Guest: Well, the answer to that is in this chapter.

Flame Wolfe: Thanks, I'm really glad you like the story.

The search started out well enough and Nami's group had been able to learn quite a bit. Like more about the situation in Alabasta, about how Crocodile became something of a hero for the people and even about the rebels. When questioned why they were asking, they gave the story they agreed on before (they found it necessary since if people found out about Vivi now, it would really complicate things) on how their ship crashed here and they would be forced to stay for the time being and it seemed to work just fine.

The girls learned that the rebels were now gathering and preparing their final plans. While the merchants they had spoken to were confident in the army, the situation wasn't looking good. The two quickly realized that Miguel's concerns about their plans were very well-founded as it turned out that the rebels were said to be leaving Yuba and moving closer towards the capital, some thought they would stop at Katorea but they couldn't be sure. This was something they would have likely missed had he not started that strategy meeting.

''So that's it...'' Miguel trailed off when Vivi brought him up to speed.

Nami's brow furrowed ''What do we do? You think we should wait for them in Katorea?''

''I'm not sure we can take the risk.'' The princess admitted. ''It's not even a certainty that the rebels would actually come there. There's many paths throughout the desert and while they couldn't make it all the way to Alubarna in one go, that doesn't mean they can't find another place to stop and rest. I want to head them off but I have no idea how.''

''Actually...'' The two looked at Miguel. ''...I know a spell that can at least show us their general direction. I've never used it for such a wide range so I can't be sure but I think it can help point us in the right direction. For now though, let's just finish up here and meet up with the others. It works best in open areas anyway.''

Nami and Vivi nodded and followed his lead, deciding that it would be a good way to start them off.

Zoro's group were going about a different part of town, while things seemed to be in order, trouble started when Luffy spotted a restaurant and took off.

''Dammit! Come on, we better go after him!'' Zoro told Usopp, making a note to hit Luffy for this later.

''Hold on...''

''What?'' He looked at the sniper in surprise but Usopp subtly pointed to their left, where a young man with black hair stood with his back to them. He wore an orange hat, black shorts with a buckle and brown shoes. While the fact that he was shirtless earned him a bit of attention from people passing by, mostly because of the weather, it was the tattoo on his back that made Usopp stop in his tracks.

A big purple skull and cross bones, though the skull looked a bit more like a face with a long white mustache. Zoro's eyes widened as he recognized it too, for the mark was that of an infamous figure. Also, it didn't take him long to spot the familiar wanted poster he was holding and talking to one of the vendors about.

The two could only wonder, what on earth was a Whitebeard pirate doing here? And why would someone like that be asking about Luffy?

Luffy happily started eating the minute he arrived in the restaurant. He was completely ignorant of everything about him, the food having all his attention as usual. Thus, he didn't see the strange looks his eating habits earned or how Smoker and Tashigi entered the restaurant too.

But both marines quickly saw him.

''What're you doing here?!'' Luffy soon spluttered upon noticing them, practically drenching Smoker in the water he'd been drinking before taking off. He thought they left the guy back in Logue Town, why was he here?

The now irate captain immediately went after him, both rushing through the busy streets and avoiding any passerby. Usopp and Zoro caught up in time to see them get to one of Nanohana's exits, both were momentarily thrown for a loop at the sight of Smoker.

''That guy again? Why the hell is here?!'' Zoro scowled. This was really bad, they couldn't hit him last time because of his logia devil fruit powers. Hell, the only one who had a chance in fighting him on even ground was Miguel.

''I've got you now, Straw Hat!''

Smoker's charge was forcefully halted just then when his path was obstructed by a wall of fire. A moment later, they could all see the Whitebeard pirate standing in front of Luffy.

Smoker's eyes widened ''You're...!''

The man smirked back before waving his hand, a wave of fire rose a second later forcing the marine to create some smoke to defend himself.

Usopp stared ''He's helping us?''

What happened next left both him, Zoro and Smoker rather surprised.

Luffy perked up, grinning brightly ''Ace!''

The new arrival glanced at him ''Hey there, Luffy. I see you're still a trouble magnet.''

Smoker's brow furrowed in confusion, they knew each other?

But he quickly shook the thought off, deciding it didn't matter at the moment. ''What's a commander of the Whitebeard Pirates doing all the way out here?''

