Sorry, sorry, sorry! I was more than a little late with this update, huh? I must've rewritten this thing a half dozen times before I felt satisfied with it, though. Anyway...here it is, ladies and gentlemen. Enjoy, and let me know what you think, as always!


"How's your shoulder, Red?" Zoro asks, staring up at the moon over head. "You really caught the full strength of that ladder."

"I'll live," Run says calmly, raising the bottle in his hand to take a drink. "But these sucker-punches are gettin' old already." With his free hand he reaches up and rubs his shoulder firmly, attempting to assuage the throbbing pain that's settled in it. "When you were fighting earlier...did you take down a woman wearing a cloak? I feel like we missed one of their leaders."

"I guess I must have missed her."

"Think that'll be a problem later?" The swordsman responds with a shrug of his shoulders. "Well...whatever. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it." He finishes the bottle in his hand, and then tosses it over the edge of the building to the street below. From behind them, gunfire sounds on the street below. "The hell?" Both walk to the opposite side of the roof, and look down to find Igarappoi firing away at two people. "Crap. We left Luffy down, didn't we?"

"Yup."

"Princess Vivi! Hurry! Escape!" Igarappoi yells, still firing volley after volley. To their surprise, however, that quickly comes to an end when his body is suddenly struck by an explosion from out of nowhere. Both Zoro and Run blink in surprise, watching the man collasp face first to the pavement.

"Igaram!" shouts Miss Wednesday.

"Did you think that we wouldn't ferret you out?" a man in a red trench coat asks. "That we wouldn't ferret out the spies in our organization?" The man produces two photo's from his coat, and holds them up for all to see. "Captain of the Alabasta Royal Guard, Igaram. Princess of Alabasta, Nefeltarai Vivi. You-" Everyone is surprised when Zoro and Run suddenly leap down from the roof, landing beside their still sleeping Captain and quickly rolling the swollen man across the street.

"Heh, 'scuse us," Run says, pacing backwards after Zoro to make sure they aren't ambushed. "We'll just be taking our Captain and be on our way." They disappear down an alley, away from the fight that they have no intention of getting involved with. They watch from safety as Mr. 9 rushes the two attacking, calling for Vivi to make an escape while he does so. The man he's charging, whom they call Mr. 5, remains still...and begins digging in his nose before pulling out a booger and flicking it at him.

The resulting explosion sends the man sailing down the street. "Wow, that's some dangerous snot," mutters Zoro, seconds before a hand firmly grasps his ankle. "What the hell?! Oi! Lemme go!" Igaram holds tight despite his attempt to shake loose.

"P-Please! Listen to my request, unreasonable though it may be!" begs Igaram. "Please, protect the Princess. Both of those two are possessor's of Devil Fruit abilities! There's no way that I can stop them! B-But the two of you! If it's the two of you, then you can do it! Please!"

"Why the hell would we do something like that? Let's not forget that you were dead set on killing us just a few minutes ago!"

"Please! I'm not asking you to do this for free! If you see the Princess home safely to Alabasta then you will no doubt be greatly rewarded! Please! I humbly beg this of you! Keep the Princess safe!"

"Is this 'great reward' for real?" asks a voice familiar to them, and they glance back to find Nami standing there. "If that's the case, then I'll gladly accept this offer in exchange for...one billion Beli. How does that sound?" Igaram stares at Nami as if she's grown a second head.

"O-One billion?!"

"Wait, I thought you were passed out," Run says, watching her approach.

"Hah! As if I would do something like that in such a suspicious town," Nami tells him. "I was just acting. I could have kept going if I wanted to." Although the red head isn't all that convinced it was an act he doesn't press the issue. "So, what do you say? Your Princess is going to die without our help, you know."

"E-Even if you say that...a mere soldier like myself cannot promise such a vast sum," Igaram stammers. "B-But! If you were to save her, then you could negotiate a deal with the Princess herself!"

"Hah. Meaning I have to save her first." She nods firmly in response and then looks at Zoro and Run. "You two! Go save the Princess!"

"The hell?!" demands Zoro. "Why the hell should we?!"

"Huh? Isn't it obvious? Because you still owe me." Zoro shakes his head and points a finger at the red head in response.

"Nope. Red here is gonna cover my debt."

"100,000, right?" Run asks. "The money is still on the table in-"

"Three-hundred thousand, actually," Nami corrects them. "You borrowed one-hundred thousand, but it was three-hundred percent interest, or did you forget?"

