Sorry guys, this chapter is shorter than normal! My computer broke down, so as well as all my exams and school work, I couldn't do any writing. It was such a pain. But it's all fixed now, and I only have one more week of school! Hopefully I'll be back to updating normally soon! Enjoy the chapter!

'Fuuuuuck.' Was the first lazily groaned word that I mumbled when I finally came to. 'Did anyone bother to get the licence plate of the truck that ran me over?'

"…What?" A confused voice asked.

In confusion I slowly cracked one of my eyes open as my brain slowly came back into focus. I looked around and noticed that I was back in the cabin of the boat which meant it wasn't a truck that had ran me over. Oh yeah, guy on a bird. Fire. Tail. Lance. Stabbing. Falling. Clouds. Ouch.

While I was gathering my wits I also looked to the side to assess my injuries. It appears as if I was laying on my stomach on a soft futon. My right shoulder where I had been stabbed was wrapped snuggly in bandages. Each of my paws were also wrapped in bandages, making it look like I was wearing boots. The tip of my tail was also missing fur from when it had been burnt. I was so not happy about that most of all. My poor tail had been defiled by some asshole. Nobody touches the tail.

"Mamori? Are you okay?" Chopper asked as he crouched down in front of me, a worried frown on his face.

'…Yeah. I'm fine,' I muttered as I lifted my head up and looked around the room. Pierre and Gan Fall were also here and dressed up on bandages. 'What about you? Are you hurt at all? I'm sorry that I couldn't protect you or the boat…'

"Eh!" he yelped as he stood back up. "I'm fine! You guys are more injured then me, but I've already treated your injuries."

'Thank you Chopper. How did we get back up the boat though? We fell into the water and that's the last thing I remember,' I questioned him.

"The South Birds come and saved us!" he replied happily.

'Oh, I se-'

"CHOPPER! MAMORI! WHERE ARE YOU GUYS? WHAT HAPPENED?"

Chopper and I both looked towards the cabin door as voices called from outside. The others must be back.

'Better late than never,' I said as I let out a sigh, getting ready to stand back up.

"AH!" Chopper protested and tried to push me back down again. "Don't get up yet! You're still injured!"

"MAMORI! CHOPPER! WE'RE SORRY FOR BEING LATE! ARE YOU HERE! ANSWER ME!" Nami's voice rang out.

'Chopper, I'm FINE,' I groaned before poking him in the side with my nose as I pushed towards the door. 'They're waiting.'

"Don't move!" he said one last time before slipping nervously out of the cabin.

'Don't move,' I snorted, frowning childishly as I settled back down again. 'And I thought I was the mother hen.'

"OI! GUYS! WHERE THE HECK ARE YOU! WHAT HAPPENED HERE!" Zoro yelled this time.

"N… Nothing really bad happened!" I heard Chopper call from outside but he sounded like he was crying.

"OH! LOOK! IT'S GOING-MERRY! THAT'S THE ALTAR!" This time it's was Luffy's voice that carried across the wind.

"YAH! NAMI! ROBIN! I HAVE FINALLY PASSED THE TRIAL OF LOVE! HAHAHA!" Sanji cooed.

"WERE YOU SCARED! WELL CAPTAIN USOPP IS HERE! YOU CAN RELAX NOW!"

'Sounds as if the whole group is back… Good.'

"OOOOKAY!" Usopp called out as he pointed to blackboard. "Thanks for everyone's report! Good work! After everyone's information was gathered, many things became clear. However, the most important information is this! This island is actually the golden city that Ape United Armed Force have been trying to find!"

Everyone was now gathered back on the island and we were all sitting around a camp fire. Even Gan Fall was with us, but he was still out cold in a futon with Pierre watching sadly over him.

"WOW! REALLY?" Luffy asked in shock.

"Uh… I was reporting that earlier!" Nami grumbled.

"What about that mantra thing?" Zoro question and he bit into a chunk of meat he was eating.

"I only know that he used it to predict out next move," Sanji said as he crushed some herbs in a bowl. "Chopper, the softer the better, right?"

"Yes, make it so that he can drink it because his gullet has been injured," Chopper replied from his place tending to Gan Fall.

"Gold eh?" Luffy said as he clenched his fist. "I've been waiting for an adventure like this!"

