Chapter 20

"The simple act of caring is heroic."-Edward Albert

Kya's eyes widened as she watched a fattened Luffy punch a confused Zoro in the face, sending him into the rocks. The captain was yelling at his swordsman for hurting the townspeople, which he believed were innocent bystanders. "Are they idiots…." The princess muttered from her seat on the duck.

"Do you want to kill me or what?!" Zoro shouted, dodging Luffy's next attack. "Yes, just go to hell!" Luffy told him angrily before nearly taking the swordsman out. "Hey you! Can you listen to me first?!" Luffy's gut was thrusted into the rocks and they shattered everywhere.

"It's seems that he didn't come to stop us…." The blonde Baroque Works woman told her partner. "That maybe right Ms. Valentine. Anyway, we'd better take care of our business as soon as possible….. To kill the princess…of Alabasta." He turned to look at the blue haired girl, smiling sinisterly.

"Let's go Ms. Valentine!"

"Yes, Mr. 5!"

Kya jumped in front of the princess and her duck, clutching her dagger tightly. 'If I let the princess get hurt, Nami will have my ass.' She shuddered at the thought of the navigator's angry glares. The two members didn't stand a chance, as Zoro kicked Luffy in the face and sent him flying into them. "Would you stop being an idiot?!" He shouted as they crashed into a building. "What a moron!"

Suddenly, the building exploded, causing the princess to scream, and the Ms. Valentine was floating in the air. "I am really angry now! You all must die with my special ability from the Kilo Kilo fruit." She giggled. "Be prepared right now, my weight is only 1 kilogram so I can jump very high! Besides…." She began to fall slowly. "Mr. Bushido, get out of there! That woman will-" Zoro cut the princess off. "Shut up."

Kya sighed, placing her dagger back in its older. Those two idiots had this fight, even if they were fighting with each other. "This is not time to worry about that." He seethed as Luffy made his way back down the road. He had lost the fat and was carrying a beat up and bloody Mr. 5. "That exercise made all of my food digest again." The rubber boy commented casually, patting his stomach. "M…Mr. 5. You must be kidding?! He is an officer agent of Baroque Works!" The princess nearly shouted, but he simply dropped the unconscious man to the ground. "Finally, let's get serious."

"Luffy listen to me, everyone in this town is a pirate hunter." Zoro tried to explain as Ms. Wednesday began shouting again. "So they were all our enemies." Luffy growled lowly at him. "Lies! What kind of enemy would bring us food?!" He reasoned loudly. "Are you sure?! My skill is to control weight! From 1 kilogram to 10,000 kilograms! Eat this, 10,000 kilograms!" Ms. Wednesday fell quickly, but Zoro just moved away and she fell straight into the ground. "Luffy, I think that you won't listen to me this time." He tied his bandana around his head. "You idiot I have to be serious this time. If you die, don't be sorry!" He pulled his swords out as Luffy huffed. "No way!"

"Wait a minute!" The princess shouted before turning to Kya. "Aren't they friends?!" She asked and the assassin nodded, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Just ignore them…" She said dully. "Gomu Gomu no…." Luffy's arms stretched back as Zoro got into a stance. "Killing…"

"Bazooka!"

"Swords!"

The two clashed, and a surge of power escaped from their parry. "This is a good chance. Let's see who is better between a fighter and a swordsman." Zoro said, struggling against Luffy's hands and feet. "Sure! Let's go!" The battle exploded; the tow of them began to attack, sending each other into buildings. Kya had to dodge the attacks, as neither of them were paying attention to their surroundings. She backed up to the top of a rock, watching over the battlefield. The whole area was completely destroyed and a mess. She watched as the princess and her duck attempted to cross through the wreckage, but the pirates nearly beat them to a pulp.

In the background, the two Baroque Works officers stumbled to their feet. The talked for a moment before heading straight for Luffy and Zoro, and who turned to look at them with an evil eye. They stopped; shaking in fear as the pirates slowly marched over to them. "Don't you dare get involved…." They sent the officers flying. "…In our fight!"

