"Thank you, Hiking Bear," Mayor Maria said from a deep bow. She flicked her wrist at the Straw Hats behind her to do the same. Nami and Robin bowed at the waist like Maria was, not lifting their heads. Gaimon had a harder time of this, but teetered forward as far as his equilibrium could take him, his afro frozen atop his head.
"You've saved our friends. We can never thank you enough," Nami said.
The Hiking Bear bowed back to them, gave a soft grunt that let out a puff of steam, and rose himself first, tromping away the same direction he'd already been hiking. Usopp and Sanji were terribly beaten, broken bones all over - but still breathing. The spare blankets were bundled around the both of them, tucked in together like two pigs in a blanket, staving off the cold - but there were worse things to anticipate yet.
"Really, thank god for that," Gaimon said, watching the Hiking Bear grow smaller, caving out huge trenches from his wide legs that parted the snow. "They'd have died of cold out there in the snow."
"They could die yet. Most victims of Lapahn maulings usually do," Maria said, returning to her haste now that the Hiking Bear had left them. She walked fast as she could to the bench of the carriage, rousing Bo and Po from a nap with a gentle flick of the reigns.
"I'm still a little confused how that calm bear could ward off beasts savage enough to do that," Nami exclaimed, helping Robin get Gaimon into the carriage. "Is he a tough bear?"
"A very docile and calm bear, but tough enough when pushed to the test," Maria responded. "That's why we always bow. Better not to take risks with him. But the Lapahn are beasts beyond hunger. In fact, they are revolted by the taste of humans as far as we can tell. My father once saw one eat one of his hunting partners, but the beast was thin, nearly starved. It gagged up everything it ate."
"So Lapahn just do this for fun?" Robin asked, horrified.
"Well . . . yes, but no," Maria said. The carriage door shut behind Robin as she walked inside too, and Maria looked over her shoulder as Nami came onto the bench beside her in a swift move. "We ready?" She barely registered Robin nod from inside and whipped her head back around, flicking the reigns and clicking her teeth. "Let's go, boys!"
"So they kinda do it for fun?" Nami asked.
It took Maria a moment to recall what they'd been talking about as the carriage barreled toward Gyasta once more for the night. She nodded when the Lapahn came back to her memory, and replied, "I think it's revenge. Most of us do."
"Revenge?" Gaimon asked.
"Hm," Maria replied. "Our deposed king would often send out hunts to bag prime Lapahn pelts. Some to wear. Some to display on the walls. Some as rugs, some as blankets. You get the picture. Whittled their numbers to almost half what they used to be. Before that, they were aggressive, sure, but . . . they mostly left us alone."
Nami spat over the side of the carriage. "Another thing that damn king has messed up. How far can a person's reach go? I wish I could see this bastard right here in front of me right now!" Maria flicked her eyes down, catching a glimpse of Nami's balled up fists.
"People with any power often find ways to abuse it. Yet even the lowliest flea of a person can have unregulated power over their natural environment," Robin chimed in from the back. Gaimon's input was a slow nod, his mind traced back now to those villains who had come to raid and raze his island full of the hybrid animals.
"You're very wise, young lady," Maria said with a soft smile. Her eyes suddenly went wide, and she tugged up on the reigns until Bo and Po practically skidded to a stop. Nami was alone in keeping herself on the carriage this time, but she succeeded while they heard the four Straw Hats inside the carriage jostle around. "Dammit!" Maria exclaimed.
"What?! What's wrong?!" Nami asked, frantically looking around, expecting to see Lapahn swarming them from all sides.
"I just . . . I don't know, I was just thinking it out and," Maria began, "it'll take us until morning to go around all of Gyasta, get the skycar back up and running until it's warm again." She looked back into the carriage windows at Usopp and Sanji, beaten within their blanket burrito.
"You don't think they'll make it?" Gaimon asked. It doesn't look like they have very long, Gaimon had been thinking since they had retrieved the pair.
"Maybe not, I don't know, but . . . I don't know," Maria was able to say quietly.
"Well, what other options do we have?" Nami asked in a much louder tone.