"Three-hun- Are you lending or loan sharking?!"

"I returned what I borrowed!" Zoro tells her. "I never spent a single Beli!"

"That doesn't matter," Nami says simply. "You may have repaid the hundred-thousand but you still owe me two-hundred in interest...BUT I suppose I could call it even if you do this." Her eyes narrow slightly. "Or are you saying that you can't even keep a single promise?" The swordsman groans in response and goes running off down the street.

"Zoro that's the wrong way!" Run yells as he chases after the swordsman. The two cut a winding path through Whiskey Peak, and even if the red head wasn't sure what way to take it would be easy enough to follow the sound of the explosions. By the time they've caught up, Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine have cornered Vivi who is riding on the largest bird that either of them have ever seen...well, excluding the one that they had seen carry Luffy off. Mr. 5 digs in his nose, much to their disgust and produces a booger which he promptly flicks at Vivi. "Crap! Zoro!"

"I got it, Red," Zoro announces, drawing one of his swords as they close the gap.

"Nose Fancy...Cannon!" exclaims Mr. 5. However, rather than striking Vivi, Zoro simply slices the projectile in half and a half strikes behind them on either side as they land in front of her.

"Aaah, I can't believe I cut his friggin' booger!" Zoro appears to be on the verge of a panic attack, being forced to use one of his precious swords to cut through something as disgusting as that.

"It's the two of you again?!" exclaims Vivi, glaring at the two. "Why now of all times?! Don't either of you ever give up?!" She produces some kind of strange weapon, whirling it around a finger as she prepares to attack...only to be stopped by Zoro who cuts the weapon in half with ease.

"Don't jump to conclusions," Zoro tells her. "We're not here to fight, we're here to rescue you."

"Here to rescue you?" echos Mr. 5 calmly. "Aren't you the two who defeated all the lowly bounty hunters who call this town home? Why would either one of you want to do something like saving the Princess of Alabasta?" Both respond with a simple shrug of the shoulders. "Aah, well, I guess it doesn't really matter. You're our enemy one way or another."

"THERE YOU ARE!" bellows a voice from behind the two, causing everyone to focus intently on it. Luffy stands several meters away from them, breathing heavily as if he's run a marathon.

"Luffy, we're got things under control here!" Zoro shouts back. "Wait, don't tell me that damn woman has YOU in debt, too?"

"I'll never forgive you, Zoro! FIGHT ME!"

"H...HUH?!" grunt Zoro and Run, staring at the man.

"Oi, oi, I think there's been mistake here," Run tells him. "There people are-"

"You shut up!" demands Luffy. "Don't think I don't know you had a hand in it, too! After I've finished with him you're gonna be next!" The red head's eye twitches a bit in response.

"Haah. Well, forget I said anything, then." Luffy cocks back, and launches a punch at the swordsman, who dodges his attack, and then the next one. He chases Zoro around, who does his best to dodge while attempting to explain the situation. "Jeez, can't you just listen to what someone is trying to tell you?"

"In fighting at a time like this?" mutters Mr. 5. "Whatever. Let's just finish the mission." They charge forward, ignoring the wildly swinging Luffy and the dodging Zoro. Mr. 5 cocks back, aiming his attack at the red head. "I'll take care of you first!"

"Sea King's Rush!" The red head drives his knee into the man's face, casting him straight back into his partner and sending the two of them crashing through the wall of a nearby building. Run sighs and rotates his shoulders slowly as he stares at the cloud of dust. "Before you say something like, 'I'll take care of you', you should be sure that you're actually capable of doing it." Laugher from high above the cloud of dust earns his attention, and he looks up to see Miss Valentine floating towards him.

"That was a pretty sneaky attack, Mr. Red Hair!" calls Miss Valentine.

"Sneaky? He was lookin' right at me."

"But it doesn't matter! I've eaten the Kilo-Kilo Fruit, and I'm light enough to float on a gentle breeze! But now it's time to get heavy! I'm gonna crush you!" She begins descending towards the red head, who raises a hand as if to shield his eyes from the sun. He watches her for a few moments before chuckling slightly.

"Oi, blondie, I can see up your skirt, ya know."

"Wh-Wh-What?!" Her face flushes a crimson that would put Run's hair to shame, and she quickly grabs the hem of her skirt. "Y-You per-" She smashes into the ground several feet ahead of the red head who shakes his head slowly in response. He turns his attention to Zoro and Luffy, still fighting in the middle of the street as though there is nothing at all going on around them. A powerful blow from either one of them, separates the two of them, sending them smashing through buildings opposite each other.

