To Stand On Your Own Feet...

Chapter 6 - To Stand On Your Own Feet...

The image faded and they were left alone in the darkness once again—but they had all fallen silent as they thought over everything they had seen here. Family… what a strange word that was for all of them. They all knew what it was like to have their own family… though of course they weren't actually related…

They all knew what it was like to have family… and each one of them was lost in their own heads at the thought of the families they left behind—wondering just how each one of them was doing right now.

But before they could dwell too much on their loved ones, they were suddenly back, and it looked as if they were standing in some dark alley of Edge Town. Sabo was up against the wall, with a gang of thugs cornering him, all of them were smirking as they advanced on him slowly.

"This doesn't look so good!" Usopp said worriedly. "What's going on? Why's he taking them on alone?"

"Don't worry," Franky said, smiling. "These guys are pathetic! Our boys can take them down easy."

"What boys?" Brook asked, looking around, "I only see one."

"Sabo," the mugger up front said with a rather evil grin, "Who gave you permission to enter our territory?"

"His… territory?" Nami repeated, not understanding.

"In the rough parts of any town, there are always those who claim parts of it as theirs," Franky answered, having years of experience of guarding his own home turf from pirates. "And they attack anyone stupid enough to enter it."

Just then, Robin noticed something moving above them. When she looked up, she spotted two small figures looking down at the scene, and she couldn't stop the smirk.

Sabo suddenly smirked, as if he was the one in charge here. "Your territory?" he repeated with that grin. "You guys are so full of it! Talk is cheap! Hurry up and bring it on if you don't want to be beaten."

The man in front sneered. "Fine!" he said, "You asked for it!"

They all ran towards him, one man declaring, "But we ain't going easy on ya because you're a kid!"

"Which is why he didn't come alone," Robin smiled as she looked up above her to see two figures there. Ace jumped from the rooftop of the building above them, holding onto Luffy's foot, who was clinging to the edge so that his leg stretched out for Ace to swing down with the metal staff.

"Not bad," Zoro said, watching as one of the thug's heads collided with Ace's staff and fell to the ground with a loud 'thud'.

"That kid!" one of them yelled in a stunned voice before he held up a knife.

"They should pay attention," Sanji commented with a shake of his head at Sabo, who was now grinning and held up his staff. "This is what happens when you get cocky."

"Pay attention!" Sabo called with a grin and taking him out with the pipe. At the same time, Ace let go of Luffy's leg so that when it shot back like the rubber band and the little guy was thrown off the roof.

"He had so much trouble with his powers didn't he?" Brook asked as he watched Luffy falling back down towards the fight. "Yohoho… it's good to know that he can control it now."

Luffy then fell to the ground, luckily having his fall broken when he landed on one of thugs before he jumped up and charged in to fight with his brothers.

"YEAH!" Chopper called out watching them fight as Franky and Usopp cheered on. Zoro was watching with interest. He had always known that Luffy's fighting style was completely improvised; it followed no particular code of honor, and so if necessary, he will fight dirty. For someone with no formal training, he had always wondered where he learned to fight… now he knew.

It was really quite entertaining watching the brothers fight—the funniest moment was when one guy tried to punch Luffy, only to dent in his face. Ace and Sabo both were able to round them all up and left them as bleeding lumps on the ground until their faces looked like have half eaten velvet cake slices. Just then, they heard a whistle being blown from somewhere, along with shouting and people running towards them.

Ace looked up, halfway through beating up one of the thugs. "Here comes the sheriff," he said to himself as he dropped the man and called to his brothers, "Let's get out of here!"

Luffy stumbled around, still trying to get his face back to normal so that he could see, while the other two already climbed up wall—Ace sat up on top and called, "Luffy! Hurry up! This way!"

Luffy turned around in the direction of Ace's voice and shot his arm out randomly; Ace pulled him up onto the wall, just as his face popped back to normal.

"It's back!" Luffy cried out happily and soon they bolted the street just as the sheriff and his men showed up. The Straw Hats all laughed as they went running after them, wondering just what was going to happen next… they didn't stop running until they were far away from the walls and back near the forest. As they all caught their breath, the boys were standing up on a hill that overlooked the city in the distance.

"It's getting late!" Sanji said, pointing to the sun that was covering everything in colors of orange, gold, and red. He put a hand on his stomach and suggested, "Let's get deer for dinner!"

"Yeah!" Luffy yelled out excitedly. "I love venison! Let's go hunting!" and then he went running off with the other two right behind him, yelling at him to wait.

"What?" Chopper cried out in panic. "He really does like venison?"

