Author's Note: So, um, interesting developments down below and not just more of feral Sienna. I can't wait for all of your reactions! I know you all have been waiting very patiently.

Chapter Thirteen: Casino Royale

She heard rustling and knew, without looking, who and what they were doing. A smirk grew on her face as she slowly and quietly slid up to her feet. Making a show of it, she tiptoed with her hands curled below her face. She was behind the two little sneaks trying to take a look of her lovely surprise for the crew that wasn't ready yet.

So, she leaned in between the two and said near their ears, "Boo."

The shrill scream of both of them was loud and woke everyone instantly. Someone lit a candle, and it revealed exactly who she thought was going to ruin her lovely surprise for the crew. They were caught red handed and thankfully had the reasonability to look embarrassed about it.

"What the hell?!" Nami shrieked.

"These two were going to ruin my surprise for all of you," she explained, pointing at Usopp and Luffy with a frown on her face. "It's not done yet, and you're not going to ruin it for everyone. Apologize to your nakama for trying to ruin the surprise for the whole crew."

They kneeled and bowed with their hands on the floor, facing the rest of the crew. "I'm sorry," they said.

Immediately, her features softened, and she flopped to her knees and hugged them both tightly to herself. They were just curious kids, and she couldn't blame them too much.

"I can't stay mad at you two!" she said.

Usopp and Luffy dramatically sobbed too. She was emotionally all over the place thanks to hormones. She couldn't wait for this cycle to end. The rest of the crew groaned in irritation, telling them to be quiet.

When they were all ready for the day, Toh-Toh came by. He had a small smile and held up a small jug of water. He struck some water? The joy on his elderly, worn face was so endearing. She had to keep from tearing up as Luffy took the water from his hand.

"I struck water. Hopefully, it's enough to get to Rainbase," he said.

"Thank you," Vivi said, sounding like Silas would if she chose to speak.

When they left, Ace walked beside her. She looked over to him at the side briefly before looking forward at the other Straw Hats' backs.

"Hey," he said.

"Hi," she said back, feeling like a school kid once more.

"Can I ask you a favor?" he asked.

"Sure," she said.

"I think there's some information on Blackbeard's whereabouts at Alubarna. When we get to Rainbase to get some water and supplies, do you want to head over and help me out?"

She considered it for a moment. He was asking her to help him with an espionage mission. Familiarity washed through her. She hadn't done something like that in years. She wondered if she still had the skills for it. Wait, did she want to help him? She didn't mind his presence one bit. And, Blackbeard sounded like an absolute turd, so she didn't mind helping him find information to bring him to justice. Should she?

"I already asked Luffy if he wanted to help. He said he was busy here, kicking Crocodile's ass or something. I'll wait a little if you got stuff to do, but sooner the better, and I really could use the help," he said, giving her a sunny smile.

She felt as if she had regained her composure for the most part, but that smile was too brilliant. His energy and general demeanor was pleasant and warm much like his brother which is why she felt safe on the crew. For the most part, they were a pleasant environment. After all, her antics weren't meant with violence or hostility, well, nothing life or safety threatening that is. She doubted Sanji or Zoro would actually hurt her.

Perhaps, she was too harsh earlier. Maybe, he was just charming as a default. Luffy was charming in his own less mature way as a default. Maybe, Ace wasn't actively trying to charm her. It was just how he was. A lot of people accused her of being purposefully alluring. She wasn't, so why couldn't she give him the benefit of the doubt.

So, why the hell not go on an espionage mission with hot man Ace? He did tell her to do what she wanted.

"If I have time, why the hell not?" she said, returning that grin.

"Gre—" he didn't even finish his sentence as he passed out, face down in the hot sand.

Before she could say a word or react properly, another sand urchin emerged suddenly from the ground below. Everyone either got out of the way or were out of the way to begin with except for one person.

"WAHHH!" Usopp wailed.

