Katara, Toph, Suki, Sokka, Nami, Sanji, Franky, and Chopper


...Katara woke up stagnantly.

"Ugh..." she was lying on a cold metal floor...

...Wait, a metal floor?

"Hm?" Katara tiredly blinked.

The waterbender sat up sluggishly and looked around the room they were in.

...They were in some metal room...on one wall, were the words DECK-102. Of course, she couldn't read the words...and there was a huge metal door that had them locked in.

Now getting more and more awake, Katara shook her head, letting her hair swish around. She looked next to her and saw Toph lying on the floor, while up ahead of her were Sokka and Suki... who were both wrapping their bodies around each other.

Blinking at that, Katara looked behind her to see Nami, Chopper, Franky, and Sanji lying on the floor as well.

"...Um...guys?" she said to all of them.

Toph was snoring quietly...

Looking down at Toph, Katara reached over to her laying form and shook her. "Toph? Wake up. Something is going on."

"Mmm...oooh, Twinkletoes, you feel good..." Toph sleepily murmured as she had a smile on her face.

...Katara blushed at her blind friend's sleep-induced comment.

"Um...ooookay. Uh, Toph?" Katara tried again.

"Mmm...ooooh yeah. You got such a nice -"

"TOPH!"

"ACK! What!? What happened!?" Toph woke up, sitting up in an instant, her blind eyes uselessly scanning the room.

"...Um...n-nothing," Katara said, "I mean, something did happen, but-"

"Ugh...who would wake me up at this time?" said the voice of Nami.

"Haaa...what a nice nap," Chopper groggily said.

"Mmm..." Suki opens her eyes slowly...and sees that Sokka is wrapping his whole body around her. "...Uh, Babe?"

"Mmm...just five more minutes, Sweetie," Sokka mumbled with a goofy smile.

"..." Suki can't help but just smile at her boyfriend.

Franky was snoring as he slept on.

"Uuugh...what..." Sanji woke up and sat up to sleepily observe his surroundings. "...Huh..."

Nami woke up and sat up, stretching her arms out. "Mmm! Wow...what happened?"

Katara turned to the redhead, "Nami! I think we've been kidnapped!"

"Huh?" Nami blinked as she turned her attention to Katara. Then she looked around the area and said, "Oh...wow, I guess we are. This definitely isn't our ship."

"Hey wait..." Toph slammed her hand on the metal floor, "...This floor and..." she got up and stomped her foot on the floor, "...I think the whole room is made of metal!"

"Hm?" Chopper woke up, sitting up as he rubbed his eyes with his hooves, "...Huh? Hey, where are we?"

"That's the question of the day, isn't it?" Sanji said as he stood up, adjusting his tie a bit, "Are you girls alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Nami said as she stood up.

"I'm fine too," Katara said as she also stood up.

"I'm good," Toph said.

"Um...I'm fine also," Suki said, although Sokka was still wrapping his limbs around her, "However, someone needs to wake up right now."

"Hmm...huh?" Sokka's eyes rose up and looked at his girlfriend's face...and he smiled, "Oh, hey there, Suki."

"Hey," she said with a smile, "Um, we're kidnapped right now, so..."

"Huh!?" Sokka let go and got up, "W-We are!?"

Suki chuckled, "Yep," she got up on her feet.

"What were we doing while we were kidnapped?" Katara asked anyone.

"Well, we were talking about you and Toph's love lives, until Toph heard something, and then...there was purple gas..." Nami recalled as she looked around the area.

"Oh...uh, yeah," Katara said, feeling embarrassed upon remembering their past conversation.

"Purple gas?" Sokka wondered, "What kind of gas goes purple?"

"Don't know, but someone is keeping us here," Sanji said as he went over to the door. He lifted his leg and kicked the surface of the door. He did this again. And again. And again. Over and over and over and over and all over again.

...Sokka looked at Sanji's attempt to break down the door.

"...Is he serious right now?" Sokka had to ask.

"Sanji is really strong," Chopper said as he walked up to Sokka and Suki, "His kicks can really break through some tough stuff...well, sometimes. If it's metal, it'll take a while, I would think."

It was then Franky started to wake up from Sanji kicking the door, "Wooough...huh?" the cyborg sluggishly picked himself up and sat on the floor. "Who's making that noise?"

"Sanji," Nami told Franky with her thumb pointed at the blonde-haired man.

"Oh...hey, where are we?" Franky asked anyone.

"That's what we're trying to figure out," Toph answered.

As Sanji was kicking the metal door, he stopped his kicks to look around once more and say, "Hey, actually, I just noticed something. Where's Brook?"

"Huh? Brook?" Nami looked around the room to see if they could find their bony friend, "Oh yeah...he's not around here. Maybe whoever captured us thought Brook was just a skeleton!"

"Wait, if Brook is out there...then..." Sokka looked around for a moment, "Hey...do you guys know what happened to Momo before we got kidnapped?"

"Oh, I let the little guy rest in the freezer for a while," Sanji said, "It was so hot outside, the little furry guy needed to cool off."

Toph raised an eyebrow, "Okay, don't know how your technology works, but that's nice of you, Kickster."

"Huh? Kickster?" Sanji looked at Toph with a blink.

"Eh, just my little nickname for you," Toph said with a smirk.

Sanji looked surprised...but soon grinned good-naturedly and chuckled, "Why, thank you, Little Tophie."

Toph smiled back at Sanji, happy to know that he liked the nickname.

"Guys, let's focus here," Nami said, "Who knows who could've kidnapped us?"

"Excuse me?" said...a voice?

Everyone stopped in their place to hear this sudden voice.

"Huh? Who said that?" Chopper asked.

" Ahem! Excuse me? But do you all enjoy brain twisters? I think in your language they would be called 'puzzles'!" said the voice again.

Toph turned to where the voice was, which was at the corner of the metal cell. She pointed in the direction where she heard it, telling them, "Over there!"

They all looked at where she pointed, with everyone going over to where the voice was.

The voice belongs to...some pieces of...flesh? But the pieces looked to be...part of a head? There were eight parts of the head, the two of them being eyes, a part where the nose is, and where the mouth is, along with the top of the head, and there being two parts that were the head's sides and ears.

Everyone blinked at what they were seeing on the floor, baffled by this anomaly.

"...Uh...what...am I seeing here?" Sokka asked everyone.

"It looks...I mean, they look like...pieces of a...head?" Suki theorized.

"Huh...well, whatever 'this' is, it's talking like a person," Franky noted.

"'This'!? I am no mere 'this'!" said the piece that had the mouth.

