Sorry for the abrupt disturbance in updates, I get distracted easily. I'm like a dog in that regard, honestly.
Enjoy!
Vivi actually felt better being on board the ship, which surprised her. She'd never have thought she'd end up like that, but serving Baroque Works over the years seemed to have rubbed off on her.
She was currently sailing up the Sandora River, on board one of six different ships Koza and the rebels had. After stabilising the situation in Nanohana, Koza and the rebels discovered a treasure trove of weapons aboard the ship that had crashed into the port, no doubt planted there by Crocodile for the rebels to use after being tricked by Mr. Two. Koza had used the weapons to outfit the rebels alright, but who he had them aimed at was different.
"Vivi," Turning, the Princess saw Koza walking up to her at the edge of the ship. "We'll be arriving at the Alubarna docks in a few hours," he said, "after that, we'll meet up with Chaka and discuss strategy." Vivi gave him a smile.
"Sounds good," she said. There was a beat of silence between them before the man let out a dissatisfied sound.
"I also, um..." he started, "I want to apologise."
"For what?" Vivi asked, tilting her head to the side. Koza grunted.
"For, well..." He tried again, "Back there, in Nanohana, I...Well, for a moment, I really did believe you had lied to me. That you had concocted that show in my camp as a way to persuade me into following your train of thought. I thought...I thought you had betrayed me." Vivi frowned at him, raking a step towards him.
"Koza," she said softly, making him look at her. "I'd never betray you. You know that." Koza swallowed hard as he stared at her.
"I know that," he said, "but, back there, before that you revealed the King was an impostor...I really thought you were working with your Father to destroy the country. And I wanted to apologise for ever thinking that."
"What reason did you have to think otherwise?" Vivi asked him, "it was my word against the 'proof; you saw with your own eyes."
"But I know you better than that!" Koza exclaimed. He grabbed her hands in his, staring right into her eyes. "I haven't seen you in years, but I still knew better than that. I'm sorry I ever doubted you." Vivi felt her cheeks flush at the closeness between them, hoping to God no one was watching them.
"Koza it's okay," she breathed. "Seriously, it's fine. We overcome everything Crocodile's thrown at us so far. I'm not mad." Koza's frown deepened as he released her, staring off into the desert.
"Speaking of that," he said, "Have you heard from your allies yet?" Vivi's heart tied itself up in knots, shaking her head.
"No," she said, "but we have no way to communicate over such a vast distance."
"That seems flawed," the commander pointed out. "Communication is key in combat. I'd invest in some mini-transponder snails or something."
"I'll put that on my to-do list," Vivi answered back. Koza was silent, watching the water beneath the ship quietly.
"Do you think they're okay?" He asked. Vivi watched the waves ripple away from the ship, trying to figure out what her answer was.
"They're fine," she said. "I bet they're on their way to Alubarna right now."
The first thing Luffy could grasp onto was pain. His entire body ached with pain, particularly his a few gruelling seconds he managed to open his eyes, seeing a light blue roof above him.
"Where am I?" He asked weakly, mouth dry and cracked.
"Luffy!" A familiar voice said. Luffy raised his head to see Chopper watching him with a worried expression.
"Chopper," Luffy said, "you're okay. I was worried Crocodile had-Crocodile! Chopper, where's Crocodile?!" The reindeer made a face and handed Luffy a nearby glass of water.
"Drink," the Doctor instructed, "it'll literally save you." Luffy gulped back the cup in one go, which was taken and refilled by Chopper. Luffy took several cup fulls before he gasped for air.
"What happened?" He demanded, "where's the Crock?" Chopper frowned and looked at his feet.
"It was all in vain, Luffy," he said. "Even with the numbers advantage, he took us all out. Everyone is really badly hurt. You, Nami and Johnny most of all." Luffy's stomach turned at this.
"Nami got hurt?" He asked weakly, remembering the old mans face from Cocoyashi Village. "How badly?"
"Here, get up and we'll go see them. You were the last to wake up." Luffy managed to sit up in the cot he'd been in, taking in his surroundings. They appeared to be in a rundown building on the outskirts of Rainbase, which surprised him given that the city was so rich. Moving to another room, Luffy saw his crew mates sitting in a circle with a man he didn't recognise.
