Mr 5 felt his world fall from him. What? How could Mr 3 say that this woman, dressed in high heels, a bright yellow dress and hat, was his partner? How could she have possible become an Officer Agent dressed in the ridiculous and impractical clothes she was wearing now? Was this a joke? Was Mr 3 playing some unfunny trick on him, invited some naval officer's spoiled daughter to play the role of the real Miss Valentine?

"Well Mr 5, aren't you going to shake your new partner's hand?" Mr 3 said, interrupting Mr 5's train of panicked thoughts.

"Is this some sort of joke?" repeated Mr 5 out loud, standing up and turning on the other man.

"Hey, I don't joke, especially when it comes to Baroque Works business," Mr 3 replied, taking another sip of his tea, "Now shake your partner's hand so I can escape your boorish presence"

"But look at her, how could someone like that advance so far in our organisation?" said Mr 5, no way was he going to get lumbered with a partner who probably cared more about what she was wearing than advancing Baroque Works' cause.

"Hey! I'm right here you know!" said Miss Valentine before Mr 3 could reply to the other numbered agent's remarks. "Why don't you wait and see what I can do before you start criticizing me. You know I've seen Mr 2, you can't seriously say that how you dress effects your ability to provide for Baroque Works."

"Yeah, well the thing about that is that Mr 2 isn't going to be my partner!" said Mr 5, turning to his supposed partner and prodding her in the chest.

"Hahaha! Nothing to see her, just a lover's spat, that's all!" Proclaimed Mr 3 suddenly, standing up and drawing the surprised looks of both Mr 5 and Miss Valentine.

"What are you talking about….?"Began Miss Valentine, before noticing the whole café seemed to be watching the agents bicker, eyes wide as they heard talk of secret organisations and numbers.

"Sit down and shut up both of you, before the Unluckies find out what's happening," Mr 3 hissed, still beaming at the watching patrons. With reluctance, and shooting daggers at each other, the bickering pair took Mr 3's advice and sat down about the table.

"Are you both stupid, or do you want Mr 0 to have our heads?" said Mr 3, joining them when the patrons of the café had finally gone about their business, leaning in so there was no chance of being heard by any more idle ears.

"But she started it," hissed Mr 5.

"No I didn't" replied Miss Valentine with a huff, folding her arms and throwing her partner an exasperated look.

"I don't care, now shut and listen. You don't have a choice, Mr 0 says that you're going to be partners, and I shouldn't have to tell you that what the boss says is final, am I right?" The other two agents wearily nodded. "Good, now stop bickering and listen to what I have to tell you, because this is very important. Baroque Works is in trouble, everything we have worked hard to achieve is in jeopardy. You see a shipment of Dance Powder has been stolen, and the Boss wants you to get it back for him."

Mr 5 heard Miss Valentine gasp, he himself felt his hands clench into fists. Their entire operation depended on dance powder, if a marine or Alabasta official were to find the powder, then it would mean the end of them all. The King would order an investigation, the world government would get involved and soon all Baroque Agents would be dragged kicking into the light.

"Luckily we know the name of the person who has stolen from us, her name is Rodeo Sally, Captain of the Sea Snake pirates. We also know for a fact that she is a Devil Fruit user, though which one she ate we're still not sure," said Mr 3, watching the two other agents closely, trying gauge their reactions. "Of course as I'm sure you know, this is a rather delicate situation, the boss is putting a great deal of trust in you, I mean usually he would just send me, but my hands, like the other numbered agents, are very much tied at the moment. This is a chance for both of you to prove your work as Officer-Agents, and if you fail here, well let's just say the boss will make sure you don't get another chance."

Mr 5 felt his pulse quicken. This was finally his chance. He had waited for so long for this day to come, there was no way he could fail. He turned his head to Miss Valentine, took in her yellow hat and dress, the white gloves on her hands and the high heels she wore on her feet. His chosen partner on the other hand, who knows what sort of trouble she would cause him.

"Rodeo Sally took the ship carrying our Dance Powder just off the port town of Nanohana, the boss expects you to leave immediately to find the missing ship and its invaluable cargo. And with that said my work here is done, Mr 5 and Miss Valentine, I bid you adieu," said Mr 3, sitting up, his usual sneer plastered across his features. The agent then made his way out of the café, disappearing into the sweltering streets outside.

"I take it you'll be picking up the tab then," said Miss Valentine to her new partner, nodding towards the empty tea cups that Mr 3 had left behind. A large grin had reappeared on her face, revealing white teeth that seemed to consume any trace of sincerity that could have mistakenly been attributed to such a gesture. Letting out a groan, Mr 5 placed his head in his hands. Why me? He thought to himself, what have I done to deserve this.

Miss Valentine followed Mr 5 through the streets of Alubarna, hurrying to catch up to his long gait. In her hands she clasped a parasol, better to protect her from the harsh rays of the sun, though she had other uses for one of her most treasured possessions.

"You look ridicules with that thing, why don't you just buy robes like everyone else if you want protection from the sun," Mr 5 said as she caught up to him.

