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Chapter 8:
Drum Kingdom (Part 1)
Theme Opening (if you so desire): Ready, Steady, Go (from Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood, cover by Amalee)
Two days passed quickly for the Straw Hat Pirates after their prehistoric adventure on Little Garden and Amy and Grace had slowly grown accustomed to life on the Going Merry. Their presence, however, was not good for the blood pressures of Nami and Vivi, both women constantly keeping at least one eye on the new blonde. That brought them to this moment, all three of the grown women and Carue resting in the kitchen as Sanji bustled about, constantly having to clean his own blood off the counter since Amy was mercilessly teasing him.
"Oh, Sanji~!" Amy called from her seat.
"What can I do for you, Amy-chwan?" the chef asked, his pale face a sharp contrast to the hearts in his eyes. "Your wish is my command~!"
"Another lemonade, please, Sanji. This one with crushed ice."
"Right away!" Sanji noodled out the door toward the hold where their non-tangerine citrus was held. The door closed behind him, leaving the three women alone.
"You have to stop," Nami growled, dragging Amy's gaze to her. "He's still recovering from that injury he got in Little Garden and he's not going to get better if you keep giving him nosebleeds."
"He's tough," the former agent waved off, "and it's not like the nosebleeds are that common anymore. It's your fault for having such low-cut tops."
"That's not for Sanji!" Nami balked, Vivi fidgeting awkwardly at the topic. "I had to wear those to get out of tough situations before I met Luffy! Besides, why are you wearing my clothes?"
"Would you rather me wear nothing?" Amy shot back with a smirk, bringing Nami to a grinding halt. Amy pressed on. "I mean, I don't have anything except that dress and my umbrella. It's bad enough that I only have one set of underwear and it's not even my la-"
"OK, we get it!" Vivi interrupted, red as a tomato.
"Honestly, Princess, you need to relax," the blonde smirked, leaning back in her chair. "Let your hair down a little. It's not healthy to keep all that stress bottled up."
"Oh, so now you're a doctor," Nami snarked.
"You're the reason for all my stress," Vivi muttered at the same time. The former Ms. Valentine sighed, sitting up and leaning forward onto the table.
"You don't trust me," she said, the statement in no way a question. "I get it. A woman with a sadistic streak a mile wide and the ability to crush a ship to splinters swaps sides at the drop of a hat because of another person. I wouldn't trust me either. I'm going to be real with you; I'm not loyal to this crew." Nami and Vivi reeled as if they'd been slapped, but Amy continued. "My loyalty is to my little sister. Grace and I stayed with Baroque Works because we owed them a debt and never had a clear way out. We always knew deep down that the whole Paradise spiel was a bunch of bull, but the Unluckies would have gotten us if we tried to run… until Little Garden. Listen, I don't know what Pinky said to my sister to get her to hop on your boat, but as long as she stays, I stay." Her eyes hardened. "That said, that little bastard better not even think about trying anything with her or I will bury him."
"Why-?" Vivi began, only for the door to swing open.
"Your prince has returned~!" Sanji called, back in the kitchen in a moment. Before any of the women could even blink, there was a slice of cake before each of them.
"Sanji's gotten faster," Nami commented, a little awed by the speed. "He must have been training with Luffy when I wasn't looking."
"Or it's the fights he keeps getting into with Zoro," Amy grinned, accepting the finished drink she'd ordered. The blonde blinked, tilting her head so she could see past the navigator and princess. "Uh, Vivi?"
"Yes?"
"Isn't your duck supposed to be yellow?"
"Yes?" Vivi twisted, her eyes quickly finding Carue in the corner of the room. He was sitting on a pile of blankets, his face colored red with beads of sweat rolling down his face ad his head hung down, as if he didn't have enough energy to hold it upright. "Carue!"
The princess leapt to her feet, worrying over to the animal she's hatched from an egg so long ago. Carue let out a long, pained "Waaahhh," as the blunette reached for his forehead. She flinched at the barest touch as if she'd been burned.
"Carue, you're burning up!" Vivi gasped.
"Is something wrong?" Sanji asked, replacing cleaned dishes. He blinked at the scene, instantly readying a wet cloth.
"Carue's never been sick before," Vivi answered, accepting the chef's offering. "I've always made sure he had all his shots and everything. If he's not better by the time we reach Alabasta, that could really affect things. He plays a critical messenger role in my plans."
"Baroque Works doesn't exactly have the best vet coverage," Amy waved off, unconcerned. "Well, none, really. I'm sure it's just a normal cold."
"It's not," the princess insisted. "Even in Baroque Works, I always made sure Carue had everything he needed to stay healthy, including all his shots. I'm worried this is something from Little Garden."
As soon as Vivi said that, Carue gasped, quickly losing all the food he'd eaten at breakfast. The pirates and princess recoiled at the smell, a flicker of worry crossing Amy's face.
"We should check on everyone else," Nami muttered, heading to the door. Amy followed, leaving Sanji and Vivi to care for the sick bird and clean up the mess. The air outside was cold, fine white flakes of snow drifting down from the fluffy clouds above. Coby, Zoro, and Gin were on the deck doing their normal exercises that would make any normal person cry, all while casually talking to each other. Zoro was hanging upside-down from the mast doing sit-ups – Nami suspected he'd gotten up there by accident and just rolled with it – while Coby was doing push-ups with Gin curling dumbbells on his back. All three were shirtless and glanced over as the women exited the kitchen. Amy's eyebrows rose appreciatively.
"Ah, Amy," Zoro greeted. "Good timing. I need you to act as a weight for me. All the ones we have are too light."
"Are you calling me fat?!" the blonde demanded. Zoro blinked slowly, not caring about her scandalized expression.
"You can change your mass, can't you? That makes you heavier than any of our training weights."
"Where is everyone else?" Nami asked, cutting into the conversation. "We need to check on them."
