Birds & Lizards

Sanji's stomach rumbled with hunger pains. He was ready to get the shard and get back to Neo and real food. Today was that day. He was finally going to enter into the cooking competition. And he was going to win. It took him a bit longer to get use to all of the bugs the people here ate in their dishes, but he had done it. He might not be as good with the bird food here as he is with his own familiar foods, but Colman had said his food should win. He had to take the birds word for it. He couldn't tell if he had improved at all through tasting the dishes. His eyes wondered up to the race over head when a group of birds flew past him. He could hear the shouts of the people watching the race.

"You can do it, Jacen!"

"You've got this!"

"Did you see that move?!"

"Yeah! That dove is amazing!"

"She is amazing," Colman said, cradling the eggs in the sling he was wearing. His eyes locked on his mate as she flew through the obstacle course, dodge birds trying to hit her, and were on the last run of the event. She only needed one more ingredient then it would be time for Sanji to start cooking. He looked over at Sanji. "Are you ready?"
"As ready as I can be," Sanji said. "Are you sure I'm good enough?"

"You are." Colman nodded. "Just focus and remember everything I told you."

"Right," Sanji said.

Both their eyes wondered back up to Leta as she finally snatched the last ingredient for the dish Sanji was going to make. Colman said, "Good. She managed to survive this."

"It was brutal," Sanji said. "I would like to say that I'm shocked but it's almost like the games we played with Silver Foxy."

"Silver who?" Colman asked.

"It's a long story," Sanji said. "And one we don't have time for."

"You're right," Colman said, picking up one of the bags they had with them, and headed off to meet up with Leta. "It's time you got ready."

Sanji grabbed the last two bags and, with the monkey at his heels, followed after the birdman. He eyed the bags. His two bird friends had decided to pack everything up last night. They wanted to leave as soon as they competition was over. He just hoped and prayed that he could actually pull this off. Despite it being a competition on cooking, he felt a bit out of his element. He didn't want to disappoint his friends and lose. He didn't want them to stay in this terrible territory any longer than they already have. Just as they reached the cooking area, Leta landed near them. "Hey, you were great up there."

"Thanks," Leta said, through her pants. She handed over the bag she had. "There you go. It's all up to you now."

"Right." Sanji nodded and took the bag from her. "I'll do my best."

"That's all we can ask for," Leta said.

"Just do what you can," Colman said. "And be cautious of the gang. They might still try and keep you from winning."

"Since their boss protested me taking over before the race started, I don't doubt it," Sanji said. "But I'll be fine."

"The race is about to end," Leta said. Just then an announcement called out over the P.A. system.

"And that wraps up this round of the competition!" the voice said. "Winners, make your way to the cooking area! We will begin the last part of the competition shortly!"

"Well, that's my cue," Sanji said. He shifted the bag on his shoulder and walked over to the stage.

"Good luck!" Leta called.

"You can do it!" Colman added.

Sanji waved to them and claimed a cooking spot. While waiting for the rest of the winners to gather, he laid out the ingredients on the counter, trying his best to not let the wiggling grubs turn his stomach. He figured his face was already blue from looking at them. Inhaling, he calmed his stomach and focused on Neo. It wouldn't be much longer. Time on this was ticking down. He then would be back with his friend. He looked up and found several gang members glaring menacingly at him. He scoffed. They looked more like playground bullies to him. And they had already gathered several sizes of objects to throw at him. He was surprised that they didn't just charge at Colman while he was cooking, but the dove had told him that was against the rules.

Then it happened. The announcer made the announcement for them to start cooking. The air was filled with cheers and a few threats. It all mixed together with the clanking of dishes as the cooks began their meals. They weren't even in it for a minute before a rock was thrown. Sanji easily grabbed it before it could hit him in the forehead. Ignoring the glares for the gang, he continued cooking. Then more, bigger objects flew at him. Despite the anger burning inside of him, he managed to keep his cool and keep the objects from getting into his dish. A smile cracked on his face. It was irony how he was protect a dish made of dirt and bugs from trash. Brushing it aside, he continued cooking. This was one of his bird friends' favorite meals. As long as they liked it, he didn't mind making it for them. They probably wouldn't like the things he cooked back on the Sunny.