"Big Bro Luffy!" Johnny shouted, jumping to his feet. The Swordsman had lost his shirt in the fight, his torso wrapped in bandages. "You're okay!"
"Of course I am," Luffy replied, "Crocodile can't kill me. What happened?"
"He kicked our ass, that's what," Sanji replied, wrapped up in a similar way to Johnny. "Even worse, he might have scarred Nami-swan!" Luffy's eyes fell on their Navigator, who looked down at the floor.
"Nami," he asked, "Did he hurt you?" Nami tried to give me a brave smile, but it wasn't going well.
"Not too badly," she said. "I was pulled back when he hit me, so I really only got grazed..."
"It'll still probably scar," Chopper told her. "It wasn't pretty."
"What was it?" Luffy asked. "Show me." Nami looked reluctant, but she slowly lifted the white linen shirt she'd been given. Luffy tried not to lose it when he saw the bandages wrapped around her right shoulder to her left side.
"Don't make that face," the redhead implored. "I'm fine, really."
"Doesn't look fine," Luffy growled. "I'm sorry Nami. I let you get hurt."
"Don't give me that chauvinistic crap," Nami spat. "I knew what I was signing up for."
"Never mind her scars," Marianne spoke up. The brunette had been quiet so far, watching from the far side of the room. "What do you mean you got pulled back?" Nami frowned at this.
"Well, it was weird," she said. "When Crocodile went to slash me, I got pulled back right as he hit me. He still connected enough to really hurt me, but he didn't fatally wound me with it."
"What pulled you back?" Zoro asked.
"I don't know," Nami said. "It felt like a hand pulled me though."
"It was Nico Robin," the other man said. Luffy turned to look at him, noting he had a bird-like face.
"Nicky who?" He asked him.
"Nico Robin," the man said, "code-name Ms. All Sunday. She probably saved you, like she saved this one." He pointed at Luffy as he said this, making him frown. When had that woman saved him?
Just as he asked this, he remembered. He remembered her pulling him from the sand with arms that spawned from the ground.
"She did do that," he murmured aloud. "Why would she do that?"
"She offered us an Eternal Pose to Alabasta too," Sanji noted, "is she on our side?"
"At the very least, I doubt she's fully on Crocodile's side," Nami said. "She tried to bargain for my life after you guys got beaten. She failed, or so I thought. But if she really saved me..."
"That means we may be able to bank on more help!" Johnny concluded. "Maybe she'll betray Crocodile when the time is right!"
"Don't be so hopeful, Johnny," Zoro said. "She still killed Igaram." Luffy had almost forgotten the tall man in all the chaos.
"So she did do that," the other man said. "that bitch...!"
"Who the hell are you?" Luffy demanded, already short on patience.
"Ah, I forgot to introduce myself," he said. "My name is Pell. I work with the army and King Cobra. I'm an ally."
"He's the one who saved us," Chopper added. "He found me and Marianne, and re-hydrated our limbs."
"It was the least I can do, saving the Princess' allies." Pell replied, bowing his head slightly.
"Wait, why did you come here?" Luffy asked.
"Well," Pell started, "The plan was for me to survey Rainbase and see what I could see. The last order the King gave me was to prepare for a battle. But as I got here, I saw you all battling Crocodile, and Nico Robin watching from afar. I tried to fight me, but she caught me off guard with her Devil Fruit powers. Since then, I've been helping your Doctor help you all."
"Wait," Luffy said. "How long have we been here?" The crew was silent for a moment before Pell sighed.
"A few hours, at least." He said, "long enough for Crocodile to reach Alubarna." Luffy gritted his teeth at this, glaring at the ground.
"And we don't know what Vivi and the others have gotten up too yet," Zoro said. "We're in the dark."
"We need to get to the capital," Sanji said, "and now."
"It's hours before we reach Alubarna." Pell said, "not to mention we'd need to cross the Sandora River."
"Well do you have an idea?" Luffy asked him. Pell frowned.
"Well, I'd be able to fly some of you there on my back, but I can only carry a few. We'd be leaving some of you in the dust."
"Wait, you can fly?" Nami asked him. Pell nodded.
"I ate the Bird-Bird Fruit Model: Falcon." Pell replied. "I can turn into a bird."
"Wait!" Chopper said, jumping with his paw up to gain attention. "You ate a Zoan Fruit?!"
