River quickly sat up.
"Shit, I fell asleep..." They muttered before realizing they were in a room...a much warmer room. It was filled with medical supplies and a big light hanging over them. "Did we make it...?"
"Yes you did." An old woman spoke walking towards them. "Your friend is quite the trooper..carrying all three of you as he climbed up the mountain, I'm surprised he's still alive."
"You mean Luffy?"
"Don't know his name, kid. But I do know that you shouldn't even be able to move right now."
"What? Why?"
"You just got surgery done on your stomach. If you look under your shirt, you'll see the stitches."
River looked under their shirt to see...yep. There's stitches.
"What made you eat wax? A dare?" The woman asked.
"A devil fruit. Anyway, that's not important, where are the rest of my friends?"
"They're all fine, don't worry. Right now, you're the first one to be awake."
"Good..."
"So...do you wonder how I've stayed so young?"
"No. But I did wonder what your name was."
"I'm Dr. Kureha, but just call me Doctorine."
"Yeah, sure." River nods, before their eyes caught sight of something small walking inside the room. It most likely didn't notice River yet because they walked up to Doctorine without even giving them a glance.
River focused more on its appearance and assumed it was some type of reindeer. Mainly because of the antlers...but the last time they checked (Or the last time Koa rambled to them about animals) reindeer didn't have blue noses...or walked on two legs...or wore a hat...???
"Doctorine."
Oh. They don't talk either.
"The orange haired girl just–"
It stopped. And stared. Right at River who was looking right back at them.
"IT'S AWAKE!" The reindeer screeched, before hiding behind the door. Or at least trying to.
"I thought it was the other way?" River questioned.
"Chopper, be quiet, everybody else is sleeping!" Doctorine scolded. "Anyways, one of your friends have woken up...The one with the terrible sickness. I'll go check on her. You can move around if you want, but you're not allowed to leave the castle until you're completely healed."
River was a bit shocked at her passive-aggressive tone and quietly nodded.
"Chopper, come with me, we'll check up on the girl together."
Chopper...the reindeer? Nodded and the two walked away.
...
...
"Did that deer just call me an 'it'?"
—————
"MEAT!!!" Luffy shouted as he and Sanji were chasing Chopper down around the castle.
"I ALREADY SAID TO LET ME COOK IT FIRST!!!!" Sanji argued.
"OKAY, THEN I'LL KILL IT FIRST!!!"
"WHAT THE HELL!?" Chopper screams.
They've been running around for at least 30 minutes now and Nami's starting to get pissed.
While the trio were running, River walked out of a room, right in front of them.
Out of desperation, Chopper ran and hid behind their legs, shocking the teen who looked down at the reindeer in confusion before looking back up at Sanji and Luffy who was running towards them.
"COME BACK HERE, MMMEEEAAATTT!!!" They shouted. Well...that gave River the full package...
Once the two got close enough...
"Tendron!"
River kicked Luffy in the collarbone, making him also hit Sanji and crash them both into the wall next to them.
"Ow!!!" Luffy winced, rubbing his collarbone in pain.
"Did you just use my own move against me!?!?" Sanji shouted, quickly standing up and glaring at River. "Use your own moves!!!!"
"But you taught me that." River replied, looking up at Sanji in confusion. "Do you want me to just use a different name?"
"Use your sword or something!"
"I don't have it so I used the next best thing."
"River! Why did you do that!? We're trying to hunt the deer, don't save it!" Luffy shouted. "Give us the deer!"
"No." River says, picking up Chopper and putting him on their shoulders. "It's mine now."
"What! No fair! You can have it all for yourself, I'm hungry too!!!"
"You'll live."
They then ran away from the two, almost causing Chopper to fall off.
"What the!?" Sanji shouts.
"After them!" Luffy orders and River could hear them running towards the two at full speed.
"How hungry are you two!?" River shouts, dodging one of Luffy's stretchy arms.
Chopper held tightly onto River's hair while also trying not to pull it (kinda hard when they run fast as hell-). He was kinda confused on how the situation turned into this, but hey, less risk of getting killed and eaten by those two lunatics.
River, at some point, ran onto the wall and jumped behind Sanji and Luffy before running the way they came from.
"Woah, when could they do that!?" Luffy exclaimed as he and Sanji accidentally tripped over a railing and fell to the floor below them, hitting soft snow. "Wait, we're back here!?!?!?"
"Aaaahhh! Why's it so cold?!" Sanji shouts, hugging himself for warmth and looking around the castle before noticing a tall door standing wide open. "Hey, Luffy. Look at that door at the front entrance. It's wide open."
"Huh? Oh! No wonder it's so cold in here!"
"Anyway, let's close it." Sanji says as he and Luffy walk towards the door. "With an open like that, there's not much difference between inside and outside the castle."
"Hey, stop it!" A voice cried from above. The two look up to see Chopper staring down at them. "Don't touch that door, get away!"
