Well, I don't have much to say this time really. The only thing I have is just a reminder that I have traslated the attacks to English. This is just for my readers who do not speak Japanese. Like me XD

Chapter 16

Vivi looked around in awe. Feelings of worry and anxiety were replaced by those of wonder and astonishment. The chamber was huge and had a dazzeling beauty to it. "It's amazing." she said in quiet wonder.

This moment was quickly spoiled by a noise behind her and an all to familiar voice. "Hello Princess."

"Crocodile." Vivi said in an icy voice as she turned around to find the shifting sand take shape.

"I see you're not alone." Crocodile remarked.

"We're is my father?" Vivi demanded.

"Such an impatient girl." Crocodile mused.

"I ask you a question." Vivi replied.

"If you insist, he's up there." Crocodile said indifferently. He pointed to the top of the spiral staircase.

Vivi turned to run up it, but Crocodile grabbed her shoulder. A chill ran down her spine.

"Don't be in such a hurry." Crocodile said calmly, yet in a way that would make anyone tremble in fear.

"Oni Giri!" Zoro cried and charged at Crocodile. The attack was useless as far as doing any damage, but it did allow Vivi to escape. She dashed up the stairs where she was met by the one and only...Sanji.

"Vivi-chan!!!!! Are you hurt my dear?" he asked as hearts floated around him.

"I'm fine. Where is my father?" she said as she brushed him off.

"Vivi?!" she heard a voice cry.

"Father!" she cried as she ran and hugged him as hard as she could. "I was afraid you were dead!"

"Not yet." Cobra replied.

"Vivi-chan. I hate to break up this reunion...but we've got to go!" Sanji cried urgently.

"Huh?" Vivi asked as she turned toward him. She quickly saw the problem. There was a wave of sand making it's way up to the bridge she was standing on. It was starting to take form, blocking the way to the stairs in the process. Vivi looked around, searching desperately for an escape but, there was none.

"Going somewhere princess?" Crocodile asked as he finally solidified.

Vivi's eyes went wide.

"Leave her alone you creep!" Sanji yelled as he kicked through Crocodile and landed in front of Vivi.

During the second it had taken Sanji to reach her, she had been able to form a plan. "Sanji, hold on to me!" she instructed.

"Gladly Vivi-chan!!!" Sanji cried entusiastically. He danced over and wrapped his arms around her.

"Jump with me!" she said. "One...two...three!"

The two of them jumped over the side of the railing on the bridge and plumeted toward the ground. Vivi pulled her peacock strings out and shot them upward and latched them into the underside of the bridge. As they snapped tight, she held on with a death grip. They cut into her hands and she was almost afraid they wouldn't hold. Thankfully they did.

When they swung close to the ground, Sanji let go and dropped to the ground. Vivi pulled her strings out of the bridge and fell toward the ground. Sanji caught her and gently set her down.

He noticed her hands were bleeding. "Vivi, are you hurt?" Sanji asked.

At that moment, Nami ran up and banged Sanji on the head.

"What was that for?!" Sanji cried as he jumped up.

Nami jerked his ear and he let out a yelp. "What was that for? What was that FOR?!!! You are married now!!!!!! Get it?!!!!! I saw your little display up there!!!!!!!!!" she screamed.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Sanji pleaded as she dragged him off.

Vivi turned her gaze up to the bridge. Crocodile wasn't in sight. Then she heard a cry that sent chills up her spine. "Father!" she cried.

Crocodile reappeared except, this time, he was holding her father dangled over the edge of the bridge. "We aren't done yet princess. Now, why don't you just come up here and we'll have a little talk." Crocodile said coldly.

"Vivi!!! Don't!" her father cried.

Vivi glanced between the stairs and her father. What could she do?

"Let him fall." Robin said as she walked up beside Vivi.

"What?!!" Vivi screamed.

"Trust me. Let him fall." Robin insisted.

"Are you crazy?!!!" Vivi cried. "He'll be killed!!!"

Robin gazed steadily at her. It was a look that said, do not defy me, yet, it was also gentle and trusting.

Vivi sighed and reluctantly turned her attention back to Crocodile. "I won't come up there!!!"

"Have it your way." Crocodile said with a shrug. He turned his hand to sand and let Cobra slip through. Vivi could see the terror in his eyes as he fell. She stole a glance at Robin, hoping for any hint that she knew what was going on.

Robin closed her eyes and crossed her arms. Vivi held her breath. Suddenly, hands popped out of the ground and formed a net of hands that could catch Cobra. He landed safely and Robin lowered him to the ground.

Vivi broke out into a grin.

"You still doubt me. You haven't yet forgotten what I did to your country. I understand." Robin said and walked over to join the rest of the group.

Vivi watched her go in shock, speechless, but quickly turned her attention to her father. "Are you alright?!" she cried as she rushed to his side.

He slowly picked himself up off the ground. "I'm fine but I'm getting too old to do this." he joked.

Vivi didn't laugh. "You need to get out of here." she said gravely.

He didn't protest. "I'll only be in the way." he admitted.

