A/N: Well, as we pull into the last chapter of the Arlong Park arc (which, looking back, had very little of it happen in Arlong Park), can I just say it's so amazing and I'm so thankful for the healthy response to my work thus far. Granted, I find myself doing many things right now, which hampers my writing time, but I am taking steps to make more time, so I thank you for your patience. Now, who wants to see some bounties?
Chapter 27: Scourge of East Blue
"ALERT! ALERT! GIANT FISHMEN ARE COMING! THIS IS NOT A DRILL! I AM NOT LYING! EVERYBODY UP NOW!"
Hook blinked awake at Ussop's callout, mind still groggy. 'Giant fishmen? No, we got them all, right-?' Hook wondered as he gazed out to sea... and indeed, what looked like a carp or mackerel head but about 100x larger was burning water for the docks! "Wait, haven't I seen that..." The query was short-lived, as the creature screamed past – literally – and slammed into the shore. A blonde missile shot out of the fish's mouth, slammed into Ussop's tower, and collapsed it instantly!
The noise woke everyone up ("What the-!" "Oi, mosshead! What are you doing to-!" "Holy shit!" "Crap, is Arlong back!?" "What's going on!?" "Who peed in my Zen Garden!?"). Hook arrived just in time to see Ussop nursing his head, while Silk pulled some blonde-haired skinny dude out of the pile of tables and crates. "Hey! Who are you!? Attacking us like that after a party? I oughta-!"
"Ah! Silk, wait!" Sanji spoke up. "I know that guy!" Said man was dressed in a beige shirt, plaid pants, and sandals. His brown eyes looked unfocused, probably because of the small bump on his forehead.
"Huff... huff... damn. I hurt all over. I think I cracked my skull or sumthin'" the half-dazed men groaned. He looked around confused, still held up by Silk, before zeroing in on Hook. "O-oh! There you are! Hook! It's me, remember!? I was with Kaito, the loud guy who kept yelling about stars! Could you please tell her to let me go!?"
Hook blinked at the call out for a moment before he remembered the man, his face lighting up at the recall. "Oh! It's one of you guys! Claka! I thought I'd have to go back and get you! Do want to see the doc? Looks like that was a nasty spill."
As Silk let him go, he chucked a bit. "What, that? I've had worse spills when I-!" He shook his head and went right back to frantic. "Wait, no! We don't got time for that! I came to let you know about the change of plans! I mean, if you doubled back, it could be bad! And that fish head thing only carries two people, so one of us had to get you – but that ain't important!"
The young man looked absolutely shaken, like God himself was hunting him down. Genzo came to put a hand on the kid's shoulder. "Hey, are you alright? Maybe just calm down-!"
"Yeah, I wish I could! But cap'n - Hook – we need to go!" the shaking blonde said. "We need to leave East Blue now, or we're all effed!"
"Or we're all what?" Ussop asked as a shadow came over him. He looked over his shoulder... to see a familiarly large figure. "B... B... B-B-B-Butchie!" Sure enough, towering over Ussop was the larger half of the Nyaban Brothers!
The expressions on everyone's faces ranged from one side, Silk and Nami's shocked faces, to Hook's simple "Yo, Butchie. I thought you were dead," to the majority, with Sanji and Zoro leading the "Who?" crowd. Oh, and Ussop's response which was to jump up and launch a Lead Star at the big guy's face... that the panicky blonde jumped between to intercept.
"Wait- ARGH! CHRIST!" The man took the blow on the cheek, literally, spitting out blood. "Geez, you guys don't pull punches!"
"Like hell I would! This guy tried to help destroy my home!" Ussop glared, clearly enraged enough to now override his fear. "If he's here for a fight... Zoro, get him!" As if by magic, Ussop appeared behind the swordsman who just rolled his eyes. "I have seniority on the crew, so as our newest member-!"
"Are you sure this guy's a threat?" Zoro pointed out. As Ussop finally noticed, Butchie hadn't moved from his spot... in fact, he was looking around like he was searching for someone else named Butchie.
"Hmmm... Hm?" He raised an unclawed hand to point to himself.
"OF COURSE WE MEAN YOU!" Ussop and Nami pointed out, as Ussop shared his hiding space with her.
"You almost ripped me to pieces! How could you forget that!" Nami accused.
