One Piece, Two Piece, Red Piece, Blue Piece

by Bluejay Blaze

I was four years old when I fell through a doorway between worlds. Luckily for me, I didn't end up alone. Three brothers and a gang of mountain bandits were kind enough to take me in. My older brother's gonna be king of the pirates, and he's bringing me and an ever expanding family along for the ride. Crazy? You bet. Awesome? Most definitely. Allons-y!

21. Betting on Family

A/N: So… I couldn't remember how the Davy Back and Long Ring Island arcs interacted, so I just split them into two arcs. Sorry.

SBS question corner… Not sure this counts, but let's go for it T-Biggz asked about my management of the expanding crew and whether I'm accepting new OCs. Yes, managing the expanded crew is difficult sometimes. I forgot about Chopper last chapter until the end as well as Ghin; people just didn't notice because their memory automatically filled in with what Chopper did in the canon episodes. Isn't the human mind a wonderful thing? As for new OCs… No, I won't be taking any more of those. Three writers is enough for now. I suppose I should clarify though: Sora (played by Tetsik) and Llama are not based on actual relatives. Tetsik and I decided that having Sora as Bluejay's cousin made sense character- and plot-wise with what we wanted to do- in reality he's something of a sworn brother, similar to Ace and Luffy; Llama, meanwhile, is one of my best friends. There will indeed be characters based on other family members showing up in later arcs, but not as members of the crew. After all, expanding the Straw Hats means also expanding the marines and other major groups as well. Otherwise the crew would steamroll everyone through sheer numbers.

A foul smell filled the tiny closet we used as an infirmary. I gagged. "Does this always happen?"

"It's from the buildup of dead skin cells and such starting to decay under the cast. Of course it always happens."

I made a face at Chopper. "First time I've ever been glad Sabo-nii and Nami insist on everyone taking regular baths then." Flexing my newly-freed leg, I stood. "Am I good to go?"

"Not just yet! You may heal faster than any other normal human I've treated-except Zoro- but that doesn't mean you can just start running around! Your leg was in a cast for almost two weeks- you'll probably experience stiffness and weakness for a day or two at least. I know this goes against your nature, but please try not to do anything that might strain it."

"You worry too much Choppy." I ruffled the reindeer's fur. He glared cutely at me.

"I'm the doctor! It's my job to worry about things like this!"

Moving swiftly, I left the infirmary before Chopper got it into his head to ask Kaya to sedate me. I did not want to be party to our nurse/poisoner's latest batch of experiments. Some of the things she'd been trying in the weeks since we'd come down from Skypeia had downright nasty side effects.

"Nii-chan, I'm free!" Racing across the deck, I used Ghin as a springboard to launch myself into a flying tackle, knocking my brother flat. Our tattoo artist- who'd been working on designs for Llama and Conis- let out a resigned sigh.

"Yeah, I guess the quiet was too good to last." Ghin brushed one hand against his jar of dirt. "Oh well… The Donna wouldn't be the Donna if she wasn't as crazy as the rest of them."

"Yay! Blue's all better!" Luffy wasted no time in pinning me to the deck with his rubbery limbs. His face took on a mock-serious expression. "Blue's got some hard work ahead- you lost a month of training! Almost as bad as when you were sick three years ago."

"Bring it on! I'm ready!"

My words immediately triggered a violent sparring match, which eventually dissolved into a ship-wide brawl. Things only broke up when Llama got too excited and threw one of her explosives at Sanji. Ace-nii intercepted, kicking the bomb into the sea.

"Oi! No lethal force during training!"

"Wasn't lethal," Llama muttered, "Just a Green Star."

"Oh. Sorry, couldn't tell. You really need to make 'em look different- no one else can tell anything but your Sparklers."

"Okay."

Conis, sitting on Usopp's back with her bazooka pressed to his buttocks, looked confused. "Is it just me or does this crew have a different definition of 'lethal force' than most? I was under the impression that explosives involving corrosive smoke were very lethal."

"Up until recently, so was I." Nami pushed herself up wit her clima-tact. Robin, who'd knocked her down, smiled apologetically. "But the training we do together… It's about more than strength and speed. I wouldn't be surprised if some of us could shrug off a Green Star or some of Kaya's milder toxins."

"How do you know you don't every morning?" Kaya smiled sweetly. Everyone took a step back; Sanji huffed.

"Relax. I wouldn't let even a lady like Kaya-swan slip any of her experiments into the food."

Usopp had a fit once Conis let him up. "Gods above and below Sabo! I just fixed the galley wall yesterday! How'd you manage to put another hole in it?"

"Sorry. Ace has a hard head."

"Actually," Zoro offered, "I was the one you put through the galley wall. You threw Ace down into the hold."

"Oh. Huh, I was sure it was the other way around."

Groaning, Usopp tore at his hair. "It doesn't matter whose thick head it was! What matters is that I'm running out of lumber! Stop making so many holes!"

Conis rubbed our sniper's back with one hand. "Deep breaths Usopp. Stressing out and giving yourself high blood pressure won't help."

"Maybe, but keeping calm doesn't get us more lumber either." Usopp sighed. "Please tell me we'll be getting to an island soon. A nice peaceful, quiet one preferably, so I can get some shopping done."

Nami checked a map. "We should be getting to one tomorrow. I've got no idea what it'll be like though; it doesn't even have a name."

"Is there at least a town?" Usopp asked hopefully. Nami shook her head.

"Not that I can see, although this chart is a little out of date. There's a forest though, so we can always make our own lumber."

"I guess that'll do."

Zoro smiled and tugged on my ponytail. "Good. Little Bird can get some decent sword training done."

"You want me to cut down trees… with my tanto?" I stared at our swordsman in disbelief. Zoro shrugged.

"To try anyway. I don't really expect you to manage the first time- took me til I was sixteen."

"Now I've gotta do it before then just to spite you."

Ace bounced over to ruffle my hair. "Aw, Blue's mad at Zoro. Sabo, who's cuter when they're mad- Lu or Blue?"

"Well, I suppose that depends why they're angry. I personally find them both adorable, but they can be a little scary sometimes if the crew is threatened."

"Nii-chan's the cute one," I pouted. Ace-nii just ruffled my hair more and picked me up.

"Aw Blue, he's not the onl- Hey! Ow! Stop biting me!" Ace waved his arm a little, but I was holding on with both hands and teeth. He couldn't get me off. Zoro chuckled.

"Why not just go intangible and let her fall off?"

That earned our first mate two kicks in the head from Sanji and Bon-chan. "Shitty Marimo! Ace may be a brute, but he'd never risk burning his own sister's face!"

"I have to agree. Flare-boy loves Birdie too much to hurt her like that."

Ace-nii continued to wave the arm I'd attached myself to. "Will you guys please just quit arguing and get her off of me?!"

xXx

The island was something of a disappointment when we got to it- just a massive hill of granite covered in pine trees and blueberries. Well, the blueberries weren't a disappointment. They were delicious. The image of an older lady with dark hair flashed through my head as I ate a handful.

"Come on Sora!" I didn't know why, but something urged me to grab my cousin and take off into the trees. Sora smiled.

"Just like when we were little, eh?"

