Chapter 25

Alubarna

The crew tore through the streets of Rainbase.

"Don't tell me we're going to run all the way to Alubarna!" panted Usopp.

Hawke looked around.

"Where did Chopper go?" she shouted up to the others.

"And Eyelash!" panted Nami, "Where did Eyelash go?"

"Who's Eyelash?" asked Hawke.

"Whatever," shouted Luffy over his shoulder, "There are stables in this town right? Let's get horses!"

"But the marines are all over the city," panted Vivi.

"Set your minds at ease," said Sanji, "Look ahead."

They were nearing the edge of the town, ahead of them stretched the desert. There was a huge cloud of whirling dust and sand traveling very quickly in their direction.

"What is that?!" exclaimed Hawke.

The movement stopped in front of them and the sand settled.

"Hey guys!" shouted a small form from above them.

"Chopper!" gasped Hawke.

"A crab?!" shouted Usopp, his eyes popping out of his head.

The crew gawked at the scene before them.

Chopper and a camel were riding atop a giant crab!

"That's a Moving Crab!" exclaimed Vivi.

"It looks tasty!" shouted Luffy.

"Let's ride!" Chopper shouted down at the crew.

"We can ride it?!" exclaimed Luffy, "Cool! Cool! Cool! Awesome! Cool!"

The captain catapulted himself up onto the crabs eye stalk.

"Nice to meet ya!" he laughed.

The crab lowered its claw.

"You've brought something amazing back again," Sanji said up to Chopper as he and Nami climbed aboard.

Zoro, Hawke, Vivi and Usopp clambered onto the other claw and were raised up onto the crabs back.

"He's a friend of Eyelashes," said Chopper, "Eyelash was born in this town, so he has lots of friends all over the place."

He gestured over at the camel.

"But they're all perverts…," he added embarrassingly.

"Oh so this is Eyelash," laughed Hawke and she went over and began petting the camel on the nose.

Eyelash let out snorts and grunts of pleasure.

"Moving Crabs usually stay underground so long that they're known as phantom crabs," Vivi exclaimed, "But it seems we have one right here."

"It moves pretty fast then?" asked Zoro, taking a seat.

"Guys, hold on tight," said Chopper as he raised the reins in his hooves, "Let's go!"

There was a sudden jolt and the crab sped off, moving along sideways.

"Oof!" grunted Hawke as she lost her footing and fell onto her knees, "What a lively start."

They'd only been travelling for seconds, when Vivi let out a sudden scream. The crew turned around to see her being dragged off the crab by a golden hook.

"Crocodile!" cried Hawke.

"Stop! Chopper!" shouted Zoro.

Chopper yanked on the reins and the crab skidded to a halt.

"It's him!" shouted Luffy, "You damned…!"

Luffy jumped up and pulled Vivi out of the hook, putting himself in her place and throwing the princess back onto the crab.

"Oi, Luffy!" called Zoro.

They watched as two figures appeared on the horizon. Luffy was quickly being dragged back towards them.

"You guys go on ahead!" they heard the captain yell, "I'll be fine by myself!"

"Luffy!" screamed Hawke.

The crew stood frozen in hesitation.

Luffy landed on the sand with a thud.

"Make sure you get her there safe!" he shouted, "Get Vivi back home! Make sure!"

Hawke could see his smile even from that distance.

Still, nobody made a move.

"Make sure, okay?" Luffy said again.

"That… idiot," muttered Zoro.

Hawke saw him stiffen.

"Oi!" he shouted, "Let's go, Chopper!"

He turned to the reindeer.

"From here… straight to Alubarna!"

Chopper bit his lip and turned.

"Right, got it," he said, raising the reins, "Let's go!"

The crab jerked into movement again.

Hawke watched the three figures on the sand start to fade away.

"No…" she gasped quietly.

"Oi, Zoro!" shouted Usopp in a panic, "You're just gunna leave him?! Isn't that a bit cruel?! You'd better protect me from now on!?"

"Luffy-san!" shouted Vivi, straining against Nami's arms.

"It's okay, Vivi," said the navigator through clenched teeth, "He'll be fine. I'm more worried about them! Once Luffy chooses his opponent… they never get away without a beating."

Zoro stood up.

"Listen, Vivi," he said, "He'll keep Crocodile busy. The instant the Rebel Army moved to attack, the time limit on this country was decided. If the Rebel Army and the Royal Army collide, this country is done for. And if you are the only hope for stopping them… then you must live no matter what!"