Katara, Sokka, Suki, and even Toph's eyes widened in shock at the voice coming from the mouth of the piece. Even Nami, Franky, and Sanji looked at it in surprise. Chopper, though, freaked out.

"WAAAAH! IT IS TALKING! WHAT IS THAT!? AN EVIL SPIRIT!?" Chopper exclaimed in fear.

"Um...could it be a new form of transponder snail?" Sanji asked either Nami or Franky.

"That...doesn't look like a snail," Nami said with a sweatdrop on her head, looking at this anomaly with unease.

"Transponder snail!? I am no lowly insect!" the mouth said, "But I can see that you are not wicked at heart! These pieces here make up my entire head and face! I urge you to do the service of assembling them together?"

"...Welp, this world keeps pulling me back with more odd stuff," Sokka said with a shake of his head, completely floored.

"Uh...yeah..." Katara agreed with a blink and confused expression.

Toph, though, even though she was a little weirded out by hearing a voice on the ground and saying that it needed to be pieced up, asked the mouth-piece, "Who are you?"

"Who am I!? Why, I am known as the samurai warrior, 'Foxfire Kin'emon'!" said the mouth.

"Wait, the samurai that's attacking these people!?" Katara asked him, surprised that they found the person attacking the people on the island.

"You mean the samurai from Wano Country?" Sanji asked.

"I will explain later! Until then, piece me back together!" Kin'emon commanded.

"Wait a minute, if you're the samurai, then what are you doing killing people here?" Sanji asked him.

"I do not merely 'kill' people! Although my skills are rather deadly, my mission here is simple! Which I will not tell to strangers like you!"

"Hey, didn't you say we weren't wicked of heart a moment ago?" Sokka asked with an annoyed frown.

"That I did! But I am no fool! I cannot trust anyone besides my kin and the ones I call my friends!" the mouth said.

"So...you basically just said you were a samurai to us, a group of strangers, and told us your name, yet you don't trust us?" Suki asked him, a little bit in disbelief.

"...I may not have thought that through. I just need to find my body, so I can piece myself together again!" Kin'emon told everyone.

"So, wait, what did happen to you to let yourself be like this?" Nami asked.

"I will explain later, Woman! Please, all I ask is for you to repair my head!" Kin'emon said.

Nami narrowed her eyes in annoyance. "My name is Nami."

"Hey don't talk to Nami like that, Pieces!" Sanji warned him.

"Okay, look," Toph spoke up, "We'll help you out, but you better give us an answer on what you're doing here and on what happened to you."

"'You better'!? What kind of talk from a young woman says that!? I am a warrior! Women are to be graceful, mindful of their tongues, and speak when they are spoken to!" Kin'emon told her.

...Toph didn't like how he said that and scowled.

"Oh really?" Suki said with her hand on her hips, frowning.

Katara didn't like that either as she frowned at the pieces, "We don't like your tone, pal."

Nami also chimed in, "Yeah, apologize to my friends here, including me on how you're treating us ladies, and maybe we'll help you out with assembling your head."

"What!? How can you women try to bargain with a warrior!? Men are supposed to be authoritative and strong! You will respect that!" Kin'emon complained.

"Uh...take it from someone who had that mindset one time," Sokka said to Kin'emon, "You better listen to what these women say."

"Yeah," Sanji said as he stomped on the mouthpiece.

"ACK!" Kin'emon exclaimed, "What are you doing!? This is barbaric!"

"If you want us to help, then you will apologize to these young women," Sanji said with gritted teeth.

Sokka blinked at Sanji's interrogation, and just said, "Okay, violent force works too."

"Yeah, you better apologize to these little ladies here, buddy," Franky said, crossing his arms, while Chopper nodded in agreement.

"..." Kin'emon grumbled as the weight of Sanji's foot being pressed onto the mouth was getting heavier. "...Alright. Fine. I will apologize. I...am sorry for my...I guess rudeness ."

"Yes, you were rude," Nami nodded, "Now, was that so hard?"

"...No," Kin'emon mumbled in contempt.

"Okay then," Katara said with a smirk, "Well, let's put this guy's head back together then!"

After minutes and minutes of trying to piece the parts together, with Franky trying one time, then Sokka, wanting to get in on the 'fun' and wanting to see if he can get in on this puzzle, almost getting it right, until Sanji fixed Kin'emon's head into his proper state.

"Ah! There! I feel my chin now!" Kin'emon exclaimed. He had a topknot on his head after Sanji corrected it.

"Well, I'll be," Sokka blinked, "It is a head."

"Okay, really, how is that even possible?" Katara asked anyone in the room.

"Are you sure you're not an evil spirit?" Chopper asked a little hesitantly.

"No! I am a human!" Kin'emon told the reindeer, "Although, I don't know how I got cut to size like this, nor do I know who was the one responsible for it! I really thought I was dead, but then...this all occurred! It is the shame of a warrior to be defeated and left behind to tell the tale! I would have committed seppuku to end this sorry spectacle if I could! But even in my shame, I couldn't! As there is a more dire matter to address first!"

"Okay, so...what is that matter?" Suki asked with a shrug.

"And where are we, if you can answer that also?" Nami asked.

Apparently, Kin'emon now can see Nami's attire, his eyes widened in shock, "My word! You are wearing nothing but breast bands! The three other young women are more appropriately dressed! You must've had your clothes stripped away from you by those barbarians!"

Katara, Toph, and Suki blinked at the comment, and looked down at their clothes, which consisted of short-sleeved shirts(a blue shirt for Katara, a green shirt for Suki, and an orange shirt for Toph) and pants, which Katara had shin length jeans, Suki had regular jeans, and Toph had denim shorts on. Except for Toph, who was barefoot, Katara and Suki were wearing shoes, Katara wearing ankle-high-looking flat boots and Suki wearing black shin-high boots. Nami, however, was wearing what looked to be a two-piece bikini and some jeans with high heels.

"Huh? Uh, no, this is fashion ." Nami clarified to Kin'emon.

"Fashion!? But you are wearing not a shirt, but...but breast bands!" Kin'emon eyes widened in shock. "How bawdy! Shameless even!"

The two Gaang girls, Katara and Suki, glanced at each other, a little surprised that this Kin'emon would kind of agree with what they were thinking, while Toph tilted her head in curiosity.

"Oh? Is it not your favorite?" Nami asked, genuinely curious and pleased somehow that this Kin'emon had some manners.

"Oh, on the contrary, I love it!" Kin'emon said with a gleeful and perverted smile.

WHAM! C-C-CRACK!

Sanji kicked Kin'emon's head over to a wall, making his head dent the metal wall and let him get stuck on it.

...The Gaang girls just looked at the disembodied head in disbelief and disgust.

Well, I'm glad we're dressed modestly then. Katara thought.

