Hey hey! Thanks again for your constant support. I love you guys very much. Please don't complain if fights aren't long enough. The Crocodile fight is 2.3k by itself, and that wasn't even the narrative climax of this fic's Alabasta arc. I honestly cannot write fight scenes longer than that lmaoo

Usopp was the first of the Straw Hats to wake up, and he did late afternoon the day after the uprising. He jerked up in bed, checking himself for all his limbs and any injuries. He sighed in relief when he felt incredibly sore but only his arms and legs were covered in bandages, poking out of a pair of pale blue pajamas. The room was dim, the desert sun between two heavy drapes casting a bright triangle of light on the floor. He rubbed sleep from his eyes and stumbled to his feet and across the way to the bowl of fruit on the table, assessing the room as he went. From his position, he got a good enough view of the large room full ornate wooden bunk beds pillowed with soft mattresses. It was a strange juxtaposition but as he noted each of his friends, he noted there likely weren't many rooms that could hold seven people without resembling a barracks.

It looked like he was the first one up, he noted taking a bite of a crisp apple. Everyone was laying in beds, breathing quietly, except for Luffy, whose loud snores were so familiar to the sniper, he nearly filtered them out. Their captain was covered in bandages and various injuries, Usopp could tell even from his bunk. But they'd made it through somehow. He did a quick head count, no Vivi, but he was pretty sure she had her own room and wouldn't be bunking up with them. Then there was Zoro, Nami, Chopper, Sanji, and…

He looked around, looking for his smallest crewmate. He checked under the bunch of bananas in the fruit bowl. The crew had a process in the kitchen-whenever you're grabbing something larger than a mixing bowl check for Sunny. It certainly wouldn't have been the first time the pirate had snuck into a food container and immediately taken a nap. And since most snacks and meals came in massive quantities, there was ample room for the little guy to hide. Sleeping in a sack of fruit was how he accidentally ended up on the ship in the first place.

But he wasn't in the massive fruit bowl either. He let out a hesitant call for his friend. "Sunny?"

There wasn't anything for a moment, then there was a shuffle and something jumped off a bed in the shaded corner Zoro was sleeping in. Usopp froze up at the reflection of two red eyes for a moment before it stepped cautiously into better light.

A yellow, blue, and red weasel creature, with spots on his lower back like Sunny's. It sniffed the air hesitantly like it wasn't sure to approach or dart under the bed.

"Qui?" The creature looked anxious, but not nearly as nervous as Usopp who reached out and grabbed a loose banana, wielding it toward the unfamiliar creature. "Suh-suh-stay back!"

Sunny stopped moving immediately, then laid down on the floor where he was, placing his head on the ground and looked up at his friend beseechingly. Usopp was nervous and scared, just like Vivi was, like something was wrong. He'd felt the negative emotions clouding Vivi as plainly as anything. Sunny wouldn't scare Usopp anymore if he could help it. He wanted to crawl under the bed in the face of another rejection.

"Did you say 'Quil'?" Usopp managed, letting his improvised banana gun go limp in his hand. The tremor in his knees slowed to a stop.

The weasel pokemon took a few more cautious steps and sniffed Usopp's bandaged leg. Usopp blinked in disbelief as he felt the light huffs of hot air. It was too familiar not to recognize. Usopp began to sweat nervously. "No way."

He pulled at his hair. "Sunny's fully grown—just how long did I sleep?" He wailed. "Sunny, that's really you? How long have I been sleeping? Five years? You're all grown up now!"

Nami startled from her bed and climbed off her top bunk groggily. "Usopp shut up, I'm trying to sleep and you're being so noisy," she smacked the back of his head.

"S-sorry, it's just that I'm not sure what's happening right now—Sunny's bigger but actually, we don't seem older."

"Sunny's-?" Nami looked over at Sunny and her eyes widened in shock. Her mouth fell open and Sunny felt himself move nervously back as it looked like there was going to be yet another bad reaction. A second later, Nami wailed and was holding Sunny in a tight hug, crying. "Noo! Sunny you're all big, now you're all tough but you were cute how you were."

Sunny stiffened in her grip for a moment, unsure how to take the reaction, and uncomfortable with the crocodile tears he could feel on his fur.

