Disclaimer: Neither Ben 10 or One Piece are owned by me.
This is awesome!" Luffy cried happily.
While Heatblast was not much good for carrying someone, he found other ways. Right now, Heatblast and Luffy, who was carrying Gwen, were riding on top of a rock that's bottom half was covered in flames. Heatblast had explained that he was able to use this as a mode of transportation. And Luffy loved every minute of it. They were going pretty fast up the mountain. While it would have taken hours for any person to travel by foot, these boys had found a faster way.
"Faster!" Luffy cried. "Faster!"
"I can't," Heatblast admitted. "If I do, then I might knock you and Gwen off."
"Oh, right," Luffy said as if he had just figured this out. He looked up at the sky. "It's getting colder."
"Really?" Heatblast asked. "I didn't notice."
Luffy stuck his tongue out. "That's because you're made of fire, fire-head."
"Hey!" Heatblast protested. "Don't blame me for my watch messing up. It's not like I asked to be Heatblast."
"Still," Luffy grumbled. "You get to be all warm." He started moving closer to Heatblast so he could feel the heat that the Pyronite was giving off.
"Hey!" Heatblast said again. "Ever hear of personal space?"
"Your fault for being so warm," Luffy pointed out.
Heatblast grimaced. "So what, I'm your personal heater now?"
Luffy frowned. "It's cold. No fair that you get to be warm."
What both of them didn't noticed was a small, but rather big for its size, rabbit that had been watching them as they flew by. While the small rabbit had never seen such a thing like the red creature, it was plain to see that the three strangers were lunch. But they were going pretty fast. It would need help if it wanted the prey.
"Hey, Luffy," Heatblast said.
"Yeah?" Luffy asked.
"Do you think this doctor is really a witch?" Heatblast had plenty of experiences with witches before. Particularly Charmcaster. And he didn't want to go up against someone like that right now. Especially since they needed this doctor to help Gwen.
"Of course she is," Luffy said. "That man back there said she was."
"But do you think she'll heal Gwen?" Heatblast asked him.
"Don't worry!" Luffy said with a grin. "We'll be fine! Come on! Let's get going."
Shaking his fiery head, Heatblast put a little more power in the rock and they picked up some speed. But the higher they went, the heavier the snow started to fall.
"It's snowing pretty heavy around here," Luffy noted as he trudged through.
"No kidding," Heatblast said. "I can barely see anything in front of me." But he was able to get a good view of what lay in front of him. It made him come to a complete halt.
"Hey!" Luffy protested. "Why'd you stop, Ben?"
"Uh, Luffy?"
Luffy looked at Heatblast. "Yeah?"
"I think we've got company."
Luffy looked ahead. In front of them appeared to be a whole bunch of colossal rabbits.
"What are those?" Heatblast asked.
"Giant creatures with white fur," Luffy replied. "They must be polar bears."
Heatblast would have believed that if it wasn't for the long ears. It clearly meant they were rabbits.
"Uh, Luffy?" Heatblast said. "Remember those meat eating rabbits that Dalton guy mentioned?"
"Yeah, what about them?" Luffy asked.
Heatblast gulped. "I think we just ran into them."
The next thing the two knew, one of the giant rabbits shot leaped into the air above them. Sharp claws extended from his paws as he swung them at Luffy and Heatblast. Both leaped off the flaming rock before the rabbit could attack them. But to Heatblast's shock, the rabbit managed to smash the rock!
Luffy wasn't surprised. In fact, he looked ticked. "Hey, you!" he yelled. "Leave my nakama alone!" He pulled his leg back. "Gum Gum Stamp!"
It was a straight bull's eye as Luffy's kick smashed right into the rabbit, sending it crashing into some of the nearby trees.
Heatblast just gapped. "Nice shot," He rubbed his flaming head. Then his eyes widened. "Luffy, look out!"
Luffy turned in time to see another giant rabbit lung towards him. Luffy was about to attack but Heatblast got there first. He shot a stream of fire from his hand, striking the Laphan before it could attack Luffy. The animal's fur was on fire, causing to screech and start rolling in the snow to put the flames out. Hearing a growling noise in the distance, Heatblast and Luffy saw that there were more Laphan. A lot more.
"Oh, great," Heatblast groaned. "Being attacked by giant killer rabbits. Kevin's not gonna let me live this down."
"What's the problem?" Luffy asked. "Let's just fight them."
Heatblast nodded reluctantly. "Like we have a choice? Just be careful with Gwen, okay?"
One of the Laphan was right in front of Luffy and swung his claw at the rubber pirate. Luffy slammed his foot into the rabbit and sent it tumbling to the ground. Another was about to retaliate when Heatblast shot flames at the creature's fur. Luffy turned around and saw that another rabbit was sneaking up on Heatblast. Luffy pulled his leg back and fired. "Gum Gum Stamp!"
At first Heatblast thought Luffy was kicking him, but then Luffy's foot flew past him. Heatblast heard the cry of pain coming behind him and turned around. Luffy had struck a Laphan that had attempted to sneak up on Heatblast. Heatblast mumbled thanks as the two turned to face the rest. He tried to scare them away by shooting a jet of flame but the rabbits jumped into the air over the flames. They looked ready to belly-flop the climbers.
"Move it!" Luffy yelled as he started running to the woods on the right. Heatblast quickly jumped out of the snow and followed him before he started to sink again. The rabbits all landed in the ground where the two had originally been standing in but when they saw their prey running off, they immediately ran after them.
"This is crazy!" Luffy cried as they continued running.
"You think?" Heatblast asked him sarcastically as they continued running.
Just then a Laphan came at them from the side. Luffy quickly dispatched it with a Gum Gum Stamp. They really needed to get out of here fast. Carrying Gwen on his back prevented Luffy from using his fists in this fight. And Heatblast couldn't use much of his powers here in the woods or he'd risk making a forest fire. Another Laphan came at them which Heatblast dealt with by delivering a fiery uppercut to its jaw. It went down but more bounced along to take the place of their downed kin.
"Ben!" Luffy yelled. "Let's go up there!"
Heatblast turned to see Luffy pointed to an upper part of the mountain. "Alright!"
Luffy leaped into the air first. A Laphan leaped after him but Luffy merely used it as a stepping stone to get to the ledge. The Laphan collapsed into the snow. Heatblast fired jets of flames at the ground, blasting him into the air and landing next to Luffy. The two wasted no time in running again. But when they turned around after hearing thumping noises, they saw that the Laphan were with them.
"They just won't quit!" Heatblast groaned.
"Let's run to the top of the mountain!" Luffy yelled.
The two started running like mad to get away from the rabbits. As they did, they looked behind to see how close the rabbits might have caught up to them. However, much to their surprise, the rabbits were not running after them. Instead, the large number of giant rabbits were jumping up and down in session. Luffy and Heatblast shared a confused look with each other before looking back at them.
"What are they doing?" Luffy asked.
"Beats me," Heatblast admitted. That's when he heard a rumbling sound. "Luffy? Please tell me that was your stomach."
"Huh?" Luffy asked. "What was?"
Slowly, Heatblast turned his head up towards the mountain. If he could, he would have paled. "Luffy!" he yelled. "Run!"
"Run?" Luffy asked. "Where?"
"Anywhere!" Heatblast yelled as he started running. "They're trying to cause an avalanche!"
"Avalanche?" Luffy asked.
And then they saw it. The biggest avalanche either had ever seen. Down, down it come, that colossal tidal wave of snow.
"Run!" Heatblast yelled. Not that there was anywhere to actually run to, but it was better to at least try and find shelter instead of doing nothing. The boys started running off to the side, hoping to either find shelter or at least get to a part of the mountain that wasn't covered. Hey, they were desperate.
"Can't you melt that?" Luffy yelled at Heatblast.
"Are you kidding?" Heatblast asked. "That's way too much snow for me to melt. I couldn't melt all of that even if I was NRG." Then Heatblast's eyes landed on a nearby cliff. "Luffy! A cliff!"
"Cliff?" Luffy asked, as he looked in the direction Heatblast was looking at.
"Head there!" Heatblast yelled. They immediately ran towards the cliff.
It was going to be close. The snow was catching up to them, ready to engulf them. Then, with all the will power the two could muster, they leaped into the air and landed perfectly on the cliff. For a second, they thought their worries were over. Until they saw that they weren't high enough to escape the avalanche. They didn't have any time to react as the snow plowed into them and swept them off their feet. Surprisingly, Luffy had a cool head on his shoulders at the moment despite the situation.
"What are we going to do?" he asked himself casually. Then a thought popped in his head. "I've got an idea."
Heatblast on the other hand was not faring well. He had landed in the snow and knew he needed to get out. If his stayed there too long, his heat would melt the snow and cause him to get burried for sure. And the large mass of snow would probably be able to smother out his flames. And if his flames went out while he was Heatblast, he could die.
"Ben!" Luffy yelled, seeing his friend in danger. "Grab my hand!" he removed one of his hands from Gwen's body and shot it towards Heatblast. Heatblast was too desperate to escape his snowy grave that he forgot about his body being made of fire and grabbed Luffy's hand.
"Hot! Hot! Hot!" Luffy cried as he yanked Heatblast as fast as he could. Heatblast found himself pulled out of the snow and landed on something. He saw that Luffy had pulled him onto a pine tree that the rubber boy apparently pulled out of the ground.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Heatblast asked as they sled on the tree.
"We're safe," Luffy admitted. "But we're going down the mountain."
"Going down?" Heatblast repeated. "We need to go up! Try and turn this thing around!"
"I can't!" Luffy yelled.
But that was the least of the pair's problems. Because the Laphan were back.
"What the…?" Luffy asked.
"Not again!" Heatblast cried. "Can this get any worse?"
The tree they were standing on started to catch fire.
"Ben!" Luffy yelled, pointing a finger accusingly at Heatblast. "You jinxed us!"
Heatblast opened his mouth to argue but before he could, two of the Laphan leaped up and took swipes at them. Fortunately the makeshift and now flaming snowboard had managed to give them enough speed to avoid getting hit. But that was just the first attempts. As the rubber boy, the Pyronite, and the sick Anodite zigged and zagged all over the place, the Laphan were continuing their onslaught. They were like moths drawn to a flame. (No pun intended) Another tried to bite Heatblast and got a burnt mouth from the Pryonite. All the while, the flames on the snowboard were starting to get bigger. The speed they were going was able to prevent the fire from spreading too fast but it was only a matter of time before Luffy and Gwen were burnt or worse.
"Luffy!" Heatblast yelled. "We need to jump!" Then he looked ahead. "Heads up!"
Luffy looked ahead to see a cliff side right in front of them. "A rock?"
"Luffy!" Heatblast yelled. "Hold on!"
Focusing his power over the flames of the tree, Heatblast succeeded in making the tree's flames blast them into the air above the rock. But it wasn't as easy as using a flaming rock. Heatblast had to make sure that the fire didn't reduce the tree to ashes or burn Luffy and Gwen. At first it seemed that they would be okay.
And then Ben turned back to normal in a flash of green light.
"Oh, man!" Ben complained as the three plummeted to the ground. The flaming tree fell into the avalanche and was engulfed by the snow. Luffy managed to save himself and Gwen by stretching his arms out and grabbing the rock they had flown over. But when he turned to see where Ben went, he saw his green jacket wearing friend engulfed by the snow as well.
"Ben!" Luffy cried.
"Luff…" was all Ben could say before he submerged.
The Laphan weren't so lucky either. The avalanche they had caused was too much for even them to handle and they found themselves being swept away by the snow. But Luffy paid them no mind. He just wanted to find his friend.
