"Tell me the truth Luffy! No, don't look away."

"I don't know what you mean Sanji, nope, no clue."

Kia listened with only half an ear, as she knew this wouldn't end well. They all knew that Luffy had eaten practically every scrap of food on the ship while they were asleep last night, with Usopp, Karoo, and Chopper helping to finish it off this morning. What Sanji wanted however, was a confession before he kicked Luffy across the ship.

"Please Nami," Sanji called up. Nami, Vivi and Kia looked down at him. "Can't we buy a refrigerator that locks?" Kia smiled a bit, noting Sanji's pink cheeks. No matter what he spoke of, he just loved talking to Nami.

"We may have to," Nami replied. "It seems it could be the difference between life and death at some point."

Kia glanced at Nami. "Couldn't we just install a lock of some sort? Rather than buying an entirely new fridge?"

"Hmm, I think you're on to something there, it would be much cheaper too. But I haven't heard of anything like that before."

"We could just wrap a chain around it and lock it," Vivi added. "Until we find a better solution."

"We shouldn't worry about it now anyway, we don't have food to lock up, and we're almost to Alabasta." Nami dismissed the conversation for now.

Vivi got more and more quiet as time went on, so Kia stuck with her as she wandered the ship. Kia tried to get her to open up, knowing she would feel better if she talked about it. They talked about a few things, though she never went into detail. Kia tried bringing up the rebels, anything to start her talking, but she remained silently stewing.

The pair stayed up on the balcony by the kitchen, not speaking, but enjoying each others' company all the same. They supported each other as the ship sailed through a patch of steam rising from underwater hot spots, listening to Nami explain about how new islands were formed with magma. And they stayed silently observing as Zoro helped fish a man dressed as a ballerina out of the ocean, who was found on Karoo as they exited the steam. No one knew where he had come from, but he fell in the water and said he couldn't swim, so Luffy wanted to help him.

Kia was sure her facial expression was very different from Vivi's as they watched the strange man interact with the crew. Kia was smiling, and giggling at their shock and amazement, watching as Bon Clay became each of them, showing off his clone-clone fruit powers. Once he showed Cobra's face however, and Vivi gasped, Kia could see she was trembling. She put her hand on Vivi's arm, and murmured, "It will be okay," to her.

She knew Vivi gave her a strange look, but it couldn't be helped. Hopefully, she would just think she was being kind, not knowing what had upset her. Kia wasn't sure though, and tried to take comfort in her own words. This was the point where everyone on the crew fought together, and Kia still didn't know how she was going to be able to contribute, or even if she could. Her idea of fighting was wrestling with her sister. She hadn't thrown punches or kicks before and was starting to get worried.

Before she realized it, Bon Clay had left, and Vivi was talking to the crew about Mr. 2, since they had discovered his identity. Sanji also joined from the storage room, brought out by Nami's wailing as she realized that Mr. 2 made it impossible to even trust their own friends.

"Wait, this guy's impersonations were that good?" Sanji asked skeptically.

"It wasn't just good Sanji, it was exactly the same!" Usopp replied. "The body and the voice were an exact match! He turned into each of us, and then, we got to dance with him! You should have seen it."

"Ugh," Sanji made a face. "I'm not interested in watching you dance with a male ballerina, thanks anyway."

"I'm glad we met Mr. 2 when we did," Zoro said. "Now we know his power, and we can prepare." He looked around at each of them. "Here's my idea."

As Zoro explained not only his idea, but how they would use it, everyone but Luffy began nodding along.

"What a good idea!" Vivi said.

"Yeah, we'll always know who our friends are," Nami added.

"Oh!" Luffy grinned, as Zoro came to him with a marker.

"Well? What should the mark be Captain?" Zoro asked.

"An X!" Luffy exclaimed. "It's perfect for pirates. And it's even better now, because it's a sign of our friendship!"

They got to work, marking each person's left arm and covering the mark with a bandage.

