A/N: Okay, a lot of you are asking, 'Why'd Luffy lose?!' 'Isn't he strong enough?!' He is, but if he won right then and there, a few things wouldn't have happened. First, the fights between the Straw Hats and the other agents may not have happened. If Crocodile was beaten and the rain came back, who would know why it came back if Crocodile was in the middle of nowhere instead of right where all the fighting would take place. Either side might've blamed the other. Understand? Good. Now, on to the story.
Luffy's crew were speeding through the desert towards Alubarna on the back of Scissors the crab, hoping to get there in time to stop the war. Usopp was telling Chopper a story, Nami and Nojiko were staying quiet, Zoro was having Valerie and Eyelash sit on two of his swords as he lifted them like makeshift weights, and the rest of them were starting to get frustrated. Soon, most of them were at each other's throats before Vivi difused the situation and calmed everyone down before they kept on going until they learned the awful truth.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN THIS CRAB CAN'T SURVIVE IN WATER?!" Usopp roared. "IT'S A CRAB!"
"Moving Crabs are animals of the land. They can't swim." Vivi explained.
"Then we have a major problem!" Usopp said as he pulled out a map of Alabasta and pointed to the Sandoran River. "If we can't cross this river, we'll never make it to Alubarna!"
"And we also have little time to try and think of a way across." Sanji said. "The Sandoran River's in sight." Everyone turned to see that they were indeed approaching the river. Some of them were beginning to panic as they tried to have Scissors do something to get across. They got something when Chopper told them that Scissors likes dancer girls, which resulted in Nami, Nojiko, Alvida, and Valerie to all show off their dancer girl outfits. Sanji and Eyelash were already smitten, Scissors looked them and grew hearts in his eyes, and Zoro commented about how they had more animals in heat before Scissors picked up speed and, to their amazement, began running on the water.
"GO BIG BRO SCISSORS!" Johnny and Yosaku yelled.
"Alright! At this speed, we'll make it there in no time!" Usopp said before his good mood slowly faded as the crab slowly sunk after a bit of running. "AHHH! IT'S SINKING!" he shouted before they all submerged. One by one, with those who had Devil Fruit powers getting a little help from the others, they all resurfaced before continuing on until they met a Sandoran Catfish.
"THEY'RE VERY RARE AND LOVE HUMAN FLESH!" Vivi shouted out.
"STOP FORGETTING THESE THINGS!" Usopp shrieked before the Catfish's eyes went all crazy before it was flung into the air. Everyone was stunned to see that the catfish was beaten by a familiar group of friends. "KUNG FU DUGONGS?!" Usopp cried out before they all got on the catfish as the dugongs floated them all swiftly to the other side.
"Thank you!" Vivi said as she and Chopper waved them goodbye before they all started discussing how they would get to Alubarna now before they noticed a dust cloud approaching them.
"Look at that!" Nami cried out.
"Is it the enemy?! OH NO! THEY FOUND US ALREADY!" Usopp shrieked.
"Wait. I know that sound." Vivi said as the dust cleared and showed Carue and a group of six other ducks following him. "Carue! The Super Sonic Duck Squad!" she said. She explained who they were to the other crewmembers before they all somehow boarded them and Eyelash before heading off to Alubarna.
-With Luffy-
Luffy was still stuck in the sand, staring at the darkened sky in anger, both at Crocodile's words and actions, and himself for letting himself get beaten again. He kept on trying to get out before the sound of crunching sand caught his attention before he was lifted into the air by a multitude of hands. He was set down away from the quicksand pit with a bit of labored breathing as he looked over at a familiar face.
"Thank you." he said when he saw Robin. Robin only looked down at him as he lay there, covered in blood.
"Why do you fight?" she asked. "You with the name of 'D'."
"D?" Luffy asked, never truly understanding what she was asking.
'He could actually hurt Crocodile without water.' she thought. She was watching the whole fight from a safe distance and was surprised by this rookie who had fought toe-to-toe with a Warlord. 'And that strange power he released. Why do you fight? What is your intention?' she thought before sighing. "It seems you don't know what I'm talking about."