Finally, it ended. The announcer said for the cooks to put their utensils down and step away from the dishes while the judges tested them. Now with his job done, he wondered back down to Colman and Leta. "Well, that's that."

"You did just fine," Colman said.

"Yes," Leta agreed. "You couldn't have done better."

Sanji only nodded. He knew they were just being nice. He could have done a lot better if it was food he was familiar with and if people weren't throwing things at him while he was cooking. It didn't matter now. It was done and over. Soon they would know who won soon.

An agonizing twenty minutes later, the winner was announced. He said, "It has been decided! The winner of this competition is Colman's Dish cooked by Sanji!"

The reaction was a mix of cheers, boos, and angry shouts.

"He did it!" Leta cried as she hugged Colman. "We can leave here now!"

"Yes." Colman nodded, hugging her back with his one good arm. "Thank you, Sanji. Thank you so much."

"Yes!" Leta hugged the blonde cook. "Thank you so much! You have no idea what this means to us!"

"It was my pleasure." Sanji smiled at them.

"Sanji, please come over to the prize table and claim what is yours," the announcer said.

"Let's go get what is yours," Sanji said.

"Hey, part of it is yours too," Colman said. "A deal is a deal. You get the shard."

"Thanks so much," Sanji said. The three then walked over to the prize table to claim what was theirs, all happy to get away from this place. Before they could reach it, the boss of the gang and his men stepped between them and the table. The pirate sighed. So much for a quick peaceful exit. "What are you doing? Buzz off. That prize is ours."

"This is a joke!" The boss pointed accusingly at Sanji. His dark grey and brown wings partway extended from his body. "You have no right to win! You have no right to even cook in this competition! You're not of our kind!"

"You can't be serious." Sanji puffed on his cigarette then frowned. "I broke no rules what so ever. Now get out of our way."

"Not going to happen," the boss said. "Get him, men!"

The gang members opened their wings and took to the air with their leader in front. Sanji bolted forwards before they all could take off. He knew if they all got into the air there was no way he would be able to defeat them. He had to take out as many as he could while they were on the ground. Several roundhouse kicks and strikes took out about thirty of the gang. But there were over forty already in the air. He cursed under his breath and whipped around. "We have to get out of here! There's no way I can-" He paused when finding his two bird friends and several others staring wide eyed at him. "What?"

"What manner of fighting was that?" someone asked.

"Have you ever seen anything like it?"

"I haven't. Where do you suppose he came from?"

"I don't know but he's not one of us." The crowd began to gather around him asking questions after questions, shove him and the others into a corner.

"What are you all talking about?" Sanji asked. "Haven't you ever seen marital arts?"

"No. We fight with our claws and wings," another person said as he raised his hand to show Sanji his retractable claws.

"I see," Sanji replied, finally realizing that these bird people didn't fight like he and the other pirates did. They fought like wild birds would. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised. They are birds after all. That would explain why those gang members were so weak. They've never fought against someone like me."

"Sanji, we really need to go!" Colman said, pointing up to the sky. "They're coming back! And we can't fight them all!"

"Oh, crap!" Sanji looked up. The gang was about to descend down upon them. "Leta! Colman! Grab the prize and let's go! I'll take your bags!"

"Right!" The doves took to the air.

"Sky Walk!" Sanji followed them with their bags and the monkey in his arms. Keeping one eye on the gang and the other on his friends, he waited to see which would get to him first. His entire body relaxed when he sat his friends snatch up their prize then zoom over to him. They each grabbed him under his arms and some how managed to fly off with him. "Can you two out fly them all with all this weight?"
"We can only try!" Colman replied over the howling wind that whipped around them.

Sanji looked over his shoulder when the gang shouted obscene things at them. "Geez! They are not happy!"

"Hold on!" Leta said. "We're going to lose them!"

A cry escaped Sanji's mouth when the two doves took a sharp dive, then a sharp left, followed by a sharp right, and then he was on the ground. Blinking in confusion, he looked around to find they were in a dark alley. "What the…?"

"We should be safe here," Colman said.

