The crew woke up pretty early that morning, mainly to clean up after the party and rain storm from the day before. Everyone being given a different job, to get the ship back into shape... Hahaa ship shape.

Tani was tasked with mopping the deck, and boy did it need a clean up. The salt water from the ocean had crusted over the deck, which if Tani was correct, would rot the wood. We can't have that now, can we?

Everyone had cleared off the deck, leaving Tani with more space to get creative. Grabbing two buckets and a mop from the messy storage room, filling the buckets with hot water, and running back on deck. It was time to get cleaning.

Bucket number one was positioned at the front of the ship, next to the set of stairs that lead to Merry's masthead. Bucket number two was at the very back of the ship, where Zoro normally trains. The perfect positions for her to enact operation: Lets clean this deck fast, because I wanna do anything else.

Headphones on, music blasting into her ears as she zoomed around the deck in her skates. Letting the bouncy nature of this particular song control her body movements. Hips swaying in time with the swipes of her mop on the grimy deck.

"Wake me up before you go-go" she sang without a care in the world. Twirling the mop in her hands around like a baton. Water spraying across the deck, walls, and ocean.

"Don't leave me hangin on like a yo-yo!" She planted the mop into the ground, dragging it along the ground as she flew across the main deck. Leaping over the staircase with ease, she zipped towards the second bucket.

"Wake me up before you go-go! Cause I ain't planning on goin solo!" she sang louder. Slamming the mop into the bucket, draining the bucket of half its water. Slapping the mop back onto the wooden floor, and continued her solo performance. Years of training her voice with wooden spoons, and hair brushes. She could hear her mothers sweet voice backing her up.

"Wake me up before you go-go! Take me dancing tonight!" Tani paused all her movements, holding the end of the broom to her mouth as she sang her heart out. Closing her eyes as she let her words carry through the air.

"I wanna hit that hi-" Tani opened her eyes to find large black ones staring back at her with awe. The shock of finding an unexpected audience was-

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" She reacted on instinct, unable to stop the motion. The mop in her hand came flying at Luffy's head, smacking him hard enough to knock him on his ass. Returning to her senses, Tani's face burst into a fiery heat. She'd just mop-slapped her captain for no reason, other than she was startled... How embarrassing.

"Wow," Tani looked down at Luffy. The boy now sitting cross legged on the soaked deck, rubbing at the spot on his cheek that she'd smacked. "That was cool!" Luffy chuckled. Tani felt the tension in her shoulders leave, Luffy's infectious laugh easily pulling her in.

"So-sorry about that," Tani held out a hand for Luffy, pulling him back to his feet. "Haven't I told you not to startle a girl?" Luffy shrugged.

"Probably, my bad." he wasn't sorry at all. Tani rolled her eyes, not at all surprised. "It's not my fault you had those things on your ears." Tani poked her tongue out at him, which he mimicked back.

"No excuses Mr Captain." Tani poked Luffy with the handle end of the mop. "What would your mother think? Such poor manners." the girl played around dramatically, hoping for the wind to pick up again for that special effect.

"I don't have-"

"WHAT THE HELL?" Nami's voice shrieked with despair. Luffy and Tani looked at each other with concern. "Nonononono no!" Yep, there was something very wrong.

The pair dashed towards the navigator, finding her surrounded by the rest of the crew.

"What happened?" Luffy asked before anyone else could. Nami looked up at Luffy with horror in her eyes.

"We've entered the Calm belt." she replied, grabbing her hair and pulling at it with stress. "How did I not see this coming?" the navigator said with defeat. "I should have had someone staying watch last night. That storm must have thrown us off course!" the redhead paced in a circle, muttering the 'What if' scenarios.

"What's the Calm belt?" Tani questioned, definitely not being the only person present that didn't know what a Calm belt is. Nami halted her pacing, staring at her crew.

"It's the two strips of ocean that surround the Grand line." she stated clearly, shaking with nerves. "It has no wind, no waves. If you get stuck in it. You're as good as dead!" she roared with frustration. The crew flinched. "Oh, and it's also full of Seakings!" she added.

"Se-sea-Seakings!" Usopp paled, legs shaking as he jumped behind Zoro, as if the stoic swordsman could protect him from a Seaking... He probably could.

"There's gotta be some way to move the ship." Tani said. "Do we have oars? Or a way to create fake wind?" there's no way that boats wouldn't have other methods of propulsion, when winds were non-existant.

"The wind is all we have." Nami declared. "So unless there's some kind of miracle. We're stuck in this pirate graveyard," that's no way to think. Tani leaned against the railing of the boat. Holding her chin in thought.

"Can we just push the boat? Like swim it to safety." Tani asked. They have four able-bodied swimmers, all they'd need is for Luffy to move the rudder. How heavy is a boat?

"And risk getting eaten by a Seaking? No thanks," Usopp responded. Zoro looked down in thought... Was he actually considering that idea?

"Well I don't see you making any suggestions," Tani snapped at the sniper. Usopp narrowed his eyes.

"Just like Nami said. There's no way to fix this. We're doomed!" Usopp wailed.

"With an attitude like that, we are." Tani rolled her eyes. There has to be something, anything! Their adventure can't end here.

"Guys?"

"What if we made paddles from the wood in the storage room?" Tani suggested. Usopp shook his head.

"We don't have enough wood to make even one oar that would breach the water." well that's a bust.

"We could do something like... Sanji, that thing we did with the cow." they'd used a sea cow to speed up their travel time before. Why not do that again?

"Guys,"

"That would take a lot of rope. Seakings are a lot bigger than the sea cow." Sanji thought aloud. That could work-

"Guys!" Luffy called out for the third time.

"What?" Tani, Sanji and Usopp snapped at the captain. Luffy pointed towards the horizon.

