The lift slowly made it's way up the mountain before finally arriving.
"I'll go make sure it's safe." Usopp said before shoving Zoro in front of him.
"Stop it!" Zoro said.
"Just supporting you Zoro!" Usopp said as his legs shook before he was pushed out of the way by Nojiko, who was practically sprinting towards the castle.
"Seems we've got more guests." Kureha said as she saw everyone coming before something hit the snow and caused it to fly around and cover some of them.
"Hey guys!" Luffy called as he got up. "What's wrong Nojiko?"
"Where's Nami?!" she demanded.
"The girls are inside." Kureha said as she pointed towards the castle with her thumb. "Their fevers are gone and they'll be just fine."
"Really?!" Nojiko said, looking ready to cry.
"You okay?." Kureha said.
"That's because Nami's her sister." Luffy said.
"Where's Wapol?" Dalton demanded as he and the other villagers all looked ready for a fight.
"Gone." Luffy said with a grin. "I just sent him flying."
"You mean...that thing we saw flying away just now...was Wapol?" Dalton asked.
"Yep." Luffy said.
"And his henchmen?" Dalton asked.
"Beaten." Luffy said before looking at his crew. "Guess what guys? We got a new crewmate!"
"Really?" Valerie asked. "Where?"
"Over there." Luffy said as he pointed at the tree Chopper was behind. They all looked at Chopper before Dalton seemed to remember him from before.
'That reindeer!' he thought as memories of stopping him from getting himself killed came to his mind before he bowed. "Thank you! Now Drum Kingdom...can finally be reborn!" he said as he started to cry.
"What is that thing?!" one of villagers shouted before they started panicking.
"Hold your fire!" Dalton shouted.
"AHHHHH! A MONSTER! SHOOT IT!" Usopp cried out, causing Chopper to run away.
"THAT WAS THE NEW CREWMATE I WAS TALKING ABOUT!" Luffy shouted before knocking Usopp into the snow and running after Chopper. While he was chasing after Chopper, Kureha ordered everyone to get the injured inside before kicking a wall of the castle, which was hiding Greg, Sanji, Nami, and Grace.
"I SAID ALL THE INJURED! THAT MEANS YOU BRATS TOO!" she shouted.
-Inside the Castle-
Nami and Grace were back in bed, with Nojiko hugging her sister in joy, as Kureha tended to the wounds Sanji and Greg got from the fight.
"Those two will be fine." She said. "But you all still need some rest. Dalton, you wouldn't happen to know where the key to the weapons room is, would ya?" she asked.
"Why would you need something like that?" he asked as he helped the other injured into their beds.
"That's my business." she said.
"Wapol always had it on him, so it's probably where ever he is now." Dalton said.
"Shame." Kureha said.
"Hey, Dr. Kureha." Nami said. "How about just letting us go? We're in a hurry."
"Didn't you hear me before? You're not leaving until I clear you. And I'm taking all the treasure on your ship as payment!" Kureha said as she drank some booze.
"She's right Nami. You and Grace need to recover." Nojiko said.
"We'll head out to Alabasta in three days." Vivi said.
"Don't worry you two. Grace and I are okay." Nami said before swinging a key around on it's ring. "So then, I'll just take this key with me."
"The weapons room key?" Kureha said. "How'd you get that?"
"Doesn't matter. You wanted this key right?" she said with a smile.
"Hmph. You cheeky little girl." Kureha said as she took the key. "Fine. This will cover the medical expenses, but you're still stuck here until I give the okay."
"What? Give me that key back then!" Nami demanded.
"Listen up." Kureha said. "I'm leaving this door open and no one will be in this room. I've got some spare jackets in that closet over there. The two boys are okay as well, so don't even think about leaving. Now all of you," she said as she looked at the villagers. "Follow me!"
"Yes Ma'am." they said as they left the room. Everyone who stayed stared at the door after they all left.
"So grab a jacket, get the boys, and get out." Grace said. "Is that what she said?"
"That's what I heard." Nami said as Nojiko and Vivi nodded.
-Back outside the castle-
It was night now as a majority of Straw Hats were outside. Usopp was making a snowman, Zoro was doing push-ups with Valerie sitting on his back and acting as a weight, Gin was near the edge of the mountain looking down, Alvida was looking up at the falling snow with a smile, and Luffy was calling out Chopper's name.
"COME ON CHOPPER! JOIN MY PIRATE CREW!" he shouted.
"Give it up Luffy." Usopp said.
"It's obvious he doesn't want to be a pirate." Zoro said.
"Not true." Luffy said. "I want him to be a pirate!"
"THAT DOESN'T MEAN IT'LL HAPPEN!" Zoro yelled as he accidently flipped Valerie off his back. Luffy ignored him as he went back to yelling for Chopper, who was staring down at them from atop the castle.
'He's still looking for me.' Chopper thought as he looked down to see Luffy still calling him while Valerie sat back on Zoro and nearly crushed him with more weight than he can handle with an angry look on her face. 'I want to go,' he thought before shaking his head. 'But I can't! I'm not one of them!'
