Thanks again to karinukita for beta reading!

Gentle fingers pushed the long blond hair from his eyes. With the hair no longer obstructing his view, he could now see the sweet smile sent his way. The blonde woman chuckled, small apologies being said with regards to her long hair. As she relished her favorite child picking up her beautiful blond hair, the child relished in her gentle voice, something he was not used to hearing. A child's melody began to fall from her lips, out of tune but nonetheless, still sweet.

"Sanji?" His mother called the child's name.

He looked up at her.

"You'll keep visiting me, right?"

Panic overwhelmed him.

He furiously nodded his head. He had to reassure his mother. His sweet mother. The only one here who would reassure his own wounds, whether they be physical or emotional. Sanji needed her to be happy. Who else would he cook for? She was his only family. The only one that cared for him.

"Sanji?"

"Mom!"

"Sanji?"

"Mom!"

"I'm not your mom, Sanji." Seraphina's voice rang through his aching head. Sanji opened his eyes to see the barmaid hovering over his once sleeping form. His eyes shifted around to find a thoroughly knocked out Zoro and a fidgeting Luffy. Sanji's eyes drifted back to the golden orbs.

A smile slithered itself onto his face. "Don't I get a good morning kiss?"

"It's the evening, Sanji. No." Seraphina rolled her eyes.

"I need to get started on dinner then." Sanji picked himself up, brushing off dust from his side. He pushed away his hair from his eyes. Shit, here comes a headache. Although this time it wasn't caused by Luffy. He couldn't stand his memories.

"The islands in the south are warm~

Paina-pururu! Their heads get really hot~

And they're all idiots!~"

Luffy squealed as the woman holding him finished the first verse; her voice filled him with energy. The black-haired woman rubbed her noise against his as she cooed his name. His chubby hands reached back up to twist themselves in her coal black locks. She merely laughed at his gentle tugs. He would be a strong one, that much she knew.

"Mama!" Her son chirped at her.

"Luffy!"

"Again! Again!"

The woman chuckled at the small boy, bouncing him in her arms. She swaddled her son tighter together with his fluffy winter blanket. The weather would get colder, and her son would start to shiver soon. The boy wiggled around, clearly not liking how his mother wrapped him tight; he wanted to be free. "Luffy, it's almost time to go to bed."

"I don't wanna!" Her child pouted at her; his cute little cheeks puffed up.

"I'll sing to you to tomorrow," she whispered back to him, hugging him tighter than she'd ever had before.

"Pwomise?"

The woman's heart twisted, but she must put him to bed before Garp arrived. "I promise."

Luffy jolted. His heart pounded, blood rushed through his ears as his forgotten memory slowly rose to the surface. He wasn't used to this— this feeling of abandonment. Luffy didn't like it. The captain saw a bluenette shaking a totally knocked out Zoro, and he knew that he would be able to sneak away without Seraphina seeing him in such a shaken form. Luffy might not have been the sharpest tool in the shed, but even he knew that whatever happened to the four of them, they weren't supposed to experience that.

Green hair fell into his eyes as he turned his head towards the festivities. There she was, dancing away with her friends on the star-white sand that belonged to the Lagoon. Her smile was radiant, shining brightly onto the family that surrounded her. The pearls in her hair reflected the moonlight, the white of her skirt shone fire red from the large bonfire celebrating her marriage. The crowds cheered and laughed. All while he looked on her in a kind of sadness he could not name.

The woman's turquoise followed her head's movements. The pearls resting on her head like a halo reminded him of seafoam forming on the ocean waves. As she spun, her hair flew out like an ocean, the ripples in her hair mimicking the blue waves that carried her people home. With fabric wrapped itself close to her body, almost tangling between her legs. But she could not be tripped. The young woman had spent too much time growing up with her people's choice in fashion. She had spent too much time dancing on the white beaches of the Lagoons.

She was a bride to the stars. One that he would give away.

But it was alright. The star she chose will guide her and protect her. She will be safe. She will be happy and that's all he can ask for.

