Sorry for this chapter being so late. My beta, zealousfreak27, just celebrated her sixteen birthday yesterday and she more than deserved a day to herself.

With that said, thank you all for your reviews, alerts, and favorites. You all, as always, have been awesome and it is because of people like you that I write stories. I hope you enjoy the final chapter.

Chapter 10: Rebuilding Trust

Nami stared worriedly into the distance as she waited for Zoro and Sanji to return. Normally, she wouldn't be worried about those two. They were both monsters after all. This, however, was different. Mariangely may not seem like such a threat, but her powers were extremely dangerous. She had been able to infiltrate their crew and manipulate them with too much ease. The thought that they had accepted her and treated her like a friend...like family...was enough to make Nami both mad and sick by the depth of the betrayal.

With such a simple ability, she had nearly been able to do what so many marines and pirates had failed to accomplish. She had almost succeeded in killing their captain and it was only by the grace of some god or deity that he was still alive.

"Luffy, stand still," Chopper said firmly as he treated his captain's wounds. Despite how gentle James attempted to be, he had caused Luffy's bullet and knife wound to slightly reopen. It was mostly likely because Luffy had made him rush here.

Luffy hissed in pain as the reindeer retightened the bandages.

James, meanwhile, was tending to his own crew. Aaron's ribs were now wrapped and he was breathing easier. Tommy's own gunshot wound was also wrapped and the bleeding was stopped.

"This should hold you over until we've returned to the ship," James said as he cleaned his hands.

"Never mind about me. You should have gone after Mariangely," Tommy said. "She can't be allowed to escape."

"I wouldn't worry too much," Usopp assured. "Zoro is more than capable of handling her." He could only imagine what Zoro was doing to Mariangely.

"You don't understand. He's still under Mariangely's power," Tommy stated as he grunted in pain. "Even if he really wants to fight her, her ability will cause him to hesitate. That's just the opening she needs to kill him."

Robin frowned when she heard this information. She thought the revelation of what has happened to their captain would be enough to overcome the Fame Fame Fruit, but now she was not sure.

"Zoro-san won't fail," Brook said as he looked at Luffy. "Not after what she did to Luffy."

It was strange since Brook was normally not this violent, especially towards a woman. But he wanted Mariangely to pay for everything that she had done.

"My only regret is that we all can't take a pound at her," Franky said as he cracked his knuckles.

He would have given chase the moment she bolted, but that woman was fast. By the time he realized that she was escaping, she was a dot over the horizon. With such speed, only Sanji or Zoro could keep up with her. Damn, how he hated speedsters.

Speaking of curly brow, Franky wondered if he was okay too. He knew Sanji said he would help Zoro, but honestly what could he do? From what Nami told him, Sanji couldn't hit a woman even to save his life. Even if Mariangely was an utter bitch, he doubted that curly brow would even be able to touch her, especially given her powers. He actually may be more of a hindrance towards Zoro than a benefit.

"I see them coming!" Usopp yelled as he looked through his goggles.

The Strawhats and the Cross-Haired Pirates all looked up to see Sanji coming over one of the hills with a wounded Zoro on his back. It looked awkward seeing Sanji carrying Zoro since Zoro was a little taller than him.

"Zoro!" Chopper yelled as he changed into his Walking Point and ran towards the two. Even from this distance, he could smell the blood and gunpowder.

"I'm fine," Zoro muttered when Chopper got close enough. "These are just flesh wounds."

"These aren't just flesh wounds!" Chopper yelled as Sanji put his wounded crewmate down. "You've been shot!"

"Did Mariangely do this to you?" Brook asked in surprise. He knew Mariangely was no pushover, but he hadn't expected her to do such damage.

"I got careless," Zoro said as he tried to hide his shame. He couldn't look his crew in their eyes.

"What happened to Mariangely?" Tommy asked, forcing himself to walk towards Zoro.

"The last time I saw her, she was falling off a cliff," Zoro said bluntly.

Tommy was left speechless.

"So, Mariangely is dead?" James asked.

"Don't know," Zoro admitted. "We didn't look over the cliff to make sure she hit the water. In either case, she won't be causing any trouble again."

Sanji's eyes suddenly became downcast, which caught Robin's attention. She didn't say anything, however, since this wasn't the time for it.

Tommy turned towards James. "We should go and make sure the job is done."

