Chapter 12: When the Kingdom's Rule Ends! The Flag of Faith Flies Forever!

"He's not here!"

"Which guy?"

"That guy!"

"That guy?"

"That tin bastard!"

"Ahhh! That bastard! I'll find him right away, and finish him off!"

"Little girl?"

"Shh."

"What's going on here? What have they done... to my castle?!"

"Doctorine."

"Hm?"

"He called me... his friend."

When Wapol wasn't looking, Venus went to work in sculpting a crude snow decoy in her likeness. 'Let's hope this'll keep him busy, so I can take care of him,' She thought to herself. To finish it off, she stripped out of her coat, and put it on the decoy. 'Okay, perfect.' She hid across the room behind her hiding place, and shivered at the freezing breeze. 'This better work.'

"Aha! There you are!" Wapol found the decoy. "I'll chew you up, runt!"

She grimaced when he ate the whole thing, coat included, in one huge bite. 'I shoulda thought this through a little more.' She shivered again, her top not providing nearly enough coverage.

Bundled in a spare coat, Nami headed for the door, determined to leave. 'This is no time to be in bed, resting! I should get out of here while Doctorine isn't around! I couldn't take being stuck here for three days.'

"Huh?" Wapol looked up at a door opening, and grinned evilly upon seeing her.

'Nami?' Venus blinked in confusion.

"I got lucky! Looks like I can leave without a problem." She stopped at the railing upon noticing the man below. "Wh-who's this guy?!"

"You must be one of the Straw Hats!"

Nami stared in shock. 'He definitely looks like a bad guy!' Since she was sleeping, she missed the whole attack on the Merry. "No, that's not true at all!" She lied. "I don't have any idea what you're talking about!"

"What?!" His eyes widened in surprise. "I'm wrong?! Really?!"

"That's right! I'm a navigator who's just passing by here!"

'What is she doing?!' Venus thought.

"Oh, I see."

"Well then, see ya." With that, she began walking down the pathway.

"Okay!"

Noticing the look in his eye, she prepared an energy ball, and without a word, shot it right at him; she stifled giggles when he crashed into the wall.

"Hey! Who did that?!" He demanded after recovering. "Show yourself!" He glanced around the room, but didn't see the culprit.

Venus stayed silent, trying to keep her teeth from chattering as she hid. She needed to get it together, in order to defeat him. She couldn't fight while shivering like a Chihuahua.

Upon hearing footsteps, he remembered Nami; that fibber was sneaking away. Behind her back, he shimmied up a pole, and jumped down on the next floor.

'Uh oh,' Venus' eye widened. Her distraction wasn't enough.

"Hm?!"

"Liar!" He started running towards her.

"No!"

"You idiot! Wait!" Venus watched helplessly from the first floor.

"Don't come this way! Go away!" She jumped down a trapdoor at a staircase, and to her relief, her pursuer was stuck.

Wapol kicked his legs, as he struggled to free himself. "Did I gain some weight recently? Then I'll do this: Munch Munch Factory! I'll eat myself!"

Nami watched in shock, as his jaws dislocated, and ate up his own body! "Ah! What's that?!" She backed away, as his tin jaws bounced down the stairs like a ball. "H-he turned into a bucket!"

"Miraculous bone structure shaping technique, complete!" His mouth released the rest of his body; all of a sudden, he was much skinner, and taller. "Slim Wapol!" His threatening eyes stayed on Nami. "I won't let you escape."

"No!"

She ran for the door when he leaped towards her; she was pinned face-down to the cold floor. "I'll eat you first!"

"I found you!" Suddenly, a single kick from Luffy sent Wapol back to the wall. He looked on in confusion, as he approached Nami, joined by Venus. "Huh? Was that he that skinny before?"

"Nice one!" The young witch praised.

Nami turned to him, and noticed something wasn't right. "Ahh!" She shot up, and clocked him on the head. "Luffy... why is my jacket all beaten up?" She calmly patted his shoulder.

"Ahh!" He screamed.

"How much do you think I paid for this jacket?! It was 28,800 berries! And that's the price after I talked them down!"

"I'm sorry, but that guy shot a bomb at me! I couldn't help it!"

A mischievous, scheming smile grew on her face, and she put on a facade. "Geez... but oh well. I'll forgive you. I didn't expect it to come back in good shape when I let you borrow it." He stared on in confusion. "As payment for the damages, you owe triple that amount plus some."

"Triple?!" Venus exclaimed angrily.

"The total is 100,000 berries. Consider it a loan."

"Ahh!" He exclaimed. "Don't tell me you expected this to happen!"

