***Author's Note: I do not own One Piece, Oda does, I do own the characters I made up in this story (ex: Ivy, Cecily (Shadow), and any other made up characters throughout this story that I might create). Also, please do not copy this story and claim it as your own***

Chapter:

"Don't say that Pervert's name, Moron." another Water 7 Citizen hissed, smacking the guy on the head, and darting his eyes around to locate Franky.

"Did I just hear someone say my name?" Franky quizzed, posing on top of a roof of a nearby building, and tapping his foot against the roof.

"NOBODY SAID YOUR NAME, PERVERT!" the 1st Water 7 Citizen denied, barring his teeth at Franky, and a large tick-mark appeared on his forehead, "GO AWAY! WE DON'T WANT YOU HERE!"

"Come on everybody, no need to be shy, say my name." Franky rapped, striking a pose with Mozu and Kiwi doing the same thing, and grinning down at everybody.

"WE DON'T WANT TO!" a bunch of random Water 7 citizens rejected, barring their teeth, and large tick-marks appeared on their heads.

"I'm Water 7's #1 Super Guy. I'm the man with the plan and people everywhere call out my name." Franky continued rapping, striking another pose, and glaring down at the crowd, "SHOW YOURSELF STRAW-HAT!"

"What's up with that Weirdo?" Luffy wondered, scrunching his eyebrows together in confusion, tilting his head sideways, and rubbing his chin with his fingers, "Why does he know my name when I've never even met him before?"

"I heard 1 of the people call him Franky." Nami recited, pursing her lips in thought, and raising her eyebrows over at Luffy, "Think he's the Franky from the Franky Family that Iceberg told us about?"

"One way to find out." Luffy stated, narrowing his eyes up at Franky, and calling up to him, "HEY, BIKINI GUY! ARE YOU FRANKY FROM THE FRANKY FAMILY?!"

"That's right." Franky nodded, narrowing his eyes down at Luffy, spotting the straw-hat on Luffy's head, and glaring deeper at him, "Are you Straw-Hat?"

"That's me." Luffy answered, glaring up at Franky, and a pissed expression appearing on his face.

"I didn't think you'd be so…scrawny." Franky admitted, pushing up his shades, glaring down at Luffy, and starting rapping again, "I'll make this as plain as can be, when you mess with my peeps you mess with me."

"GIVE US BACK OUR 2-HUNDRED-MILLION BERRIES, YOU JERK!" Nami demanded, barring her teeth at Franky, and brandishing her fist at him.

"Can't." Franky confessed, shaking his head, and striking another pose, "I spent every last berry."

"The money doesn't matter," Luffy stated, glaring darkly at Franky, and a vein in his forehead bulged, "ALL I CARE ABOUT IS GETTING REVENGE! I WON'T BE SATISFIED UNTIL I KICK YOUR ASS!"

"IT MAY NOT MATTER TO YOU, BUT IT DOES TO ME!" Nami fumed, barring her teeth at Luffy, a tick-mark appeared on her forehead, and heading towards the Yagura.

"YOU PICKING A FIGHT WITH ME, PUNK?!" Franky inquired, pushing down his shades, and glaring at Luffy.

"YOU'RE THE ONE WHO STARTED IT, JERKFACE!" Luffy reminded, a pissed aura seeping out of him, and glowering at Franky, "NOW GET DOWN HERE AND FIGHT ME!"

I better stay clear of Luffy's fight Nami thought, rushing over to the Yagura, vaulting into the driver's seat, and widening her eyes when Franky spit out fire from his mouth, "HOW THE HELL DID HE DO THAT?!"

"HOLY CRAP, HE JUST BREATHED FIRE!" Luffy exclaimed, jumping into the seat beside Nami, gazing up at Franky, and his eyes turning into stars, "THAT'S SO COOL!"

"DON'T BE AMAZED BY HIM, YOU BLOCKHEAD!" Nami chided, barring her teeth at Luffy, a large tick-mark appeared on her forehead, and punching him on the head, "Maybe he ate a Devil Fruit?"

"He must really be stupid then." Luffy remarked, seeing Franky jump into the water, tilting his head sideways, and bunching his eyebrows together in confusion, "Everybody knows Devil Fruit users can't swim."

"ONLY IDIOTS EAT A DEVIL FRUIT AND I AIN'T AN IDIOT!" Franky rejected, leaping out of the water, breaking the boat with his fist, sending his fist at Luffy, and Luffy hit the stone wall of a building, "STRONG RIGHT!"

