The two long boring weeks were almost over, signaling that they were finally near the Red Line. Slightly unused to the weeks at sea, the crew had been holding in their boredom and uneasiness. But they had gotten used to each other now, and having to stay on the small ship. It was a tight squeeze sometimes, but they made it work.

In the kitchen, Sanji bent down and opened the cupboards and sighed disapprovingly at the cupboards' contents. One more bag of rice and only a handful of the ingredients left over. With one more sigh, he closed the cupboards and stood up straight. Sanji took out a cigarette and lit it up with one strike.

"What do we do now?" he murmured to himself, "There's only a bit of food left." Sanji knew that his should be grateful anyway - he had honestly thought that they would run out far earlier. Perhaps it was because Sanji was used to having Luffy onboard and had prepared accordingly.

Sanji kicked open the door and addressed his crewmates with a shout, "Are we stopping by soon? We don't have much left to eat."

Nami stretched her arms upwards from the deck chair she sat by the mast. "We're stopping at Sabaody in about a day. Do you think it'll last?" she asked Sanji, putting her book down.

Sanji's mind calculated what little they had left, quickly concluding that they would be able last for another three meals. He gave Nami a nod, "Yeah. We'll make it."

He'd completely forgotten about their important stop at the Sabaody Archipelago, before they had to dive into the ocean depths and intrude Fishman Island to steal Jimbei. But that was assuming Jimbei was currently at Fishman Island - if not, then they would just have to make do with an unwanted stop at Fishman Island. Seeing Princess Shirahoshi couldn't be a bad thing anyway.

He turned on his heels and walked back into his kitchen, his brain mentally planning what they would have for lunch that day.

Sitting in the lower deck that afternoon, was Chopper who was still busy studying. The newly discovered Healing Mushroom was basically asking him to study it. Chopper had a few vials of the mushroom, and he planned to uncover all its secrets. The Healing Mushroom felt like a tribute to Dr Hiriluk, as if saying that he himself had also done it - found the cure for all diseases.

Chopper took out his magnifying glass but as he did, Chopper felt something tickle his hooves. "It must be a bug," he said to himself and continued to inspect the mushroom vials. Then it happened again - the tickle licked up his hooves. Chopper, pissed off, looked down and blinked.

"AGHH!" A pool of water had formed in the room, nearly an inch deep. Chopper scrambled to climb up on his chair, dodging the mini ripples that came from the unsteady movement of the ship. He remembered how often this happened on the Going Merry. Chopper himself had never dealt with it. "FRANKY! USOPP! THERE'S A HOLE IN THE SHIP!"

It took a minute, but the two stormed into the room quick enough, with a rusty old toolbox in hand. "There's a hole in the ship?!" Usopp parroted, panicked. "Quick, Franky!"

The pair worked quickly to fill up the hole. Chopper stood to the side, helping them by holding the toolbox. They occasionally called out for a tool, and he speedily handed it to them - hoping that it was the right tool. Finally, after five minutes of carpentry labour, they had managed to block the flow of the water, nailing the hole shut. The three worked to soak up the water, and when they were done, it looked as good as new.

Usopp wiped sweat from his brow, grinning. "I haven't done stuff like this in ages. It's kinda refreshing actually! Good thing that this ruddy, old ship won't have a problem when we go down to Fishman Island," Usopp said proudly.

Chopper's eyes lit up, "Oh yes! I nearly forgot! I love going down to Fishman Island. The bubble is amazing! I cannot wait!" Nothing could hide his childish excitement. "Do you think Rayleigh-san will still be there to help us?"

"Bubble? What?" Franky questioned. In his mind, he'd thought that Fishman Island was just a normal island, with fish-like people living on it. But now, it sounded like more than that. It was just too bad he couldn't remember.

"Oh right, I forgot you forgot," Usopp said. Then he and Chopper burst into a deep and detailed description of the 'Fishman Journey of the Ages', as Usopp called it. They explained it in such an enthusiastic way that it even got Franky excited. Whatever it was, the cyborg was sure it would be an adventure to remember. And that hopefully he would remember the very same journey they did many years ago.

