She felt hot, her cheeks were burning, sweat was running down the girl's back. Alex tossed and turned in discomfort, different colours blurred together as her eye flickered open, she couldn't make out anything. In the background she could hear a person talking, what they were saying was a mystery.

She tried to pull myself out of the feverish fog to no avail. It was really weird, because her consciousness was there, it felt like Alex was almost in the land of the living, just under the surface of the deep sea of sickness. But whatever she did the young girl couldn't quite break the surface and fully wake up. So, she was stuck floating in a half-woken state of fragmented dreams.

And this carried on for what felt like an eternity, that wasn't the worse of it either. On occasion memories would surface, things that she didn't want to think about, they would shove themselves into Alexandra's metaphorical face. Some sad, some scary and some that made no sense at all, which mashed together made some interesting dreams.

Then came the deep ringing, that turned into a loud wash of pain, making her body burn and brain scream. Suddenly just fast as it had come it was gone, all of the buzzing pain disappeared into a low droning, soon her self-awareness sank into oblivion. Finally leaving her drown in a sea of darkness as she fell into a deep sleep.

Light assaulted her eye as it slowly slid open, Alex was staring at a wooden ceiling, blinking a couple of times, her blurry vision solidified allowing her to see clearly. She was in the world of the living once more, but she felt horribly dizzy and maybe even a little sick.

She frowned concentrating hard, the surroundings became clearer until the kid could see everything in sharp detail. There was an arrow lodged between the wooden panels in the room's roof, actually the whole ceiling seemed to be damaged, there were burnt patches, claw marks and even some random assortments of broken weaponry, that were dug into the cracked wood. Alex wasn't sure of the cause of it all, but some of it looked especially old. For example, the burns, they almost looked faded with time.

She rolled onto her side, the bed she was lying in was warm and smelt of some kind of citrus fruit. She couldn't remember the last time she had slept in one, probably since the eye thing happened and that was at least a year ago now.

The room was dimly lit, an oil lamp was hung next to a door, illuminating a pair of figures. They were sat facing each other, a board between them, the blonde wasn't sure what they were playing but one of them wasn't very happy.

The smaller of the two forms had messy red hair which was turned fiery in the light, an annoyed scowl firmly in place. The taller one was much larger and heavy set, jet black hair and sharp teeth glinting as they sniggered. It was the two kids Alex had met after the sea king, though she could only recall them introducing themselves, nothing else before or after that. Her memory was drawing a blank. Well, it probably wasn't that important if she couldn't recollect anything else.

What are they doing here? Actually, where is here...?

Alexandra sat up stiffly, joints pulling as she moved. Heaving a heavy breath, she hated how much effort it was. Her gaze drifted, being quickly taken back by her surroundings, the room was a sight to behold.

The cabin was filled to the walls with odd items, one corner had a collection of skulls. Ranging from small birds to a huge cranium that could of belonged to a sea king. In the same area was a shelf stuffed to the limit with books, a bed was shoved into the far left wall. Even a bath tub was among the mess, it was filled to the brim with candy and junk food. Scarily that corner was the tidiest part in the entire room.

The other end was much worse. It had lots of colourful clothes stuffed carelessly into a wardrobe, said bit of furniture was being held together with a thick metal chain, the links were crooked and it looked about ready to burst. A wide variety of crates were stacked on top of one another, seemingly filled with broken blunt weapons. A bed had been plonked smack in the middle of the boxes, it was almost hidden from sight. For some reason a fridge was there too, it had been tipped onto it's side and was covered in graffiti, mostly having doodles of dinosaurs. Talking of dinosaurs, a large scale t-rex was stood on top of the fridge, it was made out of popsicle sticks and had a letter opener tied to its tiny hand.

In a different section of the room was a scruffy threadbare couch, above that was a huge cork board painted with a target, it was littered with broken spears and harpoons. Almost as if they couldn't find normal darts, so instead they had found the closest thing to them. A table was sat flipped upside down, some cards scattered the floor and a spear was shoved through it. The wall the sofa was against was covered in old bounty posters, a couple looked as if they had been there for years.

