Adventure in the Kingdom of Sand:

-x-

"UUUGGGHHH..." a loud groan carried across the open expanse of hot desert.

"UUUUGGGGHHHH..." the groan sounded out again and echoed over the sand.

"LUFFY! STOP THAT GROANING!" Nami complained, "YOU'RE MAKING ME TIRED!"

"Uugghh... I'm so hot..." Luffy groaned as he supported his entire weight on a stick that was serving as a makeshift walking stick, "I can't even sweat..."

"Ugggghhh..." Chopper moaned softly as he was pulled along over the sand on a small wooden sled that was tied around the waist of Zoro. "I can't take hot weather... I'm fine in cold weather..."

"Itsh becaushe of all that fur," Usopp slurred as his dry tongue hung out of his mouth while he leaned all his weight on a stick. "Why don't you take off that shtupid reindeer coshtume?"

"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY TO ME, BIG NOSE?" Chopper demanded as he transformed into his big Heavy Point form. "DON'T MAKE FUN OF REINDEER!"

"AAAAAAHHH! MONSHTER!" Usopp shrieked in terror at the sight of Chopper's huge form.

Zoro tried to keep pulling Chopper but with Chopper's sudden weight increase in addition to the two thousand kilograms from the weights he was wearing on his arms he found himself rooted on the spot.

"Chopper!" Zoro scolded his passenger, "Turn small or I'm gonna quit pulling you."

"WHO'RE YOU CALLING A MONSTER, YOU BIG NOSED FREAK?" Chopper snarled at Usopp, the sniper's knees were shaking as he stood in a weak kung-fu pose.

"HEY! Take it eashy with the noshe!" Usopp warned him, "Or I'll have to get tough!"

"TURN SMALL, WILL YA!" Zoro snapped as he pushed Chopper back down onto the sled automatically shifting him back into his much smaller Brain Point form.

Ace merely spared them a quick glance as he walked passed. The desert heat wasn't having much of an effect on the pirate that could turn his body into fire whenever he wanted. Ace kept walking and joined Vivi, Sanji, Nami, and Han at the front of the group and left the others to trail behind them.

"The desert doesn't seem to bother you much Miss. Vivi," Sanji noted.

"Well I was born and raised in this country," Vivi reminded him, "So I guess you could say I'm used to it."

"Although, those two don't seem to be affected much either," Nami noted, she glanced over her shoulder at Y/N and Ollie who were trailing behind the group. The two of them were totally engrossed in a pair of books and seemed to be blindly following the others.

"It's a technique they learned from one of our crewmates on the Whitebeard Pirates," Han informed her. "By focusing entirely on what they're reading they can completely ignore the extreme effects of the environment they're in. I didn't bother with it because I like to be aware of my surroundings at all times."

The group of ten pirates and the princess pressed onward and began to make their way up a mountain-sized dune of sand.

"Ugghhh... uggghhh... sho... what'sh with all theshe hills?" Usopp wondered. "I wash expecting a deshert to be more flat!"

"This is a very old desert," Vivi explained, "some of the sand dunes here are over nine hundred feet high."

"Nine hundred... oh my God... I think I'm gonna faint..." Usopp whimpered but he still managed to drag himself onward.

"Ugghhh... so hot... water..." Luffy gasped, he reached down and lifted the barrel that was hanging from a strap around his neck.

"Just one sip Luffy," Nami instructed him, "Just one mouthful."

SLUUURRP! Luffy took a long sip from the barrel and his 'one mouthful' ended up with his cheeks behind the same size as his head.

WONK! "DON'T DRINK SO MUCH!" Sanji snapped as he and Usopp hit him on the back of the head and made Luffy spit out the water.

"YOU IDIOT!" Usopp growled, "YOU'D BETTER SAVE SOME FOR USOPP!"

"Hold on, you just had some!" Sanji realized as he pointed a finger at Usopp, "I'M NEXT!" Usopp and Sanji attacked Luffy and attempt to get the water barrel away from him while Luffy fought back to keep his water from being stolen by his Nakama.

The fighting had brought Y/N and Ollie out from their reading, Y/N shook his head at his fighting Nakama while Ollie took a sip from the green canteen that was hanging at her side.

"Thirsty?" she offered.

"Thanks," Y/N said as he accepted offered canteen and took a quick sip before handing it back. He adjusted the black duffle bag hanging from his shoulder and then went back to his reading.

"CUT IT OUT YOU GUYS!" Vivi scolded them, "You're only going to wear yourselves out if you keep it up!"

"He started it!" Luffy protested.

"It's YOUR fault!" Sanji argued.

"It's ALWAYS his fault!" Usopp exclaimed.

SWIPE! Nami reached into the dust cloud and pulled out the water barrel but the three kept fighting oblivious to the fact that what they were fighting over had been stolen. Nami slipped away from the others and backpedaled until she was walking on the other side of Y/N.

"What are you reading anyway?" Nami inquired.

"A book on legendary treasures that I found in Nanohana," Y/N answered, "the one I'm currently reading is about a city of gold on an island in the sky."

Nami's eyes widened, "Can I read it when you're done?" she requested.

"Sure," Y/N replied.

"And speaking of treasures," Nami commented, "Thanks for the necklace. Your old Nakama told me the story behind it. I'm honored."

Y/N smiled and shrugged, "I figured since we're traveling through the desert it might be a good thing to have," he explained. "I would've given one to Luffy too but he's hardly the most responsible person in the world. You've seen what's happened to his treasured straw hat."

"That's probably a good idea," Ollie spoke up, "I mean, he still hasn't noticed that she STOLE HIS WATER!"