Wow...at least Sokka wasn't a perv when I met him. Suki thought.

...Man, Kickster kicked him hard. Toph thought.

Meanwhile, the rest of the guys, looked on at Kin'emon's head being indented in the wall...

...Sokka turned to Suki and said, "Suks, just so you know, I appreciate you every day."

Suki turned her attention to Sokka with a sweet smile, "Aww, thank you, Sokka!"

Kin'emon groaned...and dropped onto the metal floor. "Oof! Ugh...a wicked trap...luckily, that didn't hurt...ugh...so foreign women can sometimes use breasts bands...I see. But still, with all that aside, who are you people!? It seems you are all trapped in here with me, and I heard the story of your abduction just now!"

Sanji answered, "Simply put, we're pirates."

"Uh, k-kind of!" Katara spoke up, "Um, me, Suki, Toph, and my brother Sokka are just here for the ride. Uh, my name is Katara by the way."

"Hmm!?" Kin'emon hummed in shock, "P-Pirates!? And you young women are said to be kidnapped by these pirates!?"

Katara, Suki, and Toph once again blinked. Sokka, seeing that he was left out, just looked at the head with a scowl.

"Um...hello?" Sokka just said to indicate that he was here.

"Uh...n-no, we didn't-we-we were just-" Katara tried to say but was interrupted by the head.

"I see...if you are indeed pirates, then that will explain your barbarity!" Kin'emon exclaimed, "And you captured these lovely young women for your disgusting human trafficking endeavors!"

"What!?" Katara shouted eyes widened.

"Whoa, hey!" Suki raised her hands in defense.

"...I...don't know what to say about that," Toph said with a blink.

"Whoa, hey there, pal," Sanji waved his hand to the head to simmer it down. "You got it all wrong."

"Uh, yeah, first of all, that's my sister, second, that's my girlfriend, and third, the short one is a good friend of mine, so...yeah, what the heck, man? That ain't cool to say to my friends here," Sokka said.

"Yeah, man, I mean...come on. We may be pirates, but we're not like...'bad' pirates, per se." Franky says.

"...Wait, per se?" Sokka asked Franky.

"...Well, we are pirates. And pirates are kind of looked down on by people," Franky explained.

"Which is why I will not associate with your kind! I hate pirates with a burning passion! A passion so strong, I could vomit!" Kin'emon told them with a glare, "The young women that are named Katara, Suki, Toph, and that one guy Sokka! You will be saved by my righteous fury and they will fall onto my blade-"

STOMP!

"Okay, stop," Sanji droned as he stomped his foot on Kin'emon's disembodied head.

"GRRK!" the head grunted in pain, "Ergh...I thought our shared fate on this island of ice would bring us together to escape! But now knowing that some of you are pirates, I change my mind! However, I will try to save the four that are with you!"

"Look, Kinenmon, or whatever," Toph said, "Do we look like we need saving?"

"...Yes?" Kin'emon said, a little confused, almost like she asked what a samurai is, "It seems your male friend isn't doing a good job in keeping you three safe."

"...Sanji, hit him again for me, will ya?" Sokka asked the cook.

"Sure, why not?" Sanji then lifted his foot and stomped on Kin'emon again.

STOMP!

"GRRRK!"

"Actually, pound his head three more times for Katara, Toph, and me, will you Sanji?" Suki said with her arms crossed as she herself frowned.

"Sure thing, madam!" Sanji said with a grin.

STOMP! STOMP! STOMP!

"ACK! URK! ORK! UUUUGH..." Kin'emon's head lay on the floor in a daze.

"Okay, everyone, that's enough," Nami said to them.

"Wait a second..." Franky muttered, "You said an island full of ice. But...we're on an island full of flames, buddy!"

"Eh? Wait, yeah! We were on an island so hot, that even the surrounding sea was on fire!" Chopper chimed in.

"Huh?" Nami's eyes widened as she remembered something on the way toward this island. "Wait...hold on..."

Toph turned to Nami, "Hm? What's up?"

Then Katara started to think about Kin'emon's statement about the 'ice island' as well as Sokka.

"...Sokka, did the clouds above us when we were going to this island look...like winter clouds to you?" Katara asked her brother.

"Hmm...you know, it kind of did," Sokka nodded.

"Yeah!" Nami said suddenly, "You're both right!" she turned her attention to Kin'emon, "You called this an island of ice. Are you sure you never heard of any volcanic eruptions or anything like that?"

"Hrm. I heard periodic explosions from time to time, but I came through a freezing sea of ice floes. Now save your words, pirates!" Kin'emon in disdain.

"So...that wintry sky both of you and I saw from the ship wasn't an illusion!" Nami declared, "The burning island we saw and the others landed on, is also an island of ice on the other side of it! Which means we've been taken around the back of this island!"

"Wait a minute, are you saying...there's two sides to this island? Like an icy side and a fire side on this island?" Sokka asked in disbelief.

"Basically," Nami answered with a nod.

"...How...How is that possible!?" Sokka asked.

"So wait, we're on the ice side now, right?" Suki asked Nami.

"It sounds like it," Nami said, "Or else this whole place would've somehow melted from the heat."

"Whoa...so, fire and ice, huh?" Katara muttered.

"Yeah. Kind of like your boyfriend, the Fire Lord," Toph said with a smirk.

"Top-ugh! Not now!" Katara said indignantly.

"Fire Lord? What is this title you speak of?" Kin'emon asked curiously.

"Oh, the Fire Lord is a king title for his country," Sokka told him, "And technically, my sister here is a princess, slash, ambassador of our country! They know each other, so they're pretty tight."

"Sokka!" Katara shouted at her brother.

"Oh...well, I admit, that is quite romantic!" Kin'emon smiled.

"Oh wow! It certainly is!" Chopper said with stars in his eyes.

"Yeah. Sounds like the makings of a really good political romance if you ask me!" Franky said with a smile and a thumbs up.

"..." Katara just blushed red like a tomato, unable to counter anything to say.

"Guys! We need to focus!" Nami told them, "We don't know who captured us or why they even did until we get out of this cell!"

"Huh, yeah," Sanji said as he looked at the door of the cell and the indention he made on it. "But the door's too hard for me to break down."

"Well, I think we need something radical to bust this thing open!" Franky said with a grin, "Like my FRAN-KY, RA-DI-CAL, BE-"

"Wait, wait a second!" Toph called out, "Hold on whatever you have there, Franky!"

"Huh?" Franky looked confused as he was about to aim his attack on the door until Toph rushed over to the door.

"I don't think you need to do anything at this point. And since I'm thinking this is metal..." Toph knocked on the door with her fist. "Yep! It is!" she grinned.

