It is now 2022, dear readers, so it's time for a new chapter of this story as well. Apologies for the delay but we ALL have lives outside this website and sometimes that's more important. Anyway…now you'll see just how PEW will deal with all that's happening in Alabasta. Balancing things out is his way as you've read, so he's got things worked out for Crocodile, the Straw Hats, the Marines and the people of Alabasta. We hope…enjoy!
Also, I'd like to apologize in advance if anyone in this story is out of character…I never claimed to be INFALLIBLE now did I? But then again neither did anyone else here. Also, I'm going to try and be fair and use the Japanese/English names for things like Devil Fruits etc.
(By the way…all flames and flamers will be ignored thank-you. I'll make an exception for CONSTRUCTIVE reviews on what needs an adjustment or suggestions for other chapters/stories, for they are most welcome. Remember if you don't like my work then don't read or review it! NO-ONE is forcing you to! You want a story on this site you WANT to read and enjoy, then by all means type one up yourself. Why waste time with USELESS and HARMFUL abuse?)
Disclaimer: I sadly DON'T own anything from One Piece, not the people OR the places (except my OWN characters, places and so on) they all belong to Funimation, Toei Animation, Fuji TV, Shueisha, Shonen Jump Manga and that genius Odo Eiichiro.
Special Note: A small idea given to me by ScytheMasterX has been used for this particular chapter, thanks man!
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PART ELEVEN:
If any of the patrons of Rain Dinners knew about what was happening in Alabasta, particularly its capital, they certainly didn't show. In fact, it all looked perfectly normal as the people continued to try their luck at all the gambling places the casino had to offer them.
'Perhaps that's for the best,' PEW thought to himself as he, Miss All Sunday and Crocodile emerged back into the casino from the basement.
The unexpected emergence of his employer caught Ultraking, who had been watching the floor, completely by surprise. "Oh my, Mr Crocodile sir," he said coming to meet him. "Have you heard what's happening in Nanohana?!"
"Yes, I have actually," Crocodile said to his Assistant Manager with no real emotion in his voice. "Very tragic, isn't it?"
"The whole town no, the whole country is in an uproar! Everyone's talking about it. It appears that the Royal Army and the Rebel Army are finally about to clash!"
"Oh well," Crocodile said with a casual shrug to Ultraking. "I'm not surprised, the king does let pirates attack the cities. I always thought something like this might happen, if Cobra kept letting his country suffer."
'If only they knew the real truth about that,' PEW thought grimly before a voice broke in on his thoughts.
"Hey, look over there!" a patron said excitedly to his fellow gamblers. "It's Crocodile!"
"Oh my, it really is him!" a woman cried in happy conformation.
"Wow! A public appearance in his own casino, how about that?!"
"Hooray!"
"It seems you're as popular as ever," Miss All Sunday said quietly to Crocodile as he led her and PEW to the front doors of Rain Dinner's ignoring all the praises and cheers from the patrons.
"The ultimate cover my dear," PEW said to her equally quiet. "It's easy to hide evil deeds behind lots of good ones as Crocodile has done for his public."
"How very true," Miss All Sunday mused as they stepped out the doors and onto the front steps of Rain Dinners.
"What the hell is this?" Crocodile thundered angrily as he and his associates came to a dead stop on the bridge that led over the lake from the Casino to the main street. Scattered about the street before them were the bodies of several armed men, all severely beaten and bashed up like a great battle had taken place.
"These were the remaining Millions we had left in town," Miss All Sunday told her boss as she examined the bodies with PEW after they crossed the bridge to the street itself. "If you include the ones Pell the Falcon took down earlier when I found Princess Vivi," she added. "Every last one of them was wiped out."
"No kidding," Crocodile replied sarcastically before turning his attention to a semi-conscious Million lying at his feet. "Hey," the Warlord said turning the wounded man over with his foot. "Who did this? Tell me!"
"A-A man named Mr Prince…" the wounded Million said weakly.
"I thought you idiots said you caught him? Where did he go?!"
"He headed towards the south part of town…" the wounded Million gasped. "He…just…left."
"Just now?
"Look!" PEW spoke up. "There he is!"
Following the information broker's pointing finger, Crocodile was just in time to see a large heavy figure loitering around in the street, quickly disappear around the corner of a nearby building.
"I see him," Crocodile said grimly. "Run then!" he called to the retreating figure. "Run all you want but you can't escape me!"