"Don't worry, Chopper," Robin smiled, patting his shoulder. "This all happened a long time ago, remember? They wouldn't eat you… though they might've gone after some of your relatives…"

"Robin," Nami scolded softly, wondering just why she loved this morbid thinking of hers.

"He did try to eat me when we first met," Chopper whispered, turning a little blue in the face before glancing nervously at Sanji. "And so did you!"

Sanji laughed as he held his hands up as everything around them went dark to go to the next memory. "Now, now… we didn't know that you were so cool at the time."

At that, Chopper blushed and said as he danced around, "You're just trying to get on my good side, it won't work! Praising me won't make me forgive you, you jerk!"

Next thing they knew was that they were standing back in the bandit's hut with a giant plate full of meat, right off the bone.

"Oh, this is gonna be good," Zoro said looking at the hungry looks on everyone's faces and leaned back to watch. And like he said, it was sheer chaos as the boys and bandits all fought tooth and nail over the food. It was like watching a bunch of wild animals fighting over the newest kill. The three brothers were there, and showed no mercy as they launched themselves onto it—they didn't care who they sent flying as they ate as much as they could. Dadan just sat in the back of the room as they fought, drinking sake before the food that came flying over to hit her in the head.

Finally, she had enough, screaming out and grabbed the boys before she threw them into the bathhouse. "And don't come out until you count to ten thousand!" she yelled at them, slamming the door behind her as she spun around to look at the main room. It was a complete mess and all the bandits were laying there bruised and beaten while there were sounds of fighting and laughter coming from the bathhouse.

"I can't help but feel bad for them…" Nami laughed. "Having to deal with all three of them? It's a wonder that they didn't throw them out long before now… their sanity could be at stake!"

"I think it's sweet," Robin smiled.

"Honestly!" Dadan said angrily, looking at the mess. "Why is it that we have to do a major housecleaning after every meal? I'm going to kick those brats out at any cost."

"Looks like she's at her wits end," Usopp said as they watched them get brooms and mops out.

"Maybe if they thought to learn some manners, then they might not be making such a mess," Sanji suggested as they watched them clean. After an hour of it, the room was spotless and they were all looking at it with satisfied expressions…

"Enjoy it while you can," Brook laughed knowingly, for no sooner did they finish up did…

"Luffy! You bastard!" Ace's voice yelled and the three boys, dripping wet with towels came running in, leaving water everywhere.

"Aren't they cute?" Nami said, watching them run around, leaving wet footprints all over.

Robin smiled. "It is sweet isn't it?"

"B-Boss?" Dogra whispered Dadan, as the boys kept playing.

Dadan's face held no emotion, she just held that same forced smile on her face, but her hands were shaking so badly that she ended up snapping the broom in half.

"Oh, that's not good," Franky said warily.

"It's just water…" Usopp offered at once, noticing the twisted gleam in her eyes as she looked at the boys. "It's not like its mud or anything…"

"I think that she's at her limits…" Zoro said with a yawn. "There's only so much you can take from someone before you snap."

"Yeah, and it doesn't look like it will take much more to drive her over the deep end," Sanji said as they watched them get to bed. The bandits were all out cold by the time that they found their blankets, but the three boys, who they followed to the loft where they had made their bedroom, were still up and looked ready for action. They all stood apart from each other, their fists held in front of them—looking ready for another fight.

"Don't they know when to call it a day?" Nami asked with a sigh.

"Last training session for today!" Ace confirmed to them both.

"And I'll win!" Luffy declared holding his fists in the air.

"You never learn," Sabo laughed at him.

"Nope, he doesn't," they all said.

"I don't think anything less than a beating can get him to learn his lesson," Nami sighed, "And even then, that rarely works."

"Here we go!" Ace yelled, jumping forward like a jungle cat and soon it was an all-out brawl which only ended when Luffy was smacked right through the floor—which resulted in a loud scream of pain from Dadan's voice.

"Ouch…" Usopp hissed, when he looked down to see what happened. "EHHHHH! He landed right on Dadan! That had to hurt!"

"For who?" Sanji asked, looking down the hole with Ace and Sabo. "Him or Dadan?"

"Luffy?" Ace yelled through the hole. "Are you alive down there?"

"What a crappy floor," Sabo commented.

"I agree with you," Franky nodded, shaking his head at the hole. "Whoever built this house didn't do such a SUPER job with the floors."

"You bastards!" Luffy yelled up at Ace and Sabo, completely unharmed.

"HEY!" Dadan screamed, at all three of them.

"Should we go to sleep?" Ace asked Sabo quickly.

"Yeah…" Sabo agreed, and just like that, after Luffy jumped right back up to them, all three collapsed on top of each other like a great big nest. Nami and Robin both laughed at how sweet that was as the memory shifted again.

