Wishfull-star: I think this version of Luffy's childhood would be worse since he was told by his family he was wrong, and then hidden away so nobody saw him. At least he always had Ace. And Sabo, too, of course.

IIRoxaII: Lol it made sense to Luffy that dead puppies would be a downer. Or maybe I should have used Kokoro since everyone was so bothered by her.

izzywolf22: I had fun writing emotional Luffy. Poor baby, but at least he has a new family that loves him regardless of what he is and does that isn't normal. Plus Ace was there for him. There was a moment kind of recent in the anime where Yamato mentioned Ace and Luffy's lower lip wobbled. It was so sad.

The next morning, Luffy felt great after getting a nice helping of blood the night before. They had breakfast, and were planning on going shopping for new clothes and gear. Well, Nami and Robin were getting new clothes. Luffy and Zoro were going to go to one of the open restaurants since it had been three days since the aqua laguna, and things were looking good repair wise.

Though, Water 7 specialized in building things, so repairing the destroyed buildings wasn't so hard, it seemed. "Luffy, package delivered to the door for you," Sanji said when there was a knock on their room's door.

Luffy got up and went to the cardboard box. He opened it at the table, and looked inside. He had no idea what it was. Only a box of needles, tubes and empty blood bags. "Chopper, what's this?" Luffy asked, showing the contents to the doctor.

"That's a blood drawing kit!" He looked through the box. "It's quite the quality content!" Nami asked who would have known. Luffy rummaged through the box and got to the bottom and saw there was a marine seal on the box. It was from Garp. What was this, an apology? It didn't make him any happier.

"That from Garp? It's from the marines," Sanji said, seeing the seal once Luffy reached the bottom. "Seems like some sort of peace offering, huh?" He gave Luffy more orange juice. Luffy closed it and set it with the other stuff without a word. Nobody pressed him on it, which he was grateful for.

Later, before he went out with Zoro, he went to the roof top and sat down. He sighed, and saw Garp's ship was gone from where it had been before. Did he really not realize until now the damage he'd done? It was too late. He felt that deep inside. He would never love Garp the way he'd always wanted to be loved himself.

Maybe someday he could forgive him, but… not today. He appreciated he was trying to make an effort. Maybe he'd read the letter some day. He kind of wanted to read it with Ace next to him. He was about to head inside when he heard a massive "boom!" that was far from where they were now.

He didn't know what it was, but pulled the sheet of paper Ace gave him out of his hat. It was perfectly fine, and he smiled. Maybe Ace just caught his enemy. He wanted to ask him all about Whitebeard from the New World. Ace sure was an awesome pirate to be a big wig on a yonko's ship!

Well, he'd catch up soon enough. Beaming, he went inside to go on his long overdue restaurant date with his beloved boyfriend.

Later, on their way back, both in a very good mood, Zoro asked if Luffy noticed Coby's behavior. "What do you mean?" Zoro just smiled and said it was nothing. "Neh, what do you think the New World is like? Do you think it's fun?"

"Probably more difficult. I wonder if its name is accurate, though." Luffy wondered if there were more people like him there. "Maybe. Though you'd think Garp would know about that if there were. Though he didn't know about Roger, so who knows?"

People greeted them all over, like they were famous. It was kind of strange, but at least it was a friendly atmosphere. "By the way, have you noticed Usopp spying on us?"

Zoro snorted. "I thought you didn't notice, so I said nothing about it," he said. Luffy took offense at not noticing such an easy thing. "True. Why haven't you said anything about it to the others?" Luffy shrugged, but then said he didn't want them to get their hopes up. If Luffy didn't let him back. "Do you really not want him to come along? I'll support any choice you make, since there are merits on both sides. Not letting him come back, and welcoming him, maybe not with open arms."

Luffy really wasn't sure. "I want things to be how they used to. And he did fight with us together. But it just really hurt, what he said. Why would he want to come back when he thought I was a bad captain, anyways?" he wondered. Voice light despite the heavy subject.

