Chapter 40
Miracles

"I'm alright now, Eli," Vivi said as she tried to pull away from the girl who was still hanging onto the princess as if her life depended on it.

"You really look like a guy hugging Vivi like that," Usopp said mockingly.

"Haha..." Eli let go of the princess forcing a smile on her face before turning around to look at the desert scenery rapidly scrolling by. The girl's mind was still filled with fear, for she couldn't help but replay the image of Luffy getting taken away from his crew by Crocodile over and over again in her mind...

The chronicler wasn't the only one shaken by Luffy's absence; despite his stupid mockery, Usopp was glancing nervously in the direction of Rainbase, Ace was sitting on the crab's edge his eyes lost in the distance, Zoro was weight-lifting Eyelashes sitting on one of his katana which of course caused Sanji to mock him scornfully, while Nami was pacing up and down like a caged animal glaring at the two young men's argument.

The anxiousness was palpable and heavy on the pirates' minds...

"Are you alright, Eli ?" Vivi asked, looking worriedly at her friend's face.

Eli nodded with half a smile. Speaking her mind would only make the whole group feel worse... She therefore chose to keep her anxiousness inside like the rest of them. Eli loosened her tie slowly while trying to find something to focus her attention on. The desert was bare, though... nothing but sand and sometimes some rocky formations; nothing that could manage to lessen the anxiety pounding on the girl's mind.

"Hey," Nami greeted, joining the girls' corner, probably in search for entertainment to change her mind. "You look really good in that suit."

"Thanks," Eli said. She was glad to have something to get her mind off of her worries, even if it was just a frivolous chat.

It was nice to hear someone praising her outfit; after all, it took her five whole seconds to pick it, and that was quite a lot for the fast girl. With a light blush on her face Eli smiled at redhead; she was obviously not used to receiving compliments and the fact that it was Nami made her even more glad yet embarrassed since she wasn't usually generous with compliments, especially toward the boyish Eli.

"Really cute." Nami smiled, lifting the girl's chin.

"Melorine melorine melorine~"

Eh ? Eli turned her head to look at Sanji as she couldn't quite believe what she was hearing... and indeed, he was in his melo-trance with all the symptoms that came with it: wide heart-shaped eyes, wriggling limbs, goofy smile, etc... But Why ? During the months spent with the perv-cook, Eli had made some observations and experiments over his 'love fits' and she had never thought that the sight of a girl complimenting another one could be one of his triggers.

She looked at Nami and concluded that the redhead was probably an expert with these kinds of things, and Eli inwardly admired her skills.

"Maybe I could keep this style permanent," Eli said playfully.

"NO !" Ace barked, startling the two girls on the spot.

"Oh god... you scared me..." Eli breathed, her hand on her chest as his sudden reaction made her heart skip a beat. "What's wrong with-"

Eli was interrupted as Nami put a finger on her lips while smiling mischievously at the flame user.

"NAMI !" Ace shouted angrily, blasting a burning glare at the roguish redhead.

"Oh..." Nami said quietly, her smirk growing wider. She stood up slowly and walked past Ace. "Good luck with that..."

Eli watched in awe as Nami walked away with a highly sexy gait and Ace stared at her. Wow... The redhead was really good, but then again, with her nice body, anyone could fall for her charms, even the great womanizer Ace was.

Seeing him sit down grumbling unintelligible words, Eli chuckled and decided to join him to clear her mind in the company of her dear friend.

"She gotcha good," Eli said playfully, sitting down next to him.

"Oh, come on..." Ace growled, bringing his hands to his forehead. "I can't deal with you right now."

"What ! ... Why ?" Eli blinked questioningly looking at the young man who was obviously avoiding her gaze.

Ace did not answer... He stayed there silently, an angry frown on his partly hidden face. Eli was puzzled and sad to see him like this. Was he aware that he was hurting his friend ? Right now, she needed him to cheer her up more than ever. With Luffy gone, the girl was racked with doubt and fear, and now the older brother was mad at her for an unknown reason... Eli just felt lost looking at her dear friend who obviously couldn't stand her presence.

"I don't understand, Freck- I mean, Ace..." Eli corrected herself remembering his previous demand to be called by his name. "I thought things were great between us lately..."

Ace closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, making anxiousness grow inside of her. Did she do something to hurt him ? That was never her purpose, though...

"They are," he finally said, but the annoyance in his voice was hardly convincing.

"Why are you mad at me then ?" Eli asked. "Is it the outfit ? I can take it off if you hate it that much !"

"It's not the outfit, Eli..."

"What is it then ?" Eli asked sadly. "You say you can't deal with me right now, but I need you now..."

"You..." Ace briskly turned his head toward her and sighed looking at her sad face. "You really want to know ?"

"Yes."

"Now ?"

"Yes !"

After a few seconds of intense gazing, the young man looked away.

"Tell me..." Eli said softly, cupping his cheeks in her hands and turning his face back to confront hers.

His dark eyes diving deeply into hers, Eli couldn't manage to decrypt the look on her friend's face.