Ollie's raised voice drew the attention of Luffy, Usopp, and Sanji who had still been fighting over a water barrel that was no longer there.

"NAMI, YOU JERK!" Luffy shouted.

"YOU DIRTY THIEF!" Usopp yelled.

"YOU CAN HAVE IT, MISS. NAMI!" Sanji swooned. Luffy and Usopp ran at Nami looking to reclaim the water barrel prompting the thief to run off.

Y/N raised his sunglasses and gave Ollie a hard look, "That wasn't nice," he scolded her.

"She called me old," Ollie defended herself before she went back to her book.

"This is going to be a loonng trip," Y/N groaned.

-x-

Hours later, night had fallen and with it came the cold. Due to the lack of cloud cover in the desert there was no insulation which resulted in it being scorching hot during the day and freezing at night. The pirates and the princess had set up camp in the middle of a cluster of stone crags and had set up a campfire and three tents. Sanji had cooked some of the remaining meat on a spit and now the Straw Hats and Whitebeards were preparing to get settled in for the night.

Y/N and Ollie stood together away from the campfire and stared at one of the large crags. Ollie fitted an arrow into her bow and pulled back the string, Fwing! She launched the arrow at the base of the crag and it impacted with the stone and exploded, KA-BOOOM! A large cave-like hole was blasted in the side of the crag.

"Nice work," Y/N noted, "now let's clear out the rubble." He and Ollie headed into the cave and began tossing out the rubble that was inside.

"Ahh, look the stars," Chopper sighed as he sat in between Zoro and Usopp and stared up at the clear night sky. They were seated beside one of the three tents that they had set up.

"Couldn't you see the stars back on your island?" Usopp inquired.

"The skies about Drum Island are always covered in snow clouds," Chopper explained, "so I've never been able to see this many before."

"I am way too cold to enjoy the stars right now..." Usopp complained.

"Cold weather doesn't bother me," Chopper chirped.

"That's cause you wear such a nice fur coat," Usopp stated as he leaned in and nuzzled his face against Chopper's soft and fuzzy cheek.

"BACK OFF!" Chopper snapped at Usopp for invading his personal space.

"It's not my fault you're all soft and fluffy," Usopp defended himself.

"QUIT MAKING FUN OF ME!" Chopper shouted as he transformed into his Heavy Point form and glared down at the sniper.

"OOOH NOOO! MONSTER!" Usopp wailed.

"Chopper, don't turn big," Zoro scolded him, "We have to huddle for warmth!"

"WOO HOO!" Luffy cheered as he ran over and plopped down next to Chopper, he and Usopp cuddled the reindeer like a fluffy plushy. "Aahh, so warm!"

Ace silently watched them from the opening of one of the tents.

"I suppose you're surprised, aren't you?" Vivi asked as she walked over to Ace. "I mean by Luffy, that is. I have to admit, I was surprised too at first. After all, he doesn't seem much like a pirate captain, does he? Normal pirate captain's are respected or feared by their pirates, just this afternoon a simple drink of water led to a big fight. Well... I think... that's just the way Luffy operates. It took me a while to understand that."

"He's been like that as long as I can remember," Ace told her as he glanced over at Luffy who was snoring as he cuddled with Zoro, Usopp, and Chopper. "He seems like a fool, but people have always gathered around him. He may be my little brother but he has this mysterious charm about him."

"I guess I wasn't telling you anything you didn't already know," Vivi realized.

"He and I do go way back," Ace reminded her. "I appreciate it. You thought I was worried about him, didn't you?"

"Yes," Vivi admitted, "but I guess my concern was misguided."

At that moment, Nami exited one of the other tents and walked passed them to the fire, she sat down next to Han who had been sitting there alone and eyed Y/N and Ollie who had finished clearing out the crag-cave.

"Hey Han," Nami spoke up, gaining the Monster Hunter's attention, "What's the deal with Y/N and Ollie?"

Han glanced at Nami then looked back at Y/N and Ollie, "Those two... they're best friends," he answered, they'd finished clearing the cave and were now lighting a fire in the middle of it. "They weren't always like that, when she first joined us she saw him as a little kid. He was just Ace's little brother who was along for the ride and needed to be taken care of. That changed one day when we were sailing the South Blue. They got in a huge fight, I don't know the details since it happened below deck, but there was a lot of screaming. Ace went down to investigate but refuses to tell anyone what he saw. The thing is... when they came out they were inseparable."

Nami cast another glance at the cave and saw Y/N sitting against the back wall, Ollie was seated next to him and had her head resting on his shoulder.

"She was his treasure hunting partner and he was her adventure buddy," Han continued. "They'd often wander off together and come running back with a hoard of treasure, or a hoard of pirates or marines chasing them. I don't know half of the adventures those two have been on together." Han gave Nami a hard look, "I don't know what kind of relationship you have with the kid, but like it or not, you have to accept that fact that she's going to be a part of his life."

"That's fine," Nami decided as she stood up, then glanced over at the cave, "but if she thinks I'm going to back off just because she has a history with him... she's got another thing coming." Nami walked off to the tent leaving Han sitting alone in front of the fire.

"Oh boy," he said with a shake of his head, "I do not envy that kid right now."

-x-

"HEY! I FOUND A SHRIMP!" Luffy called out early the next morning before the sun had even had a chance to rise.

"You sure it's a shrimp?" Chopper inquired as he and Usopp went over to Luffy.

"But shrimp don't live in the desert," Usopp pointed out.

"Look," Luffy said as held up A SCORPION!

"I stand corrected, it's a desert shrimp," Usopp realized.

"Luffy, don't eat that," Y/N advised from where he was seated beside the entrance to the crag-cave. "You have no idea where it's been."

