A.n I own nothing.

Nami was going through some books in the palace library about the unseal climates of various Islands on the grand line and its weather system. She was sitting at a table reading a very interesting theory about it when Chaka approached her.

"Chaka, can I help you with something?" Nami asked looking up at the royal adviser.

"No I just wanted to thank you for bringing the Princess back," Chaka claimed.

"We were happy to help," Nami smiled.

"I also wanted to tell you how impressed I am; I heard you took down Mr 1's partner,"

"That wasn't just me Connor helped," Nami claimed.

"I know I already congratulated him. Still taking down a Top Baroque Works agent and a devil fruit user is no small feat," Chaka said.

"Yeah…" Nami said but trailed off.

"Is something the Matter?"

"Chaka Vivi says you're a fruit user too right?"

"Of course, I ate the Inu-Inu: Model Jackal no Mi (Dog-Dog) It's a Zoan type," Chaka confirmed.

"Have you heard of Sea Stone?"

"Yes, it's a type minearal that causes fruit users to lose our strength,"

"Where does it come from?"

"It's only found at the bottom of the ocean in certain parts of the Grand Line, the government mines it…Why do you ask?"

"Crocodiles cell was made out of the stuff and Smokers weapon had some of it too,"

"That makes sense; they both work for the Government after all,"

"I suppose…Hey can you do me a favour?"

"Of course, what is it?" Chaka asked

"Follow me," Nami said, she stood up and made her way out of the library.

Chaka followed Nami wondering what the favour was, he became concerned when they approached the infirmary where the Straw Hats were supposed to be staying. Inside Luffy was still sleeping with Vivi sitting by his bedside, Chopper was making medicine with the older court physion watching in awe at his skills and Connor was staring off into space thoughtfully.

Sanji had gone into town to stock up on supplies and Usopp had gone with him to give the cook a hand carrying things. Zoro was nowhere in sight so Nami assumed that he had gone training again and Ace was reading the newspaper on his bed.

Vivi looked over to the too as they walked in.

"Nami, I didn't expect you back so soon," Vivi said.

"I just need to test something," Nami claimed and walked over to Connors bed.

Connor spent most the morning of the day thinking about Vivi's offer, he sat on his bed in silence. Usopp and Chopper thought he was down and tried to cheer him up but Nami just hit them and told them to leave Connor alone before she had gone to the palace's Library.

"Hey Connor can I borrow your sword for a bit?" Nami asked.

Connor looked at her in confusion, but he nodded and gestured to the head of his bed where his sword was hanging off the bed post.

"Thank you," Nami said and unsheathed the blade.

"Ace, Chopper I need you to help me with something," Nami said walking back over to Chaka.

Chopper and Ace both stooped what they were doing and came over to Nami. Nami put Connors sword on the table.

"What do you need?" Ace asked.

"I have a theory I want to test, I just need each of you to touch the hilt and part of this blade," Nami instructed.

"Okay," Ace said and reached out put two fingers on the hilt. Chopper and Chaka did the same.

"Feel any different?" Nami asked.

"No," they all answered in at the same time.

"Okay now the blade…just don't touch the edge," Nami warned.

The three moved their hands to the flat part of the blade; their hands completely covered one side of the small sword. The moment they touched it they felt very weak. Chaka fell to one knee and was struggling not to collapse, Ace immediately pulled his hand away and stumbled back sweating, he stared at the sword in shock.

Chopper being the smallest collapsed on the table and was unable to move.

"What the hell…that felt like…"Ace stared.

"Sea stone?" Nami finished.

"Yes," Ace hissed.

Nami moved Choppers hoof off the sword and the little doctor's strength slowly returned.

"I thought so," Nami said and returned the sword to Connors sheathe.

"You knew?" Chaka asked.

"No, but every time Connor cut or landed a strike on Miss Double Finger she got weaker and her powers disappeared. If Ace and Smoker hadn't told us about it in Crocodile's cage, I wouldn't have figured it out," Nami explained.

"But Smokers Jite was only tipped with it…that blade must be made completely out of it," Ace said.

"Where did you get it?" Chaka asked, feeling a bit better.

