"That's the Franky Family…" Iceberg said, recognizing the thieves that took our money.

I ran over to Usopp, who was trying to catch up with them on land.

"I got this one!" I said. "Tick-Stop!"

I froze the men and their yagaras in the water so they couldn't go anywhere.

"Luffy, quick!" Usopp said. "Grab the money!"

All of a sudden, a man dropped off from one of the bridges from above the yagaras and roped the men in the yagaras out of their boats and into the water. Seeing this startled me, and such I lost my focus and the men were unfrozen. The man jumped into the boat and sped off.

"He's one of your shipwrights, right?" Usopp asked Iceberg.

"That's right," Iceberg said.

"Thanks!" Usopp called. "That belongs to us!"

But he kept going. Luffy was about to punch him, but a man came up and grabbed his fist.

The man had long, curly black hair and weird eyebrows and facial hair. He had a bird on his shoulder. He also sported a top had and yellow suspenders.

"I'll go," said the bird on his shoulder with an extremely high pitched voice.

I couldn't help it. I burst out laughing. It was just too funny!

The man looked at me with a deadly glare for a split second and then looked away.

What the…? I thought. It almost felt like a murderous aura, but it must've been my imagination. He was one of Iceberg's shipwrights.

The man with the talking pigeon hopped onto the yagara and pressured Paulie, the second money thief, to take it back.

Soon, the yagara was swimming back to us.

"I'm very sorry about this," Iceberg said. "Please let us take care of our idiot coworker."

"Well, please excuse him," Kalifa said. "Consider it good that the money wasn't stolen by the Franky Family."

"Franky Family?" Nami asked. "Those weird-looking guys?"

"The Franky Family is a group of ship demolition workers," Kalifa explained.

"Demolition workers? They didn't look like decent craftsmen…" Nami said.

"Yes, they're also bounty hunters," she said. "Every time they find pirates coming through the city, they make a scene."

"If they crush the pirates who come to our town, then they take their ship, too," Iceberg said. "They demolish the ship and sell the useable lumber. That's how they work."

"That's really mean…" I said. "The pirates never did anything to them!"

"Well, if you become their victims, not even bones will remain," he said.

I gulped and took a step behind Luffy.

"They didn't look that strong!" Luffy said, happy-go-lucky as always.

"Those were just the underlings," Iceberg said grimly. "Whatever you do, don't underestimate the family's boss, Franky, who's behind them."

I looked behind me and saw that the pigeon man was holding the thief by the arm. The yagara was docked behind them as they walked towards us.

"We brought him over, Iceberg-san," said the pigeon. The man carried our two brief cases as well.

"Thanks, Lucci," Iceberg said.

"We're sorry that idiot caused you trouble," the pigeon apologized. "Coo coo! Now, apologize to them, Paulie!" The man passed us the money.

"Thanks," Usopp said.

"Sorry, guy," the one named Paulie said. It didn't sound like he was too sorry.

Lucci hit Paulie on the head with a hammer because he didn't properly apologize. That made Paulie mad and he decided to attack him with ropes. Even after a couple of attacks, Lucci took no damage.

"Stop it Paulie," Iceberg said.

Paulie rolled his eyes, embarrassed that he lost.

"Coo coo. Well, sorry for the fuss," the pigeon said. "I'm Rob- No, I mean, Hattori the pigeon. And this is Rob Lucci. He works here. Nice to meet you. Coo coo!"

"Oh, so it's ventriloquism?" Nami said.

"Good job!" Usopp and Luffy congratulated. "I didn't even notice!"

"Stop, stop, it's no big deal-"

"He's just a weirdo who can't talk to people properly!" Paulie jeered, lighting a cigar. All of a sudden, he freaked out a pointed at Nami. "What's with that woman?!" he screamed, blushing profusely.

"What…?" Nami asked.

"You're shameless!" he yelled. "You're showing your legs too much! This is a workplace for men! Look how you're dressed!"

"Paulie, calm down," Kalifa said.