"Are you sure about that?" Sanji asked. "Don't they know this place?"

"Not like we do," Leta said. "We grew up here our whole lives. We know it better than they ever will."

"I see," Sanji said, sitting down their bags.

"We can't thank you enough, Sanji," Colman said. "We mean it. You saved us."

"I'm just glad I can help." Sanji smiled at them.

"Here you go," Colman said, holding out the trophy. "As I just said a deal is a deal. You get your prize."

"Are you two going to be all right now?" Sanji took the trophy from Colman.

"Yes, we will be just fine." Colman nodded, as did Leta. "The gang doesn't leave the city so we won't have any more problems with them once we're outside the boarders. Well, we will be leaving now. Is there anything else we can do for you before we go? Can we take you somewhere?"

"No, I can manage from here." Sanji waved the trophy. "I got what I came for. Thanks again for letting me have this. It's means a lot to me."

"Goodbye, Sanji," Leta said as she gave him another hug. "May your travels be a safe one. And I hope your friends are doing well."

"Same to you. And thanks a lot." Sanji smiled and shook Colman's hand. He watched as the two gathered their stuff and flew off into the cloudless sky. As he watched his friends disappear into the sky, the monkey beside him reached up and took the shard off the trophy body. The next thing the cook knew was the color of the sky had darkened a bit. He looked around to find that he was no longer standing in the dark alleyway, but somewhere else that had a strange lighthouse tower. "Huh? What just happened? Where am I?"

Sanji looked around before noticing the house behind him. "What is this place? Am I in another one of those domes?" His heart jumped. He bolted for the door. "Then Neo must be here! She has to be!" He grabbed the door handles and threw them open. "Neo?!"

"Huh?" Chopper popped his head over the couch. Tears poured down his furry cheeks upon seeing his friend. "Sanji! Neo, Sanji's here!"

"Huh?" Sanji heard Neo mumble. Then he saw her when she sat up on the couch. Judging from the way she was rubbing her eye, he had woken her up from a nap. Her eyes widened upon seeing the blonde man. Both she and Chopper jumped over the back of the couch and ran to him. "Sanji! You're here!"

"I can't believe you're really here!" Chopper said just before grabbing onto his friend. "We've been so worried!"

"Sanji!" Neo dove into his open arms, not carrying about the smoke on his clothes.

"Chopper! Neo!" Sanji wrapped his arms around both of them, holding them tight to his body. "Are you two okay? Are you hurt?"

"We're okay," Chopper replied looking up at the cook. "How are you?"

"Are you hurt?" Neo added.

"No, I'm fine. Are the others here too?" Sanji said.

"Not yet," Chopper said. "We're the only ones here from our crews."

"Are you sure you're not hurt? Did you have to fight anything?" Neo asked. "I can give you an energy boost if you need it."

"No, Neo." Sanji smiled at her. "I did get into a little scuffle, but got no serious injuries. In all honestly, the only thing I need right now, besides you two, is to see the kitchen."

"The kitchen?" Chopper asked.

Sanji didn't say anything else. His body just automatically turned right towards the kitchen as if he already been to this place and knew where it was. In a robotic walk, he wondered into it. Neo and Chopper exchanged confused glances before following after him. They watched as Sanji just stood there, running his eyes all over the room before he erupted into overly dramatic tears and danced around the kitchen.

"So beautiful!" Sanji cried. He rapidly checked out what the kitchen held, all the food, utensils, everything. "I have no idea what kind of food this is or this is, but at least it's not bugs! No more bugs! I don't have to cook bugs anymore! I'm bug free! This looks good! I can't wait to try it! This one smells so sweet! This grey stuff looks a bit odd but I'm sure it's a lot better than bugs! Yahoo! No more bugs! I can eat real, or I hope it's real, food!"

"Sanji, did you hit your head?" Chopper inquired.

"Sanji funny! Sanji funny!"

Sanji paused upon hearing the small, unfamiliar voice. He turned to find a little orange person flying in front of him. "What the heck?"

The little person giggled and blushed then latched onto his left cheek without warning. "Sanji cute! Cutie! Sanji cutie! My cutie!"