Still—it was really nice to get this hug, so he allowed her reaction to persist for a few more moments before the hurt clouded his eyes and he pushed back with his paws on her shoulders. He needed to retreat, he wasn't sure where to—it's not like he could reach up and open the door, he wasn't a person, he wasn't allowed the same freedoms that came with their forms. But—he wasn't the short cyndaquil he had been even a day before—that was the issue for the crew—for Vivi, Usopp, and Nami. Even if he knew Usopp and Nami didn't hate him for it. He knew Vivi was just scared, worried, and overwhelmed with everything that had happened. But he couldn't help but feel…feel something he didn't have the words to describe.

He used his new body to reach the window sill, open to let fresh warm air out between the curtains and hopped out. It wasn't hard at all—he thought as he walked out onto the roof, ignoring the cries of protest from his two crew mates inside. He trotted along the shingles of the roof for a moment, examining the view. He could see the whole city from where he was, small figures below that were guards in the palace, he could see with startling clarity the red roofed bell tower in the plaza Gelly and he had climbed just yesterday to bring rain to Alabasta. He could see the damage in the city, burned buildings, craters, displaced sand, and he knew he could only make out the worst of the damage.

Then there was the castle he walked on. Walls of sandblasted stone, walls that must have been blue and red paled over years. He imagined the tiles would be hot for bare skin for others, except Ace, but they felt nice on his paws. The castle had spires up and several floors above. It was interesting—he'd never taken an interest in architecture before—was it the new him, or was it because he'd never seen something so immense and grand before? He was trying to figure out what had changed and what had stayed the same just as much as the others were. In most ways, he felt exactly the same cyndaquil, then he'd do something that was just different enough-like storm out onto the roof-he'd be forced to rethink everything. It wasn't something he liked to do either—he was a pokemon, he worked with what was before him.

Finally, he stopped walking, took a seat looking out at the pale sea of sand beyond the city. It was probably good to let Nami and Usopp have time to work things out themselves. He was the strange one in this situation. Something that was essentially a rite of passage for him was completely alien in this world, even if Chopper did something that seemed similar.

He suddenly felt the strong pull to go look for Gelly in the city, someone who had understood and been excited for him. But she had left with Ace. He wasn't upset with his sleuth, they were just so different. But despite all odds, he'd lived through yesterday, and that meant it could be a long time before he joined his ancestors in the hunt through the sky. He was fiercely glad, but a small part of him had longer to nuzzle his mother's cheek again. He watched for a minute longer and head back in to face his friends. He would not use the breaths he nearly lost on moping.

Chopper was the next to wake, shooting out of bed like he'd taken a thunderbolt from an angry electebuzz. Sunny, Usopp, and Nami were at the table playing a game of cards. They'd accepted him warmly back and apologized once he'd entered the room again, but despite their efforts, they were still off, and occasionally openly stared at him. The two were also doing a valiant job at not cheating at his cards which were laid on the table as he attempted to recall the rules of Go Fish—he'd rarely played himself.

Just when Sunny was going to indicate to Usopp that he needed to give him the King Cobra he most certainly had, Chopper had jumped to his feet, running around the room in a brown blur, inspecting every member of the group. After he lingered on Luffy's wounds for a few extra moments, he spun around to Nami and Usopp. "Waaa! Sunny! Where's Sunny?"

Usopp and Nami exchanged a nervous look. Sunny straightened a little in the chair he could now sit on unassisted by books thanks to his long body. "Hi Chopper."

The ruckus woke Sanji up, who was equally off-put.

The panic, quickly, nervously quelled by Usopp and Nami, only lasted a minute until Chopper had hurried to check Sunny for the injuries which were nothing but bruises and healing cuts by now. Then Chopper wanted answers and Nami and Usopp's cards were left up and forgotten on the table as they all leaned in, waiting for Chopper's best attempts at translation.

There was only so much Sunny could explain and he didn't want to do it twice so wandered off to curl up in Zoro's bunk.

When Zoro woke up, he got around rather quickly to asking where Sunny was.

"Right next to you," Usopp said.

Zoro looked over at Sunny, who sat up to stare back.

"You have a lot of nerve," Zoro started, and Sunny leaned back. "Running off without telling anyone. You damn brat."

Usopp sweatdropped. "He…didn't notice?"

Luffy was the last to wake up and it happened soon after hearing his first mate's voice. He started eating everything in sight.

