AN: Hey everybody! What a doozy of a chapter that last one was eh? Don't worry, this train ain't stoppin'! Since I know you're all hyped to see what happens next, I'm putting my reviewer replies down at the end of the chapter this time, we'll get back to regular format with them at the beginning of the chapter in Chapter 15!

For now though, I can tell you're already impatient, so let's get rockin'!

Chapter 13 – Poor Life Choices

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Fifteen Minutes After Atlas Left

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Luffy tried very hard not to squirm as Nami attempted to set his shattered hand. "We should really go to the doctor to have this looked at," she said quietly, "Your hand is torn up pretty badly. I can't fix this alone."

Luffy nodded, "Alright." But he wasn't really listening or paying attention even as Nami led him towards town. His navigator would steer him right, right? She had to be his navigator. She had already shown him so much, and the thought of losing her like…no. He wouldn't lose anyone else. He couldn't have misjudged her like that. Right? Right?

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Later

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Dr. Nako grimaced as he finished examining Luffy's hand, "Kid, I don't know what you did to this hand, but there's nothing I can do to save it without extensive surgery."

Luffy frowned, "What's surgery?"

Dr. Nako frowned and looked at Nami, "Is he serious?" Nami nodded and turned to Luffy, "What he means is that he's going to have to put you to sleep and cut your hand open to put the bone back together like a jigsaw puzzle. You know puzzles right?"

Luffy frowned at his throbbing hand, "Wouldn't that hurt me more?" Dr. Nako crossed his arms and huffed at him, "Kid if I don't do it then you'll never be able to use that hand again! The alternative to complete reconstructive surgery is amputation and getting a prosthetic. Considering how extensive the damage is, I may not even be able to fix it, but wouldn't you rather I try than just go ahead and cut it off?"

Nami laid a hand on Luffy's shoulder, "It's okay Luffy, Dr. Nako knows what he's doing. He'll just stick you with a needle and then you'll go to sleep and when you wake up, he'll probably have it all fixed for you!" Then a thought occurred to her, "Hey Dr. Nako, will Luffy's powers complicate the procedure any?"

Nako frowned at her, "Powers?" Nami nodded, "Luffy ate a devil fruit, so now he's a rubber man. Show him Luffy." Luffy reached up with his good hand and pulled his cheek almost a foot from his face before letting it snap back. "I'm a rubber man," he declared.

Nako stared for a moment and then took it in stride, "A devil fruit huh? Yes that might complicate things a little," then he thought for a moment, "but it might also make things a little easier. Come back tomorrow and I'll ask around about ways to repair rubber. There may be a quicker way than simply setting it and letting it heal naturally. Can you leave me a tissue sample to experiment with?"

Luffy frowned, "Tissues? Why do you need tissues?" Nami caught a handful of Luffy's hair and pulled it until it was nearly a foot long before taking a pair of scissors and snipping the ends off. "Here you go. He wants a part of you to check out what kind of rubber you are Luffy. That way he can see if there's a really good way to fix you."

"Oh…" Luffy said in surprise, "Why didn't he just say so?" Nami sighed, "So Doc, we need to come back tomorrow right?" Nako nodded, "Yes, and try to keep pressure off that hand. Don't use it for anything! If those bone fragments shift around I might never be able to get them back in place."

Nami nodded, "Thank you Dr. Nako, I'll make sure he stays off it. Let's go Luffy."

The two left and Dr. Nako sighed once they were out the door, "Nami's picked a real winner hasn't she?" he asked sarcastically.

The curtain off to the side of the office slid back, revealing a frowning Genzo, "He doesn't seem very bright. I guess that Zoro boy that came grocery shopping with her this morning and that other one must've been the one's primarily behind beating Arlong."

Nako frowned, "But didn't the scary one that attacked Hatchan say that Luffy was the one that sent Hatchan flying? That was Luffy. He must be strong, and those devil fruit powers must be something else." He was quiet for a minute, "Whatever the case, if he was involved in taking down Arlong, we at least owe him help with his hand. How do you suppose he broke it? Rubber isn't supposed to break."

Genzo shook his head, "I don't know, but I intend to find out."

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Meanwhile

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Nami and Luffy walked in uncomfortable silence, neither wanting to address the elephant in the room. Or rather, not in the room. Finally Luffy was the one to break the silence, "Why did he do that?"

Nami flinched slightly and then thought her reply over very carefully, "Well, I think he wanted to help you get stronger. That's what he said anyway, and I don't see any reason for him to lie about that."

