Chapter Fourteen | Purple Suede Shoes
As soon as Zoro spoke one of the bounty hunters lunged for Nami, their navigator passed out on a table. Or so the bounty hunter thought, Nami rising up with a vengeance and slamming the tip of her bo staff into his gut, driving the air from his lungs. She twirled it, catching the man on the chin before bringing it down on the back of his head as hard as she could, knocking him out cold.
"Do these guys think I'm a light-weight or something?" she groused, before pointing at Quinn. "And you couldn't have dragged them outside?"
"What?"
"I was perfectly happy to sit on my ass for another hour." Nami poked Usopp in the side, their Sniper lying on his back in the middle of the room. He grumbled, slowly opening one eye and glaring at Nami.
"Please don't make me fight."
"If I have to, you have to."
"Besides," Sanji interrupted, walking over to help Usopp to his feet. "These guys are way weaker than that officer you fought at Arlong Park."
"...Yeah?"
"Yeah."
Usopp grinned, and off to the side, Luffy snored, still hilariously bloated from how much he had eaten. "Let Luffy sleep this one off?" Quinn asked, smiling as she leveled her pistol at one of the Baroque Works agents.
"Sounds like a good idea to me."
"Are you people insane?" One of the agents shouted, looking unsure of whether to laugh or cry. "There's a hundred of us here!"
"So?" Sanji yawned, stretching one arm behind his back.
"Whaddaya' mean, s- oh!" The man's words were cut off by a foot planting itself against his chin, and the third person that night was summarily tossed out the hole Zoro had smashed in the wall. That turned out to be the starting gun, the entire pub and – by the sound of shouting in the distance – the entire damn town suddenly leaping into action.
Quinn's rapier carved through the air as she fired a shot from her pistol, the bullet laden with wind that launched an agent through a window on impact. Her sword continued in its arc, ice spraying from the tip and unleashing a frigid wall that carved its way across the room, locking the gaggle of women into the cubby where Sanji had been sitting before. Muted shouts could be heard behind it, but Quinn and the rest of the Straw Hats were already on the move.
Like a bat out of hell, Zoro danced his way across the room without breaking a sweat, bashing the pommel of his sword against the back of an agent's head when the woman made to shoot Nami from behind. He then leapt out of the hole Quinn had blasted out of the other side of the pub, charging towards the wall of Baroque Works hunters advancing towards them. Sanji, seeing him running ahead, decided to join Zoro, quite literally using the few still standing agents inside the pub as platforms, the force of his kicks burying them beneath splintered floorboards before he too flew out of the smouldering hole in the wall.
Her instinct to follow their lead was pushed away, Auror protocol taking hold in its place. "You two should check the Merry," Quinn announced, Usopp paling at her words.
"Do you think they-?"
"If they did, I think Luffy would turn their port to splinters."
There were very few things in this world, she learned over the last month, that would make Monkey D. Luffy genuinely angry. Not frustrated, not irate, but a raw sort of fury that she'd never seen anywhere but in a mirror. The first thing, and the most important, was people hurting his friends. End result and case in point: Arlong. Secondly, any insult or attack aimed towards his prized hat. Third, and lastly, an attack on the Merry was seen as an attack on the crew and therefore his friends.
Do so at your own risk.
The white-hot wrath she had seen him unleash in Arlong Park had been half-hidden behind walls, much of his battle taking place in the map room at the summit of the pagoda. But Luffy had wiped the whole damn building off the map, brought crashing down every pound of plaster and timber until there was nothing left but a heap of rubble and bad memories. All that to save a woman he'd known for all of three weeks. He was just like Quinn in that regard, holding nothing but furious contempt for anyone who stood in opposition to what he saw as good and right.
It was why she joined the crew in the first place.
"Let's go," Nami declared, twirling her staff and clubbing a squirming agent she'd held underfoot.
"Stay close together. Watch the alleys and be careful of corners. I'll wake Luffy and help those two clean up the rest of the fighters." She paused, concern welling in her gut before she pushed it away. Nami and Usopp were both plenty capable of getting to the Merry safe and sound.
Usopp, for his part, only faltered briefly before running towards the ship, Nami on his heels.
Stepping over groaning or otherwise unconscious agents, Quinn made her way to Luffy and placed a hand on his shoulder, uttering a quiet rennervate. Blinking, Luffy came to with a burp and a sigh, squinting at her sleepily. "Time to go?" he slurred, belching again as he propped himself up on the wall and looked around the room, his eyes slowly widening at the sight of all the knocked out agents. "What happened!?"
There was a sudden dangerous look in his eyes, and Quinn squeezed his shoulder. "Luffy, they attacked us. This was all a trap, remember?"
