The Straw Hat's Red Devil - Sky Island Saga (No 3)

by DeadGirlEtarnal

She's the Daughter of Red-Haired Shanks; she was dropped off to live with Luffy. She met Ace & Sabo, but when Sabo died, it was the last for her as she vows to take revenge. Years later she leaves the island and sets on adventures of her own, she soon meets up with her baby brother and travels with him, finding love in more than one place. I ONLY OWN MY OCS!

27. SA - Part 2: Travelling to Yuba

SAVING ALABASTA - PART 2: TRAVELLING TO YUBA

Alabasta Saga - Alabasta Arc - Episode 97 - 103

DAKOTA'S POV:

We continue to walk across the desert heading for Yuba, with Luffy whining an hour into the walk, he finds a stick to help him walk, but he won't stop whining, making it worse for the rest of us. "Burning up… sweat won't even come out…"

"Quit moaning so much, Luffy. You'll only tire yourself out." Nami tries to stop him, but he just keeps whining. "Guess he's not listening."

"I can't go on…" Chopper starts moaning from his little sledge we made as he grew too hot on my shoulders, so Zoro drags him behind. "I can't take hot weather… I'm fine in cold weather, though…"

"It's 'cause of all that fur… you should take off that animal suit…" Usopp says, not thinking clearly due to the heat, angering Chopper.

"What was that, you jerk?!" Chopper yells, getting up and growing into his human form. "Don't make fun of reindeer!"

"Monster!" Usopp cries out in fear of Chopper as he towers over him.

"Chopper! Don't turn big! Or else I won't pull ya!" Zoro warns him, but it goes unheard as Chopper keeps scaring Usopp.

"Who're you calling a monster. Humongo-Nose?!" Chopper snaps at Usopp, who shakes in fear.

"D-don't be stupid! I-I'll have you know this nose-" Usopp starts, but Zoro walks over, squashing Chopper back.

"Just turn back already!" He snaps as he forces Chopper small again as we walk past.

"Man, watching them is making me even hotter," I complain as I walk with Ace past the three boys.

"You don't seem to be having a hard time, Vivi," Sanji comments as he walks by the Princess.

"I was born and raised here, so it doesn't bother me much." She replies.

"But what's with all these hills? I figured a desert would be more flat." Usopp complains as we keep going.

"This is a very old desert, so some sand dunes here are over 300 meters high." She informs him, I hope we don't run into any of those.

"Th-three hundred meters? No wonder this is like climbing mountains…" Usopp moans as he struggles to walk, even with the help of his stick.

"It's too much… it's so hot…" Luffy starts whining again.

"Just one drink, Luffy. Just one mouthful." Nami allows him, takes the hose, stuffs it into his mouth, and does his version of a mouthful as he inflates his cheeks with water, going overboard again as Nami and Usopp punch the back of his head, making him spit all over the water back out. "Don't drink so much!"

"Let me have some, too! That was 13 mouthfuls just now!" Usopp cries out.

"Hold on! You just had some! I'm next!" Sanji jumps in, and they start fighting, wasting energy.

"Stop fighting! You'll only waste strength!" Vivi warns them, but it won't stop them.

"But she started it!" Luffy cries out.

"It's your fault!" Nami cries out.

"Yeah! This is because of you!" Usopp yells.

"Shut up!" I snap, and they all stop fighting.

"Sorry, Dakota!" They all apologise, and we keep walking, needing to make some distance before it gets dark.

ONE PIECE - ALABASTA ARC

It soon falls tonight; we set up camp with a fire burning to help keep warm, but with no cloud coverage, it grows freezing as we all wait for food. "So hungry…" Luffy moans, clutching his stomach before taking the food off the fire.

"Don't be so greedy! It's still raw! Don't eat that!" Sanji snaps as Luffy tries eating it. "Nami! Just a minute, it'll be ready soon!"

"Oh, looks pretty good!" Usopp compliments Luffy and tries grabbing it again.

"Get away, you!" Sanji snaps at our Captain.

"Oh, come on! Cheapskate! Let us eat!" Luffy yells as he tries to get at the food.

"Get away!" Sanji orders Luffy.

"It was so hot during the day! What's going on?!" Nami shivers due to the drop in temperature.

"With nothing to block out the temperature, the desert scorches during the day but falls below freezing at night. The desert is fraught with unpredictable dangers." Vivi explains, and I cosy up to Ace as he's warm with his new Devil Fruit ability.

"Oh! Look at all those stars!" Chopper beams as he looks at the night sky, full of stars.

"Didn't you see stars on your winter island?" Usopp asks him.

"Winter island skies are always covered with thick snow clouds, so I've never seen so many stars before!" Chopper stares up happily at the stars, not feeling the cold.

"I don't have the luxury of looking at stars right now…" He shivers next to the reindeer.

"Cold weather doesn't bother me!" Chopper cheers.

"That's because you wear such a warm suit!" He cuddles up to the reindeer.

"Hey, you! Get away!" Chopper shouts at him.

"I can't help that you're so fluffy…" He adds fuel to the fire.

"Quit making fun of reindeer!" Chopper shouts as he grows bigger, towering over the cowering Usopp.

"Monster!" Usopp screams.

"Chopper. Don't turn big. We need your warmth." Zoro tells him, and Luffy rushes over, scaring Chopper to turn small again as he cuddles with the reindeer.

"So warm!" He beams as he huddles with the others.

"Come closer!" Usopp says dreamily.

"See? Warn, isn't it?" Luffy asks as he grins.

"Yes!" Usopp cheers

"It must be a real surprise for you. I mean, Luffy. I was surprised, too, at first. Maybe it's that he isn't Captain-like or that normal pirate Captains are respected by their crewmates…" Vivi says as we look over to see the boys struggling against Luffy's hold as he wraps his stretchy arms around them. "But just this afternoon, a simple drink of water caused that big fight. But… but you know… the longer I've been with them, the more I've come to understand." I look over again to see them all sleeping peacefully, cuddling each other; I smile as I cuddle into Ace further.

"That's how Luffy does things. He hasn't changed a bit since he was a kid." Ace replies.

"Ain't that the truth," I add with a smile.

"Despite how he seems, people always gather around him. Even though he's our Little Brother, he has a mysterious charm to him." He adds with a smile as well at our Baby Brother.

"I guess I wasn't telling you anything new." She smiles sheepishly.

"He and I do go way back. But thanks. You were worried that I was concerned, right?" He asks her.

"Yes. But it looks like I didn't need to worry after all." She smiles as she looks up at the night sky.

"Night night, Acey," I say sleepily as I feel my eyes close, allowing sleep to overtake my senses as we all turn in for the night.

The sun is beginning the rise when I hear Luffy yell something, waking me up from my slumber; I yawn, waking up slowly. "So this is a shrimp?! Wow!" I hear Chopper yelling and look over as Usopp runs over to them, crowding around Luffy.

"Shrimp don't live in the desert!" Usopp denies the claim.

"See?!" Luffy turns around to show him what's in his hand.

"Oh, you're right! Is it a 'desert shrimp'?" Usopp agrees, and I look at the creature in Luffy's hand.

"It looks yummy!" Luffy thinks straight to his stomach.

"Hey, now! Are they edible?!" Usopp asks, and I see that it is a scorpion. Morons.

"Probably! Crawfish are edible, after all!" Luffy reasons.

"I've never seen a real shrimp before!" Chopper beams and Vivi notices what's in Luffy's hand, letting out a cry of shock.

"Stop, Luffy! Throw that away!" She orders him.

