Kia sat in the large communal cell, her hands bound behind her with rope, and tied rather loosely. Guess I wasn't dangerous enough for anything worse… There were a few guards keeping watch on her, but she didn't cause problems, even when they began talking about capturing the rest of the crew. She needed to be on her best behavior if she was going to have the commander help her reach Garp and hopefully Reese.

After a time, they brought Zoro in, and placed him in the cell across from her. She observed his entrance, but he failed to notice that she was there. Because of his bounty, marines stood at the front of his cell keeping watch on him, and blocking their view of each other.

The lieutenant commander came down as well, and interrogated Zoro, but of course, he didn't believe a word Zoro said, even though he was answering honestly.

"You'll never believe it, but they caught Roronoa Zoro!"

Oh no… Chopper thought from his hiding place.

"Yeah there's also a girl that claims she's not part of the crew, but we all know she is,"the voice continued. "Can you imagine how great it would be if we found some of the crew?"

Chopper snuck out, and ran for it, only to find himself being chased by marines. Hiding worked somehow, and he snuck inside a crate. He found himself being transported, and was shocked when he discovered he was in a medical room.

He surprised even himself as he began helping the doctor there, and he gave the doctor a pep talk to get her into surgery. Nami revealed herself dressed as one of the nurses, and though she wanted to leave, he couldn't. He told Nami to leave him behind if she needed to, because he truly believed he needed to stay and help the wounded.

He found that not only he, but Nami too became invested in the young doctor, and cheered with her as she was able to perform the surgery that she so feared. He wondered if this was how Doctorine felt when he was able to perform what he had been taught for the first time.

Kia could hear the commotion before the people even made it to the cells, but when Usopp was brought in kicking and yelling, she smiled to herself. She would certainly miss his wild stories.

From the sound of it, Zoro didn't think much of the display either, and told Usopp to knock it off. Usopp was much more calm having Zoro with him, but spent most of the time cursing Robin for not backing his story.

Zoro finally told Usopp that Robin was right to not help him, because now Usopp was safe with him. Usopp was skeptical, since there were several marines with rifles pointed at the two of them, but really, he couldn't do much better than having Zoro nearby.

"Why aren't all three of them together?" One marine asked another, and in the quiet of the room, the prisoners all heard the question.

"Don't know," the other replied. "Just following orders."

"Who else is here?" Zoro demanded from his seat on the ground. "Where are they?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" another marine taunted.

"Whoever is here, yell out so we know!" Usopp called. Several marines turned to glare at Kia, but she didn't need the warning. She knew if she wanted the commander's help in the future, she needed to distance herself from the Straw Hats now, so she kept quiet.

"Who is it? Who's there?" she heard them yell out again, but stayed stoic, not even looking at the marines on the other side of the bars.

After that, it was quiet, until the patrols changed. As the guards moved, Kia found herself looking right into Zoro's from across the room.

"Kiana," he said, disappointed, and yet not surprised. "Why didn't you say anything?" he asked.

She didn't reply, but didn't look away either.

"It's Kia?" Usopp asked, moving over to where he could see her too. "Kia! Are you okay? How'd you get caught?"

Now she looked away, sad that the time had come, but she knew she should give some explanation, let them know it wasn't their fault. "I swam to shore and fell asleep," she said. "I woke up with a marine pointing his gun at me."

Zoro's expression didn't change, but Usopp went on for a bit about being sorry for her, and that she should just wait until Luffy and the others came, then they would all get out.

"No," she said finally, cutting him off.

"Huh?" Usopp replied. "No, what?"

"No, I'm not escaping."

"Kia, you must have hit your head, you don't even know what you're saying."

Kia glanced over to Zoro, seeing the understanding in his eyes. He didn't get a chance to say anything, as another person was brought down, and placed into the cell with Zoro and Usopp, though he wasn't recognizable.

Hearing him scream out about court marshals and such made it pretty clear, and Usopp was quick to turn the tables on him, claiming that he give up the ruse now that he was caught. Condoriano was not the first name Kia would have thought of, but it did make her smile again.

