Bear could hardly believe the situation she was in. There she was, on top of a practically vertical mountaintop, in front of a prestigious castle in the middle of a tundra, without any memories of who she was or how she got there. To her left, a man who smoked a cigarette, with swooping blond locks that hung over his left eye, and an eyebrow that curled out into a spiral, the man's name being Sanji. The boy who had just left to get a coat, a young face full of naivety along with a small scar under his left eye, dark-olive skin like hers, messy black hair under a red-ribboned straw-hat, his name being Luffy. To her right, a small, reindeer-like creature with a pink top-hat decorated with an 'X' on the front, and magenta shorts on, named Chopper. And his teacher, a 139-year-old doctor with the body of a 20-year-old woman and a mouth like one too, named Kureha.

And in front of her? A dark-skinned man with an afro on his head (and his fists?), dressed like a court jester. Next to him, a tall man with large, zigzag lips and a face that was made to look down on people; he apparently shared his friend's fashion sense, and had a bow and arrow strapped to his back. And between the two was the selfish, disgraced, King Wapol, who wore the pelt of some creature that had large nostrils and flat tusks. The man himself was short and stout, with bright purple hair sticking up on his sides, wearing a metal jaw and jacket. Behind the group was what Bear assumed was their steed, an animal exactly like the one Wapol wore.

Bear had only just met these people, but her instincts told her she couldn't let the royal trio inside the castle. She didn't know why, but something inside her said that it was her job, her duty, to make sure that they didn't get back into power, back on the throne of the Kingdom that they had abandoned and left to ruin. She had no memories, no guidance from her peers, only her gut; so that's the thing that would decide her actions.

Wapol began to speak. "Dalton's corpse is below, and here we have that rebel hag, as well as the Straw-Hat Pirates. Mahaha! What a perfect chance this is to remove all the thorns in my side with one fell swoop!"

"Indeed, Your Majesty." Zigzag praised his King. "It'll make for a perfect rebirth of Drum Kingdom. Allow us to quickly dispose of these nuisances, Your Majesty."

"I don't know what you were thinking," Afro addressed, "But you've sure got some guts appropriating His Majesty's castle for your own use, Doctor Kureha!"

"I don't see his name on it!" Bear shot back at them. Hearing the words 'Dalton's corpse' had made her anger burn brighter. She'd never even met the man, but from what she heard from Kureha, he was a soldier of Wapol's who had turned against him after finally having enough of his cruel reign. The fact that they had killed him made her even more enraged.

"Heeeheehee!" Kureha laughed at the disgraced King and his subjects. "Personally, I couldn't care less about this crumbling piece of heap you call a castle... But my stubborn lil' friend here was insistent about making a proper grave for Hiluluk here, you see." She nodded at Chopper, who began to morph into a sasquatch-like creature.

"Your Majesty, that thing is-!"

"Yes, it's the same monster that came here, following Hiluluk back then!"

"Doc wanted to save this country." Chopper stood with a hardened resolve, a look of resolve in his eyes. "That's why I won't let you set a single foot in this castle! I won't let the likes of you," He screamed out to the blustery snow, "knock down Doc's Will!" Behind him stood the castle, his father's grave, and- Bear noticed- what she assumed to be Hiluluk's flag; a skull with cherry blossom's floating around it.

"Same goes for me!" Bear widened her stance, holding her arms in front of her, muscles contracting, ready to strike at a moment's notice. "There's no way you're getting past here!"

"Mahahaha... Excellent!" Wapol's gaze hardened. "All the people I want to kill, right here, in one place! As for you, girl, I don't know who you are, but if you choose to defy me, then so be it! You shall share the same fate as them!" He turned to his subjects. "No need for any mercy, Chess and Kuromarimo! Slaughter them all!"

"What's his beef with us? I couldn't give a rat's ass about these losers..." Sanji scoffed and turned to Kureha. "So, are you gonna fight too, Granny?"

After delivering Sanji a quick kick to the head for calling her 'Granny', Kureha said, "I'll lend you a hand if you can't handle it by yourselves."

Rubbing the new bump on his head, Sanji turned to Bear. "But why are you fighting, Ma'am? You seem like you don't know these guys..."

Not taking her eyes of off her opponents, Bear simply stated, "Responsibility."