"Ben!" Luffy cried again. He shot his arm towards his friend but it was too late. Ben had sunk and was covered by the snow. Horrified, Luffy climbed on top of the rock and gently put Gwen down. He removed his jacket and put it over Gwen like a blanket.
"Are you okay, Gwen?" He asked her. The young anodite was sound asleep, blissfully unaware of what was going on around her. Luffy put his hat next to Gwen. "Just hang onto my hat for me. I'll be right back!" Then without a second thought, Luffy dove into the snow to find where Ben had gone.
And things had not been going so well for the gang down below either. To give it to one in a nut shell, Dalton revealed the truth about Wapol. The ruthless man had been a cruel king to the people of Drum Kingdom. And when the mysterious Blackbeard and his crew arrived, Wapol and his entire army ran away without even putting up a fight. The civilians were forced to defend for themselves and Drum Kingdom had been destroyed. Dalton and those who refused to give up continued on, enjoying the life without Wapol, though they dreaded the day he might return.
And that day had come. Wapol had indeed come to the island. And he was not pleased to learn that the pirates he tangled with were on the island as well. He was determined to get his revenge on the pirates and claim his kingdom back. Dalton put up a brave fight but the Isshi-20, Wapol's personal doctors, aided the wicked tyrant. Dalton fell when Wapol's goons had used the civilians as targests, forcing Dalton to use himself as a shield to protect them. Afterwards, Wapol was on towards the castle, though he had been furious when he learned that Dr. Kureha was now living in there. But then the avalanche came. Sadly, Wapol and his men survived. Wapol assumed that the pirates from before had started that avalanche to try and kill him. Now he was more determined than ever to find and kill them. Together with his former minister of defense, Chess (the jester looking man) and his former magistrate, Kuromarimo (the afro man), Wapol continued on towards the castle.
When the avalanche had finally stopped, a good portion of the mountain and the valley had been completely covered in snow. For now, the mountain was silent and it seemed that there was nothing around. Except for one, small little laphan. It was digging furiously at the snow that had engulfed its parent. Nothing but the big one's paw was sticking out of the snow. At first it seemed hopeless. Then the little laphan heard a noise coming nearby. It looked up to see Luffy trudging through the snow. Gwen was on his back while he was carrying Ben. Luffy had been kind and wrapped his jacket around his shapeshifting friend. The infant hissed as Luffy drew near, suspecting an attack. But instead of attacking, Luffy grabbed the adult's paw and yanked the whole creature out of the snow with , the adult laphan stirred awake and stood up. The infant one immediately nuzzled up against its parent. The two looked on as Luffy carried both Gwen and Ben. Although they couldn't show it on their faces, both were extremely grateful to the stranger that had been kind enough to help them despite what they did.
But that didn't matter to Luffy. His only concern at the moment was the two he was carrying. Gwen was sick and he didn't know if anything bad happened to Ben during that avalanche. He needed to see the doctor more than ever, to make sure that both of his friends got to live.
"I will take you there," Luffy said to his two friends despite the fact that both of them were unconscious. "Then don't die. Both of you!"
"Look, King Wapol!" a voice cried behind Luffy.
"Let's kill them!"
Luffy turned around to see none other than Wapol and those two goons of his riding up to them on one of those furry hippos. Luffy simply stood there as Wapol rode up in front of him.
"Wait!" Wapol yelled at Luffy. "You've been disrespectful towards me too many times, you little brat."
"Get out of my way!" Luffy yelled. He had no time for this. His friends needed to see that doctor now.
"Are you dreaming?" Wapol asked mockingly before laughing. "Why do I have to let you go?" He looked at Gwen and Ben. "Those things that you are carrying are about to die anyway."
His face becoming one of anger, Luffy walked right past Wapol and continued walking onward towards the mountain.
"Hey, stop!" Wapol yelled outraged. He looked over at Chess. "I've come up with a new law, Chess. Whoever turns his back on the king shall suffer death."
"Yes, sir," Chess said as he started writing this ridiculous law down on a piece of parchment.
"Now," Wapol said to him and Kuromarimo. "Go and kill all of them whether they are weak or not!"
"Yes, my lord!" Chess and Kuromarimo both yelled as they leaped off the hippo and jumped towards Luffy.
"What the…?" Luffy exclaimed as he turned around to see the two flying towards him.
Kuromarimo's afro shaped gloves suddenly had spikes pop out. "Iron Punch!" he yelled as he swiped at Luffy. Luckily, the young captain was able to duck out of the way in time. He needed to fight back but it wasn't easy. Ben had asked him to be careful with Gwen and carrying an unconscious Ben at the same time kind of hindered his fighting abilities right now. Which meant…
"I can't fight them," Luffy whined as he started running as fast as he could. Not bad for a kid who was wearing sandals in the snow. "Stop following me!"
"You can't escape from me, you coward!" Chess yelled as he loaded three large arrows onto his bow and fired. They shot towards Luffy with excellent speed and accuracy. It looked like they were going to skewer for sure.
But Luffy was far from an ordinary boy. Just as it looked like the arrows were going to run the trio through, Luffy did a backflip. The arrows zoomed past him while he, Gwen, and Ben were all unharmed. Luffy quickly regained his balance and looked to see what surprise those three had in store for him this time around. But much to his surprise, they weren't anywhere to be found.
"Where did they go?" Luffy asked himself as he looked around. How in the world did they disappear so quickly. "This is weird. Did they give up?"
But Luffy was so busy looking behind that he wasn't looking forward at all. Wapol, who had been posing as a cave, lunged forward at Luffy, ready to chomp him and his teammates in two. But Luffy's amazing reflexes kicked and he jumped up just before Wapol's massive chompers could clasp down on him and his pals. But then Chess and Kuromarimo shot out of the snow two.
"This is our fighting technique!" They yelled as they readied their weapons. "Hiding in the white snow!"
"Aaaaah!" Luffy cried as he realized that there was no place for him to escape.
But just then, two Laphan appeared and punched Wapol's two henchmen to the ground before they could attack Luffy. Luffy watched them in amazement as they all landed back on the ground.
"Laphan!" Wapol cried in surprise. "Are they protecting that kid? That's impossible! Laphan have never liked humans!"
Luffy looked at the giant rabbits curiously. Then he noticed the small rabbit hanging holding onto the shoulder of one of the adults. So that was the reason.
"Thank you for helping me!" Luffy yelled as he started running again.
"Hey!" Wapol yelled as he saw Luffy start to run. "Don't let him get away!"
"Yes, sir!" Chess and Kuromarimo yelled. But as the two men ran started to run after Luffy, the whole tribe of Laphan stood between them and the rubber captain. "What are they doing?"
As for Luffy. Well, his situation went from bad to worse. The higher he went up the mountain, the colder it got. And it was starting to snow again. Luffy looked at the unconscious Ben and remembered that he didn't have a jacket. Not wanting his friend to die, Luffy put his own jacket on his friend and continued onward. He wouldn't let the cold beat him. He wanted his friends to live. And for that, he needed to reach the top of that castle.
"Doctor," he said as he continued walking. "Doctor." Then he stopped when he came upon the giant cylinder mountain where the big guy said the witch lived. He looked up and found that he couldn't see the top of it. But if there was one thing that made Luffy stand out above the rest. It was that fact that he never gave up no matter what. "We're close." He told his friends. "Just hang in there, guys."
He flipped his sandals off, tightened the rope that tied Gwen to his chest, and gripped his jacket, with Ben in it, with his teeth. And then he started climbing. And that was definitely easier said that done. The mountain's cylinder shape made it very smooth and the crevasses in very narrow. Normally it would be near impossible to climb up such a mountain because you couldn't find any support in such a thing. But that didn't stop Luffy. And even if it was impossible, Luffy was the type of guy that would found a way regardless. Which was what he was doing right now as he continued climbing up that mountain. But even for Luffy it wasn't easy. Especially since he was carrying his two unconscious friends and doing his best to make sure that they didn't fall off.
Three hours passed and Luffy was still going upward. Doctor. Doctor. Was the only thing on Luffy's mind. They had to be near the top soon. Gwen really needed a doctor. Just then his thoughts were cut short as an icy wind blew down on him. With his own jacket keeping Ben warm, he had nothing for himself. So he pressed himself up against the mountain, which did little to no help at all. Then he cut his finger on the grooves in the mountain.
"Ouch!" Luffy cried out in pain. But that was a really bad mistake. By crying out in pain, Luffy had opened his mouth. And by opening his mouth, he dropped Ben. "Aaah! Ben!" He cried as the wielder of the Omnitrix started flying down to the ground below. Quickly, Luffy stretched his neck out towards and his friend and caught the jacket between his teeth. That was close. Luffy thought in relief.
With Ben safely secure, Luffy resumed climbing. As he did, the snow continued to snow. In fact, it became so bad that several of the trees below had become blanketed in the snow. But Luffy was too busy climbing up the mountain to notice this taking place. Luffy winced in pain as he cut his fingers again. He bit down on the part of the coat caught in his teeth this time instead of crying out in pain. I won't give up. He thought fiercely. I will reach the top soon! With that thought in mind, Luffy continued climbing. This time with more vigor. So focused was he on finding the top that he completely ignored any pain he felt as he climbed up. As he climbed, he looked up. Then he saw it. The top of the mountain! Finding new found strength, Luffy put some more force and climbed harder. And when he finally climbed to the top, he saw before a large and majestic castle.
"Finally," Luffy said with relief. "I'm here." He took in the sight. "What a beautiful castle. Doc…tor," but exhaustion finally caught up with Luffy and he collapsed. But just as he had collapsed, the chunk of the mountain he was standing on broke off from the top. But just as he started to fall, a muscular arm grabbed his.
Back at Wapol, he stood triumphantly among the heap of fallen Laphan. "You brainless creatures!" he mocked. "You are just rabbits and you think you can defy the king?"
"I never thought that these rabbits could make us use our real power," Kuromarimo said as he stood on a fallen laphan's body.
"Well, it's possible," Chess admitted. "After all, these rabbits are the most powerful creatures around here."
"Hmph," Wapol said as he stomped on one Laphan's head. Then he looked up at the castle. "I will get you, kid!"
Inside the castle
"Doctor Kureha, the anti-body is working."
"Very good. Can you tell me what caused this?"
"Casha."
"That's right, you saw it too."
Gwen slowly opened her eyes. As her vision came to her, she saw that she was somewhere she had never been before. Confused, Gwen's eyes looked around. It looked like she was in a room that was a laboratory. Now Gwen was even more confused. Where in the world was she? And where were the others? Hearing a click click noise, Gwen saw…what appeared to be a tiny little reindeer walking on its hind legs while carrying a dish. It wore red shorts and a fuzzy, pale pink top hat.
"Hello?" she called out softly.
"Aaaah!" the little reindeer cried, crashing into a nearby desk out of fright.
"Oh!" Gwen cried, sitting straight up. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."
The reindeer took one look at her and then ran over to one of the doorways. Or some reason it looked like he was trying to push against it while looking at her. Gwen raised an eyebrow. "Is something wrong?" she asked.
"Shu…shut up, human!" the reindeer snapped at her rudely before asking in a calmer tone. "By the way, how are you feeling?"
Gwen blinked in surprise that the little reindeer could talk but she figured that if he could walk on two legs and wear clothes, then he had to be able to talk. Then her brain registered his question. She put a hand on her forehead. "I feel much better now," she replied.
The little reindeer looked at her. "That's good." It said while looking at her nervously.
Gwen smiled. "It's okay. You don't have to be afraid of me. I won't hurt you."
