I would like to thank everyone so far for their reviews.
Okay. I figured it be better if I put the fights on this chapter. Though I might just do Luffy's battle's with Crocodile.
Kaya is out with Chopper.
PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK SO FAR!
Thank you!
Chapter 19 Dragon vs the Sand Man
It had be about 5 minutes or so since Vivi left to find Sanji and Gin.
The water was rising pretty quickly, already coming up to their knees, must to the annoyance of the three fruit users inside the cage.
Alvida was leaning against Nojiko, while Thatch supported Ace. Smoker was the only fruit user unaffected as he sat on the ledge that was at the back of the cage.
Luffy stood near Zoro hands over her ears as some of her crew started shouting.
"Come and get me, you stupid croc!" Nami shouted.
"What are you doing?" Usopp shouted.
"I'm getting that croc to bite down and break this cage!"
Most of them liked this idea and started shouting insults until it bit down on the cage. Unfortunately, the gator cried out in pain when its teeth broke.
"Hey," Zoro said to Thatch and Ace. "Can't you break this cage?"
Thatch shook his head. "I can't do anything when pretty boy here is down."
"Thatch, I'm going to kill you." Ace said, trying to fight off the draining effect of the water.
"And I don't have a transponder, so I can't contact Oyaji."
"Hey." Smoker said in a calm voice. "All of you."
"HOW IN THE WORLD ARE YOU SO CALM!?" Usopp yelled.
Luffy pressed down on her ears again, she was getting a headache from all the shouting around her. Which wasn't helping her at all.
"What do you know of Crocodile's plans?" He asked. "That woman with him has been wanted by the World Government for 20 years. Her bounty exceeds 70,000,000."
"70,000,000?" Usopp shrieked.
"It's more than that." Johnny said as he and Yosaku pulled out a wanted poster.
"Her bounty is 79,000,000 to be exact." Yosaku said, as they all stared at a picture of an 8 year old Miss All Sunday, or Nico Robin.
Luffy frowned when she saw the picture. Just like in the poster, Luffy could see all the pain and loneliness in the woman's eyes. The look that someone had when they were repeatedly told that they didn't deserve to live. The same look that Ace once had.
"What is it Lu?" Ace asked in a quiet voice, as he noticed the frown.
"She reminds me of you Ace-nii." Luffy said.
Ace looked at the picture, his eyes widened in understanding.
"Where'd you get that?" Alvida asked, not noticing the conversation between their captain and her brother.
"We've kept all the posters we had before." Yosaku answered.
"We still collect them, just in case we run into them." Johnny said.
"That's her." Smoker said.
"What does that have to do with anything?" Luffy asked, feeling defensive of the woman.
"With those two working together, this could end up being a catastrophe that will engulf the world."
"The world?" Nojiko asked in shock.
"YOU MEAN THE WORLD'S GONNA END!?" Johnny and Yosaku yelled, Luffy flinched.
"QUIT YELLING!" Nami shouted.
"That doesn't matter." Luffy said. "I'm still going to beat up Crocodile!"
"Luffy," Ace said, struggling to stand. "There is no way I'm letting you fight a Warlord! Sabo and Law would kill me!" Not to mention Shanks and that damn Geezer!
Luffy crossed her arms and stared defiantly at her brother.
"Your brother's right, kid." Thatch said. "You're going to get yourself killed."
"I don't care!" She growled. "He threatened Vivi-nee and Toto-jii! Besides Ace-nii knows he can't stop me."
"It's quite rude to be so rowdy at the table when you're eating." Said a voice from the door.
Everyone turned to see the gator go skyward into the air, curtesy of Sanji. "ANTI-MANNER KICK COURSE!" Sanji yelled.
The gator landed in the water as he turned to everyone in the cage, Gin walked in with Vivi.
"Been waiting long?"
"SANJI-NII! GIN-NII!" Luffy and Gracie cheered.
"BROTHER PRINCE IS HERE TO SAVE US!" Johnny and Yosaku yelled, dancing around in a circle.
"Get the key to the cage!" Zoro shouted.