"Oro?"

"Grandma used to drag us out to pick blueberries all the time- though we ate more than we picked. Did you remember something?"

"I dunno. Maybe." I quickly busied myself with filling my bucket with blueberries. Sanji could probably make a great pie or something with them. As for the memories… I tried not to think about them. I'd spent ten years not knowing who I was or where I came from- it was who I was now that was important.

Sora was distracted before he could press me further; he'd uncovered a large, shimmering mussel shell beneath a bush. Soon my cousin was collecting almost as many shells as berries, slipping them into his pockets with an absentmindedness that made me wonder if he even knew he was doing it. They were pretty shells though. Very shiny. The sheer number of them made me wonder if this island had a lot of raccoons or fishing bears. Our blueberry patch was practically a garbage dump of these shells.

Returning from the woods with full buckets (and in Sora's case, pockets) my cousin and I were met with an unusual sight. An enormous ship with a fox figurehead had the Merry pinned against the shore. As we approached, Zor shot me a look that promised pain for skipping sword training. Oops.

A chubby man with oddly split hair came ashore, followed by a very large, mismatched crew. Except for the leader, they all wore black domino masks. Wiping his nose on the back of one hand, the split-haired captain pointed at Luffy in a way that managed to be both dramatic and pathetic.

"Straw Hat! I challenge you to a Davy Back Tournament!"

"Huh?" My brother cocked his head to one side. "Who're you?"

"You… You haven't heard of me?" The strange captain deflated.

"Nope."

"Don't worry boss," a girl with teal hair crooned. "I'm sure it's just cause they're backwater losers from the East Blue."

"Naturally!" Perking up, Split-Hair struck a pose. "I'm Silver Fox Foxy, captain of the Foxy Pirates! And like I said Straw Hat, I challenge you to a Davy Back tournament!"

"Okay…" Nii-chan picked his nose. "What's a Davy Back Tournament?"

It was Robin who answered- I don't think anyone else on our crew could have. I certainly didn't know what a Davy Back Tournament was. "Long ago there was a hidden island that was considered a pirate's paradise. During his stay there Davy Jones invented a series of rules and games for pirate crews to play that wouldn't draw the attention of the navy the way battles would. Generally, in a Davy Back Tournament the crew that loses each game must give up a crew member to the winner- the winning crew picks who they want to join them."

"And what if someone refuses to switch crews?" Ghin asked, arms folded. Robin shook her head.

"Then he is dishonoured. Pirates everywhere will know him as a breaker of the Code and none will ever take him on their crew again."

That made Ghin pale. Nii-chan stretched to pat his shoulder. "Don't worry, we'd always take you back! We like Ghin!"

Zoro nodded. "We're not about to punish anyone for staying loyal."

"The Code is more like guidelines than actual rules anyway," Sabo-nii added.

With our tattoo artist successfully reassured, Luffy turned back to Robin. "Can we just say no? I don't wanna risk losing anyone."

"I'm afraid if we refuse we'll get a reputation as cowards. Other crews might not be keen to deal with us in the future."

"Even Shanks?"

"Possibly. I never met him, but from I've heard Red Hair is quite enamoured with both games and honour."

"He is." Nii-chan frowned. "Okay… How do the rules work? Do they change if there's a Jones around?"

"No Captain. That would be unfair."

Foxy's eyes widened; he licked his lips. "A Jones? You have a human Jones on your crew?"

Nii-chan nodded. "Yeah, but you can't have Blue- she's my baby sister."

"Ah, but if I win her… Which one is your sister?"

"Not telling." Luffy glared.

I glared at Foxy too. Like Hells he'd separate me from my family! Why would he even want to? As far as he knew, I was cursed. Unless there was something more to the story than Sabo-nii knew. I took a deep breath. It didn't matter- we would win these games anyway. Not that I thought any of Foxy's crew looked like Straw Hat material. Actually, they looked more like toadying kiss-ups than anything else. What would we even do with one of those? Use him for target practice? Give him to Gramps as a birthday present?

Foxy pulled out a jingling pouch. "What'll it be Straw Hat? One coin, two, or three?"

Nii-chan folded his arms. "Sabo, what's three threes?"

"Nine."

"Then we're doing nine. If we're gonna do this, we're going all the way."

Foxy's teal-haired girl frowned. "Can they do that?"

"There's nothing in the rules against it." Robin had pulled a massive book from somewhere, titled The Complete Guide to Rules and Regulations of Davy Back Games.

Foxy's eyes went wide. He hid his surprise quickly though, a sly look crossing his face. The split-head was plotting something, though I couldn't tell what. The teal-haired girl tugged at Foxy's clothes. "Can we take the little reindeer Foxy? He's so cute!"

"Yes, yes Porche. We have to make sure to get the Jones too; try to figure out which one she is."

The Foxy Pirates busied themselves setting up a wheel-of-fortune type deal- apparently which games we played had to be chosen randomly. As they were doing this I edged over to Sabo-nii. "I thought a silver fox was supposed to be an attractive older man. Why'd the marines call him that when he's all dumpy and weird looking?"

Sabo snickered. "Either one of the higher ups enjoys irony, or the marines are even dumber than we thought."

I think Foxy heard us, because he deflated in a corner. Porche spent the next few minutes stroking his ego so he would be ready to perform when the games started.

The first event spun was called the Ball Game, where two players from each crew tried to get each other's balls into hoops at either end of the field. Only, one of the players was the ball. Foxy's crew provided the referee, as we Straw Hats didn't have anyone familiar enough with the Davy Back rules.

Nii-chan chose Sanji to be our ball and Zoro to be the other player. This didn't seem like the best idea to me; those two were more likely to compete with each other than against the other team. Plus, Zoro wasn't allowed to use his swords, which cut down his abilities significantly.

The other team cheated too, which would never occur to Zoro. The gigantic men Foxy had in this game pulled weapons whenever the referee had his back turned- which happened whenever it would benefit Foxy's team to have the referee ignore them. Our chef and swordsman nearly got knocked off the field several times, which would've resulted in them being disqualified. One of Foxy's non-participant crew mates was also moving the scoring ring any time Zoro and Sanji actually managed to get close to pushing the giant ball in. Sadly, this only happened once.

"What's wrong shitty Marimo?" Sanji taunted as Zoro pushed ineffectually on one giant leg. "I thought you were supposed to be one of the strong ones. Or are those huge weights just for show?"

"Like you could do any better!"

Sanji's response was to jump up and kick the giant as hard as he could in the back of the head. That actually stunned Foxy's player enough for Zoro to shove him over- at least, until another Fox moved the scoring ring and Sanji landed on Zoro's back. This triggered a brief bout of bickering between our cook and first mate. Seconds later the pair were hit by a giant mace and both flung into the ring at the other end.

Needless to say, our team lost. The Foxy Pirates took Chopper, much to Porche's delight. The poor little doctor stared forlornly at us from his new crew mate's lap. His domino mask was askew as he held back tears. Zoro rubbed his head and looked over at Chopper.

"Don't cry Chopper. We'll get you back, and if we don't, you need to learn to serve your new crew with pride."

"Okay." Chopper sniffled and bit his lip.