"LUFFY!" Nami shouted, kneeling on the ground, darting her eyes towards Luffy, and snapping her head at Franky, "IF YOU DON'T HAVE DEVIL FRUIT POWERS, THEN WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU?!"

"I'm just a normal guy with some extra parts." Franky smirked, snapping his fist back to his hand, and getting out of the cannel, "A cyborg, if you wanna be technical."

(****************************************************************************)

Back to Shadow, Sanji, and Chopper

"We checked everywhere and still no sign of Robin." Shadow sighed, walking out of the last flower shop in the city, coming over to Sanji and Shadow, and shaking her head, "I'm starting to get a bad feeling. Besides Robin missing, this Aqua Laguna that's coming…Everything feels like it's falling apart."

It seems like everybody in Water 7 knows about Aqua Laguna, except for people who don't live in Water 7…I wonder if he knows Chopper thought, walking beside Sanji, widening his eyes when he realized something, and snapping his head towards Sanji and Shadow, "It seems like everybody except for tourists know about Aqua Laguna."

"I guess if you don't live in Water 7, you wouldn't know about it." Sanji mused, lighting a cigarette, puffing out smoke, and understanding what Chopper was getting at.

"The storm would be especially awful for a tourist that has a boat they really care about." Chopper emphasized, carrying his bag, and giving Sanji a coded-look.

"Did you just say you forgot your medical bag back at the Mary?" Shadow inquired, understanding what Chopper was saying, and glancing at Sanji.

"We better go with you to get it." Sanji agreed, nodding his head, and they raced towards the Mary, "We can't have our crew's doctor forgetting his medical bag."

(****************************************************************************)

Back to Luffy, Nami, and Franky

"WATCH IT!" Luffy scolded, stretching his arms, stopping a gigantic-wooden-mast from hitting the crowd, and baring his teeth at Franky, "YOU COULD'VE HURT SOMEONE, JERKFACE!"

He's yelling at me when it was him who punched that helm? What a weirdo. Franky thought, a sweatdrop appeared on his head, holding out his left hand, and shooting bullets at him, "WEAPONS LEFT!"

"MAKE HIM PUT SOME PANTS ON, LUFFY!" Nami cheered, striking her fist into the air, and widening her eyes.

"GUM-GUM: PISTOL!" Luffy chanted, beginning to stretch his arm only to be sent crashing into a pile of wood, getting up, dusting himself off, and glaring, "WHO DID THAT?!"

"You should've left when you had the chance, Straw Hat." Paulie claimed, sending Luffy flying into a pile of wood, holding ropes in his hand, and glaring at Luffy, "Now it's time for you and your crew to pay."

Damn Galley-La Jackasses. Franky thought, spotting the Galley-La workers, and glaring at them, "DON'T YOU KNOW IT'S RUDE TO INTERRUPT FIGHTS THAT HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH YOU?! NOW GO AWAY BEFORE I GET REALLY-SUPER-PISSED!"

"Actually, this does concern us, you brute." Kaku spoke, standing beside Paulie, sending chisels towards him, and keeping Franky in place, "Straw Hat and his crew are the ones who shot Mr. Iceberg. Once we've finished with him, we'll deal with you. Just sit tight."

"Hang on a second," Nami butted-in, attempting to reason with them, and scrunching her eyebrows together, "We didn't shoot Iceberg. We heard what happened and we wanted to make sure he was alright."

"Do you Straw Hats go around pissing everybody off?" Franky asked, turning towards Luffy, raising an eyebrow at him, and breaking out of his restraints.

"SHUT. UP.!" Luffy barked, barring his teeth, a tick-mark appeared on his head, and glaring at him, "WE DIDN'T EVEN DO ANYTHING!"

Everytime, we go somewhere, we somehow manage to tick someone off. Nami thought, fake-tears falling off her face, and tilting her head sideways, Is it too much to ask for once to go somewhere that someone isn't trying to kill us?

"You can act innocent all you want, we know the truth." Tilestone stated, swinging a massive-piece of wood at Luffy, and standing beside Kaku, "Every single one of you are cold-blooded killers."

"IF YOU AREN'T GONNA TELL THE TRUTH, WE'LL JUST HAVE TO MAKE YOU!" Paulie seethed, tossing a rope around Luffy's neck, and tugging Luffy towards him, "ROPE ACTION: HALF-KNOT AIR DIVE!"