Nami's chuckling was abruptly interrupted. "He's not paying it!" Venus glared.

"Oh, yes he is!" Nami retorted.

"You're being ridiculous! I have a sewing kit! I'll fix it for you!"

"No, Luffy's the one who damaged it! He should compensate me for it!"

"It's an ugly jacket anyway!"

"What'd you say?! Wait, why aren't you wearing one?! What happened to-"

"That's it, you bastards!" Wapol indirectly ended the argument. His eyes widened when he saw Venus between them. "Hey, wait! I thought I ate you! You tricked me, you little runt!"

"You can keep the jacket," She deadpanned.

"Darn! His body sure is made tough," Luffy remarked.

He whipped his hand back to point at the large door behind him. "Look! Believe it or not, this is the arsenal! I'm the only one who has the key to this room. Naturally, there are a wide variety of weapons in here. When I eat them up, and make them part of my body using Munch Munch Shock, you'll witness a horrific human weapon!" He laughed evilly. "Now, be prepared. The door will open! It'll be scary! The key to that horrific door is-" He went to grab the key, but to his dismay, it wasn't on the ring anymore. "Gone!" He stared at them in irritation. "No, this isn't over yet."

Luffy was on alert when he made his escape. "Ah! He's running away! Wait!"

"Stop!" Venus glared, running with him.

Wapol ran up the spiral staircase, with the two close behind. "I've got another trump card."

Now alone, Nami analyzed the "misplaced" key in her hand. "Oh, it's just a key to the arsenal. It would've been nice if it were a key to a treasure room. How disappointing."

"Nami-san!" Sanji came fast-crawling over from the door. "Good! You're safe!"

She knelt down in concern when he stopped at her feet. "What happened?! Why're you crawling like that, Sanji-kun? Are you all right?"

As he blushed, his eyes turned into hearts. "Nami-san, you're that concerned about me?!" He started leaning his face towards the small bit of cleavage peeking out from her shirt. "If I get enveloped in that warmth..."

"Don't!" She smacked his head back down.

"Nami... -san." His limbs fell limp.

"Wait! Wait, wait!"

"Dammit!" Wapol burst through the trapdoor, now with ease. "The upper levels are full of snow too!" He trudged through with irritation. "I won't let them get away with this! I won't! I'll make them experience how great the king is!" He shoved a door open, and stomped inside. "The power of Drum is my power," He muttered, "The power of Drum is my power. I'll use the ultimate weapon of the Drum Kingdom." He walked to a purple tarp, and yanked it off, revealing a huge, mechanical cannon with a crown on top. "The Tin Titan Royal Crown Seven Barrel Cannon!"

As he laughed evilly, Luffy and Venus made it to the room. "We've now cornered you!" Luffy announced. "Be prepared!"

"Give up!" She glared.

"Humph! It's you who are cornered, Straw Hats! Time to get blown away!" Wapol pulled the lever on the cannon... but steam blew out of the bottom. "Huh...?" He glared, and yanked it up and down in frustration.

Venus quirked a brow. "We're waiting."

"Shut up!" A small family of chirping Snow Birds hopped out of the cannon's mouth, the mother following her two chicks out. "A bird's nest...!" He gawked.

"Snow Birds!" Luffy beamed.

"So cute!" Venus gushed, before they both started laughing, and pointing at the cannon.

"How dare you make fun of me!"

By a windowed tree close to Gyasta, some of the citizens from Big Horn gathered where a white rope was tied to the trunk. "I'm surprised to see a rope connected to the castle from a place like this."

"A young man in town found it by accident."

"This place used to be Dr. Kureha's house!"

A mushroom-shaped gondola was riding along the rope, with Usopp, Vivi, Zoro, Dalton, some residents, and the Twenty MDs on board. "This is a great view!" Zoro remarked.

"Yeah," Usopp agreed, "Hey, isn't this a little overcrowded?"

"We can't let Dalton-san go alone when he's injured!"

"We'll fight too!"

"W-well I get it," Usopp stammered, "But we'll never get there like this!" Dalton panted through his pain, as Vivi watched on in concern. "Paddle! Paddle harder!"

"Dalton-san, don't push too hard," Vivi urged.

"Wapol..." He glared ahead, recalling his arrest for calling the "king" out. "To hell with status! To hell with the king!"

In the castle room, Wapol glared up at the mother bird. "I'm the king! I'm the king of the Drum Kingdom! I'm the king!"

"No!" Venus shouted.

He was about to eat the bird, prompting her outburst, when Luffy's hand stopped him. "This is it for you." His grip tightened. "It doesn't matter, if you're a king, or God. It doesn't matter who's great, or who's not great! After all, I'm a pirate."