Kya frowned as she Nami stomping her way over to the two boys angrily. "This isn't good….." She muttered, hopping off the rock. "Guess I should look like I helped." She yawned lightly before walking over to the terrified princess. Luffy and Zoro reached back for one last hit, but Nami punched both of them in the face roughly. "Stop being stupid you two!" She yelled as they fell to the ground. "What are you doing?! As long as you protect that girl, everything should be fine!"

She lifted them up by the shirts; there was much more blood on their faces now. "I was so close to 1 billion Beli, do you realize that?!" Her eyes moved to Kya. "What the hell were you doing while this happened?!" The assassin shrugged. "Watching." She answered casually. Nami's eyebrow twitched angrily, but before she could say anything, the princess spoke. "What are you talking about? And why are you helping me?"

"That's right, we have to talk. How about some negotiations?" Nami proposed as the boys began pulling at each other. "Negotiations?" The princess repeated before Nami hit the boys again. "Stop fighting!"

They group headed over to an area that wasn't destroyed, were they began discussing what was going on. Kya sat on a crate in between Zoro and Luffy while Nami stood across from her and the princess, whose name was Vivi, sat next to Zoro. Luffy was laughing hysterically at the fact Zoro had been right all along as Nami and Vivi discussed money matters.

"Why didn't you tell me first? I thought you were made at them for not having your favorite food, so you hurt them." Luffy laughed, holding his gut. "Don't compare me with you!" Zoro shouted at him. Kya couldn't help but chuckle as Luffy laughed louder. "And don't laugh with him! Why didn't he fight you anyways?" He asked. She turned to the captain and he shrugged at her. "They just said Zoro hurt them…"

"That's impossible…..Anyways. Thank you for saving my life." Vivi answered Nami after hearing the price. "Why? Aren't you a princess? It's just 1 billion Beli." Nami said simply. "Do you know of Alabasta?" Vivi asked. "No, I've never heard of it before."

"It used to be the most peaceful and civilized nation in the Grand Line." She continued. "Used to?" Nami repeated. "During these past 2-3 years there was a civil war. The citizens started to create turmoil and disturb the nation. Until one day I heard about an organization called Baroque Works. I learned that our citizens were persuaded by this organization. Besides that, I don't know anything so we can't do anything about them. So I asked Igaram, the person who's taken care of me since I was a kid, to help me."

"You mean that old man with the curly hair?" Luffy made swirls with his fingers by his head, but Vivi ignored him. "With a little rumor, we can't do anything. So, we decided to join Baroque Works to dig up some more secrets so that we will know the identity of the person behind this and his motive." She stared at the ground angrily. "You're a brave princess." Zoro noted gruffly. "Th main purpose of Baroque Works is to build a 'dream country'." Kya said, remembering her discussion with the scout years earlier. "Wait a minute. Isn't this…?" Nami trailed off.

"Yes. Boss used the words 'dream country' to control everyone. The actual goal of Baroque Works is to conquer Alabasta. I have to hurry up and warn everyone. If I can't stop this, we will all fall into Baroque Work's plan." The princess finished in sadness. "That's why. I completely understand now. A chaotic nation wouldn't have that much money, right?" Nami let out a light breath. "So, who is the boss?" Luffy's question made Vivi freak. "The boss?! You'd better not know that! That is the only thing I cannot tell you because it would cost your life."

"It's good that you're not telling us because the person who wants to conquer a nation should be the worst man ever, right?" Nami laughed and Vivi nodded. "That's right. No matter how good you are, you cannot compare to Crocodile, one of the seven Shichibukai." After these words came from her mouth, her eyes widened and she clasped her hands over her mouth. Nami and Luffy's mouths dropped in fear while Kya hung her head low. "Didn't you just say the name…" Zoro deadpanned.