The next event was a game called Hit and Dead Ball. As soon as it was described, Sora muttered something about dodgeball. I looked at my cousin in confusion as he rubbed the scar on his neck.

"I've played a game similar to this before," Sora explained. "It was called dodgeball."

SORA

He wasn't sure why he'd mentioned that- or at least without informing people he hadn't been very good at dodgeball. Sora glanced at Coby and Luffy beside him as he prepared to face the bouncing red rubber ball of doom. Llama and Usopp were behind him, rounding out the roster with their talents for throwing things and getting out of the way.

The first throw came for his face, as the zoan user had half-expected. That's how things had always happened in high school. Unlike then however, Sora was able to duck out of the way just before eating rubber. He grabbed the ball with his tail and flung it back, missing every single Foxy Pirate. Llama shook her head.

"Men… Let me."

When next the ball came to their side, Coby grabbed it as it flew over Luffy's head. The cabin boy handed the ball to the explosives expert, who promptly took out Porche by flinging the ball into her stomach. This prompted cheers from the Straw Hats and rage from the Foxes. Their response…

"No way that's fair!" Sora squawked, racing out of the way as a hail of balls rained down upon the Straw Hat team. Foxy and friends had some sort of giant dodgeball cannon. Even Coby and Luffy, pinnacles of speed and flexibility, were having a hard time dodging. No one was knocked out, but it was a near thing. And then the cannon stopped. It was out of ammo. All the balls were now on the Straw Hat side. Llama and Usopp grinned darkly.

"Usopp Rubber Balls of Doom!"

"Red Rain!"

The Foxy Pirates avoided the barrage by hiding in their tank. Once Straw Hat ammo was exhausted the high speed barrage of red rubber commenced again. This time Straw Hats were knocked out one by one until only Luffy was left. Sora's own exit from the ring was courtesy of a punishing strike to the face. Of course. The zoan user's nose started to bleed.

"Get them Captain Luffy! You can do it!" Sora could see Chopper itching to come over and examine his nose. He waved a hand to show the reindeer he would be alright for now.

If Luffy could catch a ball, someone else would be able to join back in. Llama was the best choice, as the balls required throwing just like her bombs. Sora bit his lip as a ball flew towards Luffy's head. The captain's hands rose… And missed. The ball slammed into a rubber mouth instead. Stunned, Luffy automatically swallowed the thing in his mouth. The referee immediately called a foul.

"What the Hell?!" Nami shrieked. "How can that be a foul? No way would anyone think to rule out eating the ball! No one but Luffy would be dumb enough to do that!"

"Actually…" Robin looked up from the rulebook. "Someone did think to rule against it. The very last rule in the Hit and Dead Ball section is that you mustn't eat the ball. I'm sorry I was too late to warn you; it's a rather thick book."

"Gah!" Nami tore her hair.

Foxy's crew chose Kaya next, apparently hoping she was the Jones. Sora wondered why being a Jones was so important in this world- was there the same mythology here as back home? If so, he was kind of glad he was related to Bluejay through their mothers; the Jones curse seemed a lot less like harmless superstition on the backdrop of this crazy, wonderful place.

"So sorry Foxy-taicho, but you picked the wrong girl." Kaya smiled sweetly and went to sit by Chopper. Sora saw a shudder run up Foxy's spine at the nurse's expression.

BLUEJAY

I laughed as the wheel spun to a halt for the third time. Eating contest. Our entire crew grinned; Ace-nii slapped Nii-chan on the back. "Looks like it's up to you this time Lu."

"Shishishishi! Yep!"

Sanji assisted the Fox cook in preparing for the competition, smiling grimly as he cooked. The Foxy pirates' eyes went wide as our chef prepared endless piles of meat- he actually roped Sabo-nii, Usopp, and I into catching a couple of sea kings. Even Foxy's entrant- a giant of a man who looked like eating was his reason for living- looked worried.

"Uh… You sure we're gonna need that much Blondie?"

Sanji shrugged and blew a smoke ring. "It's getting close to lunch time. May as well be prepared."

My rubber brother totalled his opponent in short order. Nii-chan's rubber stomach was even more endless than a typical D- Dadan always said he had to have the metabolism of a rabid squirrel to still be as skinny as he was. Crumbs flew everywhere as Luffy devoured grilled sea king as if Ace was trying to steal it from him. He continued eating even after Foxy's man had given up with a groan.

"What kind of monster are you?" the larger man asked. Nii-chan swallowed the meat in his mouth and cocked his head to one side.

"Huh? Whaddya mean? I'm just hungry." His opponent fainted after my brother's innocent question. Luffy licked his lips and waved one hand above his head. "Oh yeah! Chopper, get back here!"

The reindeer hopped off Porche's lap and trotted over as fast as his little hooves could carry him. I scooped our doctor up and cuddled him, sticking my tongue out at the teal-haired girl. She pouted and huffed, turning away.

When the wheel spun shot put as the next event, our crew was hit with a wave of confusion. Who did we send in- Ace-nii for strength? Llama for throwing abilities? In the end we chose my eldest brother. His opponent was one of the same giants from the Ball Game. If Foxy had played fair this wouldn't have been an issue; in proportion to his size, Ace-nii was far stronger than any giant. But the giant wasn't using a giant-sized shot. No, he grabbed the one that was sized for normal people, leaving Ace-nii to throw what amounted to a cast iron boulder.

"You've gotta be fucking kidding me," Ace ground out as his turn came. I bit my lip, watching his muscles strain as he lifted the ball. I'd never seen something that took my brother so much effort to pick up before.

Ace-nii heaved the massive thing into the air with a loud grunt, almost falling on his face as the weight left his hands. Dull metal flew almost a hundred meters. It landed with a mighty crash, making the whole island shake. My eldest brother smirked. Then his giant opponent whipped the tiny, normal person shot over the horizon and Ace's jaw dropped. Foxy laughed obnoxiously.

"You, orange-haired girl! You're mine now!"

Nami sighed and shook her head, walking over to the Foxes' side of the island. The navigator shot a glare at Nii-chan as she put on her domino mask. "Nope, I'm not the Jones. Luffy… Fix this."

"Yosh! Don't worry Nami, we'll save you and Kaya!"

The next spin made me cock my head to the side in confusion. Guitar Hero…? Was someone supposed to save a guitar from something? Porche stepped up to the plate wit a grin, a random goon handing her a red and white instrument. "Yay! Look Foxy, it's my turn!"

"Have fun Honey." Foxy didn't look nearly as enthusiastic.

Folding his arms, Nii-chan pouted. "Wish we had a musician… Blue, you can sing. You do it."

"Oro? Me? Oh no, bad idea! Very bad idea!" I didn't know a thing about playing guitar. One of the Foxy Pirates handed me a worn old wooden instrument with fraying strings. I gulped. This was not going to go well.

Porche started, reeling off a fast-paced song that was impossible not to want to dance to. It was in a language I vaguely recognized but didn't understand. Even a few Straw Hats were clapping by the end- especially Sanji, who had hearts in his eyes and was noodle dancing. Of course, that was probably because the singer was a woman.

