Having left Dorry in Miguel's care, Luffy's group began their search around the island for those who left the bomb. It was hard to imagine anybody just coming here of all places so this seemed far too deliberate. Vivi wondered if this could've had to do with Baroque Works, hoping that the nice giants weren't dragged in her mess. But she also remembered that they handled the unluckies in Whiskey Peak so unless Miss All-Sunday did something, there shouldn't be much of a reason for them to be targeted. Unless the perpetrator was after Dorry and Broggy themselves, maybe...?

They ran into Usopp before long, the sniper eager to ask about the battle. His expression turned one of rage after Luffy brought him up to speed. ''Those scum! They can't get away with this!''

''I know, we've gotta kick their asses.'' Luffy bit out.

''You said it! To trample upon the battle of honorable warriors like this is unforgivable!''

''Thank you...'' Broggy bowed his head.

So Usopp agreed with the giants' mindset too? Vivi still found it hard to believe that they were fine continuing to battle for so long all for honor. But that wasn't important. ''Usopp-san, where's Nami-san? We heard she was with you.''

''Yeah, that's just it...we got separated a little while ago, I was looking for her when I saw you guys and...'' Usopp blinked. ''...speaking of lost friends, Vivi, where's Carue?''

''Eh?'' The princess froze, wondering how she missed this. Her partner was gone!

''What's going on?'' Luffy frowned in confusion.

Broggy scowled ''It must be them, they're picking us off one by one...we should keep moving, and keep a sharp eye out. This can't go on.''

''Right!''

The group came upon a clearing, soon finding a man with dark hair in the shape of the number three standing there. Vivi hadn't seen the man before but...well, the appearance was self-explanatory ''So it was you people after all, Mr. 3!''

''Wait, how did you know who I was?!''

''Gee, I don't know, maybe that big 3 on your head gave it away?'' Usopp snarked, Luffy making a noise of understanding. ''...Really?''

The man coughed a few times, clearly trying to regain some semblance of composure ''E-either way, it matters little.'' He grinned at Broggy ''How did you like our little surprise?''

Usopp had wondered why Baroque Works had been here, if Miss All Sunday warned Crocodile after all. But considering what Dorry what told them ''Wait, so you're after Maste Dorry and Master Broggy's bounties?''

Luffy and Vivi exchanged surprised looks as Mr. 3 laughed smugly ''You guys are pirates?''

''Yeah, although we've been here for so long that I didn't even consider our bounties would be active.'' Broggy confessed.

''As it so matters, they are.'' Mr. 3 purred smugly ''Such a plan a could only be concocted by my genius, being the perfect counter for savages like you and that other giant. By the way, Princess, we have a surprise for you.''

He stepped aside, Vivi gasping at the sight of a battered and gagged Carue bound to a tree ''This wouldn't have been necessary if he had cooperated with us, but there's nothing you can do about foolishness.''

Vivi ground her teeth ''Don't you talk about...!''

She never got to finish as the next second, she was grabbed and hauled up in the air, barely getting to hear her friends' cries as she registered Miss Valentine's presence. The woman smirked ''Well, this was easier than I thought.''

Before the girl realized it, she was thrown onto a strange white sculpture.

''Vivi?!''

She turned, her eyes widening at the two familiar figures there ''Nami? Mr. Bushido?!''

Luffy scowled, their attempt to stop Miss Valentine failing as it risked Vivi getting hurt. If the cocky grin on Mr. 3's face was anything to go by, he knew it too. Their friends was taken to some strange white hill that wasn't too far from here.

This also lead to them discovering another problem. ''Wha-I can't move!''

He and Usopp turned to Broggy at the exclamation, seeing that the giant really was unable to move for some reason despite his struggles.

''What's going on?''

Mr. 3 smirked ''We came prepared, you fools.''

Usopp had a thought, Miguel had made a point of warning him and Sanji about the field agents they encountered on Whiskey Peak. Considering the bomb and how those guys seemed to be working in pairs, he was left with one question ''How many of you lowlives are there?!''

''What did you do to our friends, you jerk?!'' Luffy demanded.

''Oh, I thought you'd never ask, Straw Hat. Take a good look.'' Mr. 3 gestured at what they assumed to be a hill was actually an odd white sculpture. There, on one its highest floors were Zoro, Nami and Vivi. ''They're getting an up close and personal view of my candle set. Now feast your eyes on my magnificent artistic talent!''

