(A/N: The first chapter of the first super-long arc, Alabasta! Enjoy!)
Chapter 1: Set Sail for Alabasta! A Ballerina on the Ship!
A couple days after recruiting Chopper as the ship's doctor, the journey was smooth sailing. "There's no mistake," Nami looked over the map with Vivi, "This ship is heading to Alabasta."
Vivi looked over the horizon up ahead. "I'll be there soon."
On the lower deck, Usopp, Chopper, and Karoo were fishing on the railing, while Zoro slept by the mast. "Luffy! Don't lie!" Sanji reprimanded. "Tell me what you know." Luffy avoided eye contact, so the cook knelt down, and tried to force it. "Hey, why are you looking away? Look me in the eyes!"
Luffy kept it up, waving his hand in front of his face. "Well, seriously... I don't know anything."
"Then let me ask you something: how did enough food for 8 people, which I carefully divided so that it'd last until we get to Alabasta, disappear the other night?" Sanji was frustrated when Luffy kept averting his gaze to everywhere but him. "Stop fighting, it's pointless! You've got a horrible poker face." He squished his cheeks, resulting in a belch. He straightened up, then blinked in fake surprise. "Hey, you have something around your mouth."
"Ah! Shoot! Food crumbs?!"
"See, it was you!" Sanji's kick sent him flying across the deck, crashing into the wall. "Geez." He then looked up where Nami and Vivi were standing, now wearing a pleading face. "Ahhh, Nami-san, you saw it, right? The large rat trap is no longer good enough. Please buy a lockable refrigerator."
"Well," She frowned reluctantly, "I'll think about it, since it can be a life or death issue."
"Hm?" Sanji turned around at the sound of chewing, coming from the fishing trio.
"Well!" Usopp acted painfully casual. "We'd better catch something for Sanji-kun."
As Karoo quacked, Sanji approached them. "Hey, any luck fishing?"
They all tensed up nervously. "W-well..."
That was enough proof for the chef; they were just as guilty as the captain. He calmly put his hands out, and bashed their heads together. "I feel good," Chopper muttered, as they collapsed on deck.
"Seriously, I can't take my eyes off these guys for a moment," He grumbled.
Later on, Luffy joined into the fishing with Usopp. "Ahh," He moaned when his stomach growled, "I'm starving. The fish aren't biting at all."
"Luffy! It's your fault!" Usopp glared. "It's because you even ate the bait! If we don't have bait, the fish won't bite!"
"You ate it too!"
"Well... I only ate the stuff on the bait box cover."
Behind them, Vivi walked up casually. "Luffy-san, Usopp-san. Have you caught anything?" Upon hearing some frantic quacking, she pushed them aside to look, and screamed in terror. "Ahh!" Karoo was being used as bait! "Karoo! Oh no!"
"I wonder if we can catch a shark or something?" Luffy wondered aloud obliviously.
"I wanna catch a Sea King," Usopp added.
Vivi leaned back, now angry. "What're you two... doing to Karoo?!" She smashed their heads together.
After they fell back on the deck, a pair of shiny, black boots approached them, after seeing Karoo tied up. "Luffy," Venus scolded, buttoning her black shorts, "Did you eat the bait again?"
"He did," A blushing Usopp whined, averting his eyes from the hem of her cropped sweater, and the high waist of her denim shorts.
"You did too!" Luffy snitched.
"Only what was on the cover!"
Venus sighed, and shook her head. "Let's hope a miracle happens then."
"Sorry, Venus-chan," Usopp frowned sadly as she walked away, before he glared at Luffy, "Thanks for getting me in trouble."
Just then, as they sat back up, something appeared over the horizon. It was a strange, green smoke billowing from the ocean. "What's that?"
Usopp stared on in confusion. "What the heck is that?"
"Looks like green mist," Venus remarked.
"I wonder if it's like cotton candy," Luffy mumbled weakly.