"CHOPPER!" Luffy called. He knew that he could use haki and find him, but Chopper would just keep running away. He stopped calling when he felt Chopper was close by and turned. "Chopper! Hey, you decided to join my crew?"
"I can't." Chopper said in a quiet voice with his hat covering his eyes.
"Sure you can! It'll be fun!" Luffy said.
"Think of a better arguement!" Usopp shouted as Vivi, Nami, Grace, and Nojiko helped an injured Sanji and Greg outside.
"Tony!" Nami said as she looked at Chopper. They all looked at Chopper as he finally looked up at them all.
"I can't...I'M A REINDEER! I'M NOT A HUMAN! I'VE GOT HOOVES AND ANTLERS AND...AND A BLUE NOSE!" he cried out.
'Now that you know, do you think you can heal the wound in his heart?' Kureha's words played back to the ones who knew Chopper's past.
"I mean...I do want to be a pirate." Chopper said before shouting. "BUT I CAN'T EVER BE WITH YOU GUYS! I'M NOTHING BUT A MONSTER, SO I CAN NEVER BE YOUR FRIEND OR PIRATE ON YOUR SHIP!" He panted for breath before muttering "I just came here...to say thank you. I'm glad you asked me to join you. That was nice of you guys, so thanks." Chopper said. They all looked at him as Chopper stood there with his hat covering his eyes. Luffy just stood there with a blank expression as he knew what was coming next. "I'm gonna stay here for now," he said before looking up at them all with a forced smile. "But...if you guys wanted to...you could visit anytime."
"SHUT UP! LET'S GOOOOOOOO!" Luffy shouted. That was all Chopper needed as his eyes started welling up as the rest of Luffy's crew smiled.
"When was 'Shut up' an invitation?" Zoro asked himself as Chopper screamed out as well.
-Some time later-
Chopper had gone back into the castle to say goodbye to Kureha while the others were outside waiting for him.
"Hey Luffy." Gin said with a serious look.
"Huh? What's wrong Gin?" Luffy asked. Everyone looked at them both as Gin continued.
"How'd you guys get up this mountain anyway?" he asked.
"I climbed." Luffy said as if it wasn't anything special.
"What?" Usopp said in disbelief. "No way! There's no way you could've climbed up here.
"It's true." Sanji said as he blew out some smoke. "He really climbed up here while we hung onto his legs."
"WHAT?!" most of them shrieked.
"No way!" Nami said.
"Do you have any idea how tall this mountain is?!" Valerie yelled.
"From what I heard that crazy hag say, about 3 miles." Sanji said as some of them looked over the ledge.
"Three...miles?" Vivi croaked out as they all stared at Luffy, who grinned back.
"No biggie." Luffy said, causing some of them to fall over.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'NO BIGGIE'?! THIS MOUNTAIN'S SO TALL, YOU CAN'T SEE THE BOTTOM FROM HERE!" Usopp roared.
"So? If I had to, I'd have carried you all up here." Luffy said. That left them all speechless as the wind blew around them all. Some had thought that he was just saying that, but the look in Luffy's eyes said that he meant every word. Some of the more sensitive members felt their eyes well up at his statement.
'I knew he cared for his friends,' Vivi thought. 'But to go so far? Luffy's amazing!' The silence was soon broken as screams could be heard from the castle. Everyone looked to see Chopper racing out of the castle in his walk point while dragging a sleigh as Kureha chased him with a giant spiked ball swinging over her shoulder and looking crazy.
"GET ON THE SLEIGH!" Chopper shouted as the rest of them screamed in terror. Everyone jumped in and held on tight as Chopper pulled the sleigh down the ropeway.
"RUNNING OFF TO BE A PIRATE!?" Kureha yelled. "YOU'RE AS FOOLISH AS THAT QUACK DOCTOR!" She stood at the ledge as Chopper and them were soon out of sight.
"They're gone." Dalton said as he walked up next to her. "Couldn't you have done that a bit better though?"
"Nah. He's just some pet that I was asked to take care of." she said as her eyes started welling up. "Besides, I hate sad goodbyes. Now shut up and follow me!" she ordered as she dragged him into the castle.
-Back with the Straw Hats-
Chopper, Luffy, and the rest were quickly making their way back towards the ship before the sound of distant cannon fire could be heard coming from the mountain.
"Is she firing at us?!" Avlida shouted before the whole sky lit up. Chopper stopped and stared as the whole sky went from white to a brilliant shade of pink. Chopper walked towards the mountain a few steps as the tallest mountain on Drum Island soon turned into the world's biggest Cherry Blossom Tree.
"Whoa!" Luffy cried out as Gin whistled.
"It's...so...pretty." Grace said as they all stared up at it with a smile while Chopper's eyes soon filled with tears that quickly ran down his face.
'Doctor...Doctorine!' he thought as his father's smiling face came to mind before he broke down completely and sobbed his heart out. It was hear that he knew that there nothing was impossible. Kureha smiled from atop the mountain as tears fell down her face while Hiriluk's flag waved in the wind.
'Farewell, my stupid son.'
A/N: A little short, but I hope you all liked it.