Twelve Red Lines

by Vikingr

I expected to die when I went into the water. Instead, I was rescued by a crew of people who I knew only as characters in a story. But what does it take to become worthy of being a Straw Hat? And why are so many little details not matching up to what I know?

22. Exposition

Exposition: a comprehensive description and explanation of an idea or theory

GreenDrkness: Yes, that omake was Jones introducing herself.

gamelover41592: Thank you.

FairyGirl960: Thanks.

GingerFury: Heh. Sorry. But if you haven't figured it out yet, that means I really have learned subtlety. I used to foreshadow with a sledgehammer. My high school English teacher would be so proud.

rosewillow narusasufangirl: Which Disney princess is Jones most like? Hmm... That's a hard one. In a lot of ways, she's probably a mix between Elsa and Mulan. Not sure which she'd be closer to though... Probably Elsa, since Jones has some Northern European ancestry, but no Chinese.

LegionnaireBlaze: Ichi! The title talks about three things: Jones' scars, the One Piece Red Line, and the fact that a "red line" is a moral, religious, or personal boundary; upon crossing it, you can never be the same person again. Ni! I would like to use that idea, if you don't mind. Although I'm not entirely sure when yet...

xanothos: ^_^ Thank you very much.

MidnightFenrir: No, not exactly what I've been going for with Jones, but certainly a neat idea.

Partsu: You're welcome.

Xipholynx: Thank you very much. ^_^

Dragondancer81: *is hugged* Mm, yes, although I tend to think of Marco as being more rational and experienced than Ghin— or Ace, for that matter. And thank you very much.

Aeroza: Don't worry; I plan to.

NightFlowerLuv: Of course! 'Tis iconic; it must be done at least once.

The Utterly Fabulous Z: If you know, please keep quiet. Some people still haven't figured it out yet, I think.

havarti2: You're welcome.

tylermech66: You think One Piece is bad that way, just think of Chronicles of Narnia. Not sure if Jones will be much concerned about it or put it out of her mind— she likes meat, so that's the sort of thing she would try not to think about if she noticed it.

Gerbilfriend: Thank you.

Cesar D. Sezun: All types of force? More or less. Which means yes, it's an incredibly useful fruit and a little overpowered in the hands of anyone with even basic knowledge of physics. I've set a few limitations on it to keep it from getting too out of hand, but... Yeah, not all that many. It's still good for a lot.

Bombadilo Baby: Thank you very much. ^_^ And sorry, but Jones and Robin aren't meeting again just yet. Soon, though.

Sage McGavin: A den-den named Watson? I'm afraid I don't get the reference. Would you mind explaining?

strawhatted demigod shinobi: And true. That line... A lot of those scenes were based on things that have actually happened to me, albeit with names and locations changed a bit. So yes, that line has actually been said to me.

The Keeper of Worlds: Thank you!

Master Aquatosic: Plain evil? Maybe. In Johnny and Yosaku's case it's more getting excited about something and not thinking about the consequences, but I see your point. As far as Jones goes though... *shrugs* Sorry, I can't tell you what the apple seeds are for yet. Spoilers.

Snare646: Thank you. And I'm glad you found something to give you hope.

Guest (August 5): Thank you. it was supposed to be.

Insanity Lord: Probably because I was playing around with the capitals and text formatting. And maybe also because it's confirmation of how aware Jones is of her readers, and an implication that if she wanted to do anything, even the Fourth Wall wouldn't hold her back long.

Heavy, dry dust surrounded me as far as I could see, swirling about my knees like a river. Ghin was with me, searching for… something. I couldn't remember what it was, but I knew I would know when we found it. If we found it. Something was chasing us through the dust though, a spidery, scrambling humanoid with a spherical head. No… A helmet. An astronaut's helmet, and they had some sort of skin-tight, rubber suit covering them. But whatever- whoever- it was couldn't speak. The could growl though, and hiss like an angry raccoon. From what I could tell, the scuttle was hunting us. If Ghin and I couldn't get away from it soon, we might be eaten. But the dust prevented us from moving any faster…

Beep.

Despite having been up late training, I woke early in the morning. Too hot; I couldn't sleep as the sun came up and the surrounding desert baked Yuba like a chocolate chip cookie. Plus, something outside was making noise- a rhythmic swishing sound. Yawning, I climbed out the window to check it out.

Fwip. Fwip. Fwip. Each swish was accompanied by a flash of light as sunlight reflected off steel. Squinting, I saw Zoro silhouetted against the rising sun, a scowl on his face. He was performing an intricate kata with all three swords, his bandanna wrapped around his head to keep the sweat out of his eyes. I stayed silent, watching, until he was done.

"Morning Jones," the bosun said after finishing, Wado Ichimonji still in his mouth. I nodded as I approached.

"Morning." Hmm… No real fighting, sword in mouth… Finally, a perfect chance to ask. "How do you do that?"

"Do what?" Zoro frowned down at me in confusion. I gestured at Wado.

"Talk with a sword in your mouth. I mean, I've tried it before, back home, but I can never get it right." I drew one of my sais and popped it into my mouth to demonstrate. The strain on my teeth was instant and uncomfortable. "Ew oh ay I ah ay ih uherahahoh."

I took my sai out of my mouth quickly; my canines were starting to hurt even after those few seconds. Zoro shook his head, smiling around the hilt of his sword. "Just practice, I guess. Why, you looking to learn?"

"No." I shook my head. "My teeth couldn't handle it, even if I could get my jaw muscles up to par. Two weapons is enough for me, when I use them at all."

Nodding, Zoro looked thoughtful. After a moment, he shrugged. "Jones… While you were hurt- from the T-Rex," he clarified. I stifled a giggle. "While you were out, Luffy told me to try and learn to do a flying slash like Dorry and Broggy used to kill a giant goldfish. I think I've figured out what I need to do, but…"

"You want to know if I know anything about it?"

Zoro nodded again. "It's captain's orders, and… I'm the swordsman. That's what I am, what I do. Not like Chopper, or Nami, or the shit cook… Hell, even the war dog has something he does outside a fight. Rigging, plus being the local mother hen. Me? I break up arguments sometimes, and fish Luffy out of the water. My job, the reason I'm here is to fight. To defend the crew. Back on Little Garden… I shouldn't have let myself get captured. I should've been fighting, like Luffy. If I had been, maybe you wouldn't have… Maybe I could've stopped that dinosaur before it got near Vivi."

Sighing, the bosun drooped. For the first time in a long time, I was reminded of how young he was. Zoro may've been stoic and mature, but he was still five years younger than I was. And Hell, even if he wasn't, anyone can make mistakes; anyone can doubt themselves or feel inadequate. "I need to be stronger. So if you know… I'm not much for unarmed fighting, but I have one technique I could…"

"You don't need to bribe me," I informed the swordsman, indignant. Folding my arms across my chest, I scowled up at Zoro. Really? Did he think so little of me? Yes, I'd lie and poison my dark little heart out when dealing with marines or other enemies, but my own crew mates… "I know you don't think much of my sense of honour, but my loyalty is just as strong as yours. We're both Straw Hats; if you want my help, all you need to do is ask. Although… I'm not sure how much help I'll actually be."

I found a piece of exposed timber projecting horizontally from a broken building; grabbing hold of this, I swung back and forth as I waited for Zoro to react to my words. His expression was hard to read around Wado Ichimonji. Finally, after several long moments, the bosun nodded. His shoulders straightened a little; he now faced me like we were students in the same dojo, and he were asking me about something that had happened on a day he'd missed.

"So, this flying slash thing… From what I figure, it's about cutting so fast and so hard that the air does something weird and passes the cuts along. Sound about right?"

Nodding, I pulled myself up so I could swing my legs over the timber and hang upside down. The movement made my back ache and burn. "Yep. Move fast enough that you cut the air itself, creating a vacuum that flies forward for a short distance, cutting everything in its path. Some people can do the same with a kick or swinging their arm too, but I think that's even harder. Think of it as a stronger, more focused version of your Tatsumaki. Sorry," I shrugged, which probably looked funny since I was upside down. "I really don't know anything else about it, to make learning easier. But it'll prob'ly be easier once you learn to cut steel."

"Makes sense." Zoro grinned around Wado Ichimonji. Then his face fell. "I don't know how to do that though."

"You'll learn soon enough." The blood rushing to my head was starting to make me dizzy, so I pulled myself up to sit on top of my piece of timber. Zoro nodded, accepting. He then went back to practicing kata, his swords making fwip noises as he moved. With nothing else to do, I joined in- by which I mean I began practicing a sai kata of my own. Or creating one, as it were, out of a set of techniques I remembered from a couple of video games. Zoro huffed with laughter as he saw me experimenting.

"You look like you're trying to swat bugs with your weapons."

"Heh…" Figuring out Shining Fang was hard; my wrist didn't like spinning that way. "Man who catch fly with chopstick accomplish anything."

The bosun clearly didn't get the reference, from the puzzled frown he directed my way. "You're saying weird things again… But this time, I think I like it. Sparring won't do either of us any good, so how about a different type of competition?"

That piqued my interest. Usually Zoro would only suggest something like that with Sanji or Ghin- and there would be a lot more aggression involved. And… Well, for some reason, I got the impression he'd been avoiding me lately, although I wasn't sure why. This could be… interesting. "What do you have in mind?"

Frown morphing into an eager grin, Zoro stomped on a clump of dried up grass. A cloud of sandflies swarmed up. The air was filled with quiet humming. "Let's try that whole fly catching thing… with weapons."

Oh, that sounded fun- and difficult. Quickly flipping my sais around, I grinned. "Alright. You're on."

Fwip. Fwip. Fwip. Shwing. Shwing. Fwip. Soon the air was filled with the sounds of blades once more. I added in my own sound effects a second later, spinning through the cloud of flies. Fwook. Fwook. Tong. Tong. Tong. And it was still early in the day, cool enough that I wasn't uncomfortable moving, even if it was still too hot to sleep. Although… The flies biting itched something fierce.

They were hard to catch, too. With weapons, at least. I grew up in the land of black flies, little black flies~ If it had been by hand, the game would've been much easier. But that wasn't the point of this. For several long minutes, there was no sign of results, with the flies never lessening in number. But it was fun. Even if Zoro and I were constantly getting in each other's way trying to stay in the cloud of flies. More than a few times, I had to abandon my pursuit of the insects in order to block slashes that nearly hit me, and I know there were several instances where I would've gotten Zoro if he hadn't twisted aside at the last minute.

Then the blades of Zoro's swords began to be flecked with red. He was getting faster, beginning to slice through the flies that were biting us. Frowning, I tried to push harder, tried to catch up. It was hard… I was smaller, slower, weaker… And then I saw the first fleck of blood on my sais. Adrenaline shot through me, along with newfound confidence. I may not be as good as Zoro, but I could do this!

"Sesehihihihihi!"

By some unspoken rule, neither of us was using named attacks. Probably a good thing; we were so close together, and already coming so near to hitting each other… If either of us had tried anything big, we would've struck the other without question. Plus, Zoro using something like Tatsumaki and blowing all the flies away would've just been cheating. This was as much control practice as speed practice.

And teamwork practice. As the minutes went on, Zoro and I got better at playing off and around each other rather than almost hitting each other. It wasn't intentional- we were still competing- and it was a lot easier than I would've expected. Not that we were perfect by any means, especially the first time I used him as a stepladder- stepping off his knee as the swordsman took a low stance, I didn't jump quite fast enough and nearly got my legs taken of at the shins by Kitetsu. But I didn't. And the shallow twin lines of blood that showed through my torn pants attracted the flies to me, giving me more chances to hit them.

I didn't even notice that the cloud of flies was lessening in density until my sais clashed against Zoro's swords, with a tiny spurt of blood as the last biting insect died between a blunt weapon and a bladed one. The swordsman let out a huff of laughter as I panted. Adrenaline drained from me in an instant.

"Not bad." Zoro sheathed his swords. He looked pensive. "You know… I don't always agree with how you do things, but at least you've got drive. Don't think you could've done that when we first picked you up. Especially the part where you used me as a springboard."

"Thanks." I slipped my sais back into my belt.

The next few minutes were spent in a slightly awkward yet companionable silence. Not for the first time, I got the feeling there was something Zoro wanted to say to me, but that he couldn't put it into words. Or maybe he didn't feel the time was right just yet. Eventually, he shook his head with a wry smile. Taking his bandanna off and tying it around his arm, the bosun placed a hand on my shoulder. "Come on. We've still got some time before the others get up, and you said you wanted to be the greatest martial artist in the world, didn't you? Let's see how you handle Mutoryu: Tatsumaki- unless you're too tired from working with the little dugong sensei?"

"Never too tired," I said, giving my arms a quick shake to get rid of the shock of meeting Zoro blade-to-sai. "But you don't have-!"

"Like you said, on this crew, we're family." Zoro shrugged. "So, helping and teaching each other is what we do. I'm not offering as a bribe or anything; I'm offering cause if a tiny little thing like you wants to be a great fighter, you need all the help you can get." Then he grinned, an expression that gave the usually stoic man a surprisingly strong resemblance to some versions of the Joker. I'm sure his hair didn't do anything to lessen the effect. "Get ready- there's a lot of spinning involved."

That made my own grin spread wide. "I know this won't mean anything to you," I said, jabbing my thumb at my chest, "But… former figure skater. I think I can handle a little spinning."

Zoro chuckled. "We'll see about that. Now, hold out your arms…"

X

Usopp sweatdropped as he looked around at the training yard. Every pillar, every dummy, every wall and equipment shed, even the ground… Everything was covered in intricate runes in rich green and brilliant turquoise. It hadn't been like this when Chaka and Pell had shown it to them the day before. "Okay, now you're just showing off."

Lisa glanced up at him from where she was lying on a bench. The little girl had massive circles of violet under her eyes; she looked like she'd been up all night. "I'd like to see you mix a hundred thousand gallons of paint from different base colours than you're used to, then paint an entire military training field with over a million Lasabrjotur runes!" Tense, paint-stained fingers, curled into claws from hours of gripping a brush, gestured violently around the yard.

Holding up his hands, Usopp took an instinctive step back. Mostly because for a moment, Lisa reminded him of an angry weasel and he was afraid she was going to bite him. But that fear passed as she flopped back down onto the bench with a groan. "My hands hurt. A lot. I never want to paint anything this big again."

Usopp was slightly confused by that statement. "But… Didn't you paint the whole Going Merry?"

That earned him a tired glare. "This was bigger. And I didn't do Merry all at once either."