She nodded sadly. "Come on." she said. She led him toward the same passage way they had entered the chamber through.

Just as they were about to make it, Crocodile materialized in front of them. "I told you, we're not done." he said.

"Walk point!" Chopper yelled. He ran toward Crocodile with amazing speed, forcing Crocodile to turn into sand.

This temporarily opened up a passage to the door.

"Go." Vivi told her father.

"Be careful Vivi. I love you." he said. He hugged her tightly and then quickly made his way to the door. He looked at her one last time before disappearing into the passage way.

Vivi turned to face her friends and Crocodile, who had just reappeared. The small group had started to move in.

"Get ready!" Nami cried. She held her climatact protectively in front of her. "Remember our plan!"

They all nodded, except for Vivi, who didn't have a clue.

Crocodile was not happy. With Cobra gone, he no longer had any leverage over Vivi. "If this is the way it's going to be, that's fine. I'll play with you for awhile." he said.

"Chopper! Now!" Nami cried.

"Right!" Chopper said and switched to walk point. He ran towards Nami who jumped on as he ran by.

Crocodile saw them coming. "Desert Sword!" he said. Suddenly, there was a line of sand spikes heading straight for Nami and Chopper.

Nami leaped off Chopper's back and out of the way. Chopper went back into brain point and the attack missed him entirely.

"Crap!" Nami thought. "It didn't work! We have to get him wet!"

Vivi thought about all that Nami had told her about the climatact and she soon figured out Nami's plan. "I have to help them, but how?" Vivi wondered.

"Crap jerk!" Sanji yelled as he ran at Crocodile. "How dare you attack my Nami-san!" He attempted to hit Crocodile with a strong kick to the ribs.

Nami stood up. She had found her opportunity. "Time to make this a fair fight." she thought. Chopper knew what she was thinking and switched to walk point. He picked up Nami and while Crocodile was distracted by Sanji, they moved in.

When they were close, Nami took apart her climatact, placing one piece on her head and one in each hand. "Rain Tempo!" she yelled. Water shot out of each of the climatact pieces.

"Water?!" Crocodile thought. "I was sure there was no way down here." He attempted to turn to sand but the water hit him in the back as he turned around.

"Got him!" Nami cried excitedly. "Chopper, turn around."

"Okay." Chopper said. He quickly turned and retreated from the now wet Crocodile and ran back into the safety of the group.

"Heh heh heh." Crocodile chuckled softly as he began to turn around. The chuckling slowly increased until it became a roaring laughter that echoed through the chamber as he turned to face them. "You think just because you got me a little wet, you can beat me? Alabasta and the World will soon be mine!"

"Not if I can help it!" Vivi cried as she rushed toward him, pulling her peacock strings out along the way. "Peacock Slashers!" She shot them straight at his heart.

Crocodile held up a hand and caught them. "Nice try princess."

"Runback!" Vivi cried and pulled them back with all her strength.

"Uh!" Crocodile said as he pulled his hand back. There was now a deep cut in it. "How did she cut my hand?" he thought. Then he noticed the water that had hit him earlier was now seeping all over his body, causing it to harden.

"This is no ordinary weapon." Nami said with a confident smile. "My Perfect Climatact is able to produce twice the amount of rain as the old one. The water is enhanced by a dile and spreads easily, compliments of Usopp of course."

Crocodile watched the blood drip from his hand. "It doesn't matter." he said slowly. "If you can hit me. That doesn't mean I'll let you hit me again!" He rushed toward Vivi. "Desert Crescent." he said as his right arm turned to sand. Vivi managed to pull her arm back before Crocodile was able to suck the water out of it.

"Vivi, duck!" Usopp yelled. She did. "Certain Kill Firebird Star!" Usopp yelled. He released his grip on Kabuto and a burst of flames shot at Crocodile.

"Desert Sables." Crocodile said. He aimed it at the flames coming toward him. The two elements met, clashed, and in the end, merely disappeared.

"Darn! I was certain that would work!" Usopp thought.

"So much for that." Zoro thought.

Crocodile smiled, obviously in control of the fight once again. "Desert Sword." Crocodile said and a line of daggers headed toward Usopp, Nami, Chopper, and Vivi.

"Jump!" Nami cried as she jumped to the right.

"Split." Crocodile finished. The line of sand daggers split. They hit Nami and Usopp dead center. Vivi and Chopper managed to clear most of it but still received small cuts.

Nami staggered then fell on her knees, clutching her stomach where there was now a deep gash. Usopp had a similar gash on his thigh. Chopper and Vivi had small cuts on their lower legs, but other then that, were perfectly fine.

"Crap jerk! You hurt Nami-san and Vivi-chan!" Sanji yelled angrily. He swung his foot straight at the back of Crocodile's neck. "Collier!" The kick conected and Crocodile went down. "Idiot." Sanji muttered. "Never turn your back on an opponent." He walked away, sure his kick had knocked the other man out cold. He suddenly felt a searing pain down his back. It felt like something had just ripped him open and his insides were falling out. He could feel hot, sticky blood pouring out of the wound.