"Again I ask, what the heck?" Sanji questioned. He plucked the sprite off his cheek. The sprite giggled and got hearts in her eyes, trying to reach out for him again.

"Sanji cutie!" Celeste giggled, wiggling her fingers.

"Does this thing really have wings?" Sanji's eyes roamed all over Celeste's little body.

"Forgive her," Velocity said, appearing to the cook. "She can be a bit of a loon at times. She hit her head when she was learning to fly one too many times."

"Okay." Sanji released the little sprite. She grabbed onto his cheek again. He looked over at Chopper and Neo. "I think we have quite a lot to talk about."

Chopper and Neo nodded. They all sat down at the table and exchanged stories, Sanji going first after his little bizarre kitchen dance. Sanji puffed on his cigarette as he listened to what Chopper and Neo was telling him. After they were finished he stood up and walked back outside with the others following him. He stared at the tower. "So that thing is important to Pendulum for some reason?"

"Yes." Neo nodded. "But don't you dare try and destroy it. Pendulum has the ability to slow things down. Sanji, please don't do anything reckless. He could hurt the others."

"Don't worry, Neo." Sanji turned to his friend. He cupped her cheek. "I'm not going to do anything that will put you and your baby in danger."

"Thank you." Neo leaned into him, but was pushed back. "Sanji?"

"I'm sorry," Sanji said, holding her at arms length. "I have smoke on me. I don't want to you to inhale it anymore than you already have."

"Oh, right," Neo said, sad that she couldn't get too close.

"I help! I can help!" Celeste finally removed herself from Sanji's cheek. Her hands started to glow orange. She fired the glow at Sanji, removing the smoke from him and making him smell like an array of flowers. "Better? I did good?"

"Yeah, that's great." Sanji inspected his smoke free self. "I didn't know it was possible to do something like that. Thanks a lot."

"Cutie!" Celeste giggled and latched back onto his cheek.

"At least I can hug you now," Neo said, wrapping her arms back around him.

…

Shachi tugged his hat brim down over his eyes. The silence around him was defying. The crowd was staring in shock at how his friend was able to take down his opponent with just one hit. He wasn't surprised. The people who lived here obviously didn't know what Devil Fruits were or how strong it actually made people. In that way, this fight wasn't actually fair at all. But then they were pirates. Fairness didn't come into play a lot in their lives. It was win or be defeated no matter what.

Luffy laughed. He walked over to the table where the prize money was sitting. "I guess this is mine now." He picked it up and walked off. "Thanks a lot. This was fun."

Shachi sighed. Without a word, he followed Luffy through the stunned crowd. Making their way through the crowded streets of the market, they came upon the shop that their nurse friend had told them about. They entered it.

"Hello," an older man greeted them. "How may I help you?"

"We need some gear," Shachi said. "We're going after the lizards that stole something from us."

"Ah, yes," he said. "I have been told about you. And I already have everything gathered up for you."

"Seriously? That's awesome," Luffy said with a huge grin.

"Why would you do that?" Shachi asked. "We might have lost."

"I like to be prepared," he said. "Besides, I know you two are in a hurry to get out of here."

"We are." Shachi nodded.

"Then you can leave right away," he said. "Everything's waiting for you to leave."

Luffy and Shachi followed the man through the door and out the back door. There were several of the creatures Shachi had seen before passing out in the desert. They were packed up with all the gear they were going to need.

"Great! We get to ride the doggies!" Luffy said.

"They're not doggies," another man said. This one was younger than the other. He was standing near one of the creatures with a frown on his face. "Let's get going. I'd like to get you nuts out there and get back soon."

"Sure thing," Shachi said.

"Well, good luck," the old man said. "You're going to need it."

"Thanks." Luffy mounted one of the creatures.

"We'll be fine," Shachi said, climbing upon the creature himself. Without another word, they were off. Most of the ride was quiet all but for Luffy's talking. He was asking questions about this place but the man they were with didn't answer. Soon they had arrived back at the rock formation. They dismounted.

"That's it," the man said. He gathered up the creatures and climbed back on the one he was riding. "You're on your own now. If you'd like me to informed your loved one of your deaths, tell me now."

"What? We're not going to die," Luffy said.