The marines that brought him down bought it however, and were quick to leave him, claiming that they knew he was part of the Straw Hat crew, no matter what he said. Since the hunt for the pirates was now in full swing, there were only a few marines left on guard, and the prisoners besides Kia wre not only tied up, but put in chained cuffs around their wrists.

"Hey, Condoriano," Zoro said as he stood. The odd man was still screaming about what he would do to each marine once he was released, and Zoro had had enough of the noise. The man turned and Zoro quickly head-butted him. "Take it easy," he remarked and he walked over to the front of his cell directly in front of Kia. "Usopp!" he called after sitting. "Knock it off, you're creeping me out."

Kia looked over at Usopp just as he finished his inner celebration, and had to admit, the look was pretty weird.

"I have some questions, and I'd like some answers for once," Zoro said, and she turned back to see him looking at her without expression.

"For once?" she repeated, her brow furrowing.

"You're good at deflecting," he replied.

"No promises," stipulated, and he nodded. Usopp sat down, listening intently, as were the two marine guards.

"Did you get caught on purpose?" he asked, and she was grateful he started with an easy one.

"No, but I didn't really try not to either," she said. Usopp started to comment, but Zoro cut him off with a look.

"Back on Jaya, what was going on with you?" he asked.

"What kind of question is that?" she replied. "Lots of things," and he rolled his eyes at her.

"You went to some trouble to change the way you look," he began. "Why?"

"I promised Nami she could pick my outfit and hairstyle on the next island."

He was getting frustrated with her answers that weren't telling him what he wanted, but he kept his cool. "What were you hiding from?" he asked, and she just stared at him. She thought quickly, but at this point supposed it couldn't hurt for even the marines to hear.

"Blackbeard," she answered quietly.

His eyes narrowed, as his mind sought to place the name. Kia could see on his face once he did. "Blackbeard," he replied. "The guy-"

"Yeah," she said, answering before he could mention Ace. "You met him, though you didn't know it at the time. I met him too, though it was long before I met you all- when he and his crew came and destroyed Drum Island."

His eyebrow raised, but he stayed quiet and she continued. "He killed one of his own crew mates, for a devil fruit, and then started his own crew. They showed up on Drum Island, killing and burning homes. Blackbeard shot my friend, right in front of me, and because I was injured, I couldn't get her to help in time, and she died."

Kia heard Usopp apologizing, but couldn't look away from Zoro. She thought she could see the sympathy in his eyes, but barely. It kept her from thinking too hard about it all.

"Then we got to Jaya," she continued, "and all around us were members of his crew. Then we went into that bar, and there he was."

"The big guy, with the cherry pies," Zoro said, and Kia stopped as she felt a tear slip down her cheek. That's it Kiana, no more than that… she told herself.

"Yeah. That's why I hid. I thought he would recognize me from Drum Island. And if Luffy knew who he was, and what he had done…" she trailed off, certain Zoro would get it.

"He'd want to fight," he finished, and she nodded. "He also came after us, as we sailed off," he said, and she nodded again.

"I don't know what that was about, but from the sound of it, he wanted to turn Luffy in for the reward money… which, doesn't make any sense since he is a pirate too."

"And now?" Zoro asked. "What's this all about?" he gestured with his head towards the marines, and Kia's face went blank.

"This is about me not being a pirate," she answered. "You all offered me a ride, and help in finding my family. The Commander here can take that duty from you."

"Duty," he repeated, his eyes narrowing, and she winced slightly at her word choice.

"Yes," she said with a nod, needing to create the necessary distance. "It's not right to expect you all to protect me at the expense of yourselves. You're pirates, you should only have people along that can take care of themselves."

"Is that so?"

"I need to find my sisters, and I can't do that with pirates," she said stubbornly, looking away.

"Oh?" Usopp butted in. "And what about your brother?" he asked. Kia didn't turn back, knowing he was talking about Luffy. She had no good answer, but finally replied.

