A/N: Back from my break. Hope this chapter is to your satisfaction. If you've got any complaints, please leave a review and I'll answer them. Just please keep any flames to a low heat. Thank you. On with the story.

It was the morning of the third day since Alabasta's liberation and everyone in the city were working once again to rebuild after the war. Everyone was working hard while a few Straw Hats were going around the city in disguises to gather supplies for when they finally left. 5 of them were carrying bags as they headed for the palace.

"Glad to see everyone here working together." Johnny said as he looked around with his newly purchased sunglasses over his eyes.

"Yeah, and not at each other's throats." Yosaku said before looking behind him and giving a look of sympathy to Luffy. "How you holding up Brother Luffy?"

"I'b fibe." Luffy said through swollen lips. His face was black and blue and covered with bumps and cuts and bruises and bandages. "Chobba gabe me some medifine, zo I'b gud."

"You don't sound fine." Grace said.

"What did you do this time?" Johnny asked as Valerie sat on top of the bag of supplies that was slung over Luffy's shoulder. She couldn't help but wonder if Sanji might've known about where Luffy was last night.

-Flashback-

The sun had barely started coming up as dawn was now upon Alabasta. Everything inside the city was quiet. The Palace, not so much.

"YOU. RUBBER. BRAINED. SHIT. HEAD!" Sanji yelled loudly. He was the first to wake up as he was going to the royal kitchen to help with breakfast, but stopped the moment he saw Luffy snoring away in his bed. All thoughts were on hold as he flew into a rage and began to mercilessly smash his foot into Luffy's head, who was screaming in shock and waking the others up.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING ERO COOK?!" Zoro yelled as he got between the two of them, irritated that Sanji woke him up and was beating the crap out of Luffy.

"SHUT IT MOSS HEAD!" Sanji snarled back.

"Sanji? Why are you attacking Luffy?" Vivi asked as she and the others were now staring at him, most of them half asleep.

"I...don't...know." he growled as he glared at Luffy and looked ready to start kicking him again. Not wanting to have a lot of noise this early in the morning, Nami stepped in and asked Sanji to please fix them breakfast since they were already up. He immediately went into love mode and danced out of the room as he shouted, "ANYTHING FOR YOU DEAREST NAMI!" After he was gone, those who had woken up were now looking down at the mixture of a broken bed and Luffy.

"AAAHHH!" Chopper screamed as Luffy sat up and looked at them all through his swollen and bleeding face.

"Whad bid I bo?" he groaned as Chopper began to work on his face.

-Present-

Everyone was still heading for the Palace before Valerie jumped down and starting walking in a different direction, with Grace following after her.

"We're gonna meet someone." she said when they asked where she was going. "We'll meet you guys later." They all waved before she kept on walking through the city. It took some time, but they found the Spiders Cafe and walked inside.

"Hey Miss Val- er, Valerie. Hey Grace" Paula greeted as she poured a guard some coffee. "Here for lunch?"

"Nah. We're just visiting." she said before sitting at the bar. "How's business?"

"It's going good." she said as she looked around to see the place filled with townspeople, guards, Mr. 4, Miss, Merry Christmas, and Greg. "With everyone working to fix the city, people are stopping in for their breaks." she said before smiling at Valerie. "But you didn't come here just to ask that, did you?"

"You'd be right." Grace said. "We're here to say bye." Paula just gave her a knowing smile.

"So, you've both made up your minds?" she asked.

"Yeah. We're gonna travel with them all." Valerie said as she looked outside.

"I see." Paula said. "I won't stop either of you, but I will wish you both good luck."

"What are you two talking about?" Greg said as he and the other two walked over towards them.

"We're leaving with Luffy and his crew." Valerie said.

"I see." he said with a smile as he held his hand out. "Good luck you two."

"Thanks Greg." she said as they shook hands.

"Bye~~~~ Bye~~~~." Mr. 4 said as he smiled and gave Grace a hug.

"Good luck. You're gonna need it. Don't be a stranger. Come back anytime." said the Mole-Woman quickly.

"Bye." Grace said as she walked towards the exit. Valerie stayed behind to ask Paula one more question.