"Never mind him, let's close it or we're gonna freeze to death!"
"That's a good point." Luffy agreed as they continued to walk towards the door.
"STOP! Didn't you guys hear what I said!? Get back!!!!" Chopper shouts, turning into his human form and breaking the railing, sending it flying towards Luffy who dodged it.
"What is with this guy!? What the hell is he so angry about!?"
"Hey, come over here." Sanji calls.
"What's up?" Luffy asked, walking next to Sanji who was looking at the top of the door. Luffy followed his gaze to see baby birds resting on top of the door.
"It's a bunch of baby snowbirds. If we close the door they'll fall."
"Oh...so he was protecting them. WAIT."
"What?"
"That guy...wasn't that the tiny reindeer we were trying to eat???"
...
...
...
"HOLY SHIT, YOU'RE RIGHT!!!"
...
...
...
"THAT'S A MONSTER!!!"
—————
So now Luffy's following Chopper around for the sole purpose of asking the guy to join the crew (because in his exact words "That monster is so cool!"). Sanji finally stopped trying to kill the deer and decided to just use the materials in the castle to cook something for everybody.
River was sitting on one of the chairs on the table next to Nami's bed and was talking to the girl, just asking random questions while drinking tea (that had a lot of sugar in it...)
Sanji walks up to Nami with a tray of food in his hands and states, "I prepared this extra nutritious, fordifing meal just for you so we can get a healthy smile back on that beautiful face."
He could feel River glaring at him but ignored it as Nami thanked him.
"Hey, where's my food?" River asked sarcastically, sitting crisscrossed on the chair they were on.
"That tea is enough for you! I even had the kindness to put 10 spoonfuls of sugar in it even though it absolutely ruins the flavor!" Sanji spat while carefully putting Nami's tray in the said girl's lap.
"What's wrong with having sugar in it?"
"All you wanted me to put was sugar! No milk or fruit, just plain sugar! It's completely unhealthy and tastes terrible!"
"You make us healthy food all the time, so who cares?"
"You eat so much sugar I'm starting to question why I even do that for you..."
"Hey, I never said you could use my kitchen." Doctorine states, leaning on the doorway.
"Ah, madam." Sanji replied. "I also made a meal just for you. It's supposed to help with-"
Doctorine smacked him, making him crash into the wall.
"I'm not a madam." She says, walking up to Nami. "I'm a swinging single still in the prime of youth."
"Not a day over 139, right?" Nami questioned.
"Doctorine, save me!" Chopper begged, running into the room with Luffy close behind him.
"No, wait, come back!" Luffy yelled.
"Luffy, what are you doing?" Nami asked.
"This guy said he'd be our friend in join us."
"I never said that!" Chopper argued, hiding behind Doctorine's legs.
"Yeah, you did!"
"No, I didn't!"
"Did!"
"Can you two be quiet?" Doctrine questioned before the two then ran out of the room. "Friend, huh? If only he knew how much that word meant to him..."
The three that were still in the room looked at her in confusion before she started to tell them Chopper's backstory.
He was ostracized from his home for his blue nose and the fact that he ate the human-human fruit. And then when he tried to use his human form to become friends with other humans, but to them, he looked like a monster. So he was shot and chased away. The only man that would truly accept him was a doctor that had a limited time to live. He nursed him back to health and treated him like a son. But one day...he fell for a trick set up by Wapol and died, making Chopper beg Doctorine to be a doctor so he could cure any disease.
"Doctorine! Doctorine!" Chopper called, running into the room in his reindeer form. "He's here..."
"Who?" Doctorine asked.
"Wapol...he's back."
"Is he?"
"Wapol?" River and Nami questioned.
"Chopper, let's go."
"Right!"
"Wait!" Nami called. "Who's Wapol!?"
"I have no clue." Sanji replies, standing up. "I'll go see what's happening. Nami, get some rest."
"I'm coming with." River states as they stand up and grab their cloak from the floor.
"Sure."
"Wait, let me come with-" Nami started.
"No! Stay in bed!" Sanji and River said.
—————
The two made it to the entrance of the castle and Sanji immediately frowned at the people he was seeing.
"Really? Those guys, again?" He scoffed.
"Who are they?"
"When the ship was shaking and shit, he caused that. Also, if you heard any gunshots, that was his doing as well."
"Is he following us or something?"
"How am I supposed to know that?"
"Last time I couldn't fight you guys because I have to protect my friends." Luffy says to Wapol...and two other weirdos. "But ooohhhhh, you guys are gonna get iiitttt!"
"How dare you! Do you know who you attacked?!" One of the weirdos asked him. "This is no lowly commoner! This is Wapol! The sole ruler of Drum Kingdom!"
"Why would I care!? He's annoying!"
"I'm guessing he did something to you?" Doctorine asked.
"Yeah! He ate a part of our ship and then tried to attack me and my friends! I've had it with him!"
"Okay, well before you beat him to a pulp, aren't you cold right now?" Sanji asked.