He looked ready to punch her, but slowly the words seeped into his tired mind and Luffy rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "Oh yeah. Was that what Zoro meant?"
"What'd he say to you?"
"Something about meat and uh- bad people?"
"Brilliant. Alright, well, all these guys?" She gestured vaguely at the bodies behind her. "All bad people."
He nodded at that, standing up and flattening out his belly with a push of his hands. Quinn tried not to question how that worked, and instead began to move when Luffy cracked his knuckles and walked to the little deck outside the pub. "They're that way?" he asked, pointing ahead where the moonlit silhouettes of Zoro and Sanji leapt to and fro over the thinning crowd of Baroque Works agents.
"Yeah, Zoro and Sanji are over there and Nami and Usopp went to check on the-"
A sudden, massive explosion shook the town, smoke billowing out between them and the ship. Quinn was sprinting towards it an instant later, Luffy launching himself over the rooftops and speeding ahead of her. High laughter could be heard the closer she got to the source of the explosion, that and the sound of a… a saxophone? Some sort of instrument blaring before being interrupted by a cacophony of gunfire. Thankfully, there was no one to block her path, almost every enemy rallied towards the meat grinder that was Zoro and Sanji.
Kicking up dust, Quinn almost tripped when she skidded around a corner, her raised pistol dropping when she saw Luffy standing protectively over a blue haired woman and that strange man – the mayor with the curls – who was laying on the ground, his back marred with blackened scorch marks. She thought she caught a glimpse of red hair peeking out from a nearby alley, but Quinn's attention was on the tall man in front of Luffy. He wore a leather duster and thin sunglasses, a finger buried in his nose that turned his glower into a strange joke. A number five was stitched onto the breast of his duster, and beside him stood what must have been Nami's evil twin – her dress, hair, parasol, and thin-brimmed flapper hat all a startling yellow. She opened her mouth and laughed, high and cruel, spinning her parasol behind her head.
"Are you protecting him?" she asked, Luffy's right hand closing into a fist.
"Yeah."
"Why?" the man interrupted, glancing down at a– yes, that was a glob of snot on his finger, that he began to roll into a ball.
"Because she asked me to," Luffy declared, pointing behind him at-
The words were out of Quinn's mouth before she realized it. "Is that Miss Wednesday?"
"Ah, more fodder. They don't know your real name, do they Princess?"
"You'll pay for what you're doing to my country!" Miss Wednesday shrieked, and Luffy placed a calming hand on her shoulder, not once looking away from the duo.
"Quinn," he said, flattening his hat down snug. "You helping?"
"Of course."
"Two, three, it doesn't matter," what must be Mister Five intoned. "Our job is to put you down, Princess."
He stuck his hand out, finger poised to flick the bogey he'd picked out of his brain, and something in the absolutely bizarre motion had Quinn sprinting.
That's dangerous.
She made it just in time, rapier carving downward in a wide arc and summoning a shield between the agents and Luffy. The shimmering blue splintered beneath the force of the explosion, the snot, apparently – turned into a lethal projectile.
"Devil fruit?" she asked, pulling up between Luffy and Miss Wednesday, the latter of whom glanced at Quinn, bewildered.
"Uh- the bomb bomb fruit- why-?"
"Because you asked for help," Luffy repeated, looking at her over his shoulder.
"Th- thank you," the scorched mayor rasped, and Quinn motioned at Miss Wednesday once she had a closer look at him.
"You need to move him. We'll take care of things from here." She paused, shoulders straightening. She trusted Luffy's judgement. "You're safe now."
"Safe?"
Quinn looked up to see the agent, the woman, floating overhead and clinging to her parasol.
"Move!" Miss Wednesday shouted, and Quinn had the mayor by the arm, jumping out of the way and dragging him through the dirt just as the woman crashed down to earth, clouds of dust billowing out from the impact.
She could feel magic through the smog, rapier whipping forward to launch a gust of wind, clearing out the dust to reveal the woman standing in a crater, looking amused. "You dodged that? Impressive."
"Grab him and move," Quinn insisted, stepping in front of Miss Wednesday.
"Miss Valentine, are you having trouble?"
"Not at all, Mister Five! I'll have this one dead in a pinch."
Glancing to the right, Quinn nodded at Luffy, who smiled, shaking out his arms. He dashed towards Mister Five as Quinn fired a shot at Miss Valentine, the woman immediately flying into the air. The bullet whizzed beneath where she had been standing, exploding as it impacted a house across the street. Someone yelped, and out of the smoke came a slightly singed Mister Nine, brandishing a crooked baseball bat.
"How dare you!"
