A/N: Partial credit goes to EvanderAdvent.
As Luffy, Sanji and I ran as fast as we could to take Nami to Dr. Kureha, the two boys started to state facts about people and winter, like why they don't sleep in winter island or why the girls on winter island have pure white skin. I was a little surprised that Luffy knows the reason why people don't sleep out in the cold, yet had a stupid reason for why there was a bed in Dalton's house. I almost face-palmed when he said it was when Dalton's going to die. While they were talking, a little white rabbit was trying to attack us. I was going to stop it from trying to get a hit on Luffy, only to see that he can easily avoid the little guy. Sanji was easily avoiding the rabbit too. It made me wonder if they are psychics or something, but I shouldn't be the one to talk, since I was also easily evading the small animal.
"And also..." Sanji spoke, as the white rabbit came for an attack on him. "...YOU'RE BEING A REAL PAIN IN THE ASS!" he shouted, kicking it away.
"What the heck's his problem?" Luffy questioned.
"The poor thing..." I muttered, as we continued our way to the doctor.
"Nami-san, just hold on a little longer," Sanji told the sick girl. "We're gonna get you to this doctor!"
"The snow's pretty deep around here..." Luffy stated.
"Must've snowed a lot here," I guessed.
"Oi, Luffy! Run more gently, will ya? You're gonna jostle Nami-san's body!" Sanji warned and scolded the rubberman.
As we ran, we came across some obstacles. What are those obstacles, you asked? A pack of big, white rabbits. No, wait, let me correct myself; it's a pack of Lapahns that are in our way.
"What the hell are these?" Sanji asked.
"They're big and they're white... Must be polar bears! Definitely!" Luffy guessed.
"Polar bears don't have rabbit ears," I corrected.
'Are those the ones, my son?' I heard a Lapahn's voice ask.
'Son?'
'That's right, daddy.' When I looked for the source of the other voice, the one that sounded like a child, I saw the little rabbit from earlier. The one that Sanji kicked.
"Oh that's not good," I muttered.
*MEANWHILE, BACK IN THE VILLAGE**GENERAL'S P.O.V*
While Luffy, Sanji and Xion went to take Nami to the only doctor on the island, Dalton was telling Usopp and Vivi how he knows Xion and what happened to the island's doctors.
"We used to have them. The doctors. But they're all gone. They were all extremely skillful doctors," Dalton told the two. "In truth, they were said to provide the highest quality medical care possible."
"Then, why...?" Vivi began to question.
"This country, not less than a year ago, was completely ravaged, at the hand a pirate crew..."
"The whole country?!" Usopp gasped in shock.
"That explains why you were so nervous when we arrived," Vivi spoke.
"Yes. The citizens are not yet ready to hear the word 'pirate' again," Dalton continued. "You must excuse their behaviors. It was a pirate crew of only five members. Their captain called himself 'Blackbeard'. And with power vaguely surpassing our own, he almost ravaged the entire country."
"A mere five pirates... You can't be serious!" the princess spoke, even more shock that the whole country was almost ravaged by a crew of five pirates.
"Blackbeard..." Usopp repeated the name of the captain.
"However, some would say it was good for this country," Dalton added.
"How can a wreckage of your country be a good thing?!"
"Yeah! Who could possibly say that?!"
Rather than answering their questions, Dalton looked up and thanked them. "Thank you. But while that is true, until that time, the monarchy of this country had been causing misery for the people. The former name of this country is the Drum Kingdom. And our former king was... Wapol. He was the worst king imaginable."
When he said the name of their former king, Usopp and Vivi began to remember the pirate that was feeding on their ship.
"Yes, that man! I remember!" Vivi exclaimed.
"Wapol?!" Usopp spoke the name of that pirate.
Dalton was surprised that they know the man who was once their country's king. "You two... You know Wapol?!"
"Well, not really 'know', but that was the name of this pirate who attacked our ship," Usopp explained. "I fought him off though. Now that I think about it, he did mention something about going to the Drum Kingdom."
"Yes. He's right. I remember it clearly," Vivi agreed, bringing up her past. "When I was a child, I accompanied my father to the Council of Kings. I saw him there."
