"Just ignore him! We have to figure out a way to open the door." Zoro said, and then paused along with the others when he heard a familiar scream. Luffy came bursting through the door above the old man's head, along with two other strange looking figures.

"Luffy!?"

"Oh, you guys are ok! By the way…save me!" The captain of the Straw-Hat Pirates ordered before he fell into the digestive fluids of Laboons' stomach.

"Looks like Captain caught up with us……but he brought a couple of weirdos with him" Penny said as she watched the three fall into the stomach acid with a slightly curious expression on her face.

Just who were those two, anyways? She wondered.

"Hey! The old man's gone!" Nami exclaimed, and Zoro scowled.

"Who cares? We have to help Luff." With that he jumped over the side, along with Sanji, who had spotted the beautiful blue-haired girl that had fallen into the water with Luffy…and that other guy.

As soon as everyone was on deck and the water/stomach acid had been pumped out of Luffy, the ocean of acid suddenly calmed.

"Ah, it looks like the whale stopped. For now at least." Penny said, and Nami nodded as she stood beside the girl. The navigator looked at the three that had just been fished out of the whales' stomach fluids.

"Looks that way. Alright then, we saved your asses. Now who are you?" Zoro demanded of the two strangers, while Sanji was still in a daze beside the blue haired girl, hearts practically popping out of his eyes.

"Mr. 9, these are pirates…" The girl said quietly, though nearly everyone heard her.

"I can see that, Miss Wednesday. But I think we can convince them…Probably..." the man, Mr. 9, replied.

"Are you two scoundrels still here?!" the familiar voice of Crocus said, causing everyone turn around in surprise. "Don't make me repeat myself! As long as I'm alive, you won't lay one finger on Laboon!"

"Oh, he's back." Usopp pointed out, and Luffy looked at his crew.

"Who's the old guy?"

He was interrupted by feminine laughter from the woman, Miss Wednesday.

"You may say that, but we cannot retreat." She said as she lifted the large gun that she had been carrying with her. The man stood as well.

"Killing this whale is our mission. We won't let you interfere with our whaling anymore! We'll rip a hole in its stomach! LET 'ER RIP, BABY!"

"ROGER!"

The two aimed at the sky, or the whale's stomach, and fired their bazookas. The crew watched in surprise as the old man ran and jumped right in front of the shots.

"That old man….stopped the shots himself!!" Usopp said in complete awe and shock.

"He actually protected the whale?!" Sanji asked, confusion evident in his voice.

Miss Wednesday laughed.

"Cease your pathetic resistance!"

"If you want to protect it that badly, just try that again! This whale is going to feed our town!" the two begin laughing together.

The whole time, Luffy had watched them go back and forth, and decided that enough was enough.

He leapt up, and punched them both in the side of the head, sending their heads crashing together.

"Yea! Go Luffy-san!!" Penny shouted, suddenly finding herself cheering. It had taken all of her willpower not to throw the knife she had been twirling around at them. Something about Miss Wednesday seemed completely fake, like she was putting on for someone or something, and girls like that made her angry…Or maybe the blue haired girl was just naturally that annoying?

"Eh?" Usopp glanced at the smug looking girl, now unconscious, then looked confused at Luffy.

"Luffy?"

The straw-hat boy huffed. "Don't know why. Just had to hit them."

"You sure helped me a lot. But why?" Crocus asked, and Luffy looked at him strangely.

"I didn't help you. Just didn't want to see that."

"Hey…What's the deal with those guys?" Nami asked Crocus. Penny tried to listen, but was distracted by Luffy climbing the tree.

"Oi, Luffy, what are you doing?" Usopp demanded, and the rubber boy just grinned and continued climbing as the sniper grabbed his captains' shirt.

"Oi, Luffy, cut it out!" Penny snickered.

"Luffy-san, get down!" She said, trying to sound serious and help out Usopp. He just grinned down at her.

"Come up here, Penny-chan! It's got a great view!"

"Luffy-san, we're in a whales stomach." Penny replied bluntly. "Theres not really much of a view." Luffy laughed as Usopp glared at her.

"Help me get him down, you guys!"

"Laboon could feed their town for two or three years." Penny turned around slightly and tuned back into the conversation between those of the group that a little more brains.

"Laboon?" Nami asked, and the old man nodded.

"That's this whales' name. He's an island whale, an inhabitant of west blue, the largest species of whale in the world. How could I let him become food? The reason he continues to bash his head against the Red Line and why he faces Reverse Mountain and bellows…."