Maria stared at Bo and Po, her mind racing with options. Call the doctors back down? Call ahead to Gyasta - oh, come on, with what? Could you two make it up? she thought about her White Wullies. No, too out of shape. That's my fault. Sorry, guys, she thought bitterly, biting her lip now.
"Take us to the base of the mountain," Robin said in a clear, unwavering voice from the back.
"Why? What's there?" Nami asked.
Robin wasn't sure how to convey her idea. "Maybe . . . there's someone there."
"There won't be nobody there," Maria said with a polite laugh.
"Well, we can shout for the doctors maybe. How high up is the mountain?" Robin asked, her speech quickening with every word.
"Honey," Maria said softly, interpreting Robin as beginning to panic, "the Drum Rockies are over fifteen thousand feet tall."
Not as bad I thought, but not great, Robin thought, turning her head to look through the trees toward the Drum Rockies. "Let's just head for the base of the mountain. We'll figure something out there."
"Robin, I really don't -," Nami began to say.
But Gaimon had seen the look on Robin's face, saw just barely the gears spinning under her eyes, and felt his own gears turning. Don't know what toward - I can never read her that clearly, but don't worry, Robin. They're spinnin' for ya, Gaimon thought. "Let's try it Robin's way. To the mountain!"
Maria looked to Nami for a moment of confirmation, but despite being the conscious senior of the group at the moment, she had nothing to offer Maria. The mayor whistled, a shrill pitch through her teeth, "Let's go, Bo and Po! To the mountain!" She twisted the reigns to the right and the White Wullies turned their heads, ambling their thick legs back into a run to trample through the snowed over forest floor.
To the mountain, Nami thought with no confident hope to spare for herself or the others.
Dr. Chopper still toiled away at Zoro's chest cavity. The infection had to be scraped away for quite some time, and he was still at that point, but had begun to work faster. Zoro's heart rate was increasing but his breathing was beginning to falter. Chopper wished he could sweat right about now; instead, he "sweat" through his tongue, swallowing so much saliva it was making his throat ache. He grabbed a vial of medicine and let it drop out onto Zoro's organs inside his wound.
Yet as he went back to scraping away the last of the infection, Zoro's body gave a shudder and his wounds began to bleed. Chopper froze up a moment, simply observing, not letting panic set in. But Zoro suddenly coughed, sending a splatter of blood onto his chest. Chopper's eyes went wide as his muscles involuntarily began seizing. "Doctors! All hands on deck!" Chopper called out.
Luffy's wound was well and dealt with, bandaged up, minor antibacterial cream set on the wound. They sat in the opposite adjoining room, a break room for the doctors with snacks and plenty of drinks for the doctors. They were beginning to doze but had stayed awake just in case something like this happened. Abandoning their drinks, they seemed entirely awake now and leapt from their seats, rushing into the operating room.
"What happened?" Kureha asked as she and Hililuk grabbed rubber gloves nearby, tugging them on.
"I think it's just extended trauma. I'm working slowly and administering antifungal and antibacterial medicines along the way to protect the exposed organs," Chopper explained quickly.
Hililuk stuck two fingers on Zoro's neck just under the chin, leaving them there a moment. "He's flatlining," he said, taking his fingers away and setting to gathering things from the cabinet across the room.
"I think we need to finish this in a second part and close up the wound for the night," Kureha suggested. "Maybe even give him a few days to stabilize." Even as she was speaking, Zoro shuddered with one last gasp of a breath and his entire body went still. Both Kureha and Chopper went silent.
Hililuk still rifled through the cabinet but recognized the silence and turned around. "Is he gone?" he asked softly.
"ZOROOOO!" Luffy screamed, crying desperately and clutching his hat to his chest. He stood at Chopper's side, stared at Zoro through his tears, and blubbered. "We just started our adventure! You can't die yet!"
"What the-?" Hililuk gasped. How is he standing already?!
At the same time, the other two doctors had very different reactions. Chopper, naturally, screamed, his eyes and throat nearly bulging from his face with the fear he felt. He leapt from the stepladder he was working on, falling to the floor on his front.
