A/N: Sorry for the wait on this one! I had a bunch of projects and then finals. Anyways, thanks for reading!

Disclaimer: I don't own this.


The ship reached Little Garden a full day later.

Harley had started to move from relief at having escaped Whiskey Peak to a slow, simmering irritation at being trapped on the Strawhats' ship. This was in part because she knew nothing good could have been happening in Alabasta and in part because she kept having to force her company on various Strawhats by asking to do a multitude of chores. Scrubbing floorboards and moving barrels around was only interesting for so long.

As it was, the instant an island came into view in the distance Harley, out on the forecastle deck with Vivi, exhaled. She heard the thud of boots hitting the deck and barely glanced aside to see Zoro leaning against the railing not far from her. Ahead of the ship the island became clearer and clearer, its blurred edges sharpening and revealing craggy mountain peaks and leafy treetops. Harley braced her bandaged hands against the railing as the ship rocked ever closer.

Luffy—who as it turned out enjoyed spending time sitting cross-legged on top of the ship's ram figurehead—laughed. Harley looked up at him. He was grinning toward the island and fidgeting, already so vibrant with energy that he could hardly sit still. "There's no mistake," said Nami from a few feet away on the deck. "Cactus Island and this one here are definitely pulling against each other." She pointed ahead. "That's our next stop!"

Harley started to tap one white high-top against the deck as the Strawhats continued talking. She squinted ahead and realized the palm and acai trees were growing increasingly enormous as the ship approached—and by the time the ship had started circling the rocky shore, it was clear that nothing about Little Garden was little. Between the tangled undergrowth and the vines stringing the massive trees together, working to dampen the sunlight from overhead, as well as the various unknown sounds of tropical creatures, it was kind of intimidating.

As a result Harley stepped closer to Vivi out of habit. "I can see why they call this place Little Garden," chirped Luffy, who had at some point clambered back down to the deck and run to the railing.

"I can't," returned Zoro with an ounce of acidic sarcasm that he always seemed to have. "What's little about it?"

"Yeah, this island looks pretty harsh if you ask me," put in Nami. "Why the cute name?"

Usopp was already breathing hard. "Y-yeah," he stuttered. "It looks like a jungle out there. Maybe we'd be better off skipping this one."

From what Harley had heard of the encounter between the Strawhats and Miss All Sunday—which had taken place while Harley had been unconscious on the deck—she couldn't help but remark, "I'm sure we would." When everyone looked toward her in surprise she pointed out, "Miss All Sunday is partnered with Mr. 0. She probably could've kidnapped Vivi at any time."

Nami gave a melodramatic sigh and Usopp came close to whimpering. "Well, it's too late now," said Nami, folding her arms.

"What was the warning she gave us?" asked Vivi. "That the island was dangerous?"

"That we'd be dead before we reached Alabasta," provided Zoro.

Usopp almost shrieked. "So we might be attacked by giant monsters?!"

Luffy snickered. "Who knows?"

"Listen," said Usopp somewhat desperately. "I'm sure we could make it to the next island without going ashore on this one!"

Usopp, Nami, and Sanji continued the conversation and Harley refocused on the increasingly intimidating jungle. If she leaned back and squinted upward, she wasn't sure she could even see the tops of the trees. Then again, she was 5'4". Harley half-glanced back down toward the nearest Strawhats—Luffy was barely taller than she was, but Zoro was at least a few inches taller. He wasn't looking up, though, but watching the island undergrowth pass, focused.

Suddenly he lifted one hand to point. "Guys—there's our ticket in."

The other Strawhats ran over to follow his line of sight. He'd noticed an inlet that opened to a river—and when the ship had been steered down the path, river water sloshing around its base, the light seemed filtered by the fronds overhead. Harley watched them pass for a second and realized the sunshine seemed both grayer and almost greener.

With that in mind, as the Strawhats continued talking, Harley swung her sling bag around to dig her camera out of it. She was snapping pictures in seconds and didn't even lower the lens when what sounded like a pterodactyl shrieked overhead—and because she didn't, she turned at the exact right second to capture Sanji ducking away from the enormous talons of a prehistoric bird, shrieking.