There was sort of a clicking noise, and the group looked over to see an otter and a culture staring at them. They were wearing horrid outfits, and looked to be part of Baroque Works. They looked at each other for a second, before the otter hopped on the vulture and flew off. Nami turned to Vivi and began screaming at her. Kya rubbed her temples with her fingers, trying to tune out the annoying woman. "We're all dead." She muttered, looking at half of her makeshift crew. "We're all dead."

"We just came to the Grand Line and already two of the Shichibukai want us dead." Nami cried, wiping the tears from her eyes. "I never thought I'd meet them this early, we're so lucky." Zoro chuckled. "I wonder what kind of person he is." Luffy said, grinning like an idiot. "Shut up!" The navigator screamed before walking off. "Thank you for everything even though it was just a short period of time."

"Where are you going?" Kya asked, raising an eyebrow. "He still doesn't know my face, so I'd better escape now." Nami muttered just as the otter and vulture returned. The otter took out a sketchbook and quickly began drawing, casting glances at the crew. He lifted up four drawings; Zoro, Nami, Luffy, and Kya. "Wow. You're good." Nami clapped before the animals took off. She twitched and turned back to Vivi. "This means that I can't run away now!" She screamed. "I'm sorry!" Vivi squeaked. "That otter is very interesting." Luffy threw in. "Where do you think you would've escaped anyways?" Zoro muttered. "So, this means we are in Baroque Work's blacklist now." Kya sighed but smiled lightly. "That's so exciting!" Luffy laughed as Nami sulked in a corner, Vivi trying to help her. "I have 500,000 Beli in my account."

"Please don't worry everyone!"

Igaram had walked up to them, attempting to look like Vivi in her outfit and hairstyle. "Do..Do..Don't worry! I have a plan!" He informed everyone, fixing the dummies he had under his arms. "Igaram! Why are you dressed like that?" Vivi gasped. "Wow! Your outfit is really nice!" Luffy laughed loudly. "You aren't very convincing…" Kya muttered, looking the strange man up and down. "All crazy people." Nami cried from her corner.

"Listen to me. If you are wanted by Baroque Works, sooner or later they will send someone to find you. It Mr. 5's group is still unconscious, that is good. Let me tell you something right now. Because if this is one of the Shichibukai, the government doesn't want him. But when Crocodile, boss of Baroque Works, used to be a pirate, his bounty was 80 million Beli." Igaram explained as Kya stood to her feet and stretched. "So, how about the deal of taking the princess to Alabasta?" He asked. "Eh? What are you taking about?" Luffy cocked his head to the side. "He wanted us to take the princess home." Zoro explained to him. "Oh. Sure, why not?"

"80 million Beli. That's four times higher than Arlong's! Just deny it!" Nami screamed from her spot but was ignored, per usual. "Princess, please give me the Eternal Pose." Igaram said to Vivi, who looked at him surprised. "What's an Eternal Pose?" Nami asked through her tears. "You don't know it?"

"It's a permanent Log Pose. The regular Log Pose only guides you from one island to the next. But for this kind of Log Pose, once it's memorized the frequency it will record that island forever." Kya explained before digging through one of her belt pockets. She pulled out the only Eternal Pose she had; there was no writing on it stating the name. Igaram had one for Alabasta in his hand also. "No matter where you are, you will guide only to that island. That's why it's called an Eternal Pose. Igaram-san's Log Pose has recorded the magnetic frequency of Alabasta." She finished as Luffy stared down at hers. "Where does yours point to?" He asked, blinking innocently. She sighed and placed it back into her pocket. "My home."

"Listen, Princess Vivi. I will disguise myself as you and take these dummies with me to Alabasta. When Baroque Works is chasing me, please go with these people to Alabasta taking the regular route." Igaram began before frowning. "I've never been that route, but you should pass two or three islands before getting to Alabasta. If you are safe, I hope to see you at our country."

