Wow, it's been a long time, huh? But I haven't forgotten about this story at all! I'm going to be doing my best to update more regularly, I promise! So, without further ado, here you go!

Rain pounds loudly against the windows of the kitchen. Their first few days in the New World have certainly been...interesting. They quickly discovered that the weather changes on a dime here, something that Run didn't have much of a chance to warn them of when they surfaced. One moment it was raining drops of water bigger than the Sunny, then it changed to hail, then snow and then into a heat fit to match any summer season. When everything had finally...eased off, so to speak, it settled on just raining cats and dogs. So, with things more or less calm, the crew has finally taken the moment to enjoy some much needed rest and recovery.

"You know, Robin," begins Run. "The longer I stare at this...the more it looks like nothing but a bunch of squiggles." Robin giggles softly, fingers gently raking through his red hair over and over. He's stretched out across the couch, one leg over the arm and the other resting on the ground while he rests his head on her thigh.

"Let me see," Robin says, turning briefly from her book. Run tilts the book held over his face up for her inspection. A simple glance at the page and she chuckles again. "Firstly, it's upside down." Run's brow furrows for a moment before he spins the book around in his hands. "Secondly, it's the apology from Joy Boy." She effortly rattles off the translation, receiving a sigh in response.

"Mm...I'll take your word for it." He closes the book with a dull 'thump' and rests it on his stomach. "Honestly, I'm not smart enough to understand a single bit of it."

"I think you're smarter than you give yourself credit for." Run laughs softly turns his head to stare up into her eyes.

"Oh, trust me, Robin, I'm not." The ship suddenly lurches, pressing the the two of them into the couch...and then leaving them weightless. "Whoa!" The two of them hang tight to the couch as gravity takes hold again, water spraying against the window of the kitchen. Luffy's laughter echos loudly, followed by a brief crash of lightning. "What's going on now?"

"I think our Captain is enjoying the New World." The two of them pull themselves off the couch and quickly make their way to the deck of the Sunny. The rain is falling in sheets, and the ship is pitching this way and that as they make their arrival.

"Look! Look!" calls Luffy, pointing past the bow. "That volcano is erupting! There! I wanna go to that island!" The sea ahead of them is, for lack of a better description, completely ablaze.

"Wait a minute, Luffy!" Nami cries. "None of the needles are even pointing to that island!"

"But there's a volcano, and it's right there! Who cares about the needles?"

"There's something wrong with that island! The water around it is on fire! Even in the New World it's too strange! Look! There's fish-bones floating in the water!" Loud sobbing suddenly echos across the Sunny, attracting everyone's attention back to the kitchen. Luffy is there in a flash, sprinting past Robin and Run into the kitchen and toward the noise, which happens to be coming from the transponder snail.

"Oi, what's wrong with the transponder snail? It's crying!" Luffy begins his best attempt as calming the crying snail.

"It's an emergency call," Run tells him, stepping back into the kitchen with the rest of the crew hot on their heels. "Someone's in trouble." The red head approaches the snail, reaching out for the receiver.

"Wait," warns Robin. "Nearly fifty percent of all emergency calls are fake. It's a trap often used by the Navy. If the line is tapped and you answer it, they'll know exactly where we are." Run pulls his hand back with a nod in understanding. The last thing they need is to bring the Navy running right to their location. But even as Run pulls back, Luffy grabs the receiver and answers it.

"Hello!" calls Luffy. "This is Monkey D. Luffy. I'm gonna be King of the Pirates!" Usopp quickly smacks him in the back of the head, shouting at him for ignoring Robin and saying far too much to an unknown person on the other end of the line.

"Help!" screams the voice. "It's so...so cold! Is this the boss?!"

"N-No, this isn't the boss. You said cold?"

"My comrades are getting cut down one after another! The samurai are gonna kill us!"

"Where are you?! What's your name?!"

"S-Someone please help me...I'm on...Punk Hazard!" The man suddenly screams loudly, the sound enough to raise the hair on the back of one's neck, before going completely silent. The line goes dead afterwards, and Luffy places the receiver back down.

"I smell trouble." Usopp and Chopper immediately yell at their Captain for his obvious statement.

"It could still be a trap," Robin offers.

"He said 'samurai', right?" mutters Run.

"That's the name for swordsmen in Wano Country," Brook tells him. "The Wano Kingdom, it's closed off to the outside world. It's not even affiliated with the World Government. They say that those swordsmen called 'samurai' are so strong that not even the Navy dares approach."

"But that man said Punk Hazard, not the Wano Kingdom," asserts Franky. "Do you think he meant that island of fire that's right in front of us?"