Harley snickered to herself as Sanji straightened up. "What the hell's the matter with you, you damn bird?!" he shouted as the bird in question flapped away. Harley, convinced she would get no better picture and that Vivi was likely in more danger than they'd thought, capped her camera and pushed it back into her bag. She built a sort of nest of bandages around it before she tugged her bag into place over her shoulders.

"Whoa, it's big," observed Luffy, presumably of the same bird. "Could be tasty."

A massive thud that shook the trees around them echoed up the river—and with it a low fog swirled around them. Despite herself Harley smirked as she faced the river. She sort of hoped they would have to handle more giant creatures—that way she'd at least have something to do.

"Is that the kind of noise you expect to hear in a normal jungle?" Nami asked, her voice shrill.

Usopp laughed hysterically. "That sounded like a volcano erupting! We're all going to die!"

"It might not be a volcano," Harley couldn't resist offering. "Maybe it was a woolly mammoth. Or a gigantic sabertooth tiger—"

Vivi swatted Harley's arm. "Stop it."

"Fine," said Harley to Nami and Usopp, both of whom looked petrified. "Maybe it was the sound of a strike, and there's a fun bowling alley somewhere."

Zoro snorted from where he still leaned against the railing. "Nice save."

Harley winked at him. "Thanks."

He looked as if he'd never wanted to roll his eyes more in his life. "That was not a compliment."

"You can't stop me from taking it as one."

Zoro gave her a flat glance in response and she flashed a charming smile at him. A second later he turned toward the jungle nearest the ship—Harley followed his gaze and saw what he must have somehow sensed. Two enormous reflective eyes were approaching—

And as Nami and Usopp yelped in surprise, a tiger emerged into the dim light. It was the largest animal Harley had ever seen and those eyes were trained on the ship—it turned to prowl alongside it with its massive paws, muscles rippling beneath its striped coat. Harley was torn between mesmerized at watching its movements and already digging into the sheath around one leg for a knife—

Then the tiger gave a half-assed yowl and collapsed.

"What?!" shrieked Nami, sprinting to the railing near Luffy to stare at the tiger. "Luffy, what just happened?! I know normal, and this is definitely not it!" She whirled around, both fists in the air. "Someone explain to me how a mammoth tiger can just keel over, covered in blood?!"

Usopp seemed to fight with himself for a second, shaky and visibly sweating—then he announced, "Log Pose and food be damned, we're not stepping foot on this island and that's final!"

"We can still reset the readings on the ship," agreed Nami. "We'll just sit tight until then."

"Right!"

"When that's done, we'll leave and never look back!"

"Right!"

"Yeah. Right! We'll all just…stay here!"

Harley opened her mouth to protest or at least make a sarcastic remark, but Vivi, who after five years had a second sense concerning Harley's inability to control herself, gave her a sharp glance. Harley closed her mouth again and offered Vivi a pretty pout.

After another few minutes of traveling down the river, Harley fiddling with a loop on the cuffed denim shorts Nami and Usopp had saved, the Strawhats decided to stop. Without being asked Zoro strode to the opposite side of the forecastle deck to lift the big iron anchor and throw it overboard into the river with a splash. Nice, thought Harley, impressed with his strength, but since she'd already bothered him she didn't offer any compliments. His arms did look great in that short-sleeved henley, though.

A long second of quiet, aside from birds chirping and insects buzzing in the undergrowth, passed. Luffy started snickering. Harley had to look at him twice, because he had his hands on his knees and his shoulders were shaking with disconcerting laughs. "Sanji, go make lunch," he said through snickers.

Sanji, who had been smoking a cigarette and gazing out into the jungle with a hand in the pocket of his slacks, glanced toward Luffy in surprise. He removed the cigarette to ask, "You want lunch?"

"Yep, and one more thing," said Luffy. He straightened and turned around to gesture. "Make it a great big pirate lunch with lots of meat and no veggies! I'm gonna need some more energy!"

Nami darted over, hands on her hips. "Energy for what?! What are you doing? You're not leaving here!"

Luffy beamed back. "You know," he said. "Fun stuff. Wanna come along?"

Hell yes, thought Harley as she stepped back from the railing. Vivi caught her eye and asked, "Are you interested in going?"

