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

38. Nightmare

Happy Thanksgiving! Hope you guys had a good holiday. I know I'm going to enjoy having 2 days without needing to leave the house. If any of your family try to force you to go out into the madness of Black Friday shopping, just tell them you have important reading to do. This chapter should keep you busy for a bit.

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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: Language & Violence

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It wasn't really surprisingly that the crew's sudden entrance on the streets drew a crowd. They did just kind of pop out of the water. People probably didn't dare swim in the lake around Crocodile's casino, regardless of whether or not they knew about the bananadiles. Brushing the water from her face, Abel smiled awkwardly at the civilians watching the pirates drag their friends onto the shore. Nothing to see here, she wanted to say, but that would probably only add to the suspicion.

"Goodness!" a random woman exclaimed, gaping at them. "Did you all fall in when the bridge collapsed?"

Abel hadn't the slightest idea what the woman was talking about, but figured it was as good an excuse as any. "Yes," she replied smoothly. "It was all very sudden." Some of the people appeared placated by the answer, but most still hung around. So long as they didn't scream for the Marines, Abel didn't really care.

Speaking of Marines, Abel eyed Smoker as Zoro struggled to haul the larger man out of the lake. The officer lay limply on the ground, struggling to recover from his water-induced weakness. It amused Abel, because Zoro didn't exactly look happy at saving the man. Just before the water rushed in, Abel had heard Luffy scream at Zoro to save the Marine. Funny how, even if Zoro didn't always agree with Luffy, he'd always be the first to follow captain's orders. Whether he realized it or not, the man showed impeccable trust in their captain. As for why Luffy would want to save someone so intent on arresting him, Abel suspected it was partly out of empathy, as drowning was one of the few things that could scare Luffy. It was also probably because Luffy, for the most part, was a compassionate person. A strange, yet endlessly endearing trait for a pirate.

Not everyone was so lenient, however. "It's Smoker!" Sanji gasped before glaring heatedly at Zoro. "Why'd you bring our enemy up, Zoro!?" he demanded.

"Shut up," Zoro panted, still catching his breath. "I didn't want to." Frowning, Zoro stood, stepping away from the Marine as Smoker coughed up water. "He was about to die, that's all."

Sanji looked like he wanted to argue more, but begrudgingly let it slide as they had more pressing issues. "Whatever," he sneered. "We've gotta hurry. We lost too much time already." Turning to the princess, Sanji asked, "Can we still make it, Vivi-chan?"

"I don't know..." Vivi hesitantly admitted, wringing water out of her cloak.

Mouth tightening in thought, Sanji asked, "Nami-san, do you still have that perfume I bought you in Nanohana?"

Looking up from fixing her hair, Nami answered unsurely, "Yeah... why?"

"Put some of it on, please."

Nami tilted her head, looking confused at Sanji's random request. Yeah, the cook was a womanizer, but he typically knew when to draw the line. So, Nami decided to humor him. "Like this?" she asked, spritzing some on her neck. Even at her distance, Abel smelt the potent fragrance.

But whereas the perfume just tickled Abel's nose, it had a far more dramatic effect on Sanji. "I'd fall in love to the ends of the world!" he swooned, almost falling over.

"Seriously, just die," Zoro mumbled.

Zoro didn't have the chance to say more, however, as an aura of ill intent loomed behind him, triggering his combat senses. "Roronoa!" Zoro pulled Kitetsu up just in time to block Smoker's weapon, a large metal jutte, from jamming him in the face.

The two men glared at each other over their respective weapons, neither being able to overpower the other. Eventually, Smoker ground out, "Why did you save my life?" Abel held back a snort at how offended the man sounded. And how were his cigars still lit?

Zoro considered the Marine for a long moment, asking himself why he did save him. Yeah, Luffy begged him to. But was it more than that? In truth, Zoro didn't really feel any animosity towards the officer. He was annoying in his persistence, but Zoro figured he wasn't too bad. He'd never say it out loud, but Luffy had pretty good judgment... about people, at any rate. "All I did was follow my captain's orders," Zoro dully answered, pushing Smoker's jutte away and lowering his own sword. Tellingly, Smoker didn't press the attack. "You don't have to thank me, okay? It was one of his whims. Pay it no mind."

Smoker silently pondered this for a moment before saying, "Then I assume you don't have any complaints if I have to complete my duties as a professional here."

As Sanji fussed about helping Marines, Abel spoke over him. "You could... but I don't think you're going to."

Smoker's gaze drifted to the archer for the first time. His eyes narrowed as he watched her, wondering at the motives behind such a statement. "And why's that?" he asked suspiciously, as if he'd taken the statement as a threat.

Smiling disarmingly, Abel replied, "Because I don't think your heart's in it at the moment." Her smile turned sly. "Because I think you have bigger fish to fry." He'd been so eager before, yet now Smoker was just standing there staring at them. The man hardly seemed indecisive.

A long silence stretched between them as Smoker and Abel locked eyes, one contemplative while the other confident. The rest of the crew just watched tensely, wondering if they should try to run while they had the chance. This silence was unceremoniously broken by sudden yelling. "FULL SPEED AHEAD TO ALUBARANA!"

"WHERE ARE YOU CROCODILE!?"

"Oh, they're awake," Nami stated evenly as Usopp and Luffy bolted into full, screaming consciousness.

It took a second for the duo to realize where they were. But to their credit, their reactions were lightning fast. "Whoa! Smokey!" Luffy exclaimed, already bringing up his fists. "You wanna fight!?"

On the complete opposite end of the spectrum, Usopp shrieked, "Smoker! Let's get outta here, Luffy!"

All the while, Smoker just stared, as if he couldn't understand how these idiot pirates managed to evade him for so long.

Over the ruckus, Abel's ears picked up the thundering sound of many footsteps heading their way. It didn't take a genius to guess who it might be. "Sounds like your posse is en route."

Sighing, Smoker uttered a single word. Yet it sounded like it took every ounce of his strength to get it out. "Go." As if to salve his conscience, he added, "This is the only time I'll let you get away." Raising his head, Smoker gave Luffy a hard stare. "The next time we meet, you're a dead man. Remember that, Straw Hat Luffy."

While the rest of the crew looked stunned, and perhaps a little fidgety with the screams of the Marines nearing them, Abel just smiled. Smoker wasn't so bad. Sure, he could be a pain. But at least unlike most of the Marines they'd faced, he seemed to still possess common sense, and made up his own mind about what to do rather than just thoughtlessly swallowing government mandates. Hell, maybe if more Marines were like him, there wouldn't be so many outlaws.

Not about to waste such an opportunity, the pirates made a break for. "Hurry, the Marines are coming!" Sanji urged, but not without what Abel could only describe as a shit-eating grin. "Which way's Alubarna!?"

"This way!" Vivi guided them, taking the lead. "Straight to the east."

Abel halted when she noticed someone wasn't following. "Did you get lost standing still, Boss?" she asked, noticing that Luffy remained in the same place.

"Huh?" Luffy muttered before looking back at Smoker. Unexpectedly, Luffy beamed at the Marine. "You're not such a bad guy, Smokey!" he announced randomly.

Fuming, Smoker shouted, "Get the hell outta here!" while swatting at the rubber boy with the jutte. Abel laughed as Luffy scampered past her, fleeing from the angry officer. Perhaps next time he wouldn't push someone's kindness. Abel followed close behind, but not without sending a knowing wink at the angry Marine. Just to rub it in a little bit.

As Luffy and Abel caught up with the others, Usopp complained, "Hey! Don't tell me we're supposed to run all the way to Alubarna from here!"

"Where did Eyelash go!?" Nami asked. But even one camel wouldn't be of much use.

"There's a stable here, right!?" Luffy suggested, surprisingly thoughtful. "Let's get some horses!"

It wasn't a bad idea. "But the Marines-" Vivi began.

"Don't worry," Sanji reassured, sounding completely calm and collected even while they ran for their lives. Smirking, he said, "Look up ahead."

Everyone skidded to a stop as Chopper ran up to them... with a few friends. "Hi guys!" he shouted jovially from atop a giant crab, just as the crew reached the edge of town.

"A crab!?" Usopp gasped in disbelief.

"Chopper!" Nami squealed, happy to see their doctor well and unharmed.

Vivi looked gobsmacked at Chopper's unusual ride. "That's a moving crab!" How on earth did Chopper manage to find something so rare?

Mind ever on the wrong topic, Luffy commented, "Looks yummy!"

Brimming with pride, Chopper urged them up with one hoof, the other holding firmly to what looked like reins. "Let's ride!"

Abel raised a brow. "It's a form of transportation?" Of all the strange creatures that could be used for mounts, crabs weren't exactly at the top of her list. She didn't exactly think "speedy carrier" when she watched the small ones scuttle around on the beach. And this particular one, a "moving crab" as Vivi called it, was nearly two stories tall. Didn't speed decrease with size?

The others had concerns as well, but for slightly different reasons. "Wait, doesn't its face look a little... shady?" Nami asked. Indeed, the crab's eyes were narrowed into a leer, and its mouth stretched into a permanent grin thanks to the reins attached to either corner.

"He's one of Eyelash's friends!" Chopper told them as the crab used its claws to lift the crew up like an elevator. Said camel awaited them on top, crooning oddly. "Eyelash was born in this town, so he has lots of friends! That are perverts." The last part came out like he was trying to say it in a way that the others wouldn't hear it. Not exactly comforting knowledge. Regardless, with no other viable alternatives, the crew made themselves comfy on the thick blanket (fur?) on the crab's back.

Vivi was too busy being in awe. "Amazing! Moving crabs are always submerged under the sand, so it's nearly impossible to spot one."

"It's pretty fast, right?" Zoro asked hopefully.

Vivi nodded with a wide grin. "Moving crabs are some of the fastest creatures in Alabasta!"

With everyone seated atop the crab's fuzzy back, Chopper nodded. "Okay! Here we go!" He flicked the reins, and the crab took off with such speed that it gave everyone a jolt. Moving all of its legs with perfect rhythm, the crab kicked up sand as it ran sideways with ridiculous ease.

But just when things were starting to look up, a sharp scream snapped Abel's spine straight. Her head whipped around in time to see a golden hook snare Vivi around the waist and pulled her off the crab. "Vivi!" she gasped, lunging for the princess. Vivi tried to reach for Abel, but their hands narrowly missed. Abel could only watch as Vivi flew farther away, back towards the city.

"Stop, Chopper!" Zoro shouted, and the deer tugged on the reins. But crabs couldn't exactly turn on a dime.

Perched atop the crab's eye, Luffy bellowed, "It's him!" with so much hatred it sounded bizarre coming from Luffy's mouth.

Stretching out his arms, Luffy grabbed Vivi and pulled himself to her. When he reached her, he hooked one arm in Crocodile's hook while using the other to throw Vivi back. Zoro caught her awkwardly. "Hey! Luffy!" he shouted as he placed the princess down. Nami rushed to her side while Abel did a visual check for injuries. Vivi'd either passed out or was in shock, but it seemed mostly from the excitement.

But though Luffy could've easily untangled himself from the hook, he didn't. In fact, he looked rather happy as the sandy hook dragged him away from his friends. "That idiot!" Sanji growled, realizing Luffy fully intended to take Crocodile on by himself.

Coming around quickly, Vivi shrieked, "Luffy-san!"

"You guys go on ahead!" Luffy yelled back, nearing where Crocodile and All Sunday stood in the empty desert outside the city. "I'll be fine by myself! Make sure you get there! Get Vivi to the palace!"

"Luffy!" Usopp shouted, running to the edge of the crab's back.

"Luffy! There's two of them!" Nami warned, not that it made much of a difference.

Abel quickly weighed their options... and found they didn't really have much. Sure, she could shoot at Crocodile, but with his Devil Fruit powers it wouldn't do anything. He could control which part of his body turned to sand, so even if she forced him to change, he'd still be able to control the hook pulling Luffy away. Besides, no one had ever stopped Luffy from fighting when he really wanted to.

This might actually be to their advantage. If Luffy could occupy Crocodile, that meant the man couldn't be out causing them trouble. It gave them the chance to get Vivi to Alubarna in one piece, and hopefully stop the rebellion. Abel wondered if Luffy knew this, or if he was just doing whatever he wanted. Either way, Abel decided to be encouraging rather than worrying. "Give 'em hell, Boss!" she called. Luffy grinned eagerly in response.

Turning away, Abel ordered, "Keep going, Doc. To Alubarna."

Chopper looked worried, but nodded, visibly clamping down on his feelings. He trusted the others' judgment. "Okay! Got it!" Facing forward resolutely, he flicked the reins, urging the crab onward.

Not everyone was so thrilled, however. "What!?" Usopp squawked, accidentally kicking Eyelash in the face in his flailing. "We're just going to leave him!?"

Evenly, Abel replied, "Yes."

Usopp made some sputtering, choking sounds. "That's cold, even for you!" Abel didn't even flinch at the comment.

"Luffy-san!" Vivi screamed, looking ready to jump off the crab and run back.

Fortunately, Nami stopped her, wrapping an arm around her waist. "It's all right, Vivi!" she reassured. "He'll be fine!" Vivi didn't look quite so sure, as she continued to struggle in the navigator's grip.

Before she could do anything stupid, Abel asked, "What exactly do you intend to do, Sunshine? As I recall your last fight with Mr. Sandman didn't end so well." She had Vivi's attention then, as the princess' head snapped around audibly. Smiling at the angry, nearly crazed expression, Abel continued, "If any one of us has a chance against a Shichibukai, it's Boss. So perhaps your energy is better spent focusing on what you can do." The anger and panic slowly drained from Vivi's face as Abel's words started to sink in, which made Abel happy. Was she concerned about leaving Luffy to fight Crocodile on his own? Yes. But it was pretty clear none of them could help him, even if they did stay.

"Do you understand, Vivi?" Zoro asked seriously. Staring Vivi dead in the eyes, Zoro explained gravely, "The moment the rebellion moved to attack, this land's final hour was set. If the army and the rebels collide, this kingdom's done for. If you are our only hope for stopping this, then you must stay alive, no matter what. So, from this moment forward, what happens to Luffy- or any of us for that matter, isn't the least bit important."

Vivi swallowed, the weight of Zoro's statement making her feel queasy. "But..." she shakingly tried.

"Vivi-chan..." Sanji gently interrupted. "This is a fight that you started. You're the one who left this land years ago and stand up against a corrupt and evil organization. However... don't make the mistake of thinking you're alone anymore." The message was clear. Let them do what they could while she did what she could. And only Vivi had a chance of talking sense into the rebels and army.

Usopp stuttered out some vague support, but Vivi wasn't really listening. Instead, she kept her eyes on Luffy as the boy collapsed unceremoniously into the sand. Taking a deep, stout breath, Vivi shouted, "Luffy-san!" When Luffy looked up (or down, in his case) at her, Vivi yelled, "We'll be waiting for you in Alubarna!"

"OKAY!" Luffy cheered, pumping his fists out.

The last glimpse the Straw Hats had of their captain was of him scrambling to his feet to face off against their toughest opponents thus far.

A tense silence lingered over the crew like a blanket of blubber, with everyone except Chopper staring toward the city as it too began to vanish at a rapid pace. Vivi hadn't been kidding when she said moving crabs were fast. This beat riding a horse. Perhaps its large size gave it a long stride?

Regardless, Abel could only take the silence for so long before it became uncomfortable. She liked peace and quiet, but not like this. This was nothing but pent up energy and negative thoughts. Abel knew that some tension was good. Being aware of how dangerous the situation they faced was good, because it kept them on edge and ready for anything. But after a certain point, it was unhelpful. Especially if they were just going to sit stewing in their misery the entire ride.

Rather than point this out, Abel figured some distraction was in order. Plus, there were some things she genuinely felt clueless about. "As I doubt there will be any in-flight entertainment, perhaps someone can fill me in on what I missed whilst I was attempting a rescue?"

---

For the next hour or so, Vivi, Nami and Sanji explained to Abel what she'd missed. Nami regaled Abel with how the others fell into Crocodile's clutches in the first place, much to the red-head's annoyance and Abel's amusement. After initially separating, all the groups had split once more to fend off some of the Marines, resulting in Nami, Usopp, Zoro and Luffy reaching Rain Dinners first. Unfortunately, Smoker hadn't been far behind, forcing them to run into the casino to avoid capture. Naturally, at all the ruckus, Crocodile knew they were there, and "cleverly" guided them into his trap. Nami explained that, while initially the staff had routed them to the casino's VIP room, there had been a split in the hallway for "Pirates." And Luffy being Luffy argued that they should take the pirate route, which led to a trapdoor falling out from beneath them. "And... well, you know the rest," Nami concluded, making some vague gesture of dismay.

Abel tried to make her smile comforting, but it probably came off more as a smirk. "Don't be too hard on yourself. I doubt the other path led anywhere better. The man certainly did love his trapdoors."

Vivi explained Crocodile's intricate machinations, although several times either Nami or Usopp had to fill in for her because the princess became tongue-tied in her anger. In a push to the climactic battle, Crocodile had bragged about the final steps he'd put into motion, and the reasons he'd called the remaining officer agents back. Vivi explained with great difficulty how Crocodile said he'd had the king kidnapped, only to seemingly "appear" in Nanohana, no doubt Mr. Two in disguise. The fake king would admit to the people that he'd been responsible for the drought via Dance Powder, and his fake guards would burn the city to incite the rebels. Conveniently, a pirate ship full of weapons would careen into the city at just the right time, providing the rebel army with the last thing they needed to wage a full-scale war. In their anger, the rebels would no doubt not question this providence, and instead would make for Alubarna, where the leaderless royal army would have no choice but to fight back.

It disturbed Abel on a fundamental level to see the callousness of Crocodile's plans. She had always known there were bad people in this world, but never that they could be so evil. To have no regards for how their actions affected others... it was no different than when the basilisk plagued her home. If anything, it was worse, because arguably a monster could just be doing what came natural. But people knew better. And they'll receive the same treatment, Abel told herself resolutely. Even if it was only natural for something to cause suffering to others, then death would be a necessary consequence.