When my turn came, my fingers trembled. I strummed tentatively, not sure what to do with my other hand to make different sounds. One string broke. Foxy's pirates started laughing at me. I glared and flung the old guitar down; it bounced off a rock and broke in two. Sabo-nii came over and stroked my hair.

"It's okay Blue. You don't have to be good at everything."

"But you and Ace-nii are!" I scowled at the ground, refusing to cry. "I bet you would've been able to do it fine! Now we're gonna lose someone else and it's all my fault!"

Sabo shook his head. "That's where you're wrong. I can't play an instrument either. At least you tried."

"Trying isn't good enough!" I turned my back on my brother and hid by a large pine tree. As soon as I was sure no one could see my face, the tears came.

Foxy took Robin for my failure. The archaeologist frowned at her new captain as she put on her mask. "Silver Fox… How will the Straw Hats know what to do if they don't have me to read them the rules?"

"I'm sure they can muddle along somehow, miss-?"

"Nico Robin. I'm afraid you guessed wrong again." Robin smiled as Foxy kicked the ground.

SORA

A clicking noise sounded as the wheel stopped at parkour obstacle course. The Foxy pirates set up quickly- they had a number of prefabricated walls and rails stored on their ship. Sora sighed. These cheaters were prepared for everything, weren't they? He was willing to bet that parts of the course were trapped, ready to send Sabo or whoever else ran it flying backwards while the Foxes- who would know where all the triggers were- sailed on through.

Then leather glove patted him on the back. The zoan user looked around in surprise, meeting Sabo's smug grin with a puzzled frown. Blue eyes twinkled as the gentleman waved a book around- Robin's book of rules. "Flying isn't a foul," Sabo said quietly.

"Wha-? Oh. Oh." Sora grinned and spread his wings. The young girl who settled at the starting line beside him gulped.

A gun fired; Sora took off. As the girl scrambled, climbed, and vaulted below him, the zoan user shot forwards like a missile. His wings screamed in pain from the abuse- they still weren't all that strong, no matter how much he practiced. Still, he didn't want the Foxes to have time to think of a way to cheat on this one.

Shooting over the finish line, Sora continued through the air for a good while, unable to slow down. He finally stopped when his left foot got caught in the branches of a pine tree; his momentum meant that the rest of his body kept going, swinging forwards and around until he ploughed face-first into the tree's trunk. Ouch. Sora gritted his teeth and tried not to think about the bark patterns bruised onto his face as he pulled himself up to untangle his foot. By the time the zoan user got to the ground, the rest of the Straw Hats were cheering.

Nami whipped off her domino mask and raced over before any names could be called. The navigator flung her arms roughly around Sora's neck from behind, choking him. Luffy giggled and patted her back as the zoan user tried to extricate himself.

"Shishishi! I told you not to worry Nami!"

"I wasn't worried." The navigator smiled. "Not this time."

"Good. So… Maybe you should let go of Sora now, ne? I thought he was supposed to be a rainbow serpent, not a purple one."

Nami's surprisingly strong arms unwound from Sora's throat. He gasped and stumbled forwards. "Air!"

"Oh, suck it up you big baby." Nami hit him, although not as hard as he'd seen her hit Luffy in the past. "But thanks… For winning me back. I have issues with other pirates… This crew- I couldn't stand being forced to be part of another."

"It's nothing." Sora massaged his neck. "I'd never let someone split our family apart if I could help it. I know I'm not as strong as Captain Luffy, but…"

LLAMA

As soon as she saw the wheel stop, she knew this was an event for her. Llama tugged gently on the back of Luffy's vest. She was about to make her request when she was blinded by a brilliant grin. "Shishishi! Of course you can play! Llama's best at making things go boom!"

Her heart fluttered warmly. The tiny demolitions expert smiled into her scarf as she sat down across from her opponent. This was her family, the only place in a long while she'd felt like she belonged. If Foxy thought he could break that up, he had another thing coming. Especially when the game was Exploding Snap; Llama wasn't sure what that was, but if it had explosions in it, it was right up her alley.

It turned out that it was an extreme version of card matching. Each card had an explosive or corrosive compound in a pouch on the back. Only by mixing the compounds from the two matching cards could you neutralize both and prevent personal injury. Mixing the wrong compounds generally caused the cards to blow up in your face. Fascinating. Llama wondered if she could rig something like that.

She wordlessly indicated for her opponent to go first. He did, managing to flip and mix a matched pair on his first try. Llama's eyes narrowed. Nobody's luck was that good, except maybe the four silly siblings who led her crew. This man was cheating somehow. That was okay though; she could cheat too. That's the thing about reactive compounds: each one smells just a little different. And Llama was oh so good at identifying chemicals by smell. She flipped matching pictured of southbirds.

The game went on in this way for a while, with both sides flipping matches every turn and no explosions. Then, with only four pair left, Llama saw them. Her opponent knew which cards were which because of little symbols drawn on the corners. The tiny demolitions expert dipped her fingers in rubbing alcohol behind her scarf. As she picked up her next pair, she carefully smudged all the Foxes' cheating marks.

Her opponent looked confused and frightened right away. Good; he'd noticed that his marks were gone and had been relying on them too much to actually remember where things were. There was a bright light as his next pair mismatched, producing a flashbang effect. Llama smirked and picked up her final matching pair. Even the odd number of pairs in this game had been rigged to favour the Foxes it seemed, just in case someone else figured out their marking system. Too bad for them she'd taken it one step further.

Kaya and Robin looked at each other. "After you," the nurse said. Robin raised her eyebrows.

"Thank you. May I inquire as to why?"

"Of course. You see, if you Straw Hats should lose the next venture, I believe I'm the best qualified to make my displeasure known to my new captain." Every single Foxy Pirate shuddered at Kaya's tone.

"Very well." Robin nodded and strode back to the Straw Hat section. Bon-chan hugged her as she sat down.

BLUEJAY

The next game was riddles. I was already halfway to my feet when Nii-chan called out who would be competing, as was Sabo-nii. Both our jaws dropped. "Nii-chan, what're you thinking?!"

"Really Lu? But you always tell Blue and I to do the thinking!"

"But Ghin and Bon-chan haven't had a chance to compete! It's only fair!"

I sunk back against my pine tree, angry at not getting my chance to redeem myself. Bon-chan I had some level of confidence in- he used to be a Baroque Works spy after all. But Ghin? He was straightforward and loyal to the extreme, artistic but blunt as the tofa he wielded. I pre-emptively buried my face in my hands.

"What gets wetter the more it dries?" a Foxy Pirate demanded as Bon-chan and Ghin sat down. Our okama waved a hand dismissively.

"A towel. You'll need to some up with something better dear. Like this: What two things can you never eat for breakfast?"

"Bah, that's easy! Lunch and dinner!" The second Fox competitor turned to Ghin. "What asks but never answers?"

"An owl." Our tattoo artist sighed. "Really… I'm not much good at this game, so if I can get them so quickly, you're going too easy. I can be seen, or I can be not. Thanks to me, you'll fall in love. I mostly am sweet, but once I were sour. You can receive me, but you can't just buy me. You only can send me, or simply share me. What could I be?"

