Luffy's group began racing down the mountain in an attempt to escape from the avalanche, which was thundering down the mountain after them.

"YOU DUMBSHIT!" Sanji yelled. "WHY'D YOU HAVE TO CAUSE AN AVALANCHE!?"

"SHUT UP! I DIDN'T DO IT ON PURPOSE!" Greg yelled back.

"RUN YOU GUYS!" Luffy yelled as they kept on running.

"Over there!" Sanji yelled as he looked to see a small cliff above where the snow was. They raced towards it and managed to get onto it, only to have the snow climb higher than them and push them off. Luffy managed to grab Sanji and Greg in mid-air before jumping onto a tree as they were now snowboarding down the mountain, along with a bunch of lapahns.

"Are they gonna try and kill us again?!" Greg yelled.

"If they do, I'll kill them!" Sanji yelled before they all noticed another cliff right in front of them with broken trees on it. "SHIT! IF THE WOMEN HIT THAT, THEY'RE DEAD!"

"ANY IDEAS!?" Greg yelled.

"JUST ONE!" Luffy yelled before grabbing Sanji and Greg by the back of their coats before jumping off the tree...and kept on jumping. "MOONWALK!" Greg and Sanji, who hadn't seen this before, were now staring at the ground as Luffy was now jumping in place as the avalanche moved under them.

"HOW ARE YOU FUCKING DOING THIS?!" they both shouted at Luffy, who only grinned back. It took awhile, but the avalanche finally stopped before Luffy jumped down to the snow and set Sanji and Greg down.

"Come on guys!" Luffy said with a smile before walking back up the mountain.

"How'd he do that?!" Greg asked.

"No idea." Sanji said before lighting a cigarette to calm himself down. "But he's right. We gotta get moving." he said before they both went after Luffy.

-Back in Big Horn-

The avalanche had covered the whole village to the point where only the tips of the houses could be seen. It was silent until a giant mouth burst up through the snow.

"BLEGH!" Wapol said before spitting Chess, Kuromarimo, and Robson out. "You guys taste awful!" He went on how it must've been the rest of the Straw Hats who went up the mountain earlier who must've done this before scowling as he said he would show them how to fight in the snow country. After Wapol and his two lackeys mounted Robson, Wapol found a few of his men and ordered them to spread the word to the rest of his men that they were to find and capture the Straw Hats still in Big Horn for him to devour later before heading off towards Drum Castle.

-Somewhere in the mountains-

The baby lapahn from earlier was desperately digging at the snow where a giant paw was sticking out from. His little paws were red with pain, yet he kept digging before hearing the snow crunch behind him. He turned to see Luffy's group walking towards him before growling at them. They stopped in front of him as they stared down at him for a moment before Luffy reached for him. The baby lapahn covered his head and closed his eyes, only to open them a moment later and see Luffy pulling the adult lapahn out of the snow. Luffy let the lapahn goes as the baby hugged it while Luffy's group kept on walking.

"Why'd you help that lapahn?" Greg asked.

"If I hadn't, the baby would've been all alone." Luffy said. "Being alone...is painful." Neither Greg nor Sanji said anything about that as they kept walking.

"FOUND YOU!" came a voice behind them. They looked behind to see Wapol and his men approaching before stopping in front of them. "Now I've got you bastards!" Wapol yelled before going on about how he would chew them to pieces until Luffy and his friends walked right past him. "HEY!"

"Sorry man, but we're busy." Greg said.

"These ladies need a doctor so bye." Sanji said. Wapol looked infuriated at them before looking at Chess.

"Chess! New law! Anyone who ignores the king dies!" he yelled. "Kill those ladies since they've been ignoring me the most!"

"What?!" Sanji and Greg said before glaring at them.

"Yes Lord Wapol!" said his men before they started attacking. Luffy and Greg ran while Sanji did his best to fight back before running with them.

"This is their turf!" Sanji growled as they kept running. "I can't fight them!"

"I'd fight, but I might start another avalanche!" Greg yelled.

"Keep going!" Luffy ordered before Wapol jumped out of the snow next to them. "Watch out!" he yelled before all three jumped, only to see Wapol's men jump out of the snow and ready to kill. Sanji and Greg looked on horror while Luffy grinned under his hat as he sensed the lapahns approach before swatting Chess and Kuromarimo away.

"Lapahn?!" Wapol yelled.

"Did they just protect them?" Kuromarimo asked as he got back up.

"No way! Lapahns never help humans! They're wild animals!" Chess argued. Luffy, Greg, and Sanji looked back and stared at the lapahn with a scar near it's left eye with the baby on it's shoulder.