Sanji also put his two cents in, explaining how he and Chopper had tricked Crocodile. As it turned out, Sanji's supposed attack over the den den mushi had all been staged. They merely convinced an obliging Baroque Works agent to act like he'd captured Mr. Prince to lure Crocodile out of hiding. And while Chopper in his human form lured Crocodile away, Sanji had snuck in, breaking the bridge along the way. Abel would never tell the man to his face, because he was clearly proud enough as it was, but it was a very clever plan. It both amazed and disheartened Abel how smart Sanji could be when he wasn't swooning. Even Achilles had his heel, Abel thought.

Abel felt better being caught up with everything. She'd have a lot to write about... assuming they lived through whatever hell awaited them. It would make for quite a story should anyone ever read it. Abel thought of how stories became legends over time, growing in the telling, but already the story of the Straw Hat Pirates sounded implausible.

As she silently pondered on whether their crew had very good or exceptionally bad timing, Abel heard Nami grumble beside her, "Zoro, you're only wasting energy."

"Shut up."

Looking away from the desert she'd been blindly staring at, Abel discovered Zoro had taken to passing the time by weight-lifting. Or camel-lifting, to be exact. Somehow he'd convinced Eyelash to sit on the end of his sword sheath and was currently doing bicep curls. Abel wasn't sure if she was more impressed by Zoro's strength or the camel's balance.

"Just let them be, Nami-san," Sanji drawled, eyeing Chopper and Usopp as well. It looked like they'd been telling a story, but Abel hadn't been paying attention.

Sanji blew out smoke rings, making Abel's nose crinkle at the odor. "If those guys aren't doing something, they can't keep focused," Sanji continued boredly. He tilted his head back, causing light to reflect off the hipster glasses he'd donned. "They have one-track mines. Especially..." He paused to lower his cigarette. "... our own resident muscle-freak here now that he's had a taste of the Shichibukai."

The response was predictable. "What are you trying to say?" Zoro asked slowly, lowering his makeshift weight as he gave Sanji a dark look. "Out with it."

Ever helpful, Abel replied before Sanji, "I believe he's implying that you're using stoicism to mask your fear." All the while staring at Nami making crossing motions across her neck.

Zoro clenched his jaw so hard Abel saw the veins in his neck. Fortunately, his anger wasn't at the messenger. "Me!? Afraid!? You... magic eyebrow!"

Now it was Sanji's turn to look irked. "Now I'm pissed! You... marimo head!"

"What!?"

"Abel!" Nami snapped in a harsh whisper. "Do something! You started this!"

Calmly, Abel explained, "Technically Bullseye isn't wrong, as stoicism is a philosophy that lays out how to deal with living in an uncertain world by more or less not caring." Unfortunately, this wasn't the answer Nami was looking for, and only seemed to agitate both men even more.

The two men flew at each other, snarling and hands reaching out. "You wanna fi-"

The decisive blow, however, came from neither. "Stop your stupid bickering!" Nami snapped, punching them both in the back of the head, sending them both sprawling.

Eyeing the smoke rising from their heads, Abel drawled, "If only you could harness that power in a real fight, Red..." Nami just huffed, giving the archer a stern look at Abel interpreted to mean stop stirring up trouble. Personally, Abel thought she was doing them a service by letting them blow off steam. Otherwise, they might combust.

"Take it easy, everyone," Vivi interjected, catching everyone's attention. She smiled, though it didn't quite reach her eyes. "Luffy-san won't lose. He promised! We just have to wait for him in Alubarna!"

Abel raised a brow at the princess. Vivi sounded a lot more confident in that statement than she looked. Perhaps she was trying to convince herself more than the rest of them about this fact. But at least she was trying to stay positive.

Her reassurance seemed to have an opposite effect on some of the crew, however. "You were the most worried about him!" Usopp protested.

"Why don't you just worry about the uprising?" Nami warned, rapping her knuckles against Vivi's forehead. Abel grinned. Why could she imagine Nami having learnt that from Nojiko?

Sitting up, Sanji rubbed his head sheepishly. "Sorry, Vivi-chan," he apologized.

Zoro looked more embarrassed than apologetic. "If you have to cover for us, we're done for." For Vivi of all people to be reassuring Zoro, it was a blow to his pride.

Standing tall, Nami exclaimed, "Okay then, head straight for Alubarna! Let's go, Scissors!"

Usopp stared at the navigator oddly. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I believe she was referring to the crustacean," Abel replied, pointed beneath them.

Nami nodded proudly. "It's the crab's name."

"Scissors!?"

"Would you have preferred Fluffy?" Abel asked sarcastically.

---

Abel glanced toward the sky, trying to judge how long they'd been traveling. The blinding sun was nearly directly overhead, indicating it was almost noon. That meant they'd been traveling for nearly four hours, half the time Crocodile had given as the deadline for all-out war. Distressingly, if Abel's assumptions were correct, they weren't even halfway to Alubarna yet. She briefly recalled that the halfway mark between Rainbase and Alubarna was the Sandora River.

Glancing at the princess, Abel noted her worried expression and wondered if Vivi realized the same thing. But if the moving crab really was one of the fastest creatures available, then there was really no way to go any faster. They could only do what they could only do.

Rather than dwelling on something she had no control over, Abel tried to occupy her mind with more helpful endeavors. "Do we have a plan on how to halt the rebels, Sunshine?" she asked, gaining the woman's attention.

Vivi blinked blindly at the archer for a second before fully processing what she'd just said. "Um... I hadn't really thought that far ahead," Vivi admitted reluctantly. "I had planned to intercept them before they could reach the city and reveal Crocodile's plans to Kohza. But..." She frowned, staring at the map in her hand. "I'm not even sure if we'll make it in time."

"Whadda ya mean?" Usopp asked, smiling yet looking nervous. "This crab's pretty fast. I'm sure it'll get us there in no time."

Vivi's lips pursed. "Yes, but we might have to leave it to cross the Sandora River."

"Leave it!?" Usopp gasped while the others frowned at Vivi's train of thought. "Why would we do that?!"

"Moving crabs can't swim."

There was a long stretch of silence as the pirates waited for the punch line, but it never came. Vivi was being completely serious. "What!?" Usopp shrieked. "This crab can't cross water!?"

"Moving crabs are creatures of the sand!" Vivi explained in a rush, and Abel silently wondered how long she'd been fretting over this useful bit of detail. "They can't stand water!"

"But it's a crab!" Usopp protested, as if he could argue with nature. "I mean, come on!"

Thoughtfully, Abel pointed out, "It is rather large." Maybe that prevented it from swimming? Although she had to admit a crab that couldn't swim sounded like a very cruel joke.

Flustered, Usopp pointed at the map in Vivi's hands. "It'll take all day to float across this huge river! And look! Once we cross the river there's still kilometers of desert left to go! If the crab can't make it to the other side are we supposed to run from there on!? There's no way we can make it in time!" Even assuming they made it, they'd be too tired to fight.

"Look!" Sanji called, pointing ahead of them. "You can see the Sandora up ahead!" Just beyond the horizon lay a stretch of blue. Normally a comforting color, but now just another obstacle.

Abel wracked her brain for a solution, but the best she could come up with besides the obvious was to use the crab's shell like a raft. And even she found that a bit callous to do to something that was helping them out.

"Do something, Scissors!" Nami pleaded with the crab.

Abel turned her head when Chopper snapped his hooves. "I know!" he exclaimed, remembering something. "Scissors loves dancing girls!"

Nami tilted her head slightly before shrugging off her cloak, revealing her risqué attire. But she didn't stop there. Marching over to Abel, the hunter watched with mild amusement as Nami unbuttoned her cloak, leaving Abel similarly exposed. Quirking an eyebrow, Abel commented, "You know not just anyone is allowed to undress me." Hearing a heavy thump behind her, Abel glanced over her shoulder to see Sanji passed out on the crab's back, blood dripping from his nose. Abel shook her head at how quickly Sanji's mind went off the deep end.

But he wasn't the only one, as the crab curiously raised his eyes up to watch. "He's looking over here," Chopper murmured.

The crab stared intently at Nami and Abel for a long moment before it pulled a Sanji: its eyes turned into hearts and it gained a burst of speed. Why having perverted thoughts made it run faster, Abel had no idea. She wasn't exactly comfortable with having an animal think like that, either way.

"We're accelerating!" Chopper shrilled in delight, holding to the reins as tightly as he could lest he be thrown off.

"Ero power!" Usopp shouted, pumping his fist.

Glancing at where Sanji and Eyelash lay crooning in half-consciousness, Zoro murmured, "Great... now we have two animals in heat." He looked up, but had to quickly look away again as his gaze fell over Abel's figure so prominently displayed by her attire. Zoro did not want to end up like the cook.

Buttoning her cloak, Abel said, "While the extra speed is nice, I don't think it really solves our current dilemma." If anything, they'd just have to face it sooner.

Everyone in the crew tensed, prepared to jump off as soon as the crab hit the water. The only reason they didn't jump immediately was in the hopes that it might at least get them a few yards from shore before sinking. But then a miracle happened. When the crab hit the river, rather than sinking, it actually ran along the top of the water like one of those water-skimming lizards. The pirates were baffled at the sight. "Holy crab, this thing's amazing!" Sanji gasped, having recovered.

"I don't believe it..." Zoro mumbled.

"Woohoo!" Usopp cheered. "It's a miracle! He's running on top of the water!"

Unfortunately, miracles weren't all they were cracked up to be, as no matter how fast the crab ran, it couldn't outrun physics. Scissors made impressive distance, but with the departing shore still in sight, he sunk into the water. "I guess there are some things love can't conquer," Abel quipped as the water rose.

"Damn it!" Usopp cursed as the crab sunk beneath their feet, leaving them all wet.

Floating in the water, Abel quickly searched for their little doctor. She smiled when she found him, perched atop Zoro's head. He must've run up there when they started sinking, like a spazzed out cat. And once again, Zoro didn't seem to mind in the slightest. Noticing Chopper waving at something behind them, Abel glanced back to see the moving crab had made it safely back to the shore and waving its giant claws at them.

"Quit complaining and keep moving," Zoro grumbled at Usopp's continued freaking out. Without waiting, he began swimming ahead, most of the crew following his example. Not like there was much else they could do.

Moving at a steady pace so as not to tire herself out, Abel heard Usopp cry, "Wait a sec, we don't have a boat! How far to the other side?"

"About fifty kilometers," Vivi answered easily.

Usopp sputtered, and Abel wondered if he'd choked on water. "We can't swim that!"

"You can always stay here," Abel commented, earning a half-hearted glare from the sniper.

Before they could go anywhere, however, the water before them started to bubble. Halting, Zoro's eyes narrowed as he watched the water behave strangely. Something was down there.

It didn't take long to find out what, as a giant fish stuck its head above the water. Noting the whiskers, Abel assumed it was some breed of catfish. An assumption proven correct when Vivi exclaimed, "A rare Sandora catfish! Named because it's extremely rare!"

"Well aren't we just lucky today," Abel drawled. Why were all these "rare" creatures huge?

The catfish stared down at them for a moment before opening its mouth, looming over them. "It also loves to eat humans!" Vivi warned when it was already obvious.

"You should have said that first!" Usopp rightly screamed as they tried to swim away.

But they couldn't outswim a giant fish. Abel's hands fumbled for her crossbows, the water slowing her movements. Just as she managed to grab one and raise it to fire into the beast's gaping mouth, several forms shoot from the water around them, aiming at the catfish. Abel watched in awe as they struck the catfish like heat-seeking missiles, overpowering it easily. The fish's eyes rolled up and it slowly toppled over, floating harmlessly along the surface.

A smile slowly stretched across Abel's face as their numerous, tiny rescuers climbed atop the felled beast. "If only all rescues could be this adorable."

"Kung fu dugongs!" Usopp exclaimed in delight.

The dugongs barked cheerfully at them. After a moment, Chopper translated, "They said, 'We can't let our fellow students perish.'"

"But, uh, it's not like we're Luffy's students or anything," Usopp muttered.

Finding no reason to bother correcting them, Abel instead focused on the floating catfish. A somewhat distasteful but convenient idea came to her. "Think we can use this guy as a raft?" Abel asked, motioning to the fish with her thumb. Unlike with the crab, Abel had no qualms about using the body of something that tried to kill her.

Her question caught the others off guard before they considered it. "You mean ride a dead fish?" Nami asked, nose crinkling at the thought.

The guys weren't quite so bothered. "Heh. Why not?" Sanji replied, already swimming over.

"Serves 'im right, if you ask me," Zoro agreed.

With most of the crew in agreement, they climbed on the fish's back. Getting up was a little tricky, as catfish had slippery skin. But with the help of the dugongs, they all made it. When everyone was aboard, the dugongs lined along the bottom of the fish and began pushing as one, a few even pulling on its whiskers. Abel smiled down at the little beasts as they worked in perfect unison. Their little barks reminded Abel of a rowing team chanting, "Stroke!". She really wished she could keep them, but it was totally impractical. But she'd be sure to add them to her book as a potentially helpful species for those who could garner their respect.

Thanks to the dugongs, the crew made impressive speed across the river. What would've taken the humans all day to span took the dugongs barely an hour. Pulling their makeshift raft up to the shore, the crew quickly disembarked down the front of the catfish's face. Abel would never admit it out loud, but the sight of a great, empty expanse of desert disheartened her. They had a ways to go still.

As they waved farewell to the dugongs, Zoro commented, "We're doin' good. Think we can make it in time?"

The smile fell from Vivi's face. "I don't know. Even with Eyelash here, it will be tough." Whoever rode the camel would make good time, but splitting up didn't sound like a good idea at this point.

"But he can only hold two people, and from here on Baroque Works will be trying to trap us!" Usopp rightly protested. "Isn't there any way we can travel as an entire group?"

As the crew pondered this, Abel's ears picked up something. It sounded like a multitude of footsteps. Galloping. Perhaps horses? Narrowing her eyes, she spotted a cloud of sand in the distance, and several silhouettes hidden within the kicked-up cloud. "What wicked this way approaches?" she asked casually, yet her hands already hovering near her crossbows.

Her question caught the crew's attention, and they tensed when they spotted the rapidly approaching cloud. "What's that!?" Usopp shouted in panic. "The enemy? A-a-are they here already!?"

But whereas the others tensed, the one usually most worried stepped forward. "No!" Vivi protested, holding her hands over her mouth. Her tearful expression wasn't one of fear, however, but of surprised joy. "It's Carue!" she exclaimed. "And the Super Spot-Billed Duck Squad!"

The sand cloud stopped remarkably quickly, sending up a final plume of sand that blocked the pirates' view. But the robust quack that sounded from behind the cloud couldn't be mistaken. Coughing and swatting the sand away, Abel was amazed to see Carue and six similar ducks standing at attention before them. They varied in size and choice in headgear, but they were clearly the same species. All yellow with black wings and black spots on their bills.

"You came for us!?" Vivi asked, choking on her emotions. Carue quacked, and all the ducks saluted. Laughing, Vivi exclaimed, "Now we'll definitely make it in time!" As gangly as Carue seemed, the crew had witnessed first-hand just how swift he could be when it counted.

"Great!" Usopp cheered. "And this means we can all travel together, so those agents won't catch us in a trap!"

Eyeing the ducks thoughtfully, Abel mused, "Perhaps it's time to spring a trap of our own..."

The others turned to the hunter. "You have a plan?" Sanji asked, grinning slowly. Abel's plans were always so unconventional. It was fun watching how the woman thought.

Trying and failing to hide a smirk, Abel drawled playfully, "Maybe... It's almost a certainty that the officer agents will be waiting for us, intent to prevent Sunshine from making contact with the rebels." She glanced at Vivi. "Is Alubarna a walled city, by chance?"

Vivi nodded. "The city rests atop a circular plateau," she explained. "The gates into the city are actually very steep stairs. There's no other way to reach the city without scaling the sheer rocks. The main entrance is to the south, but there are also similar gates at the west, southwest, southeast and east."

Abel hummed, tapping her fingers against her lips as she digested this. "With the rebels' outrage, they won't waste time with fancy strategies. If, as the most recent papers claim, the number of rebels is equal to those in the royal army, then most likely the rebels will attempt to overpower the army en masse and flood the southern gate."

"In that case, Baroque Works will be waiting for us at the western gate," Nami concluded, as that's the only direction they could come from without meeting the rebels.

"Do we really have to fight them?" Usopp asked nervously. When the guys gave him slow looks, he quickly added, "I mean, the most important thing is to get Vivi to the rebel leader, right? Wouldn't stopping to fight just waste time? Can't we just, ya know, go around them?" he ended with a hopeful lilt to his voice.

Sanji and Zoro, being the battle-hungry men that they were, prepared to deride Usopp for his cowardice, when Abel surprisingly agreed, "You're partially correct, Sparkplug."

"Huh?"

Enjoying their confused expression more than was polite, Abel explained, "Getting Sunshine to the rebels is our priority, but I doubt Baroque Works will just let us stroll by. But... if someone were to get past them, they'd be obligated to give chase."

"Just get to the point," Zoro groused, growing impatient. Enough with the theatrics. If Abel had a plan, they'd run with it.

Walking over to the waiting ducks, Abel reached out a hand and grabbed the tan cloak draped over one of their backs, shielding it from the sun. "You're familiar with a tactic known as 'bait-and-switch', yes?"

"It's when you advertise one thing while substituting it with something else," Nami answered. As a thief, she was well-versed in such skills.

Throwing the cloak around her body to block her image completely from view, Abel explained, "Six unrecognizable figures ride past them into the city. Without knowing which is the princess, the agents have no choice but to break from their post and give chase."

"But there are seven-" Chopper trailed off as realization dawned on the crew. Six agents. Six pirates. And one princess.

Abel smirked below her cloak. "Precisely."

---

"There it is," Usopp murmured tensely, fidgeting with his goggles to get a better look at the capital. The rest of the crew stood silently behind the outcropping of rocks, hiding from view. Adjusting his gaze southward, Usopp added, "At least it looks like the rebels haven't made it yet." Behind him, Vivi sighed in relief.

Thanks to the Super Spot-Billed Duck Squad, the pirates had traversed the desert with no difficulty. The rebel army, with all their horses, couldn't have possibly beaten them here. Apparently when nature took away a bird's ability to fly due to its size, it made up for it by giving them remarkable speed.

Continuing to scan the area, Usopp spotted something that made him jump and fall backwards. "It's them!" The agents.

