Author's Note

So at this point we are at the halfway mark of the arc. I forgot how much actually happens in this arc compared to some others I can talk about. This one is based on episode 37. As always please review and make suggestions, comments, or ask questions. I do enjoy the feedback.

This is the remastered version.

I do not own One Piece

Apparently Addy's wasn't the only battle that was going on. Seemed like Nami was fighting as well, judging from the distant screams. Addy wondered if they could hear her fight considering how much noise her opponents were making.

The one with the gun was already on the ground unconscious. Addy dealt with him first, all it took was a few lashes. The other Marines were the ones causing problems, charging at her multiple times. She was getting fed up. It was more annoying than difficult. As one of them launched their attack, shovel in the air, she swerved out of the way and wrapped her whip around his legs causing him to trip. At that exact moment the other one charged, so that Addy had to release her whip around the one in order to dodge though not before slamming the handle into the guy's nose. This allowed the one to get up again and the whole process started over. Her bad shoulder and ankle weren't helping either. Right now they felt like they were on fire. How many times would it take before these guys stayed down?

Suddenly she heard someone yelling from inside the orange grove. "THE GIRL"S MONEY IS GOING TO SAVE COCOYASHI VILLAGE!" At that moment it all came together for Addy. Why Nami was acting the way she was.

Growling she turned to face her two opponents who were looking a little worse for the wear. They would soon collapse from exhaustion but Addy didn't exactly have time for that.

"I can't believe I am using this move on you guys," Addy said holding her whip out in front of her. "But this seems like the fastest way to do it. Lautan Tagan!" She lashed her whip towards the two marines. Before they could even move the tip of the whip separated into four different strands. The strands wrapped themselves around the Marines arms digging into their skin causing them to scream and drop their shovels. Addy twisted the whip causing it to dig in deeper, eliciting sobs from her enemies. "Kembali!" The whip unfurled itself rapidly shredding through the Marines and reforming itself into a single tail. On top of the exhaustion it caused the Marines to collapse in a pile whimpering.

She wrapped up her whip into a coil but kept it in her hand. Addy was probably going to need it. Taking off into the orange grove it wasn't long until she ran into more Marines who were busy tearing up trees.

"Oh come on! How many of you are there?" She lashed out her whip at the nearest one, straight across the back. He let out a brutal cry and dropped, which also happened to catch the attention of the other two. This time Addy charged past them before they could react so that she was behind them. Before they could turn around she pivoted and slashed them across the back as well. The both fell to the ground whimpering. Were these Marines made out of tissue paper? Usopp could take more damage than this.

Swiftly turning herself around she started running through the orange grove, beating up every Marine she ran across. Unfortunately, there was a lot of them and every moment wasted dealing with them was another second she could not lose.

Another thing was that this place was a maze. There were rows and rows of orange trees. It wasn't helping that the citrus was making her dizzy. Where could the house possibly be?

"You corrupt bastards!" the voice from before called out. It wasn't too far away so Addy figured she must be close.

"How could the Marines stoop so low as to be pirates' lapdogs!?" Nojiko yelled out. Apparently story time was over.

"IT"S HERE!" one of the Marines called out. Addy stopped in her tracks and headed towards that voice, finally getting tired of the orange trees and pushing herself through them. She would apologize to Nami later.

"This is amazing!" Rat guy said. "That little girl sure did gather a lot!" Dammit, they really did find it. Addy hurried up despite the massive headache that had formed.

"But it's all stained with blood and in bad shape," one of the Marines said. Wait did he say blood?

Addy paused for a second and concentrated. She promised herself that she would never, ever, ever, ever, do this… but it was for a nakama and it was only sensing. Closing her eyes she focused on the scent of blood, the taste of it on her tongue, the feel of it between her fingers. She felt her heart beat speed up and more primordial feelings brought to the surface but she squashed them down. "Focus on the blood," she whispered. Once she opened her eyes, she knew exactly where they were.