Zoro sighed, deep in thought. His hands rested against his swords, a habit he had formed long ago and would never be able to break. The swordsman turned his head back towards the woman with the turquoise hair. He cracked a smile when he saw his family dancing with her, showering adoration on the bride. Nami and Robin had the woman in their arms. Together, they made a familiar sight that Zoro had seen plenty of times. Only, now, they were no longer on the Sunny.

The woman's golden eyes caught his dark grey ones. A smile broke out on her face. Slipping from the females' arms, the young woman dashed to Zoro's side, clinging strongly onto his right arm. Her voice was light and airy. "You will dance with me, right? It is tradition."

"Of course. Anything for you."

"Oh thank you!" The woman hugged him, her turquoise hair flying about her as she clung to him. She pulled back, a bigger smile beaming on her face. His name slipped from her lips. Zoro jolted, not expecting that name coming from her. She merely smiled at him. "What?"

"What did you call me?"

"Zoro."

"Stop calling me that."

"Zoro, wake up."

"Stop," he murmured as he pushed away the woman with the golden eyes. The turquoise woman merely stared at him, her golden orbs piercing into his soul. Gold overwhelmed him, dragging him down into the shining sea of wealth. Slowly, the turquoise hair grew bluer, losing the greenish tint to the lovely hair. The woman's pearls disappeared, leaving undecorated light blue hair in the aftermath of his coming to. He paused, recognizing the woman in front of him. "Seraphina?"

She gave him a smile. "Are you alright? I had thought you took too much."

"N— yeah," Zoro sat up from his spot on the ground. When had he fallen over? "I'm fine."

"Alright then," the bluenette hesitantly pulled herself away from the man. He looked a lot more startled than he should have for his first time. "If you feel anything… off, just come to me."

Zoro nodded, his right hand rubbing the unease from his eyes. A thought passed through his head. What had the others dreamed of? "Hey, Sera?"

"Yes?"

"What did you dream of?"

A small smile formed on her face. And with that, he knew he would not get an answer. Her golden orbs darkened, and the light from her eyes began to close themselves off. It was so different from the eyes he had seen from the dancing woman before. She turned her body away from him and began to make her way towards everyone else. And just like how his dream started, he was alone.

"Damn it, Luffy!" Sanji groaned as his headache began to worsen. "You ate all the food, didn't you?"

"No!" Luffy straightened out his lips as his eyes began to wander from Sanji's harsh gaze. His expression faltered as Sanji kept glaring at the starving captain. His lips pulled themselves into a pout.

"Hey, what's that on your face?" Seraphina's voice drifted over to their ears.

Luffy's eyes widened in fear; his hands flinging up to cover his guiltily face from Sanji's piercing eyes. Sanji flung up his leg, hooking the hiding captain and flinging the poor boy into the hard, wooden walls of the Merry.

"Sanji! Watch the ship!" Usopp turned back from his fishing to face Sanji, his mouth stuffed with bread.

Seraphina's eyes widened at the sight of bread crumbs falling out of his mouth and onto his overalls. She had expected Luffy to raid the pantry, but not Usopp. The bluenette stalked over to the three fishers, noticing the way they had begun to quiver at the sight of her widened eyes. As Sanji was continuing to argue to Nami for a refrigerator with a lock, Seraphina's fingers found their way into Usopp's curly hair and Chopper's fur. She leaned in close between them, making sure that Karoo could hear her as well. "I did wonder how Luffy had managed to get himself past our traps."

As her gaze flitted over Chopper's head, the small doctor couldn't help but crack under the pressure. "He promised that he wouldn't eat everything!"

"Chopper!" Usopp hissed at his comrade.

"It wasn't my fault, Phinie!" Chopper clung to her arm as he began to tear up. "Usopp said that it would be fine! I just wanted a snack!"

"Chopper!"

"Oh don't 'Chopper!' him!" Seraphina snapped at the mechanic. Her heart had grown too soft for the little reindeer. "You were the one in charge of watching Luffy! You know how he is! You shouldn't be condoning him!"