"Luffy and Usopp are playing tag below deck," Coby grunted, his arms straining. "I h-haven't seen Grace today. She might still be in bed."
"Story checks out," Amy admitted, knowing how lazy her sister could be. "I'll go get her."
"Luffy and Usopp will come to us," Nami commented, eyeing the weather. It wasn't cold enough for snow, but it was falling anyway. "It's just about lunchtime, so Luffy should come running."
"GRACE!" Amy's voice echoed over the ship, causing Nami to jump. Down on the deck, Coby threw Gin off and bolted toward the scream. Nami followed him a moment later, entering behind the roset as he threw the door to the women's quarters open. Amy was bent over the bed, her arms hesitating as she tried to decide between holding her sister or if the contact would be too much for her.
Grace's labored breathing filled the room as the rest of the crew began arriving, the problem clear for all to see. The painter was still in bed, her hair loose and her hat on the bedside table. Her face was covered in the red heat of a bad fever, sweat dripping down her forehead and nose. Her small hands fisted the sheets, her lips pulled back in a grimace of pain.
"Shit," Nami cursed. "This isn't good. First Carue and now Grace. We need to find a doctor."
"From where?" Coby questioned, pulling his hand from Grace's burning forehead. "Our Log pose is still locked onto Little Garden and you said we're still a week or so away from Alabasta."
"What's going on?" Luffy asked, pushing his way to the front of the crowd.
"We need to find a doctor," Amy supplied. "Grace and Princess Vivi's duck are both sick."
"There's an island around here somewhere," Nami offered, waving one hand through the air. "Crocus mentioned islands having different environments based on the seasons, so I'd bet there's a winter island nearby that's causing that snow. That lines up with the maps of the area I stole from Whiskey Peak. We need to find it. Gin, get to the rudder and take us 14 degrees to port."
"Roger that, Donna," Gin nodded, hurrying from the room.
"Usopp, go get a cloth from Sanji and try to bring Grace's fever down. Coby, help me build an area for Carue in here. Luffy, Carue is in the kitchen with Sanji and Vivi, so bring him here where we can care for him and Grace together."
"Will do!" Luffy rushed out, the door slamming behind him. The sound caused Grace to flinch, muttering under her breath. Her eyes opened, stopping at barely a squint.
"B… Big Sister?" she whispered, her voice raspy, as Nami and Coby piled blankets in the corner. "What…?"
"Easy," Amy insisted, equally quietly. "You're sick. No need to work."
"No work… Good… Good colors… Veridian… Celadon… Bubblegum… Bubblegum hair looks good… Good colors…" Delirious, Grace drifted back to sleep.
"We have to help," Coby muttered as Luffy came in with Carue over his shoulder. Vivi, Usopp, and Sanji followed him in, making the room somewhat cramped. The sniper passed the cloth in his hand to Amy who began dabbing her sister's forehead. "I remember my parents would make special food for me when I was sick."
"Give them meat!" Luffy realized, as if he'd had a lightbulb moment.
"Meat does have plenty of proteins," Sanji begrudgingly agreed. "That won't be enough to help, though. They aren't sick because of a lack of nutrients. I put a lot more care into the women's food than I do for you morons."
"It won't?" Luffy blinked, his mind processing the rest of Sanji's statement. "Wait-!"
"Meat isn't the answer to everything," Nami told him, covering the captain's mouth. "Now shut up. You're too loud."
"Wah…" Carue whimpered, presumably in agreement.
"It must be an infection, then," Vivi deduced. "That's better than a virus at least."
"It's just a cold or something," Zoro waved off. "I'm sure they'll-"
However Zoro was going to finish that statement. He didn't get to, the whole ship shifting to the side hard enough to throw everyone to the floor. Coby, having more experience on ships than most others and thanks to his position by the bed, managed to catch himself on the frame. His eye's widened, the roset releasing his hold in favor of catching the suddenly-ballistic Grace as the shift threw her from the bed. He fell, the feverish girl on his stomach. She moaned in pain.
"The Hell is Gin doing?" Nami demanded, pushing herself to her feet and hurrying out onto the deck. Most everyone followed a minute later, Coby, Vivi, and Amy staying behind to tuck Grace back into bed and Carue back into his nest.
Outside, the group was in disarray, some of the snow having frozen into ice on the deck. The ship shifted again, this time in the opposite direction.
"Are we under attack?" Usopp fretted, scrambling for the mast.
"Gin!" Luffy yelled, pushing his way into the dining room where the rudder's handle was. Gin was slumped over on his knees, fighting against himself to not lean on the handle. His face was flushed, his eyes drooping.
"D-Don," he muttered.
"What's going on?" Sanji questioned.
"Not you too," Nami moaned.
"You could show a little more concern, you know," Zoro chastised.
"Ah'm fine," Gin slurred, pushing himself to his feet. "Trust me. Ah can…"
"No you can't," Zoro denied, stepping over to Gin and throwing his friend over his shoulder in a fireman's carry. "Gin, you're sick."
"No Ah'm not," the man tried to deny, though his weak struggling said otherwise. "It's nothin' serious. Ah'll be better in'n hour er so."
"You've got an infection," Nami told him. "Something from Little Garden, no doubt. On the bright side, it seems like it isn't contagious or everyone would have it by now."
"I'll take him to the room," Zoro offered.
"Wait!" Sanji began, turning to Zoro only to find him and Gin gone despite the door never having been opened. "That moron!"
"This day can't get any worse," Nami swore, righting the Merry's course.
"We might have a problem!" Usopp's voice called from outside, immediately proving her wrong. The group, once again, moved out onto the deck. The temperature had dropped considerably since the start of their endeavor, though Luffy seemed unaffected.
"What is it now?" Nami demanded, glaring bloody murder up at the sniper in the crow's nest. Usopp cowered at her glare, pointing off the starboard side.
"D-Do any of you know how someone c-can stand on water?" he asked, his teeth chattering.