"CAN'T…BREATH…" Luffy wheezed, gripping the rope with his hands, and pressing his feet into the ground, "WE…HAVE…NO…REASON…TO…FIGHT…YOU!

"STRAW HAT IS MINE, YOU BASTARDS!" Franky interrupted, charging at Paulie, and being flung into a pile of bricks, "BACK OFF!"

"I told you to sit tight." Kaku restated, kicking Franky into a pile of bricks, and scowling at him.

"STOP IT!" Nami shouted, watching the scene in shock, and trying to get everybody's attention, "NONE OF US WOULD HURT ICEBERG!"

"SHE'S RIGHT!" Luffy added, staring at Paulie, and trying to get Paulie to listen to him, "LET US TALK WITH ICE-POPS!"

"You think we're stupid? We're not letting any of you near him again." Lulu scoffed, holding a gigantic-hammer over his shoulder, and narrowing his eyes at him, "Iceberg said so himself. He remembered two people. One was Nico Robin. She's your crew member isn't she?"

"ROBIN IS OUR CREW MEMBER AND OUR FRIEND, BUT THERE'S NO WAY SHE WOULD DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT!" Luffy declared, getting the rope off his neck, and narrowing his eyes at all of them.

"PIRATES LIE!" Hattori claimed, sitting on Lugi's shoulder, swatting the air with his wing, and narrowing his eyes at Luffy, "YOU'RE NO DIFFERENT!"

"WE CHOSE TO BECOME PIRATES, BUT WE NEVER HURT PEOPLE WHO ARE KIND TO US!" Luffy defended, frowning at all of them, and snapping his head in Nami's direction when she yelled, "NAMI! LET GO OF HER!"

"LET GO OF ME!" Nami cried out, being grabbed by the crowd, and struggling to get out of their grasp.

He's just standing there? Paulie thought, watching Luffy, narrowing his eyes at him, and tossing a rope at Luffy's wrists, "Why aren't you fighting back?"

"I already told you, I don't have a reason to fight you." Luffy repeated, staring back at Paulie, and tugging on the rope.

"As much as I enjoyed this little show, I'm bored. I'll fight Straw Hat some other time." Franky broke-in, putting both of his hands out in front of him, and shooting a massive blast of air out of his hands, "COUPE DE BURST!"

"What the hell?" Paulie uttered, his cigar dropping onto the ground, widening his eyes in shock, and his jaw hitting the ground as he stared at the destroyed Galley-La ship-yard.

"NAMI!" Luffy advised, getting free, grabbing her wrist, stretching his arm, and flinging them away, "LET'S GO WHILE THEY'RE DISTRACTED!"

"He wasn't kidding about being a Cyborg." Nami noted, scrunching her eyebrows together, being dragged behind Luffy, and frowning-slightly, "Go where?"

"We're going to see Ice-pops." Luffy announced, grabbing a rooftop with his hand, holding Nami's waist, and flinging them onto the roof, "Hang on tight."

"Don't you…AHHHHH!" Nami trailed-off, figuring out what he was going to do, her face going pale, barring her teeth at him, and screeching, "I'M GONNA KILL YOU!"

(***********************************************************************************)

Back to Sanji, Shadow, and Chopper

"We can't risk going any closer." Shadow hushed, bending her head towards Sanji and Chopper, standing near the Going Mary, and they stood in a huddle, "Hopefully he'll hear us from here."

"Right." Sanji nodded, standing beside Chopper, cupping his hand against his mouth, and shouting so Usopp could hear, "DID YOU HEAR WHAT'S GOING ON IN TOWN?"

"YES, I DID!" Chopper answered, standing beside Sanji, and speaking loud enough for Usopp to hear, "I HEARD AQUA LAGUNA IS COMING!"

"WHAT'S AQUA LAGUNA?!" Shadow questioned, pretending not to know, and raising her voice.

"IT'S A GIGANTIC-WATER-STORM!" Sanji explained, "IT WILL FLOOD EVERYTHING IN SIGHT! WE BETTER HURRY BEFORE IT COMES AT MIDNIGHT!"

"Ship's door is opening." Shadow observed, seeing the Going Mary's door opening, and running away, "Run."

"Right." Sanji and Chopper nodded, following her.

(***********************************************************************************)

Back To Luffy and Nami

The wind is blowing hard and the pressure in the air is dropping, which can only mean one thing. Nami observed, feeling the air on her skin, glancing up at the sky, furrowing her eyebrows together in worry, and darting her eyes back to Luffy, "Luffy, an enormous-storm is coming, so make it quick cause we need to find shelter somewhere."