"He can't remember you! He can't remember anything!" the snappy blonde stated, as he gestured to the obvious... a fist-sized musket ball in the pirate's forehead. "After you guys left, we fished this guy out of the drink. The next day, a doctor came by and said if this thing gets removed, he'll die! The best he can do is simple orders, like bring this dish to that table, or peddle to that island nonstop." The man cracked his back at that, grimacing. "Really wished he'd learn to stop at the table or before the island..."
"Well, more importantly," Sanji spoke up, having lit a cigarette, "you said there was trouble. Is everyone at the Baratie alright?"
"Huh? No no! They're good. The old guys from Krieg's are fittin' in fine. When I said we need to leave," he reached into his back pocket, and pulled out a newspaper, "I mostly meant everyone in the World Economic Times."
As one, Hook and company looked at the only world-spanning vehicle of news... and to say the reaction was mild would be an understatement.
Somewhere deep in the Grand Line sat Marine HQ. It was here where the strongest of the Navy gathered to defend the world in the name of Justice, to arrest all pirates that threaten the way of peace. Today, however, was less about fighting pirates and more about an emergency meeting. Sitting at the head of the assembly was Commander Brandnew, his brow furrowed at having to do this so suddenly. "Right, so, first, I'd like to thank so many of you for coming to this sudden meeting."
"Don't know why," one Vice Admiral grumbled. "It's for East Blue. That sea's the calmest of the Blues. We should be talking about that relic of a Warlord-"
"While I might agree with you, sir, these orders are from higher up," Brandnew passed the dossiers to some grunts, who passed them around the room, before motioning to the board. "Since very few of you have your eyes on the East Blue, I'd better refresh you of its state. The average bounty in the East is 3,000,000, but a few pirates do fly in the face of that fact." With that, the Commander motioned to the board, where the bounty posters of the meeting's subject were hanging. "Buggy the Clown, 15,000,000 beris. 'Pirate Admiral' Don Krieg, 17,000,000 beris. 'Saw Nose' Arlong, 20,000,000 beris. These three were that sea's most wanted, with the highest bounties... until a week ago." Brandnew hung a new poster on the wall: "Riptide" Hoshigaki Kisame, with a bounty of 50,000,000.
"Riptide, in East Blue!?" That sent a ripple through the room; while Riptide himself proved to be no threat, as Warlord of the Sea Jinbe had sent him packing with no effort, his quickly growing power united with Arlong's ambitions was a worrying thought.
"The only reason we know this is because a Branch Captain reported it... as well as Kisame's defeat." The clamor of how to handle the fallout of East Blue's clear path to destruction fell to absolute silence at that, allowing Brandnew to continue. "Not just his defeat, but the Arlong pirate crew have all been defeated and captured as well. Usually, we'd just slap a bounty on whoever was the main instigator of this event until an investigation was performed in the next month.
"However, due to some channel I had no idea existed, the cursory report was passed up the chain... to the Fleet Admiral, and eventually the Five Elder Stars themselves." The silence from before paled in comparison to the new one. It was like the wind itself had paused in shock to gape. Short of a world-class calamity, the Elder Stars never bothered with whatever flavor of the week pirate was causing issues day-to-day! "Something about the report must have caught the higher-ups' attention because they sent out a clear message- investigate further immediately." Pausing, Brandnew wiped his brow. "I thought they were being paranoid but after seeing the report, I'm not so sure...
"In the group being held responsible, there are three figures that stand out the most. A rogue bounty hunter who broke out of a Marine Base and, with no clear suspect in who robbed the base's coffers, is the sole guilty party- Roronoa Zoro. It's clear he was working with someone to escape, but she's of little concern in light of the other two. The two most troublesome of this group have Devil Fruits, both top tier in terms of power and utility. The first one, the Gol-Gol Fruit. Able to manipulate gold at will. Its current user is some small-town girl wielding a gilded ax- Silk, orphaned. This is the person that defeated Arlong if reports are correct." The murmuring that started when such a rare and rumored Paramecia doubled when it hit that someone had mastered it enough to defeat a Fishman. Arlong, while not powerful, was known to take a lot of damage before ever being stopped. Intelligence from the Cipher Pols put him at a level of two or three decent Captains on a bad day and an average Rear-Admiral on a good one!