"Is that tight enough Chopper?" Kia asked. "I want it to able to stay on, but not hurt if you need to transform."

"Maybe a little looser then, Kia." Chopper replied, then giggled and she grinned at how adorable it was. "It's neat to have a sign of our friendship."

"Well, then Sanji and I need one as well!" Kia said loudly, having the rest of the crew turn to her.

"But Kia, Mr. 2 can't impersonate you and Sanji," Nami explained. "We'll know that you are you."

"True, but we're a part of the crew, and it's a sign of our friendship, so we need one." She grabbed the marker, and turned to Sanji. "Ready?"

"Of course!" Sanji's voice only had a slight coo to it, he was taking this as seriously as she was. He rolled up his sleeve, and she drew a big X on his arm, then handed the marker to him to draw hers.

Zoro handed Kia a bandage, and she noted that he was smiling as well, though it was a small smile, she still felt victorious. She then knelt down to let Chopper tie her bandage on.

"Is that tight enough Kia?" he asked.

"It's perfect Chopper."

The crew approached Nanohana, and listened to Nami as she gave instructions to Luffy about thinking before he did anything stupid. He assured them all that he understood, and he'd do his best.

Chopper and Luffy were complaining about the lack of food and the heat, and everyone sympathized with Chopper, and ignored Luffy. Both quickly perked up as they brought the Merry to dock just outside of town.

"Now you guys, I want everyone on their best behavior while we're here, we don't want to draw attention to ourselves."

"You do realize that the one who needs to hear that is already gone?" Zoro asked sarcastically.

"That moron!" Nami yelled angrily.

"Don't worry, we'll find him later." Sanji said, jumping from the ship.

"Yeah," Zoro agreed. "Luffy can take care of himself. Let's go get some food."

"Stick with Zoro and Sanji, Chopper" Kia told him, ushering him ahead. "They'll help you while you're learning how to be a pirate."

"Okay Kia!" Chopper said excitedly, and jumped down after Zoro.

"Come on Vivi," Nami said. "Let's go."

"I can't, and neither can Karoo. We're too recognizable here." Vivi replied. "We'll stay and watch the ship."

"Sorry Vivi," Kia added. "But that's my job. Usopp? You can help disguise Vivi and Karoo can't you?"

"Of course, but… are you sure you want to stay here Kia?"

"Yeah, I don't like leaving Merry all alone. Just make sure to get supplies for me too, okay?" She walked up to Vivi, and lowered her voice so only Vivi could hear her. "You need to go Vivi, you need to see for yourself how your country is doing."

Vivi paused, searching Kia's eyes. She either found what she was looking for, or decided to forget it, because she turned away and strode over to the ladder. "Okay, Kia. I'll go."

Kia waved goodbye to the crew, and then started over to the storage room. She hoped Chopper and Usopp would forgive her, because she was about to raid their areas to find some kind of weapon, and she figured she would have to macgyver something together.

Down in storage, there was a few things to pick through, though it was now mostly scrap, as Usopp had dismantled any weapons that were found. There were no blades, and Kia was somewhat relieved. She knew that would be the best, but she really didn't want to cut anyone, she just wanted to be able to perhaps knock them out.

She searched the entire ship for what felt like hours, but came up empty handed. She finally grabbed a small sack that she could tie around her waist, and filled it with some of Usopp's ammunition, though she stayed away from the Tabasco stars. She grabbed lead stars and caltrops, thinking that it would at least give her a way to create a distraction, enough so that she could get away. She decided to try to stick with one of the monster trio in the upcoming fights.

She went downstairs again, looking for any sacks and things that they would need to take with them to carry supplies. She looked around, grabbing anything that seemed helpful, then headed back on deck, and sat down to wait for the others. She soon got back up, because sitting led to thinking, and she didn't want to think about what all was coming. If she thought too much about it, she would try to plan her every move, and she knew she couldn't do that. If she tried, she would inevitably forget something, and wind up worse off than if she just took everything as it came.

