A/N: WHAT? AN UPDATE? ABOUT TIME!

Hello everyone - apologies for not updating for so long. I've had a lot going on these past few months, and all of it affected various areas of my life, but it's pretty much been taken care of and things are/have gotten better. Unfortunately, as a result this received plenty of procrastination.

This chapter walks the fine line of being a mix between filler and story.

Anywho…Thank you everyone for your continued support! – You make my inbox very happy.

The next few chapters are going to be a bit longer than normal, so I hope you enjoy them. Do you like having longer chapters? Warnings: violence, language, third-rate fluff, and possible spoilers if you haven't gotten to the Dressrosa arc in One Piece.

Chapter 35: (No) Trouble in Paradise: Romance, Relaxation, Damnable Helplessness, and Chilling Nightmares

**Countdown: Two Months, 8 days left**

Somewhere on a pathway on the island of Chomei, a young boy that looked to be almost ten years of age ran as quickly as he could so that he could hide from the guards that were chasing him. He had snatched a wallet from some upper-class snob, and since it was still early in the day, his victim had yet to spend his money. The boy figured that with this much money, he could eat every day for a month, a month and half, maybe two if he spent it wisely. The boy was certainly out of place among the fine buildings made of fine wood and finely carved stone, which was polished until it shined, with his tattered street clothes.

Chomei was known as a Paradise by all who heard of it and visited, along with the many that lived there. Unfortunately, there were those like this boy; hungry and homeless in the Land of Paradise. These people were forced to live in districts that were so far out of the way, it enabled officials to ignore the problem and simply forget about them, acting as if Chomei was the perfect place, putting on a show for those who came to visit the island. Because people never seemed to suspect nor believe that there could be anyone like this young boy living in Paradise, it made for easy and unsuspecting victims.

"Stop right there, thief!" one of the guards two guards chasing him shouted. The boy was much smaller and more agile than they were, and he used this to his full advantage. He more than easily climbed over and slid under obstacles that his pursuers were forced to go around. He reached an alleyway, and ran down it, coming to a dead end, but no matter. There were crates and crevices in the building for him to climb and grab onto. He was about to begin his ascent, when a chilling voice unlike anything he ever heard spoke up in a deep and harshly quiet, echoing whisper. It seemed as if the echoing came from the voice itself, and not echoing off of the walls, as a normal echo would.

"Boy, what are you doing?"

The boy quickly turned around ready to fight off whoever it was, but saw no one. He shivered as he noticed that the shadows seemed to be darker than he remembered; in fact, they were unnaturally dark and seemed almost alive as they rippled and flowed. He wrinkled his nose as a foul stench reached his nostrils, and he wondered why he hadn't noticed it before. The boy slowly stepped back as the shadows thinned and stretched, looking like long fingers that reached out towards him. The smell slowly became more distinctive, smelling like burning rubber and rot. He choked as he breathed in the stench, and went into a coughing fit. He fought back against gagging, and he breathed in through his mouth hoping that would help, although it mostly made the stench flavor his tongue. He spat a few times, trying to rid himself of it.

"Are you hiding from someone?"

The voice whispered, and the boy flinched and whirled around, as he was positive he had seen a tall figure standing behind him, yet there was no one there. He rapidly gasped for air with every panicked breath, and every sense in his body was telling him to run. He clamored up the crates and started to climb.

"You're a little thief."

The voice spoke up again, and the boy froze. He had no idea why, and he tried to ignore that little voice in the back of his mind that was screaming at him to run, trying to focus on the situation at hand. He turned to look, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw a tall, dark figure. He looked down over his shoulder, trying to see if the tall man was the one holding onto him. The boy's eyes widened as he saw that the man had long and bony finger simply placed on his shadow. Was that why he couldn't move? Was this man some sort of Devil Fruit user?

"Do you have any family?"

The boy was too scared to answer. He simply stared at the man, tears forming in his eyes. A small cry escaped him, and he felt even more terrified at the sound of his own voice.

"You will answer."

The boy cringed when the figure gagged, and something wet and slimy came out of its mouth and fell to the ground with a wet *plop*. The boy couldn't even struggle as he felt some disgusting thing slither its way up his body and forced itself into his mouth, all while he was powerless to fight against it. He coughed and gagged, trying to force it out, but to no avail. He felt as if he were choking as something that sounded like his voice yet was not his croaked out, "No,"

"Will anyone miss you?"

"…No."

"Ah, you're alone, so alone, and no one will miss you. That is so…sad. You are perfect."

The boy started to gasp and wheeze as he wanted to beg and plead, but his voice was gone.

"You will finally belong, I will give a place. Welcome home, little boy, and hunger no more."

The boy barely had anytime to scream silently as he was taken away into the shadows. The guards rounded the corner just as one of them was saying, "I saw him come down here!"

They stopped and looked around, and both wrinkled their noses at the stench. Hopefully a sewer pipe wasn't leaking. They searched the alleyway, but found nothing of the boy they had been chasing. They found numerous odd scratch marks from what seemed to be three or four claw-like hands, along with reddish-black smears all over the walls. This was going to be troublesome for city officials to fix and clean up; everyone knew that Paradise must never look unkempt in anyway in the slightest. They saw no sign of the boy on the rooftops, and figured by now he probably had already descended from them. The guards left annoyed that they would have to report that they had failed to obtain the stolen wallet. If the guards had looked at the crates a little closer, they would have seen the bloody gouges of someone's fingernails who had been desperately trying to escape.

oOo***oOo

On board the Sunny, things had turned back to relative normalcy, the events of just two nights before had been just about forgotten. Although Chomei was still about half an hour away, the crew was amped up. Upon learning that the island was considered a Paradise, everyone made plans as to what they were going to do, with many of the Straw Hats begging Nami for spending money for various reasons. She reluctantly complied, and added another %500 to what they already owed her. She was met with a mix of whoops, groans, and insults, although Nami very proudly earned glares when it came to handing out money. She then announced that all the girls (and even Eurynome, if she wanted to - while Nami's eye twitched at saying it) she could go get pampered as well.

"Why would I want to get…pampered?" Eurynome asked in all seriousness, her nose wrinkling at the last word. "I'm just going to get messy again. Besides, I bathed yesterday. No need to get cleaned up again today."

Eurynome's thinking style had certainly earned her an odd sort of kinship with Toph, because Toph agreed. "It's a 'healthy coating of earth'! Am I right or am I right?" She gave Eurynome one of her affectionate punches on the arm, and Eurynome made a face and motioned to Toph saying, "See? Even she thinks I'm right."

"You two should totally do it," Ebony spoke up. "You deserve a break considering everything that has happened these last few days."

"Getting that sort of thing done now ensures that you age well." Usopp commented. "I mean, with all the expressions that all of you women like to make, the earlier the facial, the better."

His comment earned him punches from Nami, slaps from Robin, a dousing of one or two gallons of sea water curtesy of Katara, and Toph chuckled while Eurynome rolled her eyes. Sanji commented that Usopp had no decorum and was an idiot, and then turned around and told the females of the crew how beautiful they were. The snickers of a few of the menfolk of the crew were hidden behind hands as they tried to avoid the wrath of the women.

"You might as well get the facials and everything," Ebony said, after glancing over a groaning Usopp. "You're all going to get old and wrinkly anyway, so you might as enjoy your youth while you can, before everything drops." He turned to Nami, "Especially Cat Burglar-san…no time like the present, as they say."

That final comment made Nami whack Ebony over the head with her Perfect Climatact. Ebony now held his bruised head with tears at the corner of his eyes. "W-why?" he asked shakily.

"I seriously don't get how she can touch some of the strongest people here without that Haki ability thing," Sokka whispered to Aang and Zuko, who only nodded in agreement. The navigator could be exceptionally terrifying if she wanted to be.

"'Cuz the woman's a witch," Zoro muttered when he overheard him, crossing his arms. Fortunately, Sanji wasn't within earshot to start a fight with the swordsman so an argument didn't have a chance to start. And even if he had been within earshot, the chef was so busy doting over the likes of a rather grumpy Toph and a slightly put-off Eurynome.

Nami gave a light "humph" while expertly spinning her Climatact between her fingers. She gave one last glance to the men as if daring them to add another comment, and left to continue her duties in watching the weather. After checking a few things, Nami took hold of Katara's hands and smirked with a twinkle in her eye. "Come with me, Katara-chan," Nami said, leading her towards the women's room. "Let's go, Robin."

Katara didn't even try to protest as she was led away, because she was very much correct in thinking that neither Nami nor Robin wouldn't listen to any objections she may have had. Almost an hour later, Nami and Robin came out of the room, followed by Katara who was now wearing the wrap dress she had bought from Felsen.

"Whoa…" Aang's voice was barely a whisper, as he just stared at Katara.

Of course, Aang's voice was drowned out by someone else: "KATARA-CHWAN IS SO BEAUTIFUL AND PERFECT AND AMAZING. YOU ARE LIKE A GODDESS NAY LIKE ONE OF THE SPIRITS OF YOUR WORLD."

