Twelve Red Lines

by Vikingr

I expected to die when I went into the water. Instead, I was rescued by a crew of people who I knew only as characters in a story. But what does it take to become worthy of being a Straw Hat? And why are so many little details not matching up to what I know?

7. Apostrophe

Apostrophe: When the character directly addresses a figure who is dead or absent, an imaginary or nonhuman entity, or a place or concept. The object of the apostrophe is often, but not always, personified.

The Patient One: Thank you. There'll be some progress with the Force-Force Fruit soon.

Gerbilfriend: Yeah, I looked up a few movies for ideas of more stuff to play with. A lot of people don't know about most of them because so many were never translated.

Xipholynx: As always, thank you very much. ^_^

CV12Hornet: The fruit will start doing things soon. End of this chapter there's a little, then more in the next one.

The Keeper of Worlds: Yes, when he eventually finds out, Garp will have a fit. And Usopp is totally broken— which I can have so much fun with. As far as Omatsuri... Spoiling that this early wouldn't help much. Half the crew would forget by the time they got there.

camierose: Thank you. ^_^ I'm pleased you like it.

Guest: *is hugged* Thank you. ^_^ And the laugh... That's just based on the way I laugh when I have a plan that's probably stupid but will definitely be fun. I'm glad people like it, I guess? *not sure how to react*

mutteringsandramblings: Thank you. ^_^

Lightsbane1905: Oh, I know. While there are certainly some things Jones will be able to fix, there are also quite a few that she'll screw up, or just change completely without the outcome necessarily being better or worse. It's a fine line to walk and I'm being careful.

Books fluttered around me as I stood on the grass, their jewel-bright colours shining as they played. Each flap of their pages was a chiming note. The largest, gleaming gold, perched on my head. I laughed and spun, trying to join in their spiral dance. But though the books kept beckoning for me to come with them, I couldn't leave the ground. Eventually they grew bored. Even my golden friend left then; the tinkling book-song grew sad and distant. I feel to my knees, too tired to chase them any longer.

…Beep…

A cat wearing a blue jumper poured me a cup of tea. We were in my bedroom from when I was a child; soft lilac walls painted with kittens surrounded the white furniture. But that was wrong- I hadn't lived in that room for almost six years. I looked at the cat to tell him this; he shook his head before I could say anything.

"Don't question it Dear. Just enjoy your tea. There's extra milk; it'll help you heal after all that training you've been doing."

"But this… I don't live in this world anymore, let alone this room. This is just a dream."

"Just a dream? JUST a dream?" The cat shook his head, offended. His tone made the teacups cringe. "Of course it's a dream, Love. But do you really think that makes any of it any less real? Drink your tea. You'll be waking up soon; you need the energy."

X

I was the first one into the galley that morning- barring Sanji of course. The cook nodded when I came in. "Good morning Jo- ahem, Jones." His voice dropped two octaves as he coughed, from over-the-top flirting to his normal speech. He made a face at me. "You have no idea how hard it is for me to imagine you as Reiju. I don't even know what she'd look like now."

"If you want, I could draw you a picture."

"No thanks." Sanji shook his head. "Although I guess I'll see eventually, eh? The only reason you'd know about those shitty bastards is if they were important to your precious story."

"Sorry."

"Don't apologize; not your fault."

"Sorry."

Sanji rolled his eyes. "Why do you apologize so much Jones? Like I said, it's not usually your fault. And even if it was, most people I know would just roll with things most of the time. Not that a lovely lady should ever have to apologize for her actions."

"Remind me never to let you near Hancock. You'll just feed her ego. And I apologize so much because I'm Canadian; it's part of our culture, like hockey and Tim Horton's."

"You come from a strange world." Then the cook's eyes suddenly lit up pink. "Wait… Did you just say we're gonna meet Hancock? As in Boa Hancock, the most beautiful woman in the world?"

"Maybe."

His eyes completed their transformation into beating hearts. Sanji fainted; luckily the stove wasn't on and he hadn't been holding anything sharp. I figured I could just leave him there for a minute. There was plenty of time before the rest of the crew was ready for breakfast- which was why I was surprised when Johnny and Yosaku walked in.

"Morning Big Sis! You done all your stretching and things already?"

"Yeah. Woke up early this morning."

Yosaku shook his head. "I can't believe you're already up and training again after what happened the other day."

"Why not? Sanji's barely limping anymore."

"Yeah, but he's… Big Bro Sanji."

I narrowed my eyes. Yes, everything ached like Hell, but that didn't mean I would admit it or let that stop me. "Are you saying that girls can't be as tough as guys?" Because I wasn't the only one on the crew who would have a problem with that, and teaming up with Zoro and possibly Nami to teach the hunters a lesson would be slight overkill.

It was funny to watch Yosaku go stiff. Johnny elbowed his partner and whispered- although when it was that loud, it barely counted as a whisper- into his partner's ear. "Bro… I think you should say no."

"No?"

"Right answer." Sometimes I wondered if Johnny and Yosaku shared a brain, and maybe there were times when only one of them had access to it. The hunters relaxed. Then they noticed Sanji lying there on the floor.

"Um, Sis, what happened to Big Bro Sanji?"

"He's just daydreaming about the most beautiful woman in the world. I should probably wake him up soon." Despite my words, I made no move to do so. Johnny saw this as an opportunity, pulling a pen from his pocket and scrawling something across the cook's forehead. How that didn't wake Sanji up, I wasn't sure. I should probably be concerned about that- what if the chef had sustained head trauma when he fell?

Yosaku slapped Johnny upside the head as the blue hunter put his pen away. "Idiot! He's gonna know it was you."

"No he won't. I made it look like Big Bro Zoro's handwriting." Well, if that was what Zoro's writing looked like, I feared for his future if he ever tried to switch professions. Seriously, I'd seen chicken scratch that looked more like letters.

As if on cue, the swordsman marched in with a yawn. "Morning Johnny, Yosaku, Jones… Why's Swirly Brow on the ground?"

"Overloaded his brain thinking about the most beautiful woman in the world. I'm trying to decide whether we need to check him for head trauma or not." Not that I really knew what to look for, aside from bumps and bleeding. We couldn't get to Drum Kingdom soon enough.

Zoro nudged Sanji with his foot- and by nudge, I mean Zoro was kicking him, and not even all that lightly. The cook groaned and jumped to his feet. "What was that for Moss-Head? And what're you shitheads all doing in the kitchen?"

Ignoring the chef's words, the swordsman squinted at the scribbles Johnny had left behind. "Pervert?" Zoro snorted. "Well, it fits. Maybe that'll teach you to spend less time doting on Nami and more time training."

"What?!" Sanji pulled out a spoon to check his reflection. His face flushed red. "That's your handwriting, shitty Moss-Head!"

Zoro blocked the incoming kick with one still-sheathed sword. "Hey! Don't blame me; it was there when I got here!"

"Like I'd believe that!" The chef booted the swordsman out of the kitchen before taking off after him. By the time Sanji stepped out of the doors, Zoro was set to meet him with three swords in position. I shook my head as they began to brawl.

"You really shouldn't keep antagonizing those two and making them blame each other," I told Johnny and Yosaku. "They fight enough on their own."

"Maybe." Yosaku shrugged; Johnny grinned. "But if Big Bro Zoro gets tired out fighting Big Bro Sanji, he'll go easier on us sparring later. Otherwise he tries to put us through something like you and Ghin do."

"And that's a bad thing?"

"YES! Big Bro Zoro doesn't know what normal people can and can't do! When he tries to work with us like Ghin works with you, he ends up beating us through the floor!" Huh. Sounded like my jab at Zoro's teaching skills had actually hit a nerve.

X

"Tag! Jones is it!"

"Not for long!" I didn't bother going after my captain, lunging instead for Usopp. Luffy had more or less ordered me to switch my cardio training from running laps to playing with him and I had to admit, I was having fun.

My ankle and wrist weights pulled just enough to be useful without throwing my balance off too badly when I vaulted or climbed- although doing the big wall-ups was much harder than before. Perfect. They also made me too slow to have any realistic hope of catching either of my playmates- I barely would've had one without the weights. A sprinter I was not. Johnny and Yosaku had been playing with us earlier and were easier to tag. They'd been distracted though; Johnny'd had something called an "idea cake" and they'd run off to try something.

"What's that?" Usopp halted suddenly, causing me to run into him. We both went down. The sniper was up seconds later, peering over the rail. "Is that-? There's a flock of birds to starboard."

"And that means you have to stop like that?" I rubbed my back as I got up. My bruised everything screamed in protest at the unexpected abuse.

"Heh. Sorry. Wonder what they're after? Fish? Small boat?" Usopp fiddled with his goggles.

Sanji huffed from the rail. "Probably fish; birds follow 'em all the time looking for an easy meal. Bet we could catch something fresh for lunch."

"Alright!" Luffy bounced in place. "Gum-Gum Grab!" The captain stretched his arm out towards whatever was in the water. Nami sighed and shook her head at his antics.

"For someone who spends all his time playing and fishing, you don't actually know how to fish, do you?"

Luffy's only response was a broad grin. The usual rubbery snap sounded as his hand came back our way, holding something fairly large. Usopp and Sanji got a good look at it first as it soared closer to the ship. Sanji's foot crashed into the back of Luffy's head. "That's not a fish, dumbass! It's a little kid!"

"Ow!" Luffy let go of his flying burden, hand snapping down to rub the back of his head. A shadow flew across the deck as the captain pouted, followed by a small splash. Usopp jumped and ran to the rail.

"Little girl overboard!"

"On it!" I had my weights off and was over the side in seconds. About halfway to the water I remembered that as of a few days ago, I could no longer swim. Oops.

On the plus side, I splashed in near the girl. Her yellow dress was easy to see in the dark water. Unfortunately, my graceless cannonball was no help whatsoever. We sank together. The girl's struggles were as ineffective as my own- she was a Devil Fruit user too.

Water burned my lungs, an uncomfortably familiar feeling. Blackness nibbled at the edges of my vision. Then warmth encircled me, a large body. Seconds later I was dragged to the surface, safe in Zoro's arms. Ghin and the little girl popped up beside us. Above us, Usopp lowered a ladder.

When everyone was safe on deck- and in the case of me and the little girl, coughing up bucket loads of water- Sanji and Luffy stared at us. Both looked worried- especially Luffy. He probably thought I'd been going back on my promise or something. Sanji snuffed out his cigarette and stomped off towards the galley while Luffy bounced over to poke at my face. "Jones… I thought you could swim."

"I could."

Ghin smirked. "So you ate it then? How'd it taste?"

"Let's just say that Zoro's socks would be appetizing in comparison."

The swordsman huffed and nudged me with his boot, hard enough that I rolled across the deck. "See if I ever pull your sorry ass out again."

Luffy still looked confused; Ghin explained. "Jones saw a Devil Fruit she liked the look of in a shop in Loguetown. I told Johnny and Yosaku about it, and they went and got it for her. Something was said about bribing her into being their prank bitch forever."

"Cool! What can you do?" Luffy poked me. I shook my head.

"As soon as I figure out how to use it, I'll let you know. More importantly," I turned to the girl who I'd jumped in to try and help. "You okay?"

She groaned and rubbed her head. "Yeah, Puppy-man got me out in time. You shouldn't be so careless though; forgetting about your fruit like that could've drowned us both."

"Sorry. I only got it recently…"

Nami came over and knelt beside the girl. She shot the rest of us a scathing look as she did so. "Hi there. I'm Nami. The idiot in the straw hat is Luffy; the others are Zoro, Ghin, Usopp, and Jones. Sanji should be coming soon with a towel and something warm for you to drink; I don't know where Johnny and Yosaku ran off to."

"Hi! I'm Apis!"

"That's a nice name. Can you tell us how you got in the water Apis? Were you shipwrecked?"

The little yellow girl curled up into a ball. "I- you're not marines, are you?"

We all looked up at our flag, the grinning skull that flapped proudly in the wind. Apis jumped as she followed our gaze. "What?! Pirates?!" Her braid went stiff, standing out horizontally behind her head. I added that to my list of things to ask Chopper about when I met the little doctor.

"Aw! But we're not like normal pirates." Nami's coaxing was met with no noticeable success. Then Sanji appeared, bearing a fluffy blue towel in one hand and a mug of hot chocolate in the other.

"Hello little one. The shithead with the face of a bulldog didn't hurt you getting you out, did he?"

Growling, Ghin slapped Sanji upside the head. The cook responded with a kick that was blocked by spinning tonfa. Apis was frozen, aside from fiddling with the claw-shaped pendant of hernecklace. Luffy poked her; no reaction. "Guys… I think she's broken."

Zoro shook his head. "Most people are scared of pirates. So… What do we do with her?"

Luffy shrugged. "I dunno."

