Made it to Chapter 24! Same normal legal stuff: I do not own any original One Piece characters, plot, or settings. It all belongs to Eiichiro Oda. Enjoy the chapter!

Magina brushed the fur out of her face while the wind whipped around them. Maybe she should have accepted help from Franky after all. She had no idea what else she could do to help Chopper. He was still out of control—mostly. Her mother's lullaby kept him calm to an extent. She also placed patches of gauze on the most worrisome wounds.

Magina sighed heavily. The melodies that sirens heard rarely dug deeper than what was on the surface. Usually, there was no need to go any further. Hearing the general emotions and health of her crew was largely enough. This circumstance was so bizarre, how else was she going to discover how to help Chopper? There had to be a clue, something in his song that would tell her how to help him. Maybe she'd find out his purpose. Was there a reason he was climbing the tower? She grabbed two fistfuls of fur, closed her eyes and concentrated her hardest on Chopper.

His song was garbled and blurred. It was like there were several stanzas and melody lines jumbled together. Chopper's regular song was often a shy, soft piping that played a whimsical theme. His transformations had similar motifs, only it was like a separate instrument voiced the tune. Magina bit her lip and focused. The shy piping was still there! It dragged and was so quiet; she only hoped that she wasn't imagining that she heard it.

Chopper's song was chaotic. There were so many notes and themes twisted into one cacophony of sound that it was hard to pick out even a strain that she was familiar with. A frown tugged at Magina's lips. There was something similar to this situation. Her eyes widened when she remembered. Usopp's song changed drastically when they met again on the Franky Family's ship. Yet, his original song still played in the background, mixing with his new theme. Could this be the same problem? Was she looking for more than one song?

Magina listened for a different voice. The transformation that he used the most when he was in a town was deeper, more masculine. Again, the song line was so slow and soft; she couldn't be sure she was hearing things correctly. There was one more transformation that she knew very well. It had a more rhythmic speed to it, like the theme was galloping. She found the third motif in the chaos. It jumped and ran erratically, speeding itself to death.

"Oh, Chopper…" she whispered sadly.

His transformations were twisted and confused all together! Magina could not think beyond that. How did she stop him? Her songs only kept him from rampaging more; they weren't enough to halt him! He bellowed again and broke through a wall. Magina caught a strain of another nakama.

"What is that thing?" the blonde woman from Enies Lobby asked in horror.

"Wait! Don't I know you?"

Magina peeked her head around Chopper's shoulder. The short cropped red hair made her relieved. Nami was alright!

"Nami!"

"Magina! What's going on? Isn't that—"

Magina nodded solemnly. "It's Chopper. There's something wrong. It sounds like all of his transformations are jumbled together. I've been trying to keep him from rampaging like crazy but I'm afraid if I don't stop him soon, he's going to die!"

The stupid blonde shouted at Chopper. It sounded like she thought that Chopper was Nami. Magina thought that CP9 was supposed to be an elite group of highly trained assassins. It was turning out that they were just highly trained group of idiots… That was until the woman tried to attack him.

Magina got in front of the attack right before it hit, barely blocking it with her dagger. The kick was redirected to the ceiling. The force was enough to cause her right hand to go numb. Debris fell on Chopper's head. A low growl started in his throat. She quickly put the dagger away before trying to swallow. She would have to start singing soon but her throat was dry.

"Hey! Don't attack Chopper! Your opponent is me!" Nami shouted angrily at the woman.

"Oh, you were here after all. I thought that you transformed into that ugly creature," the woman casually flicked her hair back.

"As if I could do that!" Nami gnashed her teeth.

Chopper bellowed in response. Magina clung to his fur. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Nami cover her ears. Chopper hefted a large bathtub over his head. Magina blinked as water dripped down from the tub. Where did Chopper find that? As the bathwater ran down his back it became harder to hold onto the slick fur. Magina fought to keep her balance as Chopper chucked it out of the room.

"Nami! Are you okay?"

"Oh, there's another pirate. They're crawling everywhere, just like the bugs they are. Should I help you down? You look stuck to that beast," the woman smiled coldly.

Magina nearly snapped but Nami stepped in between the woman and Chopper.

"Thanks, Magina. You gave me the hint I needed. I'll defeat her and get her key for those two. You stay with Chopper for now. I'll come up with a way to save him."

Magina nodded. Nami's song was determined. She put her other dagger away and repositioned her grip before singing to Chopper. He perked up and moved to the opening again. Zoro's song was close. She could hear Usopp panicking. What crazy plan were they trying now? Well, maybe she and Chopper could help. A timely interruption would keep them both safe long enough for Nami to take care of business here.

"Hold on, guys. The fishing fleet is coming," Magina murmured as Chopper once again began climbing the tower.

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

Usopp tilted his head. "Hana Storm's Ultimate Attack? We didn't come up with a thing like that, Zoro-kun."