"No! That'd be a waste!" He declines, not seeing the danger.

"That's a scorpion! It's small, but it's very poisonous! You'll die if it stings you!" She warns him.

"Oh. It's not edible? How boring. You can have it." Luffy offers it to Usopp, who cowers away from the tiny deadly arachnid.

"Don't give it to me!" Usopp cries out in fear.

"Fine! I'll throw it away!" Luffy throws it behind him into the rocks.

"I'm sorry. I should've mentioned it earlier." Vivi apologies.

"That's for sure," Usopp grumbles.

"What is it, Chopper?" I ask him, and he jumps onto the rocks for a better look.

"Something's… coming." He announces, and I look out but can't see much in the small amount of light.

"Something? What?" Usopp asks, and Ace comes out of our tent.

"Oh? Is the wind picking up?" He questions, and I shake my head in disbelief, but it's confirmed as Vivi turns around in fright.

"Everyone! Hide behind the rocks!" She yells.

"What?" Luffy talks back.

"A storm! A sandstorm is coming!" She shouts, and I move to cover behind the rocks with the boys as the wind picks up as the sandstorm comes closer.

"Whoa! Cool!" Luffy cheers, but as the sand and wind mix around, it makes it hard to see. "Again?! Deserts are nothing but storms!"

"I forgot to mention it, but sandstorms are one of the desert's dangers!" Vivi shouts over the strong wind and sand.

"Mention these things sooner!" Usopp snaps as the sand covers all of us; I close my eyes as the sand covers all around us; it seems at least over 10 minutes till the sand settles around us; I burst out of the sand to see the others all getting up from the sand, seems everyone is okay as we pack all of our things back up before heading off into the desert again.

"Hey! Sanji! Let's have lunch! A Pirate Boxed Lunch!" Luffy requests an hour into our walk.

"Not yet. Not until Vivi says so." Sanji denies his request, so he goes to the Princess.

"Come on, Vivi! Let's eat! I'm out of strength!" Luffy tries persuading the Princess.

"But we're only one-tenth of the way to Yuba, Luffy." She points out, but he's only listening to his stomach.

"You're so dumb! Haven't you heard of this proverb? 'If you're hungry, eat!'" Luffy resorts to lying.

"You liar! Quit making stuff up!" Our resident liar snaps at him as he struggles to walk in the hot weather.

"All right." Vivi seems to agree with Luffy. "Then what do you say we take a break at the next rocks we find?"

"Alright! Rocks!" Luffy starts scouting the area for rocks and seems hyper even though it's sweltering. "Guys! Let's hurry to the next rocks! Whoever wins rock-paper-scissors has to carry everyone's stuff!"

"Quit deciding things!" Usopp snaps at him.

"Shouldn't the loser carry the stuff?" Sanji questions but gets ignored by the simpleton.

"Alright, here goes! Rock, paper, scissors!" He shouts with his fist in the air.

"Hold on, now!" Nami snaps at him.

"Hey! You went after!" Zoro yells as we all show scissors and keeps his hand in a fist.

"Woohoo! I win!" He cheers, not seeing the problem as we all give him our stuff to carry.

"H-heavy… so heavy… and hot… I won rock-paper-scissors, so why me?" He complains about ten minutes into dragging the bags, lagging behind the rest of us.

"It's because you won. Now shut up and haul." Sanji shouts back at him.

"Don't drip it, now!" Nami warns him, and Usopp looks ahead for rocks to shut Luffy's whining.

"Rocks spotted a small ways ahead!" He announces, which perks Luffy up as he runs ahead of us.

"For reals! Break time! Food!" Luffy shouts as he runs past us, heading for the rocks with the other's bags still attached.

"Whoa! He's fast!" Usopp exclaims as we lose sight of Luffy, but it's not that long later that he comes running back without our stuff.

"Bed news!" I faintly hear Luffy shout as he runs towards us.

"Huh? He's coming back!" Usopp states.

"There's lots of hurt birds that can't move! Chopper!" Luffy yells, and Chopper gets up from his sledge and runs ahead towards Luffy. "Alright! Let's go, Chopper!"

"Right!" Chopper yells back as he runs towards him.

"We gotta help the birds!"

"Birds?!" Vivi gasps; that's not good. "Wait, Luffy! Don't tell me these birds are-!" We all race to the rocks to find all the bags missing.

"All our stuff is gone!" Zoro growls as we look around the area, but all our stuff is gone.

"We've been had…" Nami moans.

"It's the truth! There really were dying birds here!" Lufft defends himself.

"I'm sorry. I should've mentioned it earlier. Warusagi birds are 'desert bandits' that trick travellers and steal their belongings." Vivi explains.

"What?!" Luffy yells in disbelief.

"Birds playing dead?! That's dishonest!" Usopp exclaims in anger.

"Yes, that's how they are." Vivi justifies it.

"They tricked me?!" Luffy exclaims.

"Luffy! Is that all you can say for yourself?!" Sanji demands as he holds Luffy's scarf as he leans in threateningly. "There were three days of provisions in there! And you just had to let some damn birds steal everyone's stuff smack in the middle of this desert?! How're we supposed to cross the desert without food or water now?!"

"It's not my fault. They tricked me." Luffy defends himself.

"Is your brain less than a bird's?!" Sanji questions him angrily.

"Say what?!" Luffy growls back.

"Stop it, you two!" Zoro tries to stop them, but it falls on dead ears.

"There's no use. At times like this, it's best to let them have it out." Ace reasons.

"Fine with me." Zoro agrees and sits on one of the rocks. "Let's take a short break. This heat is what has them fuming. I'm sure we'll manage food-wise. It's nothing that'll kill us. Let's just put it out of our minds."

"Yeah. just thinking makes me thirstier." Usopp complains, and suddenly Luffy goes running off after the birds.

"Give us our stuff back!" Luffy shouts as he gives chase.

"Luffy! Don't chase them!" Vivi shouts after him, but he's too far gone.

"Idiot!" Sanji mutters.

"Hey, you! Will you be able to come back?!" Nami calls out to him.

"Come back, Luffy!" Usopp calls out to him.

"Give it a rest, he'll come back when he's done chasing after those birds," I tell him as we all sit, relaxing in the shade while we can.

"What's taking Luffy so long?!" Usopp whines as he fans himself.

"Yeah. Do you think he got lost?" Chopper questions as he lies on the sand.

"He has a horrible sense of direction but always has to run off," Nami complains.

"Not as bad as Zoro." I mock the Swordsman, who grunts in protest.

"And there are so many desert dangers he doesn't know about," Vivi mutters in worry.

"Y'know, isn't he hungry from not eating anything?" Sanji questions.

"He's such a lost cause." Zoro groans.

"You can say that again." He agrees on something with the Swordsman.

"Sorry. For our Little Brother's ineptness. I apologise for the trouble." Ace says, and the others all nod.

"Says, the other troublesome brother," I mutter as I look at him, and Zoro and Sanji decide to go looking for Luffy.

"Good luck finding him!" Usopp says.

"Yeah," Sanji grumbles as they begin to leave when the ground starts to rumble as if something's getting closer.

"What's that?!" Chopper gasps as the tremors get harsher; I look out to the desert to see the sand moving; something is coming this way.

"What's this rumbling?!" Usopp wonders as he gets his goggles to look through, and I hear a familiar laugh in the crashes. "Another sandstorm?! No, wait! That's-! Luffy?!"

"No… it couldn't be!" Vivi gasps as she looks at the sand chasing behind Luffy, who is riding a camel.

