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?

14. Ethos

Ethos: an argument based on the ethics of the speaker, and the group or purpose they represent

gamelover41592: Thank you. Although, there's no need to worry about me skipping an arc; I would never leave that much of the story in the dark, or abandon a canon Straw Hat.

The Keeper of Worlds: Thank you.

Guest (the resident cat): Thank you very much. Ghin's always been one of my favourites too, for some reason.

Sakura Hatsu: Heh. Thank you very much. ^_^ And if we're playing 3.5 to allow for greater customization, Jones is primarily a monk with a couple levels of druid— have to get that animal companion somehow.

Dragondancer81: No, Luffy doesn't agree with Jones' logic. When she's conscious again, he will tell her so. And yes, this starts to mend the rift between Jones and Vivi, although it'll be a while before there's much chance to show it.

Guest (Apr 18/1): Thank you. And yes, I've always seen the Straw Hats as a sort of big, complicated family too.

wildcat2636: *evil grin*

camierose: Thank you. I hate cliffhangers too, but they're certainly effective.

Vernesha95: Sesehihihihihi! Reason to see Chopper indeed.

Lightsbane1905: There is actually a semi-logical reason that Jones survived; I just won't get around to explaining it until we meet up with Kureha and Chopper, because none of the current roster have the medical expertise to do a proper examination.

Xipholynx: Thank you very much. Always glad to hear from you. And yes, an emergency stop at Drum Kingdom is definitely in order.

MilkTree925: *evil grin* Because I can.

Gerbilfriend: How far I have this planned? I started writing this fic because of a gag I want to use when I get to Film Gold. That's how far I have things planned, although with some wiggle room for changes. My plans don't always work the way I think they will, after all.

DemonCatLady: Thank you. And don't worry, Jones will get a break from being my punching bag soon. Not for long, but I need to give someone else a turn— say... Yosaku?

Guest (Apr 18/2): Heh. Here's a chapter with a taste of the reactions you're looking for, although most won't show full-force until Jones is conscious to appreciate them.

AnerianJames: Thank you. I'm glad you liked the rap battle; it was a lot of fun.

Nemrut: I hope I addressed your concerns sufficiently on Spacebattles. And your prediction is partially correct— you've got about half the solution.

avatoa: Through semi-logical shenanigans from a source I'm sure almost everyone has forgotten about at this point.

hufflepuffbadgersdontcare: *evil grin*

zafnak: Yes I have read Looking For Group. Or part of it; I'm not caught up yet. And... Who says I would end the story if Jones died? She's started some butterflies, and her death would cause some more at this point, so even if I decided to kill her off, the story could go on. I'd just switch it to third-person focused on Luffy and treat it like a regular AU in that case.

Kebarton: Sadly, none of us have the animation skills to turn the rap battle into a video. There is currently no sequel planned. But I'm glad you like it.

WaterStar45: Yeah, Jones is learning to live outside her comfort zone alright. Staying with the Straw Hats helps her heal. And yes, Jones will eventually have to tackle all the things she pushes to the side— that tendency to avoid thinking about unpleasant things is probably one of her biggest character flaws. Luckily she no longer has to deal with those things alone, even if she hasn't fully realized that yet.

Tetsik: Ah, the much-vaunted Otouto. I'm glad to finally mee— cabbage god? Since when is Blue a cabbage god? I'm confused...

xanothos: Thank you very much. And yes, Jones very much needs to "Get to the Choppah!"

Luffy paused for breath. Fighting this candle guy was hard! He could only break the wax using other wax- so annoying. Although the candle guy wasn't doing much better; he panted heavily, his weird hair drooping with sweat. And… blood? Why was blood falling from the sky? Rain wasn't made of blood!

The wax guy whimpered and froze, slowly turning in the direction the blood came from. Perfect. Before he could react, Luffy slammed a fist into the wax man's stomach. Mr Three folded over, wheezing, giving Luffy himself enough time to check out where all the blood was coming from. Cold flooded his veins. His crew were over there, trapped; why hadn't he taken care of the dinosaur before fighting the candle man?

Because he'd been expecting someone else to deal with it while he fought the main bad guy. That's how it always happened- when he was little, it had been Ace; more recently, it was usually Zoro and Sanji. Like when he fought Arlong- they took out the martial ray and octo-sword. But Zoro was trapped, and Sanji wasn't here. Neither was Ghin, who would've been his next choice. Shit, shit, shit- if his mistake had hurt his crew mates, he'd never forgive himself.

When he turned, the rubber boy felt his stomach leap with excitement. In front of the giant candle that trapped his friends stood the headless corpse of the attacking dinosaur. Not only was the head off, it was nowhere to be seen. Unless all those blood and bone bits were what was left of the head. So someone had blown the dinosaur's head up- cool!

Then the huge body fell sideways, shaking the ground as it fell. Luffy felt his heart sink when he saw what was on the other side- Jones and Vivi, both of them so covered in blood that he couldn't tell if they were hurt or not. They weren't moving, and he could see white bits sticking out of Jones' arm in a strange, painful-looking way. It looked like when Ace broke his arm when he was twelve. That- that wasn't good.

"Well, well, well, it looks like I've got one less of your little friends to worry about." The candle man's voice was annoying; it made him angry. Luffy spun back towards his opponent with an angry snap.

"Gum-Gum Pistol!" His fist slammed into a wax wall that the candle man threw up at the last second. The cold in Luffy's veins was replaced by heat, anger. He was glad that he didn't think too much; the candle man's tone implied something that he really didn't want to think about.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Carue run towards Usopp. The sniper stood frozen in the edge of the forest, staring at the dead dinosaur. He had a coil of oiled rope slung over one shoulder and a bundle of kindling tucked under his other arm, although he appeared to have forgotten about both. The little girl who'd been sitting with Jones earlier was tugging on the gunner's overalls, trying to get him to snap out of it. And then Ruatha keened.

"SHAREEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

Clapping his hands over his ears to block out the piercing noise, the rubber boy leapt over shards of flying wax. Dragon cries hurt! Luffy snapped his feet at the candle man as he rolled through the air, hoping to pierce that annoying defense. "Gum-Gum Spear!"

He was blocked again. Mr Three snickered as the young captain landed and flipped upright. "It's only a matter of time, boy. Soon you'll be joining that little friend of yours." He formed a blade of wax and swung it at the young captain.

Luffy ducked under the attack and darted in close. Maybe he could make it so the candle man didn't have time to block him. "What does that mean? Gum-Gum Pistol!"

"Wax Mecha!" Mr Three covered himself in less than a second, white wax flowing over his skin to form a suit of thick armour. So cool! Luffy shook his head as his fist bounced away; he couldn't let himself get distracted. The candle man snorted at him. "Please, you may be an idiot, but surely even you can understand. She's dead. And soon the rest of you will be as well."

No! No, that was impossible! Jones promised she wouldn't. "You're lying! Gum-Gum Rifle!" Luffy twisted his arm as he flung it back, so his fist spun into its target with a resounding smack. That did what none of his other blows had, cracking the thick wax. But it still wasn't enough. Wouldn't be enough, not until he could slap the smug leer off that wax bastard's face.

"Qua-wack!" Luffy glanced back to see Carue and Ruatha nudging Usopp, who was still frozen. But the gunner couldn't be frozen; he was the only one around to get the others out. Luffy growled and snapped another Gum-Gum Rifle forwards, this time hitting and actually shattering Mr Three's wax sword.

"Usopp! Whatever you're doing, get moving!"

"But- But Jones is-!" Knees quaking, voice trembling… Usopp looked like he could barely stand.

"And if you don't have a plan, the rest of us will be too!" That was Nami, voice clogged and raspy with the wax she was breathing.

That- plus a bit of a kick from Carue- made the gunner move. He jumped astride the duck and rode forwards, wrapping his oiled rope around the base of the Doom Candle and scattering kindling across its surface. He avoided throwing sticks near where Jones and Vivi were lying though. Then he tried to strike a match- several times. Usopp's hands were shaking so badly that the first few broke between his fingers. It was the fifth match that finally caught, a spark of orange against green and brown. The gunner threw it; seconds later, flames raced along the oiled rope. They caught on the kindling, and then the wax, melting the great construction from the base.

A spiked gauntlet of wax slammed into the side of Luffy's face, his punishment for taking a few seconds to check on his crew. He snarled and grabbed the extended arm. If punching and kicking wasn't going to work, maybe throwing would. Or… Snarl morphing into a victorious grin, the rubber boy twisted and flung his wax-covered opponent into the expanding pyre. Orange light and heat washed over the glen; Mr Three screamed. Normally he didn't like making people hurt, but for a few minutes, Luffy couldn't bring himself to care much.

Anyone who could laugh at his crew being hurt didn't deserve mercy from him.

Skin red and boiling, hair smoking, the candle man emerged from the flames. His spiked armour was melting off, dripping from him in great globs that hissed when they hit the ground. A small flame had caught on the assassin's number-shaped hair. It grew brighter as the candle man flung out a wave of wax to try and trap Luffy. But the heat of the fire, growing ever stronger, kept the wax from solidifying. The rubber boy slogged through the hot white liquid, pounding his knuckles together. It burned his skin; rubber hardened and blistered from the heat. But if this was what it was doing to him, Luffy didn't want to think how it was hurting his friends as it melted.