"I think my Grandpa could," Luffy blinked, cocking his head to the side. "I know he could jump off air, so water might be even easier. I kinda wish I learned how."
"Your grandpa can jump off air?" Nami demanded.
"Yeah, why?"
"I'm guessing because of him," Sanji offered, pointing a lit cigarette at a man on the water. Said man was dressed like a clown from a circus, a bow and a quiver of arrows resting over his shoulders. His mouth looked like a zig-zag line, his teeth chattering as he hugged himself for warmth. The crew on the deck stared at him, dumbfounded.
"H-Hello," he muttered. "It's q-quite cold, d-don't you think?"
"You think so?" Luffy blinked. Realization dawned on him. "Holy crap, it's cold!"
"You only just noticed?!" Nami groused before turning to face the clown-man. "And you, what the Hell do you want?"
"Oh, I… uh…" The man shuffled, suddenly put on a spot he didn't seem ready for. He lapsed into silence, he and the pirates on the deck staring at each other awkwardly.
"Is everything ok out here?" Coby asked, stepping out of the women's quarters. The crew turned to look at the roset, the unknown clown taking the opportunity to tap his foot on the water. A sound echoed, like he was hitting a hollow box of metal. Water surged from below, a whole submarine rising beneath his feet. It rose its own pirate flag, though the skull had a metal jaw.
Faster than anyone on the ship could react to this unexpected surprised, the metal ship pulled up alongside the Going Merry and disgorged the men inside, each dressed in what seemed to be a cold-weather uniform. Each was armed with a gun or sword, every one aimed at the Straw Hats who did not react.
"We've been boarded," Luffy offered.
"I'm sorry I asked," Coby muttered.
"Ha! What a tiny pirate boat!" a grating voice commented, a fat man stepping onto the Merry's deck. Much of his body was covered in metal, including his chin and jaw, which were plated in a single sheet of shiny iron or steel. A cape made of the skin of a fuzzy white hippo was tied around his neck and a sword with a hunk of meat skewered on its blade was held on one hand. "Well, it's made it this far, so that's something. Whatever. You there!" – he pointed at Sanji with the sword-and-meat – "Do you have an eternal pose to Drum Kingdom?"
"Never heard of it," the cook answered, taking a drag from his cancer stick. "Do you have a death wish?"
"How dare you speak to King Wapol that way!" one of the soldiers near Sanji growled, shoving his sword close to the blond's chest. "Disrespecting our king is punishable by death!"
"Boarding our ship isn't cool either," Luffy commented. "I'm the captain here, and I want you off my ship."
"Excuse you?" Wapol demanded, taking a massive bite out of both the meat and the blade of the sword. "I am a king and you will treat me with the respect I am due by my birthright! Now, if you don't have an eternal pose to Drum, then give me all your treasure and food as compensation for wasting my time." Swallowing, Wapol tossed the rest of the sword, handle and all, into his mouth.
"That makes my jaw hurt," Coby shuddered, listening to Wapol chew on the sword.
"You'll never get my treasure!" Nami denied, her bo out and formed in a single moment. In a second, she bashed the soldiers around her in the heads, knocking them to the ground with new welts.
"Then we'll take it by force."
"Woah woah woah," Usopp gulped, a soldier holding onto a rope at the top of the mast holding him at gunpoint, said gun making the sniper's nose bend. "C-Can't we j-just t-talk about th-this like c-civilized p-people?"
"Eh, ok," Wapol sighed as if the suggested was an expected but incredibly boring alternative. "Man, I'm hungry." Without preamble, the self-proclaimed king expanded his mouth like a snake, his oversized teeth clamping down on a piece of the Merry's railing. The pirates watched with horror as he ripped the railing apart with his mouth and swallowed.
"That hit the sp-" Wapol choked as a man walked in front of him from behind the mast without stopping to bow. Zoro blinked, turning around in confusion. Gin, still over his shoulder, looked shellshocked.
"Honestly, how did Usopp reconfigure the insides of the Merry?" Zoro questioned without noticing the invading army all around him.
"Am Ah delirious?" the sick man questioned with a thousand-yard stare at the deck. "What did Ah jus' see? Why was a zebra campaignin' fer Kevin? Who's Kevin?"
"Gin, you're sick. Shut up." Zoro turned, only then recognizing there were unfamiliar faces. "Who the Hell are you? What's going on?"
"We've been boarded," Luffy answered once more. He blinked. "Oh, right. Don't eat our ship! Everyone, kick them out!"
"Get them!" Wapol ordered. Both sides jumped into action, Usopp dropping to his knees to avoid the bullet that passed through where his head had just been before surging upward in an adrenaline-fueled uppercut that launched the soldier off the craw's nest and into the cold waters of the ocean. Down below, Coby jumped, grabbing the railing on the second level as the swords that had tied to cut him in half cut into the door to the women's quarters.
"We have sick crewmates in there!" the roset growled, shifting into his Hybrid Mode to drop his greater weight on the soldiers. Other soldiers panicked at Coby's new look, one discharging his gun without properly aiming. The bullet scraped over Coby's crown, leaving a scratch across the right side of his forehead. Coby growled, the rumble coming from deeper in his throat than any human would be able to make.
"Leave the Merry alone!" the sniper yelled, cradling his hand and bruised knuckles. Wapol frowned at the order, going for another bite just to refuse the irate Long-Nose. In response, Usopp swallowed the pain and readied a pellet in his slingshot. "Tabasco Star!"
"My tongue!" Wapol screamed, the fire coming from his mouth forcing Zoro to jump away from the invading monarch. The king's mouth expanded, clenching his teeth together even as flames still snuck their way out from between his teeth. Without his screaming, however, the fire quickly died out. The king swung his arm toward the mast, the limb transforming into the barrel of a cannon. "How dare you make me eat something I didn't want! Wapol Cannon!"
"Usopp!" Luffy shouted, kicking his assailants away before jumping into the air between the sniper and the king as Wapol fired his cannon arm. "Gum-Gum Balloon!"