"I...I want to run but...I'm not sure if it's exactly safe," Vivi mutters spurring her mount to inch forward. Of course, before she can get too far the two come crashing through out of the buildings, onto the street in continuation of their fight.

"Aaah, I'd say not. I wouldn't wander too far, either." She looks back at him quickly. "Hah?" The red head looks away from the two fighting in the middle of the street, noticing Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine seem to be getting their wits about them once again.

"Damn you," curses Mr. 5, glaring at Run past his sunglasses. "Do you think that we'll let you get away with this?"

"No one takes a peek up by dress!" screams Miss Valentine, face still flushed crimson. "You'll pay for this!" The two rush the red head who sighs in irritation.

"You two are annoying," complains Run. "Get lost! Sea King's Lash!" It's a vicious kick that catches Mr. 5 in the temple, smashes him into Miss Valentine and blows the two of them far away. Of course, when he turns his attention back to Luffy and Zoro he finds that the fight has been ended by none other than Nami. The woman stands between the two looking down at the two of them disapprovingly, hands on her hips. It's certainly an odd sight to say the least.

"I mean, honestly!" Nami yells at them. "What were you two thinking? You almost cost us our billion Beli reward!" She picks the two of them up by the backs of their shirts before looking at Vivi and Run. "At least one of you managed to do the right thing and keep her safe. The two of you should try to be more like Run!" The red head chuckles a bit uncomfortably in response, deciding it best not to tell her he had ever intention of joining the fighting. Even though she's holding them, the two continue their fighting.

"What are you talking about?" Vivi questions her. "Why did you save me?"

"Aaah, it's like this...let's you and I make a contract, huh...?"


Luffy's laughter cuts through the night, echoing through the otherwise silent streets of Whiskey Peak. He sits cross legged on a barrel, across from Zoro and Run who occupy a pair of crates. After explaining everything that had happened to him...well, it seems as though he can't help but laugh. "Jeez, if that was the case you should have said so!" Luffy tells them, grinning from ear to ear. "I just thought you two cut 'em down cause they made you some bad food!"

"Idiot! You're the only one who would do that!" Zoro yells back. Run simply shakes his head in response. They had tried to explain it to him but he just wouldn't listen...but there's no need to explain all that to him again. No one got seriously hurt, after all.

"Knock it off!" Nami growls, glaring at the three of them for a moment before turning back to Vivi. "So, what do you say? After seeing how strong these three are...it's a pretty good deal, right? I mean, a billion Beli should be nothing to a Princess."

"I can't," Vivi tells her. "I appreciate you saving me but I have to decline."

"Really? But you're a Princess. A billion Beli shouldn't be-"

"Do you know about the kingdom of Alabasta?" When Nami responds in the negative, Vivi tells her all about her home. How it used to be peaceful, and prosperous...but that was all so long ago. Now, the kingdom is gripped by civil war, one that is tearing the country and it's people apart. And, that it is all the fault of the organization, Baroque Works, who is manipulating the people. She tells them that with the help of Igaram, the two infiltrated the organization with the intention of exposing both the reasons for this civil war and the identity of the person in charge. She explains that the man in charge intends to tear down the current rule and in doing so create an 'ideal nation'. And so, she intends to return home as quickly as possible now in order to help her people.

"I see," mutters Nami. "Well, I guess that explains why you can't make a contract with me. There's not a lot of money to be had during a civil war, after all."

"So, who's in charge?" Run questions her, earning her attention quickly.

"The Boss' identity?!" screams Vivi. "How could you ask that?! You saw what happened earlier! Baroque Works will come after you, too, if they think you know!"

"We'll pass on that!" laughs Nami, sweating nervously. "These people are trying to take over a whole country. Obviously these people are insanely dangerous."

"Good! No matter how strong you all are you'll never be a match for one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Crocodile!" Vivi covers her mouth with both hands while all four stare at her in surprise. "Aah..."

"You just said it," Zoro points out. Noticing something on top of one of the near by buildings everyone looks over to see a bird and a sea otter sitting there for several moments before flying off into the night sky...much to the horror of Nami, who immediately begins panicking.

"What was that bird and sea otter?!" cries Nami, shaking Vivi violently. "We've only just entered the Grand Line and already we're being targeted by a Warlord!" After a moment she releases Vivi, turns on her heel and begins walking away.