"Gum-Gum Pistol!" The candle man tried to fling up another wall to stop the blow, but it wouldn't remain solid. Luffy's fist punched through more hot wax to slam into his opponent's jaw. Mr Three staggered back.

"But," the candle man stuttered, "But you're just a dumb kid! You can't beat me!"

Luffy didn't answer. His only response was to slam a kick into the side of Mr Three's head. When that didn't immediately yield victory, the young captain flung his fists forth in a storm. "Gum-Gum Gatling!"

Smack! Smack, smack! Smack, smack, smack, smack, smack, smack, smack! By the time Luffy was done, Mr Three's face bloomed black and green with bruises, and blood dripped from his nose. A tooth flew into the jungle as Luffy's final punch crashed into his opponent's jaw. A strangled, pathetic whimper emerged as the assassin tried to fling wax again. It melted even as it left his hand. Luffy bared his teeth in a threatening grin; Mr Three whimpered again and fell sideways, unconscious.

As soon as the man hit the hot, waxy ground, the rubber boy started moving. He hid his face in his elbow so he didn't have to breathe the increasing smoke, and grabbed the nearest person from the edge of the Doom Candle. Zoro. Luffy hauled his bosun out of the sticky, burning morass and dragged him out to the edge of the jungle. As he deposited Zoro on a log, he saw Usopp and Carue pulling Nami free. Diving back in, Luffy grabbed for Johnny and Yosaku, while the sniper and duck went for Jack and Mairead. Vivi and Jones were last, mostly because of the difficulty of getting them unstuck from each other and the dead dinosaur.

Soon everyone was laid out under an arching fern, far enough from the heat that no one would burn. Not that they hadn't already; everyone had blisters rising on their feet and ankles at the very least. The fern also provided them some protection from the waxy dust still floating in the air. Dry, rattling coughs as his crew mates hacked up globs of wax made the young captain wince. He knew it was inevitable, but he didn't like seeing his friends in pain.

One by one, Luffy checked his crew to make sure they were alright. Except they weren't; aside from the burns and coughing, everyone bore a number of injuries. Usually head wounds and assorted bruising- it looked like Mr Three had attacked people from behind. Sneaky assassin bastard. Zoro had great jagged slices across his ankles from trying to free himself, and Vivi looked like she's been tossed around by some huge animal before Mr Three got her. Luffy wondered if it was the dinosaur. But those injuries were all treatable; Nami had a bunch of bandages with her. The sailing master started distributing those as soon as she had stopped coughing herself.

Off to the side, Usopp was moving on autopilot. The gunner had a thick torch, lit in the blazing candle fire, that he was using to melt the wax nails and gags holding Dorry and Broggy. It took only a few minutes for the giants to fall free, flexing their limbs as blood dripped from the piercing wounds. Not that they bled long; the fire and hot wax cauterized the injuries. As soon as he was free, Dorry marched over and kicked the central part of the Doom Candle over to melt in the flaming pool of the base. That made breathing much easier, as there was no longer a cloud of wax flakes falling from the sky.

Sanji and Ghin appeared from opposite directions not long after the candle fell. The cook was dragging a dead dinosaur with a spiked tail, while the older pirate had a pair of great winged beasts. Zoro growled at the sight of them. Luffy smiled; right, hunting contest. Poor Zoro hadn't had a chance to catch anything, had he?

"What happened here?" Sanji lit a cigarette from the massive wax fire.

"We fought a wax bastard from those Bark Works guys." Luffy stuck out his tongue. Even after knocking him out, he was still annoyed at Mr Three's stupid wax wall powers. "He tried to catch everybody, but Usopp melted them out. And there was a dinosaur! I don't know what happened, but its head's gone." The rubber boy waved an arm at the titanic body burning in the wax.

Vivi shook off her shell-shocked expression, bowing her head. "That was my fault. When- when I was looking for Mairead, a Tyrannosaurus came after me. I hurt its eye, and it backed off for a while, but I guess it followed me…" The princess' voice was quiet and hollow, like her mind was somewhere far away. Luffy frowned and went back to checking everyone's injuries. Not that he knew how to treat any of them, but he wanted to at least know…

He'd saved Jones for last, because what Mr Three said scared him. She couldn't be- could she? Luffy winced as he looked. Purple had been replaced by crusty red-brown, the otherworlder's shirt in tatters. She looked crushed and broken, her ribcage deformed, bone poking through the skin of one arm, holes in her back and shoulder. Where before Luffy had thought that most of the blood came from the headless dinosaur, there was no doubt that a lot of it belonged to his unmoving crew mate.

No… No, no, no, no, no! Luffy staggered back, tugging his hat lower around his ears. His heart sank. She wasn't moving, wasn't breathing… He'd accepted that he might die on this journey, but not his friends. He was supposed to be strong, strong enough that he'd never lose anyone ever again. That's what he'd said to Ace, back when they'd thought Sabo had died. Sabo being alive didn't change that; Luffy still wanted to protect everyone. He couldn't lose people- if he did, he'd be all alone!

Being strong wasn't enough. But what was? Would he have been able to prevent his crew mates being captured if he was smarter? If he thought like Nami and Jones, as well as being strong? Thinking hurt… But being alone hurt more than anything else. Luffy bit his lip. He couldn't think like Nami and Jones, didn't know the things they knew- but he could think more, think better than he had been. He could do better in his own way- right?

Ghin let out a growling yell as Luffy stepped back, dropping his game to rush over. The older pirate dropped to his knees beside Jones, wordless, frozen. He didn't cry; his face was frozen in a mask of confused anger as he stared at that bloodied chest, waiting for her to do something, anything. No one else moved for several long minutes. They were all too stunned at losing one of their own. Then, abruptly, Ghin rose from where he knelt and pulled a roll of bandages out of his jacket. His jaw clenched, he turned and began tending to Vivi while Nami was busy working on others.

"I'm sor-!"

"Don't," Ghin cut the princess off. His voice was hollow, low, bitter; Luffy doubted they'd be hearing the older pirate sing any time soon. "It's not your fault. She made her choice, just like every other man or woman who takes to the sea." Ghin carefully cleaned and wrapped the bloody wound on the princess' head, his movements rough but gentle. That was how Ghin always was, just like Zoro and Sanji; no matter how the three fought and complained, Luffy saw the care they took with the rest of the crew, and even with each other.

The little girl who'd sat with Jones barely an hour before approached slowly. She was nervous, as if she expected them to attack at any moment. Which was stupid; why would they? Unless she'd had something to do with Jones throwing herself in front of the dinosaur. If that was the case, she would deserve whatever vengeance Ghin wanted to take. Yes, Ghin; Luffy may have been the captain, but he had no illusions about what would happen if he got between the older pirate and someone who'd hurt Jones. Like getting between Ace and Bluejam.

"Is the scary pirate lady gonna be okay?" The little girl bit her lip and clung to a tree, close enough to the crew to see and talk, but too far away for anyone to lunge at her. Ruatha came with her, although the baby dragon bounded past and right up to Jones- Jones' body.

As much as he wanted to, Luffy couldn't deny it anymore. He didn't know a lot about wounds, but Jones' looked bad, too bad. "She's dead… She shouldn't be- she promised she wouldn't- but she's dead…"

And maybe that had been her intention. He thought she'd been happy, travelling with them, but Luffy had to admit he still hadn't known Jones that well. She lied without lying, and kept to herself… Maybe she'd still been hurting and the rest of them hadn't realized it. Maybe she hadn't even realized it.

Zoro grunted, drawing Luffy out of his thoughts. "She didn't promise not to die though. You asked her that, and she said she couldn't. What she promised was that she'd live, and that she wouldn't try to kill herself anymore."

That caused Mairead to freeze and bow her head, a look of horror crossing her face. Luffy opened his mouth to reassure her- he didn't know what, but something had obviously happened between her and Jones- but Zoro beat him to it. "Whatever you're thinking, drop it. No matter how bad Jones was feeling, she wouldn't go back on that promise. She was a liar and a sneak, but she was still a warrior."

Dorry and Broggy, who up until then had been listening silently, nodded in unison. "To break a promise is the greatest dishonour of a warrior."

Squeaking, the strange little girl clung tighter to her refuge tree. She had tears at the corners of her eyes; seconds later, she wiped her eyes with a sleeve, a look of confusion crossing her face. "Why'm I sad? I didn't know her…"

"Death is always sad, Li'l Sis." Johnny and Yosaku moved over to hug the little girl. She squeaked in protest at first, but was unable to escape and had to accept it. The hunters weren't hurting her, so Luffy let them alone. It looked like the hug helped them as much as the little girl anyway; the pair sniffled as they held back tears.

Dorry and Broggy looked at each other, then down at the crew. "We can help you prepare a funeral boat," Dorry offered. "It won't take long; there's lots of good wood and kindling to be found."

"And the little one has her weapons with her," Broggy added, "So even preparing the body won't take long."

Luffy wasn't sure what to make of that. He'd never had to bury anyone before, not even when he'd thought Sabo died. He didn't know how to do it… what a funeral boat was… if Jones would've wanted one. The captain looked at Zoro, Nami, and Usopp, the ones he knew had had loved ones die in the past. Usopp was still in shock, moving like a puppet, and Nami bit her lip as she finished wrapping others' wounds. That left Zoro, the grim-faced champion. No matter what happened, the swordsman would be a rock for the crew, able to make decisions even when Luffy himself couldn't.