"So… Why did you do this all at once? We have a few hours this morning before the first unit comes it; couldn't you have done some last night and some now?"

"No. These paints don't dry as fast as mine, so I had to get it all done so they wouldn't smear. It's a good thing it doesn't rain a lot here. Don't touch anything!" Lisa snapped the last bit, when Usopp went to examine her work. "They're not dry yet."

"Sorry, sorry!" Stepping back, Usopp raised his hands to show he hadn't touched. Lisa groaned into the wood of her bench.

"Imma go sleep now." Her words were followed immediately by obnoxiously loud snoring, far beyond what Usopp would've expected of a girl her size. He wanted to ask if Lisa always made that noise when she slept, but… Nami wasn't there, and Vivi and Mairead were still off making final arrangements with Chaka, Pell, and the king.

Chuckling, Ghin sat down beside the little painter. He took her hat off and started running his fingers through her hair, brushing out the tangles. A few minutes later, when he seemed satisfied with the condition of Lisa's auburn locks, the rigger began braiding her hair back into its usual pigtails. A couple months before, Usopp would've been surprised to see such gentleness from Ghin; now, the only surprise came from the fact that Lisa's was the only hair he ever tried to braid. Not that any of the other girls they knew were likely to let him…

Shrugging, Usopp wandered away to where Johnny and Yosaku were fiddling with their spray gun things. The hunters were uncharacteristically silent and… frowning. Which, yeah, okay, Usopp understood. They'd been a little scared by what their new weapons did yesterday. He couldn't say he knew the feeling- his ammunition was always exactly as dangerous as he thought it was, not a burn more- but he did understand what it was like to be unhappy with a creation. Maybe he could help? It would give him something to do, at least.

All this waiting was making him nervous. More nervous than usual.

"Maybe if we fill the secondary tank with water?" Johnny suggested as Usopp got close. "And refined the hose so we could control the concentrations? That way, we could pick easy how much acid and stuff we used, so it wouldn't burn normal people so badly, and we could even shoot straight water if we needed to."

"There'd need to be a tertiary tank in the nozzle so the solutions could mix properly," Yosaku mused. "But yeah, it could work. And… If we change the nozzle to be hand-pumped air pressure, we can even control the shape and force of the spray. A high-pressure jet of just water's still a pretty good weapon, if it hits someone hard enough, and it wouldn't do so much permanent damage."

Johnny nodded. Then he frowned. "But that would require different types of exit holes too, if we wanted to change the shape. Preferably on a rotary."

"Why not? We're basically rebuilding everything anyways. What's one more component?"

Usopp crouched down between his crew mates and looked at the blueprints they were sketching. "You know… If you're gonna do that, you could turn the main pack into a bunch of smaller tanks instead of two big ones, carry different kinds of liquids. You know, stink bombs and stuff."

Yosaku shook his head. "Nah, that wouldn't work Big Bro. We'd run outta ammo too fast- or at least, outta whatever kind we were usin' at the time. Best to just do adjustable concentrations."

"Oh. Sorry…" Usopp rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. Then he saw something on the blueprint that made him frown. "Hey, uh, guys, you know that arranging the harness that way limits your shoulder mobility, right?"

The hunters looked at where he was pointing. Yosaku facepalmed. "Shit, forgot about that. Thanks Bro."

"No problem." Usopp continued looking as the green hunter reworked the harness design. "Oooooh, hey, I just had an idea! If you make the tanks thicker or use a stronger alloy, you can use them as partial armour!"

"What?!" Somehow, Usopp always found it so cool when the hunters spoke in unison. They must know each other really well. "Whaddya mean?!"

"Well, to make them viable, they're already huge, so they cover pretty much your whole back. Which means if you use an alloy hard enough to deflect blades, no one can hit you from behind."

Johnny and Yosaku looked at each other. "Scars on the back are a swordsman's shame," the blue hunter pointed out. His partner nodded.

"It could mean a lot of training and testing with Big Bro Zoro, though, to find out stuff that works."

"Worth it."

Now Usopp was getting excited. He loved inventing, especially if he got a chance to do it with someone else. Not that there'd been many people willing to indulge him back on Syrup Island, certainly none he could share as much with as he could with Johnny and Yosaku. "And if we put a lead rod and some lead dioxide crystals in Yosaku's acid tank, we could connect a wire and electrify his sword! Not sure if we could do yours though, Johnny, unless you switched to sulphuric acid too…"

Both hunters looked… torn, at that. They stared at him for several long moments, then at each other. When they spoke, their sentences came in fragments, as if they were partially reading the other's mind and didn't need to say all of their thoughts aloud. It was almost as cool as speaking in unison, although Usopp knocked some points off for the difficulty he had following the conversation.

"Co cool…"

"But- honour?"

"Says nothing about…"

"Remember Old Man Inazuma though?"

"Lower voltage?

"How do we-?"

"With Big Sis. If she can resist…"

"If we ran out of acid?"

"Sword's still a sword."

Shrugging, the hunters turned back to Usopp. "Maybe we can try that someday," Yosaku said slowly, "But not now. This is a quick refit; we don't have time to test stuff like that."

"Plus, we'd want Big Sis Jones around for that," Johnny added. "If Big Sis Nami's right and her fruit gives her a bit of electrical resistance, we can use her as a measuring stick. Anything that doesn't affect Big Sis probably wouldn't do serious damage to normal people, right? We don't want a repeat of yesterday… That's not what we meant to do."

Usopp nodded, understanding. But then… "What did you think would happen if you started spraying acid everywhere?" Because that was one thing he really didn't understand. How do you unintentionally create a potent weapon using substances you knew were dangerous? Johnny and Yosaku shrugged helplessly, unable to answer, their faces turning red with embarrassment.

Sharp, rapid clicks echoed against stone. Vivi emerged from the palace and strode over to the Straw Hats at great speed, a frown creasing her face. "Is everything ready?"

Lisa raised her head- which had somehow made its way onto Ghin's lap. "Not quite dry yet; needs another fifteen minutes. Other than that, yes."

"Good." Vivi nodded. "We have twenty minutes before Chaka brings the first division in. Sorry… I couldn't delay them any longer. But if you say it's less than that to dry, it shouldn't matter."

Ghin nodded and stood, hefting Lisa in his arms and leaning her against his shoulder. "Where should we go?"

"There's an old box where kings used to watch their soldiers prepare for war," Vivi gestured towards an odd, towering construction at one end of the training yard, "Not that Father ever used it. It should keep us sheltered from assassins while still within hearing range so we can question the divisions. Father says we can make it our base of operations, as long as we don't mind the dust."

The pirates followed the princess to the odd building, which she unlocked with a heavy, ancient looking key. Inside there was very little- just some stairs leading up to the observation deck, a few stone benches, and yes, lots and lots of dust. It looked like no one had been in there in years, maybe even decades. Usopp coughed, unable to help himself, before exploding into a fit of sneezing. Sometimes having allergies sucked. In order to combat the dust, he took a cloth out of his duffle bag and wetted it before tying it around his face. It was a bit uncomfortable with his nose- and it reminded him more than a little of Jones and her bandanna- but at least he could breathe while wearing it.

And then they waited.

Johnny and Yosaku continued to refine their designs on one of the benches, while Ghin hummed a song to a sleeping Lisa. Sighing, Usopp pulled out some of his own tools and began tinkering away, making some ammo. After all, you never know… He'd rather have far more than he needed than run out in a panic. Besides, he had a few new things he wanted to try. Working on the Clima-Tact for Nami and seeing what Johnny and Yosaku were planning had given him some ideas.

Not too much time had passed by the time they heard the pounding of leather sandals on sand and stone. Glancing up, Usopp had his breath stolen away. Somehow, despite being only a fraction of the Royal Army, this was more impressive than seeing the rebels drilling together. Maybe it was the matching uniforms in flowing white and gold, maybe it was the fact that their weapons were in better condition, maybe it was the superb unity with which they moved… Maybe it was just Chaka standing at the head of the division like the alpha of a pack, shouting orders in a language Usopp didn't understand. Whatever it was, it was like nothing the gunner had ever seen before. He abandoned his tinkering in favour of a piece of paper to take notes. After all, if he wanted to be a brave warrior of the sea, he should know how different kinds of warriors acted.

Soft whispers moved through the division as they got into position, spreading like a wave. Chaka glared out at his men. "And what's so funny? I said form up!"

The sounds immediately died down. Still, one soldier at the front of the pack had the gall to raise his hand- although at least he waited to speak until his commanding officer had acknowledged him. "Sir, I think we were all just wondering… What's with the new paint job? Not that the colours aren't gorgeous- they are- but… Was painting the training ground really necessary? And who did it? It wasn't like this Yesterday morning- I'd know, my squad was on cleaning duty." The young soldier sounded… nervous, like the sight of the paints meant something to him. Usopp frowned. Did that mean-?

Jackal-like eyes bored into the soldier's soul. "Yes, the paints were absolutely necessary. And soon you'll see why. Your highness?"

Vivi stepped to the front of the box where all the soldiers could see her. "Are there any among you who are in the employ, willing or otherwise, of Baroque Works? If there are, raise your hands at once!"

A number of soldiers- including the one who'd questioned Chaka- raised their hands dumbly as the turquoise paint did its work. The green kept them from reacting as their fellows tied them up and put them off to one side- not that they did so with any rapidity, as the Calming Green was affecting them too. Lisa woke up for a few minutes, rubbing her eyes blearily as she examined the first results of her work.

"I should really develop a way to keep my paint from affecting friends," the little girl mumbled before going back to sleep. Ghin chuckled and rubbed her back.

Once the traitors had been subdued and were no longer a threat, the division below actually did pursue standard training drills- if in a much more laid-back manner than they usually would have, due to the paint. Which meant that this would take a lot longer than outing the traitors in the rebel army would have, but… They couldn't afford for Baroque Works agents in other divisions to get suspicious, which they would if drills were repeatedly cut short.

Vivi sighed as she and the pirates watched the men move with perfect precision below. "One division down… The rest of the army to go."

Yes, this was going to take a while. And it certainly wasn't particularly glorious work. Part of Usopp wished he'd been on Team Turtle, heading off across the desert to infiltrate the casino and fight Crocodile; then he remembered that might entail actually fighting Crocodile, which made him start shaking just thinking about it. No, most of him was quite happy here with the boring, monotonous tasks that gave him plenty of time to study military strategy and tinker with his ammo. He'd wait for opponents a little closer to his level before he insisted on being part of the combat team.

X

Like in canon, Toto gave us a small container of water from the Yuba oasis, as thanks for helping him dig it up. He and Wilson saw us off with a cheery wave as we headed out into the desert. As soon as my crew mates and I turned our faces to the horizon, though, I heard the old man begin muttering grumpily to his rock. "Come on Wilson, let's see if we have any tarps left. Need to cover up the oasis so it doesn't get buried again by the next damn sandstorm to come along."

Wilson, of course, said nothing.

For some time I was lost in thought as we walked, going over the intricacies of Dugong Fu in my head and comparing them to the simple brutality of the technique Zoro had shown me. The mobile, rapid-strike style of the dugongs came much easier to me than the power-based Mutoryu: Tatsumaki- well, except for the spinning part. I was good at spinning. Ah, well, that just meant I needed more strength training to be able to use the technique properly.

So absorbed was I in my martial arts considerations, I nearly walked into Nami when the sailing master stopped to check something on the map. Only a bark from Doya alerted me to the fact that there was something in front of me. Rotating on the ball of one foot and swinging to the side, I overbalanced and fell on my ass as I tried to avoid stumbling and squishing Chopper. Neither of my furry passengers was too happy with the rough ride; the reindeer shot me a tired, reproachful look while the dugong barked loudly and swatted me on the head.

"Eheheheh… Sorry guys." I levered myself back to my feet- but not before Ruatha had time to jump from the sand up to my head, bringing my passenger count to three. Which was… getting kinda heavy, but they were all little, so it wasn't too bad. Thank the gods kung-fu dugongs were less than a fifth the size of their earthly counterparts.

Nami spared a glance at me and giggled. I frowned. "What's so funny?"

"Sorry Jones, it's just…" The sailing master covered her mouth and quickly brought herself under control. "You really need to see how funny you look right now. A reindeer in your arms, a dugong on your back, a dragon on your head like some sort of demented angel… You look like some sort of weird Christmas tree."

Okay, putting aside that a world where Christianity never developed would use the word Christmas- not forever, mind; someday I would find the answers to these questions- I shook my head. "Nah, I'd need more decorations for that. And don't anyone take that as a suggestion- I have enough for now."

Luffy looked mildly disappointed by my words, but quickly decided he'd rather ride on Ace's shoulders anyway. And of course, Ace let him. For all he was an aggressive hothead, he was such a softie. Once Nami had finished checking whatever it was on her map, we kept walking.

Which, like the day before had been, was boring. The desert was so monotonous, and so hot… And then there was the sand- coarse, rough, irritating, and it got everywhere. And I mean everywhere. I swear I even had sand in my underpants, and under my bandages despite the care Chopper took when checking my wounds. Once this campaign was over, I never wanted to see another desert in my life. Luckily, I was pretty sure there weren't any more along our route.

Hopefully I didn't just jinx myself.

Let's see… I needed something to do while we walked, anything. Being bored was no good. Aha! Not sure if it would work, but it was worth a shot. Drifting to the side, I positioned myself by Sabo. It took a few minutes for me to get his attention- the Revolutionary was busy smiling at his brothers, which in turn made Ace turn red with embarrassment. Once Sabo did finally notice me, though, I put on my best Sensei, I have questions and you will want to answer them face. Although… It rarely actually worked on black belts, so why I expected it to do anything to Sabo, I hadn't a clue.

"Hey, um, Sabo, would you be willing to teach the crew about Haki? I know you won't be with us long, so I don't expect to get very far, but just a bit? Please? Just to get us started?"

Blue eyes glanced down at me, considering. And, well… Suddenly, I realized this was the closest I'd ever been to Sabo, at least while he was awake. Mostly because it was the first time I got a good look at the eye on the burned side of his face- still functional, but perpetually a little bloodshot, and the iris was a greyer shade of blue than on his good eye. He probably had some vision loss, even if it wasn't much.

"Well," Sabo hummed, "You're nowhere near the New World, so I doubt you'll need it anytime soon. Although I suppose we could strike a deal- tell me how you know all the things you do, and I'll give the crew Haki lessons."