Wapol laughed behind his hand. "It does matter, Straw Hat! The Drum Kingdom is a member of the World Government." His legs began weakening. "Now listen. This is a world-class offense!"

"Like I said, that doesn't matter, either!" Luffy grinned. "This is my own fight!"

"Y-you damn Straw Idiot! I'll digest you!"

He opened his massive jaws, but Luffy's stretchy fingers kept them from closing. "Try and eat me."

"Not yet! Munch Munch Shock! Tongue Cannon!"

"Ah! His tongue became a cannon!" Luffy exclaimed at the sudden transformation.

"Disappear!"

"Ahh!"

Chopper saw the explosion from down below, but kept his worried feelings hidden.

"Dalton-san!" Vivi exclaimed when he coughed up blood. "Please hang in there! What should we do? Dalton-san! Dalton-san!" She cried. "Dalton-san!"

"I'm... I'm all right," He panted.

"Dalton-san."

His breathing rate was still heavy. "I'll make sure... to end this country! To hell with history!" He fell to his knees, remembering when the horrid doctor hunt first started. "To hell with state control!" He recalled Hiriluk showing relief that the Twenty MDs were actually healthy. "What's wrong with wishing the country to have a heart?!"

Everyone noticed him pull something out of his jacket. "D-Dalton-san, what're you-"

They were taken aback when he wielded a link of red dynamite sticks bearing ominous skulls and crossbones. "Dynamite!" Usopp exclaimed.

"Listen, everyone. When we get to the castle, once I get inside, lay on the ground."

"Are you worried about him?" Kureha asked the quiet Chopper.

"I'm not worried about him at all!" He replied with determination. "He's a pirate!"

Wapol laughed evilly at the new, smoking hole in the roof. "What an idiot! He let his guard down!"

Venus gaped in horror, but smiled when an unharmed Luffy landed right behind his back, grabbing his shoulders. "Actually, that's you."

"W-what?!"

"One, two..."

"What?! What're you gonna do?!" Luffy spun himself tightly, before planting his feet on Wapol's hips. "Hey, let me go!"

"Gum-Gum..." Luffy aimed him upward, "Blowgun!" On cue, he launched him through the very center of the ceiling, knocking the top off. From where he was stuck, Hiriluk's flag almost mocked him from how it blew proudly in the wind. "Stay here." Ignoring Venus' protest, he began climbing up the roof through the hole from the cannon.

"Doctorine," Chopper continued watching.

"Yeah, it seems... that it's finally come. The end of a long nightmare."

"End," Chopper almost whispered, as his mind took him away again.

"This country is sick right now. Its citizens, king, and the government too, are all sick. People suffer from a sickness of the heart. I'll definitely save this country, using medical science one day."

"Get out of here, quack!"

"Never come back!"

"Run, Chopper!"

"Whoa!"

"Ahh!" Wapol screamed when he climbed up the roof.

Luffy punched his hands together. "You'd better be prepared if you're gonna meddle with someone else's skull flag! Gum-Gum..."

"Ahh! Hold on a sec! I'll give you status, and a medal!"

"Gum-Gum-Gum-Gum-Gum-Gum..."

The fight was noticed from the gondola. "Look! There's someone on top of the castle!"

"Witchy-Witchy..." Venus stood further down, but close enough, preparing to give some surprise assistance.

"Doctor," Chopper muttered, "The kingdom is... the Drum Kingdom is... about to fall!"

Wapol screamed in terror when his hands were launching back like rockets. "Then, I'll make you vice king!"

"Bazooka!"

"Ball!"

The combined attack sent Wapol flying; Luffy chuckled, as he watched with a wide grin. Then, he realized that he hadn't attacked alone. "Huh? Venus!" He beamed. She returned the gesture, before they shared a high-five. "Yeah!" He cheered with her.

Nearby, the gondola finally arrived on the top of the mountain. "Alright then!" Usopp hopped out once it slowed to a standstill. "I'll go check. Don't worry. You can come back later." Zoro ignored him, as he disembarked. "Ahh, Zoro's going ahead of me again!" He raged. "Serious power, activated!" He ran further ahead of him, not about to be second-fiddled again. "Venus-chan!" By the time they were out of the elevator, Usopp was hiding fearfully behind Zoro.

"Hey, let go!"

"Alright! I got your back!"

Zoro tried to push him off. "Hey, if you're scared, you can come later!"

"Hm?" Luffy looked down, along with Venus, who perked up.

