Coco: Part II of today's update. Let's go!
Wren, who was sitting on the railing in the back of the ship, watched Drum Island become smaller and smaller as they sailed away from it. She had Havel in her lap and stroking his fur as he lightly dozed. Behind them the boys were being as rowdy as ever. They had already broken out the booze and were talking about singing as Luffy was running around with chopsticks in his nose and mouth.
"Wren-chwan, sing with us!" Sanji said as he jumped to his feet. "I bet you have a beautiful voice!"
Wren was sure if Havel was more awake, he would have snorted at Sanji's words. She wasn't really the singing type, and those who have known her for some time, know that very well.
"Yeah, come on, Wren!" Luffy said. "Let's all sing!"
"No, thank you." Wren shot down immediately.
Luffy whined a bit in disappointment though soon forgot his disappointment as he started acting goofily again. Sanji was about to ask her to at least join them for a drink, but then Vivi's worried tones reached their ears, which had her and Sanji looking back at the princess of Alabasta. Vivi was looking at her duck companion in worry as he was quacking in an almost delirious state.
"Karoo, what in the world were you doing frozen in the river?" Vivi asked.
Karoo just weakly quacked as Vivi continued to try and keep Karoo warm. It had definitely been a sight when they all returned to find Karoo frozen in the river. Wren had to scold Havel for leaving the poor duck like that, but the feline hadn't really cared.
"That bird." Zoro laughed. "Ten beries say that he slipped and fell into the river. He's a clumsy one."
"Be quiet, Bushido-san." Vivi said to Zoro.
Karoo continued to quack as Chopper was nodding and going along with whatever Karoo was saying.
"He said that the guy named Zoro was swimming in the river and disappeared." Chopper translated. "He thought Zoro was in trouble, so he jumped into the river to help, and ended up getting frozen in it. Oh, and that the cat ignored him when he asked for help."
Wren sighed already suspecting that. Havel didn't like getting wet in the slightest, so she wasn't surprised he'd ignore Karoo just to make sure he didn't get a drop of water on him. The odd thing was that Havel didn't mind rain, but if he was splashed or anything similar, it was a completely different story.
"So, this is all your fault!" Nami snapped as she hit Zoro hard on the head.
He winced holding his head as Wren shook hers. What fool would go swimming in the river of a winter island to being with? Zoro apparently.
"So, you were really able to understand everything Karoo was just saying?" Vivi asked.
"Yes." Chopper said nodding. "I'm still technically half animal by nature, so I can understand what they say."
"You can talk to animals?" Vivi said.
Chopper nodded his head with both Vivi and Nami looking at him in amazement.
"Oh, wow, Chopper!" Nami said. "Between your medical skills and talking to animals you've got some amazing talents!"
Chopper's eyes widened for a moment before he started smiling widely while doing his odd dance, which had Usopp and Luffy looking at him curiously.
"Don't be silly, you jerk!" Chopper said as he continued his odd dance. "Flattering me like that won't make me happy or anything!"
"He sure looks happy." Luffy and Usopp said in unison.
Nami lightly chuckled as she smiled at Chopper who was still doing his little dance.
"Hey, what did you mean by Chopper's medical skills anyway?" Zoro asked.
Nami stepped up beside Chopper to place her hand on his shoulder, which had him jumping just the slightest.
"Well, Chopper here is a doctor, and a first rate one at that." Nami said. "Dr. Kureha taught him everything there is to know about medicine."
All the guys gathered around Chopper to look at him in surprise as they all asked him a bunch of questions to see if what Nami was saying was true. Wren blinked wondering if Luffy and Sanji really didn't already know about Chopper being a doctor. She was under the impression that one of the reasons Luffy wanted Chopper on the crew was because of his medical skills.
"Really, Luffy, if you didn't know that, what did you think Chopper was when you asked him to join us?" Nami asked.
"A talking, transforming reindeer monster." Luffy said bluntly.
"Back up food." Sanji added as he smoked his cigarette.
Chopper flinched away from Sanji in fright while really wondering if he'd end up being food. Suddenly there was dark aura behind the group, which had them stiffening up. The group slowly turned to see Wren, who was now standing, glaring down at Sanji as she continued to hold Havel in her arms.
"Sanji, I am only going to say this once, so listen carefully." Wren said. "If you even think about cooking Chopper, I will turn you into dinner instead, understand?"
"Y…Yes, Wren-chwan." Sanji said with his eye in the shape of a heart.