"Why is he on a camel?!" Nami questions.

"So?! What's that chasing him?!" Sanji asks.

"I can't really see! But it seems more like something's in the sand!" Zoro wonders, and I nod when a giant purple lizard pops out of the sand behind the camel and Luffy.

"It's huge!" Usopp and Chopper cry out in fear.

"What is that?!" Zoro asks the Princess.

"A Sandora Dragon!" She answers in shock at the giant purple beast.

"A what now?!" Usopp gasps at the name.

"They're the largest of the reptiles living in the desert, and they wait under the sand for their prey!" Vivi explains as it slowly gets closer. "They have sharp claws and fangs, but they hardly ever use them! The reason being that they tend to swallow their prey whole because they're so large!"

"He really does have a gift for attracting trouble." Ace comments.

"Tell me about it." I groan.

"Setting aside the camel for the moment…" Sanji remarks.

"... what star was he born under to be able to attract trouble like this?!" Zoro finishes with a growl as they run out of the rock coverage towards Luffy, the camel and the Sandora Dragon. The boys all attack the Sandora Dragon at once; I grin at the strength of the three boys.

"Y-you didn't have to go that far…" Usopp cries.

"When they're fighting, you almost pity the monsters…" Nami cries, and the sand beside me rises; I look over to see the sand fall away to reveal another Sandora Dragon.

"There's more?!" Nami exclaims in shock.

"I forgot to mention it, but Sandora Dragons hunt in pairs!" Vivi tells us a little too late.

"Mention these things!" The cowardly squad snap.

"Ace! Dakota!" Nami calls out to us.

"Watch out!" Usopp yells at us as we get to our feet.

"What a nuisance. You wanna play? Oh, okay. If that's what you want." Ace jumps up, allowing the lizard to close its mouth around him, and we all watch as Ace barbecues him from the inside out.

"Oh! Barbecue!" I cheer as Ace crawls out of the burnt lizard and Zoro cuts up the other, and Sanji starts cooking, using the hot rocks as a frying pan.

"Check it out! These rocks are natural frying pans!" He comments as Chopper helps him cook.

"So, what's with the camel?" Zoro asks our Captain.

"I dunno. It was getting eaten by a mystery plant when I was chasing the birds." Luffy answers him.

"It doesn't seem to be a wild camel," Nami comments as she looks at the creature.

"No. it even has a saddle." Vivi agrees, and Chopper walks over; they seem to recognise each other.

"I knew it!" Chopper cheers as he looks at the camel, who seems to be talking to the little reindeer. "Oh! Good for you!"

"Huh? You know each other?" Luffy asks Chopper.

"Yeah! He gave me a ride when I escaped from Katorea!" He tells Luffy happily.

"That's great! We can ride it?! That'll make things easier!" Usopp says, cheering up a little.

"Yeah, that'll be a real help! Looks like it could carry two people!" Sanji points out as he cooks the lizard meat.

"Camels do go hand-in-hand with deserts!" Zoro comments, and Luffy tries to get up on the camel.

"Then I'll be the first one!" Luffy announces as he tries getting up on the camel, but it stops him, smacking him on the head. "What was that for?!"

"'I am a freedom-loving, hard-boiled, compassionate camel! Thanks for helping me out of that pinch. I can give you a life, but no men allowed!'" Chopper translates for the camel.

"This guy's a punk!" "Yeah! You let Chopper ride you!" Usopp, Luffy and Sanji beat the camel, angry at his lewd behaviour.

"'I'm manly!'" Chopper translates as the camel gives the boys a smile.

"Quit being stupid!" "Why, you-!" The boys start hitting the camel again.

"Okay, boys, enough!" I warn them, and they walk off, grumbling about the pervy camel.

"I'm so sorry! My crewmates are so ill-bred!" Nami apologises to the camel, who looks lovesick at the navigator. "You're a good boy! What should we call you?"

"Idiot!" "Moron!" "Doofus!" Luffy, Sanji and Usopp suggest names.

"'Eyelash' it is, then!" Nami concludes as she sits on the pervert camel.

"Uhh, that's the weirdest one of all." Zoro comments on the choice of name.

"Okay! Get on, Vivi!" Nami offers the remaining seat.

"No, I can still walk!" She declines the offer.

"Just get on," Nami tells her, and the boys start name-calling the camel as Vivi gets on. "Now we should make a little better time! We need to get to Yuba as fast as we can to talk to the rebel army! Giddyup, Eyelash!" She hits the reins, and the camel runs off, leaving all of us behind.

"Hold on!" We call out to the girls.

"Hurry, guys! If you get separated, you'll never leave the desert alive!" Nami yells out to us.

"Don't be stupid!" Usopp yells after her.

"I like this side of Nami, too!" Sanji coos.

"After them! Hurry! Get on, Chopper!" Zoro yells to the little reindeer.

"Yeah!" He yells as we all pack up our remaining things and run after the girls and camel into the desert, not wanting to get lost, but somehow, Ace and I get pulled away from the others, I look around to see if I can find the others, but they're nowhere to be seen.

"Well? Do you see Nami's group?" Ace asks, and I move his head up so he can see we're all alone. "L-Luffy?! What?!"

"Yep, somehow we separated from the others." I sigh as we start walking again. "We should keep going, we'll either find them, or they'll find us."

"Got it, Big Sis." He agrees as he catches up, and we continue to walk when he stops again. "Did you hear that?" He asks, and I stop, too, as I hear something in the distance.

"Yeah, but I'm not sure where it came from?" I reply, and the sand in front of us rises. "That's not good." The sand falls away to reveal a giant scorpion in front of us, looking menacingly down at us; I narrow my eyes at the gleam in its eyes.

"I wouldn't if I were you." Ace warns the arachnid, but it doesn't listen as it tries to take a swing at us; Ace jumps into the air as I duck away. I grab the other pincer crushing it with brute strength, it wails in pain and swings its tail down, trying to sting us, but I grab it allowing Ace to roast the creature.

"Well, that's taken care of." I dust my hands off as we start walking again.

"Can't say I didn't warn it." Ace comments, and I nod, seeing a small human-sized purple lizard in front of Ace, they stare at each other before Ace tries stepping to the lizard's side, but it copies him.

"Stop messing around you two." I snap as Ace moves to the left, but so does the lizard; they keep playing at it, and I sit down, growing bored of their game.

"You wanna get in our way, too?" Ace asks the lizard, who seems to be checking out the dead Scorpion and starts crying, letting us pass, and we continue to walk.

"Can't believe you made it cry." I laugh as another one pops up, about to move my way, but the one from before stops it. "How about a lift?" I question, and we climb onto the lizards' backs and trek off.

The sun is about to set over the desert, but we still haven't found Luffy or the others as we travel in the sand. "Luffy! Where are you?!" Ace calls out for our little Brother, but there's no reply.

"Let's keep going, Ace," I tell him, and he nods as we continue to walk on the backs of the lizards into the night.

ONE PIECE - ALABASTA ARC

Morning comes, and we come across a village; we enter quickly, and Ace sniffs food; we enter one of the buildings leaving the lizards at the door; we pass the four men on their way out as we dig into their food. "What're you?" The leader questions as he looks at the lizards.

"You coward got real guts to call yourselves rebel soldiers." Ace says as he talks with a full mouth.

"If you ask me, it's a pretty despicable thing for four grown men to do," I remark as I eat, glad we didn't dig into our own food.

"Who the hell're you two?! Mind your own business! When did you get in here, anyway?!" The tall one demands, seeming ready to fight us.