James nodded. "I'll send a search party once we've returned to the ship. The most pressing matter at the moment, however, is getting you and Aaron proper medical care."

Tommy looked like he was going to protest.

"It's better we get extra help," Aaron said. "If she's still alive, we're not in much shape to face her and we can't underestimate her powers."

"These bullet wounds are quite deep," Chopper commented. "These don't look like regular gunshot wounds."

James crossed his arms. "His injures are very similar to your captains. Most likely, he got pumped with sharpened sea stone bullets."

"Are you trying to say she hit him with bullets worth thousands of belli?" Franky asked in disbelief.

"If she didn't have time to change her ammo, yes," James stated.

"Is sea stone dangerous to non-Devil Fruit user?" Chopper asked as he disinfected the wounds and removed any bullet shells.

"Not to my knowledge," James said.

"Is...is Zoro okay?" Luffy asked as he attempted to sit up. Nami and Usopp were currently looking after him.

"He's fine, Luffy," Nami said gently as she pushed her captain back down. "Just think about getting well right now."

Usopp nodded. "Mariangely's gone. She can't hurt any of us again."

Luffy's eyes had a glassy look to them. "Everyone...I'm sorry..."

The Strawhats turned towards their captain. His voice was so soft that some of them had to get closer to hear him.

"It's...it's all my fault that this happened. If I haven't invited Mariangely..." Luffy started.

"It wasn't your fault, bro," Franky cut him off. "We were all taken in by her."

"But..." Luffy attempted to argue.

"You have nothing to be ashamed of Strawhat," Aaron said. "Mariangely had a powerful ability that few could fight against. At least you've all made it out alive. The same can't be said about us."

Nami frowned as a realization hit her. "But why did she try to kill Luffy herself? I mean, why didn't she try to do to us what she did to your crew?"

"I have a theory," James said. "I think it is because of how close you all are."

All the Strawhats looked at James, encouraging him to continue.

"Your crew, despite all your power, is quite small and I surmise that all of you are close because of that. The stronger the bond a person has, the more effort that Mariangely had to put in to keep her influence," James explained. "She must have known that despite the greater concentration of her power that nothing she did could encourage you to attack your captain. So, she took matters into her own hands. She must have figured with all of you in disarray after Strawhat Luffy's death, she could easily move into a position of leadership. Much like what she did with us."

"So, your crew doesn't have such a strong bond?" Usopp asked.

James sighed. "No, we didn't."

"I...I had issues with my brother even before we found Mariangely," Tommy admitted. "As much as I hate to admit it, Mariangely just took advantage of something that was already there."

Zoro winced as he heard those words. It would seemed that Mariangely was telling the truth when she said she couldn't affect something that didn't exist to begin with. Did that mean that he was actually attracted to Mariangely and she only exacerbated it? Even worst, did he really want to become the Pirate King over Luffy?

"It's all in the past now," Aaron said. "With Mariangely dealt with, we can finally move on with our lives. We've may have lost our captain, but we still have the chance to rebuild and become even stronger. It's the only real thing we can do to honor our captain now."

Nami's heart went out to the Cross-Hairs. The sadness, grief, and anger that filled her crew when they had thought Luffy was killed were still fresh in her mind. The Cross-Haired had to live with that pain everyday and have the added knowledge that they were the ones who killed their captain, even if they had not been in their right minds.

"What do you mean, Mariangely had a greater influence on our crew anyway?" Usopp suddenly asked.

"Mariangely's Devil Fruit works more effectively when she has less people to influence," James explained. "A small crew like you was perfect for her control. At least in principle."

"Done," Chopper said as he finished bandaging Zoro's wounds. "We need to take him back to the ship so I can properly clean his injures."

Sanji nodded as he picked Zoro back up again and carried him piggyback.

Franky went over to Luffy and lifted him up as well.

"Hey, thanks for taking care of me," Luffy said to Cross-Haired Pirates.

"You shouldn't thank us," Tommy said. "We didn't help you for your benefit."

Luffy chuckled. "I know that, but thanks anyway." He began to smile widely. "Even though you helped us for your own reasons, you still save my crew. I'm forever grateful."

James, Aaron, and Tommy were surprise to hear such humble words from the boy captain.

"Yes, we owe you all a great debt," Robin said with a small smile of her own.

"If you ever need anything in the future, just call us," Luffy said.