"Hm?"
"It's still snowing." River added.
"Hey, did that guy say he was a king!?"
"THAT'S WHAT YOU REALIZED!?" Sanji shouted.
"I guess you've become deaf, Straw Hat." The same weirdo spoke. "Yes, Wapol is the ruler-"
"It's cold!" Luffy suddenly shouted.
"Go get a coat." River said.
"Okay!"
"Hey, listen to what I'm saying!" The guy shouted, watching Luffy run back into the castle to grab a coat.
"Sorry, guess you'll have to wait." Sanji laughed.
"Hey." Chopper called. "Your friend. He was able to stretch his arm earlier. What's with that?"
"Oh, he's a rubber man."
"What? What's that?"
"A monster!" Sanji smiles.
"My brother is also weird. He can shoot spider silk from his fingertips." River added, putting their hood on.
"EH!?" Chopper shouts.
"Well, well." Wapol says. "Looks like we're up against that hag, the reindeer and a few of the Straw Hats. This should be easy. Once we eliminate these fools, no one else will even dare to defy me!"
"Of course, my King." One of the weirdos agreed. "Today will be remembered as the day Drum Kingdom was restored to it's former glory."
"We'll start with the Doctor first. Woman! What you have done, taking my castle and flying that flag, is a crime!"
"It's not your castle anymore!" Doctrine rebutted. "This is Hiriluk's grave and the reindeer wanted to fly his flag here."
Wapol laughed before frowning and saying, "How dare you violate my scared castle with that scum doctor's flag! I command that be burned immediately!"
"There's no way I'm allowing you to burn down that flag." Chopper states, turning into his human form. "You're not getting in this castle either!"
"Ha! Like you can stop us!"
"That's what every childhood villain says." River sighs. "...Doctorine...did you find a sword one me anywhere...?"
"A sword? Sorry, I didn't."
"Shit."
"Show them no mercy, boys!" Wapol demands, as his two weirdos stand in front of him.
"Leave it to us!" The one with the afro states, throwing...a hair ball...at Doctorine.
Sanji quickly lifted his leg up, blocking the ball.
"Hey, big man with the afro." He called. "Didn't your mom after tell you not to hit a lady? Especially a hot, young one?"
"Guess beating it into you did help." Doctrine laughs.
"Hey, Sanji...It's still on your leg." River realized.
"What the hell!?" Sanji shouts, shaking his leg up and down. "Wasn't that just hair!? What fucking hair does this!?" He then looks at River's hair...then the hair ball...and then back to River's hair. "DOES YOUR HAIR DO THIS!?"
"Hell no!" River slightly shouts. "I'm guessing that's either static electricity or a devil fruit."
"It is static electricity!" The afro guy answered. "I never condition my hair!"
"Then your mom failed you as a kid..."
"GET OFF, GET OFF, GET OOOFFFF!!!!" Sanji continued to scream.
"There's more coming!" The afro guy warned, pulling a piece of hair out of his afro and puffing it up to make it bigger.
"That actually looks cool to do." River says, looking at the man's hair.
"NO IT DOESN'T!" Chopper argues.
"Marimo's Static Cling!" He shouts, throwing more hair on Sanji who screamed even louder.
"GUYS, HELP ME!!!" Sanji screams. Chopper runs to him, trying to also pull the hairballs off but they end up becoming stuck to him as well. So it turned into an endless cycle of them trying to push the hairballs on one another.
"Don't give it to me!"
"I don't want it, it's so gross!!!"
"KEEP THEM!"
"I DON'T WANT TO!"
"Can you two stop?" Doctorine huffed as River started fidgeting with their cloak out of boredom.
"Okay, this is boring." River says, watching the joker guy ready his bow towards Sanji and light it on fire. River then runs towards the guy and kicks the arrow in half, causing the pointy end to land in the snow.
"Where did you come from!?" The guy shouts (honestly, he looks like he's in pain 24/7).
"The sky." River answers simply before kicking the guy in the face.
"Get out of my way!" Wapol shouts, pushing the joker to the side and opening his mouth, trying to eat the teenager.
"River!" Sanji shouts.
River's eyes widen slightly in surprise before using their web-shooter to crash into the ground. It hurt, but at least they dodged whatever the fuck that fake pirate was going to do.
So now they're mainly just trying to dodge the guy as he continues trying them. Chopper was fighting Wapol's minions so Sanji tried running towards River but one of the hairballs got stuck to the ground and it didn't allow him to move one of his legs.
"This weird ass hair!" Sanji cursed looking around for a way to help.
"Man, it might be a girl's coat but it's really warm!" He heard Luffy's voice.
"Luffy!"
"Hm?"
"Grab my leg from there!"
"Leg? Sure!" Luffy stretched his arms back and reached to grab onto Sanji's leg that was hanging in the air. "Like this?"
"Yep! Just don't let go!
"Oh. Gotcha!"