''Ah, it's a long story...nothing for you to worry about though.'' Ace replied airily.

As it so happened, Chopper had noticed Luffy's scent in the earlier chaos and so he quickly warned Sanji before they gathered the others and hurried over.

They arrived in time to see Ace and Smoker unleashing more blasts of fire and smoke, with both attacks effectively negating each other. Smoker ground his teeth and struck again but the former stopped him with ease, the clash forced many of the people nearby, including Smoker's own troops, to back off from the force of their powers.

''Just give up. I'm fire and you're smoke, this battle would never end.'' He said.

''He's helping us?'' Vivi wondered.

''Yeah, looks like he and Luffy know each other...'' Zoro started.

Ace's expression darkened seeing how many marines were preparing to fight, apparently not even keeping the gathering townspeople in mind.

This wasn't good, were they seriously going to focus on dealing with a few pirates rather than the people's safety? The townspeople were bound to get caught up in a fight at this distance.

Thinking fast, he raised a big wall of fire to force Smoker and his group back before looking at Luffy and what he guessed to be his friends from the little bits of their talk he picked up earlier. ''Come on, let's get out of here!''

Nami sighed in relief once they were all a safe distance away before looking at Ace ''Thanks a lot!''

He just smiled ''It's nothing, really. I just thought it was better to leave things as they were. There's no need to involve those who had nothing to do with the battle...though you'd think the marines would have remembered something so basic.''

''Nothing new there.'' Zoro said with a scoff, though he agreed with the sentiment completely.

So did Miguel ''Yeah, many seem to be focused on their goals that they lose sight of what's important.''

''True, true.'' Nami nodded. She looked from their captain to Ace ''So anyway, how do you two know each other? I never would've pictured Luffy having a connection to a part of the Whitebeard pirates.''

Ace raised an eye ''Luffy never told you guys?''

Aforementioned teen chose to speak up then ''Ace is my big brother!''

The young man sighed at their surprised looks ''I should've known...''

''Why didn't you tell us before, Luffy?'' Usopp demanded.

''What? It never came up before.'' He said defensively. ''Who's Whitebeard anyway? You guys act like he's a big deal.''

Ace merely shook his head with a bemused look, not at all surprised. Usopp and Nami on the other hand...

''That's because he is!''

''More like a huge deal! How does someone who likes pirates so much not know of him?''

Luffy gave them a puzzled glance before looking at Miguel for help, since he was one of those who was more likely to explain.

Given what he'd seen so far, Miguel figured that it was less that Luffy liked pirates and more that he liked the idea of being a pirate. ''Whitebeard is the one of the best pirates out there, Luffy. He was the Pirate King's rival, and he's one of the Yonko just like Shanks. His crew has so many members that they're actually centered in divisions and they're all known to be strong. He's known as the ruler of the seas.''

''Whoa, cool!'' The teen's eyes widened. Ace was working with someone like that? Damn...

''That's about right.'' Ace half-smiled. ''Sorry, little brother but I'll be working to make Pops the king, not you.''

Luffy didn't mind at all ''Bring it on!''

Ace looked amused ''Now how about you introduce me to your crew? I've been looking forward to meeting them.''

Luffy happily proceeded to do just that and Ace fully introduced himself in return as Portgas D. Ace. Some were curious as they expected him to have the same family name as Luffy but he merely waved it off as them being sworn brothers.

Ace was surprised to know that Vivi was with them and Luffy figured that he knew enough about what was going on to learn what was said about the princess but he quickly promised to explain later. Though he did note that his brother's expression turned intrigued when he learned who Miguel was, why was that?

''So I hope you don't mind me coming along with you for now.'' Ace said at last.

''Oh, not at all.'' Sanji assured with the others agreeing as well.

The cook was still surprised that Luffy's brother was this polite. Why couldn't their captain have learned from him?

''So do we go back to Merry? Where was she?'' Luffy asked.

''Oh, good grief.'' Ace sighed. ''A captain should keep track of his own ship, Luffy.''

Nami snorted ''You'd think so. But to answer that, no, we can't use the river here because of Baroque Works, remember? Miguel said he had an idea to help us figure out our next move.''