The moment she mentioned the Council of Kings, Dalton became more curious about her. "The Council of Kings? Just who are you...?"
At that question, Vivi noticed that she said something she shouldn't have said. "No, well, I... In any case, we did meet Wapol! It was yesterday, on our way here!"
"Yesterday? Are you certain?" Dalton asked.
"But then, what could that mean? He called himself a pirate, not a king."
"He is using piracy as a temporary camouflage. Wapol is drifting around the sea, trying to make his way back to this island."
"Then the people on his ship must've been those chased away because they couldn't stand up to Blackbeard Pirates that attacked your island."
"Couldn't stand up to!?" Dalton repeated, in an unforgiving tone. "No! Back then, Wapol's forces didn't even try to fight back!" That statement got Vivi and Usopp even more shocked to hear that a king didn't have his men fight against a group of pirates. "The moment he became aware of the pirates' strength, he immediately abandoned this country! Wapol was the first to flee to the ocean and escaped! That was what caught the country to fall into despair! Is that how a-"
"IS THAT HOW A COUNTRY'S KING SHOULD ACT?!" Vivi took Dalton's question, furious about what Wapol did when his own country was going to be attacked by pirates. "How hideous... A king that abandons his people..." Usopp looked at Vivi, a little shock at the princess's reaction to this.
"As you say. But now that Wapol's tyranny is over, the remaining citizens have united to build their own country. Now the one thing we fear most is Wapol's return. The restoration of the monarchy. With the people so insecure, we must prevent that. In order to realize a new country of peace. And now that Xion returns here, if what you say is true, Wapol must know where the island is by now and we don't have to worry about his return."
"Speaking of Xion, how did you all know her? Why is she known as this country's savior? And also, you said that those Blackbeard Pirates almost ravaged this country, what do you mean by that?" Usopp asked.
Dalton smiled when the sniper asked that, as he looked up at the sky. "I remember it like it was yesterday. On the day that those pirates arrived on our island to search for another doctor to join their crew, after Wapol took his soldiers and all the doctors and fled from here, that was when she came." Usopp and Vivi got interested in the story.
"After Wapol left this island, the pirates searched all over this island to search for the witch. If they couldn't find a doctor on any of the villages, they just took all their money and food in exchange for the people's lives. When he found Dr. Kureha in this village, he used force to have her join. When he was about to do so, a weird creature showed up and was protecting her. He was about to attack it as well, but Xion jumped in and fought him."
"Xion fought against Blackbeard?!" Usopp and Vivi asked.
"Not just him. His crewmates joined the battle as well. And some strange creatures." The added information got the two pirates, well pirate and temporary pirate, even more interested about Xion's past on the unnamed island. "It was a long battle. And in the end, it was her against the captain. Xion looked like she was going to collapse soon, however. Yet in the end, she won. I didn't understand why at that time, but she then made those pirates leave the island and give back eveything they took from the villages of this island. Those pirates reluctantly agreed to leave and never came back. The moment they were out of this island's sight, she collapsed. Dr. Kureha brought her to the castle give Xion treatment in exchange for saving her and this country. After that, she's been visiting this place a lot, whenever she had time to visit us, that is. I noticed that she always brings some sweets when she did, giving most of it to the children here. After that, she goes to the castle to visit Dr. Kureha. Why she goes to visit the witch and take some leftover sweets to her, I'll never know, especially since she lost her memories."
'Not sure about the visits, but saving this village from a pirate crew, especially a strong one, sure sounds like Xion,' Usopp and Vivi thought.
"But then... when she last visited this country, she had a sad look on her face. That was when she announced that that last visit, was the last time she will come here. Almost everyone asked if she was joking, but she was serious when she said that. Despite that, everyone had hope that Xion will come back to see us again. I thought that as well, until I asked if what she said was true. Do you know what she said to me when I asked?" Usopp and Vivi shook their head at this question. "She said, 'Dalton, I'm never going to return here. After this visit, I'm going back to where I really belong. You and everyone else will forget me when I do. I have nothing else to say. Even if you promise that you and the others won't forget me, you all will anyway.' I didn't understand what she meant when she said that. But now that she's back, I don't need to worry about why she said that or what she meant by it. And right now, there's no doubt that rumors will spread around the country about her return."
