There are many ways to celebrate. Sid knew that. All Shandians knew that.

Despite what it may seem to the outside world, the Shandian warriors were the most eager to partake in any sort of festivities, including Wyper. After all, they've been fighting a war for over four centuries. The warriors were the ones who knew better than anyone else that the future was never a guarantee, so they relished the present and any happy occasion that came with it.

Every birthday in the tribe was commemorated with a feast involving the whole community. Every wedding was at least a three-day event. Even every funeral, while experienced with many tears shed, was still a celebration of the deceased's life.

Naturally, with the ending of a 400-year long war, an alliance finally reached between Shandians and Skypieans, and the Song of the Island ringing once more from the Shandorian Bell, a celebration to top all celebrations was demanded and necessary.

Which was why it was extremely odd and slightly alarming for Chief Urepo to find his granddaughter sitting solemnly in a Shandoran ruin next to the wounded Wyper while everyone else was outside celebrating alongside the Skypieans and the Blue Sea pirates.

"Sid," he said gently as he walked into the broken building and crouched next to her granddaughter, "I thought Wyper was out of danger?"

"He is," Sid said as she continued to mix a paste in her mortar and pestle, "I'm just waiting for him to wake up."

"He'll wake up in his own time," Chief Urepo said, "Why aren't you out there dancing around the fire or even leading the drum circle like you usually are?"

Sid scoffed and she looked up at her grandfather. "You think Wyper's going to just wake up and be okay with the fact we've agreed to share this land with the Skypieans? He's going to reopen his wounds from sheer outrage alone. Someones gotta stay here and hold him back."

"If he still wants to end my life, he's happy to have it," Gan Fall said from the doorway. He gave a nod to the Shandian Chief as he entered, "If that will appease his anger..."

"I don't even know if it is anger inside of him," Sid admitted, "I mean...fighting this war is all he knew...And now that it's over...What's next for us? Sure. It's great that it's over and I guess, in a way, we won...but...but...Now what?"

Chief Urepo sat down next to the healer and he rummaged through his robe pocket. "It means, my child," he said as he pulled out an Eternal Pose and held it in front of Sid's face so she'd look at that instead of her medicine, "It means you can finally do what you've always dreamed about doing."

The mortar dropped to the floor along with the pestle and Sid grabbed the trinket from Urepo. "Old man! How do you have this? I thought you said Enel destroyed everything in our village!"

"He did," Urepo said with a smile, "But I had time to grab a few things before we left. I'm sorry I could only take one. Time was of the essence."

Sid swallowed a lump in her throat and she lowered the Eternal Pose. "I don't know if you'd give this to me if you knew what it is..."

"Of course I know what it is," Urepo said as he straightened out his robes, "I was once a guerilla, much like yourself. That is an instrument used to navigate through the Blue Sea!"

"Y-You're...You're letting me leave?" Sid gasped, "You're seriously okay with me- Wait!"

She shook her head fervently and took a deep breath. "Old man, you might be letting the celebration get to you. I can't leave. If I go, who is going to look after you? Look after the village?! My assistants are nowhere near capable enough to take on anything by themselves and there's so many wounded right now that-"

"We have doctors and, erm, healers of our own that can do that," Gan Fall said with a smile, "It might not be the same methods that you may be used to but it is effective."

"No offense...but my patients don't trust you all just yet. It's too soon!"

"Or is it the perfect time?" Urepo asked. He stood up and walked over to Gan Fall so they stood shoulder to shoulder as equals, "We need to learn to trust each other and rely on each other now on this land. What better way than to put one's well-being into each other's hands?"

"I can't go!" Sid said and her grandfather raised an eyebrow.

"Can't? Or won't? What are you so afraid of, Sid?"

"I'm not afraid," Sid snapped as she leaped to her feet, "Who said anything about being afraid?"

"Then why aren't you going?"

"Don't tell me you're in love with me and want to stay here as my wife."

Despite her earlier words of trying to prevent Wyper from reopening his wounds, Sid gave Wyper a good hard kick in the side for his comment.

"OW!"

"How long have you been awake?" Sid demanded as she knelt down, set the Eternal Pose next to her feet, and began to mend the injury she had just caused.

"Long enough to know that everything has changed," Wyper grunted, "I assume the drums outside are not the sounds of battle."

"No one wants to fight anymore," Chief Urepo said, "There is no distinction amongst the wounded. Yourself included."

