Disclaimer I do not own the rights Mario characters or One Piece characters
Chapter 11: The Reindeer and the Star Child
Back at the Castle on the peaks of Drum Kingdom
Chopper was replacing the dirty gauss from Sanji, as he began to walk away Sanji reached out and grabbed him.
"Mhmm... venison..." Sanji said with a hungered look in his eyes. Chopper suddenly let out a scream as he ran out of the operating room with Sanji hot on his trails. As they ran by the others Luffy was confused by Sanji's actions.
"What are you doing Sanji?"
"Trying to catch this deer so I can make some tasty venison dishes." Sanji explained. Luffy's mouth began to water as he thought about the kinds of dishes Sanji can make.
"Wait! Come back meat!" Luffy shouted as he began to chase Chopper with Sanji.
"Umm... Shouldn't you be helping your pet?" Mario asked Kureha.
"Oh he'll be fine. And he's not a pet, he's my student. I taught him everything I know about medicine." Kureha explained. Mario nodded and sat back down, but then he began to pat his hat and his clothes looking for something.
"Oh Mamamia... Come back little deer!" Mario shouted as he ran out after them.
"What's with all the noise?" Nami grumpily asked as she woke up.
"Well look who's awake. You know your lucky I happened to have the cure for the five day disease girly. Since it's quite rare to catch it almost no one has the cure on hand." Kureha humored.
"Oh, well that's great." Nami said as she tried to get up.
"What are you doing?" Kureha asked.
"Getting out of bed now that I'm feeling better." Nami answered. However, she was suddenly forced back down by Kureha.
"Not so fast girly. The medicine may be working now, but there is chance of a second flare up. In which case we would need to administer a second dose, so just lay down and rest." Kureha explained.
"But I can't! We have to get to Alabasta as soon as possible!" Nami exclaimed, trying to get up again. But Kureha jumped on top of her and put a scalpel to her throat.
"Listen here girly, there's only two reasons a patient leaves my care and that's if they are either cured or dead. And since your not fully cured yet the only other way you would leave is if you are dead. Understand?" Kureha asked Nami. Nami nodded terrified of the Kureha's actions. Suddenly Chopper ran through the room with Mario, Sanji and Luffy on his tail.
"Wait! Stop meat! Let me eat you!" Luffy demanded.
"Hold on Luffy! Let me cook it first!" Sanji said.
"Stop! Wait you two!" Mario yelled trying to stop them from eating Chopper.
"Alright that's enough boys!" Kureha shouted as she chased after them. Everything was quiet until Chopper ran back into the room and shut the door.
"Hey there little guy." Nami greeted him. Chopper froze up, but slowly approached her.
"So, you're a pirate? A real live pirate?" He asked as he cautiously poked Nami.
"Yeah, and what are you?" Nami asked.
"Me! I'm no one special, just Kureha's assistant." Chopper explained. "Anyways, just lay down and rest. The medicine may be working now, but the virus is still in your system and we need to keep an eye on you in case it flares up again."
"Yeah, the crazy lady already told me that. But, if you came with us then it would be fine right?" Nami asked Chopper, giving him a wink.
"What!? Are you crazy!? Why would I want to join a bunch of pirates!?" Chopper yelled in shock before looking down with a saddened expression. "Besides I wouldn't fit in. I'm a reindeer who walks and talks like a human and I have a blue nose." He explained.
"And? Compared to the rest of our crew that's still pretty normal. Especially when compared to our current doctor Mario." Nami explained.
"And also that! Why do you want me on your crew if you already have a doctor!"
"Well, he's not going to be with us forever." Nami explained. Chopper eyes widened at that statement.
"Why? Is something wrong with him?" Chopper asked with concern.
"What? No. Look it's complicated." Nami tried to explain. Suddenly the door to the room burst open with Luffy and Sanji running in.
"Get back here!" They yelled in unison. Chopper instantly ran out of the room with them in hot pursuit.
"Wait you two! Stop already!" Mario yelled chasing after them. Kureha came in shortly after, panting while she grabbed a chair.
"Damn those boys can move. By the way girly, I don't appreciate you trying to take my assistant away." Kureha said as she sat down.
"Oh, so I need your permission to make a move on a man now?" Nami jokingly asked.
"Heh, no go ahead and take him if you want. But I warn you, it won't be as easy as you think." Kureha stated. She then began to explain Chopper's sad history. How he was rejected by his herd at birth, how after he ate the human-human fruit he was forced to leave the herd completely, and finally how he was rejected and hunted by the humans in the village and his burning desire for friends. Meanwhile, Sanji and Luffy were still chasing Chopper when Mario ran pass them and caught him.
"Way to go Mario!" Luffy said with excitement, before Mario jumped onto the upper railing away from them.
"Sorry you two, but this deer is not on the menu tonight." Mario stated as he continued to leap away while Luffy and Sanji were shouting at him to bring back their dinner. After a few moments of running Chopper transformed into his muscle form.