Sanji didn't even pause to take a breath as he spoke with hearts in his eyes. Nami glared at Sanji for a moment, before guiding Katara over to Aang, who was staring at her with his mouth opening and closing like a fish; although the occasional frog-noise would make its way out.

Katara wore the dress tied over one shoulder, and the design of it allowed long trails of billowy fabric almost down to her knees to flow gently behind her. With the help of the older women, Katara had pulled her hair back into a small bun, while still allowing most of it to flow down onto her shoulders, and the hairpin that Aang had given her decorated the bun. She honestly looked more dressed up than Aang had ever seen her. Nearly everyone had stopped what they were doing to look at her, and praises came from all sides.

"You look amazing, Katara!" Chopper squeaked.

"Wow! You look like royalty. I would know. I'm something like royalty myself." Usopp grinned as he proudly pointed a thumb to himself.

"Super-cute, Water-sis!" Franky grinned as he posed.

"So…What do you think, Aang?" Katara asked, slightly blushing.

"Ug…Guh…Gug…" Aang just stared, obviously infatuated, but his coherence simply refused to work.

"I think Aang says you look great, Katara." Toph said. "I'd also say you look great, but the whole being blind thing kinda gets in the way."

Katara laughed. "It's alright, Toph."

Sokka smirked as he nudged Aang who was continuing with his frog noises. "And I agree. So, what's the occasion?"

"Well," Nami started as she gave a small smile. "We've noticed" Nami motioned to Robin and herself, "That with all this chaos that's been going on, you Aang and Katara haven't actually had any peace, not even alone time from these idiots. So, you two are going out, without any of us being there." She pointedly looked at certain members of her crew as she said this. "Aang, here."

Nami pulled out a roll of belli from her pocket, and handed it to Aang, who in turn said, "You look amazing, Katara," with a lop-sided grin on his face, and Katara smiled, a light blush on her cheeks.

"So you two should enjoy yourselves," Nami smiled, and Aang suddenly registered that he was holding something, and he looked at Nami while she continued. "I know that you two have been wanting some private time together, and this is the perfect place to do it."

Aang blushed as Katara only giggled quietly.

"Bleh…" Toph gave a slight gag that wasn't heard or was ignored by the others.

Sanji turned to Aang, "You better make sure to make her happy – very happy, Aang-san," he said with a dark glare while taking a large drag of his cigarette. Shivers went up Aang's spine, while Katara just gave Sanji a curious, albeit somewhat-stern glare.

"Uh…okay?" But Aang recovered and quickly redirected his attention to Nami and Robin, saying, "Thanks for this…"

"It's okay, Aang-kun," Nami said with a smile. "You can pay me back later, with 200% interest to what you already owe me."

"Wait, you're raising it again!?" the voice of Zuko rung out in protest.

oOo***oOo

Chomei slowly came into view about twenty minutes later, and it certainly looked like a Paradise that one could only dream of. The island was covered in large palm trees, and large buildings which were obviously hotels glistened in the morning light. Twisting water slides of various sizes covered one side of the island, and they could see a large and very welcoming looking port where numerous ships of sizes and styles were docked.

Thanks to Chopper's excited chattering of pointing everything out, Toph was able to get an idea of what everyone was seeing without even having to ask. She quietly admitted to herself that she was actually looking forward to going to a spa.

"Oh!" Luffy shouted excitedly. "Let's go swimming when we get there!"

Law balked at Luffy's "swimming" comment. He looked to his fellow Captain and anchor, wondering why he would even consider such a thing. "Why would we go swimming?"

"Obviously, 'cuz it's fun, Tra-guy!" Luffy snickered and his grin widened. "You should come swimming with us!"

"Pass." Law said quickly, with a dismissive wave of his hand.

"You're no fun," Luffy pouted accusingly, obviously deflated for the moment.

"Of course he's not, Luffy." Sokka shook his head sadly as he put a comforting arm around Luffy. "Poor Tra-guy here wouldn't know fun if it ran up and bit him. If fun in fact did try to bite him, he'd probably kill it with his lack of enthusiasm."

Sokka easily ignored Law's irritated glance as Luffy, Usopp and Chopper all easily agreed.

"This place looks like it's going to be miserable…" Ebony muttered.

Zoro cocked an eyebrow questioningly, and Ebony explained, "Would this place even have a decent book store or library? I think not. It's all about fun in the sun, spas, and swimming."

Zoro didn't particularly care, but he shrugged. "You never know." He thoughtfully put a finger to his chin. "I wonder if they have good fishing."

"Books are just as relaxing, if not more so…" Ebony continued muttering.

"You have a weird idea of fun," Sokka told Ebony bluntly.

"I have my priorities." Ebony shrugged.

oOo***oOo

Franky docked the ship at a port, and the majority of them clamored off rather loudly, with the likes of Luffy, Sokka, and Usopp in the lead. The fact that they were Pirates didn't seem to really bother anyone, although there were more than a few people who obviously kept their distance with wary glances and subtly (some, not-so-subtly) crossed the path to the other side while keeping a tight hold on their wallets.

They passed other docking stations with ships of various styles and colors, when a man wearing an odd-looking fancy suit approached them, and bowed in greeting. "Greetings, valued customers," he said as he stood strait and adjusted his suit with white gloved hands. A wide, almost Cheshire-like grin was plastered to his face. "I'm Halben, welcome to Chomei, the great Paradise of the East; where your worries and troubles melt away – If you would please step this way?" Halben stood to the side, with a hand out that indicated he wanted them to walk in that direction. He stepped ahead with a bit of a bounce, and inquired about their health and their travels (while everyone answered either hesitantly due to the enthusiastic optimism, uncaringly, or with the same optimistic energy the man had).

Halben directed to them to a small stand where he gave each of them a ticket with a number on it, which indicated which port Sunny was docked at. "Now, valued customers," he said as he handed each member of the crew the tickets, "keep these with you, don't lose them, and be sure to show them to the attendant here at the stand when you want to go back to your ship. This ensures that neither thieves nor stowaways try to sneak onto your ship. This is for your safety and the safety of others, for we do not want our valued customers to have to worry about a thing while they are in Paradise. Please, enjoy the rest of your stay with us."

Halben then bowed, and held out an arm, indicating that they were now free to leave. The attendants seemed to think of the Pirates as nothing more than regular customers, because they were quite welcoming with practiced overly-wide smiles and deep bows. The group noticed numerous armed guards stationed nearby, and the only purpose that they seemed to serve was giving a sense of security to those present. The men were armed with both flintlocks and swords, and each one of them was extremely tall and muscular with very fine and polished off-white armor, and stood on high alert, showing that they were prepared for any trouble should it arise. The new arrivals felt the eyes of the guards watching their every move, and from the looks of things, as long as no one caused trouble, the guards had no reason to bother them.

"Excuse me," Eurynome got the attention of one of the attendants with a light tap to her shoulder. The woman picked at invisible fuzz from her bright-blue skirt before answering with a friendly, "Yes?"

"Is there a place where we can buy a small ship? Nothing big or complex, just something that's strong enough to sail to another island a few days from here."

The woman looked genuinely confused. "Didn't you just get here? You haven't even been here for five minutes, and yet you already want to leave?"

"Is there a shipwright here?" Ebony tried asking, but he was answered with a light, overly-friendly and amused polite chuckle from the woman. "Why would we have shipwrights? There's no need for those, here. Everyone wants to come here, and no one wants to leave. We can call a shipwright to come here if you really need one, but the closest one that I know of will be able to arrive in a few weeks, and that's if he and his men aren't busy."

She then delicately and professionally lifted a hand and pointed with its entirety towards the hub of the island. "Why don't you just forget about your troubles and obligations and enjoy the numerous festivities and services we have available? There are numerous spas and restaurants of the highest quality, and numerous theaters featuring a variety of shows, along with our main attraction that is the water park. Even your pets are welcome. Here, please take these, valued customers," she paused in her speech and picked up and handed each of them colorful pamphlets (which had the thickness of a small book) bowing as she did so. Once she was finished, she smiled wide and bowed low once again, "Please enjoy Paradise and all that it offers, while you are with us, valued customers."

oOo***oOo

While two members of their large group were temporarily deflated, they headed towards the hub of the island, passing by numerous street vendors and people who were trying to hand out flyers beckoning people to come to their place of business. The vendors and the beckoners called out to everyone they could, complementing and persuading the passersby; telling people how good they looked, along with services they offered and how good their deals were.

The main road branched off into various sections that had only restaurants, shops, and hotels, and even seemed to be systematized by price range. The mixed smells of cooking wafted into the air as they passed by just one of the many "restaurant streets". Luffy and Sokka both drooled in anticipation. "Foooddd," they both happily sighed.

"Please, Nami!" Luffy begged, lacing his fingers together. She complied, handing both Luffy and Sokka enough money so they could eat their fill. "Remember, I expect a 400% return plus interest."