Honestly the whole cabin looked like a bomb had gone off, the walls were either covered in holes, stabbed with weapons or had been graffitied. That was except for one, that area was almost completely barren of any damage, a single hole had been made but had been boarded up, no furniture was anyway near that vicinity. Which was really odd considering the rest of the room.

Alex must of made some noise because both teenagers turned, gaping. Suddenly the red-head jumped up.

What's their name again? Harry? Harley? Hannah?

...

Oh, Haruta! That was it.

Haruta ran over enthusiastically, leaping over a bunch of junk on the floor. The other teenager, the shark who's name she remembered was Namur, followed behind at a much slower pace.

"You're up! Great, I was starting to wonder if you'd ever wake up!" The younger teen uttered loudly, coming within inches of the blonde girl's nose.

"Sorry... Haru give her some space, she can barely breathe" Namur sighed, grabbing them by the shoulder and pulling them away.

"I- Is this-" Alex broke off as a sudden realisation kicked in, along with some slight panic, she was not entirely sure what to do. On one hand when she spoke to Haruta and Namur before they were really nice, on the other hand they were part of his crew...And the girl really hated him. And she was most definitely on his ship!

"You're still on Moby Dick... uh, the Whitebeard pirates main flag ship..." Namur explained having let go of Haruta and made himself at home on the bed. She could feel her chest tightening with fear, even though that's what she had thought, hearing it out loud made her sick to the stomach.

"You nearly died three times!" The red-head blurted out, plonking themselves next to Alex on her good side, slinging their arm over her shoulder. She automatically tensed, staring wide eyed at them, trying to process that information.

All that popped into her head in response was Why am I still alive?

"Haruta! You could have started off a bit gentler, before saying that!" Namur snapped, kicking them in the shin to the best of his ability from where he was sat.

"It just came out! I didn't mean it to!" Haruta retorted with a smack of their own, which the shark boy returned.

Alex was stumped, genuinely confused, without much thought she stood, stumbling a little as her legs crumpled under the girl. Though she ignored her weak muscles, continuing to walk painfully towards the door.

She was alive. And that meant Alex needed to escape if she wanted to stay that way. However, a hand was placed under her arm, steadying her as she almost did a nose dive.

"Alex, where are you going?" Namur was the one who asked, he was holding her up, a look of concern written deep into his features.

"I have to go"

"Where? You don't need to do anything just yet, just take it easy"

"I have to get out of here, this is a pirate ship... Pirates don't like stowaways, so I gotta get out of here." The nervous girl turned towards Namur with a frown, wasn't that obvious?

"But you're not a stowaway anymore" Haruta grinned, making Alex squint in confusion. Of course, I am! If I'm here then... if I'm here-!

A memory surfaced suddenly hitting her with an overwhelming sense of panic.

What happened after the sea king?

Her recollection of those events were really hazy, she could recall meeting Namur and Haruta, then her mind cut off, in fact it was almost like she had blocked out the rest.

"Hello there, Grumpy"

Alex went rigid, as last night came back in full force. She felt like throwing up.

"You're our sister now" Haruta said in a chipper voice, as if it was obvious.

Huh? Her head fell to the side. What is that supposed to mean? Sister?

"Uhhhhh... How do I put this in a non weird way?" Namur inhaled, bringing his hands up to his mouth. Haruta shrugged "I did put it in the non weird way"

"What?" The blonde stammered, the fear in her chest was building. She was shaking violently; she didn't like where this was going.

"Po- Whitebeard kidnaps people he likes" Haruta said seriously, the shark boy exhaled pushing his hands away from his chin "That sounds so much worse."

"What it's true though"

"I mean, yeah... Not everyone, I got gambled away by my dad, I wasn't kidnapped" Namur sighed, shaking his head tiredly.

"Yeah, but you still got taken against your will. You didn't want to go with pops, it took him physically removing you and sticking you on the ship. So technically it was a sort of kidnapping" The red-head replied in a educated tone, waving their arms around expressively.