James smiled. "Thank you, Strawhat."

With their farewells said, the two pirate crews went their separate ways. The trip back to the Sunny for the Strawhats was quiet and Luffy fell asleep halfway through the trip. Zoro was also fighting to stay conscious since he wanted to be sure that his crew safe. Mariangely was gone, but she could still be alive somewhere in wait. He wouldn't feel at ease until this cursed island was far behind them.

When they got back to the ship, Luffy and Zoro were immediately taken into the infirmary so Chopper could give them proper medical care. Thankfully, none of Zoro's wounds were mortal, but he would be bedridden for a day or two.

Luffy's condition was also worrisome given his labored breathing. Because sea stone had hit Luffy, his usual increased healing was hindered. For the lack of better words, he would have to recover like a normal human. Chopper, however, had to give the Cross-Hair credit for taking such good care of Luffy. If it weren't for their immediate medical care, Luffy would have been beyond saving.

"Given both Luffy and Zoro's conditions, we shouldn't set sail right away," Chopper said as he explained everything to his crew. They were all gathered in the gallery having lunch.

"Still, I don't feel very comfortable staying here," Usopp said.

"Even if Mariangely is still alive somehow, I doubt she would come here for revenge," Robin said. "Especially if she was as badly injured as Sanji has stated."

"We should still keep our guard up," Nami said as she sipped some orange juice.

"I'll take first watch tonight," Sanji said quickly.

"I'll take the second," Usopp said. He really didn't feel like sleeping tonight and he needed to feel useful at the moment.

Nami nodded in agreement. "Hopefully, Luffy will be able to recover soon even with the sea stone in his system." She prayed for a peaceful night. They all had enough drama for one week.

The rest of the day passed without incident, but the Strawhats felt strangely incomplete without Mariangely being with them. They knew it was all an effort of her Devil Fruit, but it still unnerved them to how deeply they felt her loss. It was so bad that Brook found himself playing nothing but sad songs for the rest of the day, despite himself.

Even Sanji seemed very depressed, although it didn't seemed to be for the same reasons as everyone else. He didn't even bother flirting with Robin and Nami. In fact, he completed avoided them and refuse to make eye contact with either of them.

Nami tried to approach Sanji several times to get to the root of his problem, but he just brushed her concerns off with empty smiles and void assurances.

By the time night came, the Strawhats were all too happy to call it a day.

Sanji sat in the Observatory with a blank expression as he held his now cold hot chocolate. As hard as he tried, he couldn't rid his mind of Mariangely. He knew it wasn't just the influence of her Devil Fruit that made him feel such guilt. The source of his grief was the fact that he had hit her.

Mariangely undoubtedly deserved more than a broken jaw from him. She had nearly singlehandedly destroyed his crew and attempted to murder one of them from under their noses. The fact that she had come so close to her goal was what disturbed him the most. If it weren't for the Cross-Haired Pirates, she would have all but succeeded.

Still, he was overcome by the fact that he had hit her and helped send her to her death. The look she had given as she fell over the cliff would forever be burnt into his memories. Dammit, why did things come to this?

"Hello, Sanji," a voice gently greeted him.

Sanji turned around to see Robin climbing up the ladder. She had a soft smile on her face.

Sanji forced himself to return the smile. "Hi, Robin-chan. Why are you up at this time of night?"

He should be happy. This was the first time any of the women has visited him during watch. He remembered all too well being jealous of moss head when Mariangely would visit him during watch. The thought of Mariangely once again crashed his mood.

"I thought you could use some company tonight," Robin said as she took a seat near the cook.

They both stood in silent for a couple of minutes.

"Robin-chan, as much I love you being here, why are you here?" Sanji finally asked.

Robin knew there was no point in stalling things. "I am here because I know you are hurt."

Sanji chuckled humorlessly to himself. "Isn't it shameful that I'm mourning someone who tried to rip apart my crew?"

Robin shook her head. "Not at all. I find myself missing her too despite myself. For about a week, I thought of Mariangely like a sister." She nearly sneered that last part out.

"But..." Sanji started, but he couldn't bring himself to finish.

"Something happened when you confronted her that last time," Robin surmised.

"I...I hit her," Sanji blurted out, unable to keep it in any longer. "I broke my code and attacked a woman. No, I didn't just hit her, I shattered her jaw."