"A reason?" Penny asked, and by this time Crocus had Luffys' attentions too.

"Yeah. This whale, you see…..this whale has a heart like a person. And he's been earnestly waiting for a certain group of pirates for 50 years."

At this, everyone looked at the old man curiously. "You will hear it now. Laboons' story!"

"Huuh?" At this, Penny sweat-dropped a bit. Did he have to be so dramatic about things?

"I was taking care of the lighthouse as usual that day when a group of jolly pirates came down from the mountain and into the Grand Line. Swimming alongside their ship was a small whale. That whale was Laboon. Island whales like him only inhabit West Blue. It appeared that Laboon had been traveling with the pirates for quite some time. But they were now headed into the dangerous waters of the grand line. They thought they had left him behind in West Blue, but Laboon had followed them."

"Island whales normally swim together in pods with their nakama, but to Laboon, these pirates were his nakama. They remained anchored at this cape for a few months to repair their ship. I became quiet friendly with them myself after a while…

"Could you look after them for two or three years until we come back? We're going to sail around the world then come back for him" "

Penny watched the expressions on the others faces. Obviously, they could see where the story was going as well.

"That was fifty years ago."

"Fifty years?" Nami exclaimed in surprise.

"You mean Laboons' been waiting for those guys here for fifty years?" Usopp echoed, still hanging on tightly to Luffys' shirt. Said boy was still clinging to the tree.

"So that's why he's bellowing? And why he's ramming the Red Line? To reach the other side of the wall?" Penny asked, and the old man nodded.

"Yes."

The pirates looked at each other. What an incredible whale.

"It's surprising he's still alive with such a big tunnel in him." Zoro said as the group sailed through the whales insides.

"Is this more of your 'having fun'?" Sanji asked the old man, who was reading a paper.

"This is my 'doctor' fun."

"Doctor?" Usopp asked in surprise.

"I'm his doctor after all. I ran a clinic here on this cape a long time ago. I was even a ships' doctor, years ago." He answered as he turned a page of his paper.

Luffy, hearing this, grinned.

"Really? Well then, be MY ships doctor!"

"Don't be stupid! Unlike you young'ins, I don't have the energy to go around doing foolery things anymore." He stated as he climbed from his island ship that had been floating alongside the Going Merry onto a ladder.

"A doctor…." Penny repeated, still a bit surprised.

"So that's why you're living inside the whale." Sanji said, still a bit surprised as well.

"And this is all the result of your medical treatment." Nami said, admiration in her voice.

"That's right. When they get this big, there's no way to treat 'em from the outside." the old man stated as though it were obvious. He made his way over to a turning lever that was the switch to opening the door.

"Here we go." He began turning it, and the group watched as the exit opened.

"WE'RE OUT!! IT'S THE REAL SKY!!" Luffy yelled happily from Merry's head, and Penny laughed along with him and Usopp as the sun's rays hit them.

Penny glanced back and noticed Miss Wednesday and Mr. 9 waking up, but ignored them and continued celebrating with the others.

"But fifty years! Those lousy pirates sure are making him wait a long time." Usopp said, and Penny looked at him and frowned in disbelief. Did he really believe they were still alive?

"Idiot. This IS the Grand Line, y'know?" Zoro said, as if it were obvious.

"They're dead." Sanji backed him up, bluntly, and took a drag off his cigarette.

"No use waiting on them anymore."

"That's for sure. It's already been fifty years. I guess that shows just how terrible and chaotic this unexplored ocean is going to get." Nami said, and Penny nodded in agreement with her.

"How can you jerks say such heartless things?!" Usopp suddenly said, and crew looked at him.

"You don't know that! They might still come back! It's such a good story! A whale that continues to believe in his nakamas' promise…Ain't that right, old man?!"

"Yeah. But the truth is crueler then you can imagine. It was all part of their plan. Those guys ran away from the Grand Line."

"No way…..so, they actually left the whale behind?!" Usopp exclaimed, disbelief in his eyes. Penny felt her heart go out to the whale, but kept silent. She had seen cruel things in Rougetown, after all, and knew what abandonment was.

"They tried to run away from the Grand Line….that means they would have had to cross the Calm Belt, right?" Nami said suddenly in realization.