"Yeah," Pell replied, "why?" Chopper leaned down and dug around in the backpack he'd slung around his back, before pulling out a pouch. Opening it, Luffy watched the Doctor pull out a Rumble Ball.
"You could try this!" Chopper insisted.
"What is it, exactly?" Pell asked as he took the candy from Chopper.
"I call it a Rumble Ball," Chopper said. "I developed it myself! When a Devil Fruit user eats it, it lets them manipulate their powers differently. If you take one, you may be able to become bigger!" Pell's eyes widened at this, examining the ball.
"Fascinating," he said. "well, it's worth a try I guess. Have these things been tested?"
"On me," Chopper replied. Pell watched him warily.
"I hate to sound rude," he said, "but what exactly are you?"
"Wha-I'm a reindeer!" Chopper said, sounding offended.
"Yes, but, why can you speak?" Pell insisted, "moreover, why do you have some extensive medical knowledge?"
"He's a Zoan too," Nami explained. "He's a reindeer that ate the Human-Human Fruit."
"Why does that even exist?" Pell asked, "and what would happen if a regular human ate it?"
"That's what I'm saying," Johnny said, sounding vindicated.
"That doesn't matter!" Chopper said, "Pell, eat the ball and test it out! It'll be weird at first but, trust me, they work. Besides, this will be good for my research." Pell seemed reluctant, but nodded as he got up from his seat. The crew followed him outside and to the edge of Rainbase, where the man threw the ball into his mouth and crunched down on it.
"Ew," Pell muttered, "it tastes gross."
"It's medicine, it never tastes good!" Chopper insisted. "Try it out!" Pell made a face, but nodded. Luffy watched in awe as the man transformed into a bird, one that was human sized and certainly not big enough for all of them. As he watched, though, Pell's form began to morph even more. His wingspan grew, and so did his body. It was strange, watching a bird that was usually rather small grow to be the size of a carriage.
"Incredible," Pell's voice came from the beak of the bird. "By willing my body to grow, it actually did. This is incredible, Dr. Chopper."
"Your praise doesn't make me that happy, asshole." Chopper said, "but, uh I should mention the time limit."
"Time limit?" Pell asked.
"Well..." Chopper started, "they only last about three minutes per ball. I've got a fair amount, so I can keep feeding them to you, but...It may be a close call." Pell hummed at this.
"I don't think it will be a problem," he said. "Sit higher up, closer to my mouth. I'll make sure we make it in time."
"I've got it!" Luffy said, stretching his arms. He grabbed the crew as tightly as he could with his arms and flung all of them on top of Pell, and before he had time to grab hold of feathers or something the Zoan took flight into the air at an insane speed. He thankfully managed to get a hold of some feathers, so that he didn't fall off.
"Woah!" He shouted as Pell flapped his massive wings, sending them flying through the air. "We're going so fast!"
"I'm nothing if not fast," Pell replied. "If I can keep this up, we'll reach the Sandora in an hour or so." Chopper made a frustrated sound at this.
"That's twenty Rumble Balls," he muttered to himself. "Assuming that's an accurate assessment, Pell."
"We'll make it an accurate assessment," Pell said. Chopper began muttering to himself, but Luffy only caught some of it.
"I'd say it's been thirty seconds since I gave it to him...Have to count...But...What if I...?...Hm..." Ignoring the muttering reindeer, Luffy grabbed on tight as Pell flapped his giant wings again.
"Any idea what we're going to do next time?" Marianne asked. "Or are we charging in with no plan?" Luffy listened intently as the crew discussed the plan.
"We know water makes him weak," Zoro said, "but we can't rely on Nami alone. It puts her in danger."
"I won't allow that!" Sanji shouted.
"I can fight, Sanji," Nami said irritably, "but Zoro's right. Relying on me alone isn't a good idea."
"Alone," Luffy said as a light-bulb lit in his head. "Nami, your figured that thing out yet?"
"What thing?" She asked, making a face.
"Your staff." Nami pulled out her Clima-Tact, the staff she'd gotten from Usopp, smiling at it.
"Usopp said it could do a lot, but I haven't figured it all out yet, no."
"Do you think you can make it rain?" He asked. Nami frowned.
"Maybe," she said, "but I'd have to test out the combinations in it. I'm not a chemist, so I'll need to see what I can do."