They followed Igaram to the other side of the island to his small ship. "Please take care of the Princess." He said, looking mainly at Kya. She nodded and gave him a small smile. "Of course." She assured him. "That outfit really suits you." Luffy chuckled, his hands on his hips. "How?" Zoro muttered, crossing his arms over his chest. Igaram ignored them and grabbed Vivi's hand lightly. "I think there will be many obstacles during this journey, but please take good care of yourself princess." He said, smiling sadly. "You, too." She answered, before jumping into his chest. They hugged for a few moments before he boarded the small ship and set sail.

"He's gone. He's still cool until the last minute." Luffy said, waving slightly. Kya chuckled next to him while Zoro gave a small grunt on her other side. "He is a person that I can rely on." Vivi told them, before staring out at sea. The pirates turned around to give the princess a moment, when a loud explosion rang through the air. Kya closed her eyes, hoping it was just a hallucination, but slowly she turned around. Cracking an eye, she saw the flames in the open water; though they could barely be described as flames, more like an inferno.

"Damn it! Someone found him!" Zoro cursed. "This is too much!" Luffy screamed angrily as he began to storm off. "Nami! Is the Log Pose ready?" Zoro shouted. Said girl nodded. "Don't worry it's okay now." She answered. "Let's grab her and go!" He motioned towards Kya and Nami. The two girls ran over to the princess, grabbing her arms. "Vivi, hurry up! If they find us, everything will be over for nothing!" Kya shouted, but the princess began to cry, chewing her lip roughly. Nami frowned, holding the younger girl tightly. "Don't worry! We will take you to Alabasta safely! Because they helped East Blue, Shichibukai is nothing!" Kya nodded in agreement, and looked out at the burning blaze. She felt anger boiling in her stomach. She may not care about others much, but taking away someone they loved in front of their eyes was just the devil's work.

Vivi pulled away from Nami and nodded, wiping her eyes. "Thank you." She muttered. "We'll deal with this later, we need to leave now." Kya told them, and they took off. She was leading, with Nami behind her and Vivi lagging behind. "Hurry up Vivi!" The assassin called out as the Merry came into view. "Wait! I have to find my duck, Carue!"

"But we don't have any time to look for it now!" Nami screamed as the two skidded to a stop. Kya sighed and climbed aboard the ship. "But I can't leave him here!" Vivi screamed. "Hey, what's wrong?" Zoro asked from the deck. "Carue, disappeared so she has to whistle and find it!" Nami explained angrily. "Are you talking about this duck?" Just as those words left his lips, Carue appeared next to him and quacked happily. "He was here before me." "Kya sighed and shook her head as she climbed up the mast. "So you are over there!?"

The girls climbed aboard and Kya unfurled the sails before climbing into the crow's nest. "Turn the ship upstream because it will be the fastest way out of here!" Vivi told them. Kya frowned and looked down at the deck to see Sanji and Usopp laying down. "Bakas." She said to herself as Luffy began to speak. "Do you know how many people will follow us?" He asked as she leaned over the side to hear. "I'm not sure, but there about 2,000 people working for Baroque Works and there are many towns similar to Whiskey Peak." Vivi explained. "I think, maybe about 1,000 because we know the identity of the boss and that's a very big deal." Nami suggested.

"Why do we have to hurry!? Tell me! Let's stay here for another night. This town is very good and there are many cute girls!"

"That's right! I don't think we will find any better towns! Let's stay here and enjoy! Besides, it's not even morning yet, understand?! Let's go back!"

Kya ignored her crew and watched the waters intensely. She saw a figure coming towards the Merry. "Hey! Gu-" She didn't have time to warn the others as something covered her eyes and mouth. It seemed like there were more than six people tying her to the mast in the crow's nest, but it was two small to barely hold two! She struggled as a gag was placed in her mouth and something was tied around her head. She kicked against the wood angrily. 'How the hell does this happen?'

"Why are you here, Ms. All-Sunday?!" She heard Vivi scream. "Who is she and where is her partner?!" Nami yelled. "Mr. 0! She is the boss's partner and the only one who knows about the boss. I followed her, so I know his true identity." Vivi explained frantically. "Actually, I just let you follow me." A new voice said. It was a woman's, smooth and mysterious. "So, is she a good person?" Luffy asked stupidly. "I knew that! And the person who told boss about me was you, too, right?"