"Food thieves!" The small one yells, and they go to fight us, but we beat them into the opposite wall easily, gotta give them points for trying.

"More." Ace demands as he holds up the bowl to the leader of the fakes, who seems surprised but snaps out of it.

"Yes, yes, yes! I'm sorry, sir!" He apologises, seeming scared of us now.

"This place has good food." Ace compliments as he keeps eating.

"Yes, thank you!" He looks over at his defeated men and goes onto his knees, bowing in submission. "I'm sorry! I now realise you're no ordinary people! As you can see, we stand no chance at all against sand pirates! Please lend us your help!"

"Hmm. I'm not against the idea…" I muse and look at my little Brother across the table, who seems to agree. "... but on one condition."

"Yes! Anything you want!" The leader readily agrees, and I grin.

"Well…" I tell him what we want, and the smile on his face disappears, but he agrees nonetheless, and we pile up the food and water replacements from what Luffy lost the other day.

ONE PIECE - ALABASTA ARC

We get on our lizards and drag the food and water behind us as we leave the village and see the others walking towards us. "Hey!" We call out to the others. "Hey!"

"Ace! Dakota!" Luffy yells back as he comes running to a halt before us. "What is this thing?"

"Oh! So you're the sand pirates?" I question as we hop down from the lizards.

"Huh? What do you mean? We just left the sand pirates." Luffy replies, looking a little lost.

"Oh? Really? Well, whatever. Anyway, great news, Luffy! We brought plenty of food and water!" Ace announces, pointing back at the sledge behind us.

"Oh! Much appreciated! This should be more than enough for a good while!" Sanji says as he walks over.

"Ace and Dakota are incredible..." Usopp says, and I grin at the compliment.

"That's for sure! They're nothing like a certain little brother we know!" Nami comments as she gets down from the camel.

"You can say that again." Usopp agrees. Chopper comes over, looking tired.

"I was so thirsty…" He whines, and I give him some of the water.

"Oh! Drink up, drink up!" Ace tells him.

"Me too!" Luffy whines and takes one of the other spoons to the water barrels.

"Um, Ace, Dakota? I assume you don't have the money for that. Don't tell me you stole it from that village…" Vivi begs, and I shake my head.

"Nothing of the sort!" I assure her.

"The rebel army gave it to us!" Ace tells her; I nudge him in the arm, giving him a look.

"The rebel army?!" She gasps.

"Well, I should say 'clearly fake rebel soldiers,' to be more precise. Unlike my idiot Brother here." I explain.

"Fake? What do you mean?" Nami asks us.

"Basically, they call themselves rebel soldiers and were hired to protect the village. The villagers are so grateful that they've been completely fooled. They're really just some hoodlums." I explain to the others what we found out.

"And they're bodyguards? Wouldn't they get found out right away?" Nami asks us, not seeing how they could be fooled so easily.

"Apparently, the mere mention of the rebel army will send most bandits running. It's real convenient. Makes money and prestige come rolling your way on its own." Ace explains.

"Rebel soldiers aren't hoodlums, nor does the title serve as decoration," Vivi states, looking upset.

"Vivi, should we teach 'em a lesson?" Sanji asks her.

"I dunno. Duping the villagers isn't so different from what bandits do. At the very least, the villagers live in peace with them around. Should we get 'em just the same?" Ace asks, and he has a point, though so does the Princess from how she looks.

"But Ace, consider it from Vivi's perspective. Surely you'd want to pulverise people like them." Sanji comments, and he's not wrong.

"Yeah, she should do what she wants. I only gave my own thoughts." Ace replies with a smile.

"There's no reason to cover for these bastards." Sanji snaps, and I step between them subconsciously to protect my Brother.

"He's not. He knows we're in a hurry here…" I snap back at the Cook.

"Now that the kingdom can't keep watch over every little place, there's nothing wrong with villages upholding public safety on their own whenever possible," Vivi tells us, and I nod in agreement.

"Done," Nami announces.

"No. I want to test them first." She replies.

"Test?" Nami repeats in confusion like the rest of us.

"Yes. if these impostor rebel soldiers truly wish to protect the villagers, I don't think it matters what they call themselves." She explains.

"So you want to test what's in their hearts, huh?" Ace asks her.

"Yes. so, I hate to ask, but there's something I'd like you all to do." She asks us for a favour.

"No sweat, Vivi!" Sanji accepts without a thought.

"Alright! Things are getting interesting now!" Luffy exclaims, gearing up.

"Eh? It's going to be interesting?!" Chopper questions, trying to figure out what's going on.

"Hold on, Luffy! This isn't going to be a game! Understand?!" Nami warns him, but he's not listening.

"Yeah, I get it! We're basically gonna beat these fake rebel guys up, right?!" He asks, utterly wrong about what we're gonna do.

"He doesn't understand a thing! Someone do something about him!" Sanji exclaims, and I pull Luffy to the floor as Vivi explains the plan to the others. As we girls stay out of the fight, Ace will stir up trouble from inside to get the fake soldiers to come outside.

The four fake rebel soldiers come out of the village gates looking terrified, with the villagers all behind them, cheering them all on as the boys, minus Ace, all stand in front of them, oozing intimidation. "What's that?! You're a rebel soldier?!" Luffy asks, playing the part.

"N-no, nothing of the sort! We're just travellers passing through!" The leader tries to assure the boys, but the mayor runs to the top of the gate.

"Say your prayers, sea pirates! These rebel soldiers are gonna make mincemeat out of you!" He shouts down from the safety of the gate.

"Be quiet you!" The leader shouts up at the mayor.

"Right! How utterly rude of me! Good luck, Camu!" He apologises, looking bashful.

"He seems especially spineless to me. Doesn't seem reliable at all." Nami comments as we watch from the safety and shade of one of the rocks nearby.

"Yes…" Vivi seems to agree with her.

"Are you sure about this? It might be best for the village if we take care of them now." I tell her as we watch.

"A little more. Let's watch things just a little more…" She says, and I nod as the villagers all come to watch their supposed saviours in action.

"Hey!" Luffy calls out to them, startling them. "You really are rebel soldiers after all!"

"N-no, it isn't uhh…" They cry out with tears running down their faces.

"What wimps," I mutter and walk over to the camel, ignoring all of the noise, though the cries out of the villagers and shouts of the boys, even the fakes, seem to be getting interesting after a while, and I walk back over to see Luffy on the ground getting back up. "They're looking different now…"

"Though part of it seems because their backs are to the wall…" Nami comments as we watch.

"Yes. But I don't think they could change like that unless they're holding something dear in their hearts." Vivi points out.

"Then… they're okay?" She asks the Princess.

"Yes. Let's go. We'll entrust this place to them for now." She agrees, and Nami gets out her mirror, reflexing the sun off it to shine a light into Usopp's eye, and the boys begin to retreat, and we all run off into the desert.

"Hey, Luffy!" Ace yells out as we all run, and he catches up.

"Oh, Ace!" Luffy greets our Brother.

"How long are we gonna run?! The acts over by now, right?!" He asks as we keep running.

"The way they abandoned their lives was scary!" Zoro comments with a smile and Chopper on his shoulders.

"I see." Ace mumbles as Luffy laughs.

It's been a while since we stopped running, and Luffy told me about the sand pirates they ran into while Ace and I were away. All of our energy is on getting to Yuba now as we walk in the scorching desert; I slowly walk with the others, feeling the heat of the sun overhead. "Hey, quit it!" I hear Usopp yell from behind me. "Look at how much you spilled! You big waster!"

