Rated M for Violence, Language, Smoking, The Destruction Of Government Property, and Some Very Detailed Lemons!

I don't own One Piece! This world belongs to Eiichiro Oda and these amazing characters are his. My OC'S and this story, however, are my own! This is a work of fiction from me, any relevance to the real world or other works is purely coincidental.

Alba

Alba's hand gripped Zoro's a little tighter just as the center of town came into view, yanking him forward. Earlier she'd paused only long enough to watch the makeshift warning that had been launched from nearby. Everything about the blue and white color pattern worried her, especially after…

Alba's mind wandered to her pocket and the painful sheet of paper tucked away there. Before taking Zoro's hand she'd been reaching for it constantly as if proving to herself that it was real. Reminding herself that everything she'd fought for back at home was about to cascade into a river of blood…. she had to get back, and soon.

"Ahead!" Zoro shouted, releasing Alba's hand as they dashed around the last two buildings and onto an unexpected scene. Sanji stood in the center of town, blood dripping down the side of his face. Luffy was wrapped in chains and draped over Sanji's shoulder, his body slumped in a way that suggested he couldn't do much other than lay there. Massive men similar to the two they had defeated earlier were everywhere, large weapons in their hands. Fear shivered its way through her, she'd barely defeated one of these guys, finding several more was a terrifying prospect. Thankfully two of the men lay on the ground, unconscious. However, a woman now stood before Sanji, a smile on her deep red lips.

"Sanji!" Alba shouted, reading her shield as she rushed forward.

"Watch it" Zoro snapped before blocking a blow from one of the massive men just before it would have struck Alba.

"Shit." Alba heard Sanji snap as he glanced back in their direction. "You moss-headed moron! You were supposed to get Alba back to The Sunny if we ever got separated!"

"When in the hell did we agree on that?" Zoro growled back, the massive man pushing him down to one knee.

"You might want to focus on me dearest," the unknown woman declared as she lashed out at Sanji, striking him in the stomach with a kick.

"Sanji!" Alba screamed, watching in frustration as he staggered backward, barely keeping his feet underneath himself, his captain now preciously perched over his shoulder. "Shouldn't you fight back or something?"

"I can't…" Sanji moaned. His groan was one of pain and frustration.

"I'm sure you can Sanji, just give it your all we've got to go!" Alba shouted angrily.

"No," Sanji protested. "The important thing is that you stay safe. The Navy's coming. Our best chance is to run. Alba, you go on ahead and the rest of us will meet up with you."

"I'm not leaving!" Alba hissed, clenching her teeth as one of the enemy men started to swing his mallet in her direction. She dodged the blow, rolling out of the way before finding her footing again. She then readied her makeshift shield and crouched low to the ground facing her new opponent.

"Yes you are, just get out of here! Someone needs to warn the others that the navy is coming," Sanji growled, taking a step back away from the girl and in Alba's direction. "We'll be right behind you."

"Get me that meeeeaaatttt toooo…" Luffy groaned. "It was soooo good."

"They already know," Alba said. "If I had to guess the flashes of color in the sky earlier were them trying to warn us of the navy's presence."

"What?" Sanji breathed, taking another step back.

"Stupid," Zoro huffed, pushing the large man back but swaying on his own feet.

"Zoro!" Alba cried, lunging forward just in time to block a massive blow from one of the men's scythes with her shield. It surprisingly held together as it took the brunt of the force, sending Alba sliding back a few feet before finally stopping the momentum.

"Dead or alive boys!" the woman laughed. "No need to hold back in order to collect those bounties."

"I knew it," Zoro huffed, holding his side as he pushed himself upright. Alba's worry instantly skyrocketed. Had he been severely injured in that fight earlier while she wasn't looking? She didn't see anything obvious but that didn't mean he wasn't bleeding internally. He was too stubborn to run too, no matter how injured he was. She had to think of something to get them out of this mess. And quickly.

"Where's the key to Luffy's chains?" Alba asked Sanji, her arms shaking slightly from the strain of still holding the massive man back.

"It's… well um… down her shirt," he acknowledged, a tinny dribble of blood coming from his nose as he said it.

Alba nodded before using her movements to shift the massive opponent in front of her to the side, sending him crashing into the ground from his own momentum. Dust flew up around her, adding to the smoke from the nearby building's flames. Alba used the cover and crouched into the smoke before racing forward. She lunged out of the cover just in time to grab the woman's kick and block her from striking Sanji again.

"You're going to regret that," the woman grinned, spinning to use her other leg and kicking Alba hard in the shoulder forcing her to release the woman's foot. "Ms. Amy ain't no push over."

"Neither is the great turtle's ultimate defense," Alba warned, gripping her pathetic shield and taking a low stance. "Sanji, cover my back, I'll get the key."

"Okayyyy," Sanji sang, his face turning bright red.

"Don't get cocky," Ms. Amy hissed, jumping up and kicking downward with her right foot. Alba rolled out of the way, barely dodging in time.

As the dust cleared Alba could see that Ms. Amy's foot had left a massive crater in the ground. The woman then grinned before yanking her foot free from the earth. Fear trembled through Alba for a moment before she shook herself free from the feeling. This wasn't her first fight against an overwhelmingly strong opponent. And if she ever did make it back to Compass Island she'd have much bigger challenges waiting for her there. What kind of warrior would she be if she gave up now?

"I'm not letting you hurt my friends, I'll give you one chance to hand over that key and let us leave," Alba said with forced courage.

"Like hell, you will," Ms. Amy huffed, placing her hands on her hips. "Do you have any idea where you are? We've never let a bounty leave this island unpaid. This is the home of the greatest bounty hunters to sail these seas and walk this earth. You'll leave here all right, in chains."

