(A/N: Thank you so much to OneWhoReadsTooMuch and sayidali2003 for your reviews. And to everyone who favorited and followed this story. It always makes me happy to see this story getting love. I'm hoping I'll actually finish this story since I haven't with many of my others. I really need to start working on them again. ^^)
"Shit...we arrived too late..."
Theo's face darkened when Koza's body was lined with four bullets just when he was going to declare the war was over. Time seemed to have frozen over as the rebel leaders alarmed form fell backwards; the only sound coming from a grief-stricken and shrill female voice screaming out his name that was carried by the wind.
That must be the princess Koza told us he befriended... Theo pondered, closing his eyes since he could only presume what the poor girl must be experiencing knowing someone she cared about had possibly been killed in such a malicious manner.
"Of course Crocodile would have his damn agents among the royal army..." Ashley voiced bitterly, biting down on his thumbnail hard.
"What do we do, Theo?! That creepy sand that just appeared is blocking everyone's view and there are random gun shots going off everywhere!" Cain questioned; his eyes laced with worry. The destruction they had seen in town on their way here would become ten times worse, along with the death count, if things were left this way...
"...Take out any man you find sporting the Baroque Works tattoo, and don't let anyone see what you're doing. If they get suspicious, knock them out. Don't harm any of the royal or rebel members if you can help it...Cain, you get Koza and take him somewhere safe before the guy gets crushed in this madness."
The four brothers scattered, and Theo made sure to go straight for the disguised royal guard he knew had shot Koza: his Chinese blade piercing the once smirking man from the back. He watched coldly as the now lifeless agent fell forward, making certain to knock out anyone nearby before they could comprehend what had occurred.
"It's times like this that make me wish I had never gotten out of bed...Even if that bed was in a dirty cave..." Theo grumbled to himself, running a hand through his black messy locks while he listened to the mayhem around him.
Cain could make out Ashley and Deimos taking out other infiltrators, but his main focus was on Koza, and he bit his bottom lip when seeing the male struggling to pull himself off the ground; weakly pleading for those around him to stop fighting.
"Koza-kun! Don't strain yourself" Cain exclaimed, crouching down beside the blond-haired male. Noticing his purple sunglasses had tilted a little off his face, Cain straightened them before continuing, "You're lucky to be alive after getting hit like that... I need to remove any bullets and then stitch up those wounds before you lose more blood..."
"D-don't focus on me...find a way...to stop-" Koza began, only for his eyes to land on a blade that was about to come down on Cain. "S-stop! He's-"
Once again Koza's sentence cut off for Cain had turned to stare at his ally, and the look the long blond-haired male wore must have been intimidating for the hooded male had started to badly sweat. Unsheathing a kunai dagger, Cain sliced the male across his chest, this making Koza scream out, "NO! YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO KILL HIM...!"
"He was an imposter. I'm sure he was going to kill you after he did the same with me," Cain spoke calmly, lifting the startled male up to support him. He kept his pace slow and steady while he distanced them from the battlefield. "Crocodile's men infiltrated both your group and the royal's...I'm sorry. We wanted to reach you in time before something like this happened..."
Koza gritted his teeth, his glove covered hand moving to his face. "No...This is my fault. Theo tried to warn me things might not be what they seemed...but I only saw the truth for myself by the time it was too late...They're all so caught up in their anger, Vivi's voice isn't even reaching them..."
Cain frowned sadly at this. "When people are in a panicked state, they sometimes don't notice or hear what they should...But I'm sure the princess's words will be able to reach them!" A grin soon formed on Cain's fair face-his voice carrying strong belief within in it to try and ease Koza's unrest. "Your friend isn't alone. There's a group of pirates that seem to be helping her. Theo says you can't trust pirates...but Toffee does. And I know my sister wouldn't put her trust in someone without good reason! She learned to be cautious from people like us, after all~!"
Pirates...huh? I guess Vivi did have a knack for forming bonds with the strangest people Koza pondered, smirking faintly.
"Luffy's alive?!"
Having just been rescued by Luffy and one of her head guards, Pell, after Crocodile had tossed her from the top of the palace, Vivi had felt both immense relief and once again hopeful-a sentiment Crocodile had nearly stolen from her-when seeing the Straw Hat captain unharmed. It seemed his crewmates were also relieved to find Luffy safe. They must have believed something horrible happened to him.