"Yeah, sure!" Sokka replied happily, seeming to forget that he didn't exactly have the means to pay her back at the moment, along with the debt that had already been piled on earlier.

"Let's go to one of the spas, this one looks nice." Robin suggested. "How about just us girls – and this one looks really nice."

"Are spas really that special?" Eurynome questioned almost doubtfully.

"Sure they are, and Katara likes spas," Toph said with a shrug. "Let's just go."

"Alright," Eurynome seemed unconvinced. "If you say so."

"That sounds so relaxing!" chimed Nami, "Let's go!" Fixing the males of the group with a fierce glare and a dangerous smile, she said, "Try to stay out of trouble, okay?"

"Yes, Nami-swan!" Sanji crooned as the others responded with their own glare, rolling their eyes or even shuddering under the Navigator's gaze. With that, the women waved goodbye, leaving the others to their own devices.

"Have fun and relax my angels!" Sanji said joyously, waving his arms. "I know you're going to come back more beautiful than ever!"

"You look and sound like a baboon, you shitty third-rate cook." Zoro muttered, and of course a childish argument started between them.

"I wish I could have gone with them…" Momonosuke said regretfully as he watched the women leave, ignoring the glares from the likes of his father, Brook, and Sanji (who immediately broke off from Zoro upon hearing the small boy) as they understood exactly what he wanted.

"You wouldn't have gotten to join them anyway," Ebony said, obviously not realizing what Momonosuke's true regrets were. He pointed to a section in the pamphlet where the spa that the girls had selected said that they happily provided childcare. "They don't allow kids in the spa rooms."

"But I am not just some mere child! I am going to be Shogun of my country!" Momonosuke insisted defensively. "Surely, they would have allowed me in with the women as well!"

"But they say that the men's and women's areas are separate, so even if you got in they wouldn't have allowed you in the women's area." Ebony explained simply.

Momonosuke continued to complain with his reasoning, while Ebony rebutted with practicality, not even noticing it when Momonosuke told Ebony that he wished to have been carried by Eurynome because of how strong and firm she was. Those among them wondered how it was possible that someone could be so intelligent yet so dense at the same time. It was quickly becoming obvious that neither Ebony nor Momonosuke were going to let up in what was now becoming some sort of weird argument, so Usopp quickly took charge.

"What do you plan to do?"

"Eat!" Luffy and Sokka chorused. "Let's go find a restaurant! Yeah!"

Franky said. "I see that there's a soda shop and I bet they have different kinds of cola! Plus the Sunny needs plenty of fuel because we've been super-using Coup-de-burst quite a bit lately. I'll definitely be buying a few barrels worth."

"Walk." Ebony said with a shrug. "Eat later."

"Well, I'm certainly not hungry right now…" Zuko still couldn't really comprehend Luffy's bottomless pit of a stomach.

"What would you like to do first, Katara?" Aang asked, smiling brightly.

"I'd like to go sight-seeing for a bit, this island is really beautiful." Katara returned a bright smile of her own, which caused Aang's heart to beat faster.

"Exploring could be nice," Zoro reasoned which earned him a mix of glares and panicked stares. "So, I'll just stick with Ebony."

"Exploring is the last thing you should be doing, you wayward Marimo." Sanji growled.

"Well, if Ebony is with him, then it should be fine…you don't get lost easily, do you Ebony?" Usopp questioned.

Zoro huffed at his crewmates' comments. "You're the ones who get lost all the damn time…"

"No…?" Ebony's brows narrowed in confusion. He looked back and forth between the others. "…Why?"

"Just keep a close eye on him." Usopp pointed to Zoro.

"Um…sure…?" Ebony glanced between them now with a confused and curious look, but he quickly put it to the side and turned to the Fire Bender. "What about you, Zuko-san?"

"I'll just stay with you guys," Zuko nodded. "I mean, I really want to stay out of trouble." He looked specifically at Zoro as he spoke, who only rolled his eye in response.

"What kind of trouble would there be here?" Sokka asked, indicating the relaxed state of everyone else around them. There certainly didn't seem to be a care in the world here.

"I don't know, but trouble certainly has a tendency to find us." Zuko justifiably felt wary, but no one seemed to share his concerns.

"I bet they have top-quality ingredients in a place like this, so I'll just be looking around." Sanji said. "Ingredients such as that!" Sanji said as he spotted a small group of beautiful women clothed in various styles of summer-wear. "Ladies!"

"EEEK!"

"I LOVE THIS ISLAND!" Sanji could be heard shouting blocks away.

"He certainly got over there very fast…" Aang said.

"Hmm…" Kin'emon looked thoughtful. "We should find a relaxing activity as well, and it seems certain areas of this island have recreational areas in which one can sunbathe. I do believe that I am in need of such a service."

"I am inclined to agree Kin'emon-san! I am quite pale, even though I have no skin!"

The odd pair (and Momonosuke) went to find an area in which they could sunbathe and enjoy the watching other sunbathers of the female variety. Franky left to go buy large amounts of cola, leaving Zuko, Sokka, Luffy, Usopp, Chopper, Law, Zoro and Ebony to their own devices.

The meat-loving pair threw their arms around the others' shoulder and did an odd dance-walk as they chanted, "Meat, meat, delicious meat!"

"Maybe they have a bookstore…?" Ebony questioned hopefully after seeing the variety of shops. He began paging through the pamphlet.

"Yes they do!" Chopper said excitedly after looking through his own pamphlet. He pointed to a section on a map that had been included with the pamphlet.

"With an area this rich in flora and natural minerals they might have a decent selection of medical literature." Law reasoned.

"Lead on, Cotton-san," Ebony grinned. The three set off without another word, Zuko and Zoro both sighed heavily and having no real choice but to walk after them, and Sokka and (mostly) Luffy to complain.

"Well, there are some restaurants on the way there," Zuko said after briefly looking over Chopper's shoulder. "I suppose you can find a place to eat at one of those."

"Yay!" Luffy cheered.

"I'm looking forward to seeing what else they have here," Zuko looked at all of the sights, slowly taking them in. They certainly didn't have anything like this back home. The closest comparison he could think of was the carnival celebrating the anniversary of the end of the "100-year-war". While he let his thoughts wander, Zuko made sure to bring up the rear, although subtly, so that he could keep an eye on Zoro.

"The fishing's probably great here," Zoro mused. "I want to go fishing."

oOo***oOo

The spa they chose was a magnificent building which was made of very fine stone and was polished to a shine, with a variety of very green and colorful plants was by the entrance. The attendants greeted them warmly as they walked up to the counter so they could select whatever services they wanted. Eurynome couldn't have cared either way, while Toph admitted that she was partial to mud baths, and both Robin and Nami agreed that a massage would be really relaxing, while Nami also thought that she could use a facial.

After a few minutes of discussing what they should do, they finally decided that a mud bath, facials, and a full-body massage would be ideal. A plump woman with a warm smile named Mary led them to the women's area so that they could change. She handed them robes and left so that they could have privacy. They changed into their robes, and were then led to another room that housed the mud baths, and since they were a group, they could all go into one room together.

"Why don't you settle in, and I'll go get the materials for your facials," suggested Mary. "I'll just be ten minutes at most." She left, closing the door behind her.

As they settled in, Eurynome still seemed to have her doubts. "Why are we paying to swim in mud when we can do it for free? I've been covered in mud before and it wasn't anything special."

"It's special because of the minerals in the mud," Toph pointedly explained. "It moisturizes and revitalizes your skin; it's very pure." She then shrugged. "At least that's what Katara says. To me, even though it's made of different stuff at times, dirt is dirt."

"If you say so…"

Mary came back with three other attendants, and each of them gave their customers facials with some sort of earth-based mineral in it. Toph grinned, for as soon as her lady finished putting on the face mask, Toph used earthbending to warp the mask as she groaned with a "Bllaaauugghhh…" the attendants all screamed, Eurynome laughed, Robin hid her smile. Even though Nami sighed heavily and wanted to face-palm, she still smiled as the attendants panicked as if they thought they had a bad batch of mud-mask or something that was attacking their young customer.

"V-valued customers, would you like something to drink while you are relaxing?" Mary questioned, still recovering from the shock of seeing a mud-mask seemingly come to life.

"No thanks," her customers replied.

"Very well then," she bowed. "I will take my leave. Please ring that bell," she motioned to a small hand bell by Robin, "if you need anything. I hope you enjoy your stay here at Chomei."

She bowed, quietly closing the door behind her as she left.

"This certainly is relaxing after these past few stressful months," Nami sighed as she settled back.

"So people actually pay to sit in mud and have mud spread all over their faces?" Eurynome asked. Although she wore the mud-mask, she refused to put cucumbers on her eyes, feeling as if it was unnecessary (and a waste of food).

"Yep." Toph replied simply.

"I'll admit that it is somewhat relaxing." Eurynome smiled.

