Kia had no idea how long she had been walking, and at this point, all she could do was trudge after the person in front of her. Her energy was spent, and she couldn't even lift her head. She kept an eye on the boots of the person in front of her, silently following. It seemed she wasn't the only one either, as Luffy and Usopp had finally stopped complaining. They just walked on in silence, concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other.

The pair of boots in front of her stopped, so she did too, swaying back and forth a bit, ready to drop.

"Luffy. Do you… see Nami anywhere?"

Kia heard someone ask, so she raised her head, and came face to face with Ace. He looked at her, then behind her, and then looked left and right. "What the-?" he yelped.

"Ugh" she sighed. "What is it?"

"Where is everyone?"

"What?" she asked, confused.

He looked at her as if she was speaking another language. "Where. Are. The. Others?" he asked slowly.

That gave her a jolt of energy, and she looked around herself. "I thought we were all in a line, I was just following the person in front of me!" she said, looking down. She pointed accusingly at his boots. "You!" she cried. "I was following you! Who were you following?"

"Uh… " He looked sheepish, and she could easily see that he had wandered off from the others.

"Ay-ace!" she whined, throwing her head in her hands. She took a few deep breaths, then pinching the bridge of her nose, looked back where they had come from. "Okay, so then we need to decide if we are going to backtrack, or keep going and try to meet up with them in Yuba."

Ace glanced back at their tracks as well, then forward in the direction they had been walking. "I'd prefer to keep moving forward, but if you'd rather go back, I'll go with you," he said to her.

Kia thought about it for a minute before finally coming to a conclusion. "Let's keep going then," she replied. "More than likely the wind will obscure their tracks and we'll be wandering anyway."

They continued walking, side by side this time, though she let Ace determine their direction. She pushed them faster as she had gotten her second wind, and wasn't sure how long it would last. After only a few minutes of walking, Ace stopped and looked around.

"Strange…"

"What is it?" she asked.

"Nothing. Just thought I heard something."

"All right," she said with a shrug and kept walking. Right at that moment, the sand in front of them became like a mountain, as a large shape rose, sand falling down all around it, and revealed a gigantic scorpion, whose tail came above its head to point right at her. Kia let out a yelp, as Ace grabbed her to pull her back behind him.

"You're asking for it," he said, his voice sounding weary instead of worried. She peeked her face out from his back, and he turned slightly to speak to her, but was still looking at the monstrous creature. "Kiana, you should step back."

She did as he said, and retreated several steps away, watching in awe as he became a man of fire. It took only moments before the scorpion fell on its belly, it's exoskeleton once looking like the sand around us, now a bright pink color, with steam rising up from it.

Ace landed a dozen steps in front of her, and turning, called out, "let's keep going!" so she hustled away from the dead body to catch up. As he turned back around he found a lizard as big as he was, standing on its hind legs right in front of him. As he stepped to the right, the lizard copied him, as if they were each others' mirror. Ace stepped back to left, then right again, each time the lizard moving with him. Ace tried to confuse it by taking a double step left, only to have his "mirror image" do the same.

The strange part, was that the lizard didn't even look like it was looking at Ace, and Kia started giggling. It was like a gag that they had planned, it was so perfectly done. As she came nearer, she could see that Ace was getting frustrated, so she called out, "it's not a good idea to get in his way! Just look at the last one who did!" pointing to the still steaming carcass of the scorpion. She wouldn't have thought the lizard could see it, but it turned its head, and then looked like it wanted to cry, but still hadn't moved.

"I'll make you a deal," Ace said. "Give us a ride to the nearest town, and I'll forget this ever happened."

"Wow, Ace, that's mean," she commented.

"What? How?" He asked, looking perplexed.

"You basically are threatening it into giving us a ride."

She could only describe his look as, "are you serious right now?"

Kia stepped around him, and asked sweetly, "Mr. Lizard? Would it be possible for you to give us a ride? We're a little lost."

The lizard looked between them, then giving some sort of shrug, it lowered down to all four legs. They looked at each other, and shrugging themselves, climbed on top its back.

Ace gave her a sideways look. "So… do you really think asking it made such a difference?"