Usopp pouted in a similar fashion to Luffy as he was being admonished by the bluenette. Mumbling something under his breath about favoritism, he turned himself back to fishing once the bluenette was finished. But almost immediately after, his attention was brought to a shouting Luffy.

"It's just steam, Luffy! Calm down!" A Nami in a pissy mood shouted back.

"Phinie?" Chopper pulled at the said woman's sleeves. "How is there steam on the ocean?"

"Well, either there's an underwater volcano or that part of the ocean is so hot it's boiling." Seraphina caught Usopp's and Chopper's panicked looks and immediately started retracting her statements. "B— but we're in the first half of the Grand Line, so it's because there's an underwater volcano."

"It's perfectly safe to travel through the steam," Nami added. "It'll just smell terrible as we're passing through."

"Ew!" Usopp said as he recast a fishing line. "Can we go around it then?"

Seraphina rolled her eyes. "There's no need."

She headed back inside the kitchen with her bluenette twin. The two sat down at the kitchen table, flicking away food as they stared at the back of the blond scavenging the empty storage room. Staring at the sad image of Sanji trying to scrap around for a few ingredients, the girls turned their attention to themselves.

"Do you think your people will send anyone?"

"Definitely," Seraphina turned her head towards the bluenette. "Alabasta is one of our biggest buyers. Even if we weren't allies, we'd still need you guys to not be killing each other. Our biggest worry is who they'll send."

"They better not send a Banshee."

"Oh god," Seraphina rolled her eyes. "They're so annoying. If we get lucky, we'll get someone from the Fire-Tongue Tribe. They're hot-headed but they'll work with us."

Vivi nodded her head. Her father and she had lots of dealings with the Taipan family. Olive, a granddaughter of the Taipan matriarch, was even beginning to seem like a friend to Vivi. "I could work with Olive."

"Oh my god, it's been years since I've last seen anyone." Seraphina rested her head against the table, remembering all the friends she had left behind at the Cove. The Sea Foam Islands must have their panties in a twist after they realized that she wasn't even close to coming back. Well, they might get their wish if their plan of taking down Crocodile goes to shit. "Hopefully they don't send anyone old—"

"Ahh! We caught an okama!"

Sanji had poked his head out, giving Seraphina a questioning look. "Do you want to me to take care of it?"

"No," Seraphina sighed, watching a tired Vivi pick herself up and drag her to the door. "We'll take care of it. Just keep searching the storage room."

The two bluenettes stepped outside. Seraphina looked down next to Vivi, watching as a sopping wet man plopped himself down on the deck. His swan coat hung heavy on his skinny frame and his makeup was beginning to run. A laughing Luffy crouched down next to the man and asked if he had a devil fruit.

"Yes, that's why I couldn't swim," the man laughed. "I was so lucky to have grabbed a hold of that duck."

The two woman looked over to find a clearly shaken Karoo shivering on the deck floor. Poor thing.

"What kind of fruit do you have?" Usopp leaned in closer to the guy.

"Well," the man struck a pose, "why don't I show you?"

Usopp and Chopper cheered while Luffy bounced up and down. The trio bounced around and shouted in excitement as the man had begun a dramatic speech on friends and fruits that Seraphina hadn't bothered to pay attention to. If he hadn't eaten a devil fruit, she would have thrown him off the ship already. But whatever, Seraphina thought as she turned away from the crew. Luffy and the others were being entertained. At least now Luffy won't break something.

"Hey, Phinie!" Luffy shouted up at her. The woman tilted her head to get a look at the boy below. She rolled her eyes at Luffy dancing in the man's clothes. Why would she be impressed by— there were two Luffys! Seraphina's eyes widened and she slammed back into the railings overlooking the dancing Luffys. Her regular Luffy was clinging to the Luffy dressed in the man's clothing. "There's two of us!"

"I can see that, Luffy."

"And I can do more!" The man lightly slapped Usopp's face, then leaned down to touch Chopper's fur and Nami's cheek. Zoro batted away the man's hands before he could touch the swordsman. If the man had felt slighted, he showed no emotion except cheeriness. He twisted and spun away from Zoro, slapping his own face as he twirled. First, Usopp's face popped up, then Chopper's and Nami's. "I just have to touch your face and then I can mimic it!"