"DON"T TOUCH IT!" Nami screamed. Addy could see her through the trees along with Rat Face, holding a gun directly towards her. Addy sped up pushing her legs to the brink. At the exact moment he pulled the trigger Addy crashed right into him sending him tumbling on the ground.

She stood between Nami, Nojiko and him. Addy was panting and her body was covered in a layer of sweat.

"Nojiko!" Nami cried out. Addy turned around to see the damage. Nojiko was lying on the ground with Nami kneeling beside her. "NOJIKO!"

Addy quickly made it to Nojiko's other side. Nami looked at her straight in the eye, if she was surprised to see Addy there she didn't show it. Together the two of them rolled Nojiko over to take a look at the wound. In a little bit of good news it went straight through the shoulder though she was bleeding badly.

Grabbing her shirt out of her bag she pressed it against the wound, hoping to control the bleeding. She could always wash it later.

"Nami, she needs a doctor," Addy said placing more pressure on the wound. "Please tell me there is one in the village."

She nodded unable to bring herself to speak.

"Alright now I need you to listen to me. We have to take her to the village as quickly as possible without her losing any more blood."

"Wait a second! Who are you?" the brown shirt man asked.

"A friend," Nami mumbled. The brown shirt man stared at Nami. "She is a friend Genzo."

"Well that is good enough for me," he said. "What do you need me to do?"

"I need you to carry her to the village," Addy replied. "While I keep the pressure on the wound."

"She is going to be okay right?" Nami asked. She looked at Addy with big eyes and her whole body was trembling as if she was stopping herself from crying.

"Nami the quicker we get her to a doctor the better off she will be but from what I can tell she is going to be fine." Nami breathed a sigh of relief. "Now I am going to need you to step back for a moment. Genzo placed your arms under her and lift her up slowly."

Genzo followed the instructions to the letter, picking Nojiko up as gently as possible while Addy kept the pressure on. As quickly as they could they made their way back to the village with Nami trailing behind them.

It wasn't too long until they reached it. The grove was actually a lot closer than Addy realized.

"DOCTOR! DOCTOR!" Genzo called out. A crowd of people soon enveloped them and a man with a white coat and a wispy beard came running towards them.

"What happened, Genzo?" he asked. Addy assumed that he was the doctor.

"Nojiko's been shot," Genzo replied cradling Nojiko in his arms.

"By who?"

As soon as the doctor reached them, Addy backed off and let the doctor take over. Her shirt was absolutely soaked in blood, it was dripping. It covered her hands but she barely noticed. Wringing it out before folding it up and placing it back in her bag she saw Luffy resting by a tree and walked over towards him.

She sat down beside him and watched. Genzo had carefully placed Nojiko on the ground so that they doctor could take a closer look. Nami was cradling her head as if unsure what to do with herself.

"The Marines," Genzo answered.

"The Marines?" the doctor asked as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing.

At that moment Luffy let out a large smile. Addy looked over at him quizzically. What was going through his head? The villagers were also starting too looked more panicked. Apparently they were being told what had happened. It made Addy sick to her stomach. Arlong and the Marines would pay for this.

Nami was probably thinking the exact same thing. She got up and stood over her sister her fists clenched. Luffy decided it was also time to get him and he joined the crowd with Addy following beside him.

"Yo, Nami!" he said. "What's up?" Addy face palmed which had the side effect of now covering her face in blood. Seriously what was Luffy thinking? Couldn't he tell how serious the situation was? "Can I help with something?"

Nami turned to face him, scowling. "You're STILL here?!"

"I thought the answer to that question would be obvious," Addy mumbled. Nami glared at here before grabbing Luffy by his shirt collar. Addy made a move to step in but Nami shook her head. Addy stared at her, the message clear. She could do whatever she wanted as long as she didn't hurt Luffy.

"This is none of your business!" she yelled at him in his face. "Get off this island!" She threw him to the ground and he made a sound of surprise. Addy however was quick enough to catch him and she watched as Nami ran off. Probably to Arlong.