"They're all there?" Nami queried.

Sweating under his cloak, Usopp nodded shakingly. "Yeah." He's spotted six figures waiting by the western gate, just as they'd predicted. Usopp swallowed thickly.

"You don't think they'll get suspicious it's a trick?" Chopper asked. He was nervous, because from what the others had told him these were really strong guys, but having the others with him made him feel confident. They weren't going in alone.

"No," Abel replied without hesitation. "Thanks to Bullseye's stunt, they now realize there are more members in the crew than they originally accounted for."

Nodding, Zoro asked, "Is everyone good on what they're supposed to do?" Once they started, there would be no time for hesitation. They had to play their parts perfectly.

"Abel and I will break away first and head south," Chopper stated. In his human form, he looked down at the hunter. Even with the cloak shielding most of their bodies from view, Abel tilted her head back enough to give the doctor a reassuring smile. Chopper's lips twitched to return it, grateful to have the woman's help.

"Then after the first group takes the bait, me and Sanji go through the southwest gate," Usopp continued. Some distance away, Sanji grumbled at this part of the plan, drawing a tired expression from Usopp. Sanji was still a bit miffed he wasn't going with one of the women. But, as Abel logically explained, they didn't know which Baroque Works team would go after whom, so it was best to balance the pairs off.

"We get the last pair and push straight through," Nami concluded, pointing between herself and Zoro. Tossing the swordsman a glance, she added, "You'd better not let anything happen to me, Zoro." The man just grunted in response. He didn't care if he ended up taking on two at once.

With everyone knowing their role, Nami turned to Vivi. "Are you ready, Vivi?" she asked.

Vivi's brow scrunched up as she gazed at the crew. These people, once strangers but now friends, were ready to risk their lives to give her the chance to save her country. She couldn't let them down. Steeling her nerves, Vivi nodded. "Yes." But before they left, there was one more thing she wanted them to know. Just in case. "Thank you, everyone."

"It's still too early to thank us," Zoro pointed out. They hadn't done it yet.

"He's right," Nami quickly agreed, smirking wickedly. "Besides, if you wanna thank pirates... you have to let us see some goods." The glint in her eyes left little question of just what kind of reward Nami meant.

Behind her, Usopp and Chopper looked stunned. Abel thought they'd be used to Nami's greed by now. "What are you trying to leach from this country!?" Usopp demanded.

"All right. Let's go," Zoro urged.

As everyone mounted up, Sanji turned to Vivi. "Oh yeah! Let me tell you this Vivi-chan!" Sanji looked terse. "After a battle, he eats way too much food!"

Vivi blinked before chuckling. "That's okay." It was a small price to pay for saving her country.

With the crew ready, the ducks took off, running together in a straight line. The pirates gave Vivi one last wave. "Everyone meet at Alubarna palace!" Nami reminded as the final leg of the battle was about to commence.

The city of Alubarna, as Vivi had said, rested atop a tall, perfectly circular plateau. The style of buildings matched those from Nanohana, except on a much grander scale. Tall towers and spires dotted the plateau. The rocks base was completely sheer, straight vertical. Short of some heavy-duty climbing gear, the only routes into the city were via the imposing stone staircases, protected by deep red gates on either side. From the western side, the city appeared abandoned. Abel suspected the civilians had been evacuated. The royal army should be around the southern gate, ready to fend off the approaching rebels. Glancing in the distance, Abel saw the large cloud of sand nearing the city. It stretched far on either side. But there was still enough time for Vivi to make it. They weren't at the city yet.

Bringing her eyes forward, Abel finally caught a glimpse of the officer agents. Abel felt her skin crawl as she noticed Miss All Hallows Eve, standing beside Mr. Two looking completely unfazed by the heat despite her heavy dress. Two other groups were there as well. Two men and two women. One man was as imposing and expressionless as a stone statue, the other as round as he was tall. One of the women wore a leather outfit that was more straps than cloth, while the other reminded Abel of those mean old women every town had who fussed at kids for being too noisy.

The mean-looking woman pointed at them, and the round man lifted what Abel could only describe as a cannon over his shoulder. She assumed these two were partners. The round man fired the cannon, shooting a... baseball? Abel wondered if the baseball that hit the sand before them was a joke, until she heard it ticking. "Bomb," she warned.

"Stay away from it!" Zoro shouted.

The ducks swerved around the baseball-bomb, avoiding the explosion as it went off. The blast wasn't large, but Abel felt the heat from the ensuing fire. Whoever got struck by that would definitely suffer from first-degree burns, at least.

Yards from the agents now, Abel made a sharp motion, signaling it was time for them to split. Chopper and Abel's ducks split away from the group first, aiming straight south, following the curve of the city. Behind them, Abel heard a rough woman's voice shout, "Leave those two to us! Let's go, Mr. Four!" A man's voice, in slow-motion, droned agreement.

Chancing a glance back, Abel saw the mean redhead and the round man running after them. Mr. Four and Miss Merry Christmas, if Abel recalled their ordering correctly. Looking past them, Abel watched as Usopp created a distraction with his Flame Star, allowing the remaining groups to get by. Zoro and Nami headed up the western stairs with who Abel assumed was Mr. One and Miss Doublefinger, while Mr. Two and Miss All Hallows Eve went after Sanji and Usopp. Abel had to admit, she felt simultaneously relieved and disappointed that she wouldn't be dealing with All Hallow's Eve. Curious though she may be about the woman's strange presence, she was grateful to be away from her.

Focusing on the task at hand, Abel steered the ducks to a small area of half-buried ruins a safe distance away from the southern gate and the approaching rebel army. It was actually closer to the southeastern gate. Abel feared fighting too close to the southern gate would tip the agents off to Vivi's role in all this. "This should do nicely," she commented, tugging on the duck's reins. Her Viking-helmed duck obediently slowed. Coming beside her, Chopper followed suit.

Turning to face the two agents, who did a remarkable job of keeping pace with them despite their sizes, Abel nodded to herself. This was a good location. From here, neither agent would be able to see Vivi intercepting the rebels, and they should be safely away from the crossfire. She hoped the others found similarly suitable battlegrounds.

Realizing that the two weren't running away, Four and Christmas slowed to a jog before stopping, panting slightly from the sprint. Abel took the opportunity to examine their enemies more thoroughly. Mr. Four was a tall, round man dressed in green and carrying a massive cannon on his back that was taller than even him. His features looked bulging, like he had Hypothyroidism or... A pug! That's what his bulbous eyes made Abel think off. Like they were about to pop out at any second. It didn't help that his dirty blond hair was cut into a bob that looked too small for his features.

Miss Merry Christmas, on the other hand, made Abel think of someone's demented aunt or grandma. Wild red hair, garish purple lipstick... and somehow her eyelash protruded through the square frames of her sunglasses. She dressed like a grandma as well, with ugly purple pants with green flowers, a Christmas tree-shaped tie and for some reason a wicker basket strapped to her back.

Smirking at the pair's confused expressions, Abel pressed her hands against her concealed face. "Oh no!" she gasped dramatically. "You managed to keep up! Whatever shall we do?" She bit back a laugh at their faces.

Christmas pursed her painted lips. "All right! Enough games!" she spoke quickly. Definitely an impatient woman. "Just tell us which one of you is the princess so we can get this over with!"

Chopper and Abel shared a look. "If you must know..." Chopper murmured, his voice a high enough tenor to serve to further confuse the two.

The two swung down from their mounts and stood to face the agents. At once, they reached for the neck of their cloaks. With a sharp tug, they revealed themselves to the flustered agents. "Sorry, try again," they taunted in unison.

Four's eyes, if possible, grew even wider, while Christmas looked ready to explode. "You're dead!" she growled.

"Careful, Grandma," Abel taunted, resting her hands lightly on her crossbows. "Think about your blood pressure. Honestly, your face is almost the same shade as your hair. That can't be good for your health."

If anything, Abel's comment only upset Christmas even more. "Grandma!?"

"Look," Four interrupted, pointing at the two. Although the man spoke so slowly it came out more like, "Looooooook." "Neither of them-"

"I can see that, you goof!" Christmas spat in an irritated huff, cutting Four off. Christmas glowered at the duo from behind her shades. "The princess must've been in one of the other groups. Sneaky-sneaky! No matter!" Unable to contain her energy, Christmas began jogging in place. "We're under orders to take all of you pirates out, anyway."

Abel drew her crossbows, pointing them at the agents. Beside her, Abel saw Chopper tense, raising his large furry fists. "Bring it, Grandma."

Christmas' face flushed red again. "I'll show you Grandma! Mr. Four!"

"Right!"

Has his voice been permanently slow-mo'ed? Abel wondered. Maybe that was why Christmas always seemed to wound up. Abel'd probably lose her mind if she had to put up with someone speaking that slowly all the time.

Despite his obnoxiously slow speed, Four's movements were not sluggish. The man pulled the wrapped bazooka off his back. Abel and Chopper tensed, preparing for the fight to start. Even though the entire purpose of this plan was to allow Vivi time to meet with the rebels, that didn't mean they could let the officers walk away.

Unwrapping the bazooka, Four let the paper crumple into a pile on the ground. It revealed a very impressive piece of artillery. Even though Abel preferred speed to size, she was a bit jealous of the gorgeous gun. And for Four to carry it like he did unimpeded, he must've been a lot stronger than his disproportionate noodley arms suggested. But instead of raising it to his shoulder, the man placed it on the sand. Abel's brow furrowed, confused at this seemingly useless move. Her surprise grew as the gun, right before their eyes, began to change. It shifted, sprouting legs, ears, and even fur! The pirates were too dumbfounded to do anything but watch as the gun evolved into a dog! A Labrador-type dog, to be exact. Legs and paws sprouted from the bottom of the barrel, a head formed at the butt of the bazooka, and the open muzzle of the gun was where its tail should be.

The dog sniffled and stared blearily at the pirates as they stared right back. Well that's... something, Abel thought. "I've heard of doggone before, but never dog-gun."

Even Chopper looked weirded out, and he was a deer-human hybrid. "That dog must've eaten a Devil Fruit!"

Sneering nastily, Christmas retorted, "Actually, it's a gun that ate a Devil Fruit." She looked rather pleased with their confused expressions. "Mr. Four's gun, Lasso, ate the Dog-Dog Fruit, Dachshund Model."

"How precisely does a gun eat anything?" Abel queried. What sort of witchcraft resulted in this abomination?

Christmas chuckled nastily. "And he's not the only one." Hunching over, Christmas herself began to mutate. Brown fur grew of her face as it elongated, her nose and mouth extended into an animal snout. Her fingers shrunk while her nails grew long and thick, a change mimicked by her feet. The end result was a woman who looked more rodent than human.

Before they could question the fighting potential of rats, Lasso, the dog, sneezed loudly. Chopper screamed when one of those baseball-bombs flew from the dog's sneezing muzzle, aimed directly at them. Reflexively, Abel fired. Her bolt struck the bomb in mid-flight, setting it off. The resulting explosion, while not close enough to damage the pirates, was enough to send them flying back, skidding across the hot sand. Abel gasped as her back hit against a fallen pillar, but kept her crossbows up. Preemptively, she fired several bolts through the fiery blaze, in case the agents pressed the assault. However, she didn't hear them hit anything. She barely heard sand shifting, and nothing else.

Quickly climbing to one knee, Abel peered through the haze as it dissipated. She felt dismayed to see nothing. The agents, and even the dog, were gone. In their place were three holes in the sand. Remembering Christmas' new form, Abel made an educated guess as to the culprit. "She really is a shrew-woman."

"I think it was a mole," Chopper responded, pushing himself up.

Abel tossed the doctor a dry look, when she felt a vibration in the sand beneath her hand. Looking down, she focused on the sensations against her hand. They're burrowing beneath us. Ambush predators. The vibrations moved past the pirates and behind them. Abel's head snapped around in time to see a human-sized hole appear in the sand and Lasso stick his head up. The stuffed-up dog sneezed, again shooting another bomb their way. Abel didn't bother shouting a warning. Without ceremony, she kicked Chopper in the chest as he tried to stand, sending him stumbling backwards. The force also knocked Abel over again. But it also caused the bomb to sail between them, harmlessly.

Panting on their backs as they'd narrowly avoided the bomb, the duo didn't expect for Four to pop up from one of the original holes, large metal bat in hand. Raising the bat over his shoulder, Four swung at the bomb as it neared him. Unfortunately, instead of setting the bomb off like they'd expected, Four just knocked the bomb back towards them. Neither Abel nor Chopper had time to react as the bomb hit the ground near their feet, spraying them both in sand and fire and sending them flying back several yards.

Abel hissed as she landed awkwardly on her side, her arm digging into her already bruised abdomen. But she rolled with the pain and used her screaming nerves to jump back to her feet, not wanting to be taken by surprise again. They'd gone back into hiding for now.

Keeping her ears open, Abel hurried to help Chopper to his feet. "I didn't expect he'd be able to hit the bombs back," Chopper groaned, his fur singed. But aside from being a little smoky, the explosion hadn't done too much damage to either of them.

"Perhaps there's a special mechanism," Abel suggested, rather uselessly she had to admit. Why he could do it didn't matter as much as the knowledge that he could.

Chopper looked like he was about to respond, when he paused, his body going rigid and his tiny ears twitching. Turning his head towards the city, his eyes widened as he pointed out, "Over there!"

Facing the direction he pointed, Abel spotted two of the ducks running their way, quacking loudly. Abel didn't speak duck, but she'd spent enough time around Carue to understand panicked squawking when she heard it. "Aren't those Bullseye and Sparkplug's rides?" she queried.

Chopper narrowed his eyes as he tried to make out what they were saying. "They say that Usopp and Sanji are in trouble!"

"Shocker..." Abel drawled. "Do they say specifically how?" Abel kept glancing between the approaching ducks and the battlefield, not trusting their enemy to not take advantage of the distraction. But for now at least, they seemed content to wait. How polite of them.

The two ducks skidded to a stop near the pirates, throwing up a smokescreen of sand. The one wearing a fedora looked to Chopper and gave a sharp staccato of quacks. Abel looked to Chopper to translate. "They say Usopp got knocked out pretty quickly in the fight, leaving Sanji to deal with both bad guys. And the one in the tutu ran off to find the princess, but Sanji couldn't go after him because the scary woman keeps blocking him off."

Abel frowned. "Of course Bullseye's useless in a fight against a woman," she murmured. Facing the city, Abel considered their options. I can easily take the woman off Bullseye's hands, allowing him to chase after the okama, she reasoned. A shudder ran down Abel's spine at the thought of facing that woman, but she'd suspected from the beginning it would probably go down like that. But I'd be leaving Doc to handle these two on his own. Abel didn't care for that part of the plan. She didn't like the idea of leaving Chopper here by himself. These guys were tricky. At least with two targets, they could work out a strategy.

"Whatever you're thinking, do it."

Abel's head jerked around at Chopper's strong words. Seeing her surprised expression, Chopper nodded firmly. "I know you're thinking up a plan. And even though they don't always make sense to me, I've never seen them not work out in the end. So, whatever you're thinking... do it."

Abel studied the young doctor for a moment. It might sound odd to say that putting someone in constant danger brought out the best in them, but it definitely seemed to be the case with Chopper. Though timid by nature (he was a deer, after all), he could be just as stubborn and determined as Zoro or Sanji when required. Smiling, Abel asked, "You don't mind flying solo for a while?"

Chopper nodded. "I got this." The thought of facing these two on his own was a little intimidating, he could admit. But just knowing that the others were fighting as hard as they could gave his courage. Even while separated, they were all fighting for the same goal. "All I can do is all I can do, right?"

Nodding back, Abel held out a hand, signaling one of the ducks over. She climbed on the back of the hipster duck and grabbed the reins. As the ducks turned to the face, Abel glanced back at the doctor. "I'll send someone back in my stead." Then, with the flick of the reins, the ducks took off fast enough to jar Abel.

"Running away won't help you!" a nasty voice shouted from below.

Abel felt the duck's muscles tense and barely had time to hold tightly to the saddle before it jumped, launching both of them into the air, vaulting over a hole that appeared in the sand. Abel barely caught a glimpse of the mole lady in the hole, scowling that her ambush hadn't worked. As the duck hit the ground running, Abel heard Chopper let out a battle cry, launching on the offensive to draw the attention away from Abel. The hunter flinched when she heard an explosion go off behind her, but forced herself not to look back. Instead, she told duck, "Take us the most direct route." The best she could do to help Chopper now was not to dally.

The two ducks tore across the empty expanse of desert, making a beeline for the eastern gate. Abel guessed they'd probably take her straight across the city to wherever Sanji and Usopp were. A volley of cannon fire made Abel jerk, her head whipping to the left. Her brows furrowed when she saw what could only be described as a mass of humanity converging on the city to the south. The rebel army. Even at this distance, Abel heard their battle cry as they urged one another one, camels and horses kicking up a sand cloud worse than any storm. After the stunning silence of the first cannon blast, more shots followed as the people accepted that the time for peaceful actions had passed.

"So scratch that plan as a failure," she murmured, silently hoping Vivi was okay. Abel could imagine that, in the thick of the horde, their shouts would be deafening. Even if Vivi was there trying to speak reason, she probably wouldn't be heard. But Abel refused to be disheartened. Vivi wouldn't give up so easily, and as such she was counting on them to keep the agents off her back. Abel could do that much.

If nothing else, the approaching army made it easy for the ducks to get through the gate. Most of the soldiers were at the southern gate. Only a few guarded the eastern gate, likely as a precaution for the enemy sneaking around the sides. "Who is that!?" one of the guard shouted as Abel neared, holding up a pike, preparing to block their path.

The other guard, more veteran, grabbed the first's shoulder and pulled him back. "It's the Super Spot-Billed Duck Squad! Let 'em through!" The guards jumped out of the way before they wound up with a face full of duck.

Tearing through the city, Abel couldn't help noticing how empty it was. Aside from the guards at the gate, she didn't see another living soul. The royal army probably evacuated all civilians when they received word that the rebels were on their way. That was the only good part about this entire debacle. Although Abel had to wonder where the civilians went. It was nothing but desert in three directions, with no nearby cities to seek shelter in, and to the north were impassable mountains. They couldn't have gone west, because the pirates would've seen them on the way, and to the south they'd have met the rebels. Were they hiding in the desert to the east, waiting to see how things would unfold? Although it ultimately didn't matter, it was still something Abel wondered about. Hell, for all she knew the city had an underground passage.