"What's the big deal?! Ace and Dakota brought a whole bunch with them!" Luffy argues with the long nose.

"There's a limit to everything! You've been guzzling away for a while now!" Usopp snaps, and I zone them out till Sanji runs in front of me to the camel with Nami and Vivi on top.

"Nami! Vivi! Would you like some water?!" He asks them, and I shake my head at them, too tired to care as I walk with Zoro and Chopper, who's now on his makeshift sledge again.

"You want some, too?" Zoro asks Chopper.

"Thanks… but I'm fine." Chopper declines politely.

"I'll have some, please," I ask him, and he hands over the canteen, and I take a few gulps of refreshing water, and Luffy, Sanji and Usopp fight over their water though they soon grow tired and start walking about when something pops up out of the sand to our left, which Luffy notices.

"What is that?!" He wonders and runs over, not seeing danger. "What is this thing?!, Huh? What is this?" He pokes at the thing, and suddenly out from under the sand, another giant scorpion pops out with Luffy standing on top.

"It's huge!" Usopp screams in fright.

"Not another one." I sigh, looking at the creature and the three boys beating it to a pulp; I grow bored. "Move! Hellfire!" I blast the Scorpion to a crisp, cooking the arachnid and the boys all cheer as they dig into the meat underneath.

"This desert shrimp is yummy!" Luffy cheers as he eats.

"It's not a shrimp! It's a scorpion!" Usopp corrects him as he nudges the rubber boy.

"C-can't eat any more!" Luffy complains as he lies over the broken shell.

"Knock that off, you guys! Let's go, Eyelash!" Nami shouts as Vivi looks petrified of all of us.

"What's she so mad about?" Luffy asks as we watch them stroll off.

"Beat me." We all reply and continue walking off until we get to some rocks and settle in for the night.

Night comes and goes with no sandstorms as we all sit eating the breakfast Sanji made for us; I eat quickly so Luffy won't try taking anything off my plate. "This is all the breakfast we get?!" Usopp complains.

"Seconds! Seconds!" Luffy joins in, but Sanji kicks them both in the face to shut them up.

"Don't act wasteful! You've had enough calories!" Sanji snaps at them, and Luffy steals off Zoro's plate.

"Hey! Luffy! Why, you-! Keep your hands off others' food!" Zoro growls at him.

"C'mon gimme food!" Usopp demands our Cook.

"There isn't any more!" Sanji snaps at him and kicks him again.

"Don't sweat it!" Luffy grins as he eats Zoro's food; I roll my eyes at them and jump up to sit beside Ace, who looks deep in thought.

"Thinking about Teach again?" I ask him, and he nods. "I'm sorry about Thatch, I liked him, he was nice. How's the old man doing anyway?"

"He's doing okay, everyone was shocked about him betraying us." He answers, and I nod.

"He was there from the beginning if I remember right. Dad never liked Teach since he gave him those scars." I remark, and he nods again.

"Yeah, but I promised to take him back no matter what."

"I know; I wish you'd at least brought one of the others with you. Teach is a slimeball, he'll find a way around getting captured, and if he has a Devil Fruit that you said he stole, then who knows what it does." I warn him, feeling scared of losing another Brother again.

"Okay! Let's get going! Today-" Nami says as she pours sand over the fire, putting it out but stops to see Zoro and Luffy still arguing over the food. "Knock it…" She punches both of them over the head. "...off!" That seems to knock some sense into them. "Now hurry and clean up! We're leaving for Yuba!" I jump down from the rock as I grab my things, ensuring I've packed everything.

"W-wow! Awesome!" I hear Luffy exclaim and look over to him, standing, pointing at the rocks. "This meat can talk!"

"What?! What're you talking about, Luffy?" Nami asks him, but he ignores her.

"The meat's running away! Wait, meat!" Luffy shouts as he jumps onto the rocks to chase after something.

"Luffy!" Nami calls out, and I sigh, watching him run off again.

"Teleport," I mutter and disappear before reappearing with Ace, who grabbed me at the last second to see two kids eating the meat Luffy was chasing after.

"Oh? You're from the Badlands? From that rustic nowheresville?" Ace asks them as we appear on the rock above them.

"Who're you?!" The older kid asks.

"You can't have the food back!" The smaller kid says, and the older one gets out a gun, shaking.

"M-move and you're dead!" He warns us.

"I'm generally not fond of dangerous things, but…" Ace warns the young boys.

"B-big Brother! Have you shot for reals before?! Will it really shoot bullets?!" The younger one asks his Brother.

"H-Hell if I know! H-hold on! I'm gonna-!" His Brother warns him, and the younger one dives at him; he accidentally pulls the trigger.

"Stop!" He cries out as the gun goes off, and the bullet comes soaring towards us; Ace picks up a small pebble and throws it at the oncoming shot, stopping it.

"Wh-what happened?!" The boys gasp.

"Play your dangerous games in moderation." Ace warns them.

"Good little boys, don't play with guns." I lightly scold them.

"H-he bounced it back with a rock!" The big brother squeaks.

"I-I've never seen any one so strong before!" The little boy shrieks.

"Who're they?" Usopp asks as he comes up behind us with Nami; the big kid drops the gun and runs over to us.

"I have a favour to ask! There's someone I want you to find and catch! If you catch him, I'll pay you a million Berries!" The kid requests, not seeing who he's dealing with.

"A million Berries?!" Nami repeats, surprised at the kid's offer.

"I can't pay right away, but I will pay it when I grow up! Please! Find this man!" He asks and shows us a picture of the man, smiling with a heart tattoo on his forehead. "My Brother and I've followed him out here from the Badlands."

"So, who is he?" Usopp asks the kids.

"Scorpion. A bounty hunter." They answer.

"Bounty hunter?" Zoro repeats, not seeing it.

"Why are you guys chasing a bounty hunter?" Nami asks them.

"Well…" They try to say as they look at each other.

"I have business with him, too." Ace announces as he looks at the photo of the man. "A man in Yuba defeated Blackbeard. His name was Scorpion. My reason for going to Yuba is to meet him."

"Eh?! He defeated Blackbeard?!" The others question in shock.

"Yeah, right," I mutter with an eye roll; no way, some no-name defeated that bastard.

"This guy did?!" Usopp questions, and I roll my eyes.

"Of course, he didn't!" I snap and take the picture. "He looks way too weak to beat up that man!"

"I'm not sure. The only way to find out is to meet him." Ace says, and I glare at him.

"A-Ace? You don't mean the real… Fire Fist Ace!" The kids gasp as they look at him, and he seems to hear something as he stands on the rock, looking out into the desert.

"What is it, Ace?" I ask him.

"Two people. And a bird?" He answers, and I smile, glad to see him using Observational Haki.

"What is it?" Nami asks the reindeer, who seems to have picked up their scent.

"They're coming." He confirms, and an ostrich carrying a man on its back over one of the small dunes comes closer.

"There you ate, Fire Fist Ace! I'm Scorpion! The indomitable hero! I've come from afar to challenge you! Let's fight, fair and square!" He yells from the dune, the kids hide behind the rock, and I see a familiar straw hat behind the man.

"That's Scorpion?" Vivi questions as she looks at him.

"Heya! Are you all here?" Luffy asks as he pops out from behind the bounty hunter.

"L-Luffy!" The others yell at our Captain.

"Wh-what are you doing there?!" Sanji snaps at him.

"What's wrong, old guy?" Luffy ignores Sanji and asks the man, who seems shocked at seeing Ace face to face.