"I suppose. You were definitely kidnapped though"

"Pfffft, oh, yeah! I was kidnapped in the most stupid way" Haruta snorted in amusement.

"WHAT!" Alex uttered horrified. They turned back to her, Namur coughed, clearing his throat, looking somewhat guilty. Haruta simply shrugged indifferently, patting her sweaty shaky shoulder.

"Welcome to the family..." The shark sang nervously, smiling with his big teeth showing, sweat ran down his forehead.

"YOU GUYS WERE KIDNAPPED!" Alex spat out in alarm.

These guys were forcefully taken by pirates!They're- they... they're so nice and- they've been forced into this. Her thoughts were running a mile a minute, tumbling around her brain like a swarm of angry wasps, stinging whatever was in their path. It made her migraine worsen, making her eye wince.

"Uhhhh... yeah. It's not as bad as it sounds. It's just-" Namur stuttered, in fact he was floundering around looking frantic.

"Don't worry, nobody ever wants to be here to begin with, but eventually you realise things aren't bad."

"Haru that doesn't sound good either!"

"It's not that bad. Pops likes adopting people, he's just not that good with how he goes about it."

What are they saying? Of course, it's bad, everything they just mentioned is bad! Hang on... wait? They just said adopting people... and both of them had called that man 'Pops', right?

"What do you mean he adopts people? You keep calling him pops too, why? He kidnapped you, don't you hate him for that!" Alexandra's voice shook uncontrollably, she was slowly hating this more and more.

This has to be like some sick, twisted pirate joke! It had to be!

"Just like it sounds... Whitebeard is our pops. I mean don't get me wrong, I really didn't like him to start with. He can be a terrible person sometimes... Pops is selfish, kinda rude and mean and doesn't really give a damn most of the time. But under all that stuff, Pops is a big soft old doofus, he just doesn't show it most of the time"

"Don't let him hear you say that... but Haruta's right, he's not really as bad as all that. He's just a bit odd... and makes questionable decisions. Okay, he can be a little rough around the edges and he is pretty blunt and will tell you what he thinks. He'll laugh in your face and he'll tease you to no end, but he never means it in a nasty way"

Alex's teeth clenched together, her missing eye had that phantom feeling again, almost like it was there. She brought her hand up to cover it, trying to get her painful migraine to stopped throbbing, she slowly lowered herself back down onto the bed. Her face was dark, sweat and fear very close to showing themselves across her features.

She wanted to cry again, clutching her head, she was sucking in cold shuddering breaths. Desperately trying to get her crackling emotions in check, she closed her watery blue eye tightly.

I hate this! I hate this! I HATE THIS!

Teeth bared, fangs growing in place of her normal ones, Alex could feel her low rumbling in the back of her throat, though it was barely audible, it made her oesophagus scratchy.

This is not how he is! I refuse to believe that! They've had just been brain washed, that was it! And he does sound awful, he is awful! He's evil! I refuse to believe anything else.

Alex was curled up, face buried in her knees. She was silent for a long time, Namur and Haruta went back to chattering on either side of her. Somehow listening to them made it a little easier. Even if this whole thing was most definitely not okay, at least she didn't feel quite as alone. It sounded like the two of them were in a similar situation to her, regardless of what they said, they could be simply be saying those things.

Maybe they're just as scared as I am? Maybe they're keeping up a front? Maybe they can escape with me?

Those questions circled around in her head; it was almost comforting. However, she did wonder if they would be her friends, what if they were just putting up with her for the time being?

The other kids on my island always found me weird. I mean I can't blame them for not liking me... I'm a freak.

People who had been born in the same year as Alex had grown up, they were 24 like they should have been. Then here she was, still a literal 12-year-old kid. It always bothered everyone, aging slower is sort of creepy...

Then Alex was far too physically strong, she could accidentally hurt people, she could break things without meaning to, if the young girl were to bump into someone or even grab them too roughly, she could actually seriously injure them. Because of that, a lot of Bambora's residents had been very wary of her, Alex was hardly ever allowed to play with the other kids, their parents didn't want her accidentally hurting them. Especially after the incident with a vacationing rich boy, she was looked upon very differently after that...

