Author's Notes: Again, apologies for the lateness. Severe writer's block on my part this time, that's all I can really say about that. I know it's been ages since my last update, so I won't keep readers from the story anymore. With that, please enjoy:

Chapter 23: Battleship 9

"WHIRLPOOL!!" Everyone on deck shouted.

Eddy, Mac, and Bloo were all running around in circles, screaming insanely.

Sanji and Robin both approached Luffy.

"Luffy." Sanji said. "What do you want us to do?"

Luffy, however, continued to sit on the figurehead, starring in awe at the whirlpool that was getting ever closer. "Oo! How cool!"

Sanji gave Luffy a kick in the back off the head. "Idiot!"

"Sowwy." Luffy replied, with Sanji's shoe over his mouth.

"Wake Nami!" Sanji shouted.

Eddy broke free of the running in circles and threw himself over the railing toward the ship's entrance.

Double D grabbed the top of his hat, and lifted it upward a bit, just high enough so that his Eye of Wisdom Head Band was visible. As a few of the others scattered around the deck preparing the ship for the massive threat ahead, he propped himself on the figurehead next to Luffy.

The door to the ship's entrance flung open, and out came rushing a familiar red-head.

"What's going on?" she asked, peering ahead.

The Going Merry began to react more violently in the ocean, as it approached the spiraling waters. Loose items on her decks began to rattle, making loud clattering sounds.

"Sanji, man the helm!" Nami ordered.

Sanji rushed toward the door without a moment's hesitation. "Aye, Nami!"

Mac and Bloo continued to run in circles, still screaming at the top of their lungs.

"Somebody wake Usopp, Chopper and Zoro!" Nami ordered.

Eddy nodded with a considerable amount of hesitation before also running off.

"And you two!" Nami shouted at the panicking Mac and Bloo.

They paid no heed to her and continued to shout all the while, continuing their chaotic running.

"Will you two…" Nami took her fists and slammed them atop both of their heads, making them fall on the ground. "Be QUIET!"

Both of them lay on the ground, with newfound bumps on their heads, moaning from the pain.

"Someone get those two inside." Nami said.

Double D jumped from his spot and grabbed them both. "On it."

He quickly opened the backdoor of the Van, and placed the two of them gently back onto the water bed, then shut the door again in a quick succession.

The bow of the Going Merry finally met the edge of the Whirlpool, and began to turn along with it's currents.

"We'll be sunken!" Nami exclaimed.

It was about then that there was the distinct sound of something nearby, a loud groaning sound.

Everyone who was awake at the time looked toward the whirlpool. It had already caught their ship in it's grasp and began to pull it inside of itself.

"Did anyone else just head something?" Eddy asked, putting both of his hands on his ears.

The rattling of the ship increased as the speed grew and grew. Even though she had been sucked in seconds ago, Going Merry had already completed a full lap around the whirlpool. The ship was also at a slant, tilting to the port (left) side, in which the direction of the spiral was. The wind began rushing against them as they picked up more and more speed.

"I gotta tell Goombella!" Eddy shouted, running toward the door. He reached for it's handle, but was surprised to feel it open on it's own.

The door had opened so quickly that Eddy was smashed against the wall behind it. Goombella was on the other side, with a serious expression. She had turned her helmet light on due to the dark atmosphere, and the wind rushed at her pony-tailed style hair.

"What's going on out here?!" She asked.

Upon looking, she saw the entire situation. "…oh."

"Will someone wake the others?!" Nami shouted.

As the Going Merry continued to tilt, the wheels on the van began turning. Double D looked over his shoulder and spotted the van in which Mac and Bloo were inside. It was broken free of it's supports and was freely rocking back and forth on the deck.

"Uh oh." Double D said with a panicked expression, running toward the van. He tried to get near it, but had to stop to avoid getting run over. Instead, it continued to rock back and forth.

"Ow…" Eddy moaned.

"Ah!" Double D shouted. "The Van, the Van!"

Mac and Bloo where both screaming as they were being tossed about the deck.

"Shut up!" Nami shouted loudly. "I can't think STRAIT with all this racket!"

"Nami's like an older version of Sarah." Eddy remarked, rubbing his head.

The same mysterious sound came yet again. It sounded like a very low-pitched groan.

"What in Sam Hill is that?" Double D shouted.

A hatch on the deck floor opened up slowly. Out of it's opening came a considerably tired figure. It merely poked it's head up from the open hole.