"Armée de L'Air Assault..." Sanji started, kicking his leg towards Wapol who managed to bite onto River's arm. "...Gum Shoot!"
Luffy rockets towards Wapol and headbutts him in the side, forcing him to spit River's arm out and crash into his snow hippo that flew into the sky.
"Ew..." River mutters, looking at their arm that was covered in saliva before wiping it into the snow. "Ew..."
Wapol's Joker and Afro man ran towards their leader and checked on him in concern while Luffy, Chopper and River went back to Sanji, who was still stuck to the ground due to the hairball.
"Woah, what's that?" Luffy asked, pointing to it.
"Something we need to burn..." Sanji whispered, looking at it in pure disgust. "The more I look at it, the more I wish I was never born to experience this..."
"Doctorine, do you have anything sharp I can use?" River asked the doctor who just finished taking a shot of her alcohol.
"Yep, here you go." She says, handing River a pocket knife.
"Thanks."
"Might as well just cut my foot..." Sanji says, looking so disappointed in life. "He said he doesn't condition his hair, who knows how much dirt and shit is also in this..."
"What? Sanji, I'm not cutting any part of your body." River states, kneeling down and perfectly cutting the between the hairball and Sanji's shoe. "There."
"AAAAAA, I'M FREE!!!" Sanji cheers as Luffy laughs in the background. "FREE FROM ALL THAT DISGUSTING SHIT! I'M CLEANING MY SHOE IMMEDIATELY AFTER THIS!!!"
"Hey, uh...Wapol just ate his friends." Chopper noticed, bringing everyone's attention back to the fight.
"WHAT!?" Luffy shouts.
"HE'S EATING HIS OWN MEN!?" Sanji shrieks.
"THAT'S SO MEAN!"
"You see, Straw Hats..." Wapol starts, "...Whatever I eat becomes a part of my body thanks to the Munch-Munch fruit!" His body starts to grow bigger and change shape...there's cannons on the top of his head and on his arms, also his body is now a house...what?
"Awesome!" Luffy shouts.
Feast your eyes on this! Come forth my miraculous union!"
The door to his body opens and reveals that Wapol's minions merged bodies...and have now become one.
"I'm Chessmarimo!" The...merged body announces.
"That's not a 'miraculous' union..." Sanji sweat dropped.
"It's so cool!" Luffy says.
"It's alright." River agreed.
"No! It's just stupid!" Sanji argued.
"Just don't let your guard down." Doctorine warns. "They might look silly but don't be fooled, they're tough. So tough that the citizens couldn't win against him. That's how they exiled all the doctors."
"The Drum Kingdom's Constitution, Article 1!" Wapol states. "'Those who don't do as the king wishes should die.' That sums up this country! It's because this country is my country...and this castle is my castle. Of all flags, don't fly that quack's flag! It will ruin this castle!"
The man aims one of his cannons at the flag and shoots it.
"Stop it!" Chopper shouts, looking up at the flag to see that the flag had fallen from the castle. It wasn't destroyed but that was close...
"It's a pirate flag." Luffy noticed. "Hey, Reindeer. That flag..."
"How dare you!!! You attacked Doctor's flag, you freak!!!" Chopper runs towards Wapol, turning into his human form and gripping onto the man's clothes(?). "Doctor tried to save even you!"
He reaches his arm back preparing to strike before pausing.
"I...I won't hurt you if you just leave this country!"
"Chopper, what are you doing!?" Doctorine demands. "Even if he does promise that, you can't trust a word that guy says!"
"But...Doctor said..."
Wapol suddenly aimed his cannon at Chopper with a smirk and shot at him.
"Chopper!!!"
Chopper lands on the snow, staring up at the sky with a distant look.
"Hey, big mouth!" Luffy called from above the castle. He was standing next to the flag that was being held up by the coat sleeve he ripped off.
"When did he even get up there?" Sanji questioned before noticing something. "DID HE RIP NAMI'S COAT!?"
"You guys weren't real pirates, you were just fake ones weren't you!?" Luffy guessed, ignoring Sanji. "That's why you don't know what flying a pirate flag means, cause you were just a bunch of fakes who didn't risk your lives!"
River looks between Wapol and Luffy before shrugging and walking towards the castle.
"Where are you going?" Sanji asks.
"To check up on Nami and go find my sword." They answer before walking away.
—————
Koa...does not want to be here anymore. He hates how his sibling is extremely sick, he hates how Sanji and Luffy literally passed the doctor at some point, he hates how he had to save Vivi and Usopp from an avalanche, he hates how Zoro decided to just swim in cold ass water, shirtless and then complain about how cold it is and he hates how Dalton almost fucking died.
And on top of all of that, it's fucking WINTER.
"What are you moping about?" Zoro asked, leaning his back on a few crates. The four were outside a house, waiting to see if Dalton would be alright or not. During the time, Koa had wrapped himself in spider silk to stay warm and had the most annoyed look on his face the entire time.
