One Piece - Tales of the Pirate King

Disclaimer: One Piece is property of Eiichiro Oda. I am not Eiichiro Oda

Chapter 12 - The Kingdom of Sands, Alabasta

Chopper found himself fitting in the, quite accurately named, 'Chibi Trio', which consisted of him, Usopp, and Luffy. And lots of silliness, commonly ranging between rather stupid games from fishing, with poor Carue as bait

Vivi was not pleased with that

And, amusingly enough, the other child of the crew was more often than not facepalming alongside the non-insane members at their antics

The 'Straw Hats' also found themselves with two other trios, because a sextet didn't sound right in common conversation. One was the 'Fiend Trio', consisting of the murderous Gin, the living artillery Elijah, and the equally living artillery shell Valentine, and they were the ones actively malicious of the crew, responsible for the doing the dark deeds the crew might need done

The other was the 'Monster Trio', named such for their monstrous strength, consisting of the captain Luffy, the first mate Zoro, and somewhat surprisingly, the cook Sanji. They were the ones responsible for actual combat; the ones who searched for the strongest fighters on the enemy crew and fought them

It made Elijah and Valentine breathe a sigh of relief, to not be the ones on the frontlines against their old organization, since they were the weakest of the top five members

All that wasn't anything formal. It was just how things fell into place, between the spars against Zoro that only Sanji and Luffy could keep up with, to the planning sessions with intel from Eli and Val and the dark suggestions of Gin, to the many jests that Usopp and Luffy attempted to teach the rather sheltered reindeer boy

Then, one particular day: - "Smoke! Smoke in front of the ship!" - Called out Grace, lazing around on the crow nest with the spyglass, spying the massive pillar in front of them

Nami, naturally, instantly recognized the natural phenomenon: - "That's an underwater volcano!"

"Underwater volcano?" - And Chopper didn't, the ginger explaining: - "Indeed. Most volcanos are actually deep beneath the ocean; but for this one to create such a thing it must be rather close to the surface. In a few thousand years, another island might even form here"

"So cool~!" - And Chopper, as expected, was highly impressed

Meanwhile: - "Has anyone seen Carue!?" - Vivi searched for her duck. She had a suspicion, but she had already, ahem, taught the fishers to not repeat their performance, and Chopper clearly heard the princess' request

She didn't receive an answer, instead the crew as one retching as they entered the cloud of sulphur created by the volcano, the temperature rising and the smell of rotten eggs permeating the ship

"Can anyone see the way!?" - Called out Luffy, on the railings

"J-just~… Gin! A light curve to starboard!" - Answered Nami: - "We just need to follow the Log Pose, Luffy!"

"Yosh… I think I got something!"

And as they exited the volcanic mist, the crew, reunited where Luffy was, saw him and Usopp, both having caught the same thing with their fishing rods, using Carue as bait, a… person, wrapped around it

"Thank you! For rescuing me~!" - The man, with make-up heavily smeared on his face, was wearing a flamboyant pink coat over a blue shirt and puffy stripped blue shorts, with hairy legs exposed and two stuffed swans on his back, didn't introduce himself, but, notably, both Grace, Valentine and Elijah were gone as soon as he dropped from the duck and set foot on the Merry

Nor was Igaram nor Sanji present, both men in the kitchen, and Vivi, technically present but standing in front of the kitchen and above the others, confused as for why the ex-members of the Baroque Works had escaped inside with such a hurry

The man instantly conquered the 'Chibi Trio' with his power, the power of the Clone Clone Fruit, allowing the eater to turn into somebody else; he demonstrated that by first slapping Luffy and, before the others could beat the crap out of him, revealed his transformed face with a shout of: - "Stop~ joking around~! Ha~hahahaha!"

With his powers, as he demonstrated by touching Usopp, Chopper, Nami, and, thanks to the sheer surprise, Zoro, worked by touching his face with one hand to change into another person, and change back to normal with the other, the transformation completely changing his body and voice, as they found out when he opened his shirt while transformed as Nami

The ginger expressed her displeasure by smashing his skull inwards, yet, miraculously, as it is often with humorous wounds, he barely felt it, only meekly apologizing before being swept into a ridiculous song and dance number with the 'Chibi Trio'

Then, came a ship owned by him, the fact quickly deduced by both the man identifying it as such, and by the fact it was as flamboyant as him, a slightly larger caravel with a swan figurehead

"Oh~! My lovelies, so good to see you again~! And thank you, my newest lovelies, for saving me!" - And as he sailed away, the crew saying their goodbyes and Zoro wondering how exactly the man got on Carue in the first place, they heard: - "Now, my lovelies, to Alabasta!" - "Yes, Mister Two Bon Kurei!"