"Yep," confirmed Harley. She tugged on the strap of her sling bag and bounced on the balls of her feet. "Do you want to go?"

She immediately regretted the automatic offer, because exploring potentially dangerous territory with Vivi would mean she'd have to focus on the princess. Harley determined aloud, "Actually, I kind of want to wander around—"

"By yourself?" Vivi guessed. Harley grinned somewhat sheepishly and Vivi half-smiled back. "I'm sure that would be fine." To Harley's relief she faced Luffy to ask, "Say, Luffy—would it be all right if I came along with you?"

Usopp gasped as Luffy chirped, "Sure! Sounds great!"

"No!" shouted Nami. She glanced between Vivi and Harley. "You two can't be serious!"

Vivi shrugged. "Sure. I'd rather not sit here with nothing to do but worry. This will keep me busy until the Log's reset."

"And I'm already bored," said Harley, throwing Nami a peace sign.

"Out of the question for both of you!" barked Nami. "Seriously, it's way too dangerous out there!"

Harley was touched at Nami's concern. "I'll run back at the first sign of trouble," she promised.

"Good!" said the navigator with a nod.

"And I'll be fine," Vivi added. "Besides, I'll have Karoo with me."

Karoo gave a startled squawk—Harley and Nami both looked at him. "Hey, something's wrong," Nami observed, stepping closer and leaning down to examine the oversized duck. His tongue was still out, beak opened wide, feathers shaking. Harley patted the duck's head. "Karoo doesn't look too good. He might be in shock."

"Vivi, Harley," called Sanji. Harley turned and found him already outside the galley, leaning on the doorhandle with one hand. "If you two go exploring, you'll need to eat. I'll pack you both lunches."

"Thanks!" said Vivi. "While you're at it, could you fix something for Karoo?"

"And I'll take the veggies Luffy doesn't want," piped up Harley.

"Of course," said Sanji with an incline of his head toward both of them. "You ladies just leave it to me." He vanished into the galley and the wooden door swung shut behind him.

The following half hour passed at a snail's pace. Harley, already feeling more and more restless energy hum through her, walked around the forecastle deck, and when that lost interest she climbed up onto the railing to follow it instead. In the meantime she half-listened to Nami and Usopp questioning Vivi and Luffy hopping up and down as he stared out at the jungle, excitement vibrating through him.

At last Sanji emerged to outfit Luffy, Vivi, and Karoo with their respective lunches, and the trio set out. "Be careful!" Harley called after them from where she still stood on the railing.

Vivi grinned back at her. "You too!"

As they vanished out of sight, Sanji passed Harley her lunchbox. "And last but certainly not least."

"Thanks," Harley chirped. She swung her bag around to unzip it and push the lunchbox in, beside the sun-patterned shirt Nami and Usopp had saved. When she'd zipped it up again and pulled the strap closer against her shoulders she looked at the remaining Strawhats. Nami and Usopp were in either awe or disbelief, Sanji was still watching Harley with unearned affection, and Zoro wandered down the steps to the forecastle deck.

Because everyone present was cute, Harley asked, "Any of you want to go with me?"

Zoro rubbed the back of his head. "No, but I'm gonna take a walk." He lifted one leg to set a boot against the railing a few inches from Harley.

"Can I go with you, then?" Harley asked him as he started to lean forward, presumably to launch himself off the ship and to the grass.

Zoro pointed at her. "No." With that he jumped up and was landing on the island in seconds, with a surprisingly light thump.

"Somehow I knew that was a long shot," remarked Harley, placing one hand on her hip as she watched Zoro straighten on the grass.

"Oh—hey! Zoro!" called Sanji. He stepped closer to the railing to lean down, another cigarette poking out one corner of his mouth and spiraling smoke in Harley's direction. She vaguely waved it away. "You know we're kind of short on food. If you find any animals that look edible, bring them back."

"Okay," agreed Zoro more quickly than Harley had expected. From what she'd witnessed over the past two days or so it seemed as though the swordsman and the blond were incapable of remaining in the same general area for longer than thirty minutes without breaking into some sort of argument. Of course his ensuing commentary fit in better with Harley's previous image of the two's relationship. "That's easy. I could see why you'd wanna send me—'cause I could bring back something you couldn't catch yourself."