"Poor Dadan," Usopp said shaking his head. "You really have to hand it to her for putting up with all this."

The next memory appeared, and they saw that it was bright and sunny outside through the cracks in the room, but all three boys were still there fast asleep until Dogra came in and woke them up, telling Luffy that there were some people here to see him.

"Oh, please don't let it be Garp," Usopp begged as Luffy who came to the door, rubbing his eyes sleepily. But when he saw who it was, he was awake at once and let out an excited cry as he ran out. When the Straw Hats stuck their heads out to see who was waiting for Luffy outside, Chopper let out an thrilled cry as they all smiled—or in Sanji's case, started to drool as heart replaced his eyes.

For standing there were Makino and the Mayor.

"Makino!" Luffy cried, running forward to hug her.

Makino laughed as she hugged him tightly in return. "Luffy!"

"She came to see him," Chopper said happily as Makino returned the hug. "I'm glad I got to see her again."

"Yohoho, she is a truly lovely lady," Brook said earnestly, "Such a kind woman is so rare these days!"

"Oh, my dear, Makino!" Sanji said, skipping over to her, and kneeling down in front of her. "Though we are separated through time… I feel as if we are meant to be together. Wait for me my dear… wait for me!"

Nami rolled her eyes. "Ok, ignoring Lover boy over there. But it was kind of her to visit… and the Mayor too! I'm sure that it meant a lot to Luffy."

"You look great!" the Mayor smiling, "It's been six months so we came to see how you were doing."

"Yohohoho, time sure flies when you're watching memories," Brook laughed.

Luffy grinned at the older man. "Hey, Mayor!" he cried happily.

"But don't tell Garp-san," Makino said with a wink, putting a finger to her lips, silently telling him to be quiet about this. Luffy merely beamed up at her as he continued to hug her.

"Oh, he's lucky…" Sanji sighed, wishing that he could hug her too.

"So you're really living with bandits," the mayor observed, looking at Dadan with suspicion.

"Of course he would disapprove," Zoro said, having gotten that feeling from him when he first saw him.

"Well, a normal person would never think to leave their grandkids with bandits," Nami pointed out.

"You got a problem?" Dadan growled at him, having come out of nowhere—dark bands under her eyes showed that she hadn't slept right last night.

"Yes! A big one!" he snapped back, clearly unafraid of her. "You're a bandit, don't give me attitude!"

"What'd you say?!" she yelled, now angry. "Are all people from Fushia Village annoying?"

"I'm starting to think that," Zoro commented, "But you gotta hand it to them. These two are tough coming here on their own…"

While the Mayor and Dadan continued to argue, Makino clapped her hands together with a wide smile, as she talked with Luffy. "I have some presents for you!" she said, kneeling down to reach into a basket that she brought with her. "I assume Garp-san wouldn't think about these things…" she then pulled out a yellow t-shirt with a purple star on it and held it up, "Ta-da! New clothes!"

"Wow, great!" Luffy exclaimed, with stars in his eyes as he hugged her tightly.

"Makino-san is so kind!" Brook sighed wistfully, tears in his eye sockets. "I can't wait to meet her in person… I'll ask if I can see her…"

Robin suddenly caused a hand to grow out of his back and cover his mouth. "I really wouldn't finish that if I were you," she told him in a friendly warning.

"Seriously though, I never thought he would be happy to see clothes," Nami said, watching Luffy pull off his old tank top and pull the shirt on eagerly. "Though it's true… I doubt that Garp would be bothered to think that kids need new clothes too…"

"It's the thought that counts," Usopp said as Sanji fell to his knees, now wishing that he could have something from Makino as well. "I mean, after having the same kind of clothes for months, you would want to change."

Makino giggled happily. "I'm glad you like them! I just need to adjust the length so… I'll need you guys too," she said looking past Luffy at the house where Ace and Sabo were standing in the doorway, clearly hiding, watching almost jealously.

"And she even has some for them," Chopper said joyfully, stars in his own eyes as he looked at her. The two boys looked startled as if they couldn't believe that she would think about them, especially since they never met her before. "She's so nice! I really, really want to meet her someday!"

"Okay?" Makino asked with that same smile. Sabo hesitated, but soon he came running out to meet her with a big smile as Ace still stood there, tense as ever.

"You too," Makino encouragingly as Luffy admired his new clothes and Sabo was pulling off his dirty blue coat.

Reluctantly, Ace walked over to them, hands tucked into his pockets and a little red in the face as she adjusted the sizes. As Luffy and Sabo were finished, she had Ace stand there as she held up the shirt to make sure she got the length right.