"I'll go get Nami-san!" Vivi ran up the stairs, and burst into the kitchen. "Nami-san, there's a problem! Come right away!"
After following her outside, Nami saw the strange sight ahead, but was calm. "Ahh, don't worry. It's nothing; it's just steam."
"Steam is coming up from the sea?"
"Yeah. It's a hot spot."
"What the heck is that?" Luffy asked.
"It's an area where magma is produced," Nami replied, "There's an undersea volcano underneath that area."
"I see."
Chopper looked up at her innocently. "A volcano, even though it's undersea?"
"That's right. There're more undersea volcanoes than above ground ones."
"Whoa," Usopp listened in awe.
"I don't really care," Luffy pouted, "Since it's not food."
"With the volcano like this, a new island will be born here over thousands, or tens of thousands of years."
"You're so cool, Nami-san~!" Sanji swooned.
"Tens of thousands of years," Luffy muttered, "I wonder if I can live that long."
"Well, you're a human," Usopp pointed out, "So you should try dying sometime before that."
"I wouldn't wanna live that long anyway," Venus remarked.
As they continued fishing, Sanji approached them. "Have you caught anything?" He asked through Karoo's frantic quacking.
"Oh, hey Sanji. I'm hungry. Cook something."
"With what?" She challenged with a quirked brow.
"You guys're hopeless," He sighed, and rolled up his left-side sleeves, "I'll go search the storage thoroughly, to see if there's anything left."
Just as he disappeared into the kitchen, the Merry began passing through the steam. And it was not pleasant. "Ahh! It smells of sulfur!" Usopp griped, as everyone coughed.
"We can't see anything! There's steam everywhere!" Luffy exclaimed.
"It stinks!" Venus complained.
"Bear through it," Nami said, "We should be through it soon."
As they sailed through, another ship was approaching. "Mr. 2, Bon Clay-sama!"
"What is it?!" He barked, clad in a pink and blue ballerina outfit with a pair of white swans on the back of his coat.
"There's smoke at 12 o'clock!"
"It doesn't matter! Cut through it!" He smiled evilly. "At any rate, unless we take care of Mr. 3, I'll be in danger!" He fretted.
"Yes, sir! We're going in!" They sailed straight into the steam.
"What is this foggy thing?"
"We can't see ahead!"
"Ah!" Everyone screamed in terror.
Within minutes, they emerged from the stinky steam. "We got through!" The two men panicked when suddenly, the chair their leader sat in was empty! "Ahh! Mr. 2, Bon Clay-sama is gone!"
"Look for him in the cabins!"
"We can't find him!"
"Can't be!"
"Mr. 2, Bon Clay-sama!"
Luffy and Usopp gawked when their lines suddenly caught something. "Whoa!"
"Hey!" Venus perked up. "You got something! Reel it up! Huh?"
Holding onto a frantic Karoo, was a man wearing a ballerina dress and shoes, and a swan coat. "Shoot! Why did I jump on a duck that I suddenly came across?!"
The three looked at each other in confusion. "Is he a human?" Luffy asked.
"Dunno."
"Probably," Venus shrugged, "He looks human."
He was staring at them, equally befuddled, when his arms slipped. "Oh?! Ahh!" He fell into the ocean, Luffy and Usopp watching his struggle. "Help me! Please! I can't swim!" He then submerged underwater.
"Ballerina Man!" She frantically pushed past the two boys, and dove in.
"Wait, Venus!" Usopp called out. "You can't swim either!"
"Venus!" Zoro whipped his shirt off, and jumped in after her.
"I thought I'd die," He panted after being rescued, as Venus recovered close by. "Well, I'm really swanny. To think I was saved by pirates, who are total strangers. I will never forget your kindness for the rest of my life!" He bowed before them. "Also, may I have a cup of warm soup?"
"We don't have it!" Everyone, except Venus and Vivi, shouted angrily.
"We're the ones who're hungry!" Zoro added.