"I've found you!" came another voice. She looked over while another hand retrieved his Straw Hat and threw it to her as Pell was slowly staggering towards her.
"My my. Up and about already, are we?" she asked with a smile.
"I've studied your powers. This won't end like last time!" he shouted as he got ready to fight her. Robin only smiled as she threw Luffy's hat onto his chest.
"Careful Pell. Wouldn't want to hurt yourself. Instead of fighting a losing battle, why not help that boy there?" she said as she approached a different kind of banana gator. "He is, after all, the brave knight that returned your country's princess safely back home." Pell only looked down at Luffy in surprise as Robin continued talking as she mounted the gator. "You must be happy to know that she's safe. Still, it's a long way to Alubarna, and anything can happen." And with that, the gator dashed off, leaving nothing but a trail of dust before it was gone. Pell only glared at the direction she went before he fell to his knees. He kept on glaring until he felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Luffy standing and staring in the same direction Robin went.
"I need meat!" he said as blood still came out of him.
"You don't need meat. You need a doctor." Pell said as he struggled to get up.
"No time...need meat...can't let Crocodile win!" Luffy said as he glared while remembering the fight. "He insulted Vivi and the nice old man with the shovel! He's gonna pay!" he said.
'Who is this boy?' Pell thought.
-Meanwhile-
Everyone was now heading towards Alubarna, where Baroque Works were lying in wait to stop Vivi and the Straw Hats. The Mr. 1 pair, Mr. 2, and the Mr. 4 pair were all waiting for Vivi to arrive to do away with her, if their boredom and dislike for each other didn't cause them to kill each other first. They kept talking until Mr. 4 spotted them and pointed into the desert.
"Here~~~~. They~~~~~. Come~~~~~!" he said in a slow and stretched out voice.
"WHAT?! WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY SO IN THE FIRST PLACE?!" snapped his partner, Miss Merry Christmas as she pushed him away and was now looking through the binoculars. "They're all on ducks!"
"Ducks?" Miss Doublefinger asked as they began arguing about the number that were supposed to be there.
"It matters not how many there are." Mr. 1 said in a bored, but serious tone. "All that we have to do is kill Princess Vivi. How hard can that be?"
"Is that so?" Miss Merry Christmas said. "Since Vivi's the only one we're after, how about you tell us WHICH ONE SHE IS?!" she screamed. Everyone looked to see that all the riders and passengers on the ducks were all wearing white, full body cloaks with hoods, hiding who they were.
"AHHH! THEY'RE ALL THE SAME!" Mr. 2 shouted in surprise while Mr. 1 scowled in irritation.
"Worse. Those are the fastest creatures in the whole kingdom. Super Sonic Ducks." Miss Doublefinger added before Mr. 2 shouted that it was unfair to use a trick like that. Soon, all of the ducks split off into groups of two, with one heading for the West gate, one to the South-West gate, and one to the South gate, with the Baroque Works teams splitting up as well to chase them. They kept on going until they were deep in the city or in the desert before they all turned to them and threw off their cloaks. The Mr.1 pair chased Zoro, Nami, Nojiko, and Grace. Mr. 2 chased Usopp, Eyelash, Greg, Johnny, and Yosaku. The Mr. 4 pair chased Chopper, Sanji, Gin, Alvida, and Valerie.
"TOO BAD! WANNA TRY AGAIN?!" all the Straw-Hats said with cocky smiles.
"WHAT?!" shouted most of the agents as Vivi was silently thanking them before riding off on Carue to stop the Rebel Army while thinking of all her friends and loved ones. Now she stood there between Alubarna and the approaching Rebel Army, waiting for them to arrive to tell them all that it's all a lie. Kohza saw her for a split second before a cannonball exploded in front of her, courtesy of a Baroque Works Billions man posing as a guard, kicking up the sand and rendering Vivi's cries useless as the shouting of the Rebel Army drowned her out. She kept on shouting before realizing that Kohza had passed her and was now leading them all to battle before she was knocked to the ground with the Rebel's nearly trampeling her. The Rebels kept on going until they reached the Southern entrance to Alubarna and began to fight. The final battle in the country of sand, Alabasta, had begun.