"He'll understand," she said, and turned around so that she wouldn't see the disappointment on their faces any longer. They didn't say much after that, or if they did, she didn't hear it. She was too busy questioning herself again to truly notice.

Hearing the shouting, Kia looked up to see a dock worker being caught by the guards. He went over and spoke to Usopp about repairs to the Merry, until the lieutenant commander had him escorted out.

Not long after, she could hear Luffy's voice yelling their names.

"Hey! Luffy!" Usopp shouted back.

"Usopp, the guards can hear them coming too," Zoro pointed out.

"EEE!" Usopp gulped. "No! Turn back!" he shouted. "But then, who will come to rescue us?" he asked Zoro. "I'm confused, tell me what to say."

Zoro smirked. "I guess they can rescue us if they want to," he replied, and Usopp yelled it out to them.

Moments later, Luffy and Sanji appeared and Luffy grabbed the bars, falling over in exhaustion. And they discovered the hard way, that they were sea prism stone, and wouldn't be easy to get through.

The guards surrounded them on both sides of the tunnel, and with Luffy on the ground, Sanji looked a little nonplussed. He kept his cool as he always did- except when in front of ladies- and started kicking the bars, but they didn't budge.

Usopp went over whispering, and then Sanji reached into Usopp's pocket, pulling something out.

"This is your last warning!" the lieutenant shouted.

"Shut up gorilla man," Sanji replied holding up the dial. "I'm going to show you something interesting."

"A shell?" the lieutenant asked, looking confused.

Sanji leaned down and pushed the button, only to hear Usopp's voice come from the shell. Sanji's face turned extremely red, and all the marines looked confused.

One, feeling bold, asked Sanji about his super cool weapon, but backed down quickly when Sanji threatened to gut him.

Usopp came forward and offered his other pocket to Sanji who grabbed the dial out, and put it to the bars, pressing the button.

The ensuing smell was so bad Kia though she was going to vomit, and she hid her face in her shoulder to try to keep from smelling it again.

"What kind of juvenile barbarian would store a fart in my odor dial?" Usopp cried.

"I thought.. it would be funny…" Luffy managed from the ground.

"Why did I even ask?" Usopp cried out again.

"Get down!" Sanji yelled suddenly, and with only a moment, an explosion created from the lit lanterns on the wall combined with the gas, roared through the tunnel. Once the dust settled, Kia heard him yell out, "You guys okay?"

"Uh… mission accomplished?" Usopp said.

"Something like that," Zoro replied, as he went for his swords. He threw Usopp his bag. "No point standing around then," he said.

"Right!" Luffy cheered, as Sanji helped him away from the bars. "Let's go!"

Kia smiled until she realized that Zoro had opened her cell and was coming towards her. "No, I'm staying!" she said, but he didn't listen. He just picked her up, and slung her over his shoulder, and headed out of the brig after the other three.

Being over someone's shoulder, with her hands tied, while they were running… was probably the most uncomfortable thing ever. Several times Kia heard marines, and then she would hear something from Luffy- some gum-gum whatever, and then they were running again.

Kia had doubts that she was getting out of the next conversation she was going to have with the crew, so she stayed quiet in hopes that the others wouldn't notice her, and she could put off the experience. Luffy and Sanji… somehow didn't know she was with them just yet, thanks to Zoro keeping at the back.

Eventually they made it to the outside, and the guys took a look around before they were suddenly getting shot at. Usopp, Sanji and Zoro ducked behind a rock, but Luffy stayed right where he was. Must be nice to not be afraid of bullets, Kia thought.

"So you finally decided to come out of hiding," the voice of the commander called out to them, and Zoro stood back up, seeing the man looking down at them from a higher ledge.

"It's the base commander!" Usopp hissed to the others.

"Jonathan," Sanji said angrily.

"Hey fortress guy!" Luffy shouted up with a grin. Kia listened to their conversation, unable to see anything, but eventually the guys took off, and Kia could hear cannon fire. Finally she was able to see the Commander standing up on a balcony as Zoro turned to run, and she shouted to him.

