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"Give up, rodent, or things are going to get ugly."

"Ugly? Trust me, they already are," a voice came from a building above them. Sunny jerked his head up along with all the bounty hunters. The crew's unofficial first mate was standing there, blood running from a gash on his forehead, holding his third sword in front of his mouth. His shaded steel eyes now fixed on Sunny. "Sorry I keep intruding on your fights, campfire. But somehow I worked up a mob in town, so we're going to need to finish this quick." A demon grin spread across his face as he took up the sword hilt between his teeth.

Sunny looked at him, and managed a small smile. "I'll leave it to you, budew-face."

...

Zoro jumped into the air, landing next to the man with the shotgun, his katana stabbing into the shotgun's chamber.

"Watch where you aim that thing," he growled, swiping his sword aside, gun clattering to the ground, and with a slash of his second sword, the bounty hunter was caught across the chest. Then he turned to face the bounty hunters nervously gripping their weapons.

Sunny slipped back under the net, getting a grip on the back of Luffy's shirt. Slowly but surely, Sunny made progress until Luffy's head was out of the net, but Luffy still wasn't moving. Sunny sniffed his face gently, Luffy managing the barest smile to his usual laugh when Sunny's nose tickled his face.

Determining the dragging wasn't hurting his friend, Sunny re-secured his teeth on his shirt and took measured steps back. Sunny used a final desperate lurch and with all his strength pulled Luffy from the net.

The instant he was clear of it, a hand shot out to brace against the ground as Luffy tried to pull himself up. In his still weakened state, he stumbled to the side, then caught himself, cracking his knuckles.

"Zoro, leave some for me! They tricked me!" He announced hoarsely.

"Sure, Captain, but I've already taken down seventy-three, so you're going to have to catch up."

"Oh?" Luffy's frown found its way back into a smile and he swept a leg out immediately toward the bounty hunters.

The captain and first mate began to knock down the crowd of bounty hunters.

Sunny tasked himself with guarding the downed bounty hunters though some were hard to tell if they were conscious, unconscious, or worse. He'd help again, he just needed a breather…and an oran berry.

Okay, no, he wasn't guarding.

He sat down heavily, he just needed to take a rest after the harrowing experience. Without being bid, fire flicked across his back, making him itch to move while being beat out by bone-deep exhaustion and the pounding in his head and back.

He'd never been out of a battle while blazing, the ability he'd inherited from both his parents.

Just as Zoro and Luffy finished off the last of the bounty hunters, an unusual shape hurtled by, too fast for Sunny to make out—a blur of yellow running on two legs like a chicken.

"Was that a giant duck?" Zoro asked. "With that woman on its back?"

"I don't know, but it had a hat on," Luffy observed.

A second later, Luffy was nursing a bruise on his head. "Nami?"

The redhead folded her arms next to him. "Looks like you three got into trouble. But that doesn't matter, we need to catch up to that princess—er—Ms. Wednesday. Long story, but everyone with code names like 'Mr. 9' or 'Ms. Monday' are part of a criminal organization called Baroque Works. Except for Ms. Wednesday—she's a spy and the rest of them know. So go stop them."

"What? No way, I've been fighting these guys all night. I'm getting some sake."

"Don't you remember your 200 million berri debt you owe me for your swords? What about your bushido?" Nami asked with faux-horror.

"I already paid you back, you loan shark!" He yelled, but he was already running the direction the duck took, and away from Nami.

Luffy charged after him, and Sunny managed enough speed to jump onto the back of Luffy's shirt and climb back on his shoulder. Nami was left standing in a plaza filled with bodies.

She stood there for a moment.

"Well, time to rob them blind," she grinned cheerfully.

"Ehh, Sunny you sure are warm!" Luffy remarked as the fire-type joined him on his shoulder.

It was an effect of his blazing, Sunny knew. His fire instinctually strengthened until he was healed or rested. He adjusted his grip to only hold onto Luffy's clothes and not touch his skin but Luffy didn't seem to mind.