Kureha glared, flicking her sunglasses off her brow to land on her nose. Behind the dark lenses, she suddenly drew a scalpel from the operating table nearby and began stabbing at Luffy. He darted this way and that with cries and ambient protests, not letting the scalpel knick him. But he was mostly focused on Chopper now, having not noticed him in the wake of Zoro's dying. "What is that? Who are you?" Luffy asked, dodging Kureha's attacks with relative ease as he and Chopper stared into each other's eyes.
"AHHHHHH!" Chopper screamed, echoing throughout the whole of Castle Drum. He hopped to his feet and ran into the adjoining operating room, out the main door, and down the spiral lining the main hall that led to the entryway.
Hililuk burst open the door into Zoro's operating room, poking his head out. He watched Chopper running at full speed in his tiny form around the spiral. "Chopper! Stop! We have to focus! A patient is dying here!"
He turned back into the room where Kureha continued to stab at Luffy, but her strikes were getting closer. Luffy yelped as the scalpel cut his cheek, and he stretched his arms up to the chandelier, holding on as it swayed back and forth. "Get down here! I'll slit your throat for what you've seen!"
"Then why would I get down there?" Luffy asked, panting now. "You're pretty spry for an old lady!"
"I'm not old! I'm 157! Now get down here!" Kureha yelled, preparing to throw the scalpel at Luffy.
"Kureha, wait," Hililuk said, having walked over to her. He grabbed her wrist that held the scalpel and nodded his head toward the door. "Go get Chopper. Let me deal with Straw Hat." He looked up at the chandelier, far less antagonistic than Kureha was. Yet Luffy still could not read his expression well.
Kureha looked at Luffy then at Hililuk and back again, but when she jerked her wrist free, she simply tossed the scalpel on the room's island. "You better not go easy on him. Give him some amnesiac if you can," Kureha suggested, stomping out of the room with her fists curled up. "Chopper! We have a patient! You can't just run off!" His echoing screams still trailed off throughout the big, empty castle.
Hililuk still stared at Luffy still, and placed his hands on his hips so his long coat flared out. "Come on down, boy," Hililuk called up toward the high ceiling. "I'm not gonna hurt you."
"What's going on with my crewmate?" Luffy asked, not moving to fall down.
Hililuk sighed, not looking but acutely aware of the bad state Zoro was in just a few feet away. "We're doing what we can. Dr. Chopper is our best surgeon by far. Hell, he's the best doctor between the three of us! Har har har!" Hililuk waved. "But he doesn't perform well under pressure. Come. He and Kureha can handle this, but we should not be here."
Luffy let go of the chandelier, coming back to the floor, and looked at Zoro. He placed a hand on his shoulder. "Hang in there, Zoro!" Luffy said; the act made Hililuk stay his hand from punching Luffy for his disturbance. He's just worried, Hililuk thought, sudden empathy in his heart. Luffy looked up at Hililuk. "Okay, let's go. I'm sorry to have interrupted things."
Hililuk clapped Luffy on the shoulder and walked him into the adjoining room, closing the door behind them - and noticing Zoro's chest now rose and fell again. Softly, weakly, yes, but his breathing had returned. Hililuk stared curiously at the swordsman before he shut the doors. "Chopper's quieted down," Hililuk remarked, noting the quietness that had returned. "Let's give them a moment to return to work and then I'll give you a tour of the place."
"We're up in the castle, huh?" Luffy realized. "And that creature is Dr. Chopper. What is he? He's so cool! I don't understand why he was scared of me!"
Hililuk sighed, leaning against the island in this room. He threw his hands up and said, "Slow your roll there. Dr. Chopper is this island's greatest secret. I can't just spill all his secrets." He took a deep breath and crossed his arms. "Suffice it to say, he's a Devil Fruit user just like you and Dalton."
"How do you know I'm a Devil Fruit user?" Luffy asked incredulously.
Hililuk jerked his thumb over his shoulder and responded, "You just stretched your arms out and grabbed a hold of our chandelier. I dunno, just a guess."
"Well, what Devil Fruit does Dr. Chopper have?" Luffy asked, on the edge of his seat for answers about this fascinating new being he'd discovered.
"The Human Human Fruit," Hililuk responded with a coy smile.
"What?" Luffy said, taken aback. "So . . . Dr. Chopper isn't a human?"