Nami blinked in confusion a bit, but remembered Toph's other unique form of bending. "Oh! You mean, you're gonna-"

"Bend metal so we can get out of here? Yep, that's right!" Toph confirmed.

"Oh," Sanji also blinked, but he smirked soon after and said to her, "Well, Little Lady, do what you got to do."

"Wait! Bending metal!? What does she mean by that!?" Kin'emon asked, "How can she bend metal? She has a tiny petite frame! Just what sort of-"

"I would quit talking if I were you," said Sokka.

"Uh, yeah, don't underestimate our Toph," Suki told Kin'emon. She gave a thumbs up to Toph, even though she knows she can't see it. "Okay, Toph! Do your stuff!"

Toph pouted at the words Kin'emon was saying, but went back to a cheeky smile at the signal, telling Suki, "Thanks, guys!"

She then reared her hands back and...let her fingers dig in the metal! She pulled the metal to the right side and kept pulling the material to let it stretch and rip out an opening, a hole big enough to let all of them go through, even Franky!

...Kin'emon's mouth dropped open, his pupils dilated as he looked on in speechless shock.

Sokka and Suki smirked, the former saying to Kin'emon, "See?"

"Wow...okay then, I guess that's a better way to escape," Franky said as he scratched his head in slight awe.

"Wow! Yeah!" Chopper said with wide eyes in wonder, "That's so cool, Toph!"

Toph turned to them and smirked, flipping her long hair over her shoulder, "Thanks!"

"It's certainly a lot quieter," Sanji said with a smile as he ran up to the hole Toph made.

Nami patted Franky, "Don't worry, Franky. Maybe you can use the attack on some of our kidnappers if they're bad."

"...It was gonna be super cool, too," Franky muttered, little tears going down his eyes.

"Uh, hey, what about Kin'emon here?" Katara asked them as she pointed to the head.

"Leave me! I do not associate with pirates!" Kin'emon says, "And you hostages seem to be on the pirates' side, so I will not go with you as well!"

"Well, why were you slicing up and killing people? We got a distress call from the guys that were all diced up by you!" Sokka asked.

"I do not commit cold-blooded murder! I do nothing to disgrace myself! I came here on this island to save my son's life! And I would cut down thousands if they dared stand between me and my goal!" Kin'emon exclaimed.

...Sokka, Suki, Katara, Nami, Franky, Chopper, Toph, and Sanji were all silent...

"...Oh. Well...that's different, I would think...right?" Sokka asked everyone in the group a little hesitantly.

"Wait, you're looking for your son?" Franky asked the samurai's head.

Toph listened in, but couldn't help but feel Sanji's stance go tense.

"Oh, well...um, in that case, we can help you find your son," Katara said to Kin'emon.

"Bah! I do not wish any help from you pirates and corrupted hostages! Leave me! I will find him on my own!"

"Uh, newsflash, Kin, but unfortunately for you, you don't have a body. And I don't know how a disembodied head could talk without having a body, as I'm new here, but I feel like it's in my good conscience that we can't leave a talking head like you defenseless in this place," Sokka told him.

"Kin!? My name is not Kin! " Kin'emon exclaimed.

"Hey, Sokka. Throw him over here. I'll be responsible for his well-being," Sanji told him.

"Huh?" Sokka blinked at Sanji, "Um...okay, sure." He picked up Kin'emon's topknot hair by his hand.

"ACK! Do not carry me like a sack!"

"Wait, are you sure!?" Chopper asked Sanji and Sokka.

"No worries, Chopper," reassured Sanji, "Maybe he can help us out or something in the long run."

"No, I will not!" Kin'emon exclaimed once more, "I will not help you pira-AAAAAH!" Sokka then tossed Kin'emon to Sanji, the cook catching him with his hands, "I AM NOT A TOY!"

Toph then heard and sensed some people coming…

"Hey, do you hear some yelling over there?"

"Yeah, it came from over...hey, wait a second, that's where we put those pirates in that cell!"

"Over there? Ah crap, do you think those pirates escaped?"

"Well, I don't want Master to be mad at us for not doing our jobs, so we should get over there and check!"

"Uh, guys...I think we need to go," Toph said, "I think I hear some people coming."

Nami then went to work, "Alrighty then, let's get out of here!" then she muttered, "I guess we're going to bring the talking head with us."

And with that, the group exited the cell. They took a right, which Toph was leading the way.

They were running in a corridor of metal, and soon, they could hear the guards yelling out from behind them.

"Hey! They have escaped! Sound the alarm! Come on, let's get them!" shouted a hazmat suit guard.

"Oh shit!" Sokka exclaimed as he ran faster.

"Don't worry, guys! Keep going! I'll hold them off a little bit!" Franky then lifted his arm up and let his hand lower down by the wrist to reveal a gun projectile.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

"AAACK!" yelled the guards.

Toph rushed over to a door coming up, telling them, "There are some people, both big and small coming up ahead through that door!"

"Alrighty then," Sanji said, "Let me try to break the door down for you ladies."

As soon as Sanji went up to the door, he kicked it open.

WHAM!

"AAAH!"

"Huh!?"

"Who's that!?"

"Who're they?"

"WHOOOA, look at that robot!"

"A robot!?"

"WOW! A robot!?"

"Aww, hey, look, it's a fuzzy raccoon plushie!"

Inside, the room was gigantic...and it was filled with...kids...boys and girls. The room also looked like some sort of indoor kids' playground.

But the obvious thing to note was that the kids...were giant! Bigger than normal kids! The boys look to have white shirts and shorts, while the girls have white dresses on.

Chopper, Sanji, Franky, Sokka, and Kin'emon all looked on, stunned at the size of the children. Meanwhile, the ladies, minus Toph, who looked surprised, all gazed up at the kids in shock.

...Sokka was the first to say, "Those are... really big kids."

"Whoa! Who are they!?" Chopper asked in shock.

"They're...children," Katara softly stated as she looked up at the kids.

"Why...are there kids here?" Suki asked, hoping someone would answer to ease the dread she was feeling.

"Children!?" Kin'emon spoke out as it registered to him that they were giant kids.

Then, that means...! Kin'emon thought.

"What are...children doing here?" Nami asked herself, a little afraid of wondering the answer herself.

"Hey, who are you?" said a giant boy with curly blonde hair who was holding a soccer ball.

"T-They're strangers!" said a giant girl with short black hair.

"Yeah...but look! There's a robot!" said the boy with curly blonde hair, having stars in his eyes.

"Wow! A robot!"

"Whoooa, look at that robot!"

"A stag beetle robot! The ULTIMATE!" the boys said as they were all dazzled by Franky.