"Shut up..." Koa mutters.
It was quiet for a minute longer until Vivi huffed and stopped leaning on the house.
"Okay, I can't take this anymore, we need to go back up the mountain." Vivi states, gaining everyone's attention.
"Why?" Usopp asked.
"Because Luffy and the others could've gotten hurt in that avalanche, they might be trapped!"
"It's been at least an hour, Vivi." Koa interrupted with a sad smile. "If they were trapped, they'd be dead by now. Have some faith in Luffy and Sanji."
"You're carrying too much weight on your shoulders." Usopp added. "You're worried about everything and it's stressing you out, just relax. I believe in my friends and you should too, so there's no point in going up the mountain."
"Yeah..you're right." Vivi agreed. "Thank you-"
"Don't listen to this idiot, guys, he's just a coward." Zoro interrupted, poking Usopp on the forehead. "A coward too scared to go up the mountain."
"B-But Dalton and Koa warned us of Yetis and those Lapins!" Usopp rebutted.
"Then just start with that."
Vivi and Koa sweat dropped at the sight.
"Either way, the most we would be able to do is go up the mountain." Koa continued. "But we have something we need to worry about down here, like Dalton's health, so let's just relax."
"Right..." Vivi nodded.
"Dalton, no!"
"You shouldn't be moving yet!"
Dalton walked out of the house, holding himself up with his weapon.
"Oh, hey, it's Dalton!" Usopp realized.
"Thank goodness." Vivi sighed.
"Can someone tell me who this guy is already?" Zoro demanded, watching Dalton stagger and force himself to walk forward.
"Dalton, you have to listen to reason." One of the civilians said.
"Get out of my way, we can't let Wapol retake the castle! We just can't!"
"Wait...you're going to the castle?" Vivi asked.
"Do you have a death wish? Your body won't be able to handle all of that." Usopp informed.
"My country matters more than my body!" Dalton argued. "I won't let him take back this country! He will never be king again!"
"But you're not strong enough to fight them! And none of us even stand a chance." Another citizen explained.
"I don't care. I'm going to settle this thing once and for all."
Usopp stood in front of Dalton and looked up at him in determination. He then turned around and kneeled down. "Here, I'll take you to the castle." He says. "Hop on. Come in now, don't be so modest, I just want you to save your strength for the fight, that's all."
"How considerate." Vivi muttered as Koa stood up and walked next to her. The spider silk still wrapped around him like a blanket.
"I don't think he can actually pick that man up." He admits. "He's built like a twig..."
"Don't say that! That's so rude!"
"But he is! He's literally struggling to pick the man up."
"He at least meant well..."
"Yeah, but he's an idiot." Zoro sighed, walking over to Dalton and picking him up, off of Usopp. "Come on, Usopp..."
"Zoro..." Usopp whined before standing up and repeatedly kicking the swordsman in the leg. "You stupid jerk! Thunder stealer!"
"Mhm. Okay."
"It was supposed to be my moment, I was almost able to fully pick him up!"
"Sure you were..."
—————
River was sitting next to Nami on a chair, looking at their sword that was in perfect condition.
"You said Luffy and Sanji were fine, right?" Nami asked, sitting up and checking her own fever.
"Yeah. And they're fighting with Chopper, so I think we're good." River answered.
"Good. And now that my fever's gone down...I think we can finally leave this place."
"Hm? What do you mean by that?"
"Doctorine isn't going to let me leave until I'm completely healed." Nami started to explain, standing up and wrapping a blanket around her shoulders. "I'm sure it'll be the same with all of us. But we can't waste anymore time here, we need to get to Alabasta as fast as possible."
"That's true..." River agreed, also standing. "Sure. Then let's go."
River led the way out of the room and they started to walk towards the stairs, but River then paused and looked over to see Wapol at the entrance of the castle, making eye contact with them.
"YOU!" He shouts, pointing to River.
"Shit."
"Wait, what's happening!?" Nami asked, looking between the two.
"You damn straw hats! I'll kill you both!"
Wapol jumps up to the stairs and starts chasing the two.
"I THOUGHT SANJI AND LUFFY WERE HANDLING THIS GUY!?" Nami screamed.
"I guess not." River replied before pushing Nami in front of them when Wapol tried to take a bite out of her. "Go down the stairs!"
Nami and River quickly ran down the stairs while Wapol...got stuck on the opening of them.
"Hm. Looks like I gained weight." He realized. "It's fine, I can fix this!"
"The hell does he mean by that!?" Nami shouts before shrieking as Wapol starts to eat his own body. "WHAT THE FUCK!?"
He kept eating himself until he turned into a small trash can(?). He then tumbled down the stairs and said, "That will do."
River looked down at the small trashcan man, then to Nami and shrugged before kicking the shit out of it, making it slam into the wall.
Wapol spit his own body out and somehow looked more...thin...?