"Yup," Nami replied with a wink. "If you're interested, things shall go smoothly."

"Oi, oi! Luffy!" Usopp protested as he went pale. "Did you forget that raider's warning?"

"The God will be angry?" Chopper gasped.

'If the God was going to be angry, he would be already. Not doing anything will not change that.' I told Chopper which made him go even paler. 'Uhh… What I meant was that you shouldn't worry about it Chopper! What happens will happen, so try and relax…'

"Hehehe," Robin laughed. "Sounds interesting!"

"Nonetheless," Sanji said, "with treasure up for grab, pirates won't stay silent!"

"There is no lack of enemies to fight too!" Zoro pointed out. "This is a game of survival!"

"YEEEEAAAH!" Luffy called out in excitement. "IT'S DECIDED! WE'LL GO AND FIND GOLD!"

I had found a nice pile of dry leaves to curl up on so that I was nestled in between the roots of one of the large trees. My shoulder still ached a bit, but it was ignorable for now if I didn't move too much. My paws were what was driving me insane though. Having bandages on dog paws was not comfortable in the least. And I looked stupid too!

Everyone else was doing whatever it is they felt like. Sanji was cooking, Chopper was attending to Gan Fall, and the others were just doing other little odd jobs.

"Alright, everyone!" Nami called out to get our attention. "Let's so a mission-briefing and make a battle plan for tomorrow! Everyone here? Okay, first, let's review the contents of Noland's picture book. He first discovered the Golden City 400 years ago. Then a few years later, he revisited Jaya, but the golden city had already vanished without a trace. In other words, this island was part of Jaya, and in those few years between Noland's visits, it came up to the sky."

"On the Knock-Up stream, right?" Chopper asked.

"Yes, that's the best guess. Since Mr. Cricket said that the location of the explosion varies every time."

"With the size of it, it's not weird," Usopp agreed.

While all the talking had been going on, Sanji had been giving everyone their meals. He placed a bowl of stew in front of me as he flashed me a charming smile. I lifted up my head, tilting it to the side and smiling back. Sanji then went on his way, taking the meals to the rest of the crew.

"Just one thing," Zoro said with a mouthful full of food. "We went to Jaya before, and those two forests are too different to have been the same forest."

"Hmm." Robin seemed to contemplate that for a second before coming up with a reply. "That is likely due to the strange substances inside the sea cloud and island cloud. The strange substances seem to abnormally enhance the plants' and animals' growth rates. If that's so, this theory can justify the ruins of civilization that were swallowed by the forest."

"The South Bird that saved us was this big!" Chopper exclaimed as he held his arms out wide.

"Yeah, about that," Sanji said. "Why did those South Birds save you?"

"I don't know," Chopper replied, "but those birds were calling the Knight of the Sky, 'God'."

"GOD!" Luffy exclaimed. "So then I just have to beat up that old bastard!"

"OF COURSE NOT! YOU IDIOTIC BASTARD!" Usopp swore at him.

"Anyways," Nami interrupted them, "let's think back on the information on Golden City that we read in Noland's diary."

"He saw gold!" Luffy supplied as he raised his hand.

"Duh! Moron!" Was Usopp's reply.

"There was something about some huge bell shaped gold," Sanji pointed out. "Then something about the South Bird."

"On last page of the diary, there is something very unclear," Robin mumbled. "The things he wrote before he died. It was 'I saw gold in the right eye of the skull'."

"That's it!" Nami exclaimed happily as she pulled out a map. "Take a look at this! I combined the map that Robin found in Jaya, with the ancient map of Skypiea. When I combine them at the point of Cricket's home…Look! This is Jaya 400 years ago!"

'So that's what he was talking about!' I mumbled as I stared at the map that now looked like a skull.

"Oh! It looks like a skull! Amazing!"

"So then the skulls right eye is…" Usopp tailed off as his jaw dropped.

"This place!" Nami pointed to a place on the map. "Noland meant the whole of the island's body! But the island was split in half so it was impossible to solve the riddle."

"What… Noland... So that is…" Usopp couldn't seem to finish his sentence.

"I see!" Zoro said.

"TREASURE!" Luffy chanted.

"We'll just go straight to this point tomorrow," Nami said as she pointed to a temple on the map, "but we can't just leave the ship here, so we'll split into two groups. There is no doubt there is some huge amount of gold waiting for us here!"

