A/N: Partial credit goes to EvanderAdvent.
Last time:
"No way..." I muttered. "Don't tell me that..."
"What, Xion?"
"Luffy. Run."
"Where?"
"Anywhere is fine," Sanji replied to the straw hat boy, getting the same idea that I'm having. "Just get away from here!"
"They're... THEY'RE GONNA CAUSE AN AVALANCHE!"
"Those shitty rabbits! They're gonna get it now! Dammit!" Sanji swore, as we ran for our lives away from the avalanche that the Lapahns caused.
"W-w-what do we do?! What are we going to do, Sanji?! Xion?!" Luffy questioned.
"For now, just run!" I replied.
"Xion-san's right! Our first priority is Nami-san! Second is Nami-san! Third, fourth and fifth are Nami-san!" Sanji panicked.
"Either way, Nami's safety comes first! Got it memorized, Luffy?!"
"I got it! But how?!"
I quickly observed our surroundings, hoping to find a high place to get out of our situation.
"There! That cliff!" Sanji announced. I looked at the direction where he saw the cliff.
"You sure?!" I asked, having a bad feeling about going up there.
"Of course! We have to get to someplace higher!" he said, running to the cliff, with me and Luffy following.
'That's not why I asked, idiot,' I said to myself.
We somehow got to the top, but it wasn't high enough and we were forced off.
*MEANWHILE, WITH VIVI AND USOPP**GENERAL'S P.O.V*
"Oi, Vivi. Are you sure we're going the right way to this 'Gyasta' village where the witch is at?" Usopp asked. He and Vivi continued their way to Gyasta to see Dr. Kureha and have her return to the castle as quick as possible while everyone on the island were preparing to help Dalton in his upcoming battle against Wapol.
"Now that you asked, I'm not really sure..." the princess sadly replied, looking at the map.
"If you're not sure, then we're in trouble! Let's say Luffy and the others get up there first and find that there's no doctor. They're gonna go, 'Oi! What's she doing?! Where is she?!' And even if she did get there before they did, what if she sees Xion and, like everyone in Bighorn, became incredibly happy that she's alive and all, despite the fact that she's old? What's Xion going to say, then?! If we don't find this doctor quickly and tell her to get back to the castle and about Xion's amnesia-"
"I know that, but..." Vivi interrupted.
"If you know, then do something. You're a princess, aren't you?"
"That has nothing to do with this! I'm not a witch, I'm a princess."
"Yeah, yeah..."
"Then why don't you look at the map, Usopp-san?" Vivi insisted, passing it over to the sniper.
"D-don't be an idiot! Everything's covered in snow! What good is a map gonna do?" he reasoned.
"So, you don't know where we're going either?"
"Nope! I absolutely have no idea!" the long-nose proudly spoke.
"You don't have to be so proud about it," Vivi continued. "Anyway, somewhere along this trail, there's supposed to be a sign pointing the way to Gyasta. We mustn't miss it."
"Alright! You can count on me!" Unfortunately for them, while they were talking, they passed the said sign.
*AT THE SAME TIME, IN BIGHORN*
While the Straw Hats were doing their business, Wapol is in Bighorn snacking on many of the people's homes and properties.
"DELICIOUS!~" he yelled, after eating a big mouthful of the village, except for the villagers, of course. "Listen up, peasants! Everything in this country is my snack! I am GREAT! As for why... Kuromarimo! Tell them!"
"That is, of course, because you are the king," one of Wapol's trustworthy soldier, Kuromarimo, explained.
"That's right! Exactly! That's why I must have my houses cooked well-done!"
"Wapol-sama! I have new information to report. If I may speak in your presence, we received word that the Straw Hat Pirates are headed towards our very own Drum Castle."
"What? Why?"
"They are transporting a sick woman there to see a doctor."
"Those fools! There are no doctors in my castle! There's no one there at all!" Wapol said, laughing at the Straw Hats' assumed stupidity.
"F-furthermore, from the same report," Kuromarimo continued, having Wapol to stop laughing. "Dr. Kureha is apparently now living in Drum Castle."
"WHAT?! That old hag is in my castle?!" Wapol gasped in shock. "How far will she go to humiliate me?!" He then turned back to the rest of his men. "Listen up! I'll drag her out and eat her along with the Straw Hat pests! Men! We're going back to the castle!"
"There's more news," Kuromarimo continued. "One of those Straw Hat Pirates, the girl in black, while we were gone, she defeated the pirates that we escaped from and gained a great amount of popularity here."
"What was that?! How dare she?! I see what she's trying to do without having anyone to explain it. Trying to take my throne, eh? I'll do more than just eat her up! And if she came here the moment we left, she should know everyone here, even Kureha. As for the reason why she was on the Straw Hat's ship... Well, I don't know the reason for that. However, I will not let my throne be taken by a girl!"
"That is far enough!" came a voice. Everyone looked at the one who spoke and saw Dalton, charging at Wapol and cut him with a spade.
"Who the hell...?!" began Kuromarimo.