Robin didn't look too surprised to hear this. She had expected as much when she saw the shadows in Sanji's eyes. "You have nothing to be ashamed of."

"But I broke my code!" Sanji yelled. "I couldn't hit a woman even to save you from the World Government, yet I was able to kick Mariangely without a thought."

"It was because of what Mariangely had done that allowed you to hit her," Robin said. "Kalifa may have been an assassin and a spy from the World Government, but she did not act out of malice. Despite everything, she fought for her own justice and sense of righteousness. Mariangely, on the other hand, was just a selfish a little girl who used others to play pirate. Such a woman does not deserve respect."

Sanji blinked at the harshness of Robin's words. "I know. But can I ever go back after today."

Robin said nothing for a moment. "I see what you have done not as a betrayal of your code, but an extension of it. You hit Mariangely to protect us. To protect Nami-chan and me. If left alone, Mariangely would have destroyed all of us just like she tried to destroy Luffy."

Sanji winced as he thought of his captain. It disgusted him that anyone who sailed under their flag would have the nerve to stab his captain in the back and then shoot him. It was just as Aaron said. It was all a planned assassination.

"It may takes some time, but I think you will someday think nothing of your actions today," Robin said.

Sanji wanted to believe Robin, but he still wasn't sure. Nonetheless, he did feel better talking about what had happened and he knew he was on the right path to healing. Even with today's events, he could and would never give up on his code. If he could help it, he would never hit another woman again.

Although the promise felt a bit hollow since he didn't know what he would do if another person threatened his crew in the same way Mariangely did. He supposed only time would tell.

While Sanji and Robin were having their talk, Zoro laid wide awake in the infirmary. As tired as his body was, he couldn't sleep. Every time he closed his eyes, he kept seeing Mariangely. He missed her warmth, her hugs, and her soft kisses. It utterly disgusted him.

Worst, however, was her final temptation to him. She had actually offered to make him the Pirate King. What disturbed him was how close he had come to accepting her offer. He wanted to blame her Devil Fruit, but he now knew that he really couldn't. Mariangely may have exacerbated his ambition, but he knew that they had always existed within him. A part of him wanted or at least thought that he could the Pirate King.

Such a realization felt like a betrayal of Luffy's trust. Hadn't he stood up to Kuma and offered his life for his captain? Hadn't he stood up to the Warlord and proclaimed that Luffy must be the Pirate King? When he lay in a puddle of his own blood after Mihawk had tried to split him opened, hadn't he called Luffy the Pirate King on no uncertain terms? Had he somehow been lying to himself when he spoke those words? Had he just used Luffy's supposed death so he could claim the title for himself? In his heart of hearts, was he no different than Mariangely?

"Zoro, you're still awake?" Luffy's weakened voice asked.

Zoro immediately turned towards his captain. "Yes, but you should be asleep. You're the one who nearly died the other night."

Luffy said nothing for a moment. "Why are you so sad?"

Zoro snorted, trying to act insulted. "I'm not sad, idiot."

"Liar," Luffy said bluntly.

Zoro said nothing as he stared at his captain.

"You're thinking of Mariangely," Luffy stated.

Zoro gave a deep sighed. There were no hiding things from Luffy. He knew his crew too well. "She offered to make me Pirate King."

Luffy's eyes widened in surprise. "Really?"

"More specially, she wanted me to become the Pirate King by making her the Pirate Queen," Zoro said with a humorless laughed. "It sounds so ridiculous."

"Why did she think you wanted to be the Pirate King?" Luffy asked.

"Because...I told her I wanted to become the Pirate King," Zoro said as he looked up at the ceiling. "When...when I thought you were killed I made a vow to you. I vowed to become the Pirate King in your place."

Luffy chose to say nothing.

"I'd told Mariangely and she tried to use my ambition to turn me against my crew," Zoro said.

"And you said no," Luffy said in a matter-of-fact voice.

"But I was tempted," Zoro argued. "Even if it was for a moment, I was tempted to take her offer. I actually wanted to become the Pirate King instead of you."

There was a slight pause.

"Do you want to be the Pirate King?" Luffy asked.

Zoro was silent for a moment. "It never really crossed my mind. My only ambition since I was young was to become the greatest swordsman. Before now, I'd never once considered being the Pirate King."

"Why not?" Luffy continued to ask.