"You, too, Kalifa!" he shouted. He looked to me next and said, "Even the younger generation is leaning towards lewd attire!"

"What…?" Nami and I asked each other.

I'm a conservative, modest person… I don't dress like Nami! I thought.

"Wear pants, log pants!" he shouted.

"Long pants…? Eww!" I said, disgusted. I had to wear long pants for years when I was with my dad. They were always too big, too.

Luffy started laughing, amused at the peculiar attitude of the man.

"Well, let's just go in already," Iceberg said quickly.

We waited outside a huge, stone door as Lucci and Paulie opened it with their bare hands.

"Usopp, be sure to keep an eye on the money, alright?" I said.

"Yeah, of course," he said. "Here, why don't you hold onto one, too. 'kay?"

He trusted one into my hands. "U-um! Nami-chan said-"

"Well, they're too heavy for me to carry both of them, so if she yells, tell her it's my fault," he said, running inside the shipyard.

"O-ok…" I said, following after him.

"Luffy, make sure you guard us good, alright?" Usopp yelled.

"Got it!" he said. "Leave it to me!"

The shipyard was ginormous! They were building a galleon in one area while the workers worked on even more projects elsewhere. All the laborers greeted Iceberg happily as they continued working.

Luffy started window shopping for a shipwright to join our crew, but no one had agreed yet.

I stayed away from Nami just in case she noticed that I was carrying the case instead of Usopp. He looked fascinated with all the fancy equipment and wanted to know how they worked. I tagged along beside him, learning new things about wood and cannons.

"Look at this one!" he said, pointing to a shiny, copper cannon. "It's so long! I bet it's really expensive! I wonder if they'd let me try firing it…"

"I doubt it," I said. "I mean, it's a shipyard, not a firing range."

"Yeah, but now we've got the big bucks, Maggie," he said. "We could buy some cannons like that for the Merry."

"But we have to see how much it costs to repair her before we start buying new things," I said.

"You're right…" he said. "Maybe we could-"

All of a sudden, we both were tackled to the ground and knocked unconscious.

I woke up to the sound of cheering.

"Good work you guys, you got the money!" said someone.

"We also brought back a bargaining chip, boss!" said another man. "We can trade the girl for the other one hundred million the Straw Hats have! The other guy was really weak, so we just beat him up and stole their money."

Wha… what?! I thought.

"Great thinking," said the first man. "Tie her up."

"Got it, boss!" said another man.

I heard many sets of footsteps walk towards me. As I opened my eyes, I was surrounded by men with rope.

Just as I was about to scream in terror, one of them covered my mouth with his hand while the rest tied me up.

"Shh, little girl," said the man. "Your friends will be here soon!"

They bound my arms, legs, blindfolded, and gagged me. I was completely helpless.

"Here take five million for a kick-ass party," said the first man. "It's my treat to you for doing a good job."

All of a sudden, I heard an explosion.

"Who's trying to defy the Franky Family?!" one of the men said.

"Huh? It's the weak guy from earlier!" said another.

Usopp…? It's Usopp! They've come to save me so soon! I thought.

"I didn't know you could still stand," said another.

"Give me Maggie back and the money you stole!" he yelled.

"'Give me the money back'?" said the first guy. "Then are you one of the Straw Hat underlings?"

"That's right, boss!" said another man. "Since he's with Straw Hat Luffy, I expected him to be a really strong pirate, but then-"

"That's none of your business!" Usopp yelled with intense anger in his voice.

"You've got guts to come get the girl and the money back by yourself," said the boss. "But I can't let you have them back. If you want the girl, you can trade her for the rest of your money, but otherwise, she's staying with us."

"Give them back!" he yelled. "We have to… have our ship repaired… That money is ours to repair our ship! You jerks can't keep them!"

He's alone…? I thought. Usopp, you can do it! I believe in you!