"I don't know. I know he cares about you as a friend. Even if he said such hurtful things. I'm still mad he blew your eardrums. Made you deaf." Luffy said he'd been an enemy. It was a problem that people knew about his senses like that. How CP9 had planned to dump gasoline on him to rid him of his sense of smell. It was just lucky Nami had the power to rinse it off. "True. But still. And he better fight that way against real enemies. Though I guess going all out like that was a sign that he recognizes how strong you are."

"I guess. I'm still not sure. I know Chopper is still hurt from when Usopp shunned him after the fight. But he misses him. So does Nami. Robin wasn't there to see the fall out, so she doesn't really understand the situation and how it got this way, huh? Maybe it's a mystery to her. I'll think about what to do later."

"... If he doesn't apologize profusely for what he did, then he's not coming back. I won't let him." Luffy smiled softly and nodded. "It's your decision from there. It'll be a tough one, but you're captain, no matter what he thinks or thought."

Luffy nodded and changed the subject. "Neh, do you think Franky will join us?"

"I don't know. Hope so. Then we'd have a half-monster rubber man, a talking reindeer, and a cyborg. Not to mention a pervert." Luffy giggled. They would be a very diverse crew. Though why was it taking so long to have a musician?! "We'll get one some day."

Luffy pouted. "I want one now." Zoro just smiled. When they passed the newspaper stand, Zoro took one to read at the hotel. When they got there, only Robin was around.

She told Luffy he should stay away from Nami for now. "She found out you spent so much money on the party. I think it would be safest for you to stay away," she said lightly. Zoro smirked. Hopefully the ship came furnished and they didn't need to buy their own furniture. And hopefully Franky made a bed big enough for them to share.

Zoro opened the newspaper, and started to read while Luffy searched for Usopp's voice. If he was going to spy on them, why couldn't he do it back? But he was interrupted by Robin's voice. "I haven't found anything useful in the books so far. In the supernatural one, the only creature listed is one we long ago ruled out. You're not a vampire, clearly. Nothing else has been helpful, unfortunately."

Luffy frowned and flopped on the bed. "Sorry, I know it's disappointing," Robin said in sympathy. Luffy nodded, and looked up at the ceiling.

"Maybe the New World will have answers. Or another island we visit in the Grand Line Part 1. Hopefully. Neh, do you think everyone has been getting their dreams so far?" he asked suddenly. Zoro turned a page in the newspaper and replied.

"Nami's drawing maps of some of the islands we've landed on, Chopper's improving as a doctor with the more injuries others get, Robin is having fun with mysteries and looking for poneglyphs. Dart Brow can't do much with his own dream. You're getting stronger to be Pirate King, I'm getting stronger, even though I lost one of my swords at Enies Lobby. Usopp had been getting stronger, but abandoned his dream, so he doesn't count," he said casually.

Luffy felt better knowing he wasn't hogging the time they were sailing. "If someone was dissatisfied with the journey, I think they'd say something," Robin added. Luffy smiled. The crew gathered for dinner, and Nami attacked Luffy despite the large amount of clothes bags she had.

"We had to have money for the party!" Luffy complained with bruises on his face.

"Not our own money! Zoro, you don't get to heal him!" Nami shouted. Zoro just flipped her off, making Luffy giggle. Then Zoro got hit on the head, and Nami went to Robin to complain about their idiocy.

She said, "I'm sure we can steal more treasure from somewhere else," reasonably. When they were eating, Zoro told them what he read in the papers. Nobody but the Straw Hats and Franky were mentioned in the paper about Enies Lobby. "They completely left out the Franky Family."

"That's good. Now they won't have to be on the run," Sanji said, cooking. "Though their pride might be injured from it. They fought hard as well. I wonder why they didn't throw more people under the bus."