"What? So she is a bad person then." Luffy was just talking to himself now. "What do you want from me?!" Vivi yelled. "Because I feel you've worked really hard. So I decided to help you." The woman explained. "However, the princess who wants to help her nation but decided to become a Baroque Work's agent is very stupid."

"Stop insulting me!" Vivi yelled angrily. Kya groaned as she heard soft thumps that sound like Usopp and Sanji. 'I have to help them.' She tried to reach for her dagger, but her hands were tied together so she couldn't reach it. "Hey!" She heard Usopp say. "You're doing this because you know what you're supposed to be doing right?" He asked and Sanji 'tched'. "No, but it seems that this woman is dangerous for my beloved Ms. Wednesday so I cannot let her live." He answered.

"But those things are dangerous." The unknown woman said before there were two loud thumps. "Don't point them at me." She finished as the others gasped. "What's that?!" Zoro shouted. "Power from a Devil's Fruit?" Vivi asked no one. "Wow!" Luffy gapped.

'That makes sense now. But what kind?' Kya growled to herself as she still continued to struggle. "So that must be the Devil Fruit's power!" Zoro yelled. "What kind of power is that?" Nami asked frantically. "Wow, actually she is really beautiful!" Sanji fawned. "Calm down, I haven't received any orders yet. So there is no reason to fight you now." There was a slight pause before she spoke again. "So you are the captain, Monkey D. Luffy, right?"

"Give me back my hat! Do you want to mess with me!? I know that you are our enemy after all! Why don't you just come and get it now!" Luffy shouted angrily, but the woman ignored him. "You are so unlucky to help the princess, who is now an enemy of Baroque Works. And you too, princess; you only have a few pirates to take care of you." She said. "But worst of all is the direction you're heading to. Your next destination is Little Garden. We don't even have to do anything over there and you might….Maybe you won't arrive in Alabasta. You all will disappear from this world before you see Crocodile's face."

"Do you think we will be as what you said?! Give me back my hat!" Luffy shouted again. "You idiot, you really are crazy!" Usopp yelled at him. "Why are you hiding?" Kya could barely hear Zoro's low voice, but that didn't matter much to her at the moment. They were heading to Little Garden? If she could get untied she'd make them change paths or something! In all her days in Grand Line, she had never heard of one person coming off that island alive.

"Stop barking!" The woman ordered. "Anyone can boast. You knew that you will face many obstacles but you're still going to go there. You're really crazy." She chuckled lightly. "Eternal Pose?" Vivi asked out loud. "If you have that, you can overcome any obstacle because that Log Pose will guide you to Alabasta. Our boss doesn't even know the way to get there, so we can't follow you." The woman explained. "So, she is a good person?" Nami asked. "Why are you doing this?!" Vivi yelled. "I think it's a trap." Zoro stated. "I'll let you decided if it's a trap or not."

'Thank god we've got the Eternal Pose. We'd be dead if we didn't.' Kya's thoughts were ruined when she heard Luffy. "Don't worry about that!" The sound of glass breaking echoed around the ship, and Kya would have killed her captain if she could. "Are you crazy?!" Nami shouted before there was a loud thud, most likely her hurting him. "She just provided us the easy way, but you destroyed it! If that woman is really a good person, we just lost a big opportunity!"

"You don't have a right to decide our route!" Luffy shouted. "Really? That's a pity." The woman said, slightly amused. "You really are crazy!" Nami shouted again. "I hate her because she bombed curly haired old man's ship." He explained. "I don't mind a person with great spirit like you. If you are lucky, we shall meet again." She told him. "Who wants to meet you?"

Kya figured the woman left, as the blind fold and gag were removed from her face. "Finally." She breathed before clearing her throat. "Oi! Someone help!" She shouted. It took a moment, but Zoro finally reached the crow's next. "What happened to you?" He laughed. She frowned and struggled against the ropes. "Shut up and untie me." She grumbled. He removed one of his swords and cut off the rope around the mast. "Now get my hands."