Tabarnak. Of course he would ask that; I should've expected it. But… I couldn't let the butterflies totally loose yet. I hung my head, almost causing Ruatha to tumble off as he clung desperately to my hat and hair. "Sorry… I can't. Not yet. There's… a thing that needs to happen, and some of the things I've done might've already changed it; I can't take any more risks with it until we're there, until it's done. There are… There are some things I can tell you, people who are smuggling and slaving, where changes to their lives wouldn't hurt my plan, but… Jaya. I can tell you everything after the crew leaves Jaya."

Sabo stared at me hard. "What's so special about Jaya?"

"There's…" How much could I tell him? I had to tell him something. Sighing heavily, I gave up. There was really only one way to do this. "There's a man on Jaya that Ace and I are both after. Or there's supposed to be- I've already changed things, he might be somewhere else, looking for… for me." Here I felt the blood drain from my face, because… Osti d'épais de marde, if I'd set Whitebeard's entire crew on edge with my ad, that meant Blackbeard knew about me! Tabarnak! "For White Lion, because of what I know. He's… He's a very bad man. Willing to kill his own crew mates, start wars, release murderers from the deepest depths of Impel Down- yes, I mean Floor Six- all in order to… to become king of the pirates. Not to mention how he'll hurt Ace and Luffy personally." Ultimate ASL distraction- the brother card. Hopefully it would work.

Blue eyes flashed briefly red. "Tell me more about this man," Sabo ordered. And this time, there was something in his voice I couldn't disobey. Moreso even than the Sensei voice, or Ghin's mom voice, or Luffy's orders as captain. I don't think it was Haki… My traitor mouth was open before I even noticed.

"His name's Marshall D Teach, also known as Blackbeard. For decades, he served under Whitebeard as a member of his crew, but recently attacked and seriously injured a crew mate in order to gain a particular Devil Fruit. Teach has gathered a crew of his own and is currently either searching for me or trying to find a way to get the World Government to accept him into the ranks of the Shichibukai, which will be much easier once we inevitably kick Crocodile's ass." I froze, my mouth snapping shut with a frown. "Hey- how'd you do that?!"

"Do what?" Sabo's eyes danced with mirth. I glared.

"You made me answer a question you thought I might dance around! I couldn't stop myself!"

"Oh, that." Sabo shrugged. "Something I picked up from a friend- everyone has a specific tone of voice they respond to on instinct. It's different for each person, and it can be resisted pretty easily if you're prepared, but on someone who's not expecting it… Figuring yours out was actually a bit of a challenge, more than most people I meet. Though," Here Sabo chuckled ruefully, "Whether I can actually make my voice hit the right notes is another matter. And no, it's not something I could teach you. Some of your crew mates, maybe, but with what's left of your voice, I doubt you'd be able to hit many people's tones at all."

"Bene Gesserit witchcraft," I muttered good-naturedly. Sabo grinned.

"Shishishishishi! Like you have any right to talk about witchcraft!"

"Fair enough." Wait… I was a witch… in a desert… Did that make me a sandwich?

…

I know, I know, that pun was bad and I should feel bad. Shaking my head, I returned to the matter at hand. "Anywho, we're getting off track. So… Haki lessons? Please? It'll make it a lot easier for us to deal with Blackbeard if the crew has some idea how to use it; Ace and Luffy are less likely to be hurt, killed, or captured."

Sabo's face, voice… Everything went cold. Even standing almost a meter away, I could feel it. "Jones… I know you well enough that I know you wouldn't threaten my brothers, but in the future, please try to refrain from making it sound like you are."

"Sorry…" I cringed. Ruatha, indignant at Sabo's words, chirped up on my behalf.

"Terag reym!" My little dragon snapped at Sabo. The Revolutionary froze him with a glare and a word.

"Enough." Wow, that was a pretty good approximation of my voice. Cowed, Ruatha curled up on my hat with a mournful chirp. Sabo smiled, the aura of coldness seeping away. He was still frowning though, concern and anger boiling below a tight lid. "So… I take it you have plans to fight this Blackbeard on Jaya? And that's why you don't want to tell me too much- you're worried that if too much changes from your… visions, or whatever, he won't be there."

"Exactly." I stared at the sand as my feet crunched over it. "I- between my knowledge and Ace's strength, I know we can do it. But the rest of the crew will probably want to be involved too, which means a fight. I'm sure we can win, with what I have planned, but… Blackbeard is powerful. More powerful than he ever let on to Whitebeard's crew, and now he has the Dark-Dark Fruit… If it turns into a firefight, people will be hurt. Knowing how to use a bit of Haki can lessen that."

Sighing, Sabo took off his hat and ran a hand through his hair. Replacing his hat, he shot me a smile that somehow meant blood and death- but in a good way. "I'll try. No promises- Haki can take years to learn effectively. But hey, maybe if you at least learn a little theory, it'll help."

"Thank you!" I beamed so brightly I wouldn't have been surprised if I spontaneously mutated and developed bioluminescent eyes like everyone else had. But I didn't. Stupid DNA… That actually would've been cool. Sabo nodded absently.

"Yeah… Just gimme a few minutes, alright? Gotta remember how Dragon described things when I was starting out… Go bug Ace or something 'til I'm ready." The Revolutionary was soon lost in thought.

"Okay!" Quite honestly, I was so high on the thought of learning Haki right then, I felt like a little kid. A little kid who just ate a bag of chocolate covered espresso beans. With ice cream. Was this what Luffy felt like all the time, high on adventure? I had no idea, but I loved it. Anyway, point is, I wasn't thinking clearly and quite gleefully took off to do as Sabo had said, even though he hadn't been using the Voice at the time.

"Hey Ace! Sabo said to bug you!" I skipped through the sand, kicking up little waves of it that hit Sanji in the back. The cook scowled at me, but otherwise didn't really react. Which was too bad… Maybe I should throw pinecones at him instead? But there were no pinecones here…

Stupid desert.

"We're bugging Ace?" Luffy perked up from where he was flopped on his brother's back. "Cool! What're we doing? I wanna bug Ace too!"

"Aaaaaand this is when you get to walk by yourself." Dumping Luffy unceremoniously on the sand, Ace started walking faster in the hopes that he could get between Zoro and Sanji and prevent us catching him. Silly Ace… There's no escape.

"Aww, come on! You're supposed to be my little brother now- captain's orders!" I continued skipping, thoughtful. "Hmm… Wait, if you're our brother, does that mean Whitebeard's our dad? But that means Dragon would be everyone's dad too, cuz of Sabo… Do I have three dads now?"

For me, who was always closest to my father, this was a very important question. Luffy seemed to like it too, as he bounced alongside me. His face turned red from the effort of thinking about it. Meanwhile Ace was very studiously trying- and failing- to ignore us. His efforts weren't helped by the rest of our crew mates.

"I've never had a father," Nami mused, "Although I suppose Genzo was pretty close. No… I think he counts. Guess that gives me three fathers too."

Zoro shrugged. "Two for me, as far as I know. Same for Johnny, I think, but Yosaku's got another one wandering around somewhere. And Ghin prob'ly only has two too. Usopp…"

"His dad's alive," I confirmed. "He has three. Don't know about Lisa though…"

"Doctor Hiriluk was my father," Chopper put in. "But he's gone now… Are Dragon and Whitebeard good fathers?"

Sanji looked like he was about to be ill. For a moment, my hyperness died down; I shifted Chopper to one arm so I could reach out and brush the cook's hand. "You have three fathers," I decided for him, "Dragon, Whitebeard, and Zeff."

The cook shot me a grateful look. With him thus reassured, I returned to being high on the idea of learning Haki far too soon in the story. Finally, one shenanigan I'm not complaining about, other me! Ace groaned as I resumed skipping at his side. "So, little brother, wanna call Pops and tell him he just got… Three new daughters, eight- no, nine, Sabo- new sons, and a new family pet?"

"Are you drunk?" Ace demanded with another groan. I shook my head.

"Nope! Just excited! Sabo's gonna teach us Haki; it's gonna be fun!"

Ace's face suddenly lost all colour, going a pale sort of bluish white in between his freckles. That was kind of alarming; I was pretty sure you couldn't think- or live, really- with no blood in your head. "I- You- Sabo's teaching a crew that includes Luffy about Haki. I- No. That's a bad idea. Like, end of the world bad. Lu's nowhere near responsible enough to use that kind of power."

"Well, too bad, cause Sabo said he'd teach us. Or, well, Busoshoku and Kenbunshoku at least; I don't think he can teach Haoshoku. Which leaves that one up to you, Acey, since Luffy kinda needs to learn." I grinned… not evilly, more like chaotic neutrally, at the expression that took over Ace's face.

"Of course he has it too…" Ace buried his face in his hands. "I really should be surprised, but I'm not. Not at all."

This was off topic. I frowned. "Not the point right now. Are you gonna call Pops or not?"

"Can't," Ace reminded me. "Forgot my den-den mushi."

"You can borrow mine." Fishing around in my utility belt with my free hand, I pulled out Samsung and offered it to Ace. Or… More like shoved it into his hands. Stunned, the freckled pirate looked like he was about to start dialing on reflex when he suddenly went- if possible- even paler.

"Shit! Marco!" Ace began rapidly dialing a number, different than the one he'd been reflexively going for. "Dammit, he's gonna kill me for forgetting to bring a snail!"

And what did Luffy get from that? "Marco? The chicken guy? Oh, so he's like your Ghin, right?"

Ace ignored his brother's inquiry, beginning to speak as soon as someone picked up the snail line. "Hi Marco! Look, I'm sorry I forgot a snail if you've been trying to call me- to be fair, I barely waited for Pops to give the order before I left, and it's a miracle I packed enough clean underwear. But I'm safe in Alabasta, so you don't need to worry!"

Samsung stared up at him in a perfect impersonation of Marco's unamused, slightly sleepy expression. "You're so lucky I can't be there right now, yoi. You deserve a good smacking. So, have you given any thought to what you'll do about White Lion when they show up? Remember, Pops said he wanted them captured alive."

"Eheh…" Ace shot a guilty look at my shoulders. "Um, about that… Turns out White Lion isn't working with Teach. Actually… She says she wants him dead just as much as we do. And she didn't capture Lu; she's on his crew. He finally set out."

Marco took that news in stride like the New World veteran he was. "Oh. Some sort of Devil Fruit that lets her see the future?"

"Not exactly, but trust me, she's not lying about the things she knows… And she's loyal to my brother, so we don't have to worry about that. I'm… I'm actually staying with Lu's crew for a bit; Jones- er, that's White Lion's real name- knows some stuff about Teach." Ace cleared his throat. "So… How're things on your end?"

"Not good, yoi," Marco growled. "We lost his trail around Newfin Island. Haruta's asking the locals if they've seen anything, and Namur's scouting the seabed for signs, but no luck yet."

…

WHAT?!

Waste of water though it was, I opened my canteen and took a sip for the sole purpose of spitting it out, because what? Marco, Haruta, and Namur were… searching for Teach? That was the only conclusion my brain could come to. Ace wasn't chasing vengeance on his own. And then… "Wait- Ace, did you say you were coming after Teach on orders from Whitebeard? He didn't try to stop you?"

"Well, as you obviously know, I would've come either way, but… yeah." Ace shrugged. "Sent me to Alabasta to intercept you for information- since he knew I would've come here anyways to make sure Lu was alright- while Marco, Haruta, and Namur went to track Blackbeard himself."

Samsung projected Marco's frown. "Ace, who's that, yoi?"

"That's White Lion."

I waved, even though I knew Marco couldn't see me through the snails. "Hi Marco! Name's Jones, witch of the Straw Hat pirates- and thanks to shenanigans, your new little sister." I looked up at Ace. "You really need to call Pops next and tell him. I'm sure he'll be delighted."

"Is she always this insane, yoi?" Marco sounded drily amused. Ace groaned.

"Not that I know her that well, but I don't think so. Or at least, not in this direction. She's just excited right now. Um… Remember the other brother I told you about- Sabo? The one I said had died? Turns out he's alive, and he's promised Lu's crew Haki lessons. Apparently."

Marco fell silent for a moment, digesting this. Then, right before he could begin talking again, Luffy bounded over and plucked Samsung from Ace's hand. "Hi! You're Ace's chicken guy, right?"

It was funny- even from a single twitch of a mollusc eye, I could perfectly imagine the expression Marco must be making just then. "I see why Shanks liked this one, yoi," the phoenix muttered. Luckily Luffy didn't hear that, otherwise he'd have gone on a tangent demanding to know everything Marco knew about Shanks. As it was, instead we got…

"I won't ask you to join my crew, cause I've already got a giant chicken. His name's Ghin- so cool, always ready for everything! - and I bet he's a much better chicken than you! He has to be, cause he's on my crew and I'm gonna be king of the pirates, so my crew mates are always the best at what they do!"

Samsung blinked slowly; even from however far away we were, I could feel the delicate ping of Marco's brain breaking. And then… "No way! Whitebeard will be king of the pirates! Maybe in a hundred years a rookie brat like you could challenge him, yoi, but I doubt it!"

"Yeah? Well, just watch me! With your face!" Luffy handed the snail back to Ace, who was staring at him, shell-shocked. And yes, that pun was intended. My captain looked inordinately pleased with himself. Me? I facepalmed.

"Captain, someone needs to teach you how to properly insult somebody."

Zoro chuckled and ruffled Luffy's hair, taking pity on Ace and pulling the captain away so the freckled pirate could finish his snail call. Ace smiled gratefully… Until he realized he still had to deal with me. Grey eyes flicked towards Sanji, hoping the cook would save him. The cook considered this for a moment, then nodded and grabbed my shoulder. "Come on Jones, leave the shitty fireball alone to finish his call."

"Okay…" I nodded, causing Ruatha to rock back and forth. The dragon squawked and flared his wings, digging his claws into my hat. For the next… I don't know how many minutes, I skipped along beside Sanji, whistling a butchered version of Beethoven's Fifth.

Eventually, Ace tapped me on the shoulder and handed Samsung back. "Here; thanks. And no, I didn't call Pops. Now's not the time."

Nodding again, I tucked my snail into my belt. We could always give Whitebeard the good news later, when we gave him the news about Blackbeard. Ace continued, his voice low. "I told Marco that you can lead us to Blackbeard- he said he'd check with Haruta and Namur, but that they'll probably want in on whatever you're planning. Whitebeard business, after all. He's our problem."