Hililuk cocked an eyebrow at Luffy, shocked at how dull he suddenly seemed to be. "Uh . . . no, he's the reindeer you saw pulling our sleigh earlier. He's a reindeer."
"WHAT?" Luffy exclaimed. "That's so cool! I have to tell him thanks for being the first reindeer doctor to ever operate on my crew!"
Hililuk placed both his hands on Luffy's shoulders now. "Son, let's not. Chopper is not used to people besides myself and Kureha, not unless he's posing as our 'faithful steed.' I'll be sure to relay the message." He craned his ear over to the door, hearing some stirring happening inside. They're back at it. Good, he thought, and pushed off the island. Walking to the front door, he said, "Come with me, Straw Hat. Let me give you the grand tour."
Dr. Hililuk led Luffy around the spiral to the ground floor, waving his arms wide. "This is Castle Drum, home to kings and now to doctors." He pointed to the open ceiling in the room which let snow billow in and coat the floors. "Wapol's army blasted a hole in the ceiling to make the castle less habitable. It was a way to give one last twist of the knife to the islanders. But for us doctors, it changes nothing about this place."
Luffy and Hililuk stared up through the huge hole in the ceiling. Hililuk admired the light gray sky the snow made; it was always a welcome change from the pitch black of night he was used to. Luffy's eyes were on the flag waving over Castle Drum and Drum Island together. It was a solid black Jolly Roger, not some flag belonging to a kingdom. The skull and crossbones were standard, and reminded Luffy of Shanks in this moment. But behind it, on the stark black cloth, were pink petals floating behind and across the skull.
"What kinda flag is that?" Luffy asked, pointing at it.
Hililuk chuckled, again placing his hands on his hips and splaying his trenchcoat out behind him. "That's my flag! My Jolly Roger! When we got here, Wapol's ugly flag was still flying. I burned that thing up to cook some meat, and raised my flag in its place."
"Kind of ironic, considering how much these people hate us pirates," Luffy said with a laugh.
"Well, that's why us pirates have each other," Hililuk responded, still admiring his own Jolly Roger as Luffy snapped his head to the doctor.
"So you are a pirate! I got a feeling," Luffy said.
"Kureha was the real sailor between us. She traveled on a couple crews in her time," Hililuk said. "But we're both pirates. My stomach never took well to the sea, so my voyages were limited. I didn't even have a ship, but I carried that flag with me everywhere. Hell, I didn't even have a crew." He scratched his hairy chin. "The more I say, the less it sounds like I was a pirate."
Luffy beamed at Hililuk, stifling it from becoming toothy. "Nah, you're a pirate in my eyes, old man!"
Hililuk felt a wash of accomplishment hearing such words coming from a real pirate. "Well, thank you!" Hililuk replied, before his face fell. He jammed a finger in Luffy's face. "But don't call me old. I'm only a hundred fifty-eight." He began walking to a far off door. "Come on. Let me show you the vaults."
Mayor Maria led her carriage through the forest deftly until finally reaching the bottom of the Drum Rockies. Bo and Po saw the trunk of the mountain a bit too late, rearing their legs back and bringing the carriage to a skidding halt. Nami brushed the snow spray off herself, looking up the mountain from the very bottom now. "It's a lot higher this close up," she said softly, suddenly feeling daunted about Usopp and Sanji's prospects.
"Indeed," Maria said, with nothing else to add. She waited to hear Robin's words.
Robin climbed out of the carriage, standing in the snow and looking up the mountain. The wind and snow whistled around her, and it was only getting colder. She pulled her coat tighter around her. Easy, Robin, her mind told her.
"Okay, help me get them out of the carriage," Robin said with a turn, suddenly speaking with total authority. Gaimon stared at her from inside, but spurred to order at her words, heaving Usopp up and onto his afro before angling him out the door.
"Here, I got him," Nami said, jumping from the bench and cradling Usopp. She nearly toppled over herself, but mustered all her strength to carry Usopp out of the carriage. By that point, Maria had jogged around the carriage and reached inside to gather Sanji up in her arms. Robin stood right under the mountain now, and placed her hand on it. Cold, she thought.