'Nami… What happened to you wanting to get off this island?' I sweat-dropped. 'You caught wind of gold and now I don't think anyone could drag you away.'

I was still lazing around while the others were arguing whether or not to have a fire. I was quite happy to sit back and listen until I heard something rustling in the dark forest. My head shot up off my paws, my whole body tensing as it switched into full alert.

I saw Sanji holding up a flaming stick as he claimed, "Don't worry Nami! Those beasts are afraid of fire!"

As he said that a bunch of eyes appeared behind him in the forest, causing me to spring up to my paws.

"Behind you! Behind you!" Nami screamed. "There are some things here already!"

A few minutes later found a bunch of wolves dancing around the fire with the others, loud music ringing around the area. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves with our new guests and somehow a party had started. The loud noise and the large amount of party guests had unnerved me a bit. I had slunk back over to my pile of leaves, half burying myself under them in an attempt to hide. Only my nose and eyes could be seen from under the leaves as I watched silently, prepared for any trouble. I was really becoming Miss Antisocial.

"HEY! WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING ZORO!" Luffy yelled out. "THE WEST IS THIS WAY!"

My eye twitched in annoyance as I looked back over my shoulder at Luffy and Zoro who were both going the wrong way.

"Oi! Luffy! Do you ever listen to other people?" Zoro argued. "She said it's in the skull's right eye, so it's to the right! That's this way!"

I clenched my jaw together as my tail swished in annoyance. Robin knew where we were going, so why couldn't Luffy and Zoro just follow her like Chopper and I were doing?

"Would you please tell them that we're going south, which is this way?" Robin sighed.

"Oh, okay," Chopper agreed.

"Oooooh, so we are going south." Luffy finally realized as he snapped a stick off a shrub and turned around to face us. "Why didn't you say so earlier?"

"Luffy! That's a nice stick!" Chopper gapped.

"Hahaha!" he laughed as he started to walk in front of us, dragging the stick across the passing trees. "I think so too, but I can't give it to you. Go find one yourself."

"Oh, okay!" Chopper chirped as he started to look for his own stick.

"Stick, stick, stick."

Chopper quickly found his own stick and we kept moving on our way through the forest. So far, we had run into no problems and I hoped it would stay like that.

"Chopper, you're braver today," Luffy noted.

"Haha, yep!" Chopper replied.

"It's a bit depressing actually," Zoro spoke up. "Yesterday we didn't encounter anything when we entered the forest. Not even a priest that you spoke of… So, I can sort of relate, Chopper."

"Huh? Really? Haha," he laughed cheerily.

'Zoro, you idiot. You don't want to meet a priest.' I shook my head, lengthening my strides so that I could trot alongside Robin who was at the head of the group. My shoulder ached a tiny bit, but I forgot about it once I got moving. My paws were less annoying though, although the little bandage boots I had on them were a bit degrading.

"TSSRARARA!" A loud voice hissed and we all looked up to see the head of a giant snake blocking our path between the trees, its mouth open. Everyone stared awkwardly at the giant creature for a few seconds.

"RUN AWAY!" Luffy ordered as he spun around and bolted for it. "IT'S A SNAKE!"

"AAAAH!" Chopper screamed, tears running down his eyes.

'When did Nagini get ahold of steroids?' I questioned stupidly, freezing on the spot.

"So huge!" Robin observed. "Is this also an effect of…"

"Hey, big guy! I'll cut you in half!" Zoro challenged it.

"JYORAAAAAA!" it yelled at us as it lunged, snapping its jaws as everyone was forced to scatter.

"AAHHH!"

I dove to the left, jumping on a large tree root as I spun around to see if everyone else had gotten away safely. What I saw unnerved me even more; the area the snake had bitten melted away as if it was splashed with acid.

"POISON!" Chopper gasped in horror.

'Nagini was never this big though… Must be her long lost, drug dealing cousin,' I mumbled to myself.

"If it's like that… Running away is probably better…" Zoro decided.

"Precisely," Robin agreed.

"So scary!" Luffy called out, although he seemed more excited than anything.

"Jyoraaaa..." it hissed as it turned around, scanning the area for us.

"Don't touch the poison!" Zoro ordered urgently. "You'll die instantly!"