In the end, we decided to keep her in the cargo hold until she calmed down. Not that this was likely the best decision, but… It was like me when I joined the crew. Apis didn't trust us. We took the mug of hot chocolate down with her, and Sanji brought her some stew at dinnertime. When I went down to go to my own bed, I saw the girl curled up at the other end of the hold, sitting on the towel, a spare blanket pulled over her head. She hadn't eaten any of her food. I… I felt like I should've done something to comfort her, but I wasn't sure what, so I just curled up on my makeshift bed and went to sleep. It was uncomfortable, having a stranger down there with me, but I was too tired and sore to care. Plus I was confident in my ability to defend myself from a child, and Apis was so scared of pirates I doubted she'd come anywhere near me.

X

I was awakened in the middle of the night by tiny footsteps. Apis was sneaking up on deck. Following her led to the galley; I stopped her as she opened the door. "It's safer to just wake Sanji up and ask him; there's traps in there to keep Luffy from stealing from the fridge."

"Wah!" Apis' yell was followed by a loud twang. That scared her even more, enough that she jumped and crouched behind me on reflex. Inside the galley, a collection of wire snares had wrapped around Luffy, suspending him from the ceiling. Huh. Funny, I thought in the anime it was a giant mousetrap. Maybe this was what Johnny and Yosaku had been building earlier.

The hatch leading to the men's cabin opened; Sanji shook his head as he emerged onto the deck. "Oi! Rubber shithead! Ask first dammit; if you're really that hungry, I'll make you something!" Then the cook saw Apis and I and blinked. "Jones… Apis… Sorry, thought it was the shitty captain. What're you two doing up?"

"You're not all wrong." I jerked my thumb towards the galley. "Luffy's in there, caught in some wire net thing. Have Johnny and Yosaku been building traps for you?"

"Yeah. Reparations for all the shit they pull. I know it's them; just don't feel like calling them out on it without actual evidence." Sanji smiled and leaned down towards Apis. "So… What can I do for you ladies?"

"Apis is hungry cause she didn't actually eat her stew. I wouldn't mind a snack either, and Luffy probably wants some too."

"He always does." Sanji rolled his eyes. "Come on in and get the shithead down; I'll make something."

The wires holding Luffy were tight and fine; I cut my fingers a little trying to undo them. How the captain was able to hang there and not bleed with them digging into his skin was beyond me; maybe rubber was harder to cut than regular flesh? Apis sat on one of the benches and watched as I freed the rubber boy from the trap. She seemed to be fighting not to smile.

It was a fight she lost when the rest of the crew walked in. Nami shook her head. "You'll be tired in the morning. Did you think we were gonna poison you or something? I already told you- whatever you think normal pirates are like, that's not us. We would never do something like that. Especially not Sanji."

"So- so you're not gonna sell me or anything?"

Usopp shook his head. "Of course not!"

Apis relaxed a little, enough to eat a few spoonfuls of stew. Her eyes lit up. "This is amazing! I've never had anything so yummy."

Luffy beamed. "Of course! Sanji's food is amazing- that's why we picked him."

Zoro huffed. "It's not that good, but when the main other option is Jones and her ginger obsession…"

"Shut it, Moss-for-Brains!" Sanji slammed a kick into the swordsman's side. Zoro growled and drew one of his swords to retaliate. Ghin sighed and shoved both of them out onto the deck before the brawl could grow large enough to endanger Apis. The little girl giggled; Nami smiled.

"See? We're not scary at all."

"No, I guess not." Apis grinned back. "Thank you for rescuing me, and giving me food. Is there anything I can do to help out? Make breakfast tomorrow?"

I paled, remembering what happened in the anime. Before I could say anything though, Sanji beat me to it. "Sorry, but unless it's an emergency, nobody but me cooks on this ship. Otherwise we'd have to let Jones do it too, and the captain says that's a no go."

Luffy, Zoro, Usopp, and Nami all nodded feverishly. For once I didn't comment. High tolerance for spicy food or not, I had no intention of eating the ashy, indistinct messes that I'd seen on the show. Apis wilted.

"Oh. Okay."

"Ah, don't worry about it." Luffy patted her on the back. "It's fine."

"So… Why were you floating out in the middle of nowhere anyway?" Nami asked. "We're not exactly close to any islands right now. And you asked us if we were marines when we picked you up…"

"Oh, yeah." Apis looked down, fiddling with the tassels on her sash. "I… Some marines had me as a prisoner- I escaped a few days ago during a big storm. Now I'm lost…"

"Aw! That's so sad Li'l Sis!" Johnny and Yosaku rubbed tears from the corners of their eyes. "Those marines are assholes!"

"Yeah, but they must have a reason. Not always a good one, but still…" I winced at Zoro's words. He had no idea…

Apis bit her lip. "Please… I'm… I can't talk about it right now."

"Like Jones," Ghin noted dryly. "It's fine as long as it's not dangerous, right captain?"

"Right!" Luffy swallowed the last of his snack and waved a spoon around like it was some sort of war banner. "Or even if it's just a little dangerous- that's fine too!"

"Thank you…" Apis stood up and bowed. "I- I can't believe a bunch of pirates would be so nice to me… I hate to ask any more, but… Would you be able to take me home?"

Luffy bounced. "Sure! Where'd you live?"

Nami retrieved a chart; Apis squinted at it, mouthing the words. She let out a triumphant squeak and pointed. "There! Warship Island!"

Thoughtful, Nami whispered to herself as she traced a line from the indicated island to what I assumed were our current coordinates. "Hmm… If we keep going at this pace, we can be there early tomorrow afternoon- or this afternoon now, given how late it is. Assuming we don't get blown off course, that is. Jones, man the helm."

"Why me?" Not that I was protesting, just curious.

"You're more likely to feel storms and such coming up than the men; better able to compensate."

Luffy nodded. "Right! Because- mph!" Zoro covered the captain's mouth with his hand before Luffy could blurt out where I came from. Why it was so easy to keep the secret from Dragon, and yet the rubber boy couldn't keep his trap shut around a little girl, I would never know. Unless other me had just forgotten or something, but I doubted that.

X

We didn't set out right away, but our anchor still rose before dawn. It was smooth sailing; in truth, we didn't need a helmsman once we started in the right direction. A bright, clear day, barely a cloud in the sky. The wind was pretty strong though, so we were making good time. Right until Usopp shouted from the crow's nest.

"Ah! Marines! A whole fleet! What're they doing here?!"

"Maybe they figured out Big Bro Luffy's not a bounty hunter and came to catch him?" Johnny suggested. Yosaku hit him over the head.

"As if! His own grandpa hasn't figured it out; how would these guys?"

It didn't take long for the marine ships to draw closer. They all had the number eight printed on their sails; I couldn't remember if that was the branch that had been involved in kidnapping Apis, but it was a safe bet. Especially since Apis was shaking, terrified, crouching by Nami's tangerine saplings. I went to crouch beside her. "These are the guys you escaped from, aren't they?"

"Yeah." A bunch of seagulls landed on the rails. Their presence seemed to comfort Apis. Of course; she could talk to animals. I wasn't sure what the gulls were saying, but I was grateful to them for it.

A faint explosion cut through the air; cannonballs crashed down around us in a circle. Luckily none of them hit the Going Merry, but they came uncomfortably close. The ship set to rocking from the force. Caravels really weren't the most durable vessels around.

"They're shooting at us!" Usopp yelled. Nami hit him over the head.

"Thank you captain obvious!"

Zoro and Ghin looked at Luffy. "So Don, what do we do?"

"Yeah. We gonna fight 'em?"

"Sounds good to me. Sanji? Jones?"

The cook blew smoke rings. "I'm up for it if you are- and I'll take out twice as many marines as the shitty moss ball. Apis, you should go below and wait it out."

Before I could even think of saying anything, Usopp jumped in. "Hey! Why aren't you asking me and Nami if we wanna fight? I say we should get outta here!"

"That's why I didn't ask."

Apis wasn't moving, too engrossed in staring at the gulls. Then she and Nami started shouting at the same time. "Guys, it's coming! He says it's a big one!"

"Johnny, Yosaku, Ghin, ready on the mainsail! Sanji, mizzen! Usopp, Johnny, Yosaku, secure all deck cargo! Jones, rudder full starboard! There's a big gust coming! We've gotta ride it out!"

I ran to do as I was told. Honestly though? I thought we should stand and fight. It would make things go so much faster than this wind ex machina. But at the same time, I wanted to see dragons, and there was no guarantee I'd get to see the whole flock if I did something to throw the timing off. And we probably shouldn't get into any fights with Apis on board; after what had almost happened to Akisu… Eh, we could always kick marine ass later. It's not like we wouldn't be seeing them again.

My hands were barely on the whipstaff when the gust hit, sending the Merry skipping across the waves. Saying it was a big one was an understatement. No way would the marines catch us at this rate though; we were far lighter than any of their ships. Nami poked her head in to check on me in between keeping an eye on the charts and yelling at Johnny for somehow getting tied up in one of the lines. "Keep her there Jones, and brace yourself for rough water. Gusts like that can mean a thunderhead might be forming in the area- although usually there'd be more clouds."

I wasn't expecting any more storms any time soon- Dragon's schedule had been thrown off by Sabo getting his memories back, plus we seemed to be working by the anime schedule rather than the manga one. And at least being on helm meant I could keep us out of the Calm Belt. Although it turned out that I only barely managed that, and I couldn't have done it without Luffy. There's a serious problem with having your whipstaff inside where the helmsman can't see.

The wind had died down; Nami was calling directions to me from her chart table. "Jones, you need to take us fifteen degrees to port! There's a reef in the way!"

I was about to turn the ship when Luffy's voice came back from his special seat. "Hey! Why's the water on the left green?"

"Tabarnak! Nami, why didn't you tell me we were that close to the Calm Belt?" I dragged the whiptaff across; the Going Merry rocked violently as she careened to starboard. Luffy yelped and wrapped his arms around the figurehead to keep himself from flying off. I slid into horse stance for more stability. "How far north do we have to go to get around the reef?"

"More than three times as far! Go south! And what do you mean- Ah! Those marines distracted me!"

"Calm Belt?" Yosaku asked. "What does that- wait. No wind?"

"No wind," I confirmed. "It'd be a pain in the ass to get out. Plus the sea kings nest there."

"Recalculating." Nami frowned at her charts for a minute. "Okay, I've got the new course. If nothing else comes up, we should get to Warship Island around dinner time."

X

As we grew closer to Warship Island, I switched off the helm in favour of Ghin- he was better at bringing the ship in to harbour. So I got a full view of the island as it came into sight, looming up out of the gathering evening fog. A towering stone barque, encrusted with trees like a blanket of emeralds. Except much, much bigger. Each sail was a sheer cliff, the masts shaped by towering spires rising from the tops.

"How…?" My voice was barely more than a breath, but Usopp still heard me.

"What's wrong Jones?"

I gestured towards the island. "How do you form an island in the shape of a ship? Erosion, volcanism… I'm no geologist, but I don't think they work like that."

"No idea. It's really cool though, isn't it?"

"Yeah…" Maybe I needed to stop questioning how everything worked and just let myself enjoy it- although the scientist in me rejected that proposal.

Apis called out directions as we got closer to the island. She led us to a secluded bay beneath towering cliffs, deep and shadowed. Once the Going Merry was inside, she'd be invisible to anyone on the open sea. I stared up at the craggy stone as we sailed in; stripes of blue-grey and pink-brown twined around the occasional fleck of white quartz, reminding me of home. This was… different. Hadn't they landed by the village in the anime? Although we were coming from a different direction…

"Come on!" Apis ran around excitedly as Zoro dropped the anchor. "Grandpa's probably worried; I have to go tell him I'm alright! You should come for supper!"

Well, that was the perfect way to get Luffy on board- and thus, all the rest of us with him. "Yes! Food!" The rubber boy grabbed the nearest person- who happened to be Johnny- and reached for a tree on shore with his other hand. "Gum-Gum Rocket!"

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Tears streamed from Johnny's eyes as he flew through the air. He and Luffy slammed into the trunk of a gnarled oak. While the rubber boy grinned and bounced back into shape, the blue bounty hunter slid to the bottom of the tree with a groan.

"Me next! Me next!" Apis hopped up and down on the Merry's rail before trying to jump to shore. Luffy grabbed her out of the air and pulled her to his chest with a loud snap. The little girl giggled; my captain followed suit.

"Shishishi! You almost fell in doing that!"

"I knew you'd catch me!" The little girl blinked up at our captain. "Hey, Luffy, did you get your power from eating a Devil Fruit too?"

"Of course! How else would it work?"

"Oh. Right."

Looking at the distance between ship and shore, Nami shook her head. "Jones… All those lists you gave us for shopping in Loguetown… You couldn't have thought to tell anyone we should invest in a landing craft?"