The little reindeer looked at her doubtfully. Apparently this little guy was nervous around humans.
"My name's Gwen Tennyson," she said. "What's yours?"
The reindeer looked at her for a moment. "Tony Tony Chopper."
Gwen smiled warmly at him. "It's nice to meet you."
"Ah," said another voice. "I see our young patient has finally awoken."
Gwen turned her head…and blinked to make sure she wasn't seeing things. Walking into the room was an elderly woman. But you could only tell that from her face. The rest of her body appeared to be that of a young woman. She even dressed the part, complete with navel ring and hipster pants. A bottle of alcohol was in her hand. The woman chuckled at Gwen. "Are you feeling better, little girl?"
Gwen blinked at this woman one more time before nodding. "I think so."
The woman walked over to Gwen and put a finger on her forehead. "38.2 degrees Celsius. Looks like you are getting better."
Gwen's jaw dropped. "You…you could tell my temperature just by touching my forehead?"
The woman grinned. "I'm Dr. Kureha. You can call me Doctorine."
"Doctor?" Gwen asked as she looked around. "Um…"
"You want to know the secret to my youth?" Dr. Kurehad asked suddenly.
"Oh, no, thank you," Gwen politely declined. "I was just wondering…"
"You are in the castle at the top of the mountain," Dr. Kureha explained. "Your two friends brought you here."
"Mountain?" Gwen asked.
"You really have no idea where you are, do you?" Kureha asked.
Gwen grinned sheepishly.
"You're in what was once called Drum Kingdom," Kureha said. "You came down with a bad sickness and your two friends carried you up the mountain to see me."
"My friends?" Gwen asked. "What do they look like?"
"One had a straw-hat and the other had a green jacket with the number 10," Dr. Kureha answered.
"Luffy and Ben?" Gwen asked.
Dr. Kureha shrugged. "If that's what their names are. They're sleeping in the other room. The one with the straw-hat snores pretty loud. Doesn't he know any manners?"
Gwen sheepishly shrugged. She hadn't been on the crew long so she wouldn't know much about Luffy's habits. Just then, Dr. Kureha walked over and partially lifted up Gwen's skirt. "Let's see…"
"Huh?" Gwen asked. Kureha seemed to be focused on some spot on her stomach. She looked down and saw several black spots. "What are those?"
"You were bitten by the insect called casha," Dr. Kureha. "It's a poisonous bug that lives in tropical forests."
Gwen's eyes widened. "The bug bite from Little Garden!" she realized. "I thought it was a mosquito bite!"
Dr. Kureha laughed. "Girl, this is no mosquito bite. When a casha bites someone, it will spread bacteria into that person's body. Within five days, that person will suffer from high fever. Later, it will affect the heart, brain, and every part of the body. Based on this here, I guess this is the third day after you were bitten. Its poison is very powerful."
"Day three?" Gwen asked. "But that means…"
"That's right," Kureha said with a grin that made her look like a witch. "In two more days, you would have passed away."
Gwen gulped.
"It used to be known as five day fever," Kureha said. "Casha have been extinct for over 100 years. You're lucky that I still had some anti-bodies. Where did you come from anyway? Did you just go and take a walk into an enchanted forest or something. But that sounds impossible."
Gwen chuckled. "Trust me, after all the things I've been through, nothing's impossible."
Kureha chuckled. "That so? What an interesting girl you are." Then she pushed Gwen back onto the bed. "Anyway, just go back to sleep. You are not completely cured."
Gwen looked at Kureha. "How long will it take for me to get better?"
Kureha looked at her. "It usually takes around 10 days to cure this sickness."
Gwen was horrified. "10 days? It will really take me that long to recover?"
Kureha chuckled. "Well, if you're eager to leave so soon, I suppose with my medicine, it will take about…three days."
Gwen looked at the bed. "Three days is better," she admitted. But what was she to do? They had already lost precious time getting Gwen to this doctor. If they had to wait even longer, who knew how long it would take for them to reach Alabasta?
Just then, Chopper was seen running in the room in a crazy panic. "Help me!" he screamed.
"Come back here, sweet meat!" Luffy yelled as he chased after the reindeer.
"Luffy!" Gwen cried as Luffy ran up and nabbed Chopper. The two of them started wrestling with each other. "What are you doing?" She created a tendril of mana and sent it towards Luffy. Before the rubber boy could do anything, he was wrapped up by the tendril and lifted into the air. Chopper and Kureha stared at this in wonder. Both blinked rapidly to see if the scene in front of them was some kind of hallucination.
"Well, well," Kureha said as she looked at Gwen. "You are an interesting girl." Then she looked at Luffy. "What a surprise. You recovered very fast."
Chopper on the other hand was staring at Gwen's mana. He looked at her. "How…how did you do that?" he asked.
"Gwen uses magic," Luffy said proudly.
"Eeeeeh?" Chopper asked, looking at Gwen in amazement. "You can?"
Gwen laughed a little sheepishly. "You can call it that."
Kureha smirked. "Magic huh? How come you didn't use your magic to heal yourself?"
Gwen rubbed her head. "I was sleeping a whole lot. And I haven't really used it to cure diseases."
Chopper continued staring at Gwen.
"Now let me go!" Luffy yelled. "I want to eat!" He struggled as he tried to break free and get at Chopper. Chopper screamed and did what appeared to be hiding. Only he was hiding the wrong way, exactly like how he did when Gwen first met him.
"Luffy, leave him alone," Gwen said sternly.
"But meat…" Luffy whined.
"Monkey D. Luffy…" Gwen threatened.
Luffy opened his mouth to argue but Gwen gave him a hardened look. Luffy whimpered before relenting.
Chopper's eyes widened as he looked at Gwen. Kureha noticed Chopper looking at Gwen and grinned.
"Why…why did you save me?" Chopper asked her.
Gwen looked at Chopper in confusion. "He was trying to eat you. I wasn't going to let him do that."
"But…but why would you protect me? Don't you hate me?"
Gwen raised an eyebrow. "Why would I hate you?"
"I'm a reindeer that walks on two legs and can talk," Chopper replied.
Gwen smiled. "So? I've seen weirder things than that."
Chopper looked up at her hopefully before his face fell.
"My nose is blue too," Chopper added as he looked down at the ground.
"What's wrong with that nose?" Gwen asked him. "I think it's cute."
Chopper gasped and looked up at her. "Cute? You…think my nose is…cute?"
Gwen nodded as she continued smiling. "I think it's the cutest little nose I've ever seen."
Chopper's jaw dropped as he continued looking at Gwen. Then…
"Jerk!" He yelled while dancing around with a happy look on his face. "That doesn't make me happy at all. Don't mess with me!"
Gwen giggled at Chopper's antics. He sure looked happy to her.
"Hey, Luffy," She said. "If you're awake, does that mean Ben's awake?"
Luffy nodded. "Yeah, he's still in bed though."
"Wouldn't be surprised," Kureha said. "He broke six of his ribs and his backbone was cracked."
Gwen paled. "Oh no, Ben!" she started to get up when Kureha pinned her to the bed and held a scalpel to her face.
"And where do you think you're going?" Kureha asked with a menacing grin on her face.
"Please," Gwen begged. "I need to see my cousin."
"You need to rest," Kureha said. "Your cousin might take much longer to heal."
"But I can heal him," Gwen said. "Please, let me see him. Or…or bring him here. Please?"
"I'll bring him," Everyone looked at Chopper, who had spoken. "I'll bring him to you."
Kureha was surprised at first, then she chuckled. "Very well, Chopper. You'll need to use a stretcher. It's not good for a boy in that condition to be walking about."
Chopper nodded. "Yes, Dr. Kureha." With that he walked off.
Kureha looked at Gwen. "You're something, girl. I think Chopper's a little fond of you."
"Now, Luffy," Gwen said. "I'm gonna let you down now. If I do, will you promise not to go after Chopper?"
"I promise," Luffy muttered in annoyance.
Smiling, Gwen removed the mana tendril from Luffy, who landed on his feet.
"Hey, Gwen," Luffy said. "If you can heal people, does that mean you're our doctor?"
Gwen shook her head. "My powers can be good for healing, but it would still be better if we had a professional doctor on board." She looked at Kureha.
"I see," Luffy said. Then he looked at Dr. Kureha. "Join my crew."
Gwen's eyes widened. "Luffy, you can't just tell someone to join your crew."
"Please, auntie," Luffy begged.
Kureha looked at him. "Your name's Luffy, right?"
"Yes," Luffy replied.
Dr. Kureha suddenly kicked Luffy. "You better watch your language! I'm only 139 years old! I'm still young!"
Gwen's jaw dropped. This woman was 139 years old? How in the… But Gwen decided it was probably best for her health if she just kept quiet. Luffy on the other hand crashed into the wall. So, instead of causing more trouble, Gwen decided to change the subject.
"Dr. Kureha? Could you tell me more about Chopper?"
"He's just a regular blue nose reindeer," Kureha said.
"Do all blue nose reindeer talk?" Gwen asked.
Here, Kureha grinned. "No, he can talk because he ate the Human Human Fruit."
Gwen's eyes widened. "There's a devil fruit that lets you become a human?"
Kureha nodded. "That's right. But it would be useless if a human ate it. Anyway, that's what happened to Chopper. He ate the Human Human Fruit. Became even more of an outcast."
"An outcast?" Gwen asked.
"I'm back, Dr. Kureha." Chopper's voice said.
Gwen and Luffy turned their heads. And their eyes widened. A gigantic man-like being walked in carrying a bed with him. What shocked Luffy and Gwen was that this furry man was wearing the same hat and shorts like Chopper had been wearing. He even had the same blue nose.
"Thank you, Chopper," Kureha said. "Put him somewhere out of the way for me."
"Huh?" Luffy asked in shock. "You're that little reindeer!"
Chopper ignored him and put the bed he was carrying next to Gwen's bed. Gwen gasped when she saw who was on it. "Ben!"
Sure enough, it was Ben. But his waist was covered in bandages. He looked up at Gwen. "Hey, Gwen. How are you feeling?"
"A lot better," Gwen said as she looked at her cousin. "How about you?"
"Not so much," Ben replied with a small smile. "My back and side hurts."
"Here," Gwen said. "Chopper, can you bring him closer?"
Chopper nodded as he picked up Ben's bed and scooted it closer to Gwen's. Kureha watched curiously as Gwen put her hands on Ben's body. Hers started glowing with a purple aura. Luffy, Chopper, and Kureha watched all of this take place in amazement. Gwen began to chant in Latin. After a few moments, Gwen stopped glowing and removed her hands from Ben. "There, that should do it."
Ben slowly sat up. He poked his side. Then he leaned forward a bit. "It's gone," he said before grinning at his cousin. "Thanks, Gwen."
"That…that was amazing," Gwen looked at Chopper, who was back in his small form and staring at her.
"Hey there," Ben said to Chopper, causing the talking reindeer to look at him now. "I'm glad Luffy didn't eat you." He shot a glare at Luffy. "I would have stopped him but I could barely move."
"Gwen stopped me anyway," Luffy said with a pout.
"Well, serves you right for trying to eat a little guy like him," Gwen said.
"But he can turn into that big gorilla," Luffy pointed out.
"I saw," Ben said. "How did he do that?"
"Dr. Kureha said that Chopper ate a devil fruit called the Human Human Fruit."
"That's right," Kureha said.
"Human Human Fruit?" Ben asked. "Would that be one of the Zoan types?"
Chopper nodded slowly. "Yeah."
"That means you can become a reindeer, man, and a human/reindeer hybrid?" Gwen asked.