Zoro gripped his swords.

"From now on, anything that happens to us is of no importance!" he snapped.

"But…" Vivi stuttered.

"Vivi-chan," said Sanji, "You set up this fight. You left your country years ago, and challenged an organization you knew nothing about. However," he turned, "You can't tell yourself you're fighting alone anymore."

Vivi's eyes widened.

She stood and took a deep breath.

"Luffy-san!" she shouted at the top of her lungs, "We shall await you in Alubarna!"

"Okay!" they heard their captain's voice come back over the sand.

And then, he was gone.

Hawke stared out at the now empty desert, still resting on her knees.

"No…Luffy," she whispered.

She had just gotten her captain back and now he had been taken from her again. She felt tears welling up in her eyes.

Zoro noticed.

"He'll be fine," he said, coming to sit beside Hawke, "We have to trust in our captain."

Hawke wiped her eyes and nodded, looking back to where Luffy had disappeared.

"But I just found you all again," she sighed, her voice still trembling.

"And we're very glad to have you back," said Usopp, turning his own gaze from the horizon.

Hawke sighed happily, despite her overwhelming worry.

"I'm so glad to see you again," she smiled at her friends, "I wasn't sure how much longer I could stay in Crocodile's clutches."

Zoro's face darkened.

"By the way," he said, "What was he doing to you?"

Hawke lowered her eyes.

"I don't remember how I got under his cloak…" she shivered, "I don't really want to think about it."

She rubbed her hands up and down her arms.

"I feel disgusting," she muttered.

The crew exchanged concerned glances.

"Were you okay, though, Hawke?" asked Nami, "He didn't torture you did he?"

Hawke shook her head.

"Other than these," she motioned to the welts on her chest and legs, "I wasn't hurt. Although he wasn't that reliable with my meals, now that I think about it."

"This is an outrage!" shouted Sanji, his face full of wrath, "Don't you worry, Hawke-san, I shall make sure you never go hungry again!"

"I thought you were looking thinner than usual," Nami looked at her with concern.

Hawke smiled.

"I'm fine," she said, "I'm not hungry at the moment. But thank you, Sanji, I'll be looking forward to your cooking."

Sanji gave her a swoon and a smile, but then his face became dark again.

"Oi, Hawke-san," he said, fingering his ciragette and casting an almost unnoticeable glance in Zoro's direction, "Did I hear you correctly when we were in the casino?"

"Huh?" asked Hawke, "When?"

"Did Crocodile drug you?" asked Sanji.

Zoro stiffened.

"What?!" he snapped, whirling to face Hawke.

"Well…," Hawke stuttered, "He did at least once. He didn't want me to hear him tell his top agents his whole plan so he injected something into my arm and I passed out."

"He drugged you?!" exclaimed Usopp.

"What?" Nami gasped, "Are you feeling okay, Hawke?"

Hawke raised her hands defensively in front of her.

"Yes," she reassured them, "I'm fine now. And I assumed that he'd drugged me again, because when I woke up-" she shuddered, "-there, I felt the same as when I had woken up then, only a bit worse. I couldn't control my body."

"That sounds awful," Nami sympathized.

"Yes, it is awful," said Sanji soberly, "But I have one more question Hawke-san."

"What is it, Sanji?" replied Hawke.

"Your dress is so becoming on you and my soul trembles when I see you in it," he began, "But something very disturbing is weighing on my mind."

"Huh, yeah," said Usoppp suddenly, "You weren't wearing that when we last saw you."

Hawke looked down and blushed. She had almost forgotten what she was wearing. And my clothes are probably at the bottom of that lake, she thought, ...my jacket.

"Well he was keeping me in the same cage that you guys were in," she said, "But he let me out and made me dance for him and some other Baroques Works member."

She motioned to her clothes.

"That's why I'm wearing this."

Zoro's hand clenched around his swords.

"I'm going to kill that creep!" he shouted and sprang up, making a dive off the crab.

It was all Usopp and Nami could do to keep him from jumping off.

"Please don't leave," Hawke let out a panicked little squeak.

Zoro froze, but he was still breathing very heavily.

"I want us all to stay together," she finished, blushing furiously and lowering her face.

That came out faster than I meant it too, she thought.

Zoro quieted and gruffly shook off Usopps hand. He returned to his spot beside Hawke.