A sharp quack from the duck broke Abel from her useless musings. Focusing ahead, Abel spotted their target. A very battered Usopp stood dead ahead, leaning heavily against the outer wall of a building. His back was to Abel, so he didn't notice her approaching, but the person occupying his attention did. Abel felt her blood turn to ice as All Hallows Eve met her gaze, not looking surprised in the slightest upon seeing her there. In fact, she almost looked happy.

Noticing the woman's gaze over his shoulder, Usopp hesitantly looked back. Abel nearly winced with sympathy at how swollen his face was. Only one eye widened at the sight of her, as the other was swollen shut. "Abel!" he exclaimed, sounding ecstatic to see her.

Tugging on the reins, the duck skid to a stop beside the sniper. Keeping a wary eye on the other woman, Abel drawled, "You look rode hard and put up wet, Sparkplug."

Usopp chuckled nervously, and Abel noted the slingshot in his hand. Nice to see that even as beat up as he was, he was at least trying to put up a fight. "That ballerina has a pretty mean kick," he explained sheepishly. "But what are you doing here?"

Taking advantage of the fact that the woman appeared content to let them talk, Abel replied, "Your animal friend came pleading for assistance. Where's Bullseye?" she added, noting a distinct lack of swooning.

"He chased after the ballerina guy when he ran off to find Vivi," Usopp explained. He glanced nervously at Eve. "I've been doing my best to at least keep this one busy."

It was on the tip of Abel's tongue to comment that the woman didn't look the slightest bit ruffled. Hell, she just kept standing there, as motionless as a corpse, staring at them. Was she even breathing? But Abel held her tongue, and instead dismounted. Holding the reins to Usopp, Abel said, "Let's tag out." When Usopp blinked questioningly, she continued, "I had to leave Doc to fend for himself. Leave this one to me, and you go assist Doc." Abel mentally groused that they could've saved a lot of time if she'd just paired with Sanji, but what's done is done.

"Are you sure?" Usopp asked quickly, sounding like he really only asked to be polite. He looked ready to jump at the opportunity Abel provided.

Abel nodded. "I had a strong hunch from the beginning that I'd be facing off against this one. And I'm curious about something..."

Eve smiled faintly. Like viewing an image through thin paper. "Are you sure it's wise to struggle against the hand of fate?" she spoke for the first time, instantly riveting the pirates to the ground. Raising her chin slightly, Eve added, "You've already failed to stop this war. Many are dead already. Why continue fighting against the inevitable?"

Usopp frowned, looking downcast. She was right. For whatever reason, Vivi hadn't been able to stop the rebellion. He sincerely hoped she was okay, whatever had happened. But was it worth fighting now? Wouldn't it be better to just cut ties and run while they had the chance? The plan had already failed.

"Do not lose heart, Usopp."

Usopp jerked beside the hunter, gaping at her. He'd already gotten used to her referring to him by his nickname that hearing his real name from her voice instantly demanded his attention.

Without looking at him, Abel said calmly, "Even though we failed to prevent bloodshed, this battle is far from decided. There are still options. All Sunshine needs to do is convince one side to pull back. That alone would be enough to give the other side reason to pause. Hesitation and uncertainty are our allies in this case." Usopp listened silently, watching as Abel's eyes hardened, keeping a steady gaze on the officer. "If anything, we should work harder because others have perished. If we don't... if we cut our losses here... then they truly would have died for nothing. At least if we end this on our terms their sacrifices, though tragic, will mean something." Finally, Abel looked at Usopp from the corner of her eye, pinning him. "As long as there's still breath in your lungs, you're the only one who can say when your fight is over."

Usopp felt a stirring in his chest. Abel was usually so indirect in everything she said. To hear her speak so definitively about something must've meant she truly believed it. It wasn't just some speech meant to rouse him, though it certainly worked in that regard. Everyone is still fighting, he thought. That thought, while not completely calming his fears, helped him push them aside. And Vivi... she's probably still fighting even though it looks hopeless. If she, of all people, hasn't given up, then how can I?

Swallowing thickly, Usopp took the reins. Sticking out his chest, Usopp swung himself up onto the duck's back. "You're right," he said, feeling more confident than he expected.

"I usually am," Abel retorted smartly, smirking at the sniper.

Usopp snorted. That was more like it. Steering the duck in a one-eighty, he said boisterously, "Okay! I'll go help Chopper! Once we've beaten all of Baroque Works into a pulp, we'll meet up again to celebrate!" Squawking in agreement, the duck charged off, disappearing between the buildings.

With that decided, Abel finally directed all of her attention to her opponent. For a long moment, they simply stared each other down, trying to read the other. Abel felt cold adrenaline running through her veins, keeping her wits about her. She didn't like that she didn't know what this woman's power was. It wasn't quite the same as facing down a beast or monster. In those situations, at least Abel knew something about the species she faced, or could make educated assumptions based on her knowledge of biology. But it was different with people. Even without factoring in possible Devil Fruits, all of which weren't known, there was always the chance a person could have preternatural abilities.

"So," Abel began, rolling with the uneasy sensation coursing through her veins. "Are you going to brag about your super powers, or should I just guess?"

Eve's thin lips stretched into a full grin that was more than a little mocking. Rather than vocally respond, Eve made a flourishing motion with her arms, bringing her hands up, as if gently cradling an expensive object. Her eyes closed in concentration. Warning bells went off in Abel's head as an inexplicable sensation of dread hit her in the gut. She didn't know what that meant, but she wasn't about to stand around and let Eve do whatever she was planning. As the agent's right hand became wrapped in a haze, Abel drew her crossbow and aim at her. Simultaneously, Eve stretched out her right, hazy hand in a grabbing motion, twisting her wrist. In that instant, Abel's body gave a jerk before falling paralyzed.

Abel's eyes widened as she found herself unable to move. Her body felt frozen, even to the point of her temperature actually dropping. Her eyes never left the agent, who stood with a hand grasping air, looking too smug. Abel felt... wrong. And not just in the sense that her body wouldn't obey her thoughts. No, she felt... disconnected from it. Almost like an out of body experience, except she was watching it from her own physical eyes. It was as if the woman had reached into Abel's soul and held it captive in an unforgiving grip.

"As I suspected..." Eve said cryptically.

Abel frowned, taking her eyes off the woman in favor of glaring at her still outstretched hand. Move... she thought, staring hard at her fingers. How dare her own body betray her. The longer she stared at her unmoving hand, the more annoyed Abel became. She felt the flush of anger swelling through her body, chasing away the ice grip that had taken hold of her. Finally, her bicep gave the faintest of twitches, causing her arms to teeter just noticeably.

This motion didn't escape the agent. "Oh. It seems your will is strong." Yet she didn't seem too concerned. If anything, the woman seemed content to see how this played out. Like an experiment. Abel didn't like that idea. She was the one performing the experiments.

Focus on that anger, Abel told herself. Whatever this woman was doing to her, it was a battle of wills. And the more she focused on her annoyance at the situation, the more she started to feel control returning to her. Heat rushed through her. The tightness in her chest eased, like a limb stretched too far being pulled back. Yes, that's what the feeling was. Like a tug-of-war with some intangible part of Abel being pulled on. She just needed to wrestle it back.

Abel didn't let up as she felt her fingers twitch, her index painstakingly sliding to caress the trigger. Fuck you! she thought, pouring everything into that single mental curse. Her index finger jerked back in a painful muscle spasm, pulling the trigger and finally releasing the bolt. Having been aimed perfectly, Abel bolt shot towards the woman. Unfortunately, she dodged it was graceful ease, the bolt careening through flowing fabric without so much as a snag.

But it wasn't a useless action, because the sudden movement had apparently forced Eve to release whatever hold she'd had on Abel, having broken her concentration. Abel felt her breath leave her in a rush as the sensation of something slingshotting back into her body knocked her to her knees. Abel panted, dropping her crossbow in favor of grasping her chest. Her heart beat like she'd just ran a marathon, and her face felt flush with blood as sensation returned to her. Her chest felt heavy, causing her to cough.

Abel didn't allow herself to linger on what had just happened. Her hand fumbled for her fallen weapon, instinctively snapping it up in the direction of dark fabric in her periphery. But Eve disappeared down a side street like liquid smoke. Abel waited tensely for a moment, preparing for a sneak attack, but all she heard was the padding of feet growing farther away. Even the chilling sensation in her spine lessened as the agent ran away. Heaving herself up, Abel murmured, "Nice to know this isn't a trap," before following.

Eve may have had a head start, but she couldn't completely escape Abel. Not with that reaction she caused in the hunter. All Abel had to do was follow the pull, judging in which direction the sensation was strongest. With both crossbows at the ready, Abel silently wondered just what the woman's power was. It didn't seem like telekinesis or psychokinesis. Such powers would allow someone to perhaps lift or push another human being. But that had been different. It wasn't an external force, Abel thought. It felt like the agent had... reached inside her. Grabbed her soul, almost. But what kind of power is that?

Abel realized as she chased after the other woman that it sounded like they were getting closer to the battle. She heard yelling, gunfire and the clanging of metal rapidly nearing. So the rebels breached the outer defenses, Abel thought unhappily, the scent of gunpowder burning her nose.

Abel paused as she exited the side street, emerging onto a major thoroughfare. Catching her breath, she quickly scanned the area. She didn't see Eve anywhere around, but she felt the woman nearby. But for some reason, she couldn't pinpoint where. It was like the chilling sensation had diffused through the area like a cloud hanging overhead. Abel's breath came out in visible gusts, letting her know something was afoot.

It appeared some of the fighting had spilled away from the main battlefield into this new area. Abel noticed several dead soldiers and rebels littered about. Perhaps some of the rebels tried to sneak by, only to be followed by vigilant soldiers. Or maybe, in the heat of battle, they hadn't realized their fighting had taken them away from their comrades. Or perhaps still, they'd staggered to this out-of-the-way place trying to nurse injuries and didn't make it. Whatever the cause, the sight made Abel frown slightly. Death was one thing, but carnage was another. Wasn't life hard enough without people going out of the way to make it worse? Unfortunately, there wasn't anything Abel could do for these men now.

She was just about to turn her attention to sniffing out her prey, when movement out of the corner of her eye made Abel do a double-take. She could only stare as one of the fallen soldiers twitched. At first, she thought she'd imagined it. Perhaps the body beginning rigor mortis? But that idea flew out the window when his arm did more than twitch. Sluggishly, he dragged his hand against the ground until it was by his shoulder, after which he pushed himself up. The process was painstakingly slow. Guess he wasn't as hurt as he appeared, Abel thought, watching the man struggle. Must've passed out. She was tempted to go over and offer assistance, but thought better of it. Given her armed and unarmored status, he'd probably view her as a rebel. Shooting him when he'd just recovered would be rather pointless.

Glancing around the area for a place to hide away in until the man left to rejoin his comrades while still searching for her prey, Abel turned back to him to judge if she had time. However, when she did, she felt her breath leave her. The man... he'd been shot in the head. A huge, gaping hole lodged in his left temple. The lack of an obvious exit wound likely meant he'd been shot in the head with a low-powered black powder rifle. Standard issue for soldiers... or rebels, in this case. As the soldier pushed himself up on one arm shakily, Abel couldn't help thinking, How is he still conscious? While there was a chance a person could survive being shot in the head, depending on where the damage was, those odds lowered substantially if the bullet didn't exit. And even then, he shouldn't be conscious and moving around! That bullet had to have hit his prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain necessary for higher processing. Conscious behavior ought to be impossible.

No... Abel thought, body tensing. This is wrong. His skin is sallow as a corpse. Eyes dull and glazed. He's even showing signs of mild lividity across one cheek. A light purple stain across one side of his face, not quite like a bruise. But that was impossible unless a person's blood pooled in one spot. That only happened when the heart start pumping. And that... Only happens when you're dead.

As the... man?... shambled to his feet, scuffling behind her made Abel whip her head around. She was only somewhat less surprised to see several other men standing her. Men who had previously been on the ground. Men with wounds far too grievous to still be standing. A missing arm here. An arrow through the chest there. It didn't take much brain power to put the pieces together. "Necromancer." That's what the woman was. A bloody necromancer. Someone who, either through innate ability or the dark arts, could reanimate the dead. Control corpses. They weren't men anymore. They were little more than meat puppets. That's why I can't locate her, Abel realized. Eve's powers, the thing Abel's body reacted to, were dispersed among the corpses. And the woman, though imposing, was likely in hiding just out of sight. Physically, Eve couldn't oppose Abel. She had to stay hidden and let her puppets fight for her.

Now that she knew exactly what she was dealing with, Abel felt more relaxed. Odd, considering she now found herself surrounded by what were essentially zombies. Raising her crossbows in either direction, Abel prepared herself.

She fired first on the corpses with rifles, as those armed with melee weapons were just slowly approaching her. Eve may be powerful, but controlling multiple lifeless bodies at once couldn't be easy. Unfortunately, her bolts merely staggered the corpses. Abel frowned. Being dead, these creatures don't experience pain, she thought. I can't approach them as I would living beings. Likely the only reason the corpses reacted at all to her attack was the sheer momentum.

Focusing on a corpse nearing with a nasty-looking saber, Abel tested out a classic zombie-hunting myth. She fired nearly point blank at its head. Her bolt pierced through the skull easily, snapping the corpse's head back so violently that had he not already been dead, he most assuredly would've been after the broken neck. But that wasn't enough to stop him, as even with his head at an awkward angle, he still swung the saber at her head. Abel ducked, and the blade arced over her. While crouched, Abel swung her foot out, knocking the corpse's legs out from under him, sending him tumbling to the ground. Yet even as Abel put distance between them, it was already getting back up.

Whoever said shooting a zombie in the head would kill it was a liar... and probably dead. Logically, Abel supposed it made sense. These things were controlled by an outside force. Even if she took his head clean off, it wasn't like it needed one to know where Abel was. As long as Eve could see the battle, they'd keep coming, further cementing Abel's hunch that the woman was nearby.

The familiar click of a rifle hammer coming down forced Abel to throw herself on the ground. Even still, she hissed in pain as hot lead struck the edge of her neck where it met with her shoulder, tearing a chunk from her scarf. Although the bullet grazed her, pain seared through Abel's chest. Her hand flew to haphazardly hold the wound while still holding her weapon. It throbbed, sending blood running down her chest, soaking her clothes. Fortunately, it hadn't struck any major vessels, so Abel knew it wasn't serious. Just hurt like hell. Could have been worse, though. It had probably been aimed at her head. Rolling over on her back, Abel shot a bolt at the offending corpse, knocking the rifle from his hand, but barely affecting him otherwise.

More volleys sounded. Abel reacted quickly. She threw herself into a sideways roll, shoving her body up and forward the instant her feet hit the ground. Bullets peppered the ground around her from both sides. Without much thought, she bolted across the street toward what had once been a vendor stand. Abel vaulted over, her hip skimming the top, before landing in the narrow space between it and the wall. The wood absorbed any bullets fired her way, allowing her a moment to think.

There's even more than before, Abel thought. With the battle going on, the agent basically had unlimited fodder. And she couldn't exactly kill these things. Hell, they weren't even decayed enough to take their limbs off, at least rendering them harmless. No, the best option was to take care of Eve as quickly as possible. Somehow, I doubt she's just going to let me look unmolested, Abel groused.

The mighty crash of wood splintering jerked Abel violently from her musings. Jerking her head up, Abel nearly gasped at the sight of a giant corpse standing just on the other side of her stand, wielding a massive iron club. The corpse had batted the upper portion of the stand aside like it was just a pesky fly, and now raised the club over his head. Even without the corpse looking down at her, Abel knew what was about to happen. She threw herself forward against the wall just as he swung the club down, shattering the stand in half.

Unfortunately for Abel, the corpse recovered quicker than she expected. Instead of standing back up, like she expected, the attack came from his half-crouched position as he swung the club back up, almost like an upward baseball swing. With her back already against the wall, Abel didn't have anywhere to go, and ended up taking the full force of the club against her stomach. She might have screamed had she still had the breath. Abel felt her ribs crunch painfully, her back digging into the stonework.

When the corpse stepped back, removing the club from the hunter's gut, Abel slid down to her backside, panting and clutching her stomach. Son of a bitch! she cursed, gingerly touching her ribs. This is the last time I don't wear a corset. Even the steel boning wouldn't have prevented Abel from getting hurt, but at least it could double as a tourniquet.

Hearing the swoosh of movement through the air above, Abel forced her head up in time to see the giant corpse raising the club over his head again. Steeling herself for the pain, Abel bolted forward, between the giant's legs, escaping another devastating blow.

Hitting the ground running, Abel scurried across the pavement away from the shambling corpses. Keeping them all in front of her, Abel quickly replaced her crossbows and whipped out her bow. She couldn't kill them, but maybe she could stop them from moving. "Arrow Hail!" Shooting an arrow into the sky, there was a split second delay before it began raining arrows down across the battlefield. The arrows pierced the corpses multiple times, through numerous limbs, the force of the barrage enough to send them all collapsing on the ground.

When the barrage ended, Abel waited, holding her breath. Naturally the corpses were still "alive." She could see him trying to move. Yet they couldn't. Abel felt her tension melt slightly into victory. The multitude of arrows she'd created had pinned the corpses to the ground, preventing them from getting back up. The looked like insects pinned to a display board. They wiggled weakly against their binds, but to no avail.

"Most would not be so quick to attack their fellow man," a voice wafted on the winds.

No longer under siege from the dead, Abel glanced around at the buildings surrounding her. The voice came from nowhere in particular, meaning Abel couldn't locate its owner. But if she had to guess, Abel'd say the woman was somewhere high where she could see the battlefield. That left only a few options. "I consider it a service," Abel replied at length, talking to the sky. "I'm certain these men would not be happy to learn the ones threatening their country are forcing them to continue this debacle."

Eve chuckled breathily. "People die all the time. Every second, someone somewhere is dying. Why take offense at a natural act?"