"Hey," she whispered so that only Paula could hear. "Last night. Did you and Luffy...you know." Paula smiled as her cheeks reddened.

"Valerie," she whispered back. "The things that rubber-boy can do with his tongue." she said with a shudder. Valerie blushed a bit herself before saying goodbye and leaving with Grace.

-At the Palace-

The day had gone by without incident as dinner was approaching. The Straw Hats either stayed out of trouble while they gathered supplies or just hung around the royal palace. Luffy was eager to eat and just kept running aimlessly around the palace. Zoro was training again despite Chopper's protests, Chopper was mixing medicine, Johnny, Yosaku, Gin, Usopp, Grace, and Valerie had all returned from their supply runs, Vivi, Alvida, and Nojiko were relaxing, and Nami was asking the King if she could have a lot of books.

"Your Majesty." one of the guards addressed Cobra. "The Banquet is ready."

"Have all of Vivi's friends been accounted for?" he asked.

"Yes. All the Straw Hats and the three that Vivi invited are all here." said the guard.

"Excellent." said Cobra.

-Some time later-

Chaos. That was the only word for the situation. Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Usopp, Sanji, Gin, Vivi, Nojiko, Alvida, Valerie, Johnny, Yosaku, Chopper, Cobra, Pell, Igaram, Chaka, Carue, Greg, Eyelash the camel, Miss Monday, and Mr. 9 were all there for the banquet and were eating and having a good time. Luffy was eating everything he could get his hands on, Usopp put hot sauce on his food so Luffy would it and burn his tongue, Chopper copied Luffy before he started choking, Gin kept stabbing Luffy's hand with a fork everytime he tried taking his food, Nami was hitting Luffy for trying to shove too much food into his mouth, Zoro was downing as much booze as he could, Johnny and Yosaku had their own little eating contest, Alvida was fighting the urge to eat a lot as well for fear of her old figure returning, Nojiko was watching them all act like idiots with a smile, Valerie was asking if they wanted any help making dessert, Greg was just glad that he got invited and ate, Grace kept asking for things to be handed to her despite them being with arms length, and everyone else at the table was just having a blast. The guards all around them were talking to themselves about the disgusting table manners they were seeing and asking why Vivi was laughing at it all. They stared in disgust, then shock, and then amusement before outright laughing along with everyone at the table at the mini-party they were throwing.

-In the bath-

After the feast, all the men and women went to the Royal bath that was used during the rainy season.

"I thought that an after dinner bath would calm you all, but it looks like you turn anywhere you go to into a party." he said as he watched the less serious members of the crew splashing around like children.

"Hey, where's the women's bath?" Sanji asked Igaram, who slapped his arm away.

"As if I'd tell you! That's that Princess Vivi is!" he shouted.

"That's why I asked." Sanji replied with a grin.

"Over that wall." Cobra said as he pointed to the wall.

"YOUR MAJESTY!" Igaram roared as most of the men were now heading towards the wall.

-Women's Bath-

"This bath is amazing." Nami said as Vivi washed her back. Nami, Vivi, Alvida, Nojiko, Grace, Valerie, and Miss Monday were all relaxing and washing each other's back inside the bath. "I wonder if there's a ship out there with a bath like this."

"Maybe." Vivi said. "We've seen so many amazing things. Giants. Dinosaurs. Cherry blossoms in a snow country. There must be so many more unbelievable marvels on the sea." Nami smiled at her before some of the women noticed that all but zoro was peeping on them and covered themselves. "What are you all doing?!" Vivi yelled in distress.

"Seems they couldn't help themselves." Alvida said with a smile as Valerie laughed.

"They're perverts." Miss Monday said in slight disgust as Grace glared at them all.

"They're men." Nojiko chuckled with a smile as she and a few other women stood up with their towels covering them before facing the boys.

"This'll be 100,000 berris each." Nami said as she, Nojiko, Alvida, and Valerie faced them all. "Happiness PUNCH!" Nami said as they all flashed the boys, causing them all to have massive nosebleeds as they fell of the wall and onto the floor.