"Nami-swan! Alvida-chwan! Nojiko-swan! Do you ladies love me?" Sanji yelled out as he danced around like a noodle with hearts in his eyes.
Ace's left eye twitched at this. My sister's got a pervert in her crew!?
"Yes." Said the women in a monotone. "We love you. Now get that stupid key."
"Good job, Vivi-nee!" Luffy said giving the woman a thumbs up.
Vivi smiled, returning the gesture as more banana gators heaved themselves into the room.
"More ill-mannered reptiles?" Sanji said as he raised his leg into the air, Gin pulled out his tonfa. "You shitty bananas need to learn not to attack a lady."
Ace's eye twitched again. Out of all the crew members he's seen so far, the perverted blond curly brow is the one he needs to keep his eyes on, so he doesn't 'dirty' his precious little sister.
Zoro had to hold back a laugh when he saw Luffy's brother giving curly brow a look that promised death upon the perverted cook.
"Hurry up and kick their asses already!" Usopp shouted, only to receive another mace to the head.
"No swearing in front of Luffy-chan and Gracie-chan." Alvida said in a dark tone.
"Take out the third one that just entered the room." Smoker said.
Luffy looked at Smoker, before listening to the growls of the gators.
"The third one?" Gracie asked.
"Why that one?" Alvida asked.
"It's the one that swallowed the key." Luffy said. "Am I right Smokey?"
"That's right." Smoker said, deciding to ignore the nickname given to him by the child.
Everyone else stared at the gators as none could tell the difference, but Sanji sent it flying anyway. Sure enough, the gator coughed up the key, as well as a giant white ball.
"What is that thing?" Thatch asked.
Gracie's eyes widened when she saw the ball.
"Is that…?"
"Yup." Luffy said as she caught the familiar scent of wax.
"Wax… Wax… Ball… OPEN!" came a withered voice from inside the ball.
Everyone save Gracie and Luffy were shock to see a dried up Mr. 3 pop up out of the ball. "Waduh! It's a miwacle! I'm daved!" He said as they all gaped at him.
"It's the Wax man!" Alvida said.
"Mr. 3?" Vivi asked. "What were you doing inside that gator?"
But Mr. 3 paid no mind to the questions, he was more focused on the water at his feet.
Gracie hid behind Nami as Mr. 3 started drinking the water like a madman.
"PAH! I'm revived!" He shouted as he plumped back up. "Just before I got swallowed I- AAAHHH!" He shouted when he caught sight of Luffy. "You're the brat from Little Garden!"
Then he stopped as he took in everything.
A flooding room, a steel cage and a key. He thought as he grinned. "So that's what's going on." He said as the snatch the key that was on his wax ball.
"Give us the key right now!" Sanji said as he took a step towards him, followed by Gin.
"Okay!" He said with a toothy grin, before he chucked the key into the middle of a large group of gators.
Line Break
"I'm sowy. Hera ywou gwo." Said a bloodied Mr. 3 after using his powers to unlock the cage.
"Thank you crappy wax man." Sanji said, before he kicked the man across the room.
"Alright let's go! Crocodile will be here any moment!" Usopp said as they all got out of the cage.
Luffy all but cheered when she was no longer trapped.
"We can get out the same way as Crocodile!" Nojiko said.
"But the passageway is filled with Banana Gators!" Vivi exclaimed.
"We don't need to worry about that." Thatch said as he dragged Ace out.
"Huh?"
"TAKE THAT BANANAS!" Luffy yelled as she and Zoro stood in front of a pile of beaten gators.
"WAY TO GO LIL SIS, BIG BRO!" Johnny and Yosaku said in unison.
"I couldn't even handle one of them…" Vivi whimpered.
"Don't worry about it." Usopp said.
But then to everyone's horror, the wall cracked and the whole room was flooded with water. Everyone screamed as they were engulfed with water.
Line Break
Everyone surfaced from the water around Rain Dinners one by one. Ace and Alvida were dragged up by Thatch and Nojiko. Luffy stayed underwater just long enough to make sure that everyone had made it up okay. She followed after Zoro, who she had ordered to save Smoker.
