Battle in the Jungle! Save the Crew!

"Let's begin, shall we?" Robin asks, crossing her arms in front of her once again. Mr. 5 reacts immediately, quickly digging into both nostrils and aiming at both the woman in question and Run

"Nose Fancy Double Cannon!" exclaims Mr. 5, flicking his snot in both their directions. Two explosions sound in tandem, resulting in two large clouds of smoke that obscure them from view. "Now, Mr. 3! Hit red hair!" Mr. 3 makes his move quickly, producing more wax from his hand and flinging it in the direction of the hidden red head.

"Candle Lock!" calls Mr. 3, watching the wax disappear into the cloud of smoke. The clearing falls silent now for several long moments as they wait, watching the smoke slowly clear only to reveal both Robin and Run standing unharmed. Numerous arms have sprouted in front of Robin, producing a strange set of 'shields' in front of her, and all of them the same inky black color.

"Veinte Fluer: Hardened Calendula," announces Robin, lowering her arms and staring at them calmly. Run slowly shakes his right hand, a bit of smoke rising from his palm. The hardened wax lies in front of him, and he stands on uneven footing, missing one of his geta.

"Ugh," groans Run, raising his foot and shattering the hardened wax by stamping on it. "I can't believe I caught that friggen booger. I, ugh...anyone got anything to wipe your hands with? Robin, have you got a handkerchief by chance?"

"Sorry, I seem to be-"

"Ten Thousand Kilo Press!" shouts Miss Valentine, attracting almost everyone's attention skyward. Run steps forward, slipping on his geta with ease as Miss Valentine strikes the ground behind him. In an instant she drifts skyward again while the red head walks in the direction of the others. "Damn you! I won't forgive you for peeking up my dress!" Robin arches a single ebony brow in response to her words and the red head quickly raises his hands up as if surrendering.

"H-Hold on, hear me out now," Run begins. "I swear it wasn't like she's making it sound, Robin. Alright, she floated up, all I did was look up to see-"

"Explain later!" Nami screams at the red head. "Save us now!"

"I won't let you make a fool out of me again!" Miss Valentine shouts from above. "I'm going to-"

"Dos Fluer!" announces Robin, arms sprouting from Miss Valentines shoulders and tightly grasping her umbrella. "Grab!" In an instant she shuts Miss Valentines umbrella, causing her to float off and begin dropping towards the forest. Mr. 5 and Mr. 3 immediately turn towards Robin only to turn back when they begin to hear rapidly approaching footsteps. Run appears before the men, and quickly leaps up using their respective heads to leap towards massive wax structure he's created.

"Aah, 'scuse me, fellas!" Run says, sailing in the direction of his crew mates. "Sea King's Bite!" His fist strikes the pillar supporting the large spinning top. "Ohh! Comin' in hot!" He tumbles down one layer, bounces off the second and finally strikes the ground in a shower of shatter wax. "It got in my mouth!"

"What the hell were you thinking?!" complains Nami. "You could have crushed us with that thing! Can't you be more careful?!"

"Yeah, yeah." Run stands, brushing himself off as he walks around the structure to finally stand beside Robin. "I'll try to remember that next time."

"U...Unnh, I...I can't move," mutters Vivi. "What's...happened?"

"You fools! With the candles closer you've actually sped up your hardening!" laughs Mr. 3.

"What the hell is happening?" asks Run.

"He's trying to turn us into wax figures!" Nami shouts back. "What the hell does it look like?! Just hurry up and destroy this thing already, Run!"

"Think I'll let you?!" screams Mr. 3. "Wax-Wax Arts! Harpoon!" He launches the waxy projectile at the two and both immediately dodge, avoiding it as Mr. 5 begins to quickly dig into his nose once again. Unfortunately for the man he's barely even finished his disgusting task and stretched his arm out in their direction before numerous arms sprout from his body.

"Seis Fluer!" shouts Robin, catching Mr. 5 off guard. "Iron Slap!" Her arms strike him several times across the face instantly, shattering his sunglasses and resulting in his arm moving off course right as he flicks his snot. The booger sails in Mr. 3's direction, striking the off guard man right in the back and producing a massive cloud of smoke as Mr. 5 pitches backwards, and strikes the ground where he lies motionless. "Run, you focus on the wax sculpture. I can take care of the rest of them."