Oh, that could be useful. Recalculating… I smiled up at Ace, my brain already working on revisions in my plan, taking a group of Whitebeards into account. Of course, that was assuming Blackbeard was still in Jaya… I really hoped he was. A brief frown and shake of his head let me know that Ace found something about my smile disturbing.

A few minutes later, Sabo stepped to the front of the pack and began walking backwards in front of the rest of Team Turtle. "Alright, I've got it. Lesson time."

Luffy perked up, leaping onto Zoro's shoulders to get a better look at his brother. "Like when we were little? You're not gonna make me read big books again, are you?"

"No Lu." Sabo smiled. "This is gonna be something that'll help you and your crew fight, eventually. But yeah, at first, there's gonna be a lot of talking. So for those of you who can actually do it legibly, you might wanna right this down."

Before Sabo even finished saying it, I was pulling a small notebook out of my utility belt, along with one of my many, many pens. Nami and Sanji shot meaningful glances my way. Grinning, I pulled out more notebooks and pens and handed them over. When I offered some to Zoro and Luffy though, the pair made faces at me.

"Nu-uh. Writing's boring," Luffy huffed and stuck out his tongue. "And Zoro's writing looks like chicken footprints."

"Oi!" Zoro dumped Luffy in the sand- although really, everyone knew the captain was telling the truth. Pouting, the captain got up and began trudging along beside the bosun.

"Stingy!"

Sabo shot an indulgent look at his brother before shaking his head and clearing his throat. "Okay, let's get started. And Lu, please try to pay attention- this could help you a lot. So, Haki… What we're going to be learning is basically weaponized willpower. There are two main varieties that we'll be trying to practice. The first is called Kenbunshoku Haki, the power of observation. It can be used to locate people, to sense their strength and emotions, and to determine what people are about to do."

Even Luffy and Zoro perked up at that. Well, to be fair, predicting the future and immunity to sneak attacks were bloody awesome powers. Useful too. Nami, Sanji, and I began writing like mad as Sabo spoke. Although I was slightly disappointed that he didn't pull a Snape introduction to the lessons.

"Now, a lot of teachers will start by blindfolding you and attacking you with a stick, hitting you until you can sense them coming. I don't have a stick, but I do have a pipe, so we can do that if you like." Sabo grinned. "Or we can try meditation if you like- some people prefer that method, even if it makes for slower learning."

Zoro smirked, quirking an eyebrow. "What about if we want to do both?"

"That's up to you," the Revolutionary informed him. "It might help you progress faster, or it might not. Good luck getting Lu to meditate though."

Doya pulled himself up higher on my shoulder to better listen to Sabo as the Revolutionary went on describing training techniques. "The hardest part of learning Kenbunshoku Haki, for me at least, was figuring out these instructions: expect what is unexpected; see what is unseeable. It's something you have to work out for yourself though; it won't help you awaken Haki if someone gives you the answer. The only tip I can give you on that one is not to become paranoid while pursuing it…"

X

The Rain Dinners casino was… impressive was putting it mildly. A towering pyramid of gold and green casting its shadow over a small but bustling town. Atop the great building was a massive, shining statue of a chubby bananagator, grinning down at everyone in line of sight. The glare of the sun glaring off the statue combined with my glasses created lens flares like you'd see in a JJ Abrams movie- although I was the only one to see them. And really, they didn't fit well with the tone and image of coming over a rise to see a great, imposing building in Egyptian style; lens flares were more a sci-fi thing. They'd look great if I could recreate them somewhere else, maybe when we eventually met Vegapunk or Germa 66.

"So…" Sanji lit a cigarette and took a long drag. "What're we doing here and how do we do it?"

"We're here to kick Crocodile's ass, duh!" Luffy pumped a fist in the air. "That'll keep him from hurting Vivi's country any more!"

"Well, he'll be easy enough to find, at least." Sanji blew a smoke ring that perfectly encircled the golden bananagator from our perspective. "Not exactly a subtle man, is he?"

"Rich men don't need to be subtle." Wait… Was Nami drooling a little? She was. Zoro shook his head.

"Turning into a real burglar now? I thought you only stole from pirates."

"If he's one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, he's a pirate," Nami pointed out. "And if he runs a casino, he's gotta be loaded. I don't suppose we have time to raid his safe while kicking his ass?"

"Actually… That might make a good distraction." My head was spinning from listening to Sabo's Haki lectures all morning. I shook it to clear my thoughts. "Crocodile is deep inside, in a place full of traps that's hard to find. And there's Baroque Works agents, guards, all through the casino and the town. If we split up, divide their focus…"

Everyone glanced at each other. "Is it really a good idea to split up before fighting a shitty warlord?" Sanji asked after a moment, deciding to be the voice of reason. Zoro shrugged.

"Luffy'll insist on fighting him alone even if we're all there," the bosun pointed out. "And if this gives us more money for supplies…"

"We do run shorter than I'd like," Sanji grumbled.

Nami smiled. "So, we're agreed then? Luffy can go ahead and fight Crocodile, and I can loot his casino for all it's worth! I bet there's a tonne of gold and jewels to be found!" Her eyes turned into beri signs.

Nodding, Luffy grinned. "Sounds good to me! So who's going where?"

"I'll go with Nami," I volunteered. Fighting Crocodile didn't sound fun to me, nor did potentially ending up locked in a seastone cage should things go wrong. Which reminded me… "When you fight Crocodile, his weakness is water. It makes him stick together, turns him to mud."

Luffy opened his mouth, then closed it. "Not future information, so I can't be mad. Jones is too smart… Meh, I guess it's fine." My captain pouted. It kind of looked like he was planning on giving me a Fist of Love anyway, just because he could. Oh, he was going to love it when he learned Busoshoku Haki.

"I'm going with Luffy," Zoro said flatly. No one argued with him; he was much better suited to a combat mission than to a heist. Same with Ace; no one said anything on that account, but I think it was just assumed that the freckled pirate would go with his little brother.

Sabo hummed thoughtfully. "We should have a team on the outside too, in case we need a quick getaway or a secondary distraction."

"Are you volunteering?" Nami asked sweetly. The Revolutionary shook his head.

"Of course not. Crocodile has connections to the World Government; I'm going with you and Jones. While you're robbing him blind, I can raid his office for anything Dragon might be able to use."

"So that leaves me and Sanji outside," Chopper observed. Doya barked at him, leaving the doctor red with chagrin. "Oh, yes, and Doya of course. I can't believe I forgot."

"Rawp." The dugong climbed down off my back and sat in the sand. Chopper jumped free of my arm to join him. Neither animal looked to be enjoying the hot, dry air. I offered them my canteen; Doya motioned for Chopper to drink first, which the little reindeer did, though still leaving plenty for the dugong.

I put Ruatha down too. "You stay with Choppy. Walking in with a dragon on my head is the antithesis of stealth."

"Vopaaz…" My little dragonet pouted and hung his head. I patted him and preened his wings until he perked up.

When we started walking again, Ruatha climbed up on Sanji's shoulder. The cook frowned. "Hey, get down and walk yourself, shitty dragon. That's uncomfortable."

Drooping once more, my baby dropped back to the ground. He still kept close to Sanji, though, as we entered the town of Rainbase. Chopper and Doya followed the cook closely too; the whole party of them split off from the rest of us and positioned themselves in a city park. As we approached Rain Dinners itself, the rest of us split up as well. Ace, Luffy, and Zoro went ahead, wandering in without so much as a plan beyond "find Crocodile and kick his ass." Meanwhile, Nami led Sabo and I in a circuit around the casino as she squinted and seemed to measure something.

"Eleven windows on a side, meter and a half wide, meter in between…" The sailing master smiled and nodded to herself. "Alright, let's see what it looks like inside. That'll tell me where the safe is."

Actually entering the casino was… massively intimidating. I'd never been to one before, and there were so many people, so close… And then all the ringing, beeping, chiming of gambling machines, their mechanical noises loud and clear over the roar and shift of dozens of conversations going on at once. Not to mention the flashing lights of the slot machines and the visual den-den surveillance system. I instinctively moved closer to Nami, clutching at my necklace with one hand. The sailing master shot me an odd look, then shook her head. Reaching out, Nami grabbed my hand.

"Get ahold of yourself Jones," she whispered.

I growled. "Not panicking this time." Pulling my hand free, I stepped away. And… While the noise and the people did bother me, I was less afraid than I would have been, say, back in Loguetown.

Once again, Nami began leading Sabo and I in a circuit around the casino, muttering to herself. Measuring. She appeared to be making a map of the building in her head, comparing the inner dimensions to the outer… looking for secret rooms! She was making sure the measurements, the number of windows, everything added up. That was awesome… I opened my mouth to say so, only to be interrupted by Nami's sigh.

"Nothing on this floor… We'll need to go up. I guess it makes sense; any major safe would be in his office."

Sabo nodded. "The same with what I'd want. So… Where is Crocodile's office?"

"No idea." And I couldn't remember where the room with the kairoseki cage was either. All I could be pretty sure of was that they weren't the same room. Nami shook her head and smirked.

"Oh, that won't be hard to figure out. Let's just find a guard; after that… I'll show you." Of course, it looked like she thought she needed to show us how to find guards too. The sailing master marched to the back of the game room, where an ornate spiral staircase rose up between two bathrooms. A pair of guards stood at the base, one man and one woman. One of the unknown pairs of frontier agents, maybe? I had no way to tell.

Before we entered the guards' line of sight, Nami stopped and began fiddling with her clothes. "These robes are great for travelling, but pathetic if you have to seduce a guard. I don't suppose you have some sewing scissors in all those pockets of yours, do you Jones?"

"Yeah…" I pulled them out and handed them over. "But we don't have time to do any sewing."

"Don't need to sew; just remove a few things." Nami quickly snipped and tied, turning her travel robes into something more like the dancer's costume that hadn't been bought for her. Oops. Although… I eyed her new look with concern as she quickly tied her hair up into an elegantly mussed topknot.

"We still have to travel after, you know. You'll get burned."

"No I won't. Ace is made of fire; he doesn't actually need his robes. I can borrow those."

That was… Not a point I could argue with. Shrugging, I kept my mouth shut as Nami handed me back my scissors. The sailing master pasted a sultry smile on her face and wandered out from the aisle in which we were hiding, walking up to the guards with an exaggerated sway in her step. And she was leaning forwards slightly too… Oh. I facepalmed when I understood what she was doing. A quick motion to Sabo indicated for him to go around to the side; if we split and formed a pincer, we could come at the guards from behind some potted plants before they could do anything to Nami. Hopefully before they had time to call any reinforcements too. Luckily, the Revolutionary got my message.

"Hi!" Nami said brightly as I crept around behind a potted fern. Her voice was pitched higher than usual, and unusually sweet. She swayed and twisted slightly as she addressed the guards, a motion that looked both nervously innocent and slightly seductive. "Could you two tell me where Sir Crocodile's office is? He asked me to meet him there for some fun."

The female guard snorted in derision. "Really? You expected us to fall for that? The man upstairs never brings in female company."

"Not true," her partner said, shaking his head. "That woman in purple's in and out all the time- you know, the one with the cowboy hat?"

Nodding, the female guard folded her arms. "I stand corrected. That said, you heard the man. Sir Crocodile's pretty exclusive, and you're not his type. Too short, and he likes brunettes. And your clothes are a bit ratty too. Best go find someone else to fangirl ov- grk!"

That last sound was the noise she made when my arm snaked around her neck in a choke hold, Sabo mirroring my actions on her male counterpart. Long, bright red fingernails scrabbled at my arm; I ignored them. The scratches they raised weren't painful, nor did they bleed. I held the woman until she stopped struggling, unconscious, before propping her up on the fern's flowerpot. Across from me, Sabo did the same with the man. We were careful not to let them drop and make any suspicious noises, but even so, I was surprised that none of the casino's patrons seemed to notice our actions. One of the surveillance den-den was pointed our way though; it might've seen.

Nami made a face as the three of us headed up the stairs. "I never thought I'd have to pull that kind of act again. Although… At least with you two here, they didn't get a chance to start getting handsy."

"Had some unpleasant marks, have you?" Sabo asked. Nami nodded; the Revolutionary winced sympathetically. "Sorry about that. Never happened to me, but I've heard lots about them from Koala growing up."

"It's alright," Nami told him absently as we got to the second floor. She immediately started examining the nearest door- unlike the main floor, the second was made of hallways and rooms instead of a big gaming hall. "None of them ever got too far."

The first few rooms we checked were just storage closets and a washroom- nothing of value. But the fourth room as locked. Not that it stayed locked for very long. Immediately upon finding that the knob wouldn't turn, the sailing master pulled out her lock picks and got to work. She mumbled as she did, tongue sticking out in concentration. "Five tumblers… Springs all have the same tension though, a little loose… Used to be good quality, but it's been used so much that the metal's fatigued."

Tension… Tension was a force, and if locks worked by springs… If it was similar to the lock picking mechanic in Oblivion… Oh, I had some ideas now. The lock popped open after a minute under Nami's deft ministrations. Inside was a large, severe office- the only furnishings were a couple of plain, sturdy chairs, a bookshelf, and a heavy desk, all made of dark wood. On the shelf were a number of beautifully bound books. They all had pretty boring titles though- The Economic History of Alabasta, A Beginner's Guide to the Kingdoms of the World, The Complete Guide to Inter-Island Law, and How to Navigate the Courts of the Dragons, to name a few.

I immediately went for the desk, while Sabo examined the bookshelf and Nami measured the room. Most of the drawers were just full of office supplies… But one of them was locked. Rather than immediately call for Nami, I decided to try my idea- although I knew going in that it probably wasn't going to work. I was trying to play with a force I'd never manipulated before, after all. Placing a finger on the lock, I tried to imagine how it worked, where the springs were… And then to compress them all at once. "Hooke's Law."

There was a soft click… And then the front of the drawer exploded in my face. I blinked, my ears ringing as I thanked my glasses for protecting my eyes from flying splinters. Nami and Sabo paused in their own examinations to stare at me; the sailing master commenced the slowest of slow claps. "Congratulations Jones- now, what exactly were you trying to do?"

"Use my powers to pick the lock." Maybe if I practiced with something I could see first, got the hang of things… Well, the drawer was open now, even if it was about as subtle as a Michael Bay movie. I peered through the broken wood. Something was… moving at the back of the drawer, quivering. Grabbing what was left of the front, I pulled it open.