Without waiting for a comeback, he turned to take a few casual steps away. Harley glanced at Sanji as the latter slammed a black wingtip against the railing near her. "What the hell does that mean?!" he shouted. Zoro growled in audible irritation and glared back. "I won't let that remark go unchallenged," Sanji continued. "You're saying you can capture bigger game than I can, like my hunting skills are inferior?!"

"Yeah," snapped Zoro, facing Sanji. "That's right."

For a minute Zoro and Sanji glowered at each other with such vehemence that Harley, almost amused, imagined she could feel angry sparks emanating from them. "Challenge accepted," snarled Sanji. He leapt up onto the railing and down to the shore, where he landed beside Zoro. "Okay. Winner brings back the most pounds of meat."

"What d'you mean pounds?" Zoro retorted. "'Cause I'll bring back tons."

"Why don't you let your hunting do the talking for you?" returned Sanji.

Zoro scoffed. "Good luck, cook."

As the two then marched into the jungle and away from the river Harley—though she was tempted not to bother either of them, to let them continue whatever the hell competitive nonsense this was—called, "You two, wait a second!"

She didn't wait to see if they heard before she jumped down to land on the grass, too, though with less finesse than either boy had. It was still a relief to have unmoving ground beneath her high-tops and Harley grinned to herself as she straightened up. She found both Zoro and Sanji had rounded toward her expectantly. "Get this," said Harley as she strolled toward them. "I'm interested in hunting." She held up both bandaged palms. "I won't get in on your little contest."

"Little?" growled Zoro.

"But how about you two toss a coin for my company?"

Zoro pointed at Sanji without hesitation. "Go with him."

Harley faced the blond, who beamed at her. "I'd be happy to have you along!" He almost flounced back to throw one lanky arm around Harley's shoulders and guide her into walking with him. "Let's get going! I'm sure you'll be extremely impressed by the animals I catch."

"I'm sure I will," said Harley as she let Sanji pull her along.

The blond proceeded to wax rhapsodic about previous hunting trips he'd taken in the past, though most of them seemed to concern fishing rather than anything on land—as he did and Harley let him ramble, she glanced around at the jungle. She wasn't sure if it was a result of the tangled greenery overhead, but it somehow felt similar to standing inside a greenhouse, warm and wet.

Harley ducked out from under Sanji's arm when the two had to cross a creek, hopping over slippery rocks, and on the other side Sanji paused to take a quick glance around. "What is it?" Harley asked him.

"…nothing," Sanji said, though his eyebrow was furrowed. He nodded ahead. "Let's try not to slow down much though."

Harley quickened her pace as the two continued through the jungle. Sanji pushed aside the occasional oversized leaf that dripped into their path and Harley had to hurry to keep up with him. Those long legs of his certainly helped him cover more ground.

He slowed at one point, after they'd turned to take a path with less undergrowth than another, and held out one arm. "Stop," he said, and Harley did. He lifted his head to squint around the verdure of the jungle. "I think someone's been following us for a while."

Sanji waited and Harley listened, though she could only hear birds and insects. He shook his head. "It couldn't be," he said, and he continued walking. "Come on, Harley."

Harley caught back up with him—then she heard what he must have somehow sensed, the low thuds of approaching footsteps, loud enough that the animal creating them must have been enormous. Harley thought of that massive tiger—oh my God what if there really are sabertooth tigers or woolly mammoths around here—and Sanji touched her arm. "Wait over there," he said quietly.

"You don't want help?" returned Harley as she automatically reached to start unraveling the bandages around one palm.

"You're the lady!" said Sanji with sincere offense. "Of course not."

Sure, thought Harley, both bemused and mildly irritated. She took a few quick steps over to wait near an impressive tree and continue to unravel the bandages around her right hand just in case—

The creature that had to have been tracking them made its unwelcome appearance. Harley stopped and stared, wide-eyed, because a tyrannosaurus rex—an actual fucking dinosaur—had emerged from the undergrowth with a roar that seemed to shake the palm trees.