"A… kiss?" The first Fox looked uncertain, but he was right. I was pleasantly surprised by Ghin's riddling ability. Then again, he was old enough that even if word games weren't usually his thing, he must've picked up a few along the line. "What can you catch, but not throw?"

"That would be a cold." Bon-chan idly changed his appearance, cycling through every member of our crew and a few political figures from Alabasta. "What kind of room has no doors or windows?"

The second Fox had to think for a minute, which made me sad. This riddle was still so easy! Ghin had actually used the best one so far. "Er… Is it a mushroom?"

"Yes."

Desperate, the Fox looked anywhere but Ghin's face as he tried to come up with something. "Um… Uh…" Wow, for a crew of compulsive cheaters, these guys weren't very bright. "What's in my pockets?"

I leapt to my feet. "Dummkopf! That's not a riddle! You're out!"

"I'll allow it!" The referee had to shout to be heard over my enraged shouting. "Although… Since it's not a proper riddle, the Straw Hat gets three guesses."

Even that was a slim chance for poor Ghin. His brow creased. "Is it lint?" he ventured.

"No."

"String?"

"Nope. One more try."

Ghin shrugged, hopeless. "A golden ring with ancient writing on it that can only be seen by firelight that makes the wearer invisible?" Wow. That guess was oddly specific. I wondered if there was a story behind it.

"Wrong again! There's nothing! I've got nothing in my pockets!" The Fox danced around in triumph; Ghin slumped. Foxy smirked.

"For this round, I choose-!"

"Choppy!" Porche butted in. Eyes going wide, the little reindeer looked like he was about to cry. Zoro rested his hand on the doctor's head for a second.

"Stay strong, remember. Serve your new crew with pride."

"B-but there's only one round left and there's two of us!"

"It'll turn out alright eventually Chopper. Or don't you have any faith in Luffy?"

"I do…" Sniffling back tears, Chopper marched over and sat on Porche's lap. His little hooves were clenched into fists as he glared at the back of Foxy's head.

The split-head fumed. "Dammit Porche! I still need to find the Jones!"

Sora frowned at Foxy. "Hey… Why'd you want my cousin so badly anyways?"

"Cousin?" Foxy's eyes lit up. "Are you a Jones too?"

"No. We're cousins through our moms; her dad was the Jones."

"Huh. Pity."

Ace-nii looked at Sabo-nii and Ni-chan. "Hold on a second… I just noticed. If Sora's Blue's cousin, does that make him our cousin too?"

"Well…" Sabo-nii bit his lip. "It might, but it doesn't have to. We're all adopted, so that doesn't necessarily carry over."

Nii-chan and I huffed. "Of course that's what it means!" we shouted in unison. Sora blinked, then chuckled, shaking his head in resignation.

Oblivious to our family dispute, Foxy continued. "Oh well, a crew with two Joneses is almost as unlikely these days as one with two Ds, so I guess it's to be expected."

"We have four Ds," Ghin stated with cautious, awkward pride. "Well… If adoption counts at least."

I giggled as a number of Foxy's crew blanched. A few of them whispered tensely to each other. "Four Ds… Imagine the chaos…"

"Imagine the food bill."

"Hopefully the captain doesn't want them too."

"What if the Jones is a D?"

"Then we're all doomed."

"Is that even possible? Wouldn't the Will of D and the Curse of Jones cancel each other out?"

"No one knows. There's never been a D Jones before."

"Idiots. You can't really become a D through adoption!"

"Does anyone know that for sure?"

"No, no one's ever really tested. No one's wanted to test it. Can you imagine what the Tenryuubito would do if that were possible?"

"I don't want to know."

Once again the wheel of fortune spun. It clicked and clattered until it landed on- croquet? How was that a pirate thing? Nii-chan looked around our crew at a loss. "What's croquet? Does anyone know how to play it?"

Sabo-nii raised a hand. "Sort of? It's a game for nobles and wealthier merchants, so I was naturally forced to learn- however much I hated it. I haven't played since before I met Ace though."

"Still better than the rest of us." Ace-nii yawned and pushed his hat forwards over his eyes, leaning back against a rock. I wondered if he'd felt a fit coming and was trying to hide it from our opponents, as snores emerged from the hat seconds later.

At first I wasn't sure how Foxy could possibly cheat at a game that seemed to be about hitting a ball through little arches- not that I understood the rules at all. But as the game went on, I became pretty sure that hitting the ball into the back of Sabo-nii's head counted as cheating. So did tiny explosives rigged to knock my brother's ball off course. The Foxy Pirates hadn't even tried to be subtle all day. I didn't understand how they didn't count as a dishonourable crew.

He made a good showing, but Sabo-nii lost after an explosive arch sent his ball spinning several hundred meters off to one side. Nii-chan groaned; Llama glared. At a slight twitch from my brother, our explosives expert turned Foxy's hair a powder pink, sending the older pirate into a spiral of confusion. I wondered when Llama had started learning quiet-talk and who was teaching her. Coby wouldn't have understood that command yet.

We should probably teach the whole crew quiet-talk. It could come in useful someday.

For Sabo-nii's loss at croquet, Foxy took Sora. And since it was the last of the nine events we wouldn't have a chance to win any of our crew mates back. I felt the fire-fear rising up my back. This obnoxious man was a threat to my family, just like the fat noble who'd tried to take Sabo away. He couldn't- I wanted them back. Needed them back.

"So new buddy," Foxy tugged Sora down so he could sling an arm around my cousin's shoulders, "Which one is she? Where's the descendant of Davy Jones?"

"What makes you think I'll tell you?"

"Because I'm your captain now, of course! So tell me which one she is- captain's orders."

"Seid gehorsam, doch nicht ohne Freimut," Sora muttered. The words sounded familiar to me; for a moment I saw an elderly man in my mind's eye, wizened but still strong and wearing an old military uniform. Foxy frowned.

"And what's that supposed to mean? I don't speak Deutsch."

"Be obedient, but not without frankness. One of the values our family follows- although until now I thought it was just a relic of a forgotten kingdom. It means I'm supposed to obey… Unless there's an order I know is wrong." Sora smiled grimly. "Then I get to tell my captain why I think he's wrong and where he can shove his orders. And I'm sure it's wrong on all counts to sell out your little cousin to an old creep."

"But the game's not even running anymore," Foxy wheedled. My cousin shook his head.

"Nope, not happening." Sora looked at me with pleading eyes. Was he hoping I would remember something because of his words? Or that Sabo-nii and I would come up with a plan? No way; I was too angry at the moment to think straight.

"But what if I was just trying to help? What if I had a way to lift the curse, but I needed to know which one she was? What kind of cousin lets a poor little girl remain cursed because of his own stubborn pride?"

I begged Sora not to fall for the trick, willing him with my eyes not to say anything. Yes, quiet-speak would've been useful just then. But I couldn't speak without giving myself away, and I could see Sora's certainty crumbling. He collapsed in on himself and gestured towards me.

"Sorry Kay-Kay." My cousin looked away, biting his lip so hard it bled. I heard him mutter another old phrase as he dug his fingernails into his wrist- much like I had the first time I spoke to my brothers. "Gegen sich mehr noch als gegen andere."

