"I don't know who you are or what you just did," King Cobra gasped having just woke up, "and right now, I don't care. Both Alabasta and the Nefertari family are in your debt." The older man was staggering along toward the center of Alubarna, leaning heavily on the teen he'd watched defeat Crocodile, Nico Robin draped over the boy's opposite shoulder. "Please, tell me. What is it you want?"

"While Nami would tell you that she wants money, all I want is food."

"Then food you will have," the king responded. "I'd say your victory deserves a feast at the Royal Palace."

"Great," Luffy grinned. "Vivi promised me food before we got here."

"How do you know my daughter?"

"She didn't mention us in her letter? Huh. Well, I'm Monkey D. Luffy, the man who'll be King of the Pirates, and the captain of the ship that brought Vivi back to Alabasta."

"So, your crew were the friends she mentioned?" Cobra blinked. "She failed to say you were pirates."

"Hey, Old Guy. Can I see the palace?"

"Of course."


The battle between the people of Alabasta and Baroque Works ended in total victory for its people. Once it became apparent that the Number Agents and Crocodile had all been defeated, many of the other agents has fled or fell in battle. Any left were arrested by the arriving Marines, led by Captain Smoker. Soon enough, Alubarna returned to its peaceful state, and any citizens that had fled were allowed to return. After clarification of the King's appareny doppelganger was brought to light. The country had already begun the process of recovery. Assistance has been sent to places such as Yuba which were affected most by the drought, with both the former Rebel Army now working in close tandem with the Alabastan Royal Guard. Rebel Leader Kohza went to oversee some of that. Chopper also played a role in that as he assisted in tending to the injured as much as he can, split between them and the crew. Vivi's guardian Igaram was also revealed to be alive following their encounter at Whiskey Peak, somehow surviving the destruction of his ship.

The Straw Hats however had mysteriously "vanished" within the hour after the end of the rebellion, and none of the citizens could or would tell the marines where they were. The marines knew that the pirates were in the castle, but there wasn't enough proof for them to force their way into the royal family's home. All of the members whose faces weren't known were tasked with buying supplies in town.

After a light feast with the promise of a banquet the next day, the Straw Hats settled down for a well-deserved rest. The only ones still awake and moving around were Ben and his team, who took this time to have their own private discussion.

"You three sure found yourselves some interesting company," Julie observed, the Alien Force having left the sleeping pirates and meeting outside their room.

"Yeah, those guys are something else, aren't they?" Ben said.

"That's putting it mildly," Kevin agreed.

"They may have their quirks, but under all that they seem to be good people," Gwen pointed out, having almost fully recovered from her injuries.

"They are a particular bunch to say the least," Rook also agreed. "They were noble enough to help the princess of this kingdom in her time of need. Still, it does not mean I approve of their life of pirating."

"I don't think these are typical pirates. I get a good vibe from them," Tetrax stated.

The group all shared a laugh before getting back on topic.

"That being said," Ben began, "Not that I'm glad to see you guys, but I'm assuming you all didn't come here for a social visit since Paradox was the one who apparently sent you. So, it's gotta be pretty important."

"Ben..." Tetrax began as his mood became serious. "There's no easy way to say this but... Vilgax is back."

Everyone else's mood immediately became serious with that comment as Ben, Gwen, and Kevin gasped in horror.

"No...!" Gwen muttered.

"Are you kidding me?!" Kevin shouted.

"Wait, what?! But he's supposed to be locked up in the Null Void!" Ben exclaimed in shock.

"Apparently one of your old enemies, Eon, along with Psyphon managed to free him along with many of the Null Void's most dangerous prisoners," Tetrax confirmed, "With more than a few of them you three have fought in the past."

"So, Eon's involved in this? And he's teamed up with Vilgax along with who knows how many of our other bad guys?" Ben said with dread, "Yeah, this is really bad."

"The real question is why would Eon of all people would go such lengths to team up with Vilgax and who knows how many of our bad guys? Never figured him for a team player," said Kevin.

"Eon's a Time Walker like Paradox, isn't he?" Gwen pointed out, "He probably told Vilgax all about there being other universes out there and knowing him, he'd probably jump at the chance to conquer and rule over the multiverse itself."

"Well, that's just perfect," Ben spoke, running a hand down his face in frustration, "As if trying to find this One Piece treasure wasn't bad enough, now we got to deal with old Vilgy possibly on our tails."