She leapt forward and grabbed him to get them both out of the way. Then, the sand urchin sunk back into the sand below. Good.

She looked down, and Usopp was flushed deeply and seemed mortified at the same time. She supposed it was rather embarrassing to want to be a brave man and be saved by a friend like a damsel in distress. Not to mention, she was holding him much like a bride.

"Twice now on this trip, I've saved you," she said with a smile down at him, then she teased. "You make a decent damsel. Are you sure you don't want to change your mind?"

"No," he spluttered, jumping out of her arms as she continued to smile and laugh good naturedly. "I want to be the brave man here!"

Sanji and Zoro chuckled to themselves, probably picking on Usopp for being saved. And for some unknown reason, she felt a pull within her to protect. He was trying to be a brave man, and she was helping all along the way in her own strange way and saving his life. These two weren't, and they left themselves open to a little teasing. Nobody's safe here. Everyone shall be pranked and clowned on by her if the opportunity arises.

"What are you two laughing at?" she teased, smirking. "Do either one of you two want to be my damsel in distress? Usopp said no, so I have an opening."

They sobered up, and she felt her smirk widen as she and Usopp started to laugh. Was he starting to become her buddy? They had that silly kid energy at heart. She wasn't an active liar like him though. She was lying by omission to the crew about her birth sex and her marine husband who was hunting them down though. Also, he was afraid of most things and didn't give himself enough credit, hating himself when he's a pretty decent guy. That wasn't one of her flaws. She had concrete reasons to think she was being a terrible person at the moment, and she was only afraid of one thing. However, what they for sure had in common was the willingness to prank and lovingly bother others. He also seemed to like Bon Clay and enjoy that brand of silliness and creativity to which she adored. Usopp and Silas had more in common than she initially gave him credit for. He's going to love her gift to him when she's finished with it.

"No, I save lovely lady damsels!" Sanji said.

"What about a lady saving you?" she asked curiously.

Sanji faltered.

She laughed deeply to herself. He probably didn't even give it a thought. And, hell, he may even like it.

"Yeah," Usopp said, pumping his fist in the air and standing behind her. "Get him, Silas!" He really was becoming her buddy, and she didn't mind one bit. She didn't know why she felt like standing up for him, but she couldn't help feeling for someone who was desperately trying to change what they hate about themselves. And, she felt the need to stand up for him when these knuckleheads wanted to regress him by laughing at him mean spiritedly.

"Usopp, don't encourage him," Zoro said.

Ooh, he's next.

"Says the one who hasn't been saved by a handsome man yet," she teased playfully, watching his face redden in what she assumed was embarrassment or anger. "I still believe in you, by the way, but if you don't be nice, maybe I won't save you when you need it."

"Or maybe, I'll save you," he said, not thinking in his anger. Sanji laughed, and Zoro, of course, threatened him. "I'm going to cut you, stupid love cook!"

She laughed softly as they fought without any real strikes.

"Come on, Usopp," she said, giving him a smile as she gestured with her head towards the shrinking Straw Hats in the desert.

"O-oh, yes!" he said, scrambling to his feet and following her. "Say, um, can I see that cool thing you made for us. Please!"

"No, it's not finished yet," she said.

He pouted, but he accepted it.

So, this was what they meant when someone said 'tourist trap'. It was pretty and gaudy on the outside where gambling was the main attraction and maybe that lake where a giant pyramid with a crocodile on top of it sat in the middle. Rainbase, huh? She'd pass if she was looking at a brochure for vacation ideas, but they had water here. She was so thirsty she didn't care if this place would fleece people of all their money.

"I guess Silas is getting water," Nami said, sounding exasperated by the trip.

"I'm going with him!" Chopper said quickly.

Silas didn't care who came or not. She knew this place was crawling with Baroque Works agents and the buddy system would probably be best, but she was so parched.

The intense thirst brought up uncomfortable memories of being owned by another human being she wished to wash away with a drink of water.

