Author's Note:

I not entirely sure how this happened but this is one of the longest chapters I have written. We'll see how the rest of it goes. As always please review and let me know what you think.

I do not own One Piece.

It was a calm day at sea but inside herself Addy was a nervous wreck. How was she going to tell Zoro that she wanted to take things to the next level? Did he even think of her in that way? Sure the night they left the island was magical but still. Hard to believe that they have been sailing for two days since then.

"Relax," Merry suggested. "I can assure you that he likes you back."

"You don't know that for certain," Addy replied. She got the feeling that if Merry had eyes she would be rolling them right now. Nami and Vivi were just outside going over their course. Addy at the helm as per usual though since they were heading in the right direction there wasn't any need. Leaving her post to join the others out on deck. Only to catch Sanji yelling at Luffy about something on the lower deck. Luffy was on his knees so something was clearly going on. Usopp and Chopper were fishing while Zoro was taking a nap on the deck.

"Luffy!" Sanji chastised. "Don't lie! Tell me what you know." He crouched down and took Luffy's face in his hands. "Hey, why are you looking away? Look me in the eyes!"

"Doesn't he mean eye?" Addy asked softly causing Nami and Vivi to giggle beside her. Everything had gone back to the way it should be after they left the last island. They still kept an eye on her but it wasn't as overbearing. Something that Addy was grateful for. If she did have a lapse in memory one of them would always be close.

Luffy meanwhile was sweating bullets. Fighting out of Sanji's grasp and waving a hand back and forth. "Well, seriously… I don't know anything."

"Then let me ask you something." He took the cigarette out of his mouth. "How did enough food for eight people, which I carefully divided so that it'd last until we get to Alabasta, disappear during the night?" Oh great. That was probably going to be a problem. Luffy was trying to look at anyone or anything other than Sanji. He gripped Luffy's face again. "Stop fighting, it's pointless! You've got a horrible poker face." Luffy let out a small burp and Sanji let go. Standing up before bending over to look at Luffy. "Hey, you have something around your mouth."

"Ah!" Luffy shouted. "Shoot! Food crumbs?!" He covered his mouth with his hands.

"See, it was you!" Sanji kicked him clear across the deck. His head smacking into the opposing wall. Luffy laid their motionless. Probably for the effect. It's not like Sanji actually hurt him after all. "Geez." Sanji turned to face the three of them. "Ahhh, Nami dear. You saw it right? The large rat trap is no longer good enough. Please buy a lockable refrigerator." A blush formed over his face. Even the cigarette smoke was forming hearts. He had it bad for Nami.

"Well…." Nami replied. "I'll think about it… since it can be a life or death issue." She glanced at Usopp, Chopper and Karoo who seemed really nervous all of the sudden.

"Well…!" Usopp remarked. "We'd better catch something for Sanji." Oh, they were up to something as well. Sanji also could tell walking up to them.

"Hey, any luck fishing?" Sanji asked. That startled them. Putting on fake smiles.

"W-Well.." Usopp started. Karoo quacking to try and offset the tension. Sanji smiled. Putting his hands to the side of Usopp and Karoo heads respectively before slamming them together. Chopper getting caught in the middle. The three of them fell backwards, hitting the deck with a thunk.

"Seriously, I can't take my eyes off these guys for a moment."

Addy sighed shaking her head side to side. "If it's such a serious problem I can go fishing you know."

Sanji twirled back towards her. "No my Addy sweet. These idiots should learn their lesson. Let them catch it for themselves."

Addy shrugged her shoulders. "If you insist. Let me know when you change your mind." Which is how Usopp, Luffy and Karoo got stuck on permanent fishing duty for the day. And the next day when they failed to catch anything.

Addy was manning the helm. Sanji standing his ground that the others should find food. Addy didn't mind. He would crack if it got bad enough. Sanji and Nami were with her. Nami working on her map while Sanji took stock of what they had left. Maybe she should ask Nami for advice about her Zoro problem. She might have some idea of what to do.