Be harder on yourself than on others, my mind supplied. So my guilt about not being the best, about failing, was something bred into my birth family. I filed that away to ask Sora about later- after I kicked Foxy's ass.

It was a struggle to hold onto even a shred of composure; I was so angry I was shaking. "I- it's okay; he's your captain… For now." I could barely remember words when this thing was stealing what was mine. I wanted to rip Foxy apart, force him to give back my family. This was even more than I remembered from when Sabo was taken- more heat, more anger…

A rubber hand came down on my head, startling me. Nii-chan rubbed gently at the back of my neck. "Calm down Blue. Your eyes are changing and you're acting like a tiger."

"Sorry." I reigned myself in; I hadn't even realized I was growling and preparing to pounce. "We need to challenge them back."

"Yeah." Nii-chan's hat shadowed his eyes as he glared at Foxy. "Hey you! Split-Head! I challenge you to a Davy Back Tournament!"

"What?"

"You heard me. How many coins?"

"Ah, may as well do three." Foxy shrugged and flicked the required tribute into the sea. "I'm sure you have other crew mates who'll be of value to me." He prepared to spin the wheel.

I held up a hand and growled; Foxy froze. "Hold it Split-Head. Your wheel picked the games when you challenged us; now we get to pick them our way."

"But you don't have a wheel…"

"Just a minute." I marched over to Ace-nii and kicked him awake. "Oi! Ace-nii! Get up! You need to go to the ship and get our dice!"

"Why me?" Ace yawned.

I frowned and made a flicking motion with my wrist, flashing two fingers, then three, then five. Weight them so they roll two, three, and five.

My oldest brother frowned back and raised one eyebrow, cocking his head to the left. And how do you expect me to do that in the five minutes it'll take me to fetch them?

Rolling my eyes, I kicked Ace hard enough that his fruit activated automatically, my foot passing through his hand with a trail of flames. You're fire now; cook 'em like you taught me when we were little.

"Fine." Ace-nii got to his feet and trotted off towards the Merry. He returned with a handful of old plastic dice: two blue, one red, one yellow. One of the blue ones was immediately set aside; it was already weighted to roll six.

Luffy and Foxy worked out between them which rolls would mean which contests- for example, red six meant water polo- with me secretly signalling to my brother which games to stick on the weighted numbers. If Foxy could cheat, so could we.

All three events were rolled at once. I wanted to minimize the chances Foxy got to fool around with our dice and realize something was off about them. Red two- Barrel Racing. Yellow three- Roller Derby Relay. Blue five- Captains' Battle.

Luffy bounced eagerly as a bunch of Foxy's crew fetched barrels. "Ace's up then!"

"Huh?" Our eldest brother looked around in confusion. I strode over to Usopp and clapped our sniper on the shoulder.

"Oh great king of snipers and repairmen, how do you feel about building and steering a brakeless Ace rocket?"

Usopp gulped. "Luffy, do I have to?"

"Yep! Captain's orders!"

Our sniper whimpered, but got to work. The barrel boat he built was long and skinny like a racing kayak. I hoped it would hold together under acceleration- fishing Ace-nii out of the water would certainly cut into our time. But if anyone on our crew could build a seaworthy vessel out of just barrels, it would be Usopp.

"On your mark! Get set! Go!"

Before the race had even started I saw Foxy taking up an odd stance. His competitors were also hooking up a shark to draw their barrel boat, but somehow the captain felt like the greater threat. His hands pointed at Ace and Usopp's boat. Was he about to use some kind of Devil Fruit power? No! How could I stop him?

"Slow-Slo-!"

Whoosh! Ace shot a jet of fire backwards with both hands. The Straw Hat barrel boat was off like a shot before Foxy could finish his technique. It bounced across the waves, Usopp screaming like a baby but still doing an admirable job of steering.

"-w Beam!" A pinkish ray shot from Foxy's hands. With Ace-nii and Usopp well away, the older pirate hit his own crew's team instead. I giggled as the Fox barrel boat was forced into slow motion. No wonder Split-Head had looked so confident when two races had come up.

Foxy turned to try and target our team again. Well, if he could cheat from the sidelines, so could I. Or better yet, turn his own cheating back against him. Moving to put myself between Foxy and the barrel boats, I turned to my nearest crew mate.

"Bon-chan, do you have a mirror on you? I want to check the scar I got from Thatch; it feels funny."

"Of course Birdie!" Our okama twirled. "I'm always prepared for situations like this!" He handed me a small hand mirror.

The next time Foxy fired a Slow-Slow Beam I reflected it back at him with Bon-chan's mirror. Not that I thought the Silver Fox could hit a target moving as fast as Ace and Usopp, but just in case… While the split-headed captain was stuck in slow motion, I shot him a look that was easy to interpret even for people who didn't know any quiet-speak.

I'm so onto you. Try that again and you'll regret it.

Ace-nii and Usopp trounced Foxy's crew mates. As soon as a disbelieving referee (still provided by Foxy's crew) announced Straw Hat victory, Chopper came racing over to the rest of us. The little doctor threw himself into Zoro's arms and bawled. Our first mate patted the reindeer awkwardly.

Even knowing I was watching him, Foxy seemed confident as we prepared for the Roller Derby Relay. Maybe he thought his crew was too large to keep everyone from cheating- which was probably true. Or maybe he thought that since one of his racers was a cheetah zoan this would be an easy win.

"Ace's up again!" Nii-chan cheered. "And let's see… Coby and Sanji are the fastest, so them… But we need four…"

"Use Kay-Kay!" Sora called from Foxy's side.

"Huh?"

"Oro?"

"Just trust me! If it's like skating, she'll be a good choice."

Foxy frowned. "Why are you helping them? You're supposed to be on my crew now."

My cousin smiled the same grim smile from earlier. "Mit Lieb und Treue… With love and loyalty. Sorry Foxy, family before crew."

I wasn't sure that Sora was right- I couldn't remember ever skating- but I took his word for it and strapped on a pair of roller blades. "Okay…" Hells, I couldn't even remember seeing skates of any kind before outside of picture books.

But it turned out that I could stand in them well enough, and my feet seemed to know what to do even if my brain didn't. For a moment I felt a chill of cold up my spine, heard the phantom scraping of blades on ice… I quickly suppressed the fragment of memory. It was a distraction I didn't need right now.

Ace-nii was our starter, off like a shot before the Foxy Pirates could even think of cheating. By the time any of them could spring their traps he was already past, a brilliant orange rocket. The only thing that came close to my eldest brother was a trip wire that passed harmlessly through his ankles, burning away behind him. Ace had a little trouble steering, it was true, but the track was large enough that he managed to stay on.

Sanji was next. Our cook didn't have near Ace-nii's speed, but he had the advantage of seemingly knowing how to use roller blades. The Foxy Pirates tried to raise walls in front of him as Sanji dashed around, lapping their first competitor. They succeeded… Sort of. The walls definitely rose in front of Sanji and got in his way, but he dealt with them very efficiently by kicking holes in them. Soon the track was littered with rubble that hindered the Foxes more than it would bother any Straw Hat.