"It's been right here," Luffy pointed out as he motioned to the spot he'd found the scorpion.

"Do you think it's edible?" Usopp wondered.

"Why not? Crawfish are edible," Luffy pointed out, "Aren't they?"

"I've never seen a real-live shrimp before!" Chopper exclaimed. "This is really exciting!"

Vivi came out of the tent she'd shared with Nami and spotted the scorpion that Luffy seemed intent on eating. "AAAAAH! LUFFY ARE YOU CRAZY!" Vivi screamed, "GET RID OF THAT THING QUICK!"

"Uh-uh," Luffy refused, "That would be wasteful."

"IT'S A SCORPION!" Vivi told him, "Don't let its small size fool you, the poison in its stinger can kill in seconds!"

Chopper started shaking in terror while Luffy stared at the 'shrimp' in disappointment, "Oh, I guess I don't want it then," Luffy resolved, he offered the scorpion to Usopp, "Do you?"

"HEY NOW, KEEP THAT AWAY FROM ME!" Usopp screamed.

"Did someone say 'scorpion'?" Ollie inquired as she ventured out of the crag-cave with her quiver of arrows hanging from her shoulder. "I'll take it."

Luffy nodded and tossed the scorpion in her direction, the archer's hand shot out and she caught the scorpion by the tail to keep it from stinging her.

"I'm sorry," Vivi apologized to the pirates, "I should have mentioned it earlier. Scorpions are one of the desert's dangers."

"Are you really gonna eat that?" Chopper asked curiously as he went over to the archer.

"Nope, this little guy is gonna help me make a new arrow," Ollie explained. She fished into the zipper pocket on her quiver and pulled out a crystal vial and a scalpel, she put the vial in her mouth then skillfully used the scalpel to cut into the scorpion's stinger causing purple venom to leak out. She flicked her scalpel so she was holding it between her pinky and ring finger then pulled her vial out of her mouth and caught the scorpion's purple venom as it leaked out. Once the base of the vial – which about as thick as Ollie's middle finger – filled, Ollie pulled it away and then got up and dropped the scorpion behind a rock.

"Is the shrimp gonna be okay?" Chopper questioned.

"I made a clean incision and only punctured one of the vesicles that holds the venom glands," Ollie told him as she pulled out a cork and sealed the venom vial, "it'll heal and be producing venom again in a day or two, until then it's still got the other vesicle to survive with. And now I just need to coat an arrowhead in the venom and I'll have a deadly new arrow."

While Ollie began to put her tools away, Chopper's ears and nose suddenly twitched. He looked off in a distance and saw some clouds rapidly approaching from the horizon.

"What's going on Chopper?" Luffy asked.

Chopper ran up onto the top of a nearby rock and just kept staring off in a distance. "Something's coming..." Chopper stated, "...and quick."

"Those clouds are moving awfully fast," Y/N noted from where he was still seated against the mouth of the crag-cave.

SHHWWWOOOOO! A strong wind now accompanied the fast-moving clouds, the powerful gusts of wind became visible as they spiraled around.

Ace came out of his tent and stared at the oncoming wind. "Hmm, it looks like the wind is picking up," Ace observed.

Y/N quickly darted into one of the tents and gave Nami a rude awakening. "RICKY! PUT ME DOWN!" Nami shouted as Y/N carried her out of the tent tucked under his left arm, "THIS IS SO UNDIGNIFIED!"

Y/N turned and pointed Nami towards the spiraling wind, "What do you make of that?" he asked the navigator.

Nami blinked and stared at the spiraling winds that were rapidly closing in on them. "Strong winds... fast-moving gray clouds... it feels like a storm's coming," Nami observed.

Vivi's eyes widened in alarm, "EVERYONE! GET TO COVER, QUICK!" she yelled, "A SANDSTORM IS COMING!"

"Luffy, Usopp, Chopper!" Y/N called out, "wake Zoro, Sanji, and Han then grab as many of the supplies as you can and get them into the cave. Ace, Ollie, break down one of the tents and use it to cover the opening of the cave."

Everyone nodded and ran off to do as they were told, Y/N, with Nami still tucked under his arm, ran over to Vivi and without a word threw the princess over his right shoulder and ran into the crag-cave.

"Stay here," Y/N ordered as he put both of the disgruntled girls down in the back of the cave.

"We're gonna have words about you manhandling us later!" Nami warned him.

Y/N nodded then ran out of the cave just as Luffy, Zoro, Usopp, Sanji, Chopper, and Han came running in laden with loads of supplies. Y/N joined Ace in stretching one of the canvas tents over the mouth of the cave while Ollie nailed it into the stone using the metal tent stakes.

"Hurry up!" Y/N urged Ollie as he stared off at the swirling tornado of sand that was almost upon them.

TONK! Ollie jammed left stake into the bottom left corner of the tent-turned-tarp and looked up at Y/N, "Got it," she reported, "NOW GET IN!" The three of them quickly slipped through the sides of the tent and found themselves squished inside the now-crowded cave.

Fwwissshh... Ace sat with his back to the tent-tarp and lit up one of his hands like a torch. The supplies were taking up half the cave and were all piled up in the back with Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper sitting against them. Sanji was sitting with his arm around Nami and Vivi, the two had moved to the left side of the cave to avoid being squished by the incoming supplies. Zoro and Han were leaning back against the right wall of the cave, the former having gone back to sleep, while Ollie and Y/N were on the left. Y/N chanced a peek outside and saw sand blowing passed the cave.

"Looks like we're not going out there any time soon," he noted.

"I'm sorry," Vivi apologized, "I should have mentioned that sandstorms are another one of the deserts dangers."