"There's waves over there." the comment caught Nami's attention, alarm bells instantly ringing in the navigators ears. She rushed over to the railing, grabbing it with an iron grip.

Waves approached the boat appearing more like an arrow, aimed right for their little Merry boat. Approaching at remarkable speeds.

"Shit!" Nami pushed herself away from the edge of the boat. This was it!

The Seakings had found them.

The wave smacked into the side of Merry, jerking the whole boat harshly to the right. Tossing the crew around like rag dolls.

Tani was holding onto the railing for dear life, both hands locked around it like her life depended on it.

Another wave smacked the bottom of the boat, throwing everyone that hadn't already grabbed something to stabilize themselves, into the air.

The next strike was from the bottom again, only this time it clipped the left side of Merry. The force of the strike caused Tani's feet to leave the safety of the deck. Her body flipping around the rail, landing with a back bruising slam on the other side of the boat.

The boat which was currently being attacked by Seakings.

Tani's heart rate accelerated, her upper body strength wasn't enough to pull her back over the rail. All she could do was dangle helplessly over the railing of Merry. Staring at the bubbling ocean, a flurry of colours skimming under the surface of the water.

She enjoyed movies like Jaws. Always far too cartoony for her to really take them seriously. Who blows up a shark at the end of the film?

If the film was shot like this. The protagonist staring into the monstrously huge, void eyes of a Seaking that was easily ten times the size of the shark from Jaws... That would have scared her to tears.

This wasn't a movie, Tani had to remind herself. Her arms ached, having to hold up her entire body weight. Tani couldn't stop herself from screaming her little heart out as the boat was raised from the ocean.

The Seaking's eye, which stared into Tani's soul, was larger than she was. Pupil focused on her small, flailing form. This is it, she wasn't gonna die. They were all gonna die. Before their adventure had truly begun.

Tani closed her eyes, muttering under voice. An apology to her mother for not making it back, and silent prayers to any God that would hear her voice.

Merry bounced again, along side the sound of a Seaking huffing and puffing. Tani cracked her eye open once more. Looking with curiosity as the watery build up of tears in the wobbling eyelid of the Seaking that the Straw hat ship was residing on the snout of.

Every jerky landing, made it much harder for Tani to keep her hold on the rail. Her arms screaming for relief.

"Where's Tani?" Nami's voice called out. They must have just noticed she was missing.

"Over here!" she called out as loud as possible. "I can't hold on much longer," maybe another 15 seconds left.

A pair of strong hands grabbed her wrists, and threw her back onto the deck. Tani's legs wobbled from the awkward landing, before she had time to recover, an arm looped around her waist. Hoisting her off her feet.

"The fish is gonna sneeze!" Luffy announced from the other side of the ship, his arms circling around the mast a total of eleven times (she counted). Nami and Sanji were clinging to each other. Tani looked up to find Usopp wrapped around the railing, shaking more than a chihuahua. Through the power of deduction, Tani concluded that Zoro was the one holding her.

The boat bounced higher and higher with every hitched breath of the Seaking. Until the fish gave off a loud "Achoo!", propelling Merry into the horizon.

The force of the sneeze sent Merry flying... And Usopp too. Lucky for him, Luffy's rubbery noodle arm came to the rescue. Latching onto the sniper, but unable to reel him back in. Usopp became an impromptu kite.

Merry skipped like a stone across the ocean. Coming to a halt with a loud splash, water rained down over the small crew of frazzled teens. Everyone hooked into each other, not daring to move.

"Incoming!" Usopp shrieked, his voice coming closer and closer. Tani barely had time to look up.

The Usopp kite came crashing head first into Zoro's chest, sending all three of them over the railing into the ocean below. The trio resurfaced spitting and sputtering the salty water from their lungs.

"Sorry!" Luffy called from the deck. Laughing while he tossed the rope ladder down for his overboard crew mates.

"I'm about ready to kick the ocean's ass right about now," Tani coughed as she ascended the rope ladder. "It's like the universe wants me to fall off the boat and drown, well not today you good for nothing-" she rambled, cutting herself off when she flopped back onto the deck with a wet slap. Already exhausted.

The wind felt nice on her skin though... Wind... Wind!

"We made it out of the Calm belt!" Nami exclaimed before Tani could. "That's... That's insane! What kinda luck would we-" the redhead looked over at Luffy. That answers that question.

"So we're all good to set sail again?" Usopp asked, squeezing the water from his hair. Nami gave a big grin.

"With the way this wind is blowing. We should be at Reverse mountain by noon." she pointed at the compass in her hand.

Tani sat up, her wet mane of hair stuck to the back of her jacket. The girl let our a groan. Looks like this jacket needed to be dried... Again.

"A towel, my darling." Tani's vision was assaulted by a fluffy, white towel being shoved under her nose. Sanji grinning at her with his love sick puppy eyes. The girl huffed, grabbing the towel and dropping it on her head.

"Where's my towel?" Usopp complained. Sanji shot a nasty glare at the sniper.

"Yeah love cook. I want my fluffy little towel too." Zoro chimed in with the biggest shit eating grin. Sanji's face burst with red, flustered annoyance.

"Oh you'll get fluffy." Sanji stormed towards the swordsman. Getting into Zoro's personal space. "Fluffy pillows and blankets while you rest in bed after I beat the ever loving-"

"Shut it you two." Nami called from her navigating spot. Sanji instantly quieted down. "We need to check what supplies we lost during the sneeze." Tani held back a snicker. Such a strange sentence.

Guess there's still plenty of things to clean up.

...

"There we go," Tani sighed to herself. Her drenched jacket fluttered on the clothing line. The girl had switched outfits, now sporting a baggy singlet and shorts combo. Hopefully she wouldn't be falling into the ocean again, or else she's picking a fight with Poseidon.