Chopper nodded again.
"That is so cool!" Luffy cried out in excitement.
"Odd," Kureha whispered to herself. "I never thought Chopper would be so social with any humans." She looked at Gwen. "Could it be because of that girl's kindness?"
"Hey, Ben," Luffy said as he pointed to Chopper. "Isn't he cool? He's a transforming, talking reindeer monster."
Chopper flinched when he heard Luffy call him a monster. Then his face became downtrodden.
"Luffy!" Gwen snapped at the Straw-hat boy. "How could you say that? Chopper is not a monster."
Chopper's head snapped up to look at Gwen. "You…you don't think I'm a monster?"
Gwen shook her head. "No. I've seen plenty of monsters before. And you, Chopper, are not a monster. I think you're one of the sweetest people I've ever met."
"That doesn't make me happy, you jerk!" Chopper snapped at her before doing a happy dance.
"He sure looks happy," Ben and Luffy said.
Kureha smiled to herself as she looked at Gwen. That girl's got a kind heart. I think…I think she might be just what Chopper needs.
"So, Gwen," Ben said as he got off the bed. "You ready to head out?"
Gwen shook her head. "I can't. Dr. Kureha said that I need to stay in bed for three days at best."
"Three days?" Ben asked. "That bad? But we need to get to Alabasta."
Kureha raised an eyebrow. "Alabasta?" She asked. "Why do you need to go there?"
"To help stop a war," Luffy said bluntly, making Gwen and Ben sweatdrop at him.
"Tch," Kureha snorted. "So you want to get better just to go and get yourself killed anyway?"
"It's not like that," Ben said, though it was pretty much that.
"Oh?" Kureha replied slyly. "Then what is it?"
"Er," Ben said as he looked down at the ground.
"We need to help our friend," Luffy said determinedly.
Kureha smirked a little. These people were dedicated to those close to them, it was plain to see. "Could you boys be dears and put that bed back where it came from?" Kureha asked, pointing to Ben's bed.
"Huh?" Ben asked. "Oh, sure." He went over to the bed he had been sleeping on. "Hey, Luffy. Give me a hand will you?"
"Sure," Luffy went over and helped pick up the bed. Although Luffy could have easily picked it up by himself.
"Chopper," Kureha said to the reindeer. "Go with them. Those two look like they would get lost without some help."
"Hey!" Ben protested while Luffy just smiled.
Chopper nodded at the doctor. "Yes, doctorine." He walked over the door. "Follow me." He walked off with Luffy and Ben following him as they carried the bed. Kureha chuckled before sitting down.
"I think Chopper's taking a liking to you." She said to Gwen. Gwen looked at her curiously. "I think you might be the one to help him."
"Help him?" Gwen asked.
"That boy," Kureha replied. "Has a wound in his heart that even a doctor can't heal."
"What do you mean?" Gwen asked, looking confused.
"When he was born, he was rejected by his own parents," Kureha explained. Gwen gasped. "Because of his blue nose, he was left to walk alone in the back of the tribe since he was young."
"That's awful," Gwen said. "How could they treat a newborn like that?"
"It was tough but Chopper put up with it. Then came the day he ate the Human Human Fruit. The whole herd saw him as a freak and casted him out." Kureha continued.
Gwen looked sadly at the door that Chopper had just walked through.
"Since his own kind had rejected him," Kureha said. "He tried to live among the humans. But as you saw for yourself, his human form isn't perfect. He looks more like a gorilla than a normal man. The villagers would think he was an abominable snowman and then shoot at him."
"What?" Gwen yelled in outrage.
"And he didn't know who to blame," Kureha told her. "He just needs friends but people called him a monster. Like your friend did."
So that's why Chopper reacted like that. Gwen thought.
"He's neither human nor reindeer. That's why he's always alone," Kureha said as she looked at Gwen. "Can you cure…his heart?"
"Yes," Gwen said without a moment's hesitation. "Because…I know how he feels."
Kureha looked at her. "You do?"
Gwen nodded. "I have someone, someone very close to me, who has gone through exactly what Chopper's been through. He was treated as a freak and a monster, when all he wanted was for someone to accept him. And…no matter what he did, I knew it was never his fault. He just needed help."
"Is that so?"
"Yes," Gwen replied.
Kevin. Chopper's just like you.
Kureha smiled. "There was a man, though. The only man that Chopper ever talked to. His name was Doctor Hiluluk, who used to live in this empire. He was just a quack doctor who gave Chopper his name and called him a son."
"What happened to him?" Gwen asked.
Here, Kureha sighed. "Dead."
Gwen gasped.
"All because of Wapol," Kureha said. "The former emperor of this place. He took the first real family that Chopper ever had. Hiluluk may have been a quack. But he wasn't such a bad guy at heart."
Suddenly Gwen flew off the covers and ran towards the door. She did it so quickly that Kureha was stunned for a moment. She was about to get up and chase after Gwen to make her sit back down but stopped. Instead she leaned back in her chair and grinned.
"Maybe it was fate that brought that girl here."
"Thanks for the directions, Chopper," Ben said as they started walking back. "Now let's get some place warmer."
"You, reindeer monster," Luffy said. Chopper looked at Luffy and saw him giving him a deep stare. "Join my crew."
Chopper suddenly slammed against the wall and his eyes bugged out of his sockets. "Whaaaaaaaaa?" he screamed.
Ben groaned. "Here we go again. Luffy, you can't just tell a guy to join your crew."
"So what?" Luffy asked. "He's a talking, transforming reindeer monster and I want him for my crew."
"Crew?" Chopper asked as he tried to get himself back under control. "That means…you guys are pirates?"
"Sure are," Luffy said. "And I want you to…"
"Chopper."
Everyone turned to see Gwen coming at the room. She paused when she saw Chopper. He on the other hand, freaked out.
"What are you doing out of bed?" he cried. "You're not fully recovered. Go back to bed now!"
But Gwen ignored him as she started walking slowly towards him. Chopper stopped in his ranting and slowly took a step back nervously. Soon, Gwen was in front of him.
"Hey, Gwen," Luffy said. "You all better now?"
"What's…?" Ben started to ask when suddenly Gwen got down on her knees and hugged Chopper tightly. Chopper's eyes widened as he was about to retaliate when…
"Chopper," Gwen said quietly. "I'm so sorry."
Chopper froze.
"I'm so sorry they treated you like that." She said kindly. "They had no right."
Chopper gasped.
"Gwen?" Ben asked.
"What are you talking about?" Luffy asked in confusion. Gwen ignored him and looked at Chopper.
"I want you to know," she said. "None of us will ever treat you like a monster. Luffy, Ben, and I have seen what a kind person you are. You're not a monster, Chopper. Don't ever think you are."
Chopper trembled slightly as Gwen held him tight. His eyes started to water up. This affection. This kindness. It was…it was just like…
Hiluluk.
Chopper remembered him well. The first person who was willing to see him as something other than a monster. The one who had taught him about saving lives and helping people. The man who wanted to make sakura blossoms grow in this land.
Then came that day when Hiluluk had become horribly sick. Even when Hiluluk had kicked him out, Chopper didn't want to lose the only family he truly had. He set out to find what he thought was the mushroom that could cure his "father". Chopper remembered returning to Hiluluk after the trialing journey to get the mushroom. He was battered, bruised, bleeding, but he felt triumphant.
That all came to a stop when Kureha showed up sometime after Hiluluk had left their home. She revealed to him that the mushroom Chopper had gotten was a poisonous mushroom, not a healing one. Chopper could remember it all. Wapol's top doctors, the Isshi-20 had been said to be sick and that Hiluluk had gone out to heal them. But it was a trap set by Wapol to kill all the remaining doctors who were not under his command. When Chopper got to Wapol's castle, it was too late. Hiluluk had died. And Wapol was to blame.
Chopper had tried to fight Wapol but had been stopped by Dalton. He explained to Chopper that it would be pointless to fight Wapol and that Hiluluk would have died in vain. So Chopper fled far away. He came to Dr. Kureha and she taught him everything he needed to know about medicine. While he loved Dr. Kureha dearly, not a day went by that he didn't miss Dr. Hiluluk.
Back in the present, Chopper started crying, startling Ben and Luffy. But the little reindeer was no longer paying them any mind and simply hugged Gwen back. She rubbed his back soothingly as he cried onto her shoulder.
"It's okay, Chopper," she cooed at him. "It's okay."
Luffy and Ben exchanged a confused look with each other. Luffy then looked back at Gwen. "What's going on, Gwen?" he asked.
"I'll explain later," Gwen said as she gently picked Chopper up and held him close to her. "But I can tell you…Chopper's been through a lot. Ben, think of what Kevin's been through, and you might have a good idea."
Ben's eyes widened and he looked at Chopper in shock.
"Huh?" Luffy asked as he tilted his head. "I don't get it."
"It is a long story, Luffy," Ben told him. "But I can tell you that Kevin had a pretty rough life. And Gwen's pretty much saying that Chopper's had a really rough life too." He looked at Chopper.
Luffy looked at Chopper again. Just then all three noticed something else as well.
"Cold," Luffy, Gwen, and Ben all muttered.
"Come on," Gwen said. "Looks go back to my room. It's warm there."
Nodding, Ben and Luffy followed Gwen inside the room. Kureha noticed Chopper being carried in Gwen's arms and grinned.
"So," Kureha said. "You're all back. It's nice to see you all getting along but girl, one more thing…"
"Hm?" Gwen asked. Suddenly Kureha's scalpel zoomed past her and stuck itself in the wall. Gwen took a shocked look at it and then back at Kureha.
"Next time you get out of bed without me telling you," Kureha said. "I'll make sure you stay in bed personally. Got that?"
Gwen nervously nodded as she put Chopper down and crawled back into bed.
"Wow," Luffy whispered to Ben. "Auntie sure is mean."
"What was that?" Kureha yelled as she threw a knife at Luffy, who narrowly dodged it. "I'm only 139 years old. I'm still young!"
Ben's jaw dropped when he learned Kureha's age. He was about to comment but after seeing that little knife throwing, decided just to keep his mouth shut.
"Now," Kureha said to Ben and Luffy. "There was something that did catch my interest as me and Chopper treated you two." She pointed at Ben's left hand. "I saw a strange device on your wrist, boy. Never seen anything like it before. And I know that it's far too complicated to be a Log Pose. Just what in the world is it?"
"It's a mystery device that lets Ben turn into monsters!" Luffy said with a grin.
Ben scowled. "Big mouth." He muttered.
"M…monsters?" Chopper asked, looking at Ben's left hand.
"That's right," Luffy said. "He can become a one eyed rock monster, a four armed monkey, a round rock monster, a dinosaur, a robot, a flying stingray, a turtle with wind powers, and…"
Kureha looked at the sleeve where the Omnitrix was concealed. "That…that device lets him turn into all that?"
"Yeeeeah, about that," Ben said.
"Can you really?" Chopper asked as he looked nervously at Ben. "Can you really turn into monsters?"
Ben cringed. "Well, I…"
"Sure he can!" Luffy said. He looked at Ben. "Go on, Ben! Show 'em! Turn into something."
Ben groaned. "Luffy," he muttered.
But then, Chopper froze. He started sniffing the air for a moment. Then his eyes hardened.
"What's wrong, Chopper?" Gwen asked.
"It's him," Chopper said as his face became furious. "Wapol."
"Wapol?" Ben asked. "That guy who attacked the ship?"
"That jerk attacked me on the mountain," Luffy said.
"Wapol?" Gwen asked. She looked at Kureha. "That guy you told me used to be the king?"