"You could just forget it," Miss All Sunday suggested to her boss.
"Oh no," Crocodile said determinedly to his partner. "I've always killed those that are foolish enough to cross me. And that's not a habit I'm giving up any time soon!"
As she spoke Crocodile jumped up into the air, the lower part of his body dissolving into a sandstorm as he did so, and took off after the retreating figure.
"It seems that even as a Warlord," PEW said to Miss All Sunday. "Crocodile is susceptible to wounded pride and ego, hence his determination to get even."
"So, it would seem," mused Miss All Sunday.
Just then there was a violent crash behind them, turning around Miss All Sunday and PEW saw that the bridge that led to Rain Dinners had collapsed!
"Now how the heck did that happen?" Miss All Sunday asked in puzzlement.
'You are a clever boy Sanji,' PEW thought to himself. 'You lure us outside, create a diversion, then sneak into Rain Dinners to save your crew…after you make sure you can't be followed.'
"I've no idea," PEW replied to Miss All Sunday with a casual shrug. "But I have the feeling we've been set up."
"So, what do we do?"
"We wait for Crocodile; it won't take him long to come to the same conclusion I have."
Sure, enough about five minutes later Crocodile returned obviously not having found 'Mr Prince.' Once he took in the destroyed bridge to Rain Dinners, he turned to PEW.
"We've been set up PEW, Miss All Sunday and I will deal with this. You go to Alubarna and wait for us; we shouldn't be long."
"As you wish Crocodile," PEW said nodding his head before taking Miss All Sunday's hand and kissing it. "Take care my dear."
"Fu, fu, fu," Miss All Sunday said gently. "Don't I always?"
Then the pair of them vanished as Crocodile used his Sand-Sand powers to get them over the lake and back to Rain Dinners.
"He's gone at last," PEW sighed in thankful relief. "Thank God for that, his childish desire to gloat doesn't help my headaches. What an ego," he muttered as he checked his pockets for aspirins. "If he's so smart as he claims, he wouldn't have fallen for something so simple!"
"You're telling us," said a familiar voice.
Turning around PEW saw Mr 6 and Miss Mother's Day sitting on a nearby bench.
"Still here I see," he said as he came over to join them.
"Oh yeah," Mr 6 nodded. "We were in the casino when we heard a commotion out on the street so we went to look."
"It was a blonde-haired man and a big hairy guy with a blue nose," Miss Mother's Day added. "They took out the Millions, then they used one of them to call out Mr 0 with his Den-Den."
"So, they then split up," PEW said completing their story. "The blue nosed guy lured away your boss, so his friend could sneak into the casino to rescue his fellow Straw Hats."
"How did you know they were Straw Hat pirates?" Miss Mother's Day asked in amazement.
"Well, they sure as hell weren't Marines from your descriptions," PEW told them.
"That makes sense," Mr 6 nodded thoughtfully.
"Speaking of Smoker and his Marines," PEW went on. "There's been a change of my plans. Can I have those letters and notebooks I wanted you to give to Smoker and Tashigi back? I want to give them those myself, I have a new job for the pair of you instead."
"What do you want us to do?" Mr 6 asked as he and his partner handed back their letters and notebooks.
"I need you two to go to Alubarna and keep watch on Mr 2/Bon Clay for me."
"Why him?" asked Miss Mother's Day in puzzlement.
"Despite the fact he's a bit of an oddball," PEW told them. "He's a real good guy. However, he's still doing his own job for your boss. So don't get in his way, just watch him and let me know what happens to him."
"Okay then," Mr 6 said with a shrug. "We'll do what you say."
"Good," PEW nodded in satisfaction. "Now off you go, I still got things to do around here."
"We're on our way," Miss Mother's Day told him.
"Just one more thing before you go," PEW said seriously making them stop in their tracks. "Do you two have any aspirins? I have a splitting headache and it is killing me!"
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Tony-Tony Chopper, the little reindeer doctor to the Straw Hat Pirates, carefully made his way through the crowded streets of Rainbase, occasionally glancing nervously over his shoulder to make sure he wasn't being followed. Sanji's plan to have him lure Crocodile away from his casino so he could sneak in and rescue their friends, had worked like a charm. Having such a strong terrible person chase after him was a terrifying experience for Chopper. Be he had managed to fool the Warlord by a simple changing of his forms. When he drew Crocodile away, he had done it in his human form, when they were far away enough for Sanji to act, Chopper had changed into his small hybrid form. As Crocodile had been looking for a large tall person, Chopper was able to simply walk by the Warlord. That was not an easy task as it took everything Chopper had to fight his instinct to run like hell as Crocodile's Sand-Sand Powers terrified him.