"WHAT ARE YOU ALL DOING?!" Vivi said as a massive blush covered most of her face. The women just looked back at her with a smile before they all got into the bath.

"So, you and Mr. 9 will be leaving tomorrow then?" Vivi asked.

"That's right." Miss Monday said. "Like we said, we're going back to bounty hunting."

"That reminds me." Nojiko said as she turned to Valerie and Grace. "Have you two decided?"

"We have." Valerie said.

"We're coming with you guys." Grace said.

"Glad to have you along." Nami said. "And you Vivi?"

"Me?" she asked.

"Yeah. We're gonna leave tonight, so you'll have to decide fast." she said.

-On the Men's side-

Most of the men had gotten up off the floor while Cobra stayed where he was as his nose bled.

"Thank you." he said.

"You pervert." they all said in unison.

"NOT THAT!" he shouted before he wiped his nose clean. "I mean about saving our country." he said from where he sat before he bowed to them. Some of them started asking if that was okay, to which he replied that it was since there's no such thing as a naked King. "Both as a father and a native of this country, I thank you Straw Hat Pirates from the bottom of my heart." Everyone just smiled as Luffy grinned.

-In the Women's Bath-

While the men were talking, some of the women were having a chat of their own.

"Hey Valerie. You know where Luffy went last night?" Nami suddenly asked. Valerie just looked at her, wondering how she would explain that.

"Well...an associate of mine that worked in Baroque Works heard that Luffy was the reason they weren't thrown in prison, so..." she said.

"Paula invited him over and thanked him by having sex with him." Grace blurted out since Valerie was taking forever.

"Wait! What?" Vivi said as most of them looked on in shock while Valerie sighed.

"Yeah, that's what happened." she said. Alvida looked a little miffed that Luffy would go to another woman, Vivi just stared in shock, Miss Monday didn't care, and Nami and Nojiko were understanding this morning's ruckus of Sanji thrashing Luffy, though they too were annoyed by it.

"Who exactly is Paula?" Nami asked.

"You know her as Miss Doublefinger." Valerie said.

"THAT SPIKY BITCH?!" they both said, clearly remembering her and how she tried to kill them both.

"Yeah, that's the one." Grace said.

"Who's a bitch?" Gin asked, having heard them shouting.

"Nothing!" they shouted back.

"Sheesh Luffy." Nami said in annoyance.

"Hey, he's actually luckier than you think." Valerie said. They all just gave her strange looks before she continued. "If it wasn't for that Seastone anklet she's forced to wear, Luffy might've been in a world of pain."

"You mean..." Miss Monday said, now listening.

"I thought that was just a rumor." Vivi said.

"What are you all talking about?" Alvida asked as they all began to get out and dry themselves off.

"Sometimes the target that Paula and Mr. 1 were ordered to kill would disgust her in a lot of ways." Grace said.

"So she'd charm them, get them alone, let them in a little...and then unleash those Spikes of hers." Valerie finished as she crossed her fingers together. The women just stared at her as she finished, thinking that Paula was a lot crueller than they thought.

-On the Men's side-

All the men were getting out before they all had a horrible chill run up their spine, fear striking them all for no reason.

-Some time later-

Mr. 9 and Miss Monday had gathered their stuff and were gettting ready to leave for Whiskey Peak. Greg left and said farewell as well to everyone before leaving for the Spiders Cafe. The Straw Hats were all inside their room and discussing a few things while Vivi was seeing off Miss Monday and Mr. 9.

"We're leaving tonight?" Usopp asked.

"Yeah." Nami said. "The marines know we're here, so we should get going before we cause this country any trouble."

"I agree with Nami, and not just because she's cute." Sanji said.

"What about Big Sis Vivi?" Johnny asked.

"Is she coming with us?" Yosaku said.

"That's something that she has to decide." Nojiko said.

"We'll ask her when she gets here." Zoro said as a guard came in with a Den Den Mushi, saying someone named Bon was calling.

"Bon? As in Bon Clay?" Valerie asked. Some of the crew frowned as the image of Mr. 2 flashed through their minds as Sanji answered the snail.

"What do you want freak?" he asked.

