since he was the stronger of the two and so they could keep an even pace going. At first she downright refused, punching him for the stupidity of the idea. Still, building her hostility by claiming that he'd appreciate having her lovely boobs on his back (to make her more willing for him to suffer of course, in no way was that his intentions…no way in the slightest). Earning her disapproval and arguing the logic behind the decision proved to work its charm and soon he was climbing in the dark tree-limbs; Nami with her legs around his waist and her arms over his shoulder (and her back straightened to keep her chest to herself).

He could feel the warmth of his blood trickling down from his stomach wound to his legs and into his shoes, making them uncomfortably squishy as he climbed. Every time he stretched an arm up to grab a new handhold he had a mental vision of the gash across his abdomen ripping farther apart. None of this was mentioned to Nami.

Oblivious he was to her glances down at the dark smudged forming on her own bare legs as they held on to her carrier. She kept silent as well though, allowing him his manly dignity he was so focused on maintaining; even if it was stupid.

They were both impressed with the cook's climbing speed, his unnaturally strong legs sending them up and out faster than humanly possible (and that more than likely went for the apes as well).

As the chaos became fainter and fainter the farther they traveled, so tapered the adrenaline and fear of being trapped and outnumbered. They slipped unnoticed by some out-skirting shacks, the concealing darkness much more abundant than the dim lights coming through their windows.

Nami wanted to tell Sanji to stop and take a break now that they were out of harm's way for the most part, but she figured he knew his limits and didn't want to appear doubtful of him.

Another minute later and he seemed to read her mind, slipping over one particularly thick branch covered in vines and foliage and stooping to his knees. Nami quickly slipped off and moved to help him lie down. To her frustration he brushed her off and twisted to get a better view back where they had come to see if they had been followed.

The navigator huffed, assuming that the stupid stubborn idiot of a cook was intending to stay lookout the entire night. She wanted to just knock him unconscious with her clima tact or simply her fist, but not wanting to harm her crewmate further she decided to go with a more straightforward approach.

"Sanji…"

"Hm?"

"Won't you lie down?" she asked, giving him a chance to make the smart decision before setting a more devious plan into action.

"I'm good, but you need your rest Nami-swan. Shall I make you a bed of leaves and a blanket of soft moss?"

Nami was surprised he hadn't suggested making a bed for the both of them, concluding that he was set on staying conscious.

"Come on Sanji" she coaxed again, this time with a tone that was so innocent and sweet it was blatantly coated with treachery "don'tcha wants lie down."

"Don't worry my love, I'm fi-"

The chef was caught off guard in mid-sentence when his ginger-haired crewmate pulled him into an embrace right into what God had blessed her with.

With that, Sanji lost all forms of concentration aside from the woman holding him. This (as he would greatly regret upon awaking) also loosened his hold on consciousness that he had been gripping so tightly as his wound beckoned him to oblivion. He tried to keep a grip on reality, but Nami laid the final blow as she firmly pressed her jacket (when she had removed it he hadn't noticed) into his wound, sending fireworks of pain through his nervous system. Before he could fully appreciate his situation he was out.

Nami grinned mischievously, lowering her tired friend to a flat area of the thick branch and grabbing a few thick bunches of hanging moss to stuff under him.

"Looks like I'm making the bed tonight" she said sweetly, stretching as she prepared for the long night of keeping watch and patching up her friend.

Creating a few back-up storm clouds around them in case someone did sneak up on them, she formed their hidden defense. The darkness of the clouds blended into the night, practically invisible to anyone not looking for them. She then formed a thick fog to hide them as well. It was a risk she'd have to take not being able to see any coming threat, but she wanted them out of sight more than she wanted to see.

She then returned to Sanji's side, peeling away her blood-soaked jacket and then the blond's as well; followed by his shirt which had been light-green earlier, now stained black.

Nami sighed, wishing for a brief moment that they could all just roam the sea without suffering like they do. And this was ridiculous. He'd been injured by a stinking elevator!

It was going to be fun seeing him explain that to Zoro.

Zoro…

Luffy…

She didn't want to think about her jolly captain trapped down in that God-forsaken cage without them to back him up.

Right now, more than the monkeys or salamanders combined, Nami feared Zoro's wrath if Luffy ended up hurt on their watch so soon after the events on the seastone island they had come from.

She just had to assure herself that Luffy could take care of himself and this would all just be a small hiccup in their plans.

- Luffy and Simeon -

"You leaving?" Luffy asked as Simeon got up and headed to the door.