"Never turn your back on an opponent." Crocodile said in a low, mocking tone of voice. Blood dripped from his hook. Sanji's blood.

"Sanji!" Vivi screamed.

"I'll help him!" Chopper volunteered. He started to run to his fallen comrade.

"Chopper!" Nami cried. "Wait!"

"But Nami-" Vivi started to protest.

"Wait. If he goes over there, he'll be killed." Nami said bluntly. She forced herself to stand.

"Nami! You need help too!" Vivi said.

"I'll be fine." Nami insisted.

Vivi disagreed with both decisions but she kept her mouth shut.

"We have to be smart. Otherwise, we'll all be killed. We can't just-" Nami said but was cut off when she heard Zoro.

"Oni Giri!" he yelled and rushed at Crocodile.

"Idiot." Nami muttered.

Crocodile simply sidestepped the attack. "I would think you would have learned from your friend over there. It's not wise to rush into things." Crocodile said smoothly.

"Heh. My friend huh? That dartboard is the one that should learn from me because I always win!" Zoro said and began to attack once again."Bull Horns!" He put his two swords in front of his head with Wado still in his mouth and attempted to strike Crocodile rapidly.

"Desert Blades." Crocodile said and Zoro's swords met a blade of sand.

"What the?! How did he do that?! My swords should have been able to cut through sand like water." Zoro thought as he was froced backwards.

"Desert Sands." Crocodile said and a small sand tornado formed in his palm, increasing rapidly in size. He realeased it and it spiraled toward Zoro.

Zoro rolled to the side to avoid being sucked into the sand tornado. At that moment, Crocodile rushed forward and swung at Zoro with his hook, nearly taking his head off. Zoro managed to duck but still received a small cut on his cheek. The first thing he noticed was the extreme burning sensation. Then, he noticed the odd purple steam like air coming out of Crocodile's hook, which now looked smaller and had holes in it.

"That was your first taste of my poison hook. That small dose won't kill you but it will soon numb your whole body, disabling you. Your whole body will go into a coma like state and that's only from that minor cut. It won't take long." Crocodile explained.

"Poison!" Zoro thought in alarm, but he wouldn't allow himself to show it. "You think that will stop me?" he asked mockingly.

"You can talk all you want but it will only waste your precious air. One more hit and you're as good as dead." Crocodile said.

"Darn! He's right. That just means I can't get hit again!" Zoro thought with determination. "Enough small talk. Let's get on with it! Your words bore me!" he taunted.

"Have it your way." Crocodile replied flatly. He rushed forward once again but Zoro was ready.

He jumped up and then slashed downward with the two swords in his hands. "Tiger Hunt!" he cried.

Crocodile held up his hook and managed to block one of the swords but the other one found it's target. He was slammed into the ground, hard. Meanwhile, Zoro landed on the other side of him, completely unharmed.

Crocodile pushed himself up. A little blood trickled out of the corner of his mouth, but other then that, he seemed perfectly fine. "Is that it?" he asked as he rose slowly. "That's all you can do? The Worlds Greatest Swordsman can't even leave a scratch?!"

"I'm just getting started." Zoro said. He grinned and started setting up another attack. Just as he was about to rush forward, he found that his body wouldn't obey him. His arms dropped to his sides and his swords fell from his limp hands. He no longer had the strength to hold Wado in his mouth and it clattered to the chamber ground. Soon after, Zoro dropped to his knees and then fell all the way to the floor.

"What's wrong with my body? Why won't it move?" he thought as he struggled to stay conscious.

Crocodile laughed his slow, monotone laugh. "No one is strong enough to withstand this kind of poison. I doubt even your once beloved captain could."

"Shut up!!!" Vivi cried. A silence followed her outburst.

"A little defensive are we princess?" Crocodile questioned.

"Vivi..." Nami said quietly.

"Shut up you creep! You don't know anything about Luffy or Zoro!!! You have no right to say things like that!" she cried indignately.

Crocodile grinned in amusement. "On the contrary, I know more than you do. I have kept track of the entire crew's activities ever since they left Alabasta. It's amazing what you hear on a marine ship...until I escaped atleast. So in reality, I have every right to say whatever I want. Those two are weak compared to most pirates in this new world. How one of them became king I can't even begin to fathom." he said.

"I told you to shut up!" Vivi cried. Without any warning, her peacock strings shot out, piercing Crocodile in the stomach.

Not used to being hit with physical attacks like that, Crocodile staggered backwards, clutching his stomach were blood was pouring out.

Vivi pulled her peacock strings back. Her breathing was heavy and her bangs fell, sheilding her eyes from view. "You don't know them at all. You're wrong. They are strong!!! Stronger than a monster like you ever could be!!!!!!" Vivi screamed.

Crocodile gritted his teeth, still clutching his stomach where the blades had pierced him. "Kelvin!" he cried. "Kill her! Kill her now!"

So...what do you think? I think that it's not my best chapter ever but it's not my worst either. I'm just sort of indifferent to the whole thing. I do like the surprise twist at the end though. Mwa ha ha! Bet you didn't see that coming! You did? Oh...well then...umm...te he...