"HEY! I WASN'T FULLY DONE! AT LEAST WAIT A BIT MORE!"
"NOBODY WANTS TO WAIT FOR THAT WEIRD TRICK TO FINISH!" Nami stated.
"WHATEVER! Now I'm hungry! So I'll eat you two first!"
Wapol then jumps at the two while Nami continues to scream from behind River.
River was about to take their sword out when a foot suddenly hit Wapol in the face...once again sending him flying.
"I feel like he's only been getting kicked for the last 5 minutes..." River mutters as Luffy runs up to the two.
"Haha! Found you!" Luffy laughed at Wapol before wincing at Nami punching him in the head. "Hey, what was that for!?"
"So...do you mind telling me why the coat I kindly loaned you is all torn up before I murder you?" Nami asked, scaring the shit out of Luffy. "THAT COAT COST ME 28,800 BERRIES! EVEN AFTER HACKLING!"
"I'm sorry, but it was the other guy's fault! He shot a cannon at me!"
"Damn...okay, I forgive you. To be honest, I should've known you would've never brought it back in good condition when I let you borrow it. You can just pay me back in my usual 300% interest which comes to...100,000...hehehe."
"WHAT!? If I knew that then I would've never borrowed this thing!"
"Hehe."
"Hello, I'm still here!" Wapol shouts.
"Oh. That's right, I still gotta kick your ass." Luffy remembered.
"Look! Believe it or not, this is the arsenal! I'm the only one who had the key to this room! Naturally, there are a wide variety of weapons in here. When I eat them up and make them part of my body using Munch Munch Shock, you'll witness a horrific human weapon!"
"You know we've dodged cannons before, right?" River questioned.
"This'll be a lot stronger than a few cannons. So are you three ready to die or what?"
...
"WAIT, WHERE'S MY KEY!?"
...
...
...
"THIS ISN'T OVER!"
Wapol then books it and runs away from the group.
"HEY! HE'S GETTING AWAY!"
And there goes Luffy chasing after him.
"Wait...so this is the key to the arsenal?" Nami questioned, pulling out a key that was in her pocket. "Well that's disappointing, I thought it would be the treasure room."
"Nami, my love!" Sanji called, crawling towards the two in the most creepy way ever...
Nami looked frightened for a second before realizing it was Sanji and crouching down to his level.
"Woah, Sanji, why are you crawling!? Are you okay!?"
"I'm perfectly fine now that I've seen you! I'd be even more fine if..."
River stomped on his head, immediately knowing what he was staring at.
"Can you be normal for once?" They asked sarcastically.
—————
"Great view from this thing, huh?" Zoro noticed.
"Yeah, but isn't it just the tiniest bit overcrowded?" Usopp added.
They were using a ropeway that one of the civilians told them about to get up to the castle quicker. They thought it was only going to be five of them, plus the two people cycling them up the ropeway..but a lot of other people also wanted to come with and support Dalton. Which is good...but it's also kinda wasting a lot of time and making it harder for the other two people to cycle up there.
"Dalton, relax please," Vivi begged, looking over to the man who was breathing heavily and having a hard time even standing up.
"To hell with status!" He shouts. "To hell with the king!"
"When did we talk about the king?" Koa questioned before he looked in shock at Dalton who started coughing out blood. "Shit, are you okay!?"
"I'm fine!"
"Please don't die." Vivi breathed.
"I won't. I can't! Not until I put an end to Wapol and what he's done to this country. I'll show them what happens to a country that doesn't have a heart." He states, reaching into his jacket and pulling out a long string of dynamite, shocking everybody. "Everyone listen. Once we arrive. Take cover. Because once I'm inside, there'll be explosions..."
"Look, there's something going on on top of the castle!" Someone shouts.
Everybody looked up to see something flying through the air and all the Strawhats immediately thought at the same time: 'Luffy caused this...'
"Everybody, wait here!" Usopp announced once the ropeway made it to the castle. "I'll brave whatever danger is up ahead and tell you all when it's-"
"I'm too cold for this..." Koa interrupts, walking past the sniper and going towards the castle.
"Just hurry up, Usopp." Zoro says, walking next to Koa.
"Hey! I'm going first!" Usopp argues, running after the two.
The three made it to the castle first. With Usopp cowering behind Koa and Zoro.
"What the hell are you doing!?" Zoro questioned, trying to pull Usopp away.
"I'm just watching your backs!"
"Hiding behind them is more like it! Now back off! Why would you even come if you're so scared!?"
"What!? Don't be ridiculous, I always laugh in the face of danger!"
Koa rolls their eyes before perking up at the sound of screaming coming towards them...he looks up and sees it's Luffy, diving straight for him with his arms out like he was going to fight.
"Shit, wait-" Luffy said, realizing who he was about to hit, but it was too late, he already crashed into all three of them and buried them all in the snow.
"What the hell was that for, ya moron!?" Zoro asked, angrily sitting up.