"Why'd you save him?" Sanji said as Zoro pulled Smoker up.
"Shut it cook!" Zoro snapped. "I wanted to leave him there!"
"Ah forget it." Sanji said. "Vivi-chwan, can we still make it?"
"I don't know." She answered as Thatch helped Ace up.
"Nami-swan, do you still have the perfume from earlier?"
"Yes. Why?"
"Spray some on."
Nami looked confused but did it anyway. Luffy wrinkled her nose at the smell, it wasn't that it didn't smell good, it's just that Nami had a tendency to put on more than needed.
"RORONOA!" Smoker yelled as he swung his Jutte towards him, but Zoro quickly blocked it. "Why did you save me?"
"I didn't want to." Zoro said simply. "It was captain's orders. I'd have let you drown."
Smoker turned to look at Luffy, who was giving him a big grin.
"I couldn't let you drown," She said. "No fruit user deserves to sink like an anchor."
Is this child for real? Smoker thought, before he sighed.
"Go."
Everyone looked at the marine captain, confusion on their faces.
"I'm letting you go this one time. But the next, time you're all dead."
"You heard him let's go!" Nojiko said as everyone, save Zoro, Ace, Thatch and Luffy ran.
"I knew you were a good guy Smokey-nii!" Luffy said laughing.
Smoker was taken back by the girl's words, Thatch laughed as his face went red.
"GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!" Smoker roared still red in the face.
"Don't touch my sister!" Ace yelled as he was dragged away by Thatch.
"Shishishi!" Luffy laughed as she followed her friends.
Line Break
Pretty soon after they left Rain Dinner, Luffy and her companions had located Chopper and Kaya, who were riding a giant crab.
"Alright!" Chopper said after they all got on. "Let's go!"
"Luffy I do expect an explanation when this is all over." Ace said.
Luffy nodded before she sensed something from behind them. Knowing who it was she quickly knocked her brother and his friend out, knowing that if she didn't her brother's overprotective streak would kick in. She'd deal with his yelling later.
"Why'd you do that?" Usopp asked.
"AAAAHHHH!"
Everyone spun to see Vivi being pulled away by a big golden hook.
"Chopper! Stop the crab!" Zoro shouted.
"Vivi-nee!" Luffy shouted.
Before anyone could stop her, Luffy had stretched her arm to grab Vivi. Everyone watched in horror as their young captain switched places with the desert princess, throwing Vivi to Zoro.
"LUFFY!" They all shouted.
"I'LL BE FINE!" Luffy shouted. "GET VIVI TO ALUBARNA! PROMISE ME!"
Everyone was looking at the girl with mixtures of shock and horror.
Zoro stared at the child, before he sighed. Her family is going to kill us!
"Crazy Brat!" He said before telling Chopper to keep going.
"You can't be serious!" Nami yelled as everyone else began to protest as well.
"We have to go back for Luffy-chan!" Vivi yelled.
"We don't have a choice." Zoro said. "Luffy gave us an order. To get you to Alubarna."
Vivi's eyes widened at that, no one else was looking too happy at the thought of a 12 year old taking on a Warlord.
"JUST BE CAREFUL LUFFY-CHAN!" Alvida yelled out.
"LUFFY! WE'LL WAIT FOR YOU IN ALUBARNA!" Vivi shouted.
"YEEEEAAAAH!" Luffy yelled back, before she flipped to land on her feet.
"Looks like the princess got away." Robin said.
"No matter. The agents are in place in Alubarna." Crocodile said as he glared down at the child. "I'd say you taking this nonsense little too far, child."
"I don't care." Luffy said as she removed her desert clothing. Soon she stood in front of Crocodile, wearing a red t-shirt and blue shorts, her straw hat on her head. "Vivi-nee doesn't think it nonsense, and neither do I. Unlike most people, Vivi-nee truly cares about others. And I know that as long as you're around, Viv-nee will fight to protect her country until she either wins or dies trying. And since I don't want my big sister to die, I'm going to kick your ass all over this desert!"