"You've gotta start remembering this stuff," Usopp commented, first the poisonous shrimp, and now the sandstorm, if Vivi didn't start remembering more of these desert-dangers he could wind up dead.

"We'll have to stay in here until the sandstorm dies down," Ace resolved.

Nami removed Sanji's arm from around her shoulders and climbed over the others until she was kneeling in front of Y/N on the other side of the cave.

POKE! Nami jabbed him in the forehead with her finger, "In the future, I'd appreciate it if you could avoid waking me up by yanking me out of my bed and carrying me out into a sandstorm."

"Then maybe next time I'll let you sleep in," Y/N suggested.

"No, no, I'm just saying there are other ways you could wake me up," Nami replied, then with a quick glance at Ollie, she leaned in and kissed him on the cheek causing the archer to clench her fists and openly glare at her. "Thanks for keeping me from getting caught in that sandstorm."

"No problem," Y/N said. Nami smiled then turned around and sat herself down in Y/N's lap.

Y/N's only reaction was a raised eyebrow while Ollie growled, "What... are you doing?"

"Conserving space," Nami answered with a cheeky smile. "There's eleven of us squeezed in here, we need all the room we can get." Nami laid back and rested her head on Y/N's chest, "Besides, since Y/N so rudely woke me up the least he can do is provide me with a pillow."

Ollie scowled and looked away but then Nami realized that Ace was staring at her. Nami gulped, she wasn't afraid to handle another girl but a guy who could turn to fire and easily burn her to a crisp was another story. Ace stared straight at Nami and with two flaming fingers pointed to himself, his eyes, and then Nami. The universal sign for: 'I'm watching you'. Nami didn't appear to have older brother's approval yet.

Nami let out the breath she was holding and nodded to show she understood. She'd just have to work to gain Ace's approval.

-x-

Desert Dangers:

-x-

Hours later, the sandstorm had passed and the sun was high overhead. The princess and the pirates were once again on their journey to Yuba.

"Hey Sanji, can we have one of those pirate box lunches now?" Luffy requested.

"Not yet," Sanji told him, "Not until Miss. Vivi says so."

"Come on Vivi," Luffy urged the Princess, "How 'bout it? Let's eat! Doesn't that sound good?"

"But we're not even a tenth of the way to Yuba yet," Vivi pointed out, "We have to make our supplies last the whole way."

"But haven't you heard the saying?" Luffy protested, "'if you get hungry, you should eat'."

"You jusht made that up!" Usopp slurred as he once again pulled himself along with his walking stick with his tongue hanging out of his mouth.

"If you're that hungry I'll tell you what," Vivi suggested, "why don't we stop and eat at the next group of crags that we come to?"

"Alright, crags it is," Luffy agreed. "Hey guys, whoever loses at rock-paper-scissors has to carry everybody's stuff!"

"QUIT DECHIDING THINGSH!" Usopp snapped.

"Ready? ROCK! PAPER! SCISSORS!" Luffy cheered.

"Hey wait, you started too early!" Zoro protested as he, Nami, Usopp, Sanji, Chopper, and Ace formed a circle with Luffy to play rock-paper-scissors.

Han and Vivi shared a look then looked over at Y/N and Ollie who were once again trailing behind the others due to being absorbed in their respective books.

A moment later, Luffy was dragging a makeshift cart loaded up with all the bags of supplies. The other still carried their personal bags, like Usopp's artillery pouch, Ace's green backpack, Han's ammo bag, Ollie's quiver and canteen, Chopper's medical bag and his sled which was still being dragged through the sand by Zoro.

"Heavy... so heavy..." Luffy groaned, he was lagging behind the others and the only people still behind him were Y/N and Ollie who were still immersed in their respective books, "Why am I doing all the work?"

"You said the loser carries all," Sanji reminded him, "now shut up and haul."

"Make sure you don't drop anything!" Nami added.

Usopp lowered his goggles and stared through them, "HEY GUYS! I SPOTTED SOME CRAGS DEAD AHEAD!"

"YA MEAN IT?" Luffy asked. "IT'S LUNCH TIME! WOOOO!" ZZZZOOOOOM! Luffy raced passed the others and sped across the sand leaving a trail of smoke as he went. Now it was as if all those bags of supplies weighed nothing.

-x-

Luffy made it to the crags in record time. "Ahh, shade!" Luffy sighed as he pulled free from the supply cart and flopped down in the shade of the large rocks. "That feels so good..."

Gwwaaa... gwwaaa... Luffy stood up when he heard a strange cry. It sounded like an animal dying. Luffy wandered through the rocks towards the sound and gasped in surprise when he discovered the source, "AH!"

A flock of white heron-like birds were all lying on the ground letting out occasional weak cries.

"Hey... say something," Luffy urged one of the dying birds.

"Gwwwaaaaa..." was the dying bird's weak reply.

"I'll go get you a doctor!" Luffy decided, he raced away from the crags and ran back to his crew. "I NEED HEEEELLLLP!"

"That's weird, why's he coming back?" Usopp wondered when they saw Luffy running towards them. He'd been so eager to eat but it wasn't a minute later that he was coming back.

"THERE'S A WHOLE FLOCK OF INJURED BIRDS HERE!" Luffy shouted. "THEY CAN'T MOVE! WE NEED A DOCTOR! CHOOPPEEEERRR!" Responding to his captain's call, Chopper got off of his sled and ran to Luffy. "Alright, let's go Chopper!"

"Coming!" Chopper agreed and the two ran off towards the crags to help the injured birds. Vivi had a thoughtful look on her face.

"WE'VE GOTTA HELP THOSE BIRDS!" Luffy hollered as he and the reindeer ran off.