"I'll be back as soon as I talk with Ice-pops." Luffy promised, flinging himself towards the building where Iceberg is, smashing the window, sending glass everywhere, landing on the ground, and racing around the building, "WHERE IS HE?!"

Can't that moron do anything quietly? Nami thought, her eyebrow twitching in annoyance, sitting on the rooftop, barring her teeth, and a large-tick-mark appeared on her forehead.

"LUFFY!" Kalifa called, leaning over the railing on the 2nd floor, motioning him to come, and leading him to a door when he landed in front of her, "THIS WAY!"

"You're…Cauliflower." Luffy recalled, stretching his arm, grabbing the railing, swinging himself onto the 2nd-floor, landing in front of her, and following her to the door.

"Mr. Iceberg is in there." Kalifa directed, smiling-lightly, jerking her head towards the door, and standing in front of the door after Luffy entered the room, "I'll keep the others away while you talk with him."

"Thanks." Luffy thanked, stepping into the room, spotting Iceberg resting in a bed, and stopping at the end of the bed.

"I heard you wanted to talk to me." Iceberg alluded, resting against the headboard of his bed, roaming his eyes to Luffy, and pursing his lips together.

"That's right." Luffy affirmed, nodding his head, watching Iceberg, and standing still, "I want to hear your side of what happened."

"Very well." Iceberg retold, sitting up, and a perplexed-expression etched onto his face, "There's no mistaken it. Nico Robin was here last night."

"You sure it was Robin?" Luffy countered, frowning-heavily, and scrunching his eyebrows together, "She wouldn't do this."

"Whatever reason she had, it was her." Iceberg divulged, nodding his head, and staring at Luffy, "I have a favor to ask of you. I need to speak with Nico Robin."

"You can't." Luffy denied, shaking his head, and pursing his lips, "We don't know where she is."

"Well, that's disappointing." Iceberg sighed, pressing his hands together, and nodding towards the window, "Go."

"Thanks for speaking with me, Ice-pops." Luffy thanked, jumping out of the window, landing next to Nami, and a unwavering spark-flickered into his eyes, She may have been in that room, but I don't believe she pulled the trigger.

"Luffy." Nami probed, lifting her head up when she heard Luffy land beside her, and gazing at him, "Was it Robin?"

"Yeah, she was there." Luffy confirmed, sitting down beside her, faintly-furrowing his eyebrows together, and gazing ahead of him, "She didn't shoot him, that much I am sure of."

(***********************************************************************************)

Blueno's Bar

"FILL HER UP, BLUENO!" Franky ordered, entering the bar, sitting down on a stool, handing Blueno 3 glass-bottles, sliding them over to him, and flicking his hair out of his face, "That fight with that damn Straw Hat really took it out of me."

"You seem to be in a good mood, Franky." Kokoro observed, sitting on a stool beside Franky, taking a swig from her glass, setting the glass down on the counter, and darting her eyes over to Franky.

"GAAA! CREEPY-HAG!" Franky exclaimed, glancing towards her, his eyes going out of their sockets, and smacking the air with his hand, "What are you doing here?"

"I was hoping to drink with Iceberg before Aqua Laguna hit, but apparently he was shot." Kokoro explained, swirling her drink, resting her elbow on the counter, and frowning-faintly.

"It was those damn Straw Hats." Franky seethed, slamming his fist against the counter, and glaring daggers at the counter, "Once I get my hands on him…"

"You believe that?" Kokoro challenged, raising a critical-eyebrow at him, taking another swig from her glass, and her tone going serious, "They didn't seem like the type to kill people. Personally if I were going to assassinate someone, I'd use someone who already is viewed as a villain to be my scapegoat. Those Straw Hats for instance arrived just when said individuals needed a scapegoat."

"That's pretty clever, Kokoro." Blueno mentioned, briefly-narrowing his eyes at her, filling Franky's bottles up, sliding them to him, and training his eyes closely on Kokoro, "It sounds like you have a theory as to who is behind Iceberg's attempted murder."

"There's a secret organization inside the World Government called CP9. They're the elite unit." Kokoro elaborated, sliding her glass towards Blueno, and a pained-expression flickered onto her face, "They complete their missions without anyone knowing they were there. It's all speculation, of course."

"Sounds like a Ghost story if you ask me." Franky grumbled, taking a swig of his cola, and narrowing his eyes in thought.