"Because robes don't look good, especially with yellow," Miss Valentine replied back, glancing to a group of passer-by's, dressed in their brown and blue robes, tattered and worn by weather and wear.

"Some things are more important than fashion Miss Valentine," replied Mr 5, leading her on and on, through the teeming city, to a destination she knew nothing about. Truth be told her partner's cold shoulder was starting to get on her nerves. What was his problem anyway, was he that obsessed with his work? Was he so unwilling to share responsibilities with someone else? Miss Valentine was sure she would never know what hidden thoughts were running through that thick head of his, but she sure wasn't going to let him shut her out that easily.

"I know a great restaurant in this district, how about we go and discuss our plans there over a delightful chocolate soufflé," said Miss Valentine. Surely this will win him over, she thought to herself, there wasn't a person alive would could resist such divine treats.

"I don't want any. We'll discuss our plans on the way to Nanohana. And we leave tonight, we can't let that damn pirate get any more of a lead over us," said Mr 5, leading the hurrying Miss Valentine down one of the many alleys that ran through the capital city of Alabasta, past the mounds of putrid rubbish and battered old buildings.

"Hey wait up, what's the hurry all of a sudden?" said Miss Valentine as the shade of the alley swallowed them, carried them away from the bustling main streets. Overhead the sun was blotted out by the leaning rooftops, and ahead the gloom turned steadily into clinging darkness.

"Didn't you hear me? Where are we going…?" she continued, before a shape emerged ahead of them, large and all ablur in the low light of the alley.

"Well, well, what 'ave we got 'ere, eh?" said the figure.

"A couple of lost little tourist's, that's who," came a voice from behind Miss Valentine. Turning to discover its source, she found that a woman had appeared behind them, a rusty cutlass clutched her grubby hands.

"Aye, I think yer right my dear," said the figure ahead of them, a man who clutched a vast hammer in one of his meaty hands.

"Move aside, I haven't got time to be dealing with lowlifes like you," said Mr 5, staring up at the man, who stood a deal taller than the agent.

"Now why would we do something like that, when I know you must have all sorts of goodies on you," said the alley man, leering down at Mr 5, with a look that made Miss Valentine shudder.

"That umbrella you're carrying looks like it'll fetch a pretty price," said the woman near Miss Valentine, grinning and revealing blackened teeth. Miss Valentine gripped her parasol tight, she knew where this was going, she knew it all too well.

"I'll have you know that it's a parasol, and if you touch it you're dead," she said, feeling her power stir within her, rise to the surface like some viscous sea predator.

"Alright then, if yer won't give us yer valuables, then we'll just have to take them ourselves!" said the large man, surging forward to overwhelm Mr 5. Miss Valentine saw the woman with the bad teeth rush forward as well, sword held before her, trying no doubt to run her through. But the woman never got a chance, Miss Valentine looked deep inside herself, found what she was looking for and shed it, cast it from her like a second skin. Then she pushed up with her feet and was shooting towards the rooftops, laughing as she did so, feeling that familiar thrill as she felt the air rush by her, as the sky reached for her with its brilliant blue void. Below she could see the others were staring up at her in amazement, as she reached now higher above the rooftops themselves, even the woman who had attacked her was gawking, stood still now that she had witnessed the power of the Kilo Kilo fruit; perfect. She adjusted her parasol, still held high above her head and prepared her attack.

"Now! Ten thousand kilo press!" she cried, before finding the thing that she had cast off and wrapping it around her, enlarging it and embracing it. Then she was shooting towards the ground with all the force of a meteorite, heading straight for the petrified mugger.

When Miss Valentine landed, the walls of the alley, even the very ground itself, cracked and split beneath the force. The mugger, the woman with bad teeth, was driven beneath the ground when the agent landed on her, disappearing down a hole whose bottom was lost in darkness.

Through the dust thrown up by the impact, Miss Valentine picked herself up and brushed herself off.

"What the hell was that?" said the large man, pointing a fat finger at the beaming woman who had just piledrived his partner into the ground.

"That was the power of the Kilo Kilo fruit," said Miss Valentine in a cheery voice, "Now hold still whilst I do the same to you." But the would-be mugger wasn't listening, instead he had turned and ran, his large form disappearing down the alley.

"Well, I'm glad we got that out the way, shall we continue on?" said Miss Valentine, enjoying the dumbfounded look on her partners face.

"W…what the hell was that?" said Mr 5, bringing another laugh from Miss Valentine.

"Silly, don't you know another devil fruit user when you see one," she said, "I ate the Kilo, Kilo fruit no more than a year back, and now I can change the weight of my body just like that." She clicked her fingers and put her hands to the sky, laughing all the while as she did so.

"Then why didn't you tell me that back at the café?" said Mr 5, glancing over to the hole in the ground, shaped like the mugger that had just been standing there no more than a minute ago.

"You didn't ask," said Miss Valentine, shrugging her shoulders and brushing past her partner, her large smile never leaving her. That go his attention, didn't it?