"Stay away from our captain!" Zoro, Sanji, Coby, and Nami growled as they interposed themselves between Wapo's army and their captain, Gin still draped over Zoro's shoulder. Usopp, still above them, took pot shots at the men below while dodging arrows from the clown still standing on the metal ship.
"So you've eaten a Devil Fruit as well," Wapol mused, a gleam coming to his eye. "I wonder, if I eat you whole, will I gain your powers for myself?"
"Ew gross!" Nami complained, braining a soldier with her bo.
"You won't get the chance!" Luffy answered, throwing his arms back. "Gum-Gum…"
"Giant Chomp!" With a speed that belied his apparent weight – and likely had something to do with the engines that had formed in his legs – Wapol sped forward and took Luffy's whole torso into his mouth, only the captain's legs and stretched arms out. Wapol grimaced. "Eh, chewy."
"Luffy!" the pirates cried.
"Bazooka!" Luffy's muffled voice called, his arms retracting. The force sent Wapol flying into the distance, a couple of teeth left behind on the deck where they had tried to take Luffy along and failed.
"King Wapol!" the army screamed, abandoning their attack to jump back into the submarine and chase the twinkling star in the distance their ruler had become.
"That was weird," Coby blinked as the door to the women's quarters opened, releasing Amy and Vivi onto the deck.
"Why are you all being so loud?" the blonde demanded.
"We were boarded!" Luffy answered with a smile. "That was fun, except for when that guy tried to eat me. What was his name? Waffle or something?"
"Someone tried to eat you?" Amy blinked.
"It was horrifying," Usopp shivered. "His jaw unhinged like a snake!"
"But I'm fine, so it's not big deal," Luffy grinned.
"No, but you will take a bath," Nami ordered.
"Is Gin sick, too?" Vivi asked, rushing over to grab Zoro by the arm. "Bring him in, Mr. Bushido! Why didn't you bring him right away?"
"Ah'm not dead yet," Gin groaned.
"That winter island should be around here somewhere," Nami offered, glancing at the horizon. "It's getting late, though. We should drop anchor for the night and find it in the morning."
"Where will you and Vivi sleep?" Coby questioned as Luffy moved to drop the anchor.
"We'll figure something out," Nami responded, eyeing Amy as the blonde returned to Grace's bedside. Nami shivered, making a mental reminder to go grab a coat and some extra blankets. "Go get some sleep. I get the feeling we'll need it."
"Land… uh," Coby stalled, trying to remember his short "training" for what to say while acting as the lookout, a role he was wholly new to considering his new eye transformation because of his Zoan powers. He could only keep them alone transformed for an hour and a half, but the orientation of his pupils seemed to have a longer range of sight than any other crewmate sans Usopp. Compounding his difficulty was a great distaste of the temperature. Coby wasn't sure why, but he's been growing steadily more irate as the hours in the cold passed. He'd thought triceratops were warm-blooded, but his heightened dislike of the cold suggested otherwise without offering any decent proof. Luckily, Kaya had seen fit to stock the Merry with all types of clothes, including winter coats.
Coby shook his head to get his mind back on task, focusing on the five cylinder-shaped mountains jutting up from the island in the distance. "What's the phrase? Land ho!"
Luffy stopped building snowmen as most of the rest of the crew poured from inside the ship, correcting the Merry's course to approach the island. The salt water of the ocean prevented the water from freezing at large, but the closer they got, the more the water below seemed to turn to slush. Finally, after a half-hour of sailing through a sideways wind, the Going Merry entered the mouth of a river and began following its flow deeper into the island. Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Usopp, Amy, Vivi, and Coby stood scattered over the deck, looking for signs of life while Sanji opted to stay inside to care for the sick.
Signs of life did appear after only a few minutes, islanders rising out of the snow on either side of the Merry in a disorganized – if well-timed – band. Unlike the bounty hunters of Whiskey Peak, these people were outright hostile, more than a few guns already aimed at the crew.
"Zoro," Luffy muttered, locking eyes with the biggest guy of the pack, a man with a green coat and a matching hat. "Drop the anchor."
Zoro eyed the islanders, raising his hands slowly so they could see his fingers, even if he wasn't going to relinquish his swords. Being sure to make no sudden movements, Zoro stepped over to the anchor, lifted it with one hand, and dropped it into the water. The Merry jolted as she came to a stop.
"Leave now," the man in green ordered, glaring at the pirate with eyes that seems to radiate contempt. "Your kind is not welcome here. I will not give you a second chance."
"We only need a doctor!" Nami pleaded. "We have three crewmates who are sick. Please, we don't know how long they'll last. One is only a little girl."
"Do you expect us to believe that bullshit?" one of the other islanders demanded. "We weren't born yesterday. You didn't even bother to hide your flag."
"Why would we hide it?" Luffy countered. "We aren't here to attack you. We just need someone to cure our friends."
"Please help us!" Vivi begged, throwing herself to the deck and bowing toward the man in green. "We'll do anything! One of the sick is my best friend. He's been with me for most of my life and I wouldn't be able to live without him."
"Another is my little sister," Amy added, bowing beside the princess, much to Vivi's surprise. "I'd do anything for her, even trade my own life, but I don't have any medical experience."
"Anything," Luffy agreed, kneeling as well. The rest of the crew took that as a queue, kneeling one by one with Zoro being the last. The man in green sighed, waving his hand. Hesitantly, the rest of the men lowered their weapons.
"You really don't intend to attack us?" the man questioned, though he didn't give the pirates time to answer. "My name is Dalton. We will help you, though I can't promise you anything. This island only has one doctor, and she's very hard to find. Bring the sick ashore. I'll lead you to my house for now."
"We have to take the risk," Luffy responded. "Lead the way."
