Lest Ye Become The Monster

by GamerDame

Monsters & demons are an unfortunate danger in this world. They prey on the scared & defenseless. But Abel is neither. A self-proclaimed monster hunter, she seeks to understand the enemy to equip others to save themselves. But she may have to leave the East Blue to achieve this. Where will she find a crew crazy enough to carry her on her fool's errand? Slow burn OCXZoro

36. Adventures in the Country of Sand

Wow, it's been over a month since my last update. But with good reason I promise. For one, work has been picking up (which is good for me but not so much for you guys). Second, my state boards are tomorrow (from the date of uploading) so a lot of my free time has been spent studying & brushing up on stuff. But because of the delay, & partly a reason for the delay, this is my longest chapter to date. 41 pages! I wanted to get the entire thing in one chapter, plus tide you guys over until the next.

Enjoy!

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Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece. I only own my original additions. This story is for entertainment purposes only.

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Warnings: Mild Violence, Language & Sexual Hints

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As it turned out, traveling through the desert was just as boring and tedious as Abel imagined. The novelty of being in a place she'd never been before wore off quickly once she realized that she'd seen everything there was to see in the desert within the first five minutes. If you've seen one giant pile of sand, you've seen them all. Between the glare of the sun against the sand, everything in front of Abel eventually blurred together into a wall of hot white. Eventually, Abel found herself entering this sort of Zen-like, meditative mindset, blocking out everything around her, mindlessly following the rest of the crew. I wonder if this is what cattle feel like? Abel thought randomly. She definitely felt like one piece of a herd, mindlessly following their shepherd; which in this case was Vivi.

A pained groan and the sound of something heavily hitting the sand broke Abel from her aimless state. Snapping her head in the direction of the sound, Abel's eyes widened slightly when she found poor Chopper collapsed on the dunes. Kneeling beside him, Abel asked, "Still with us, Doc?" Chopper just groaned again, making a weak gesture with his arms.

The rest of the crew had stopped as well, noticing Chopper's collapse. "Poor Tony-kun," Vivi said in sympathy. "This heat has to be excruciating for a reindeer like him."

Easily picking the little guy up, Abel checked him over. He was definitely starting to suffer from heat stroke. "This thick coat is a curse in weather like this," Abel mused. "It's designed to prevent heat from escaping in the cold... and it's essentially doing the same now." Chopper just blinked wearily up at her.

"Here." Looking up, Abel saw Zoro motion to the sled the crew had brought along to help carry some of the supplies. "Put him on," Zoro explained. "I'll pull him until he cools off." Smiling at Zoro's thoughtfulness, Abel placed the reindeer on the sled. With Chopper's miniscule weight, it wouldn't be much of a strain for Zoro.

Once Chopper was secured, Nami asked, "Are we ready to press on?"

Wordlessly, the crew started off again.

Having been broken from her blurred mind, Abel took the opportunity to see how the others were handling things. Everyone suffered from the heat, but some dealt with it better than others. Vivi, naturally, didn't seem bothered in the slightest. She'd grown up here, so she was the most acclimatized. Zoro, Nami and Sanji sweated in silence, all with grim expressions. Aside from Chopper, Luffy and Usopp seemed to be having the worst time of it, forcibly dragging themselves along with some walking sticks they'd picked up along the way. As she watched Luffy's tongue lulling out of his mouth, Abel idly wondered if it was possible for the tongue to get sunburnt. Ace, likewise, seemed immune to the heat. He didn't even look like he was sweating.

He must've sensed her staring, because Ace looked Abel's way with a questioning expression. Voicing her thoughts, Abel asked, "Does the Flare-Flare Fruit make you immune to heat?"

Ace blinked, clearly not expecting the question. Glancing down at his hands, he admitted, "I'd never really thought about it before... but I guess so. I mean, I can feel the temperature, but it doesn't bother me any."

"Lucky..." Usopp whimpered from somewhere behind.

Glancing back at the woman, Ace added, "You seem to be holding up well, yourself."

"True," Abel replied. Unlike Ace, she wasn't immune to the heat, but she wasn't suffering as much as the others. "I've always been more sensitive to the cold." Perhaps it was because of her low blood pressure. Her body just seemed to "run" colder than most people's.

"So you're a cold-blooded woman?" Ace asked teasingly.

Smirking, Abel replied, "Literally, apparently."

Ace snorted. In some ways, Abel reminded him of Luffy... just much more intelligent. Neither reacted to things the way "normal" people did. "I've been meaning to ask," Ace began, not wanting to drop the conversation just yet. "What was it you said earlier? That foreign phrase. It sounded like a verse from a poem or something."

"Ah, you're referring to the Requiem Aeternam. It's a prayer of eternal rest... a prayer for the dead."

"So what exactly did you say?" Ace asked curiously.

"Requiem aeternam dona ei, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat ei. Requiescat in pace," Abel recited easily from memory. Sensing that this wasn't quite the answer Ace had been looking for, Abel translated, "Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. May he rest in peace."

Now it made sense given the context Abel had been using it under. "Say something else," Ace requested.

"Corvus oculum corvi non eruit," Abel quickly recited, assuming Ace meant more Latin.

Paying more attention to Abel's mouth and tongue as she fluidly spoke the words that were a mystery to him, Ace commented, "Sounds sexy."

Abel covered her mouth as she laughed. Ace raised a brow, not expecting that kind of reaction. Giving the fire-user a smile at his expense, Abel explained, "It translates, 'A crow will not pull out the eye of another crow.'" The look on Ace's face, bordering on disgust, just made Abel laugh harder. "It was essentially a fancier way of expressing 'honor among thieves.' But I feel it has far more impact. Don't you agree?"

Ace gave the woman a slow smile, as if he was more amused by her amusement than the comedy of the situation. "It does paint a vivid picture..."

"Everything sounds more poignant in Latin."

"Monster!"

The sudden shout had Abel turning to see what had their sniper so freaked out. Had it been anyone else yelling that phrase, Abel would've instantly reached for her crossbows. But as it was Usopp, the odds of it being a legitimate threat were pretty low.

Her hunch turned out to be correct, as Abel discovered the monster in question to be Chopper. With a burst of energy, he'd changed into his human form and towered over the panicking Usopp. Unfortunately, in doing so, he stood on the sled, holding it down. Zoro tried to pull it, but Chopper was too heavy. Or at least too heavy for Zoro to feel like pulling in this heat. "Chopper!" Zoro snapped. "Don't turn yourself big, or I'm gonna quit pulling you!"

But Chopper was too busy yelling at Usopp. "Who're you calling a monster, Humongo-Nose!?"

Usopp held his hands up in what Abel assumed was supposed to be an intimidating gesture. "You better take it easy on my nose or I'm gonna have to get tough!" he threatened, all the while his knees shaking.

In no mood to put up with this stupidity, Zoro placed his hand on the back of Chopper's head and actually managed to shove him down back into his little size. "Turn small already, would ya!?"

"Nice to see you have your energy back, Doc," Abel commented as she and Ace passed the trio.

Relative peace returned as they trekked on, until Usopp asked from the rear, "What's with all these hills? I was expecting a desert to be more flat." Indeed, since leaving the remnants of Erumalu, the crew had been climbing one mountain of sand after another.

"This is a very old desert," Vivi explained. "Some of the sand dunes here are over three-hundred meters high." In response, Usopp made a few noises of disbelief and distress, but nothing coherent.

"So hot..." Luffy panted. "Water..."

"Just one drink, Luffy," Nami conceded. "Just one mouthful."

Before Abel could point out that a "mouthful" for a rubber man wasn't the same as for normal people, Luffy's cheeks were already puffed out with water. Nami and Usopp were on him in a flash, punching him in the back of the head and making him spit all the water out. Sort of a moot point now. "That's too much!" Nami shrieked.

"Let me have some, too!" Usopp shouted. "That was thirteen mouthfuls just now!"

To make matters worse, Sanji decided to get in on the action. "Hold on! You just had some!" he yelled at Usopp. "I'm next!" This led to all three men getting into a tumble, wrestling with each other over the water barrel.

The others had no choice but to stand by and watch. "Stop fighting!" Vivi pleaded. "You're wasting strength!" But her pleas fell on deaf ears. Remarkably, even Sanji paid her no attention. Abel could at least forgive him for being uptight about their supplies, given what he'd been through. The other two were just idiots.

"You got a phrase for a situation like this?" Zoro asked, coming to stand beside Abel and Ace.

Abel raised a brow, assuming he'd overhead her and Ace talking earlier. Keeping an eye on the fighting trio, Abel replied, "I can think of some from several languages... none of which are polite. Do you mind covering Doc's ears?" Zoro blinked, but did as she asked. It was usually better not to ask questions.

Smiling, Abel took her right hand and stuck her thumb and index finger between her lips. Then, she let out a loud, sharp whistle that made everyone who heard it wince. Even the ones fighting instantly stopped, covering their ears and falling into a pile on the sand. "Abel!" Luffy whined. "What was that for?"

"What was what?" Abel asked, her face completely blank.

"What you just did!"

The crew stared at Abel, and she just continued to stare back like she hadn't the slightest clue what they were talking about. A long, awkward silence stretched on until Nami stuttered, "W-we should get going."

"Capital idea, Red," Abel replied cheerfully, as if everything that had just transpired had been some shared delusion.

With everyone one their way again, Ace sidled up to Abel and complimented, "You handled that pretty well."

Abel grinned. "Often the best way to break up an argument is distraction. As most arguments are pointless anyway, when you throw them off balance they forget what they were even arguing about in the first place." Or at the very least made things so uncomfortably awkward no one wanted to continue.

Ace chuckled. "Sounds to me like you've had experience with siblings."

"The middle of triplets."

"Ah! So you must've been the peacekeeper."

"I prefer peacemaker," Abel retorted. "Peacekeepers only keep the peace. I make it."

"You have some rambunctious siblings," Ace concluding, his voice dripping with familiar amusement.

"That's the equivalent of saying the ocean is damp," Abel said with a snort. But she couldn't help smiling at the conversation. It brought up good memories. "The Bastions of Chaos, the townspeople used to call us. We were always getting into trouble growing up. Through no fault of my own, I'd like to add." Ace's expression suggested he didn't exactly believe her.

Thinking of when the siblings had all been under one roof, Abel reminisced, "Caine is the eldest, and the most headstrong. Adam, being the youngest and only boy, never wanted to be shown up by his sisters. And there I was, stuck in the middle, logically pointing out how their plans were doomed to failure but still right there with them when it happened."

"I bet with you being triplets, you could get away with all sorts of interesting things," Ace pointed out, grinning wolfishly.

Abel tried to feign an innocent look, but her smirk undid her. "I can assure you that in no way did we ever take advantage of the fact that as children no one could tell us apart and thus no one knew who to pin the blame on." To detract attention from her, Abel quickly shifted gears. "What about you? What was it like growing up with that for a brother?" Abel asked, inclining her head towards Luffy.

Ace tilted his head down so that the brim of his Stetson covered his eyes. But that didn't stop his smile from being visible. "Luffy was pretty much the same back then as he is now. I'm sure you can imagine what that's like growing up with. The only real difference now is he's strong enough to get himself out of his messes... most of the time."

"Why did you both decide to pursue piracy?" Abel asked thoughtfully. "Is it the family business?"

Although it was subtle, Abel didn't miss the way Ace's smile tightened, no longer looking quite so sincere. "Something like that..." he answered eventually, his voice softer. Red flags were going up in Abel's mind, telling her this was a touchy subject. Being deliberately vague, Ace continued, "It was that way for me, at any rate. But I think Luffy was just enamored with the tales of adventure Shanks always told. To him, being a pirate meant being truly free. Of course..." Ace chuckled, becoming less tense. "Luffy could never just leave it at being a pirate. He never goes halfway. If he was going to be a pirate, he was going to be the best pirate."

As Ace got lost in his thoughts, Abel silently absorbed the conversation. Based on the way he speaks, he and Boss have different parents. Step or half-siblings maybe? They do have different family names, so perhaps they have the same mother but different fathers. It didn't really matter much to Abel aside from passing curiosity. The obvious vagueness piqued her curiosity. Abel wondered what their parents were like. I can't imagine your average law-abiding citizen being okay with their children running off to be pirates.

---

"We should start looking for a place to set up camp for the evening," Vivi mentioned, watching the sun starting to dip below the horizon. "The desert can be even more dangerous at night. Besides..." Vivi smiled compassionately at some of the crew. "I think we deserve a good rest."

"Allow me, Sunshine," Abel volunteered. With the sun lowering, the temperature was starting to even out. But Abel was still one of the ones who'd suffered the least from the day. Some of the crew could barely stand up on their own.

Climbing nimbly to the top of a tall dune, Abel heard Vivi call, "Somewhere with rocks to shield from the wind would be best!" Abel threw out a sideways salute to indicate she heard.

Reaching the top, Abel surveyed the area. Noticing nothing but sand in all directions, Abel wondered how long their journey would take. At first, Abel thought they were flat out of luck, until she noticed a shadowy shape in the distance. Pulling out a small spyglass, Abel focused in that direction. It was hard to see at first, with the sun directly behind, but there was definitely a small grouping of rocks off to the northwest. "There's a clustering of rocks 2 kilometers northwest from our current location," Abel announced.

"Great!" Vivi replied, smiling. "Let's head there and make camp for the night."

Whether it was the falling temperature or knowing that they were going to get a break from walking, the crew made it to the rocks in no time. A tired sigh echoed from the pirates as they set their packs down, relieved to finally putting down their burdens. Rolling her neck to get the kinks out, Abel began unpacking the tents. They'd brought three in total; one of the girls and two for the guys.

Half of the crew worked on getting a fire going so Sanji could cook, while the others helped put the tents up. Abel realized, as she was staking a corner of the tent up, that this would be the first time she'd ever truly gone camping. Yeah, she'd slept outside on various occasions, like in the dinghy when she first joined Luffy and Zoro. But never in a proper tent. Even as a child, they'd never gone camping. Her parents weren't exactly the outdoorsy sort. "That's the benefit of progress," Abel's dad used to say. So Abel felt a little excited at getting to experience something completely new.

By the time camp had been set up and Sanji had the food cooking, the sun had set and night fell across the desert. Abel, along with most of the crew, lingered close to the fire. The temperature had dropped considerably, not quite to the point of freezing but closer than comfort. Abel pulled her scarf up higher and kept her hands tucked inside her long sleeves. Even the fire couldn't completely stave off the cold, as any part of her not in the glow froze. Around them, the wind howled fiercely. Abel was glad Vivi had been correct about the rocks shielding them.

Abel waited patient for their food to cook, enjoying the fragrance of it wafting on the wind. Without an oven or stove, Sanji had skewered the meat and vegetables and set them leaning over the fire to cook.

For some, however, this was too much temptation. "So hungry..." Luffy whined, huddled so close to Abel he was practically sitting in her lap.

"Don't be such a greedy pig," Sanji chastised. "It's still raw." His warning fell on deaf ears and Luffy reached for a piece of cooking meat. "Don't eat that!" Sanji snapped, too late to save the meat from disappearing down Luffy's gullet.

"That's a good way to contract botulism, Boss," Abel warned. Poking at his stomach, Abel continued, "Even your stomach can't properly process raw flesh."

"But I'm starving!" Luffy whined. Abel just smiled wryly, too tired to put much effort into talking.

Shaking his head at their hopeless captain, Sanji quickly changed tune. "Nami-san! Abel-dono! Your dinner will be ready soon!" he cooed.

At the call of food, Usopp came nearer. "Oh, looks pretty good!" he said, eyeing the slabs of meat hungrily.

"Get away from that!" Sanji yelled as Luffy reached for another piece.

As Sanji forcefully grabbed the skewer from Luffy, the boy stood up and shouted, "You jerk! We're starving!"

Never one to back down, Sanji growled, "Back off!"

Not wanting to get in the middle of a brawl, Abel quietly shuffled away, searching for less rambunctious company. She found it with Zoro and Chopper, who were silently waiting for supper. With the colder temperature, Chopper was back to his old self, though he seemed preoccupied with staring at the sky. Zoro, sitting stoically against the cold, barely opened his eyes enough to see who was joining them. Wordlessly, Abel sat with her back was to them, so the three formed a triangle shape. Abel already knew that Zoro's body was like a furnace, so when combined with Chopper's fuzzy warmth it was actually quite comfortable. And she didn't have to worry about being trampled, which was always a bonus.

On the far side of the fire, Nami and Vivi huddled close together. Nami's hands clutched at her arms as she shivered. "It was so hot during the day! What's going on?"

"With nothing to block out the temperature, the desert scorches during the day but falls below freezing at night," Vivi explained, looking like she was handling the weather only slightly better than the redhead.

"Look at all those stars!" Chopper said randomly, his voice filled with awe. Abel glanced to the side to watch him gazing happily at the clear sky. She had to admit, it was a nice view. With no clouds, the night sky twinkled.

"Didn't you see stars on your winter island?" Usopp asked, voice shaking.

Chopper shook his head, but didn't look away from the twinkling blanket of blue above him. "Winter island skies are always covered with thick snow clouds, so I've never seen so many stars before!"

"I am way too cold to enjoy the stars right now..." Usopp whimpered.

"Cold weather doesn't bother me!" Chopper announced happily.

Abel jumped when Usopp swooped in out of nowhere to snuggle with Chopper, pushing her heavily to one side so that her elbow dug into Zoro's ribs. Zoro winced and glared at Abel, but the woman just made a helpless gesture, indicating that it wasn't her choice to jab him.

Beside her, Usopp sighed, "That's because you wear such a nice fur coat."

"Hey you! Get away!" Chopper growled.

"It's not my fault you're all soft and fluffy..."

"Quit making fun of me!"

Abel didn't know if it was because Chopper jumped up or because Usopp pushed her in his panic when Chopper turned big, but either way she ended up falling almost across Zoro's lap. Abel's hand flailed as she fell, and she had just enough presence of mind to angle it so her hand didn't land on anything inappropriate. This was going to be awkward enough as it was. This resulted in her landing on Zoro's right leg, almost at his knee, with one hand in the air as Zoro caught her awkwardly under her arm.

The two just stared at each other for a moment, caught completely off guard. But then Usopp's screaming must've filtered through the confusion, because Zoro frowned and growled, "If you two have that much energy, I'd better not hear any whining tomorrow!"

Zoro's gruff voice made the other two freeze, and gave Luffy an opening. He leapt at Chopper's neck, grabbing him and spinning him around. In all the confusion, Chopper shrunk back down and quickly found himself stuck between Luffy and Usopp, who cuddled him like he was their own personal plushie.

Zoro just shook his head, until a voice drawled, "Not that this isn't cozy, but..."

Jerking slightly in surprise, Zoro gaped at the woman half hovering over him. "Right. Sorry." Quickly, Zoro pushed Abel upright and pulled his hands away like they were burnt. Zoro's face flushed slightly. How could he forget he'd left Abel hanging, literally?

Eyeing the trio behind them, who seemed to have calmed down now that they had Chopper to keep them warm, Abel decided, "I think it's best I retire for the evening." Abel didn't mind the crew's shenanigans, but part of surviving the Straw Hat Crew was knowing when to call a retreat.

Leaving the boys, Abel headed for the tent the women would be using, when she noticed someone sitting alone. "What are you doing, skulking in the shadows?" Abel queried.

Ace grinned. "I wasn't skulking. Just enjoying the show. You guys are quite amusing to watch, you know that?"

Placing her hands on her hips, Abel drawled, "Of that, I have little doubt."

"It must be a real surprise for you." Both pirates look up as Vivi joined them. The princess gave Ace an odd smile, bordering on placating. "I mean Luffy-san," she elaborated. "I was surprised too, at first. After all, he doesn't seem much like a pirate captain, does he?" As Vivi spoke, the three all watched as Luffy, Chopper and Usopp struggled. Chopper had apparently grown tired of being everyone's plushie. And somehow Luffy dragged Zoro in the middle of it. Chuckling under hear breath, Vivi continued, "Normal pirate captains are respected or even feared by their crew... But just this afternoon, a simple drink of water led to a huge fight."

Abel noticed the small, knowing smile on Ace's face as Vivi apparently felt it necessary to justify Luffy's actions to his more responsible brother. Abel had a feeling such things were unnecessary.

"But... but, you know..." Vivi's smile grew as the fight ended as quickly as it began, with the group falling asleep in a big pile. "The longer I've been with them, the more I've come to understand."