"Foolish child!" Crocodile said with a smirk. "Despite what the princess thinks, there's always one constant truth. During battle you either kill or die. And I will gladly put a bullet through every heart I meet."
Luffy only smirked.
"If that's what you think," She said. "Then you're a bigger fool than I thought."
Robin couldn't stop from chuckling at the girl's comment, causing the now angry Crocodile to glare at her.
"You think this is amusing?" He said in a dark tone. "Would you like to die with the child as well Nico Robin?"
Robin looked at Luffy again, before she began to walk away. "Kill me if you wish. But you did agree to not call me by that name."
"Where are you going?" He asked.
"To Alubarna." She said before she left.
"I will never understand that woman." Crocodile said, as he pulled out a tiny hourglass and threw it at Luffy's feet. "Three minutes, that's all the time I'm giving you child." He said. "After that, I will not have time to play with you anymore."
The wind blew past them as Luffy glared at Crocodile.
"Any problem with that, Child?"
"Nope." Luffy said, before she lunged for him.
"GUM GUM PISTOL!"
But the punch missed as Crocodile turned himself into sand. Luffy ducked as he attempted to take off her head with his hook.
"GUM GUM STAMP!" She yelled, but her foot only went through him.
No matter how many of her normal attacks she threw at him, they just went through him.
Luffy growled, her eyes flashing as she raised her hand again.
"Listen here child, your attacks are like mosquito bites," Crocodile bragged. "It doesn't matter how long you continue. A child like you-"
He never got to finish as Luffy aimed her fist at his head.
"GUM GUM PISTOL!" She yelled.
Before Crocodile knew what had happened, he found himself flying as her fist slammed into his face. He landed rather harshly on his back.
That brat hit me!? How!? Crocodile thought as he glared at Luffy, only for his eyes to widen as he saw her hand. Just before her punch connected, Luffy had covered her fist with scales, allowing her to hit him.
What the hell is that!? Crocodile thought as he got to his feet. "You're no ordinary rookie!"
"And it looks like you're not as unbeatable as you claim, Sandy!" Luffy said with a grin that showed her canines.
Crocodile just glared at the child, as a vein stood out on his forehead.
"Don't get cocky brat!" He growled. "I may not know what you are, but it'll take more than fancy tricks to defeat me!"
He raised his hand and Luffy watched as it turned into a blade of sand. "I will teach you to not mess with me, child!"
"DESERT SPADA!"
A giant wave of sand headed straight towards Luffy. Instincts screaming, Luffy dove to the side, just missing the attack. When she looked back, there was a deep scar in the sand.
"I'm impressed you managed to dodge that." Crocodile complimented.
Luffy stared down at the newly made ravine. It was like uncle Hawkie's blade cutting through that ship!
"DESERT GIRASOLE!" Crocodile yelled as he slammed his hand into the sand.
Luffy yelped in surprise when she was suddenly engulfed by a giant hole.
"Never heard of quicksand, Brat?" Crocodile mused as the girl fell. "The sand is being drawn into an underground ri-"
He all but chocked on his words when wings appeared on the child's back.
"It'll take more than that to bury me, Sandy!" Luffy yelled as she flew at him.
What the hell is this child!? Crocodile thought as he step-sided the attack she threw at him, causing Luffy to bury herself in the sand.
When she dug herself out, her wings had vanished. She looked up, only to find Crocodile standing in front of her.
"What the hell are you!?" Crocodile demanded.
"Sorry, Sandy." Luffy said as she lunged for him again. "But I don't blab out secrets like you do!"
Crocodile growled as he grabbed the girl's arm.
"Hey! Let go!" She yelled.
"BARCHAN!" Crocodile said as he slashed at the girl's arm.
Luffy hit him in the gut with a scaled covered foot, forcing him to let her go. She jumped away from him, before she started screaming in pain as her arm seemed to shrivel up. When she looked, the arm that he had slashed looked completely mummified.
"What did you do to my arm, Sandy!?"