"If he was using a baby transponder snail, that's about how far it could reach," Robin tells them. Everyone moves to the entrance of the kitchen, and stares off into the distance at the island engulfed in flames. It seems highly improbable that the man is actually there. After all, there doesn't seem to be a single part of it that isn't actually on fire.

"Alright!" shouts Luffy. "Let's go to that island...!"

With their Captain's mind made up, they've moved as close as possible to the flaming sea surrounding the island and dropped anchor. Despite the fact that it seems impossible for anyone to actually be surviving on the island, or the fact that they're not even sure if this IS the right island, Luffy has decided to push forward and have a look. So, they've gathered at the bow of the Sunny to make some final preparations. "So...who's going to go?" Sanji asks. "Since there's some uncertainty about the signal, we shouldn't all go."

"Franky, I need the mini-merry."

"Hold on!" cries Nami. "Are you planning to go by yourself?"

"Do you have a problem with that?"

"Of course! If we let you go by yourself, then you'll just run off without telling anyone!"

"I'll go with him," Run offers. Nami immediately rounds on the red head.

"No way! If you go, then you'll just let him do what he wants! It's the same as not sending anyone at all!" The red head offers a shrug of his shoulders and a smirk in response. She isn't entirely wrong, after all.

"So, he needs some company," Sanji says. "Not the random belly-warmer guy, though." This immediately sparks an argument between Zoro and Sanji, the two shouting at one another loudly.

"I'll tag along, then," Franky tells them.

"It does sound like fun," agrees Robin. Usopp and Chopper quickly bow out from the trip, but Nami decides that the best way to figure out who will go is to draw straws. She quickly produces a number of strips of paper, and holds them out for all of them to draw...

"Here you go, Luffy!" offers Sanji. "I made a special lunch box for the trip." Luffy accepts it quickly, drooling slighty at one corner of his mouth. Franky is quickly preparing the mini-merry for travel while Nami surprises them all by creating a cloud bridge through the sky to allow them to cross over the flames. With the mini-merry prepared, and their route determined, they set off. The lucky winners of the draw are Luffy, Zoro, Robin, and Usopp. As the mini-merry charges down the bridge, the rest of the crew cheers them on, despite Usopp's pleading for someone to trade places with him.

"Aaah, I'm glad I didn't get picked," sighs Chopper, clinging to the railing of the Sunny. "I can't stand the heat." Run chuckles and picks up their doctor easily.

"C'mon, Chopper, let's get you something cool to drink," Run says, depositing the little reindeer on his shoulders.

"Oi!" shouts Sanji. "You stay out of the kitchen, Red! I'm going to make something for Nami! You can have what's left over!" The red head sighs and waves him off while the cook quickly dashes into the kitchen. While he's gone, Nami has taken an interest in the skys above the island. Several long minutes pass before he returns with a tray of frozen deserts and chilled drinks.

"It's so yummy, Sanji! I thought I was gonna melt in the heat!" The red head sips his drink while sitting on the railing of the Sunny.

"Ohhhh, I'm breaking out into a super sweat of cola!" shouts Franky, reclining in one of the deck chairs.

"The clouds above the island are split," mutters Nami. "One half is burning hot and the other is freezing cold. I wonder why?" Run glances over his shoulder at the clouds in the sky. To his eyes, there doesn't seem to be any difference between the clouds close to them and the one's further away.

"You can tell all of that from the clouds?" Run questions her. "I don't really...unh..." The red head shakes his head violently, as a sudden drowsiness begins to over-come him. Nami is next, nearly slumping down beside Run but managing to catch herself on the railing. Chopper immediately jumps to his feet looking at them both.

"Nami? Run? What's wrong?" questions Chopper. The red head slides off the railing, bracing himself against it to keep on his feet. Nami collaspes beside him, and try as he might he can't even keep himself standing with the help of the railing. His vision rapidly begins to dim around the edges as his eyes slide closed.

"I don't...feel..."

Loud banging is the first thing that the red head comes around to. The same loud banging again and again seemingly without end. "Would you knock off that racket?" complains Run, eyes snapping out and leaning up. A quick scan around reveals not only him but Nami, Chopper, Sanji and Franky all locked in some kind of room. "Where the hell are we?" Sanji, who has been violently kicking what seems to be the only door in the room, finally seems to take notice of the red head's awakening.

"Oi, Red, come here and give me a hand!" demands Sanji. With a grunt he stands and starts to approach the huge door.

"How'd we end up here?"

