Towering Memories and Treasured Dreams (Updated Version)

Floor 10: Off to the New World

"Good thing that Jimbei is as crazy as the rest of us," Zoro spoke up as they started up another flight of stairs. "Otherwise he would have said no before Luffy finished the question."

"Yohohoho! But we're so much fun to be around!" Brook said happily as he danced up the steps, arm-in-arm with Usopp as they celebrated their victory over the New Fishman Pirates once again. "I'd join us in a heartbeat if I were him! Ah! But I no longer have a heartbeat, do I? Yohohoho!"

"And you're already a part of the crew!" Chopper reminded him with a smile as Brook laughed even louder.

"Yes!" he said joyfully. "Oh, what a happy day that was! It shall remain in my memories forever!"

Everyone was smiling as well at those words, knowing that feeling all too well. The truth is, they couldn't forget the day that they first joined with the Straw Hats even if they wanted to. It was like that had been the start of a new beginning for them all, and they all looked back fondly. Luffy was laughing as he was right out in front, whining for the others to hurry and catch up already.

They humored him by going through the next doorway and the memory returned almost as soon as the door shut behind them. When they blinked in the bright light, they could see that they were out in the bright sunlight once again, soaring through the sky. They quickly recognized it as the scene where they had escaped from the plaza, trying to get as far away as possible from the people who were surely calling them all heroes right now.

Their memory selves were now standing on the deck of the Thousand Sunny, with a large bubble over their heads that was fashioned to look like a hot-air balloon. Shirahoshi was flying alongside the ship with a large bubble around her waist, and she was looking all around at them and they were gazing up in confusion to her antics.

"So, why did you just leave the plaza as though you were running away?" Shirahoshi asked in confusion.

"Because we were running away," present-day Zoro said as if it was obvious.

"That's a silly question," present-day Robin chuckled along with him.

"Are you kidding me?" memory Zoro demanded as memory Nami smiled anxiously at the princess. "We already had to fight in that square like it was some kind of circus show. If we had stayed any longer, they might've started cheering for us like we were heroes! Just the thought of it gives me the creeps."

"Isn't it better than having everyone hate us and trying to lock us up for something we didn't do?" present-day Usopp asked. "I think I prefer this over that!"

"Just the idea though," present-day Zoro said with a roll of his eye. "We earned the right to be selfish, haven't we?"

"Is it a bad thing to be a hero?" asked Shirahoshi, going to the side of the ship so that she could speak directly to memory Zoro.

"Look," memory Zoro said to her in a matter-of-fact way, as if explaining why the sky was blue. "Heroes are those guys who will share their booze with other people! Well, I'm gonna drink it all!"

"Seriously," memory Nami demanded, "Where do you guys get this idea of heroes from?!"

"In their eyes, heroes are people who are completely selfless," present-day Robin answered to their Nami, who thought that over. "But they don't want to do that."

She frowned before sighing, deciding that she was going to spare herself the headache of answering and just nodded. But that was when they were interrupted.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU CAN'T JOIN?!"

The noise had come from memory Luffy, his chest and shoulder wrapped up in bandages, and he was grabbing Jimbei by the front of his clothes. "Come on an adventure with us! Join my crew and let's go out to sea! It'll be fun!"