"Then why am I in here all by myself?"

"Because you're the only idiot who thought using a Reject Dial three times in one day was a great idea," Sid replied, "Welcome to the idiot ward."

"Makes sense," Wyper growled, "Since you're in here with me."

Sid balled up her fist but she resisted the urge to add more work to herself. "Meaning?" she asked tersely.

"You once accused me of being too caught up in the past to focus on the future...well, now the future is here and here you are, blatantly hiding from it."

"I'm not hiding," Sid snapped, "I just have a lot of responsibilities here that I can't just- Don't move! You're not ready to move around just yet!"

"Ahhhh," Wyper groaned as he pulled himself up to a seated position. He bent his legs and leaned his arms on his knees. He cocked his head to the side and he stared solemnly at the healer. For the first time in their entire life, there was no anger between them. There was no battle. There was nothing for them to fight about anymore. The only thing left was a deep understanding of each other's character, "Sid, you can go. Our ancestors would want you to-"

"Enough with the ancestors!" Sid exclaimed, "You would think after going through everything that just happened you'd have a better sense of-"

"Your grandmother would want you to go," Wyper interrupted.

Sid fell silent as she sat back on her knees.

"You have the blessing of our ancestors...and you have the blessing of the tribe to go," Wyper said sternly, "We've fulfilled our duty as Shandian warriors. You, above everyone else, has done that today. No one would fault you for leaving."

"But..." Sid said but her protest came out only in a whisper. She had suppressed her dream for so long, hiding it away like a shameful memory, that she didn't know anymore how to think about it without a deep sense of guilt. All her life, she was told to put the tribe first and herself second. To be told otherwise was unimaginable. Incomprehensible. Something she could never do. And yet...

"What...what about you?"

Wyper scoffed and pulled out the cigar in his pocket. He balanced on his lips and he paused only for a second, to give Sid a chance to stop him before he lit the end and sucked in the bitter, thick smoke. "Now I know you've got no leg to stand on if your only argument is that you need to take care of me."

Sid chuckled and she crossed her arms over her chest. "I meant what about you? What are you going to do?"

Wyper shrugged. "I'll have to figure it out. You were right. I am a man who never thought about the future."

There was a long pause and then a smile slowly spread across Sid's face.

"YESSSSS!" Sid jumped to her feet and thrust both hands up in the air. She then began to stomp and dance around Wyper's bed to the beat of the drum circle outside. "YAAAAAH!"

Wyper almost dropped his cigar. "What has gotten into you?! What are you-"

"You heard it, right, old man? Gan Fall? You all heard it right?" Sid asked as she froze in mid-step to point at everyone she was questioning. Then she cupped her hands to her mouth, "AISA! DID YOU HEAR THAT?!"

"Hear what?!" Wyper demanded.

"Heh. Heh. You said I was riiiight. You said I was riiiight!" Sid sang as she continued to dance around his bed.

"Why don't we take the celebration outside?" Chief Urepo suggested, ignoring the murderous look Wyper was giving the Chief's kin. He held the flap open and revealed to Wyper the many bonfires that were blazing outside.

"Woohoo! Let's celebrate!" Sid shouted as she danced her way out the ruins and right around the largest bonfire.

"Alright! Sid's here! Let's do this!" Kamakiri yelled from the drum circle as he led everyone around him to quicken the pace.

As Sid stomped and clapped to every beat of the drum, the people around her, Shandian, Skypiean, and Blue Sea people alike, all leaned in a bit closer to get a better look.

"YAH! Sid!" Luffy cheered while he tore into a roasted poultry leg.

"AH! Sid-chan. You are such a glorious dancer!" Sanji swooned.

"Go, Sid! Go!" Laki shouted and then stuck her fingers in her mouth to let out a shrill whistle.

From the ruins, Chief Urepo leaned against the doorframe as he watched his granddaughter finally get into the festive spirit. "Ah...Go, Sid...Go..."

-4 Days Later, Inside the Belly of the Giant Snake-

"Why are you even here? Shouldn't you be the others retrieving the bell?" Nami huffed as she watched Sid rummage around looking for gold, Nami's gold.

"I already said my goodbyes," Sid said as she pulled out a golden cross with encrusted with shiny emeralds and stuck it in her bulging messenger bag, "I'll be leaving as soon as I get enough gold. You said it was valuable down in the Blue Sea, right?"

She paused at that thought and then she looked to the navigator. "How much gold should I take with me?"