"No." Arms folded across his chest, Zoro stared up at the giants. His dark eyes were full of aggressive defiance. "She was a warrior, but she wasn't one of yours. Jones wasn't exactly practical, but she had a purpose for everything and could make anything useful. She wouldn't want us to bury her stuff with her; not if she thought someone could use it."

The bosun's eyebrows creased in an expression of distaste. Luffy agreed; taking stuff from dead bodies was creepy and gross. But Zoro was right. Jones seemed like she'd want her meddling to go on after her death, even if only in the flash of her sais in the hands of another. Above them, the giants shrugged in confusion.

But no one had the courage to touch their dead friend. It took several long minutes before Luffy realized that it would have to be him. He was the captain; he couldn't ask of the others anything he was unwilling to do himself. Not when it came to something like this. Crouching down, the captain reached gingerly to unclip Jones' whip from her right hip. Immediately, he was set upon by tiny teeth and claws. Ruatha snarled and snapped, enraged and terrified. Luffy could only hold the dragon back so much without hurting him; eventually, needle-like teeth closed over the rubber boy's nose.

"OI!" Yanking the dragonet off his face, Luffy pinned the distraught reptile to the ground with one foot. That hurt! But even pinned, Ruatha wouldn't give up. He continued to squirm and snarl, teeth and claws raking at the captain's ankle. Luffy couldn't figure out how to calm the dragon down, and was reduced to wrapping himself around Ruatha to keep the little dragon from hurting anyone.

It was Jack who came up with the answer. The flouncy spy shuddered and stayed as far from Ruatha as possible as he crouched beside Jones' body. "Where's that bandanna the witch always wears? Maybe he'll calm down if you give it to him."

"Probably in one of her pockets," was Nami's quiet reply. "Her snail too, and who knows what else. Easier just to take the belts now and go through them later." The sailing master's voice cracked almost imperceptibly on the word 'take.'

Nodding, Jack began searching for the buckles that held Jones' bandoliers. He also made to grab her necklace, the one with the crew's Jolly Roger on it. Faster than Luffy could blink, Nami whipped out part of her staff to whack the spy on the back of his hand. Jack winced and rubbed his knuckles, frowning up at the sailing master. "What was that for?"

"Don't- don't touch that. It's Jones', not the crew's."

The spy winced again and went back to searching for the bandolier buckles. Then he froze, his fingers on the side of Jones' neck. "I- I don't think I should be doing this at all." Jack pulled back as if he'd burned his hand. Still wrapped around Ruatha, Luffy scowled. His expression was nothing on Zoro's, however. The bosun's glare had achieved a mixture of scorn and storminess that Luffy hadn't known was possible.

"If you're too squeamish to touch a dead body, just say so. It's not like you knew her anyway." Zoro moved in, shoving Jack aside. The spy shook his head rapidly.

"No, no, no! That's not it- she's not dead!"

"What?" Zoro pressed his fingers to the side of Jones' neck. A second later, the swordsman's eyes lit up. "He's right. There's a pulse; not much of one, but it's there."

"Really?" Luffy unwound from Ruatha, allowing the dragon free. The reptile squawked and jumped towards his mother, forcing the captain to grab him again. It wouldn't do to learn Jones was alive only for her to get killed by her own dragon's affection.

"Yeah. But maybe not for long- she's in pretty bad shape." Zoro's fingers came away bloody; he wiped them clean on his pants.

Nami moved in beside the swordsman, performing her own inspection. "Broken arm, several broken ribs, massive blood loss… The fire's probably the only reason she's still alive; I think it cauterized some of the injuries. She could be hurt inside as well though…" Tears. Not many, but there were a few tears at the corners of Nami's eyes. "Zoro's right- Jones won't last long like this. A few days, maybe; a little longer if she's strong, and no infection sets in."

"Can you do anything about it?" Luffy fought back his own tears. Ace didn't like crybabies- and besides, Nami was smart. She would know what to do. But the sailing master shook her head.

"I'm a navigator, Luffy, not a doctor. I can treat minor wounds and illnesses of the sea, but this… We need a doctor. A real doctor."

"Then we'll find one." Everyone turned to look when Vivi spoke up. The princess' voice was shaky, but weirdly strong at the same time. Stronger than Luffy could remember hearing from her before. "There's an island somewhere between here and Alabasta- Drum Kingdom. They have some of the best doctors in the world. If they can't heal Jones, no one can."

"What about your country though?" Sanji asked gingerly. For once there was no trace of his usual flirting and silliness. "I thought we needed to get there as fast as possible to keep those shitty bastards from taking over."

"We- we do." The princess bit her lip, tears welling up. She was shaking; Vivi looked like she could barely stand. It must be a hard decision for her. Luffy stretched to hug her with the arm that wasn't holding Ruatha. She clung to his wrist like a lifeline, but stood strong. "But… Jones is hurt because she ran to protect me, even though we didn't get along. I can't- it wouldn't be right to insist we go on without trying to get her medical care. I'm sorry; so, so sorry."

The princess bowed. Johnny stared at her. "Big Sis Vivi… Big Sis Jones said something before she fell. What was it?"

"She said… She said that she was expendable, and I wasn't." The princess wrung her hands. "But… That's not right. No one is expendable. Not even- She really did mean well, didn't she? Even if I didn't like her methods. And what if she knew something that actually made ending the war easier? Mother Isis, what have I done?"

"It's not your fault." Yosaku assured her. He and Johnny released their hold on the little girl by the tree to pat the princess on the back.

That was… Why would Jones say something like that? Because she came from another world? Because according to her, she wasn't supposed to be here? That was stupid. Luffy scowled. If Jones wasn't already so beat up, he'd give her a good Fist of Love to teach her how stupid it was. No one on his crew was expendable! The rubber boy then paled when he realized he was starting to think like his grandfather. Although if anyone deserved a Fist of Love…

He could always punch Jones when she was healthy again. She deserved it. Luffy grabbed pulled a pen from one of Jones pockets and wrote a note on his arm. Punch Jones later for calling herself expendable and almost getting herself killed.

Nami sighed heavily. "Even if there are doctors nearby, we can't move her safely. Broken ribs… We have nothing to immobilize her with. They could pierce her lungs if we're not careful. Hell, we don't even have any painkillers."

"Um… I might be able to help with that." The little girl reached into her pocket. Out came a paintbrush, a number of tubes of paint, and a palette labelled 'spare.' She began mixing colours, which made no sense to Luffy. What did paint have to do with painkillers? And more importantly…

"Who even are you?" the rubber boy demanded. His brain ached a little as he stormed over to the little girl. "Are you one of the Bark Works guys- Three's partner? You Bark Works guys always work in pairs, right?"

"Meep!" The little girl flinched away, but didn't stop with her mixing. Whatever colour she was trying to make must be complicated. Then dark brown eyes glared defiantly up at Luffy from under a broad-brimmed hat. "I- I was. My name is Lisa, codename Miss Goldenweek. But Sca- Jones, she saved me from the raptors. If I can help…"

Oh. Luffy didn't sense any lies or hostility in the girl's words, so he backed off. If she meant to help, every little bit was a good thing. And it wasn't like she could do anything to make Jones worse at this point. Although… the rubber boy still didn't understand how paints- no matter the colour- would help anything.

Lisa's tongue stuck out of the corner of her mouth as she concentrated. The little girl muttered to herself, not making any sense, as she mixed her paints. "Not green- she might change it unconsciously. I don't wanna deal with that again. But some green for healing and calm… Maybe some extra blue for whatever made her happy earlier… But how do I make something she can't change? I don't know if she'll do it unconsciously…" The little girl's voice faded out as she focused on her art.

Come aboard and bring along all your hopes and dreams! Together we will find everything that we're looking for! One Piece!

Luffy jumped when music suddenly blared across the glen. It seemed to be coming from- Jones? Green antennae poked out of one of her pockets as the song went on. Right, Jones had a den-den mushi. Not that she could answer it right now… Luffy retrieved the snail with a snap, wondering who could be calling.

"Hi random person! Jones can't answer the snail right now. I'm Monkey D Luffy, her captain and future king of the pirates!"

"Jones, I nee- wait, Luffy?" Oh, that was Sabo's voice! "How are you? Are you getting enough sleep? What island are you on right now?"

"It's called Little Garden- there's lots of dinosaurs here. And I sleep fine; after what happened with Jones, Ghin won't let anyone stay up all night." Luffy hummed, happy. He loved hearing his brother's voice. "What about Sabo? Is being a revolutionary fun? What do revolutionaries do, anyway?"

Sabo groaned. "Right now? Paperwork. I have reports to fill out on a dozen different informers and operations I'm authorizing while Dragon's off on his own business." Well, that sounded boring. Luffy was glad he wasn't a revolutionary; he'd be bored out of his mind if he had to do paperwork. "That's actually why I called. Jones hung up before I could ask her earlier- I need a codename for her in order to authorize that op in Drum Kingdom."

Codename? Why would Jones need a codename? Luffy stared at the den-den mushi in confusion. And wasn't Drum Kingdom the place Vivi said they needed to go? The rubber boy glanced up at the princess; she nodded slightly. Frowning, Luffy turned back to the snail. "Why?"

"Your witch, as she calls herself, offered to send information to the army when she knows something we might find to be of interest- her first lead was for an event going on in Drum Kingdom later this week. For her own safety, Jones needs a codename. It's to keep her identity from becoming compromised if anyone without authorization comes into possession of my reports." Sabo sighed. "As much as I like talking to you, Lu, I do need to speak with Jones. If she hadn't hung up on me so quickly earlier, I'd have been able to finish her papers half an hour ago."