The older monkey jumped at the squeaky voice, confident that the boy had been fully asleep when he had turned to leave.

"Dang whippersnapper" he grunted, turning to frown at his patient who looked to be in full-recovery. If he was honest with himself he was shocked that his homemade concoction had been so effective. Of course, something about this kid made him out to be impressively resilient. He reminded him of very few of his patients he'd had when he was a doctor. Those were the ones that looked completely lost but refused to let this world go.

He didn't know why this Luffy boy gave off that aura, maybe he was just senile.

"You leaving?" Luffy asked again, trying to sit up.

"Course I'm leaving ya brat" the old monkey croaked as he took a few more steps toward the door.

"You're not a prisoner?"

This raven-haired punk was way too quizitive.

"Of course I'm not! I'm a law-abidin' citizen" Simeon's tail twitched in agitation.

"Then what're you doin in jail?"

The elderly monkey turned back towards the pirate and pointed a knobby finger accusingly.

"I was savin' your sorry butt ya ungrateful punk! Shouldn't even be delvin' into criminal affairs!"

"That was you?"

"Wha? Of course it was me! Who'd you think it was? The tooth-fairy?"

Luffy's dumb stare didn't falter with the ape's shouts, which just caused Simeon to get more flustered.

"It's just" the boy replied, his mouth forming into a thoughtful pout and his eyebrows crunched in concentration "that guy was nice, and you're just a grouchy old man."

"Grouchy old-!"

"Yeah, definitely not you."

"Stinkin human brat! I oughta tan your hide!"

"I can see why you're in here" Luffy continued his thought process, still not reacting to the offended elder.

"Ooooh" Simeon muttered, shaking his head in an attempt to contain himself "you, you… if you weren't bed-ridden…"

Ignoring his one-sided argument, the captain began looking himself over, struggling to lift his arms, but succeeding none the less.

"Daww" he said in dismay.

"What now?" Simeon growled as he officially made his way to the door again.

"I was hoping that stuff was blue." The boy looked genuinely disappointed and Simeon just stared.

"That's it, I'm gone" the ape finalized his exit.

"Kay. Just tell that guy who helped me last night I said thanks! He really saved my butt."

"Alright" Simeon replied, rolling his eyes "I'll let him know."

He reached for the door.

"Oh! And if you could tell my crew that I'm here! They worry you know."

The golden monkey sighed.

"Your crew?"

"Yeah! I'm the captain of the Straw Hat pirates."

Simeon scoffed and stuck his jaw out in disapproval.

"Great, went and ruined my evening savin' a no-good pirate."

Luffy chimed up at that.

"Hey, don't blame me for whatever you did to end up in here. I have that other dude to thank for taking care of me."

The golden monkey let out a final grumpy sigh and finally went to open the cell door.

It was locked.

- Zoro, Robin, Usopp and Chopper -

"Eeeeeeeeee" Chopper squealed from where he hung latched to Zoro's leg. The swordsman didn't react aside from a glance down and a cocked eyebrow.

The crew had been in the glass elevator for a total of forty-five minutes and it had grown dark since that time. About halfway up the tree Chopper had suddenly become very frightened and had started clinging to his green-haired crewmate tight enough to cut of the man's circulation to his foot.

"What're you so afraid of?" Usopp asked dumbfounded as he poked at the small creature's hat.

"We're so high!" the reindeer squeaked back, digging his nose into Zoro's black pant leg.

"What!?" the marksman exclaimed.

"I'm scared of heights" Chopper re-stated the former statement.

"You spent, like, all of your life climbing a friggin tall mountain on a tightrope! You can't possibly be scared of heights!"

All three of them looked down at the deer for an explanation.

"There was snow then…"

"LIKE THAT'S GONNA MAKE A DIFFERENCE!"

"Chopper" Robin's voice broke in, her cool tone contrasting the marksman's disbelief "if you were afraid of heights, why didn't you say so when we delegated who was to go up the tree?"

"He shouldn't be afraid of heights!" Usopp interrupted the thought "before we ask why he came up here we gotta figure out how it's even possible he's afraid of heights!"

"Maybe he's afraid of trees" Zoro pitched in helpfully.

"THAT MAKES EVEN LESS SENSE!"

"Oh wait" Chopper spoke up, peaking his head out towards the window, gazing down into the sea of lights. "…. That's not too scary I guess."

"YOU CAN'T JUST MAKE CLAIMS LIKE THAT OUT OF THE BLUE!"