"Tony-kun!" Vivi exclaimed, feeling that same happiness wash over her when the small, almost teary-eyed reindeer, Usopp, and Sanji appeared together.
"Ahh! What the hell, Vivi-chan?! You're hurt so bad!" Sanji exclaimed, his eyes peering angrily at all the marks on her normally flawless skin.
"USOPP! Who asked you to create a prop for parties?!"
Vivi wasn't able to comment, gasping when Nami had hit a far more seriously injured Usopp with a cyan-colored staff, knocking the sniper-who looked similar to a mummy with his body covered in bandages-to the ground.
"Hey! You're standing!" Zoro fumed. The 'she-devil' had ended up making him carry her all the way here after they had reunited.
"Nami-swan~!"
"Nami-san...Bushido-san...But where's..."
"Th-thank goodness! You're all here!" Toffee cried out happily when seeing everyone gathered together as she came rushing up near the front stairs of the palace. "And I'm glad no one's badly inj-EEK! What happened to you, Zoro?! Those gashes on your torso look really nasty!"
"Try telling that to her!" Zoro growled out, continuing to give the navigator a dirty look. And he felt further infuriated knowing Nami was obviously ignoring him.
Sanji meanwhile was badly stuttering, pointing a shaking finger at Toffee. "T-that jacket...Why the heck are you wearing that Smoker bastard's jacket?!"
Toffee blinked, grabbing at the marine coat. Unlike Smoker, she had buttoned it up where her clothes and own injuries were concealed. "Oh, Smoker helped me out against my opponent. My clothes got damaged, so he let me borrow this."
"Grr! Are you saying he got to see your skin that you hardly ever expose?! I won't forgive him!" Sanji growled out, literal flames around his form considering Toffee was one of their more innocent members. And there's no way a punk looking guy like Smoker had any gentlemanly qualities!
Toffee could only stare at the cook with smaller eyes. Zoro on the other hand snorted out, "Sometimes I wonder if you even think before you speak, you perverted cook,"
"What was that, moss head?! I don't want to hear any lip from someone who allowed Nami-san to get injured when he was supposed to be protecting her!"
"And I'm telling you she ain't that injured!"
Usopp huffed, rubbing at his new wound that Nami had added to his head. "Oi! Isn't anyone going to ask if I'm okay?! I'm clearly the worst off here!"
Nami rolled her eyes at the current conversation, moving closer toward the princess. "Vivi...So what's going on? What's with this dust devil?"
Before Vivi could speak up, Luffy answered that question, his words causing the arguing around him to halt.
"Sorry, guys. I lost against him once...So...I won't lose again! I'll leave the rest to you!" he declared fiercely.
"Go already," Zoro encouraged with a smirk.
"If you can't win...who can?!" Usopp added. They had all fought their battles, and in their more exhausted states, even if they did team up against Crocodile, the outcome would be the same. They'd lose...Luffy was the only one who could stop the tyrant.
"I'm gonna put an end...to all this!"
"Yeah!"
Tears formed in Vivi's eyes. No matter if explosions and the screams of those fighting were happening not far from them, none of the Straw Hats were discouraged. "Everyone...I still have...this many friends..."
Toffee placed a gentle hand on a quietly crying Vivi's shoulder, watching Luffy shoot himself up to the top of the palace. She gathered whatever Luffy had in that large barrel on his back was what he planned to use against the warlord. Beginning to see how Luffy's unpredictability worked, he must have discovered what Crocodiles weakness was.
"So, what do you need us to do now, Vivi-chan?"
Using a long and delicate finger to wipe the few remaining tears from her face, Vivi's countenance took on a more solemn one. "Crocodile is planning to destroy the square...We must stop him before everyone here is killed! And we only have ten more minutes to stop it!"
"WHAT?!" everyone but Zoro and Sanji shouted out in horror.
"A cannonball is going to be shot at 4:30 exactly. Once it's shot, nobody in a 5 km diameter will survive..."
"S-so then, both the royal army and the rebel army will be destroyed?!" Chopper gasped out.
"The fighting is probably only going on because Crocodile placed his men into the fray," Toffee mentioned quietly. Vivi biting down on her lower lip further confirmed this. "I can't believe he's mad enough to take out his own comrades..."