Zoro said, "They pinned everything on us, why blame others? It would just show more people broke in besides the six of us. Luckily, there's nothing revealing about Luffy. Though the government has to know something is off by now. Nothing about Lucci's defeat, either. And they pinned the burning island on us." Then he smiled. "This means our bounties will rise, though."

Luffy cheered at that. The others were excited for bounties but Nami. Even Chopper wanted a bounty. They only had a handful of days left until Franky said the ship would be ready. The log pose would set the next morning, but it was pointing slightly down.

"Neh, maybe we're gonna go to hell. We went to heaven already- ow!" Luffy shouted when Nami punched him.

"Don't say that! You'll scare me!" Chopper said. Luffy laughed, and said it would be fun.

"Neehee, I'll meet my demon brothers!" Nami hit him again. "I'm just kidding!" he shouted. Zoro was laughing and Sanji shook his head. "If it's not hell, then where is it?" the captain demanded with a pout.

Kokoro came in then, just showing up, drunk as always. But she was welcome, entertaining and had helped them so much. So she could have meals with them, even if she reeked of booze. Nami asked her about the log pose.

"Ngagagaga! That log pose points to the next island, Fishman Island, the paradise beneath the sea." Sanji was excited, but Luffy completely deflated, melting on the bed with a pout. While Sanji gushed about seeing mermaids, Zoro asked what Luffy was so upset about. The captain ran his finger around the pillow.

He said, "The fishmen will all hate me. Arlong and his pirate people were afraid of me. An island full of fishman? I don't wanna go," he whined. Nami also had reservations. Kokoro said she was a mermaid and wasn't afraid. "But you're always drunk, you don't count." Nami scolded him for being rude.

"Ngagagaga, maybe if you show you're a good kid, it'll be fine," she suggested, taking another guzzle of booze that Zoro was looking jealous at. Sanji was unbothered by the bummed demeanor of two of his crew mates, one of them being Nami. Kokoro added, "It's not easy to get to the paradise, though."

"What do you mean?" Robin asked.

"You'll have to go through the Florian Triangle to get to that paradise. More than 100 ships go missing there every year. Later on, others find empty ships pass them. With skeletons or nobody on board. There are even constant sightings of ghosts," the old mermaid said. She sounded like she was having a lot of fun.

"Heh?! Skeletons?!" Luffy asked. "Neat!" he exclaimed. The others glared at him in disapproval. "I wonder if I'll meet one that can talk?!"

"What kind of thought is that?" Zoro wondered. Luffy said they'd seen plenty or weird things! Like him himself. "Good point, I guess." Luffy couldn't wait to meet new things and people. Fight new enemies. Well, enemies that didn't use seastone to mess with him. He felt he could have won against Lucci with his new moves, but that would never be proven or disproven.

Nami said she didn't want to meet anyone. "I don't want to meet skeletons!" she said, Chopper agreeing. Luffy grabbed Chopper and sat him on the bed with him.

"You're all strong! You could fight off a skeleton easily!" Luffy encouraged. Chopper did his wiggly compliment thing and Luffy laughed. Zoro smiled softly and looked down. Kokoro was definitely having fun now, telling them if they didn't make it out on the first go, they'd never get out, they'd just float around until they turned to skeletons themselves.

"Noo!" Nami screamed, Sanji professing his love and how he'd protect her no matter what.

"Sure. You'll be too horny about mermaids to do anything," Zoro said.

"You're the one horny all the time! Grabbing Luffy's ass anywhere you want!" Zoro stood up and drew his swords.

"Stop it! God, you're so annoying! And stop laughing, you should be embarrassed!" Luffy continued to laugh, and said it was true. Zoro turned on him, and Luffy just giggled helplessly. Robin was hiding laughter and Nami confessed she didn't know how to deal with them to Kokoro. The woman just laughed as well.

"You know, ghost ships often hold treasure," Robin said to bring them back on the topic and appease Nami, who now agreed to go as long as there was treasure.