With his task now done, Chopper was making his way to the outskirts of Rainbase to find his friend Eyelash, a camel he had befriended, who had been nice enough to get him and his fellow Straw Hats through the desert. Once Chopper had found Eyelash, Sanji had told the little reindeer doctor to follow the scent of some Alabastian perfume he had bought for Nami, as a signal he had rescued their friends and they were waiting for him.
Chopper was suddenly brought out of his thoughts by a sudden groaning coming from around a street corner. Going around the corner, Chopper saw a man sitting on a bench wearing dark red robes with a cowl covering his head and face. He was clutching his head with his hands and had a pair of blue gloves sitting on the bench next to him. When the man suddenly looked up at him, Chopper gave a startled squeak and ducked into hiding around the corner. Unfortunately for Chopper he had almost all of his body exposed in plain sight while only a small part of himself was hidden from sight.
"I hate to be the one to tell you this my friend," the hooded man said gently. "But you're hiding yourself the wrong way around."
Realizing that the man was right Chopper quickly reversed his position.
"You can relax," the hooded man chuckled weakly at Chopper's awkward behavior. "I couldn't hurt you even if I wanted to, I'm in agony at the moment."
Hearing this Chopper slowly came out of hiding and approached the hooded man who had started groaning again. "What's the problem?"
"Migraine," the man replied painfully. "This hot desert air…and I don't have any aspirins!"
"Aw…don't worry," Chopper said coming up to the man while reaching into his medical bag he was carrying under his desert robes. "I'm a doctor and I've got some aspirins for you."
"You do?" the man said looking up in relief at Chopper's words.
"Sure!" Chopper said getting out his aspirin bottle before taking the man's hand so he could give him some. As he did so the man gave a sudden cry of pain as it looked like his migraine was getting suddenly worse.
"Here Mr," Chopper said giving the man the entire aspirin bottle. "Take the lot, I have a spare bottle and you obviously need them more than me."
"Thank-you," the man said gratefully to Chopper as he took the bottle, opened it and dry swallowed some of the tablets.
"Feel better now?" Chopper asked as the man got out a canteen of water and drank from it.
"Yes," the man said in huge relief as he put his canteen away after one last drink. "I feel a hell a lot better now than I did before, thanks."
"You shut up!" Chopper said doing his happy dance and blushing from the praise he got. "I don't need your praise stupid!"
"You know you are a lousy liar Chopper," the man chuckled as he got up putting his gloves back on. "But you're a great doctor, so keep up the good work. Oh and give Dr Kureha my regards won't you?" he added clapping his hand on Chopper's shoulder before leaving on his way.
"Huh?" Chopper said in astonishment coming out of his happy dance state. "How did you know my name? I never told you…and how do you know Dr Kureha?"
"Just tell her in your next letter you met a man whose job is to 'know things'," the man called over his shoulder. "Then give my description and she'll fill you in with her next reply to you."
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The afternoon sun was getting low over Rainbase as PEW hurriedly made his way through the city's streets. After getting over his headache the information dealer had been searching for ages trying to find Tashigi and her Marines with no luck. So he decided to go back to Rain Dinner's in case Tashigi had taken her men there.
"Look out!" PEW heard someone suddenly call out. "A sandstorm! I can see a sandstorm in the sky to the south! Take shelter!"
Looking to the south with everyone else in the streets PEW could indeed see a large sandstorm blowing furiously on the town's outskirts.
"Let's take cover!"
"Wait a minute, that storm is heading south!"
"So it is," PEW said quietly to himself. "Must be Crocodile sending it off to Yuba for one final good measure. By the time that storm actually get's to Yuba it'll be a monstrous size, I pity the poor fools that get in the way of that thing!"
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It was dark by the time PEW found Tashigi and Smoker along with all their fellow Marines. They were talking to each other at the outskirts of Rainbase as Smoker was getting on a motorcycle, not far away a squad of Marines stood waiting patiently for orders.
'This is NOT going to be easy,' PEW thought quietly to himself. 'I'll have to time myself right.' With that thought in mind, PEW produced a stubby blue orb about the size of an apple and held onto it, waiting for his chance.