"Ben, I don't mean to pry but have you told Luffy and the others about Vilgax?" Julie questioned.

"They don't know too much," Ben began, "We only told them the CliffsNotes version of our adventures and our enemies, but that's pretty much it. They still don't know that we're from another universe."

"Yeah, as far as those guys now, everything we've experienced so far happened in this universe and that we did a very good job covering it up," Kevin added.

"But they don't know much about… him," Ben said with a grimace.

"Yeah, but with you just told us, he can't be too far behind." Gwen said.

Tetrax stroked his chin in contemplation. "Are you sure this is a wise decision?"

"Luffy's already got enough problems with just finding the One Piece," Ben said. "But… he is far worse than anything Crocodile and Baroque Works could ever hope to be. I just… I don't want Luffy to have to worry about that."

"The more you try to conceal something Ben, the more difficult the revelation will be," Tetrax advised.

"I know Tetrax," Ben said, his last encounter with his nemesis only six months ago still fresh in his mind, "But… Luffy's not ready; they're not ready, not to hear about him or even face him."

"Yeah, if he is here though, we'll take care of him before Luffy can notice," Kevin said.

"I hope you three are right about this," Rook told them.

"As do I," Tetrax added.

"Me too," Julie said.


The following day's banquet was legendary.

Everybody ate to their heart's content, except for Tetrax, whose species did not require any food or drink. Plate after plate came out and everybody continued to stuff themselves full.

Following the feast, all of the guests were permitted to enjoy a lovely bath in the Royal Bathhouse. However, things got a bit heated when Sanji suggested that the guys go peek on the women's side. It was thanks to Ben and Kevin threatening serious harm that no one decided that being a peeping tom was a good idea. Besides, knowing Nami she probably would have charged them thousands of Beri for a single peek.


Later that night, the sleeping Straw Hats and were awoken rather suddenly when Igaram came running into the room. Though half-asleep, they all could see a look of fear and panic on his faces.

"Hey, keep it down!" Zoro groaned. "Can't a guy get some sleep around here?"

Wiping his eyes awake, Ben could barely comprehend the screaming going on around him. "...Oh man? What the heck's going on?"

"You are all in great danger!" Igaram threw three papers onto the floor of the room they were all sharing. "Look at these!"

Crawling out of bed, the pirates and Alien Force marveled at an incredible sight: new bounty posters. Three familiar faces adorned them:

"Straw Hat" Monkey D. Luffy: 100,000,000 Berries.

"Pirate Hunter" Roronoa Zoro: 60,000,000 Berries.

"The Arsenal" Ben Tennyson: 55,000,000 Berries.

"Well...that's not good," Gwen said.

"...wait, I have a bounty?!" Ben shouted as he tried making sense of it. "How did they even get my picture?!"

"Shishishi! This is great! Your first bounty, Ben! And it's so high too!" Luffy laughed. "But not as high as mine!"

"Hmm...not bad," Zoro rubbed his chin in admiration. "Still should be higher."

"Look! I'm in the picture!" Usopp pointed to a small, blurry image in the corner of Luffy's bounty. "I'm going to be famous!"

"...I do not see it," Rook mused.

"Wait, why does the shitty mosshead and Ben get bounties while I'm neglected again?!" Sanji fumed. "This is bullshit!"

"This isn't a time to be happy or jealous!" Nami scolded him. "Higher bounties mean that more people will be gunning for our heads!"

"Exactly!" Igaram exclaimed worriedly. "You are now going to be known to the people in the know as the ones to bring down a Shichibukai! We aren't going to be able to protect you here for much longer!"

"Okay, how am I a criminal?!" Ben exclaimed, "We're the ones who took down the real criminal! We should be seen as heroes!"

"Ben freaking out aside, old curly hair is right. We're all in danger of being captured by the Marines, and the whole Royal Family risks being charged for treason against the government for harboring fugitives," Kevin pointed out.

Igaram then coughed for a moment, forcing the attention to be directed back to him. "What will you all do now? Your ship will no doubt be targeted by the Marines before you leave..."

"Give us an hour and we will figure out something," Nami reassured him, glancing over to Vivi, who was shifting in her seat. "You shouldn't be here...plausible deniability and all..."

The man nodded and left them alone to reflect on this intense, emotional scene. After a moment, Vivi finally gathered the courage to speak. "Guys, I don't know what to do...I really want to come with you! I want to sail and..."