"Wow!" Someone had cheered.

"And look! I can even remember past faces!" The man scrolled through numerous faces. Some with wide heads and some with skinny. His ability was not what caught Seraphina's eyes. It was the eerily familiar face that had passed by that brought panic to Seraphina's mind. "Oh! That's my ship! I guess it's time for me to go!"

Seraphina turned her head towards Vivi, watching her face carefully. Shock was scrawled all over her face as the man declared something about friendship and hopped off their ship and onto the swan ship passing by. She patted Vivi's stunned cheek. "Vivi," she whispered, "what do you know of Mr. 1 or Mr. 2?"

"N-nothing," Vivi muttered back. "B— but they have our drawings. Surely, Mr. 1 or Mr. 2 would know what we look like?"

"Let's go, okama!" The strange man shouted out as he moved farther away from the Merry.

"Yes, sir! Mr. 2!" His crew shouted, giving a jolt to all the Straw-Hat members.

Vivi collapsed on the ground, hitting the hard wood floor with a strong thud. Her hands were still wrapped in Seraphina's gentle hands. Seraphina followed her to the floor, gently taking in the poor girl's frame. Seeing her father's face among the faces that Mr. 2 had was not a good sign to see, especially when they were still so far from her homeland. Who knows what that man could do? "Vivi."

"We need to come up with something to combat this and quick. The wind's pushing us faster." Zoro commanded, his eyes flitting to everyone that Mr. 2 had touched. "They're moving faster than us; they'll get to Alabasta first."

Seraphina nodded at Zoro's words. "We're lucky that we met him."

"Anyone have any ideas?" Zoro turned to the rest of the crew.

"Nami?" Seraphina looked at Nami.

"Yes?"

"How many days do we have left?"

Nami tapped her chin. "At the rate we're going, probably two days."

"Alright, someone debrief Sanji and try and come up with ideas over the next day," Seraphina leaned over the railing, her hands placed firmly on the wood. "These enemies are too unknown, even for me. The Grand Line is giving us a warm fucking welcome."

"Woah! Look at all those ships!"

"Luffy!" Seraphina shouted at the captain resting on the lamb figurehead. Her nails slid through the soft bandages that Chopper had so graciously given them for their plan. Usopp let out a squeak as she tightened his bandages. "Stop staring at the Baroque ships and get over here!"

"Luffy!" Usopp shouted, pulling his arm out of Seraphina's grasp and pointing out into the wide ocean. "Go get them!"

Luffy pushed back his imaginary sleeves and started stretching his arms back. Seraphina slapped her palm down on his forearm and whipped his body over to her. The barmaid slammed down the captain on a seat nearby Zoro, keeping a firm hand over his shoulder so he wouldn't wiggle out. A light slap to the back of his head had him settling down. She uncapped her marker and scribbled a quick "X" on his forearm. "Luffy, you don't need to get them. They're not worth our time. And Usopp, stop freaking out. You're going to be fine."

"Yeah, there's only eight of us." Sanji breathed out a puff of smoke, watching Seraphina struggle with tying a bandage on Luffy's arm. "It'll waste our energy."

"Maybe your energy," the swordsman muttered next to her, bringing a small smile to the woman's face. She wouldn't admit it to anyone, but she loved their banter.

"So," Sanji continued. He most definitely didn't hear Zoro. "Does this guy really look so much like us?"

"Dude!" Usopp threw a bundle of bandages at Sanji's head. "He looks EXACTLY the same!"

"GUYS!" Nami pulled everyone's attention to her. She was pointing ahead. All heads turned to find the sandy dunes of Alabasta staring back into their wide eyes. "Alabasta!"

"Alright guys," Luffy jumped out in the middle of the crew, sticking his left arm out for all to see. One by one the crew gathered together before entering Alabasta— just like how they gathered together before venturing into the Grand Line— and all stuck out their left arms to mimic Luffy. "Whatever happens from now on, this left arm is proof of our friendship. Now let's go!"

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