"Forgive me for thinking such sentiments are disingenuous when you're stacking the deck," Abel retorted sharply, turning to face the other way, still searching the skyline.

There was a long pause before Eve spoke again. "I have to say, I find you a very interesting specimen."

Abel resisted rolling her eyes. "Excuse me while I contain my enthusiasm," she muttered under her breath.

Another long pause. "Did you know your soul is only loosely attached to your body?" Eve asked, seemingly randomly. Abel frowned slightly at the question. What did that mean? "Your soul rattles inside you. It calls to me, in the same way theirs does. I can only image you must have nearly died at some point, and your soul never quite reconnected all the way."

Glancing over her shoulder, Abel asked, "That's why you were able to use that trick from before?"

"Yes," Eve replied, with no delay that time. "Detached souls call out to me. Like a faint spiritual fingerprint on their bodies. My powers would never affect a normal living person. I wonder if I can pull your soul straight from your living body."

Reaching for her crossbows again, Abel replied, "You can have my soul if you take it the old-fashioned way." When she received no response, Abel looked behind her again. "By killing me."

"That can be arranged."

Abel actually felt Eve's powers move. The constant chill she'd felt ever since standing before the woman shifted, leaving the pinned down, useless corpses. Their bodies stilled and sagged, returning to proper dead as Eve's powers drained from them. The chill surrounded her again, but it felt different from before. Like it was coming from beneath her. Abel watched the ground warily, her breath puffing visibly before her despite the heat.

It didn't surprise Abel in the slightest when the paved ground around her started to crack and bulge as something buried deep beneath the city tried to escape its grave. If the capital truly was as old as the kingdom, it wasn't out of the question for the city to have been built atop forgotten graves. Hell, a harsh country like Alabasta could probably offer an inexhaustible supply of corpses for the necromancer.

Knowing that shooting the corpse rising from the ground would be useless, Abel instead watched the scene closely, making mental notes. Assuming she didn't die here, she'd have to devote several pages to explaining this phenomenon. The corpse in question must've been very strong to push through however many layers of dry, packed dirt and pavement it had been buried under. Abel thought she heard a faint growling, but it could just be the ground shaking. The ground hunched in the middle, making the hunter think whoever it was must've been pushing themselves up on their hands and knees. Another fallen soldier, perhaps.

With one last heave the dirt fell away, revealing the angry, growling, dirty corpse of... a dog.

Abel blinked, staring at the growling beast in surprise. Was this a deliberate choice? Did Eve know what she was pouring her powers into at all times? Surely she must, though the thought of the woman raising dead rats was pretty funny.

Going with the assumption that this new summon was deliberate, Abel decided to take it as a serious threat. She observed the zombie dog closely. It had clearly been dead a long time. It didn't have any fur, and its bare skin had turned a dried, sandy color. It was remarkably well preserved, not showing any signs of muscle atrophy. Abel couldn't tell what breed of dog it had been, but it was a medium-large breed, about the size of a full-grown German Shepard. The dog had clearly died from its injuries. The front right leg was missing from the shoulder joint down, its right ear was "broken", flopping down instead of sticking straight up like its companion, and where the right eye ought to be was just an empty hole. It was both fascinating and a little terrifying to see.

The dog snarled, lips curling back to reveal perfectly sharp teeth. The twitch in its hind legs gave Abel enough warning to jump out of the way just as the dog lunged at her. Abel staggered to the side a little, quickly spinning to face the dog. Landing easily despite missing a leg, the dog turned quickly and leapt at the hunter, jaws snapping violently. Again, Abel sidestepped. This dog was a million times faster than the previous corpses. Was it a species thing, or was it because Eve was only controlling one creature?

Unfortunately, in her haste, Abel tripped and landed heavily on the dirt. Adrenaline surging through her system, Abel quickly rolled onto is back. But before she could stand, something grabbed her from behind. Letting out a startled yelp, Abel's head whipped around. Her eyes widened at discovering several pairs of skeletal hands protruding from the ground, clinging to her. The hard, boney hands scrambled to hold onto her cloak. Abel's skin prickled fiercely in protest to the energy radiating through her clothes.

A growl very close to her forced Abel to turn from the hands, coming face-to-face with the zombie dog. When the dog lunged this time, Abel couldn't get away. Without thinking, she raised her arms to shield her face and throat. The zombie dog clamped onto her right forearm, teeth digging in and giving the limb a violent shake. Abel bit back a cry of pain as the dog's still powerful jaws squeezed her wrist. With each shake, it felt it might rip her arm straight out of the socket.

Hissing in both pain and aggravation, Abel tensed her trapped arm, trying to hold it as steady as possible. Ignoring the groppy hands, Abel pulled her crossbow out. She knew she couldn't really hurt the dog, but she could at least get it to let go. Pulling her arm back, Abel swung the weapon at the beast's head. The crossbow struck the dog across its missing right eye with enough force to knock the dog away. Of course, when it did, the sleeve of Abel's cloak went with it. Searing pain rushed up her arm as the teeth dragged across her skin. Surprisingly, the dog actually yelped, like a real dog would if it got hurt. Abel flinched at the sound. She hated the sound of hurt animals. She actually felt the tiniest bit of sympathy for it.

But she couldn't dwell on such things. With the dog stunned for the moment, Abel used the opportunity to get free. Her hands flew to the buttons on her cloak. Her helpfully dexterous fingers flew down the buttons. As soon as the last button came undone, Abel threw her arms back, letting the slick fabric slide from her shoulders as she jumped up. Quickly moving out of reach of the hands, Abel stared down to see them reaching out to her.

Her gaze rose when she heard pattering footsteps behind her. Seeing the dog had recovered and was stalking near her again, Abel acted on a crazy whim. She reached down, grabbed one of the outstretched hands, and yanked. After so many years of decay, the limb snapped off very easily, making a cracking sound like a broken twig. Almost funnily, the hand kept moving even without being attached to the rest of the body, trying to grab at Abel's face. Ignoring the strangeness, Abel turned back to the dog. Adopting a less threatening stance, Abel held the boney arm aloft. She whistled lightly. "Do you want the stick, boy?"

Bizarrely, the dog actually stopped and looked confused at her. It stopped growling and tilted its head, its one working ear perking. Abel repeated her question, shaking the flailing arm and using the same tone of voice she'd use if she were offering to play with a real dog. Amazingly, Abel watched as the dog's remaining eye became a little less glazed over. Did bodies retain memories? Even if Eve was using her own will to control them, did their souls still leave some piece behind? Abel had just been acting on a random whim, but if it actually worked, she'd run with it. Leave the questions of why it worked till later.

As she waved the arm around, the dog slowly became more excited. It's scrawny tail started to wag as its head followed the path of the "toy." Abel actually laughed when the dog barked, going into a play pose. Its one eye, now no visibly different than a real dog's looked beseechingly at Abel. "All right, boy. Go get it!" Pulling back, Abel threw the arm as hard as she could. Both she and the dog watched as it sailed over the buildings. All those years of archery gave Abel a pretty good arm. The dog, eager to play, took off after the throw, barking happily all the way.

Smirking at her unexpected success, Abel decided not to wait around to see if it came back. She had a fight to finish, and she knew exactly how to do it.

Barely giving a second thought to the corpses now trying to claw themselves from the ground around her, Abel reached under the sash around her waist. She pulled out two items: a crossbow and a small glass vial filled with murky liquid. She gave the vial a good shake, agitating the contents, before tossing it into the air. As she did, she aimed her crossbow. "Smokescreen." The bolt shattered the bottle, releasing the contents. As soon as the liquid mixed with the air, it expanded and exploded into a thick gray mist, cloaking the area in darkness.

From her hiding spot, Eve frowned as she tried to peer through the smoke. Clever, she thought with begrudging admiration. The pirate was hiding her movements so Eve couldn't attack her. Tenuously holding her control over the corpses she couldn't see but knew were there, Eve pressed closer to the window. The smoke was beginning to clear. She had to find her target fast.

But when the smoke finally dissipated, Eve discovered that the woman was nowhere on the ground. The street was empty, save for her corpses. Had she gone into hiding as well, waiting to ferret Eve out?

Feeling slightly apprehensive, Eve decided it was best to slowly edge away from the window, lest the hunter spot her before Eve did. She stepped to the side, pressing her back against the wall beside the window, which would still allow her to see outside while lessening the odds of being spotted.

When she did, however, Eve spotted something blocking the light from the window on the adjacent wall. Reflexively looking up, Eve could only stare back at the hunter watching her from the window, perched like a bird of prey. Eve felt her heart leap a little. It wasn't often that she was surprised or startled by anything. But she truly hadn't expected to see the pirate there. For the first time in a while, Eve cursed her handicap. The two stared at each other, waiting to see who would make the first move.

Eve wasn't stupid. She knew she had to move first. She couldn't let the hunter get to her, and here she was powerless. So she bolted, running towards the stairs. She didn't look back. If she had, she might have seen the pirate aiming her crossbow. She might have read or seen the attack coming. But because she didn't, Eve gasped when she felt something wrap around her legs, tying them together mid-stride. Eve's body pitched forward, falling violently down the stairs.

Abel grimaced when she heard wood snapping below, followed by a brief silence before a heavy, painful thud. Entering the stairwell, Abel saw the banister where the stairs doubled back had shattered, meaning whatever had broken it would have free fallen several stories before hitting the ground floor.

Carefully making her way down the rickety stairs to the broken banister, she peered over the edge. Three stories below, the necromancer lay. She wasn't dead, Abel could see that much. Her chest was rising. But she wouldn't be going anywhere for a while. Her legs were still caught in Abel's Entangling Shot; an attack similar to her Bola Blast, but instead of wrapping a bomb around a target, this lighter line just tangled the target up. Blood slowly ran from the woman's nose, and one arm bent at an odd angle by the wrist and elbow.

Following down the staircase properly, Abel came to stand over the agent. Based on the blood, Abel suspected she had a concussion. But even though the victor was obvious, a niggling voice in the back of Abel's head told her it wasn't completely finished. Pondering, Abel's index finger idly caressed the trigger of her crossbow, still in hand. Slowly, she raised a crossbow, pointing it down at the woman's head. She should finish her off, for everyone's safety. Who knew what trouble she'd get up to if Abel left her alive?

But... she just couldn't bring herself to do it. Abel just couldn't bring herself to finish things by pulling the trigger.

If it had been anything else, she wouldn't have hesitated in the slightest. She'd killed things before. Even outside of monsters, Abel knew how to hunt. Ending a creature's life because it was necessary for survival, food or otherwise, wasn't something she had a problem with. Nor did she hesitate to end the life of things that caused harm to others. The way Abel saw it, sometimes death was a potential consequence of their actions.

But to kill another human being... It left a bad taste in her mouth. Was this woman really so beyond redemption?

With a sigh, Abel lowered her weapon and returned it securely to her leg. Casting one last glance at the necromancer, Abel turned and headed for the exit. She wasn't the monster here.

Upon reaching the door, Abel heard a soft snort behind her. Looking over her shoulder, Abel saw Eve looking blearily at the ceiling. "Compassion from a hunter? I truly have fallen far." Abel blinked, surprised at hearing actual emotion from the woman for the first time. Contempt clouded her voice like fog.

Curious what the woman would do now, Abel meandered back over until she stood over the woman again. Abel had ascertained that the woman was, if not totally, mostly deaf. She'd located the woman's hiding place when she noticed that Eve only responded when Abel spoke facing one specific direction. Looking back, she'd also noticed that the woman tended to stare at her lips, a trick people with poor hearing tended to learn. That's why it had been so easy to sneak up on her once she shrouded the area in smoke.

Lightly, Abel asked, "Would you prefer I remedy that?"

Eve's eyes sought out Abel's though the hunter saw the dullness. Abel was nothing but a dark blurred outline in Eve's sight. "Do you pity me?" she asked harshly. "Do you no longer see me as a threat? Is that the reason behind your generosity?"

She sounded so offended that Abel didn't finish her, it almost made her laugh. "Neither," she answered easily. "There is simply no reason to kill you. You and your master's plan will fail, the truth will be made known, and the Marines will arrest you and your accomplices. Even if they don't, you'll be a wanted woman. Hiding will be your only recourse. Either way, I doubt you're a danger to anyone anymore." Hooking her thumbs in the edge of her sash, Abel added with levity, "And if you are, then I'll just find you again and finish you off myself."

"There's no rest for monsters such as myself," Eve said dully, closing her eyes to prevent her head from swimming.

Abel eyed the woman at her feet silently for a long moment before kneeling beside her. "If you hate being a monster so much, then stop." Eve's eyes snapped open then, looking stunned, and not from the head wound. Abel wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry at the thought that no one had ever told this woman she didn't have to act like a monster. "I don't know how you acquired your necromantic arts, but you do realize you can choose how to use them, correct? There's not some universal, unbreakable law stipulating you can only raise the dead for evil. And even if there was, screw it. You're a criminal now."

Eve didn't respond. She just stared, blinking up at Abel. As if she were trying to figure out if she was hearing the hunter correctly or if she was hearing things.

Figuring the conversation over, and with more pressing matters than trying to convince someone not to be evil, Abel stood again, wincing. Without so much as a glance back at the battered necromancer, Abel made her exit onto the streets. Maybe she'd one day regret not ending Eve's life, but for now she felt good about her decision. There was more than one way to slay a monster.

Upon exiting onto the main street, Abel felt immensely relieved that the dead were acting like the dead. Without Eve's influence, they had returned to being proper corpses. Although when this was all over, the person who discovered this scene was in for a nasty surprise, between the decayed corpses frozen clawing their way out of their graves and the more recent dead pinned to the ground like skewers.

Unfortunately, with the fighting over for now, and the adrenaline that had been keeping conscious awareness of her injuries at bay depleted, Abel felt the weight of her wounds. In addition to being dirty and general battle exhaustion, Abel's stomach ached horribly. The skin was already turning a dark shade of purple all the way across her front, and the pain accompanying each breath indicated that if something wasn't broken, it was at least cracked. Running her hand under her scarf, Abel was at least happy to see that the shot to her neck had stopped bleeding. Her scarf had soaked up most of the blood, but some had stained her chest and top, making the injury appear worse than it was. Overall, she felt terrible, but not too bad all things considering. She wasn't about to keel over anytime soon, at least.

Abel's analysis of her health suddenly went to the bottom of her list of priorities as a roar began to sound. At first Abel thought it was just the battle growing closer. But as the sound grew louder, she realized it wasn't the sound of fighting. It was a roar, like a steadily rising wind. It sounded vaguely familiar. Facing north, in the direction the noise came from, Abel felt dismay at the sight of a sandstorm swirling high into the air, creating a vortex over the northern-central portion of the city. The palace, Abel realized. The sand whirled fiercely, completely blocking view of the palace. It didn't take a genius to figure out what this meant. Mr. Sandman's joined the party.

A brief, terrible thought came to Abel unbidden. If Crocodile was here, then where was Luffy? Abel knew Luffy wouldn't have just let Crocodile get past him, which meant something must have happened. Concern reared its head in Abel's mind, but she quickly pushed those feelings down. Boss wouldn't give up so easily, she reminded herself. Besides, there was still more to do, which worrying wouldn't accomplish.

Focusing on things she could do, Abel ran in the direction of the palace. She skirted around most of the fighting, which had spilled through most of the central region of the city. Abel had little doubt that this sand screen was intended to continue the confusion between the troops. She at least hoped that meant that Vivi had made it to the palace and was trying to cause trouble for Crocodile's plans.

As she ran through the streets with the sounds of chaos echoing not far away, Abel spotted a patch of orange in her periphery. Instantly recognizing the familiar head of hair, Abel paused and shouted down the street, "Red!"

Nami staggered to a halt, whipping around quickly. Abel's eyes instantly landed on the bleeding hole in Nami's right leg. Before she could inquire about it, Nami ran up to her, eyes alight. For a brief second Abel thought it was happiness to see another of the crew. But Nami quickly tossed that theory out the window when she tried to take Abel's head off with her Tenko Bo. Abel narrowly avoided being brained by tossing herself backwards, landing backside-first on the ground. "Whoa!" Abel exclaimed, holding up a hand to ward off the spastic red-head. "Easy there, Red. Still in the fog of war?"

Undaunted, Nami huffed and pointed the blue steel at Abel's face threateningly. "What's the idea making party tricks!? You and that long nose nearly got me killed!"

Abel frowned, tilting her head in confusion. "I don't follow. Why would I make party tricks?"

Nami huffed again, but at least appeared to have sated her anger for the time being. Instead of verbally explaining, she tossed a scrap of paper at Abel while glaring accusingly at her. Confused and curious, Abel read the paper. The instructions Sparkplug made for Red's weapon... she realized. At first she noted nothing wrong. The instruction spelled out how the various rods worked. Then Abel switched to the back side. Briefly reading through the list, Abel noticed that several of the attacks listed were not things Abel had worked on. A spring-loaded boxing glove...? Mechanical cuckoo birds...? What had Usopp been doing while tinkering on that weapon?

Most gallingly, and likely the cause of Nami's fury, was a note at the bottom of the page that read, "The things said above should be used at parties to bring a happy mood and make people laugh!" Abel was sure her expression deadpanned. Why not preface that at the top? she wondered.

Tossing the now useless scrap away, Abel met Nami's still hot gaze. "Remind me to never leave Sparkplug unsupervised during a collaboration," she drawled, trying to subtly indicate that she had no part in that. "But as you're standing, and I see no agents around, I shall assume you adapted."

It was true. Nami had the appearance of one who had gone through the wringer. She'd lost her cloak, her skirt had a long rip up from the bottom, and her hair had fallen from its clip. Nami also bled from wounds in her left shoulder, and her right leg looked bruised and swollen. Her fight must've been even more difficult than Abel's, though that may have been because Nami wasn't used to fighting on the front lines. But that just made her accomplishment even more impressive to Abel. She was glad that her weapon, no matter how botched Usopp had made it, had served Nami well.

A strange combination of annoyance and pride crossed Nami's face before she got down to business. "Weren't you with Chopper? Why are you alone?"

"Let's just say I had to tag Sparkplug out," Abel replied, feeling safe to stand again.

"Useless..." Nami muttered under her breath, hopefully only referring to Usopp. Shaking her head, she continued, "We should head for the palace, regardless. I'm sure we'll meet everyone there." Nami got no complaints from Abel as the two women headed north.