"Twelve hours," Nami cut her off. "We can give you twelve hours. With luck, our ship hasn't been discovered back at the Sandora River. We will cut around and pass by the East Coast! We can't stop there...but if you decide to travel with us, then we'll gladly take you! Just make sure you realize what that will mean for your people and your country. You will be a pirate from that moment on. Do you understand?"

Vivi nodded as everyone let the moment simmer. Unspoken, the Straw Hats returned to their beds one by one to allow Vivi the proper time to reflect to herself. The only one to stop to her was Ben, who put his hand on her shoulder and gave her a reassuring smile. "No matter what you decision you make, we'll respect it, " With that, he went to bed, trying to get some sleep before the crew had to leave.

Though she didn't realize it yet, the Omnitrix wielder had just helped the princess make up her mind about what she would have to do the next day. It was a choice she knew deep down she had to follow, but one that she selfishly hoped that she wouldn't have to make. But Vivi was always a selfless person at heart, and in the end, she would have made this choice even without his input. It was just in her nature.


Early next morning, just at the crack of dawn, the crew now consisting of twelve snuck out of the town that night after a call from Bon Clay who informed him that he and his crew had apparently commandeered the Going Merry to prevent it from falling into the hands of the Marines. With the help of the Super Sonic Duck Squadron and Eyelashes, the pirates were able to make it out of Alubarna and to the Going Merry by daybreak. There, both pirate crews had set sail.

Soon, they were set upon by Black Cage Hina, a Marine Captain known for surrounding pirate ships and shooting them with long, sharpened iron rods rather than cannonballs. Ben considered turning into Lodestar to put a stop to it, but Bon Clay and his crew stepped in and valiantly sacrificed themselves to give the Straw Hats time to escape, the flamboyant Okama declaring that "if we are to fall, let it be on the sea; the flower of friendship is singing!"

"Bon Clay!" Luffy cried as the Straw Hats sailed away. "We'll never forget you!"

Despite the damages, the Merry was able to outrun the other Marine ships that came for it. The pirates made their way to the meeting point and waited. Noon then came, then a couple more hours soon passed. The clock was nearing two when six Marine ships rounded the coast.

"Warships!" Usopp called from the crow's nest. "Six of them!"

"Come on, Luffy," Sanji muttered, taking a drag on his cigarette. "It's obvious she's not coming."

"No," Luffy denied. "She'll be here. I know it."

"We can't stay, Luffy," Gwen urged. "The Marines are here." There was a crackling sound before Vivi's voice drifted through the air.

"Hello, everyone," she greeted, her words echoing throughout the kingdom. "No doubt those of you in Alubarna are wondering why I'm not there right now, but that doesn't matter. I've been gone for several years, as you all know, and I've learned many things about the world. Sometimes those you trust are the least trustworthy, and sometimes the only ones you can trust are the ones no one else will. I made many friends during my absence, and they will always hold a place in my heart." The Straw Hats finally found the princess who was dressed in a flowing, white gown. She and Carue were standing on the coast, a transponder snail on the duck's head. Tears glistened from Vivi's cheeks, sparking in the afternoon sun.

"I wish that I could travel with them like I did before," she continued. "They're some of the craziest people you would ever meet, and they're also some of the most kind and noble, they were the reason I made it back in time. And they were the reason I never gave up. Even when I'd lost hope, they pulled through for me, and I can't thank them enough for that.

"What truly happened in Alubarna will never make it into the history books. I know that. And those that were there know that, but it doesn't matter. What I'm trying to say is: thank you. Thank you all. I want to go with you, to sail the seas like we did before. But I can't. Not yet. There's too much that I need to do here. I only ask, if we meet again, even if it's years from now, will you still call me your friend?" There was a pause, it seemed like Vivi was waiting for a response. Luffy opened his mouth to call out to her, to tell her that she'd always be their friend, but Sanji clamped a hand over his face.

"We can't say anything," Nami whispered, turning Luffy and herself away from the coast. "The Marines are too close. We can't show that we have a connection."

