A/N: Partial credit goes to EvanderAdvent.
Last time:
"STRAIGHT AHEAD! S-STRAIGHT AHEAD!" Usopp cried.
"What are you talking about?!" Nami asked. "We've just been eaten!"
"STRAIGHT AHEAD! STRAIGHT AHEAD!" Luffy yelled.
A few seconds later, I felt like there's something behind us. Running to the back, I saw some kind of light pierce through the fish. The light went past us and pierced through the other side. Thanks to that, we made it out! Without a doubt, this was thanks to Brogy and Dorry. I will forever be in their debt.
"We flew through!" Luffy shouted.
I can't believe that we're actually out of the goldfish. "No turning back, now! We're going straight ahead!" I yelled.
"Huge! That was huge!" Luffy stated.
"They even pierced the ocean itself!" Usopp cried. "This is the true strength... of Elbaf's warriors! It's so awesome~!" At that statement, Merry landed in the ocean.
A few minutes after we landed, I walked to the girls' room. I saw Zoro holding so many weights as I walked, thinking that he's training on his own and that his strength is above normal human's strength. Once I was in the girls' bedroom, I took out the Keychain and examined it. It seems similiar to the one on Starlight. Thinking that it might be for decoration, I summoned my Keyblade and swap the chains.
When I did, I was really surprised with the result! Starlight changed! The color of the guard is now yellow. The blade is like Zoro's katanas. And the teeth, which is on the back of the blade, is an axe, similiar to Brogy's. I seem to have forgotten to mention that on the end of the Keychain is a shield with the letter 'w' on it. I was in awe at the sight of the Keyblade.
'Warrior's Pride,' came Voice's voice. 'That's the name of your new Keyblade. Whatever Keychains you switch on your Keyblade, changes the weapon itself. It also makes the weapon stronger.'
"Then I guess that means that I have to practice with this Keyblade," I said. "To get use to the power and control. If what you said is true, then I better get started."
'Well said, Xion.'
Just when I was going to walk out to start my training, I heard a shout, which surprised me, causing me to drop my weapon. When I grabbed it by the blade, below the teeth, it was a big mistake. The blade is really sharp, like a real sword. 'Goes to show you that not all Keyblades are the same. And I don't mean just by appearance,' I thought. I used the cure spell to heal the cut on my hand. 'I have to be extra careful with this weapon.'
That said, I got my black coat out and change into it. It has more endurance than normal clothes, so there's less chance in me hurting myself. After I changed into my coat, I walked out of the room.
The moment I walked out, I saw Nami on the floor, breathing hard. Princess Vivi was at her side and her hand was on Nami's forehead. Having a bad feeling about this, I placed my training on hold and ran to them.
"What's wrong?" I asked, placing my hand on Nami's forehead. My eyes widen when I felt it. "Emergency! Everyone get over here!"
"What's wrong, Xion?!" Luffy asked, as he, Usopp, Carue and Sanji walked out of the kitchen.
"Nami-san's come down with a high fever!" Vivi explained.
"NAMI-SAN HAS WHAT?!" Sanji asked, pushing Luffy and Usopp out of the way.
"Summon: Ryu Dragon, Komory Bat and Fin Fatale!" I called, as the three needed Dream Eaters came out of their cards. "I want you three to search and see if there's an island nearby! If you see one, report back to the ship! I'll then call the rest of you back! Now go! Go! Go!" At that order, Wyvern and Fang flew off to search for an island and Torpedo dove into the water to search for one.
Once they left, I carried Nami on my back. "Now as for the rest of you! First we need to bring Nami to the girl's room! I need a clean towel and a bucket of ice cold water! Now move it!" With that, the boys, except Zoro, went to get the needed items and Princess Vivi helped me get Nami to her room.