He was both frightened and awed by Wren, thinking she was sexy even when she was being scary. The scary aura left around Wren who nodded satisfied with his answer
"I'm glad we have come to an understanding." Wren said.
She patted his cheek then walked away, and he watched her go as his gaze followed the sway of her hips. He let out a love-struck sigh as he practically melted into the deck.
"So beautiful." He said.
Everyone else looked at him as if he was crazy considering how frightening Wren was being seconds ago. Chopper then gasped when he realized something.
"Wait, oh no!" Chopper exclaimed. "I was in such a big hurry that I left my medical bag behind. It had all of my tools in it."
"Your bag?" Nami asked then held one up. "But isn't this it?"
Chopper turned around looking surprised to see that Nami really did have his medical bag.
"That is my bag." Chopper said.
"It was in the back of the sleigh." Nami explained.
Chopper blinked as he slowly reached out to take the bag from Nami's grasp.
"How is that?" Chopper asked.
"What do you mean?" Nami asked. "Weren't you the one who packed the sleigh and got it ready for the trip?"
Chopper seemed confused at first, but then his eyes began to water as he finally understood. He realized that Kureha wanted him to go all along with this crew. As he sat off to the side with Nami, Wren looked to the others as they started getting rowdy again. Food and drink were flying as Zoro and Sanji got into a fight, and Luffy wasn't helping by cheering them on. Usopp kept trying to speak over them, but it wasn't really working in his favor. Then Karoo was putting too much food into his mouth at once.
"So loud." Havel complained as he tried to snuggle farther into Wren's lap. "Can't they just take it easy?"
Wren gently scoffed at that as she knew for a fact that this crew didn't know the meaning of take it easy. She then looked to Usopp as his shouting finally got the attention of everyone.
"I propose a toast to our new friend, Chopper!" Usopp said as he held up his drink.
The others quickly got their own, and Sanji hurried to Wren's side to give her a mug of booze as well. He then sat down beside her as everyone raised their drinks high.
"Yeah, Chopper!" They cheered.
Wren just raised her mug silently. She then took a sip from her drink even if she wasn't the biggest fan of grog. As they sailed away from Drum Island, they all continued to party with Wren watching them. They were such a carefree bunch considering what troubles are coming up in their near futures, but she supposed she should just let them have their fun for now. After all some of these rookies might not be around much longer once they come face to face with Crocodile.
Wren sat silently in the lawn chair Nami lent to her with book in hand. It was a log of information that Wren had on the situation in Alabasta concerning Crocodile and Baroque Works. It was mostly filled with reports from the spy placed amongst the officer agents in Crocodile's ranks. However, some of the information was given to her by other sources. The spy Wren had placed in Baroque Works for Doflamingo wasn't her only spy. She had a handful of others amongst the billions and millions in the agency, and she also had a few spies placed throughout the country to keep an eye on things as well.
Their reports weren't as helpful. However, any kind of information she could get on the situation was welcomed. As she was refamiliarizing herself with the most current information she had been given, a dark shadow fell over the entire ship. Wren looked up seeing a large bird flying overhead. It seemed like some kind of eagle. She set her book down to watch it fly by the ship.
"Hey, seagull!"
Wren looked away from the bird to see Luffy, Chopper, and Nami at the front of the ship as Luffy was shouting. The bird turned around at Luffy's call to start heading right towards the ship, which had Nami freaking out. Luffy just laughed even as the bird swooped low down onto the ship. It soared high into the air soon enough though with Wren's brow quirking as she realized the bird had snatched Luffy into its beak.
"Can that boy not stay out of trouble?" Wren asked as Chopper started to freak out down below.
"Doesn't look like it." Havel said as he was laid out beside Wren's chair.
Chopper ran by Wren and Havel to get the others as the two watched the bird fly around with Luffy in its beak. Wren had a feeling her help wasn't needed, so she didn't spring into action. It seemed her hunch was right because seconds later, Luffy drilled the large bird onto the back deck, which had the entire Going Merry shaking.
"I have a feeling there will never be any moments of peace that last long on this ship." Wren said.
Havel hummed in agreement as he stretched out and rolled onto his back to get comfortable once more. Wren was about to return to her reading, but Nami calling everyone to gather for a meeting to discuss what they'd do when reaching Alabasta had her pausing. The others soon gathered down on the main deck as Wren was setting her book to the side. Havel jumped into her lap as the others were getting comfortable as well.
"So what is Alabasta?" Chopper asked.