What's wrong, Ace ?

It was then that Eli noticed that the rest of the crew was awfully quiet; the only sounds heard were the crawling of the giant crab's legs on the sand and the breath of Zoro heaving his homemade weigh. She turned her head and looked puzzled when she saw them; except for the swordsman, they were all staring at Ace and her, Usopp and Nami holding a struggling Sanji.

What the hell ?

The nosy pirates swung around on the spot, pretending to resume their conversations quite confusedly. With an annoyed sigh, Eli turned around and folded her arms. Maybe right now wasn't a good moment if Ace had something serious to tell her...

Damn !

"WHAT ?"

Eli's eyes cracked open trying to endure the harsh light of the sun still high in the sky.

"THIS CRAB CAN'T CROSS WATER ?" Usopp yelled, his mouth wide open and his orbs popping out of their sockets.

Turning her head backwards, Eli saw her crewmates studying the map of Alabasta anxiously.

"And it'll take all day to float across the Sandora," Vivi said. "Once we cross the river, it's still around 100 kilometers until we reach Alubarna."

And they didn't have a day to waste; the civil war was about to break out in less than four hours.

Great... Eli thought wryly. The girl was in a bad, a really bad mood. The nosy pirates, the hunger, her lack of understanding of Ace's behavior, the length of the day that kept stretching, the thirst... And the terrible headache hammering in her head wasn't helping her cheer up. Anger was still much more bearable than anxiety, though...

"LOOK ! SANDORA UP AHEAD !" Usopp yelled, horror plastered all over his face.

Would you just... "SHUT UP !" Eli cried out, wincing at her own loudness.

She sat up, and while rubbing her fingers against her pounding temples in slow circular motions, Eli rapidly studied the situation. From what she had managed to hear, Scissors, the giant crab, couldn't move in water, and they had to cross the Sandora to keep on with their journey... Therefore, they were pretty much screwed

With a deep sigh, Eli slumped down onto her back holding her aching forehead. Seeing Ace glancing at her, she glared at him in annoyance. Mind your own business, Portgas... Closing her eyes Eli wished that this day was already over.

"I know !" Chopper said cheerfully. "Scissors loves dancers."

Nami stood up and took off her cloak, revealing her nice dancer outfit enhancing her perfect body. "Like this ?"

The pervy crab turned his eyes to check out the voluptuous redhead with heart-shaped eyes. Of course, he was soon joined by Sanji swooning over Nami. Apparently, the sight of the sexy dancer-navigator gave the crab a rush seeing how his speed increased tremendously. He reached the river and kept running hypnotized by Nami. The creature was so fast that he actually managed to run on the water. Eli huffed in annoyance. Apparently, she wasn't the only one to be able to do that...

"It's a miracle !" Usopp screamed, awed at the crab's achievement.

"No, wait !"

After about a hundred meters, the crab started rapidly sinking in the water...

Eli stood up briskly as the reality of the situation hit her on the spot. "SAVE ME !" she yelled frantically before going under the water.

Still conscious but completely unable to order her body to move, Eli sunk watching Chopper and Ace in the same state as her. Fortunately, after a few seconds, she saw Sanji swimming to save her. He grabbed her waist and propelled the both of them out of the water with his powerful legs. At the moment they emerged from the river, Eli coughed up the salty water while Sanji hit her back repeatedly.

"Are you alright ?" Sanji asked.

Eli nodded and looked around; Zoro had fished Ace up and Usopp was taking care of Chopper, a much better repartition of the tasks than before in her opinion. Seeing them, Eli couldn't help but agree with Sanji's previous statement; devil fruit users were really a pain in the ass.

"Sorry..." Eli said weakly, holding onto the cook's neck.

"Don't worry." Sanji smiled before installing the girl onto his back.

After waving Scissors goodbye, the pirates began to swim through the salty river even though they couldn't see the other shore.

"Wait a sec, how far to reach the other side ?" Usopp asked Vivi, Chopper resting on his head.

"About 50 km."

"We can't swim that !" he yelled in shock.

"Quit complaining and keep moving," Zoro said sharply, Ace attached to his back.

Eli chuckled wearily watching the usually arrogant flame user holding on tight to the swordsman's neck. He looked so stupid, she couldn't help it. Sanji must have caught her stare as he started laughing, too, making the two young men grumble in unison.

Oddly, the dangerous situation she was in caused Eli to cheer up a bit. Nestling her chin on Sanji's shoulder, she sighed happily enjoying the swimming sensation. She was suddenly reminded of the time when Ace took her on a swim...

"What is it, Elisabeth ?" Sanji asked.

"I just remembered something nice..." she began softly, a hearty smile on her face. "Years ago... a sweet boy gave me one of the best birthday presents ever..." Eli closed her eyes to let her mind recollect the memories of her sixteenth birthday.

Unfortunately, her rêverie was interrupted as an enormous fish arose from the water right in front of them.

"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAH" Usopp screamed, almost making Chopper fall into the river.

