"Do we know where they are yet? Huh? Huh? Huh?" Miss Merry Christmas yelled to her companions.

Outside of Alubarna, the remaining Baroque Works Officer Agents were waiting for the Straw Hats to arrive. They had received word that the rebel army was only a mere half-hour away from storming the city and the kingdom was in an uproar. Using his powers, Mr. 2 had successfully incited conflict between the two factions by posing as Vivi's father, King Nefertari Cobra, after capturing the man in question. Unfortunately for the king, he remained chained to the side of a cliff on the West Gate entrance of the city.

They had not received any news at all about Crocodile's unprecedented defeat.

Mr. 2 was not present at the meeting, for he was tasked with waiting for Vivi at the Royal Palace. With the upcoming battle, it was practically devoid of life, making it the perfect point to ambush her should she make herself known.

"From the sound of Miss All Sunday's call, we should be anticipating a group of pirates any time now. I know it takes a while to get here from Rainbase...but at this rate, the rebels will beat them to the punch," Miss Doublefinger sighed. "It looks like they won't be able to stop the fighting after all."

"But what if we get stuck in the fighting, huh?" Miss Merry Christmas countered. "What then?"

"Then? We don't have to do anything. We stay out of the way until we see the pirates that we have been assigned to kill," Mr. 1 groaned. "It's fairly obvious if you think about it."

"...you know..." the older woman sighed. "This waiting is boring, boring, boring!"

"Ssssssssssoooooooooommmmmmmmeeeeeeeeoooooonnnnnneeeeeee iiiiissssssss," the large Mr. 4 started to tell them, but since he took forever to get anything out, the Agents didn't know what he was saying.

"What was that Mr. 4? Speak faster, you idiot!" Miss Merry Christmas demanded of her partner. She pulled out her binoculars and stared out into the Alabasta desert. "Hey! An accelegator! It must be the boss!"

The Officer Agents all got up to meet the banana gator-like creature. To their surprise, it did not contain Crocodile, but rather Miss All Sunday. She gazed over to the imprisoned Cobra and gave a small grin.

"Well, don't you all look like you are having fun?" Miss All Sunday deadpanned. "I take it the Straw Hats have not arrived yet?"

"We've just assumed they took longer than you thought in Rainbase," Miss Doublefinger explained. "I assume you have orders?"

The woman paused for a second and considered her words carefully. "I do indeed. Crocodile now wishes the Straw Hats and the princess to be kept alive. When they arrive, do what you must to incapacitate them, but at least attempt to keep them in one piece."

The woman gave a sharp look to Mr. 1. "Do not kill them. Do you understand?"

"As you wish," he sighed disappointingly.

Miss All Sunday then walked over to the king and looked at his bindings. "I will be escorting the king to the next part of our plan. We don't want the rebels to be without a target, do we?"

She stood the king up and began to walk him up the stairs into to city. "Good luck, all!" she called to them.

"Ccccccooooooommmmmiiiinnnnggggg," Mr. 4 finally finished.


Later

Outside the capital Alubarna, The remaining Baroque Works agents were eagerly awaiting the chaos that's about to come. Of these, Mr. 1 and Miss Doublefinger are smirking confidently. Their plan was an absolute success; their sabotage of the weapons ship near the rebel base in Nanohana had push the rebel army over the edge. Soon, Kohza and the rest of them would be entering the city and the king would be forced to answer. They suppose they should also thank Mr. 2 for the part he played; masquerading as the King was an invaluable part of the plan.

Mr. 1's Den Den Mushi suddenly rang, causing the assassin to pick it up. After a while he responded

"Understood."

Hanging up, he turned to the other agents "Boss just called, Nefeltari Vivi is en route to Alubarna. We will stop her before she even reaches here."

"That should be easy. We know what to expect, and even if those pirates show up we'll take care of them." His partner sneered.

And so, they waited. And just like they expected, a group of riders were approaching fast towards the city. The group of agents grinned as they waited to pounce…

Only for the riders to rush past them before they could do anything.

"WAITWHOWERETHOSERIDERSWEJUSTSAW?!" the mole like Miss Merry Christmas yelped as the agents stared aghast at what just unfolded.

"They were wearing cloaks… and none of them were the princess!" Mr. 2 gawked.

"What are you fools waiting for?! Go after them!" Mr. 1 snapped.

"Those ducks are the fastest creatures in this country… they can outrun us easily. We'll need to separate and take them out one by one." Miss Doublefinger suggested.

Indeed, that was the plan, as they dashed off to apprehend these newcomers.

All this was done while, unbeknownst to them, the real princess was hiding just a few feet away, waiting for the chance to break for it.

"Alright, Carue. Mr. Bushido and the others have set a distraction for us, let's not waste this chance!" Vivi told her animal companion, who quacked in agreement. She nodded before looking back with a hint of worry.