"I stole it from a pirate in the East Blue, it was part of his treasure hoard," Nami claimed.

"Nice find, but why is the hilt not made of Sea stone itself?" Ace asked.

"Perhaps whoever made it, made it for a Devil fruit user, so they would have an advantage on their opponents," Chaka suggested.

"Maybe, but what could you do with a dull edged sword?" Ace added.

"It's not dull," Nami claimed. She pressed her finger lightly against the edge and a small trickle of blood ran down the sword.

"So we have a sword not only made out of quite possibly the rarest Metal in the world and is deceptively dull…anyone know who could do that?" Nami asked while putting the blade back in its sheathe.

No one answered.

"What's sea stone?" Connor asked curiously.

Ace and Nami looked at him but remembered that he wasn't there when the Straw Hats had been told. Ace explained it to him and how his sword was virtually indestructible. Connor turned his head and looked at his blade, now a lot of things were starting to make sense.

His sword never had dents and never needed sharpening, back at the Bartiee it had blocked Pearls attack that would have shattered a regular sword and it could cut through a Sea Kings tough scales like paper.

'I never knew I had something so valuable…I hope I'm aloud to keep it,' Connor thought.

Alabastion Coast Line

Miss All-Sunday slowly approached the shore line, in front of her was an impressive vessel and the Straw Hats ship; she looked up at it enviously. Luffy had taken down Crocodile, her one source of guaranteed protection from her enemies was gone and not only that but so was her last hope.

Miss All-Sunday sat down leaning against a large boulder, thinking on what to do next; suddenly she herd footsteps approach.

"But Mentor everything worked out," a farimler vvioce said.

"I don't care, you put our intre operation at reisk and nearly broke the first rule," another deeper voice responded "Had that boy died you would have too,"

"I know those pirets were pretty scary. But he didn't and Baroque works is no more,"

Miss All-Sunday watched in shock and fear as Altair walked past, Jacob and Evie followed and bringing up the rear was another white hooded man, he gave her a wink.

"Mentors, isn't that Nico Robin?" Evie asked.

"So it is," the last man said in an Italian accent.

"Should we finish her off?" Jacob asked.

Robin stared at the Assassins in fear.

"Why? She was not our target today," Altaïr said and boarded the ship.

"But…"

"He's right; there has been enough death in this contrary. We shall not add any more to it," the last man said and boarded the ship.

Jacob and Evie looked at each other and followed their Mentors onto their ship. Malick came out on deck and greeted them.

"Oh your back and no solders, Marines or guards on your tail…this must be a first for you Novice," Malik said.

The other three chuckled a bit but a quick glare from Altair shut them up.

"Where were you?" Altaïr asked.

"I was tending to a Royal guard named Pell, he was the one who saved the city from Crocodiles Bomb. Did Ezio not tell you?" Malik claimed.

"I did, how is he?" the Italian one now known as Ezio asked.

"He will live and has at least another week in bed ahead of him. I left him in the hands of a capable doctor in Alubana," Malik claimed.

"That's good, shall we head home then?" Ezio asked.

"Yes and once we do these two will be punished," Altaïr gestured at the Frye twins.

"Me? What did I do?" Evie asked concerned.

"You're supposed to stop Jacob from doing stupid things…you failed," Altaïr claimed.

"You can't be serious," Evie said.

Altair glared at her.

"Fine…I just hope we don't have to clean Achilles Library again," Evie sighed.

"Don't worry I'm sure Achilles has other jobs you two can do," Ezio assured.

The twins groaned and the Assassin ship set off.

Alubana, The Royal Palace,

Luffy woke up later that afternoon and just as Sanji had predicted he was hungry and concerned that he didn't have his hat, thankfully it was by his bedside were Vivi had left it so the crises of the missing hat was averted.

Vivi immediately sent word to the kitchen to prepare the feast that she had promised Luffy and the others, she also sent one of the servants to inform her father and ask if he would join them.

"A feast you say?" the King asked the servant.

"Yes your majesty, the Princess claims she promised her guests a feast and requests your presence for it," the servant answered while bowing to the King.