"WAIT, WHAT BIRDS?" Vivi called after them. "WAIT A MINUTE LUFFY! THOSE BIRDS MIGHT NOT BE WHAT YOU THINK THEY ARE!"

"Huh?" was Luffy intelligent response.

-x-

When they reached the crags they found themselves staring down at the empty cart. All the bags were gone and all the remained were some white feathers and bird-like footprints in the sand.

"AAAAAAHH!" Luffy shrieked in surprise.

"All of our stuff is gone!" Zoro exclaimed, voicing everyone else's observations.

"We've been had," Nami realized.

"But I saw them!" Luffy insisted. "There was a whole flock of dying birds lying right there!"

"I'm so sorry," Vivi apologized, "I should've mentioned this earlier. Warusagi are bandits that deceive travelers. They're birds that play dead and then steal travelers' supplies when they're not looking. They're another of the desert's dangers."

"Are you sure you live here?" Han asked, this was the third 'desert danger' that the princess had forgotten to mention.

"WHAT A BUNCH OF CROOKS!" Usopp shouted.

"Those birds tricked me!" Luffy gasped.

"Luffy you dolt!" Sanji snapped, "Is that all you have to say for yourself? After we got done feeding your turtles there was three days of supplies left in there. You just had to go and let a bunch of stupid birds rob us blind in the middle of a desert! How are we supposed to get across their wasteland without food or water? I hope you're proud of yourself!"

"Come on, it's not my fault," Luffy protested. "They outsmarted me!"

"You mean you're dumber than a bird?" Sanji growled as he grabbed Luffy by his collar and glared at him.

"WHAT'S THAT?" Luffy demanded. The two of them started arguing and shoving.

"Cut it out you two," Zoro scolded them.

"Just save your energy," Ace suggested, "at times like this it's better just to let 'em have it out."

"Fine with me," Zoro replied as he removed his orange shemagh and sat down on a rock. "Let's just take a break. This heat is starting to wear on everybody's nerves. I'm sure we'll manage food and water wise, it's nothing that'll kill us right away. Let's put it out of our minds for now."

"Yeah that'sh good," Usopp agreed with his tongue hanging out of his mouth, "Caushe when I think about it I get really thirshty."

"What are those two fighting about?" came Y/N's voice. Everyone turned and saw that he and Ollie had finally caught up with them. "Uh... what're you staring at?" Y/N was unsettled when he noticed that everyone's eyes were on him... or more specifically the duffle bag he had hanging off of his right shoulder.

"Y/N... gimme that bag... now..." Nami ordered. Y/N handed her his bag. The navigator practically tore it opened to reveal wads of bills and some gold. "It... it's just money... WHAT USE IS MONEY IN THE DESERT? NOW WE'RE GONNA STARVE!"

The Straw Hats all stared at Nami in shock, even Luffy and Sanji stopped their fight at hearing something so out-of-character.

"Well yeah... I'm the crew's financial manager so I agreed to carry the bag of money," Y/N reminded her. "What's going on? Are you feeling okay?"

Nami motioned to the empty cart, "Some stupid birds stole all of our supplies," she answered.

"Damn, I hate birds," Y/N muttered.

"Uh... I have half a canteen of water," Ollie offered as she held up her green canteen. "It's not much but if we drink sparingly it might last until we can find some more."

"Save it for later then," Ace resolved, "We're in the shade now so we don't really need it."

"Wait... why were all the supplies together?" Y/N inquired.

"Luffy challenged us all to a game of rock-paper-scissors and said loser had to carry everything," Usopp explained. "He lost. So he had to carry everything. Then he ran ahead and got tricked by some birds that were pretending to be dying."

"Well there's your problem," Y/N reasoned, "Between his impulsiveness and lack of navigation skills I think it'd be obvious that you can't trust him with something so important."

The Straw Hats all looked down and stared at the ground, when you put it that way it sounded like a really stupid decision on their part.

"If you knew that... THEN WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY ANYTHING?" Nami demanded as she glared at him. Y/N held up his book but Nami snatched it away from him and hit him on the head with it, WONK! "NO MORE READING! You're the First Mate, you're supposed to be the calm, rational one! It's your job to counteract Luffy's dumb impulsiveness! WHAT USE ARE YOU IF YOUR FACE IS BURIED IN A BOOK?"

CAW-CAW! Everyone stared through the crags and spotted a flock of white heron-like birds. Each of the birds had a bag of supplies strapped to their back and a barrel of water strapped to their front.

"GIVE US OUR STUFF BACK YOU THIEVES!" Luffy hollered as he ran at the birds looking to get the back for making him look like an idiot. The Warusagi saw him coming and ran off into the desert with Luffy in hot pursuit.

"NO LUFFY! DON'T CHASE THEM!" Vivi shouted after him.

"That idiot," Sanji muttered.

"WAIT! WILL YOU BE ABLE TO FIND YOU WAY BACK?" Nami called out.

"GET BACK HERE YOU DOPE!" Usopp yelled as Luffy and the warusagi disappeared into the desert and over a sand dune.

"Don't worry," Y/N reassured him, "I've got his Vivre Card to track him with. If he doesn't come back I'll go find him. With the combined treasure that Nami, Ollie, and Ace are wearing there's nowhere in this desert that I wouldn't be able to find you from."

"He stops reading for one minute and already he comes up with a good idea to combat Luffy," Nami grumbled, WHAK! She hit him on the chest with his book for good measure, "NO MORE READING!"

-x-

"HEY! GET BACK HERE!" Luffy shouted after the warusagi, they had taken to the air but due to all of the supplies they were wearing they weren't able to fly too high enabling Luffy to chase them from the ground. "YOU CAN'T GET AWAY FROM ME!"