At Luffy and Zoro's speed, unbelievably, they caught up to Ms. Wednesday, or as Nami had explained—the princess, within a few minutes because her path was blocked by two people, a woman with a citrus theme and a shades-wearing, afro-haired man. The princess' head jerked over to look at the Straw Hats. She didn't look like the haughty, selfish girl she had been just hours earlier. Her wavy hair fell across her face and back and her eyes actually expressed emotion—fear. "You guys…."

Sunny found he couldn't hate her as she was now.

"Liarrr heeeey! We caught up!" Luffy greeted. "Who are these guys?"

Zoro stopped too, crossing his arms and examining the strange pair in front of them. "Must be Baroque Works. They tried to recruit me a while back." He gave them a wolfish smile. "How's Mr. 0 doing?" The Baroque Works agents prickled and the princess hissed in shock at Zoro's provocation.

Zoro chuckled, unsheathing his katanas. "Well, I suppose you wouldn't know." Ms. Valentine and Mr. 5 attacked then, unable to control their fury. Sunny hopped off Luffy's shoulder to slink to the side of the street.

If there's anything Sunny had learned as a pirate, it was that just about everyone discounted him because of his size. Sure enough, the agents were focused on the more obvious fighters. Ms. Valentine, who could change her weight, was now floating in the air with her umbrella before crashing down inches from Luffy as he barely moved out of the way.

Sunny perked up. Was she going to go up again? He jumped onto a trash can, then a storage container, up onto a window sill, sidling two feet up a gutter and found himself on the roof of a single-story building.

Once at the edge of the roof, he lay down, keeping his head low in wait. Mr. 5 flicked something at Zoro that he cut in the air, followed by a large boom and smoke. The woman monologued about their devil fruits, then she began to rise in the air again, laughing. She seemed to be a one-trick ponyta. Sunny tensed and leaped for her umbrella, clutching the treated fabric and releasing a smokescreen just as she was nearly above her partner. She yelled in surprise as something over five times her current weight landed on top of her, thick smoke billowing from every side of the umbrella. The smoke was hot and direct enough to pepper holes in the fabric of the umbrella, which smoke filtered through and in a second, Ms. Valentine was hacking, falling, and blinded.

She tucked her legs in and yelped— "1000 Kilo!" And before Sunny could comprehend, they'd hit the ground, with a loud slam. Sunny bounced off the umbrella, flipping in the air and managing to go with the roll and land on his feet. He waited impatiently for a few moments as the smoke began to lift, first off the ground, Sunny regaining his visibility several seconds before anyone else.

Sunny saw with irritation that his plan hadn't worked out as he had hoped. Even though Ms. Valentine had slammed down in panic, she hadn't landed on her partner.

Tch.

Ms. Valentine got off the ground, closing her burned umbrella furiously. Sunny's allies, as well as enemies, were now dirty though Sunny's own coat mostly resisted the smoke stains. The two Baroque Works agents picked themselves back up, "Stay out of this, we're dealing with the princess first, then we'll deal with you," the man hissed, fishing something out of his nose.

Zoro and Luffy tensed while Sunny tilted his head incredulously. What. What is he doing? Is this really the place? The man rolled what could only be a booger on his fingers before flicking it into the air.

Sunny didn't have time to register it flying toward him until it was too late, heading straight toward him. His eyes widened to near circles in disgust as he instinctually tucked his head into his tummy.

Then everything exploded. Black and red light and smoke billowed and sparked in every direction, enveloping the small unprepared creature in its blast.

"He took a direct hit!" Zoro hissed from outside the newest smoke cloud, gripping his swords in shock. He'd cut the explosion in half and still been hurt from the indirect hits. Sunny had taken the explosion head-on without a chance to guard and on top of that, he wasn't in good shape, which is why Zoro had assumed he'd stay back. In retrospect, it seemed like a foolish thought. The little-his crewmate—had a streak of ferocity that should have come with a starved bear. He had to wonder was normal for his and Laboon's type or the Straw Hats had been stuck with a pint-sized lunatic.