Luffy bit his lip, glancing down at the unmoving body below him. "Sorry Sabo. Jones really can't answer the snail right now."

"Lu…" It was wrong, how much he'd missed that. Sabo was growling, like he only had when Luffy and Ace did something remarkably stupid. Like the time Luffy got eaten by a gator, then Ace got eaten trying to get him out, so Sabo had to rescue them both. "What do you mean she can't answer the snail?"

"She's kind of unconscious right now. Nami says she might die if we can't find a doctor." Luffy could barely keep his voice from cracking. Although, this was Sabo, not Ace- Sabo never got angry at him for crying.

"You don't have a-? Urgh, Lu…" Sabo's words were followed by the sound of a skull beating repeatedly against wood. "A doctor should've been one of the first crew mates you picked up! Are you okay? What about the rest of your crew?"

"We're alright…" Luffy glanced around at everyone else. Burns, bruises, cuts, welts… No one was unscathed- not even Sanji and Ghin, who'd been hunting and weren't captured- but they were all moving, breathing. Actually, almost everyone was watching him talk to his brother, except for Zoro, who was keeping an eye on Lisa. The little girl was still messing with her paints. "Everyone's a little beat up, but we're okay. And we will get to Drum, and then Jones'll be okay too."

Sabo sighed. "If you're sure… But look, I need a codename in order to file for this op. If I don't file, pay and resupply won't go to the right cell afterwards, and good men could walk off the job. Not to mention the nightmare that'll happen if one of them needs medical care afterwards."

Blech. Running an army sounded complicated. Luffy frowned. Stupid Jones, getting ripped up by a dinosaur- she needed to be awake to deal with her own sneaky ninja spy business. He wasn't about to do it for her; too complicated. Although… it was nice that she was helping Sabo. "You're gonna have to call later. Or I can get Jones to call you when she wakes up; that might take a few days though."

"Ergh, fine. I'm sure I can hold Koala off for a week or so. Thanks anyway." Sabo's voice softened; the snail stared up at Luffy with his brother's love. "You know Lu, you don't have to wait for me to call. Borrow the snail anytime; I always have time for my little brother."

"Kay. But we've gotta go soon Sabo; we need to get to Drum Kingdom so we can find a doctor." Luffy beamed down at the snail. Sabo squawked and startled; the rubber boy stifled a giggle as he imagined his big brother falling off a chair and losing his hat.

"Drum-? If you're going to Drum Kingdom, why the Hell did Jones call me? She seemed to think you could deal with it if you were there." Then the snail's eyes went wide as Sabo realized something. "Wait, back up- you said you were on Little Garden? Do you have an eternal pose for Drum?"

"No." Luffy frowned. He'd never heard of that before, although it sounded sort of familiar. Was it like the log pose that Nami used? "Why?"

"Because it takes a year for an ordinary log to reset on Little Garden! Do you want me to redirect the cell to meet you? They could deliver a spare pose and help you deal with Wapol."

"Sabo…" It was so hard to keep himself from whining, like he had when they were children. But they weren't children anymore. "You can't; I can't. This is our adventure, not yours. You can't meddle."

"Not even to help you save a crew mate's life?"

That made Luffy's heart sink. Because a year was a long time, and if they couldn't find a way to get a doctor quickly… No. He had to have confidence in his crew. They would find a way out of here, get a doctor, and Jones would be healed. Everything would be fine. "I can't Sabo. I'm not a kid anymore; I can't rely on my big brothers all the time. And I'm not alone- I have my crew."

Sabo sighed. "If you're sure… I suppose I'll tell the cell to hold off. They'll still be there though, if you need them. You're sure you can handle this though? How do you plan to get to Drum Kingdom without a proper log?"

Luffy didn't have an answer for that. Luckily, though, Nami did. The sailing master leaned in, one hand on her hip as she poked the snail in the face. Which apparently somehow reached Sabo over the connection, since the den-den mushi reflected a very familiar flinch an instant later. "Easy. We'll just tell Zoro to go anywhere except Drum Kingdom and give him the helm. The idiot couldn't find his head if it wasn't screwed on tight enough, so getting him lost enough to get us where we need to go is a piece of cake. Now shut up and quit back-seat pirating!"

The snail paled. "Oh my god, you have your own Koala." Luffy bit back a giggle. Sabo almost sounded like he'd been told Garp was coming to visit. "It- I have no idea what she means, but knowing your luck, whatever-it-is might actually work. Just… If it doesn't, remember you can call me if you need me, okay Lu? I can have a revolutionary cell at your location in a couple of days if you need help. And even if you're fine… Make sure to call me sometimes. You worry me. I'll talk to you later?"

"Later," Luffy agreed. Then he hung up and put the den-den mushi back in Jones' pocket. The snail hid in its shell- strange, the little thing normally licked people whenever it was taken out. Maybe it could tell there was something wrong too. The rubber captain glanced at his navigator.

"Do you really think your thing with Zoro will work?"

Nami shrugged. "It's worth a try. Unless you want to call your brother back and ask him to send reinforcements."

"Not yet." Luffy sighed, his hat shadowing his eyes as he bit his lip. He hoped he was making the right choice. "The king of the pirates can't go running to his big brother for help all the time, even for something like this. We have to at least try to do it on our own."

"Well said, Captain." Zoro rested a hand on Luffy's shoulder, a comforting weight. The rubber boy nodded grimly. At least he wasn't alone.

A gentle rain started. Large, slow drops fell from the sky, splashing warm water whenever they hit. But the sky was still blue as far as Luffy could see; a sun shower. So pretty… Especially when a rainbow arched across the sky, as one did after a few minutes. The rain put out the wax fire, leaving nothing but the dead body of the dinosaur, and the unconscious form of the candle man.

There was a large booger lodged high in his left nostril; it tickled. Luffy occupied himself for the next several minutes with his finger up his nose, trying to seize the offending booger and cast it out. He'd just succeeded when an excited cry from Lisa surprised him. He jumped onto Zoro's shoulders in shock. The bosun sighed heavily and pried Luffy off, depositing him back on the ground.

"I've got it!" The little girl beamed, holding up her palette for everyone to see. It had a very light, bluish-green colour of paint in the middle, surrounded by flecks of blue, yellow, and white from the mixing. Luffy stared at the paint in confusion. Right, that was a thing… But how was paint like a painkiller, again? No one had ever explained.

"Soothing Seafoam!" Lisa splashed paint across Jones' chest, drawing a strange symbol. The little girl bit her lip and watched for a moment before letting out a sigh of relief. "Good. She didn't change this one."

Okay… "But what does it do?" Luffy wanted to know. Needed to know. How could he protect his crew if he didn't know what the things people were doing to them were for?

"It keeps her from regaining consciousness, so she won't be in any pain. Hopefully, anyway. I've never tried that colour before, and she's not the easiest subject to begin with." Lisa put her paints away and fiddled with the hem of her skirt.

Johnny and Yosaku bounced excitedly. "Excellent! So it won't hurt Big Sis when we carry her back to the ship!"

"IDIOTS!" Nami whipped her staff together and smashed both hunters over the head. They collapsed on the ground, groaning and clutching their skulls. "Just because she can't feel the pain doesn't mean it won't do damage! We still haven't immobilized her; one wrong move could send those broken ribs piercing through her lungs!"

The hunters squeaked, flinching and crawling away. "Sorry…"

Sanji blew a smoke ring into their faces, sending Johnny and Yosaku into a fit of coughing. "So… How do we do that, then? We don't exactly have anything to make a full-body cast here. That kinda comes with getting a shitty doctor."

"Don't have anything to make a…" Ghin's voice trailed off, his eyes lighting up. And not in a nice way; they were bright red. Luffy pitied whoever had drawn the older pirate's attention. Not for long though. After all, why would he pity the bastard who tried to catch and kill his crew?

Ghin stomped across the melted remains of the wax, steaming from the rain water. He grabbed Mr Three by the front of his shirt and hauled the candle man up, slapping him across the face. It took seven slaps for the assassin to wake up, groaning. His immediate reaction was to puke; Ghin managed to spot this and turn his captive's head, preventing the vomit from hitting him, but it was a near thing. Then the former Krieg pirate shook Mr Three, just to make sure he had the man's attention.

"You… Could you make a full-body cast out of your wax?"

"Yes," the candle man coughed. His voice was ragged and watery. "But why should I? You're my targets; an assassin never aids his target."

"And do you know what the difference is between me and an assassin?" Ghin's voice was low and dark, barely audible, but it was the most terrifying Luffy had ever heard it. Usopp apparently agreed, as the sniper started shaking like a leaf. "Assassins have targets because assassins sometimes miss. I don't. And I promise you… if Jones dies before we get off this island, so will you."

"You don't scare me!" Mr Three's voice trembled with the lie. Ghin glanced at Luffy; the captain nodded slightly, letting his crew mate know that yes, the candle man was actually scared.

A feral, sadistic grin crossed the former Krieg pirate's face. His grip on Mr Three's shirt tightened. "I don't scare you, eh? Well, we can fix that. You wouldn't have heard of him, but I used to be the combat commander for Don Krieg's crew; I know how to make people fear me."