"I heard that Ace-kun was mischievous," she said, smiling at him brightly. "But you seem like a good boy."

Ace turned a bright red and looked away. "N-no, I'm not…"

"Awwww!" Nami laughed. "There's a first! He's blushing!"

"How could he not with such a kind gift from a beautiful lady?" Brook asked enviously as Sabo and Luffy laughed at Ace.

"It's hard not to like her," Robin smiled as Chopper giggled at the red on Ace's cheeks.

"He's so shy!" Sabo whispered to Luffy.

Luffy then called, "You're blushing, Ace!"

"He's going to make them pay for that later," Zoro said knowingly.

"You jerks!" Ace yelled, holding a fist up.

"Oh hey," Makino said hurriedly, "You can't move!"

Ace stood still, but he warned them clearly, "I'll get you guys later."

The two just laughed—it was so sweet that the rest of the Straw Hats couldn't help but laugh along with them. They watched the following memories of the boys spending the day with Makino and the mayor. They talked about what life was like living with the bandits and how they roamed and hunted in the forest all day. Makino merely smiled at them as the Mayor shook his head incredulously—as if unable to believe that anyone could leave a bunch of kids to run wild like this. When the sun began going down, Makino headed back to the hut and made dinner for everyone.

"I hope you like it!" she said, with a beautiful set out that made some members of the crew drool over it in longing.

"I'm so hungry," Usopp whispered, almost crying as he looked at the food, his fingers twitching slightly as he reached out, "It's like I can almost reach out and touch it…"

Chopper reached over to try and grab a plate, only for his hoof to go through it and almost ended up crying as Brook said, "I'm so hungry, I fear I'll be nothing but bones! Ah! Though I'm already nothing but bones! Yohohoho!"

"She's beautiful and can cook," Sanji cried out, hearts in his eyes at Makino. "Oh, she and I are just the perfect match for each other!"

"Would you shut up about that?" Nami snapped at him in annoyance.

"I wish I could eat some of that," Usopp said with his mouth watering, his mind still on the food. "How long are we going to watch them eat?"

"I'm more surprised that no one's been killed yet over dinner," Zoro said, surprised at how much calmer and well-mannered the bandits were here.

"Well, I guess that they want to behave for Makino and the Mayor until they leave… after all, she did make that food for them," Franky laughed before he noticed that something felt wrong. He looked up to see that there was a large shadow right behind Luffy and Ace.

"Meals should be good on the ship," Sabo said as he inhaled the food. "I'm gonna get the best cook first thing when I go out to sea!"

"I'm gonna become a pirate before you do so just forget it," Ace informed him.

"NO!" Luffy exclaimed, standing up proudly. "I'm going to become a pirate first!"

Just then the rest of the Straw Hats noticed the figure as well and slowly paled when they realized what—or rather who—it was.

"Is that?" Chopper whispered in a squeaky voice, obviously terrified at what was obviously about to happen.

"Ah huh," Nami whispered back, feeling a slight sweat on her forehead, this couldn't end well.

When the bandits finally spotted dark shadow of the man behind them, they spit out their drink and backed away as far as they could go.

Luffy and Ace blinked, clearly not understanding why they looked so scared.

"What's he doing here?" Zoro asked as Garp cleared his throat so that Ace and Luffy looked a little sick before they slowly turned around to see Garp's terrifying face tower above them.

"OH, CRAP!" Usopp panicked, his hands gripping his hat. "IT'S GARP!"

"This can't be good," Sanji said, looking a little blue in the face.

"You're still spouting crap like that?!" Garp growled, and the boys both spit out their drinks as they moved back as fast as they could before Garp yelled out, "Can't you both understand that you must become Navy soldiers?!"

And then he punched both boys until they fell back onto the floor with large bumps on their heads.

"What did he expect to happen anyway?" Nami asked deadpanned. "He left them with bandits after all? And I don't think that hitting them is the best motivation."

"I guess even someone as strong as Ace is scared of something," Franky whispered, staring at Garp in horror.

"Can you blame him?" Zoro asked, as Garp towered over everyone else. "This guy really is a monster."

"Dadan?!" Garp yelled.

"Yes, Garp-san!" she asked, only to be hit as well and fell back like they did.

"You're not educating the brats well," he yelled at her.

"It's taking all her energy just to stay sane with them," Sanji said angrily. Now he wasn't fond of Dadan, but he couldn't stand by to watch anyone abuse a woman like this.

Makino was behind them, her hands over her mouth as Sabo sat there, staring terrified up at Garp. "He's Garp?" he asked himself in a croak. "He's Luffy's and Ace's grandfather?"

