SailorStar9: After getting Chapter 42 out, this is Chapter 43 of this fic. For everyone who put this fic on your favorited and followed lists and/or story alerts, thank you, but remember everyone, a lot of authors, myself included, sustain on readers' reviews.

Pairings: Ace/Sasha, familial Luffy/Sasha, patriotic Law/Sasha (Might end up as a Law/Sasha pairing later if I end up killing Ace at Marineford and if reviewers don't mind the age gap)

Disclaimers: One Piece belongs to Oda Eiichirō-sensei. Me, on the other hand, own absolutely nothing, except my OC.

Chapter 42: Arc 4: Adventure in the Country of Sand! The Monsters that Live in the Scorching Land!

"Burning up..." Luffy moaned, traversing up a sand dune. "Sweat won't even come out..."

"Quit moaning so much, Luffy." Nami chided. "You'll only tire yourself out. Guess he's not listening."

"I can't go on..." Chopper groaned, lying on a makeshift shed as Zoro pulled him along. "I can't take hot weather... I'm fine on cold weather, though..."

"It's cause of all that fur..." Usopp panted. "You should take off that animal suit..."

"What was that, you jerk!" Chopper fumed, turning into his Heavy Point form. "Don't make fun of reindeer!"

"Chopper, don't turn big!" Zoro scolded. "Or else I won't pull you! Just turn back already!" he cut off anymore arguments between Usopp and Chopper.

"It's going to be one of these days." Sasha sighed, already used to her crew's antics.

"You don't seem to be having a hard time, Vivi-chan." Sanji pointed out.

"I was born and raised here, so it doesn't bother me much." Vivi explained.

"It's too much..." Luffy moaned. "It's too hot..."

"Just one drink, Luffy." Nami relented. "Just one mouthful. Don't drink so much!" she smacked Luffy on the head when Luffy took a gulpful of water.

"Stop fighting!" Vivi tried to stop the brawl. "You'll only waste strength!"

Sasha's annoyed twitch increased in size, "WATER LOCK!" she cast her water prison spell en mass, effectively imprisoning all arguing parties in a water bubble each.

Ace just watched in mild amusement as the youngest of the siblings berate the four culprits who were trapped within her bubbles.

"So hungry..." Luffy whined, the group having settled within a rock formation for the night.

"Don't be so greedy!" Sanji scolded. "It's still raw! Don't eat that!"

"It's so hot in the day." Nami shivered as she and Vivi clustered around the campfire. "What's going on?"

"With nothing to block out the temperature, the desert scorches during the day but falls below freezing during the night." Vivi explained. "The desert is fraught with unpredictable dangers. It must be quite a surprise for you." she approached the silent Ace. "I mean Luffy-san." she clarified. "I was surprised too, at first. Maybe it's that he isn't captain-like or that normal pirate captains are respected by their crewmates. But just this afternoon, a simple drink of water caused that big fight. But, you know, the longer I've been with them,the more I've come to understand." she looked over at the sleeping group gathered around Chopper.

"That's how Luffy does things." Ace stated. "He hasn't changed a bit since he was a kid. Despite how he seems, people always gather around him. Even though he's my little brother, he has a mysterious charm on him."

"That's for sure." Sasha chuckled, raising her head from Ace's shoulder. "Didn't he chase you for, like what, three months, back on Mt. Colubo?"

"Those were the times." Ace reminisced.

"Throw that away, Luffy-san!" Vivi warned, awakening to next morning to see Luffy holding the tail of a scorpion. "That's a scorpion. It's small but it's very poisonous. You'll die if it stings you. I'm sorry, I should've mentioned this earlier." she apologized after Luffy tossed the scorpion away.

"What is it, Chopper?" Luffy asked when the reindeer went on high alert.

"Something's... coming." Chopper replied.

"Is the wind picking up?" Ace mused, stepping out of the tent he and Sasha shared.

"Everyone, hide behind the rocks!" Vivi warned. "A sandstorm is coming! I forgot to mention it, but sandstorms are one of the desert's greatest dangers!"

"Vivi, it might be a good idea for you to warn us about this kind of things beforehand!" Sasha deathpanned. "Ex-equip! Water Drayk Armor! Water Dragon's Dome!" a watery barrier shimmered into existence.

"Thanks, Sasha." Luffy nodded to his sister. "That saved us. Sanji," he turned to the cook. "Let's have a lunch. A Pirate bento."