"That was the Mister Two!?" - As one, the crew asked, except Luffy and Usopp; they were being punished by a horrified but nevertheless peeved Vivi, the blue-haired lass slamming their heads together for once again using Carue as fish bait

"Yes" - Intervened Elijah, Valentine continuing: - "Didn't we mention that?"

Luffy, on the ground, admitted: - "I rarely pay attention; knowing about the adventure makes it boring"

Vivi grounded his head with her heels, as she muttered: - "I-I heard about him; he's a proud crossdresser, and wears pink, and has two swans on his back, and-"

"And you didn't recognize him?" - Asked Zoro, somewhat annoyed and confused

"More importantly" - Vivi, however, completely ignored him, focusing on something more important: - "He had my father's face"

A beat ensued

"What!?" - "One of the faces… one of the faces he showed, when entertaining Luffy and… it was my father's" - That raised the stakes highly for the crew. Somebody with the ability to transform into the king of a nation was already troublesome enough, but that person being an active enemy of the kingdom?

With a gasp, Valentine realized: - "And he got your faces!?" - And the gravity of the situation doubled

"We need something to deal with that. A password or the like" - Grace said, munching on a biscuit

Zoro was the one to raise his hand at that: - "Might've an idea"

"You know, it was a good thing that we met Mister Two so soon" - Mused Luffy, Nami and Zoro the ones to raise their eyebrow and turn to face him: - "It meant we could devise a counter"

Blinking in surprise, both first mate and navigator had to agree with their captain's statement, much to their own surprise

The crew, after some sneaking around, found themselves reunited in front of their ship in the city of Nanohana. Vivi had warned them about the greatest dangers of the desert, the heat and lack of liquid, and thus, they had bought proper clothes, and many barrels of water

Unfortunately, Chopper got himself lost, the warm climate boiling the poor reindeer; he had snuck into a shadow, not realizing it was a carriage heading to another city. Fortunately, later, he'd be able to return, with the help of a friendly camel

Luffy was pouting, not liking his new brown boots, dressed in a body-covering wine open coat with white drawings, his jutte hidden under it alongside his red vest and blue shorts, and with his straw hat tied by a blue piece of cloth; he was not fond of covering his feet, much preferring his sandals

Zoro was also dressed to travel in the desert, a black and white coat with an orange headdress tied by a thin golden chain and black pants, still wearing his green haramaki, black shoes and black bandana tied to his left biceps, alongside his three swords

And Nami… well, Sanji was the one responsible for buying the clothes, and with Chopper too distracted by the heat to ground the blond chef, she was now forced to wear a lovely blue halter top baring her midriff and light blue skirt with a tiny pink jacket completing it, in other words, a dancer's outfit. Strangely enough, she kept her heels, in spite of the heated sand

Nami found it amusing, Vivi was embarrassed by her slightly darker one, and Valentine had to be held back by Elijah and Gin to not punt the cook out of the ship, though she still wore her yellow-green one. Grace received a very fancy dark green and golden gown, with a white and dark green coat to cover her body, her hat still present, which was fortunate, as it stopped rather awkward questions about Sanji's taste

As the tangerine-haired girl bought three colourful coats, to protect the ladies from the scorching sun, Zoro and Luffy called out for Chopper, asking if anyone had seen a brown-skinned boy with a big pink hat with reindeer antlers tied to it, as few would understand the idea of a reindeer human

Then, an explosion of fire and smoke from a restaurant, a stream of punches and blows from a jutte that Luffy recognized, Smoker and a man on fire exiting the building and fighting violently outside, launching blasts of fire and trying to touch the other with the Seastone tipped weapon

"Ace!" - The only man Luffy knew, thanks to the newspapers that reached Goa, that could actually be on fire and not mind, was his older brother, helped by the freckled man calling his signature attack, the 'Fire Fist', a massive gout of flames that engulfed almost the entire street and pushed Smoker to one end of it

The 'Straw Hat' quite remembered reading Ace being called that in a newspaper, roughly a year after his brother's journey started. Now, however, he faced quite a conundrum; on one hand, his brother was facing Smoker, the marine that almost defeated Luffy in Loguetown, why he was here being a question for another time, on the other, Ace was far stronger than Luffy, and the boy's intervention would probably just make the fight messier than needed

"Let's get the hell out of here!" - Finally, he decided, and the first three members of the 'Straw Hat' crew moved away, to the edge of the city, Nami guiding the two broken compasses, rather exasperatedly. They weren't that bad before, what has happened with them!? Did the Grand Line screw with their sense of direction?