After the mud baths, they all went for some type of full-body massage, and enjoyed a few of the other services that they were curious to try out. After they were finished being pampered, with the frightening combined efforts of Nami and Eurynome, they didn't have to pay nearly half as much as other customers (much to the horror and displeasure of the staff).

"I-it was a pleasure doing business with you…please come again…valued customers…" Mary tearfully said as the girls left. "Actually…please don't…" she fearfully whimpered the moment the door closed behind them, as if she was worried that if she spoke her wish aloud, the frightening and frugal girls would take up the offer of returning.

Nami now lead the way to a few shops where they tried on numerous clothes, and Toph once again felt as if she were being treated like a doll, because Nami wanted her to try numerous things on. Eurynome simply put on accessories such as hats, scarves, and sunglasses. They tried on various things, raising the hopes of shopkeepers with the piles upon piles of clothing and the shops in disarray, only to leave with Nami stating, "I like more casual things," and Eurynome pointing out how impractical some of the outfits were. "Why aren't there any pockets on these? How are you even supposed to move wearing that?" much to the shopkeepers' chagrin.

Toph was relieved when they finally stopped at a café to get something to eat, as she had rather loudly announced the level of her starvation; "I'm so hungry, I could eat an entire bear-horse!"

The meal was enjoyable and very delicious, but nothing could compare to Sanji's cooking. Even those not of the Straw Hats could tell that the dishes were missing something, but they simply couldn't place what it was. Robin was the only one of them to openly acknowledge the fact with a smile, saying, "I do believe that Sanji-kun's cooking has all of us entirely spoiled too much."

"I know what you mean, Robin!" Nami laughed, "Those two years away made me realize how much I enjoy the meals and treats he prepares."

This conversation of course, left out Toph, as Eurynome already had knowledge of the Straw Hats' two year separation.

"What happened in those two years?" Toph asked curiously, and the answers to what she thought was a simple question turned into a variety of stories that consisted of Nami living on an island in the sky that controlled weather (which interested Eurynome) and Robin (although somewhat vague) told of living with a variety of interesting characters, and even talked some about Eurynome's father and about the infamous Dragon, although it was in a lowered voice.

As the evening set in, they prepared to head back to the Sunny. As they walked along the streets, Eurynome spoke up. "So this is what girls do for fun, huh?"

"Yeah, I suppose." Toph replied, shrugging.

"Haven't you ever done anything like we did today? Or at least…wanted to?" Nami asked in all seriousness.

"No. Daria, Dacho and Saya are not the types to do this sort of thing, and we never had any time or need for it. My idea of fun is swimming, hunting, finding treasure…and I've never gotten along with other girls because I don't care about being pretty or dressing up or something like that. I don't have any need for it, and I don't have to impress anyone." Robin noted a rather genuine smile on Eurynome's face. "So, today…It was nice. I enjoyed it."

oOo***oOo

Aang and Katara walked hand-in-hand together through the various areas of Chomei, looking at everything that caught their fancy; well, mostly Katara's fancy as Aang merely followed along happy that she was happy. Certain vendors, upon realizing that they were a couple, attempted to call them into their stores and experience the finest of their services reserved only for couples that was promised to be better than the other guy's. Their calls went unheeded by the couple.

Katara noticed a stand outside of a clothing store, and went over to look, with Aang right beside her. Various scarves and bandanas were on display, along with other smaller accessories. Katara had apparently noticed a particular bandana because it was the first thing she picked up as soon as she reached the stand. "What do you think, Aang?" She asked, holding up the bandana with both hands, displaying the pattern.

Aang could see why she had been drawn to it: it was orange, with a swirled white-and-blue pattern spread throughout that honestly looked like something the Wind Monks would have used if they had worn more than just simple robes. "It's pretty nice," Aang admitted.

"Great," Katara said, "Now turn around. I want to see something."

Aang complied, and let out a quiet, "Huh?" when he felt Katara tie it around his head. She then turned him to face a mirror, showing him how the bandana looked. Katara had tied it around his head to hide his arrow tattoo. "That way, you're less conspicuous, Arrowhead Aang," Katara smiled as she continued. "And extremely eh…good looking." Katara blushed as she looked over the other items on display.

He hadn't let his hair grow out, even since coming here. Maybe he could grow his hair out again, because after the picture shown on his wanted poster was of him bald. If he grew out his hair, he could easily hide himself again. It would probably be a wise move on his part. "How much?" he asked the stand's attendant.

"Seven Belli." The man looked quite pleased to have someone make a purchase.

Afterwards, the pair walked some more taking in the sights. The buildings were incredibly tall and shined so that the sun reflected off of the polished glass and in turn the sky above them seemed to glow. A few buildings used the reflective surfaces to their advantage, using shiny, multicolored windows which acted like prisms, adding to the enchanting aura the island had.

"I bet this place would look amazing at night." Katara said as she looked up. "Especially from above."

"Would you like me to take you flying later tonight, Katara?" Aang asked hopefully, smiling when he got a nod in return.

"I'd like that."

They walked through one of the restaurant districts, and passed the majority of them up. Both Aang and Katara preferred simpler things, and many of the restaurants were far too fancy for their tastes. Besides, the majority of the people coming and going from the fancier restaurants looked down their noses at each other, and many of them caused Aang to almost wonder if they were performers of some kind judging by their eccentric outfits.

Other areas of the various districts caught their interests easily enough, and they decided to walk through one of the many marketplaces that were available. A loud crying broke out from somewhere in the crowd, disrupting the tranquility. Aang and Katara unwittingly found the source that was a small boy after a few more steps and weaving their way through the crowd. For one reason or another, the boy was sobbing, and his mother's attempts to calm him went unheard. It was obvious that they weren't among the noble elite, and very likely lived on Chomei, judging by what they wore and the contents the mother had in her bag from a day of shopping.

"Barry, please…" the mother tried coaxing, but 'Barry' continued crying. A few people were staring, and others made comments about misbehaved children and some peoples' inability to raise them.

"Hey!" Aang jumped forward, surprising both Barry and his mother. Barry stopped crying and stared curiously at the young stranger before him, giving only light sniffles in response.

"Wanna see a trick?" Aang asked with a sly grin as he glanced back and forth, as if he were revealing some big secret.

(Sniffle) Barry stuck a finger in his mouth and nodded, although he looked unsure.

"Alright then," Aang stomped a foot on the ground and pulled a few small rocks from the earth, shaping and molding them into four, perfectly smooth round stones, only a little bigger than marbles. Aang held the stones in his hand, showing the boy, before drawing back as he said, "Get ready…and…" Aang gave a ridiculous grin as he Airbended the rocks in a fast, circular motion between his palms. "Ta-da!"

Barry went wide-eyed with excitement, and clapped as his mother smiled gratefully, while other people who saw the performance "Oohed" and "Ahhed" and clapped along with the boy. Aang displayed his favorite trick for only a minute or two, before stopping and handing the boy the stones. "These are for you, take good care of them. Okay?"

"Mm-hmm!" Barry nodded, and he held the stones in his hands, examining them with pure fascination. He saw that each stone had a symbol of some sort carved into them, although somewhat crudely. One had three swirls, another had some sort of rock, the next had what looked to be a wave of water, and the last had a flame.

"So cool…" he whispered. "Thanks!"

Aang gave Barry a thumbs' up with one hand, as he grabbed Katara's hand with the other. "Thank you," Barry's mother said genuinely, and the mysterious young couple only smiled and waved before disappearing into the crowd.

A few hours later, Aang and Katara found themselves in one of the districts that was suited more to their preferences; somewhat reminding them of one of the Earth Kingdom villages, in terms of how casual and carefree people acted. Even the guards seemed to be friendlier as a few of them even smiled as the two Benders passed. A small restaurant caught their eye, and they went in.

Numerous people were inside, and mirth filled the air. A few people played instruments in one corner, while the majority of the crowd sang along (rather terribly) with a song about Pirates, being drunk, and being buried at sea. In spite of the terrible singing from the crowd, the people were so into it that others around them couldn't help but be sucked into the pace. A waitress led them to a table, and with a smile she recommended a large plate that housed a variety of Chomei's delicacies.

They had just gotten around to finishing their meal when a man suddenly sat at their table, tankard in hand. He grinned at Aang in his drunken stupor. "Ye got yerself a mighty pretty lass, boyo."

"Thanks…" Aang replied, unsure if the man was simply making drunken conversation or if he and Katara had to get ready to defend themselves. The man took another swig of his drink, and gave Aang a look through half-lidded eyes as he swayed in in his seat.

"Ye kiss her yet?"

"What?!" Aang said blushing, simply because a complete stranger was asking such things.

"I asked if ye kissed her yet. Shoulden't let a pretty girl like that go to waste." He gave Katara a nod and Aang a smirk as he turned back to him. "Yer a lucky man if she chose ye, ye know."