"Oi Nami." Usopp summoned from the crows nest. Nami came waltzing from the galley, "I think we're here!" Usopp declared, pointing towards the huge wall of red rock that had appeared in the distance. A misty fog doing little to mask the absolute scale of the mountain.

"That's it! Everyone we're here!" Nami cheered aloud. The rest of the crew was quick to gather on the deck.

"Woah! That's huge!" Luffy jumped for joy. "Are you guys seeing this?" He vigorously pointed towards the mountain. Zoro let out a small chuckle.

"Yeah Luffy, we can see it." The swordsman crossed his arms, looking at the mountain with awe in his eyes. "The first step into the Grand-line." Zoro grinned. Finally.

"Hey?" Tani found herself staring at the only part of the mountain that wasn't red. "Is that water going upwards?" the crew turned to stare in awe at Tani's observation.

"That's what we're looking for." Nami smiled, as wide as a Cheshire cat. "The waterfall will take us up the mountain, then we get spat out into the Grand-line."

"Oh! So it's a theme park water ride." Tani concluded.

"The waters are getting harsh," Zoro observed. Pointing towards the build up of waves that protected the mouth of the mountain.

"All hands on deck." Nami commanded. Everyone jumped to their feet and rushed for their stations. Tani hung around the centre, waiting to be told what to do.

Waves barraged against Merry, each attack more severe than the last. Their little Merry stayed strong, pushing further and further into the dangerous waters. Her goal dead ahead.

"Almost there!" Nami encouraged. "Stay on course and we shoul-Ack!" a wave smashed against the haul of Merry, tilting her slightly to the left.

That's ok, a small bump in the road. They still had time to change the direction with the rudder.

"Nami! The rudders been snapped." Sanji cried out. Merry was headed straight for the jagged cliff side.

"We're gonna die!" Usopp and Nami screamed in unison. Their arms wrapped around each other as the sobbed.

"There's gotta be something we can do!" Sanji shouted from the galley. "We've come so far." the man's brain running a mile a minute.

"I can cut it." Zoro replied. Sanji dead panned at the idiot swordsman.

"You really are more moss than brains aren't you?" Zoro snapped his head towards the blonde with a growl.

"You think of something better. No good swirly brow." Tani was already tired of this bantering.

"Gum gum-" Luffy's sandals slapped against the deck. The boy racing towards the side of the boat that was about collide with the rocks.

What was he about to do? Tani had a feeling it was gonna be stupid-

Luffy leapt over the railing with ease... Wait a second!

"Luffy!" Tani rushed to grab him before he'd fallen too far from Merry. One of her hands hit the railing, while the other reached out for-

"Balloon!" Tani's eyes bugged out as she watched her captain's torso begin to inflate like the blueberry kid from 'Charlie and the chocolate factory'.

Luffy slot himself between Merry, and Reverse mountain. Using his ballooned up body to push Merry back on course.

Luffy's balloon like body was quick to deflate from the pressure. Lucky for the rubber man, Tani was ready to catch him before he fell. Her hand latched around the captain's wrist, with a secure hold she whipped Luffy back onto the safety of Merry.

The momentum of the whip, caused Luffy to be smacked into the deck. He landed with a small bounce before laying on the ground in a star shape. Tani crouched down, balanced on the tip of her toes.

"So you can inflate like a balloon?" Luffy nodded. The girl snickered, offering a hand for the boy. "That's so weird, man." Luffy laughed happily, accepting Tani's offered hand.

The rest of the crew looked at him in disbelief. Not at all paying attention to the fact that their ship was now sailing upstream.

"Why didn't you do that earlier?" Nami snapped, without any malice. Luffy gave her a shrug. Nami wonders why she even bothers to ask.

"At least we didn't die." Usopp sighed with relief. "Now what?" Usopp motioned towards the front of the boat.

"Now we wait." The navigator grinned. Leaning back against the galley's door frame.

Luffy ran off to sit in his favourite spot, wind rushing through his fluffy black hair. He held his hat to his head, staring with uncontrollable excitement at the path ahead.

What could Tani do for the time being? She wasn't in the mood to mess around with her yo-yo, especially with the abuse her arm went through during the whole Calm belt fiasco. Everyone else had run off to do their own things.

Maybe her bag would have something.

Tani wandered over to the women's quarters. Items left on shelves and bedding had all scattered around the room, leaving behind a mess that Tani couldn't be bothered cleaning up right now. The walls looked bare without all the clutter of the knocked over knickknacks. Tani's walls back home were covered in so many posters that there was barely any wall left over.

"Ah, there you are." Tani scooped her bag up. Dumping it onto her bed to take a look at the contents of her earthly possessions. "What do we have... Oh?" She reached for the camera that stared back at her. She hadn't really used this too much. Tani's eyes drifted to the blank canvas of a wall, inspiration struck her core.

She may not have movie posters, but her life right now feels like a movie. It seems fitting to cover the walls in snap shots of her adventures. Officially starting with the beginning of their journey up the mountain.

"I see the top!" Would you look at that? Luffy and his uncanny ability to time things perfectly. Tani clutched the camera to her chest, rushing out of the room before she missed her chance to catch the perfect shot.

A perfect shot it was.

Her crew had gathered towards the front of the ship to witness the grand sight before them. How fitting? The girl snapped the photo quickly, hoping it would turn out looking decent. You can only get better with practice right.

Tani felt a knot form in her stomach, despite how beautiful it was to witness the vast ocean and sky fusing into one, from what could be considered the top of the world...

Because what goes up.

"Luffy get down from there," Nami reached out to grab the captain before he could topple forward. Merry tilted forward, rumbling as she leaned towards the part of this trip that Tani dreaded the most.

Must come down.

"Hold onto something everyone!" Sanji's voice came out in a shout. Anyone that wasn't Luffy, was quick to grab something to stabilize themselves from falling over for the second time that day. Tani's arms hurt from all the tensing of her muscles. The sensation of falling down, down, down, made her body lock up in terror. Her screams caught with the mach speed wind, and the screams? Of her companions.