''Right, hold on.'' Aforementioned young man walked on, requipping his wind sword before leveling it. ''Foresight Wind.'' A green spell circle appeared before him before a billowing gale surged. This was a spell used to see things or people over a certain distance. So long as the magic passed something on the way, the caster would get an image of that at once.

It was used generally for smaller distances but since Vivi gave him the general direction of Katorea and Yuba, he could at least start from there.

Luffy blinked, cocking his head as Miguel remained where he was ''Miguel?''

Usopp crossed his arms when the latter didn't respond ''He probably needs to focus, Luffy, let's wait.''

At first, nothing much happened and Miguel figured that the range was simply too far for the spell to help. Deciding that another try wouldn't hurt, Miguel changed directions and recast the spell. Moments later, his eyes widened at the feedback he received then.

Zoro raised an eye ''You got something?''

Miguel nodded and quickly explained about the spell ''Since we're closer to Katorea, I can tell Vivi was right, it seems way too quiet and empty for the rebels to be here just yet. What I don't understand is what I saw the second time...''

''Why?''

''Well, I saw a few of the desert creatures but then there was this town, it was in ruins though...''

Vivi started ''Is there anything in particular you can recall about that place?''

Miguel gave her a curious look but answered ''Well...there was what looked like a few really big trees. I think there's a branch of a river that went through it, but it's dried up. There were a few people going about for some reason. I think there were a few tents too. A bunch of the buildings had bits of this odd green and gold design, it seemed pretty elaborate.''

''That sounds like Erumalu...'' The girl realized. She had been in the town enough times to recognize the details he mentioned. ''...it's on the way to Yuba, those might actually be the rebels.''

''We can still catch up to them!'' Chopper exclaimed, relieved.

Luffy grinned ''Then let's go!''

With that settled, since Erumalu was still a bit further away, they could use the Merry to sail to a closer shore before heading over on foot.

Thus, they all headed where the ship was docked. Ace was taking the time to catch up with his brother as well as get to know his friends. He told them a bit about how he came across the Mera Mera no Mi and headed to the Grand Line before adding a bit about his crew.

''You were on Drum?'' a surprised Luffy asked.

Ace nodded ''I guess you didn't get my message after all...'' The former gave him a confused look but he waved a dismissing hand. ''...don't worry about that. It all worked out anyway.''

''Then you've been traveling on your own for a while, huh? I heard your crew was actually way further in the Grand Line.'' Nami remarked.

''So did I.'' Vivi recalled the mention of Whitebeard coming up a few times in passing and they happened to find out along the way that Crocodile had some kind of grudge against him. ''The Whitebeard pirates have been in the New World for some time now.''

Luffy blinked ''New World?''

''That's what the second half of the Grand Line is called.'' The princess explained. ''The area extending from Reverse Mountain all the way to the other side just after the Saboady Archipelago is known as Paradise. From there on out, is the New World. It's said to be quite the chaotic sea, with wonders and mystery never seen before. But from what I heard, it's also where the elite pirates head out. It's said that the island thought to have One Piece lies at the very end of it.''

''Whoa...'' Chopper's eyes widened. ''...I wonder what kind of place that is.''

Luffy began to smirk ''Well, we're definitely going to make it there one day, just you wait.''

Ace felt his lips twitch as he noticed how most of his brother's crew seemed heartened and even pleased by that confidence. They seemed to get along nicely, he was glad to see that.

''So did you come all the way to see Luffy?'' Usopp wanted to know.

''That's part of the reason.'' Ace's brow furrowed. ''I would have tried to make sure we met up at some point. But what really set me on this path now was a promise I made to the crew.''

''Which is?''

''I'm going to catch a traitor.'' He informed, making everyone stop and look at him, not expecting that. ''A member of my division, Edward D. Teach, he goes by Blackbeard nowadays. Have any of you heard of him?'' He wasn't too surprised when he got a round of negative answers. The man had been in the New World for quite some time after all and they'd only recently arrived on the Grand Line.

Zoro thought Ace's dark tone spoke volumes. This man was looking like bad news. ''...What'd he do?''

''Another of the Division commanders, Thatch, found a Devil Fruit. But he never cared for taking one and he said something about it unsettled him so he decided to just keep it away and get advice on what to do with it from Pops.'' Ace began. ''We knew that traitor wanted the fruit but Thatch tried to convince him to wait. He just played us all for fools and killed Thatch for it.''

''What?!''