"Fucking move!"
Another flash of magic, and Quinn was rolling to the side, narrowly dodging another attack from Valentine. Her sword was already sweeping in an arc, blowing away the dust. She's entirely reliant on whatever Devil Fruit she has. Her rapier pointed to the side, Quinn pulled out an old trick of hers that had taken down many an overconfident mark. Point your weapon away, and they never see your finger.
Her finger that, beneath the guard, was pointed directly towards Miss Valentine, the woman grinning smugly at her and spinning her parasol. "You're like a cheap version of Mister Five," she taunted, cocking her head to the side. "But wind and bullets won't-"
"Petrificus Totalus."
Miss Valentine had only a second for her eyes to blow wide when, grin locked upon her face, her arms slammed to her sides and she toppled face first into the dirt. Looking away from her pitiful excuse of an enemy, Quinn saw Luffy land a punch directly on Mister Five's chin, launching him a good twenty feet away, and he would have kept flying if not for the wall that he smashed through, the building it was attached to collapsing on top of him.
"That was it?" Luffy asked, astonished. He frowned at Quinn. "These guys sucked."
"That was it?" Miss Wednesday marched over, throwing her hands in the air. "That was it!? Are you people insane?"
"Hey." Putting an arm in front of her, Quinn stopped Miss Wednesday in her tracks. "What's actually going on here?"
"She's a good guy," Luffy said, crossing his arms as he looked around for someone else to punch. "The curly guy said so."
"I just- thank you. I'm sorry, tonight has been… I thought me and Igaram were going to die."
"Igaram?"
"Him," she said, pointing at the now only slightly scorched mayor propped up against a wall, who waved at them. Beside Igaram stood a man-sized duck, glowering protectively. Coughing, he pushed himself to his feet, nearly stumbling before he righted himself with the help of the duck. "Igaram! You need to-"
"I'm fine, Princess. We're safe, thanks to these… pirates."
"And you're bounty hunters. You don't exactly have a leg to stand on here."
"Oh!" He hummed, tapping on the side of his neck. His lips curled as he cleared his throat, nodding to himself once he was done. "I meant nothing by it. I apologise. You have my utmost thanks, and as Captain of the Alabasta Royal Guard you have the thanks of my liege and his citizens."
"Your… liege."
Frowning, Quinn glanced between Miss Wednesday and Igaram. "Who are you exactly? And what's with the duck?"
"Duck?" Luffy asked, appearing next to her. "Can we have roast duck? Do you think Sanji would make some if I asked?"
"No!" Miss Wednesday shouted. "No, he's- Karoo is a friend."
"Aw." He plopped down next to Quinn and began prodding at the still incapacitated Miss Valentine, who now that she remembered she was there…
A quick stunning charm took her out of the fight for good (Lazy, Moody would have killed me for that) and Quinn turned her attention back to Miss Wednesday. "Your name?"
"I… I am Princess Vivi Nefertari," she declared, raising her chin and glaring at Quinn defiantly. "I infiltrated Baroque Works to save my kingdom."
Standing, Luffy patted Quinn on the shoulder. "Can you talk on the Merry? I'm hungry now."
"You're hungry."
"Yeah." His brow crinkled as if she'd asked him the dumbest question in the world. "You said duck, so… I'm hungry."
Sighing, she nodded. "Alright, well, you can explain everything back at our ship. We need to gather up the crew and get out of here before any of your other friends show up."
"I'm afraid I can't come with you," Igaram interjected, taking a smouldering bag out from his jacket, opening it to take out a blue wig and what looked to be a dress. Princess Nefertari's outfit, just much, much larger. "The Unluckies are here, and you need a way out."
"Igaram-"
"No, Princess. I will serve as a diversion while…" He turned to Luffy and Quinn, bowing. "Please, I beg of you, bring Princess Vivi to safety. You've already helped us by defeating those two, but I must plead for more. If you were to return Princess Vivi to Alabasta, our King – her father – would be more than willing to reward you."
"Reward?"
Quinn looked up, directly above her, to see feet hanging from the rooftop. She stepped forward a bit and turned, eyes locking with Nami's.
Well, that's as good as settled, she realized.
"The Merry is safe?"
"Not a scratch on her," Nami said, resting her chin on one hand. "But you, what was that you said about a reward?"
"Money. Treasure. Anything for her safe return."
"One billion berries, please and thank you."
"One- one billion!?" Clearing his throat, Igaram adjusted his tie nervously. "I'm… miss, I implore you. We don't- we don't have that kind of money."
"And I'm assuming that has to do with why the Captain of the Guard and the Princess have infiltrated a mercenary group?"