"N-nothing, uh… So sorry! Your luck's run out!" He laughs it off, putting on a brave face. "Your heroic saga that's told on the sea ends today!"

"Don't be stupid! He's the real one!"The kids panic for their old man.

"This is so exciting! Ace! It's a serious fight! Don't pull any punches!" Luffy tells him.

"I wasn't planning to!" Ace yells at our baby brother. "But there's something I wanna ask him, too! Move aside, Luffy!"

"Here I come, Fire Fist Ace!" Scorpion yells and runs towards Ace, who jumps the rocks to face him; Luffy jumps off the ostrich as the old man puts something on the front of his gun. "Take this!" He launches a metal net towards Ace, but that won't do anything as Ace flares his flames, making the metal net fly away from him towards the bounty hunter. "W-w-w-what?!" It wraps around him, knocking him off his bird onto the sand. "Oww! Hot! Hot!"

"H-he sent that metal next flying back!" Usopp marvels at the flare of power; Scorpion throws the net off and laughs it off as he turns around to look at Ace while waiting.

"It wouldn't be any fun if it were that easy to stop Fire Fist Ace!" He laughs.

"Oh? You seem to have some skill." Ace compliments him as he gets to his feet.

"Our hellish battle is just getting started! Popo! Compressed Extinguisher Gun!" He orders the bird, which drops off a yellow box in front of him before running off again; he straps it to his back, removes some piping from his belt, and attaches a tube. "A compressed air gun filled with extinguisher foam!"

"Wh-what?" Zoro questions as we watch.

"Extinguisher?" Sanji questions as Scorpion starts running towards Ace.

"I'm gonna use this to fill you full of compressed extinguisher foam!" Scorpion shouts as he pulls the trigger; Ace jumps up to avoid the hit that goes straight through the rock; Ace lands behind him, the bounty hunter turns around and tries hitting him again, but Ace is too quick as he runs towards him. Ace punches the bounty hunter in the stomach, hunches over from the strong hit, and steps towards the dune's edge, falling down.

"Sorry, but you never had a chance." Usopp comments from next to me.

"I expected as much. You lied about beating Blackbeard, didn't you? You figured using his name would get me to show up? Am I right?" Ace asks the beaten bounty hunter.

"That's right. Not too shabby of a plan, huh?" He tries to crawl, but he's too winded from the punch. "We've fought on even terms this far. Now I'm gonna get serious!" He puts on a brave face, but he's not got enough strength as he falls onto his back.

"No more! That's enough, Dad!" The kids shout to their old man and run over, sliding toward him.

"D-Dip! Chip!" He calls out his sons' names as they reach him.

"Stop! You don't stand a chance against Fire Fist Ace!" They tell him, worried for their father.

"Wh-what are you two doing here?! When did you leave the Badlands?!" He asks them,

"The world's greatest battle is too much for you! We came to get you, dad!" The oldest says in worry.

"Don't be silly." He laughs it off. "I'm the world's greatest bounty hunter. I've fought epic battles with everyone from Double Barrel Danny to Hellbattler Luther, and they all begged for their lives!" Scorpion tries to play it tough.

"Or so you plan, right?" His youngest asks him.

"You found me out, huh? That's right. I'm a terrible liar and a terrible father. But, there is one thing that's true! Even the most insignificant person can still challenge the world's greatest hero if he tries hard enough! That's what I wanted! I wanted to show you two a grand dream! Men need dreams burning inside their hearts! Even if it means struggling every day, never give up! Stand tall! Live every day with a laugh! As long as you keep challenging the impossible, life will be paradise!" He laughs to show his kids he's okay and telling the truth. "But there's no way to show that without putting your life on the line! Yes! If you stand up, the path will always open!" He gets to his feet with a few groans of pain.

"D-dad!" The kids call out in worry.

"Now! Watch your father's unconquerable spirit! No, I won't lose! Not as long as I have an enormous dream burning inside my heart!" He yells as he walks up towards Ace."Popo! The bazooka!" The bird runs with the weapon, leaving it at his feet. "Fire Fist Ace! This is the end!" He picks up the bazooka, but his kids have other ideas. They tackle him in a hug to stop him.

"Dad! That's enough! No more!" They yell.

"Dip! Chip!" He yells at his kids, not wanting them near the weapon in hand.

"We understand! We understand what you're trying to say! We stood up to hardship, too! We'll live every day as hard as we can! With you around, we're filled with courage!" Dip yells with tears and snot running down his face.

"I'm sorry, I complained! I don't really care about food! I'm happy just being with you, dad!" Chip cries with his Brother.

"We love you, dad!"

"We love you!"

"I love you too, boys!" Scorpion drops his loaded bazooka as he hugs his boys back, and the bazooka rolls down towards the column of rock, firing the ammo into the top, which explodes, breaking parts of the rock above the boys and their dad, who covers them to protect them.

"Gum Gum…" Luffy goes swinging to stop the rocks.

"I got this!" Ace shouts as he heats up his hand and throws a punch. "Fire Fist!" He blasts the rocks back into the column, destroying it and making a bigger mess. I jump over as we walk down to check for them; the two boys are shaking their unconscious father, calling out to him. Watching them call out to their parent almost seems familiar to me.

"You all right?" Ace asks them as we get closer.

"A-Ace… dad protected us!" They tell us.

"Hey, old guy. Did you die?" Luffy asks him as he leans down.

"D-don't be stupid… as if I could really die and leave my adorable sons behind… Scorpion is invulnerable!" He sits up and is attacked in a hug by his crying sons. "Thank you for coming to get this lowly father of yours… let's go home. To the Badlands!" The boys all hug, and I pull out my wages, throwing them at the bounty hunter.

"Here, something to tide you over," I tell him, walking off with the boys.

"Whoa! Thank you!" I hear Scorpion shout as we walk off.

"How much did you give him?" Luffy asks me, and I grin.

"A million," I answer and run up to the others.

"A million!" Ace and Luffy gasp as we return to camp to grab our things before disappearing and heading further into the desert.

"Hey, Ace, I have some information about Blackbeard!" Scorpion yells out, and Ace stops, looking behind us at the old man and walks over, jabbering.

"Thank you!" Ace waves as he jogs back over to us.

"Anytime!" Scorpion yells back, waving as he hugs his boys.

"Well, then…" Ace says as he begins to leave, I try not to cry as I think about him leaving, but I know he'll be okay as long as he's careful.

"Are you really leaving, Ace?" Chopper asks him.

"Yeah. Seeing as Blackbeard isn't in Alabasta. I have no reason to be here." He replies, and I huff, folding my arms at the statement.

"Where will you go next?" Sanji asks him.

"Scorpion says there's a man who saw him in the west. Guess I'll check it out." He answers and removes something from his pocket; it's a piece of paper; he tears it in half. "Luffy. Dakota." He throws them at both of us; I catch it and look to see it's a Vivre Card. "Always hang on to that."

"Huh? It's just a scrap of paper." Luffy comments as he looks at it, and I remove my own from my bra, where I keep it safe.

"That scrap of paper will bring you and me together again sometime." Ace tells him but doesn't tell him what it is or does.

"Yeah?" Luffy looks at the pieces of paper curiously.

"You don't want it?" Ace asks him.

"No, I'll keep it." He replies, and I rip mine into pieces, putting the remaining pieces into my bra and walk over to Ace, giving him a bit.

"Don't get into any trouble, you understand," I warn him as he takes the paper.

"I promise." He replies, and I give Luffy the other piece.

