oDisclaimer: Godzilla and One Piece are the sole properties of Toho Co. LTD and Eiichiro Oda respectively. KP360 claims no ownership of anything save for any OCs, abilities, and locations.

Alabasta Arc opening: Know Know Know by Does (Gintama Op. 15)

Rainbase is one of the larger cities within Alabasta, a shining orb within the middle of the desert. Although such a landscape does not seem like a place for such a prosperous settlement, Rainbase is able to maintain itself by attracting people from all walks of life. This is due to it being the hosting ground of a less than ideal form of lifestyle: Gambling. Indeed, the Rain Dinners Casino is a shining beacon for those who wish to get lucky or strike out.

Beneath the golden exterior lies a darker secret however.

Deep below the casino, away from all the vice, the members of Baroque Works are gathering for the first time. While normally the boss would give them all a mission through tele-communication, this time they were all congregating towards the blue room.

"I can't believe you! How dare you attack my subordinates?!" Mr. 2 shouted, except his two targets really did not wish to listen. Gritting his teeth, one of them looked back and gave him the sharpest glare he could. This man's head is shaven, his height tall, and very muscular. The kanji tattoo of the word "one" is imprinted on his broad chest. Clearly he was not amused.

"If they didn't want to be taught a lesson they should learn to be more professional." The man growled back.

"OOOOHHH! Mr. 1 You are just the most unreasonable person I've ever seen! I ought to-" the okama shrilled.

"Feel free to try! You won't last a minute-" Mr. 1 snarled, rearing his right fist back. Their fight would be interrupted by their 3rd companion, however.

"You two have been quarreling since the Spider Café... Stop impeding our arrival!" the woman snapped. As the partner of Mr. 1, Miss Doublefinger had expected this, with the fact that her stoic partner's personality is a direct conflict of the flamboyant Mr. 2's. She herself was one that wanted nothing to do with this. Her attire is something quite strange; a web like bikini top covered by a black jacket, and her bountiful blue hair trailing behind her. After making sure the two would stop fighting, she continued down the corridor; putting an over exaggerated push into her hip movements all the while.

After a bit, the door to the underground chamber was seen, and already they were waited upon. The ever calculating gaze of Miss All-Sunday looked at the group with an amused expression. Beside her, the obscured features of Baroque Work's enforcer was less than friendly. Mr. 0.5 certainly had nothing to worry about these agents in the past; they've all accomplish their missions without fail. However, with this final operation, even they would not be spared should they failed.

"It seems none of you knows how to get along." Miss All-Sunday smirked.

"You three certainly took your sweet time getting here…" the balaclava-clad assassin growled "This isn't exactly a homecoming you know?"

"Greetings, Mr. 0.5. We would've been here earlier, but this fool has made a mess of things." Mr. 1 bowed slightly.

"Stop joking around! I was the one that suggested coming here but this ruffian just wanted to pick a fight. Half-chan, you have to believe me!" the okama shot back.

"Just get inside! And quit being so chummy with me or you'll find half your face ripped open!" Mr. 0.5 snarled. The Boss never told him how weird some of their agents are; the two inside are already annoying enough. He might actually consider having to eat one of them by the time this is over.

"I will now lead you to the Boss." Miss All-Sunday announced, going on ahead of them. The others followed, and were led to a particularly well lit room. For its location under the casino, this base of operations was quite extravagant; a wide room with blue marble, a long table for meetings. 2 other agents have also gathered; one a rotund man with a bazooka strapped to his back, another a more elderly lady with a diminutive stature. And at the head of the table, sitting in his throne with a sinister sneer, was the hand behind all the problems in Alabasta.

Crocodile is as intimidating as one would expect, and he commanded absolute authority within the room. His condescending gaze swept across the subordinates he controlled, eyeing them and analyzing them through the guise of disinterest. Just by looking at the Shichibukai and you could tell that he does not mess around. His dark fur coat hung around his shoulders, a horizontal scar stitched across his face as he observed the remaining people. A golden hook replaced his left hand, its curved edge gleaming in the light. Even sitting down he appeared larger than many of his subordinates; this was a man who has experienced many things on the high seas.