"Hmph! Turning a holy castle into a grave for some quack doctor!?" Afro- Who's name was actually Kuromarimo- stepped forward. "I'll start by killing you first, Doctor Kureha!" Then he sprung up like a boxer and flung his fist forward. "Electric Marimo!" Out of his fist flew... An Afro!?

As Chopper cried "Doctorine!", Bear was caught completely off-guard by the unusual attack. The afro was about to collide with Kure-

With a puff of smoke, and graceful strength, Sanji's leg struck out and stopped the afro in its tracks. "Oi, oi..." He turned a steely gaze towards Kuromarimo. "What kinda Afro-Bro goes around throwing his afros at a lady?"

Bear let go of a breathe she didn't know she was holding. "Nice block, Eyebrow."

As Sanji let out some sort choking noise at the word 'eyebrow', a sneer formed on Kuromarimo's face. "Gotcha."

"W-Wha!?" The blonde began shaking his leg up and down in panic. "It won't come off! The hell's up with this afro!? Is it because of static electricity!?"

"Y-You're joking, right!?" Bear finally tore her eyes away from her foe.

"Not at all." Said foe confirmed. "That afro's full of static, and there's more where that came from." He plucked another clump from his own hair, eyeing the already afro'd Sanji. "Electric Marimo!"

Bear, ready for his attack this time, jumped in front of Sanji and swung her leg around, sending a blast of air at the incoming afros. Unfortunately, they seemed to ride along her leg, one of them sticking to her foot, one to her arm, and one hitching a ride back to the blonde.

"What the-" Bear was thrown off by her sudden new accessories. "Son of a tiger-seal! Now they're on me!"

"Oi, reindeer!" Sanji flailed his limbs around a bit more, while Chopper ran over to help.

"Groooooss, I think they're moving!"

"Ah, crap, now it's stuck on me! I'm giving it back!"

"What!? Don't give it back! At least take one for yourself!"

"Yeah, c'mon Chopper, sharing is caring!"

"This isn't caring, Bear!"

Before long, they were a mess of limbs and afros.

"Hmph, talk about poor teamwork." The other lackey, Chess, strung an arrow on his bow, which promptly ignited. "Let me tell you before-hand... Those Marimo-Afros might not be in the best taste, but they sure do burn easily."

"Crap! He's gonna burn the Afros!" Sanji warned.

"Time for the decoy plan!" Chopper pushed all the afros onto Bear and Sanji and then sped off in the other direction.

"We're the decoys!?"

"Look out, you idiot!" Bear grabbed Sanji's arm to pull him out of the way, but the arrow hit its mark anyway. All of the afros on the two ignited into flames. "Stand still!" She pulled up all the snow around them, melting it, and doused both herself and the blonde with water.

Meanwhile, Chopper had taken his chance to run up to Chess, and was about to slam a fist into him. "Get out of this country!"

"Move it, Chess!" Wapol shoved his subject to the side and opened his mouth wide. Wider than any normal human could. Wide enough to swallow Chopper.

"Crap!"

"Chopper!"

"Bleeding hog-monkeys, what are you people!?"

"Ah, nice and toasty!"

Bear looked back to see that Straw-Hat had returned, this time with a coat. Sanji, too, had noticed. "Luffy! Grab onto my leg from there!"

"Your leg? Sure, why not?" Luffy let both his arms stretch back behind him. He snapped them forward, and grabbed onto Sanji's outstretched leg. "Like this!?"

"Good, now don't let go!" The blonde flung his leg forward. "Armee De L'air..."

"Oh? Cool!"

"Rubber Shot!"

The rubber boy flew forward like a missle. "I'll add some more force by spinning!" He twisted his body around, making him look like a flying drill, which then slammed into Wapol, who spit out the gobbled-up Chopper. Wapol went flying straight into his steed, who then flew off the mountain-top and into the sky.

"Heh," Sanji blew out a puff of smoker and shook the ashes off of his cigarette. "Not bad, not bad..."

"T-Thanks..." Chopper had recovered and dusted himself off. "You two are pretty amazing..."

"Are you two even real?" Unlike Chopper, Bear was flabbergasted at what had just happened.

"Oi, Luffy! That's Nami-san's jacket, isn't it!?"

"Yeah... Whoa, look! That dude's still alive!"

"Well, take it off right now!"