Soon morning turned to afternoon and it seemed like they still hadn't caught anything. What was interesting was that they seemed to be approaching a cloud of steam. Addy could feel it pricking against her skin. Since she stopped drinking her senses were definitely stronger. Nami seemed to pick up on it as well. Watching Addy with a close eye.

Seemed like they weren't the only ones who noticed. Vivi came into the room as well.

"Nami!" she exclaimed. "There's a problem! Come right away!"

Nami glanced out the door and smiled before turning to Addy with a look as if noting something. Getting up from the table she followed Vivi outside. Addy and Sanji also joining them. Chopper was already looking at the cloud of what looked like green smoke rising from the water.

"Ahh… don't worry. It's nothing. It's just steam."

"Steam is coming up from the sea?" Vivi asked.

"Yeah. It's a hot spot." Nami turned her attention to Addy. "Addy was the one who tipped me off. Literally she's the best at detecting weather. Even if she doesn't realize it."

"Thanks," Addy replied not sure how to take that. Her arms were crossed in front of her. "Don't see many hot spots though."

"What the heck is that?" Luffy asked.

"It's an area where magma is produced," Nami answered. "There's an undersea volcano underneath that area."

"I see."

Chopper turned to look at Nami. Halfway climbing the bannister so that he could look over it. "A volcano even though it's undersea?" he asked softly.

"That's right," Nami answered. "There're more undersea volcanos than above ground ones." Usopp marveled at the steam cloud in front of them while Luffy didn't seem bothered.

"I don't really care…since it's not food," he muttered. Everyone pretty much ignoring him.

"With the volcano like this, a new island will be born here over thousands or tens of thousands of years."

"You're so cool, Nami dear!" Sanji exclaimed making heart eyes at her.

"Tens of thousands of years," Luffy stated. "Meaning that Addy will probably get a chance to see it." Addy winched. She would rather not think about that. Living thousands of years without them. Plus new islands were always a messy business. Fights over who gets claims. She would rather stay out of it. "I wonder if I can live that long."

"Well, you're a human," Usopp remarked. "So you should try dying sometime before that…" They pulled up Karoo who the tied up to the fishing poles. He was angrily quacking at them. Also bringing them to Sanji's attention.

"Have you caught anything?" Sanji asked them.

"Oh hey," Luffy said turning to look at the cook. "Sanji. I'm hungry. Cook something."

"You guys're hopeless." He rolled up his sleeves. "I'll go search the store thoroughly to see if there's anything left." He headed down into the storeroom to do exactly that.

"You can see through steam, right?" Nami asked just as the ship was about to enter it.

"Yes," Addy answered already plugging up her nose. "Only problem with undersea volcanos is that they stink."

"I'm sure they're not that bad." Vivi responded until the ship entered the steam and everyone started gagging. "Oh, that's what you meant." Everyone was coughing and covering up their nose. Thank Ocean Addy could close off her senses. Allowing her to see past the steam.

"Everyone okay?" Merry asked. "Should we turn around?"

"We'll be through it soon," Addy answered. She thought that she could also hear a rumble in the background. Sounded like they weren't the only ones in the area.

What happened next could only be called absolutely random. The other ship that they passed lost one of their crew members in the chaos of the steam. The crewmate managed to grip onto Karoo to the shock of Luffy and Usopp. There catch was dressed like an okama with a large swan coat. Not that Addy had a problem with that but you didn't see many of them around. Karoo looked absolutely confused about the situation.

"Shoot!" their guest shouted. "Why did I jump on the duck that I suddenly came across?!"

"That's a very good question," Addy responded putting her hand on her whip. Didn't get a chance to respond as he let go of Karoo and fell into the sea. Landing with a splash. Well that was that then.

"Help me!" he called out. "Please! I can't swim!"

"Captain?" Addy asked. "Do you want me to go save him?" At Luffy's nod Addy jumped into Ocean and fished out the okama. Leaving him a sopping wet mess on the deck. He was sitting on the deck catching his breath. Dripping with water. Everyone else had come down as well. Except for Sanji who was in the storeroom.