"That's a rude way to speak a friend! And after all the trouble I went through to contact you guys." he said. "Aren't we friends?"

"Get to the point you weirdo." Gin said loud enough for him to hear.

"The point is that I've got something of yours." Bon Clay said. "The Going Merry!"

"ASSHOLE!" they all shouted.

"That's right. I'm on it right now." he said with a laugh before telling them where he was and hung up. The crew was now for Vivi so that they could ask if she wanted to go or not.

"Hey guys." Luffy said. Everyone looked to him as he looked at them all with a serious and stony expression. "There's something that I gotta say. Something that I gotta tell you all."

"What are you talking about Luffy?" Usopp said.

"If it's about wanting more food then now's not the time." Sanji grunted.

"No." Luffy said as he moved his robe so that his upper body was exposed, showing off his X scar on his chest.

"Are you...gonna tell us about that scar?" Nami asked.

"Yeah, along with a lot of other things that I couldn't tell you all immediately." he said. All of them were looking at him in confusion while Zoro just kept a blank stare, having a good idea as to what he was going to tell them.

"Does this include those nightmares you've been having?" Usopp asked.

"Yeah." Luffy said in a low tone. All of them glanced at each other before circling around Luffy and were now sitting and waiting to hear.

"What about Vivi?" Chopper suddenly asked.

"I don't know if I'll be able to tell her. I can only tell her if she joins us at sea." Luffy said. "That was one of Phil's rules."

"Phil?" Sanji said. "Who's that?"

"The guy that ate a Devil Fruit that can be used to send people back in time." Luffy said. All of them just stared at him before blinking, as if wondering if they heard right.

"Did you just say that this Phil guy-" Johnny started.

"Can send people back in time?" Yosaku finished.

"Yeah." Luffy said. Nami looked skeptical at this.

"You're starting to sound like Usopp." she said with a bored look on her face.

"Hey!" Usopp snapped before looking at Luffy. "Still, she's got a point. I mean yeah there are powerful Devil Fruits out there that can give you amazing powers, but one that can send people back in time sounds a little farfetched."

"It's the truth!" Luffy said at once.

"Oh really?" Alvida said. "Well, if what you're saying is true, then why? Why would you go back in time then?"

"She's got a point Big Bro." said Yosaku as he crossed his arms.

"Did something happen last time or what?" Johnny asked. A look of pain flashed across Luffy's face as images of all his friends being killed came to his mind.

"Y-yeah." Luffy stuttered out as he looked at the ground. All of them were staring at him, wondering what next he was going to say. Most of them weren't believing him, thinking that this had to be far to crazy to be true.

"You all know Luffy by now." Zoro suddenly said. Everyone looked at Zoro as he looked back at them all. "Luffy can't lie to save his life. Do you really think that Luffy would lie about something like this?" A few moments passed as some of the crew's eyes widened before looking at Luffy. The look in his eyes and the tears threatening to fall, along with his trembling body said it all. This wasn't a tall tale at all.

"Luffy." Nami said, getting everyone's attention. "Those friends...that you said that you lost...who were they?" Luffy just looked at her and lifted his hand to point a finger at her.

"You and everybody else that I've met that called me a friend." he said in a shaky voice. All of them were as still as statues as tears finally started to fall down Luffy's face. They had never seen him break down like this before.

"So...you're saying...we're all dead in your time?" Valerie croaked out. Luffy only nodded as the tears started falling fast, the memories of it all flooding his mind.

"That explains those nightmares." Nami said. "And all those strange things you've said during them."

"But...but who...was it that killed us?" Grace asked, dreading the question after it came out. Luffy's expression immediately changed from pain to fury.

"Akainu!" he growled as his fists clenched so tightly that he almost ripped into his rubbery palms.

"Akainu?" Gin asked, thinking back. "Now that I think about it, you did shout that name when you went nuts back in the desert."

"Who's that?" Sanji asked. Some of the others were looking a little horrified, wondering if he meant who they thought he meant. Luffy just stared at the ground while Nami spoke again.

"I can't believe that we were all wiped out." Nami said in a sad tone.

"I don't even want to imagine the look on Genzo's face when he heard." Nojiko added. That got the others thinking as well, wondering how their friends would react to hearing that they were all killed.