Cowering at the back, terrified by my explosion, were three den-den mushi. One was a regular adult with a good quality rig attached to its brown and tan shell. The others were slightly smaller- and much more valuable. One black and one white. At first I was surprised, but… it made sense. Crocodile was the head of a secretive organization, so eavesdropping and preventing his own calls from being eavesdropped on were probably necessary. Certainly very useful. And with his money and his connection to the government, he was one of the people most likely to have access to rare den-den outside of the marines.

I picked the snails up, cooing comfortingly. "It's okay little slimies. I'm not gonna hurt you. Sorry for blowing the front off your home."

None of them reacted as I patted them, nor as I picked them up. Poor things… Samsung usually wiggled around at least; often, if I took him out on the ship, he tried to squirm free and steal veggies. To not be acting like that, these three must be so scared… I wondered if it was just from what I'd done, or if Crocodile had been mean to them. Hard to say; not sure if he's the type to do anything to animals or not.

Nami huffed as she finished her measurements. "Well, there's definitely some sort of secret room behind this wall." She tapped lightly on the concrete. "We're missing about two meters in between here and the closet- the one with all the paper. The question is… How do we get in?"

"Ooh, secret doors. Sounds fun." I patted the brown and tan snail that was currently cowering on my left shoulder. The white snail perched on my right shoulder, while the little black one stuck to my wrist. Not that I should leave them there for very long- if I had to fight, they might get hurt. One by one, I herded the den-den mushi into my pockets.

Nodding, Nami began tapping and feeling the wall to see if the secret door was there. Sabo, meanwhile, hummed as he flipped through Crocodile's books. "Interesting… Not just a secret door, but secret codes too. This Crocodile's a suspicious fellow. It's not a code I know, though; I'll have to take them back to base for analysis."

"Probably has something to do with Baroque Works," I informed him absently. "Won't be very useful to the Revolution."

"Even so, I think I'll take them. He might've written down something pertaining to the government and his position as one of the Seven Warlords." So saying, the Revolutionary began pocketing most of Crocodile's books.

And yes, I was ignoring the whole bottomless pockets thing for the moment. Mine seemed to be doing it too now… But I couldn't figure out how to examine and test such things. Yet.

Nami shook her head at us. "Between Jones' lock picking and your raiding the whole library, this is about the least subtle burglary I've ever been a part of."

"Is subtlety really all that important?" I wondered. "I mean… Luffy, Zoro, and Ace are planning to outright fight Crocodile, and we're technically supposed to be a distraction for any guards. It's not like no one's gonna know we're here." I waved at the office's surveillance den-den as I spoke. If only I could take some of those for use in my plans… But I didn't know how to disconnect them from the system. Oh well, some other time.

"Oh, right." Nami shook her head, smiling ruefully. "Sorry; I got carried away. This reminded me of the old days, stealing from pirates… Although more fun, without having to worry about home, and with people to watch my back. Well, in that case… Forget looking for a secret door. Jones, get your butt over here!"

"Okay. Where do you want the rest of me?" My cheeky question earned me a groan and a ball of wadded-up fabric tossed at my head- the scraps from Nami altering her outfit. Grinning, I joined the sailing master at the wall. "Sorry… I can't help it; I love puns."

Nami frowned in confusion. "You didn't used to."

"Love puns? No, I always have. I'm just finally getting comfortable enough to joke around."

That actually made her freeze for a moment, smiling softly. Only a moment though; Nami quickly shook herself and came back to reality. "If we're abandoning subtlety, that means you can just blow the wall in, right? But try not to damage whatever's on the other side. You do not want to know what I'll do to you if there's money in there and you manage to blow it up."

Her sudden scowl made chills run up my spine. I nodded and placed my hand on the wall. Let's see… Couldn't tell how thick it was, so I didn't know how much force I needed. That could make things difficult. But maybe if I combined a focus break with my powers, that would keep them from exploding too much? It was worth a shot. Resting my fingers on the wall, I took a deep breath to center myself before snapping my palm out, channeling a brief burst of force through it on impact. "Force Break!"

Concrete crumbled beneath my hand, sending up a small cloud of dust that set Nami and I to coughing. Note to self- in the future, pull bandanna up before breaking walls. A few seconds later, when I could see again, the first thing I noticed was the door half a meter to my right- or what was left of it, at any rate. Wood that had been painted to perfectly match the surrounding concrete, now splintered and broken from the shockwave I'd produced. Nami, meanwhile, was looking in a different direction. The sailing master let out a soft squeal of delight as she rushed past me into the secret room we'd uncovered.

"Jones, I think this is the start of a wonderful partnership! Your powers may not be subtle, but they sure are useful!" Nami's eyes were shining beri symbols as she gathered up coins and bills. I shook my head and went in to help- mostly because I knew Nami would change her tone in a heartbeat if I left any of the loot behind. Sabo watched us with a wry smirk.

"Aren't you forgetting something Jones?" the Revolutionary asked teasingly. "After all, just a few minutes ago, you were insisting that we were supposed to be some sort of distraction, so the others could get to Crocodile without being intercepted. I still don't hear any alarms or see any guards; we haven't distracted anyone."

"Yeah, I know, just a minute." What was the point in having a surveillance den-den system if it seemed like no one was even watching it? Idiots. Exiting the money stash, I picked up a spring from the lock I'd blown up earlier and toyed with it absently as I looked around. Let's see, what could I break that would make a lot of noise… Windows? The staircase? No, if I went for that one, the guards we were supposed to be distracting might not be able to get at us. Or… Were there even that many guards to worry about? I didn't remember seeing many in canon, and no one had come after us yet… No. There had to be guards. I just hadn't created an explosion big enough to draw their attention. Well, maybe someone would notice if I took out a supporting wall and part of the third floor caved in.

Finding a wall of structural importance was relatively easy. I smashed my fists together a few times to build up a fresh charge before pulling back into hikite. "Cover your ears," I warned my companions, "This might get loud."

And it did- but not because of me. Right before my fist made contact with the wall, something erupted from the base of the building with a sound like a bomb going off. Glass and concrete flew everywhere; the people on the main floor began screaming and rushing out of the casino like a herd of panicked gazelles. Not that being outside was safe. As well as the initial shrapnel of the blast, the air was filled with swirling sand and fire, high winds and bits of molten glass. Two voices- one that howled like a windstorm, one that crackled like flame- growled incomprehensibly at each other. Far below, a sopping Zoro and Luffy emerged from the hole made by the initial explosion.

Dumbfounded, I stared at the swirling vortex of sand and fire that was rising beside the casino. I- Just- Nothing was computing. All plans had just gone sideways in the most colossal fashion. I couldn't even… The only thing I could think to do was point at the massive inferno while making a noise of strangled noise of… impressed, confused disbelief. Combined with just a hint of a whine as I found myself developing a bit of an inferiority complex. My elbow actually cracked with the force of my gesture.

"And how in the Nine Hells am I supposed to be more distracting than that?!"

X

Sanji lit a cigarette with a huff. He was bored… And why had he agreed to let his darling Nami go in with only Sabo and Jones to protect her? He didn't know what the shithead in the top hat was capable of, and while the little witch was an okay fighter, she should really only be looking after herself. She wasn't good enough to fight while protecting dear Nami if something went wrong. Or right, given that they were apparently supposed to be distracting the guards or something. Shit…

"I don't like this…"

Chopper glanced up at his words, muzzle wrinkling. Rather than ask what he was talking about though, the little reindeer shot the cook a reproachful look. "You know smoking is bad for your lungs, right?"

"Yeah, I know. The old geezer gave me the whole lecture when I started." Sanji blew a smoke ring as the memory flashed through his mind. That day… It had been the first anniversary of getting out. He couldn't stop thinking about them; one of the workers helping them build the Baratie noticed he was down and offered him a cigarette. It would take his mind of the stress, the man said. Zeff had been so mad… He'd kicked the shipwright around for hours before letting him get back to work.

Large brown eyes stared up at the cook. Chopper sighed. "Well, as long as you know…"

"Rawp! Raup!" For some reason, the shitty seal Jones had been carrying around felt like putting his two beri in. Sanji had no idea what it was saying. Chopper did though. The reindeer shook his head with a resigned sigh.

"No, I don't think there's a point right now. This crew's too stubborn; all I can do is treat things as they come and hope they change their minds on their own." The little doctor shrugged. "It could be worse. They seem pretty healthy, all things considered."

"Reepeep raup."

"Firok!" Ruatha screeched. The little dragon- which really wasn't so little anymore- lunged at the dugong. "Ni daar tinvaak do dii monah!"

Sanji grabbed the dragonet and hauled him back before he could bite the dugong. Frustrated, the cook blew a puff of smoke into the reptile's face, setting him coughing. "Just because your mum isn't here doesn't mean you get to misbehave, Shitty Lizard!" The cook gave Ruatha a good shake before setting the dragon down.

Watery blue eyes stared up at him; the dog-sized reptile whined. Unamused, the cook stared back. "No. It's time you started to listen to people besides your mum. You're a pirate; act like it. Otherwise she'll have to leave you behind all the time, and that'd be really shitty."

"Flogah…" Ruatha spat once and climbed up onto Sanji's back, sticking his long, forked tongue out at the shitty seal. The cook shook his head at the weight and the feeling of claws pricking through his clothes, but let it be. Ruatha wasn't hurting anything. His presence was a bit distracting though. Down on the ground, the kung-fu dugong ignored the dragon's taunt and started meditating.

Sanji sighed. Well, if they were meant to be the extraction team, he may as well relax until Jones called for- shit. The cook slammed his palm into his forehead. Chopper looked up at him with concern. "What's wrong?"

"I don't have a shitty den-den; how're they gonna call if they need us?!"

"Tabarnak!" If they hadn't come with the same accent, Sanji would've thought Chopper and Jones were spending too much time together, since the little reindeer used the same shitty curses as the witch. Hmm… Wherever Jones came from must be her world's equivalent of Drum Kingdom; interesting thought. Sanji shook himself back to reality as Chopper turned into Heavy Point with a crunch.

"Oi, what're you doing?"

"They don't have a way to contact us!" The reindeer gestured wildly as he spoke. "What if they've been captured- or hurt?! We have to go in after them!"

"And then who'll get everyone out if we're on the inside, hmm?" Sanji shook his head. "No, we've gotta wait for a bit. Nami dear and Jones are pretty smart, at least; they'll figure out a way to signal us if they need help. I hope."

"But they're together! What if the ones who need help are Luffy, Zoro, and Ace?"

"Nah, those shitheads'll be fine. The shitty captain and the shitty ball of moss can take care of themselves, and the shitty fireball's even tougher."

"I guess…" Settling down, Chopper sat on the ground. He was fidgeting though, still worried. Sanji didn't know how else to reassure him.

Not much happened over the next few minutes. Doya continued to meditate and Chopper fidgeted, eventually starting to recite medical jargon to himself as some sort of coping mechanism. And Sanji learned that it wasn't just Jones' hat Ruatha went after; the dragonet seemed to enjoy chewing on blond hair as well. No matter how many times he slapped the dragon's muzzle, the cook just couldn't get him to stop.

Then a series of shouts went up from a nearby group of pedestrians. "Hey! Are those the pirates Mr Three told us about last night?"

"Huh? Where're you looking? What makes you think that?"

"There's a blond one with a dragon!"

"I told you last night, Miko, there's no such thing as dra- holy shit! That must be them! Get them! For Mr Three!"

"For Baroque Works!"

"For me mum!"

"For spoon!"

"Oh, shut up Terry! We hired you for your fists, not your brains!"

"Spoon!"

In the next instant, the extraction team found themselves being rushed by two dozen energetic, mismatched men, all of them armed. Well, except for one towering fighter with fists the size for turkeys and a spoon dangling from a chain around his neck. Sanji huffed and jumped out of the way as three maces crashed into the ground where he'd just been standing. These low-level Baroque Works agents never learned, did they? Just like at Whiskey Peak…

"Collier Shoot! Épaule! Côtelette! Selle!" Jumping up, Sanji kicked one opponent in the neck. A quick turn as he came down left him in position to bring a foot down hard on the next agent's shoulder. From there, he flipped back onto his hands, kicking a third agent in the ribs before spinning to get a fourth in the lower back. Then he levered himself up, snapping a fast kick at the fifth agent's sternum as he did so. "Poitir- grk!"

The cook's last technique was interrupted by a tail wrapping around his neck in panic. Fuck, how did Jones fight like this?! Sanji jumped sideways and back, out of the way of several painful looking strikes as he tried to peel Ruatha off his shoulders. Preferably without drawing any blood- those claws looked sharp.

"Shitty dragon! What was that for?!"

"Zofaas!" The dragonet squirmed and hissed as Sanji tossed him onto the ground. The cook huffed.

"Look, I don't have time to deal with you. Just stay outta the way and try not to get killed."

Luckily, Sanji wasn't alone, so taking a brief second to yell at the flying reptile didn't get him stabbed. Instead, he looked up to see Chopper smash two agents into each other before delivering a heavy punch to the face of a third. Cartilage crunched as the man's nose broke. "Heavy Gong!"

And despite being on land, the shitty seal didn't seem to be doing too badly either. Doya kept bouncing around, hitting what Sanji knew to be painful pressure points with each jab of his little flippers. The marine mammal was surprisingly mobile for not having legs. Each strike was accompanied by a soft grunt- except the tail kick to the lower back that seemed to end each set. The cries for that were much louder. "Rau-pu!"

"Fus! Roh Dah!" Well shit, the shitty dragon could fight too. Ruatha jumped past Sanji as the cook kneed a Baroque Works agent in the stomach, firing wads of sticky saliva at several men. He got each one in the face; not bad aim. When he landed, the dragonet came down full force on the chest of a small man with a bo staff, grabbing the weapon in his teeth and trying to pull it away. Well then… Sanji huffed, unable to tell why Ruatha had tried to choke him if it wasn't the battle he was scared of.

All in all, their attackers were defeated in short order. As soon as all the Baroque Works agents were unconscious, Chopper popped back into Brain Point, wringing his hooves. "Sorry, sorry… But, you really shouldn't have attacked us, you know?"

"Don't apologize to them," Sanji told the little doctor, "The brought it on themselves."

Chopper sighed. "I know… I'm just… I'm a doctor. When I started training, I took an oath to protect life- I know I didn't do anything permanent, but it still feels… Wrong. But if I'm a pirate, there's times when I have to fight…"

The cook reached out and patted the reindeer's head. "You'll figure it out. Just do whatever feels right; if you don't wanna fight, you don't have to. We'll protect you."