"Hey…" Usopp said tiredly. "Can't a guy get some sleep-"

He looked ahead and realized that the van was freely rolling, and in that matter, headed directly toward his head.

"WAAAAAAAAAA!" The long nose fell back into the hatch just as the van rolled over it, carrying it's horrified passengers.

"Oh, for Pete's sake!" Double D groaned. He placed one hand forward, in the direction of the van. "Flame Chain!"

A long blast of fire from his arm threw itself into the air toward the van. As it flew, it grew longer and thinner, forming what appeared to be a red rope. It connected to the Van and wrapped around the front bumper.

The van itself came to a halt on the spot. Double D grabbed his other arm and held the rope tightly, in which he was straining heavily to do.

The Going Merry had already completed 10 full laps around the whirlpool and was quickly approaching it's center.

"Nami, I don't know how much longer we can take this!" Sanji shouted.

There was a sudden blast of water, coming from the middle of the whirlpool. Something enormous shot out of it's center, something that gave off an immediately demonous feel.

"AHHHH!!!" Eddy shouted, pointing at the creature.

It appeared to be a huge squid, a white one, almost as tall as the Going Merry herself. It had a series of blue spots on it, as well as 12 eyes on it's body, all of which were starring at the ship. It had two long tentacles, each as long as the boat.

Double D tilted his head. "What in the world-"

"AHHH!! It's a giant squid!" Mac shouted from inside the van.

"No, it's a Blooper!" Goombella shouted, in equal shock.

"Ooooo!" Luffy shouted in a clueless sense of intrigue. "It's a Sea King!"

"Who cares that it is?!" Nami shouted. "KILL IT!"

"Yosh." Luffy said with a grin, standing up on the figurehead. In an odd stance, he held one arm behind him while being constrained by the other. As he prepared his attack, he spoke:

"Gomu Gomu no-"

Before he could do anything, however, there was a sudden explosion. The side of the giant monster was lit as gunpowder made contact. It gave a louder groan and was thrown backward. The monster fell into the ocean, creating a huge wave in the middle of the whirlpool. The swirling of the ocean actually had been halted by the massive wave, as the Going Merry came to a full stop.

Everyone on deck stood with bewildered expressions. Mac and Bloo finally summoned the courage to exit the van and join in on their expressions.

Coming at their ship from the horizon appeared to be another boat. It didn't appear that big, perhaps the size of a tugboat at best. It had one distinct machine in the front that looked reminiscent to a rocket-launcher. Smoke that was rising from the launcher showed it to be the cause of the explosion. The ship was painted white, with the blue letters "BATTLESHIP 9" written on the sides.

The crew had gathered to witness the ship coming closer. There were two people visibly standing on it's decks, one was a tall well-built man who seemed very strong and imposing. The other was a young girl, with blue hair which wove in the winds.

"Raise your sails." the man said.

"Um, what's going on?" Robin asked.

"Please stop." the man stated.

Luffy and Nami looked toward one another and exchanged shrugs.

The two ships had halted and anchored next to one another. The man had put a plank between their two ships, and walked across it along with the little girl.

"Ok, first of all, who are you?" Double D asked.

"My name is Sergeant Snowhill." the man said.

"I'm Adelle Snowhill!" the little blue-haired girl responded.

"Please, cadet, stay out of this." Snowhill said.

"My name is Adelle!" She shouted in protest.

"Anyway…" Snowhill continued. "I want to ask you what you are doing sailing on such a suspicious-looking ship here."

Luffy stepped forward. "We're here to find a Crystal Star and a way back to out planet!" he stated boldly.

He got blank expressions from both of them.

"…you're jesting, right?" Snowhill asked.

Nami jumped in front of Luffy, placing her hand over his mouth. "Yeah, yeah, he is just kidding around!"

Adelle looked and spotted Goombella.

"Whoa, what is that?!" She asked.

Eddy jumped in front of Goombella. "What, what Goomba? I have no idea what you're talking about!"

"Don't act stupid, I know you're hiding something!" Adelle shouted.

"Please, cadet." Snowhill said. "Let me handle it."

She pouted again, but withdrew.

"In case you haven't already known, the ocean south of here has been restricted due to dangerous cyclone and whirlpool outbreaks. I must advise you to turn around and proceed north." he stated.

"No." Luffy said, muffled from behind Nami.