''...How the heck is that supposed to be art?''

He almost fell at Usopp's words but quickly regained his balance ''Hmph, I should have known that unrefined brutes wouldn't understand.''

''Who're you calling an unrefined brute?! I just have taste, which is more than I can say for you!'' The sniper fired back.

Luffy's attention was still on their friends and he figured that Broggy had been right all along. The only way he could imagine something of this sort happening was those agents blindsiding his crew.

''Luffy, we're stuck!'' Nami cried. ''I don't know what this thing's doing but make that weirdo stop this!''

''Okay!'' He called back.

At the same time, Usopp had taken to trying to figure out what was wrong with Broggy. He couldn't see anything that could help him understand why the giant was in such a state. As he happened to look around, his sharp eyes caught sight of a figure moving in the bushes near Mr. 3, a hat barely poking through. ''Hey, come out of there!'' He held up his slingshot. ''Lead Star!''

He fired at the spot where he had seen the hat, a second later, a little girl holding a palette and a brush rolled out of there. ''Aha, that must be your partner!''

''Don't get ahead of yourself, pirate. You were just lucky to spot her!''

''Yeah, right! You can't escape Captain Usopp's sharp eyes. Luffy, break that thing!''

''You got it!'' Luffy aimed a fist at the sculpture but just when it looked like it would work, his fist veered off the mark to hit a tree.

''What?!''

Luffy tried again, only to be confused to find the same happening again. Usopp frowned ''Luffy, what're you doing?!''

''I don't know! I tried to aim at that weird thing but then my hand moved and...aaah, there's a ghost here! It's doing this stuff!''

''I...really don't think that's it.'' The sniper sweatdropped. How on earth did he make that leap?

But it was Broggy who happened to spot the problem ''Wait, look closer! There's something on that tree!''

The two spotted an odd red symbol there and Mr. 3 laughed ''You finally noticed, hm? You've already fallen for my partner's abilities!''

Zoro frowned ''We're still trapped, dammit, what the hell is this stuff?!''

''I heard that Mr. 3 ate the Wax-Wax fruit, I don't know how it works but it certainly seems true. How did they capture you two anyway?'' Vivi wanted to know.

''They knocked me out when I was heading back to the ship.'' Nami grumbled. ''I don't have any idea where Sanji is but that's because he and Zoro went on that stupid hunting contest.''

''There's nothing stupid about it.'' Zoro grunted ''The cook and I went off in completely different directions so I doubt they found him. Vivi, wasn't Miguel supposed to be with you?''

''We left him to help Dorry after they got him hurt.''

''Good...he may be our way out of this.''

At the same time, Luffy and the others had learned about Mr. 3's partner, Miss Golden Week. Apparently, her ability was a hypnosis of sorts, leading to anyone who was affected by her paintings (which she used as those symbols called color traps) to act how she wanted. Broggy was afflicted with her color trap, Icy Blue, which completely restrained him while Luffy was affected with her color trap, Bullfight Red, which forced those afflicted to target the marked area.

Usopp knew that she must have been sneaking around and placing those traps where she could. He scowled, Mr. 3 might have come across as a fool but there was no denying his cunning. And to make matters worse, he was sure that the two frontier agents from Whiskey Peak were here, likely waiting for the right time to come out. He tried to look, hoping to see any sign of them. While that failed, it let him spot another issue.

''Luffy, move! You're standing right in one of her traps!''

The captain blinked and looked down, his eyes widening at the sight of the red symbol around his feet. He quickly stepped aside, wondering when that happened. Miss Golden Week's eyes narrowed, dabbing her brush in her colors to get a black one before leveling it at Luffy. The teen made to move but then he was pushed back by Usopp, then seeing why as Miss Valentine landed on the spot where they had just been standing with a lot of force as she had increased her weight again.

When they looked back, they found that Mr. 5 had also joined the agents, having been lying in wait all along. ''I've had enough waiting, we'll finish you all off.''

Miguel's brow furrowed as he thought he saw an explosion in the distance ''...What's going on? Are they all okay...?''

''Why don't we go find out?''

He started at the unexpected voice, finding a now awake Dorry grinning at him. ''Wait, you can...?''

''Thanks to you, yeah.'' The giant returned. ''Some honor-less scum who ruined our battle must have come here, huh? I'm guessing your friends and Broggy left to deal with them.'' Miguel nodded. ''Good! We both want to help out friends, right? Then let's get going!''