Zoro was sitting on deck with Addy sitting next to him. Nami, Usopp and Chopper all standing while Luffy was crouched down. Vivi up above looking down at all of them

"I thought I'd die," the man grumbled. He sat up. "Well I'm really swanny." He held up his hand in front of his so that the side of his pinky was facing them before dropping it. "To think I was saved by pirates who are total strangers. I will never forget your kindness for the rest of my life!" He bowed several times before them. At least he knew how to be grateful. "Also, may I have a cup of warm soup?"

"We don't have it!" They all shouted at him.

"We're the ones who're hungry!" Zoro yelled at him further.

He blinked a couple of times before looking up. Realizing that Vivi was here as well. "Oh, hey you! What a cutie! You're my type! I wanna eat you! Smooch!" He blew a kiss towards her. Vivi winched clearly uncomfortable with the situation.

"So you can't swim huh?" Luffy asked.

"That's right. I ate a devil fruit."

"Really?" Usopp wondered. Addy rolled her eyes. This should not be surprising at this point. "What kind of fruit?" Better question. Know what they are up against.

He stood up. "Well… since there's no need to rush until my ship comes to pick me up. In lieu of entertainment, I'll show you…" He leaned forward as if to attack them. Luffy was swinging his arms in excitement. Addy wasn't worried. She was pretty sure they could take him down. "This is my power!" He slammed his palm into Luffy's face. Launching him across the deck. Both her and Zoro reached for their weapons. Ready to cut this guy into ribbons. Usopp was flabbergasted. Face turning blue. Everyone else going wide eyed.

Zoro drew his blades while Addy readied her whip.

"What're you?" Zoro asked ready to charge him. He held up his hands covering his face.

"Wait! Wait! Wait!" He called out sounding strangely like Luffy. "I just told you that this is the entertainment!" Zoro eyes went wide when he realized what he was looking at. Addy almost dropped her whip. She wasn't expecting this.

Luffy was standing right in front of her. Except he was dressed like the okama. "Gimme a break!"

"Ah?!" Luffy exclaimed getting back on his feet. "That's me!"

"Surprised?! Surprised?! Surprised?!" Okama Luffy was laughing like crazy before finally stopping. "If I touch my face with my left hand." He did just that and his face suddenly shifted. "See?! I'm back to myself! This is the power of the Mane-Mane Fruit I ate!"

"The voice, too…" Nami noted.

Usopp mouth hung open. "The body was also the same," he commented. While they were all reeling from shock he tapped each of their faces. Addy was still trying to figure out if he was friend or foe.

"Amazing!" Luffy exclaimed eyes bugging out. Clearly he was impressed but it wasn't hard to impress Luffy.

"There!" the guest stated after he finished with Zoro. "Well for that matter, I don't have to knock you dowm…" Then why do it? "Now, look!" He tapped his face and switched to Usopp. "All I have to do is.." He touched his face again and Zoro appeared. "Touch faces with my right hand." Again and Chopper showed up. "As you can see, I can…" Followed by Nami. "Mimic anyone!" He finally switched to Addy. "Bodies too." He opened up his robe revealing bare skin underneath. Showcasing everything. Usopp, Luffy, and Chopper all went bugged eyed. Addy turned a bright shade of red while Zoro looked murderous. Luckily Sanji wasn't here otherwise it would be a real problem. He would probably be passed out on the deck.

Both Addy and Nami punched him in the head sending him crashing to the deck. "Stop it!" They both shouted at him. Nami was also a faint shade of red. Probably embarrassed for her.

Usopp, Chopper and Luffy crouched down to look over him. "Hey, are you all right?" Luffy asked.

"Ow, ow, ow…" was all he could mutter. Good. Unfortunately, they didn't punch him hard enough as he managed to sit up. "Well… sorry, but I can't show any more of my power…" There's more?