"LET ME GO!" He shouted as he launched a fist at Mario. Mario caught it effortlessly, Chopper was shocked but launched his second fist towards Mario. However Mario caught it too and just held Chopper in place.
"Look, I'm not going to hurt you! I promise!" Mario yelled while staring at Chopper. Chopper was taken aback by Mario's words and how similar they sounded to someone who was really close to him. After a few minutes of Mario holding onto Chopper he transformed back into his small form.
"So your Mario?" Chopper asked, Mario gave a cheery nod. "So what's wrong with you?"
"What do you mean?" Mario asked in confusion.
"Well, that lady said you couldn't stay with the crew. Is there a reason why? Are you sick?" Chopper asked with concern.
"Oh no, no, no. It's nothing like that. I'll explain but first, Starlow come out already." Mario said confusing Chopper. Suddenly Starlow flew out from behind Chopper.
"Sorry Mario, but he's so cute!" Starlow giddily explained. Chopper just stood in shock at Starlow.
"What are you?!" He asked in shock.
"Hello, Yello I'm Starlow!" Starlow cheerily replied. "And I am a Starsprite." Chopper just stood in awe and confusion.
"Look let me explain." Mario said as he began to explain who and what he was and why he was here. And finally why he wouldn't be able to stay with the crew forever. Mario was expecting Chopper to laugh or mock his story as it sounded unbelievable, but instead Chopper was hanging off every word and had stars in his eyes.
"So, your a Star Child from another world, so cool!" Chopper exclaimed in awe.
"Why thank you, and what's your name by the way?"
"Oh, it's Chopper."
"Well Chopper, it's-a nice to meet you." Mario said while holding out his hand.
"Nice to meet you too Mario." Chopper replied while shaking Mario's hand.
"So, are you sure you don't want to join us? Having another doctor on the crew would put me at ease, especially since you would know more about the diseases in this world."
"Look, I really appreciate the offer, but I can't join you. I'm too different." Chopper sadly explained.
"That doesn't matter." Mario tried to reason.
"Yes it does! It's the reason I can't join you!" Chopper retorted in an angry tone. Mario just picked up Chopper and sat down while placing Chopper on his lap.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Mario asked.
"What do you mean?"
"About the real reason you're refusing to join us. It can't be just because your different, everyone's different. If that really mattered then no one would be friends. So there must be another reason why you don't want to join us." Mario explained. "So do want to talk about those reasons?"
"Can you do something about my problems?" Chopper asked in a melancholy tone.
"I can listen and offer advice, and if there is anything I can do about it I will." Mario answered. After a few moments Chopper began to explain his backstory, everything Kureha told Nami as well as his relationship with doctor Hiriluk, his father figure who sadly passed away when Wapol was collecting his twenty MDs.
"Do you think I could've done anything different? What would you have done Mario?" Chopper asked. Mario pondered for a moment.
"With what you knew at the time, no you couldn't have done anything different since you didn't know any better. And I'm pretty sure I would've done the same thing if I was in your shoes and with the knowledge you had at the time. But it's best not to focus on what you could've done, instead focus on the here and now. To quote one of my favorite movies, the past is history, the future is a mystery, but today is a gift, that is why it's called the present." Mario said with a smile. Chopper just sat on Mario's lap, comforted by his words. He didn't know why, but the kindness in his words and the way he smiled just made Chopper feel safe with Mario.
"Well thanks for listening Mario, I'll think about joining your crew." Chopper said as he got up from Mario's lap. He was walking towards the railing, when he looked down and had an expression shock. "Hey! Stop! Don't close that door!" He yelled, Mario was confused and walked over to the railing to see what he was yelling at. He saw Luffy and Sanji about to close the front door to the castle.
"Hey Mario!" Luffy Called out. "Do you know what that small raccoon is talking about?" Mario began to examine the door, when he saw it.
"The birds Luffy! Look at the top of the door!" Mario replied. Luffy then looked up and saw what Mario was talking about. At the top of the door was a nest filled with baby snow birds and if he and Sanji had closed the door they might have crushed them. Mario turned to Chopper only to see he was already walking down the corridor deeper into the castle. Mario then jumped down to Luffy and Sanji.
"Hey Mario, enjoy stealing our dinner?" Sanji asked in a sarcastic tone.
"You do know that little reindeer helped treat you right?" Mario replied.
"Really? Well then I guess we can't eat him." Sanji stated before he and Luffy began to shiver from the cold weather. Mario then made two fire balls in his hands and held them close to Sanji and Luffy. "Thanks Mario, so that small creature is a reindeer?"
"Yep, he apparently ate the human-human fruit so that's why he can walk and talk. Oh, and he's also a doctor as Kureha taught him everything he knows." Mario explained.
"Well, that's neat." Sanji stated, lighting a cigarette with Mario's flame. Suddenly Luffy lit up with excitement.