"We were knocked out," Nami tells him. "On the Sunny someone must have used sleeping gas on us, then snatched us when we passed out."

"The ship was, in fact, filled with gas," Sanji adds. "I'm sorry. I wish I'd have noticed it sooner."

"Are they going to sell us?!" Chopper cries. "Are they abducting humans?!"

"Wait, if they took all of us on the ship, then where is Brook?" asks Franky.

"If they're abducting humans maybe they don't need a skeleton?"

"But...you're not a human, either, Chopper."

"You're one to talk," Run adds, staring at the large door. "Oi, cook, Franky, come give me a hand. I think the three of us can knock this door down."

"Hey, you people," calls an unfamiliar voice. All heads turn towards the voice quickly, looking around for the source but finding nothing but a few parts of...something lying on the floor a few meters away. "Do you guys like hanjimono? That means 'puzzles' in a foreign language." Chopper walks in the direction of the parts.

"Was it this thing that just talked?" mutters Chopper. "What is it?"

"Don't call me an 'it'!" The snappy response immediately send their doctor into a sudden panic. He retreats in a flash, appearing behind the red-head and holding tight to one of his legs. The crew approaches closer to have a look at the thing speaking. "You guys don't seem like bad people...these are all the parts of my face. Can I ask you all to put them back together?" At the man's prompting, they each make an attempt at reassembling his face sometimes with parts left out or completely wrong from what it should be according to the man. After a few attempts they finally manage to put him back together in a somewhat acceptable fashion. "I think there's something wrong with the chin and the top part but it's okay. Thank you!"

After a few tense moments of staring at the talking head, it finally dawns on the crew. "A severed head just spoke!" scream the crew in unison.

"You just noticed?!" Chopper leaps from behind the red head, a golden cross and string of prayer beads held in his hands.

"How can you live like that?!" demands Chopper, brandishing the symbols at the severed head. "Are you possessed?!"

"I don't know. I didn't wish to become like this. That bastard...he used some kind of weird magic. I thought I was dead when he cut me up but I ended up like this. To be kept alive after being sliced apart...this is the greatest dishonor to a warrior!"

"Alive without your body?! How?! I don't get it!"

"I wish I could slice my belly and die in obscurity but...there is something that I need to do even if I live in disgrace!" Nami steps forward from the group, and leans slightly to look down at the severed head on the ground before them.

"By the way," begins Nami. "Do you know where this place is, old man?"

"Old man?! Women can't talk to warriors like that! Women have to walk three steps behind men and talk modestly and humbly!" Nami responds by bending down and picking him up by his cheek, much to the discomfort of the man.

"What did you say, you jerk?! You're just a severed head! How could you say that to someone who helped you?!" The man's demands that Nami release him fall on deaf ears for several moments while she pinches and pokes the man before eventually dropping him back to the floor.

"W-What country are you from?! You're so rude and brash! But I assume someone ripped off your clothes and you're hurt! You have my sympathy."

"No one ripped off my clothes! This is the way I dress!"

"How obscene! All you have is a breast-band!"

"Oh? You don't like it?"

"No, I love it!" Sanji's immediately response to the man's words is to kick him across the room they find themsleves in. "That was a trap!" Run pinches the bridge of his nose in frustration. For all this man's talk he's just as much a pervert as anyone else, and questioning him isn't getting them anywhere at this rate. "I had no idea that women from other countries only wear a breast-band. I like it. By the way, who are you people? I heard that you were taken from a ship."

"We're pirates," grunts Run. "Who are-"

"Pirates?! You people are pirates?! No wonder you people are barbaric! I hate pirates! You make me sick! I was thinking of escaping with you people since I met you here on this island of ice by chance. But it's too bad that you're just- aah!" The man's tirade is cut short by Run's hand closing tight over his eyes, gripping tight to his skull.

"I've had just about all I can stand of you, old man."

"Hold on, Run," calls Franky. "Old man, did you say 'island of ice'? I thought this was a burning island."

"Yeah, wasn't the whole island on fire?" adds Chopper.

"Wait a moment," begins Nami, approaching. Run transfers the man to his right hand, holding him in the palm of his hand, and turning him to face Nami. "You say this is an island of ice. Didn't you hear this eruptions?" The man glances between the red head and their navigator for a moment before snorting softly.

"I heard some explosions," agrees the man. "But I entered the island of ice straight from an icy sea. Don't talk to me anymore, you damn pirates!"

"I thought I saw a wintry sky from the Sunny. It wasn't just in my head! The burning island that Luffy and the others went to has a cold side. That means they took us to the other side of the island!" Nami turns to look at Sanji and Run. "We need to find out who took us and why by getting out of this room!"

