Monkey D. Luffy had absolutely, completely, undoubtedly humiliated Iron Mace Alvida. But somehow, she almost didn't mind. At least now she knew where she stood in terms of strength. Sure, her crew was now questioning that same strength, but she could just bash one of their brains in, and fix that problem easily. No, what really mattered now was her personal strength. And she needed to improve quickly. She'd since joined an alliance with the Buggy Pirate, and was contemplating her choices.

She was lounging around on the deck when one of Buggy's crew came up to her.

"E-e-errrr.." he stuttered, cowering at Alvida's massive form.

"Yes?" said Alvida, raising an eyebrow.

"Captain Buggy t-t-told me t-t-to give you th-this," he said, pulling from his coat pocket a Devil Fruit. It resempled a bunch of grapes, but the grapes were white with purple swirls. Alvida recognized it instantly.

"This is a Devil Fruit, isn't it?" she said, eyeing the cursed grapes.

"Y-y-yes," stuttered the man, "I-It's for y-your birthday g-gift, a token of honour from Captain Buggy"

Alvida sneered. As if Buggy knew about tokens and honour. But nevertheless, she needed to power up quickly, and this would be the perfect way to do it. Other than the fact that she wouldn't be able to swim anymore (not that she'd ever learned how; for some reason she just couldn't float!) a Devil Fruit was an easy way to obtain more strength.

"Alright, what do I do?" she asked the man.

"Captain Buggy said y-you only need a bite. So a s-single grape will d-do."

Alvida plucked a single white orb from its stem. She stared at it for a while, wondering how her life would change. And then she popped it into her mouth. Gagging, she nearly spat it out. It tasted terrible! But she managed to swallow it.

All of a sudden, she felt lighter. She looked at her hands, and felt that they were as smooth as glass. She tried clasping her hands together, but they just slipped off each other. She looked up to see Buggy's crewmate staring at her, dumbfounded.

"It's a miracle," he murmured, unable to look away.

"Get me a mirror!" said Alvida, attempting to pinch herself, and failing, her fingers sliding off her cheeks.

The man returned, holding a jeweled looking glass. Alvida held the mirror to her face. Her freckles had vanished.

"That's it?" she remarked, "From the way you reacted, I'd imagined something better!"

"W-What do you mean?" asked the man.

"Well, all that happened was that my freckles are gone!"

"But you're so beautiful now, and before you were…" he trailed off, sensing the dangerous waters he was swimming him.

"Not as beautiful!" he blurted, completing his mishappen sentence, and making Alvida smile.

'What a bonus,' she thought, 'Slippery powers and improved beauty! You hear horror stories about these things, but I guess I sure got lucky!'

A.N.: Ech. That was difficult. I don't really like Alvida as a character; to me she lacks depth, which it turn makes it hard to write for her. But nevertheless, I think it turned out ok. Reviews, Favourites, Subscriptions, and Requests are welcomed and much appreciated! Seriously, I'd love to hear your guys' opinion! Anyways, I'll see you on March the 6th for Jaguar D. Saul!