"But I can't-!" Chopper shook his head. "I have to be able to do this myself- I want to be able to protect everyone too. I guess… As long as I never do anything too permanent, that's probably okay… right?" The little reindeer trailed off, deep in thought. Sanji left him to it.

First priority, as far as the cook was concerned, was contacting the groups inside. A quick search informed him that three of the agents had been carrying den-den mushi; Sanji confiscated these for the crew. If they were going to keep splitting up like this, they needed a way to contact the others. Now… What was Jones' snail number again? Something with lots of sevens… The cook huffed as he started punching something in, hoping he'd guessed right.

Before he could finish, though, the side of the casino exploded. Glass and concrete flew through the air; a swirling vortex of sand and fire poured out and began to fill the sky. Screaming people rushed out the doors in a colourful stampede, scrambling every which way. At the base of the explosion, Sanji caught a glimpse of red and green, a flash of silver blades and golden straw. He shook his head and pocketed the snails he'd been fiddling with, tapping Chopper on the shoulder.

"Sorry, but we've got a shitty job to do. You'll have to finish philosophizing later." So saying, Sanji hefted Doya onto his back and ran towards his captain and the shitty ball of moss. Chopper popped into Walk Point and cantered along beside him. Behind them, Ruatha screeched with indignation; claws clicking against concrete and stone indicated that the dragon was following.

The formerly blue sky was quickly turning orange. Somewhere under the roar of wind and crackling flame, Sanji swore he heard voices. They were too quiet to be sure what they were saying though. Still, as the fire and sand began to tear holes in nearby buildings, there was really only one person Sanji could think of who could be responsible- although somehow, he'd never imagined the shitty fireball was quite this powerful. Looking up at the unnatural storm, there was really only one thing the cook could think.

"Well shit."

X

Luffy took the lead as he, Ace, and Zoro ran through the casino. A lot of people in fancy clothes shouted at them as they went past, but he ignored them. Well, except to grin as he ran. This reminded him of dine and dashing with his brothers when they were kids, with all the nobles and rich merchants yelling as they ran through the city. The only way it could be better was if Sabo was with them! But he was off doing sneaky ninja spy stuff with Jones and Nami, so Zoro would have to do instead.

Staring hard at his bosun, Luffy wondered what the swordsman would look like with blond hair and a top hat. Probably very silly.

Three men- a blond, a brunet, and a redhead, all in black suits- stepped in front of him as he raced for the stairs. The brunet cleared his throat and held out a hand. "Halt! You can't go in there! That's for guest onl-!"

"Outta the way! I'm here to kick Crocodile's ass!" Luffy slammed his foot into the brunet's face when the man didn't move. On either side of him, Ace ran down the redhead and Zoro crashed through the blond. The bosun didn't even bother drawing his weapons. As they continued up the stairs, Luffy heard someone shouting for a medic and the backup security.

Somehow- Luffy wasn't exactly sure how, he hadn't been paying attention- he, Ace, and Zoro ended up in a long hallway with no windows somewhere up on the fourth floor. It probably had something to do with quantum mechs. And no sign of Crocodile… It was hard to kick someone's ass when you couldn't find them. Maybe he should've asked Jones for a map? But no, that would've been spoilers.

"Lu, watch where you're going!" Ace's shout brought him out of hit thoughts an instant before he smashed flat into a wall. Peeling himself free, the rubber boy shook his head and looked around. There were two hallways, one going right, one going left. The wall he'd run into had a sign posted on it, a red arrow pointing down the right hall.

"Which way to Crocodile?" Luffy scowled at the hallways. How dare they be so confusing? He needed to kick Crocodile's ass and save Vivi's country! He couldn't do that if he couldn't find Crocodile! Thinking hard, the rubber boy felt his face heat up. Let's see… Jones said Crocodile was smart and this place was full of traps, so the arrow must be a trap. Maybe it was pointing opposite where they needed to go, to keep them from getting to Crocodile! But… Luffy knew he wasn't very smart, and if Crocodile was… Was that the trick? Maybe the arrow was pointing at Crocodile, hoping to make people suspicious and go the wrong way.

…

This thinking thing was hard.

"I bet the arrow's a trap," Zoro pointed out. The swordsman pointed in the opposite direction. "We should go that way- Crocodile probably expects us to follow the arrow and get lost or something."

"Okay! Let's go!" Luffy took off in the direction the arrow was pointing, forcing Ace and Zoro to run after him. The bosun growled something under his breath- it might've been an insult, but Luffy wasn't paying enough attention to tell. Ace, meanwhile, was just confused.

"Hey, Lu, why'd you go this way? Zoro had a point." Oh dear. Poor Ace had been drawn in. Luffy shook his head at his brother's question.

"Nu-uh. Zoro gets lost all the time. If he thinks we need to go that way, it has to be wrong, so we'll go this way instead."

No sooner had he said that, though, than the floor suddenly opened up beneath them. Luffy tumbled head over heels down a long, long shaft made of some sort of blue stone. It was very smooth- and hard too. He couldn't get a grip on it to slow himself down at all. A few seconds later, the rubber boy tumbled into a cage of some sort, his bosun and his oldest brother landing heavily on his back. Above them, a metal hatch clanged shut.

The room outside the cage shone royal blue, an odd, gleaming stone veined with white. Some walls were glass though; Luffy figured that out when he saw an alligator swim past. Aw, it had a little banana growing out of its head; cool! Jones would probably think it was cute and try to ride it. So maybe he better not show her then; alligators were tasty and dangerous. He should just hunt it down and bring it back to the ship dead. Then instead of Jones getting herself eaten trying to ride the gator, they could eat it.

Zoro thumped his captain in the head before standing up. "Idiot! I told you, the arrow was a trap!"

"But Zoro always goes the wrong way," Luffy pouted. "How was I s'posed to know you'd be right for once?"

"You little-!" Zoro glared bright red, his hands twitching like he was thinking about strangling someone. Luffy waved his bosun off, bouncing to his feet with a smile.

"Maa, besides, it's fine. We're just in a cage; we can break out." Zoro's frown at that meant the bosun thought Luffy had forgotten what happened when he got trapped in a cage in Orange Town. Silly Zoro… Luffy would never forget that. It was an important part of how they met Nami! Besides, this cage was completely different. It was big, so he could move around, get lots of leverage to bend the bars. Grabbing two of the bars, Luffy prepared to pull them apart- and then promptly felt all his strength drain from him as if he'd fallen into the ocean. Releasing the bars, the rubber boy slid to the floor with a groan.

"Ergh… Who made a cage out of ocean?"

"It's called seastone," Ace said. Luffy's brother was perched on a bench on one side of the cage, the only furniture to be seen. "Or kairoseki, depending where you are. Hell, I've even heard sea-prism stone and cherry stone. Whatever. I guess this early in Paradise, it's not something you'd see very often. Mostly it's the marines who have it; getting it on the black market's expensive."

Shaking his head, Zoro felt the bars. "So… this stuff's a magic rock that keeps you and Luffy from using your powers? Guess it's up to me then." The bosun drew his swords, clamping Wado Ichimonji between his teeth. "Oni Giri!"

There was a tremendous clang and scrape of metal; Luffy pulled his hat down over his ears. That hurt! When he released his headgear and looked up, though, there was- nothing. No change. Zoro hadn't been able to cut the seastone. The swordsman glared at the cage bars, as if they'd personally offended him.

"Shoulda waited for me to finish," Ace drawled from the bench. Zoro turned to glare at him.

"I thought you were."

"Nope." Hopping down, Ace strode over to the swordsman, stopping just short of the bars Zoro had been trying to cut. "Now, seastone is as hard as diamond, so it's really hard to cut. Smashing's a bit easier, since most hard stuff's kinda brittle, but I don't think either of you have a good club or anything here."

One of Zoro's eyes twitched. "Wait… You're saying I could've broken it with a blunt weapon?"

"Maybe." Ace shrugged. "I've seen people do it. Me personally? I prefer a different way of dealing with it. Doesn't work on handcuffs- at least, not if I'm wearing 'em- but for something like this, where I don't have to touch the stuff… Hang on. It's about to get hot in here."

Luffy automatically scrambled for the opposite side of the cage. Ace hadn't warned him of things very often when they were little, so if he was giving them a heads-up, this was gonna be bad. Or good, depending how you looked at it. Zoro hesitated for a moment before following his captain.

Ace took a step back, away from the bars, and held out his arm. "Heat Haze!" A steady stream of fire poured out of his hand. For a minute, nothing happened. Then, slowly, the seastone began to glow.

Red, orange, yellow- white. Soon it was shining too bright to look at. Luffy tried anyway, squinting at the burning metal in front of his brother. Molten bits dripped to the floor, each landing with an echoing plop and hiss. The bars themselves were deforming, slowly bending and drooping and pulling apart, making an oddly shaped, blazing hole. Luffy felt his eyes begin to shine. So cool! Ace had such an awesome Devil Fruit!

It took about half an hour for Ace to melt a hole big enough for them to walk through. At last, though, it was done. The freckled pirate led the way through, grinning. "Watch your step Lu. The melted bits'll be hot for a while still."

Nodding, Luffy followed his brother through, being very careful not to touch anything. Or to let anything touch his hat. Zoro brought up the rear. The three were just about to head out and resume their search when the door they were heading for creaked open. In stepped a tall man with a stitched face- and a hook for a hand! So cool! - and the woman who'd appeared on the Going Merry after they left Whiskey Peak. Luffy frowned at the sight of her. She was… she was one of the Baroque Works guys, working for Crocodile, but at the same time…

At the same time, when she'd appeared on their ship, Jones had acted like she was a friend. Not completely- there had still been an element of threat, and the strange woman had touched his hat- but something about the way they talked seemed easier. Jones had smiled, had joked, had made this woman laugh- and this was when his witch was just starting to open up, still dark with anxiety. So… What was so important about this woman that Jones would laugh with her, even while being threatened? Important enough that it had been like-

Like watching Jones interact with other members of the crew.

This strange tall woman who wore cowboy hats and purple, she was one of his. That was the only explanation. Luffy was torn between pouting and elation, unable to decide whether he was happy to be getting another friend, upset with Jones for accidentally spilling future things, proud of himself for figuring it out, or upset that his future crew mate was hurting Vivi's country. Shrugging, the rubber boy put that thought aside for now. He could figure it out later, once he'd kicked Crocodile's ass. The woman said she didn't like destroying countries, after all, and there was something else she was trying to do instead. Maybe that would help him figure things out.

Besides, the man with the hook hand was more important right now, staring down at them like they were bugs. Something about his face really annoyed Luffy. Or maybe it was the obnoxiously orange sweater vest. Seriously, that thing was brighter than Ace's hat! Luffy sighed and wondered if he'd been spending too much time with Lisa. He'd never noticed ugly colours before.

"Well… You brats think you can escape, do you?" The hook man lit an impressively large cigar. Luffy sneezed at the smell; it was far worse than Sanji's cigarettes. Still…

"Think? Dummy. We already did. Are you blind?" Luffy pointed back at the hole Ace had melted in the cage. Maybe the hook man couldn't see it from that far away?

A soft snap. The hook man had bitten through his cigar. Okay, guess he didn't like being called dummy. Or he was sensitive about his vision problems. Luffy really couldn't tell. "You brats," the man's voice was dangerously low, "have no idea what you're getting into. Who are you and why are you invading my casino?"

"We're here to save Alabasta and kick Crocodile's ass," Luffy informed the scarred man. "Do you know where he is?"

Eye twitch. Someone was getting annoyed. "I am Crocodile."

The purple woman- Miss All Sunday, that's what she called herself last time- chuckled. It wasn't a real laugh though, Luffy could tell. Apparently Crocodile couldn't though, since he immediately rounded on her with a glare.

"What's so funny, Miss All Sunday?"

"Oh, their ignorance simply amuses me," she replied smoothly.

"Well, their ignorance will be their downfall. Worthless rookies." Turning back, Crocodile suddenly paused, eyes narrowing. "Wait… You're not all rookies, are you? Those tattoos, that hat… Fire Fist Ace. You're one of Whitebeard's brats."

"Yeah, so? What of it?"

A cruel grin spread across Crocodile's face; he removed the fur-collared coat that had been hanging off his shoulders, tossing it to the ground. "Just wondering… How do you think that worthless old man will react if I send him the head of one of his pathetic sons?"

Ace's face quickly turned dark, his hat casting a threatening shadow over his eyes. "What did you call Pops?"

"Whitebeard? I said he's a worthless old man. Stupid too. Prioritizing family above all else when he's in a position to easily gain so much power and wealth… I think I'll send him a little heads up that I'm coming, courtesy of you, before I go take his head. It's been years… This time he won't get so lucky." Sand began to swirl around Crocodile's healthy arm. Or rather, his arm seemed to be dissolving into sand. Cool. He must have a Devil Fruit.

Pat. Ace began to walk slowly towards Crocodile, one hand on the knife at his hip. His footsteps echoed off blue stone. "Never." Pat. "Insult." Pat. "Pops." Pat. "In front." Pat. "Of me."

Crocodile smiled. "Oh really? And how's a worthless brat like yourself going to stop me?"

Rather than answering with words, Ace turned into a column of flame. Flying at Crocodile, Luffy's brother let out a battle cry. "Fire Fist!" A huge hand-shaped fire shot out of the main column, punching out at Crocodile before Ace crashed into the older pirate.

Wind swirled around, firing drops of superheated sand everywhere as Crocodile used his powers to whip the majority of Ace's flames away. Turning back into human form, Ace skidded across the floor with a growl. Crocodile sneered. "Too predictable. All the old man's dogs always act the same- can't deal with it when someone insults their master."

"Father," Ace hissed. He lunged at Crocodile again- just as the older pirate turned into a swirling vortex of sand.

"Kuhahahahaha! Maybe I should take you all out at once," Crocodile laughed. Miss All Sunday stepped back, closing the door behind her. The lock clicked shut. "It'll be three times faster, and I'm on a schedule. Countries don't take over themselves, you know."

Crocodile's hook flew out of the swirling cloud of sand- at Zoro. The swordsman barely managed to block. Swinging his blades through the sand in retaliation netted no result, however. Luffy glowered and charged in as Ace lit up again. No one touched his family! "Gum-Gum Pistol!"

Sand blew apart around his fist, flowing back together as his punch snapped back. Crocodile snorted at him, barely deigned to look at him. Luffy growled; just because he wasn't as old as Ace didn't mean he could be ignored! But Crocodile didn't bother to fight the rubber captain. Instead, the sand pirate flung the storm of his powers primarily at Ace, leaving only a bare minimum of sand to sting Luffy and Zoro.