"That's right, girl," Kureha said. "Looks like the brat's back.
"Huh?" Luffy asked in surprise. "You mean that guy's a king? I thought he was a pirate."
Outside, Wapol had finally made it to the top. He was overjoyed to get a glimpse of his beautiful castle.
"Look!" he yelled happily to Chess and Kuromarimo. "Nothing has changed. Finally, I will reclaim my throne!"
Chess and Kuromarimo rose to their feet and prepared to head towards the castle. But then Chess saw something at the top that caught his eye.
"Wait a minute, King Wapol. There is a weird flag at the top of the castle."
"Huh?" Wapol demanded as he looked up at the top of the castle. On top of one of the towers was a pirate flag. It had a jolly roger with four sakura blossoms on it. Seeing the flag enraged Wapol.
"What is that pirate flag doing there?" Wapol demanded fiercly. "Where is the Drum Island Flag?"
Laughter came from the door. "I already burned that flag."
Wapol, Chess, and Kuromarimo looked at the entrance to the castle and saw Dr. Kureha and Chopper standing there. Chopper was in his Walking Point. Wapol's eyes narrowed.
"So," he said. "You finally show up. The last doctor on this island. Dr. Kureha. Why don't you just die?"
Kureha smirked. "This castle is Hiluluk's tomb. It's not a place for a rotten kid like you. Just get off this place. Drum Kingdom has already been destroyed."
"Tomb?" Wapol asked. "That stupid doctor's tomb?" He started laughing before saying. "That's pathetic."
Chopper gave him a dark look.
"Hey, you!" Wapol looked ahead to see Ben and Luffy running out of the castle. Luffy was wearing his black coat. Ben ignored the cold for the moment. "You got me bad last time!"
"King Wapol!" Chess cried. "It's those two kids!"
"Gum Gum…" Luffy said as he yanked his arm back, shocking Chopper and Kureha. "Pistol!" He was right in Wapol's face and delivered a powerful punch to the bratty king. And the massive man went flying backwards from the blow.
"King Wapol!" Chess and Kuromarimo both cried.
"What's going on here?" Kureha asked, looking at Luffy stunned. "First that girl, then the first boy, and now him?"
Chopper's jaw dropped. Was this all a dream? First there was Gwen who could do magic. Next was Ben, who was said to turn into monsters, and then Luffy, who had just stretched. Were…were they all different? Just like him?
Back to Wapol. He had nearly fallen off the top of the mountain but Chess and Kuromarimo had managed to prevent him from falling.
"Ugh, that was close," Kuromarimo and Chess said as they hefted their king back on the top.
"You treated me badly last time we met," Luffy said as he advanced towards the three. He grinned. "This time, I won't let you get away with it."
"Hey, Luffy," Ben said as he walked alongside his captain. "Save some for me too."
Kuromarimo snarled at them. "How dare you hurt King Wapol, the ruler of the Drum Empire?"
"That's right," Chess agreed. "Didn't you realize that King Wapol is a ruler who governs this country? How dare you fight against the king?"
"So what?" Luffy asked as he stretched his lips up to large proportions and stuck his tongue out at them. "I just know that I hate all of you very much."
Ben good naturedly rolled his eyes. That was Luffy for you. Then he shivered from the cold.
"Okay," he said. "I need to get warm now." He activated the Omnitrix. "Time to use Heatblast again." He slammed the dial down and was engulfed in a flash of green light.
But the form that he became was not Heatblast. Instead he became a colossal crab with a very big.
"BRAINSTORM!" the being yelled in a British accent. "Oh, confound this infernal Omnitrix! I fail to comprehend the reliability of such a redundant contraption if it does not provide the necessary specimen needed for this predicament."
"Aaaaaaah!" Chopper cried. "Giant crab!"
"Eeeeeeh?" Luffy looked at Brainstorm hungrily. "Giant crab?"
Brainstorm paled when he saw Luffy look at him like that. "Now, Luffy. Surely you have at least some form of intelligence in that elastic mound you call a head. It is I, your comrade."
Kureha was nearly speechless. "So he can turn into a monster."
"Chess!" Kuromarimo cried. "Did you see that?"
"I sure did," Chess replied. "But I don't understand. Back when we attacked their ship, he became a four armed giant. Now he's a giant crab."
"Aaaaaaah!" Wapol yelled as he sat straight up.
"King Wapol!" Chess and Kuromarimo cried out happily.
Wapol looked over at Luffy, Brainstorm, and Chopper. "You really made me mad. I'll will eat you this time."
"If you will permit me to coin a phrase," Brainstorm said. "Eat this!"
Brainstorm's head opened up to reveal the brain underneath. Electricity gathered around his brain before shooting at a stunned Wapol. He yelled as the electricity surged through his body.
"King Wapol!" Chess and Kuromarimo cried out in concern for their master.
"You can shoot lightning?" Luffy asked excitedly.
Chopper and Kureha were stricken dumb.
"That does it!" Wapol yelled as he got back up. "I'll teach you to attack me. Men, destroy them!"
"Yes, Lord Wapol!" Chess and Kuromarimo yelled as they charged at their opponents.
Chopper's eyes narrowed at them. Then he became his muscular form.
"King Wapol!" Chess exclaimed. "That's…"
"Monster!" Kuromarimo cried. "The same one that followed Hiluluk."
Chopper said nothing to them as he prepared for battle.
Kuromarimo smirked. "Doesn't matter if you're here or not, monster. We'll teach you to disrespect the king. Marimo's Static Cling!" He fired what appeared an afro ball that stuck Brainstorm.
"I say!" Brainstorm cried indignantly as he reeled back from the afro hitting his face. "That is most unpleasant." He pulled the afro from his face. But he found that he couldn't get it off his pincer. "What the deuce?"
Kuromarimo smirked. "You've fallen into my trap."
"I cannot seem to remove this obscene piece of whatever the deuce it is from my person," Brainstorm said as he shook his pincer wildly but no luck. He tried pulling it off with his other claw, but it got stuck to that one instead.
Kuromarimo continued smirking as he pulled two tiny pieces of hair from his head. He gave the puffs a pinch and they turned into another big afro ball. "That's right. I still have more. Marimo's Static Cling!" He fired the two static balls at Brainstorm, which stuck to his face.
"Here now!" Brainstorm yelled as he struggled to get the afros off him. "This has gone on quite long enough. He flailed his pincers wildly but now such luck. He looked over at Luffy and Chopper. "Luffy! Chopper! Would you be so kind as to lend some manner of assistance?"
"Oh, sure," Chopper said.
"Yeah," Luffy said as they ran over to Brainstorm. Chopper pulled off one afro and Luffy pulled off another. Only…
"Hey!" Luffy yelled. "It won't come off!"
"I don't want it!" Chopper said as he tried to shake the afro out of his hand but couldn't. "You take it back." He stuck it back on Brainstorm.
"Yeah!" Luffy said as he gave his back too.
"Well I certainly do not desire this round piece of hair folic."
Brainstorm stuck the hairballs onto Chopper, who stuck them onto Luffy, who stuck them onto Brainstorm. Brainstorm stuck them back onto Luffy, who stuck them back onto Chopper, who stuck them back onto Brainstorm. The large crab then stuck the hair on both Luffy and Chopper at the same time. Panicking, the two tried to put their afros on each other, leaving them looking the same while Brainstorm was afro-free. Unfortunately Brainstorm had chuckled at that moment, exposing himself and causing the rubber boy and the reindeer to put the afros all back onto Brainstorm and being right back where they started.
Kureha sweatdropped when she saw them. "What are they doing?"
Back in the castle, Gwen was worried about what was going on out there. According to Luffy and Ben, this Wapol guy had attacked them back at their ship while she was sick. He had nearly eaten Ben but Luffy had sent him flying. Kureha had explained that the man used to be the king of this place. But he was nothing more than a bully. Although Ben and Luffy assured her that the fight would be easy, she couldn't help but be concerned. She would have done something to help but Kureha had thrown her back into bed and warned her with a scalpel not to get out of bed again without her permission.
"Guys," she thought. "Please be okay."
As she laid in bed, Gwen's mind wondered to Chopper. From what Kureha had told her about the little reindeer boy, it reminded her an awful lot about Kevin. Both had been treated as freaks and monsters without someone to show that they really cared about them. There was one difference though. Kevin had her. Dr. Hiluluk was dead. While it seemed that Dr. Kureha cared about Chopper, she didn't know how she was compared to Hiluluk.
Gwen wondered if…Chopper would like to join their crew.
Back outside
"Your teamwork is pathetic!" Chess said as he loaded a fire tipped arrow to his bow. "Those balls can catch fire easily."
"He's going to burn those afros!" Luffy cried.
"Bait plan!" Chopper yelled as he shoved Brainstorm forward.
"You do not intend to use me as a form of bait do you?" Brainstorm demanded.
"Checkmate!" Chess yelled as he shot a flaming arrow at his opponent. It struck one of the afros and caught fire. Brainstorm yelled as the flames danced on his pincer.
"Ben!" Luffy yelled in concern. He was about to attack Chess but saw that Chopper had already gotten there.
"Get out of here!" Chopper yelled as he leaped forward to strike Chess.
"Get out of the way, Chess!" Wapol called out as he appeared between Chess and Chopper. His mouth had become huge to swallow the reindeer man whole.
"Look out!" Brainstorm yelled.
Wapol had succeeded in chomping onto Chopper. The young reindeer had gone back into his smaller form, with his legs sticking out of Wapol's mouth as the wicked king tried to eat the reindeer up.
"Chopper!" Kureha cried.
"Gum Gum Bazooka!" Luffy roared as he slammed both his hands into Wapol's stomach. The blow sent Wapol knocking into his giant furry hippo. While Wapol stayed, the hippo like creature was blasted into the far off distance. Chopper had flown out of Wapol's mouth and landing in the snow next to Brainstorm and Luffy.
"Very well done, Luffy," Brainstorm said. "Now, could someone be so kind as to assist me?"
"Thank you for helping me," Chopper said as he and Luffy went to try and fix Brainstorm's problem. "You're very strong."
"Yeah, but he's still alive," Luffy said. "And the hippo's gone."
Over with Wapol, Chess and Kuromarimo approached their fallen leader.
"Are you okay, King Wapol?" Kuromarimo asked.
"We're very sorry," Chess said. "We really underestimated them."
Wapol's eyes narrowed as he sat up. He had enough playing around with these people "I will kill all of them! I will show them the true power of the Munch Munch Factory!"
"Oh," Brainstorm moaned when he saw that Wapol was getting back up. "It seems that buffon cannot comprehend the fact that he is outwitted and outmatched."
"He must be really strong," Luffy considered.
Wapol looked at Chess. "Chess, why don't you tell them about my menu this morning?"
"Yes, sir," Chess said as he pulled out a checkered book. "This morning you had one baked cannon, one fresh cannon, and cannon ball salad with gun powder. Also, you ate one restaurant in the village."
"What a weird breakfast," Luffy muttered.
"Hear, hear," Brainstorm agreed.
Wapol sneered at them. "Take a good look at my power after breakfast."
Chopper's eyes narrowed. "What's he going to do?"
"Those things I ate this morning have already been digested and became part of my body. Munch Munch Mutation!"
Brainstorm, Chopper, and Luffy all went wide eyes at the spectacle before them.
"What is that?" Luffy asked.
Wapol's body had changed into a structure that resembled a house. He even had a door, windows, and a chimney. His arms, however, had turned into a pair of cannons.
"Wapol House!" Wapol yelled.
"That's so cool!" Luffy cried out as he gazed in awe at Wapol's new form.