"That's how Luffy does things," Ace finished for her. Ace chuckled at Vivi's surprised expression. "He hasn't changed a bit since he was a kid. He seems like a fool, but people always gather around him. Even though he's my little brother, he has a mysterious charm to him."

"Oh, you already knew," Vivi realized.

Ace smirked. "He and I do go way back. But I appreciate it."

"Eh?"

"You thought I was worried about him, didn't you?"

Vivi smiled sheepishly, "Yes. But it looks like I didn't need to worry after all."

"Food's on, everyone!" Sanji called, holding Luffy off with one foot against the rubber man's face.

Knowing that it wouldn't last long with Luffy around, everyone hurried to grab something before their captain overpowered the cook. As Vivi left, Ace stood, but came to a halt when he noticed to knowing expression on Abel's face. "What?" he asked.

"You aren't biological brothers." Abel said it with such certainty that it took Ace aback. Seeing his stunned expression, Abel continued, "Whether you realize it or not, your choice in words for addressing Boss hint that you didn't meet until you were both children. Granted, you may be half or step-brothers. But I'm willing to bet there's not an ounce of shared blood in your veins." Abel couldn't get Ace's deliberately vague choice of words out of her head. Ace didn't talk about Luffy like most siblings would. Yet there was a fondness between Ace and Luffy that went beyond shared genealogy. The bond was real, even if the titles weren't.

Ace's expression was completely unreadable. He didn't look angry, but he certainly wasn't happy. "So?" he asked at length, a single word sounding damning.

Abel held up her hands in a careless shrug. "So nothing. I was merely testing my hypothesis for curiosity sake."

Rolling his eyes, Ace went to step around Abel to grab some food before Luffy got it all. However, Abel's hand on his chest stopped. Despite being the barest of touches against him, she held him dead still. Leaning close as Ace gawked at her, Abel whispered, "Don't take it so personally, Hot Pants. It makes no difference to me how you choose to label your relationship. I know better than anyone how the blood in two people's veins..." She tapped a finger over Ace's heart. "... doesn't compare to the blood they've spilt together." With that said, Abel left Ace, taking a skewer so graciously offered by Sanji.

---

It came as no surprise whatsoever to Abel that her surprisingly restful sleep came to an abrupt end via screaming. Vivi's screaming, to be exact. It took Abel's sleeping brain a few seconds to actually process the sound. The princess' distinctive voice definitely had a shrill note when she was excited. Groaning, Abel rolled onto her back in her sleeping bag and let the commotion wash over her. Without opening her eyes, she sensed Vivi standing in front of the tent. "Stop, Luffy-san! Throw that away!" she was yelling.

As Abel rubbed her eyes, she vaguely heard Luffy say something in response. This prompted Vivi to shout, "It's a scorpion!" as she marched away from the tent.

No sense trying to rest now, Abel thought, mentally psyching herself to get up.

Despite having nothing but a thin sleeping bag, Abel had slept very well. The sand was remarkably soft. Of course, it might also have had something to do with how exhausted Abel was from the day's walk. She probably wouldn't have woken up if someone stuck a stick of dynamite under her.

"Keep that away from me!" Usopp squawked.

Shoving the sleeping bag open, Abel crawled out and toward the opening. Gazing at the sky, she discovered it was early morning. The sky was just starting to lose it nighttime hues. Climbing to her feet, Abel yawned as she stretched her arms over her head, hearing her elbows and wrists pop. Abel wasn't a particularly early riser, but it was best to start early before the heat of the day sapped their energy.

Readjusting her cloak, Abel gazed around to see who was already awake. Luffy, Usopp and Chopper stood near the rocks, with Vivi lecturing them about the danger of desert wildlife. The three younger guys had all slept in the same tent, so it didn't surprise Abel that they woke up at the same time. Glancing behind her, Abel saw a lumpy wad in one of the sleeping bags and assumed Nami hadn't heard the ruckus.

"What is it, Chopper?" Luffy asked. Turning their way, Abel saw Chopper standing stock still, a tense expression on his face. His ears twitched vigorously.

Wordlessly, Chopper ran onto some rocks, trying to get higher. His ears turned this way and that, trying to pinpoint the direction of the sound. "Something's... coming," he announced.

Raising her head to the sky, Abel noticed the speed of the clouds overhead. She heard something in the distance. A roar. "The wind's picking up," she stated. About that time, Ace came out of the third tent, turning to face the same way Chopper did. Had he sensed it?

On the horizon, Abel saw the clouds streaking towards them at a disturbing pace. It looked ominous. Like standing on the deck of the ship and seeing a storm roll in. The air near the horizon looked hazy. As if smoke or fog were rolling in. But that couldn't be possible. Deserts don't have enough moisture for that.

Vivi's panicked gasp drew Abel attention away from the wind in time for the woman to shriek, "Everyone! Hide behind the rocks!"

"Why?" Luffy asked.

"A sandstorm is coming!"

Abel felt the urge to wake the others, but she could see the sandstorm approaching. She wouldn't have time. Instead, she settled for securing the flaps on their tents, hoping that they'd be protected from the winds inside. As Abel set about finding her own shelter, she noticed Ace just standing there, looking impressed with the storm bearing down on him. Hustling over, Abel grabbed the skull emblem at the end of the straps attached to Ace's hat and gave it a yank, forcing Ace's head around like the bridle on a horse. Ignoring his stunned look, Abel commented, "You'll be able to admire the sand all you want in a second," as she pulled him behind some rocks with her.

Everyone hunkered down just in time as the strong winds whipped through the camp. Abel pressed herself against the rock face, holding tightly as her scarf whipped around violently. She kept her eyes shut tight, not that she'd be able to see much through the sand. Off to the side, she heard Luffy complain, "Okay! Enough with the sand already! I'm not impressed anymore!"

Hearing a sharp, snapping sound behind her, Abel hazarded a glance back. The sticks holding the tents up snapped under the force of the storm. The fabric billowed, but didn't fly away, weighed down by the sand falling on it. That'll be one rough wake-up call, Abel thought.

"I forgot to mention it," Vivi shouted over the gale, "but sandstorms are one of the desert's dangers!"

"Mention these things sooner!" Usopp wailed.

It was hard to say how long the sandstorm lasted, but it felt like an eternity. But eventually it did stop. As the winds calmed, Abel carefully opened her eyes. The storm had deposited a good few feet of sand in the camp. So much, in fact, that Abel had to use the rock she'd been hiding behind to pull herself out. Turning to face the camp, Abel surveyed the damage. It didn't look too bad. The tents were salvageable, and it didn't look like they'd lost any supplies. The crew likewise had survived, though probably with sand in places they didn't want sand. Wait... aren't short a few people? Abel counted again. Yep, definitely short.

Come to think of it, hadn't Ace been beside her? Staring down at the pile of sand next to her, Abel couldn't help noticing it was lumpier than it ought to be. Abel reached out a hand to poke it, when it shifted on its own. Abel snatched her hand back just as Ace popped out of the sand like a flower, stretching his arms and yawning. "I don't know if I should be impressed or dismayed," Abel commented off-hand as she shook sand from her hair. Ace, lost, just stared sleepily up at her, readjusting his hat.

The crew slowly started to regain their senses, some of them more confused than others. "What the hell was that?" Zoro asked sleepily, sitting up.

"Can't a guy sleep in?" Sanji grumbled while helping Nami up. How exactly did he end up wrapped around Nami? Did he sneak into the tent when Abel wasn't looking? Or was his chivalry so great that his desire to protect Nami worked even in his sleep?

Between Abel and the others, Chopper's head popped out of the sand, followed shortly by Usopp and Luffy's... butt. Abel actually had to tug on his belt to get the boy's head up.

Grinning at them, Abel suggested, "If that's not Mother Nature's way of telling us to get the hell out of here, I don't know what is. What say we vacate before she tries another method of persuasion?" The others didn't need much more convincing. Besides, with everyone awake now, there was no point to linger.

---

The second day in the desert progressed much more smoothly than the first. Perhaps, now that everyone had a taste of the desert, they were better prepared to endure. Poor Chopper, though, couldn't get a break. He tried his best to keep up, but his furry body just wasn't built for the desert. The only thing that made his situation more bearable was that Zoro didn't make a big fuss about pulling him along. Zoro was so little bothered, in fact, that Abel was beginning to suspect the stoic swordsman might have a soft spot for the cute little doctor. With anyone else, even her, Zoro would've at least complained about having to do it. But not a peep towards the doctor.

Zoro noticed the hunter smirking at him for a while. He could feel it on his skin, making him feel twitchy. Eventually, he couldn't stand it anymore. "What!?" he demanded.

Abel's smirk just widened. "I know your secret now," she taunted.

Zoro's brow creased in confusion. "I don't have a secret."

"Of course you don't," Abel drawled, sounding like she didn't believe him.

Zoro could only stare at the hunter as she picked up her pace, leaving him behind her. Shaking his head, Zoro said to himself, "I'll never understand what that woman's thinking."

Behind him, Zoro heard a chuckle. "That is the eternal struggle between men and women. Sadly, I think us men are always on the losing side."

Zoro glanced at Ace out of the corner of his eye. In truth, Zoro wasn't sure what to make of the man. Oh, he seemed nice enough, and Zoro didn't mind having him along. At least he didn't add to the trouble that always followed the crew. Still, for all his kindness and laidback attitude, it always seemed to Zoro that Ace held everyone at a distance. The only people he'd ever seen Ace talk to without being prompted was Luffy and Abel, or on occasion Vivi or Sanji. But he'd only ever actively sought out the company of his brother or their resident hunter.

Zoro didn't give it too much thought. Maybe Ace was simply keeping professional distance because he knew he wouldn't be with the crew for very long, so he didn't want to get too attached. Plus, if Ace was after the One Piece as well, it would be hard to compete against the crew if they were friends.

Ahead, Luffy said excitedly, "Hey, Sanji! Let's have one of those boxed lunches!"

"Not yet," Sanji quickly dismissed. "Not until Vivi-chan says so."

Jogging to catch up with their leader, Luffy eagerly asked, "C'mon, Vivi! How 'bout it? Let's eat! Doesn't that sound good?"

Ever cautious, Vivi pointed out, "But we're only one-tenth of the way to Yuba, Luffy-san." They needed to conserve their supplies carefully.

Adopting a serious expression, Luffy argued, "You're so dumb! Haven't you heard of this proverb? 'If you're hungry, eat!'"

"You liar!" Usopp panted, dragging himself along with a walking stick. Frankly, he was making that look harder than just walking. "Quit making stuff up!"

"Indeed. There are plenty of actually proverbs about the importance of eating," Abel agreed.

"Really?" Luffy asked, temporarily forgetting about his request at the prospect of having a good argument next time Sanji denied him food. "Like what?"

Abel thought over some sayings that Luffy might enjoy. "Well, in a situation like this, you could say, 'A piece of bread in one's pocket is better than a feather in one's hat.' Or perhaps, 'Happiness rarely keeps company with an empty stomach.'"

"Ooh! I like that one!" Luffy declared, before whipping his head back around to stare imploringly at Vivi. "What Abel just said!"

Vivi gave a longsuffering smile, realizing she wouldn't get any peace if she didn't come up with something. Maybe she could do like Abel said yesterday and distract Luffy. "All right. Then what do you say we take a break at the next rocks we find?" That should be far enough away that Vivi wouldn't feel guilty about using supplies.

Her plan seemed to work, as Luffy's face lit up. "All right! Rocks!" Running ahead slightly, Luffy shouted encouragingly to the crew, "Guys! Let's hurry to the next rocks! Whoever wins rock-paper-scissors has to carry everyone's stuff!"

"Quit deciding things!" Usopp shouted, even though he knew it was too late.

"Don't you mean the loser carries the stuff?" Sanji asked. What kind of prize was that?

Ignoring everyone, per usual, Luffy held his fist in the air. "All right, here goes! Rock... paper... scissors!"

Everyone but Ace scrambled to throw a sign down. Cheekily, Luffy's hand was the very last to fall, right after everyone else had already started making their signs. Somehow, everyone else in the crew threw out scissors, except for Luffy, who threw down rock. Luffy laughed triumphantly. "Woohoo! I win!"

Smirking, Abel said, "Congratulations, Boss. As the winner, you get the fabulous honor of becoming our pack mule."

"Yeah!" Luffy cheered before Abel's words sunk in. "Hey... wait a sec!"

Any protest he might put up swiftly ended as the crew dumped their packs on him. "We're just following captain's orders," Zoro taunted smugly as Luffy struggled under the weight of their supplies. "And you said winner carries our stuff. So have at it."

Eventually the crew took some small measure of pity on the boy. Oh, not enough to not make him carry their supplies. But enough to cobble together a rickety sled so he didn't literally have to be a pack mule. Now he'd been upgraded to Clydesdale status.

Naturally, having to carry everything behind him, Luffy's pace started to suffer. As he lagged behind, Luffy whined, "Why do I have to do all the work?"

"It's because you won," Sanji logically answered. "Now shut up and haul."

"Don't drop it, now!" Nami yelled, purely for encouragement's sake, of course.

Still, they weren't heartless. Or stupid. Letting Luffy get lost in the desert with all their supplies would've spelt death for all of them, so the crew did take a short breather as they waited for Luffy to catch up. At the head of the group, Usopp took the opportunity to scout the path ahead. Pulling down his binoculars, Usopp scanned in the distance, adjusting the eyepieces when he thought he spotted something. As it came into focus, Usopp declared, "Rocks spotted a small ways ahead!"

Instantly remembering Vivi's promise, Luffy perked up. "For reals!?" he exclaimed. With a spark of energy, Luffy ran past the crew, shouting, "Break time! Food!"

As he disappeared in a cloud of sand, Abel asked, "Should we let him run off like that?" Though she made no real effort to chase him.

"It's fine," Nami dismissed. "We know exactly where he's going. As much as he was just complaining, I doubt he'd go any farther." With that settled, the crew headed for the rocks at a much more reasonable pace.

Unfortunately, letting Luffy go on his own might not have been such a brilliant idea when the boy came running towards them shouting, "Bad news!"

"Why's he coming back?" Usopp asked.

"There's lots of hurt birds that can't move!" Luffy shouted, looking very distressed. "Chopper!"

Hearing his name, and that someone needed his help, their little doctor sat up. He sweat buckets still, but wouldn't refuse to call to aid. "Right!" he called, running up to Luffy.

Stopping as Chopper reached him, Luffy urged, "Let's go, Chopper!"

"Coming!"

The two ran back towards the rocks. "We gotta help the birds!"

"Bird!?" Abel turned her head when Vivi started freaking out about something. Eyes wide with fright, Vivi tried to yell at the two, "Wait, Luffy-san! Those birds might not be what you think they are!" This got Luffy to stop.

"What do you mean, Vivi?" Nami asked.

Vivi's expression was very tense. "I'll explain later. First, we need to go see. Though I hope I'm wrong this time."

They might not have understood what was going on, but if Vivi was worried, then it at least warranted checking out. She was the expert on this place, after all. When they reached the rocks, though, they didn't find anything. No birds... and no supplies.

Abel stood over the sled they'd constructed, now empty. The numerous packs had been untied. The only clues to the culprits were bird tracks beside the sled (some sort of heron or crane by Abel's guess) and white feathers. As crazy as it sounded, Abel asked, "Were we burglarized... by birds?"

The seething tension among the crew was palpable. The anger and frustration was hotter than the sun itself. "All of our stuff is gone!" Zoro growled, fists tightening.

"We've been had..." Nami groaned. Whatever Luffy saw must've been a trap to make him leave the supplies.

"But I saw them!" Luffy protested. He pointed at the sand where there was nothing but bird tracks now. "There was a whole flock of injured birds right there!"

Kneeling next to their missing supplies, Vivi whimpered, "I'm so sorry. I should've mentioned it earlier." She lowered her head, penitent. "Warusagi birds are desert bandits that trick travelers and steal their belongings."

"You've gotta be kidding!" Luffy screeched, holding his head like it was about to explode.

Crossing her arms, Abel surmised, "So these warusagi essentially play possum, and while the Good Samaritan is either distracted or going to get help, they make off with their supplies."

"That's dishonest!" Usopp fumed.

"It's actually rather impressive, when you think about it from an evolutionary standpoint," Abel mused. "Deceit isn't an uncommon method of survival in the animal kingdom, but not to this level. I wonder if they developed this behavior from watching humans."

"Is now really the time to be impressed!?" Usopp demanded. "Can't you at least act upset for a change!?" Generally he appreciated Abel's collectedness, but not when it seemed like she missing the point entirely.

Nonplussed, Abel asked, "Will my anger cause our supplies to aspirate before us? Because if not, I find it more productive to rationally think of how to remedy the problem as opposed to ruminating and just making myself more upset." Did it suck that their supplies had been stolen? Yeah. Would Abel shoot one of the birds if she saw them? Probably. Would ranting and raving fix things? Nope.

It seemed her point had at least placated Usopp. He sighed heavily, knowing the woman was right. He couldn't help wondering what Abel would look like genuinely angry. Maybe it was better he didn't know. What was that people always said about the quiet ones?

Luffy, however, wasn't so easily soothed. "They tricked me!" he fumed, understandably upset at the mess they were now in.

"Luffy, you dolt!" Sanji grabbed Luffy by his scarf and yanked him up so that his toes barely brushed the ground. Glaring with his one visible eye, Sanji demanded, "Is that all you have to say for yourself!? There were three days of provisions in there! And you just had to let some damn birds steal everyone's stuff smack in the middle of the desert!? How are we supposed to get across this wasteland without food or water!?"

"It's not my fault," Luffy retorted, Sanji's anger having calmed him down somewhat. "They outsmarted me."

Rather than calming down, this only set Sanji off more. Shoving his face right up to Luffy's, he asked lowly, "You mean you're dumber than a bird?"

"What's that!?" Luffy snapped.

Seeing that this was only going to lead to more fighting, Zoro tried to intervene. "Knock it off, you two!" But they just kept arguing, ready to rip each other's faces off.

A hand came down on Zoro's shoulder. When he looked back, Ace smirked and advised, "Just save your energy. At times like this, it's better to let them have it out."

Turning back, Zoro eyed the two men wrestling in the sand. Nothing short of physically pulling them apart would break them up now. And maybe Ace was right. Let them tire themselves out, like with a child throwing a tantrum. "Fine by me," he relented, pulling his head wrap off. Sighing, Zoro sat down in the shade. "Let's just take a break," he advised the ones actually listening to him. "This heat is starting to wear on everybody's nerves. I'm sure we'll manage food-wise. It's nothing that'll kill us. Let's just put it out of our minds."

Abel hid her smile as she made herself comfortable on some rocks. It was funny how easily Zoro took up the helm when Luffy wasn't able to. When she thought about it, although she'd never heard Luffy refer to Zoro by any official position among the crew, he did act like a first-mate would. In moments like this, Abel saw how some people mistook Zoro for their leader. There was more to Zoro than most people gave him credit for... maybe even himself.

The rest of the crew scattered among the shade, taking the opportunity to just rest. The shade felt amazing. Abel took the opportunity to toe her shoes off and bury her feet in the cold sand. She sighed in relief. Honestly, she had no idea how the other women managed walking in the hot sand with sandals.

A pained sound broke Abel from her reverie. Lazily tilting her head, she found Luffy and Sanji no longer fighting. Instead, they were shock about something at the end of the rocks. Tilting her head even further, Abel spotted a flock of white crane-like birds, all with a stylish curl of feathers on top of their heads... and backpacks. Those packs look awfully familiar...

"Give us our stuff back!" Before anyone could react, Luffy was off like a shot, chasing the birds down. The birds, with their long legs, easily kept ahead of him, cackling all the way.

"No, Luffy-san!" Vivi called after him. "Don't chase them!"

"That idiot," Sanji sneered.

Cocking her head, Abel mused, "Do you think he realizes birds can fly?"

"Wait!" Nami tried as Luffy disappeared over the dunes... "Will you be able to find your way back!?"

"Get back here, you dolt!" Usopp shouted, cupping his hands around his mouth. "Luffy!"

"And... he's gone," Zoro sighed.

As Luffy's cries of rage trailed off, Chopper asked worriedly, "Should we go after him."

"Probably. But..." Sanji sighed. "He'll come running back any minute once he loses them." Sanji didn't really feel like chasing after the idiot right now.

Content to wait for now, the crew went back to relaxing. At least most of them did. Abel didn't miss the way Sanji stood away from the rest, staring blankly out at the sand with a terse expression. His body was so tense he looked like he'd break if Abel so much as poked him. And it didn't take a psychic to figure out what was eating him (ironically).