"Um… Sorry… I don't know most of the coastal geography with any accuracy, and the few I do know have places deep enough to bring the Merry right in close to shore. I didn't know we'd need a landing craft this early on." I stared out over the water. Shallow enough to keep a caravel from getting any closer, yet deep enough to drown in. Perfect. And too far for even Zoro to jump at this point in the story, let alone someone like me. Shining, blue-green water, almost Caribbean- and probably warm too. I found myself missing the ability to swim.

Nami swung her fist; I blocked before she could get my head, deflecting her arm up and to the side before snapping my own punch in towards her face. My fist stopped less than a centimeter from the navigator's nose. She stared at me; I shrugged.

"Hit me all you like; it's good training. But be warned, I punch back."

For a moment, Nami looked like she was about to scream at me, or try to hit me again. She deflated though, staring back at the shore. "Fair enough, I guess. So… We still need to get to shore."

"We could always wait for Luffy to rocket people over one by one."

"No thanks."

"Suit yourself. You could probably swim the distance; it doesn't look too bad." Shrugging, I waved at Luffy. Something in the back of my head was telling me this was a bad idea. Common sense, maybe? Did I have one of those? Nah, must be my imagination. "Captain! I can't jump that far! A little help?"

"Shishishi! Sure Jones!" A rubber hand snapped over to grab me by the back of my shirt. At least he didn't get my arm or something; he'd probably have popped it out of the socket. With a crack like a bullwhip, I was yanked to shore. Wind rushed at my face for a few brief seconds, tears stinging my eyes. Then I crashed into something heavy and squishy, with the texture and smell of a brand-new tire. Luffy.

Johnny squawked in protest. "How come you catch Big Sis, but you let me crash into a tree?"

Luffy grinned and shrugged. "I wasn't trying to whack you into a tree! Sometimes I just don't aim well is all; Ace used to yell at me for it all the time. I'm lots better than I was when I was little though!"

"Don't be so carefree about it!" Johnny whacked our rubber captain over the head. Luffy didn't react, continuing to grin and giggle.

The rest of the crew chose to swim to shore rather than play the Russian Roulette game of flying Air Gum-Gum. It took several minutes for everyone to get to beach. By then Apis was bouncing with impatience. "Come on! I wanna go tell Grandpa I'm alright!"

Nami snorted, wringing water out of her shirt and hair. "Just a second. There's something I've gotta do before we can go." Stomping over to me, the navigator snapped her staff together and brought it down towards my head. Merde. I didn't have time to reach for any of my own weapons to block; down I went, the top of my head aching. Nami's strike knocked my hat askew.

"What was that for?" I rubbed my bruised head and put my hat back the way it was. The navigator hit me again for good measure, her staff coming down to bruise my left collarbone.

"For forgetting we'd need a landing craft! You're supposed to be smart Jones!"

"Book smart! Not common sense smart! That's what high INT, low WIS means!" When Nami moved to hit me again, I reached over my shoulder and pulled my own staff from across my back. Wood met wood with a resounding crack.

"It's even worse when you know it!" Disengaging, Nami tried to swing at me from the side, shifting into proper staff fighting rather than just an angry beating. "Can't you compensate somehow? You make lists and notes for just about everything else!"

"That's not how my head works! Geez, you sound like my mother." I continued blocking. Nami was a little better at this than me, but not that much.

Zoro stepped between us, grabbing both staves and forcing us to stop. "Enough. We get it; Jones doesn't think things through. What's new? Let's just get moving. You can beat each other to death with sticks later."

Luffy clapped and rocked back and forth. Nami reluctantly took her staff apart and backed down; I slid mine back through the loops on my back. Ghin smirked; I'm so glad my situation amused him.

Walking through the trees of Warship Island was like being home; away from the sight of the sea, the rocks and plants of the island resembled those of the Canadian Shield. I felt rejuvenated as we walked along, running my hands over every stone, every tree. Rough bark and jagged edges… Beauty. Some of these trees were ancient, towering thrice the height of the Going Merry's mast. I was tempted to run off, climbing and exploring. But my stomach growled, and I couldn't leave the crew. I walked behind Sanji as we headed for Apis' village.

"Grandpa!" The yellow-clad girl raced into the arms of a stooped, bearded old man as soon as the village came into sight. He hugged her on reflex, his stunned face leaking happy tears.

"Apis! You're back! I can't believe it- when those marines took you, I thought…"

"I got away during a storm! Then these nice pirates saved me from drowning- although they were the reason I started drowning in the first place."

Staring at my feet, I shuffled in place. "Sorry… It was an accident."

The old man chuckled, a hand on Apis shoulder as he faced our crew. "I see… Well, I'm afraid this is the first time I've heard of nice pirates, but I think if you meant any harm, you would've done something already. Thank you for returning my granddaughter to me. You can come to dinner if you like; my way of saying thanks. I was just about to go home and make something." His gaze was wary, but not in a way that suggested he thought we would attack.

Numerous people wearing the same floppy conical hats and sack-like tunics and dresses as Apis and her grandfather stared as we crossed the village. A few of them waved, smiles on their faces. "Welcome back Apis!"

"Are you alright? Your grandfather was so worried!"

"Glad to see you made it home in one piece. Who're your new friends?"

The little girl waved back, beaming. "I'm fine everybody! Sorry for worrying everyone! These are the Straw Hats; they brought me home after I escaped the stinky marines!"

A few of the townsfolk frowned. "But… why were you taken in the first place?"

"It's… I'm sorry. I can't tell." Apis put off any further questions by hugging her grandfather tightly and partially hiding her face in his tunic.

Apis' grandfather's house was small and snug- perfect for a family of two or three, but crowded when a crew of nine came to call. The little girl helped her grandfather cook as the rest of us got comfortable; I think the only thing that kept Sanji from joining them in the kitchen was that it was too small. Johnny sat on Yosaku's lap in the cramped space. When Sanji offered for Nami to do the same with him, she hit the cook with one of the segments of her staff. Rubbing a fresh bruise, Sanji turned to me.

"How about you, Jones? Or would you rather sit on Ghin's lap?"

I stared. "…Sanji? Remember who I told you to imagine whenever you felt like flirting with me?"

"Yes."

"Please also think about her whenever you picture me with other guys."

The cook paused for a moment. Then he shrugged. "Eh. Makes no difference."

"Idiot!" I scowled at the floor, pointedly ignoring the cook's existence as I found myself a corner to crouch in. Ghin chuckled.

"You're not the first to make that mistake Sanji, but I don't think Jones swings that way."

"Wha-?" Sanji stared, silent and frozen, one eyelid twitching. I could feel his brain break, a faint tinkling somewhere beyond light or sound. Really? It had never occurred to him that some girls might be attracted to other girls? Then again, this was the man who would be totally traumatized after meeting an island full of crossdressers.

Still… I scowled at Ghin from where I sat. He had no right to make assumptions like that when he didn't know the whole story- and certainly no right to be telling people about his assumptions. "Just because I flip-flop in how I identify doesn't mean I don't like guys. It's complicated!"

"Uh? Oh. Sorry Jones." He wasn't really, but he was going to be. I was sure I could think of something to do to Ghin that Johnny and Yosaku could get on board with.

The arrival of food interrupted both my musings of revenge and Sanji's fish-like trance. Apis grinned as she passed out bowls of delicious smelling stew; her grandfather beamed proudly behind her. "Here! Grandpa's making pork buns, but I thought you might like something while they cook- they take forever."

"Thank you!" The stew tasted as good as it smelled, meaty and salty with an unusual aftertaste that I couldn't quite place. Maybe the anime had been wrong about Apis' cooking skills. But while I enjoyed it and Luffy ate like, well, Luffy, the rest of the crew was having different reactions. Zoro turned almost as green as his hair and tipped most of his serving into our captain's bowl when he thought no one was looking. Usopp appeared to be in pain. Nami muttered to herself in between bites that she mustn't be rude, then eventually gave up and put her bowl down. Ghin ate as if it were a challenge that had to be overcome for the good of the crew. Johnny and Yosaku didn't even try; one bite and they followed Zoro's lead, sliding their portions in Luffy's direction. Sanji's eyes were watering. Even Apis' grandfather chewed with an air of silent suffering.

Beaming, Apis clapped her hands before digging into her own bowl. "How is it?"

"Delicious!" Luffy bounced in place as he consumed the extra that our crew mates had slid his way. He would never complain about or question the presence of more food. I nodded along with the captain's assessment, my mouth full.

Of course, right at that moment, Apis' face turned a lovely shade of magenta and she started gagging on her own cooking. "Spicy!" The little girl wilted. "I- I'm sorry everyone. I must've grabbed the wrong seasoning."

Across from me, Usopp leaned in to whisper to Sanji. "Imagine this, but with a buttload of ginger added in. That's what it's like when Jones cooks."

Those words actually made the chef edge away from me, sending me a look of terrified, disgusted awe- the sort I normally associated with people watching a giant Australian spider eating a mouse. I scowled at Usopp. Seriously, it doesn't count as a running gag or character flaw unless I did it more than once! Why did people keep harping on it?

Several minutes later, everyone was finished eating. Outside, the sky was starting to grow dark. There was no way we'd be able to find our way back to the Going Merry before nightfall. That didn't bother Apis or her grandfather. The old man lit a fire, though the room didn't need it. Not with eleven bodies in such a cramped space. It was for atmosphere, I suppose.

"Now, since it will be another few hours before the pork buns are ready, let me tell you a tale of the heroes of old, from when this island was the center of a large and prosperous kingdom." Apis' grandfather had a soothing, somewhat musical voice that was emphasized when he slipped into storytelling mode. "Back before the days of even the World Government, there lived a man named Vespinae, who was in love with fair Mellifera, and it's from these two lovers that the kings of our land were descended. But long before they sired any princes, Vespinae was born as a humble farmer on the west end of the island…"

One by one, my crew mates zoned out as the story droned on. Or at least, most of them did. Apis snuck off early on- around the time Vespinae was stung by his uncle's bees or something. What? I wasn't really paying attention to the story either. It was even more boring than my statistics professor. Although… Note to self, get Apis and her grandfather's snail number so Robin could call them when she joined up. She'd probably be interested in the old stories. About hour after Apis left, Luffy stumbled sleepily out the door while muttering something about a bathroom.

When our captain had been gone for an hour himself, Nami started to fidget. Then she crawled towards the door- which, with how closely we were all crowded together, meant climbing over people's laps. Mine included. I raised an eyebrow, even though I knew what she was trying to do. "Going to check on the captain?"

"Yeah." Nami smiled. "Why? You wanna come with?"

"Sure."

We found Luffy passed out on the ground in front of the outdoor steamer where the pork buns had been cooking. Aside from the one lying on his back, all of the aforementioned buns were gone. I picked the bun up and started munching on it as Nami shook the rubber boy awake with a hiss. "Luffy! You idiot! What's everyone else supposed to eat?"

"He didn't take them," I said through a mouthful of pork as the captain leapt up to protest his innocence. Luffy beamed at me.

"Yeah! Jones knows I didn't do it!" Then he saw what I was eating. "Hey! Jones, did you take all the pork buns?"

"Nope. Just this one." I pointed at a trail that had been made in the dirt by Apis dragging a huge sack. "We can find the others if we follow that though." Not that we would be able to get them back, but still.

So we followed the trail deep into the woods. It was fun, like playing around in the trails back home. My real home, not the city I'd lived in while doing my undergrad. I hadn't had a chance to do this in a while- not when all my classmates assumed I was crazy or an adrenaline junkie for jumping around on rocks. For me at least, it's nothing like that. I enjoy the freedom and flight of parkour and bouldering, yes, but not for the adrenaline rush. Don't really get one; for me, it's about control, precision- the knowledge that I can do these things because I've practiced, and the confidence that nothing would go wrong, even though it could. I don't really know how to explain it.

Warm stone was rough and comforting under my hands as Luffy, Nami, and I followed Apis through the trees and up the craggy hills. I was rather proud of the surety with which I was accomplishing this, even as I revelled in the simple joys of climbing through a forest landscape. No, I'm not ashamed to admit I was jumping from rock to rock like some sort of excited baby deer. Nami rolled her eyes at my antics; Luffy giggled.

"Shishishi! Jones's pretty good at this! Did you grow up on a mountain too?"

"Not exactly, but close enough."

After a long climb, we came to a ravine- just a couple meters wide, but with a terrifyingly long drop. I could just see the entrance to the dragon cave through the bushes on the other side. Nami took one look at the ravine and turned to Luffy; the captain nodded and stretched himself across. "Gum-Gum Suspension Bridge!"

"You coming Jones?" It was funny, watching Nami edge across, balancing carefully on Luffy's back as he bounced up and down in the gentle wind. With the way my weights were still throwing me off, I didn't trust myself to do that. But I had another way.

"Yeah, just a second." I backed up a ways and ran at the edge of the ravine. No, there was no way I could make that jump- not in the normal sense of making it, at least. But like when I'd leapt from ship to ship when freeing Ghin, I continued moving forwards as I fell, just far enough that my hands latched onto the edge of the rock. And getting a grip with my feet to push up was much easier on rocks like this than on a vertical wall or a wet wooden hull.

