A/N: Hey everyone, it's me again. Haven't updated in a little while...doing a lot of other stuff right now...but luckily Christmas Break is coming up, so I'll be sure to get a few chapters in during that time. But for now, enjoy the newest chapter!

***

"Now then, where did Iris and Kai go off to?" Wondered Shade aloud. He, Riana, and the crew's new doctor, Goron 'Lilli' Ligoro, were walking along the streets of a town on the island of Paramore Island, trying to relocate their separated crew members. Shade also had a bandage wrapped tightly around his upper right arm on Ligoro's request, who had also advised him not to use it until the day was over.

"So, your name is Lilli?" Asked Riana to Ligoro. "That's a pretty weird name!"

"I told you, It's just a cover-up so people aren't always on my tail." Explained Ligoro. He turned towards Shade. "So, these two crew members that we're looking for? Maybe I can help to look for them."

"You can't miss them. One has spiky red hair and the other is a girl in a knight's outfit. They're impossible to miss." Said Shade, scanning the area for the two as he spoke. "Just keep your eyes peeled...this is a pretty big island."

"Roger!" Said Riana, who began cupping one of her hands over her eyes and began scanning the area. After a few seconds, she began jumping up and down. "I found them, I found them!" She said excitedly.

"Huh? Where?" Asked Shade, not really believing she had found them. He had been searching far longer than she had...how did she find them just like that.

"Over there!" Answered Riana, pointing her hand towards the spot she had found them. Sure enough, faintly in the distance, Iris, Kai, and Zucchero where conversing amongst another.

"So you really did find them..." Shade muttered. "But who's that other guy they're with?"

"Only one way to find out!" Said Ligoro as he began to run towards them.

"Hey! Don't go running ahead! Wait for me!" Called out Shade as he and Riana began running after him.

***

"So, you're from the Grand Line?" Asked Iris. "You must've seen some amazing things."

"Aye." Said Zucchero, walking alongside Iris and Kai. He had discarded his chef's uniform for a more casual one, wearing a plad designed shirt with dark blue jeans and cowboy boots. "There are pirates there that could conquer all of West Blue if they felt like it, though their true ambition lies with finding One Piece, of course. And the weather can change in an instant...if you're not prepared, it would be very dangerous..."

Kai looked ahead of them. "Hmmm, what's that?" He asked, noticing something coming at them at full speed. "Wait a minute...It's Shade!"

This caused Iris and Zucchero to look in the direction of where Kai was looking. They where greeted by the sight of Shade, Riana, and a man they did not recognize coming towards them.

"Finally, found you guys." Remarked Shade as he, as well as Riana and Ligoro came to a stop near them. He looked at Zucchero. "So who's this guy?" He asked, wanting to know just who this unknown man with them was.

"I'd ask you the same thing." Said Iris, looking at Ligoro.

"This guy's name is Ligoro, though for his won reasons he likes to be called 'Lilli'." Said Shade. "He's going to be our doctor. Now that I've told you that, will you tell me about this man here?" He finished, looking at Zucchero.

"My name is Zucchero." Zucchero took the liberty of introducing himself. "Your two crewmates here convinced me to be your chef. Pleased to meet you."

"Hey! Who said you could ask people to join us without my permission?" Shade said to Iris and Kai.

"It was his idea." Said Iris, pointing a finger at Kai, deciding to put all the blame on him. Kai gave her a look, but she paid no mind and continued talking. "Now then, how about we head back to the ship? We can take time to introduce each other once we're sailing again."

"Hmph, works for me." Said Shade with a shurg. The rest seemed to agree as they began to be led back to the ship. Unbeknown to them, they were all being silently watched by a certain two bounty hunters.

"That was him, Night Ranger-sama!" Said Benataru, who along with the ferocious looking Knight were hidden behind a corner, peering behind it to look at the crew. "The one with the shaved blond hair! He's the one who beat me!"