Unnoticed by the others, Abel sauntered up behind him. Sanji must've really been lost in thought if he didn't register Abel's presence. Abel stood there for a moment, giving him a chance not to be startled, until she asked suddenly, "Planning to cut your leg off, Bullseye?"

Sanji jumped, dropping his cigarette down the front of his tunic. Abel tried to restrain her laughter as he fumbled, trying to shaking the lit filter from his clothes. Eventually, Sanji managed to stumble out an, "Uh... n-no..."

"Good," Abel replied with a smile. "Not to doubt your prowess, but I'm not particularly eager to see if you can make cannibalism palatable." And with that, she turned and walked away.

Sanji gaped, caught completely off guard by the random, out-of-left-field comment. From Abel, no less. But as the full conversation processed in his brain, Sanji smiled softly at the retreating woman. Abel may take the roundabout way to make her point, but once you got it, you got it. "Thanks, Abel-dono," he said, almost in a whisper.

Sanji didn't actually expect Abel to hear him, and even less to answer. "Just keeping things in perspective."

Zoro had watched the display silently from his perch. He hadn't really intended to eavesdrop, but he'd been curious at Abel actually starting a conversation with Sanji. As the woman returned to her original seat, Zoro commented, "You two seemed to be getting along better." Zoro had been the first to notice how Sanji grated on Abel's nerves. It was one of the few times he'd seen the woman not in control of herself.

Abel, having not expected a conversation, took a second to piece together what Zoro referred to. "So it would seem," she answered at length. "We came to an... understanding. Though I wouldn't say we're bosom buddies." Zoro gave a short snort of laughter at Abel's very deliberate choice of words.

Silence stretched through the rocks as the crew continued to wait on their captain's return. Very impatiently wait. "C'mon Luffy," Usopp grumbled, fanning himself. "Hurry it up."

"Um... you don't suppose he could be lost, do you?" Chopper asked from lying on the sand.

"It's highly probable," Abel replied, seeing no point in lying.

Nami groaned, leaning her head back. "He has absolutely no sense of direction but he's always running off!" she complained.

"And there are so many desert dangers he doesn't know about..." Vivi added worriedly.

"Not to mention the moron is hungry so you know he's not thinking straight," Sanji added, sounded leagues calmer than before.

After another bout of silence, Zoro stood. "He's such a lost cause," he murmured, positioning his swords.

"You can say that again," Sanji agreed, standing as well. If Luffy couldn't make it back on their own, they'd just have to drag him back.

As the two men went to chase after their hopeless captain, Ace apologized, "I'm sorry." When everyone faced him, Ace gave them all a wry smile. "I know my brother can be a flake. I apologize." But such words were unnecessary. The two men just smiled at Ace in a way that showed they had no real hard feelings about the matter. And even if they did, it was hardly Ace's fault. Ace returned the gesture, again grateful that his flakey brother had such a steadfast crew.

"Good luck finding him," Usopp said.

"Don't get lost and don't kill each other," Abel helpfully added.

However, it would seem such platitudes weren't needed, as the guys didn't even make it through the end of the channel before the ground started shaking. Everyone jumped to their feet. In the distance, where Luffy had disappeared to, a spray of sand reached into the sky. "What's this rumbling?" Usopp asked fearfully.

Curious, Abel placed her hand against the sand. Within the rumbling, she felt steady, fast and very heavy steps. "Something quite large is heading our way," she announced.

Over the shaking, a familiar sound reached their ears. Laughter? Very distinct, joyous laughter. In disbelief, Usopp pulled his goggles down and peered ahead. Adjusting the lenses, he stared into the sand. "Another sandstorm?" he asked to himself. But that didn't seem to be the case. There was something ahead of... whatever it was. Zooming in as far as possible, Usopp gasped. "Luffy!?"

It wasn't long before Luffy was close enough for everyone to see. And he wasn't alone. "Why is he on a camel!?" Nami exclaimed.

"I believe they're fleeing from whatever is in the sand behind them," Abel guessed. There was something very big throwing up the sand behind them.

Slowly, a hint of purple peeked out from the sand before the rest of the body followed suit. A huge purple lizard lunged at Luffy and the camel from the sand, running after them far faster than a creature of that size should be possible. Then again, with its sheer size, each stride covered several meters. This was probably a leisurely jog for it.

"What is that?" Zoro asked.

"A sandora dragon!" Vivi replied, voice cracking in panic. "They're the largest of the reptiles living in the desert and they wait under the sand for their prey!" she expelled in a single breath. "They have sharp claws and fangs, but they hardly ever use them! The reason being that they tend to swallow their prey whole because they're so large!"

"He really does have a gift for attracting trouble," Ace said in a sort of wry admiration.

"And all of us have the scars to prove it..." Sanji grumbled, eyeing the hungry lizard.

Reaching for his swords, Zoro griped, "What kind of crap star was he born under to attract trouble like that!?"

As the two ran out to meet Luffy and help fend off the lizard, Abel attempted to call out to them. "If I might make a suggestion?" But they were either too far away to hear or too preoccupied. Sighing, Abel reached behind her, under her sash. "Always have to make things difficult..." she murmured, pulling out her bow.

Lining up her sights on the humongous, garishly purple lizard wasn't difficult. Normally Abel would be fine with letting the boys have their fun, but a) this was a "monster" and therefore under her jurisdiction, and b) their way would expend too much energy. In her periphery, Abel saw Zoro and Sanji reaching Luffy and the camel. With even more food ready to the taking, the sandora dragon opened its mouth even wider. Say aah... Abel thought as she loosed her arrow. It streaked through the air with an audible squeal, flying between the guys and straight into the lizard's gaping maw. As the arrow struck the back of the lizard's mouth, it pierced through the skull and lodge in the base of the brain. As the lower part of any creature's brain housed all the vital but uncontrollable life functions, the lizard quickly sagged, collapsing in the sand in a great heap.

The guys, who'd been gearing up to take the lizard out in one fell swoop together, staggered as the beast fell without them even touching it. Gaping at the motionless creature for a moment, they slowly looked behind them. Abel drunk in their stunned expressions with only a small bit of pride. Placing her hand with the bow on her hip, she called, "What did I say about leaving monsters to the experts? You're hurting my professional pride."

Everyone continued to gape at Abel, though she had no idea why. Yeah, she shot a giant thing. But just about any thing would die if you shot it in the head.

"W-well, I suppose it's a kinder alternative than what those three would've done to it," Nami whimpered.

"I can assure you it was instantaneous and painless," Abel assured.

While Luffy and Sanji, overcoming their shock, pondered if this thing was edible, Zoro noticed something moving in the sand behind the others. "Behind!" he warned as the sand started to rise in a giant mountain. Zoro started running back towards them.

Abel looked over her shoulder in time to see another sandora dragon emerge from the sand. This one has done a far better job of sneaking up on them. "How long have you been there?" she wondered aloud. Not like she was expecting an answer.

"There's more!?" Nami shrieked.

"I'm sorry!" Vivi gushed. "I guess I forgot to mention that sandora dragons always hunt in pairs!"

Whirling around, raising her bow at the growling beast, Abel drawled, "We need to have a discussion about your timing, Sunshine."

Abel was close enough to the beast to feel the wet heat from its breath as it loomed closer, ready to gobble her up in a single gulp. Abel raised her bow, trying to angle it upward, but the lizard lunged at her. Before she could let loose the arrow, Abel felt a strong hand jerk her backwards. Abel gasped as, unable to correct her footing, she staggered back, out of the line of the lizard's jaws. Zoro, having reached the rocks, haphazardly caught Abel in his arms as she was tossed unceremoniously back.

With Zoro supporting her from behind, Abel probably could've regained her footing, but she was too busy watching Ace get eaten by the lizard, taking her place. Fortunately, the Flare-Flare Fruit must not have agreed with the lizard's stomach, because it had barely closed its jaws over the man when flames burst out from between its lips. Even from its nose. Within seconds, the lizard burst into a giant fireball, literally cooked from the inside out. Ace emerged from the flames, smirking, as he landed easily next to the roasted lizard.

A shocked silence enveloped the area, not just from what had happened, but from how quickly it all took place. In just the span of a few minutes, two monster lizards were dead. Compelled to break the silence, Abel commented to the others, "Don't ever complain about my methods again." Being cooked to death could not be pleasant. The others just nodded numbly.

"Hey, guys!" Luffy shouted from over at lizard-one. "Sanji thinks we can eat these things! We're saved!"

Shaken to their senses, Vivi acknowledged, "Well, we still need water... but one lizard should supply more than enough food for the journey."

As everyone else went over to get a closer look at the first lizard, Ace smiled apologetically at Abel, still halfway dangling in Zoro's grip. "Sorry for the rough treatment."

Blinking back to the moment, Abel replied, "No worries. It's no worse than what this guy gives me on a regular basis." She pointed her thumb at Zoro.

Snorting, Zoro pulled Abel up until she could stand on her own feet. "Next time I just won't bother catching you."

Smiling indulgently, Abel retorted, "But you're too loyal and faithful to do that, aren't you?" Just to irritate him further, and because she could, Abel patted Zoro on top of the head, earning a scowl and a bit of a flushed face from the swordsman but nothing else.

Ace smiled lopsidedly, watching the two and wondering about their strange relationship.

Turning back to the fire-user, Abel inclined her head slightly. "I do appreciate it, though." And with that out of the way, Abel meandered towards the rest of the crew. Zoro followed, unconsciously rubbing the spot where Abel had patted him. And Ace brought up the rear.

---

Between Zoro and Abel, they managed to carve out a good portion of edible meat. Unfortunately, as the warusagi birds took their packs, they wouldn't have anything to store the meat it, nor any salt or preservatives to make it last. But at least they could get their fill now, knowing it would probably be their last proper meal for a while. Sanji quickly discovered that the rocks in the area had been super-heated by the intense sun. It gave new meaning to the term "hot enough to fry an egg."

With the danger over and their hunger sated for now, Zoro began, "So... now what we have a moment, what's the deal with the camel?" The camel Luffy had ridden in on had remained, simply standing around.

"I dunno," Luffy slurred around a mouthful of meat. "It was getting eaten by a mystery plant when I was chasing the birds."

"It's obviously not a wild camel," Nami concluded.

Vivi nodded. "No, not with a saddle and bridle on."

Usopp perked up at this. "He's a passenger-carrying camel? That's sure gonna make things a lot easier!"

"Yeah, that oughta be a real help," Sanji agreed. "It looks like it could carry two."

"Camels do go hand-in-hand with deserts," Zoro commented.

"We can take shifts riding," Abel suggested.

Running up to the camel, Luffy declared boldly, "Great! I'll take the first shift!" Luffy tried to climb up, but the camel bit him on top of the head. Crying out in pain, Luffy retreated to the ground. "What was that for!?" he whined.

The camel started making grunting sounds, and Chopper quickly fell into translator mode. "I'm a freedom-loving, hard-boiled, yet compassionate son of the desert." Abel found it quite amusing how Chopper's tone of voice would change to match whoever he was translating for. "Thanks for helping me out of that pinch. I can give you a lift, but no men allowed!"

Certain members of the crew took offense to this, and quickly expressed this by violently beating the camel.

Undaunted, the camel continued, "I'm too macho."

This resulted in another round of beatings.

Slyly swooping in, Nami stroked the camel's jaw sweetly. "I'm so sorry my crewmates are a bunch of ill-bred louts," she cooed, and camel was instant putty in her hands. As it bent down to allow Nami to climb aboard, she asked, "Now, what should we call you, you great, big, precious camel, you?"

"Idiot!"

"Moron!"

"Doofus!"

"Eyelash it is, then!" Nami announced, seated firmly in the driver seat.

"Uhh... that's the weirdest one of all," Zoro muttered.

Watching the scene in amusement, Abel commented, "It'd always good to know Red's charms work on anything with a Y chromosome, regardless of species."

That jibing comment may have been why Nami stalwartly ignored Abel and instead offered the second seat to the princess. "Get on, Vivi!"

"No, I can still walk," Vivi dismissed.

"Just get on," Nami urged, and Eyelash knelt down again to let the other girl climb up. All the while, the three offended guys chanted "pervy camel."

Pulling her head scarf up, Nami smiled. "This is great! We should be able to make better time now! We need to get to Yuba as fast as we can to talk to the rebel army." Smiling now that things were starting to look up, Vivi nodded. Flicking the reins, Nami gave a clipped, "Giddyup, Eyelash!" The camel quickly took off, leaving the rest of the crew behind.

"Hold on!" they shouted in protest.

"Hurry up, guys!" Nami called back. In a cheerful tone she added, "If you get separated, you'll never leave the desert alive!"

"Angel of mercy," Abel drawled.

With Nami seeing fit the leave the crew behind, they had little choice but to run after the camel. Or at least they did for a little bit. But running in the desert was extremely difficult, especially without water. It wasn't long before the stragglers had no choice but to slow their pace to a steady march. Thankfully, the camel left tracks in the sand, making it easier for the crew to follow. However, Abel didn't want to rely on this. One strong wind and they could lose the tracks.

Abel jogged ahead of the others, hurrying to the top of a sand dune. She hoped at the top she'd at least be able to see Nami and Vivi. But it was hard to run in sand, as it provided less stable traction than dirt. A few times Abel's feet threatened to slip. Regardless, she managed to make it to the top.

"Can you see them?" Zoro called from down the dune.

Shielding her eyes, Abel scanned the horizon. A few dunes over, she spotted the camel and its passengers. "They're that way," Abel advised, pointing in their direction.

By this time, the guys had caught up to her. "It looks like they've slowed down," Usopp noticed. Indeed, the camel didn't appear to be running full-steam anymore, though Nami still had no intention of outright stopping to wait for them. "We might be able to catch up if we hurry!"

As they hurried down the slope, Abel paused when she heard something heavy fall in the sand behind her. Turning, Abel discovered Ace lying face-first in the sand. Talk about an inconvenient disease, Abel thought, referring to his narcolepsy. Scurrying back down the slope, Abel knelt next to the passed out pirate. Can he even breathe like that? she wondered before smacking him hard on the back a few times.

After a few solid whacks, Ace's back shifted. Slowly, he brought his hands under him and pushed himself up. He sneezed, sand spraying out of his nose. Ace looked around, his expression vacant before facing Abel. Gradually, he asked, "What happened?"

"You fell asleep," Abel said simply. Reaching under his arm, Abel urged the man to his feet. "Come. Don't want the company leaving us behind."

It amazed Abel how quickly Ace recovered from his bouts of narcolepsy. As quickly as he fell asleep, he woke up. With the man following behind, adjusting his hat from where it fell askew, Abel jogged back up the hill. Abel felt extremely grateful for all the walking she had to do back home, else her feet would probably be ready to fall off. But, to her dismay, when Abel reached the top of the dune again, she couldn't see anything of the rest of the crew. Oh, she saw their tracks. Just not them. Did they not even notice Abel and Ace weren't with them anymore? And how did they get so far in just a few minutes?

Hearing Ace come up beside her, Abel placed her hands on her hips and drawled, "I think the universe is starting to take me too seriously."

Scratching at his temple, Ace asked, "What do we do now?"

"Well..." Abel began thoughtfully. "We have two options. The first is to stay here and die, either from starvation, dehydration, exposure or animal mauling... or we can follow after them."

"My vote's for the option that doesn't involve death," Ace replied, deadpan.

Abel grinned at him. "Y'know I was just thinking the same thing." With that easy decision out of the way, Abel led the way, following the very visible tracks.

"You know..." Ace began as he followed after the hunter. "Normal people don't talk about dying so casually."

"I've been accused of being a lot of things over my lifetime, but I don't recall 'normal' ever being one of them," Abel retorted, earning a full laugh from Ace. "Besides, I can't stand it when people say they had no choice in a matter. You always have at least two options in every situation: to act or don't. Granted, the alternative may be simply to lie down and die, but it is an option. I personally find it helpful to put a situation into perspective."

As the heat of the day fell upon them, the duo fell into a companionable silence as they trailed after the crew. Abel paused at one point when she noticed the tracks had changed somewhat. "Poor Doc must've collapsed again," Abel mused, noticing the long rut in the sand along with the tracks.

"I'm surprised we haven't at least caught a glimpse of them," Ace admitted. "Just how far ahead of us did they get?"

"Ordinarily I'd be concerned with Boss or Chief wandering around the wastelands, as neither could navigate their way out of a wet paper bag. But surely Sparkplug or Bullseye can keep them on track... literally, in this case."

"Luffy never was good with his directions..." Ace admitted.

Abel snorted. "Preaching to the choir on that one. Some days I wonder how your brother finds the door to get out of the cabin in the morning."

Ace chuckled ruefully. "That's why I'm relieved to see Luffy found such a capable and... longsuffering crew." He gave Abel a genuine smile, and she knew he meant every word.

Facing the tracks again, Abel noticed something. A spot of green among the endless miles of sand. "Cactus?" she questioned out loud.

Approaching, Abel discovered that it was. A small cluster of round cacti, with pink flowers on top. Tilting her head, Abel realized something. "One would think the desert would be full of cacti, but these are the first I've seen."

As Abel knelt beside them, Ace came up and commented, "I guess this place is too harsh even for them."

Abel made a humming noise in acknowledgement. "But this is good for us. Cacti are good sources of water." Abel paused to consider her next action. I'm not aware of any poisonous species of cacti... but botany isn't my forte. Plus, there's no telling how these plants may have evolved to survive in the harsh environment of the Grand Line. Ergo, it's probably ill-advised to eat the flesh.

Settling on her plan, Abel glanced up at Ace. "May I borrow your knife and scarf, Hot Pants?" Ace blinked, but handed over the requested materials.

Placing the white scarf aside for now, Abel took Ace's hunting knife and began by cutting off the cactus needles. Once she had enough off to hold one of the round cacti, Abel picked it up and began peeling it. The texture felt very much like peeling a tomato. Abel shaved the outer skin off until she held a ball of cactus meat in her hand. Carefully, so she didn't cut her thumb, Abel sliced the cactus in half. Stabbing Ace's knife in the sand, Abel reached for the scarf. She placed the two halves in the scarf and bundled them up. Hold the excess fabric, Abel tilted her head back, raising the scarf above her mouth. Squeezing, she forced the water out of the cactus meat. It collected in the fabric before dripping down into Abel's waiting mouth.

Abel did her best not to groan as the water hit her dry tongue. She's heard that hunger was the best seasoning, but the same applied to water. While Abel knew a human could survive without water for several days, and it had only been a few hours for her, she knew they had to take advantage of any resource they found to prolong their time.

Abel wrung every last drop of water from the cactus. It was only a few mouthfuls, but she already felt rejuvenated.

With her own needs satiated, Abel repeated the process on the last cactus and offered it to Ace. The man just smiled and pushed the offering away. "You take it. I'm good."

Abel gave the man an unimpressed look. "Now's really not the time to develop a hero complex," she said, and held the bundle out insistently.

"You're smaller than me. You need more nutrients than I do."

"That line might work on someone who didn't have a doctor for a father and therefore know that's a blatant, self-sacrificing lie."

Ace just continued to smile infuriatingly, and it didn't take Abel long to realize that short of shoving the cactus in his mouth, he wasn't going to take it. Abel sighed, "We'll compromise." Wrapping the cactus up carefully in the scarf, Abel explained, "We'll save this until one of us actually needs it. Is that copasetic?" Abel got no further argument as she stored the bundled water vessel in Ace's pack.

---

Back with the second group of travelers, the guys found they had a long list of problems. "Damn," Usopp cursed as the group took stock of their situation. Glaring off in the direction Nami and Vivi had run off in, he complained, "They must be miles away by now."

"Yeah," Sanji agreed. "And their footprints are disappearing."

Zoro's mouth twisted into a scowl. "Any of you remember the last time we saw Abel? Or Ace?"

"What're you talking about, marimo?" Sanji fired back. "She's..." Sanji trailed off when he realized that the hunter was nowhere to be seen. "What!?" he shrieked. "Where is she!? Where did she go!?"

As Sanji ran around in circles, trying to catch sight of his precious Abel, Zoro sighed. "That's what I was just asking, idiot," he snapped, with no real venom. Zoro frowned, trying to think of when they could've gotten separated. "Come to think of it, I don't remember her making some irreverent comment during Luffy's freak out."

"How could I have possibly not noticed Abel-dono was missing!?" Sanji bemoaned, looking crestfallen.

Wiping his brow, Usopp placated, "We were just so focused on the tracks we weren't paying attention to anything else."

Gazing at the empty desert behind them, Chopper worried, "Will Abel be okay on her own?"