"It's a Sandora Catfish !" Vivi yelled. "It's extremely rare !"

But the pirates didn't care if it was rare or not as the fish opened his giant mouth and began to chase them.

"It also loves to eat humans !" she finished. Like always, Vivi kept the most important information for the end...

With a loud scream of terror, the group swam away frantically but the catfish was in his element. He was therefore way too fast and closing in inexorably. Eli tried to hold on tight to Sanji's neck, but the water had drained her of all energy and she felt like she was just a puppet in the fate's hands. The sound of the catfish closing in threateningly made her heartbeat increase tremendously. The day was hardly over, yet Eli was already reaching her limits as the roller coaster the pirates were on pushed them to the limit of their sanity.

"KUOOOO !"

Kuo ? Turning around, the pirates gaped seeing the kung fu dugongs kicking the fish's ass in no time flat.

It was amazing to see how the Straw Hats had been relying on all sorts of animals to help them through their quest in Alabasta, and also amazing to see how they constantly seemed to escape death one split second before it was too late... The lucky pirates mounted the knocked-out catfish to use it as a means of transport while the dugongs dragged it to take the pirates to the other side of the river.

Eli took off her vest to dry it faster and lay down on the catfish's back to regain her energy, while gazing lazily at the cloud-less sky. However, as Ace sat down next to her, she sat up slowly while looking at him questioningly. Was he done sulking ? Eli suppressed her frown, gathered up her patience, and turned to face her companion with a friendly smile.

"How can I help you ?"

"I'm sorry Eli," Ace said after a few seconds of silence. "I was stupid and... I'm sorry."

Well, that was something already, but hardly enough for Eli as she needed explanation about his puzzling behavior.

"Very well," she said calmly. "Will you tell me why you were mad at me ?"

Ace sighed leaning back using his arms for support and looked at the clear blue sky. "Not now... It's not the right time..."

Not the right time ? Eli's eyebrows went up in puzzlement at the young man's mysterious answer, but still she waited patiently as it seemed that he hadn't finished talking yet.

"We're going to face some tricky enemies and..." Ace paused, and lowered his head to look at her deeply. "If something happens..."

"You're going all sentimental now ?" Eli rolled her eyes. Her friend's behavior was really a mystery to her. Harsh and even insulting, then distant, and at last, worried.

With half a smile Ace grabbed her waist, pulled her toward him and sighed deeply. "Shut up... idiot," he said quietly.

"... You're the idiot," Eli pouted, yet she was happy to see that Ace wasn't mad at her anymore... even though she still had no idea why he was in the first place...

In less than an hour, the pirates had reached the other side of the shore thanks to the dugongs, who apparently wanted to help their 'fellow students'. Considering Luffy as their teachers was so highly comical for Ace and Eli that they burst in laughter, picturing Luffy teaching them something.

As soon as the pirates set foot on the ground, they started their hike because time was running out and they only had a few hours before the two armies clashed in Alubarna. Vivi was rightly anxious; they were really on a tight schedule. Eli had thought of the possibility to take the princess with her, but then how would they deal with the Baroque Works agents who would be obviously waiting for them in Alubarna ?

No, they needed to all get there together. The pirates hastened their pace, hoping for a miracle... again.

A few minutes later, the group looked anxiously in the direction of a stampede getting louder by the second. Were enemies already here to welcome them ?

"It's... the 'Super Spot-billed Duck Squad' !" Vivi yelled cheerfully.

"The what ?" Eli's eyes widened seeing seven large ducks dashing over to them. She quickly recognized Caru among them.

"The 'Super Spot-billed Duck Squad' !" Vivi repeated, hugging Caru. "It's the fastest troop of Alabasta."

They all wore different head gears which made them extremely cute. Of course, Eli felt complied to greet each of them with a hug while thanking them for helping the pirates. With their help, the group would be able to reach Alubarna in no time. They had hoped for a miracle and got blessed with a damn cute-looking one.

Now, the group also still needed a plan of action to face the officer agents of Baroque Works. Vivi drew a map of Alubarna; the town was situated on a high plateau and was surrounded by five gates. The pirates were going to arrive by the west side of the city, and therefore, the closest entrance was the West Gate and the Baroque Works agents would probably wait for them there.

The plan was for the pirates to get the Baroque Works agents' attention so that the princess could stop the rebels in front of the South Gate.

For that purpose, they hid their identities, covering themselves with white cloaks, making them hardly recognizable. They all mounted a different duck, except for Vivi and Eli who mounted Caru together. Eli served as a guaranty; if Vivi would arrive too late, the devil fruit user would have to take the princess as fast as she could to the palace to contact the royal army.

Before leaving, the pirates gathered in a circle and held their left arm forward, showing their proof of friendship to give themselves courage.

"TO ALUBARNA !"

to be continued

Betaed by Iwin Ulose.

Poor Eli, she doesn't get it at all... And those nosy ones, who just ruin everything !
Hopefully now everything is good and yeah, to Alubarna !

See you soon :)