"Even if by some chance they are alive, they would never return to this place. The seasons, the weather, the ocean currents, even the winds. They all go around in unpredictable patterns. Common logic is worthless in this ocean. The terror of the Grand Line quickly overwhelms the weak at heart."

"So those weak hearted shit heads without a thought for your life or their promise, packed up and high tailed it out of the ocean." Sanji said, and took a drag off of his cigarette.

"They just abandoned the whale?!" Usopp said in disbelief. "And he's been waiting fifty years for them to come back for him? That's so cruel!"

"But if you knew this, why haven't you told him?" Nami demanded. "He understands human speech, right?"

"I did tell him. All of it. But he refused to listen. And that night Laboon faced Reverse Mountain and bellowed for the first time, and begin battering himself against the Red Line. He still believes they will return from the other side of that wall…he just won't listen to the truth."

"What a whale…even when there's no point in waiting…" Penny said, admiration and sadness in her tone as she shook her head.

"If there was no reason to wait, he would have listened to me. More than anything else, he is afraid of losing his reason to wait. His home is in West Blue. Yet there is no way home for him. All he wishes for…is to continue being nakama with the men he followed here."

Penny sighed. "You were betrayed too, you know. I mean…Luffy…-san?"

"Yoooooshhhhh!!!" the crew watched as the captain grabbed the mast of the ship and ripped it off.

"What's that moron doing now?!"

"Cant take your eyes off him for a second!"

"Looks like he's going mountain climbing."

"Gomu Gomu no Ikebana!!!" Luffy suddenly stabbed the mast into the whales' head.

"Huh? That's the mast, isn't it?" Zoro suddenly said, and realization began to sink in.

"Yup. Right off our ship." Sanji confirmed.

"It's our main mast... QUIT BREAKIN' THE SHIP!!" Usopp yelled and shook his fist up at Luffy.

Laboon begin to thrash and bellowed in pain, sending a title wave at the ship.

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT FOR?!" everyone, including Penny and the old man, yelled at Luffy. The teen ignored them.

Instead, he concentrated on holding onto the mast that was stuck into the thrashing whales' head. Laboon suddenly jumped out of the water, and dove head first towards land.

"Oi! Boy!" Crocus called out.

"It's ok! He won't die, even if he gets crushed!" Nami called out, though Penny had her doubts as she watched. Even if he was made of rubber, getting crushed by a whale, or anything that big, had to be bad.

"Heh. Baka." Luffy said as the whale dove back into the water, then dove back out and at the dark haired boy, who dodged and jumped at the whale's head. Luffy aimed a punch at the large creatures' eye, but it was deflected and he was sent flying into the light house.

"What's he thinking?!" Usopp asked, confused like everyone else. They knew their captain was a little on the crazy side, but this…..

"It's a draw!"

They looked up at the declaration from Luffy, and it made the whale pause as well.

"Pretty strong, ain't I?" He grinned at the whale.

"You wanna beat me, don't you? Our battle isn't over. So where gonna have to fight again someday. Your nakama may be dead, but from now on, I'm your rival! We'll fight again someday to decide which of us is the strongest! Once we're finished sailing the Grand Line, I'll be back! Then, we'll finish our fight!"

The whale looked at Luffy with tears in his eyes, then up at the sky and let out a happy bellow of agreement.

After the fight promise, which was quite messy, everything was rather quiet.

Zoro was sleeping, Sanji was cooking, Luffy was….being Luffy, and Usopp was repairing the mast with help from Penny.

"OI! ZORO! GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE AND HELP! I AIN'T THE SHIPS CARPENTER!" the long nosed pirate yelled, and Penny sighed as she helped hold a steel plate in place for him to hammer. Suddenly, Namis' scream cut through the air.

"What the hell? You're so loud!" Luffy complained as Penny and Sanji rushed to see what was wrong. The others approached more warily.

"What is it, Nami-san?!" Sanji asked, balancing his masterpiece cooking while on only one foot.

"The compass is broken! It won't point in a single direction!" she said, desperation and confusion laced clearly in her voice.

"Oh, she's right." Sanji said as he stood over her, trays balanced. Penny wondered if a strong wind were to come by and knock them over on the girl, just how bad things would be.

"So you five came here without any idea about what you were getting into." Crocus said, interrupting the crews' conversation.

"What stupidity. Did you come here to throw your lives away? I told you. This ocean has no common logic to it. That compass isn't broken."

"Then, could it be a magnetic field?" Nami asked, and he nodded.