He looked up to Vivi gazing down at him. "Oh, hey you! What a cutie! You're my type! I wanna eat you! Smooch!"
He blew a kiss at her, but she grimaced in disgust. "What a weirdo."
"So you can't swim, huh?" Luffy grinned.
"That's right. I ate a Devil Fruit."
"Me too!" Venus beamed.
"Really? What kind of fruit?" Usopp asked him.
He stood on his pointe-shoed feet. "Well... since there's no need to rush until my ship comes to pick me up... in lieu of entertainment, I'll show you." Luffy grinned in anticipation, as did Venus. "This is my power!"
Everyone was in shock when he suddenly pounded Luffy's face in, before Zoro drew his swords. "What're you-"
"Wait! Wait! Wait!" He held his hands out, his voice suddenly different. "I just told you, that this is entertainment!"
Zoro's eyes widened. "What?!"
"Gimme a break!" His face looked exactly like Luffy's!
"Ah?!" The captain sprang to his feet, and smiled brightly. "That's me!"
"Surprised?! Surprised?! Surprised?!" He danced before them, and laughed. "If I touch my face with my left hand..." He demonstrated, and his face and voice were back to normal, "See?! I'm back to myself! This is the power of the Clone-Clone Fruit I ate!"
"The voice too," Nami remarked, as Usopp gaped.
"The body was also the same," He added.
"A-amazing!" Luffy exclaimed, as he touched everyone else's faces with his right hand.
"There!" He posed after finishing. "Well, for that matter, I don't have to knock you down. Now, look!" When he touched his face, he turned into Usopp! Venus laughed in amazement, as her eye lit up. "All I have to do is..." He turned into Zoro next. "Touch faces with my right hand." He then turned into Chopper. "As you can see, I can..." He then became Nami. "Mimic anyone! Bodies too!"
He opened his robe, making Venus and the boys gape in shock. "Ahh!" Venus quickly covered Chopper's eyes before he could look too long.
The real Nami swung a punch to his head, abruptly ending the act. "Ouch!"
"Stop it!"
"Hey, are you all right?" Luffy asked.
"Ow, ow, ow." The delirious man pushed himself up. "Well... sorry, but I can't show any more of my power."
"You're amazing!" Luffy encouraged, as Usopp whistled. "Do it more!"
"Ahh, well, if you insist, I guess I'll show more."
"Yeah! Show it! Show it!" The four cheered.
Nami and Zoro watched in annoyance. "Gee, he's actually into it!" Nami glared.
"Hey, Mr. Ballerina!" Venus raised her hand. "Do me next! Me next!"
"As you wish, girlie!" With one touch of his right hand, a clone of her in his outfit stood before them, her hair down to her upper ribs. "Ta-da!"
"Awesome!" She cheered; however, her smile vanished when he gripped his closed coat with a mischievous look. "Eek!" She scrambled over, and quickly held it closed with a glare. "Don't even think about it!" She seethed.
"Just kidding!" He laughed, as she sat back down, and reverted back to normal. Usopp sighed in relief to himself; he wasn't ready to see that much of his crush yet. Although... he had never seen her without pigtails before.
Nami held a furious Zoro back when he tried to charge in for the prank. "Don't!"
"Furthermore, I'm equipped with a memory feature!"
"We wanna see! We wanna see!" They cheered, along with a newly happy Venus.
"Here we go!" To their delight, he changed into many faces, one after the other.
"Ah!" Vivi gaped at one that looked familiar. She knew that black, curly hair, and small beard anywhere; her father!
"Spin! Spin! Spin!"
"How stupid!" The swordsman griped.
"Spin! Spin!"
He stopped, and posed before his audience. "So how was my secret talent?! I usually never show it to others."
"Cool!" They cheered, as Vivi stared at him suspiciously. Why did he look like her father for a moment? Did he encounter him before?
They jumped up, and started dancing with him in a line, arms linked around shoulders. "Gimme a break! Gimme a break!"