'Not shit Sherlock!' I snapped in irritation, trying to quickly think of a plan to get everyone out of here.

"YOOHOO~" Luffy tried to get the snake's attention as he used his rubber arm to pull himself up into the high branches of a tree. "Poisonous snake, over here! Follow me! Your food is running away! Ahahaha!"

The snake had other ideas however, and it locked its gaze on Robin who was perched on the trunk of a tree with help of her devil's fruit.

"ROBIN! WATCH OUT!"

'ROBIN!' I gasped in panic, my eyes going wide as I watched the snake lunge at her, its jaws snapping where she was sitting. She managed to jump out of the way just in time, flinging herself into the air.

"Five-Wheel Fleur!" Robin's voice rang out as multiple arms extended out of her hands, acting like a vine so that she could swing away from the danger. "Too bad."

"AWOOOOO!" it cried angrily, turning its attention to Chopper.

'RUN CHOPPER!' I urged him, although he was one step ahead of me and had already started to high tail it.

The snake must have heard me because its attention suddenly turned to me, its tongue flicking out as it tasted the air. I took a nervous step back, staring at it with wide eyes. 'Uhh… Good snake, nice snake… Can we play nice? I know how to host tea parties! What a great, nonviolent way to get to know each other! Ha… Ha…'

"JYORAAAA!" it roared at me in reply, jumping for me. I swore mentally several times, jumping to the side to dodge its snapping jaws. My bandaged paws hit the grassy ground and I took off at a sprint, my eyes darting nervously back to see if it was going to follow me or not. I ran for a few minutes before I was sure that I wasn't followed and only then did I stop and look around. Silence echoed in the forest.

'Ahh… Where is everyone? Dare I risk going back to trace their scents? No, I'd better not. After causing that much ruckus, chances are someone will be coming to investigate. Damn. So… Spidey senses… What now?'

'You know… I don't think I'll ever complain of Zoro's sense of direction again. I am bad as him,' I sighed, my eyes glancing around the trees and plants all around me. I had started trotting along, keeping an eye for my friends, only to end up lost.

"Urgh! How in the world did I end up here!"

'Well, it looks like I'm not the only one in this predicament,' I noted as I silently crept towards the voice.

Using a tree as cover, I poked my head around to look at the person who was talking. I blinked when I saw who is was – A woman, one of the Shandians. She had a large spear resting against her shoulder as she trudged along, an annoyed look on her face. Her hair was a light brown and reached her shoulders, her clothing – a skirt and tank top - were also a mix a browns.

"I'm meant to be helping to fight the priests, not wandering around like I am having a picnic!" she vented, a scowl covering her face.

'Fighting priests…? Oh shit, that means there are probably a lot of them swarming the island right now. I hope everyone else is okay.'

I went to step back so that I could slip off quietly and continue my search for my friends, but I have never been very good at stealth. My buttocks brushed against a branch that just so happened to be conveniently placed, so that when it moved, it rustled the whole bush. It broke the silence like a fart in during an exam. Minus the humour… And the smell.

The woman's head snapped around roughly and in one smooth movement she swung her spear out in front of her.

"WHO'S THERE! COME OUT NOW!"

'Fuck, fuck, fuck! Stupid fat arse couldn't even move out of some bushes without sounding like a damn bull!' I mentally swore at myself. 'And here I was hoping to avoid confrontation…'

I didn't have any other choice, so I took a deep breath before stepping out of the bushes, my whole body tense. The woman's eyes widened slightly as she stared at me, and I meet her stare with a calculating one of my own. Silence. I had to resist the urge to fidget as the silence continued for a few minutes, the woman gaping at me.

"A dog…" she finally mumbled before her eyes turned into hearts. "IT'S SO CUTE!"

'I'm... Wait... What?' I gaped at the woman, wondering if she was sane.

"Wait! No! I can't fall for its charms! Urgh! I hate my damn weak spot for cute animals!" She began to argue with herself, swinging her spear around as if she was talking to an imaginary person. "More likely than not it came with the Blue Sea Dwellers! It's a threat! I need to exterminate it!"

I had no idea what to make of this spastic woman; I had not been prepared for this kind of crazy. All I could do was stare awkwardly, sweat-dropping.

She suddenly sunk to her knees, dropping her spear and cradling her head in her hands as she sobbed, "I CAN'T DO IT! IT'S TOO CUTE!"