As she approached a store, a cramp hit. Maybe, she could discreetly buy tampons and some pain meds. She sucked in a breath and powered through, having lost Chopper. She didn't see the raccoon boy anywhere. Perhaps, she was safe. Good, she picked out a couple of products for this painful cycle and some water.

"Silas," Chopper whispered, startling her a little, "I know this isn't my business, but, um, as your doctor, I want to help. I wouldn't bring it up otherwise, but I can smell that you're, um, menstruating. I also see the products too."

She stiffened before looking down at Chopper. He was so innocent and didn't look even slightly judgmental in his normal, small form. Of course, he wouldn't be. He was born a raccoon and had to learn how to be a human through two doctors. He probably didn't have many prejudices or bigotry instilled in him. In fact, his naïveté and cuteness were what made him so endearing. Perhaps, she can convince him to keep it a secret. You know, doctor and patient confidentiality. He couldn't break that. He took an oath.

"That obvious, huh? And, here I thought I was passing so well," she said sarcastically, laughing to herself. Chopper frowned, so she asked. "Is there any reason you're bringing this up except to let me know that you know?"

"I have better medicine for your symptoms than that," he said. "And I kind of want to know why."

Should she tell him? She didn't think Chopper was a malicious person, in fact, he was the exact opposite. He was a little sweetheart, and he was so new to the human experience. Luffy was similar in a way, but he was brave and righteous where Chopper wasn't. If she'd trust anyone with this information, it would be the crew's doctor. He would know eventually, she supposed. Something would come up.

She paid for the water and exited.

"I don't know," she said truthfully. "I don't think I identify as a man. It doesn't feel like all of me. I like being a woman a lot too, so I don't know what I am."

"I… I don't get it," Chopper said honestly.

"Neither do I," she said, wishing to change the heavy subject. "But, it's fun and what I like."

She gave him plenty of water to which he gulped down. The poor thing was adapted to winter climate not scorching heat. They were sitting on the steps in the back alley behind the store where no one was around. There was some bustling and chatter in the distance, but for the most part it was quiet.

Chopper handed her a pill she didn't recognize and hesitated. She had some bad experiences with medication before. Did she need to bring up the antidepressants that actually just made her more depressed? But she trusted him and hesitantly swallowed the pill, waiting for it to alleviate her symptoms.

"Do… do you mind if I see what you look like normally?" Chopper asked.

"That's… probably a good idea," she said, peeking up. "Baroque Works won't recognize me, and I can move through Rainbase without detection! Oh, you're brilliant, Chopper!" She leaned down to kiss the top of the raccoon's head with a resounding mwah.

"Oh stop it, you asshole," he said bashfully, blushing and holding his cheeks.

"Turn around while I change," she said with a smile.

He did as she asked, so she opened her backpack. She found a white dress in that shop she couldn't resist. It was definitely inspired by one of the towns in Alabasta: ankle length, pencil skirt, sleeveless and neckless, and stripes of gold for the torso and belt. She kept her normal gold jewelry on and added a necklace across her collarbones. Then, of course, she styled her hair in the traditional bob with bangs with practiced ease that she'd seen many of the girls in Alabasta wear. The white tips of her hair still showed. She normally covered that up as Silas since it was a dead giveaway. Putting on makeup though was oddly refreshing and familiar. She didn't expect to miss this part of presenting as a woman during the short but exciting time spent with the Straw Hats. It was bizarre.

Why couldn't she have both? Looking into the pocket mirror at her finished face was odd and felt both right and a little wrong. She thought it was a pretty look, and she enjoyed the familiarity it brought her. She didn't know how to describe the feeling.

"You can look, Chopper," she said in her normal voice.

The raccoon boy turned around, and he immediately had a reaction. "Where did Silas go?" he said, confused and baffled.

"I am Silas," she said. "Well, I go by Sienna like normally. We're one in the same."