"The real problem though, and the reason for the Fleet Admiral's interest, is with the kid who was able to beat Kisame," Brandnew went on, knowing they were going to keep gasping like schoolgirls with gossip until he reached the end. "Intel makes it clear that the difference in the battle came down not to strength, but arsenal. A variety of weapons that very few people could have gathered, and all the ones that could gather them are deep in the Grand Line. While I've been barred from asking what the hell it is, the Fleet Admiral was very certain it was a Devil Fruit. One he's made his top priority of recovering... or burying." Brandnew gave every Marine in the room a meaningful look from behind his sunglasses. While not an order, it was very clear the Fleet Admiral wanted this kid gone.
"It is for these reasons – the events connecting them, and the upper echelon's comments," Brandnew began to wrap up, as he slammed three new bounties onto the table, "that these starting bounties are so high. Again, East Blue's limit is 3,000,000 beris on average, with most pirates starting as high as a single 1,000,000. However, due to the circumstances, it's clear we have to be a lot heavier on this group. They have to be found and squashed, captured, or killed by any means necessary!"
"That's why everyone fled for Loguetown!" the frantic man motioned to the newest bounties. "As of right now... you three are the most wanted in East Blue!" Sure enough, three posters were the main attraction of the crowd.
The first read: For assaulting a Marine Base and seizing its assets, we award 'Pirate Hunter' Roronoa Zoro a bounty of 10,000,000 beris. For the picture, Zoro was tied to a post, and despite being shackled, his glare looked all too menacing.
"What a load of bull!" the real Zoro scowled. "That damn witch robbed them! She used almost all of it at the shitty restaurant-"
"Oi, you ugly ass salad!" Sanji snarled. "Don't go looking down on the Baratie!"
"...but didn't you call it shitty once?" Ussop pointed out.
"It's a term of endearment, crappy long nose."
The next poster read: For participating in a raid of Conomi Islands, where several citizens were injured, we award 'Daybreaker' Silk a bounty of 30,000,000 beris. On the poster was Silk in her sarashi, when she was about to fight Mihawk.
"What the hell!? I didn't hurt anyone except the sharped-nose asshat!" Silk snarled, teeth in full razor form, as Nami and Ussop tried to hold her back. "I'm gonna rip that lying paper up to confetti!"
"Quit your bellyaching, woman!" Zoro snapped. "At least you're standing on your feet! I'm tied to a cross!"
"Shaddup!" Silk snapped back. "What the hell even is a daybreaker!? I swear... I swear-!"
"A-a-a-a-ah, Silk! Calm down!" Ussop tried. "I-it's not l-like t-they said y-you did t-those things! They're just s-saying it happened near you! S-so, it's implied-but-not-really! Eh heh heh..."
"At least it's a good angle," Hook pointed out, looking on the bright side.
"Ah, and it's such a lovely picture of you, Silk~!" Sanji crooned, completely unnerved by Silk's current mentality.
"Shaddup! Nothing you say could calm me down-"
Hook took the poster from the chef and gave it a second look. "No, he's got a point. It is a pretty cute picture of you, Silk," he said candidly.
The righteous fury on the girl's face vanished, becoming very plain and unreadable. Pulling away from Ussop and Nami, she turned away from everyone. "Well, I guess it's nice that the Pride of Cisco is getting its name recognized again..."
'What the hell's with that 180?' was most everyone's thought.
"A-anyway," the blonde messenger picked up the last bounty to hand it to his captain, "the most worrying one is this! I've never seen a pirate with a beginning bounty this high, and I'm pretty sure this means you just became a top priority to catch!"
The final poster, where a familiar blonde-haired, green-eyed man with the tanned complexion of a sailor, read: For leading raids across East Blue, attacking several towns and over a hundred people, we award 'Iron Fist' James Hook a bounty of-! Just reading the price caused a ripple effect through the crowd.
Genzo had a small heart attack.
Nojiko's legs gave out.
Johnny and Yosaku pinched themselves. Twice.
Most of the crowd took a step back, and a few did a double-take. As for the Hook Pirates...
Zoro whistled. "If I could still turn you in, Hook, I could buy my new swords and spares!"
Sanji just inhaled deeply... deep enough for his new cigarette to be ashes in seconds.
Trembling, Nami grabbed Silk's arm to steady herself. "This... can't be real..."
Ussop seemed catatonic. "...we're so dead," he murmured.