'I'll just back away slowly then…' I whispered in a small voice, taking a slow step back.

"Mieeeee." A weird sound echoed across the area, drawing both of our attention.

'What the… A goat?' I glanced around, trying to find it.

"AXE DIAL!" a voice yelled and a shout of warning came from the Shandian woman who sprung up from the ground. I didn't need her warning though, as soon as I had heard the sound, I sprung away like a startled rabbit as the ground where I standing erupted in a shower of dirt.

I skittered forward a few steps before pivoting around to look back behind me to see a weird looking man standing where I had been moments before, a large cut in the ground.

"It's God's Enforcers!" the woman gasped as she stepped up beside me, spear at the ready. I was partly relieved to see that she was calm again and looked to be siding with me. Goodness knows I didn't need to fight two different opponents at once. "So, you've finally come?"

'…Who? What? Where? …That must be one of those dials the others were talking about.' I was thoroughly confused.

"You have trespassed on God's land, you have to be taken care off." The enforcer seemed to think he could take us both on.

"Bring it on!" The woman issued her change bluntly, a smirk crossing her face. I was starting to like her attitude.

'Take me if you can!' I barked out loud, throwing my head up in the air. The woman spared me a glance, her smirk growing wider at my attitude. I think an odd sort of friendship was just born.

"ATTACK!" He issued an order with had both the woman and I tensing.

"MIEEEEE!" Several voices chorused and suddenly four more of the goat men sprung out of the trees, getting ready to attack.

"HYAAAA!" The woman let out a battle cry as she jumped for the man in front of us, leaving me to deal with the ones in the air.

I didn't move or try to scramble out of the way quickly. I stood still, relaxing my body as I got into the mood of the fight. I had no one to protect here. I could fight without worrying too much. I could concentrate now.

"AXE DIAL!" Two of them called out, aiming their attacks at me. The other two hung back for now.

'I've seen that trick! It's not gonna work on me buddy!' I mentally spat, launching myself up into the air so that I could dodge their strike. I saw their eyes widen at the speed of my sudden movements, and I didn't let the chance pass me by. I twisted around in the air, snagging the shoulder of one of their shirts in my teeth. I then continued to twist over him as I kicked my back legs into the centre of his back, letting go of the cloth. He went lurching forward into the path of his friend's attack, blood spurting out of his side from where he got hit.

My eyes widened as the guy hit the ground, either seriously wounded or possibly dead. I had not expected that kind of damage from the attack. Thank goodness I had not been hit.

"Ahh!" the guy's friend gasped as he touched down on the ground.

My feet touched back down on the ground too, my bandaged paws pressing down the soft grass under me. A smirk crossed my muzzle when I saw a shape appear behind the other Enforcer, the shaft of a spear smacking him across the head. His body crumpled to the ground as the Shandian woman and I looked at each other.

"That was a nice move doggie," she praised. "I didn't expect you to be able to fight like that. No wonder you are with the Blue Sea Dwellers."

'You're one of the first kick ass women I have seen around, so you're not half bad yourself.' Even if she couldn't her me, I'm sure the sudden understanding between us was enough for her to get the idea. It wasn't just guys that could form friendships over fighting. Apparently two likeminded women - uhh, one kick ass woman and kick ass dog – could get along just like men do.

Her eyes widened suddenly as she lunged toward me. It was at the same time that I head the rustling of clothes behind me. Just as I was about to turn around to see what was behind me, but I saw one of the remaining Enforcers lunge for my allies' back. I had to make a split decision between taking care of what was behind me and leaving her to get hurt, or trusting her to have my back while I got hers.

It was an easy choice. I dove under her legs as she jumped up into the air, spinning her spear. I then jumped up, tucking my head in as I nailed the enforcer in the gut before he could attack anyone. He choked a bit before dropping onto the ground.

I touched down next to him, turning around to share a wide grin with the Shandian woman as her own opponent hit the ground.

"So… What now?" she asked, glancing around.

In reply I jerked my head towards the forest, trying to tell her that we should move on. I wanted to find my friends and it looked like she did too.

"Ha… Good idea. Do you know where you're going?"

'…Shit.'