As the boys in the room were chanting 'robot' to Franky in amazement, Nami asked the children, "What's going on? Who are you kids?"

The short black-haired girl hesitantly asked them, "A-Are you the frozen ones? Did you all escape?"

"Escape?" Toph raised an eyebrow.

"Frozen ones?" Sanji also raised an eyebrow.

"Wait a minute," said Katara, "What are you kids doing here?"

Franky started to look uncomfortable with all the boys looking at him like he was a plaything. "Uh, guys? Let's just, uh, move on."

"But who are they? Are we on an island full of giants or something?" Chopper asked either one.

"An island full of giants? That's a thing?" Sokka asked in bafflement.

"Are you really surprised about that possibility when we're in a totally different world?" Suki asked him incredulously.

"...Touche," Sokka just says.

"What do they mean by 'frozen ones', though?" Sanji asked.

Yeah..." Toph looked a little bothered by that.

"For your question, Chopper, I think they're just...well, they're not all that big. They're just big kids," Nami speculated.

"Oooh, can I play with the raccoon plushie!?" said a girl.

"A stag beetle robot!" said a boy.

"Haha! His eyebrows are curly!" said a boy.

"HEY! KNOCK IT OFF, KID!" Sanji yelled out in frustration.

Toph turned her head to Sanji, "You have curly eyebrows?"

"...I mean, you know...women kind of dig it," Sanji muttered.

"Answer my query!" said Kin'emon wrapped around in Sanji's arm, "Do you know of a young boy named Momonosuke!?"

The kids all stopped their amazement as soon they saw Kin'emon's head talking, their expression turning into horror.

"AAAH! A talking head!" The children all screamed as they ran away from the group in terror.

"Oh well, great! Now we'll never get anything out of them!" Sokka scowled at Kin'emon's head.

"Do not glare at me like that! Respect your elders!" Kin'emon exclaimed.

""WAAAH! It's talking!" screamed a child.

"I'm scared!" another child tearfully said.

Katara and Suki felt their heartstrings pull for these kids...

"Who would keep these kids here?" Suki asked Katara, a little disturbed.

"...I don't know," Katara replied, also bothered.

Franky looks behind them and can see and hear other guards coming up to where they are. "Uh, guys? More guards are coming. We need to go."

Toph heard Franky's claim and thought of a way to help.

"Hold on!" she said as she rushed over to the door that Sanji kicked in.

"Someone's coming! Aim your guns!" one of the guards commanded.

Shit, I better do this quickly. I heard those guns aren't a joke. Toph hastily thought.

Toph got into a stance and let her hands maneuver to the right, letting the metal door slam in on them! Then, she punched up and the metal floor stretched and rose up, creating a barrier on the door so they wouldn't come in further!

"There we go!" Toph said with a smirk.

"Wow! Um...alright then, Toph!" Franky said with a thumbs up and a smirk.

Still, I wanted to do something, but...eh, I don't have a big ego or anything. Franky thought.

"WHOOOA!" one of the big kids exclaimed, "That lady used some sort of power on that door and the floor!"

"WOOOOW! That's so cool!" The kids all said with sparkles in their eyes as they rushed back to see the spectacle Toph was doing.

Toph blinked at their praise, but couldn't help but grin at their compliments, "Thanks kiddos! That's called metalbending!"

"WOW! METALBENDING! METALBENDING! YEEEEAAAAH!" chanted the kids in excitement.

Sanji smiled at Toph, "Well, you got them all riled up now."

"Heh, yeah. If only they can learn it, I'll gladly teach them," Toph said.

"Um, okay, well, since we got that out of the way," Nami said, a little stunned. She turned to one of the kids, "Just what are you kids doing here?"

"And where is Momonosuke!?" Kin'emon exclaimed.

"AAAAAH!" the children screamed.

"Hey, buddy, maybe you shouldn't talk," Sokka told the head a little irritably.

"I am not your 'buddy'! I don't even know you all that well! Of course, I don't want to know about the scoundrels that are these pira-"

"Hey, shut up and stop talking!" Nami struck him in the face with her fist.

"GUH! OW! I...I've been struck by a woman! My honor is in tatters! I must slice my belly open to regain it!" Kin'emon exclaimed in shock.

"Well, slice away then!" Nami exclaimed, scowling at the head, "Just as long as you're quiet for the moment!" she then muttered, "Chauvinist pig."

"Um, to repeat the question my friend Nami here was saying," Katara said, "Just what are you kids doing here?"

After the children calmed down from Kin'emon's talking head, the blonde curly-haired boy answered them, "We were here because he said we were sick!"

"Sick? Sick from what?" Suki asked the boy.

"I can help either one of you if all of you are still sick! I'm a doctor!" Chopper said to them.

"We...We don't remember," the boy said with a frown, "But I don't think we're sick anymore! We just...We just want to go home now!"

"Hey, do you guys have a ship?" asked the short black-haired girl.

The rest of the Straw Hats and the Gaang stood there in disbelief.

"Um...I have a ship," Franky told them, "But-"

"Then please save us!" the short black-haired girl pleaded, small tears forming in her eyes.

"Yeah, save us!"

"I just want to go home!"

"I'm not sick anymore!"

"I want my mommy and daddy!"

"Please save us!"

Nami looked at the kids, seeing the hopelessness in their eyes. Katara and Suki looked at the children as well, their heartstrings being pulled big time. Toph listened to their cries for help, and she too could hear the fear in their tones.

"Uh, look, kids, we can't...really take you all with us," Sanji told them.

"Yeah, um...the ship is big, but I don't think it will carry all of you," Sokka said, "...I mean, unless there's some sort of compartment on the ship that we could use for them?" he asked Franky.

"Um, well, I mean...well, no, actually. We don't have too much room for them. And besides, we don't even know where we're going at this point when we get everyone gathered and into the ship!" Franky stated.

"Look, we can't help out, we need to hurry on out here and find some of our friends," Sanji told them.

Toph turned to Sanji with a look of shock, "What!?"

"Huh? Well, yeah, that's what we need to do right now," Sanji reminded.

But then-

BOOOOOOM!

The group of eight turned around to the source of the sound, which was the door to the room and the barrier surrounding the door came crashing through. The kids all screamed in terror again.

"...Uh, I think we need to go, guys," Sokka reminded them.

"Get inside!" said one of the hazmat suit guards, "Keep the gas to a minimum! No guns or explosives from here on in! If you hit any of the kids, the Master's wrath will be upon us!"

Katara, Suki, Toph, and Nami heard those words…

Master? Katara.

Gas? Suki.

Wrath? Toph.

...Nami knows what they must do.

They don't sound like they care about the kids...