Zoro swallowed his growl. "I thought of it just now. Hana Storm's Killer Move: Makie*!"

"Makie*. It certainly is a regal and splendid name for an ultimate attack! It's very fitting for a renowned sword like Hana Storm. Fight on with all you have, Zoro-kun!"

Zoro smiled. He hefted Usopp and his right sword arm straight up in the air. He waved the katana like a flag.

"Eh? Huh? Zoro-kun? What—?"

The animals attacked Usopp. Zoro waited until there was no time for them to dodge. He pulled his left side around, swinging on the assassins. They jumped back but the surprise on their faces was more than a reason to try again.

"You're just using me as bait!" Usopp shouted indignantly.

"They were caught off guard, Sogeking. One more time! We'll defeat them yet!"

Zoro lifted Usopp in the air just as the wall crumbled. Light filtered into the room. A large shaggy beast lunged into the room. The bellow was enough to shake the very air.

"What is that?" he gaped.

"Oh, good. You're both still alive. Seems like we arrived at a good time," a familiar voice floated down from the beast.

"Siren?"

"Magina-kun?"

The giraffe and wolf stayed away at first.

"Don't you think it's a little unfair to bring an actual monster to our fight?" the wolf grumbled.

"If you don't think that you can take on the beast, Jabra, then stand aside. If I'm not mistaken, this monster is one of the pirates too. I see another familiar face up there. I can't believe that the pirate girl came along with. I remember attacking her in Water 7. She should have just stayed there. This time, I don't have to hold back!"

Zoro didn't become enraged often. Swordsmanship needed a calm head in order to be effective. He was dangerously close to losing the cool and collected mental state needed to defeat the enemy. This…this giraffe was behind the attack on Magina back at Water 7? He was going to pay! A hand wrapping around his on the katana's hilt stopped him from leaping on the foreman.

"Roronoa Zoro, listen to me. You are too emotional right now. If you go rushing into this battle without collecting yourself, you might kill Sogeking. Our goal is not revenge; our goal is to rescue Robin," Magina stated while searching his eyes.

Zoro clenched his teeth together. The leather wrapped hilt creaked in his mouth. He knew she was right. They all had bigger goals than revenge or payback, but at that moment, Zoro could only think about how good it would feel to cut the giraffe down.

"Where is that damn key? We'll see if I'm really too emotional to kill that leaf-eater!" Zoro snarled.

There was silence. She closed her eyes, listening no doubt. She shook her head.

"Nami's searching for it now. Someone joined her. It might be Franky. At least, that stupid blonde lost. She tried to attack Chopper."

"Chopper-kun? You don't mean t-that, do you?" Usopp squawked.

Magina nodded solemnly. "Yes, that's Chopper. I've been able to calm him somewhat with singing but I'm not sure how much it's really helping…" she trailed off uncertainly.

For the first time since he learned of Magina's attacker, Zoro took a deep breath. He couldn't hear songs like a siren. But he was a swordsman, and he was very adept at feeling the auras of those around him. Chopper was… His aura…

"His energy is being consumed by this form. He won't last much longer if he stays trapped in it. You helped, siren. If he rampaged any more than that, his energy levels would have dropped significantly lower," Zoro replied.

Still, it was obvious that the reindeer was in trouble. He breathed harshly and the scent of blood hung heavily around the doctor. How did they return him to normal?

"You did a Su-uper job, Fisher Girl, getting him here. Leave the rest to me!"

"Fisher Girl?" Magina protested. "Franky, don't just give me a—"

Zoro didn't have the time to react as Franky attacked Chopper and sent him flying out the window.

"Franky, you bastard! He's one of us!" Zoro shouted.

The blue-haired ape grinned. "I know. I'm going!"

Magina sighed in relief as Franky followed Chopper out the gap in the wall. She turned towards the door and smiled.

"Good thinking, Nami. The key?"

Nami smirked, the key dangling from her fingertips. She fit the key into the lock and then their shackles were released. Zoro's grin was feral. Now, he could give those two the deaths that they deserved!

The wolf started laughing hysterically. "These pirates are insane. If we weren't ordered to kill them, I'd love to see what other crazy things they'd do."

"Better stop laughing and regret, CP9. Never again will you get a chance like before to cut me down, World Government dogs!" Zoro's low growl cut through the animal's mirth.

There was a brief silence before the giraffe protested about being called a dog. It didn't matter; he was finally able to go wild!

Makie-this is one of the great things about Japanese. Makie has at least 2 meanings, which does not translate very well in English for the confusion it created in the chapter/original piece.

When Zoro says Makie-it translates to bait or trap

When Usopp says Makie-it translates to a type of lacquer or gilded covering.

Anyway, Japanese lesson over. I hope everyone enjoyed Chapter 24! Stay healthy, friends, and hopefully these chapters are bringing a smile on your face and a break in the monotony. See you in June!