Hi, guys! I decided that I'm going to post two chapters this week - one this upcoming Friday, and one today! Anybody in this fandom would obviously be able to know why...It's our favorite Straw Hat's birthday! XD

Unfortunately, I don't have a "birthday special" chapter to post, but two chapters this week of the normal story should work just as well. :)

Thanks to PurpleStarsGreenFire, 4DarkMirror6, and Darkcrest27 for the Favs and Follows!

xenocanaan - Well, here it is!

Tsukino Aisuru - A - Is this soon enough?

MusicOfMadness - Yeah, Paulie's awesome! And I think that each character has their own special quirks. Try to imagine Paulie seeing Nami post-timeskip. If he had been on their crew...you gotta admit, his reaction to that would have been hilarious. XD And yup! The more memories Maria gets back and the more she reacts to them...there are going to be some interesting comments made in the future, I can tell you that.

Viernen (Guest) - Thanks! I do have some original arcs in mind, actually, but they won't come into effect until sometime waaaay after the 100th chapter in this (which I am presently writing, by the way). Romance? Uh...while I admit that it might be a good idea to practice that, I'm not pairing Maria up with anyone on the crew. Or having anyone on the crew pair up with each other, for that matter. It just doesn't seem right to see them other than family.

Now that answering reviews and stuff is out of the way...onto the chapter!

Chapter 21 - Devil Fruits and King Bulls

3rd POV

"Hey, Maria."

"Hmmm?" The amnesiac looked up from the street. She had been watching the Marines and government agents scramble out of the way of the yellow King Bull's attached treads - mostly out of boredom.

"That thing you did with the train car before," Sanji continued from where he was sitting in the front of the wooden seat, the giant yagara's reins in his hands. "Is that another one of those rediscovered abilities of yours?"

"Flash Fire, you mean?" Maria gave the pirate chef a grin. "I found out about it in Iceberg's bedroom. I can absorb fire and turn it into energy I can use - I can even heal myself with it!"

"Do you think you can heal other people?" Chopper piped up, looking curious.

Maria blinked a couple times, then frowned, scratching the top of her head and scrunching the fabric of her red and orange baseball cap, which she was still wearing backwards. "I'm...I'm not sure. But I kinda felt something when I threw some of the fire at those Marine guys and sent them flying, so there's gotta be more to it than just absorbing fire." The girl's frown deepened, her blue eyes seeming to darken a couple shades. "I heard some of them talking, though...what's a Logia Devil Fruit? And who's Ace?"

The other Straw Hats looked at each other upon hearing the amnesiac's question, while Maria fingered the zipper of her orange jacket, a thoughtful frown crossing her face.

"Devil Fruits are separated into three different categories," Nami spoke up, getting Maria to look over at the orange-haired navigator. "Logia, Paramecia, and Zoan. Zoan types allow the user to transform between different forms - like Chopper can."

Maria's eyes widened slightly, and she looked over at Chopper with a curious expression. The reindeer smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head.

"So, Zoan allows people to transform into animals, then?" Maria asked cautiously.

Nami nodded. "That's pretty much it, yeah. Logia Devil Fruits are fruits that turn the eaters into some kind of element. Ace, for instance, is a pirate who ate the Flame Flame fruit, so he's made completely out of fire."

Maria's eyes widened even further. "Whoa...really? I'd like to meet him sometime, then. It'd be really cool to meet someone who actually is fire. Does he even look human anymore?"

"Yeah," Zoro spoke up. "We met him back in Alabasta. He's Luffy's older brother."

Maria blinked a couple times. "Really? Luffy has a brother?" A grin appeared on her face - that had been happening more and more, now that she was with the Straw Hats and interacting with them.

Zoro raised an eyebrow. "You're not surprised?"

"Well, it's kind of hard to be, since I'm still learning about a lot of stuff," Maria responded. "Besides, I don't know you guys, so anything you tell me know won't be as much of a surprise as something you could tell me later."

Zoro inclined his head, then gave a nod.

Nami let out an impatient cough, getting the amnesiac's attention again.

