~R~

I could actually see my reflection in all eight of its eyes. That's how huge this spider was. It was kind of just chilling there on its web, completely motionless, watching me. Any other girl would have flipped out at the site of it, but not me. I wanted to get a closer look. And that was why I could see a bunch of mini reflections. It was kinda pretty, once you get passed the hairy body and many eyes and legs. It was so colorful.

Then it twitched, like it was going to lunge at me. I just couldn't get out of there fast enough.

I caught up with Ace and Marco, who didn't seem to have noticed my momentary absence.

The island we were on looked like it may have been people friendly at some point, but civilized society ceased to exist a long time ago by the looks of things. Every now and then we would pass what used to be a building, now overrun with exotic plants and larger than average bugs. And possibly other jungle-dwelling animals, though I haven't seen any yet.

"Alright, keep an eye out for enemy pirates." Marco said. I think that was aimed at me for the most part. "The new guy said something about being attacked."

I don't quite know how I feel about that.

"So this guy you're talking about...What was he doing here?" I asked.

"He found a treasure map a little while back. I guess it led him here." Marco replied.

That made sense. This island seems perfect for hiding treasure.

A moment later noticed the flicker of a shadow out of my peripheral vision. I looked over, but I only saw regular jungle scenery. I couldn't pick out any other shapes. I must have imagined it. Maybe I was just a little paranoid.

However, I couldn't shake the feeling that something was amiss. Alarms were going of in my head, telling me something was.'t quite right. I didn't hear any normal jungle sounds.

Coming from the right!

Before I could even register the silent warning, I had already dropped to the ground. Something whistled past above me, right where I had been standing a second ago. I looked up and saw some sort of dart pinned to a tree. That dart would have been in my neck if I hadn't ducked in time. I looked in the opposite direction, searching for whoever shot at me.

Whoever it was, they were good at hiding.

"Rory?" I looked over at Ace and Marco. They had stopped a few yards ahead of me.

"I think we've got company!" I said. I pointed at the dart. The boys noticed it and looked into the trees, growing serious.

We waited for a few moments before Marco nodded for us to continue walking. I noticed that Ace had taken to walking a little closer to me. I found it reassuring.

~A~

Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to bring Rory along. I should have dropped her off on a safer island first. But it was too late for that now. At least was able to look after herself for the most part. It takes some skill to detect a a weapon like that.

Unfortunately it looks like were up against some pretty clever pirates. I can't even tell where they are.

"Marco, maybe you'll see something from the sky?" I suggested.

He glanced over and nodded. "Maybe." He transformed and flew up high. I lost sight of him because of the many tree branches in the way.

"How does he not light everything on fire when he's like that?" Rory asked.

I shrugged. "Beats me." Somehow I managed not to burn everything I touch, so maybe it was the same for Marco.

"I wonder if he'll see anything. This jungle seems pretty dense."

"Yeah, but its worth a shot. Come on, lets keep going." We started heading further inland.

I looked around, keeping an eye out for any signs of life among the trees. I only saw the large bugs every now and again. The eerie quiet was a little unsettling, mainly because I didn't know what caused the silence. It was either because there were people disrupting the wildlife, or because this island was only home to quiet insects. The insect idea made sense. Those were all we'd seen since we got here. However, I know better than to dismiss the possibility of there being many enemies hidden in the area.

"Kya! Get it off!"

I whirled around, alarmed by Rory's apparent distress. But I came face to face with an amusing site. I laughed.

"Its not funny!" She whined. It seems a large praying mantis decided that she was good enough to rest on. It was easily clinging to the back of her shirt.

"What's the matter? You're afraid of bugs?" I chuckled.

"Only when giant ones land on me! Don't just stand there! Help me out! Please?" Rory looked like she was about to squirm out of her skin.

"Alright, alright. Calm down." I said. Another chuckle escaped me as I stepped over and gently tugged the insect off of her. It went flying away.

Rory shuddered. "Ick!" I laughed, and she turned and lightly punched my shoulder. "Its not funny!"

"If you say so..." I said. I held up my hands, a sign of surrender, but I'm sure my smile said otherwise.

~M~

After about a half hour of circling the island, I finally spotted something promising. I descended slightly to get a better look at a small clearing near the heart of the jungle. Below I spotted a band of pirates who seemed to be celebrating. The mound of treasure I could see made it easy to guess why. Then I spotted the new kid that we came to help. He was tied to a steak in the center of the clearing, looking pretty beaten up. A wave of anger washed over me. No one ever got away with hurting someone from the Whitebeard crew.

I turned and headed towards where I had left Ace and the girl. It didn't take me long to find them. In fact it made things easier since they were already on their way to the clearing without realizing it.

I landed a few feet in front of them.

"Good news, I found the kid and the treasure." I said. I didn't coment on the oversized, electric blue butterfly that made itself comfortable on Ace' hat. "Bad news is he's in the center of the enemy's group by the looks of things." I pointed looked at Rory. Ace and I could handle ourselves in this situation, I wasn't so sure about her.

She seemed to catch the hint. She pointed at herself and said, "I can look after myself!"

"Unless there are giant bugs to fight." Ace said. Rory stuck out her lower lip and glared at him. He just snickered.

I guess something happened while I was away, but I didn't really care at the moment. "Right...Well let's hope you can, 'cause there's probably going to be a fight."

"Don't worry about me." Rory said.

I shrugged. "If you say so." I may have sounded indifferent, but if she got into any trouble, I'd give her a hand. And I knew Ace would too, for sure. It looked like they became good friends already, despite knowing each other for such a short time.