"That's what everyone else said before going down there," he said then took off.

"Charming fellow," Shachi mumbled. "Let's get started."

"Right!" Luffy nodded.

After about an hour of going through their supplies, they had their ropes around the rock, located a hole when one of the lizards came up unexpectedly, and their breathing masks on. They walked over to the area where the lizard had come up from and started digging. They weren't sure how long they had been digging when suddenly the ground underneath them gave out and they plummeted down a tunnel. Both pirates screamed upon the unexpected drop, Luffy out of excitement while Shachi screamed out of panic.

They bounced around the tunnel, unsure about how far they had fallen or was going to fall. Was there going to be rocks at the bottom of this tunnel? Or sharp points of some kinds? A man eating monster? What did these lizards eat anyway? Were they doing to fall in a river? Or possibly a never ending pit? Were there poison snakes down here?

Suddenly a brighter light than their flashlights broke into their eyes. They closed their eyes. Their bodies plowed into something hard. Rocks rolled onto the ground, scattering around them. Luffy was the first to sit up. He said, "Whoa! That was some ride!"

"I thought we were going to die," Shachi said, sitting up. He looked around to find a small oasis on a small island that was surrounded by water. Several lizards were scattered around the walls and trees and even in the water. Some glanced over at the intrusion while others didn't bother to look. For the most part, the creatures didn't care about the two intruders being in their home. "Where are we?"

"Wow! This place is so cool!" Luffy jumped to his feet. He pulled off his mask and tossed it to the ground. "I wish everyone else was here to see this!"

"Leave it up to you to be impressed so easily." Shachi took off his own mask and set it aside. "Do you see the one with the shard?"

Luffy hummed and looked around. There had to be over a hundred of the lizards in this place, that they could see. "Nope. I don't see it. At least we have Chester with us. He'll fine the shard."

"Chester?" Shachi asked.

"Yeah." Luffy pointed at the monkey. "I decided to call him Chester. He looks like a Chester, doesn't he?"

"I can't believe you actually named that thing," Shachi said.

"Why not?" Luffy asked. "We have to call him something."

"We could have just called him The Monkey," Shachi said.

"That's boring and doesn't fit him at all," Luffy said.

"He's a monkey," Shachi said. "It fits just fine."

"You can call him that," Luffy said. "I'm going to call him Chester."

"Fine." Shachi stood up. "We don't have time to argue about this."

"So what first?" Luffy asked.

"Let's see if we can find the shard," Shachi said. "If we can get it, we won't have to set up our gear."

"All right." Luffy cracked his knuckles. "Show us where the shard is, Chester."

The monkey chirped and formed the map.

"See? He likes his name," Luffy said, squatting down to look at the map.

"Whatever," Shachi said with a sigh. He looked at the map. "Looks like it's down that tunnel over there." He looked to the tunnel. "I wonder how many tunnels there are and where they lead to."

"Never mind that! Let's just go!" Luffy dashed off towards the tunnel.

"Straw Hat! Wait!" Shachi cried. "You can't just run after that thing! We already tried that! It won't work! We need a plan!" He sighed when Luffy disappeared into the tunnel. "Just great. At least we're not in the desert this time. But that won't help much if we can't get that shard. How can we get it when the lizard can hide itself and move so fast?"

…

Shachi huffed as he watched Luffy chase after the lizard. He had no idea how the rubber captain still had so much energy after chasing the thing for two hours. He also had no idea how the Straw Hats could put up with such a man. He felt like he was babysitting a child that refused to listen to a word he said. But one good thing came out of Luffy's stubbornness in running after the thing. It appeared that all of the tunnels led right back to this oasis. And, of course, he knew at least some of the tunnels led back up to the surface. He doubted that Luffy would actually be able to run up the tunnels. If all the tunnels are like the one they fell down, it would be impossible to climb it without gear. He looked back over to the hole they fell out of. The rope was still there. As far as he could tell none of the lizards was bothering it. He hoped they never did. It was their only way of getting out of this place to go get more supplies if it was needed.

He pulled his eyes back to Luffy when the young captain came running out of another tunnel.

