Little Garden
Vivi supposed if there was one positive gleamed from the previous night, it was that she learned she could transform involuntarily, a piece of information she didn't like. From here on out, she wondered if it would be better for her to sleep outside. While this time it had only been one of her arms, she certainly didn't want to accidentally assume full beast form while indoors on the Going Merry. She didn't have the money on hand to buy the crew a whole new ship.
Her mind was still on the dragon in her vision, though. If it really was the will of the Devil Fruit she had eaten, then what was she supposed to take from that exchange with it? Was she really too weak to use the power that she now had, and if so what would the Devil Fruit do? Would it actually try and take over her body? Was that actually possible?
The princess shook her head. She couldn't think like that, not now, when there was still so much at stake. She then let out a sigh, as she looked back over the ocean, not looking at anything in particular. It was only now that it truly settled with Vivi that swimming was now a thing of the past, not that she'd never actually learned. Alabasta was a broad desert, why would she ever need to learn how to swim?
As a side thought, a certain part of Vivi could appreciate the irony. The Nefertari family were the only one of the original 20 families that didn't move to Mary Geoise, instead choosing to stay with their people in Alabasta; as such, they were not counted amongst the "Celestial Dragons". And now a member of the Nefertari family had the power to turn into a literal dragon. How was that for odds?
The princess' gaze then slowly shifted over to the rest of the crew. Most of them were going about their daily schedules, whatever they may have been. Nami and Usopp seemed to be taken pains to keep their distance from Vivi, though. Even if they had business at the bow, where Vivi was standing, they would give her a very wide berth. Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji were otherwise acting normal; Vivi suddenly gaining the power to become a giant dragon didn't seem to dissuade Sanji from trying to flirt with her. While a certain part of Vivi would've found that annoying, she was honestly happy to keep some semblance of normalcy.
As for Vivi's longtime duck companion, Carue seemed to be adjusting, if slowly. He certainly wasn't avoiding Vivi, and wouldn't move away when she came close to him, but Vivi could see the unease on his face. Vivi knew from before she ate the Devil Fruit that this would take some adjusting, but she doubted anyone had expected what the fruit would end up doing to her. Vivi could only wonder for now how the people at Alabasta would react to this information.
"Land ho!" The sound broke Vivi from her thoughts, as she looked back out at the horizon. Slowly approaching was a patch of green floating in the ocean.
"Is that Little Garden?" She asked.
"It must be," Nami said, as she came up the steps, "That's where the log pose is pointing." As she came up, she skirted around the railing, always keeping her eyes on Vivi.
"You really don't have to be scared," Vivi said, "I promise, I won't hurt you."
"Yeah, but until you get a handle on that side of you, I'm going to air on the side of caution," Nami answered, chewing on her lip, "No offense."
"None taken," Vivi said with a sigh, as she leaned back on the railing. To be fully honest, she might've felt the same way were their roles reversed.
(the city of Rainbase, Alabasta)
"You're sure about it?"
"There can be no doubt what I saw, even if it was from a distance."
"So, after eighteen years, the Fish Fish Fruit has finally resurfaced, and in the possession of the Princess of Alabasta at that."
"That such a powerful Devil Fruit could be so close all this time. Right under our very noses."
"Tch."
"I suspect this could cause some troubles going forward."
"Should I wonder just why and how it managed to slip your otherwise keen observation skills?"
"I can't look for something if I don't know to look for it."
"That's not an excuse."
"…"
"Unfortunately, I fear that it's out of our hands now. What we need to do now, is deal with her before she gets back to Alabasta. You said they were on the way to Little Garden?"
"That was the closest island, and assuming their log pose was functioning properly, it's where it should've guided them."
"What officer agents do we have in that area?"
"Mr. 3 and Miss Goldenweek were actually on their way there already, to hunt for those two giant pirates, and I suspect Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine may be chasing the crew the princess was with. But do you really think they can rival such power as the princess now has?"
"Of course not, but if they play their cards right, they may not need to."
"Just what are you getting at, may I ask?"
"The princess has just eaten her Devil Fruit, and thus in all likelihood has no real idea how to use it. Even the most powerful Devil Fruits aren't much use if the eater has no idea how to use it."
"They don't need to overpower her, they just need to catch her off guard."
"Essentially. And Mr. 3 often boasts about his intellect; this would be the perfect place for him to prove as much."
"Should I warn them about the situation?"
"Let's not. Don't want to give them any reason not to do as they're ordered."
(Little Garden)
The first thing most of the crew noticed about the island was that it wasn't particularly welcoming. The shores were dominated by dense jungle, with foliage none of them had ever seen before. While they had heard ironic names for locations before, but this one seemed a bit too ironic. The Going Merry had sailed down a river, into what qualified as "in-and". According Nami, that was enough to give their log pose time to reset.
"Everything about this place feels wrong," Usopp said nervously, shifting on his feet, "You sure we can't skip this island?"
"That's not how the log pose works," Nami answered, "It needs time to reset itself, and that means going on the island." Her gaze then shifted over to the island, and she couldn't help but (audibly) gulp.
"Look," Nami said, "I think so long as we're within the island's magnetic field, the log pose will be able to reset itself. We don't even need to leave the ship, and we'll be good."
"Don't worry Nami!" Sanji asserted with a grin, "As long as I'm here, nothing will hurt you." He was so intent on flirting, that he failed to notice what looked like a cross between a bird and a lizard descending down towards him.