The continued past a few abandoned streets, when Nami suddenly stopped. Noticing her actions, Abel paused as well. Rather than asking what had grabbed the navigator's attention, she just looked in the direction Nami stared. A spot of green against the otherwise dry surroundings. Green attached to one of Abel's favorite people.
As the two women approached the passed out swordsman, Abel felt someone disquieted about the amount of blood covering him. Even with him lying face-down on the ground, Abel saw the blood soaking through his white shirt from the front and staining the dusty earth. Normally Abel would worry about blood loss if she didn't know that sleeping was Zoro's typical way of recovering from a hard fight.

Nami, however, had no remorse for the man. "Wake up, slacker!" she barked, poking him in the head with her bo.

Zoro twitched and groaned in annoyance before slowly opening his eyes. "Is it morning?" he murmured while sitting up, holding his head.

Before Nami could snap at him, Abel replied, "I believe it's after noon."

Abel didn't know if Zoro heard her or not. Sitting cross-legged, he seemed to be regaining his bearings. As he did so, Abel took the opportunity to survey the damage. The man had multiple cuts across his torso and face, bleeding so profusely his previously white shirt had turned a muddy-rusty color. He'd also lost his cloak and head scarf somewhere. But the signs of fierce battle weren't just carved into Zoro's body. They were in their surroundings as well. Abel hadn't noticed at first, but many of the buildings in the area had been demolished. Pillars of solid stone had been cut into multiple pieces. One building even looked like it had been uprooted from its foundations! Abel let out a low whistle. I'm beginning to think I got off easy, she thought.

When she turned back to the conversation, Abel listened as Nami derided Zoro. "You were supposed to protect me! But you let that woman get past you!"

"Stop whining. You look fine," Zoro replied, unmoved. So Nami's fought that Doublefinger lady? Perhaps when this was over Abel would ask what her power was.

Scowling, Nami demanded, "You can make penance by carrying me!"

"What!?" Zoro snapped, glaring up at the redhead.

Abel could almost see the flames in the background between the two fiery tempers. "It's your fault I got hurt in the first place!" Nami argued. "I'm too weak to make it all the way to the palace on my own!" Nami leaned heavily on her bo like a crutch for emphasis. Abel's brow quirked, a smirk edging on her lips. It was on the tip of her tongue to point out Nami'd been running just fine before. But it was more fun watching Zoro get angry.

Hissing, Zoro stood. "Fine! If it'll make you shut up!" Nami beamed, and eagerly climbed onto Zoro's back. The man grunted and muttered unintelligible curses as Nami made herself comfortable on piggy-back.

As Zoro stood, holding Nami's legs against his sides, he saw Abel coming up to him with an amused expression on her face. "What d'you need?" he grumbled.

Abel's grin widened, but she didn't say anything. Instead, she wordlessly reached out for Zoro's arm. Zoro watched, confused. The hunter tied a black piece of cloth to his arm. His bandana. He hadn't even realized he hadn't tied it back. When it was secure, Abel stepped back with a smile.

Zoro eyed the brunette. She looked a little ruffled and bloody, with a spectacular bruise forming across the expanse of her stomach. But aside from that, she looked no worse off than the rest of them. Realizing he was staring, Zoro looked away mumbling, "Thanks..."

"All right!" Nami shouted, breaking the awkward moment. "Mush, Zoro!" For good measure, she kicked her heels into his sides, making the man wince. Abel's grin widened and Zoro's face turned red with anger. But he obeyed, however reluctantly, following after Abel as she led them toward the palace.

The trio paused when they came to the edge of the sandstorm surrounding the palace. It was so thick they could barely make out figures inside. The roar of the wind drowned out all but the closest sounds. "This can't be natural," Nami mused, frowning.

"It's likely Crocodile's doing," Zoro commented. The women nodded in agreement. It would be too convenient otherwise. Plus, how often did a sandstorm occur in a city?

Trying to peer past the sand with narrow eyes, Zoro suggested, "The storm should make it easy for us to get through the fighting, though. With the shitty visibility, they probably won't notice us so long as we don't run right in front of them."

Before Abel could agree, a voice from high above shrieked, "CROCODILE!"

All three of their heads snapped up at the voice. "Luffy!" Nami gasped.

Abel barely caught a glimpse of a giant bird streaking overhead before diving into the thick of the storm. "Was that a bird?" Zoro asked.

"It's Pell the Falcon," Abel replied. "One of the royal soldiers in Rainbase. He must've brought Boss with him." Abel felt a weight she refused to acknowledge lift from her chest. Luffy was okay. He was here. And in good spirits. No matter how bad things seemed, the conclusion was far from decided.

"C'mon!" Zoro called as he dived into the storm, Abel hot on his heels.

Inside, visibility was as poor as she expected. She could barely see a few feet in front of her, which was probably Crocodile's intention. Could the soldiers or rebels even see who they were fighting? Probably not, as Abel found herself dodging stray gunfire. It was hard to breath inside, as well, as the harsh sand burned her nostrils. Abel got some relief by covering her nose with her scarf, but her companions had no such help, and just had to cough through it.

"Hurry, Zoro!" Nami urged.

"Hey! I'm the more badly injured one!" Zoro complained, but didn't stop running.

"Oh, quit whining and act like a man! My leg is hurt! I can barely stand! Ugh... I'm gonna faint..."

"You're such a liar!"

It never ceased to amuse Abel how much actual crap Zoro was willing to take. Granted, if it had been one of the guys, Zoro probably would've told them to shove off. Only the women could get away with getting assistance from Zoro without being rough-handled. This just further cemented Abel's belief that, despite his temper, Zoro was a good man at heart. He just had an awkward way of showing it. And Abel, of all people, couldn't hold that against him.

As they neared where the palace had to be, Abel thought she heard a familiar voice over the wind. "See! See!? I knew it!" There was no mistaking Usopp's high-pitched voice.

The walls around the palace suddenly came into view, stretching far into the sky, above the storm. They were identical to the walls around the rest of the city: tall, sheer, with the only real way up via a steep staircase. And near the feet of this staircase was the welcomed sight of their friends. Sanji, Chopper, and Usopp in a full body cast. Vivi, scuffed no doubted form the struggle of breaking through the fighting to reach the palace. Pell, looking in full control of his body. And most thankfully, Luffy. Their captain was whole and raring to go, his arms already reaching for the top of the walls, and oddly with a large barrel strapped to his back.

As they neared, unnoticed by the others, Nami leapt from Zoro's back with a growl. "Usopp!" she shrieked, smacking him in the head with her bo. And Abel didn't feel the least bit of remorse for not warning him.

Vivi's eyes watered. "Nami-san! Abel-san! Bushido-san! Everyone's safe!"

Amusingly, rather than focus on the situation at hand, the others thought now was a good time to argue. Nami yelled at Usopp for making party tricks, while Usopp hammed up his wounds, making Chopper spaz out. And of course, Sanji started yelling at Zoro for letting Nami get hurt. Nice to know they have priorities straight, Abel mused.

"Sorry." Luffy's unusually somber voice broke through the commotion. He had everyone's attention now. There was a little sorrow and regret in his voice, but mostly determination. "I lost to that guy once, so this time I can't lose." Peering up, Abel spotted Crocodile scowling down at them from the wall. No doubt he'd thought he'd left Luffy for dead. Should've stayed to make sure of that. His arrogance would be his downfall.

"Go already," Zoro growled.

"If you can't win, who can!?" Usopp snapped.

Luffy glanced back, taking a moment to catch each crewmate's gaze. "I'm gonna put an end to this... for good!"

"All right!" the crew cheered their captain on.

Vivi tried to hide her sobs, rubbing the tears from her eyes. She'd be a nervous wreck by the end of this, constantly bouncing from one extreme emotion to the next. Even Pell gave a slight smile. Luffy gave them the thing they needed most: hope.

With a mighty battle cry, Luffy launched himself into the air. Crocodile waited for him, more aggravated at Luffy's presence than anything else. Watching Luffy fly out of range of their assistance, Abel silently wondered what he had planned. Obviously the barrel was for something, but Abel hadn't a clue as to what. Predicting Luffy's train of thought was a monumental task. Luffy thought so far outside the box that he wasn't even in the same time zone as the box. Yet somehow, even at its most bizarre, things always worked out.

Therefore, it was only a moderate surprise when Luffy swung a punch at Crocodile... and actually connected. The man didn't turn into sand. Luffy actually punched him down! Then was it possible to actually beat someone with an elemental-style Devil Fruit?

Several of the others gave a cheer as Luffy and Crocodile disappeared from view. "What do we do now?" Chopper queried, looking around.

"Sit and wait?" Usopp suggested hopefully. He really didn't want to fight anymore.

"No!" Vivi's exclamation started everyone, who jerked around to gape at her. Composure gone, Vivi started to go into frantic mode again. "Crocodile has another dirty trick up his sleeve! He's got an agent hiding somewhere, ready to fire off a bomb at 4:30! The explosion will destroy all of Alubarna... and everyone in it!"

"Seriously!?" Usopp shrieked, grabbing his hair.

"That guy doesn't know when to quit," Sanji growled around his cigarette.

Thoughtfully, Abel added, "He intends to destroy every trace of his crime."

"What could he possibly want so badly that it's worth destroying the capital!?" Nami demanded.

"Pluton."

The pirates looked questioningly at Vivi. Pursing her lips, Vivi explained quickly, "Crocodile said he's after the blueprints for an ancient weapon called Pluton, which was said to have the power to wipe an entire island off the map."

Abel felt both intrigued and horrified. Such weapons really existed? The possibilities flooded through Abel's mind. What could destroy an entire island at once? A massive cannon? "And he believes the plans are here?"

Vivi nodded tensely. "The secret is passed down from ruler to ruler."

Now it all made sense. It wasn't Alabasta itself that Crocodile was after. It was this weapon. This Pluton. If such a thing could be built, Crocodile could rule the entire world. The mere threat of something like that could force the World Government to its knees. Capturing the king and forcing him to reveal these blueprints was his plan from the very beginning. Of course he couldn't allow the king to live afterwards, to reveal his scheme to the government, who would undoubtedly step in. So the king needs to die, but in a way that draws no suspicion on him. Like, say, during a coup de tat, during which the nation is in such turmoil that no one notices Crocodile carry out his machinations. So much death for a single goal...

"Who cares what he wants?" Zoro demanded impatiently. "All that matters is we stop him." He cast a glance at Vivi. "So where's this shooter?"

Vivi's face tensed. "I have no idea."

Whipping around to their two gunmen, Nami all but demanded, "Abel! Usopp! Find them!"

Abel merely blinked at the command while Usopp sputtered, "What!? Find the shooter!? How the heck are we supposed to do that!?"

"No time to think about it," Zoro said, glancing at the clock tower. "We've got ten minutes."

Closing her eyes, Abel held her chin in deep thought, blocking out the sounds around her. She was vaguely aware of the others talking rapidly, trying to figure out where the shooter was. Abel's mind raced as she tried to figure out the puzzle. It has to be in the city, because there's no vantage point from outside. It will no doubt be aimed for the heart of the city, here outside the palace, to ensure the widest coverage and most deaths. The most logical option would be on the outskirts of the city near the walls... but recently the walls have been too heavily guarded to risk such a maneuver. So where could you hide something big enough to do that kind of damage without anyone noticing?

Brows furrowing deeply in contemplation, Abel's eyes searched out the clock tower, unconsciously checking their time. Less than nine minutes... Staring at the clock face as the second hand ticked down on their life was a bit distracting.

Sudden, Abel had an epiphany. Eyes wide in realization, she pushed Usopp and Nami out of the way as she stepped past the group. "There!" she stated, pointing at the skyline. Her heart pounded in her chest. If she was wrong, they were dead. But she knew she wasn't.

"The clock tower!?"

"Abel-dono, are you sure?" Sanji asked anxiously. Not that he doubted Abel, but they had to be sure.

Without looking away from the tower, Abel nodded. "It's the only logical conclusion. To create an explosion large enough to demolish a city of this size would require massive artillery. You can't hide something that big in a normal building. It'd have to be somewhere no one has reason to go. Furthermore, they can't fire artillery of that size from a long distance. They'd either have to drop it from somewhere close or find a space large enough to hide a massive cannon. Either way, that tower fits. And it's the tallest building in the city next to the palace. The perfect perch to see where you're aiming without being noticed in a city full of paranoid warmongers."

"That makes sense..." Usopp muttered.

"I know it's there," Abel stated firmly. She was betting all their lives on it. But she knew it as surely as she knew her own name.

Eyeing the tower, Zoro said, "All right, then let's-"

He trailed off suddenly as he and Sanji swung into action as a man tried to skewer Vivi from behind. Vivi flinched as the two men swung their respective weapons just over her head. Zoro caught the man's sword with his, while Sanji kicked him in the face. The man, bearing Baroque Works' logo, coughed up blood before falling back, landing at the feet of a group of very angry men. All Baroque Works thugs.

"Damn it!" Usopp cursed, freaking out at the number of guys. Several dozen at least.

Vivi fearfully stepped back a few paces, away from the bloodthirsty men. "We've finally found you Princess Vivi!" they leered, looking like starving hyenas. "Killing you will earn us a promotion!"

"And we'll become millionaires!"

Abel's lips twisted sardonically. I don't suppose informing them they'll be dead in five minutes will dissuade them.

Sanji and Zoro exchanged a glance. "How long do you plan on taking?" Sanji asked.

"We have to make every second count," Zoro replied.

For once coming to an easy agreement, the men glared at the agents. "Two seconds!"

"We don't have time for this!" Nami yelled, already starting to run. "Let's scatter and meet up you-know-where!"

"Roger!" the others readily agreed. Everyone made a break for it, going in slightly different directions, leaving Zoro and Sanji to deal with the thugs. As they left, Abel thought she heard Vivi yelling at them to wait, but they didn't really have the time for that. Five minutes didn't leave a lot of waiting time.

Abel tore through the streets on her own, dodging and weaving through the mindless combatants. Fortunately most them ignored her so long as she didn't stop. However, there were a few times she had to cut down a side street because the fighting was so thick she couldn't get through. This meant she couldn't take the most direct route possible. That, in addition to the pain from her broken ribs, put Abel in a foul mood. The adrenaline took some of the edge off her injuries, but it didn't stop the burning pain from shooting up her sides and chest with every panting breath she took. Her muscles twinged and tensed cripplingly, creating an uncomfortable rippling sensation with every long stride. In a full run, with arms pumping, her muscles tried to tense against the near constant pain. It actually made it difficult for Abel to breathe. She had to choose between taking the full breaths necessary to run, or avoiding pain with shallow breaths at a slower pace.

At one point, the pain became so bad that Abel had to stop and lean against a wall for a moment to catch her breath. She felt like she was going to be sick. Abel breathed heavily through her nose, afraid if she opened her mouth she might vomit.

While she panted, regaining her strength, or at least pushing the pain aside long enough to run, a shadow fell over her. Looking up, Abel mentally cursed when she saw her way blocked by several Baroque Works thugs. They leered at Abel. "Looks like we found one of 'ya all alone."

Abel just stared back, unimpressed. Seriously, didn't these guys have better things to do? Like stir up a war?

But luck finally seemed to be cutting her a break, as someone attacked the men from behind, easily taking them down with a few sword slashes. For a brief second Abel thought Zoro had caught up to her. But the figure before her had blue hair, female and was of the Marine variety.

Abel wasn't sure how to feel upon seeing Tashigi and several Marines replacing the thugs in her path. True, she was glad they took care of the thugs, but what good did it do her realistically if they just replaced them? She really didn't want to deal with Marines trying to arrest her.

Tashigi frowned, almost glaring at Abel. Abel noticed the Marine was slightly battered, shaken, and out of breath. Were they helping the royal army? Abel watched in mild confusion as, instead of attacked, Tashigi sheathed her sword. With more than a little reluctance, the officer turned her back on the pirate, but still kept her eyes on her. "We'll assist you!" Tashigi declared. Abel just stared back, certain that her lack of oxygen was making her delusional.

But that didn't seem to be the case, as Tashigi snapped, "Hurry! Go stop the explosion!"

Abel honestly had no idea why or how Tashigi knew about the explosion, but she wasn't about to push away the hand of providence. She merely nodded at the officer, pushing herself off the wall. Before running past the Marines, Abel made sure to say, "I appreciate your sacrifice, Sergeant." That woman had just swallowed a lot of pride to help her.

True to her word, Abel didn't stop until she reached the clock tower. No matter how badly her lungs burned or how sharp the pain in her sides. The pain was ultimately worth it when she rounded the last turn, the base of the tower finally in view. The clock tower sat atop another building, five stories tall. Even better, it looked like most of the others had just gotten there. Nami, Chopper and Usopp all stood around, animatedly discussing something.

"What's the plan?" Abel asked hurriedly, staggering to a stop. She pressed a hand to her heaving side, hiding her wince.

"I originally planned for Pell to take us up there," Vivi explained, looking around worried. The falcon was nowhere to be seen.

"We have no choice but to use the stairs," Usopp said, disheartened. No way they could climb all that way in less than two minutes.

"Hey!"

The group looked up in surprise at Sanji's voice. The cook was already inside, looking out the central window on the third floor. He waved brightly at the girls. "Nami-swan! Abel-dono! Vivi-chwan!" Abel ignored his too-happy attitude in favor of being grateful he'd gotten a head start on the climb.

Growling impatiently, Usopp shouted, "Just climb and finish them up!"

"What should I do?" another familiar voice asked, from even higher up. Discovering Zoro on top of the main building, at the base of the clock tower, was truly a surprise for all of them. Mainly because that meant Zoro had actually beaten them all there. And with Zoro's sense of direction...

"I've been looking for you guys for quite a while," Zoro complained.

"What are you doing there!?" Sanji demanded, not appreciating that Zoro had stolen his thunder.

"The Marines told me to go north. So I climbed up here." Had the situation not been so dire, Abel would've laughed at how Zoro's poor understanding of direction actually came in handy for a change. No, screw it. She needed a good laugh. It relieved stress.

"But that's good!" Usopp yelled. "Keep climbing!"