Silk openly gaped. "Whoa! They can go that high!?"
As for Hook… he hummed for a minute or two before speaking. "Hm. I was hoping it'd be higher."
"You wanted higher!?" At least half of the island screamed, which was fair. After all, for a starting bounty, 60,000,000 beris was a pretty good starting point!
Hook sighed, ignoring the protest. "Well, guess that means we'll have to collect on Arlong's bounty sooner than later."
Zoro tsked. "Yeah, it's not that simple, Hook. I've seen it happen a few times. Pirates try to turn in bounties, but when you have one, you're a criminal, so Marines have no reason to follow through with it."
Ussop frowned in thought, as he scratched his chin. "This timing feels off… wasn't that Marine Captain supposed to hand over the reward for Arlong by now?"
Nami palmed her forehead in revelation. "Nezumi…" she growled. "That rat bastard must have something to do with this! He got bounties on us just so he didn't have to pay the reward!"
"That so?" A fun thought came Hook's mind to 'repay' the Marine Captain. "Maybe I should go over and give my thanks? After busting up his base and hanging him from the flagpole in drag!"
Nami grabbed the excited man's arm, slowing him from doing just that. Likewise, Ussop and Zoro stopped Silk from following immediately, as she grumbled about unscrupulous Marines. "Absolutely not! Even if I wanted to go there and give him a piece of my mind, he's stationed here, Hook! He could make things a lot worse for everyone here if we antagonize him!"
"An angry Marine Captain's the least of your worries!" Ryuji spoke up again. "Back at the Baratie, some Marines came around to collect Pearl, and we when got his bounty, we learned-"
"You did!? Where is it!? How much!?" Nami let go of your arm and practically Quicksilvered over to Ryuji, grabbing him to look him dead in the eye.
"W-well, he wasn't famous enough, so the Marines only gave us 100,000 for him, but that's not-"
Nami sighed, let go of Ryuji's shirt, and went to cry comically and theatrically in Nojiko's arms. "We-we were gonna have so much~! And now…"
As Nojiko consoled her, and Genzo grumbled about Nami's worrisome habit, Ryuji continued. "Ignoring that 100,000 beris are more than I've seen in my entire life, me and the boys learned how bounty rewards are delivered. It… turns out, in the event a pirate was trying to cash in on a bounty or mug the ship for a payday, they make sure the beri on board is… protected. Very well protected."
Johnny's new sunglasses gleamed as he clenched his teeth. "Ah. So that's true. I always wondered..."
"So, I get a bounty, and they can just skip giving me the reward? That's bullshit!" Hook continued to grouse, completely missing the mysterious or curious aura around the new topic of discussion. "I outta sue!"
Genzo blinked at Hook's line of thinking. "Young man, the Marines would sooner arrest you than let you sue them…"
"Well, maybe they'll pay to know what that Ratbitch did, getting bribed by Arlong! I don't care! This is highway robbery!"
"Hook, it's okay," Nami pointed out. "We've got well over 15,000,000 beris, we'll be fine, alright?"
"Well…" Hook's growling lowered to furious mumbling, still clearly upset but sated, as Nojiko seems to snicker at something.
"Never thought I'd see the day Nami would have to calm someone else down about having too much money…"
"Oh, cram it!" Nami snarled at her big sister, which only made her laugh more.
"Ah, how wonderful~" Sanji crooned, his eyes turning into hearts. "Two beautiful women being so open with their emotions-"
"This isn't funny!" Ryuji snapped. "The guys nearly pissed themselves when they saw that Vice Admiral!"
For a good chunk of the crowd, Yosaku and Ussop included, the color from their face drained to leave pallor complexions. "A-a-a-a-a-a V-v-v-v-vice…? Vice…?" Ussop stammered.
"I was surprised, too," Ryuji said, running his hands through his blonde hair. "Funny enough, he said he was just in the neighborhood to pick up a prisoner, but since he escaped, Pearl would have to serve in his place. I don't know if that was true or not, but these papers came out today! If he decides to come here to check on the island, I don't want to think what could happen to you guys…"
"Hm? A Vice Admiral?" Zoro said. "Sounds like a fun challenge-"
"Oi, Big Bro! It's really not!" Johnny and Yosaku shouted in unison.