"I think that's the common reaction," Franky nodded with a gulp.

"Squirt," Garp said turning his attention to Sabo, "you mentioned something about going out to sea too…?"

"If he wants to live, I suggest that he kept his mouth shut," Usopp whispered as Chopper hid behind Zoro again.

"He's scary!" the reindeer whispered.

"He's not a squirt!" Luffy exclaimed, defending Sabo at once—but they all knew at once that this wasn't good for the boy in question. Standing in front of Sabo, Luffy explained that he was their brother and they all promised that they would become pirates someday.

The crew shook their heads in sympathy for Sabo.

"The poor guy," Zoro sighed. "Now, Garp is going to 'train' him as well."

"He has such a big mouth," Ace grumbled from the floor as he rubbed his sore head.

"One of his biggest problems," Nami agreed with a nod.

"Oh?" Garp said, cracking his knuckles, "That means there are three brats who want me to give them a workout!"

The trio of brothers blinked and started sweating as Garp gained a sadistic grin. Seeing him raise his fist was enough for them all to start screaming and make a break for it.

"I can't say that I blame them," Usopp yelled over the screams. "I wouldn't be ashamed if I ran!"

And that was when they saw Garp turn his idea of 'training' onto the boys. The Straw Hats were standing far back, all of them looking sick and wincing as they watched them have their faces turned to mush and slammed through rocks and trees.

"Forget everything I said about those two being monsters!" Usopp cried out as the shockwave of one of Garp's punches knocked over a tree and then grabbing Sabo so that he could spin him around like a top in his hands. "Garp's the biggest monster of them all!"

"L-Luffy's grandpa is s-scary," Chopper cried again, still hiding.

"Scary nothing," Sanji said, looking a little green as he watched Garp dust off his hands and headed back to the house, just leaving all three boys bleeding and broken on the ground. "He's a freaking lunatic!"

"That's it for today!" Garp yelled to them, a hand raised in farewell. "I'll be harsher tomorrow. You can't drop dead yet!"

"They'll be killed if this goes on any longer!" Chopper cried out in panic. As all three boys dragged themselves back to their feet and went stumbling back to the house so that they could bandage up their wounds.

They went back to their loft as Sabo pulled out bandages and wrapped them up.

"I'm starting to get used to seeing them all wrapped up like that," Usopp said as Ace cautiously opened the door to peek out to see Garp was punched out drunk with all the other bandits.

"I take it back," Nami whispered with a gulp. "I rather live with bandits than with Garp."

"If nothing is done, that old man will kill us tomorrow," Ace hissed to the other two.

Sabo nodded, looking scared and pale at the thought. He whispered back, "Even if we survive, he'll keep at it until we give up our dream."

"I don't want to die!" Luffy exclaimed in panic.

"Well then…" Ace said, turning a mischievous grin to them both. "It's time to make up our minds, brothers!"

"Mm? What is Ace-san planning?" Brook asked, head tilted to the side curiously.

"He's suggesting that they leave, what else?" Sanji asked.

"Really, that is their only choice if they want to live," Zoro added as the memory changed again so now they were standing up on a small hill during an early morning. If becoming pirates was really an ungrantable wish in Garp's eyes… they were all challenging him.

"Where are they now?" Chopper asked, looking around for the familiar faces.

"There!" Usopp said, spotting the three boys running as fast as they could up the hill.

"We got away successfully!" Luffy called happily, turning and jumping for joy.

"They're not coming after us?" Sabo asked anxiously, "Dadan and the others?"

"Wouldn't they be happy that their troubles are gone with them?" Franky asked.

"I'm not so sure, Yohohoho," Brook said, turning his head back in the direction that the boys came from. "They've been there for a long time… people tend to grow on you after awhile. Even if they drive you crazy."

"Well, Dadan sure seemed willing to throw them out before," Chopper pointed out.

Robin just stood there smiling. "I'm sure we'll find out sooner or later."

Ace turned back to look down the pathway before a smirk came over his face. "I can tell that she's happy now that her troubles have gone away."

But just like that, it started to rain and they bolted for the nearest bit of shelter that they could find, which happened to be under the roots of a large and thick tree.

"Let's lay low here until the rain stops," Sabo said as they watched the rain.

Luffy was giggling to himself. "This is exciting!"

"Of course he would find this all fun for him," Nami smiled.

"Yohoho! Luffy-san knows how to enjoy life!" Brook said happily as the boys soon began to doze off and the pouring rain slowly turned to a light drizzle. As they slept, Nami looked up at the sky, wondering just what they were going to do.