"But, with Xion gone to take Nami to the witch with Luffy and Sanji, how are you sure that she will come back in time to stop Wapol from bringing any harm to you, especially since the people here respects you and Xion more than him?" Usopp asked.
"There's no doubt that she won't come back in time, especially with the path they took to the castle. And knowing Wapol, he might go there to reclaim his throne," Dalton said. "If he heard rumors about Xion, there's no doubt that he and his soldiers will try to beat her in order to prevent her from taking his throne."
"But Xion won't stay here. She's a pirate now," Vivi reasoned.
"We all know that, but I doubt that Wapol is smart enough to realize that, when it comes to his position as king. Either way, if Xion can take out a group of strong pirates, and strange creatures, than she should be able to take down Wapol and his men."
'He sure relies on her do beat that so-called king,' Usopp and Vivi thought. 'More than enough proof that he's talking about our Xion.'
*WITH XION AND CO.**XION'S P.O.V*
We were running for our lives away from the big rabbits, who I realized were Laphans that Dalton was talking about. Well, Luffy did all the running while Sanji and I were beating up any Laphans that were trying to attack him. Why? Since he's carrying Nami, any damage he will give or recieve will be transported to our sick navigator and most likely cause her to die. So the chef and I were acting as defense mechanisms for our captain. As we were beating up these rabbits, I sneezed, messing up my fighting rhythm.
'Someone must've talked about me,' I thought. My thought and my sneeze almost caused me my life, for one of the Lapahns nearly killed me, if I hadn't blocked it with my Keyblade.
"With all the snow under my feet, I can't land any decent kicks!" Sanji complained, as he knocked out one of the big white rabbits.
'That looks decent enough,' I thought. When I saw the rest of the Lapahns ears twitch, THEY SUDDENLY ALL CAME AT ONCE!
"THEY'RE ALL COMING AT ONCE!" Luffy yelled.
"For now, head to the woods!" I shouted at the rubber captain. "Sanji and I will cover you!" Luffy ran to the said area with me and Sanji following behind him.
"Now go left! Straight to the mountain!" Sanji ordered, talking about the mountain with the castle.
"Got it!"
"The more time we waste in fighting these guys, the closer Nami is getting to death," I stated. "So for now, Luffy! Concentrate on going up to that mountain! When one of those Lapahns are going to attack you, just dodge them! Leave those rabbits to Sanji and me!"
"Got it!" That was his reply. However, when a Lapahn was going to attack Luffy, HE WAS GOING TO KICK IT AWAY! And he would've too, it Sanji and I didn't hold him back and kicked it away in his place.
"You idiot! Didn't we tell you not to attack them?!" Sanji questioned.
"Just run and dodge these rabbits!" I reminded.
"Sorry," he apologized.
"You should know by now that this is a life-and-death situation here!"
After a little while later, Luffy found a path for us to go to. A Lapahn was about to attack the rubberman, but he, Sanji and I used it to help us get to higher ground.
"This should be high enough to help us avoid those animals," I thought out loud. Luffy was relieved to hear that and made a face at the Lapahns, ONLY TO HELP THEM PROVE ME WRONG!
"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT FOR?!" Sanji scolded at Luffy.
"FOR NOW JUST KEEP RUNNING! RUN LIKE YOUR OWN LIFE DEPENDS ON IT!"
*MEANWHILE, WITH DALTON AND THE OTHERS**GENERAL'S P.O.V*
Dalton was talking to Usopp and Vivi, stating that he has never seen pirates as unprepared as them in the Grand Line. Usopp said that they thought of recruiting one when they get to this island. As they were talking, the woman that Usopp mistook for a Hiking Bear came.
"Oh, Dalton-san. Are you looking for Dr. Kureha?" she asked.
"Yes, that is correct. Xion and her friends took the sick person-"
"They said she just came down to the neighboring village Cocoaweed," she interrupted Dalton. A moment of silence came and ended by the said man and the two remaining pirates.
"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!" they asked.
"THEY JUST MISSED EACH OTHER!" Usopp yelled, creating echoes of his voice.