"Yes… Alabasta is currently in the midst of a civil war, and has been for quite some time, I'm afraid."
Quinn's head bobbed, taking it all in. "And how far away is Alabasta from here?"
"Two and a half weeks, directly east."
Doesn't help us much when regular compasses don't work here, but the deal is already as good as done, she mused, shooting a glance at Luffy, who had grown bored of prodding at Miss Valentine and was currently drawing circles in the dirt. "Alright. Luffy, you get all that?"
"Take her home?" he asked, pointing at the Princess. "Yup. And old man, you can give us meat when we're done!"
Stunned, Igaram smiled after a moment of stark confusion. "Perfect. Now Princess, go, please. I will see you back home."
Vivi ran over and pulled him into a hug, holding him tight. "Be safe."
"I will. And thank you, all of you. Kindness the likes of yours is not often seen in the Grand Line."
"Wait, before you go." Quinn walked to Igaram and fiddled with her rapier. "Let me see if I can do something to help, but… I don't know if it's going to work. Just bear with me."
He nodded at her, and to his credit barely flinched when she started running the tip of her sword from his throat to his waist, muttering under her breath. She was hoping that she had the wherewithal to cast a glamour, something that wasn't an easy bit of spellwork with a wand, let alone without. Pushing her magic and doing her best to picture the Princess in her head, Quinn shut her eyes and repeated the motion over and over, waiting for that familiar sensation of cold to trickle from her fingertips and pulse through the sword. And yet, it never came.
After about a minute, she sighed, shaking her head. "I'm sorry. Without my… usual tools I can't help you with your disguise."
"You've already helped me plenty. But I thank you all the same for trying." He raised his hand. "Now go! Before the sun rises and more agents arrive. I'll be safe, and I shall see you at the palace, Princess."
"Finally!" Luffy whispered, leaping to his feet. "C'mon! I'll show you Merry. You'll love her!"
Hopping down to the ground, Nami poked Luffy in the back. "And the reward, Captain?"
"Eh. We'll figure it out when we get there."
Leaving Nami spluttering in their wake, the quartet (Quintet? Did a Duck count?) marched towards the Merry, on occasion stepping gingerly over agents lying unconscious on the ground, maimed, or otherwise dead from sword slashes, kicks, or a ruthless combination of the two that Quinn knew, she knew only happened because Zoro and Sanji had turned taking out the entire town into a competition.
On the distant horizon Quinn could see the barest glow of the morning sun as it peeked out across the earth. It was hardly even there, just a gossamer thin strand of dull auburn captured between the bluish-gray of the plaster houses and boulders, cast in moonlight – and the black of the night sky. Her shoulders slackened as they got further from the centre of the town, and Quinn hoped that Zoro and Sanji had returned to the ship and weren't wandering around searching for them.
Looking carefree as ever and happily trotting along, Luffy turned around and squinted at Vivi. "So, you're a Princess?"
"I am."
"What's that li-?"
Every one of them stumbled as the sky was lit by wildfire, stark yellow bleeding into the clouds that hung overhead. Her breath caught in her throat when Quinn whirled around, gaze sweeping over blackened whorls of a distant explosion, fire licking its way across the waves in the direction that- oh no.
"Igaram," Vivi rasped, and a glance saw her lip bleeding, the Princess' teeth buried in her own flesh in an effort to hold back the tears that burned behind her eyes.
There was barely enough time to fit a heartbeat between Nami grabbing Vivi by the shoulders, pulling her away from the distant blaze, and when she cleared her throat and insisted, loudly, "We need to go. Now."
No arguments could be heard as they sprinted for the ship, the sound of shouted orders growing louder with every hurried step that brought them closer. Vivi had hopped atop her duck, Karoo, and her head was craned back to watch the dimming explosion. Her and Quinn's eyes met and Vivi flinched before looking away, jaw clenched tight and a white-knuckled grip keeping her tethered to the reins hanging from Karoo's beak. Around a corner they went and, finally, they laid eyes on the Merry. Usopp, Sanji, and Zoro were wrestling with the ropes and sails, and at the sight of them Usopp let out an audible sigh of relief.
"Oh, I'm so happy to see you guys," he rambled, waving them aboard. "C'mon, c'mon! We gotta' get out of here. And, who- is that Miss Wednesday? Is that a duck!?"
Flinging himself aboard, Luffy flicked Usopp on the back of the head. "Talk later!"
"Alright!"
"Okay you two, get up on deck. Are either of you injured?" Quinn asked, checking over Vivi and Karoo as they walked aboard. "Sanji, can you find me a blanket?"
"Right away!"
"I'm not cold, though."