A bare minimum of sand- and the flying hook it was connected to.

Said hook swiped at Luffy's head, the golden metal flashing green with the reflection of blue stone. There was a tremendous clang as Zoro darted in to block the flying weapon. Using his bosun as a springboard, Luffy launched himself into the air and kicked the hook down, slamming it into the floor. Seconds later, though, the hook rose again, a stream of sand controlling it like a puppet. A quick flick sent the tip of the hook stabbing into Luffy's side, accompanied by a burning pain. The rubber captain hissed, falling to his knees for a moment.

Before he could regain his feet, the room heated up like an oven. Formerly blue light was overtaken by orange. This time Ace didn't turn into a column of fire- he was an outright fireball, a raging inferno as he rushed into the sandstorm that was Crocodile. "First you insult Pops, now you're hurting Lu? YOU'RE DEAD!"

Luffy actually had to cover his eyes for a moment, the fire got so bright. And there were little flecks of some bright gold liquid- melted sand. Just after closing his eyes, Luffy heard a loud noise, like shattering stone and concrete. Wind swirled past, hot and howling. Then the light and heat moved away, allowing Luffy to open his eyes again.

Zoro offered him a hand, but Luffy shook his head. Wincing, the rubber captain forced himself to his feet; the hole in his side didn't appreciate the motion. His bosun pulled out some bandages with a shake of his head, wrapping the wound quickly as the pair made their way to the hole that had appeared in one of the walls. "Looks like your brother's gonna take your fight."

"Yeah…" Luffy frowned. "He's really mad… Haven't seen him like this since we thought Sabo died."

Emerging from the hole in the wall, Luffy and Zoro stared up at the blazing storm forming overhead. Orange, red, and gold lit up the afternoon sky. In other parts of town, people were screaming at the sight, and Luffy didn't blame them. Molten glass was starting to fall down like rain as winds rose high enough to rip the leaves off nearby palm trees- or at least, those leaves that weren't already being incinerated. And if it got too much bigger, it would cover the city. The firestorm already overshadowed- overlit? - most of the casino.

For the first time in a long, long time, Luffy was a little afraid of his brother.

Sanji, Chopper, and Ruatha came running up from a nearby city park, Doya hanging off the cook's back. Skidding to a halt beside Luffy, Sanji stared up at the inferno. "Shit! What happened?!"

"Crocodile insulted Ace's captain, then Luffy got hurt," Zoro told the newcomers. "The fireball didn't take it well and stole the fight."

"Shit." Sanji squinted up at the firestorm. "Rubber brain, your brother has issues. And I thought what he did to Jones was bad."

Luffy really couldn't argue with that. Ace did have issues. A few drops of falling molten sand splattered along Luffy's arm, making him wince. The inferno was growing larger. Under the wind and the crackle of flames, Luffy heard Ace snarling something in Spanish. It was too muddled for him to pick out though.

A small explosion sounded from the casino, a couple floors up. Sabo and Jones dropped down a moment later, Nami clinging to Sabo's back. While Sabo landed lightly, trying to minimize shock to his passenger, Luffy's witch came down with a thunderous noise, her bent knees and her powers absorbing just enough force to keep her from hurting herself while her fist thudded into the ground. Despite the shell-shocked expression she wore, Jones snorted with laughter and flashed a quick grin at something off to one side as she stood. "Heh. Superhero landing."

Sabo looked up at the flying inferno and shook his head. "Ace's gotten even worse since I left home, hasn't he? Well, we need to get this to stop before it spreads to the rest of the city. Ideas? Wait- Lu, didn't you say you wanted to kick Crocodile's ass?"

Luffy nodded without taking his eyes off the burning spectacle above. "Yeah, but Ace got him first. Crocodile said something bad about his captain. Then he flipped."

"So you're saying he won't settle down if you remind him you have dibs?"

"Yep." The rubber boy frowned. "Or… nope? Sabo's making my head hurt- ask clearly!"

"I don't think Ace'll stand down," Zoro clarified. "But you're right; we need to stop this sandstorm. Nami? You're the one who knows weather."

The sailing master nodded mutely. Her eyes were closed as she rubbed her temples. "I'm thinking, I'm thinking! What we need is a lot of water though, and we're in the middle of a desert. Ouch!" Nami's eyes flew open; she flicked a drop of molten sand off her hand and blew on the resulting burn.

Beside her, Jones grinned. "I think I have just the thing. Zoro, that hole you guys came out of leads to a room where some of the walls and stuff are aquariums that're full of bananagators, right?"

"Yeah…"

A mad grin crossed Jones' face, showing a few too many teeth. "Well, there you have it Nami. We've got loads of water."

X

When Crocodile called him pathetic, Ace had barely batted an eye. When the Warlord had repeatedly badmouthed Pops, the freckled pirate felt his blood heat up as his vision took on a tint of red. When Crocodile's hook stabbed Luffy, Ace lost it completely, because that was his little brother you bastard! Red turned to white; the freckled pirate could barely see as he threw himself at the man who had hurt his brother. Not that there was anything for him to hit, really. The other logia turned to sand right before impact, becoming a swirling storm that tried to cut through Ace's defenses.

If Ace had been thinking, he would've used Busoshoku Haki to grab hold of Crocodile and keep him from dispersing. But Ace wasn't very good at thinking when he was angry.

As Crocodile's elemental form expanded, Ace allowed his own to do the same. No way was he letting the Warlord get past him to stab Luffy again! He'd promised Sabo he'd look after their little brother… Their treasure. Just because Sabo was alive didn't change that.

"Stay away from my little brother!"

A semi-solid leg snaked through the haze of heat and sand, aiming for Ace's ribs- or at least, where they would've been had he remained solid. But he didn't; he was living fire, burning all that came within his reach. Hotter, hotter… Ace let his anger take over, fueling his flames, guiding them towards their target. He didn't bother naming his techniques the way he usually would have. This wasn't a technique.

Besides, Ace was too busy cursing Crocodile under his breath to name his attacks. "Que te folle un pez, lamecharcos!"

"Only hotheads and fools waste their breath yelling insults in the middle of a fight." Crocodile's voice came from somewhere behind him. Ace spun in the air, sending out a fresh wave of flames.

"Hijo de las mil putas! Te doy una hostia que tuvisto de torero!"

The swirling winds of Crocodile's sandstorm made striking the other logia difficult. His flames kept getting forced upward and around. But a sand logia could only control sand, not the wind itself, so if Ace could take away the sand… He heated up more, until the sand began to melt and fuse, making it harder for Crocodile to control it. The shards of glass thus created were oddly beautiful- and many of them were very sharp.

"Heh. You've got quite the foul mouth on you." This time Crocodile's voice came from below. Ace shot a column of fire downwards, but hit nothing. The older logia had already moved.

A blast of sand raked across Ace's face- the part of himself he had to keep somewhat tangible in order to look for his opponent. The freckled pirate coughed and spat. The sandblasting didn't hurt much, but it left blood dripping from his cheek and forehead from where patches of skin had been blasted away. It got in his eyes and made vision difficult. Breathing was also hard; Ace kept inhaling sand that abraded the inside of his nose. Soon that was bleeding too.

"You're too inexperienced to fight me, brat."

Once again, a semi-solid leg emerged from the swirl of sand and flame, this time aimed at Ace's head. The freckled pirate countered by solidifying his arm, blocking the kick. Before he could heat up enough to fuse Crocodile's leg, though, the sand logia had scattered to the wind again. Ace growled. "Vete a freír espárragos!"

No response. Instead, sand swirled around Ace's head, trying to abrade his eyes. The freckled pirate was forced to go completely intangible to avoid being blinded. He spun around as he did so, sending out a wave of fire in all directions in an attempt to hit Crocodile. Nothing came of it though- no grunts of pain, no feeling of having hit something. Ace growled and spun again, sending out wave after wave of flames.

X

"This is a bad idea," I informed Nami as Sanji jumped down into the bananagator room. The sailing master scowled at me.

"Do you have a better one?"

"No. I just feel the need to point out that any plan which requires me to perform large-scale manipulation of a force I've never even tried controlling before is a bad idea. What if I can't do it?"

"You can. And it's not like you have to do it alone," Nami reminded me, spinning her Clima-Tact. "I just… I can't do something that big on my own. Not when I'm not even used to using this thing yet."

"Okay…" I sighed and started focusing on the air around me, praying to Perkunas, warlord of storms and the sky, that this would work. Inspirational music, go! Pressure! Pushing down on me! Pressing down on you! No man asked for! Under pressure that brings a building down! Splits a family in two! Puts people on streets!

And no, as far as I knew, we didn't have a plan B.

Zoro stepped into position beside the hole in the wall. His bandanna was tied on tight; all three swords were drawn. He nodded sharply. "Ready whenever you are, Shit Cook."

"Yeah, yeah, keep your shirt on Shitty Mossball," Sanji shouted back, "I'm almost there!"

Chopper fidgeted nervously off to one side. "Um… Nami, what can I do? I wanna help too."

"Um…" The sailing master thought for a moment before shaking her head. "There's nothing left here, so maybe… You and Ruatha head out and warn everyone in case this doesn't work. Make sure there's no one on the streets, that everyone's inside- preferably in a basement, if they have one. Or get them out of town if you can. Actually, even if this does work, that might be a good idea."

Nodding, Chopper popped into Walk Point and took off, cantering through the streets. My dragon followed shortly after, squawking and screeching the whole way. Well, at least people would run away from the demented reptile. Hopefully to safety. After a moment, Doya bounced off as well, flopping along on his flippers to check a nearby park. Luffy stared after them, considering whether or not it would be more fun to run off and join the evacuation effort, but he couldn't. He had to stick around to finish off Crocodile once the rest of the plan had gone off.

Smash. Smash. SMASH! Three kicks sounded in quick succession from Crocodile's basement. They were followed by the rush of water, by scrambling footsteps and snapping jaws as Sanji rushed out and the bananagators realized they had a new room to explore. As soon as the cook climbed out the hole in the wall, Nami began firing off Cool Balls, one after the other. The air temperature dropped noticeably. Then…

"Zoro! Jones! NOW!"

"Tatsumaki!" Zoro immediately started spinning, creating a miniature tornado that sucked water up from Crocodile's basement and fired it into the air. Nami's Cool Balls helped it to spread, forming a low cloud beneath the inferno that was Ace fighting Crocodile. There was just one more thing we needed.

My head began to ache as I focused on the air. Pressure… Come on, we needed a drop in air pressure. But how? I could feel the air, feel the nearly negligible pressure, but could I really absorb that? The answer, after a few moments of trying, was yes. Once I got hold of the feeling, it was actually easier to absorb than friction- and it went fast. Fast enough that despite the negligible pressure and the fact that I wasn't trying to absorb all of it- the last thing I wanted was to accidentally stick myself in a vacuum- I was nauseous in seconds. And dizzy too, horribly so. Invisible arms wrapped around me from behind, steadying me.

I really needed to figure out what those were, where they came from. Not now though.

More wind whipped up as the air pressure plummeted around me, drawing in the edges of the blazing inferno, slowing its spread- as well as bringing it down into Nami and Zoro's vortex of water and cloud. Which was… Uncomfortable. As the heat and swirling sand fell towards us, I started to feel like I had when Ace had tackled me, all fire and light and burning on my back. I curled up into a ball on reflex, protecting my face.

And then it stopped.

I uncurled, glancing up- and then immediately had to lean over and puke. Which at least reminded me to stop absorbing pressure before I exploded. When I could actually straighten and look around properly, I saw… mud. All the sand around us had been turned to mud, clinging and sticking to all the buildings. Crocodile and Ace stood in the center of the splatter, both soaked and stooped. They were sopping, clothes clinging to them like glue and hair in their eyes as they spat out gobs of mud.

Ace seemed to recover first, lunging for Crocodile. He stumbled after a couple of steps, slipping in the mud and falling when he realized the water had put out all his fire. The freckled pirate snapped his wrist a few times, staring at his hand in confusion as it didn't burst into flames.

"Kuhahahahahaha! I told you you'd never-!" Crocodile froze when his sand powers failed to answer his call. It didn't take him long to regain his composure though, quickly switching to lashing out at Ace with his hook. Before he could strike the freckled pirate though, a rubber fist slammed into the back of Crocodile's head, hard enough to make the Warlord stumble.

"Gum-Gum Pistol!"

Spinning to face Luffy, Crocodile swung a kick at my captain, apparently deciding that with Ace's fire neutralized, Luffy was the next biggest threat. This turned out to be a poor decision, as it lead to the Shichibukai immediately taking a pipe to the small of his back. He hadn't paid any attention to Sabo. The Revolutionary grinned.

"I know you said you wanted to kick this guy's ass, Lu, but I think it's better if we do this together. Just like old times." Sabo's grin broadened. "He is, after all, a clever and relatively powerful pirate. Surely he'll stop playing around now that he knows we're not all aggressive hotheads like Ace."

"Oi!" The aforementioned hothead let out an indignant yelp. He wasn't able to counter the statement though, even if I could see how much he would've loved to argue.

"Kuhahahahahaha!" Crocodile started laughing. "You children… The lot of you are still a hundred years too early to beat me. And once I've taken the damage you did to my casino out of your hides, I'll go find that princess friend of yours. She's in Alubarna, isn't she? Trying to warn her father, trying to stop the war peacefully… She won't succeed any more than you will. Don't think you can win just because you found my weakness."

Well, at least he knew better than to try and hide it.

Sabo jabbed sharply with his pipe, forcing Crocodile to take a step back. Aside from that, though, the Revolutionary wasn't yet paying much attention to the Warlord. Blue eyes were focused on an orange hat. "Ace, have you regained your senses, or are you sitting this one out?"

"Oh, I'm still in." The freckled pirate drew his knife, eyes glowing with a dangerous light. "After all, he hurt Lu and insulted Pops. It wouldn't be right for me to sit this one out."

"What about your powers?" Luffy asked with concern. Ace grinned.

"What, these?" For a moment, nothing happened. Then I saw steam rise off Ace as if he were boiling, his skin drying in an instant before flames sprang to life on his arms. "That soaker may've knocked me down, but it's not salt water. Can't keep me out for long."

"Just don't dry off the battlefield too much," I called as a warning. "If you do, he'll be able to turn into sand again."

One of Zoro's hands thudded down on top of my head. "Jones, just let them work. No back-seat fighting."