Nami stared at me. "What was- you could've died!"

"I could've," I agreed, "But I didn't and I won't. If I knew I couldn't get the edge, I wouldn't have done it." Why did no one ever seem to understand that? The first thing we- no, the second thing we learned in parkour was how to judge distance. The first was how to land properly.

Shaking her head, the navigator sighed. "I thought it would be nice to have another girl around, but no, you're just one of the guys, aren't you?"

"Yeah. Sorry."

Luffy bounded ahead, running for the cave. "Come on guys! We've gotta be almost there! I smell ADVENTURE!"

Nami and I ran after him. Our feet echoed against stone- the slap of Luffy's sandals, the sharp click of Nami's heels, and the heavier yet softer thud from my sneakers. But as we moved deeper into the mountain, another sound overrode our footsteps: a low rumbling, like an enormous cat purring somewhere beneath our feet.

Eventually, the already enormous corridor widened out into an absolutely gargantuan cavern. I swear it took up half the mountain. Stalactites thicker than my waist hung down from the ceiling like jagged fangs; stalagmites rising from the floor towered over my head. The air was damp; a few openings somewhere above let in tiny shafts of light. At one side of the chamber Apis was crouched, partially hidden behind a boulder. She was speaking in a low voice.

"I missed you too Grandpa Ryu. Here; I knew you'd be hungry, so I brought pork buns." Her words were punctuated by wet gobbling noises. Beside me, Luffy's face fell.

"What're you doing up here Apis?" Nami asked as we approached the boulder. The little girl jumped and spun to face us.

"Ah! Stay back!"

It was too late; we were too close. Luffy and Nami froze as what at first looked like a cracked ridge of rock shifted, green and brown scales scraping across dark stone. A watery eye opened. Then a growl rumbled from within that great chest. As for me… Well, no amount of having expected this could hold back my natural reaction. I'd been reading stories about dragons since I was five years old; for me, this was the stuff of dreams.

"So beautiful…" I reached out to touch, but pulled back at the last minute. Best not to antagonize something with teeth as long as my sais; he might not like being touched.

Luffy bounded in close and began examining every scale, his eyes turning to stars. "Wow! I always knew you were real- Ace said not, but he's a lying liar who lies! Where'd you come from? How'd you get here?"

The great dragon raised his head to look at us. Then he bent back to Apis, shaking his ragged white mane and crooning. Apis patted him on the nose. She giggled. "Grandpa Ryu likes you guys. He says Luffy smells like adventure, Nami smells like fruit, and Jones smells like cats. And you can be his friends; he says he knows you're good people, so it's okay."

"Really? Still?" It'd been so long since I'd seen them, and I wasn't even wearing the clothes from my old world. "I have- had- two cats, but I haven't seen them in almost a month."

And that's when I felt something crack inside. Aside from my first night here, I'd been riding the same high as during the first year of my undergrad- there was anxiety, yes, and the need to work hard, but it was also fun and adventure, something new. Above all, something in the back of my mind had been quietly confident that I could go home if I wanted, that it would be as simple as calling my dad on Samsung and having him come pick me up. But… it hit me that I might never see Earth again. I shuddered, biting my lip to hold back tears.

"I- I have to go. Sorry." Spinning on my heel, I took off out of the cave. Behind me, I could hear the echoing confusion of Luffy's voice.

"Jones! Where're you going? Jones!"

Even if I'd wanted to, I couldn't have answered that question. I just needed to be alone; couldn't let Nami and my captain see me cry. The air growing warmer told me when I was outside. I turned and clambered over rocks, heading up instead of back down towards the village. Rough stone, so much like home… A home I would never see again. When I neared the top of the mountain, I found a hollow between a pair of pine trees and curled up into a ball. The tears came thick and fast once I knew I was alone.

To never see my family or friends again… True, I didn't have many friends and I was terrified of my mother, but still. She didn't mean to scare me, didn't mean to say things that hurt- and she was my mother. Not to mention how much I'd miss my father- we did almost everything together, had since I was fourteen! And my little brother and sister… My friends… What would they think? Most of them lived so far away now… They wouldn't even know about my disappearance- just stop hearing from me. And I'd never hear from them again either. Never go to the comic book store with them again, never play another Friday night game of Dungeons and Dragons. I- I really needed a hug- except none of the few people I trusted enough to hug were here.

Stupid writer… I bet you thought being sent into the world of your favourite anime would be a fun adventure. It is, I guess… But moments like this… Remember last year, when Rusty was sick and we thought we'd have to put him down? That day when we locked ourselves in the bathroom with him because we didn't want him disappearing and expiring alone and in pain? When we tried to call everyone we knew, but no one picked up their phones; when we didn't know what to do and just cried until our eyes and throat burned and we were almost sick? That's what it feels like right now. For the love of all the gods, why would you do this to me? Couldn't you at least keep me blissfully ignorant, instead of reminding me of this at a random time?

In moments I was hiccoughing and choking, my chest and throat aching with the effort to keep quiet. I didn't want to; I wanted to let it out, to keen like a wounded animal, to thrash and claw at the dirt and stone. But I couldn't let anyone know I was in pain. The Straw Hats… They were the closest I had to family or friends in this world. I didn't want them to think less of me- or worse, kick me out for being weak.

Deep breaths. I needed to get over this, otherwise I'd miss the adventure. Move forward; always think about what's next, not what I'd already done. That was how I'd pushed through everything in the past- or rather, how I pushed everything aside until it was so long past that it ceased to matter. Same thing really. I rubbed my eyes on the back of my left hand as I uncurled.

By the time I'd climbed back down to where the cave was, Nami, Luffy and Apis were waiting at the mouth. So, to my surprise, was Grandpa Ryu; his enormous head poked out of the cliff. The dragon rumbled as I came into view over the rocks. That alerted Apis to the direction I was coming from; she nudged Luffy, who turned to me with a look of concern.

"Jones! Why'd you run off? Your eyes look funny; did you hurt them?" My captain had a few tooth marks on his shoulder from being used as a senile dragon's chew toy.

"No Captain, I'm fine." I rubbed my forehead. An ache was spreading across it, wrapping from the front of my skull around my temples. "Just… Remembered something I had to deal with."

Luffy pouted at me. "Jones… You're doing that thing where you lie without lying again. Stop it."

"Sorry. But I'll be fine; I promise. Don't worry about me." I looked up at the shaggy head of Grandpa Ryu. "Worry about these guys. I'm guessing the dragon's why Apis got taken by the marines?"

The little girl nodded, hugging one of the dragon's tree stump legs. I started to pace, hands tucked behind my back; movement always helped me keep calm. "The marines know which island you came from, so they'll be back at some point to take you again. They might find Ryu; they might not. Is there anywhere else you and Grandpa Ryu can hide?"

Apis shook her head. "No… But don't have to keep him hidden much longer! Grandpa Ryu, he's here cause he wants to go to the Lost Island. He thinks it should be reappearing any day now. Grandpa Ryu just wants to see his family again- Luffy already told me you guys can help us."

Ryu grumbled in what sounded like agreement. I looked up to meet his eyes; they were filmed over with cataracts and age. He must be almost blind. On impulse, I bowed to the ancient dragon. "Grandpa Ryu… Is it alright if I touch you?"

A nod. The great dragon lowered his head; I scratched along his eyebrow ridges. Those milky eyes drooped closed. Beaming, Luffy bounced closer to join me. The result was both comic and frightening; Ryu reopened one eye and snorted, blowing Luffy's hat off. Apis giggled.

"Grandpa Ryu says you have to ask first. Also that he likes girls better than boys; our fingers are better for scritches."

Luffy pouted; I looked over at him as I continued to rub the dragon's head. Nami sighed. "So Captain, what's the plan?"

"I… um… I don't know." Luffy's face turned red as he tried to think. It was both adorable and aggravating. Seriously, how was it possible that thinking could cause him physical pain? "Um… Saa, thinking's hard. That's what you guys're for. You can come up with something, right? Nami can find the nesting place, and Usopp, Johnny, and Yosaku can get Grandpa Ryu down. Or- wait! He's a dragon; can't he fly?"

"He's too old!" Apis threw a rock at my captain's head. "He doesn't have the energy… If Grandpa Ryu could fly, he wouldn't need to hide in a cave here, would he?!"

"Ah! Sorry, sorry…"

After a few more minutes, Luffy, Nami, and Apis prepared to head back down to the village. I- I didn't want to go. I couldn't be around the crew like this, my eyes still red. Someone, Zoro or Ghin- they'd push more than the captain, make me tell. I took a deep breath, addressing everyone present. "Is it alright if I stay here tonight? With Grandpa Ryu?"

"What?" Apis cocked her head to the side in confusion. "Why'd you wanna sleep in a cave? It's lonely and it smells like dirt; even Grandpa Ryu complains sometimes, and dragons are used to sleeping in caves."

Luffy shook his head. "It's fine if Ryu says it's okay. Jones is weird; she sleeps in the cargo hold instead of the girls' room."

I looked at Ryu; he rumbled and rolled his head to one side, exposing his chin for scratching. Apis shrugged. "He says it's more than alright; he likes the company."

So while the others went back down to the village, I walked with the dragon into his lair. Ryu curled up like a cat, circling to make himself comfortable. Then he lifted one wing. I laid down against the scaly flank beneath- which was much softer and warmer than it looked. Almost fluffy. Ryu's scales weren't like a snake's or lizard's- more like primitive feathers. I curled up on my side as the dragon lowered his wing. Before I drifted off, I mumbled into those fuzzy spines.

"If I have a nightmare, or start crying or something during the night… Don't tell Apis." I fell asleep moments later, head cushioned on a flank that shook with draconic laughter.

X

The rest of the crew ran into the cavern at the crack of dawn the next morning. I was barely awake; it took me a moment to remember that the marines were probably coming to reclaim Apis. I yawned and crawled out from under Ryu's wing as everyone froze in their tracks.

"Gah! Don't eat me!" Usopp's reaction upon meeting a dragon for the first time was- somewhat predictably- to flinch away. Johnny and Yosaku looked a little pale too, but at least they bit their lips and stood silent on either side of Zoro.

Apis shot the sniper a confused look. "Millennial dragons don't eat people; they like seafood. No eels though- Grandpa Ryu says they're too slimy, and they taste weird. Although… Granpa Ryu's a little old and his eyesight's going. If he starts acting like you're food, just… Get away quick, 'kay?"

Zoro looked up at the ancient dragon, frowning. "I didn't think dragons could actually exist."

Grandpa Ryu's response to this was to snort a great wad of dark green dragon boogers at the swordsman. It looked like an innocent sneeze, but from the way Apis was giggling, it was fully intentional. Zoro stared at the slime covering him in disgust; Sanji started laughing. This led to Zoro drawing Yubashiri and chasing the cook around with it, which resulted in a brawl, the ultimate winner of which…

"Will you two shut up! We're trying to figure out how to get a three-tonne flying lizard who can't fly down to the beach!" Was Nami. She punched both men in the back of the heads, then wiped the dragon snot she acquired by touching Zoro on the back of Sanji's jacket. "This dragon is the reason the marines are after Apis; we need to get him to his home. Jones, Usopp, any ideas?"

Trembling, Usopp waved his arms as he responded. "Are you nuts? Those marines saw our flag before- they know we're pirates! It'll be hard enough to escape the blockade ourselves! This won't be like the others Jones and Zoro've talked us out of!"

"But I said we'll help," Luffy pointed out. "So we have to."

Ghin sped the situation along by hitting Usopp over the head. "They saw us before, but they can't see our ship right now. We're in that little fjord, remember?" This worked surprisingly well to calm the gunner down; maybe a form of temporary lobotomy, knocking out part of Usopp's brain?

"Oh yeah…" The sniper was still shaking, but he took a deep breath and rubbed his chin. "We could… build some sort of cart for Grandpa Ryu and roll him down the mountain?"

"No good." I shook my head. "The island's too steep and weird shaped; we'd lose control faster than you could say Quidditch."

Yosaku raised a hand. "What's Quidditch?"

"Never mind, it's not important right now. Apis, is there a river that flows down the mountain without any waterfalls or major rapids?"

She nodded. "Yeah. It's the one everyone in the village gets water from."

"How wide is it? How deep?"

"Um… about half as wide as Grandpa Ryu's wings, and it's really shallow. Only about as deep as I am tall; you can't bring your ship up it." The little girl looked confused as she fiddled with her necklace.

"No, no, no, we're not bringing the ship up. We're taking Ryu down. Usopp, Johnny, Yosaku, do you three know how to build a canoe? Or a coracle; either will do, but a canoe is easier to steer."

Usopp shook his head, but Johnny and Yosaku nodded. "Of course Big Sis Jones! Where we grew up, making your own coracle was how everyone went fishing. We didn't get a proper dory til after we'd teamed up to hunt bounties together."