"You better tell them the rest." Zoro said.

"The rest?" Yosaku said.

"You mean there's more bad news?!" Johnny asked. Luffy looked back to the ground and nodded.

"I told you guys...they killed ALL my friends." he said. "You guys were just the beginning."

"The...beginning?" Chopper croaked out. "You mean they killed more than just us?" It became deathly silent as Luffy slammed them all with the worst of it. After the crew was killed and Luffy was captured, Akainu went to all their home lands in the East Blue, then all the islands they visiting in the Grand Line, destroying all their homes and killing all their loved ones. Everyone felt cold at his words.

"No...no." Nami said, her entired body alongside her sister's, unable to believe that they're village and all the people living there were killed.

"K...K...Kaya." Usopp croaked out as Chopper turned blue in the face at the the thought of Drum Island and Doctorine both disappearing. Johnny and Yosaku's jaws hit the floor as Gin just stared in shock. Grace had tears forming and was in Valerie's arms, both hugging each other and trembling. No one could believe that was true. It just couldn't be true.

"Why?" Sanji muttered, his mind going back to the Baratie and Chef Zeff.

"That doesn't matter." Zoro said as he slammed his sword onto the floor. Luffy snapped out of his thoughts as he and everyone turned to Zoro. "What we do know is that we were beaten somehow. But now that Luffy's here, we have a headstart to train and get stronger so that it won't happen again."

"Hey, he's right." Usopp said. "We can prepare and make sure that we're not caught off guard next time we get to where things went wrong while also making sure our friends and family don't get wiped out too." All of them were starting to agree now that they finally accepted that what Luffy was saying was true.

"Your orders Captain?" Alvida said. Luffy looked at them all to see them all smiling and waiting for his command. He wiped his eyes and smiled back.

"We continue on our adventure. We get stronger. We defeat anything and anyone that gets in our way or threatens our friends. You with me?!"

"YEAH!" they all shouted.

"Hey wait! What about Vivi?" Chopper suddenly said.

"Yeah, he's right." Nami said. "Her country and her life is in danger as well!"

"We should warn her as well." Nojiko said.

"You don't have too." came Vivi's voice. Everyone turned to see her closing the door behind her.

"Vivi!" Luffy said.

"How long have you been standing there?" Zoro asked.

"Long enough to know that my Kingdom and it's people are still in danger, even with Crocodile gone." she said as she looked at them all. "And if that's the case, I can't just stand by without doing anything."

"Vivi?" Nami said as they all listened to her.

"So long as my country's in danger, my journey's not over." she said.

"Wait. Are you saying what I think you're saying?" Nami said.

"I'm asking...if I can travel with you all just a little longer." she said with a small smile. Everyone was staring in either shock or joy, but mostly joy.

"You mean you wanna come with us?" Luffy asked.

"Yes. If you'll let me." she said.

"OF COURSE!" almost all of them shouted. They all began to cheer and dance around at Vivi joining them all.

"You sure?" Zoro asked. "You won't be a Princess on the ship. You'll be a pirate."

"Shut up Moss Head!" Sanji yelled. "If she wants to join us, then I say let her join!" He then started wiggling around like a noodle with hearts in his eyes. "And Vivi-swan, you have no idea how happy it makes me that you'll be joining us all!"

"He's not the only one." Nami said as she and Nojiko hugged her. "It's gonna be so much fun having you come with us!" Vivi smiled before backing up.

"What about Carue?" Usopp asked.

"Quack!" Carue said, popping up out of nowhere.

"He says 'Where Vivi goes, I go'." Chopper translated.

"Alright Brother Duck!" Johnny and Yosaku cheered.

"I just have to do something first." she said as she left the room. "I'll be right back." Everyone was now cheering having a blast.

'I won't let you, or anyone else die this time!' Luffy thought as they celebrated. 'This time, nothing's gonna stop us!'

A/N: And there you have it. Hope you all enjoyed it. I figured this would be the perfect time for Luffy to explain, so I did. I know he hasn't told them everything yet, but that'll come another time. Remember to review.