She crossed her arms and a tall row of her arms sprouted from the mountain side, climbing the entire way up until the fog and clouds and snowy wind took them out of sight. Nami, Gaimon, and Maria all were awe struck, their jaws dropping at the sight. "Robin! You can make that many?!" Gaimon exclaimed first. "What power the Devil Fruits can hold!"
"It won't hold forever," Robin explained. "Quickly. Place Usopp and Cook on my arms." Nami scooped Usopp up from under his armpit, leaned to the side to support his ragdoll weight on her left. "Under the armpits there, thank you," Robin instructed kindly. Nami held her breath, hauled Usopp up, and set him in Robin's arms.
The arms set off, the pair holding Usopp carrying him up and the pair above taking hold to pass it along the chain like so. "This can't be feasible," Maria said, her voice as shaky as it had been since the Straw Hats met her. "There's got to be another way."
"There's no other way. You said it yourself, there's no time," Robin said. "It's long after midnight by now. The only people guaranteed to still be up are the doctors. This is the only way."
"You said yourself it won't hold forever," Nami rebuffed. "Are you sure you can do this?"
Usopp was already high above the ground, to the point where the Straw Hats were glad he was passed out so he could offer no objection. "If I move fast, there should be no problem. Please go ahead, I'm ready for Sir Cook," Robin said. Maria was slow to do so, but indeed obliged Robin, placing Sanji in the same armpit hold that sent him up Robin's arm ladder within a moment.
"If only you could grow a whole 'nother you to explain the situation," Nami said, staring up at the receding Usopp and Sanji as they were lofted up the sheer cliff face.
"I wish I could, too," Robin replied. "But I can't, so I'll accompany them."
Maria waved her hands back and forth. "Now you're talking crazy! I'm fool enough myself to believe you can handle two people, but three?! Including yourself?! Pfft!" Maria took a step toward Robin, but Robin took a step back. "Come on, let's get them back down, get back in the carriage, and return to Bighorn before the Lapahn attack."
"You all head back. We'll be fine," Robin said with a smile. To Nami and Gaimon in particular, who stared wide-eyed as ever at her actions, she added, "Place your trust in me just this once if never again." Maria reached out to grab hold of Robin's shoulders, but she took another two steps back and let her arms grab hold of her armpits, jetting her up the arm-ladder behind Usopp and Sanji.
Robin retracted the arms below her as soon as she no longer needed them. Better not to let them know about that, she thought, taking into account her strength and ability. If she rationed her strength well and didn't overextend herself, she could keep a walking train of her arms moving up the mountain. She was far from being able to make a straight shot in one go. It complicated things, but she had to rely on it.
"They'll get hypothermia and die in this wind! This is crazy!" Maria cried in protest. "Come back here!" she yelled through cupped hands.
"Mayor Maria," Gaimon said from the carriage, causing the two ladies to turn around. He still stood in the open door of the carriage, trembling with fearful anticipation but wearing a face brimming with confidence. "You listen, too, Nami. There come crunch times where anyone is trustworthy. Surely we can recognize we're in this position today. Robin's one of us! She can get the job done!"
Already, Usopp was out of view, and Sanji was growing more distant, but the three of them spared a last look at Robin, closest to the ground, who stared right back. Get going already, Robin thought, not wanting to watch them get massacred by the beasts that had already attacked Usopp and Sanji.
Within a few moments, she saw them mount up on the carriage again. Gaimon shut the cabin door and the White Wullies turned at the flick of the reigns, bound back for home. Robin's eyes swam across the dark treetops of the forest, eventually finding the not-so-far-off lights of Bighorn. Sleep well for all of us tonight, you two, she thought, her cheeks turning red and hot with the biting, frigid winds . . .
Hililuk led Luffy to the underbelly of Castle Drum where there stood three huge vaults. The first was already open, bare and empty inside. Hililuk waved his arm wide. "This is where the gluttonous Wapol kept his store of food, drink, and other vices. Naturally, this vault was cleared out for the king's comfort on his escape."
He continued down the line to the second vault, throwing open the wide, creaky, circular door. This vault, too, was empty. "This is where he kept his Devil Fruits. And where Chopper found his." He grinned now as Luffy looked to him, the smallest indicator he was further interested. "His story is quite tragic, really."