"Luffy, that is becoming rather tiresome," Brainstorm sighed.
Wapol chuckled at the reaction his transformation had brought. "It's too soon for you to be surprised."
That caused the three fighters to look at him cautiously. What was this wacko up to now?
Wapol loomed over Chess and Kuromarimo. "This is the real secret of my power."
Both of Wapol's subjects took nervous steps away from him. But it wasn't far enough. Wapol opened his colossal mouth and chomped on both of his subjects.
"What?" Luffy and Brainstorm cried, shocked at what they were seeing.
Wapol began chewing his crewmen all the way down till just their legs were sticking out of his mouth.
"He's eating them," Chopper cried.
"He's eating his crew!" Luffy yelled in horror.
Brainstorm brought a claw to his large forehead. "I do believe I am going to be rather ill." He mumbled woozily.
Once Wapol had swallowed Chess and Kuromarimo, steam started shooting out of his cannon arms and chimney top. "Be prepared for the ultimate result of combined bodies! Take a good look!"
"What happened?" Luffy asked. "Combined?"
"Bodies?" Brainstorm inquired.
Just then, the door to Wapol's stomach opened up. A figure stepped out. It was Chess and Kuromarimo in some kind of combination with each other. Kuromarimo's head was above Chess' head and their clothes had been mixed together, making them look indeed like a fusion.
"We're the strongest fighter of the Drum Kingdom. Chessmarimo!"
Brainstorm frowned. "Good sir, did you not just merely fuse their clothing together?"
"That's so cool!" Luffy went gaga over the new combination that made Chessmarmo.
Brainstorm sighed. There was no point in correcting the boy. "Hopeless," he muttered. "Absolutely hopeless."
"You'd better not underestimate them," Kureha warned them, causing Brainstorm and Luffy to look at her. "If they were weak, why didn't the villagers do anything to chase them away from this country?"
Wapol let out a laugh. "The first rule of the Drum Kingdom is whoever dares to go up against the king must die! I am everything to this kingdom because this kingdom belongs to me, and so does this castle!" He looked up at the pirate flag. "So I won't allow anyone to put that stupid flag that belongs to that fake doctor at the top of my castle. It makes my castle look worthless!"
He aimed one of his cannon arms and fired. It seemed that nobody could do anything to prevent the cannonball from striking the tower. It blew the flag off. Chopper's eyes went white as he looked at it.
"Pirate flag!" Luffy noted when he saw it.
"How unusual," Brainstorm commented. He looked at Chopper. "Chopper, what…"
That was when Luffy looked at Chopper, and he became furious. But it was Chopper who spoke first. And his anger was directed at Wapol.
"Why did you do that to Doctor Hiluluk's flag?" Chopper demanded as he ran towards Wapol.
"That's stupid. Kill them." Wapol ordered.
"Yes sir," Chessmarimo said.
But Chopper had enough. He ran up at Wapol and transformed into his man-like form. He leaped at Wapol and got right in his face.
"Doctor Hiluluk even thought about saving your life!" Chopper yelled at Wapol. He pulled back his fist, ready to punch the king, but stopped at the last minute. Wapol looked at him in confusion.
I will not hurt you," Chopper said finally. "So, you better get out of this country."
"What are you saying, Chopper?" Kureha demanded. "Do you think that he will understand what you are saying?"
"But…" Chopper tried to argue. Next to him, Wapol smirked. He fired both of his cannons at Chopper. The reindeer man fell to the ground in a heap.
"Chopper!" Kureha cried out in anguish.
"Hey, you! Babbling mouth!" Luffy called.
Everyone looked up. At the top of the tallest tower to the castle, Luffy was standing there, hanging onto the pirate flag that he had retied to the castle. Luffy looked down at Wapol angrily.
"You're just a bunch of frauds!" he yelled. "You became pirates without preparing to risk your lives. You will never understand the real meaning of this flag!"
"What did he just say?" Wapol demanded angrily.
Chopper looked up at Luffy weakly. "You…"
"The true meaning of that flag?" Wapol asked. "What's so important about that stupid flag anyway? It's just a stupid decoration for pirates."
"That's why you're just a worthless piece of crap," Luffy called back.
"What did you just say?" Wapol yelled at Luffy.
"This flag," Luffy shouted. "Is not something you can just play with for fun."
Chopper looked up at Luffy in amazement.
"You fool!" Wapol yelled. "Why do I have, the king of this country, have to play with that stupid flag anyway? And who told you to put it up again? Didn't I tell you that this empire belongs to me? If you still insist on putting that flag there, I will destroy that flag for you!" he aimed his cannon arm and fired.
"Luffy!" Brainstorm cried out in concern.
"Get out of the way!" Chopper cried.
"Who will let you destroy this flag?" Luffy questioned Wapol. "This flag…is a symbol of faith!" The cannon ball that Wapol fired struck the tower, seeming to have blasted Luffy.
Chopper froze at Luffy's words.
"He got it," Kureha said.
"Luffy!" Brainstorm cried out.
Wapol merely laughed. "Just die, you idiot!"
Brainstorm rounded on Wapol and Chessmarimo. "That does it! Consider me, extremely miffed!" He opened his brain and began charging electricity. Then he let out as a bolt of lightning towards the laughing king. That laughter soon changed to cries of pain as the electricity zapped him.
"King Wapol!" Chessmarimo cried as Wapol fell to the ground again.
"See!" a voice called.
Everyone managed to look up and saw that, despite his coat now being in tatters, Luffy and the flag were perfectly intact.
"This flag will never be broken!" Luffy yelled out.
Wapol growled as he started getting back up to his feet.
"I don't know whose pirate flag this is," Luffy continued. "But this flag is a promise of life! It's not just a thing that anyone can play with!" He looked at Wapol with a look of utter rage. "A person like you doesn't have the right to destroy this flag and laugh about it!"
Wapol and Chessmarimo flinched at Luffy's tone.
Chopper stared up at Luffy. This is a real pirate. He thought to himself. He's so great.
"Hey, reindeer!" Luffy yelled down to Chopper. "I'm going to beat them up real soon! So, what are you going to do about it?"
Chopper looked at him confused. "Me?"
"You idiots!" Wapol yelled as he aimed with his cannon hand. "If you really want to protect that stupid flag, I will destroy all of you together with it."
Brainstorm's eyes narrowed. "I'm afraid I will not allow you to carry on this atrocious behavior any longer!" He opened his head and began to charge up electricity.
"King Wapol!" Chessmarimo cried. With his four hands, he shot two large flaming arrows at Brainstorm. "Marimo's snow melting arrow!"
Brainstorm saw the attack coming and realized that he would have to hold off from fighting Wapol. He instead created an electrical field around himself. The arrows were destroyed when they hit the force field.
Chopper saw this as his chance to attack Wapol, so he ran forward and swung his fist. But Chessmarimo saw it coming and blocked it with one of his.
"That's right!" Luffy encouraged from the tower. "Just beat them up, reindeer!"
Kureha smiled as she saw Chopper face down Chessmarimo. "Finally, you've shown your courage."
Chessmarimo chuckled as he stood between Wapol and Chopper. "Sorry," he said to Chopper. "But I won't let you lay a finger on King Wapol."
Chopper shrunk down to his smaller form as he glared at them.
"You're a very strange creature," Chessmarimo said. "You must be the snow monster that the villagers talked about. No one in the kingdom likes you. What a pathetic loser you are."
That's not true. Chopper thought. He remembered the way Gwen hugged him. She said he wasn't a monster. She liked him.
"You don't have a single friend in this place," Chessmarimo continued. "Why do you bother helping this kingdom? It's so funny."
Brainstorm growled. They sure had a lot of nerve to talk about Chopper like that.
"Shut up!" Chopper yelled. "I will continue to fight! As long as Dr. Hiluluk's flag's up there, I will…"
"Who says he doesn't have anyone?" Luffy asked as he stretched his arms out to another tower. "He has me! I am his friend!" Then Luffy launched himself from the tower and crashing into the snow. Wapol and Chessmarimo were launched into the air.
"If that's the case, then I too offer the hand, er…claw, of friendship to young Chopper!" Brainstorm said as he fired electricity from his pincers at Wapol and Chessmarimo. They cried in pain from being electrocuted.
"How dare he continue to shock me!" Wapol yelled in outrage. "I have had enough!"
Chopper looked at Luffy as he picked himself up from the snow. "Are you okay, straw-hat boy?"
Luffy grinned. "I'm fine cause my body is made of rubber."
"Rubber?" Chopper asked in surprise.
"Ben, Chopper," Luffy said. "Can you two take care of that guy for me?" he pointed at Chessmarimo.
"Consider it accomplished Luffy." Brainstorm said as he started walking towards Chessmarimo.
Chopper looked at the fused being and nodded. "Two against two."
Luffy's grin widened. "Then it's a deal." He got up and faced Wapol. "I will take care of this babbling mouth guy."
Wapol faced him. "Stop jumping around. You're giving me a headache."
Chopper and Brainstorm faced Chessmarimo. "I'm not confused anymore." Chopper said determinedly.
"You really think you can defeat us?" Chessmarimo questioned him.
"I would not expect incompetent buffoons like you to understand," Brainstorm said. "But against intellectually superior opponents like us, you will find yourselves clearly at a disadvantage."
Kureha smiled to herself. Things were about to heat up big time.
"My name is Tony Tony Chopper," Chopper said. "The greatest doctor in the world gave me this name." He glared at Chessmarimo. "Even though Dr. Hiluluk forgave you, I cannot forgive you for laughing at his death!"
Chessmarimo chuckled. "It is us who cannot forgive you, monster! We will crush you with our own feet!"
Chopper reached into his pants and pulled out what appeared to be a small orange jawbreaker. "Rumble ball." He said. "A rumble ball will have an effect for three minutes. We will defeat you in three minutes."
Brainstorm smirked. Things were getting interesting.
Chessmarimo snorted. "Three minutes? Don't make me laugh. You could spend your entire lifetime and never defeat me!"
"Three minutes?" Luffy asked. "That's so cool!"
"3 minutes?" Wapol asked. "That sounds great."
Chopper threw the ball into the air. Kureha chuckled. "The fun is about to start."
Chopper caught the ball with his teeth and crunched down on it. Chessmarimo was not intimidated and loaded flaming arrows to two bows again.
"A person like you?" Chessmarimo asked. "What can you do? Marimo's Snow Melting Arrow!"
But Brainstorm would have none of that. He fired bolts of electricity from his brain which destroyed the arrows. Chopper then took the offensive.
"Walking point!" He yelled as he turned into a full reindeer that charged at Chessmarimo, who looked at him curiously.
"Isn't it just a regular transformation?" he asked. "I knew that you've got the power of a devil fruit. You must be a reindeer man just like Dalton."
"Heavy point," Chopper said as he became his more human like form. He charged at Chessmarimo. "You are wrong. I am a human reindeer!"
"It doesn't make a difference anyway!" Chessmarimo replied as he gripped a hammer in each of his four hands. "I know that you can transform into three different forms. Marimo's Super Surprise Quattro Hammer!" He gripped the hammers tightly as Chopper came closer. "I've seen through all of your forms just like Dalton. It's just a normal transformation to increase power."
Chopper then said in a soft voice. "Jumping Point."
"That kind of power cannot defeat me!" Chessmarimo said as he slammed one of the hammers down on the spot Chopper had been. But before the hammer had landed, Chopper had leaped into the air. And it was a very incredible jump. "What's this?" He looked up and saw that Chopper had changed. "What kind of form is that?"