When I placed the sick girl gently on the bed and tucked her in to make her comfortable, I summoned Lapin. "Princess Vivi, give me the Eternal Pose to Arabasta," I said. The princess handed me to Log Pose and I handed it to the Majik Lapin. "I need you to steer the ship. Make sure it's going where this Eternal Pose is pointing. Otherwise, we'll get lost and Nami won't get better." At that, my rabbit Dream Eater saluted using her ears and ran to the helm.
"We got the clean towels and ice cold water!" Luffy exclaimed, as he, Usopp and Sanji ran in with the said items.
"Good. Put them on the table," I ordered.
"Is Nami-san going to die? Is she, Vivi-chan? Xion-san?" Sanji asked, crying.
"She won't if we bring her to a doctor," I said, as I placed the cold, wet towel on Nami's head.
"It's probably due to the climate. One of the obstacles seafarers invariably face upon entering the Grand Line is the threat of illness due to the unnatural climate," the princess explained. "It is not unusual for fearless pirates. Even those with great reputations in other seas to succumb to the climate and pass away. Even the slightest of symptons may lead to death if they are not treated immediately." Those words only made Sanji cry even more. "Is there anyone on this ship who has even the slightest medical knowledge." Luffy pointed at Nami and Usopp pointed at me.
"But she'll get better if she eats meat. Right, Sanji?" Luffy said. And what, in gods name, made him think that?
"There's no meal that can help a sick person," I said, as I look for a medical book. "For illness, we need to give her medicine or a certain kind of remedy. Even if you prepare food for Nami, when a person is sick, they lose their appetite."
"Besides that, I make Nami-san, Xion-san and Vivi-chan food with a hundred times more care than yours. I give them all the freshest meat and vegetables. And then all the rotten shit is what I feed you guys."
"Oi!" Usopp complained, slapping Sanji's hand.
"But even so, it still taste good," Luffy laughed.
When I found a medical book, I flipped the pages to search for the illness that Nami has.
"Then just feed her all of them," Luffy suggested. When I heard that, I dropped the book, causing everyone's eyes to be at me.
"What in the world makes you think that a sick person has that big an appetite?" I asked, picking up the book. "Didn't you hear what I said earlier? When a person is sick, they lose their appetite. Give her as many food as you want, but Nami can only eat at least a small handful."
"F-fourty degrees celcius?!" Princess Vivi gasped.
"Her fever went up?!"
"There'll be doctors once we get to Arabasta, right?" Usopp asked. "How much longer 'til we get there, Vivi?"
"I'm not sure, but I don't think we can get there within a week," the princess said.
"Is being sick really that painful?" Luffy asked. And just what does he mean by that?
"I dunno. I've never been before," Usopp and Sanji replied.
"JUST WHAT ARE YOU PEOPLE?!" princess and I demanded.
"Can't you even see the pain she's in right now?!" I added. "A fever of fourty degrees is a dire matter! A fever that high is most likely life-threatening!"
Oh, how I wish I didn't say that. For the three boys and Carue, when did he get here, were panicing. Their panic were driving me crazy at the situation, I think I popped a blood vessel.
"IF YOU PEOPLE ARE JUST GOING TO CRY AND PANIC ABOUT IT THEN GET OUT!" I shouted, kicking them, except for the princess, out of the room, hard. "I already have my Dream Eaters search for an island so call me if you see Wyvern, Fang or Torpedo!" With that, I shut the door close. Once I did, I slumped down and placed my hand on my head. "Man, those idiots."
"Xion. Are you sick, too?" Princess Vivi asked.
"It's not that I'm sick. It's just that I have a headache. Anyways, watch over Nami while I look up on what type of sickness she has."
"No..." came a weak voice. Vivi and I turned to Nami getting up. We both ran to her side to help her up. "In my desk drawer, there's a newspaper," she said. the princess went to get the paper. "Page ten..."
Vivi flipped to the page and I saw her eyes widen. "N-no... This can't be..." Vivi said.
"What's wrong, Princess Vivi?" I asked.
