Willoffire123: Hiya! Zoro and I are alone today because I wanted to get on with the chapter more quickly this time.

Zoro: And you couldn't have left me behind too?

Willoffire123: You're like my partner in crime by now. I couldn't LEAVE you. That's ridiculous!

Zoro: Whatever. Willoffire123 doesn't own One Piece.

Willoffire123: On with the chapter!

Nami's POV

"Are you sure you don't want to stay any longer?" asked Percy. Percy had come to see the Red Haired Pirates and us off as we made our separate ways.

"No thanks," I said. "We really need to keep moving now that Luffy's healed, and the log pose has reset itself."

"I guess so," said Percy. He handed me a small pouch. "Here, it's a present. This is Darkness Powder. It's only made on Paradise Island. Through the stuff on the ground if you need a distraction so you can make a quick get-away. Knowing the lives you lead, this stuff could come in handy."

I grinned and slipped the pouch in my jean coat pocket. "Who am I to pass up free gifts? Thanks Percy!"

"Yeah, for everything," said Zoro, stopping on his way to the ship, a large barrel of water under his arm.

Percy frowned. "Zoro, are you feeling alright?"

"Thanks to you, yeah," said Zoro. "Why?"

Percy shook his head. "Never mind. Must have been my imagination."

Zoro turned and climbed aboard the ship.

"Hey Nami?" asked Percy.

I turned. "Yeah?"

"Keep an eye on Zoro and Luffy for me, will you?" he asked, eyeing Zoro wearily. "Usopp recovered quickly enough. Maybe that's because he was given the antidote earlier than the other two did, maybe it's because he has a greater resistance to the poison, I don't know. But Luffy and Zoro seem to be recovering slower than him."

I nodded. "Yeah! Zoro and Luffy will be fine. They're in good hands, I promise."

I didn't get it. Zoro looked perfectly fine to me. Okay, maybe his cheeks were a little pink, but he's still been cured right? And Luffy wasn't as energetic as he usually was, but he's been bed ridden for two and a half months now. Anyone would feel at least a little sluggish in his position...

Right?

"Oi! Nami! We need to get a move on!" called Luffy.

I hastily climbed the rope ladder before the ship had started to slip out of the port. *Oh well, I'm sure it's nothing.*

"Thanks for everything!" called Chopper, waving at Percy and all of our new friends that we had made on this island.

"Take care!" called Usopp.

"I hope we meet again someday!" I called, waving like mad. And just like that, they were gone. The island had slipped out of sight, and we had started towards our next adventure.

Still Nami's POV

"I know the book's in here somewhere," I muttered, flipping through book after book after book. "I remember reading about the legend just last week. If Percy's hunch is correct, this is the only possible explanation. It has to be!"

"Nami, my love!" called Sanji. "I have lunch ready for you!"

I shut the book in my hands. "Alright! I'm coming!"

I climbed back out on deck to find Franky and Usopp playing a game of blackjack.

"Oh, hey Nami!" said Usopp.

"Before you ask, Ace showed us how to play," said Franky.

"He was right! This game is addicting!" said Usopp, dealing out the cards once again.

I grinned. "Just wait until you start using real money! But anyway, aren't you guys coming to Lunch?"

"Yeah," said Usopp. "We just finished a game anyway."

We entered the kitchen. Sanji was busy fixing some sort of fancy arrangement on his plates, so we sat down. I saw Chopper, Robin, Franky, Usopp, and myself sitting at the table.

"Hey," I said slowly. "Where are the Demon Twins?"

"Now that you mention it…" said Usopp. "Usually, Luffy would be in here, and have already eaten all of Sanji's food by now."

"And Zoro's gone too," said Chopper worriedly.

I stood up, and sighed. "I guess it can't be helped then. Let's go look for the boys. Hopefully they're both in the same place."

We left the kitchen and spread out over the grass deck.

"LUFFY! ZORO!" called Usopp.

To my great surprise, I saw Luffy poke his head out from the observation deck.

"Hey guys!" he called down. I frowned. Something was wrong. Luffy's usually way more energetic than this.

"Are you coming to Lunch, Luffy?" I asked. "Surely you must be hungry by now."

I saw Luffy flinch and turn very pale. "I think I'll pass on lunch."

Sanji looked like he'd been slapped in the face. "Luffy? Passing up lunch? Now I've seen it all."

"Oi Luffy!" called Usopp. "Is Zoro up there with you?"

Luffy glanced behind him. "Yeah. I don't think he wants lunch either."

Sanji's POV

"This is ridiculous," I said. "Luffy! I'm coming up there!"

"I'll come with you," said Nami, a worried look on her face.

When I reached the top of the observation deck, Luffy was there to greet me.

"Yo! Sanji! Sorry about Lunch," he apologized, trying for his normal grin.

"Luffy? Are you okay?" asked Nami.

Luffy nodded, then he clutched his head as if it hurt him to nod.