Imagine riding a rollercoaster ride without the safety bars and seat belts. Now make the height of said roller coaster, the size of a large mountain. Voila! You have the formula to a traumatize 17 year old alien.

"Guys!" Everyone turned their eyes to Usopp. "What's that large thing in front of the opening?" Usopp's voice shrieked, loud and clear. He pointed towards the exit of the Mountain-

Everyone stared in horror at the blackish-blue wall that sealed the exit of their path. At the speed they were going, Merry and her occupants would be nothing more than bugs smacking into a windshield.

"WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO?" Nami wailed. That's a great question.

There was no way they could slow down to avoid the wall, and they couldn't turn because the rudder was destroyed.

Luffy hadn't moved from his spot on Merry's head, so as the ship sped towards the wall Zoro jumped up and hooked and arm around Luffy's waist, pulling him backwards. The captain squirmed in the older teens hold.

"Brace for impact!" someone said, Tani didn't know who. She was too busy panicking over the inevitable dark blue demise that was staring her in the face. Limbs locked in place, she closed her eyes in antici-

Merry slapped into the wall with a woody crunch, followed shortly by a heavy thunk. More wood splintering under the pressure of something big. Usopp let out a shriek, Luffy yelped angrily before jumping into a rant about who knows what. Tani dared to crack open an eye.

-pation?... Why was the Merry not a heaping pile of destroyed wood, barely staying afloat?

Instead Merry drifted around the wall of blue safely. The mountain spitting them out safely on the other side.

Well... Safe is a loose term.

The masthead had come off the front, leaving behind a large hole in the deck. Other than that, plus the crew having all fallen over upon impact. They'd made it out surprisingly unscathed. Tani let out a sigh of relief, slowly unclenching her muscles.

"Oi, stupid wall!" Luffy whined. Pushing himself out of Zoro's hold, Luffy stomped towards the wall. Anger bubbling from the rubber man. "You bastard! That's my special seat you just destroyed." He ranted and raved, stomping his foot and waving his hands in a childish tantrum. Zoro didn't make any attempt to calm the captain.

There was a rumbling sound. Not unlike the sounds they heard earlier that day in the Calm belt. The crew (excluding Luffy) was on high alert in an instant. Looking towards the wall with concern.

It was vibrating the ocean around them. Tani covered her ears as a high pitched wail emitted from the wall... Did the wall just move?

There's a sliver of white that grew wider with each passing moment. Tani wasn't the only one to connect the dots, as several gasps were let out at once.

That was an eye. A very, very large eye. Which was now staring at their tiny boat with interest.

"You!" all eyes turned to the still fuming Luffy.

He's about to do something stupid, isn't he?

"Gum Gum-" Luffy wound up his arm. Tani found herself moving before her brain could register the action. Hands reaching out for the moron, her fingers barely skimmed across his shoulders before Luffy's arm went sailing.

"Pistol!" it was too late. The crew watched in horror as Luffy punched the eye of the sea Goliath.

Tani collided into Luffy's back. Sending the both of them falling to the floor in a tangle of limbs. The girls heart pounded nervously, waiting for something to happen.

There was a wobble in the iris. A watery build up of tears lined the edge of the sea creatures eye lid.

"What have you done?" Tani whisper-shouted at Luffy. Scrunching up Luffy's vest in the balls of her fists. She shook the boy aggressively. "Do you have anything between your ears? Are you stupid!" That was too harsh... Actually no, no it wasn't. He was an idiot for picking a fight with a creature of that size.

Luffy opened his mouth to argue only to be cut off by the rumbling from before getting louder. Merry suddenly jerked backwards, Nami's eyes widened like saucers. The navigator threw the top half of her body over the railing. A newly formed current pulled backwards, bringing the Merry along for the ride.

"Th-th-that's..." Usopp's legs clacked against one another. His hand slowly raising a pointed finger at the crack in the wall...

Holy shit.

"That's a mouth!" Tani finished for him. Dropping Luffy from her grasp, she stared in horror as Merry approached the maws of the beast. Rows of sharp, white teeth lined the entrance. The sunny blue sky slowly morphed into a cavernous black.

"We're gonna die!" Usopp cried, jumping onto the closest human (who happened to be Zoro). The swordsman attempted to pry the cowardly sniper off to no avail. For such a scrawny guy, Usopp sure could cling.

An arm slid itself around Tani's waist, hoisting the girl to her feet. Tani didn't need to turn around to look at Sanji, to know it was him. She could see a nervous looking Nami was also being held close by the chef.

"Don't worry my sweet angels." He cooed. Tani wasn't in the mood to eye roll. "I shall protect you with my life." He declared with a puff of his chest.

Protect them from the whale of a mess that their idiot captain just happened to bestow upon them?

Speaking of Luffy. Tani turned to find Luffy had sling shot himself onto one of the creature's teeth, how he managed to have any grip at all was beyond her. Luffy was shouting angrily, but the rumbling of the beast was messing with Tani's hearing so she didn't understand a word he was saying.

The cavern grew darker as Merry continued to flow towards the belly of the beast. One glance back and you would have seen the beast had begun to close it's mouth. Swallowing the little boat like they were Geppetto from Pinocchio. Luffy flung himself off the tooth, only instead of returning to Merry to share his crew's fate, he sent himself towards the creatures head. Shouting more curses or complaints. At this point it was all white noise to Tani. The girl let herself be held by Sanji and Nami, finding comfort in their arms.

Light disappeared from the rookie pirate crew's vision. Leaving them to drift helplessly through the throat of a beast. Zoro and Usopp managed to scoot closer to Tani, Sanji and Nami. Tani closed her eyes tight, despite the darkness. She wasn't ready to look death in the eyes yet

So their journey had already come to an end? Certainly wasn't the flashy, over the top kinda demise that a lot of them expected from a pirate life.