"'300,000 Imperial Soldiers have defected to join the Rebel Army.'" My eyes widened at the news. "At the outset, there were 600,000 Imperial Soldiers suppressing 400,000 rebels. But in one stroke, the odds have...!"
"Now the rebellion against Arabasta will start to gain momentum. That paper's three days ago," Nami said. "I'm sorry. Even if I showed it to you, it wouldn't have changed our ship's speed. I thought it would only cause you more stress, so I hid it."
"I understand what you're trying to do, Nami," I spoke. "However, if you die from sickness, then there's no way we'll get to Arabasta. Even if-"
"I'm fine. That thermometer's just broken," she lied. "Nobody has a body temperature of fourty degrees celcius. It's probably just a little heatstroke. I don't need to see a doctor. It'll go away by itself."
Despite Nami's attempt, my bad habit kicked in. "No. You're staying right here in this room," I said. "You're our trustworty navigator. And thermometers don't mistake people's temperature. Until a doctor sees you and gets you better, you're staying in bed."
"Xion, I'm telling you. I'm just-"
"NO! You are not fine! You are not all right! Do you really think that any of us are good at navigating than you?! And besides, what about your dream? If you push yourself too hard, you're dream won't come true! I left the navigating to Lapin, since someone, or rather somebody, will get us lost. But she's only following the Eternal Pose! We won't know when a storm will come up like you do and I won't forgive myself if we don't bring you to a doctor as fast as possible." I sighed when I realize that my words won't be enough to convince her. Not wanting to hear anything, I walked out of the room. "I'm going to get a drink of water."
When I got on deck, I saw Zoro and Lapin fighting. "WHAT ARE YOU TWO DOING?!" I questioned.
"This stupid rabbit of yours is taking this ship to the wrong direction!" Zoro shouted. "I looked at the cloud and when I saw that we weren't going where that cloud is going, I knew instantly that the ship is going the wrong way."
Raising my eyebrow in suspicion, I looked at Lapin. "Lapin, throw me the Eternal Pose." My Dream Eater threw me the said object and I saw that we were going the right way. "Maybe you need to stop trusting your instincts for once, Zoro. According to the Eternal Pose, we're going the right way. And in case if you didn't remember- Oh wait, that's right, you were asleep that time," I said. I was about to remind him what Princess Vivi warned us back when she was Ms. Wednesday, when I remembered that he was in dreamland that time. "Anyway, I don't remember trusting you to do the navigating, so do your training."
"What was that?!" Zoro asked.
"Oi, oi! Xion! I know how you feel and all, but wasn't that harsh?" Usopp asked.
"Harsh or not, I'm only stating the truth. Now all of you just go back to your business! When you see any of my Dream Eaters, call me!"
"Xion! I found one!" Luffy called.
"Which one?"
"The rabbit."
"I MEAN THE ONES THAT I SENT TO SEARCH FOR AN ISLAND NEARBY, IDIOT!" I irritatedly corrected, my teeth becoming shark-like. "My god! I feel like I can't trust any of you guys with anything! No wait! Let me correct that; I feel like I'm being trusted with everything here! Just why the hell am I in this crew anyway?! I didn't agree to become a mother for any of you guys! Sorry if I brought up any bad memories, but I just feel like I'm only here to look after all of you guys! Now then, if you see any of my Dream Eaters, that are not on this ship, call me! Lapin, go back to steering the ship!" After saying those words, I left to the kitchen to get some water and my rabbit Dream Eater went to do its job.
*WITH THE GUYS**GENERAL'S P.O.V*
"That bastard," Zoro growled. "Just who does she think she is?"
"But you know, she's not wrong," Sanji said.
"What was that?!"
"Well, we do always rely on her for everything. Helping us move the ship, leading it out of that crazy storm, protecting us, we even relied on her to save you guys back in Little Garden when you, Nami and Vivi were going to turn into statues," Usopp stated.
"So, what do you think we should do?" Luffy asked.