Suddenly, there was a huge roar from the way they had come.

Looking back, the crew saw a sand storm had sprung up near Rainbase.

"It's him," muttered Vivi.

"Luffy…," whispered Hawke, closing her eyes, "I know you'll be okay."

She wanted to run to her brother's side so much, but they needed to get Vivi to where she needed to go. And where was that? Hawke thought, realising that she had no idea what was going on.

"Oh, Zoro," said Hawke, "Where did you say we were going?"

"To Alubarna," replied the swordsman.

"Where's that?" asked Hawke.

"It's the capital city of Alabasta," put in Vivi, "That's where the royal palace is," she lowered her face and turned towards the horizon, "And that's where the rebel army is going to attack tomorrow morning."

"What?!" exclaimed Hawke, "What's happened since I last saw you guys?"

"A lot," muttered Usopp, "I almost died from the heat four times."

Nami rolled her eyes at him.

"We knew we would end up at Crocodile anyways," she started, "And since he was Mister 0, we figured that's where they would take you."

Hawke nodded.

"I came to the same conclusion," she said.

"Good," smiled Nami, "Well we went to the city that was supposed to be the rebel base, but it was already abandoned."

"There was only on old man who knew Vivi," said Chopper.

"Yes," continued Nami, "And he told us that the rebels were already moving to launch their attack."

Zoro adjusted his sitting position.

"So we changed our plans and decided to come here first because it was where Crocodile had his base," he said.

"So now that we have you back again," said Vivi, still looking at the horizon, "And we know a bit more of Crocodiles plan, we need to get to Alubarna as fast as we can so we can get there before the rebels do and hopefully stop this war."

Hawke nodded.

"Oh my," she said, "You've all been working really hard to help Vivi. And all I've been doing is sitting in a cage."

Her shoulders drooped.

"It wasn't your fault, Hawke-san," said Sanji, "Don't blame yourself."

"Yeah," said Usopp, "And what did Crocodile mean when he said you were so important?"

Hawke stiffened. She had been hoping that they wouldn't remember that part.

"Well," she mumbled, "I'm not sure if I'd believe what he said."

"Well what did he mean?" asked Zoro, leaning in.

Hawke looked at him, then at the rest of the crew. She wasn't even sure if the prophecy was real, and it would only add stress to the crew. They had to keep focused in order to help Vivi.

"I really don't know," she said, lowering her eyes, "He probably just wanted to make Luffy as upset as he could."

"Hmph," grunted Zoro and he leaned back again.

Hawke took out her wings and stretched them.

"It's been a long time since I've flown," she smiled, "I think I might've strained them too hard back there."

"So you can do that!" said Vivi, gaping at Hawkes wings, "I wasn't sure if I'd been seeing you right back when we were caught up in the water…"

"Oh right," laughed Usopp, "We didn't tell you about Hawke's special ability did we?"

"So you have devil fruit powers too then?" asked Vivi, coming over and feeling Hawkes feathers.

Hawke shook her head.

"No, these are a part of my body," she said as she stretched her wings again and turned to show Vivi her back.

Vivi's eyes widened and she seemed to be thinking hard for a moment.

"What's wrong?" asked Hawke.

Vivi was staring at her.

"I just think I've seen a statue of you in the palace," she said.

"What?" asked Zoro, "A statue of Hawke?"

"Well not exactly of her," corrected Vivi, "It's a statue of a person in robes and a hood."

"How does that remind you of Hawke?" asked Usopp dubiously.

"It doesn't have a name," said Vivi, "No one knows where it came from or if it's a man or a woman. But it has black wings coming out of its back just like Hawke."

The crew stared back at her.

"The records only say that it appeared in the treasury about eight hundred years ago and no one knows who put it there," continued Vivi, "There is a plaque on the sculpture, and all it says is "Dark Angel"."

Hawke blinked. Those words kept popping up all of a sudden. Could it be more than coincidence?

"Dark Angel?" repeated Usopp, "What does that mean?"

Vivi shrugged.

"I just thought of it when I saw Hawkes wings," she said, "Wasn't Crocodile calling you Angel?"

Hawke nodded.

"Yes," she admitted, "The billions who captured me gave me the nickname because I wouldn't tell them my real one."

"Well it doesn't make any sense to me," said Nami, "We should just focus on getting to Alubarna for now."