"Wait! So he's a walking talking reindeer doctor? And you said we need another doctor right Mario?" Luffy asked, getting an affirmative nod from Mario. "Then it's settled, let's get him to join our crew!" Luffy yelled as he thrusted his arms up in the air.
On the slopes leading up to the Castle
"What the hell is up with the lapin's?" Wapol questioned. He along with Chess and Kuramarimo were fighting off the lapins on the slope.
"It seems like they're dead set on not letting us pass sir." Chess answered.
"That's strange, they would have normally backed off by now." Kuramarimo stated while fighting off another lapin.
"Damn beasts. Take this, munch-munch canon!" Wapol yelled as his arms turned into canons and he fired them off at the lapins. After the dust had settled, they saw that all the lapins had been defeated. "About time, now let's get moving!" Wapol ordered.
"If I may ask sir. Why are we heading to the castle first? Shouldn't we be looking for the mustache man and make an example out of him?" Chess questioned.
"You moron!" Wapol yelled. "That mustache man is stronger than the average pirate. So I need to head back to my armory and prepare for him first. Once I have everything I need, then we hunt down that bastard." Wapol explained with Chess and Kuramarimo bowing to him.
"I see, my apologies for questioning your most wise decision King Wapol." Chess said in submission.
"Yeah, it should of been obvious, now let's go!" Wapol ordered as he and his henchmen continued up the mountain.
Back in Cocorei Village
The villagers were pleading with the soldiers to let them dig Dalton out.
"Doesn't matter how many times you ask, the answers still the same. But hey, if you want to try to get past us be my guest we need the target practice." The soldier smugly said with his cohorts laughing at the villagers despair.
"How could you follow the orders of a madman like Wapol. Can't you see the way he treats his own citizens is wrong?" Vivi tried to reason with the soldiers.
"We don't care if it's right or wrong missy, as long as we get taken care of. But, maybe you can get us to change our minds through "other" ways." One of the soldiers said with a lecherous look on his face. Vivi was disgusted by his suggestion.
"Hey, y-y-you better stop it!" Usopp stammered out. "I am the brave captain Usopp and I have one million men under my command. So, if you know what's good for you, you'll let them dig out Dalton!" Usopp bluffed. The soldiers all laughed at him. But then...
"Oh, hey Usopp. What's going on here?" Zoro asked, shocking all the soldiers as he appeared behind them without anyone noticing.
"Zoro! This is my right hand man! Alright Zoro, let them have it!" Usopp ordered confusing Zoro.
"You with these losers?" One of the soldiers asked Zoro as he tried to grab him. However, Zoro had knocked the soldier out and taken his jacket.
"Ahh... Now that feels much better. Now, who the hell are you lot?" Zoro asked.
"Their Wapol's men Zoro! Please defeat them so we can save Dalton!" Vivi explained and asked.
"Dalton?" Zoro wondered. Just then, some of Wapol's men tried to attack him.
"Kill him!" One of the soldiers yelled out. Zoro had evaded their attacks and stolen three of their swords. "What the?" One of the men cried out when he realized his weapon was gone. "Open fire!" One of the soldiers yelled out. The men with guns fired their rifles at Zoro, but Zoro deflected the bullets and charged towards them. With swordsmanship too quick for the soldiers to see Zoro wiped them all out.
"Yeah! That's what happens when you mess with captain Usopp!" Usopp exclaimed.
"Now's not the time for that Usopp! We need to dig out Dalton!" Vivi exclaimed. With that everyone suddenly began to dig at the snow.
"Hey, what's everyone doing?" Zoro asked.
"Come on Zoro! We need to dig out Dalton!" Usopp explained.
"Who's Dalton?"
"I found him!" One of the villagers shouted. Everyone then rushed over to him and helped to dig out Dalton. When they pulled him out he was still covered in wounds. "What can we do? Does anyone know how to treat him?" One of the villagers asked. That is when Wapol's doctors stepped forward.
"We can treat him."
"No way! We can't trust you! You all sided with Wapol!" The villagers shouted.
"Please, I know we joined Wapol, but it was either that or execution. Let us at least save one life worth saving." One of the doctors pleaded. With no other choice they let the doctors treat Dalton.
"Hey, who's Wapol?" Zoro asked Usopp.
"It's that munch-munch guy Mario beat back on our ship. Turns out he used to be king of this country and now he's gone up the mountain towards the castle where the witch is treating Nami." Usopp explained.
"We need to hurry and warn them." Vivi added.
"Don't worry Vivi, with Mario and Luffy up there they'll be fine." Usopp said.
"How can you be so sure Usopp?"
"Because I have faith in our friends Vivi." Usopp explained while giving a smirk and a thumbs up to Vivi.
"Don't let that act fool you. He's just too scared to go up there." Zoro explained, causing Usopp to turn to him in anger. Vivi gave one more glance towards the mountain, concerned for her friends.