"Do your worst." The candle man spat in Ghin's face. Luffy winced as his crew mate wiped the spittle away and hoisted Mr Three up, so the agent's feet could no longer touch the ground. The rubber boy had never heard any of his friends sound so dark. And the worst part was, Ghin wasn't lying- whatever he was about to do, he'd done it before.

Ghin dragged Mr Three to a nearby stream and plunged the wax man in. Head first, into water as deep as a man's waist; the Baroque Works agent immediately went limp as his Devil Fruit reacted to the water. But that wasn't enough for Ghin. No, the former Krieg pirate held Mr Three's head under for several seconds, until bubbles stopped rising from the candle man's mouth. Then Ghin pulled his victim out, shaking and slapping until Mr Three could breathe again. This happened several times, until the wax man was coughing and sputtering, tears in his eyes.

"Alright, alright, enough! I'll do it, I'll do it! Just stop…"

"Then do it." Ghin dragged the candle man back towards the crew and flung him down next to Jones. Mr Three got to work, glancing at the former Krieg pirate every few seconds to make sure he wasn't about to grab him again.

Luffy scowled. That was… sickening. He understood that his crew mate was scared and angry, but torture? No. That was too much. The rubber boy marched over to the tonfa wielder and punched. His fist sank into Ghin's stomach, firing the former Krieg pirate across the glen with a wheeze. Dark eyes stared dazedly up at Luffy as Ghin struggled to get his breath back.

"Don Luf-!"

"No," Luffy interrupted, folding his arms over his chest. "Don't. I know you're angry about what happened to Jones- you're her big brother- but it wasn't his fault. And we don't torture people, not even bad guys. If you're gonna kill, do it quickly."

Ghin opened his mouth, closed it, and hung his head. "Aye-aye, Captain."

Nodding, Luffy unfolded his arms and backed off. "Good. As long as you get it. Can't have our rigger doing things like that- next thing you know, we'd be assholes like Krieg and Kuro."

Pale, Ghin nodded. He looked sick. Slowly rising, the rigger leaned against a tree and began cleaning those pistols he never used- violently. But if it calmed him down and kept him from torturing Mr Three again, Luffy was all for it.

A few moments passed in silence. Then the candle man backed away cautiously, twitching as if he expected to be grabbed again. He left behind a shell of wax a couple inches thick that would hopefully keep Jones' ribs from stabbing her lungs. Luffy winced at the thought; that sounded painful. Mr Three shuddered and wrung his hands. "There; it's done. Are you happy now?"

"No. But I'm as close as I'm likely to get for a while." Ghin stomped over and knocked the candle man out with a punch, and well, Luffy couldn't really fault him for that. It wasn't torture, and Mr Three was an asshole.

Sanji lit a fresh cigarette, blowing smoke at Zoro. "So, how do we carry her to the ship? With all that shitty wax, she's too stiff to pick up easy, and if we're too rough we might still jostle something."

The swordsman reached over and slapped him, knocking the cigarette to the forest floor. He stomped it out with a growl. "Don't smoke around Jones right now, Shit Cook! She's having enough trouble breathing as is! Go suck on a lollipop or something, if your oral fixation's getting the better of you."

"Oral fix- I'll show you who has an oral fixation, shitty Moss Head!" Sanji launched himself at Zoro, his foot meeting the flat of a blade as the swordsman whipped out Yubashiri. The bosun growled.

"That doesn't even make sense, dumbass!" Three swords out, Zoro spun at the cook with fire in his eyes. "Tatsumaki!"

"Oh really? Who runs around with a sword in his mouth all the time?" Flipping back onto his hands, Sanji launched a spiralling series of kicks into the bosun's chest. The brawl went on for several minutes, destroying trees and ripping up turf as the pair went after each other- at least until someone else stepped in to stop it. And for once it wasn't Nami or Ghin.

"Big Bros, enough!" Yosaku swept his dadao around through the back of their knees, his unexpected assault knocking both fighters onto their backs. "If you don't reign it in, you're gonna hurt Big Sis more!"

"Plus, Big Bro Zoro's right- you shouldn't smoke around people who're hurt." Johnny had his blade out too, although the blue hunter was shaking a little.

Sputtering, Sanji froze. Johnny and Yosaku had never stood up to him before, leaving the cook unsure how to respond. He eventually settled for stumbling back to sit on a tree stump by his spike-tailed catch. Meanwhile, Zoro huffed and sheathed his swords.

Titanic knees creaked as Broggy knelt down beside them. "Maybe I can help. The little one is small enough to lie on my hand. I could carry her to your ship."

Dorry nodded. "And we could trade for more of your alcohol while we're there. You little ones have some of the best rum I've tasted in years. Not that we've had any rum in years- not many traders land on Little Garden."

"Okay." Luffy didn't like the rum anyway, so if the giants wanted it, that was fine. He didn't know why they had so much of the stuff. Well… Actually, it was probably because the dummies in Whiskey Peak had so much of it when they went pillaging there. Why couldn't all those bounty hunters have had more hot chocolate, or orange juice, or some sort of liquor that tasted like bacon.

…Was that even a thing? It should be.

Broggy laid his hand on the ground so Johnny and Yosaku could load Jones aboard. Usopp went with her as the giant stood, waving his arms and chattering animatedly about somewhere called Elbaf. Luffy smiled at his friend's enthusiasm. Not that he knew what Elbaf was, and he couldn't hear Usopp and Broggy very well once the conversation moved thirty feet above his head, but whatever made his friends happy made Luffy happy. The rubber boy skipped and bounced as he and his crew made their way back towards the Going Merry.

There was still a small knot of worry and anger in the pit of his stomach, but Luffy squashed it down. Jones would be fine. They would get to Drum Kingdom and she would be healed, so there was nothing to worry about. And until then, all he could do was enjoy the journey and make sure nothing happened to anyone else on the way.

Sanji and Ghin brought up the rear, retrieving the dinosaurs they'd killed. Zoro snorted and scowled at the sight. Now it was Luffy's turn to comfort his swordsman, patting the bosun on the shoulder. "Don't worry Zoro; I'm sure you'll win the bet next time."

"That's not the point." The bosun folded his arms with a growl, eyeing his rivals. Luffy nodded.

"I know. Sorry."

"I think Ghin wins," Nami piped up offhand. "His may be smaller, but there are two of them, and they were flying." Then the sailing master paled. She clutched her staff, fixing everyone with a glare as she muttered to herself. "I can't believe I just got involved…"

Mairead chuckled; Jack leaned on her with a sigh. The wannabe prince rubbed his temples and tried to pretend he wasn't surrounded by pirates. Luffy shook his head. Some people just didn't understand. Hunting contests like this were a matter of warrior pride! He couldn't count the number of them he'd had- and lost- against Ace. But it wasn't the first time he'd met someone who didn't get it- Dadan acted a lot like Jack every time he and Ace had come home fighting about who'd caught the biggest gator.

"Tiiraaz…" Ruatha crooned sadly, scrambling to try and keep up with everyone. Luffy crouched to pick up the dragon so he didn't fall behind- although why Ruatha wasn't in Broggy's hand with Jones and Usopp, he didn't know. Maybe Jones' pet was catching her stupid? Or maybe there was actually no room? A tail wrapped around the rubber captain's arm as claws dug into his shoulders.

The rubber captain reached up absently to pet the dragon. Ruatha responded with a mournful chirp, burying his face in the back of Luffy's head. At least he didn't try to chew on the hat the way he always did with Jones; she really needed to teach the hatchling to respect precious headwear, rather than to spit at people's faces and hand her things.

It should have surprised Luffy to see that the little Lisa girl was following the crew, but it really didn't. The child kept glancing up at Broggy's hand, biting her lip. Nami noticed too. After a moment, the navigator fell back and offered Lisa her hand. The little girl thought for a moment before taking it.

Nami smiled gently. "Don't worry about Jones; we'll get her to a doctor in time, thanks to your paint and that wax."

"It's not…" Lisa had tears at the corners of her eyes, though she didn't let them fall. Instead, she rubbed her face with the back of her free hand. "She's scary, but she's the first person to protect me since…"

That made Nami frown. "Lisa… Did Mr Three do things to you? Anything that seemed strange or wrong, that you didn't want to do?"

"No. No, he never did anything. He just… He always expected me to act like a grown up, and I don't always know how. I can look after myself, kinda, but being protected was… nice." The little girl looked uncertain; her tone of voice said she was hiding something. But as long as it wasn't a threat to the crew- and it didn't sound like it to him- Luffy would leave it alone.

The ground shook; something moved off to one side. Everyone froze and turned to look. Seconds later, a large green body came barreling out of the ferns, tipped with three horns as sharp as knives. Lisa squealed and dove behind Sanji. "Eee! Not again!"

Johnny and Yosaku jumped aside, brandishing their swords. "Again? What do you mean again?"

"A bunch of raptors chased me and Jones earlier!"

"That's not a raptor!" the hunters yelped in unison. It was so cool when they did that. Did they share a brain or something?

Luffy was forced to jump out of the way; the dinosaur seemed to be targeting him. Leaves crunched as he landed. The horned dinosaur spun around in a great crashing arc to come after him again. High above, Dorry drew his sword. The giant hesitated though, as Zoro stepped between his captain and the charging beast. A grim smile crossed the bosun's face.

"This one uses three-sword style- it's mine." Zoro drew his blades in a blur of silver, catching the dinosaur's horns in a block. He flung its head to the side with a twist, bringing his swords around to target its neck when the beast's neck was exposed by the motion. "Tora Gari!"