"You okay Captain?" she asked as she helped him up. He stalked back towards the tree before sitting crossed legged at its base. She sat down beside him wiping her hands on the grass to remove some of the blood.

"What's her problem?" he asked looking annoyed. His eyes were narrow and he was making a weird sort of frown.

"Bad guys took her money, when they promised that they wouldn't," Addy summarized. Luffy didn't need to know or even care to know the rest.

"You're covered in blood," he pointed out.

"Yeah I know, it's from Nojiko. I had to keep her from bleeding out."

"Isn't it sticky?"

"Surprisingly no. I actually don't notice it. I wonder where the others are?"

"Eh they'll be fine."

"It's not that I am worried about them. I just want to make sure they aren't fighting without us."

Luffy laughed. Addy smiled, the emptiness filling up with fog again. She felt here body relax and turned her attention towards the village. The people seemed to be pouring out into the street. There was quiet a large number of them.

"This is as far as it goes!" Genzo called out. "Get your weapons! We're gonna fight!"

"YEAH!" the crowd called out running back into the building to find whatever they could. They came out holding pitchforks and shovels and whatever other tool they could get their hands on. Genzo was leading the charge staring at the crowd with a sabre at his hip.

"Eight years ago, we said we'd never throw our lives away! That no matter how bad their abuse against us became. As long as Nami was fine, we were going to continue our fight of endurance! But this is how they answer back!" He pointed directly at Nojiko whose arm was bandage up. She was standing strong for a person who was shot under an hour ago. Addy was pretty sure she would be on the ground waiting to die.

"Now that there's no way for this village to be freed, we have no goal to survive for! Furthermore! We will not forgive them for preying on Nami's kindness! Are there any objections!?"

"No way! Let's go!" one of the villagers cried out.

"We're already prepared to fight!"

"We're not gonna take it anymore!"

"YEAH!" The raised there weapons above their heads in a moment of triumph. Most likely not one of them would be coming back.

"Wait, everybody!" Nami called out. Addy turned her head towards her as did everyone else.

"Nami!" Nojiko called out.

Nami had a large smile plastered on her face, though even from here Addy could tell it was fake.

"Just wait… Just wait a little longer!" she said holding her arms open. "I'm going to try again! I'll get the money again! It'll be easier this time! I have lots of experience! It's okay. You don't have to worry." She sounded like she was trying to convince herself as well as them. From the look of the crowd, it wasn't working. "Compared to that time… Everybody, I'm fine! I'm fine so…"

Genzo took a few steps towards her and wrapped his arm around her.

"That's enough," he said softly. "We know what futility is like. You fought well, for our sake. It must have been more painful for you to join that crew, more painful than it is to cut yourself. You fought well."

"Gen…" Nami mumbled into his shoulder. He let her go and the two stood before each other.

"Now, leave this village," he told her.

"Gen.."

"Do it, Nami," Nojiko added in.

"I can't!" she replied.

"You've got brains, and you've got a dream."

"Nojiko! Everybody! I won't let you!" She stood in front of the crowd, her arms held up as if trying to bloke them. Addy saw her take out a hidden dagger and point it towards Genzo. "Stop it, everyone! I don't want to see anyone get hurt anymore!" He breathing was heavy and she was barely keeping herself together. "You're gonna die."

"We know," Genzo stated. He grabbed the blade of the dagger that Nami was holding out. Her trembling increased.

"It's useless," the doctor said. "We've already decided in our hearts." Tears were falling down Nami's face. There was nothing she could do. Addy felt for her village, she knew that feeling. Hell she lived with that feeling every single day. She was half tempted to get up and join them though she knew Luffy would order her back.

"Out of the way, Nami!" Genzo yelled. He let go of the dagger and stood before Nami before turning around to face the crowd. "Let's go, everybody! Even if we can't win, we'll show them our pride!"

"YEAH!" they screamed out one final time before rushing past Nami. She was left standing their feeling useless. She dropped the dagger and it landed with a clink before falling on her knees. Eight years… eight years she put her life into collecting treasure and it was for nothing. Undone in a matter of moments. Tears were streaming down her face and she clutched at her tattoo tearing into her skin. She took the knife up in her other hand and stabbed herself in the shoulder. Addy winched, her mind flashing to another time, to another girl, who had lost everything.