Johnny split off. "I'll go get some saplings for the frame! It only has to be used once, right? So it doesn't matter if I can't find the best wood?"

I nodded; the blue hunter took off. Yosaku shook his head. "We don't have anything for the cover though. Normally I'd use ox hide; it wouldn't even need to be tanned for a single use boat like this. But there's no oxen or anything on this island."

"It doesn't have to be perfect; just enough to get Ryu down to the sea. We can build a proper raft of logs down on the coast." I began gathering large leaves, each the size of a pizza tray. They belonged to one of the One Piece species that didn't come from Earth. Yosaku shrugged and helped me pluck the leaves. Usopp and Zoro ran down the mountain to get to work on the main raft and keep an eye on our ship.

The coracle was finished within a couple of hours. It was an ugly thing- a lumpy, uneven frame covered with layered patches of leaves and a little bit of bark. One of the sapling ribs was cracked; Johnny had rushed while bending them into shape, not steaming things properly. The coracle was large enough for a dragon though, and it floated when placed in the river. Ryu was hesitant stepping in, but the awkward boat held his weight without breaking. For how long, no one could tell. Johnny and Yosaku grabbed the coracle from either side and guided it, walking down along the banks of the river.

A seagull landed on Sanji's shoulder and squawked. Apis jumped. "Oh no! The marines are almost here!"

Nami patted the girl on the shoulder. "It'll be okay. We've got Luffy, Sanji, and Ghin; the marines don't stand a chance."

Johnny, Yosaku, and I glared in unison. "And what are we, chopped liver?"

"No. But you have to admit, you three are second-tier fighters." Well, Nami wasn't wrong. It just stung was all.

And then we saw them- a dozen marines, including their captain, accompanied by a fugly man in a grey suit. His lilac hair was teased up so it looked like a Dairy Queen cone and his narrow sunglasses gleamed in the dawn light. More to the point, they saw us. And the mercenary- Eric, that was his name- smirked. Although… The marines didn't share his confidence. As soon as Grandpa Ryu raised his shaggy head, several of the men froze in terror.

"What's that? Some kind of monster?"

Eric shook his head. "Imbeciles. I must say… I expected the little girl to lead us to some draconite, not a living, breathing dragon. But it works either way. Get her."

The marines ran towards us. Luffy, Sanji, and Ghin stepped forward to meet them; the result couldn't really be called a fight. Neither captain nor cook bothered with one of their named techniques, and Ghin left his tonfa at the small of his back. Even so, the marines were all down in seconds. Eric looked at them and sneered.

"Really? You call yourselves soldiers? Pathetic." He stalked towards us, hands in his pockets. When one of the marines tried to get up and run away- likely in search of medical attention for his bloody nose and broken arm- Eric lashed out with what looked like a swift slap. The marine fell with a yelp, bleeding from a gash in his thigh.

Luffy frowned. "Does he have a knife? I don't see anything."

"Name's Eric the Whirlwind," I provided, "And that was done with his fingernails. He has a Devil Fruit that means his nails are so sharp, they cut air itself. Scythe-Scythe Fruit, or something like that."

"Oh."

"It's the Sickle-Sickle Fruit, actually. Move aside, whoever you are; I have no business with you. That dragon, on the other hand…" Eric paused, one hand still in his pocket. He probably thought he looked intimidating or something, but really… That pose was kinda dumb.

"Hmm… No." Luffy grinned. "We promised we'd take Ryu home, so that's what we're gonna do. Let's go guys! As fast as we can!"

"Aye-aye captain!" Johnny and Yosaku started running, pulling the crude coracle along the river with surprising speed. Sanji, Nami, Ghin, and I fell in on either side. Eric smirked and changed into some sort of fighting stance as we gained momentum.

"You kids won't escape that easily. Sickle-Sickle Whirlwhind!"

"Gum-Gum Pistol!" There was a tiny splash of blood as the two attacks met; the sharp winds tore Luffy's knuckles and sent his punch off course. Even so, with that much rubber whipping through the air, Eric was forced to leap up and dodge. By the time he'd repositioned himself for another attack, Luffy had grabbed Apis and followed the rest of us as we raced away along the river.

Usopp had finished a decent raft by the time we got down to the Merry, and was in the process of tying his creation to the stern of our ship. Just in time too; the crude coracle broke apart on a rock near the mouth of the river. Grandpa Ryu was much less hesitant of stepping onto the sturdy logs than he had been of climbing into Johnny and Yosaku's creation; of course, he also gnawed on the end of one of the logs like the senile lizard he was, so there's that. Our crew climbed aboard the Going Merry and cast off, in a hurry to be out of this narrow, contained space before the marines found us.

"Okay," Nami opened her charts and traced our route from the day before. "I'm pretty sure that the reef we passed yesterday is the Lost Island we're looking for. Set course south-south-east."

"Aye-aye!" Everyone got to work. I swore I heard singing as the wind danced over tight lines. Adjusting the mainsail, I patted the wonderful little ram-headed ship on the rails. I had some plans that might save Ace; now I just needed to find one for Merry.

Hours passed on calm seas. Apis danced out of the galley carrying a steaming pot that was almost as big as she was. "Hey everyone! You've been working so hard- I hope you're hungry!"

Zoro scowled; Usopp turned green. Yosaku's eyes went wide, and though I couldn't see past his sunglasses, I assume Johnny's did too. The hunters practically tripped over each other in their haste to be elsewhere. "We're… uh… We've gotta go to the head!"

Sanji shook his head as he emerged from the galley, but said nothing. Usopp sighed with visible relief. And then Luffy, always hungry and eager, reached to grab the pot from little Apis. "Yay! Food!"

The captain's excitement didn't last long though. He snatched his hands back almost immediately, blowing on singed fingers. The smell of burnt rubber filled the air. Unfortunately, by that point he was already the one supporting most of the pot's weight. With his rapid withdrawal, the pot flew into the air and off the stern of the ship, spilling hot rice all over Grandpa Ryu. Apis shrieked in alarm and slid down a rope to the dragon's raft to brush him clean and make sure he was alright.

Sanji kicked Luffy in the head. "Don't waste food, idiot!"

"Shishishi! Sorry Sanji!"

Suddenly, Apis started bouncing in place. "We need to go further east! Grandpa Ryu just remembered!"

Nami checked her charts. "That puts us way north of the reef! There's nothing there! Are you sure he's really remembering this right?"

"Yes!"

"Alright… Usopp! Man the helm- we need to turn eighty degrees to port!"

"Aye-aye Nami!"

I kept a sharp eye out as we sailed. Three marine ships were far astern, too distant to catch us, but close enough that they might have spotted us. And there was Eric to worry about… I yelled out for the whole crew to hear. "EVERYONE! IF YOU SEE THAT UGLY GUY WITH THE SHARP FINGERNAILS, LURE HIM TO LUFFY OR ZORO! THEY CAN BEAT HIM EASY, BUT I DON'T KNOW HOW ANYONE ELSE WILL DO!"

I was so concerned about Eric, I almost forgot about the fact that Grandpa Ryu's directions were leading us on a wild goose chase. By the time I remembered, Luffy was already waving excitedly at a smoky mirage. It was much more faded than it had appeared in the anime, but still… I was pretty sure a regular mirage wasn't quite that detailed and realistic. Fascinating. And then I remembered what was on the other side.

"Nami! We're running face-first into a storm!" By the time I got the words out, the Going Merry was already halfway through her ghostly reflection. Our navigator looked up and sniffed the air, almost like an animal. Then she paled.

"Jones is right! Johnny, Yosaku, tie down the sails! Zoro, Ghin, secure Grandpa Ryu's raft!"

KRACK-A-THOOM!

Thunder punctuated Nami's orders. We were all the way through the mirage now, able to see the pelting rain. And boy, was it coming down. Luffy giggled as lightning struck him harmlessly, but for the rest of us it was too close for comfort. Within seconds, my glasses were covered in droplets and running water. I couldn't see a thing. So while the rest of the crew was running around trying to get the Merry to the light at the eye of the storm, I braced myself by the galley and held on to Apis. The little girl wasn't happy about this arrangement.

"Let me go! I have to be with Grandpa Ryu!"

"He'll be fine. Zoro and Ghin can hold the raft better than you ever could." I picked the little girl up so she had no leverage to use against me. Not that I thought she could overpower me- different world or not, she was just a child- but I wasn't taking any chances. "I can't see and you're too small to help, so it's best if we stay here out of the way. Be grateful I'm not making you go inside til this is over."

The eye of the storm was close; within moments, we were out of the rain and approaching a small island. I put Apis down so I could dry my glasses. Bouncing, Luffy raced to the bow of the ship. "That island looks like a castle!"

"A sunken one," Zoro agreed. Usopp rubbed his nose.

"I bet it was an ancient fortress, built by the dragons themselves during the heyday of their em- eek!" The sniper cut himself off with a squeak at a scowl from Ghin. Johnny and Yosaku shook their heads.

"Nah, that's definitely human," the green hunter sighed. "Looks like the same type of ruins Johnny and I ran into the one time, the ones with all the traps."

Johnny winced and rubbed his facial tattoo. "Yeah… Watch out dudes. Some of the statues and doors and stuff won't just be statues and doors. But it'll be easier to spot than a lot of the stuff on Clockwork Island was."

We dropped anchor at what looked like it had once been a port. Then Usopp looked from me to Grandpa Ryu to the sloping streets above us. "Jones… I'm starting to wish we didn't listen to you now. A cart would've been pretty useful."

I winced. Okay, so I'd screwed up. Well, it didn't really matter. "Maybe… If this was the real Lost Island."

"WHAT?" Seven fists and a foot all came at my head; I couldn't dodge them all, so I got pasted into the ground. I was still conscious though, which was… Odd. After being hit by the entire crew, I should've been out for the count, if not worse. There probably should've been some damage to the stonework I was standing on too, but I saw nothing.

Deciding to leave that mystery for later, I sat up and rubbed my aching head. "We still need to go up to the ruin on the top- there's some important stuff there, I think. But Grandpa Ryu doesn't need to come with us, so he's fine if we just leave a guard."

"You still should've told us earlier," Nami snarled, grabbing me by my bandanna and dragging me to my feet. I cringed.

"Sorry! I forgot until I saw it- I don't have the best memory for filler arcs!"

Everyone stared at me, not knowing what a filler arc meant. And then my brain caught up to my mouth. Because… This wasn't really a filler arc, was it? Not for everyone, at least. Yes, we Straw Hats might move on and never have this affect any other part of our journey, but for Apis and Grandpa Ryu, it would be life changing. I deflated, collapsing in on myself. How had I forgotten? These weren't just cartoons anymore- these were people's lives. I saw proof every day, and yet my head was still so confused.

"Sorry…"

Nami let me go. "Apology accepted- this time. Don't let it happen again."

Then everyone turned to Luffy. The captain smiled and bounced in place. "Let's go! I wanna look around! Sanji, Zoro, and Ghin should be enough to guard Ryu and the Merry, right?"

I nodded. Those three should be plenty to guard anything, especially at this point in the game. But hey, there was no kill like overkill. So Luffy, Nami, Usopp, Johnny, Yosaku, and I accompanied Apis towards the island's summit.

Steeply sloping roads built of packed earth wound between rows of fallen stone houses. There was something familiar about the artwork carved into every surface, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. Something Central American, maybe? Although the buildings themselves were more Greek or Roman, with all their pillars and white stone. Regardless, this place must've been beautiful when it was whole. I cursed myself for not having picked up a visual den-den while in Loguetown; Samsung couldn't take pictures, but I really wanted to show this to Robin.

Apis paused in a field halfway up the island. When we stopped to wait for her, she smiled and held up an old spinning top she'd found in the grass amongst the ruins. It had a dragon carved into its flat face. "Do you think- do you think the children here used to play with dragons too? Like me and Grandpa Ryu?"

"Of course." I smiled wistfully, lost in my own childhood fantasies. What I would have given for a dragon friend growing up… I shook my head. "And I bet the dragons miss their people too, if this place was so important that Grandpa Ryu thought it was the Lost Island."

"Yeah! I bet you're right!"

The building at the top was different again, a rounded dome that resembled ancient Persian architecture- except that the dragons painted on its walls looked like something from a Scandinavian myth. Nami looked at the closed structure and sighed in exasperation. "Of course there's no entrance… Johnny, Yosaku, do you know as much about finding secret doors as you do about booby traps?"

"Sure thing Big Sis!" The hunters looked at the dome, eager to get to work, and immediately deflated. "Um… It's right there. There's just no handle. Probably a secret key or something."

Yosaku wandered over to the door and poked at the claw-shaped slot. "Looks like something's supposed to fit in here."