"It's the country where Vivi's father rules." Nami explained.
"Yeah, except there's this guy named Crocodile who's trying to take over the country right now." Usopp added.
Wren was sure there was more than just taking over this country that Crocodile had in mind. Yes, this place could easily become his personal sandbox, and being surrounded by so much sand and little water gave him the advantage he'd need to keep control of the country. However, there had to be something more that he wanted. It was just a gut feeling that Wren had.
"And Crocodile is one of the Shichibukai." Sanji added.
Wren lightly frowned as an image of Doflamingo flashed in her mind. Wren didn't care about the other Shichibukai because in her opinion he was the scariest. Now, she knew she might not be as strong as the other Shichibukai, but she knew for certain that she didn't fear the rest of them...well, except Kuma. Kuma was more than just a little intimidating.
"Who are those guys?" Chopper questioned.
"They're pirates who were given authority by the World Government." Nami replied.
Just another one of the World Government's many mistakes. Though she did understand the reason to have them to try and keep a balance of power on the seas, she still didn't feel like it was right for an organization that preaches about justice to sanction criminals. Especially not ones with track records like Doflamingo.
"The government actually supports pirates?" Chopper asked.
"Yeah, pretty weird, huh?" Usopp asked.
"It might seem that way, but honestly the government has a reason to give those seven pirates their titles as Shichibukai." Wren said then sighed. "Even if I don't completely agree with it all."
The others all looked towards Wren as she was stroking Havel's fur absently.
"Reason?" Luffy asked. "What kind of reason?
"The Shichibukai are some of the strongest pirates currently sailing the seas." Wren said. "They were given their statuses when the World Government saw what kind of mayhem they could cause and how powerful they were. One Shichibukai has the power to wipe out a small fleet of pirates on his or her own."
Her companions' eyes widened when hearing this, and Chopper gulped as he wondered how scary these Shichibukai were in person.
"The moment they accept the status of a Shichibukai their bounties are frozen and they're allowed to do whatever they please in exchange for their help." Wren said. "These seven strong pirates not only take-out other pirates for the World Government, but they also help the Marines fight an even greater power—the Yonko. Without the Shichibukai there to help the Marines fight such monsters, there's no telling what kind of turmoil the world could be thrown into."
Nami and Usopp both gulped this time while feeling completely freaked out. They thought the Shichibukai sounded scary, but these Yonko sounded even scarier.
"And Crocodile is one of these Shichibukai?" Chopper asked.
"Yes." Wren said nodding. "Crocodile has a frozen bounty of 80 million beries. I know that seems small, but it's best not to underestimate him."
Nami, Usopp, and Vivi looked at her as if she was crazy when she called Crocodile's bounty small, but Luffy just laughed seeming even more excited now.
"I'm really looking forward to meeting this Crocodile guy!" Luffy said as he grinned.
Wren, who was growing used to Luffy's attitude, wasn't surprised to see Luffy wasn't fazed in the slightest even after hearing Wren explain how powerful the Shichibukai are.
"Crocodile is considered a hero back home." Vivi said. "He helps get rid of the pirates that attack Alabasta. However, his good deeds only appear to be good on the surface. He is an evil man. In truth, he is manipulating the citizens of Alabasta to bring out his Civil War, so that he can take over the country. No one has realized what Crocodile is doing yet. Not the people. Not even my father."
That just shows how cunning Crocodile is. However, if he isn't careful one little slip up can reveal him as what he truly is. Wren plans to do just that. Or just get rid of him all together. After that, she has to make sure there is no way Doflamingo can scavenge up anything left behind by Crocodile. That means she must make sure Baroque Works is completely brought crumbling down. She was brought out of her thoughts as Luffy hit his fist into his open palm.
"Right!" He said. "Well, this should be fun. All we have to do is beat up that Crocodile guy!"
"Yes, but in order to do that we have to avert the Civil War in Alabasta and get Baroque Works out of the picture." Vivi pointed out.
Wren almost commented that that wasn't the case, but kept her mouth shut. Vivi's goal and her own goal are two completely different things in the end. Wren didn't care what happened to Alabasta, so she had no interest in stopping the war. If it happened it happened. As long as Crocodile was taken down and she was able to ensure his resources didn't fall into Doflamingo's hands, her mission was accomplished.
Vivi's type priority on the other hand was to make sure the war didn't happen at all and that all her people were saved from Crocodile's clutches. The poor princess didn't even realize how naïve it was to even think she could save everyone. Not to mention keep everyone safe. Soft-hearted thoughts like that will only complicate things in the long run, so Wren would have to keep an eye on how things were done.