*IN COCOAWEED*
In a bar in Cocoaweed, a young boy was crying really loud. His cries were disturbing his father's customers. The father asked the boy what the problem was, only to hear more crying. Outside of the bar, an old woman with the body of a teenager came with a blue-nose animal. She heard many people talk about her and her animal, as well as the father threatening to throw his son out of the bar if he doesn't tell him what was wrong.
"Oya, oya. What an awful dad that kid has. When a child does nothing but cry, it means he has an unhealthy body," she said, petting the creature next to her. "Heeheeheehee. Stand back, Chopper." The instant after she told the blue-nose creature, known as Chopper, what to do, she punched the door, breaking it.
Everyone in the bar looked at the front and were surprised to see who broke the door down.
"You're..." the barkeeper spoke, knowing who the old woman is.
"Ya happy, little brats? Heeheeheehee," she asked.
Everyone immediately distanced themselves from her, some flying out of their chairs, now that they know who the old lady is. "DR. KUREHA!" they all identified.
"The secret of my youth?"
"NO! WE DIDN'T ASK ABOUT THAT!"
"I just can't believe she's really a 140-year-old hag!" one of the customers stated, only to have Dr. Kureha throw a fork at a wall that he's leaning on, centimeters away from his face.
"I'm still 139!" she corrected. Her attention went back to the crying child. "Shall I fix him up?"
"Fix what?!" the father of the son asked, hugging his son. "My son's not sick at all!"
"... Are you a doctor?" she asked with a smirk on her face. "Then let's go, Chopper." With that, the doctor and her creature were about to walk out of the bar.
"P-please wait!" the father begged, changing his mind. "Help my son."
When he said that, Dr. Kureha and Chopper stopped in their tracks and began working with their patient.
"My hand... It hurts..." the boy complained, as Dr. Kureha lied the boy down on a table.
"Your hand, huh? Is that right?" she asked. "Then what about this?" She placed her thumb on one of his legs and pressed on it.
"AHH! MY LEG HURTS!" The scene that a doctor was giving her patients more pain sent everyone flying comically.
"Well look at that. You forgot all about the pain in your hand," the doctor stated.
"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" the father demanded.
"Ya happy? Happy? Good. Now lie down," Dr. Kureha said, ignoring the father.
"Hey!"
"Don't yell. I touched his leg lightly."
"But the sound was so loud," the barkeeper said, as she took the boy's pants off.
"He has pain in his hands and legs. He doesn't have a fever, but the affected area on his leg is swollen with a festering inflammation. It's gone far. His bone has a bacterial infection. Chopper, fetch me the antibiotic."
"Doctor... My son is...?" the barkeeper wanted to ask what was wrong with his son, as the blue-nose creature went to get the needed item for the patient.
"Treating this disease in its early stages is the key to survival. Don't worry, he'll recover," Kureha assured, spinning a scalpel. "Though naturally, he would've died."
"Died?!"
"I'll be making a few incisions, so be a brave boy."
"Hey, aren't you even going to anesthetize him?"
"Here's your shot," Dr. Kureha said, ignoring the father again and holding the boy up, only to have his head hit by Chopper's horn.
"DON'T DO THAT!" While she was treating the boy, everyone in the bar was watching in pain.
After the treatment, the boy was on a couch with his legs bandaged.
"My medicine works well," Dr. Kureha said. "There'll be no need for further treatment. Just wrap his legs tight with these bandages while he's resting." She tossed the bartender the said bandages. "After you fixed it, just keep it iced. Got it? As for the compensation, I'm running out of garbage bags and toilet papers. Also, I'll be taking all the umeshu and food you have here. And I want 50% of this pubs assets." Everyone was surprised at the price that she demanded for treating a child. "Chopper, take everything to the sleigh."
"W-wait a sceond! You can't be serious!" the barkeeper exclaimed. "Half of my assets?!"
All the customers than told him not to be fooled by the doctor and said that the boy was probably just crying. "DON'T TAKE ADVANTAGE OF PEOPLE'S WEAKNESS, OLD WITCH!" they all yelled.
Chopper was angered at all the insults they threw and growled.
"Down, Chopper," the doctor told the blue-nose creature.
