The plan against Crocodile was devious in it's simplicity. Luffy and the others quickly realised that the destruction of Rain Dinners wouldn't take him out in and of itself, it would simply force him out so they didn't have to go to him.

This was where Nami came in.

While on the way to Alabasta from Drum, Usopp had created a weapon for Nami, which he called the Clima-Tact. Combining the staff in different combinations allowed Nami to create different elemental reactions, including a jet of salt water. Luffy and the others didn't know a lot about how Logia powers worked, but Luffy could only assume it worked similarly to his own, and that water countered him. So the plan was simple.

Once Crocodile was out in the open, get Nami in position to spray him. And that's exactly what they did.

Crocodile was now doused with water from the Navigator, who disappeared back into the crowd watching the fight. He looked livid from the disrespect, but Luffy didn't care.

"Sanji!" He shouted, "Johnny! Get out here already!"

"O-On it, Big Bro!" A voice called from somewhere behind him.

"If you had a brain in your head, you'd see I'm already here," Sanji said, looking annoyed he had been ignored as he reappeared. Crocodile reached up and cracked his neck.

"I don't have time to deal with you lot," he hissed. "I'll finish this now."

"I was gonna say the same!" Luffy shouted, "Let's get him!" With this the Straw Hats charged him, But Crocodile raised his hand before any of them could do anything.

"Sables!" He shouted, a sandstorm spawning from his hand. The storm enveloped Luffy and the others, making it impossible to see anything. Luffy tried to plant himself firmly on the ground, but the wind picked up and, in the blink of an eye, he was flying through the air. He tried to right himself, but he found it impossible to tell which was up or down. It felt like a few minutes later the wind died down, and he felt himself falling. Once his eyesight cleared, he looked to see where he was.

He was a couple hundred feet above the desert outside Rainbase, falling fast.

"What the hell happened?!" Sanji shouted from somewhere nearby in the sky.

"He flung us out of the city!" Zoro shouted, "bastard!"

"Everyone get ready!" Luffy shouted, scanning the sky for his crew. Once he saw them, he shot his arms out and grabbed them as quickly as he could, holding them tightly as he stretched his legs and hit the ground. It was a harder landing than he'd have liked, but it still worked. He settled himself and the crew on the ground, just in time to see a cloud of sand approaching them.

"Let go of me!" Luffy's eyes widened as the sand settled across from them, gritting his teeth.

Crocodile had found Nami, and was holding her tightly against his claw hand.

"It was a cute idea, Straw Hat," he said as he tightened his grip on the Navigator. "But you should have had someone better than a raccoon and that shitty painter protect her."

"What did you do to them?!" Luffy demanded angrily.

"Nothing too bad," Crocodile replied, "I just absorbed all the moisture in Ms. Golden Week's arms and the raccoon's legs. Now, unless you want your comrade to meet the same fate, you'll lower your weapons." Luffy gritted his teeth angrily, eyes on Nami. She was terrified, but kept her composure as her eyes met his. She shook her head quickly, but Luffy had no idea how to fight this with her captive. He heard Zoro and Johnny lower their blades, growling to themselves.

"Let her go," Johnny said, trying to sound threatening.

"Or what?" Crocodile asked, the hook dangerously close to Nami's throat. "That's the difference between us, Straw Hats; you'll let this relationship hold you back from defeating me. Your care for this woman will defeat you. Even though I've been let down time and again by some of my agents, I'll still win. Do you know why? Because I don't need any of them to win. You're different. Without this witch, you have no way to beat me."

"Why don't you put her down and we can find out?" Luffy asked, trying to sound tough. "Or are you scared you can't beat us one versus five?" Crocodile glowered, and grabbed a hold of Nami's right arm.

And it was mummified.

Nami screeched in pain as the moisture from her arm disappeared, making Luffy's stomach turn. He'd already done this to Marianne and Chopper?! Nami's right arm looked like a relic of the past, and next Crocodile raised his hand to her throat.

"Now," he said, "What have we decided on?" Luffy gritted his teeth, but tried to unclench his hands.

"Don't attack him," he ordered.

"Luffy!" Sanji shouted, "he's gonna-!"

"Don't!" Luffy shouted, glaring at Sanji over his shoulder. "Or he'll do it faster!" Crocodile let out a laugh as the Straw Hats dropped any weapons on them.