"Yes…" Aang said, slowly. "We've kissed…"

"Alright! Good lad!" the man gave a hearty laugh as he slapped Aang on the back. Aang's back felt as if he had been slammed into the floor, but he forced a grin at the man. The man raised a hand, calling over the waitress and he ordered three drinks. "Yer a man, and ye should celebrate!"

Aang tried to protest the offer of drinks, but went unheard.

"Aw, young love." An old man standing nearby said. He nodded to Aang, raising his drink in his wrinkled, arthritic hand. "My Yzma was the most beautiful gal to grace this earth." He smiled, revealing a few missing teeth. "Count yourself lucky when the most beautiful gal in the world shows an interest in you."

Katara blushed heavily as she stared at the alcoholic drink before her hesitantly. Attention from many of the pubs's older patrons was now paying attention to her and Aang, noticing that a young couple was on a "date". Wanting to be polite, she took a small sip of the sweet liquid. It was…surprisingly good for an alcoholic drink.

Another song began, this time it was about lovers or something like that, but Katara wasn't really catching any of the words.

"Ask her to dance," the first man said to Aang with a grin. Aang swayed slightly in his seat from the few sips of alcohol in his system. Aang definitely didn't want to pull a "Zuko" and get so drunk he couldn't remember what happened, so he made sure to take numerous small sips, but the drink was still strong enough to affect him even with how little of it he had drank.

Katara smiled as Aang stood and walked the few steps over to her, and extended a hand. "My lady, shall we dance?"

Katara took Aang's hand, "Of course, it would be my pleasure," she said as she rose from her seat.

They moved to the center of the dance floor, moving in time to the music. People's cheering, singing and clapping all blended together into one harmonious sound. Obviously, dance moves like the ones they were using had never been seen before by the patrons, so they cheered whenever either Aang or Katara did some kind of flip or complicated spin that required a lot of dexterity. It didn't take long for them to realize that at the moment, they were the only ones dancing, but they continued, having too good a time for it to bother them. When the next song started, it was as if the other patrons were determined not to be outshined by the young couple. People flocked to the dance floor, and the Benders soon found themselves with other dance partners; not that they minded.

A few songs later, they both were hot and rather sweaty, and found themselves back at their table trying to catch their breath. The pub quieted down for a time, while people left and the musicians rested. By now, the buzz of alcohol had worn off for both of the Benders, so after drinking plenty of refreshing water and paying for their meal, the couple went to leave.

Some felt the need to stop them and wish them luck in their lives and in their love. Their comments were met with thanks, and they finally made it out of the pub and out of the smaller district. They passed a woman who looked as if she were crying as she held the hand of a young boy who had some kind of large black stain all over the front of his shirt, and both of them were walking hurriedly as they weaved through the crowd. It was rather odd, but neither of them thought any further of it.

As they walked, Katara noticed that every now and then people were glancing carefully back and forth before whispering something to someone else. The recipient would then always look nervous, and then they would nod before going about their business. Aang seemed to notice it too, but neither of them said anything. A person accidentally bumped into Aang, and he muttered an apology, but Aang caught the words, "Stay out of the West district. There're Dragons."

"Huh?" Aang replied, but the man continued on his way, but not before bumping into someone else and apologizing. The person he was talking to suddenly paled and nodded. "Odd…" Aang said, trying to think of what the man meant. Whatever the man was saying, he definitely meant it as a warning.

"Aang?" Katara spoke up, looking at the Air Nomad curiously. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah. Uh, you want to go back to Sunny? Are you tired? Just asking."

"No." Katara replied, somewhat unsure. "Let's keep going. Are you okay?"

Aang shrugged, so Katara took hold of Aang's arm and walked as close as she could without tripping risk of tripping each other. Aang has gotten taller, she noticed. He was a few inches taller than her.

"Hey, Katara?"

"Hmm?"

"I don't know why, but I have a bad feeling about something…and I have no idea what it is…Maybe I'm just overthinking things." At least he hoped he was. That strange man had put him somewhat on edge.

"Well, whatever it is, I'm sure it'll work out. Everything always does." Katara planted a kiss on Aang's cheek. "…You want to talk about it?"

"No…And yeah, I guess you're right." Aang forced a smile, even though that creepy feeling continued to reside in the back of his mind.

"Let's walk through here to get back to Sunny," Katara suggested as she pointed to a path that had a scenic route of the ocean on their right, and the town on their left. Katara smiled as she started to point out various things in the town in order to distract Aang and help him forget whatever was bothering him; at least for the moment. They came to an area of town where they could climb up a tower and look over the town. Katara put two Belli coins into a pair of binoculars after a little help from a fellow tourist who showed her how to use them.

"I never thought I'd live to see something like this," Katara whispered, as she looked over Chomei, which was now blanketed in the early evening sun, the buildings capturing the natural light and reflecting off of each other, looking like a city on fire, mixed with rainbows. That was the best way to describe it. Aang couldn't help but agree with Katara on the view, and a small part of him somewhat wished that their World had a place like this.

On a rather slow walk back to the Sunny, they bought a couple of snow cones, which were amazingly delicious. Aang finished his off rather quickly after a few bites, only to grip his head and grimace from brain-freeze. He recovered in a matter of minutes, while Katara laughed at him. She knew better than to just stuff a large amount of anything ice cold into her mouth and expect everything to be fine. Having Sokka as a brother definitely meant learning from his many mistakes and bad ideas that seemed good at the time; thus ensuring that she only had to make a few mistakes of her own.

"When we get back home, I'm definitely going to introduce snow cones to everyone," Aang promised. He listed on his fingers then things he believed the Grand Line had that their World definitely couldn't live without. "And think of the stories we can tell people-especially our kids."

Katara gave Aang a surprised look, but he continued as if he didn't even realize what he had said. So Katara only smiled in agreement with a quiet, "Yeah."

The sun was just setting when they finally reached the Sunny, and showed their tickets to the attendant at the booth, who nodded with a practiced grin and a "Welcome back, valued customers. I hope you had a most pleasant day in Paradise."

They passed the various other stations before coming to the one where the Sunny was docked.

"That's a bit odd," commented Aang, as he used Airbending to gracefully lift Katara and himself up and gently set them down on the grassy deck. "Normally, Franky or Brook are out here…"

They could see figures moving in the Sunny's kitchen, so they headed in, wondering if everything was okay.

oOo***oOo

Zoro and his group finally left the bookstore after about almost an hour of Law, Chopper, and Ebony perusing the store's extensive book collection (accompanied of course with some of Luffy's complaining and Sokka's not-so-subtle hints of near-starvation).

The three of them were satisfied with the purchases they had made, and a loud growl erupting from a sheepish Zuko's stomach convinced everyone else that they should find something to eat. They walked for a while longer until they came across numerous food stands that offered delicacies from the island, and they bought quite a few varieties of the local food. Luffy and Sokka more than happily stuffed themselves on the food that was offered.

When Chopper hungrily eyed a cotton candy stand, Ebony bought some for the reindeer Doctor and Saul. Momo flitted from one person to the next, sampling the food that they were eating. At one point, Sokka began yelling at Momo as the lemur tried to take some of his food; Momo crawled around on Sokka while Sokka kept trying to keep the food out of his reach. Numerous people stopped and stared; some seemed to be under the impression that the display was some form of entertainment, while others scoffed at "the lower class."

Ebony watched with some confusion. "Why doesn't he just give Momo a bite? That would be so much easier."

Zoro looked on with disinterest, before he muttered to Law, "My money's on the monkey."

Law gave Zoro a glance, seeming to silently agree with his fellow swordsman, although of course, Law looked very irritated.

Luffy cheered through mouthfuls of food, making it nearly impossible to understand just who he was cheering for.

Zuko face-palmed and sighed heavily before shouting, "SOKKA! JUST GIVE MOMO A BITE OF THE DAMN THING!"

Zuko looked flustered quickly, because he typically didn't curse. He had been hanging around the Pirates for far too long. Sokka froze and looked at Zuko, shocked at hearing the Fire Lord curse. Momo took the opportunity to grab the entire shish kebob he had been going for and fly over to Law's shoulder and enjoy his meal.

Sokka looked deflated, and stuck his tongue out at Momo before finding something else to eat. Of course, Sokka ended up trying every little thing that caught his fancy, which of course resulted in him getting momentarily ill when some type of exotic fruit shish kebab didn't agree with him just mere minutes after consuming it.

Law, Ebony, and Chopper easily ate the exotic fruit, with Law wearing a slight smirk. "The langs-cherimo fruit is often too rich for people to eat quickly the first time; you need to be used to eating extremely rich foods. It's also slightly poisonous if consumed in large amounts or eaten too quickly. You should have eaten it slow. It's a good thing that everything you've consumed hasn't regurgitated. Consider yourself lucky."

Sokka only pathetically groaned in response as he gave Law a thumbs-up. "It was worth it though…" He was glad Katara wasn't there to berate him.