"Don't worry," Zoro assured. "Out of all of us, Abel's probably the best equipped to tackle the desert on her own. Besides, she's got Ace with her."

Sanji seethed, almost sulking off by himself. "Ace better not try anything funny with Abel-dono! He may be Luffy's brother, but the ladies are off limits to the likes of him!" Sanji may like Ace, but he wouldn't stand for any rude behavior towards his ladies.

Zoro and Usopp just stared tiredly at Sanji as he silently fumed about what Ace might do to "innocent" Abel now that they were alone. "Idiot..." Zoro sighed. Who would have time for funny business in the desert, anyway?

"Sorry." The guys jerked, backs tensing angrily at the voice joining their conversation. Slowly, they all turned to face their captain, who they'd left lying on the sand. Chopper'd had to give him a dose of tranquilizers after the fool starting hallucinating. And all because he ate something he shouldn't have. Big shock.

Oblivious to the dark, shadowed expressions on Zoro, Sanji and Usopp's faces, Luffy continued, "My big brother's kind of a flake."

The hand (or rather, feet) of justice was swift and harsh.

With Luffy thoroughly chastised, Usopp stood back and asked, "Do you guys hear something?"

---

Abel and Ace continued following the tracks in the sand with little trouble. At least until Abel started noticing some very odd things. Her vision was starting to go... weird. It started gradually, with the sun growing brighter and brighter, until it nearly blinded Abel. Abel winced as the sky turned in a freaking super nova, holding her arm up to block it with little effect.

Noticing his companion's discomfort, Ace asked, "What's wrong?"

"Did the sun just turn brighter all of a sudden?"

Confused, Ace looked at the sky. It didn't seem any different than it had before. Yeah, the sun was harsh, but no more than usual. "Not that I've noticed," he answered at length.

Abel frowned, sparing a glance towards the man. He wasn't lying. Ace didn't seem affected by the blaringly bright light. What was going on?

Lowering her head, Abel's eyes widened. The sand shined, glimmering like liquid gold beneath her feet. It was as if light and color had been intensified suddenly, and without cause. Starting to get an idea of what was happening, Abel held her hands out in front of her. As she moved them, they emitted a trail, as if she were watching a slowed down film reel. Watching her hands with a detached sense of fascination, Abel murmured, "Shite..."

"What?" Ace asked, wondering if he should be concerned.

Calmly, Abel explained, "That cactus must have contained chemicals resulting in mild psychoactive effects when ingested. I believe the colloquial term for the effect is 'trippin' balls'."

Ace's eyes widened comically. "You're high!?"

Abel hummed noncommittally, more interested in observing these strange effects. "The effects seem similar to those produced by lysergic acid diethylamide, though I have no firsthand experience to cross-reference." Abel's brow creased. "I... don't like this. It feels like someone threw bleach in my eyes." Abel didn't like not being in full control of her senses. She didn't even drink, much less use recreational drugs. Hell, she didn't even take pharmacological drugs if she could avoid it. People take drugs specifically for this effect? It hurt her eyes.

Ace sighed, rubbing the back of his head as he wondered what he was supposed to do now. How was he going to travel with a companion who was high? I guess I could just carry her, he thought.

Before he could do anything, however, something started rising from the sand in front of them. Both travelers watched and waited as the sand fell away, revealing a giant scorpion. Its huge pincers loomed threateningly over them. Just one mandible was bigger than a human. Its eyes shined like red rubies - though that may have been an effect of the chemicals. "I suppose it's too much to hope that that's a hallucination," Abel mused.

"Nope," Ace replied. "That is a very real, very angry scorpion."

Threateningly, the scorpion moved its tail near them. "I wouldn't if I were you," Ace drawled calmly. But naturally, the scorpion would not be deterred from what it thought was an easy meal. Turning to his companion, Ace suggested, "Why don't you sit down for a minute while I handle this thing."

"No argument here," Abel agreed, sitting down, lowering her head and resolutely closing her eyes before they burned.

Abel heard the very short fight. She heard the roar of flames, and felt the heat, making the desert's pale in comparison. And then, silence. She heard Ace walk up to her. Before she could respond, however, Ace scooped her up without warning or ceremony. Abel gasped, eyes automatically flying open and hands clutching at Ace's cloak. Seeing her shocked expression, Ace smiled and said, "Alley-oop."

As the man started walking, Abel commented, "Shouldn't that come before the actual alleying?"

Ace just smirked in response. "I'll focus on following the trail. You focus on tripping out." Ace tried not to laugh as the woman groaned, shielding her face from the sun, but based on the slight pout on her lips he didn't succeed all that much.

The two continued on like this in silence for a while as the effects of the chemicals slowly worked their way out of Abel's system. "I apologize for this," Abel eventually said.

"Nah, don't worry about it," Ace quickly brushed off. "I can think of worse ways to spend my day than carrying a beautiful woman around."

Abel scoffed, but hoped her hood shielded the blush on her cheeks. After being called beautiful and so many other compliments by Sanji, Abel would've thought she was immune to praise by now. Apparently not. Apparently only a change of source was needed to give new weight to the terms.

Eventually, Abel felt Ace stop walking. Curious, she opened her eyes to see what the hold-up is now. Had another creature blocked the way? Thankfully, the effects of the chemicals were wearing off, so the intensified colors were only mildly distracting, as opposed to blinding. It didn't take long for Abel to figure out why Ace had stopped. "The tracks end."

"Yeah."

Abel's lips pursed thoughtfully. It wasn't as if the tracks had faded or vanished completely. Instead, it looked like something very large had burrowed through the area, leaving a large rut in the sand, cutting off the trail. Glancing to the far side of the rut, Abel didn't see the trail picking up.

"What now?" Ace asked.

"We keep traveling in the direction of Yuba and hope we cross paths along the way."

"Do you know the way?"

Abel looked to the sky thoughtfully, reading the position of the sun and the time of day. "Sunshine said that Yuba was northwest of Erumalu, so we ought to travel in the direction of the sun, at a slight angle."

Before they could do anything, however, a strange lizard came up to them. It was large and purple, with bulging eyes and stood upright on its hind legs. Everyone just stood and stared, waiting for someone to do something. Watching closely, Ace took a step to the right. The lizard followed. He took a step to the left, and the lizard followed again. Every step, no matter which direction, the lizard mimicked, constantly putting itself in their way. And it didn't take long for this dance routine to grate on Ace's nerves. "You wanna get in my way, too?" he growled, fire starting to burn from his shoulders.

Abel found it fascinating to watch, as his clothes remained undamaged from the fire. That's convenient, she thought. Wouldn't want to lose your clothing every time you used your powers. Though that would make for some interesting battles. And, wow, even I'm cognizant of how random that train of thought was. Deciding that thinking about a naked Ace was not something she needed to do right now, Abel said a bit forcefully, "Wait!" As she sat up in Ace's arms, the man's flames burned down and he glanced at her. "Perhaps we can use it as a mount."

"You mean like a horse?" Ace queried.

"Why not? It's big enough." Standing, the lizard was taller than Ace.

Looking from Abel to the lizard, Ace threatened, "Sound like a deal? You give us a lift, and I don't turn you into roast gecko." The lizard's eye watered, and Abel felt a little sorry for it. With an ultimatum like that, the lizard lowered its torso to the ground, wordlessly offering the two to climb on.

Ace set Abel on her feet. Carefully, Abel sat astride the beast, situating herself at the base of its long neck, just above the shoulders. Then, Ace climbed on, wedging himself behind Abel. As Ace let his arms rest loosely around Abel's hips (very ample hips, Ace thought), Abel muttered, "How to turn this thing..." It wasn't like they had a bridle. Experimentally, Abel took a handful of the lizard's garishly orange dorsal frill and tugged it in the direction she wanted it to turn. The lizard's head turned in the direction she tugged, and the rest of its long body followed, until they were pointing the right now. "That works," Abel said with a grin. With a click of her tongue, the lizard ran towards the sun.

As it took off, the two riders jolted back slightly. It was faster than expected. "Whoa!" Ace exclaimed, barely catching himself from falling off.

Laughing, Abel commented, "It might not be as glamorous as a camel, but it works in a pinch."

The lizard scurried along the ground at a good click. Abel kept one eye on the sun and the other out for any signs of the crew. With nothing better to fill the time, Ace asked, "So how did all of you get involved with my brother? I'm willing to bet it's an interesting story."

Abel smirked. "It's several interesting stories, to be exact. But they'd take too long to recount in full, glorious, chaotic detail. I honestly couldn't tell you how Chief got tangled up with your brother, though, as they were already together when I met them."

"Didn't Zoro use to be a pirate hunter?" Ace asked. "I recall he had quite a ruthless reputation."

Abel smirked over her shoulder at the man. "Just makes for a more fascinating story, don't you think? But to hear Chief tell it, he never officially called himself a pirate hunter, or even a bounty hunter for that matter. It was just the only way he could afford to survive. And naturally, most bounties are for pirates." Facing forward again, Abel continued, "Assuming their meeting followed the typical pattern, your brother would've met Chief and asked him to join. Chief declined, until some crisis resulted in your brother saving Chief, thus gaining his loyalty."

"Is that the way it usually goes?" Ace asked.

Abel nodded. "Now that I think about it, all of us wound up joining Boss' crew after he aided in saving something important to us. Only the specifics vary. For me, he helped vanquish a basilisk threatening my home. For Red... well, initially she agreed to tag along solely to steal treasure from the crews we defeated. She didn't officially join in her heart until we defeated the fishmen terrorizing her home."

"That was Arlong, right?" Ace interrupted. "That's when Luffy got his bounty."

Abel nodded. Continuing, she recounted, "Sparkplug joined when we saved his home from pirates, as did Bullseye, except in his case it was a restaurant. And Boss was very insistent on recruiting Doc after he sent a tyrannical king into the next time zone."

Leaning back slightly, Ace mused, "Maybe one day I'll get to hear all of it in full."

"What about you?" Abel asked, changing the subject. "Three years is a fairly short amount of time to prove one's self worthy of joining the lauded Whitebeard Pirates."

A lazy grin stretched over Ace's face as he relived those memories. "It wasn't exactly what I set out to do when I left home," he admitted. "I was actually the captain of my own pirate crew, the Spade Pirates."

"Isn't that a downgrade?"

"Maybe. But joining Whitebeard was the best decision I ever made. I've never regretted it... though at the time I wasn't happy." Ace chuckled, no doubt remembering something amusing. "I was an arrogant little brat then. I actually thought I could take Whitebeard's head, and prove myself. But even after a hundred attempts, I couldn't beat him."

Abel tossed a disbelieving look Ace's way. "You battled Edward Newgate one-hundred times? You have officially lost the right to complain about your brother being too reckless."

Ace chuckled. "I guess you're right. I know it was a dumb thing to do, but at the time... well, I think I had a bone to pick with the world. And taking Whitebeard's head seemed like the best way to prove I was worthy." Ace looked lost for a moment, before continued less seriously, "On the bright side, my spirit impressed the old man. Even after taking me prisoner, he kept asking me to join his crew. And one day I did. I guess the rest is history." Ace leaned back, staring unseeingly at the sky. "Whitebeard's not like most pirates, or captains, for that matter. He doesn't have a crew- he has sons. He's the greatest man I've ever met."

Abel absorbed the quiet reverence in the way Ace talked about his captain. In particular, the wistful tone he used when describing how Whitebeard considered his crew his sons. This further solidified Abel's theory that, regardless of whether or not Ace and Luffy shared ancestry, Ace did not have a good relationship with his father. But she didn't speak on such matters, as she instinctively knew she would get no answer. Instead, she settled on, "He must be, if you're willing to challenge your beloved brother for his sake."

Ace grinned wryly. "We'll cross that bridge when we get there. I've not doubt Luffy will make it that far."

Silence reigned for a while, until Ace noticed something. "Hey. Why're you slowing down?" he asked in an accusatory tone to the lizard. True enough, the lizard's pace had slowed considerably.

Abel thought at first they might have worn the lizard out, until she came to another conclusion. "It's almost night." Looking up, she saw the sun setting over dunes, the sky slowly melting into inky twilight. On the eastern horizon, stars slowly started to twinkle into view. "Reptiles are cold-blooded, meaning their body temperature doesn't naturally maintain homeostasis. Rather, it depends on the surrounding temperature."

"Meaning...?" Ace trailed off.

"When it gets cold, say like in the desert at night, their bodies naturally slow down to conserve energy. Think of it as a brief period of hibernation."

"So it's going to sleep," Ace concluded, looking crossly at the lizard.

"Those in glass houses," Abel drawled, giving the pirate a meaningful look. Ace rubbed his neck sheepishly. "Still, we should consider resting for the night ourselves. Navigating by stars is far trickier than via the sun, and I don't relish the idea of stumbling blindly across some unknown terror in the dark. Besides, I'm certain the others are bunkering down... wherever they are."

As if understanding her, or perhaps just acting out of instinct, the lizard turned sharply, making a beeline for a small outcropping of rocks. Stubbornly, it sat down and refused to budge an inch further. Taking the hint, Abel and Ace climbed off its back. With the weight gone, the lizard busied itself with digging at the sand, throwing it up over its back as it buried down to where the sand still held some heat from the sun.

When the lizard finished rutting around, Abel leaned back against it, as it was somewhat more comfortable than lying against a rock. Sadly, the warusagi had also stolen their camping gear. This meant no sleeping bags. Feeling the heat quickly evaporating, Abel huddled her cloak around her. "Shame there's no sage brush," Abel mused idly as Ace seated himself beside her. "You could start a fire."

"Well, if you're cold, I wouldn't mind volunteering to keep you warm during the night."

It actually took Abel a minute to register what Ace implied. Slowly, she raised her head to meet the man's gaze. At first, she though he was just teasing. But despite the lopsided smile, Ace's expression was completely serious. He met Abel's gaze evenly, and she saw the heat behind his eyes. "Are you volunteering to warm my bed?" she asked slowly, carefully, to ensure she hadn't misunderstood.

Undaunted, Ace replied, "Why not? Isn't body heat supposed to be the best heat in these situations?"

Abel considered Ace for a long moment. She had to admit, he was an attractive man. With his thick, tousled hair, easy grin and freckles, he exuded roguish charm. Not to mention a very fit body. Yet for all his obvious strength, there was such an ease about him that those around him couldn't help feeling. It was comforting, drawing them in. Even someone like Abel wasn't immune to it. And it had been years since she'd enjoyed the company of a man. Lying there, in the middle of nowhere, with just the stars to watch them... "Okay," Abel agreed at length.

"Really?" Ace's eyes lit up.

"Sure," Abel replied, shrugging casually. She deliberately waited as the man started to lean towards her before she continued, "You can be our bonfire, and stay up all night." With that said, she settled down to sleep, leaning into the lizard behind her...

Ace lowered his head, biting his lip to keep from laughing. You're something else, you know that? he thought fondly of the woman. But let it not be said that Ace wasn't a gentleman, so he settled for lying beside Abel.

Thus how the two pirates, both begrudgingly separated from their crews, spent the evening; hungry, thirsty, and bunkered down against a lizard. But at least the company was good.

---

Under such conditions, it was little surprise that the two were up before the sun even rose. The sky was just starting to turn that clear dark blue color between when the stars vanished and the sun appeared. They uncovered the lizard and Ace bullied it into carrying them again.

The duo traveled mostly in silence. Not because of any lingering awkwardness from last night, but because Abel felt fairly miserable. Last night had been just north of miserable. Abel had great difficulty sleeping once the cold of the evening set in, waking up several times. Sure, she could've woken Ace up to pull his human torch routine, but it seemed unfair to make him stay awake so she could sleep.

On top of that, Abel felt hungry and parched. They still had that cactus left, but Abel refused to use it until she was on her last leg. The psychoactive effects hadn't been terrible, but were uncomfortable enough that Abel preferred to be thirsty. And aside from the lizard, they hadn't seen any other sign of animal life to hunt. Over the day, Abel's hunger had progressed from a mild stomach rumble, to pain, tapering off before returning full-force. Abel actually felt sick to her stomach, likely due to a drop in her blood sugar.

Abel silently consoled herself that things weren't so bad. She recalled a Marine officer who'd retired to their island swore by the Rule of Threes. Three minutes without air, three hours without shelter, three days without water, three weeks without food. While not set in stone, it was a good rule to live by. From that perspective, they were fine. It hadn't even been a full day without food or water, so they were a long way from dead. And if push came to shove, they could always eat the lizard and walk. All food had some water in it, so that would solve two problems if need be.

Fortunately, for both them and the lizard, such extreme measures weren't necessary. With the sun just over the horizon, the two pirates came across a godsend. An oasis stood in the distance like a green beacon. A lush valley nestled in the middle of nowhere, as if plopped there by some benevolent deity. Better still, this was an occupied oasis. Stone houses leading to plentiful, tended fields, all housed within a great stone wall for protection from bandits. Fittingly, a sea cat motif had been carved into the walls, waving lost souls inside its safe walls.

"Have you ever seen anything so beautiful?" Abel asked, the sight of civilization instantly lifting her spirits.

"I hope that smoke rising is from cooking," Ace agreed.

Not wasting a second, Abel clicked her tongue, urging the lizard on as fast as it could manage.

As they raced towards the oasis, Ace reached up, placing his hand on Abel's shoulder. When the woman looked back, Ace advised, "We might want to avoid the front gate. Even this far out, it's possible someone here's seen my wanted poster. And I'm too hungry to want trouble."

Abel realized the prudence of Ace's words. "Scale the wall, then?" she asked.

"Can this thing climb?" Ace asked.

"We're about to find out."

Aiming for a portion of the wall along the side, near where Abel spotted a deserted outlook post, the lizard didn't hesitate as it shimmed up the wall. Its feet stuck to the wall easily, just like its smaller brethren. They paused once they were on top of the wall. The shade offered by the canopy was a welcome relief.

As Abel held the lizard still, considering where to go from here, she heard Ace sniffing behind her. Before she could question him, Ace pointed towards a building that looked important. Perhaps the town hall. More importantly, it had vacant arches leading inside. "I smell food in there," Ace explained eagerly. Abel raised a brow, but didn't question it. Luffy could certainly smell food, so why not Ace? With a click, the lizard was off again.

This town hall, or whatever it was, was sectioned off from the rest of the town, so no one noticed their ascent. The town struck Abel as very peaceful, just like Nanohana. Then again, based on the amount of greenery, they hadn't suffered from the drought.

Riding down the empty hall, Abel also started to smell the delicious aroma of food. Her stomach growled eagerly, and she swore her mouth started to water - though how she had any saliva left was beyond her. If this is how Boss feels all the time, I can forgive him for being so reckless around food. Abel vowed she'd never think ill of Luffy's food mongering again.

Abel also started to hear voices. Several men were in a conversation somewhere inside. She heard a nasally voice asked, "Big Bro, would giving up on the king make us real rebel soldiers?"

"Get real," another male voice replied sharply. In a low, sinister tone, it added, "We aren't leaving this village until we've sucked every last drop of its sweet nectar dry."

Well that just sounds all kinds of dirty, Abel thought.

Reaching the room where both the voices and aromas originated from, Abel and Ace quickly dismounted. At the same time, a panicked voice started shouted from the opposite side of the room. "Big Bro! Terrible news, Big Bro!"

"Calm down," the voice that had talked about sucking nectar dry chastised casually. "Whaddya want? I'm trying to eat here."

"Sand pirates! Sand pirates are attacking!"

Before Abel could peek inside the room, Ace just sauntered in like he owned the place. Then again, if Abel had powers like Ace, she'd probably act that way too. But it would appear that the men were too busy freaking out about these sand pirates (was it just a fancy term for bandits?) to notice their guest. "Seriously!?" the nasally voice gasped. "What do we do!?"

Peeking around the corner of the archway, Abel found her hypothesis to be correct. The four men inside (not counting Ace) seemed oblivious to everything but their current crisis. They were a motley bunch, and none of them looked like they could hold their own in a fight. Of course, that might just be because they were in a snit.

Still, with the food-laden table calling her name, Abel found she didn't really care about the repercussions, and just walked right in. Following Ace's example, she sat cross-legged at the low table, shedding her cloak and scarf. The cold white stone felt amazing against her legs, the cold seeping in through her pants. Turning her attention to the table, Abel wasn't sure what to start with, so she just grabbed the closest thing. It was some sort of vegetable and barely soup. One spoonful had Abel practically melting in the floor. It was smooth, and thick, and satisfying, and moist, and a whole bunch of other sexy-sounding words. Was it possible to orgasm from just eating?