Kia started laughing, and Ace grinned. "Nope. It looks like it didn't really care one way or the other."

"Maybe we should call out for the others. I'd hate to pass close by and miss them," he said.

She nodded and turned her head, "Nami! Vivi!" she shouted.

"Luffy! Where are you?!"

They called out, about every ten minutes or so, but never heard anything in return. After a couple of hours, they came upon a city, seeing it's huge walls from far away.

"Woo-hoo!" Ace called. "A city! I can't wait to eat!" The lizard must have picked up on his excitement, or maybe it was scared, but either way, it suddenly picked up speed, and Kia held on to Ace as they rode, getting tossed back and forth as the lizard ran.

The lizard ran right in the gate, and heading up into a building. Kia had no idea if Ace was leading it, or if it just smelled food… it was so bizarre. It ran straight up the stairs, and right into the room where a huge table was spread with food. Ace climbed off, and then lifted her off the lizard, and headed straight for the table. She watched as the lizard stood back up on its hind legs and just… stood there.

Looking back at Ace, he was already seated at the table, with a plate full in front of him. He had shed his outerwear, and taken off his hat, so it hung from his neck behind him. And, he was stuffing his face, very quickly.

She gave a small wince, wondering how he could swallow such huge mouthfuls so quickly, but decided not to think about it too much. She walked over and sat to his right, fixing herself a plate, and gesturing with her head towards the four men who were arguing with each other. This was obviously their table. Ace just gave her a wink, so she shrugged, deciding not to worry. He could handle pretty much anything in this desert that came along, creature or human.

They ate quietly, listening as the man in charge explained that they couldn't face pirates, and they needed to leave in order to stay alive. They could always find another village that would fall for their ruse. Kia saw Ace's eyes narrow, just as the men spotted the lizard standing in their way.

"You lot make me so sick, I'm about to lose my lunch," Ace said, talking with his mouth full.

She smirked, and gave Ace a look as he continued to eat heartily. He smirked back at her, then turned to glare at the men.

"It's pretty despicable, what you're doing," she added, wanting to feel apart of things. "Not that it's any of our business."

The tallest man glared at them, pushing up his sleeves in a sort of threat. "It IS none of your business!"

"Yeah! You dirty food thieves!" the shortest man added, and the men minus the leader moved to fight Ace.

Kia only had time to think, oh my… as Ace took them down in three hits, then sat back down and continued eating. He seemed to enjoy the look on her face, and she quickly shut her gaping mouth and looked away, trying to keep from blushing. The man has muscles for days…. and fighting shirtless, no matter how long it lasted, was quite a show.

Their leader looked between Ace and his beaten friends several times, before kneeling down next to Ace and begging for his help.

"Please, we stand no chance against sand pirates, unless we had the help of someone strong, like you! You must rescue us, please!"

"Meh." Ace didn't even glance at the man, and Kia was slightly taken aback, as it seemed so out of character. "I'm not against the idea, but there are conditions."

I should have known, she thought.

"Anything you want!"

Kia finished eating as the man packed up several bags of food and got a barrel of water, and placing it all on a sled for Ace. Afterwards, Ace tried to get the lizard to return to all fours, but it just ignored each attempt. He suggested that Kiana simply ride the sled, but she refused. Sand would literally get everywhere, and she didn't want to ride in a sack to stay sand- free.

"Go ahead, I'll wait here," she told Ace, though he looked at her skeptically. "I'm sure if you find them, they'll need to restock on supplies, so you'll come back anyway."

"What do you think all this is?" He asked, gesturing to the sled filled with food.

Kia laughed. "Luffy will probably eat all that in one go, and then ask for more," she replied, which had Ace grinning.

"I can't argue with that," he said as he pulled his cover up back on. "You sure about this?" He asked, looking at the "rebel army"- the four men that he was saving.

"Yep, I'm fine. I'm sure these men wouldn't let anything happen to a friend of yours…"

"No sir!" they all called, "she's safe with us!"

"Okay then," Ace said, and the lizard took off, with Ace riding up on its shoulders.