"They're all yours then," Run tells her with a grin. "Try not to be too hard on them." He turns in the direction of the rest of the crew and comes to an immediate halt when he nearly tramples a little girl sitting on a blanket with legs folded under her. It seems that she's decided now of all times is the perfect time for a cup of tea. "Whoa! Hey, ya snuck up on me, kiddo." She stares up at the red head, forced to crane her neck up to meet his gaze past her wide brimmed hat. "Listen, I draw a hard line at fighting children, so I don't suppose I could ask you to just step aside, could I?" He flashes her the most charming smile he can manage, and she responds by actually holding out a tea cup in his direction. "Aah, sure, thank you."

"Run!" bellows Nami, glaring daggers at the man as he takes the tea cup. "Are you an idiot?! Don't drink things that the enemy gives you! Wait, thats not the point! Stop screwing around and come help us, damn it! We're gonna die at this rate!" The red head ignores her for the moment, lifting the cup and drinking it's contents in a single go.

"Thank you, that hit the spot. Please excuse me." The red head carefully walks around the blanket spread out on the ground in the direction of Mr. 3's wax structure. Hearing a soft shift behind him Run stops while the rest of them watch her stand. "Don't." Miss Golden Week freezes immediately, his word hanging in the air like a blade over her head. "Whatever it is you're planning...don't. Just sit and enjoy your tea." The smoke surrounding Mr. 3 slowly clears, revealing a large wax wall between himself and the now prone Mr. 5.

"Now, Miss Golden Week!" Mr. 3 calls, staring at the motionless girl. When she doesn't respond his brow furrows. "Miss Golden Week?" The girl slowly sits back down, folding her legs under her and picking up her tea cup once again. "You...! Alright, fine! I'll settle this myself!" In an instant he forms a giant wax shell around himself, forming it quickly into gigantic suit of armor. "My form now is as hard as iron and wraps around me like velvet...it has no flaws!" Run moves forward without acknowledging the man.

"My, it certainly looks tough," agrees Robin, crossing her arms in front of her once again. "But I wonder just how tough? Seis Fluer!" Numerous arms rapidly sprout from the ground, stacking on top of one another as they rapidly stretch in his direction. "Iron Drive!" Her fist strikes Mr. 3 firmly in the chest of his wax armor, sending him sliding backwards immediately as several large cracks appear on the surface of the wax, the center falling away to reveal his torso. Run rushes the structure and leaps straight up towards the top of the rapidly spinning structure.

"Alright!" shouts Run, grinning from ear to ear. "Get ready 'cause here I come!" He drops straight down quickly, angling towards the center. "Sea King's Dive!" His foot makes contact with the surface with a resounding boom followed immediately by large chunks of wax scattering in all directions as the structure comes crashing down.

"No! My work of art!" screams Mr. 3. "You've destroyed my precious art! I won't forgive this! I won't forgive any of you!" A pair of arms suddenly encircle Robin and she glances over her shoulder quickly to find Mr. 5 standing there with a scowl. "Ah! Good job, Mr. 5!"

"You've really pissed me off now!" growls Mr. 5. "I'm gonna kill you with my Full Body Exploding! Not even a single bone fragment is gonna be left!"

"I don't think so," Robin tells him as his head his wrenched back by his chin.

"Oni Giri!" exclaims Zoro as he barrels out of the remains of the wax, cutting down Mr. 5 in an instant. The man drops to the earth, lying motionless while Zoro slowly sheathes his swords, and then turns to face Run, who tosses aside several large chunks of wax and steps out of the rubble. "Took you long enough, Red." He brushes himself off with a lop sided grin on his face.

"Aah, stand there and complain," Run says. "I got you out, didn't I? What's the big-" A shadow falls over the red head and he looks up quickly, just in time to see Miss Valentine falling right in his direction with a single leg outstretched.

"I'm gonna kill you, red hair!" screams Miss Valentine. "Ten Thousand Kilogram Guillotine!"

"Gum-Gum...Pistol!" bellows a familiar voice, a fist stretching out and striking the woman hard enough that it knocks her completely off course. Luffy, Usopp and Karoo come sprinting directly into the clearing seconds later, panting as if they've just finished a marathon. "Alright! Let's...fight?" Luffy scans the area looking more than a little let down to find that almost all of the enemies have been defeated. In fact, only Mr. 3 and Miss Golden Week are left standing at the far end of the clearing. "You! You're with these other guys, aren't you?! Then let's-" The pair don't even wait for Luffy to finish his sentence before making a break for it, disappearing rapidly into the jungle surrounding them. "Oi! Get back here...!"