"Not yet." Sanji replied. "Not until Vivi-chan says so."

"All right." Vivi relented. "Then what do you say we take a break at the next rocks we find?"

"I'm sorry, I should've mentioned this earlier." Vivi sighed after Luffy had let the group's provisions get stolen by a flock of Warusagi birds. "Warusagi birds are 'desert bandits' that trick travelers and steal their belongings."

"There's no use." Ace rested a hand on Zoro's shoulder, the swordsman was about to break up the arguing Luffy and Sanji. "At times like this, it's best to let them have it out."

"Yeah, huh?" Zoro agreed. "Let's take a short break. This heat is what has them fuming."

"Give us our stuff back!" Luffy roared, chasing after the mocking Warusagi birds.

"Not again..." Sasha facepalmed.

"It's been hard on you for the last three years." Ace looked at the younger girl in pity.

"You have no idea." Sasha muttered.

"He's such a lost cause." Zoro snorted.

"That's quite true." Sasha agreed. "Zoro, Sanji, take care of aniki please."

"Sorry." Ace voiced as the two prepared to set off. "For my little brother's ineptness, I apologize for the trouble."

"What is that?" Chopper gasped when the ground rumbled.

"That's...!" Usopp pulled his goggles over his eyes. "Luffy!"

"Why is he on a camel?" Nami asked, seeing Luffy fleeing from the rising sand on a camel.

"A Sandora Dragon!" Vivi exclaimed, recognizing the beast that had emerged from the sand. "They're the largest of the reptiles living in the desert and they wait under the sand for their prey. They have sharp fangs and claws, but they hardly ever use them. The reason being that they tend to swallow their prey whole because they're so large."

"He really does have a gift for attaching trouble." Ace grinned.

"Setting aside the camel for a moment..." Sanji stated.

"What star was he born under to be able to attract trouble like this?" Zoro muttered.

"He's a 'D'." Sasha shrugged. "That's more than enough explanation." she grinned at the other 'D' in the vicinity.

"Gum Gum..." Luffy jumped off the camel.

"Tatsu..." Zoro readied his swords.

"Epaulet..." Sanji raised his leg.

"Whip!" Luffy let loose his attack.

"Maki!" Zoro's sword slices cut the Sandora Dragon into pieces

"Shoot!" Sanji's kick slammed into the Sandora Dragon's mouth.

"You don't have to go that far..." Usopp was shocked.

"When they're fighting, you almost pity the monsters." Nami added.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the 'Monster Trio'." Sasha joked.

"That's more?" Nami exclaimed when a second Sandora Dragon emerged from the sand behind them.

"I forgot to mention it, but Sandora Dragons hunt in pairs!" Vivi supplied.

"Mention those things." Usopp, Nami and Chopper deathpanned.

"What a nuisance." Ace looked at the overgrown lizard. "You wanna play?"

"And this coming from the guy who hunted ten foot grizzly bears just for the fun of it when he was ten?" Sasha shot the freckled Logia user a look.

"You're never going to let me take this lying down, are you?" Ace muttered and leapt into the lizard's mouth, incinerating the reptile mere seconds later.

"So, what's with the camel?" Zoro thought to ask as Sanji cooked the lizard meat.

"I dunno." Luffy replied. "It was getting eaten by a mystery plant when I was chasing the birds."

"I knew it!" Chopper beamed, recognizing the camel.

"You know each other?" Luffy asked.

"He gave me a ride when I escaped from Kateroa." Chopper nodded.

"What was that for?" Luffy whined when the camel knocked him off its saddle.

"I am a freedom-loving, hard-boiled, compassionate camel." Chopper translated. "Thanks for helping me out of that pinch. I can give you a lift, but no men allowed. I'm manly."

"I'm so sorry." Nami stroked the beaten-up camel which was pummeled by Luffy, Usopp and Sanji. "My crewmates are so ill-bred. You're a good boy. What should we call you. 'Lashes', it is then." she decided, taking the camel's leash. "Get on, Sasha, Vivi."

"Great..." Sasha muttered as she and Vivi saddled up. "Now, we have a pervy camel for a ride. This is going to end so well."

"Giddy up, Lashes!" Nami instructed.

SailorStar9: Any OOC-nes is regretted. *Sighs* Don't you just hate plot bunnies sometimes? Reviews are much appreciated.