"That damn gator...!" Sanji seethed.
"Wh-what the hell will we do?!" Usopp stuttered, looking around at his friends in a panic.
Zoro crossed his arms over his chest. "Find the cannoneer. We'll stop the attack!"
"Find the cannoneer?" Chopper whispered, wondering if something like that would work?
"So how do we find him?!" Usopp exclaimed.
"In ten minutes!" Nami added. It would be like looking for a needle in an extremely large, violent and massively chaotic, haystack.
"We don't have time to think, right?!" Zoro snapped. The longer they stood here arguing, the more time they were losing.
"But a 5km diameter means this guy's aiming at least 2.5km from here, right?!" Usopp pointed out.
"No, that's not true! The cannoneer is probably near the square!"
Usopp gawked at Vivi's declaration. "Th-then Crocodile really doesn't care who he kills?! The cannoneer won't survive a blast like that either..."
"What makes it worse is Crocodiles men more than likely don't know he's planning to kill them," Toffee murmured, her eyes narrowing. "I doubt so many would just rush off to their death, even if they were threatened..."
"Crocodile really is scum..." Nami voiced in her own angered tone.
"Let's go already," Zoro spoke up. He tensed up on alert when noticing the tall male with purple lines underneath his eyes was unsheathing his own sword. One of the Baroque Works agents was about to slice his large blade down upon an unsuspecting Vivi, and Zoro and Sanji both intercepted before the large man could.
"Yipes!" Usopp shrieked out when seeing a good sized group of men emerge from the billowing sand.
"We found you, Princess Vivi!"
"I wonder how far I'll be promoted if I kill-"
Vivi and the Straw Hats were shocked when the man who spoke was cut off by a bullet piercing his skull from behind. And he wasn't the only one. More men were being taken out in a similar manner.
"Wh-who the hell is shooting at us?!"
"Wh-what's going on?!" Nami and Usopp shrieked out together, clinging to each other in fear. A rope had wrapped around one of the Billions necks, and his screaming form was drug off. And from their shouts of pain, it sounded like they were being killed or tortured violently.
Noticing Toffee stepping forward as if she were in a daze, Zoro scowled. "Oi, Toffee! If the bloods getting to you, you shouldn't be watching! Don't go near whatever the heck that is!"
"...It's okay. We should go and find that cannoneer. We don't have much time. They'll handle everyone here..."
"They? What are you talking about, Toffee-chan?" Sanji asked with a small, concerned frown.
Toffee turned to gaze at everyone with a closed eyed smile. "My brothers'. They'll take out the Billions for us and allow all of us to search more easily."
"EH?!"
Tapping his pistol against his palm, Ashley hopped off the tall buildings roof where he stood. "Finally, they decided to take their attention off our sister and her companions. The foot soldiers are making their way here,"
Dragging another flailing Billions toward him with the thick rope he held, Deimos dealt with the bandana donned male by slamming his fist-that had a pair of golden knuckles upon them-into the man's stomach. And he was silenced after coughing up a mouthful of blood.
"I don't see why we have to keep our distance from Toff-chan like this. We should go say hello to the little runaway!"
"Don't be silly. You know reunions are always so heart wrenching, that they distract you from other important matters. Toffee and those pirates are busy themselves, I'm sure," Ashley sighed out, running a hand through his hair. "But she's made some attractive friends. That orange haired woman was majorly sexy~"
"Seriously? Do you only ever think with that certain body part?" Deimos stated indifferently. He then smirked. "Besides, I'm sure a cool guy like me would be more of her type than some pretty boy like you who takes an hour just to do his hair."
"Oh? Then why was Arisa running her hands through my silky-smooth hair instead of that tangled mess of yours~?"
"BECAUSE YOU STOLE HER FROM ME, YOU BASTARD!"
"Can't you idiots go through one battle without arguing like a couple of brats...?"
Ashley only hummed at the harsh scolding and placed his hand on his hip. "There you are. I was wondering where you disappeared to, Theo. Have you come to help us kill these ugly freaks?"
A dark aura surrounded Theo's form, causing some of the men nearby to shiver for they were able to actually feel the blood lust seeping off his form. "The only person I plan to kill is Crocodile. I won't be satisfied until his beating heart is being crushed between my fist...!"