"Amazing! Amazing! Amazing!"
"Oh, whatever!" Nami complained, and turned to the ocean.
"That's my ship!" He suddenly exclaimed. Approaching them was a white-wooded ship donning a swan prow, and a pink sail.
"Amazing! Amazing! He's..."
"Whoosh!" They stopped when he leaped gracefully on the railing by her. "It's already time to say goodbye? What a shame."
"What?!" The four exclaimed.
"Please don't go!" Usopp begged.
"Don't be sad! Journeys are always accompanied by farewells." He looked back at the group. "But don't ever forget this: Friendship... has nothing to do with how long we've known each other. Don't cry!" He jumped on his ship when she was close enough.
"See you again!" Luffy called.
The ballerina turned to his crewmates. "Now, let's go guys!"
"Yes, sir! Mr. 2, Bon Clay-sama!"
The Straw Hats gaped in shock upon overhearing. Yikes! "Mr. 2?!" Usopp exclaimed.
"So he is..." Vivi remarked, "Mr. 2, Bon Clay!"
"Vivi!" Luffy turned to her in surprise. "You didn't know his face?!"
"No, I've never met Mr. 2, and Mr. 1, as well as his partner. I don't know their powers either." She backed into the wall, and slid down to the floor. "Though I've heard of rumors. Mr. 2 is... a ballerina with a large frame, who talks like a woman. He always wears a swan coat that has "Bon Clay" on the back."
"You should've noticed!" Zoro, Usopp, and Luffy reprimanded.
"What's the matter, Vivi?" Luffy asked.
"Among the faces that he showed from his past memory... from his memory," She choked up in fear, "I saw my father's face; the face of Alabasta's king, Nefertari Cobra."
"If, for example, you could mimic a king," Zoro started, "You'd be able to do quite bad things too."
"We let a troublesome guy slip away, huh?" Usopp remarked.
"Then he's our enemy?" Chopper asked.
"He's certainly quite a problem, if he's on our enemy's side," Nami observed, and approached the boys, "If he realizes that we're the enemy, if he transforms into one of us using his memory from earlier, we won't be able to trust our own friends."
"Really? Huh?"
"Listen, Luffy-"
"Well, hold on," Zoro cut Nami off, and laid a hand on the catain's shoulder, "It's true that his opinion doesn't have any basis, but he's right about us not having to be scared of him. We should consider ourselves lucky that we got to see him now, because we can figure out counter measures."
Just then, huge waves sent the Merry rocking, sending most of the crew running to the back, as something huge emerged before them. "Something came out!" Luffy exclaimed.
"Sea Cat!" Vivi gaped.
"It's a sea monster!" Usopp and Chopper screamed.
Zoro wielded all his swords. "It's the first meal in 4 days!"
"It's a meal!" Luffy glared in its direction.
"It's a kitty!" Venus gushed.
At the front, Nami checked the Log Pose. "We're on the right track. I hope we get there pretty soon."
"It's a meal!" Luffy repeated angrily.
The giant cat leaned away, fearing the hunger in their eyes. "Whoa, it backed away!" Zoro pointed out.
"Have the ship go back! Go back!" Luffy commanded.
"W-w-w-w-w-we can't!" Usopp stammered.
Just then, Sanji burst out of the kitchen. "Ah! Don't let it get away! Capture it without fail!" He joined Luffy and Zoro in glaring daggers at their prey, sleeves rolled up. "How should I cook you, cat monster?!"
Vivi grabbed a broom, pulled Venus back, and swung the three into the railing. "No!"
The cat swam back down into the ocean, free from harm. "Vivi!" Luffy glared. "You jerk! What're you doing?!"
"W-why, Vivi-chan?" Sanji whimpered.
"You can't eat it!" She scolded. "Sea Cats are a sacred animal in Alabasta!"
"You should've told us sooner!" Luffy complained.
"There sure are many kinds of creatures in the sea!" Chopper remarked.