"That arctic-hippo flying off..." Bear looked out into the distance. "That seems way too familiar to me to be a coincidence. Like, I'm getting a major sense of deja-vu."

"Arctic-hippo? You mean, that was like, a special form of hippo?"

"Huh? What do you mean? It's an arctic-hippo." Bear squinted her eyes at the retreating form of the animal. "Though, now I guess it's a flying arctic-hippo."

"Luffy! Take! Nami-san's! Coat off! Now!"

"I don't get what you're talking about! A hippo is just a hippo! Ah, wait, you mean it was a mystery hippo!?"

"There's no mystery about it, it was-" Bear looked back to where the arctic-hippo was. "Wapol's back up, guys."

The King was indeed back up, and spitting out blood onto the snow. "Let me show you... The true power of the Chomp Chomp Fruit!"

"He can still stand up after taking that hit?" Kureha commented from the sidelines.

"Gotta admit, guy's pretty strong." Luffy stated.

"Chess! List my meals since this morning..."

"At once, Your Majesty!" Chess pulled a notebook out of nowhere in particular and began reading. "Let's see... One butter-sautéed cannon, one raw cannon, a cannonball, and gunpowder salad, and one grilled house from the village."

Bear blinked once. "What."

"The hell does he eat?" Luffy looked a little worried for the man's stomach.

"Calling him an omnivore would be the understatement of the decade..." Sanji added.

"What's all that stuff have to do with his Chomp Chomp thing, though?" Bear braced herself. "Be ready for anything."

"The very things I consume can become my new flesh and blood! Chomp Chomp Shock!"

Bear gasped. She was certain the she would never forget this sight in all her life. The very nature of the being before her sent her mind reeling. It was as if the very fabric of space and time had been torn asunder by the mere presence of the thing that should not be.

"Wapol House!"

Kuromarimo jumped in the air, ecstatic at their now assured victory. Chess merely crossed his arms, his heart swelling with pride for his wondrous king.

"He..." Bear gulped, unable to grasp the true form of Wapol's technique. "He...!" Her arms shook. She fell to her knees. And began to laugh. "He turned himself into a house!" Tears streamed from her eyes and she held her gut, unable to stop her laughter. "A h-house! Ahahahahahaha! A house!"

"Jeez, lady, you're the one who said 'be ready for anything'." Sanji raised his curly eyebrow at her.

"I-I know, but look at him! It's just the house, and then his face on the roof, and- and the arm-cannon things-" She snickered and flapped her arms for emphasis, "And then his little legs! Oh- Oh sweet spirits save me!" She clung onto Sanji for dear life. "S-Someone hold me!"

"W-What!? Oh, no, I couldn't! I-I mean, we just met, and-" The blushing blonde tried to gently pry Bear off, but couldn't bring himself to even touch her arms.

"What are you talking about!?" Luffy yelled at her. "That thing is awesome!"

"Oh dear Yue are you serious?" Bear turned to Wapol. "Hey- Hey Wapol! Which cannon is the butter-sauteed one!?"

"Oh? It's this one, here on the right- I mean how dare you!" A vein popped in Wapol's head. "I thought at first you were in awe of my awesome might, but it turns out you just choose to disrespect the King even more! Well, you haven't even seen my true power yet! Behold, my secret royal technique! Chomp Chomp Factory!" He promptly turned to his two subjects and snatched them up into his mouth.

"What in the name of the moon in the sky is wrong with you!?" Bear had recovered from her laughing fit and was now horrified. She could hear the two's cries of pain as Wapol gnawed on them, looking bored.

"He's a cannibal!" Luffy accused. "He's cannibalizing his friends!"

The cannibal swallowed his meal, and shot steam out of his arms. "Witness the miraculous combination! Behold!" The door on his stomach slowly creaked open, and a figure could be seen inside.

"This form of ours..." The figure spoke with two menacing voices. "Is Drum Kingdom's strongest warrior..." It stepped out, to reveal, "Chessmarimo!"

"Oh, they just merged into one." Bear wiped the worried sweat of her brow.

"Woooooowww, that's amazing!" Luffy stared in awe.

"No, it's not!" Sanji chastised.

"Don't let your guard down..." Kureha warned. "If those fellas were actually weak, this country's citizens wouldn't have put up with the ridiculous doctor banishments for so long..."