Chopper's Heavy Point had become slimmer and more of his reindeer features had been added. Particularly his legs, which he had used for his impressive jumping. "What kind of form
"Isn't it a half-human, half animal form?" Chessmarimo asked as Chopper started descending. "How interesting."
"Guard point!" Chopper cried.
When Chopper was close enough, Chessmarimo struck with another of his hammers. But what he saw bouncing around on the snow like a ball was not what he was expecting. Chopper was in his small form again. But his fur had expanded and made him look like a literal furball.
"Again?" Chessmarimo cried. "That's impossible."
Chopper just looked at Chessmarimo. "You can't hurt me."
"You should only be able to transform into three forms," Chessmarimo said. "What are you?" Suddenly he cried out in pain as he was once again electrified by Brainstorm. Angrily, Chessmarimo turned around to glare at him.
"You seem to have forgotten the common fact that I was still a participant in this conflict."
"The rumble ball is a medicine that creates waves to disturb frequencies emitted by devil fruits," Chopper explained, causing Chessmarimo and Brainstorm to look at him. "I have spent five years doing the research on this medicine and discovered that it can help me transform into four other different forms."
"You can transform into seven different forms?" Chessmarimo demanded. "So what? How can that power help you anyway?"
Luffy froze when he heard all that and turned around to look at Chopper. "What?" Then his eyes lit up like stars. "Seven different forms? That reindeer is really interesting!"
Kureha raised an eyebrow at Luffy. "What's wrong with him?"
Brainstorm groaned. It was amazing how fast a running gag would become annoying.
"Aren't you going to fight me?" Wapol demanded.
"That stupid trick can't confuse me!" Chessmarimo said as he decided to attack again.
"This is not just a trick," Chopper said. "Arm point!"
Chopper's reindeer body became more like his human form without any of the human qualities. His arms had come very muscular.
Chessmarimo swung one of his hammers at Chopper, but the reindeer struck it with one of his hands, causing the hammer to shatter.
"Let me warn you," Chopper said. "I can destroy a huge rock with just one kick."
Chessmarimo was furious. He pulled out axes to replace the hammers. "Marimo's Super Surprise Marimo Quattro Axe!"
But before they could attack Chopper, bolts of electricity came from Brainstorm that grabbed the axes and yanked them out of Chessmarimo's hands. The being looked at Brainstorm dumbfounded.
"Now, now," Brainstorm lectured. "It is rather dangerous to be engaging with such sharp instruments of destruction. Don't you agree?"
Chessmarimo glared at Brainstorm before looking back at Chopper. He was back to his regular little form. He seemed to have his hands together and scoping out Chessmarimo.
"I'm looking for your weakspot," Chopper said. "This time, I will defeat you. Scope!"
"What?" Luffy asked as he looked at Chopper. "Is he going to release his ultimate power?"
"Who can do that?" Kureha asked. "You're so stupid."
"Stay out of it, auntie!" Luffy yelled back at her.
Chessmarimo smirked at Chopper. "What can you do by just looking?" He charged at him. "I'm invincible! Let's see how you can escape from me now! I will get you this time!"
But Chopper had already figured out Chessmarimo's weakness. His chins. Just as Chessmarimo came at him, Chopper turned into his jumping point and leaped into the air again. Chessmarimo stopped and turned around to face Chopper but couldn't find him anywhere.
"Where did he go?" Chessmarimo wondered as he looked all around for the reindeer.
"Sakura…"
Chessmarimo looked down and saw Chopper shooting out of the snow. His eyes widened.
"Kick!" Chopper cried, striking Chessmarimo in his chins. The blow shot Chessmarimo into the air. An imprint like a sakura on their chins. Chessmarimo collapsed. Chopper turned back to normal. "Three minutes."
Brainstorm turned back to normal. "That was awesome, Chopper! Where can I get some of those? Oh, man do you have any idea what would happen if one of my guys ate a rumble ball. Chopper, you're a genius."
"Don't mess with me!" Chopper yelled at Ben as he started dancing happily. "Saying that stuff doesn't make me happy. Jerk!"
Ben grinned as he looked to see if Luffy had beaten Wapol. But he noticed that something was wrong. Luffy was there. But there was no Wapol.
"Uh…Luffy?" he asked. "Where's Wapol?"
"What?" Luffy looked around and saw that Wapol had in fact flown the coop.
"Great," Ben said. "Now where did that guy go?"
"He used the snow hippo to climb up here," Kureha said. "So there's no way he can get down there. He must be around here somewhere."
Luffy swore. "How come I didn't notice when he left."
Ben deadpanned. "You were too busy staring at Chopper to notice."
Luffy clenched his teeth. "That jerk! I swear that I will find him and beat him up!"
Ben's eyes widened. "Luffy…you don't think…he got into the castle." He paled. "Gwen!" He started running back inside the castle.
Inside, Wapol stared in shock. The inside of his castle was covered in snow and ice. "What's going on here?" He asked. "Is this really my drum castle? Who did this to my castle?" Wapol was furious. "They will be sorry for this. I will kill them all." Just then he hears a door open. He looked up.
Gwen poked her head out of the door. She had been worried sick about the others and she was pretty certain that she had heard explosions from outside. At the risk of Kureha's wrath, Gwen wanted to know what was going on. As she started to leave her room, she noticed Wapol. "Who are you?" she asked.
Wapol sneered up at her. "You must be a friend of that straw-hat boy and the freak kid."
Gwen's eyes narrowed. "You're him, aren't you? You're Wapol?"
Wapol chuckled darkly. "That's right. I am the king of this castle."
Gwen's eyes darkened. "Good." She said. "Cause I have a bone to pick with you."
"Eh?" Wapol asked, raising an eyebrow at her. "What are you talking about? I've never met you before."
"It's not what you did to me," Gwen said as she glared at Wapol. "But what you did to Chopper." Gwen created mana disks and started throwing them at Wapol.
The large king grunted in pain as each mana disk slammed into his body.
"How could you?" Gwen demanded from her spot on the upper level of the castle. "How could you take away the one person who treated Chopper with kindness? Do you have any idea what you did to Chopper?"
Wapol laughed. "Why should I? I am the king! I can do whatever I want! If I want a stupid quack doctor dead, it will be done!"
Gwen tightened her fists. "Not anymore!"
Wapol snarled. What was with this crew and getting in his way? Well, it was time to put this little girl in her place.
"Tempestus!" Gwen cried. The snow in the area rose up and slammed into Wapol, sending him crashing into the wall. He staggered for a moment before looking up at Gwen in shock. "How did you…"
But then a rubber foot slammed into Wapol's back, crashing him into the other wall. Gwen looked ahead to see Luffy and Ben running towards her.
"Ben! Luffy!"
"Gwen!" Both boys yelled. "You're okay!"
Gwen nodded before glaring down at Wapol. "I was just about to teach this guy a lesson for all he's done to Chopper.
Wapol laughed wickedly. "Just stop that nonsense!"
Ben and Luffy glared back at Wapol. "He's strong," Luffy commented.
"He just doesn't take a hint."
Wapol was standing next to two large doors. "Behind me is a weapon room and I have the only key to open it. Inside this room are so many weapons that you can't even imagine. And if I eat those weapons, then they will become part of my body. Be prepared for the ultimate human-weapon! The scariest weapon in the world!"
Ben activated the Omnitrix. "Not if we can help it. Let's see how you handle Humongousaur!" He slammed the dial down. But he turned into Chromastone. "Oh, come on!"
Wapol flinched. "Just how many of those things can you turn into! No matter, I will open the door now!" he reached into his pocket. But he found nothing. "Aaah, where's my key?"
Chromastone smirked. "You were saying about the scariest weapon in the world?" he mocked.
"I still have one last trick up my sleeve!" Wapol yelled as he ran away.
"Stop!" Luffy yelled. He and Chromastone ran after Wapol. Gwen was about to as well when something caught her eye. Lying on the ground was a key. It had to be the key that Wapol was talking about. It must have fallen out of his pocket either between her or Luffy's attacks. She walked over and picked it up. She had to make sure that Wapol didn't get his hands on it again. Pocketing the key, she ran after Chromastone and Luffy.
The chase was on, dashing up through the spiral stairway that led to the top of the castle. Wapol had managed to somehow squeeze his way through the door to the top and continued running. He swore. "There is too much snow covering the roof!" he ran to a nearby door and flung it open. "I will never forgive them! I will teach them a lesson on how to disrespect the king! I will show them my real power!"
Wapol walked over to a something covered in a giant tarp and snow. He threw the tarp off to reveal a large cannon that resembled a hippo with seven holes to fire. "Royal Drum Crown 7 Shot Bliking Cannon!"
"Wapol!"
Wapol turned to see Luffy, Chromastone, and Gwen standing at the doorway.
"We found you," Luffy said as he glared at Wapol. "I'm gonna beat you up this time!"
Wapol laughed at them. "You're the one who that will get beaten up!" he yelled. "Just die!" he adjusted the cannon so that it aimed at the three. The three flinched as Wapol pulled the switch to fire it.
After a minute, nothing had happened. All four were confused. Just then, a white bird flew out of one of the cannon holes.
"A bird?" Wapol asked.
"A snow bird!" Luffy smiled when he saw it.
"How dare you insult me?" Wapol "I am the King of Drum Kingdom! Did you know that I am the king?"
Gwen created a tendril of mana and wrapped it around the former king.
"You are nothing more than a bully who enjoys the suffering of others," she said coldly. "You don't deserve to call yourself a king."
"I don't care if he's a king or not," Luffy said. "I don't care if he's a simple person or not." He grinned at Wapol. "Because I'm a pirate."
Wapol shivered as the three started to advance towards him. "You said that you're a pirate and you don't care if I'm a king? You're so wrong! Drum Kingdom is a member of the World Government! Listen. If you hurt me, you will become the World Government's enemy."
Chromastone and Gwen paused. An enemy of the World Government? Could they afford for something like that to happen? Ben remembered when he had caused an entire planet to hate him when he tried to stop a war. He wasn't in the mood for another one.
"I already told you," Luffy said as he continued walking towards Wapol. "I don't care about that stuff because this is just a fight."
"You fool!" Wapol yelled as he struggled against Gwen's mana restraint. "You better die!" he opened his mouth wide, hoping to chomp the three with one bite. Gwen quickly used her power to push Wapol up against the wall.
"Can't eat us if you can't reach us," Chromastone said smugly.
"That's not all the Munch Munch Fruit's powers can do!" Wapol said. "Tongue Cannon!"
Wapol's tongue turned into a cannon.
"There's a cannon coming out of his mouth!" Luffy cried in shock.
"Die!" Wapol yelled as he fired the cannon. An explosion boomed and blew part of the tower wall off. As the smoke cleared, Wapol could not see his foes anywhere. He laughed. "You underestimated me!"
"Actually, you're the one who underestimated us,"
Wapol turned his head to see Luffy, Gwen, and Chromastone right behind him.
"Wha…?" Luffy latched onto Wapol's back and started winding himself. "Hey! What are you doing to me?"
By the time Luffy was done, he grinned. "Gum Gum…"
"What are you doing?" Wapol demanded.
"Slingshot!" Luffy cried as he unwound himself and shot Wapol upward. Wapol was blasted into the air and even crashed through the tower top. But he didn't get far due to his massive build. (In case you guys were wondering, Wapol did not go into his Slim Up Wapol stage because he didn't have a need to in this version.) Struggling to get out, Wapol saw Dr. Hiluluk's flag flapping in the wind. Then he saw that Luffy was right next to him. He screamed.
Luffy grinned as he bumped his fists together. "A person who isn't prepared to risk his life," he said. "Doesn't have the right to touch other's pirate flags."