The boss laughed at his efforts. "What's got you so worked up?" he asked. "Looks like you love your ship quite a bit. But no matter what happens to your ship, this money is already ours, and so is the girl until you pay up the rest of your money. And unfortunately for you, no matter what we steal from pirates, we won't be accused of committing a crime. This is money you stole from somewhere anyway. So, let us have all of it. You can take the girl back and go on your merry way. But it's too bad for Straw Hat Luffy. He has such a useless underling that can't even babysit a girl and a briefcase."

I heard a thud and then Usopp started coughing.

No! Don't beat him up! I thought powerlessly.

"Guys, have some fun with him later," said the boss. "But remember, don't touch the girl. She needs to be in top-shape for the deal. I'm gonna take this money and go shopping." He laughed as his voice got fainter and fainter, telling me he was leaving the room, or wherever we were.

"Special Attack!" Usopp yelled. "Exploding Star!"

I heard his attack detonate seconds later.

Yay! I cheered. Go Usopp!

"Remember this, long-nose. My name is Franky…" he said. His voice was still faint, I could barely hear it. "And if you want to leave this town alive, you shouldn't cross me."

"Wh-what're you doing?!" he yelled. "Let go of me!"

"Ha!" one of the underlings laughed. "Such a pathetic weapon won't work on us!"

Usopp…! I thought, heartbroken.

"See ya, long-nose. Thanks for the money!" the boss, Franky said.

"Give it back!" he yelled. "Give them both back!"

The rest of the underlings started laughing as I heard punches being thrown.

"Give them… back…" I heard him struggle to say.

I started crying through the blindfold. If I wasn't tied up, I would've helped him kick all of their butts!

"Give them back…!" he struggled again.

I heard more sounds of punching and kicking as Usopp groaned and grunted in pain after each one.

Usopp…! I thought, distraught.

Maggie. Maggie darling, you can help your friend, It was my mom's voice.

What…? I thought. How?!

All that emotion, let it out as time energy, she cooed.

What's that mean? I asked.

I'll help you the first time, but that's it, alright?

I nodded.

I felt this weird sensation inside of me. It felt like small balls were popping out of my skin everywhere. And as soon as they slid out, they were gone. I created bullets made out of time energy!

I heard a bunch of people yell.

"What the hell was that?!" someone asked.

"I saw the girl do something!" another said.

"Screw what boss said, let's teach 'em both a lesson!" said the first.

"Yeah!" agreed all the others.

My eyes widened under the blindfold as I heard the footsteps coming towards me. I tensed up, bracing for the impact I knew was coming.

The first was a kick to my leg, hard and very painful. Then, two men lifted up my arms.

I braced myself again.

I couldn't even keep up with all the punching and kicking into my body.

I have to do it again…! I thought. Time Bullets!

But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't focus enough to do it again.

That's when someone punched my cheek.

"Ha!" said the assailant. "Let's beat her till she's at heaven's gate!"

I winced at every punch, which most were now directed at my stomach and face. I cried profusely as they kept going and going and going. I almost wished to be hit into unconsciousness because the pain was unbearable.

And I got my wish, finally.

I woke up on a comfy bed, my bed. I tried to move, but everything hurt like heck. As I opened my eyes, I could see out of both, so I knew my eyepatch was off. I tried to move my left arm, but it wouldn't bend.

A cast? I thought. Must be…

My right arm, however, did move.

My ears started ringing as I heard yelling coming from a room nearby.

"It has nothing to do with that money being stolen!" said a voice.

Luffy? I asked. Is that Luffy?

"Then why are you saying stupid stuff like that we're gonna get a new ship?!" someone else yelled. I think it was Usopp, yeah, it had to be him.

"Hey, stop it, both of you!" yelled Zoro.

They're arguing about the ship? I asked. Maybe I should get up…

I tried to sit up, but my whole body felt sore.

Can't I do anything? I thought. Oh yeah, there is that…

I gingerly set my right hand on my stomach and said, "Time Mend."

It took a couple of tries to fully heal myself and I was a bit exhausted after the fact, but I sat up and started unwrapping all the bandages and gauze off of me.