Harley only barely saw Sanji turning out of the corner of her eye—she couldn't stop looking at the prehistoric animal. Its skin was brown and bumpy and resembled a lizard's, and it had those short arms with three claws each and an absolute multitude of sharp, glistening fangs lining its open mouth—

She burst back into action at once, fumbling to tug the bandages away from her right palm as she felt ink swell in it—but even as she did, Sanji performed two—only two—wildly accurate and apparently wildly powerful kicks to take the T-rex out. The dinosaur was smashed into the dirt in seconds and Sanji landed with a sheer elegance Harley hadn't ever thought she would see from him. Oh my…God? Harley thought, blinking rapidly at the cook. This certainly pushed him higher on her mental meter of hottest Strawhats—

Of course Sanji then twirled toward Harley. "Well, Harley?" he almost trilled. "What do you think?!"

Harley stared at him. She opened her mouth and closed it again uncertainly. Then she managed, "That's—a T-rex."

Sanji looked back down at the animal and calmed at once. "Yeah," he said, and he nudged the tip of its nose, still in the dirt, with his wingtip. "I guess this must be some sort of prehistoric island." He gave Harley a shrug. "Maybe the garden was little centuries ago."

Harley gave a startled laugh. "Uh—yeah, actually. It probably was." She released a breath and pushed her bandaged hand through her hair as she stepped back out into the grassy clearing to rejoin Sanji. Without thinking about it she shook out her other hand, spraying the grass with ink droplets. "You're not going to try to cook this, are you?"

"Why not?" said Sanji.

"Because it looks disgusting?"

Sanji waved this away. "Ah, it only does because I haven't cooked it yet." He faced the T-rex and folded one arm over his chest, rubbing his chin with his other hand. "Now we have to figure out how to bring this back to the ship…"

After a brief discussion the two determined ropes made of vines were required to drag the T-rex along with them. Harley helped knot the vines around the dead animal, but when she hopped down and tried to take up a vine to help Sanji drag it, he stopped her. "Absolutely not," he said. "The lady will do no manual labor. You can even have a seat on the dinosaur."

"Are you serious?" Harley asked back. She gestured widely to the T-rex. "It's huge!"

Sanji just looked at her.

"Fine," said Harley, throwing her hands up. "Have fun." With that she turned and climbed back up onto the T-rex to perch on the side of its head, in front of its closed eye, and she braced her high-tops against its nose. From there she watched as Sanji stretched his arms, lit another cigarette from a pack he seemed to keep inside his blazer, and plucked up a few of the vines' ends. Then he just—started dragging it along.

Harley kind of thought Sanji would need to give in eventually and let her help, but he never did. Instead he kept trooping onward, and Harley watched his narrow shoulders and that blond hair, dappled with the early afternoon sunlight that managed to filter down through the tropical flora.

When Sanji had dragged the T-rex—and Harley—alongside a steep cliff and outside the edges of the jungle for a few minutes, Harley realized she could hear a similar dragging sound. She sat up further, propping her hands against the T-rex on either side of her. Zoro, tugging a triceratops by one of its sharp curved horns, came into view.

Sanji and Zoro spotted each other at the same time. "Hey, Zoro," said Sanji coolly.

"Hey, Sanji," returned Zoro, who on the other hand already sounded keyed up.

The two smirked at each other—then each said, "I am the winner!" This was followed with a chorus of "You lost, dammit!"

Zoro raised his sharp gaze from Sanji to Harley, who wiggled her fingers at him in a flirty wave. "Well?" he demanded. "Which one of us won?"

"She said she didn't want to get involved!" Sanji snapped at Zoro.

Harley rolled her eyes. "I can't judge how much these things weigh."

She waited on top of the T-rex as Zoro and Sanji dragged their respective kills closer to compare them without having to lift them, and she ignored their continued argument. She was considering tugging her sling bag around to dig her lunch out when, from across the island, there came the distinct boom of a volcano exploding.

Uh, concerning, thought Harley, twisting to find the source. There was a nearby craggy mountain spitting black smoke into the air. "All right," Sanji declared. "The next eruption from that volcano will signal the end of the competition. You have until then to secure your prey and return to the Going Merry."

"I can handle that," said Zoro. "You're on."