"You already have enough! You even have that gold trident on your back!" Nami snapped and then she glared at Luffy, Chopper, and Sanji, who was also sorting through the rubble, "DIG FASTER!"

"Yes, Nami-san!" Sanji shouted dutifully while Chopper and Luffy groaned.

"Nami...Don't we have enough?" Chopper asked as he pointed over to the three piles they've already collected. Each was sitting on a large square cloth.

"Not only we've searched this entire snake!" Nami said.

"But it could wake up at any moment!" Luffy whined, "It was so hard to get out of him the first time."

"Her," Chopper corrected and Sid's ears perked up.

"The snake is a girl?"

"Yeah, she told me last night."

"I see," Sid said and then smiled at how her sky sheep was sleeping on top of Chopper's hat, "You know, you and Boo have been hanging out these last couple of nights. Did he ever mention to you about what happened with Enel? How he was suddenly able to block Enel's lightning?"

Chopper nodded. "He said he couldn't redirect it the first time because Aisa was in him and he didn't want to hurt her...So he had to absorb as much of it as he can...But then the second time, since he wasn't carrying anyone..."

"That makes sense," Sid said and then she chuckled, "I should thank Enel, actually. I think his lightning bolt triggered Boo's growth spurt. His horns are bigger and he's feeling a bit heavier."

"Sid-chan, do you know where you're going? You said you had an Eternal Pose but where is it going to? Do you know how to navigate a ship?" Sanji asked, "Maybe you should ride with us."

Sid laughed. "Thanks for the offer but I'm going to head to Jaya on Boo," she said and then looked to Nami for confirmation, "That's what the Eternal Pose says it's pointed at, right?"

Nami nodded. "It shouldn't be that far of a ride for you two. From what you tell me about Island Clouds, they don't actually move like regular clouds so you would only be half a day's away. That's about how long it took us to get here."

"And you guys said that Skypiean, Conis?, was taking you to Cloud End so it'll be better for me to take a more direct route," Sid said.

"What's the direct route?" Sanji asked.

Sid pointed down and she grinned.

"You're...You're just going to fall?!" Chopper exclaimed.

"I got Boo. It'll be fine and I have enough Breath Dials to sustain my swim through the Sea Clouds," Sid grinned, "So what's Jaya like anyways?"

"Jaya!" Luffy asked as his head poked up from behind a boulder, "You're going to Jaya, Sid? When?"

"Idiot. Were you not listening to a thing we just said?! And what do you mean when? Why do you think we had her going away party last night?!" Sanji asked.

"Oh. Is that what it was for? I thought we were just camping," Luffy laughed and then he tapped his fist to his hand, "Oh yeah! Sid! Since you're going to Jaya, you might as well meet old diamond-head and the monkeys. They'll be so surprised to see you!"

"The Monkeys? Are they part of your tribe?" Sid asked and Sanji and Nami snorted with laughter.

"You could say they're in the same family," Nami snickered.

"Hrmm...Okay. I'll go see them," Sid said with a nod, "I guess as a descendant of Noland, I do owe them an explanation..."

"HEYYY! HEY, YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN DOWN THERE A LONG TIME!" Usopp's shout echoed right to the tip of the snake's tail, "YOU SHOULD COME OUT SOON!"

"Well, I'm ready," Sid said as she stretched her arms and her back, "How about you guys?"

Sanji went over to their share and he started to tie the cloths around their treasure. "I think we found all that we can carry, Nami-san. This is already more than what I had expected to get."

"Ah...I guess you're right," Nami said and took one last, longing look around her, "We should've gotten Robin to come with us. She could've helped grab so much more! Why did she have to go off and explore? It's just more crumbling buildings!"

"Hey! This is my homeland we're talking about," Sid snapped.

By the time they exited the snake and into Shandora Square, the sun was shining directly above them. Usopp and Zoro stood at the snake's mouth and helped Chopper pull out the bag of gold he was dragging.

"Eh? This place is really empty. What's going on?"

"Probably still retrieving the belfry. That thing is huge," Sid said with a shrug and then looked up at the sky, "Well, I should be going. I'd rather get to Jaya before the sun sets.

"Sid! Join us!" Luffy exclaimed and ran over to the Shandian, "Come on! Join my crew!"

Sid snorted and shook her head. "Thanks but no. I don't think I'm cut out to be a pirate. You need to go find that One Thing, right? I'm going to need to take my time if I am to learn and collect the right plants."

