Go down the rabbit hole and out the other side

Chapter 6

So, they managed to distance themselves from Buggy, even with Luffy inside a cage.

«We should be far enough from that tavern,» Zoro said, letting the cage drop. «They probably won't catch up to us too soon.»

«But we are in a deserted town with only them. We can only stall much,» Catherine muttered, looking around the town.

«I can't do anything stuck inside this thing!» Luffy was still on his crusade against his cage, trying to bite his way out of it.

Catherine sighed and got closer to him. Then, she pinched Luffy's cheeks and stretched them apart as much as possible.

«Now, how in the hell did you manage to get into this situation?» she started waving them up and down, continuing her lecture «Could you be a little more mistrusting of people? Eh? You absolute idiot. If Zoro or I didn't arrive, what would you have done?» not that Buggy could actually hurt Luffy, but honestly, right now, a simple metal cage is enough to trap Luffy and a stab to stop Zoro, so she couldn't help but be anxious.

Because they are so much weaker than the fearsome Captain and First Mate duo that she read about.

She let out Luffy's cheeks, and they came back with a loud pop.

«I know you and Zoro were coming. I wasn't worried!» he smiled, the idiot, as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Zoro and Catherine simply puffed, exchanging a glance and sitting on the cage again.

She was going to say something until they noticed a very...square-looking, wounded dog staring at them right next to her Captain.

«What's with you, dog?» Zoro asked, taking a good look at it. The dog simply stared back, not even glancing at the swordsman.

«Aren't dogs supposed to be more...cheery?» Catherine had to ask because all the dogs she had ever seen were little things full of gremlin energy.

«Is it real? It's not moving...» and so, to see if it was alive, Luffy had the idea of poking him. The dog bit him. «Dumb dog! Lemme go! Lemme go!»

«Luffy, stop playing around!» the swordsman ordered as the dog abused their Captain. However, he did not move to intervene in the ongoing battle in which Monkey D. was losing against the mighty square dog. Instead, he sat on the ground, lying on a house pole.

Evidently, Luffy sparked the hate of all canines,the woman thought, thinking of another particularly magma-user dog that really hated her Captain; what was the name of this one again?

«Look at you three. Not to criticize, but is the middle of the street really the best hiding place you could come up with?» Nami finally caught up with them and looked skeptically at their display.

«Hey! It's our navigator!» all three greeted her with a smile.

«I never agreed to that!» the navigator replied angrily, baring all her teeth.

«Ehhh, better accept it, honey; you are going to be our new navigator,» Catherine said, waving her hands while her boys nodded in the background. «Once you catch Cap's interest, he will not let you go,» said Captain, smiling widely.

«Listen, I just wanted to thank you for saving me» the girl threw on the ground, dangerously close to the dog face, the key of Luffy's cage.

«You got the key! This is great! I thought I'd never get out of here!» the straw-hat boy laughed and smiled at the ginger head.

«It was a fun trip then» Cath smirked at Nami, who looked away shyly. «Ne, you think that Buggy will let me do some pictures of the town?» she said, thinking about the picture she could take. Orange Town wasn't the most striking town ever, but it was still the first adventure of the fledgling Straw-Hat Pirates.