"No," Chopper protested, clearly confused. "You have a high voice, hips, and white tips for hair! You're not Silas!"

This poor raccoon-child. He could be so easily fooled. Did she try to explain it or just leave it be? It was honestly very funny to see the confusion and surprise on his face. So why not?

"Ok, I have weapons made by Silas. Do you mind giving them to the crew?" she asked.

"How do you know Silas?"

"We're really close," she said, unable to keep from laughing.

She gave them to Chopper, and he seemed so amazed. He was too naïve, and that's why he must be protected at all costs.

"Can you tell Silas something?" he asked.

"Sure."

"Tell him that I'll keep his secret," he said. "Doctor-patient confidentiality."

She could feel a smile grow on her face. He was too sweet, and she couldn't help but hug him despite him crying that he didn't like it.

"I'll see you later, Chopper," she said.

Out of the alleyway, she walked around, and she looked around casually. She knew Baroque Works were lingering, but to them she would just be another eccentric tourist. They wouldn't recognize her as a Straw Hat since she was Sienna again. It was odd though. She had gotten used to being seen as a man, and it had been a little while since she'd been a single woman. No one would dare flirt with her on LogueTown while married to Smoker. The brief stares in public from men were familiar but unwanted. Were they Baroque Works? Or just normal men? She didn't know. She walked faster.

Suddenly, someone intercepted her. She was a beaded hippie, and Sienna wondered if it was for flair in this tourist trap. "Would you like a tarot reading?" she asked.

"Sure."

Tarot…. She hadn't thought of Tarot in years. Cards held a fondness for her. Oh wait, was it the other way around?

She watched as the woman shuffled the cards and laid her Tarot spread. Six cards were placed. The first card was in the center, the second was placed below it, and the others surrounded the first card. She knew it was the focusing inward spread. The cards drawn had her frozen and staring though: the lovers reversed, nine of swords reversed, the fool reversed, ace of cups upright, knight of cups upright, and the three of swords upright. She didn't need an interpretation. She understood.

She left. The woman was calling for her to come back. She wanted to keep that spread out of her mind. She already knew she had troubles in her relationships. But two reversed cards wouldn't leave her mind: the lovers and the fool….

She looked around at the marketplace, looking at the hanging items there. The bags and belts were pretty and had her attention. The canopies thankfully shaded the hot unrelenting sun. It was pretty, and she was getting distracted. Who was she supposed to meet up with again? She was having trouble recalling.

"Out of the way, please!" she recognized that voice.

She turned around and saw Chopper full speed ahead followed by several marines. She looked over and saw Sanji in some shades, beating up several casino workers in front of the alligator casino surrounded by a small lake.

"Captain Smoker is stuck with the Straw Hats in that casino! We have to hurry!" she heard Tashigi's voice say from behind. "Wait, I recognize that woman's hair. Is that—"

Without a single thought or hesitation, she sprinted towards the casino at record speed and focus. She crossed the moat, and smashed her heel in the wood, destroying it for anyone else coming in. Believe it or not, she didn't want the marines to interfere with her new found friends. She didn't know why or how it crept up, but she cared about the Straw Hats. The marines would arrest them, and blame them for her 'kidnapping'.

She entered the casino. All of them were out cold with shoe impressions in their faces and stomachs. That was Sanji for sure. She looked around quickly amongst the slot machines and the gaudy decor. A door, looking to go to the back offices, was open and looked promising. She ran through it. When she reached the end of the hallway to the long, broken stairs where there looked to be a dining room surrounded by tanks filled with giant alligators. The tanks were clearly broken on purpose as water and gators began to fill the room. Soon the place will be flooded. It explained why Vivi was sobbing next to her, but it didn't explain—

Oh.

She finally saw the cage in the expansive room containing the Straw Hats sans Chopper and Sanji, and of course—

"Smoker!" she shouted incredulously, panickedly.