"Doesn't matter. Vivi, sit down over here and rest for a bit, yeah? You're safe now. You can let us take it from here."
Blinking rapidly, Vivi followed Quinn, sitting obediently on the steps. The rest of the crew were jumping into action around her while Quinn kneeled, taking the blanket from Sanji with a quiet thanks, wrapping it around the Princess without hesitation. "Sit tight for a bit, okay? We're getting you out of here."
Nodding with a fearful look in her eyes, Vivi watched while the crew lowered the sails and set to work on leaving Whisky Peak. In the corner of her eye Quinn could see Karoo curl up beside the girl, because now that she was seeing her with her hair down and out of that, frankly, ridiculous outfit, Vivi looked so painfully young. She couldn't have been older than seventeen, cradled in a thin layer of wool and looking for all the world as if her life was crumbling around her. And it had to be, she was a child who had infiltrated a mercenary group and been a part of it for who knows how long.
Months? Years?
Even Quinn hadn't ever been subjected to the kind of soul-crushing insanity that came with undercover work. Not that she'd be able to work that even if she wanted to, being one of the most recognizable witches in Europe. But… fifteen? Sixteen? She knew what kind of horrors one could witness and be party to at an age when all you should be worried about is your school grades and whether or not that pretty girl from Divination class fancies you.
"We should be good!" Nami called out, and Quinn sighed as she leaned against the mast, exhausted from yet another sleepless night, the second in all of a week since entering the Grand Line.
Swallowing heavily, Vivi looked around at the crew, a weak attempt at a smile plastered across her face. "Thank you," she said, glancing at the floor before looking up again, contemplative. "But you didn't… you didn't need to help me."
Luffy shrugged. "You were in trouble, and you're nice. Right?"
"Sure, but-"
"Works for me," Zoro interrupted, giving a crisp nod to Luffy.
"See!"
"I…" Stammering, she opened her mouth as if to argue, before a quiet laugh slipped from her throat. "Okay then."
Scratching her chin, Quinn raised a finger, catching Vivi's attention. "Baroque Works… tell us about them, and what involvement they have with Alabasta."
The Princess paled, but acquiesced all the same. "Their leader is trying to take over the country. Mister Zero… they've been at it for ages, but it was only two years ago that we realized it was Baroque Works causing all our problems. It started with a small drought, then another, and another, until the only part of the country that saw any rain was Alubarna." She pinched the bridge of her nose, and Karoo nudged her shoulder affectionately, Vivi's other hand finding purchase in the feathers along his neck, a small bit of the tension in her flagging as soon as she did. "Dance Powder was found en route to the capital, and that was when people started pointing fingers at my father."
"Dance Powder?"
"If it's burned it causes it to rain, but only where the Dance Powder was burned. Anywhere nearby? The clouds get sucked away to make room for the powder."
"How does that even work?" Nami asked, scratching her head. "I've never heard of something that can cause it to rain."
"I don't know. But it works, and now everyone thinks that my father and I have been stealing rain from the rest of the country, starving them. Igaram found out Baroque Works were behind it… three years ago. He and I infiltrated the organization a year after and, recently, we discovered who Mister Zero is."
Luffy frowned. "Who?"
"I can't- if I tell you, all of you will be in danger. Your lives- they'll- they'll be over like that." She snapped her fingers, before putting a hand up in denial. "If you knew Crocodile was behind it all… there's nowhere you can hide from a Warlord of the Sea."
The sound of Zoro's hand slapping against his forehead was louder than a gunshot, and the small wail that erupted from Usopp a second afterwards was the dying hiss that came from impact. Everyone froze, Vivi and Karoo included, and Luffy suddenly laughed aloud and looked about excitedly. "A Warlord!" he cheered, astonished. "That's the second one!"
"What a dangerous secret," someone said, and Quinn looked to Nami to see their navigator shrugging. A sudden, startled yelp bubbled in her throat, and Nami pointed towards the galley. "There's someone there!"
All eyes locked on a figure, a woman, sitting on the rail with her legs crossed and her head bowed, a purple suede cowboy hat hiding everything above her cheekbones from view. All Quinn could see was the wry curl of the woman's lips, confidence bleeding from her every pore. Whoever she was, she was dangerous, and there was little doubt in her mind that this woman was a part of Baroque Works.
"Who's this lady?" Luffy demanded, pointing at the woman. "And how'd she get on the Merry?"
Vivi only gasped, a hand flying to her mouth, and the words that fell from her lips forced a chill down Quinn's spine. "What-!? She's- that- that woman's Mister Zero's partner!" Her throat bobbed, and Vivi took a step back, hands shaking. "That's Miss All Sunday!"