-With Vivi-
Vivi struggled and moved out from under Carue's wing before staring at him in horror.
"Carue!" she said in a sad voice. "You shielded me from them!" she said as her eyes welled up. "We were so close...and yet the Rebellion has started...I'm so sorry! But I will stop it!" she said with determination as she trembled. "No matter how many times they ignore me, or how loud I have to scream! I refuse to let senless killing tear apart this country of ours! That's what I learned on that ship! Never give up!"
"VIVI!" came a voice. Vivi turned to see Johnny approach her on a horse. "Glad I found you!"
"Johnny!" she said in a happy voice.
"Come on! Hop on! We can still stop this!" he said. Vivi nodded and tried to help Carue up, but stopped at Johnny's next words. "Forget the bird! He's done for!" Johnny kept on talking, not seeing Vivi deep in thought.
'That...bird? Vivi?' she thought.
'Dance with us, Brother Duck! You too Big Sis Vivi! Hahaha!'
"Prove to me you are Johnny!" Vivi demanded.
"You're doubting me?" he asked with a laugh before showing her the white bandage on his left arm. "See?"
'NO!' she thought as she looked at him in horror.
-Inside Alubarna-
"Hey! Wake up! What happened to you guys?!" Sanji asked as he looked at Usopp, Eyelash, Greg, Johnny, and Yosaku on the ground and beaten black and blue.
"Simple. The plan to lure one of them away was a success." Usopp said. "Then...Mr.2 whipped us in five seconds."
"Are you guys serious?!" he asked with a tick mark on his forehead.
"Why are you here brudda cook?" Yosaku asked through swollen lips. Sanji explained that the ducks brought him there to help them.
"Mr.2 got away, didn't he?!" Sanji asked.
"Yeah." Usopp said in shame.
"I guess I still couldn't take him on." Greg mumbled as Sanji glared off in the distance.
'Rotten jerk stole my shades!' Johnny thought.
"Alright you guys! Find Vivi and help stop this rebellion!" Sanji said before taking off.
"Right!" they all said before separating and going off to help however they could.
-With Vivi-
Vivi stared at Johnny in horror as the fighting continued before finding her voice.
"You're...not Johnny!" she said. Johnny only responded with a dark grin before touching his left cheek, revealing himself to be Mr. 2.
"I must ask, how did you see through my perfect imitation?" he asked with a grin as he lifted Johnny's glasses up to his forehead. "I even had a bandage on my left arm, so how?" he asked before throwing off his robe, revealing his usual attire with Johnny's sunglasses on top of his head. "Well, it doesn't really matter, does it? Since you're about to die!" he said before aiming a kick at her. She dodged, but he kicked at her again, this time missing due to Carue helping her up and running towards Alubarna. Mr. 2 only grinned before dashing towards her at a fast pace. Carue kept on running before swerving and heading towards a sheer wall of rock and doing the unbelievable and running up the wall, only to gently float away. As he did, he struggled to try and fly back to the wall as images of the Straw-Hats claiming their friendship went through his head before he managed to hold onto the wall. "HOW'D HE DO THAT?!"
"Carue! You flew!" Vivi said as she looked down. "Now Mr. 2 can't-" she said, but stopped and looked in horror to see Mr. 2 running up the cliff as well after them. Carue pulled himself up with Vivi still riding him to a scene that broke Vivi's heart. Before them were her people slaughtering each other as bodies dropped and explosions rocked the area. "Carue...do you think you can run through all this?" she asked in a quiet voice. Carue quacked, saying he could. "Alright! We can't find Leader, but we can still find Chaka! We must get to the Royal Palace, before the Rebel's get to the center of the city!" she said before they took off before a stray bullet struck Carue. "CARUE NO!" Vivi shouted. Carue looked ready to drop, but kept on running with Mr. 2 right behind them. He ran until his strength ran out and dropped to the dirt. Vivi only looked at Carue with tears in her eyes as Carue quacked, telling her to go on.
"YOU'RE MINE~~!" Mr. 2 cried out as he prepared to kill them both, only for two other ducks to appear out of nowhere and kick him away.