"That's right. The islands of the Grand Line are abundant with minerals causing abnormal magnetic fields along the entire line. What's more the wind and currents are completely unstable. If you're a navigator, you must realize how insurmountable this is."

"You're right. We'll be doomed if we don't have any way to determine our direction." Nami agreed, and Penny was getting worried. They weren't going to end their adventure before it began, were they? But she had heard of something before…in Rougetown, from the marines that came through that had been to the Grand Line, she was sure she had heard of some sort of special compass they used…

"Navigation of the Grand Line will be impossible…..if you don't have a log pose."

'Oh yea, a Log Pose… now that rings a few bells. I know I've stolen them before and sold them for big bellies. Man, if I would have known they were worth so much, I would have kept a couple….'

"Log pose? I've never heard of it." Nami said.

"It's a unique compass that memorizes a magnetic field." Crocus explained, and Luffy, who was eating, blinked.

"A strange compass?"

Penny looked at him, and her face brightened seeing the contraption in his hands.

"Yeah, they have a very distinct shape…."

"Like this?" Luffy asked, and Crocus nodded.

"Yes. Like that. If you don't have this log pose, sailing the Grand Line will be impossible." The old man said, and Nami nodded.

"I see. But, hold on a second. Luffy? WHY THE HELL DO YOU HAVE ONE?!"

Penny cringed as their captain was punched in the face, and she knew she wasn't the only one. She thought Nami would be a bit happier at the sight of a log pose…

"Those two weirdos dropped it on the ship…" He explained with a slight whine as he readjusted his hat. She punched him harder than she did before.

"They did?"

"Why'd you hit me?"

"I felt like it."

"Felt like it?" He asked as she took the log pose away from him.

"So this is a log pose. There aren't any markings on it." She said, and Crocus explained the rules of how a log pose set itself.

"But no matter which route you take, they all link to one final island. Raftel. The final island of the Grand Line. In all of history, only person known to have conquered its existence was the pirate king."

"So it has to be there! One Piece!" Usopp said, excited, and Penny smirked a bit at the look in Luffys' eyes as he crunched through bones. She did a double take. He was eating the fish bones! He had eaten the entire fish himself!

"Who knows? We'll find out when we get there!" He said, and Crocus looked at him, a look of surprise on his face too. Penny doubted it had anything to do with the missing fish.

"Alright, I'm full! Let's set sail!" Luffy suddenly declared, and the others noticed the missing fish as well.

"YOU HOGGED IT ALL TO YOURSELF!!" Sanji yelled, eyeballs nearly popping out of his head in rage.

"Whoa. Even the bones." Usopp noticed.

"Log pose, huh? This is truly precious. Our fate at sea is counting on it." Nami said as she gazed at the log pose with admiration. Penny smiled. Well, at least it was something besides money or oranges.

"You shitty gomu…!! You shitty gomu….!! I wanted Nami-san..!! I wanted Nami-san to….!! BE THE ONE TO EAT IT!!" Sanji yelled in raged and kicked Luffy in the stomach so hard he stretched, then went flying backwards past Nami.

The air, as he passed, broke the delicate glass holding the log pose, and it shattered. Penny and Usopp froze in horror at the frozen look on Namis' face.

"Why'd you kick me?" Luffy whined as he fixed his hat from where he was sitting.

"You shitty rubber, you better be ready to die…" Sanji said darkly over Luffy.

"Sanji-kun."

"Haaaiii Nami-san?" Sanji asked in a sing song voice as he turned happily. Penny winced.

"YOU TWO! GO SOAK YOUR HEADS!!" she screamed and kicked the two into the ocean.

"Wait, that was really, really important, wasn't it?" Usopp asked, and Penny sighed as she watched her nakama. It seemed they would be getting nowhere real fast.

"Our precious…Log pose…" Nami sniffled, and Crocus sighed.

"Don't worry. I have another one you can have." He said, and the three looked at him. "I owe you one for saving Laboon."

Zoro slept soundly the entire time on the ship.

Laboon surfaced, bringing up four figures from the ocean.

"Phew. Thought I was dead." Luffy said, glancing over at the three others. Sanji looked annoyed at his captain, then at the other two. The cooks' eyes locked with the pretty blue haired girls, and he stood and walked over to her.

"Allow me, honey." He said as he offered her his hand.

"Why, thank you." she said, and accepted.

"Nice weather we're having, isn't it?" Sanji said conversationally as Mr. 9 stood.

"I have a request."