''He killed one of his crew mates for that thing?'' Chopper cried, looking appalled.

''What a low-life.'' Nami hissed. This guy was just the kind of pirate she hated.

Miguel's eyes narrowed ''That's despicable...''

''I couldn't agree more.'' Ace said. ''He gathered a crew and attacked Drum but I don't have any idea why...''

Chopper looked up in surprise at this. So Blackbeard had been the pirate Kureha told him about? He had been on the other side of the island gathering herbs but he still remembered seeing the repercussions of the attack afterwards.

''...and apparently, he came here. But I haven't found any sign of him yet.'' Ace finished.

Usopp frowned thoughtfully ''I wonder if he could be with Baroque Works...''

''I don't think so.'' Sanji countered ''It seems a little odd to think he deserted one crew to join another, especially if you consider the difference between them. Besides, we know plenty about them thanks to Vivi-chan. A former member of Whitebeard's crew would be strong and experienced, he'd stand out. It sounds more like he went off to start his own

''Good point...'' The sniper trailed off as they drew close to the port.

''Well, we can...'' Luffy blinked as he heard the sound of footsteps approaching fast, making him look for the source to find a group of armed men running towards them.

''We finally found them!''

''Straw Hat and his crew. Even Fire Fist Ace!''

''Princess Vivi too!''

''If we take them down, we'll be promoted for sure!''

''Who're they?'' Sanji wondered, unimpressed. Did they seriously think they could take them all down?

''Baroque Works' Millions.'' Vivi replied and he nodded, remembering what she told back at the meeting. Baroque Works' hierarchy was Billions, Millions, the Frontier Agents, the Officer Agents, Miss All-Sunday and then of course Crocodile. Plenty of the Millions had been in Whiskey Peak, working as bounty hunters.

''Uh, guys?'' He blinked and looked at Chopper, noting that he was watching Luffy and Ace. The cook then realized that both were walking away as if nothing even changed. ''What're you doing?''

''We do need to get your ship, right?'' The latter returned.

''Yeah, but...''

''Come on, let's go.'' Luffy said.

Zoro snickered and Sanji was trying hard not to laugh too, seeing how the Millions were getting aggravated. Seeing the brothers ignore them like that was really far too amusing.

Upset as they were, the Millions decided that the best way to make them pay for this mockery was to act on their earlier word and so they attacked.

The battle ended almost as quickly as it began, for Luffy and Ace were able to take them down handily. The Billions had some skill but they had really overestimated themselves. Luffy and Ace were not only stronger but they also showed a lot of experience fighting together as they proved to be an incredible team.

Miguel half-smiled ''Well, that was expected really...''

Nami nodded ''Clearly those guys are picked for brawns, not brains.'' Did they really think they could take on both their captain and one of the leaders of the Whitebeard Pirates like that?

Luffy smiled when they reached the ship ''That's Merry, Ace!''

''A caravel, huh? Haven't seen one of those in quite a while.'' His brother hummed, looking on curiously.

Just as they set sail, they noticed a number of ships right in the way. But they knew it was deliberate the second they spotted the familiar mark of Baroque Works.

''They sure are persistent.'' Zoro grunted.

''Miguel!'' Luffy prompted.

The quartermaster nodded, picking up on the unspoken order ''Got it. First things first...'' He leveled his arm. ''...Pleiades!'' A spell circle flashed before rays of starlight surged towards the ships. Miguel gathered power until it formed a golden glow around his arm, shooting it out as a big blast a second later. ''Spectrum Ray!''

Both attacked merged a second later, forming a multitude of blasts that rained on a number of ships at once, damaging them badly and forcing the enemies to jump ship.

Ace began to smile ''That's pretty good...'' He noted the remaining ships trying to gather and change directions. ''...leave those to me.'' He jumped. ''Fire Fist!''

Fierce flames shot blasted the ships a second later and Ace manipulated his power skillfully so as to take care of any remaining opposition.

''Whoa...'' Chopper uttered.

''Awesome!'' Luffy exclaimed.

As Ace watched his brother go about the ship, he couldn't help but note that Luffy had hardly changed at all.

''What're you doing?'' Luffy looked over Nami's shoulder before trying to pull the map she was holding closer to him.

She swatted his hand ''Hey, careful with that! We need to take care of this map!''

