It's been two days since she left the marine station for Rain Base. She had only stopped for a rest once when it was well into the night and replenished her body with canned meals and a few hours of sleep. Feeling the gush of hot wind sweep against her face as she rode on a Super Spot-Billed Duck, they were supposedly the fastest form of transport available here at Alabasta, Karl let out a long sigh. After a week of pure paperwork and more investigation, she finally had a better grasp on the situation surrounding Alabasta and how Crocodile's role fell into place.

The Shichibukai had relocated to Alabasta almost 16 years ago. It was even longer than what she had initially presumed. He became widely known as the pirate hunting hero and had been well perceived by Alabasta's population until now. A decade ago a criminal organisation; namely the Baroque works, started thriving. At the same time, a civil war emerged after King Cobra was exposed to be using Dance Powder to artificially generate rain. Two years ago, the Princess of Alabasta, Vivi, had disappeared without a trace. And a month before she docked at Alabasta, the previous Captain stationed in the kingdom was reported missing. How exactly did all these seemingly disparate events link together?

The question remained unanswered as the cloaked marine and her companion sped through the desert scope. That was what she was going to find out. She might've strayed a little from her initial assignment, but the Headquarters should've expected it. She wasn't the type to be chained to one place after all. That was if they ever caught wind of her disappearance. She left Lex in her stead again for a reason.

"Purupurupuru. Kacha." The sombre howl of the wind was broken by her Den Den Mushi.

"Hello." Taking out her personal snail, she answered.

"It's me." Her own voice greeted her from the other side. It was Lex. Had something happened?

"Yes, what's wrong?"

"You sure you don't need a hat or anything? You finally got to ditch that mask after such a long time, you don't want a repeat of that again do you?" And just like that, all concern towards her second in command escaped her thoughts.

"Don't you worry. I brought the mask you so kindly picked out for me so I'm prepared." From the week of hearing the same insults, again and again, Karl finally mastered the art of dealing with Lex.

"When did you learn about sarcasm?" Lex sounded amused and the corners of her lips twitched.

"When I was constantly exposed to your nonsense." She shot back and sped up, keeping a firm grip on the reins of her travel guide. The only times she appreciated his presence was on the battlefield or when she needed the painkillers he always kept on him.

"Well did you need me for something?" She asked as the wind whipped against her ears.

"No nothing important. It's just that I remembered why Smoker looked so familiar."

"He looked familiar?" She didn't remember meeting the other captain before.

"Well, you probably don't remember because you're never a step outside the training room but I remember seeing Smoker board our ship pretty often when we were still with Aokiji." Well that was surprising. What business did he have with the lazy admiral?

"Aokiji never introduced him to the rest of us but I think they're pretty close." Wait a minute, this call wasn't only about this news right?

"You're lucky the fight didn't go on. He could be terrifying when he was mad. Once one of the petty officers on Aokiji's ship spilt water over Smoker's uniform. No one knows what happened afterwards but the poor guy ended up developing a phobia of smoke."

"Let me get this right. You called me just to share this piece of useless information about our previous charge and a random captain I got into a fight with the other day." Taking in a deep breath, she asked Lex.

"Well yes. Don't you find it surprising? I mean I don't see anything in common between the two of them. Like how on earth did they become friends?!"

"Kacha." With that confirmed she ended the call. Sure she found the fact surprising but seriously, how bored must he be to be gossiping over two old men's friendship? Shaking her head, Karl wondered if Lex should consider changing careers. Maybe a private investigator suited him more.

By the time familiar arid plains of Nanohana came into view, the sun had almost disappeared behind the horizon. She somehow managed set foot on the port town once again before dusk. She seemed to be attracted to this town profoundly. She's been here how many times now in a span of a few weeks?

It was going to be hard, but she should be able to find a cargo boat that's heading to a port near Rain Base, the two towns facilitated trade regularly after all. If not, then she would settle for some accommodation here for the night before finding one when dawn breaks. Swiftly, Karl dismounted and sent her travelling companion for the past two days back to where it came from.

The sky glowed a murky shade of orange as she trod down the dusty streets towards the harbour. Cargo ships, cargo ships… Eyes scanning through the array of vessels docked, Karl searched for one which looked ready to set sail soon.

She found one, though it was definitely not what she was looking for. Sails unveiled from the mast, anchor almost aweigh. A marine vessel was about to depart. No, no, she shook her head, she wouldn't be working with other marines on this. They weren't even part of her crew. Going to investigate the city which a Shichibukai was staying at indefinitely, when she was given no orders to do so, was not something she wanted to tell her fellow colleagues. Almost all the marines she met were blockheads whose mindsets were as malleable as a rusty blade.

She was about to turn away and look for other vessels when the order of the commanding captain fell into her ears.

"Off to Rain Base." So that's decided. With wind in her steps, she darted to the dock and leapt onboard of the departing marine ship. Well, at least it made things more convenient for her.

"What the hell is this." A familiar gruff voice growled behind her. Oh god, please don't let it be who she thought it was. Lex's earlier call came to mind and she gulped. Perhaps stealing the other captain's Jitte, even if it was only temporarily, wasn't the brightest idea after all.

"I could explain." She turned to face the man behind her and as expected it was Smoker. Why did he have to leave today? Couldn't he have left a day earlier or later. Her bad luck was impeccable at times.

"Who are you." He demanded and eyed her with suspicion. Blinking once, and then again, Karl furrowed her eyebrows. Oh, it seemed that she wasn't as unlucky as she thought initially. She had ditched the mask which covered her face when she met Smoker for the first time and was now currently in civilian clothing. There was nothing to connect her to the presumptuous marine captain who had clashed with the logia user.