"I hope Luffy-san and Ben-san will make it here soon, we will need their strength to help us… but right now let's focus on getting to father!"

She was just about to leave, when a familiar voice called out to her. She turned and saw with relief that Usopp had reached her.

"Vivi! It's kind of getting rowdy here. The others have led the agents to elsewhere. It should be safe to enter the city!" the sniper smiled and reached out to her. Vivi was just about to take his hand, until she realized something was amiss.

"Usopp-san… where is your wristband?"

"Wristband? What are you talking about? I might have dropped it earlier, but we need to go now!"

"No… you aren't Usopp-san! Carue we have to run, they found us!" Vivi cried as the duck immediately carried her and dashed off as fast as he could. 'Usopp' scowled upon seeing this, before wiping his face away to reveal none other than the mimicking Mr. 2.

"Curses, who would've guessed that they have found a way around my Mane Mane no Mi? Well it's only a minor inconvenience, but now I must apprehend the princess!" following that, the okama immediately began hot pursuit after the princess. And it looked like as if he would've caught her too, if not for the intervention of a certain cook and ex-con. Sanji blocked the okama's way while Kevin who was still covered in Seastone knocked him away with a punch to the face the duo daring him to make another move.

"Vivi-chan, hurry to the castle!"

"We'll take care of this weirdo, now get going!"

Vivi nodded gratefully before riding off. Mr. 2 scowled when he saw that.

"You! Who are you supposed to be? I don't remember seeing you with the Straw Hats!"

"All you need to know, is that I'm not letting you lay a finger on Vivi-chan!"

"And now you're going down hard," Kevin smirked.

"So you two are looking for a fight? Well, then you don't know what you're getting into!" Mr. 2 sneered as he got into a pose. Sanji frowned before he raised one of his legs while Kevin's fists formed into hammers, the two now prepared to fight.


Mr. 4 and Ms. Merrychristmas caught their prey just outside of the southeast entrance, one of Mr. 4's exploding baseballs knocking two of the figures off of their ducks. The birds were knocked unconscious, but the humans stood up as the agents revealed themselves.

"Well?" Ms. Merrychristmas demanded. "Which one of you is the princess? Which one, huh? Which one?"

"Sorry to disappoint you, madam," a man's voice said from under the hood of the human still on their duck, "but none of us are the princess!" The three threw their robes away, exposing Usopp, Chopper, and Rook to the desert sun.

"We will-" Usopp began. "Ahh! It's a mole woman!"

"Oh wow!" Chopper yelled. "You're right! I didn't think they existed!"

"Ha... Ha... Ha," Mr. 4 laughed as his partner was now ticked off. She hadn't even transformed yet. The woman rushed forward, hoping to quickly kill these pesky pirates right away.


Meanwhile

"Who the hell are you guys supposed to be?!" Miss Doublefinger snapped as the five hooded figures they intercepted revealed themselves. Only now did they realize they've been duped in a wild goose chase, as the group consisting of Zoro, Nami, Gwen, Julie, and Tetrax seemed to be pleased at leading them away.

"It does not matter, they have made our job much more difficult and now must be taken care of. From the looks of it, the three girls are much weaker fighters. We will take them out first!" Mr. 1 growled before lunging forward, left arm raised. However before he could reach her, his arm was met with the clang of steel as Zoro with one of his sword and Tetrax whose arm had now turned into a crystal blade both parried his strike. The swordsman himself was rather alarmed to see his blade not draw any blood while Tetrax did not seem all that concerned as his face was still covered by his helmet.

"The two of you have good reflexes, this should be fun. In case you were wondering, I ate the Supa-Supa no Mi, and became a Steel Human." Mr. 1 explained as his left arm gleamed as it transformed into a metal edged blade. He narrowed his eyes upon watching Zoro more closely.

"Now I recognize you. You are Roronoa Zoro, a swordsman from East Blue, who along with three others humiliated one hundred agents back at Whiskey Peak. A few years ago you were given the invitation to become the next Mr. 7, but you killed the messenger that told you that."

"Heh, I told him I wanted to be the boss, he didn't like it so what choice did I have?" Zoro grinned as he drew Yubashiri, "Are you a swordsman yourself? Then you will be a test for me!"

"Swordsman? What an unruly term." Mr. 1 scoffed, "But if you insist on labeling me that, then yes, I am familiar in the ways of your profession. Be warned though, this will be the last fight you will ever encounter." Both of his arms turned to blades after saying that "Miss Doublefinger, I'll leave the girls to you."

"Perfect, I think I'll have plenty of fun with you lot!" his partner grinned before lunging at Nami first, who yelped before running off, the assassin giving chase but her smug expression became one of surprise as a pink tendril suddenly wrapped around her waist.