Miguel nodded back and within seconds, the two headed off into the jungle...

Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine's entrance marked the start of the battle of the agents against the Straw Hats. And since most of them were unable to fight, things weren't working well. To make matters worse, Mr. 3 revealed that the candle set would turn Zoro, Nami and Vivi into candles!

Despite their efforts to avoid the outcome, Miss Golden Week had been able to use another of her color traps on Luffy. This one called Betrayal Black, made Luffy refuse to save their friends, much to their shock. And no matter what they said, he kept insisting on doing nothing. When Usopp tried to intervene, the other agents got in the way.

The sniper barely got to dodge Miss Valentine's attempt to slam him down and tried to see where the color trap symbol affected Broggy. But he didn't get far, as the sound of a gun loading up made him turn to Mr. 5 and he quickly got out of the way as the agent used an explosive bullet.

''Dammit, Luffy, move!'' A fed up Zoro snapped.

''I told you I won't.''

Luckily, Vivi then had an idea ''Luffy, don't save us! Don't destroy the sculpture!''

Before anyone could question this, Luffy suddenly moved ''Right then, I'll break that thing down.''

Nami's eyes widened in understanding and she kicked herself for not seeing it before. Of course, this was basically reverse psychology! ''Don't hurry up!''

As expected, this spurred the rubber teen into running towards the candle set. But just as he made to attack, Miss Valentine attacked and successfully slammed him down. ''Nice try, as it we're going to let you do what you want.'' She leered, only flying away when Mr. 3 released a wave of wax that began to surround the teen.

Meanwhile, Usopp was forced to contend with Mr. 5, having no choice but to remain defensive to dodge his explosive attacks.

''Sooner or later, you'll tire out. Then you'll lose.'' He punctuated the statement by firing another bullet. Usopp dodged again and fired a shot which burst into the ground and released a smokescreen. He took advantage of this to pepper the man with a couple of other shots and finally aiming one that blinded the man with paint (something he'd been experimenting on lately). Mr. 5 growled, and tried to attack but this gave Usopp the chance to knock his revolver out of his hand. He then proceeded to use another paint shot to mess up the color trap symbol on Luffy's back, thus negating it.

The captain perked up ''Good going!''

Just as he felt the wax close on in on his limbs, Luffy moved. But then so did Miss Valentine ''Oh no, you don't! Crescendo Stone!''

Luffy gasped out, mostly in surprise as he felt her weight suddenly increase. Miss Valentine grinned, using her powers to raise her weight again ''I'll crush you, Straw Hat.''

Unfortunately for her, Luffy was made of rubber. Which meant that blunt attacks had minimal effect on him. Also, Luffy knew just how to get out of this. ''Gum Gum Balloon!''

The frontier agent was caught off guard when he suddenly swelled up, throwing her off balance and making her hit the ground with her increased weight after she was kicked. Luffy wasted no time and turned to strike the candle set. Mr. 3 yelped and raised candle walls in an attempt to stop him. Luffy was easily able to circumvent this, but the problem was that Miss Golden Week was about to use her paints again...

''Not gonna happen!'' Usopp fired another of his lead stars, forcing Miss Golden Week to get out of the way. Just as he fired another attack, it was stopped by Mr. 3's Candle Wall.

''You know, the only reason I'm staying out of this for the most part is that you insisted that you could handle them.'' He huffed ''But it looks like I'll have to handle everything after all. To think you're actually frontier agents like me...''

''Don't you take that tone with us!'' Miss Valentine snarled. ''We're not done yet!''

''Yes well, I'm done watching this.'' He unleashed waves of candles towards Luffy and Usopp then. But the former wrapped an arm around the latter before sending them to a tree. Usopp took the chance to shoot at them again, carefully aiming at Miss Golden Week to make sure she doesn't use another trap. This also allowed Luffy a good window to get in and strike Mr. 3.

Nami's eyes widened when she saw Zoro beginning to cut at his legs ''What're you doing?!''

''Isn't it obvious? I'm going to cut my legs off so I can fight.''

''Are you nuts?!'' She demanded. Vivi was lost for words, how did that even make any sense?!

He gave them an annoyed look ''In case you both forgot, we're short on time! We've gotta do something, Luffy and Usopp have their hands full.''

''Yeah, well that's not the way to handle this!''