Forgoing manners, Abel brought the entire bowl to her lips and drank deeply, only pulling away when she had to breathe.

Normally Abel wouldn't condone just taking someone's food, but she felt little guilt in stealing what was already stolen in the first place. It didn't take a genius to figure out from their simpering at that "rebel soldiers" were nothing more than charlatans, "protecting" the village in return for food. They argued about whether they should run away, reluctant to leave their meal ticket behind. If she hadn't been starving, it would've been enough to make Abel lose her appetite.

Finally, the decision came down to the leader. "All right! Let's stick our tails between our legs and run!" the dirty blond announced, picking up his crappy rifle. Abel gave him points for at least being the only one who looked like he could be a rebel. Ignoring the odd purple bandage weaving at odd angles through his hair, he wore rusty armor and strapped several bandoliers to him.

"We're running away again!?" his men shrieked.

With the edge taken off her hunger, Abel balanced eating with watching the show. She smacked Ace's hand away from a big plate of fried rice, heavy with fragrant spices, and grilled fish. Seriously, where did these people get fish in the middle of the desert? Ace pouted as Abel took the plate for herself, but shrugged, quickly moving on to one of the other numerous dishes.

"But what happens after we run away?" the big man who acted as lookout asked. Despite his tall size, he had a wimpy demeanor. "Live on the edge of starvation again?"

"You moron!" the leader snapped. "What's the point of food if we're not alive to eat it!? There are plenty of other villages just like this one! Now c'mon!" Somehow he still didn't notice them even as he walked past the table.

Abel expected them to make a run for it before the villagers caught on, but she heard the leader mutter, "What the..." Looking up from her plate, she found the men gawking at the lizard they'd ridden in on.

"I think I'm about to lose my lunch," Ace said.

Glancing at the mountain of cleaned plates beside him, Abel replied, "I find that hard to believe."

As the group whirled around, finally noticing the two, Ace insulted, "You cowards got a lot of nerve calling yourselves rebel soldiers." Meeting their angry, shocked faces, Ace continued, "If you ask me, it's a pretty despicable thing for four grown men to do."

For some reason, they took offense to this. Three of them, the lookout, a short man with boxing gloves and goggles, and a sumo-looking dude, tensed. "Who the hell are you!?" the lookout demanded.

Raising a brow at how three of them attempted to puff themselves up, Abel drawled, "It's a little too late to be acting all big and bad when you were talking about running away like whipped dogs two seconds ago." Abel knew better than to judge people by their looks, but both their appearance and actions had already shown them for what they were.

"Mind your own business!" the lookout threatened, face red from the insult. "When did you get in here, anyway!?"

"Thieving bitch!" the boxer shouted in his nasally voice.

Before Abel could even consider getting offended (not that she cared about the opinion of idiots), Ace rose to her defense. Apparently he didn't like seeing women insulted. Before they knew what hit them, the boxer-punk was laid out on the floor with several knots, the lookout was headfirst in a pot, and the sumo-dude was through the wall. Only the leader, the only one with any brains apparently, remained upright. And he looked ready to have a stroke.

As Ace sat back down, Abel grinned at him. "Such a gentleman," she praised teasingly. Reaching for a plate of some sort of fried pastry, Abel placed it on the table in front of him. "For defending a lady's honor." Although she was partially teasing, Ace beamed at her. Facing the beaten men, Abel lectured, "There's no reason to be so upset. You were just going to leave anyway. Why let all this food, which the villagers worked so hard to prepare, go to waste?"

The leader just continued to stare at the two strangers, as they made themselves at home at his table. Two people who showed up out of nowhere, and were clearly out of his league. Well, at least the man was. The woman hadn't really done anything. Maybe the guy was her bodyguard... or partner. Like Bonnie and Clyde.

The fake rebel flinched when the woman moved, expecting her to sic the man on him next. But she merely grabbed a pitcher of water. He sighed, relaxing as she poured a tall glass. But as she downed the glass with gusto, probably from traveling through the desert to get here, his eyes couldn't help landing on her generous neckline, further enhanced as she tilted her head back. It didn't help when, in her haste, water escaped from the corners of her mouth and trailed down her chin and neck. His eyes helplessly followed their trail, suddenly finding himself feeling thirsty as well. When the woman put the glass down with a sigh, her chest heaved.

"Ah-hem!"

A sharp cough made the rebel flinch, and his eyes jerked away from the temptress to her bodyguard. He blanched when he met the dark, accusatory eyes. Shit! he cursed. He caught me staring at his woman!

Instead of lashing out, however, the dark-haired man held a bowl out to him. "More," was his simple command. Though the promise of what might happen if not obeyed was clear.

"Yes, yes, yes!" the fake rebel quickly placated, taking the bowl. "I'm so sorry, sir!" He needed to be polite or it'd cost him his neck.

"This place has good food," Ace complimented.

"Yes, thank you!" He was starting to feel like a waiter.

Glancing nervously at his men, the fake rebel started weighing his options. These strangers didn't seem to want to cause trouble for them. They were more interested in eating, which he understood. Maybe there was a way for all of them to get what they wanted. Well, almost everything... he thought, eyes flickering back towards the woman stalwartly ignoring him.

Suddenly, the man bowed low, pressing his face to the rug. "You have to forgive me!" he pleaded in earnest. "I beg you! Clearly you have extraordinary powers! As you can see, we stand no chance against sand pirates! Unless we have help from someone like you! You must rescue us, please!"

"That is a thought," Abel interrupted. Setting her elbows daintily on the table, Abel rested her chin on the backs of her hands. She gave a lazy smile. "Or maybe I'm just partial to the sight of men on their knees." The fake rebel looked like he might explode, and even Ace stopped eating, fork hovering in front of his open mouth, to stare at Abel. She chuckled, amused by her own antics. "I think there's a way we can all get what we need here," she began, channeling Nami as she gave the fake rebel a sharp look. "You," she pointed at the fake rebel, "charge the villagers food for protecting them, correct? But now the village is beset with so-called sand pirates, which you are unable to handle, because you and your men are nothing but pretenders." The fake rebel looked dismayed at Abel's wording, but couldn't deny it.

"So why don't you gather the same amount of food and water you'd charge the villagers for such a job, and instead pay us to deal with the sand pirates?" Abel suggested at last. "Everybody wins... except the sand pirates, I suppose. We get the supplies we require, but with the clear conscience of having actually worked for them. The village is safe, and none the wiser for the actual identity of their saviors. And you get to keep your cushy little setup and still be alive to enjoy it. What do you say?"

"Sounds like a bargain to me," Ace voiced.

"Yes!" the fake rebel quickly agreed, looking overjoyed at the arrangement as he leapt to his feet. "We'll get enough food and water for you to make it all the way across Alabasta, so long as you deal with these sand pirates! You just wait right here!" Quickly, before the two could change their minds, the fake rebel shook his men awake. "Get up, you slackers! We've got work to do!"

With the fake rebel's (Camu, Abel learned) enthusiasm, it wasn't long before Abel and Ace left the village of Ida through the back roads on their lizard, pulling a sled-worth of supplies. It was quite the haul. Several sacks of bread, cheeses and salted meat, a basket of fresh produce, one whole, giant fish, salted, and a huge cask of water. Just seeing it made Abel feel so much better. Perhaps their little misadventure had been good luck after all, as it allowed them to replenish their supplies. Now they just had to find the rest of the crew.

"Should we stash the food somewhere?" Ace queried, leaning over Abel's shoulder. "Y'know, before we deal with these sand pirates?"

Abel smirked. "I suspect dealing with them will be profoundly easy."

"Huh?"

"Consider what Ragamuffin told us," Abel explained. "These sand pirates were spotted southwest of the village, on a large ship propelled through the desert by the wind."

"Yeah..." Ace said, not getting where Abel was going with this.

"Such a ship would no doubt leave a very large sand rut in its wake. Now, where have we encountered such a track?" Based on Ace's blank expression, he wasn't drawing parallels. "Where did the others' tracks end?" she tried instead.

Slowly, realization lit up Ace's eyes. "At a giant path cut in the sand."

Abel smiled. "Exactly. If their paths merely intersected, one would expect the trail to pick up on the other side. That it did not suggests both parties met up and continued on together."

"You think we'll find your crew with the sand pirates?" Ace concluded.

Abel smirked. "Your brother bends the laws of coincidence." Ace merely looked thoughtful, waiting to see if Abel was correct.

It was a good thing he didn't bet against her, because they weren't even out of view of the oasis when they spotted eight familiar silhouettes heading for them. "Well I'll be..." Ace murmured. "Hey!" he shouted, waving at the crew.

They were too far away to see the crew's expression, but the sudden stop in their tracks expressed their surprise well enough. "Ace! Abel!" Luffy called back, running to meet them.

"Abel-dono!" Sanji chirped. Abel mentally prepared to defend herself from an overly touchy cook.

Abel and Ace met Luffy halfway, pulling the lizard to a stop. "What is this thing?" Luffy asked, laughing as the lizard sat up like a begging dog after the two riders dismounted.

"Abel-dono!" Sanji cooed, lunging at the hunter. "I'm so glad to see you safe!" Having already anticipated the action, Abel ducked in time for Sanji to fly over her, tackling the lizard in his embrace. "What is this thing!?" Sanji yelled, repeating Luffy's question as he became tangled up with the gangly beast.

Standing like nothing ordinary had happened, Abel greeted the rest of her crew. "Glad to see your all in top form still. Did you have fun playing with the sand pirates?"

Luffy cocked his head cutely. "How'd you know we came with them?"

"A little birdie told me," Abel replied. "A chicken, to be precise." The rest of the crew looked confused, but knew better than to question anything Abel said too much.

"Were you guys at Ida?" Nami asked, her and Vivi still riding Eyelash.

"Correct," Abel answered. Eyeing the guys with mock disdain, she added, "It warms my heart to know my presence is so valued you failed to notice that I was no longer among you."

They all looked suitably guilty and sheepish. For good measure, Sanji wailed, "Forgive me, Abel-dono!"

Smiling lightly, Abel brushed it off. "Que sera sera. It actually turned out to be the hand of fate. Behold." Stepping aside, she motioned to the sled full of food.

Grinning, Ace added, "If you guys want food or water, we brought plenty of both!"

"Shower us with praise anytime you like," Abel added for good measure.

The crew did no such thing, but their faces did light up upon seeing the haul. While it didn't replace all their stolen supplies, it would certainly make the trip far easier. So long as they kept them out of Luffy's hands.

Casting a trained eye over the sled, Sanji gave a beaming smile. At both parties. "This should be enough to last us a good while." Abel could see the weight lifting from Sanji as he stood a bit taller.

"Wow," Usopp breathed, impressed. "And here Sanji thought you guys were, y'know, foolin' around."

To hear that Sanji suspected such a thing was unsurprising. Still, Abel couldn't resist. Coyly, she said, "What happens in the desert, stays in the desert."

"WHAT!?" everyone but Luffy shrieked.

Sanji made a strange roaring sound, alight with anger. "Luffy!" he bellowed. "I'm gonna kill your brother!" Ace, for his part, just silently went along with it, looking as casually smug as usual.

Abel couldn't hold it in anymore. She burst out laughing, clutching her stomach. Between breaths, she managed, "You guys are just too easy. But unlike you, I am not." As Abel calmed down, the others did as well, taking a collective breath now that they realized Abel had been joking. Even Zoro had looked fit to be tied. "Hot Pants was a perfect gentleman. My virtue, what's left of it, remains intact."

Sanji slumped to his knees in the sand. "Abel-dono... don't torture me so..." Abel just tossed him a wry look.

With everyone calmed down, they began queuing up for some much needed water. Though Nami did cast a discerning eye over the rationing. At least until a quiet voice spoke up. "Umm, Abel-san? Ace-san?" Abel turned to face the princess as she slid gracefully down from Eyelash's back. She gave the two a pensive look. "I assume you don't have the money for that. Don't tell me you stole it from that village..."

Ace smiled disarmingly. "That's not my style," he insisted. "The rebel army gave it to us!"

"The rebel army!?" Vivi gasped.

"I believe 'imposters' would be the correct terminology," Abel corrected.

"Imposters?" Nami repeated, confused. "What do you mean?"

"She means they pass themselves off as rebel soldiers, and were hired to protect the village," Ace explained. "And the villagers are so grateful for their 'protection' that they've accepted these hoodlums with open arms."

Nami's brow creased. "And they're bodyguards? Wouldn't they get found out right away?"

"Not necessarily," Abel retorted. "I highly doubt there's some card rebel soldiers carry around to identify themselves. And given the political situation here, how many people would have the balls or lack of brain cells to go around pretending to be rebels? Most civilians would take such claims at face value. Conversely, most bandits would likely prefer to avoid settlements under the protection of the rebel banner, real or otherwise. Why take the risk?"

"It's ingenious, really," Ace admitted. "Confident swagger with a little misdirection- the money and prestige come rollin' in."

Although Vivi had lowered her head, Abel saw the thin draw of her lips. This didn't sit well with her. "Rebel soldiers aren't hoodlums," she murmured. "Nor does the title serve as decoration." It was strange, but Vivi always spoke about the rebels with respect, even though they were basically trying to overthrow her family. Then again, they were only doing what they thought they needed to in order to save their country, even if they were being misled. The road to Hell...

"Vivi-chan," Sanji gently prodded. "Should we teach 'em a lesson?"

"I dunno," Ace said, shoving a hand in his pocket. "Duping the villagers isn't so different from what bandits do. At least the way things stand now, the villagers live in peace with their fake protectors." Wouldn't it be better to leave things as they stand? The imposters weren't hurting anyone, and it made the people feel safe.

"But if the day should come when they're put to the test?" Abel pointed out, wanting to weigh all sides. "Could not the banner make Ida a target? What if some group of bandits want to make a name for themselves by taking out a band of rebels? Will they abandon the village to their fate?" The issue wasn't so simple as right and wrong.

Vivi remained silent for a long moment, seriously pondering the matter. At length, she said, "Fine. My kingdom's no longer able to protect everyone, so I see nothing wrong with villages upholding public safety on their own whenever possible."

"Then..." Nami prompted, figuring she was fine with leaving the village as it was.

"No," Vivi quickly dismissed, giving a slightly conniving smile. "I want to test them first."

"Test?" Nami repeated.

Vivi nodded. "Yes. And if these imposters are protecting them, even if it's nothing more than a byproduct of their ruse, then I really don't care what they pass themselves off as."

"So you want to test what's in their hearts, huh?" Ace concluded, grinning slyly.

"Yes. I'm sorry, but this is something that requires everyone's cooperation if we're to pull it off."

"No sweat, Vivi-chan," of course Sanji agreed.

Luffy chuckled. "All right! Now things are getting interesting!"

"Oh? Is saving a kingdom too passé?" Abel quipped.

"Hold on, Luffy!" Nami quickly interrupted, knowing if she didn't stop him Luffy would ruin everything. "You need to calm down! This isn't a game, understand?"

Undaunted, Luffy replied, "Yeah, yeah, I get it! We're basically gonna beat these fake rebel guys up, right?"

Sanji sighed, sifting through his hair. "He doesn't understand a thing! Someone needs to put him on a short leash."

"Calm yourself, Boss," Abel advised. "No one's going to be beating up anyone."

"Aww!" Luffy actually looked heartbroken at that. "Why not?"

Casting a glance at the princess, Abel stated, "If we're on the same page, then all that's required is to... shake them up a bit. Turn up the heat and see how they react. Correct?"

Vivi nodded solemnly. "Yes."

Vivi's plan was simple enough. The cowardly imposters, realizing that Ace and Abel weren't returning, would predictably try to escape from the village before they actually had to fight. All the guys needed to do, really, was intercept them and turn up the heat. Just like the fire helped refine a craftsman's work. The only question was what would come to the surface.

With the guys stationed at the gates, and Nami and Vivi watching from a distance, Abel and Ace snuck back into the oasis. Turned out it was easier than expected, as the entirety of the village seemed to have gathered outside the imposters' headquarters. At first Abel thought they might have finally wised up to their scheme, but then she noticed they weren't upset. If anything, they were abuzz with excitement.

Abel perched herself on the oasis' tallest steeple while Ace remained on the streets. From her position, Abel had a clear view over the wall around the town hall and into the building. She smirked as she watched Ragamuffin (as she'd dubbed him) stick his head slowly out the door. He peeked around, checking if the coast was clear, before making a break, his lackeys close behind. Abel thought it was rather precious how his rifle doubled as a hobo stick with a cute little bag of food tied to the end. Are they in for a rude surprise, she thought as they neared the door.

Even from her perch, Abel heard the townsfolk cheer as the men opened the door. Oh, how she wished she could see their gobsmacked expressions. As it was, she'd have to settle for the way they staggered out the door in shock. A short, yet distinguished man with no neck stepped forward to address the imposters. How does he turn his head? Abel thought, her fingers brushing against her own. Does he have to turn his entire body?

Shaking her head to clear such random musings, Abel watched the proceedings. She was too high up to hear the conversation, but she could make an educated guess. The man, likely the mayor, would praise the "brave rebels" for going out to deal with the problem literally on their doorsteps. He even held up a piece of paper, which Abel could only assume was Luffy's wanted poster. Vivi emphatically instructed them to wait somewhere visible, to put the pressure on the villagers.

Abel had to admit, though, that she almost hoped these men turned out to be more than they appeared. The villagers clearly had such amazing trust and admiration for the men. Granted, some of that was bleed over from the self-sacrificing reputation of real rebels. Still, the imposters had clearly entrenched and endeared themselves to the villagers. And the village didn't appear any worse for their presence. No one went without because of them. Abel watched sternly as some kids eagerly pulled at the imposter's pants legs, faces shining with hero worship. It'll break their hearts if their true colors aren't noble, she thought. If that happened, Abel would make sure they paid for corrupting the innocent.

With nothing else to do, the imposters marched towards the gates, the villagers following behind like sheep. Abel couldn't tell from the men's tense posture and skittish expressions if they were men planning to face their doom... or about to make a break for it.

With the targets en route, Abel stood and pulled a flat stone from her cloak. Holding it above her head, she angled it so the smooth side caught the sun, flashing towards the south. In the distance, behind some rocks, an answering signal. The chickens had left the roost.

Dramatically, Abel vaulted from the steeple, performing a perfect swan dive as she plummeted to the ground. Nearing her landing, Abel twisted so her back faced the ground. She hit her target perfectly, landing in a huge pile of hay, startling several poor camels and goats grazing from it. Abel let out a girlish giggle as she jumped from the haystack. Yeah, she could've just climbed down. But what was the fun in that?

Running ahead of the men, walking slowly towards their doom, Abel found a good spot along the hills beside the oasis gates to watch things play out. By the time the entire town reached the gate, Ace joined her, looking similarly eager to watch.

Slinging the doors open, the four imposters bolted forward, only to come up short when they saw Luffy, looking uncharacteristically intimidating. Maybe it was the way the sun was at his back, casting shadows over his face. They stepped to the right, only to find Sanji and Usopp. The left was also blocked, this time by Zoro and Chopper in human form. There was no escape, and they knew it.

Comically oblivious to their turmoil, the mayor cheered from a few feet away, "Get 'em, get 'em, invincible rebel army!"

"What's that?" Luffy asked, keeping his voice low. Abel had to wonder how long Luffy could keep that up without laughing. "You're a rebel soldier?"

Camu flinched. "N-No, nothing of the sort!" he sputtered. "We're just travelers passing through!"

"Say your prayers, you dastardly sea pirates!" the mayor shouted with gusto, climbing to the top of the gate. He glared bravely at the pirates. "These brave rebel soldiers are gonna make mincemeat out of you!"

"STOP TALKING!" Camu shrieked. "YOU'RE NOT HELPING!"

The mayor quickly turned from bloodthirsty to pious. "Right, right! How utterly rude of me! Good luck, Camu!" The villagers, lining the walls, cheered on their "saviors," still showing complete faith in them.

"Hey!" Luffy called, gaining the four's nervous attention. Frowning, Luffy stated, "According to the crowd, you're the real deal."

All four men were in tears by this point. "No... no... you don't understand..." Camu whimpered.

"What now, Big Bro?" the tall lookout asked.

"We lost our chance to escape..." the boxer-guy whimpered.

Chuckling beside her, Ace said, in a voice just loud enough for the imposters to hear but no one else, "Long time no see."

The four perked up, looking around for the man. "Ace?"

"Please help us..." they whispered.

"Sorry boys," Ace replied, not sounding the least bit sorry.