A splash of blood flew up. There was a loud crash as the dinosaur fell dead, its hulking body collapsing onto one of the giant ferns. Zoro wiped his blades off and sheathed them with a satisfied huff. The bosun shot a smirk at Sanji and Ghin. "Oi, Shit Cook, War Dog, who wins now?"

"Still Ghin," Nami inserted before an argument could start. "Flying game is still the most impressive."

"What?! But he has pistols! That's how he got the shitty flying ones!" Sanji's indignation made Luffy giggle. Nami just shrugged; the cook drooped with disappointment.

Bouncing over, the captain patted his cook on the shoulder. "Saa, it's okay Sanji. You'll get another chance someday. And plus, at least we have lots more meat now! So everyone wins!"

"Heh. Shitty optimist." But Sanji was smiling now, so he didn't mean the insult. Luffy beamed. The cook huffed and moved to light a cigarette. He stopped at the last minute, slipping it back into the case and sighing as he glanced up at Broggy's hand. The rain petered out as the crew moved through the jungle.

X

They were almost back at the Merry when Usopp let out a yell. "Something approaching on the horizon! It's coming in fast!"

"Probably those Unlucky animals," Sanji huffed. "Crocodile said he'd be sending them in that call Jones and I overheard."

Jack and Mairead looked nervous. "I know the witch said she made friends with them," the wannabe prince said, fiddling with his scarf, "But will that hold if she's not up for them to talk to? If not, we should hide."

"That's stupid," Luffy informed him. They'd be fine; any friend of Jones wouldn't attack his crew. Lisa shot him a disbelieving look.

"You're not worried about the Unluckies? Not even a little?" She was still holding Nami's hand. Luffy chuckled and reached over to ruffle the little girl's hair. She pouted at him as she straightened her hat.

"Nah, I'm not worried. Jones said they're friends, and I trust her. And even if they were lying to her, we can take out a couple animals any day. There's nothing to be afraid of."

"If you say so…" Lisa didn't look convinced. Neither did Jack and Mairead. All three tried to make themselves inconspicuous a few minutes later, when a large shadow flew overhead. It changed direction and began spiralling down, prompting the three agents to partially conceal themselves in nearby brush. Vivi stared at them dully, but held her fully visible position.

Heavy wingbeats nearly blew Luffy's hat off as the largest vulture he'd ever seen came down and landed in front of the crew. Ruatha hissed when they came close; Luffy grabbed the dragon's snout like Jones did when she wanted him to be quiet and not attack people. The otter on her back held up a sign, a frown of confusion on his furry face. Hello weird pirates. Why's Miss Goldenweek with you?

So cool! Luffy's eyes tingled when he saw that; his face split with a wide grin. He didn't know otters could write! "Hey! You're awesome and fluffy- join my crew!"

The otter responded with a flat stare. No writing… Then a staff slammed into the back of Luffy's head. Rubbing the resulting lump, the rubber boy twisted his head around to face Nami. "What was that for?"

"You can't just go asking random creatures if they'll join the crew! They might have a nest or something- and they're still working for Crocodile. Even if they're friends, we can't trust them completely; they might let something slip."

"Okay…" The rubber boy pouted. Seconds later, a new sign from the otter drew his attention.

You didn't answer my question, hoser.

"She's here because she likes us better than that wax asshole." Zoro rested one hand on the hilts of his swords, an implied threat. "You got a problem with that?"

Not really. The otter shrugged. I never liked Mr Three either. Stuck up hoser… Always thought he was the smartest person in the room; he didn't have any respect for anyone else. Let me guess- this is another thing my friend in purple won't want me to tell Crocodile about?

"Yes!" That frantic squeak was Usopp's. The sniper peered over the edge of Broggy's hand, shaking visibly. Luffy was impressed that his friend could read the otter's signs from that far away.

Snorting, the otter and vulture looked around. Fine. Now, since the giants are alive and one's carrying a body wrapped in wax, I take it you've beaten the candle hoser?

Luffy nodded. "Yeah. He tried to catch us, but we didn't let him. He's over that way somewhere if you need him." The rubber boy waved back the way his crew had come. "I knocked him out, then Ghin woke him up and knocked him out again, so he might not be able to talk for a while though."

That's fine. All we're supposed to do is drop this off. He doesn't need to be conscious for it. The otter pulled a strange object out of his jacket, like a cross between a log pose and an hourglass. It was labelled 'Alabasta.' Seeing that, Luffy's eyes lit up.

"Hey! Is that one of those eternal pose things?"

Yes.

"Cool! Do you have one for Drum Kingdom?" If they did, it would make finding the place so much easier. Pain bloomed along the side of Luffy's head as Nami hit him again.

"So you won't ask your brother for help, but you're fine asking an otter and a vulture who work for a man who's ass you've decided to kick?" The sailing master's eyes glowed scarlet. She was lucky Zoro had killed the horned dinosaur that seemed to like red so much.

"Yep. That's right."

"Argh! You make no sense!" Nami hit him in the head again. How did she make that hurt? She was almost as bad as Grandpa! Luffy scowled at his navigator.

"Stop it… And I do so make sense!" Edging away from Nami, he clung to the brim of his hat.

"Oh really? In what world?"

Not having an answer for that, Luffy looked off to the side and started whistling. He didn't have to explain himself! Luckily, before Nami could come after him again, the otter and vulture intervened. Or rather, the otter nodded while the vulture fluffed up her wings and hissed.

No, we don't. We only have spare poses to islands with a strong Baroque Works presence. Why?

"We need a doctor." Ghin stepped between Luffy and Nami. The dinosaurs he was carrying smelled like fish and overripe fruit; it made the captain hungry. "Jones got hurt- bad."

Jones… That's the purple one who groomed me, right? The otter shook his head. Too bad. I liked her. I'm sorry we can't help.

Luffy huffed and grabbed Ruatha before the dragon could lunge at the otter. Did Jones' dragon know how to read? Maybe he'd picked it up while she was teaching Ghin. Or maybe Ruatha just didn't like otters for some reason. The rubber boy passed the dragon off to Vivi- in part to get Ruatha further from the Unluckies, and in part to give the princess something to do. She appeared to be in a bit of shock or something, staring into space. She still did that after being given the dragon, but at least she held onto him and patted his head, distracting Ruatha from his squirming.

Glancing at the princess gave Luffy an idea. "Can you at least give us the Alabasta pose?" he asked the otter. "We need to go there too, and quick. And Vivi says Drum's somewhere between here and Alabasta anyway, so if we follow the Alabasta pose, it might take us near Drum."

Everyone stared at him for a moment. He wondered why. A dried booger tickled the inside of his nose; Luffy dug it out while waiting for his crew to come out of their weird episode of shock and say something. In the end, it was Johnny who did. "Big Bro… Did you just say something smart?"

"I dunno. I'm right though, right?"

Everyone nodded slowly. Yosaku seemed mystified. Why? Just because he didn't like thinking didn't mean he couldn't. Getting Jones to a doctor, getting to Alabasta to save Vivi's kingdom… those were important.

The otter and vulture cocked their heads to the side. I suppose we could. Or… We need to go back that way anyway, so we could always lead you. We do need to leave the pose for Mr Three; if he doesn't show up- or if he calls saying he didn't receive it- Mr Zero will become suspicious.

"Okay!" Luffy beamed. "Thanks Otter Man!" The rubber boy shoved the otter's hood back so he could scratch all that thick, fluffy fur. Jones said otters liked being scratched, right?

A sharp beak tore a line along Luffy's arm; the vulture hissed and fluffed her feathers, half-flaring her wings. He winced at the sting, but otherwise ignored the assault. Harder to ignore was the sign the otter held up after a few moments. You need more practice giving scratches. And longer fingernails.

"I'd get more practice if you joined my crew." Even before the animals shot him a flat, unamused look, Luffy knew that was a pretty lame bribe. But he had to try- the writing otter was cool!

No. We will lead you because I like your Jones and don't want her to die, but that's it. The otter slapped Luffy with one of his signs. It didn't hurt, but it did send his head snapping back for a second. Now, give us a few minutes. We'll meet you back at your ship after we check Mr Three's status.

Heavy wings nearly knocked the young captain over as the two agents took off. Jack and Mairead sighed and sagged with relief. The giants stared in confusion; while Broggy remained mostly steady in order to not dump his passengers, Dorry took off his helmet to scratch his head. "Am I dreaming, or can that little otter write?"

Broggy shrugged and nodded. "This is the Grand Line; even after living here more than a hundred years, you're bound to see something new at least once a week."

A few minutes of walking later, they were back at the Going Merry. Broggy knelt down to lay Jones on the deck while Usopp jumped down beside her. The rest of the crew climbed aboard; Luffy scrambled below decks to get some rum for the giants. This earned a growl of protest from Zoro. But he'd get over it; they still had lots of other stuff to drink.

"Here you go!" Each barrel was probably only the size of a mug for the giants. That was… actually kind of sad. There were lots of places someone that big wouldn't fit; it must get lonely sometimes. But Luffy didn't dwell on that as he presented the rum with a smile. "Thanks for helping get Jones to the ship, and telling cools stories- and lunch! I hope your duelling goes well, and you get to go home to Elbaf soon."

Usopp nodded. "Yeah! It sounds amazing… Where is Elbaf, anyways?"