"I'm not with them!"

Briefly she saw the Commander's gaze on her, and hoped he realized that she was being taken along unwillingly. I would hate to go through all of this only to end up in the brig forever, she thought.

Once the group was clear of the cannons, the guys found a large rock to hide behind and Zoro put Kia down. After yelling, Sanji realized she was there, and he was picking a fight with Zoro about the way he was carrying her. Luffy smiled at her and said, "I didn't know you were here! That's awesome!"

Sanji turned back to her, cool and collected. "Here Kia, let me get those ropes for you," he offered. Both Zoro and Usopp quickly said, "No!" which had Sanji and Luffy staring at them.

"Why not?" Luffy asked, confused.

"We don't have time to talk about it now," Zoro said. "Kia thinks she's leaving the crew, so we have to treat her like a hostage." Luffy looked back and forth between her and Zoro a few times, then shrugged.

"Kia, is that true?" Sanji asked, and she went to answer, but just looked away from the heartbreaking look he was giving her.

That was all they needed, and the guys began discussing which route to take, and came to a consensus that the bridge was the only way to go. The path below had a lot of marines, but it seemed the bridge itself was clear.

"It's like they're inviting us up there," Zoro said.

"A trap, definitely," Sanji agreed, and Kia smiled. They'd never agree so easily if the situation wasn't so serious.

"Who cares?" Luffy said with a grin, punching his other palm. "I say we go for it. I'm not scared, what about you guys?"

"If it is a trap," Sanji said, "we'll just spring it."

"Worrying about annoying stuff is annoying," Zoro agreed with a smirk, and Kia tried to keep in her laugh, but snorted. These guys were so priceless! she thought, as Zoro glared at her, thinking she was laughing at him. Luffy took off, and Sanji followed. Zoro pushed Usopp ahead, and hefted her back over his shoulder. Here we go again, she thought.

They made it almost to the end of the bridge before the trap was sprung, and marines came at the group from both sides. Zoro put Kia down, and she crouched close to the wall, trying to look invisible. One by one, the marines grabbed onto the guys, and it almost looked like there would be a problem, but as always, this crew doesn't give up that easily.

Kia winced as she watched Zoro getting head-butted over and over, and Sanji was surrounded. Usopp was doing fairly well using an impact dial to protect himself from sword swings. Then, Luffy pushed up from the mound of marines on top of him, and used a gum-gum bazooka to clear the path.

Her smile was short lived, as the marines grabbed onto his arms and surrounded him again. His leg shot up in the air, and came back with a crash, and everything they were standing on started crumbling.

Kia let out a yell as they fell, and heard Sanji shout her name, the water rushing up to swallow them.

Kia finally opened her eyes, hearing Sanji yelling at Luffy, and felt herself being put down on the ground. Looking up, she was a little surprised to see it was Usopp that had brought her to shore.

"You okay?" he asked quietly.

"I think so," she answered, and closed her eyes again, feeling pained. "You should have left me, the marines would have saved me."

"Screw that," Zoro said, and she opened her eyes again to look over at him. "Let's go everyone," he said, and came over to pick her up again. "Which way?"

"This way," Usopp answered, and led them onward. They all moved quickly, and as they neared the dock where the Going Merry was, they were running at full speed.

It didn't take long before he called out, "It's just around this corner!" and the guys ran in… to stop suddenly at the sight of marines all around them, their guns being cocked.

"Sniper team, take aim!" the lieutenant called out. Kia couldn't see exactly what was happening, but she could imagine it pretty well, and by the way Zoro was tensing, he was ready to fight.

"Gum-gum balloon!" Luffy yelled, and suddenly the others were pushed away from him, Zoro barely managing to keep his feet. He quickly put Kia down behind a crate, and went back to Luffy's side. She thought it fitting, as she could watch the crew fight together, while all she could do was hide.

But for some reason, that was where she wanted to be. She wanted to watch them fight, at least this one last time. It was different when they didn't have to worry about protecting her. She chuckled as Zoro and Sanji insulted each other while they fought the marines, and then as they began fighting with each other instead.