"Anyway, the third Devil Fruit category is the Paramecia type," Nami stated, picking up where she had left off. "They've pretty much got every other power that you can think of. Our captain's rubber powers are a part of that group."

Maria blinked a couple times, then frowned. "But...Luffy's made of rubber, right? Wouldn't that make him a Logia?"

"There's more to Logias than that, Maria-san," Sanji called back. At the same time, Chopper started making his way to the front of the seating area while the King Bull turned around and looked back at its passengers, grunting something that no human could understand.

"Really?" Maria looked up at the chef.

"Yes. Because they embody certain elements, they can turn their bodies into that specific element, but still look human. Bullets, swords, fists, feet - none of that can touch them, unless you find a way to counteract their element."

"Like with water? You said Devil Fruit users can't swim, right?"

"Correct, Maria-san!" Sanji swooned. He returned to his normal self a moment later. "Our captain is a Paramecia because, while blunt force doesn't affect him anymore, swords still do."

Maria blinked a couple times at Sanji's actions, and she couldn't help but wonder if the blond chef was bipolar or something. If he was, that would make him pretty dangerous.

Zoro took note of the uncomfortable expression that appeared on Maria's face, and he gave a sigh of annoyance. "Oi, dartboard. You're scaring the new kid."

Sanji bristled. "What was that?!" He glared at the green-haired swordsman, who shifted and grabbed one of his swords in preparation for an attack from the chef.

Maria quickly dashed over and attempted to move between the two boys in an attempt to keep the two from ramming into each other. She ended up standing behind Zoro.

"Guys, please!" the amnesiac begged. "Now isn't the time to be fighting! What if those Target Heads show up again?"

"Nah, those shipwrights will be able to take care of them," Sanji replied calmly.

"But what if there are other enemies besides them?" Maria insisted. "You need to be on your toes watching them, not being at each other's throats!" The teen motioned out to one side while a number of panicked yells came from below.

Zoro and Sanji ignored her, instead keeping their gazes locked with each other.

"Maria, relax," Nami called out at the amnesiac. "They do this sort of thing all the time. You're not going to be able to do anything in order to stop them."

Maria turned to look over at the navigator, blinking in confusion. "But -"

"Seriously. There's nothing you're really going to be able to do if you really want to stop them." Nami shrugged helplessly.

Maria gave a sigh and her shoulders sagged, then she walked over to where she had been sitting before and sat down with a sigh.

A moment later, a high whistling noise came in from out of nowhere, causing Maria to look up in surprise. Her blue eyes widened moments later when she caught sight of a cannonball careening towards her.

Zoro shot in front of the amnesiac and pulled out one of his swords, easily deflecting the cannonball and sending it into the street. Maria flinched a little when she heard the explosion and the Marines yelling in surprise.

"Thanks," Maria stated, looking up at the swordsman.

Zoro glanced back and gave a nod in response.

"Now I've got you, pirate lady!"

Nami let out a scream, causing Maria to turn her head sharply. Her eyes widened when she saw that Nami's wrist was being gripped by a Marine. The amnesiac started to get to her feet in order to rush over and help, but someone else beat her to it.

"Don't you dare touch Nami-swan!"

Bam!

Maria watched in befuddlement as Sanji suddenly came flying in from out of nowhere and slammed into the Marine's arm. Her eyes widened when she heard his arm snap, and the Marine let out a scream in response as he let go of Nami and fell off the King Bull.

There came a strange chuckle from behind Maria, and she turned sharply, stretching out her right arm and sending the appearing staff slamming across the face of the figure that was directly behind her - who happened to be another Marine. He let out a yell of pain and fell to the street below.

Maria let out a sigh of relief and wiped an arm across her forehead. "I think I'm going to leave this out from now on," she commented, shifting the phoenix-headed staff around in her right hand.

"Yeah," Nami agreed, bringing out her Clima Tact and putting the segmented sections together. "I don't want to get caught by another Marine like that."

Gunfire started to go across the seating area, causing Maria to let out a yelp and duck behind the seat in front of her. She could hear metal hitting against metal nearby, but the amnesiac wasn't sure what was causing that noise.