"You're amazing!" Luffy shouted. "Do it more!" Both him and Chopper were cheering him on while Usopp whistled. Addy just wanted to get him off of Merry.

She felt Zoro wrap an arm around her waist. "I'll kill him for you if you want," he whispered in her ear. Sending a thrill down her spine.

"Don't. Captain won't be happy." He was standing up now giving a performance to the three of them. Addy and Zoro sat down against the railing. Back towards the sea. Watching what has now turned into a dance performance. "Besides now everyone can be jealous of what you're getting." Zoro smirked at that though he still looked like he wanted to kill the guy.

"Gee, he's actually into it!" Nami remarked standing next to the two of them. He was twirling around in place now. The three of them clapping. Addy couldn't wait till his crew showed up and they got rid of him. He was now showing off his collection of faces. Mostly men thankfully. Addy didn't trust him with a woman's body.

"How stupid!" Zoro remarked as he started twirling once again. Now all four of them were dancing together. Cheering about how amazing he was.

"Oh whatever!" Nami stated looking unhappy with him. Turning around so that she no longer had to look at him.

"He's quite fun." Merry exclaimed. "I don't know what your problem is." Addy reminded herself to explain to Merry about what exactly he did wrong. Though she didn't think it would go over well. "Also another ship is approaching" Thank Ocean. They could get rid of this guy. He jumped out of the dance group and onto the railing right by Nami.

"It's already time to say goodbye…?" What a shame…" he exclaimed. Good. The sooner the better.

"What?!" Luffy, Chopper and Usopp shouted.

"Please don't go!" Usopp begged.

"Don't be sad!" the stranger remarked. "Journeys are always accompanied by farewells." He turned back to look at them. "But don't ever forget this." Usopp, Luffy and Chopper were all tearing up. "Friendship… has nothing to do with how long we've known each other." He flicked some of his own tears into the air. "Don't cry!" He leapt onto his own ship when it got close enough.

"See you again!" Luffy called out. Usopp wiping tears out of his own eyes. They were still crying as his ship started to sail off. Hopefully they would never see him again. At least until they heard his crew call him Mr. 2.

"Mr. 2?!" they all exclaimed. Addy letting out a string of curses in her own tongue. Oh this was bad.

"So he is… Mr. 2, Bon Clay…!" Vivi stated.

"Vivi!" Luffy shouted. "You didn't know his face?!"

Addy shot her a withering look. "Vivi have I mentioned that you are possibly the worst spy ever."

"No… I've never met Mr. 2 or his partner. I also haven't met Mr. 1 and his partner either." Oh fantastic. So they knew what they all looked like. Meanwhile they had no clue what their opponents looked like. "I don't know their powers, either…" She backed up. Her back hitting the door and she slid down. Overwhelmed. "Though I've heard of rumors. Mr. 2 is a ballerina with a large frame… who talks like a woman. He always wears a swan coat that has Bon Clay on the back."

Addy ran her hand down her face. "And you haven't told us this until now because?"

"You should've noticed!" Usopp, Zoro and Luffy chastised. As Addy was prepared to ream into her some more something was clearly wrong. Vivi was more bothered by this than she should be. Sweating. Resting a hand over her face. Fingers tangled in her long blue hair.

"What's the matter, Vivi?" Luffy asked.

"Among the faces that he showed from his past memory…from his memory…. I saw my father's face…" she closed her eyes. "The face of Alabasta's King, Nefertari Cobra." Well nothing good could come from that. That sobered up the mood.

"If, for example, you could mimic a king you'd be able to do quite bad things, too…" Zoro brought up. That was an understatement. It could be absolute chaos. Tearing apart the country.

Usopp crossed his arms. "We let a troublesome guy slip away, huh?"

"Then he's our enemy?" Chopper asked.

"He's certainly quite a problem if he's on our enemy's side," Nami pointed out joining the huddle. "If he realizes that we're his enemy. If he transforms into one of us using his memory from earlier… we won't be able to trust our own friends."