GWA! GWA! GWA! The birds crowed as they began gaining a lead on Luffy from the air. SHOOOM! Something suddenly shot up out of the sand and snatched one of the low-flying warusagi out of the air before sucking it back down into the sand. GWAAAAA! The other warusagi gave a panicked screech and flew even faster.

"I SAID COME BACK!" Luffy yelled.

SHOOOM! A green mouth erupted out of the sand where Luffy had been running and started to close on him, SKISH! Luffy quickly leapt away from the mouth only to see more green 'mouths' come flying out of the sand. They looked like giant monster Venus Flytraps, they were green with long stems and the mouths were easily four times the size of the pirate they were trying to eat.

"WAAHH! WHAT IS THIS?" Luffy yelped he leapt away from two of the killer plants only to be snatched up by a third. CHOMP! The green mouth closed around Luffy and swallowed. GULP! Despite Luffy's struggles the bulge that represented his location plunged down into the stem. The head of the killer plant raised up straight and then it sand back down into the sand. SHUNK!

Everything was quiet. Did the main character just get eaten by a giant plant? OH, HELL NO!

BOOOM! The plant erupted back up out of the sand and flailed around and then smashed down to the ground, KRASH! The end of the plant's stem flailed up into the air to reveal that it had been severed before it fell and to the sand along with the rest of the plant.

"Ugghh..." Luffy groaned as he pulled himself out from the top of the stem that stuck out from the sand. He stared down at the plant that had tried to eat him in confusion. "What is this thing? Some kind of mystery desert plant? MAN THAT IS SO COOL!"

GRUMPH! Luffy looked to the side and stared in surprise when he saw a camel straining to keep the mouth of another of the 'mystery desert plants' from closing around it. The plants entire stem was sunk underground leaving only the head which was holding the camel visible. The struggling camel had light brown fur and cushioned saddled on top of its hump.

Luffy stood there and stared at the camel, "What are you doing?" he asked it.

"GRRUUMMPHH!" the camel groaned as it tried to pull itself free from the mouth of the plant.

"SHISHISHI!" Luffy laughed, "That's funny!"

"GRAAAH GRUHH!" the camel snapped at the pirate.

"Huh? You want me to help you?" Luffy asked causing the camel to nod frantically.

"GUUUUM... GUUUUM..." SHWWUP! Luffy pulled back his fist and then sent it flying towards the plant, "PIIIISSTOOOOL!" POOWWW! Luffy's fist smashed into the head of the plant and caused it to burst like a sap-filled water balloon. The camel was freed and raced over to Luffy's side and away from the killer plant.

"Shishishishi! Good thing you didn't get eaten, huh?" Luffy teased the camel.

"Hmph," the camel grunted.

"Damn it, those stupid birds got away while I was busy beating up these Mystery Plants," Luffy realized. "The desert sure is full of strange creatures."

Luffy turned to his companion, "So, pal, how do you manage to get stuck out in the desert by yourself?" Luffy inquired.

"GRAA!" the camel suddenly yelped as it looked to the side in alarm.

"Huh? What's wrong?" Luffy questioned as he looked the way the camel was looking.

CHHOOOOOM! A huge hole opened up in the sand ahead of them and then a terrible roar rang out. GRRRAAAAAAAAHHHH!

"Did you see something out there?" Luffy wondered as he kept staring at the sand. The camel started shaking as the ground around them started rumbling. SHOOOOOM! A giant mountain of sand rose up in front of them and kept going until it was towering over both the pirate and the camel like it was a mountain. "WHAT THE HECK IS THAT?"

The sand slowly began to fall away to reveal something so huge, so horrible, and so purple you can't even begin to imagine it...

IT'S BARNEY THE DINOSAUR! EVERYBODY RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!

-x-

"Come on Luffy, hurry it up," Usopp said as the others stood or sat around in the shade of the crags waiting for the wayward captain to come back.

"Um... you don't suppose he could be lost, do you?" Chopper asked.

"This thing seems to be saying that he's coming this way," Y/N reported as he stared down at rectangle of paper on his open palm.

"How do you figure that?" Nami inquired as she stood next to him and stared down at the paper.

"It's not tugging as hard as it was before," Y/N pointed out, "I'm guessing that means he's getting closer."

"I hope he can manage to find his way back," Nami commented, "he has absolutely no sense of direction but he's always running off."

"And there are so many dangers in the desert that I haven't gotten the chance to tell him about yet," Vivi added.

"Not to mention, the moron was hungry," Sanji pointed out, "So you know he's not thinking straight."

"That guy is so hopeless," Zoro muttered.

"I'm sorry," Ace apologized, "I know my brother can be a flake. I apologize."

"Eh, they may grumble but they're starting to get used to it," Y/N told him.

RRMMMBBB... RRRRMMMBBBB... Everything suddenly started rumbling and off in a distance sand shot up into the air.

"Is it another sandstorm?" Usopp wondered as he pulled down his goggles and stared off over the dunes of sand for signs of what was causing everything to shake. "No wait... that looks like... LUFFY!"

The others all looked in the direction that Usopp was staring in and saw a camel racing towards them with Luffy clinging to its side. Luffy and the camel were seemingly being chased by a giant wave of sand.

"NO! IT CAN'T BE!" Vivi gasped in horror.

"Why is he on a camel?" Nami wondered.

"Someone wanna tell me what the hell's chasing him?" Sanji asked.

"I can't really tell," Zoro admitted, "but it looks like there's something in the sand burrowing after him."

"WWAAAHHOOOO!" Luffy screamed/cheered as he and camel raced away from their pursuer.