"Now we take a left, Zoro, and there! You can even see the Merry from here" - "I know! I'm not blind!"

"You both were heading to the wrong side, towards the desert" - She was having none of it, but fortunately, Chopper came to their rescue

"Guys! Luffy, Zoro, Nami!" - He had a white shirt under a lavender jacket, khaki shorts, his top hat ever present, and was waddling towards the crew with a sheen of sweet visible through his fur, which probably wasn't quite healthy, Zoro being volunteered to carry the reindeer

Oddly enough, the green-haired man didn't mind, Chopper resting on his head like a particularly exhausted plush

And the quartet, finally, returned to the ship, where the crew was gathered and making plans. For starters, Igaram and Carue would ride to the king, to report directly to him about everything Vivi and the royal guard had found while spying on Baroque Works, the remaining 'Straw Hats' travelling with Merry to Erumalu, and from there through the desert to Yuba, where the rebels were stationed

Notable, however, were the seven galleons, each one bearing the symbol of Baroque Works, that they met as soon as they exited the port of Nanohana

"Billions" - Deduced Elijah: - "We'll need to take them out, or else" - What else didn't need to be described to the crew; even Luffy knew of Baroque Works operations, in which they'd join both sides of the conflict and commit unspeakable crimes against each other, to maintain the civil war going

"But- how? These ships are massive, they must have at least a hundred men there" - Questioned Vivi, making the dark-skinned man chuckle

"You forget I'm a bomb man, princess; all I need to do is get close enough. Is that possible, Captain!?"

"No idea" - Admitted Luffy: - "Nami! Can we weave around the ships without Elijah helping!?"

"Easily, Luffy! Merry is a nimble little caravel, she'll dance around them!" - She spoke with confidence, so Luffy ordered

"All right crew! Everyone pays attention! We'll take down the enemy, starting now!" - Then, he shouted: - "Crocodile! We're coming for you!"

And it was a thing of beauty. The Going Merry, little caravel that could, charged at the five ships, each twice as big as her, and easily dealt with them, slipping past behind the first, Elijah muttering: - "Who'd though I'd use you against our own, hm?"

And on his hands, was a massive and highly decorated revolver with golden engravings, and with the chamber open, the dark-skinned man blew a breath on it, before taking aim on the starboard side

"Breeze Breath Bombs!" - And fired. The back of his target exploded, the explosive breath launched like a massive wind bullet, the galleon breaking apart as its rear was obliterated, taking water and sinking

The next shot was fired from the port side, and helped by a cannon shot from Igaram, an exploit achieved in a moment of respite from dealing with the ropes and sails, the twin shots shredding their target, the explosion from the struck gunpowder barrels on it sending shrapnel everywhere

The third bullet of the revolver missed, due to the sharp turn the Merry had to perform to not strike said ship, the voices of surprise and shock from the galleon heard as their main mast was destroyed, the fourth shot hitting the target with full force right below the figurehead, blasting the ship practically in half, the ocean finishing the job of splitting the ship

Ship number four had turned to face the Merry, and fired a cannonball in fact, but the shot flew high above the relatively tiny ship, Elijah calling out: - "Keep an eye on that one!" - As he fired on ship number five, his next shot hitting again the gunpowder and completely destroying the large ship

Usopp heard the fellow dark-skinned man, and pointed shortly after: - "Luffy~! Cannonball, incoming!" - And the candy man answered with a call of his own: - "Candy Candy Lance!" - Launching his leg forward and detonating the shot mostly harmlessly over the ocean, the heat making him grunt in annoyance; by then, Elijah had already turned back to the right side of the Merry, taking aim and firing his last wind bullet, his breath washing the ship and detonating, completely destroying the deck