"Cut it out!" Sanji roared in annoyance. There came the sound of wood cracking, and Maria could hear something slam into someone, causing some yells in the distance. The gunfire and bullets flying above Maria's head lessened, and the teen looked up cautiously. When no one shot at her, the amnesiac settled back to where she had been sitting before.

"What'd you do, Sanji?" the amnesiac called out.

"I stopped those bastards with a door to the face!" Sanji called back, grinning. He motioned to their left, and Maria caught sight of a door that was slammed over some sort of opening in a nearby building.

"So that's where the shooting was coming from..." Maria gave the chef a grin. "Thanks!"

"No problem, my dear Maria-san!"

"So then!" Chopper turned around where he was standing and looked at the others. "When Sodom and his brother Gomorrah were about to die in the belly of a Sea King, the Franky Family showed up. They were rescued and told these fateful words that he still remembers: 'Look, we're already full, so we're not gonna eat you.'"

Maria blinked a couple times upon hearing this. "Wouldn't that make you terrified of your rescuers instead of delighted with them?" Her question was ignored.

"And from that day forward the two brothers swore their undying loyalty to Franky!" Chopper declared.

Behind him, Sodom grinned and made what sounded like a laugh.

"So, let me get this straight," Sanji stated, back at the reins again. "The Franky Family caught a Sea King, ate it, and these two were saved only because Franky was already full?"

"That doesn't exactly sound right, no matter how you look at it," Maria called up from her seat.

Sanji gave a grunt, then bent his head back so that he could look up at the King Bull's face. "Hey, you mind watching where you're going? You're making me nervous."

"He's not the only one who's nervous," Nami muttered from nearby. She shifted and tried to look around the King Bull's head and neck in order to get a look at what was going on ahead of them. "Riding on this guy is nice and all, but if he runs himself into a building, then we're going to be trapped by all the Marines."

"And I'm not sure that I can take on this many enemies yet," Maria agreed, taking her staff in both hands and looking down at the men below.

Sodom let out a roar.

" 'I will follow Big Bro Franky until the day I die!' he says," Chopper translated.

"I bet he's really happy that one of us can understand what he's saying," Sanji commented dryly.

"If he spoke as the Pokemon do, I might be able to translate," Maria commented, thinking back to the memories she had recovered so far. "But I haven't been able to pick up anything from any of the yagaras, so I don't think their language is anything like a Pokemon's."

"Kid, I suggest you keep anything about your past like that to a minimum," Zoro called back. "I haven't heard anything about those 'Pokemon' things you mentioned back in the hotel room, and everybody else in the world probably hasn't, either."

"Well then, where did my memories come from?" Maria retorted, frowning. "And we're about the same age, so don't call me kid!"

"Not from any island that people would have normally come across, probably." Zoro shifted in his seat to lock eyes with Maria. "You can tell us, but until you get any proof of anything like those creatures existing in real life, I'd suggest keep any talk of your memories to a minimum outside our crew, all right?"

Maria blinked a couple times, then gave a slight nod. "Uh...yeah, sure."

"Sodom just said, 'By the way, the masked guy who was with you never made it onto my back, is that all right?' "

Maria looked up at Sodom's head as she heard Chopper translate. "Masked guy...?" She looked around the other seats for a moment before her eyes widened. "He's right! Sogeking isn't here!"

Chopper let out a panicked yell and Maria looked around in a slightly panicked state while the others gained annoyed expressions.

"Why here? Why now?" Nami groaned.

"Idiot," Zoro muttered. "Did he fall off?"

"Sodom said he never made it on here from the start!" Chopper wailed.

"Don't tell me," Sanji muttered. "Did he run away again?"

Maria blinked a couple times. "Again?"

"Oh, yeah." Zoro turned and looked back at the amnesiac behind him again. "He's always done that, the lying coward. He'll show up later, though."

"You're sure about that?"

"If I know him, yeah."

Chopper looked confused. "Again? But we haven't met Sogeking before, Zoro."

Zoro stiffened a little, then scowled over at the reindeer. "Forget I said anything."

"Uh...o-okay. But what are we gonna do about Sogeking?!"