(**********************************************************************************)

To Robin

"Once I bring you the blueprints, we'll have a deal?" Robin inquired, sitting across from a man at a café, and staring at the guy in scrutiny.

"Yes. Yes." a man spoke, sitting across from Robin, waving his hand in a dismissive-fashioned, standing up, and walking away, "Once I get what I want, they won't be harmed."

It's best for everyone if I disappear. Robin thought-somberly, staring up at the sky, getting up off the chair, beginning to walk around a corner, freezing in her steps upon hearing Chopper, widening her eyes, regaining her neutral-expression, turning around, and facing Sanji, Chopper, and Shadow, I wish I could tell you all how much your friendship means to me…NO!

"ROBIN! EVERYBODY IS WORRIED SICK ABOUT YOU!" Chopper smiled-brightly, catching Robin's scent, speeding after the scent, skidding to a halt, and standing across from her, "LET'S GO BACK TO THE OTHERS!"

"I'm not going back to the crew. This is where we'll part ways. I have a darkness inside of me and one day it will be the end of all you." Robin denied, blinking back tears, swallowing down a lump in her throat, and gazing at them with expressionless-eyes, I always have been able to control my emotions. Why is it so difficult now?

"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!" Sanji voiced, scrunching his eyebrows together in confusion, and standing beside Chopper, "WE DON'T BELIEVE THOSE THINGS IN THE NEWSPAPER!"

"You should." Robin intoned, smiling-fake-cruelly, and speaking-clearly, "Every word is true. I shot Iceberg."

"What?" Shadow uttered, widening her eyes, standing beside Sanji, and bunching her eyebrows together, "DO YOU REALLY EXPECT US TO BELIEVE THAT?!"

"Thank you for all the kindness you have shown me. I'm grateful to have found people that I can call my friends." Robin smiled-warmly, never noticing a single tear falling down her face, pivoting on her heel, and walking away, "Goodbye."

"ROBIN WAIT!" Sanji shouted, taking off his shoes and shirt, diving into the cannel, attempting to swim after her, slapping the water, knowing he couldn't catch up to her, swimming back to Chopper and Shadow, lifting himself up onto the ground, taking off his shirt, and ringing out the water, "DAMN IT!"

"She's gone." Chopper spoke-softly, a somber-expression appeared on his face, and glancing up at Sanji, "Her scent disappeared too."

"What are we gonna do now?" Shadow inquired, sitting down beside Chopper, biting her lip, and sighing-sadly.

"Chopper, Shadow, find Luffy and tell him exactly what happened." Sanji directed, a determined look flickered into his eyes, and buttoning up his shirt, "I have a plan."

"Got it." Shadow and Chopper nodded, snapping their heads up to Sanji, and sprinting away, "Meet us back at the hotel once you're done."

(*********************************************************************************)

To Zoro and Ivy

"WHAT DID YOU DO THIS TIME, MOSS-HEAD!" I accused, rushing alongside Zoro, being chased by Water 7 citizens, and sprinting around a corner.

"I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING, MIDGET!" Zoro defended, dashing beside me, barring his teeth, and a tick-mark appeared on his head.

"THEN WHY ARE ALL THE CITIZENS CHASING US?!" I countered, deadpanned-eyes, and grabbing a newspaper off the ground.

"HOW THE HELL SHOULD I KNOW?!" Zoro bickered, barring his teeth, the tick-mark growing bigger, spotting an alley, and dragging me down it, "DOWN THAT ALLEY!"

"WHERE DID THEY GO?!" a man's voice shouted, glancing around, and running past us.

"This explains why we're being chased." I whispered, crouching beside Zoro, reading the newspaper, and pointing at it, "This sucks, now we can't go back to that inn."

"Nothing we can do about it now." Zoro groaned, reading the article, and crouching beside me, "We need to find the others."

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were worried about them." I teased, playfully-jabbing him in the side, and smirking.

"CAN IT BEFORE I STAB YOU!" Zoro hissed, peeking around the corner, and rushing off when it was clear with me right behind him, "Let's go."

(***********************************************************************************)

To Luffy and Nami

"Safe." Luffy grinned, landing on the ground, accidentally slamming Nami onto the ground, standing up, and placing his hands on his hips.

"SAFE MY ASS!" Nami berated, barring her teeth, a large-tick-mark appeared on her head, and cross-punching Luffy on the head, "YOU COULD'VE KILLED ME! HOW MANY FREAKING TIMES DO WE HAVE TO TELL YOU! DON'T GO FLYING SOMEONE WITH YOU, DUMBASS!"