''It'll be fine, I wanna see!''

''Why? It's not like you can read maps!''

Luffy pouted at this and turned away, but he didn't stay down for long as he noticed Usopp playing with Chopper. The two were quick to involve him upon catching his interest and the three immediately started a game of tag.

Ace smiled to himself, while his brother had grown stronger, he was still the same friendly, excitable and adventurous soul he had always been.

''You look happy.''

He blinked and turned left as Miguel joined him ''Sure hope you're having a good time here.''

''Yeah, loads. Well, in my opinion it's hard to wind up bored when Luffy's around.''

The latter smiled ''True, after getting to know him, I can just imagine how colorful your days together as kids were.''

Ace laughed ''Colorful's right, that's for sure. But yeah, I knew Luffy wanted to become a pirate too and I wondered what kind of crew he'd get. You guys sure came as a surprise but a nice one, he definitely seems content with this turnout.''

''Well, I'm glad. We all feel that way...'' Miguel said as they glanced at the others. ''...the crew does care about each other. Luffy's the one who brought us together and he's even helping us keep going. Even if he does go too far or when there's trouble, we try to have each other's backs.''

''That's nice to hear.'' Ace returned. ''Hearing you were one of his crew did come as a surprise though.'' Miguel gave him a curious look, clearly wondering why. ''I think you know by now but our crew has some good connections in Elysia. I've gotten to hear plenty about you and your family recently. Who would have thought one of the nation's heroes would become a pirate?''

''Calling me a hero is just too much...'' He trailed off. Miguel hadn't really noticed to the reputation his family was gathering until he almost left and even then, he hadn't thought it would spread as it had.

He did know about the Whitebeard Pirates' connections in his homeland though, that was the actual reason he wound up learning about the legendary pirate when he had years. Whitebeard actually had a really good reputation in Elysia. While he had taken many by surprise at first with his actions, he'd even tried to help them in their worst times. Whitebeard was one of the few people who was allowed past their defenses because of that. Many didn't really mind that he was a pirate because they could see he was a good person.

Ace looked amused, Miguel was just like he'd been told. ''I had a feeling you'd say that. But hey, someone who kept working with the relief efforts to make things better for his home and people, who even went off to travel and find a way to help said effort, all without ever expecting a thing in return? Sounds like a hero to me.''

''Erm, thanks...''

Ace still remembered how confused he'd been when the crew headed towards Elysia and even got past the defenses so easily. Ace had really thought they were taking things too lightly until he realized that the people managing the entrances were pleasantly surprised to see Whitebeard.

While he could understand the people having a terrible opinion of the marines after all they had been through, their reception had sure thrown Ace for a loop. And while some just liked to keep to themselves, the wizards he'd gotten to know had been a warm and kind bunch that tried to make the best of what they had. It reminded him of a phoenix rising from the ashes, they were trying to be strong and get their home back to the way it was against all odds. It was people like Miguel and his family who helped keep such a resolution going. Ace would freely admit that they had earned his respect for their actions before he even met them. Now that he was getting to know Miguel, he thought the faith they had earned was well-founded.

It wasn't long before they reached the shore. After Vivi sent Carue to Alubarna with a message for her father, they went on towards their destination. Everyone sans Ace and Chopper, who were helped by a Devil Fruit and the crystal Miguel had given him respectively, were feeling the worst of the blistering sun.

Luffy, for once, was walking at a rather sedate pace, panting ''...So...hot...''

''It's a desert, Luffy, of course it's hot.'' Sanji deadpanned. They were feeling the heat too, complaining wasn't about to help.

Usopp was in a similar state, leaning on a stick to help him keep walking ''...water...''

''You drank some a few minutes ago! We have to ration it.''

''Tony, are you okay?'' Vivi asked, thinking he'd have it even worse than them.

Chopper nodded with a smile ''It really is hot but Miguel gave me something to help. So long as I keep that, I'm fine.''

''What?!'' Usopp looked at the wizard. ''You couldn't have given us some of that stuff? I'm dying here!''

''Hardly...'' Sanji deadpanned.