"Is that?" Sanji said before both lapahns raised and pumped their arms.

"Thanks giant rabbits!" Luffy shouted before they took off running, leaving the lapahns to deal with Wapol and his men. They kept on going for what seemed like hours as the wind blew against them until they finally came to the base of the giant mountain.

"We made it to the mountain." Sanji said as he looked up with a grim look as a thought crossed his mind. "Now...how are we gonna get up there?"

"No way we can climb this." Greg said.

"I can." Luffy said after kicking off his sandals.

"Are you crazy?!" Sanji asked. "There's nothing to grab onto to climb up!"

"Yes there is." Luffy said after finding some tiny ridges on the mountain before climbing up effortlessly a few feet before looking back at them. "Grab on."

"Grab on?" Greg asked. "To what?!"

"My feet." Luffy said while his fingers turned black.

"You've gotta be joking!" Greg yelled.

"No...he's not joking." Sanji said, knowing the serious look in Luffy's eyes.

"Hurry up you two." said Luffy as he looked up the mountain. "We gotta get Nami and Grace to the doctor." Sanji just looked at his captain before sighing and grabbing his left leg.

"If you fall, I'm gonna kill you before we hit the bottom." Sanji said.

"You are crazy!" Greg said, now thinking the whole crew was as mad as the captain before grabbing onto Luffy's right leg. "How are you gonna-" he started saying before he felt himself going up the mountain at a steady pace.

"See?" Luffy said with a grin. "We'll get there, no problem."

-3 hours later-

Luffy was still climbing while the other two hung on for dear life. Nami was still tied to Luffy's back, Grace was tied to Greg's back, and Sanji and Greg held onto Luffy's legs and were talking to keep their minds off how high they were.

"So...you wanna b-be a fi-fireman?" Sanji stuttered as the cold was getting to him and Greg.

"Yeah." Greg said. "It's b-been my dream since I w-was younger." he stuttered. "That's wh-why I volunteered to j-joined you guys up the mountain."

"I can see the top." Luffy said. All three of them looked to see the top just a little further away. Luffy kept on climbing until he managed to pull them to the top before Sanji and Greg let go of his legs.

"Nice...castle." Sanji said. All three men were chilled to the bone as they slowly started walking towards the castle. They got halfway there before Sanji and Greg's strength gave out and fell to their knees.

"So...close." Greg said before he passed out.

"Gotta...get the ladies...to the...doctor." Sanji said, fighting to stay awake.

"Hang on guys." Luffy said before picking them up in each arm. "We're almost there." He started walking before he saw two figures approaching and smiled.

"Looks like we've got some patients Chopper." said Dr. Kureha as she looked at Luffy. "Climbing up 3 miles of mountain in only that? You must be crazy kid."

"It's nothing." Luffy said as he wobbled a bit, now starting to feel his strength go as well. "Please...help my friends." he said, causing Chopper to look at him.

"Don't worry boy." she said. "You and your friends will be okay." Luffy smiled before setting his friends down and falling down in the snow.

"Let's get to work Chopper." she said.

-Somewhere on the island-

"Come on Usopp." Vivi grunted as she pulled Usopp out of the snow. She and Usopp went chasing after Dalton, only to get lost before the avalanche came.

"Vivi, stop shouting." Usopp said with a strange smile on his face. "I'm having a wondeful dream. I see a world full of beautiful flowers unlike any I've ever seen."

"That's Heaven!" Vivi shouted as she started slapping him. "WAKE UP!"

"AHH!" Usopp shouted before falling back asleep. "It's another great adventure of the Usopp Pirates!" he mumbled.

"NO MR. USOPP! DON'T DIE!" Vivi yelled in panic before slapping him until he finally woke up.

"Thanks for helping me Vivi." Usopp said as he reached up to his swollen face. "But why does my face hurt a lot?"

"Nothing." she said. "I'm just glad you're alive. It's only frostbite. Anyway, let's find the others." she said before seeing something jump up from under the snow.

"What now?!" Usopp shrieked before they saw it was Zoro.

"Snow? Where'd all those flowers go?" Zoro mumbled before seeing Vivi there. "Oh. Hey Vivi and..." he said as he stared at Usopp's swollen face, recognizing him because of his nose. "Hey Usopp. Why are you here?"

"THAT'S OUR LINE!" they yelled. Soon, all three were now walking and arguing about Zoro swimming in the river and getting lost before he begged them for some of their clothing.

"Look!" Vivi shouted. "Those houses...we're back at Big Horn!" she said. They kept walking until they heard screaming and started running and joined the villagers who were hiding from the chaos. "What's going on?"