"I sucked all of the water out of your arm." Crocodile said with a sadistic grin. "Maybe I should use my sand to suck all the water from your body and dry you to death."
Luffy stared at the man, with a wary expression, trying to ignore both the pain in her arm and her need to shift. Then an idea popped into her head, she ran over to where she had placed her things. She quickly grabbed the small barrel of water that Toto had given her.
She took quick drink and was delighted when her arm returned to normal.
"Ha! It worked!" She said, before turning to Crocodile again.
"Worthless."
"It's not worthless!" Luffy growled when he said that. "Toto-Jii gave me this water in Yuba after he spent all night digging for it! You know that old man? Yuba will never be defeated by mere sand!"
To further her anger, Crocodile began to laugh.
"What's so funny!?" Luffy demanded.
"SABLES!" Crocodile said as he created a sandstorm in his hand.
"What are you doing!?" Luffy cried as she shielded her eyes from the sand.
"Time's up, brat." Crocodile said as the storm grew at an alarming rate. "Time for you to die, along with Yuba."
"This sand is nice and dry today," Crocodile said. "Now then child, the prevailing winds here always blow to the south. If this small sandstorm rides that wind south and matures, where do you think it will strike when it's nice and big?"
"The south?" Luffy repeated, before her eyes widened.
He wouldn't! She thought as her anger grew.
"Yuba." Crocodile said with a big grin.
"Why!?" She roared as she charged him, but was thrown back by the winds. "Toto-Jii has nothing to do with this!"
"Give it up Child." Crocodile advised as he looked at the storm he created. "Once this storm picks up speed, not even I will be able to stop it."
"Stop it!" Luffy screamed.
"Yuba is finished." Crocodile said with a serene smile that pissed the young girl further.
"STOP IT!" She shouted again as she managed to grab his coat. "STOP IT RI- URK!"
Crocodile grinned as he hoisted up the child he had just impaled in the chest with his hook.
"Who do you think I am?" He asked in a low voice as blood dripped from his hook. "While I commend you on your strength, you are just talk child, like the many other rookies that sail along the Grand Line."
While he talked, the sandstorm began to make it way to the south.
"Yuba will die from this final sandstorm and the flame of the rebel army's hatred shall burn anew. The archaic concern for others will destroy this country. And the same goes for you child, had you ignored those worthless feelings, you would've lived longer."
Crocodile's attention was then drawn to the small barrel of water that Luffy had placed around her neck. The water trickled down his arm to drip on the sand below.
"Water? I suppose that this water will no longer be of any import-"Crocodile didn't get to finish as Luffy's hand shot up to grip his arm. He cried in pain when she dug her nails into his arm.
"Impossible! You're still alive!?" He said in shock, as the impaled girl started to move. Luffy coughed out blood as she glared at him with golden eyes.
Crocodile growled, before he tossed the girl into the sinkhole that he'd created earlier. Luffy cried out in pain when sand touched her wound, struggling against the sinking sand.
"You seem to be in quite some pain." Crocodile said smugly. "But soon you'll be in peace."
Luffy struggled harder to get out of the quicksand, but her mind was clouded in pain and she no longer had the strength to escape or in the right mind to shift.
"Goodbye." Crocodile said as he walked away, leaving the young child to her sandy grave.
Dammit! Luffy thought, as she started to black out.
But then, just as she was about to sink into the sand, a dozen of arms appeared from the surrounding sand and lifted out of the hole to be placed onto the safety of the desert's sand.
Luffy forced herself to stay awake as her healing factor worked over time to heal her wounds. She looked over to see Robin standing over her, watching her in interest.
"Th-thank… you…" Luffy managed to say.
"Why do you fight?" Robin asked. "As the ones who carry the initial D?"
"D?" Luffy asked in confusion.
"It seems I shouldn't have as-"
Robin was cut off, when a blue flaming bird landed in between her and Luffy.
Line Break
Were the hell are they, yoi!? Marco thought as he flew over Rainbase, trying to locate Ace and Thatch.
It had been sometime since the two had last contacted Oyaji, and Marco was getting worried.