"We're so occupied watching all this, we haven't even thought of how to get out of here," she said suddenly. They all looked up her, and some of them were looking ashamed at the thought.

"There has to be some way to stop watching all this," Usopp said half-heartedly. "After all, I wouldn't be happy if you guys were watching my memories… I mean…" he added, "Not that I don't trust you guys but…"

"The past is the past," Robin nodded, pulling out her book from her bag again as she looked at the cover again grimly. "We should just leave it like that. But there's nothing written in here about memories except that Luffy must've agreed to share them…"

"But they don't seem that bad," Franky said, watching the three all curled up with each other, "They're SUPER sweet!"

"But that's the problem," she said frowning. "While I agree that these memories are all special and happy, they are for now. We don't know everything that happened in Luffy's past. But Luffy does know… and especially after what happened to Ace two years ago… these might be hard for him to see… if he's seeing them too."

They all froze as they remembered that Ace was killed during the Whitebeard War.

"You don't think…?" Usopp asked with a gulp, "We'll see that do you?"

"If we keep watching and his memories keep going on about his life, then I'm sure that, sooner or later, we could end up seeing it," Robin answered sadly.

"If that's the case," Nami said, turning pale. "We really need to find a way out of here before that happens! I don't want to see that!"

"If Luffy could manage to bear all this on his own, then we can handle it all," Zoro said softly. "But I agree, it's best that we start thinking of a way out of here before we see something that we're gonna regret."

"I already regret it," Chopper said with a sniffle. "I still remember hearing about what happened to Ace. I didn't know anything about a war until I read the paper! I can't tell you all how bad I felt! Even now, just thinking about how hard it must've been for Luffy… it feels like my heart was being torn apart!"

"I think we all feel the same," Sanji sighed, he remembered with shame about how he was brainwashed by those stupid Okama's and how it was only after reading about the War of the Best did he snap out of it. "It was the same for me… I was trapped in hell and it was only when I read what was in the paper did it put everything into perspective for me."

"I felt so terrible," Nami confessed miserably. She was so scared imagining just how much pain Luffy must've been in—just how hard he must've been taking it all. Ever since she left Cocoyashi, he was always there. She never really thought of it before, but without her noticing it, Luffy served as a kind of emotional pillar for her. He was always there when she needed him to be… and even when she didn't. She never really thought about how she, how they all, depended on him. It was selfish, but it had been so hard for her to know that he must've been in so much pain.

"The one time that he needed us to be there, we weren't," Usopp said, sitting down on the ground, watching the boys all continue to sleep. "We were all safe and sound while he stormed Impel Down, and then went straight off to Marineford only to watch Ace die. Man, I still can't believe that he did that… I mean, when he first mentioned how he almost died in the prison, I thought that he was joking… but he…"

"Wait, what do you mean by Impel Down?" Franky asked in confusion.

"It was right after Sanji almost bled to death on Fishman Island," Chopper said, coming forward and speaking for him. "I noticed that there was something wrong with Luffy's arm, and when I checked it out, I realized that it was because he got poisoned by that octopus Fishman that Zoro beat up."

"Poisoned?" Robin asked in surprise.

"Yeah," Chopper said hurriedly. "But Luffy was just fine! In fact, if I didn't say anything, I don't think he would've ever noticed it! Luffy now has some really powerful anti-bodies in his blood to fight off poison! When I asked if he had been poisoned before, he said that he almost died from it in Impel Down!"

"He really broke into the world's most feared prison all for a chance to save his brother?" Brook asked in awe.

"It's just something that Luffy would do," Sanji whispered. "When someone he cares about is in real danger, he no longer cares about himself… and he will practically destroy his own body to save that person. It really doesn't surprise me that Luffy would go through all that just for Ace."

"I don't even wanna know what went on in that place," Nami said at once with a shudder. "They say that Impel Down is a living hell! A place filled with horrors and you're subjected to the worst kinds of torture imaginable before you're led to your execution!"

Zoro looked down, having not said a word at all—feeling nothing but shame. He was in a different position than the rest of them, as he was the first person to join the crew… he felt responsible for everyone else when the captain wasn't there. Luffy always tried so hard to protect everything… he didn't envy Luffy's job as captain one bit…

After all, all that he, himself, had to do was work out and train until trouble popped up and then fight. But the captain must always remain on guard to protect the crew. He thought back to Thriller Bark and the sacrifice that he was so close to making that day… how he offered up his head to Kuma. How he survived all that was still a mystery to him, but still, he didn't regret his actions at all that day…

Back then, he had made up his mind that if he couldn't even protect his captain's dream, then he could never achieve his own. It was the first time that he was willing to die for anything but his own ambitions…

He glanced up, and looked long and hard at the child that would one day grow up to become the feared 'Straw Hat Luffy'. Zoro just couldn't help but remember the day then he and Luffy met for the first time and how he had threatened to kill him if anything got between him and his dream… he smiled sadly.