With their new guide, the pirates collected their sick and made their way on land. Usopp and Nami opted to stay on the ship to protect it, limiting the number of pirates that would be on the island. Of those going ashore, Amy took charge of carrying Grace, Sanji offered to carry Carue, and Coby chose to carry Gin, though the difference in height resulted in Gin's feet dragging through the snow. Luffy, Zoro, and Vivi, unburdened, took the lead beside Dalton, though Luffy had wrapped one arm around Zoro's wrist at Nami and coby's behest.
"Hey, old guy," Luffy began, drawing angry looks from the natives. "What did you mean when you said there's only one doctor on this island? That sounds like a stupid idea to me."
"Captain Luffy, you can't just-" Coby began.
"We didn't have a choice in the matter," Dalton explained, his eyes on the snow-covered road ahead. The only way the road could be differentiated from not-road were the trees that lined either side. "The former king put out a decree several months ago when he assumed the throne. He gathered the 20 best doctors in the country and forced them to work for him and him alone. All the others… Well, the ones that didn't escape the country were all killed."
"That's horrible!" Vivi raged. "No monarch can call themselves a true king if they slaughter their own people!"
"Indeed," Dalton agreed. "The 20 MDs didn't have a choice in the matter. If they chose to leave, they would have been killed like all the rest."
"What about the people?" Coby asked. "The population can't just stop getting sick."
"Sure they can," Zoro shrugged, nearly every eye turning on him.
"People don't just not get sick because they want to, Mr. Bushido," Vivi told him.
"It worked for me," Zoro responded. "I got sick once during training and I hated it, so I swore to not get sick again and I haven't."
"I…" Coby blinked. "That's… Zoro-sensei, that's not how that works!"
"Sure it is!" Luffy smirked.
"Given that that isn't an option for any normal person," Amy cut in, "What did the people do?"
"When that happened, we were forced to grovel at the king's feet and beg for treatment," the green-clothed native muttered, shaking his head. "It was truly the worst time of the country's history."
"Was?" Vivi noted. "What changed?"
"The island was attacked by pirates. They were a small crew, even smaller than you all, but their strength was beyond anything the army could deal with. There were five of them, and their leader called himself Blackbeard. The king, like the coward he was, fled with the 20 MDs and his loyalists into the sea, abandoning us to the pirates' mercy."
"That…!" the princess fumed, trying to form words through her haze of anger. "That slimy, yellow-bellied behiima! That cowardly ibn il-'aHba! Moxxu gazma!"
"I don't know what you just said, but even I feel insulted," Amy blinked. "I never knew you had that sort of mouth on you."
"Can you blame her?" Coby questioned, Vivi covering both her mouth and the embarrassed blush across her cheeks. "You know how she feels about people who don't fulfill their duty."
"While I don't understand the language, I agree with the sentiment," Dalton offered. "Currently, we are without a king and are flourishing better than we ever did with him in charge. Should he return, we will do our best to drive him off."
"Didn't you say the asshole king took all the doctors?" Luffy asked. "Who's gonna heal my crew of there's no one here who can?"
"We do have one doctor still on the island," the native reminded him. "She avoided all the soldiers who came to kill her and has since taken up residence in the king's old castle. That said, many think she's gone crazy and is nothing but a witch considering she was never officially licensed. No normal person can reach the castle, so she comes down whenever she feels like it and treats whoever she finds."
"How lovely," Sanji muttered with hearts in his eyes, his brain conjuring the image of a beautiful woman on a broomstick, a pointy hat waving in the breeze. "I bet she had a heart of gold!"
"Once whoever she'd treated is healed, she'll take whatever she wants and leaves," Dalton finished. Sanji's mental image cracked and shattered, reforming into a monster with green skin, a hooked nose, and warts.
"Sounds like a pirate to me," Luffy commented. "Hey, didn't we fight some guy claiming to be a king? Waffle?"
"Do you mean Wapol?" Dalton questioned quickly, freezing.
"Yeah, Waffle."
"No captain, Wa-pol," Coby corrected.
"Waffle. That's what I said. Mmm, waffles. Now I'm hungry."
Dalton stopped, forcing the rest of the group to pause. They were very close to town, roofs rising in the distance through the falling snow.
"If you are telling the truth, then the former king is on his way back!" the local hissed. "We are lucky he didn't take an eternal pose when he left, or he would have returned by now. We must warn the patrols!" Dalton waved several men over, conversing with them quickly before they ran back the way they had come, only pausing to bow to a bear hiking across an intersection. "There is no guarantee that Wapol will return soon, though I suspect he will. Please follow me. Hopefully, we can get you settled and away before we have to deal with him."
Dalton sped up, the pirates being forced to jog to keep up with his longer, more sure stride. He led them to a small cottage on the edge of town. It had no defining features to distinguish it from any other house, suggesting that Dalton, despite the clear reverence the rest of the people showed him, lived modestly. The inside was similarly simple, the only decoration in the form of two crossed swords and a shield mounted over the fireplace.
The man gestured to the bed as he moved to the fireplace. Amy eyed him warily, expecting the man to reach for the swords and try to cut them down, but Dalton simply lowered himself and began lighting the wood that was sitting in the fireplace. Soon, flames licked at the cold air, warming the insides of the hut in conjunction with the collective body heat of the group. Satisfied that Dalton wouldn't turn on them in the immediate future, Amy tucked Grace into the only bed. Carue sat in the corner by the fire – the best place to dry his feathers of the melted snow – while Gin pushed himself off Coby and staggered over to a chair by a small table.
"Take it easy, Gin," Coby tried.
"Ah'm not that bad," the man muttered, trying to sit up to prove he was fine. The act showed that he was anything but, a pained grimace on his lips as he was forced to squint at the fire.
"Don't get yourself killed because of your pride," Sanji warned, a look from Dalton halting the lighter halfway to the cigarette in his mouth. He sighed, accepting the unspoken no-smoking rule. "We've had this song and dance before."
"Thank you for letting us stay here," Vivi diverted, giving another short bow to the native.