"I wanna buy a bronze statue with it!"

"I'm never letting you handle money again," Nami snapped at him. "You spent most of our money on food!" Luffy grinned, saying it was a fun party wistfully. Nami put a hand to her face, and begged the mermaid for help.

"Ngagagaga," was all she said and guzzled more booze with her ever present lazy smile.

"Maybe a treasure ship has some new swords."

"You already have three swords."

"No, I have two."

"Franky said every guy has a sword. I didn't understand it, though," Luffy said thoughtfully. More than one of them raged about Franky "ruining Luffy's innocence". Luffy laughed joyously. He loved his nakama. He couldn't wait to go on more adventures with all of them. And Franky, too. Luffy's mood lifted more when they were told by the square sisters and Chimney that their new ship was ready only a few moments later!

Luffy was amazed that it was done already! But Sanji pointed out they had five top knotch shipwrights helping out. "Still, that's super fast!" Luffy buzzed. They all hurried out of the building to go see their new home. Luffy wondered just what kind of dream ship Franky envisioned. Chimney said it was awesome, so it had to be!

When they got outside to the front yard, they heard "Straw Hat-saaaann!" and the rest of the Franky Family came, the square sisters already there. Even they were surprised to see Zambai there. They still had bandages on from wounds, and still hadn't replaced their broken goggles. Maybe they liked them that way.

"What's up? Have you come to see the ship too?" Luffy asked brightly.

"That's not it! I have a favor to ask you! Did you see the wanted posters?!"

"Eh? Wanted posters?" Luffy wondered, clearly not having seen them. Nobody else there had either.

"You have an outrageous bounty on your head! And the others have them, too!" the man said. The three that hadn't had wanted posters before were buzzed. Well, Chopper and Sanji were excited, Nami didn't want one. She was horrified when she asked if she had one, too. "Here, see for yourself!" He laid down seven wanted posters. All of them now had a bounty, even Usopp. Wow!

Luffy's bounty had increased to 300 million, Zoro to 120 million, and Robin increased to 80 million. In addition to those three who already had bounties, Nami's was 16 million, Sanji's was 77 million, "Sogeking" was at 30 million, and poor Chopper was at 50 berries. The three newbys were upset for different reasons. Sanji's was the funniest.

Instead of any photo, it was a poorly drawn representation of him.

"Well, I can feel ya, and I know you probably have lots to say, but… wait! Our request is in regard to this!" Zambai shouted, pulling out a bounty of "Cyborg Franky" at 44 million.

"Ooh, Franky got one, too! Neehee, he's cool like us, too!" Luffy said brightly. But the Franky Family didn't agree. Now that he had a bounty, he couldn't live safely at Water 7. He would be hunted and eventually caught and taken to prison. They wanted anything but that, and so they requested the Straw Hats take their big bro with them. They were sure he wouldn't leave them all, but they wanted him to be free from the government.

The only way to do that was to go on the run as a pirate. So they wanted them to take Franky away from the island, even if it would break their hearts. "Please, take him out to sea! He's already the son of pirates! Use force if you need to! Please!" Zambai begged, bowing his head to them.

How strange this had become. They attacked Usopp and tore the crew apart, yet now they were begging for them to take their brother away. You truly find friends in all sorts of situations, don't you?

"Don't worry, I was planning on taking him with us anyways. Franky is gonna be our shipwright," Luffy declared, much to the relief of the Franky Family. Their plan to get him to go was a bit weird, but sounded entertaining. If it worked. If not, Luffy would drag him with them. It was for his sake too, right? Shishishi…

They got their things ready to go, packing everything up in many bags that they would be taking to the ship. Franky had taken a good portion of the books and cooking ware to put on the ship, so they didn't have too much to carry. Mostly clothes and things that were easy to carry in one load.