"Reloading!" - Called out Elijah, soon after: - "Reloaded" - As he simply blew on the cylinder of the revolver, taking aim again and retreating to the port side, where he unloaded rapidly all six shots, dealing glancing blows to the two other ships, which were further away; these glancing blows were still an explosive wind, so the ships would need repairs soon

Four ships sunk, one heavily crippled, the other two also wounded, casualties up to one hundred enemies, and no harm done to the Merry or her crew. Naturally, that called for a party, Luffy ordering the celebration, even Elijah joining the silly dance of the 'Chibi Trio', coming from the high of the success, though he hastily disengaged and went to drink with a smirking Valentine and Gin and a bemused Zoro

Soon, another reason to celebrate appeared to their captain: - "How lively; I take they are your enemies in some way or another?"

"Hmhum! They're trying to conquer the kingdom of our friend, Ace" - Answered Luffy, looking at the man sitting in the rail. Freckled, with wild black hair and black eyes, shirtless and wearing only orange shorts held by a brown belt, a curious orange hat on his head with two blue smileys on it, a dagger resting on a sheath on his hips… and unmistakably him: - "Hello, big brother"

By the time the party ended, the crew had a newfound appreciation for their captain. Oh, sure, he was still their goofy, almost dumb captain, but he was also related to 'Fire Fist' Ace, commander of the second division of the 'Whitebeard' himself, and 'Gentleman' Sabo, hero, in spite of being a pirate himself

With such a family, was it any surprise that the youngest and supposedly weaker member would still be a monster?

While Luffy would have loved the company of his brother, Ace had business of his own. A crewmate under his command killed another, and it was Ace's duty to hunt him down; 'Fire Fist' even denied describing this 'Blackbeard' individual to them, only revealing it was his crew that destroyed Drum, and that rumours of his presence where what drew him to Alabasta, rumours he discovered were false

"If you do see him Luffy, don't fight; somebody from the other half of the Grand Line is an opponent you're not ready to face yet" - Ace spoke with such seriousness that Luffy had to obey; his big brother wouldn't tell him the reason for why he shouldn't do it, but he would never lie to him, and if he told him that 'Blackbeard' was above his level, he would hear him

At this moment, Igaram and Carue finally departed, the super spot-billed duck dashing into the Sandora Desert and leaving a massive plume of sand behind. Ace in turn also departed on a one-man skiff, made to be used with his Devil Fruit powers, but not before giving Luffy what he called a Vivre Card, a small piece of square paper that Grace helpfully sewed into his hat

"Thank you, for taking care of my little brother!" - He shouted, even as he dashed away in the ocean

"Any more surprises in the family tree?" - Asked Nami, making Luffy actually look at her with clear amusement

He answered: - "My name is Monkey D. Luffy" - And left her to reach her own conclusions

The journey started with Luffy pouting, as she failed to make the connection between him and his grandfather. Mild confusion ensued, as for why he'd be pouting, and only grew, as he took his wrath on the Kung Fu Dugongs, small dugong-like creatures with sea turtle shells that inhabited the Sandora River, the animals challenging him and the pirate exploiting it to let loose a little of his annoyance on the not-crew

Soon, however, he had a good few dozens of the critters on his heels, begging to be taught by him: - "T-they believe that whoever beats them, becomes their new master…" - Explained Vivi, perhaps a tad too late

"… Okay, dugongs! Your job is to guard the ship while we're away!" - And fortunately, while they were willing to obey, after some whining and an offering of their food supplies, to the dismay of the crew, who had to part with a quarter of their food, Chopper, born an animal and able to negotiate with them reducing the price of half of their food

Luffy had added that the dugongs had free access to the Merry, as long as they didn't touch the tangerine trees of Nami or her gold and money, only touching the food. Sanji was not amused, especially as he also had to choose between watching the ladies covered by a red, a blue, and a golden cloak, or watch them risk suffering sunburns in the intense sun of the desert

Still, the chef himself was covered under a light blue cloak with a red sun on his shoulders, a white robe under that, hiding the fact he had a suit under it all, and after ensuring that exactly one quarter of their food was given, and that there was enough food to appease the critters guarding Merry, he and the crew departed into the desert

"Hey, Vivi"

"Hm? Yes, mister Luffy?" - "Say, what other creatures exist in the desert? Anything we might fight?"