"You're right," agreed Vivi, and she returned her gaze to the horizon.

But Hawke's mind was full of uncertain thoughts as they were transported through the desert.

Was this prophecy real? And if it was, was she this Dark Angel? And why was this happening all of a sudden?

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The sun was almost set.

They traveled in silence for a while.

Zoro was busying himself by lifting Eyelash on his sword.

Hawke was watching him out of the corner of her eye. She could tell that he was worried about Luffy and was trying to work off his energy.

Usopp was telling Chopper some tall tales about crabs and shrimp and how it was he that had made them walk sideways.

"Zoro," Nami said, "Aren't you just wasting your strength?"

"Shut up," growled the swordsman.

"Leave him be, Nami-san," said Sanji from the front of the crab, "If he doesn't work off his strength, he'll be beside himself with tension. He gets worked up easily."

Hawke let a small smile creep onto her lips. Sanji was bang on.

"And besides," the cook continued, drawing on his cigarette, "He's just gotten a full blown taste of the level of a Warlord."

Zoro tensed.

"Hey, jackass," he grunted, "What are you trying to say? Come out and say it."

Sanji rolled his eyes.

"Alright, I'll tell you," he waved his arm, "You're afraid. Afraid that Luffy might lose."

"Me?!" shouted Zoro, "Afraid?! You… you pretty eyebrows!"

"Oh, now I'm pissed," snapped Sanji, "You're a Marimo head!"

"What?!" retorted Zoro.

The two men sprang up and butted heads.

"You wanna fight asshole?" they both taunted in unison.

Just then, Nami knocked them both down with her fists of iron.

"Cut it out," she snapped, "This is pointless."

Vivi sprang up.

"He's fine!" she said nervously, "Everyone! Luffy-san won't lose! We made a promise right? We said we'd meet in Alubarna!"

"You're the one worrying the most!" exclaimed Usopp.

Nami went over and tapped Vivi on the head.

"You just worry about the rebellion," she said sternly.

"My apologies, Vivi-chan," said Sanji, sitting up.

"If we had to follow you, we'd be totally lost," sighed Zoro, going back to lifting Eyelash.

"Zoro," Hawke gave him a stern look, "Don't be so mean."

The swordsman grunted. Hawke caught the corner of his lip twitch as he turned away.

Is he mad at me? she thought, or was that a smile? She couldn't tell.

"Alright!" said Nami, "Let's go to Alubarna! Forward Scissors!"

"Huh?" asked Usopp, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It's the crab's name," replied Nami.

"Scissors?!" exclaimed Usopp.

"Got a problem with that?!" Nami turned on him.

"None at all," stuttered Usopp, turning his attention to his shoe.

Hawke smiled as she watched the familiar clashes among her crew members.

This is definitely where I feel like I'm home, she thought.

Just as the sun sank below the horizon, a ribbon of blue appeared in the sand ahead of them.

"A river!" exclaimed Hawke, standing and walking to the edge of the crab's shell.

"We need to find a way to cross it immediately," said Vivi, "This crab won't be able to."

"The crab can't cross the river?!" shouted Usopp.

"Moving crabs are desert creatures," Vivi explained, "They can't stand the water."

"But it's a crab! A crab!" exclaimed Usopp again, "We're in trouble."

He took out a map and laid it on the shell.

"This river is practically an ocean," he continued, "If we have to cross it, we'll never make it in time! And even if we cross the river, there are still tens of kilometers of desert to cross! If this crab doesn't make it across the river, are we going to run the rest of the way?"

"I guess we'll have to," said Nami, staring at the map.

"We'll never make it!" shouted Usopp, "There's just no way!"

"There's the Sandora River!" said Sanji, pointing ahead.

They were much closer to the water.

"Please do something, Scissors-kun," pleaded Nami in a girly voice.

"That's it!" exclaimed Chopper, "Scissors likes dancing girls!"

Nami immediately dropped her cloak, revealing her dancers outfit underneath.

"Like this?" the she said.

"Probably," replied Chopper.

Hawke looked down at her own outfit and blushed, covering herself with her hands. She wasn't as bold as Nami was.

Just then, she felt something being draped over her shoulders.

She looked up.

"Zoro!" she said, seeing the swordsman.

"Just put this on," he snapped, pulling the hood of a cloak up over her head.

Hawke stared at him, then she smiled.

"Thanks, Zoro!" she said warmly.