Zuko observed the other people as they walked, and he got the feeling that it seemed that the food vendors were there only for the people who weren't of the noble elite. As their group ate as they walked, Zuko noticed that a few people stared at them and others like they were looking down their noses. Zuko caught one man's eye who was staring at him, and the man gave him a haughty look before giving some sort of dignified huff and turned up his nose.

They passed through a large courtyard with planters housing hundreds of colorful plants, along with benches, all of which one could have said were almost unnecessarily decorated because of the intricate carvings. The huge courtyard split off into numerous other streets, which of course housed even more shops, restaurants, spas, and hotels. They were thankful for all the signs pointing which way were which, because it was honestly like a maze. This in turn made Sokka and Zuko watch Zoro like a cat-hawk, although they tried to act as if they weren't expecting him to aimlessly wander off at any given time. They randomly chose a path and walked through the crowded streets for a bit longer, when the crowd suddenly began loudly whispering nervously to each other, and began to part quickly to the sides, bowing to the ground as they did so. Zuko barely caught a glimpse of a strange, clear bubble on a man's head before he heard Ebony say, "Shit!" grab his collar, and drag him to the side. "Hide!"

"H-hey!" Zuko started, and he grabbed Ebony's hand in a pathetic attempt to keep from toppling and being dragged.

"Be quiet!" Ebony hissed as he almost roughly led Zuko by his collar. Zuko looked to the others, and saw that an unsettlingly stern Zoro was dragging a protesting Sokka by his arm, and Law kept looking up the street they had been walking on, and Zuko thought that he looked slightly nervous. It was seeing an unusually calm Luffy who had been a ball of energy just moments ago that made Zuko go silent. Law was insistently muttering something to Luffy that Zuko only caught bits and pieces of.

"Don—try an—ing Straw Hat-ya."

Luffy seemed to almost glare in defiance at Law, but Zoro seemed to know what Law was saying and silently agreed with a nod when Luffy looked at him. Luffy looked even angrier and more annoyed in response to his fellow Captain and first-mate. Zuko didn't like this one bit.

"What is go-?" Sokka tried to ask, but he was quickly shushed by Law. Neither Sokka nor Zuko were exactly sure what was going on, but the Pirates managed to get to an alleyway before it was blocked by other people, and didn't seem up for answering any questions at the moment. Law looked even more stern than usual. Venom dripped from his words as he said, "What are those bastards doing here?"

"Tch…guess even Tenryubito need a vacation." Zoro had a ready hand on one of his swords, his single eye was narrowed.

"What is going on?" Zuko asked in a loud whisper, somewhat tired of being left out of the loop.

"Tenryubito…" Ebony glared daggers; to such an extent he was making both Sokka and Zuko nervous as to what he might do.

"Wait. Tenryubito? Aren't those are the guys that your father…" Zuko watched intently as the procession walked by. His hand gripped his swords seemingly of its own accord. Sokka looked back and forth between his friends and the crowd. He could see the fear in the crowd and the hatred and anger in the Pirates. He gulped, because he honestly had no idea that Luffy could have this side to him. The Captain stared straight ahead, brows deeply furrowed, jaw set in anger, and tight fisted to the point his hands were shaking.

"That's right." Ebony replied, his words dripping in venom.

"Why is everyone bowing?" Sokka questioned, his voice coming out with a squeak. He was somewhat confused, as he had never seen anything like it before.

"You always have to bow in the presence of a Tenryubito," Ebony replied so quickly, that one might have assumed he was brushing Sokka off; but there was a hint of nervousness in his voice.

They watched from the alleyway as three people wearing ridiculous full body suits that made it impossible to tell whether or not the person wearing it was fat or if the suit was just big, a strange glass bubble with round silver filters on both sides was around their heads, making them look like strange insects, and their hair was done up into two strange buns that would have been laughable if the situation wasn't so serious. They were followed by a group of official-looking men wearing black suits, sunglasses and hats, along with people wearing strange looking collars and tattered clothes, who were being led by chains attached to the collars. A few of the chain-wearing folk were crawling on the ground as they were pulled by their respective masters.

Sokka's eyes widened in shock and Zuko narrowed his eyes and glared fiercely as all three rode on the back of their own personal Fishman. Sokka blinked a few times, trying to process what he was seeing, because it all seemed so surreal to him. The Fishmen were obviously worn out to such an extent that the group could hear the ragged breathing from where they stood. Blood dripped from the Fishman bringing up the rear.

Zuko could just barely hear the pleading whispers from one of them, "Water…water…please…"

"Stupid fish! Fish don't talk! Be quiet and do your job!" The Tenryubito riding the Fishman took up a metal rod and struck his steed on the head, causing him to bleed more and stumble slightly, which resulted in the man riding him to nearly fall out of his seat.

"What are you doing?!" the rider demanded furiously after regaining his balance. Raising his metal rod once more and bringing it down fiercely, he shouted, "Don't you know anything?! Of course you don't, damn Fish! Even a damned horse knows more than you! At least a decent horse doesn't let its rider…" he raised the metal bar again, striking the Fishman as he spoke.

"…hit…" (whack!) "…the fucking…" (whack!) "…ground!"

Zuko cringed openly as he watched, wanting to look away but he couldn't bring himself to, because he was getting angry. That dumb-ass Tenryubito was blaming the Fishman for something he himself was causing. Sokka winced every time the metal rod was brought down.

"Stin-chan, don't be so rash! That's how you killed the last one, you know!" the female of the group scolded in an almost child-like simpering voice that made Zuko cringe even more. "Fishmen are difficult to catch, and a Human isn't as sturdy as a fish, you know! They don't last as long, you know!"

"Don't let it happen again, damn fish!"

"W-we…have to help them…!" Zuko said through clenched teeth. He was shaking because he was so angry. He was ready to draw his swords and prepare to fight.

"How can they do that?!" Sokka demanded. A few people who overheard him glanced back uneasily and scooted away as subtly as they could so they wouldn't be mistaken as allies.

"Jester-ya, shut up. Now." Law's voice was so strict that Sokka looked at him in surprise. "You do not want to draw attention to yourself or any of us."

"We can't." Ebony said. "We help them, and then what? Run off, get on the ship, simply leave, and hope for the best? We can't leave here until the Game's Log sets. There's nothing we can do."

Zuko wanted to argue, and he turned to Ebony to do so. Maybe they could work something out. But he stopped when he saw the look on Ebony's face; he was obviously angry as well and looked regretful. Zuko looked to Law and Zoro, hoping that maybe they would argue to help the slaves, but both of them wore grim expressions as well. Chopper was shaking in his anger. Zuko felt his anger dissipate into hopelessness.

Ebony was right: there was nothing they could do.

"Tenryubito have the power to call Admirals. Even if it's just a Vice-Admiral, that's the last thing we need." Law spoke up. He adjusted his hat, pulling it over his eyes for a moment as he did so. "You saw some of what the last one could do. Rorrim's abilities were child's play compared to some of the other Vice-Admirals…"

They were helpless. People were suffering in front of them, they couldn't even lift a finger, and Zuko hated it. It made him sick.

"This is wrong…" Sokka whispered; his voice so quiet his companions almost missed it.

"I want to help them too, but-" Ebony started, he cut off when a small boy from somewhere unwittingly ran into the path of the Tenryubito. He hadn't been paying attention, and he froze when he saw the figures before him.

The crowd gasped, and went wide-eyed. Panicked and hushed whispers sounded throughout the crowd.

"Oh, no."

"Stupid kid!"

"He's dead…"

"I can't watch!"

"Hmm?" the leader and obviously the father of the two other Tenryubito stopped, and looked at the boy, who simply stared back, unsure. The boy started to move slowly to the side in order to allow the Tenryubito to pass.

"Stop," the man said, and the boy complied without question.

"Stand there." The man motioned to a spot in front of him, and again the boy did as he was told without question.

"Shit…" Law looked worried. That wasn't good, because it was so rare for Law to have any other expression than that of neutral or stern, and it worried Zuko and Sokka.

"Don't move." The man pulled out a golden pistol with intricate carvings, and pointed it at the boy. "Your family should be honored that you are going to be killed by me."

"Please don't!" a woman's voice rung out. Whoever it was didn't stand, but she continued to plead. "He's only a child!"

The old man raised his gun at the boy, who was shaking and tears were threatening to pour from his eyes. "He doesn't know any better!" The pleading got more desperate. "Please, if there's any mercy in your heart, spare him!"

The scene seemed so surreal that Sokka and Zuko could only simply watch in horror as the trigger clicked and the gun fired, sending the boy flying backwards, strangely dark blood pouring from his abdomen. People screamed and turned away in shock and horror.

"No…no…"

Loud screaming sobs could be heard, yet no one rose to run to the boy's side.

"Are you angry that I shot that boy?" the old man questioned, his finger still on the trigger. "Are you saying that boy shouldn't have been shot by me? It's a privilege to experience death by my hands; who do you think I am? Who do you think my ancestors were?" the old man spoke casually as he raised his gun towards the people in the crowd where the loud sobbing could be heard. "You should be thanking me. I've given you one less mouth to feed. Am I wrong?"