"Luffy…you should know something's a little different," Nami started.

Luffy tilted his head. "Yeah Crocodile's gone, ne?"

"That too."

Luffy scooped Sunny up and set him on his lap. "What else? Oh, Sunny, you did grow? I was wondering if that was a weird dream."

"Oh, yeah. He did, didn't he?" Zoro mused.

Nami gave a small smile and exhaled. "I guess that answers that. So, Sunny, can you please tell us what happened?"

Through Chopper, and with Luffy filling in his own account, Sunny was able to get most of it across to the crew—when a creature like him has gotten strong and has enough experience, they can grow into a stronger form. The life and death situation had awakened the power within him to become a quilava, and it was perfectly normal in his world. Luffy explained he'd found the crypt because Tashigi had sent him in the right direction. She and Smoker had also taken down the Baroque Works' dance powder making ship that was causing the drought. Crocodile was stripped of all authority as Warlord and taken prisoner along with his underlings. Sunny recounted the Gelly's rain dance.

Later that night, the crew and Vivi went to the onsen, which Sunny realized was gender separated just like cabins were, and Sunny was herded along by Usopp into the male changing room while they all got ready. Even there, the instant humidity was a shock for Sunny, who hadn't been expecting anything like it in such an arid climate. And when he followed the troop of boys into the next room, there was a natural spring which had been closed off within the castle, hot and steaming. Actually, despite the fact that the air was densely humid in a way that he hadn't felt before, it wasn't an entirely bad feeling.

The boys settled into the water, careful of their injuries. Chopper and Luffy were careful not to submerge. Sunny was still getting used to his size proportional to the others. He was used to being a fair bit smaller than Chopper while now, if he were to sit on his haunches, he'd be his height without his trademark hat.

Sunny stared into the water's surface. It was still strange, he felt like he was looking at his sister, Vesper, but he knew he was being silly. There were differences in their faces, in the shades of their fur. He just missed them. He tapped the water's surface, disturbing the reflection.

"You look stronger, campfire." He hadn't realized he'd settled next to Zoro, who was now eyeing him with appraisal.

Sunny leaned forward and gave a pleased exhale into Zoro's face.

"Ugh," Zoro said, canting his head away, a ghost of a smile on his lips.

The boys left before the girls did, and Sunny could hear them talking. Vivi had been a little distant with him lately. He thought he caught his name, but he didn't know what to think about that.

The next couple days were filled with politics and meetings that Sunny zoned out of. He was preoccupied with re-learning the little things: comfortable sleeping positions, laying on his back had never been so comfortable; that there wasn't enough room for him to eat on the table anymore, so he had to use a chair; Sanji had to adjust to his portions being twice the size, and Sunny to remembering to eat accordingly; recalling he had small claws; and the ears were a recurring surprise in the first day or two.

The city reconstruction began quickly, but only after their was a memorial held for Pell and all the lost brave warriors of Alabasta. Sunny helped with sending lanterns into the air for every lost soldier.

Vivi spoke at the ceremony and it was easy to tell what a great leader she was becoming. She ended her speech as such, "Even with this great losses, we will rebuild. Now that the artificial drought has ended, life will return to all reaches of Alabasta and we will help rebuild every town that has been lost—Yuba and every other town will be dug up and returned to the oasises they once were. We must honor the fallen, and lead Alabasta into an age of regrowth. And there is no better way to begin to do that than to extend our gratitude to the Strawhat Pirates, who stopped Crocodile and Baroque Works without asking anything in return. They will always be welcome in Alabasta, as long as a Nefartari will lead."

Zoro clenched his fists. "That idiot! We told her not to get mixed up with us! What does she think she's doing?"

Sunny felt nervous at that. There would be repercussions if the World Government found out, wouldn't there? Not 'if' but 'when.'

Gasps and mumbles, and finally cheering rang from the crowd. Thanking pirates was unheard of, daring, brave or maybe foolhardy. But no citizen could argue that the Strawhats hadn't saved them.

Finally, Vivi came to him after the ceremony, lowered herself to her knees and reached out to Sunny like he'd disappear. Sunny nosed her hand and Vivi's expression went through a dozen emotions but settled on a smile. "It tickles."

Then she picked him up and held him in a tight hug. "Thank you, thank you, Sunny. You saved us. You all did it. Thank you."