"Yeah, as long as that stupid cook doesn't drool on you," he grumbled.

Hawke turned her attention back to Nami.

"I think he's pretty distracted," she laughed.

"Oh my!" swooned Sanji, fawning over Nami's outfit.

Eyelash was giving her goo-goo eyes too.

"Sheesh," muttered Hawke, crossing her arms, "Men!"

"He's looking this way!" said Chopper excitedly, pointing at Scissors' eye stalks.

The crab immediately quadrupled his speed.

"He's accelerating!" said Chopper happily.

"Nami-swaaannn!" shouted Sanji.

"You managed to break two animals with your dumb routine," scoffed Zoro.

"Yosh!" said Nami, completely ignoring the insult, "Ero-Power!"

"And how does this solve our problem?" muttered Usopp, "Chopper?!"

The crew watched as the river quickly approached. Soon they were right on the beach.

"Go!" shouted Chopper.

The crab sped down the dune and out onto the water.

For the first few seconds it actually seemed to work. The crab had picked up enough speed that it skimmed over the water.

"Th-this is really something," noted Zoro.

"This is great!" shouted Usopp, "This is a miracle! Just stay on the water's surface the whole way! Run! Run the whole way!"

But then the crab quickly began sinking, leaving the crew floating in the middle of the river.

"Don't sink you stupid crab!" shouted Usopp as he surfaced.

"We don't have time to sit around screaming," muttered Zoro, putting Chopper on his head, "Keep moving."

"Aren't there any ships?" complained Usopp, "About how far is it to the other shore?"

"About fifty kilometres," said Vivi, staring ahead.

"We can't swim that far!" shouted Usopp.

Hawke surfaced and looked back at the shore.

"Thanks!" she shouted, waving at Scissors, who had gotten out onto the beach.

"Thank you!" called Chopper, turning on Zoro's head to wave.

"This is no time to be cheerful," muttered Usopp.

Hawke giggled.

"You look good like that, Zoro," she laughed.

"What?!" growled the swordsman, "What are you talking about?!"

Hawke smiled and kept swimming.

Just then, the water in front of them exploded and a giant catfish emerged from the river.

"What now?!" cried Usopp.

"A Giant Sandora Catfish!" screamed Vivi, "Its favourite food is people!"

"What?!" the crew shouted.

Everyone started swimming for their lives as the catfish lunged at them.

As Hawke swam, she felt a movement below her.

"What's this?" she muttered.

Just then, the catfish stopped chasing them and began to shake.

"What's going on?" snapped Zoro, "I can't see!"

Chopper was clinging to his face.

"Chopper, let go!" Zoro shouted.

The catfish was suddenly thrown into the air. A number of smaller shapes were surrounding it as it fell.

"What are those?!" exclaimed Hawke, looking at the strange looking manatee turtles.

"Kung-fu dugongs!" whimpered Usopp.

One of them came forward and began making noises.

"He said "We cannot abandon Master's disciples!"," said Chopper.

"What?" Hawke was confused.

"We'll explain later, just get on," said Nami.

The crew climbed onto the catfishes back and the dugongs pulled them across the river.

They made it to the other side of the river and clambered up onto the bank.

The dugongs said farewell and returned to the water.

"Thank you! Bye-Bye!" Chopper shouted after them.

"So what were those things?" Hawke asked Nami.

"Oh, they're Kung-fu Dugongs," she explained, "We ran into them earlier and Luffy beat them up."

"Why'd he beat up those sweet things?!" gasped Hawke.

"Well once you beat them, they're sworn to be your disciple," said Vivi, "So they are all loyal to Luffy and they helped us out since they think we're his disciples too."

"Oh," said Hawke bluntly, "Well as long as we made it across quickly enough. Can we still make it in time?"

"It's hard to say," said Vivi nervously, "Even riding Eyelash we might not be fast enough."

"And he can only take two people," said Usopp, "And if Baroque Works is going to attack us, it'll be closer to the city. Is there any way we can all get there together?"

The group was silent.

"Shit, there isn't anything?" asked Usopp.

"I could fly," said Hawke, "But I can only carry one person."

"Damn, that's not enough," muttered Usopp.

Just then, Nami pointed into the desert.

"Look! Over there!" she cried.

There was a large cloud of dust approaching them.

"What is it?" asked Usopp, running over, "The enemy? They're onto us already!?"