"I-I'm o-okay," he panted. But he didn't look okay. His face was too flushed, his cheeks were as red as tomatoes, and his eyes were way too bright. He trembled so violently with the effort to stay on his feet that I had to put out an arm to steady him, my arm instantly becoming soaked in his sweat.

I put my hand on his forehead, and recoiled instantly from the burning heat.

Luffy staggered, and I caught him as his legs gave out from underneath him.

"I've got you, Luffy," I said. "I'm going to give you to Nami now. She's going to take you to Chopper. It's going to be okay."

"Wh-where is...who w-was...wh-what," he blabbered incoherently.

"Ssshhh Luffy," said Nami soothingly. "You haven't fully recovered from Redbeard's poison yet. Chopper can help you feel better."

"Then c-can I have my hat b-back?" he asked innocently, flopping against Nami's back, his strength gone. "Dandan said if I go d-d-downstairs, I get my hat back, right?" he asked again, shivering hard.

"O-of course you can have your hat back," Nami choked on a sob, struggling to adjust to Luffy's weight, and the scorching heat now searing into her back.

"Thanks Dandan," Luffy said weakly, finally drifting into unconsciousness.

"I'll come check on him in a minute," I told Nami as she started the climb down the ladder, Luffy on her back. "I'm going to find Zoro first. Will you stay with Luffy?"

Nami nodded. "Of course." And they disappeared out of sight.

I turned around to face the room. It wasn't too hard to find Zoro. The Moss Head was slumped in his favorite spot, apparently sleeping.

"Hey! Moss Head! Wake up. It's time for Lunch," I said, poking him with the tip of my shoe. He didn't wake up.

"Hey! I'm talking to you," I said, thoroughly annoyed at this point. I hit him over the head with my soup ladle. Instead of jumping up and throwing every insult he could think of at me, Zoro groaned, and his eyes fluttered open.

"What do you want, C-C-Curly B-Brows?" he stuttered, but his voice sounded a million miles away. I knelt down so that I was facing him. His overly bright eyes stared straight through me. His flushed face was beaded with sweat. The effort to stay awake was almost too much for him. I placed my hand on his forehead, he didn't seem to notice, and recoiled instantly as for the second time today, I burned my hand.

"Why didn't you tell anyone that you're still sick?" I demanded.

"I'm fine," he said. He struggled for a few seconds before managing to stand up. "M' just really h-hot." He wobbled on his feet for a moment before slamming into the wall.

"Zoro!" I exclaimed, now very concerned for the one person who definitely didn't deserve my concern.

"S-S-Sanji," he stuttered, sliding down the wall, and curling up into the fetal position. "I-It's so c-c-cold up here. Wh-what's happening to me?" he pleaded.

I could see that Zoro was fighting every muscle in his body just to stay conscious, so I swallowed my shock, and gently scooped this new, frighteningly fragile Zoro into my arms.

"C'mon. We're gonna go see Chopper," I said. I didn't give him a chance to protest. Then again, he had slipped into a feverish daze, so he really didn't have much of an option in the first place.

"I've got you now," I said in his ear, if he could even hear me. "Let's go see Chopper."

I picked him up, placed him gently onto my back, and stepped out onto the Observation Deck.

"Chopper! I've got another patient for you!" I called down to the group.

"I've got him, Mr. Cook," Robin called. I slackened my grip on the swordsman as an army of hands lifted him off my back, and formed a bed underneath of him. The bed of hands lowered him slowly to the ground.

I jumped, and landed next to Robin.

"Ah, Mr. Cook," she said, uncrossing her arms, a rare frown of worry adorning her beautiful face. "The others are in the kitchen, except for Chopper and Mr. Captain."

I knelt down and picked up Zoro. By some miracle, Zoro was still conscious, but just barely. I don't think he could really see either me, or Robin.

"I'll take him to Chopper's room. I'll meet you and the others in the Kitchen," I told Robin.

Robin turned, and headed for the kitchen. I picked up Zoro and climbed the steps to the medical bay.

Chopper looked up from wringing out a cold compress when I entered the room. "Sanji, good, I was wondering when you'd show up." He crossed the room, hopped onto his stool, and placed the compress on Luffy's forehead. "Can you put Zoro on the flat bed in the corner? We've only got one bed in here, so Franky set something up for Zoro for now until he can make me a second bed."

"Of course," I said, crossing the little room in five strides, and slipping Zoro off my back. I lay him out on the bed as Chopper finished with Luffy, and came over to us, another compress in hand.

"Will they be alright, Chopper?" I asked, the anxiety welling up in my throat threatening to choke me.

"They'll be fine as long as they stay in bed for at least another week, and take the medicine I give them every day," said Chopper, having finished giving the compress to Zoro, and checking his temperature. "108.88 degrees," he muttered. "That's not good."

"He seemed fine earlier," I said. "So did Luffy. How did their condition get so much worse within a couple of hours?"

Chopper's frown intensified. "That's what I'm trying to figure out. I still haven't gotten a complete breakdown of that poison yet."

Zoro groaned.

*Crap, * I thought. *I forgot that he's still conscious.*

"Where am I?" he said weakly.