"Sanji, how long are you gonna be depressed? It's pretty good to have a bounty that high for the first time, isn't it?" Luffy was happy his bounty said nothing about his condition or traits that the marines knew about. Garp probably didn't tell them anything about him. Luffy was always hidden away, there was no way the man would tell anybody about it voluntarily.

"Shut up! My picture is the only one hand drawn!" he lamented. "It looks so ridiculous!" he added, falling to his knees and looking at the depiction with utter hatred in his eyes. "I'm going to kill the person who drew this!" he raged.

Zoro poked fun at him, of course. "That drawing looks just like you. I don't see the prob-" Sanji got up in his face, crying and saying gibberish. "I don't know what you're saying."

"Don't worry, Sanji! Just cause more trouble and they'll have to put a good photo there! But for now, it's really funny! Ahahaha!" Sanji just got on his knees, and mumbled how the ladies would never want to be around someone that looks like that.

"Shut up, it's not your actual face! It would be worse if your bounty poster was some very attractive guy, and you turned out to be hideous in real life," Nami snapped, irritated with the constant crying about it. "You're the only one who can safely go shopping now. I'd much rather not have a bounty poster! The photographer tricked me. And Chopper is called a pet, he should be much more upset than you are!" Chopper sniffled and nodded.

"Chopper's not a pet, he's my doctor and fellow monster!" Luffy said proudly. Chopper wiped his eyes and nodded.

"Luffy, have you decided what about U...Usopp?" Chopper asked hesitantly. They hadn't talked about him at all since they got back from Enies Lobby. Not all together. Luffy frowned, and said that he would only welcome Usopp back if he apologized sincerely. If not, he wasn't welcome, and they would just have Franky.

Everyone agreed with that term. "Hopefully he can shove his pride down his throat this time and do the right thing," Nami said softly. "If not, well, then that's on him. All on him." The others said nothing about it anymore, and went to meet their new ship. Nothing would replace the Merry, but a new ship didn't have to replace her.

"Hurry up, bro's waiting for you!" Zambai said. They made sure to forget nothing, as they were going directly to the ship and then sailing away. Luffy started to feel his heart beat faster in excitement and anticipation. He didn't think anything Franky said was a dream ship would be crappy.

"Sanji, hurry up!" Nami called.

"Just leave that idiot behind," Zoro said in a casual voice.

"What?!"

"Hey, Sanji got up! Good job, Zoro!" Chopper praised. They walked through the city and to the coast where the ship was being built. Well, where it had been built. There were tons of broken ships and scraps in this place, and they saw there was a huge object with a large tarp on it. That had to be the ship!

It was so much bigger than Merry. More than large enough for Luffy's two or three new members, depending on Usopp's case. He had started out wanting ten. He had six right now, possibly eight by the end of the afternoon.

But Luffy didn't smell Franky near. It was easy to notice his absence, even if his scent was all over there, he was not. Chopper shouted for Franky, and that they were ready for the ship. Iceberg said Franky wasn't there, so he would be showing them the ship. Luffy wondered why. He listened in, but didn't hear Franky talking anywhere. Well, he wanted to see the ship right now first.

"This ship is amazing. I was astonished when I first saw the blueprints. It will be able to cross any type of sea." Luffy was buzzing, Chopper jumping up and down, too. "With this ship, you can even go to the end of the world." The mayor and shipwright pulled the tarp down. "Franky also left you a message, Straw Hat-"

"Just show us already!" Luffy shouted excitedly. Iceberg gave him the message anyways as he pulled the tarp down.

"'If you will be the Pirate Kingone day, then set sail with the king of the beasts!'" he said as the tarp revealed their new ship. It was huge! Well, not like a galleon, but Zoro said it was twice the size of the Merry.

"Wow!" Luffy cheered. "It looks like so much stuff is inside!"