"Sanji!" Nami said.
"Look out!" Usopp shouted. Sanji glanced back, just in time to see Zoro cut down the bird, which fell into the water, and sank down.
"You know I won't always be here to save you," Zoro said sarcastically. Right as he said that, what looked like a massive reptile burst out of the tree line, lunging at him from behind. This time, it was Sanji who kicked the monster away, back into the jungle.
"Speak for yourself, moss head," the cook sneered, as he flicked some ashes away. During all this, Nami and Usopp were clinging to each other in terror.
"I take back what I said!" Nami whimpered, "Let's just forget the log pose, and get the hell out of here!"
"I'm sure if we sail for long enough, we'll find another island!" Usopp said.
During all this, Vivi was watching from the side. A screech from on high made her look up, as she noticed a winged, scaly animal flying overhead. A strange sense of déjà vu suddenly went through Vivi, though she hadn't the foggiest idea what it was about.
"No way!" She suddenly heard Luffy shout. The hatted captain was standing on the railing, looking back this crew, an eager look on his face.
"Don't ya' see?" Luffy said, "This place is perfect!"
"You gotta be kidding me!" Nami shouted, "What in the hell could there be about this island that's 'perfect'?"
"What're you talking about?" Luffy asked, cocking his head, "You said that we couldn't train on the ship, so we can train here. Again, it's perfect!" Hearing that made Vivi's ears perk up, as she looked over at Luffy in surprise.
"Do you mean me?" she asked.
"Of course!" Luffy said with a nod and a big smile, before jerking his thumb over his shoulder, "Let's head out!"
"You can't be serious!" Usopp said.
"Actually, I think he's got a point, crazy as it might sound."
"Sanji!"
"Think about it for a moment," Sanji said, "I'm sure there aren't any people on this island. So if there's anywhere Vivi could probably really let loose, it'd be here."
"And if anyone would be fine out there, it would probably be Vivi," Zoro said, "I doubt there's anything on this island that could take on a giant dragon." Both Nami and Usopp continued to protest, with Carue occasionally quacking in agreement, but Vivi gave some thought to it. It was hard to disagree with Luffy's assessment, and his crew's logic; this really did seem like a place where Vivi could truly cut loose, and explore her powers without hurting anyone.
"I think I'll do it," she said with a smile.
"WHAT?!/QUACK?!"
"The sooner I get to know what I can really do, the better," Vivi said, "And if there really is no one else here, it's probably better to do it here than somewhere else."
"Awesome!" Luffy declared, "Hey Sanji, go make us both a great big lunch. We're gonna need it."
(on the other side of Little Garden)
"Such a ghastly place," Mr. 3 mused, as he sipped his tea, though he wasn't particularly surprised. Considering who their targets were, such a suitably savage place was probably to be expected. He would certainly hate to leave the comfort of his ship for this place, but he had his assignment. He suspected that finding the two pirates they were after wouldn't be hard; it was hard for giants to hide, after all, even in wilds like this.
"Hey, Mr. 3!" He suddenly heard Miss Goldenweek calling, "You've got a call."
"Please," Mr. 3 grumbled, "You aren't even that far from the snail." With that, he picked up the mouth piece.
"This is Mr. 3," he said, "And I'm very busy so-"
"Mr. 3," a familiar, feminine voice interjected.
"Miss All Sunday!" Mr. 3 said, standing up straight. That got Miss Goldenweek to look over, even if her voice still betrayed no emotion.
"You're mission has changed," the vice-president's voice said, "You are no longer to go after the Red and Blue Ogres." That actually caught Mr. 3 off guard; he had worked in Baroque Works for some time now, and generally, leadership didn't pull back from their given assignments.
"What do you mean?" He asked.
"I will say this only once, so listen carefully," Miss All Sunday answered, "You are to pick up Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine, and together, you will eliminate Princess Nefertari Vivi. The boss doesn't care how, just that it's done, and why he wants it down is none of you concern. Is that clear?" Mr. 3 had heard of the princess of Alabasta, but had certainly never given her much thought; frankly, he thought she was completely undeserving of it.
"Honestly, Ma'am, I'm a little confused," Mr. 3 said, "I thought-"
"Is that clear?" Miss All Sunday repeated, in a voice that left no room for argument. With that, Mr 3 sucked in a breath, and cleared his throat.
"Transparently," he said. With that, his superior hung up, ever the blunt one. Mr. 3 sighed, as he dragged his hand down his face.
"We have a new assignment," Mr. 3 announced, getting his partner's attention again, "Straight from the top."
"And just what is that?" Miss Goldenweek asked.
"We have a princess to terminate."
Note: Originally, this chapter was going to be longer, but I thought it'd be better to split up the events a little more.
Anywho, the crew has arrived on Little Garden. As I was working on this, I figured that giant, blue dragon floating in the sky is more than a little conspicuous, and I figured Robin probably wouldn't have put that much distance between the Going Merry and herself, unless that tortoise she was one went VERY fast, so I figured there was no reason she wouldn't have taken notice of it, and reported it to Crocodile.
Also, please leave a comment. Also, while I'm sure having a new chapter a day for a few days straight was pretty good, sad to say, it's not going to last. I was on vacation when I started this, so I was able to write it pretty quick. I've gotta get back to work, and you all know the drill. Don't worry, I still fully intend on keeping this going!