Addy nodded. "And we can't exactly play 20 questions to figure out if we are who we are in the middle of a battle."

"Really?" Luffy asked. "Huh?"

"Listen, Luffy…" Nami explained holding out her arms dropping then when Zoro interrupted.

"Well, hold on." Zoro reached out and grabbed Luffy's shoulder. "It's true that his opinion doesn't have any basis, but he's right about us not having to be scared of him. We should consider ourselves lucky that we got to see him now because we can figure out counter-measures." Zoro was right. Perhaps they could turn this to their advantage.

Before they could talk about it further Merry started rocking about. Ocean becoming a swirl of chaos. They all looked at Addy.

"Don't look at me," she exclaimed. "I have no idea what's going on." At least she didn't until a large white cat raised itself from the Ocean. One paw curled in front of it appeared behind them.

"Something came out!" Luffy shouted.

"Sea Cat!" Vivi pointed out.

"It's a sea monster!" Chopper screamed panicking along with Usopp. Both of them jumped up, tears pouring down. In a complete panic.

"It's the first meal in two days!" Zoro remarked running to the back of the ship. Drawing all three of his swords. Ready to cut the beast up.

"It's a meal!" Luffy joined him ready to punch the creature into submission.

"We're on the right track," Nami added on holding up the Eternal Pose. "I hope we get there pretty soon…"

"You hear that Merry?" Addy asked. "Think you can speed up for us?"

"Loud and clear." She could already feel Merry picking up her pace. Unfortunately, that happened to be away from the Sea Cat.

"It's a meal!" Luffy growled.

"Whoa!" Zoro remarked. "It backed away!"

"Addy! Have the ship go back! Go back!" Addy rolled her eyes and headed to the helm. Captain orders.

"W-W-W-W-W-We can't!" Usopp yelled. Addy ignored him. Still heading for the helm.

"You're not actually going to listen to him, are you?" Nami asked.

"It's food," Addy answered. "We'll be back on course before you know it."

Sanji finally came back up on deck. Apparently ignoring all the ruckus until he heard about the potential for food. The three of them should manage to catch it.

"Ah!" Sanji exclaimed. "Don't let it get away! Capture it without fail!" Addy could hear him running towards the back. Joining Luffy and Zoro in trying to capture the beast. "How should I cook you, cat monster?!"

"No!" Vivi shouted just as Addy was about to reach the helm. She heard a loud smack and several groans.

"Vivi just hit them all in the back with a broom" Merry muttered.

Addy shrugged her shoulders. "She is surprisingly violent."

"You can't eat it!" Vivi yelled. "Sea Cats are a sacred animal in Alabasta!" Of course, they were. Meaning they would have to wait longer for a meal. Addy joined the rest of them in the back. Finding Usopp curled up on the floor. Luffy slung over the railing and Sanji and Zoro collapsed against it.

"You should've told us sooner!" Luffy remarked.

"There sure are many kinds of creatures in the sea!" Chopper pointed out. Most of the them incredibly delicious.

"Being scared of things like that…" Usopp mumbled into the floorboards. Legs trembling. "You've still got a long way to go." As Chopper turned to look at him he had a foot up on the cannon and was looking over the sea. "Okay then! I'll tell you a story about when I bravely fought Sea Kings in the Calm Belt." Addy rolled her eyes. She had a feeling that the story was going to be far from the truth.

"Fought Sea Kings?!"

"Big ones!" He stretched out his arms as far as they could go. "They were this big!"

"O…our food got away…" Luffy whimpered chewing the railing.

"But don't worry," Vivi comforted trying to rectify the situation. "You'll be able to stuff yourself soon."

"Really?" It was almost as if sparkled were coming off of him. "What cat will appear this time?!"

Vivi seemed flabbergasted. Luckily Nami saved her from having to explain. "Vivi! The wind and weather seem to be becoming stable." Nami joined them as well. Now they were all together.

"Yes," Vivi responded. "We've entered Alabasta's climate area." Addy could tell as well. The air was already starting to feel dryer. Oh she was not going to have a fun time. "A Sea Cat appearing is also the proof."