"Gababababababa! Planning to go there someday, little one?" When Usopp nodded, Broggy continued. "It'll take a while for you to get there- Elbaf's way out in the New World."

"That's fine! I don't care how long it takes." The gunner had stars in his eyes. "Someday I'm gonna be one of the greatest, bravest warriors on the sea- going to the land of warriors is part of that!"

"Gyegyagyagyagyagya!" Dorry patted Usopp on the head. "I like your spirit, little one. When you get there, tell them you're a friend of ours; it should get you a warm welcome."

"Thanks!" The sniper beamed and rubbed his nose, but for once the action didn't seem to be a sign of nervousness. More… excitement.

Sanji scowled at Zoro as the cook, the bosun, and Ghin laid out their dinosaur catches on the deck. "Oi Moss-Head. Help me butcher these things so I can fit 'em in the fridge."

"Don't order me around Swirly-Brow!" Despite what he said, the swordsman did exactly as he was told. Luffy's mouth watered at the sight of all that meat. But first…

"Where're we gonna put Jones? I don't wanna leave her all alone in the hold when she's like this." His crew came before food- although he was hungry.

"We can set up a cot in the back of the galley," Nami offered. "That way she's somewhere we can easily check on her." In case things get worse was left unspoken, but Luffy could hear it hanging in the air.

Lisa fiddled with the hem of her skirt. "I- I can stay with Jones and keep an eye on her."

Oh right, the girl was still with them. Luffy stared at her, cocking his head to the side as he thought. She had an interesting power, if a little scary- he didn't understand how her paints changed people's thoughts, but anything that messed with heads could be scary. Lisa was dangerous… But she seemed trustworthy. She also seemed to like Jones, so Luffy felt fine leaving her with his unconscious crew mate. "Okay."

The little girl nodded, a small, sad smile on her face. She followed Ghin as he gently maneuvered Jones' wax cocoon into the galley. Johnny started to follow as well, but Ghin growled and glared at the blue hunter, forcing him to back off. Luffy winced. Hopefully the rigger would calm down soon; being angry at everything wouldn't help Jones get better, or get them anywhere any faster.

Unexpectedly, Ruatha didn't go after Jones. Instead, the dragon curled around Vivi's shoulders and crooned sadly. The princess sat down and leaned back against her duck, deep in thought. Neither even reacted when the Unluckies came down like a fluffy falling star to land on the rails.

"SCREEEEEEEEEEEE!" The vulture's cry made Johnny jump into Yosaku's arms; the green hunter rolled his eyes and deposited his partner off to one side. Usopp flinched stiffly, trying not to let the giants see his fear.

Alright. Your story adds up; we'll guide you. Hopefully if Mr Zero finds our delay suspicious, he'll believe we fell in battle against you. The otter jumped down from the vulture's head and ran along the rail to the figurehead. He pulled an eternal pose out of his jacket and pointed with his tail as he held up a sign. It's that way.

Luffy scowled. "Hey! That's my spot!"

Tiny, dark eyes glared back at him. Do you want our help or not?

"Yes!" Fine, if it meant that they'd know where to go, he could share his spot with the otter for a while. Luffy folded his arms and pouted. Just because he was doing it didn't mean he was happy about it though. Nami patted him on the head; he shrugged it off and rushed to the rail, jumping up and leaning out over the side as he clung to the rigging with one hand. His other hand held his hat on as a stiff breeze rose up.

"Zoro, raise anchor! Johnny and Yosaku, mainsail! Jack, Mairead, mizzen! Usopp, to the crow's nest! Sanji, man the helm! Let's go!"

Everyone raced to their positions; Dorry and Broggy waved as the Going Merry's sails unfurled and the little caravel made her way back down the river. Luffy giggled. Even with one crew mate laid up, he couldn't help but be eager for the next adventure. Besides, he was sure Jones would be fine. He had faith in her. Beside him, a vulture huffed and squawked.

It was too bad she couldn't write like the otter. Luffy didn't understand vulture-speak.

The Going Merry was about three boat-lengths from the island when the sea began to move. Waves rippled out from a point near the horizon; they grew higher by the second, rocking the ship when they reached her. A shadow moved under the water. Something was coming- something big. As it approached, the waves rocking the Merry continued to grow. Then there was a great sucking splash, and a wall of orange and white scales emerged from the sea. It was the largest fish Luffy had ever seen, enough to give even Laboon a run for his money. The rubber boy wondered how a goldfish could get so big- and more importantly, if such a huge goldfish was edible. Not that they could carry it on the ship, not when the fish was large enough to swallow the Merry whole, with each scale larger than the galley table.

Mouth gaping wide, the fish rushed towards the little ship and the island behind her. Luffy wondered if he should tell Usopp to run for the cannon- but no, that wouldn't do anything. Even if the sniper got there in time, the fish was too big. A silly little cannonball wouldn't hurt it. So… What could they do?

"It's coming straight for us!" Usopp yelled from the crow's nest. Nami responded by throwing an empty bottle at him.

"Thank you Captain Obvious!"

"Hey! I'm the captain!" Luffy spun his head around to frown at his sailing master. She just sighed and shook her head, too far away to hit him with her staff for once. So she threw a bottle at him too.

"Then give us orders, captain. How should we deal with that?" Nami's words were punctuated by a hollow thud as the bottle bounced off Luffy's head. Unlike her punches and her staff, it didn't hurt. Although he did wonder where the empty bottles were coming from.

"I don't know! Can we eat it?"

Luffy's question was met with a resounding "NO!" from every person in earshot.

The goldfish was almost upon them now, so close he could count its teeth. Cool! He didn't know goldfish had teeth! Although it was hard to tell from the little ones… They were too small to see. For a moment, Luffy thought he could smell the fish's breath as it bore down on them, but that was silly. Even he knew fish didn't breathe air. Still, something smelled like rotting shellfish and bird poop.

"Hold on, little ones!" Dorry and Broggy stomped out into the shallows, weapons drawn. The two giants stood on either side of the river mouth, the Going Merry centered between them, as they settled into fighting stances.

"The Island Eater is too big for you to handle at this point," Broggy stated. "Leave everything to us."

Dorry nodded. "Just keep your ship sailing straight ahead, and take care she doesn't founder. The waters will be a bit rough in a minute."

Then both giants roared together. "HAKOKU SOVEREIGNTY!"

Twin arcs of silver flashed as the enormous sword and axe swung. Blades of air whipped past the Going Merry; Luffy could see them cut trenches along the water. So cool! He wondered if anyone with a blade could do that, or if you had to be a giant. Maybe Zoro, Johnny, and Yosaku could learn someday? Wait- hadn't Hawky done something like that at the restaurant? That meant Zoro should definitely be able to do it!

Blood. For the second time that day, blood rained from the sky as the huge fish was ripped apart. Luffy was so glad of his hat; it kept the blood from getting in his eyes- although it would take forever to clean it out of the straw later. The segments of fish splashed sideways, sinking beneath the water. That created even more waves to rock and pull at the Merry, along with a couple of minor whirlpools that tried to draw her under for a few seconds- the fish was that big. All around them, the water ran red.

What a waste of meat. If only the Going Merry was bigger, they could've taken some of that with them.

Tremendous splintering, shattering noises filled the air; metal and wood rained from the sky to join the blood. Luffy clapped his hands over his ears and glanced back at the giants. Dorry's sword and Broggy's axe were gone, leaving their wielders holding a hilt and a jagged haft, respectively. Splinters the size of forks littered the surf, floating amongst shards of steel like bladed plates.

That was… Luffy saw Zoro bow his head for a moment, as if the weapons themselves were warriors falling in the line of duty. And maybe they were- if the Going Merry could have a spirit, why couldn't a well-loved blade? The rubber captain winced and stopped that line of thought before it made his head hurt.

"Thanks Giant Guys!" Luffy waved his hat in farewell as the Merry slipped through the reddened waters. Dorry and Broggy waved back, enormous grins on their faces.

"You're welcome little ones! Good luck!"

"Remember to tell everyone we're okay when you get to Elbaf, and that we'll be coming home as soon as we can!"

X

The wind was quick and sure for the rest of the day, and even into the night. Merry strained beneath their feet, her lines humming as her hull creaked. It was as if the ship herself was in a hurry to get to the next island. Or maybe Luffy was just imagining things; having one of his crew in a coma left him a little on edge. Okay, a lot on edge. He'd only been able to eat two servings of dinner before he felt nauseous.

He was still better off than Ghin and Lisa though. Neither of them had eaten at all; the little girl refused to leave Jones' side, while the rigger wandered aimlessly around looking like he was going to kill something. No one was willing to approach him except Vivi, and even the princess couldn't meet Ghin's eye. Tendrils of bright blue hair hung uneven about her face as the princess bowed and stared at the deck.

"I'm sorry. I know you say Jones made her choice, but it was still my fault… She got hurt saving me. Even after how I treated her… I was wrong."

"Not me that needs to hear it." Ghin's voice came out a growl. Vivi- and everyone standing within earshot, for that matter- flinched.

"I- I know that! But saying it to Jones won't do any good until she wakes up!" The princess froze, taking a few deep breaths to calm herself down. Ruatha- who seemed to have attached himself to Vivi in Jones' absence- crooned consolingly. "I'm sorry… It's just so hard. I'm trying to find a way to save my kingdom and then along comes Jones- she knows things, and it seems like she could figure out what I need so easily, but she won't or can't and it's confusing, and she reminds me of Crocodile because she's so cold and quiet when it comes to strategy, but someone like Crocodile wouldn't have saved me… I'm scared."

