Strangers in the Snow – The White Wolf and The Sleeping Man

"Mr. Riosho, I'm glad to meet you!"

Gouki blinked, looking around. He was in a small room, almost like a cabin on a ship. A man was sitting at a desk at the end of the room, his face showing delight. "Who are-"

"Who am I?" The man shrugged. "I go by the Sir Rick Jermaine, though I do not know my real name."

"This must be some freaky nightmare for me to think of that name." Gouki said to himself, standing up.

"Oh, but you see this isn't really a nightmare. It's your dream, Gouki. You were dreaming that you were sailing by yourself in the red line, without the Ten Kings to put you down."

"You speak as if you're real." Gouki said. "It's fair to say I'm confused. You might want to explain yourself."

"This is the effect of my doctor's devil fruit. His name is Jerry and he really likes to sleep. His devil fruit, you ask? It's a non-combat fruit to allow him to traverse into someone's dreams to contact them, or otherwise use the dreams to find out about them. I asked him to go into Gouki Riosho's dreams, and here I am."

"What do you want?" Gouki asked, stepping towards Rick.

"I want to know if you know this man." Rick turned serious and clicked his fingers. Another figure suddenly appeared, slumped against the wall. It was a young man around Gouki's age, his black hair covering his eyes. The man was dressed in what looked like some kind of ripped black cloak.

Gouki shook his head. "I've never seen him before."

"What about you, Stuart? Do you recognise Gouki?"

The man, named Stuart, looked up and suddenly gave a start. "Gouki! What are you-"

"Be quiet." Rick growled. "Did you know, Gouki, that some devil fruits change a person's appearance without actually being a Zoan? I suppose you would know. For example, the spring fruit can make you essentially into a spring. Also... a certain skeleton fruit is quite unique as well. Once you deactivate it, they look all sorts of different." Rick grinned, before grabbing a collar that was around the man's neck and pulling it off. Immediately skin disappeared and the bones reappeared, complete with the three scratches over his eye.

"Reaper!" Gouki exclaimed.

Rick placed the collar back on and crossed his arms. "Yes, dear old Stuart. It's a reunion, see. This bastard, along with two other certain bastards, abandoned me to die on a mountainside! Me? The brother who cared for them! The brother who always supported them! I'm glad Jose is dead, and then it's just Stuart here and you, Gouki."

Gouki shook his head. "What are you saying...?"

"Are you that much of an idiot, Gouki?" Rick asked. "I am your brother! I am Stuart's brother! The both of you, and Jose, betrayed me. You went off on a life of piracy while I was dying on that mountainside! You traitorous bastards!" Rick took a breath. "No matter. You see, I want a complete family reunion. I want revenge. If you want to see Stuart again, and if you want to save him, I suggest you come to the Five-Point Isles as soon as possible. I will be waiting for you, brother. Just prepare yourself for your death."

At that, Rick and Reaper seemed to dissolve, as well as the background.

XXX

Gouki's screams of rage were heard even through Jenny's metal. Gouki had been screaming like this for a good few hours now.

"How long will it take?" Jin asked. "Every minute Hikari could be getting god knows what done to her."

"I don't know." Jenny said. "It took a day when he destroyed Ravna Island, so I would estimate another couple of hours? Look, you two don't have to stay here. You can go ahead."

Jin laughed. "No can do. Wora and I aren't part of your crew. If we don't have any of you coming with us, we have no obligation to go and get her. While I would like to get her, I have no qualms in leaving her in her captive's hands."

"If he's not going I can't go on my own, can I?" Wora said. "I'm just sparks not like a fully fledged fighter. I'll be killed since those guys looked way powerful."

"Then you'll have to wait." Jenny concluded.

Jin let off a yawn. "By the way, Bison, yo might want to come out from hiding behind that rock."

"Bison?" Jenny questioned. "Where?"

Jin pointed to a large rock. "There. Come on Bison, we know you're there."

"Good a good set of senses on you, kid." Bison stood up from behind the rock, his face bloody. "You ain't got that speed guy with you now, have you? So I'll be taking your skins." Bison started to stalk towards the group of three.

"Uh-huh." Jin nodded. "Go ahead and try."

"You cocky son-of-a-bitch!" Bison growled, and sprinted straight past Jenny towards Jin. Jin merely jumped, placing a hand on Bison's head and flipping over to land on his feet. Bison swung his fist as he turned around, but Jin casually took a step to the side. "You're slippery, I'll give you that." Bison said, before pulling his battle-axe from his back. "I'll-"

"You know, I got a question." Jin interrupted, pulling his notebook out of his pocket. He quickly flipped to a page with a small sketch of Bison and a number of notes. "Your nickname is 'Ten-Blade' Bison. Why've you got a battle axe?" Jin looked up from his notepad.

"Let me tell you-" Bison was cut off again as something white and furry crashed into his side, in turn making Bison crash into the side of the chasm for a second time. The force caused icy rocks to crash atop of Bison. The white wolf turned around and padded towards Wora, Jin, and Jenny. As he walked, he turned back to his normal form to the surprise of the three.

"Good afternoon. My name is Bjord. It is very nice to meet you."

XXX

"God damn..." Red opened his eyes, his head pounding something fierce. He felt oddly warm, though when he looked ahead it was white with some kind of red glow. That's right... the avalanche of snow... Something went off in Red's head. Avalanche? Warm?

"Good a-a-a..." The voice which spoke let off a sudden yawn. "Good afternoon."

Red turned around feeling stiff when he spotted a figure leaning against the white wall, a fedora propped on his head. There was something familiar, but Red just couldn't figure it out. "Who are you? Where's Tromso?"

"Tromso? Is that his name?" The man sounded quite sleepy. "The kid's fine... I guess. I happen to be a doctor and happened to save his life. You'll find him... Under that pile of stuff over there."

Red looked and saw a rather large pile of furs and equipment, and then saw a familiar blue hand. "Tromso!" Red said in alarm, pulling the objects off him, though saw Tromso was actually tucked snugly in. He did look much better, a fresh set of bandages across his chest and even a hearty glow to his skin.

"It wouldn't be good to disturb him. That was a hell of an injury he had... had..." Another yawn as Red turned around. The man's face was still shadowed by the fedora. "Oh... I-I... I..." The man suddenly fell face first onto the ground, not moving.

"What?" Red moved forward when he heard the snore. "You're asleep?" Red walked over and quickly gave a kick to the man's rips. "Oi!"

"What? I didn't, whose asking? I've done my chores! Get away!" The man jolted upwards, his hat falling off as he rubbed his eyes. When he put his hands down, Red's eyes widened in surprise. "Geez, what's with the look Red? I'm not controlled by that insect freak no more."

"I know, but... what the hell are you doing here Horatio?"

Horatio the Fire Sloth, part of the very new Strong-Fist Pirates shrugged. "Uh... kind of an accident really. You see, Wolfang thinks I'm dead..."

"What?" Red shook his head, before sitting down. "You should explain from the beginning."

"S-S-Sure..." Horatio let out another loud yawn, before starting his story.

(thanks to L-R-D, Dthehalfdragon and Draco Oblivion for the reviews! So, we got the appearance of Bjord of the Strong-Bone Pirates, a invite for revenge from Gouki's last brother, and the reappearance of Horatio the Spirit! Woo!

Next Time on OPNN – New Dreams: Bjord makes friends with Jin and the group, while Horatio explains his circumstances on just why Wolfang thinks he's dead.