Luffy and Usopp were forced to back away as Mr. 3 took to firing his wax as if using a cannon. Usopp frowned, dodging would eventually get them in trouble ''Luffy, can't you break that stuff?''

''I tried before, but it hardens up. Hitting when it's moving that fast...? That sounds like a bad idea.''

''Good point...'' Yeah, he could imagine that either of them would get hurt very easily in such a situation. Trouble was, he could see their other enemies getting ready to move again. Proving his worst suspicions true, Miss Valentine appeared ready to smash them and Mr. 5 used another explosive.

Seconds later, both were hit by golden bursts of starlight and both fell back just as the explosive was swatted aside by a newly arrived Dorry as Miguel flew to the scene with Meteor.

Luffy perked up ''Hey, guys!''

''Dorry!'' Broggy grinned.

''Looks like you're slacking on the job there, Broggy!'' The giant grinned back.

''What?! How are you...?!'' Mr. 3 spluttered.

Miss Valentine pulled herself up, wincing but she mustered a glare''This is perfect, we were just planning to use them to find you. None of you are getting out of her alive after all.''

''For once, you said something I can agree too.'' Mr. 3 stated, aiming once more. ''Wax Blast!''

Miguel flew out of the way, pausing at a tree branch just in time to hear Usopp tell Dorry about the color trap on his friend, which they had no time to deal with. It wasn't long before the other agents began to run interference again, with Mr. 5's explosions forcing Dorry back and burning Broggy.

Mr. 3 aimed his next move at both giants ''Candle Jacket!''

Miguel stopped this cold by requipping his earth sword and tapping the ground with it, causing tremors around the man that almost threw him off and even a crack where all the wax fell through.

''Hmph, paltry tricks. Even if you have magic, it won't help against me.'' He boasted, using more waves but Miguel stunned him by replacing his earth sword with the ice one and immediately using it to freeze the oncoming wax. Taking advantage of his shock, Miguel attacked again with White Roar.

At the same time, Usopp had drenched Mr. 5 with water from the barrel Carue had while Luffy nailed both the man and Miss Valentine with a Gum Gum Whip. This gave Dorry enough time to find the color trap symbol, making him to see that Miss Golden Week had actually used quite a few on Broggy, mostly centering on his armor, so he quickly made sure to mess the paint up. Carue rounded on Miss Golden Week, knocking her out with a headbutt.

Mr. 3 tried to trap Miguel with various ensembles of wax before using his Candle Jacket.

''Pleaides!'' A hail of starlight rays that destroyed all the wax around him.

Mr. 3 yelped as he was hit by some of the flying shards caused by the spell, and then rammed by Miguel's sheath as the wizard flew in to strike. He tried to force Miguel away with more cannon blasts of his wax wax power, only to be dismayed once more as the latter was able to deal with them efficiently, even striking at him with bursts of starlight.

''Wait, wait!'' He yelled, now overcome with panic and barely thinking, well aware that he wouldn't be able to take anymore of Miguel's attacks. ''Your friends are trapped in my Candle Set, which means they'll be turned into wax statues before long.''

The wizard stopped, he'd realized the man could control wax to some extent but to think...

''What do you mean by that?!''

Startled, the two looked up at the sculpture to see Zoro raising one hand with his sword held high. He appeared neutral while Vivi and Nami were panicking. ''Exactly what I said, if we're going to be statues, I'd rather take a good pose. You two should start thinking of one fast.''

''As if!'' Nami really hoped their friends could hurry and get them out of here.

''You see?'' Mr. 3 on the other hand, was amused by Zoro's take of the situation and he didn't bother to hide it. ''So really, I'd start looking up a way to free them if I were you.''

''Oh, really?''

Before the man knew it, he was grabbed and hoisted by an angry Broggy while Dorry tried and failed to break the sculpture ''I know a way, stop that messed up statue now!''

''Messed up?! Excuse you, that's fine art! And why should I listen to you? Candle Jacket!''

Knowing what this meant, the giant was forced to release him lest he wind up in a similar position to their trapped comrades. ''The wax I make is as hard as steel, you'll never be able to break it!''

At the same time, Luffy kicked Miss Valentine into a tree. Usopp took up a rope and soaked it with oil. By carefully aiming it to use the remnant sparks on a few dead pieces of wood from Mr. 5's latest explosions, he was able to set it on fire. Riding on a determined Carue, he was able to get past the battle and closer to the candle set, but as they were about to use the rope, Carue stopped and changed directions just in time to avoid one of Mr. 5's bombs.