"Oi, where are you going?" Run calls after her.

"I'm leaving! They don't know our faces so I'm running away!" She hasn't made it more than three steps before she notices the sea otter in front of her, holding perfect likeness's of the crew...and then again it flies off into the night sky. "Aaah! Now there's no running away! Why me?!"

"Guess that means all three of us are on Baroque Works hit list now," Zoro chuckles, much to the irritation of Nami.

"Fear not!" calls a familiar voice, earning their attention. Ingram stands several feet away...dressed as Vivi. He has a number of dummies tucked under his arms. He explains to them all that he is going to use himself as a decoy, and sail straight to Alabasta in an attempt to throw Baroque Works off their trail. Naturally, this confuses Luffy since this is the first he's heard of it, but after explaining everything to him he agrees to accept her onto the ship and ferry her back home to Alabasta...


They stand at one of Whiskey Peak's shores with Igaram's ship of choice moored close by. "Alright! Now, I am Princess Vivi," Igaram tells them. "Now, please give me the Eternal Pose."

"Eternal Pose?" echos Nami, confused. Igaram explains that an Eternal Pose is the same as a Log Pose except that it will always point to a single destination. It will never forget an island magnetic field once it has been stored in it. It's only purpose is for those looking to return to a specific port time and time again. After a moment of silence, Princess Vivi and Igaram say their goodbye's and the man climbs aboard his ship to set sail for Alabasta.

"There he goes," mutters Luffy, watching the ship shrink into the distance. "He sure was a funny old guy, all the way to the end."

"Haah, yeah," agrees Run. Seconds later, there's a flash and a deafening boom. "What the hell?!" Flames illuminate the entire shore, shooting high into the night sky as the what's left of the ship rapidly sinks into the inky depths of the sea. Everyone stares on in shock, unable to believe that explosives had been planted on the ship the whole time.

"That woman...it's...it's got to be that woman!" growls Vivi, staring at the rapidly sinking ship. "She did this! I'll never forgive her!" Vivi runs off without another word, disappearing into the town again. Luffy, unfortunately, follows suit, yelling about how great of a person Ingram was as he does so.

"Damn it! Zoro, I'm going after Vivi!" The red head goes running off in the direction that Vivi had. Of course, since she got more than a bit of a head start he's left without much direction. But that doesn't deter him in the slightest, as he looks down every street he passes. "Damn woman...where are you?!" He turns a corner, and runs right into someone. A feminine grunt sounds from none other than Robin, and the red head manages to catch her before she falls to the ground. "Jeez! Sorry, Robin!" The next second Run finds himself flat on his back, Robin straddling his waist, her body flush against his. "Haah, really think now is a good time?"

"MISS ALL SUNDAY!" bellows a familiar voice, as Vivi passes over the two of them, weapon missing Robin by mere inches. She slides to a stop, turns and slashes at the two of them again. Run slides an arm under one of Robin's legs, arches and rolls them over to avoid the weapon a second time. Before she can launch a second attack Run is on her, one hand gripping her wrist, and the other arm wrapped around her neck. It isn't a tight grip by any means, and certainly not close to the strength he displayed earlier but she can't even manage a wiggle in his grip. "L-Let me...go!"

"When you calm down!" He glances over his shoulder at Robin, who slowly begins to stand from the ground. "Stay still!" Run shouts, causing her to pause for a moment.

"Jeez, what's gotten into you?" Robin questions him, brushing herself off.

"Vivi, she called you...Miss All Sunday." She arches a brow in response.

"And?"

"'And?'" echos Run, eyes narrowing. "Aren't you even going to deny it?"

"D-Damn it! Let me go!" complains Vivi, still struggling against Run. "Miss All Sunday...I won't forgive you! I'll never forgive you for killing Igaram!" He glances down briefly at Vivi...and the next moment, he releases her but still keeps himself firmly planted between them. "You-"

"How long?" He turns to face her now, meeting her gaze firmly. "Have you worked with Baroque Works, I mean."

"Ten years," Robin tells him. "Since around the time you and Shanks left the West Blue."

"So I was right, then. That's where you and I met."

"Your hometown." While this answers a number of questions that Run's had for quite a while now...he decides that there are FAR more important questions that he should be asking.

"Did you kill Igaram, Robin?"

"No. It must have been the Unluckies."

"Are you lying?"