"Keep it with Ace's piece, okay," I tell him, and he nods, looking between the pieces of paper.

"It's natural for a big sibling to worry about their bungling kid brother. He might be a bit much for you to handle, but take good care of him." He bows to the others. "Luffy. Dakota. When we next meet, we'll all be top pirates!"

"Yeah." We nod.

"Come to the top!" He says, and I smile at my Brother.

"Hey!" I hear the boys shout, and we all turn to look, seeing them wave goodbye.

"Hey!" Luffy waves back; when I turn around, Ace is gone. "Hey, Ace is gone!"

"Well, he's gone." Zoro states.

"Fire Fist Ace, huh?" Sanji comments.

"We'll see him again!" Luffy grins.

"Yeah. I'm sure of it!" Nami agrees, and I sniffle a little, gaining the other's attention.

"Don't worry, big sis! We'll see him again!" Luffy tries to cheer me up. "You don't have to cry!"

"I'm not crying! Shut up!" I snap at him, and he wraps his arms around me as we start walking off; I return Luffy's hug, needing comfort from the goofball, and we soon settle down for the night.

ONE PIECE - ALABASTA ARC

Another day and we're walking in the hot desert, Luffy suddenly starts yelling again due to lack of water, and he runs off over the sand dunes. "I'm gonna kick your butt!" He starts yelling.

"What's he freaking out about?" Nami questions as we watch him.

"Plus he's flying…" Sanji comments as we watch him.

"Did he eat another weird cactus?" Usopp asks.

"Ugh! Can't he ever not cause trouble?! Chopper!" She calls out to him.

"I don't think he can help," Zoro tells her, and we look over to see him lying on the sledge, wholly exhausted due to the intense heat.

"Oh, geez. Alright, Zoro. it's up to you." She tells him.

"Why me?" He asks her, but there's not an answer that would matter.

"Want me to talk more about your debt?" She asks him, which upsets him and gets him to do what she wants.

"If you don't end up in hell, I'm gonna kick you down there myself!" He grumbles under his breath.

"I look forward to it! Okay! Let's get going!" Nami says in a cheery tone.

"Eh? Shouldn't we wait for them?" Vivi asks in worry.

"They can just follow our footprints," Sanji assures her.

"With their strength, they'll catch up in no time. We can wait somewhere relaxing." Nami tells her.

"Agreed…" Usopp groans as he struggles to walk in the desert.

"Akuma Akuma no Human-Demon Form: Eyes From Hell." I close my eyes and then open them to scout the surrounding area and spot some ruins ahead. "If we keep going this way for a little longer, there are some ruins."

"Finally…" Usopp groans as we pick up the pace, finally see the ruins ahead, and soon reach them in a matter of minutes.

"I'm exhausted! Let's take a short break!" Nami suggests as we settle down in the ruins.

"Yes, Nami!" Sanji agrees with her happily.

"C'mon! You're pathetic!" Nami snaps at Usopp as he lies on the sand, exhausted from the long morning walk.

"Easy for you to say! You rode Eyelash! We gotta walk the whole way!" He whines as he moves to sit.

"Thanks, Eyelash!" Nami says to the pervy camel, who happily accepts her gratitude.

"Vivi?" I look over at her to see her worrying again.

"Will Luffy and the others know where to find us?" She asks, and I smile.

"I think they'll be fine. We're on top of a hill. It stood out clearly, even from far away." I assure her.

"I hope so…" She mumbles.

"Say. How much further to Yuba?" Nami asks the Princess.

"Seeing as we made it to these ruins, we should be there by night if we continue walking," Vivi tells her, and we all sigh at almost making it to the town.

"Close, at last…" Nami sighs.

"Oh? So these are ruins?" Sanji asks the Princess.

"Yes. I believe they're from quite an old era. Civilisation first began here thousands of years ago. Many kingdoms have risen and fallen. Resettlement in search of water, the occasional war… ruins of such things remain all throughout this land. Many are full of mystery." Vivi explains, and I look around, thinking of what it once looked like when it was new as I sit in the shade, and Sanji comes to sit down next to me.

"And time flowed on, leading to the Alabasta dynasty of today? That's an epic story. A prosperous kingdom, destined to disappear… it's almost romantic." Sanji comments.

"Sanji!" Nami and I hiss at him.

"Sorry, Vivi! I didn't mean it like that! It was just, you know, a figure of speech…" Sanji apologises to the Princess.

"It's all right. I've often felt the same way as of late. Just what is a country? Even if the ruler of a land changes, its people will keep on living. Culture, lifestyle… if those stay the same even when a country changes, I wonder if it's really necessary to struggle to protect the country. Certainly, there are other things that need protecting. Ever since the sand pirates and the town with the fake rebel soldiers, I've been thinking that way a lot." Vivi says with a lost look in her eyes. "I'm sorry! That's just me being strange! I haven't found the answers either! But I do know what we must do now! Baroque Works' scheming is about to cause a meaningless war! We must stop it, at all costs! What they're trying to do is throw this land into ruin! I don't care if it leaves a dark splotch in our history! I absolutely refuse to let Crocodile have his way!"

"Well, we should get going!" Usopp announces.

"Usopp! Are you all right?!" Vivi asks the sniper.

"Are you kidding? I can't control the strength welling up in me!" He boasts with his legs shaking.

"Liar." Sanji comments.

"Oh, shut up!" He snaps at the blond. "They'll stop in a second! I'll show you how gutsy Manly Usopp is! I'll never fall to my knees easily!" Sanji pokes into the back of Usopp's knee, making the long nose buckle onto his knees. "What's the big idea?!"

"You fell easily." Sanji comments.

"Well, we should get going, Vivi," I tell her, to her shock.

"Eh? But what about Luffy?" She asks me.

"You're such a worrywart. He says he's going to kick Crocodile's butt. Once he has a clear goal, you can let him do his own thing. You know that!" Nami assures the Princess.

"Yes!" She agrees, and we head back into the desert and walk for hours till the sun sets again.

"Usopp. You're falling behind." Sanji says to the sniper, meters behind the rest of us as he struggles to walk, and we stop to wait for him. "What happened to showing how gutsy you are?"

"I-I only said that out of spirit…" Usopp whines due to his exhaustion.

"Hang in there! Just a little further!" Nami assures the sniper, and I look at Vivi as she looks out into the desert.

"Still worried?" I ask her, and she snaps out of it.

"Oh, no…" She answers, but I don't believe her.

"It's written all over your face." Nami comments.

"I'm sorry. I do have faith in them, but…" She replies sheepishly.

"I'm guessing you'll never get over being a worrier. But that has its good points, too." Nami smiles.

"You people are amazing." She says, and we look at her in surprise. "I've felt that way ever since Little Garden. How can you have so much faith in your friends?"

"How? It's not something I'm conscious of. I've never even thought about it." Nami replies, and I nod in agreement.

"That's what's amazing. Having unconditional faith in someone. That's not very easy to have." Vivi says.

"Hmm. I'm not really sure, but maybe it's because we all do what we can as best as we can?" I question as we start walking again.

"A while back, he said something on the island I lived on," Nami tells the Princess and recites the words as clearly as if it were yesterday. "I remember those words very well… I thought, 'oh, this is how these pirates are…' alone, there's a limit to your strength. Sometimes, things you really want to do are too much for one person. You need friends. But it amounts to nothing if those friends don't do what they can. Whoops! Sorry, that wasn't an answer!"

"Thank you!" Vivi replies after shaking her head.