Nami turned to Sanji and Sokka and said to them, "Guys, we have to save the children!".

"Huh!?" Franky uttered, surprised.

"Wha!?" Chopper yelped.

Sanji blinked.

"...Wait, really?" Sokka said in shock.

It was then, Katara came into the guards view. She yelled at them, "What are you doing with these kids!?"

"None of your business, lady! Now step away from the kids! In fact, kids, don't go near them! They're bad people !"

"I think the only bad ones here are you people!" Suki countered, running up to Katara's side. "You're keeping kids here away from their families!"

"And who is this 'Master' you speak of?" Toph said as she came up also to the girls. "He sounds like a jerk!"

"Hey! Don't talk to the Master that way!" one guard exclaimed angrily as he aimed his rifle, "Waste them!"

"But what about the kids!?" asked another guard.

"Ah, if they get hit, we'll treat them! Just don't kill them!"

That did it.

Toph stomped her bare foot and punched a piece of the metal floor up, ripping it off from its place. She quickly formed it into a metal ball and shot it at one of the guards.

WHOOSH!

Like a cannonball, it hit the guard who was ready to aim his rifle.

WHAAAM!

"GGRRRKK!" he groaned loudly in pain as he was sent back and knocked into the remaining guards.

"WHOA! WHAT WAS THAT!?" exclaimed one of the guards.

"I-I don't know, man! That tiny girl made a cannonball by using magic or something! Shoot her!"

Meanwhile, with Nami, Sanji, Sokka, Franky, and Chopper...

"Nami, do you even know what you're saying!?" Sanji asked her.

"Yes! Something is not right here, and these children are calling for our help!" Nami declared.

"But Nami, this could be a hospital for all we know-" Franky said to her, but was interrupted by her.

"A hospital with weird hazmat-suited people with guns !?" Nami asked him incredulously.

"...I mean...okay, you got me there," Franky said sheepishly.

"But what if they really are sick!?" Chopper asked her.

One of the kids shouted out, "No! We're not sick anymore! We just want to go home!"

Sokka was really feeling pressured, "Okay, okay, okay, look, I kind of agree that this place is odd to keep these kids, giant kids, mind you, in a facility where there are weapons around, but-"

"No buts! We can't turn our backs on them! And it looks like your sister, your girlfriend, and your other friend are in agreement with me over there!" Nami said as she pointed at the three girls fighting off the guards.

"..." Sokka sighed, "You know, my sister would give me an earful, and…well, I don't want to upset Suki...and I don't want to get on Toph's bad side, so, you know what? Okay. We'll save the kids."

Sanji looked at Sokka, impressed. "Wow. You gave in to women's demands pretty well."

"Hey, I was like the head you have in your arm around back then, apparently," Sokka said, "I've learned some things."

Nami nodded, "Then we're going to save them!" she turned her attention to the children, "Alright, kids! You're all coming with us!"

The kids' eyes were full of hope as they smiled big, finally being able to go home now.

"YAAAAAAAAY!" The kids cheered.

Back to Toph, Katara, and Suki...

Toph quickly bent the remaining metal from the floor, swirling the chunk of the material to create a long barrier in front of her, Suki, and Katara as she swung her arms to the right, so they wouldn't be shot by the guns the guards had.

"Fire!" the guards yelled.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

The children all screamed in horror as the guards were firing their guns.

The barrier Toph made let the guards bullets stop them in their tracks, however, the shots were letting the wall barrier be dent outward, and it would only be a matter of time before they could really penetrate the metal wall.

Katara was the first to say, "We need to fall back!"

"Yeah!" Suki agreed, "Let's just get going before they call in a bigger weapon or something!"

Then, someone rushed past the girls. It was-

"Sanji!?" Katara and Suki exclaimed in shock.

"Kickster!?" Toph also exclaimed in shock.

Sanji dashed over there with great speed...and what they (or what Toph felt) saw, was that Sanji's right foot is...on fire.

As soon as he was about to stop, Sanji lifted his right foot back and shouted:

Diable Jambe!

Collier Strike!

He then kicked the metal wall with his flaming foot...

...And the whole barrier wall shot through, coming toward the guards at great speed!

"AAAAAHHH!" The guards screamed, unable to move in time, and then-

WHAAAAAAM!

It soared back, sending the guards with them! It soon crashed them back to the door, but also to the edges of the door, where they were crushed by the wall!

Sanji put his right foot down, still in flames, as he took out a cigarette, and smoked one after the attack.

"Alright then," Sanji says, "You girls go ahead with Nami and Sokka. Franky, Chopper, and I will take it from here.

Then, all of a sudden, Chopper, in a different but bigger form, landed next to Sanji.

"Kung-Fu Point!" Chopper said with a broad frown and hooves in a fighting stance.

Katara and Suki looked at Chopper in shock, blinking at the sudden transformation. Toph felt his whole body change, so she was surprised as well.

Meanwhile, Sokka, Nami, and the head of Kin'emon (who was placed on the floor) looked back at the three, while the former gazed at the three in awe and shock.

"...Uh...how did Sanji...get his foot on fire? And how did...Chopper turn into that ?" he asked Nami, amazed.

"It's...kind of hard to explain right now," Nami said with a sweatdrop.

"WOOOOW!" the kids all exclaimed in awe.

Kin'emon looked on with a frown, but muttered, "These...are some pirates."

"Don't worry, ladies!" Franky told Katara, Suki, and Toph as he was next to Sanji's other side, "Just get going with Nami and Sokka, as well as the kids! We'll take care of these jerks!"

Toph then laid her feet firmly to the metal floor, "Actually, I want to fight with you guys!"

"Huh?" Sanji turned to Toph in surprise. "You sure?"

"Toph?" Katara said in worry, "You're really going to fight these guys!?"

"Uh, yeah, they have those guns. I don't think you can tell where a gun will aim and shoot at you," Suki said to her.

"First of all, of course I'm sure! I want to get my metalbending back on track! Haven't been using it for a while! And for your queries, Sugar Queen and Fan Girl, I can take them! Besides, I got Kickster and the rest here to watch over me!" Toph told them.

"Huh. Well, hey, the more the merrier!" Franky grinned.

"Hm..." Sanji smirked at the earthbender girl, "Alright then, Little Tophie, you can join in on the fun. Also, in that case, Chopper?"

"Hachaa! Yeah!?"

"Go with the girls and Sokka. They might need your new strength to bypass any obstacles."

"Hachaaa! Okay!" Chopper back-flipped and flipped over to Nami and Sokka.

"Well...okay, Toph. Just be careful, alright?" Katara said to her.

"Yeah. We don't want anything happening to you," Suki told her.