Vivi looked thoughtful for a moment, before breathing out: - "Hopefully not. The only truly dangerous creature we might face are the Sandora Dragons; all others are creatures you just need to ignore and go on your way"

"Like what" - Asked the captain

"First, there's the Desert Strawberry" - Explained Vivi, pausing in her walking to draw in the sand a spider with her foot: - "They are spiders named that because they look like strawberries, but they are extremely poisonous, so eating one can easily be an instant death"

"Are there even strawberries in a desert?" - Asked Zoro, turning to their cook, who just shrugged: - "Maybe if they're special Alabastan strawberries? This is the Grand Line"

Vivi giggled softly, hearing the exchange, but soon sobered up, as they passed through the ruins of Erumalu, the city once known as 'the Green City', now reduced to rubble and sand: - "But the ultimate danger that any of us might suffer is the loss of water"

"Erumalu survived thanks to a long channel, linking it to the Sandora River, but as you can see…" - Indeed, the channel had been destroyed, a part damaged as if the walls had simply fallen apart with nothing holding the bricks together, sand blocking the way: - "Coupled with the drought, and, well, you can see what Crocodile has done to the country"

The old members of Baroque Works fidgeted. Vivi looked somewhat apologetic at them, but didn't take her words back. She was right, in that he and his organization were the ones responsible for the destruction of her kingdom

As the wind howled past the abandoned buildings, the sound a frightening and grievous cry coming as if from the city, the crew moved past the ruined buildings and the lost skull, buried by them so it could rest in peace, silence reigning as they wandered into the sands

"Hey, Vivi. Is there any-" - "Oh, oh yes, there is!"

"Another danger is the Warusagi Birds; they fake being dead and injured and, when those who travel close stop paying attention to them, they steal their belongings"

Holding her hand and counting to her third finger, Vivi continued: - "Another danger of the desert is the Mescal Cactus, which causes hallucinations"

And holding her fourth finger, as the crew entered into a craggy canyon and saw a bunch of said Warusagi Birds, quickly expulsed from the shade by the explosive man of the crew, Vivi called what she considered the second most dangerous danger of the place: - "And finally there's the Sandora Dragon. They're purple lizards big enough to eat a person in one bite"

Silence ensued as one appeared besides them after digging its way out of the sand, turning to lazily scratching its side on the rocks: - "Like these?"

"Yes Luffy, like… l-l-like t-these" - And as one, the crew realized that a massive man-eating giant lizard was right beside them

Luffy was not amused, nor intimidated: - "Hm. Sanji, Zoro, I'm hungry. Follow"

"I-I d-don't t-t-think w-we w-will n-need t-to w-w-worry a-about t-them" - Admitted Usopp, in spite of his trembling legs

The lizard, realising that prey was on the area, roared and turned to face the crew, then realised he was the prey, as while some cowered behind them, three of them jumping high

"Candy Candy~ Axe!" - Heel kick: - "Dragon~ Twister!" - Spinning slash: - "Épaule~ Shoot!" - Another heel kick. Vivi could only stare, as the mightiest predator of Sandora Desert was outright brutalized and made into a snack

To Vivi's bemused horror, she forgot to mention that Sandora Dragons hunted in pairs. It was trounced just as easily, stunned by Elijah and bombarded by a flying Valentine, the blonde weighting ten-thousand kilograms and practically snapping the lizard in half. There they met the camel Eyelashes, named such by Nami, a 'gentlemanly' camel who only let ladies ride him that was being chased by the dragon, giving a ride to Nami, who decidedly regretted walking around the boiling sand with sandals, Grace, who was a child, and Valentine, who reduced her weight to one kilogram

Vivi rather didn't mind walking, used to the desert, so she just kept going

So, while lacking somewhat in water, they reached Yuba rather comfortably filled with meat, only to feel like they ate ashes as they discovered that the rebel army had relocated to Katorea, a city neighbour to Nanohana, which was all the way back at the start of their journey and that Chopper had acidently visited

"And if Mister Two is here, we might not have enough time. Why call back the guy who can turn into the king if not for some sort of plan?" - To make matters worse, Sanji grimly reminded them they were running out of time