One look from the remaining agents, and they could tell that this man is the one pulling all the strings, and it surprised them greatly. None of them had ever thought the leader of their organization was a member of the 7 Royal Shichibukai.

"Boss…" Mr. 1 bowed lightly "I would have not expected to be under the wing of a pirate."

"Ah… So this is Zero-Chan! We've been working for one of the Shichibukai all along…" Mr. 2 laughed uneasily

"So you were here the whole time? Why did you never tell us who you were?" Miss Doublefinger Questioned.

"SoBoss!Whatisthereasonforourgatheringtoday-ba?" the short woman asked, she spoke very rapidly, and to be point where it was actually rather hard to understand her. Might as well get this over with.

Crocodile grinned lightly. Everything Baroque Works has worked for is for this moment "I am about to reveal the true goal of Project Utopia to you." He spoke in a deep voice, fitting for a leader of a criminal organization. "You've all proven yourselves to be fitting for this operation." His smirk got bigger "Our true goal, is the takeover of this kingdom! By the time these plans are carried out, Alabasta shall fall!"

The agents were slightly surprised; they've never actually been told of what the organization's purpose truly is before. To Miss All-Sunday and Mr. 0.5 however, this news did not surprise them. They are already familiar with the inner workings of their plan. The agents read the papers with their orders on them, taking everything in.

Before Crocodile could continue, the door to the base suddenly burst open. His glasses ajar on his face and slightly cracked, Mr. 3 stood breathing hard as he raised his arm to signal something. Crocodile scowled before addressing him.

"Mr. 3, you haven't reported for some time now…" he asked indifferently; he knew the artist will be requesting mercy soon.

"B-boss… I must beg of you, give me a chance to defeat the Strawhats one more time! This time I will not fail you!" the wax man panted, his 3 shaped hair had begun to droop, but surprisingly stayed upright.

Crocodile is just about to rebuff that statement, when the enforcer beside him suddenly pounced up to him.

"Ah… Mr. 3! I was looking to hang with you earlier, but you were nowhere to be found, were you perhaps… avoiding me?" Mr. 0.5 hissed.

"O-of course not, sir! I've been planning up just how I will defeat the Strawhats this time, really!" Mr. 3 whimpered.

"Odd… you mentioned another chance to defeat the Strawhats… yet you told me you've already taken care of them when I called you earlier? What is the case here?" Crocodile growled. In reality he already knew that the artist had lied to him back on Little Garden; he wouldn't have sent his enforcer after him after all. Crocodile really did like seeing the look of despair on one's face when he's backed them up into a corner.

"C-call?" Mr. 3 stammered. He never called him! One of the brats must've escaped his sight!

"The Strawhats? You mean those pirates I ran into while on my way back?" Mr. 2 suddenly pointed out, remembering the group of people he met earlier.

"So you've spotted them too, Mr. 2?" Crocodile asked.

"Indeed, I was going to meet Half-chan like you said –Mr. 0.5 glared at the okama for the unwanted nickname yet again- and then I ran into them. Got all their faces too!" Mr. 2 confirmed and shifted through his transformations. Crocodile grew noticeably angrier each time.

"So there you have it, you did not even take down a single one of them… and you especially did not eliminate the princess..." the leader growled, turning back to his cowering subordinate. "You disappoint me, Mr. 3."

"B-boss?"

"You assured me yourself that your superior intellect was more than enough for your mission, yet what became the result? I hope you are aware of the fact that, if not for your cunning, Mr. 4 here would've easily ranked above you, and perhaps even Mr. 5." The rotund man with the bazooka gave a spiteful grunt upon hearing that

"B-boss, please-"

"I suppose there's only one thing to do now!" Mr. 0.5 grinned "It's like the boss is implying, we have no need for those who can't get their act up." His teeth began to lengthen, as Mr. 3 cowered in fear once again, but before he could pounce, Crocodile held his hands up. Hope bloomed within him, only to be quickly dashed when the boss spoke next.