Deimos and Ashley exchanged glances, turning in unison to look blankly at their oldest sibling. "...That scary demeanor of yours is why Toffee left..."
"I'm not the reason she left!" Theo growled out, punching the 'poor' man who was trying to sneak up on him from behind. And from the sound of it, he had broken something. Which was why the guy had fallen to the ground screaming his head off while rolling from side to side. "Whoops..."
Splitting up where they could cover more ground, Toffee had chosen to stay with Vivi in case any more Billions decided to try and sneak attack the princess. Her eyes scanned the area for anyone suspicious, but so far, she wasn't having any luck.
"Are you sure you wouldn't have rather gone to your family, Toffee-san...?"
Toffee blinked at the lightly panting girl's question, shaking her head with a smile when noticing the concern within Vivi's eyes. "No. This is more important. We only have seven minutes left...And I'm sure I'll see them eventually."
"I-I see...We have to stop it! I-Ah!" Vivi cried out, when her already exhausted form fell to the ground. She gave an apologetic look to Toffee when she helped her up. "I-I'm sorry..."
"Don't be. Take it from someone who trips on a daily basis," Toffee responded kindly. "Are you alright? I can carry you on my back if you don't think you can go any further?"
"No. I'll be fine!" Vivi declared, her eyes filled with resolve as she took off quickly; Toffee easily catching up to the girl who was pushing herself clearly past her limits.
Seeing Pell flying above them after some time had passed by in his falcon form, Vivi shouted out, "How is it from the sky, Pell?!"
"I searched every corner of the rooftops of the buildings near the square, but I saw no preparations for the cannon anywhere." the Zoan user replied in a flustered tone.
"Then...it might be from somewhere inside a building..." Vivi suggested. Pell went off to check those in the distance while Vivi noticed Toffee dashing in and out of the ones closest to them. Yet their efforts were still coming up empty handed, this making Vivi nibble on the skin of her lower lip.
Three minutes...we only have three minutes left... Toffee thought, feeling her own panic growing. Poor Vivi had tripped again when her shoes snapped this time, scratching up her leg bad enough for it to bleed. Though Toffee didn't let her phobia get the better of her, causing Vivi to let out a small, startled cry when she lifted her up piggyback.
"What in the world is Usopp doing?" Toffee pondered, a small sweat bead running down the side of her face. The Sniper had abruptly appeared and was engaged in a rather comical banter with a royal guard.
"That doesn't matter! I think I realized where the cannoneer might be!" Vivi gasped out, gripping onto Toffee's shoulder. And she surprised Usopp when grabbing hold of his nose when he was about to run past Toffee and her after knocking out his pursuer. "Usopp! The cannoneer is in the clocktower! Let everyone know!"
"Eh? If you're sure, I'll send the signal!" Usopp exclaimed after getting over his shock, raising his slingshot toward the sky and shooting off a red flare.
"We'll go on ahead! Hang on tight, Vivi!" Toffee instructed before dashing off.
Much to Toffee's surprise, there was no one to impede their way. Usopp's flare wasn't exactly subtle, so she was sure the enemy must have noticed it themselves. Then again, she supposed Theo and the others would have made certain no enemies were able to slip up on them.
"Perhaps it would be better if I ran beside you, Toffee-san? You were injured too, weren't you...?"
Toffee gave a small shake of her head. "The wounds I received weren't that deep. And we need to reach the clocktower quick as possible, right?"
"Mhm!" At the sight of the nostalgic hideout of Koza and her other friends, Vivi's eyes shined. "There! It's just up ahead! The only way up is the stairs in the back on the first floor! We could also fly up there, but I don't see Pell..."
Feeling Vivi gripping at the jacket she wore, for there were bodies scattered across the ground-though it was hard to discern if they were dead or only injured-Toffee furrowed her brows. They had only two minutes left, and no matter how much her feet ached, or lungs burned, Toffee urged herself to keep running once she reached the towers long staircase.
When reaching near the top of the stairs, Toffee had Vivi climb off; the two girls cautiously peeking around the corner to see who was guarding the weapon that would massacre millions.
"Ribbit, ribbit, ribbit, ribbit...Hey listen. I just shot down a big bird using this ribbit ribbit gun,"
"Pell...!" Vivi whispered, her hand covering her mouth while her eyes had dimmed from fear.