"I-I see a light!" Usopp cried with despair. Tani cracked open her eyes, sure enough there was a bright green light. Odd, she thought it would be more blue.

Merry floated towards the beaming light, which blinded them for a moment. Tani blinked rapidly, adjusting her eyes. What greeted her was a wide bile green lake, a blue sky and... A single island floating in the middle of it all? Complete with a palm tree and house. A classic deserted island getaway, in the middle of a sea monsters gut.

"Well you don't see that everyday." Sanji was the first to comment, breaking the spell that fell over the captain-less crew.

"Someone's living here." Zoro's hands flexed over the hilt of his sword. His eyes focused on the clothes that hung from a line between the palm trees. A glass of something orange, with blocks of ice sat idly on the table beside a lawn chair. Whoever lived here wasn't too far away.

"How? The place is surrounded by stomach juices." Tani threw her hands towards the bubbling green abyss. Tani could smell the burning of wood. Eyebrows scrunched together, she leaned over the boat to find that the bubbles were fizzing around Merry.

"Can we focus on getting out of here?" Nami snapped nervously. The smell of acid was nauseating, "If we don't get out of here pronto. It'll be bye bye Merry and her crew of straw hat pirates." This managed to reignite the nervous time bomb that is Usopp. Not that Tani was paying attention to him, no her focus was on something far more pressing.

"Guys? Is that supposed to be bubbling?" Tani pointed towards an odd spot in the acid ocean. Bubbles started to pop in front of Merry. Zoro and Sanji took on defensive positions, ready for the creature that would burst from the whales guts.

Acidic green bile exploded from the broken surface. Spraying the crew with the stuff. It didn't burn upon contact, but it certainly did give off a tingling sensation when making contact with the skin. They needed to get our fast... But first.

"Giant squid!" they had to get rid of that little... Big? Obstacle.

Usopp, Tani and Nami wailed. Huddling together in a tangle of frightened limbs. Zoro's swords were unsheathed, beside him was Sanji, tapping his shoes with baited breath.

They just needed to wait for the right opportunity to-

The squids head was pierced through cleanly by what looked to be a harpoon. It's eyes rolled back into its head as the life bleed away. It's massive body sank back into the the ocean, leaving nothing up a thick rope trail that lead right back to the island.

An old man stood beside what looked like an oversized crossbow, the rope which connected to the harpoon was slowly being wound back up, dragging the pre-sliced calamari back to the island. Satisfied, he walked over to the lawn chair that Zoro had spotted moments ago, sat down, and pulled out a newspaper. Completely ignoring the pirate crew.

"Oi! Old man," Zoro took charge. He is the first mate after all. "How do we get outta here?"

The old man looked up from his newspaper, remaining silent for a moment. Probably for dramatic effect. Zoro opened his mouth again to call out, when the old man pointed towards their left.

"The door over there," he looked back at his newspaper, while the crew looked at each other with wide eyes... How did they not see the huge ass door?!

"The doors closed though," Sanji commented. Zoro rolled his eyes at the chef.

"I can see that curly." he snapped. The blonde grit his teeth, crushing the end of his cigarette. Zoro ignored him, instead focusing on the old man again. "Well, can you open it?" the old man looked up from his newspaper again. Pausing with the same dramatic energy as last time, tension thick in the air as the teens waited for his response.

"Is he gonna-" Nami was cut off by the man finally responding.

"Yeah sure."

Wait... All that for such a simple response. The crew looked among themselves with disbelief, some more incredulous than others.

The older man stood from his lawn chair, folding the newspaper neatly onto the chair. He wandered over to a steering wheel in the front-centre of the island. It was only now that Tani noticed the islands underside was coated in metal sheets, which explains the little island not being melted away by the bile. The man kicked a switch on the ground, causing the island to vibrate to life, the familiar hum of an engine was music to Tani's ears. A turn of the wheel, the island boat drifted towards the massive door, beside it stood a ladder which lead to a lever. That was their ticket out of this ordeal.

"What about Luffy?" Tani questioned. The rest of the crew gave a shrug, expected.

"Knowing Luffy," Sanji started with a sigh, "He's gonna show up out of nowhere, probably causing an explosion or something as destructive." The chef snickered.

"Bonus points if he's flying through the air." Nami added.

"Don't forget that there's more than one person flying with him." Usopp made an addition.

"Is it sad that Luffy is so predictable?" Tani sighed. Watching the island boat arrive in front of the ladder. The old man began to climb.

"No," Zoro replied. "Make's it easier to find the idiot." He grinned. Sanji and Nami stared at the swordsman with the same, disappointed, 'Like you can talk' expression.

"What're the odds that he's gonna show up from that door," Tani pointed at the door towards the right of the lever, at the top of the ladder. The crew gave a hum.

"Absolutely gonna happen." Everyone agreed. Now they just had to wait.

On cue, the ocean began to shake, well not just the ocean. The whole beast shook violently, enough to make Tani's breakfast crawl up her throat. To anyone watching the old man, distress was evident on his aged features. Something wasn't right, and he knew what it was. Abandoning his current objective, he ran to the door that Tani had pointed out before, and entered it. Leaving behind the crew to fend for themselves.

"I'll give Luffy about three minutes to come flying from that door." Usopp declared.

"I'll give him 2 minutes." Nami sighed. The sound of choking and seasickness was suddenly heard. The navigator turned to find Tani leaning over the railing. A ribbon of saliva dribbled down her chin. The girl was not pleased at all.

"The next time I see Luffy, I'm gonna strangle him." Tani groaned, turning back to evacuate her stomach. The crew looked away with sympathy.