"Nami, the door is unbreakable," replies Sanji, pacing over to the door with Nami.

"Stand aside!" cries Franky, grinning from ear to ear as he raises his arms. "I'm filled up with cola!" Both Nami and Sanji panic as his cupped hands begin to glow brilliantly. "Franky...Radical Beam!" His laser beam slams into the door, blowing it off it's hinges and warping the surrounding metal from the heat. When the dust finally settles Run whistles in appreciation.

"Guess there's something to be said about technology," mutters Run.

"Jealous, Run? If you'd like I can install one of these for you, yeow~!"

"Yeah, I'll, uh...I'll mention it to Robin."

"Hen-pecked already?" The two share a laugh in response before Franky motions to the door. "There! It's open! Let's go!" Franky, Chopper and Nami file out of the room while Sanji approaches.

"And what are you going to do?" Sanji questions the man. "You said that you wanted to escape with us before you knew we were pirates, didn't you?"

"Shut up and leave, pirate!" demands the man.

"You won't make it on your own. After all, you're just a head." Sanji glances over at Run and both nod. "Isn't that right-" Sanji grasps the top of the man's head and yanks up while Run yanks down. With a resounding 'smack!' they reassemble him. "-Samurai of the Wano Country?!" The rest of the crew comes back into the room at the sound of yelling, staring at the severed head.

"Samurai?! Him?!" gasps Chopper.

"This is a typical Wano Country hairstyle."

"Does that mean he's the killer samurai the guy on the snail mention?!" The sound of footsteps rapidly approaching and coupled with loud shouting draws everyone's attention to the hall way. It appears that their jail-break has been noticed already.

"We came to this island after receiving an emergency signal from one of you victims, Samurai."

"Sanji, leave the scary guy here, we need to go!"

"I don't cut people if it disgraces me!" growls the samurai. "I came to this island to rescue my son! I don't mind cutting thousands if they get in my way!" The samurai suddenly finds a finger thrust into his face, by way of the red head.

"You had better not be lying to us, samurai," growls Run.

"There!"

"Shoot them! Don't let them get away!" Rapid gunfire sounds outside of the room, and they quickly go spilling out to dash down the hall in the opposite direction. Franky throws his arms out, blocking a large volume of bullets with his body.

"Oh, no, you don't!" laughs Franky. "Weapons Left!" A quick burst from Franky's machine-gun scatters the guards and he sprints off after them.

"Sanji! Run! You brought the scary guy?!" screams Chopper. "He's dangerous!" Run scoops the little doctor up and tucks him under an arm as they continue their retreat.

"I'll take responsibility!" declares Sanji. "Look! There's a door up ahead!" The red head sprints ahead and bashes through it with his shoulder, shielding Chopper from any potential threat that may be on the opposite side. But rather than a hail-storm of bullets or sea of guards, they find themselves in a vibrantly decorated...children's room? Spread out in front of them are a multitude of toys, play houses and games...and giant children. "Giant children?"

"What is going on?" questions Nami. "Is this the Island's daycare or something?"

"They're big...but are they giants?" asks Franky. "Did we come to an island of giants?" Run gently sets Chopper down on the ground as he scans the room. It looks like...well, like a day-care for children but there aren't any adults to be seen.

"But there are some not-so-big one's, as well."

"H-Hey, who are you?" asks the tallest of the boys.

"I don't recognize them," adds the tallest girl. "Oh! They must be the one's who got frozen! Did you escape?" In that moment, it seems that the children have finally taken notice of Franky...who immediately becomes a huge hit with the boys in the room, all of which cry 'Robot!' and rush to have a better look. For his part, Franky seems to enjoy the attention, immediately beginning to show off for them. The girls take notice of Chopper, immediately taken in by the little 'tanuki' that's appeared before them despite his protests that he's, in fact, a reindeer.

"Franky sure is popular with the boys," mutters Sanji, not noticing the child approaching him until he's standing beside him. "Huh?"

"Spiral eyebrows!" says the boy pointing at him.

"You brat!" Sanji immediately finds himself surrounded by a number of children, all pointing at his eyebrows.

"Dahahahahaha!" laughs Run, eyes beginning to water. "They got you pegged quick, huh!" He's so busy laughing that he doesn't notice that there are several children surrounding him now as well...at least until one of them grasps the side of his pant leg. He looks down quickly at the child holding onto the side of his pants, and the little girl gives him a shy gap-toothed smile. "Hello, there." He crouches down and gently pats the girl on the top of her head. "My name is Run. What's yours?"