Though to his annoyance, he found out that the two idiots had forgotten to grab a transponder before Thatch dragged Ace away.
It didn't help when he had to avoid a sandstorm that appeared from nowhere.
On top of that, Marco thought. We still haven't found Ace's sist-
Marco didn't get to finish that thought, when he spotted the missing child being pulled out from what looked like a sinkhole by many arms. He watched as the arms, lifted Ace's sister from the hole and placed her beside a black-haired woman, who he recognized as Nico Robin.
His growing worry for Ace's sister doubled when he saw the state of the girl. The young girl was drenched in blood and she appeared to be shaking.
Marco's worry turned to anger as he dove down to place himself in between Ace's sister and Nico Robin.
"Stay away from the child!" Marco said after he changed back to human.
Nico Robin's eyes widened in shock at the sudden appearance of Whitebeard's First Commander.
Before anything else could be said or done. They heard the child behind Marco speak.
"Wait… Nii-chan…"
Marco turned to the child, alarmed at the amount of blood that soaked the girl's clothes.
"You stood not be moving, yoi!" He said as he tried to stop her when she tried to move, his eyes widened when he caught sight of the hole in her chest.
"What happened, yoi!?" He said in panic.
"I'll…be fine…" Luffy said, before she winced in pain as she sat up.
She looked over the shoulder of the panicking Phoenix to stare at Robin. "Thank you again for saving me, Nee-chan."
Robin's eyes widened for a split second, before going back to being calm.
"FOUND YOU!"
The three, turned to see a pale looking man in desert clothing and wearing a turban limping towards them. The man was using his sword as a walking stick.
"Where is Princess Vivi!?" The man demanded.
"Oh my, awake already." Robin mused, as she used her powers to throw Luffy's hat towards her.
"I will not be caught off guard again!" The man said preparing to draw his sword.
"Don't stained yourself. You're hurt more than you think." Robin said tossing the hat to Marco.
The man ignored her.
"Your princess is perfectly healthy, she is currently heading towards Alubarna as we speak." Robin said as she walked over to her desert croc.
With that she left, leaving the man to fall to his feet in frustration.
"Who are you, Mister?" Luffy asked the man as she moved to stand.
"My name is Pell. I am one of Princess Vivi's guards."
Marco was about ready to pull out his hair.
"Sit back down, yoi!" He said, ignoring the glare he received from the stubborn child.
"I'm fine!" She said.
"You have a hole in your chest, you are NOT fine, yoi!" Marco snapped. She's as stubborn as her brother!
"I'm fine!" She said again. "It's healing."
Sure enough when Marco looked at the wound again, it seemed smaller than before.
He sighed, feeling a headache coming on. He looked at Pell and Luffy, crossing his arms.
"Now would you be so kind as to tell me what's going on, yoi!?"
Line Break
After she had told both Pell and her brother's friend, Marco, what was happening, the two were more than eager to help. Though Marco was against Luffy going to Alubarna to face Crocodile again, which was understandable seeing as he had wounded her. Marco wasn't so sure that Crocodile would live if Ace found out that his sister had been injured, heck his wasn't sure if he could stop himself from killing the man.
After bandaging her wounds and Pell's, Marco had left to go tell Whitebeard of the situation. While Pell offered to take the child to Alubarna, Luffy was ecstatic when he changed into a falcon thanks to his devil fruit. Pell was quite surprised when the child had asked him if he could teach her to fly later, he had been further shocked when she revealed that she was a dragon.
"Wow, look how high we are!" Luffy yelled happily as she rode on Pell's back, as he flew through the air.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Pell asked the girl on his back. "You were near death just mere hours ago."
"I'll be okay." Luffy said as she fingered the bandages that covered her wound, thanks to her healing factor, the wound wasn't as bad as it was before. But she knew it'd take more time to heal.
Pell didn't looked convinced. "Even if you're an Ancient, you should not take such wounds so lightly. You were lucky that Crocodile missed your heart."
"I'll be fine." Luffy said again, getting a little tired of people asking her if she was fine.