"Vice Admirals are the third strongest rank in the Marines!" Johnny continued. "You guys are strong and all, but…"
"Right, yeah got it," Hook offhandedly commented. He clearly didn't like being told he was too weak to fight anything, but after being poisoned, pummeled, and pile-driven into the ocean, he was in no condition to actually put up a fight, so whoever this Vice-Admiral was could live… for now. "Well, this just means we have to move quickly. Ussop, can I trust you to make a list for what we need at Loguetown?"
"E-eh? O-of course! Captain Ussop is on it!" The sniper even saluted, as Silk grabbed him by the back of his overalls, dragging him away.
"'And also make up some disguises, ones that look cool!' is what you were going to say next, right?" Silk added. Hook nodded, smirking while Zoro, Johnny, and Yosaku blinked at the sudden show of ESP. "Guess I'd better help. After all, we did pretty good with disguises the last time too!"
As she dragged away a sputtering Ussop ("H-hey, I can walk! And you're wearing out my boots dragging me like this!" "Actually, we need to talk about something… Sunshine Star!?" "Eh he he~ You're still bugged about that?"), Nami spoke up next. "In that case... Sanji~, you and that musclehead go load the Merry up with any supplies you can get~!"
"Of course, my lovely orange~!" Sanji almost seemed to turn into a tornado of affection before he turned to Zoro, his face bereft of that same warmth. "Alright, Seaweed Brain. Let's move."
"Seaweed!?" Zoro barked after him. "At least I don't have targets on my face, Dartboard Brow!"
"What did you say, pickled ass!?/Shove it up your-!"
"Knock it off! Get it done!" Nami's screech cut off both combatants before blows were exchanged. Once they went off, thoroughly cowed, she massaged her temples. "Dear God, this is my life now, isn't it?"
"Yep! Welcome to the family! Yell all you like!" Hook cheesed as shrugged in a 'what-can-you-do' manner. "Beats hangin' with Fishbreath though, right?"
Nami sighed as she shook her head, but a small smile never left her face – a fact Genzo, Nojiko, and most of the village noted gratefully.
"Uh? Captain? Sir?" Ryuji butted in, as Butchie watched a fly lazily. "I do have something to talk to you about the meet-up in Loguetown…"
As the Merry was being loaded up, Hook found a certain pair of swordsmen as they tried to sneak away again. While he did try to recruit them again, Johnny and Yosaku finally summoned up the courage to outright refuse. Last night's retreat, as it turned out, was about them getting on the same page; the fact was, while Hook gave them a lot to think about in terms of their abilities, they weren't prepared to be pirates! They were fine as bounty hunters, and plus, with the defeat of most of the strongest pirates in the East, business was about to be booming! All the minnows would be swimming freely, thinking the worst is no longer gonna cross their paths.
"As long as she doesn't show up to claim 'em!" Johnny griped.
"Yeah… we're pretty close to her hunting grounds, so here's hoping we can at least make something of a profit," Yosaku added.
"Hm? 'Her hunting grounds?' Whose?" Hook wondered.
The pair traded a look before answering. "Well… we've never met her personally, so we have no clue who she is…" Yosaku began.
"All we know for certain is she's garnered a reputation! Her titles include 'the Meanest Hunter in the East,' 'The Iron Woman' and 'The Queen…'" Johnny finished. "I shouldn't say it's possible, but if anyone could match you in a fight, Captain…"
Hook seemed to think on that for a second, before smiling in a mixture of excitement and mercilessness. "Sounds like a blast!"
Johnny sputtered at that, while Yosaku just sighed and facepalmed. "It's the Warlord thing all over again… Hook, a warning isn't a challenge!" Hook just laughed at that, before turning to make his way up the Merry's rope ladder-
"Wait, you!" Genzo called out as he stomped up to the young man. "I need to speak to you," he said quietly enough so only Hook heard him. "Nami… has put her safety in your hands. She trusts you, which as I'm sure you know, is very difficult for her. Genzo's gaze sharpened quickly, so quick it could almost be confused for Decree. "Should you ever break that trust, and should she ever cry because of you… I don't care where in the Grand Line you are! I will hunt you down and I will kick the crap out of you! Got it!?"