Harley glanced back and forth between the two boys, fully concentrated on each other. After listening to the low rumble of the volcano, still threatening to erupt again, she swung her legs around to slide down the side of the T-rex's head and land with a thud on the grass. "Okay, boys," Harley called to both of them. Each turned, Zoro still irritated, Sanji already softening. "Have fun. I'll catch up with everyone later."

Without waiting for a response Harley strode out into the jungle. "Stay safe!" Sanji shouted after her, and she raised one hand over her shoulder to indicate she'd heard. Soon she'd pushed through enough elephant leaves and other fronds and was back in the undergrowth of the ancient jungle.

Harley slowed her pace as she continued. Sanji and Zoro were both cute, she thought, but it was kind of a relief to be alone. She swatted at a mosquito and stepped over a collection of gnarled roots breaking out of the dirt. Hopefully Vivi, wherever she was, would manage to keep herself safe. Luffy should be a help, thought Harley. I wonder how long it'll take the Log Pose to reset.

She continued exploring the island on her own for a decent amount of time. Harley paused to sit in the hollow at the base of a tree to eat her lunch and listened to a series of increasingly concerning explosions that seemed to shake the entire island. When she was pushing her trash back into her bag to avoid littering, she thought she might have heard ominous chuckling vibrating through the trees, but decided she must have imagined it.

Harley found a few wide dirt paths that seemed to imply whoever had created them was even larger than the jungle itself, and she had to dodge a couple of prehistoric animals she decided she wasn't interested in fighting. Still, it was interesting to see the plant life and various strange insects—she took her camera back out to snap pictures of a beetle she'd never seen before.

Half an hour into Harley's solo journey, she heard a distinct ringing from her sling bag. Startled, she stopped near an acai tree to swing her bag around and dig out her not-often-used Transponder Snail. Not many people even knew how to reach her—aside from Igaram, Mr. 6, Vivi, her cousin, her older brother, and her old friend Safiya. And presumably Mr. 0 and Miss All Sunday considering their company-wide knowledge…

Harley bit her lip before she answered. "Hello?"

"It's me."

It was Saf on the other end of the line. Considering the scullery maid only called when something significantly bad had happened in the palace or Alabasta as a whole, Harley was even more concerned than before. "What's going on?"

"Nothing good," said Saf, and Harley's heart jumped. "We've lost half the royal army to the rebels, they've been amassing weapons, and there's still no rain."

Harley blinked rapidly. The royal army was enormous, but with half of it gone—and an uncountable number of citizens preparing to rise up and fight—fuck. The warmth of the jungle air seemed heavier, the sweat already on Harley's skin hotter. "How much—how much time do we have?"

Saf said nothing.

"How much time?!"

"…not much," Saf admitted, and Harley swallowed hard. "Especially if something's done."

Harley knew she must have been referring to Baroque Works' operations—they both avoided specific names and titles in case the line was somehow tapped. "Right," said Harley, and she exhaled. Despite herself she could feel her eyes starting to sting. "Well. We're on our way."

"Good," said Saf with finality. "I'll see you when I see you."

"You will," said Harley, and Saf ended the call with a click.

Harley fumbled to hang up herself and place her now sleeping Transponder Snail back in her bag. When she had tugged the strap of her bag over her shoulders she braced her hands against her thighs for a second. Breathe, she thought, and she did her utmost to focus, to stop the mental breakdown she could sense on the horizon. She couldn't lose her mind here or anywhere—she had to ensure Vivi returned to Alabasta before any actual skirmishes broke out.

With that in mind Harley straightened and turned to try and find a path back to the river, which she could follow to the Strawhat ship.

Considering the island hadn't seemed enormous from the outside, it seemed ridiculous that fifteen minutes later Harley hadn't managed to find the river again. She huffed in combined frustration and irritation as she swatted a palm frond away from her face—and in that instant she caught a glimpse of pale yellow out of the corner of her eye.

Harley glanced over and spotted Vivi in the next clearing. "Hey," Harley called as she pushed beneath another low-hanging branch to enter the clearing. "Where's—?"

She slowed as she realized Vivi was unmoving. "Uh…" Harley started even as a distinct unease started to creep up the back of her neck. "Are you—?" She stepped closer. "Yeah, you're not moving. What the fu—"

Then there was nothing.