Coby wasn't as sure on his skates as Sanji, but he made up for that with hard work and greater speed. This time the Foxy Pirates tried throwing things at him to slow him down- smoke bombs, glue grenades, and the like. Every time a missile approached my boyfriend he'd kick off the ground hard, disappearing for a moment in a flash of pink. It was just like when he used Flash Pistol. Coby would always stumble a little bit when he reappeared, but he kept his feet.

Slap! Coby slammed the baton into my hand; I gripped it tightly as I took off. My feet seemed to know what they were doing, so I let them have at it and just focused on where I wanted to go. One of Foxy's racers got in my way, trying to shove me off or trip me up. Too bad for him I'd had time to read the rules for this one while Ace-nii was getting our dice, so I knew unarmed techniques were allowed.

"White Tiger Claw!" I slammed the would-be obstacle out of the way with a palm strike.

Seconds later I heard Chiquicheetah coming up behind me. His panting, cat-like breaths were very distinctive. I wasn't sure how Foxy was justifying this- the cheetah was their fourth racer, no way in the Nine Hells had he been tagged yet. Ah, I suppose I should've expected it.

"White Tiger Claw!"

Chiquicheetah dodged. I continued to snap palm strikes at him. The cat was unable to pass, too busy dodging, but I couldn't get ahead either. Unless… It was a risk. I didn't know how my balance would hold if I broke my rhythm.

"Tiger's Tail!" I swept into a low, spinning kick, my right shin crashing through the back of Chiquicheetah's knees. He folded like Luffy playing poker. Meanwhile I spun down the track on my base leg, out of control if not off balance.

Instinct told me to stay on the ball of my foot and slowly stand up. I continued to spin once this was accomplished, so I snapped my arms and free leg out like wings. The spin stopped and I was left gliding backwards down the track until I crossed the finish line.

Foxy groaned. Kaya patted him on the shoulder as she walked back to the rest of us Straw Hats. "Don't feel bad Foxy-san. Your crew wouldn't have enjoyed my presence anyway."

By this point anyone from our crew would've been checking for experimental needles if Kaya patted them like that. Foxy didn't know to do that- although he did twitch in fear. His cowardly survival instinct was strong enough, even if nothing else about him was.

Nii-chan clasped my shoulder, his hat shadowing his eyes. "Blue…We need to do something."

"Oro?" Weren't we doing something already? Wasn't that the point of challenging the Foxes back and cheating at the dice rolls?

"I have an idea to make Split-Head never do this to another family again, but for it to work we need Sora back plus something extra. Can you use your creepy eye thing to scare Split-Head into betting double or nothing?"

"Maybe… Is this one of your so-stupid-it's-brilliant ideas?"

"Shishishi! Maybe. Don't think so though. Just try?"

"Okay Nii-chan. Hope you know what you're doing." I turned to Foxy and glared. "Double or nothing."

"What?"

"You heard me Split-Head." Coldness filled my chest; my voice went flat. "I, Monkey D Bluejay Jones, declare double or nothing on the Captains' Battle. Do you accept the stakes?"

"Can she do that?" Someone asked. Robin checked the rule book and nodded.

Fear, then greed, flashed across Foxy's face. "I accept. Porche, what are the doubled rules for the Captains' Battle?"

"Oro?" The rules could change when events were double or nothing? Crap...

Porche opened a rule book much like Robin's to a page near the end. "Not much changes Boss. It just becomes a two-on-two fight involving the captains' seconds as well."

"I see… Then Porche, I'll be counting on your full support."

"Of course Boss!"

Nii-chan grabbed my hand. "Wanna play Blue?"

"Wouldn't Zoro or Sabo-nii be better choices? I just got off my crutches and we have to win this."

"But we haven't fought together in forever!"

"Okay then, if you're sure." I strapped on my nekode and grinned.

It was inevitable that they would cheat, but we let the Foxy Pirates chose the battleground. Their ship- of course. I had no idea what kind of dirty tricks might be built into that thing, but there had to be a lot. The question was how to out-cheat the cheaters on their own turf. Nii-chan and I went to Usopp for advice while Foxy and Porche were getting ready. Our sniper was most unhelpful.

"What you need is this!" Usopp presented my brother with a massive black afro wig. "Everyone knows afros give you extra power!"

I shook my head. "I don't think-!"

"Oh yeah!" Luffy grabbed the thing and put it on over his hat. He then took off his vest so his Jolly Roger tattoo was on display like Ace-nii's. "Blue, you gotta try this! It really works!"

"No."

Usopp grinned. "That's okay. Afros don't work the same for girls. I've got something even better for Bluejay." Our sniper produced a pair of white go-go boots and an electric blue go-go dress.

"Nope. You can't make me." I shook my head and backed away. Where had Usopp even gotten those things? And what for? I certainly hadn't made them, nor had I seen the fabric in any of our storage holds. My protests were in vain however. Nii-chan grabbed me like Dadan used to on laundry day when we were little, changing me into the dress and boots before I could blink.

Coby's eyes went wide; Sora turned bright red. Ace-nii hit every man on our crew over the head before Sanji could do anything weird. Llama looked stunned, then began muttering something about brain bleach and inconsiderate captains.

Since we couldn't think of a way to use Foxy's traps against him, Luffy's solution was to hit them as hard as we could right off the bat. He charged Foxy before I could even begin to think of a plan- and got hit by a Slow-Slow Beam for his troubles. I groaned. What could I use for a mirror around here? I'd had to give Bon-chan's back before I could fight.

I dodged easily as Porche tried to kick me. You could tell by looking at her she wasn't a front-line fighter. Okay, first order of business: neutralize the teal-haired annoyance. I grabbed Porche by her hair and threw her into the path of Nii-chan's fist right as he returned to normal speed. My brother's punch fired the girl out of bounds and may or may not have knocked her out- I didn't care enough to go look.

Nii-chan's eyes spun. "Blue, how'd everything go so fast like that?"

"It didn't. Foxy has a Devil Fruit that makes things go in slow motion; he hit you with it."

"Oh."

"And that's not all I hit!" Foxy laughed from atop a cannonball. I glanced around. Crap. While I'd been getting Porche out of the way our real opponent had set a trap. Slowed cannonballs inched through the air over the entire deck, ticking time bombs flying in every direction.

"Verdammt ficken Sheisse!" I grabbed Nii-chan and slammed him into the deck, a rubber pancake. Once he was safely out of harm's way I climbed up a few of the cannonballs as if they were boulders, waiting with baited breath for them to speed up.

One by one they did, though it was a while before one moved under my hands. By then I was fairly high up and able to leap to the rigging as I felt the cannonball shift. From there I decided to drop right on Foxy's head.

"Slow-Slow Beam!" Crap! Nothing to reflect it with, and unlike Nii-chan I had no way to dodge while airborne. The beam caught me. Below I heard Foxy shout again, a second beam catching Luffy. I plotted our trajectories in my head. As soon as the beams wore off my brother and I would be on a collision course.

Ah, but rubber was bouncy and I'd used Nii-chan as a springboard in the past. If I could just… I brought my knees in tight as things sped up, kicking out as soon as I felt rubber beneath my feet. My brother stretched a little before snapping back into shape, adding a bit of extra force to my tackle. Foxy was too surprised to get a Slow-Slow Beam off. I ploughed him into a wall.