''The crystal only works for Chopper because he's got such a high tolerance to the cold. The fact that he's handling it this carefully is a pretty good help too. It'd probably give any normal person frostbite in minutes, Usopp.'' Miguel said, his attention mostly on the lacrima he was currently holding. The sniper groaned at the news but then he was distracted when the lacrima suddenly lit up and Miguel took out his ice sword before placing it near the item. Slowly, the lacrima gained a pale blue hue and everyone sensed the temperature around them drop somewhat.

''Whoa, that's better!''

''Yeah, what was that?'' Nami wanted to know.

''This type of lacrima is set up to help with harsh weathers like this.'' Miguel stated, putting his sword aside. ''But since it needs to gather some ethernano to activate, it takes time.''

''How come you didn't...'' Usopp stopped himself in time, having immediately wondered why Miguel didn't show them this back in Drum. But he could guess the answer, this looked like it depended on the type of magic used. So that was a definite no-go.

At Miguel's puzzled look, he quickly added ''Oh, I was just wondering when you picked up that stuff!''

''Back when you guys got all happy with the telescope. I figured we'd need it since we were coming here.''

''Good call.'' Zoro half-smiled.

''Yeah, this is great!'' Luffy began rushing ahead, but he immediately felt the heat back in seconds, making him slump. ''...What gives?''

''It's got a limited range.'' Miguel stated.

''Can't you make it bigger?''

''The lacrima can't take a lot of magic at once, Luffy. It'd fall apart.''

Ace gave his brother a pointed look when he groaned ''Don't be so ungrateful. He's doing everyone a big favor.''

''Seriously, it's your own problem for being so impatient.'' Nami huffed, sparing Miguel a thankful look. ''And you shouldn't be taking off anyway, there's a lot we don't know about this place.''

''That's true for most of us...'' Usopp pointed out, looking at the one person who could give them some good advice now. ''...Vivi, you got any tips we could use now?''

''Well...'' The princess started but she never got far because they were all distracted by a lot of noise a second later. This left the group to find the source only to find it was Luffy, who was fighting with a strange seal like creature with a shell on its back. ''...oh, no...''

''I win!'' Luffy enthused.

Vivi groaned ''That's a Kung-Fu Dugong, you shouldn't ever fight them in the first place!''

''Why?'' He was even more confused seeing as the animal was taking its defeat rather well, even bowing to him deferentially.

''They always look for strong opponents to learn what they can and keep fighting. And if someone beats them, they become their disciple...they tend to travel in groups...'' Vivi wasn't surprised to see that other dugongs were gathering nearby. ''...so they'll all want to fight you now.''

Luffy perked up ''I can take them!''

''That's not the problem.'' Zoro deadpanned. ''Oi, Chopper, can't you explain this to them? We can't go around taking others with us now, they'd slow us down.''

Nodding, the little reindeer proceeded to do just that. The dugong group looked rather disheartened at this ''Luffy, could you teach them a couple of moves? It'd be good enough for everyone.''

''Sure thing!''

As they kept going, the group came across a large lizard creature that was chasing a camel. But it immediately attacked them too in a short while, Luffy, Zoro and Sanji quickly leapt in to take it down.

''Whoa...'' Miguel was all for helping them but he quickly saw that they more than had this covered.

''They didn't need to go that far, did they?'' Usopp wondered, holding back a wince as they pummeled the monster.

''Oh, that's nothing.'' The two looked over at Nami but she pointed to their far left where Ace was dealing with another monster not too far away. It tried to eat him but he merely unleashed a blast of fire to stop it in its tracks before he started to cook it.

''That's overkill...'' Chopper mumbled. He felt for the animals. ''...do they have to do all this?''

''Well, those creatures are usually very aggressive.'' Vivi offered, patting his head. ''Sad to say, that's for the best, really.''

Nami had to agree with that opinion but looking at this she couldn't help but say ''I actually feel for the monsters now...''

As Chopper made sure the camel was okay, he could tell that the animal was grateful to them as it was sure it would've been eaten if it wasn't for them. Once he filled the others in, Usopp got the idea to ask if it would give them rides.

He perked up when the camel nodded in answer ''Really? Great! Then let's take turns...'' But then they were thrown for a loop when the camel stepped back with a huff, its expression set in a scowl. ''Hey! What's the deal?''

''What's wrong?'' Chopper blinked, the camel looked back at him and answered. ''Eh? What do you mean you'll only give the girls a ride?''

''That's not fair!'' Usopp exclaimed while the camel gave him a look and grunted, clearly unfazed. ''Why you ungrateful little...''