"I will dispose of this liar personally. You should know what happens when people give me false reports. My pets haven't eaten for a long time, after all." Before Mr. 3 could do anything, Crocodile's left hand quickly wrapped around his neck. Mr. 3 barely had a chance to scream as he felt his body shrivel up. With a flick of his arm, Crocodile flung the man over the edge of the meeting place, where a massive yellow-scaled crocodilian with a banana like crest reared out of the water and snapped up the artist, swallowing him in one gulp.

"This goes for the rest of you as well, the mission you are about to partake can only be completed in success. Failure will result in the same fate as those who have failed before. That goes for you as well, Mr. 0.5." the balaclava clad enforcer only grunted upon hearing that.

"Have I ever failed once?"

"Anyway, what are we to do about the Strawhats? They must be in this country by this point!" Mr. 2 asked.

"That will be your job, Miss All-Sunday. Inform the rest of the Billions to fan out across Alabasta. Make sure Nefeltari Vivi does not meet the rebel leader Kohza. As for the rest of you, if you find them, kill them on sight, in addition to your main duties." Crocodile declared.

"Yes Boss!" the agents all coursed.

"Understood." The woman nodded before walking off.

"And what am I to do?" Mr. 0.5 rasped.

Crocodile glanced at him once; the man had already begun to transform. He only needed one thing from the Kaiju-Zoan user.

"Scout the desert. If any of those Strawhats show up, dispose of them." His demand was met by a jarring crack as Mr. 0.5 burrowed himself into the ground.

"Hehehe… it's time to hunt again!"

While this was seen, the pair failed to notice Miss All-Sunday glancing back for a brief moment, a small smile graced her lips before she resumed walking.

"One of the Kaiju have already begun to be drawn to you… I wonder what you will do, Beast Warrior Gian?"

Meanwhile:

"We finally made it to Yuba! Just a bit further everyone! Vivi encouraged. Night was about to fall once again, but they finally made it.

"Good, because if Luffy snaps one more time I'm going to snap with him…" Gian groaned back. The daytrip had not been easy, and much of that was due to their captain. They had to deal with many hallucination induced episodes of Luffy unknowingly ingesting a poisonous cactus or him complaining about water. At least now the next town is here, maybe they can relax a bit while Vivi finished up her business. Apparently Yuba is located next to an oasis so it should be good for them.

It was not to be.

"W-what?! What has happened here?!" the princess cried out in horror as she saw what has befallen the town before her.

Yuba was covered in sand; high velocity winds sent clouds of it swirling around the town. Said oasis has long since dried up due to this.

"Vivi-chan, isn't this supposed to be an oasis?" Sanji asked.

"Don't tell me that the drought has affected even here?" Gian looked around.

Shuffling was heard as the group turned their heads to see an old man, hunched over with a shovel in his hands, approaching them. The man was ragged and exhausted, as if he's been doing this for a long time.

"If you're looking for an oasis, I'm afraid you young ones are outta luck. That's been gone for quite some time now. However, we still got some functioning inns around, so feel free to stay the night." The old man stated. The crew were rather tired by this point, and was about to take that suggestion. But Vivi's got some questions first.

"Mister… do you know anything about the Rebel Army? I thought they were based around here..?"

"Those fools? They aren't around anymore… Moved out just a few days ago." The old man replied.

"Then do you know where they have gone?" Vivi questioned urgently. This news was not a good one, who knows how far they could've gotten?

"Last time I remember, they were heading in the direction of Katorea to set up a new base there. Can't exactly blame them; these sandstorms have become more common by the day, they were getting sieged by the sand."

"No… we're too late…" Vivi dropped to her knees upon hearing that.

"Vivi, what's wrong, is Katorea close to here?" Luffy asked.

"Katorea… is another oasis, located back at Nanohana… where we just came from…" Vivi was on the verge of tears.

"You mean we have to go back?!" Usopp yelped.