There was a strange cry that pulled her attention away. She looked over and saw Sanji with hearts in his eyes and swaying in what she assumed was joy. Simp mode was activated. Was it for Vivi who was standing right beside her?

"Mellorine~ A beautiful new lady!" he said.

Oh? It was for her.

He was simping so hard that he didn't realize another banana gator had entered from the broken tanks surrounding the massive dining room behind him. The gator opened its mouth and looked as if it was going to eat him. It was too late to warn him, and he probably wouldn't listen anyway.

She hopped down quickly, intercepting, picking him up like a bride, and running out of the way. The gator lunged and crashed into the opposite wall. Oh shit, more water was flooding in!

"You almost died, dummy," she said incredulously, not really angry, just surprised he was simping that hard for her to leave him that vulnerable.

She finally looked down at him, and he had a deep blush along his cheeks and a completely gobsmacked look across his face. Oh no, that look was universal. She let him go like a hot potato and heard him splash in the water.

"Get us out please!" she heard Nami and Usopp whine.

"She can't get us out, and that love cook is useless now," Zoro said irritably.

"Challenge accepted," she said, feeling a wild streak ignite in her, and the panic was the fuel.

She heard someone groan and recognized the wax man. She lifted him up by the roots of his hair to which he screamed in terror. He looked rough, and she wondered if he had to survive these gators too.

"Make a key to open that cage," she said, the panic making her voice sound raspy. It must have been scary because he was trembling and wouldn't look her in the eyes. She wasn't messing around. People she cared about were in danger, goddammit. He was taking too long to respond. "Fine, I'll do it myself." With that, she threw him across the room thoughtlessly.

She grabbed her custom made pump action shotgun from behind her back and hit the lock with the butt of it like she normally would. It didn't budge. The flames of panic were burning hotter. Jabbing it repeatedly with the butt of her gun wasn't enough as the crew kept yelling at her that it wouldn't work. She stood back and started whacking it like someone would chop a tree or hit a baseball. Each strike was more and more aggressive and powerful. She was laser focused on breaking the lock to get to Smoker and her friends to save them, feeling herself come undone. Tunnel vision was on that lock, nothing else mattered, and breaking it was the only option. Finally, after one large blow the lock gave way.

She let out a breath. "Good," she said cheerily with a smile, feeling relief and relaxation set in.

The tunnel vision was gone, and she could hear and see everything again. Sanji was still singing "mellorine, mellorine~" and backstroking out of the corner of her eye while the others were simply shocked and some were shaking with it, i.e. Nami and Usopp.

"I… I couldn't break that, but a housewife did?" she heard Zoro say incredulously.

She ran past them and to her husband who was frozen and surprised as well. She couldn't help it as she threw her arms around his neck and hugged tightly, burrowing herself in that familiar hold. It hit her like a freight train how much she missed and worried for him. It nearly gave her a heart attack when she saw it wasn't just the Straw Hats but Smoker trapped in a sea stone cage as well. And, it felt good to have his arms wrap around her like he missed her just as much as she did.

"Sienna," he said, near her ear, and holding her tighter to him.

"Sienna is the name of my hero~" she heard Sanji continue to simp. "Mellorine~ Mellorine~"

"The water is filling up faster!"

He picked her up off the floor as he stood. She knew she had to get them out of here. It was flooding fast and Smoker couldn't swim. She let go as the water submerged them. She held onto the back of his jacket, swimming quickly as he grew limp. She saw Sanji just floating, unconscious with hearts in his eyes, looking as if he was going to drown. She grabbed him as well, and she swam out of the dining room. She was determined to get out of this stupid lake. When she surfaced, she threw them both up there. She breathed hard, coughing hoarsely to try and expunge the water. They were safe again.

The three of them were alone. She hoped the other Straw Hats got out okay, but her present concern was Smoker. He was coughing and spluttering as she sat next to him. Gods, what would she say to him?