"You're in the medical bay," said Chopper, hopping onto the chair in front of his desk, and beginning to throw ingredients into a bowl. "You collapsed on the Observation Deck. How are you feeling?"

"B-burning," he panted, his eyes sliding in and out of focus due to a lack of sufficient oxygen being transported to his lungs.

"You dumbass," I said. "You've got a ridiculously high fever."

"Oh…" he said, this bit of information having absolutely no effect on him whatsoever.

Chopper finished mixing together his concoction, poured it into a cup, and hopped off his stool. "Sanji, can you help him sit up?"

I stooped down and put my hand just below his neck. Ignoring the scolding heat that was radiating from his body, I put my other hand on his stomach, and slowly raised him into a sitting position.

Chopper raised the cup to Zoro's lips. "Drink this," he ordered. "This should make you feel a little better."

With Chopper's help, Zoro managed to drink all of the medicine. His eyes closed, and his ragged breath deepened.

I lowered him back onto his bed, and stood up.

"Thanks Sanji," said Chopper. He hopped onto the stool next to Luffy's bed, and stuck a needle into his neck. "Since Luffy's unconscious, I had to give him the medicine in hypodermic form, but it will work just as well as drinking it. You should go ahead to the kitchen. That's where the others are. I'll stay here with Luffy and Zoro."

I hesitated. "Are..are you sure?" I asked. Chopper, reading my situation perfectly, looked up, and smiled. There it was, the smile that told us that Doctor Chopper was in charge now, and everything was going to be okay, whether Death wanted it to be, or not. I can't count how many times Luffy, Moss Head, and I have come within an inch of death, only to cheat Death over and over again, courtesy of Chopper.

*Yeah, * nagged my conscience. *But Luffy and Zoro haven't come this close to death since before we met Chopper.*

"Sanji," said Chopper, busying himself with checking Luffy's blood pressure. "They'll be just fine. They're safe now. I'll go to my grave before loosing our captain and our rock. It's okay, you can go now."

I nodded, and grinned. "Right, thanks Doc." And I left the room, Chopper shouting "Bastard! That won't make me happy, you jerk!"

I opened the door of the kitchen to find the others waiting for me.

"How are they doing?" asked Usopp worriedly.

I sighed, and sat down on the sofa. "Not good. They've both got high fevers, but we should put our faith in Chopper to keep them alive. He's done a damn good job of it from since we met him, up 'till now."

"Leave it to Chopper to save the day," said Nami, grimacing. "Hopefully, he won't need to struggle to keep them alive. I think I've found the answer to all of our bad luck."

She slapped a thick, leather-bound book onto the table. "It's in here," she explained. "I heard Luffy telling Shanks what happened to him before we found him in the water, (everyone shuddered) and he said he heard a girl singing. He felt compelled to follow the voice, and it led him into a deathtrap that he barely escaped with his life. Ever since then, we've had unnaturally bad luck, even for us, right?"

We all nodded, nothing had ever been more true.

"Well, this book describes the Legend of the Star Girl. According to this legend, the Queen of the Stars had a little sister. This little sister loved her big sister more than anything in the world, but one day, pirates kidnapped her sister. Four months later, the crew was caught in a huge storm. Everyone on the ship drowned, including the Queen of the Stars. For three days, her sister, the Star Girl, wept in mourning for the sister she had lost. She vowed revenge on any of those who waved a pirate flag, and has been cursing ships ever since. The Captain of the ship hears a girl singing, and that's when the bad luck starts. By the time five months have passed, every member of the crew will have met a gruesome end. It always starts with the Captain and his or her First Mate kicking the bucket after four months," she finished.

"So Luffy and Zoro don't have much time left before something else happens that finishes off both of them," said Franky. "The four month deadline is in one week. Is there any way that we can stop it?"

"In the legend," said Nami, leafing through the book. "It says that the Star Girl's mother was the Queen of the Moon. The Queen of the Moon would take pity on pirates who turned to her for help, and would lift their curse. Her temple is on the next island."

"What's it called?" asked Usopp eagerly.

I stood up. "Everyone, set our course for Astral City!"

Willoffire123: OH MY GOD! ZORO AND LUFFY ARE SICK! WHAT AM I GONNA DO? I CAN"T HANDLE THIS BY MYSELF! IF THEY DIE, I'M STUCK WITH SANJI!

Sanji: WHAT- oh forget it, there's no stopping her when she gets like this.

Willoffire123: I'm okay now. Anyways, will The Strawhat Pirates make it in time to Astral City? Will they manage to win the favor of the Moon Lady? Or will they die trying? Will Zoro and Luffy even be alive by the end of this story?

Sanji: You've asked that question before.

Willoffire123: I have?

Sanji: Several times.

Willoffire123: Too bad! I'm asking it again! Anyway, want the answers? Then stay posted for the next chapter of 'Race to Paradise Island! Save the Pirate King!' I might just start calling this half of the story 'Race to Paradise Island! Save the Pirate King!: Book 2'…Until next time folks!