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"You want me to go to Alubarna?" Tashigi said in puzzlement to Smoker as she stood behind him, while he got himself ready to leave on his motorcycle. "Are we still chasing after the Straw Hat Pirates? Or are we reinforcing the Royal Army?"
"That's up to you," Smoker replied without turning around to face his subordinate.
"Huh?"
"You'll have to decide which is more important when you get there."
"But sir," Tashigi protested. "I don't exactly understand what's going on? Ever since we found you near Rain Dinner's casino where the Straw Hat's got away you've been acting very strangely."
"Then you'll just have to rely on your sense of justice won't you?" Smoker told her has he put on his riding gloves. "Whatever happens, I'll accept the responsibility," he went on grabbing the motorcycle's handlebars as he was ready to leave.
"Captain Smoker, where are you going?" Tashigi asked her superior in puzzlement.
"I have to head out to sea, something unforeseen has come up. So be on the alert to receive any communications from me at any time, alright?"
"Yes sir," Tashigi said saluting as Smoker put on some riding goggles.
"I need you to keep a vigilant eye on this country and where it ends up."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean whenever it falls, or whenever it survives," Smoker said evenly. "It marks the brand new dawn of a new age on the horizon."
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Seeing that this was now his chance, PEW threw his stubby orb with all his might causing it to land in between Smoker, Tashigi and their fellow Marines. As soon as the orb hit the ground the orb started emitting a yellow mist from all its stubs, covering the Marines from PEW's sight. When the mist cleared Smoker, Tashigi and the Marines were all as still as statues.
"Ha!" PEW said in satisfaction as he came out of hiding to retrieve his orb. "My stun gas bomb works like a charm! Sorry to do this to you people," PEW went on examining the frozen Marines. "But it won't last long and there are no ill effects," he added walking up to the frozen Tashigi. "Now I can give you my letters and notebooks in person," so saying PEW placed the two items in Tashigi's pocket where she would easily find them. PEW then went over to Smoker and did the same thing for him.
"Now that I got that out of the way," PEW said moving around so he was standing in front of still frozen Smoker. "There's just one more thing to take care of," he said carefully raising Smoker's ridding goggles off his eyes before closing them. "Then we can all be on our way," he finished taking off both his gloves.
The hooded Information Broker carefully put his hands and Smoker's head with his thumbs on both of his closed eyes. He then closed his own eyes and gently rubbed his hands on Smoker's head thumbs on Smoker's eyelids.
"Now then," PEW said quietly to himself. "Where is it? Where…? Can't be too far away…now can it? Come on Smoker…ah!" he cried in sudden triumph opening his eyes. "Got it!"
With his task now done PEW removed his hands from Smoker's head and eyes. "Sorry to do that to you Smoker," he said opening the Marine Captain's eyes and replacing his riding goggles over them. "But I had to remove the parts of your memory of my ability to read the Poneglyphs. That fool Crocodile took a real good guess that I could, but he just had to reveal that in all his gloating now didn't he? I know you're a good man Smoker," PEW went on picking up his gloves and putting them back on his hands. "But I can't risk you saying anything to your superiors. If they knew…my entire life would be more wanted than Nico Robin's! However…because I acted in time I'm now alright. As for you, you'll put down the memory loss as fatigue from overwork. Now I got to go, but don't worry my gas will wear off in another minute or two. You'll all recover and won't even remember being frozen as the gas erases short term memory."
With that said PEW moved away gave a cry of "Geppo!" and the information dealer took up into the night's sky and off into the desert. Below him Smoker headed off on his motorcycle with Tashigi and her men watching him leave, all blissfully unaware of what had happened.
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And THAT is the end of the chapter dear readers! Thanks to PEW Sanji and Chopper were able to save their fellow Straw Hats as well as Smoker. And Chopper was able to help PEW out in his small way too. Thanks again to ScytheMasterX for that little idea, now PEW knows about the newest Straw Hat to join their crew.
Also PEW changed his plans with Mr 6 and Miss Mother's Day so HE could not only give the evidence needed to Smoker and Tashigi, but because he needed to remove a small part of Smoker's memory. He gave a very valid reason… 'But who IS PEW? How can he DO all this? Is he REALLY going to go on with Crocodile's plan?' I hear you all asking?
The answers ARE coming, when they do your patience WILL have paid off believe me! So in the meantime read and review like always ok? Good Health, Clear Body, Strong Mind!
Also please remember once again, if you don't like my work then don't read or review it! NO-ONE, is forcing you to!