Maria shifted forward on her seat. "How long are you going to keep up the charade?"

"Chopper can believe what he wants." Zoro shrugged. "Like I'm going to be the one to tell him who Sogeking is. Besides, there really isn't anything we can do. It's not like we can go back and pick him up. I'm sure he'll figure out something in order to reach us."

"But the whole island is swarming with Marines!" Nami argued as she came over to Zoro and Maria. "He's not Luffy, you know - he can't fight them off on his own!"

"Even if we don't realize it at first, we've gotten stronger with very challenge we've faced." Zoro turned his head and looked at the orange-haired navigator. "He may not think he's tough, but he's survived just as well as we have. No one from our crew would die at a time like this. Don't worry."

"From our crew?" Chopper repeated from the front seat, confused. A frown appeared on his face. "What are you talking about, Zoro? Sogeking may be here to help, but he doesn't replace Usopp!"

Because he is Usopp, Maria thought dryly.

"He'll be fine," Sanji responded coolly. "He is a superhero, after all."

Chopper blinked a couple times, then turned and faced ahead. "Yeah. There's no way Sogeking would let evil triumph over good! He can't lose!"

"And neither can we," Maria spoke up, raising her staff. "There's no way we're letting them get away with Robin!"

"Look! We're almost to the Court House!" Zoro called out, pointing ahead of them at the tall building with the three doors.

"Then we're that much closer," Maria responded eagerly, getting up to her feet as though her moving was going to make the King Bull move faster.

Seconds later, however, Sodom ended up stopping in his tracks.

BOOM!

"WE'VE BEEN HIT!" Sanji yelled as smoke rose up from where the explosion had occurred: Sodom's front.

Maria's blue eyes widened when she saw the blood all over the King Bull's front, and her skin paled a little. "I don't think I've seen that much blood spilling from a person before..."

"This is bad!" Chopper yelled over Sodom's roars of pain and the Franky Family's exclamations of alarm. "He needs my help!"

"Grit your teeth and hold on, Sodom!" Zambei called out. "You can't fall yet!" The purple zebra-striped King Bull moved over to the yellow one's side in an attempt to keep the hit sea creature from collapsing. "Guys, you're gonna have to jump! Get off, quick! Sodom can't go on!"

"No!" Maria exclaimed, looking back and forth between the crowded King Bull and the one the Straw Hats were riding. "We can't leave him behind! He could get finished off by the Marines!"

"You guys have to keep moving!" Zambei retorted. "You're the only ones who can do this!"

Sodom let out a guttural roar, then turned around and looked at his passengers before grunting a couple times.

"He says 'Go!'," Chopper wailed out.

Maria looked up at the bleeding face of the King Bull. For a moment, she thought that she could see through his goggles and straight to his eyes, but that was gone as soon as Sodom moved and started nudging his brother, as though to say "get moving!"

Maria jumped when a hand suddenly clamped down on her wrist, and the amnesiac let out a yelp when Sanji pulled her up onto the purple-zebra King Bull's back, the others moving at he same time.

They ended up on the outside of the seats, with Nami, Chopper, and Sanji moving to the back to stand next to Yokazuma - Maria was surprised to see that the giant frog was actually riding with everyone else. The amnesiac teen and the green-haired swordsman ended up standing next to each other, watching in horror as Sodom collapsed, sending Marines scattering before they could get squished.

Zoro looked away from the sight, then moved to stand next to Zambei in the front. "Let's go."

"Right." Zambei gave a nod, then flicked the reins, exclaiming, "Let's go, Gomorrah!"

Maria gripped the side of the wooden seats as the King Bull started moving with a bit of an abrupt jerk. Her staff disappeared in a shower of sparks again when she gripped the side with both hands.

"Those people..." Maria shook her head quietly. "There's no way that I'm going to be able to do anything to help against CP9, if even the Marines have this kind of power. But...how am I going to get stronger without even knowing what kind of abilities I have? The staff and the Flash Fire thing are cool and all, but...what else can I do?"

Maria's starting to wonder...and I'm not about to give away any spoilers...

See you guys on Friday!