Apis looked at where he was pointing, then down at her claw pendant. Taking the necklace off, she stretched up and tried to fit it into the slot… Only to miss by about half a foot. Her eyes began to water. "I'm too short…"

"Ah, it's okay. Here." Luffy moved forwards to help her put it in. Before he could, I felt something shift under my feet. I smiled.

"Speak friend and enter."

"What?" Everyone stopped and looked at me. My smile grew into a grin.

"Friend!" Right on cue, the stones beneath our feet collapsed. I grabbed at roots on the way down to slow my fall, as did Johnny and Yosaku beside me. Nami, Usopp, and Apis all landed on Luffy at the bottom.

The sniper rubbed his backside; I guess even our rubber captain can only break a fall so much. "Ow… Jones, did you know that was gonna happen?"

"Maybe…"

"In that case… I hate you so much right now."

"Sorry…"

"Guys, shush." Nami waved a hand at Usopp and I. She was too distracted to punish us- or rather, me- though. Our navigator's focus was fixed on the ceiling high above, painted with colourful, intricate patterns. People… Waves… Dancing dragons… A map of the nearby seas…

"So… These are Apis' ancestors?" Yosaku asked, staring up at the people. I nodded. He scowled at me. "Then where's this Lost Island place?"

I gestured towards the map painted on the ceiling, where a stylized dragon was painted across the base of Warship Island. "Right where Nami thought it was- the reef near the island."

"WHY COULDN'T YOU HAVE TOLD US THAT EARLIER?"

"Because the pictures are pretty and I wanted to delay that fugly bastard and hopefully keep him away from the dragons' nest. He fought Zoro in the ruins in the story, so I thought maybe if there was less to worry about and someone to help, we might be able to get rid of Eric early." As if I had cued him, the mercenary appeared.

"How did you-? It doesn't matter." The Sickle-Sickle Fruit user slid down some roots into the chamber. "Thank you for deciphering this for me. Now… Where did you leave that dragon?"

I stared at him. "What I want to know is, how did you get here? In canon the marines chased us, but that didn't happen this time cause we had the ship in a different spot."

"Cannons have nothing to do with it." Of course Eric wouldn't understand. "I simply followed you after you escaped in your silly river boat. The marine ships couldn't quite catch you, but you were never out of my sight." The mercenary shifted into a fighting stance…

And then my blood went cold. Maudit, I was definitely taking this too flippantly. I hadn't thought about this when we were assigning guards- Zoro wasn't here. Tabarnak. Who would fight Eric the- oh. Guess if I'd screwed this up, it was my job to fix it. This was not going to go well. I drew my sais, the better for taking on someone who had blades for hands. "Go on ahead everyone. I'll distract him."

"You sure?" Luffy shot me a worried look. I nodded.

"I- if no one stays behind, he'll try and pick us off or something while we're on the move. But if you get down to the ship and then grab me…" My heart was speeding up. I took a few deep breaths to try and calm myself.

"Okay…" Luffy punched a hole in one wall and grabbed Apis, carrying her as he ran out. "Come on guys! We gotta get back to Merry as fast as we can so Jones doesn't have to fight long!"

Nami, Usopp, Johnny, and Yosaku moved out with all haste. Eric moved to get around me and go after them, but I stepped in his way. One sai was out like a sword, the other reversed against my forearm. "You're not getting that dragon."

"And how do you intend to stop me, little girl? Sickle-Sickle Whirlwind!" Blades of air sliced into me, tearing nicks in clothing and flesh. None of them were deep, but they certainly stung. If he got close enough to actually touch me with his nails… I just had to make sure that didn't happen.

Tong! Tang! My sais met Eric's hands with a ring of steel. Thankfully he didn't seem able to slice through. Even so, the force of the blows pushed me backwards. The mercenary smirked at me. "You're slow little girl. Let's see what happens if I step things up a notch, hmm?"

The answer was bloodshed. I couldn't move fast enough to protect everything, so I was reduced to guarding vital areas while he tore strips out of my arms and legs. Every blow pushed me back- although often not as far as I would've thought. Within seconds I stood bloodied and panting on the edge of a cliff. My left heel was actually hanging over empty space, knocking a few pebbles rattling down the hill. Eric was practically grinning as he lunged in with another strike, this one aimed to pierce my chest if I didn't block and shove me over if I did.

"Now die!"

"No!" I wasn't sure what happened then. Eric hit; I managed to block this one. But instead of being pushed off the cliff to tumble down through the ruins, I… exploded. Eric staggered back as if he'd been punched in the chest by Luffy; I flew into the air. There was no dust, no heat or light… Not even any sound, except that of Eric's pained gasp and heavy breathing.

Of course, flying backwards through the air wasn't really any better for me than falling off a cliff would've been. At least, until I heard a familiar voice shouting my name. "JONES! I'VE GOT YOU!"

A rubber hand clasped over the back of my shirt. Then came the elastic snap, prolonged over far more time than I would've expected possible before meeting this crew, as Luffy dragged me back to the ship. I slammed back first into the mast; as with several other things that had happened today, it didn't hurt as much as I'd expected it to.

"Jones needs bandages again," my captain said cheerily as we sailed away from the ruined island, back through the mirage. I touched one of the many shallow slices I'd gotten and nodded.

"Yeah. Guess I do."

Nami shook her head as she brought the first aid kit. "I swear Jones, you're almost as bad as Zoro. So… You're sure the reef is where Lost Island is?"

"Not like I'm trying to be." I rolled up my shredded sleeves and began wrapping my arms. "Yeah, I'm sure. I guess we didn't have to go to the ruins, but I thought Apis might want to see the paintings of her ancestors. It's something to tell her grandfather about at least."

Apis stared at me. "But… How did you even know it was there? Even Grandpa Ryu didn't; he apologized as soon as we got back for sending us to the wrong island."

Ghin patted me on the head. "Jones is our crew's witch; if anyone would know where to find dragon nesting grounds, it's her."

"Oh. I guess that makes sense." Apis shrugged and went astern to talk to Grandpa Ryu.

X

For almost an hour, everything was smooth sailing- literally and figuratively. Then a dark line appeared on the horizon. This shadow grew closer, resolving itself into a fleet of marine ships. Mostly sixteen-gun brigantines; smaller and more maneuverable than the man o'war Fullbody had at the Baratie, and thus better for working in formation. Some of them had great lengths of chain strung in between. What was truly worrying, though, was that they were surrounding us from all sides. Usopp saw this even before I did, if his panicked shout to Zoro was any indication.

"They're gonna catch us! You've gotta cut us out!"

"Idiot! I can't cut steel!"

"Then how do we get through? It's a marine blockade!"

Then Apis tore out of the galley and ran back to Ryu's nest. "Don't worry Grandpa Ryu! I'm here!"

Usopp immediately broke off his fight with Zoro. "Apis! Get back inside!"

"No! I won't leave Grandpa Ryu out here alone!"

While my crew mates argued behind me, I squinted at the ships around us, searching for the commander. He shouldn't be hard to spot… There! An immobile hulk of a man whose captain's jacket could barely contain his sweaty bulk. A stretched-out tattoo, bulging, swirly cheeks… Was he some sort of evil Akimichi? Luffy came up behind me as I scanned the brigantines.

"Whatcha looking for Jones?"

"An army is like a chicken; cut off the head and the rest will run around like a useless mess until it collapses."

"Okay…" Luffy poked the back of my head. "What's that mean?"

"We can fight them. If one of us takes out the captain, we can win."

Nodding, Luffy then displayed one of the flashes of tactical genius that made him an excellent choice for pirate king. "Nami, Usopp, stay with the ship and shoot people! Everyone else- let's go! We're gonna fight!"

His announcement was punctuated by an explosion, a whistle, and a splash. Waves rocked the Merry, a few of the largest ones splashing up over her sides. Mortar fire. And too close for comfort too. I pointed to the lead ship. "Captain… Can you get me there? The commander isn't… Even I can take him, but I can't jump far enough."

"Shishishi! Sure thing Jones!" Luffy grabbed me with one hand and the mast of the brigantine with the other. "Gum-Gum Rocket!"

Cold, salty air stung my eyes. I brought my legs up as I flew, turning my landing into a flying kick to the stomach of one of Captain Nelson's guards. Luffy performed a similar descent on the other side before running off to tackle the men operating the mortar. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Zoro and Sanji leaping to other ships; the swordsman wore his bandanna and a manic grin as he swung three swords in blurred arcs. Ghin wasn't far behind. His spinning tonfa sent men flying. Johnny and Yosaku climbed rather than leaping, fighting back to back on a ship until they eventually disappeared inside.

Captain Nelson yelled in protest, spitting chunks of half-chewed pork over the deck. "The dragon! We almost have it men! Destroy these no-name pirates!"

"No-name?" Luffy punched a mortar officer over the edge of the ship. "We're not no-name! I'm gonna be king of the pirates! I just don't have a bounty yet!" He pouted at me as he continued to fight.

"Agreed." One of the marines tried to grab me; I twisted him into a pain hold and used him as a shield against a series of blows from one of his allies. "We're the Straw Hat Pirates and as long as we're around, you're not getting that dragon."

"Psh, there's only seven of you. How can you stop me?"

An explosion sounded from the Going Merry; the mainmast of one of the brigantines snapped in half and fell onto its neighbor. A crazy grin crossed my face. "Actually, there's nine of us."

Captain Nelson sputtered. He was helpless to do anything himself; with the battle brought shipside, even his shouting tactics didn't help his men. He had a lot of men though. I was growing tired, punching and kicking at the guards. It might've helped if I'd remembered to take my training weights off before joining the battle. Or maybe not; the extra weight was adding momentum to my strikes that was probably compensating for me not being particularly strong by this world's terms.

"What are you waiting for! These pirates can't win! Shoot the dragon! We have to get the draconite!" Captain Nelson's annoying voice rang out over the battlefield. Oh, I couldn't wait until someone got there to shut him up.

"Jones! Duck!" I did. Less than a second later, my captain's foot flew over my head. "Gum-Gum Whip!"

With Luffy clearing great swathes of the battlefield, I found myself with a few much-needed seconds to breathe. This meant I saw the hatch next to me moving before it opened to let more men on the deck. I gathered my focus as quickly as I could, striking down through the wood and into the head of the lead soldier. He let go of the ladder in surprise, falling back onto his companions and sending them all back down like dominoes.

A miniature tornado rose on another ship, preceded by Zoro's voice. "Tatsumaki!" Marines flew into the air, accompanied by shards of wood and a couple of loose cannonballs.

"Why would you even want to live forever?" I demanded of Nelson. "You can't move on your own, can't do anything. What's the point of an existence like that?"

"Who wouldn't want to live forever?" It wasn't Nelson's voice that answered me. I hit the deck as the air above me was rent by sickle-like claws. Tabarnak. Eric was back.

Except… He wasn't aiming for me. At least, not at first. The Sickle-Sickle user's scythes hit a much larger and less mobile target. Right, he was a turncoat. Nelson's roar of pain splattered everyone nearby with bits of food. Gross. I stole the neckerchief of an unconscious marine to scrub off my face. This left me vulnerable when the mercenary remembered my existence and turned to claw me- an action that left him vulnerable when Luffy swung from a line overhead. Rubber feet slammed into that fugly mug, firing Eric across the ship.

"You're that ugly sicko guy again!"

"Ugly?" Eric spat out a tooth my captain had knocked loose. "I have you know I spend an hour every morning to look this impeccable. And it's sickle!"

"So you're even uglier when you wake up?" Luffy slammed a punch into Eric's stomach. "That sucks."

"I'm not ugly! Although it doesn't really matter; who needs beauty when immortality is in your reach?"

"Immor-? Jones is right; why would you want to live forever? It sounds lonely. All your friends and everything would die."

"An immortal doesn't need friends! He has all the time in the world to amass wealth, power… Anything he could ever wish for!"

"None of that's worth anything without people to share it with! Being alone hurts the most out of anything!"

The butt of a gun slammed into my back; I'd been paying too much attention to the morality debate. Luckily my staff took part of the blow. I spun, slamming my fist into my attacker's face. "TAI!"

He staggered, stunned. That was enough to make him drop his musket, although not enough to stop him from attacking. The marine drew his cutlass. I pulled out one of my sais; it lay flat back along my forearm as I raised it to block. Steel rang against steel. My bones ached from the impact. But his two-handed grip on his blade left the marine open to attacks on his solar plexus and ribcage when I sent his sword skidding to the side. Three swift punches, then a snap kick that sent my opponent stumbling backwards over one of his fallen brethren.

Somewhere in the distance, Sanji's voice rose over the clash of battle. "Collier! Cuisseau! Selle! Épaule! Basse! Concassé!" Each of the cook's heavy kicks was accompanied by the sound of pained yells. Even from as far away as I was, I could hear the crack of bones breaking- as well as, most memorably, the bowsprit of one of the brigantines.

I spotted the soldier as he raised his gun, aiming at- Apis? That was lower than low! She was just a little girl, not even involved in the fighting! Marines had no honour… I ran at the soldier, but by the time I tackled him into the deck, the gunshot was already ringing in my ears.