"Hana," replies the girl.

"That's a very pretty name, Hana." The red head notices a number of other children approaching now, all gathering in front of him. "Could you tell me what you're doing here?"

"Oi, Children!" screams a loud voice. Everyone comes to a stop, their voices dying off quickly. The children surrounding Sanji immediately back away from the cook as quickly as possible. "Do you know a child named Momonosuke?! He's just a boy!" The children take off running away from the severed head of the samurai, and hide behind their large number of their toys.

"Damn it!" The red head approaches and picks up the head. "Have you lost your mind, too?! Screaming at kids looking like THIS, are you stupid?!" The sound of footsteps rapidly approaching from the hall they came through attracts their attention. "Oh, for- now see what you did?!"

"They're coming," calls Franky, grabbing Chopper up and depositing him on his shoulder. "Let's run to the back! We can hide there!" Two children comes out of hiding to quickly run with them, leading them towards a place to hide safely, it seems.

"What kind of place is this?" questions Sanji. "C'mon! Tell me!"

"I'm looking for a boy named Momonosuke!" demands the samurai. Once again he scares the children, who begin to run quicker. Nami responds by slapping the samurai across the cheek. "I got hit by a woman! This is a dishonor to a Samurai! I should commit suicide!"

"Then do it and quit your bitchin'!" retorts Run.

"Hey, Mr. Robot, did you come from outside the island?" a giant blond boy asks.

"Yeah, of course!" Chopper tells him. "But I'm a cyborg, little guy."

"Do you have a ship?"

"Oh, yeah! Our ship the Sunny is the best!"

"Then, please help us!"

"Is this place not a day-care after all?" asks Chopper. The children continue their begging for the crew to take them away from the day-care that their in while they run towards the exit. Nami stops briefly, listening to the children cry for her to take them along. After a few moments, and a shout from Sanji to keep running she follows after them.

"Please, big sis!" cries a giant black haired girl. "Help us!"

"Let's take them with us!"

"We can't, Chopper," Franky tells him. "We don't even know how to save ourselves! There's no way that we can take that many kids. But what is this?! I have a feeling something tragic is going to happen!" The kids eventually quit chasing after them, having run out of breath it seems.

"Then...Then, please," begins the dark haired girl. "Come back and save us later!" Nami comes to a sudden stop. "I knew! Even if I've never been out of this building! There is nothing on this island, right?! There is no city! There is no one else! That's why no one comes to help us! I just want to see my mother and father! Sis, please come back! Come to help us later!" After several moments of pause Nami turns to face the children.

"Let's help these children!" Nami demands. Everyone comes to a stop, and finally turns to face her and the children.

"What are you talking about, Nami?" Sanji asks. "We don't actually know if these children really need help! This place could actually be a hospital, after all! We just met them and don't know what's going on here! It's not our job to help every single person!"

"I understand what you're saying but...you can't turn your back on a child crying for help!" The suited men chasing them eventually come to a stop several meters away, and raise their weapons. Regardless of the fact that the children are between them, it seems that they intend to fire regardless. Nami makes a break in their direction, weaving through the children as quickly as possible. Sanji and Run move in an instant. There's an eruption of fire from the cook as he moves towards the men.

"Diable Jambe Collier...Strike!" The man struck flies back, smashing into the wall several meters away hard enough to create a small crater.

"Sea King's Rush!" The man struck by the red head bowls over several of his comrades before eventually coming to a stop in a tangled mess of limbs. Chopper quickly joins as well, displaying his 'Kung Fu Point' ability by effortlessly beating down several of the men.

"Strong Right!" Franky's fist flies through the air, smashing into one of the men and continuing on to slam into the wall. His 'rocket punch' is rather popular among the boys present.

"She's kind to kids," sighs Sanji. "I like her even more." He takes a long drag on his cigarette and actually blows a heart shapped smoke ring.

"Yeah, only kids," Run mutters, slowly raking his finger through his hair. "Chopper, stay with Nami."

"Oi, brats! Follow the beautiful lady and the Kung Fu Raccoon! I'll fight our pursuers. But don't get me wrong! I'm just doing this to answer Nami's beautiful wish to help you kids. In fact, I don't like you all precisely because Nami likes you so much!" Nami and Chopper quickly call the children to follow as they quickly run away. "Franky, Red, you two don't have to do this."

"Haaah...now you tell me."

"Letting down Armored Franky fans is not an option for me," laughs Franky. "We're gonna fight you! Bring it on...!"