"And what we see behind us…" Addy turned to look at what Zoro was seeing. A smile appearing on her lips. Baroque Work ships. They were getting close. "Is probably also proof of Alabasta being close."

"Addy there are a lot of ships out there" Merry remarked.

"We'll be fine," Addy replied softly counting them. She had faith in her crew that they would be able to handle this.

"There're so many ships!" Luffy pointed out looking over Ocean. "When did that happen?!"

"Hey! They all have the Baroque Works' symbol," Usopp stated with a slight tremble in his voice. He was looking through his googles.

"It's employees have started gathering," Vivi stated. "They're probably Billions… the Officer Agents' subordinates."

"Which means that our enemy is at least 200…" Nami elaborated. Addy let out a sigh. This would be their biggest fight yet.

"On top of that, they are the 200 elites of Baroque Works… They're far from those bounty hunters in Whisky Peak."

Usopp was readying the cannon. As if that would do anything at this point other then piss them off. "Should we fire at them while we can?!" He wiped the sweat off his brow. "Let's get on it already!" He pointed out towards the ships.

"It's quicker if we go there and beat them up!" Luffy replied. He did have a point there. Until his stomach growled. "No, wait! We have to eat first!"

"Idiot!" Zoeo remarked smiling. He was just as excited about this as Addy was. "Don't bother. They're small fries."

"He's right," Sanji added on. Rare for the two of them to agree on anything. "If we lose our real target, that'll be it. There're only 9 of us."

"Ten," Both Addy and Merry remarked at the same time. They all looked at her. "We have Merry as well." She took a deep breath. "Ten against an entire army." She turned her attention towards Zoro. "What countermeasures were you thinking about?"

It turned out to be both incredibly simple and brilliant at the same time. X's underneath white bandages. Wrapped around their forearms. She tied Zoro's while he tied hers. The rest of the crew doing the same.

"Anyway, tie it tight." Zoro remarked. "Our enemy this time has too many mysteries."

"I see…" Vivi proclaimed.

"If we check this, we don't have to doubt our friends," Nami elaborated.

"Does that Mane-Mane Fruit guy really become so similar when he transforms?" Sanji asked tying his own bandaged while helping Karoo out. He managed to get himself all tangled up.

"You've got no idea!" Usopp answered. "It's not similar. It's the same! It's too bad! You should've seen it. We even danced with him."

"I'm not interested in a male ballerina." Not surprising. If he was a woman that would be a different story.

"Knowing someone like that is among our enemy," Zoro pointed out. "We can't carelessly act alone."

Chopper walked up to Usopp. Holding a hoof to his chest. "Hey, what should I do?"

"Ahh.. Do what you can do." Usopp responded. "You don't have to do anything more. It's okay to run away from the enemy you can't defeat!"

"Aren't you telling that to yourself?" Sanji asked. Probably but it wasn't a wrong answer.

"What I can do, huh?" Chopper muttered to himself. "Got it!"

"It will be easier once Addy makes it rain," Vivi stated looking at Addy as if she was her entire country's salvation.

Addy rolled her eyes. She still had no idea about her obsession with rain but she would do her best. Her father was finicky when it came to that sort of thing.

"I can see the island now!" Luffy shouted. Addy looked and saw the same thing. Suppressing the urge to groan. Luckily she had enough sunscreen to cover.

"Let's stop at the town called Nanohana," Vivi suggested. "We have to hide the ship."

Addy nodded getting up. It would be her job to dock the ship after all.

"All right!" Luffy exclaimed. "At any rate, no matter what happens," He held out his arm in front of him. Forming a fist. They all did the same. Forming a circle. "This thing on our left arm is the sign of our friendship! We are nakama!" They all took in the moment. Understanding the enormity of the task in front of them. She may not fully believe Vivi but she was right about Baroque Works. "Well then, we'll land! To a restaurant! Oh, and to Alabasta."