It didn't hit Apis though. Grandpa Ryu was faster than the bullet, rising up and placing himself between the little girl and the gunman. The lead ball sank into brown scales. Ryu roared in pain and anger, an echoing sound that shook the whole sea. My ears rang; the ship I was standing on rocked. And then… Two mighty wingbeats. Three. Suddenly the ancient dragon was flying, soaring at the ship from which the bullet had come. Panicked marines redirected their cannon fire from trying to shoot the Merry to bringing down Ryu. The ancient dragon roared again as he took half a dozen hits.

That proved too much for his aging body. The final shot hit the left side of his chest, near his heart; Ryu went down. He collapsed in the water, half floating. Apis screamed and began crying. Even though I knew the dragon would be reborn, I couldn't help the wash of anger that scream brought out in me- although admittedly, it was mostly at this man who would attack a little girl for the sake of an arrogant, gluttonous captain. I slammed the gunman's head into the rail before heaving him over the side.

Cannon fire still rang out over the sea. Even spread thin as we were, the Straw Hats couldn't distract all the marine brigantines at once, and we weren't destroying them fast enough. Some were firing back on the ram-headed ship. None had hit her yet, but it was only a matter of time. And then the sky went dark.

"Dragons!" The cry went up from an undamaged ship near the one I was standing on. Everyone in earshot looked up. The blue sky of early afternoon had been blocked out by scales in every shade of green and brown. It was an awesome sight. Their beating wings filled the air with heavy thrumming and painful sub-sonics.

I smiled grimly as I punched a marine in the gut. "Oh tongue, give sound to joy and sing of hope and promise on dragon wing"

Captain Nelson coughed. Oh, so Eric hadn't killed him yet. I guess all that blubber made half-decent armour. "Excellent! Now I can be sure I'll have enough draconite!"

He still thought he was going to win? Seriously? How dumb could he be? And yet somehow his men were all loyal and afraid… Exactly what had he done when he was younger? I climbed up on the poop deck, from which I could drop onto Nelson's head with a heavy kick. "Shut up. You're not getting those dragons."

Lilac flew across the ship to thud against the mast; Luffy followed, blood leaking from shallow slices all over his body. Eric wasn't down yet, but it was only a matter of time. All around the battle, the tide was slowly going out. It would be at its lowest soon, the ships beached and the dragons' nest revealed. The Going Merry wasn't quite on the reef. Good; that should keep it from damaging her.

More marine gunmen were taking arms now. Sanji, Ghin, and Zoro had disabled- or more likely, smashed- the mortars on all the other ships, so only muskets and standard cannon were left. The cannon fired at the Going Merry, but Nami was doing a good job of keeping the little ship from being hit. That, or the sheep had some of the best luck on the seven seas. Muskets, meanwhile, were aimed at the sky. For some reason the marines were still fighting to do the bidding of their unconscious captain.

A unified wave of gunfire tore through the air; my ears rang. And then a dozen dragons fell, their blood raining down like a brief, red storm. It was hot- not your usual lizard blood. Most of the dragons who fell were very old, although not quite as ancient as Grandpa Ryu. Two lucky shots though, brought down dragons in their prime. A great gold hulk plunged into the waves with enough force to roll one of the already listing brigantines; a smaller white corpse slammed down on the bowsprit of another, breaking it off.

The water around us was dark, full of splinters and gunpowder- and blood. This was no cartoon battle on a screen; even in a world of badass, people were dying. Luffy and his crew preferred to leave opponents alive, true, but a sword or gun is ultimately a tool for killing. Zoro's enemies especially probably had a high number of unintentional casualties, and Ghin's levels of mercy were an unknown. A strong scent of copper filled the air as steel and fists continued to clash under the roar of gunfire.

Not that I registered most of this until later. For the first part of the battle I was too focused on the individual people I saw, and after the dragons fell… It was several minutes before I saw anything but swirling red and black. I don't remember what I did, or the actions taken by anyone around me. All I knew was the heated drops of dragon blood that landed on my face. How dare these marines shoot little girls and beautiful animals, neither of whom were fighting? They needed to be punished! I forgot all my training in my desire to put down as many marine gunmen as possible; no blocking or dodging, just attack, attack, attack.

It was this lack of defense that eventually brought me out of my mindless rage. A cutlass raked across my chest- not deep or deadly, but a large and painful slice, steeply slanted from my left clavicle, between my breasts to the bottom of the right side of my ribcage. The stinging, burning brought me back to myself. Gasping, I slipped in what appeared to be a mix of blood and oil from a smashed lamp, falling forwards under this attacker's next strike. Something cracked above me; before he could reorient himself to cut me again, the soldier was knocked out of the way by a thrown body. Warm rubber landed beside me.

"Jones! You alright?"

"I'm fine." I gritted my teeth and tugged the torn edges of my shirt across, tucking them into my pants and each other to maintain some semblance of modesty. Tabarnak, my chest burned. Aches everywhere else told the tale of the men I'd punched and kicked, or been punched and kicked by.

"Okay, well, hold on tight. We're going back to the Merry; the marines are leaving." Luffy grabbed me and launched the both of us back to our ship. I slammed into the deck, which didn't do my sliced chest any favours. Curling up into a ball, I spent a brief moment hissing in pain.

Nami was hugging Apis when I stood, trying to console the girl who'd lost her friend. The navigator may or may not also have needed the comfort herself; I had no idea what sort of battles she had seen under Arlong. "Grandpa Ryu… Why'd you have to die? Now we'll never get to see the dragons' nest together!"

Usopp looked shaken; this was his first major battle as well. Ghin was more or less unaffected, while Zoro and Sanji were livid- likely for the same reasons that I'd gone into a blind rage. Johnny and Yosaku were the last to arrive, and though I doubted they had much more battle experience than me or Usopp, they wore shit-eating grins as well as blood and bruises. Johnny tossed something at me as the pair came over the rail.

"Got you a present Big Sis!"

"Wha~?" I stared blearily at the wooden toilet seat, not understanding. Then Yosaku slapped Johnny upside the head.

"Give it to her later- can't you see she's hurt? Big Sis needs bandages!"

I probably needed stitches, actually, but without Chopper around I'd take what I could get. Johnny ran and retrieved the first-aid supplies from the galley so everyone could patch ourselves up as best we could. Due to the awkward placing of my wound, I hid behind a conveniently placed barrel while I bound it so that I could still talk to people. Not that talking was easy; until I was done, I kept having to bite my lip to keep from yelping.

"So… What's with the toilet seat? What did you two do?" I wasn't entirely sure I wanted to know the answer. Almost as soon as I was done speaking, one of the retreating marine brigantines exploded in a great geyser. Luckily we were far enough away that none of the shrapnel fell on the Merry- although the eruption certainly distressed the keening dragons circling above.

"Well, you see, there was this one marine who was guarding some experimental explosives. No idea what they were made of- they were like nothing we've ever seen before. So naturally…"

"We decided that to figure out what they did, we obviously needed to light a couple. But they didn't ignite for any of the usual things, so we…"

"Had to get inventive. The one we shoved down the toilet blew up pretty well, so the next logical step was to fill all the toilets and see what happened."

"And that was the result!" Both hunters pointed proudly at where a brigantine had once floated. "The seat we brought you was from the first toilet we blew up."

I winced as a twinge ran through my chest. "And why're you giving it to me?"

Johnny and Yosaku looked at each other and shrugged. "Seemed like a good idea at the time?"

X

The dragons' nest was fully revealed an hour before sunset, a great plain of coral, mud, rock, and bone. It was beautiful, in a sad and haunting way. Great skeletons, partially petrified, stood over nest hollows like guardians, water dripping down fang, rib, and claw. This didn't bother the dragons as they landed one by one, crooning and crying, but it did bother Apis. Even after loosing Grandpa Ryu she wanted to stay, to see this place he'd died trying to revisit. Sniffling, the little girl joined our crew as we disembarked to have a look around.

One of the dragons, a small green female, approached and began chattering at Apis in a musical voice. The little girl frowned. "What- what do you mean? I don't understand."

Luffy was also frowning at the green dragon. "I didn't know you could talk!"

"Because it's not talking," Ghin drawled. Our captain shook his head.

"No, she is. Something about people being reborn?" Wait… Luffy could hear the Voice of All Things this early? Tabarnak…

Apis nodded. "I don't know what she means, but she says she can show us if we follow her. She says… She says we'll understand once we join her in the heart of the nest."

So we followed, feet squelching through salty mud. Around us, dragons of every size twined and sang in loud, warbling voices. It was a beautiful song. I couldn't understand what they were saying the way Luffy and Apis could, but the tunes had something hopeful about them. They reminded me of whale song actually. Definitely different than little songbirds, no matter how pretty- the whales and dragons had something there, an intelligence behind their voices that I'd never heard a songbird match.

Our journey was interrupted by a pained yell. Everyone turned in unison to find the source of the noise. There, on a heap of coral rising above our heads- Eric and Nelson. Although the latter was dead. The captain must've been on a straggling ship that got caught on the reef as water receded and land rose. Eric pushed his sunglasses up on his nose and sneered. I sighed. Seriously, again? Even with all the changes to the final battle?

Luffy seemed to share my opinion, glaring up at the mercenary. "You don't know when to quit, do you?"

"You kids can't stop me forever. Don't you see it all around us? Endless draconite! Even if I can't get it out of those old bones, I can always rip it from the living bodies!" Eric made to attack the dragon who was guiding us. Apis tried to jump in the way, but Usopp held her back. Instead, Luffy took the hit.

The captain's eyes went dark. "We already told you, we won't let you hurt these dragons! Gum-Gum Pistol!"

"Sickle-Sickle Whirlwind!" Tiny blades of air tore into the rubber boy and knocked his blow off course. Eric followed up his technique with a miniature tornado. "Sickle-Sickle Wind Slash!"

"Argh!" Luffy jumped into the air, reaching down to grab Eric by the shoulders. "Gum-Gum Bell!" There was a hollow thud as forehead met forehead. For all his injuries, my captain was smiling- and it wasn't one of his usual kind or silly smiles. "Gum-Gum Gatling! And Bazooka!"

"Gah!" Eric crumpled under snapping rubber fists, unable to get off any more Sickle-Sickle attacks through the rain of blows. Once he was good and pounded, the mercenary flew into the air. He may or may not have still been conscious at the time.

Grinning, Luffy placed his hand on his hat. "Okay, he's finally gone. Let's keep going dragon lady!" He waved at our patiently waiting guide.

The green dragon led us to a shallow indentation at the center of the reef. Numerous other dragons crouched around the edges, singing a different song than the others. Theirs was more a tune of anticipation- at least, if dragons had similar tastes in music to humans. All were staring at a number of eggs arranged in a ring at the bottom of the hollow. They were the largest eggs I'd ever seen, thirteen hard, white ovals roughly the size of a beach ball. The green dragon nudged Apis with her nose, making the little girl stumble into the ring of eggs.

She landed practically on top of the largest. Still confused, Apis turned to the dragon who'd pushed her. "I don't get it. What do you want me to do? You're not making any sense- who's gonna be reborn? How?"

Around us, the dragons' anticipatory thrumming was growing louder. The ground shook with it. Sanji was about to light a cigarette; a look from one of the adult dragons stopped him. Huffing, the cook folded his arms. And then the first egg cracked.

Soon all of them were rocking, trembling, hatching. Apis tried to scramble out of the nest, but the green dragon pushed her back in and held her in front of the largest egg with a gentle claw. Faint lines appeared over one shell at a time, until the big one couldn't take any more stress. A white shard flew out, clattering to the ground and revealing a small, mud-coloured snout. The smell of sea air made the baby dragon inside redouble its efforts, squirming around and pulling at the shell with its teeth. Soon enough of the egg was broken that the hatchling was able to flop out.

It was chubby and soft, green and brown with a damp white ruff around its face. The baby cooed loudly when it saw Apis, scrambling over to her on unsteady legs tipped with oversized paws. Eyes wide, the little girl bent down to hug the eager dragonet.

"Oh! Really?" Apis snuggled her scaly friend. Her eyes shone with tears. "It's Ryu! That's what the lady dragon meant; dragons who die near the nest are reborn here, Grandpa Ryu's Little Ryu now! And he remembers me!"

Nami beamed, her eyes almost as wet as Apis'. Johnny and Yosaku were outright bawling, hugging each other for all they were worth. Usopp looked two seconds from joining them- hampered only by his lack of partner. Oh well, that would be fixed once we met Chopper.

One by one, twelve of the thirteen eggs hatched. Baby versions of the dragons shot by the marines flopped out. Unlike Little Ryu, these stumbled over to the adult dragons rather than Apis. The elders crooned and licked the hatchlings, drying and fluffing their scales and ruffs. But the last egg, the smallest, wasn't cracking. It rocked back and forth, but nothing else happened. One of the adults, a small one with light brown scales, cooed and hung her head.