''Looks like we found a real piece of work here.'' Zoro grunted.

Vivi sighed ''I'll say...''

Sanji exhaled ''Well, there's really no point moaning about it now. How about it, ladies? Sounds like a chance to make the most of what we have.''

Nami nodded ''Come on, Vivi.''

The girl's brow furrowed, she didn't feel right about riding when most of the others couldn't ''I don't know...you can ride, Nami. I'll be fine.''

''Ah, don't be like that, let's use our free ride.''

''I get that you're used to the desert but it can still wear anyone down. You should go ahead.'' Miguel offered as he finished preparing the lacrima again.

''Well...if you say so...''

Ace gave her a reassuring look ''Don't worry, they've got the right idea, go on.'' Vivi nodded and got on the camel's back. He blinked as a thought occured to him before looking at the camel. ''Hey wait, did you see a bunch of people moving about here recently?''

The camel grunted, sounding puzzled but the others understood that he was thinking of the rebels. Chopper then spoke up ''Ah, we don't have much of a description but we know a lot of them are going about in groups and their base was in a town nearby. Did you ever see the rebel army?'' His eyes widened when the camel nodded. ''Really? Where?'' The camel began to explain. ''Oh...''

''Well?'' Nami prompted.

''He says we're in the right direction if we're trying to find them. Apparently he passed Yuba recently and there was a bunch of people going about there, it really did look like they were preparing to leave. He doesn't know where they're going but he did see a tent under a big rock before.''

''Good! Then let's keep going.''

When it was night time, they found a big rock near a hill and settled down there. Vivi had warned them the temperature got rather cold at night and the desert dwellers were a lot more vicious so it was considered far too reckless to traverse the desert at this time. Since they all believed this to be the best course of action, they decided to turn in for the night.

Zoro exhaled as he lit the fire ''Man, this place is a pain. Really hot at day time and then so cold at night, I don't get why people would want to live here.''

''People can adapt to a lot of stuff given time, they must be used to it.'' Nami said with a shrug.

''Can we go faster tomorrow?'' Luffy asked the group at large.

''No.'' A bunch of voices replied at once.

''Luffy, I don't think we can keep going at the pace you want. Besides, pushing yourself like that all the time isn't good for you.'' Chopper said as he put the crystal away.

''You'd just get worn out if you keep going like that. Not to mention the lacrima, we can't go faster and have it running the way it was.'' Vivi added.

''While I agree with most of that, don't hold your breath. I don't remember the last time Luffy ran out of energy.'' Ace stated, exasperation clear in his tone.

''Quit being selfish! Our pace is just fine, you're the one who keeps overdoing it.'' Nami chided, making the rubber teen pout.

''Wow...this is the first time I've seen the stars so clearly!'' Chopper smiled as he watched the sky.

''So you couldn't do that back at your home?'' Miguel wondered.

''The island was usually covered by clouds with the weather the way it was. I never got a good chance.''

''I see...well, I understand how you feel, that really makes for a great view.'' Vivi half-smiled, seeing him nod happily in return.

Usopp hugged him and sighed ''You're lucky, Chopper, no wonder you're so comfortable now. I'm already feeling warm.''

A curious Luffy joined them a moment later, wrapping his arms around the doctor ''Oh, yeah, that feels nice!''

Chopper couldn't help but smile as he enjoyed the feeling too. To think there was one point where he believed that something like this would never happen...now he had friends, real friends who accepted him for who he was. It was amazing how life could turn out.

Luffy tried to take some of the food Sanji was making but the cook swatted his hand away.

''It's not ready yet.''

''But I'm hungry!''

Sanji spared him an annoyed look ''Just wait, you idiot, I'll be done soon.''

And indeed he was, soon he made sure everyone had their share as well. The blond found that, Luffy as usual had inhaled his first share and the second as well. Not that it was surprising at this point, it was just annoying. Especially since he was trying to steal from their plates as usual. But since most of them were used to this by now and Ace was more than glad to help them, he didn't get much of anything.

''Are you ever going to stop doing that?!''

''But it's been this way for so long, ever since we were kids...'' Luffy started.

''Yeah, not buying that.'' His brother cut in, sparing him an unimpressed look. ''I had the same upbringing as you and you don't see me trying to pull this.''