Luffy frowned, "But I'm really strong already!"

Nami nodded, already knowing the conversation wasn't going to end well, "Yes Luffy, you're strong. You're probably one of the three strongest men in the East Blue." She took a deep breath, "But Atlas is still stronger than you."

"What?!" Luffy exclaimed, "No he's not! I'm the captain, that means I'm the strongest!" Nami looked at him, "What? No it doesn't! Being the captain means that the crew trusts you to make the right decisions and be a good leader!"

Luffy opened his mouth to argue and then closed it back. He was quiet for a moment and then, "Really? So I don't have to be the strongest to be captain?"

Nami shook her head with a frown, "No! What in the world gave you such a silly idea? Plenty of captains have stronger subordinates, but they're still the captain because they're more experienced and know what they're doing!"

"But that means Atlas should still be the captain instead of me!" Luffy exclaimed, "He's strong and smart and he's been to the Grand Line and knows everything! He's even better at sex than me!"

That took a moment to register with Nami and then horrible realization broke over her, "Luffy, did you just kick Atlas off the crew because you were jealous of him and thought he'd be a better captain than you?"

Luffy nodded without a moment's hesitation, "Yeah! If he stays then there's no way I'd get to stay Captain!" SLAP!

"YOU IDIOT!" Nami shrieked, "ATLAS WAS YOUR QUARTERMASTER! THAT'S LIKE THE SAME THING AS BEING VICE-CAPTAIN! YOU COULD'VE STAYED CAPTAIN AND STILL HAD HIM TO BACK YOU UP ON EVERYTHING AND SHOW YOU HOW TO BE A BETTER CAPTAIN! AND WHO THE HELL SAID I LIKE SEX WITH HIM BETTER THAN YOU?! I DIDN'T SPEND TWO WHOLE DAYS WITH HIMYOU KNOW! THE ONLY REASON HE OUTLASTED YOU THAT NIGHT IS BECAUSE HE MADEYOU PASS OUT WITH HIS POWERS! SO PUT ANY IDEAS ABOUT ME LIKING HIM BETTER OUT OF YOUR HEAD RIGHT NOW!"

Luffy stared at her for a moment and then, "Wait, so Atlas could be stronger and smarter and better at being a pirate than me and I could've stayed Captain anyway? And you like me better than him?"

Nami groaned and put her face in her hands, "Yes Luffy, Atlas being your Quartermaster is like Zoro being your First Mate. They pick up whatever slack there is in your captaincy and help you be the best captain you can be. The reason Atlas kicked your ass like that is because he wanted to show you that there are people stronger than you who you need to be strong enough to fight! Didn't you pay any attention to what he was saying at all?"

Luffy bit his lip and admitted, "Not really…" Nami went to reprimand him and then something clicked in her head as she looked at him and she smiled, "Well there's the solution to one problem right there."

Luffy perked up immediately, "What is it?" "When Atlas was fighting you, you tried to activate your second gear, but he stopped you right?" Nami reminded him. Luffy frowned and nodded and rubbed his nose, "Yeah. That really hurt."

"What he told you when he did that," Nami said, "Was that you were being too obvious about activating your second gear. Raising your hand to your mouth and telling him what you were about to do was what let him stop you because all he had to do was keep you from biting your thumb. Buuut, if you bite say your lip…" She trailed off with a grin and it grew as realization visibly dawned on Luffy.

"Then I could activate my second gear and he wouldn't be able to stop me!" Luffy exclaimed with a big grin, "Nami you're a genius!"

Then something else clicked in his head and he gasped, "We've gotta go find Atlas! I have to apologize! Which way did he go?!"

Nami looked around, trying to figure out which way he might have gone, "Ahhh…wait I know! You remember we told you that Nojiko ate a devil fruit that lets her see a lot? We can get her to help us find him!"

"Then let's go!" Luffy exclaimed before taking off at a run, Nami hot on his heels.

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Five Minutes Later

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Luffy pulled up short as he spotted the tall man in the flower print shirt and shorts talking to Zoro and Nojiko. The tall man turned as Luffy spotted him, "Ah, you must be Luffy and Nami. I have some questions for you."

Luffy's eyes narrowed as every instinct he had screamed at him, "What do you want?"

The tall man raised an eyebrow, "I came to investigate a few rumors." He seemed to teleport and suddenly he was next to Nami, calmly pushing her sleeve up to reveal the Arlong tattoo underneath, "And that's one confirmed there. Am I to assume that you are a member of the Arlong pirates Miss Nami?"