"Somebody able to turn into the king!?" - Exclaimed Toto. He was an elderly, thin and frail man who nevertheless faced the repeated sandstorms that struck Yuba, keeping the oasis village alive singlehandedly, and in fact had given a small barrel of water to the crew, upon learning of their purpose; it helped that Vivi recognized him as the father of Kohza and he, in turn, her, as the princess of Alabasta and friend of his son

Luffy then asked: - "What would happen with Baroque Works if Crocodile was defeated?" - And after thinking a little, Elijah answered: - "With all the secrecy, it is very probable everything might just fall apart"

"Miss All-Sundays might do something, but the organization itself… yes, it might just fall. Luffy, are you-" - "Yes"

"Change of plans, crew. If we defeat Crocodile now, we might just slow the rebellion enough that we can reach Vivi's friend" - Declared Luffy

Vivi disagreed, vehemently, and so did the other ex-members of Baroque Works: - "Y-you're going to die! C-Crocodile is a new world opponent, just like 'Blackbeard', you do-"

"Crocodile is also a sand man, right?" - Asked Luffy, grinning: - "Let me tell you a secret, Vivi; every logia Devil Fruit has a weakness that can be exploited, the problem is finding what"

"If Ace was here, for example, I bet he could've just incinerate the Croc 'till he was only glass" - The boy gave as an example, then used himself: - "And flour makes me lose my stickiness and ability to transform, allowing me to be struck"

The princess blinked in surprise at the revelation, but still shook her head: - "I-Impossible, impossible! Luffy, reconsider!-"

"Vivi" - However, the captain of the 'Straw Hats' already made his mind: - "I know you don't want us to risk our lives; we're friends, you want us safe, and all that. But you can't risk your life and expect us to sit on the side-lines"

"What our captain is saying is, let them come; we're much stronger than we look" - Grinned savagely Zoro

"You should've know by now, we'd do anything for a friend, Vivi" - Smiled softly Nami, hugging the bluenette: - "Please, let us help"

"They saved my home, they saved Nami's, they saved Sanji's and Chopper's; see the pattern?" - Asked Usopp with a confident grin

"We'll protect you with our lives, princess!" - Declared Sanji

Gin offered a 'thumbs up': - "Count me in"

"We grew fond of you" - Shrugged Elijah, Valentine laughing: - "Besides, this has been the most fun we had in years!"

Grace smiled as she admitted: - "You're a good friend, princess; we want to help"

And Chopper, sitting beside Grace, stated: - "What is the purpose of a being a friend but to help?"

Moved to tears, Vivi could only sob, even as they descended into a massive hug pile, Toto watching amused from the side, almost forgotten. A stretchy candy arm dragged him into the group, to his chuckles

Fortunately, for everyone involved, Rainbase, the city where Crocodile was stationed, was a day of journey straight north of there, two full days faster than returning to Nanohana and going to Katorea. It'd make things rather awkward otherwise

"Ready?" - "As I'll ever be" - Asked Luffy, Vivi answering

"Not at all" - The ex-Baroque Works members, however, where rather scared of facing their own old boss. They were summarily ignored

"Good, because I've been dying of thirst" - Admitted Luffy, Usopp roaring: - "Then why not drink the water given to us!?"

Luffy's answer was enough to only reduce Usopp to grumbling mutinously: - "That water is special, Usopp"

Fortunately, for everyone, as the dark-skinned teen climbed a dune, he had the honour of being the first of the crew to see it; Rainbase

AN: Woo, that was a doozy. Lack of inspiration struck, so that ending's writing slowed down to a crawl, and next chapter wasn't even started yet. Hopefully I'll have something still, though

Thank you, bobboky, for the review, the sole one from the previous chapter

And on to differences from canon? Ace's meeting was delayed, since Luffy was smart enough to not get himself separated from the crew in search of food, thus he didn't get himself chased by Smoker, which meant that the marine did end engaging Ace, and all together resulting in considerable damage to little Nanohana

It also meant that Elijah had to show off a little more, drawing his revolver to sink the Baroque Works, since Ace was delayed somewhat by Smoker

Other than that, once again Luffy intelligence's shine though, ensuring all resources they prepared for the journey, while reduced somewhat thanks to the Kung Fu Dugongs, weren't taken by the Warusagi Birds. They actually could leave some food for poor Toto

That is all, thank you for your time reading, and please, review! It is what tells me if whatever I'm doing is right

And with that, peace!