''Fool, as if I'd let you do what you want.'' The man stepped up. Unluckily for him, his focus on Usopp and Carue left him vulnerable for what came next.

''Gum Gum Pistol!''

While he did get to see the speeding fist, Mr. 5 was nowhere near quick enough to dodge. But he also used the chance to cast another explosion that blew the three back.

Luffy groaned as he pulled himself ''You guys okay?''

''Yeah...'' Usopp pulled himself as did Carue. He glanced at the candle set, seeing how their friends were getting swamped by the wax. The sniper thought this stuff must be even harder than it looked as even their giant friends couldn't break it. ''...what do we do now? Those guys can stall all the want but if this keeps up they're going to win...''

Miguel bit his lip, knowing they were on borrowed time. Except he did have an idea to get rid of that sculpture. It was the best bet as most of his spells could get their friends hurt. But he didn't know if he could make it work. That particular measure had actually been something he'd avoided despite knowing its effectiveness, especially now. Seeing as it involved...

'No...I have to do something.' He thought, his eyes hardened with resolve. 'I'm not going to watch, not a chance.'

Mr. 3 laughed when he saw Miguel holding up a sword near the set. ''Whatever you do, it won't make a difference.''

It was Zoro who happened to realize just what the wizard had in mind ''Wait, but that's...!''

The words died in his mouth once the sword released a burst of fire.

Nami shared the swordsman's shock, her heart in her throat ''He just...''

Luffy and Usopp were just as stunned. This was the best way to handle the predicament but they also knew what it really meant.

Miguel winced for a moment, he could feel his heart pounding even as he stood. Fierce torrents of fire that seemed to swallow everything coming to his mind's eye. He couldn't help but recall the screams, the pain and the death from that nightmarish day, everything he'd ever known going up in flames...

Feeling the fire increase snapped him out of it and he shook his head. He almost faltered as a sharp spike of pain flared up his arm. No, this wasn't the time. He had to focus, and not think of the horrible memories. If he let his emotions overcome in his current state, the spell would surely spin out of control and he couldn't let that happen.

'No! Come on...' He ground his teeth. '...I can beat this! I want to help my friends!'

Luckily in a couple of minutes, the candle set was almost fully melted, leaving Luffy and Usopp to cheer.

Only then, something fast moved before they knew it and hit Miguel before bursting. This also disrupted his control over the fire magic and resulted in some of it burning him before disappearing, leaving him to collapse.

''Miguel!''

Luffy growled ''Why you...!''

Broggy glared at the source, Mr. 5 as he leveled his revolver at Miguel ''We should've known honor-less scum like you would sink to such a level...''

''I could care less what you say. I've been looking forward to some payback against him. Now then...''

Just as he was about to fire, someone stepped in front of Miguel and sliced the pistol with the wizard's own fire blade.

Luffy perked up ''Zoro!''

The swordsman was standing deftly in front of his crew mate against the enemy ''That's as far as you're going to get, jackass.'' He had to hold back a wince with the pain in his legs but he would bear it. Miguel hadn't just forced himself to face that phobia to save them, he'd never once used that sword with all the memories it evoked. And yet he'd pushed past through all that for their sakes. So he felt that this wasn't just the least he could do, he wouldn't be able to face his friend otherwise.

''Yaki Oni Giri!''

Luffy grinned, the strike knocking Mr. 5 down and out ''Way to go!''

Usopp went to check up on Miguel just as the girls did, cringing in sympathy as he took in the cuts, bruises and worst of all, burns, the wizard sustained. At least the worst of the fire had faded before it hit him...but still...

Nami's next words proved that she was thinking along the same lines ''...He shouldn't have had to do that...''

''Yeah...'' Usopp wished they had been faster, or that they could've done anything differently. Anything would've been better, if just to spare Miguel from making such a choice...and it turned out in the worst way. He would be very surprised if this didn't exacerbate their friend's phobia. Glaring at the downed Mr. 5, the sniper wished he could throttle him.

''What do you mean? Sure, there was trouble but he freed you three!'' Dorry reminded, wanting them to look at the bright side.

''But Master Dorry, he's been afraid of fire for years!''

''What?'' Dorry's jaw dropped, Vivi inhaling sharply as Carue goggled. That definitely explained their reactions.

Broggy felt the same ''...What courage. I can't imagine how hard that must have been...''