Abel's mouth stretched into a tight, barely contained grin. "Just imagine you're fledglings, and we're the momma bird pushing you off the cliff so you can learn to soar." For some reason the analogy didn't calm them.

Since he couldn't see them, Camu settled for throwing pleading glances all over the place. "Look, guys, you know we can't handle this on our own 'cause we're totally faking it," his whispered harshly.

"You're pretending to be soldiers," Ace reminded them. "But if that doesn't work, might I suggest you act like men."

"Ooh," Abel breathed, impressed with Ace's pep talk. "That's a good one."

Ace smirked. "You like that?"

"I do. I'll have to write that down to remember later." Maybe she'd use it on Usopp the next time he tried to wimp out.

It also struck a nerve with Camu, as the man stared blindly at the sky, eyes glazed over as he thought hard about something. Unfortunately, his epiphany ended abruptly when boxer-guy asked, "What do we do, Big Bro?"

Camu sighed in exasperation. "Ugh! Stop asking me!" he snapped, before turning his attention to the pirates. His shoulders hunched as he stared at Luffy's unflinching form, before he straightened up. What was this? Bravado? Sucking in a deep breath, Camu shouted, "If it's a fight you want, consider yourself warned! Because we aren't the only rebel soldiers around here! In the village there are a hundred-million more like us!"

A disbelieving silence fell over the battlefield, until Usopp complained, "Oh, geez. Even babies lie better."

"You're one to talk," Sanji rightly pointed out.

But ever the naive one, Luffy gasped, "What!? One-hundred million!?"

"Can't you tell a lie when you hear one!?" Usopp and Sanji snapped. Beside her, Ace facepalmed.

"That's one of the worst bluffs ever!" Usopp argued.

Luffy's brow creased. "What!? It's a lie!?"

"Obviously!"

Growling in rage, Luffy glared at the imposters. "Faker!" he shouted. "How dare you lie to me! Gum-Gum Pistol!" Stretching his arm out, Luffy punched Camu in the face, holding nothing back. It happened faster than anyone could react, and sent Camu back through the gates, leaving him laid out.

Now the villagers as well as the imposters looked scared. "He has Devil Fruit powers!"

"One hit knocked him out!"

"Not even rebel soldiers can stand a chance against something like that!"

Glancing at where Camu lay twitching, Abel murmured, "Was that part of the plan?" 'Cause if it was, she missed it. Heartbreakingly, some of the kids who'd come along called to Camu, urging him to stand. Seriously, who took children to watch a fight?

Grinning rather disturbingly, even Abel had to admit, Luffy slowly walked towards the remaining imposters. The crew remained motionless, letting things play out a little longer. Luffy might not be sticking to the script, but it wasn't really expected that he would. They just needed to wait a little longer. The breaking point was nigh.

With the imposters frozen in fear, quaking in their shoes, Luffy chuckled as he reached a hand for them. But he never laid a finger on them, as someone stopped him. A shaky hand gripped his wrist, holding him at bay. Luffy's smile fell as his eyes slid up to Camu's battered face. His nose was definitely broken, yet the man looked resolute. "It's true," he began solemnly. "We aren't rebel soldiers. We lied. All we ever wanted was to be as strong as our childhood heroes, but now we're just a bunch of scoundrels. But, even if my dream never comes true, I can't take those kids' dreams away! Even if I'm no match for you, I'm going to fight so that someday those kids can beat you all! If my only other choice is to remain a punk in those kids' memories, then I'd rather die as a hero right here!" Anyone else wouldn't have noticed the subtle movement, but during Camu's speech Luffy had slowly been giving ground. And in the end, Camu punched the boy in the face, knocking him back. It was a pretty good punch, too. Bloodied Luffy's lip and everything. Even Camu looked surprised by his actions.

"Bastard," Sanji growled, turning to deal with Camu. However, he discovered an unexpected obstacle. The sumo-dude stood before him, looking terrified. But still standing. "What's your deal?" Sanji asked.

"I'll fight, too!" sumo-dude said. "You're dream is my dream, Big Bro! We've done all sorts of petty things since we were kids, but you were always there to protect the weak, Big Bro!" With that, the man raised a heavy paddle and smacked it down, barely missing Sanji. Sanji prepared to retaliated, but halted when he saw tears running down sumo-dude's face. "I-I'll always be there with you, Big Bro!" he blubbered. "We'll find redemption together!"

After letting his speech soak in, the remaining two imposters steeled themselves, turning to face Zoro and Chopper. They were still sweating bullets, but their resolve was absolute. "I'm with you guys!" the lookout shouted. "Whadda we got to lose? Let's show 'em what we're made of!"

"Yeah!" boxer-guy agreed, raising his gloves. "There's no running away now, anyways!"

Camu stared at them, mouth hanging open. "Guys..." When he decided to stop running, he honestly hadn't expected the others to follow. He'd been fully prepared to die on his own, and he would've been glad to at least have finally stood up for something real.

Abel allowed a lopsided smile. While she would never know what brought on this radical change, she was glad of it. To face a challenge even while you were still terrified was no easy task, she knew. Hell, these guys probably didn't even know that they this inside them all along. They'd never thought to fight back. Didn't even know it was an option. Sometimes you don't really know yourself 'til you stick your hand to the fire. And sometimes you had to have someone stick your hand to it for you.

A blinding ray of light fluttered across Abel's face, drawing her attention to the rock where Nami and Vivi hid. "That's the signal," she said. Their unexpected bravery (because one can't really be brave if one doesn't feel fear) must've impressed Vivi, so that she decided they were safe to leave be. They'd admitted to being imposters, but perhaps sticking up for the village even when they didn't have to would keep them in the villagers' good graces.

Unaware that they'd already won this farce of a fight, Camu dared them, "Sea pirates or not, I say bring it on! If you wanna take so much as a step inside this village, you'll have to go through us!"

Imagine his surprise when, in response to his brave words, Luffy laughed heartily. "Yeah, now that's more like it!" he laughed. "Now I can go beat up Crocodile without worrying!" Camu just stared, dumbfounded, as Luffy's hostility vanished like smoke. Luffy smiled at the stunned man as he stood. "Whew! That's a relief!"

"Shut your trap and come on!" Sanji snapped, grabbing Luffy around the collar as the guys retreated. Anymore, and Luffy would've ruined their plan. Their change of heart might be undone if they knew it was all rigged.

Running while dragging Luffy along, Sanji yelled in mock anger with an unseen grin on his face, "Those bastards! That's rebel soldiers for ya!"

"I've never seen such strong people before!" Usopp added his voice, for once not being too dramatic.

"Whatever," Zoro grumbled with much less enthusiasm. "I suck at scenarios like this." Pretending to be afraid of people obviously weaker than him went against Zoro's core nature. But he forced himself to do it.

"W-wait for me!" Chopper yelled as he tried to keep up.

And just like that, the pirates were gone. "Uh..." Camu muttered. "What just happened?" But there was no time to worry about odd pirates, as they had adoring fans waiting.

---

Abel and Ace met back up with the crew not far from the village. Even at this distance, no longer in sight of the oasis, Luffy kept running, forcing the crew to run to keep up with him. "Hey, Luffy!" Ace called as they neared.

Luffy's smile widened as the two fell in step with the rest of the crew. "Oh, Ace! Abel!"

"How long should we keep running?" Ace asked as he ran alongside his brother. "Surely we can drop the act now."

"The way they abandoned their lives was scary," Zoro said with a grin.

Abel held her tongue from commenting on how Zoro had allowed Chopper to ride on his shoulders so the little deer wouldn't strain himself in this heat to keep up. Instead, she commented, "If you're going to die either way, you might as well go fighting tooth and nail, right?" At the front, Luffy laughed loudly at the comment. The others shared his enthusiasm. It wasn't even noon and they'd already accomplished so much.

---

After starting the day on such a high note, things quickly leveled out. Spirits could only remain high for so long with a vast desert still between them and their destination. Fortunately, Nami appeared to have learnt her lesson about charging boldly ahead on her own, and picked a pace that pedestrians could actually keep up with. Usopp had been quick to fill Abel in on what she missed yesterday. Nami and Vivi got themselves captured by a band of sand pirates, which as Abel guessed sailed around the desert in a large ship moved by the wind. Though the girls had never actually been in danger (the sand pirates just wanted to eat Eyelash) Luffy had accidentally broken their mast during a botched rescue. Luffy being Luffy offered to help fix his mistake, resulting in Luffy and Vivi going off when two of the sand pirates to find wood while the others waited. That morning, they left for Ida.

Despite the encroaching heat of the day, the crew dealt with it better than in the past. Probably because now they had the supplies to make it bearable. True, they still lacked camping equipment, but at least food and water weren't an issue anymore.

Silence punctuated their march, with no one feeling eager to talk in this heat. Abel felt herself falling into a familiar mindless fog, listening half-heartedly to the sound of their footsteps in the sand to stay alert. Luckily, Usopp's shrill cry broke Abel from her fog. Shaking her head, she turned to see what had the sniper so upset this time. "Hey, quit that!" he yelled.

Raising her head, narrowing her eyes against the glare of the sun, Abel halted to observe Usopp, Luffy and Sanji standing in place, staring at the sand. Yes, that was actually what they were doing. Abel double-checked. It was just sand. "Stop spilling all the water!" Usopp chastised. "You slob!"

Oh, Abel thought, noticing Usopp nursing Luffy's keg of water.

"What's the big deal?" Luffy asked stubbornly. "Abel and Ace brought a whole bunch with them!"

"We still gotta conserve all our supplies!" Usopp rightly cautioned. Did Luffy forget how quickly they lost their last batch of supplies? Probably. "You've been guzzling away for a while now!"

Childishly, Luffy pointed out, "He's trying to drink, too," eyeing Sanji suspiciously.

The cook, who had indeed been carrying a leather bota bag (a type of canteen shaped like a comma), explained suavely, "This is so when Nami-san says, 'Oh, I'm so thirsty!,' I can take it right to her!" He nuzzled the bota bag lovingly, to which Abel just shook her head. Running ahead, Sanji cooed, "Nami-san! Vivi-chan!" Vivi, who'd taken a turn driving the camel, pulled Eyelash to a halt as Sanji ran up beside them. Sanji held the bota bag up, smiling eagerly. "Would you like some water!?"

"We're fine for now," Nami declined.

Abel saw it in Sanji's eyes as they settled on her that Sanji was about to ask her the same (unnecessary as Abel had her own canteen, but she'd give him points for being polite). However, he never got the chance, as Luffy nearly tackled him. "Gimme that!" he cried, trying to wrestle the bota bag from Sanji's grip.

As the two struggled, Usopp complained, "You're gonna spill it! Quit it!" Water sloshed from the head.

The funniest part of the scene, at least to Abel, was how easily Vivi urged Eyelash away from the chaos. She finally seemed to have taken Abel's lesson about not getting upset over the crew's petty quarrels to heart.

"Hey, you want some water?"

Abel turned to see who Zoro was addressing, and found him holding out a canteen to Chopper, once again laying in a makeshift sled. It was probably too hot to carry Chopper on his back like before. The reindeer would be like a furry water bottle.

Surprisingly, Chopper answered cheerfully, "Thanks. But I'm fine." Despite the sweat, the little doctor was trying to tough it out.

Zoro smiled gently at the deer's resolve. An expression which quickly morphed into suspicion when he noticed Abel grinning at him. "What?" he demanded, not liking when Abel smiled like that. Mainly because he didn't know what it meant. But whereas normal people would quickly look away at being caught staring, Abel's smile just widened. Without a word, but still with that knowing smile, she turned away and continued walking. Zoro's lips pursed, simultaneously wondering yet not wanting to know what was going through the woman's head.

Leaving the guys to scuffle, Nami focused on sating her curiosity about something that had been pressing on her mind for a while. "Say, Vivi," she said, drawing the attention of the woman ahead of her. "Can you tell me anything about the rebel army?"

"Yes," Vivi agreed, glancing back. "I should probably fill you in before we get there." She stared ahead blindly. "It was eleven years ago..."

"Oh, is it story time?"

Nami squeaked and nearly fell off the camel when Abel's voice popped up, not just behind her, but at the same level as her. Twisting awkwardly, Nami exclaimed at the hunter who somehow managed to sit on the camel's back seat with her without her knowing, "Abel! Eyelash can't carry all three of us!" That probably wasn't true, as the camel didn't seem fussed about the added passenger, but Abel has startled her too badly.

"Are you calling me fat?" Abel asked. Her expression could almost be mistaken for serious, had it not been for the small yet noticeable upturn in one corner of her lips. Still, the question naturally made Nami stumble. Seizing upon the opportunity, Abel continued, "We won't be of much use to Sunshine if we're not all on the same page. Only a fool enters negotiations without understanding their opposite. Besides, it'll make for a more stimulating conversation than that." She nodded to the trio still arguing over water.

Making herself comfortable, leaning against Nami's back just enough to not fall of but not enough to push Nami over either, Abel said, "Please continue." She was genuinely curious, because Vivi spoke with obvious familiarity of the rebels' leader. Despite their travels together and knowing a substantial amount of who Vivi was as a person, they knew very little about her past and upbringing.

Smiling awkwardly, Vivi picked up her story. "Anyway... eleven years ago, a young boy came to our palace in Alubarna, furious with my father. His village had dried up, and he blamed my father for letting it happen. Even before the Dance Powder incident, the weather has always been harsh here, and it wasn't uncommon for small towns to dry up and their people to move on. His name... was Kohza, and his father's name was Toto. My father offered to let the villagers affected by the drought stay in Alubarna until they could make arrangements elsewhere, but it wasn't enough for Kohza. He stormed out, in tears. That was the first time we officially met."

Vivi chuckled at the memory of meeting this boy. "I called him a crybaby. I don't know if he didn't know who I was at the time or if he just didn't care, probably the latter, but he called me a runt back. We got into a huge fight, right there in the middle of the palace."

"You did!?" Nami gasped, having a hard time imagining Vivi picking a fight.

"I can't imagine that went over well for the boy," Abel commented. "A commoner in fisticuffs with royalty?"

"Igaram wanted to have him flogged," Vivi agreed, laughter in her voice. "And Mr. Toto wanted to throw himself on a knife to make amends. I was just upset that I lost. Thankfully, my father was always the voice of reason. He knew it was nothing more than a stupid fight between kids.

"But I wasn't happy losing to a crybaby. I tracked Kohza and his gang down. He and a bunch of kids from his village had formed the 'Sand-Sand Clan.' I challenged him to another fight, with leadership of the clan as the prize. It was a no-holds-bared rematch. In the end, neither of us won the fight, but I'd won something much more valuable... their respect as an equal. And Kohza named me vice-leader."

"So you've always been an unconventional princess," Abel mused.

Vivi smiled slightly. "I guess so. In truth, I never really thought about it. My father always taught me that the only difference between us and the average citizen was the responsibilities we bear. Everyone is necessary to build a strong country. Anyway..." She forced herself back on track. "From that day on, I visited Kohza and the Sand-Sand Clan every day. Sometimes I'd even have lunch with Kohza and his family. It was... nice. To have a down-to-earth relationship for a change." Being a princess could be lonely at times. There were no other children in the palace growing up, so that had really been the first time she'd had friends.

"Sounds like it was a nice country," Nami commented. Vivi nodded, but got distracted as Usopp and Sanji ran ahead, chasing after Luffy. The captain taunted the two, holding the bota bag just out of reach.

Smiling at the familiar sight, Vivi continued, "But a lot happened... Some unsavory people noticed where I was spending my time, as well. They thought kidnapping the princess while she's out, away from the palace and the eyes of the guards, would be a lucrative task. They didn't expect to face opposition from a band of kids wielding clubs."

"They fought them off for you?" Nami asked, hanging on Vivi's every word.

Solemnly, Vivi replied, "Yes. Even though they were no match for two armed bandits, they were prepared to defend me to the death."

"Aah!" a sudden startled crew interrupted, drawing the women's attention. "What is that!?" Luffy shouted, pointing at something poking out from the sand.

"It appears to be an oversized stinger, likely attached to something very nasty," Abel concluded, watching the stinger move around in agitation.

Disregarding Abel's warning, Luffy ran up and started poking the stinger with a stick. Yes, let's poke it, Abel thought. I'm sure that won't annoy it at all. "Boss, stop upsetting the local wildlife." Poking would annoy anyone.
Before Luffy could heed Abel's warning, not the she expected he would, the rest of the creature popped out from the sand, resulting in Luffy standing on the back of a very large scorpion - in prime stinging location. What was it with the desert and giant animals? Shouldn't animals in the desert be small? How could such a harsh environment provide enough sustenance for giant creatures? What, did they eat passing tourists?

Oblivious to the danger he was in, Luffy exclaimed excitedly, "It's huge!" Perhaps if he stopped gawking long enough, he might notice the stinger aimed at him. Fortunately, Luffy wasn't that dense, and soon he, Zoro and Sanji were in a brawl with the scorpion. Ace probably could've handled it more efficiently, like last time, but he seemed content to let them have their fun.

Ignoring the noise, as the Monster Trio could handle it, Nami pleaded with Vivi, "Tell me more about what happened!"

"Yes," Vivi said, getting back in the frame of mind. "Our leader, Kohza, was a very strong-hearted boy. But I was worried for that heart once... Kohza and the rest Sand-Sand Clan fought the bandits off long enough for me to escape into the ruins we used to play in. I was so terrified as I hid behind the broken walls. Scared for myself, and for my friends. Those bandits weren't the sort to go easy just because they were children. In the end, the only thing standing between me and an armed bandit... was Kohza. And even though he was terrified, he still fought him off, even after being stabbed in the face. He won... but there were two more bandits to worry about.

Vivi grew silent, and Abel saw the tension in her back. The rest of the story must've been even more unpleasant than the beginning. "Well?" Nami eventually asked, voice barely above a whisper. "What happened?"

"My father and Igaram came to the rescue. They'd taken to following me, to ensure my safety. I don't think I've ever been so happy at being followed. Fortunately, no one was badly injured. Even Kohza was only left with a scar. I was so happy, yet angry with him at the same time. He was so reckless..."

"Bit hypocritical in hindsight," Abel mused.

And though Nami hushed her, Vivi just laughed. "Eventually, Kohza, his family and all the villagers from his town, were given a directive from my father: to build a settlement at the Yuba oasis. The oasis sits at the crossroads of many trade routes, so having a proper town would make travel between oasis easier."

"So Kohza went with his father to found Yuba," Nami repeated, letting the story sink in. "Does this have something to do with the rebel army?"

"Yes. It does," Vivi answered, bringing Eyelash to a halt. "We're going to the city of Yuba, where the rebel army is stationed. And the name of the rebel army's leader... is Kohza."

Abel raised a brow, not having expected that twist. Though, if Kohza was anything like in Vivi's story, it made sense that he wouldn't stand by while the king "destroyed" his home. And he sounded charismatic enough to start an uprising.

"You don't mean-!" Nami gasped.

Vivi nodded before looking back. "The boy I just told you about."

Nami couldn't believe it. The same boy who'd fought to death for Vivi as a child... and now they were essentially enemies?

Breaking the tension like a sledgehammer, Sanji bounded up to the camel, carrying a massive set of pincers with him. "Nami-san! Abel-dono! I managed to save you the best part!" Sanji beamed at the women from between the claws.

While Nami and Vivi screamed, Abel just stared. Glancing back, she saw that, in the time it took for Vivi to finish her story, the guys had not only killed the giant scorpion, but cook and eat it like it was just a lobster or crawfish. Aside from the claw Sanji carried and the few remaining bits the guys ate, nothing was left but its exoskeleton. Compelled by the odd sight, Abel jumped down from Eyelash's back. The claw was almost as big as she was, and cooked to a bright red just like a lobster. She suspected that was Ace's doing.

"This desert shrimp is yummy!" Luffy managed, eating one of its legs.

"It's not a shrimp!" Usopp berated while stuffing his face as well. "It's a scorpion!"

With a satisfied huff, Luffy collapsed onto his stomach. "I can't eat any more..."

There's a phrase I never thought I'd hear, Abel thought.

"YOU GUYS ARE A BUNCH OF INCONSIDERATE JERKS!" Nami screamed, livid for some reason. Maybe at their unintentional callousness to Vivi's story? "Let's go, Eyelash!" Without wasting another breath, the two girls urged the camel on, leaving even Abel confused as to why they were so angry.

"What's she so mad about?" Luffy asked.

"Beats me," Usopp, Zoro and Chopper all replied.

Giving a lopsided smile, Abel said with a sarcastic snort, "Women..."