"You sure are demanding." He said lowly. She didn't answer, just sighed as he began to untie the ropes on her arms. She frowned, staring at the ocean. How is it, that after just entering the Grand Line, the already have two Shichibukais after them? Was it bad luck or just addiction to adventure? She was all for adventure, but not this kind. This kind only brought pain and suffering. She may not be extremely close to the crew, but they were nakama; she did care about them. 'I guess that's what I get for caring…' She chewed her cheek roughly. She had the Eternal Pose; she could just leave now, but why wasn't she? Something was holding her back, but she didn't know what yet.

"Hey." She jumped when Zoro hit her on the back of the head. "What?" She growled, rubbing the spot he had hit. "Obviously, you're free baka." He shook his head before going over the side. She rolled her eyes and followed after him. Reaching the deck, she was met with a strange scene. Nami was up in Vivi's face, two fingers against the princess' forehead. "It's all your fault, after all. If you really don't want us to be in trouble you shouldn't follow us in the first place." The orange haired girl growled. "I'm sorry." Vivi whimpered. "Isn't that right Luffy?"

"It's morning! Sanji cook breakfast!"

"It seems that he doesn't even care." Vivi muttered. "Hey! Can anyone tell me what's going on?!" Sanji and Usopp shouted together. "Anyway, it's already morning. Let's go!"

Breakfast went its normal way, even with two extra members. Sanji made a huge breakfast and Luffy attempted to eat all of it. Thankfully Vivi and Carue were warned beforehand and were able to salvage some of it. Kya felt nauseous; she couldn't even eat an apple. Sanji and Luffy had pestered her throughout the meal, but she blew them off. She had told Luffy about the dangers of Little Garden, but he laughed it off.

At the moment she sat in the kitchen by herself, her Eternal Pose clasped in her hands, while the others were outside. She was very confused; should she leave them and head straight to the island, or stick here and wait it out? The date of destruction was getting closer and closer. Chewing the inside of her lip, she pressed the Pose up against her forehead. She'd lose sight of him if she was too late, but she couldn't just leave the crew.

The door to the kitchen opened, making her jump slightly. "Oh, Kya-chwan!~ What are you doing here?" Sanji blinked, a cigarette hanging from his mouth. She let out a light breath and shrugged. "Nothing. I'm just not feeling very well." Within seconds than man was next to her with a hand on her cheek. "You don't feel feverish, but here let me make you something!" He twirled over to the counter, hearts in his eyes. "No, no. I don't feel like eating. I'm fine thank you." She placed the Eternal Pose back in her pocket quickly. "Are you sure?"

"I'm really sure."

For the next thirty minutes Sanji concocted some drink at the counter, probing her about what was wrong. She ignored him for the most part, until he struck a nerve. "Luffy was talking to me the other day." He cleared his throat. "He said you had someone's name on your leg. Do you have a lover, Kya-chwan?"

The question caught her off guard, and she glared at the wall across from her. Had Luffy told everyone about the scar? She bit her lip so hard blood poured down her chin. "What's it to you?" She spat, wiping the red liquid away. "So what if it's someone who means something to me or not? It's my personal business what's on my body. Don't ever ask about that again."

"Wa-wait! Kya-chan, I didn't me-"

"Don't say anything else." She hissed before storming out the door, slamming it behind her. "K-Kya…what's going on?" Nami stuttered from her place next to the door. The assassin barely held back an insult before walking past Vivi and gliding down the steps. 'Bastards. I'll kill them all.' She frowned deeply, keeping her head low as she made her way into the bedroom. She grabbed a book off the shelf and sat down on the couch. Maybe she just needed a little time alone.

Happy Columbus Day! (well to those in America). Even though Columbus didn't actually discover America first but oh well. Sorry it's kind of short. D: and all the dialogue. But Edward Albert is pretty amazing and I miss him. :(