"Don't worry about it," Dalton waved off. "Rather, you should worry about yourselves. A group this big and not one of you has any medical training? That's just suicide."
"Nami tried everything she knew," Coby responded. "That was enough to get by before."
"We thought we'd just pick up a doctor when we found one," Luffy shrugged. "The old guy with the whale didn't want to come, though, and we haven't found one since."
"The who?" Dalton blinked. "Eh, nevermind. You all can stay here until Kureha comes through. I need to ready the men for Wapol's return."
"Is that the name of the witch-doctor lady?" Luffy asked. "That sounds pirate-y. Maybe she'll join us. When will she be here?"
"I don't know," Dalton shrugged, throwing his winter gear back on. "She could come through today or she could come through a week from now."
"That won't do!" Amy denied. "My sister could be dead by that point! We can't just sit around and wait!"
"If they want to live, then that just have to not be sick anymore."
"Shut up, Zoro!"
"The doctor lives on the mountain, right?" Coby asked, a lightbulb clicking in Luffy's head. "Probably the middle one?"
"If we don't know when she'll come to us, then we'll just go to her!" Luffy smiled. Dalton gaped at the behatted teen, Luffy chuckling to himself as if he'd just solved a big puzzle in record time.
"You have no idea how tall or how steep the Drum Rockies are," Dalton stated. "There is no possible way you could climb those yourself while carrying the sick. Not only that, but there are lapans around that would tear you apart without a moment's hesitation."
"So we'll fight them off," the captain shrugged. "Earlier, you said no normal person can get to the castle, but we aren't normal. We are the Straw Hat Pirates, and I'm going to become the King of the Pirates. There's no way me and my crew would ever let some stupid mountains stand in our way."
The room seemed to brighten with Luffy's speech, leaving Dalton shocked at the air of acceptance the rest of the teen's crew was showing. For a moment, even he believed what the boy was saying; that he would be the one crowned with the legendary title in the future.
"What's the plan, Luffy?" Sanji grinned, bringing the room back to the present. "We can't all go up the mountain together."
"Me, Coby, Sanji, and Zoro will go climb the mountain," Luffy began.
"Denied!" Amy interrupted. "I am not just going to stay here and twiddle my thumbs while you carry my sick sister into the unknown."
"But Vivi can't go up the mountain," Coby responded, Dalton jumping at the name. "We can't leave her alone in the village, even if she has combat experience."
"Then leave Zoro here," the woman argued. "If you took him, he'd just get lost anyway. I've heard all the stories."
"That's a good point," Sanji nodded. "The stupid moss is worse than a broken compass."
"You wanna say that to my face, you ugly dartboard?"
"But they're right," Luffy laughed as the cook and swordsman growled at each other. "Ok, we'll leave Zoro and Vivi here while the rest of us head up the mountain. Sanji can carry Carue since he doesn't fight with his arms and Coby can carry Gin and Grace since he's a dinosaur now."
"Did you say Vivi?" Dalton asked. Most of the crew froze, glancing at each other. "As in Vivi Nefertari?"
"Can we please just get my sister to a doctor?" Amy diverted. "And don't you have a disgraced king on the way?"
"I…" Dalton fizzled. "Right. First things first. Just… be careful. You all seem like decent people."
Dalton hurried out of his cottage, shouting orders to the people outside before he was even through the door. Vivi let out a relieved breath she hadn't realized she was holding in.
"Thank you, Amy," the princess said, turning to see that the blonde was already in the process of helping Grace out of the bed.
"I didn't do it for you," the former agent grunted. "Every second we're here arguing is another one my sister might not survive, and while I don't know who Wapol his, if he's a threat, the natives can at least slow him down and weaken him before he gets to us."
"Damn, that's cold," Zoro commented.
"My allegiance is to Grace," Amy rebuffed. "I don't care about Wapol or the villagers."
"She's right about one thing," Coby piped up. "We need to get going sooner rather than later. Someone grab Gin while I go outside and change." He paused. "That didn't come out right."
"Shishishi!" Luffy laughed. "Alright, everyone! Let's go!"
The group stepped out of the door, Vivi taking a moment to check that the fire was completely contained lest they accidently allow Dalton's house to burn. By the time she exited, Coby was in his full Dino Mode, Gin already propped on his upper back while Luffy and Sanji helped position Grace safely between him and Coby's crown. Amy, in contrast, was glaring daggers at the triceratops.
"I'm watching you, Pinky," the blonde vowed, a little too close to Coby's face. "One wrong move and I will end you."
"Grace is my friend and my crewmate," Coby shot back. "She isn't going to die if I have anything to say about it."
"Alright, let's go!" Luffy cheered as Sanji hoisted Carue onto his shoulder. The captain and chocolatier led the way, Sanji behind them and Coby bringing up the rear with a gallop. Considering the size of the town of Bighorn, the quartet and their ill left the town's boarders in minutes, leaving Zoro and Vivi behind.
"Good luck," Vivi whispered as the group vanished into the infinite white of the snowy landscape.
"You're not seriously worried about them, are you?" Zoro grunted, the blue-haired woman turning to stare at him. "Luffy's pulled through a lot of ridiculous stunts. He'll get them there."
"I guess so," Vivi muttered. "It's just… Things work out until they don't. It only takes one wrong move and all the luck that has carried you is gone. There were so many times where Igaram and I were almost found out since we joined Baroque Works and these last couple of times have only been luck, like Ms. Allsunday not reporting us when she knew and you all showing up when you did. Even now, Igaram is-"
"Worrying about it isn't going to do you any good," Zoro shrugged, dropping to sit beside Dalton's hut. He rested his three swords against his shoulder.
"What are you doing, Mr. Bushido?"
"What does it look like? I'm taking a nap. Wake me up if anything interesting happens."
"You know, I never hated the snow until now," Coby muttered, the group still moving at a light jog through the deep snow. Flakes drifted from the clouds above, periodically getting swept into a cold wind that beat against them. On the bright side, if one could call it that, the cold temperatures should help keep their sick passengers' fevers down.