Kia looked over at the horizon, seeing the huge cloud of dark smoke that appeared, and started making preparations to set sail. She lowered the ladder, just as she heard, "Kia! Lower the… oh. Nevermind!"

She grinned at Zoro as he came on board, taking the sacks from each of them as they came up. Everyone was in a panic, and ran around quickly to stow the supplies. She followed behind, unhurried. Nami yelled, "We're shoving off right away!"

"Wait, we're leaving again? We just got here." Chopper asked.

"Ready?"

"Ready!" the guys called out, and Nami answered, "Set sail!"

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Kia asked, and everyone froze.

"Ugh! It's not some thing, it's some ONE!" Nami shouted.

Everyone realized then that Luffy was not there, and Zoro let out everyone's frustration.

"That stupid moron!"

"What're you doing here Ace?"

"You didn't receive my message, back on Drum Island, huh?"

"A message?"

"And… that's a no. No matter though, it was just to tell you I'd be here in Alabasta for a couple of days. I'm here on business for the Whitebeard pirates."

"Whoa, cool." Luffy started walking and Ace followed suit.

"So Luffy, tell me about your crew. What are they like?"

"They're amazing! There's a tough guy who uses three swords, and wants to be the world's greatest swordsman. A navigator that likes maps and tangerines, and money. There's a cook who makes really yummy food. And a liar, a lost girl who tells great stories, and a doctor- who happens to be a reindeer!"

"Sounds like quite the crew."

"Oh, and we also have a princess and her giant duck… but I'm still looking for a musician."

"You haven't changed. Let's go find your crew."

"They're probably at the ship. So, we'll have to find that."

"You know, a pirate captain usually knows where his ship is…"

"Yeah, but I was hungry, so I forgot."

"Yep," Ace said with a grin. "Haven't changed at all."

The crew set sail anyway after arguing for a minute, but when Vivi said she knew of a cove that would be more secluded, they decided it was the best idea, since Luffy wouldn't remember where they had docked.

Kia settled next to Chopper, avoiding Nami's yelling about changing into the dancer outfit they had brought her, and asking him about their adventures in Nanohana. He was really excited, and told her all about it, and she made appropriate comments, like "How exciting!" and "You were so brave!". Once he mentioned the awful perfume, she said, "but it will come in handy if you ever get separated from us."

"What? Why would I get separated? Are you leaving me behind?" Kia quickly tried to calm Chopper down, though Sanji, who had been close by, took over and explained how they needed to be prepared for anything to happen because they were pirates. That worked like a charm, and now Chopper was proud to be prepared, just like a pirate.

Nami climbed to the crow's nest and she and Sanji combed the shore using binoculars, looking for their captain.

"There's Luffy," Nami called.

"You sure?" Zoro questioned.

"Yeah, it's his stupid face all right," Sanji added. "uh oh."

"What?"

"Hey guys!" Luffy called as he grabbed onto the ship with his outstretched arm and sling shot himself over, crashing into Sanji and Chopper.

"Sanji! Tony! Are you guys okay?" Vivi called from the balcony.

"Welcome back Captain," Kia said with a smile.

"Kia!" Nami yelled again. "Go change!"

Sanji handed Kia her new clothes, and though she tried to convince everyone that she didn't need them, Nami threatened to punch her if she didn't wear them.

Since she wasn't going to get a shower for a few days, Kia took her time getting clean and putting on her dancer outfit. It was actually really pretty. Nami's had been the most elaborate, with both dark blue and pink around the white fabric. Vivi's was purple, and Kia wasn't sure if purple was a symbol of royalty here, but either way it was a good choice for her. Her own was a lighter blue, and once she put it on, and looked in the mirror, she saw that it really brought out the color of her eyes.

She knew she shouldn't have been surprised, Sanji was pretty fashionable after all. Since her hair was still damp, she left it down, wanting it to be dry before she braided it. The thick auburn waves weren't too bad when left alone, but she didn't like how it looked when she braided it wet. She knew it was silly, but her hair was the one thing she loved about herself.