"We must if we wish to reach them again!" Vivi nodded sadly.

"Vivi… we are going to have to do that tomorrow." Gian pointed out "We are all tired, and it is nighttime which will make travelling difficult."

"…I suppose you're right. Everyone should rest up!" Vivi agreed.

"Hold on for a minute… did you say Vivi?" the old man perked up upon hearing her name "I don't believe it! It really is you! Vivi-chan!"

"Toto-san?" Vivi's eyes widened in realization "It is you! It's been very long!" she cried in happiness.

"Hehe, the years have not been kind on me, but you are growing into a beautiful young lady! It seems like only yesterday that you and my boy Kohza would play together." The old man chuckled "You just stay put tonight, feel free to use as much supplies as you want!"

Later in the night:

"I really ought to find new ways to sleep…" Gian muttered as he got up. Maybe it was the upcoming confrontations, or just the desert climate overall. Regardless, it's as if he can't sleep properly here.

He could hear shuffling outside the inn, and looking out he could see Toto still shovling to try and find water. Currently there wasn't a sandstorm, but if one did come along he'd had to start all over again.

"Do you want a hand?" he asked the old man, who sized him up before snorting and throwing him a shovel.

"Best to put those muscles to use, lad."

After some digging, the two of them sat off to the side and took a small break.

"You should probably go back to sleep, if you want enough energy for tomorrow." Toto broke the silence.

"I would, if I could even get a wink of sleep…" Gian sighed "But that doesn't look like it can happen anytime soon."

"I really should thank you guys for bringing Vivi-chan with you, she must be under a lot of pressure, knowing the words some of them say about her father."

"Guess the old man doesn't know the plan yet, let's keep it that way." Gian thought before nodding "She's strong-willed I'll give you that much."

"Just know that, most of the country still believes in the king! He was always a benevolent ruler, doing something this selfish is not of his character!" Toto exclaimed, before sighing sadly "Too bad some people do not heed those words…"

"You cannot exactly blame them. These are desperate times. When driven to such a point, people are capable of doing things they would once never even dream of. The rebels are just like that, people who have suffered and are disillusioned by what they once believed in." Gian explained "Although to be fair, bringing themselves to do such extreme actions is something that can't be ignored."

"Yes… and they have only gotten stronger… we can't even reason with them anymore!" Toto gave an exasperated sigh "My son is the leader of the rebel group… he was always so hotheaded and it looks like that hasn't changed!"

"What's his relation with Vivi anyway? You spoke earlier as if they are quite close." Gian brought up; at times the princess has spoken rather fondly of the rebel leader as well.

"Vivi-chan and Kohza were close friends when they were children. I wouldn't want to see the two of them on the opposite sides of the battlefield…"

"An old crush, huh? If we do manage to meet him we have that going for us at least, though will it even end there?" Gian thought.

"I know this is perhaps too much to ask, but you have to stop them! If you have to ensure that Vivi-chan meets them then do that!" Toto begged.

"I think that goes without saying, Vivi is very determined in this, and we are in this as well." Gian assured him "Now, I'm rested up. Let's make some more headway into the dirt."

The next morning:

"Toto-san, we are off now!" Vivi bid the old man farewell.

"I regret not being more hospitable during this time."

"It is of no worry. We will stop the civil war."

"I can give you all a gift though. Thanks to this young man's help, I was able to strike water at last! You there, Strawhat! Take this water with you!" Toto gestured to a small barrel of water "I wish I can give you more."

"Wow! This is a great present!" The boy shouted happily "I'll make sure to use it carefully!"

"You better, it wasn't exactly easy to find it…" Gian rubbed his back gingerly. Perhaps the offer to help was a mistake, he was sore all over now.

"As for you Gian-kun, I will give you a heads up." Toto stated "Be extra careful when traversing the desert, lest you wish to lose your lives. This is particularly important now that Vivi-chan is talking to you."

"What's so bad about it now? We came here rather smoothly, the only problems we ran into was Luffy eating things he shouldn't have and some of the local wildlife."