Pulling Sanji's hand off, Luffy reasoned, "Then how about this?" Yanking the bandages off of his left arm, the captain thrust his arm upward, revealing the X-shaped marking hidden underneath. One by one, the rest of the crew followed in his example, backs to the shore and arms out with exception of Ben who had the Omnitrix but raised his arm anyway. A fresh wave of tears flowed from Vivi's eyes as she and Carue revealed their own black X's and sent them into the air above their heads. Cannonballs rained water upon the pirates as they hit the sea around the ship.

The Marines were firing at them, but the Straw Hats didn't move a muscle. They stood stock still, left hands up. Wind caught the sails and began pulling the ship away from Alabasta, the waves moving the ship ever-so-slightly as if the ship itself was dodging. Just as the ship was moving out of sight, the Alabastian princess lifted the microphone for the transponder snail to her lips.

"Thank you!"

However, unknown to anyone the Going Merry was still being followed. Not by the marines, but by someone or something else entirely as high up in sky unseen by all, a large aircraft was slowing pursuing the crew, intending to reach its target by any means necessary.


Outrunning the Marines proved to be rather easy when Luffy decided to disregard Usopp's request of hanging on to the iron spears that had punctured the Merry during their flight from Black Cage Hina and threw them at the ships chasing them. The Warships were rendered useless in seconds, allowing the Straw Hats a clean getaway.

They sailed on for several hours before the feeling of Vivi's absence got to them. Well... most of them, anyway. Zoro and Ben's team were unaffected by the depressing aura coming from their fellow crewmates.

"What is with you guys? You seriously can't still be moping about this, are you?" Kevin asked now annoyed as the others moped along the ship's railing.

"We miss her!" Luffy, Nami, Usopp, Sanji, and Chopper all wailed in perfect synchronization.

"If you wanted her to come along so badly," Zoro began, "then you should have just kidnapped her."

"And then you would have a giant target on your back," Julie pointed out, walking by as she admired the ship, "And I'm not talking about those marks on your wrists either."

"How could you be so cruel, Zoro?!' Chopper cried.

"Monster," Nami spat.

"Damn Moss head," Sanji followed.

"Three Sword Style," Luffy insulted.

"Luffy?" Usopp questioned. "'Three Sword Style' isn't an insult."

"Four Sword Style," Luffy amended.

"No, that's not how it works," Usopp explained.

"Come on you guys, it's not like it's goodbye forever," Ben tried to reassure the crew, "I'm sure we'll see Vivi again someday."

Zoro and the Alien Force then turned away from their sad and squabbling friends just before the door under said friends opened to allow a figure on deck.

"You better check to make sure all the holes are patched up," the woman commented. "It wouldn't do for the bathroom to flood."

"Already done," Zoro waved off before freezing. The Alien Force spun around, readying for a fight as the other five members snapped out of their shock and tried to free themselves from the railing. The woman, who was dressed in a pair of simple jeans and a light purple shirt that both belonged to Nami, ignored them. She walked over to a deck chair, book in hand, and sat down.

"Oh, she's gorgeous," Sanji swooned.

Before anyone could say anything else, a green flash was seen before the woman found herself suspended several feet into the air and then slammed into a wall with her arms and legs then being bound in restraints made of mana, courtesy of an angry Gwen.

"You got a lot of nerve showing up here Ms. All-Sunday. Or should we call you Robin?" Ben who had transformed into Gravattack said sternly as he held out both of his hands which were surrounded by green energy."

"Oi, what the hell do you think you're doing Ben?!" Sanji shouted, "I'm going to-"

Not now, Sanji!" Gwen yelled, making the chef back off as she turned angrily to the restrained Robin, "Why are you here?" Gwen demanded as her eyes glowed pink.

"For your captain," Robin answered without missing a beat, despite being completely trapped.

"I never invited you," Luffy argued.

"No, you didn't," the woman nodded, "but I'm not here by invitation. I came here because of what you did to me."

"Luffy!" Sanji roared angrily, grabbing his captain by the shirt and shaking him. "What the hell did you do?!"

"I. Didn't. Do. Any. Thing. To. You!" Luffy denied through the shaking.

"You most certainly did," the former Ms. All-Sunday replied suggestively. "I'm here to make sure you take responsibility for your actions."

"Luffy, you bastard!" While Sanji continued to shake his rubber captain, the rest of the crew stared at the woman in confusion.

"Um," Gravattack began. "What the heck are you talking about?"