Sunny adjusted fast after that and soon, he had something new on the agenda. The Baroque Works agents had been captured, Ms. Goldenweek included. That meant Ekans as well.

So he tagged along with one of the last conversations the Strawhats were going to have with King Cobra, and paced forward just when things were wrapping up.

Cobra's attention immediately shifted to him, a look of something like respect surprising Sunny a little. Four months ago he'd been running from children throwing rocks. Now he was in front of a human king.

"Ekans," Sunny said, eyeing Chopper hopefully. "the snake, doesn't belong in prison. She was repaying a favor without knowing the full story."

Frankly, Sunny might have done the same. Chopper conveyed Sunny's words, translating it into a request and something that sounded better for a royal court. King Cobra inclined his head. "If she's like you, I'd want her as a guard once she can be proven trustworthy. I trust you can convince her to turn her allegiance to Alabasta?"

"She will help those who help her," he said. "I'll talk to her."

That's how Sunny found himself in the damp prison, sharing a conversation with the snake who might have eaten him, had they been in another world.

"You, young weasssel, ssay he's a fair massster?"

"His daughter is kind and good. And your only option."

"Oh, how you amussse me, little one. I wonder if you have gone much too long without proper conversssation. Sssstill, that appealsss to me. Then I will follow her in gratitude for my freedomssss," she said. "Assss you sssaid, tiss my only option."

New bounties came out, too. 100 million berri, a massive sum, for Luffy. Zoro earned a bounty of 60 million berri. Then, changed from "Strawhat Mascot" to "Blue Sea Devil, Sunny" was a staggering shift from a 44 berri bounty to 5 million berri.

Shrieking and panicking abounded about the veritable fortune of the crew's heads, especially Sunny's ludicrous bump in bounty. It was a shot of his quilava form, walking down an alley, a look of caution on his features as he stepped forward. He wasn't sure how he could have missed the photographer, but he could say the same about Zoro's shot. He could only figure Crocodile, who was taken by the Marines, had given them the relevant information about Sunny's evolution. Asshole. There was also one for Gelly "Slime Devil" wanted for the same price, noted to be in association with the Whitebeards.

"Both say wanted alive," Sanji noted.

"They're noticing how powerful they are. They probably want them for themselves," Vivi said, fists clenching. Sunny wondered if she was thinking about her new ekans partner, if ekans chose her over her father.

"They're not getting Sunny," Luffy said stubbornly. "And I know Ace won't let anyone touch Gelly."

The Strawhats were not long for one place and soon they were preparing to set sail. Vivi did not come with them. But she did send them off on their ship.

The Going Merry was being pelted by cannon fire from Captain Hina's ship and the Going Merry was moving out while staying close to shore, waiting for Vivi to appear. She streaked across the ground on Carue, a long purple shape weaving through the grass behind her. They stopped at the cliff, Vivi yelling her thanks. Ekans' tongue flicked out in her own acknowledgment, whatever it may be.

The air filled with goodbyes to the Strawhat princess as she yelled back with a voice that, even over cannonfire, was heard by all.

"I can't go with you! Thank you for everything! I'd like to continue my adventures…but when it comes down to it…I love this kingdom! But if we ever see each other again, will you call me your nakama?"

Luffy grinned, he raised his hands to his mouth and shouted. "So long, Vivi of the Strawhats!"

Then, the Strawhats were back on the sea. Alabasta had seemed a whirlwind—it had been their goal since Whisky Peak, and it felt foreign to be without Vivi. Most of the crew moped on the deck in various levels of dejection. Zoro stared at the crew, unamused.

"Quit crying! If you couldn't stand to leave her, you should have kidnapped her!"

"You barbarian!" Chopper said.

"You're cruel!" Nami cried.

"Mosshead," Sanji said.

"Human," Sunny said.

"Three-sword style," Luffy said.

"Luffy, that isn't an insult."

"Four-sword style then."

"Fine, bawl your eyes out then," Zoro decided.

"Well, it's about time. I never thought you'd leave that oversized sandbox." And Nico Robin stepped out from the galley.

Here we go! The dawn of a new arc! Thank you all for reading and staying with me for the past couple years we've been on Alabasta!
Is anyone else as excited as I am about next year's One Piece Live Action? It's all I can think about these days. Come talk to me on tumblr RavenWingDark