"You get back here!" Luffy cried. "We need that shard! Just give it to us already!"

And into another tunnel they went.

"If only Neo was here," Shachi said, "she could easily get it for us." He looked up at the ceiling. "I wonder how you're doing."

…

Neo, holding Law's hat on her lap, sighed in slight contentment as she watched Sanji cooking with the sprites. They were showing him how to cook their food. And he loved every single second of it. Every once in a while he would do another little funky dance and say how much he loved being around real food, even if it still wasn't what they were use to. It made her feel a little better now that he was here.

Soon they had their meal on the table.

"Here you go, my lovely little fairy," Sanji said. "Eat in good health, my dear."

"Thank you, Sanji," Neo said.

"It smells so good," Chopper said.

"Neo, there is something I want to talk to you about," Sanji said, sitting down.

"What is it?" Neo asked.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to stay in your room with you," Sanji said. "I want to be as close to you as possible in case that Pendulum guy tries to do something to you. I know he hasn't done anything to you yet, but we can't trust him. And I know Law would agree with me."

"That's fine," Neo said.

"I've been staying with her too," Chopper said.

"Good man," Sanji said to the reindeer.

"Ah, shucks! You don't have to tell me that, you idiot!" Chopper blushed and squirmed in his seat.

"So how long do you think the others will take to get their shards?" Neo asked.

"It's hard to tell," Sanji said. "But I know that everyone is working their hardest to get back to you."

"Yeah." Neo nodded. "I just wish I could Project myself to all of them."

"You should eat now," Sanji said.

Neo nodded. They all dug into their meal then retired to the living room for a few more hours before they wondered up the stairs. While Neo got ready for bed, Sanji went into a different room to get some blankets and pillows for him. She had just crawled into be when he came into the room.

"I'm going to stay up for a while to keep watch," Sanji announced.

"Okay, but I don't want you staying up all night. You need your rest as well," Neo said.

"I will," Sanji said. "You just go to sleep now."

Neo nodded. With Chopper laying beside her and the girl sprites scattered on the pillows with her, she laid down and closed her eyes.

"Thanks a lot for taking care of her," Sanji said once he knew Neo was asleep.

"It was our pleasure," Elian said. "She's very sweet. I'm just sorry there was nothing we could do in retrieving all of your crewmates."

"Don't worry about that," Sanji said. "It wasn't your fault. Our crews are tough. They'll be here soon."

Elian nodded.

…

Shachi took off his sunglasses and rubbed his hand over his face. It has been two and a half weeks since they started trying to retrieve the shard from the lizard. And they hadn't come close at all to getting it. He was currently taking a break while Luffy continued to run after the shard. He hated this. They were taking so much time in getting this shard from a stupid lizard. It was really embarrassing. The crew wasn't going to let him live this down. That is, if he ever told them about it. To which he was not planning on.

Soon it would be his turn again to chase after the lizard. He didn't want to. He was sick of it. They needed a plan. They needed both of them to run after the lizard. Unfortunately that would mean leaving their gear unguarded so other lizards could steal it. His eyes dropped down to the map. He wished it could give him a clear view of the tunnels around here. But as he continued to watch it over the days, he started to notice the lizard was running in a specific pattern. It was only taking certain paths. He had no idea why. All he knew was he found a small twinkle of hope.

He started formulating a plan in his head. But that plan would require both of them. Losing all of their stuff would only be a bad thing if they didn't get the shard back. He knew they had to risk it. They both had to go after the lizard at the same time. He slipped his glasses back on just as Luffy came trudging up to their campsite.

"I can't run anymore," Luffy panted. He dropped down onto his back. "It would be so much easier if my Haki worked on that thing. Ugh! When we finally catch that thing I'm going to grill it up! So hungry! Why don't you chase after that jerk for a while?"

"We're going to have to go after it together," Shachi said.

"Huh? You said we weren't supposed to leave our campsite unprotected," Luffy turned his head to look at him.

"We won't need this campsite if we can get the shard," Shachi replied. "We can't keep running in circles like this. We're not getting anywhere. I think we have a better chance of succeeding if we do this together."

"If you say so," Luffy said. "What are we doing?"