"No…no…you're right…" a woman's voice quickly replied, obviously whoever she was, she was fighting back her sobs. "Thank you for the privilege, sir. I will never forget your kindness."

Back in the alleyway, Zoro looked at Ebony, and cocked an eyebrow. "You can curve that Ink Shot? That's impressive – and lucky."

"Yeah, and hopefully he won't keep shooting…and that kid won't move…" Ebony was prepared to fire another shot, and he released a breath when the elder Tenryubito looked to his children, and said, "Let's go."

He put away his pistol and clucked to his Fishman steed, which moved forward slowly.

"Com-ming my honey!" the woman chorused in her child-like voice. Well…his very young wife and obviously much-older-than-his-step-mother son. Nobody dared to move until the Tenryubito were long out of sight, and the woman who had called out earlier ran to the boy. "Gale! What is this…? Ink? Where did…?"

"Ow…" the boy groaned and slowly sat up. "Mom?" He flinched in pain as his mother was sobbing and holding him in a tight hug, rocking back and forth thanking whatever deity had spared her son. "Thank you…thank you…"

"Mom…I can't breathe…" the boy protested, although he didn't struggle to pull away.

"We should go…" Law said quickly. The boy wasn't injured enough for him to have any need to interfere.

The mood was pretty much downcast from then on.

"Luffy did what?" Sokka asked, in wide-eyed fascination, looking to Luffy as he and Zuko were told about the Straw Hat's personal experience in dealing with the Tenryubito when they first encountered them.

"The bastard shot our friend Hachi, and was trying to buy Camie!" Luffy looked annoyed as he kicked at a pebble in his path.

"Camie is a mermaid," Zoro explained for the sake of the others.

"Luffy was so cool when he did it, too!" Chopper said proudly of his Captain. Luffy chuckled in response as he scratched his head.

Zuko hadn't fully understood the extent of the hatred and fear the Tenryubito caused. Upon seeing it personally, or at least what he guessed was a tame preview, he now believed that the Tenryubito were very much like bratty children who were simply handed power and authority without ever having had to work for it, they had easy access to dangerous weapons, and they did whatever they pleased to whomever they pleased, with no fear of consequences. The Saoirse twins hated them, Daria had been mutilated by them, Dacho obviously was traumatized, and the Fishmen that he had seen being ridden by those people were nothing but cattle, and they could kill people; and it didn't matter if it was a child or not. Thoughts of his father and Azula came to him. He was reminded of their cruelty, and the powerlessness that was felt when he refused to fight his father. A part of him knew exactly what these people were going through.

Zuko remembered when he first was banished, how he eventually marched through an Earth Kingdom village. When the villagers couldn't (or as he had seen it, wouldn't) give him the answers he was looking for, he had burnt their village to the ground. Sure, they had a few Earth Benders to repair the damage, but he had destroyed their livelihoods because he had felt he was entitled, and the lowly villagers should be so privileged to experience his wrath. He may have been a banished prince but he was a prince nonetheless.

When he and Uncle were hiding out in the Earth Kingdom and at one point had to hide because of Fire Nation soldiers, he remembered people protesting their presence.

'Stupid Fire Nation soldiers! You aren't wanted here!'

'Go back to where you came from!'

'Our ancestors were here first! You Fire Nation scum simply invited yourselves in!'

'You think we want you here? Why don't you go tell Ozai to burn his own cities?'

Part of him almost felt as if he understood the people here when his grandfather and father justified their actions against the other Nations as they began their reign. These people should be able to fight back; they had the right to fight back.

"Don't…" Zuko started, wondering how he should ask. Everyone stopped walking to look at him. "Don't the Marines at least try to protect people? Or is that all they are; corrupt dogs that serve people like that and only help people in need when it's convenient for them? Why don't they fight back? Why don't the people fight back? Shouldn't rulers be for the people, and not for themselves?"

"Corruption and power runs deep in many areas, Burn-ya." Law answered. He seemed to be remembering something before he continued. "The Tenryubito hold so much power, that they know exactly how to use it, even if it is in childish means."

"How can you let people like that be in power?" Sokka spoke up after thinking for a moment. He looked to the three people who had to live in a World run by a Government that seemed more and more corrupt the more he learned about it. "I mean…a war is the last thing you want, but…those guys…no one should be able to take a life so easily like that."

"They see themselves as gods; in no way do gods serve the people." Ebony replied, stuffing his hands into his pockets. He continued sarcastically, "We should be so honored to even have the opportunity to bow to them. It's also why you don't trust news articles, and read in between the lines."

"I'm beginning to understand why you hate the Marines so much." Sokka said, as he stared at the ground. He looked at Law curiously when he said, "Not all Marines are that bad," and he sort used his hat to hide his face for a moment.

"They're assholes," Luffy muttered bitterly, thinking of the Tenryubito and his inability to punch them like he would have very much liked to do. Then, Luffy changed into a put. "My Grampa wanted me to be a Marine, even when I told him I wanted to be a Pirate!"

"So…that's how it is then?" Zuko asked. "People are suffering and everyone has no choice but to leave it?"

"It's simply the way life is right now." Law replied back to his usual self, but he smirked as if he knew something big, but wouldn't say what. "But don't worry. There'll definitely be a storm someday; it's just not the right time for it."

Both Ebony and Zoro stopped and looked at him for a moment.

"A storm, huh?" Zoro crossed his arms, his expression unreadable. Ebony made a face as if he wanted to ask Law something, but was only holding back for one reason or another. Luffy looked back and forth between them, obviously confused. "What? There's going to be a storm? When? Why? What kind of storm?" Luffy followed after Law, pestering him with questions "Is it a rain storm? A thunderstorm? A meat storm? Oi, Tra-guy, is it a meat storm?"

"No." Law said somewhat flatly. Suddenly he was yelling, "Let go of me, Straw Hat-ya!"

"Just tell me what kind of storm it is, Tra-guy…stop being so stingy." Luffy whined pathetically.

"What're they talking about…?" Chopper mumbled to himself.

"We should hurry back to the ship." Zoro said quickly. "We need to stay out of the way of those Tenryubito bastards."

He huffed quietly when Ebony grabbed his sleeve to direct him back onto the path that led to the Sunny.

"What storm?" Chopper asked. "Do we have something to worry about…?"

"Not at the moment," Law replied with a scowl accompanied by a shrug as he took the lead, doing his best to ignore Luffy who was now talking about meat and was hoping that they would come across an island that was made of meat. Law simply used to length of his arm to push Luffy's face away from him, even though he had two rubber arms wrapped around his torso.

"Oi, Tra-guy…" Luffy continued chattering.

Sokka and Zuko glanced at each other confused, because Law had been so cryptic, and only two of their group seemed to have a vague idea of what Law meant if at all. They quickly followed after the Pirates, with thoughts about the Tenryubito and whatever inevitable war Law believed was coming.

oOo***oOo

Zoro and his group were the first ones to arrive at the Sunny, so they simply settled down until the others finally got back. One-by-one, the rest of the crew arrived and they could immediately tell that something was wrong, judging by how the normally care-free Captain looked upset, and how their alley was acting very tense. Sanji sang praises of beauty to the women and threatened Momonosuke under his breath when they arrived.

Both Aang and Katara entered the kitchen, and quickly noticed that there was something wrong. Normally, everyone (especially Luffy) would be talking non-stop about Chomei and everything it offered.

"Welcome back. Have a seat," Zoro said, nodding with his head to a couple of available chairs at the table. The two Benders wordlessly obeyed, and as soon as they sat down they looked from Zoro to Luffy, and Katara frowned in concern upon seeing Luffy look so upset.

"Bad news," Zoro said after giving a heavy and obviously irritated sigh. "There're Tenryubito on the island."

Aang's eyes widened. Stay out of the West district. There're Dragons.

The uneasy feeling from earlier creeped back into his mind, and for some reason, he couldn't help but feel that it wasn't about the Tenryubito. Aang wished at the moment he was able to make sense of things whenever he got an ominous feeling. He decided to listen just for now, seeing as the Pirates were the experts here.

Nami gasped, and looked worried. "Whatever you do, stay out of their way." She looked specifically at Luffy as she said this; he looked even more annoyed and tried but failed to play innocent as he crossed his arms and looked away, giving a breathy, tuneless whistle.

"This is troublesome news indeed," Kin'emon said grimly.

"We could do nothing but watch as one of them shot a kid…" Zuko said, in an attempt to help Sokka, Katara, Aang and Toph fully understand the situation. "I mean, Ebony managed to save the kid's life, but…we can't fight them."

"This is just too cruel," Katara said. "People don't-shouldn't have the right to treat others like that!"

"Let's just stay out of their way. The least trouble we have, the better." Law reasoned.

