Brynlee reached the source of the commotion and was greeted by a most… chaotic sight, to say the least. As thought, Mister 3 and Miss Golden Week had started causing trouble but, this time, it wasn't because of Mr 0, but of Mister 5 and Miss Valentine, who'd somehow found their way to Little Garden in record time and managed to recruit the other pair into helping them clean up their mess. Looking back, Brynlee realized that she should probably have expected it, since Sanji and Nami, though the winners of their respective fights, certainly hadn't beaten them as thoroughly as Zoro had in the Before.

A bit of an oversight on her part but, frankly, she hadn't expected this kind of initiative from low-level goons.

Kudos to Crocodile for finding underlings with a sense of pride, she mused internally. Or maybe they were just too scared to return emptyhanded, which—well, fair.

Things were a bit different from how she remembered them to be, because of this slight divergence. For one, it was Zoro, Vivi, and Usopp who were trapped in the giant wax structure – meaning Nami was free and fighting Miss Valentine once more. Sanji was also there, much to her surprise, and was battling Mister 5 again, who'd taken Carue hostage. Finally, Luffy was facing the other two agents on his own, which wasn't exactly working in his favor.

With Usopp trapped, though, freeing them from the wax won't be as easy, she thought, quickly thinking the situation over. Luffy can't go all out with Miss Golden Week constantly interfering, and Sanji and Nami are too busy to help. What to do, what to do…

Finally, she decided to act upon the most immediate threat. She promptly dropped from the sky, using her enhanced speed and strength to punch Mister 5 right into a tree, startling her favorite cook and freeing the Supersonic Duck.

"About time you showed up," sighed Sanji, though distinctly relieved.

"I've got a plan," she simply said, immediately drawing his attention. "Carue, you see those barrels of alcohol over there? I need you and Sanji to figure out a way to empty them and spread their contents over as much of the wax structure as you can manage."

The intelligent animal tilted his head, as if to say, 'what for'?

She grinned. "Hey, Sanji? Remember that lecture we got from Chef Zeff when we tried to make Molotov cocktails in the kitchens of the Baratie?"

"It's highly flammable." Understanding immediately dawned on him, and he chuckled, lighting his cigarette. "And wax melts."

"Bingo. I'll quickly go and fetch Usopp's explosives from the ship while you guys handle things here – should take me five minutes, at most. Think you can handle it?"

Carue squawked firmly, obviously eager to help Vivi.

"Good. Sanji, help Luffy out first – he can't fight with that little girl getting in the way." He cringed, and she patted his shoulder. "You don't need to hurt her, but she is an enemy right now. Just incapacitate her in some way."

"Got it."

"Good. Get to it!"

She took off once more, trusting them to have handled their respective tasks by the time she got back. The ship was a little far but, thankfully, flying allowed her to reach it in a little under two minutes.

She quickly went to the men's quarters and, after some rummaging under Usopp's bunk – which was admittedly very messy, considering the amount of parts and scraps he'd accumulated during their travels – she finally found the relatively large box of explosives he kept for experiments and special occasions.

Sorry Usopp, I'll buy you some more in Alabasta!

Brynlee was planning on using her Pyromancy skills to ignite the whole thing. Unfortunately, her mastery over fire was rather lacking, still, and she couldn't maintain it for long periods of time – and more ground there was to cover, the less powerful her flames were, hence why she needed conduits such as alcohol and explosives.

However, as she came back out onto the deck, a gun fired, and a bullet grazed her cheek just as she moved out of the way to avoid it.

Mister 5 sneered from the shore, lowering his gun.

"How the hell did you follow me here so fast?" she wondered, genuinely curious.

"By getting creative with my Devil Fruit," he replied, scoffing at the sight of her wings. "You're not the only one who figured out how to fly."

"That's pretty cool. It's good to know that not all Devil Fruit users limit themselves to the more obvious benefits of their powers," she complimented, genuinely meaning it.

"Shut up! I'll kill you!"

He started firing – and damn it, she forgot that he used his snot for it. This fact alone motivated her enough to avoid every single projectile, but there was no denying the advantage he possessed in long-ranged combat. However, Brynlee had no time to waste with an opponent of his caliber – Miss Belo would have caved in his skull in a heartbeat and kicked her ass for taking so long to beat him.

Now!

The moment she noticed the opening, she pounced straight at him. He fired at point-blank range, but she forced her disgust down and activated her Armament Haki, effectively deflecting his shots. She was on him the next moment, kicking him straight between his legs – Chef Zeff would have been incredibly proud, really. The man squeaked and collapsed into the dirt as he dropped his weapons, beads of sweat rolling down his face.

He didn't get up.

[SIDE QUEST]

Strength In Numbers!

Baroque Works' upper ranks is filled with formidable opponents.

Defeat 1 Baroque Works Officer Agent!

Reward: 1,000,000 B

Satisfied, Brynlee took off once more.

She had some crewmates to save, and maybe some more sweet cash to claim.

Hello hello, everyone! I won't say much, other than this: I am VERY excited for you all the see the next chapter, so stay tuned~!