"I didn't recognize you at first." Luffy answered, pulling Usopp out of the snow while Koa immediately got out, complaining about how cold it was. "I thought you three were more of big mouth's guards coming to fight. I'm really surprised you guys came all the way up here. Well, not you two. But you, Usopp! Aren't you normally scared of stuff like climbing mountains?"
"Haha!" Usopp laughs. "I just have to start climbing when I see a towering peak in front of me! But I'll say...that was one of the hardest climbs..."
"Yeah...we didn't climb." Vivi said, walking towards the group. "We took the rope way...by the way, are the other three alright?"
Usopp tried lying his way out of the fact that they took the ropeway by trying to make it sound more interesting, but Koa just grabbed the man's shoulder and told him to stop.
"Yeah, they're all fine." Luffy reassured Vivi.
"So what were you doing on top of that castle?" Zoro asked.
"Beating the crap out of the king."
"Oh, damn. Nice."
"So the man we just saw flying was actually Wapol?" Dalton asked in disbelief.
"Yep."
"And his two henchmen? What happened to them?"
"Oh, the reindeer beat them up!"
"Reindeer?"
A reindeer!?" Koa shouted, suddenly interested in the conversation again.
"Yeah!" Luffy laughed at Koa's excitement. "He's my new friend!"
Koa heard something moving to the right of him and turned their head to see a small...human/reindeer hybrid hiding behind a tree (or at least trying to...)
"It is you..." Dalton realized. "Blue nose. You never gave up, did you? You still kept fighting. Believing in what the country could become." He gets on his knees and bows to the reindeer. "Now thanks to you, Drum Kingdom...it can finally be reborn."
The rest of the civilians that were on the cart ran to the others before staring in shock at the small reindeer. They whispered amongst themselves, trying to figure out what it was.
"AAAHHHHH, IT'S A YETI!!!!" Usopp screamed. "SOMEBODY SHOOT IT!"
"USOPP, WHAT THE HELL!?!?!?" Koa shouted.
"JERKFACE!" Luffy also shouts, punching Usopp on the head. "HE'S NOT A YETI, HE'S MY FRIEND I WAS TALKING ABOUT!!!"
"THAT THING'S YOUR FRIEND!?"
"YOU GUYS SCARED HIM SO BAD, HE RAN AWAY! I'll bring him back so you can meet him!"
Luffy then runs after the small reindeer that was screaming and crying the entire time.
"COME BACK, REINDEER, I WANNA INTRODUCE YOU TO MY FRIENDS!!! WILL YOU STOP RUNNING!?"
"NO!!!"
"BUT MY FRIENDS WANNA MEET YOU!!!"
"NO THEY WANNA SHOOT ME!!!"
"Damn, they run fast." Koa realized before looking over at Dalton who fell to his knees. Vivi and Usopp ran over to help him.
"Are you sure you're going to be okay, Dalton?" Vivi asked.
"Yes, I'm fine." The man replies. "Just feeling a little drained, that's all. I'll be fine after I've rested."
"Hey, you over there!" A woman called, walking towards the group.
"Dr. Kureha!" The civilians said.
"It's good to see you too. Now be useful and take the injured guy to the medical ward."
"Hey, I recognize her!" Zoro realized. "You're that damn old hag from before! I-"
He was interrupted by Dr. Kureha kicked him to the groups, leaving a bump on his head. Koa laughed at him as the doctor ordered the civilians to get a move on and help Dalton.
A few feet away, Nami, Sanji and River were hiding behind a stone wall.
"Nami, you really should stay and have your illness completely treated. Same with you, River." Sanji suggested.
"Be quiet...! If we all don't escape from here now we won't be able to set sail for two more days! You know how worried Vivi and Koa are!"
"Also...resting in a bed for so long is boring." River added.
"Quit all this rambling." A voice said from behind the wall. "AND GET BACK TO THE MEDICAL WARD!"
Doctorine/Dr. Kureha kicked through the stone wall, shocking the trio.
—————
"Is she killing Sanji?" Koa whispered to Vivi.
They were back in the medical ward and Doctorine was most likely fixing Sanji's back in another room, but the way he's screaming and crying, it sounds like she's just torturing him.
"Just as I expected, his injuries have gotten worse due to overexertion." Doctorine informed, opening a new bottle of alcohol and drinking some of it. "So...Dalton, surely you wouldn't know where the key to this castle's arsenal is?"
"The arsenal? Why would you need to open it?" Dalton asks.
"It's none of your business."
"Wapol always carried it with him. To keep it secured. So it most likely flew into the sky with him."
"Oh really? Well that's a shame."
"Doctorine." Nami called. "Think we can talk about your fee for treating your crew? Could you wave it? Oh, and can you discharge the entire crew as well?"
"Is that a joke? I think you should know better than that by now. For my medical fee, I will be taking all the cargo and money you have on that ship of yours. And you'll stay here and recover for two more days."