"Dalton and those pirates from before are fighting against Wapol's men." one of them said before seeing Zoro in only pants. "YOU DO REALIZE IT'S FREEZING OUTSIDE, DON'T YOU?!"

"Let's help them." Zoro said as he started walking through the crowd and saw everything. Dalton was back in his half and half form and slashing at some of Wapol's men, Gin was smashing another in the ribs with his tonfa, and Alvida was calming walking towards another as he shot at her only to have the bullets slip away from her.

"Looks like they're doing fine." Usopp said before they heard some villagers yelling.

"Alright! Throw down your weapons, or we'll open fire!" one of the soldiers yelled as he and 4 other soldiers were now aiming at some of the villagers.

"Hmph! Can't stop us, so you're aiming at the weak?" Gin asked in annoyance.

"Shut up!" he yelled before grinning. "It's your fault for not surrendering when we told you to earlier. Anyone wanna play hero now, step up!" he shouted. Faster than anyone could blink, Zoro came out of nowhere and smashed the guy's jaw with his fist, knocking him out.

"Mr. Bushido!" Vivi shouted.

"Zoro?" Alvida said in confusion.

"Are you mad? They'll shoot the villagers!" one of them shouted.

"Ah. These clothes are warm!" Zoro said, now wearing the soldier's uniform and laughing.

"YOU STOLE HIS CLOTHES?!" many of them shouted while Zoro took the soldiers sword.

"Who's first?" Zoro asked.

"We warned you!" shouted one of the soldiers as they prepared to fire at the villagers.

"SPECIAL ATTACK! EXPLODING STAR!" shouted Usopp before the four other soldiers were hit with explosions. With the villagers safe, the Straw Hats began to whip the soldiers asses.

-In the castle-

Nami and Grace were lying in bed with ice bags on their heads. Nami slowly began to wake up and look around to until she saw a strange creature walking around.

"Who...are you?" she asked, causing the creature to jump back away from her and crash into some furniture before running and hiding. Nami just looked at him while he looked back at her while shaking and poorly hiding.

"You're doing it wrong." she said, making him gasp and correct himself. "Too late. I know you're there."

"Be quiet human!" Chopper shouted. "AND...how are you feeling?" he asked before Dr. Kureha yelled at him and he fled.

"Awake now, are we?" Dr. Kureha asked with a smile and a laugh. "Feeling better?"

"Who are you?" Nami asked as Kureha felt her forehead with a finger while drinking.

"Looks like your fever's gone down. Good." she said. "I'm Dr. Kureha. Call me Doctorine."

"Doctor? Then we're-"

"You wish to know about my youth?" Kureha asked.

"I didn't ask about that." Nami said.

"You two are in the castle atop the mountain." Kureha said.

"Two? Grace!" Nami said before looking around and seeing Grace resting comfortably next to her and sighing in relief. "She's okay too. Where are the other three guys who were with us?"

"Sleeping in the next room." Kureha said. "Such loud snorers too."

"You two aren't any quieter." Grace said from under the covers.

"Heh. Sorry for talking to loud." Nami said as Grace sat up and looked around. "Feeling better?"

"Yeah." Grace said before Kureha came over and lifted Nami's shirt and Grace's right sleeve.

"Here's the problem." Kureha said.

"What is it?" Nami asked.

"The both of you were bitten by an insect called Kestia. When it bites someone, it'll spread a bacteria into that person's body. For five days, said person suffers from a high fever as the poison spreads throughout your body. Judging from these wounds, you both were bitten three day's ago. If left untreated, you'd be resting peacefully...in the afterlife!" Kureha explained, causing Nami and Grace to gulp in fear. "It was known as the five days fever, but Kestia was supposed to have gone extinct 100 years ago. I kept the antibiotic just in case. Where'd you two come from, some ancient jungle?"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"

"What the heck?" Kureha asked as all three were now staring at the door to the next room.

'That voice.' Nami thought. "Luffy?"

"NO! YOU BASTARD! GET AWAY FROM MY FRIENDS!" shouted Luffy from the next room.

"Doctorine! Help! This guy's going crazy!" came Chopper's voice.

"Luffy!" Nami yelled as she tried to get ouf of bed.

"Stay there!" Kureha said as she pushed her back into bed. "You're still sick! I'll look!" she said before going into the next room. "What's going on here?!"

"This guy won't stop thrashing around!" Chopper said as he, along with Greg and Sanji, were now trying to calm Luffy down. "He's not even awake!" Chopper said as Kureha walked over.

"Calm down Luffy!" Sanji shouted as Greg was threatening to bomb him to shut him up.