"I'll help," Marianne said. "I use chemicals in my paints. Let me see." Marianne scooted closer to Nami and the girls went to work with the staff, and Pell took another massive strike of his wings.
"What was the situation in Alubarna?" Luffy asked Pell.
"Chaotic," Pell replied. "As I said, the King sent me to do reconnaissance on Rainbase. Who knows how bad it is now."
"It shouldn't be as bad if Vivi managed her job," Chopper said.
"Unless Crocodile has caused even more chaos," Sanji noted.
"We should be prepared for anything," Luffy said. "I don't want us to get beat like that again. We won't always have Nico Robin saving us unexpectedly. Nami, Marianne, I want you able to make rain clouds by the time we get there!"
"You got it," Nami replied. Marianne only nodded, eyes on the Clima-Tact.
"Sanji, Zoro, Johnny, Let me handle Croc," he said to the other fighters. "I don't want anyone else getting hurt."
"And if you can't handle him?" Zoro asked.
"I will," he replied. "I want you guys on the ground looking for other high-ranking agents. Crocodile still has a lot under his command. For all we know, Alubarna is a battleground right now."
Vivi knew a royal escort when she saw it, and she was currently looking at one off the side of the ship. The rebels ships were currently docking, and those on board were disembarking. She, however, was on board still, eyes on the city ahead of them. There was still a way to go to Alubarna, but it was finally within range. It seemed calm, and the guards in question didn't seem in any rush.
"Ready?" A voice asked. Vivi looked over to her side to see Nojiko, Yosaku and Usopp standing there. She smiled at them.
"Yep," she said, "we're going to put an end to this once and for all."
"Stay close to us, Big Sis Vivi!" Yosaku said, "there's no telling where Baroque Works agents will be hiding."
"Of course, Yosaku," she said with a giggle., "I'll stay right by your side." This seemed to make the swordsman happy, making Usopp cough.
"I'll help too!" He said. "I've got a good eye, so I'll let you know if anyone is shady."
"Thank you, Usopp," she said. "I'm lucky to have such a wonderful team of bodyguards."
"You sure know how to butter them up, huh?" Nojiko asked, making Vivi laugh. "Come on, we're being waited on." Vivi in the lead, the four disembarked the ship and walked towards Koza, who was talking with who seemed to be in charge.
"Princess Vivi!" A man in the squad of soldiers shouted, "It's really you! It's so good to see you again!" The man broke rank and ran for her, and Vivi was shoved back as Yosaku stepped in between them.
"Stay back," he advised.
"How dare you?" The soldier shouted, "she's royalty of my country! You're just common pirates! You're-!"
"Private!" The man in charge shouted, "get back in formation!" The man looked irritated, but did as he was told.
"Laying it on thick, huh Yosaku?" Nojiko asked as they joined Koza.
"It's my job to protect Big Sis Vivi," Yosaku said. "And that's what I intend to do!"
"I appreciate it," Vivi said. "Can't be too careful."
"Don't encourage him," Nojiko scolded. Finally joining Koza, the Captain bowed to her, followed up by his men.
"It is good to see you again, Princess!" He said, "We've been instructed by Chaka to escort you all to him."
"First things first," Vivi said, "What is the situation in the capital?"
"Bad," the captain replied. "With the King missing, everyone is on edge. we can stop worrying about the rebels at least, but no one knows if Crocodile will make his move soon."
"Have you seen a group of people led by one in a Straw Hat?" Vivi asked him. The Captain made a face.
"I don't recall seeing anyone like that," he said. "Why?"
"Allies of mine," Vivi said as she looked at her feet. "They went to Rainbase to stop Crocodile, and we were supposed to meet up in Alubarna." Silence came over the group as everyone digested this information.
"Do not fret, Princess," The Captain said. "It is a long way from here to Rainbase, across the Sandora at that. I'm sure you're friends are fine."
"Hm," Vivi said, not assured in the least. "Anything else to report."
"Yes, we've secured the castle in and out. Crocodile will never be able to get in."
"Good," Vivi said. "It will be our last bastion in this battle, if we need it. And trust me, Captain; a battle is coming. And Crocodile will fire the first shot." The Captain frowned at this and nodded.
"Then we best get you all to Chaka," he said. "That way, we can plan our defences."