"Hai. Sorry."

Even without being able to turn into sand, Crocodile was a tough fighter. It was to be expected of someone who'd been to the New World and challenged Whitebeard. Actually… Knowing that, I half expected him to pull out Haki now that he was surrounded and unable to turn into sand. But he didn't. What he did do was pull the golden cap off his hook, revealing the perforated steel beneath that held poison.

Clang. Steel met steel as Crocodile tried to impale Sabo only to be blocked by a pipe. The Shichibukai growled and spun in with a kick, only to meet Luffy shin to shin as my captain stepped in. Side by side, Luffy and Sabo let loose a flurry of rapid punches and pipe strikes. Crocodile blocked every one. Meanwhile Ace, against his usual demeanor, snuck up on the Warlord from behind, his knife out. He seemed to be falling automatically back into the pattern of hunting with his brothers, as if Crocodile was an actual crocodile back on Dawn Island.

For a moment it looked like Ace was about to catch the Shichibukai off guard, but Crocodile spun at the last moment, catching the knife that had been aimed at his shoulder with his hook. A sweeping kick as he spun knocked Luffy back; the Warlord grabbed Sabo's pipe as it came down towards his head. That speed… From his reaction time, I'd say Crocodile had Kenbunshoku Haki at least, even if he didn't seem to be using Busoshoku.

"Is that all you've got?" Crocodile tossed Ace and Sabo back. They flipped once as they flew, landing on their feet nearly in sync.

"Of course not," Ace smirked, the flames on his arms rising higher. "We're just getting warmed up! Fire Fist!"

A flaming hand shot towards Crocodile as I giggled over that last pun. The Warlord didn't seem concerned, not even bothering to step aside. Although a moment later, I saw why.

"Gum-Gum Axe!" Crocodile caught the rubber foot that soared down towards his head. And though he couldn't transform, his dehydration abilities still seemed to be at least partially functional. A second later, Luffy was panting, dried and wrinkled like a raisin. Then the Warlord added insult to injury by holding my dehydrated captain between himself and the flames, using Luffy as a human shield.

Flinching, Ace hauled back on his flames at the last second, preventing them from hurting Luffy. Before they dissipated, Crocodile tossed my captain aside in disgust, lunging at Ace and Sabo under the cover of the flickering firelight. Sabo blocked the Warlord's hook with his pipe, twisting around to toss Crocodile to the side. He followed up with a strike to the Shichibukai's head- the Warlord countered this in turn, catching Sabo's pipe with one hand and forcing the Revolutionary backwards.

Panting, Luffy crawled back towards the fight from where he'd been thrown. I was amazed he could move at all with how he looked- dry, wrinkled skin, bloodshot eyes with bags under them, the inside of his mouth dry and pale even from a distance. But he was still determined to fight alongside his brothers… Before Luffy could get back into the thick of things, Sanji tossed him a tiny barrel. The water Toto had given us at Yuba.

"Here ya go, Shitty Rubber! Don't drink too fast or it'll make you sick."

"Thanks Sanji!" Luffy opened the little barrel and drank… not quickly- he did listen to Sanji when it came to food- but yeah, pretty quickly nonetheless.

As Luffy scrambled back into the fight, Sabo tossed him his pipe. The Revolutionary was smirking as he did so. "Lu, catch! You still remember how to use one, right?"

"Yep!" My captain spun the pipe around in what was actually an impressive display of staff work, if clearly self-taught. "But… What about you?"

"It's okay Lu. My clothes are thicker than yours; he'll have a harder time dehydrating me. Make sure he doesn't touch you again, 'kay?" Sabo's smirk twisted into something a little scary as he turned his gaze back on Crocodile. His hands spread in a familiar motion, looking for all the world like the Vulcan Salute- although I doubt he meant for the Warlord to live long and prosper. "And don't worry about me fighting either. I have more weapons than just my pipe; my fingers are like the claws of a dragon. Claws to tear away power from the conceited."

Crocodile snorted. "Insolent boy. You are the one who is conceited here!" He rushed Sabo, poison hook at the ready. The Revolutionary stepped in, still smirking, grabbing the hook before it could pierce his shoulder. His gloved hand turned black with Haki as he gripped steel.

"Dragon's Claw!"

Somehow, the act of shattering his hook sent Crocodile staggering backwards. He regained his balance quickly enough, lunging back to stab Sabo with the broken stump of steel. Before he could make contact, though, he was knocked aside by a spinning pipe, powered by a tightly twisted rubber arm. The ends of the pipe struck Crocodile repeatedly as Luffy's arm unwound; I swear I heard one of the Warlord's ribs break just before my captain's arm snapped back.

"Gum-Gum Buzz Saw!"

When Crocodile rose again, there was nothing left behind his eyes. Just anger. And I could understand why. He was powerful, and confident in his power. But despite his power and confidence, here were a bunch of kids taking him out with little apparent effort. We'd soaked the battlefield, forcing him to remain in tangible form. Sabo and Luffy were attacking from opposite sides, making it difficult to focus on taking one of them down, and on top of that, Sabo had broken his poisoned hook. And while I was fairly certain from the way he moved that Crocodile knew how to use Kenbunshoku Haki, it didn't look like he could use Busoshoku. Overall, he was in a pretty bad way despite his power, and our side wasn't fairing poorly at all.

Eyes red with rage, Crocodile lunged for Luffy. I couldn't tell if this meant he was still thinking clearly at this point or not- on the one hand, he could be attacking Luffy in the hopes of making Sabo panic and slip up, but on the other, he could just be attacking the last person to hit him in a blind rage. Either way, it was a poor plan. Luffy rolled backwards to escape being stabbed by the remnants of Crocodile's hook, jamming Sabo's pipe up into the Warlord's stomach hard enough to fire him into Ace. The freckled pirate grabbed the Shichibukai with both hands to prevent him from escaping.

Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, even while enraged, Crocodile grabbed Ace's shoulder. Nothing happened. After a moment, Ace looked from Crocodile's hand to his face with a bloodthirsty grin. The freckled pirate shook his head at the incredulous look Crocodile shot him. "You can't dehydrate me. I'm fire; there's no water there."

Rather than words, Crocodile responded by jamming the stump of his hook into Ace's chest. This produced a hole that didn't appear to be harmful to the freckled pirate. It was uncomfortable to look at though, an unnatural opening edged with dripping embers rather than blood. I could see part of Ace's lung for a few seconds until the hole closed. Tiny sparks of green fire began to float around Ace and Crocodile.

"You really shoulda thought twice before saying what you did about Pops and attacking my brothers. Fireflies!" The sparks were larger now, each the size of my eyeball and burning such a bright green that I couldn't bear to look at them. "Fiery Doll!"

KRA-PCHOW!

The air around Ace and Crocodile exploded red and orange. I could feel the heat from where I was standing; it was intense enough to make me close my eyes and crouch behind a piece of rubble to try and dodge the heat. When I looked up a few seconds later, the mud around Ace was steaming. The freckled pirate released Crocodile, dropping the concussed Warlord to the ground.

Luffy let out a whoop. "Alright! We kicked Crocodile's ass- Vivi's country's safe! That was fun!"

And easy, I though, but didn't say. Far too easy. Crocodile was supposed to be one of the toughest opponents this side of the Red Line- although we had allies who were from the other side of the Red Line, so maybe that had something to do with it. I frowned, deep in thought. What consequences would this have down the line? Would there be any? I wasn't sure… I couldn't immediately connect anything in the future to Crocodile, but that didn't mean there wasn't anything…

This was giving me a headache.

Nami approached Crocodile cautiously, poking nervously at the unconscious Warlord with her Clima-Tact. When he didn't move, here eyes lit up gold and turned into beri symbols. "Jones, how much is this one worth if we hand him in?"

"Well, Shichibukai technically have their bounties frozen and are allowed by the World Government to pursue a certain amount of criminal activity," I mused. Nami's eyes didn't change shape, but immediately lit up red. She moved as if to grab or hit me, but paused as I continued. "But running an organization like Baroque Works in an attempt to take over one of the twenty founding nations of the government itself? His bounty before it was frozen was eighty-one million beri, and the government might very well double that if we can hand him over alive and with proof."

"Alright… How do we tie up someone who's made of sand?" Nami looked disappointed as she realized one of the greatest difficulties with dealing with a logia. Luffy blinked at her.

"Can't we use some of the stuff from the cage?" the rubber boy asked, puzzled. "If it made me weak when I touched it, it should work on him too, right? It was like a cage made of ocean…"

"It's metal, though," Zoro reminded him. "Or stone or something. Either way, you can't tie someone up with it."

"But we can shove it down his pants or something, right?" Luffy cocked his head to the side. Zoro scowled and tossed a rock at the captain's head. It bounced off with a rubbery thump.

"If I can't cut it, how're we supposed to get a piece small enough for that to work?"

That… I froze at that, mouth open, one finger raised. Because… If Zoro couldn't cut kairoseki, and Nami wasn't with them to pick the lock, and we didn't know where Mr Three was, how did they get out? But for some reason I couldn't get the words out. Not that it mattered- I was over the freezing after a moment, able to slowly turn and look down into the bananagator room, where the twisted, partially melted remains of the seastone cage were serving as a giant chew toy to numerous bananagators, as well as their smaller accelegator cousins. And to my surprise, the largest bananagators seemed to be capable of biting through the bars of the cage. Broken bits of seastone were indeed littered through the water knee-deep water that was left below.

"If someone feels like going down there…" I trailed off hesitantly, unsure whether to volunteer. Largely because while I'd held alligators in the past- family vacation to Florida- they had always been smaller than me. Even the smallest accelegator was the size of a small car; the big bananagators were large enough to put a minivan in their mouths. I wasn't quite sure how to deal with them yet.

"Got it!" Luffy jumped in before I could come up with a plan. One hand held his hat to his head, while the other still clutched Sabo's pipe. As soon as he splashed down in the water, all the fruit-topped reptiles immediately began snaking their way towards him. One of the larger ones licked its lips.

Wait… So alligators had lips in this world? Did that mean- no. No, I'll save that gag for a time when it's actually been earned.

Ace and Sabo looked… panicked when they saw the gators making their way towards Luffy. Or at least, that was the closest emotion I could think of to fit with the expression. There was also a heavy helping of "Oh no, not again" on their faces. Both older brothers ran for the hole in the casino wall. "Lu!"

"Leave me alone! Gum-Gum Alligator Shear!" Luffy swung Sabo's pipe in a great arc, knocking the gators away so he could stoop to pick up some seastone. Which immediately caused him to flop in the water like a deboned fish, groaning. Ace facepalmed.

"Idiot!"

Before he or Sabo could do anything though, Zoro and Sanji had jumped down to join Luffy. The swordsman lifted the captain on his shoulders- pipe, seastone, and all- while the cook warded the gators away. As soon as the trio had returned to street level with the rest of us, Zoro snatched the kairoseki out of Luffy's hand and shoved it into the back of Crocodile's underwear. "Okay Jones, tie him up."

Binding Crocodile took several minutes and most of my remaining tape. I hoped I'd have time to get some more before we left Alabasta- since it didn't look like we were going to be fleeing with marines on our tail, that might actually be possible. Chopper, Ruatha, and Doya appeared during that time. The little doctor saluted as he popped from Walk Point to Brain Point.

"We got everyone inside like you asked!" For a moment, the reindeer looked very proud. Then his face fell and his ears drooped. "Oh… But you're already done here…"

Nami reached out to ruffle his fur. "Just because we finished quickly doesn't mean what you did wasn't important. If it hadn't worked out, anyone still outside could've been seriously hurt."

"Oh. Okay!" Chopper perked up very quickly. Ah, his optimism was adorable.

Ruatha climbed onto my shoulders as I finished taping up Crocodile. My baby licked the Warlord's head, then made a face and spat out a gob of mud. "GYACH! Krastov!"

"Well then, maybe you should learn not to eat things that aren't food." I poked my dragon in the forehead before scratching his mane. Standing up, I looked around at my companions. "So… We've got Croc. I guess we should take him to Alubarna, tell Vivi the good news? Then we can round up his followers while she and her father get hold of Captain Hina so we can hand Baroque Works over to the marines." It would probably be a couple days' walk, but there was no hurry now. We'd taken the Warlord out before he could begin his assault.

It felt weird.

Nodding, Zoro hefted Crocodile's still-unconscious form onto his back. Doya climbed up onto my shoulders, barking to drive Ruatha further, until the dragon was perched on my head. Luffy whistled happily and handed Sabo his pipe back. And then… we were ready. I gazed about suspiciously, sure my writer was about to pull some shenanigan, but there was nothing. No sneak attacks, no Baroque Works agents stumbling upon us while on their way to bring in a report… I didn't even see Robin anywhere. Huh. Okay then.

Come aboard and bring along all your hopes and dreams! Together we will find everything that we're looking for! One Piece!

We'd barely gone two steps wen Samsung began to ring. Luffy grinned and bobbed his head as I dug through my pockets for my den-den mushi- finding it was harder with my three recent acquisitions. "I like Jones' ringtone. It's cool."

"Who is this and how did you get my number?" I demanded when I finally had the correct snail. Samsung rolled its eyes. Ghin's voice emerged.

"Jones, I was there when you bought the damn thing."

"Oh." Well, I guess that meant Sabo wasn't the only person in the world with my snail number. I'd forgotten about that- or assumed Ghin wasn't paying attention at the time. Take your pick. Anyway… "What's up? You've never called me before."

"Never had access to a snail when we were separated before." Oh great. He was calling to check on me. Just like my mother. I opened my mouth to report that Team Turtle was fine, that we were finished out task and starting on our way to Alubarna, but Ghin's next words stopped me dead.

"We need you guys in Alubarna yesterday. The moles are out of both armies, but… About ten minutes ago, half the city started falling apart. People with weird powers running around everywhere, storage facilities and who knows what else blowing up or catching fire… The Royal Army's doing their best to evacuate citizens, but they can't do that and fight at the same ti-!" Ghin was blocked out for a moment by a massive crackle of static. "-e can do to keep them out of the palace." I heard something shatter over the connection; when Ghin spoke again, his voice was filled with rage and panic. "Shit! LISA!"

The line went dead. I was left staring at Samsung, the snail blinking back up at me with a blank look on its face. My fingers were numb; I barely felt anything as I dropped my snail into my utility belt. So, here was the shenanigan. Somehow, despite our having beaten Crocodile in Rainbase, Alubarna was still under assault. Baroque Works was still invading.

Tabarnak.