Looking over at Namur she was suddenly struck with an odd thought. He was some kind of shark person, so was he even like an ordinary human?

"Namur? Uh, I was wondering, what are you?"

Namur paused, frowning. He quickly sighed, looking uncomfortable all of a sudden. Haruta had gone very sharp, giving Alex a glare, though it seemed almost like a automatic response, then an actual warning to her specifically.

"I'm a Fishman..." As soon as he said it, she felt like an idiot, of course he was a Fishman! Just like the people Papi had told her about. I'm so dumb!

"Oh! So, are you from Fishman Island?" Alex asked immediately, Papi had told her tales from when he was an adventurer. He had told the girl of a beautiful place, of a mysterious island at the bottom of the ocean. Excitement bubbling to the surface, a giant grin spread across her face.

Namur immediately relaxed, smiling, he started rubbing his finger under his nose sheepishly. The red-head quickly dropped the defensive attitude, chuckling at the Fishman smug cheesy smirk. "Yeah! That's where I was born!"

"Really, that's so cool! What's the big ship like?"

"You mean the Noah? I think you're the first person I've ever met not to ask about the mermaids..."

"Yeah, mermaids are cool! But a huge mystery ship, that's way cooler!" Alex exclaimed "Papi told me all about a huge ship that was almost as big as the whole island! How is that not the most interesting thing?"

"Who's Papi?" Haruta chimed in-between the girl's gushing. She froze for a second, deciding whether or not she should tell them, before figuring it was fine "My grandfather, he went to Fishman Island when he was still an adventurer"

"Is he a giant?" The Fishman questioned eyebrow raised, Alex nodded mutely, realising that she didn't really want to elaborate further. She was already regretting having told them, thinking about Papi made her sad...

"Whoa! I've never seen a giant before, are they really that huge? Cause you're really little!" Haruta was staring at Alexandra with a big wonder filled grin, they were practically bouncing on the spot.

"Of course giants are hug-" She stopped abruptly, realising what they had just said, her cheeks heated up in embarrassment, almost cartoonishly yelling "I'M NOT SHORT! I'M GONNA GROW!"

"But-" Namur slapped his hand over Haruta's mouth, smiling apologetically "Just ignore them! They don't mean- Okay, they do mean it, but they're rude to everyone, so don't take it to heart"

Alex scowled jutting her chin out in annoyance, not that it wasn't true, she still didn't need to have it pointed out. She knew she was short, which was kinda annoying considering both her parents weren't in any way short. The red-faced kid's mother was a literal giant and that man was massive even in comparison to abnormally large humans she had seen, by that logic she should have been really, really tall. Not 4 foot 3...

But she wasn't really mad, Alex knew it wasn't meant in a mean way. Unlike so many other people, she felt comfortable with these two. They didn't judge or look down on her, they were treating the blonde like a normal kid. They saw her for who she was...

She shook herself, she didn't have time for this, regardless of how much she liked Haruta and Namur, Alex was not staying here. Standing up, gathering her balance she began a slow walk towards the door, making sure she didn't trip on any weird junk on the floor. Her legs and back were stiff, she still felt light headed s the migraine lingered.

"Alex... hold on. Maybe you should stay put" The shark boy offered as he hung close to the unsteady younger kid's side, hands hovering near her just in case she fell. Why does he have to be so nice to me? She felt even worse when the red-head appeared in front, taking hold of her arm, smiling brightly "Nam's, she's been stuck in bed ages, I'd want go for a walk too. Hey, Al do you want me to give you a piggyback?"

She felt like a horrible human being. Alex really didn't want to leave these two with a bunch of pirates.

Stop being nice to me... I don't deserve it.

"No, no. I'm fine" She sucked in a breath forcing her body to straighten, muscles screaming she waved them off, Alex wasn't going to show weakness.

Once she was out of this cabin, the girl would have to make a break for it, she'd be in danger again. I had to remember that this was a pirate ship, a Yonko's ship!