"I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I'm not scared!" His legs shook. "Because I'm-"

"Luffy, wait!" She called out, but it was in vain. He was already jumping down with an angry battle cry. "Ugh!" She facepalmed, and began to run down to meet them.

"What?!" Usopp exclaimed.

"Luffy!" Zoro gawked.

During his fall, Luffy recognized who he was aiming for. "Ah?! Zoro! Usopp!" Inevitably, he crashed right into them.

Meanwhile, Vivi left the elevator to join the group. "Ah!" Before her was the boys buried in snow, delirious. Luffy straightened up, and laughed sheepishly.

"What'd you do that for, you jerk?!" Zoro shouted.

"Oh, it's you guys! Since I recognized the clothes you're wearing, I thought you were one of them. So you guys came up too." He turned to the sniper, who stood up clumsily. "Usopp, didn't you say you couldn't come up?"

He laughed with confidence. "Don't be silly! If I see a mountain in front of me, I climb it. I'm that kind of guy. But coming up this cliff was quite an adventure."

"We came up by ropeway," Vivi clarified, and he deterred in disappointment, "Luffy-san, are Nami-san, Sanji-san, and Venus-san okay?"

"Yeah, they're fine now," He grinned.

"Ahhh, I'm glad to hear it!"

"Now, get it together," Usopp continued, but was ignored, "We were also attacked by a huge condor on our way! Man, was I surprised."

"I'm glad," Vivi smiled, ignoring the sniper.

"But then I was like, or maybe I should say," Usopp karate-chopped the air with a battle cry, "Just what you'd expect from me." As he stretched his tall tale out, he was ignored.

"So," Zoro turned to Luffy, "What were you doing on top of the castle?"

"I was beating the crap out of the king," Luffy replied, "Venus too."

"Usopp-kun!"

Speaking of which. "Venus-chan!" Usopp exclaimed cheerfully, as she ran out of the castle, and up to him. "Thank goodness you're okay! I- wait, where's your coat?"

She glanced down at herself sheepishly. "I-it's a long story."

When Wapol wasn't looking, Venus went to work in sculpting a crude snow decoy in her likeness. 'Let's hope this'll keep him busy, so I can take care of him,' She thought to herself. To finish it off, she stripped out of her coat, and put it on the decoy.

She grimaced when he ate the whole thing, coat included, in one huge bite.

"Well, you can't go around like that! Here, take mine."

"R-r-really?" She smiled gratefully through her shivers, as he took it off, and handed it to her. "Thanks!" She pulled it on, and hugged herself. "Still warm," She giggled.

"Oh, come on!" Zoro raged. "You give her your coat, and not me?!"

"She needs it."

"So did I!"

"She needs it more."

At the elevator, Dalton came staggering out, and up to Luffy. "Then as I suspected, the one who flew far into the sky earlier was Wapol! You beat him?!"

"Yep! Me and Venus! Why?"

Dalton stared in awe, as Usopp and Zoro argued. "So what about his top two men?"

"The reindeer beat them up."

"Those two... a reindeer did?"

"Oh yeah!" Luffy raised his hand to the sniper. "Usopp, listen! We found a new friend!"

"Hm?" He turned away from the argument. "What?"

"Reindeer," Dalton muttered in awe, "Reindeer...?" Upon turning, he saw Chopper hiding ineffectively behind a tree nearby. "Blue nose..." He recognized him as the creature he allowed to escape after Hiriluk's death. "You are that reindeer... I see. You've been fighting all this time since then!" He collapsed to his hands and knees in a bow directed to him. "Thank you. Drum will definitely..." He teared up, "Definitely be reborn." Chopper watched silently with caution.

The residents filed out of the elevator. "Ah!"

"Wh-what's that strange creature?!"

"A-a reindeer? No..."

"That's a... m-m-m-mons..."

"Hey, stop it!" Dalton ordered.

"Ahhh!" Usopp screamed in terror. "It's a monster!"

"Usopp!" Venus scolded, as Chopper gaped, then ran further into the woods.

Luffy ran over, and punched his head. "Don't call him a monster! He's the new friend I was talking about!"

"What?! That thing is?!"

"He got shocked, and ran away!" Luffy started going after him. "Wait! Monster!"

"Enough with the monster talk!" Venus yelled after the captain, as he ran off.

"Reindeer!" Kureha and Dalton smiled as they watched. "Hey, wait! Hey! Reindeer! You're my friend! Hey! Reindeer! You're definitely my friend! Hey! Wait!"

"Doctor... this is for the best, right? This is..."

"Wait! Reindeer!"

"No way I'd wait!"

(A/N: You know the disclaimer.)