"Ah, those are the dangers of the desert, but all cannot compared to the Red Beast."

"Red Beast?"

"Sightings of it only appeared roughly 6 months ago, and even then they were rare in numbers. Some people think it's merely a rumor. But ever since it's appearance, traversing the desert has been extra dangerous."

"…Vivi, why were we not aware of this before?"

"Even I have no idea of this, when has such a creature appeared in the desert?" Vivi questioned, concern in her voice.

"Word out there, is that entire troops of caravans have disappeared without a trace out in the rolling sands. Entire expeditions have gone out only to never return. That is, until one survivor, bloody and weakened, managed to escape to Nanohana; in his dying breath he gave a vague description of his attacker: a massive red beast with a single horn on its head and teeth the size of scimitars. It was the only look he got, for according to him, half of the creature's body was submerged under the sand." Toto exclaimed, and silence dawned over the group.

"So please, make sure you're constantly on the lookout for it. The attacks happen so irregularly, no one knows when it will strike…" Toto warned one last time.

"…I understand now, then we will take extra measures in making sure that Vivi is safe." Gian promised. It was as they feared: Mr. 0.5 is active and hunting within the desert…

Later:

"No signs of any movement in the sands… what about you Chopper?" Usopp stammered as he looked around frantically. They've begun their trek back to the coast, as if it weren't hard enough before, they now had to worry about a subterranean monster stalking them from below the earth.

"So far nothing…" the little reindeer is slightly terrified as well.

"What if it does attack?! Gian you will save us right?!" Usopp wept.

"Get a hold of yourselves! He might not even not even know we're here yet." Gian hoped "And knowing practically nothing about him so far will make it difficult."

"Maybe it isn't Mr. 0.5? It could just be a hungry desert animal the country has a problem with?" Sanji said hopefully.

"You remember Vivi's story don't you? The description was pretty much matching. If he really is out there then we are completely exposed out on the desert sand, so we have to move quickly." Gian asserted.

"Please… let's just go… I don't want to think about it…" Vivi trembled.

"I'm so sorry Vivi-chwan!" Sanji apologized.

However, going anywhere would have to wait. Luffy had been unnaturally quiet on the journey back, and as they were walking, he suddenly stopped. Then to everybody's surprise he sat down and spoke something no one expected him to.

"I quit."

"Luffy-san?" Vivi croaked "What are you talking about?!"

"I don't want to do this anymore."

"Stop messing around Luffy!" Sanji snapped "We're about to be caught in the middle of a crisis that will end in civil war if we don't do something about this! This is for Vivi-chan!"

"Not interested." The boy shrugged.

"Luffy, have you forgotten we are in enemy territory right now?" Gian addressed him sharply "Even as we speak, Crocodile has agents across the country looking for us. Not to mention his enforcer is currently lurking in the sands somewhere in this very desert. The more time we waste the more vulnerable we become!"

"Then let them come, we have to face them eventually anyway right?" Luffy snorted "I want to beat the crap out of Crocodile, how will us stopping the rebels help with that?" When Vivi couldn't come up with an answer to that, he continued "You want to stop Crocodile, but you also don't want anyone to die?"

Slowly the crew then began to understand his reasoning, and it was right. Even if they managed to stop the rebels here, Crocodile wouldn't just disappear like that.

"Do you not see how naïve your idea is?"

"And why is that?! Just because I don't want anyone to die?!" Vivi shouted, all the pressure finally getting to her. Too many things are going wrong right now.

"People die Vivi!" Luffy shot back "You're going up against a warlord and you expect everyone to be fine?"

"Stop talking like that!" Vivi cried before throwing a punch at the boy, knocking him down as tears began streaming down her face "You can't blame the rebel army for this! They shouldn't be killed over something Crocodile started!"

"If that's the case, then why are you risking your life?!" Luffy shouted again "This country is in need of help, so why is sacrificing only one life necessary?!"