''Exactly...'' Zoro scowled. ''...time to finish that candle bastard.''

Luffy's eyes narrowed ''Yeah, I'll take him down!''

Mr. 3 had actually run to another of his set ups, a hollow sculpture of wax he had lined up with wax doppelgangers of himself, colored by Miss Golden Week. He wasn't too surprised to hear Luffy charging through, coming after him. ''You really are a fool, Straw Hat! You should've taken the win you could muster instead of coming to the place of your defeat!''

''Yeah, you wish!'' Luffy retorted. ''I told you, we're not going to let you get away with messing up the giants' fight. And I'll make sure you pay for what happened to my friends. I don't know how you're so full of big talk anyway, Miguel beat you on his own.''

''That's not true!'' Even though a small part of Mr. 3 acknowledged the point and it was only because of the wizard being preoccupied with his friends' that he hadn't completely finished the fight.

Not that he'd ever admit it, of course.

He used his devil fruit powers to flood the area with wax, but Luffy surprised by jumping and using Gum Gum Stamp to strike back. The surprise was that the pirate hit the real him despite all the doppel gangers. ''H-how did you...?''

''Instinct.''

''Ugh, very well...Since I have no choice, it's time!'' Wax gathered around him once again, creating a giant robot with heavy armor and boxing gloves. ''See if you can handle my Candle Champion, with this little gem, I was able to defeat a pirate worth 42 million berri. More than twice your bounty, Straw Hat. Champ Fight: Oraga Hatake!''

Luffy braced himself as the champion unleashed many punches, easily able to dodge them. Mr. 3 kept trying to push forward, even using his wax to slow Luffy down but the teen grabbed the stuff and threw it back at Mr. 3's face. Mr. 3 yelped in surprise as his trump card was suddenly pushed back by a strong force with Luffy's Gum Gum Spear. He met the Candle Champion's oncoming barrage of fists of with one of his own. And while he did receive damage, it was minimal and he was able to keep going. Luffy was able to slam the weapon against a few of the wax doppelganger with a Gum Gum Whip, causing cracks to spread out through the weapon.

Luffy jumped up high and struck again ''Gum Gum Pistol!''

This served to destroy the Champion and knock Mr. 3 out in one fell swoop, leaving Luffy to grin as he knew the battle was over.

Miguel woke up slowly, seeing a few blurry but somewhat familiar figures nearby. He blinked, wondering when he'd even passed out as he recognized his friends. What happened?

The answer came in seconds, leaving him to sit up with a start as fear surged through him. He could barely even register them trying to settle him down as his mind raced. Some of his worst memories raced by once more, ignoring the pain flaring in his arm as his heart raced.

''Oi, oi, easy! You're still injured!''

''Yeah, Miguel, it's okay now!''

But as it were, he could barely register the voices. He could feel himself trembling even as he tried to calm down and it was getting hard to breathe...

Vivi's heart went out to the young man, realizing he was in shock. And who could blame him? ''Miguel-san, please listen to us, everything's all right now. Try to calm down. You saved us.''

''Yeah and we got to really turn the battle around thanks to you and Master Dorry!'' Usopp chipped in helpfully. For the usually calm Miguel to be so shaken...he and Nami had come to count on the young man as a steadfast reliable presence through their travels. But looking at him now was just a poignant reminder, Miguel had his own fears and struggles that he had yet to overcome.

''And I beat that candle jerk too! So everything's good again!'' Luffy added brightly, hoping to make him feel better. None of them had seen the young man like this before and they could only wonder just what happened that caused his phobia. Luffy did remember him mentioning a battle before but if his current state and his clear avoidance of the subject was anything to go by, the rubber teen wasn't sure he wanted to know.

''There you go.'' Nami smiled as Miguel inhaled and exhaled, slightly calmer now.

''T-thanks...sorry about that...''

''Ah, don't feel bad, everything worked out for the best.'' Zoro was of the firm opinion that Miguel had nothing to be ashamed for. He had gone above and beyond for them.

''If anything you should be proud, you were impressive back there.'' Dorry assured, Broggy nodding to his friend and rival.

''Courage isn't simply the absence of fear, it's what you do even despite that fear. That's why I think you gave us a true example of courage here. You're as courageous as you are kind.''

''Thank you.'' Miguel gave a small smile, wincing as he felt the burns on his arm and proceeding to heal them. Truth be told, while the idea still scared him he was glad that he had been able to do something. He would've hated to leave his friends like that, phobia or not. At least things were okay now...