"Not relying on her so much and give her a break. Right now, Nami's sick and we can't have Xion help us with anything else. So it's best if we do as she told us to do and wait for one of her Dream Eaters to return."
*FIVE MINUTES EARILER, IN THE GIRL'S ROOM*
"What should I do?" Vivi asked herself. "At this rate, many of my people will die in a meaningless war."
"Then let's just take you back to Arabasta," Nami suggested. "I'll be fine. Xion's just overreacting." When she said that, she and Vivi heard screaming. "What's going on?"
"Should we take a look? It sounds like there's an argument," the princess suggested, putting the newspaper down. She saw Nami nodded her head and helped her up to see what's going on.
"Anyway, I don't remember trusting you to do the navigating, so do your training," the girls heard Xion said from behind the door.
"What was that?!" came Zoro's voice.
"Oi, oi! Xion! I know how you feel and all, but wasn't that harsh?" Usopp's voice followed.
"Harsh or not, I'm only stating the truth. Now all of you just go back to your business! When you see any of my Dream Eaters, call me!"
"Xion! I found one!" Luffy called.
"Which one?"
"The rabbit."
"I MEAN THE ONES THAT I SENT TO SEARCH FOR AN ISLAND NEARBY, IDIOT! My god! I feel like I can't trust any of you guys with anything! No wait! Let me correct that; I feel like I'm being trusted with everything here! Just why the hell am I in this crew anyway?! I didn't agree to become a mother for any of you guys! Sorry if I brought up any bad memories, but I just feel like I'm only here to look after all of you guys! Now then, if you see any of my Dream Eaters, that are not on this ship, call me! Lapin, go back to steering the ship!"
After hearing Xion said those words, the two girls were in deep thought. They had no idea that Xion was feeling this way. In fact, no one on the Going Merry knew that she felt that way.
"I don't think she's wrong," Nami told Vivi. "We have been relying on her a lot. But, I never knew that she..."
Vivi was deep in thought. She thought about what Xion said and decided that she was right. When Usopp ran to them back in Little Garden, she asked him where Xion is since she was suppose to be with them when Nami was taken by Mr. Three. And when Zoro told her and Nami that they could place their lives in Luffy and Xion, she placed more of her life in Xion's, seeing how reliable she is. And when she found out that Ms. Goldenweek's powers are useless on her, she thought that she would be able to stop the upcoming war and stop Crocodile. Now that she knows that Xion doesn't want to be relied on all the time, or so it sounds, she finally made up her mind.
*XION'S P.O.V*
'Don't you think that you were a little too hard on them?' Voice asked me.
"I wasn't a little too hard on them; I was harsh," I corrected.
'Well don't you think that maybe you should apologize?'
"Don't get me wrong, Voice, but I don't want to apologize to them. I just want them to know how I feel. I know I shouldn't be so rough on them and all, but I don't want to be relied on all the time. They should know by now that even I'm a human. Meaning that I also have my limit. If they keep asking me for favors, I'll collapse from exhaustion or worse."
'I understand. But you shouldn't yell at them. If you do want them to know how you feel about always being relied on, you should've said it in a nice, calm, easy way. Not in a way that makes it sound like you hate people counting on you for everything.'
"I know, Voice. But how am I going to apologize to them now? They probably hate me and plan on leaving me on an island after Nami gets better."
'If they do do that, then you know who to blame.'
"Yeah. Myself. I can't blame anyone else but my own self. If I didn't snap, then they won't get the idea."
'Well, then. Now do you think that you should apologize?'
"I don't think; I'm positive that I should apologize." After that conversation with Voice, I brought up all my courage and walked to the door. The moment I stepped out, I heard Luffy shout.
"WHOA! WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!"
I looked at the direction that he's pointing and saw a monster. No, not a monster. I saw the sigil on its chin. It's a Heartless!
'That's not good! It's a Storm Rider!' Voice informed me.
"Storm Rider?" I repeated out loud.