"No, it's…" Vivi began.

The figures in the cloud became clearer.

"Carue!" the princess shouted, "And the Super Sonic Duck Squad!"

A group of ducks came running up to the pirates.

"You've come to help us!" cried Vivi.

The ducks saluted her.

"Carue!" she cried and hugged the duck around his neck.

There were more than enough ducks for everyone.

The crew each took a duck and Vivi stayed on Eyelash since he was more comfortable.

As Hawke got onto her duck, her cloak snagged on her stirrup, and she fell back onto the sand.

"Are you alright, Hawke-san?" asked Vivi.

"Yes I'm alright," replied Hawke as she stood, "I just got caught in my cloak."

"Huh?" Sanji looked over, "Where did your lovely dress go, Hawke-san? When'd you get a cloak?"

"Zoro gave this to me," Hawke smiled, "I was a bit chilly in only a dress anyways."

Hawke mounted her duck successfully on her second try.

She draped the cloak around her and pulled up the hood.

Usopp glanced over at her.

"That gives me an idea," he said and waved the rest of the crew over to him.

After the plan was explained, the crew readied to leave.

"But what if that Mr. 2 comes after us," Hawke asked suddenly, "If he's as good as you say he is. Since we'll be separated, how will we be able to tell who's the real one?"

"Oh, that's right," said Usopp, "You weren't there when Zoro thought up our double marks."

"Double marks?" asked Hawke.

Zoro got off his duck and came over to her, ripping off a piece of his cloak and taking out a marker from his waistband.

"Here, hold out your arm," he instructed.

Hawke did as she was told.

Zoro drew an X on her arm with the marker, then wrapped the symbol with the cloth.

"Now, if you have any doubts about our identity, just tell us to prove ourselves," said the swordsman, "If we can't show you the mark under the cloth, then it isn't us."

Hawke looked at the fabric tied to her arm.

"That's a really good plan, Zoro," she said.

The swordsman grunted and returned to his duck.

"It's a mark of our friendship!" said Usopp proudly, raising his hand in the air.

The rest of the crew followed suit.

"Alright," said Nami, "Let's put our plan into action!"

"Yeah!" they cried and set off into the desert.

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The crew sped towards Alubarna.

The Duck Squad was the fastest way to travel in Alabasta and they were making good time.

As they came into view of the city, the top agents of the Baroques Works Angency could be seen sitting at the gates waiting for them.

Their orders were to eliminate Vivi. But they couldn't tell which of the six approaching figures the princess was! They were all wearing the same cloaks!

Mr. 4 shot at the approaching Duck Squad and they scattered.

Two ducks ran off to the south. Mr. 4 and Miss Merry Christmas went after them.

Two more ducks went off to the west. Mr.1 and his partner Miss Double Finger followed them.

And two more ran straight, running over Mr. 2 and Miss Hallows Eve.

"Well, we'll be heading to the south-west gate!" a girl's voice said.

The agents were quick to pursue them.

As the dust cleared from in front of the city, one more duck and a camel emerged from behind a rock and set off towards the no-man's land between the city and the approaching Rebel Army.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Hawke and Usopp approached the south-west gate.

"Are you okay, Hawke?" asked Usopp, looking over at her.

"I'm fine," Hawke smiled, "But how are you doing?"

The sniper was shaking so hard in his saddle that Hawke thought he might fall off.

"Come on, Usopp!" exclaimed Hawke, "We have to be convincing. Vivi's depending on us!"

"Right," replied Usopp, trying to stop his knees from shaking.

They approached the gate and raced up the steps.

There were some guards at the entrance, but they seemed to recognize the ducks and let them through.

"We don't have time to stop," said Hawke and they sped into the city.

Hawke looked behind them. Mr. 2 and Miss Hallows Eve were still giving chase.

They sped through the city, winding in and out of alleys, finally stopping and waiting for their pursuers to catch up.

"I am not letting you get awaaay!" shouted Mr. 2, rounding the corner.

"I'm so glad you decided to follow me," said Usopp, in a high pitched, feminine voice.

"I'm the princess," said Hawke, doing her best Vivi impression.

He's good at that, Hawke smiled to herself, glancing over at Usopp.

The two agents stopped and exchanged confused looks.

"What?" snapped Mr. 2.

The scout and the sniper lowered their hoods.

"To bad! You lose!" they laughed at their pursuers.