"So we're just going to leave those people as slaves?" Katara asked, standing quickly. She felt that maybe if she stood, she could get her point across, and the others would be inclined to agree with her. She looked to the twins. "Doesn't your dad fight against this sort of thing?"

"Yeah, but he wasn't in the middle of some stupid Spirit Game; he had backup plans for backup plans and more than one way out." Eurynome looked irritated. She massaged her temples before continuing. "We're simply asking for trouble and giving people a false sense of hope. We'd be sending us and those people to either executions or fates worse than death. And I know for a fact that if a Tenryubito caught their hands on notorious Captains like these guys here," she jerked her thumb at Law and Luffy, "they'd parade 'em out for all to see, kinda like having a rare breed of show dog. Plus, they'd downright humiliate them. Strip away any bit of dignity and humanity that they have, and it would all be a game to see who breaks first."

"You can't be serious!" Katara said, trying to find a way to convince the others that they should somehow help the slaves.

She stopped when Ebony put a hand on her shoulder, and gave her a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry; Katara-san, but…we can't do anything." Ebony said, looking at the Waterbender, he looked downtrodden, but that changed to a look of solemnity. His voice was firm. "And don't try anything. A kid getting shot in the street is the least of your worries. They are none of your concern."

Katara looked at Ebony and Eurynome, and then to the others. She opened her mouth to protest, but stopped and turned to the Heart Captain when he spoke.

"Healer-ya," Law's voice was quiet, yet everyone heard him. "You have to understand what you're going up against. Those people have no regards for anyone's life but their own. They wouldn't even think twice about killing you or forcing you to be a slave in the worst ways imaginable. You would either beg for death or bite your own tongue out if they haven't cut it out already."

Katara's eyes widened. She started to say something, but Law continued, staring at her with his cold eyes, not giving her a chance to speak.

"As I've told those two," he motioned to Sokka and Zuko, "They have the power to summon an Admiral to their location at any given time. Rorrim-ya is relatively nothing compared to a Marine Admiral. The last thing we need is Marine interference when we have such a tight deadline, with no ability to escape easily if they come here."

"But—" Katara started, but she was cut short.

"Katara, I'm sorry for saying this, but just stop." Sokka was staring at the table. "You weren't there. That guy just shot a kid simply for crossing into his path. If these guys can't do anything, then you can't. I'm sorry…please…just leave it." Katara realized Sokka was pleading at this point. He was now looking at her. "For once, don't do anything. For once, we can't do anything."

"Katara, I know how you feel," Zuko said. "But those people...they were so scared of the Tenryubito, and they truly were helpless. These guys," Zuko gestured with a wide wave of his hand towards those he had been with. "I didn't think I'd ever see them helpless. This is…" Zuko sighed as he continued, "the suckiest unfair situation we've been in." He buried his face in his hands in frustration.

Katara felt a sinking feeling in her stomach as she sat back down. She hated not being able to help those who were in desperate need of saving, and this was not like the time she had pretended to be the Painted Lady. She finally understood what they were telling her, and it felt as if something empty formed inside of her. Aang put comforting hand on her shoulder, and squeezed softly.

"I'm sorry, Katara." Aang's voice was quiet, and Katara only nodded in response.

Although various conversations came here and there from everyone at the table, Katara only caught bits and pieces of it. Sanji prepared dinner with some of the ingredients he had gotten on the island, and it seemed that the Straw Hat's energy somewhat lifted everyone else's spirits as the meal went on. After they were finished, a few people stayed behind to help Sanji clean the kitchen. Sanji was the last to leave as he made a list for what he planned to make for breakfast in the morning, and he turned out the lights and went to settle in for the night, any plans they may have had were put to the wayside.

oOo***oOo

Aang was running from something dark and twisted. It was as if the shadows surrounding him were alive. Skeletal hands reached for him, groaning and whispering, maybe even pleading. Three large Dragons surrounded him, and they were howling in pain as the shadows ripped them apart; as if they had no ability to fight and all of their presumed strength simply came from the sheer size of them. Thirteen unidentifiable types of birds were screeching in panic as the shadows ripped them apart, causing Aang to cover his ears as he desperately tried to keep the horrible noise out. Aang tried, but couldn't look away as blood and feathers fell to the floor to be consumed by nothingness. He felt something wet running down his face, and he momentarily stopped to rub away whatever it was. He looked at the clean streaks on the back of his hand.

"I'm…crying?" Why was he crying?

A roar that didn't-shouldn't belong to any creature earthly or astral caused Aang to break out into a run, but it didn't last for long as Aang tripped on nothing and fell, but instead of landing on a hard surface, he landed in a murky, sticky puddle. He started to sink in. No! He was being pulledin! He panicked. It came even more alive as it stretched and tightened its grip as he tried to pull himself out.

"You're mine." A voiceless whisper said.

He was being pulled in!

"NO!" Aang protested as he struggled, trying to do whatever he could to get out. He tried to bend each of the elements to help him to no avail. He was starting to get tired.

A tall figure stood above him. Glowing yellow eyes watched his futile struggle. A wide grin spread across the figure's face.

"I'm coming for you, Avatar. There's no need to worry." The Voice said. "You won't be alone anymore. I'm going to give you a home."

The earth beneath Aang cracked to reveal a large mouth, and he could see people inside reaching for him. They were screaming. He couldn't even begin to try to understand what they were saying. It was so loud that Aang's thoughts spun and his ears began to bleed.

"STOP! STOP! STOP!" Aang pleaded, covering his ears. He tried to ignore the blood running in between his fingers. "IT HURTS!"

"The pain won't last for long."

Aang fell in, and the ground closed up, trapping him.

"You won't escape. You're mine."

oOo***oOo

"NOOO!" Aang screamed as he shot up, his hands desperately gabbed at the dark nothingness before him, before he realized that he was in the familiarity of the men's quarters of the Sunny. He sat in a cold sweat, taking deep, ragged breaths. He looked around, and saw that a lamp was dimly lit, and everyone was awake. Zuko looked concerned. "Aang, are you alright?"

Aang blinked, as he slowly registered everyone in the room, and saw that Luffy, Law, Zoro, Sanji, Usopp and Ebony all seemed shaken as well.

"They were tossing and turning – especially you, Aang-san." Brook said, his skeletal features somehow looking worried.

"Are you alright?" Zuko asked again, putting a hand on Aang's shoulder. This time Aang registered the question, and registered the touch by unwittingly flinching. Zuko pulled his hand back, unsure if Aang didn't want to have any physical contact at the moment.

"Sorry. Y-yeah…I guess…" Aang massaged his temples.

There was a knock at the door, and the upper half of Robin's body appeared, her expression looked concerned. "Ebony-kun, Eury-chan needs you. She had a nightmare…she woke up screaming. She's really shaken up, and is sitting out on the deck now…" her voice trailed off as she took the sight of the others in. "Is everything alright?"

"It will be, Robin-chan." Sanji replied quickly as he lit a cigarette and took in a shaky breath of nicotine.

Ebony only nodded in acknowledgment and quickly left to check on Eurynome, leaving the others to question just what was going on.

"Just what was that feeling?" Usopp whispered hoarsely. "I've never felt anything like that before…" He still wasn't in full control of his Haki, so it came and went. Right now, he was thoroughly wishing his Haki was either in better control or nonexistent.

"I think it was a Spirit…" Aang responded quietly. He shivered; hugging himself as he remembered his nightmare, and the cold chill and the fear that coursed through him made him uneasy. The sensation felt like the one a few nights ago, except hundreds of times worse.

Luffy was uncharacteristically quiet. He held both hands up to his head, and sweat was pouring off of him. His voice came out in a harsh whisper. "They were screaming."

"W-who?" Sokka asked, becoming increasingly concerned. A part of him was also somewhat frustrated that Luffy wasn't being clear and that it seemed he couldn't help the Pirate Captain or Aang. It was also disconcerting that Luffy was being so serious a second time around. "Those people…then they suddenly disappeared, each one of them. I felt it…there's a monster on the island."

***oOo***oOo***

Next time: After simply seeing a slight preview of what the Spirit is capable of, they go on a desperate hunt for the Spirit before it claims more lives. Zuko is positive he's heard about this Spirit before somewhere, but can't place it. The fact that all of the Haki users and Aang are shaken and that Marines are making themselves present isn't exactly helping things either.

***oOo***oOo***

The scene with Katara and the others at the dinner table I wasn't really sure about. I felt that Katara would certainly protest everyone not rising up to fight the Tenryubito and helping the slaves; Sokka and Zuko would be the only ones to make her understand why they can't go after them. I also hope that their reasoning for not being able to do anything is good enough.

After the time-skip, they're thinking smarter – Zoro especially, who seems to be taking his role as first-mate quite seriously in canon, as he's been the voice of reason numerous times throughout the Pirate Alliance Saga.

Although I like Franky very much, he's often sidelined as I don't really know what to do with him…the same with various other crew members. *Sigh*