"He forced me to live," Nico Robin answered. Sanji's shaking stopped suddenly. The woman slightly turned her head and looked into the distance, seeing the sea, but not seeing it at the same time. She continued to speak. "Just when all I wanted was to die, your captain would not let me have it. He dragged me out of that tomb, and now I'm here so he takes responsibility for that. I wish to join your crew."

The crew's reactions were mixed. The great majority such as Zoro, Ben, and his group were very much against it as they had not forgotten Robin's past actions while Nami and Usopp were simply skeptical, and Sanji of course was on Cloud 9. The chef danced into the kitchen to cook their newest member a delicious meal. It was clear that Ben and his team did not trust this woman at all and would rather see her off the ship immediately. But ultimately it was up to Luffy to make the final decision as he was the captain.

And according to their captain, the thirteenth member of the Straw Hat Pirates was apparently one Nico Robin.


"Hmm…so their numbers have grown…it seems that we will require more predators and I use the term loosely," A hissing voice said as Khyber scowled at what he witnessed on screen, sitting in his chair.

"Are the DNA samples arriving or not?" Khyber asked as turned to a hologram of a purple fiddler crab who just gave a chuckle.

"Of course, he should be arriving…now," The crab replied as something small slinked into the room, hopping onto a table near Khyber's dog, who snarled.

"Down you unruly mongrel," The creature said as jumped onto the dog's collar, making it snarl at him, "Khyber, tell your pet here if he wants these DNA samples for the Nemetrix, he has to desist his prattle at once."

"Calm down, old friend," Khyber said as he looks at the strange goo in question. The creature appeared to be a small, squid-like green blob that had small tentacles on its head, small straight eyes and made of some sort of odd-looking plasma, as it began to latch itself on to the Nemetrix. "What predator DNA were you able to get this time, Skurd?"

"Oh Khyber, I am so pleased you asked. While you have the original ten aliens, I was able to procure several for Tennyson's more powerful forms. I have the predators for the Aerophibian, Vulpimancer, Opticoid, Sonorosian, Arachinchimp, Pisciss Volann, Amperi, Geochelone Aerio, Orishan, even the Arburian Pelarota. Apparently, there was a poacher who purchased it long before that massive insect laid waste to Arburia," Skurd explained as Khyber smirked at this.

"A nearly-extinct alien species, hmm? Interesting…do you have anything for his more formidable aliens?" Khyber asked as Skurd nodded.

"They were much harder to find, but I got five of interest: Predators for the Kineceleran, Petrosapien, Tetramand, Ectonurite, and even the…To'kustar. That little bugger was a lot harder to procure, but it was useful," said Skurd as Khyber's grin only grew wider as Skurd got off.

"Good…here's your pay," Khyber said as he gave him three Taydens, which Skurd took with him.

"Pleasure doing business, good sir." Skurd said with a nod. "Well then…I am going off to find more DNA samples for you. I will report when I do," He did a small salute with one of his tentacles before jumping off.

"Bah…greedy little leech…but useful none the less." Khyber smirked as he said, "And soon…this hunt will get quite interesting," He looked ahead as Khyber's pet growled, the Nemetrix glowing around its neck.


AN: Well, that was quite the chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. I just wanted to end this arc as soon as possible since it was dragging on for too long. You noticed I changed Ben's bounty name, it's a reference to the Ben 10 fancomic Five Years Later where the official list of transformations Ben uses are labeled as Ben's Arsenal. It pretty much describes how versatile Ben is with his transformations, so I thought the name would be a good fit plus I hope that Ben's first bounty is to your liking. You can expect more elements from 5YL to be included later on. Looks like Ben's team has learned that Vilgax has followed them to the One Piece universe and he's apparently not alone. Also, they've decided to keep it a secret from Luffy and the Straw Hats, I'm sure that won't have any consequences later.

And Robin has now joined the crew but as you can see, Ben and his team don't really trust her for obvious reasons considering Gwen herself got a front row seat to her crimes firsthand. So, it's going to be harder for the Straw Hats to accept Robin than in canon. Lastly, I'd bet your surprised that I introduced Skurd this early, basically since Ben has more allies then in canon, I wanted to give Khyber an edge as it's obvious that he wouldn't stand a chance against the Straw Hats if he fought them head on. If you're familiar with Skurd's abilities, you'll know what I mean. So, next up is the Jaya arc which will include elements from the Omniverse episode Predators and Prey. Until then, stay safe and healthy out there, and I'll see you all next time.