Night Ranger but a finger to the outside of his helmet as he pondered the man Benataru had showed him. "So his name is Shade, huh?" He said in his deep, intimidating voice. "He certainly seems like a worthy challenge...he would make a fine victim for my sword..."

"So, are we going to attack them or what?" Asked Benataru, eager to witness the man who had humiliated him be defeated.

"Patience, Benataru." Said Night Ranger. "It would cause a scene if we attacked them in the center of a busy city like this. Let's follow them until they reach their ship. It'll cause less distractions."

Benataru held back his anger. He had wanted to see Shade be humiliated in front of a large crowd, just as what had happened to him...but he swallowed his pride and silently nodded in agreement as the two continued to stalk the Renegade Pirate crew.

***

"You were in the Grand Line?" Asked Shade to Zucchero. Though the plan was for introductories to be saved until the ship, plenty of small talk was being made on their way there.

"Yep. Born and raised." Answered Zucchero casually. Shade had taken an interest of this fact and was asking him questions about it.

"That's good, we could use a leg up." Said Shade. "We'll know how to get through every obstacle or anything else that gets in our way."

"I doubt I could help with that." Said Zucchero. "I've only been in a very small section of it. And I only lived on one island before coming here, so I never had to deal with things such as bizarre weather or dangerous pirates or anything."

Ligoro decided to butt in. "You know, I've been to the Grand Line too."

Shade quickly shifted his attention to Lilli. "Really? You too?" He asked in surprise. He had not previously known this fact, he was even more glad that this man decided to join the crew.

"Yeah, I sailed it when I was a member of my dad's pirate crew..." Said Ligoro.

"Your dad is a pirate?" Asked Kai casually.

"Yeah. You might have heard of him. Captain Goron of the Goron Pirates..." Said Ligoro, seeing if the name would ring any bells to anyone.

"I've heard of that name." Said Zucchero, closing his eyes, trying to remember where he had heard it. "In the restaurant I worked at on the Grand Line, they had bounty posters of countless pirates, incase any came in so we knew who we were dealing with...I think his name might've been one of them."

"I see. Anyway, I sailed around the Grand Line with his crew, until I decided to jump ship." Finished Lilli.

"Why did you leave?" Asked Riana in her usual curious voice.

"Well you see, my dad is a really strict guy. A good pirate, but a bad father. He never let me leave the ship, even when he and his crew were out exploring islands. I got sick of it so I left, and he's had his men after me ever since. I don't hate him or anything, but I still like to have my freedom, you know?" Answered Ligoro.

Suddenly the group came to a halt. They had reached the ship. "Well, here we are." Said Shade, introducing the new crew members to the Bat Out of Hell. Lilli and Zucchero had to admire it's looks.

"Woah, cool ship." Was all Ligoro could say. Zucchero nodded his head in agreement, admiring the ship's structure.

"I'll say. Now then-" Said Shade, turning his head around. "Why don't you two come out of hiding now?"

A look of surprise appeared on the crew's face as they looked to where Shade was looking, a large looking green bush. It rustled a bit as the two bounty hunters emerged from it.

"How did you know you were following us?" Asked Night Ranger, appearing from behind it along with Benataru.

"I told you Night Ranger-sama, he is no ordinary man! He caught my swinging sword in midair as if it was falling paper!" Said Benataru, looking resentful to see Shade.

"Hey, you're that guy I beat earlier today." Said Shade, faintly recognizing Benataru. "Who's the knight guy? Your friend or something?"

"My name is Night Ranger. Benataru here told me about your strength." Night Ranger drew out his large sword. "I would like to see if what I heard is true."

Iris gazed in wonder at the sword the man was holding. "That's some sword he's got there." She remarked. "He makes me look like an amateur..."

"You like it? It's name is 'Sister Christian'." Said Night Ranger. "It is my pride and joy, and it enjoys strong opponents. Right now, it wants to test you out, Shade."

Shade grinned. He was ready for battle. He began advancing towards Night Ranger. "Bring it on, you-" Before he could go on, he was stopped in his path by Ligoro.