"Article 1 in the Constitution of Drum Kingdom: 'Those who defy the King's Will are to be executed!'" Wapol yelled in arrogance. "This is the foundation of this country! Because I am the State, and the State is I! This castle and everything on this island is mine and mine alone...!" He aimed his arm-cannon at the flag on top of the castle, and fired a cannonball. "So there's no way in hell I'm going to stand by while some quack doctor's flag is hanging on top of my castle! It's defiling my entire royal abode!"

"Hey!" Bear looked from the falling flag to Wapol. "What the- the hell was that for!?"

"Hey reindeer, is that flag..." Luffy addressed Chopper, but the reindeer couldn't hear him. He was looking up to where the flag once stood, his eyes full of shock. Anger. Horror. Sadness. Luffy's gaze hardened.

"How dare you do that to Doc's flag!" Chopper exploded out. He slid under Chessmarimo and grappled onto Wapol. "Doc even tried to save you before he died!" He wound up for a punch, but then stopped.

"What?" Bear didn't understand. Was Chopper showing mercy?

"I... I won't hit you! But you better get out of this country this instant!"

"What kinda crap are you spoutin', Chopper!? Do you really think he can be reasoned with!?" Kureha shouted at her pupil.

"Chopper!" Bear yelled out to the reindeer. "I know you're trying to honor the Doctor's memory by showing Wapol mercy, but-"

There was the sound of cannon-fire, and Chopper was down on the ground, scorched and bloodied.

"Chopper!"

"Oh no!" Bear sprinted towards Chopper. Chessmarimo made a move to stop her, but she shot out a column of earth at him, tipping him on his side. The girl scooped the reindeer up in her arms and jumps backwards, propelling herself with air and avoiding a cannonball Wapol sent at her. "Getting yourself killed over someone like him won't honor anything." They landed softly in the snow, and Chopper painfully looked up at Bear. "He's a man who can't understand other people, he can only think of himself. He wouldn't even understand the concept of honor." She pulled up the white flakes around her and began to heal him. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry this world is so unbalanced." Were there no good people in this world? No one for others to look to for guidance?

"Hey you, with the big fat mouth!"

"Huh?" Bear looked up to where the voice came from. Luffy was standing on the top spire of the castle, holding up Doctor Hiluluk's flag. His coat sleeve tied the broken pull back to where it once was. "What's he doing up there?"

"A lying poser like you," Luffy shouted down, "Who only played pirates without risking your life could never understand the true meaning of a Pirate's Flag!"

Wapol raised an eyebrow at him. "What?"

"Straw-hat..." Chopper looked at him with an unreadable expression in his eyes.

"True meaning...?" Bear looked at Luffy. The naive boy from before was gone. In his place was a man with resolve in his bones.

"The true meaning of that flag? Mahahaha! As if there's any deep meaning behind some stupid fluff that pirates use as decoration!"

"That's exactly why you're just a lying poser!"

"What!?"

"This flag isn't something you pretend-pirates can go around waving, even as a joke!"

"Oh please! You think a king like me goes around playing pirate because he wants to!? Stop trying to hold up that eyesore any longer! This is my country and I won't let it be defiled by some idiotic pirate flag! I'll shoot it down however many times it takes!" Wapol followed through on his word, shooting another cannon ball up at the flag.

"Luffy!"

"Watch out!"

"Straw-Hat!"

"I'd like to see you try! A Jolly Roger-" The cannon ball hit its mark, engulfing pirate and flag in an explosion- "Is a symbol of Will!"

"He made a direct hit!" Bear shot up and tried to get a close look.

"Blown up to smithereens, you deluded hippo!" Wapol haughtily laughed at the destruction he reaped.

Bear was sure that, when the smoke cleared, both Luffy and the flag would be gone.

The smoke was blown away.

Monkey D. Luffy stood, holding Doctor Hiluluk's flag high in the sky.

"See? You can't break this flag."

Bear no longer saw Luffy as a crazy little kid who got excited over everything.

"I don't know who's flag this is..."

She saw him as a leader.

"But as a flag backed by a man's Conviction and Will-"

A Pirate Captain.

"It's not something you can play around with! A BUMBLING IDIOT LIKE YOU SHOULDN'T EVEN DARE TO TOUCH THIS FLAG!"

And something deep in her heart was telling her to follow that Captain to the ends of the earth.