"Don't worry, ladies," Sanji said as he blew out smoke from his cigarette, "I don't let a pretty young lady ever get harmed."

Toph snickered, "Thanks, Kickster."

"No problem!" Sanji said with a smirk.

"Alright! Let's get to kicking some butt!" Franky exclaimed.

"You said it, Franky!" Toph agreed.

Katara and Suki glanced at each other, making sure they were doing the right thing. With one last look at Toph, Katara said, "Okay then, Toph. Again, be careful! You don't want to worry Aang or anything, you know?"

Toph blushed a bit, "Just get out of here!"

Both Katara and Suki smirked as they glanced at each other again, thinking the same thing.

Oh, she's crushing alright.

And with that, the women ran over to Chopper, Sokka, and Nami.

"Okay! Now who's next!?" Toph exclaimed as she bent the metal on the floor and created some metal orbs around her fists.

The leftover guards got up sluggishly and began to ready their pistols and rifles.

"You heard the lady!" Franky said, "Who's...NEXT!? STRONG RIGHT!" He fired his right fist out and it shot forward, hitting a couple of guards.

"GUAAH!" the guards exclaimed.

"Alright then. Let's get this started," said Sanji with a slick and sly smile.

As the three began to fight, Katara and Suki reached to the other three.

Sokka turned to Kin'emon's head and asked him, "You sure you don't want to come with us?"

"Leave me! I do not wish to accompany pirates!" Kin'emon said.

"...Eh, nah, my conscience wouldn't feel good leaving you here," Sokka picked him up by his topknot.

"ACK!"

Sokka shouted to Sanji, Toph, and Franky, "Hey guys, Toph! I'm gonna bring Samurai Head here with us! Is that okay!?"

Sanji just finished a deadly kick, kicking one of the big guards in the chin as he flew up and landed down on the ground. He turned to say to Sokka, "Yeah, go ahead! Just don't get annoyed by him!"

"Great! And sure thing!" Sokka gave him a thumbs up, and dragged and carried Kin'emon by his topknot.

"AAACK!" Kin'emon shouted.

The rest of the gang ran away from the fight, with Katara next to Sokka, Sokka (and Kin'emon) next to Suki, Suki next to Nami, and Nami next to Chopper. The kids also ran with them as well, although they stayed a rather short distance away from the talking head.

Katara, as they ran, looked at her brother and glared at the head, saying, "Are you sure you want to bring him with us?"

"Hey, I think he's just misunderstood. I mean, come on, the guy is looking for his son!" Sokka says.

"Well, keep him in line with the sexist stuff, okay Hon?" Suki asked her boyfriend.

"As always, madam!" Sokka said with a smile.

Nami, though, could see the kids were getting antsy about the head, so she reassured them, "Don't worry, kids! If the talking head starts...well, talking, I'll punch it!"

"O-Okay!" the kids all said in hesitant unison.

Suki smirked at Nami and told Sokka and Katara, "I like her."

"Me too," Katara grinned.

"Um...you better listen to women, Buddy," Sokka said to Kin'emon

...Kin'emon grumbled.

And soon they left the room, going through another corridor...


Meanwhile, Back at the Group's Cell that Toph Ripped Open...


Other guards were investigating the hole that Toph had made, each of them trying to make sense of what they were seeing.

"Wow...this door was just...ripped open," said one of the guards.

"Yeah...did someone have like, super strength or just...a Devil Fruit with super strength? Or maybe it has something to do with metal?" asked another guard.

"Either way, we need to wait for the Master to observe this," said another guard.

"The Master is coming!" shouted another guard to the others.

Then, a trail of purple gas-like smoke came through the hall and entered the ripped hole. It stayed in place as it looked to be 'observing' the damage.

"Hmm...what happened here? This doesn't look like anything that could've destroyed this door using Vegapunk's technology!"

"Master! We observed this hole and it seemed that it was most likely made by...by it being ripped apart!" said one of the guards.

"Hmm!? Ripped apart!? ...It sounds primitive, but it looked like it worked for our interlopers. Tell me, has anyone caught these intruders yet?"

"We've got them cornered in the Biscuits Room, Master!" said a guard.

"Hm. Excellent. I must know if this little mishap was caused by brute strength or just by Devil Fruit luck...or maybe some other rotten invention that Vegapunk probably made. In the meantime-"

"Master! Is Master here!?" shouted another guard coming their way.

"Hm? Yes, I am." The purple smoke exited out of the cell and appeared in front of the guard. "What seems to be the matter?"

"There's a G-5 Battleship near the shore!" the guard revealed.

"WHAT!? A battleship!? A G-5 Battleship!?" the purple smoke growled, "Drive them away! Do whatever it takes! Use the poison gas if you have to! Killing naval men will only make them be on our trail more, and that's the last thing I need to happen! Go!"

"Yes, Master!"


Back at the Fire Side of the Island


Meanwhile, Luffy still has the legs stuck onto his back.

"Haha! I'm a centaur now! Shishishi!" Luffy said with glee.

He was in front of the group, where Zoro, Usopp, Robin, Aang, and Zuko trailed behind him.

Aang just looked at Luffy, baffled by his disregard of the missing legs that he was carrying with him.

Zuko just looked at Luffy with a blank stare and said, "That looks really weird."

"Hey, that's our Captain," Usopp said next to Zuko.

"I do say, though, I hope we get to the cold side soon," Robin said, fanning herself, "This heat is quite redundant."

"Eh, it's not so bad," Zoro muttered.

"You really don't feel uncomfortable with all this heat?" Usopp asked Zoro.

"It's just heat. And fire," Zoro shrugged.

"I guess you can say that this environment is more suited for a demon like you, Zoro?" Robin teased with a smile.

"Hm...that's one way of putting it," Zoro nodded, respecting that metaphor.

"A demon?" Aang spoke up in question, glancing at Zoro. "They call you a demon?"

"Yeah. When I used to be a bounty hunter, I took no prisoners on who I take in, whether they were wanted dead or alive," Zoro clarified.

"Oh...um, do you usually take them alive?" Aang asked.

"...You don't want to know the answer to that," Zoro said.

"..." Aang blinked, a dreadful expression emerging on his face until he looked on in horror.

"Yep, if it's obvious by now, Zoro takes in 'dead' more than 'alive'," Usopp muttered.

"...But, you don't do that anymore, right? You basically stop hunting and...k-killing your bounties?" Aang asked the swordsman.

"Well, I stopped hunting bounties..." Zoro didn't say anything else.

"...Uh..." Aang wanted to say more, but Zuko just patted on his shoulder and told him.

"Aang, just...let it go," Zuko said.