Pell sighed. "I guess I'm not one to talk, since I was also badly hurt by that woman. If not for my ability, she would've broken my spine and neck."
"You can heal quickly too?"
"We Devil Fruit users have a higher endurance and healing capabilities than most people." Pell stated. "It's why we can take a beating and stand back up, even when greatly injured."
Luffy said nothing as she thought back to the times where her body healed faster after she'd been injured. She knew that she healed faster than most because of what she was, but she never realized that her healing factor was enhanced by being a fruit user as well.
"There's Alubarna." Pell said, gaining the girl's attention.
Luffy looked down to see a huge city that was built in a circle surrounded by tall stonewalls. Even from this height, Luffy could hear the sound of gunfire. But there vision was obscured by sand.
"Where's Vivi-nee?" Luffy asked. "I can't see anything even with my sight, can you?"
"No." Pell said worry in his tone. "But this isn't an ordinary sandstorm."
Luffy growled when she realized what Pell was talking about.
"We need to find Sandy and Vivi-nee now!"
Just then Luffy caught a flash of blue out of the corner of her eyes.
"Pell-nii!" Luffy cried as she pointed to where she saw Vivi.
Pell looked to were the child was pointing and dived towards the palace, both hoping they'd make it in time.
Line Break
"Vivi!" Yelled King Cobra. "RUN! You have to get away from him!"
"No!" Vivi said as she glared at Crocodile. "There's still time! If I can stop the bomb from detonating, I can still save them."
Crocodile growled in annoyance as he grabbed her by the throat and lifted her into the air. Soon Vivi found herself being held over the edge of the palace walls. Below her a sheer drop.
"If I do this! If I do that! I grow tired of your idealism. Without power those dreams and ideas mean nothing." Crocodile said. "I'm amazed that you able to spy on us for two years, I'll give you that. But all you've done is condemn your people to death!"
"Face it, Princess!" He said with a smirk. "You can't save anyone!"
"I don't care!" Vivi yelled in defiance. "As the Princess of this Kingdom, I won't give up!"
"Then you can die with this kingdom!" Crocodile said before turning his hand into sand, allowing the princess to fall to her death.
"VIVI!" Cobra shouted terrified for his daughter.
Crocodile began to laugh at the falling princess before something caught in the sky caught his eye. He studied it for a moment before his eyes widened in disbelief. "Impossible!"
"CROCODILE!" Luffy roared as she and Pell flew down towards them.
"Luffy-chan!" Vivi cried out in joy as they swooped down and snatched her before she hit the ground.
"Are you okay, Vivi-nee?" Luffy asked, but then froze when the scent of tears reached her nose.
"Luffy-chan… Pell." Vivi said as tears ran down her face. "We don't have much time. A bomb is going to go off in the square…my voice…no one can hear it…this country…is falling apart!"
Luffy wrapped her arms around Vivi. "Don't worry Vivi-nee," Luffy said gently. "I hear you."
Vivi stared at the little girl she saw as a sister in shock, before she hugged her back, as Pell landed on the ground.
Luffy glared up at Crocodile, her golden eyes flashing.
"Be careful Luffy-chan." Pell said.
"Don't worry, I'll be fine." Luffy said as she continued to stare up at Crocodile.
"LUFFY!"
Luffy looked behind her to see her crew running up to her.
"SHE'S ALIVE!" Usopp cried out in joy, before crying in pain when Nami, who had been carried by Zoro, whacked him upside the head with her staff.
"What is wrong with you!? I asked for a weapon, not a party favor!"
"I thought you said you couldn't stand!" Zoro yelled.
"What happened to Nami and Nojiko, Moss Head!?" Sanji yelled.
"Shut up! They're alive, so deal with it!"
"Sorry guys." Luffy said, as everyone looked to their captain. "I lost last time. But this time, I'll win. The rest is up to you!"
Everyone smiled at the girl they called captain.
"Then get going!" Zoro said.
"Time to end this!"
"YEAH!" Her crew yelled.
"Thank you… Everyone." Vivi said as she wiped her tears.