"Well…I suppose I could do with an early dinner, very well please tell my daughter I accept," the King smiled.

The servant nodded and ran off to relay the message. A short time later in the Dining Hall the King found himself in the most chaotic feast he had ever attended, Okay sure he had never had a feast with pirates before but still, he had hoped they knew how to eat properly.

The straw has had stared grabbing food the moment it was set out on the table and shoved it down their throats, the servers were having a hard time keeping up with them. Luffys arms were going everywhere and stealing everyone else's food, Zoro was drinking the castle out of their liquor supply, Sanji was chatting to the servers about the food and Chopper was trying to shove everything in his mouth at once.

Usopp started to putting extra hot sauce in his servings so when Luffy grabbed from his plate he got a little surprise, Connor was shoving food and drink in his mouth just like the rest of them and Ace was the only one eating like a normal person.

The King had suddenly lost his appetite and was as horrified at the lack of manners as the guards that were posted in the room. Vivi much to her father's surprise was encouraging the pirate's behaviour and even laughed at it.

The gestured for one of the guards to come over and one did.

"Please ask the kitchens to put some aside for me later. I appear to have lost my appetite," the King whispered. The guard nodded in understating and left to fulfil the Kings request.

Once everyone was full and the kitchen had run out of plates to serve on, Vivi suggested that the Straw Hats use the Palace baths. While most of the Straw Hats were thrilled with the idea, Ace decided to pass as due to his fruit abilities and Connor declined preferring to bathe alone rather than with the others.

"I'm going to take a walk through the Palace Gardens," Connor said when the others headed off to the baths. Chaka showed him the way.

The gardens were quite large and very peaceful, Connor was amazed at the amount of plants that were in bloom and flowering despite the drought, the recent rain had given these plants a much needed drink.

Connor slowly walked through the gardens aware of the guards that were following him at a distance; he stopped at a pond with some fish in it. He watched them for a bit and noticed that one fish was having trouble deciding between two groups a smaller group and a larger group of fish.

"I feel your pain…which will you choose?" Connor said to himself as he watched the fish swim back and forth between the two groups.

Finally it stayed with the smaller group of fish.

Connor stood back up and continued his walk, after about an hour he decided to head back to the Straw Hats room. As he approached he heard Luffy and the others talking to Vivi about her joining the crew permeantliy. Vivi sounded unsure on what to do, Connor was about to open the door but stopped when he heard his name.

"What about Connor, has he decided yet?" Vivi voice was heard through the door.

Connor quietly placed his ear against the door so he could hear the conversation.

"Decided? Decided what?" Luffy asked.

"You wouldn't know…Vivi's father wants to adopt Connor," Usopp said.

"WHAT!" Luffy yelled in surprise.

"He hasn't given his answer yet," Vivi informed.

"B…B…But he's my Nakama, he can't leave," Luffy claimed.

"Luffy Connor was with us because he had no choice; don't you think he'd be better off here?" Nami reasoned.

"I…I suppose but…I don't want him to leave," Luffy said sadly.

"None of us do but…we said it was his choice and if we go back on that how are we different from his previous masters," Zoro claimed.

"I still don't want him to go…but I won't force him to stay ether," Luffy said.

Connor was unsure what to do; his mind was racing with the two different choices ahead of him. A life of piracy or a life as a prince…the latter was very tempting as no one would tell him what to do anymore.

Connor took a deep breath and pushed the door open. He had decided.

The others looked at him as he came into the room.

"Hey Connor we were just talking about you," Luffy said with a smile.

"Really, what about?" Connor asked.

"I was just telling Luffy about my father's offer," Vivi informed.

"Oh…um…about that," Connor started.

"Have your decision kid?" Zoro asked.

"Yes…in fact I think I made a while ago; I just had to be sure it was the right one," Connor said and walked up to Luffy. Luffy stared at the boy waiting for his answer.

"So do you want to stay here?" Nami asked.

"Is…is it okay if I stay with you?" Connor asked.

Luffy blinked and a large grin formed on his face.

"Of course it's okay!" Luffy cheered.

"Kid…are you sure?" Zoro asked in surprise.