"Excuse me?" Snowhill asked. "Sir, I don't think you-"

"Wait, dad." Adelle said. "You there." She said, pointing at Eddy.

"Um, uh, yeah?" He stuttered.

"I saw what you were hiding behind your back." she stated.

"What?" Eddy asked. "Hey, I ain't got nothing behind my back, so back off."

Sanji have Eddy a smack on the back of his head. "That's no way to treat a lady!"

"Ow, what the heck, Sanji!" Eddy shouted with an equal amount of anger.

"Cadet, could you please step aside and let me take care of this?" Snowhill asked.

"Wait, I think they have an alien on board!" Adelle shouted.

"They sailed from the USA down to the southern oceans, they're all aliens." Snowhill stated.

"Missing the point." Adelle sighed.

"Well, what are you doing here, huh?" Bloo asked.

"I'm with the Arizona police force." he stated.

"What are you doing all the way down here?" Mac asked.

"Investigating a suspicious young girl who flew down here recently." Snowhill stated. "Be on the lookout for a young girl with blonde-hair, blue eyes, and considerably short stature, according to eye-witness accounts." He took out a sheet of paper and showed them a poorly drawn sketch of a young girl that he was describing. "This is an artist's sketch."

Eddy gasped. "That's Na-"

Double D threw himself in front of Eddy. "Sure, we'll keep an eye out." said the sock-hat with a distinct tone of nervousness.

"You do that." Snowhill said. "You people also beware yourselves. If you get caught in the weather down south, I cannot guarantee your safety."

Luffy nodded. "We'll be fine."

Snowhill nodded as well. "We're leaving, cadet."

The began to walk back into his boat. Adelle began to follow him, thought she quickly turned around and looked Eddy in the eye. "Say hi to the other aliens for me."

The crew gave a sigh of relief. They had thought for certain that they would have been brought back to the northern seas.

Followed by the sound of the engine running, Battleship 9 proceeded backward and away from the small caravel.

Adelle looked back upon the old-styled vessel and her weird crew. "Dad, we're just going to end it like that?"

"Of course not, cadet." Snowhill stated. "Did you see their reaction when I mentioned the suspect? As soon as they can't see us, we will continue to follow them."

"Ok, so we all agree then?" Double D asked. "What we saw wasn't a squid, a Blooper, or a Sea King."

There were a series of multiple banging sounds, coming from right below the van. Until that particular point, Double D had completely been unaware of the fact that he had accidentally parked the van right over the boy's bedroom doorway. He quickly walked toward it's back and pushed it aside.

The hatch immediately opened, and Usopp sprung out. "Darn it, what were you doing up here?!"

"It was nothing." Nami stated instantly.

"NOTHING? You guys were up here screaming, the ship was shaking, and you almost ran over my head!"

"Calm down, Usopp." Nami sighed. "I already have a headache."

"Ok, Goombella." Eddy said, stepping out of the way. "You can come out now."

She turned her back on him. "I'm still not talking to you."

"Land Ho!" Came the call from the crow's nest.

Everyone had gathered outside and stood on deck. The atmosphere by this point was much hotter as they got were in the range of the equator. The dawn sun, and a sky whose pink glow emanated the hopes a brand new day greeted them. Seagulls and exotic birds of all colors flew overhead, toward a landmass further on in front of them. It appeared as nothing short of a strip of green land with a few indecipherable landmarks such as trees.

"Looks like we arrived." Remarked Double D.

Eddy gave a groan. "Well, it's about time! We spent three days at sea, so darned boring!"

"Shaa." Bloo groaned, with an equal tone of boredom in his voice.

"Shut up." Nami told them. "Just be happy I didn't charge you for the trip."

Eddy sounded aghast. "CHARGE?! "

"Forget about it." Nami sighed. "Though now that we have arrived, I think this is where we will part ways."

"What?" Luffy asked. "Why?"

"We obviously have more important things to do then waste our time with them." Nami spoke with a strict tone of expression.

"Oh, Nami is so cute when she's strict!" Sanji shouted, swooning over her.

"She is right, though." Mac said. "We got to go search for the star, and they need to go and find a way home."

"Thank you for your help." Double D said with a smile. "We really appreciate the ride."

"Fire!"

With a sudden loud explosion, water and wind flew about in all possible directions. The Going Merry rocked back and forth in shock, making the others all scream.

"What was that?!" Goombella asked.