"Granny," the boy called. "I feel a lot better now. Thank you."
Everyone, except for Kureha and Chopper, was shocked to hear that he was infected with a disease. "Oya. Looks like I got a good tip," she muttered. "I'll lower it to 49%."
"I'll pay for it. Thank you," the barkeeper thanked.
"Please wait!" the boy shouted.
"The secret of my youth?" Dr. Kureha asked.
"No it's not that. I heard from a few kids from a neighboring village. Our country's saviour, she came back." When the boy said that, Dr. Kureha and Chopper's eyes widened a little. "They saw her with a group of pirates. One of them is sick, though."
"Oya. Is that right?" Dr. Kureha asked, smirking again. "I'm lowering it to 40%. That's as low as I can give you now."
"Yes!" the boy's father replied.
"Boy. This happy, don't forget it. And thanks for the info."
"Okay! You're welcome!" her patient replied.
'So she came back,' Dr. Kureha thought as she and Chopper walked out of the bar. 'How long has it been since we last saw her? And she said she won't come back and that we would forget about her. Just what was that girl saying?'
"Doctorine," a voice called, as she and Chopper walked back to the sleigh. "Do you think what that boy said is true?"
"Who knows? If she is here with a group of pirates, and with one of them sick, if I know her, she's probably heading to the castle. Let's go, Chopper." With that, the two went back to their home.
*MEANWHILE, WITH XION AND THE OTHERS**XION'S P.O.V*
"Did we lose them?" I asked, as Luffy, Sanji and I were panting after all that running.
"I think so," the cook replied. "Xion-san, you seem really tired. Would you like me to carry you?"
'And just when I thought he wouldn't go all gentleman again,' I said to myself. "I'm just fine, Sanji. Don't worry about me. You should worry more about Nami. She's the sick one, remember?"
"Yes, of course."
"Hey guys. What are those?" came Luffy's question. The two of us turned to where he's looking to see the one group of creatures that I hoped we wouldn't come across here.
"What are Heartless doing here?!" I asked. Although they are just small ice cubes, who knows what kind of damage they can do? "Anyway, Luffy, don't fight them. No matter what happens!"
"Yeah!" Sanji and I then went in to knock out all of the ice cubes, covering Luffy's back. Surprisingly, they are really easy to beat. All we did is give out a kick or a cut at them and they were destroyed.
After a little while of running, the three of us looked back to see if any of those Lapahns caught up while we were being occupied by the Heartless.
"Are those Lapahns still behind us?" I asked.
"No. Doesn't look like it," Sanji replied.
"Yosha! Guess we lost them!" Luffy happily said.
When I turned back to the way we were going, I wished he didn't say that. "Look again, Luffy," I informed the captain, having him and the chef to look at where I'm looking.
"WOW!" Why would he go 'wow!' at this situation?! Because they somehow got ahead of us?!
Well, good news is that they didn't attack us. Bad news? Well, I'm not sure if it is bad news, but I do have a bad feeling about why those animals were jumping. And their landing seemed really heavy.
"What are they doing?" the rubberman asked. I look around our surroundings in hope that they weren't doing what I thought they were. That hope went down the drain when I noticed exactly where we are.
"No way..." I muttered. "Don't tell me that..."
"What, Xion?"
"Luffy. Run."
"Where?"
"Anywhere is fine," Sanji replied to the straw hat boy, getting the same idea that I'm having. "Just get away from here!"
"They're... THEY'RE GONNA CAUSE AN AVALANCHE!"
*A FEW HOURS EARLIER WITH VIVI, USOPP AND DALTON**GENERAL'S P.O.V*
"Now tell us who you are," Usopp demanded, as he, Vivi and Dalton were on their way to Cocoaweed on a sleigh. "You sure don't act like one of the normal villagers. In fact, when you talk, I smell a soldier."
"... I... served the former king..." Dalton hesitatedly replied. "I was Wapol's subordinates." The new info about Dalton was a big surprise to Usopp and Vivi. Dalton began to explain what happened to the former king and how Wapol got his throne. He then explained why there's only one doctor on their island, which was mostly Wapol's fault, saying that he wants only the top twenty doctors in his castle and exile the rest. Dalton was the only soldier who was concerned about everyone on the island when Wapol announced that. Yet, the 'king' only cared about himself.