They both backed away a little, concern written in their body language. However they didn't stop her, only staying in close enough range to catch her if she happened to fall. Her guilt worsened, she didn't want to leave them in a place like this. They were kidnapped, taken away without a choice.

You can't be friends with them... Like it or not, they're pirates. They think this is all- Cutting her thoughts there, Alex sighed, emptiness echoing in her chest. She grabbed hold of the door handle, taking a deep steadying breath, she pulled it open.

It was dark, dank and silent. Not what she was expecting at all, the air was frigid, the scent of salt was all the blonde could smell. She was almost immediately frozen stiff, her breath was visible. Shuddering she clutched her arms, rubbing them with the palms of her hands in a attempt to warm herself up.

"Looks like we're still descending..." Alex looked over her shoulder at Namur, he had his arms crossed over his chest, bored expression in place.

"Brrrrr, I hate this part, it's always so cold" The other teen replied from around the door frame, Namur shrugged indifferently as he yawned "I donno what your talking about sib, it's not that cold"

"Not to you maybe, it's cold to humans!" They snapped disappearing for a moment, Alex could hear them rustling around.

"Alex is it really that cold? Or is Haruta being a wimp?" A hand appeared from behind her, pointing a middle finger at the Fishman. "Rude!" Namur said all offended, returning the gesture.

The red-head popped out again holding two jackets, a purple and green one. Ignoring the shark boy, they handed the confused girl the green hooded jacket, which she took awkwardly. They swung the purple woollen jumper over their shoulders in a quick effective movement. Before looking at Alex expectantly, she was still stood with the hoodie in her hands.

"Huh?" She mumbled worried, offering the jacket back to Haruta, unsure what they wanted. Did they want her to hold it while they put their first one on?

"Alex... that's for you..."

"What is?"

"The hoodie... what else?"

"Oh. I don't-" The words were barely out of her mouth, when the ginger frowned in irritation and then yelled loudly in her ear. "Fucking hell, Al, put it on!"

Alex was immediately taken back, causing her to jerk slightly, not expecting them to act like that. Or swear...

"Pffft! I told you Haruta is rude. Just put it on before they force it on" Namur sniggered, patting the wide-eyed girl on the back. Nodding, she shoved the hoodie on over her shirt.

"When you said they'd force it o-" Alex asked nervously, the black haired teen snorted, answering before she was finished "Oh yeah, they'll pin you down and force it on you. They're caring, just in a violent way."

"Damn straight! My little sister is not getting cold! Especially considering she was sick for like a week!" Haruta huffed, pushing her out of the way of the door, Alex opened her mouth but Namur laughed over her attempt to speak "Haru chill out, I think she's got the message"

The blonde turned away, once again being uncomfortable and confused over the whole 'sister thing'. Without saying anything, she started forwards unsteadily, still conflicted with what she was supposed to do about Namur and Haruta. She hadn't expected them to stick around.

Alex wanted to bolt, however, she was having enough trouble with not falling flat on her face. In deep concentration she placed one foot in front of the other. The half-giant didn't even know where she was headed to, though if she had to make a guess it was towards the ship's portside barrier.

"Are you sure you don't want one of us to carry you?" Namur sighed, putting his hand on her back when she stumbled.

"It's fine. I need to- to..." Alex's words caught in her throat, they had arrived at the ship's railing, she stifled a sharp inhale as the scene before her registered.

Before them was a wide expanse of sea, only the there was no sky, horizon or clouds. They were sinking into the dark depths of Davy Jones' locker. It was just water, they were under the ocean, surrounded by strange creatures that could of belonged in a horror book.

"Oh yeah, should of probably of mentioned this before, but we're heading back to the New world, so we have to go to Fishman Island. I could show you Noah if you want..." Namur grinned.

"The New World...!" The most dangerous sea in the entire world! Alex could barely survive in 'Paradise', how was she going to survive the 'New World'?! And it's not like she could just get off on Fishman Island either, she had literally no where to run! Unless she decided to drown herself, she was stuck! She was stuck with him!