An odd male with puffy blueish-white hair that looked similar to a helmet, his clothes and even eyebrows resembling sevens, and a woman with purple hair dressed in a garish assemble that had a frog theme to it were standing close to a grand cannon; one of the clocks pushed open a bit where they could fire at people from a distance.
"If they like sneak attacks so much, I say we use one of our own..."
"Shadow-kun!"
Neoshadow saluted the princess before slinking into the ground, the laughing figures who were celebrating their kill not even noticing he had appeared behind them to push the moveable clock fully open. That was why the sudden sunlight entering the once dark room startled them.
"Oh my! The clock opened on its own, Miss Father's Day!
"Ribbit, Ribbit! Do you believe it could be ghosts, Mr. 7?"
Appearing once again behind the two just when they turned away from the opening, both of the top agents turned pale at the monstrosity that stood before them.
"It's a demon!"
Neoshadow scratched at his head when the two backed up far enough that they ended up falling from the tower. And here he was planning on kicking them out himself, but they had made the job easier for them, and he waved over at Toffee and a lightly startled Vivi to let them know it was safe to come out.
"WHY ARE PEOPLE FALLING FROM THE SKY?!"
Knowing that freaked out voice belonged to Usopp, Toffee ran over to catch Nami, Chopper, and his attention. "Don't worry! They were the Baroque Works agents guarding the cannon!"
"Thank goodness! So the cannon was here after all!" Nami breathed out, placing a hand on her chest.
"Amazing! You got further than Zoro and Sanji!" Chopper exclaimed.
Toffee tilted her head, peering over a little further where she noticed the swordsman and cook leaning out of some lower windows. "Why are you both down there?"
"How the hell did you get up there?!"
"Toffee-chwan! Vivi-chwan! Wait for me and I'll find a way up to you both!"
"Everyone! There's a problem!" Vivi screamed out, taking the Straw Hats by surprise when she appeared beside Toffee, her demeanor frantic. "The fuse wasn't lit, but the cannonball has a timing device! If we don't do something, it'll explode!"
"WHAT?!"
"Does this mean it was impossible from the start to stop the explosion in the square?!" Usopp wailed.
Unleashing a frustrated scream, Vivi slammed her hands onto the inside of the cannon after staring hopelessly at the contraption. "He made us come this far to look for it...! He even announced the attack...! Just how far...does he have to go to make fools of us?! Just how much does he have to mock us?! CROCODILE!"
Toffee lowered her head, not certain how to comfort Vivi. Any words would sound hollow and empty in such a despair inducing situation. She was beginning to even feel resigned to this unescapable fate, until she heard her friends' surprised cries from below. And she understood why when seeing a figure making his way toward the tower.
"Vivi-chan! Look!"
Sniffling, Vivi turned, almost not able to believe who she was seeing. "Pell-san?"
The man smiled fondly even with his grievous wounds. "This place brings back memories...The Sand Sand Clan's secret base...
"Pell, listen! The cannonball has a timing device-"
"Your unprecedented actions really gave us lots of trouble all the time," Pell spoke up, cutting off the princess with his nostalgic tone. "I feel proud from the bottom of my heart that I was able to serve you, the Nefertari family."
Turning back into his large falcon form, Pell greatly shocked Vivi when her faithful guard took hold of the device with his talons and started to fly away with it.
"Pell no!" Vivi cried out, tears forming in the corner of her eyes as his figure grew further and further away; feathers floating down and almost seeming to dance around the princess's figure. It was almost like they were trying to comfort her for one had brushed against her cheek.
Toffee watched as Pell's shadow disappeared behind the clouds where they could no longer see him. However, the bright explosion lit up the sky, and Toffee could still feel the impact, for the building shook, despite the distance Pell had put between Alubarna and the bomb. Yet her focus was more on Vivi whose body was greatly trembling and she moved to sit beside the devastated princess.
"P-P-Pell..." Vivi whimpered, tears staining her cheeks.
"He was an incredible man. A hero...Pell saved everyone..." Toffee spoke softly, wrapping her arms around the younger woman, hoping to give her some form of comfort.
Vivi could only nod. Clinging to Toffee, she buried her face into the gray-haired woman's shoulder where she cried her heart out.