Survivors Guilt DISCONTINUED REWRITING

Chapter 37

Luffy was in a substantial amount of pain, but the adrenaline that was now coursing through him helped him ignore it for now. Though he knew all too well that he would greatly regret the decision later, he wasn't going to let it stop him from helping his doctor.

Sanji knew exactly what his captain was thinking so he decided to help the man by piggy-backing him. At first, Luffy had wanted to protest, but Sanji brought up the very good point that he could barely stand at the moment, despite the adrenaline rush. He conceded and the two left the room and headed toward the front of the palace to assist Chopper.

Upon arrival, the two found that Chopper had already taken care of Wapol's two goons, Chess and Kuromarimo. Now, only the former king was left. He'd already revealed his Devil Fruit and was explaining it. Sanji had never really understood why all their opponents had explained their powers, but shrugged it off. Why complain if it helps them win?

The fight went much like it had the first time. Luffy didn't have much strength, so he let Chopper do most of the work. It wasn't until Wapol had aimed at the Jolly Roger - Doctor Hiriluk's, Chopper's father, flag - on top of the castle that Luffy moved. He launched himself to the top and grabbed the stem of the flag before it fell. When the smoke cleared, Chopper stared up at the total stranger who was protecting his father's Jolly Roger.

"Attacking the flag," Luffy growled. Somehow, everyone on the ground heard him. "Means war." He glared down at the fake king. "Since you so boldly fired, I assume you're ready to die for your own flag?"

"What?" Wapol tried to match Luffy's glare, "What the hell are you on about, kid? That's a pirate flag! An abomination! The mark of a criminal dared to mar my castle! My kingdom!"

Sanji stepped forward this time. "That's what you don't understand. You see, me and Luffy? We're pirates. Chopper? He's a pirate." Every statement, he took a step towards the coward. "This kingdom stopped being your kingdom the second you abandoned it. This kingdom belongs to the people. If they wanna fly a Jolly Roger, then you have no say." He was close enough now, so he stopped moving with his hands tucked into his pockets. "Besides, what my captain says is right. Attacking a flag means war. We may not sail under this flag, but the two good doctors here do. And they're our friends. You know what we do for our friends?" He lifted his left leg and kicked Wapol in the side, sending him into the air. "We protect what they treasure!"

Chopper hadn't realized he had moved until he did. When Sanji had sent the former king flying, he'd jumped up and punched the man, probably sending him into the ocean. He didn't really care, though. These two were pirates. But, they helped him. Why? Pirates are supposed to be bad people! They don't help people! They hurt people!

Luffy was feeling all sorts of different sensations, but he still took his jacket off. He was too cold and too hot and in a lot of pain and his vision was blurry, but he still had something he needed to do. Using the jacket Sanji had forced him into, he tied the Jolly Roger back to the post in the roof. When that was done, he jumped back down and landed beside his chef. "Sanji,"

"Yeah?"

"I'm going to pass out now."

Sanji had barely a second to react when Luffy said that. He'd managed to catch the man on his back and lifted him in another piggy-back. He knew the others were probably on their way up, so he was going to do what Luffy had done the last time. "Chopper?"

The little reindeer turned his attention to the chef and tilted his head. He was a bit scared of the pirates, but he was mostly still confused. These pirates aren't bad. He feels like he knows them, but he's never met them before. These pirates helped him. These pirates protected him and Doctrine and The Doctor's flag. These pirates were nice.