"Suck it up, you little bitch," Amy hissed, using her powers sparingly lest a gust of wind carry her off. Because she couldn't just float like she was use to, the muscles in her legs were screaming at her, having atrophied from the need to only carry her short distances. It was a problem she swore to correct after they got off this island.
"Amy-chwan is beautiful when she's insulting Coby~!" Sanji sang.
"You've been on my ass ever since we met," the dinosaur growled, his nerves frayed by the cold only barely kept at bay by the body heat of the two humans on his back. "I don't know what I did to get on your bad side, and frankly, I can't be made to give a shit right now in the middle of this storm, but grilling me isn't going to make our job easier. The only thing worse than your attitude would be if this storm got heavier."
Even as Coby spoke, the softly-falling snow grew heavier, the wind picking up into a constant howl that buffeted the group. The once-beautiful snowflakes turned into the non-lethal equivalent of frozen daggers.
"You just had to say something," Amy groused, increasing her mass to keep from blowing away.
"Godadammit," the roset agreed.
"I blame you," the blonde muttered.
"That's fair."
Luffy, mostly unaffected by the cold, couldn't help but laugh.
"This could be good for the crew," Sanji tried as the quartet started into a denser part of the forest, each being forced to dodge trees hidden by the snowstorm until they were right on top of them.
"How?" Amy demanded, Luffy still enjoying himself.
"All this snow will make the women more beautiful!"
"That's all you care about?!" Coby yelled. "How the Hell is that even supposed to work?"
"The old geezer once told me that women from winter islands all have smooth skin as white as fresh snow. They are constantly rubbing themselves from the cold which makes their skin as smooth as porcelain and the snow bleaches their skin until it's the same color."
"Who's the old geezer that told you that bullshit?" Amy growled. "Winter island women look the same as any other women."
"You're stupid, Sanji!" Luffy laughed. "They don't look like porsh line!"
"You don't even know what porcelain is, Shitty Rubber!" the cook shot back. He rushed Luffy, intent on giving his captain a good kick to try to set his brains right, narrowly missing the shadow that passed through the air where he'd been. Luffy backflipped away from Sanji's kick, the wind carrying him over Coby in the back.
"That was fun!" the raven-haired teen grinned. "We should do that more once we find the doctor pirate lady!"
"Gah!" Coby gasped, a sudden pain hitting his side. His cry caught the attention of his lucid crewmates, Luffy rushing to his side to see what was wrong. Latched onto Coby's flank by a mouth of razor-like teeth was a small, white rabbit, its beady red eyes glaring at everyone as Coby's blood dripped down its jaw.
"The rabbit of death!" Luffy gasped, pointing at the animal. "Yasopp told stories about you!"
"Get it off!" the Zoan yelled. For once, Amy came to his rescue, her umbrella swinging like a bat. With it, she punted the rabbit into the snowstorm. Coby grit his teeth as the lapan's forceful ejection took several of his scales with it. "Ow."
"Suck it up, baby."
"You say that after getting mauled by a saber-toothed rabbit!"
"I'm guessing that was one of the lapans Dalton mentioned," Sanji offered. "Think you can keep going, Coby?"
"Yeah," the dinosaur sighed. "It's shallow, so it looks worse than it is. Plus, the cold is causing my veins to contract, so their should be less blood flow. Still hurt, though."
"When did you learn about injuries like that?" Sanji wondered.
"Zoro-sensei's lessons covered more than just swinging a sword, you know. It's not like we want to kill everyone because we can't control our weapons."
"Let's keep going," Luffy ordered, eyeing the snow around them with an air of seriousness the crew rarely saw from him. They suspected that had to do with the fact that that lapan had just attacked and hurt one of their group. "Amy, you and I are on pout here on out."
Amy blinked. "You mean on point?"
"Yeah, that. Let's go."
Now a little more serious than they had been, the group pressed on into the storm.
"Your pacing is making it hard to sleep," Zoro muttered, one eye opening to watch Vivi as the princess turned, her feet retracing the circle she'd worn into the snow over the last 20 minutes. "Honestly, you're just going to tire yourself out. Go inside."
"I can't just stay inside while everyone else is dealing with this cold," the princess rebuffed, pausing to gaze at the swordsman. Zoro had been so still that there was a layer of snow building on his knees and head, but the cold didn't seem to bother the man in the least. "And if something happens, there's no guarantee I'd be able to hear it inside."
"Suit yourself," the pirate shrugged. "Just don't start crying when your toes turn blue."
"How can you be so relaxed? Our friends are in the middle of a snowstorm with any number of dangers! Lapans, the mountain, the cold, Amy! I didn't trust her before and I still don't trust her now, you know. She's-"
"Loyal to her sister and not the crew," Zoro interrupted, shocking the princess.
"So you know?"
"Yeah, she hasn't exactly been quiet about it," Zoro answered with a sigh. "Listen, the sprimpette is one of the sick. As long as we are her best chance of survival, Amy will do everything she can to keep us alive like any other crewmember, and trust me, that's one of the first steps to becoming loyal to Luffy and the crew."
"I don't understand," Vivi admitted, walking over to sit beside the swordsman. "Were you the same way when you joined?"
"You could say that," the verdet shrugged. "Luffy blackmailed me into joining the crew. I was tied up in a Marine base and he said he wouldn't give me back my swords unless I joined him. Here I am, but I was talking about how Nami joined."
"Luffy beat up a fishman named Arlong," Vivi nodded. "Luffy told me about it on Little Garden."
"That wasn't half of it," Zoro snorted. "The witch stole the Merry while we were fighting another pirate crew even though she'd been traveling with us for a while. We chased her down and I thought it was just to get the ship back, but Luffy, the moron, decided he wouldn't accept anyone other than the witch."
"She is not a witch," Vivi insisted. "You can't just keep calling her that, Mr. Bushido."