She waved goodbye even though he didn't turn back, and then looked back at the four men. "Well guys?" she asked. "Do you have any dessert?"

"Hey! Luffy!"

"Ace! Ha ha ha! Where have you been?"

Ace jumped down from the lizard's shoulders and pointed to the cargo in his sled. "You guys want food and water? I've brought plenty of both, dig in!"

"That's awfully nice of you," Sanji commented as he walked over to inspect the supplies.

"Ace is incredible," Usopp said.

"I know! He's kind and thoughtful!" Nami replied, then scowled. "Not like someone else we know."

"That's for sure," Usopp muttered.

Chopper made his way to Ace, and pulled on his cover up. "Uh, Ace?"

Ace glanced down. "Yes Chopper?

"We were hoping Kia was with you… you both disappeared at the same time… " he trailed off, tears forming in his eyes, and Ace found himself keeping a straight face so as not to smile at how cute he looked.

"She was with me, yes. She didn't want to ride on the sled, so she stayed at the city with the rebels."

All the others' eyes went wide. "Rebels?!" they yelled at Ace, completely shocked.

"I guess I shouldn't say rebels…" Ace mused, not reacting to their shouts. "More like fake rebel soldiers. The men pose as rebel soldiers to get hired by the village. And they are so grateful to have protection, they give them anything they could possibly need."

"Wait," Vivi said, as she realized what Ace was saying. "These men are only pretending to protect the town?"

"Well…" Ace drawled, trying to brush over what they were doing, knowing that the crew didn't have time to help the town protect themselves. Their current mode of protection was working after all. "I knew you all wanted to keep moving, and it seems to be working for everyone…."

"You want us to go in and take care of them, Vivi?" Sanji asked calmly.

"Well, they shouldn't be impersonating rebel soldiers, however…"

"If you're going to trick them," Ace commented, "might I point out that that is what the other men are doing? At least with the way things are, they are all living in peace with each other."

"Don't stick up for them!" Sanji sneered with a glare at Ace.

"I'm not, I'm just sharing my thoughts. Vivi can do whatever she wants."

"It's obvious that we can't protect them, but I can't just leave without knowing if the fake rebels will protect them when it matters."

Sanji's eyebrow rose. "You want us to see if they have hearts of gold?"

Vivi nodded. "Yes, a test."

Everyone nodded, and gathered their belongings, packing up the supplies that Ace had brought. Chopper, feeling stronger after drinking the water, walked as well. "But," he asked, "how are we going to get Kia back?"

"Don't worry Chopper," Zoro replied. "She probably misses us so much, she'll run out to meet us."

"Really?!"

"Now things are finally getting interesting!" Luffy exclaimed. "We'll find those fake rebels, and beat them up, and rescue Kia!"

"No Luffy!" Nami yelled, hitting him on the back of the head. "That's not what we're doing at all!"

Over the next hour Kia watched as the four "rebels" went from hopeful to despairing, and at first she tried to keep their spirits high, but eventually she just went quiet while they argued with each other. She must have fallen asleep, because her eyes flew open as she was shaken roughly.

"Wassit?" she slurred as she jerked awake.

Their leader, whose name was Camu, was standing over her, looking visibly upset. "We're not waiting any longer. You can stay here if you want, but we're leaving."

She glanced at the other three. They weren't carrying much, but were obviously ready to leave. She gave a big yawn, and stretched her arms over her head, then stood up. "Okay, I'll come too."

"What!?" the other three shouted.

"What're you saying? Why would you want to come with us?" Camu asked incredulously.

"Huh?" she eloquently replied. "I'm not going with you. I just don't want to be here when the citizens find out you left. They'll ask all sorts of awkward questions…"

Camu gave a deadpan face, and muttered, "yeah, whatever."

She walked out with them, acting as if she belonged. The townspeople gave no notice, seeming too excited to see their gallant protectors in action against the dreaded pirates. As they walked towards the front gates, she could hear the others questioning Camu, and calling him "Big bro" which reminded her of Yosaku and Johnny, and had her wishing she could have met them, they seemed fun.