Wapol whimpered. Luffy stretched his arms back farther than he ever did before. "Gum Gum…"
"Wait!" Wapol pleaded. "If you let me go, I will give you a position in my kingdom!"
But Luffy would not hear any of that. "Bazooka!" he yelled.
The blast knocked Wapol out of the tower, through the air, into the sky, and far, far away from Drum Island.
Wapol, the king, had been utterly defeated.
As all of this took place, so had a lot been for the others.
Riding on a ski-lift like device to the mountain was Kevin, Zoro, Sanji, Nami, Usopp, Vivi, an injured Dalton, and the villagers. They had come up to the mountain to put an end to Wapol's tyranny once and for all. Dalton had even been able to use a bunch of explosives to take Wapol out. Kevin, who had swiped a jacket from one of Wapol's men, got out and started running towards.
"Kevin!" Nami yelled. "Where are you going?"
"Where does it look like I'm going?" Kevin asked. "I'm going to see if Gwen's okay. And if that Wapol guy's done anything to her…" he let his threat hang there.
"Go for it, Kevin!" Usopp cheered. "We're all rooting for you."
Sanji dashed past him. "I can't let anything happen to Gwen-chan." As he and Kevin reached the castle.
"Yaaaaah!" both boys looked up to see Luffy coming down at them.
"Sanji and Kevin?" Luffy asked.
"Luffy!" Both boys cried as he crashed into them, kicking up a huge cloud of snow.
"You idiot!" Kevin yelled as he got out of the snow. "Are you trying to kill us?"
Luffy chuckled. "Sorry. I thought you were one of them because you're wearing their clothes. So you were climbing up here to see us?"
"Luffy!" Sanji yelled as he grabbed the rubber boy by the jacket. "Where's Gwen-chan?"
"She's fine." Luffy reassured him.
"Guys!"
Gwen and Ben were seen running from the castle towards them. Sanji's eyes lit up in delight at seeing Gwen.
"Gwen-chan!" Sanji cried happily. He was about to run towards Gwen when Kevin shoved him into the snow and started running towards her.
"Luffy!"
Luffy turned to see the others coming from the lift towards him. Dalton came behind.
"Luffy!" Nami said. "What happened?" She looked ahead. "Gwen's all better!"
Gwen and Kevin took one look at each other and immediately ran faster. Soon, they crashed into a loving embrace.
"Gwen," Kevin sighed as he held Gwen close to his chest. "How are you feeling?"
"I feel a lot better," Gwen said as she nuzzled closer to him.
"I was afraid," Kevin said in a low voice. "I was afraid that…"
Gwen sighed as she looked up at him. "It's okay."
The two looked up at each other and then went into a gentle but passionate kiss.
"Awww," Nami and Vivi both cooed at the sight.
Usopp blinked and felt his cheeks redden a little at seeing the couple.
Zoro was unaffected by it but he did notice that Sanji was scowling at Kevin as the Osmosian kissed Gwen and smirked. Fuming, Sanji looked over at Luffy.
"What were you doing on top of that castle anyway?" Sanji asked.
"I just chased that stupid king away!" Luffy answered.
Dalton's eyes widened. "So that thing that just flew away was really Wapol? How about the other two?"
Luffy grinned. "Oh, Ben and that reindeer already took care of them. Hey, listen up. We got a new crew member."
"What?" Usopp asked.
Dalton looked at Luffy in confusion. "Reindeer?" he looked over and saw Chopper doing his reverse hiding near a tree. His jaw dropped. Then he took a moment to get a better look at Chopper. He noticed Chopper's blue nose. Then his memory kicked in. That nose…that nose was the same as the one of the monster he prevented from attacking Wapol all those years ago.
Realizing what Chopper had done, Dalton got down on his knees and bowed. "Thank you very much. I am sure that from now on, Drum Kingdom will become a better country."
Chopper stared at Dalton curiously. But then the other villagers noticed Chopper.
"Ah!"
"Look!"
"What is that weird creature?"
"Reindeer? No, it's a monster!"
The villagers started getting their guns prepared to aim them at Chopper.
Gwen immediately got in between them and Chopper, creating a wall of mana. The villagers gasped.
"You hurt him," She warned darkly. "I will make you regret it."
Chopper blinked when he saw Gwen defend him.
"Mon…" Usopp was about to cry out but Kevin grabbed his nose.
"You know," Kevin said. "Your constant screaming is really starting to tick me off, Usopp. So do me a favor…shut it."
Usopp gulped nervously as he nodded. Kevin let go of his nose and walked over to Gwen and Chopper. Chopper felt his body tense up as Kevin looked down at him.
"Who's the little guy?" he asked.
Chopper did a double take at Kevin. Wasn't he going to call him a freak? A monster? Evil? How in the world could a guy look at a blue nose, two legged reindeer and not be surprised?
"His name's Chopper," Gwen said as she looked at the reindeer fondly. "He took care of me while I was sick."
Kevin looked back and forth between Gwen and Chopper. "Him?"
"Well, him and Dr. Kureha," Gwen admitted.
"Is that so?" Kevin asked. He looked at Chopper and started moving closer to him. Chopper felt nervous as Kevin got down on one knee to get a better look at the reindeer.
"You helped Gwen get better?" He asked. Gulping, Chopper nervously nodded. Kevin didn't say anything for a moment. Then… "Thank you."
Chopper let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.
"Gwen's important to me," Kevin said as he started standing up. "Thank you for taking care of her."
Chopper stared at Kevin.
"Everyone!" Kureha yelled, causing everyone to look at her. "Is everyone, okay? Just take all the hurt people inside. And that means, everyone. Okay?"
"Yes, ma'am!" Came the reply. One by one, everyone started moving towards the castle.
"So, Gwen," Nami said. "Are you well enough for us to leave?"
Gwen shook her head. "Dr. Kureha told me that I still needed to wait three days."
Nami bit her lip. That would not do at all. She had read an article a few days back containing important news about Arabasta. She kept it a secret from the others because she knew that Gwen needed a doctor. But she didn't know if they could wait anymore days.
As everyone began filing into the castle, Kevin walked up to Kureha.
"What do you want, kid?" Kureha asked curiously.
"You're Dr. Kureha?" he asked.
"That would be me," Kureha said with a grin. "Why do you ask?"
Kevin looked at her. "Thank you for taking care of Gwen. Thank you a lot."
Kureha's grin turned into a soft smile. She had seen Kevin and Gwen kissing. And being 139 years old, she could tell young love when she saw it.
Once everyone was inside, Kureha went straight to working on Dalton's wounds. Gwen was placed back into bed while being tended to by Kevin, Nami, Vivi, and Sanji.
"Didn't I tell you to stay in bed?" Kureha said as she came into the room. "You're lucky all your friends are here. I'm not in the mood to help too many injured people." She looked over at Dalton. "By the way, Dalton. Do you know where's the key to the weapon room is?"
Dalton, who had been placed on a bed, looked at her. "Why? Do you need it?"
"It's none of your business," Kureha said as she took a drink of a bottle she was carrying.
Dalton sat up. "Wapol always carried the key with him. I think it flew away just like Wapol did."
"Really?" Kureha asked. "That's too bad."
"Hold on!" Gwen said. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the key. "Here it is!"
Dalton stared. "How did you get that key?"
"Wapol dropped it," Gwen replied. "I kept it with me so he couldn't get into his weapon room."
Kureha stared. "Is that real key? What's going on here?"
"It's the real one," Gwen said. "Wapol dropped it when we fought him."
Nami quickly took the key from Gwen's hands and dangled it in front of Kureha. "I believe the key to a weapon room is enough to deal with."
"Nami…" Gwen started to protest.
Kureha's eyes narrowed. "You're very brave to use this key to negotiate with me. You're not a good girl like your friend is."
Nami just chuckled to herself as she handed Kureha the key.
"Okay," Kureha said as she put on her jacket and started to walk away. "I'll take this for the medical expenses. However, as a doctor, I can't let her go."
"Wait!" Nami said. "Then just give me back the key."
Kureha snorted. "Listen to me," she said. "I will go do something downstairs and I will leave this door open. And no one will be left in this room." She pointed at Gwen. "So, she can't run away from here." she started walking outside the room. "The rest of you, follow me. I need your help."
"Yes, ma'am," the townspeople said as they followed Dr. Kureha out.
Nami groaned. "I feel that she wants us to take Gwen and get out of here."
"That's what I heard too," Vivi admitted.
"Same here," Kevin said. Then he noticed that Sanji was still fawning over Gwen and growled. "And you will stop making googly eyes at my girl!"
Gwen was not sure if Kevin had realized his slip up, but she loved it when she heard Kevin refer to her as his girl.
Dalton just looked at their group curiously.
"This is so much fun!"
Chopper was flying through the air on top of Big Chill. Ben had decided to show the little reindeer some of the different things he could turn into. Big Chill did a barrel roll, causing Chopper to squeal in delight.
"Are you done yet?" Luffy called up to them. "Come and be a pirate with us!"
Big Chill chuckled as they flew through the air. "Looks like Luffy really wants you to be a pirate." He said.
Chopper lowered his head in concern.
"What's wrong?" Big Chill asked.
"Well, it's just…"
"If you're worried about being called monster then don't worry," Big Chill reassured him. "I turn into a whole bunch of monsters. People would be more scared of me than they would be of you."
Chopper looked up at him. "Really?"
"And trust me," Big Chill said to him. "We're not in the least bit bothered about you. Didn't you see how excited Luffy was when you used the Rumble Ball?"
"True…" Chopper muttered to himself.
Big Chill sighed. "If it makes a difference, Chopper, I would like to have you join the crew too. You're pretty cool."
"Jerk!" Chopper said while giggling. "That doesn't make me happy at all!"
Big Chill chuckled as they gently descended back down. Chopper climbed off Big Chill's back while he turned back to normal.
"Hey guys!"
The others turned to see Vivi, Kevin, Sanji, Nami, and Gwen come out.
"Gwen!" Luffy called. "Tell Chopper to join my crew!"
Gwen sighed. Luffy was way too forward when it came to recruiting someone to his crew. But…Gwen remembered Kureha asking her to heal the wound in Chopper's heart. Would it be easier to heal if he came with them?
"Chopper," Gwen said as she looked down at the little reindeer. "I would really like for you to join our crew."
"Gwen told use everything," Kevin said to Chopper. "If you're worried about being treated like a monster, don't worry. Trust me. I know what's like to be a monster."
Chopper looked up at Gwen and Kevin in awe.
"We don't care if you're a talking reindeer or have a blue nose," Gwen reassured the little one. "I think you are one of the kindest, sweetest people I have ever met."
"And if you wasn't for you and that doctor," Kevin added. But he didn't need to add anymore. He wasn't good with words but Chopper could see that he was grateful for healing Gwen.
"If it wasn't for you," Sanji said. "We'd never see Gwen-chan again."
"We really appreciate what you did," Usopp said, having overcome his original shock at Chopper's appearance.
"Our ship does need a doctor of its own," Nami added.
"And if you came along," Ben said. "We'd have one."
"So what do you say?" Luffy said as he grinned at the reindeer. "Join my crew?"
Chopper looked up at all these people. They didn't care what he looked. They didn't think he was a monster. In fact, Ben could turn into monsters. They all saw Chopper as one of them. And the way Gwen treated him was just like Hiluluk. It was like…
Like he had a family. Tears dripped down Chopper's eyes.
"So," Kevin said to Chopper. "You in, kid?"
"YES!" Chopper yelled happily.
AN: The end for now.