"Whoa, he's giving this to us?!" Chopper exclaimed, eyes sparkling like Luffy's. He shot his arms up and launched himself up to explore. Sanji wanted to see the kitchen, while Nami commented on the type of ship it was. They all got on top and Robin wondered what kind of flower the head was modeled after.

"It's a sun, Robin! Look, a grass deck!" Iceberg said the figurehead was a lion. There was even a slide! The inside was amazing, there were so many rooms and cool places. They would never get bored on this ship! Luffy went into the boys room and saw the bunk beds were super big! He and Zoro could definitely fit on one together comfortably.

The kitchen was huge, and Luffy lamented to see there was a lock on the fridge. Sanji was overjoyed at that. No more giant mouse trap that Luffy got caught on. There was an aquarium where they could store fish, a big kitchen and big table, a library, a big bath house, the girls and boys rooms, the grassy deck, and more.

"It really is a dream ship!" Chopper cheered, hugging Luffy's legs as they began to dance and jump up and down. When Zoro poked his head out of the enclosed crows nest, he grinned and said Franky made it into a gym with huge weights for him.

"Yay! I can watch Zoro weight lift in privacy! Neehee!" Nami giggled at it. "Hey, he's really pretty when all sweaty and red-"

"Enough," Sanji snapped. Luffy grinned, and looked at the pirate flag. The jolly roger. It was very different from Merry, but it already felt like their ship and home. Luffy couldn't wait to set sail on it with Franky.

"Neh, where's Franky?" Luffy asked Iceberg. The Straw Hats weren't happy to hear that Franky didn't even plan on saying goodbye. He wasn't going to see them again. He knew that Luffy was going to ask him to be his shipwright, so he wasn't even going to give him the chance. Luffy frowned in disapproval. What a dirty trick!

"Why?!" Chopper asked, also upset.

"He thinks it's his duty and punishment to be here the rest of his life." Nami said the island didn't even want him there. "He has his personal reasons. He enjoyed being with you guys, and knows he couldn't turn it down if he was asked. So, he's avoiding you," the mayor explained lightly.

Luffy crossed his arms and pouted.

"If you really want to take him along, take him by force. Don't be choosey. That's the only way to set him free." Luffy's face brightened at the option to take him by force.

"Neehee! Sounds fun! I can already hear a commotion in town! Be back!" he said, and zoomed away and to the noise, jumping from roof to roof and following the shouts and thudding sounds of bodies hitting the ground. Franky Family members were fleeing their naked leader, trying to lure him to the scrap yard by making him follow his underwear. Well, speedos.

"Pass it here!" Luffy called and extended his arm. Franky shouted his name and tried to catch his arm before it snapped back into place. Luffy ran away with the pants towards the new ship.

"Punk! Did you see the ship?!" he asked, not sounding especially angry about running around naked. Luffy said he did, and it was incredible! "Of course! In addition to my super planning, I did everything you requested!" They hadn't requested much, as it was his own dream ship, and they knew it would be cool. Sanji was the one to request a nice kitchen with the special refrigerator. Nami wanted a big bathroom. Chopper requested a wonderful infirmary as well. Other than that, they let him have free reign.

They were still running, Franky chasing after Luffy, when the older man asked, "Did you see the soldier dock system yet?!" Neither were tired from running.

"Not yet!"

"That's a special feature! I'm sure you'll like it. What about the aquarium?!" Luffy nodded, and Franky looked happy. They both considered it a dream ship, but when Franky got close to Luffy, he tossed it to Chopper. It was kind of gross he had it clamped in his mouth, but Chopper couldn't run fast in brain point mode. He was in walk point.

Then Franky ran in the wrong place, and was grabbed by Zoro and Sanji, shoved into a cannon, and shot towards the scrap yard called shipwreck island. He went shooting over the town screaming, while Luffy had Chopper grab onto him, and rocketed both of them towards where Franky was, and onto their nameless dream ship.

I can honestly see Franky telling Luffy dirty jokes and stuff to make the others uncomfortable lol.