"...I'm a little worried right now," Aang said honestly.

"Don't worry, Aang," said Robin with a smile, "We rarely kill anyone. That's kind of not our style, we basically just beat them enough to question their ambition and destroy their 'dream'."

Zuko raised an eyebrow, "So basically, you all humiliate them?"

"In a way," Robin shrugged, the smile still in place.

"Uh, guys," Usopp chimed in, "Luffy is...going over to another centaur-looking...guy..."

They all looked over where Luffy was, which he was up further ahead talking to...another centaur. The centaur was carrying an iron mace...

"...Who's that?" Aang asked them.

"Um...I don't know..." Usopp answered.

When the centaur (the man's torso up being a human and the waist down being a leopard's body) glanced at the other people that were with Luffy, and looked shocked. He glanced at Luffy and back at them, almost looking like he was getting the gear turning in his head. When Luffy said something, the centaur-looking man then looked angry and raised his iron mace above his head and attempted to strike Luffy.

Aang's eyes widened and shouted, "Luffy, watch out!"

Luffy leaned back from the swing of the mace and went forward to raise a leg to strike the centaur in the face.

WHAM!

The centaur went out like a light.

The rest of the group ran forward, and they could see that a giraffe centaur came jumping out of some rubble to sneak attack Luffy.

Before anyone could shout to Luffy, Robin put her hands in an 'x' and announced, " Cien Fleurs! Bell Tower!"

Then a bunch of arms coming out of the giraffe centaur's body and out of the hands of the multiplying arms grabbed the centaur by its neck/back and twisted his whole side, cracking his back/neck.

C-C-CRACK!

"URGH!" the man-giraffe-centaur exclaimed in pain as he fell down to the side, all twisted up.

Once they reached over to Luffy, Usopp, and Zoro studied the two odd centaur-looking men, as well as Zuko and Aang.

"A leopard? And...a giraffe?" Usopp said in astonishment.

"Huh...now that's interesting," Zoro said with a stoic expression.

"Wow, there's so many different kinds of centaurs!" Luffy said with an amazed look.

"Luffy, centaurs are supposed to be horses...which I really honestly don't think they exist," Usopp told him.

"Well, the question is, where did they come from?" Zuko asked them.

"That's a very good question," Robin said with a nod.

Aang looked at the half-giraffe-half-man and saw something in his hands. It looked like...one of those snail telecommunicators!

"Hey, look at what he has in his hand!" Aang pointed to the snail.

"Hm?" Usopp turned his attention to the snail that the sort-of centaur was holding. Blinking at the object, he said, "Hey, a baby transponder snail!" He went over to the snail and knelt down to get it from the man's hand, "Hmm...it says the initials 'CC' on it," looking down at the man-animals, he speculated, "Either way, I don't think these are wild centaurs. They must be in some kind of group."

"Well, I think we need to keep our eyes peeled for any more of these, uh...cen-taurs," Zuko advised, "We just have to keep going."

"Right," Aang nodded. He then thought about something, "Hmm...oh! Hey, I can air-jump high into the air to see if we're anywhere closer to the ice side!"

"That sounds like a good idea," Robin said also with a nod and a smile.

Zuko just looked at Aang with a monotone look. "Aang, you could've done that before."

"Well...I mean, our friends were missing, and I was thinking about To-um! ...I was thinking about them..." Aang said, feeling a little uneasy all of a sudden.

Raising a brow at that, Zuko just looked at him oddly, but he just let it go and said, "Well...I don't blame ya. I'm worried about Ka-uh, them! I'm worried about them as well..."

...Luffy, Usopp, Robin, and Zoro just glanced at the two benders, as Aang and Zuko looked a little...stiff...

"...Well, we should probably get going," Robin suggested.

"Uh, yeah," Usopp nodded.

"Um, right!" Aang said as he soon got into a crouching position and bent the air as he jumped up and soared up into the air.

For a few more seconds, they waited...and then Aang safely landed on the ground. Luffy, being Luffy, couldn't help but be amazed by Aang's airbending trick.

"Oh man! That's so cool!" Luffy said with wide eyes of excitement.

"Uh, thanks," Aang gave out a small smile, "But, um, it seems we have some ways to go to get to the other side. There's a lake in the middle of this island."

"A lake, huh?" Usopp muttered.

"Is there any way around the lake?" Robin asked Aang.

"No, not really. We might just need to sail over it," Aang suggested. Then he thought of an idea, "Oh, hey! Actually, I could ice-bend our way over there!"

"Ice-bend?" Usopp blinked.

Zuko smiled at Aang's ingenuity and nodded, "Yeah! Aang can freeze the ice to make a path for us!"

"Oh...well, that's nifty," Usopp puts a hand to his chin in thought.

"Oooh, you can freeze water too? Kind of like that Aokiji guy!?" Luffy asked in enthusiasm.

"Uh...yes? I don't really know who Aokiji is, but, uh...I can freeze water as well. It's part of waterbending."

"Hmm. That's interesting..." Robin smiled, intrigued.

"Alright then, well, let's go," Zoro says.

"Right! We got to save our friends and get back on the ship!" Luffy said with a fist pumped into the air.

The group all rushed forward to the center lake of the island...soon, however, there will be more trials for them to overcome...


Meanwhile, Back on the Snowy Side of the Island


Brook and Momo were off the ship, with Momo on Brook's shoulder. Brook walked on the snow and could see up ahead...more downed bodies of the same hazmat-suit-wearing men...

"Yoho? I say, Momo, what do you make of all this? I didn't even do this!" Brook asked the critter.

Momo purred and chittered as he scratched his head in, seemingly being in thought.

"Hmm...I do think we need to keep our eyes open...but I don't have any eyes! Skull joke! Yoho-...ho?"

It was then Brook saw...something...

Momo sensed it too, and looked in Brook's direction.

...In the falling snow...there was a torso...a torso standing on his own two hands…

It looked to be dressed as...a samurai...

And the torso is carrying two katanas around his waist in a sash...

...Momo looked at the oddity with confused blinking eyes.

Brook, however, looked at the torso with arms and couldn't help but express...a tiny bit of unease.

"...Oh my...that...looks really...creepy..."

And then...the torso came 'running' over to the pair, ready to attack!

"YAAAARGH!" Brook screamed.

Momo screeched in terror as well.

...Things are gonna get interesting...


And that's it for this chapter! Tell me how it is! I hope I made it all the more unique! :)

But yeah, leave a review, fave, and a follow! They help me keep going! ;D And don't worry, there will surely be new stuff coming. It could come around the middle of the Punk Hazard Arc! Here's hoping! ;)

Thank you all for reading and keep on rocking everybody! :)

-TSP