Just when did that all change?

Robin stepped forward. "We just have to hope for the best, and start thinking of ways out of here. Maybe if we could figure out how we got here in the first place, it would help."

But even as they really began to think about how to get out of here, Sabo was stirring. He opened his eyes sleepily and gazed around at the outside world as he crawled out of the roots. He looked around, obviously wondering what to do before looking up at the tree. It had been hard to tell with all the rain, but now they saw that it was one of the largest trees they'd seen yet in this forest.

Sabo frowned as if thinking something over before he beamed at an idea. Reaching into his pocket to pull out a scrap of paper, and after pulling off some bark from a tree, he started to draw on it.

"What is he doing?" Brook asked, trying to lean over to see the scribbles.

Soon though, Ace and Luffy were also waking up and he called them over to him, holding up a crud drawing. "Here!" he said, practically beaming in excitement. "Look at this!"

"What is it?" Luffy asked, rubbing his eyes as Sabo put down the paper for them all to see.

"It's as bad as one of Luffy's drawings!" Chopper pointed out.

"What's it supposed to be?" Usopp asked, now confused.

"I designed our hideout!" Sabo said proudly. "We can't sleep outdoors forever right? So we're going to build it right here!"

"A hideout…?" Luffy repeated before his eyes got wide and he cried out, "HOW COOL!"

But Ace asked him, "What about the materials?"

"We've got tons you-know-where," Sabo smiled.

"Where?" Usopp and Chopper both asked baffled.

"YOW! The Gray Terminal where else?!" Franky asked, posing. "That place is SUUUPPPPEERR for building! You can get anything you need there!"

And so they did.

The Straw Hats all watched with bright interest as the boys worked. They went back to the Gray Terminal and found supplies—like wood, rusty nails, ropes, and a collection of scrap metal—before dragging them back to the tree in a makeshift cart. They watched as the boys passed the wood up the tree and began building. The next few memories were of them building, what had to be a treehouse… and it was entertaining to say the least. The whole time they were trying to build something even remotely stable, they were always in danger of falling off or arguing about where something should go.

And when they were done during the day, at night they would make a small fire on the ground and laugh around it before they would crawl underneath the roots and fall back asleep.

"Yo!" Franky said, watching Luffy hammering up a wall. "His hammering skills suck almost as bad as yours long-nose!"

"At least when he hits his thumb, it doesn't hurt," Nami added as she watched Luffy pull his thumb back out from under the hammer.

"Would you all stop picking on me?!" Usopp yelled.

"They're so cute…" Robin giggled happily.

As they watched, they soon realized that it looked a great deal like part of a ship—they even put in a ships wheel like the one they had on the Sunny. Once they were done here, they then climbed up to some of the higher branches to add what looked like a crow's nest, connected by a rope ladder.

Once it was finished, Franky whistled in an impressed way before saying, "Not bad for a few kids."

"They even have a pirate flag!" Usopp said and they watched as they attached a flag with the crossbones with the letters ASL printed on it.

"Oh, wow!" Chopper called out, looking at it with stars in his eyes. "I wish I had something that cool when I was little! But what does the ASL stand for?"

"For their names," Robin explained, "Ace, Sabo, and Luffy…"

"Oh, I knew that!" Chopper said at once.

"Didn't you have something like that when we met?" Nami asked Usopp.

"Ah… the Usopp Pirates!" Usopp said fondly. "That name takes me back… Now there was a crew made of the bravest of men! I wonder how they're doing now…?"

"You mean those three little kids?" Nami asked, her eyebrows raised.

Usopp glared at her and had begun telling her off when the boys were standing back so that they could really admire their work.

"Awesome!" Luffy said, smiling wide, "It looks just like your design, Sabo!"

"Really?" Usopp said with another sweatdrop. "It looked like a nothing but squiggles to me."

"Be nice," Franky said smiling up at it. "What matters is that it looks sturdy. They did a pretty good job on it despite the fact that they're hammer skills suck."

Sabo grinned as he rubbed his nose with his finger and said proudly, "Great work if I may say so myself." Then he noticed Ace was frowning a little. "What's wrong, Ace?"

"This is a hideout," he said, looking back at him with a rather mischievous grin. "So wouldn't it be good to set up some traps?"

"Traps?" Luffy asked in surprise.

"Not a bad idea," Sabo said, his hands on his hips as he thought. "Alright, I'll think about it!"