Hook grinned mischievously. "Don't worry, Pops. I'll keep your daughter safe!" Unfortunately, while Genzo had tried to keep things quiet between the two of them, Hook spoke at his usual volume, maybe even a tad louder. Many villagers, Nako included, laughed heartily at the shade of red Genzo turned. "Besides," Hook added before the red-faced man could retort, "if I hurt any of my crew, I'd kick my own ass first!" Calming down, Genzo regarded the pirate with a careful eye for a moment, before seemingly nodding in approval.
"Good," was all he said before stepping back.
"Alright, everything's onboard! Ready to set sail!" Silk said the minute Hook got on deck.
"Great!" said a still excitable but less nervous Ryuji. "The old doctor guy said Butchie's in good hands here, so let's get going! Uh, if that's all right with you, sir!"
Ussop rolled his eyes. "Geez, stop acting so formal. Besides we can't go anywhere yet. Nami isn't here yet."
Zoro hummed nonchalantly. "Maybe she got cold feet? Could've changed her mind."
"What!?" Sanji snapped at the half-asleep swordsman just leaning on the wall of the back cabin. "But my dear Nami has to come! She's 40% of the reason I agreed to be here!"
"Huh? 40%?" Silk blinked. "What's the other 60%?"
"While 20% is because Hook asked, the rest goes to you, my lovely Silk~!"
Silk blinked coolly at him. "…"
"EVERYONE!" came a shout from just outside of town.
"Hm?" Hook squinted into the distance to see Nami crouched like she was… is she-
"RAISE ANCHOR AND SET SAIL!" And with that, Nami took off like a lightning bolt, right at the crowd of villagers who wanted to see her off the most!
"Huh? Why is she running?" Ussop wondered out loud.
"Wow~ She can really book it!" Hook noted with a low whistle. "Well, you heard her! Let's get going!"
"Huh?" Silk blinked at that, while Zoro went to raise the anchor, and Sanji went to untie the mooring line. "But how will she… Oh! I get it! I'll handle the steering!"
As everyone got to their stations – Ryuji got the sails with Ussop, with everyone at their posts, Hook stood there, smiling, as he watched Nami weave through the crowd, deftly dodging even her own sister's hands. In no time, she reached the end of the docks, leaped off, and landed right on the Merry's railing!
Climbing down onto the deck proper, she finished her stunt, by lifting her shirt just a bit above her naval… to reveal she had robbed the entire crowd of wallets, watches, and several assorted bracelets, as they dropped out of her hiding spot. As the village, the crew, and even Butchie let a loud "HUH!?," Nami waved back casually… with her arm, now sporting the same gold bracelet Nojiko was wearing, also showing a new tattoo replacing Arlong's insignia – a pinwheel and tangerine tree combo, but jagged and edgy-looking, kinda like the line on Hook's arm when-!
"Navigator Nami, reporting for duty, Captain Hook~," Nami said cattily, tossing in a salute. It was hard to tell what was louder – the jeers-turned-cheers at the docks, or the roaring laughter that did what Kisame couldn't do - bring Hook to the floor.
As Nojiko walked back up the path, Nami and her friends long gone, she turned over something Hook said earlier.
...I fixed your house. Well, tried to fix your house. Sorry about that.
She smirked. "He was being kinda modest. Or did he come back when no one was looking and try again?" As she stepped onto the hill, sure as the sun shined, the childhood home of Nami and Nojiko was standing again, as if the fire had never touched it! "Still don't know how he fixed it… Devil Fruits are something else…" Though as she stood there, admiring the craftsmanship of a miracle that had taken place, she noted and was baffled by how Hook was able to remake the height chart she and Nami had used to check who was the tallest. She was so caught up in puzzling that out, she never noticed the usual air that seemed to hang near the cross-shaped grave. She might have had a harder time trying to explain how the shimmering air had a mohawk-ponytail combo, or how the air smiled just before evaporating back into nothingness…
A/N: And scene! GG, everyone! But really, short of the reactions of all the islands visited at this time, I see no reason to continue this arc, which means we're headed straight for Loguetown! Don't worry, any changes I make will be minuscule at best! Would I lie?
Don't answer that.
But, yeah. If you want me to write the bounty reactions, leave a message telling me! Enough people ask, and I'll see if it's possible.
10/16 A/N: To anyone who remembers the previous message that was here, disregard it. After doing some more research, it would seem you need to be skilled in and practiced to upkeep a TVTropes page. TBH, felt kind of ego-stroking to do it myself anyway.