Zoro just laughed and Usopp scowled over at him.

"I suppose I was mistaken" Chopper said with an embarrassed chuckle, rubbing his head.

"PHOBIAS DON'T WORK LIKE THAT!"

Robin glanced nonchalantly at the ape controlling the elevator. He looked so confused and for some reason this pleased her.

Most of the people who had gotten on to join them had stops before the top so they were left without much company. For those who did come in requesting to go to the top, most of them came up with some excuse to get off early. She was sure it had NOTHING to do with the obnoxious passengers that her crewmates were.

"I would like to get off at the level that has the library on it if I may" she mentioned to the butler-esque monkey. He nodded and pressed a button a few layers down from the top. Already she was itching to know the true history behind the massive tree and the odd division between the Blue, Gold, and Pale monkeys.

Ten minutes, and a few more sets of passengers later, Robin had reached her level.

"Sunrise, the Merry Go" Zoro grunted so she was sure when and where she was expected.

"You boys have fun" she said with a smile "don't let swordsman-san get lost you two" she spoke to the two younger crewmates.

Zoro grunted again, this time scoffing at her.

"Bye Robin!" Usopp and Chopper both shouted out of synch, waving their hands enthusiastically as the doors of the elevator closed. The conductor looked distraught seeing the one sane member of the group leave his shuttle.

It was nighttime so when she turned from the lit elevator shaft, she was faced with an abandoned wooden shelf, possibly miles from the ocean below. It was quiet, most of the Golden and Pale monkeys in bed and the few still on the street keeping to themselves. At that height of elevation the air was moist and cool; a wet haze visible in the lamplights touched her skin and filled her mouth and nose when she inhaled.

Enjoying the security of her crewmates being nearby and the peace of solitude, the historian walked forward, keeping a keen eye open for the library she hoped was still open. If not she'd just have to sneak in.

"Pirate's broke the barrier?" a smooth but deep voice spoke from his balcony overlooking the sea.

"Well, just one of them sir, the captain Monkey D. Luffy."

"MONKEY D. Luffy?"

"We know sir, it's pretty ridiculous."

"But you caught him yes?"

"We did. He'd been poisoned with salamander poison but reports say he was cared for and will make it through the night."

"Mmm."

"What would you like us to do sir?"

"This crime has posed a serious threat to our security. Take care of it as such."

"Yes sir."

"And his crew?" The deep voiced asked, taking a sip from the hard-shelled fruit drink in his hand.

"The two that were with him at the time got away and are hiding out in the tree somewhere."

"HUMANS escaped our ape guards into the trees!? What kind of excuse for monkeys do they think they are?"

The reporting humanoid rubbed his head with embarrassment for his men. For a moment he considered presenting the excuses to his boss but figured it wouldn't better his mood.

"Must have just gotten lucky sir, but once the sun comes up there will be no-where they can hide that we can't find them."

"No, before sunrise I want them caught."

"Sir-"

"We can't make this a public issue. The more time they hide out the more time they have to make friends or tell sob stories for the creatures under the gate. No, we catch them tonight."

The reporting monkey hid his skepticism well, and the shadow across his face from the backlight of the room behind him hid his expression of frustration.

"Sir, how do you plan on-"

"Send out the Salamander Riders."

TBC…

Yay! Another chapter! Short I know... I'm so sorry. and after such a long wait (which was tragic cause this dang thing was finished weeks ago but I could never find the time to clean it up and post it). i've already started on the next chapter, but with college I'm totally swamped.

check it out, a potential villian :D yay!

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR STICKING WITH ME ANYWAY! I love you guys so much! I don't deserve your kindness T_T I really hope you like the rest of the fic. It's gonna get really epic eventually, just ... gimme time. over Christmas break I'll be on it like white on rice.

As last chapter, I shall email you wonderful wonderful reviewers personally.

But! I want to publicly thank those who showed me the kindness enough to keep my excited about this. So here are the wonderful people who gave me written support last chapter :)

EternalFire-IceDragon

Skipper917

Chaos is Order (who supported me throughout For Nakama...which means so much T_T)

Darkness 34 (who also continuously supported me throughout For Nakama)

Pirate Queen of the 21st century- (who also supported me throughout For Nakama) gosh I love you guys

Shaded Truths

and last but not least EALM528 (who has been a wonderful wonderful supporter of my writing for months, maybe even over a year)

You guys make writing so much fun :) thank you again and i hope my next chapter won't punish you're kindness like this one did