"No," Vivi interrupted, causing Usopp to whirl around at her. Keeping her eyes on the building, Vivi explained, "They can't go inside the clock tower from where they are. To go there, you must use the back stairs on the first floor."

"But Zoro can destroy the tower wall!" Usopp suggested. Their swordsman could just cut the tower down completed.

Sarcastically, Abel retorted, "Yes, let's do the bad guy's job via assisted suicide by dropping a bomb on the city." The others blanched at the wording, but at least she got the point across. You don't just drop any form of artillery. Especially not an explosive.

"We still have to take the stairs!" Vivi shouted, already running for the door.

But Nami cut her off. "Wait, Vivi!" Vivi whirled around, looking wild-eyed. "I think I have a better plan!"

However, before Nami could explain, laughter interrupted her. Laughter from above, accompanied by creaking. Abel, and all the others, turned their attention skyward and watched in shock as the giant clock face began to swing open. And the laughter was coming from inside. Two very different voices. One male and one female.

When the clock face swung open fully, Abel found her attention divided between the massive cannon in the back and the two people guarding it. They were by far the strangest looking agents the pirates had come across, and that really said something. The woman dressed in a frog motif from head to toe, quite literally, while the man dressed in a style that Abel could only describe as drunk-judge. He also had the number 7 printed on his clothes at random places. Did Crocodile just find the most bizarre rejects he could for recruitment? But they were armed with guns, so at least it made sense why they got to man the cannon. Did they know they'd probably die, too? Probably not.

"In this kind of situation those two had to appear...!" Vivi grumbled.

"They're gunners," Abel pointed out. "We'll have to take them by surprise." If they got too nervous, they might set the bomb off prematurely. Not that there was much time left.

"Doesn't matter!" Nami growled. "I know what to do, but there's no time to explain! Just do what I say!" Under normal circumstances the others might have protested, or at least asked for a better explanation. But the circumstances weren't normal. So despite some anxiety over participating in a plan they didn't get, they went along with it. If it worked, great. If it didn't... well they wouldn't be alive to complain.

Unceremoniously, Nami ordered, "Abel! Keep those freaks in your sights!" Abel was more than happy to comply, stepping back across the street so she had a clearer view of the tower. Going for her bow, Abel hesitated only long enough to decide on pulling out two arrows at once. Kneeling, she held her bow sideways while nocking one arrow, holding the other between her teeth. The agents were out of sight at the moment, but they'd no doubt come out to the ledge again to watch their handiwork.

Seeing Abel in position, Nami continued, "Usopp! Go stand by the door!" When he did so, she added, "Now crouch down with your arms out to the side!"

"What!?"

"Just do it!"

Grumbling, Usopp complied, stooping over into a splayed crouch.

"Vivi, get on Chopper's back." When the princess was secure, Nami concluded with, "Now you climb on Usopp's back, Chopper!"

Thus they ended up with a wobbly, confused, three-man pyramid.

Above, Abel heard the woman chant, "Ignite!" The countdown had begun.

"I hope there's a purpose behind this other than just as amusing pose to die in," Abel commented mildly.

"I'm calculating!" Nami snapped, holding her bo tightly. She glared at Usopp, though the anger was more at their situation than the sniper. "Just shut up and stand there quietly!"

"Quietly!?" Usopp wailed. "I don't understand the point of this setup! What the hell are you gonna do!?"

Breaking one rod off the end of the bo, Nami growled, "You'll know after I do it! Here I come!" With the cold rod connected to the electric rod, Nami snapped the heat rod into the cold one, forming a cross on the end. "The weather forecast is typhoon!"

Above, Mr. Seven and whoever his partner was (was there a frog holiday?) came out onto the ledge and shouted jovially, "Thirteen seconds before firing!" There was no time to think. Only act.

"Cyclone Tempo!" Swinging the Tenko Bo down like an axe, Nami hurled the heat and cold rods across the ground. They whirled toward the human totem.

"Hey, hey..." Usopp stuttered. "Cyclone Tempo is just a boomerang game for after parties!"

Ignoring him, Nami shouted, "Make for the clock tower!"

The cross-shaped rods skirted over the ground before reaching Usopp, where the end of one rod slammed into Usopp's crotch. This brought tears to Usopp's eyes, but served the primary purpose of releasing a massive gust of wind as the heat and cold mixed together, sending all three of them hurtling into the sky. Straight toward Sanji.

"Chopper!" Nami yelled, cupping her mouth. "Jump to Sanji!"

As the three floating crewmates gasped, Abel drawled, "So the plan is to leap frog to the top." First to Sanji, then to Zoro. Crazy as it was, Abel thought it might work. Those two ought to be strong enough to propel Chopper and Vivi all the way to the top of the tower.

"Sanji, you know what to do next!" Nami called. "We have to hurry!"

Planting one foot on the windowsill, Sanji murmured, "I think I get the gist of it, but..." This was very unorthodox, but if Nami-san thought it would work... "Oh, heck! I just have to do it!"

Even if it didn't, there was no time to go back. "Sounds like we don't have time to think!" Vivi relented. "It's all up to you, Tony-kun!"

"Okay! Grab tighter, Vivi!" With Vivi's arms securely around his neck, Chopper's hackles tensed before he leapt, kicking off Usopp's back. The sniper screamed, both in pain and from being pushed into a freefall.

Watching from atop the building, at the base of the tower, Zoro murmured, "Ah, I get it." He started pulling out two of his swords, flipping them over and leaning over the edge.

As Chopper neared, Sanji jumped through the window, extending one long leg toward the reindeer as a grounding. "Step on my right leg!" he urged. Thanks to his deer hooves, Chopper easily balanced on Sanji's narrow leg.

It would've been easier if he had something to ground himself with, but Sanji would have to make due. Keeping his leg steady, he allowed the rest of his body to bend back, until he was perpendicular to his leg. Using the momentum his body built up, Sanji snapped his leg upward, sending the two streaking through the air. "Zoro! To you!"

"Good job so far!" Nami cheered, paying no mind a Usopp hit the ground behind her like he was doing an impression of a lawn dart.

Readying himself, Zoro checked the distance to the tower. "I just have to throw 'em to the top of that tower?"

"Ten!"

"Zoro!" Chopper shouted.

Zoro didn't waste any time. "Okay, leave it to me!" He jumped, turning in midair so his back faced the ground.

Noticing his swords out, Chopper panicked, "Swords!?"

"You dummy," Zoro snorted, crossing his swords over his chest. "Don't be scared. I'm using the back of the blade." Chopper sighed knowing he wasn't going to cut his feet off. As the deer balanced on the back of his blades, Zoro warned, "Vivi, be careful. There's a couple of weirdoes up there."

Keeping her eyes locked on their target, Vivi nodded sternly. "I know them."

Staring past them, Abel's eyes narrowed when she noticed the pair look down. "We've been spotted," she warned.

Mr. Seven laughed. "Miss Father's Day!"

"I know!" the frog-lady said. "That's the traitor in our company!"

Vivi turned pale. "Can't be..."

"We've been found out!" Nami shrieked. "Abel!"

Abel really wished Nami hadn't said anything, because that just brought attention to her. The duo smirked darkly, noticing the hunter aiming at them. "Lookie here!" frog-lady laughed as they both drew their guns. Father's Day's looked like a frog, naturally, while Seven's was oddly square-shaped. Did the man not know how friction worked?

"Let's see who's faster on the draw!"

Abel didn't flinch.

"You dare to point at a gun at Abel-dono!?" Sanji squawked. Of course, in the air, he couldn't do anything about it.

"Those two are the sniper couple!" Vivi warned, as if the guns didn't make it obvious.

Nearly in tears, Nami shouted, "There's only seven seconds left!"

"Hurry up!" Usopp screamed, flailing pretty well for someone wrapped in bandages.

Still hovering in the air, Zoro grit his teeth. If only he could do something... move... block the shot... "If any of you dare think of deviating from the plan, I'll shoot you myself."

Zoro's head snapped around awkwardly to see the woman giving them a stern, serious expression. Abel was rarely blunt or serious. There was no doubt in his mind that she meant it. She was fine with being the distraction.

"Nice Style Killer Ball!" The duo fired their strange pistols.

Chopper and Vivi flinched, expecting to be hit, but the bullets sailed straight past them. Vivi gasped when she realized the two really were targeting the hunter. "Abel!" she warned, incapable of doing anything else.

Unflinching, Abel waited until the bullets, one with a frog's face and one like die, lined up. Then she released her arrow, hand already reaching for the one in her mouth. The arrow flew true, hitting the frog-bullet dead on and pushing it back until it hit the die. But as soon as the bullets touched, they exploded, only a few meters above Abel. The explosion rattled the pirates' teeth and engulfed the area below them in flames and smoke.

"Abel!" the crew screamed in horror as the blasted engulfed the woman.

Above, Father's Day and Seven laughed uproariously. "Did we forget to mention that our bullets..." Father's Day began.

"Will explode if they hit!?" Seven finished.

"You bastards!" Sanji shrieked impotently, still in the air.

Snarling, Zoro whipped his head forward and shouted impassionedly, "Chopper! Vivi! I'll push you guys up!" He had to trust that Abel was okay and take the opportunity she'd given them. The princess and doctor steeled themselves, their outrage morphing into determination. Tensing, Zoro poured all of his strength into his arms, uncrossing them in a powerful burst and pushing the mounted duo up again. "Go!"

Reloading their strange guns, Father's Day and Seven fired just as Zoro pushed them away. This meant those two avoided the bullets, but that Zoro was now their target.

Six seconds...

Zoro couldn't avoid the bullets while in midair, and the duo knew it. Leaving him to his fate, they reloaded, raising their guns to Chopper and Vivi.

Zoro tensed, preparing to be shot, when something streaked past him. Whether it was from adrenaline or feeling so close to death, time seemed to slow for an instant, allowing Zoro to see exactly what happened. An arrow barely grazed Zoro's ear, disturbing his earrings, flying by at an angle. The arrow struck the first bullet before shattering into almost needle-sized shrapnel. The multitude of tiny arrows, as best Zoro could call them, easily knocked both bullets in opposite directions, making them miss their mark and avoid touching, i.e. exploding.

Five seconds...

So focused on Chopper and Vivi, the duo failed to notice the tiny needles swarming their way until it was too late. They screamed in pain as the needles pierced their faces, arms and chest. Not deep enough to kill, but enough to cause crippling pain. They screamed, staggered back, and dropped their pistols. All before tripping off the ledge, falling backwards, and crashing their heads on the stone, effectively knocking themselves out.

Everyone gaped as they followed the trail of the arrow. To their giddy surprise, they discovered their hunter, down on one knee and more than a little toasty, but looking very alive and very smug. "They're not the only ones... with fancy artillery," she coughed.

"... A-Abel...!" Nami and Usopp choked, feeling the urge to run up and kiss the woman.

Tugging the what little was left of her charred lace off, Abel said, "It's all up to you, Sunshine."

Four seconds...

"I'll throw you, Vivi!" Chopper suggested, already changing into his Heavy Point.

Balancing like a dove in his hand, Vivi nodded, preparing herself. "Okay! Leave it to me!"

Winding his arm back, Chopper threw Vivi toward the clock with all his strength. Vivi tucked her legs, making herself as aerodynamic as possible. With that done, Chopper shrunk back, screaming when he realized he was going to fall.

Three seconds...

"Go!" Nami and Usopp yelled.

Tilting her body forward, Vivi stretched for the tower. Seeing that her feet would be just shy, Vivi threw her arms out, barely grabbing the ledge. Wasting no time, she scurried up, practically crawling.

Two...

So enamored with the tense scene, no one paid any heed when Sanji landed roughly on the ground, back first. They were too busy watching Vivi disappear from view as she bolted inside. Everyone held their breath.

One...

Abel heard her heart pounding so hard she was certain the others could hear it as well. It thudded in her chest, actually making her flinch as it kept fearful count. It had to be beating too quickly to be accurate with the time. How many times can a racing heart beat in a second? Surely not as many as Abel had counted. More than a second must have passed, and yet they remained.

Even with the chaos raging around them, between the fighting and roaring sandstorm, the area below the tower was dead silent. Not even the old Bastion cemetery, dark and abandoned, had been this silent. Abel knew everyone was thinking the same thing. If they didn't move, if they didn't breathe, maybe time would stand still. Yet Abel knew it marched relentlessly on. She could hear it ticking away on the doomsday clock just above.

When all continued to remain silent, those on the ground slowly, cautiously began to - maybe not relax - but untense. Abel never knew she could physically hear muscles relax. Everyone glanced around, too nervous to hope. They were waiting to see who would jinx them by saying it.

Eventually, it was Usopp who asked the question is such a hushed voice. "Was it stopped...?"

Cradling her arm across her stomach, Abel limped to join the group, not even reacting as Zoro crashed to the ground as spectacularly as Sanji had. Only Sanji acknowledged him. "What? You're still alive?"

Letting his feet sag to the ground, Zoro let out a breath before shoving himself up into a seated position. "What about the cannon?" he asked anxiously, he and everyone automatically going back to staring at the sky. That was the big question, wasn't it?

Abel didn't look away as she heard Chopper's tiny feet patter up. "What happened?" he asked.

"There's no sound coming from up there," Zoro replied.

"Vivi still hasn't shown herself," Nami added worriedly.

"We're still alive, so that's a good sign, right?" Abel queried rhetorically.

Abel really did have the worst timing, as barely a second had passed after that sentence when Vivi screamed, "NO!" Everyone flinched as the princess' face appeared again. She stared down at them with a look of sheer panic. "The cannonball has a timing device! If we don't do something, it'll explode!"

"Wh... WHAT DID YOU SAY!?"

Was it possible for Abel's stomach to sink any lower in her stomach than it already was?

"Damn!" Sanji cursed, biting his cigarette in half. "How could this... we stopped the cannon... but the bomb is..." He was so dumbfounded he couldn't finish a single sentence.

"A time bomb!?" Chopper panted, feeling his fur prickle.

"If it's a five kilometer blast area, this whole town will..." Zoro didn't need to say it.

"What the hell is going on!?" Usopp shrieked, for once not overreacting. "You mean stopping the bomb was impossible from the very beginning!?"

Abel held her face in her hands. This was too much, even for someone like her. I'm going to have a nervous breakdown, she thought. It wasn't healthy for her emotions to bounce around this much. No I won't, she reminded herself. I'll be littering the countryside soon. Abel knew she was too far gone when the thought actually made her chuckle.

Clenching her fingers slightly, Abel took a deep breath before letting it out in a rush, bringing her hands back down. "I refuse," she said simply.

Her random comment caught the others' attention. "What?" Usopp asked.

"I refuse to let it end this way," she elaborated. Without a single glance at her crewmates, Abel picked Usopp's messenger bag off the ground, wrapped an arm around her torso, and march up to the building.

"Where are you going!?" Nami asked in a rush.

Without looking back, Abel replied, "To either be blown up or defuse a bomb. I suppose we'll know which in a few minutes." And with that, she left the others staring at the closed door, gobsmacked.

Abel groaned as she eyed the stairs winding up the interior of the tower. Her sides and lungs already ached. Still, pain was better than dying, she reminded herself. With weary resignation, Abel began her ascent. She moved as quickly as she could, trying to keep her steps light. Thankfully, after a few floors, her sides didn't bother her so much. Her nerves had reached the threshold where they couldn't transmit any new pain messages. The pain just sat there, constantly, like a buzzing gnat.

She was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't notice her footing was off when she went for the next step. Her foot slipped back, causing Abel to gasp as she felt her body tilting backwards. Her back hit something hard, but she quickly recognized she wasn't at the proper angle to be on the floor. Feeling heat that stone stairs shouldn't have behind her, Abel looked back, panting slightly in her brief panic.

Zoro didn't say anything. He just stepped up beside her, throwing one of her arms over his shoulder and dragged her along until she recovered her senses enough to keep pace.

With Zoro supporting most of her weight, Abel found it much faster going. They didn't quite run, but had a decent jog going. The man looked as bone tired as Abel felt, but that might have just been the blood covering his face.

"How long do you think we have?" Zoro asked, filling the tense silence between them.

"Maybe a few minutes," Abel guessed. "Crocodile's the sort of man who'd want to give us time to appreciate how screwed we are before offing us. I hope Boss is kicking the bastard's gloating face in right now." Zoro nodded mutely, also hoping Luffy was making the man suffer for everything he'd done.

Reaching the clock tower, Abel barely took time to register the sobbing princess or the massive death cannon. She just moved around to the mouth of the cannon. "Abel-san?" Vivi croaked, wiping her face. "What are you doing?"

"Trying to disarm a bomb," was all the hunter said, not even looking at Vivi.

Taking a peek inside the massive cannon, Abel saw that the bomb was a giant metal ball with a gear-shaped plate screwed to the front. The large clock slowly ticked their lives away. Just as Abel suspected, they only had about four minutes left. There were a few handles along the front, likely to aid in when the bomb had been loaded into the cannon.

Ignoring the disquieting feeling that came with climbing into the mouth of a giant doomsday device, Abel slid her body toward the bomb. Pulling out a screwdriver from Usopp's bag, Abel gingerly removed the screws from around the front plate. With something of this size, a little jostling wouldn't damage it, but Abel didn't want to risk tampering with the timer itself and accidentally setting it off. The heavy plate came away easily enough, allowing Abel to get a glimpse inside.

Abel muttered nearly every expletive she knew when she saw the mess awaiting her. Inside the iron ball was a mess of gears and wires surrounding a core of high-powered explosives. Abel felt hopelessness grip her for the first time. With enough time, she could figure out how it worked. With enough time she could do anything. But time was the one commodity they didn't have. At best, she might have time to cut some wires that she thought might not blow them up instantly. The only consolation she could say to herself to stop from shedding tears of frustration was that, at the epicenter of the blast, she wouldn't feel anything. And that didn't really help.

"Pell..."

Hearing Vivi's watery voice snapped Abel from her miserable thoughts. Turning to look out the end of the cannon (which as a very strange experience, by the by), she saw the falcon standing on the ledge of the clock face. The man had some blood on his chest, which might explain his absence until then.

Not looking at anything in particular, Pell spoke in a light, distant voice, ignoring Vivi's pleas. "This place brings back memories. It's the Sand-Sand Clan's secret base... Really, you were such a noisy child. You gave me a headache almost every day."