"Good, good," he said. "That makes this easier."

Nami was tossed forward, projected by a wall of sand and hitting Luffy in the face. Both of them fell to the ground, and Zoro reached for this swords. It was too late, as Crocodile got to him first, grabbing both of his hands and doing to Zoro what he'd done to Nami. Turning, Crocodile blocked Sanji's kick with his hook, then grabbed him around the ankle with said hook to toss him away. He then turned in Johnny's direction.

"Desert Spada!" He shouted. With a wave of his arm, Luffy watched as a blade of sand raced for Johnny and struck him in the chest, not able to be blocked by a single blade. Johnny hit the ground, bloody, before Sanji reappeared in front of Crocodile and struck at him again. Crocodile dodged his kicks, and aimed to grab him with his hand.

Before Zoro appeared, a blade in his mouth. Zoro slashed Crocodile across the back, making contact thanks to the water from Nami. Crocodile stumbled towards Luffy, who had freed himself from Nami after checking she was okay.

"Gum-Gum Pistol!" He shouted, slamming his fist into Crocodile's stomach. The Warlord was driven back by the attack, grimacing. He reached for Luffy's arm but the Captain retracted it before he could be grabbed.

"Collier Shoot!" Sanji descended on Crocodile and slammed his foot into his neck, making Crocodile stumble. He did not get caught by Zoro, though, backing up and placing a hand on the ground.

"Sleep with the old Kings of this damned country!" He shouted, "Desert Girasole!" None of the Straw Hats were able to get close to Crocodile again before the ground collapsed beneath them, the sand rushing down towards the hole at the bottom of the sinkhole. Luffy tried desperately to free himself, but it was to no avail. He couldn't get any purchase to hold himself up. No matter how hard he tried, the sand kept falling down.

Luffy!" Nami shouted from the edge of the pit, "Sanji! Zoro!" Luffy gritted his teeth, using his rubber neck to turn and scan for his allies. He saw Sanji and Zoro struggling to stay up as well, and made split-second decision. He stopped trying to save himself, and reached to grab his Cook and First Mate. Using all the momentum he could gain, he flung both of them up out of the hole and back onto solid ground.

"Luffy, grab my hand!" Nami shouted as he slipped further down. Luffy was about to grab her, but his eyes widened as Crocodile appeared behind her, hook raised.

"NAMI!"

The sound of metal resounding off of metal rang out. Luffy watched, stunned, as Johnny spring from the ground and blocked the hook with his blade, saving Nami's life. Luffy wasted no time, grabbing the Navigator's hand and pulling himself up. He stumbled as he reached solid ground and got to his feet, facing Crocodile with his crew. For his part, Crocodile looked livid.

"You all don't quit, do you?" He demanded, "you have my respect for that."

"No one wants your respect!" Luffy shouted, making Crocodile laugh.

"Be that way," Straw Hat." He said, "those will be your last words." Before they fought, Luffy took a moment to check on his crew. Johnny was bleeding profusely under his shirt from the cut Crocodile had given him, and seemed uneven on his feet. Zoro had lost the use of his arms, having only the blade in his mouth. Sanji and himself seemed fine, and Nami was shaken from her dehydrated arm, but otherwise she seemed fine.

Dehydrated...

"Nami!" he said, making her jump and look at him. "Spray your arm with water!"

"Why?!"

"Just do it!" Crocodile tried to intervene, but Zoro and Sanji stopped him. Nami aimed her staff at herself and activated it, spraying herself with water. Luffy watched, satisfied, as her arm returned to normal.

"It's back," she said, sounding stunned. "Of course! He took the water from it, so we need to stay hydrated! Zoro!" Nami aimed her staff at the First Mate, who hung back and got a face full of water. Crocodile growled as Zoro picked up his blades.

"What a troublesome girl," he said, raising his right hand. "I've had enough of this." Luffy watched, his eyes widened, as Crocodile ran his hand over his own body. His soaked clothes were dried, and his skin began dry as well. With a flick of his wrist Crocodile shot the water off to the side. "I gave you a chance to impress me. Now, I'll just kill you."

"I'd like to see you try!" Luffy replied, "Nami, hit him aga-!"

They'd forgotten he could turn into sand again. Crocodile appeared behind them and Nami, and with a smash he destroyed the Clima-Tact into several pieces. He pushed Nami backward, who landed on her back roughly.