The scent of blood tickled my nose as we continued to walk around aimlessly. We had set off into the forest, picking a random route and hoping for the best. I was a bit disturbed when I smelt blood in the area; I was just hoping it was not one of my friends.

A faint moaning sound reached my ears and I couldn't stop myself any longer. I broke out in a run, heading towards the place where it had come from. My friend had not heard the noise because her hearing and smell wasn't as good as mine, so she was a bit surprised when I suddenly bolted.

"Ah! Hey! Wait! DOG!" she yelled before swearing and jogging after me.

I barked back at her, not slowing down at all and she just swore again but kept up with me. It didn't take long for me to follow the smell to source and I stumbled to a stop when I passed some trees and the injured finally came into sight. It was several of the Shandian warriors. My eyes flicked back in worry when the woman halted, her eyes growing wide in horror.

"NO!" She cried out and stumbled forward and dropped to her knees next to one of the bodies. "Kenta!"

"Amaya…" The man gasped as his eyes fluttered open slightly. His whole body was covered in burns and cuts; he looked like he'd stuck his fingers into an electric socket.

'Amaya… That must be her name.'

I quietly crept forward next to her, gently pressing my nose against her arm in comforting manner. She didn't even spare me a glance with time, but she leant towards me a little.

"What happened? Who did this?" She sounded pissed.

"Enel… He's too strong… You should run… While you still can…" the man gasped.

"No! I refuse! We need to beat Enel! Remember what Wiper said!" she argued, shaking her head violently.

"Laki was here before you…" Another voice of one of the fallen men suddenly spoke up.

"Kamakiri!" she muttered, looking his way.

"She's gone after Wiper… You should leave…" he mumbled.

"NO!" she yelled back, tightening her shaking fists. "We came here for a reason! I will not give up! I refuse! I will not keep living like we are! This is our hope, if we don't fight for it, then it is not worth it!"

"Amaya …"

"Shut up," she snorted, standing up with her jaw clenched. "You guys just rest here… Come on Dog."

I was silent, I had nothing to say. These guys weren't my friends… What else was I meant to do? Although they weren't my friends, they were Amaya's. And, she was upset over this, so I was even more pissed off at Enel now. He was causing so much trouble for everyone, and yet he called himself a God. What a lying asshole.

I trotted over to Amaya as she started to march on, heading towards one of the cloud rivers that were winding in-between the trees close to us. While she was walking, she strapped her spear to her back, turning around to face me again.

"I have messed around long enough. It's now time to get serious. I'm going to have to carry you from now on. No more time to waste." She held her arms open and I could guess what she wanted to do. She's was going to use her skates to speed up our progress. With a silent grumble to myself, I jumped up into her arms. She caught me and held me as well as she could, although it was a bit awkward. "…Here we go."

'…I swear that if you drop me, I will come back and haunt you.'

"TSSRARARA!"

'…NO WAY! IS THAT-'

"OH SHIT!" The woman cut me off by swearing as she glanced back behind us. I stuck my head over her shoulder, looking behind us too.

Sure enough, my fears were confirmed. Behind us, tearing along the cloud stream was the giant drug dealing snake. Just what we needed.

"TSSRARARA!" it cried again as it jumped towards us, its jaws open wide.

Amaya half turned around, both of our eyes widening at the giant gaping jaws heading straight for us. We both froze, not having enough time to escape from the massive size of its jaws.

"GYAAAA!" Amaya screamed loudly, squeezing me more tightly than I would have liked.

'SON OF A GIANT DRUG DEALING SNAKE!' I swore.

"AWOOOOO!" it cried out in pain suddenly as something seem to protruding from its side. The snake threw its head up in pain, crying out again. Amaya took the chance to move and kicked her skates into gear and jumped forward, straight towards the snake. Instead of attacking it, she switched her hold of me so that she was only using one arm. She then latched onto the Snake's white hairs that came off of its side. We were left swinging there as the snake finally calmed down.

"SHHH," the Shandian woman cautioned me quickly.

"Jyroooo?" It made a sound that sounded like it was posing a question. I was in no mood to interpret it.

'Smart move…' I complimented Amaya, my heart still beating fast from the close call. 'Hide where it can't see us… I wonder what stopped it though.'

We both held our breath as it continued to search for us in confusion, but it soon gave up and continued on its way with us clinging to it like fleas.

Beta read by praeses