"I don't think so!" Gwen exclaimed being the one who stopped Miss Doublefinger in her tracks.

"You really think this can hold me?!" Miss Doublefinger mocked.

"Wasn't planning on it," Gwen replied causing the Baroque Works agent to look at her in confusion.

"Ship! Battle Mode," a voice called out.

Before Miss Doublefinger could even so much as flinch, she was suddenly shot point blank by a green laser blast that sent her flying through several buildings.

You think she's still conscious after that?" Julie questioned now clad in her Mechamorph armor as she stood beside Gwen.

"Considering that she's supposed to be one of the top agents in Baroque Works, I doubt it," Gwen replied as she got ready to fight.

"What the hell?! What did that girl do just now!" Mr. 1 shouted in disbelief before a crystal pillar suddenly burst out of the ground and struck him the chest, knocking Mr. 1 into a nearby building.

"Word of advice, always keep an eye on your opponent," Tetrax stated as Mr. 1 crawled out of the hole he made before giving a fierce glare at the mercenary.

"...you..." Mr. 1 regarded Tetrax with both admiration and anger, staring down at his own bladed hand and smiled. "I think I'm going to have fun with this."

As she was running, Nami reached into her dress and pulled out a blue baton shaped weapon. She nodded before clenching her fist down.

"Everybody else is fighting too, I'm not going to stand around and just do nothing! Let's just hope this so-called Clima-tact that Usopp made me actually has what it takes!"


The Rebel Army was approaching at well over two million strong. Their leader, Kohza, was in the front atop a horse as black as midnight. He was a man of average height with shaggy, dirty blond hair and a scar that ran down next to his left eye. The Rebels were coming in quickly, battle cries on their lips and swords in their hands. The duo of Vivi, and Carue had planted themselves in their way so the army would need to go past them to reach the city. The army, or at least Kohza or his commanders, would see the two, Kohza would recognize both Vivi and Carue, and she would explain what was going on.

"Vivi!" A voice called out, grabbing the princess's attention as a blue and black blur suddenly appeared in front of Vivi startling her. What now stood in front of her was what appeared to be a semi-armored blue Velociraptor that had black orbs on his feet and wore a black cone-like helmet with a sliding protective visor. Having then noticed the familiar hourglass symbol on its chest allowed Vivi to instantly recognize the individual before her.

"Ben? Is that you?" Vivi asked in surprise.

"Yeah, it's me," Ben confirmed before turning back to normal, "I call that guy XLR8. Anyways, I'm glad I found you!"

"Wait, what about Crocodile?! Where's Luffy?!" Vivi questioned.

"Don't worry, the both of us managed to put a stop to him for good and now he's in the custody of the marines. As for Luffy, he went ahead to the palace to go find your dad."

Vivi was nothing short of astonished at this revelation, ""Wait...IS THAT TRUE?!" Vivi fell backwards. "You...you defeated Crocodile?!"

"Yup, now we're closer than ever to finally putting an end to this war," Ben smirked, "At least now, this means we can stop the rebel army like you originally wanted."

"I'm afraid that's easier said than done," Vivi pointed out, "You and Luffy defeated Crocodile out in the middle of the desert with nobody around to witness it. What needs to be done now is stopping the rest of Baroque Works from egging on the rebellion and then for me and my father to prove his innocence and provide the right evidence of Crocodile's actions. I just hope they'll listen to me."

Unfortunately, that plan nearly went down the drain. Just as the army was coming into eyesight, a cannonball from the city hit the ground, kicking up a dust cloud and obscuring vision on both sides.

"What are they thinking?" Vivi thought out loud, shielding her eyes with a hand.

"I can't see anything and they can't see us either!" Ben pointed out, also protecting his eyes. "We're gonna miss the Rebel Army at this rate! If they don't trample us first!"

"How are we going to stop them?" Vivi panicked. The army's shouts were getting closer. It was then that Ben got an idea on how to get their attention.

"Cover your ears," Ben told them as he transformed into yet another alien Vivi had never seen before. It appearance can only be described as that of a werewolf with grey fur, a long flowing mane, and a large bushy tail with three sharp claws on each hand and foot, and the inside of his mouth was green. He had spiked elbows and shoulders and wore a white jumpsuit with black stripes and the Omnitrix symbol on his lower stomach.

"BLITZWOLFER!"

Blitzwolfer then proceeded to split its muzzle open and then let out a ultrasonic howl that reverberated through the air. His howls was even heard in the palace. The sound washed over the angry men in the dessert and filled them with fear; they'd never heard a noise like that before.