Tani looked up from the ocean, her ears perked up. Had the lords above heard her declaration? Did god want her to strangle the captain until he was purple?

The door that the old man had entered only moments ago had burst open. Luffy's rumbling laughter bounced off the dome walls of the beast's belly. Flying beside him were two other unfortunate souls, though Tani wasn't focused on them. No, she was already taking a step back as Luffy stretched his arm out towards Merry. Her fists balled up, shaking under the pressure of her fingers clutching tight.

"Gum gum-" Luffy's arm curled around the mast, looping a couple times.

"ROCKET!" His arm wiggled as he pulled himself towards his crew, grinning at the sight of them being unharmed. He'd been worried about them, even though he knows they're all strong as hell. They are part of his crew, there's no way the crew of the future pirate king could be defeat-

Luffy had landed with a skid of his sandals on the deck, before he could finish the thoughts that were bubbling in his underused brain. A fist collided into skull, knocking him into the ground. A foot planted itself into the back of his head, stomping repeatedly to the rhythm of his attackers words.

"You. Are. An. Idiot!" Tani yelled, her throat burned slightly. She continued to kick at the captain. "A. Total. Moron! A. Spazz!" Luffy remained still, letting the frustrated girl stomp her foot into him repeatedly.

"Today has already been hard enough! I didn't wanna add 'Getting swallowed by a Sea monster' to my list!" Her breathing was caught, her vision swam from the lack of oxygen. The kicking stopped. Tani fumbled backwards, into a pair of waiting arms. Looking up with the expectation that it would be Sanji, she was surprised to find Zoro's face looking down at her. The swordsman hoisted her limb body over his shoulder, carrying her like a sack of rice. The girl dangled there, looking away from the downed captain.

Speaking of Luffy. The rubber man jumped back to his feet, the rim of his hat shaded over his face. Nami and Usopp looked at each other with baited breath, fearful of his reaction-

"Sorry everyone!" The boy laughed, clutching his stomach while he shook with laughter. All tension died down right away. Tani let out a groan at the half-arsed apology. Stupid bastard... Hold on a second.

"Who are those two?" Tani lazily lifted a finger to point at the two drenched people that had accompanied Luffy's impromptu flight. A blue haired woman in a striped singlet and white pants, now stained in green. The man beside her had orange hair that stuck out the sides of his head, his cheeks had the number 9 drawn on them.

The crew looked at their new guests. The pair hadn't paid the crew any mind, focusing instead on the re-emergence of the old man. He looked tired, arms hanging limply at his sides, when his eyes connected with the pair of intruders, his face morphed into one of distaste. He opened his mouth to speak, only for the blue haired woman to hold her hand in front of her mouth and laugh. The kinda laugh you'd hear from a popular girl in a cartoon.

"Hohoho! You fools," The womans voice was pitchy and obnoxious. The man by her side joined her laughs, his voice had a more 'Goofy from Disney' inflection to it.

"This whale belongs to us now!" He declared. The pair reached behind their backs and whipped out a bazooka each, both of them aimed at the walls of the whale.

How they managed to spawn bazookas out of thin air? Don't ask Tani. Her head already hurt from today. She didn't even have the energy to be mad about it... Ok maybe she had a little energy left.

"Hacks!" she called out to nobody in particular. Though her gaze was on the bazooka duo. They paid her no mind.

"Now scram old man," The male bazooka guy called, waving the snout of his weapon. "Or we'll blow you to smithereens." The old man didn't budge from his spot. Staring down at them. They waited a second... Then two... Three... Four... Fi- ok this was getting boring. The both of them clicked the trigger of their guns. The woman fell backwards from the recoil, knocking the man over with her. Both shots whistled through the air, aimed for the caverns of the whales gut.

The old man followed the projectiles with impressive speed and agility, launching himself at the twin shots and tanking the hit from both of them to his chest. It was a miracle that the blast from the shots, sent him flying back onto the platform. He smacked into the walls of the whale, landing with a slump on the metal.

The straw hats stared wide eyed at the old man, a mix of horror and admiration on their faces. Slowly they cranked their necks to stare with anger at the stowaways that were picking themselves back up off the deck. Dazed from the fall, instantly retaking their obnoxious personas.

"Well... That's awkward." The man looked over at the girl. She floundered with the words stuck in her throat, her ponytail bounced with every move she made.

"T-take another shot!" She finally choked out, throwing the bazooka back over her shoulder. The man took a second to register her words. Re-equipping the weapon... unfortunately for them. They'd made an enemy of the wrong pirate crew.

Nami waltzed over, her hands planted softly against the sides of their heads. The pair didn't notice the soft touch until their faces came crashing into each other with a heavy "Thunk!" that left them dizzy. Both of them fell to the deck, unconscious. Nami dusted her hands off with a clap. She turned back to the old man, who had stood back up and walked off the two bazooka shots like they were nerf gun bullets.

"Mind opening the exit for us?" She smiled sweetly. The man gave her a hearty laugh, pulling the lever. The gate opened wide, the smell of untainted ocean air came rushing in with that salty scent of freedom.

...

"So..." Nami started, facing the old man. He'd followed them out of the whale, mostly to thank them properly for their help in apprehending the stowaways. They'd docked at the rocky outstretch of land beside the mouth of reverse mountain, where a lighthouse could be found. "What's the deal with the whale?" She asked. The old man looked over at the group of curious teens, some more interested than others.

"It all started around 50 years ago..." Tani zoned out as soon as the story started. Whether voluntary or not, her brain decided it was time to take a nap. Closing her eyes, the darkness didn't last long. She opened her eyes to the sight of a jolly crew, much like her own. Only they were all much older, and there was at least triple the number of crew mates. They all sang and danced, many played instruments.

"Going to deliver Binks' sake!"

"Following the sea breeze! Riding on the waves!"

"Far across the salty depths! The merry evening sun!"