While Luffy rest and caught his breath Shachi revealed to him that the lizard's movements weren't random. He showed Luffy one corner of a tunnel that had a blind spot. He wanted Luffy to wait there while he chased after the lizard. Once the lizard was in sight Luffy was to knock it's lights out with his Armament Haki. Luffy nodded rapidly while Shachi explained the plan. "You got it?"

"Got it!" Luffy nodded.

"All right. Wait until me and the lizard are out of sight, then run to the corner," Shachi said as he stood up. Luffy nodded again as Shachi headed after the lizard. Once they were out of sight, Luffy grabbed the monkey and headed off. He ran down three different tunnels before finally coming to the blind spot Shachi told him about. Tucking himself into it, he waited for Shachi and the lizard to come his way.

Several minutes later, Luffy could hear them coming. He stood ready and waited for him moment to strike. When the lizard came in view, Luffy threw his hardest punch at it, punching it into the wall. The shard fell out of the lizard's mouth on contact.

"You got him!" Shachi cried as he came upon the down lizard and the broken cave wall. "We can get out of here now!"

"Do we have to?" Luffy cracked his knuckles. "I said I was going to grill this sucker up."

Shachi sighed at the one track mind of the Straw Hat captain. The monkey picked up the shard and teleported them away. Luffy blinked and looked around at his and Shachi's new surroundings. "Hey! Where's the lizard?! I'm hungry!"

"Where are we?" Shachi asked.

"A house! They must have food!" Luffy cried dashing towards it.

"Seriously?!" Shachi screeched, following after him. "Is that all you think about?"

"I want food!" Luffy shouted with his fists raised once he had entered the house.

"Shut up, you idiot!" Sanji hissed, striking Luffy over the head. "Neo is sleeping."

"Sleeping?" Shachi asked, rushing over to Neo, who was laying on the couch cocooned in a blanket. He kneeled down and placed his hand on her shoulder. "Is she sick?"

"No," Sanji's voice drawled out the word. "She's not sick. Just tired since she's been worried about all of us. What's that smell?"

"What smell?" Luffy asked.

"It's you!" Sanji pointed at Luffy once he got a whiff of his captain. "When's the last time you've bathed?"

"I dunno. The last time we were on the Sunny, I guess," Luffy replied.

"Sorry about the stink. We've been underground chasing after a lizard for the past few weeks with only a river to bath in," Shachi reported.

"Was that Luffy?" Chopper asked as he came down the stairs. "Hey! You two made it!"

"Hey, where the monkey go?" Luffy asked as he looked around. "And why do you have a little orange bug clinging to your cheek?"

"Sanji cutie!" Celeste cooed still with hearts in her eyes.

"It can talk?" Luffy got closer to Sanji.

"Don't stand so close! You smell terrible! Go take a shower! Please!" Sanji shoved Luffy away with his foot. "All the bedrooms upstairs have showers and clothes."

"But I'm hungry!" Luffy shouted.

"Keep it down." Sanji kicked Luffy on the head again. "You'll wake Neo. Get a shower. Then I'll cook you something."

"Aw." Luffy pouted as he head to the stairs. "Fine."

Shachi pulled himself away from Neo and followed Luffy upstairs. A little while later Neo began to wake up just as Shachi and Luffy were coming back downstairs after their much needed shower. She sat up and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes then noticed the new comers. "Shachi! Luffy!"

"Hey, princess," Shachi greeted as they rushed to each other. He engulfed her in a hug as she wrapped her arms around his neck. She grabbed Luffy and pulled him into their hug. "How are you doing?"

"I'm okay. What about you?" Neo said, scanning her eyes over him. "You're not hurt, are you?"

"No, just a bit tired," Shachi replied.

Neo nodded and summoned her solar crystal. She engulfed Shachi and Luffy in its glow.

"Can we eat now?" Luffy whined.

"Fine." Sanji nodded and headed for the kitchen. The others followed close behind.

"Yeah! Food!" Luffy cried.

Shachi sat down and dropped his head on the table.

"Luffy's driven you nuts, hasn't he?" Sanji asked while he and Elian bustled about the kitchen.

"You have no idea," Shachi said.