Nami flinched away and exclaimed, "HELL NO! I HATED THAT MONSTER!"

The tall man inclined his head to listen, "I see. May I ask why you are speaking in the past tense?" "I killed him," Luffy answered bluntly, "Now what do you want from Nami?"

The tall man straightened up and looked at Luffy, "I see, so you killed Arlong. All by yourself?" Luffy shook his head, "No, Zoro and Atlas helped." The tall man pursed his lips, "Atlas you say? As in Trueno D. Atlas? I take it you are a friend of his?"

Luffy nodded, "Yes! He's my Quartermaster!" "I see," the tall man said simply. Something spun in his hand and suddenly Luffy's head slammed into the ground with the force of cannon fire, blood already welling from the gash across the top of his head.

The tall man slammed the end of the haki infused piece of bamboo into the back of Luffy's head and effortlessly held him down with it, "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Marine Vice-Admiral Vergo of Marine Branch G-5. I have been pulled off my vacation time and tasked with investigating the appearance of the infamous criminal Trueno D. Atlas in these waters. If you are his accomplices, then I will now be taking you into custody."

Zoro was knocked flat and out by the black bamboo before he could react and even as Luffy tried to rise the super toughened bamboo slammed his head back into the ground. He cast a glance at Nami, "Do not try to resist arrest and I will not have to use force. Please place your hands on your head and go ahead of me to my ship. I will be right behind you with these two. Do not be alarmed, if you have committed no crimes and did not know who Atlas was, then after questioning you will be released. Do be warned though," he added as he hefted Zoro and Luffy by the collars, "That I am not an easy man to lie to."

Nojiko could only watch in horror as Nami Zoro and Luffy were taken away. She stretched her powers and suddenly Vergo turned, "Oh. You have that woman's powers? That is alright. You may use them to watch from afar if you like. If your friends are not criminals then they have nothing to fear."

Nojiko went ghostly pale and Vergo nodded slightly, "I see. Young woman, you may say goodbye if you feel it is unlikely that you will return."

Nami ran and hugged Nojiko. Nojiko held her close and looked over her shoulder with tear stained eyes at Vergo, "Please don't take my little sister! She's already suffered so much and they only just saved her from that monster! PLEASE! I'LL DO ANYTHING YOU WANT! JUST DON'T TAKE MY BABY SISTER!"

Vergo thought for a moment and then, "Send Trueno D. Atlas to my ship by nightfall and I will allow your friends and sister to go free. If none of them have bounties I will grant them full clemency for whatever associations they might have had and forget I saw you all. If you do not, or he does not come, then I will question them and if appropriate, take them into custody. Now then, Nami was it? Come along. I would hate to have to drag you."

Nami and Nojiko stared at him in tear stricken horror for a moment and then Nami looked at Nojiko, "Find him Nojiko, he'll come. I know he will." All Nojiko could do was nod and try to hold back her screams of impotent rage and sorrow.

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An Hour of Marching Later

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Vergo topped the gangplank of the Navy warship and his eyes widened along with Nami, Luffy and Zoro's as they beheld the sight waiting for them: Every man aboard was dead.

Atlas grinned smugly from a deck chair positioned to face the gangplank, sipping a margarita through a straw next to Rebecca and Mina in swimsuits with identical deck chairs and margaritas. All three of them looked as though they belonged on a sunny beach or poolside sunning among tourists rather than smack dab in the middle of a massacre scene. "Took you long enough," Atlas declared as he set his drink aside, his grin growing.

He rose and tossed his hat in his chair, "Vice Admiral Vergo, you owe quite a bit of blood to my two apprentices." He gestured around to the fallen soldiers around him, "This was a good practice exercise for them, but it doesn't change the fact that you murdered their beloved aunt right in front of them. And now I find that you've taken my crew hostage as well? What a lot of, shall we say poor life choices you've been making recently," He declared with a sadistic and slightly unhinged grin, "How unfortunate for you."

AN: And now as promised, reviewer replies!

Voyagers Unite: And once again, thank you for your kind words, they never fail to make my day. You're actually partially right about that guess. The original Sherry was for a different One Piece story idea I had that never got off the ground who was going to be an AU gender bent Shiki that was younger and a rival to Luffy rather than Roger. However, that wasn't awesome enough for her, so she demanded a new origin. Now she's got it and Ol' Shiki can only stew in envy of how amazing she is.

Avatoa: I certainly hope that this chapter answered your question. ;)