"Halt!" he ordered, his left hand in the air making a fist. "Everybody halt!" His generals copied the sign and slowed to a nervous stop, the rest of the army following in their example. Their horses shifted, scared of whatever made such a ear piercing noise. Kohza squinted into the settling sand. Several shadows faded into view as the grains settled to the ground. It was silent.

"Leader!" Vivi cried, rushing forward. The man was so surprised at Vivi's sudden appearance that his did not notice the young man behind her, Ben having reverted back to normal in a green flash. "Leader, stop this!"

"V-Vivi?" Kohza stuttered as she dragged him off his horse and into a hug. "Vivi, is it really you?"

"It's me, Leader," the princess affirmed, crying into his shoulder.

"Vivi," Kohza muttered, hugging her back. "I thought you were dead. We hadn't gotten word in so long."

"I was away for over two years, but now I'm back. You have to stop this attack, Kohza. Thousands of innocent people could die. The war was a set up."

"A set up?" Kohza growled, suddenly angry at the mention of the war. "Your father and his Dance Powder sent this country into a drought and then he wouldn't use it to make it rain like it used to!"

"It wasn't my father!" Vivi argued. "He was framed! That's where I've been these past two years! I infiltrated a criminal syndicate called Baroque Works and learned that their boss is Crocodile the Warlord and that he framed my father to start a civil war to tear this country apart!"

"Do you expect me to believe that Crocodile is the reason for this war?! He's a hero!"

"I sorry to say, but it's all a sham," a new voice interrupted. The two older teens over to see Carue on Vivi's left side and Ben on the other. "I'm Ben, a friend of Vivi's and also a member of the Straw Hat Pirates."

"You're a pirate?" Kohza growled at Ben, pulling his sword out from the sheath at his hip. "What are you doing near Vivi, you sea scum?" Ben held up his hands in surrender.

"Easy man. My crewmates and I are not at all like those pirates that like to terrorize innocent people. We've been taking care of Vivi for some time now and she will continue to remain under the protection of myself and the rest of Straw Hat Pirates until this war is over," Ben explained as he gave the rebel a rather stern look. "You got a problem with that?" Kohza stepped back, stunned at the display.

"Ben, take it easy," Vivi ordered, throwing her right hand out in front of Ben. "There's no point in trying to pick a fight now."

"Sorry, Vivi," Ben apologized.

"No, it's fine. But, Leader, before I go on, I need to tell you. I think that Baroque Works has infiltrated both the Royal Army and the Rebel Army."

"Why would you think that?" Kohza asked.

"That way, if it seemed they were trying to find peace diplomatically, one side or the other would fire, sparking war again."

"But what proof do you have?"

"That cannonball that came down right before we started talking. Chaka and my father aren't stupid; they wouldn't fire so early. I think that was one of the agents trying to make us miss each other."

"Let's just wait here," Ben suggested. "I pretty sure that the rest of our crew are fighting the remaining agents as we speak. In fact, I saw a couple of my crewmates fighting two of them by the southeastern gate on the way here."

"Someone," Kohza ordered. "Give me a pair of binoculars." A pair were placed into his open hand. He brought them to his face and scanned the area he mentioned. There were five people, none of whom Kohza had ever seen before, in what seemed to be a battle. While he watched that fight, Vivi pulled Ben aside to talk to him.

"Ben. Take Carue and walk around the Rebel Army. Try to find any Baroque Works agents you can. If we can get them to talk, Kohza will know we aren't lying.

"Sure thing."

Before anyone could do anything, a loud rumbling was heard as Ben turned towards the desert to see something that looked to be moving underneath the sand that was coming towards the group fast.

Then the unexpected happened.

A large worm-like creature suddenly erupted from the sand.

Ben, Vivi, Kohza, and the rest of the rebel army as well as any Baroque Works agents among its ranks were definitely taken aback.

The worm had sharp teeth, six red eyes, a wide grey beak-like mouth, and a tail ending in a pincer like a set of spikes. It also possessed a creamy orange and brown hide, a white-brown underbelly, grey spikes running down its back, and four red insectoid legs on each side near the front. Lastly it wore a red spiked collar around its neck.

The worm then gave off an ear-splitting shriek before whipping its massive tail towards the rebel army, knocking away at least a few hundred of them as if they were ragdolls much to everyone's horror.

Ben and Vivi were unable to turn their eyes away from this terrifying scene; they were just too caught of guard by such an unforeseeable event to respond accordingly.

Finally, it was Ben who broke the silence as the only thing he could say was, "Oh man..."


AN: Hello everyone. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. The reason why this took so long was because I had trouble setting up the fights between the Strawhats and Baroque Works and who was going to fight who and what was going to happen next with Crocodile now out of the picture. Still, I hope you all are satisfied with the end result. I promise the next update won't take as long just as long nothing gets in the way of my schedule. Until then, see you next time.