Vivi looked over to Mr. 5 with a look of horror on her face. She knew he was cruel, but targeting the little creature had been completely cold. Her skin itched as she imagined how the strange captain would react if they would escape before reinforcements came or fight until the end.

Mr. 5, seeing her expression shrugged. "If it couldn't take a hit, it shouldn't have fought. This is a lesson on taking better care of your pets."

Then, behind him, something a foot in circumference rolled across the ground. Fast, quiet, and burning, it was homing in a measured arc toward Mr. 5. Neither the pirates nor the princess were quite sure what to make of the flaming ball until the smoldering shape hit a rock and bounced into the air, slamming into Mr. 5's back with staggering force. The agent stumbled, falling onto the ground hard as the ball bounced and uncurled a few feet away. Heavy breathing whistling through his snout, Sunny; battered, burned, but standing. In the split-second Sunny had had to react before the detonation, he'd tucked, shielding himself from the worst of the fiery explosion, then he'd improvised. He wasn't sure how he'd managed it, but he knew when to let instinct guide him.

Luffy finished the agent off with a final punch to the face as he got back to his feet, throwing him into the side of a building with enough force the stone cracked and he didn't stand up again.

Sunny's fur was standing on end, bunched and sooty from the explosion even with his resistant fur. His paws were raw and he was pretty sure he'd cracked his nail on a hind paw. His breath rattled and his flames spluttered fitfully. Looking at the downed enemies, injuries he'd barely remembered receiving burned and pulled on his skin and his ribs ached horribly. The excitement of battle and the instinctual drive to protect his friends dulled in the enveloping presence of exhaustion.

Suddenly, it was a lot harder to move through the gently tilting world and it was too easy to collapse half on his side, huffing tiredly. If he were in his world and with a trainer, he would be expected to handle all the fighting but even these two back-to-back battles had pushed him past his limits.

"Y-you defeated them," Vivi whispered as Zoro sheathed his swords. He'd easily defeated Ms. Valentine as she came out of her 1000 kilogram fall without incapacitating one of them.

Luffy adjusted his hat back on his head and walked over, scooping Sunny up and holding him on his shoulder. He gave an amused laugh as Sunny gave his ear a grateful lick. He was safe now, he was with Luffy and Luffy was his captain. And a captain was a promise. A promise they'd take care of each other no matter what.

"That was a good fight! Vivi—tell me who this boss guy is!"

Vivi's eyes went wide. "No—if you know your entire crew will be in grave danger. I can't—"

Luffy's grin grew. "Even my youngest and smallest nakama defeated these guys, besides, it sounds like an adventure!"

Vivi looked behind them at the unconscious Baroque Works agents then at the three pirates, clenched her fists and told her story.

Igaram, formerly Iggrappoi, formerly Mr. 8's, ship burst in flames and the roll of fear and misery to consume her.

Luffy turned around to the flames robotically, slamming his fallen hat back on his head and giving a furious yell. Sunny just clung to his shirt, quivering in shock and fear. Igaram, in the end, had just wanted to protect Vivi, he'd gone out to be a distraction and he'd been killed for it…it was completely wrong.

Falling in a head-on battle was always a possibility here, but to be killed outside of a battle, unaware and unable to defend…it was nothing short of a nightmare. And for Igaram to be destroyed in a similar manner that Sunny had just experienced in his own battle, it was too much. Lost in flames. He hated to realize it but his instincts were screaming in fear that his own fate could have been worse in the explosion, he could have been unlucky enough to be in Igaram's shoes.

And Vivi, he couldn't dislike her any more, not after what she'd been through.

Zoro and Nami tried to keep the group on track.

"Nami, the log!"

"We're all set!"

"Grab the girl!"

Nami shouted a few things to Vivi over the roar of flames and crackle of the burning lumber, holding her when she didn't react. "Baroque Works, gimme a break, Crocodile, ha! Those guys are the ones who should be worried!"

Luffy and Sunny burst through the door, decimating it as Luffy grabbed Usopp and Sanji by their nose and foot respectively, charging back toward the ship at full speed. Sunny jumped off Luffy's shoulder and onto the Merry's deck in a single leap, joining Zoro on the deck and immediately going on guard for more bounty hunters. If there were more, he would take them. They wouldn't be safe until they got off this island!