"Let him go." she said in a calm voice before jumping towards them. All three jumped out of the way before Kureha kicked Luffy through the wall into the next room. "SHUT UP ALREADY!" she shouted as Luffy flew into the next room before hitting the wall and falling to the floor. He didn't move for a moment before sitting up and looking around, his eyes full of nothing but fear as he tried to catch his breath. "Noisy one." Kureha said.

"Wha?" Luffy said before seeing Kureha, Chopper, Greg, and Sanji look through the wall at him. He sighed in relief before falling back to the floor. "Just a nightmare." Luffy said.

"Luffy?" Nami asked as she and Grace walked into the room with a blanket covering them.

"Nami! Grace!" Sanji said, glad to see the girls okay. "How are you feeling?"

"Better." Nami said and Grace gave a small smile.

"Didn't I tell you two to stay in bed?" Kureha said. "You still need to rest for three days."

"We can't wait here for three days!" Nami said. "We have to-" she said before Kureha jumped her and pinned her to the floor with a scalpel at her throat.

"My patients leave either when they're cured, or dead. Take your pick!" Kureha said.

-Back down at Big Horn-

The Straw Hats and Dalton had finished fighting Wapol's men before they started looking for anyone who got buried under the snow.

"Hey, where's Valerie and Nojiko?" Usopp asked.

"Nojiko took off after Luffy's group after they dug her out of the snow and Valerie chased after her." Gin said.

"What?!" Vivi shouted. "Why would Nojiko go after them?"

"Probably to see if Nami's okay." Zoro said. "They are sisters after all."

"Where are you going Dalton?" one of the villagers asked.

"To fight Wapol!" Dalton said as he started walking towards the mountain. "If Wapol isn't stopped now, we'll never be free from his tyranny!"

"He's right!" another villager shouted. Soon, others had grabbed some weapons from the soldiers, ready to fight alongside Dalton to be rid of Wapol for good.

"If we're going up there, we can take the lift." another man said.

"The lift?" Dalton asked.

"Yes. We recently found a ropeway tied to Dr. Kureha's old house near Gyasta." he said.

"Then let's be off to Gyasta!" Dalton said, earning a roar from the villagers.

"You do that. We're gonna go find our friends." Usopp said as he and the other Straw Hats started walking off towards the mountains.

"Some of you go with them." Dalton said. "When they find their friends, lead them to Gyasta."

"Right." some of them said before prepping a sleigh and following them.

-With Nojiko and Valerie-

"Will you stop Nojiko?" Valerie shouted. Nojiko didn't answer her as she kept running towards the mountain, determined to find Nami. They kept running until a gust of wind blew Nojiko back a bit, giving Valerie a chance to tackle her to the ground.

"Get off me!" she shouted as she tried to get up.

"No!" Valerie said, increasing her weight so that they sank into the snow and pinned Nojiko to the ground. "You're gonna get killed either by the lapahns or this freezing cold!"

"I don't care!" Nojiko shouted as she struggled. "Let me go! LET...ME..." Nojiko said before she stopped struggling. She stared up at Valerie as her eyes welled up before she started crying. "NAMI!" she shouted as Valerie looked down at her. She watched as Nojiko cried out Nami's name in worry before pulling her into a hug.

"She's with Luffy." Valerie said as Nojiko hugged her back and cried. "I haven't been on your crew very long, but something tells me that Luffy will get her to the doctor safely." Nojiko calmed down a little as she buried her head into Valerie's shoulder. They both stayed like that until they heard something coming towards them.

"HEY!" shouted Usopp from the sleigh. He and the other Straw Hats were racing towards them until the stopped next to them. "Jump in! They found a ropeway up the mountain!"

"Alright." Valerie said before looking at Nojiko. "Come on. We'll go see your sister."

"Right." Nojiko said as they stood up and got in the sleigh before they started off towards Gyasta. "Hey, Valerie?"

"Yeah?" she said.

"Thanks." Nojiko said with a smile, which Valerie smiled right back.

"What were you thinking?" Alvida asked. "Going off into a blizzard like that?"

"I went because I worried about my sister okay?" Nojiko said. "Everyday that Nami was out getting money to pay off Arlong, I always kept worrying that she'd get in over her head and..." she said, unable to finish.

"So with her getting sick, plus that avalanche earlier," Zoro said. "You couldn't sit back anymore huh?"

"Right." Nojiko said. "If I were to lose Nami...I just can't think stomach the thought."

"Don't worry. You'll see her when we get to the castle up there." Usopp said. Nojiko looked to see all of them smiling at her.

"Yeah." she said as she rubbed her eyes and smiled. "You're right."

A/N: And we stop here. Leave a review please.