"Don't get so worked up, this is important," I heard Nami say.

I looked around the room and saw my eyepatch. I quickly tied it over my eye and exited the room, trying to find where everyone else was.

I followed the sound of yelling into the room in question. I poked my head into the doorway and saw everyone inside, except Robin.

"Usopp, you need to rest or you won't get better!" Chopper was saying.

Usopp freaked out and yelled, "Who cares?! How can I be quiet when our captain casually says we'll get a new ship?!"

I gasped. Is it true…? Does Luffy really want to abandon Merry?

"It's not casual!" Luffy yelled back. "I made the decision after agonizing over it!"

So it is true… I thought somberly.

"Maggie-chan…?" Nami asked, seeing me in the doorway.

Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at me.

"Maggie-chan!" Sanji greeted. "You're up!"

I nodded, staring at Luffy.

"Maggie, you should be in bed-" Chopper tried to say.

"I'm ok," I said, not taking my eyes off of my captain. I walked hesitantly into the room. "Are… Are we really getting a new ship?" I asked.

"No," Usopp said firmly.

"Yes, we are," Luffy overruled.

"But… why?" I asked. "Can't they fix her?"

"Yeah, Luffy!" Usopp asked. "Tell us. If it isn't about the money, they what is it?!"

Luffy's eyes were twitching with anger and a hint of sadness.

"Say it!" Usopp demanded. "I won't accept it unless I hear a good reason!"

He looked extremely enraged at his crewmember. "The Merry can no longer be repaired!" he finally burst out.

I stopped breathing for a while, shocked at the words that came out of my captain's mouth.

"What… did you just say?" Usopp asked.

"Don't make me repeat myself," he said. "The Merry can no longer be repaired. No matter what we do, she won't be fixed. I wouldn't say something like that otherwise."

Usopp fell to his knees in agony. "This ship?" he asked. "Are you talking about this ship that we're on board right now?"

"That's right," Luffy said calmly. "This ship will sink soon."

"What're you talking about, Luffy?" Usopp asked.

"It's the truth, they told us at the shipyard," Luffy explained. "They said that she can't even reach the next island."

"Oh really?" Usopp challenged. "So you were told by strangers you just met today and gave up just like that?"

"What did you just say?" he asked.

"Just because first-class shipwrights told you that this is it… you gave up just like that?!" he yelled. "We've traveled together all this time! We made it through all sorts of waves and battles! She's our dear friend! And you're gonna abandon her in a place like this?! Is that how little this ship means to you, Luffy?!"

Chopper tried to talk him out of yelling because he started coughing violently, but Usopp wouldn't listen. In fact, he told Chopper to step out of the way.

"What?" Chopper asked.

"I'm not done talking with him," he said.

"Usopp…" Nami said.

Luffy'd had it. "Then can you make an accurate assessment?!" he bellowed out. "We don't have a shipwright on this ship. That's why we asked them to check her!"

"Fine then," he spat back. "We don't have to ask those guys to fix her! I'll repair her, as I always have! It's never done us any harm, now has it? Come on, let's start now. You guys can help me!"

"Usopp wait," Sanji said.

Usopp started muttering about not having enough wood. He was completely ignoring everyone else. He was blindsided by his love for our great ship.

"You're not a shipwright, Usopp!" Luffy howled again.

"Luffy!" Nami yelled at him.

"Yeah, so what?" Usopp hissed. "But I don't trust those irresponsible guys who easily give up on a ship just because it belongs to someone else by taking advantage of their position as a shipwright!"

"Usopp…" Nami whimpered.

"This must be a lesson," he said. "We gotta protect our own ship by ourselves! I know I won't. I'll never give up… on this ship!"

He burst into tears by the end of the sentence.

"It was probably a convincing argument, huh," he said. "The Luffy I know would've believed in the strength of the Merry first, rather than buying those guys' sales talk!" He grabbed Luffy by the collar. "How can you make a decision like that, suddenly acting all captain-like?! I misjudged you Luffy!"