Luffy frowned at the little egg. "What's wrong with that one?"

Apis looked at the dragons. Little Ryu and our green guide chattered back in mournful tones. When she turned back to Luffy, Apis had tears in her eyes for a whole new reason. "Mama Green says sometimes they have trouble being reborn, especially if they die violently. He'll rock for a while, but if he doesn't manage to get out before midnight, he'll run out of air and die for real." The little girl sniffled. "And even if he does get out, there might be something wrong with him."

Of course there would be. A lack of oxygen could cause brain damage. I looked around at which dragons had already hatched to determine who was suffering inside a too thick shell. The white one, the one who'd fallen on a brigantine bowsprit. Maybe the hatching difficulty was caused by post-mortem damage?

My body moved on its own. The next thing I knew, I was on my knees beside the rocking egg. My athame was in my hand. Why that instead of some other tool or weapon from my arsenal? Because the shell thickness isn't the only thing that determines how hard hatching is, and sais don't have a blade. As for the prohibition against cutting living creatures with an athame… Hopefully I would be using this to save a life, rather than taking it.

Above me, my crew mates stared. Zoro frowned. "Jones… What're you doing?"

I ignored him. More important than explaining myself was tapping over hard shell with the butt of my athame, weakening it from the outside. It finally began to crack. I pulled shards of shell away, wincing at how thick they were. No baby would be able to break that, dragon or not. Inside was a thick membrane with a panicked hatchling within. Soft, rounded claws tried and failed to pierce through. I flipped my athame around to slice it, spilling the dragonet onto the ground.

But my name wasn't Jaxom and this wasn't a Weyr hatching ground, so my job wasn't done there. The hatchling had inhaled some sort of fluid in its panic. It was drowning on the reef, its struggles growing weaker. Merde. I didn't even know how CPR worked on a human, much less a baby dragon. No fantasy novel I'd ever read covered that in its story. Still, I had to try. For better or for worse, my classmates had called me Dragon Freak as a child; now that I'd finally come face to face with real dragons, I couldn't let one of them die.

I rolled the dragonet onto its back, using one hand to hold its thrashing head still. "Come on little guy, stop panicking. I'm just trying to help." My own chest ached in sympathy with the hatchling's breathing trouble. The baby didn't seem to understand words, but it was like my cat; just speaking in a soothing tone calmed it down. "Gods above and below, I hope this works. Just relax little guy. I'm trying to help you. Half my heart to make you whole, it's strength to purify your weakness."

Its chest was so small, barely larger than a human baby's. Something told me that if it was a human baby I should pat it on the back, but the dragonet had wings there. I pressed in gently, pumping a few times to try and get the dragonet to spit up whatever it swallowed. Nothing. Okay then. Mouth to mouth on a baby dragon was nothing like a kiss- more like putting my mouth over the top of a bottle of Jones Soda and blowing into it. A couple small breaths, more awkward pumping with my fingers on the tiny chest. Then a few more breaths and… dragon puke in my mouth? Gross!

Turning aside, I spat out the mouthful of… whatever. Tabarnak! That was nasty! Almost as bad as my Devil Fruit. I didn't think; no knife or anything, I rolled up my sleeve and bit myself on the arm- hard enough to bleed- to get the taste out. It was that bad. How could a baby fresh out of an egg puke anyway? Unless that was the yolk or whatever had been in its lungs.

Feeble chirps beside me told me I'd succeeded though. The little dragon was breathing. I was pretty sure it wasn't usually that easy, but maybe dragons were tougher than humans. Then pain exploded in the back of my skull. I nearly blacked out. Turning, I looked up into the angry-yet-reproachful eyes of my captain. My forearm slowly slipped free of my jaws and lowered to the ground as I blinked away spots.

"Jones… You're not supposed to hurt yourself."

"But… It wasn't… I just needed the taste out of my mouth!"

"Then ask Sanji for sweets!"

Luffy's pouty scowl was an excellent weapon for inflicting guilt- probably something he perfected in order to talk Ace into things. I turned away; facing those eyes was not conducive to sulking. Apologizing maybe. "Sorry…"

Apis giggled. "You guys are weird."

The safest place to look to avoid my captain's gaze was at the baby dragon- which had an even larger, but thankfully less guilt-inducing set of eyes. Although… Why hadn't this hatchling run off to an adult dragon? All the others had, except Ryu. I prodded the little creature towards the brown dragon who was hanging her head. It ignored my nudging in favour of staring at me and gurgling. The brown dragon shook her head and warbled.

"Oh…" Apis looked from one dragon to the other, biting her lip. "Mama Brown says he doesn't remember. He was her mate, but the hatching trouble… He'll have to be raised like a real baby again."

"Okay. Can she do that, or do we need to find his original mum?"

The brown dragon roared at me, her jaws snapping at the air over my head before golden eyes fixed me with a glare. My hat flew off from the force of the wind. It landed on the white hatchling's head, much to his delight. I think that was a no.

"Mama Brown says his original mum is one of the other reborns. She also wants to know why you don't want to do it; you saved him, so you're his new mother. It's their tradition- if you love someone enough to break them out of a mis-hatch, you accept responsibility as their new parent. Mama Brown's ashamed that a human did it when she couldn't."

That made it sound like breaking into one of the hardened eggs was some sort of risk. Then I looked at the brown dragon's claws. Longer than my sais, thick as my wrist, and sharp as one of Zoro's katana. Attempting to crack a shell or tear an egg membrane with them probably had a high chance of killing whatever was inside. I bowed my head. "Sorry… I didn't know."

I plucked my hat off the baby dragon's head and placed it back on mine. Then I picked the little guy up and held him in front of my face. Blue eyes stared into mine- and suddenly I knew why Impression was different than making an impression. If haoshoku haki was like being attacked in your emotions and senses, this was like being hugged in them. Where my experience with Dragon was pain and brightness, my experience with the baby dragon was soft coolness. Instead of making me feel insignificant and unsure of myself, it was a wash of unconditional love and trust.

Is this the same feeling you get from looking into a puppy's eyes when you first take it home?

"What am I gonna call you?" I leaned back as the dragonet tried to nip my nose. "Benden? Telgar? Ruatha?"

The hatchling chirped at the last one. I tickled his squishy belly before draping him across my shoulders. "Fine. Ruatha it is then."

Sanji huffed. "Miss Apis said they eat seafood… Anything else? How much extra are we gonna need?"

The little girl chattered with the dragons for a while. Now that I'd accepted responsibility for Ruatha, Mama Brown was much less hostile about providing information. "You should be able to feed him anything you would eat. He'll be big enough to start flying in a couple of months, so you can start teaching him to hunt then. Dragons grow fast."

"Joy." Sanji huffed. I made a mental note to find a way to convince Franky to make the Thousand Sunny larger than in canon. That, or as Ruatha got bigger someone would have to teach him to be a damn good swimmer.

Of course, the decision as to who could join the crew ultimately rested with Luffy. I turned to look at my captain. "Is- is this alright?" If it wasn't… I would have to leave the crew. The Straw Hats could survive without me; a baby couldn't.

Dark brown eyes morphed into glowing stars. "Why wouldn't it be? We get to have a dragon on the crew! So cool!" Of course. Why was I even worried?

X

If you're ever tempted to spend the night with a newborn dragon, don't. We went back to Warship Island for the night; I took Ruatha up to Grandpa Ryu's old cave. The hatchling seemed incapable of sleep. He spent the night climbing all over me, gnawing on the ends of my bandanna, jumping on my kidneys, and trying to steal my hat. Not to mention the singing. But where the adult dragons were musical geniuses of the same eerie quality as humpback whales, Ruatha's voice was like a kitten crossed with a starling. On caffeine.

Not that I could've slept anyway. My first major battle; now that the frantic energy of the fight was gone, I was going over everything in my head. Or at least, everything I could remember. There was still a gaping hole in my memories between the shooting of the dragons and the marine who slashed my chest. Other than that, though… The smell of blood, the roar of cannon… My head was ringing with the chaos while my limbs ached from the effort expended and wounds received. Wounds I knew were me getting off easy.

I was… Less affected than I had expected. Maybe it was because I played so many fantasy RPGs with full gore on- unrealistic as things like Dragon Age and Skyrim were, I had some exposure to the idea of death at the end of a sword. Or maybe it was because I hadn't gotten a good look at anyone who'd died, even though I knew theoretically that many people had. Even if Zoro had somehow managed to cause totally nonlethal damage, Johnny and Yosaku had blown up an entire ship- via toilet. And then there was what Eric had done to Nelson…

Maybe there was something wrong with me. I'd wondered before- why no matter how gory a cop show got, it didn't bother me. Why when other people talked about the motives behind murder or suicide, I didn't cringe the way my friends did. Whatever it was though… It would probably be useful in this world. But was that a good or bad thing? This… This was one of the reasons that I hated myself still, even years after I'd finally met people who accepted and even liked some of the other things that made me a freak.

X

Little Ryu sat tall beside Apis as she waved goodbye to us. It was a little sad- where I got to keep my dragon for the foreseeable future, she had to let hers go. Once the hatchlings who'd been reborn properly were old enough to fly, the main flock would continue on their thousand-year migration route. But since my little buddy couldn't remember anything, he wouldn't be able to go with them. He needed to be raised like a natural baby; according to Apis, those were usually born at a different part of the migration cycle, when the dragons stayed in one place for a longer time. The little girl didn't seem too sad though. She'd said something about starting a tradition of protecting the reef, so it wouldn't be lost again and no one looking for draconite would have an easy time raiding the nest for bones.

Ruatha warbled a farewell as we raised anchor and headed out to sea. Nami rolled her eyes, smiling at the dragonet perched on my shoulders. "Okay Jones. You sleeping in the cargo hold used to be weird. Now… Have at it. I don't think I could share a room with him; he'd wake me up."

I couldn't argue. I had bags under my eyes that would put a racoon to shame. If it kept up, I'd start to look like Trafalgar Law. Patting Ruatha on the head, I shrugged. Nami shook her head, smile fading.

"How can you be so… calm about this? Did you expect it all from your story? We were just in a major battle! I wasn't even directly involved; you almost got gutted like a fish! And you came out of it more worried about whether Luffy will let you keep your new pet than about your own health!"

"No. I didn't expect the battle. In the story, this was one of the most kid-friendly, happy adventures- except for the part where Grandpa Ryu got killed protecting Apis. The battle was a lot bloodier than what I remember, and I don't think I did anything that would've caused it." And that was terrifying. What was my writer doing? Was she trying to make things more dramatic for some reason? Admittedly, the anime version wasn't much of a battle… Still, I didn't like the idea that my writer might just randomly decide to turn the violence up because she felt a scene was too tame.

"As for how I can be so calm… You knew from the moment Zoro pulled me out of the ocean and you saw my arms that I wasn't right in the head. I… Compartmentalize. Only way to move past things sometimes. I got my puking and crying over with last night when Ruatha wouldn't let me sleep." Not that there had been any puking or much crying, but close enough.

"I know that. You're not the only one. I guess what surprises me is that it's you. The girl who needs to hold Ghin's hand to walk through a city." Nami smirked at my shocked look. "Yeah, he told us."

"So you thought I was only good for talking us out of trouble with nicotine-addicted marine captains? Guess no one told you I gassed Nezumi's crew."

"No, Ghin told me that too." Nami shook her head. "You're crazy Jones. I don't know what kind of crazy, but it's not straight depression or anxiety. Something else… The question is whether it's a good crazy or a bad crazy."

"You know, last time a redhead called me crazy, I stuck her with a pin." I winced, shaking my head. "I was a year younger than Luffy at the time; she made me so angry. I thought she was my friend, but she was just as nasty as any of the other people I grew up with. We both got in trouble, then talked our way out of it with a few tears and some crappy apologies. Now? I don't care anymore. Although I prefer the term insane to crazy."

Nami shook her head in disbelief and left to go deal with her charts. I patted Ruatha and kept a sharp eye out as the Merry pulled away from Warship Island. Next stop, Reverse Mountain. But at the moment, I was more worried about Eric the Whirlwind. In the anime he'd shown up one more time, at the base of the Red Line.

Thudding footsteps alerted me to Zoro's approach. "You looking for that guy with the claws?"

"Yeah. I didn't see if he could still move after what Luffy did, but…"

"You don't want to leave anything to chance."

"Sesehihihihihi!" My laughter startled Ruatha, who snorted and wrapped his tail tight around my right arm. "Chance? At this point, I don't know what's chance and what's not. I don't think I changed anything major about Warship Island, but the battle didn't happen the way I was expecting. How can I trust what I know if the girl behind the keyboard decides to change random details to make things more dramatic?"

"You plan for what you'll do if things do go the way you expect, then stop worrying about what happens if they don't." Zoro smirked. "If you worry about everything, you'll just suffer twice."