"By The Great Turtle's mercy, I gave you a chance," Alba acknowledged. She kept her stance low and waited. It didn't take long for Ms. Amy to lunge, kicking straight forward at Alba. Alba didn't want to use her shield to block unless she absolutely had to, instead she would use the next level of The Great Turtle's Ultimate Defense.

Alba closed her eyes and took a deep unshakable breath. With her sight gone she could feel it, the echoes from the air itself that surrounded everything. Alba shifted, feeling the wind from Ms. Amy's kick rush past her side as she stepped to the right. Another shift in the air indicated a twist kick from the opposite direction and Alba ducked, then pushed herself forward and felt her shield make contact with flesh. Ms. Amy grunted in pain as the feeling of contact left the shield.

"How disrespectful!" Ms. Amy shouted. "To fight me with your eyes closed!"

"For my people," Alba sighed, pulling herself to standing while keeping her eyes shut. "This is the ultimate form of respect. I am taking this fight seriously, and so I am using the second technique of Ultimate Defense. Winds Echo!"

"How dare you!" Ms. Amy cried.

Alba ducked just as the air rippled above her, indicating another kick. Targeted at her face this time.

"Your desperation and anger will fuel the fireflies of your defeat," Alba warned.

"Shut up!" Ms. Amy growled. "You're not making any sense!"

"Odd," Alba sighed, as she shifted twice more, avoiding another barrage of kicks. "I could have sworn that was how the old man said it? Was it waters of defeat? Or maybe fur of defeat?"

"Defeat this!" Ms. Amy roared as a kick finally landed on Alba's side and knocked her back. Pain crashed through her ribs and Alba's breath came in a shorter gasp instead of a deep intake of air. Alba quickly reached down with her free hand and felt her side, allowing herself a moment to check for blood.

"Gonna open those eyes of yours now?" Ms. Amy asked.

"To give you an advantage now would not benefit me," Alba muttered, Winds Echo would only give her an edge over her opponent for a short period of time, she couldn't waste it. Of course, if she was able to transform this would be a lot easier, but the wound on her back could tear open if she did. Chopper had already warned her not to push herself.

Alba took a deep breath and gripped her shield a little tighter. She could hear the sounds of Sanji fighting behind her. There was also some yelling back and forth between him and Zoro. Luffy's voice added to the mix, sounding weak. Alba didn't have a lot of time left. She blocked out all her other senses, her smell, her hearing, and even the taste of blood in her mouth. All she focused on was her sense of touch. The feel of splintered wood pressed hard against her palm. The way the heat from the nearby fires danced along her skin. Most of all she felt the wind, every little gust, every little shift in the air around her. She ducked down and readied the muscles in her legs. They already stung from her earlier fight and the endless walking. Still, she wasn't going to falter, now was the time to put everything she had left into the fight. She was the only one who could.

Alba pushed herself forward, she felt the shift in the air just before the kick hit her makeshift shield. It splintered, falling apart under the force. Alba let it go, instead, she shifted on her foot to continue her momentum and kicked, hard, harder than she ever had before. The blow hit something soft and she felt the rush of air as it left Ms. Amy's lungs.

Alba straightened her body and opened her eyes to find Ms. Amy on the ground, unconscious, her eyes white.

"In the game of chess, you never let your opponent see all the pieces," Alba grinned as she walked over to where Ms. Amy lay. She bent down and grabbed the front of her shirt, feeling the key Alba gripped everything and pulled. "Checkmate."

Once upright, Alba looked down to the scrap of Ms. Amy's shirt clenched in her fist. She then smiled as she flipped it open, finding the key tucked neatly into the fabric. Alba reached over with her now free hand and yanked the key out.

"Here we are," Alba chuckled as she turned to face the guys, holding out the key. She was pleasantly surprised to find that all the other opponents in the area had also been dealt with.

Sanji's face turned a bright red as his eyes shifted between Alba and Ms. Amy's form sprawled across the ground. The scraps of what was left of her shirt barely covering her breasts. His eyes then turned to hearts and blood dribbled down from one of his nostrils.

"Give me that," Zoro snapped, snatching the key while Sanji stood there staring. Zoro quickly unlocked Luffy's chains. They fell to the ground with a cascade of sounds.

"Yay!" Luffy shouted, throwing his arms into the air. "About time, now I can find more of that amazing meat!"

"Luffy, wait," Zoro growled, gripping his captain's shoulder and yanking him back just as he would have taken off. Have you been listening to anything? The navy is here."

"Yeah, so?"

"So, we need to leave," Sanji sighed, wiping the blood from his face with his sleeve.

"Come on, I just want a little meat, it was really tasty!"

Alba laughed, that same hearty laugh she had before. She clenched her stomach as waves of chuckles rocked her small form. She kept going for a while before finally settling down, wiping a tear from her eye once she did. "The navy, the bounty hunters, and you're more concerned about finding food than you are about survival?" she giggled.

"Oh no, you don't!" Nami snapped, appearing out of nowhere as she tossed a massively full bag at Sanji. "You are not risking my treasure; we're getting out of here!"

"But…"

"Nami's right," Sanji injected, lifting the large bag onto his back and smiling toward Nami, "I'll make you some meat as soon as we're back onboard The Sunny and far away from here."

"Really?" Luffy brightened, his grin growing.

Sanji nodded.

"Yay!" Luffy screamed, turning to walk back in the direction of The Sunny.

Alba chuckled again slightly before watching Zoro take a wobbly step forward. She rushed over, offering her shoulder to steady him. Zoro gave her a blank look before shrugging off her help and continuing forward, frustration clear in his movements.