"How dare you push a lady!" Sanji shouted, aiming his foot at Crocodile's head, Crocodile turned and raised his hand.

"Desert Spada," he said. The slice of sand hit Sanji as it had Johnny before him, cutting him vertically and sending him into the dirt.

"Dragon Twister!"

"Gum-Gum Gatling!" Both Zoro and Luffy's attacks did nothing except make holes in Crocodile, which quickly filled back in with sand.

"It's sad really," Crocodile said. "It's not that you're extremely weak, Straw Hat's, it's just that I'm too strong. Desert Spada Bombardeo." Like the attack before it, Crocodile sent a slash made of sand at them. And then another, and then another.

Luffy and Zoro were forced into an awkward tango to avoid getting hit, but Johnny wasn't so lucky. He took another hit from the attack and hit the ground, groaning in pain. Zoro tried his hardest to avoid the attacks as well, but he wasn't as flexible as Luffy. He took a few nasty slices to his chest and collapsed, blood wetting the sand. The Swordsman tried to stand a few times, but was failing.

This left Luffy alone on his feet.

"And it falls to one," Crocodile said, "What plan have you come up with now, Straw Hat Luffy?" Luffy gritted his teeth, eyes on Nami. She was away from everyone else, scrambling to put the Clima-Tact together again.

"I'm just relishing the fact that you'll lose anyway," Luffy said. "So why don't you come and get it, Croco-!"

Nami's attempt at putting the Clima-Tact back together were interrupted by the sound of flesh ripping apart. Horrified, she looked up slowly.

Luffy had been run through by Crocodile's hook. She watched, terrified, as Luffy tried to free himself from the hook, to no avail. It was right through his lower midsection.

"Sorry Straw Hat," Crocodile said, "but you refused to get out of my way. And now it ends this way."

"Luffy!" Nami screamed, the Captain not replying to her. He spat up blood, which hit Crocodile in the face. He didn't seem phased.

"You'll die out here," Crocodile continued, "and the birds will feast on your corpse. I'll come back after we're finished in Alubarna and find your Gum-Gum Fruit. I can still make use of that." Luffy was leaning back, groaning in pain. Nami wanted to help, but she couldn't find her strength. Luffy lost more and more strength, leaning backwards.

Until he surprised everyone.

He'd not been leaning back because he was losing strength, he'd been leaning back because he was planning on headbutting Crocodile as hard as he could. Luffy's rubber neck snapped back into place, and Crocodile's face was crunched under Luffy's forehead. Growling in surprise, Luffy was dropped as Crocodile stumbled backwards.

"Defiant until the end, huh?" Crocodile demanded, "Desert Sumidero!" A maw opened up beneath Luffy, on a smaller scale than the one Crocodile had used before. Luffy had no footing to regain, no one to grab onto. He slipped and fell into the darkness lobbing curses at Crocodile.

Nami was alone now. Alone with the Warlord. She watched as Luffy disappeared into the pit before fearfully looking up at Crocodile. He regarded her without a care, stepping towards her slowly. Nami tried and failed to put her staff back together. She wasn't used to it yet.

"One last stand?" Crocodile mused as he walked towards her. "How cute."

"G-Get away from me!" Nami shouted, knowing damn well she didn't look threatening.

"And what will you do about it?" Crocodile asked. "Spray your hose at me again?" Nami didn't know, she hadn't practised enough. She knew his previous attack hadn't broken it entirely, but she had no time to reconstruct it.

"Have you finished up out here?" A new voice asked. Nami and Crocodile looked as Ms. All Sunday walked up, looking vaguely interested.

"Nico Robin," Crocodile said, which must have been her real name, "where were you, exactly?"

"I'll have you know I was busy dealing with Pell the Falcon," she replied. "In case you hadn't figured it out, the government knows of us."

"It makes no difference," Crocodile replied. "the rebels don't."

"Hm, about that," Nico Robin said. "They actually do." Crocodile's eyes widened and turned to Robin, who just stared back at him.

"They do?" He demanded, "when did that happen?!"

"Not too long ago," Robin replied. "I got reports from our spies that Princess Vivi showed up at Katorea and spilled our dirty little secret. As it stands, the rebels are on the way to assist the royal army. which means they're going to Alubarna." At first Nami was hopeful, because all of that sounded like a good thing. However, Crocodile just laughed.