SHOOOM! A giant purple monster burst out of the sand and continued chasing after Luffy and the camel. It was HUGE, nearly a hundred fifty times the size of Luffy and was covered in purple scales. Its large belly dragged on the sand as the monster propelled itself forward on four large legs each had sharp black claws on the end, each of the claws was as big as the average-sized man. The monster's mouth was filled with sharp fangs and a forked tongue and on top of the monster's head were a pair of frog-like yellow eyes.

"What the heck is that thing?" Sanji questioned as the Straw Hats, Han, and Ollie all stood up and stared at the approaching monster.

"That's a Sandora Dragon," Han the Monster Hunter stated, "Threat Level: High."

"A WHAT?" Usopp shrieked, he had strangest feeling he should remember this.

"IT'S A SANDORA DRAGON!" Vivi screamed. "They're the biggest reptile that lives in the desert. They have razor sharp fangs and claws but they hardly ever use them! They're so incredibly huge that they usually end up swallowing their victims whole!"

"I gotta admit, that boy does have a talent for attracting trouble," Ace commented as he sat in his spot in the sand.

"Right, and all of us have the scars to prove it," Sanji snapped.

"What kind of crap star was he born under to attract trouble like that?" Zoro wondered.

"Zoro, Sanji, ditch your weights and go help him," Y/N ordered.

BA-BOOM! BA-BOOM! Zoro pulled the two bands off of his wrists while Sanji slid the bands off of his ankles the weights impacted with the sand and created a small crater as they landed. The two pirates quickly raced off towards Luffy kicking up a wave of sand as they went.

"STOP CAMEL! YOU'RE GOING TO FAST!" Luffy yelled at his terrified 'steed'.

"Is it too much for you Luffy?" Zoro asked as he ran towards Luffy with his three swords drawn.

"We'll lend a hand," Sanji offered as he ran beside Zoro.

"Thanks guys!" Luffy exclaimed, "I BROUGHT HOME A LITTLE DINNER!" He leapt off of the camel and launched himself up into the air. "GUUUUUM... GUUUUUM..."

"DRAGON..." Zoro called out as he slashed his three swords.

"EPAULE..." Sanji called out as he leapt up into the air with his leg poised out in front of him.

"PIIIISTOOOL!" POOOOWWW! Luffy shot his fist into the dragon's face.

"TWWIISSTEERR!" SLA-SLA-SLISH! Zoro slashed the dragon's jaw from below.

"SSHHOOOOT!" THWHAM! Sanji drove his foot down on the top of the dragon's head.

Nami, Usopp, Chopper, and Vivi were left gasping in shock as the dragon collapsed to the ground. Just one of those attacks would have probably been enough to put it down but it had taken all three.

"They didn't have to go that far..." Usopp whimpered.

"Against those three... I almost felt sorry for the monster..." Nami added.

"Haven't you guys ever heard of the word 'overkill'?" Han asked.

"What can I say, that monster was no match for our Monster Trio," Y/N replied. "They're not much for restraint."

"Clearly," Ollie agreed. "Poor thing never stood a chance."

"Why do I feel like I'm forgetting something?" Vivi wondered.

SSHHHHOOOOOM! The shady sand behind them suddenly erupted up into the air and then fell away to reveal ANOTHER SANDORA DRAGON!"

"AAAAAAAHHH!" Usopp and Chopper both screamed before they leapt behind Y/N, Nami grabbed Vivi and pulled her behind Y/N the Meat Shield as well. Ollie stood beside Y/N and drew her bow then quickly loaded it with two arrows while Han pulled the handheld cannon off of his back and pointed it at the monster.

"I'M SORRY!" Vivi apologized, "I FORGOT TO MENTION THAT SANDORA DRAGONS ALWAYS HUNT IN PAIRS!"

"YOU HAVE GOTTA START REMEMBERING THIS STUFF!" Usopp shouted.

"And we've gotta start listening to Usopp stories," Y/N realized as he recalled the painting of Super Usopp in between the two purple dragons that Ms. Goldenweek had painted.

"Huh?" said Ace as he stared at the giant purple dragon, seemingly just noticing it.

"I'll take this one, Commander," Han offered as he approached the monster with his gun loaded.

"Have fun," Ace replied.

"Hello tasty," monster hunter greeted the monster.

"RRRAAAAAHHHHRRRRR!" the Sandora Dragon roared.

SHWIP! Han caught the dragon off guard when he jumped right into the dragon's open mouth. CHOMP! The dragon closed its mouth and stared straight ahead in surprise, it never expected its prey to jump straight into its mouth. That was almost too easy.

KA-BOOOOM! A shot erupted out of the top of the dragon's head. The monster's look of surprise hadn't faded yet as it collapsed to the ground. FWUMP!

KRESH! One of the dragon's teeth came flying out of its mouth and Han casually walked out of the hole, the nozzle of his gun was smoking as he held it over his shoulder.

The monster hunter grinned as he looked over at Ace, "So, what do you want? Light meat, or dark?" he offered.

"You have to ask?" Ace retorted.

(A/N: Can anyone guess the movie those last two lines were from? Submit the answer in a signed review and if you can get it without typing the lines in on a search engine you may win a prize.)

-x-

Sssssssss... A little bit later, Sanji was holding a stick of dragon meat onto a sizzling sun-soaked rock. He and Zoro had but their weights back on and now they were enjoying the meat from the two dragons. Choppr stood beside Sanji and the two of them watched as the dragon meat browned and cooked.

"This is convenient," Sanji commented, "these rocks are just like a natural frying pan."

"Soo... now that we have a moment," Zoro spoke up, "what's the deal with the camel?"