Then Luffy was captured in a net, and found out it was made with sea prism stone, so the others knew he couldn't get free. Just when everything looked hopeless a gurney came flying in, running right into Usopp, who fell. Chopper suddenly appeared from under the sheet and changed into his heavy point, shouting at how the soldiers had wounded his friend, as he took in Usopp's crumpled frame on the ground in front of him.

Sanji and Zoro stood looking at the scene in confusion, unsure of what to do, and Nami and the woman with her began screaming about being hostages. They were so amazing, and none of the guys understood a thing, causing Kia to laugh even more. It was so perfectly the Straw Hats. Chopper was even asking them what they were doing! Just to solidify her standing, Kia screamed out about being a hostage as well, as Zoro moved her back towards the group.

The best part was when Chopper finally got it, and turned around- acting like a scary monster, and Zoro just stood there and clapped at his performance with a smirk. Chopper growled and gave out some demands, and Zoro and Sanji finally understood what was going on.

Once the marines agreed to let them go, Zoro pushed Kia towards Sanji, and went and to free Luffy, helping him up. "Hey, Curly brow," he called, "Grab Kia too."

She had had a small hope that she would be forgotten, but she saw Chopper and Nami's faces as Sanji went over and picked her up princess style. It was extremely uncomfortable, as her arms had begun cramping up, and she fought back a little, telling him to just leave her there.

He gave her a sad look, but kept walking. He had almost made it to the ship when the marines grabbed the woman doctor by Nami, and tried to grab Nami as well as they created a distraction. Luffy got everyone on board the Merry by slingshot with his arms, but it hurt like hell, and Kia wasn't surprised at all to watch Sanji and Nami punch and kick him while screaming at him as the ship sailed back into the bay.

It was pretty amazing, the fact that the crew had made it this far, and had gotten the ship back too. Here they were, sailing through the bay, completely unsure of how to escape, and still missing Robin. As Chopper came over and untied her, Kia just massaged her arms, wincing at the pain, without saying anything. The time had come… and she wasn't looking forward to telling Luffy.

"It's Robin!" Sanji called, and they watched as Robin came swinging over to the ship from a vine made of her arms. She handed a map to Nami, and she smiled at the crew.

"It's very tense, why is that?" she asked, looking around, until her eyes came to Kia.

"I guess you should all know," Usopp said. "Kia's decided to leave the crew, and she wants to stay here with the marines."

Everyone looked at her- some in disappointment, some in shock, and the captain in confusion.

"You've been acting strangely ever since Jaya," Robin admitted. "What happened?"

"You don't mean that, do you Kia?" Chopper asked with his puppy eyes on her.

Everyone started talking, asking questions, demanding answers… until she couldn't take it anymore, and let her frustrations out.

"You don't understand!" she yelled, which had everyone going quiet. "I mean, how could you? You're strong, brave, smart… everything I'm not! I've tried, but I can't keep up, I'm too weak! I'll get someone killed!"

"Kia, that's not true," Nami started.

"Yes it is!" Kia cried, interrupting her. "Chopper almost died because he tried to protect me!"

"That's not true," Chopper said.

"I heard you!" she yelled, turning on him. "You and Zoro telling Luffy to leave me behind on the ship, how I can't handle getting hurt like the rest of you!"

The crew looked stricken, and Luffy looked at her seriously. "Yeah, they did. But friends want friends to be safe, don't they?" he asked.

"I'm not letting anyone die because they were protecting me," she spat back at him. "It wasn't for forever anyway, and the commander said he could help me get in touch with Garp, so I can find my sister."

"Look," Robin said calmly. "There's no where to drop you off, even if we wanted to. So," she continued over the protests, "let's figure out what we're doing first."

She had good timing, as cannons started firing at the ship, and Nami started barking orders. Kia decided to wait by the railing, away from the crew. She felt bad enough as it was, and the worst part was that she didn't like what she was doing. She just knew she had to.