"I'm in so much debt, I'll call her whatever the Hell I want," the swordsman responded. "Anyway, the point I'm making is that when Luffy decides to do something, he does it, and when he invites someone to the crew, they have to be spoken for or they have no way out."
"You really think-?" Vivi question was cut off by a local shouting something in the distance. The voice was muffled and distorted by the wind, but they seemed to be getting closer, if the rising of the voice's volume was any indication.
"-eed! Kureha and her monster are there looking for patients! Take your sick to Cocoa Weed!"
The villager's words grew muffled once more as they vanished down another street, repeating their information again for those who might need it. Vivi's eyes widened as the words faded, the princess grabbing Zoro by the arm and dragging him to his feet.
"Come on, Mr. Bushido! We have to go find her!"
"Why?" Zoro grumbled, brushing the snow off himself now that he was standing. "The others are already on their way to her house or whatever. She'll find them then."
"Or she could choose to spend the night," the blunette argued. "She lives on top of the mountain and if the others get there is she isn't, they might leave! Or they might have used up all their strength getting there! Any number of things could happen if we don't tell the doctor about Luffy and the others!"
"Ugh, fine," Zoro growled, slipping his swords into the loop on his coat. "I guess sitting around here was getting boring anyway. Chocolate Wheat or whatever, right? Get the feeling it's this way. Come on, I'll get us there in no time."
"Nami, I'm getting bored," Usopp whined, knocking on the door to the navigator's map room. There was little to do on the small boat with most of the crew gone and he'd already patched up the railing where that hungry hungry Wapol had munched on Merry. With those repairs done and his usual playmate gone, he'd taken to scampering up and down the mast for fun, but even that lost its charm when everything around them looked the same. Usopp waited for a few seconds, receiving no answer. He knocked again. "Come on, Nami! I know you're in there! Do you wanna build a snow-?"
"Go away, Usopp!"
"Meanie!" the sniper snapped. "There's nothing to do and we can't leave Merry here and go on land without hiding her."
"You didn't want to go on land before," Nami breathed, finally opening the door. A half-finished map laid on the desk behind her, a paperweight in the shape of a Beri sign keeping it in place as a strong wind blew into the room. "If you can come up with a better excuse for us to move the Merry, then we can go on land. Until that happens, I'm going to keep working on my maps."
"But-" Usopp didn't get to finish, the navigator shutting the door in his face. "She wouldn't be so mean is it was her that was sick," Usopp grumbled to himself, walking over to the railing. "I bet she'd end up liking it, though. Luffy probably would have carried her himself."
The long-nosed teen sighed, leaning against the railing as he sat on the deck, left alone to his own thoughts.
"Y'know, Merry, sometimes I wonder about my place on this crew," Usopp admitted, talking as if the ship understood his words. The Merry creaked, but that couldn't have been anything but chance. Even so, the sniper took it as a go ahead. "I just… I get the feeling I'm the weakest one here. Or at least, I'm the weakest one from the East Blue. We don't know what Grace can really do, but she's got Grand Line experience. Coby started off as the wimp, but now he's completely surpassed me in every way except shooting. Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, and Gin could wipe the floor with me without breaking a sweat. Nami doesn't exactly fight, but she's pulled us through the worst storms I've ever seen. And Amy… I don't even know where to start with how much she scares me."
Usopp sighed again, drawing his knees into his chest.
"What should I do, Merry? I just feel useless. Sometimes, I wonder if Luffy only let me join because Kaya and Merry gave you to them." The ship creaked again, a gust of wind dislodging a clump of snow from the top of the mast. The powder pile landed on top of the moping sniper, sending a shiver down his spine at the cold. Maybe he was going crazy, but something told him the Merry had done that on purpose. But that was just a ridiculous thought that he tossed aside. Sure, he just spent time spilling his guts to their ship, but she was just a ship. Ships don't come to life.
Jumping to his feet, Usopp shook the snow off himself only to have to step away as another clump of snow fell where he'd been standing, Confused, Usopp's eyes trailed along the mast and the crossbeam on alert for any more surprises. Finding none, the sniper started to relax until something caught his eye way out near the mouth of the river. Now, he prided himself on his eyesight and nearly dismissed it as a trick of the light, but he'd rather check and find nothing considering his instincts were telling him that danger was afoot. Lowering his goggles to his eyes and adjusting the lenses, it only took a few seconds before the submarine from before came into view on the very end of his vision, far enough away that no normal person would be able to see clearly.
Well, at least he had a better excuse.
"Nami!" Usopp yelled, rushing to her door once more. The orange-haired girl had not locked it, so he let himself in. "That waffle king guy is on his way here!"
"You can't be…" Nami trailed off, recognizing that the sniper was not telling one of his tall tales. Eyes widening, Nami replaced her pen into her inkwell and followed Usopp out onto the deck. "He could try to eat the Merry again if we aren't careful."
"Should we head further upriver?" Usopp suggested, already using the anchor's pully system rather than brute force like the others do.
"That's a good idea," Nami acknowledged. She paused. "You wanted to go on land, right? Once the Merry is hidden, I don't think we have a choice. We need to let the others know that Wapol is back. Usopp, remind me that we need to get some baby den-dens at some point. Goda knows we need a way to get in contact with Luffy or Zoro if they wander off."
"I think you mean when they wander off," Usopp corrected. "You and I both no they will always find ways to get themselves lost no matter where we are."
Nami paused.
"Yeah, you got me there. Now, if I'm right, there should be a little nook a ways upriver where we can hide the Merry, and the snow should cover her soon enough so she blends in. Let's get going."
End of Chapter 8
Yeah, this is so different than the first rendition and it's like I didn't have any control over it as I wrote. I didn't want to change it so much since I'm still working on Fishman Island, but it's happened now, so we're gonna roll with it. As for all the puns and references... yeah...
Read and Review!
-SwordOfTheGods