----

Everything seemed to be heading for one big, giant happy ending...no pun intended. Luffy went off chasing Mr. 3 and Miss Golden Week, and returned when he'd done so. Around the time he'd returned the giant, Dorry, seemed to come to in the middle of Broggy's crying. It shouldn't have been as big as surprise which they examined what happened. The man had slipped, Broggy had landed a shallow blow and the weapon itself was as dull as butter knife. So, after patching up his friend, they all gathered around to celebrate...with a small pack of rice-crackers.

"Aah, it's been a while since I've seen you use Haki," Run murmurs, leaning back against a small log they've dragged into the clearing. "Looks like it's gotten a lot stronger. No wonder you're not scared Crocodile." Robin giggles softly, leaning against the red head.

"I think you're giving me too much praise," Robin tells him. "I've been practicing when I have time but...compared to you, I must admit I'm a bit lacking in talent."

"Hardly. Don't forget I started my training quite a bit earlier, Robin. You started later and picked it up quicker."

"Mm, don't sell yourself short, Run. Even Shanks acknowledged your talent..." She softly clears her throat, and surprises him by actually doing her best to imitate his father's voice. "...'Stop thinking so hard, kiddo, you're a natural at this'."

"That was a pretty good impression." Robin suddenly jolts and looks down towards her hip, attracting Run's attention as well. "What's wrong?"

"I think a bug bit me. It stings a bit but that's all."

"Aaah! Nami! Vivi! Robin!" calls a familiar voice as none other than Sanji comes wandering out of the jungle. "I'm so glad to see you all! And there you other bums are, too!" This immediately earns glares from Zoro, Usopp and even Karoo.

"It's about time, cook," complains Zoro. The man takes a seat on one of the logs, and explains to them that he had managed to locate Mr. 3's hideout...apparently it wasn't all that well hidden. He tells them that had just had a talk with none other than Mr. 0, and that he had informed the man that all of them had been killed, and that they are no longer being hunted now. "Jeez, is that why you dodged all the work? You went all the way out there just to have a conversation?"

"No, smartass!" Sanji tells him, holding out a small hour-glass like object. "I also found THIS!"

"An Eternal Pose Alabasta!" exclaim everyone in unison. The man blinks in confusion while everyone else celebrates.

"Now that we have this, let's get going!" Luffy tells them. "On to Alabasta!"

"Oi, you two," Sanji says, earning the attention of Zoro and Run. "I hope the two of you having forgotten about our hunting contest."

"I keep telling you I'm not involved in the contest!" Run insists. "What do I have to say to...aah! Now that I think about it, there IS something that the two of you can do to help!" The red head turns to face the giants with a massive grin on his face. "Alright, fellas, here's the thing..."

----

"Mine's bigger!"

"And I'm telling you mine is bigger!"

The two haven't stopped their arguing since returning to the Going Merry, and they show no signs of slowing down now. Run, on the other hand, seems to be on cloud nine as he inspects a pelt big enough that it touches the ground from the railing he's got it draped over.

"I knew this was a good decision," Run says, arms crossed and grinning as he inspects the fur.

"You really wanted that trophy, huh?" Robin says.

"You bet! It may not be the one I killed but you should never look a gift horse in the mouth, as they say!" Zoro and Sanji continue their arguing in the background, only coming to an end when Nami tells them that it doesn't really matter because they'll never be able to take all the meat from their catch. She succeeds in scaring them into getting back onto the ship, weighing anchor and setting the sail. They sail down the river, out towards the open ocean. At the mouth of the river, they see both giants, Dorry and Broggy waiting for them.

"There's one more thing standing in your way," Broggy tells them. "No matter what happens, just keep sailing straight ahead." No sooner have they finished telling them this then the sea begins to swell in front of them. The waves part to reveal a gigantic gold fish easily the size of any island.

"Look at the size of that goldfish!" exclaims Luffy, grinning from ear to ear.

"We need to turn!" Nami tells Luffy, receiving a firm shake of the head in response. "There's no way this is going to be ok! Luffy-"

"Sail straight ahead!" shout Usopp and Luffy in unison, even as it's mouth opens and they begin to sail in.

"Aah, well...whatever happens happens," mumbles Run, reclining against the railing of the ship with a smile. The jaws of the fish slam shut behind them as they sail on down it's throat. They haven't been inside for more than twenty seconds when suddenly a hole is blown in the fish's gut, sending them flying out and away from the island.

"Yeeeeaaaah! On to Alabasta...!"