As Buggy finished listening in on Roger and Rayleigh speaking, he felt like he was going to be sick. For three years he had been apprenticing on the Oro Jackson with Roger and his crew. And in those two years, he had come to think of his crew almost like family. A very dysfunctional family, but family all the same.

He never in a million years would have expected that his Captain, the infamous Gol D. Roger that held so much of his admiration, would end up succumbing to an illness one day. He had seen the man fight hundreds of thousands of people without so much as breaking a sweat. So how could he meet his end from some cold?

Buggy couldn't wrap his mind around it. He needed to think. Walking onto the deck, he felt the cool night air wash over him. Pausing for a moment to glance at the night sky, he could see the stars so clearly. The brightest he had ever seen them. Or perhaps he just never paid them any mind until now.

Not really in the mood to move too far from where he was, he laid down on the deck off to the side and stared at the sky. After a while he began to fall asleep, slipping into a dream world where he experienced a horrible nightmare.

Roger had died and now the World Government, along with any other enemies the Roger Pirates had made, were coming after him with all their might. One after another his crewmates fell until it was just him, Shanks, and Vice-Captain Rayleigh left standing. And then it was him and Shanks by themselves until finally, it was only him.

He shook in fear as they reached out for him and grabbed onto his shoulders. He felt as though couldn't breathe and, unable to stand it, his eyes shot open. Rather than seeing again the terrifying hands reaching out to him from the darkness, he saw Shanks standing above him.

"Buggy, you ok? You must've been having a nightmare 'cause you look terrified." The concern in his voice was evident, but Buggy didn't much care to dwell on that. He was still upset over losing his cherished swimming skills. And as far as Buggy was concerned, it was Shanks who surprised the hell out of him. He made Buggy a devil fruit user.

"Yeah yeah, I'm all right." Getting up and sulking away Buggy shrugged off his fellow apprentice's concern and headed back into the to get some more, hopefully, nightmare free, shut eye. But even after laying in his hammock and managing some pretty decent sleep last night, Buggy still couldn't shake off the dream.

Deciding to take the day off, despite knowing the Vice-Captain would come trying to find and punish him later, Buggy laid on his hammock and played with his powers for a while. He had to admit, even if it was only to himself, that he thought these new powers were kind of cool. If he played his cards right, he could be a mighty pirate one day.

'Powerful huh?' Buggy knew he was the weakest member of the crew. Even Shanks was better than him in those mock fights Rayleigh put them through, and they were the same age. This realization coupled with his thoughts on last night's nightmare got him thinking.

"I need to be stronger. The Captain is sick and won't be able to shelter us once he's gone. That's probably when the World Government will strike. Bastards…" Having his hand come off and fly through the air he looked on as he tried to maneuver the obstacle course that was his room.

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However, his hand suddenly stopped a little before the end of the course. Staring at his detached hand, he experienced a moment of complete clarity. An epiphany, of sorts. The crew had another two or three years before Roger would disband it and send the crew on its way.

'In these next few years, I need to get stronger. I'm too weak right now. Even that bastard Shanks could beat me if he wanted to. I need to start improving my skills. And as crazy as it sounds, I have a feeling that the Captain might leave this world with a bang so I'll need to be the best I can be by that time.'

And Buggy knew all too well what kind of impact Roger had in the world when he was in his prime; technically he still was in his prime. So the thought of what effect his death might have on the world left little to the imagination.

But in the end, it all came down to one core train of thought. If Buggy wanted to live long enough to do anything worthwhile with his life, he'd have to be better. Making up his mind and heading up the stairs to the deck he met Rayleigh who was moving in the opposite direction.

"Good morning Buggy. Did you sleep well?" Buggy started to sweat. The Vice-Captain he knew would never speak so calmly towards Buggy. Despite the fear, ever present as it always was in the presence of the one who beat him so regularly, Buggy had been looking for him.

"Good morning, Vice-Captain. I was looking for you." Rayleigh wasn't used to Buggy not trying to provide stupid excuses immediately. 'Another half-baked excuse I imagine.' "Ohhh. And what would you want to see me about?"

Rayleigh had expected that Buggy was in the kitchen again trying to sneak food as he usually tried to. The cook always caught him, so it wasn't that much of an issue, but it still bothered Rayleigh.

"I wanted to ask you if you would help me to be stronger." Now Rayleigh gave Buggy his attention. In the two years that he'd been on this ship, Buggy had never really been interested in getting stronger or anything else that didn't involve treasure.

"I overheard what the Captain said to you last night. And I won't say anything to any one, I promise, but it got me thinking. I'm a crew member on one of if not the most notorious pirate crews in the world." Rayleigh nodded his head. He was upset that Buggy had eavesdropped on their private talk, but a little happy at the change of heart.

"Once the Captain's gone, what do you think will happen to us? Those of us who can be will be hunted down and taken out by both the Government and the enemies we've made. And sure, you and some of the others will be able to put up a fight, but what about the small guys like me…Shanks too, I guess."

It would be accurate to say that Rayleigh hadn't expected such a situation to arise. He honestly hadn't even thought about it. And now that he did, the boy was right. Certain members of the crew wouldn't be able to handle it if they didn't prepare for the eventual scattering that would take place.

"So that's why I'm coming to you and asking that you train me. Please Vice-Captain, I can't go out into the world as weak as I am. Even with these devil fruit powers I have, I'm still weak. At this point, I've only accumulated more weaknesses with water being the biggest. I'm begging you, Rayleigh. Please. I don't want to be weak anymore."

Rayleigh grew silent in contemplation. Two years ago, for whatever reason, his hard to understand Captain had taken along these two boys on their adventures. The only thing close to an explanation he gave him was: Those two have promise. Can't you feel it?

And Rayleigh did feel it, but only in Shanks. The red haired devil was optimistic, willing to succeed, fun loving, and reflected a little of what Roger gave off. Buggy, on the other hand, was lazy, unwilling to do anything that didn't directly and immediately benefit him, and overall a brat.

But now, he could see the look of determination in the boy's eyes. The conviction in his voice and the stubbornness in his stance. 'So this is what you saw, Captain?'

"Come with me."