"Baroque Works?" Chopper asked.
"Oh yeah, you don't know anything about them either." Usopp said in realization. "To be honest, I don't understand what's going on with them myself. They've got a really complicated system of agents, bosses, and partners."
"The system is actually pretty simple." Vivi began. "First, at the very top of the organization is the boss—Crocodile. He's known as Mr. 0. There are a total of twelves agents and one animal who receive orders from the boss directly. For the most part these twelve male agents operate as part of a pair with a female agent. Mr. 1 is paired with Ms. Double Finger. Mr. 2 is paired with Ms. Halloween."
Wren twitched the slightest when Vivi mentioned Ms. Halloween, but it went unnoticed by the others. Except for Havel who looked up at her curiously.
"Mr. 3 is the candle man we ran into on Little Garden, right?" Zoro asked.
"That's right." Vivi said nodding. "And his partner is the painter Ms. Golden Week."
"Oh, yeah, that little girl." Nami said.
She remembers vividly that the girl had been proving to be kind of hard for Luffy to handle in the beginning when they had fought.
"Mr. 4 is next in line." Vivi said. "He's paired up with Ms. Merry Christmas. I don't know much more about those two though."
The spy amongst the officer agents had told Wren some about this pair. One was a zoan-type devil fruit user and the other while slow had inhuman strength. She had also been told they had an odd weapon that had eaten a zoan-type fruit as well. It was almost scary what science could do these days—like having an inanimate object eat something to begin with let alone a devil fruit.
"Then there's that snot guy." Luffy said.
Wren frowned at the mention of a snot guy because it made her think of a certain mucus man who likes to get too close to people's personal space.
"Mr. 5." Usopp corrected.
"Snot?" Chopper asked.
"Yeah, his snot is explosive." Usopp explained.
Wren's frown deepened as Gladius's pissed off face came to mind. He had explosive powers as well.
"Mr. 5's body can be used as an entire weapon." Vivi corrected Usopp.
"His partner Ms. Valentine has the Kilo-Kilo no Mi powers." Nami added.
"That's the woman who can change her weight whenever she wants." Zoro said.
Crocodile's group was starting to share a lot of similarities with Doflamingo's crew to the point it was almost scary. However, this could also work in Wren's favor. She's seen powers like the officer agents' before. In fact, she'd say she dealt with the superior versions of these agents' powers. That means dealing with them will be even easier than she thought. Of course, she knew she shouldn't get too cocky. It's never good to underestimate one's opponent.
"The agents with codenames from Mr. 1 to Mr. 5 are known as officer agents. They each possess one of the Devil Fruit powers, and they are only sent on the most important missions." Vivi said. "Agents Mr. 6 through Mr. 12 are in charge of fundraising. They make money for the organization by heading up the employees at the entrance to the Grand Line."
"Hey, what about that odd monkey and chicken pair I ran into?" Sanji asked.
Wren blinked in confusion because the spy told her that the Unluckies were an otter and vulture. Not a monkey and chicken.
"That's Mr. 13 and Ms. Friday." Vivi explained. "They're the agency's punishment squad. They punish any agent who fails to complete a mission. And there are more. Under the officer agents are 200 men called billions, and there are another 1,800 men under the frontier agents known as millions."
So, in total they had to take out 2,000 underlings, roughly twelve agents and their partners, then one animal pair, and finally the boss himself along with his partner. They had their work cut out for them, but Wren always did enjoy a challenge. And this wouldn't be the first time she has to take care of an underworld organization. Of course, she was with her old crew, and not—Wren glanced over towards the others kept talking—a bunch of rookies. This was going to be even more challenging than she first thought. She sighed then looked out towards the ocean with a thoughtful look in her eyes.
"I wonder when we will cross paths, Lorelei." Wren said as she brushed some hair out of her face.
On Little Garden over the sound of the island's animal inhabitants scurrying around, a voice could be heard and another voice that sounded as if it was in pain."
"Un—ow!—deux—argh!—trois!" Mr. 2, who was also known as Bon Clay and an officer agent of Baroque Works, counted as he continued to beat up his ship's navigator.
The men around winced at the sound of the man's cries as Bon Clay hit him against the tree once more.
"I'm sorry, Mr. 2; Mr. Bon Clay, sir!" The navigator said.
Bon Clay just frowned as he looked at all of his subordinates with clear aggravation on his face.