"Hey, don't you remember what I told you?" Said Ligoro. "If you fight right now, the muscles in your arms will tear up. You still have to wait a day!"

"It'll be fine, Lilli!" Protested Shade, trying to get by Ligoro. "If that's the case, I'll just use my legs!"

"You'd probably have to do some handstands to do that." Said Ligoro. "Supporting your entire body weight with your arms could cause an even more straining effect on your arms."

"Well then, what do you want me to do?" Asked Shade, getting slightly furious with the situation he was in.

This time, Zucchero butted in to the conversation. "Excuse me for interrupting, but if you want, I can defeat this guy for you."

"Really? You can fight?" Asked Shade. Zucchero didn't look like a guy who would be strong to him.

"I feel I match up pretty well against this guy." Responded Zucchero. "But I need you to serve as a distraction so I can get a good chance to get him.

Ligoro smiled. "Leave that to me!" He said. "Being a decoy is one of my specialties!"

"What are you all babbling about?!" Said Night Ranger as he pointed his sword at Shade. "Why don't you fight me, Shade?"

Ligoro turned to look at Night Ranger with a cocky grin. "Alright, Mr. Night Ranger, if you want to fight my captain, first you have to go through me!"

"Oh?" Said Night Ranger, changing the direction of where his sword was pointing from Shade to Lilli. "You're 'Goron Ligoro', am I not mistaken? If I recall, you where the one Benataru was after, until your captain beat him up. The fact that you needed him means you must not be very strong, but if you truly wish to die, I will not deny your request." He ran to Ligoro and swung his sword down to attack Ligoro, who swiftly evaded the attack.

"Haha, can't catch me!" Taunted Ligoro. Heh, all this running from my dad's crew has given me incredible speed He thought to himself as Night Ranger again swung Sister Christian This guy couldn't hit me with that big slow sword of his in a million years!

"You..." Said Night Ranger, his frightening voice sounding annoyed. "You are using a coward's way of fighting, do you know that?!"

"If you don't like it, try and get me!" Said Ligoro, who dodged another one of Night Ranger's attacks.

Meanwhile, Zucchero watched the battle, waiting for the right moment. Yes, that's it... He thought. Lilli, you're doing a fantastic job. Just gotta wait for the right moment...His eyes flashed Now! He thought. He reached into one of his boots and from it, produced what looked to be a large knife. He chucked it towards Night Ranger, hitting his back as it penetrated through his armor.

Night Ranger felt the pain. "W-what is this?" He turned around to see the throwing knife lodged in his back.

"One of my specialty throwing knives." Stated through Zucchero. "All my years of handling various cutting knives have made me deadly with them. And, these throwing knives are made of a material that can penetrate even metal."

"You..." Said Night Ranger, his anger reaching a high point. "You're even more cowardly a fighter!" He shifted his attention away from Lilli and began charging towards Zucchero in fury. "DIE!" He yelled, ready to slash his sword across Zucchero's body.

Zucchero only sighed, as he pulled out another knife from his other boot and threw it right at Night Ranger's head. The knife penetrated through the helmet, striking him right in the head. This resulted in a cry of pain from Night Ranger as he fell to the ground, defeated. Zucchero walked over to the fallen Night Ranger and pulled his two knives out from the armor, resulting in another scream of pain from Night Ranger. "I'll have to clean these." He said, looking at the blood-covered knives.

Benataru could only stare in shock. "N-Night Ranger-sama was defeated...and not even by the captain..." The rest of his sentence he was unable to complete, as he began having trouble breathing due to the fear that had welled up in his body. He quickly turned around and began to flee the scene, leaving his defeated master and the pirates that had defeated him.

Shade looked at Lilli and Zucchero. "You know what?" He said to them. "I think I'm gonna like you two guys."

***

A/N: And there you have it! What did you all think? I kind of put this chapter in so that Lilli and Zucchero became truly a 'part' of Shade's crew by defeating Night Ranger...though I would've liked to see Shade fight him... Anyways, please review and tell me your thoughts, or feel free to submit any characters you have in mind!