Connor looked at Zoro.

"Yeah I wouldn't make a good prince, I'd get bored way too quickly," Connor joked.

"Ahh man and here I thought we'd finlay get rid of you," Zoro smiled, he was glad Connor was staying.

"Well I'll be sure to tell my farther," Vivi smiled.

"So does this mean your also accepting Luffy's offer?" Usopp asked.

"Yes…I am. If it's not too late," Connor said.

"It's never too late," Luffy claimed.

"Alright now that that's sorted, I think we should leave," Nami said seriously.

"What…Already?" Vivi asked.

"Well Luffy's recovered and Connor has made his choice. Plus the Marines are getting bolder; a few were caught trying to sneak into the palace today," Nami claimed "If they find our ship we will be in trouble,"

Suddenly the door burst open and a guard walked in with a Snail phone and handed it to Luffy.

"Excuse me but you have a call," He said before leaving.

"A…call…from who?" Sanji asked.

Luffy picked up the receiver.

"Hello," he said.

"Ah…Hello it's me!" an obnoxious voice on the other end said.

"Hi Me, I'm Luffy," Luffy said happily.

"Idiot," Nami sighed.

"No I mean it's me…Mr 2," the voice said.

All the Straw Hats instantly froze, why would a former Baroque works agent be calling them?

"What do you want?" Luffy asked seriously.

"Well…first off I have your ship," Mr 2 answered.

"WHAT!" the crew yelled.

"I had to take it; the Marines have been searching the coast line for the last two days. You should be thanking me for saving it from them," Mr 2 explained.

"Oh okay thanks," Luffy said.

"DON'T THANK HIM YOU IDIOT!" Nami, Sanji and Usopp shouted.

"So you have our ship, where are you?" Zoro asked.

"I can't tell you that, but I can tell you where I'll be. I'll meet you at the end of the Shandora River west of Alubana in a few hours," Mr 2 said "You can pick your ship up from there,"

"Vivi how long will it take to get there?" Nami asked.

"If you take the Super Duck Billed Squad, four hours," Vivi answered.

Nami took the receiver from Luffy.

"Alright will be there in about four hours, you had better be there," Nami demanded.

"I will see you soon," Mr 2 promised and hung up.

"Right let's go," Nami ordered and the crew started getting their things together.

"Vivi if you want to join us we'll sail past the eastern coast once at noon tomorrow. That will be your last chance," Nami claimed.

"We're pirates so this is the best we can offer…But I really hope to sail with you Vivi-Chan," Sanji said with hearts in his eyes.

"Get moving you pervert," Zoro ordered.

Vivi had some protective hooded cloaks brought in for the Straw Hats and let them use the Super Duck Billed Squad and just like that the Straw Hats were gone.

When the crew arrived at the Merry Mr 2 was waiting for them, Ace glared at the man and demanded to know why he was helping them. Mr 2 claimed that he had become Sanji's friend and in turn Luffy's…much to Sanji's annoyance.

The straw hats boarded their ship and found nothing missing and no sign of sabotage so they decided to leave.

"I wouldn't do that, Straw hat," Mr 2 warned.

"Why?" Luffy asked.

"Because the Marine fleet is patrolling the coast looking for you. Their ships can't make it up river so that's why I brought your ship here," Mr 2 claimed.

"WHAT?!" the crew yelled.

"So you want Luffy's help to escape then," Ace assumed,

"That's right," Mr 2 said, suddenly his ship appeared and his crew confirmed it.

"You're a real piece of work you know that right?" Ace claimed.

"But even with two ships how are we going to get past the fleet?" Usopp asked.

"I'll sail out first, my bounty is much higher than yours and while the Marines are chasing me you get away," Ace said.

"But Ace…That would put you at risk," Luffy pointed out.

"Please I can handle the Marines, or did you forget who you're talking too," Ace said confidently.

"But I want you to travel with me," Luffy whined.

"Sorry Lu but I have my own thing I need to do. I should have left in Yuba but…with the Brotherhood hanging around and Crocodile…Well I just needed to make sure you didn't get yourself killed," Ace smiled.