His calloused hands felt around the drawer until his fingers finally grazed the smooth glass vial. With another short gasp of breath, gathering his strength, he managed to reach far enough until he could wrap his fingers around the vial. Sighing, he pulled it out of the drawer.

The vial was small and skinny, with a cork to keep it shut. Inside the vial were burnt ashes, only coming up to five centimetres from the bottom. Even now, as he shook the vial gently, the sound of the ashes sounded like soft laughter. He had never been a sentimental man, but he had never been able to throw it away. It was a simple task that he just couldn't find the will to do.

Maybe it was because the vial reminded him of all the years spent at sea, the moments on the ship where he spent with all his crewmates. Nakama. He hadn't seen most of them in years and he wouldn't be surprised if some of them were dead. It was strange because it felt like this small vial was what had kept him living all these years. Or maybe it was the memories. But in the end, these were just ashes. From paper. Made with the nails of his good friend, Gol D Roger.

Slowly, he reached over again, to put the vial back in the drawer. With one hand, he pushed the drawer shut with a soft click. He brought his hand back and sighed. Closing his eyes, the blackness closed in on him like a warm blanket.

"Shakky! Shakky!" numerous voice stabbed into her consciousness as the woman awoke from her unintentional nap.

Shakky arose from the hammock, letting it swing wildly behind her. She bent down and slipped on her high heels before addressing the group of people rushing to her. Thankfully, they didn't look angry, which seemed to be the common expression when a mob like this approached her. Usually, Rayleigh was the reason.

"It's Rayleigh!" She realised that today was no different.

Shakky walked towards them and tried to calm them down. "What is it?" she asked with that smooth feminine voice of hers, "Did something happen with Boss?" They met her with sweaty bodies and heavy breaths. One plump man collapsed in front of her. Clearly, he had never run this fast in his life.

With one raised of her eyebrow, they spilled. "Rayleigh! Rayleigh-san is nowhere to be seen! He's missing. I can't find him at the workshop! He was supposed to be coating a ship from one of those pirates. The pirates are causing too much damage to our stalls. Is Rayleigh-san done yet?!"

Shakky sighed, "I should and check on him." If Rayleigh wasn't at his workshop, or the specific bay where he coated the ships, then he was at home. Sleeping in. But that couldn't be right. Not when the ship's coating due date was today. She started to make her way past the crowd of distressed men.

Rayleigh would have a good scolding from her today.

"We're here!" Nami trilled, as she skipped. Nami craned her neck so she could get a good look at the skyscraping trees. Bubbly, sticky solution floated from the ground, forming a sphere bubble that danced its way up to the sky. Nami's eyes twinkled and she grinned. She couldn't remember this place, but it was wonderful.

Robin glared at the bubbles gathering around her feet and swallowed the saliva in her mouth. "Ew. Sticky," she commented in disgust. She had sudden deja vu, but brushed the thought away when the crew began to descend from the ship. Nami had dragged her down to the island quicker than a mouse could chase its cheese.

Sanji breathed in the sweet and salty scent that you could only find in the Sabaody Archipelago and grinned. "It's food shopping time!" he announced. Sanji appeared next to Nami and smiled, "Would you perhaps like to join me as I find our food?" Usopp, who stood a metre away from him, cringed at Sanji's sudden voice crack.

Nami grabbed Sanji by the arm and returned his smile, "Of course! Let's go!" The pair speedily disappeared into the crowds, in search for a market and food. Though their meals were the main priority, Nami had mind to buy some clothes for herself.

Zoro finally took his last step from the ladder and found himself standing where a bubble was forming. The sticky liquid created a bubble around him which he poked at in disgust. The bubble popped and the liquid rained down sorrowfully. But Zoro's eyes were focused on the two joyful people, together in arms, as they went shopping. "Ugh," that was all he could say.