"Seriously? Traps?" Nami questioned exasperated.

"Well, with Bluejam after them, I think it would be a good idea," Robin pointed out as they climbed the tree. "Not sure what they have in mind, but anything is better than nothing."

As Chopper put his hooves up, attempting to climb the tree after the boys, the memory shifted a little. It didn't go all black like it usually did, instead it was as if they were on some kind of moving platform and they were suddenly soaring up to the tree so that they could see.

"WHOA!" Usopp cried, grabbing hold of Sanji's arm, "WHAT'S GOING ON NOW?"

"I guess since we can't climb the tree anyway, we're getting a bird's eye view of it," Robin answered as Nami screamed in shock and moved back closer to her.

"THIS IS AWESOME!" Chopper yelled in amazement.

"BUT HOW'RE WE DOING THIS?" Usopp cried out.

"Don't know, but it is handy," Sanji commented as they slowed down and stopped so that they were right outside the tree house. The first thing they saw was Ace spinning the wheel around all the way as Luffy climbed out the window and went straight up the Crow's nest.

"Yeah!" Luffy called down to them excitedly, "We have a view of the Gray Terminal, Fushia Village, and the ocean!"

"That's not so uncommon is it?" Sabo called up. "We are on an island after all and this is the biggest tree here isn't it?"

"It's nice to see them from up here!" Luffy called, as if they just didn't get it. Curious, both boys climbed up to see what he meant, and the Straw Hats also followed suit until they were standing right outside Crow's Nest—supported on nothing but air.

"This is freaking me out," Usopp whispered, now hanging off Franky like a monkey, looking down to the ground—as if expecting to fall at any moment.

"So surprising!" Brook said in wonder, looking around and lightly tapping his foot beneath him. Though they could hear the slight tap of his foot hitting a floor, they were still floating on nothing but air.

"LOOK!" Franky suddenly cried out and they looked up to see what it was.

"Breathtaking," Nami said, a wide smile on her face as she stared around her.

"WOW!" Chopper yelled, mirroring how she felt. There was the village that Luffy had come from on the far left side—and their view stretch over the forest and ended on the right where all of Goa Kingdom was… but in front of them… was the perfect view of the ocean, seeing far into the distance, over the horizon.

Ace was grinning from ear to ear as he said, "You're right! It is different!"

They all stared out at the ocean with longing expressions, and they could tell that they just couldn't wait until they set sail. The wind blew their hair around and a seagull flew right passed them as they stood there enjoying it.

"Luffy!" Ace yelled, startling them all as the boys jumped down to the main house. "There's a tailwind! Set the sails!"

"What are they talking about?" Chopper asked confused. "There aren't any sails…"

Robin laughed in understanding as she explained, "They're pretending they're on a real pirate ship."

"Aye!" Luffy shouted as he slid down the ladder to where the ship's wheel was.

Sabo was laughing. "Advance to the treasure!" he called.

Ace was still in the Crow's nest, pretending to hold up a telescope as he looked around and he called, "An enemy off the bow and the starboard side! It's Bluejam's ship! Prepare for action!" He then gasped dramatically, "They've started shooting! Take evasion action!"

Luffy was up at the ships wheel and Sabo said, "Luffy, hard port!"

"Yeah! I got it!" Luffy yelled.

"No!" Sabo said in annoyance, "You're supposed to 'steady' at times like this."

"Oh, right," Luffy said hurriedly—as if he knew that all along, "I got it."

"This is so cute," Nami giggled. "Oh, why couldn't Luffy stay cute like that?"

"What do you mean by cute?" Sanji asked, his eyes narrowing, now getting tired of all the 'cute remarks' they've been making.

"Everyone's cute when they're kids aren't they?" Nami asked him with a smile.

Sanji just looked away, furiously muttering to himself, "Man, what do kids have that I don't?"

Sabo then folded his arms, and repeated, "Luffy, hard port!"

"Hard port! Steady!" he said at once and then he turned the wheel all the way.

Ace held up his pipe staff like a sword and cried out, "Let's fight hand-to-hand! Lay aboard!" He then slid down to join his brothers as he finished, "Wait for them to come aboard!"

"I got it!" Sabo laughed, holding up an imaginary gun.

Luffy held his fists as Ace added, "Don't cry, Luffy."

"SHUT UP!" he called back and the Straw Hats all laughed as they began their imaginary battle with Bluejam's crew.

"It really is something special isn't it?" Robin laughed.

It finally ended when Ace hit a pumpkin with his staff and held it above his head shouting, "We win!"

They fell back onto the floor and began laughing as Luffy cried out, "It's so cool! THIS IS OUR HIDEOUT!"