"ARLONG!" Nami cried out stabbing herself multiple times. The blood was flowing down and mixing with the dirt. Addy started tearing up. She had failed again. She had failed to help someone she deeply cared for. Her nakama. She promised that she would never fail again after she lost her Riley, but Nami was sitting before her broken and all Addy could do was watch in sympathy. "ARLONG! ARLONG! ARLONG!"

No Addy might not be able to help but she knew someone who could. Turning towards Luffy she saw that his expression was blank. He was watching as Nami kept stabbing himself, calling out Arlong. In one swift movement he got up and walked towards Nami. As she brought the knife towards her again, he grabbed her arm and held on to it tightly. She turned her head to face him, her voice quiet. "Luffy…" She dropped the knife and with a clink it fell to the ground. Luffy let go and Nami collapse in on herself.

"What do you want?" she asked. "You don't know anything. You don't know what's been happening for the past eight years on this island."

"Yeah. I don't," he replied softly.

"This is none of your business! I told you to get off this island, didn't I?" She was clawing at the ground.

"Yeah. You told me."

"Go away!" She threw dirt at him in one last effort to make him go. "You! Go away!" She kept on doing it but Luffy remained. "Go away! Go away! Go away! Go away! Go away! Go away! Go away…" She brought her hand to her face as if to keep herself from crying out. "Luffy…" she turned towards him broken. "Help me."

That was the cue. Addy got up from underneath the tree and walked towards Luffy taking her place on his left. In a move that surprised Addy he took off his straw hat and placed it on Nami's head before turning around and heading down the path. Addy stood right by his side prepared to fight.

He took several steps away from Nami before shouting to the sky. "DAMN RIGHT!" It was only then that Addy noticed the rest of the crew was here as well. She let out a grin. Zoro was sitting under an umbrella, sword clutched in his hand. Usopp was sitting on the path while Sanji was smoking.

"We're going," Luffy ordered.

"Right!" the four of the said simultaneously. Zoro took his position as Luffy's right hand while Sanji stood next to her. Usopp took his stand by Zoro and together the four of them walked down the path. Towards Arlong's and towards victory. Each step was in sync. They were all of one mind, one purpose. Help Nami in whatever way they could.

As they got closer Addy could make out the crowd standing before the door. Johnny and Yosaku were guarding it.

"Move," Luffy ordered once they got close. The crowd was staring at them in awe. Luffy held up his hand and the Straw Hats stopped. He took a few steps towards the door and the crowd backed away allowing Luffy to punch it. It created a massive dent and a loud crack echoed. A second punch and they were through, the door nothing more than rubble.

"What the?" Arlong asked shocked.

"Which one's Arlong?" Luffy asked holding his fist up.

Addy laughed. In the course of all the chaos they had actually forgotten to tell Luffy which one was Arlong. This was going to be fun.

Moves

Lautan Tagan- Ocean Hand

Kembali- Return

Review Responses

hellspam- Marines will get a lot of punishment in this fic, though arguably it won't always be justified. No one really knows Skypeia. I just rewatched that arc and I cannot tell you half of the things that happened in it. Luckily we got Alabasta first and Alabasta is going to be fun.

RedHairedOctavia- Addy is going to have her sarcasm turned up for Skypeia. I think that will be the only way I can make it through. Hopefully this chapter will be as awesome as the last one considering we are about to face Arlong :).

psychopathonadiet- Addy water powers are completely tied into what she is, so yes that will be explained by the time they reach Alabasta. I am going to drag it out but not for too long. Though this is One Piece so definitions of long may vary.

Sam726- I have thought about it but the tricky thing with seastone is that it makes Devil Fruit users pretty much useless. But your idea may be something I can work with. Especially if I make it so that the seastone has to be reapplied to the whip. Now that is something to think about.