Abel sighed. She was getting to old to deal with this crap. Climbing out of the cannon, she gave Zoro a shove. He looked confused, but complied. Giving the princess and her guard some space, she couldn't help but ask wearily, "So what stupid thing are you planning on doing?" When the others looked either confused or outraged, she continued, "No one ever starts a conversation like this without first planning to do something irreversibly reckless." She'd had two conversations start like this in her life, and somehow Abel doubted Pell intended to take a ship into the wide world.

Pell smiled at Abel indulgently before focusing his gaze squarely on Vivi. With no hesitation or reluctance, Pell said warmly, "Princess Vivi... I am very pleased that I was able to serve the Nefertari family." Vivi gasped, in her heart knowing what Pell was trying to say but her mind not wanting to accept it. Zoro and Abel felt a bit like interlopers, crashing a private scene. The best they could do to remain respectful for whatever was about to transpire was remain silent.

Smiling with blood-stained lips, Pell said, "It's something from the depths of my heart that I am so proud of."

Without further ado, he morphed into his falcon form. He lingered, hovering in the air, for just a moment to gaze upon Vivi one last time. Then, wordlessly, he swooped forward, grabbing one of the handles on the bomb with his talons. Vivi stared, shocked and horrified, as Pell drew the bomb out and began flying into the sky, carrying Alubarna's fate with him.

As Vivi ran to the ledge, not wanting to lose sight of Pell, Abel felt the urge to turn away. She already knew what was coming. Why subject herself to more pain by seeing it? Yet she knew that would be disrespectful. The man was dying for them... for all of them, even the people who at this very moment hated him for the side he chose in this farce of a war. That thought actually made it even harder on Abel. But not wanting to complain, because what she felt didn't even hold a candle to what Vivi must be going through, Abel settled for staring straight ahead.

Abel waited tensely beside Zoro, who kept this eyes on the rising falcon. Abel counted every heart beat as a second passed.

When the bomb went off, all Abel saw was white light filling the sky, blinding everything. The force of the blast raining down in the city shook the clock tower so violently that both Zoro and Abel staggered. The sound outside was deafening thanks to the wind catching along the opening of the tower. Abel feared that Pell hadn't gotten the bomb high enough to prevent the city's destruction.

The light faded first, followed more slowly by the sound, until an eerie stillness fell over the city. After the last time it happened, Abel didn't trust anything. Silently, she walked toward the opening to look out. The city, for the most part, was intact. Most of the windows in buildings had blown out, maybe some shingles or shutters torn off, but that was it. Amazingly, Abel didn't notice the clear sky right away. It wasn't until she realized just how quiet it had gotten everywhere that she looked up. The shockwave from the explosion had destroyed Crocodile's sandstorm, leaving a light haze as the sand slowly settled back to earth.

Abel glanced to the side as she heard Zoro approach. The swordsman cast a wary eye toward Vivi. The woman looked shell-shocked, remaining fixed in the same position she'd been in before the explosion. She just stared at the sky, unseeing. Understandable.

Leaving the princess to cope, Zoro gazed out across the city. For a brief second, all seemed well... or as well as things could be. But then Zoro noticed something that made him scowl. "Damn it..." he cursed in a whisper, not wanting to interrupt Vivi's thoughts. But the woman seemed to be trapped in her own world.

"What?" Abel asked just as quietly.

Rather than vocally responding, Zoro just pointed. Following his finger, Abel saw what he saw. And she wanted to scream. The soldiers and rebels, who'd just been knocked down by the force of a megaton bomb, were back up and fighting again. "Why?" Abel demanded, voice cracking slightly in despair. How could they keep fighting? How could none of them, at the very least, stop to wonder what the hell just happened?

"They've lost themselves to the heat of battle," Zoro explained, heavy frown marring his face. "That's all they can think of now. I doubt they even remember what they're fighting for." Zoro enjoyed a good fight, but he was well aware of how easy it was to get lost in it. Fighting for no purpose other than to fight. In battle, everything melts away into just static. If one's not careful, they can forget everything but the fight.

"Stop fighting!"

Abel jumped at the shrill voice beside her, head snapping around to Vivi. The princess stood atop the ledge of the tower, screaming for all her heart's worth. "PLEASE EVERYONE! STOP FIGHTING! PLEASE STOP FIGHTING EVERYONE!"

"Vivi..." Zoro murmured.

She tried again and again, trying to get her voice to break through the fog of war. She screamed her throat and lungs raw, putting every ounce of hurt and anger and sadness she'd experienced over the years into her plea. Watching Vivi in that moment was like seeing a human stripped of all their pretense. A purely emotion being bleeding their soul out. She had nothing left to give... nothing left to lose.

And Abel... she couldn't take it. She had neither the strength, emotional fortitude, or desire to let this roll off her back like she normally would. She felt tired. The sort of emotional exhaustion that made you want to cry and punch something at the same time. And Abel didn't like it. Not one bit. She hated feeling overwhelmed. She wanted to stop. To just... go home. But how could she?

At the end of her tether, Abel looked up at Zoro.

Zoro jolted at the look Abel gave him. He'd never seen the hunter look so... lost. Hell, the woman appeared to be on the verge of tears. Zoro wasn't very good at handling crying women, and especially not with someone normally so blasé. But the question in her watery hazel eyes was clear: What now? Seeing that question coming from the one person who always seemed to, if perhaps not know exactly to do, at least have a plan to get there, was a very jarring experience for Zoro. But Abel was just as human as the rest of them. And in a way, it was refreshing to see her being affected. Not that he wanted to see her upset, or anything!

Still, Zoro knew the best thing to do when you were lost was to keep putting one foot in front of the other and eventually you'd get there.

Meeting Abel's face again, he gave her a confident stare before turning and striding quickly to the door. He felt good about his decision when he heard Abel fall in step behind him.

They exited the building in time to see Nami screaming at the others. "What are you doing just staring!?" she shrieked, voice cracking, sharing in the torment of her friend. It wasn't that surprising to see Nami getting worked up. She probably understood better than any of them what it was like to see her home in danger despite her best efforts.

"What can we do!?" Usopp demanded, just as upset.

"Knock them out." Zoro's calm, solid voice broke through the confusion as he strode up to them, Abel following less enthusiastically behind. "Every last one of them." What else was there to do? The only danger to the country now, besides Crocodile, was the people. So make it so they couldn't fight anymore.

Steeling herself for the last push (and it had better be or Abel was going to start murdering people!) Abel joined the fray with her mates. Anyone who crossed their paths got it. They used whatever means necessary to subdue the combatants. Abel focused her attention on disarming and not-quite maiming. Although if she did hurt someone so they couldn't pick up a weapon again, she honestly didn't care. She was tired of this shit, and was channeling her anger into something useful.

But it was starting to feel like an never-ending task. Six pirates against two armies? But so long as they could still hear Vivi screaming her heart out, they wouldn't stop. They couldn't. They're discomfort was nothing in the face of hers.

Abel was seriously starting to question if Alabasta had any native gods they worshipped. Because if so, she was more than willing to offer a human sacrifice. She had just the person in mind... though any being that accepted that soul would have to be a demon.

There was so much chaos going on that Abel barely noticed when several buildings exploded down the middle. In fact, the only reason she paid any heed was because she thought she saw someone fly through their air. Looking up from the soldier she'd just kneed in the gut, Abel discovered it was, in fact, a person. Abel nearly dropped her weapons as she gaped at the sky, unable to find her voice. Thankfully, Sanji spotted it as well. "Hey! Look at that!" he cried, pointing at the flying man.

Had she ever seen anything so satisfying in her life? No, she hadn't. Not even Abel's first romantic tryst had filled her with such ecstatic joy as seeing Crocodile's limp body falling from the sky. Maybe someone would write an epic poem about such an amazing sight.

The crew watched, mesmerized, as Crocodile's body sank to the ground. That he hadn't turned into sand to save himself could only mean that he had been utterly and thoroughly whopped. "I don't know where he came out of but..." Sanji began.

"That doesn't matter!" Usopp dismissed exuberantly. "We know...!"

"He won!"

For a moment, it all seemed worth it. No more plots, no more schemes. No more back-up plans to screw them over. Crocodile was finished. Abel hoped Luffy'd beaten the man so soundly he'd have PTSD flashbacks anytime he thought of plotting something. Now if they could just get the rest of the idiots to realize the war was over.

Over the celebratory cheers of the crew, a voice rang out one final, desperate time. "SO PLEASE EVERYONE STOP THIS FIGHTING!"

Abel felt something cold and wet hit her nose. Flinching slightly at the unexpected contact, Abel reached up and swiped whatever it was off her face. Holding her hand out, she saw clear water on her fingertips. Water...? Tilting her head back, Abel stared at the sky. Had it been a fluke?

No. As if some lazy deity had finally gotten off its butt to do something useful, tiny droplets of rain slowly started dropping from the clouds. They pattered down on Abel's upturned face, soaking into the thirsty ground. It felt... amazing. Abel sighed as she closed her eyes, feeling the drizzle intensify into a full blown rain shower.

Around them, the rain cooled the fires of war, breaking the fighters out of their haze. As it slowly dawned on them what was falling on them, the fighting slowed. After so many years without rain, such a mundane act was enough to make them stop and stare. The lack of this very event was precisely the reason unrest started in the first place. What would it mean to the rebellion now that it returned?

"SO EVERYONE PLEASE! STOP FIGHTING!"

With the fighting slowly, Vivi voice wasn't as drowned out as before. Hearing a woman's passionate, pleading voice caused many of the men to look around, confused. As if they were just coming out of a daze. "The rain's starting to make it clear again," Chopper pointed out.

"They can hear Vivi's voice," Nami added, eyes shining with hope.

Lowering their weapons, the rebels and soldiers kept looking around. "Princess Vivi..."

"It's Princess Vivi." Even after the conspiracies levied behind her father, it was good to see the people still had some respect for their princess.

"Vivi!" someone gasped, spotting their blue-haired princess standing atop the clock tower.

"I thought the princess wasn't here."

"Sir Crocodile!" Hearing that contemptible name, Abel's head jerked to the side. She saw a group of people huddled around something on the ground. That must've been where Crocodile landed. Abel was sorely tempted to go over and put a bolt through his head for good, but controlled herself. His crimes would be known soon. Having him rotting in a jail cell, without control over his own life, was the most fitting punishment Abel could imagine.

"What is he down here!?"

"Sir Crocodile!?" Usopp fumed, preparing to stomp over. "Let me tell you what he's done!"

Fortunately, Sanji held him back. "Just wait and watch."

Even at this distance, Abel saw Vivi's body shake, still reeling from the suddenness of events. Yes, this ending was long-fought, but that didn't make it any less overwhelming. She was trying to stay strong before her people, to finally end this. "The rain falling right now... will fall again as it used to..." she spoke. "Our nightmare is over... Finally over..." Off in the distance, the ground rumbled, like something collapsing. Was Abel just hearing things?

"Wait!" someone from the crowd had the audacity to shout, interrupting the somber moment. "The nightmare hasn't ended yet! We saw with our own eyes what the king has done in Nanohana!"

"Right!" someone agreed as the rebels began to stir again. Such simple-minded determination was starting to become annoying. "Kohza was attacked too!"

More dissention rose, but at least no one was attacking anyone. "What the royal army did cannot be forgiven with an apology!"

"How do you say such things to those who have lost their lives!?"

Over the growing roar of voices, a stronger, more commanding one shouted from the palace, "Royal army! Drop your weapons, now!"

Abel couldn't see the man from that distance, but the soldiers recognized him. "General Chaka!"

"You..." another voice, this one familiar, spoke up. Abel felt a chill run down her spine when the same voice broke off to cough and sing a few notes. "That goes for you to, rebel army!"

"Mister Igaram!"

"Captain!"

Unbelievably, the strange, curly-haired man who they saw die buying them time at Whiskey Peak towered above the others. Looking wholly intact, carrying an injured child. "How...?" Not that Abel was complaining. However he did it, she was glad he wasn't dead.

"He's that weird guy from Whiskey Peak!" Zoro gasped.

"He's still alive!" Nami's mind was boggled. The rest of the crew, having either been unconscious or not recruited at the time, looked lost as to the significance of this.

Ignoring the commotion his non-death caused, Igaram gently raised the injured child. "Can you still talk, kid?" he asked

The boy snuffled, though it seemed to be more the result of tears than any injury. "Yes..."

"He's the kid from Nanohana..." someone murmured.

"The one who got attacked by the royal army."

"No!" the boy protested vehemently. How long had he wanted to say that? "Someone else attacked me! Listen everyone, I saw it all! The royal army that attacked in Nanohana were just fakes! The king was fake too! It was a trap!" Disputing a child's claim was no easy task.

Naturally the rebels were stunned to learn this, but it didn't surprise Abel. Must have been Mr. Two, spurring the rebels to throw caution to the wind.

"That's right. This battle was a plot from the beginning."

"Kohza!"

"Leader!"

Abel couldn't see this new man, the rebel's leader and Vivi's childhood friend. He sounded young, though. Vivi must've made contact with him some time after the fighting stopped, but no doubt Crocodile had thwarted his attempts to call off the war. Based on what some of the rebels said before, Abel guessed a confederate in the royal army shot Kohza to prevent him from speaking the truth and winding the rebels up even more.

Now, just as Abel had predicted before, with doubt clearly lodged in their minds, the men lost the will to fight their brothers. News that the very incident that spurred them to action had been staged, and with both sides' commanders ordering them to stand down, the men were too confused to continue. Knowing there were many questions, Igaram said calmly, "Royal or rebel, I will explain it all. Everything that has befallen our fair country. But only if you drop your weapons." Abel was glad to see no one hesitated to follow that command.

It really was, well and truly, over.

Can I pass out now? Abel mentally questioned. Sleep sounded really good, right about now.

Giving a tired yet satisfied smile, Zoro turned to address the rest of the crew. "Let's go," he said, nodding toward some random direction. There was nothing more for them, as pirates, to do. And it was probably best that word not get out that the princess in a tenuous position collaborated with criminals.

The crew didn't really have a direction in mind, though they seemed to be heading in the direction of the destroyed buildings. After all, all that was really left was to collect their captain. Somewhere. Abel was more than happy to bring up the end, idly observing the crew's antics. They seemed to be back in good spirits, and even Abel felt her mental faculties going back in place. The rain helped, but she'd personally prefer a hot bath and a soft bed.

"Hey," Sanji grumbled, glancing back at Usopp, who was working on his mummy routine. "Walk steady."

Usopp coughed weakly. "I wish I could..." he strained out, emphasizing his limp even more. "But I think I'm coming down with If-I-Walk-More-I'll-Die Disease."

Zoro sighed. "I'll drag you then." And without giving the sniper time to protest, he grabbed Usopp by the foot and dragged his body down the street.

The others paid no mind to Usopp's squawking as they continued through the deserted streets. Until they came across their captain... plus one. "Oh? There he is," Sanji said.

An older gentleman, walking toward them, carried Luffy on his back. Abel's attention first went to their captain. He was asleep, battered and bruised like the rest of them. But seeing that he would recover with some rest, Abel focused on the man. He carried himself with an air of dignity, and dressed very regally. He didn't look a thing like Vivi, with his black hair and eyes, but she could hazard a guess as to who this was.

The man stopped upon seeing their group, his expression going from thoughtful daze to suspicious in less than a second. Abel could forgive that, given what he's been through. "Who are you?" he asked. Even his voice held a noble tone.

Laughing sheepishly, Sanji pointed at Luffy and explained, "That guy on your back... he's one of our friends. Thanks for carrying him. Let's switch."

The man's expression became less guarded as he scanned the pirates. "Then you're the pirates that brought Vivi back?"

Yep, Abel thought, patting herself on the back for her reasoning skills. This was the king.

Sanji, however, didn't seem to get this. "Who are you, mister?"

Hearing footsteps running at them from behind, Abel looked over her shoulder. "Everyone!" Vivi exclaimed, catching up to them. She gasped when she noticed the other man with them. "Papa!?"

The gear slowly turned in Sanji's mind. "Pa... Papa!?" His head jerked around, eyes bugging out as he gaped at the man. "You're Vivi's dad!?"

It's rude to yell at royalty, Abel thought, but lacked the motivation to say. To his credit, though, the king didn't bat an eyelash.

"You're the king?" Zoro asked, far more dignified.

"Yes. And I'd be a dead king if it weren't for the efforts of your brave young friend here."

Noting the boy on his back finally, Vivi gasped, "Luffy-san!" She ran over to her father, fretting over the sleeping boy. "Will he be all right?"

Truthfully, after that point Abel's attention kind of faded in and out. God, I'm so tired, she thought. Would it be rude to fall asleep in front of royalty? Being unaffected took a lot more energy than most people would expect, and Abel didn't feel back to her true self yet.

Abel vaguely heard the conversation going on without her. Picking out key phrases without really listened was an art form learned from having noisy siblings. Abel caught "poison," "carried two people" and "neutralized."

Abel only came fully back to the present when she saw Zoro slump down against a wall. Was it nap time? Please say it was nap time? "We'll wait. You need to be somewhere else," Zoro huffed. When Vivi looked his way, he continued, "Go back to the square, Vivi."

"He's right," Usopp agreed. "Now that the rebellion's over, it's only fitting for the king or princess to say a few words. Don't you think?"

Vivi smiled at their consideration. "Then let's all go." She wanted everyone to know how much she, and the entire nation, owed them.

"Vivi-chan," Sanji drawled, somehow managing to light a cigarette in the rain. "I think you should know..." He grinned cheekily. "We're pirates. We don't like to get involved with politics."

Damn straight, Abel thought. Screw politics. The next time some princess asked for help saving a nation, they could shove off.

"I'm hungry!" Chopper whined.

"Can we go to the palace to rest?" Nami asked sweetly. "I'm about to collapse." And the ship was so far away.

Smiling at the crew, Vivi and the king nodded at each other. Resting a proud hand on Vivi's shoulders, the king led her back to the main square.

Abel barely had time to sit before she finally allowed herself to give in to exhaustion.

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To Be Continued...

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Hope you enjoyed. The next chapter will finish up this arc. I'm aiming to have it down around Christmas.