"I can't keep my thoughts straight in this heat!" Nami laughs, and we keep on walking till Vivi taps Nami on the shoulder and points over; I move to see Chopper and Zoro huffing as Luffy jumps around on top of a dune happily shouting and runs down to join us as we keep on walking. However, Usopp needs to catch up again.

"Hey, Luffy… what did your Brother and Dakota give you?" Usopp asks him.

"I dunno." He gets out the piece of paper, looking at it. "It's just scraps of paper."

"Just scraps of paper?" Chopper asks, and Sanji takes the pieces of paper from Luffy's hands.

"Lemme see that." Sanji examines the papers. "It really is just scraps of paper. It's not even a note or anything."

"A-are you serious?" Usopp asks.

"I'm not really sure either, but…" A wind blows through, picking up the pieces of paper towards the dum camel who tries to eat it, and Luffy jumps up, hitting the camel to stop him from eating the Vivre Cards. "Hey! Don't eat that!" He grabs the pieces of paper.

"Give me your hat, Luffy!" Nami tells him.

"Huh? This?" He gives her his precious hat.

"If it's that important, I'll sew them to the underside of your hat ribbon." She tells him, and she begins sewing them in.

"Oh! Great! Sew it good!" He beams as he watches her.

"Yes, yes. Okay! All done!" She finishes and bites the string. "Here you go!" She hands him back his hat.

"Thanks! Now I don't have to worry!" He laughs as he puts his hat back on.

"There's nothing written on it. What point is there to keeping it?" Zoro asks.

"Ace told me to keep it, so I'm keeping it!" He replies as if that's an answer.

"Your confidence isn't based on anything," Sanji remarks.

"So what? It's right a lot!" He argues.

"I don't know about that…" Zoro mutters.

"This time, he's right," I tell them and get out the piece Ace gave me and place it in my hand, allowing it to move, the others gasp in surprise, and I put it back into my bra.

"How'd it do that?!" Nami questions in surprise.

"It's called a Vivre Card, it's made in the New World from someone's fingernail, it's safe from water and fire." I begin to explain.

"Wait, it's made from someone's fingernail?" Sanji asks, and I nod.

"Yeah, I'm not sure why but it has to be the fingernail, though I suppose with its other name 'Paper of Life' it's got something to do with it."

"Cool, but why was it moving?" Luffy asks and looks at the pieces attached to his hat ribbon.

"It pulls towards each other, wherever they are in the world, though you can't tell the distance or what obstacles there are. Ace was right about it, bringing us back together again." I smile at my Baby Brother, who beams happily.

"I see, that's really useful!" Zoro comments, and I look at him, taking out another piece.

"I think you need this in case you get lost again." I joke, and the others laugh, but he happily takes the piece of paper, and I feel my cheeks go red but play it off as the heat.

"Everyone! Yuba is just over those big rocks! Let's make one more push to get there!" Vivi announces with a smile.

"Yeah!" We all cheer and head off towards the rocks.

"Yuba, huh?!"

"Yep! Yuba!"

"Yuba!" The others cheer, running off ahead, gaining more energy.

"Carry me, Zoro.." Though Usopp still struggles to walk.

"Don't be a wimp!" He replies.

"Ooh! Carry me too, Zoro!" Luffy exclaims though he has tons of energy.

"Rock-paper-scissors, then!" Usopp exclaims.

"Not happening." He snaps at them as he keeps. Soon the sun sets over the desert, and it turns to dusk as we keep walking, and we all cover our faces from the harsh wind blowing sand into the air.

"Up ahead! I see a light!" Vivi announces and points into the distance.

"Did we make it to Yuba? I can't really see with all this sand!" Luffy says as Usopp collapses, and Zoro ends up carrying him.

"What could that sound be? The city does look right." Vivi fears, and the wind grows harsher. "A sandstorm! The city of Yuba is being struck by a sandstorm!" She breaks into a run, and we all chase after her as quickly as we can.

ONE PIECE - ALABASTA ARC

"This can't be…" Vivi mutters as we walk into the city, it's full of sand covering everything in sight, and some buildings are crumbling away.

"This is bad. It's almost no different from that Erumalu city!" Zoro comments as we look around.

"Where's the water?!" Luffy asks.

"Wasn't this supposed to be an oasis city, Vivi?" Sanji asks the Princess.

The sand has raised the ground! The oasis has been swallowed up!" She answers, and the sound of someone shovelling comes over, and we look down to see an elderly man digging into the sand.

"Are you travellers?" He asks us as he continues to dig. "You must be exhausted from your trek through the desert… Sorry. This town is a bit dried up. But you're free to rest here if you want." He looks over his shoulder at us, and Vivi covers her face, not wanting to be recognised. "There are plenty of inns here. They are this town's pride, after all."

"Umm, we came because we heard the rebel army was in this city…" Vivi asks hesitantly.

"What business do you have with the rebel army?!" He demands and starts throwing things our way. "Curse you! Don't tell me you're hoping to join the rebellion?!" He shouts but soon calms down as he goes back to digging. "If you're looking for those fools, they left town long ago."

"They what?!" Luffy yells as we all stare in shock.

"No!" Vivi gasps at the news.

"A sandstorm hit the town just now, but it certainly wasn't the first. The sand has dried up after three years of drought, and sandstorms began to frequent this town ever since. Little by little, the oasis of the past was swallowed up, leaving what you see now. With the town's flow of supplies gone, not even the rebel army's protracted struggle would have worked out. So the rebel army moved its base to Katorea." He tells us, and I hang my head.

"Katorea?!" Vivi gasps at the name.

"Where's that, Vivi?! Is Katorea close by?!" Luffy asks her.

"It's an oasis next to Nanohana." She tells him.

"Katorea is the town where I got lost and met Eyelash!" Chopper exclaims, and the camel begins talking. 'When you saved me…' Eyelash says he was carrying rebel army goods to Katorea!" The boys angrily beat on the pervy camel.

"Why didn't you say so sooner!" "Why, you…!" They snap at the camel.

"'Whatever.'" Chopper translates, and the boys start hitting the camel again.

"Why did we come all this way, then?" Zoro questions our long journey.

"Vivi?! Did you just say 'Vivi'?" The old man asks as he comes walking towards us.

"Wait, old guy! Vivi isn't the Princess!" Luffy opens his big mouth.

"Don't tell him that moron!" Zoro snaps at him as he smacks him over the head.

"Princess Vivi? Is it you? You're alive! Thank goodness! It's me! Don't you recognise me? I suppose I can't blame you. I did lose some weight…" He looks at the Princess as she gasps.

"Toto?" She gasps, covering her mouth in surprise.

"That's right." He confirms.

"It can't be…" She whispers.

"Toto?" Luffy questions.

"Vivi. I have faith in His Majesty! He's not someone who would ever betray the kingdom. Don't you agree?" He says with tears falling down his face; he falls to his knees as he breaks down, crying for his country, for Vivi. "This rebellion is ridiculous! Those fools… so what if it hasn't rained for a mere three years? I have faith in His Majesty. Most of the country still does, in fact. So many times… so many times, I tried to stop them. But they won't listen to anything I say. The rebellion won't stop. Their strength is at its limit, too. They intend to settle things once and for all in the next attack. Their backs are to the wall… they're prepared to die! Please, Vivi! Stop those fools!" The old man begs her with tears streaming down his face, and she offers him her handkerchief.

"Don't worry, Toto." She tells him.

"Vivi…" He whispers with shock on her face.

"We will stop the rebellion." She says, and he starts crying again.

"Thank you." He says through his sobs.

TO BE CONTINUED….