It was moments later that he noticed Sanji ''Sanji? Ah, when did you...?'' He blinked. ''How much did I miss?''

''Not much, really.'' Usopp and Zoro spared the cook dry looks. ''He just showed up a few minutes ago. Took long enough, right?''

''Hey, don't say it like that!'' The cook retorted, although he had trouble looking the curious Miguel in the eye. He might have brushed off the others' scolding but he truly did wish he could've been here earlier. If anything, he could've helped spare the quartermaster this ordeal. ''I got what we needed, remember?''

As Sanji tried to defend him, Miguel look at Vivi for help ''Sanji-san came across the agents' base. He pretended to be Mr. 3 and assured Crocodile that we were all dead. So now we won't have to worry about him sending anyone else after us.''

''Heeh...you tricked Crocodile? Nice work.'' Miguel half-smiled, impressed. Given what the Warlord had done so far, that act certainly deserved praise.

Sanji smirked ''Thanks! Good to see some people who understand ingenuity.'' Usopp and Zoro merely rolled their eyes at the jab.

Broggy chuckled ''You really are quite a colorful bunch.''

''Oh and just so you know, I so won the contest!'' Sanji went on.

''Yeah, right! You never stood a chance!'' Zoro retorted.

''Oh yeah?''

''Yeah!''

Nami rolled her eyes ''Men...'' She blinked as a silver glow surrounded her and a few of the others as Miguel surveyed them ''...oh, I guess your spell's still going strong?''

''Mm, I'm still not sure if there's a way to make it more effective...''

Luffy only sniggered ''Okay, we should get back to Merry now. Goodbye, giant old guys!''

''Goodbye!'' They returned before Broggy added to Vivi ''I hope you can save your home.''

''Thank you, so do I. And...good luck, I hope you both find what you're after.'' The giants grinned back.

Minutes after the Merry set sail, its path was obstructed by a giant goldfish. While the group was in shock, Dorry and Broggy seemed to know this was coming. ''It's all right, everyone, keep going!''

''We'll take care of this!''

''Eh? But...'' Nami looked unnerved.

''It's okay, you heard them, we'll keep going!'' Luffy ordered. The girl nodded back and kept the ship on course.

The giant warriors raised their weapons and Broggy spoke ''Island eater, you won't stop our friends!''

''In the name of the warriors of Elbaf, we will clear their path. Behold our strongest attack!''

Then both of them roared ''Haokoku!''

They attacked together, their weapons raising a massive shock wave that tore right through the goldfish and even carried the Merry along. It was so strong that even their weapons disintegrated!

''Oh, wow...'' Usopp gaped.

''Thanks a bunch! We owe you!'' Luffy called.

''Not at all, it's the least we can do!'' Dorry called back happily.

''Yeah, good luck on your travels!'' Broggy added.

''The strength of the warriors of Elbaf is amazing!'' To say Usopp found this experience inspiring would be an understatement. ''I want to be just like them one day! A brave warrior of the sea and I want to visit Elbaf one day.''

Zoro half-smiled ''You know that doesn't sound half-bad.''

''Yeah, it'll be cool!'' Luffy chirped.

Sanji's attention turned to Miguel ''So they told me what happened back there...good job. Hate to think what it'd be like if you weren't there.''

''Ah, I wouldn't put too much stock into it, I messed up anyway...''

Nami slapped his shoulder lightly ''Don't say it like that, you came through for us.''

''Yeah, you did your best back there. The giant called it right, you were really brave.'' Zoro offered.

''Thanks but you guys would have done it too.'' Miguel really didn't think much of that, far as he was concerned, his friends were worth it. Little did he realize that the three knew him well enough to conclude his line of thought ''I guess it's a step up after all...''

''There you go! You'll get over that phobia someday.'' Nami added with a smile.

''I hope you're right.''

''All right!'' Luffy exclaimed. ''Let's keep going to Alabasta!''

And we're done!

This one was kind of a pain to put together but I was thinking of maybe trying to write longer chapters from here on out. How about it? I hope you liked my version of the Little Garden Arc.

I've been planning to have Miguel deal with his phobia ever since I started working on this story. This has to be a step by step thing. You'll see what the events here would lead to for him soon. It's a gradual process but I'm making it work. Anyway, thanks for reading and I hope you could tell me your opinion of the story so far, till next time!