"Ahh! I've been cut! I'm going to die!" Wapol panicked.
"Dalton-san!" called one of the bystanders.
"I came to kill you!" he said. "You're death would suit me just fine!"
"Dalton, you bastard..." another one of Wapol's trustworthy soldiers, Chess spoke. "So you're still alive, we see."
"You dare touch Wapol-sama..."
"It means nothing," the former soldier said. "You have the skills of our great medical country, Drum's most elite doctors."
"You're right," Kuromarimo agreed. "Isshi-20, Surgial Unit. Forward!"
Just then, five doctors who seems to be pros in surgery appeared and began their operation on the 'king'.
"Wow. I really thought I was a goner there," Wapol stated. Makes people wonder why Dalton reminded them that they have their country's most elite doctors.
"Protecting only yourself, you denied the people of this country's access to doctors. They had no choice but to suffer from their diseases, Wapol," Dalton spoke.
"Wapol? It's Wapol-sama. My retainer, Dalton."
"That's right. You've no right to speak to him like that," Kuromarimo agreed.
"You along with the two of us are Wapol-sama's Ministers," Chess reminded. "Were we not his loyal arms and legs?"
Dalton clenched his fists when he was reminded of that. "It is true that when you inflicted suffering onto the people, all I could do as your retainer was stand idly and watch. I must accept responsibility for my failures. Wapol, let's leave here together. We cannot stand on this soil anymore."
When he said that, many of the bystanders convinced Dalton that he did nothing wrong and that he should stay while Wapol and his minions leave the country for good.
"Heh! He would've done better to die as the Drum Kingdom Captain of the Guard," Wapol laughed. "I'm surprised you managed to survive in a doctorless country like this."
"You're right about that," Dalton agreed. "And I would've died by those creatures that you left behind, if it wasn't for Xion."
"Xion?"
"She was there for us when we needed her, unlike you. While you were gone, she came and protected us from those beings. Even though it was only for six months, we all had faith in her."
"Six months? I was gone for less than a year."
"That's right, you were gone for less than a year. She stopped coming after the six months that you left us. And now that she's back, I will weaken you, at least weak enough for Xion to finish you off!"
"Oh stop dreaming. Like that would happen. I'm a devil fruit user. A girl who weilds a odd weapon means nothing to me. I'll just eat it all up anyway."
"If only you know what she's capable of," Dalton whispered, loud enough for Wapol and his men to hear him. "And also, who would've thought that, in a kingdom with advanced medical science, our 'elite doctors' are a mere 20 people working in the King's castle laboratory and that every other doctor has been exiled here!"
"Of course!" Wapol exclaimed, his mood instantly becoming positive. "All that becomes sick must beg for their lives before me! If I'm in the mood, it's not like I won't let them see the Isshi-20. If you don't want to die, then you must revere me as your king! That makes my rule absolute! That's the politics of my country!"
"WHAT DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH POLITICS?!" Dalton snapped.
"You went and said it. Kill him! Kill your former commander!"
"I knew you wouldn't understand, even if I said it to your face." Wapol's former commander then changed again. "I had always clung to the hope that the son of the great former king under whom I served would someday open his eyes. However, as Xion said when I first told her this, IT WAS FUTILE!"
"There it is! The Ushi Ushi No Mi Model: Bison!" Two of Wapol's men identified.
At that, Dalton went in and attacked them. He was easily beating them all, without breaking a sweat. That is, until the people that wanted to help Dalton fight came. Chess, who knew him for a long time, went straight for his weakness and fired three of his arrows at them. Dalton went and let the three arrows hit him instead, protecting the people. Just when he collapsed, the ground began to shake.
"What's happening?" a villager asked.
"What's going on? An earthquake?" Wapol asked.
*MEANWHILE WITH USOPP AND VIVI*
"Oi! This is bad!" Usopp stated to the princess. "The snow's so deep that we stopped completely."
"It looks like we've accidentally started to climb a mountain," Vivi said. Just then, they felt shaking. "What is this rumbling? Hey, Usopp-san... Do you think this is...?"
"A-an avalanche!" the sniper identified, panicking.
*WITH XION AND CO.**XION'S P.O.V*
Luffy and Nami were in the air, the latter on the former's back. As for Sanji and me, we were caught in the avalanche and were being buried in snow. And we would've been, too, if Luffy didn't save us.
"Sanji! Xion! Grab on!" he ordered, stretching out his arms to us. We both grabbed it and were pulled towards our captain.
"We're saved," the chef said.
"I thought I was going to die being buried in snow," I stated.
"Well, yeah, but..." we heard our captain spoke. "We're not going to be buried in snow, but now we're going straight down the mountain!"
"WHAT?!" we screamed.
"You can't be serious!" I exclaimed.
"And we were just about to make it to the foot of that chimney mountain!" Sanji added.
"Xion! Can't you use you're Dream Eaters to carry us?!"
"As I said before, none of them can handle the cold!" I reminded.
"In any case, Luffy! Think of some way to stop this thing!" Sanji demanded. He then swore about putting the Lapahns in a pot as we continued our way down. When he did, I noticed one of them riding on a tree like us.