"How's that?" Luffy inquired.
"Chopper was born a bit of an abnormality - his blue nose!" Hililuk exclaimed, sticking a single finger up in the air. "He was a part of one of the reindeer packs on Drum Island, and spent two years with them. He was ostracized by his parents, bullied and tormented by his pack, and even disrespected by his juniors. It was no life to lead.
"So one day, he left his pack! He was fully grown and enticed to move on from the constant bullying. Oh, was his heart broken! But he trucked on, and knew of a place that had just been made vacant days prior: Castle Drum! His powerful reindeer legs carried him up the mountain, even though he was starving. His nose carried him the rest of the way and he found the one piece of food left here: The Human Human Fruit.
"But upon eating it, his body went through serious transformations! He turned into a hulking being, and then a poofed up, hairy version of himself, then the tiny surgical form he had. It took him about seven days for the transformations to level out and stop happening on their own! But Chopper found himself stuck in the hulking form, and now, not even the people of Drum treated him well. They knew of the Lapahn, and the Hiking Bear, and all the other beasts of Drum - but they knew not what this could be.
"They blamed it on a new yeti and sent their bullets for him. He was shot, and retreated into the forest, deep in the forest of the least habitable stretch of Drum Island. It was there he spent a lot of his time until he came upon a friend in the woods, who saw the rough shape he was in and suggested he pay a visit to the two doctors at the top of the mountain. Little did the reindeer know, that was the very man who brought us doctors here!" Hililuk guffawed at the climax of his story.
Luffy's eyes nearly went wide with admiration at the connections made. "So Dalton led Chopper up here, and they both ate a Zoan Fruit, huh?" Luffy placed his hands on his hips like Hililuk. "This is a funny little island! I really like it here."
"Well, thank you!" Hililuk exclaimed again. "It's come to be a real home to us."
"Something doesn't make sense," Luffy continued. "This Oxton guy . . . He's done so much for the kingdom. Brought you guys here. Led Chopper to the Devil Fruit. Helped against the rebellion. And now he's sitting out at sea, protecting Drum from pirates. So what he helped this Wall Pole guy ages ago? It seems like he's really turned a new leaf."
Hililuk relaxed now, but his face seemed to grow taut. His breathing began to grow heavier and more labored, but he turned and led Luffy now to the last vault in the series of three. He twisted the great latch in the middle and let it swing wide. "Well, that's something that neither Kureha, Chopper, nor I have any say so on. Dalton is a complex man. He would have to explain everything to you in detail. But in his heart . . . There was no new leaf. He was never loyal to Wall Pole."
Luffy joined Hililuk's side and looked inside the vault. This one was full - full of cannons, rows of guns, spears, swords, chests full of armor, chests full of mortars, shelves lined with ammunition, blockade walls, spiked blockades. It was full to the brim, with only the thinnest alleys for a person to slip through. But the big things were loaded up front, where they would be easiest to charter outside for defense. The cannons aimed menacingly at Luffy and Hililuk. Even rubberman Luffy was glad to see no one manning the weaponry.
"They left it behind because the ship was already outfitted and this would have just sank them with its weight. Though if you ask me, this isn't the most vital aspect Wall Pole lost that day. He lost Dalton before, sure, but . . . It was perhaps the lost that should have made a difference. If I were Wall Pole, at least," he said, this last sentence quite nonchalant. "Point being," he said as she clapped his hand to Luffy's shoulder, "I agree that Dalton's a good man. But it's self-inflicted, at the end of the day. His exile is what he wants."
Hililuk let go of Luffy and walked past him melancholic. Luffy pouted, scrunching his eyebrows up. "That doesn't sound like that's what he wants," Luffy tossed in.
"Shut the door, will ya?" Hililuk asked. "I'll show you the rest of the castle." He began closing the second of the vault doors. "The truth of the matter is? If anyone on Drum was in danger of dying, Dalton would be the first one to lay his body in front of them."
Luffy did as he was asked and shut the vault door, but from under the brim of his hat, he soaked in the story of Dalton, feeling inspired yet depressed at the story. "I dunno. Something about that just doesn't sit right." From under the brim of his own hat, Hililuk agreed.