"At ease Captain Carue." Sanji said. "You've done a fine job protecting Vivi!"
"SANJI!" Vivi cried in joy as he straightened his tie.
"You ducks get Carue out of here! I'll be fighting this freak!" he said. Both of them nodded and carried Carue to safety as Vivi fled.
"WHAT?! VIVI'S GETTING AWAY! Don't joke arroooound! If you're going to interfere, then I'll kill you as well!" Mr. 2 said as he kicked at Sanji, who had dropped his glasses and blocked it with a kick of his own.
"You have a pair of shades that belongs to one of my friends. I'd appreciate it if you gave them back before I kick your ass!" Sanji said.
"Friend huh? So you're friends with the Straw-Hats then?" Mr. 2 asked. "Then you must be Mr. Prince then!"
"My name's Sanji. I'm a first rate cook!" he said.
"Cook eh? Well, I'M a first rate ballerina, and a member of a criminal organization!" Mr. 2 said as he got into a fighting position.
"The criminal world is no stranger to me." Sanji said as he blew out some smoke. "I'm a cook, AND and pirate."
"Pirate eh?" Mr. 2 said with a grin. "Then this is gonna be fun!"
-With Zoro's group-
Zoro, Nami, Nojiko, and Grace were against Mr. 1 and Miss Doublefinger. Zoro was ahead of the rest while Nami, Nojiko, and Grace were behind rooting for him/ready to help when they could.
"Bring it then!" Zoro said as he flicked out a blade while his opponents walked towards him, then right past him, causing the cheering to stop.
"Rule #1 of assassination: Take out the weak ones first." Mr. 1 said.
"Let us show you how a professional does it." Miss Doublefinger said with a smile, causing the girls to laugh before fleeing in fear.
-With Chopper in the desert-
Usopp had arrived into the desert to assist Chopper's group as he looked around before finding Chopper, Valerie, Gin, and Alvida lying in the desert and running towards them.
"Guys! What happened? Stay with me!" he said as he shook Chopper awake.
"Usopp?" Chopper said as Usopp started waking the others. As they all got up, Usopp asked where they were before proclaiming in a brave fashion that they must've seen him coming before running off, only to cower in fear after Chopper told them they were still here.
"What's happening?!" Usopp screamed as the ruins around them began to crumble into the sand.
"They're underground." Chopper said.
"Miss Merry Christmas. She ate the Mole-Mole Fruit and became a Mole Woman." Valerie explained. "She's dangerous in the desert."
"And from what I can tell from her bragging earlier," Gin said. "Her partner, Mr. 4, is what she called a fourth batter."
"Plus, they have a dog-gun that shoots exploding baseballs." Alvida said. "Can't deflect explosions unfortunately." she muttered to herself.
"Could you guys try to make some sense?!" Usopp shouted before an exploding baseball came towards them.
"INCOMING!" Valerie shouted before they all jumped out of the way, only for it to come back at them thanks to Mr. 4 popping out of a hole and hitting it back at them. They managed to dodge again before it exploded.
"What was that?!" Usopp yelled. The ones who were there before he got there began to explain about the time-bombs, Mr. 4's unnatural strength, and his 'dog' before Miss Merry Christmas explained that it was a gun who ate the Daschund model of the Dog-Dog fruit.
"Wait a second! How can a gun eat a Devil Fruit?!" Gin asked.
"Yeah! That's gotta be a lie! How can a gun eat anything, including a Devil Fruit?!" Usopp said.
"SHUT UP! IT ATE ONE AND BECAME A GUN-DOG! SO THERE THERE THERE! SO THERE!" Miss Merry Christmas yelled. "It's a new technique here on the Grand Line. Not that I'm gonna tell you about it since you're all gonna die!" she said as she began to change. "Welcome to our turf. Molehill number 4!"
"Ahh! She's changing!" Usopp yelled before she changed to her 1/2 and 1/2 form. "What's that? A penguin?"
"I'M A MOLE, YA MORON!" she yelled before diving into the sand. All three groups of Straw-Hats and Baroque Works agents began their fights.
A/N: Sorry for not updating sooner. Life and such.