"OWWW!" Luffy moaned, rubbing his head, and glaring at her, "YOU SAID WE COULDN'T USE THE ELVATORS! WHAT WAS I SUPPOSED TO DO?!"

"HOW ABOUT WALKING DOWN ALLEYS LIKE A NORMAL PERSON, MORON!" Nami suggested, baring her teeth, the tick-mark growing bigger, huffing, turning her back towards him, and crossing her arms against her chest, "Whatever. You got us here without managing to get us bruised for once, so that's something."

"THEN WHY THE HELL DID YOU HIT ME?!" Luffy fumed, barring his teeth, and a tick-mark appeared on his head.

"We better find the others." Nami advised, glancing up at the sky, narrowing her eyes in concern, and brushing her hair away from her face, "A gigantic-typhoon is heading this way."

"We don't need to." Luffy deadpanned, pointing in the direction we were running, and sticking his pinky up his nose, "They already here."

"QUIT THAT, YOU PIG!" Nami chided, barring her teeth, uppercut-punching him on the head, and turning to us, "Did you guys find Robin? Wasn't Sanji with you guys?"

"He was, but…" Shadow began, standing beside Chopper, giving him a look, and biting her lip.

"Spit it out already." Zoro snapped, resting against the wall of the rooftop, and crossing his arms against his chest, "We don't have all day."

"We found her, but…" Chopper began, sitting down on my lap, and bowing his head sadly.

"She said she doesn't want to be part of our crew anymore." Shadow finished, sitting down beside me, and speaking-somberly, "Then she vanished. Sanji stayed behind. He claimed he had a plan."

"Nobody wants to say it, so I will. Robin may be our enemy." Zoro spoke-up, breaking the silence, holding his sword in his hand, and roaming his eyes over all of us, "Whether she's our friend or foe, we have to be prepared for the worst. We need to look at this without our emotions clouding our judgement."

"There's only one way of knowing whose side she's on." Luffy declared, sitting beside Nami, crossing his arms against his chest, and a unbudging-decision flashed into his eyes, "We need to speak with Robin herself."

"I know how to do that." I explained, petting Chopper, and glancing up at everyone, "A true assassin never leaves witnesses behind."

"You think she'll go back to finish the job?" Nami concluded, running her finger across her chin, and scrunching her eyebrows together in thought, "Didn't Iceberg say Robin was with another person?"

"He's making Robin do this?" Chopper guessed, craning his head to look at Nami, and darting his eyes over to Luffy, "What's the plan?"

"We find Robin and capture her." Luffy declared, determination-blazed in his eyes, and crossing his arms against his chest.

"It's not gonna be easy." Zoro admitted, frowning-slightly, and closing his eyes, "The World Government has been trying over 20-years and they still haven't caught her yet."

"We have to try." Nami spoke, clenching her hands into fists, and sitting beside Luffy, "It's the only way for us to know the truth."

"Tonight we'll make our move then." I stated, looking at everyone, smiling-faintly at all of our determination, and gazing up into the sky, You had better not die, Flame-Brain. If you do, I'll find a way to bring you back just so I can kill you myself for acting like a complete dumbass.

(********************************************************************************)

To Usopp

"I need all the tar, rope, nails, and lumber this money can buy." Usopp listed, handing a shop-owner a handful of money, and standing in front of the shop.

"We're closed. Com back another time." the shop owner claimed, finishing nailing boards to his shop windows, climbing down the metal-ladder, and standing in front of Usopp.

"I know…but it's really important please?" Usopp begged, bending his head down, his shoulders sagging in defeat, and lowering his hand.

"…" the shop owner sighed, glancing at Usopp for a few seconds, unlocking his door, and jerking his head towards the shop, "You win. Make it quick Aqua Laguna is coming soon."

"Thank you so much." Usopp thanked, speeding into the shop, grabbing what he needed, and rushing out of the shop, Don't worry Mary, I'll fix you up in no time.

(***********************************************************************************)

To Galley-La

"The Straw Hat and that girl got away." Tilestone noted, standing beside Paulie, and raising an eyebrow at him, "Should we go after them?"

"No, it's too dangerous. Aqua Laguna will be here soon." Paulie rejected, shaking his head, narrowing his eyes at the sky, and puffing out smoke from his cigar, "For now, we'll head back to Iceberg. Just in case they go back to finish the job."

TO BE CONTINUED…