Usopp shuddered behind him from the encounter. "Being scared of things like that... you've still got a long way to go." He jumped up with sudden confidence, one foot on a cannon. "Okay then! I'll tell you a story about when I bravely fought Sea Kings in the Calm Belt."
"Fought Sea Kings?!"
"Big Ones! They were this big!" He held out his arms.
"O-our food got away," Luffy lamented.
"But don't worry," Vivi tried to assure him, "You'll be able to stuff yourself soon."
"Really?!" He brightened up. "What cat will appear this time?!"
"No cats!" Venus scolded.
"Vivi!" Nami called for her. "The wind and weather seem to be becoming stable."
"Yes," She agreed, "We've entered Alabasta's climate area. A Sea Cat appearing is also the proof."
"And what we see behind us," Zoro smirked, "Is probably also proof of Alabasta being close."
They all turned to look; turned out, a horde of ships was all spread out. "There're so many ships!" Luffy exclaimed. "When did that happen?!"
Usopp looked closer with his goggles. "Hey! They all have the Baroque Works' symbol!"
"Its employees have started gathering. They're probably Billions; the Officer Agents' subordinates."
"Which means that our enemy is at least 200," Nami remarked.
"On top of that, they are 200 elites of Baroque Works. They're far from those bounty hunters in Whisky Peak."
Usopp frantically cranked to raise the cannon. "Should we fire at them while we can?!" He wiped his brow after the cannon was ready. "Let's get on it already!"
"It's quicker if we go there, and beat them up!" Luffy argued, before his stomach growled. "No, wait! We have to eat first!"
"Idiot!" Zoro smirked confidently. "Don't bother. They're small fries."
"He's right," Sanji agreed, "If we lose our real target, that'll be it. There're only 9 of us."
Later on, the crew were tying white cloths on their left wrists with a plan. "Anyway, tie it tight," Zoro urged, "Our enemy this time has too many mysteries."
"I see," Vivi tied Nami's for her.
"If we check this, we don't have to doubt our friends," The navigator concluded.
"Does that Clone-Clone Fruit guy really become so similar when he transforms?" Sanji asked, tying his own cloth with his teeth like the swordsman.
"You've no idea!" Usopp replied. "It's not "similar". It's "the same"! It's too bad! You should've seen it. We even danced with him. Oh!" He turned to a struggling Venus, and tied her cloth on her wrist for her. "There we go."
"Thanks, Usopp-kun," She smiled sheepishly.
"I'm not interested in a male ballerina."
"Knowing someone like that is among our enemy, we can't carelessly act alone," Zoro said.
"Hey, what should I do?" Chopper asked.
"Ahh... do what you can do," Usopp replied, "You don't have to do anything anymore. It's okay to run into the enemy you can't defeat!"
Sanji gave him a skeptical look, as he helped Karoo out of his tangled mess. "Aren't you telling that to yourself?"
"What I can do, huh?" Chopper muttered, then smiled confidently. "Got it!"
"I can see the island now!" Luffy exclaimed.
"Let's stop at the town called Nanohana," Vivi suggested, "We have to hide the ship."
"All right!" Luffy agreed. "At any rate, no matter what happens..." He held out his clothed wrist, "This thing on our left arm is the sign of our friendship!" They all formed a circle with their left fists. "Well then, we'll land! To a restaurant! Oh, and to Alabasta."
"It's a side note?" The rest of the crew griped.
Vivi touched her cloth, as she silently watched them discuss. "The enemy this time is an assassination gang, Luffy," Nami pointed out.
"Yeah, it is."
"Be careful about acting on instinct, okay?"
"You're right. I got it." Vivi smiled to herself through Luffy's assurance. "Yeah! That's right! Yeah! Got it!"
(A/N: Thus begins Alabasta! Bon Clay is one of my favorites. XD One Piece and its characters belong to Eiichiro Oda. Venus belongs to me.)