"Are they now?" He asked, "well, doesn't that make our job easy." Nico Robin smirked.

"It does indeed," she said. Crocodile turned back to Nami, still chuckling.

"Well, I applaud your attempts, kid," he said to her. "You and your little band have caused us a lot of trouble. But, it doesn't matter in the end. The pieces are falling into place all the same." Nami had nothing to say, she was terrified. "Nothing to say? Good, you should listen when those stronger than you speak. Now, I'll be heading to Alubarna. With the King missing, and Pell out of commission, the army will be in disarray. The rebels won't help any, seeing as we have countless agents in both. Once they reach Alubarna, they'll have sealed their own fate."

"...Y-You'll fail," Nami hissed. "Vivi will stop you."

"And how will she do that?" Crocodile asked. "She has no powers, and I just wiped out half or more of your crew if my reports are correct. Once I'm done with you, anyway." He raised his hook above his head, and Nami flinched and hid her face. This was the end.

"You're killing her?" Robin asked. Crocodile paused, and Nami opened an eye to watch.

"Why shouldn't I?" Crocodile demanded, "Are you questioning me, Nico Robin?"

"Only your methods," Robin replied as she shrugged her shoulders. "I'd keep her alive."

"And why is that?" Crocodile asked.

"So she can despair in their failure," Robin replied. "Speaking from experience, there's nothing more enjoyable than watching your enemies powerless to stop you."

"That leaves loose ends," Crocodile said as he turned back to Nami, "and after those failures of agents put me in this situation, I hate those more than ever." Robin's face wasn't readable, but Nami was still confused. Was she trying to save her?

"Do as you wish," Robin said, "I'm not advocating for saving lives after all of this. I just think victory will taste all the sweeter knowing she has to watch us." Crocodile seemed to consider this more a moment, his face as unreadable as Robin's.

"No," he finally said, "she dies." Nami looked helplessly at Robin. Her blue eyes bored into Nami, but she closed them and sighed.

"As you say," she said. Nami gaped at her in shock, before looking up at Crocodile. He responded by dropping his hook onto her.

And the Rainbase mission failed.

At least an hour had passed since Rainbase had been destroyed by the Straw Hats, but no one in the city itself was any wiser to their real identity. The city was more protected than most thanks to Baroque Works, so the citizens still had no idea Crocodile was the real enemy.

And that sickened Pell.

He stumbled through the streets, following the word of mouth that Crocodile had defeated the 'rebels' outside town. He needed to find those people, and see if they were still alive. He needed their help.

He soon reached the edge of Rainbase and stumbled into the sand. He was worried at first he'd gone the wrong way, but the blood on the sand showed he hadn't. He'd found them.

From what he could see, their was three men and a woman here. All of them were bleeding into the sand still, but he could tell they were alive. However, that wasn't what he focused on.

"Nico Robin!" He shouted angrily, making the woman turn. "Leave them alone!" He had no idea why the woman was still hanging around, but he'd stop her from finishing off Princess Vivi's allies.

"Ah, Pell," she said with a smile. "Have you recovered?"

"Keep your filthy claws off of the Princess' allies!" He shouted, preparing his blade, "your Devil Fruit powers won't catch me off guard this time!"

"Oh stop it," she chastised, "I'm busy." Pell made a face at this, but Nico Robin turned away from him and raised her hands. The sand started to rumble, and Pell was surprised to see a man ejected from the sand. He was coughing up a storm as he hit the ground, Robin regarding him quietly.

"You were missing one of them," she said, turning and walking away, "you might want to act quickly, they've been bleeding for quite some times now. Crocodile left a few of them in town as well, a small girl and a raccoon dog, I think. Save them as well." Pell watched her walk towards a smaller Bananawani outfitted her desert travel.

"Why did you save him?" Pell demanded. Nico Robin let out a laugh.

"I wonder," she replied. "I suppose I'm curious to see how strong the Will of D. is." Saying no more, Robin took off on her Bananawani. Pell watched her go, before he looked down at the man at his feet.

"...You..." The man struggled to say, spitting sand out of his mouth, "Do you have water...?" Pell grimaced at the wound in the mans stomach, kneeling down next to him.

"Save your strength," he said, "you will need it for your rematch against Crocodile."