"Wait a sec, Usopp!" Nami said, trying to mediate. "Luffy, too, first-"

"Stay out of this, Nami!" Luffy yelled. "This is something I decided! I won't change my mind. No matter what you say now, we're going to get a new ship. We'll say goodbye to the Merry here!"

They were at each other's throats! It was scary to see them so angry at each other…

"Don't be ridiculous! I won't allow that!" Usopp rejected. "Listen, it's not like everyone can live looking ahead like you do! I can't just leave our wounded friend here and move on!"

"Even if she is a friend, ships and humans are different!" he roared back, yanking out of Usopp's grip.

"They're the same," Usopp implored. "The Merry has the strength in her to go on!"

"Hey, that's enough you guys," Sanji said, stepping in with a firm tone.

But they just kept yelling over everyone who tried to intercede. It was useless to talk sense into them at this point. They were just too irate to knock some sense into.

Luffy took it too far by punching Usopp into the ground. "Don't think that you're the only one who feels pain over this!" he yelled. "Everyone feels the same way!"

"Then why decide to get a new ship?!" Usopp countered.

"Fine! If you don't like what I decide that much, then get off this-"

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" I yelled, bursting into tears. "You guys are friends! You're not supposed to say things like that to each other!"

"Sorry," Luffy said, calming down a bit. "You're right, Maggie. I just-"

"That's ok, Luffy," Usopp said. "That's how you really feel, isn't it?"

"What?" Luffy asked, completely taken aback.

"Go ahead," he said. "Cut off your useless friends one after the other and move on. If you're gonna abandon the Merry… why don't you do that to me, too?!"

"Don't say things like that, Usopp," Sanji warned.

"No, I'm serious," he said. "I've been thinking about this for a while. To be honest, I've been thinking that I can't keep up with your monstrous strength. Like today, I can't even watch over our money, or even Maggie! I just keep causing you guys trouble. You don't need weak friends, right? You're the man who'll be King of the Pirates. But I don't have to go that high up. Thinking back, all that's tying us together is when you asked me to get on the ship. We don't have to travel together when we have a difference of opinion!"

He stormed his way over to the door that lead to the deck and opened it.

"Where are you going?" Zoro asked.

"Where I'm going is my own business," he replied curtly. "I have nothing to do with you guys anymore."

"Usopp-nii…?" I asked, following him out. "Don't go!"

I tried to hug him, but he pushed me away.

"Stop it, Maggie," he said. "I'm leaving the gang."

"What…?" I asked. "No, you can't! Usopp-nii-"

"Forget it," he said. "I'm not a part of your so-called family anymore."

I felt like I was punched in the gut. I fell to my knees, tears running down my face silently as I watched him walk out of the room and shut the door behind him.

"What're you doing?!" Nami asked. "Luffy! Is it okay to let him go like this?! Hey, go after him! Stop him! We've come this far together! Is it ok to leave everything like this?! Usopp is our friend!"

He didn't say anything.

"Stop him!" she shrieked, starting to cry as well. "Hey, Luffy… You're the captain, right?!"

Still nothing came out of his mouth.

"Why aren't you saying anything?" she asked.

Finally, she just got up and walked out of the room, yelling after Usopp. Sanji and Chopper followed after him.

"Tick-Tock…" I whispered, stopping time.

I slowly stood up, wiping the tears away from my eyes and putting on a serious face. As I walked out of the room, I saw that Usopp was already off the ship and walking away.

I jumped down the rope ladder and ran for him.

"Usoppp-nii!" I said, grabbing his hand. "Please come back."

He didn't even look at me. He just pulled his hand out of my grasp and froze in time.

I slumped onto the ground again, letting time pass again.

I couldn't even hear the words of my friends, yelling at him to come back. I couldn't hear their cries and pleas. I couldn't hear any of it.

And I especially didn't hear Usopp challenging Luffy to a duel.

No, I didn't hear any of it.

(I don't own One Piece or any of the characters. This was made for entertainment purposes only and no copyright is intended.)