'A Heartless that rides the wind and generates electricity similiar to lightning storms!'
When I heard that, I assumed that it will create a horrible storm that will destroy the ship and kill us! Not wanting that to happen, I ran towards the Heartless, only to remember that I had my flying Dream Eaters to go and find an island near us so we can get Nami better.
"Men! Stay on this ship and protect it and Nami!" I heard Luffy ordered. "We can't risk getting this ship damage before our navigator gets better!"
"Aye-aye!" my crewmates agreed. Usopp and Vivi went to the girl's bedroom to watch over Nami while Zoro and Sanji stayed on deck to help Luffy beat the Heartless.
"Ah! Xion! Great timing!" Luffy said, as he grab hold of the railing and moving back. "Hop on! We're going to beat that thing!"
Obeying that order, I nervously grab hold of him as he rocketed us to the Heartless. "Gomu Gomu no Rocket!" With some miracle or luck, we landed safely on the Storm Rider.
'Take out its wings so it won't be able to fly,' Voice told me.
"Luffy! Let's take out its wings first so it won't do that much damage on the Going Merry!" I told my captain.
"Okay! You take that side!" he ordered me, pointing the Heartless right wing. With that, we took the wings out by attacking the blue horns. It seems to be the thing that keeps it connected to the wing, so I assumed that I should attack it. It wasn't easy, since it was flying around, attacking the ship, and doing flips to try to force us off.
After I finally destroyed its horn, I turned to Luffy's side just in time to see that he destroyed the horn on his side as well. Once I did, the Storm Rider suddenly just started to fall. I couldn't react in time to grab one of its spike and fell as well. Luffy used his rubber powers and caught me. He then used his powers to bring us to the falling Storm Rider's back. Luckily for us, the said monster isn't falling back-first.
Once it landed in the ocean, Luffy and I started to attack its head before it can get back up. Just in case if those wings heal as we attack it, I froze them with my Blizzaga.
"Xion! Get back!" Luffy ordered me.
"Why?" I asked, backing away from him.
Rather than answering my question, the rubberman ran all the way near the Storm Rider's tail and came back with an attack. "Gomu Gomu no Cannon!" he yelled, as he gave off quick punches on the Heartless's head. Once he got to it, he finished it with a single double palm-blow, similiar to his bazooka attack. Of course, that wasn't enough to beat it, yet. "Xion! Finish it!" came Luffy's orders.
"Okay!" I replied, running to the head to deliver the final blow. "Blade Rush!" I struck the Heartless with a flurry of attacks, destroying it. The down side, however, is that I have to save my captain from being drowned due to the side effect of being a devil fruit user.
Once we got back to the ship, I began to apologize. "I'm sorry. I meant what I said, but I didn't mean it in a way saying that I don't want to be with you guys anymore."
"It's okay," Luffy said.
"We already know that we've been relying on you a little too much, anyway," Usopp stated. "We shouldn't trust you for everything."
"He's right," Sanji agreed. "Right now, we have Nami to think about. So until she gets better, we won't ask you for anything else."
"Yeah. You're right," I said.
"Oh and by the way," Usopp spoke. "Vivi said that we have to hurry to an island to get Nami better so we can hurry on to Arabasta."
"I was already ahead of her on that. Why else did I call Wyvern, Fang and Torpedo out?"
"She knows that, but she's only saying that because of her country's situation. You know, so we won't think about what's more important."
"I see."
"Oi! Xion! That bat Dream Eater of yours is back!" Zoro informed.
"Really?!" I ran over to the railing and Fang landed on my shoulder. "Fang! You found an island?" My Dream Eater nodded his head. "All right! I'm calling back Wyvern and Torpedo. And you lead us to the island." That said, I called back my two Dream Eaters from their search and the Komory Bat lead the ship to the island that it found. I called Lapin and told her to try to follow Fang instead of following the Eternal Pose. If Fang found the island within hours, it might take the ship a day or two to get to it.