---

The crew decided to camp for the night along a ridge of tall, pillar-like rocks. And even though they didn't have any camping equipment, everyone remained in a fairly positive mood thanks to Vivi informing them that this would be their last night of sleeping outdoors. According to her, by tomorrow night they'd arrive in Yuba. In civilization. Just knowing that their journey was almost over kept everyone's spirits high.

As the others starting building a fire, Vivi and Nami started to dismount from Eyelash. The two women blinked in surprise as an unexpected hand offered to help them down. Returning Ace's easy smile, they both took Ace's proffered hands, sliding from Eyelash's back. "I still say there's no way you're related to Luffy," Nami commented. Ace just smiled sheepishly as the girls meandered away.

His politeness didn't go unnoticed, however. Before Ace could react, Sanji was on him. "What are you trying to pull with Nami-san and Vivi-chan!?" he demanded suspiciously.

"I'm not trying to pull anything," Ace protested, holding his hands up disarmingly. "I was just being polite."

Sanji glowered at the fire-user, not looking convinced. "I'm on to you..." he warned.

Ace looked exasperated. "I swear, I'm not trying to do anything. I'm not interested in them in that way." He tried not to let Sanji's attitude get to him, as the guy just seemed to be overprotective when it came to his female crewmates. But it seemed he couldn't win either way. Sanji yelled for them not treating the ladies like, well, ladies, but got jealous if they did, as if people couldn't be polite just to be polite.

"So they're not good enough for you!?"

"Nothing of the sort," Ace tried to reason, although he suspected when it came to the women, nothing he ever said would be right by Sanji. "They're cute and all. I just prefer older women."

Sanji looked ready to argue further, but his thoughts derailed when he heard Usopp shouting, "Luffy! Don't eat that raw!" The only thing capable of distracting Sanji from women was food in peril. In a flash, the blond was off defending their supplies from the gluttonous captain.

Ace sighed, rubbing the back of his head. Mentally, he thanked his brother for the distraction. "Don't pay the cook any attention." Ace turned to face Zoro as the swordsman watched the scene from his perch on the rocks. "He's just jealous of what he thinks you and Abel did together when you were gone."

"Then there's nothing to be jealous about," Ace retorted. "Like Abel said, nothing happened." Looking in the hunter's direction, trying to field Luffy's attention so Sanji didn't try to murder him again, he added quietly, "... unfortunately."

Zoro tensed as Ace wandered off, closer to the chaos around the fire. Unfortunately? What did that mean? Zoro's eyes narrowed as they followed Ace's movements. Does that mean he wished something did happen? Or did he try something and Abel shot him down? Zoro suddenly found himself feeling... he didn't know. Uneasy? For some reason the thought of Ace having his eyes set on Abel didn't sit well with him.

Throughout the evening, Zoro just couldn't get the thought out of his head. It nagged at him worse than the cook and witch combined. It kept running through his mind. It was almost exhausting. He kept a close eye on the two during supper and as the crew started winding down before bed. Maybe it was because he was actually looking for them now, but Zoro started to notice little things. Like how Ace was never too far from Abel. How she seemed to be the only one in the crew he attempted to draw into conversation. Abel seemed relatively at ease around the man, but that could be said about Abel in generally. He didn't notice her interacting with him any differently than she did with the others. Though, she did seem to smile a lot around him... Had these things always been there, and Zoro was just now noticing them now that he was actually looking? Or was Ace's statement coloring his perception?

What's more, Zoro wasn't even sure why this bothered him so much. When he thought about the others getting involved in a romantic or sexual relationship, he didn't feel anything. Except maybe disturbed, as it was the equivalent of thinking of a sibling having sex. Personally, he didn't care what or who the others did, so long as it didn't endanger the crew or prevent them from doing their jobs. But when he thought about Abel and Ace, Zoro felt this weight in the pit of his chest. A tightness that he couldn't quite place. All he knew was that he didn't like it, but he didn't know why.

Zoro tried to tell himself it was out of an irrational fear that Ace would persuade Abel away from the crew, but he knew how stupid that idea was the moment it entered his thoughts. Abel wasn't going anywhere. She'd left her home and family to join Luffy. She wouldn't be tempted away now, after everything they'd been through.

Eventually, as the crew settled in to sleep, Zoro had to deal with the fact that he didn't know why he felt the way he did, only that it wasn't good. But given that they were almost to Yuba, whatever the reason was, Zoro wouldn't have to deal with it much longer.

Despite what others might think, Zoro could be a light sleeper if the situation called for it. He could tune out the loudest snores and sleep in the most uncomfortable places, but rarely was he completely off guard. Perhaps that's why, way before dawn, Zoro found himself slowly drifting awake. For a long while he simply sat there, back against the rocks, letting his mind drift aimlessly as the silence of the desert surrounded him. Even the snores of his crewmates had lessened. It was a rare moment of peace among the Straw Hat Pirates.

Eventually, however, Zoro became aware that he wasn't the only one awake. He could hear someone near the fire. It was only the barest of shifting in the sand, but in the otherwise still of night, it was as loud as a scream. Slowly, Zoro's eyes drifted open. It didn't surprise him too much to discover Abel by the fire, slowly stoking it back from the dull embers it had become during the night. With the sharp chill, he understood why she did this. But without venturing for more material to start the fire, Abel's efforts were pretty useless. She didn't appear motivated enough by the cold to do more than try to relight the ashes.

Suddenly, the fire burst into life, startling both Abel and Zoro. Abel nearly fell backwards, barely holding in a squeak. A ruefully chuckle came from the darkness. "Sorry."

Looking to the approaching figure, Abel drawled, "A little warning wouldn't go amiss." But otherwise seemed as nonplussed as ever.

Zoro, on the other hand, felt his body tense as Ace drew near. His hands unconsciously gripped his swords. He felt torn between making his presence known and wanting to observe their interactions unguarded.

Abel kept her eyes on the fire as Ace sat down beside her, not quite arm's length away. At first, the two were content to sit in silence. "Sunshine says we'll be at Yuba tomorrow," Abel began, breaking the silence, keeping her voice soft so as to not wake the others. "What will you do if you discover Blackbeard isn't in Alabasta anymore? Assuming this bounty hunter did capture him, he's either dead or in Marine custody."

"Like I said before, he's my responsibility," Ace said, voice deeper than usual in his effort to stay quiet. "I won't be able to face my crew again until he's received due judgment by my own hands. Though..." Ace ruffled his hair, no longer hidden under his hat. "If he's already dead, then I guess there's nothing I can do about it." He gave Abel a sidelong glance. "Unless you know a way to raise the dead so I can kill him again."

Zoro heard Abel scoff. "Even if I knew how, I would not. It would go against my fundamental beliefs to manipulate the restful dead."

"Then I guess either way, I'll be leaving soon," Ace concluded.

"Then today may be the last time you see your brother for a long while," Abel stated. "You should enjoy it while you can." Zoro didn't miss the wistful tone in Abel's voice. No doubt she was thinking of her own family. Absently, Zoro wondered if they'd ever run into Caine, and what a twin of Abel would be like.

Ace made a sound of agreement. Shifting, he murmured, "I'd better make the most of my time, then..." In both a subtle yet bold move, Ace tentatively reached his hand out to Abel's, placing it over her hand as it rested on the sand. Abel glanced down at the hand, then up at Ace. And even Zoro wasn't thick enough not to understand the significance of that gesture. His body grew rigid. He watched intently, even while feeling guilty about seeing something intended to be between two people.

Smiling, but looking more serious than usual, Ace whispered, "If this is my last chance, I might as well be bold." His thumb caressed the back of Abel's hand. The man stared at Abel with such unveiled fondness that it took Zoro aback. He was so accustomed to only having Sanji's over-the-top antics as a visual representation of attraction, yet whatever Ace did feel for their hunter, it was genuine. And probably more real than Sanji's. And because of that, Zoro felt that if Abel did decide to take Ace up on whatever he was offering, he couldn't be angry with the older man, however begrudging that concession was.

Silence engulfed the duo for a moment, until slowly Abel brought her free hand up to Ace's face. Her fingertips barely brushed against his cheek, and her thumb rested just below his lips. Zoro swallowed, feeling like a chunk of lead had fallen in his stomach. "You're very sweet," Abel said softly, genuinely. "And while I do find you tempting, I could never be intimate with a man I couldn't give my heart to. And sadly, that's the one part of me that is no longer in my possession to give." Abel gave an apologetic smile, but kept her hand resting against Ace's face.

Ace chuckled humorlessly. "So someone beat me to the punch, eh? I suspected as much." Ace gave Abel a knowing smile. "I hope he at least realizes the value of the gift he's been given."

Abel's smile stretched. "Him?" she asked, removing her hand from Ace. "He's utterly clueless." The two gave a secretive laugh, easing away from each other, the moment shattered like a window in a bar brawl.

Unwilling to be witness to the ensuing awkwardness, Zoro closed his eyes, willing himself back to sleep. And while he probably felt happier than he should be that Abel had turned Ace down, he couldn't help wondering who this other man was that Abel claimed unknowingly held her heart.

---

The crew was up bright and early the next morning. With Yuba so close, they didn't want to dally. Sanji prepared a light but sustaining breakfast of rice and vegetables, with a side of meat for their carnivorous captain. Unfortunately, not everyone understood the need for haste. "This is all the breakfast we get!?" Usopp complained, glaring at his already empty plate.

Like a noisy child, Luffy began banging on his plate with his spoon while chanting, "Seconds! Seconds!"

Naturally, all the duo got for their trouble was a swift kick in the face. That quickly ended their commotion. Looking sternly at Luffy, with his foot still in his face, Sanji chided, "Don't be greedy. You've had enough calories." But Luffy must've disagreed, because even while still in his stunned posture, one of his hands stretched out to steal a chunk of meat off Zoro's plate. It was like a reflex.

This led to a whole new round of arguments, with Zoro yelling at Luffy for stealing food, but also between Sanji and Usopp. Abel watched the scene from the relative safety of the rocks, seated beside Vivi and Nami. Abel watched with a vague expression of amusement. Fighting was a fairly normal occurrence over breakfast for the Straw Hats. At least one argument broke out every morning over the breakfast table, usually as a result of Luffy being greedy. Abel had just grown used to it. It was routine, and therefore (at least to Abel), comforting. She took it as a sign that all was well with the crew. Let's face it; if the pirates could argue over something so trivial, things couldn't be all bad.

Not everyone shared this optimistic attitude, however. "Why does this happen at every meal?" Vivi wondered.

"Don't make eye contact," Nami suggested, resolutely eating her meal with her eyes closed. Yet she still looked annoyed.

Grinning lazily, Abel replied, "Ignore them and they'll go away?"

Gazing off to the side, Vivi said, "Ace-san is so calm and orderly. He cleans his fork and plate after each meal."

The other two women looked towards the Whitebeard pirate. As Vivi said, the man sat off by himself, slightly higher than the rest, quietly cleaning up his mess without a fuss. "Makes me think there's hope for his gender after all," Nami commented.

Abel watched wordlessly as Ace put his cleaned dishes aside and returned to staring out at the horizon with a distant expression on his face. Ever since their conversation, he'd been keeping his distance. Not that Abel didn't understand. Even if it was just a passing fancy, no one liked being rejected.

Still, Abel could admit she felt a little bit guilty for turning the man down. But she would've felt even guiltier if she'd agreed. It might sound absurd to say she would've felt like she was cheating when she wasn't in a relationship, but that's how she felt. She would've felt like she was being unfaithful to Zoro. Abel did not believe it was possible to love two people at the same time simply because real love was all-consuming. A person may "like" more than one person at a time, even be attracted to them, but they'd still feel more strongly toward one or the other. And if Abel couldn't give everything to a man, then she couldn't be intimate. And she didn't think it was right to string Ace along. So while it hurt, she had to turn him down.

Besides, what sort of future could they have had, being on opposing crews? Not to mention dating my captain's brother is just asking for complications.

"Okay! Let's get going!"

Abel snapped from her musings. She'd been so deep in thought she hadn't noticed when Nami stood up. The redhead poured sand on the campfire (not really necessary as there wasn't much to catch on fire around here, but it was good discipline nonetheless). Dusting her hands off, she continued, "Today-" But her words fell on deaf ears and Luffy and Zoro kept fighting. Why was Zoro even still fighting? Luffy had eaten the stolen food. Did he really want it back now?

The vein in Nami's forehead throbbed. "Knock it off!" Like a fury, Nami descended upon the two, punching them in the head, swiftly ending the argument. As the two sat nursing their wounds, Nami snapped, "Now hurry and clean up! We're leaving for Yuba!"

Missing the conversation completely, Luffy suddenly shouted, "W-wow! Awesome!" while staring at something behind Nami. Jumping to his feet, he declared, "This meat can talk!"

Nami looked at Luffy strangely. "What? What are you talking about?"

"The meat! The meat's running away!" Before they could question Luffy's random delusion, he jumped onto the rocks and began running. All the while shouting, "Wait, meat!"

Because the last time Luffy ran off they lost all their supplies and nearly got eaten by giant lizards, Abel decided to give chase. Jumping from rock to rock, she tailed after the boy. Luffy had a good head start, but thanks to his screaming he was pretty easy to follow. It was as she leapt along the rocks that Abel noticed just what their captain was after. It was, indeed, a piece of floating meat. For a brief second, Abel wondered if this was another hallucination, and if Sanji had accidentally added something to their foods, like cactus water. But as she got a bit closer, Abel realized that the meat wasn't so much floating as it was being pulled. She could just barely make out a wooden pole bobbing frantically between the rocks. And wherever the pole went, the meat followed.

The image of a fishing pole and lure came to mind, and Abel had to wonder if this was some cartoonish trap to lure Luffy away. Like when someone attached string to money and lured a greedy character into some disaster. It would certainly be a clever way to lure Luffy around. I'll have to remember that myself, she thought.

Both the meat lure and Luffy disappeared on the far side of the rocks as they both took to ground. "Get back here, meat!" Luffy shouted as he left Abel's view. "Which way'd it go!? This way!?"

Pausing atop a rock, Abel saw Luffy running back towards the camp, near some very tall stones, still in pursuit of the meat. But she didn't see the lure. Abel doubted whoever was behind it would be out in the open like that. They must've ducked out of sight. Were they actually trying to lose Luffy?

"We did it, big brother!" a tiny voice whispered nearby.

Instinctively, Abel crouched low. The voice sounded like a small child, but one could never be too careful. Besides, if it was a child, Abel was curious as to why they were out in the middle of nowhere. Abel quietly jumped along the rocks, heading in the direction she heard the voice. It sounded near the edge of the rocks, which made sense as that was where Luffy lost sight of the meat. They must be hiding behind the rocks.

"Is it good, Chip?" another voice asked, just ahead of Abel. He sounded older than the first voice, now identified as Chip, but still a child. "It's our first meal in ten days. Eat slowly."

So they're merely food thieves? Abel thought. Well, if they were children, then that made more sense than them trying to lure pirates away.

"I can't believe we got meat!" Chip gushed. "Here, big brother!"

Silently, Abel stalked to the next stone, and finally caught a glimpse of the two boys. Neither looked like they could be older than ten, dressed in dusty, tattered clothes. Both looked a bit skinner than was healthy. That was probably why neither noticed her hovering just above, too focused on the bit of meat they'd stolen from the pirates.

The older boy took the meat from his brother. Abel idly thought they must've cared greatly about each other if they were passing a single scrap a meat around after a single bite. She could hear the boy's stomach rumble. "Yeah, we never got even a scrap of meat in the Badlands!"

"Isn't living a place called 'the Badlands' just asking for trouble?" Abel questioned, making her presence known. But you'd think she'd electrocuted them, with the way they jumped. Smiling down at the boys, Abel continued thoughtlessly, "Why not set up house in 'Happy Rainbow Land' or something?"

Abel felt mildly insulted at the way the boys scurried away from her, acting like they wanted to melt into the rock behind them. Was she really that threatening just sitting there? Abel made a quick glance to confirm that her weapons weren't visible. Yet they still trembled in fear of her. The older boy threw his hand out to shield Chip. It actually made Abel smile to see him being such a good big brother. Now facing them, the resemblance between the two was obvious. They both had shaggy brown hair, though the older's was slightly darker, the same blue eyes, same facial features, and even freckles.

"Who're you!?" the older demanded, trying to sound threatening even whilst he trembled.

"You can't have the food back!" Chip quickly added, holding to his brother even as he hid behind him.

Abel smiled calmly at the two. They reminded her of lost, scruffy puppies. Hearing the others approaching from behind, Abel glanced over her shoulder. Or at least she started to, until she heard the distinct sound of a gun being pulled on her. Glancing back at the boys, Abel found herself staring down the barrel of an old flintlock pistol. The older boy's hands shook as he pointed it at her, arms stretched out so tensely that if he did actually pull the trigger the kickback would break them. "M-Move and you're dead!" he threatened, voice shaking.

Abel turned back around, giving the boys her undivided attention, which only served to make them more nervous. It was clear to Abel the boy didn't want to shoot her, but fear made people do stupid things. And a person didn't have to be good with a gun to kill someone with it. Aiming a gun was pretty easy. If you can point at someone, you can shoot them.

"Dip!" Chip gasped. "Have you ever shot a gun before!? Will it really shoot bullets!?" Given the age of the gun, it was a valid question.

Shakingly, the older brother, Dip, said, "H-Hell if I know! H-Hold on! I'm gonna-!" His finger shook like jello in a tumble dryer as he squeezed the trigger. Hell, it surprised Abel the pistol didn't rattle apart.

But just before the boy squeezed the trigger, Chip shouted, "No!" and lunged into his brother's side, knocking his aim off just as the gun fired.

Thanks to that, the shot went wide, just barely missing Abel's face. The bullet kissed her left cheek, leaving a red mark from the heat of the bullet leaving the chamber, but otherwise left her unharmed. Dip looked horrified at his actions, and could only sit there, gawking at Abel as she woman maintained her anchoring calm.

Deliberately, Abel slid down from the rock. The boys flinched, obviously fearing Abel was going to take retribution on them now. And in all fairness, it would've been within her right. They had attempted to kill her. The brothers shivered as she reached a hand towards them and flinched when she took the gun from Dip's hand. But all she did was give a gentle tug, and Dip released his grip on the weapon without a fuss. Holding the gun so it pointed at the ground (flintlocks only carried one bullet before needing to be reloaded but it was a good habit to have) she drawled, "Aren't there other, less dangerous toys for you to play with?" The boys gaped back.

By this point, the others had finally reached them. Talk about taking their sweet ass time. "Who're they?" Usopp asked, noticing the trembling boys.

Before Abel could reply, Dip ran up to them. Abel blinked down at the boy, who stared up at them with an expression a mix of eagerness and apprehension. "I have a favor to ask!" he nearly shouted at Abel. He sounded like he was yelling to keep from losing his nerve. "There's someone I want you go find and catch! I can give you a reward! If you catch him for me, I'll pay you a million berries!"

"A million berries!?" Nami repeated, for once not sounding money-hungry. Probably because she knew this kid didn't have that kind of change on him.

Dip frowned, looking at his feet. "I can't pay right away," he admitted. His head snapped up sharply, his eyes determined. "But I will pay it when I grow up! I promise!" When Abel didn't respond one way or another (because really, what was she supposed to say?) Dip pulled something out of his pocket. A scrap of paper. "Please!" he pleaded, holding the paper out. "Find this man!"

Curious, Abel took the scrap of paper, which turned out to be a photo of a man. He looked like a farmer, based on the pitchfork and bales of hay behind him. The man in the photo had a wide, cocky grin. He had scruffy brown hair, complete with an equally scruffy beard and mustache, and wore sunglasses. Abel also noticed the tattoo on his forehead. Two hearts with an arrow through them. It looked like the hearts had writing in them, but Abel couldn't make out such small details from the old photo. The photo itself, Abel noted, showed clear signs of being torn from a larger photo. Two edges were jagged and uneven.

"My brother and I've followed him out here from the Badlands," Dip explained. Lowering the photo to watch the boys, Abel noticed Chip looked very sad, and Dip looked... worried?

"So, who is he?" Usopp asked.

"Scorpion. A bounty hunter."

"Bounty hunter?" Zoro repeated in disbelief.

"What possible reason would you kids have for chasing a bounty hunter?" Nami rightfully asked. The boys exchanged a look, hesitant to answer the question.

"I have business with him, as well." Abel flinched with Ace's voice right in her ear. Glancing out of the corner of her eye, she found the man staring at the photo intently, hovering over her shoulder. Keeping his eyes on the photo, Ace explained, "A man in Yuba defeated Blackbeard. His name was Scorpion. My whole purpose for traveling to Yuba is to meet this man."