"The birds sing as they draw circles in the sky!"

Tani stared starry eyed at the crew, who sang the first sea shanty she'd ever heard from this world. Her head swayed with the tune, her arms and legs bounced in time with the beat. The crew couldn't see her, nobody ever could when she dreamed like this.

"Oi! Brook," A man who towered over Tani came barrelling towards the edge of the rail. His hand clutched at the white cowboy hat on his head. A bright smile on his sunny skin. Tani followed, looking over the rail to find a tall, skinny man with a big black afro and top hat, sitting on a wooden platform attached to a pulley system on the boat. Looking up from the ocean, the man smiled back at Mr Cowboy hat.

"Ay captain?" Brook? called from below.

"How's our little tag along?" The captain motioned towards the dark blue blob that followed behind the boat. Tani wouldn't have noticed it otherwise. Once the blob was within 10 ft of Brook, it surfaced. Wide, babyish eyes and a deep blue snout, Tani let out a gasp.

"The whale?" Her realization was ignored. Brook smiled at the whale as it chirped along with the sound of the sea shanty. If whales could smile, she was sure that this was it.

"I think our little Laboon is enjoying the music." Brook replied, readjusting the violin in his hands, back onto his shoulder. "Shall we?" He looked up at the captain with a glimmer in his eyes. The cowboy winked, turning back to his crew and singing the lyrics to their shanty louder.

Tani blinked away the vision. Her body swirled around the mist of a dream now vanished. The new scene was that of the cliffside, both Brook and the captain stood before a much younger looking version of-

"The old man." Tani wandered closer, to hear what they were discussing.

"-Far too dangerous for him." The captain looked saddened, holding his hat to his head. Brook was holding back tears. "Please, until we make it back around the world. It wont take too long, once we're back we'll be strong enough to protect our little Laboon."

Oh no... Tani could already see where this was going. The old man looked at least 50 years younger (that sounded rude but it's true). Laboon was still with the old man... Had the crew abandoned Laboon? No, that can't be. Not after they'd shown the whale so much love and welcomed him on their journey... That means.

Tani didn't know when the tears started, maybe it was from the implications of a child effectively being left behind by their parents, forever awaiting their return. Maybe it was because she witnessed the happiness the crew had together while singing together. It could be that she was exhausted from the events of day. No matter the cause, she was sobbing.

"I'll do it. Just get back here soon, or else." The younger version of the old man huffed. "The kid'll miss you." He looked at the chirping whale, who was none the wiser.

"Thank you, Crocus."

Tani watched as the two pirates walked back over to speak with Laboon-

"Luffy!" A loud choir broke through the vision that Tani wasn't ready to part with. She felt her mind kicking her out of the dream, her eyes snapping open again to bare witness to something she could only wish was a dream.

Luffy had slammed the Merry's main mast straight into an adult Laboon's blow hole. The whale (who Tani now noticed was a scarred up mess in his snout), roared in anger. Luffy was grinning that same kinda grin he would when fighting a dangerous foe.

"Is Luffy picking fights with Laboon again?!" Tani shrieked. Causing Zoro to wince. Right, she was still on his shoulder. Sanji swooped in to stand by her side.

"Afraid so my dear." He sighed. Zoro let out a groan.

"The idiot seems to have forgotten that we need a sail to... Well-"

"To sail?" Sanji finished for him. The swordsman rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, that."

"Hey," Tani looked around, there was something missing from the scene. "Where are those stowaways? The ones with the big guns." Zoro was quick to answer.

"Luffy tossed them overboard when you fell asleep." That sounded like Luffy.

"You're pretty strong!" Luffy's voice carried over the island. The crew hushed to listen in. Laboon stared down at the much smaller boy. "We should fight again someday." He laughed that trademark Luffy chuckle. Laboon's eyes widened with a shimmer of excitement.

"From today. You're gonna be my rival!" Luffy declared. Laboon let out a deep trill that vibrated the whole of Reverse mountain. It was clear that the whale had agreed to Luffy's invitation to rival hood. Luffy placed his hands on his hips, "You better keep training, and stop hurting yourself on the mountain. I won't fight a weakling." The crew knew what he was doing, Crocus knew what he was doing, Laboon probably knew too.

A promise that Luffy would come back, so the whale better still be in one piece when Luffy got back.

"Oh! I have an idea!" Luffy didn't elaborate, only racing back onto the Merry and slamming the storage room door open. The rest of the crew looked at the abandoned mast that Luffy had left on the ground.

"How are we going to fix that?" Tani questioned. Usopp let out a sigh.

"I can fix it... I think?" The sniper pressed a finger to his forehead. "I'll need someone to hold it in place so I can make the repairs." he said with a tired look. Zoro put Tani on the ground, rolling his shoulder.

"Let's get this over with." He looked as tired as he sounded. Walking over to collect the mast. Sanji decided to follow behind Zoro. Muttering under his breath about who knows what.

"What?" Nami made a noise of confusion. Tani looked over, watching the navigators finger tapping on the compass in her hand. The metal pointer was spinning around in quick circles. "It was working just fine this morning," she said with confusion.

"That's a regular compass, yes?" Crocus asked. Nami nodded. The old man laughed.

"There's you're first mistake kid," he chuckled. Reaching into his pocket and pulling out a compass of his own. Only this one wasn't spinning out of control. "How much research did you kids do before making the journey here?" Crocus asked.

"Not much," Nami answered honestly. "I only know that there's a lot of strange weather patterns that occur at random." Crocus let out a thoughtful hum.

"Well here's your first lesson on the Grand-line." He held the compass in his hand out for Nami to look at. "In order to get around on the Grand-line, you'll need a log pose." Nami looked at the compass in awe. Crocus jumped into an explanation that used words that Tani's tired brain didn't understand very well. She tuned it out.