"Awww….You do Care!" Luffy shouted and launched himself at Ace, tackling him to the ground.

"GET OFF ME YOU MORON!" Ace shouted and struggled against his brother.

The next morning the Marines were patrolling the coast, looking for any sign of the Straw Hats ship. They were led by Hina the black cage.

Hina was a tall, slim woman with straight, waist-length pink hair and wears red lipstick. She wore a burgundy-purple two-piece suit over a white blouse, as well as dark brown shoes and a pair of dark gloves.

Hina knew that no ships had left Alabasta in the wake of the Civil war, though the King had warned the Marines that he intended to send out for some much needed relief supplies; but those ships weren't set to leave until the next day. That meant the Straw Hats were still somewhere in the country.

"Where are they?" Hina asked herself.

"Captain! Look!" A marine pointed out.

"Hina looked at where the Marine was pointing to see a small boat with a single occupant come out of the mouth of the Sandora River. The boat stopped not too far away from the fleet.

"Is that…Fire Fist Ace?" Hina gasped.

"What's the commander of Whitebeard's second fleet doing out here?" the marine asked.

Hina stared at Ace as he gave her a wave and stuck his tongue out before his boat turned away and sailed off with his flames powering it.

"Don't just stand there, AFTER HIM!" Hina ordered.

The Marine ships moved and began to chase Ace; they sailed past the mouth of the River and completely missed the two pirate ships that were hiding just out of sight.

Going Merry

Nami looked at a pocket watch and waited, the plan had been to wait at least five minutes for Ace to draw the Marines away while Ace led them West the other two ships would head East in the opposite direction.

"3…2…1…NOW!" Nami ordered.

The sails were opened and the two ships sailed out into the sea, Usopp could see the Marine ships chasing Ace, the plan had worked. The two Pirate crews got a fair distance before the Marines noticed them and turned around.

Ace immediately went on the offensive and took out over half their fleet but it was clear that the Marines were more interested in Luffys ship than Ace's. By this time Ace's small boat was too far away to help Luffy so he took off while he could.

The Marines shot there long rage Mortars at the two ships but the Merry was just out of range.

"Quick if we head south we can get away in the open sea," Mr 2 claimed.

"If you want to go you can but we're heading to the East," Luffy said.

"WHAT? If you go that way you'll meet up with the reinforcements," Mr 2 argued.

"But we promised we'd be there at noon," Luffy said.

"What could possibly be at the East coast that would be worth risking your lives for?" Mr 2 demanded.

"We're going to see our friend," Luffy said simply.

That moved Mr 2 to tears and he agreed to act as a decoy for the Marines while the Straw Hats went to the East coast.

They managed to stay out of the Marines weapon range and at noon there was no sign of Vivi. Mr 2 had distracted the Marines long enough but in the end he and his crew had fallen and been captured, now the Marines were turning there attention to the Merry.

Luffy was insisted that she would come but with the Marines chasing them they could not afford to wait.

They were about to set off when Vivi's voice was heard from the shore, the Straw Hats ran to the back of the deck and saw her standing there with Carue.

"VIVI CAME!" Luffy cheered happily.

"We can't turn around, Luffy pull her on board," Zoro said.

"Okay, leave it to me," Luffy said and got ready to stretch his arm.

"Everyone I'm sorry but…I can't go with you," Vivi voice was heard; she was speaking through a Den-Den mushi.

This caused the Straw hats face's to fall.

"I want to keep sailing with you but…I just Love my country too much. Even though I won't be with you the next time we meet will you…will you still consider me your Nakama?" Vivi asked tearfully.

"OF COU…." Luffy started but Nami quickly covered his mouth to stop him from talking.

"Shut up, if the marines find out that Vivi is affiliated with us it will have disastrous consequences for her country," Nami warned.

On the shore Vivi was waiting for a response but she didn't get one, she began to cry as she thought her friends no longer wanted her. Her tears turned from sadness to joy as she saw the Straw hats lined up on the back of the deck with their left arms raised showing their promise mark.

Vivi cried happly and she and Craue raised their left arms as well, she watched as the small ship that had brought her so much hop and happiness salied off into the distance.