"Then what do you want me to do?! I can't risk anyone else's life! I don't have anything else to-"

"HOW ABOUT RISKING OUR LIVES THEN?! ARE WE NOT NAKAMA?!" Luffy yelled and it was this that finally made Vivi pause, overcome with emotion.

"That idiot… does he have to be so blunt about it?" Sanji shook his head.

"He figured it out, that's what's important." Zoro nodded.

"He didn't have to be so harsh…" Nami mumbled.

"We can't exactly mince words in this situation." Gian reminded her before turning to the princess "At first I thought he was crazy as well, but it turns out he knows more than any of us. Luffy's right, Crocodile won't be stopped until we take the fight to him. Even if you managed to convince the rebels, it still isn't going to hinder his plans. I hope you realize that the minute he set foot into this country, people have already begun to die, those he's killed, those his subordinates have killed, and now that we're in his sights us eventually as well. Him, and the rest of his agents have no regard for what's about to happen as long as they achieve their end goal. Are you just going to accept that?"

Vivi wiped some tears away before her gaze hardened "No… I won't accept that… I can't accept that!"

"Then lead us to him, tell us where Crocodile is!" Luffy declared. This wasn't just a simple escort mission anymore, it was up to them to stop Crocodile before all of Alabasta falls.

A/N: Alright, another chapter down! This marks the third chapter of the arc. Looking at it right now it might even go above 6 chapters before the arc is finished. Not really much happened in this and it's a bit short, as most of it will take place following this chapter. But, I can assure you, the rest of the action will begin right away after this! This month has just been really hectic as there was a major school event that I partook in. It was all forms of fun but it left me with little time to actually sit down and write. Well, hopefully I get more time before midterms kick in! I'll get the next chapter up as soon as possible!

Now time to respond to reviews!

To JayH120:

Alas, poor Ace. I knew him well. It really makes it harder when you know what happens later.

G: Oh where to begin? For starters I think the cutest one of them is *gets knocked down by a sledgehammer.

Yeah… he'll drone on for hours if I let him talk. This is for the greater good.

To Chance Green G King:

I can tell you this much, the Kaiju-Zoan user on Whitebeard's crew is not Spacegodzilla. Spacegodzilla will eventually have a completely different storyline that will crossover with the plot, and Gian will be directly affected by this.

I don't think I have… I might have to check it out soon.

To Vergil Leonidas:

Vercelli's relationship with Ace will be shared once we get there; he will actually have something to do with a character we've already seen.

And while I think Ace possibly could have Observation Haki, he wasn't using it here. Aura does not require haki to detect; it is something completely different and is unique to Kaiju-Zoans. I don't have the full details fleshed out yet but there will be an explanation on how it works, and variations on how it works.

G: Oh hey, what did I miss? Vergil and I were having a deep discussion on the meaning of life before I remembered that I'm needed here, so what was the question?

Yeah… you keep thinking that…

To tamagat:

G: Now how would that work?

I guess when Franky joins the crew we can probably work on something like that? But I don't know.

G: Who's Franky?

A really SUPER guy.

G: …Any reason for the pose?

To Kakusei:

It's a more obscure monster, but kaiju fans would recognize him when we get there.

To General Zod:

I had originally thought about doing that, having this story start somewhere around Whiskey Peak, but after seeing my rough draft of the entire story I realized that wasn't going to work. Although Kaiju-Zoans are powerful, it isn't something just anyone can use, as you will see eventually. Some could consider it to be watered down but I see Gian's powers akin to a child that needs to be nurtured; simply transforming is only scratching the surface of what Kaiju-Zoans can do. As we get further into the story, it's going to be more centered around the Kaiju themselves.

To pokemonking0924:

G: I wonder what Robin would look like in swimwear…

It is something us men have always thought about, but something that we can never reach…

G: Well sucks to be you then! This is the perks of us fictional characters is that we can-

I really regret making you be able to break the fourth wall…

And that's it! We'll see you next time!

Leave a review and Gian will do Improv!

G: Aren't you the one that does that?