"So, whoever got sick would have to make a deal with Wapol in order to see the Isshi-20?" Usopp summarized.
"And the cost for recieving medical treatment was enormous," the former soldier added.
"That's the same as governing by taking the townspeople hostage!" Vivi stated. "That's not government! It's a crime."
"That's what Xion said when I told her this," Dalton said. "She wanted to know about this country, so we told her everything. When she heard about Wapol's idea about the doctors, you don't want to know what she said at that time."
"Well, I'm curious," Usopp said. "And besides, Xion is my First Mate. Well, that position would've been Zoro, but she's way more reliable than him. Anyway, what did she say?"
"She said..."
*FLASHBACK*
"Are you serious?! That's crazy! What kind of a king is he?! If I ever see that guy, I'll make him wish he was never born! I'll slice him, dice him, freeze him, shock him, burn him, even eat him alive if I have to!"
*END OF FLASHBACK*
"Xion really said that?" Vivi nervously asked.
"And a lot more," Dalton added.
"I never thought that she would say such a thing," the sniper stated. "I mean, sure we got her made this one time, but never did I hear her say anything like that!"
"And when those creatures she called Heartless appeared at that time, you don't want to know what happened then."
"You're right! I don't! I don't want to know or hear anything more about Xion's bad side! I'm scared that even disobeying her orders is enough to get her to that side now!" Usopp then clutched his stomach. "Ah! I think I came down with a I-don't-want-to-know-anything-more-about-Xion disease."
'There's no such thing,' Dalton thought.
An hour later, they arrived in Cocoaweed in the bar where Dr. Kureha was in.
"What did you say?! She already left the village?! We just missed her!?" Usopp questioned. "What a fix!"
"She just cured my infection," the barkeeper's son explained.
"Are you looking for the doctor, Dalton-san?" the barkeeper himself asked the former soldier.
"We have an emergency patient. Do you know where she went?" he asked.
"Well, my son told her about Xion's return so she might be heading back to the castle."
"Are you sure? I heard someone say that Dr. Kureha was headed for Gyasta," a customer informed.
"Gyasta?" Dalton repeated.
"Where's that?" Usopp asked.
"Cutting through Bighorn, it's on the opposite side."
"We went past them again?!"
"Skating is quite popular there."
"That doesn't matter! I didn't even ask!"
"Calm down, Usopp-san," Vivi said to the long-nose sniper. "Either way, we have to get to Gyasta to see if she's there. We have no time to spare."
The moment she said that, an injured man came through the doorway. "Dalton-san...!" he called, breathing heavily. "So this is where you were...!"
"Weren't you part of the lookout team for today?" Dalton recalled. The man lost his balance and fell. Dalton noticed this and his injuries and caught him before he hit the ground. "What's wrong?! What happened?! How did you get these wounds?!"
"All the guards... were decimated. All of a sudden, this ship emerged from the ocean and... they crushed everyone!"
"Who are 'they'? Calm down and tell me who did this to you."
"X-... Xion..."
When they heard that name, they quickly assumed that it was Xion who attacked them.
"That's impossible! Xion went to-"
"Where's Xion?!" the injured man asked, correcting everyone's assumption. "Is she still getting the sick person to the doctor?! She promised... That she'll defeat him when he comes back..."
'He? Don't tell me!' Dalton thought, already having a guess on who decimated the guards.
"It's Wapol! WAPOL HAD RETURNED!" That warning caused everyone in the bar to panic. All except for Vivi, Usopp and Dalton, of course. At that information, Dalton quickly grabbed his stuff and left the bar, grabbing a horse to get to Wapol as fast as possible.
'I'll put an end to all of this!' he decided. 'I don't want Xion to worry about us since she has her nakama to worry about! However, I don't plan to play the part of justice here. You and I are guilty of the same crime!' As he thought that, he was beginning to change, physically. He then suddenly jumped off his borrowed horse and continued his way to his enemy on feet, or hooves. 'At the very least, I will at least weaken you enough to let Xion finish you. Be prepared, Wapol!'