Luffy just smiled, before she rocketed up to Crocodile. She threw a punch, but missed when he turned to sand, leaving the girl to land on the grassy field of the palace.
"I'm amazed you managed to survive that quicksand, along with the wound I gave you." Crocodile said. "But I'm afraid that you're luck has run out child. I'm gonna suck all the water from you until not even a husk remains."
"Not this time Sandy!" Luffy growled. "This time I'm going to kick your ass!"
Line Break
Luffy stood protectively in front of Nico Robin, who had almost been killed by Crocodile, her entire frame shaking. "Leave Robin-nee alone!" Luffy growled, not noticing Robin's eyes widened when she said big sister. Luffy paid no mind, instead she was focusing on protecting the woman who held the same look Ace once had. When this was all over, Luffy was planning on recruiting Nico Robin so she could hopefully get rid of the look of loneliness. That is, if the woman didn't disappear first.
Crocodile stared at the child with a mixture of disbelief and annoyance. He could've sworn that she'd been crushed underneath a huge pile of rubble. He still didn't know how she survived the quicksand, but she was really proving to be a thorn in his side.
"You seem to have a death wish, Brat! I've beaten you twice already, you must realize that there's no way you can beat me!"
"I don't care how strong you are," Luffy growled as she held back her other half, she would be able to fight if she shifted into her full dragon form. "I don't care if you're a king, Warlord or a god! I'm gonna kick your ass for hurting my friends."
Luffy turned to glance up at Robin. "Can you take Vivi-nee's dad and go outside, Robin-nee? I'll hold off Sandy here."
Robin hesitated, before nodding and running over to help the wounded king. As they went for the exit, Robin sent out a silent prayer that the 12 year old little girl who had just saved her life and called her big sister, was going to be okay if she was going to be left alone with a man who could be considered a monster.
When Luffy was sure that the two were safe, she turned back to Crocodile who removed a piece of his hook, underneath was another hook with large holes. Luffy caught the scent of poison.
"I think it's time that I've dealt with you properly, child." Crocodile said as he raised his weapon. "You will regret having ever gone against me."
"I think that's the other way around, Sandy." Luffy said.
They lunged at each other.
Line Break
Zoro, Sanji, Gin, Usopp, Johnny, Yosaku, Gracie, Alvida, Nami, Nojiko, Kaya, Chopper, Cobra stood waiting outside of the tomb. Wanting to help, but none were in the condition to do so.
They all turned when the heard voices coming from behind them. They were very surprised and slightly scared to see nearly all of the Whitebeard Commanders, including Luffy's brother, Thatch and Marco. With them, was Whitebeard, who towered over everyone present.
"Please tell me my little sister is not fighting a Warlord alone." Ace said, as he looked around for his sister.
All the Straw Hats looked at each other, before looking back at Ace, who paled.
"Luffy!" Ace yelled as he sprinted towards the entrance of the tomb, injuries be damned! He wasn't about to let some jerk of a Warlord kill his reckless sister.
He was only about a foot from it when the ground began to shake. Everyone was knocked off their feet as Luffy and Crocodile came flying out of the ground. Crocodile was covered in blood and bruises, while Luffy was in her partial form, just as injured and exhausted.
"GUM GUM!" Luffy shouted as she threw back her dragon claws.
"DIE!" Crocodile roared. "DESERT!"
"DRAGON STORM!"
"LA SPADA!"
Everyone watched in awe as Luffy's claws seemed to multiply, smashing through the giant sand axes made from Crocodile's attack. Crocodile could do nothing as he was being plummeted with hundreds of dragon's claws at once.
Crocodile was sent flying, unconscious into the middle of the still raging battle in the plaza.
"She did it…" Vivi said.
The Straw Hats began to cheer, only to stop when their 12 year old Captain dropped like stone, her dragon features vanishing.
Thankfully Ace managed to catch his sister just before she hit the ground.
Ace couldn't help but smile when he saw that she was asleep, exhausted from her battles.
"What am I going to do with you Lu?"
From the sky above, the rain began to fall.
End Chapter