Sanji and Usopp were not given any sympathy for their hangovers or their new bumps and bruises as the crew scrambled to set sail. This was in large part due to them waking up as soon as the sail unfurled, shouting that they wanted to spend another night and that the town had been so inviting. Read the room already. Sunny's hypervigilance shifted to annoyance and he reached up and bit Sanji's ear hard enough his protests turned into a scream. Nami, having the same idea, punched Usopp's lights out again. She was a woman who wasted few words in these situations.

A few minutes after setting sail, Sunny basked on deck, waiting for the new day to burn away the fog and revive the fire he'd used in the battle. He was absolutely spent, sore, and bruised, and moving seemed to be an impossibility for him now that he'd settled. He felt himself drift off to sleep in an alcove of barrels at the bow of the ship. This time, he was more than happy to stay out of the human's discussions.

Until something roused him from his near-doze and brought him back to wakefulness. It was still foggy and the island in view so, despite the drastic change in mood, Sunny knew little time had passed.

They were shouting. How his keen hearing not picked it up before? It had taken two heavy thunks on the deck to trigger his acute burrowing senses to coax him to consciousness.

He secured his paws on the ground before lifting himself up. His body immediately protested its soreness. He felt steadier, but slower than before. He climbed up from the cache of barrels. A woman with black hair and a cowboy hat, sitting on the kitchen roof as if she belonged there while the rest of the crew stood tense.

She stopped mid-sentence when she saw Sunny, and edged forward slightly from where she was sitting on the galley roof, twirling Luffy's hat in her hand. Sanji and Usopp were picking themselves off the ground. Her predatory eyes narrowed, fixing themselves on the scruffy new arrival.

"I see you've found an interesting creature as well," she purred. "The plot thickens. Tell me, little beast, what are you called?"

Her honey-sweet voice was underlined by her maliciously mild smile. And why was she holding Luffy's hat? His captain would never allow that, and she must be strong if she could take it from him.

Sunny looked around. Vivi looked like she was going to cry all over again, Luffy was furious, and even Sanji looked torn between upset and lovestruck.

Sunny wasn't sure why he tried, but her words toward him and her having his captain's hat incited him to charge her.

It only took a few moments before he was on his back on the deck, looking up at the crows nest. It took a moment to register what happened. He'd tripped somehow, but he hadn't seen anything on the deck. He was hurt, but not dizzy anymore, how had he lost control like that?

Sunny jumped back on his feet and shook himself off with frustration.

"I wouldn't try that a second time, little beast. I'm not here to hurt your crew after all. I just came to deliver a message," she said. "Crocodile wants to meet you all. Though I don't think you'll make it there, you see, the next island on your log pose is Little Garden. From what you've shown me, you'll never make it out alive. Especially now that you've crushed my gift." She gestured to the smashed pile of glass and wood in front of Luffy. "But, well, if you do survive, I hope that we'll meet again at Rain Base."

Luffy crossed his arms. "No." She offered a small chuckle before throwing the hat so it landed back on Luffy's head and jumping on the back of a giant sea turtle and disappearing into the fog.

Luffy ran to the side of the deck to get a better look. "Oh wow, Sunny, was that one of you guys?" Luffy pointed in the direction they'd disappeared.

Sunny jumped onto the railing and shook his head no. It was just a strange, normal creature from this world. Still, to see more of his kind soon would make him so happy. Sunny's eyes slid to the blue-haired girl who crumpled to her knees, overwhelmed-Iragram's brave sacrifice still fresh in their minds. He'd decided she was worth the risk. She was clearly more than the persona she'd worn as Ms. Wednesday. Sunny may not know this real Vivi, but maybe his own goals could wait until they found some help for this brave princess.

Sunny doesn't know Flame Wheel yet, but under circumstances, he was able to use the explosion to improvise it. Now that he has the idea though…

Also, I'm pretty excited for this next chapter, which is actually almost done. Thanks, let me know what you think!