"I dunno," Luffy mumbled around a mouthful of meat, "It wuz gedding eaden by da mystry plants while I wuz chasin' dos birds."

"He said 'it was getting eaten by the Mystery Plants while he was chasing those birds'," Y/N translated for his younger brother.

"Luffy quit talking with food in your mouth," Ace lightly scolded him."What would Makino say?"

GULP! Luffy quickly swallowed the food in his mouth.

"It's obviously not a wild camel," Nami observed.

"No, not with a saddle," Vivi agreed.

"So he's a passenger camel," Usopp realized, "that's sure gonna make things a lot easier."

"Yeah, that oughta be a real help," Sanji added, "it looks like it can carry two."

"Camels do go hand-in-hand in deserts," Zoro reasoned.

"Great, I'll take the first shift," Luffy decided as he grabbed onto the camel's saddle and attempt to pull himself up onto his back.

"Grumph!" KONK! The camel hit Luffy on the head with his snout forcing the pirate back down to the ground. "Grmmhhmph... grrrummmaamamamhhh..."

"'I'm afraid I'm a hard-boiled but compassionate son of the desert'," Chopper translated for the camel. "'I'm very grateful for you having helped me out of the jam back there. And I'll be glad to give some of you a ride. But I'm afraid I don't accept male passengers'."

"NO FAIR CAMEL!" Luffy, Usopp, and Sanji were irritated at being snubbed and started kicking at the camel's legs causing it to let out disgruntled yelps. WOMP! WOMP! POW! BIFF! THWAK!

When they finally stopped the camel grunted, "Grum grumph grraah!"

"'I'm too macho'," Chopper interpreted.

"WHY YOU!" Usopp snapped as he, Luffy, and Sanji resumed kicking the camel. WOMP! POW! THWAK!

"THAT'S UNGRATEFUL!" Luffy snapped, "WHO DO YOU THINK SAVED YOUR LIFE, CAMEL!" The camel was eventually left sporting a bloody nose and a purple lump on its head.

"Aw, were those pirates mean to you?" Nami cooed as she pet the camel, it now had hearts in its eyes and was sporting a nose bleed for an entirely different reason. "You're a good boy, what should we call you?"

"Idiot!" Luffy suggested.

"Moron!" Sanji offered.

"Jerk!" Usopp volunteered.

"Eyelash it is then," Nami decided as she situated herself in the camel's saddle and took hold of the reins.

"That's the worst one yet," Zoro commented.

"And she thinks the things I name animals are stupid," Y/N muttered.

"No way am I riding that perverted thing," Ollie stated.

"Climb on Vivi," Nami instructed the princess.

"No, I'm okay," Vivi politely declined. "I can still walk, thanks though."

"Just get on," Nami encouraged her while Eyelash the camel crouched down on the ground to make it easier for the princess to get on. "We'll be able to get to Yuba a little faster."

Nami had played to the princess concerns about getting to Yuba quickly and Vivi sat side-saddle behind Nami on Eyelash's back.

"Pervert camel... Pervert camel..." Luffy, Usopp, and Sanji chanted in annoyance.

"LET'S GO EYELASH!" Nami ordered the camel. KLOMP! KLOMP! KLOMP! Eyelash raced off with his two female passengers and left the other ten pirates behind.

"HEY WAIT FOR US!" the Straw Hats shouted.

"HURRY UP GUYS!" Nami called back to them. "IF YOU GET SEPARATED YOU'LL NEVER LEAVE THE DESERT ALIVE!"

"WELL THANKS A LOT!" Usopp snapped.

"I like this side of Miss. Nami too!" Sanji swooned.

"What else is new," Zoro grumbled.

"Miss. Ollie, would you like me to carry you?" Sanji offered.

SWISH! Sanji suddenly found himself with the tip of an arrow lightly touching his forehead. The arrow appeared to have come out of Ollie's sleeve and the look on her face told him that he'd just said something insulting.

"Relax," Y/N told his former Nakama as he took hold of her arm and pointed the arrow away from Sanji. "He doesn't know. I'll explain things to him and it won't happen again." Y/N released Ollie's arm and she slipped the arrow back up her sleeve then shot Sanji a glare before she stalked off after the camel.

Ace nodded to Y/N then shouted, "AFTER THEM!" Luffy, Zoro, Usopp, Chopper, Ace, and Han ran off after Ollie and the camel.

"So... what did I do?" Sanji asked, understanding that he'd been left behind with Y/N so they could talk in private.

"Here's the thing you need to know about Ollie," Y/N told him, "she'll be the first to admit that she's a girl. But the one thing she hates more than anything is being treated differently because of it. She's been a member of two pirates crews made up of freakishly strong guys and she's worked hard to keep herself from being a liability. I know you didn't mean it, but when you offered to carry her, she took it as an insult, as if you don't respect her enough to think that she can take care of herself. As if all of her hard work isn't worth anything. If you want to stay on Ollie's good side, treat her the same way you treat Ace and Han."

"I was only trying to be courteous," Sanji admitted, "I never thought she'd be offended by it."

"Well I had to learn that the hard way," Y/N informed him, "She treated me like a little kid and I treated her like a girl. We butted heads and fought a lot but eventually we came to terms with each other became real close friends."

"How close?" Sanji inquired.

"None of your business," Y/N retorted. "Now let's hurry up and catch up with them. No offense, but I don't wanna end up lost in the desert with only you as company."

"None taken," Sanji agreed. Y/N picked up the duffle bag fill with money and hefted it onto his shoulder then the two of them ran off after the others as fast as their weights allowed.

-x-

Hope you enjoyed the chapter!!!