For a long moment, Ghin simply stared at the princess. Then he sighed and pulled a cloth out of his pocket. "Come here."

His sudden order had the opposite of its intended effect, as Vivi took a step back in surprise. "What? Why?"

"You still have blood on your face." Still scowling, Ghin wet the cloth ad stalked over to grab Vivi. Luffy got a short look at the princess' face as she reflexively tried to jerk out of the rigger's grip. Twelve spots of dried red-brown, spattered unevenly across her forehead. That had to be uncomfortable. They didn't last much longer though; Ghin wiped them off with the same ease of practice that Makino used when Ace and Luffy used to get dirty.

"You're awfully good at that for a war dog," was Sanji's dry observation. The rigger responded with a growl- although at least he didn't start a fight.

"It's just like being back with the gang. Tippy used to get herself in messes all the time." Ghin offered no further explanation. Once Vivi's face was clean of blood, the former Krieg pirate found himself a corner to sit and glare in. No one disturbed him again- although Luffy wanted to know who this Tippy person was. But he probably shouldn't ask when Ghin was mad like this.

Well, it was getting on time to go to bed anyway. Before heading below decks, Luffy ducked into the galley to check on Lisa and Jones. Not that he could see much of the elder, since she was all wrapped in wax… As for the little girl, she had already fallen asleep where she sat, leaning forwards to rest her arms and head on the shell that protected Jones' chest. Smiling, the rubber captain retrieved a clean blanket from the laundry and wrapped it around the little artist's shoulders. She would be uncomfortable enough when she woke up; he didn't want her to be cold too.

When he made his way down into the men's quarters, Jack was already there. The wannabe prince looked at Luffy funny, like he'd swallowed a fishbone or something. "Why're you being nice to Miss Goldenweek so quick? You took forever to warm up to me'n Miss We- Vivi."

"We were trying to help Vivi keep her cover," Luffy shrugged, "Or something like that. I didn't really get it. And why wouldn't I be nice to Lisa? She's just a little kid, and she said her paint's helping Jones."

"She's an assassin! They can lie, you know!"

The rubber boy considered that for a moment, then shook his head. He was sure Lisa didn't mean to hurt anyone. And that she believed her paints were helping, at least. "Nah. I'd be able to tell. Just like I'd know if the otter and vulture were bad guys."

"That's another thing I can't believe," Jack grumbled. "How can the Unluckies be allies? Miss Friday's a violent gun nut, and Mr Thirteen's a bloodthirsty little git who probably has rabies."

I do not. Luffy giggled as a sign slashed across Jack's face, leaving a long paper cut on the fop's cheek. And you take that back about my partner. Being an excellent huntress with a fine eye for armaments doesn't make her a violent nut. The otter stood on the arm of the couch, glaring with folded arms.

"Eek! What're you doing here?!" Jack flinched away from the animal, making Luffy laugh harder.

It's too dark to sail any further, and everyone's getting ready for bed. I came here to sleep. The otter looked around. So… Where's my spot?

Oh. Oops; Luffy hadn't thought of that. Well… "Where'd you wanna sleep?"

Thinking for a moment, Mr Thirteen eventually decided that he'd prefer to curl up on the couch. He took his coat off and draped it over himself like a blanket, his sleek body forming a dark ball with his face mashed into the backrest. The otter's paws wedged into the crack between the cushions in a way that looked uncomfortable even to Luffy. Mr Thirteen appeared to like it though. So the rubber boy sighed and made his way to his hammock. The rest of the men of the crew arrived one by one not long after.

…He couldn't sleep. Time passed like it was stuck in syrup. Luffy tossed and turned, threw his blankets off only to snatch them right back- nothing helped. The rubber boy groaned. Why couldn't he sleep? He was tired from exploring and fighting… But the same knot in his stomach that kept him from enjoying dinner now seemed to be shooting lightning through his bones, keeping him awake. After a few minutes of this, someone threw a pillow at him.

"If you're gonna make so much shitty noise, go somewhere else," Sanji muttered sleepily. Luffy winced and complied. He didn't want to keep his crew mates up and make them feel bad tomorrow. So the young captain headed back up onto the deck.

Miss Friday shot him a sleepy glare as he passed her. The vulture had situated herself on an unused coil of rope in the middle of the deck, rather than going down to the girls' room. Once she'd decided that Luffy posed no threat, she tucked her head back under her wing.

Usopp was on watch; Luffy could hear him humming up in the crow's nest. So the young captain climbed up to see his friend, not wanting to be alone. When Luffy popped his head up over the edge of the crow's nest, Usopp squeaked. Clutching at his chest, the gunner shot his captain a hurt look.

"You shouldn't sneak up on people like that!" The sniper shook and scowled, rubbing his nose to collect himself. "I could've shot you!"

Since Usopp wasn't holding his slingshot, Luffy wasn't sure about that. Although the gunner was pretty quick on the draw. The captain pouted. "I didn't mean to scare you…"

"Scare- I'm not scared!" Usopp probably thought he was snarling, but the way his voice rose was just silly. Luffy grinned.

"Shishishishishi! You're funny!"

Sighing, Usopp shook his head. "I give up… So, why're you up so late? You don't have a watch tonight."

Luffy flipped up and over the edge of the crow's nest to sit beside Usopp. "Can't sleep. I'm worried about Jones. I'm the captain- I should've been able to protect my crew."

"You- you can't be everywhere though. Don't beat yourself up about it." Usopp bit his lip and glanced around at loss. Then he snapped his fingers. "Hey! I know! How about I tell you one of the stories Broggy told me? Maybe that'll take your mind off it, help you sleep."

Well, it was worth a try. Luffy nodded and leaned back against the side of the crow's nest. He always did love stories- they reminded him of nights spent with Ace and Sabo when he was little. Sabo used to tell the best stories… Usopp grinned and cleared his throat before getting started.

X

Once upon a time, there was a young man named Thor. He was a good man, strong of arm and will, with hair that glowed like fire. Though young, Thor was already considered a great hunter and warrior, and was never seen without his mighty hammer Mjolnir. The people loved him for his strength and good humour, for though he was fierce, he was jolly and much prone to aiding those who could not defend themselves.

When not occupied with combat and merrymaking, the young warrior was content to fish near his home village. One day not long after Thor had entered his four-and-twentieth year, however, he landed a catch that was too much for his faering. The little boat shook as Thor heaved against the unmoving beast; his rod bent near in half. Thor emerged the victor just before the wood could snap, drawing up the head of the creature with a mighty heave. But what he had caught was no fish.

Instead, the young warrior had landed a great serpent. Its head was many times the length of his faering, perhaps many times the length of a great knarr. The serpent itself was of such great girth that Thor found its length impossible to guess. Surely such an immense beast was capable of circling the globe.

The young warrior felt a thrill of fear run through him. Not for himself; no, Thor never feared what might happen to him. What the serpent could do to his village, though… It was so close, and there were so many children there, so many elderly who could no longer fight. So Thor sought to scare the beast away. He brandished Mjolnir with a mighty yell, the death cry of so many wolves and bears that had approached his people in hunger. But the serpent did not turn and flee like most creatures. Instead, it released its own thunderous shriek as it took battle to Thor.

For three days and three nights they fought. The serpent could not get past Thor's guard; for all its size, its attacks lacked speed and finesse. Yet with only his faering for a platform, Thor could not land a decisive blow either. And so the two combatants remained locked together until both were exhausted and near spent.

But the serpent was no ordinary beast; its size was matched only by its cunning. And when it knew it could not devour Thor, it turned towards an easier source of prey. When the serpent began heading for his village, Thor let out a yell that shook the very heavens. Dropping Mjolnir at his feet, the young warrior managed somehow to grasp and bind the great serpent about its neck. Thor flung himself back off his faering, and so great was his strength and the weight of his convictions that the serpent could not lift its head. Man and beast fell into the sea, and neither was ever seen again.

But some say, if you happen upon Thor's village at exactly the right time of year, dawn and dusk will ring in to crashing waves and the sound of a titanic struggle. For Thor and the serpent still battle beneath the sea to this day, a battle that can be heard when the tides are at their lowest and you stand ready at the sea shore.

X

Luffy frowned sleepily at Usopp. Not that he didn't like the story- he did- but there was something that seemed to be missing. "The serpent- did it have a name? All the coolest monsters have names."

"Ah… Um…" Usopp rubbed his nose, embarrassment clear on his face. He'd forgotten that bit, hadn't he? "Its name was… Midgard! That's right! Because it was so long it could wrap around the whole Grand Line, and before it tried to hunt Thor it was the guardian of the islands at the end of the sea. Or at least, that's what Broggy said…"

"Cool! I wanna see Midgard- a snake that can wrap around the whole world would be awesome! Maybe we'll be there when Thor finally beats it!" Luffy would've continued, but a giant yawn cut him off. The rubber boy's eyelids fluttered closed; sleep was finally laying its claim on him. The last thing Luffy saw was Usopp rubbing sheepishly at the back of his head.

"I dunno… It's just a story. And one not even I would make up- no way could a serpent that big exist! It is really cool though."

Luffy didn't have the energy to answer as he snuggled into the wood. He smiled as the darkness claimed him. Silly Usopp; everyone knows that on the Grand Line, anything is possible.