"Would you idiots just quit playing around?!" Bon Clay demanded. "Damn it! Are you completely clueless?! Do you even know who I am?!"
No one answered him as the navigator picked himself off the ground from where he had fallen after Bon Clay released him.
"I am Bon Clay!" Bon Clay declared. "A Baroque Works officer agent. I strike fear into the hearts of anyone who sees me."
There was a small scoff from someone in the background. Bon Clay didn't seem to hear this scoff, however, because he just pointed towards the navigator.
"Hey, you, Navigator, tell me something." Bon Clay said.
"Uh, yes, sir?" He asked as he stood up straighter.
"Does that pea-brain mind of yours remember what the boss's exact orders were?" Bon Clay asked.
He swept his hand out in front of the navigator who watched it nervously since he didn't know when Bon Clay would use it to strike him.
"Yes, Mr. 2." The Navigator said. "The orders were to kill Mr. 3 on his way along the direct route between Little Garden and Alabasta."
"Okay then." Bon Clay said. "Maybe you're not entirely useless then, now are you?"
A second later he grabbed the navigator by his throat to slam him into the tree, which had the others wincing as if they felt his pain as well.
"Taking a direct route means you travel in a straight line, doesn't it, Navigator?" Bon Clay asked. "That's why we went straight from Alabasta to Little Garden, isn't that right?"
Bon Clay then added his other hand to the man's throat to start choking the poor navigator.
"But then something seems to have gone wrong with the plan now, hasn't it, Navigator?" Bon Clay asked as he repeatedly hit the navigator against the tree. "We reached Little Garden without as much as seeing Mr. 3 while on our way here. Now that seems to indicate to me that you fools missed Mr. 3's ship entirely."
"He could have taken a different route for all we know, Bonbon." A voice piped up from behind.
Everyone but Bon Clay stiffened while turning around to look at the owner of the voice who looked to be a young teenage girl. She had long dark hair and eerily pale eyes framed by dark lashes. Her skin was pale as well—almost ghost white pale. She wore a white dress shirt and bright green bowtie underneath a vertically stripped back and white suit jacket.
She then wore a matching skirt that stopped mid-thigh and fit her tightly. She wore ripped fishnets underneath and knee-length boots with a small heel. She wore dark make-up as well with the smokey eye design smudged around the edges. Her lips were painted a bright green color that matched her bowtie and her nails were green and black painted. She almost looked like she came straight out of a horror story.
"What was that?" Bon Clay asked.
"Do I really need to repeat myself?" The girl asked with a deceitfully sweet smile. "Now we can stand around placing blame, or we could try to find Mr. 3 before the boss sends Mr. 1 and Ms. Double Finger after us. I don't know about you, Mr. 2, but I would rather stay alive."
Bon Clay frowned though supposed his partner did have a point. If they stayed here much longer that gave more time for Mr. 3 to reach Alabasta.
"Fine." Bon Clay said with a dramatic sigh before turning to voice the men. "Now get ready to make sail!"
His shout had all the men scrambling around to get ready, and as they were running about, Bon Clay turned to his partner.
"You seem to be in good mood today, Ms. Halloween." Bon Clay commented.
The girl—Ms. Halloween—looked at Bon Clay curiously as she wondered how he came to conclusion.
"You're usually off in your little corner of woe." Bon Clay said as he did a spin. "You do worry your partner so much when you're acting so gloomy."
"Perhaps I act gloomy because I'm stuck with you as a partner." Ms. Halloween deadpanned as she looked away from him.
Bon Clay flinched as if he had been slapped, and clutched his chest in a dramatic fashion.
"How could you say just a cruel thing to me, Ms. Halloween?!" He whined. "Friends shouldn't act so coldly to each other! Are you even listening to me?!"
Ms. Halloween—or rather Lorelei of the Doflamingo Family and spy from the Corazon Army—ignored him completely as she looked off into the direction of the sea.
"Though I do suppose I am in a good mood." She said, which had Bon Clay stop throwing his tantrum to look at her curiously. "I have no doubt that there is a certain someone waiting in Alabasta waiting for me, and I am just so eager to see her again…Corazon."
Coco: And that's the end of that chapter. I do hope you enjoyed it :D Soon we'll be reaching Alabasta and Wren will be running into Ace. I kept their friendship in this story like I had in the previous version. I had once thought about pairing Ace and Wren together before I decided on Sanji, but I'm quite happy with their friendship :D But anyway, until next time, guys!~