Then she raised her hand up to the disappointed Luffy. "But hey! If you ever need my help, just let me know. I'll be happy to assist the future King of Pirates"

"Shishishishi. Okay!" Luffy said as he gave her a high five but locked their hands into a tight grip, "I'll see you again someday."

"Ah."

-Out on the White Sea-

"Okay...I've got gold. I've got dials. I've got my trident. I've got the Eternal Pose. I've got my medical supplies. I've got books. I've got my skates on...What else have I got? Right. I've got you!" Sid laughed as she poked Boo in the nose and then zipped up her backpack and closed her messenger bag, "This is going to be heavy. You think you can handle it?"

"BOO!"

"Right. Right. You were able to carry Luffy and that big gold weight so this shouldn't be a factor. Sorry. I won't doubt you again," Sid chuckled and gave Boo's head a pat. She slung her bags over her shoulders and took a deep breath. "Alright. You rea-"

"SIIIIIIID! BOOOOO! Waiiit!" Aisa came racing towards her on a waver jet with Laki at the helm. She waved her arms frantically in the air and continued to scream. "SIIID! BOOO!"

"Laki...Aisa..." Sid waited for them to stop right in front of her and Aisa flung herself on Sid, not caring at all about adding the additional weight to the healer, "OOF! Aisa, I'm going to sink if you don't get off."

"Take me with you!" Aisa bawled as she buried her head in Sid's shoulders, "I want to come with you!"

"Aisa..." Laki said patiently, "We agreed I was only going to bring you here to say one last goodbye."

"I lied."

The two older Shandian females exchanged an amused look and Sid gave Aisa a tight hug.

"Aisa, you know you can't come with me. You're not ready for that. When you're older, you can come with me then."

"Wha-? I can?" Aisa hiccuped against Sid's shoulder.

"Yeah. You think I'm going to find all the best plants and bring it up here in just one trip?" Sid demanded, "I'm going to be coming back here a lot just to drop them off. It's going to take time and I'm going to need help."

"Really?!" Aisa threw her head back and she gaped at the healer, "I...I can come with you. Really?"

Sid snorted and poked Aisa hard in the middle of her forehead, "Not right now."

"Ow!"

"But yes...You can come with me when you're ready."

"When will I be ready?" Aisa gasped.

"When you've learned all you can about the plants here," Sid said and she waved a hand towards Shandora, "Instead of collecting Vearth, you can collect and study plants now. Laki can show you and teach you what they are and how to use them. Aloe, garlic, meadowsweets, gingers...Laki knows all about them."

"Laki! You do?!"

Laki put a hand on her hip. "You think all I do is hang out with Kamakiri and them?"

"Yes," Sid teased, "Because you looooove Kamakiri and we all know he loves you back."

A blush rushed to Laki's cheeks. "That's not funny."

Aisa laughed and she started to join into Sid's song. "Laki loves Kamakiri. Laki loves Kamakiri."

"Aisa!" Laki scolded but with her face still very red, "Sid! You're not being a good role model for Aisa."

Aisa and Sid threw their heads back and laughed. When the laughter died, Sid gave a wink to Aisa, who immediately buried her head in Sid's neck.

"Do you really have to go?" Aisa whispered.

Sid chuckled and she patted Aisa's back. "I'll miss you too, Aisa."

Sid handed Aisa back to Laki and gave Aisa's cheeks one last pull. "Keep an ear out for me. I'll be back before you know it."

"Ooooooow!" Aisa whined but she didn't glare at Sid when the healer let go. Instead, the child started to cry again, "Don't use a big ship to carry your plants. Use a little one so you can come back often, okay?"

Sid snorted. "Fine. I won't sail on a big ship."

"Promise?"

"Promise," Sid grinned and then she stretched her arms out, "Alright. There are at least two levels of Sea Clouds I have to get through so I can't waste any more energy or time."

She smiled softly at Laki and Aisa. "This is it. Bye, guys."

"Be safe," Laki said as Aisa could only tearfully wave to the healer.

Bong!

Bong!

Bong!

Sid gasped and turned towards Shandora.

"Chief Urepo has asked them to ring the bell for you and the Blue Sea people," Laki said, "The saviors of this land."

Bong!

Bong!

Bong!

"What are you idiots talking about? Savior?" Sid sniffed as she felt her eyes start to sting, "I'm just a healer."