"Sanji! Duck!" I warned, as the rabbit tried to attack him. The next thing you know, more of them came! Isn't causing an avalanche enough for these mammals?!
"What do we do now, guys?!" Luffy asked.
"What else?!" I asked back, making the answer extremely obvious.
"There's only one thing we can do: RUN!" Sanji answered.
No matter how hard we try, unfortunately, they kept following us. I looked ahead of us to steer our ride while the boys were dodging from the rabbits' attacks. When they all surrounded us, however, up ahead of us is a rock!
"Wahh! A rock! We're gonna hit!" Luffy blurted out the obvious.
"We can't afford that! Nami-san's on your freaking back!" The Lapahns going for an attack behind us was no help whatsoever in this situation.
I was about to react fast and summon Wyvern to protect Luffy and Nami, when I felt something grab me and throw me into the air. It's not just me; Luffy was also thrown. Looking down at the culprit, it was Sanji who threw us.
"You have to treat ladies with great care," he said.
"Sanji!" we called, as he hit the rock. As we were about to land on the snow, Luffy undid the scarves that were helping him hold onto Nami and tossed her to me.
'Wait a second!' I thought, having an idea of what he was thinking.
"I'm leaving Nami to you, Xion!" he shouted, using his powers to put me and the sick girl to the rock that Sanji hit.
"LUFFY!" I screamed, as he got buried under the snow as well. "Idiots! You don't have to take Sanji's advice so seriously! This isn't the time to be acting so selfish in the first place!" Knowing that my screams went to deaf ears, I placed Nami down and summoned all my Dream Eaters.
"Summon: Majik Lapin, Ryu Dragon, Komory Bat, Fin Fatale, Cera Terror, Tyranto Rex, Iceguin Ace!" I called. When they materialized, the ones who I assumed to be bothered by the cold seemed okay with the weather. "Look guys. I know I said you guys can rest all you want, but this is an emergency, and I need all the help I can get," I told them, as I took off my black coat, revealing my black sports bra and wrapping my coat around Nami. "Wyvern, Rex, you two stay here and keep Nami warm. The rest of you are with me so we can find Luffy and Sanji. Those idiots protected us and got themselves buried in snow. I know most of you guys probably can't take the cold, but I have no other choice."
When I turned to face my Dream Eaters, THEY ALL HAD WINTER CLOTHES ON! "You mean to tell me that I could've summoned you guys when I want to in this weather?!" I shouted. "Ah! Forget it! I only have two flying Dream Eaters and the total amount of people that can be carried are three, so it's hopeless to fly. Anyway, you all heard what I said before, right?" They all screeched and nodded their heads at my question. "Then as soon as the avalanche is done, we'll start our search!"
As soon as the avalanche was over, we all did as I planned. My two fire Dream Eaters stayed behind to warm up Nami and the rest of them went with me to find Sanji and Luffy. When we found them, thanks to my Dream Eaters, I tried waking them up, only to find that they're both out cold.
"Damn it..." I muttered, warming up my hands from doing all of that digging. "DAMN IT!" Soon after, with some of my Dream Eaters help, I managed to carry my three allies. Nami on one side of my back, Sanji on the other, and Luffy behind them as a belt to keep them on my back. As for the captain's treasured straw hat, I placed it on Nami's head, under the hood of my coat that I decided to have her keep for a while. It's a lot of trouble to carry all three of them like this, but there was no other choice.
"They will owe me for this," I muttered. "Do you guys think you can help me get to that mountain? All I want you guys to do is protect me from being attacked by anything that comes in our way. And once we get to that mountain... I'll figure out about that one on the way. Think you can do it?" All my allies roared, signaling that they can help me on our way to the doctor. "Thanks you guys. Now let's go."
After a little while of walking out in the cold, I heard a familiar voice. 'Daddy! Please don't die! I'm trying my best to dig you out right now!' I looked up and saw that it was the small Lapahn from earlier, as well as a big paw behind it.
'Guess one of those Lapahns got buried, too,' I said to myself.
'Don't take another step closer!' the small rabbit warned me. I looked down at it and saw that it's trying to protect its parent. For some reason, looking at the situation, I feel like... I was in that situation once before. Or maybe something similiar to that situation. 'I'm not scared of you!'
I gave Torpedo and Wyvern a look, which they immediately understood.
'Don't hurt me!' the small rabbit begged, instantly cowering down as the two Dream Eaters walked or swam closer to it. Instead of them attacking it like it assumed, my fish and dragon got the parent out of the snow.
We then ignored the little one's joyful cries and continued our way to the castle.
"You three better not die on me," I muttered. "Once we get up there, I will definitely scold you guys. One of them being the fact that you should've recruited a doctor before we got here. Got it memorized?"
"Wait, brat!" I heard from behind me. My Dream Eaters and I turned to the voice and saw the one person that I don't want to see.
"Oh, great," I mumbled.
"You've brought so many humiliations upon me! I'm gonna make you pay!"