"It just never interested me," Zoro said. "Before I met you, I never wanted to be a pirate, so why would I want to be king of them?"

"So, you only wanted to become the Pirate King after you thought I'd died," Luffy said.

Zoro nodded. "Yeah."

"Then, I see nothing wrong," Luffy chuckled weakly.

This surprised Zoro.

"The only reason Mariangely was able to tempt you was because you wanted to become Pirate King for my sake. It wasn't because you're greedy or anything like that."

Zoro had never thought of it that way. Perhaps Mariangely's powers had taken a desire to honor his captain and twisted it into becoming his new dream. In the end, he had fought back against Mariangely when she dared to say that he was more worthy of becoming the Pirate King than Luffy.

"Besides, I wouldn't mind if you did become the Pirate King," Luffy said, surprising Zoro even more.

"What?" Zoro questioned.

"If something happened to me that kept me from becoming the Pirate King, then I would want no one else achieving my dream accept for you and maybe Ace," Luffy said. "Because I know you can carry own my will."

Zoro truly felt touched by his captain's words. The fact that he put him as a carrier of his will along with his brother meant more to him than Luffy could ever know.

Luffy's eyes began to slowly close. "My only regret is that I can never return the favor to you. That I could never become the greatest swordsman if something happened to you."

"Don't worry about such stupid things," Zoro said firmly. "I will become the greatest swordsman, just as you will become the Pirate King. There would be no need for any of us to carry on each other's will."

Luffy just smiled as he fell back into a deep sleep. Zoro kept watching him until Luffy's breathing evened out.

"You will become the Pirate King, Luffy," Zoro said firmly. "Even if it takes my last breathe, I will pushed you to the top of the world."

With that, Zoro relaxed in his own bed and allowed himself to fall asleep. As he faded from consciousness, he allowed his memory of Mariangely to do the same.

As time went on for the Strawhats, they eventually forgot about Mariangely and her time with the crew. She became less than a shadow to them and her power eventually faded from existence.

To the Strawhats, the woman and betrayer known as Mariangely became nothing more than a bad dream.

And that's it, the conclusion of Another Crewmate. This was a hard story to write since I have never done anything like this before. It was only thanks to your feedback and criticize that allow me to improve this story and iron out any plot holes or oddball dialog. Interestingly enough, I thought I would get slam for having Sanji kick a girl given his code, so I was more than surprise by how many people where cheering for Sanji in the last chapter. I guess I made Mariangely so hateful that doing something kind of OC didn't really matter. Nonetheless, I hope the conversation between Sanji and Robin clear somethings out. The same with Luffy and Zoro's talk.

As for whether Mariangely is alive or not, I left it open more because I still do not like writing the Strawhats committing murder. Although Mariangely deserves more than a small death scene. Nonetheless, she will never be returning to any of my stories, so she is pretty much dead and we're all better off for it.

Son of Whitebeard, I'm not sure Mariangely is as bad as Blackbeard, but she is definitely up there in the hall of jackasses. At least Blackbeard is somewhat charming and funny, while Mariangely was just a witch.

Phalanx, I do agree that the Time Time Fruit has the potential of being completely broken. I actually did have it in my mind about the weaknesses and strengths of the Aaron's power because I was aware of how powerful it was, but a lot of the explanation never made it into the story because it stopped the plot and Aaron was not an important enough character to justify such a long breakdown of his power. Aaron is powerful, but the reason why he seemed kind of weak was because he could not directly challenge Mariangely since he knew the Strawhats would protect her since they were still under her influence. He also was not in his right mind given he was too emotion while confronting Mariangely and concentration is key to his ability. Which is how Mariangely was able to blindside him.

Also, you are correct, Zoro did not attack Mariangely right away because he was still under her spell. Mariangely used that to her advantage to tempt Zoro, which is why she went into such detail about her backstory. It was all just to buy time while she increased her power.

Thanks for enjoying my story and hope you read my other work someday. They do have so grammar errors, but I am revising one of my stories to reduce them. The story is Perchance to Dream if you are interested.

Rhirhirhi, thank you for reading and taking the time to review each of the chapters. I hope you enjoy the conclusion.

If you have any questions about this or any other of my stories, just pm me. I am also opened to any stories ideas so drop a line if you have something you want me to write. Thanks again and may you all have a bless day. *bow humbly*