The townspeople cheered as they made it to the gates, and Kia butted into the huddle of the rebels she was with, hearing their ingenious plan to run away from the pirates as soon as they made it through the gates. Camu gave a count of three, and pushed the gate open, and straight ahead, Kia saw Luffy, his head slightly down, so that she couldn't see his eyes.

They turned to their right, but stopped immediately upon seeing Sanji and Usopp, and she almost laughed at the scary look Usopp was trying to pull off. Turning to their left met with a similar problem, with Zoro and Chopper blocking the way, with Chopper in his large human form, or heavy point.

The townspeople continued to cheer them on, and Kia chuckled at the looks on the rebels faces; they all looked like they were marching to their deaths, and she was sure they really thought they were.

Luffy continued to egg them on, and they suddenly heard, "Hey boys, sorry, but you'll have to try to muscle through this fight on your own."

They looked around but didn't think to look behind them where Ace was standing. Kia glanced over her shoulder to see him leaning against the wall, a big smirk plastered on his face.

"C'mon Ace, you know we can't handle this by ourselves…" Camu said just loud enough for Ace to hear. "We're totally faking it!"

"You're pretending to be soldiers. If you can't do that, might I suggest you act like men."

"Come on guys," she added softly. "Fake it till you make it, as we say back home."

She could see the wheels turning, and then Camu turned back to Luffy and shouted, "Bring it on! But be warned, we aren't the only rebel soldiers here, there are … ONE HUNDRED MILLION MORE LIKE US!"

It was apparent from their expressions that no one believed him, but then Luffy shouted back, "A… HUNDRED….MILLION?!"

Usopp quickly squashed it as a lie, which had both Luffy and Chopper sighing in relief, and had Kia snickering.

Luffy was upset at being tricked, and he reared back to land a punch. It happened more quickly than she could think, and Kia tried to move out of the way. Something grabbed her arm, and she could feel the air whoosh past her as Camu was rocketed back into the town, just barely missing taking her with him. She was pulled into a turn and found herself with her back against the wall in the archway of the gate, with Ace pushed up against her, keeping her out of harm's way.

"Kiana? Are you all right?" A low, husky voice asked.

Kia looked up, right into Ace's dark eyes, noticing his hat had fallen off, and his hair was hanging down slightly into his face. She swallowed nervously, unable to speak even if she had thought of something to say, and the two just stared at each other.

Hearing Luffy laugh broke whatever was happening between them, as Kia turned her head to look outside the gate. Luffy was on the ground laughing, and she could hear shouts from the other Straw Hats about retreating, and the stupid rebel soldiers ruining their fun.

Before she could get her wits about her, Ace pulled her forward as he took off running. They went a different direction out of town to avoid the people, but soon found themselves outside and on a course to intercept the others. As they met up with them, Kia yelled, "Can…we…stop…run…ing…now?" panting from the effort.

"Kia!" Luffy yelled as he reached out for her, trying to stop as he did, which tripped both Ace and Usopp, all of them sprawling on the ground. Eyelash and Zoro, each carrying passengers- because Chopper was riding on Zoro's shoulders in his smaller form- both jumped over the mess, and Sanji stopped just before he would trip as well. Kia skidded to a stop and rested her hands on her knees trying to get her breath back.

"Kia my dear!" Sanji cooed and rushed forward to give her a hug, but he was thwarted as Chopper had beaten him there, pulling her down to hug her around her neck. Sanji's momentum had him falling over the top of them, and landing face first in the sand, which seemed to please Zoro immensely.

"Kia! I missed you! Did you miss us? Zoro said you would come running out to us, but you didn't." Chopper's face ended in a sad frown, and she couldn't help but smile.

"I did! I missed you so much! And I almost ran out, but I didn't want to interrupt your acting!"

"I was pretty amazing, wasn't I?" Usopp congratulated himself.

"Hey, me too, huh Kia?" Luffy asked with a grin.

"Yes Captain, you were all great," she said. "Zoro especially was able to look so natural standing there with a mean look…"

"Yeah yeah," Zoro muttered as everyone else laughed.

"Now that we're all back together, let's….go!" Luffy yelled as he threw his arms up.