Her attention was suddenly drawn to Luffy. The captain had returned to Laboon with four buckets of paint, a paint brush, and a whole lot of determination. His arms stretched widely as he awkwardly painted the scarred front of Laboons snout with whites, black, yellows and reds. It wasn't until Luffy was finished that Tani could make out a very crudely painted version of the crews jolly roger. Luffy chattered away with Laboon, distracted from the paint cans. Tani had an idea.

If she was to return the paint cans, Luffy wouldn't have to. Which means he wouldn't need to enter the storage room. Usopp had already gathered all the materials he needed to fix the mast. Zoro and Sanji were both helping him fix it. Nami was busy talking about navigator stuff with Crocus.

Tani wasn't needed right now, and to be honest. She didn't want to be disturbed at the moment. The storage room was the perfect spot to hide out for a while. Tani stealthily grabbed the paint cans that Luffy had abandoned, waltzed past Nami and Crocus, skipped past the boys repairing the mast, made her way into the storage room and closed the door. Releasing a sigh of relief. Placing the paint cans down, she found a crate beside the small porthole window. Tani sat down and pulled out her Walkman, placing the headphones on, she pressed play, and found herself slowly drifting off into a dreamless slumber.

...

Gentle sways from the oceans open waves managed to dislodge Tani's face from the window that her cheek was squished against. Sending the girl tumbling forward, unconsciously she slammed head first into the floor. Waking up with a pained groan, her head pulsed to life. Where was she again?

The darkness of the room, twinkling stars and quarter moon that illuminated what little of the room that the window provided. It was clearly night time, late into the night to be exact. If the silence of the Merry was-

Tani's stomach grumbled to life, begging the girl for attention. She stood up, much to the protest of her stiff muscles. That nap was not worth all this trouble. Missing dinner, and aching all over? No, thank you.

Dinner never had left overs if Luffy had a say in it, but there's no way Sanji would have left her nothing. Even if he hadn't saved her dinner, she was capable of making something simple. Years of mac 'n cheese, everything sandwiches and higgle piggle pasta meals have prepared her for moments like this.

Opening the storage room door, the girl was hit in the face with a blast of ocean wind. She closed her eyes while her body adjusted, the kitchen was right around the corner anyway, taking a blind step forward with one hand pressed on the wall.

Another step forward and-

"Oof," Tani bumped into a wall? Wait, walls don't have arms to catch you. The person sure felt like a brick wall. Hopefully it was Zoro. Tani wasn't in the mood to deal with-

"Are you getting a midnight snack too?"

Luffy...

Tani removed her arm from her eyes, giving Luffy an unimpressed look. Of course he was going to raid the fridges at midnight, Sanji had complained about food going missing. Going so far as to buy mouse traps in case Merry had some unwelcome guests... Hold on, she had far more pressing matters to deal with.

"I'm making myself dinner, since nobody woke me up for it." She answered, her voice came out ruder than intended, if the frown Luffy gave her was any indication. Tani pulled herself away from Luffy's hold. "Sanji will be upset if you steal more food, so go back to bed or I'll tell him you keep stealing all the food." She threatened. Luffy's frown grew more serious. Tani didn't pay him any mind, walking past him towards the kitchen.

"Why are you so grumpy?" Luffy asked. Tani paused, not turning back to face him. She remained silent. "You've been all grumpy and snappy today. You beat me up when I got back on the ship, and took a nap in the store room without telling anyone." Tani could hear him taking a step closer. She couldn't will her body to step away.

"Sanji was worried, and almost ran into the store room to wake you up, but Nami said not to because you needed 'alone time'. I don't like being alone, it's the worst, so I don't know why you'd want to do that. Is that why you're all grumpy?" He took another step forward. Tani decided to turn around, finding Luffy half a metre away.

"Look." She sighed, putting a hand to her face. She couldn't look him in the eye. "I've been tossed around by Seakings, thrown overboard which really hurt my arm, swallowed by a whale like I was Pinocchio." She counted on her fingers. "And you've been acting like an idiot all day." Luffy remained silent. She removed her hand from her face.

"It's like you don't think before you act. You're recklessness caused the whole whale thing to happen. I thought I was gonna die, that we were all gonna die. You weren't even there on Merry when she was swallowed." Why was her throat burning up so much?

"I can't die yet..." Oh, her eyes feel salty. "I've got someone very important waiting for me at home. She's all alone right now, if I die, sh-sh-she-" Tani sniffled, wiping her hands into the damp corners of her eyes.

A pair of arms looped around the girls waist. One hand patting at her back with a bit too much force, like mimicking something you've seen done before without understanding it. Tani planted her face into the crook of Luffy's neck, mentally apologizing for the snot and tears.

The quiet moment didn't last long. Not when both of their stomachs growled at the same time. Tani felt her muscles tense up, before a feeling of laughter bubbled up in her throat. She snickered, which broke the tension, giving Luffy room to laugh with her. Tani pulled her face off his shoulder and for the first time that day. She genuinely smiled.

"I'll make you something to eat?" She suggested. Luffy scooped her into his arms and raced towards the kitchen at the mention of a free, cooked meal.

Tani just laughed.

(A/N: Hello! I'm updating this chapter on Easter of 2021 (HAPPY EASTER!) and hooboy was this chapter a total pain in the ass to rewrite. I don't know why it was! But I did not have much fun at all hegeheheghh. At least it's done! And I can move on to Whisky peak, which is one of the more fun arcs to work on. I missed a bunch of things in that chapter so hopefully I'll finish that one without hitting as many road bumps :P

Thank you all for checking up on me, and for being patient. I know it must be boring waiting for these reworks. I'm doing the best I can. I love you all and honestly wouldn't be able to do this without all your kind words!

LOTS OF LOVE AND HUGSSSSS!!!! SMOOOOCHESSSSS)