Miguel looked between the two, puzzled ''What kind of upbringing could cause something like this?''

''Yeah, he always acts like he's been starved for ages around meal times. You're telling me that's actually normal?'' Sanji added.

Ace just chuckled ''Let's just say we had an unusual childhood.''

A short while later...

Usopp shivered a bit under his sleeping bag ''Chopper, can't you come back here?''

''No, if you're cold, go closer to the fire like the others did.''

''Now you're being mean...'' He huffed, though some of the others began seeing the doctor's reasoning when he settled next to Miguel, who was fast asleep.

''Yeah, but he wasn't complaining. You're just being lazy.'' Nami said flatly.

''Am not! It's not like Miguel moved over, did he?'' He retorted. ''It just isn't fair!''

''Oh, so expecting a guy with pyrophobia to get closer to fire so easily is fair?'' She shot back.

Usopp cringed, now regretting his wording. He really hadn't been thinking earlier but that made a lot of sense, he mumbled an apology as Vivi and Chopper glared at him.

''Wait, pyrophobia?'' Ace blinked, looking back, Miguel had reacted a little strangely when he revealed his powers. ''What happened?''

''Well...'' Chopper only knew a bit of the situation, since as the crew's doctor, he tried to learn as much as he could about their conditions but he told what he knew of the battle that caused this fear.

''Ah...'' Ace grimaced. ''...that sounds like the battle of Port Dianeira.''

''You know about it?''

''Yeah...we only learned about it too late but I remember how mad Pops was when he told us.'' Ace thought back. He completely understood the feeling, that was a despicable trick the marines used. Whitebeard had even attacked a few marine ships in retaliation. ''All that death and destruction just because of their petty goals...'' He shook his head in disgust. ''...we've seen the aftermath and our friends there all described it as a nightmare.'' He glanced at Miguel. ''It's no surprise he's got some scars after that...he's definitely the one.''

''Miguel did mention it in passing...'' Sanji recalled, when they asked him the other day, he'd been rather reluctant to talk but eventually admitted that some of the people he knew well had died in the battle. He had also been about to mention someone else but immediately stopped himself and the look on his face proved that this other loss had especially hurt. Though he flat out refused to say anymore when they tried to find out more and none of them felt like pressing for information. ''...come to think of it, that was the reason he really got us thinking things over, huh?''

Nami hummed in agreement ''He was right about the rebels after all. I can imagine how angry the people of Elysia were. The situation here is getting to be bad too, I'm glad he started that meeting. I feel more ready to deal with things here now.''

''Me too.'' Usopp admitted, with Sanji and Chopper nodding.

''So do I.'' Vivi added. ''Looking back, it did feel foolish to just rush like I intended. After taking Miguel's advice, I think I understand the situation here much better.''

''That's just one of the perks of a good team.'' Ace stated. ''You get all sorts of perspectives and it makes yours grow. Looks like you're doing pretty well on that front.''

''All right, come on, we should all turn in too. We're going to be busy tomorrow.'' Nami told everyone.

And that's it!

I don't know why but I kind of a hard time working on the chapter for a while. I really wanted to make some headway with the trouble I had planning this arc and I think it mostly worked, there's just a little bit I haven't quite sorted yet but over all, I've made some decent progress.

I hope you like my version of the Alabasta arc so far. The Whitebeard pirates are one of my favorite crews, I have to admit that I hate what happened to them in canon. And I can honestly see Whitebeard going out of his way to help Elysia. The only reason he didn't make it a territory of his crew is that the leaders of Elysia just wanted to avoid any possible trouble from the government as a result, but they still consider Whitebeard an ally. As you can expect, none of them really care that he's a pirate as he had already proven himself to them.

I can't remember if I mentioned this and I was going to explain this next chapter but in case I didn't and to clear up confusion, Elysia has this defense called the Mistral Barrier. It makes sure that the region can't be seen unless they want it to be. It also works some what like a finger print scanner for wizards in that they scan select the oncoming wizards' magic and it could allow them in or not depending on the person. For other people, they have to be keyed in to be allowed entry. Whitebeard's one of the people allowed to do it.

Well, that's all I had to say but if there are questions, you're welcome to ask. I'll do my best to answer so long as they're not spoilers. Thanks for reading, till next time!