"She's right, Nami. You all need to get fully healed." Vivi agreed.
"I'm fine, I don't even feel like I'm going to die anymore!" Nami reassured.
"I was able to fight a couple of hours ago, so I'm fine as well." River shrugged.
"Those aren't actual reasons." Koa argued.
Nami laughs a bit and pulls out the key she stole from Wapol. "The key to the arsenal, right?"
"Wait, how did you end up with that key!?" Dalton asked.
"If that is the actual key, how did you even get it?" Doctorine questioned.
"Stole it."
"You've certainly got some guts trying to negotiate with me like this. You really are a frustrating girl."
Nami smiles as Doctorine takes the key.
"Fine, I won't charge you anything for my help, but that's all I can agree to. I can't let any of you go yet in good conscience."
"Wait, then we don't have a deal, give me the key back!" Nami demanded.
"You listen here, little girl! I need to go take care of other things. If you look in the back room, you might find a dresser with one of my coats in it, and it's not exactly like I'm posting any guards on you. Also the young man's backbone treatment is already complete. But don't you dare escape!"
Nami looked at her in confusion at her words as she ordered the men in the room to come with her for something.
"Wait..so basically she told us to grab a coat, grab Sanji and then leave?" Nami summarized.
"I guess..." Vivi muttered.
—————
Koa had picked up a conscious Sanji and threw him over his shoulder while the other three followed him out of the castle.
And the first sight they see is Chopper standing a few feet away from Luffy, looking towards the ground.
"Tony?" Nami realizes.
"Who?" Koa asked.
"Hey! You're gonna come on our ship and be a pirate with us, okay?!" Luffy said to Chopper.
"I can't." Chopper states.
"Hmm? Why not? It's really fun, you know."
"I don't think that's the point." Usopp sighed.
"I can't..." Chopper repeats before looking up at Luffy and shouting, "I'm not a human! I'm a reindeer! I have antlers and hooves, don't you see!? I even have a blue nose! Sure, I want to be a pirate, but I can't ever be one of you, I'm not human! I'm a monster! I can't be your friend and I can't become, I just can't! I'm just here to say...thank you...I appreciate you asking me to join your ship, that was really nice...so thank you! But I'm going to stay here for now...but if you wanted to...you can stop by here again-"
"SHUT UP! LET'S GO!" Luffy interrupts, raising his fist into the air.
"Most people don't make friends by telling someone to shut up..." Zoro grumbles.
Chopper looks at Luffy as all the tears in his eyes build before he starts sobbing violently and running towards the castle shouting, "I'M GOING TO GO TELL DOCTORINE!"
"So we're waiting for Chopper to come back?" Usopp asked, finally finishing the snowman he was making throughout the night.
"Yep. And once he does, we'll head down the mountain and go straight to Alabasta."
"Oh, so we're not saying goodbye to Dalton or the old doctor." Koa guessed.
"Yep!"
"Well then, Usopp, Luffy, help me with the ropeway."
"Sure."
"There's a ropeway!?"
River sighed and sat next to Vivi who was looking after the unconscious Sanji that Koa been dropped on the ground.
After a bit they heard screaming and loud clunking noises from inside the castle.
"What's going on?" Zoro asked. There's a lot of noise coming from inside the castle."
"Those thoughtless people. Not even letting Chopper and Doctorine have their final goodbyes." Nami huffs.
"Hey, I hear Chopper shouting." River perked up, looking behind them to see Chopper in his hybrid form, running towards them with a sleigh tied to his back. "He's also being chased..."
"Chased?" Zoro repeated, following the teenager's gaze to see Doctorine right behind the reindeer. "What the hell?"
"Hey, ropeway's ready!" Usopp announced as him, Luffy and Koa walked out of the entrance and looked at the scene in front of them in confusion.
"Everyone, get on the sleigh! We're going to head down the mountain, hurry!"
"WHAT!?"
The group jumped into the sleigh (with Zoro recklessly throwing Sanji in it) and Chopper started running down the ropeway.
Soon enough, they got to below the mountain and continued to go towards the docks where their boat was anchored.
"That was fun!" Luffy laughed. "Hey, Reindeer, can we do that again?"
"Shut up, Luffy!" Nami shouts.
"Hey...what the hell is happening?" Sanji said, slowly sitting up and rubbing his forehead. "And why do I have a headache?"
"Sanji!" Vivi exclaimed. "Are you okay?"
"The headache probably came from Zoro throwing you into the sled." River answered.
"Excuse me!?" Sanji shouts.
Chopper finally stops on a small hill and takes a moment to rest and calm down. Zoro and Vivi got out of the sled while the rest stayed inside it.
A bright flash came from above, causing everybody to look up and see the sky turn pink and the snow that was falling start to resemble cherry blossoms.
"Oh, cool." Luffy said.
"Yeah..."
"Wow..."
"Doctor..." Chopper sniffed. "Doctorine..."
...
...
...
"WWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!"
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