"That guy defeated Blackbeard!?" the other gasped in disbelief.

"No way!" Usopp protested. "I don't believe it!" This guy did not look the type.

Handing the photo over to Ace, Abel focused her attention on the two kids. What purpose would two children have to locate a bounty hunter? And a specific one for that matter. Do they wish to hire him? No... if that were the case they wouldn't be hiring us to find him- they'd simply hire us. So there must be something specifically about this Scorpion, beyond his occupation, of interest to them. Whatever it is, it must be vitally important for them to offer that sum, not to mention venturing from home alone. The two boys looked uncomfortable with the scrutiny, but also sad. Abel recognized the longing in their eyes. They were far from home, and wanted nothing more than to finish their "business" and return. They weren't here because they wanted to be.

Focusing on the conversation again, Abel tuned in just in time to hear Usopp ask, "Did this Scorpion guy really beat Blackbeard, Ace?"

"I'm not sure," Ace admitted. "The only way to find out is to meet him."

"A-Ace?" Chip repeated, both brothers perking up. They stared up at Ace with wide eyes. "You don't mean the real..."

Dip looked at his brother. "Fire Fist Ace!?" Aww... were they fans?

Ace didn't respond. Instead, he stared ahead very intently. Abel glanced in the direction he stared, wondering what he was so intent on, but didn't see anything out of the ordinary. But he must've thought something was there, because he stood up, towering over everyone. "What is it, Ace?" Usopp asked.

His eyes narrowed in concentration. "There's two," he murmured, thinking aloud. "And maybe a bird."

To add to the confusion, Chopper began sniffing the air. "What is it?" Nami asked, watching his ears twitch.

"They're coming," Chopper said cryptically.

Before anyone else could question the strangeness, the sound of something headed their way. Something running in the sand. Abel saw sand being thrown up on the far side of the tall dune before them. Did Hot Pants sense it before Doc? Abel wondered. Given her experience, it wasn't out of the question.

Just what came over the dune was a surprise, to say the least. A man riding an ostrich. On odd sight indeed, even in such a strange land. The man was definitely Scorpion. Abel couldn't help thinking he looked even more like a farmer now than in the picture, with his cut-off overalls and red flannel shirt. The black helmet with a red scorpion painted on the front did little to add an edge to his visage. Heck, the ostrich looked like more of a bad-ass than he did, laden with weapons as he was. And since when do ostriches live in the desert?

Bringing the ostrich to a halt, Scorpion proudly proclaimed, "I've come for you, Fire Fist Ace!" He sat tall, puffing his chest out as he stared down at the pirates. "I'm Scorpion! A true, indomitable hero! I've traveled a great distance to challenge you! Let's fight, fair and square!" It wasn't lost on Abel how the two boys ducked to hide behind some rocks. Were they afraid of this man? She thought they'd be happier to see him, if this meeting was the entire reason for them leaving home.

"That's Scorpion?" Vivi asked in mild disbelief.

A familiar head popped out from behind Scorpion. "Oh, goodie! You're all here!"

"L-Luffy!" most of the crew gasped. Truth be told, Abel would've been surprised if Luffy didn't randomly get in the middle of... whatever was going on here.

"Why are you riding with the Scorpion!?" Sanji demanded to know. "He's the enemy!"

Ace, for his part, just quietly stared the man down. He actually looked amused. Then again, with his powers, not much was a threat for him. Scorpion, on the other hand, was starting to sweat. Perhaps he realized he'd bitten off more than he could chew? "What's wrong, old man?" Luffy asked, noticing his frozen expression.

The question snapped Scorpion out of his daze. "Eh!? N-no, uh..." He suddenly started laughing in clearly false bravado. Anyone who spoke with that much gusto was either obnoxious or dramatizing, and Abel suspected it was the latter in this case. "So sorry! Your luck's run out! All those heroic songs and tales your supporters flatter you with ends today!"

"Don't be stupid," Dip whimpered. "He's the real one."

"This is so exciting!" Luffy gushed, flailing around on the back of the ostrich like this was a staged wrestling match. "Ace! This is a serious fight, so don't pull any punches!"

"I wasn't planning to!" Ace shouted back, offended his brother would even suggest that. "But before we fight, there's something in wanna know. Move aside, Luffy."

Before Ace could asked his question, probably about Blackbeard, Scorpion struck, probably before he lost his nerve. "Here I come, Fire Fist Ace!" With a snap of his heels, the ostrich charged forward. Luffy, for once having some sense, jumped off the back to happily watch the ensuing fight.

As Ace ran to meet the man in the open space beyond the rocks, Scorpion pulled out a bazooka of sorts and attached what looked to Abel like a spool of iron to the front. Firing his weapon, Scorpion shot a large metal net at Ace. Although she ought to be more concerned, Abel couldn't help feeling a bit impressed with the set-up. Scorpion was highly outclassed, and Abel suspected he knew that, but was trying to make up for it with ingenuity.

Unfortunately, he hadn't taken Ace's explosive powers into account. Ace's body erupted in flames, the force throwing the net right back at Scorpion. Not only did he end up caught in his own trap, but Ace's powers had heated the metal, resulting in the man being scalded as well. Talk about adding insult to injury. Scorpion fell off the ostrich, rolling in pain, but this only caused him to roll into the burning metal even more. The ostrich attempted to help his master, kicking up sand on him. While it might look like a snub, it actually did help cool the metal down enough for Scorpion to pull it off.

"H-He sent that metal net flying back!" Usopp gasped, still in awe of Ace's powers.

With his clothes smoking, Scorpion glowered at Ace from behind his shades. He laughed boisterously, renewing his spirit. "It wouldn't be any fun if it were that easy to stop Fire Fist Ace!" he laughed.

Ace grinned slightly. "Yeah? You seem to have some skills yourself."

"I'm glad you approve, 'cause this fight isn't over!" Scorpion agreed, standing. "Popo! Compressed Extinguisher Gun!" The ostrich, Popo, ran over and placed a large yellow canister down at Scorpion's feet before running off. Abel watched curiously as the man pulled out some pipes, hoisted the canister on his back like a pack, pulled a long plastic tube from it and hooked everything together. He ended up with a gun of sorts, fueled by whatever the canister housed. "This is a compressed air gun filled with extinguisher foam!" Scorpion warned.

"It's what!?" Zoro asked, confused.

"I believe it's the equivalent of a high-powered fire extinguisher," Abel summarized, impressed with the man's forethought. "Though it's probably ill-advised to go around warning your opponent what your next plan is."

"Uh... does it work?" Sanji asked.

"Don't be fooled by the foam!" Scorpion boasted. "This bad boy packs enough punch to blow a hole clean through ya!" He fired the extinguisher, and Ace jumped out of the way. Good thing, too, as the compressed foam knocked a hole through the solid rock behind him. Scorpion hadn't just been boasting this time. Imagine what power like that would do to soft tissue.

Yes, I suppose destroying whatever happened to be burning is one way to end a fire, Abel thought sarcastically. Still, she couldn't deny the brilliance of such a weapon, especially against someone with fire-based powers. Assuming a direct hit didn't outright kill Ace, the foam would nullify his powers. Devil Fruit or not, the elements still obeyed the laws of nature.

Landing behind Scorpion, Ace charged at the man. Scorpion fired several more times, but Ace avoided each. He came in close, and before Scorpion could avoid it, punched the man square in the guts. The bounty hunter managed to stagger a few steps before collapsing in a convenient pit. Not a surprising outcome. "It was a nice try, but you never had a chance," Usopp said dismissively.

Staring down at the bounty hunter, with zero animosity, Ace stated, "I suspected as much. You lied about beating Blackbeard, didn't you? You figured using his name would draw me out in the open. Am I right?"

Abel couldn't see the man, but she heard him give a choking laugh. "That's right," Scorpion admitted, voice strained. "A clever deceit." She heard his shuffling around in the sand, probably sitting up. At least until he started coughing again. Abel doubted Ace had used all his strength, but any blow to the stomach was shocking.

"I'd say that first round was a draw," Scorpion continued, even through the pain. "Now it's time to get serious!"

"No more!" Dip suddenly shouted, coming out of hiding. Ignoring everyone else, he yelled vehemently, "That's enough, Dad!"

The crew gasped at this revelation. "Dad?" Luffy repeated.

Ah, so that explains it, Abel thought. The saddened expressions... They weren't hunting a bounty hunter. They were hunting their dad.

From the pit, Scorpion coughed out a, "Dad!?"

Like any child would upon seeing their parent injured, Chip and Dip ran to him. "Stop this!" Dip pleaded, running past Ace without a second thought and sliding down the embankment.

"D-Dip! Chip!"

"Dad!" both boys exclaimed tearfully, running to their father's side.

"Stop!" Dip again pleaded. "You don't stand a chance against Fire Fist Ace!"

Moving to where she could get a better view, Abel saw Scorpion place a gentle hand on Dip's head. "W-What are you two doing here!?" he asked, ignoring Dip's plea. "When did you leave the Badlands!?"

"The world's greatest battle is too much for you!" Dip tried to reason. "We came to get you, Dad!"

Scorpion laughed, slightly less over-the-top than before. "Don't be silly," he gently brushed off. "I'm the world's greatest bounty hunter. I've fought epic battles with everyone from Double Barrel Danny to Hellbattler Luther and they all begged for their lives!"

"Or so you plan, right?" Chip smartly interrupted.

Scorpion looked surprised at his son's statement, but then laughed, this time self-defacing. "You found me out, huh?" He gave a rueful smile. "That's right. I'm a terrible liar and a terrible father. But there is one thing that's true!" Scorpion looked earnestly at his sons. "Even the most insignificant person can still challenge the world's greatest hero if he tries hard enough! That's what I wanted! I wanted to show you two a grand dream!" Struggling to stand, Scorpion reached a shaking hand to his bazooka. Ignoring the fearful eyes of his sons, he continued, "Men need dreams burning inside their hearts! Even if it means struggling every day, never give up! Stand tall!" He walked around his sons. Panting, but still smiling, Scorpion raised his bazooka at Ace. "Live every day with a laugh! As long as you keep challenging the impossible, life will be paradise!"

Now, Abel had a high tolerance for stupidity, but there was only so much she was willing to swallow without saying something. Hence why, about halfway through his schpeal, Abel had steadily made her way to the man. By the time Scorpion finished his little speech, Abel was right in front of him. The man blinked at her from behind the scope. Abel stared blankly at the man for a long moment before raising her hand up and smacking him across his exposed cheek. The slap echoed through the little canyon, and left a nice red mark on Scorpion's face.

"Abel!?" Usopp gasped, him and all the others surprised by the random outburst. Strange though she may be, Abel wasn't the sort who randomly went around smacking people. Even Scorpion looked too surprised to be angry.

Letting out a deep breath, Abel began, "I'm sure that would've been a moving speech had it not come from a person who left their children to fend for themselves in a place called the Badlands!" By the end of that statement she wasn't quite yelling, but she'd raised her voice. More stunned silence followed. Abel huffed, crossing her arms and giving the bounty hunter a stern, disapproving stare. "Dreams are all well and good, but dreams don't feed hungry bellies, or offer comfort when your sad, or teach you right from wrong. That's what parents are for. Your life no longer belongs to you alone... it belongs to them." She nodded at the two boys watching on with big, innocent eyes. "They should be more important to you than anything. Anything else goes against nature. Don't be so focused on aspirations that you miss what you already have. Besides..." In a gentler but no less serious tone, she said, "Your sons tailed you for ten days without food and water, and were willing to spend their entire adult lives working to pay the debt of bringing you home. Whether they realize it or not, they've already learned the lesson you were trying to impart."

This was beginning to become a pet peeve for Abel. Running around, sowing wild oats was meant for when people were young. If you wanted to start a family, you settled down. Children needed stability. Abel didn't think a person's life ended once they had a child. It was just another season in life. Put away the crazy goals for a bit, at least until they no longer needed to be reared. Anything else was just selfish. Abel remembered feeling the same way when Usopp told her about Yasopp leaving his family behind to hunt treasure - certainly not a worthwhile pursuit to abandon a child for. Perhaps she felt this was because, on some level, Abel resented her family. Not because she hadn't been raised by her biological parents. No, she had parents, in the same way the rest of the crew had "parents." But some small part of Abel felt angry that the Bastion family, as a whole, for letting the monster hunting tradition die out. Maybe if they hadn't, Abel's parents would've known how to defend themselves from... Maybe they wouldn't have died.

But speculation is a poor man's game. Things happened the way they happened, and there wasn't any other way they could have happened. No sense getting angry when there was nothing to do with that anger. Except perhaps slap some sense into a man who needed it.

Scorpion just gaped at Abel in wonder. It had been a long time since he'd been stared down by an angry woman. Not since the boys' mother died. He'd almost forgotten how terrifying it could be. He felt culled. Like someone had just dumped a bucket of ice water on his head.

Before Scorpion could even begin to formulate a proper response, he nearly fell over as two forces collided with the backs of his legs. His head snapped down, and he gasped at his sons clinging desperately to him. "We understand!" Dip shouted, tears pouring from his eyes. "We understand what you're trying to say! We stood up to hardship, too! We'll live every day as hard as we can!" Dip pressed his wet face into his father's overalls, clinging for all his worth. "With you around, we're filled with courage!"

"I'm sorry, Daddy!" Chip cried, nose red. "Don't be mad at us anymore! We'll be good, I promise! I'm sorry I complained! I don't really care about food!" He shut his eyes tight. "I'm happy just being with you, Daddy!"

"We love you, Dad!"

"We love you!"

A person would have to be a heartless stone not to get misty-eyed at the display. And for all his derision that he was a bad father, Scorpion cared about his sons above all else. "Dip! Chip!" he cried, throwing his bazooka down and embracing his sons.

As Abel watched the scene, her thumb subconsciously traced the scar on her hand.

Unfortunately, anyone who knew proper gun etiquette knew better than to throw a gun down. Particularly an armed bazooka. Everyone came to this realization at the same time, as they all gasped and stared fearfully as Scorpion's bazooka bounced down the sand. It landed against a tall rock... barrel up. The jostling trigged the bazooka to fire, shooting some type of purple shell into the sky. It skidded against the side of the rock, activating into a red, spiky star that embedded in the overarching rock above. It went off in an impressive display of fireworks, sending huge chunks of rocks falling straight towards the people inside the pit.

Just reacting, Abel grabbed Chip and Dip by the backs of their shirts with one hand and Scorpion by his overalls with the other and flung them less than gently out of the way of the falling rocks. But this left her with no time to get herself out. Knowing she only had enough time to minimize the damage, Abel knelt, covering her neck and the back of her head with her arms.

"Abel!" Nami screamed.

"Gum-Gum-"

"I got this!" The shadow had nearly engulfed over Abel when she heard Ace shout, "Fire Fist!"

Abel felt the heat of Ace's flames fly over her head, the light piercing through her shut eyes. When she heard the rocks slamming against the pillar behind, Abel lifted her head just enough to see what was happening, yet still kept her hands protectively over her head. Ace threw so much fire at the falling rocks that not only did he knock the rocks away, but he decimated the pillar behind it. The flames were deafening, roaring like a tornado. Abel dared not move until Ace pulled back.

When the smoke settled, Abel slowly stood, taking in the damage around her. She'd been pretty darn lucky, though a lot of that was thanks to Ace's intervention. Several skull-crushingly large boulders had fallen around her, but she wasn't even scuffed. A little smoky, perhaps, but that was better than the alternative. "Abel!" Abel stopped observing the carnage, looking up as Luffy and Ace came up to her. "Are you okay!?" Luffy asked hurriedly.

"Fine. Thanks to Hot Pants." Ace just smiled, and Abel returned the gesture.

"Daddy! Wake up!"

"Dad!"

Hearing the tearful cries, Abel stretched her neck to find the boys. It took her climbing over some rocks, but eventually she found the three in a small gap between the fallen boulders. The two boys were, thankfully, unharmed. And while Abel didn't see any obvious injuries on Scorpion, the man lay flat on his stomach with his helmet obscuring his face. With the brothers looking beseechingly at them, Luffy knelt down and asked irreverently, "Hey, old guy. Did you die?"

"And what would you do if he answered in the affirmative?" Abel murmured.

Scorpion didn't, however. He huffed, "D-Don't be stupid..." The bounty hunter lifted his just enough for his helmet to shift, revealing his face. "As if I could really die and leave my adorable sons behind." He laughed as he sat up, but it came out as a pained cough. "The Scorpion's not going out that easy!"

Scorpion had barely sat up before his sons lunged at him, knocking him back over. Scorpion wrapped his arms around them as his sons cried into his chest, comforting them. They'd had quite the emotional day. "Thank you for coming to get this lowly father of yours..." he whispered to the boys. "Now come on. Let's go home."

"Yeah!"

As the family bonded over tears, Abel silently tapped her male companions on the shoulders and pointed back to where the rest of the crew waited anxiously. They should leave them to their privacy. The D brothers nodded and followed after Abel.

As the group climbed to the top of the pit, the others ran to greet them. "Abel-dono!" Sanji cried. "Are you hurt!?"

"Negative," she replied simply.

Looking past them to the family still hugging, Vivi asked, "I guess they're going home now?"

"Yeah," Ace replied.

"Then I guess... we should get going, too," Nami hesitantly suggested, still watching the family. The scene made them all feel a little homesick.

Rather than moping, the crew returned to their original camp and began gathering their supplies. However, when they prepared to leave, they would be doing so one person short. "Are you really leaving, Ace?" Chopper asked sadly as Ace stood before the gathered crew one last time.

"Yep," Ace replied with a bittersweet smile. "Seeing as Blackbeard isn't in Alabasta, I have no reason to stick around."

"Oh," Luffy said, sounding slightly down. He knew Ace wouldn't be with them long, but that didn't stop him from wishing they had a little more time.

"Where will you go next?" Sanji asked.

"Scorpion says there's a man who saw him in the west," Ace explained before he pulled something out of his pocket. It looked like a folded bit of paper. "Guess I'll check it out." He then tossed the paper to his brother. As Luffy stared at the paper in confusion, Ace grinned and requested, "Always hang on to that."

The crew watched as Luffy unfolded the paper. It was completely blank. Just an unremarkable bit of white paper. "But it's just a scrap of paper," Luffy said, confused as to why Ace wanted him to hang on to it.

"That scrap of paper will reunite us someday," Ace explained cryptically.

"Yeah?" Luffy murmured, unconvinced.

"You don't want it?"

Luffy quickly shook his head. "No, I'll keep it." Luffy might not understand what it was, but if Ace said it was important, and would bring them together again, he'd keep it forever.

Ace smiled widely. "It's natural for a big brother to worry about his bungling kid brother. He might be a bit much for you to handle, but take good care of 'im." Ace bowed to the crew, ever polite.

When he straightened, his expression was more somber. "Luffy," he began. "When we next meet, we'll both be top pirates."

Luffy smiled. "Yeah!"

"The top! You and me!"

Voices in the distance interrupted the farewell, calling out their own goodbyes. The crew turned to find Dip and Chip seated atop Popo, waving at them as Scorpion led them back home. And even at that distance, they saw the grateful smile on the old bounty hunter's face. He wasn't such a bad guy. He just needed someone to smack some sense into him.

As the rest of the crew waved goodbye to the family, movement out of the corner of his eye caught Zoro's attention. He turned, just in time to be privy to Ace swooping in close to Abel. Finding the man inches from her face must've startled Abel, because she took a half step back. But she didn't get far. as Ace gently captured her chin. Tilting his head so that the brim of his hat shielded the upper portions of their faces, Zoro saw Ace place a chaste kiss on Abel's lips. Zoro felt his throat constrict. Part of him wanted to shout, to interrupt this exchange, but he couldn't find the voice to do so. His face felt hot, embarrassed, even though it wasn't his fault if Ace did something like that in public.

After a brief moment, Ace pulled back. He smirked at Abel, winked, and then was gone. Literally. He just ninjaed away.

All of this happened in a matter of seconds, so that by the time the rest of the crew finished saying goodbye to the family, they were surprised to discover Ace gone. "Where's Ace?" Luffy questioned.

As the rest of the crew wondered why he vanished so quickly, and if they'd ever see him again, Zoro watched with narrowed eyes as Abel discretely pulled her scarf up, blocking the view of her flushed cheeks. But she wasn't fast enough for Zoro not to notice the small, bemused smile gracing her lips.

To Be Continued...