Taking a last glance in the mirror, and feeling exposed, she thought she could probably get Luffy to agree to let her wear her normal clothes. So determined, she walked back to the door, and heard Luffy saying "aren't they interesting?" and laughing. She knew should ask quickly, before the others could chime in. If she got Luffy to agree to let her change, the others couldn't say anything about it.

"Captain?" Kia called out as she opened the door, walking out onto the deck. "Permission to put some normal clothes back on?"

Everyone turned to look at her, and she could swear Sanji's eye was a heart. How did he DO that?

"But Kia my heart, you look ravishing! And now you match Nami and Vivi!" Sanji cooed at her. It looked like he was about to swoon taking in the sight of all three of us, she thought.

"Wow, Kia," Usopp said, his eyes wide.

"Wow what, Usopp?" Kia asked, her eyes narrowed.

"Uh, nothing," he said hastily.

"And this is Kia!" Luffy said. "Kia, this is my brother, Ace!" gesturing to the man behind him at the railing.

It had been awhile since she had seen him, and she mentally kicked herself for agreeing to wear what she was. He had been wearing all black winter clothes in Drum Kingdom, making him look like a cowboy, but now, he looked like a man who lived on the ocean- cargo shorts, shoes and his trademark hat, and he looked better than she remembered.

He took his time looking her up and down, and she swallowed nervously, but then he grinned at her, and held out his hand.

"Nice to see you again, Kiana," he said, and with a strange sounding giggle, she put her hand in his.

"Luffy's brother, huh?" she asked. "Small world."

"Baroque works!" Vivi called out suddenly, and they all turned. Behind the Merry there was several ships closing in.

"Luffy, let me handle this," Ace said. He then did a back flip off the side of the ship. The crew all ran to the side, and saw that he had landed in his small boat.

"Whoa, look at him go! His boat is powered by flames!" Nami said incredulously.

They all watched, amazed as Ace soared into the air while his boat dipped in the water. He jumped all the way over a ship, landing just as his boat came back up to the surface. He was now lined up with the Baroque Works ships. They heard him yell, "Fire Fist!" and flame exploded from his arm into the ship. It traveled forward until it went into and destroyed every last ship. By the time he finished, there was nothing but scrap lumber and burning masts in the water.

Kia kept her eye on Ace as he pushed his hat brim up with a single burning finger and a smirk on his face. Her face was aflame, as she tried not to dwell on how he looked. After how badly I bawled after watching the anime, I shouldn't get myself too attached, she thought. She glanced over at Luffy's grinning face. But could I just do nothing?

After Ace rejoined the crew, Sanji passed out drinks, and they continued to sail towards Erumalu. Ace told them all about chasing after Blackbeard, and Chopper and Kia exchanged looks, before she shook her head. She knew more about Blackbeard than she ever wanted to, and didn't want to get into it again.

"He was one of my men, but he committed the worst crime a pirate could. He killed a fellow crew member and jumped ship. It's my responsibility to take care of him. That, and I promised I would."

Kia looked up at his words, noticing that Ace was looking right at her, and she flushed at the attention. She remembered when she had met him in Robelli town, and Dalton had told him of Judith, he promised that he would find and take care of Blackbeard. The memory caused her to smile.

"I heard he was in a place called Yuba, so that's where I'm headed." Kia glanced back up, hoping that no one had noticed the interaction. Though, from Sanji's glare, and Nami's smirk, she was probably wrong.

"Hey, that's where we're going, isn't it Vivi?" Nami asked.

"Yes, exactly," Vivi replied.

"I guess I'll tag along then, if that's all right?" Ace asked Luffy.

"I'll follow you girls anywhere!" Sanji added.

"Hopefully, it's off a cliff…" a quiet voice muttered.

"What was that Zoro?!" Sanji stalked over to start fighting, and Nami yelled at them to stop, which caused Sanji to agree immediately, averting the fight.