"I am… Lex, a private investigator." She wasn't the most creative when it involved imposing as another person and she found it extremely hard to come up with a new identity. Her naming sense was also pretty much non-existent, or else her swords and attacks wouldn't have been nameless. So, deciding to make use of what she thought up earlier, Karl cleared her throat and introduced herself calmly.

"And what does a private investigator want with my ship." Narrowing his eyes, Smoker challenged.

"I come in peace." She raised her hands to show that she did not mean harm and tried to reason with the captain.

"I overheard that you are heading off to Rain Base. The truth is I'm trying to get there as soon as possible myself." She explained slowly and tried to keep it as truthful as possible without exposing herself.

"And why would that be."

"I was… Hired by someone to investigate a certain crime syndicate. They're called Baroque Works, you might've heard of them." For once, she managed to come up with a reasonable lie which clicked with her new identity.

"Why." He dictated, fully expecting her to answer his command.

"…" Why indeed. She couldn't possibly tell him that it was to find out why they were impersonating as marines. That would expose her.

"That is confidential. I do not disclose any of my client's information." Sighing inwardly as she came up with a sound lie, Karl avoided Smoker's interrogating gaze and fixed her eyes on the mast behind him instead.

"And why should I allow you onboard." The question hung in the air as the Karl wrecked up her brain trying to think of a satisfactory answer.

"…I can help you capture any pirates that we ran into along the way?" It was true, whether marines or private investigators, they both capable of capturing pirates.

"Hmph. Tashigi, go confirm his identity. Don't try to pull anything, got it?" He turned heels and left, leaving his silent approval for her stay. Tashigi? A slender framed girl came into view and greeted her enthusiastically. Hm, she looked familiar? Oh yea, she had met her eyes just before she blacked out a week ago. Something about the other girl left an unsettling feeling in her chest, but just before she understood what it was, it disappeared.

"Lex-san was it? Nice to meet you, I'm Tashigi. Please come this way, I would like to know a few things about you." She politely asked and led her to what she assumed was the meeting room. Taking a seat on one of the cushioned chairs as Tashigi handed her a cup of tea, Karl studied the girl in front of her closely. She had dark blue hair, a petite face, and round hazel eyes behind a pair of red glasses. The girl carried a refined-looking sword on her side and appeared well-mannered overall. She was a swordswoman too huh? The girl's steps were too heavy. Her form was good, although a little too conforming to conventions for her liking. Overall, mid-tiered swordsman. Not someone she particularly desired a duel with.

"So I heard that you said you were a private investigator by the name Lex?" The girl cut right to the chase and questioned her with a seriousness which wasn't there before.

"Yes, I am," Karl replied a little stiffly.

"Is there anyone who can verify your identity?"

"Well…" Of course, there wasn't anyone like that. Lex the private investigator was born today after all. But there was someone who would cover for her regardless.

"Yes, there is. His name is Karl. He is a marine Captain who was recently stationed in Alabasta's marine base. Just tell him that I'm Lex the private investigator who is going to investigate a matter at Rain Base." He should know what she was trying to do if he heard that.

"Ohh, Karl-san right. I actually met him a few days ago, although we didn't get to talk. Wait a moment, I will call the marine's line at Alabasta and ask them to transfer me to Karl-san."

"Hello, Karl speaking." A smooth voice rang from the other side. It was weird hearing her own voice come out of a Den-den Mushi which mimicked her appearance as well.

"This is Tashigi. I am calling to confirm the identity of a private investigator who is going to be sailing with us."

"Private investigator huh?" Her own voice questioned from the other side.

"Yes Karl-san, he said that you can confirm his identity. He is called Lex and is going to investigate a matter at Rain Base." Tashigi explained as Karl resisted the temptation to facepalm. Oh, the irony of the situation.

"Hmphn." A muffled sound came from the snail. She could already imagine what Lex was doing right now. That being, clutching on his side as he failed to hold in his laughter.

"Karl-san? Do you not know who Lex is?" Tashigi questioned puzzledly and looked at her in question.

"Please excuse me. I accidentally hit my leg against the table. But yes, Lex was it? He's a private investigator. I know him very well. He may be a little aloof and unpleasant at times but please do take care of him." Karl said with amusement.

"Oh! I hope you're alright! Not at all, Lex-san is a very nice person, I'll make sure he is comfortable during the trip!" Tashigi exclaimed and this time Karl couldn't help but facepalm. Lex too couldn't help but let out a hearty laugh at the situation.

"But can you please describe his appearance to make sure we have the same person?" Tashigi continued,

"Yes of course. Red hair, blue eyes, pale complex, figure on the scrawny side but posture is always upright." Her eyes twitched a little at Lex's description of herself. She wasn't scrawny. She could pummel him single-handedly. And she will when she returned. After some more pleasantries, the call was ended and Tashigi was even friendlier than before.

With her identity verified, Tashigi took her to an unoccupied room and gave her some time and space to settle in. Apparently it used to be a storeroom but they had renovated it into a spare bedchamber recently. Tashigi told her that no one was using it at the moment since it wasn't decided who should move in so she could stay in it during the trip. That worked well for her since she wasn't about to expose her gender yet. If they hadn't offered her the room she would've volunteered to be on the watch and slept on the crow's nest instead. But this was way more comfortable.

The fatigue from travelling continuously for two days straight finally caught up to her as she fell back onto the hammock. Rain Base huh? She wondered what it had in store for her. As she drifted into a deep slumber, she dreamt about a certain blue-haired girl. Her vows and her cold, unmoving body.

Author's Note:

Since it wasn't clear if Smoker arrived at Nanohana on the same day as Luffy or not, I'm just going to assume that he arrived a week before Luffy and ran into Karl. So in this chapter, Smoker met Luffy earlier on during the day and was about to set sail to go after him when he met Karl again – just in case if anyone is confused about the timeline