"Nii-chan, hit him now!" I dug my nekode into the wall and one knee into Foxy's gut. He wouldn't be getting away from me anytime soon.

"How? You're in the way!"

"Which means he can't get you with his beams, so hit him!"

Foxy tried to get one hand on my throat to choke me, probably in the hopes it would force me to get off of him. I bit the hand. Then rubber fists began to snap in from the sides, battering Foxy's ribs as he tried unsuccessfully to squirm loose.

"Slow-Slow Beam!" The only thing Foxy could hit from his current position was me, which just made me harder to shove away. His one free hand punched desperately at anywhere he could reach. He had no leverage though; I didn't even feel the impact of the strikes, let alone any pain. At least, until I returned to normal speed. Then I felt a series of blows to my arm and side, but nothing serious enough to make me let go.

Luffy jumped on my back, arms wrapped around my shoulders to make a secure platform. "Gomu-Gomu no Bell!" He slammed his forehead into Foxy's with a snap of rubber.

It turned out that Monkeys have harder heads than foxes. The older captain flopped limply in my grasp. Unsure if he was unconscious or faking in the hopes of catching us unawares, I drove my knee into Foxy's crotch. He twitched and grunted a little, but otherwise didn't really react. Unconscious then.

"Winners: the Straw Hat Pirates!" Foxy's referee was almost in tears.

Nii-chan and I made our way back to the rest of our crew. I waved to my cousin. "Sora, get your scaly butt over here!"

"Yes!" Wings a blur, my cousin flew over. He did a clumsy loop before landing beside Ghin.

Tension filled the air as Nii-chan turned to stare at Foxy's crew. You could see them wondering who he'd pick. Off to one side I could hear Nami muttering under her breath, hoping for a proper shipwright. Luffy's hat shadowed his eyes.

"Robin, can I take their flag? Is that in the rules?" What?! Nii-chan hadn't already checked to see if his crazy plan was allowed? Idiot. It was a good thing he was so adorable…

"Yes Captain, you most certainly can."

"Then I pick that. We're taking their flag."

Every member of the Foxy Pirates flinched and went pale. Zoro winced; Chopper looked guilty. "Isn't that a bit extreme?" our little reindeer asked. "You'd really take their pride like that?"

"Yeah, of course. They tried to take our family." Nii-chan glared at Foxy. "Not all crews are like yours, ne? Some of us care about more than profit or some stinky Code. Blue was two seconds from ripping her apart when you took Sora; if you or anyone else ever challenges us to one of these games again, I'll let her."

My brother's rage hung heavy in the air. Foxy looked like he was about to faint or vomit- possibly both. He and his crew got to work taking down any flag or sail that bore their Jolly Roger. Part of me wondered how they would get to the next island with so little canvas left; the rest of me didn't care. It didn't look like Nii-chan cared either. If he did, he would've offered to draw them a new flag or something.

I walked beside Sora as our crew made our way back to the Merry. "How did you know I'd do okay at the roller derby thing?"

"Aunt K had you in skates practically as soon as you could walk. It was figure skates, but we went roller blading for my seventh birthday, so I knew… I hoped your feet would remember even if your head doesn't."

"Sentimental dork."

Sora looked at me sadly. "Kay-Kay… How'd you feel if one of your brothers forgot everything- forgot you? Wouldn't you want them to remember?"

"Of course!"

"Then think how I feel. You're my little cousin who was as good as dead for ten years. Suddenly I get you back in the most unlikely place, only you don't even know you have cousins, let alone who I am. I don't… It doesn't matter if you remember everything, but something…"

"What if I don't want to remember?" Sora shot me an incredulous look, so I explained. "I remembered more when I first came here. Nii-chan says I used to talk about someone named Dustin, and how the other kids used to shun me and call me a freak. But I don't remember any of that anymore. From what Nii-chan says though, I don't think I liked our world very much."

"No, maybe not." Sora bit his lip. "I know you were bullied when you started school- the other kids thought it was strange that you'd rather learn codes and magic tricks than play with dolls and cars. And Aunt K was already teaching you to read and do a little addition, so they resented you for being ahead in class too. Although your teacher loved you."

"Can you tell me about Dustin?" I asked. "Nii-chan said I called him a big brother- that's what made Luffy offer to be my Nii-chan."

"Ah… I didn't know him really. He was about a year older than you; cute little guy with hair like Captain Luffy and eyes like Sabo. All I really know is that you followed him around until he started to like you, then he protected you whenever the bullies tried to do something like dump glue in your backpack or steal Tilt." Sora shrugged. "Older kids had to stay in a different part of the school yard, so I didn't see you guys much."

"Ksesesesesese! Sounds like we were like Nii-chan and Ace-nii," I giggled. Then I frowned. "Who or what's a Tilt?"

"Stuffed cat you used to carry around all the time. Uncle J found her in the woods the day you disappeared. Brandy still had her around the time I ended up here- she was sure you weren't dead and that when you got back you'd want Tilt right away."

Without warning, Sora reached out and pulled me into a hug. I let him. Confused as I was, I knew thinking about all this upset him. It would be like… If Sabo-nii had been rescued by someone else when the Tenryuubito blew up his boat. His amnesia might not have lifted without familiar faces around, and if the rest of us found him ten years after thinking he had died… Okay, now I could imagine how Sora felt.

xXx

The Merry had been underway for half an hour when I finally caught our archaeologist alone. "Robin, can I ask you something?"

"Of course Tiger-chan."

"And you won't tell my brothers?"

"That would depend on exactly what you want to ask me. If it's something that effects the safety of the crew I have to tell the captain."

I weighed her answer, then decided I needed to know even if she might tell Nii-chan and the others and make them worry. "What's the Curse of Jones?"

"Didn't your brother tell you the story?"

"Just the basics. He didn't tell me what the curse actually does."

"That's because no one knows for sure- Joneses have a peculiar habit of falling out of history and being forgotten." Robin closed the book she'd been reading and thought for a moment. "You know the witch who cursed him was one of the Tenryuubito, right?"

I nodded.

"She may have been a Devil Fruit user or she may not- history doesn't say. What is recorded are the words with which she cursed Jones: You devil, if you love beasts so much, you shall become one of them."

"What's that even mean?"

"Unfortunately I cannot say. All I know is that every Jones who follows the path of their ancestor disappears from all records by no later than the age of thirty."

I cocked my head to one side. "Path of their ancestors?"

"A career at sea. Pirates disappear fastest, then marines, then simple merchants and fishermen. I would be especially careful if I were you Tiger-chan- you started sailing at a much younger age than most of your relatives."

"But how can it affect me? Even if my name's Jones- and that's what Sora says, I can't remember- I'm from another world. I can't actually be related to Davy Jones."

"Actually, you could be. Davy Jones was the son of the man called the King of Dreams, who's necklace Rainbow Thief wears. His family was from another world- perhaps yours. All we can say for certain is that you aren't his direct descendant."

"And does that matter?"

"No. The curse took Davy's brother and nephews as well."

I frowned. "Then I guess I finally have a goal on this journey. I'm gonna figure out what this curse does, and then I'm gonna end it."