"Yes, I am...to Crocodile, to Vivi, to countless others...but not to you. Never to you." Run is silent for several moments, considering her words. In all of his dealings with her he can't be certain that she's ever lied to him. In Loguetown, when he had asserted that they'd met before in the West Blue she hadn't denied it she had simply remained silent.

"You know we're gonna have to tell Luffy and the crew, don't you?"

"I do." After a moment he motions his head in the direction he's come from.

"Then, let's go."

"What?!" screams Vivi, earning the attention of the red head. "Knowing that this woman is part of Baroque Works how could you invite her back on your ship?!"

"Because she's part of the crew. Now, let's go..."


Fog wraps the ship, obscures their vision as they navigate the shallow channel back out to open sea. The crew is gathered on the deck, silent as they stand across from Robin and Run. True to her word, the second they had set sail Robin had made her confession, explaining everything to the crew. From her joining Baroque Works to leading Vivi and Igaram to discover the identity of the person in charge, and then unofficially leaving Baroque Works in her pursuit of the crews resident red head...which leads to Run telling the crew about meeting her several times before.

While this isn't exactly news to Zoro, whom Run had somewhat kept in the loop, and who's sharp instincts allowed him to see through flimsy lies...the rest of the crew takes a moment to digest all of this. That said, he leaves a detail or so in his explanation...the main one being their kiss. It isn't until they've left behind Whiskey Peak for open sea that someone finally speaks. "Did you try to kill the funny old guy?" Luffy finally asks her.

"No," Robin tells him honestly. "It must have been the Unluckies. Or maybe even Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine."

"Far be it from me to doubt a woman's word, but how do we know you're not lying?" Sanji questions. "You've lied about a lot of other things, after all, Robin."

"I trust her," Run tells them all.

"Well, you're not exactly an unbiased party, either." Sanji pauses to take a brief drag on his cigarette. "Baroque Works is after our lives. She says she's left it but she can't exactly prove it...which makes it hard to trust her. If we can't trust then we can't have her on the crew."

"She hasn't done anything to hurt someone on the crew," Nami tells them. "Yes, she can't prove that she's left Baroque Works but...there have already been plenty of opportunities for her to hurt us. And according to him, Robin has even saved his skin a few times."

"W-Well, Nami has a point," agrees Usopp. "It may be hard to trust her b-but...she hasn't hurt anyone, yet."

"It doesn't matter what we think," Zoro finally says. The swordsman, sitting cross-legged on the deck with his swords gathered in one arm. "At the end of the day, the decision on who stays and who goes rests solely with the Captain." All eyes turn to Luffy, who is again sitting cross-legged on a barrel, staring at Robin intently. After several moments he hops down, and adjusts his straw hat.

"She's staying," Luffy tells them all, much to the horror of Vivi.

"You can't be serious!" demands Vivi. "She's obviously lying! How can-"

"I've made my decision. She's going to be a member of our crew, and I refuse to accept anyone else in her place. So she's staying." Vivi silent for several moments before finally nodding firmly in understanding, along with the rest of the crew. As Zoro had said, their opinion on the matter doesn't really matter. On a ship, the Captain's word is absolute. "Alright! Now, that that's settled, let's get a move on to our next destination...!"


"Whew...what an ordeal," Run mutters staring at the horizon. After everything at Whiskey Peak he feels completely exhausted. He's showered, changed clothes and eaten a delicious breakfast courtesy of Sanji...and now that there's nothing to do but whittle away the hours, his thoughts turn to his hometown in the West Blue. Hearing the approach of someone he glances over at Robin who is carrying a pair of mugs. As she draws close, she holds one out in offer and the red head glances at the steamy black brew for a moment before raising it and taking a sip of the bitter liquid.

She leans against the railing beside him, turning to gaze out across the sea. "Thank you," Robin finally says. "For trusting me."

"Well...it's not hard to trust someone when you know they're telling the truth."

"And how exactly did you know that?"

"I don't," Run tells her honestly. "I just...felt like you weren't lying. Call it a 'gut feeling'." He takes another sip of the coffee and then sighs. "So, the West Blue. I had a feeling that's where it was. Of course, I have such vague memories of my childhood home that I couldn't be sure."

"We met there...or, rather, I met you and Shanks there."

"I see. Care to tell me the story?"

"Hmm...well, you were eight when we first met..."


A/N - Credit to a certain individual for finally kicking me in the behind enough to make me grant the chapters proper titles.