"I think it was gunfire." Robin calmly explained. "Or rather, it sounded similar to it."

"Who fired at us?" asked the very nervous Usopp.

The crew looked about in every direction in order to find the source. At long last, their eyes caught sight of yet another ship, which appeared to have the same properties as a battleship would have. With an enormous cannon mounted on the front, and several additional cannons on the sides and stern decks. It was designed to look very mechanically advanced; her sleek hull was painted white. On the top decks were a series of mechanical machinery, assumed to pieces of very advanced weaponry. A port on the stern deck also indicated the existence of an underwater entrance for submersible sea-craft. Series of searchlights also were visible on the top decks, though turned off. On the very top of the ship was a mast, with a huge white sail with a symbol painted red, which looked similar to that on an "X".

"What kind of ship is that?" Luffy asked. "It looks so cool!"

Nami and Usopp both gave him a slap on the head. "NOW'S NOT THE TIME TO ADMIRE IT!" they both exclaimed.

"OWIE!" Luffy shouted back.

Double D looked at the design on the sail carefully. "I know I have seen that symbol before… but where?"

A sound from a loudspeaker shouted across the ocean: "Stop where you are, Pirates!"

"Daddy, did you hear that?" Adelle asked.

She and her father were standing on the deck of Battleship Nine. Her father was looking through a set of binoculars, still only being able to see a small gleam of what was the ship. Though the voice had been so projected that they were able to hear it.

"They were pirates then? I didn't think there were pirates anymore." Snowhill stated.

"Of course there are!" Adelle shouted back.

"But I didn't think they were actually pirates. I just thought they were nuts." Snowhill said. "But that mark isn't of any kind of police or marine force that I know of. They can't be real officers."

"So then what is that thing?"

"More suspects." Snowhill sighed. "What the devil is going on here?"

"Did you not hear me?" the booming voice over the loudspeaker asked. "I demand that you cease your ship at once."

"No." Luffy said.

All of the huge ship's canons pointed directly at the Going Merry in a single movement.

Everyone on board, except for Luffy and Robin gave collective gasps and screams. Mac and Bloo made a quick run back toward the van and threw themselves into it, locking themselves inside.

"Who are you?" Luffy asked.

"None of your concern, straw hat boy." The voice said. "If you don't cease moving, we will open fire."

"Bring it on." Luffy said with complete confidence.

"LUFFY!" Everyone else on the ship shouted.

"Have it your way." The voice said. "All ships, open fi-"

"WAIT!" Double D exclaimed.

Everyone came to a standstill, becoming completely silent.

"It took me a while, but I recognize the symbol on your sails. That X mark is none other then the mark of the X-nauts!" Double D shouted.

"Oh my word, he's right!" Goombella shouted.

Eddy looked at it, also finally being able to recognize it. "Holy…"

"What?" the voice asked. "I never heard of things such as X-nauts."

"But you are flying their exact mark!" Double D shouted. "Who's your leader?!"

"BOSS!" the voice shouted. "Some guy wants to talk to you!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming." Came another voice.

Those aboard the Going Merry exchanged raised eyebrows.

After a minute, the sound of someone picking up a phone could be heard. "Yes, what do you want?"

"I should be asking you the same thing!" Double D shouted.

"Oh? Is that whom I think it is?" the voice asked.

A door visibly opened on one of its higher decks. Out walked a considerably portly person, dressed in a familiar white lab coat with an X drawn on it. He had goggles and was likely about the same size as Double D was. Eddy, Edd, and Goombella all gave collective gasps, instantly recognizing the person.

"Surprised?" the leader asked.

"But you can't be here!" Eddy shouted. "How the… what the… who the… AAAAHHHHHRGGG!!!!" He shouted.

"That jerk…" Goombella muttered under her breath.

"That explosion at the fortress was very painful." He said. "I was thrown into deep space and never saw my follow comrades again. I spent 4 full years of my life hurtling in the deep black void of space. And by fate, I managed to land here, on your small blue little planet. Who would have thought?"

Double D clenched his fists. "After everything you did before, nearly killing civilizations and everything, you still had to come back for more… didn't you…"

He took a step forward and screamed: "LORD CRUMP!"

Author's Notes: That's it this time. More on the way, hopefully soon, though I can't be certain about promising anything. Though yes, I did say I would bring back and old villain, and there you go. Please review in the meantime, whilst I prepare the next chapter. Thanks for reading!